He
wrote also a long letter to Porter, explaining his conduct. Porter had
already been told that Peter was largely responsible for his defeat, but
after reading Peter's letter, he wrote him a very kind reply, thanking
him for his support and for his letter. "It is not always easy to do
what one wants in politics," he wrote, "but if one tries with high
motives, for high things, even defeat loses its bitterness. I shall not
be able to help you, in your wished-for reforms as greatly as I hoped,
but I am not quite a nonentity in politics even now, and if at any time
you think my aid worth the asking, do not hesitate to call on me for
it. I shall always be glad to see you at my house for a meal or a night,
whether you come on political matters or merely for a chat."
Peter found his constituents torn with dissensions over his and
Kennedy's course in the convention. He did not answer in kind the blame
and criticism industriously sowed by Kennedy; but he dropped into a
half-a-dozen saloons in the next few days, and told "the b'ys" a pretty
full history of the "behind-the-scenes" part.
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