The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-12-19

By GENERAL ADAM BADEAU.
No. xxx.

The modern Ulysses travelled further than his
classic namesake. bat Mrs. Penelope accom-
panied him. They once came upon the course
OF the ancient hero and sailing along the Ital-
IAN and Sicilian shores, the story of toe Odyssey
was told again Mrs Grant liked to be shown
where the son Of Laertes had landed, where he
escaped from Calypso, avoided Scylla or
Charybdis But the practical General was
more curious about geography than mythology
The coasts and channels no inspected closely,
but cared nothing for the fables Of Homeric
origin. Ancient history itself hardly inter
ested him. remember that 10 Rome, when
talked of the Forum and the Capitol. he re-
piled that they seemed recent to him after Mem
phis and the Sphinx, which he had seen. Re.
S.0aote antiquity impressed him. but the venerable
ASSOCIATIONS that scholars prize had no charm for
Grant. There was little room in his nature
Tor sentiment, though abundance of genuine
feeling
At Hombure they dug up the grave Of Ro-
man soldier fer the American who had fought
rim region the Romans never heard of. and
Grant was attentive to tho coins and the
weapons in the tomb, but unmoved by the
strangeness of the spectacle-the exhuming of a
forgotten warrior TOT tno Inspection OIL duOInor
ctill in the prime of his renown. So, too, on
Lake Luzerne, though he was never indifferent
b mountains. the railroad on the Right inter
ested him far more than the famous scenery,
and he examined the highway of the AxeDstrasse
more carefully than the chapel of William Tell.
AT Cadenabbia he refused to visit the Villa Car
Eotta to see the marbles of Canova and Thor
waldsen. and at Berne he was vexed with his
son, Jesse, and with me, because we insisted on
visiting the Cathedral He said we had seen
Cologne, and Mayence, and Brussels, why
should we waste our time any more archi-
lecture He was indeed a little unreasonable at
FIRST, as O traveller If he could not discern the
beauties of a cathedral or gallery, he would
not believe that others did. But later he be-
eame more catholic; he found ont that there
might be things in heaven and earth he had not
dreamed of in his early philosophy.
In that same Berne he made me walk for
hours with him, turning away from the Cathe-
dral and the Bernese Oberland, to stray till we
got lost among the narrow streets and the Swiss
citizens. 1t was always, indeed, in men that he
took the keenest interest; in the people. the
peasants, the citizens, greasy" though they
often were For without being coarse or ever
In any way vulgar, he still was not over-refned
He had healthy naturalness that affiliated with
plain people, though 1t was not offended with
princes Yet he did not like these last because
they were princes, as many democrats do
He found out their human traits and touched
them there In this way he liked the Prince of
Wales, despite the iiscourtesy of Marlborough
House because there is in the Prince vein of
bert Edward had not been royal he might have
been good fellow; and Grant and he could have
played cards or billiards together and enjoyed
themselves.
Grants own naturalness was always as re-
ireshing as a breath of mountain air, or the
smell of tho pine woods. Once, in the Brunig
Pass, on the way to Thuu. we stopped at a chalet
whero we dined II was just hey ond the great rock,
which travellers will remember, that overhangs
che pass. General Grant Jesse and I ;strolled
on after dinner in advance OF the vetturino, and
the carriage came up with us empty. Mrs
Grant was not within Her maid was called,
mistress for nearly quarter of an hour We
searched and called, but could not find her. the
General became anxious. fearful last she might
have fallen down the precipitous sides of the
road But she did not leave us long in doubt 1t
was game of hide and seek in the Alps between
the conquerer of VicKsburg and the woman he
lad wooed and won moro than a quarter of a
sentury before
When went up from Intsrlachen to Grin
denwald he and Mrs. Grant frted nearly all the
way. They half quarreled as to how they should
sit and wanted always to be by each others
side Mrs Grant once changed her seat so as to
get better view of the Wetterhorn. This
placed her next to me. and General Grant who
was grandfather and nearly sixty years old
didn't like it at all. Mrs Grant perceived this
and coquettishly refused to return till we ar
rived at certain point in the valley. and the
hero was uncomfortable until Grindenwald was
reached. and he could sit by the side of the
mother OF his grown up children. Then he was
happy again. under the SHOWS and the shadows
Of the Juneirau. Neither the compliments of
palaces nor the paudits of two continents had
lesseued his simplicity or domestcity
Sometimes, however, he made use of his great
ness rather oddly. At little town in Norway.
think it was Christiana, as soon as he arrived
Ae went out alone to walk, and wandered away
ell ne was lost He could not speak word Of
she language. and found no one who knew any
more English than he did Norwegian. His topo-
graphical sense which rarely deserted him, on
this occasion was quite ut fault. and he was an
hour or more trying to find his way. At last he
approached an intelligent-looking man of the
humber sort and said to him distinctly and
several times, General Grant General Grant
Then by signs he made him comprehend that he
cd A.
was staying The citizen did not suspect for
moment to whom he was speaking, but lie knew.
as everyone did In town, that General Grant had
arrived; he could not suppose that so great per-
sonage would be walking unattended, but
thought it was one of his company who was lost,
and took him to the hotel to rejoin General