His name had a pretty sound to it--Nathaniel Prentiss Banks.
A schoolmate of mine and myself, greatly to the mirth of those about us, undertook Mr.Banks' career.

We were going to elect him Speaker of the next House and then President of the United States.

This was particularly laughable to my mother and Mrs.Linn Boyd, the wife of the contemporary Speaker, who had very solid presidential aspirations of his own.
The suggestion perhaps originated with Mrs.Banks, to whom we two were ardently devoted.

I have not seen her since those days, more than sixty years ago.

But her beauty, which then charmed me, still lingers in my memory--a gentle, sweet creature who made much of us boys--and two years later when Mr.Banks was actually elected Speaker I was greatly elated and took some of the credit to myself.