him characterized by gentlemen competent to express judgment upon such matters as the most telling campaign speaker in America. While I would not say just that, for I think he lacked one thing to make him an effective speaker, viz: entire sincerity, I do not hesitate to say that if he had always felt clear down to the bottom of his heart the sentiments uttered; if he had felt deeply, as did William Lloyd Garrison and Joshua R. Giddings and others of that stamp, he would have been without an equal.

But, considering his education, or the character of it, for the little he had he acquired at Homer academy and in driving stage for his brother, and so came in contact with the lower strata of society, he was a remarkable man. His brother Joseph, who was engaged in the mercantile business in Chautauqua county, often spoke to me of the wonderful gifts of his brother, but, because of the relationship, I considered it probable that he entertained exaggerated notions with regard to the General, and so received his statements with a great deal of allow

ance.

Well, some time in the summer of the year already mentioned the General was advertised (with others) to address six meetings in the leading villages of Chautauqua county. He was sent by the state committee, I think; and as this was the first time he had ever taken the stump outside of his own neighborhood, he appeared at his best. At that time he was probably not far from thirty years of age, and one of the finest-looking men one ever set eyes on. He was a little below six feet in height, and very perfectly formed; that is, he was neither fat nor lean, but his limbs were well rounded and handsome. He was dressed neatly-wore a black coat, white vest and dark pantaloons, and his boots were either patent leather or polished with scrupulous care. His fine head, on which there was a luxuriant growth of

jet black hair, cut in fashion, was covered by a white. hat, on which there was a black band. His eyes were dark, full of expression, reflecting all the emotions of his nature. He could look very earnest and sober, but the general expression of his countenance was that of good nature. His was a benevolent face. His speech was tender and touching, his talk kindly and winning.

The speech he made was probably a prepared one in the outset, for it was perfect every way. As an argument it was faultless; it was about the right length, and had enough of humor to please, and not so much as to offend. It was a model campaign speech. It was compact, and yet it covered the whole ground. He first delivered it Monday afternoon; it captivated all who heard it. He moved on to the town where he was next advertised, and a good part of the crowd went with him. No such man as General Nye had ever spoken in those parts. His fame went ahead of him, and the masses turned out to hear him. Those who had heard him twice wanted to hear him again; and even then they were not satisfied, they must hear him once more; and so the thing went on till his week was up. The last meeting he addressed was the largest of any of them; it was a mass gathering, a perfect jam, and consisted, to a large extent, of those who had heard him over and over again. It seemed as if the people could not be satisfied.

Of course, the speech given to this audience was far inferior to the first delivered in the county. The fact that so many of the same men were before him day after day was exceedingly embarrassing; so he sought to vary it, and in so doing often seriously impaired the argument; and realizing that a story repeatedly told lost much of its interest when given to the same audience, he introduced new illustrations. He made a mistake in this. He should have given his auditors the same speech, and not weakened it for the sake of imparting variety.

Among his illustrations was one I am sure no one who listened to it will ever forget. I have already stated that the tariff question was a leading one in the canvass, and the General was talking about the price of wool. It appears that under the tariff which the whig congress was unable to pass, but which went through by the help of Senator Wright and a few other democrats, the price of wool had advanced, but not in proportion to articles manufactured therefrom. So the General sent a wool grower, with his little crop of wool on his back, to the manufacturer to trade it for cloth. He read upon the door of the mammoth establishment, "No admittance except on business." This admitted the wool raiser. The General related the interview between the producer and the manufacturer at length and in his happiest style. He was gratified to find that the price of wool had risen, but rather chopfallen when he found cloth had taken a decidedly upward turn, and that he would obtain a less amount of it for his clip of wool than he had under the old tariff. All the details of the trade were carefully stated; and then the General went with the farmer to his home, and, gathering his wife and children around him in the evening, he gave the result of his visit to the manufactory. He told his wife that he had not received as much cloth for his wool as he had the previous year, and that she would have to economize in making up the garments, for they must be "cut according to the cloth, you know;" "you must pinch a little here and a little there; you must make the sleeves a little smaller, and for the boys you will have to make roundabouts." drawing himself up to his full height, and striking at the skirts of his coat as if to cut them from that garment, the General exclaimed: "That is precisely what there is of your improved tariff; it takes the skirts right off from your coats!" His acting was so perfect and life-like that one might see the skirts fly from the coat he wore.

And

I saw much of the General afterwards. We tried to send him to congress from the Oswego district in 1848; and Oswego warmly seconded the effort, giving him a majority of 500 or 600, but his own county, Madison, gave a larger one against him, and thus left him at home. I expect again to refer to him in future articles, for in his way he was an extraordinary man.

Jefferson county elected to the assembly, in 1844, Lysander H. Brown, Azel W. Danforth and Edward S. Salisbury. Lewis elected Dean S. Howard; St. Lawrence, Asa L. Hazelton and John L. Russell; Oswego, Thomas Skelton and Luny Thayer. To the senate from the fifth district, Enoch B. Talcott of Oswego was chosen. To congress: from Jefferson district, Orville Hungerford was re-elected; from the St. Lawrence district, Preston King was re-elected; from the Oswego district, William J. Hough of Madison was chosen.

In the New York delegation there were several gentlemen who achieved more or less distinction; among them, Archibald C. Niven, Bradford R. Wood, Erastus D. Culver, Charles S. Benton, Timothy Jenkins, Stephen Strong, Horace Wheaton, George Rathbun, Martin Grover, William A. Mosely and Washington Hunt.

CHAPTER XV.

Left Mayville-My Introduction to Fillmore by William H. Seward-A Word About Each-Horace Greeley and the Family-Went to Oswego-Its Appearance.

My connection with the newspaper in which I commenced editorial work terminated with the close of the campaign of 1844. I sold my printing establishment before the election and afterwards disposed of my real estate. Although my business had been a complete success, I was not satisfied with my location. The village was too small, and I did not discover that there was any chance for its growth or of its becoming a place of business importance. I now refer to Mayville, the county seat of Chautauqua county. It is charmingly situated at the head of Chautauqua lake, which it overlooks for nearly half its length, and moreover is the center of a large and thrifty county; otherwise it is of no special account. I spent a day there recently, and discovered that it was the same sleepy, dull town it was forty and fifty years ago. The streets could hardly have been more quiet had the day been Sunday. The remark of Stephen A. Douglass, in reference to Vermont, would apply here. It is "a good place to remove from," espe cially if one is engaged in the newspaper business and anywise ambitious. I thought so when I lived there, and I have not changed my opinion since. Yet I have many pleasant recollections of the little village. The people were kind to me, and overlooked my imperfections. William H. Seward and Millard Fillmore came up there one day. The former gave me an introduction to the latter, and the trio took seats upon the narrow