" The
Lord Warden made a short address of welcome and called on Mr. Yancey.
All the Confederate guests were expected to stand while their spokesman
replied. But I declined to make myself so conspicuous, fearing that in a
company so entirely new to Mr. Yancey, as I felt sure this English
company was, his speech would be anything but appropriate.

I could not have been more in error. What he said exactly fitted the
place and the occasion; the audience was delighted, except some people
at the lower ends of the tables, who, by rattling their glasses and
moving their feet, did their best to disconcert the speaker. In this
they failed. The speech was short, and at its conclusion the storm of
applause clearly showed the pleasure it afforded the great majority of
the audience. I remember well a barrister--a member of the city
government--who after the dinner was over, commented enthusiastically on
the eloquence of Mr. Yancey.

Mr. Mason was a very different man. He had, for forty years been a
prominent member of the United States Senate, and seemed never to be
unmindful of the presence and importance of the Honorable James H. Mason
of Virginia. The two Commissioners were as different, one from the
other, as a Kentuckian and a Boston man of pilgrim blood. I saw but
little of Mr. Mason. Mr. Yancey had always been ready to confer with me.
I freely talked over my plans with him, and by his counsel and cordial
endeavor to aid me, he was an ever present help.

There was in Mr. Mason no magnetism to attract young men, and I do not
remember ever to have asked his advice or opinion. In this he presented
a strong contrast to all the other Commissioners. Mr. Slidell was as old
a man and as experienced in public affairs as Mr. Mason, but he was a
genial companion even to younger men, and I consulted him quite as
freely as I had Mr. Yancey.

One morning I received a note from Mr. Mason's secretary, asking me to
call at Mr. Mason's lodgings. I lost no time in obeying the summons, and
Mr. Mason lost no time in coming to business.

"Major," he said, "I have sent for you to request you to inspect some
army supplies that some of our English friends are sending over under a
contract with the War Department."

Without a moment's hesitation, I replied, "Mr. Mason, I will inspect the
contract, and if I approve it, I will inspect the goods."

I cannot convey an adequate idea of the man's astonishment. It was too
great for him to express himse