Omaha daily bee., 1896-02-23
69C 75C 98C vd

warned me to put cotton wool into the gen
erals ears lest he be effected by the sirens
of today, just as was the great general of
the past. l told them that there was no
danger of General Grant being influenced
by music, as he did not know one note from
another, and that the singing OF thousand
sirens could not charm him. The officers
then said that the danger was not altogether
in the voices, but also in the faces of the
sirens. They were 80 beautiful that IL the
general heard them he would be drawn to
the shores and lost, and they again urged
me to use the cotton wool. / told them
that the Ulysses OF Homer had been de-
luded because he was alone and had left
Penelope, his wife, at home. / said / had
learned a lesson from old Penelope and had
accompanied my Ulysses, and with me
did not think he was in danger.
GRANTS TREATMENT OF LADIES.
"And there Is another thing about which
| would Ike to say word" continued Mrs.
Grant. THAT is as to the part of this artl-
Gle which purports to give the generals
conversation with some young ladies who
were visiting his camp The doctor who
owned the abby introduced the young
ladies TO General Grant and asked him IL
he did not think he ought to arrest them
To this, according to the story, the general
replied: 4 am very fond OF ladies' society,
and / miss their refining influence in the
camp. Don't you think, girls, l ought to
make you my prisoners?
"Now, the truth is that the general was
never familiar with ladies'. l don't think
he would have addressed those young women
as girls and / am sure he would not have
talked as he is here reported as doing.
He was most courteous and respectful
to my sex, but he was never IA
miliar. The general was, you know, rather
digniied and reserved than effusive. He
was not what you call a hail-feliow-well-
l,,,I To nf
friends but he did not make much fuss over
any one.
GRANT DID NOT SWEAR.
Besides" continued Mrs Grant "frcm
the way this article Is worded, you might
think the general was rather slangy In his
talk He was not; he never used anything
but the purest and choicest Of language.
have seen stories, in which he has
been reported as profane. ! never heard
him use word of slang or profanity dur
ing all the years that ! knew him. For in
stance, | never heard him use the word
damn He did not use the milder ex-
pletives. such as 'confound it, or the devil,
which you know are often used by
people who do not swear. 1t was the same
highest ideas Of purity and virtue. He never
referred to women except In terms Of
the highest respect, and he did not
gossip nor tell stories about them. On the
other hand, he liked tC near a good story
and he sometimes repeated innocent ones. he
had heard to US at home,"
He was very domestic in his tastes. was
he not?"
Yes" replied Mrs Grant, "he spent all
OF his leisure at home. He always cared
more for his home than for society,""
STORY OF GENERAL GRANTS COURT
SHIP.
here referred to story which | had
heard concerning the generals courtship.
1t described how Mr.. Grant, who was then
young lieutenant, had met Miss Julia
Dent at a wedding, and, according to Gus
tom which the writer said was prevalent
i'm Missouri, had taken her home on his
horse behind him, she holding on as best
she could, During the journey the two had
to cross a stream, and while in the water and
fighting their way through the waves, as
the writer stated. Lieutenant Grant pro-
posed and was accepted The couple then
went on to the Dent farm, where Lieutenant
Grant found Miss Dents father rough
looking old farmer. sitting on a wood pile
and whiting stick. lie was asked to
sanction the match, and in rustic language
consented. / knew this story could not be
true. for | was always aware that Colonel
Dent was one of the wealthiest planters "
Missouri. and that Mrs. Grant had been as
well educated, perhaps, as any girl In the
United States at the time Grant proposed to