disputes and do not care, in their hot pursuit of gain and power, whether they disturb the peace of the world. And the other is the possibility that in the conduct of the diplomatic correspondence some indiscretion be committed, raising points of honor, or entangling one party or the other in delicate positions from which creditable retreat is difficult.
It is, therefore, to be hoped that the matter will be settled as speedily as possible, for as long as it is not, all sorts of dangerous accidents may intervene. You have certainly done a valuable public service with your speech and I trust it will bear good fruit. Can you tell me whether it foreshadows the policy of the incoming Administration?
TO B. B. CAHOON
Your kind letter of January 31st is before me. I can well understand your desire, after the death of your dear wife, to seek new scenes and a new activity. But when you ask me to give you my views on the project of which your letter informs me, I am somewhat at a loss what to advise. If the position you think of were freely offered to you without your being a suitor for it, it might be acceptable, notwithstanding the uncertainty of tenure. It might be looked upon as a pleasant change and an interesting experience. But unless I greatly misapprehend the signs of the times, there will be a scramble for every place under the Government that is considered desirable. Now, I know what a scramble is, having seen several; and, knowing what it is, I shall never advise a friend of mine to enter into one, as long as he can gain a living or make himself useful in any other way. I have seen men of uncommon ability and high character, whom a laudable
