plague him about the safety fund. I have n't had any chance to talk with him since, there 's so many of 'em round him; and I'm as uneasy as a fish out of water, I feel so anxious to know what the President was going to say about me and Daniel. I shall watch the first chance when I think it will do to talk with him, and find out what he was going to say. I cant hardly sleep a nights, I think so much about it. When I find out I'll write to you again.

Send my love to the folks up in Downingville when you have a chance.

I remain your sincere friend,

MAJOR JACK DOWNING.

LETTER LXVIII.

In which the President finished what he was going to say about ME and DANIEL.

Washington City, Sept. 30, 1833. To the Editor of the Portland Courier, away down east in the State of Maine.

MY DEAR FRIEND, Havn't you been in a terrible kind of a pucker ever since my last letter to you, to know what the President was going to say about me and Daniel? If you havn't, I have. I never felt so un

If I went to bed

easy for a fortnight hardly in my life. I couldn't sleep, and I've got up and walked the floor as much as half the night almost every night since. I've wished the Bank to Guinea more than fifty times, for there's been such a hubbub here about the Bank this fortnight past, that I couldn't get a moment's chance to talk with the President about any thing else. We'd have cabinet meetings once in awhile to see about mov

ing the deposites, and Mr Duane and Mr Cass and Mr McLane would talk up to the President so about it, that he'd conclude to let 'em alone and do nothing about it, and let Congress manage it jest as they'd amind to. And then we'd go home and Mr Kendle would come in and talk the matter over, and read some great long letters from Mr Van Buren, and get the President so confused that he would lose all patience a most.

But Mr Kendle is the master feller to hang on that ever I see; he's equal to the tooth ache. And he talked and palavered with the President till he finally brought him over, and then the President put his foot down, and said the deposites should be moved whether or no. And then the botheration was to see who should move 'em. The President told Mr Duane to do it; but he said his conscience wouldn't let him. Then the President told Mr Taney to take Mr Duane's place, and see if his conscience would let him. Mr Taney tried it and found his conscience went easy enough, so Mr Duane packed up and went home to Philadelphy. We were all dreadful sorry to lose Mr Duane, for he was a nice man as you will see one in a thousand. It's a pity he had such a stiff conscience; he might have staid here in the Treasury jest as well as not, if it hadn't been for that.

But this storm about the Bank begins to blow over, and the President's got in a manner cooled down again. This morning after breakfast we took the papers and letters jest as we used to, and went away into the east room to read the news and chat awhile; and it really did my heart good to see the President set down once more looking so good natured in his great arm chair smoking his segar. After I had read over the news to him awhile, and got him in pretty good humour, I made bold to out with it, and says I Gineral, there's one question I want to ask you. - And says he, you know Major, ask me any thing you're a mind

I always allow you to

to, what is it? Well says I, when we had that talk here about a fortnight ago, you begun to say something about me and Daniel; and jest as you got into the middle of it, Mr Kendle came in and broke it right off short as a pipe stem. It's been running in my head ever since, and I've been half crazy to know what it was you was going to say. Well, let us see, says the Gineral, where was it I left off; for this everlasting fuss about the Bank has kept my head so full I can't seem to remember much about it.

Why says I, you was talking about nullification; how the tops were beat down a little, but the roots were all running about under ground as live as ever, and it would n't be long before they'd be sprouting up again all over the country, and there'd be a tougher scrabble to keep 'em down than ever there had been yet; and then you said if I and Daniel — and there that plaguy Kendle came in, I've no patience with him now when I think of it, and broke it right off. Ah, now I remember, says the Gineral, how 'twas. Well, says he, Major Downing, it is a solemn fact, this country is to see a blacker storm of nullification before many years comes about than ever it has seen yet; the clouds are beginning to gather now; I've seen 'em rolling over South Carolina, and hanging about Georgia, and edging along into old Virginny, and I see the storm's a gathering; it must come, and if there is n't somebody at the helm that knows how to steer pretty well, the old ship must go down. I aint afraid, says he, but what I can keep her up while I have the command, but I'm getting to be old and must give up soon, and then what'll become of her I dont know. But what I was going to say was this; I've been thinking if you and Daniel, after I give up, would put your heads together and take charge of her till the storm has blown over, you might save her. And I dont know who else can.

But how do you mean, Gineral, says I? Why to speak

plain, says he, if nullification shows its head, Daniel must talk and you must fight. There's nothing else will do the job for it that I know of. Daniel must go into the Presidential chair, and you must take command of the army, and then things will go straight. At this I was a little struck up; and I looked him right in the eye, and, says I, Gineral, do you mean that Daniel Webster ought to be President after you give up? Certainly, says he, if you want to keep the country out of the jaws of nullification. But, says I, Gineral, Daniel is a federalist, a Hartford Convention federalist, and I should like to know which is worst, the jaws of nullification, or the jaws of federalism. The jaws of a fiddle-stick said the President, starting up and throwing his segar out of the window as much as two rods; but how do you know, Major Downing, that Daniel is a federalist? Because, says I, I've heard him called so down east more than a hundred times. And that's jest all you know about it, says he. Now I tell you how 'tis, Major Downing, Daniel is as thorough a republican as you be, or as I be, and has been ever since my Proclamation came out against nullification. As soon as that Proclamation came out Daniel came right over on to the republican ground and took it upon his shoulder and carried it through thick and thin where no other man in the country could have carried it. Says I, Gineral, is that a fact? And says he yes, you may depend upon it, 'tis every word truth. Well says I, that alters the case a little, and I'll write to Uncle Joshua and the editor of the Portland Courier and see what they think of it, and if they think it's best to have Daniel for President we'll have him in, and I'll take my turn afterwards: for seeing the people are bent upon having me for President I wont decline, though if it is thought best that I should wait a little while, I wont be particular about that. I'm willing to do that which will be best for the country.

So I remain your loving friend,

MAJOR JACK DOWNING.

LETTER LXIX.

In which Cousin Nabby describes her visit to Mr Maelzel's Congregation of Moskow.

Portland, October 22, 1833.

To Cousin Sally Downing, up in Downingville, in the care of Uncle Joshua, Post Master.

DEAR COUSIN :-I got here about noon yesterday, muddy and wet enough. Such dreadful muddy roads for the time of year, seems to me there never was before. Butter fetches a grand price. They would n't offer but eighteen cents at first, but soon as they come to see it and taste of it, they give me twenty cents right off for all of yours and mine, and never said a word.So much for keeping a neat churn and clean milk-pans. The yarn and footins sold pretty well too, but I wont stop to tell you about that till I get back.

--

I'm going to stop here with ant Sally till next week, and I want you to come down if you can any way in the world, for here's a sight here that would make you jump higher than the cat's back if you should see it. I'll jest tell you a little about it. When I got here yesterday, I found ant Sally all in a flutter about going to see the congregation of Moskow. She said she was going to carry the children, and nothing would do but I must go too. She said it would n't cost but two and thrippence, and she would pay it rather than not have me go, for she should n't mind the pay, as all that was paid that evening would be given to the societies what takes care of little orphan children and carries wood to poor freezing widows. When she said that, I felt as though I should be willing to give two pounds of butter myself. So we all fixed and off we went up to Union Hall about seven o'clock.