inger of great popularity.]

President Lincoln came first upon my list of successful candidates and
was the sixteenth president of the United States. I was one year old
when he became a member of the bar in 1837. He was twenty-eight when I
was born in Illinois. When he was inaugurated, March 4, 1861, I was
twenty years old and at that time in Boston when the mighty civil war
began. When he was elected the second term I was in Santa Cruz,
California and in the midst of the campaign. I wonder how many times I
sang Vive l'America and the Star Spangled Banner before the victory
was won and the hurrahs filling the air at our successes. But our joy
was turned into mourning when he was assassinated on April 14, 1865.
He had only a short time to serve the nation that honored him. He was
succeeded by Andrew Johnson, the vice-president. The eighteenth
president was U.S. Grant, who served two terms, 1869-77. I was in San
Francisco then and both times I was in the campaign and won. I saw him
also in 1879 as he returned from the tour of the world. The nineteenth
president, R.B. Hayes, came next in order. I was then in San Francisco
and also in the employ of the Republican committee as vocalist. James
A. Garfield became the twentieth president. He was inaugurated March
4, 1881, and had served only three months when the assassin's bullet
laid him low. Chester A. Arthur, vice-president, took his place, the
third vice-president, to become the nation's chief executive during
the time I aided the Republican campaign committee. I now come to the
twenty-third president, Benjamin Harrison, whose campaign was a record
breaker. At that time I was living in San Bernardino, California, in
one of the largest counties of southern California. This county had
been democratic since 1849. The Republicans determined to win the
county. There were enough progressives to attempt it and war on the
corrupt old ring. The Grand Opera house was engaged as the place to
inaugurate the campaign. My son was director of the Seventh Regiment
band and also of the orchestra at the opera house. I had signed an
agreement to sing for the committee throughout the campaign. With this
arrangement the music was assured. All other details completed we were
ready for the great battle. Our initial performance took place
November 9, 1888, in the Grand Opera house, San Bernardino. The
announcement in the morning papers after the first gun was fired was
the following:

"Record o