convention that, whereas two years hence it will
be the privilege and duty of the Indiana Democracy to elect a United
States Senator to fill the seat now occupied by a Republican, we, the
delegates here assembled, do hereby pledge the party's support for the
office of Senator in Congress to the Honorable Edward G. Thatcher, of
Marion County."

There was a moment's awed calm before the storm broke; Thatcher rose in
his seat to look at the strange gentleman from Pulaski who had thus
flung his name into the arena. Thatcher men rose and clamored blindly
for recognition, without the faintest idea of what they should do if
haply the cold eye of the chairman fell upon them. The galleries joined
in the uproar; the band began to play "On the Banks of the Wabash" and
was with difficulty stopped; a few voices cried "Bassett," but cries of
"Thatcher" rose in a mighty roar and drowned them. The chairman hammered
monotonously for order; Mr. Daniel Harwood might have been seen to
thrust his memorandum into his trousers pocket; he bent forward in his
seat with his eye upon the chairman. The Honorable Isaac Pettit had been
for a moment nonplussed; he was unacquainted with the gentleman from
Pulaski, nor had he known that an effort was to be made to commit the
convention to Thatcher's candidacy; still the tone of the resolution was
friendly. Thatcher, rising to his feet, was noisily cheered; his face
was red and his manner betokened anger; but after glancing helplessly
over the hall he sank into his seat. The chairman thumped with his
gavel; it seemed for a moment that he had lost control of the
convention; and now the Honorable Isaac Pettit was observed demanding to
be heard. The chairman lifted his hand and the noise died away. It lay
in his power to ignore the resolution wholly or to rule it out of order;
the chairman was apparently in no haste to do anything.

"Good old Uncle Ike," howled some one encouragingly, and there was
laughter and applause. With superb dignity Mr. Pettit appealed for
silence with gestures that expressed self-depreciation, humility, and
latent power in one who would, in due course, explain everything. A
group of delegates in the rear began chanting stridently, "Order!
Order!" and it was flung back antiphonally from a dozen other
delegations.

Mr. Harwood became active and climbed upon his chair. Gentlemen in every
part of the hall seemed at once anxious to speak, but the chairman was
apparently oblivious of