answer his questions about Mr. Cleveland. He made out
of small materials an interview which answered his purpose. He
asked my view of the silver question. I told him I hoped to see
the people abandon the idea, which prevailed a few years previous,
of having silver money of less value than gold. We had gone through
a struggle of some years to make our paper money equal to gold,
and the next struggle ought to be to do the same with silver money.
I said we should have all kinds of money of equal value whether
United States notes, bank bills, silver or gold; that if we had
this our silver would circulate in all parts of the world the same
as our gold, that we could use both silver and gold as the basis
of our certificates, which would then be regarded as money by every
commercial nation of the world. I said I was in favor of both
silver and gold, and of using both to be coined upon the basis of
market value, that in this way the volume of money would be increased
instead of being diminished, and our money would become the standard
money of the world. In his report he said that I spoke very
feelingly of General Grant, expressing a hope for his recovery,
but that I feared his apparent improvement was only characteristic
of that disease and not substantial.

I was surprised as well as gratified at the rapid growth of Des
Moines, which I first knew as an insignificant village. From Des
Moines Frank Sherman and I went to St. Louis, and there met Messrs.
Hedges and Carpenter. During the two or three days we remained in
St. Louis I stayed at the house of General Sherman, who then resided
in that city. He took great interest in my proposed trip, and one
evening wrote out, without a change or erasure of a single word,
on three pages of foolscap, and under the head of "Memorandum for
John Sherman," a complete and detailed statement of the route I
was to follow, and the names of the cities and places I was to
visit, including the persons whom I ought to see, to several of
whom he gave me letters of introduction. I have regarded this
"memorandum," which we found accurate in every particular, as a
striking evidence of his mastery of details. We followed the route
with scarcely a change. Among the letters given me by him was one
to his friend, F. F. Low, as follows:

"St. Louis, Mo., May 3, 1885.
"Hon. F. F. Low, Anglo California Bank.

"Dear Sir:--My brother John, the Senator, is on the point of starting
for San Franc