The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1888-05-03
Grants Birthday.
Cincinnati; Commercial Gazette.

! CincinHaG Souihercldi NdZettS.
Sixiy-six years ago, on tht
northern bank of the Ohio river
twenty four miles above this city
q. S. Grant was born. He wa:
of this soil and climate and sur
rMndings. of these airs and wa
ters-familiar with the grasse!
and trees and grain and flower:
and fruits OF Ohio. For him the
sugar trees gave their sap, and
the buckeye and the dogw0od
and the peach and apple and
pear trees bloomed, and the cur
rants and The cherries grew red
and The gray squirrels barked IT
hickory woods, and the sunfis!l
glistened IN The creeks. Hi:
parents were plain people, hi;
father a man above tile average
in stature and strength, shrewd
in understanding and serious III
judgement, and the mother, q
bright, good, little woman, whose
nions trusts and gentle faith
were unchangeable, and who
grew TO be pleasing type OF the
Methodist mairon--venerable and
lovely.
One Of the gli,tering priz,s OF
the days of the Grant Of history
and dromance-romance, for few
men of all the thousands of mil
lions born had lives of stranger
and more startling yicissitudes-
was cadetship of West Point
That was secured by the sagacity
of the father and by the manli-
ness of the son, aided bv a dash
Of that luck which was the mar
vel of the man, until it brought
fame and became the prestige ot
deeds whose magnitude affected
the welfare of their achievement,
and commanded the admiration ol
mankind.
Cincinnati was the great city
of Grants boyhood. Our streets
were those that seemed to him
the highways of the glorious
world that was so far, and yet sc
near. Here he came a cadet
half proud aud half ashamed ol
his buttons. When he was un-
known IN this city he knew il
we'll. lie was here in poverty
and dependency, when hungry
ruin seemed to have him in the
wind and iron Fortune to be
merclless. He came here seek
ing humble employment when
the war was beginning, and saw
our great ones resplendent, and
was embittered that in the pa
geantry ofthose who were march
ing to save the country there
was no hopeful place for him Il
help his country.
He came again when the bands
played "Haii to the Chief" and
applauding multitudes darkened
the banks Of the river and the
houses at the landing he had
known as a boy, and heard the
thunder of saIntes and saw the
shores and the streets white with
handkerchleis waving welcome.
and old citizens were saying they
were reminded of the coming oil
Lafayette. He came again when
the Presidency had passed away.
and he had as a private citizen
of the Great Republic-her first
citizen, a title greater far than
President-encompassed t h e
earth in his triumphal progress,
and we were proud of him that
through him, for all of us. were
received the respectful recogni-
ton and digniiied homage of the
nations of the earth.
1t is a fine saying Of Senator
boar, we believe. thatsthere is
much 10 be said in criticism OF
the career and influence ofThom
as Jefferson. "But what is the
use? He comes down TO US with
the Declaration Of Independence
in one hand and the Louisiana
purchase in the other" There
he stands. with all his imper-
fections on his head. one of oul
immortais.
There have been and there
NAV bet is certain there will
be-written volumes, libraries
flights of books and floodsl o.
newspapers, in criticism, in dep
recation, in disparagement oI
Grant as a military chieftain and
civil administrator, and much o
IT true but the star that shons
suddenly through The gloomy
wintry sky at Fort Donelson, ant
after a partial eclipse hIazed ovel
Vicksburg. and was luminous al
Chattanooga and red as Mars a
Spottsylvania. and was full orbeC
and serene at Appomattox, wa:
a star of the fret magnitude. anC
itS moth of nIorv NAV he traced