When Congress approved a Federal holiday to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., many who had fought for passage of the bill privately feared it might produce no more than another three-day weekend.

Many objectors privately feared that it would be all over in less than six months, and after precious little public involvement.

According to the Telegraph, ministers privately feared that the legal reforms would create a public outcry "similar to that caused by the repeal of Section 28".

He will, inevitably, play a major role in the debate on the floor, although some Democrats privately fear that he will not confine himself to taking shots at the Republican plan.

Will mean children are back home and close to both sets of grandparents, but Beckham privately fears he will not be able to handle the speed and physicality of the Premier League in the twilight of his career.

As their own stock markets rise and plunge like a snake's tail, many Europeans privately fear that in a deep recession, raw social conflict could emerge.

Tyrus and Erejzan privately feared the peasants were far beyond any concern about theft, but they did not tell Jathelle.

Organisers privately fear that Col Gaddafi could try to use Libya's ticket allocation to "crash" the Games, sparking a diplomatic crisis that could overshadow the event.

Indeed, the situation was so perilous in recent years that some members privately feared that the organization's very existence was threatened.

The agreement with Jakarta is not as specific as the agreement with Seoul, and fund officials privately fear that President Suharto may be using the vagueness to backslide on pledges to dismantle inefficient and costly government projects.