Page:Lives of the presidents in words of one syllable (1903).djvu/137

 up all night to find out just what it was best to do in some case. He was just and true and made his way step by step.

In 1885 Gro-ver Cleve-land was made Pres-i-dent. From the time of Wash-ing-ton it had been a rule for the Pres-i-dent, as he took the oath, to kneel and kiss the Word of God, a large Bi-ble, which lay on a stand near by. Gro-ver Cleve-land made a change in this, for it was his wish to kiss a small Bi-ble which had been his moth-er's and had been kept with him since he was a small boy. The speech which he made at this time was one all were glad to hear.

As Pres-i-dent Cleve-land drove back from the Cap-i-tol to the White House, through the long lines of troops and friends, the crowd was glad to see his calm, plain way. Pride and vain thoughts were far from him.

Miss Rose Cleve-land, the Pres-i-dent's sis-ter, was the "La-dy of the White House," and made scores of friends and was a great help to her broth-er.

One day the Pres-i-dent took a friend through the White House. In the room where the chief slept, near his bed, the friend saw a quaint sign or crest. It set forth "Life, Du-ty, and Death." These words, too, were seen on the shield; "As thy days are, so shall thy strength be." "If I have a coat of arms it is that," said Mr. Cleve-land. "I chose it years a-go, and keep it by me."

The first bill for Pres-i-dent Cleve-land to sign was one to which he was glad to put his name. It seems that the last Act of the Con-gress which came to an end at noon of March 4, 1884, had been to pass a bill to place Gen. U. S. Grant on the "Re-tired List of the Ar-my." The