The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1857-08-13
The Patch ON sfarcy,s Breeches.


Harpers' Weekly relates the following an
ecdote of Mr.. Marcy:
While he wsIsGoverpor of This State, he
was visiting Nessburgh on.s6me public occa-
sion, ard, and wjsh& sof gentlemen,
Wings and Demoti 81 - at the Orange Ho
tcl, Good dhumor was prevailing, and one story
sugEE4M another. The Governor always en-
loyed story, and could tell one with excel
lent effect. A Wing lawyer was present, and
the Governor recognizing him, said:
All, yes, I'll ell you good story Of Spoon
err The other day he came up to Albany, on
his wayto the Wing convention, at Utica,
and 80 he took it in his way to cali on me to
get pardon for a convict at Sing Sing. /
heard the case, examined the documents, and
being satisfied that all was right, agreed to
grant the request. Spooner handed me the
paper to endorse, and I wrote: 'slet pardon be
granted. w. L. Marcy,o when Spoonef cried
out: "Hold, hold, Governor, that's the wrong
paper" And, sure enough, it was a Whig
speech that he aods going to make at Utica, abus-
ing me the worst possible way. But I had
granted pardon in advance, and suppose he
had committed the offense afterwards"
The story was received with great applause,
and Spooner being locked to for response,
instantly went on with the following, which,
for an extemporary story, certainly is eapi-
tai
"fes, gentlemen, yes, die. And when the
convention was over, we went to Niasra Fails,
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 though we were to 60 through the
bottom, the stage came to a dead halt; The
driver dismounted, opened the door, and re-
quesied us all to descend. When we were all
ont, standing on the ends of the logs OF which
the road was made, the driver took of bis hat
and said
Gentlemen, we ALWAYS stop here out Of re-
spect to the Governor; this is the identical spot
where Marcy tore his p1ntaloons!''
The story was received with great jolifica-
ton, in which no one joined more heartily
than the Governor himself.
That pantalooa incident deserves to be re-
corded in every history of this grea, 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 char acter, he kept
minute account Of all his expenditures, and
handed in the list on his return, without think
ing it necessary or proper to revise and strike
out those items Of private nature which 9TH
er men less scrupulous in greater matters,
might have carefully suppressed. There stood
the tailor's charge for mending. The politi.
cal foes of the Judge, when he came to be
candidate for Governor, fourd it, and paraded
it before the world in the newspapers; and
making an efisy of Mr.. Marcy, suspended it
in the streets Of Albany, with great patch on
the pantaloons, and the tailor's charge on the
top Of that.
But an observant people saw through the
patch and the charge into the heart of an hon
est man, and in THAT very deed Of his they rec
ognized frankness and transparency Of char
acter that commended him to their warm ap-
probation. 1t is not probable that the panta-
loon charge lost for him single vote, whilst
it is doubtless true that it made for him null
titudes of friends. He was never ashamed of
it, and never had reason to be.