. Civil War echoes : character sketches and state secrets . s efforts toobserve thoroughly all the surroundings while engaged inconversation, the almost constant attentions, with his disen-gaged hands, to his cravat, his collar, his forelock, thetwirling of eye-glasses and watch-fob, gazing quickly upinto the galleries and brushing, with hand, the dust specksor dandruff off his coat and vest. After this, my first, interview with Senator Sumner, itwas my custom to spend considerable portion of the dayduring open sessions in the Senate Chamber, and to studythe peculiarities, idiosyncrasies, and
. Civil War echoes : character sketches and state secrets . s efforts toobserve thoroughly all the surroundings while engaged inconversation, the almost constant attentions, with his disen-gaged hands, to his cravat, his collar, his forelock, thetwirling of eye-glasses and watch-fob, gazing quickly upinto the galleries and brushing, with hand, the dust specksor dandruff off his coat and vest. After this, my first, interview with Senator Sumner, itwas my custom to spend considerable portion of the dayduring open sessions in the Senate Chamber, and to studythe peculiarities, idiosyncrasies, and habits of the severalsenators until they became firmly fixed in my memory. Myestimate as to Sumner was soon confirmed. He was notwhat would be called a sociable man; rather reserved, po-litely cold, ceremonial, but also an intense lover of was the latter feature of his nature which was themotif of his whole life, and which, undoubtedly, was thecause of his celibacy up to his fifty-fourth year—his dislikeof any kind of restraint or ULYSSES S. GRANT AND MOTHER Civil-war Echoes — Character At the latter period, he confidentially consulted my fatheras to the advisability of his marrying the lady to whom heshortly afterward was united in wedlock, and upon receivinga friendly admonition that he was too old and had lived toolong a bachelor, manifested great impatience and dissatis-faction at the suggestion, and expressed in the mosteulogistic terms his admiration for the lady, saying he couldnot live without her. It is well-known he married the lady,a widow, lived unhappily, and after a brief life as a bene-dict, was divorced from his quasi-idol, and returned to hisbooks and solitary life. Various domestic reasons wereassigned by friend and foe, which need not be givenpublicity. Mr. Sumners social relations were probably as intimatewith my father as with any of his friends in the Senate. Iwas informed on one occasion by a gentleman who had justleft his pres
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