The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1852-01-29
4 LETTER FROM MAJOR DOWNING.

/
| In the State of Maine, December 22, '5i !
DEAR GOVERNOR: hope you won'I
feel sligh,ed because | hain't writ 10 you
aforc. The truth is, | hav'nt had no time
I've been 50 busy, for 4 month pas, that
couldn't get no Time to write, no how. Un
Gle Jo.hua and have been hard to work
all tho time, day and night. rcadin your
speeches, md the duins Of the meetins 10
New York and England. We begun q
week or two before you got to York, and
have been at II ever since. We common.
| " get up and 90 at il before breakfast, and
take turns reading, and keep IT up ill bed.
time-that is. till nine o'clock in The eve
min; for that's the time we Downingyille
folks 60 to bed. So hope you won't feel
sighted because ] hav'nt found time 10
write to you afore now, and hope you
hav'nt been lonesome since you've been in
York. | sec ye1 are on tho way tn PhiIa.
delphy, and Baltimore, and Washington
and II YOU should feel lonesome in them
places, just turn about and come down here
to Downingvillc, and we'lltry 70 cheer you
lnp, and make you feel at home. | cay
this because ] have took great liking 10
YOU, and always mean what say. Eve
took . greater liking to YOU than any body
else since lost nv dear old friend Gener.
al Jackson. May be il is because you are
so much like him. Fact, in some things it
seems TO me yon are jest like him. Old
Hickory wns The man who ssiook the re-
sponsibility when be wanted 10 do any
thing; and SEQ you are jest SO; you ain'i
afraid totake the responsibiliiy;an what'-
better still, you nre trying TO encourage
other folks 10 take the responsibility, tu.-
Old Hickory was great hand TO make
principles, and then fight 'em through
And there agin think you are good
deal like him. And, by the wav, begin
to feel quite liking for President Bona
parie, ofFrance, for see he's took the re-
sponsiblliiy at last, and been maxim prin-
ciples, ard fghtin' Of 'em through
There's some smart folks in the world vet
and its we'll there is, for its pretty likely
there'll be use for 'em before another
year is out. And then another thing
which makes me think you are so much
| like Old Hickory is the hoorahs Why, i,
seems TO me can hear 'em all the way
from York TO Downingvile; and it carries
mo right back to old times, when the whole
country was ringing 'shoorah for Jackson.
,biik. dear Governor, you'd, better
stop here till next summer, and not 60 back
TO Hungary. We shall have TO make q
new President next summer, and you
might get in to be President jest as easy
as cat could lick her ear-and a Presi
dent you know is higher than Governor
Hadn't you better take il? know you
can get it il you'll only say the word
Our parties in this country have been so
broke to pieces and mixed up lately, that
nobody could tell who TO pitch up for
President; and we've been good deal
worried for fear we shouldn't make out to
choose any President nj all next summer
And amt sure but what you've got here
| Jest in the nick Of time TO get US out oftbs
scrape. For il you only stand as candi
date, you'll 60 in all holler. never knew
lit to fail, when the boorahs got up so strong
as they have been since you got 10 York.
We've got about twenty parties in this
country now there's the old Wing party.
and the old Democratic party. aud the
Woody -headed Wings, and The Siiver-gray
Wings, and the Hunker Democrats, and
the Barnburner Democrats, and the Sc
ward party, and the Union Safety Com
mitice party. and the Liberty party, aud
the regular Free-Soil party, and tho regu-
lar Vote-your-selfa.farm party, and the
old Abolition party, and the old Secession
party. (Which sprang mp out Of the old Nnl
iication party that and old Hickory kill
ed oG) and the Cooperation Secessionisis,
and the out and go.alone Seccssionists; !;
and pow there's two new parties added
that ain't hardly three weeks old yet--tbe
Intervention party and the. Non interven-
tion party; and believe these are divided
again into the party for Intervention niM-
out war, and the party for Intervention.
irar or no ir,7r.
II was lucky you took stand and put
YOUR foo, down when you first got TO New
York, that you would not be mixed up with
any Of our parties in this country, for if
you had once fairly got mixed in with 'em,
YOU would found yourself in such snarl
that am afraid you would wish yourself
back to Turkey again hefore you would
over got out Of it Andi,'s lucky on an
other account that YOU hay'nt mixed up
with any Of our twenty parties. For now
you are the only man in tho country thai
can get their votes. As you hav'n, said
nothing sgin none of 'em, they can all turn
round and vote for You, and il you'll only
say the word they'll do il, and glad Of the
chance; for that seems to be the only way
they can get handsomely out Of the ever
lasting snarl they've got into oil over the
country. You need'n. be afraid there's
anything in the way ngn your being Presi-
dent. To be sure, ihereis some little rules
laid down about i, in our constitution, but
that all can be managed well enough; il,
only wants somebody to take the RESPONSE
biity. Folks can't always go accordin TO
the constitution when they get into bad
snarl; they have got to make new princi
Plies to go by. See how President Bona
parte has just got out Of his snarl tho con-
sttution didn't stand in his way bit, he
Jest sot up a new principle and fit il OUT
And, you see, he's come out all straight,
and now can wind his yarn any where to
suit himself.