is. Crossing the Alps, he went to Geneva, and striking
the Rhine, he proceeded by boat to Amsterdam, thence to Brussels, where
he walked over the field of Waterloo. Leaving his family in Paris, he
crossed to England and made a tour alone through Ireland and Scotland.

As an American senator, Robert Toombs bore letters of introduction to
prominent people in Europe. His reputation was international, his
acquaintance with the diplomatists of the Old World was extensive, and
his knowledge of the history and government of the different countries
was complete. But he did not seek notoriety in his trip abroad. He
presented none of his letters. He preferred to travel among the people,
and at night, like Jean Valjean, he loved to see the _bourgeois_ in
their gardens and at their ease, in order to study their habits and
condition. He took great interest in the laborers. On one occasion he
got down from his _diligence_ to ask a man, who was drawing water from a
well to irrigate the land, how much he was paid for this slow and
cumbersome process. He was astonished to hear that it was but twelve
cents a day.

Mr. Toombs spoke the French language; he studied the people, and no man
was a better judge of human nature. He said when he returned that the
Southern slave was better treated and was a better laborer than most of
the peasants whom he had seen.

His conversation during his European trip was bright and racy. He never
fagged in body or mind. He never became a trifler or a tease. He was not
a man who cared for his personal comforts or appetites. Occasionally he
would abuse the hotels as being far behind the American hostelry. Now
and then he would jest with his guide or indulge in bright raillery over
the Italian peddler with the inevitable cigarette. He made it a rule to
smoke a cigar in every country, to test the tobacco, and also to sample
the wine of every nation. He drank but little at that time, never
touching ardent spirits in any way. Good-humor, good health, and
happiness followed him as he made the circuit of the Continent.

Just three months were passed by him in the Old World. He arrived in New
York in September, 1855, where telegrams awaited him, summoning him to a
desperate campaign in Georgia.

The contest in Georgia that year was sharp. The American party elected
several members of Congress, but their candidate for Governor, Judge
Andrews, was defeated by Herschel V. Johnson. The latter was one of the
stronges