of his Cabinet in the Hall of the House of
Representatives. It followed that it was my official duty to deliver
an address of welcome. I prepared my address in which I made an
allusion to the members of the Cabinet from other States, but strange,
as it now appears, I made no allusion to Mr. Webster. I gave the
address to the newspapers and it was not until eleven o'clock that I
awoke to the fact of my neglect. I prepared a paragraph and sent it
to the papers in season for the afternoon edition. Mr. Webster sat
on my left. The President and the other members of the Cabinet were
on my right. The President arose when I did and remained standing.
When I alluded to Stuart and Conrad they gave no indication of their
presence, but when I referred to Mr. Webster he rose at once and the
Hall resounded with the cheers of the audience. Speeches in reply were
made by the President, by Mr. Webster, Mr. Stuart, and Mr. Conrad.

At the time Mr. Winthrop was the Whig candidate for Governor. He was
present in the audience. In the course of Mr. Webster's speech, he
gave my administration an endorsement in these words:--"I wish in the
first place to say that from the bottom of my heart I wish entire
success to your administration of the affairs of this State. Into
whosoever hands these affairs may fall, if they are fairly and
impartially administered, those hands shall have my hand in their
support, and maintenance." These words were received by the audience
and the people of the State as a more full endorsement of my
administration then the printed text justified. They gave Mr. Winthrop
and his friends much uneasiness and it is quite likely that they
contributed to Mr. Winthrop's defeat and to my re-election. In the
course of his speech Mr. Webster used these words speaking of the
people of Massachusetts: "And yet all are full of happiness, and all
are, as we say in the country, well-to-do in the world and enjoying
neighbor's fare." This phrase puzzled me, but at length I reached
the conclusion, that the people were living so well that they could
invite a neighbor who called without notice to take a seat at table
without making any change. In other words, that the daily fare of the
people was good enough for the neighbors.

In the autumn of 1851 a meeting was called in aid of Smith O'Brien and
his associates, who then were in banishment at Van Diemen's Land. Of
the project for the meeting I knew nothing until I receiv