To my fellow Bourbon Democrats and interested Mugwumps,
Allentown is a hearty place. The people here are built for the hard work that helium gasification demands. Here on South Seventh Street, I have met some of the stoutest men and toughest women in our nation. Not all who live here are German, but a great many have come from Bavaria and Prussia. Naturally, with so many Teutonic residents, this city is a veritable Valhalla of adult refreshment. The beer business is booming in the Lehigh Valley!
Frances and I have been lodging at the Germania Hotel and Brewery for a few nights, and we can hardly get enough of these grand accomodations! This fine establishment is run by Mr. Benedict Nuding, a recent emigre to Pennsylvania. He is an expert in the fickle field of hospitality. What a blessing to have a warm hearth, a tidy room, and an amber pint of house-made Capuziner Ale -- especially after so many weeks on the campaign trail! And since my recent subterranean nightmare, I am savoring every moment with Frances.
As you know, President Harrison has elected not to ride the campaign circuit this year. His concerns for his beloved wife Caroline are legitimate. I have just learned that her tuberculosis has become terminal. As she returns to Washington from the Adirondacks, Frances and I are praying for her and for the President. Mrs. Harrison was raised in a Presbyterian parsonage, as I was. Now, as she prepares to go to her final home, may peace be hers.
Whatever exhaustion I feel in these final months of the campaign, I know how truly blessed I am to have a warm room, a frothy beer, and Frances by my side. However ardently we might disagree with the President, let us all pray for him and for the First Lady in the days to come.
Sincerely,
Grover Cleveland
P.S. Though the state militia forbids it, I do wish I could visit the workers engaged in the Homestead Strike. Those noble souls have carried on, even in the face of starvation, murder, and Venutian strikebreakers. H.C. Frick will one day have to answer to Our Lord for the crimes he's committed against the poor people of Pennyslvania!