While driving in a buggy one day, Ulysses Grant and his girlfriend (Julia Dent) came across a flooded creek spanned by a flimsy wooden bridge.

"Don't be frightened," Grant gallantly declared, "I'll look after you." "Well, I shall cling to you whatever happens," she replied, gripping him tightly as they carefully crossed.

After reaching the other side without incident, Grant drove on in silence for some time before clearing his throat: "Julia," he remarked, "you said back there that you would cling to me whatever happened. Would you like to cling to me for the rest of our lives?"

[Grant's proposal was accepted and the couple married in August 1848.]