Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-08-06

His Gratitads b the Man whs HsA -
friended Him.

SOME LETTERS FROM GEN. GRANT.
His Gratituds b the Man whe HsA -
friended Him.
Charles Wood, . retired brushmAksr Of Lam
singburg, n. Y. is spending the summer in
Ocean Grove, n. J. In the spring Of 1854, after
the banking firm Of Grant 4 Ward went 10 the
wall and Gen. Grant found himself almost PEN
niless, Mr.. Wood wrote to the general aud Of
fered to loan him $500 10 tide him over his
difficulties. The offer was accepted and the
money was passed over. A few weeks later Mr..
Wood forwarded the hero Of AppomAttox an
other check for 1000, and this, too, was &C
cepted by Gen. Grant
year after. when the old soldisr's Attain
were in better shape, o., 900 Of the loan was re-
paid to Mr.. Wood. The remaining &5oo was pAid
by Mrs. Grant soon after her husbands death
Mrwood gave $3.50 of the amount to the ssnsy
Hospital in BROOKLYN and $25o 10 the sufferers
by the Charleston earthquake.
Mr.. Wood has several autograph lsttsu
written by Gen. Grant at different times during
the wears of 1854 and 1855 Thsse souvenirs
are In frame. and barrels of money would net
induce Mr. Wood TO part with them The leo
tiers have never before been printed. and they
show. as do all the other records Of the dad
hero. that he was u simple. unaffected man. en-
tirely free from generalization Of his own work
These letters were exhibited " Wednesday night
at reception rendered Mr.. Wood by Founder
James A. Bradley. The first one. acknowledg-
ing the receipt Of Mr.. Woods check for $500
reads as follows:
Nrw YORK CRY, May ~, 1884
Dear Sir: Your more than kind letter Of
Saturday. inclosing check for $500 and propos-
ing to send like amount on my note, payable in
one year, without interest, 10 received The
money ar this time would be Of exceeding use
to one having not enough 10 pay one month's
servant hire or room il were to leave my
house, and nothing coming In until the LIST Of
August. l therefore accept the check lust re-
ceived and this Is my acknowledgment Of .
debt OF $500 one year from this dase on the
terms of your letter. Very truly youn,
I. s. GRANT.
The next letter acknowledges the recent Of
two checks for $500 each, and indicates the
straitened circum stances TO which the eX-Presi-
dent had been reduced.s Here il the letter:
NEw ioRK, May 10, 1854
CHARLES wooD, ESQ.,:
My Dear Sir: am in receipt OF your very
kind letter of the 18th instant with two checks
for $500 each. You have conferred an obliga-
ton more than l can ever repay. The money,
of course, do not doubt but can return, but
being caught without Si00 in my pocket and
nothing coming in till August Il became
serious question what to do. You, in
the generosity of your heart. have relieved
made TO reduce expenses to q minimum. Nv
house at Long Branch-Mrs Gran.'s-i offered
Tor rent, and the one we occupy here viii be in
the fan II prospects are no brighter than at
present. Hoping that prosperity may attend
you and yours remain faithfully yours,
Y. s, GRANT.
The third communication contained the gen.
erals check for 81 900, in part payment Of the
loan. This money the general intimates was
received from the sale of his personal memoirs.
The letter reads follows;
NEW YonK Crry, Jan. s, 1885.
Ny Dear Mr.. Wood: ] take profound pleasure
in inclosing to you the check which you viii
find with this. wish 70 state to you also hsw
great was the relief afforded by your dmsly
loan. At the time Of the failure Of Grant
Ward had not 800 in my pocket. had psid
M bills for the previous month with checks
on the firm. Most Of them were not pre-
sented until after the failure. Your checls
enabled me to meet the second call and gave me
something to 60 upon until another turn could
be make. Mrs. Grant was foYtunste epough 10
own a couple Of small houses in wsshingten,
one of which she sold for the SUN Of o. 800,
to live upon, but with nothing to pay past debts
return You, with the greatest pleasure, d, 900
OF the q, 500 which you SO kindly, and without
solicitation or claim upon you, sent me- II a..
fords me greater pleasure from the fact that
have earned this by my own work. hope In
VAC hos@i iutufe " reuo you Tue Otuef WV.
With my best wishes to you and yours, an
very truly, q. s. GRANT.
The last letter was written ct Mount Nc
Gregor on July 9, 1885, which was but short
time before his death:
Il am very sorry that am unable to con-
verse even in . whisper. am reclining IN bed
as long as it rests me this morning, because yes
terday had a very trying day. Ny worst
hours, most painful ones, are from TO Z in the
afternoon. Yesterday we had number Of par
ticular friends call and stay through thoss
hours. had to converse necessarily with my
pencil About the close the Mexican
editors called in body and delivered spesch
in Spanish that had to be translated and SPOKEN
in English. replied. My speech was rad in
English, then translated and spoken In Spanish
Then there was a second speech and reply. BY
this time was nearly exhausted I am badly
off this minute, because the doctor has been
dressing my mouth. and this 10 always painful.
Il feel very thankful to you for The hndnso
you did me last year. I en- glad to say that
while there ia much unblushing wickedness in
this world, yet there il q compsnsating gener-
osity and grandeur Of soul. In my case have
not found that republics are ungrstsful, NOR are
the people,"