The conversation about me and Daniel concluded.

Washington City, Sept. 30, 1833.
To the Editor of the Portland Courier, away down east in the
State of Maine.

My Dear Friend,—Havn't you been in a terrible
kind of a pucker ever since my last letter to you, to
know what the President was going to say about me
and Daniel? If you havn't, I have. I never felt so uneasy
for a fortnight hardly in my life. If I went to bed

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I couldn't sleep, and I've got up and walked the floor
as much as half the night almost every night since.—
I've wished the Bank to Guinea more than fifty times,
for there's been such a hubbub here about the Bank
this fortnight past, that I couldn't get a moment's chance
to talk with the President about any thing else. We'd
have cabinet meetings once in awhile to see about moving
the deposites, and Mr. Duane and Mr. Cass and Mr.
McLane would talk up to the President so about it, that
he'd conclude to let 'em alone and do nothing about it,
and let Congress manage it jest as they'd amind to.
And then we'd go home and Mr. Kendle would come in
and talk the matter over, and read some great long letters
from Mr. Van Buren, and get the President so confused
that he would lose all patience a most.

But Mr. Kendle is the master feller to hang on that
ever I see; he's equal to the tooth ache. And he talked
and palavered with the President till he finally
brought him over, and then the President put his foot
down, and said the deposites should be moved whether
or no. And then the botheration was to see who should
move 'em. The President told Mr. Duane to do it; but
he said his conscience wouldn't let him. Then the
President told Mr. Taney to take Mr. Duane's place, and
see if his conscience would let him. Mr. Taney tried
it and found his conscience went easy enough, so Mr.
Duane packed up and went home to Philadelphy. We
were all dreadful sorry to loose Mr. Duane, for he was
a nice man as you will see one in a thousand. It's a
pity he had such a stiff conscience; he might have staid
here in the Treasury jest as well as not, it it hadn't been
for that.

But this storm about the Bank begins to blow over,
and the President's got in a manner cooled down again.
This morning after breakfast we took the papers and
letters jest as we used to, and went away into the east
room to read the news and chat awhile; and it really
did my heart good to see the President set down once

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more looking so good natured in his great arm chair
smoking his segar. After I had read over the news to
him awhile, and got him in pretty good humour, I made
bold to out with it, and says I Gineral, there's one question
I want to ask you.—And says he, you know Major,
I always allow you to ask me any thing you're a mind
to, what is it? Well says I, when we had that talk here
about a fortnight ago, you begun to say something about
me and Daniel; and jest as you got into the middle of
it, Mr. Kendle came in and broke it right off short as a
pipe stem. It's been running in my head ever since,
and I've been half crazy to know what it was you was
going to say. Well, let us see, says the Gineral, where
was it I felt off; for this everlasting fuss about the Bank
has kept my head so full I can't seem to remember much
about it.

Why says I, you was talking about nullification; how
the tops were beat down a little, but the roots were all
running about under ground as live as ever, and it
would n't be long before they'd be sprouting up again
all over the country, and there'd be a tougher scrabble
to keep 'em down than ever there had been yet; and
then you said if I and Daniel—and there that plaguy
Kendle came in, I've no patience with him now when I
think of it, and broke it right off. Ah, now I remember,
says the Gineral, how 'twas. Well, says he, Major
Downing, it is a solemn fact, this country is to see a
blacker storm of nullification before many years comes
about than ever it has seen yet; the clouds are beginning
to gather now; I've seen 'em rolling over South
Carolina, and hanging about Georgia, and edging along
into old Virginny, and I see the storm's a gathering; it
must come, and if there is n't somebody at the helm that
knows how to steer pretty well, the old ship must go
down. I aint afraid, says he, but what I can keep her
up while I have the command, but I'm getting to be old
and must give up soon, and then what'll become of her
I dont know. But what I was going to say was this;
I've been thinking if you and Daniel, after I give up,

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would put your heads together and take charge of her
till the storm has blown over, you might save her. And
I dont know who else can.

But how do you mean, Gineral, says I? Why to speak
plain, says he, if nullification shows its head. Daniel
must talk and you must fight. There's nothing else will
do the job for it that I know of. Daniel must go into
the Presidential chair, and you must take command of
the army, and then things will go straight. At this I
was a little struck up; and I looked him right in the
eye. and, says I, Gineral, do you mean that Daniel
Webster ought to be President after you give up? Certainly,
says he, if you want to keep the country out of
the jaws of nullification. But, says I, Gineral, Daniel
is a federalist, a Hartford Convention federalist, and I
should like to know which is worst, the jaws of nullification,
or the jaws of federalism. The jaws of a fiddle-stick! said the President, starting up and throwing
his segar out of the window as much as two rods; but
how do you know, Major Downing, that Daniel is a
federalist? Because, says I, I've heard him called so
down east more than a hundred times. And that's jest
all you know about it, says he. Now I tell you how 'tis,
Major Downing, Daniel is as thorough a republican as
you be, or as I be, and has been ever since my Proclamation
came out against nullification. As soon as that
Proclamation came out Daniel came right over on to the
republican ground and took it upon his shoulder and
carried it through thick and thin where no other man in
the country could have carried it. Says I, Gineral, is
that a fact? And says he yes, you may depend upon it,
'tis every word truth. Well says I, that alters the case
a little, and I'll write to Uncle Joshua and the editor of
the Portland Courier and see what they think of it, and
if they think it's best to have Daniel for President we'll
have him in, and I'll take my turn afterwards: for seeing
the people are bent upon having me for President I
wont decline, though if it is thought best that I should
wait a little while, I wont be particular about that.

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I'm willing to do that which will be best for the country.