sion,
including Mr. Blaine, had urged Congress to buy it, but without
avail.

One day Mr. Dwight, Librarian of the State Department, came
to see me at the Capitol about some not very important matter.
While I was talking with him, he said that the one thing he
wished most was that Congress would buy the Franklin Papers.
He added "I think if I were to die, the words 'Franklin Papers,'
would be found engraved on my heart." I said I thought I could
accomplish the purchase. So I introduced a resolution, had
it referred to the Library Committee, and we had a hearing.
It happened that Edward Everett Hale, who probably knew as
much about the subject and the value of the papers as anybody,
was then in Washington. At the same time John Russell Bartlett
was here, who had charge of the famous Brown Collection in
Rhode Island. They were both summoned before the Committee,
and on their statement the Committee voted to recommend the
passage of the resolution. It passed the Senate. The provision
was then put upon the Sundry Civil Appropriation bill. With
it, however, was a provision to buy the Rochambeau Papers,
which had been sent to this county on the assurance of Mr.
Sherman, who was Chairman of the Committee on the Library,
that Congress would purchase them. There was also a provision
for buying the papers of Vans Murray, Envoy to France in Napoleon's
time; and for buying two other quite important manuscript
collections. When the bill got to the House, all these things
were stricken out. The Conference Committee had a great strife
over them, the House refusing to put any of them in, and the
Senate insisting upon all. At last they compromised, agreeing
to take them alternately, including the first one, rejecting
the second; including the third, rejecting the fourth, and
so on. In this lottery the Franklin Papers were saved, and
Mr. Sherman's Rochambeau Papers were stricken out, much to
his disgust. But he got an appropriation for them in a subsequent
Congress.

The Committee on Rules have the control of the Capitol, and
the not very important power of assigning the rooms to the
different Committees. Beyond that they have not, in general,
much to do. There have been few important amendments to the
rules in my time, of which I was the author of two.

One of them provides that an amendment to any bill may be
laid on the table, on special motion, without carrying the
bill itself with it. The motion to lay on the