Chapter and Verse Quotation-Citation Correspondence Site

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Edmund Rosenkrantz writes, “The views of Grant [Vita, January-February, page 42] brought to mind a description I recall from years ago, that to me fully captured him: ‘The man with the sad eyes and the iron mouth.’ Anyone know the author and the publication?” Vita author Elizabeth Samet did not recognize that phrase, but wrote: “Nineteenth-century biographer Hamlin Garland several times uses the phrase ‘man of iron’ in quotation marks, ventriloquizing contemporaries. Not always a term of praise. Twentieth-century biographer Jean Edward Smith notes that in 1878, when news circulated that Grant might run for a third presidential term, The St. Louis Globe-Democrat proclaimed Grant ‘A man of iron’ in preference to Rutherford B. Hayes, ‘a man of straw’ (Smith, Grant, 614).” Can any reader provide a precise citation?

Send inquiries and answers to Chapter and Verse, Harvard Magazine, 7 Ware Street, Cambridge 02138, or via email to chapterandverse@harvardmag.com.

You might also like

Being Undocumented In America

Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s writing aims to challenge assumptions. 

Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival

Without Christopher Marlowe, there might not have been a Bard.

Bringing Korean Stories to Life

Composer Julia Riew writes the musicals she needed to see.

Most popular

What Trump Means for John Roberts’s Legacy

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

This Harvard Scientist Is Changing the Future of Genetic Diseases

David Liu has pioneered breakthroughs in gene editing, creating new therapies that may lead to cures.

Three Harvardians Win Macarthur Fellowships

A mathematician, a political scientist, and an astrophysicist are honored with “genius” grants for their work.

Explore More From Current Issue

Illustration of scientists injecting large syringe with mitochondria into human heart.

Do Mitochondria Hold the Power to Heal?

From Alzheimer’s to cancer, this tiny organelle might expand treatment options. 

John Goldberg

Harvard In the News

University layoffs, professors in court, and a new Law School dean

James Muller in white lab coat leaning on railing in hospital hallway.

Free Speech, the Bomb-and Donald Trump

A Harvard cardiologist on the unlikely alliances that shaped a global movement to prevent nuclear war