admiration for Senator Balloon."

"Yes, Balloon is a man of parts, there is no denying it"

I think so. He is spoken of for the post of Minister to China, or

Austria, and I hope will be appointed. What we want abroad is good

examples of the national character.

"John Jay and Benjamin Franklin were well enough in their day, but the

nation has made progress since then. Balloon is a man we know and can

depend on to be true to himself."

"Yes, and Balloon has had a good deal of public experience. He is an old

friend of mine. He was governor of one of the territories a while, and

was very satisfactory."

"Indeed he was. He was ex-officio Indian agent, too. Many a man would

have taken the Indian appropriation and devoted the money to feeding and

clothing the helpless savages, whose land had been taken from them by the

white man in the interests of civilization; but Balloon knew their needs

better. He built a government saw-mill on the reservation with the

money, and the lumber sold for enormous prices--a relative of his did all

the work free of charge--that is to say he charged nothing more than the

lumber world bring." "But the poor Injuns--not that I care much for

Injuns--what did he do for them?"

376

The Gilded Age