within the palace. The following, however, constituted the outward ceremonies of this very ceremonial affair:

Dinner was served in the Oak Room, according to custom, which reserves St. George's Hall for State banquets. The party was small, because etiquette requires that the queen shall converse with every guest.

The introductions were made as follows: Minister Pierrepont, advancing, introduced General Grant; then Lord Derby stepped forward with Mrs. Grant. The queen shook hands with them, while the ladies in waiting simply bowed.

This formality at an end, the gentlemen led the way to the Oak Room. The queen sat at the head of the table. On her right were respectively Prince Leopold, Princess Christian and General Grant; on her left Prince Christian, Princess Beatrice and Minister Pierrepont. Then came the Duchess of Wellington, Lord Elphinstone and Mrs. Pierrepont; Lord Derby and Mrs. Grant; the Duchess of Roxburgh and Lord Biddulph; the Countess of Derby and Jesse Grant.

During dinner the band of the Grenadier Guards, under Dan Godfrey, played in the quadrangle. The enjoyment of the party was unconstrained, the queen taking a prominent part in the lively conversation, during which all kinds of topics were discussed, American and English, political and social. The Princess Beatrice is a brilliant conversationalist, and she was particularly interesting on many American social topics, which she thoroughly understood.

Most of the ladies were all dressed in black with white trimmings, owing to the deaths recently of the Queen of Holland and the Duke of Hesse Darmstadt. The queen was attired in a similar style, but her toilet comprised a very magnificent array of diamonds.

CHAPTER XXIV.

OFF FOR THE CONTINENT-BRUSSELS-COLOGNE-ON THE RHINE-FRANKFORT-ONTHE MAIN-THE BLACK FOREST-GENEVA-MONT BLANC-SIMPLON PASS-THE RHONE-LAKE MAGGIORE-NORTHERN ITALY-ALSACE AND LORRAINE-SCOTLAND-A ROUND OF ENTERTAINMENTS-GLASGOW-AYR-GUEST OF THE DUKE

OF ARGYLE.

G

ENERAL GRANT, after the feverish excitement attendant on the continual round of public fetes and receptions, and the constant strain on his physical strength, resolved to go where he could enjoy a little repose and secure that rest which he had sought by going abroad, and which it seemed destined he should not obtain. He therefore turned his steps toward the Continent to rest for awhile amid the sublime scenery of the Alps.

Having celebrated the Fourth of July in a dinner at our Minister's, accompanied by his wife and son, and General Badeau, he left London for Ostend. On his arrival there he found the royal car awaiting him, to transport him to Brussels. So, after receiving the congratulations of the municipal authorities, he next morning started for the Belgium capital. Stopping for awhile at

the ancient town of Ghent to visit the various points and objects of interest in it, he proceeded to Brussels, where he arrived Friday evening, at six o'clock.

The next

The next morning, after paying a visit to our Minister, Mr. Merrill, he visited the Hotel de Ville, and added his name to the list of famous men who have inscribed their names in the "Book of Gold," as it is called. day the King called on him, at his hotel, and conversed with him for some time. The day after, Grant returned the visit, and in the evening attended a banquet, given in his honor by His Majesty.

Tired of banqueting, he, the next day, July 9th, left for Cologne, in the King's railway carriage, where, as usual, the authorities waited on him. He visited the famous Cathedral, which, after being left unfinished for centuries, now, for the first time, reveals the great and grand design of the architect. Making the most of his time, he, the next forenoon, took a sail up the Rhine as far as Coblentz, where'

Castles line the shore, vineyards deck the rocky slopes, mountains jostle mountains, each crowned with hoary ruins towering one after another, while the Rhine flows. at their base, not in a broad, straight current, like the lower channel of our own Hudson, but in wide, graceful curves as it speeds toward the sea. For sixty miles from Coblentz to Mayence the river is lined with ruined castles perched on lofty, almost inaccessible heights. Be

tween are dismantled convents and churches, sweet villages and smiling vineyards, making this portion of the river, called

the Castellated Rhine, beautiful beyond description. Added to this there is some

wild legend at

ANCIENT CASTLE.

tached to all these old castles, once occupied by lawless barons who took toll of all passers-by on the river. Around their crumbling walls have rung the clash of arms, and in their dungeon cells the brave and beautiful have languished.

At Mayence, Grant left the river and went over to Wiesbaden, once the Saratoga of Germany, in whose luxurious

gambling-rooms, many who sat down at evening rolling in wealth, the next morning found themselves paupers. The great curiosity of the place is the hot springs, around which every morning crowds may be seen swinging their glasses in the air to cool the water sufficiently to be drank. It tastes precisely like chicken broth.

The next day the party went to Frankfort-on-the-Main, where Grant was received with acclamations by the people, and a public dinner and ball given in his honor by the American residents of the place. In the morning he went to Hamburg les Bains, where a committee of Americans received him, and thence drove to Salburg to visit the renowned Roman camp there, which covers 700 acres. It is under the charge of the Prussian Government, and in honor of Grant's visit, Professor Jacobi and Captain Fischer, who have the care of it, opened one of the graves, more than two hundred of which have been opened since the camp was discovered, a hundred and fifty years ago. Nothing but the ashes of a Roman soldier was found in this one, where he had reposed for nearly two thousand years. They then drove back to Hamburg to dinner, during which, the Grand Duke's band played for them. After dinner, Grant with his party, strolled through the beautiful gardens of the Kursaal, with its fountains which sparkled and flashed in the brilliant lights that illuminated every part of it. At eleven, he returned to Frankfort, having crowded much sight-seeing into a single day. He remained here visiting some of the famous vast wine cellars, and the next day, on Sunday, left for Heidelburg. After a brief visit to its University, he went to the Black Forest, made famous in Napoleon's campaigns, and then to Baden, the present chief watering-place of Germany, and till lately, the most noted resort of respectable gamblers in the world. He was everywhere received with distinction. He now