"He wuz a promisin yooth," sed Seward, a puttin his handkercher to his
eyes, "but the atmosphere uv the White House wuz too much for him. I
insist, however," sed he, a pocketin the handkercher, and takin hold uv
a trinket the corpse held in his hand, labelled "Presidency, 1868," from
which hung mor'n a million uv smaller trinkets, "that ez 'twas me that
pizened him, this is mine."
"Nary," sed Johnson; "I did the biziness for him, and it's mine."
"Settle it ez yoo please," sed Raymond, gently, "but whoever gits it
must remember that this Secretaryship is mine."
"And I," sed Doolittle, "must hev, for my assistance, this little affair
marked 'St. James,' for my seat in the Senit is a goner."
"For my part," sed Jim Lane, "the western appointments is mine. Its
worth em all to wear this collar."
"My friends," sed Stephens, "I find no amnesty about the corpse. There
must be one manufactured and stuck in his pocket, to be prodoost at the
funeral."
Thurlow Weed sed nothin, but looked on with a sardonic smile, knowin
perfeckly well that whoever took the biggest part uv the plunder, he'd
control it, any way.
Governor Sharkey laid claim to a secretaryship, and Boregard to the
place uv Sherman, and Lee to Grant's position, and Vallandigham wanted
this, and tother feller that, and there wuz a terrible hubbub over the
corpse.
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