The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-08-10
THE WATER FROM LOURDEs.
Mrs. Grant Explains the Origin of Mrs
Crowley's Story.
From the ke0 York Uorl

| From the ket0 York World.
| In her book Echoes from Niagara" Mrs.
Richard Crowley makes this singular state
ment, which was printed in the World of
July 28:
The wife of Gen. Grant once told me- Just
| before ner husbands death, that She, though
| Protestant. could not resist carrying away with
| her bottle Of the waters of Our Lady Spring
| at LOurdeS, and when the gen .ral had one of
| his most deathlke spells of weakness and they
| feared he might never breathe again, she
| poured the sacred contents of this vial upon his
| head aud invoked heavens mercy on this great
| and good man, that he might be spared yet
little longer to his country. She said she did not
| claim the boon for her husband, as that might
| be too selfish and personal, but that his country
| might a little longer keep the leader wao had
| saved it. Tn prayer was granted, and be lived
| to finisl the st ~ of his life, 50 dear to the
| peopl OF America. and such blessing to his
| fOndly loved wife and children The world may
| think it was the remedies gven so skillfully by
| his patient and learned phySic ans. bat who
| shall say that it was not the Virgin Mary's
answer 10 woman's prayer Who shall say
| that the Savior, who caused tbs dark eyes Of
Jairus daughter to awaken, did not speak once
more in mercy, though To mortal eyes and ears
| he as unseen and unneard;
Mrs. Grant has been passing some time
with her son, Ulysses S. Grant, at his cOun.
| try house among the hills near the border
| line between New York state and Connecti-
cut. From the windows of her room in the
| quaint and beautiful house she can look out
upon a glorious view of hill and dale and
woodland. Here, far removed from the
turmoil of the world, she has enjoyed sea-
son of unbroken rest ard peace among
| those she loves.
The Grant farm comprises about 200
acres near Salem Center, four miles east of
! Purdys station. on the New York and Har-
lem railroad. The land is rolling upland,
and includes some Of the richest and most
productive soil in the county. 1t lies high
on the Croton watershed, within a short
distance of the divide between the
beautiful Croton valley and the romantic
Lake Waccabuc. Ulysses S. Grant and
his family have occupied this farm for
nearly ten years, passing all Uneir summers
there, and not infrequently their winters,
having discovered that there are winter
cnarms in country life as well as summer
| pleasures. During this residence Mr.. Grant
| has made extensive improvements on the
| place, until it is now typical country
| gentleman's home. The house was built
many years ago of blue limestone, but ha;
been 20 altered and 50 extensively added to
that its original owners would not recog.
| nize it.
1t leans to the Norman style of architec.
ture, with turrets ami towers breaking the
roof line, and surrounding it on all edes are
spacious verandas, where Gen. Grant him
self passed many pleasant hours before bis
fatal illness. To the rear an extensive
stable and outbuildings are almost hidden
| from the house by an intervening grove, as
the house is hiddea from the road by heavy
NAPLES and elms A new stable across the
road is approaching completion and will be
used largely as a stock barn. In fact Mr.
Grant has devoted himself almost entirely
to stock raising, and numbers among hi:
herds some of the finest horses and cattle il
the state.
A World reporter drove over the hills tc
the farm yesterday. To him Mrs. Grant
regretted that 1t was the last day of her stay
there-that engagements impo sible K
break would take her elsewhere. She wa.
immersed, when her visitor arrived, in he'll
correspondence, and she complained thai
she was forced to reply TO an enormous
number of letters that were sent to her bT
people whom she did not know and OF
whom he had never heard But a.
they were all of a kindly nature, she felt she
could not ignore them. If people only
knew, she said, how she was burdeaed by
these letters they would be less exactiug
and would let her live in the retirement she
sought.
Mrs. Grant declined to be intervie we'd on
the subject of Mrs. Crowley remarks. But
with her consent her son Ulysses said:
/ Yes, it is true that on one occasion, my
mother used a vial of water fro II LourdeS
to bathe fathers head. She, as does every
one who visits that celebrated spring
brought away with her a small vial of the
water as a souvenir. On the occasion
speak of the vial was at her hand and sh,
seized it and used it, as she might
have used any other water. Sh,
may have felt touch of sentiment
when she found that the water in bel
hand was from the holy spring. which mill
ions of people have believed for years pos
sesses peculiar virtues. Father did rec vel
after that sinking spell, as he did y az
former ones, but not because the water . u
I4ourdes was used. Mother had no sucl
superstitious belief. She, as well as tn,
rest of us, knew that his recovery from The
fainting spell was due to natural causes
Neither the general nor Mrs. Gran
was given 10 beliefs in the super
natural, and mere sentiment oil
au expression wrung from her in moment
OF deepest grief should not give any
thing like an impression TO the contrary
The general returned 10 consciousness
after that attack and finished ri, work, n
you know, although between that line AM
the end tie was sub ect To other periods o
depression II the same character. lie re-
covered from them 50 well until that tinn
one, although no Lourdes water was used
THE world is full Of people who do not thin
strns beans are genuine unless there 10 ACTUALLY
IL q