The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1857-08-26
The Patch on Mr.. Marcy's Breeches.
Harper's Weekly relates the following

The Patch on Mr.. Marcy's Breeches.
Harper's Weekly relates the following
anecdotes of Mr.. Marcy: -
While he was Governor of this State,
he was visiting Newburgh on some public
occasion, and, with a party of gentlemen,
Wings and Democrats was at the Orange
Hotel. Good humor was prevailing, and
one story suggested another. The Gov
ernor always enjoyed a story, and could
tell one with excellent effect A Wing
lawyer was present, and the Governor
recognizing him, said:
"Ah, yes, I'll tell you good story of
Spooner. The other day lie came up to
Albany, on his way to the Wing conven-
tion at Utica, and so he took it in his way
to call on me to get pardon for a convict
at Sing Sing. heard the case, examin-
ed the documents, anu being satisfied that
all was right, agreed to grant the request.
Speoner handed me the paper to endorse
and l wrote: ''let pardon be granted. w.
L. Marcy" when Spooner cried out:
Hold, hold, Governor, that's the wrong
paper" And, sure enough it was a
Whig speech lie aOas going to make at Utica,
abusing me in the worst possible way.
But i had granted pardon in advance, and
l suppose he had committed the offence
afterwards"
The story was received with applause,
and Spooner being looked for response,
instantly went on with the following, which
for an extempore story, certainly is capi-
"Yes, gentlemen, yes, I did. And
when the convention. was over, we went
to Niagara Falls, and as we were dragging
on by stage over miserable corduroy roads,
banging our heads against the top Of the
coach and then coming down as if we were
to go through the bottom, the stage came
to dead halt; the driver dismounted,
opened the door, and requested us all to
descend. When we were all out, standing
on the ends of the logs of which the road
was made, the driver took off his hat and
said: Gentlemen, we always stop here
out of respect to the Governor; this is the
identical spot aehere Marcy tore his panta.
looms"
The story was heard with great jollif-
cation, in which no one Joined more hear
tily than the Governor himself.
That pantaloon incident deserves to be
recorded in every history of this great
man. He was sent out to hold special
sessions of court to try the anti Masonic
parties charged with murder. He was to
receive salary and his expenses With
that nice regard for details that belonged
to his sterling character, he kept minute
account of all his expenditures, and hand.
ed in the list on his return, without think
ing it necessary or proper to revise OF
strike out those items of a private nature,
which other men less scrupuleus in great
matters, might have carefully suppressed.
There stood the tailor's charge for mend.
ing. The political foes of the Judge,
when he came to be a candidate for Gov
ernor, found it, and paraded it before the
world in the newspapers; and making an
efigy of Mr.. Marcy, suspended it in the
StIttts vi aiodny, with Sio"o pawn W
his pantaloons, and the tailor's charge or
the top Of that.
| But an observant people saw through
the patch and the charge into the heart O
an honest man, and in that very deed o
bis, they recognized a frankness and trans
parency of character that commended hin
to their warm appreciation. 1t is no
probable that the pantaloon charge lost TO
him single vote; while it is doubles
true that it made him multitudes of friends
He was never ashamed Of it, and neye
! had reason to be.