_The Major Disappointed--Meets the President at West Point--Sees Gen.
Scott--They Talk over Strategy--Returns to Philadelphia with the
President--Makes a Speech at Jersey City--Mr. Lincoln also Speaks--
Meets Seward at the Astor House--A Wheel within a Wheel--Mr. Seward
Caught._
DOWNINGVILLE, July 5, 1862.
_To the Editers of The Cawcashin:_
I don't beleeve ther is enything that so sorter gets all my runnin-gear
out of order as onsartinty. Wen I writ you last, I was jest leavin
Washington, and wen you come to hear how I've scooted round the country
sence, you will be astonished. You see I hurried on hum as fast as I
could go, because I wanted to get to Downingville in time to see that
the arrangements for the 4th were got up in the rite stile. But wen I
got to Boston, I was struck all up in a heep by gettin a telliegraff
from Linkin, tellin me not to go eny further till I heerd from him.
That puzzled me terribully, and I was in an awful state of onsartinty.
Thinks I to myself, now there's sumthin up. What on arth can it be? Has
that feller Stantin been cuttin up eny more of his capers? But I was so
puzzled that I couldn't imagin wat was to pay. But I waited a few days,
and then I got a letter from the Kernel, in which he sed he wanted me
to meet him at West Pint with Ginneral Scott, as ther was sum grate
struttygy goin on which he wanted to advise about. Then I knowed ther
was sum trubbel sumwher, so I jest packed up my trunks and tuk the
ralerode for Allbanee, so as to cum down the North River to West Pint.
I got ther in the nite, jest afore Linkin cum, arly in the mornin.
I didn't sleep a wink, but jest went rite over the river in the one
hoss ferry-bote they've got there, and waited at the depow for the
Kernel. He was eenamost as glad to see me as he was wen I fust went to
Washington. He tuk me by the hand, and ses he, "Majer, I feel a good
deal safer wen you're around, for I know you won't deceeve me." Ses I,
"Kernel, that's what I never do to eny man. Ef he don't like my plane
talk, then he needn't heer it, but ef I talk at all, I must talk out
the blunt truth." "Wal," ses he, "Majer, we will go over and see the
old Ginneral, and then I will lay all my trubbel before you."
[Illustration: "He sed he jest cum out to see and be seen, and didn't
intend to blab enything about public affairs."--Page 111.]
After we got our brakefast, we went to the old Ginneral's room, and,
takin out the maps, we went at it. I never studied geographee faster in
my life than we did then. The Kernel sed the news from Ginneral
McClellan was that he would be compelled to go to the Jeemes River for
his supplize, and the grate questshin was, whether he cud turn his
right wing around so as to swing agin the river jest like opening a
barn dore. Ginneral Scott sed he thought it mite be done, provided it
was done quick enuff. I telled em I hed often noticed that wen I opened
one barn dore all at once there would cum a gust of wind, an open would
go the other in spite of all I could do. Ses I, "Kernel, ef the rebels
should pitch at the left wing while the rite is swingin, then both
dores would be open, an they might both get off the hinges." Ginneral
Scott sed he was afrade it might work that way, but ef the thing cum to
the worst, he didn't see eny help for it. You see, the army nigh
Richmond was in a tite fix, an Linkin knew it. Wen the Kernel telled
Ginneral Scott how it was, the old man cried, and sed he didn't want to
live to see the rebils whip that grate army. The whole country have
been in a grate fogo about what Linkin went to see Scott about, but
that was all. Wen he went away the next day, he sed he wanted me to see
Seward, an ef Ginneral McClellan got defeated, advise with him as to
what to do. So I went with the Kernel back as far as Filadelfy, where I
thought I stop a few days to see how things would turn out. Wen we got
to Jarsey City, the people wanted the Kernel to make a speech. He sed
first he wouldn't go out, but finally the cheers got so loud that I
telled him he must go. "Wal," ses he, "Majer, I can't. You jest go and
tell em that I am too tired." So I stepped out on the platform and
swingin my hickery around, ses I, "Feller-citizens, the President has
been up two or three nites travellin, and he ain't abil to speak. You
must excuse him." Wen they heered that, it didn't suit em at all, and a
good meny yelled out, "Who are you?" Then I remembered that I had
forgot to tell em who I was. So I stepped out, and ses I, "I'me Majer
Jack Downing." Then you had ought to hev heered em cheer, and Linkin,
you know is a queer feller, and wants to know all that's goin on, so he
cum out to see what was the matter. After he cum out, of course, he
couldn't back out of a little speech. He sed he "jest cum out to see
and be seen, and didn't intend to blab enything about public affairs."
The whistle soon sounded, and off we went. Nothing happened on the way,
and I bid the Kernel good bye in Filadelfy, and went to the Continental
Hotel to wait and see how the battle cum off. They have nigger waiters
here, dressed up like Quakers, and that is the reason they call it a
Continental hotel--so they say.
In a few days I saw how the battle had turned, and I knew Seward would
be along. The Kernel sent me a telliegraff that he would be at the
Aster House such a day, and I agreed to meet him there. I was
determined to smoke the old fox out this time, ef it was in my power,
and so I began to study him. Weed was there, who thinks he is very
cunnin, and Governor Morgan and others. McClellan bein compelled to
retreat from Richmond, they all thought that France and England would
interfere, and what was to be done? Seward sed we must put the best
face on matters we could, and raise more men to fight the rebils, and
that by showin a bold front we might frighten off the Uropean powers.
He sed he thought it might all be settled in "sixty days" yet, and ef
McClellan couldn't settle it by fightin, he could by deeplomacy. He sed
"he would run the machine as long as ther was a linchpin left, and let
John Bull and Looe Napoleon do their best." Weed wanted to know, ef we
had a war with England, wether it wouldn't be better to have it carried
on by contrack. He thought the government might let it out and make
money by the operashin. He sed he could furnish the powder and shoddy,
and wouldn't charge over five per cent. commission. Gov. Morgan sed he
was in favor of a war with England, and as it would be mostly a naval
fight, the government would need a good menny vessels, and he had a
brother who was a capital judge of sich matters. Stetson sed he thought
a war with England would improve bizness in York, specially
hotel-keepin, and as the Aster House was handy down town, it would be a
first-rate place for officers' head-quarters.
After they all got through, they asked me my opinion. I turned rite to
Mr. Seward, and ses I, "Boss, I'm goin to speak plane." Ses he, "That's
rite, Majer. No one can find fault with you. You're a loyal man, and
you've a rite to speak your mind." "Now," ses I, "in the first place,
Boss, I want to ask you a plane questshin. We all know you are runnin
the government machine, and whenever I look at a machine, I want to
know what the drivin wheel is made of. You see if that is all rite,
things will go putty nigh rite." Ses Seward, ses he, "Majer, I've got a
model of my machine here, and ef you would like to look at it you kin."
So he took out a little curious-looking box, and out of the box a
machine. It was a cute-lookin affair. "There," ses he, "do you see that
big wheel?--that's the drivin wheel." I looked at it, an I see it was
marked aroun the rim, "The Union and the Constitushin." "Wal," ses I,
"Boss, that looks all rite. Eny machine that runs on that basis must be
runnin rite. But," ses I, "somehow it don't seem to work well. We
ought not to get into so much trubbil ef we were jest runnin on the old
constitushinal basis." "Wal," ses he, "Majer, you see so it is." "Now,"
ses I, "Boss, there's somethin rong sumwhere. Either the ile is poor or
the stuff is bad, or our government machine on that basis would run
jest as slick as greese."
The more I looked at the machine the more it puzzled me. I knew what a
fox Seward was, an I remembered how he stuck the little nigger in
Linkin's Teliskope. So all at once the old sayin that "there's allers a
wheel within a wheel," popped into my hed. I didn't say it out loud,
but I sed, ses I, "Boss, will you let me see whether there ain't
sumthin rong about that?" Ses he, "Sartinly, Majer--go ahed." So I jest
out with my jack knife an went at it. I tuck it all apart. Wen I went
at the wheel I saw the Boss begin to wince, but I went rite on, an
purty soon I saw, sure enough, the outside wheel was only a sham, for
the rale wheel which run the government machine was marked "HIGHER
LAW--ABOLITION." "Now," ses I, "Boss Seward, I'm done with you. Here's
a wheel within a wheel, jest as I expected. It shows what an infarnal
hypocrite you are, and ef you're a mind to fite John Bull or the South,
or all the world, as long as you run on that wheel, I won't help you."
So I jest tuck my hickery an went out of the room. You never see such
a dumbfounded, scart set of men in your life, an Seward looked as ef
he would craul through an auger hole. I cum rite on after that to
Downingville, but I didn't get here in time to see about the
arrangements. The Insine made his orashin and Jerusha sung the oad
prepared for the occashin. My letter is so long that I can't tell you
enything about it, but wen I rite agin I may, ef sumthin more important
don't happen.
Yours, till deth,