and cordial fashion than he would otherwise
have done. I was first introduced to him in the cloak-room
of the House of Representatives the Saturday evening before
his inauguration. He came, I think, to see Mr. Boutwell,
then a member of the House, afterward his Secretary of the
Treasury. He came to Worcester in the summer of that year,
and I went with him in a special car to Groton in the afternoon.
He was not very talkative, though interested in all he saw.
He expressed special delight in the appearance of the boys
of the Worcester Military School, who turned out to escort
him. One of his sons, a well-grown lad, was upon the train.
The general had not seen him for some time, and he sat with
one arm around him, as one might with a little girl.

It used to be thought that Grant was a man without much literary
capacity. Since the publication of his "Memoirs," this notion
has been discarded. I can testify to his great readiness
as a writer. I saw him write two messages to Congress, both
of a good deal of importance, without pause or correction,
and as rapidly as his pen could fly over the paper. The first
was the message he sent in on the adoption of the Fifteenth
Amendment to the Constitution. I was much interested in a
bill in aid of national education. I called on the President
when the last State needed had ratified the Fifteenth Amendment,
and suggested to him that it might be well to send a special
message to Congress congratulating them on the result, and
urging the policy of promoting education for the new citizens.
I told him of General Washington's interest in a national
university, and what he had said about the importance of
education in his writings. I said I supposed he had them
in his library. He said he believed he had, but he wished
I would get the books and bring them to him. I accordingly
got the books, carried them up to the White House, showed
him the passages, and Grant sat down and wrote in a few minutes,
and quite rapidly, the message that was sent to Congress the
next day. The other occasion was when he sent in the message
at the time of the controversy between the House and the Senate
in regard to the policy to be pursued in dealing with the
outrages in the South. The Senate had passed a bill giving
a discretion to the President to take some firm measures to
suppress these disorders, and to protect the colored people
and the Republicans of the South, and if in his judgment he
t