Mr.Blaine at this time very earnestly pressed Mr.Martin I.Townsend of New York for the place.

I do not conceive that I had any right to complain of Mr.Blaine in this matter.

I never made any request of him for any appointment within his gift and he was beset behind and before by the demands of men he was unable to gratify, to many of whom he conceived himself under great obligation.

It should be stated too that in Mr.Blaine's time the Members from Massachusetts older in the service than myself had very important places indeed.

So it was hardly just to increase the number of important Committee appointments from our State.
But it happened to me by great good fortune that I had an opportunity, of which I was very glad, to accomplish something by reason of my place on each Committee on which I served, which I could not have accomplished without it.
An amusing piece of good fortune happened to me at the beginning of my service.