tice of the United States. That letter compelled President
Grant to withdraw the nomination. At a period during the war General
Cushing was disposed to enter the army, and there was a movement in
favor of his appointment as Brigadier-General. Andrew, Sumner, and
some others, appeared in opposition, and the appointment was not made.

While I held the office of Secretary of the Treasury, General Cushing
gave to a friend of mine, and to myself, an invitation to drive out to
his farm, the Van Ness place, about six miles from Washington, on the
Virginia heights, and take tea with him. After business we drove to
his farm. I took a seat with Cushing in his buggy-wagon, and my
friend followed in another vehicle. As we were passing through
Georgetown, we stopped at a shop where Cushing obtained a loaf of
bread. Upon reaching his place we were taken over the land. Its
quality was inferior and it showed the neglect of former owners, and
there were indications that the present owner had done little or
nothing for its improvement. The foreman was a Virginian, with but
little knowledge of farming. The house-keeping was crude. The table
was a coarse one. There was neither tablecloth nor napkins. The
repast consisted of tea, the bread purchased on the way, soft butter,
cold corned beef, and blackberries. When we entered the room Mr.
Cushing went to a bureau, and took from a drawer a package which
contained steel knives and forks, such as I had been accustomed to sell
when a boy in a country store. From the appearance the cutlery had
never been used, but its antiquity was marked by spots of rust.

This incident shows the democratic side of Mr. Cushing's character. He
had also an aristocratic side. During General Grant's administration,
a Mr. Kennedy, who had been a merchant at Troy, New York, came to
Washington and distinguished himself by his somewhat ostentatious
entertainments to diplomats and other notable persons. This proceeding
annoyed Mr. Cushing, and he gave voice to his feelings in this manner:
--"Mr. Kennedy, an ironmonger, comes here from Troy and sets himself
up as a personage. He is not a personage at all, sir: not at all,
sir."

When I became Governor in January, 1851, there were a large number of
offices at the disposal of the Governor and Council. Of these there
were sheriffs, district attorneys, registers of probate, clerks of
courts, and registers of deeds. There were also individual places
th