CHAPTER VI.

THE PARTY REACH BRUSSELS- -HONORS OF THE BELGIAN CAPITAL-THE BANQUET AT PALMER-GARTEN -RECEPTION IN THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN-AT LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND-AT BERNE-GENEVA-MER DE GLACE -BY THE ITALIAN LAKES-ARRIVES AT COPENHAGEN - BACK TO LONDON- BOUND FOR EDINBURGH -THE SILENT MAN TALKS-AT THE SCOTTISH CAPITAL THE FREEDOM OF THE CITY- SUBSEQUENT EVENTS AT THE HOME OF SIR WALTER SCOTT.

General Grant and his companions reached Brussels, the capital of Belgium, at about six o'clock in the evening of the 6th of July, and at once proceeded to the Bellevue Hotel. No official reception was given them, as the General desired to travel for a time incognito.

Shortly after his arrival, however, an aide-de-camp of King Leopold visited the General, bearing from his royal master an invitation to dinner, and placed at the disposal of his visitor his aides and carriage of state.

In the evening following his arrival, General Grant dined with Mr. Sandford, ex-Minister of the United States. Several Belgian functionaries occupied seats at the table.

On the following day the ex-President and his suite visited the Hotel de Ville, where the Burgomaster did the honors of the Communal Palace. The General perused with much interest the details of the telegraph and water supply.

On the 8th, General Grant was visited by King Leopold, which being entirely out of the usual course, is con

sidered as being a great honor. Later in the day, General and Mrs. Grant paid a visit to the King and Queen. A gala dinner was given at the palace in the evening, and quite a distinguished company sat down to table. All the high officials of the State and the foreign Ministers were present. King Leopold took Mrs. Grant to dinner, and the ex-President had the honor of escorting the Queen.

On the following morning all the foreign ministers in Brussels called upon the General. Throughout his stay in the Belgian capital, he was treated with the greatest distinction.

At half-past nine o'clock, General Grant and his party left Brussels for Cologne. The King's aid-de-camp and members of the American Legation accompanied them to the railway station.

After an agreeable journey, the travelers reached Cologne, where they were cordially received at the railway station by the American Consul, Vice-Consul and the President of the Police. All the civil and military Governors of the city called upon the General by command of the Empress. The General visited several Churches and the Cathedral, and made an excursion over the Suspension Bridge to Deutz, returning by the bridge of boats. In the evening he was serenaded at the Hotel du Nord by a military band.

On the 10th the party started up the Rhine, visiting Bingen, Coblentz and Wiesbaden, reaching Frankfort on the morning of the 12th. They were received by the American Consul General and a reception committee. The American residents hoisted flags from their houses in honor of the occasion. They were at once conducted to the Hotel de Russie where rooms had been secured for them. During the day the Reception Committee con