Washington City Jan 23d 1858 Hon D.J. Patterson Dear Sir Your letter of the 16 th inst was received by last nights mail - Since I reached Washington City I have made T reasonable effort to procure some appointment which I thought would [said] our mutual friend John, H, Naff, but so far have been unable to accomplish any thing for him - As to the appointment of John Near al a route agent on the Va & E Town Road [Roudamounts] to nothing - Caywood Blair & McKee united in an application to to the P.M. Genl to have him appointed on assistance to them and at their expense for the time - The P.M. Genl in making the appointment render the law was compelled to [post] the salary which he did at ten dollars per month and made the appointments for [2] four months only, leaving all the rest of the teams option to be arranged between the parties - I thought that Naff would not be willing to accept of the appointment upon the terms it is made and let the it matter go as T has - My own opinion is, that if there is another route agent appointed on that road that it can be protected for him, yet there has been no definite assurance given on the part of all the P.M.Genl - Hon A.G. Watkins tells me that he will do T that he can when there is any chance to do any thing for him - All that I can do at the present is to give it as an opinion that I there can be something [sane] for him - There is not a man in that Cox garrisoned district who T hope would take more pleasure in serving than him and T that I will have it in my power to do so in a a the end - he is T clever fellow and T democrat in principle. There is not much going on here, more than what you see in the papers of the day - Mr a Buchanan is T very weak man in the two Houses of [3] Congress - In fact there seem to be very few M.C. devoted to the fortunes of the Administration - As yet there are none willing to come up and make any sacrifice for it - Mr B. does not attach men to him personally and has no strength outside of the mere force of party organization. I am inclined to think though that he has much more strength through the country than he has in Congress, and it is not decided enough there to make the Members stand close up to call his moves - In regard to democratic measures generally he is entirely too conservative with a pretty fair proportion of [illegible] - He he needs will and decision of character while T seems to have a good deal of it in conversation, but he is timid and hesitating in practice - I hope that there will after a little be a much better feeling in Congress and the country in regard to the administration - Douglass move has injured the Douglas Administration some: but I think it will pass off and in the end do him T more harm than the Democratic party - If Douglas intended [4] to bolt and I think he did, he could not have selected a better time than he did for the party - He was of the opinion that he could make the pleasure and identify himself with the antislavery feeling of the north and at the same time hold on to his in strength in the South, but instead of doing this he has failed T both and as the thing now stands now a he is perfectly flat - [He] my [illegible] no one can tell; but as the matter T stands, he is T dead I fear cock in the pit - From all that I see in the papers and what I hear T that the democratic party so far as the Legislation is concerned is very near broken up in [illegible] - and what her future condition will be is somewhat absurd to [illegible] at this time - Could Johnson and Banks will and have done it more harm than any thing else and it would be a good thing if we were clever of my both at least for the present - Give T [hand] to Martha, and accept assurances of my high esteem - Andrew Johnson