The Washington critic., 1886-12-04
TOPICS OF THE DAY.


late Secretary of War, is q farmer,
living quiet life at Morris, MINI. He
is now In Washington, for the first
time In several years, and said to the
New York Suns correspondent: II am
giving my attention to collecting ma
terial for biography Of my father, al.
though his own papers, In my posses.
sion, afford perhaps all that would be
necessary. 1t will be slow and pains.
taking work to write his life, and 1t is
not yet fully settled who will under.
take It, / find that my father has many
enemies among the surviving actors In
the great war struggle. He made
either friend or an enemy of every
man who came In contact with him,
but those who were associated with
him day and night understood and
loved him, rugged and arbitrary as he
seemed to others. The literature of
the war will not be complete until the
life of my father is written, but 1t is
something that will wait safely until
there is less Of similar matter being
published"
%~a
/ met Harrison. Grants body ser.
want, in the War Department the other
day, says Carpenter in the Cleveland
Leader. saw him last at Mt Nc
Gregor, while Grant lay dead, with the
ghoulish embalmers lowering over
him. He remembered me, and talked
freely about his life since then. He
remained with the Grant family for
only few weeks after the death OF the
General. He then went into the en-
ploy of Gerhardt, the sculptor who
made Grants life mask. Gerhardt
used him as an agent, and sent him out
with two kinds of busts to sell. One
of these was terra Gotta statuette,
which sold for 81, and another one of
bronze for which $50 was asked. Har-
rison tells me he did not succeed at all.
He only sold three or four of the terra
Gotta statuettes, and none at all of the
bronze. He says he deserved to fail,
and that the casts were very poor, and
did not look like Grant at all.
Shortly after this he came to
Washington and was given position
In the public Printing Office. He was
removed In the wholesale discharge
there not long ago, and 1t was through
the influence of letter that General
Grant had written for him that he re-
celved his present position as messen-
ger in the War Department. asked
him as to how Grant felt when he gave
his relics over to the Government. He
replied that the General was very well
pleased that the Government could get
them. General Grant said he felt that
they ought to be kept together, and If
they were divided among his family
they would be scattered. "There was
danger at the time" said Harrison,
THAT the creditors of Grant and Ward
might take them, and l remember we'll
when ! had flashed packing them, and
told him that they were all ready for
shipping, how much relieved he looked,
and how he said, Il am very
glad of it, But the tax.
ing away of those relics" said
Harrison, "made little difference
in the looks of Grants house. The
rooms were only bare for day or two.
After that they were filled with things
fully as curious, and some almost as
valuable. | don't suppose any man
ever received 50 many presents as Gen.
Grant. He did not know what he had.
There were boxes upon boxes of rare
and curious things stored away which
had been shipped from Europe during
his tour, and some of which had never
been unpacked. A great many things
had been put away because he had not
room for them, and these had been
forgotten. They were brought out
after the relics were sent to Washing.
ton, and / thought the house looked
really better than ever
Nv
Says the New York Tribune: AL
most every fair day for the last three
weeks any one passing his fine old
house In East Seventeenth street, at the
right time might have seen Hamilton
Fish, hale and hearty.looking despite
his ripe age and recent sickness, going
out for walk or drive. He is almost
an octogenarian, having compassed the
round of seventy eight years. Some
times when he goes out, Mrs. Fish IL
with him. They will celebrate their
golden wedding on December 10, and
invitations will be ont in day or two.
The celebration will be quiet one,
but even selected circle of their
friends would make a large company.
Mr.. and Mrs. Fish live alone In their
handsome old home, all their sons and
daughters being married and having
tlresides of their own. Mr.. Fish was SC.
riously Ill in September, but his recov-
cry seems to be complete. He loves on
sunny, comfortable days to walk about
In Stuyvesant Square. His large II.
brary and habits Of intellectual cult.
walton give him plenty of occupation
lie cannot lose interest in public al
fairs, and watches the course of affairs
with the keen interest and appreciation
OF one whose life has been among great
men, great purposes and great ideas.
His especial interest, as may well be
imagined, concerns the foreign rela.
tions of this country. An old friend
said last night that Mr.. Fish s admira.
tion for Minister Phelps was by no
means uubounded.
~
"There is counterfeit 10.cent piece
with history" said Jackson street
man to q Chicago HGrdd reporter, as
he fondled greasy looking coin dang
ling fromhis watch-chain. "When the
Federal troops were before Fredercks-
burg New York volunteer got out of
his trench one morning and, after at
tracing the attention of q Johnny who
could be seen inside the fortifcation,
raised flask of whisky to his lips,
which were puokered for long pull.