he would get square with the author of that business sometime, and when
the mission was offered to him (by accident, for Gen GRANT had forgotten
all about the court-martial), he got up a sepulchral voice, and said,
"Ha, ha! R-e-e-e-vendge at last!" and then wrote a bitter letter to
Washington on the subject.

After that it was peddled all round the country in a promiscuous way,
and offered in succession to a blacksmith who used to shoe horses for
Gen. GRANT, a conductor who refused to take fare from a well-known
Presidential excursion party, a dealer in hides who had conferred some
high obligations when a certain official was in the tanning business, a
grocery-keeper, a family shoemaker, a manufacturer of matches, and such
a multitude of people, in fact, that it finally got to be looked upon as
the greatest missionary undertaking of modern times.

The only really prominent man that the place was not tendered to is
GEORGE FRANCIS TRAIN; but I wouldn't say that it won't get around to him
somewhere in Asia before the circle is completed.

All these things were very well known to me before the office was placed
at my disposal, but I did not care to wound the fine sensibilities of
the President by saying anything about them in my note.

My reason for declining in favor of Mr. GREELEY has been stated--I put
the whole matter frankly to Gen. GRANT--but I can't say whether the
suggestion I offered has been acted upon or not. The only thing I am
certain about on this point is, that if the offer should be made to
HORACE, it won't get around to GEORGE FRANCIS afterwards.

There has been so much talk about this business, that I have considered