Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-01-01
GEN. SCOTT.
Some Amusing stories of Him.

There can be no doubt that the Gen.
eral was vain of many things, and es-
pecially so of his person. For that
there was good reason, since | was so
often sickened by hearing persons of
all degrees remind him of his stature
and symmetry, but he was never Of
Tended. He referred TO it himself on
all occasions, and sometimes under
strange circumstances, as in the fol-
lowing example which / heard him re-
late several times. 1t was, / think, in
the year 1S30-the General was always
infinitely particular in naming the ex-
act date of every event he described
when travelling in the northern part of
Ohio, he stopped at q country store
where they sell liquor by the glass. He
had on common travelling cap and a
plain overcoat that concealed his but
tons. The landlord having stepped
out, he went behind the counter upon
which the glasses stood to desk, and
was busy writing note, when a farmer
came in and called out: ''Give me a
glass of rum-toddy." The General
Strengthened up, and, turning full upon
the man, he exclaimed: ibid you ever
know man six feet four and a quarter
inches tall to sell rum-toddyp"
He told me that when he received his
first commission in the army, which
was that of Captain, he Immediately
ordered new suit of uniform sword,
sash, cap-eyerything complete, and
had it carried into the largest room in
the house, in the diagonal corners OF
which he placed two looking glasses.
Then he cleared away all the furniture,
let in as much light as possible, put on
his new uniform, and strutted back and
forth between the mirrors for two
hours. ''But," said he, IF any man
had seen me | should have proceeded
at once to put him to death.
One day | was reading to him news
paper article in praise of Henry Clay.
The writer described the distinguished
Kentuckian as a man of commanding
presence, with lofty forehead, and a
large, loose mouth. He referred also
to several other renowned orators
Burke, Mirabeau, and Patrick Henry
whose mouths were of extraordinary
size, and he concluded his article with
the remark: '.All great men have
liOullS. AL 1Icdb lIlbH nave
large mouthsin exclaimed the General;
''why, my mouth is not above three
fourths the size it should be for my
bulkn' He was excessively loud in
comparing his own quality of greatness
with those of other distinguished men
of modern as well as ancient times. He
compared himself most frequently with
the great military commanders of the
worlds history, and three times, on
various occasions, did | hear General
Scott, say, while he was yet in his Wig
or, that he thought himself ''next to
Washington with many lengths be-
tween" In this he was partially mis-
taken, as it was only in conscientious
ness and patriotism that the two men
resembled each other.
1t was reported that an American
vessel, the Barcelona, was to be fired
on from a British battery as she passed
through the Niagara River. Having
heard the rumor the General dressed
himself in full uniform and repaired to
a point on the shore which was directly
opposite the English guns. There, by
chance, he found an old oak that had
been blown down. The tree was but
slightly inclined and was lying almost
parallel with the stream, and the
bright sun enabled us to see clearly the
English soldiers on the opposite shore.
As the vessel approached the General
clambered upon the old oak, the trunk
of which was six or eight feet in diam
eter and bare of limbs thirty or forty
feet from the upturned roots. He APP
peared taller than before, and, as he
strolled to and fro on his high wooden
walk, his cooked atlooked higher, and
his plumes spread wider than ever.
Selling the moment when the PROV of
the Barcelona was directly opposite us,
he faced the foe and drew his sword,
Jerking it from its scabbard and fling
ing its point skyward, as he would
flaunt the moon. Then bringing his
weapon to a carry, he scowled upon
Canadal holding his vast height up
stretched to its EXTREMIST altitude.
Never did knight of chivalry, though
but tabled, present shape more hero
ic. He glistened with FURNISHED steel
and gold, and was as gorgeous to look
upon as King of Sara. Though he
was not fired upon, he frequently re-
ferred to this defiant manifestation,
and it seemed to me that it was several
hours after he came down from the old
tree before his fiery scintillations and
bristling furry had wholly subsidized
From Gen. Keyes' Memoirs.