As if he were proposing to dispose of a horse or a dog he stated his errand.
"You think you can deliver the goods ?" said I.
"I am authorized to make the offer," he answered.
"And for how much ?" I asked.
"Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars," he replied.

"One hundred thousand each for Wells and Anderson, and twenty-five thousand apiece for the niggers." To my mind it was a joke.

"Senator," said I, "the terms are as cheap as dirt.

I don't happen to have the amount about me at the moment, but I will communicate with my principal and see you later." Having no thought of entertaining the proposal, I had forgotten the incident, when two or three days later my man met me in the lobby of the hotel and pressed for a definite reply.

I then told him I had found that I possessed no authority to act and advised him to go elsewhere.
It is asserted that Wells and Anderson did agree to sell and were turned down by Mr.Hewitt; and, being refused their demands for cash by the Democrats, took their final pay, at least in patronage, from their own party.
VIII I passed the Christmas week of 1876 in New York with Mr.Tilden.