Page images
PDF
EPUB

quietly in his apartments, receiving many calls, some from old soldiers who served under him during the war.

On the following morning General Grant and his party visited several of the large mills and industrial establishments of the city. Before he left the hotel he was waited on by a number of the leading citizens and several clergymen. Bishop Ryan, the Catholic Bishop of Buffalo, and Mr. Cronin, editor of the Catholic Union, were among the callers and had a pleasant interview. The General then drove to the warehouses of several merchants in the linen trade, to the factories and shipyards. At the immense shipyard where the White Star steamers were built, the workmen, numbering 2,000, gathered around Grant's carriage and cheered as they ran alongside. The public buildings and many of the shops were decorated. The weather was clear and cold.

At three o'clock in the afternoon the General left for Dublin. Immense crowds had gathered at the hotel and at the railway-station. The Mayor, with Sir John Preston and the American Consul, James M. Donnan, accompanied the General to the depot. As the train moved off the crowd gave tremendous cheers, the Mayor taking the initiative. One Irishman in an advanced stage of enthusiasm called out, "Three cheers for Oliver Cromwell Grant!" To this there was only a faint response.

At Portadown, Dundalk, Drogheda, and other stations, there were immense crowds, the populations apparently turning out en masse. Grant was loudly cheered, and thousands surrounded the car with the hope of being able to shake the General by the hand, all wishing him a safe journey. One little girl created considerable merriment by asking the General to give her love to her aunt in America. At Dundalk, the brother of Robert Nugent, who was lieutenant-colonel of the Sixty-ninth New York

Regiment in 1861, and afterwards commander of a brigade in the Second Corps, Army of the Potomac, said he was glad to welcome his brother's old commander.

Upon reaching Dublin, Lord Mayor Barrington and a considerable number of persons were on the platform at the railway-station, and cordially welcomed the General. As soon as all the party had descended, the Lord Mayor invited the General into his carriage and drove him to Westward Row, where the Irish mail-train was ready to depart, having been detained eight minutes for the ex-President.

There was a most cordial farewell, and a great shaking of hands. The Mayor and his friends begged Grant to return soon and make a longer stay. Soon Kingston was reached, and in a few minutes the party were in the special cabin which had been provided for them on board the mailsteamer. Special attention was paid to the General by the officers of the vessel. Grant left the Irish shores at twenty minutes past seven o'clock.

London was duly reached, and the travellers became the guests of the American Minister, Mr. Welsh.

After a brief stay in London, General Grant went to Paris, where, on the 14th of January, he was tendered with a grand dinner and reception at the United States Legation. On the next day, a grand dinner and reception was given in his honor by Marshal MacMahon, at the Palais d' Elysée. Among those present were General Grant and family, M. Waddington and wife, General Noyes and wife, Miss King, Miss Stevens, the members of the Chinese Embassy, the representatives of San Salvador, Buenos Ayres, Chili, Guatemala, Peru, Colombia and Uruguay, and many French generals and admirals.

On the 21st, General Grant, accompanied by Mrs. Grant, Colonel Fred. Grant, ex-Secretary of the Navy A. E. Borie, of Philadelphia; Dr. Keating, and Mr. Young, left Paris

for a tour in the East. These intend to accompany him through his entire trip. General Badeau went with them as far as Marseilles. Generals Noyes and Fairchild, Secretary Hill, and a large number of Americans, went to the station to see the party off. The train left at a quarter past seven.

General Grant and his party arrived at Marseilles on the 23d, and Consul John B. Gould received them at the railway-station. An afternoon reception was held at the consulate, where General Grant met the leading citizens of Marseilles. At noon, on the day following, the party embarked on the French steamship Labourdonais for India via Suez. General Badeau, Consul Gould, J. B. Lippincott, of Philadelphia; John Munroe, the banker, and many citizens took leave of General and Mrs. Grant. The day was cold, and the sky was filled with masses of gray cloud. The people of Marseilles evinced great interest in the General's departure. The ships in the harbor were dressed with flags and streamers. General Grant and his party seemed in the best of health and spirits. The steamer moved out of the harbor shortly after twelve o'clock, and the land journey of General Grant closed amid the kindest manifestations of his countrymen at Marseilles, and the French citizens of this great Mediterranean port. Marshal MacMahon sent orders to the French admirals on foreign stations and to the governors of French colonies to treat General Grant with all the honors due to the head of an independent state.

CHAPTER XXX.

THE PASSAGE FROM MARSEILLES TO ALEXANDRIA DOWN THE RED SEA ADEN BOMBAY - THE RECEPTION OF GENERAL GRANT - LIFE IN INDIA - A VISIT TO THE CAVES OF ELEPHANTA RECEPTION AT THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE · FAREWELL TO BOMBAY ARRIVAL AT JEYPORE- -THE MAHARAJAH'S RECEPTION—A NAUTCH DANCE- VISIT TO THE ANCIENT PALACE OF AMBER THE HOME OF AN ANCIENT INDIAN KING AN INTERESTING OCCASION.

[ocr errors]

The voyage from Marseilles to Bombay was a pleasant one. Like a thing of life the vessel bearing the travellers danced upon the crested waves of the Mediterranean.' As they passed along, Etna was seen towering in the distance, with villages nestling at its base. After skirting along the African coast, they disembarked near Alexandria. A short ride by rail brought them to the Suez Canal, where they took passage on another boat, called the Venetia, and proceeded on their way down the Red Sea. The journey at this point is one of great interest, since the banks of that Sea are hallowed by the footsteps of the Israelites. Many points of historic interest were pointed out, among which Mount Sinai was, perhaps, the most important.

The vessel touched at Aden just long enough to allow the travellers to mail their letters, and then quietly passed on towards Bombay. Their arrival at the latter point is thus narrated:- Our departure from Europe had been so sudden that we had no idea that even our Consul at Bombay knew of our coming. All arrangements were made to go to a hotel, and from thence make our journey; but the

[ocr errors]
[graphic][merged small]
« PreviousContinue »