Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-12-04
A WEAKNESS OF GENERALS
But 1t EXcftcs the Envy of Younre,
Men Alyynys

Wen Always.
From the Minneapolis Mimi Times
Great men have their pecuiarties-usual-
ly accepted as the eccentrlcities and weak
pesses inseparable from genius. One of
these peculiarities is the fondness which
many of the great men have for kissing
Recently dispatch in the daily press an.
nounced the fact that Prince Bismarck was
enjoying himself at Kissingen, adding that
he had kissed young lady The young
lady in question desired, it appears, to kiss
his hand, but the man of blood and iron"
was too gallant for that. He seized her
and kissed her ruby lips with all the ardor
OF MS seHenty-nine years. ending with a
good squeeze by way of making the oscula-
ton more Impressive.
The incident is suggestive not only of
the 1act that pretty girls like to be kissed
provided the other party is famous man
ana or discreet age-but the more instruct
I've truth that kissing pretty girls has been
favorite occupation of nearly all great
men OF mature age. military men being
particularly given to it, Gen. Grant was
perhaps the notable exception This re-
calls an incident which came under the OBJ
serVauon of the writer at Galena, Ill., short
~ after the close of the war. Gen Grant
mad returned on a short visit to his old
nome great crowd was assembled at the
railway station to welcome him. As the
general alighted from the train, he was
greeted by a procession of a dozen or more
young ladies. AS the first blooming miss
grasped the hand of the hero she held up
her ruby lips-the lips of brave and tender
sslrls IKE TINS are always ruby-with the
firm but lneXpressbly sweet compression
winch every experienced oSculator recog-
nizes at glance as meaning business. The
general seemed surprised, flushed slightly,
glanced down the line of waiting beauties
drew long breath, and then, with the reso-
lutte look of man determined to fight 1t
out on that line if it took all summer he
deliberately and with praseworthy impair
Di In fIn
The general was a modest man, but he was
never known to finch in the face of his
DUTY TO his countrymen-or countrywomeu.
Gen. r. E. Lee, Notwithstanding the staid
decorum of his ordinary demeanor. was
ever ready, it is stated, to face an emer-
gency OF this kind. At Lexington. Va In
the closing years of his life, there were
many pretty girls and many osculatory en-
counters, the girls being quite willing to
have 1t to say that they had been so
distinguished by the great commander The
college boys beard Of it with mingled feel
ings of envy and emulation. To this day.
1t is said, the visitor at Lexington will be
stopped at this or that turn of the road
by his guide. with the remark: Here, in
1850, l saw Gen. Lee kiss Miss So-and So
They met; they chatted. At parting the
damsel would say Why general, aren't
you going to kiss me?' and thereupon the
general would respond with evident anima-
ton A great number of spots at the
southern Mecca are decorated with similar
legends-so many, in fact, that the tourist
is inspired with regrets that he too, was
not a great general and strategist
Gen. Shermans exploits in this attractive
field are more widely known. Indeed they
were extended over wider area and were
performed with. perhaps, a trifle less dis
elimination. At every Grand Army re-
union there would be found a number of
blooming misses who aspired to kiss the
general. Being a gallant man-every SOL
der must be gallant-Gen. Sherman re-
spCnded to the seductive challenges with
exemplary alacrity, to the sorrow of young
officers. who thought such sweetness wasted
on an old man. and a married man at that
1t does seem hard. Gen. Joseph E. john
ston, who opposed Gen. Sherman on so
| many fields was in this line of operations
also, rival worthy of his steel
1t was not the good fortune of Gen. John
Ston to attend Grand Army reunions to any
considerable extent, but in his unlimited
sphere Gen. Johnston had in his last years
great many confederate admirers of the
charming sex, who, with his ready sane
ton, testified their cordially in the char
| acteristic and always pleasant feminine
manner He was handsome man, even
In extreme old age, so that there was no
drawback to chill the fiuttering heart of
the impulsive feminine patriot.
1t must not be assumed that the generals
that have been named are the only ones
who have had the courage to meet their
feminine admirers of the third generation
half way. Their name is legion, so far, at
least, as appreciation goes. 1t is noticeable,
however. thai the girls draw the osculatory
i,iic a. hioJoi Seieiais. IHeS are severe IN
their requirements, eXactng rank fame
and an age few ordinary mortals can at
tain without classifying the family records
The kissing of great generals is to be dis
tinguished from that of great politicians
President Buchanan, it is true, was a truly
fortunate man in this regard, but he was
a President and a bachelor He was, in
fact, wholly outside of the category of
ordinary politicians, whose kissing is COM
monty restricted to children and babies
Such OSCILLATION is useful in a campaign,
but it Is said not to be exhilarating