| Show gen crants gen horace porters cam campaigning with grant takes up the dash for petersburg la in the century G gen en porter says concerning gen grants secretiveness secret veness after the general had got somo some miles out on the march from cold harbor an officer of rank joined him anti and as they rode along began to explain a plan which he had sketched providing for the construction of another lindof ments ame mme distance in tear rear of the lines then held by us to be used in case the army should at any time want to tall fall back and move toward the james and should be attacked while withdrawing the general kept on smoking his bis cigar listened to the proposition tor for a time and then quietly remarked to tile the astonished officer the army has already pulled out from tae ho front and is now on its march to the james this is mentioned as an instance of how well his secrets could be kept lie he had bad never been a secretive ma man u until n til the positions ot of responsibility in which ho he was placed compel ledl him to be chary in giving expression to his bis opinions anti ami pulp purposes oses ile ho then learned the force of the pa philosophers lillo maxim that the unspoken word is a sword in tho the scabbard while the spoken word is a sword in the hand of ones enemy in 1171 the field there were constant cang tant visitors to the camp ready to circulate carelessly any intimations of the commanders er I 1 s movements at the risk of having such valuable information reach the enemy any encouraging expression given to an applicant tor for favors was apt to be tortured into a promise and aad the general naturally became guarded in his intercourse when questioned beyond the bounds of propriety his lips closed like a vise and the obtruding party w was as left to supply all the subsequent conversation these circumstances proclaimed him a man who studied to be uncommunicative and gave him a reputation for reserve which could not fairly beat be attributed tri buted to him ile ho was called the american sphinx ulysses tile the silent I 1 and the great unspeakable an and d was popularly supposed up posed to move about with scaled lips it Is true that he be had no small talk introduced merely for the sake of talking and many a one will recollect the embarrassment ras ot of a first firs encounter with him resulting from this tact fact but while like Shak soldier lie he never wore his dagger in his mouth yet in talking to a small email circle of friends upon tipon matters which he had given special consideration ills his conversation was 5 so 0 thoughtful and original that ho he fascinated all who listened to him |
