The foreman was a Virginian, with but
little knowledge of farming. The house-keeping was crude. The table
was a coarse one. There was neither tablecloth nor napkins. The
repast consisted of tea, the bread purchased on the way, soft butter,
cold corned beef, and blackberries. When we entered the room Mr.
Cushing went to a bureau, and took from a drawer a package which
contained steel knives and forks, such as I had been accustomed to sell
when a boy in a country store. From the appearance the cutlery had
never been used, but its antiquity was marked by spots of rust.
This incident shows the democratic side of Mr. Cushing's character. He
had also an aristocratic side. During General Grant's administration,
a Mr. Kennedy, who had been a merchant at Troy, New York, came to
Washington and distinguished himself by his somewhat ostentatious
entertainments to diplomats and other notable persons. This proceeding
annoyed Mr. Cushing, and he gave voice to his feelings in this manner:
--"Mr. Kennedy, an ironmonger, comes here from Troy and sets himself
up as a personage. He is not a personage at all, sir: not at all,
sir."
When I became Governor in January, 1851, there were a large number of
offices at the disposal of the Governor and Council. Of these there
were sheriffs, district attorneys, registers of probate, clerks of
courts, and registers of deeds.
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