When he rose to nominate Grant, he leapt onto a table reserved for journalists, folded his arms across his chest, then waited until a hush had fallen. He began by softening up the crowd with some light verse: “When asked what state he hails from, / Our sole reply shall be, / He comes from Appomattox, / and its famous apple-tree.”60 This set off an uproarious ten-minute celebration for Grant.
