[28] Autobiography of Thurlow Weed, p. 459.
[29] Thurlow Weed Barnes, Life of Thurlow Weed, Vol. 2, p. 73.
[30] Thurlow Weed Barnes, Life of Thurlow Weed, Vol. 1, p. 461.
[31] Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 86.
[32] F.W. Seward, Life of W.H. Seward, Vol. 1, p. 483.
[33] Thurlow Weed Barnes, Life of Thurlow Weed, Vol. 2, p. 77.
[34] William H. Seward, 222,011; William C. Bouck, 216,808.—Civil List, State of New York (1887), p. 166.
[35] "Seward had faults, which his accession to power soon displayed in bold relief. His natural tendencies were toward a government not merely paternal, but prodigal—one which, in its multiform endeavours to make every one prosperous, if not rich, was very likely to whelm all in general embarrassment, if not in general bankruptcy. Few governors have favoured, few senators voted for more unwisely lavish expenditures than he. Above the suspicion of voting money into his own pocket, he has a rooted dislike to opposing a project or bill whereby any of his attached friends are to profit. And, conceited as we all are, I think most men exceed him in the art of concealing from others their overweening faith in their own sagacity and discernment."—Horace Greeley, Recollections of a Busy Life, p. 312.
[36] F.W. Seward, Life of W.H. Seward, Vol. 1, p. 547.
[37] "For four days the debate on a bill for the enlargement of the canals shed darkness rather than light over the subject, and the chamber grew murky. One morning a tallish man, past middle age, with iron-gray locks drooping on his shoulders, and wearing a mixed suit of plain clothes, took the floor. I noticed that pens, newspapers, and all else were laid down, and every eye fixed on the speaker. I supposed he was some quaint old joker from the backwoods, who was going to afford the House a little fun. The first sentences arrested my attention. A beam of light shot through the darkness, and I began to get glimpses of the question at issue. Soon a broad belt of sunshine spread over the chamber. 'Who is he?' I asked a member. 'Michael Hoffman,' was the reply. He spoke for an hour, and though his manner was quiet and his diction simple, he was so methodical and lucid in his argument that, where all had appeared confused before, everything now seemed clear."—H.B. Stanton, Random Recollections, p. 173.