ps we might
not meet again. With an invitation to come and see him at Princeton,
we parted.

"During a conversation of an earlier period at the White House, I
congratulated the President upon his improved appearance since
returning from one of his hunting expeditions.

"'Oh! Yes!' he said, 'I cannot get daily exercise in Washington. It
is impossible, so I am compelled to take these occasional outings. I
approach the city on my return with a feeling that work must be
pulled down over me, like a nightcap,' and as he said this he made
the motion as of someone putting on a cap over his head.

"I congratulated him on the effect of his proclamation on the Monroe
Doctrine as it would set a precedent, and really meant peace. He
agreed with me, saying:

"'Yes, but they blame me very much for the excitement I have caused
in business circles, and the failures consequent. But no one failed
who was doing a legitimate business, only those collapsed who were
engaged in unwarranted speculations. I wish more of those people
would fail.'

"'Mr. President,' I said, 'I do not want to pry into State secrets,
but I would like to know how many ducks you did shoot?' He laughed,
and said, 'Eleven. The papers said thirteen. Indeed, the country
papers before I began to shoot said I had shot a hundred and
twenty.' I spoke of the brightness and beauty of his children again.
I remarked that the youngest one, then four months old, had the
intelligence of a child a year old, and the President said:

"'Yes, she is a great pleasure to us, and seems to know everything.'

"March 3, 1896. Started from Washington for the great Home
Missionary meeting to be held in Carnegie Hall, New York, President
Cleveland to preside. We left on the eleven o'clock train, by
Pennsylvania railroad. I did not go to the President's private car
until we had been some distance on our way, although he told me when
I went in that he had looked for me at the depot, that I might as
well have been in his car all the way. No one was with him except
Mrs. Cleveland and his private secretary, Mr. Thurber, who is also
one of my church. We had an uninterrupted conversation. The servants
and guards were at the front end of the car, and we were at the
rear.

"I asked the President if he found it possible to throw off the
cares