roundings under a territorial government met with General Grant's hearty approval, and he always manifested: his entire confidence in the integrity and the ability of Mr. Alexander R. Shepherd, who took the lead in this great work. He knew that the clamor about "rings" was unfounded, except that it had been necessary to give a number of profitable contracts to the henchmen of well-known Representatives in order to secure their votes for the necessary appropriations. He witnessed with gratification the transformation of an ungraded village, with its muddy streets, into a well-paved, welldrained, well-lighted metropolis creditable to the Republic.

General Grant's personal habits while he occupied the White House were very frugal, and with the exception of his occasional investments in horse-flesh and the expense incurred. at his St. Louis farm in rearing blooded colts he had no extravagant habits. Aided by the admirable housekeeping of Mrs. Grant and the

JAMES K. POLK.

business tact of his private secretaries, he was the most thrifty President who had occupied the White House since James K. Polk. There was nothing niggardly, however, about his official or private hospitality, and he kept up his summer establishment at Long Branch at a considerable expense rather than quarter himself at the Soldiers' Home.

Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, his neighbor: at Long Branch, and General Grant's most cherished friend, said of him: "The General was such a simple-. hearted, sympathetic, whole-souled, generous man that it was hard to be less than a friend of his. We who

knew him best and most intimately, loved him; our attachment for him could be called by no other name than love. As his next-door neighbor and intimate friend, I saw him at times and in moods when none other save his family saw him-when he had thrown off the cares of the world, and was bent on quiet enjoyment with his family, in which he so delighted. He used to say, when he came to Long Branch, he felt like a boy just free from school; he had left all his cares behind him. He was one of the most thoroughly unselfish and modest men I have ever known. No amount of flattery spoiled him. In relating incidents of the great struggle, he never said, 'I did this, or I did that.' The pronoun 'we' was invariably used, and he never openly took full credit to himself for any of his achievements. To say that 'we' forced Lee to surrender perfectly satisfied him, and he was seldom more gratified than when hearing the praises of Sheridan and Sherman sounded."

Mr. Childs also disposed of the newspaper stories that General Grant used to be fond of attending horse-races, that he was a drunkard, and that he habitually used profane language. "It is entirely untrue," said Mr. Childs, "that when the General was at Long Branch he was an habitue of the race-track. He never voluntarily went to see a horse-race. He was opposed to them. The only times he was on a race-track, or saw a horse-race were when he happened to attend a country fair."

"I know," continued Mr. Childs, earnestly, "that during my many years of intimate acquaintance and association, I never heard him swear. He was opposed to it. He did not like profane people, and objected to the use of profanity in his presence. As to the use of liquor, I never knew him to drink to excess. He used to drink at public dinners, but he did not drink alone. During

his second term as President he stopped drinking even at public dinners, and always turned down his glass. He had no more difficulty in doing this than he had when he stopped smoking."

General Grant possessed that root of statesmanshipthe power of forethought, and whatever he did was done thoroughly. He rarely hesitated when action was necessary, but went straight on in what he regarded as his path of duty. General Horace Porter, his aid-decamp during much of the war and his private secretary when he became President, afterward said: "I think he was the most ready man I have ever known. Persons have come to him while busy and asked for letters upon some subject, and instead of putting them off General Grant would almost immediately write what was requested, and it would be as clear and compact as though done by a literary man who had studied it over and revised it twice. His manuscript was distinct and carefully punctuated."

CHAPTER XIV.

SECOND INAUGURATION OF GENERAL GRANT-ARCTIC WEATHER-THE CEREMONY-. THE SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS-THE INAUGURATION BALL-ILLUMINATIONSECRETARY FISH'S HOSPITALITY-CABINET CHANGES-WHY SECRETARY COX RESIGNED.

T

HE second inauguration of General Grant, on
Tuesday, March 4th, 1873, was less brilliant than

his first, owing to the intensely cold weather: During the night previous and throughout the morning the wind blew in a perfect gale from the southwest, sweeping clouds of dust through the avenues and streets, and playing havoc with the flag-covered tri umphal arches which at various points spanned the line of march.

The procession started at ten o'clock, but the weather was so cold that the breath of the musicians condensed in the valves of their instruments and rendered it impossible for them to play. The Regulars headed the column, followed by the battalion of West Point cadets in their light gray parade uniforms, with the midshipmen from the Annapolis Naval School in dark blue. The young men suffered from the cold, and several of them had to leave the ranks half frozen. A division of gayly uniformed citizen soldiers followed, including the First Troop of the Philadelphia City Cavalry (which had escorted almost every President, from General Washington to General Grant) and the Boston Lancers in their scarlet coats, with pennons fluttering from their lances.

In the centre of this division, seated in his own open barouche drawn by four bay horses, was General Grant, who was, on this occasion, as the official programme said, "President and President-elect." In the next carriage was Henry Wilson, Vice-President-elect, escorted

START FROM THE WHITE HOUSE FOR THE INAUGURATION.

by one of the Congressional Committee, and in the next carriages were Mrs. Grant, Miss Nellie Grant, Lieutenant Fred. Grant, and the President's brother, Orville Grant, of Chicago. The military were followed by the