had he done so, would he have fallen in the battle. As I have already
said, nineteen of every Tammany twenty would have come round him for
that fight. He would have conquered a true leadership and advanced a
public interest while upbuilding his party. Mr. Nixon, however, failed
tamely in the very arms of opportunity. He kept to the same ignoble
counsel that had so wrought disrepute for Mr. Croker. And, afar from
thoughts of assailing those who had dragged Tammany Hall through mire
to achieve their villain ends, he went openly into their districts,
commended them to the voters, hailed them as his friends and urged
their retention in the executive board. Is it marvel, then, that Mr.
Nixon as a 'leader' took no root? or that by the earliest gust of
opposition he was overblown? It could not have come otherwise; he
fairly threw himself beneath the wheels of Fate."

"As to the future of Tammany Hall," said Vacuum, "will Mr. Croker
make further effort to dominate it and send it orders from abroad?"

"Undoubtedly," returned Enfield, to whom the query was put, "Mr.
Croker will strive in all ways to prolong himself. It is with him both
a matter of money and a matter of pride. But he will fail; his whilom
follower, Mr. Carroll, is too powerful. Mr. Carroll is in possession
and will yield only to Mr. Martin,--that inveterate foe of Mr.
Croker."

"Do you know why Mr. Croker attacked Mr. Carroll just before he left?"
asked Vacuum "and ordered his destruction? One morning, he was taken
by Mr. Fox to view Mr. Carroll's building operations near Fifth Avenue
in Fifty-seventh Street. Mr. Fox called attention to the grandeur of
Mr. Carroll's plans. The workmen were tearing down a house to make
room for Mr. Carroll's coming palace. Mr. Croker gazed for full ten