Omaha daily bee., 1896-02-23

rounding plantations, had gathered there
to bid him goodby. l remember I was sit
ting on the porch when Lieutenant Grant
came up. l gave him my hand and he shook
hands with the rest of the party. The
next day, when father went, to st. Louis,
Mr.. Grant went with him, and it was dur
ing this trip that he asked fathers permis-
sion to marry me. My father consented,
ding ought to take place very soon. Leuten-
ant Grant offered to resign from the army
If father insisted upon it.. This was just
about the time of the opeuIg of the Mexi-
can war and Lieutenant Grant asked my
father II he had any objectians to his writ
ing to me. lie said no, and during the
next four years, while Lieutenant Grant
was absent in Mexico, / received letters
from him every mail l have those letters
now There are hundreds OF them Every
one of them is full of affection, of love and of
war. Some of them have pressed flowers
between the pages, some were written on the
heads of drums which our troops captured
from the MeXicans, and many of them were
sealed with red waters. Lean remember
still how / used to watch for the mail and
how / read my last letter over day after
day until the next one came"
GRANTS POVERTY.
MRS. Grant" said !, Il have often won
dered whether the stories are true as to
the hard times which yDi and General
Grant are said to have undergone just be-
Eve did not have hard times" replied
Mrs. Grant. "A great many people seem
to want to reduce the general during his
early life to the dregs of poverty in order
that they may exalt him the more by his
rise. This fact used to annoy him con-
sderably, as it rather belittled his rela-
tives. General Grant was never very poor.
His family were what was called rich a
generation ago. His father was man of
considerable means. He had property in
Ohio, and the leather store at Galena-of
which so much has been made by some
was a branch store which was afterward
moved to Chicago ands butned up in the
great Chicago fire. While We we're in
Galena we lived very nicely indeed. We
were among the best people of the town
and had all Of the comforts that one could
wish. | zee ridiculous statement now
going the rounds Of the press In which
General Grant is published as having been a
teamster in Gaena, andsfrqm II you would
imagine that his business was that OF a
coachman or cab driver. don't know
whence this story comes, but | pronounce
it an entire fabrication. saa are also many
other stories now being lpublished. The
truth is, the only horses that Mr.. Grant
drove while he was In galera were our own.
We had a very nicef LITTLE wagon, some
thing like a surrey or park phaeton, and
team OF good horsesa rhis belonged to
the store, but 1t was used as carriage
Mr. Grant often took myself and the babies
out Of an afternoon for a drive
GRANT ON THE FARM NEAR ST. LOUIS.
And then. again. the stories Of Mr..
Grants poverty at st. Louis Mrs. Grant
went on. "a great dsal has been made Of
his having hauled wood from our farm to
the city. 1t is true that he often took
load Of wood with him when he went into
tho city. We lived. you know, not far from
st, Louis and a load Of wood was worth
from SIS to &c. We had no money to throw
away at that time, but still We had plenty
to live upon very comfortably. Ny father
had given me the farm and we had a very
good home and all We really needed"
did General Grant care fer money!"
NO" replied Mrs. Grant; II think not,
He was very charitable. and he often wanted
mo 10 give away more than / did"
''He must have been good ihutband," l
said.
He was the perfection Of husband" re-
Piled Mrs. Grant. HE was KIND, true and
loving He was, believe one Of the best
husbands that ever lived"
GRANTS RELIGIOUS BELIEF.
II have often wondered, Mrs. Grant, as to
whether the general was a Christian, and
as TO what ne thought about future state"
Yes, he believed in Christianity" replied