260 GEORGE STOW ELL
Applegate was present when the report was read, and mani- fested some symptoms of dismay when it was announced that that particular candidate had not received a vote. Upon being requested to explain the discrepancy between his state- ment and the returns, he said that when taking the ballot and stretching it to its full length he noticed a crook in it, and straightened it out before voting it. The report, as it was ascer- tained later, was not correct in that particular, but the drinks was on "Lish" just the same.
It was during this period that he prepared his lecture on Mohammed and the Koran. He conceived the notion that a lecture upon that dual subject would "take well" with the peo- ple. He took unusual care in its preparation. It was quite an able production, and being generously studded with ludicrous observations and quaint similes it was, on that account, well received by people who knew nothing and cared less, about the subject under discussion. The plaudits it received from his friends and neighbors induced him to believe that its presenta- tion in the Eastern States would be successful. With this pur- pose in view, he subjected it to some revisions, and greater elaboration of preparation. He also trained himself in voice culture, not in the way of its finer modulation, but in the devel- opment of its power, so that it might be heard by a vast audi- ence. He carried out his purpose and went East, but perhaps his success in the lecture field was not as great as he and his friends had hoped. His tour did not result in considerable addi- tion to his fame or fortune.
After a few years of rural life he removed his family to Al- bany in order that his children might have better educational advantages ; and soon afterwards he accepted a position in the U. S. Custom Service at Portland. It was while occupying this place that he was nominated for Presidential elector by the Republican State Convention of 1880. His nomination was a surprise, and came without his seeking or any considerable effort on the part of his friends until a few hours before it was made.
