cede. This angered Clay so that he was willing to sacrifice the Newfoundland fisheries, in which Adams was so much interested, but Adams would have refused to sign the treaty if that had been the case.

Andrew Jackson who was not considered as of importance turned out to be the most formidable candidate of all. With the overthrow of Federalism, democracy was gaining among the people. Jackson was the sort of man the common people liked. He did things while the other men were looked upon as theorists by many. The hero of New Orleans was not a man of education or culture, but he possessed a keen knowledge of the people and had many qualifications - far more than his rivals would admit for the presidency.

A Man with Many Friends

The fourth candidate was Wm. H. Crawford of Georgia, who had been Secretary of the Treasury. He was a large man physically and an astute politician. Though not highly educated he knew the arts of politics and was personally popular. He relied on his personal popularity to carry him through, but unfortunately for him he made enemies as well as friends, and he was third on the list when the ballot was taken. There being no choice, the election was thrown into the House and only the three highest candidates were eligible. Clay threw his votes to Adams and the latter was elected. As was said, he was a great statesman in many respects, but he failed as a politician and every great statesman must be something of a politician, for success in this world is won in many ways. The sneers so often cast at politicians are ill-timed. Every citizen should be a politician. Indeed every one is and most people are very poor ones because they neglect their duties and think they make amends by abusing those who do take an interest in the active work of politics.

great praise for the net results of his two terms as President. He exalted democracy and had perfect confidence in himself. He was not the ideal man, but after all he was a great man and one of the best of our Presidents.

Henry Clay ran against him a second. time in 1832, but the people had no hesitancy in deciding between a man who had positive views and did things and a political trimmer. The brilliant" Harry of the West" is entitled to much praise from his country, but he alone is responsible for his failure to gain the high honor he coveted.

The Woman's Candidate

In these papers reference has been made to the only failure of Jackson's political life-that of controlling the social ethics of Washington. Because the wives of cabinet ministers would not recognize socially the wife of Secretary Eaton, who had been Peggy O'Neil and with whom the tongue of scandal had been busy, and because Jackson could not force them to do so, the cabinet was reorganized. In this contest Van Buren, his Secretary of State, had stood by the President and Mrs. Eaton. As a reward, he was sent to Great Britain as our minister. Out of spite, Clay, Webster, and Calhoun had this nomination rejected and in retaliation Jackson had him nominated vicepresident. Then when he was ready to step down, he secured the election of Van Buren to succeed himself and his triumph was complete. Never has there been such an instance of executive dictation of a nomination.

Against Van Buren the Whigs had no single candidate and again there was a free field for all. Webster, William Henry Harrison, Willie P. Mangum, and Hugh L. White of Tennessee, all ran in the Whig interest. All were able men but Van Buren easily won.

The Tippecanoe In 1840 the Democracy Campaign again nominated nominated Van Buren, and this time the Whigs got together. At a National Convention held in Harrisburg, Pa., delegates met from all over the country. Clay was again the favorite and had a majority of the delegates, but the convention adopted the unit rule requiring each State to cast its vote as a whole. This defeated Clay and it was a terrible blow to him, for he knew

that this time he could have been elected. There were many persons, however, who liked him personally but were disgusted with his vacillating policy. One of Clay's particular friends in the convention was John Tyler of Virginia. When Harrison was nominated, he burst into tears. This greatly affected the convention and when it came to nominating a vice-president, Tyler was given this as a sort of consolation prize for Clay. Bitterly did the Whigs rue this action in after years. Harrison was elected but died after one month of service and Tyler came to the presidency and turned apostate.

A New Era

From the year 1840 dates in Politics a new era in national political organization. The National Convention was now a fixed institution with all parties. It did away with the bossism of Presidents or of Congressional caucuses, but bossism was not gotten rid of. It now became a State institution and has flourished more or less ever since and is by no means the great evil that some persons think. Organization is as necessary in politics as in any other line of work, and it is hard to decide where is the line between adequate leadership and so-called bossism. The Whig party adopted the majority rule and that has been the case with most political parties, but the Democratic party has adhered to the rule that nominees must have a twothirds vote and this has had a wonderful influence on our history. It has made and unmade Presidents and the question of "availability" has narrowed down to this- who could secure the necessary two-thirds vote? As a result, the nominees have almost always been compromise men.

In 1844 the Democratic party was in bad shape, in some respects, but it had an issue the annexation of Texas-that promised well for success. The leading candidates for the nomination were Van Buren and Cass. Van Buren led on several ballots, but when it was seen that he could not get the necessary two-thirds, his votes began to go to Cass. The opponents of the latter succeeded in forcing an adjournment and fixed up a deal over night by which the nomination went to James K. Polk, the first dark horse candidate in presidential politics. It would be idle to say that Polk was nominated on his merits, for very few people knew

anything about him, and this turned out to his advantage, for Clay was nominated by the Whigs and he was a very vulnerable candidate. able candidate. Even as a candidate he tried to face both ways on the Texas issue. Nevertheless he might have won but for the appearance of a third candidate in the field. This was James G. Birney who had run as the candidate of the Liberty Party in 1840 and had received 7,059 votes. Now the anti-slavery interest had grown and he received 62,000 of which 15,000 came from New York State and were drawn almost exclusively from the Whig party. By this Whig loss, Polk carried the State by 5,000 plurality and was elected. Polk was one of the most successful of all our Presidents in carrying out his policy probably the most so. Whether his success was a desirable one is for the political student to decide for himself.

the nomination from the Democracy, was pitted against Taylor, the successful general who was absolutely without experience in public affairs, having spent all his mature years in the army most of them far from civilization. He was nominated by the Whigs over Clay purely on his military record and they did not even give him a platform to run on. The selection, however, proved fortunate. Taylor was elected solely through the Van Buren defection from the regular Democracy and made one of the best Presidents we ever had considering his brief term of service. His death brought Fillmore to the White House who was a genuine Whig but belonged to the Clay wing which favored the Compromises of 1850. He signed these Compromises and in putting his signature to the Fugitive Slave Law signed his political deathwarrant. Clay was the real President and with all his experience and abilities does not compare favorably with the untried Taylor.

dead beyond all resurrection. There was a big contest for the Democratic nomination. Cass, Buchanan, Marcy, and Douglas were all aspirants but again the two-thirds rule was an obstacle. Cass had a majority of the delegates, but another dark horse was nominated in the person of Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire. He won easily although there was a Free Soil diversion under Hale which captured many Democratic votes and many Whigs also. Scott received more votes than Taylor had done four years before, but he had a pitiful showing of electoral votes.

Failure of

a trained Statesman

In 1856 there were three candidates again and this time the third party was more formidable than ever before. The Democrats nominated Buchanan this time and he was nearer the real choice of

his party than any nominee from 1844 to 1876. The majority of the Republicans wanted Seward, who was the most conspicuous man in the party, but he was not available" because, as governor of New York, he had offended the Native Americans who were a formidable factor in the political situation. The nomination went to Fremont, a man very popular by his California discoveries but who was not worthy the office and whose after-life showed that he was not the man for the head of the nation in a crisis. The third party, being the Americans, nominated Fillmore who polled nearly 900,000 votes, but Buchanan was elected. Buchanan had been in public life almost since reaching his majority, had experience in many directions and so far as could be judged was an excellent man for the place. How he failed at the critical moments is a matter of history.

the South, nominated Bell of Tennessee. The Republicans met at Chicago and the general expectation was that Seward would be the nominee. He had by far the largest number of delegates pledged to him, and it can be fairly said that he was the real choice of the masses of the Republican party. But Seward's friends who came to Chicago so confident met with an opposition they did not expect.

We are all agreed in believing that Lincoln was one of the greatest of our Presidents, and many believe that he was divinely chosen for his great work. If this is true, it shows that Providence works through human agencies, for of all political conventions that were ever held there was more of dickering and log-rolling at Chicago than at any other convention in our history. Lincoln himself had been working hard for the nomination, though he hardly expected it. He had even offered to pay the expenses of a friend if he would get himself elected to the convention. What would political purists say to that in these days! It is not necessary to believe that Lincoln knew all that his friends did at Chicago, but he was "in the hands of his friends" and these friends tied his hands most beautifully, and Lincoln was honorable enough to carry out all their promises, which is more than some other Presidents have done. Why, for instance, were Cameron, Bates, and Smith, in the cabinet? By means of combinations Lincoln was nomment to the great body of Republicans. inated, and it was a distinct disappoint

So far as could be judged on the surface, Seward was far and away the best fitted man for the place, and the distrust of Lincoln extended long after he was elected, so much so that Seward took it upon himself to offer to be President and let Lincoln be a figurehead only. is needless to say that this offer, made in good faith, was declined, and history has shown how great a President Lincoln was, and how badly the country would have fared on several important occasions if Seward's advice had been taken. This is meant as no reflection upon the latter, who was a great statesman, and as Secretary of State did invaluable service. The point made here is that the man who was "available" made a better President than the one who seemed to be the best fitted for the place.

McClellan was nominated in 1864 as an emergency candidate and was a complete failure.

Grant's

In 1868 the natural turn

Two Terms ing of the people to military heroes gave Grant the nomination almost without a struggle. He has been harshly criticized for his administrations, but as time goes on these criticism are being modified and the historical verdict is largely in his favor. He was elected a second time easily over Horace Greeley, who was a great and good man, a man without a peer in his own sphere, but as presidential timber he was a failure. It should have been said that Seymour, who ran against Grant the first time, was a representative Democrat, but under the circumstances his candidacy counted for little, as the election of Grant was a foregone conclusion.

The Tilden and Hayes Contest

The nomination of Tilden in 1876 was one of the best that the party could have made. He had been long in public life and his record as a reformer in New York City commended him to many people. The nomination of Hayes cannot be said to have been the deliberate choice of his party, for few people outside of Ohio had ever heard of him. He was a dark

horse candidate who won in a large field against Blaine, Cameron, Conkling and Bristow. Indeed it is likely that Blaine would have won at Cincinnati if some one had not turned off the gas one night during the balloting. During the night

a new combination was made that landed Hayes. Blaine and Clay were the two most popular men among the masses of their party, if we can judge from all accounts, that this country has ever had, and yet neither reached the presidency.

An Emergency In 1880 Hancock was Candidate nominated by the Democrats after Tilden had positively refused to run. He was nominated on the score of "availability." The ever-memorable contest at Chicago need not be narrated in detail. Blaine, Grant and Sherman were the leading candidates and the unit rule killed them all off and Garfield was finally chosen. He was a dark horse. He was elected but died so soon that one cannot say what kind of a President he would have made. At least he did not keep

faith with Conkling as the latter understood the matter. The merit of this controversy need not be discussed here.

In 1884 Blaine won the coveted nomination easily from Arthur who was the most successful of all our accidental Presidents. The Democrats nominated Cleveland because he had been phenomenally successful in New York politics and because many persons who had affiliated with the Republican party believed that he would make a good President. He was nominated on the score of "availability" and had other claims besides and these were justified by the people at the polls.

Blaine refuses the Nomination

The nomination in 1888 at St. Louis went to Cleveland unanimously because he had given his party an issue. The Republicans were anxious to nominate Blaine once more, but he refused though it was believed that he would accept up to the time that the balloting began. Harrison was nominated by combinations and there was great disappointment in many quarters. On the score of public service

and usefulness the nomination should have gone to Sherman, but the dark horse again won. Harrison was as little known by the public at large as any President since Pierce, yet in point of ability, either intellectually or as a constructive statesman, he ranks among the first. Unfortunately he lacked the arts of popularity which greatly hurt him when he ran again. Harrison in many respects resembled the younger Adams. Both were men of ability but neither received that amount of personal sympathy from the people which is so essential to a successful President of a republic.

In 1892 Harrison won the nomination after a hard fight, and if Mr. Blaine had made a canvass for the place he might have been nominated. Indeed, he would probably not have been opposed. The Democrats nominated Cleveland once more in a convention that will ever be famous for its bitterness and for the fervid oratory of Cleveland's opponents. His nomination was due largely to the tactful manipulation of William C. Whitney, and to the fact that Mr. Cleveland was in all respects the most "available" candidate with all that the term implies. He won.

In 1896 McKinley was nominated on

the first ballot by the Republicans, and was undoubtedly the popular choice of his party. This was true in a sense not before known, because his name was linked with the tariff in a personal way more than was Cleveland's with the opposite view. Bryan was nominated by the Democrats under circumstances so recent as to need no retelling. Never has the effect of a single speech in politics produced greater or more speedy results. As all know, the people decided in favor of the Republican candidate.

And now that the history of nominating presidents has been briefly rehearsed, it is only necessary to repeat what was said at the beginning, that the question of the correspondent cannot be fully answered. There is no criterion by which we may infallibly judge of the qualifications of men for any position in life. It is a matter of experience, and what that experience has been in this country, it has been the purpose of this article to set forth.

EATH, the other day, has added another to the "stilled voices" in the tuneful choir of modern English minstrels. Miss Jean Ingelow, who died in London on the 20th of July last, came, like Tennyson, of a Lincolnshire family, and more than traces of the late English Laureate's influence can be found in her works. Since the death of Mrs. Browning, to whom she also owed much of her inspiration, and the passing away of Christina Rossetti, Jean Ingelow may be said to have held the laurel crown of the female poets in England; and though of recent years her popularity has seemed to wane, much of her work is likely, we think, to live. She was especially strong in the lyrical field, and her poetry is marked, as was Christina Rossetti's, by an introspective religious cast, as well as by much beauty and melody of form. If there be one dominant note in her song, observes an admirer of her work, it is a quiet joyfulness in the beauties of nature that forbids anything like querulousness or morbidity. In her pages we hear the birds in full song and see the flowers in bloom.

In her poem "Honors" it was one of the lessons she taught that in this love of natural beauty in its every form lay man's truest happiness.

"For me the freshness in the morning hours,
For me the water's clear tranquillity,
For me the soft descent of chestnut flowers,
The cushat's cry for me.

"For me the bounding-in of tides; for me

The laying-bare of sands when they retreat, The purple flush of calm, the sparkling glee When waves and sunshine meet."

The fine dramatic poem by which Jean Ingelow is best known, with its quaint

JOSEPH M. ROGERS.

Elizabethan dialect and haunting rhythm and refrain, is "The High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire." In spite of the often common handling it receives at the hands of indifferent declaimers and public reciters, the lines are destined to live. She has also written much other minor verse, of considerable beauty, and occasionally of no little originality and strength. Especially attractive are her stories in blank verse, such as "Brothers and a Sermon," and of great sweetness and purity is much of her subjective verse, to wit " 'Divided," and "The Songs of Seven." Alike in her poetry as well as in her novels, Jean Ingelow's powers were always devoted to high and noble ends.

A collected volume of her poetry first appeared in 1850, which has since been repeatedly issued, with considerable additions. In 1867 she published a separate volume of verse entitled, "A Story of Doom," while a third volume, "Poems by Jean Ingelow," appeared in 1887. These were followed successively by "Monitions of the Unseen and Poems of Love and Childhood," and "Poems of the Old Days and the New." She also wrote a number of works of fiction, besides several stories for children, full of delicate fancy and elevated thought. Of her novels the following may be specially mentioned: "Off the Skelligs" (1872), perhaps her finest production; "Fated to be Free" (1875); "Don John" (1876); "Sarah Berenger" (1880); and John Jerome'' (1886). At her death, Jean Ingelow had attained her seventyseventh year.

G. M. A.