But when he appeared, with his 12-year-old son, in the lobby of Willard’s Hotel, the clerk did not recognize him. The oversight could be forgiven. He was dressed in a worn uniform that was anything but gaudy—no braided epaulets and polished brass, but merely the insignia of a major general, and, God knows, they saw enough of them at Willard’s. In the recollection of someone who had been in the lobby at the time, he seemed a man of “no gait, no station, no manner.” Of “a rather scrubby look withal . . . as if he was out of office and on half pay with nothing to do but hang round the entry of Willard’s, cigar in mouth.” And he had “rather the look of a man who did, or once did, take a little too much to drink.”
Read all of Geoffrey Norman's article in The Weekly Standard.
Marvelous man. Truly a hero.
2 comments:
Great post. Our paths, separated by 100+ years, crossed about twenty years ago for me. When traveling through San Diego for a conference, I ended up staying at the U.S. Grant Hotel. Through a mixup with my reservation, they had no room, and instead put me up in the Presidential Suite (at no additional charge). That was my first experience with such attentive staff and luxurious accommodations!
Steve,
I hope you chewed on a cigar the entire time.
Michael
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