In one session of the Legislature the New York City Democratic representatives were split into two camps, and there were two rivals for leadership.

One of these was a thoroughly good-hearted, happy-go-lucky person who was afterwards for several years in Congress.
He had been a local magistrate and was called Judge.

Generally he and I were friendly, but occasionally I did something that irritated him.

He was always willing to vote for any other member's bill himself, and he regarded it as narrow-minded for any one to oppose one of his bills, especially if the opposition was upon the ground that it was unconstitutional--for his views of the Constitution were so excessively liberal as to make even me feel as if I belonged to the straitest sect of strict constructionists.

On one occasion he had a bill to appropriate money, with obvious impropriety, for the relief of some miscreant whom he styled "one of the honest yeomanry of the State." When I explained to him that it was clearly unconstitutional, he answered, "Me friend, the Constitution don't touch little things like that," and then added, with an ingratiating smile, "Anyhow, I'd never allow the Constitution to come between friends." At the time I was looking over the proofs of Mr.
Bryce's "American Commonwealth," and I told him the incident.