der, going along
keeping his own counsel. He could not talk readily, even in a small
company, and was hopeless when it came to "speaking a piece" on Friday
at the school. But he was a sturdy, outdoor boy, by this time
remarkably proficient with horses. At the age of fifteen he had
explored the back country for miles roundabout.

His father, however, had never lost sight of the fact that the boy was
to get a good schooling--and frequently brought up the subject, to
"Lys's" discomfort. The lad was not especially keen for any more
books. But the opportunity came--just as others were to come, to shape
the whole course of young Grant's life.

The son of a neighbor had received an appointment to West Point, but
had failed to pass the entrance examinations. Jesse Grant immediately
wrote to the Congressman of the district, in behalf of Ulysses,
although the two men were on opposite political sides and had quarreled
bitterly: "If you have no other person in view and feel willing to
consent to the appointment of Ulysses, you will please signify that
consent to the Department."

Ulysses got the appointment, despite the political feud, and it is
pleasant to note that the two men healed their differences and became
good friends again.

The boy received news of his appointment without much enthusiasm. He
would much rather be a horse trader, he told his father. But the
latter was determined--and Ulysses went.

Nor did his appointment please others in the village, who thought the
boy dull. One man meeting Mr. Grant in the street, said bluntly: "I
hear that your boy is going to West Point. Why didn't our
Representative pick some one that would be a credit to the district?"

This ill-natured speech may have been inspired by the fact that
political feeling ran high at that time; and Jesse Grant as a staunch
Whig and Northerner had made a good many enemies.

Ulysses was coached for West Point at an academy at Ripley, Ohio,
conducted by William Taylor, and passed his entrance examinations with
fair grades. His best study was mathematics. He entered at the age of
seventeen.

It took young Grant many a long day to accustom himself to the Military
Academy. The hazing encountered by every Freshman he didn't seem to
mind, so the older men soon let him alone. But the drill and the
dress! To this farm lad it was deadly. These were the days of the
"ramrod" tactics of Winfield Scott--the starch and stock and buckram
days o