Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-10

III
sessed these letters and he was approached
bv publishers in New York and elsewhere,
offering him large sums Of money for them.
Davis, however. although poor man, de-
elined all such offers He determined to re-
turn as manv Of the letters as possible. He
asked Mr.. Weed to take Q bundle Of her
own letters to a lady, who, although then
advanced in years, WAS occupying Q high
social position in New York. Mr.. Weed
rhrsnk from so delicate q task, and Mr..
Davis himself handed them to the lady,
when she confessed to him that secret
sorrow and dread of years had been lifted BY
the return of them.
Tol.esve Them to His Daughter.
Mr.. Davis took another package of letters
20 lady in New Haven, and he sent by
General Scott package to lady in Rich
mond. Some other packages were returned,
and one evening Mr.. Davis kindled great
fire in wood stove, and in Mr.. Weeds
presence burned the rest of the letters In
speaking OF this evidence of depraved
heart Rfterward, Mr.. Weed said that it was
surpassed by Burr himself on the eve of his
duel with Hamilton, for he wrote letter
that night in which he committed those
letters to his own daughter, Theodosla, in
case he fell, bidding her to do with them
what she chose. Burr died in 1886, and
there are probably not dozen persons in
New York city to-day who know where he
Is buried.
The two Clintons were entirely unaffected
by their defeat as Presidential candidates.
OF course the career of Henry Clay after his
unsuccessful first canvass for the Presidency
have become almost household words Mr.
Blaine has said that the most striking sug-
Eestion to q political student in CIay's
career is that he was q candidate three times
when he was doomed to defeat, and that he
tailed to secure the nomination twice when
he might have been elected.
William II. Crawford was very near the
Presidency, and betrayed not the slightest
disappointment, but professed desire to
retire from public life. Therefore he re-
signed from the Senate, returned to Georgia,
and In order to support himself secured an
election as Judge of Probate, and the man
who was so nearly President became within
ayesr petty justice, dying in that Office.
vebster's Speech to Calhoua.
John c. Calhoun was never a Presidential
candidate in the sense that around him were
centered his party's hopes. He was, of
course, always Presidential candidate so far
rs the hope of receiving the nomination of
his party was concerned, and it was sup
posed that he would succeed Andrew Jack
Ion. In fact, the understanding when Jack
son was elected in 1928 was that he should
terve one term and then Vice President CAL
houn should be promoted rs his successor.
Yet within less than two years Daniel Web
ster, in the Senate, had predicted that ar
yangement would fail Tt was a memorable
scene. 1t was during his famous reply to
Hayne. Calhoun sat in the Vice Presidents
chair, and Webster, turning of a sudden and
fixing his great eyes upon the Vice Presi-
dent, quoted the lines from Macbeth"
saying that his dream of power would prove
"a barren scepter in his grasp, thence to be
wrenched by an unlineal hand, no son of his
succeeding" Senator Clayton, whoIreports
the scene, SAYS that Calhoun turned ashy
pale, and every Senator revealed that dra-
matte interest which is best exempIfed by
earnest gaze and perfect quiet Mr.. Web
ster had reference to the Vaccinations of
Martin Van Buren, and Calhoun knew well
to what he then referred.
William Writ, Hugh +. White, Willie
p Mangum, who were Presidential candi
dates in opposition to Jackson and Van
Buren,, looked upon their defeat as the
climax of their political careers, accepted in
proper spirit such indication, retired to
private life and each of them died shortly
after. Martin Van Buren, defeated in 1S40
IellTeU 10 HIS Dtdulllui placc, l-lIOcHW8lu
on the Hudson. Mr.. Van Buren was the
richest of Presidents, in fact no President
has ever been elected who had anywhere
near so large fortune as Van Buren. He
was a very thrifty man, had no expensive
family to maintain, being q widower
and his son self-supportirg. and when he
entered the Presidency he made an estimate
of his wealth, putting the figures at $780,
600, which was great wealth for that day.
He did not touch his salary as President
until he retired from his fofhce, and then
drew the 500, 600 due hinfin one sum.
-Besigcstior OF Lewis Casa
Tom Corwin was once chatting with Ros-
coe Conkling about some of the great men
of the past, and be asked Conkling what he
thought was the best indication Of the abil-
fly and character of Lewis Cass. Conkling
replied that it seemed to him that Cass was
o stolid, heavy, but rather profound sort of
intel ees, with no brilliancy and with no
imposing personal characteristic.
s'Ah, but" said Corwin, "you misunder-
stand him. He revealed his greatness in
his resignation. He received the news of
his defeat as candidate for President with
perfect composure, without the slightest |
particle of resentment, and he was able |
more completely than any public man |
ever knew to sink his own identity and to
lcok upon Lewis Cass merely as the repre- |
sentative of his party. 1t was the party |
which was defeated, and not Cass the man,
in his opinion, and the simple dignity with |
which he retired from public life to his |
home in Michigan was, in my opinion, q |
beautiful indication of the mans true great |
ness"
General Scott, though he coveted the |
Presidency, and was somewhat disappointed |
ut his failure to secure the nomination in |
Is4S, was perfectly calm, seemingly almost |
Indifferent, when he received the news of |
his defeat in 1852. Said he: Frank Pierce |
was a good soldier with me in Mexico and |
lie ought to make good President" and |
then the General went on with his business |
rs officer in command of the armies. The |
General grew SO heavy that it was burden |
for him to move about, and when the war |
broke out in 1861 he was physically |
incapacitated. and he grieved and fretted |
over that far more than he did over the loss |
Of the Presidency.
The Story of Haneman Foote.
\. P. Sargent tells very interesting |
story of John p. Hale. In a speech which |
Mr. Hale made in the Senate he said some |
things which made some of the Southern |
Senators indignant, and Governor Foote, of |
Mississippi, replied. In the reply the |
Governor said that ifsHale came to Missis- |
Iippi and made such speech he would be
hanged to the nearest tree and that he |
(Foote) would cheerfully assist his execu-
toner. 1t was a most unfortunate speech |
for Foote, and he himself confessed it. /
Within month he was known all over the
North as Hangman Foote, a sobriquet by |
which he is remembered to this dav.
1t was not known throughout the North /
that personally Foote and Hale were on the
most intimate terms. They dined together