Part 22

"The thing looks badly. An appeal to the magnanimity of these people will be so humiliating that I don't see how you can go through it. It will have to be discussed officially and unofficially by the inside and the outside of the administration--in public and in private, and I do not know when it will be ended. Speeding to-day, it may be put back to-morrow, and be lost at last. On the other hand, if you give a _pro forma_ judgment, your chances of reversal will be in inverse proportion to the amount of it for certain reasons which I need not now give.

"I think Blaine would have manhood enough to do right, disregarding all other considerations, and sense enough to see that he would make more politically than he would lose, if the responsibility rested entirely upon him, but he is not in a situation to force his advice upon the others.

"The President is not at all equal to such an occasion. He will probably think it a kind of duty to repeat wrongs upon a man whom he has already injured.

"Please to think over all this at your leisure, and decide whether it is not best to defy these devils to their worst.

"I am, yours truly, "J. S. BLACK."

TILDEN TO DAVID DOWS

"_Personal and confidential._

"NO. 15 GRAMERCY PARK, NEW YORK, _April 22, 1881_.

"DEAR MR. DOWS,--I recollect that some time ago you casually mentioned that you were a considerable holder of N. Y. Elevated R. R. bonds, and I replied that I held all I ever had; whereupon you reminded me that you knew how many I collected interest on in January.

"It seems to me appropriate to the cordial friendship existing between us that I should tell you that my situation in respect to that investment has changed. I desired before I should go into the country, and especially if I should decide to go abroad, to revise my knowledge in respect to that investment; and before I had completed my investigation it seemed prudent to reduce my interest or dispose of it altogether. I have substantially done the latter.

"I called at your home last evening, but not finding you, and not liking to leave word asking you to call upon me this morning, I send you this note.

"Very truly yours, "S. J. TILDEN."

DAVID DOWS TO TILDEN

"_April 22d, 1881._

"DEAR GOVERNOR,--Your note of this date rec'd. I am very much obliged to you for it.

"I think you have acted judiciously, not that I think the bonds unsafe, but I think the chances are that they will decline in price.

"Your note will be regarded as you request and again thanking you for it,

"I am, y'r friend, "DAVID DOWS."

S. J. TILDEN TO GEORGE BANCROFT

"GREYSTONE, YONKERS, N. Y., _July 11, 1881_.

"DEAR MR. BANCROFT,--I thank you for your kind attention to Mrs. Rummel's[25] request. She is the same lady whom you knew in Berlin.

[25] A daughter of S. F. B. Morse, who is credited with having established the first telegraphic line of communication in America.

"I presume that you read other things in preference to the newspapers. That is often the taste of retired statesmen and men of letters. Notably it was of Mr. Jefferson. To mention little things with large, it is my own.

"You remind me that it is five years since I have had the pleasure of seeing you. I hope the interval may not be so long hereafter. In the mean time, I am always glad to hear of your health and happiness.

"With remembrances to your family, and with assurances of cordial esteem for yourself, I remain,

"Very truly yours, "S. J. TILDEN."

RESOLUTIONS DRAWN BY MR. TILDEN FOR A MEETING OF THE CITIZENS OF YONKERS ON THE OCCASION OF THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD

"_September, 1881._

"The citizens of Yonkers, convened in public meeting, on the invitation of the Mayor and Aldermen of the city, and presided over by the civic authorities, resolve:

"_First_--That the death of the President of the United States by the individual crime of a private assassin is a deplorable event in our national history; that the evil example is intensified by the occurrence of such an event a second time within about sixteen years; that such treason against the elective sovereignty of the people tends to encourage future attempts to subvert the Chief Magistracy of the Republic by criminal violence, under the influence of progressively increasing temptations to personal resentments and private malignity, which are incident to the ever-growing power and patronage of the executive office; and that all good citizens ought to join in every wise measure for limiting these temptations, and for restoring and strengthening every moral security which heretofore surrounded the First Citizen of the Republic as he moved without guards among the people.

"_Secondly_--That to Mrs. Garfield and the other members of the bereaved family of the heroic sufferer and illustrious victim is given our heart-felt sympathy and condolence."

S. J. TILDEN TO HON. WILLIAM PURCELL

"GREYSTONE, _October 3, 1881_.

"MY DEAR SIR,--I have received your letter stating you intended to call on me and your inability to do so.

"I should have written to you earlier except for an illness, and the pressure of claims upon my attention during my convalescence.

"It would have been agreeable to me to have seen you, and to have treated you with that frankness and courtesy you have always experienced from me.

"In respect to your assurance that you would not be a candidate for nomination, if your nomination 'would be disagreeable to me and be discountenanced by me,' I have to say that I cannot assume any such position. I have neither the right nor the wish to exclude you from a legitimate and honorable competition for any public trust. My practice, when I was at the head of the party organization, was not to become a partisan of any particular candidate, but to confine myself to such advisory suggestions as might seem fit and useful during the deliberations of the convention; to defer largely to the judgment of the best men of the counties, formed at the convention, in view of immediate action on the complex considerations which enter into the formation of a collective ticket. I need not say that I have not undertaken any such function on the present occasion, and have not possessed myself of the information to make me competent to such a work. I assume that you have not given credit to the idle fictions of Republican and other newspapers which ascribe to me a desire to control the nominations and canvass for the present year with a view to becoming a candidate for Governor next year. The truth is, I ran for Governor in 1874 simply for the purpose of sustaining the reform movement to which I had given the three preceding years, and I should not have continued in the office for a second term in any possible event; nor would I now entertain the idea of returning to it, even if I flattered myself that I would receive a unanimous vote of the people.

"All I desire for the Democratic party in the coming canvass is, that it shall make the best possible choice of candidates, and do everything to advance the principles of administration to which I have devoted so many efforts and sacrifices.

"With cordial good wishes, very truly yours, "(Signed) S. J. TILDEN.[26]

"_Hon Wm. Purcell._"

[26] This was in reply to a note of the 9th September, 1881, from Mr. Purcell, the editor of the Rochester _Union and Advertiser_, stating that he had been "mentioned" as a candidate for the office of Secretary of State, and wishing to know if the nomination would be disagreeable to him and be discountenanced by him: in which case he would prefer not to be considered a candidate.

TILDEN TO GEORGE W. SMITH

"GREYSTONE, _October 26, 1881_.

"DEAR MR. SMITH,--Will you see Mr. Cooper and communicate to him the following:

"The view which I took of the matter talked about between Mr. Cooper and myself yesterday is unchanged. If nothing can be raised in New York for the State committee, the best way is frankly to communicate the fact. It could scarcely be expected to foray on one man for the whole supplies desired. I am subject to a continual running fire of contributions. To deal with them, and with the applications now before me, or sure to come, will be as much as ought to be expected from me.

"When I was at the head of the committee I stopped the practice of distributing funds from the State committee to the localities; and nothing of the kind was done in any campaign which I directed, or in which I was a candidate. I doubted the system, and can scarcely be expected to renew it single-handed on my individual account.

"Of course, nobody will give or take any trouble to collect money, if all that is necessary is to ask one man for it.

"I do not just now feel very affluent. I have given away so much this year, and have been led into such large expenses that I am trenching upon my capital, and do not feel as indifferent to unnecessary extravagance as I might under other circumstances.

S. J. T."

HARRIET F. TYLDEN TO TILDEN

"CUMBERLAND HOUSE, CHILHAM, N. CANTERBURY, KENT, "_3d Decr. 1881_.

"MY DEAR GOVERNOR,--In looking through the books in the library at Chilham Castle yesterday I came across four ponderous volumes of Halsted's _History of Kent_, published about one hundred years ago. In referring to the index of the second and third volumes, I found several entries of the name of _Tilden_ as holding possession of manors in the reign of King Henry the Second. There was a parish called Tilden also, but, in the reign of Charles the First, the names of Tilden and Tylden seem to be used indiscriminately to designate the same individual. This carries out my husband's often-disputed assertion that there were family records in existence when he was a child proving that Tilden was the original name; but that, in the reign of Charles the First, the family divided into two branches, one following the fortunes of King Charles, calling themselves Tylden, and the other who sided with Cromwell, keeping to the old spelling, _Tilden_. And it seems to me that the Puritan names in your family, 'Samuel,' 'Solomon,' goes far towards proving the truth of the statement. We, while adopting the 'Y' in the surname, have kept fast to the Christian names of Richard and of John, but especially Richard. Nearly every Tilden in Halsted's History for centuries past has borne this Christian name. I think it likely you may have seen the book or have had extracts from it made for you. Should such _not_ to be the case, I shall be _only too pleased_ to copy out everything relating to your ancestors from the history at Chilham Castle. A lady in Kent is busy on a genealogy of the Tyldens, but as yet I have not seen it, and no doubt she differs from my husband in thinking the Tildens dropped the 'y' and inserted an 'i' in the time of Cromwell when they are supposed to have emigrated to America.

"I hope you continue in good health. We have seen your name prominently brought forward during the elections. The weather was dreadfully rough here after your nieces sailed. I hope they got safely back.

"I expect Dick to spend his Christmas with me. Katie is staying with a friend, but I expect her home next week. Mr. Parnell has done great harm in Ireland: six hundred ladies are in the Unions (parish work-houses), owing to non-payment of rent.

"Believe me to be,

"Always sincerely yours, "HARRIET F. TYLDEN."

C. A. DANA TO TILDEN

"'THE SUN,' NEW YORK, _Feb. 23, 1882_.

"DEAR MR. TILDEN,--I have been slow in thanking you for the box of Steinberger Cabinet, because I only wish to taste it in the most adequate society; and now, having had a suitable opportunity, I am prepared to say again that the wine is one of the very noblest products of nature, and that I am, as ever,

Sincerely yours, "CHARLES A. DANA."

* * * * * "This shows that two men at least knew Steinberger Cabinet of 1868, which cost $84 a case--gold--in 1870.

"G. W. S."

* * * * * The following letter was in reply to a gentleman in Texas, who proposed to start a newspaper at Floresville, Wilson County, Texas, with Mr. Tilden's name at the head of its editorial columns as its candidate for the Presidency. It was dated May, 1882. The answer was written at Mr. Tilden's request by George W. Smith, then his secretary.

* * * * *

"GREYSTONE, _July 8, 1882_.

"DEAR SIR,--Mr. Tilden thanks you for the kind sentiments expressed towards him in your volume of poems, a copy of which you so kindly sent to him.

"In respect to your starting a newspaper and keeping his name 'at the masthead as the Democratic nominee for President in 1884,' I would say that Mr. Tilden started in life and passed almost through the allotted time of human existence, on the theory of performing all the duties which a citizen of the Republic owes to the State without ever entering upon an official career. His entrance into public life was a deviation from his plan, made for a temporary period and for a special purpose. He has no desire, I think, to again quit his home, his books, and his private pursuits.

"Very truly yours, "G. W. SMITH, Secretary."

GEORGE CARY EGGLESTON TO TILDEN

"797 GREENE AVENUE, BROOKLYN, _2 Aug. 1882_.

"MY DEAR SIR,--May I trespass upon your attention, briefly, in behalf of a literary undertaking in which I think you will feel an interest? The facts are these: Mrs. Charlotte M. Clarke, who has won a very decided success as a novelist while writing under a pseudonym, has now in press a novel of a good deal more than ordinary breadth and power, in which she treats the social and political history of this country during the period immediately preceding the late war and later. It is now her purpose to carry the review forward in another novel to be entitled _The Theft of an Empire_, and to concern itself with the events of 1876.

"From the character of the work now in press, which I have had occasion to read in proof, I am satisfied that in the hands of this writer the story of the election frauds of 1876 will have such a dramatic setting forth as will command respect and attention in quarters where the facts are now misconstrued. I need not suggest to you the potency of fiction to impress truths of this nature upon minds which receive such truths in no other way, but I may assure you that I know of no author likely to make so effective use of this material as Mrs. Clarke.

"The lady already has possession of very valuable materials, and in making further collections she will have the active assistance of some of the most prominent editors and public men of the country, who are her friends; but she is especially anxious to get possession of certain facts which you can doubtless furnish at once, but which it would be difficult to get elsewhere. In her eagerness to get full and accurate information for this purpose, she asks the privilege of an interview with you at your own convenience, and my own interest in the due performance of this necessary work induces me to make this request for her. With respect to myself, and the sincerity of my interest in the establishment of historic truth in this connection, I beg to refer you to my friend Mr. Parke Godwin, under whom I served upon the editorial staff of the _Evening Post_.

"Mrs. Clarke is staying for a few days at the Hotel Branting, Madison Avenue and Fifty-eighth Street, and, if you are willing to grant her request for a brief interview, she will call upon you at any time you may name, and will trespass as little as may be upon your time.

"Very respectfully, your obt. servant, "GEO. CARY EGGLESTON."

D. B. HILL TO TILDEN

"MAYOR'S OFFICE, ELMIRA, N. Y., _Sept. 2, 1882_.

"HON. SAMUEL J. TILDEN.

"MY DEAR SIR,--I would very much like the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor, and, if you can consistently aid me in securing it, I shall be under renewed obligations to you. I think I am as much entitled to it as either of the other gentlemen mentioned for the place. My district has been solid for 'our side' ever since you asked me to take hold of it and make it right, which was early in 1875. I have had to fight strong men--such men as Arnot, McGuire, Walker, and McGee, who have all been combined against me, and who started a newspaper to crush me out, and I have come out ahead every time. It has, however, been a hard struggle for many years.

"If I could receive this nomination, I should be greatly gratified. The party leaders on our side--such men as Messrs. Manning, Faulkner, McLaughlin, Thompson, Whitney, Weed, and others--will accept your suggestion on this subject, and be glad to adopt a course which will meet with your approval.

"If you will speak a good work for me for this nomination, it will settle the question. If there is any plan or arrangement agreed upon, which renders my candidacy embarrassing to you or our friends, or makes it inexpedient or impolitic, I should like to be advised of it.

"I trust you will see your way clear to do this for me.

"I remain, faithfully yours, "D. B. HILL."

PARKE GODWIN TO TILDEN

"ROSLYN, _Oct. 3d, '82_.

"MY DEAR TILDEN,--I am one of the committee appointed to raise subscriptions for the Statue of Liberty to be placed on Bedloe's Island, and we propose, this fall, to go to work earnestly to raise the necessary money. I should like very much to put down your name as the first, in a good sum--and my own as the first successful applicant. Evarts, the head of our committee, has been dilatory, but there is no doubt we shall succeed. It is an important object, in which I have interested myself from the first, and am still interested. I know that applications of this kind are often made to you--and, if you have the least reluctance, just burn this up, and consider it unwritten.

"Yours truly, "PARKE GODWIN."

PARKE GODWIN TO TILDEN

"MURRAY HILL, 19 EAST 37TH ST., _Oct. 12th, 1882_.

"MY DEAR TILDEN,--It seems to be the general opinion of our committee on the Statue of Liberty that we ought to have the name of an ex-President and ex-Governor of New York on the list of our subscribers. I concur in that opinion, and hope you will be induced to lend us a helping hand. The subscriptions range thus far from $1 to $5000, and we shall try to get $10,000 from Vanderbilt and Astor each. I should like to see one great representative of Liberty, in all the best senses of the word, at the head of the poll.

"Yours very truly, "PARKE GODWIN."

MARY TILDEN TO S. J. TILDEN

"ST. OLAVE'S, TRINITY CRESCENT, FOLKESTONE, _Oct. 12, 1882_.

"DEAR SIR,--Some few years back I heard that you came to England to look up some of your relations. I so much regret that I did not have the pleasure of making your acquaintance, as we are the old family of Tildens of Ifield Court in the parish of Northfleet.

"I have always heard my husband say that there were three branches of the Tilden family: one lived at Milsted (Sir John Tylden), they altered the spelling of the name; one branch went to America, and the other to Ifield Court. My husband was the fourth John Tilden who had lived at the old place; we were married in 1838, and I lived there with him thirty-four years, as he died in 1872 at the age of seventy-six. He was twenty years older than me; we have three children--my eldest son John still has Ifield Court. My daughter Lucy married, in 1868, Captain Miller, of the Royal Engineers; he died of typhoid fever at Gibraltar in 1876, leaving his wife and four children--three girls and one boy; they are now living with me. William, my youngest son, is a major in the Sixtieth Rifles; he has just engaged himself to be married to a Miss Bell, a lady of good family and connections.

"If you should visit England again, I hope I may have the opportunity of meeting you. I have long wished to write to you, but did not know where to address you. This summer I was spending a few weeks at Thonne in Switzerland, and an American gentleman and his wife were staying at the hotel. They were struck with my name and asked if we were related to you. I asked if he would give me your address, which he did, and I made up my mind to write to you as soon as I returned home.

"There is a church not far from here called Lynne, where Canon Jenkins took me to see where some of our ancestors were buried, spelling their names as we do, _Tilden_. My dear husband was very proud of his family; his brothers are all dead; he has only three sisters living; there _were_ twelve in the family. I hope you will pardon my writing to you, but I feel you would like to know something of the Ifield Court, Tildens.

"My daughter unites with me in kind regards to her kinsman, and believe me,

"My dear sir, yours very truly, "MARY TILDEN."

TILDEN TO MRS. LOWELL

"GREYSTONE, YONKERS, N. Y., _November 15, 1882_.

"DEAR MRS. LOWELL,--I received, on Saturday evening, your letter dated November 3d, and take the first time at my command to answer it.

"You do not overestimate the influx of communications which you are pleased to term 'begging letters.' They count by thousands. It is only in rare and exceptional cases that they can be answered. To comply with their requests would overmatch the journalistic exaggerations of the income and fortune which, in the mind of each applicant, is compared with a single want, presented as most meritorious, and as very inconsiderable in amount.

"I had occasion to tell the principal of a college, who tried to tempt my vanity with the offer to call an edifice by my name, that I should regard it as a calamity to be published as a philanthropist--having discovered that a dim suspicion of that character is scarcely consistent with the repose of a retired life.

"Nevertheless, I am open to consider the case to which you call my attention. Would it be convenient to you, some day when I am in New York, to call upon me, or to send some well-informed person to explain to me your scheme--what it needs and what your plans are? If so, I will make an appointment not earlier than next week.

"Very truly yours, "S. J. TILDEN."

TILDEN TO MRS. LOWELL

"_January 2, 1883._

"DEAR MRS. LOWELL,--I have received your note containing some account of the subscriptions for the Charity Organization Society.

"Herewith is the speech which I promised to send.

"My subscription, which was to be paid after the beginning of the New Year, will be ready whenever you may come, in person, to collect it. Since almost seven years elapsed without my having the pleasure to see you, I do not like to throw away this occasion.

"Very truly yours, "S. J. TILDEN.

"_Mrs. J. S. Lowell._"

TILDEN TO CHARLES A. DANA

"YONKERS, N. Y., _January 2, 1883_.

"DEAR MR. DANA,--I reciprocate your good wishes for the New Year for both yourself and Mrs. Dana.

"I fear there is some danger that the unsettling of the established system in regard to the canals may lead to projects for enlargements which will be of no real utility, but mere pretences for a renewal of abuses.

"I send herewith a copy of my speech on the canals in the convention of 1867, which, I think, you once expressed a wish to see; and also a copy of my first Message which contains a passage on the same subject.[27]

[27] See _Tilden's Public Writings and Speeches_, Vol. I., p. 348.

"It is sad to think of Louis Blanc and Gambetta, who have just passed away. In September and October, 1877, when Mr. Bigelow and I were in Paris, we saw something of them. Louis Blanc was an intelligent, mild man of gentle manners, and with the air of a scholar or professor. Gambetta seemed to be an impersonation of great forces. I brought back a magnificent photograph of him, which I have been examining with fresh interest to-day. Both knew enough of American politics to sympathize with the view you take of the electoral transaction of 1876-7.

"Very truly yours."

TILDEN TO PARKE GODWIN

"GREYSTONE, _January 11, 1883_.