ne of my talks with President Cleveland.

"As I congratulated him on his coming relief from the duties of his
absorbing office, he said:

"'Yes! I am glad of it; but there are so many things I wanted to
accomplish which have not been accomplished.'

"Then he went into extended remarks about the failure of the Senate
to ratify the Arbitration plan. He said that there had been much
work and anxiety in that movement that had never come to the
surface; how they had waited for cablegrams, and how at the same
time, although he had not expressed it, he had a presentiment that
through the inaction of the Senate the splendid plan for the
pacification of the world's controversies would be a failure.

"He dwelt much upon the Cuban embroglio, and said that he had told
the Committee on Foreign Relations that if they waited until spring
they had better declare war, but that he would never be responsible
for such a calamity.

"He said that he had chosen Princeton for his residence because he
would find there less social obligation and less demand upon his
financial resources than in a larger place. He said that in all
matters of national as well as individual importance it was a
consolation to him to know that there was an overwhelming
Providence. When I congratulated him upon his continuous good
health, notwithstanding the strain upon him for the eight years of
his past and present administration, he said:

"'Yes! I am a wonder to myself. The gout that used to distract me is
almost cured, and I am in better health than when I entered office.'

"He accounted for his good health by the fact that he had
occasionally taken an outing of a few days on hunting expeditions.

"I said to him, 'Yes! You cannot think of matters of State while out
shooting ducks.'

"He answered:

"'No, I cannot, except when the hunting is poor and the ducks do not
appear.'

"May 21, 1896. This morning when I entered President Cleveland's
room at the White House, he said: 'Good morning, I have been
thinking of you this morning.'

"The fact is he had under consideration the recall of a minister
plenipotentiary from a European Government. I had an opportunity of
saying something about a gentleman who was proposed as a substitute
for the foreign embassy, and the President said my conversation with