Noble said he was poor, and it was hard to tempt him so; Dilworthy said

he would fix that; he said, "Tell, me what you want, and say you will vote

for me;" Noble could not say; Dilworthy said "I will give you $5,000."

A Committee man said, impatiently, that this stuff was all outside the

case, and valuable time was being wasted; this was all, a plain

reflection upon a brother Senator. The Chairman said it was the quickest

way to proceed, and the evidence need have no weight.

Mr. Noble continued. He said he told Dilworthy that $5,000 was not much

to pay for a man's honor, character and everything that was worth having;

Dilworthy said he was surprised; he considered $5,000 a fortune--for some

men; asked what Noble's figure was; Noble said he could not think $10,000

too little; Dilworthy said it was a great deal too much; he would not do

it for any other man, but he had conceived a liking for Noble, and where

he liked a man his heart yearned to help him; he was aware that Noble was

poor, and had a family to support, and that he bore an unblemished

reputation at home; for such a man and such a man's influence he could do

much, and feel that to help such a man would be an act that would have

its reward; the struggles of the poor always touched him; he believed

that Noble would make a good use of this money and that it would cheer

many a sad heart and needy home; he would give the $10,000; all he

desired in return was that when the balloting began, Noble should cast

his vote for him and should explain to the legislature that upon looking

into the charges against Mr. Dilworthy of bribery, corruption, and

forwarding stealing measures in Congress he had found them to be base

633

The Gilded Age