o.

This honor later proved to be a dangerous and questionable one. General
Scott wanted no interference of this kind, especially since he knew Mr.
Calhoun's influence in my choice. He thwarted all my attempts to reach
the headquarters of the enemy, and did everything he could to secure a
peace of his own, at the mouth of the cannon. I could offer no terms
better than Mr. Buchanan, then our secretary of state, had prepared for
me, and these were rejected by the Mexican government at last. I was
ordered by Mr. Polk to state that we had no better terms to offer; and
as for myself, I was told to return to Washington. At that time I could
not make my way out through the lines, nor, in truth, did I much care to
do so.

A certain event not written in history influenced me to remain for a
time at the little village of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Here, in short, I
received word from a lady whom I had formerly known, none less than
Senora Yturrio, once a member of the Mexican legation at Washington.
True to her record, she had again reached influential position in her
country, using methods of her own. She told me now to pay no attention
to what had been reported by Mexico. In fact, I was approached again by
the Mexican commissioners, introduced by her! What was done then is
history. We signed then and there the peace of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in
accordance with the terms originally given me by our secretary of state.
So, after all, Calhoun's kindness to a woman in distress was not lost;
and so, after all, he unwittingly helped in the ending of the war he
never wished begun.

Meantime, I had been recalled to Washington, but did not know the
nature of that recall. When at last I arrived there I found myself
disgraced and discredited. My actions were repudiated by the
administration. I myself was dismissed from the service without pay--sad
enough blow for a young man who had been married less than a year.

Mr. Polk's jealousy of John Calhoun was not the only cause of this.
Calhoun's prophecy was right. Polk did not forget his revenge on me.
Yet, none the less, after his usual fashion, he was not averse to
receiving such credit as he could. He put the responsibility of the
treaty upon the Senate! It was debated hotly there for some weeks, and
at last, much to his surprise and my gratification, it was ratified!

The North, which had opposed this Mexican War--that same war which later
led inevitably to the War of the Rebellion--now found its