It came upon him in a deluge, and he now, in his despair, no longer tried to control it.

He let it pass over him like a wave.

His mind was muddied by the innumerable visitors to whom he had to listen.

But his greatest anxiety was the Inaugural Address which, distracted as he was, he could not finish, although in another week it must be delivered.

He was nervous about his Cabinet; it seemed to him that he could do nothing until he had disposed of Ratcliffe.
Already, thanks to the President's friends, Ratcliffe had become indispensable; still an enemy, of course, but one whose hands must be tied; a sort of Sampson, to be kept in bonds until the time came for putting him out of the way, but in the meanwhile, to be utilized.