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GRANT "TUMBLED" RIGHT AWAY.
General Grant told this story about Lincoln some years after the War:
"Just after receiving my commission as lieutenant-general the President
called me aside to speak to me privately. After a brief reference to
the military situation, he said he thought he could illustrate what he
wanted to say by a story. Said he:
"'At one time there was a great war among the animals, and one side had
great difficulty in getting a commander who had sufficient confidence in
himself. Finally they found a monkey by the name of Jocko, who said he
thought he could command their army if his tail could be made a little
longer. So they got more tail and spliced it on to his caudal appendage.
"'He looked at it admiringly, and then said he thought he ought to
have still more tail. This was added, and again he called for more. The
splicing process was repeated many times until they had coiled Jocko's
tail around the room, filling all the space.
"'Still he called for more tail, and, there being no other place to coil
it, they began wrapping it around his shoulders. He continued his call
for more, and they kept on winding the additional tail around him until
its weight broke him down.'
"I saw the point, and, rising from my chair, replied, 'Mr. President, I
will not call for any more assistance unless I find it impossible to do
with what I already have.'"
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Stories and Anecdotes About the Life of Abraham Lincoln
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