He had made an admirable Attorney-General,
and an admirable Secretary of the Treasury. He had been appointed
to the Cabinet by Grant. He had not been long enough in public
service to have encountered the enmities which almost always
attach themselves to men long in office, and he represented
no clique or faction. He was a man of clean hands and of
pure heart. For a good while it seemed as if the rival aspirations
of Blaine and Bristow might exist without ill-feeling, so
that when the time came, the supporters of either might easily
give their support to the other, or agree without difficulty
in the support of some third person. I gave a banquet at
Wormley's in the spring of 1876, which I hoped might have
some tendency toward this desired harmony. There were about
forty guests. Mr. Blaine sat on my right hand as the guest
of honor, and Mr. Bristow on the left. They talked together,
as I sat between them, during the whole evening in the most
friendly and delightful way, telling humorous anecdotes relating
to their own campaigns, as pleasantly as if they had been
describing the canvass of some third person whom they were
both supporting.
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