, and there were 21
cast for Bristow, which had been cast by States standing
earlier in alphabetical order on the roll, who had cast their
votes before the stampede began. If Kentucky had cast her
24 votes for Blaine, he would have been nominated. I was
told by the close friend of Bristow, of whom I have spoken,
and I have no doubt he is right, that the Kentucky Republicans
had felt very kindly toward Blaine, and their action was determined
by the knowledge of the transaction I have just related. They
thought that if this bitterness and anger and dislike of Mr.
Bristow existed in the mind of Mr. Blaine, it was hardly
worth while for Bristow's friends and supporters to clothe
him with the Presidential office. If Bristow had not visited
Blaine's house that Sunday morning, Blaine would, in my opinion,
have been the Republican candidate for the Presidency.

What would have been the result if Mr. Blaine had been nominated
in 1876, it is now idle to speculate. I am satisfied, in
looking back, that I myself underrated his strength as a candidate.
But it seems likely that he would have had the votes of all
the States which President Hayes received, and would have
been stronger than Hayes in New York.

Mr. Hayes came to the Presidency under circumstances of great
difficulty and embarrassment. He was in my judgment one of
the wisest, sincerest and most honest and patriotic men who
ever held the office.

But President Hayes's Administration was embarrassed by the
disputes about his title. The House of Representatives was
against him in the first Congress of his term, and in the
second Congress the Senate and House were in the hands of
his political opponents. He also throughout the whole term
had to encounter the hardly disguised hostility of nearly
all the great leaders of his own party in both Houses of Congress.
Conkling never spoke of him in public or private without a
sneer. I suppose he did not visit the White House or any
Department during President Hayes's term. Mr. Blaine was
much disappointed by President Hayes's refusal to give Mr.
Frye a place in the Cabinet, which he desired as a means of
composing some incipient jealousies in Maine. Hamlin, who
was a very influential Senator, was much disgusted by the
President's inclination to reform the civil service. This
feeling was largely shared by Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania,
an able and patriotic man, who ruled the Republican Party
in that State with a