Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1868-08-06
GRANT.
His Habits, Tastes, and Mental Charac
teristics.

HIS Habits. Tastes, and Mental Charac-
| teristfcs.
From Dana and Wilson's Life of Grant,
Grants personal habits and tastes are
exceedingly simple. He despises the
pomp and show of empty parade, and
in his severe simplicity and manly pride
| he scorns all adventitiOus aids to popu-
larity. He lives plainly himself and
cannot tolerate ostentation or extrava-
gance in those about him. His mess
was never luXuriously, though always
bountifully furnished with army rations,
and such supplies as could be transport
ed readily and easily in the limited
number of wagons that he permitted to
follow his headquarters. He is very alb
stemious, and during his entire Western
campaign the officers of his staff were
forbidden to bring wines or Liquors into
camp. He has been represented as one
of the most taciturn of men, and in one
respect he is such. He never divulges
his thoughts till they are mutIred, and
never aspires to speech-making and
even in private conversation he falls into
silence if he suspects he is likely to be
reported. He is the most modest of men,
and nothing annoys him more than a.
loud parade of personal opinion, or per-
sonal. vanity but with his intimate
friends, either at home or around the
campfire, he talks upon all subjects not
only fiuently and copiously, but in the
mast charming and goodnatured manner.
His life has been too busy to read his
tory or technical works, but he has
always been a close and careful reader of
the newspapers. He has retentive
memory, and is deeply interested in all
matters which concern the interests of
humanity and particularly his own
country. Upon all subjects, in fact,
upon all the vital questions of the day,
he thinks carefully and profoundly, and
expresses himself with great ease and
good sense. His understanding is of |
that incisive character that soon
probes question to the bottcm, no mat /
ter how much the. politicians or news
papers may labor to confuse it; while |
his judgement is so deliberate, honest |
and truthful in its operations, that it may
be implicitly relied upon TO arrive at
fair and unbiased conclusion. His MEM
ory Is stored with personal incidents
of men and manners in all
parts of the country, showing that he
has evidently been profound student
of human nature through life /; his ap-
probation ofmen or characters has never
been surpassed. This was we'll shown
in the reorganization of the army after
he become Lieutenant General. 1t is
well known that he did not fail in single
instance where change was made in
putting the right man in the right place.
This was due neither to chance nor snap
judgement, but to his habit of careful
observation. He warns toward bold,
and loyal nature full of ardor
ind zeal himself he naturally admires
hese qualities in others. He has no pa !
ience with weak, complaining, and
elfish disposition, and cannot endure
or indirectness of any
ort.
Straightforward and frank in all things
himself, he respects those qualities where I
yer they are found. Indeed, the most :
triking popularity of his nature both
8 man and general, is a profound
nd undertaking truthfulnessi in all things 4
hose who have known him best will t
ear willing testimony to the statement !
hat he never told falsehood, or made
voluntary misrepresentation of facts '
nd will believe us that it would be al.
host as impossible for him to do so as j
IF the needle to forget its Fidelity to 7
he pole. o
MORAL QUALITIES a
He is true friend and magnani- a
lous enemy. His liberality is bound
ss, and his charity is as broad as hu- t
lanity itself. He has neither vanity y
or selfish ambition no promotion has
yer been sought by him, and none has IL
lrned his head or changed his charac- q
# in the slightest degree. Naturally a
rong believer in the goodnessof Provi- h
ence, as exerted in the affairs of man.
ind, he yet possesses none of..that blind
talism which has at times character =,
ed military chieftains. So confident ",
as he in the moral strength and recti- ~
de of our cause, and the superior in -, =,
lligence and Endurance of the North :,
n people, that he never, even in thu ~
'rkest hour, despaired of united and in
osperous country. In this respect he n,
perfect embodiment of the great h.
merican characteristic, faith in the n, n,
anifest destiny of the Rrpublic. Il.
1--WE rarely find," said Napoleon -,
ombiHed in the same person all the n,
alities necessary to constitute great ., q,
,neral. The most desirable is that a IL
ans judgement should be in equiIibri- q; q;
n with his courage ; that raises him at n,
ce above the common level If cour- IL
be a aGeneral's predominatingq quality, no
will rashley embark in enterprises ~,
owe his conception ; and on the other a.,
nd he will not venture to carry his H.
eas into effect if his character or cour- uu ,i.1
e be inferior to his judgement. " By ". Y.
y of illustrating this principle Napo- aa
N went on to assert that it was i'm Ia Ia
Ssible for Murat and Ney not to be an ne
i've, but added that ''no man ever ,sm ".n,
'sessed less courage, he said "I have 81 81
" rarely met the two-o'clock -in-the- oe oe
rning courage mean unprepared r.
lrage a; that which is necessary on an ho hS
expected occasion. Kleber was en- Lo ho
we'd with the highest talents, but was co, nu
rely the man of the moment, and pur- sor sor
"a glory as the only road to enjoyment, SI, Sin
lie, Dessaix possessed, in very supe- ''o
degree the important equilibrium
described. !" Z
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