The times., 1898-10-23

which he had no taste, and that his mis-
takes arose from the heroic mold Of his
nature. He was q great soldier; he was
not u great statesman He could recog-
nize principles; he could not always see
what was most expedient. Nothing is to
be gained by representing him as possess
ing qualities which were not his; every
thing is gained by representing him as
human hero, with the faults and weak
nesses of humanity, but of n fiber essen
TALLY heroic. This Garland does. He
points out that tho weaknesses or Grant s
first administration arose partly from the
fact that the President disliked and dis
trusted politicians, and thus selected mill
tary men, whom he knew, for his assist
ants. He was a commander, and ne be-
lieved in absolute obedience to ORDERS
not for the personal qualification of the
commanding officer, but as measure of
public safety. Compromise was foreign
to his nature He was "Unconditional
Surrender Grant" without having an
atom of personal feeling in the matter.
The other element in his administration
which made trouble was hiss sloyalty to
his friends. The historian says:
Every who had sto.d by him when lie
was in shadow had an ildisputabe claim upon
him now that he was in sunlight.
Practically the only personal pleasure
in which he seems TO have INDUCED him
self at this time was that of riding af-
ter good horse" as Silas Lapham would
say. The Grant of Garland's biography
has, in fact many points in common
with that New England commoner. He
has Laphams simplicity, kindliness and
rugged honesty, without his brag and
bluster and ambition The tastes of both
men are the same. Neither cared for
art, music or the drama; both liked Il
! .rpnl hprga and found "a fgglina finp i'm
the successes of the business world, but
for different reason; Lapham liked bust
ness because he was good at making
/ money; Grant was drawn toward 1t be-
cause money-making was the one thing
which he had never been able TO do. 1t
is curious to see how Garland, without
| losing the atmosphere OF history, has Civ
EN- the figure Of his hero almost the clear
| outlines and typical traits of character
that he might have given a purely i'm
aginary American type like Lapham.
The chapter on the Grant & Ward fail
ure is another especially dramatic bit of
| work, too long for reproduction. The fif-
tieth chapter, which follows. describes
| what was perhaps the grandest achieve
ment of the generals life-the writing of
/ his book under the enormous burdens Of
! illness. poverty and old age. Once more
| the dominant characteristic of the man is
I
! duty. no matter how distasteful which
| seemed to be his duty. He felt ii to be
| his duty to provide for his wife and fam
/ lily so long as he should be able TO do
anything at all. The world knows how he
performed this task. The beginning OF
that glorious and tragic final year of his
/ life is thus described by this sympathetic
! biographer:
| On the lst day of Juna, 1881, Gen Grants
physical condition, as well his financial situa-
tion, was deplorahle. He vas still lame from
| the effects OF fall suffered some months before
! He was s2ty-two years Of age, without pro-
/ fassion, and untitled for business both by i'll
health and by education. Having been actor
IN more dramatic events than any other Ameri-
! can that ever lived. having been lieutenant gen
eral Of the United States armies, and President
o. the thited States for two terms it now seem.
ed as If nothing moe remained for him but to
slowly slip down into the decrepitude, compare
tive obscurity, and despair Of idle old age
This feeling, as much any ether cause, slpped
his vitality and his resolution. He saw moth.
ing more for him TO do. The special fund o
stock in the Wabash Railroad decreasing II
value, and seemed likely to fail Of dividends.
He was threatened with actual need. His fellow
citizens were haTsllly critical, and ne was charg
I'd with bringing the whole of his financial troub
le upon himself by undue greed. 1t was tim,
which taxed his resources 60 the utmost.
Before the failure Of the hrm OF Grant L Ward
the editors Of the Century Magazine had ap
! prnAChcQ MIN Win proposal 10 write an article
upon the battle of Shiloh. which was still beins
hotly contested on writing tables. North anC
South. But the general, being little inclined
to write as to make speech, had bluntly refuseC
to undertake the task.
But conditions had changed and when III,
editors again approached him he consented, anC
began al once an article upon Shiloh He ha,
always held in reverence commanders like Hal!ecl
and Mcclellan who could write book, and en-
sidcred himself the last man IN the world to at
tempt anything more than a report. He as
tonished and pleased when the article grew IN hi
hands from dry statement Of facts TO ven
full account, with which the editors were de
lighted. From regarding il : laborious task
he became deeply interested in il, and readily
consented 10 continue his work with an ariicl
on Vickshurg Then il was that he real
lied his power to earn not merely money for hi
daily needs, but to provide comp tency for HI
wife if he should die before her. This con,idera
tcn decided him TO set TO work in earnest upol
the retrospect Of his life. He had secretly r.
signed himself 10 the thought that he was an OF
man and an infrn man. and that any WORK h
had to do must be done quickly.
The story OF that last battle has never
been better told than in this book. ont
of the significant touches is in the recorC
of the generals refusal to use morphi:
unless absolutely necessary. He coulC
not sleep without it, yet he so feared
becoming victim TO it that he tough
against its use.
land has made valuable contribution L
American literature. Although the die
ton of the book is faulty here and ther
: Mr. Garland splits the infinitive" oc
casionally, in a way which would not b
liked by Boston-this slight roughness o
language may easily be forgiven for TIL
sake of the intuitive sympathy with tn
subject, the skill In the choice of materi
al and the clear conception OF a grea
! historical figure. to be found in the work
Those who read 1t In its serial form vii
not have appreciated the strength of thi
recital of one of the worlds great epics
: 1t is the story of hero, told by a triba
; singer, n man of his own clan, and /
perhaps the best example of that typ
of work which we have ever had il
this country. 1t is certainly the bes
work which the author has thus ia
} done, and those who like to be assure
that time and money have been spen
: on a thing will be pleased t
know that 1t took him three years /
gather his material and that it was gath
| cred from every intimate friend of Gran
now living. from many hitherto unput
t lished records and letters, and from ey
cry place in which Gen. Grant ever livet
D 1t has been called the first personal lif
t of Grant ever written. New York
E Doubleday & Mcclure Company. s250)
S "Causes and Consequences"
: Causes and Consequences, by job
: Jay Chapman. is an outspoken expressio
of opinions on American political life,
the form of five essays. The titles
e these papers are, Politics. Society,
G ! y, ..Dar,ooroo,,,, .pd .coyar,