Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 285, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 December 1911 — When Grant Flinched. [ARTICLE]

When Grant Flinched.

At the beginning of Grant’s administration a large body of ministers called upon him at the White House and made a long address, to which, says the.author of “Grant, the Man of Mystery,” the president was"compelled to reply. After a sentence ,or two, Mr. Fish, then secretary of state, noticed that his voice faltered, and fearing that he might be at a loss what to say, the secretary, standing next to him, created a diversion by beginning to cough violently. •, Afterward Graht said to Mr. Fish: “How fortunate It was for me that you had that cough! 1 had felt my knees begin to shake, and I do not think I could have spoken another word!” Extemporaneous expression was difficult to Grant until after his presidential career, when he became practiced in public speaking.—Youth’s Companion.