The Middlebury galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1848-1850, 1848-07-25
From the National Intsligencer.
PRIVATE LETTER TO MAJOR
JACK DOWNING.
Post Office, DO'cningriue, State of Maine, June
so, lS4S.


breakin up IN Mexico and coming home, thought
that the best chance TO get letter to you would
be TO get your old friends, Mr.. Gales and Seaton,
to send it on that way, and may be it nigh come
across you somewhere on the road, if so be you
are still in the land of the living. Your aunt Ke-
ziah is in great worriment aboutyou, and is very
much frightened for fear somelhin has happened,
because we haven't heard nothin from you since
your last letter. try to pacify her, and tell her
the fighting was all over, and nothin to do but to
finish up the court martial the last time you writ
and that there isn't agoing to be no more annex
in till Mr.. Cass comes in President, ard You'll
soon be along. But all wont pacify her; she's as
uneasy as fish out of water, and says she lays a.
wake half the night thinking of them gariilas, for
fear they've got hold of you. So hope you'll
write home as soon as possiblea and let us know
whether you are dead Or alive, and set your aunt
Keziahs heart to rest.
For my part, l hope you will hurry along back
as fast as you can. Our politics is very much
mixed up and in bad way about the Presidency.
1t would puzzle a Philadelphy lawyer to tell how
it's comm out. 1t was q very unlucky hit when
President Polk sent old Zach Taylor down to
Mexico. He wasn't the right man. But then
l spose Mr.. Polk had no idea of what sort of a
chap he had got hold of. 1t can't be helped now,
it's but like to be the ruin of party The
Democratic party haint seen well day since
Taylor first begun his Pally Alto battles; and
now we arc all shiverin as bad as if VIC had the
fever and agy. l don't know, after all, but this
annexin Mexico will turn out to be an unlucky
blow to the party; for what will it profit the Dem
ocratc party if they gain the whole world and lose
the Presidencya Ye see, the Wings have put NJ
Taylor for President; and it has completely
knocked us all into cooked hat. There isn't
one-half of US that knows where we stan or which
way we are goin; and there isn't party fence in
the country that is high enough to Keep our folks
from jumping over They are getting kind of
crazy, and seem to feel as if old Hickory had got
hack again, and they was all running to vote for
him. The wings laugh and poke fun at US, and
say that they have got as good a right to have a
Hickory as we Democratics have. We put up
Gineral Cass first, and thought we should carry
it all hollow; for he's strcng man and took a
good deal of pains to make the party like him all
over the country. And if the Wings had done as
they ought to, and put up Clay. or any one that
they had a right to put up, we should carried
the day without any trouble. But the conduct
of the Wings has been shameful in this business.
Instead of taking man that fairly belonged to
em, they have grabbed hold of man that got all
his popularity out of our war, and was under the
pay of our Administration, and has been made and
built up by our party, and the Wings had no more
business with him than they had with the man in
the moon But, for all that, the Wings had the
impudence to nominate him. Well, that riled our
water all up, so we couldn't see the bottom no.
where. But we soon found there was a shiftin
and whrlin of currents, andthe wind and the tide
settin on the rocks, in spite of us. We
soon see that old Rough and Ready, as they cali
him, was agoin 10 be too much for Cass. But as
was all making up our mind that 1t was gone
goose with us, Mr.. John Van Buren,, of York
State-he's a smart Teller son of President Van
Buren,, and a chip Of the old bock-he sings out,
Don't give up the ship yet; if one boss amt E.
noagh to draw the load, hitch on another" wen,
the idea seemed TO take; and they stirred round
and got up another Convention al Utica, IN ork
State 10 see who they should put up and they all
pitched upon President Van Buren,. Mr.. Van
Buren, matted them on the shoulder, and told EN-
TO have GOOD courage and 90 ahead, for they was
on the right track, but they must hitch on some
body else besides him, for he had made up his
mind four years ago not TO take hold again But
thew stuck to him, with tears in their eyes, and
| told him there wasn't another man in the coun-
try that could draw like him along side of Cass,
and if he still had any patriotism for the party
| left he mustn't saw no. And they worked upon
his feclins so much that at last he didn't say no.
So now we've cot two candidates, Cass and Van
Buren,. and good strong ones, TOO, both OF EN- ;
and if we cant whip Taylor, think 1t IS pity.
| know as well as 1 want to that we shall give
him pesky hard tug. Some are afraid we amt
| hardly strong enough YET anu 'nev We caheu an
other Convention to meet in Buffalo the 9th OF
August, to put up another candidate. But 9th,
ers are faint-hcarted about It, its all no kind OF
use; we may put up twenty candidates. and lay
lor will whip the whole lot; its way he has he
always did Just so in Mexico If they brought
twenty to one agin him, it made noodds, he whipt
the whole ring, from Pally Alto to Bona Wis.,
| ia.
So Won see what sort of pickle we're in, and
how much we need your help just now. But there
is one thing have on my mind pretty strong.
You know this appointment in the Downingville
Post Office, that You got Gineral Jackson to give
me, has always been great comfortto me, and 1t
would be a sad blow to me TO lose it now in my
old age. wish you would make it your way to
call and see Gen. Taylor as you come along home
and try to find out how he feels towards me; be-
cause, if he is to be elected any how, can't see
anv use there would be in my biting my own nose
off for the sake of opposing his election. And
don't think that patriotism to the party requires it,
and I'm sure prudence don't.
When you get to Washington.call and see Mr.
Richie and try to comfort him; I'm told the dear
old gentleman is working to hard for his strength
out a nights in the rain, with lantern IN his
hand, heading the campaign. Try to persuade
him to be calm and take good care of himself