to Woodbury, called on William Cothron,
and proceeded to the cemetery and other places of note in the
neighborhood. In this way the day was pleasantly spent. I thought
there were signs of decay in the old village since my former visit,
but this may have been caused by the different seasons of the year
at which these visits were made. Woodbury looks more like an
England shire town than any other in Connecticut. Its past history
was full of interest, but the birth and growth of manufacturing
towns all around eclipsed it and left only its memories. After
visiting the site of the old Sherman homestead, about a mile from
town, and the famous Stoddard house, in which my grandmother was
born, we returned to New York.

I had been invited by the officers and members of the Illinois
legislature, then in session at Springfield, to speak in the hall
of the house of representatives on the political issues of the day.
I accepted with some reluctance, as I doubted the expediency of a
partisan address at such a place. My address at Nashville, no
doubt, led to the invitation; but the conditions were different in
the two cities. At Nashville it was expected that I would make a
conciliatory speech, tending to harmony between the sections, while
at Springfield I could only make a partisan speech, on lines well
defined between the two great parties, and, as I learned afterwards,
by reason of local issues, to a segment of the Republican party.
Had I known this in advance I would have declined the invitation.

The 1st of June was the day appointed. I arrived in Chicago, at
a late hour, on the 29th of May, stopping at the Grand Pacific
hotel, and soon after received the calls of many citizens in the
rotunda. On the evening of the 30th I was tendered a reception by
the Union League club in its library, and soon became aware of the
fact that one segment of the Republican party, represented by the
Chicago "Tribune," was not in attendance. The reception, however,
was a very pleasant one, greatly aided by a number of ladies.

The next morning, accompanied by Senator Charles B. Farwell and a
committee of the club, I went to Springfield. I have often traversed
the magnificent State of Illinois, but never saw it clothed more
beautifully than on this early summer day. The broad prairies
covered with green, the wide reaches of cultivated land, rich with
growing corn, wheat and oats, presented pictures of fertility that
could not be exce