The extraordinary honors paid to General Grant in England created a
profound impression all over Europe. No other American, and, indeed, few
Europeans, had ever received such honors abroad; and what made the case
still more impressive and exceptional was the fact that this great
distinction was paid to no potentate or prince of the blood, but to a
simple private citizen, holding no rank or official position.
As soon as it was known that General Grant intended to travel on the
Continent, he was invited to visit Frankfort-on-the-Main. The invitation
was extended by the American residents of that city, and was accepted.
A joint meeting of Americans and Frankfort burghers was then held, and a
committee was appointed, half Germans and half Americans, to make
arrangements for the proposed reception and entertainment of General
Grant and his party. Mr. Henry Seligman, an American banker of
Frankfort, and the writer of this, were appointed by this committee to
intercept the distinguished tourist on his journey up the Rhine and
conduct him to the city.
It was on a charming summer morning that we quitted Frankfort on this
mission. General Grant was at Bingen, where he had arrived the evening
before from Cologne. He was accompanied by Mrs. Grant, his son Jesse
Grant, and General Adam Badeau, then Consul-General at London. Their
arrival at Bingen had been so unostentatious that their presence in the
town was scarcely known outside of the hotel in which they had taken
rooms. Their departure was alike unnoticed.
Our train drew up at Bingen just as a special _Schnellzug_ with the
Emperor of Germany on board swept by. Proceeding at once to the hotel,
we learned that General Grant had already left for Rüdesheim, but had
possibly not yet crossed the river. We hastened to the landing, and
there found him and his party seated under some linden-trees, waiting
for the ferry. I had a package of letters for the general which had come
to my care, and which, after mutual introductions, I delivered to him at
once. Tearing open and throwing away the envelopes, General Grant
hastily inspected the letters and passed them to General Badeau. By this
time the Rüdesheim steamer had arrived, and we all went on board. In a
moment more the boat pushed off and turned its course up the stately
river. The rippling waters sparkled in the sunshine, and all the
vine-clad hills were dressed in summer beauty. On the right, dropping
behind us, was Bingen, famous in legend and in song, and on the left, in
the foreground, appeared the curious spires and roofs of Rüdesheim. The
scene was an ideal tableau, such as Byron describes, of the
Wide and winding Rhine,
Whose breast of waters broadly swells
Between the banks which bear the vine,
And hills all rich with blossom'd trees,
And fields which promise corn and wine,
And scattered cities crowning these,
Whose far white walls along them shine.
From Rüdesheim to Wiesbaden the railway follows the Rhine as far as
Castel, at the mouth of the Main, opposite Mayence. A short distance
above Rüdesheim the Taunus bluffs sweep back from the river, and the
garden of the Rhine valley opens out right and left. This is the heart
of the wine-growing region, and within it lie many of the most
celebrated vineyards in the world. The valley is dotted with villages
whose names are famous in the Rhine-wine nomenclature, and upon a bold
promontory, commanding all, the queen of the German vintage rules from
the Johannisberg Schloss.
While our train bowled along, and we were discussing these various
objects of interest, General Badeau discovered by accident among the
letters which General Grant had given him one which had not been opened.
"The address is in the handwriting of General Sherman," said Badeau.
"Yes," said General Grant, glancing at the superscription, "that is from
Sherman. Read it."
Accordingly, General Badeau read the letter aloud, and the whole company
was deeply impressed with the cordiality of its friendly expressions. In
heartiest terms the letter felicitated General Grant upon the splendid
receptions which had been given him, and the merited appreciation
awarded him in the Old World. The letter was that of an admiring and
devoted friend rather than that of a military colleague.
"General Sherman seems to have a strong personal regard for you,
general," remarked one of the party.
"Yes," responded General Grant, "there has always been the best of
feeling between Sherman and myself, although attempts have not been
wanting to make it appear otherwise."
"I have noticed such attempts," replied the person addressed, "but for
my part I have never needed any proof that they were wholly uncalled-for
and impertinent.
"Possibly you have never heard, general," continued the speaker, "how
heartily General Sherman rejoiced over your conquest and capture of
Lee's army. He was particularly gratified that he had not been obliged
to make any movement that would have given a pretext for saying that
your success was due in part to him. To those about him he exclaimed, in
his energetic way,--
"'I knew Grant would do it, for I knew the man. And I'm glad that he
accomplished it without my help. Nobody can say now that I have divided
with him the credit of this success. He has deserved it all, he has
gained it all, and I'm glad that he will have it all.'"
About noon the party arrived at Wiesbaden, where nobody seemed to expect
them except the people at the hotel where General Grant's courier had
engaged rooms. After dinner Mr. Seligman desired to tender a drive to
the general and Mrs. Grant, but they had disappeared. After a short
search, they were found sitting together alone in one of the arboreal
retreats of the Kurgarten. The general remarked that it was his custom
when he visited a city to explore it on foot, and that in this way he
had already made himself tolerably familiar, he thought, with the
general plan and situation of Wiesbaden. Mr. Seligman's invitation was
readily accepted, however, and half an hour later the party set out, in
a carriage, for the Russian Chapel.
Wiesbaden is one of the most ancient watering-places on the Continent.
It was a Roman military station, and upon the Heidenberg--a neighboring
eminence--are seen the traces of a Roman fortress. The remains of Roman
baths and a temple have also been found there, and its waters are
mentioned by Pliny. At a later period the Carlovingian monarchs
established at Wiesbaden an imperial residence. The city lies under the
southern slope of the Taunus Mountains, the rocky recesses of which
conceal the mysteries of its thermal springs. The hilly country for
miles around abounds in charming pleasure-grounds, drives, and
promenades. The gilded palaces which were formerly used as fashionable
gambling-houses are now devoted to the social and musical recreation of
visitors who come to take the waters.
The drive to the Russian Chapel ascends the Taunus Mountain by a winding
road, amidst stately, well-kept forests of beech and chestnut. The
chapel, whose gilded domes can be seen from afar, stands upon one of the
most salient mountain-spurs, and overlooks the country as far as Mayence
and the Odenwald. It was erected by the Duke of Nassau as a memorial to
his deceased first wife, who was a beautiful young Russian princess.
Upon her tomb, which adorns the interior, her life-size effigy reclines,
in pure white marble.
General Grant lingered for some time at this place, and from the
promontory on which the chapel stands gazed with deep interest over the
far-reaching historic scenes of the Rhine valley.
Next morning the general and his party arrived at Frankfort, where they
were met by the reception-committee. Accompanied by this committee, the
party visited the ancient Römer, within whose venerable walls for many
centuries the German emperors were chosen; then the quaint and venerated
mansion in which Goethe was born; then the old cathedral, wherein a
score or more of German potentates were crowned; and then, in
succession, the poet Boerne's birthplace, the Judengasse, the original
home of the Rothschilds, the Ariadneum (named from Dännecker's marble
group of Ariadne and the lioness), the Art Museum, the Goethe and
Schiller monuments, and the beautiful sylvan resort for popular
recreation, known as "The Wald." General Grant visited also, by
invitation, some of the great wine-cellars of Frankfort, and was
conducted through the immense crypts of Henninger's brewery, which is
one of the largest establishments of the kind on the Continent. As he
was about to leave Henninger's, he was requested to write his name in
the visitors' register. The record was divided into spaces entitled,
respectively, "name," "residence," and "occupation." General Grant
promptly put down his name and place of residence, but when he came to
the "occupation" column he hesitated. "What shall I write here?" he
inquired: "loafer?"
This remark was made in jest, and yet not without a certain sadness of
tone and manner. Undoubtedly, General Grant felt keenly the irksomeness
of having nothing particular to do. After the immense strain which had
been put upon him for twelve successive years, it was not easy for him
to reconcile himself, in the prime of his manhood and the full maturity
of his powers, to being a mere spectator of the affairs of men. Activity
had become a second nature to him, and idleness was simply intolerable.
With much leisure on his hands, he first sought rest and recreation, and
then occupation. However unfortunately his business undertakings
resulted, they were, after all, but the outcome of a natural and
laudable desire to be usefully employed.
The banquet given to General Grant by the citizens and resident
Americans of Frankfort was a superb affair. It took place in the
Palmengarten, which is, above any other object, the pride of the
charming old "City of the Main." When the Duke of Nassau, an active
sympathizer with the beaten party in the Austro-Prussian war, lost his
dominions and quitted his château at Biebrich, the Frankforters availed
themselves of the opportunity to buy the famous collection of plants in
his winter-garden, comprising about thirty thousand rare and costly
specimens. The joint-stock company by which this purchase was made
received from the city a donation of twenty acres of land, and added
thereto, from its own funds, ten acres more.
The company also obtained, partly by donation, five large palm-trees,
and from these the Palmengarten takes its name. For the conservation of
the botanical collection a mammoth structure was erected of glass and
iron, and for the entertainment of visitors a commodious and elegant
music- and dining-hall was added. The grounds were adorned with
fountains, lakes, parterres, and promenades, and were equipped with
every facility for family and popular recreation, not overlooking, by
any means, the amusement of the children. In all Europe there is not a
lovelier spot than this. To keep it in order, educated gardeners are
employed, regularly salaried; and in the arrangement of the plants such
combinations of color and form are produced as an artist might envy.
Twice daily a concert is given by a large, well-trained orchestra in the
music-hall, or, when the weather is propitious, in a pavilion in the
garden. The concert-hall looks through a glass partition directly into
the great conservatory, which, thus viewed, presents a scene of tropical
enchantment. The palm-trees occupy conspicuous positions amidst
skilfully-grouped dracænas, ferns, azaleas, rhododendrons, passifloras,
and a myriad of other curious vegetable productions of the equatorial
world. The ground is carpeted with light-green moss, smooth and soft as
velvet, and, as an appropriate centre-piece to the whole, is seen the
silvery flash of a falling cataract.
The banquet was held in the music-hall, where General Grant was given a
seat immediately fronting the scene just described. The conservatory and
hall were brilliantly illuminated, the tables were resplendent with
silver and floral decorations, and upon the walls of the banquet-chamber
the emblems of the great Republic and the great Empire were suggestively
displayed side by side. Ladies were admitted to the galleries, but
gentlemen only were seated at the tables, and among the guests were many
of the most prominent bankers and merchants of Germany, including
capitalists who had been the first in Europe to invest in the war-loans
offered by our government.
The dinner lasted three hours. Between the courses various toasts were
drunk, a venerable burgher of Frankfort proposing the health of General
Grant, to which the general responded in a brief, sensible, and somewhat
humorous speech, which was exceedingly well received. Nothing could have
been more appropriate, modest, and fitting.
Outside the building the scene was scarcely less animated or interesting
than within. By the aid of colored lights and other pyrotechnic
contrivances the garden was made brilliant and gay as an Arabian Nights
dream. The air was perfumed with the aroma of flowers and moistened by
the delirious play of fountains. Thousands of people, elegantly dressed,
were seated on the out-door terraces, enjoying the fireworks and music,
and in the promenades other thousands were moving, producing a
kaleidoscopic combination of motion and color. For some time after the
banquet General Grant sat upon the veranda of the music-hall, conversing
with friends and observing this novel scene. His presence excited no
rude curiosity or boisterous enthusiasm, but was none the less honored
by more subdued and decorous demonstrations of respect.
The next day General Grant drove to Homburg, fifteen miles, and thence
four miles farther to Saalburg, the site of an ancient Roman
fortification on the Taunus Mountains. It was one of a series of
defensive stations covering the frontier of the Roman empire and
extending from the Rhine to the Danube. The exhumations at this
fortified camp, first attempted within a recent period, have disclosed
the most completely preserved Roman castramentation yet found in
Germany. The castellum is a rectangle, four hundred and sixty-five by
seven hundred and four feet, and is surrounded by two deep ditches and
by high parapets. Within this enclosure the prætorium, or residence of
the commandant, one hundred and thirty-two by one hundred and
fifty-three feet, has been distinctly traced by its stone foundations.
Stones marked with Roman characters yet remain in their places,
designating the camps of the different legions. This fort is mentioned
by Tacitus, and was one of the principal bulwarks of the Roman conquest
in Germany against the tribes which hovered along its northern frontier.
The excavations were still in progress at the time of General Grant's
visit, and on that very occasion some interesting relics were unearthed.
Mrs. Grant was presented with a ring and some pieces of ancient pottery
which were removed in her presence from the places where they had lain
embedded in the earth for the last eighteen hundred years.
Near the fort was discovered, a few years ago, the cemetery where the
ashes of the deceased Romans of the garrison were interred. Some of the
graves which had never before been disturbed were opened in General
Grant's presence, in order that he might see with his own eyes what they
contained and in what manner their contents were deposited. From each
grave a small urn was taken, containing the ashes of one cremated human
body, and upon the mouth of the urn was found, in each instance, a Roman
obolus, which had been deposited there to pay the ferriage of the soul
of the departed over the Stygian river. General Grant was presented with
some of these coins as mementos of his visit.
Upon his return to Homburg the ensuing evening, the general was
banqueted by a party of Americans, and a splendid illumination of the
Kurgarten was given in his honor. The next day he returned to Frankfort,
and the next departed by rail for Heidelberg and Switzerland.