a tired business man or lawyer.

The nomination of General Grant for president by the Republicans
and of Horatio Seymour by the Democrats had made New York the
pivotal State in the national election. John T. Hoffman, the most
popular among the younger Democrats, was their nominee for governor.
The Republicans, with great unanimity, agreed upon John A. Griswold,
a congressman from the Troy district. Griswold was the idol
of his colleagues in the New York delegation in Congress, and
his attractive personality and demonstrated business ability had
made him a great favorite with politicians, business men, and
labor. The canvass for his nomination had been conducted with
great ardor by enthusiastic friends in all parts of the State, and
the delegations were nearly all practically pledged to his
nomination. No one dreamed that there would be an opposition
candidate.

On the train to the convention John Russell Young, then managing
editor of the New York Tribune under Mr. Greeley, came to me and
said: "Mr. Greeley has decided to be a candidate at the convention
for the nomination for governor. You are his friend, he lives in
your assembly district in Westchester County, and wishes you
to make the nomination speech."

I tried to argue the question with Young by portraying to him
the situation and the utter hopelessness of any attempt to break
the slate. He, however, insisted upon it, saying that all pledges
and preferences would disappear because of Greeley's services
to the party for so many years.