dealt the administration some hard blows of late, which cannot have gained me much favor in their sight. Do not send Crittenden home till you have better grounds than anything I can now give you. We have lately been engaged in important and great debates, in which I may say I have been prominent; that is, I have received unbounded applause from the people, and abuse, without measure, from portions of the country. I may well endure the latter for the sake of the applause so much greater in amount and quality. I have done right, and am satisfied with my reward. My name appears in sundry newspapers as their candidate for the Presidency in 1860. Don't take any vain notions into your head for all this. It does not affect me. It is a flattering sort of enthusiasm, which may last as long as a morning's mist. No ambition for the Presidency guides or troubles me.

Respects to Mrs. Livingston. I write you in the midst of a debate in the Senate in a hurried manner. May Heaven protect you and your dear children, my daughter, and bring you safely back to us.

Mrs. A. M. COLEMAN.

Your father,

J. J. CRITTENDEN.

(J. J. Crittenden to Orlando Brown.)

WASHINGTON, May 14, 1858. MY DEAR ORLANDO,-I know nothing of the papers that accompany this letter, which I shall put into the inclosed packet that was just now handed to me, with a request that I would send it to you. A few days ago I was introduced on the street to a Mr. Robert Carter, who presently made it known to me that he desired or had been engaged to write my biography, and he requested that I would furnish materials for it. I told him that various applications had been made to me, and that I had always declined having anything to do with that subject, and that I must answer him as I had answered others: that there was nothing in my life for history or biography; but I happened to add that I had sometimes referred such applicants to my friend Orlando Brown, etc. This I said with a smile and to get rid of the subject; but Mr. Carter caught at the suggestion, and the packet that will contain this is the result. Now, you have all I know about the matter, and I care not a fig what you may determine about it; nor have I the least ambition to be jammed up in the "New American Cyclopædia," or anywhere else, with a crowd of unheard-of notables. In whatever you may do or say in this matter, it must be done or said upon your own discretion and responsibility.

I have been the unconscious author of a great commotion here; but it has in a good degree subsided, and we are getting on quite smoothly and hastening to the end of our session. am getting quite impatient for the adjournment, for I wish for repose among my real friends at home.

The papers that abuse me I do not read, and I am inclined to adopt Shakspeare's philosophy and say of the man that is abused, "Let him not know it and he is not abused at all." On the other hand, I have been thanked, and praised, and published to the skies; and I find, Orlando, that a little greatness is a great penalty. I have been worried almost to death with visits and letters of congratulation. I am sick of greatness.

I endeavored simply to do my honest duty, and I think I have done it; and it has been my greatest gratification that my Kentucky friends have approved my conduct. I received from Mason a letter that was most grateful to my feelings. I would sooner "be a dog and bay the moon" than to sit here and disgrace old Kentucky by bowing my head at the bidding of this administration on the dictation of every sectional party, though it may call itself Southern. My purpose is to represent old Kentucky, her independence, her honesty, and her honor. I hope I shall always have conscience and courage enough to perform that duty. When I touch on this subject, I hardly know when to stop.

Give my kindest regards to your wife and all the family, and believe me to be always your friend,

TO ORLANDO BROWN, Esq.

J. J. CRITTENDEN.

(J. J. Crittenden to Hon. R. C. Winthrop.)

WASHINGTON CITY, June 16, 1858.

MY DEAR SIR,—The invitation to attend your Boston celebration of the Fourth of July next, of which you advised me, has been since received. I did, indeed, consider it a high compliment, and will long remember it with pride. To visit Boston on such occasions would be like entering the "Holy Places" of the Revolution, and would have a solemn charm for me! But I cannot be there. I am obliged to go home as soon as I can get away from Washington, and to that effect I have just written to the Major, who did me the honor to inclose the invitation and kindly urged my acceptance of it. None of your guests will enjoy the celebration more than I should have done, and no one, I think, can more regret his inability to attend. The hope of having the pleasure of meeting you will always be a great inducement to me to visit Boston.

You will not, it seems, come to Washington to see the many good and admiring friends you could always find here, and among those I ask leave to be considered one of the warmest friends and most sincere admirers. Please present my highest regards to your wife, who, I will hope, has not forgotten me. I am truly yours, etc., J. J. CRITTENDEN.

Hon. ROBERT C. WINTHROP.

CHAPTER IX.

1858.

Public Reception in Cincinnati and Covington-Addresses and Replies-Reception at Frankfort, Kentucky-Crittenden to Thomas Clay-A. Lincoln to Crittenden-Crittenden's Reply-In Senate, Bill for Relief of Jane Turn

bull.

MR.

R. CRITTENDEN'S course throughout the session in 1858, and, above all other questions, his course with regard to the Kansas Lecompton Constitution, met with enthusiastic approval throughout the West. His journey from Washington to Kentucky was an ovation. I have obtained the following account of his reception at Cincinnati and Covington:

[From the Cincinnati Daily Commercial, June 21, 1858.]

Hon. John J. Crittenden arrived in this city Saturday, at 12:22 o'clock P.M., with his lady, via the Little Miami Railroad, en route for Kentucky. The Reception Committee appointed by the citizens of Newport, Covington, and Cincinnati, accompanied by a throng of people, met him at the depot with Menter's band, and greeted him with deafening cheers and national airs. He was escorted from the cars by our esteemed fellow-citizen, William Greene, Esq., to an open coach drawn by two spirited gray horses. Thomas D. Carneal and Mr. Greene occupied seats with him. A procession was then formed, under command of Mr. Gassaway Brashears, Grand Marshal of the day, and marched down Front Street to the junction of Columbia, thence down Broadway to the Spencer House. Along the line of march large numbers of people assembled to greet the distinguished guest of the city, and several foundries and other establishments were decorated with flowing streamers and waving flags.

At the Spencer House several thousand persons had assembled to greet the senator and to participate in the ceremonies of reception. The carriage containing Mr. Crittenden drew up in front of a platform, decorated with the national ensign, before the hotel, when Hon. Thomas Corwin, after first giving his old associate and friend a warm personal welcome, mounted

the stand, and welcomed him publicly to the hospitalities of the citizens of Cincinnati in an eloquent but brief address.

THE WELCOME SPEECH.

Mr. Corwin said: "Mr. Crittenden, the very pleasing duty, sir, of welcoming you to the city of Cincinnati has been devolved upon me by my fellow-citizens; and, sir, it may be as well for me at the outset to make known to you-as, no doubt, it will prove agreeable to you-that this demonstration is not the movement of any political party. I am not the instrument of any cabal, not the organ of any politcial party, but the representative of my fellow-citizens of Cincinnati, irrespective of all partisan affiliations, who desire me, in their name, to welcome the statesman who has proved true to the Constitution and the Union.

"We welcome you heartily, sir, to our city. And besides, sir, there are thousands of us here who claim you as a personal friend, and we have assembled because we love the man John J. Crittenden. [Great applause.]

"You will not be deceived, sir, by appearances. You are now in sight of-within five minutes' walk-of your old Kentucky home. But, sir, you are as much at home here as if you were seated within your own homestead. The man who deserves well of his country is at home here and everywhere in this Union, in the love of his people, to whose hearts he is ever welcome; and I assure you, sir, there will be prayers offered in this community that it may please God to give you length of days to be, what you have been, a benefactor to the country you have so long and so faithfully served. Again, sir, in the name of the people of the city of Cincinnati, I welcome you."

When Mr. Corwin concluded, an enthusiastic youth sprang to the curbstone, directly in front of Mr. Crittenden, and giving his hat a desperate swing, sung out, in a half-frenzied tone, "Three cheers for the American eagle!" The cheers were very audibly given. In fact, they were wellnigh earsplitting.

Mr. Crittenden, who stood in the carriage during the delivery of the welcome address, was visibly agitated. His noble features seemed working with intense feeling; his eyes sparkled vividly, and his lips quivered with irrepressible emotion. He is a much more youthful person than we had imagined. He is about seventy years of age, but does not look it. His form is erect and spare, well formed and vigorous; his dark-gray eyes gleam vividly beneath heavy gray eyebrows, and are canopied by long