nd the northernmost limit of the city, on the highest ground
south of the Highlands. Here he brought a portion of his library; here
he mingled with his flocks and herds; and here in the seclusion of a
noble estate, with the comforts of a palatial stone dwelling, he
discoursed with friends, who came from every part of the country to
assure him that he alone could keep the party together. Ever silent as
to his own intentions Tilden talked of the crime of 1876 until his
visitors, imbued with his own spirit, left him thoroughly impressed
with the importance of his renomination.

But Tilden did not trust the result to sentiment. Throughout New York
Daniel E. Manning and other lieutenants held a tight rein, and when
the Syracuse convention assembled an early roll-call, on a resolution
to determine the character of the Committee on Credentials, showed 295
votes for Tilden to 80 against him. If this overwhelming majority
shocked the dissenters, it was not less a surprise to the regulars. In
the convention of 1876 Tilden mustered, including Tammany, only 201
out of 375; now, after his enemies had exhausted their opposition, he
proved stronger than in the closing months of his famous career as a
reform governor. The result of this vote settled all controversies,
leaving the convention free to appoint electors and to select
delegates to Cincinnati.[1710] It was not to adjourn, however, until it
had shown a serene and polite contempt for John Kelly. During the
morning John B. Haskin, on behalf of the Tammany convention, had
presented a resolution expressing a desire for the union of the party
and asking the appointment of a harmony committee. Ignoring the
assembly from which he came, the convention treated the resolution as
a personal communication from Haskin, whom it assured, after politely
reciprocating his desire for the union of the Democratic party, "that
the deliberative wisdom of the national convention will result in such
action as will secure the triumph of the Democratic party in the
ensuing election."[1711] This bitter rebuff, coupled with the
overwhelming majority for Tilden, indicated a conscious strength which
deeply impressed the party in other States, and greatly aided in
demoralising opposition in New York.

[Footnote 1710: Delegates-at-large: Lucius Robinson, Calvin E. Pratt,
Rufus W. Peckham, and Lester B. Faulkner. The last named was chairman
of the Democratic State committee.]

[Footnote 1711: New York _Tri