morning and dressed and went
out on the street to welcome it.

I had less than six months to wait for that day appointed by Sally. I
had no doubt that she would be true to me. I had had my days of fear and
depression, but always my sublime faith in her came back in good time.

Oh, yes, indeed, Washington was a fair of beauty and gallantry those
days. I saw it all. I have spent many years in the capital and I tell
you the girls of that time had manners and knew how to wear their
clothes, but again the magic of old memories kept my lady on her throne.
There was one of them--just one of those others who, I sometimes
thought, was almost as graceful and charming and noble-hearted as Sally,
and she liked me I know, but the ideal of my youth glowed in the light
of the early morning, so to speak, and was brighter than all others.
Above all, I had given my word to Sally and--well, you know, the
old-time Yankee of good stock was fairly steadfast, whatever else may be
said of him--often a little too steadfast, as were Ben Grimshaw and
Squire Fullerton.

The Senator and I went calling that New Year's day. We saw all the great
people and some of them were more cheerful than they had a right to be.
It was a weakness of the time. I shall not go into details for fear of
wandering too far from my main road. Let me step aside a moment to say,
however, that there were two clouds in the sky of the Washington society
of those days. One was strong drink and the other was the crude,
rough-coated, aggressive democrat from the frontiers of the West. These
latter were often seen in the holiday regalia of farm or village at
fashionable functions. Some of them changed slowly and, by and by,
reached the stage of white linen and diamond breast-pins and waistcoats
of figured silk. It must be said, however, that their motives were
always above their taste.

The winter wore away slowly in hard work. Mr. Van Buren came down to see
the Senator one day from his country seat on the Hudson. The
Ex-president had been solicited to accept the nomination again. I know
that Senator Wright strongly favored the plan but feared that the South
would defeat him in convention, it being well known that Van Buren was
opposed to the annexation of Texas--a pet project of the slave-holders.
However, he advised his friend to make a fight for the nomination and
this the latter resolved to do. Thenceforward until middle May I gave my
time largely to the inditing of lette