RY NIA CRUZ AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM H. SEWARD, FHOM 1801 TO 1834. WITH A MEMOIR OF HIS LIFE, AND SELECTIONS FROM HIS LETTERS FROM 1831 TO 1846. BY FKEDEKICK W. SEWAKD. NEW YOEK: D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 549 AND 551. BROADWAY. 1877. COPYRIGHT BY D. APPLETOX & CO., 1877. " > P E E F A E. IN 1871, after his return from a journey round the world, my father's family and friends were earnestly desirous that he should prepare, with his own hand, some record of his eventful life. He considered the matter, and a few days later wrote to a friend, " I am clearing away from my table an accumulated business and cor- respondence, with a view, if I can find the necessary aid, to prepare an account, not of my life and times, but of my own particular part in the transactions and events of the period in which I have lived." He began the work in the form of a narrative addressed to his children, and brought the story down to 1834. His death left it unfinished. He had never kept a diary. But, fortunately, many of his private letters had been preserved. Written with careless freedom, and of course without any idea of their future publication, they mirror his daily thoughts, and are often minute in their detail of passing events. Gathering these, together with his memoranda, his public writings, and his general correspondence, and aided by the memories of those who knew him longest and best, I have endeavored to complete the story of his life. * F. W. S. CONTENTS. AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 1801-1816. Birth and Parentage. Colonel John Se ward. School-Life in Orange County. Witches. The Great Eclipse. The Eighteen States. War with England. Downfall of Napo- leon. Kitchen and Parlor. A Boy's Impressions about Slavery . . PAGE 19 1816-1818. First Steamboat Journey. Chancellor Kent. College-Life at Schenectady. The Mohawk Trade. Dr. Nott. Wayland. Welcome to Daniel D. Toinpkins . . .29 1818-1819. A College Escapade. A Coasting- Voyage. Six Months in Georgia. Kindly Patrons. The Union Academy. Planters and Slaves. Law-Studies. Return to College. Adelphic and Philomathean. A Secession. Trial and Defense. Commencement Honors 36 1820-1824. Studying Law. John Duer. John Anthon. The Forum. Edward N. Kirk. Ogden Hoff- man. Chief-Justice Spencer." Bucktails" and " Clintonians." Constitution of 1821. Admitted to the Bar. " Going West." Partnership with Judge Miller. Choosing Church and Party .47 1824. Stage-Coach Excursion to Niagara. First Meeting with Thurlow Weed. Buffalo. New York and the Western Trade. Benjamin Eathbun. Origin of Parties in the United States. Their History and Character. Presidential Election of 1824. Struggle over the Electoral Law. Adams and Jackson. Marriage . . . . .55 1825-1828. President Adams, Clinton, and Clay. A Southern Combination. The " National Eepub lican " Party. A Night-Ride with Lafayette. Pageants in his Honor. Visit to De Witt Clinton. Adhering to Adams. Rejection as Surrogate. A Resolution about Of- fice. Death of Clinton. Presidency of Young Men's Convention at Utica . . 63 6 CONTEXTS. 1828-1829. The Convention. Abduction of Morgan. Popular Excitement. The Antimasonic Party. Solomon Southwick. Smith Thompson and Francis Granger. Van Buren and Throop. Congressional Nomination. A Coalition and an Explosion. General Jack - son's Election. Auburn Projects. Working for a Competence. Buying a House. PAGE 69 1830. Popular Elections. The Evening Journal. A Fourth-of-July Demonstration. Henry Dana Ward. The " Working-men." Granger for Governor. National Convention. Thaddeus Stevens. Judge McLean. Myron Holley. Elected to the Senate . 76 1831. Legislative Life. First Experience in Debate. Militia Eeform. A Dream of William Morgan. Albert H. Tracy. William H. Maynard N. P. TaUmadge. Imprisonment for Debt. Calhoun and Van Buren. General Jackson and the United States Bank. Breaking up of the Cabinet. The "Albany Regency." The Kichmond Junto. National Policy .......... 80 1831. Oration at Syracuse. Railroads and Canals. Visit to John Quincy Adams. Baltimore Convention. Charles Carroll of Carrollton and Chief-Justice Marshall. William Wirt for President. Red-Jacket. Samuel Miles Hopkins. A Warning from Virginia 88 1832-1833. Legislative Session. Banks. Railroads. Female Convicts. The Canal System. Debate on United States Bank. Van Buren rejected. Court of Errors. " Citizen" Genet. Visit from Aaron Burr. His Reminiscences. A Long Chancery Suit. The Cholera. Jackson reflected. The Nullification Movement . . . . .93 1833. First Voyage to Europe. The Letter-Bag. A Lost Sailor. Liverpool and New York. Chester. Scenes in Ireland. The Merchant's Widow. Emmet's Cell. Emigrants to America. Scotland and Scottish Memories. Edinburgh. A Grumbling Legend. London Sights and People. Seeing the King. Malibran. An American Charge". Joseph Hume. A Day in Parliament. Cobbett. Peel. Hay. O'Connell. Stanley. American Reformers. Indians and Quakers. Paganini. Thoughts on leaving Eng- land . . . . . . . . ' . .104 1833. Crossing the German Ocean. Traveling through Holland by Canal. Dutch Towns and Thrift. Amsterdam and the Hague. Broeck. The Children's Patron Saint. Meeting an Army. A Woman's-Rights Question. Dusseldorf and Cologne. The Rhine. Coblentz. Bingen. Mayence. Frankfort. Heidelberg. Among the Swiss Moun- tains. Young and Old Republics. A Tavern Adventure. Berne. Lausanne. Ge- neva. An Unhappy Man. St-Gervais . . . . . .116 1833. Chamouni. Mont Blanc. En Voiture. Politics in the Coupe. Paris. Scenes of Revolu- tionary Changes. The Tenants of.the Tuileries. Lafayette in the Chamber of Depu- 9 ties. Trying the Guillotine. Napoleon's Old Soldiers. The Orleans Family. The Pantheon. La Chapelle Expiatoire. Josephine's Cottage .... 125 CONTENTS. 7 1833. A Visit to La Grange. Lafayette's Affection for America. His Family. His Conversation and Habits. His Description of the Kevolution of 1830. Views of French Politics, Past and Future .......... PAGE 134 1833-1834. Home again. Colonel S wart wout. Protecting Settlers in the Court of Errors. Jackson's Progress. Edward Livingston. Abolition of Slavery in the West Indies. Coloniza- tion and Antislavery Movements. Removal of the Deposits. Dissolution of the Anti- masonic Party .......... 141 1834. Last Year in the Senate. Speech on Removal of the Deposits. The Six-Million Loan. A Warm Debate. Honest John Griffin. Land Distribution. Improvement of the Hud- son River. Beginning of the Whig Party. Eulogy on Lafayette. Searching for a Candidate under Difficulties. Nomination for Governor. Where Great Men live. Silas M. Stilwell ... .149 MEMOIR, AND SELECTIONS FROM HIS LETTERS. CHAPTER I. 1831. Home at Auburn. Journey to Albany. First Experiences of Legislative Life. Sketches of Character. Aaron Burr. Citizen Genet Maynard. Tracy. Granger. Weed 161 CHAPTER II. 1831. Albany Society. Dinners. Parties and Visits. Governor Throop. Samuel Miles Hop- kins. Nathaniel P. Tallmadge. Levi Beardsley. Millard Fillmore. Philo C. Fuller. Lobbying. Election of Marcy to the United States Senate. Speech on Militia Re- form. Troy and Schenectady. Mad Dogs. Reading Novels . . . 174 CHAPTER III. 1831. Visit to the Shakers. Presidential Candidates. Calhoun. Chief-Justice Spencer. Rural Life, A Parent's Responsibilities. Banks. Edward Ellice. Trip to Orange County. 183 CHAPTER IV. 1831. Maynard's Eloquence. Rev. Edward N. Kirk. Religious Belief. John C. Spencer. Bon- nets. United States Bank. West Point and " Old Fort Put." Imprisonment for Debt Closing Scenes of the Session . . . . . . .187 8 CONTENTS. CHAPTER Y. 1831. Fourth-of-July Orations. Captain Seward. A Militia Career. President-Making. First Railway-Bide. Disraeli. Dr. Campbell. Judge Bronson. Gerrit Y. Lansing. Abram Van Vechten. Mrs. Hamilton ...... PAGE 192 CHAPTER VI. 1831. A New England Journey. A Steamboat Lottery. Indian Traditions. " Last of the Mo- hicans." Providence. President Wayland. Boston. Eevolutionary Memories and Men. The Polish Standards. Eide to Quincy. First Meeting with John Quincy Adams. Down the Delaware. The Baltimore Convention. William Wirt , 198 CHAPTER VII. 1832. Legislative Debates. Speech on the United States Bank. Eailroads. General Boot and the Eegency. Boyish Memories. Ways of the Lobbyists. The Address. The Greeks 209 CHAPTER VIII. 1832. Eural Fancies. Eev. Alonzo Potter. The Fire-King. Coming of the Cholera. Maynard's Death. Lieutenant-Governor Livingston. Jackson reflected. Governor Marcy. A Weather-Prophet. Eival Stages. The Price of Candles. Edwin Forrest. A Pre- monition of the Civil War . . . . . . . .215 CHAPTER IX. 1833. New-Year's Eeflections. A Bound of Calls. United States Senators. Silas Wright. N. P. Tallmadge. Christian Faith. South Carolina Nullification. Speech defending Jackson's Proclamation. A Mother's Illness. Voyage to Europe . . 225 CHAPTER X. 1833-1834. Return Home. The Wadsworths. Dissolution of the Antimasonic Party. Debate on Eemoval of the Deposits. The Six-Million Loan. Commercial Distress. A Depre- ciated Currency. The Cholera. Freeman the Artist. Nomination for Governor 230 CHAPTER XL 1834. Campaign of 1834. Seward and Stilwell." Young Man with Eed Hair." The Whig Party. Election. "Mourners." Journey with Cary. New York Hospitalities. Charles King. Chancellor Kent. New England Dinner. End of Legislative Life. CONTENTS. 9 CHAPTER XII. 1835. Return to Private Life. Law and Chancery Practice. Judge Miller. Se ward and Beards- ley. Political Speculations. French Claims. Personalities in Debate. Attempt to assassinate Jackson. Advice about going West. Editorial Life." Optimism." Henry Bulwer ......... PAGE 248 CHAPTER XIII. 1885. A Summer Tour. The Pennsylvania Mountains. The Susquehanna Valley. Harrisburg. Harper's Ferry. The Valley of Virginia. Weyer's Cave. Natural Bridge. Slaves and their Masters ......... 260 CHAPTER XIV. 1835. Virginia Hospitality. The Blue Eidge. Monticello. Jefferson. Fredericksburg. Mount Vernon. The Washington Estate. The National Capital in 1835. Visit to "Old Hickory." Baltimore and Philadelphia. The Biddies. Sully. Dr. Physick. Joseph Bonaparte. Long Branch Life. Old Memories and Traditions of Florida. The " Moon Hoax." Death of Mrs. Miller. The " Neutral Ground " . . 272 CHAPTER XV. 1835-1836. Abolitionists. " Incendiary Publications " and Eiots. The Auburn & Owasco Canal Project. Harrison and Granger. The " Loco-focos." Webster and Clay's With- drawal. The Small-Bill Law. Town and Country Life . . . " . 291 CHAPTER XVI. 1836. The Holland Land Company. Trouble with Settlers. A Fortified Land-Office. Seward as Pacificator. Life at Westfield. A Night Attack. Geology and Science. Exploring Chautauqua County . . . . . . . . .301 CHAPTER XVII. 1836. The Year of Speculation. New York Schemes. Auburn Projects. A Complex Trust. Van Buren elected President. Thanksgiving-Day. A Christmas Sermon . 815 CHAPTER XVIII. 1837. The Year of Financial Collapse. Busy Times at the Land-Office. Death of his Daughter; A Conflagration. The Ides of March. Van Buren. A Member of the Episcopal Church. General Banking Law. The Crash." Shinplasters." Louis Napoleon 32& 10 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIX. 1837. Chautauqua in Summer. Discourse on Education. "Washington in the Extra Session. First Meeting with Clay and Webster. Calhoun's Speech. New York & Erie Rail- road Convention. Samuel B. Buggies. A Political Kevolution. Whig Exultations. Weed and the Clerkship. The Canadian " Patriot War." The Jeffersonian. Letters to Children ......... PAGE 334 CHAPTER XX. 1838. Auburn & Syracuse Railroad. A Whig Legislature. Small Bills and Specie Payments. An Ice-Adventure. Ruggles's Canal Report. Charles King. Ocean-Steamers. Over-zealous Friends. Granger and Bradish ... . . . 356 CHAPTER XXL 1838. The Canvass. Whig Young Men's Convention. Whittlesey. Fillmore and Tracy. The Episcopal Diocese. Whig State Convention. Nomination of Seward and Bradish. " A Speculator." The Antislavery Interrogatories. The Election . . ,368 CHAPTER XXII. 1839. A Busy Season. The " Kane Mansion." The Inauguration. The Message. A Legisla- tive Dead-Lock. State Officers. The Oneidas. Geological Survey. "The Three- Walled House." The " Atherton Gag." Horace Greeley. Spencer. Dr. Potter. Canadian Raids. Secretary Poinsett. Foreigners. Colonel Worth . . 379 CHAPTER XXIII. 1839. A Levee in New York. The Bible. Habits of the Letter-Basket. J. P. Kennedy. Hamil- ton. First Diplomatic Question. A Canal-Journey. Visit to the Prison. Future Railroads. Animal Magnetism. Van Buren's Progress. Fourth of July with Sunday- School Children .......... 407 CHAPTER XXIV. 1839. The Pardoning Power. Experiences, Sad and Grotesque. Going to Commencement. Mrs. Clinton. Henry Clay at Auburn. President Van Buren in Albany. A Requisition for Three Black Men. Tour through the Northern Counties. Conferences with Clay.^-A Clever Caricature ......... 419 CHAPTER XXV. 1839. Visit to Western New York. The Amistad. The Virginia Controversy. Cole's Picture. Military Reviews. School Libraries. Morus Multicaulis Fever. No Coal-Mines. Church and State. Election of a Whig Legislature. Presidential Tours. Partisanship in Office ...... . 433 CONTENTS. 11 CHAPTER XXVI. 1839. The Harrisburg Convention. General Harrison nominated. Congress disorganized. R. M. T. Hunter. The Patroon. The Helderberg War. Story of a Youthful Friendship. David Berdan. Scotchmen. Gulian C. Verplanck. Frankenstein . PAGE 447 CHAPTER XXVII. 1840. The Whigs in Power. Appointments. Virginia's Threats. Antislavery Laws. The Schools in New York. The Old Writing-Chair. The First Daguerreotypes. Social Life. John A. King. Stephens. St. Patrick and St. George. Natives and Foreigners. The " Higher Law " 458 CHAPTER XXVIII. 1840. A Talk with the Onondagas. Abraham Le Fort. New Eailways and Canals. Registry Law. The D'Hauteville Case. Manorial Tenures. Law Reform. Bankrupt Law. Silk Experiments. The Staff Snuff box. Smoking .... 472 CHAPTER XXIX. 1840. Results of the Session. Embarrassments of the Appointing Power. Six Thousand Disap- pointments. The Rathbun Forgery Case. Outlook for the Presidential Contest. Escape of Lett Establishment of the Cunard Line . . . .482 CHAPTER XXX. 1840. Cherry Valley Centennial. The World's Antislavery Convention. Georgetown wanting to get out. The Sub-Treasury Law. Prison Bibles. Utica Convention. Renomina- tion. Webster at Saratoga. Caleb Gushing. Edward Stanley. Case of Cornelius 488 CHAPTER XXXI. 1840. The Presidential Campaign. " Old Tip." Mass-Meetings. Speeches and Songs. The Conservatives. Bishop Hughes. The "Forty-Million Debt." The Glentworth Ex- plosion. Reception at Albany. The Last Time a Candidate ... 495 !2 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXII. 1840. Rush for Federal Appointments. Whig Jubilations. Antislavery Party. Virginia Con- troversy continued. Thanksgiving. Murder Cases. The Electoral College PAGE 503 CHAPTER XXXIII. 1841. Second Inauguration. A Prosperous State. Burning of the Caroline. Fox and Forsyth. The Legislature on the Virginia Question. The Colonial History. Brodhead's Search among Dusty Records. Cabinet-Making. Granger. No Secrets. Legislative Fun. John Duer. Death of his Brother ...... 516 CHAPTER XXXIY. 1841. New Administration at Washington. Appointments. The McLeod Case. General Scott. Crittenden. Virginia Search Law. Trial by Jury of Fugitive Slaves. Crisis at Richmond. Irishmen and Father Matthew. Death of President Harrison. Funeral Solemnities .......... 525 CHAPTER XXXV. 1841. Tyler sworn in. Whig Hopes. The Tribune. The State Printing. The "Nine Months' Law." Sunday-Schools. The Public Schools in New York. The Blind and Mute. The Oneidas. McLeod's Arrest. Correspondence with President Tyler . 533 CHAPTER XXXVI. 1841. Proposal to stop Work on the Canals. Whig Assembly turned Democratic. Willis Gay- lord Clark. The Senecas. Tyler's Message. The Georgia Correspondence. The Anti-rent Troubles. Trip to New England. Bob, the Mocking-Bird. McLeod Excite- ment. Supreme Court Decision ....... 541 CHAPTER XXXVII. 1841. Whig Troubles at Washington. The Georgia Correspondence. Stealing a Woman. Re- fusal to be a Candidate. Extra Session at Buffalo. Lyell. Murder of Mary Rodgers. Webster and the McLeod Case. The Vetoes. Clay and Tyler. Breaking up the Cabinet ..... 554 CONTENTS. 13 CHAPTER XXXVHI. 1841. Spencer in the War Department. Trial of McLeod. An Alibi. The Election. A Demo- cratic Victory. Letters to Adams and Scott. The Prince de Joinville. Lord Mor- peth. Opening of Boston & Albany Kailroad. Josiah Quincy. O'Connell's Opinion PAGE 565 CHAPTER XXXIX. 1842. The Temperance Keform. Opposition Plans and Discords. The Eight of Petition. Sir Charles Bagot. Dickens. Lord Ashburton. A Revolutionary Reminiscence. Letter to Greeley. Battle between Senate and Governor. Expunging Messages . 577 CHAPTER XL. 1842. A Mammoth Petition. Change of State Officers. South Carolina Search-Law. The "Fis- cal Agent." Passage of the New York School Law. Seward's Policy adopted. Meet- ing of the Legislatures of Massachusetts and New York." Honest John Davis." General Herkimer ......... 585 CHAPTER XLI. 1842. St. Patrick and Father Mathew. Congressional Temperance Society. The " Stop-and- Tax" Policy. Aldermen as Judges. The Liberty Party. Gerrit Smith. Closing Scenes of the Legislature. Trial by Jury of Fugitives. New York Riot. Election Law ........... 593 CHAPTER XLII. 1842. Lord Ashburton." The Dorr Rebellion in Ehode Island. Prigg w. Pennsylvania. Virginia Search Law. Protestants and Catholics. Extradition. Jenny, the Fawn. Dickens. Spencer. Wickliffe. Hammond ..... 598 CHAPTER XLIII. 1842. End of Rhode Island Rebellion. Dr. Vinton." Notes on New York." Opening of Cro- ton Aqueduct. Collapse of United States Bank. Presidential Nominations. Guber- natorial Candidates. Extradition. The Ashburton Treaty ... 608 14 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XLIY. 1842. The Extra Session. Stoppage of Public Works. Eepudiating States. Carlin. The Hutch - insons. The Millerites. Webster and Adams. Bradish and Bouck. Address at State Fair. Education of Farmers ....... PAGE 617 CHAPTER XLV. 1842. The Croton Water Celebration. Spencer and Tyler. Election. A Whig Overthrow. Phi- losophy of Defeat. The Murder of Samuel Adams. Case of John C. Colt . 624 CHAPTER XLYI. 1842-1843. Last Month in Office. Dr. Sprague. Colonel Webb. A Christmas Pardon. Lewis Tap- pan. Half a Cord of Papers. Case of Philip Spencer and Mackenzie. A Week at the Eagle Tavern. Governor Bouck ~. . . . . 635 CHAPTER XL VII. 1843. At Home again. The Law-Office. A Struggle for Independence. The Mackenzie Inquiry. The Virginia Question. The City-Hall Portrait 645 CHAPTER XLVIII. 1843. War at Albany. "Old Hunkers" and "Barnburners." Harding. Abolition Nomination. Greeley and Fourier. Law and Gardening. Proposed Constitutional Convention. Sydney Smith on Eepudiation. O'Connell on Slavery .... 654 CHAPTER XLIX. 1843. Weed in Europe. Letters from America. Bunker Hill Monument. Death of Legare. Van Buren, Cass, and Calhoun. Change of Professional Employment. Patent Cases. The End of the World . . .663 CHAPTER L. 1843. John Quincy Adams at Auburn. Prediction about Slavery. Inman and Harding. A Friendly Contest. Father Mathew. Chancellor Kent. Opinions vs. Commentaries. Weed's Letters." Hunkers " and " Barnburners " in Convention 6Y1 CONTENTS. 15 CHAPTER LI. 1843. Van Buren, Bouck, and Webster. State Fair. A Dramatic Scene. Checks and Balances. " Puseyism." Morse's Telegraph. A Candidate for no Office. Fillmore and the Vice-Presidency. Weed for Governor ..... PAGE 680 CHAPTER. LII. 1843-1844. Postal Eeforms. Simultaneous Repeal Meetings. The Law's Delay. Prescott's " Con- quest of Mexico." Mocking- Bird Moralizings. Legislative Battles. Clay Meetings on Washington's Birthday. Auburn Speech. Fillmore and Seward. The Texas Issue. 688 CHAPTER LIII. 1844. Explosion of the " Peacemaker." American Destiny. Calhoun and Annexation. Native American Movement. Whig National Convention. Clay and Frelinghuysen. Greeley and Cooper. Legislative Address. Characteristics ..... 695 CHAPTER LIV. 1844. The Law-Office. Recollections of a Student. A Church Quarrel. " Third Parties." Philadelphia Riots. Adams's Report. Democratic National Convention. Polk and .Dallas ... 704 CHAPTER LY. 1844. The Presidential Canvass. Calhoun' s Policy. Texas and the Tariff. Addresses at Union and Amherst. Whig Mass Meetings. Incidents of the Campaign. Jealousies and Forebodings. Ash and Hickory .The Alabama Letter. Clay's Defeat . . 715 CHAPTER LYI. 1844. Southern Exultation. Clay defeated by Abolition Votes. His Letter to Seward. Gerrit Smith. Weed in the West Indies. Birth of a Daughter. Death of his Mother. Stage-coach Accident. A Dislocated Shoulder. John Stanton Gould . . 732 CHAPTER LYII. 1845. Convalescence. At Work again. The Greeley and Cooper Case. Polk's Administration. The Antislavery Movement. Letter to Chase. House and Grounds. Birds and Dogs 738 16 CONTENTS. CHAPTER LVIII. 1845. Trip to Lake Superior. Cleveland. Detroit. Lake Huron. The Chippewas. The Mani- tou. French Missionaries. Mackinac. Henry K. Schoolcraft. Sault Ste. Marie. Down the Rapids. Wigwam-Life ..... PAGE 747 CHAPTER LIX. 1845. Texas annexed. Kumors of "War. Policy of the Whigs. Governor Throop. Free Suf- frage. John Van Buren. Fillmore. Governor Wright. Whig Discords. Seward, Morgan, and Blatchford. The S. S. Seward Institute . 755 CHAPTER LX. 1845. Rural Cemeteries. Constitutional Changes. The Anti-Renters. Organizing a School. A Pair of Ponies. The Telegraph. Hudson River Railroad. Congress and Slavery Ex- tension. Going to Washington . . . . . . . 762 CHAPTER LXI. 1846. Washington Life. Causes in the Supreme Court. The Oregon Question. Stanley. Washington Hunt. The Adams Family. Mrs. Gaines. Mrs. Maury. John M. Clay- ton. Judge McLean. General Scott . . . . . . .767 CHAPTER LXII. 1846. Trip to Richmond and Norfolk. The Happiest People in the World. Benjamin Watkins Leigh. President and Mrs. Polk. Mr. Buchanan's Ball. Governor Marcy and the Diplomats. Colonel Benton. The Calhouns. Mrs. Madison. Mrs. Hamilton. The Oregon " Notice " 776 CHAPTER LXIII. 1846. Wyatt's Case. Winter Journey to Florida. The Van Nest Murder. A Bloody Mystery. Popular Excitement. Attempt to lynch Freeman. A Solemn Appeal . . 785 CHAPTER LXIY. 1846. St. Patrick and his People. Convention Delegates. General Taylor marching to the Rio Grande. Oregon Compromise. Webster and Adams." 54 40', or Fight ! " . 788 CONTENTS. 17 CHAPTER LXV. 1846. Western Tour. Pittsburg. The Ohio Eiver. Wheeling. Cincinnati. Louisville. Lex- ington. Cassius M. Clay. Henry Clay at Ashland. Southern Indiana and Illinois. Vincennes. Vandalia. The Prairies. Butler Seward. St. Louis. Steamboat-Life on the Mississippi. Memphis. New Orleans. Volunteers for Mexico. War proclaimed. Palo Alto and Kesaca de la Palma. The Future . . . PAGE 794 CHAPTER LXVI. 1846. The Trials for Murder. Public Feeling. Wyatt. Arraignment of Freeman. His Counsel. His Story. Sane or insane ? Witnesses. John Van Buren. The Argument. Con- viction and Sentence. Seward's Epitaph ...... 809 WILLIAM H. SEWARD. AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 1801-1816. Birth and Parentage. Colonel John Seward. School-Life in Orange County. Witches. The Great Eclipse. The Eighteen States. War with England. Downfall of Napo- leon. Kitchen and Parlor. A Boy's Impressions about Slavery. IT is natural that you should ask me to relate for you, in my leisure hours, as much as I can recall of what I have hitherto seen, and thought, and done. I can tell you little of my ancestors. I know the fathers of my father and mother only by name and tradition. John Seward, of Mor- ris County, New Jersey, has been described to me as a gentleman of Welsh descent, intelligent, public-spirited, and courteous. He bore, bravely and well, a colonel's commission in the Revolutionary War, and educated a numerous family respectably. He died in 1799. His wife, Mary Swezy, lived until 1816. I remember her as a highly- intellectual woman, pious as well as patriotic, although many of her relations had adhered to the British cause, and consequently found it convenient to seek an asylum, after the war, in Nova Scotia and Canada. Of my maternal grandfather, Isaac Jennings, I know only that he was of English derivation, a well-to-do farmer, who turned out with the militia of Goshen, and, more fortunate than most of his associates, escaped the Indian massacre at the battle of Minisink. His wife, Margaret Jackson, who was of Irish descent, survived him many years. Her peculiarity which I most distinctly remember was, antipathy toward the Roman Catholic religion. My father, Samuel S. Seward, received such a classic education as the academies of that period furnished, Columbia College, the only one in the colony of New York, being disorganized during the war. He was educated a physician, and during my minority practised his 20 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1801-'16. profession, to which occupation he added those of the farmer, the merchant, and county politician, magistrate, and judge, discharging the functions of all with eminent ability, integrity, and success, and gradually building up what at that day, and in that rural neighborhood, seemed a considerable fortune. He represented Orange County in the State Legislature in 1804, and showed much vigor and ability in debate. My mother, Mary Jennings, enjoyed only the advantages of education in country schools, but improved them. She is remembered by her survivors as a person of excellent sense, gentleness, truthful- ness, and candor. I was the fourth of six children, and the third son, born in 1801, May 16th. A daughter, older than myself, died in infancy; a second daughter and a son came after me. I have been told that the tender- ness of my health caused me to be early set apart for a collegiate education, then regarded, by every family, as a privilege so high and so costly that not more than one son could expect it. I remember only one short period when the schoolroom and class emulation were not quite so attractive to me as the hours of recess and recreation. But this devotion was not without its trials. My native village, Florida, then consisted of not more than a dozen dwellings. While the meeting-house was close by, the nearest schoolhouse was half a mile distant. It stood on a rock, over which hung a precipitous wooded cliff. The schoolhouse was one story high; built half of stone and half of wood. It had a low dark attic, which was reached by a ladder. They did say, at the time, that a whole family of witches dwelt in that wooded cliff above the schoolhouse by day, and that they came down from that favorite haunt and took up their lodgings, by night, in the little attic. One day, before I had reached the age at which I was to take a legitimate place in the school, I went there with my elder brothers, without parental permission. While there, and " all of a sudden," it grew dark ; the light from the windows failing. The larger boys and girls were formed in a circle, round the open door, to recite their cus- tomary lessons. I had no doubt that the tyrannical schoolmaster had kept us in school until night, and I expected every moment to see the aerial inhabitants of the hill enter the schoolhouse, and make short work of us all, for obstructing them in their way to their nocturnal abode in the garret. Crying vociferously, I was discharged from the school, and ran for my life homeward. On the way I met what seemed to me a great crowd, some of whom were looking down into a pail of standing water, while others were gazing into the heavens through fragments of smoked glass. In after-years, I came to learn that I had thus been an observer of the total eclipse of the sun which occurred in the year 1806. The phenomenon repeated itself to me, sixty-three 1801-'16.] SCHOOL-LIFE. 21 long years afterward, under the sixtieth parallel of latitude, in the midst of the Indians of Alaska. I do not know how near I came to losing my destined preferment, by a failure to satisfy my father's expectations of my progress. He placed me on the counter of the store, and directed me to recite a poetical address, which I had committed to memory, before an audi- ence of admiring neighbors. When I had performed this task, amid great applause, one of the persons present asked me which one of my father's many callings I should adopt. I had not been unobservant of the deference paid to the magistrate. I answered therefore, innocently, that I intended to be a justice of the peace. When my audience had dispersed, my father took me severely to task for not knowing that the office of magistrate was to be obtained through the favor of others, and not to be ambitiously usurped. This reproof, however, did not subdue my aspirations; judicial preferment continued to be the aim of my ambition until an advanced period in life. How often have I reflected that, whatever care and diligence we exercise, our fortunes in life are beyond our own control ! Franklin's lightning-rod was then a new invention. I was engaged out-doors in making reservoirs during a summer shower, when I was alarmed by a terrific peal of thunder. I gathered myself up and rushed toward the house for safety, but, falling by the way, a reflection came over me that the bolt always precedes the aerial report; that, conse- quently, I was safe already. From that time until now, I have never been alarmed by a commotion of the elements in that form. At the age of nine years I was transferred to the Farmers' Hall Academy at Goshen, where my father had been educated. I boarded there with two affectionate cousins, who were nieces of my father, and daughters of the brother-in-law under whom he studied his profession. You have known those ladies well. I need not tell you of the endur- ing friendship which grew out of that relation. I began then my study of Latin, but my rural training had not prepared me for association with the ambitious youth of the county capital, some of whom insisted that, as I came from a neighboring village, I must establish my right by single combat ; and all of whom were disgusted with my refusal to join them in shutting the master out when he required us to attend school on Christmas-day. I cheerfully retired in the spring to private life at home, where a graduate of a New England college had been employed in a new academy which, in the mean time, had been erected. My preparation for college was chiefly made here. I was not long in coming to the discovery that the elaborate education appointed for me had its labors and trials. My daily studies began at five in the morning, and closed at nine at night. The tasks were just the utmost that I could execute, and every day a little more ; even the intervals 22 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1801-'16. allowed for recreation were utilized. It was my business to drive the cows, morning and evening, to and from distant pastures, to chop and carry in the fuel for the parlor-fire, to take the grain to mill and fetch the flour, to bring the lime from the kiln, and to do the errands of the family generally ; the time of my elder brothers being too precious to permit them to be withdrawn from their labors in the store and on the farm. How happy were the winter evenings, when the visit of a neighbor brought out the apples, nuts, and cider, and I was indulged with a respite from study, and listened to conversation, which generally turned upon politics or religion ! My first schoolmaster in the new academy, whose name I will not mention, must have thought that I had an intuitive knowledge of the art of war, and an aptitude for unraveling the inversions of heathen poetry. He required me, unaided, to translate Caesar's most terse descriptions of his campaigns, and to render into English prose the most intricate and inverted lines of Virgil. When I failed in these tasks, he brought me upon the floor, with the classic in one hand and the dictionary in the other, to complete the work amid the derision or the pity of my youthful associates. This, although others were served in the same way, was more than I could bear. I contrived, ineffectu- ally, to lose my Latin books in the fields as I passed home ; and the schoolmaster, on his part, reported me to my father as too stupid to learn. This brought about the crisis, which was followed by explana- tions and reform. My father excited my emulation by telling me that 1 might ultimately become a great lawyer, like Theodore Frelinghuysen and Joseph C. Hornblower, of the neighboring State of New Jersey ; and under that influence I readily acquired a double lesson within the time allowed for a single one. The schoolmaster no longer exposed me to disgrace, and I found study thenceforward as attractive as it had before been irksome under his severe administration. I cannot but think that, at that period, when recollections of the Revolution were quite recent, and the world was engrossed with the tremendous Napoleonic wars in Europe, men were more intensely earnest than they are now. Of course, whatever thoughts I had, how- ever puerile, took their shape and complexion from the debates that I heard on every side. The first mental anxiety which I recall was, manifestly, an effect of the fearful presentation of death and its consequences, so common in the sermons and exhortations of the clergy at that day ; I hurried rapidly past the graveyard, the monuments of which were generally ornamented with a skull and cross-bones ; and I made an especially wide circuit around the reputed resting-place, by the roadside, of a man who had taken his own life. The murky theology of that period had filled the popular mind with a belief that not only the Evil One 1801-'16.] SCHOOL-LIFE. 23 himself, but hordes of spirits he had seduced and ruined, were lurking, prowling, and intruding everywhere into human affairs, seeking only to destroy the unsuspicious, and that continually. I often was watchful at night, through fear that if I should fall asleep I should awake in the consuming flame which was appointed as a discipline that allows no reformation. My mother unwittingly cured me, in a large degree, of these painful imaginings. I overheard her earnestly protesting, in debate with some of her orthodox neighbors, that she could not believe, would not believe, and did not believe, that " there were infants in hell not a span long." I thought I was but a little longer than that meas- ure ; and I supposed my mother knew whereof she affirmed her faith. Reflecting upon this incident, it became an interesting study afterward, how constantly a decline of imaginary terrors in the future state of being attends the progress of mankind in natural science. Think of Dante's " Inferno," and of Milton's " Pandemonium ; " and yet the hell of both of those great poets, while depicted with the most vivid hues of the imagination, was described with all the sincerity of the firmest convictions of fact. I can now see that surrounding influences early determined me in the bent toward politics. Addison's " Cato " was presented in one of our school exhibitions ; and, although I was too young to take a part in the representation, it made me a hater of military and imperial usur- pation for life. I think it a misfortune that that great drama has lost its place on the modern stage. The opening of an academy at Florida was attended by one of those efforts for local improvement which, too often, prove merely convulsive, as this one did, but which can seldom be injurious. Too much is ex- pected of them, and the failure to realize all brings reaction, followed by ridicule, the most effective weapon of conservatism. The ascent to an academy, from a school which was of the lowest class, never attain- ing half the stability or character which belongs to the common school, under our present district system, was abrupt, and therefore impossible. Nevertheless teacher, parents, and pupils, were of one consent in trying it. Very ludicrous incidents occurred. The plan embraced four dis- tinct measures, all of which seemed to the pupils of my age, and per- haps even to our rural parents, new inventions. First, we were to learn to " declaim select pieces." Second, we were to " write original compositions." Third, we were to have a " debating society." Fourth, an annual or semi-annual " dramatic exhibition." Charles Jackson, a farmer's son, I think fourteen years old, but large enough for eighteen, dull and awkward, was called up to open the exer- cises in declamation, with the speech of Romulus on the foundation of Rome. At the first attempt, taking his place in the middle of the schoolroom, with arms hanging straight downward, and eyes dropped 24 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1801-'16. to the floor, he spoke the speech in a low and perfectly monotonous manner, and was dismissed, with the master's criticism that he had done very well for the first effort, but, on the next Thursday, he must speak with head erect, and turn from one side of the audience toward the other. With continual prompting, he managed to lift his eyes, and roll his head from right to left, with regular alternation, through the whole exercise. This proved, to the awkward boy, a sad encourage- ment, when it brought the further requisition that, on the third rehear- sal, he should gesticulate with his arms and change the posture of his feet. He honestly declared that he could not understand the process, nor the object of the required movements of his arms and legs. There- upon the master opened a page of " The Monitor," and showed him a diagram, in which the orator was represented standing with head erect, facing a dotted line drawn across the opposite wall, a similar dotted line drawn across under his feet, one arm horizontally extended from the shoulder, with a dotted line extending from the end of the thumb to the wall, and the other arm raised at an angle of 45, with a dotted line from the thumb of that hand stretching also diagonally to the wall. The diagram only confused the pupil still more. The master cleared up the affair, by taking a stand and going through the motions indi- cated by the diagram, shifting his feet, first to one side and then to the other, lifting one arm, then the other, and thus showed how easily it could be done. Thereupon Charles, thus instructed, took the master's place, and aiming, as well as he could, at the points designated on the wall, and turning his head to the right, lifted his right arm out, straight and stiff ; then, suddenly dropping that arm and turning his head to the left, he lifted the other to the same position, and so, with the regular- ity, precision, and quickness of a clock-pendulum, sawed the air, and meanwhile, with a drawling intonation, addressed the people of the newly-established city of Rome in a manner that Livy never dreamed of: " If all the strength of cities (sawing with right arm) Lay in the height of their ramparts (sawing with left arm), Or the depth of their ditches (sawing with right arm), We should have great reason to be in fear (sawing with left arm) For that which we have now built " (sawing with right arm). Charles Jackson I think was discouraged. He certainly never be- came even a stump-orator or a Methodist exhorter. It was mine to lead off in the second great exercise that of " ori- ginal composition." Not having the least idea of what was wanted, or how it was to be done, I moved to the side of Robert Armstrong, a young man eighteen years old, self-possessed and capable of instruct- ing me, because he had already been a pupil at the famous academy of Mendham, New Jersey. He told mo nothing was easier. " You are," 1801-'16.] FOURTH OF JULY. 25 said he, "first to take a subject, and then all you have to do is to write about it." " But," said I, " what is a subject ? " He replied, " It is anything you want to write about." " But," said I, " I don't know of anything that I do want to write about. I wish I could see a composition." " Well," said he, " if you won't tell, I will show you an old one of mine, that I wrote at Mendham." Having bound myself to secrecy, he showed me a composition, which was after this sort : " On Drunkenness" (A heavy black line was drawn under this caption.) " Drunkenness is the worst of all vices." Then followed an argument which, I think, well sustained the proposi- tion thus confidently announced. I do not know why, perhaps because I was constitutionally an optimist, I decided instantly that I would not choose, for my subject, anything that was naughty, bad, or wicked. So I said, " I will choose a different subject, and will show the com- position to you when it is written." He promised me his help. I wrote with great labor my essay, brought it and submitted it to him. It began : " On Virtue. Virtue is the best of all vices ! " My success in my department seemed as hopeless as Charles Jackson's in his. The " dramatic exhibition " was abandoned after a single perform- ance. "The Debating Society" continued, with interruptions, sev- eral years. I profited by the debates, although I think, from diffidence or some other cause, I did not participate in them. The debate was at that day a prominent feature of college societies. If I were required now to say from what part of my college education I derived the great- est advantage, I should say, the exercises of the Adelphic Society. It was under this conviction that I afterward cheerfully associated myself with debating societies, during the studies of youth in Goshen, New York, and Auburn. There was of course an annual or nearly annual celebration of the Fourth of July. My first conception of the dignity and destiny of our country arose out of these rural festivities. In one of them, a skiff was brought from the neighboring mill-pond, mounted on a wagon, over a carpet, which covered the wheels. Four horses were harnessed before it. In the stern stood my elder brother, who personated Colum- bus, listening intently to Miss Fanny Bailey, a farmer's pretty daugh- ter, who stood by his side, as the Genius of America, and pointed toward scenes " by distance made more attractive." Two village lads, representing boatmen, plied their busy oars above the carpet. I was among the curious and anxious crowd of boys who clustered around the wagon, as it moved, to the measured strains of martial music, along the road to the foot of the hill which is crowned by the village church, and thence made its way up the lawn in front with a graceful sweep, 26 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1801 -'16. and over many hillocks beneath which "the rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep." The eventful barge came to a stop, and the great dis- coverer, with his guardian genius, alighted upon an island extemporized for the occasion, by sods, plants, and trees, and inhabited by one stuffed fox, three or four chained gray squirrels, and a painted and alarmed Indian chief-, crouching in the foliage, the whole revealing, to his won- dering and fascinated eyes, the island of San Salvador, the earnest of a New World, which was now to be added to the kingdom of Castile and Leon. I was much older before I appreciated the wit with which the village attorney travestied the ode that was sung on the memora- ble occasion by the village choir : " Columbus sing ; for it is he Can poise the globe and bound the sea, Can boldly sail through waves unseen, And find an island on the green." There were, at that time, only eighteen members of the American Union. At the next anniversary their greatness and felicity were sym- bolized by eighteen boys, whom their mothers had carefully dressed in white muslin coats and trousers, with white-paper caps on their heads and pretty blue sashes around their w r aists, and the neatest blackened shoes possible. These formed in procession, each carrying a green- bordered white banner, upon which was printed the name of some one of the renowned civil and military founders of the republic. It was my part to personate my native State, by no means then the " Empire State," and on my banner I bore the pure and chivalrous name of " La- fayette." I have loved, honored, and lamented the gallant French hero since that time, and I suppose I shall die loyal to New York, and to the Federal Union. While these patriotic experiences were going on, war was pro- claimed by the United States against Great Britain. The village uni- formed artillery-company, to the number of forty swords, came out upon the green, and fired a salvo, which, according to my thinking, gave the enemy notice of what he might expect. Just in the moment when I was listening for the news that General Hull had conquered Canada, and annexed it all, with Gaspe and Newfoundland, to the United States, came the astounding disappointment of that unfortunate general's surrender and capitulation, at Detroit, without the discharge of a single musket! Then quickly came the recruiting-lieutenant, with a cockade in his hat, and red trimming on his coat ; then came the departure of the artillery to New York for the defense of the city ; then the draft. The long and sad story of military failures was relieved by the brilliant achievements in the campaign of Scott, on the Canada frontier, and the glorious naval victories on the lakes and the ocean. 1801-'16.J KITCHEN AND PARLOR. 27 I took new courage and new hope from these achievements, and the victory at New Orleans compensated me for the defeat and overthrow of Napoleon, which caused me to weep, because I had come to regard him as an ally of the United States. I had already become old enough to understand that a domestic party which continues to oppose and assail the government, when engaged in a foreign war, becomes, though indirectly and unintentionally, an ally of the enemy. It was not until long after the dissolution of the Federal party that I became able to believe its members as loyal to the country as their opponents on the issue newly raised between them. In later life, when our militia system was falling into disuse and ridicule, men wondered at the personal vanity which they supposed I manifested by continuing to hold and fill its offices. A remembrance of the War of 1812, and of its losses and sufferings, increased by reason of inadequate military preparation, determined me to adhere to and uphold the reviled militia system, which a republican government, if it means to endure, must always substitute in time of peace for the stand- ing army. Even at this late day, when many of the different titles of honor allowed by our form of government have descended, as if in a copious shower, upon me, I am not at all ashamed when one of the surviving veterans, whom I commanded before going into the higher departments of civil life, accosts me in the presence of visitors from distant States or countries with the now obsolete title of " general," " colonel," or " captain." There was existing at that time a social anomaly, which I long found a perplexing enigma. Besides my parents, brothers, and sisters, all of whom occupied the parlor and the principal bedrooms, there were in the family two black women, and one black boy, who remained exclusive tenants of the kitchen and the garret over it. The kitchen fireplace stretched nearly across the end of the room. A grown person need hardly stoop to get under the mantel. The supply of wood was pro- fuse, and the jambs at the side of the fireplace were not only the warmest but the coziest place in the whole house. The group that gathered round this fireplace could be enlarged by merely sweeping a new circle. Turkeys, chickens, and sirloin, were roasted ; cakes and pies were baked at this noble fire. Moreover, the tenants of the kitchen, though black, had a fund of knowledge about the ways and habits of the devil, of witches, of ghosts, and of men who had been hanged; and, what was more, they \vere vivacious and loquacious, as well as affectionate, toward me. What wonder that I found their apartment more attractive than the parlor, and their conversation a relief from the severe decorum which prevailed there ? I knew they were black, though I did not know why. If my parents never uttered before me a word of disapproval of slavery, it is but just to them to say that they 28 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1801-'16. never uttered an expression that could tend to make me think that the negro was inferior to the white person. The few rich families in the neighborhood had as many as or more than we ; others had only one. While the two younger of my father's slaves attended school, and sat at my side if they chose, I noticed that no other black children went there. After a time I found that the large negro family of a neighbor were held in disrepute for laziness, drunkenness, and disorder; and that they came under suspicion of having stolen anything that either .was lost or was supposed to be. Zeno, a negro boy in the family of an- other neighbor, was a companion in my play. He told me one day that he had been whipped severely, and the next day he ran away. He was pursued and brought back, and wore an iron yoke around his neck, which exposed him to contempt and ridicule. He found means to break the collar, and fled forever. In the mean time, both of my father's female servants were seduced and disgraced ; and the third, a boy, followed Zeno in his flight. I regarded all this immorality and wicked- ness just as inexcusable and ungrateful toward their masters as it would have been in me to bring dishonor upon my parents ; nor had I any distinct idea of any difference between the relations of children and slaves. A black woman died in the neighborhood at the age, it was said, of one hundred years. She had been imported when young ; and she died asserting a full belief that she was then going back to her native Guinea. How could such a superstition be accounted for? How could the ignorance and vice of these black people, living in the midst of a moral and virtuous community, be accounted for ? I early came to the conclusion that something was wrong, and the " gradual emancipation laws " of the State, soon after coming into debate, en- abled me to solve the mystery, and determined me, at that early age, to be an abolitionist. Shall I not stop now to say that, while the family of which I was a member has increased, until it numbers more than eighty persons, all of whom hold respectable positions in society, and some one or more of whom are to be found in every quarter of the globe the descendants of that slave family in my father's kitchen now number but seven, and these have their only shelter under a roof which I pro- vide for them ? So time went on, and I went on with it, closing my preparatory studies in a new term of six months at the old academy in Goshen, with little variation of habit or occupation, except that my parents occasionally permitted me to attend them in their social visits at New- burg. These excursions gave me the only glimpses I then had of life outside of the sweet little valley in which I was cradled. 1816-'18.] ALBANY IN 1816. 29 1816-1818. First Steamboat Journey. Chancellor Kent. College-Life at Schenectady. The Mohawk Trade. Dr. Nott. Way land. Welcome to Daniel D. Tompkins. I THINK I am six years older than the first steamboat on tlie Hud- son. But my first sight of a vessel of that kind was when I embarked on one, at night, to ascend that river on my way to college. What a magnificent palace ! What a prodigy of power, what luxury of enter- tainment, what dazzling and costly lights ! More than by all these was I struck with the wondrous crowd of intelligent passengers, among whom some youthful acquaintances, newly made, pointed out many of the eminent men of the day. But no one was able to identify Chan- cellor Kent, who was said to be on board. At noon there was what I thought to be an alarm of colliding with some other vessel, or running upon a rock, or encountering an enemy. The vessel certainly scraped against something that obstructed her speed. The captain had mounted a bench on deck, and was objurgating violently with somebody on the level of the water below. I climbed up behind the crowd, and saw that we were running against upright poles, which had been stuck into the river-bottom by the fishermen. A short, thick-set, cheery -looking man leaped upon the bench, and, seeing at a glance the state of the case, cried out in a loud voice, heard by all : " That's right, captain ! that's right ! bring those fellows into my court, an$ I'll take care of them ! " This was Chancellor Kent, the great judge, who was uphold- ing the steamboat monopoly conferred by the State of New York upon its citizens, Fulton and Livingston, against the no less great and finally overruling authority, the Supreme Court of the United States. The monopoly was lost ; the inventors died unrewarded ; but the public gained. On my first passage I paid eight dollars fare. We now make the entire voyage of the navigable Hudson for fifty cents. Chancellor Kent was the most buoyant and cheerful of men. When he afterward lost his great office and its dignity, he told me that he had never ex- perienced any disappointment worth grieving over. "A gentleman wants," he said, " only a clean shirt and a shilling, every day, and I have never been without them." Have I ever seen, in after-life, a city so vast, so splendid, so im- posing as Albany, that then loomed up before me ? Not Paris, not Benares, not even Constantinople, inspired me with so much awe. And then the figure of blind Justice, with her sword and scales, that sur- mounts the little red-stone Capitol. What patriotic pride it inspired ! While the stages were coming up, I ran stealthily up into Pearl Street, and, looking through the fence, I fed my wondering eyes with a sight of the house in which the loyal and patriotic Governor Tompkins lived. 30 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1816-'18. But it was not my destiny yet to see the chief magistrate of my native State. The country between Albany and Schenectady, slightly rolling, was then a sandy and almost sterile plain, without culture or dwellings, except the frequent taverns on the broad turnpike-road. This road, roughly paved at first, had been renderd nearly impassable by heavy wagons. In the stunted pine- woods on either side were huts or hovels of a vagrant race called " Yancys," who had the habits of gyp- sies, and were said to be a mixture of debased whites, vicious negroes, and Indians. I do not know, nor have I ever heard,, in what way they disappeared. At Schenectady I alighted on the bank of the Mohawk River, then navigated with "bateaux." I think that ideas of material improve- ment come to us later than those belonging to every other form of social progress. I had found the Hudson River gay with canvas, the intermediate turnpike crowded with freight and emigrant-wagons ; and I now found the narrow, shallow Mohawk filled with flat-bottomed produce-boats. It was not }*et, nor indeed until a much later period, that I was to conceive my first idea of the commercial and political im- portance of this great thoroughfare. It has been my habit always to distrust my capacity and qualifi- cations for every new enterprise. Mr. Givens gave me a generous breakfast at his hotel, and cheered me with the recollections of his acquaintance with my father when he was a member of the Assembly at Albany ; but I had no heart for either of these enjoyments. I climbed the College Hill with a reluctant and embarrassed step, to offer myself for an examination at which I feared I might not pass. I called at the office of the register, Mr. Holland, and by him was imme- diately introduced into the presence of the Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. The college catalogue, which I had carefully read, described him as the Rev. Thomas McCauley, Doctor of Divinity and Doctor of Laws. I wondered at my presumption in coming into so high a presence. The professor inquired which of the classes I sup- posed myself prepared to enter. I summoned boldness to answer that I had studied for examination to enter the junior class. He immedi- ately put me through a series of questions for half an hour, in several preparatory class-books, and pronounced me more than qualified. He then asked my age, and on receiving the answer, " fifteen," he replied that my studies had carried me beyond my years ; the laws of the col- lege making sixteen the age for entering the junior class. I did not regret the decision. Life at college seemed very attractive ; and my previous excess of preparation would make my studies easier. Long before night my " chum " was chosen, my room supplied with the cheap furniture which the college regulations required, and I sat down to 1816-'18.] COLLEGE-LIFE. 31 meditate, with self-complacency, on the dignity of my new situation. I was duly matriculated as sophomore ; and these two large words signified, for me, a great deal, because I had not the least idea of the meaning of either. Within a week my habits of life were established. The class competition required diligent but not excessive study; while I felt a conscious self-satisfaction in being trusted to pursue my studies and govern my conduct without the surveillance of parent or teacher. The companionship of intelligent and emulous classmates harmonized with my disposition, while I cherished in my secret thoughts aspira- tions to become, at the end of my three years, the valedictorian of my class. In college-life, if one looks beyond that distinction at all, it is only with the full belief that unto him who obtains that honor all other honors shall come without labor or effort. Union College, founded in 1795, was now, in 1816, at, or near the height of its prosperity. The President, Dr. Nott, ranked with the most popular preachers of the day ; while his great political talents se- cured him the patronage of all the public men in the State. The dis- cipline of the college was based on the soundest and wisest principles. There was an absence of everything inquisitorial or suspicious ; there were no courts or impeachments ; every young man had his appointed studies, recitations, and attendance at prayers ; and a demeanor was required which should not disturb the quiet or order of the institution. If he failed or offended, he was privately called into the presence of the president or professor, remonstrated with, and admonished that repeated failure would be made known to his parents for their consid- eration, while habitual insubordination would be visited with dismissal. What notices were given to parents was never known to any but them- selves and their son ; nor was any offender ever disgraced by a public notice of his expulsion. I think I know of no institution where a man- lier spirit prevailed among the under-graduates than that which distin- guished the pupils of Dr. Nott. I cannot speak so highly of the system of instruction. There was a daily appointment of three tasks, in as many different studies, which the pupils were required, unaided, to master in their rooms, the young, the dull, and the backward, equally with the most mature and the most astute. The pupil understood that he performed his whole duty when he recited these daily lessons with- out failure. With most of us the memory was doubtless the faculty chiefly exercised ; and where so much was committed mechanically to memory, much was forgotten as soon as learned. It was a consequence of this method of instruction, which, I think, was at that day by no means peculiar to Union College, that every study was not a continu- ous one, but consisted of fragmentary tasks, while no one volume or author was ever completed. The error, if it be one, is, I suppose, inci- dental to our general system of education, which sacrifices a full and 32 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1816-'18. complete training. of the individual to the important object of af- fording the utmost possible education to the largest number of citi- zens. My first session in college was not without its mortifications. When 1 came to write what are called compositions, I found that, having rarely practised it, I wrote with difficulty, and confusedly, and it seemed to me that difficulty was incurable, because I had no general supply of facts or knowledge. The first time I rose to speak I encountered a general simper, which, before I got through, broke into laughter. On carefully inquiring the reasons, 1 found I had a measured drawl. More- over, the dress which I wore was not of sufficiently fine material, hav- ing been awkwardly cut by the village tailor, who came annually to my father's to prepare the wardrobe for the whole rustic family. The former difficulty wa's so far surmounted as to save me from future morti- fication ; the latter, which did not depend upon any efforts of my own, was only surmounted by my early falling into debt to the accomplished tailors of Schenectady ; and this was the beginning of many and seri- ous woes. There was, moreover, a third difficulty. I conceived a desire, not merely to acquire my lessons, but to understand them as well. I had not yet learned either to suspect, or to be suspected of, dis- honor. Finding, in my Latin author, passages too obscure to be solved unaided, I went freely, though meekly, to the tutor, and obtained his assistance during the study-hours. Soon afterward the leading mem- bers of the class, with the support of the rest, determined to oblige the accomplished tutor to give them shorter lessons, and more frequent holidays. They attempted to effect this by throwing asafoetida on the heated stove, and, when this proceeding failed, one, bolder than the rest, standing behind the tutor, pulled him by the hair. Of course he found out the offenders, and of course they were punished. The whole class suspected an informer; and who could the informer be but myself, who excelled them all in the recitations, who refused to go into the general meeting, and who was seen daily going to and from the tutor's room upon some errand unexplained ? This, I think, was my first ex- perience of partisan excitement. I need not say that I never afterward offended my classmates by seeking to obtain special instruction or aid from my teachers. It was about this time that I first came to be personally known to the president, Dr. Nott. My tutor in Homer was then known as Mr. Way-land, afterward the distinguished and learned Rev. Dr. Wayland, author of an excellent treatise on "Moral Philosophy," and President of Brown University. He seemed to be much abstracted. Our class, though it was large enough to form two or three sections, nevertheless recited together. It happened, of course, that any one lesson would be exhausted in going one-third through the class. The tutor invari- 1816-'18.] DR. NOTT AND DR. WAYLAND. 33 ably began each new recitation at that point in the class where he had stopped the previous day. The members, knowing by this practice the days on which they would not be called upon to recite, contracted the habit of carrying, with their Homer, novels, or other light literature, into the hall to occupy them during the recitation. Bolder than the rest, I carried my book of amusement without a Homer, making no dis- guise of it. My next neighbor in the class was a simple-minded, in- offensive, dull young man, who was seldom if ever prepared, but who depended on me to help him through by whispering. The tutor, desir- ous to correct so objectionable a practice as that into which the class had fallen, one day skipped from one end of the class to the other, and called up this unfortunate friend of mine. He had a novel concealed by his Homer. Taken all aback, he asked me what he should do. I was surprised by the tutor's adopting this mode of correcting his previ- ous mistake ; and, moreover, I knew that my companion would be quite unable to recite the lesson with any help I could give him. I told him, therefore, in a whisper, to answer that he was not prepared. He did so. The tutor insisted. In a more earnest and louder voice I instructed my companion to say that he could not recite. Some one, however, found the place for him, and he got through badly enough. The tutor then said, " The next, Mr. Seward." I had already committed myself to insubordination by the instruction I had given to my unfortunate neighbor, and I answered that I declined to recite to-day. " What is the reason ? " I replied, " I do not know that I am prepared." He said, "I thought you might assign that reason; and, therefore, I have called you to recite to-day from the book which one of your classmates now offers you the very lesson which you recited only yesterday, from memory, without any book at all." I answered with decision, "I shall not recite to-day." "Then, sir, you will please leave the room." I obeyed. That night I received a summons from the teacher to apologize to him for my insubordination. I declined to comply, unless the tutor would at the same time apologize to me for having resorted to a sur- prise which exposed me to the class, instead of having given me notice privately, or the class some notice publicly, of his desire to change his system of examination. He declined to do this. The next day when I came to the recitation my name was omitted in the call ; and a like omission of my name occurred in all the recitations. I left the college, and took up my lodgings in the city, upon this implied hint that I was suspended. After two weeks Dr. Nott sent for me, and asked me what I was doing, and why I was absent from college. I gave him the facts of the case. He asked me why I did not come back. I answered, " The tutor requires me to apologize." " Why, then, don't you apologize, my son ?" 3 34. AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1816-'18. I replied, " I think the tutor did me the first wrong, and he ought to apologize to me first." "If the tutor would apologize to you, would you then apologize to him?" " Oh, yes, I am quite convinced that I was wrong ; but he was wrong before me." " Well, my son, suppose that I should apologize to you for him, would you be willing to apologize to me for his benefit ? " " Certainly." " Well, then, I do say that I think the tutor would have acted more wisely in telling the class that he had observed the erroneous practice into which they had fallen, and appealed to them to correct it." " Well, then," I replied, " I confess that it would have been better and more becoming in me to recite my lesson, with an explanation of my sense of the grievance of the class." " Now, my son, go to your room, and resume your studies, and re- flect upon this incident, whenever you are tempted to stand upon the punctilio of anybody." If there is one enjoyment of youth higher than another, it is found in the pleasant vacations which the college student spends in the so- ciety of his family and friends at home. Next to this is the enjoyment of return to industrious and emulous pursuits when the vacation is ended. The college reports of my study and demeanor gratified my parents and encouraged me. There was only one drawback, and that was my entire failure to bring my expenses to an equation with the parental allowance. There were small things, not in the estimates, with which I could not dispense. Not the least of these was my equal portion of the expenses of recreations, not to speak of the sums which I could not refuse to give away in charity, or to lend to juvenile bor- rowers, by whom I am not yet reimbursed. Moreover, the more I re- trenched these expenditures, the more the quarterly appropriation was reduced. Nor did the established system of awarding the college honors, which was then universal in the United States, and, for aught I know, may be so now, escape distrust on my part. The honors of the class were reserved for the close of the entire academic course, at the end of the senior year. Competition for these honors began at the organiza- tion of the freshman class, and the final award depended upon the smallest number of failures exhibited in recitations during the entire course. The class had hardly commenced its curriculum before candi- dates appeared, as in the case of a presidential election, demanding, prematurely, a division of the faculty, and of the suffrages of the class. It was impossible to avoid a suspicion that the partiality of the faculty was to be won by servile or unmanly compliances with their caprices, 1816-'18.] DANIEL D. TOMPKINS. 35 However that might be, I thought I discovered that the competitors who aspired to the great reward came to exhibit less of sympathy than others with their classmates, and to take a more contracted view of subjects of general interest. In short, while I would have been willing to receive the honors of valedictorian, I doubted very much whether they were to be desired at the expense of, at least, the isolation which the pursuit of them involved. I do not know how much I had become demoralized, by sentiments of this sort, at the beginning of the junior year, but I was brought to a serious reconsideration of them, when it was finally announced that the Phi Beta Kappa Society of the United States, which embraced in its members all the eminent philosophers, scholars, and statesmen of the country, and which had already three branches one at Harvard, onp. at Yale, and one, I think, at Dartmouth had determined to establish a fourth branch at Union College, and that its membership would be conferred, at the end of the year, upon those only of the junior class who excelled in scholarship. Ought I not to be ambitious to have my name enrolled in a society of which De Witt Clinton, Chancellor Kent, and Dr. Nott, were members ? Would it not be a disgrace to be left out ? Besides, the Phi Beta Kappa was a secret society, and was it not a case of laudable pride and curiosity, not merely to acquire great secrets of science, but to hold them in common with' the great men of the country and the age ? I determined to make a trial. My room-mate agreed to share with me the labors and privations of it. We quitted the college commons, supplied our- selves with provisions for living in our own room throughout the long period of trial. We rose at three o'clock in the morning, cooked and spread our own meals, washed our own dishes, and spent the whole time which we could save from prayers and recitations, and the table, in severe study, in which we unreservedly and constantly aided each other. The fruits of this study were soon seen in our work. It was not enough for us to solve the most difficult equation in algebra or problem in Euclid upon the black-board, but we went through them without the use of lines or figures ; it was not enough for us to read Homer or Cicero, translating the passages, word by word, into English, but, when called upon to recite, we closed the book, and recited the text in a carefully prepared and euphonious version. Need I say that we entered the great society without encountering the deadly black- ball? The junior year closed with introducing me into a political field, much broader than that of the college. Daniel D. Tompkins had been advanced, in 1816, to the vice-presidency of the United States. A schism, which occurred in the same election, had divided the Republican party into two sections : at the head of one of which was De Witt Clinton, then the Governor of the State ; and at the head of the other 36 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1818-'19. was Martin Van Buren. The latter faction, despairing of defeating Governor Clinton in the election, had nominated the popular Vice- President for the gubernatorial office. My training at home had pre- pared me to be an earnest admirer of Tompkins, and of course hostile to Clinton. Vice-President Tompkins, at the request of his party, made a progress through the eastern part of the State, and, in " swing- ing round the circle," came to Schenectady. He had a reception in the city, which, of course, was a party one. The Republican students, nicknamed " Buck-tails," thought it a patriotic duty to receive him at the college. Should I not study carefully the first political speech I was to make, especially when that speech was an address to the great- est patriot and statesman whom my native State had produced ? I did study the speech, and I did make it ; but, like many other well-studied speeches, made to or for political candidates in our country, this effort of mine " fell on stony ground ; " and, in spite of the advice of the Republican students of Union College, De Witt Clinton was reflected Governor of the State of New York. 1818-1819. A College Escapade. A Coasting- Voyage. Six Months in Georgia. Kindly Patrons. The Union Academy. Planters and Slaves. Law-Studies. Return to College. Adelphic and Philoniatheau. A Secession. Trial and Defense. Commencement Honors. THE first session of the senior class came on in September, 1818, and I was to take my degree in July, 1819. The financial misunder- standing with my father, at which I have already hinted, increased by the intrusion of the accomplished tailors of Schenectady, had brought a crisis which I had long apprehended. I would by no means imply a present conviction that the fault in the case was altogether with my father. On the other hand, I think now that the fault was not alto- gether mine. However this may have been, he declined to pay for me bills that he thought unreasonable ; and I could not submit to the shame of credit impaired. I resolved thenceforth upon independence and self-maintenance. On the 1st of January, 1819, without notice to him, or any one else, I left Union College, as I thought then forever, and proceeded by stage-coach to New York with a classmate who was going to take charge of an academy in Georgia. I had difficulty in avoiding observation as I passed through Newburg, the principal town of the county in which my father lived. Arriving in New York for the first time, I would have staid to see its curiosities and its wonders, but I feared pursuit. I took passage, with my fellow-traveler, on the schooner which was first to sail for Savannah ; but the vessel was 1818-'19.] A SEA-YOYAGE. 37 obliged to wait for a wind. I lived on board during this detention, so as to avoid discovery on shore. The last night before our departure, with the permission of the captain of the schooner, I went to the Park Theatre, the only one then in New York. Not merely my education, but my straitened circumstances, impressed me with the importance of econo- mizing in this my first act of dissipation. I bought the cheapest ticket, price twenty-five cents, and of course ascended to the gallery in entire ignorance of all other grounds of discrimination than that of economy. Taking no notice of my surroundings, I wept with Mrs. Barnes in the tragedy until the curtain fell on the first act, when I discovered that I had become, for some cause, the object of sneering remark and con- temptuous laughter among the promiscuous crowd of both sexes who occupied the opposite side of the gallery. As I looked immediately around me to see what could be the cause, a negro man of middle age, black as the ace of spades, but gentle of speech, approached me meekly and said, " Guess young master don't know that he's- got into the colored folk's part of the gallery." I thanked him, repaired to my proper position, and the jibes and laughter ceased. From what I afterward learned of the usages of the theatre, I suppose it may be doubtful whether the change was for the better in a moral point of view ; but the immediate effect of the incident was to awaken my distrust of my ability to begin the world alone. At sunrise next morning there was a rushing of the wind and the sea. We were under way. Full of curiosity, I leaped from my ele- vated berth upon the floor, and fell like a drunken man against the opposite side of the cabin. Gathering my clothes in my hand, I climbed the stairs ; but no toilet was to be made until I had paid the tribute which the ocean exacts of every navigator on his first voyage. The weather was cold, and the sea rough. I crept into a peddler's wagon freighted with dried codfish, and made my breakfast upon it. After that I went to the cabin, only to sleep. The confinement to the deck was not a great privation, for a voyage then on a coasting- schooner had few conveniences and no luxuries. On the seventh day we crossed Tybee, and anchored in the river at Savannah. What an unexpected transition from New York, which I had left congealed and covered with snow, to Savannah, which seemed embowered among trees and flowers ! I was in haste, because my funds were small and I feared pursuit. I rode by stage-wagon to Augusta, the way at night often lighted up by immigrants' camp-fires, which consumed the dry, girdled trees. My associate and I made inquiries at Augusta, and he contracted there for employment in the academy in that city. I proceeded by stage-coach as far as it went, and then hired a gig, which landed me at Mount Zion, in a society that had lately been founded there by immigrants from Orange County, to whom I was known. They 38 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1818-'19. were under the pastoral care of Rev. Dr. Beman, who afterward be- came so distinguished a preacher at Troy, in the State of New York. Here I rested one or two days, while my linen was washed ; and then, no longer able to hire a conveyance, I took the road on foot for a journey thirty miles, more or less, to Eatonton, the capital town of Putnam County. Farmers, there called "Crackers," cheerfully gave me a lift as I overtook them on the way, and shared their provisions with me. Arriving at the town late at night, and weary, I was shown into a large ballroom, which I found filled with long rows of cots, one of which was assigned to me. My reflections in the morning were by no means cheerful. Inquiring of the tavern-keeper, I learned that the academy which I was looking for was in a new settlement, ten miles distant. I was to make that journey with only nine shillings and six- pence, New York currency, in hand, after paying my reckoning The shirt I wore, of course, was soiled with the wear of travel, and the light cravat I wore was worse. I invested eight shillings in a neck- cloth, which concealed the shirt-bosom, and with the one and sixpence remaining I resumed my journey. Arriving at a country store, standing at the cross-roads, after walk- ing eight miles, I came to a rest, communicated the news which I had received at Eatonton, and in return was enlightened with the mer- chant's news of the admission of Missouri into the Union, then under debate in Congress, and with what was more directly to my own pur- pose, the names and residences of the planters living in the neighbor- hood who had founded the new academy of which I was in search. I was directed to Mr. Ward, whose house was distant two miles and a half, as the person to whom I should apply. Going a mile and a half through the woods, I became both hungry and thirsty, and quite too weary to go farther. A double cottage, built of logs, that is to say, a log-house of one story, with two rooms, one on each side of the door, invited me. It was new, its windows were without glass, and its chim- ney not yet "topped out;" but manifestly it was occupied, because domestic utensils lay about the doorway, and the blanket which served for a door was drawn up. I found there a lady, yet youthful, and handsome as she was refined, with her two small children. The owner of the house was Dr. Iddo Ellis, a physician, who had emigrated there only a year or two before from Auburn, New York, and his wife was a daughter of the Rev. Mr. Phelps, an Episcopal clergyman at that place. The doctor soon came home, and it was immediately made known to me that a visitor who had just come from the vicinity of their ancient home could not be allowed to go farther, although he might fare better than in their humble and unfurnished cottage. Of course, I stopped there, and during the evening told my hospitable entertainers of my journey and its object, giving the explanation that I was impatient to 1818-'19.] THE UNION ACADEMY. 39 begin the work of life in the new and attractive field which they had found. The house had no partitions, but I had a separate apartment for sleep, which was easily made by suspending a coverlid from the beam to the floor. After an early breakfast, the doctor summoned a meeting of the trustees, which I could attend, at eleven o'clock. They were five in number. Major William Alexander, of the militia, a genial planter, was president; William Turner, Esq., Treasurer of the State, was sec- retary; and Dr. Ellis chief debater. The matter of my introduction was promptly disposed of. My traveling associate, who, while we were yet in college, had accepted the call to this academy, had obtained a more distinguished situation at Augusta, and had recommended me. Dr. Ellis spoke kindly of the impression which my brief acquaintance with him had made. Mr. Turner, who had had a better academic edu- cation than the rest, asked me a few general questions ; and then Colonel Alexander announced that the board did not think it necessary to extend the examination further. I withdrew, that the board might consider. I went round the comer of the academy, sat down on the curbstone of the spring, into which I dipped the gourd which hung upon the tree by its side ; and I meditated: What chance was there that these trustees would employ me ? If they should decline to do so, what next ? With only eighteen pence in my pocket, a thousand miles from home, my little wardrobe left thirty miles behind, where was I to go, and what could I do ? I scarcely had time to conceive possible answers to these questions, when Dr. Ellis appeared, and in- vited me into the official presence. If ever mortal youth was struck dumb by pleasant surprise, I was that youth, when William Turner, Esq., rose before me, six feet high, grave and dignified, and made me this speech : " Mr. Seward, the trustees of Union Academy have ex- amined you, with a view to ascertain whether you are qualified to assume the charge of the new institution they have founded. They have desisted from that examination because they have found that you are better able to examine them than they are to examine you. The trustees desire to employ you, but they fear that they are unable to make you such a proposition as your abilities deserve. The school is yet to be begun, and with what success, of course, they do not know. The highest offer that they feel able to make is eight hundred dollars for the year, with board in such of their houses as you may choose, to be paid for at the rate of one hundred dollars a year. But the academy will not be finished for six weeks, during which time you will be with- out employment. We will compensate you for that delay by furnish- ing you a horse and carriage, in which you can travel in any part of the State, and, in the interval of rest, you will board among us with- out charge." 40 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1818-'19. I accepted the position with an expression of profound thanks, and an assurance of determination to merit the approval of my generous patrons. It was, as I still think, an important crisis in my life. I indulged, with satisfaction, the reflection that thenceforth I was to be an independent, self-reliant, and self-supporting man. At dinner with the doctor and his family, he said : " I am going to state something to which, if you prefer, you need not reply. In your absence from the meeting of trustees, they asked how old you were. I answered that I thought you were twenty. They replied that seemed very young for such an enterprise." I candidly confessed to my generous patron that I was only seventeen. " Well, we'll leave them to find that out." The part of Georgia into which I had fallen was in the northwestern region, and had then recently been recovered from the Indians. It was newly settled with immigrants from Virginia and North and South Caro- lina. The staple was cotton, and its culture very profitable. Profes- sional men and teachers were freely accepted and welcomed there from the North. The Southern States w r ere only just beginning to establish schools and academies for themselves. Although the planters were new and generally poor, yet I think the slaves exceeded the white population. No jealousy or prejudice at that day was manifested in regard to inquiries or discussions of slavery. But, at the same time, there were two kindred popular prejudices highly developed. One was a suspicion, amounting to hatred, of all emancipated persons, or free negroes, as they were called ; the other, a strong prejudice, of an abstract nature, against the lower class of adventurers from the North, called " Yankees." The planters entertained me always cordially, as it seemed, from a regard to my acquirements ; while the negroes availed themselves of every occasion to converse with a stranger who came from the "big North," where they understood their race to be free, but which they believed to be so far distant as to be forever inaccessible to them. They seemed like children in this respect. Two house-carpenters, bright and intelligent men, expressed so much curi- osity about the " big North," that I asked them why they did not lay up wages, buy their freedom, and go there. They thought the distance an insuperable obstacle in any case. Conversations of this kind with these simple creatures attached the whole community of negroes to me, without exciting any jealousy on the part of their masters. Of course, its effect was to confirm and strengthen the opinions I already entertained adverse to slavery. A " Yankee " had come there, with an exhibition of wax-figures. He was allowed to exhibit it in the chief room of the wealthiest planter. His price for admission was a dollar, negroes half price. Among the crowd attracted were a pair of middle- aged .slaves, with a long retinue of young children. The parents had 1818-'19.] GEORGIA LIFE. 41 mustered just money enough to admit the latter. They were standing outside. When I asked why they did not go in themselves, they replied that they had only money enough to pay for the children. I took them in with me. Not the faintest idea had they of the manner or material with which the figures had been prepared. Looking long with admiration upon "General Washington," "General Greene," "General Marion," " The Sleeping Beauty," "Louis XVI.," and "The Witch of Endor," their master became impatient, but they were reluc- tant to leave. I interposed, and asked them why they did not go. They replied that they understood that all the figures would dance at four o'clock, and asked me to secure their master's consent that they should stay till that hour. Making an excursion into Jasper County in a gig, I had occasion to cross the " Little River." The stream was broad and the water low. There was the framework still remaining of a bridge, but only a con- tinuous flooring of the width of two planks, available for a footpath, but not for wheels. I drove in my carriage across the ford, below the bridge, over round stones, and at imminent peril of being lost in the stream. Arriving at the opposite bank, I found there a young negro woman, with a blind horse loaded with grain for the mill. She asked my advice and help. I thought it impossible to conduct the blind beast safely across the ford. I explored the entire pathway of the bridge, and judged that it was safer to attempt to lead him over it ; at all events the woman would be safe. I led the horse along the bridge, care- fully keeping the middle of the path until we had almost reached the end, when a miss-step precipitated him off the plank, and across a great beam of the bridge. The grist fell off. No effort that I could make, with the aid of the woman, could extricate the animal. I said that I would go and bring her master to the rescue. The woman implored me not to do so, for he would beat her. But there was no alternative. I found the master a mile distant from the river, and when I told him of the ill-luck which had befallen his servant, he hastened to the spot to give relief ; but not without swearing so wrathfully at the slave and at myself as to make me feel that I only just escaped, while the poor woman would be made a victim. I availed myself, next day, of the horse and wagon to proceed to Eatonton, where I called at the post-office, expecting there a letter from the associate I had left at Augusta. Besides the expected letter I received others, which, while they gave me much pleasure, caused me much perplexity. There was a packet which had been transmitted to me by Richard Richardson, President of the United States Branch Bank at Savannah. The packet contained a letter from my father, in which he stated that he had heard with paternal anguish and solicitude of my flight from college and home ; that he had followed me from 42 AUTOBIOGKAPHY. [1818-'19. Newburg to New York, and personally, and with the aid of necessary agents, had gone through nearly the entire shipping at the wharves, resting at night from his unsuccessful search, leaving only unvisited the schooner in which I had sailed. He implored me to return, and in- formed me that I would be supplied with what funds I should need by Mr. Richardson. By no means disposed to give up an independence which had been so dearly gained, I drew on Mr. Richardson, as he had advised me I might, for one hundred dollars. With this sum I brought my person into more presentable condition, and returned to my patrons near the Union Academy. I replied to my father a day or two after- ward, and, in declining his request for my return, I know not whether it was my vanity, or a solicitude that I felt to relieve parental appre- hension, that induced me to send to him an Eatonton newspaper, which contained an advertisement that had been carefully prepared by Wil- liam Turner, Esq., secretary, and signed by himself and Major Alex- ander as president, which announced to the people of the State of Georgia . that " William H. Seward, a gentleman of talents, educated at Union College, New York," had been duly appointed Principal of the Union Academy ; that applications for admission were now in order ; and that the school would be opened on the first of May next. My patrons contended with each other for the honor of entertaining me during the interval ; and so I moved in a hospitable circle round the new academy, now staying at Mr. Ward's, then at Mr. Walker's, and then at Mr. Turner's, and from these places I made excursions to Mil- ledgeville, Sparta, and other towns, always hospitably received by prominent citizens. Hardly more than half my vacation was passed in this pleasant way when there arose a new and startling difficulty. I was in my attic bed- room, at Mr. Ward's, alone, revising the classics which I was so soon to teach, when Major William Alexander, President of the Board of Trustees of Union Academy, ascended the crooked little stairway un- attended, and presented to me a letter, written in a hand that I quick- ly recognized. He said, " I thought I ought to show you this letter before informing any one else about it." I read it, I doubt not, with manifest embarrassment. My indignant father, in this letter, informed Major William Alexander that he had read a newspaper advertisement, in which the major announced the employment of William H. Seward as principal. My father proceeded to say that he lost no time in in- forming Major Alexander and the trustees who and what kind of a person this new principal of their academy was, that he was a much- indulged son, who, without any just provocation or cause, had abscond- ed from Union College, thereby disgracing a well-acquired position, and plunging his parents into profound shame and grief. In con- clusion my father warned the major, the trustees, and all whom it 1818-'19.] RETURN HOME. 43 might concern, that, if they should continue to harbor the delinquent, he would prosecute them with the utmost rigor of the law. " There," said the major, in the chivalrous manner which the South- ern planter had already learned to assume, " I suspected as much all the while, but I don't believe that you abandoned your college and home without good cause ; I shall be your friend. I will keep the affair to myself, and you may decide upon it as you think best. If you should conclude to go home, we will not oppose you, although it will be a disappointment. If you decide to remain, your father may prose- cute me as soon as he pleases." Had this been the whole of the case, it would have been easily settled. But, by the same mail which brought my father's summons, I received letters from my mother, which showed that the proceeding I had taken had been represented to her with aggravating additions, and that she neither had received, nor could be expected to receive, anything that should go to extenuate my conduct. Her letter indicated a broken heart ; and my sister, next in years to myself, assured me that our mother was on the verge of distraction. Alas ! poor lady, my desertion was not her only sorrow. My eldest brother had, two or three years earlier, come into a misun- derstanding with my father, no less unhappy than my own ; had left the paternal home, and was seeking, with uncertain success, to establish a fortune for himself in the then new State of Illinois. My next brother, perhaps more under the influence of erroneous example than from any real difficulty in his own case, had strayed away from the paternal mansion, and obtained precarious employment in the city of New York ; had afterward thought to improve his condition by enlist- ing in the United States Army, and was then writing to his mother mysterious accounts of his new occupation from the barracks at Old Point Comfort. Taking sufficient time, I carefully reconsidered the case, and then convened the trustees. I assured them that I would not break the en- gagement to the injury of the institution ; that I would call a } 7 oung gentleman thither from Union College, as competent as myself, to take my place, and I would remain with them, in the performance of my duties, until he should arrive, and they should declare their entire satis- faction with him. They assented to the arrangement, and it was carried into effect. I opened the academy on the appointed day, with sixty pupils, most of whom were well advanced in years, but quite unin- structed. Mr. Woodruff, my successor, came, and was accepted, and I took leave of my spirited and generous patrons, and affectionate scholars, with sentiments of affection and sadness such as I have sel- dom since experienced. A long summer voyage made the sea seem congenial. The idea of its expanse took possession of me, and as I had improved the sea to 44: AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1818-'19. learn how the people of the Southern States differed from those of my native region, so I determined that an early use should be made of my now postponed independence to explore the eastern shores of the Atlantic. On my way home I learned that a voyage, made in com- panionship with others, in order to be agreeable, must not be too long. During the first eight days, the passengers were not merely mutually pleased and satisfied with each other, but seemed to become affectionate friends. In the next ten daj r s they broke into cliques and factions, from which the quarantine week, inflicted upon us at Staten Island, seemed a welcome escape. I felt well satisfied on arriving at home, on the ground, not that I had decided wisely for myself in returning there, but that I had relieved my fond mother and sister from anxiety and sorrow on my account, and I promised myself never thereafter to abandon them, however diffi- cult my own situation might become. I soon ascertained that I had no change to expect on the part of my other parent. On the other hand, his former opinions of my great disobedience were confirmed by the discovery that, unlike the prodigal son in the parable, in coming home again I had come impenitent. But I now reckoned that the time must be short when, having arrived at my majority and acquired my profes- sion, I should resume, lawfully, the independence I had seized upon prematurely, and given up with reluctance. It was decided that I should return to Union College, and join the senior class of that year, at the same stage at which I had left my own class in the previous year. But this gave me six months, which I determined not to lose. I en- tered an attorney's office, and diligently studied at Florida, and at Goshen, the elementary books of law. A changed condition of feeling affecting me had partially revealed itself while in Georgia, and now it broke upon me more fully and dis- tinctly at home. In obtaining and asserting so much personal inde- pendence, I found I had become amenable to popular opinion ; that the society around me divided, more or less equally, into two parties, and with great earnestness, upon the question whether my previous con- duct should be approved or condemned. Of course, each party pre- dicted a future for me in harmony with the sentiments they respectively adopted. While I was trying to silence this debate by a meek and inof- fensive line of conduct, a new incident occurred which, at first, seemed to put an end to all hope of that kind. The load of debt which had driven me, like Christian's " burden," into my desperate pilgrimage, was some- thing less than a hundred dollars. I now began the process of liquida- tion, not by establishing a sinking-fund, but by earning fees as an advo- cate in the justice's court. These earnings, with small but convenient tem- porary loans from friends, always early repaid, had enabled me to tran- quilize, though not fully relieve myself from, my sartorian creditor. 1818-'19.] CLOSING YEAR AT COLLEGE. 45 One warm September day my father mounted me upon a horse and dispatched me with letters and drafts upon debtors of his who lived within a circuit of six miles. The very first draft which I presented, at a distance of a mile from home, brought into my hands a hundred and fifty dollars in small bank-bills. I rode three miles farther and brought up at the door of another debtor, Mr. Archibald Owens, to whom one of my letters was addressed. Unfortunately for me, Mr. Owens's house was raised some ten feet above the ground, and his door was only to be reached by ascending an abrupt flight of steps. A woman, I then thought a lady, had just ascended the steps as I rode up. I thought first that she might come down to take the letter from me, as I was in the saddle, but on second thought this seemed to be ungallant. I dis- mounted, walked up the steps, gave her the letter, which she promised to deliver to Mr. Archibald Owens when he should come home. It was not until I had ridden a mile farther that I discovered that I had lost the bank-bills previously received. I led my horse while I went back, carefully searching the road, over which, in the mean time, no subse- quent traveler had passed. Night came on, and the amiable Archibald Owens searched the road with me with the aid of lantern-light ; but the money was not found. It was hopelessly lost. Nearly two years afterward, the woman who had received the letter from me on the steps at Mr. Owens's house suddenly bloomed out in silk dress, parasol, and a set of china, and made presents, as rich people ought always to do, to her poor relations. She was arrested, and then confessed that she had picked up the money I had dropped at the door. My father submitted to the loss, perhaps all the more cheerfully be- cause he had mentally appropriated the lost money to the discharge of my indebtedness at Schenectady. The resumption of my collegiate course was embarrassing. I think that, by competitors for collegiate honors, I was regarded as a late in- truder ; and by those who had no such aspirations, as a probable leader in irregularities and insubordination. I determined, though my pro- bation must be short, if possible, to reconcile these two prejudices, to maintain my personal independence, and not to lose a just share of the collegiate distinctions. A new state of things, however, had occurred during the year of my absence from the college. Previously to that event, the students from the North and the South mingled promiscu- ously and lived harmoniously together. The great debate of the Mis- souri Compromise, which occurred during the year, faintly disclosed to the public the line of alienation upon which, forty years afterward, the great civil war, through which we have just passed, was contested. Union College, during that year, received a large accession of students who, even at that early day, had become known as " Southerners." Previous to their coming, the students were divided between two lit- 4(5 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1818-'19. erary societies, secret according to the custom of the time, the one "the Philomathean," the other "the Adelphic," which were nearly coeval with the college itself. Of these, the Philomathean was the larger and more popular, as it claimed to be, by a year or two, the more ancient. I belonged to the Adelphic, which, at that time, con- soled itself for inferiority of numbers by pretensions to superior schol- arship. The Southerners, on their arrival at the college, had joined the Philomathean, but soon afterward had complained of oppression, seceded and organized a third (and, of course, exclusive) society, under the name of the " Delphian Institute," which new society was improvi- dently sanctioned by the faculty. This division of the Philomathean Society, not unnaturally, agitated the Adelphic, leading members of which anticipated an increase of their own strength from the diminution of the numbers and prestige of their great rival, the Philomathean. The agitation drew into dis- cussion, not at all the question of slavery, but the relative merits of Southern and Northern society. It seemed to be believed by both par- ties that the opinions I should express, after having had a six months' experience in the South, would carry weight. The Philomatheans claimed my sympathy on the ground of the character I had established for independence. The Adelphic sympathizers with the seceders claimed my adhesion on the ground of loyalty to the institution to which I belonged, and which had crowned me with all its little honors. Thus at that early day, before my educational course was ended, I stood upon the threshold of national politics. I promptly decided that the Southern secession was unjustifiable and disloyal to the institution and the country, while I made due acknowledgments of the hospitable and chivalrous character of the South. This decision brought me into direct conflict with the recognized leaders of the Adelphic Society. They caused me to be indicted and arraigned for some offense against the institution, the nature of which I do not remember, but the punish- ment for which was expulsion. The college honors, whatever they might be, lay beyond that preliminary trial. I appeared on the day appointed, and met the charge with such proofs as I could command. I addressed the society, but without any previous canvass of my judges. I spoke alone in self-defense, and, when I closed, I asserted that I did not then know the opinion of any member ; that even if the decision was one of expulsion, I should never inquire how any member of the society had cast his vote ; that I disdained the advantage of hearing the summing up of my accusers, as well as the debate preliminary to the final vote. With this speech I left the chamber. An hour or two afterward there was a rush of generous young men into the antecham- ber where I sat in waiting. I had been triumphantly acquitted. An election as one of the three representatives of the Adelphic Society 1820-'24.J STUDYING LAW. 47 who were to speak on commencement-day, an election by the class as one of its managers for that day, and finally the assignment of my name in an alphabetical arrangement of the members of the class re- ceiving the highest honors of the college, easily followed the ill-con- sidered and unsuccessful impeachment. A review at this day of the experience of this my last term at col- lege leaves me in doubt upon the question of precocity. My c/ief- d'ceuvre in the Literary Society was an essay in which I demonstrated that the Erie Canal (then begun under the auspices of De Witt Clinton, the leader of the political party in the State to which I was opposed) was an impossibility, and that, even if it should be successfully con- structed, it would financially ruin the State. On the other hand, the subject of my commencement oration was " The Integrity of the Amer- ican Union." Commencement in July was signalized by an open feud between the Delphians, now known as " Southerners," and the combined Philoma- theans and Adelphics, now the Northern party. The class separated on the stage, and I think it was not until thirty years afterward that I received a kind recognition from any one of the seceders. 1820-1824. Studying Law. John Duer. John Anthon. The Forum. Edward N.Kirk. Ogden Hoff- man. Chief-Justice Spencer. " Bucktails" and " Clintonians." Constitution of 1821. Admitted to the Bar." Going West." Partnership with Judge Miller. Choosing Church and Party. FROM the commencement platform in July I returned directly to the humble law-office of John Duer, Esq., in Goshen, which I had left. There I remained until the autumn of the following year, when I was received as a student in the office of John Anthon, Esq., in Beekman Street, in the city of New York. Mr. Anthon had written a book on " Practice," and this department received my more special attention. The young lawyers and students in New York, then less numerous than now, had a literary society called " The New York Forum," in which they in private tried causes as a mock court; while they defrayed their expenses by the sale of tickets of admission to their public meetings, in which they recited or declaimed original compositions. I was an active and earnest member of this association. It was useful to all its members, while it afforded me one experience peculiarly useful to my- self. Earlier than I can remember I had had a catarrhal affection, which had left my voice husky and incapable of free intonation. I had oc- casion, throughout my college course, to discover that I was unsuccess- 4-8 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1820-'24. ful in declamation. When I came to deliver my own compositions in competition with others, they received applauses which were denied to me. This discouraged me as a writer. The same experience continued in the public exercises of the New York Forum. A fellow law-student, who very soon afterward attained distinction, which he yet enjoys, as a great and eloquent divine, always carried away the audience by his declamation in these debates. He assured me that my essays, which fell upon the audience with much less effect, were superior in merit to his own, and generously offered me a chance for trial. He wrote and gave to me the best essay he could produce ; and I, in exchange, gave him one of mine. I pronounced his speech as well as I could, but it did not take at all. He followed me with my speech, and I think Broadway overheard the clamorous applause which arose on that occa- sion in Washington Hall. In the spring of 1822 my old master, John Duer, transferred his law- office in Goshen to Ogden Hoffman, already, though young, one of the most eloquent of advocates. Mr. Hoffman invited me to join him, giving me the privilege of earning what I could by practice in justices' courts; and also, although I had not yet been admitted to the bar, one-third of the attorney business of the office, reserving the counsel fees for him- self. My collegiate debts, unavoidably increased on my return to Schenectady, had again become embarrassing, and I eagerly accepted the offer. The partnership continued six months, during which I re- viewed all the elementary books I had before read, and completely analyzed " Sellon's Practice," in the form of questions and answers. My partnership with Mr. Hoffman closed with the end of my prepara- tory studies for the bar. This period of study was marked by few in- cidents of interest and importance. I attended the courts held at Goshen, and there, for the first time, saw the late Chief -Justice Spencer. He arrived at the village hotel on Monday morning after breakfast, and was immediately surrounded by a large and respectful assemblage of citizens. He was then universally regarded as the chief adviser and manager of the administration of the Governor, De Witt Clinton. He discoursed to his large audience in a manner so dogmatical and so vehement as to silence all debate, and to raise in my own mind a doubt whether a partisan so violent could be an impartial judge. The doubt was unjust. No more independent and impartial judge ever presided in any court. The sternness of his manner, however, is remembered by all his contemporaries. One morning, shortly before the opening of that term of the court, a stranger, not past the middle age, and well dressed, who declared himself a member of the Philadelphia bar, appeared in the village, em- ployed the printer, and posted placards throughout the place, announc- ing that he would deliver a lecture on the next evening, for which 1820-'24.] CHIEF-JUSTICE SPENCER. 49 tickets could be had at the bookstore price twenty-five cents. The modern lecture-system was then unknown. The tickets were largely bought, and the avails paid over to the lecturer. Night came. No lecturer appeared. He had quietly and clandestinely departed. The next morning a young farmer, with the aid of a constable, brought the lecturer back to the town, and he was committed to jail on a complaint of having, on an out-of-the-way road, on the bank of the Wallkill River, entered the complainant's house and bedroom by the light of a candle which his wife had left burning awaiting her husband's return, and made a forcible attempt on her virtue. The prisoner was arraigned on this charge, and for want of means of his own an eminent member of the bar was assigned as his counsel. The counsel put in a plea of in- sanity. The adventurer's eccentricities were duly proved ; and the pleadings being concluded, Judge Spencer charged the jury, strongly advising them to acquit the prisoner on the ground of madness. The jury were unconvinced, and rendered a verdict of guilty. The prisoner was brought up the next morning to receive his sentence. The judge began his address to the culprit by saying that he had been tried for a heinous crime ; that, in consideration of his poverty and defenseless position as a stranger, the court had mercifully given him the aid of the most eminent advocate at the bar, who had defended him with such signal ability as to produce conviction on the part of the court that the prisoner was insane ; but the jury thought otherwise, and it was their exclusive province to decide that issue. " Have you anything to say why the sentence of the law should not now be pronounced ? " " I have much to say I have enough to say to prevent any just court from dooming me to a felon's punishment. My counsel has not understood my case. He has betrayed me by putting my defense upon a false ground. Instead of admitting it, and excusing me on the ground of insanity, he ought to have defended me on the ground that I attempted no violence." " Stop, sir, stop ! " said the judge, interrupting him. " The pun- ishment of the crime of which you have been convicted is, in the dis- cretion of the court, either imprisonment in the county-jail for a short period as for a misdemeanor, or in the State-prison for seven years as a felony, according to the aggravation of the case. The court, taking a more favorable view of the case than the jury, have instructed me to impose a sentence of ten days' imprisonment in the county-jail. What you have already said has gone far to shake the confidence of the court in that opinion, and to convince them that the jury have not been unjust in their verdict. You may resume your speech, but you will understand that you will do it at your peril." The prisoner sank into his seat. During the same period the politics of the State took a new aspect, 4 50 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1820-'24. and became confused and highly exciting. Under the Federal Admin- istration of President Monroe, national politics subsided into a dead calm. The State of New York was divided into two parties, each claiming to be Republicans, successors of the party under the lead of the Virginia Presidents, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. One was nicknamed " Bucktails " and the other stigmatized as " Clint onian." A local contention arose. The so-called Bucktail faction, opposed to Mr. Clinton, and led by Mr. Van Buren, had succeeded in obtaining a Constitutional Convention. The convention was held at Albany in 1821. It brought into activity the highest talents and virtue of the State. Daniel D. Tompkins presided. Committed by my early train- ing to the support of that faction, I was so far prejudiced against Mr. Clinton as to be able to see that he had, perhaps unavoidably, lost the position of a great national leader, and become instead the head of a merely personal but ardent, intelligent, and energetic organization. When the constitution was submitted to the people I had become of age, and was an elector. I was well prepared for the abolition of the Council of Revision, which made the judiciary a power obstructive of legislation. An ardent believer in democracy, I rejoiced in the new provisions which enlarged the sphere and the bases of popular suffrage. In these respects the new constitution satisfied me ; and I rejoiced in it as the work of the political party in which I had been educated. But this satisfaction and pride were abated in view of two other provisions, the harmony of which with the liberal spirit pervading the rest of the new charter I was unable to see. First, while the new constitution gave to the people the election of their sheriffs and other executive officers, it withheld from them the power of choosing inferior magistrates, and vested it in the county courts. Secondly, while it removed all property qualifications as conditions of suffrage for white men, it, for the first time, required the negroes, now universally free, to possess a freehold of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars, as a condition of voting. It vexed and mortified me to see that on both these points the Clintonian minority were more liberal than the ma- jority of which I was a supporter. Nor was this circumstance rendered less perplexing and painful by the suspicion it awakened in my mind, that the Republican party in the State, and its leaders, adopted the re- straint upon negro suffrage from a motive of sympathy with slavery, or favor toward it, as that institution then existed in all the more Southern Atlantic States of the Union. I ought not to forget here the very feeble attempts I made, at this period, to acquire neglected accomplishments. My father employed for me a music-master, who promised to instruct me to sing in the choir at the church, but gave it up in despair after a second lesson. I was social, and had heard much of dancing as tending to refine man- 1820-'24.] "GOING WEST." 51 ners. The dancing-master found me too awkward to execute the pre- liminary " positions." The French teacher carried me successfully, on the Hamiltonian system, through the first two chapters of St. John's Gospel ; but I found that further study would restrict the time that I required for reviewing Coke on Lyttleton, and mastering Lilly's Entries. Just before I left Orange County, Judge Thompson, who was the oldest and most eminent citizen of that region, and was the owner of a small eminence that overlooked the valley of the Wallkill, told me that he remembered when the last Indian chief who resided there took his leave and departed for the West. Mr. Thompson said his father asked the Indian why he should go away. The chief replied, " You have cut away the trees, arid let the sunlight in upon the valley, and the Indian can no longer stay here." I received from the treasury of the firm of Hoffman & Seward sixty dollars, in full satisfaction of my earnings in it. The earnings in the justice's court had been already expended in keeping up my proper state in society during that period. My father furnished me with the necessary means of traveling to Utica for examination in the Supreme Court, and return. These sixty dollars received from Hoffman & Seward would enable me to explore the western part of the State with a view to my establishment there. I passed my legal examination at Utica in October, 1822, having lost no considerable time by my one year's absence from college. I stumbled on a single question of practice, which gave an advantage to a candidate from Geneva, who availed himself of it to treat me with particular respect and kindness. We became thenceforth close friends, and, if he is living, we are so yet. The Chief-Justice, Spencer, won me to a grateful and confiding friendship by the affectionate kindness with which he delivered to me the diploma for which I had so hardly labored. Certain heavy scales fell from my eyes as I descended from the wharf and entered the packet-boat that was to convey me on the Erie Canal (which two years before I had pronounced impracticable) eighty miles to Weedsport, the landing-place for Auburn. Between two offers of legal partnership which I received at Auburn, I declined the one which promised the largest business, but involved debt for a law library, and accepted the less hopeful one which I might assume with- out new embarrassment. I returned home to announce to my parents and friends that I had made that engagement, and on the 20th of De- cember, 1822, receiving fifty dollars from my father, with the assurance of his constant expectation that I should come back again too soon, I took leave of my native home and arrived at Auburn by stage-coach through the southern tier of counties on Christmas-morning. My new business began on the 1st of January, 1823. I had stipu- 52 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1820-'24. lated with my senior partner, Elijah Miller, that if my earnings during the first year should fall short of five hundred dollars, he would make up the deficiency. The younger portion of the bar were at that time generally in the habit of employing their elder brethren to try their causes in court. I shocked the bar by trying my own causes, where the rules of the court permitted, from the first. At the end of the year I had exceeded my stipulated gains. My distant creditors were fully paid, and so long as I continued in my profession I was neither without occupation nor independence. My debut at Auburn obtained for me a reputation which, though I was thankful for at the time, I had no reason to be proud of. A con- vict discharged from the State-prison there in the morning was warned to leave the town immediately. Reaching the suburb he discovered an open door, entered it, and proceeded to rifle a bureau. Taking alarm, he rushed out, carrying with him only a few valueless rags. He was indicted for this petty larceny, which, being a second offense, was punishable with a new term in the State-prison. I was assigned by the court to the defense of the unfortunate wretch. The theft and the detection were completely proved. The stolen articles lay on the table. The indictment described them as " one quilted holder of the value of six cents," and " one piece of calico of the value of six cents." I called upon a tailor as an expert, who testified that the holder was sewed, not " quilted," and that the other article was white jean, and not " calico " at all. The by-standers showed deep interest in the argument which this defense produced, and were gratified when they found that the culprit escaped a punishment which they thought would be too severe for the transgression. My habit of business was promptly settled. I had long before known that I was to support myself by the practice of the law. I liked the study, but only necessity reconciled me to a toleration of the tech- nicalities of the practice, to the uncertainty of results, and to the jealousies and contentions of the courts. Nevertheless,. I resigned myself to the practice with so much cheerfulness that my disinclina- tion was never suspected. Scarcely any one would have believed me if I had told him that when I came to the responsibilities of a trial or an argument I would have paid a larger sum to be relieved from them than the fees which I had before received or stipulated. My papers were carefully engrossed in a fair round hand. Within a year I had acquired reputation as a careful conveyancer, and the clerks of courts pronounced that the papers I filed in their offices were peculiarly neat and accurate. My circuit as an advocate before jus-' tices' courts extended over the county, and the merchants, not only at Auburn, but also at New York and Albany, employed me as a diligent collector of debts. 1820-'24.] CHURCH AND PARTY. 53 I boarded at the house of a widow lady, Mrs. Brittan, with other young men who were my contemporaries as lawyers, merchants, and bankers, and I lodged in the back room which, in the daytime, served as the counsel-chamber of my office. My senior partner gradually re- linquished the business to me, only coming in to my aid in cases of diffi- culty. It had been a maxim, in the offices in which I had studied the profession, that a lawyer must eschew society and politics, and no newspaper must be seen on any office-table. But I was practising law only for a competence, and had no ambition for its honors, still less any cupidity for its greater rewards. I thought that my usefulness and my happiness lay in the devotion of what time and study could be saved from professional pursuits to promote the interests of the community in which I lived, and of the Commonwealth. The newspapers and magazines of the day, therefore, those not only of one party, but of both parties, were always at my hand, while the law-books were only taken down from the cases for reference when necessary. I took my pew and paid my assessments in the church, attended the municipal, political, and social meetings and caucuses, acting generally as secre- tary. I enrolled myself in the militia, and wore my musket on parade. I paid my contributions, and, when required, managed dancing assem- blies, although, for want of skill, I never have danced myself. And so I rendered, to my neighbors and acquaintances, such good offices as my training and position made convenient. The new constitution had opened the circuit courts to equity juris- diction, and I found in that department a study congenial with my zeal for direct justice. I have often seen the foreign immigrant or exile come, under the law of naturalization, to enjoy the right of suffrage. I have seen the negro race, within the United States, raised to the same status, and I have admired the spirit of self-satisfaction which that advancement afforded them. But I have never seen any person, of either of those classes, or of any class> who regarded the rights and responsibilities of citizenship more highly than I did at that period. I found that, after all, politics was the important and engrossing business of the country. It was obvious, too, that society was irreconcilably divided on the subject of politics and religion. Whatever might be a man's personal convictions, and however earnestly he might desire to promote the public welfare, he could only do it by associating himself with one of the many reli- gious sects which divided the community, and one of the two political parties which contended for the administration of the government. A choice between sects and parties once made, whether wisely or unwisely, it was, easy to see, must be practically irrevocable. Content with the general system of religious doctrine that was held in common by the many sects, which divided on what seemed to me unimportant questions 54 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1820-'24. of faith or discipline, I decided to adhere to the Episcopal Church, into attendance upon which I had casually fallen, and thus, through associa- tion with that Church, give to the community the benefit, if any, of my example, while I should, at the same time, inculcate toleration of all religious creeds and denominations, and render them any aid and assist- ance in their undertakings to educate the people, and extend and fortify the institution of Christianity in new regions and foreign countries. I had been taught that the Republican party was the one which was loyal to the country, and faithful to republican institutions. I had not been able to obtain a satisfactory solution of the question why Wash- ington, whom I regarded as the greatest and the purest of the founders of the republic, dissented from the Republican party, or why Hamil- ton, the ablest and most effective statesman engaged in organizing and establishing the Union, was opposed by the Republican party. My father and his associates explained it to me in this way, that Washing- ton failed in intellectual strength and independence during his adminis- tration, and surrendered himself too implicitly to the advice of Hamil- ton, while Hamilton, though accepting the Constitution as it came through the ordeal of convention and elections, really desired a stronger and even a monarchical government. History forbade my acceptance of either of these explanations. On the other hand, I had seen in the Virginia and Kentucky resolu- tions, which came from the pen of Jefferson himself, and were accepted by the Republican party, the bold and dangerous theories that, long afterward, were to culminate in nullification and secession. I found it easy, therefore, to disenthrall myself from the influence of tradition and personal association in choosing the party to which I should belong. I considered the matter in this light : " The nation has become inde- pendent, and it has received its efficient and complete organization. It has proved its ability to endure, by trials of foreign war. What is needed now is, for the future, a policy w r hich shall strengthen its founda- tions, increase its numbers, develop its resources, and extend its do- minion." I did not doubt that its foundations were to be strengthened by the abolition of slavery, and by the enlargement of popular suffrage, with the more general diffusion of knowledge, and extension of popular rights. To develop the resources of the country, there was necessary a general system of material improvement, involving the construction of canals and roads. An increase of numbers required that an asylum should be offered to the immigrant and exile of every creed and nation. By the tendencies which the Republican party already exhibited, I judged that, having its base chiefly in the slaveholding States of the South, it could not be trusted to abolish slavery and to prosecute the system of material improvement, while the opposite party was un- equivocally hostile to foreign immigration. 1824.] NIAGARA EXCURSION. 55 In the election of 1824 De Witt Clinton was a candidate for Governor of the State. He and his party were completely iden- tified with the system of internal improvements within the State, and throughout the country, while the opposing party gave it a reluctant and divided support within the State, and their associates in the South- ern States had already avowed themselves opposed to it. I avowed my preference for John Quincy Adams as the candidate for President, and Mr. Clinton as the candidate for Governor, from whose election most might be hoped in respect to the policy which commended itself to my approval. It thus happened that, although educated and trained in the Republican party, I nevertheless cast my first votes in 1824 for the opposing one. But, though I thus chose my religious denomination and political party, I did so with a reservation of a right to dissent and protest, or even separate, if ever a conscientious sense of duty, or a paramount regard to the general safety or welfare, should require. 1824. Stage-Coach Excursion to Niagara. First Meeting with Thurlow "Weed. Buffalo. New York and the Western Trade. Benjamin Kathbun. Origin of Parties in the United States. Their History and Character. Presidential Election of 1824. Struggle over the Electoral Law. Adams and Jackson. Marriage. I HAD, in the spring of 1821, while on a visit to Florida, met there my sister, who was a pupil in Mrs. Willard's popular seminary at Troy, and was then at home, accompanied by her schoolmate, Miss Frances A. Miller, of Auburn. A partiality that I conceived for her was my inducement to stop at Auburn when afterward exploring the AVest. Our intercourse had now ripened into an engagement of marriage. My father seemed especially pleased when, instead of receiving me home again as a returned prodigal, I invited him, with my mother and my sister, to visit me at Auburn, and become acquainted with what the lawyers would then have described as the " condition of prosperity and happiness " which I was enjoying. They came, and the two parents projected an excursion by us all to Niagara Falls. Colonel Wilhelmus Mynderse, of Seneca Falls, a gentleman of great intelligence, a friend of Mr. Miller and his family, joined us. The three gentlemen provided a spacious stage-coach, and Colonel Mynderse took his own carriage and horses, so that the journey, which was made to the satisfaction of all, is still remembered as one of my most pleasant experiences. At Rochester, then new, and inferior to Auburn in population, we visited a suspension-bridge which spanned the Genesee River at Carthage, 56 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1824. below the Falls. I think this, the first of suspension-bridges in our country, fell in the next year. Returning through the streets of Rochester from that excursion, a linchpin gave way, a fore-wheel fell off, the coach went down, and the whole party, except myself, required to be lifted out of the muddy ravine. Among a crowd, which quickly assembled, one taller and more effec- tive, while more deferential and sympathizing, than the rest, lent the party his assistance. This was the beginning of my acquaintance with Thurlow Weed. He had acquired the printer's art through severe trials, was then editing and conducting a newspaper at Rochester, which he printed chiefly with his own hand, and he had already become distinguished for public spirit and eminent ability. I think also he was, the next year, a leading member of the Assembly at Al- bany. From Rochester we proceeded through Lockport, already noted for its seven double locks, though still a very inconsiderable and obscure town, to Lewiston, where we crossed the Niagara by a ferry, and exam- ined the battle-ground on which, during the previous war with Great Britain, General Solomon Van Rensselaer, at the head of an American force, was repelled by the British regulars, Indians, and Canadian militia. We rode northward, up the west bank of the river, then forest-covered, quite surprised that we were not deafened by the thun- der of the cataract, the fame of which was so great. We saw the mist and spray rising above the trees. Alighting from our carriages, we ascended the steps at the west door of Forsyth's tavern, and, as we rushed into the hall, I inquired eagerly, " Where are the Falls ? " I was answered, "You will see them from the piazza." In a moment I was standing on Table Rock, and the majestic cataract, in its fullest breadth and height, and immense depth, confronted me. The scene had even at that time lost some of the awe with which it had impressed the spectator fifty years before, by the removal of the native groves which then surrounded it, and the substitution for them of utilitarian structures. We remained four days exploring the Falls and their surroundings; and then, crossing the battle-fields of Lundy's Lane and Chippe^a, we recrossed the river at Fort Erie, and entered the long but straggling street of Buffalo. Here it was our good fortune to meet Judge Wilkeson, a very in- telligent, vigorous, and enthusiastic pioneer of that place. He showed us the plans of the harbor which had been adopted by the canal com- missioners, and my mind, for the first time, swelled with a large though by no means complete conception of the grandeur and beneficence of the system of internal improvements in which my native State was then so deeply engaged, but without support or sympathy from the Federal Government, although Washington had pointed out its value 1824.] ORIGIN OF PARTIES. 5f and importance as early as when visiting Fort Stanwix in 1783. I took notice then, for the first time, of the facts that the Atlantic slope is only a narrow belt, although then containing four-fifths of the popula- tion, wealth, and enterprise, of the Union ; that the vast material re- sources of the country are in the region lying westward of the Alleghany Mountains ; that the trade and commerce of the country must soon be conducted across that range ; that a competition in the construction of such channels was then on the point of beginning between the various cities of the seaboard, each seeking by the nearest and most feasible route to bring that trade to its own wharves ; that ultimately the West would take away and hold forever the governing power of the country; and that that city in the East would become the most prosperous and powerful which should most effectually constitute itself the Atlantic seaport for the West. I took notice, moreover, that Georgia, Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, could reach the great Mississippi Valley only by making canals and roads over the Alleghany Moun- tains ; but that this great range of mountains is pierced by the Hudson River at the Highlands, and sinks on either side of the Mohawk Valley, so as to afford a feasible, easy, and not circuitous inland navigation from the Great Lakes to the ocean ; and that such navigation could be easily extended to the sources of the Ohio, the Mississippi, and the Missouri Rivers. Whatever doubts I had before entertained in regard to the direction of my political course, I now determined to give my best efforts to the achievement of an enterprise which, while it would greatly exalt the State of New York, would tend to increase immeasu- rably the wealth, prosperity, and greatness, of the whole republic. Our party lodged at Buffalo in a tavern which, while it had no pre- tensions, was in all respects more comfortable, neat, and agreeable, than any I had before seen. The praises of our host were on the lips of every traveler, and the broad esteem and confidence that he then secured were an important element of the success which attended Benjamin Rathbun as a leader of improvement in the city of Buffalo, and which tempted him to the extravagance, followed by the painful catastrophe of crime, that obscured his brilliant career. He emerged from that cloud, and became a reputable hotel-keeper in New York, where he still resides. The road of progress is not always clear and direct ; and, therefore, parties are liable to mistake it. It happens, sometimes, that the way is entirely obstructed ; and, while earnest men are seeking to impel the nation forward, it nevertheless recedes continually. Much as party spirit, or partisanship, is decried, it is nevertheless true that every pro- gressive movement begins with and is conducted by a party. Time is an essential element in the development of partisan in- fluences which mark the progress of a nation. It may be easily seen, 58 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1824. now, though it was little understood at the time, that the American Revolution was the result of a long-ripening popular conviction that the colonial condition was incompatible with prosperity and progress. The colonies easily passed from the state of constitutional resistance to that of self-assertion and independence. Advanced as they were under British instructions in the idea of liberty and equality, it was more natural and easy for them to organize the republic than it could have been to constitute or accept a monarchical or imperial system. Through- out the Revolutionary War the struggle of the new nation was con- ducted and managed by a party more bold and liberal than its conser- vative opponents, who insisted on retaining colonial relations, and on the maintenance of monarchy. The triumphant conclusion of the war brought the people to a unanimous acceptance of the principles of independence, liberty, and equality, for which it was waged. A new question then arose : \Vhat constitutional ordination would best pre- serve, perpetuate, and transmit to posterity, the great boon which had been secured ? The several States had conducted the great conflict to a conclusive success, with only the feeble cohesion prescribed by the Articles of Confederation of 1777. Under that frail national organization, the people, through the protection of their several State governments, en- joyed a greater measure of personal liberty, and a greater exemption from the burdens of government, than any nation had ever before secured. Earnest, enlightened, and energetic men, however, early dis- covered that a stronger, firmer, and more controlling national constitu- tion would be necessary to preserve internal peace and harmony be- tween the several members of the Union, secure the country against foreign aggressions, and develop the immense resources of the conti- nent. They, of course, combined themselves into a party, and promul- gated that great and necessary policy. They were resisted, from the first, by a class not less patriotic than themselves, who feared to exchange, without a longer trial, the liberty and equality the country then enjoyed for the hazards of a new and untried constitution, which they naturally apprehended would take a reactionary character, and endanger the advantages which the Revolu- tionary War had secured. Thus the country was divided into two parties. Although the line of division was obvious, the character of each party was peculiarly complex and uncertain. The Federalists, who advocated the new Constitution, were, in one view, the party of prog- ress, inasmuch as they proposed to the people a new and bold national advance ; but, in another view, they were reactionary, because they proposed that the people, who then regarded the State governments as the citadels of popular liberty, should weaken those citadels by trans- ferring no inconsiderable portion of their strength and power to a Fed- 1824.J FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS. 59 era!, and therefore distant and independent, Government. The " Re- publicans," for so their opponents chose to be called, were, in one sense, reactionists, because they refused to concede the necessity of reform and progress ; but they were at the same time progressive, because their refusal was grounded in a jealousy for liberty and equality. The controversy was earnest, but experience of the defects of the Confed- eracy continually gave new advantages to the Federal party. In the organization of the Federal Constitution, by which they conferred greater benefits upon society in the United States, and upon the human race, than any other combination of men has ever bestowed, they achieved, virtually, not only their first but their last political victory. It was Governor Marcy's opinion that the basis of the two parties was, that the Republicans confided in the Constitution as permanent and reliable, while the Federalists, as he thought, feared it would go down in political convulsions. He would have been more correct if he had said the Republicans apprehended that the Federal Constitution would prove too strong for popular liberty, while the Federalists main- tained that it must be upheld to save the Union. Popular sympathy with the now reduced and abridged State gov- ernments, and popular jealousy of a central and therefore practically distant Government, remained. It needed only a new and consistent organization, with occasional excitements of debate, to obtain the assent of the people. The required organization was provided by Jefferson and Madison. The required excitement was derived from the French Revolution, which promised and for a time seemed to carry republican sentiments and principles to a success and extent which would leave the new American Republic far behind. In this way the two successive Federal Administrations of George Washington and of John Adams were gradually undermined, but not until they had been able to con- solidate the Federal Government, with the powers and institutions necessary for its permanent preservation. Adhesion to Federalism, in its supposed antagonism to the State governments, now became conservative, and the declining Federal party lost, in the popu- lar mind, all pretensions to be the party of progress. Adhesion to the Republican party, in maintaining and enlarging the powers of the States, in antagonism to the Federal Union, convertibly became the principle of progress in popular liberty. The struggle was long and severe. How much longer it would have been, had not the incident of the foreign war of 1812 occurred, cannot now be determined ; but that war with Great Britain was declared by a Republican Congress, under a Republican Administration. A minor- ity party always finds it practically impossible to discriminate between political measures of the party which it opposes. The Federalists, a minority, while they did not dare, nor even desire, to embrace the cause 60 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1824. of the public enemy, nevertheless gave their adhesion to the policy of the war with so much uncertainty, querulousness, and jealousy, as to lose the confidence of the people. They fought their last contest in the canvass of 1816, when James Monroe was reflected President of the United States. From that period the popular issues which had divided the country ever since the adoption of the new Constitution, lost their vitality, just as the issues which had divided the people during the Revolutionary War ceased to be effective in the establishment of national independence. Hitherto, strong convictions of the necessity of partisan combination had been sufficient to induce the Republicans to accept nominations of President and Vice-President at the hands of an assembly or caucus of the members who represented their party at Washington. For moral strength the Republican party now relied chiefly on its traditions, a source that, in a republic, time is sure, sooner or later, to exhaust. The class of statesmen who adhered to the party relying on that force, exposed themselves to popular jealousy, as in- terested leaders. On the other hand, some great national ideas and sentiments were evolved by independent, bold, and far-seeing statesmen. These chiefly were the question of national protection of domestic manufacturers, clearer views of disseminating knowledge, more distinct ideas of alliance with the new American republics of Spanish America, an earnest and vigorous belief in the prosecution of internal improvements, with the necessary favor and protection of the Federal Government, and, finally, a jealousy in regard to the admission of new States into the Union, in- volving the balance of political power. The projectors and advocates of these various opinions had at first no political combination; while the ideas themselves, promulgated, and in the main resisted, at Washington, rapidly worked a demoralization, sure to end in the disintegration of the Republican party. This new condition of public opinion produced a high political effervescence in the year 1824. The national election was to be held in that year, and the Republi- can caucus had nominated William H. Crawford, of Georgia, a late Secretary of the Treasury, for President. Martin Van Buren, then a Republican Senator from New York, pledged the support of the party in this State to Crawford, contemplating, as was then alleged, the suc- cession in his own favor. Many Republican members of Congress, in- fluenced by the ideas I have mentioned, refused to join in the caucus, and withheld their adherence from its decree. A spirited opposition to Crawford's nomination manifested itself in most of the Northern and Western States. Mr. Crawford's opponents, having no combina- tion, were divided in preferences between John Quincy Adams, Clay, Jackson, and Calhoun. The State of New York then was under a Re- 1824.] THE ELECTORAL LAW. 61 publican administration, which had for its head the Governor, Joseph C. Yates. There was a Republican majority in both Houses of the Legislature, secured by their successful strategy in enlarging popular suffrage by the Convention of 1821. Yates had been elected by de- fault in 1822. But Martin Van Buren was popularly regarded as the State leader of the party. The Federal Constitution provides that " electors of President and Vice-President shall be chosen in each of the several States as the Leg- islature of that State shall direct." This power of choosing electors had hitherto been exercised in this State by the direct action of the Legislature itself. The Legislature was committed by its antecedents, and by its leaders, to choose electors favorable to Crawford. The opponents of that nomination, merging all preferences, combined in a popular demand upon the Legislature to surrender, then and thence- forth, the direct exercise of the power of choosing electors ; and, thereafter, to restore it by law to the people. The Assembly was shaken, revolutionized, and declared its willingness to pass the electoral law. The Senate, consisting of thirty -two members, resisted firmly and obstinately, by a vote of seventeen. The Governor vacillated. Governor De Witt Clinton, the late leader of the opposition to the Republican party in the State, was then living in retirement from all public office, except that he retained, most justly, the honorary place of presiding commissioner in the Board of Canal Commissioners, who were then bringing to a triumphant conclusion the construction of the Erie and Champlaiii Canals, with which his fame is to be ever identified. The Republican leaders, influenced either by party spleen or by a hope of raising a new issue, on which they could retain discontented ad- herents, carried through the Legislature a resolution removing the honored and veteran statesman from that inconsiderable and unim- portant trust. The people were moved with indignation at this politi- cal crime. They now more earnestly than before demanded the passage of the proposed electoral law. The Legislature adjourned till Novem- ber. Public excitement became vehement ; the Governor yielded, and issued a proclamation requiring the Legislature to reconvene on the 3d of August, to concede the popular measure. The Legislature assembled on the day appointed. The Assembly passed the bill. The Senate, by its majority of one, resolved that the Governor's call of the Legislature was unconstitutional, and so the choice of electors remained with the Legislature, to be exercised at a future session after State elections should have been held. The Republican party, discarding Mr. Yates, nominated Samuel Young for Governor. The opposition, consisting in part of a defection from the Republican ranks, irretrievably hostile to Clinton, and of the entire mass of Mr. Clinton's friends, met by delegates in convention, 62 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1824. and after a vehement dispute nominated a ticket composed of De Witt Clinton for Governor, and his Republican rival, James Tallmadge, for Lieutenant-Governor. The election, held early in November, showed a majority of sixteen thousand for the new political organization. The Legislature, coming afterward, appointed electors by compromise of interests and preferences ; and the electoral college cast twenty-six votes for Adams, four for Clay, five for Crawford, and one for Jackson. No candidate having a constitutional majority of all the electoral votes, the election under constitutional provisions devolved upon the House of Representatives, to choose between Adams and Jackson. Adams was chosen, with John C. Calhoun as Yice-President, and thus, in 1825, a national Administration came into power through an. opposi- tion to the Republican party, which had held unbroken control of the Federal Government for twenty-four years. While enlarging somewhat the sphere of my professional practice, I had an active though humble part in these political transactions. Uniting with the opponents of the Republican party, I spoke for the new movement, wrote resolutions and addresses, and acted as delegate in meetings in my own town and county. On the 20th of October in that year, my marriage took place with Frances A. Miller. She was then nineteen years of age, daugh- ter of my partner and friend, Elijah Miller. Of fine natural parts, with modesty almost approaching to timidity, thoughtful but cheerful, she had been matured by training, first at an academy at Windsor, Ver- mont ; then in an excellent school in her own county, conducted under the care of the Society of Friends ; and closing at the school which the late Mrs. Willard had recently established at Troy, New York, where, while accomplishments were not neglected, a course of study was pre- scribed corresponding in extent and fullness with the curriculum of our colleges. Her father had been, from her infancy, a widower, and his consent to the union was given on the condition that she should not leave her home while he should survive. I thus became an inmate of his family. The joyousness of this event, after a short season, was broken by a serious illness of my own, from which, however, I entirely recovered. Subsequently her health gave way, and it was never fully and permanently restored. 1825-'28.j ADAMS AND JACKSON. 63 1825-1828. President Adams, Clinton, and Clay. A Southern Combination. The " National Repub- lican" Party. A Night-Ride with Lafayette. Pageants in his Honor. Visit to De Witt Clinton. Adhering to Adams. Rejection as Surrogate. A Resolution about Of- fice. Death of Clinton. Presidency of Young Men's Convention at Utica. IT was understood that the new President, Mr. Adams, invited Mr. Clinton to accept the place of minister to Great Britain ; but he de- clined, from a conviction that his path of duty, as well as usefulness, lay through the State magistracy to which he had just been restored. Henry Clay, who had cast his vote in the House of Representatives for Mr. Adams, became Secretary of State. The Republican party, while they acknowledged that Clay, Jackson, and Calhoun, like Craw- ford, were loyal members of their organization, yet believed, or affected to believe, that Mr. Adams, though he had been a consistent and uni- form adherent of the party from his youth, and in that character had successively held all but one of the highest national trusts, was a " Federalist." They therefore charged Mr. Clay with political incon- sistency and personal ambition in voting for Mr. Adams, and said that his appointment as Secretary of State was a reward for that act of " political treachery." The States of the South, under the influences of the institution of slavery, had now become sufficiently strong to induce a combination of all except Kentucky and Louisiana to recover the Southern ascendency, which had been broken by the election of Mr. Adams. This combina- tion thereupon charged Mr. Clay, in addition to his other offense, with disloyalty to the interests of the section of the Union in which he lived. On the other hand, no such maturity of opposition to slavery, and no such community of interest, had occurred in the North as to render possible a combination in support of the Administration of Mr. Adams. At the very first meeting of Congress, therefore, the Republican party was vigorously reorganized, and resumed all its accustomed union and activity to defeat the new Administration. This activity continued, gaining more and more success, throughout the whole of Mr. Adams's Administration. Although that Administration was conducted with the greatest ability, with a measure of moderation unequaled, and with assiduous devotion to the highest objects of national policy, at home and abroad, it continually gave way under the attacks of its opponents. Perhaps this was due chiefly to the facts that the war with Great Britain had closed with the brilliant victory of General Jackson at New Orleans, affecting the popular imagination, and awakening in be- half of the hero of the 8th of January, 1815, a profound sense of gratitude ; and that the nation, discovering how near it had come to 64 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1825-'2S. paying its highest possible reward to him in the previous election, was now easily persuaded that it had been betrayed into the injustice of suffering his defeat by conspiracy or fraud on the part of Mr. Clay and Mr. Adams. For my own part, I adhered during that period to the Administra- tion, because, while I believed in none of those charges, I felt myself obliged to adhere, through all chances and changes, to the new politi- cal organization of 1824, as the party through whose agency the great interests of the State and nation, to which I had dedicated myself, could be promoted. The trial proved tedious, embarrassing, and often bewildering. The organization of our new " National Republican " party became torpid, and we continually declined in strength. There remained, indeed, true and faithful men in every county of the State of New York, with whom it was easy and pleasant to act in concert. But, notwithstanding the best efforts of this class, we were only able to save the reelection of Clinton in 1826, while our Republican opponents carried the Lieutenant-Governor, majorities in the State Legislature, and a majority of the Congressmen. Perhaps the earnestness of my speeches and letters, in aid of the national Administration, may have attracted some attention in this period of defection and decline. The pageant which we organized for the reception of Lafayette at Auburn, in 1825, was the most imposing that a village of two thousand could produce. We gathered, of course, all the military companies of the town and neighborhood, all the barouches, stage-coaches, and wagons, all the Freemasons, all the schoolboys and schoolgirls. We received the hero at the east end of the Cayuga Bridge, on a bright September morning. He had traveled, amid continual demonstrations, from the then distant banks of the Mississippi. Covered with dust, the tall, erect frame, with impassive countenance, seemed rather a monument than a man. A brigadier-general led the procession, and I, mounted as adjutant, brought up the rear. As we were entering Mason's Woods, three pedestrians coming from the other way were seen tum- bling over trees and stumps, with eyes intently fixed on the procession, so that no part of it should escape them. Coming upon me, the last figure in it, they asked, " In which carriage is he ? " I replied, " In the barouche with six white horses." " Thank God ! thank God ! " said they ; " we've seen him ! " We brought him under a triumphal arch, erected on Genesee Street, to a green bower. Colonel Hulbert, our most eloquent lawyer, ad- dressed him a welcome in behalf of the people, and Dr. Lansing, our most eloquent divine, addressed him in behalf of the Freemasons. He answered in words which seemed pertinent and grateful, like those delivered everywhere on his journey. Thence he went to Coe's Hotel, where the ladies received him, and where he took each one by the hand, 1825-'28.] LAFAYETTE. 5 saying something in imperfect English which they did not understand, and yet which I am sure no one of them ever forgot. At ten o'clock he walked round the ballroom at the Centre House, saluting every member of the dancing-party, and then entered an open barouche, drawn by four horses, attended by the president of the vil- lage and myself. Abstaining from conversation, we left him to enjoy such sleep as he could get, in a night that could not be long, and was to be crowded with festivities. The roar of cannon announced his entrance into Skaneateles at midnight. Every house was illuminated, and even the surface of the lake reflected the blazing bonfires. There were re- freshments ; and then Lafayette slept until we rolled down the long hill into Camillus. There, too, were bonfires ; but the sexton of the church was caught napping, and we were amused at seeing his haste to set the church-bell ringing before we should get through the town. The day had not broken when we brought up at the village hotel at Onondaga Hill. Lafayette alighted, and was immediately conducted into the upper ballroom. There, by candle-light, he was addressed by Thaddeus Wood, the great, magnate of the town, in behalf of the people of Onondaga. We were to wait an hour, so as not to come by surprise upon Syracuse, then a town of perhaps a thousand souls. Lafayette, taking advantage of this pause, requested me to join him in a walk for air and exercise. I conducted him along the summit of Onondaga Hill, and he keenly interrogated me as to the topography of the country. I pointed out to him the direction of Oswego, the course of the Oswego River, Onondaga and Oneida Lakes, the site of Fort Brewerton, Onondaga Castle, Oneida Castle, Oriskany, Fort Schuyler (Utica), Fort Stanwix (Rome), at which latter post he had commanded in the war, and then had become familiar with the character of the country, which he was now surveying in the morning twilight. He expressed deep interest in these observations, and adverted to the great military events which had occurred at Fort Stanwix and Oriskany. I had not even then a high appreciation of Freemasonry, nor did I understand what claim that order had to the prominent position which was conceded to it in this and in like political and social demonstra- tions. The mystery was cleared up, though not with an increase of my respect for the fraternity, when Gad Bennet, a tinsmith and master of the lodge, still wearing the apron of the previous day's celebration, ap- proached, and, overhearing Lafayette, said : "Yes, Lafayetty, this is a fine country ; it is a great country, and we owe it all to you, Lafayetty. You gave it to us, or we should not have had it. We are glad to see you, Lafayetty. You are a Royal Arch-Mason, Lafayetty, and so am I. You are our brother, and all. Masons are glad to see you, Lafayetty." 5 66 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1825-'28. We returned down the hill in our carriages, and cannon-thunders soon proclaimed the nation's guest to the crowds who were awake, and moving about the few streets of Syracuse. As we struck upon the canal bridge, an Onondaga Indian, who was sleeping on the railing of the balustrade, awakened by the noise, gave forth a grunt, and rolled over in fright into the canal. Committees, orators, citizens, and ladies with floral wreaths, were in waiting. Here we surrendered our charge, and took leave of him. In January, 1828, 1 found that my professional business had steadily increased. I needed no office for a livelihood ; but I was tempted to believe that an honorable trust, which should harmonize with my prac- tice of the law, might avail in increasing my professional reputation. My personal and political friend, Seneca Wood, Esq., was then holding the office of Surrogate of Cayuga County, under an appointment of Governor Clinton. Mr. Wood was desirous to resign. He placed his resignation in my hands, with a letter to the Governor, recommending me for the appointment. I visited Albany, and received my first initiation into partisan ways and usages at the State Capitol. I had come to regard Mr. Clinton with combined sentiments of reverence for the chief magistracy of the State, and of profound admiration for his eminent talents and learning. But he had the character of being stern and cold. I found him quite otherwise. He appreciated zeal and devotion to the political principles and interests he represented. He received me kindly and cordially. I have never been in a presence which commanded more of personal respect or inspired more confidence. I think, now, that his character for reserve and austerity was only acquired by the popular custom of contrasting him with his rival, the affable, amiable, and genial Daniel D. Tompkins. The habit I had acquired of viewing all public characters from the standpoint of a citizen, anxious to bestow his suffrage conscientiously, had entirely removed the blind feeling of partiality with which, at an early period, I had regarded the leaders of the political cause with which I was as- sociated. Governor Clinton accepted the resignation, and sent a message to the Senate, nominating me for the vacant office, with a free and confident assurance that it would be confirmed. It was not until the nomination had been made that a political secret was divulged which at once con- vulsed and astounded the State. The interests and ambition of Mr. Clinton had coincided with, and were now popularly identified with, the interests and cause of John Quincy Adams, the President of the United States. Mr. Adams's presidential term was to expire on the 4th of March, 1829, and Mr. Clinton's term as Governor was to expire at the close of the year 1828. Elections for both offices w r ere to be held in November, 1828. General Jackson, as I have already intimated, 1826- 1 28.] DE WITT CLINTON. (57 was the most popular competitor* of Mr. Adams. Mr. Van Buren and the whole Republican party of the State had committed themselves to General Jackson. Mr. Adams became the subject of a " see-saw game " on the part of what remained of the defunct Federal party. One portion of that party declared themselves opposed to Mr. Adams, because he had left the Federals and joined the Republicans under Mr. Jefferson in 1805. Another portion of the Federal party gave their adhesion to General Jackson, under the belief that, as President, he would repudiate the Republican party, then under the established lead of Martin Van Buren. These and other political occurrences indicated, at that early day, a defeat of Mr. Adams in his reelection, which would, of course, involve the defeat of the party in our State, upon whose support not only Mr. Adams but Mr. Clinton had relied. At this precise juncture it transpired that Mr. Clinton had become recon- ciled with his previously inveterate political foe, Mr. Van Buren, and given his adhesion to the support of General Jackson. The Senators divided on the line of their previous associations or present convictions of their public duty, a portion of Mr. Clinton's adherents going with him into the Republican party and the support of General Jackson, and a lesser number abandoning Mr. Clinton and adhering to Mr. Adams. The question whether to follow Mr. Adams and thenceforth aban- don Mr. Clinton, or to follow Mr. Clinton and abandon Mr. Adams, was precipitated upon me, while my nomination lay unacted upon in the Senate awaiting my decision. As may well be conceived, I did not long hesitate. I appeared at a meeting held at the Capitol by the " National Republicans " of Albany, to consider the political dilemma thus produced. It was popularly represented to be a meeting to ex- press the indignation of the National Republicans against Mr. Clinton for his defection from their cause, and his injurious coalition with Mr. Van Buren. In reality, however, it was rather a lamentation over Mr. Clinton's separation from the cause and the friends with whom his fortunes and fame were believed to be inseparably identified. The Senate rejected my nomination as surrogate. I regretted, not the failure to obtain the office, but my weakness in desiring to be nominated for a subordinate civil place at the hands of the Executive power. I saw at once how much the desire or the hold- ing of such a place tended to compromise my personal independence, and I resolved, thenceforth, upon no considerations other than the safety of the State ever to seek or accept a trust conferred by Executive authority. That case occurred later, when I, with extreme reluctance, and from convictions of public duty, took the office of Secretary of State at the beginning of the civil war, and filled it until the restora- tion of peace. 68 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1825-'28. So far as concerned Mr. Clinton himself, he escaped a trial of the consequences of the change of political associations which he had thus made. He fell dead of apoplexy in his residence at the capital, on the llth of February following. Universal grief banished from the public mind the agitation which recent events had begun to awaken, and he was mourned as (notwithstanding whatever failings and errors he had) he deserved to be, as, only next after Alexander Hamilton, the wisest statesman and the greatest public benefactor that in all her history the State of New York has produced. For myself, I persevered in follow- ing the policy of Clinton now he was dead, not less than or separate from that of my other political leader, Adams, while living. A convention of the young men of the State, favorable to- the con- tinuance of the national and State Administration, was called at Utica; upon whose suggestion I do not now know, I attended as one of many representatives of Cayuga County. The convention consisted of three hundred and fifty-six members. I have since seen many representative bodies, legal as well as voluntary, ecclesiastical as well as political. I have never, however, seen any assembly which exhibited a greater fervor of sentiment, or more pure and elevated convictions of public duty. According to custom, a private preliminary caucus was held, in a basement-room, the evening previous to the public assembly of the convention. I had here my first experience in the troubles of political caucuses. The New York City delegation, twenty-five in number, if I remember right, with great unanimity insisted that its leading member should be elected president of the convention. Private solicitations and intrigues had been actively employed, during the afternoon, to win the rural members to that suggestion. The members from the country districts were of the opinion that a rural member ought to be elected president, to prevent the movement from losing its State character, and coming to be regarded as a merely formal demonstration of the young men from the city. This conflict of opinion was irreconcilable. Urban delegates threatened the defection of the city, while many country members, highly irritated, predicted the worst disasters from the suc- cess of the city candidate. The debate grew angry and vehement, and neither party was willing to terminate it and come to a vote. Older and more experienced friends of the cause had been admitted into the caucus as spectators. They were alarmed by indications of a breach in the convention, in the attempt to give it a public organization. The debate might be overheard, and produce a scandal dishonorable to the character of the convention, and injurious to the cause for which it was assembled. At a late hour I took the floor, avowing my preference for the rural candidate, but, at the same time, my confidence in the candi- date offered from the city, and, insisting that all should agree to acqui- esce, I proposed a preliminary vote, pledging the minority to acquiesce, 1828-'29.] WILLIAM MORGAN. 59 and that the convention should then adjourn for the night, and come together at nine o'clock in the morning, prepared to decide the question by an immediate ballot at that hour without debate. I do not recall either the thoughts or language of this appeal to the patriotism and good sense of the convention. The resolution I offered was promptly accepted, and the meeting separated. The next morning when pro- ceeding to the hall, greatly apprehending a renewal of the stormy de- bate of the previous night, I met the two rival candidates for the presi- dency, with their more earnest friends, and was requested to delay my entrance until the meeting should be organized. As I entered the room, after that delay, I was received by the entire body standing, and unanimously pronouncing their vote for myself as president. 1828-1829. The Convention. Abduction of Morgan. Popular Excitement. The Antimasonic Party. Solomon Southwick. Smith Thompson and Francis Granger. Van Buren and Throop. Congressional Nomination. A Coalition and an Explosion. General Jack- son's Election. Auburn Projects. Working for a Competence. Buying a House. THE convention, after a session of two days, adjourned, with the result of introducing new and great effect into the political canvass. The honor of being its presiding officer seemed to give me a prominent position throughout the State; and it has since been the habit of politi- cal writers to assign that date as the beginning of the political career which, with varied success, I have pursued. But I soon had occasion to know that the " course " of political advancement, like that of " true love," " never did run smooth." On the 14th day of September, 1826, William Morgan, an inhabitant of Batavia, in the county of Genesee, was arrested under a form of legal process for pretended petit larceny, and conveyed to the common jail of the county of Ontario, at Canandaigua. On the fact of his im- prisonment becoming known, and exciting inquiry, the prosecutor failed to appear to substantiate his accusation ; while three or more citizens of Canandaigua procured a carriage, and caused him to be conveyed clandestinely through the country, confining him during the night in the public jail at Lockport, and conveying him the next day to Fort Niagara on the bank of the Niagara River. Here, for a time, informa- tion concerning him ceased. Social and judicial inquiries afterward established beyond all reasonable doubt the facts that he was a member of the order of Freemasons, and, though of humble occupation, a sober and moral citizen ; that he had prepared for publication, and had in press, in a printing-office at Batavia, a volume containing the secrets of 70 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1828-'29. Freemasonry ; that the clerk's office at Batavia was robbed of papers under an expectation of obtaining the manuscript ; that the printing- office was forcibly attacked with the same view, and finally burned down in the night-time, to destroy the manuscript ; that his arrest and confinement at Canandaigua wer/e made with a view to secure his person, and that his forcible removal from Canandaigua to Fort Niagara was a continuation of the same plot ; and that there a lodge of Freemasons was held to consider his case, which resulted in an abortive attempt to induce the Masonic brotherhood on the Canada bank of the river to receive him ; and that, on their refusal, he was taken from the fort in the night-time by members of the brotherhood, and drowned in the Niagara River. The inquisition of justice in the matter was hindered and delayed, so that public sentiment became vehemently excited, and the crime of his murder was charged upon the Masonic brotherhood with force and effect. The judicial authorities of the State succeeded in bringing to justice only three or four of the persons who were en- gaged in this abduction, but failed altogether in bringing his mur- derers to punishment. The people of the district of country in which these outrages happened thereupon organized themselves as a political party, demanding the dissolution of the Masonic Society, as subversive of order, and dangerous to the public peace and safety. This proceed- ing brought about a wide and searching inquisition into the principles and practices of that society, which lasted several years. The new political party rapidly obtained a controlling majority in many of the counties lying west of the Cayuga Lake. While the organization was taking its form, the presidential canvass of 1828 came on, and it became necessary for the new party to declare its national preferences. Jackson, the candidate of the Republican party, was identified as being either a Freemason, or at least as having the support of the Republican authorities of the State, who were re- garded as delinquent in the investigation of the Morgan affair, and shielding the Masonic fraternity from popular indignation. Mr. Adams, on the other hand, the candidate of the National Republican party, being inquired of, answered that he had not been at any time, was not now, and probably never should be, a Mason. The new organization, now assuming the name of the " Antimasonic party," inclined to sup- port Mr. Adams ; but, in order to maintain a distinctive character, deemed it necessary to make a separate nomination of the candidates for electors, and for State and local offices. Electors were then chosen by the people in single districts. My activity in local assemblies and conventions continued during the summer. A " National Republican " State Convention at Utica, on the 23d of July, submitted to the people a ticket composed of Smith Thompson for Governor, and Francis Granger for Lieutenant-Governor. 1828-'29.] THE ANTIMASONIC PARTY. 71 The Republican party nominated Martin Van Buren for Governor, and Enos T. Throop for Lieutenant-Governor. The Antimasonic party, of whom I shall soon have occasion to make larger mention, quite generally accepted from Solomon South wick the offer of his name as a candidate for the office of Governor. The National Republican candidate was an eminent and experienced jurist, but had had no recent connection with political affairs, and his name excited no enthusiasm. Mr. Granger, three or four years my senior, brought to the ticket great popularity, the fruit of imposing personal presence, graceful address, respectable abilities, and free and engaging popular manners. Mr. Van Buren possessed great amenity of character, and was sure of an interested support from the Republican party, all of whose members regarded him as the most skillful of political tac- ticians. Mr. Throop, then one of the State Circuit Judges, was my neighbor, chiefly known to the public for his unquestioning devotion to the interests of the party and the fortunes of its leaders. Mr. South- wick was a restless and eccentric man of an age already past. The Cayuga Bridge seemed, for a time, an effective barrier against the extension of the Antimasonic party into the region east of the Cayuga Lake. It crossed the barrier, however, at last, and about seven hundred of my fellow-citizens of Cayuga County, scattered through the different towns, raised the standard of the Antimasonic party in the winter of 1S27-'2S. Nearly all of them had been honored and esteemed associates of my own in the so-called " National Republican " party. They were honest, earnest, vigorous, and intelligent men. They in- vited me to join their new standard. I endeavored to induce them, by high practical considerations, to remain with the National Republican party ; in the first place to secure, if possible, Mr. Adams's reelection, and await events to determine the wisdom of a " new departure." But I fully agreed with them in all their convictions of the duty of vindi- cating the majesty of the law, and relieving the country, if possible, from secret societies. Thus it happened that, while they severed them- selves from me, our friendship and mutual confidence remained they being as fully convinced as I myself was of the duty of combining all branches of opposition in the support of a common ticket for electors, Congressmen, and local officers. We agreed that, if possible, the two branches, the Antimasonic and the National Republican, though nomi- nating at different times, should present the same names for candidates. But prudential considerations made them insist upon holding their con- vention first in order of time, it remaining for me to bring the National Republican Convention, which should meet afterward, to accept the candidates of the coalition. The Antimasons, though rich in talent elsewhere, unfortunately had no men in their ranks in the county who were accustomed to speak 72 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1828-'29. or write on public affairs. They therefore, from time to time, came to me, and I confidently furnished them with drafts of resolutions, ad- dresses, and speeches, which were given to the public in the name and through the hands of other persons, of their own organization. The coalition, as all coalitions must be, was covered during the preparatory stage with the veil of secrecy. They called their convention at the Court-House in Auburn. We agreed that they should nominate cer- tain prominent and recognized National Republicans, who, though not Antimasons, should be free from complicity with Freemasonry. And, on my part, I agreed to use the considerable influence which it was as- sumed that I enjoyed to induce the National Republicans to adopt the candidates thus to be nominated. Our choice for candidate for Con- gress fell upon Archibald Green, an eminent, widely-known, and uni- versally-respected citizen, who had been a pioneer in the settlement of the county, had held many of its highest trusts, and was of about the age of sixty. He had in early life joined the Masonic fraternity, but had long neglected attendance on its meetings, was now in consequence opposed to it, and his acceptance of an Antimasonic nomination would be equivalent to a renunciation of the order. I drafted and put into the hands of the Antimasonic leaders an address and resolutions suit- able to the occasion, and especially laudatory of Mr. Green and the candidates to be associated with him. The address and resolutions were accurately descriptive of Mr. Green's virtues, claims, and qualifications. The day that the Antimasonic Convention assembled at Auburn I willingly availed myself of a professional excuse for a journey to the shore of Lake Ontario, not doubting but that the intrigue, if so I must call it, would be carried out. On returning, in the evening, I was ac- costed by all my neighbors in the streets with the salutation, " How do you do, Mr. Congressman?" The Antimasonic leaders hastened to in- form me that their convention had proved impracticable ; that it had refused to nominate Mr. Green because it distrusted him, and had in- sisted on nominating myself as a person that could be safely trusted ; while my standing with the National Republicans ought to render me acceptable to them. To fill the measure of my perplexity, and cover me with mortification, the proceedings of the Antimasonic Convention, with my own resolutions and address, so laudatory of the candidates, were already in type in the Cayuga Republican, and I read them the next morning verbatim, except for the material change that my history and praises of Mr. Green were appropriated to myself ! The public were not more amazed than I was when I found myself described therein, not as a young man of twenty-seven, four years an untitled and unhonored adventurer in the county, but as " one of the earliest pioneers of Western New York, matured by age," and " covered with the titles of official distinctions " I had enjoyed. The game that I had 1828-'29.] ELECTION OF GENERAL JACKSON. Y3 played in the New York forum no longer availed me. Everybody rec- ognized my own habitual style in the apparently self -glorify ing address and resolutions. I could not deny the authorship, and I even now sus- pect that some of my Antimasonic friends innocently disclosed it. Ridi- cule hastened and gave force to the unavoidable explosion. My Na- tional Republican associates pronounced me an intriguer and a betrayer. I fell from my eminence so low that the counselors who succeeded to my place refused even to confer with me. They would have none of me for Congressman, in any case, nor Archibald Green neither. But they would have Charles Kellogg, reckless whether he was a Freema- son or not, and whether the Antimasonic dissenters would accept him or not. The Antimasonic electors were indignant at this repudiation of my nomination, which they had made, as they thought, in a high spirit of conciliation ; and they would have none of Charles Kellogg, or anybody but myself or some trusted member of their own narrow association. Time, however, was running against the passions of these faction- ists of both classes. The National Republican Convention had been set for a day so near the election that I hoped there would be no time to organize an opposition. I remained a candidate, patiently enduring the odium and discord to which the position exposed me, until that convention assembled. Though not even allowed to be a delegate, and amid the hisses of many of its members, I advanced to the table of the convention, explained the unfortunate history of my nomina- tion, laid it down at their feet, and announced my decimation of any nomination whatever. They nominated Charles Kellogg for Congress, and, for district elector, Christopher Morgan. The Antimasonic Con- vention at the last moment reassembled, and reasserted their self-reli- ance by nominating Moses Dickson for Congress. True to their national principles, as well as their Antimasonic faith, the Antimasonic voters in the county cast their suffrages for Christopher Morgan, the National Republican candidate for elector ; but they at the same time cast 901 votes for Dickson, their own distinct candidate for Congress ; and thus it happened that, while the Adams elector was beaten by only 1,743 majority, the National Republican candidate for Congress was beaten by 2,447. Not only was the cause of the National Republican party lost in the county where these unhappy divisions had occurred, but it encoun- tered a disastrous defeat throughout the State and Union. Mr. Adams had sixteen electors out of thirty-six, and on the final canvass in Congress was found to have had only eighty-three votes, while General Jackson had one hundred and seventy-eight. John C. Calhoun was elected Vice-President. For Governor,, Martin Van Buren received 136,794 votes ; Smith Thompson, 106,444 ; Solomon Southwick (the 74: AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1828-'29. Antimasonic candidate), 33,345. These figures showed that, while an uncompromising feud between the Antimasons and National Re- publicans gave an imposing triumph to the Republican party, the two contending factions had three thousand more votes than the success- ful party. The result, however, was as injurious to the opposition as it was incurable. From that time the Antimasonic party, encour- aged by the increase of votes it had received, determined to make no coalition or compromise ; and the National Republican party, discour- aged by its failure, waned throughout the State and country. The triumphant party thenceforward received accessions everywhere from the irresolute and the vacillating, and opposition to it found vitality only in the spirited and vigorous Antimasonic organization, which was chiefly located in the western counties of the State. /" It seemed to be hoping too much to expect that a party arising from a single issue, and that of a social, more distinctly than a political nature, confined as yet to a small section of the country, and deriving its weapons chiefly from its determination to vindicate the law through the courts of justice, could succeed to the position of one of the two great contending par- ties of the Union. For myself, it was not necessary that I should expect, or even hope, for an ultimate and complete success of the new organization. I saw the National Republican party, through which I had so far labored since my majority, practically dissolved and in ruins, not again to be restored. I had only the alternative of going with that one which not only agreed with me throughout in the principles and policy, State and national, that I cherished, but the peculiar object of which also seemed to commend itself to the support of all indepen- dent and virtuous citizens. I saw, as I thought, not only the loss of our national system of revenue, and the loss of enterprises of State and national improvement, but also future disunion of the States, and ultimately a universal prevalence of slavery as the future fruits of con- fiding the destinies of the country to Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee ; John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina ; and Martin Van Buren, of New York. Against the party whose success was marked by the formation of their coalition I planted myself sternly, in my own independence, willing to combine and coalesce with all who could be rallied for the national safety, and indifferent to whatever delays and discouragements I might be called to endure. The rout and confusion of the National Republican party, in the first election of General Jackson, left me quite at liberty, during the year 1829, to give my attention to domestic and social affairs. It is now a matter of surprise to me, on recurring to the papers of that day, to find that I was employed often in the defense of criminals, having apparently obtained a reputation for astuteness and subtilty in expos- ing defects in pleadings and evidence. 1828-'29.] BUYING A HOUSE. 75 The village and the county in which I lived were, at that time, in- tensely moved by projects of local improvement. Among these were plans for connecting the lakes with the general system of inland navigation, and connecting Auburn with other parts of the State by railroads. There were also projects for colleges and other scientific institutions. In all these I took the active part which was assigned to me by my fellow-citizens. Politically there was little encouragement to activity. The National Republican organization had fallen to pieces, and the party virtually ceased to exist. Nearly all its more active leaders joined the trium- phant Republicans, with a determination to oppose and utterly destroy the new Antimasonic organization, which now came to the foreground as the successor of the National Republican party, in opposition to the Republican majority triumphant in the States and the Union. The Antimasons contested the field in the limited district where they had demonstrated their greatest strength, but throughout all the other parts of the State of New York, including Cayuga County, the election of the Republican local tickets, in 1829, passed by default. Mr. Van Buren, on the organization of General Jackson's cabinet, was appointed Secretary of State at Washington, and the Executive office of the State devolved upon Governor Throop. There is an incongruity, which I cannot easily overcome, between the details of domestic life and the account I find it necessary to give of public and political events. My professional pursuits had, by this time, become sufficiently profitable to assure me a competence for the country life which, on all grounds, I preferred. But that competence could not reach an abundance, by reason of the drafts to which I was subjected. Relatives unfortunate in business had, naturally enough, applied to me for indorsements and loans. I cheerfully gave the re- quired aid, but, in so doing, depleted more than one-half the entire property which I possessed. These charges upon an income derived from the practice of the law, in the country, left me without an assurance of the pecuniary independence which I had already found indispensable to the social q,nd political independence at which I aimed. While my residence in the family of Mr. Miller, my father-in- law, was in every way pleasant and desirable, the construction of his dwelling proved a severe trial to the health and comfort of my wife. I therefore, with his consent, bought of William Brown the neat house and pretty grounds directly opposite to that of Mr. Miller. I paid one thousand dollars in hand, and secured the payment of the balance within five years, by my bond and mortgage, and removed to that dwelling with my wife and child (Augustus), then three years old. 76 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1830. Impatient under renewed experience of debt, I laid aside all ray gains with a miser's prudence and care, and extinguished the bond and mortgage in fifteen months. 1830. Popular Elections. The Evening Journal. A Fourth-of-July Demonstration. Henry Dana Ward. The " Working-men." Granger for Governor. National Convention. Thaddeus Stevens. Judge McLean. Myron Holley. Elected to the Senate. No fault is more frequently found with our Constitution than that which is based on the periodical frequency of the popular elections. I am of a different opinion. Intelligence cannot be increased, and pa- triotism cannot be kept vigorous, without universal activity of the pub- lic mind. The elections of representatives serve this purpose admira- bly. Moreover, while the safety and welfare of a state do not require frequent changes of its rulers, yet the popular contentment and acqui- escence, indispensable in every state to the maintenance of peace and order, and more indispensable in a republic than in any other state, are secured by the recurrence, at regular and short periods, of elec- tions which afford the opportunity of change. Thus all errors or evils of government are endured because there is an always-renewing hope of relief. The first year of a new Administration at Washington, or at Albany, is a season of popular rest. Exhausted energies and expecta- tions, satisfied or disappointed, combine to produce a sentiment of pub- lic indifference to politics. In these periods enterprises of material improvement, moral and social reforms, and religious movements, en- gage the minds of the people. But the second year of a new Adminis- tration at Washington finds the popular mind restored to vigorous ac- tivity, and the elections held in that year are generally the beginning of a campaign, in which another presidency is to be decided. The year 1829, as has been seen, was one of relaxation and calm. The campaign for 1832 opened with the year, 1830. The Republican party, now taking to itself the more radical name of " the Democratic party," announced with great unanimity its determination to secure the reelection of Andrew Jackson. The discomfited and overthrown National Republican party practically withdrew from the field in most of the Northern States, and left its vacant place to be filled by the new, vigorous, and enthusiastic Antimasonic party. Hitherto that party, within the State, had been a merely local one, practically con- fined to Western New York. In 1830 it determined to strike out boldly for wider empire. A consultation was held, at the beginning of the year, at Albany, with 1830.] A FOURTH OF JULY. f7 this view. I attended this consultation, and, by a speech which I made, won the confidence of the delegates so far as to be accepted as one of the leaders, in association with Thurlow Weed, Francis Granger, John C. Spencer, Frederick Whittlesey, William H. Maynard, and Albert H. Tracy, all of whom were deservedly distinguished for talents and influence. Our convention appointed fifty-six delegates to a United States Antimasonic Convention, to be held in Philadelphia in the following September, and we provided for the establishment of the Albany Evening Journal, on the 22d of March, as the organ of the party in the State, to be conducted by Thurlow Weed. At home, the coalition of a large portion of the late National Re- publican party with the triumphant Republican one now called " Demo- cratic " displayed an intolerance which I found unendurable ; and I gave myself up to an effort to break it down. Adhering to all my cherished " National Republican " principles and policy, I addressed myself to my fellow-citizens, in speeches and through the press, expos- ing the violence which had been committed against law and order in the name and for the benefit of the Masonic Society, and in warnings against the errors and evils of secret societies generally. My opponents under-estimated these appeals, and visited my asso- ciates and myself with derision and scorn. Aware of the effect of demonstrations of political strength on the public mind, I induced my associates to challenge a trial on the 4th of July. For two months we made preparations for the celebration of the national anniversary, with the full exposition of our party faith and principles. Our oppo- nents made a counter-effort. Bands of music, military companies, and philanthropic and educational societies, as yet, were exclusively in the interest or under the control of the Masonic party. We obtained, however, not without much expense and trouble, the aid of a drummer and a fifer, and an old iron gun, which latter I kept carefully watched and guarded, on the night of the 3d, on my own premises, to prevent its being captured and taken away by my opponents. The great, the important day, " big with the fate of Cato and of Rome," opened auspiciously. The sun shone brightly. The salvo echoed through the chambers of the anxious and patriotic. A proces- sion of two thousand electors paraded. Mr. Henry Dana Ward, of New York, a scholarly gentleman, delivered an elaborate oration. We cheered the day and drank success to our cause, not forgetting, in our denunciations of the Order, a contribution for the relief and support of the widow of William Morgan, and the day closed with a ceremony as exciting as it was novel. Colonel H. C. Witherell opened a " lodge " at the Court-House, and initiated Sam Jones, a poor blind candidate, as "entered apprentice," passed him to the degree of "fellow-craft," 78 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1830. raised him to the " sublime degree " of " master-mason," advanced him to the " honorary degree " of " mark-master," installed him in the chair as " past-master," received and acknowledged him as " most ex- cellent master," and exalted him to the degree of " holy royal arch," to the edification of a large popular assembly. The impression made by the celebration was such as to leave little room to doubt that the popular sentiment of the county was revolu- tionized. The Republicans, called now by us the " Masonic party," nominated for Governor the then acting Lieutenant-Governor, Enos T. Throop, of Cayuga ; and f or Lieutenant-Governor, Edward P. Livingston, of Columbia County. The Antimasonic State Convention assembled at Utica on the llth of August. During the summer a class of persons in various parts of the State, who had at first been absorbed into the triumphant Republican or " Masonic party," in the general calm which succeeded the election of General Jackson in 1828, separated themselves from that majority, and combined under the name of " Working-men's party." Antimasonry was entirely repudiated in the city of New York, and generally throughout the eastern part of the State. But the dis- contented " working-men" there might be impressed with the advantages of cooperation with the Antimasons of the west. To bring out the Antimasonic strength of the west, all that was needful w r as to nomi- nate the most popular member of that party for Governor. It was a more difficult affair to secure cooperation from the " working-men " of the east. It seemed necessary for this object to name a candidate for Lieutenant-Governor who resided in the city of New York, was identi- fied with the " working-men," and free from the reproach of previous connection with the Antimasonic party. Samuel Stevens, a young, talented, and distinguished alderman of the city, was approached, and gave his consent to assume that place. Our State Convention assembled at Utica on the llth of August. In that convention two duties were assigned to me : one was, to prepare and report the creed of the new party, which must be presented with sufficient clearness and force to form a stable basis for action, and yet with so much moderation as not to unnecessarily excite popular preju- dice and hostility ; the other was, to convince the convention of the expediency and propriety of the nomination of Mr. Stevens for Lieu- tenant-Governor. He was obnoxious to its prejudices on the ground of being only a " working-man," and, as yet, in no way identified with the Antimasonic cause. Both of these duties were discharged with success, although the latter one was embarrassing. Mr. John Crary, of Wash- ington County, a former member of the State Senate, had been the Antimasonic candidate for Lieutenant-Governor at the previous election. The convention and the party generally indulged, not without much show of reason, a hope of success in the present canvass. The friends 1830.] NATIONAL ANTIMASONIC CONVENTION. 79 of Mr. Crarj insisted on his renomi nation, both as an act of justice to him, and an act of loyalty to the cause ; while of Mr. Stevens it could only be said that, by his silent acceptance of the nomination, he would virtually become an adherent of the party. The debate was stormy ; but the nomination was carried by a decided majority. Mr. Crary pro- tested, and appealed to the electors ; but his appeal was lost in the enthusiasm which followed the announcement of the nominations. A National Convention of the Antimasonic party assembled at Philadelphia on the llth of September. It was attended by ninety-six delegates from New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Ohio, Maryland, and Michigan. It was in this convention that I first met Thaddeus Stevens. I found existing between him and myself an earnest sympathy of politi- cal views. An advocate of popular education, of American industry, and of internal improvement, abhorring slavery in every form, and rest- less under the system of intrigue by which the Republican party at that day sought to maintain itself in power, bent on breaking up the combination between a subservient party in the North and the slave power of the South, he became a personal friend and a political ally. That relation remained through long years thereafter. Judge McLean, of the Supreme Court of the United States, was an aspirant to the presidency, and was understood not to be unwilling to accept the sup- port of the new party. But we wisely decided to confine the proceed- ings of the convention to measures adapted to the dissemination of our principles. Francis Granger, our candidate for Governor of New York, was president of the convention. Our principles, of course, were set forth in an elaborate address which came from the pen of Myron Holley, a ripe and eminent scholar and statesman, long connected with the politics of the State of New York. It devolved upon me in this con- vention, as it had done in the Utica State Convention, to embody the party creed in the shape of resolutions, and to illustrate and enforce it in debate. When the convention assembled, its application for leave to sit in Independence Hall was rejected. The dignity and ability manifested in its proceedings caused this refusal to be regretted, and it was soon seen that the Antimasonic party was likely to become a power in the State of Pennsylvania. Hitherto I had only regarded my political attitude and proceedings for the maintenance and inculcation of cherished political sentiments as being without considerations of personal advantage. I was now to experience a change in that respect. While stopping at Albany, on my way to attend the Philadelphia Convention, Thurlow Weed, for the first time, made some friendly but earnest inquiries concerning my pecuniary ability, whether it was sufficient to enable me to give a por- gO AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1831. tion of my time to public office. "When I answered my ability was sufficient, but I had neither expectation nor wish for office, he replied that he had learned from my district enough to induce him to think it possible that the part} 7 there might desire my nomination to the Senate. Giving no special thought to this matter, I proceeded to Philadelphia. On my return from the convention, and stopping overnight at Borden- town, I found by the newspapers that I had been nominated, by my political friends, as candidate for Senator of the seventh district of New York. The faction of "Working-men," in the counties east of the Cayuga Lake, gave me an earnest and vigorous support, while the Antimasons in the western part of the district, cheered by the hope of success, rallied with more enthusiasm than at previous elections, and I was re- turned for that office by a majority of two thousand in the district, of which my own county gave seventeen. This success, however, was not maintained throughout the State. The Democratic State ticket pre- vailed, and Enos T. Throop became Governor of the State by a majority of 8,481, and Edward P. Livingston, Lieutenant-Governor. Antimasonic Senators were chosen in the sixth, seventh, and eighth districts, and "Jackson" Senators, as they were then called, in the other five districts. In the Assembly, thirty of the one hundred and twenty-eight members were Antimasons. My return to the Senate involved a change in my domestic life. My second son, Frederick \V. Seward, was born on July 8, 1830, in the new house on South Street, which I had bought in the spring. I closed that dwelling for the winter, which I was to spend at the State capital, and in the last days of December, leaving my wife and two children w T ith her father, proceeded to Albany by stage. 1831. Legislative Life. First Experience in Debate. Militia Keforrn. A Dream of William Morgan. Albert H. Tracy. William II. Maynard. N. P. Tallmadge. Imprisonment for Debt. Calhoun and Van Buren. General Jackson and the United States Bank. Breaking up of the Cabinet. The " Albany Eegency." The Eichmond Junto. National Policy. THE Legislature of New York had not then exactly the same consti- tution that it has now. There were, indeed, thirty-two Senators then, as there are now under the constitution of 1846, but, for the choice of these Senators, the State was then divided into eight senatorial districts, each sending four Senators, one of whom was elected each year, to hold for four years thereafter. Senators are now elected in thirty-two sepa- 1831.] LEGISLATIVE LIFE. 3^ rate senatorial districts, to hold two years, and consequently a senato- rial election is held every other year throughout the State. The Senate of New York had acquired and maintained, under the first State constitution, which continued from 1778 to 1821, a very high prestige by reason of the elevated character of its members, not to speak of the greater importance which the several States had, pre- ceding and during the early years of the Federal Constitution. This prestige was rendered the more enviable because the constitution of the Senate, like its prototype, the House of Lords in England, was, under the first two constitutions of the State, a court for the " Trial of Impeachments," and for the " Correction of Errors," that might be committed by the Supreme Court arid the Court of Chancery, as well as all inferior tribunals. This high prestige had not yet been impaired, and it was a flattery often addressed to me, that I had become, at so early an age, a member of the legislative body so distinguished and potential. The House of Assembly has also undergone a constitutional change since that period. Though it consists of the same number of members, one hundred and twenty -eight, as before, and they hold their office for the same term of one year, they are now chosen in separate Assembly districts, and not, as then, by counties. In many respects I found this eminent position very gratifying. Although a large portion of legislative action then, as now, related to personal claims and local questions, yet the municipal laws involving the rights of the citizens, and affecting life, liberty, and property, were all the while undergoing modification and improvement. The fiscal policy of the State was a profound and important study. Education and internal improvement were subjects worthy the consideration of generous and enlarged minds. Even the broader and more comprehen- sive questions of general policy, and those arising out of unsettled debates on the construction of the Constitution of the United States, came down to the State Legislatures for deliberation and discussion, which exerted a great influence upon the ultimate decision of Congress. The judicial responsibilities of the Senate especially fascinated me. I listened to great men, who argued great questions of law and equity, and I cast a vote, as a judge, in determining controversies and estab- lishing principles fundamental in the administration of justice. The personal associations of the place were attractive. I had risen above the local jealousies of provincial towns and communities, but, while party spirit was not less earnestly exhibited by my associates in the Senate, it was tempered generally with moderation and courtesy. Only one sadness overclouded this new and elevated position. Every other member of the Senate, in my view, had the knowledge and ability which the station required. On the other hand, I had a 6 52 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1831. painful sense of incompetency. It seemed to me that while the people had exercised due deliberation and judgment in preferring the thirty- one Senators by whom I was surrounded, I had been sent there without popular thoughtfulness or reflection. At first it amazed me to see my associates on every side of the House rise, and, without embarrassment, submit projects of laws and debate political questions without showing any want of firmness in their posture, or embarrassment of speech, while my own knees smote each other and my tongue clave to the roof of my mouth whenever I thought of taking the floor. Reflecting on this difficult}*, I did not fail to perceive that either I must debate and act to the extent with which my immediate constituents would be satis- fied, or that my election would prove, not merely a failure, but a re- proach ; and that the difficulty in the way of such success might be found to be chiefly in the beginning. I considered what subject I could choose with the best hope of treating it intelligibly, without pro- voking a debate, which I should not have courage or ability to main- tain. The popularity of the militia system, which had come do\vn to us from the Revolution, was now at its lowest ebb ; and it Avas proposed to render the system a merely nominal one by requiring a paper enroll- ment, with a single annual parade. This was opposed to a principle which I had combated with zeal and perseverance from my earliest experience of public affairs. When, in 1861, the Executive Administration at Washington found themselves confronted by a gigantic rebellion, with only fifteen or twenty regiments to meet it, and obliged, in the first instance, to sustain itself by calling out the militia, it was an occasion of some self-satis- faction that the first labored duty of my official life at Albany had been to direct the attention of the country to the utter defectiveness of the militia system, and to the necessity for revising it and adapting it, in view of an exigency which, so long before, I had foreseen, and which now involved the fate of the republic. I prepared an amendment to the bill, wrote a short speech in sup- port of the amendment, committed it to memory as well as I could, and delivered it, or as much of it as I could remember, but scarcely under- standing, when I sat down, what the Republican or Masonic Senator who replied to me had said. Certainly, I thought at the time that he had spoken better than I had, and probably had the right side of the question. Having nothing further to offer, my amendments were of course laid upon the table, and I think they might be tying there yet if the Senators, taking pity on my embarrassment, had not paid me the courtesy of directing them to be printed, a motion which implied a willingness to hear from me again, f During this initiatory legislative, experience, my acquaintance 1831.] MAYNARD AXD TRACY. 33 among the people of Albany and with the visitors from various parts of the State became pleasant, although my party associations exposed me to much prejudice and depreciation. The representatives of our new and yet small party were continually reminded by the members of all older parties and factions that ours was an illegitimate one, that it was a political "infection," local, though contagious; that its aims and its principles were so unnatural and absurd that they could not be honestly conceived or entertained, but were assumed from sinister con- siderations altogether. Especially was it the pleasure of the adherents of opposing factions to represent the entire tragedy, out of which the Antimasonic excitement arose, as a fiction, which Thurlow Weed and his associates were impudently attempting to palm off upon an unso- phisticated community ; that William Morgan, instead of having been murdered by Freemasons at the Niagara River, was now living in Smyrna, supported by the funds of the Antimasonic leaders ; that the body washed up on the shore at Oak Orchard was not his, but that of Timothy Monroe ; that he was not abducted at all ; and, finally, that there was no William Morgan that he was only a myth ! I amused my new associates by giving them the experience of a dream, which was engendered doubtless under the warping influences of these sarcastic misrepresentations. I imagined that, in my new capacity as a Senator, I was entertained at dinner by our late candidate for Lieutenant-Governor, Stevens, in New York City, and surrounded by my new political friends ; that I was called from the dinner-table into a parlor, which seemed to be a private one. A stranger entered, who was short and square-framed, with a full, round face, having a parcel strapped upon his back. He met and accosted me with con- gratulation upon iny preferment. I asked who he was. He replied : "Do you not know? I am William Morgan." I answered, horror- struck : " I thought you were dead ! How is it that you are alive and here ? Get out of my sight ! " He hung his head, abashed, and as he coweringly retreated he said, " How strange it is that Weed and Whittlesey have never told him ! " William H. Mayiiard was then in mature life. He had great talents and extensive information. His character for integrity and fidelity commanded the respect of all parties, and secured him the general con- fidence of the people. Albert H. Tracy was a subtile and ingenious writer and speaker. He had come into the Senate the year before as an Antimason, under an excitement which left it possible for none other to obtain a popular vote in the western part of the State. For some considerable period after my acquaintance with him in the Senate, he betrayed no want of zeal or confidence in our new political association. But he hesitated, and finally fell from the confidence of the party when it became neces- 84: AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1831. sary for us to take ground against the national policy and measures with which Mr. Van Buren, the leading Republican manager in the State, was identified. These were the leaders of our small minority. Among the majority, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge manifested all that vigor, earnestness, and ability in debate, which distinguished him after- ward in his brilliant career in Congress. X. S. Benton of Herkimer, subsequently so long distinguished for his uprightness, fidelity, and ability, in the fiscal administration of his State, was a busy and active though not popular leader ; while Henry A. Foster, of Oneida County, displayed, if less tact, yet great forensic power. The Legislature, upon the complaint of Antimasonic citizens, of the failure of justice in the trials for conspiracy and murder in the Morgan case, had directed that one of the Justices of the Supreme Court should preside on a further trial at Lockport. William L. Marcy had presided on that occasion, and conducted the trials with such a degree of firm- ness, impartiality, and ability, as to win the approbation, not only of his own party, but of the Antimasons throughout the State, in conse- quence of this success, he was appointed by the Legislature a Senator in Congress, and thus began the career in the field of national politics which, although considerably interrupted by his return to official posi- tion in the State, constitutes the most important part in his political life. The Legislature this year made a great advance in the cause of humanity, by abolishing imprisonment for debt. The act passed re- tained imprisonment only as a punishment for frauds committed by debtors, and forever prohibited the incarceration of debtors who, though unfortunate, were not guilty of dishonesty. In the constitution of 1821 a large mass of official patronage was reserved to the central Executive power in Albany. Deeming it important then, as I had before never failed to do, to secure a decentralization of the political power of the State, I introduced and urged an amendment of the con- stitution, providing that the mayors of all the cities in the State should be elected by the people. This principle, some years afterward, was incorporated in the constitution of the State. On the suggestion of my early instructor, Dr. Nott, I exerted myself with much diligence to procure from the archives of foreign governments the documents tending to illustrate the colonial history of the State. Although this effort failed at the time, it was some years afterward crowned with success. In the Court for the Correction of Errors I delivered opinions in several of the causes. The Legislature of the State of New York, although constitutionally separated from all connection with national matters, nevertheless sympa- 1831.] BAXK OF THE UNITED STATES. 85 thized continually, and often, perhaps, too vehemently, with parties en- gaged in directing the affairs of the Federal Government. We have seen that, at the close of President Monroe's Administration in 1824, Federal politics sank to the level of a mere personal contest for the Executive succession, in which the parties were Crawford, of Georgia ; Adams, of Massachusetts ; Jackson, of Tennessee ; Calhoun, of South Carolina ; and Clay, of Kentucky. Neither the choice of Mr. Adams by the House of Representatives in 1824, nor the election of General Jack- son in 1828, had the effect of closing this personal scramble. Ail that had been gained thus far was, that Mr. Adams had been, with the utmost labor and difficulty, advanced to the high station, and dismissed at the end of his term, to make way for the elevation of General Jack- son, for whom a reelection was vehemently demanded ; while Mr. Crawford had disappeared from the arena. Bat there still remained Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Clay, while Mr. Van Buren had entered the field as the legitimate successor to Mr. Crawford's pretensions. The friends of Calhoun and Van Buren yielded to the demand of General Jackson for a reelection in 1832, and contented themselves with competition for the succession at the end of his second term. Mr. Clay, on the other hand, aspired to be elected in 1832, and thus was opposed, not only to General Jackson himself, but to the two rival aspirants for the succession. The strong will of General Jackson was equal to that of Cromwell. The Republican party, which had triumphed in his success, delighted in his prowess, not, indeed, in breaking merely images, but in breaking down institutions which came in conflict with popular prejudices and passions. The charter of the Bank of the United States was to expire in 1836. The system was the invention of Hamilton ; but, while all parties had heretofore admitted the necessity and the efficiency of the institution, a doubt as to the constitutional power of Congress to estab- lish it had existed from the first, and had not been put at rest by the authoritative decision of the Supreme Court of the United States. The existing institution was obnoxious to the State banks, and especially those called the safety-fund banks of the State of New York, which desired to secure for themselves the pecuniary profits de- rived by the Bank of the United States from the deposits, transfers, and management of the public funds. The Republicans of New York, under the lead of Mr. Van Buren, encouraged President Jackson in his premature demonstration against the bank, and thus raised a popular party issue for the approaching presidential election. Mr. Calhoun and his friends, if not agreeing, at least were silent. Only Mr. Clay stood a defender of the bank. The denunciation of the bank contained in President Jackson's message of 1830, and a similar denunciation made by Mr. Benton in 86 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1831. the Senate of the United States, furnished to the Republican majority in the Legislature of New York, in 1831, an occasion which they quickly seized, and they passed a joint resolution declaring that, in the opinion of that Legislature, the charter of the bank ought not to be renewed, and about the same time they nominated, in caucus, General Jackson for reelection. Not at all sympathizing with the movers of that pro- ceeding in their designs, and entirely unconvinced of the expediency of the measure, I opposed the resolution with what ability I possessed. A temporary gratification was enjoyed, later in the year, by those who, like myself, looked with disfavor upon these political machinations of the rival candidates for the presidency, by an explosion of President Jackson's cabinet, under circumstances which were calculated to excite scandal and disgust. President Jackson had called Martin Van Buren to the office of Secretary of State, while he had conferred the offices of Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of the Navy, and Attorney- General, upon Messrs. Ingham, of Pennsylvania ; Branch, of North Carolina ; and Berrien, of Georgia, three avowed friends of Mr. Calhoun, and understood to favor his nomination at the earliest possible day for the presidency. The office of Secretary of War was filled by John H. Eaton, of Tennessee, a personal friend and devotee of the President. General Jackson, discovering that the wives of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of the Navy, and Attorney-General, did not- exchange visits of ceremony with the wife of the Secretary of War, called upon the Secretaries to redress that grievance. When it was answered that the objection of those ladies was, that a cloud was rest- ing on the character of Mrs. Eaton, and that, in any case, the question which the President had raised was a social one, and not at all a politi- cal or official one, he persisted in demanding that the offending ladies should reciprocate courtesies and hospitalities with Mrs. Eaton, as a public proof of the harmony of his cabinet, under the penalty of the retirement of their husbands from office. Mr. Van Buren, however un- happily for himself in other respects, was fortunate on this occasion in being unmarried, so that he escaped the censure of the President. The three cabinet officers whose wives had offended, accepted the penalty and retired from office, leaving the President at liberty to constitute a new cabinet, which, as he said, should be a unit. Mr. Van Buren was appointed minister to Great Britain. Mr. Eaton was appointed minis- ter to Spain. An alienation occurred between Mr. Calhoun on the one side and the President and Mr. Van Buren on the other. This aliena- tion was afterward to produce great and serious results. An unusually candid State historian, Jabez D. Hammond, has taken notice of the fact that Erastus Root, in the preceding year, on taking the chair as Speaker of the Assembly, was the first presiding officer who, in an inaugural address, recognized his partisan obligations. It 1831.] "STATE RIGHTS." gf is perhaps a proof of the low level to which the public sense of patriot- ism had fallen in this period, that this proceeding was imitated by a President of the Senate, and even the Governor of the State, in 1831. The history of that period would be imperfect if I should omit to state that, from the adoption of the Federal Constitution down to this time, the partisan transactions in the several States were generally conducted by a small number of prominent and active politicians, who were understood not only to determine the political course which the Executive of the State should pursue, but also to exert an overpower- ing influence in directing the political course of the Legislature. Whatever party prevailed, it had such an irresponsible committee always at the State capital. At first it was called a " Junto," arid by this name the cabal which sat at Richmond always continued to be called. The similar Republican cabal which established itself at Albany came, after the year 1821, to be known under the name of the " Albany Regency." It may be easily conceived how these two irresponsible bodies, one exercising its strategy at Richmond, the capital of the then first State in the Union, and the other at the capital of the State of New York, just rising to that eminence, when combined together, constituted a co- alition capable of exerting power throughout the Union. I do not know who was before myself in taking notice of the power of this coalition in the political transactions of 1824 and 1828. I saw it then, and my jealousy was excited by the fact that it seemed to me, even at that early day, to indicate a long period of national rule, in which the anomalous institution of slavery would be protected and strengthened, inasmuch as the support of slavery would be a condition on which Virginia was sure to insist ; while a concession in its favor would be the only concession in the power of the " Albany Regency " to make. I think those who may take the trouble to study my politi- cal conduct at that time will find evidence of this jealousy in all that I wrote, spoke, and did. The student of general history will take notice that General Jack- son not only denounced a renewal of the charter of the Bank of the United States prematurely, and thus made opposition to that institu- tion a partisan issue, but also that he vetoed the bill for the construc- tion of the Maysville Road, upon grounds which denied to the Federal Government power to construct works of internal improvement in the several States, thus offering to the public another distinct political issue. Thus General Jackson's Administration, and with it the Republican party, advanced rapidly in the line of the policy of " State rights." They thus became a party of obstruction, while their opponents had no such cohesion or combination as would enable them to assert the more 88 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1831. enlightened and liberal policy which the early statesmen of the repub- lic had adopted, and which in our own day has, though in the midst of many national calamities, been effectually restored. 1831. Oration at Syracuse. Railroads and Canals. Visit to John Quincy Adams. Baltimore Convention. Charles Carroll of Carrollton and Chief-Justice Marshall. William Wirt for President. Eed- Jacket. Samuel Miles Hopkins. A Warning from Virginia. Ox the 4th of July I pronounced, at Syracuse, a carefully-studied speech, in which, while I did not fail to set forth the peculiar principles of my own party, I exposed and denounced the tendency of the times toward the dangerous doctrine of nullification, w T hich had then already been boldly avowed by Mr. Calhoun and his adherents in the slave States, without being authoritatively rebuked by any party, its organs or leaders. If I remember right, this was my fifth exercise of that description, and each one of them, as well as my commencement oration at college, was mainly devoted to the same important theme. Perhaps I need to say, in explanation of the frequency of my speech in this way, that the day of the popular extension of the press had not yet arrived, nor had the day of extended reports of debates in legislative bodies and political assemblies. The politician and leader addressed the people in the pamphlet form, borrowed from England, and in the 4th of July oration, which originated with the Revolution. Until 1830 every public man felt it necessary and becoming to speak out his senti- ments on the 4th of July, and the practice, though it has fallen gener- ally into disuse, was still maintained in the Southern States until the late rebellion. I cannot but think that it was a good practice, and might wisely be adhered to. The first railroad constructed within the United States was the branch of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad which extends from Balti- more to Ellicott's Mills. It was opened this year. In the same year the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, a worthy rival of our own New York canals, was opened from Georgetown to Harper's Ferry. My earnest advocacy of internal improvements made me distrust the policy of obstruction which, as I have shown, General Jackson's Administration had adopted. When the Legislature had adjourned I gratified a long-cherished wish by visiting John Quincy Adams, then in retirement at Quincy. In making this visit I had not only the motive of giving to that emi- nent man assurances, little as they might be worth, of my constancy in the support of the principles of which he had been the exponent 183 i.j JUDGE MCLEAN. g9 and advocate, but also of learning from actual observation how far, in the capacity of wisely maintaining republican institutions, the State of Massachusetts had been carried by her excellent system of universal education in advance of the State of New York, which had adopted that system only within my own recollection. Both motives were gratified. I found Mr. Adams at home, alone, and intensely engaged on a polemic paper against Freemasonry. When I used some words of condolence or of sympathy with him, in regard to the cruel injus- tice of which he had been the object during his Administration, he heard me through and made only this answer, " I have become callous, Mr. Seward I am callous." His vigor and resolution astonished me. He was at that moment an Antimasonic candidate for Congress, in his district, and he did not affect any want of determination to become a candidate for the presidency. Long years afterward, in times of politi- cal depression and anxiety, I was accustomed to recur to this interview with the second Adams, and to derive fresh courage and vigor in the protracted contest with slavery. Mr. Adams vouchsafed me his friend- ship at that time, and it continued through his life. I attended, as a delegate, the National Antimasonic Convention, held at Baltimore on the 26th of September. The convention was respectable in talent and numbers. Its proceedings were peculiarly grave and dignified. John C. Spencer presided. John McLean, former Postmaster-General, and then Justice of the Supreme Court, residing in the State of Ohio, had some time before this been quickened by aspirations for a nomination to the presidency. Some kind of commu- nication on that subject had passed between him and my friend Thad- deus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, who had given to leading men of the party an assurance that Judge McLean would condescend to accept our nomination for the presidency. All that was wanting to secure for him a unanimous nomination was a letter expressing his willingness to accept it, which we were assured one of our members would receive from him. Mr. McLean was an exceedingly popular man, and it seemed to us that his name, identified with the Antimasonic party, would secure it consideration and respect throughout the Union. But " The best-laid schemes of mice and men Gang aft agley." The expected letter of Judge McLean was taken out of the post- office at Baltimore. It announced that he could not accept the nomina- tion for President, and it fell as a wet blanket upon our warm expecta- tions. Nor was the affliction rendered more comforting by the reason which was assigned, either in the letter or outside of it, that the writer had learned that it was Mr. Clay's intention to be a presidential candi- 90 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1831. date. The convention had turned its back upon its oldest and ablest and most distinguished champion, John Quincy Adams. It felt that it could derive no strength or prestige from a nomination of one of its own well-known and practised leaders. It needed a new name, not before identified 'with its history, and a high name at that ; and no such star shone forth from any quarter of the horizon. Bat the convention was an able one. Its leading members, John C. Spencer, Thurlow Weed, and others, were not only energetic but in- ventive. "While more youthful and inexperienced members, like my- self, were studying the parts assigned to us in the presentation of the claims of the party, its principles arid policy, those more experienced and practised gentlemen set themselves to work, inasmuch as we could not find a candidate, to make one. They respectfully waited upon the illustrious Chief- Justice Marshall, of the Supreme Court of the United States, who was then at Baltimore, and upon the distinguished and amiable William Wirt, who had been the Attorney-General in Monroe's Administration, and who then was residing" in the city. They opened a correspondence with Charles Carroll, surviving signer of the Declara- tion of Independence. In the evening previous to the public meeting of the convention we w T ere gratified with assurances that we might expect the attendance of those great men at our convention the next day. Accordingly, the two former came, and the day closed with a letter which Mr. Wirt con- fidentially addressed to the convention, in which he declared himself willing to accept the nomination upon the principles we had avowed, if we should think it desirable. No occasion in the progress of the Antimasonic party had ever so highly excited my pride or my enthusiasm as the sanction thus given to our cause by those two pure and eminent patriots, jurists, and states- men. But it proved easier in this case, as it had in others, to find a new candidate than it was to bring the convention to accept him. Mr. Wirt had been a Mason, and a large party in the convention were unwilling to assign him the place of standard-bearer upon a conversion which they thought sudden and interested. Others were of opinion that, notwithstanding Judge McLean's declining, we might safely force the nomination upon him. It was in the maintenance of these opinions that I found Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, unreasonable and im- practicable. It was assigned to me to combat them in private caucus. We debated the subject until midnight, and adjourned under an appre- hension that the convention would explode the next day by a refusal to nominate Mr. Wirt, or a fatal division on that question. I lodged that night in a room with Mr. Stevens. When I awoke in the morning, filled with anxiety which the last night's debates had left, 1831.] RED-JACKET. 9} I was surprised to find that my fellow-lodger was entirely calm and undisturbed. I remonstrated against his pertinacious adhesion to Mr. McLean, and so far prevailed with him as to obtain an assurance of his acquiescence in the nomination of Mr. Wirt, if that should be the choice of the convention. We repaired to the hall, a*d in an harmoni- ous and general agreement made the nomination of that gentleman unanimous. These proceedings soon secured the cordial assent of the party throughout all the States, and Mr. McLean never afterward appeared as a candidate for its consideration or favor. The State elections which occurred in November, 1831, excited very little interest. The Antimasonic party held its own only in the sev- enth senatorial district, while a general combination of the Freema- sons of all parties gave to the Republican or " Jackson party " large majorities in other parts of the State. Eminent citizens who had before belonged to the National Republi- can party, and who still adhered to Mr. Clay, made arrangements for a National Convention, by which he should be nominated for the presi- dency. I now found that my official, professional, and political duties rendered it impossible for me to remain, with any constancy, in my new home at Auburn. I therefore returned, with my little family, to the dwelling of Judge Miller, which, with his leave, I then began to enlarge and embellish on the plans which have since been carried out. It was in the close of this year that the preparatory steps were taken toward the extension of the projected line of railroads from Schenectady through the centre of the State to Buffalo. The Oneida missionary, Kirkland, Fenimore Cooper, and others, of an humanitarian or poetical character, had deeply impressed public opin- ion, at home and abroad, with an idea of the chivalry of the Indian race. I had occasionally seen Indians, belonging to the several tribes which anciently constituted the Six Nations ; but they were all, if not mendicants, vagrants, ignorant and debased. One snowy day in Janu- ary word came to me that Red-Jacket, the last renowned chief and orator of the Senecas, was at the village hotel. Mr. Miller, my father- in-law, an early settler of the country, had seen Red-Jacket at the beginning of the century, and during the negotiations by which those Indians ceded their possessions in the State of New York. Mr. Miller was a gentleman of imposing presence and dignified bearing. I at- tended him, thinking that whatever of character Red-Jacket had would be brought out in such an interview. We had not long sat down in the bar-room or office of the tavern when a large, robust Indian en- tered the room, clad in part in our own costume, but with a blanket over his shoulders, without covering on his head, and with a medal sus- 92 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1831. p ended on his breast. He advanced to the bar and took a dram, and then took his place in the centre of the room. Some of the specta- tors, discomfited by his glare, rose and walked around the room, sur- veying the Indian central figure. He looked down upon them com- placently, and said : " I am Bed-Jacket. You may look ! " This was his only greeting. The late Samuel Miles Hopkins was a most careful observer of men and manners. His long life was, in fact, contemporary with the with- drawal of the Indians from the State of New York. A more benevo- lent and humane man I never knew. When I related to him the story of my visit to Red-Jacket, his abrupt reception and contemptuous bearing, Mr. Hopkins said to me : " We may theorize as we please, and do all that we can for the Indian ; he will never be civilized. Men of every other race are practical. They will conform to the necessities of their condition, and to the customs of civilized life. But the Indi- ans have now been our dependents and proteges two hundred years, and yet no one has ever seen an Indian in our prisons, convicted of any crime but one of force ; and no man has ever seen an Indian hold a white man's stirrup or blacken his boots." The reflections which I made upon these incidents, and others occurring in my experience with the Indian race, early reconciled me to the policy of the removal of. the Indians from the white settlements to reservations provided for them at the West, which was at that time adopted by the administra- tion of the General Government, and has been firmly pursued ever since, against much popular distrust and complaint. The year 1831 will be memorable, in the history of the country, for being the one in which the nation received its first practical and sol- emn warning against the error of perpetuating African slavery. A savage outbreak of negro slaves occurred at Southampton, Virginia, and spread terror and consternation throughout the State. Although it was suppressed, and the revolutionists were executed, it left it no longer a matter of doubt that, if the Government should not provide seasonably for the removal of slavery, it would, sooner or later, be brought about by the violent uprising of the slaves themselves. It was this instruction which first stimulated me to inculcate, on all proper occasions and in all proper ways, the necessity of a peaceful reform of that great evil. It seems strange, at this day, that the country was indifferent, not only to the warning I have last mentioned, but also to another that occurred at the same time. Though less fearful, it was not less signifi- cant. Good, earnest, and patriotic men, throughout the whole coun- try, and especially in the slaveholding States, set on foot a plan for the ultimate colonization of the African race in Liberia, on the conti- nent from which their ancestors had been brought. On the other 1832-'33.] . RAILROAD COMPANIES. 93 hand, fugitives from the slave States made their way through the free States, and established a colony under the protection of the British Government in Canada. Although these two attempts at African colonization were very feeble, and served, perhaps, for the time, rather as safety-valves for the escape of a dangerous element in our society, and so did not at all disturb the system of slavery, yet they indicated a force antagonistic to it, which might even then have been seen to be irrepressible. The result of the State election of 1831 disappointed the sanguine expectations of the Antimasonic party ; but it at the same time showed that they polled an increased number of votes in the district where the chief contest occurred. This circumstance, taken in connection with the triumphant success of the party in Vermont, and the large increase of popular strength in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and some other States, furnished sufficient encouragement to continue the strongest possible efforts in the presidential and gubernatorial contests to occur in the succeeding year. The nomination of Clay, made in December by the National Republican Convention at Baltimore, on the other hand, showed that, unless the Antimasonic party should give up their candidate (which they could not do, inasmuch as Mr. Clay was content to remain an adhering Freemason), there could be no hope of effect- ing a combination of all the opponents of General Jackson. There is, however, always some degree of uncertainty in calculations of politi- cal events, even for the shortest periods. In any case duty, as well as necessity, for the time required perseverance in the Antimasonic cause. 1832-1833. Legislative Session. Banks. Railroads. Female Convicts. The Canal System. Debate on United States Bank. Van Buren rejected. Court of Errors. " Citizen " Genet. Visit from Aaron Burr. His Reminiscences. A Long Chancery Suit. The Cholera. Jackson reflected. The Nullification Movement. THE sessions of the Legislature of New York which immediately precede a presidential election, like the sessions of Congress, are occu- pied less with public business relating to State or local interests than with partisan politics. In 1832 my position was less embarrassing than in the previous year. I took an active part, though not a pretentious one, in the debates which occurred on questions of taxation, revenue, management of the public funds, and other matters of State adminis- tration. Among these were the charters, or acts of incorporation, for railroad companies, which now became one of the most important sub- jects of legislation. In the theory concerning railroads which I held 94: AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1832-'88. I had no following in any quarter. I regarded them simply as public highways, like the older forms of thoroughfare, to be constructed ex- clusively for the public welfare by the authority of the State, and sub- ject to its immediate direction, as the canals of the State had been. And I held that it was right that, while the use of them by the people should be as free as possible, it should, at the same time, be subject to such charges as would not only keep them in repair, but afford suffi- cient revenue to allow of the extension of the system throughout the State. I held the same theory in regard to works of material improve- ment by the Federal Government, applying what is called the princi- ple of " liberal construction " to the Constitution of the United States. In opposition to this principle the opinion universally prevailed then, as it does now, that the construction of railroads ought to be left to private capital and enterprise ; but, as there was no sufficient private capital and enterprise to be so employed, the Legislature ought to in- corporate voluntary associations with powers adequate to combine the necessary capital, and provide for their remuneration by the profits to be derived from the use of the thoroughfares, in the shape of tolls or transit charges. The associations thus invited naturally sought the advantages of monopoly and of high transit -tolls, with long terms for their enjoyment. Yielding the individual opinion, before expressed, on the general policy of incorporation, I labored to exclude from rail- road charters, as far as possible, the privileges of exclusive right of way, of high tolls, and of long duration of charters, and insisted, whenever I could, upon the private liability of the stockholders. While willing to encourage banking by increasing the number of chartered banks, I insisted on the principle of private liability of stock- holders, and upon the keeping inviolate the safety-fund, derived from the contributions of all the banks, for the indemnity of bill-holders. Finding that, while the number of male convicted felons in the State penitentiaries exceeded twelve hundred, the number of female convicts was only seventy, and that all, though occupying separate cells, were imprisoned in the same penitentiaries and subjected to a common dis- cipline, I joined my generous and enlightened associate in the Com- mittee on State-prisons, in proposing and advocating the establishment of a separate prison exclusively for female convicts, and under the superintendence of persons of their own sex. This humane measure, though it failed at first, ultimately became incorporated into the peni- tentiary system of the State. The State had already completed the great Erie and Champlain Canals. Before the invention of railroads was adopted, it was manifest that the benefits and profits of the two great works of improvement would be increased by the construction of branches or tributaries into distant portions of the State, and that these portions of the State could 1832-'33.] JACKSON AND THE BANK. 95 justly claim a right, by the construction of such branches, to share the benefits of inland artificial navigation. Prominent among these pro- posed branches were : the Chenango Canal, to connect the waters of the Susquehanna with the Erie Canal and the valley of the Mohawk ; the Black River Canal, which proposed to connect Lake Ontario, through the valley of the Black River, with the Erie Canal ; the Oswego Canal, which should unite the Erie Canal with Lake Ontario at Oswego ; the Seneca & Cayuga Canal, by which navigation from the Erie Canal was opened into those two important lakes ; the Chemung Canal, which, by connecting the Susquehanna with Seneca Lake, w r ould open a way to the coal-fields of Pennsylvania ; and, finally, the Genesee Valley Canal, which would extend similar communication to the sources of the Genesee River, at the base of the Alleghany range of mountains. In my mind the construction of each of 'these proposed canals was only a simple execution of one entire plan of inland navigation, which cither was, or ought to have been, contemplated in the construction of the two profit- able canals which had been already built, and I never doubted for a moment that the system, as a whole, would defray the entire cost of its construction. Unfortunately, these several proposed tributaries, while being urged upon the Legislature simultaneously, were presented sev- erally, and in rivalry with each other, by the citizens of that part of the State which was most nearly concerned in their construction. Thus a deep apprehension of the ability of the State to complete the system was excited, and this produced, on the part of the Legislature, an oppo- sition to the construction of any one. The Chenango Canal, which promised the least, and which I believe has yielded the least, was the first one presented, and the one which was pressed with greatest pos- sible urgency. In the Legislature of 1832, as in the year previous, I gave my support to that project, honestly and earnestly, although, of course, it w r as not unpleasant to me to find that the support thus ren- dered by my political associates and myself, in the Legislature, was securing to the Antimasonic party a liberal consideration in the Che- nango Valley. The majority, however, defeated the measure. Both Houses of Congress were known to hold majorities favorable to a renewal of the charter of the Bank of the United States. The bank though, as has been mentioned, its charter was not to expire until 1836 presented a petition for renewal, misconstruing the Presi- dent's reserve on that subject, in his message, so far as to suppose that he would either approve a renewal, or suffer it to pass without objec- tion. The President was not misunderstood, however, by his friends, constituting the majority in our State Legislature. Mr. Dietz, a plain lay member, introduced a denunciatory resolution into the Senate. It was with much reluctance that the majority gave time for debate. Mr. Maynard, our leader, however, made a strong and able speech in oppo- 96 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1832-'33. sition, and I availed myself of the occasion to make an elaborate and exhaustive argument. We received support in this opposition from some Administration members of the Senate, and from Mr. Granger and others of our friends in the Assembly, but all without avail. The resolution passed. The act of renewal passed Congress, was vetoed by the President, and failed ; and thus the issue of a Federal Bank, or no bank, was not only brought directly before the people, but was brought directly home to the people of the State of New York. On that issue all the capitalists, who were interested in our own combined system of safety-fund banks, were brought in to the support of the dominant party, now most generally spoken of as the " Jackson party." It did not contribute to improve the position which was held by the minority on this issue, that the bank appeared in the political arena by zealous advocates, who were charged, in Congress and in the press, with having their interest derived from, or quickened by, fees or loans. In the Senate of the United States a majority was obtained by the union of Mr. Clay and his friends, Mr. Webster, then prominent as a leader of the opposition in the North, and Mr. Calhoun, a candidate for the presidency, and his friends, who already carried their peculiar politi- cal tenets to the extreme of nullification. The rejection of Mr. Van Buren as minister to the court of St. James, by means of this coalition, produced the effect which, in common with discreet friends of the oppo- sition, I had anticipated. Mr. Van Buren, who, if he had been left to the gratification of his tastes and fondness for society abroad, might have passed out of the thoughts of the people, was pronounced by his partisans not merely a martyr, but a martyr to his patriotic and per- sonal devotion to the " hero of New Orleans," and came home to im- part new inspiration to a party that was already sufficiently emboldened. I closed my legislative labors by preparing this year, as I had done in the last, the expose of the legislative and political situation, which the Antimasonic members of both Houses submitted to the people. I had need to do little more. My speech on the United States Bank question, and this address, were favorably accepted by the minority throughout the State. The Court of Errors proved still more agreeable and instructive than in the previous year. In listening to the arguments of such emi- nent lawyers as Abraham Van Vechten, Daniel Cady, David B. Ogden, George Griffin, Henry R. Storrs, Elisha Williams, George Wood, Ben- jamin F. Butler, and John C. Spencer, I found models worthy of all emulation, and I especially learned how far impersonal and unimpas- sioned reasoning surpasses in effect all attempts marked by fancy, humor, or sarcasm. Nor do I doubt that the commingling of juridical functions with legislative duties was effective in elevating the senato- rial character. There are generally some greater men in the Senate of 1832-'33.j AARON BURR. 97 the United States than in the Senate of New York, and such states- men in the former body at that period maintained of course a higher standard in debate. But, on the other hand, I have at no time seen the senatorial dignity and decorum so well upheld in the national Senate as it was at that time in the body to which I belonged. My occupations at the State capital brought me to the acquaintance of Edmond C. Genet, who figured in the period of Washington's Ad- ministration as a turbulent minister of the then newly-born French Republic, and who defied General Washington and divided the country in his attempts to embroil the Government of the United States in the civil wars of France. When dismissed from office here, an offer for his head was made by the Directory of Robespierre. He wisely, there- fore, determined to remain in the United States, married into the Clin- ton family in this State, and became a vehement partisan of Jefferson and George Clinton. Having a cause pending in the Court of Errors, he sought my acquaintance, and treated me with extraordinary courtesy and politeness. It is due to him to say that he did not change this demeanor when, under conscientious conviction, I read an opinion, which was sustained by the court, adverse to his suit. My first chancery cause began with the beginning of my profes- sional life, in 1823. It was a defense of freeholders and bona-Jide pur- chasers of a military lot, under a title derived from a soldier, to whom it had been patented by the State as bounty-land. The bill was filed by a lawyer in New York, named Church, and was based upon title which bore strong marks of forgery and fraud. Mr. Church conducted his suit so negligently that I succeeded, in a year or two, in ruling him out of court. The complainant revived the suit by pleading excuses for his default, then employing Gilbert L. Thompson, a new solicitor. Mr. Thompson was no more effective than his predecessor, and I again ruled the cause out of court. It was now nine years old, when the complain- ant came back again, now represented by Aaron Burr, who had returned from his long exile and disgrace in Europe, and resumed the practice of law in New York, and had already obtained an unenviable fame for success achieved by suspicious practices in desperate causes. Mr. Burr desired to be let into court, and to reinstate the cause. He appeared at Albany, and, by a courteous note, applied for an interview, which, of course, I could not refuse. He opened the interview with expres- sions of sympathy in my political opinions, and then easily digressed into reminiscences of the Revolutionary War, of the disastrous attack upon Quebec, of the battle of Monmouth, of the military family of Washington, of his generals, Greene, Gates, Lafayette ; of Talleyrand, of Dr. Franklin, and even of his own great rival, Hamilton, whom he had slain. The interview was held in my family, on a Sunday. He suffered no passage in it to occur without addressing some pleasing 7 98 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1832-'33. compliment to my wife, and all the while held one or both of my chil- dren on his knee. At last he came to the object of his visit. I thought I was wary, as well as firm in declining his request that I would facilitate his application to reinstate the chancery suit. He made his motion, with an affidavit, which detailed the proceedings at our interview in a manner which put me quite in the wrong, while I could not successfully impeach it, and so Mr. George Crowder was reestablished in court, with all the advantages he had twice lost. It cost some delay and much effort to procure, from time to time, persons in New York City competent to give perjured testimony of conversa- tions held with my clients, on their farms in Cayuga, in which they confessed away their title and their rights. And so Mr. Burr suffered the same misfortune as his predecessors, and was twice ruled out of court, like them, and twice came back again, through the same means of affidavits, based upon gentle and seductive interviews with myself. I do not think that I derived any advantage from the political sym- pathy and support he professed in these interviews. But his conversa- tion was fascinating, and in one sense instructive, though on most sub- jects prejudiced and insincere. He represented Washington as being entirely without independence of character and without talent, and completely under the influence of Alexander Hamilton. Burr said that Washington did not trust himself to write a billet of invitation or acceptance of a dinner, and therefore employed Hamilton to do it. He said Washington was formal, cold, and haughty. On the other hand, he especially admired Franklin, whom he represented as all suavity, courtesy, and kindness. He described him as more eminent in his time as a genial wit and humorist in the social circle than as a philosopher, and he placed Franklin always in the same category with Talleyrand. While he conceded to Hamilton great talent, he repre- sented him as a parasite of Washington, unamiable and ungenerous toward all others. When I referred to the histories of the Revolution, and especially to Marshall's " Life of Washington," as differing from his own representations, he replied that the histories were all partial, interested, unreliable, and false. " I was myself present," said he, " with the army at a skirmish which it had with the enemy at Mon- mouth, New Jersey. Of course, I well knew what occurred there. I have read accounts of that battle in a dozen different histories, and, if it were not that the date of the battle and the place where it was fought were mentioned, I should not recognize in the description that it was the battle of Monmouth at all." He was severely satirical upon Jefferson, who, he said, he verily believed would have run away from Monticello if he had heard that he (Burr) had approached as near it as Alexandria or Georgetown. I closed my professional business in the Court of Chancery in the 1832-'33.J A POLITICAL COMBINATION. 99 year 1850. The last argument I made in the court was in that year. It was on the final hearing of the Crowder cause, and I am happy to say that the decision was in my favor. The Legislature had adjourned on the 26th of April. The Court of Errors had appointed to hold a term early in September, in New York. The cholera made its first visitation in the United States in the interval, preceded by a universal panic, which was but too well excused by the great mortality that followed. I was on my way to New York when I met the painful intelligence that William H. Maynard had succumbed to the disease in that city, and that the court was dissolved. The event, which awakened universal sadness, was an occasion for me of excessive concern and sorrow. I was in the Senate of New York, one of a minority of seven. Only Mr. Maynard, Mr. Tracy, and myself, took part in the debates. Mr. Tracy was eccentric and unreliable as a leader. I often needed protection and aid in my attempts to maintain the attitude which was forced upon me, in fact, by the entire party in the State, of opposition to the Federal and State Administrations. Mr. Maynard often led the way, and always with consummate ability, or, if it was left to me to lead, he came with equal ability to my defense and support. I was thenceforward to stand alone. It is needless to enlarge upon the story of the canvass. Our nomi- nations throughout the State were judiciously made. Our State Con- vention adopted the nominations of William Wirt and Amos Ellmaker for President and Vice-President, and submitted to the people the names of thirty-six electors who, if chosen, would give effect to that nomination. The ticket had at its head the amiable and virtuous Chancellor Kent, the most eminent member of the National Republican party in the State, and John C. Spencer, not less eminent as an Anti- masonic leader. Half the electoral candidates were, in like manner, chosen from each of the branches of the opposition, and all were men of distinguished character and worth. For Governor and Lieutenant- Governor the convention nominated our former candidates, Granger and Stevens. The " National Republican " Convention followed a few days later, ratified the nomination of Henry Clay for President, and John Sergeant, of Pennsylvania, for Vice-President, and recommended to the people the support of Granger and Stevens for Governor and Lieutenant- Governor, together with the same electoral ticket that had been recently submitted to the people by the State Antimasonic Convention. In the combination thus effected, it was plain to everybody that the National Republican party had accepted the gubernatorial candi- dates of the Antimasonic party. But the question immediately arose, and was pressed with vigor by the party supporting Jackson, which of the two presidential nominations the electors, if chosen, would vote 100 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1832-'33. for Wirt and Ellmaker, or Clay and Sergeant ? The question was earnestly discussed, but, so far as I know, no public explanation was ever given. Perhaps I know all on that subject that was known by any one who was not a member of one or both of the State Conventions. In common with most intelligent persons in the State, I thought the chances about equal that the combined opposition might carry the State. I expected that, in that case, the electoral votes would be cast for Wirt and Ellmaker, unless it should appear from the results of the elections in other States that, being so cast for Wirt and Ellmaker, they should not be sufficient to secure their election, but would secure the election of Clay and Sergeant if cast for them. Political secrets lose their value with time, but I am sure I am betraying no secret in this case, whether worth anything or not, since none was ever confided to me. The electors were not to be brought to a test. The election resulted in a majority of thirteen thousand for the national and State Administrations. This result showed that, while the Antimasonic party had stood up with its former majorities in the west, the coalition had been ineffectual in the eastern counties. In securing this general result the Administration party derived special advantage from a movement which they made just previous to the election, pledging themselves to the people of the Chenango Valley to adopt the construction of the Chenango Canal, and give it effect at the next session of the Legislature. My disappointment in the result of the election within my own State was only relieved by seeing that the cause had been even more signally defeated in most other parts of the Union. Only six States dissented, in the electoral colleges, from the reelection of General Jackson. There was, of course, as is customary, an earnest and thoughtful inquiry into the causes of this great failure. It was said that the result was due to the ill-conceived rejection of Martin Van Bureii by the op- ponents of General Jackson in the Senate ; that it was due to the un- fortunate issue joined with him on the renewal of the charter of the Bank of the United States ; and due to the unhappy differences which divided the opposition ; and due to the determination which one-half the people were understood to have made, that they would maintain, under General Jackson's Administration, the protective laws then in force ; and due, on the other 'hand, to the determination the other half were supposed to have formed, that that protection should give way to free trade, or at least to a revenue tariff. I looked upon the matter in a light different from all these speculations. It seemed to me that, so far as the popular mind was concerned, it had discovered, early after the election of 1824, that it would have been fitting in that election, as an expression of popular loyalty to the country, that General Jackson, who had closed with a brilliant victory the War of 1812 with Great Britain, should be elected President of the United States ; that, accord- 1832-'33.] THE "PLANTING STATES." 1Q| ing to the popular judgment, this error was corrected by his election in the year 1828 ; that, according to the same popular judgment, an in- terested opposition appealed from the judgment of 1828, and demanded a reconsideration, and that the result of 1832 was simply the reamrmance of the popular judgment of 1828. It was this view of the subject that determined me to persevere in the political principles and sentiments I had adopted. It was certain that perseverance would be hard enough, and for a time, at least, must be maintained alone. It was clear enough that the Antimasonic party, by this fatal defeat, encountered after such long and strenuous efforts, could not be rallied again to challenge po- litical power in the nation, or even in the State. It remained only to be content with the partial success it had had, in vindicating the laws and in exposing the evils and dangers of secret societies. Nor did this overthrow of the National Republican party, in a con- test in which it enjoyed a virtual alliance, in this State, with the Anti- masonic party in the day of its strength, warrant any expectation that it could be successful at a future election, when the Antimasonic party should have retired from the field. Nevertheless I thought I saw, in the early future, that the question of protection to American industry, the question of managing national, re venues, the question of increasing the power and extending the sway of slavery, and, above all, the ques- tion of preserving the integrity of the national Union, would remain open, and that I should be able to render more effective service to my country, on all those great national issues, by preserving our independent attitude, and not falling in with the mass to support the triumphant and dominant party. The national events which succeeded the reelection of General Jack- son in 1832 were of such magnitude and seriousness as to cause those occurring on the smaller theatre of State politics to seem unimportant, if not trivial. Flushed by the great popular triumph, the President gave out, in his next message, an intimation of distrust of the security of the Government deposits in the Bank of the United States. These deposits had risen to an immense sum under the operation of the tariff law of 1828, and of the sales of public lands in the new States and Ter- ritories. Thus accumulated, they were waiting the day when they could be lawfully applied to the discharge of what remained of the national debt, and it was already seen that a large surplus of treasure would remain after that debt should be extinguished. The slaveholding States, then popularly called " the planting States," because their great staple was cotton, within the last twenty years had come, with great unanimity, to the conclusion that the system of protecting American manufacturing industry was exclusively beneficial to the Northern or free States, and destructive of the prosperity of the cotton-growing or planting States. It mattered not that the North and South were ex- 102 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1832-'33. changing their original grounds on this great and vexed question. Massachusetts and all the Northern States now insisted on upholding the "American system," as it was called ; in fact, the tariff protecting and fostering manufactures. South Carolina, on the other hand, at the head of the planting States, denounced that policy vehemently, falling back on the ancient legislative resolutions of Virginia and Kentucky, which declared the national Government to be only a compact among the States, in which any State, when aggrieved, may lawfully declare null and void any exercise of Federal authority, and may even lawfully secede from the Union in case of such grievance. A convention of the people of South Carolina was held, which adopted and proclaimed an " Ordinance," in which they pronounced the tariff laws of the United States unconstitutional and void, and absolved themselves from the obligation of those laws. This bold and high-handed proceeding was promptly met, by General Jackson, with a proclamation in which he maintained the binding obligation of those laws, denounced 'the ordi- nance of South Carolina as seditious and treasonable, and announced his determination to execute the laws and maintain the integrity of the Union. Mr. Clay's popularity consisted {argely of two elements : one, that he had been the leader of the Administration party in Congress during the War of 1812 ; and the other that he was, above all others, the patron of the " American system " or protective tariff. Mr. Clay was now elected to the Senate from Kentucky. When, early in the congres- sional session of 1832-'33, he saw the integrity of the Union menaced by the South Carolina ordinance of nullification, Mr. Clay, in the prac- tice of that versatility for which he was so preeminently distinguished, conceived the purpose of averting the danger by a legal compromise, in which the ground of protection should be modified so as to remove the complaint of the planting States. Thus, " nullification," which cer- tainly it is now proper to call "secession," v>hen it first broke out vio- lently was met, on the part of the Executive, with a defiant declaration of war, and on the part of Mr. Clay, in the Senate, by a bill of com- promise, by which it was provided that duties, discriminating for the purpose of protection, should altogether cease, and that the existing customs should be reduced in the next six consecutive years, until they should uniformly stand at the rate of ten per cent. How painful the reflection is, that the way of patriotic duty is un- certain, like the navigator's path on the ocean exposed 'just as much to winds and tempests, or unseen or misunderstood currents. Doubt- less there is a purely logical line of policy for preserving and maintain- ing the American republic, and, to a certain extent, each of the two great parties is animated by a patriotic desire to find and keep that line. On the other hand, we cannot but see that it devolved, at the 1832-'33.] SOUTH CAROLINA NULLIFICATION. 1Q3 close of the Revolution, upon one class of citizens to construct, organize, and put in operation, the Federal Government. This class necessarily became a party, and they must establish the necessary institutions and adopt the necessary policy. The class of citizens left inactive and un- employed were impelled, by a natural instinct, to question and oppose the dominating party, and so became themselves a party. Differences of opinion, with the lapse of time, became, wider and more radical, until each reached an opposite pole. The Federalists feared that thfe States would sever the Union, unless it was fortified by the assumption of the State debts, by a Federal Bank to collect and disburse the revenues, a protective tariff, and a mint. These institutions being established, the Federal Government became vigorous and effective. The entire debt of the nation and of the States was on the eve of being paid, and uni- versal prosperity prevailed. The opposition party, during the period of these achievements, were acquiring strength and boldness in assailing these beneficent institutions and measures. They sustained Jackson's arm while he struck down the Bank of the United States, and they sus- tained South Carolina in her attempts to arrest the Government and dissolve the Union, for the purpose of compelling the relinquishment of the policy of protection. How could a patriotic citizen support General Jackson and the Republican party in his crusade against the Bank of the United States ? How could a patriotic citizen withhold his support from General Jackson in his suppression of the South Carolina rebellion ? It was in consequence of this distraction of the public mind that Mr. Clay thought it wise to concede protection, for the purpose of demoralizing nullification. For my own part, I sought to mitigate party spirit. I gave my best abilities to quiet the dispute about the Bank of the United States to animate the Legislature and the country to support the President in repressing insurrection ; and, while I could not follow Mr. Clay in his line of compromise, I was silent and acquiesced when Congress adopted that measure. The passage of Mr. Clay's bill inspired Congress with new courage. Having put the incipient rebellion in the wrong, they came with great unanimity and courage to the high proceeding of arming the President with all the necessary power to suppress it. This act was called the "Enforcement Law." The combined measures proved effectual. South Carolina rescinded her ordinance, and secession, baffled in this first attempt, retired to gather new strength and wait for a more pro- pitious occasion. My satisfaction with this result was much impaired by the discovery that the leaders of the Republican party, while they adhered to the President in this particular transaction, nevertheless practised a studied reserve on the abstract questions of the rights of the States'to nullify laws of Congress and to secede from the Union. In addition to these labors I performed my customary task of pre- 104 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. paring an address, in which, joining with my associates, we gave a review of the proceedings of the Legislature, and of the State and Federal Administrations. At no period in our history has any party ascendant in the State or the nation been stronger than the Republi- can party then was. Seldom has any political party been weaker than that to which I belonged. Perhaps, however, the historian may ulti- mately find that the small and then despised band of patriots with whom I acted were, even then, preparing the way and gathering the recruits for that great party which, in the culminating struggle, res- cued the Union in its supreme contest, and established it on the im- movable basis of universal equality and freedom. 1833. First Voyage to Europe. The Letter-Bag. A Lost Sailor. Liverpool and New York. Chester. Scenes in Ireland. The Merchant's Widow. Emmet's Cell. Emigrants to America. Scotland and Scottish Memories. Edinburgh. A Grumbling Legend. London Sights and People. Seeing the King. Malibran. An American Charge. Joseph Hume. A Day in Parliament. Cobbett. Peel. Hay. O'Connell. Stanley. American Reformers. Indians and Quakers. Paganini. Thoughts on leaving Eng- land. MY father, at the age of sixty-five, although retaining all his intel- lectual vigor and much of his characteristic energy, had become a valetudinarian, and determined on a summer voyage to Europe. I cheerfully attended him, at his request. We sailed from New York on the 1st of June. One cannot, without difficulty, conceive the inferior- ity of the commerce and travel of the period to that of the present. New York, which, counting its extensions on Long Island and in New Jersey, has more than a million and a half of people, had then a popu- lation of only two hundred thousand ; and Liverpool had not more. The only railroads in the world were the Liverpool & Manchester, a small section of the Baltimore & Ohio, and the Mohawk & Hudson, between Albany and Schenectady. No steamship had yet crossed the ocean. The travel between the United States and Europe, with the exception of an occasional merchant-vessel, was monopolized by a weekly line of sailing-packets. Our ship, the Europe, belonging to this line, was deemed a monster, as she had a tonnage of six hundred. She carried twenty cabin passengers and sixty-four in the steerage. Like all other ships, she had a letter-bag, and when we were approach- ing our destined port these bags were emptied on the cabin-floor, and the letters, five thousand in number, were assorted by the cabin-passen- gers according to their address. It was not surprising to me to find that far the largest proportion had very circumlocutory addresses for parishes in Ireland ; and that not a small number were directly ad- 1833.] LIVERPOOL AND NEW YORK. 105 dressed to his Majesty King William IV., of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Our voyage was the unusually short one of eighteen days. An occasional calm gave me the opportunity of a bath in the sea, or an excursion by small boat to study marine phenomena, a study in which I profited much by the aid of a fellow-passenger who was a dis- tinguished naturalist. Small as the volume of interoceanic emigration then was, incidents occurred which awakened a deep interest and sym- pathy with that subject. A widow woman brought her child to the ship's surgeon, to have him dress its face, wounded by a burn. I in- quired her story. Her husband, a mechanic, had emigrated two years before to New England. A fire occurred, in which his house and shop were destroyed, and he lost his life. The wife was carrying home the bereaved child. We had scarcely left port when the first-mate, an. experienced sailor, directed my attention to one of the ship's crew, a dull-looking, clumsy Englishman, of perhaps twenty-five years, saying that he had applied in New York to be employed as first-mate, and, failing in that application, had shipped as a common seaman, and that he was not even qualified for that. After being out two or three days, the mate directed this seaman, with others, to go aloft and furl a sail. He climbed to the top of the ratlines, and was unable to go higher. The mate mischievously insisted, and thus obliged the man to expose his ignorance and his inability. He did not even know one rope in the rigging from another. He was permitted to descend amid the derision of the passengers and crew. A day or two later the sailor was seen toiling amid the ropes above the ratlines, and, when we asked what he was doing, we received for answer that he had gone up on leave to try to perform the same task in which he had before failed. He slipped from his foothold in the ropes on which he was standing, fell upon a yard arm below, and thence dropped lifeless into the sea, the ship then going at the rate of nine knots an hour. Among the large crowd of plain and humble people who came on board when we entered the dock at Liverpool was the sister of that unfortunate young man. She had come down from her country home to meet him who had thus per- ished in his emulous attempt to become a sailor. I compared the magnificent stone docks at Liverpool with the mean, rickety, wooden slips and quays of New York. The painful contrast still remains unchanged. I thought I found the scientific institutions, the charities, and the cemeteries of Liverpool superior to those of American cities. They have no such superiority now. In the library of the Athe- naeum I turned over the pages of a British magazine, published during our Revolutionary War. It excited a smile when I read an account of the " rebel Congress " at Philadelphia, and learned that that treasonable AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. assemblage had beer brought about through the " agitation of a few leaders," among whom John Hancock and Samuel Adams were the two "most destitute of principle." I dined with. William Brown, founder, I think, of the house of Brown Brothers & Company, which, although he no longer lives, has since lost none of its influence, wealth, or hospitality. I visited Chester, with its noble cathedral, its painted windows, quaint walls, and monastic statuary, and its ancient Roman castle and Csesar's Tower, now reduced to the " base uses " of a modern armory. I paid the usual fee to the housekeeper, and was shown, wondering, through Eaton Hall, the country-seat of the Marquis of Westmin- ster, little thinking then that at a later period I should come to num- ber its proprietor and his family among my personal friends. We crossed the Irish Channel. Of course the passage was rough, and the steamer narrow, mean, and uncomfortable. I believe that English coast-navigation has these discomforts everywhere. The Irish passengers made advances to me to enlist my sympathy in their hearty hatred of the English. I found the Irish porters as noisy, and the Irish peasantry as poor and loquacious, and the public edifices and streets of Dublin as majestic and melancholy, as they are usually rep- resented. I remember even now the disgust with which I looked upon the beautiful Parliament-House of Ireland converted into a banking- house. Among the crowd who were waiting in the vestibule for the bank-doors to be opened, I was shown a poor woman. She was a mer- chant's widow, left entirely destitute. She became mad with the idea that her husband had left a large deposit with the bank for her support. Every morning she presented herself, demanding the sum so necessary for her comfort, and went away astonished and sad at seeing everybody get what he asked for, while she, being no less entitled, was always refused. I had already seen the Mersey and the Dee, and corrected my false estimate of the English rivers. The Liffey, now chiefly used for sew- erage, was altogether disgusting. I attended guard-mounting at the Castle, among a crowd of many thousand spectators, and met there a son of one of the jurors who convicted Robert Emmet. I attended him, with much of the sympathy that we bestow upon the memory of martyrs, to the cell in which he, the most chivalrous and the most unfortunate of the patriots of Ireland, was confined, the court-room in which he was tried, and the scaffold on which he was executed. I saw a curious theatrical entertainment exhibited on cart-wheels, in which one of the audience, a simple-minded countryman, interrupted the performance by expostulating with the clown on the folly of his wearing so grotesque a dress, and playing the buffoon for so wretched a compensation. 1833.] SCOTLAND. 107 My visit to the tombs of Dean Swift and Stella, of course, was not omitted. The rural districts in Ireland, seen from the top of the coach, in- stead of exhibiting, as I had expected, beautiful villas and neat and comfortable cottages, seemed the abode of poverty and wretchedness. In the suburbs, the dwelling-houses of the peasantry were built of stone, and covered with thatch ; but farther in the country they were grouped into hamlets, and were constructed of mud, with mud roofs, and only a bar separated the different compartments occupied by the family, the cow, and the swine. The most cursory glance at a scene like this was sufficient to disclose all the evils of " absenteeism," and to show that the only remedy was emigration. Indications of the use of that remedy were all around us. Placards offering passages to Canada and the United States covered the walls in the streets of Drogheda and Belfast, and the deck of the Maid of Islay, a mere tug, which received us at Belfast, was crowded with squalid men, wom- en, and children, with their few and miserable cattle and poultry, bent upon throwing themselves upon the shore at Glasgow, even if they should get no farther in the path of exile. In this visit to Ireland, made less than forty years ago, the population of that unhappy coun- try was counted at eight millions. The effectiveness of emigration as a remedy for social evils is seen in the fact that the Irish nation is now only four millions. All this while a convict-ship lies at anchor in the harbor of Dublin, to receive those to whom the privilege of emigra- tion is denied, except through the gateway of crime and conviction. My admiration of the Scottish people is excited anew when I re- call the incidents of my brief visit to that country. Awaking on board the steamer at the quay of Glasgow, it was a pleasant surprise to see that every vessel on the river and every inn 011 shore bore a name which reminded me of the genius of Scotland's last great poet and novelist, Scott the "Lady of the Lake," the "Lord of the Isles," " Fitz-James," " Waverley," etc., etc. Even more honorable to the dis- crimination of the Scottish people was the spirit which had dedicated a noble statue to the memory of General Sir John Moore, who fell at Corunna, and another to James Watt, the humble Scottish mechanic, who, although he let the 1 invention of the marine steam-engine escape to our countryman, Fulton, nevertheless brought the invention of the land-engine to a condition of perfect adaptation to the wants of man- kind ; and a third, more colossal than either, to their great and severe reformer, John Knox. I might be tempted here to describe the city of Glasgow, with its streets crossing each other at the central cross, its dilapidated, ancient, and lofty structures occupied by the poor, and its new, smaller, and more convenient dwellings occupied by the rich ; its Roman Catholic Cathedral, the only one in Scotland, perhaps, saved 108 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. from the vandalism of the Presbyterian reformers ; and its memorable battle-field of Langside. But a citizen of the modern town, compact, elegant, and extended over a district of five or ten miles square, would scarcely recognize a feature of his own home in the diminutive Glas- gow which I saw in 1833. I may record it as honorable to the Scottish people that, although, under the influence of religious feeling, they abandoned their fair and chivalrous queen, after the catastrophe at Langside, they seemed to have come back now, when all religious asperity has passed away, to be unanimous in vindicating her memory from the suspicions and re- proaches raised against her by her enemies. I visited Greenock, practically the port, and Paisley, a large and important manufacturing suburb of Glasgow ; examined the Grand Canal of Scotland, which unites the Frith of Clyde with the Frith of Forth ; the rock of Dumbarton with its castle ; traversed the beautiful little Leven Water ; revived my historical and poetical reminiscences of Scotland by an examination of Bothwell Castle, and Loch Lomond, with its yew-covered islands ; and Loch Katrine, with its lofty shores, the Trosachs, Callander, and Stirling. I wonder, even now, as I recall that tour through the picturesque but barren hills and valleys, at the social caprice which planted the most intellectual and enterprising people of Europe in a home so cold and sterile. If I could revisit Stirling, I should like now to look at the old ruined palace which the Regent Mar built during the minority of James VI., and see whether I could now decipher the grumbling legend, even at that time almost illegible, in which the builder recorded his protests against the censorious comments of his neighbors upon his larceny of the materials for the structure from the abandoned neighboring Abbey of Cambuskenneth : " Esspy. speik . furth . I . cair . nocht Consider . well . I . cair . nocht The . moir . I . stand . on . oppin hicht My . faultis . moir . subject . ar . to . sight I . pray . at . lukaris . on . this . luging With . gentle . e . to . gif . thair . juging." The geologist reads the history of our globe in the strata deposited in successive desolations. How often have I thought that the traveler reads the history of nations and races in the desolations of successive dynasties, conquests, religions, and states ! I suppose it was all right. But it saddened me to see that noble old Edinburgh is losing its own proper national pride, its proper pride as the capital of a great nation, and the glory of a great and unique people, in its modern loyalty to the British throne, more zealous than even London itself. I lingered long at Edinburgh ; left with regret, and gave up with 1833.] LONDON SIGHTS AND PEOPLE. 109 reluctance, at last, the study of its traditions, in its dilapidated castle, deserted Holyrood, Allan Ramsay's House, St. Giles with the pulpit of John Knox, the dark and vaulted tavern-cell in which Burns celebrated his revels, and Salisbury Craig, with its noble promenade, and the house of Jeanie Deans, embowered, as it ought to be, in shrubbery and roses. I passed through- Berwick-on-Tweed into England, looked upon Alnwick, the home of " the Percy's high-born race," examined the col- lieries at Newcastle, stopped at York and studied its noble and well- preserved ancient cathedral. I admitted the justice of a monkish legend, which still embellishes its walls, although I did not see the poetry of it : " Ut rosa phlos phlorum, Sic est domus ista domorum." In London the stage-coach stopped at the Saracen's Head. I do not now remember where that fierce sign-board was displayed. But after a drive of two hours, through streets almost impassable, we found our bankers, Baring Brothers & Company. They recommended me to take lodgings near Hyde Park, which, they said, were three miles distant. " Three miles ! " said I ; " that's out of town. That will never do." We compromised on Mrs. Wright's Hotel, Adams Street, Adelphi, just out of the dust and smoke of the city proper, and from which most of the monuments are accessible. It is a trait of the English character that intellectual power, in any department, is accompanied by mediocrity or meanness of art. The English drama, developed by Shakespeare, draws the visitor from every part of the world to the theatre. Covent Garden and Drury Lane were dark and mean forty years ago, and they are so now. It is a memory which I would not willingly part with that I heard Mali- bran in " Sonnambula " at Covent Garden. My American pride was humbled at our reception by the charg'e $ affaires who had been left by Mr. Van Buren. The legation was at the West-End, on the first floor over a fashionable tailor's shop. The charge was a young man of middle stature and dark complexion. He spoke English with a marked French accent, and had forgotten, if he ever knew, how to give his hand with the cordiality customary among our countrymen. He was attended by an American youth of twenty, who lounged, during our interview, in a damask-covered arm- chair. Our conversation with our representative was cold and formal. The cliarg'e seemed to have no interest in matters at home, while prudence forbade all allusions to political affairs in the country to which he was accredited. The notes I then made might have served, on my late visit, as a guide-book through Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, St. HO AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. Paul's, the bridges over the Thames, and the tunnel under it, the docks and Windsor Castle, the Royal Academy, the Zoological Gardens, and Newgate. Among the passengers across the Atlantic were a successful Mas- sachusetts country merchant, named Baker, and his wife. We sepa- rated at Liverpool, and I saw them no more until we met again on my return-voyage from Havre. They had made* a tour as I had, and we compared notes. They asked me, " Did you see Windsor ? " " Yes." "The chapel?" "Yes." " The palace ? " " Yes." " The pictures ? " " Yes." "The forest?" "Yes." " Did you see the king ? " " Yes." " How did you see him ? " I replied that I had paid a crown to a beadle, for which I obtained leave to stand at the foot of the stair- case in the vestibule, and stared at the king as he came down from his pew in the gallery. " Did the king salute you ? " " No," I replied. " I was ashamed of my own impertinence in staring at him, and bowed from mortifica- tion." " Oh ! " said Mr. Baker, " we saw the king better than that. He was especially gracious to us." " And how did you come to see the king ? " " Well, we learned at the tavern at Windsor that the king was to ride out in the forest at four o'clock, and that he would be in an open barouche, with outriders. So we took a hackney-coach, which was also an open barouche, stipulating with the coachman that he should point out to us the king's coach. There were a few private carriages on the road at the same time. As we came near the place where we were to pass, I saw that the persons riding in these carriages bowed when the royal carriage passed them, and his majesty returned the courtesy. I was so fearful that I might lose the sight of the king that I rose and stood bolt upright, staring at him. The king, thinking from this ex- traordinary demonstration of respect that I was some friend or sup- porter deserving special consideration, rose from his seat and stood boh upright, looking at me. I bowed quite down to the floor of the carriage, and the king, not to be outdone in courtesy, bowed equally profoundly to me." "Well," said I, "we have both proved the truth of the adage that cats can look upon kings." It was my fortune in London to make the acquaintance of Joseph Hume, a man of great industry and worth, the leader of the Radical party, if there was such a party, in Parliament. Mr. Hume gave me a 1833.] A DAY IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. HI place under the galleries in the House of Commons. I saw and heard Cobbett. He made a complaint to the House of a breach of faith practised by some unknown member of a committee to which he be- longed, in exposing testimony which ought to have been kept confi- dential. Knowing the vehemence which characterized him, I was sur- prised at the prudence which he exhibited. He spoke very distinctly. When he alluded to the publisher of the testimony, who was not a member of the House, his epithets were severe and coarse. He called him " a spy." When, however, he reflected upon the delinquency of members of the committee, his language was calm, guarded, and quali- fied. Just the reverse of this was the language of the members of the House who replied to him. They were respectful toward all outsiders, intemperate and abusive toward him. He replied to all at once, amid a storm of disapprobation, so coolly and clearly that it was evident that, though sadly in the minority, he was a man of vigor and power. Although the English people are continually disturbed by the ap- prehension that they are to become Americanized, an incident which I am going to relate will show that political changes proceed much less rapidly there than in our own country. The House of Commons (then recently reformed) had passed the bill making important alterations in the government of the national Church in Ireland. The bill was then in the House of Lords, which threatened its rejection. The popular party were insisting that the king should create peers enough to pass the bill. There was a motion pending that the House be called next week to express their solicitude for the fate of the bill in the House of Lords, and adopt an address to the king if it should be necessary. The motion was sustained by Sir John Wrottesley, in a modest and well- conceived speech. A member, not yet of middle age, tall and slender, neatly-dressed, replied, giving vigorous battle against the resolution. He dissected the mover's argument and showed that its facts were doubtful and its assumptions unreasonable. He demanded: "Would not this measure be justly regarded as a menace to intimidate the Lords ? And would not this be an unprecedented as well as unwar- ranted attack upon the constitutional independence of a coordinate branch of the Legislature ? " He appealed to the House of Commons, jealous of its own rights, " not to strike that fatal blow." Becoming impassioned and cheere'd by the favorable reception of his speech, he called upon the mover to withdraw the resolution. It seemed as if the bold demand would be sustained by the whole House. This speaker was Sir Robert Peel. His speech was simple, plain, and practical, with- out pretension to learning or authority. Its effect was destroyed in a moment by a much shorter speech pro- nounced, bv Colonel Hay (I wonder whether this is the present Sir John Hay ?). *"l think," said he, in a blunt way, " that when a bill is under AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. consideration in either House of Parliament, so vitally important to the interests, and so deeply interesting to the feelings of the country, it is the duty of the members of this House to be at their posts. We know members are not here now. We know they ought to be here. And I hope, therefore, the mover will not withdraw his resolution." This speech, warmly cheered by the Whigs, restored the equality of the debate. A member who sat in the centre of the hall, and had a sturdy frame, and a broad, Irish countenance, arose, and the House was hushed at once. " I hate," said Daniel O'Connell, " all kinds of hypocrisy. A re- formed Parliament professes to be the friend of Ireland, and of reform- ing the oppression under which my country labors. This bill will do but little toward effecting that reform. But it is all that ministers have offered. Although it is only an installment of what I want, I don't want it thrown out of the House of Lords, because it is all that I can get. I want now to see the members of this reformed House of Parliament here, that their sincerity may be tested. It has been said that there is no precedent in the history of the Commons. How could there be a precedent, when, for the last century, the Commons have been only a department of the House of Lords, their nominees and representatives ? They dared not vote against their masters. I am as much opposed to this bill as anybody. But I don't want to see it thrown out ; I want to see whether the people are not stronger than the enemies of the people ! " Cries arose from all sides of the House, sufficient to stifle a less resolute speaker, "Why did you vote against the bill, if you want it to pass ? " ' " That," replied O'Connell, " is a different thing altogether. I voted against the bill because I wanted a better bill. I hate all political hypocrisy. I voted against the bill ; but inasmuch as the Government, as a matter of grace, has proffered it, I want to see the responsibility of its defeat fall where it ouo-ht." O Taunts and reproaches of the speaker for his inconsistency seemed, for a moment, to reconcile the friends and the enemies of the nation. The debate was continued by prosy and dull speakers on both sides; but their speeches revealed the fact that while the Tories, in opposition, deprecated the measure vehemently, the Liberal ministry and their sup- porters were timid. Only independent and radical members gave the measure an earnest support. At last a member, apparently about thirty, who sat opposite to Sir Robert Peel, obtained the floor. He seemed too young to grapple in such a debate. His voice was musical, but feeble ; while his manner was graceful and self-possessed. Lord Stanley, Colonial Secretary, 1833.] PARLIAMENT AND CONGRESS. H3 afterward the distinguished premier, Earl Derby, presented clearly the true state of the question. He said, with great frankness and courtesy, that the ministry, of which he was a member, was embarrassed by the motion. If the Lords should reject the bill, the ministry positively would resign; and he ventured to express no strong hopes that the Lords would pass the bill. This failure of ministerial support, for a measure which the mover had introduced with a view to their advantage, brought upon the speaker a vehement attack from independent members. It was then that Lord Stanley rose, and, while he vindicated the ministry from all inconsistency, exposed with scathing severity the inconsistency of the assailants, and with keen satire rebuked O'Connell as "an agitator, seeking not the peace or the advantage of Ireland, or the welfare of the kingdom, but confusion and disorder, destructive to both." O'Con- nell replied, more vehemently and contemptuously than before. The House divided ; the motion fell. I am not able now to recall the result in the House of Lords. It is apparent, however, that, whatever that result was, it left the state of the Church in Ireland substantially the same as before. Sir Robert Peel might be compared, as a parliamentary speaker, with Mr. Fessenden. Lord Stanley had the versatility of Clay, with the chasteness of Calhoun. Daniel O'Connell, with the fervor of Thomas Addis Emmet, had all the boldness and vigor of Stephen A. Douglas, but without his indiscretion. I do not now know how it happened, but w y hen the chamber was cleared, in order to the division, I fell into an anteroom, in which the members, as fast as they came out, sat down to dine in groups. I found them social and communicative. On a subsequent day, I visited the House of Lords, but the Lord Chancellor was not on the \vool-sack ; the House was thin, and the debate without interest. It was said that the Marquis of Westminster was to give a dinner that evening ; and this accounted for the early rising of both Houses. Such was the limited observation that time allowed me then to be- stow upon Parliament. But it was enough to satisfy me that dig- nity, decorum, as well as earnestness of attention, all are promoted by the arrangement of the chambers so as to bring the members in close proximity to each other. Neither then, nor at any time since, when I visited the House of Commons, have I witnessed such listlessness as generally prevails in the House of Representatives, when the subject of debate is uninteresting, or such confusion as prevails there when debate becomes loud and vehement. This difference must, in part, result from the use of seats and desks, which cause the members to be spread over so broad an area. But I think there is another reason. In England the Government is actually carried on in the House of Com- S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. mons. Its measures are opened and decided there. The spectators, as well as the press, go there, to learn what the Government proposes to do, and to see it done. But, in the United States, the Government is carried on by the Executive Department. The press and people have its acts before them ; and they attend the two Houses of Congress to hear those acts considered and discussed. Nobody knows, beforehand, in London, what the decision of any question by the House of Commons will be. But I think that, since we have the aid of the telegraph, the people of Boston and the people of San Francisco know what the result of any motion, resolution, or law proposed in Congress will be, hours, days, and even weeks, before the vote is taken there. One of the social enigmas which have always puzzled me is the pro- clivity which political reformers in our country have to go to England to promulgate their theories and develop their measures. I suppose that they have two reasons for this : one is, the greater safety with which a subject, unpopular at home, can be discussed there ; and the other, that reformers who find fault with the Government of their own country can easily enlist followers in a foreign and unfriendly land. We had Americans at that time who were busily engaged in present- ing to the English public the argument for American emancipation. Eliot Cresson, an agent of the Colonization Society, was canvassing Great Britain and raising funds there for its enterprise. William Lloyd Garrison went to England as agent for the New England Anti- slavery Society, which insisted on immediate abolition of slavery. These two agents opened a debate in London on the merits of their respective societies. Into this debate I declined to enter while in Eng- land. A citizen of Onondaga County, who, I believe, was partly merchant and partly schoolmaster, had brought to London four Onondaga Indi- ans, whom he called " chiefs," and who, perhaps, might have been so if their tribal state had not been abolished fifty years before. He con- tracted with these Indians, stipulating three conditions : 1. That they should keep sober ; 2. That, although they spoke English, they should sing Indian war-songs and dance Indian war-dances ; 3. That they should be content with their being supported at his expense, while he should have the profit to be derived from their exhibition. The Soci- ety of Friends, always interested in the cause of humanity, took no- tice of this transaction ; and, just as the adventurer was about to real- ize his fortune, they drew the Indians aside and heard their complaints. The exhibition was arrested by a habeas corpus, sued out by the Friends, and a subscription was raised and the Indians sent home to America, while the exhibitor was left to beg for contributions from his countrymen to get home himself. 1833.] ENGLISH, SCOTCH, AND IRISH. H5 At Drury Lane, as at Covent Garden, I found, not the drama, but a musical entertainment Paganini's performance on the violin. I knew that this instrument had vast depths and variations of sound. But it is impossible for any one to conceive the riches which he brought out from its strings. I think it is agreed that he has had no equal. I had gone to England, however, imbued with almost filial reverence for the high attributes of the parent-country. It was a disappointment that I found no Garrick, or Kean, or Siddons, presenting the tragedies of Shakespeare. The legitimate drama has been receding there and everywhere else since that time, while the opera has been everywhere coming into its place. Are we not to suppose from this that now, since reading has become universal, the drama, with its studied articu- lation and its scenic aids, is too tedious a form of instruction and amusement ; and that henceforth music, with its quickness of ex- pression and subtile sympathy with the passions, is to become the uni- versal entertainment ? If so, the change will be no greater than the changes which the stage has undergone since the time when the Greeks enacted their poetic tragedies, or the Romans entertained themselves with gladiators at the Colosseum, or the monks in the middle ages pre- pared the way for the modern stage by their presentations of religious " mysteries." Of course, like every other tourist, I tried the " Whispering Gal- lery " at St. Paul's, and ascended the ball to obtain a view of the city. Of course, the city was covered with a dense cloud of fog and coal-smoke. But, when I had come down, half a crown secured me admission to a panorama which presented clearly the vision that had been denied to me. Of course, I was not alone in seeing these sights and witness- ing these wonders. Although I had presented only a few letters, and had little time to secure the advantages which the delivery of those few offered me, I was all the while making acquaintances, which, though casual, were pleasant and instructive. I met a Russian trav- eler, and struck hands with him in the dome of St. Paul's, and my Ger- man acquaintances made in the theatre were intelligent and critical. And now I was to leave England. It was an occasion of sadness and regret that, of all the wonders which the country contained, and all the instructions that it offered, I had seen so few and gathered so little. I did not venture to think that I had correctly learned or even understood anything. I did store away some thoughts for future ref- erence and examination : 1. I thought it worthy of reflection whether Ireland would ever acquiesce in British rule and conform to British laws, so long as the United States should keep open an asylum for the Irish exile. 2. I thought it doubtful whether the people of Scot- land, educated and trained in the sentiments of John Knox, would ever hazard the danger of licentiousness in a republic. 3. I thought HQ AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. that, while the English people were divided into reformers and Tories, there was no real party of progress there ; that, while the Tory grew more inveterate all the while, the reformer held back in fear from every advance lie made. I have never been one of those among my countrymen who have thought, or have affected to think, that, as a people, we cherish an affec- tion for, or sympathy with, the parent British nation. On the other hand, I have seen and known and felt that, whether it was for good or evil, we are always jealous and dissatisfied with the British nation. It was an object of inquiry with me on my first visit to England, as it has been ever since, to study how T far this discontent of ours is reciprocated there. It seemed to me then that, little as we loved the English na- tion, they loved us still less. Certainly, in establishing the republic, and demanding its universal acceptance, w r e made a bold claim on the respect and confidence of mankind a claim which might well have shocked our British brethren, even if it had been made with less of pretension and presumption. In England, during the time of my first visit there, political opinion, as well as the policy of the Government, was as yet determined only by the upper class. The middle class had only begun to organize itself. The lower class w r as without a voice. Cer- tainly the upper class, under the circumstances, could not be expected to love us, even if we had been humbler than we were, and loved the British nation more than we did. A change of temper toward us in Great Britain was only to be effected by the reflection upon Great Britain of the experiences of her own people, who should emigrate and become absorbed in the United States. That emigration had then only just begun. Not only did the exiles whom we received, by their teachings and correspondence, produce no impression in our favor upon public opinion in Great Britain, but it may be remembered that, at that clay, -these emigrants were received with distrust and jealousy by our own countrymen. So slow is the process of political change, and so difficult is it to solve any political problem until it has been subjected to the development of time and experience. 1833. Crossing the German Ocean. Traveling through Holland by Canal. Dutch Towns and Thrift. Amsterdam and the Hague. Broeck. The Children's Patron Saint. Meeting an Army. A Woman' s-Rights Question. Dusseldorf and Cologne. The Rhine. Coblentz. Bingen. Mayence. Frankfort. Heidelberg. Among the Swiss Moun- tains. Young and Old Republics. A Tavern Adventure. Berne. Lausanne. Ge- neva. An Unhappy Man. St.-Gervais. WHAT a romance was this journey that I was making ! I was alter- nating drives and walks, through green fields and shrubbery, in July, 1833.] THE DUTCH CANALS. with summer voyages in northern seas. A trip by steamboat on the German Ocean, with its customary roughness and privations, was made an amusing one for me by the manifest reserve of the English and the phlegmatic and grotesque ways of the Dutch passengers. With what wonder did I look upon the rich landscape reclaimed from the sea, on both sides of the Meuse ! Rotterdam, with its lofty, narrow dwellings, canals traversing all its streets, its markets filled with flowers, even more than fruits and meats, its busy merchants dressed, though neatly, in fashions which had become obsolete elsewhere, its unbonneted mar- ket women and children, making the pavements resound with the clat- ter of their wooden shoes all was unique and peculiar. But the cholera was in Rotterdam. It was one of the caprices of that disease, when it first appeared in the West, that it clung to the banks of canals and marshes. Sixty persons died of it in the day we were at Rotter- dam. I knew seventy-two persons to perish of cholera in a day, at Syracuse, on the Erie Canal, and nearly as many at Seneca Falls, on the Seneca Canal ; while there has never been a death from cholera at Auburn, which is elevated two hundred and fifty feet above those places. I have never enjoyed any form of travel so much as that of the canals in Holland. The canals are deep, and the water clear. The small boat, divided into two apartments, calls, like a stage-coach, at every village ; and you may rest on your journey at any place, and resume it at any hour afterward. Coffee-gardens solicit you at every stopping-place, and the banks of the canal are lined with tasteful villas, each of which has a kiosk, or tea-house, projecting over the water. The Dutch canals, unlike ours, do not have a towpath under the bridges. Of course, on approaching a bridge, the rope is cast off, and reattached after passing it. An attendant, generally a female, is in waiting at the bridge to render this service, who places on the boat's deck a little wooden box in which the passengers are expected each to deposit a stiver. When we w r ere passing under a bridge we deposited the perquisites in the box, and gave it to the captain, who, instead of giving it to the woman, or even placing it on the bank, to my great disgust threw box with money and all into the canal. Just as 1 was raising a loud complaint against this discourteous proceeding, the woman's dog dived into the canal, brought out the box and delivered it to the woman. These painstaking Dutch people seem to teach the dog to do anything. They draw carts for marketmen and fishermen. But in these occupations they are not always steady-going, often stopping to bark and bite. On the banks of the canal, outside of the villages, are smooth, grav- eled roads, ornamented with shade-trees. The fields and meadows of Holland have a neatness unknown elsewhere ; and it is not without 118 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. reason that the landscape artist chooses for his study the sedgy brook, the willow-trees, the cattle, and the poultry of the farmyard of a Dutch farm. And so, in this leisurely and idle way, we traversed the country of the Lowlands. I saw Delft ; spent two days at the Hague ; saw its wonderful Chinese collection, and its great museum ; looked through the Palace in the Wood ; and then Amsterdam, an illustration that a Venice can be reproduced by an enterprising race in a northern clime, with all its commercial success and effect, but without having a par- ticle or a trace of the beauty, splendor, or poetry, of the original. Nevertheless, men and nations do not live for beauty alone, and Am- sterdam is a marvel. Built on dikes, with the narrowest streets, the tall houses incline toward each other at their roofs, and no carriages are allowed to rattle at speed through the streets, for fear of shaking the tenements down. The Spanish, the Portuguese, and the French nation went about the world after the discoveries of Columbus and Vasco de Gama making conquests and Christianizing the natives, and establishing empire. The Dutch, on the contrary, went East and West with equal zeal and perseverance, content to make money. Spain, Portugal, and France, have saved little or nothing of empire, and effected little in the way of proselytism. But Holland has saved nearly all her acquired territory, besides laying up wealth which makes her a capitalist among the nations. Great Britain has only just now learned the secret from Holland, and begun to apply it in India. We saw Leyden and we visited Scheveningen. A year ago they showed me at Salt Lake, in the Tabernacle, their new organ, which they claim to be second only to that at Boston ; and at Boston they boast the largest organ in the world, except the one at Haarlem. That great one I saw at Haarlem, with its eight thousand pipes and sixty-eight stops. I could not perceive that it gave any finer effect than another instrument to the prescribed psalms and hymns of the ordinary service. But certainly it poured out the an- thems, with which the worship began and ended, with a grandeur of volume that I have never known to be approached. I wonder whether the good Lutherans at Haarlem still deny to strangers the loan of a chair to sit in during divine service, as they did then ? The chairs were very common and cheap. I think that I could buy at Richardson's shop a sitting as good and as large as those which graced the Cathedral of St. Peter at Haarlem, for fifty cents. Everybody who visits Holland ought to see Broeck, a suburb of three hundred villas, six miles out of Amsterdam. The travelers, with their vehicles, stopped outside of the town. Its streets are only foot- paths, but each villa is embosomed in a parterre of flowers and statuary. No carriage or animal is allowed in its narrow streets; the wants of the inhabitants are supplied only by canals. No sound of hammer or shut- 1833.] UP THE RHINE. tie disturbs the repose. A motto, expressive of welcome or benedic- tion, is over every door. Alas ! no door was open to me ; nor did I meet, in Holland, anybody for whom the golden hinges had turned. The Museum at Amsterdam is inexhaustible in richness and variety. Only one people in the world have been able to shape out, in imagina- tion, a patron saint for children. That is the Dutch people ; and their creation is Santa Glaus. I think that only the people who could de- velop a Santa Glaus could^ produce the expressive, grotesque, and hu- morous art of the Dutch school. The Royal Palace, not now inhabited by the king, was interesting chiefly for its pictures, furniture, and statuary, reminding you of the brief and brilliant reign of Hortense and her husband, the unenter- prising and unambitious Louis Bonaparte. But I must not linger longer in reminiscences of Holland. We struck across the country, by diligence, from Amsterdam through Saardam and Utrecht to Nimeguen, on the right bank of the Rhine. At that place we found an army, waiting command to march against the seceding province of Belgium. War, however, was avoided, wisely as well as fortunately. There is only one political experience to which Belgium, with its ambitious and flourishing cities, Brussels and Ant- werp, could not reconcile itself, and that is, subjugation to Holland with its cities of Amsterdam and the Hague. Of course, the state of war required an examination of passports, and a close inspection of baggage. The former matter was easily settled ; but, when the Dutch officer demanded my trunk, I pointed it out to him, as it lay on the top of the huge diligence. He directed a young woman, who seemed not loath, to bring it down. Shocked at the idea of seeing such low and severe labor put upon a woman, I remon- strated ; but she ascended the ladder. I rushed upon it to bring down the baggage myself. She contended with me, and I was soon obliged to give up to her superior strength, and the superior argument, which I came at last to understand, that she had a professional title to the fee for the service. It is of no use to contend with these German women. They are as tenacious of the rights of their sex as our own woman's- rights women in America, only they take a different view of what those rights are ! The tour up the Rhine, by steamer, was then the most attractive feature of travel in Europe. Small but strong steamers, adapted to the shallow and powerful currents, navigated the river every day ; while their movement was so slow as to allow a distinct and leisurely contem- plative view of every hill, crested with its ruined tower or castle, and every dark and shaded valley, with its busy hamlet and terraced banks. Sitting on the deck, with a collection of legends in my hand, I studied 12 () AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. the history of each villa, and castle, and ruined monastery, until the whole voyage seemed to me only the changes of a varying but not alto- gether incoherent dream. I looked in at Diisseldorf, whose school of artists was just then lay- ing the foundation of its fame ; at Neuburg, the very prototype ofour own Newburg on the Hudson ; at Cleves ; then stopped, for a night and a day, at ancient, archiepiscopal Cologne. They told me that the cathedral, begun in 1248, was still in process of construction, and that, with the contributions of the pious, it would yet be completed. Contrary to what I supposed, I have lived to see it done ; and I think it, perhaps, the last that will be completed in Europe. I am coming to think it probable that these great ecclesiastical structures of Eu- rope will yet be surpassed in America, where no church or religion enjoys any special political privileges. Here for the first time I found myself in the land of the vine. The famous vineyards of Rudesheim, Johannisberg, and others, lay around me. I have never been quite able to understand why the manner of culture differs so much in the different climates propitious to the grape. In Italy, and the south of France, and Palestine, they leave the vine much of its natural shape and proportions, training it on trellises, or leaving it to spread over the trees. But on the banks of the Rhine the vines are planted about four feet apart, and are never suffered to grow more than five feet in height, nor to mingle their tendrils with each other. They say they produce more perfect fruit. Perhaps they ripen better under this discipline in a cold climate. Nevertheless, a cultiva- tor in Italy once told me he was satisfied that the German culture was better than the Italian, and said that a grape-vine ought to be so low that you can step over it, instead of being so high that you can walk under it. Coblentz, with the stupendous fortifications of Ehrenbreitstein, gave us our first evidence that we had entered Prussia. Then, passing the ruined castle of Lahnstein, I surveyed the then principalities of Hesse and Nassau. I know not whether I was more interested in the little town of Bingen, known to everybody by that most pathetic of all songs, " Bingen on the Rhine," or in the vine-clad ruins of the castles of Ehrenfels and Rheinfels, whose legends revive the always attrac- tive pictures of chivalry. Mayence, even then, might have interested me by its garrison and its trade. But I was interested more in the dwelling-house of Faust, and the palace which Napoleon occupied on the way to his disastrous campaign in Russia, not to speak of the tomb of the wife of Charlemagne. At Mayence I changed from the river back to the diligence, stopping at Frankfort-on-the-Main, and after- ward at Darmstadt, the capital of the then Hesse-Darmstadt. Its little court was then abroad, and the town was as dull as I suppose it is now. 1833.] IN THE SWISS MOUNTAINS. 121 I admired much the little town of Heidelberg, its elegant bridge em- bellished with statuary, and the river Neckar, covered with barges. Nor did I forget to look into the house, still standing, in which Luther slept when on his way to the Diet at Worms. We were now rising the mountain-slope into Switzerland. The country was fertile and beautiful. The crops seemed equally luxuriant, whether of grapes, Indian-corn, hemp, tobacco, oats, clover, or wheat. But I remarked everywhere that the labor was chiefly performed by women. The men had gone to the armies, or to plant new fields in the United States. Carlsruhe, surrounded with walnut-groves, was the beautiful capital of the grand-duchy of Baden, having in the back- ground the Black Forest, and, as we ascended the mountain, we con- templated with interest the ruined castle in which Richard Coeur de Lion was imprisoned on his return from the prusades. Here I began my pedestrian exercise, being able generally to keep in advance of the diligence. Reaching the summit I traced the now miniature Rhine up through a long, smiling valley, until I caught a view of the turrets of Basle. I was able to distinguish at once between the mountaineers of Switzerland and the peasant inhabitants of Germany. The accounts of disaffection in the canton of Basle toward the Swiss Republic led me to fear an immediate revolution. But this calamity was not to happen so soon. Is it true that no republic can exist except it embrace distinct and several republican states or can- tons ? Is it true that, originally, these cantons or states must all be independent of each other until they are federalized, under the press- ure of a common danger? And is it true that such confederations must always encounter the shocks of secession and anarchy resulting from a pertinacious adherence to the doctrine of state rights ? It is so, at least, in Mexico ; it has been so in the United States ; and it was so in Switzerland. The Protestant visitor at Basle will not fail to see the tomb of Erasmus. I followed a tributary of the Rhine through the cantons of Soleure and Berne to Berne. It was obvious that the people of Switz- erland were very poor. The mountains were crowned with ruins, but these structures .had generally been perpendicular, high towers ; not chateaux, like those which bordered the Rhine. The villages were dwarfed, old, and not cleanly ; the farmhouses dilapidated, generally consisting of one long, low stone or wooden building, whose roof covered not only the family dwelling, but also the barn, with stables for horses, cattle, and swine. The peasantry had as yet that marked uniformity of costume which only railroads obliterate. The scenery became exceedingly picturesque, the road, for leagues in extent, traversing declivities too sharp to allow dwellings. For the first time in Europe, I found the native forest and heard the stroke of AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. the woodman's axe, as I heard the music of waters in the deep ravines. The dwellings are isolated, with only a patch of cultivation. Some- times the dwelling would be in a dingle, of which the eye would ob- tain a glimpse at the angle of the road. At other times it would be on the hill, hundreds of feet above our heads. The horses of all vehicles, like those of our own diligence, had bells to warn the travelers of their approach. At night we rattled rapidly down a long, winding hill, at the foot of which we came to a solitary, rude stone structure of two stories. Leaving the horses in the basement, we climbed a ladder to the first floor. There were well-dressed ladies and gentlemen, but no servants visible. They were, in fact, a party who had come in before us, just in time to order their supper. One of the gentlemen was very active, arranging the table. To him I applied in English, being able to speak no other language, for coffee. He replied, out of a phrase- book, " You shall have coffee ; coffee is good at all times." I thought this waiter a more accomplished garpon than I had before found. At length supper was served, smoking hot, on two long tables. The other party seated themselves at one, and our party of the diligence at the other. Poultry, venison, coffee, tea, wine, for every taste. My gar$on served me assiduously and exclusively, and when, in answer to another inquiry from the phrase-book, I assured him that I was entirely content, he laid aside his apron, assumed his fashionable coat, and took his seat with the other party, to the infinite amusement of the joint assembly of travelers, who had all found themselves indebted to a Parisian gentleman for a good supper, as well as a good joke, at mid- night, in an auberge in the Swiss mountains. The way I discovered the joke was in his continually looking at me archly, and repeating the words, " Coffee is good at all times." Our night-ride w T as silent and cold. But, when the day dawned, we were slowly and carefully descending, by terraces, the declivity of Weissenstein, having on one side the rugged face of that mountain, and, on the other, scattered, scanty pasturages spreading out before a cottage which seemed inaccessible. Now we were in a valley, surrounded by mountains, and when we turned an abrupt angle one of the three beau- tiful lakes of Morat, Neufchatel, and Bienne, spread itself out at our feet. In the Lake of Bienne we caught a view of the little Island of St. -Pierre, which Rousseau selected for his retreat in exile from France. Passing the summit beyond Bienne, I obtained a comprehensive view, which embraced the Jura, as well as a long range of the Italian Alps. Mont Blanc was there, but lost in the clouds. I am sure I shall never forget Berne, encircled as it is by the Aar. The palace of the Federal Government of Switzerland is there ; the fountains, full of health and cleanliness, are there ; the clock is there, 1833.] GENEVA. 123 which gives you a dramatic performance of a cock crowing, a cavalry- march, a parade, and a waking warder, every day at noon. Fribourg and Avenches exhibited to me their antiquities, then peculiarly interesting to me, because if the expression is not an anachronism all antiquities were new to me, especially the triumphal arch erected in honor of Vespasian. Lord Byron, before me, had celebrated, in " Childe Harold," the monument of Julia Alpinula, an " unhappy daughter of an unhappy land." I arrived late at Lausanne, and, though I found a good bed at the Lion d'Or, how restless I was, when attempting to sleep on the shore of the Leman Lake, without yet having had a glimpse of its beauties ! The canton of Vaud is, I think, the largest of the Swiss cantons. The city of Lausanne contained then only about ten thousand inhabitants; and, though its streets were narrow and rough, yet it had been rendered very attractive by the villas of persons of wealth, learning, and refine- ment, from all parts of Europe. The view from the shore gives you the Alps, as well as the Jura Mountains. While I remained at Lausanne, the Federal troops marched out, to suppress the insurrection threatened at Basle. Although they were only a militia force, they were well disciplined ; and an examination which I then gave to the militia system of Switzerland confirmed me in the opinions of militia reform which at that time I was assiduously attempting to inculcate upon the Legislature at home. But, though I found Switzerland in advance of the United States in its system of military defense, I found a compensation in the fact that the Government had copied the penitentiary system then recently adopted by the State of Pennsylvania. Of course, I did not leave Lausanne without visiting the garden where Gibbon wrote the con- clusion of his splendid history ; and the chateau of Bon Repos, where Voltaire dwelt, and enacted his own tragedies, before going to reside at Sans-Souci with Frederick the Great. Recurring to the last in- cident inclines me to review the opinion, uncharitable to Dickens, which I formed when he, in the United States, recited his own in- imitable novels. Since Shakespeare acted parts in his own plays, and Voltaire in his, I am inclined to think,, now, that the dramatist ought to be a good, if not the best, actor. The first acquaintance I made at Geneva was a Pole, more grave and serious even than his countrymen of the present day habitually are. He was now fifty-three years old. When young, he went to attend the nup- tials of a very near friend. After the marriage ceremony, a scene of animated gayety came, in which this gentleman laid his hand on a mus- ket, supposed to be unloaded. The weapon discharged in his hand, and killed the bride. The bridegroom remained always afterward un- married, and the unhappy actor in the affliction became a wanderer. 124: AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. Except for its environs, Geneva was not then particularly beautiful. The Rhone, which flows in swift rapids through the city, is disfigured by wheels and laundry-apparatus. The town, at that day, maintained its strong fortifications, and kept its gates closed with as much jeal- ousy, at night, as Peking in China. This inconvenience mattered less, as Geneva is without trade, and chiefly occupied in the manufacture of watches. I was glad to see that Geneva, although its population was chiefly French, had not been demoralized by its compulsory submission to the arms of republican France, in 1798, and consequent incorpora- tion into the French Empire under the first Napoleon. I wonder if there has been any persecution for political, moral, or religious opinions, from which Geneva has not furnished an asylum ? One spends days there in following the footsteps of Calvin and Vol- taire ; and, when I was there last, it was filled with " Communist " and " Imperial " exiles from France. On leaving Geneva, one abruptly enters the Sardinian territory. I remarked then, as I have on a later visit, that you leave the Protestant Church behind you in Switzerland ; and the Catholic Church univer- sally prevails on the Italian side of the border. Chapels, crosses, shrines, and crucifixes, admonish you to devotion everywhere. The road to Mont Blanc follows the course of the Aar. At that day the dili- gence stopped at Sallenches ; and thence the tourist proceeded in a one- horse cart or chaise. But now the stage-road has been extended to Chamouni. I spent a night at the baths of St.-Gervais, situated in a ravine which Rip Van Winkle might have mistaken for his home in the Catskills. I turned from the music of the concert in the evening, to be entertained by an English gentleman, who had intimated a will- ingness to patronize, in that European company, the poor young American who could speak no French. He complimented me by ex- pressing his surprise to hear me speak English as well as an English- man ; assured me that he was gratified at being informed that there is an organized Episcopal Church in America; and condescended to hope that I might prove correct in a belief that the Christian religion can continue to exist in our country without a church establishment con- nected with the state. In one opinion that he expressed I am induced to think him correct. When, in answer to a question, I told him that the population of New York was two hundred thousand, he replied it was a great city, but it would be a long time yet before it would be as large as London. I retired early to slumbers, to which I was lulled by the notes of the harp and the piano within ; the dropping qf the rain, and the dash- ing of the mountain-cascade, without. CHAMOUNI. 125 1833. Chamouni. Mont Blanc. En Voiture. Politics in the Coupe. Paris. Scenes of Revolu- tionary Changes. The Tenants of the Tuileries. Lafayette in the Chamber of Depu- ties. Trying the Guillotine. Napoleon's Old Soldiers. The Orleans Family. The Pantheon. La Chapelle Expiatoire. Josephine's Cottage. I WAS earliest awake of all the inhabitants of St.-Gervais, except the chamois. But, though the rain had ceased, the weather was cloudy, and Mont Blanc refused to accept my homage. As I advanced up- ward in the mountain-road, I noticed that the only cereals cultivated were wheat and oats ; that large stores of hay were gathered for the winter ; while every cottage had a little orchard of dwarf apples, pears, or plums. The cattle were dwarfish also. The peasants of both sexes were clothed in woolen habits ; and the women and children industri- ously worked at their knitting and sewing while watching their cows, sheep, and goats, at pasture. I met not less than a dozen persons of both sexes of various ages, who were deformed with the goitre, a disease peculiar to mountainous districts. I think I cannot be mistaken, also, in thinking that idiocy prevails more in that mountain-region than in other parts of Europe. It was strange in those solitudes to see the truthful- ness of church-architecture preserved amid so much poverty. It was in the hamlet of St.-Servoz. The church had its rude Gothic arches of wood, its turrets of coarse masonry. Its images were the work of some village sculptor, and its pictures the daubs of an untrained hand. It was the Catholic Church, as distinct from all others, as it is seen in Rome. At length I surmounted the last summit, and, climbing upon a steep rock, looked down upon the lovely narrow valley of Chamouni, some eight or ten miles long, and not more than a mile wide, depressed between the Aiguilles and the group of mountains known as Mont Blanc. On the declivities of the mountains, at my right hand, hung the glaciers, which have remained there forever. Still, Mont Blanc, although immediately above that line of glaciers, was invisible. The valley of Chamouni, far more elevated than the Leman Lake, is three thousand feet above the sea. Of course, I climbed the Mont- anvert, and descended from it with spiked staves upon the treacherous Mer de Glace. It was then majestic, and well deserved its name. When I revisited it, nearly forty years afterward, the mountain-sides and valleys had been stripped of their forests, and the soil exposed to cultivation. The Mer de Glace was shrunk, and seemed little more than a congealed torrent in the deep ravine. It was not until I reached St.-Martin, at nine o'clock at night, on my way back from Chamouni, that the clouds rolled away and gave me a full view of Mont Blanc, its snows lighting my way. Returning to Geneva, I attended a concert of the National Music 126 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. Society, constituted under the patronage of the state, and heard the opera of " Fra Diavolo." I had the satisfaction to learn, before I left Switzerland, that the revolution which was breaking out at Basle when I passed through that place had been entirely suppressed. The special voiture was a pleasant mode of travel, which, I suppose, has disappeared before the march of railroads. The voiture has four inside seats, and two seats in the glass coupe in front. It is drawn by three horses, with one or more additional ones, obtained at post-houses, when necessary. The carriage traveled by day, and stopped at fixed distances for meals and lodging. My father and myself occupied the coupe ; and our fellow-travelers within were a young married pair of Belgians, and two very accomplished Genevese girls, going to join their parents, who had recently taken up their residence in Paris. Our route across the Jura Alps was over a military road, which had been constructed by Napoleon. As we traveled slowly, I walked nearly half-way to Paris, accompanied sometimes by other members of the party, more often alone. We stopped at Genlis and Dijon ; walked on the banks of the then dry canal of Burgundy ; rested at Auxerre, Joigny, and Sens ; admired, as everybody must, the vine-clad Cote d'Or. While I found the landscape in France had not been exaggerated, it was painful to contrast the poverty and rudeness of the villages and hamlets with those of our own country, or of England. One might easily read the recent history of France in the monuments we passed. In one town, an inscription on the H6tel-de-Ville records its erection in the reign of Louis XVI. An inscription in another bore the date of the consulate. A gateway at Auxerre is surmounted by a group em- blematic of the restoration of the Bourbons ; while on all sides and everywhere all the public edifices present the motto just then adopted by Louis Philippe, commemorating the recent expulsion of Charles X., "Libert'eet Ordre publique." On one of these walks I had got so far in advance of the carriage that I turned back to see whether any accident had befallen it. The coachman, who had been one of Napoleon's veterans, said he had stopped through fear that the young Englishman was lost. I said, mildly "I am not an Englishman." " What are you, then ? " I replied, "An American." " Oh," said he, " that's all the same thing." < No," said I, " America is a quite different country from England." He still insisted it was all the same. I said, "Where do you think America is?" " Oh ! I don't know," he answered, "where it is, but somewhere on the borders of England." 1833.] PARIS UNDER LOUIS PHILIPPE. 127 As we approached Paris I asked him who he supposed was ruling in Paris now. " I don't know," said he ; " Louis Philippe was king when I left Paris three weeks ago. God knows what they've got there now ! " These episodes amused my fellow-passengers, but did not excite them so intensely as one which occurred in the coupe in relation to American politics. My father, who, I think I have mentioned, had trained me up in the Jeffersonian school of politics, had always distrusted the wisdom of my deviations from that path. He had seen, as I had, the disastrous defeat throughout the Union, in the previous year, of all the combina- tions in which I had been engaged to defeat the reelection of General Jackson, and the success of Martin Van Buren, and his political associ- ates in New York. He took advantage of a long morning ride, as we sat together in the coup&, to discuss the new situation, which, in truth, I saw in no very different light from that in which he presented it, as at present unpromising and hopeless. Dwelling, like all of that school of politicians at that day, on the impregnability, if not the immaculateness, of the Republican party, and upon the imprudence of longer fighting against it, he said that this temporary separation of mine from political transactions at home would give me pause for change, and earnestly recommended to me, on my return to the United States, to declare my adhesion to the triumphant party. At first, I expressed my dissent from this advice, and parried the argument with which he supported it with the calmness which filial reverence commanded. But, finding his earnestness increase to vehemence, I became earnest also. The con- versation waxed louder, until all the passengers within became alarmed, and the French coachman thought it his duty to interpose. As none of them spoke English, we gave up the attempt at explanation, when we found that, besides an understanding of that language, our audience required an introduction into the mysteries of a system of politics en- tirely above their comprehension. Paris was not then the most splendid city in the world, as it became under the reign of Louis Napoleon. Its spacious and shaded boule- vards, indeed, were attractive, but all the other streets were low, nar- row, rudely paved, and worse lighted, and thronged with vagrants and mendicants. Even the boulevards were then disfigured, bearing marks of the recent revolution. Everything here, as I had already noticed in the country, reminded me of the frequency and violence of political changes. It may not be remembered that the site of the celebrated column in the Place Vendome was originally occupied by an equestrian statue of Louis XIV. That of Napoleon, which succeeded it, was thrown down in 1814. Louis Philippe, at the celebration just held, of the anniversary of the Revolution of 1830, had restored the statue to its 123 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. place, with great pomp and ceremony, and again conferred the name of Napoleon upon the street. In looking upon that splendid work of art, which was constructed of the captured cannon, and recited, in its bass-reliefs and inscriptions, the victories of France in the most memo- rable of her German campaigns, I could not but pity, as a weakness, the affectation which the founder showed in the inscription upon the base of the column, " Erected by Napoleon, Emperor Augustus." It would seem, from this, that the emperor fed his ambition with aspira- tions to imitate the conquering Octavius, just as his less talented and equally unfortunate successor, Napoleon III., stimulated his ambition by his studies of the life of Julius Ciesar. Napoleonism was manifestly the popular rage in Paris at this time. One might, even thus early, have forecast the second empire. Everybody that came to the Place Vendome bought pictures and descriptions of the column. " What is the price ? " said I. " Un sou." " Who strewed these immortelles over the pedestal ? " asked I. " Tout le monde," was the answer, and so indeed it seemed. At an early day I sought Galignani's reading-room, for American newspapers. Is it worth while to reproduce here the comments I then made, in Paris, on that morning's reading ? The angry controversies, the malicious political warfare, and the reckless party spirit, which distinguish our journals, and which at home excite more or less interest among all our citizens, sink into insignificance, except as a subject of regret and shame, when they reach us on this side of the Atlantic. I know nothing which does our country so much injury abroad as this everlasting obloquy, heaped upon the heads of patriots and statesmen of whom any nation might be proud. I am sure, could any one of our citizens who is in the habit of speculating so coolly upon the dissolution of the Union, and the establishment of other confederacies or states, but hear the alarm expressed, in every European country, by the friends of free and liberal government, and witness the exulta- tion of tories and loyalists, whenever anything occurs which indicates the disso- lution, which to him seems so tolerable, he would feel a degree of remorse and shame which would go very far to recall him from the fatal delusion. It is not until one visits old, oppressed, suffering Europe, that he can appreciate his own government; nor is it until he learns, from the lips of patriots here, the con- firmation of what he has so often heard at home, that he realizes the fearful responsibility of the American people to the nations of the whole earth, to carry successfully through the experiment which, with the prayers and blessings of the good, and wise, is to prove that men are capable of self-government. And if ho, in the folly of his heart, and under the excitement of supposed cause of complaint against the General Government, and false views of the importance of a member of the confederacy, dreams that a Northern or a Southern, an Eastern or a Western confederacy, or the independence of Massachusetts, or New i ork, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Carolina, or Georgia, would still be enough to ac- complish this great purpose of proving the capability of man for self-govern- 1833.] THE TUILERIES. 129 ment, lie would find that it is only as a whole, one great, flourishing, united, happy people, that the United States command respect abroad. Dissolve the Union, how or where we may, the experiment, so far as the rest of the world, if not ourselves, are concerned, is ended ; the members of it sink below the level of the South American states ; the cherished hopes of universal restora- tion of power to the governed are lost forever, and the chains of tyranny, now half broken and ready to fall off, will be riveted too strongly to be broken forever. I devoted a day to the Louvre, which had only shortly before given back to the despoiled nations the treasures of art which Napoleon had stolen from them. And I visited the Tuileries. It was not so much the magnificence of that palace as its historical associations which in- terested me. It seemed the central scene of the Revolution, begun in 1789, and, alas ! not yet finished. I remembered how it became the prison of Louis XVI. and his queen, after their short season of revelry and dissipation at Versailles ; how they escaped from it to the frontier, and were brought back in humiliation and shame by their exasperated subjects ; how they were removed from it when its security as a dun- geon failed ; how they found a temporary refuge only in the halls of the National Assembly, and thence passed through the prisons of the Temple to the guillotine. I thought how Napoleon, at first, cautiously made it an official residence as consul, and afterward inaugurated it as the imperial palace. I thought of the divorce of Josephine, who graced it as no other woman could ; of the marriage of Maria Louisa ; the birth of the King of Rome ; the hopes that it excited ; the defeat of Napoleon, and the downfall of the empire ; the short and hurried but eventful hundred days during which the restored Bourbons were ex- pelled, and the expelled Napoleon restored to the proud residence of kings ; then the setting of Napoleon's star forever ; and the successive revolutions which had caused the Tuileries again to receive tenants, chosen in a moment of popular excitement, and holding their possession at the fickle will of that versatile people. Louis Philippe occupied the palace then. When I next saw the Tuileries, after a lapse of twenty- seven years, the court of a second empire was there. In 1871 I saw it once more. It was in ashes, and I found a republican Government of France installed in the same palace at Versailles from which the populace of Paris had brought away the captured king and queen to occupy the Tuileries at the beginning of the great drama of revolution. Who can look at the ruins of the Tuileries, when this throng of reflections crowd upon his thoughts, without interest? Who that gives time to these reflections can for a moment doubt that, however unfit the French people may seem, however incapable of self-govern- ment the French nation may have proved itself, yet the age of monarchy, and even the period of imperialism, have passed ? 9 130 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. I shall hardly oe believed when I say that, in my first visit to Paris, I questioned the wisdom, not less than the taste, of the monumental boasting which pervaded that capital. Yet the notes I wrote censured the egoism of the monument in the Place Vendome, and deprecated further retaliation than Paris had yet suffered, in being compelled to restore the horses of St. Mark ravished from Venice, and the other trophies of Napoleon's Continental victories. One of these humiliations, more painful than all the rest, I saw on my last visit to Paris, in the Place de la Concorde. It may be remembered that the Place de Greve was the scene of the most atrocious of the cruelties of the Revolution. Every trace and relic of those cruelties having been removed, the Place de Greve received appropriately the name of Place de la Concorde ; and at its several corners the first Napoleon erected graceful monuments, emblematical of the chief external cities of France, Marseilles, Rouen, Havre, and Strasbourg. When I came there in 1871, I found a black drapery drawn over the name and statuary of Strasbourg. Paris has one consolation in this respect. When I first saw the Arc d'Etoile, which Napoleon had designed to be the most majestic of the monuments of Paris, it was in an unfinished state, and spoke less of the victories of Bonaparte than of his disappointed ambition. Louis Philippe was now completing it, according to its original design ; and the public sentiment required that it should be embellished with illus- trations of the achievements of its illustrious founder. I know not by what good fortune the monument escaped serious detriment from the German bombardment, and Communist violence, in the culminating calamities of France. In the Chamber of Deputies I inquired first for the seat of Lafay- ette. This great advocate of liberty in the two hemispheres had just separated from Louis Philippe, whom, as he suggested, France called to her throne. The breach occurred on the refusal of Louis Philippe to support a revolution in Poland, which refusal, Lafayette always rep- resented, was a violation of a promise that the king gave as a condi- tion of accession. Lafayette was then at the height of a popularity a third time renewed. Though infirm, he never failed to ascend the tribune when any profound political question was discussed. It was affecting, on such occasions, to see him painfully drag a feeble and trembling frame, worn by age and accident, hacked and marred like an old suit of iron armor. But when he had reached his ancient post he re- sumed at once his vigor and his benevolent smile. That smile and that peculiar utterance of his are indescribable. He preserved entire the chivalry, the courtesy, and the tact, of the ancient regime. But he combined with it the directness, the simplicity, and the sincerity, that we imagine to be characteristic of the ideal republic. Sometimes a modern parliamentarian, with a self-sufficient air, would select some 1833.] THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES. Revolutionary incident, and, separating it from its true connections, would shape an argument from it for some untenable or objectionable measure or principle. It was then that Lafayette would reinvest the incident, thus seized upon, with its true historical connection and col- oring, and thus by a simple narrative destroy the subtlest sophistry. Thiers was then in the ministry ; and it was amusing to see the great historiographer of the Revolution, in a debate of that kind, succumb before its great general, its living monument, Lafayette. While advo- cating a treaty of amity and commerce with the United States he re- marked : " It will be said that on this point I show myself an Ameri- can. Gentlemen, that is a title of which I am proud ! It is a title dear to my heart. But no one will ever, I believe, venture to tell me that it has made me forget that I am a Frenchman." I noticed in the Chamber a man sitting opposite the tribune, seem- ingly as old as the structure itself, his silver hair falling back on a black habit, which was girt up with a large tricolored scarf. This was the old messenger who had done the errands of the Legislature of France under all its changes of name and constitution since the com- mencement of the Revolution, preserving all the while, as such inferior officers are accustomed to, a due esprit de corps. He delighted in speaking of " the good Monsieur de Robespierre." The only disease of his advanced age was his inclination to sleep, during this dull adminis- tration of the juste milieu. He slept even when Mauquin spoke. But, whenever Lafayette rose to the tribune, the old messenger started in- stantly from his slumbers, as animated as a cavalry -horse when he hears the bugle-call. Sweet recollections of youthful days revived ; and through the whole debate he eagerly inclined his hoary head to catch every word of the speaker. I think it is only the French who pass gracefully, as well as quickly, " From grave to gay, from lively to severe." We found the house of the public executioner. He politely told us that we could not appreciate the guillotine's excellence without trying it ; and for that purpose it would be necessary for him to procure three assistants with one sheep, which would involve an expense of fifteen francs. We paid the money and saw, to his satisfaction as well as our own, the working of the instrument which had executed the fearful Revolutionary judgments upon Louis XVI., his heroic queen, Robes- pierre, the inventor of the machine itself, and a thousand other vic- tims. They still preserve at Mount Vernon the keys of the Bastile. I found a fountaijn, in the shape of an elephant, upon the site of that odious prison. A visit to the Hotel des Invalides was as instructive as it was inter- 132 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. esting. The inmates of this great military charity were allowed to in- dulge all the esprit de corps of the actual service. I was allowed to enter all the rooms in the absence of their proper tenants, and to see the soldiers at their rations. No visitor could enter the ward where retired or decayed officers were dining. But soldiers and officers, all alike, were delighted with the opportunity to tell the praises of their great chief. They told me that Napoleon had planned to convert the large and beautiful court which lies between the Hotel des Invalides and the Seine into a garden, and to have contrasted its foliage by thousands of marble statues of illustrious soldiers of France. This I thought at the time apocryphal ; but I came to believe it true after- ward, when his remains were deposited there, in conformity to his dying request that he might be buried " on the banks of the Seine, in that beautiful France he loved so well." The Palais Royal, like the Tuileries, might serve as a text for a homily. In the centre of Paris, a monument of its builder, Cardinal Richelieu, the cradle of Louis XIV., and covering sixteen acres of ground, this splendid palace, with a reservation of a portion of the upper chambers for a private residence, was converted, by Philippe Egalite, into a great bazaar ; and filled with merchants, shopkeepers, cafes, barber-shops, theatres, tailors, hatters, valets, and boot-blacks. Confiscated with its rents by the republic, on the execution of its pro- prietor, and afterward appropriated by the empire, it was restored in the time of Louis Philippe to his family ; again seized by the second empire, and bestowed as a princely home on King Jerome, with suc- cession by the Prince Napoleon. It was in 1871 reduced to ashes by the violent rage of the Com- munists. At my first visit it had, for an American, one pleasing feat- ure : its walls were graced with a series of elaborate paintings, pre- senting marked incidents in the history of the Orleans branch of the Bourbon family. Among these was one which commemorated the re- ception of Dr. Franklin at the Palais Royal ; and another, the return of the then King Louis Philippe, in 1814, from his exile in the United States. Louis Philippe was possessed, as everybody knows, of immense wealth. He was a man of exemplary morals, fine talents, and exten- sive learning. He was, moreover, a careful manager of his estates and revenues. His opponents, I know not how justly, called him mean and penurious. In every country the throne is popularly regarded as the fountain, not only of honors, but of wealth. The virtue of a king is measured, not even by what he saves for the state, much less what he saves for himself, but by what he gives to his subjects. All political questions aside, I think Louis Philippe would have fallen before the complaint of avarice. Having, in later life, formed an interesting ac- 1833.] NOTRE-DAME AND THE PANTHEON. 133 quaintance with the Orleans princes of this day, it is not without pleas- ure that I have reverted to the account which I wrote in 1833 of the Orleans family : " The king has done much to reform the grossest out- rages against decency and public morals in the management of the Palais Royal, although enough is yet seen, from every window of the state apartments, to shock and disgust its inmates. The queen is above suspicion and reproach of any sort, universally respected and beloved. The young princes also are popular ; they attend the public schools and colleges, and they compete there with the plebeians an emulation in which, to their great credit it is said, they ably sustain themselves, by force of talent and application." I should like to know who invented, and how long ago, the table of the zodiac. In Notre-Dame I found it adorning the portal of the church. What a curious and yet speaking conceit it was, that the cir- cumference contained only eleven of the signs, while that of Virgo was transferred conspicuously to the centre ! Many years afterward I found the table of the zodiac distinctly presented among the hiero- glyphics on the ceiling of an ancient Egyptian temple. It varied from the modern table only in having some other figure substituted for Libra. Notre-Dame seems an enduring provocation to the Republican party. It suffered great devastation of decorations and relics in the Revolution of 1793; so again in 1830, when the Archiepiscopal Palace was demolished. In 1871 I found it protected by a military guard against the Communists. The delirium of revolution has left no monument so significant as the Pantheon. When founded, it was the church of St.-Genevieve, and dedicated to religion. The republic seized it, and, under the name of the Pantheon, inscribed upon its lofty pediment : " Dedicated^ by a grateful country, to its illustrious men" Marble sarcophagi, filled with the dust of statesmen, scholars, and warriors, were heaped up in its vaulted basement. Surrounded by these, but separated from them and from each other, when I visited the Pantheon, were two wooden coffins, elaborately carved, but even then falling into dust. One of these contained the ashes of Voltaire ; the other the remains of Rousseau. I have since read that both the coffins have been despoiled of their sacred treasure. On the restoration of the Bourbons the edifice was again conse- crated by the Archbishop of Paris, as the church of St.-Genevieve. Public worship was celebrated there until 1830, when its Christian name was again abolished, and the heathen name of Pantheon restored. Christian worship was excluded from it, and the temple reverted to its republican use, a Westminster for France. I think no one who sees Paris fails to visit the Chapelle Expiatoire, 134: AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. which covers the remains, real or supposed, of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette. On each side of the choir is a monumental altar. On one of these is inscribed that affecting piece of composition, so marked by Christian resignation, faith, and charity, the will of Louis XVI.; on the other, that no less touching memorial, the last letter of Marie An- toinette to the Princess Elizabeth. When Paris is tranquil its people seem most humane and gentle. So far as I could learn, the whole French people regarded the violent fate of those monarchs with horror. It was a common expression that the Revolution was a season of universal madness. Perhaps it is ow- ing to the strong influence of this sentiment that this little chapel has never been disturbed. In my wanderings through Paris I looked upon a scene which, al- though it has since been entirely obliterated, I shall never be able to forget. In the Rue Chartreuse I passed through a wooden fence, pick- otod with Roman fasces, up a long, narrow, shaded avenue, into a cot- tage-house of octagon form, one story high, with only three or four rooms, and surrounded by a neglected garden. It seemed to have been long closed; its walls, porches, and piazza, exhibited faded frescoes of consular emblems and ornaments. It was the dwelling which Napoleon occupied with Josephine before his political career began ; and the perishing adornments reminded me how the imperial system here, as in Rome, affected assimilation to the consular regime. At the end of the little garden was a small marble bust of Napoleon, the base of which bore this inscription : " In hac minima jam maximus plus quam maxima concepit" I looked in vain for the picket fence and its in- closure in my subsequent visits to Paris ; they were gone. The Jardin des Plantes was, I think, the model of institutions de- voted to the cultivation of natural science, which have since become common in European capitals. No wonder that Paris, combining its admirable system of lectures with institutions of this kind, became a school for all nations. Paris had already a national opera ; and its theatre surpassed the English stage then not less than now. 1833. A Visit to La Grange. Lafayette's Affection for America. His Family. His Conversation and Habits. His Description of the Revolution of 1830. Views of French Politics, Past and Future. " I HASTEN to welcome you on your arrival in France, and I hope, with my family, to have the pleasure of receiving you at La Grange. Meanwhile, I expect to be in Paris on Wednesday next, for only one 1833.J A VISIT TO LAFAYETTE. 135 day, and will receive you there at my own house, or will wait upon you at your hotel, as may be agreeable to you." This was General Lafa- yette's note received by post a few days after we came to Paris. We repaired to his house in the Rue d'Anjou, St.-Honore, early on Wednesday, so as to anticipate his coming to our lodgings. A servant seated us in the antechamber, as expected guests. We waited there, however, nearly half an hour, but not without receiving from the gen- eral an apology for the delay. When he came in, he said that the gentleman whom he had just dismissed was a Polish general officer, " who always comes to converse with me, when I come to town, on the condition of his unhappy country." Pressing my hands warmly, he said, " I am happy to see you again ! " Did the venerable guest of the United States actually remember the young militia adjutant, who attended him in his progress from the Cayuga Bridge to Syracuse in 1825 ? Or did he benignantly assume that, in the general acclamations with which he had been received in the United States, he had met every citizen who could by any possi- bility come to Paris ? He conducted me at once to his bedroom. This apartment, as well as the antechamber, was furnished in the simplest fashion. On the wall hung a copy of the " Declaration of Independence." The ante- chamber was graced only with two busts one of Washington, the other of Lafayette. He walked with difficulty, owing to an old fract- ure. His complexion was fresh, and he seemed more vigorous and animated than when in the United States. After inquiring concerning my voyage and health, he said, " And how did you leave all my friends in America ? " I replied, " The question is too broad." I could answer, however, for the continued health and usefulness of those who had given me letters to him. He renewed the invitation to visit La Grange. When I expressed a desire to decline it through a fear of trespassing on his kindness, he declared that he had a right, and his family had a right, to a visit from every American who came to Paris. I must go to La Grange. He would not have a doubt left upon it. He adverted to the then recent political convulsion in South Carolina, but took care to refer fo no one of the politicians who had been prominent in the conflict. He said the suspense suffered by the friends of republicanism in Europe, on that occasion, was dreadful, and his own position exceedingly embarrassing. The reactionists of every country in Europe exulted in the anticipated overthrow of the United States, upon whose stability the liberals of the whole world had staked their all. He expressed himself in language of the highest friendship con- cerning many statesmen, living and dead, who had belonged to dif- ferent political parties. 136 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. It was only when seeing Lafayette at home that one could come to realize the truly paternal character which he held toward the American people. His affection and solicitude were for the whole nation, and he seemed unwilling to dwell on the party controversies with which it is disturbed. While listening to him I yielded for the moment to a belief that, if he could remain among us, his teachings and example would inspire us with mutual forbearance, and lift us to higher purity of purpose. Doubtless this was an error. Political controversies seldom or never yield to such soothing and redeeming influences. Even Lafayette, if among us, would retain only so much influence as he could exert by casting it on the side of one political party or the other. Nor is the case different now. We have " Moses and the prophets ; " if we will not hear them, neither would we "be persuaded though one rose from the dead." It was with not less of surprise than of gratification that I listened to the general, while he told the events of the three days' Revolution in 1830, with as much simplicity as if the recital concerned only a vil- lage commotion. "It has been said," he remarked, "that I made Louis Philippe king. That is not true ; it is true, however, that I consented he should be king ; and, without that consent, he could not have been. It was not without hesitation that I gave that consent. But what was to be done ? The people had achieved a revolution. In the Chamber of Deputies there was a large majority of Liberals " (Lafayette called them Whigs) ; " there were many Republicans among them, but such a horror of republicanism existed in France, resulting from the terrible scenes of the republic of '93, that nobody was willing to renew the experi- ment so soon. It was the earnest desire of all to have the revolution ended, because, although the people had behaved with the greatest moderation and prudence thus far, yet painful apprehensions were en- tertained that turbulence and anarchy would ensue, and the bloody scenes of '93 be reenacted if a government should not be immediately established. " What was to be done ? " repeated Lafayette. " The only one of the Bonaparte family whom it would be practicable to call to the throne was the Duke de Reichstadt. He was a valetudinarian, a minor, in the hands of the Austrians, who had educated him. Naturally, it was be- lieved that he was imbued with the principles and prejudices of that court. Besides, the name of Bonaparte awakened recollections of a military despotism. The throne of a new Bonaparte must be rendered secure by a return to the principles and policy of the empire, and thus there were insuperable objections to a restoration of the Napoleonic dynasty. We could not safely proclaim a republic ; we had no reliable 1833.] LAFAYETTE AND LOUIS PHILIPPE. 137 republican army ; nor could a government of this form at that time secure popular confidence ; and we knew well that, so soon as it should be established, we should have all Europe combined against us. Louis Philippe preoccupied the attention of all the actors in the Revolution. I was little acquainted with him ; I knew that, in his youth, he had been a republican ; that he possessed talents and information ; and, although a little too fond of money, yet that he had hitherto conducted himself with dignity and propriety, especially in America. The gen- eral sentiment indicated Louis Philippe ; but it was agreed that before he should be created king he should be sounded ; and that he should be bound to a constitutional monarchy, which should be so framed as to constitute a distinct advance toward a republic. I left the people at the H6tel-de-Ville and visited Louis Philippe. The first thing he said to me was, l General Lafayette, what is to be done ? ' I said, ' You well know that I am a republican, and that I think the Constitution of the United States the best government ever devised by man.' * I think so, too,' replied Louis Philippe, ' and any person who should be in America for two years, as I have been, must be convinced that the American Government is the best possible one. But what shall be done ? You know,' continued he, ' the prejudices and fears that the people entertain against the republic. We cannot depend on the army. Half the troops are Carlists ' (friends of Charles X., just dethroned), 1 and we shall have all Europe down on us as soon as we proclaim a republic.' ' I answered,' continued Lafayette, ( I am aware of all this ; and I think, therefore, that insomuch as it is most desirable to consummate the revolution, and give quiet to France, it is best to establish at present a monarchy, with as many limitations as are possi- ble, and to surround it with republican institutions, which will prepare the way for establishing a republic as soon as it can be done with pru- dence.' Louis Philippe declared, * These are indeed my own thoughts on the situation.' " I returned to the H6tel-de-Ville, and announced to the people there that the sentiments of the Duke of Orleans accorded with our own ; and, as you know, he was then made king. We made him swear to a charter containing two fundamental principles : one, the responsi- bility of the Government to the people ; the other, universal suffrage. He pledged himself that laws should be passed to begin the work of general education immediately. I did not wish to accept the office of lieutenant-general of the kingdom ; but it seemed necessary, to satisfy the people, and attach them to the Government ; besides, by declining it, I should furnish ground for a suspicion that I wanted to be king myself. I therefore accepted it ; and for a short time all went on well. Louis Philippe promised to support Italy, and the liberal cause throughout Europe. Excited by our example and success,'' said La- 138 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. fayette, " the republican cause asserted itself in Poland, Belgium, and Italy. It met the resistance we had anticipated, and looked to us for support. Louis Philippe had not courage to support it, as he had prom- ised. I remonstrated. He shrank from it, and finally abandoned the republicans of those countries to their fate. Then he became very desirous that I should resign. His supporters entertained, or affected, apprehension that the office I held might, in the hands of my successor, prove dangerous ; but they were unwilling to deprive me of it. I was more desirous to resign than they were that I should. Louis Philippe had already begun to lay the foundation of a new Bourbon dynasty, which should be perpetual ; instead of wielding the government in such manner as to bring in the republic, as he had promised me to do. In this I would have no part. I was a citizen of the United States, a republican. My name was associated with the cause of liberty and republicanism wherever that name was known. I never sought or held office merely for the sake of office, under any government. I could not now retain it without lending my sanction, whatever might be its worth, to the principles of the new dynasty. I therefore re- signed. Louis Philippe has since said that he made no preparatory engagements with me concerning the principles of his government. As soon as I learned this reliably, I sent him word that I should no longer go to the Tuileries." La Grange adjoins Rosoit, a village of two thousand inhabitants, and distant thirty miles from Paris. The chateau, three stories in height, is built on the three sides of a square, and at each angle is flanked by a circular tower. It is surrounded by a moat, with military drawbridges. The front wall is covered with an ivy which was planted by Charles James Fox. Two small brass cannon guarded the staircase. They were trophies, taken from the royal troops, in the three days' revolution, by the people of Paris, and presented to General Lafayette. The staircase was decorated with flags, tricolored and American. I was received by the general, Madame Maubourg his daughter, and two of his grandsons, in a parlor still more plainly furnished than the one in Paris. It contained busts of Washington and Franklin, and some American maps, and also portraits of all the Presidents of the United States. The library was filled with American books ; the sleeping- rooms had only pictures of American battle-scenes, on land and sea, Mount Vernon, John Hancock's house, and Quincy. Other members of the family soon appeared, and I had a welcome from all at La Grange. The general said : " I did not visit Colonel Burr, when he came to Paris ; he had lately conspired against one of my friends, Mr. Jefferson ; and had killed another, Colonel Hamilton." In making this remark, he indicated not the least consciousness of the mutual an- tagonism of those eminent statesmen. He spoke again and more freely 1833.] THE FAMILY AT LA GRANGE. 139 of Louis Philippe ; and alleged that the king had distinctly engaged to him that the new monarchy should be surrounded by republican institutions, and be only temporary, so as to prepare the way for a Republic. " But," said Lafayette, " the king has chosen to build up a dynasty ; and so he has made a bad choice. Had he fulfilled his en- gagements, he might have been king twenty-five years ; but, in trying to make his dynasty perpetual, he will lose all. In the former case, the Revolution of France would have ended in four acts ; now it will be five. Louis Philippe and his dynasty are sure to come down some time, and that not far off. I do not think they have twenty years to reign." If this prophecy was at fault in anything, it was in limiting the Revolution of France to five acts. It has already passed through five, and th.e end is not yet. At dinner we had the entire family, twenty-two persons. The general sat opposite the centre of the table, Madame Maubourg and Madame Perier at either end. The viands and the wine, with the ex- ception of champagne and Madeira, were the products of La Grange. Lafayette entertained the party with an account of his progress through the United States, with vivid descriptions of the country. " I never think," said he, " of Niagara Falls, without feeling a wish to buy Goat Island, and live there." Madame Maubourg described to me the Castle of Olmutz, and her stay there, with her mother and sister, during her father's imprisonment. She told, in the simplest manner, but with touching effect, how the agent of the Prussian Government came to the prison and offered Lafayette his release, on condition that he should renounce republicanism. " I will subscribe no declaration," said La- fayette, " inconsistent with my duties as an American citizen." After an hour and a half, we retired to the drawing-room, where the evening was spent in cheerful conversation on books, music, art, and political events. Precisely at ten o'clock each member of the family, old and young, kissed the general, and he retired. In taking leave of me for the night he said, " We breakfast at ten o'clock." I found my bed- room, in the upper story of one of the towers, daintily prepared ; the curtains were dropped, arm-chair and slippers before the fire, and the bed-coverings turned down. When I came to breakfast every one inquired if I had been out. The general, they said, always rose at six. All the gentlemen, and some of the ladies, had been abroad on the plantation. From break- fast we repaired to a bower on the lawn. Mdlle. Clementine, a daugh- ter of George Washington Lafayette, conducted me to an artificial lake, shaded by evergreens, where we passed an hour in rowing. The general met us on our return. He walked with us over the plantation, which contained eight hundred acres. It was in fine order, and man- aged with perfect economy. All the animals were carefully housed ; 140 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833. even the acorns were stored for the swine. He had another larger farm in the south of France, on which his son resided. Regular daily accounts of both were kept at La Grange, and were examined and posted every Saturday, the domestic expenses being carefully super- vised and regulated by the daughters. The morning closed with Lafayette's exhibition to me of his mu- seum of American presents. Among these he seemed especially pleased with a vase presented to him by the officers of the Brandy- wine, and a volume published in New York in commemoration of his reception in the United States. This exhibition ended with a visit to the beautiful barge presented to him by the Whitehall boatmen of New York as a trophy of their victory over the Thames boatmen in New York Harbor. It bore an inscription, which recited the wager, the names of the victors, and the fact of its presentation to him. He had built a house over it, and inclosed it with an iron network, protect- ing it even from the touch of visitors. "Tell the Whitehallers I have their boat safe," said Lafayette, " and it will last longer than I shall." I took my leave of the general and his family that night at ten o'clock, preparatory to a departure at six the next morning. I was surprised, while taking my coffee before daylight, by a summons to his bedroom, where I found him, in a white-flannel undress, engaged with his correspondence, of which he showed me a letter he had just re- ceived from Madame Malibran. I said to him, "We constantly cherish a hope that you will come back to the United States." " My dear sir," said Lafayette, " it would make me very sad to think I should never see America again, but you know how it is. I am confined to France for two or three years by my office, as a mem- ber of the House of Deputies ; and in that time what may happen only God knows ! " With these words he threw his arms around me, and, kissing me affectionately, bade me good-by. He died during the next year. I think it a subject of great satis- faction that I thus enjoyed a personal and even intimate acquaint- ance with Lafayette, so heroic an actor in our Revolution, and the only one of the patriotic movers of the great Revolution in France who survived the first four acts of that yet unfinished drama, and who throughout all those vicissitudes was consistent with his own character and principles. 1833-'34.] RETURNING HOME. 1833-1834. Home again. Colonel Swartwout. Protecting Settlers in the Court of Errors. Jackson's Progress. Edward Livingston. Abolition of Slavery in the West Indies. Coloniza- tion and Antislavery Movements. Eemoval of the Deposits. Dissolution of the Anti- masonic Party. MY journey from Paris to Havre was by diligence, resting at night at Rouen, whose monuments are so rich in the memories of the won- derful story of Jeanne d'Arc and the chivalrous campaign of Henry V. At dinner the passengers sat four at each table. Two young Englishmen talked so volubly and appropriated to themselves so large a share of the entertainment, that I asked them of what particular college at Oxford they were speaking. They answered Christ College, and politely asked whether I was educated there. On my replying in the negative they put me through a catechism as to the college I had been educated in, mentioning most of the colleges and universities in Europe. At last I said that I was graduated at Union College. As they had never heard of that, I told them that it was in Schenectady. " Sche-nec-ta-dy ! where is that ? " 11 In the State of New York." " New York ? " said one of them ; " why, that's in America ! Then you live in America ? " " Yes," I replied. " Why, Tom, only think of that ! Here is a gentleman who lives in America. Perhaps he has seen Niagara Falls. Have you seen Niagara Falls ? " "Yes, I live near the falls, and see them three or four times a year." " O my God ! " he exclaimed, " how I do wish I could see Niagara Falls!" We were close friends, those young travelers and I, from that time. After remaining a fortnight at Havre I sailed with my father, whose health had been somewhat improved, on the ship Sully, arriving at New York after a voyage of thirty-two days. The voyage was rough and stormy, and, with all my eagerness to get an early sight of the light at Sandy Hook at midnight, I was driven from the deck by the bleak- ness of the blast. There was sunshine, however, when we reached the wharf the next afternoon. I saw the baggage quickly placed on carts. There were no coaches or hacks in waiting, and, as I had learned cau- tion and carefulness in European travel, I mounted the cart with my baggage, and was first seen in that situation by friends and acquaint- ances in the streets as I passed to the custom-house. The collector was Colonel Samuel Swartwout, who afterward fell 14,2 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833-'34. into irredeemable disgrace as a defaulter. He was bland and cour- teous, and his knowledge of my father and myself influenced him to give our trunks a quick clearance a compliment which had not been accorded to us anywhere abroad. My mother awaited us at my elder brother's, who then resided in New York. My first impressions on landing were discouraging enough. The public edifices and the dwellings of New York, built generally of brick and wood, seemed low and mean, the equipages cheap and vulgar, the streets narrow and dirty. The placards showed that the State elec- tion was going on ; that my political friends were cowed and recreant ; and that the party of the Administration were enjoying an easy and complete triumph. I had time to spend only a few days with my family at Au- burn before taking my seat in the Court of Errors. Addressing my- self directly to my judicial duties, I heard all the causes, and took my part in the decision of them. There was one cause which gave me much anxiety. In the centre of the State around Auburn, the lands which had belonged to the Six Nations, when their possessory title was extinguished, belonged to the State of New York, and had been divided and distributed in lots, each of one mile square, to the officers and soldiers of the New York line in the Revolutionary War. Generally speculators had bought these lots for small sums of money while they remained wild, and had sold them at large advances to poor and humble men, who held them at prices continually advancing with the improvement of the country. A flourishing village in Onta- rio County was built by such purchasers on one of these lots, every part of which had thus become very valuable. A custom had, at that time, universally obtained in the State in regard to the sale of land upon credit, by which the owner in fee entered into a conditional con- tract with the purchasers, agreeing to sell them certain defined por- tions, on credit of several years, but permitting them to enter into immediate possession, and derive from the improvement and cultivation of the lands the means to pay for them ; the deeds were to be given when the lands were fully paid for. A mercantile creditor of the owner of the lot in question brought an action in the Supreme Court to recover a debt due him, and he at the same time filed in the office of the Register in Chancery a bill to set aside the title of that owner for fraud, giving no actual notice of this litigation to the persons who had settled on these lands under contracts of sale. The litigation between these two original parties continued all the time during which the lands were being improved and the village was built. The creditor finally obtained a decree in the Court of Chancery by which the title of the owner was declared fraudulent and void. He then caused all the lands to be sold on execution, becoming the pur- 1833-'34.] THE ONTARIO SETTLERS. chaser thereof, to satisfy his judgment. The occupants refused to leave the lands. He brought actions of ejectment in the Supreme Court, to recover the lands. He proved in these actions that he had complied with existing laws, by filing in the register's office of the Court of Chancery a written notice of Us pendens, that is to say, of the fact that he had instituted his suit in chancery. The Supreme Court, upon this showing, rendered judgment in favor of the complainant, and directed an eviction of the occupants of the land, who, in the mean time, having had no actual knowledge of the litigation, had made the payments stipulated in their several contracts, and taken absolute deeds, in fee, for the premises. The tenants brought a writ of error to the Court of Errors, to reverse the judgment of the Supreme Court in these actions. One cause was argued, to test the principle of all. On the hearing of this cause, it was the duty of the judges of the Supreme Court to inform the Court of Errors of the reasons of their judgment ; but they had no voice in the review. The Chancellor only, with the Senators, sat in review. The practice that obtained in the Court of Errors was probably .derived from an analogous proceeding in the House of Lords in Eng- land. The opinions of the Chancellor were generally accepted by the Senators in reviewing alleged errors of the Supreme Court, and, vice versa, the court accepted the opinions of the judges of the Supreme Court in revision of the decisions of the Chancellor. No case had ever occurred in which a majority of the Senate had disagreed with the Chancellor when he declared his opinion in favor of affirming a de- cision which had been unanimously made by the Supreme Court. It was not a habit of the members of the Court of Errors to confer with each other with a view to obtaining an agreement in opinion, although, when a cause was argued, a member of the court would naturally state to others sitting near him the impressions which were made upon him by the arguments of counsel. In this way, I incidentally learned enough of the views of the Chancellor to satisfy me that his final opin- ion, in the present case, would be in favor of affirming the judgment of the Supreme Court. Shocked at the hardship and injustice of evict- ing the occupants of the lands in question from their dearly-earned and valuable possessions, upon a ground which was merely technical, while they were not only innocent but meritorious purchasers, and in a case entirely new, there being no precedent for it, I sounded my brother Senators, and found them all conscientiously affected as I was ; but each one declaring that he could not satisfactorily controvert the rea- sons which the Chancellor was to give for affirming the judgment. In replying to them I said : " The case is entirely new. I think we can make an argument in which I can show that we may safely place the 144 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833-'34. tenant who is in actual occupation, under a written contract, on the footing of a grantee or mortgagee of record, entitled to actual notice, or not to be affected by the mere constructive notice of Us pendens" The Senators who were members of the bar declared their unwill- ingness to make such a statement of reasons, but their willingness to concur with me if I should do so. Accordingly, I drew up an opinion, and confidentially submitted it to each member of the court who was a lawyer, and received his promise to sustain the opinion by his vote. It was a thrilling scene when the cause was decided. The Chancellor read a strong opinion, in favor of affirmance, and sat down by the side of the judges, all of whom looked a unanimous concurrence. Senator Levi Beardsley, sitting by me, said, "Now, Seward, call out the militia !" I, the youngest, not only of the lawyers, but of all the Senators, read the opinion which I had prepared, all the other members remaining silent. The roll was called, and the vote stood : For affirm- ing the judgment of the Supreme Court, the Chancellor ; for reversing it, Mr. Seward and all the other members of the court ! It is due, perhaps, to the legal profession and the legislators of the State to say that this decision, so equitable and so beneficent, has ever since been acquiesced in, and continues, unshaken and unquestioned, as a conclusive and final precedent. From the Court of Errors I passed, on the 1st of January, 1834, to the duties of my last year in the Senate of New York. This year was marked by more than the usual political vicissitudes. Opening under circumstances of overwhelming embarrassment, it changed rapidly to scenes of high enthusiasm and hope, and closed in a disappointment which might well have deterred me from reentering the political field thereafter. Some important political events had occurred during my absence from the country, among which were the following : Flushed with the well-deserved praises of the party opposed to him in the Northern States, and a respectable portion of his own party in those States, for the boldness, vigor, and energy, with which he had wielded the Execu- tive arm of the Government in suppressing nullification in South Caro- lina, General Jackson, early in the summer, following the precedent set by President Monroe, began a popular progress through the Northern and Eastern States. His party, which had dropped all other names and assumed that of the " Democratic party," in the Northern States, while they rejoiced in the suppression of nullification, were by no means prepared for demonstrations of approval of that measure, which should be offensive and tend to alienate the nullifiers themselves from the party, and turn them over to the opposition. Jealousies arose from this cause when it was seen that the President was receiving too de- monstrative and hearty a welcome from the opposition. 1833-'34.] MOVEMENTS AGAINST SLAVERY. 145 Owing to this, as it was said at the time, the President, at Concord, abruptly brought his progress to a close, and hastened back to the capital in the quickest and quietest manner possible. John Quincy Adams, always active, industrious, and vigorous, now released from all former partisan associations and obligations, threw himself into the lead of the Antimasonic party, and addressed an able and powerful series of letters to Edward Livingston on the subject of masonry. Livingston was then Secretary of State, and arrived at the acme of his great fame by being recognized as the real author of the President's proclamation and other state papers directed against nulli- fication. The form of Mr. Adams's address to Mr. Livingston in those letters was, " Edward Livingston, Grand High-Priest of the General Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the United States, and Secretary of State of the said States." Mr. Livingston was silent, and thus ignored this challenge. Other eminent statesmen, among them Richard Rush and Edward Everett, followed Mr. Adams into the same field. The Antimasonic party showed much vigor in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont. On the other hand, the President had, in a letter of com- pliment to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, declared that, in his opinion, the Masonic society was an institution " calculated to benefit mankind," and he trusted it would continue to prosper. At the same time, in all those portions of the State of New York and other States into which the Antimasonic debate had extended, the institution sur- rendered ; dissolving its chapters and lodges, devoting its halls and temples to secular uses, and selling its regalia ; so that Mr. Hammond, the impartial historian of that period, impressed by these facts, declared, in his history, published in 1842, that the institution " had, in point of fact, ceased to exist." The sixty years' labors of the abolitionists of Great Britain cul j minated, this year, in an act of Parliament, which abolished African slavery in the West Indies, and awarded an indemnity of twenty mill- ion pounds sterling to the slaveholders. Three simultaneous move- ments against slavery in the United States excited more or less atten- tion : 1. Israel Lewis, with scanty subscriptions by scattered individuals, founded, in Chatham, Upper Canada, a colony of fugitive slaves, and occasionally this settlement received an immigrant by what later was known as " the Underground Railroad." 2. A very imposing official organization, embracing good and ear- nest men of all parties and in all the States, had been made, under the name of the " American Colonization Society," which had for its ob- ject the establishment of a free republic in Liberia, to consist of freed- men from the United States ; and contemplated nothing less than an 10 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833-'34. ultimate transfer of the entire negro element from the United States to its native continent. 3. William Lloyd Garrison, Arthur Tappan, Lewis Tappan, and others, justly, I think, conceived the idea that this plan of colonization was practically impossible, and that its operation would be to remove out of the United States only a few manumitted slaves, and so leave the great slave population without popular aid or sympathy. They, therefore, organized an antagonistical institution, which they called the " American Antislavery Society," and inscribed on their banner the watchword of " Immediate and universal emancipation." The first of these three movements was conducted without ostenta- tion, and almost without publicity ; but, so far as it was known, was regarded as unimportant and harmless. The agents of the Coloniza- tion Society and the Antislavery Society, who had repaired to London to obtain there favor and funds for their respective associations, came into conflict before the British public. The conflict begun there of course was soon reopened here ; and out of this conflict grew an agi- tation in the great cities of New York and Philadelphia, that gave birth to mobs which, in a few instances, malevolently pursued and hunted down the negroes, and the leaders, preachers, and advocates, of the American Antislavery Society. These mobs seemed to consist of persons who apprehended that an immediate effect of antislavery debate would be an amalgamation of races. Prudence Crandall established a school in Connecticut for the in- struction of colored children, and was brought to trial for that proceed- ing, which was in violation of the laws of the State. A church in the town prohibited^ the colored pupils from attending divine worship in the meeting-house. Although South Carolina had repealed her ordinance of nullifica- tion, yet the principle of nullification was avowed boldly, widely, and persistently, in many parts of that State and in Alabama. Edward Livingston resigned the office of Secretary of State, and was succeeded by Louis McLane. The President, on the 18th of Sep- tember, 1833, overruling the advice of the Secretary of State, of the Secretary of War, General Cass, and the Secretary of the Treasury, William J. Duane, directed that the deposit of public moneys in the Bank of the United States should cease on the 1st of October, and be transferred to designated State banks ; and that the deposits then remaining in the former institution should be withdrawn as the exi- gencies of the Government should require. The President read, in cabinet, a paper in which he assumed the responsibility for this act exclusively ; and assigned, as causes for it, that it was necessary to preserve the morals of the public, the freedom of the press, and the 1833-'34.] END OF THE ANTIMASONIC PARTY. purity of the elective franchise ; and insisted that the Secretary of the Treasury should, on the spot, sign the necessary order. The Secre- tary of the Treasury declined ; and thereupon the President sum- marily removed the refractory Duane, and appointed in his place the then Attorney-General, Roger B. Taney, who proceeded at once to execute the President's mandate. The Bank of the United States prepared to appeal to Congress, and the country, against this bold proceeding ; and gave out that, if it should be carried into execution, it would be necessary for the bank to contract its discounts, to enable it to meet the new policy of the Government. Apprehensions of a commercial crisis arose ; and the President's proceeding was denounced, by his opponents, throughout the country, as an arbitrary usurpation of power, in violation of the laws of Congress, and of the true spirit of the Constitution. The annual elections, however, came on so speedily after this trans- action, that it did not enter at all into the canvass. That canvass was everywhere languid, and practically the election was taken by the Democratic party, or friends of the President, by default, in the State of New York. Only one Antimasonic Senator was elected, and he by only a majority of one hundred where in previous elections the ma- jority had been ten thousand. My own district was lost by a decisive majority. Only nine Antimasonic members came to the Assembly, instead of our former number, thirty-five. The election in other States was equally disastrous to the party with which I had acted. What was now to be done ? It was not difficult to convene the few more discreet members of our small delegation, and political friends, at the capital. Practically, at that moment, there was only one existing party in the country. That was now the Democratic party. The National Republican party, with whose policy we most nearly assimi- lated, had become demoralized and hopeless, seeming to have no issue upon which to reorganize, except a personal one with Henry Clay as a candidate for President, three years in advance. After this disastrous defeat, not a particle of hope remained that the Antimasonic party could successfully challenge the political power of the country. We were obliged to admit that, in the two chief objects of its organization, it had failed. Its first object was to restore the supremacy of the laws of the State, by bringing to the judgment and punishment which those laws denounced the conspirators and murderers of William Morgan. With a larger experience since that time, I have become satisfied that no political movement, however successful otherwise, succeeds in accomplishing an object so simple and so definite as this. For a long time I agreed with those who thought {hat the late civil war would fail of one of its chief ends, if it should fail to convict Jefferson Davis, or other distinguished rebels, in 148 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1833-'34. a court of justice. The second object of the Antimasonic party was, the establishment of the principle that popular secret combinations, with oaths and penalties, capable of being directed to act politically, judicially, or socially, but secretly, ought to be condemned and made odious. This object also failed, while it seemed to triumph. If it was mortifying, a few years afterward, to see the institution of free- masonry reappear, in its ancient life and vigor, after having been left for dead on the field of combat, it was some consolation to see that, if the warnings of the Antimasonic party against secret political com- binations had been accepted by the people, the country would have been spared the shame of the pitiful "Know-nothing" conspiracy, and the dangerous order of the " Golden Circle " which claimed to in- augurate the late rebellion. However we might think on this subject, it was now apparent that our occasion had passed by, and that to con- tinue to flaunt the Antimasonic banner, when not a single recruit was to be gained, and 110 past defeat could be retrieved, would be to sink that noble and patriotic organization into a mere discontented, liti- gious, retaliatory faction. These reflections brought us to a unani- mous agreement that, so far as might depend on our action, the Anti- masonic party should be dissolved, and every member of it left at liberty to act as his judgment and conscience should dictate, without censure or complaint from his former associates. After reaching this conclusion, some naturally asked the others what use we should make of our new liberty. I answered, for myself : " While I see no present organization for combined action except the Democratic party, I see too much in the policy and principles of that party to think of giving it my adhesion. I have opposed it from its beginning, throughout its aggressive career, and in its public triumph, as entertaining principles and policy injurious to the public welfare, subversive of the Constitution, and dangerous to public liberty. If I shall prove wrong in this, I shall have no longer occasion nor justifi- cation for political activity. If I am right in these opinions, time will show it, and necessity will bring round the associations with which I can labor for the welfare, safety, and advancement, of the country." These opinions were accepted generally by my old political associ- ates. A few, however, with more or less directness, availed themselves of their new freedom to join the triumphant Democratic party under General Jackson. 1834.] REMOVAL OF THE DEPOSITS. 149 1834. Last Year in the Senate. Speech on Removal of the Deposits. The Six-Million Loan. A Warm Debate. Honest John Griffin. Land Distribution. Improvement of the Hud- son River. Beginning of the Whig Party. Eulogy on Lafayette. Searching for a Candidate under Difficulties. Nomination for Governor. Where Great Men live. Silas M. Stilwell. MY new political attitude proved convenient, and even pleasing. I was treated with respect and consideration by. the members of the Senate ; and, indeed, all public men treated me with as much as I could claim. On all subjects they listened to me kindly, and adopted any just views that I presented upon questions which involved no differences of political opinion. Three or four weeks, however, was the limit assigned to my political indifference and inactivity. Congress was in session. A derangement of the currency, with a commercial panic, interrupted trade ; and failures of banks, corporate and individual credits, had followed quickly on the removal of the deposits from the United States Bank. Debates, never before nor since surpassed in earnestness and vehemence, divided and distracted the country. A majority of the Senate, and a minority in the House, denounced the conduct of the President as unconstitutional, destructive of the 'public welfare, and an illegal usurpation of power. The Senate called on him for a copy of the paper which he had read in cabinet on that occasion. He defiantly refused. The Democratic party, in the two Houses, adopted the language by which, in that paper, he had justified his assumption of authority to direct the removal of the deposits, and the reasons which he assigned for it. Adequate provision having been made for extinguishing the entire national debt, a large surplus fund was found in the Treasury. Con- gress had, at the preceding session, passed an act directing the distribu- tion of this surplus fund among the several States, to be applied by them to purposes of education and internal improvement. The Presi- dent vetoed this act ; and insisted that thereafter the sales of the national domain should cease, and the lands therein should be ceded to the new States and Territories in which they lay. The State of South Carolina having rescinded its ordinance of nulli- fication, the Senate of the United States debated a proposition of Mr. Calhoun to repeal the " enforcement law." The Bank of the United States appealed to Congress from the President's order removing the deposits. There were loud complaints of extravagance and corruption in the management of the Post-Office Department. The commercial crisis steadily advanced, spreading like a pestilence. Many State banks suspended payment and went into liquidation throughout the country, while applicants for bank charters 150 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1834. multiplied, tempted by the profits expected to follow from the transfer of the deposits to institutions of that sort. Immense meetings were held in the commercial cities to deplore the financial convulsion, and Congress and the President were beset on all sides by petitions and committees imploring interposition and relief. " Relief " and " stay laws " were passed in the State Legislatures. Propositions were made by Mr. Webster, in the Senate, for a renewal of the charter of the Bank of the United States ; and by Mr. Clay, for a temporary renewal. Counter-movements were made by the friends of the Administration in both Houses of Congress. There were other incidents intensifying public anxiety throughout the country, which, if I were writing a his- tory instead of my own personal memoirs, it would be proper to relate. The Governor of the State, William L. Marcy, taking notice of the pecuniary distress, and the derangement of the currency and embar- rassment of the banks, in his annual message, attributing those evils to an action of the Bank of the United States hostile and injurious to the State banking institutions, proposed to the Legislature to raise, by the sale of State stocks, four or five million dollars, and to lend the same to the banks to enable them to sustain themselves against the oppression of the United States Bank. It was under these circumstances that a member of the majority in the Assembly, with a view to procure the support 'of the Legislature of the State for the President, introduced resolutions in these words : " Resolved (if the Senate concur), That the removal of the public deposits from the Bank of the United States is a measure of the Ad- ministration of which we highly approve. "That the Senators. from this State be directed, and the Represent- atives from this State be requested, to oppose any attempt to restore the deposits to the Bank of the United States. "That we -approve of the communication made by the President of the United States to his cabinet, on the 18th of September last, and of the reasons given by the Secretary of the Treasury relative to the removal of the deposits. "That the charter of the Bank of the United States ought not to be renewed." ^ These resolutions promptly passed that House, without debate, and with the dissenting votes of only nine members. It was understood at the time that none of the dissenting members had any experience or practice in legislative debate. They were passed in the Assembly on Friday. They were received in the Senate on Saturday, and the Sen- ate, overruling my proposition for delay, and with strong intimations of a desire to avoid debate, and to press them to an early vote, made them the special order for the Wednesday following. We of the minority were only six. Public sentiment, outside of 1834.] A WARM DEBATE. 151 the Legislature, vehemently demanded that the resolutions should be debated, although it was well understood that resistance to their pas- sage would be unavailing. Mr. Tracy, who after the death of Mr. Maynard had been our recognized leader, peremptorily refused to speak, and strongly dissuaded his associates from debate. One other of our associates declared himself in favor of the more important of the resolutions. My three remaining associates were always silent members, but earnestly insisted that I should assign our reasons for our intended vote in opposition to the resolutions. On Thursday and Friday I addressed the Senate in opposition to the resolutions. It was not difficult to find the required arguments. The elaborate and exhaustive speeches of Mr. Webster, Mr. Clay, and others, in the Senate of the United States, were before me. But the time allowed was quite too short for an analytic and concise prepara- tion. When I had concluded a speech, which had been listened to with profound and sympathizing interest by a large audience, the ma- jority announced a change of tactics. Instead of desiring to arrest the debate, and press the vote, they insisted that I should be fully and elaborately answered. The duty of making this reply was devolved on Mr. Maison. He had scarcely opened his argument when he fainted and sank into his seat. Time was allowed for his recovery, and he resumed and completed his argument in the following week. In the mean time Mr. Dodge made a labored argument. The majority were dissatisfied with the exhibition of their cause which had thus been made, and it was determined that Mr. Sudani, recognized as the ablest of the Democratic members, should, after being allowed time to pre- pare, close the debate for the majority. When the day assigned for him arrived, he was found in the morning confined to his bed with a brain-fever. Mr. Maison resumed and concluded his speech. The speeches of Mr. Dodge and Mr. Maison did not seem to me to have shaken the positions I had assumed. Both these gentlemen, however, were of that class of debaters who delight not so much in logical argu- ment as in parrying the argument of an opponent, by diverting the attention of the audience with anecdote, and with allusions to the per- son, position, or character, of their adversary. On this occasion, I for the last time yielded to the seeming necessity of a self-vindicating reply. My reply, I need hardly say, was even more popular than the original argument. But I did not fail myself to see that I had erred, in substituting myself in place of my cause. The agitation upon Federal measures increased throughout the State and country, constantly presenting new and incidental questions for discussion in the Legislature. I spoke with moderation upon these questions until a new one occurred, which required an effort as great as that which I had made in the debate before described. 152 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1834. This new subject was a bill introduced into the Assembly in ac- cordance with the suggestion of the Governor in his message, and passed practically without debate, by which it was provided that State stocks should be created, and sold to the amount of six millions of dol- lars, and that four million dollars should be loaned to the State banks in the city of New York for twelve years, at five per cent., and two million more should be distributed in loans to the several counties in the State, for the purpose of enabling the banks and the counties to counteract the alleged oppression of the Bank of the United States. While all my associates disapproved of this measure, there was the same difficulty as before on the question of debating it. John Griffin, one of our members from Alleghany County, was a tall, uncouth, as well as unlettered man, who had acquired some skill and popularity in local rural assemblies, with rough manner and abrupt and intemper- ate speech, but of fair and honorable character. Desirous, if I could, to avoid throwing my solitary gauntlet at the feet of so many com- batants, it occurred to me that Mr. Griffin might make a skirmish- ing attack, and leave me to come later into the debate. I applied to him to do so. He hesitated, and then said, " I don't know how to make a speech, but I can sometimes write down what I think and read that." I replied, " That would do exactly." He consented then to write and read, by way of opening the debate, a few thoughts, oc- cupying, say, ten or fifteen minutes. I had no difficulty in procuring from the courtesy of the Senate the delay which he required for preparation. I did not think of asking him to show me his notes. On the day assigned, Mr. Griffin rose to read a maiden speech. It began with a violent vituperation against the President of the United States, the party leaders, and the opposing Senators, designating them as " minions of Executive power." The first sentence was a long one, incoherent, violent, and objurgatory, and in the succession each sen- tence was more offensive in that respect than the last. The speaker, at no time lifting his eyes from the paper, continued to read this tirade two hours. At first Senators took notes, as if intending to reply. But it would have been as possible to make points and reply to a continuous northeast storm of sleet. Long before the speaker ended the majority had consulted what they should do. They saw in the speech manifestations of declamatory power which they could not believe belonged to the speaker ; and, assuming that I must have seen and sanctioned the assault, they prepared, if possible, to hold me responsi- ble. I was quite as much shocked as they, but quite as innocent of the offenses which Mr. Griffin had committed. The speech as it was served my purpose in requiring my opponents to enter the debate before me. In the end 'I came in, on the 10th of April, with my argument in reply to them. This reply, while it was temperate and 1834.] CLOSE OF LEGISLATIVE LIFE. respectful, seemed to meet the wishes of the opponents of the meas- ure, and served to stamp my name on the issue thus made. All was well, except that Mr. Griffin then came and desired to have his speech printed. He reminded me of my promise to revise it, and I could not refuse. When the manuscript came before me I found it impos- sible, with such freedom as a critic had, to reduce the tirade into the form of an argument, and concluded it was best to relieve it of what little pretensions in this way it had. So, striking out the occasional gentle and soft words, and leaving the epithets and confused meta- phors to jostle through an inextricable maze, without the interrup- tion of stops or exclamation-points, I let the manuscript go to the press. The effect was extraordinary. Senators, seeing the printed speech, pronounced it entirely original, while the opposing party accepted it as a bold challenge to the Administration. For a long time it seemed doubtful whether they would not insist upon making "honest John Griffin," as they called him, a candidate for the highest honors which the State can bestow upon a patriot citizen. Of course, the bill passed, by nineteen to five, and became a law. In the same manner in which the Assembly had passed the resolu- tions upon national subjects, which I have before noticed, that body further passed, and sent to the Senate, resolutions approving the Presi- dent's veto of the act of Congress providing for a distribution of the proceeds of the sales of public lands among the several States for pur- poses of education and of internal improvement, and of his reasons for his disapproval, and of the policy which was announced in that message. "When these resolutions came into the Senate I challenged them, and insisted on being heard in opposition to them. Whether it was that the majority of the Senate only deprecated further debate on national questions, or that they were not yet prepared to sustain the President on the great question involved in the resolution, I do not know. But they came promptly to a compromise with me, in which they agreed that the resolutions should lie on the table. Simultaneously, I moved in the Senate a declaration on the part of the Legislature in favor of a bill pending in Congress for removing the obstructions to navigation in the tide-waters of the Hudson River an improvement of the class against which the President of the United States had committed himself before Congress. The majority shrank from the subject and evaded debate ; but a popular issue upon it was sufficiently formed. Piquancy was now imparted to the political dis- cussions in the State Senate by a new and amusing incident : It was discovered, by some betrayal of confidence in the printing-office of the majority, that a form of popular petition to the Legislature had been printed in that office by direction of the party managers, copies of which had been sent out in large quantities to local leaders, with in- 154: AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1834. structions to procure signatures to them, and forward them to their rep- resentatives in the Legislature. This was regarded as indicating an apprehension that the six-million-dollar bill, now called by the opposi- tion a " monster mortgage bill," had suffered by the expositions of it in our debates. While, as yet, the secret of the concerted action at the capital concerning petitions of that sort was unknown, a memorial from a remote county was announced in the Senate and was read. I moved that it might be printed ; the majority opposed. When I said that I desired it to be printed, as legislative papers are, in order that it might be more conveniently read by the members, I was answered that the memorial was in print, as it came to the Senate, and could be examined by all the members at the Clerk's table. Two or three days afterward came another petition, the reading of which the majority proposed to dispense with. I insisted on its being printed. I then demanded the reading. When it was read I remarked upon the sin- gular coincidence of persons, in different parts of the State, addressing the Legislature, not only simultaneously, but in language which bore a striking similarity. As petitions came in day after day from other parts of the State, I dwelt upon this same coincidence until I ex- posed in that way, and obtained a reluctant confession from the ma- jority of, the concert of action, which they had before endeavored to keep secret, because it tended to destroy the entire effect of the pro- ceeding. In the midst of the great popular excitement which had been awakened by the debates on national policy in Congress, and in the State Senate, came the annual charter election of the city of New York, in which the opposition to the Federal and State Administra- tions had assumed the name of " Whig." The Whig ticket secured a majority of four in the Common Council, and only failed of electing their candidate for mayor, Gulian C. Verplanck, by one hundred and eleven votes. This election was followed by town meetings, which everywhere indicated a revolution of opinion against the Administra- tion and the dominant party. It became manifest to that party that it must expect a defeat in the charter election, which was soon to come off in the city of Albany, like that which it had suffered in the city of New York. Alarmed at the effect upon the popular mind which would be produced by defeats, not only in the metropolis, but in the State capital, the party man- agers resorted to an expedient, then quite a novel one, to avert a de- feat in Albany. They introduced a bill remodeling the city charter, and postponing the election a year, during which time the present in- cumbents should hold over. This high-handed measure, partaking of the defiance of popular opinion which then distinguished the Admin- istration at Washington, excited violent opposition in the city and 1834.] THE NEW PARTY. 155 throughout the State. I was relied upon to be the organ of that oppo- sition ; and I challenged the proceeding as being a flagrant political abuse, and a violation of the spirit of the State constitution. If I failed in this speech, the failure consisted in my moderation. Chief- Justice Spencer, then a political actor, insisted upon my denouncing the new law as a violation, not merely of the spirit but of the letter of the constitution. Attempts were made at this session, as at the two previous ones, to repeal altogether, or to materially impair, the law by which impris- onment for debt had been abolished. I constantly and strenuously resisted these attempts, and the law was left unimpaired. It was perhaps accidental that whatever countenance these attempts at re- action against a great, beneficent, but recently-established reform re- ceived, w r as given by members of the dominant party. Finally, the canals had been opened to navigation, and the State revenues exhibited an alarming decrease, foreboding still greater finan- cial embarrassment than had yet been experienced. It was under these circumstances that the Legislature adjourned on the 6th of May, and my services as a legislator of the State of New York came to an end, leaving only the judicial labors required in the Court of Errors. General Lafayette died at Paris on the 20th of May, and I pro- nounced a eulogium upon him before my fellow-citizens of Auburn on the 16th of July. I should be glad if I could think that I did histori- cal justice to his memory. In the short period of four months a comfortable change seemed to have come over the country, pregnant with new, deep, and unantici- pated interests and responsibilities resting on me. I had begun the ses- sion without a party, without prospect of any, without hope of future advancement, and without a remaining chance of public service. On leaving the Senate I had a party which, although it was new, was full of spirit, of courage, and of hope. It remained not merely for this new party, but, in a large degree, for the dominant one, to develop its real political character. But I could not fail to observe that the Democratic party was becoming an obstructive party obstructive of education, ob- structive of internal improvements, obstructive of emancipation, obstruc- tive of commerce, obstructive of foreign intercourse, and embarrassed with disloyal traditions and combinations. On the other side, the Whig party, which had come into the field so suddenly, with all the vigor of youth, seemed to me capable of being impressed with all the compre- hensive, liberal, and humane ideas which, through all chances, changes, and discouragements, I had cherished from my earliest experience in political affairs. I would have tried to invest the new party with a name of broader and deeper significance than that which it had assumed, for I had already 156 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1834. learned that names are often potential in the life of parties. But that was impossible. The small band of members who had remained faith- ful during the session appointed me, as usual, to prepare for them an address to the people, in which the stirring and important events of the session were reviewed, with all my powers of criticism, but, if I remem- ber rightly, with dignity and moderation. In signing that address, we for the last time used the descriptive name of " Antimasonic," and called upon the " Democratic citizens opposed to Executive usurpation " to constitute a convention at Utica, on the 16th of September, to nominate candidates for Governor and Lieutenant-Go vernor of the State. Our attention was immediately directed to the finding of some per- son who should receive the first nomination, and thereby become the standard-bearer of the new party ; and he must be one against whom no violent prejudices would exist. Mr. Francis Granger, who had been so often defeated on the tickets of the National Republicans and Anti- masons, now, not unreasonably, preferred a nomination which should assure him an election to Congress, to a State nomination, with pos- sible defeat, as a candidate for Governor. The judicious portion of the new party approved his declension. But where was the candi- date ? We fixed our attention upon Jesse Buel, who was just then, in the violence of the new political shock, understood to be prepared to separate himself from his former party. Mr. Albert H. Tracy, Mr. Thurlow Weed, and myself, waited upon that distinguished citizen, at his elegant rural home near Albany, and held a conversation with him. Disclaiming all authority or intention to give pledges, in behalf of the new party, we obtained an expression of his assent to its policy and principles, and his willingness to accept its nomination for Governor if the convention should see fit to bestow it upon him. For myself, it seemed to have been understood, in the political circles at Albany, that my nomination as Lieutenant-Governor would be not only proper, but advantageous. I repaired to my home in Auburn, charged with the duty of dis- creetly and quietly preparing the mind of the Whig party, in the west- ern part of the State, for the nomination of Jesse Buel for Governor. I found this effort by no means an easy one. Mr. Buel's case was the same with that of Samuel Stevens and William Wirt. His conversion from the Democratic party was not yet known ; and it seemed, as it truly was, to be conditioned upon his receiving, at the moment of avowing it, the highest honors and confidence our party had to bestow. Nevertheless, I went on, in good faith, and, when I thought I had suf- ficiently prepared the public mind at home, I reported to my friends at the capital, and urged a public announcement of Mr. Buel's adhesion to the Whig party, and a cautious preliminary suggestion of his name 1834.] SEARCHING FOR A CANDIDATE. 157 as a candidate willing to accept the nomination. This report of mine was answered by a summons to the capital. On arriving there, I learned, to the great discomfiture of all the hopes we had built upon Mr. Buel, that the " Albany Regency " (for so the managers of the dominant party were called) had anticipated the movement which Mr. Buel proposed, and had prepared to flank it, by reproducing from their leading journal an article written by Mr. Buel, within the year, in which he declared his approval and urged acqui- escence in the policy of the President in regard to the United States Bank, and his violent removal of the Treasury deposits. Having as we thought satisfactorily verified this fact, Mr. Buel was instantly dropped out of our thoughts. Thurlow Weed, Frederick Whittlesey, and myself, hastened to New York, hoping to ascertain there that a nomination of that emi- nent citizen Gulian C. Verplanck, the recently-defeated candidate for Mayor of New York, for Governor, would be acceptable to him, and satisfactory to the party in the eastern region of the State. On ar- riving there, we ascertained that Mr. Verplanck would not listen to our proposition ; and that any other nomination, that could be conceived, would be more acceptable than his. We were now as deeply and as spasmodically in despair, for a gubernatorial candidate, as little Greece frequently is in want of a king. In the midst of our perplexities, our self-constituted commission adjourned across the river, to see some new mechanical invention, then on exhibition in the public garden of Hoboken. Sitting down there to rest, with ices, wine, and cigars, on the table before us, in the garden, surrounded by crowds of idlers, we came to a final consultation. In this debate we brought under dis- cussion all the prominent men of our party throughout the State, stated the argument in favor of and considered the popular and other objections against them. They severally disappeared, when I laugh- ingly said : " I believe that we are reduced to the dilemma of King James and the clown. When the clown learned that the king was hunting in the forest, he went out to look for him, and, meeting him alone on horseback, he mistook him for a courtier, and asked him where the king was. The king told him to mount behind him, and he would take him where he could see his Majesty. He told him he would know the king by his being the only person who wore his hat. When they came to the crowd, the courtiers took off their hats, crying * Long live the king ! ' James, turning to the clown, asked him if he knew which the king was now. The clown, seeing the king kept on his hat, and feeling the cap on his own head, answered, f Not exactly, but I am sure it must be one of us.' " My associates concurred in the appositeness of tjie story, and de- clared that nothing remained but a ballot to determine who should be 158 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [1834. candidate for Governor. I nominated Mr. Weed. Mr. Whittlesey sus- tained my motion. Mr. Weed positively and peremptorily declined. On the second ballot I voted for Mr. Whittlesey ; Mr. Whittlesey for me ; Mr. Weed gave the casting vote in my favor. We rose promptly from the table, and I was directed, by the majority of the commission, to hasten to Auburn, so as to be safely at home before the convention should assemble, to whom this arrangement should be submitted. The scene that awaited me at home was more curious still. I arrived there on Friday. The convention to appoint delegates from my county was to be held at Auburn on Saturday, and the State Convention was to be held at Utica, accessible only by stage-coach, on the next Tues- day. Of course, a political career which had been for the last four years so successful as mine had not been run without exciting some envy, and bringing out many competitors. No one of my neighbors seemed to have heard my name mentioned as a candidate for Lieutenant- Governor. Certainly no one but Thurlo w Weed and Frederick Whit- tlesey had thought of me as a candidate for Governor. I had already, before leaving home on my late excursion, at the request of political associates, formally declined to be a candidate for reflection as Senator, and with equal formality declined a nomination for Congress, and had committed myself to other candidates. But, suddenly, some exchange newspaper, received on the day of the convention, brought before them the fact that it was contemplated, in other portions of the State, to nominate me for Lieutenant-Governor. That would be too much for my friends at home. The delegates appointed barely escaped from being instructed to vote against me for Lieutenant-Governor, by obtaining from me, and communicating to the convention, a promise, that I would not cause or permit my name to be brought before the Utica convention for Lieutenant-Governor, and my positive instructions to them to oppose such a use of it if it should be offered. My nomination for Governor by the State Convention was made with promptness and unanimity. When my nomination for the chief office was decided upon, it was thought necessary to take a politician of Democratic antecedents for the second office. 'Very properly the choice fell upon Silas M. Stilwell. Not without talent, and possessing untiring activity and perseverance, he, as a Democratic member of the Assembly from the city of New York, had introduced into the Assembly, and aided to carry through the Legislature, the benign law abolishing imprisonment for debt. The scene which occurred at the American Hotel in Auburn on the return of our local delegates was infinitely amusing. My politi- cal friends received them with complaints and reproaches, saying : " You promised Jo oppose Seward for Lieutenant-Governor, and here you have let him be nominated for Governor ! The nomination is a 1834.] THE CANVASS. disgrace to the State, and will be the ruin of the party ! " Mr. Jacobs, the orator of the delegation, attempted to reason with them : " Why, gentlemen, it is very easy for you, who have staid at home, to say all this. But, if you had been where we were, you would have found that we had nothing to do with making Seward the candi- date, arid we did all we could to prevent it. The people from the other parts of the State wouldn't hear of anybody else." " We don't believe it," they replied ; " they could have found a more proper man in every other county in the State." " Well, gentlemen," replied the orator, preserving his good-humor, " I have known Mr. Seward long, and thought him a bright and smart young man, but I never supposed he was a great man; but, when I came to Utica, I found that everybody inquired of me about him, and spoke of him as if he was the greatest man in the State." " Well," replied they, " the State must be in a strange condition if Seward is among its greatest men." " Gentlemen," answered the delegate, " I have learned one thing* by going to Utica, and that is, that a great man never lives at home ! " The canvass was unusually animated and active. When it began, my new position did not excite any ambition, or even a personal ex- pectation of success; but, at the immediate close, those on whose cau- tious judgment I habitually relied, carried away by enthusiasm, gave me a confident opinion that the Whig ticket would prevail. Its fail- ure, of course, after this, was a disappointment, though free from a sense of humiliation. The other incidents of the season preceding the election had no particular importance. It was for me a season of rest, since I remained silent and passive under the discussion which my principles and char- acter underwent. MEMOIR, AND SELECTIONS FEOM HIS LETTEES CHAPTER I. 1831. Home at Auburn. Journey to Albany. First Experiences of Legislative Life. Sketches of Character. Aaron Burr. Citizen Genet. Maynard. Tracy. Granger. Weed. EVERYBODY in Auburn, forty-five years ago, knew Judge Miller's house on South Street. A large, square mansion of unpainted brick, very substantially built, its exterior plain, its interior handsome, with a row of Lombardy poplars in front, and a grove of locust, apple, and cherry trees around, it stood not distant from the main street, and at the same time not very far from the outskirts of the little town. It was the first brick dwelling in Auburn. As land was abundant, and neighbors were few, five acres were occupied with the usual accessories of a rural residence barn, carriage and wood house, vegetable and flower garden, orchard, and pasture-lot. Here lived the owner, retired from active practice of his profession. With him lived his mother and a maiden sister. His two daughters had grown up under their grandmother's care. The elder, Lisette, whose sprightly vivacity made her a general favorite, had recently married and left the paternal home. The younger, Frances, was of unusual beauty, but extreme diffidence. She had a few years before married a promising young lawyer, her father's partner, named Seward. Opin- ions had differed in the village as to his capabilities ; but the majority conceded that he was industrious in his profession, though many doubted if he was old enough, or grave enough, or wise enough, for the responsible position of Senator in the State Legislature, to which he had recently been elected. Two children completed the family circle. It is in this scene and with these surroundings that my earliest recollections of my father begin. It is in the same scene, with the 11 102 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. same surroundings, that the notes of his autobiography in the preced- ing pages terminate. He was at that time over thirty years old, but his slender frame, of not more than medium height, his smooth-shaven face, clear blue eyes, red hair, quick, active movements, and merry laugh, gave him almost a boyish appearance. The house was always cheerful when he was in it. That was never for long at a time, for he was indefati- gable in his toil at the little one-storied law-office on South Street, where he prepared his papers and received his clients. One evening that he spent at home, reading aloud, from Scott and Burns, is so vividly re- membered by the children that it must have been a rare event. Auburn was about as distant from New York then as Omaha is now. The annual stage-ride to Albany to attend the session of the Legislature was a serious and important undertaking. Of my father's journeyings to and from the capital, and of his legislative life there, he has spoken briefly in his autobiographic notes. But the picture there presented is based merely on recollections of a later date. It will be more complete if supplemented by some extracts from his let- ters, written at the time, giving more detail of persons, places, inci- dents, and character ; for the autobiography he had no opportunity to revise or read, and the letters he never saw again after writing them. Long and closely written, those letters from the distant capital were eagerly read by the household at Auburn. Under favorable circum- stances, they were three days on the road from Albany under unfavor- able ones, a week. Sometimes they would come by post, sometimes by private hand, a favorite method of transmitting correspondence in that time of high postage and uncertain mail service. The postage on a letter from Albany was eighteen and three-quarters cents ; from New York, thirty-seven and a half cents. A traveler by stage-coach often had his pockets filled with letters and remittances handed him by his friends on the eve of his departure ; and these it would be his first duty, on arriving at his destination, to distribute. At the close of December, 1830, the newly-elected Senator was on his way to Albany. His first letters thus describe his journey and his entrance into public life : ALBANY, January 2, 1831. It was just seven o'clock, on Wednesday morning, when I left the Ameri- can Hotel at Auburn in a stage with eight other passengers. TTe had a dull, tedious ride of four hours to Elbridge, where we breakfasted, and at five o'clock in the evening we arrived at Syracuse. I had not anticipated so warm a wel- come as I met with. In the evening my friends gathered in to see me, and I promised to stay the next day, and write an address for their New-Year's Con- vention. Next morning I undertook the task, but was interrupted and prevented ; and, the stage coming along at two o'clock, I got into it, with Julius Rhoades, of 1831.] FIRST LEGISLATIVE EXPERIENCES. 163 Albany. We traveled all night, and arrived at Utica on Friday morning at six. Left there in a tremendous storm at eight, and slept that night at Fonda, forty- two miles from this city. Arrived here last night at seven, well, and sufficiently fatigued. Everybody had been keeping New- Year, and was as much fatigued as I. I found a room provided for ine at the Eagle ; but it is as yet occupied by my predecessor, Judge Oliver, who will leave in a few days. I am temporarily in the room with my friend Senator Boughton. The Governor, Lieutenant- Governor, mayor, and ex-mayor, each had open house yesterday, and all the world went to see the dignitaries and drink their wine. Of course I came a day too late. The Lieutenant-Governor has rooms at the Eagle, and I think his whole family with him. Sunday Afternoon. I have been to the Episcopal Church. It is a delightful house, and the cler- gyman gave us a good New- Year's sermon. I have not yet been here long enough to know whether I shall be pleased or otherwise ; though I was last night visited with more recollections about you, and Fred, and Augustus, than you perhaps would give me credit for. All, as yet, seems pleasant, and there has been exhib- ited no feeling of hostility on account of politics. The Supreme Court com- mences to-morrow, and the Legislature will convene on Tuesday. I shall then have an opportunity of giving you some of the feelings with which I shall com- mence the new career before me. From my windows I look out upon the Hud- son, whose swollen waters cover the streets and stoops, between this house and the usual banks. The sun shines out brightly and genially this afternoon. Tuesday Morning, "Whether this state of things is going to continue, I don't know ; but so it is, that my only time to write is in the morning. The incidents of yesterday were of no great importance. I went to court, staid until I found I had no hope of reaching any of my causes for a week, left the court-room and went about town delivering letters, paying over money, etc. Then came calls from Antimasons, of high and low degree. In the evening I called at the Governor's to deliver the letters I had for him. Two lamps before the door marked the marble house. I staid but a little time ; and wended my way to the Capitol, to see the cau- cuses of the two parties. That business occupied till eight o'clock. I went home with Tracy and staid till nine ; came down to my room, packed up New- Year Antimasonic addresses till ten ; then Weed came and we talked till twelve. Such is the routine of a day here, and such, as near as I can learn, is the dispo- sition of time by most of our legislators. I hope to be somewhat more indus- trious. January otTi. Yesterday at twelve o'clock the Legislature convened. I took a seat posi- tively among the conscript fathers of the land, feeling constantly in my pocket- book, to be quite sure that I had the certificate of election there. The roll was called ; no credentials asked for, and I answered to my name. A venerable gen- tleman beside whom I had placed myself, and who doubtless thought that I was some impudent spectator who had thrust myself where " angels might fear to tread," turned around as I responded to my name and said, " Well, sir, I think it will be conceded that you are the youngest of us all ! " I went up to the desk, took the oath, and wrote my name in such a hand that, except for the recollec- LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. tion of the incidents and feelings with which it was written, I should not recog- nize it again. After solemn and due annunciation, came Enos T. Throop Martin, with Enos T. Throop's message, delivered it to the Lieutenant-Governor, who with great dignity delivered it to the Clerk, who received from the Senate a dig- nified order to read the same. All this took something more than two hours. Some few committees were appointed, resolutions passed, and the Senate ad- journed till this day at eleven o'clock. Thus ended the first lesson in my legis- lative education. In the evening I went to the theatre with Mr. Boughton, whose term of ser- vice in the Senate has just expired, and who leaves town to-day. It isbut a poor affair. In coming home it was very dark and rainy ; we were walking arm in arm when we encountered a rope or wire, stretched by some thievish fellows across the road, doubtless to enable them to pick off our hats. Off came both hats simultaneously. Fortunately we recovered our property and arrived safe at the Eagle. Thursday, January &th. Another day's labor is ended. Xo measure of importance, no debate of interest, has as yet occurred in the Legislature. I rise in the morning with the idea that I have nothing to do, till eleven, go to the House, am occupied at most two and a half hours, come home, dine ; and, after that hour, no man is allowed to be busy. As, for instance, after dinner to-day I came up into my room, wrote the first two lines on this page, was interrupted by a call, and continued receiv- ing calls and dismissing visitors until about sunset, when I abandoned all hope of writing one more line, till everybody should have gone to bed. So, in despair, I sallied forth, went with Mr. Fuller of the Senate and called on Mr. Samuel M. Hopkins, spent half an hour with him, came down to Manchester's, took tea, called at Cruttenden's, spent an hour with Mr. Spencer in arranging our causes for argu- ment in the Supreme Court, went across to bid good-evening to Mr. and Mrs. Tracy, dropped into Mr. Ellis's room, looked in upon Maynard, came down, ate supper, and find myself in my room at half-past eleven o'clock. Xow, how any man finds time to study, and make speeches here, is beyond my comprehension. I want to look into the salt laws and the canal laws, and two or three other matters, besides doing up some old business ; but in truth two letters from Seth Hunt lay on my table, reproaching my negligence. Tracy and Maynard say I must make up my mind never more to be worth anything for practice in the law. Doleful prediction for a poor man ! Adieu. Heaven protect you all ! January 8th. The State has furnished me with two quires of this beautiful pink paper, a dozen Holland quills, a pretty pearl-handled knife ; and why shouldn't I write to yon every day ? Then, again, the State very generously pays me three dol- lars a day. I have gone at her call, and she has dismissed me for the day, after a detention of just twenty-five minutes. This morning I have been, for the principal part of the time, employed in attending to errands and commissions intrusted to me, paying taxes for my friends, etc. The sun has come gorgeously forth ; the river is clear ; the country looks blue and inviting. There are my friends, my home, my loved ones, my all ; here I am alone, a stranger. January t7i. Sunday morning here is a sorry time. I have bowed to Miss Livingston and to Mrs. Clarkson once since I became a locum tenem in this house ; and, except 1831.] REV. DR. WELCH. 165 those ladies, I have not seen the face of a woman in it yes, I must except also Amy the housekeeper, who is old, and cleverer than old ; and, after a fortnight's absence from all others of the sex, seems to be not very ill-looking. I have not yet seen the face of a man from Cayuga, except our members. Manchester is with me about a third of the time, though he boards a mile off. The other Cayuga members " .Regency " men, " whom we have put down, you know "- keep as far from me as if I carried pestilence in my march. It snows this morning, and all around is cheerless. After I had finished writing to you yesterday I went to call upon Mr. Sena- tor Gary and his wife, from Batavia. Then I adjourned to the theatre for the purpose of meeting some of my friends from abroad, who had arrived in the afternoon. The play was, " The Eighth of January, or the Battle of New Or- leans." The heroes of the play were the two opposing generals, Jackson and Pakenham. The only incident of any originality was not in the play as writ- ten ; it was that, just as General Pakenham was to appear on the stage, he was arrested and carried off by a constable. I can hardly hope to make you understand how entirely the illusion under which I have labored in respect to the importance of my station has faded away. Seen through the vista of opposition, excitement, puffs, and abuse, the post of Senator of this great State seemed one of immense importance and dignity. One week has removed all the accumulating vanity of a year, and I find the whole a dull, every-day, and commonplace affair. The Chenango Canal bill I think will pass. The Committee on Canals in the Senate are decidedly favorable to the application. The table of the Assembly is covered with applications for banks. The dominant party give out that it is expedient and right to sacrifice party feeling, and not to suffer politics to interfere with the bank questions. The New York banks have all agreed to come into the safety-fund system ; they will doubtless all be renewed. Among the candidates for United States Senator are Sanford, Sudani, and Root. Marcy, it seems agreed, is to be the successful one. John 0. Spencer is the great man of the House. The political aspect of the Senate is as follows : the Antimasons are, Mather, Maynard, Tracy, Lynde, Ful- ler, Gary, and Seward. Porter from the Eighth is just arrived, and it is said declares he will vote with us hereafter. If so, we are eight. "Wheeler, I under- stand, says he shall vote with his old party this winter. McLean, of "Washing- ton County, is one of the Clay men, who supports his chief while voting with the Regency. All the rest are Regency men. Monday, January \OtJi. The Senate was occupied in legislative and judicial business to-day, from eleven till two o'clock. I have learned by experience to consider my hold upon time, which passes in this place, so precarious, that I seize the first opportunity every day to write to you, lest by delay I might lose the time altogether. Last evening I had a call from the Lieutenant-Governor, who graciously condescended to mount two nights of stairs to call upon so unworthy a personage as myself. Then I went to the Baptist Church, where I heard one of the finest sermons I ever have listened to ; it was preached by Mr. Welch, the settled pastor of the congregation. The style of the sermon, the construction of it, the language, and even the delivery, were very much like those of the late Mr. Summerfield. LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. This morning the snow is three or four inches deep, the weather cold, the sky clear, the sun bright ; the bells jingle most merrily, and the city is enjoying all the fun, fashion, and flash, of sleigh-riding. I do not hear of any other gay- ety yet in the good society here, though I suppose it is going forward. The river is full of floating ice, forced slowly down by the current. A steamboat left this morning for New York, but I do not think another will arrive from that place. The weather indicates now that we must bring our desires, wishes, and thoughts, within the limits of this ancient town. January 12, 1831. Weed is very much with me, and I enjoy his Avarmth of feeling. A politi- cian, skillful in design and persevering in execution ; whose exciting principle is personal friendship or opposition, and not self-interest that is just Thurlow Weed. How much more I like him than I should if he was selfish and avari- cious, you know me well enough to form an opinion. He is warm in his attach- ments. He gives for charity's sake, is generous to a fault, kind beyond descrip- tion, open-hearted, and sincere beyond most men's sincerity. What a contrast to my legislative friend , Avho is morbidly ambitious ! lie came here expecting to make a figure in the House ; but he fears to thrust himself into the arena, and yet is unhappy because he is not a victor without having the courage to enter the lists. His conversation is always upon his own disappointments. Maynard is a giant in intellect, indefatigably industrious, methodical, ori- ginal, and persevering. He makes no protestations, exhibits no discriminating preferences for any one, is always uniform, reasons slowly, carefully, and wisely, upon every subject. His information is extensive, his power of application very great, his perseverance in study astonishing. Xo man can associate with him without admiring, respecting, and esteeming him ; and yet no man, so far as I am informed, professes a warm and distinguishing personal attachment to him. Albert H. Tracy is a different man from all these. He is a man of original genius, of great and varied literary acquirements, of refined tastes, and high and honorable principles. He seems the most eloquent, I might almost say the only eloquent man in the Senate. He is plainly clothed and unostentatious. Winning in his address and gifted in conversation, you would fall naturally into the habit of telling him all your weaknesses, and giving him unintentionally your whole confidence. He is undoubtedly very ambitious ; though he protests, and doubt- less half the time believes, that dyspepsia has humbled all his ambition, and broken the vaultings of his spirit. I doubt not that, dyspepsia taken into the account, he will be one of the great men of the nation. Such are the characters of those in whose society I am thrown. And here my case is different from that in which I have heretofore been. Visit and re- ceive visits, everybody must here ; because it is through the medium of such intercourse that we arrive at a fair understanding of the measures before the House. The above, from the top of the page, has been written on this Wednes- day, January 12th, and it has been the work of three successive sittings. While I was painting Maynard, Tracy came in, and I went with him to call on Mr. Lynde. While I was delineating Tracy, Weed came in ; and nobody thinks of writing when he is here. This day has been the coldest of the season. Imagine the west wind blow- ing a blast loaded with snow, down State Street the walks slippery, the air 1831.] MEMBERS AND ACQUAINTANCES. piercing, and you may have some idea of my experience of going to the Capitol this morning. The river is blocked up, doubtless for the winter, and all is cheerless without. Within, my coal-grate sends forth a comfortable heat ; the lodgers are all asleep. Bills, petitions, briefs, demurrers, and the whole mass of the world's perplexities, are laid aside. I finish this page, and then at mid- night I must to bed, to dream perhaps of you, mayhap, O wicked world ! of Morgan. Thursday, January \Ztli. The mail to-day brings no letters ; but I had a call from the Rev. Dr. Hop- kins, on his way to Vermont. He brought me a great package of papers. Albany is beginning to be less thronged. The lawyers who came down to attend term are, one by one, going off. The young students who came for diplomas will squeeze themselves through the examinations to-night, take the oath and the diplomas to-morrow, and the town will, in a few days, be left to the possession of the members of the Legislature and the lobby. There are several classes of members here. I hardly know into which I shall fall. There is a school of which John 0. Spencer is the most prominent, the members of which are continually studying everything. They shut them- selves into their rooms, and seek out many inventions, in order to present them- selves to the attention of the House, and, through the newspapers, to their con- stituents. No bill is read, no motion made, no resolution offered, upon which they do not make at least one speech. They are often successful, but rarely popular. Another class is of those who hang round the Regency, and glory in the assurance they feel that they are in its confidence, and are destined to share in " the spoils." A third class consists of pure, good society gentlemen, who dress finely, dine out, make calls, and have a set form of words for making pretty motions in the House, always taking care never to go beyond their depth in grave matters. These doubtless have their reward, in their self-complacency. A fourth class embraces those who, under a sense of their responsibility, chast- ened by true dignity and becoming respect for others, affect nothing, are not often in the way of the rest, speak seldom, and, when they do, speak wisely. I cannot claim to be of them. The last class consists of the multitude, who come here to say "ay" and "no," do nothing, read nothing, say nothing, and think less. "What class do I belong to, do you think ? January 14, 1831. My letters and papers come addressed "Hon." and " The Ilon'ble," with the various changes of " Senator," " In Senate," and " Member of the Senate," etc. But this morning came one addressed in small, neat handwriting, bearing on it no image, and only the simple superscription of " William H. Seward, Albany," which I have read all over twice, and laid it up in my pocket for a " third read- ing." Meantime, let me add that, as your letters arrive safely with that super- scription, so let them be addressed; only remember that they be not so "few and far between " that the postmaster will forget, between-times, that I am here. My errand to the Misses R was about the amount I had collected for them to pay the rent for which they are in arrear, and which, unless I contrive in some way to have paid, they never can pay ; and in consequence they must be turned out-of-doors, and stripped of their little furniture, so that their rich landlord's patrimony may be kept safe from the moth and the rust which corrupt in this 168 L1FE AND LETTERS. [1831. perishable world. I succeeded in getting some aid for them ; but they yet owe sixty-five dollars. God knows how it will be paid. Alas for the happiness of the poor ! January 15th. I awoke this morning late. It was snowing, and the wind bio wing violently. I thought I should lose my ears in climbing to the Capitol. The Lieutenant- Governor was so kind as to give me a ride back in his sleigh. I came up into my little room. " Another week," thinks I to myself, " has gone. What good have I accomplished ? What pleasure have I enjoyed ? " I could remember no good I had done but that of writing daily to you. I could remember no pleasure I had enjoyed but that derived from recollections of, and reflections upon, home. I smoked a cigar; wished for Gus and Fred to play in the smoke of it. I smoked another, and thought of the difference in enjoyment derived from innocent play- fuln,ess of one's children, and that of wordy controversy with one's political opponents ; and, believe me, I smoked another while I contrasted an open and cordial conversation at home with you, with the heartless, selfish, and parasitical attentions of the lobby-members. Mr. Gilbert, of Onondaga, called, and roused me from this reverie, by discover- ing to me, without any intention so to do, that a resolution I had this morning introduced into the Senate, about the smuggling of salt at Salina, had thrown the " Regency " camp into confusion. I swallowed my tea, and sallied forth to con- gratulate my " Anti " brethren on so happy a result. January \ih. I have told you nothing lately about my legislative career. Know, then, that when I came here I took my seat every morning feeling as awkward as you can well imagine. For the first ten days I sat like a stone in my seat, not daring to open my mouth among the " conscript fathers," and having no intercourse with them when not in session, except in visits to and from the " Antis." I had it especially in charge from the good folks at Syracuse to look into the manner in which the salt-affairs had been managed at Salina. (You must know that the State owns the salt-springs, and derives a duty upon every bushel of salt manu- factured ; that during the year it has been discovered that salt has been carried off without paying duties, whereby a loss has been sustained by the State of not less, probably, than fifty thousand dollars ; that during all the time of these frauds the " Regency " have had control of the springs, and that their officers are implicated, and two of them have run away.) I dared not bring this subject before the Senate, for, when I said "ay" and "no," I started at the sound of my own voice. Meantime, on becoming a little acquainted, I learned that all the political change in our part of the State was here attributed to me. Of course, they con- descended to intimate that I was a good fellow that is, that I would be of use to them, and very plainly to say that I must now join them, and my political fortunes were secure for hereafter ; for my meekness in the House led them to think well of me, and caused the vain belief that I held myself ready to be pur- chased. Do not call me vain, or I never will unfold my secret thoughts to you on political subjects again. Well, I had gracious looks, open hands, and ap- parently warm hearts, at command. Night before last I said to myself : " Henry Seward, you are a fool to be afraid of your shadow. Show yourself a man. Bring up the salt business ; 1831.] AARON BURR. 169 and prove, to those who misconstrue your diffidence into meanness, that the one shall not seal your lips, and that the other attribute don't belong to you." So I drew my resolution, which you will see in yesterday's paper. I made out a brief of what I would say in favor of it, " screwed my courage to the stick- ing point," consulted Tracy and Maynard. They approved; and I went to the House, took my seat, my paper in hand. By the time that I could properly offer the resolution, I grew faint-hearted, thought I would postpone it till Mon- day let the opportunity almost pass by thought once more of it ; and, with a motion of uncommon energy, I found myself on my feet. " Mr. President," said I, and thick darkness was before me, " I offer the following resolution." Imagine my consternation, while I heard the President announce in usual form "The Senator from the Seventh District offers the fol- lowing resolution." It was read, while I was endeavoring to recall one word of what I had meant to say. To make my embarrassment tenfold greater, I discovered the Eegency men took alarm. Two or three were on their feet at once, and moved that the resolution be laid on the table. I felt relieved, be- cause I was released from speaking upon it for one day. I sat down, after con- senting to the postponement. In the evening, Regency men came to know what I meant; the newspapers reported the offering of the resolution, and I was hailed by all the Anti- Regency men as a hero, for my bold determination to bring to light the peculations on the Treasury. I feel now as if I had surmounted the diffidence which has oppressed me ; and, unless all is dark before my eyes to-morrow, I shall be able to assign my reasons for the measure I propose. I think the Regency men dare not debate it ; if they do, I shall endeavor to defend it. Now, is all this interesting to you ? For the matters of political nature which it involves I presume you will not care, but, as it concerns my feelings, perhaps you will think it worth the space it fills in this letter. Monday, January Vlili. I ought not to forget to inform you about our debate in the Senate ; to-day I called for tlie consideration of my resolution. The Regency men betrayed warmth and agitation. Every device was resorted to to defeat it, without en- countering danger in public estimation. Something of the debate is in Weed's paper this afternoon. "The party" voted us down, by the united vote of Re- gency against Antimasonry. But I feel much relieved, by having surmounted the difficulty of making a debut. I can henceforth speak without fear, if occa- sion requires me to say anything. A visit to Aaron Burr, in regard to the case in which he was coun- sel, occurred about this time : He was at the Merchants' Exchange, one o'f the fourth-rate houses of this city. I could not but think, as I ascended the dirty narrow staircase, to his lodgings, in a small two-bedded room in the upper story, of the contrast between his present state and that he enjoyed when he contended so long, even-handed, with Jefferson for the presidential chair, on the second election after the retire- ment of Washington. He has lost property, fame, character, and honor. Once so gay, so fashionable in his dress, so fascinating in his manners, so glorious in his eloquence, and so mighty in his influence, how altered did he seem, as he 170 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. met me, drawing a coarse woolen surtout over his other clothes, his coarse cotton shirt and cravat struggling, by the form of modern fashions, to display the proud spirit of the wearer ! His few gray hairs, just filled with powder, put on as thickly as paste, wet down and smoothed over his head ; his form shriv- eled into the dimensions almost of a dwarf ; his voice forgetful of its former mel- ody, while naught remained to express the daring spirit of his youth hut his keen, brilliant, dark eye. He approached me with the air and demeanor of a gentleman of the old school, and, as I shook his shriveled and trembling hand, I felt a thousand recollections come to my mind of most unpleasant nature. Is this the same being who shared for years the confidence and did the bidding of General Washington ? Do I recognize in this lingering relic of an age gone by the man who was the ornament and delight of every fashionable circle? Is this squeaking, unsteady voice that instrument which wiled away the hearts of men ? Is this tottering frame the same that commanded at his pleasure the stormy waves of a new and enthusiastic people ? Do these wretched habili- ments cover him who was the second in honor and office in this nation, and whose sure ascent to the highest place was prevented only by his rash and dis- honest ambition ? Is this the same fascinating being who entered with the recklessness of a fallen angel into the peaceful and classic abode, and stole the confidence only to ruin and destroy the happiness of Blennerhassett ? Is this the same proud spirit which, determined to rule, raised the standard of treason, and attempted alone and almost single-handed the conquest of Mexico and the establishment of empire ? Do I actually grasp the hand which directed only too successfully the fatal ball which laid low Alexander Hamilton ? Miserable comment upon unchastened ambition ! Unhappy man, to drag out a dishonored existence among a generation which knows thee only by the history of thy crimes; and judges thee without allowing the merit of purpose or the extenu- ation of passion! Wednesday Night, January \Wh. You probably expect that I will give you an interesting dialogue as between Aaron Burr and myself. It would be so if I could convey its spirit and had room to communicate information enough about the object of our meeting to make the conversation intelligible. But pass we it by as one of those things which must be communicated when we meet face to face. Another person of historic note I yesterday met at our dinner-table, the famous E. C. Genet, quondam French minister in the time of the Revolution ; who was sent here by one of the temporary governments of France, and preached republicanism and sympathy with the French, until it nearly convulsed the Government of this country ; was superseded in his office, on the elevation of a new and more Jacobinical dynasty in his native country ; was denounced, and dared not return to France ; married the daughter of George Clinton, and has ever since lived a poor but very republican citizen of this country. January 20tk. After writing you last night I finished reading the "Water- Witch." It is a strange, improbable, absurd, and unnatural story, without the merit of one good character ; but yet one of the most bewitching books I ever read. The sea- scenes and incidents are not less beautiful than any which are described in the "Pilot," or "Red Rover." I will not again, this winter, be so much interested in a novel. 1831.] FRANCIS GRANGER. 171 I went last evening to the Capitol, to witness the proceedings of the State Temperance Society. Heard two fine speeches, and became a convert to the principles of the institution ; but I shall not become a member ; I leave that work of reformation in the hands of those who have not taken hold of the Ma- sonic evil. It is enough for me to practise temperance, which I intend to do,, and have done. I have a cause of importance to argue in the Court of Chancery, at the term which will commence next Wednesday. I have delayed, ever since last summer, to make up my brief. I determined that I would do it this day. Now mark the glorious opportunity for study afforded by the incidents of one day. Eose at seven o'clock ; read the newspapers, and was shaved ; ready for breakfast at eight o'clock ; smoked a cigar ; set to work at half -past eight ; wrote letters on business till nine; sat down at my brief; went to the House three-quarters past nine ; Senate organized at ten ; I took French leave at eleven ; worked at my brief till half-past twelve. Enter Mr. P , who had tracked me from the House wants a new county. Some gentlemen from Cruttenden's, on the hill, were here to dine with us ; left the table at four ; went to the Register's office, called at the Tracys', and returned at five ; enter a bookseller's agent, refused to sign for his book, got rid of him at six ; went down to tea ; found Sacket ; brought him to my room ; talked half an hour ; enter Thurlow Weed ; enter Mr. Lynde, of the Senate, and Judge Dixon ; exit Mr. Weed ; enter Mr. James Porter, Register ; exit Mr. Porter ; exit Messrs. Lynde and Dixon ; enter Mr. Fuller, of the Senate, and Fillmore, of the Assembly ; exit Sacket ; enter Messrs. Andrews and Julian of the Assembly ; enter Mr. Van Buren of the Assembly ; exeunt Fuller and Fillmore; exit Van Buren; exeunt omnes at ten o'clock. Down sit I at my brief ; clock strikes eleven ; write a letter, and throw myself into bed at twelve o'clock. This is life legislative! Francis Granger, who had been the candidate of the Antimasonic party for Governor, was one of its acknowledged leaders. Seward's first impressions of his appearance and character were given in this letter : January 23, 1831. Mr. Lynde, a clever man, Senator from the Sixth District, called upon me, and I went with him to call on u Governor Granger." I believe I have never told you all I thought about this star of the first magnitude in Antimasonry, and the reason was that, with a limited personal acquaintance, I might give you erroneous impressions which I should afterward be unable to reverse. He is " six feet and well-proportioned," as you well know, handsome, graceful, dig- nified, and affable, as almost any hero of whom you have read ; is probably about thirty-six or seven years old. In point of talent he has a quick and ready apprehension, a good memory, and usually a sound judgment. Has no " genius," in its restricted sense, not a very brilliant imagination, nor extraor- dinary reasoning faculties ; has no deep store of learning, nor a very extensive degree of information. Yet he is intimately acquainted with politics, and with the affairs, interests, and men of th'e State. He is never great, but always successful. He writes with ease, and speaks with fluency and elegance never attempts an argument beyond his capacity, and, being a good judge of men's character, motives, and actions, he never fails to command admiration, re- 172 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. spect, and esteem. Not a man do I know who is his equal, in the skill of exhibiting every particle of his stores with great advantage. You will inquire about his manners. His hair is ever gracefully curled, his broad and ex- pansive brow is always exposed, his person is ever carefully dressed, to exhibit his face and form aright and with success. He is a gallant and fashionable man. He seems often to neglect great matters for small ones, and I have often thought him a trifler; yet lie is universally, by the common people, esteemed grave and great. He is an aristocrat in his feelings, though the people who know him think him all condescension. He is a prince among those who are equals, affable to inferiors, and knows no superiors. In principle he has redeeming qualities more than enough to atone for all his faults is honest, honorable, and just, first and beyond comparison with other politicians of the day. You will ask impatiently, " Has he a heart? " Yes. Although he has less than those who do not know him believe him to possess, he has much more than those who meet him frequently, but not intimately, will allow him to have. He loves, esteems, and never forgets his friends ; but you must not understand me that he possesses as confiding and true a heart as Berdan had, or as you think I have, or as we both know Weed has. There is yet one quality of Granger's character which you do not dream of he loves money almost as well as power. And now you have the best descrip- tion in my power to give of both the distinguished men, who, if Antimasonry becomes predominant, will be long the objects of their country's confidence, and in some sort the conductors of her interest. Which do you like best? I know you will say Granger, and yet, if you knew them both, you would yield your whole confidence, as between the two, to Tracy. But one thing is certain : you would, as I do, like Weed more than either. Tell me frankly if you do not care to have so much of my letters devoted to characters. I give them because I always prefer my letters should be trans- cripts of my every-day's opinions and feelings. Next I went to call on Collier and his daughter. He is one of our cleverest fellows and great men recently elected to Congress. Not finding hftn, I left my card, and then called on Fuller and Fillmore ; staid there until half-past eleven and came home. At dinner to-day met Henry Webb. We have taken a great liking to each other ; went to his room, saw his bachelor comforts, and went with him to Dr. Sprague's church ; heard a good sermon to a congregation among whom there seems to be a revival. Came down State Street before the wind, and here I have been since telling you all the things I have seen and heard. Monday. Last evening Weed came in, and, anxious to know how far I was correct in my estimate of Granger, I could not resist reading to him that part of the foregoing page. He made me read it twice, made his comments upon it, and told me to make the following alteration : " Granger is not aristocratic ; the manner which sometimes makes him ap- pear so is the result of education at Washington. But he is a democrat in all his thoughts and feelings." I think Weed correct ; so you have the two characters. I anticipate you may be disappointed in both. Nevertheless, very few men have fewer faults than either of them I mean, of course, political great men. 1831.] IN THE CHAIR. January 25t7t. This morning I spent an hour and a half in the State Library, studying out my brief, so as to be ready for my argument in the Court of Chancery. Then went into the Senate, and having heard, with no little interest, the warm prayer of the chaplain for the health and happiness of the members, their wives and their little ones, sat down to the ordinary business of saying "ay" and no." In the midst of it, the President was graciously pleased to call me to the chair, on going into Committee of the Whole. I manfully marched to the chair ; and, having been an attentive student, in order to learn the ritual on such occasions, I got, with some little embarrass- ment, a seat in the red-cushioned chair, giving it a hitching motion to bring it up to the table. Imagine me seated under the full-length likeness of George Clinton, with a canopy over my head, representing the hollow globe, and the eagle resting his weary wing upon its summit, and hear me pronounce to the "grave and rever- end signiors :" " The Senate is in Committee of the Whole, on the bill entitled An act for the relief of somebody or other" (then I gave my chair another hitch). " Shall the bill be read ? " "Ay," was the reply, and off went I reading through the bill and the peti- tion (then having hitched my chair too far, I rolled it majestically, with its in- cumbent weight, backward) : "Gentlemen, the question is upon the first and only section of the bill, those of you who are in favor of the same will please to say ay ; those who are op- posed will please to say no. It is carried. The question will now be upon the title of the bill " (which I began as I supposed to read, but found I was reading the first section over again. I hitched my chair up again to the table, and re- trograded myself back to the title of the bill, which the Committee of the Whole was graciously pleased to be satisfied with). " Gentlemen, the question will be now upon the whole bill, and rising and reporting." Again the committee was satisfied. I rose, and the President took the chair. I bowed and thus spoke : " Mr. President, the Senate in Committee of the Whole have had under con- sideration the bill entitled, etc., etc., have passed the same without amendment, and have directed me to report accordingly." Then the President lifted up his voice, and said to the Senate : " Gentlemen, Mr. Seward, from the Committee of the Whole, reports that the committee have had under consideration the bill entitled, etc., etc., and reports their agreement to the same, without amendment." Thus ended the trial of my courage. And such is the journal of a day, of a man who receives, for his services therein, the sum of three hundred cents. January l^th. The bright moon is pouring her silver rays upon me, just as she is pouring out of the abundance of the same treasure upon you, though distant from me so many long miles. My window opens to the east, and I have stood half frozen at the casement, looking at the sober moon, and thinking how many a happy evening we have watched it through the window in the room where you now are. Nay, I even fancy that the boys, fatigued with the arduous duties of the day, have gone to sleep to dream of the pomp and circumstance of the parade ground, and that you are writing the lines which shall cross these on the road. 174: LIFE A** LETTERS. [1831. I have, just at half-past ten this Thursday night, dismissed the last of my visitors, who was the Attorney-General. As he bowed in, the Adjutant- General bowed out. It seems to be the fashion for the Regency to visit, once during the session, all the members of the Legislature. Three have been here now, and I believe the body corporate and sovereign consists of but six or seven. All these calls must be returned, but when shall I be able to do it ? I almost need a private secretary to conduct my increasing correspondence. I give myself but six hours of sleep, and yet, like the housewife's cares, my troubles are never- ending. I am becoming immersed in a swamp of letters, for laws, for canals, banks, insurance companies, and for appointments. I found twelve lying on my table to-night. Your little letter was worth the whole dozen. CHAPTER II. 1831. Albany Society. Dinners. Parties and Visits. Governor Tkroop. Samuel Miles Hop- kins. Nathaniel P. Tallmadge. Levi Beardsley. Millard Fillmore. Philo C. Fuller. Lobbying. Election of Marcy to the United States Senate. Speech on Militia Re- form. Troy and Schenectady. Mad Dogs. Reading Novels. ALBANY was noted at that time, as it has been ever since, for its hospitality and pleasant society. Early hours, however, were then fashionable, and French dinners were unknown. dy, January 28A. I went to Mr. Hopkins' s to dinner at three o'clock. The company included Mr. Fuller and myself, of the Senate ; and Messrs. Lacey, Fillmore, Manchester, Percival, Knight, White, and Ashley, of the Assembly. Mr. Hopkins, of whom you have heard me speak, is a most intelligent, philanthropic man, Mrs. Hopkins an intellectual woman. Miss Julia, the eldest unmarried daughter, is about twenty-two, sensible and easy in her manners. Miss Hester is like her sister, except that she has more beauty. Young Mr. Hopkins is a clever, well-informed young engineer. I must add, also, that they are all very unostentatious, though Mr. Hopkins is an LL. D. Mr. Fuller, of the Senate, taught school at Florida when I was at school at Goshen, in 1809, and while there he lived at my father's. He is tall, well-pro- portioned, and dignified in person, and is about forty-five years old. Fillmore was, ten or twelve years ago, a wool-carder in Summer Hill. He is popular and honest, and has more influence in the Assembly than any Anti- masonic member. He is now a lawyer of good reputation and talents. But I forget that I have left the company seated at the table without any- thing before them, while I am writing this account of their characters. Mrs. Hopkins, at the head, has a boiled turkey. Miss Julia has charge of a boiled ham. Miss Hester presides over a dish of fried oysters, while Mr. Will- iam Hopkins disposes of a pair of roast ducks. His father has a tremendous 1831.] WHO IS HE? 175 piece of roast venison. A flowing tureen of mock-turtle soup is first ladled out, and then come the other luxuries. Presently there appear upon the table bottles of porter and of cider, supplying the place of brandy. The meats are removed to make way for plum-pudding, apple, mince, and custard pies. Then come trifles, whip- cream, jellies, and custards. These are followed by nuts and raisins. Then common Madeira wine gives place to "Farquhar." The ladies drink one glass and are off, and the gentlemen leave the board at six o'clock. January 29^7i. I took a walk with Mr. Tracy to return Judge Conkling's call. He lives in Lydius Street, about a mile from the compact part of the town. It was by this time half-past four. I sallied forth to find Mr. Mancius's house in Montgomery Street. When I saw him before, he met me just as I was going out. Both were muffled in cloaks, and I knew I should not recognize him. I rang the bell ; a servant appeared. I asked, and was answered that Mr. Man- cms was at home. The girl went to the door at the farther end of the hall, and, as she opened it, disclosed a table, two gentlemen seated there, with bot- tles and glasses. " A gentleman wants to see me ; where is he, in the hall, did you say ? " and forth comes a man with a kind of bewildered air and manner, which showed that I was no more known to him than a visitor would have been from Kani- tchatka. Presuming this to be my host, I extended my hand, and received his, which was reluctantly held out to me. " My name is Seward, sir," said I. " Seward Seward ; yes, sir, Seward, did you say ? Walk in, Mr. Seward." Then he glanced at me again, and opened a door which displayed a bevy of young ladies ; and I. thought I was going to be ushered into the midst of them, when my host bestowed a bewildered look oh my person as I divested myself of my cloak and hat, and then hastily, as if something were wrong, pulled : to the door of the parlor, and led me into the dining-room. " Major Schuyler, Mr. Seward. I think you said your name was Seward ? Take a chair, Mr. Seward ; " and so I was seated. I was perfectly satisfied that my name was Seward and as to who I was, but my host had no distinct idea on either of those points ; and I on my part was bewildered to know if he was Mr. Mancius or his brother. A third glass was filled for me. I soon discovered that Major Schuyler was indignant at my intrusion, so. in order to disarm him, I observed : " We have a prospect of more comfortable weather, sir." " Perhaps so," said he, gruffly. Mine host asked me to drink, but with an air which seemed to say, " I won- der what the devil sent you here ? " Determined to know whether this was actually the man I came to see, I said, " I perceive you do not recognize me, Mr. Mancius ; my name is Seward ; I saw you at the Eagle Tavern." " Seward Eagle Tavern ; yes, sir, please to take another glass." And still it was evident he had no recollection even of my name. u You know, sir, that you spoke to me about a suit I was to defend, and I was to call upon you for some papers to send to Judge Miller." " Oh, yes !. now I know ; now I recollect yon. You are Judge Miller's son-in- 176 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. law. Oh, yes, yes ! do take another glass of wine. I beg your pardon for not remembering you, especially as I invited you to call. How are you getting on in the Legislature, Mr. Seward ? " " Why, very well, sir ; we are disposing of the business as well as is usual." Then Major Schuyler relaxed his knitted brows, and said " Are you in the Legislature, sir ? " " Yes, sir," said I, very meekly. " Well, sir, I have a petition before your honorable body, and shall be obliged to you if, on examining it, you give it such support as you consistently can." " Oh, oh ! " thought I, " the weather is becoming more comfortable, after all." He went on to state the object of the petition. I assured him I should be happy to give it a favorable consideration, and added that I had not before heard of it. " Yes, sir," said he, " you must have heard of it ; it has been reported in the Assembly." " Ah ! " said I, " that is the reason I have not seen it." " Why, sir, that is the reason you must have seen it," said he ; " you are in the Assembly, I presume, sir ? " " No, sir," said I, " I am in the other House." " Now, sir," said he, " I beg to ask you, in God's name, how old you call yourself?" u Twenty-nine years," said I, very meekly. " Well, I swear I never would vote for you for a Senator from your looks." " Ah ! " said Mr. Mancius, " that explains why I did not know Mr. Seward ; he was so young ! I thought it was some young gentleman who had called to see my daughters." I need not protract this little story longer than to add that we after this got to be on excellent terms ; and I departed, questioning with myself whether I had not better get a wig. Monday, January 31st. To-day the Governor commences his usual dinner-parties. You must know the thing is done after this wise : The Governor takes the alphabetical list of the members of both Houses, and dines a portion every third day until all have had the honor. Andrews, being first on the roll, has just gone to pay his hom- age. We have had a dull day in the Legislature. Mr. Benton, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Throop, and Mr. Foster, have made speeches drier than brick-dust upon a ques- tion drier than baked sand. It would amuse you to see the letters I receive from all classes of office- wanters. Among others last night was one from a man I never saw, but who says he is sure that, from my acquaintance with the Governor, I can get him the office of auctioneer for the city of New York. Alas ! poor fellow, he lit- tle knows that, if he wants an office, the surest way to be defeated is to enlist me in his support ! Another writes that, in consequence of my having collected a note for him, he solicits my aid to procure for his brother the office of Quartermaster-General. A Regency man wants me to vote for the Penn Yan Bank because George Throop is opposed to it. Another lobby-man wants me to vote for a new bank in Geneva because he thinks we ought to have a railroad from Auburn to the 1831.] ALBANY SOCIETY. canal. One wants me to vote for a bank at "Waterloo, because it will promote Antiinasonry ; while another is urging my neighbor, Hubbard, to vote for the same bank because it will help to kill off Antimasonry. These artful lobby- members deem the members of the Legislature to be ignorant and stupid, and have no idea how easily their tricks are discovered, nor how much they operate to defeat the very purposes for which they are practised. They even go so far sometimes as to electioneer our landlords to obtain the exercise of their influence. Is it not passing strange that, for four years, I have not had so much time which I might devote daily to domestic enjoyments as I now occupy in writing a page for your perusal? And the time which I have had has been almost always snatched, with a feverish excitement, from perplexities and cares, which discolored most of the hours that might otherwise have been so happy. Well ! after all, perhaps I ought to have learned that it is the lot of no man to have more happiness. Of the various evening parties mentioned, it will, perhaps, be suffi- cient to reproduce here the description of one, illustrating- their gen- eral character. Nearly all who then frequented the drawing-rooms of the capital have now passed away. February 1st. I have just come from Mrs. Van Vechten's party. I presented myself at the door at precisely a quarter before nine. The fashionable time is from eight till nine. I was shown into the library, where I divested myself of cloak, etc. Meeting there Mr. Bleecker, I went, arm-in-arm with him, jostling through the crowd, to shake hands with Ten Broeck Van Vechten, twelve years ago my classmate, and now one of the sober and staid housekeepers of this ancient city. Although it was contrary to college laws to marry, Ten Broeck fell in love with a Miss Eoorback, a pretty little girl, ran away with and married her, and then asked and obtained his father's consent to the union. Once only I remember to have seen the bewitching beauty at Mrs. Schuyler's to-night I saw her leaning on her husband's arm, a matron of about thirty years. The apartments were two rooms, less spacious, though more elegant, than our own ; the style of the damask curtains in the best of taste. Into these rooms were crowded about seventy ladies and gentlemen, and they justified Al- bany's reputation of having a large proportion of handsome people. Two fiddlers were playing for a cotillon in the front-room. I knew several of the gentlemen, and a few of the ladies, and so contrived to be at ease. At nine o'clock the Lieutenant-Governor's daughters arrived ; and it was evi- dent they were regarded as belles. In a few minutes came Governor and Mrs. Throop and E. T. Throop Martin. "Waiters carried about lemonade, and sangaree, and cake. Madeira wine was in the gentlemen's dressing-room. Except that the ladies' short sleeves were in the extreme of the fashion, the assembly was the counterpart of a similar one at Auburn. Dancing continued till ten, when there was a general rush of girls and boys up-stairs. I followed, and was able to soe that the successful ones were doing honors to an entertainment of some kind. After the ladies had retired from the supper-room, the gentlemen gathered round the table, which bore a beautiful set of china, with pickled oysters, ice-creams, etc., with Madei- ra, champagne, Burgundy, and Hock. I discovered that it was considered' 12 178 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. fashionable to retire at any time after supper, so being fatigued I came off with the Speaker of the Assembly at an early hour. The seat in the United States Senate that had been occupied by Chancellor Sanford was now to be filled by a new election : February 1st. We held a caucus, the other night, for the purpose of nominating a candidate to be supported by the Antimasonic members ; which exhibited the peculiarities of all our great men. Spencer, always forward and assuming, had promised John Woodworth the nomination. Maynard, ever cautious and scheming, had a great anxiety for Al- bert Gallatin's nomination. Tracy was opposed to Spencer's course, for many reasons ; probably the principal one was, that he did not care to let him take upon himself too much of the management of the party. Hopkins, who with a great deal of talent and learning has the unaffected simplicity and ingenuousness of a child, went to the meeting, by request of Maynard, to speak in favor of Gallatin. From a sense of what course was best for the party, I was opposed to all the above-mentioned candidates ; and of .course fell in with Tracy, to sup- port some third man, and we agreed upon James Wadsworth. Maynard made his speech in favor of Gallatin. Spencer made his in favor of Woodworth. Hopkins spoke in favor of Gallatin. Some one nominated Tracy, and some other one nominated Hopkins. I per- severed in my course. Hopkins, convinced by my argument against his own, voted for Wadsworth ; and, after having successfully carried my point, I had the mortification to see Tracy and Hopkins defeat their preference and my own for Wadsworth, by con- senting themselves to be candidates. The consequence was, we all had to give up, and then take Mr. "Works's name, upon which all agreed. I laughed heartily at Tracy the next time I saw him. Wednesday, February 2d. Yesterday was the day for the appointment of United States Senator. The roll being called, and Judge Marcy, the Regency candidate, having a majority over Works, the Antimasonic candidate, a resolution was passed de- claring William L. Marcy to be duly nominated on the part of the Senate. The Senate sent a message to the Assembly that they would meet the Assem- bly, to compare nominations. An answer was returned. Thereupon the Presi- dent of the Senate left his seat, and preceded by the Sergeant-at-Arms, with a drawn sword, and followed by the Clerk, led the way, the Senators marching in procession to the Assembly Chamber, where seats were provided on the right. It was quite an imposing exhibition. The object of the joint meeting was this : if the nominations did not agree, then we were to go into joint ballot. Judge Marcy, when thus chosen, was about forty-five years of age, and was the rising man of his party in the State. As Comptroller, and subsequently by the impartial discharge of his judicial functions in the Morgan trial at Lockport, he had won public 1831.] SCHENECTADY AND TROY. 179 esteem. He was now sent to Washington, and his seat on the bench was filled by the appointment of. Judge Samuel Nelson. There were two t6wns that never lost their attraction for Seward Schenectady, the scene of his college-days, and Troy, where Mrs. Sew- ard, not many years before, was a school-girl. Visits to both places were described in his letters : February 6, 1831. My visit at Schenectady was delightful. I saw Dr. Nott, who was pleased by my coming. lie expressed gratification 111 counting the number of "his boys " who are in the Legislature. It was with difficulty he would suffer me to leave him. Arriving at night and leaving early in the morning, I could not go to see Berdan's monument, but in the evening I made some calls, talked with the old Dutch lady, who was habited in short gown and petticoat, and with the pretty black-eyed Susan with whom I used to board. But there is change at Schenectady, as elsewhere. Young ladies took me by the hand and claimed my recollection, whom my memory could only recall as little girls when I lived there twelve years ago. I spent an hour with Mrs. Boardman at Troy, yesterday ; pleased and de- lighted with her reminiscences of your and Lisette's sojourn there. She had garnered up Lisette's smart speeches ; and I sat a laughing auditor as she brought them, one after another, bright and pointed, from the stores of her capacious and faithful memory. Mrs. Warren appears to be living with elegance and taste in Troy. Her sister is now the reigning beauty in that city ; so appropriately cognominated after the city whos.e fate it was to be demolished after a ten years' siege, to re- cover a beautiful woman. I do not sec that Troy has at all changed. The beaux who figured there in your day have become chastened by years and cares ; but their places are filled by a new generation, educated under the influence of their example, and copy- ing, with admirable precision, their manners. While I was at Mrs. Boardman's, an old, very old lady, of whom I have no more recollection than I have of Mother Eve, came along, with trembling steps, to whom Mrs. Boardman introduced me. " Mr. Seward, Mrs. Jenkins. You don't remember him, I suppose." " Oh ! yes, I remember his looks and his voice, though I did not remember his name. He married one of the Miller girls." "Yes, madam," said I, with as much pride as old Demaree when asked to make a sangaree, " I am that man" For I thought that I have seen ten thousand girls since; but, if I had to make a choice now, I would choose one of the Miller girls for my wife, and the other one for a sister. How powerful is the sympathy, or the self-complacency, which opens our hearts to those who make us the objects of their regard ! In many instances it is impossible to determine to what cause to set down our friendship. But, with Thurlow Weed, I have no hesitation about it. It is not a little surprising that though he is one of the greatest politicians of the age, and is, in fact, the magician whose wand controls and directs the operations of the Antimasonic party, I never, or very seldom, have ten minutes' conversation on politics with him. He sits down, stretches one of his long legs out to rest 180 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. on my coal-box, I cross my own, and, puffing the smoke of our cigars into each other's faces, we talk of everything, and everybody, except politics. This is a sorry world that will load down the rising of generous, kind affec- tion ; that will eradicate, one by one, the feelings which only make it desirable. I am happy when I am relieved temporarily from its cares. I derive more pleasure and more joy from the love you bear me, from the frank, confiding friendship of Thurlow Weed, and even from the irregular burst of Tracy's esteem, than from the proudest station, or from the longest, loudest shout of popular applause. I have just called on Mrs. Gary, wife of a brother Senator, and it gives me great pleasure to speak of her she is so amiable and unaffected. Tuesday, February 8th. This morning, as you will see by the paper, I proposed sundry amendments to the militia law. A long discussion took place. It ended in a victory for my friends, and for a necessary and proper amendment of the law. But I am com- mitted to defend, as well as I may be able, the propositions I have offered ; and of course shall have to study. I am in hope to find time between sunset and midnight. But one is sure of nothing here. On Thursday morning he rose in his place in the Senate-chamber, to make his first labored speech (with what degree of self-distrust his autobiography describes). Carefully prepared, it was courteously and attentively listened to by his fellow-Senators. It was a plea for such reforms as should make the militia a theme of popular pride, instead of an object of popular derision, and closed with predictions which time has verified : " I have always felt that the militia system is a relic of the age of the Revo- lution, too valuable to be idly thrown away ; that it is a strong and beautiful pillar of the Government, which ought not to be rudely torn from its base. But if no effectual remedy can be found in legislative wisdom, ... I shall trust to the exigencies of invasion, insurrection, or oppression, for a regeneration of the military spirit which brought the nation into existence, and will, if restored in its primitive purity and vigor, be able to carry us through the dark and perilous ways of national calamity, yet unknown to us, but which must at some time be trodden by all nations." Friday, February llth. Last night, after writing to you, I was employed in writing down the sub- stance of my militia speech, as you will see it reported in the Journal. In lieu of the letter I was expecting from you came one from , the burden of which was to prove that Antimasonry was all a humbug and there was the comforting addition that I knew it to be so. I was provoked, and under the combined influence of disappointment at not receiving a letter from you, and of receiving such a one from him, I have written and sent him what will effectually silence his suspicions of my political integrity, if it do not cut at once the chain of personal friendship. I have no patience with anybody who knows me as he does, and yet can mistake me for a hypocrite. The good people of Auburn, who express so much surprise at my determina- tion not to visit home during the session, have a right to my reasons. I am un- 1831.] READING NOVELS. willing to follow the fashion of affected fondness for home at the expense of public duties. I hold a responsible post in the Government. I will not be absent a day when duty calls me here, and no one knows at what time my vote on any important measure may be wanted. Then in half-serious, half-playful strain of comment on Auburn news, he added : I would not be very much alarmed about the hydrophobia. People delight in excitements, and in no excitement so much as that of terror, and in no terror so much as the mad-dog excitement; and, although I know the captain's good sense and excellent feelings, I have seen so many alarms of like nature that I have come to believe almost as little in mad dogs as I do in witchcraft. I have not seen one number of the Patriot or Messenger since I left home, and so you will see I have had the enviable felicity of living more than three months without seeing myself calumniated in a newspaper. Indeed, what with Weed's and Gary's regard for me, and the favorable impression I have made on some others, I am getting quite into the belief of my own honesty and up- rightness. The influence of novels upon the imagination was, at that day, quite as much as now, a subject of dispute. Giving his opinion upon it, at the age when he was still a reader of romances, he said : February 15th. It is true that notions of human nature, derived from works of fiction, are a misfortune ; but it is not equally true that the matter-of-fact people, with whom the world abounds, are so much happier without them. I am inclined to think they have the worst of it. Unless one is so stupid as to be insensible, he will have emotion of some sort, and I apprehend you will find that those who derive none from works of fiction, and none from views of men and women through the medium of romance, have the distressing excitement of passion of some kind. And if there be no " bursting of bubbles " to make them weep, there is often the violence of anger, the pain of suppressed revenge, the malignity of envy, and the miserable craving of avarice. Among all your acquaintance those whom you would be least inclined to envy for their happiness would be those who have never been interested, charmed, or pleased, with works of fiction. Tracy has read to me some beautiful letters from Mrs. Sigourney, of Hart- ford, the author of the admirable "Letter from the Ladies of America to the Ladies of Greece," and of so many fine poems, etc., in the annuals. These let- ters were to his father and mother on the death of his sister, who was Mrs. Sigourney's intimate friend. February 16th. In the Senate the whole number of members is but thirty-two. The num- ber present seldom exceeds twenty-eight, and is now but twenty-two. These become intimately acquainted, and, in most instances, personally friend- ly to each other. Business is talked over at our lodgings or wherever we hap- pen to meet. We seldom have more than a dozen persons for an audience, and so no man presumes to make a set speech ; but most of the discussion is carried 182 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. on in a colloquial and easy tone. In this I have obtained sufficient assurance, and have enough general information, to take a part. On the other page I have given you a rough draft of the Senate-chamber, that you may understand localities. If you look on the plan I sent you, you will find occupying seat No. 3, Mr. Benton, of Little Falls ; a man of five feet ten, well-proportioned, almost bald, near-sighted, rather self-asserting. He speaks on every question, and is said to be the leader of the Regency party of the Senate. He is about forty years old. The member in No. 4 is Mr. Tallmadge, aged about thirty -five or thirty-six ; short but corpulent, and of dark complexion ; has a brilliant imagination, a happy elocution, and a fine though rather fiorid style; speaks seldom, and never without preparation ; always commands respect ; is always clear and me- thodical. He is of a friendly and kindly disposition, polite, and respectful, and entitles himself to the good opinions of everybody. I imagine him to be a man who has no enemies, and few but warm friends. He is a Regency man, and will always be an important man ; has considerable ambition, but not as- sumption, and leaves minor matters to the care of others. Mr. Beardsley, a member from Otsego County, is about thirty-eight years old, with light complexion and light sandy hair. Unprepossessing but unpre- tending, he is an amiable man, a sound lawyer ; diffident, and not particularly prominent in debate. I esteem him a candid, honorable, and highly -respectable man. He belongs to the Regency party. Philo C. Fuller occupies the next seat ; a fine-looking man, six feet high, aged forty-two or three ; sensible and discreet ; a plain man, who always speaks good sense and speaks often, but never at any length, and is rather ambitious to obtain office and promotion. After teaching school at Florida, he went west- ward ; became, and yet remains, a clerk to General TTadsworth, of Geneseo. The Antimasonic State Convention meets to-morrow. It has brought along many of my old friends. Bacon has been with me all day. "Woods, of Geneva, is also here. Fred Whittlesey occupies a chief seat in the tabernacle ; besides, there are politicians of all kinds, of whom I know nothing, except their zeal and apparent sincerity in the cause. My room is a thoroughfare, and I have less time for study than is at all compatible with my duty to my constituents or myself. February 24A. Maynard concluded to-day his speech on the Chenango Canal question, one of the most masterly efforts I have ever heard. It was a demonstration of the power which may be arrived at by means of persevering, patient study. He has for this kind of subject, the finances, resources, and policy of the State, no equal in the Senate. It makes me homesick to see the sleighs bearing off lobby-members, whose business is done or undone, and members of the Legislature, who obtain leave of absence for three days and spend three weeks ; and it is no contemptible effort of one's resolution to remain here upon one's post, when one feels that among so many counselors the responsibility resting upon a single individual is extremely small. 1831.] VISIT TO THE SHAKERS. 183 CHAPTER III. 1831. Visit to the Shakers. Presidential Candidates. Calhoun. Chief-Justice Spencer. Kural Lite. A Parent's Responsibilities. Banks. Edward Ellice. Trip to Orange County. A FEW miles from Albany is the Shaker settlement of Niskayuna. The neat, frugal habits of its people, their quaint dress and language, their enforced separation of the sexes, and their peculiar religious ob- servances, attracted many visitors to the little community. Seward, in one of his letters, described his first impressions of them. With some of the leading members, a few years later, his acquaintance ripened into friendship. Sunday, February Nth. This morning Mr. and Mrs. Tracy, Mr. Andrews, and I, drove in the glorious sunshine to Niskayuna, to attend the worship of that singular but harmless people the Shakers. The house is perhaps fifty feet long by thirty-five wide, the walls neatly whitewashed, the floor clean as any dairy. There is no gallery, no pulpit ; there are no pews, no desk. The audience, if I may so call it, com- posed of curious visitors like ourselves, had plain benches, occupying half the room. The worshipers occupied the other half. There were about forty of each sex. The dress of the Shakers is simple, neat, and uniform ; that of the females consisting of dark, reddish-brown homespun, made exceedingly plain, with nar- row skirts and close sleeves, and presenting a singular contrast to the gay array of " the world's people," as they call us. No part of the person is exposed save the hands and face. The neck is covered even to the chin a plain white linen or silk handkerchief is pinned over the shoulders and bosom ; a cap, with no ribbons or other ornament, is fitted closely to the head, and drawn so far over as to conceal the hair. This, resembling the customary head-dress of a corpse, seemed at first to give a cadaverous and painful appearance to the coun- tenance ; but that impression wore away, and was probably the effect of the association of ideas. Over this austere dress each had a plain drab mantle and Quaker bonnet. The men were habited in drab coats, trousers, and vest, in the style of a past age. All was silence, order, and apparently self-communing devotion. One, who seemed to be in authority, stepped forward to the centre, and addressed his "brethren and sisters" in an exhortation to have their hearts directed to the importance and solemnity of their present duty ; and then retired again to his place in the front rank. One, who seemed to be a leader of the music, then raised his voice in a kind of hymn. Instantly every voice joined in chorus; each worshiper keeping time by a backward and forward motion of the body, though still keeping his position on the floor; the arms extended forward from the elbow, with hands relaxed at the wrist, also keeping time by an upward and downward motion. The music was loud, clear, and harmonious ; the words seemed to be a kind of repetition the tune something between the LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. sacred music of other denominations and the light and gay airs of a ballroom. It commenced with "They are marching on to Zion" then, continuing the action of their hands, the worshipers moved back and forth, in a succession of figures, one resembling in some respects the " promenade" in a cotillon. The Shakers having returned to their first positions, an elder then addressed the u world's people" in a few sensible remarks ; the burden of which was that, whatever might have been the motives which led us hither, he would submit to us whether it was not expedient for us to turn our attention as they had done to the great affair of salvation ; that the principle of their association was to pursue the road to heaven, as it was laid down in the Scriptures, by leading lives of self-denial and devotion ; that Jesus Christ and his disciples practised those virtues and inculcated them ; and that ambition, avarice, and all other worldly lusts, must necessarily be subdued and entirely overcome. He did not give us any further illustrations of the creed of this inoffensive people. You will be surprised when I tell you that the effect of the whole service, upon myself and all others present, was serious and devotional. If, for a moment, the continued evolutions of the dance, together with the animating but simple chorus, brought back the olden recollection of " How oats, peas, beans, and barley grows, you nor I nor nobody knows how oats, peas, beans, and barley grows," yet my roving thoughts were chastened by the impressive devo- tion apparent in the countenances of most of the worshipers. A few, however, did not seem inspired with the same enthusiastic spirit some of the girls cast- ing furtive, smiling glances at the spectators ; and some of the men having such sinister countenances that it required liberal charity to consider them as suffer- ing penance. March Zd. Circumstances conspire to induce the belief that Mr. Clay will not be our candidate at the ensuing election. Calhoun, more than any other of the candidates, talks Antimasonry; but the stain of nullification is too black upon his record to justify any belief that he can receive our support. McLean is capable and deserving, and withal, I believe, well inclined toward us, but we have not yet a decided expression from him. March 5th. To-day I went to see Chief -Justice Spencer, whom I found one of the kind- est, as I have always thought him one of the most sensible, of men. On the way back I met "Weed, who said he had been down to the Eagle to see me, and there heard a gentleman catechising my landlord about my being always out, and where I went to, and how I occupied my time, and all that. Upon that hint, I came down to my room ; wherein entered a lobby-member, who dwelt with me till nine o'clock. Mrs. A wondered that I would not join her husband and go to New York to live. I read her a lesson upon domestic comfort and rural life, which surprised her and myself too ; you don't know how willing I shall be to remain in Auburn next summer. March \tJi. After writing you last night, Weed came in with Andrews from the theatre, where the actors had been performing a play in which "Weed was made one of 1831.] EDWARD ELLICE. the dramatis persona. Like a good fellow as lie is, he was unaffected by the attempts of our opponents to be witty at his expense, so long as he preserves the attachment of his friends ; but Andrews, who is a warm-hearted fellow, took the joke so seriously as to come home evidently dispirited, and declaring that we would have revenge. March 8th. I went this afternoon to see the experiments with repeating-guns, which the inventor wishes the State to patronize. I, having voted against the bill the other day, could do no less than examine the gun. It is a curious piece of mechanism, by which ten successive balls may be fired from the same gun with- out the trouble of reloading. March llth. The Governor having gone through with the process of "dining the Legisla- ture," as it is called, the Lieutenant-Governor now follows suit. Billets were received this morning, inviting a part of the Senators to dine with him on Monday next ; and others inviting the residue for Wednesday. He is a pleasant, plain old man, and I have been struck, on looking at him, by the reflection how little the people can or do know of the real character or merits of those whom they elect to rule over them. The press is always divided into two parties : the one lauds or magnifies the candidate beyond all justice or truth ; the other equally exaggerates his demerits, and it is only when the battle is lost or won, and we meet here, that we find each other neither so good and so great, nor so vile and so weak, as the press have labored to prove we are. March 12th. This day has been one of excitement and disorder ; opening with the last visit of the lobby-members of the Buffalo, Ulster, Madison, Montgomery, Penn Yan, and Oswego Banks, whose fate was to be decided this morning. Before the question was taken, a bill came up relating to aliens, its real purpose being to deprive one Edward Ellice, a foreigner, and now in London, of certain vested rights at Little Falls. It struck every one at first with astonishment to see such a bill introduced. Many opposed it ; but the persuasions of party leaders induced one after another to yield ; and, w r ith some specious modification, each professed to be satisfied. It was plain that, on the third reading, the bill was to pass. It was almost the only occasion, since I have been here, that I have felt roused by the spirit of indignation against wrong. I rose with the accumulated embarrassment of long delay, and poured forth a torrent of honest feeling. I did not occupy the floor more than five minutes ; I knew not what I was going to say when I rose, nor what I had said when I sat down; but the house was still, and the audience was on my side of the question, and responded to the declaration I made that the village of Little Falls, its rocks, and its waters might pass away ; but, with my vote, riot one jot or tittle of the legisla- tive faith of this State should be passed away or broken. The bill was adopted, but they were five honest and fearless men who voted against it. Then came the bank questions, and after that came a dinner given by the successful bank applicants at this house. I appreciate your solicitude about your boy ; but I do not think you need apprehend so much danger to the early morals of the child from his associations 186 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. at school. Preserve within him his love and confidence toward his parents, and, my word for it, he will escape the evils of communication with those children who become corrupted at school for want of sedulous and affectionate care at home. There lies the evil. Whatever of bad effects my early associations have left upon me, I can now trace to the weakened confidence and affection toward my father, caused by his severity ; whatever of good I have preserved, I am free and proud to declare, I owe to the affection which I still cherished for him, and the love and fear which I have ever entertained for my mother. March IMh. In the Senate this morning we had under consideration the bill relating to colonial records. A long debate was had, of which there is a brief sketch in the papers. My remarks occupied fifteen minutes. At four I went to dine with the Lieutenant-Governor. The ladies were Mrs. Clarkson and Miss Livingston, his two daughters. The guests were Mr. West- cott, Mr. Lynde, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Tallmadge, Mr. Throop, Mr. Todd, Mr. Quackenbush, and myself, of the Senate ; Messrs. Fillmore, Otis, Andrews, Morehouse, and the Speaker, of the Assembly; Mr. Cambreling, of Congress; Mr. Van Rensselaer, the young Patroon, and Mr. Schuyler. When I came up to my room, at seven o'clock, I found waiting for me Colonel Stone, of New York, editor of the Commercial Advertise?'. He is a very intelli- gent and agreeable man I was much pleased with him. His contributions to the annuals you may recollect. One of his stories is, I think, in the "Atlantic Souvenir," of which the scene is laid in Otsego. Tracy maintained to-night that he did not desire to win one hour of posthu- mous fame he was willing to be forgotten as soon as the clods were upon his bosom ; and, said he to me, " Just dismiss the vague and indefinable belief which you indulge, that when men speak your praises after you are dead you shall hear them, and you would feel as I do." I assented, but added, "I cannot but shudder at the idea of leaving 'my wife and bairns ' to struggle with a world careless of them." The monotony of legislative life was now varied by a visit to the old home in Orange County. NEWBURO, Saturday, \th. I am just off for Florida; Mr. Fuller, of the Senate, is with me. It snows and is uncomfortably cold, but I am in exuberant spirits, owing to the escape from confinement at Albany and touching once more my native soil. We left Albany in the steamboat, at three o'clock yesterday. On board I fell into com- pany with Dr. McNaughton, of Albany. Found him extremely intelligent and agreeable. Monday, 21sl. I ought to tell you about the mistake I found my poor grandmother Jen- nings laboring under. I had written a letter or two to my mother in an hour of sober thought, pouring out the affectionate feelings which, in a long ab- sence, had accumulated in my heart, but in no wise alluding, except by way of acknowledgment of my mother's virtue and piety, to the subject of religion. These letters had been read to my grandmother, and forgetting the straitness of 1831.] SAMUEL S. SEWARD. her Calvinistic principles, and with the confused perception of old age, she had found cause in them to believe me a man of " changed heart." When I was there she avowed this belief, and sought its assurance from me. Alas! poor sinner ! I had to undeceive her, though I saw the mistake had afforded un- mingled joy to her affectionate heart. I leave you to judge with how little patience I bore the lecture she addressed, to bring me to that state which she had fondly believed me safely moored in. I knew all the time she had the right of the matter. I could not question her right, or feel one uprising emotion of resistance. I believe I held the handle of the door half an hour, waiting a con- venient pause in the lesson which would enable me to retire. Fuller saw this sheet lying on my table ; he asked to whom the letter was written; I told him. He said: "It maybe that you will continue to write such long letters' to your wife till you are fifty years old; but I doubt it." Do you? CHAPTER IV. 1831. Haynard's Eloquence. Rev. Edward N. Kirk. Eeligious Belief. John C. Spencer. Bon- nets. United States Bank. West Point and "Old Fort Put." Imprisonment for Debt. Closing Scenes of the Session. THE latter part of a legislative session is always a busy and hurried season. Again at his post in Albany, Seward resumed the narrative of its incidents : . March 30, 1831. It gives me joy to think my stay here is limited to three weeks. I do not think I shall be disappointed in my hopes of passing the ensuing summer more wisely and pleasantly for you and for myself. If I can but learn to feel only an ordinary sense of responsibility in my professional business, I may have time enough to be not entirely a stranger at my own hearth. I may, for once, have time to read. Indeed, strange as it may seem, I have thought that I have retro- graded during my winter here, and got back to the feelings of by-gone years. I am certainly younger here, where I am a boy among gray-headed men, than at home, where I am in some sense the responsible head of a party, and the deposi- tory of important professional concerns. March 31st. My father arrived here last night. I have spent with him all the time to-day not occupied with the sittings of the Senate. There is a singular youthfulness in his full years. Many of the boarders here supposed him to be my senior brother. Now that he is away from the patriarchal seat at the family fireside, he has thrown off the severity and rigor which used to awe me ; and I have thought many times to-day how strange it was that he, to whom the affection and confidence of wife and children are so welcome, nay, so indispensable, should have seemed to us, during a part of his life, so different from the buoyant and generous youth which my mother describes him to have been. 188 LIFE AND LETTERS. April 1st. I was beyond measure gratified with the impression made by Maynard upon my father. In the course of the debate in the Senate on his favorite doctrine of canal revenues, Maynard took the floor, and for half an hour poured forth a torrent of sparkling eloquence, which drew the admiration of every one who heard him ; but withal so respectful, so kind toward his opponent as to disarm him of the power of reply. My father, who was an auditor, said, " Well! I don't think you have need to go further for a President of the United States, while you have Maynard." I told him I thought that such eloquence was worthy of the Senate of the United States, and would not compare badly with the efforts of even Daniel Webster. Next week, and probably to the end, we shall hold afternoon sessions, com- mencing at four o'clock. Sunday, April Bd. Went with Tracy and George Andrews to Kirk's church this morning. He is one of the most eloquent of pulpit-orators. Seventy-five converts were to be received to communion this afternoon. After church we walked, discoursing of religion, of skepticism, and its dan- gers; and coming, of course, to no satisfactory conclusion why it was that mankind must ever differ upon the subject. I suggested that, perhaps, less difficulty would exist if we had no books except the four Evangelists, and that the controversies between different sects are based largely on the Epistles and Revelation. To this Tracy assented, and added that the internal evidence of the divine origin of the Gospels was far greater than that of the Epistles. By-the-way, did you ever read Locke's dissertation upon " The Faith neces- sary to Salvation? " He maintains that all that is necessary for us to believe is, that Jesus Christ is the Messiah ; and he enforces it by a reference to the preach- ing of our Saviour, who, when asked, "What shall we do to be saved? " an- swered, " Believe on me and ye shall be saved." The Rev. Edward N. Kirk was the youthful friend with whom Sew- ard exchanged orations when both were students in New York. He was now in the height of his reputation as a popular preacher. Very fine-looking, of medium stature, but of striking presence and graceful manner, with dark complexion, and profuse curling hair, he was, by his impassioned eloquence, drawing crowds to the Fourth Pres- byterian Church, in Albany, greater than it could hold. April Qtk. This morning Mrs. T was going to look at the new bonnets, and invited me to get one for you ; so her husband sealed up his letters, and forthwith we all started off, down Columbia, and North Market, and South Market Streets, to Miss Harris's, and there the bonnets were. But how could I make any choice ? Mrs. T thought she should prefer a " Dunstable " or a " diamond straw," that being the fashionable as well as durable article; but the difficulty was about the shape. I looked on like a Yorkshire rustic, thinking all shapes pretty, but unable to say, in my own mind, that one was handsomer than another. 1831.] SPENCER, VAN BUREN, FILLMORE. 189 Finally, I told her to choose her own, and I would look at it after it was trimmed, and then make up my judgment, get one for you and one for your sister, and meantime I would write home for advice. All that I could treasure up about the bonnets is, that they give one a chance to look out, and are not so long and so small-crowned as was the fashion last summer. April *lih. This evening I have spent with John C. Spencer. I came away thinking of the influence of political prejudices upon our feelings. Such prejudices had predisposed me to dislike John C. Spencer ; and when I find him on the same side as myself, full of zeal, and animation, and daring, in the same political cause, I find all my prejudices wearing away, and, instead of hating him, I am admiring him. Truly, this bachelor's life is one of very few charms. Here I am, alone in this little, dirty room, with a mean charcoal-fire, on this cold, dull evening. I have not heart enough left to go out anywhere. I cannot read a word, and there is nothing to think about but you and the boys ; and, when my thoughts range that way, they come back loaded with solicitude. Still, this is "life above-stairs," and I am to enjoy it, because thousands, under a mistaken notion, deem it enviable. April llth. You know the leading Van Buren measure is the nullification of the United States Bank. Well, those who are in favor of the United States Bank are de- clared to be "Federalists," and those who are against it "Democrats." The Legislature of New York contains a large majority of Van Buren men, and, although Congress only can repeal the charter of the bank, yet the Legislature must, for Van Buren's purposes, now resolve that the bank ought not to be renewed. The order came forth ; the Assembly, after a week's discussion, passed the resolution and sent it to our House to-day. In the Senate there are eight Antimasons and twenty-two Jackson men. But we found on counting that there were some Jackson men who would not go with the measure. So we moved to postpone the resolution indefinitely. This motion has now fifteen votes. "We have made a well-contested battle, and have triumphed for to-day so much beyond our hopes that the Antimasons are holding a kind of festival. You will see the debate in the Journal of this evening. April 12, 1831. Last night I dropped into Fuller and Fillmore's room. Some half a dozen were there, and the discourse turned on the result of the town-meetings. I stated what I had heard from Cayuga ; another gave the news from Washing- ton, and a third from Tompkins. At this stage of the conversation Fillmore came in. I saluted him laughingly with " How are you to-night, brother Fillmore? " " Very well, I thank you ; but I have bad news from home." " Your family unwell ? " said I. He replied, " I have news of the death of my mother." After a pause I asked about her illness, then I rose to come away ; and, see- ing that no one else was likely to follow, I thought it my duty to give a gentle hint : " Come, judge," said I to one, " are you going down-street? " 190 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. " No," lie replied, " I was waiting to tell the news of the town-meetings in my county ; " and then he went on with the details of his local elections. I left him in the beginning of his story. What think you of such sensibility ? April ISth. "We had quite an episode this morning in our dull tavern-life an alarm that a child was lost. In five minutes the whole house was in an uproar. The Lieu- tenant-Governor, Senators, Assemblymen, lobbymen, judges, ladies, grooms, porters, foresters, and rangers, kitchen-maids and hostlers, all were in hot pur- suit. The house was searched from garret to cellar ; the docks were examined, the passengers stopped, the stage-men ran, the dull were quick, and the quick were in a frenzy, about the lost child. After three-quarters of an hour spent in confusion the child was found in a fruit-store, looking wistfully toward a box of oranges. To-day the Attorney-General called for me to go before the Chancellor and argue an appeal. It has occupied an hour of the morning and three of the afternoon. April Uth. Yesterday morning I went, with half a dozen friends, by steamboat, to West Point, where we landed at two o'clock. We rambled over the grounds, descended to Kosciusko's garden, drank from its spring, and sat upon the moss-covered rock which bears his name, near the lilacs grown from those which the gallant Polish general set out with his own hand. You recollect to have seen old Fort Putnam frowning down upon you from its proud and defying elevation ? It is dilapidated, but as yet not in ruins. Built on a rock, almost inaccessible on every side the stone for its walls was blasted from the rock the brick and lime carried up by soldiers. The walls are yet standing, in some places eight feet in thickness, and from fifteen to fifty in height. We traversed the officers' quarters, the magazines, the cells and the storerooms, and were astonished at the immense strength of the fortification. The chimneys were yet black with the smoke which the storms of fifty years have not washed away. What were our thoughts, as we looked upon these scenes familiar with the tread of Washington ! This impregnable fortress was the key to America ; on it depended the hopes of the republican cause. Here were the wassail and revelry of Gates and Putnam. Here, in its command, Arnold, burning with avarice and revenge, plotted its surrender, which would have left America a province, and our fathers, ourselves, and our children, subjects of an English king. Here was the amiable but unfortunate Andr6 brought, to await the decision of the American chief. From here General Washington sent, under safe-conduct, to the traitor Arnold, his wife and child. From the point below, the traitor escaped, in a boat, to the British ship, while Andre was left to suffer the punishment of a spy. What must have been the horror of Wash- ington, Knox, Lafayette, and the whole company, when they first learned the awful treason ! What the misery (ay, the love too) of the unhappy wife as she sought the protection of her guilty husband! But I cannot stay to in- dulge these reflections. I gathered as relics for you pieces of the stone from the walls of the fort, of the moss which covers the pavement, and a bit of the rose-tree which grows on the battlements. It was the De Witt Clinton which I boarded from a row-boat, at about 1831.] IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT. 191 eleven o'clock. " Not a berth is left," said the captain, to whom I was a stran- ger ; and as I stretched myself upon a miserable mattress, from which the sheets as well as the blankets had been stripped by the sleepers around me, I had an opportunity to moralize on the deference paid to station. When I went down on board the North America as Senator, the captain was studiously polite. The chair at his right hand at the head of the table was reserved for me, and I was shown to it with great circumstance. Everything was done to interest me. When I came on board in the night without being announced, I was left to sleep, without a blanket, upon the cabin -floor. April Vltli. You are right, my dear Frances, in the caution to avoid speculations on re- ligious topics ; and right in saying there is enough given us, in the injunctions of the Scriptures, to lead us in the way of duty. I thought as I was retiring to my lonely room to-night, and gazed on the bright and beautiful stars, frow little we can know of them, their substance, their uses, their destinies, their history, the millions who perhaps inhabit them ! Human reason might, by them, stand rebuked when, passing by them, it attempts to debate the character and the purposes of that Infinite Being by whom they and all other things were created. April 21sz5. Everybody around me is hurrying and bustling, in the general preparation to evacuate the halls of legislation. Three days will bring our stay here to a close. How different are the motives, the feelings, the recollections, and the wishes, of these one hundred and sixty men ! There are some who have, with miserly hand, hoarded up the savings of their wages, and are counting the gains made out of the stipend of three dollars a day ; they will regret the termination of their public employment, because they will cease to reckon the daily addition of dollars and cents. Some there are who, in the dissipation of the past winter, have sacrified health and wasted treasure ; they will go home with sad retrospec- tion of their prodigality. Other some there are who have busied themselves to acquire some distinction among their generation, and have reaped disappoint- ment and chagrin; they will go home with a morbid disgust of themselves. Some, who have fluttered gayly upon the popular breeze for one year only, will go home to curse the fickleness which will leave them at the next canvass to the dull detail of private life. Others, having discharged, with what ability they might, the obligations imposed by their country, and having learned to hold the honors and pleasures of their station to be incidents in the tenor of a varied but well-ordered life, will return with loyal hearts and invigorated affections to those domestic and social circles where only earthly happiness dwells. April 22d. I had written as above, when Weed came in, and said I must write out my remarks on the resolution to amend the constitution. I forthwith went to work and continued, until midnight. To-day I have spent the afternoon in a debate on the bill to abolish im- prisonment for debt. This afternoon debate was one of the closing scenes of the strug- gle over the great reform. The Antimasons had stood together in its 192 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. support. The Administration ranks were divided. Some of their leaders had taken the floor in earnest advocacy of it, others in un- disguised opposition ; while many sat idly in their seats, watching the discussion with apparent indifference. Warned, however, by the rising tide of popular feeling, the opponents of the measure contented them- selves at last with amendments to delay its passage, or to defer the time when it should go into operation. In answer to this class of propositions Seward said : If imprisonment for debt would be wrong ten years hence, why is it not so now ? It is wrong in principle to imprison for debt merely ; it is right in princi- ple to punish fraud ; and both these objects are sought to be obtained in this bill. It was only in the last hour of the session that the bill was finally passed, upon the report of a conference committee, fixing the 1st of March, 1832, as the day when it should take effect. April 25tA. The last letter ! It is exhilarating to think it is the last, and that I shall so soon follow it. To-morrow, at twelve o'clock, I shall be released from public duties. I hope to take the boat at Schenectady at two o'clock, on "Wednesday, and in three or four days after shall be with vou. CHAPTER, V. 1831. Fourth-of-July Orations. Captain Seward. A Militia Career. President-Making. First Kail way-Bide. Disraeli. Dr. Campbell. Judge Bronson. Gerrit Y. Lansing. Abrara Yan Vecliten. Mrs. Hamilton. WHILE the republic was yet in its youth, Fourth-of-July orations were composed with care, and listened to with attention. The theme had not become trite, nor its expressions hackneyed. Public men availed themselves of the occasion to give philosophic views of the destiny of the country. " I send you," wrote Seward, in July, 1831, "my Syracuse oration, and will send you Holley's, and Whittlesey's, as soon as they come from the press. Hunt has sent me Timothy Ful- ler's, and John Quincy Adams's, which is admirable." Six years pre' viously (and before he was twenty-five years old), he had delivered another Fourth-of-July oration at Auburn. The same train of thought is manifest in both addresses, though ripened in the later one by more mature reflection. A passage in each referred to the problem destined afterward to convulse the nation. In the first he said : Those misapprehend either the true interests of the people of these States, or their intelligence, who believe, or profess to believe, that a separation will ever 1831.] A MILITIA CAREER. 193 take place between the North and South. The people of the North have seldom been suspected of a want of attachment to the Union ; and those of the South have been much misrepresented by a few politicians of a stormy character, who have ever been unsupported by the people there. The North will not willingly give up the power they now have in the national councils of gradually complet- ing a work in which, whether united or separate, from proximity of territory we shall ever be interested the emancipation of slaves. And in the second he added : Are we sure that the simple, beautiful, yet majestic fabric of our Govern- ment can never be undermined ? Are we quite sure that neither we nor our children shall ever come to drink of the bitter waters of slavery ? By no means. ... It is ours to do all that in our day and generation may be done, that this catastrophe may be long postponed ; and, to that end, it is of the last impor- tance to revive, renew, and invigorate the national feeling of the republic. . . . Dr. Franklin wished that he might be permitted to revisit his country at the expiration of a century after his death. Could he now return, after the lapse of much less than half that period, I fear he would find lamentable evidence of the decline of this national feeling since the Kevolutionary age. Methinks Caro- lina would throw away her pencil, and brush out her figures, should her eye encounter the stern look of the patriotic philosopher, while rashly calculating the value of the Union. In the early part of his life in Auburn, Seward, in conformity with what he believed to be the duty of a patriotic citizen, took part in the organization and drill of the rural militia force. About 1827-'28, he joined in forming a village artillery- company, uniformed, equipped, and drilled, in accordance with military usages; and from his own means largely aided its equipment. Seward was elected captain ; and the villagers took pride in watching the parades of the little body of citizen soldiery, gay with its uniforms of blue and buff, and caps surmounted with red pompons. It was an event in its history when a six-pound brass gun made its appearance in the ranks, having been obtained by Captain Seward through a special mission to the Ad- jutant-General's office in Albany. This cannon rarely remained silent on any occasion of public festivity. In time the company grew to a battalion, Captain Seward was promoted to be its major, and its battery was enlarged by the addition of two or three iron guns besides the brass one. In 1829, with the battalion as a nucleus, a regiment was formed, comprising also companies from other portions of the county. Its officers were commissioned in August of that year : W. H. Seward, colonel ; John Wright, lieutenant-colonel ; Lyman Hinman, major; Oscar A. Burgess, adjutant; John H. Chedell, quartermaster; Nelson Beardsley, paymaster ; Franklin M. Markham, surgeon ; Blan- chard Fosgate, surgeon's mate. In the old roster-book are the elaborate orders for elections, pa- 13 194 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. rades, courts, drills, reviews, etc., some in the colonel's own handwrit- ing, some in that of his adjutant. There seem to have been about seven hundred men in the regiment. In an " order of the day," dated Scipio, September 18, 1829, the day of the annual muster for " county training," the colonel " avails himself of this his first opportunity of meeting the regiment under his command to congratulate both officers and men upon the complete organization of the Thirty-third Regiment under officers of their own selection in a convenient portion of territory. ... It is with great gratification that he perceives through the whole corps solicitude to improve in appearance and discipline, and he gives the assurance that no exertion in his power shall be wanting to effect so desirable an object." On assuming command of the regiment, their new colonel, having formed them in hollow square, addressed them, and it was a subject of no small exultation in camp that night that " now they had a colonel who could make them a speech, and a good speech, too." The orders continue through 1830 and 1831, to March, 1832. In that year Colonel Seward was promoted to be brigadier-general, which position he held two or three years, and finally was elected major- general, but declined the commission. He was succeeded in command of the regiment, in 1833, by Lyman Hinman, who had been from the first an experienced drill-master and tactician. Afterward Colonel Charles W. Pomeroy was its commanding officer from 1838 until its final disbandment, under some change in the militia laws, in 1842. At that day wine and spirits were considered indispensable ad- juncts, not only at table, but in all social intercourse. A hospitable gentleman usually had a sideboard, or a decanter-stand, at his elbow, in his parlor or his business-office, and pressed his casual visitors to drink. Seward, though fond of conversation, had no liking for the convivial indulgence which many of his legislative colleagues found so attractive. In a confidential note in regard to his boarding-house during the coming session, he said : Weed, my good fellow, I am anxious to get, when I go to Albany again, where I can study more. What say you, my father confessor, to my taking lodgings at some boarding-house where they "touch not, taste not, handle not" the bottle? If there be no reasons of state which require Antimasons to drink, then I propose to abstain. W T hat say you to it ? Shall I lose your "nocturnal visits of the night," as the Irish orator said, if I quit the Eagle? The programme for the presidential campaign was now engrossing the attention of political leaders. A letter to Mr. Weed, after describ- ing conferences with the prominent men of the party at Seneca Falls, Waterloo, Geneva, Canandaigua, Rochester, Buffalo, Lockport, Pal- myra, and Lyons among them Messrs. Childs, Dox, Woods, Dwight, 1831.] FIRST RAILWAY RIDE. ^95 H. W. Taylor, Granger, John C. Spencer, John Greig, George Andrews, Whittlesey, Tracy, Boughton, Cadwalader, and Myron Holley con- tinued : Thus you will see that we have made the tour of "the infected district." Many and cheering were the greetings we received. Nowhere did we lind any ground of dissension, or feeling of disaffection. And whom, you will inquire, am I in favor of for President ? After a review of the whole ground, and compar- ing all I have heard and seen, I think that Calhoun cannot in any event be our man. The free, the cold, clear, intelligent North is the field for the growth of our cause. Let us not jeopardize it by transferring its main stalk into the South Carolina sands. The three great States which we need, and must combine, are Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. In these Calhoun is lost. Two candidates remain. Of these I prefer McLean, because we may hope to concentrate more effectually public opinion in those States upon him. But I am ready to be con- vinced, and to act in accordance with the best opinion of all our friends. What a ticket we could make Granger for Governor, Stevens for Lieu- tenant-Governor, and Maynard, Tracy, Whittlesey, or Spencer, for Vice-Presi- dent ! We should put a quietus upon the race of small men. In August the Senate was to hold a session as the " Court for the Correction of Errors." Seward's journey was by stage and canal, as usual, to Schenectady ; but thence to Albany the Mohawk & Hud- son Railroad had now been opened. It was the first in the State. A letter narrating his trip over it shows the railway in its primitive form : August 24, 1831. We arrived at Schenectady at three this morning, and immediately were car- ried, in post-coaches, a distance of a mile and a half, to the present termination of the railway. There were in waiting three large cars, which the passengers entered. These cars differ not much, as to the construction of the body, from stage-coaches, except that they are about one-third larger, and have seats upon the top. The body is set upon very short springs, which cause but little elas- ticity of motion. The fore and hind wheels are equal in size, made of iron, and are about two and a half feet in diameter. They have rims four and a half inches in width, with a projection on the side next the carriage, which serves to keep the cars secure upon the rails not suffering the wheels to vary from the track. The car is divided into two parts by a high though not entire partition in the centre ; the door admitting into the forward compartment being on one side the carriage, and that admitting into the other on the other side. In each of these compartments were six passengers. On tbe top was the driver's seat, and one other, each holding three persons ; so that the car carried eighteen pas- sengers, with all their enormous bulk of baggage. The railway is made by leveling, excavati'ng, and elevating a road, so that, as far as the eye can reach, it is either entirely level, or with an almost imper- ceptible rise or 'descent. Of course, there are embankments over ravines, and deep cuttings through hills, just like those on the route of the canal. . Upon this plane surface are laid, at a distance of eighteen inches from each other, square blocks of solid stone, and upon these are laid two parallel timbers, about eight 196 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. inches square, which are fastened by rivets to the stones. Then, upon each of these timbers is fastened a bar of iron, upon which the wheels of the car pass; and, as the inner side of the wheel projects about an inch below the bar, the car cannot get out of place. This is the simple construction of a railroad. Having mounted our vehicle, a fine large gray horse was attached to it, by shafts, exactly like those of a one-horse wagon. " Ready! " said the stageman; the driver whistled to the gray ; away went the car through hills and over val- leys. Before we had done looking at our novel vehicle, the car was stopped to water the horse under a bridge ; and, on inquiring, we found we had come four miles in less than twenty minutes. The horse drank, and away we went two miles farther, and then a fresh steed was immediately put in place of our gray. I mounted the top of the car, and, standing up there, looking over upon the mountains beyond the river, was driven, in forty minutes more, to the present eastern termination of the railroad ; thus accomplishing the journey of twelve miles in eighty minutes, including stoppings. Only think of riding from Schenectady to Albany without jolting, jarring, or bouncing ! The railroad not being yet completed at the eastern end, we per- formed the two miles remaining of our journey in a post-coach. Fifty-four pas- sengers and their baggage were brought on the railroad to-day, by three horses. Xo private cars are allowed to travel on the road. The cars go at stated inter, vals, and none are allowed to go in different directions at the same time. There are culverts, etc., and, in one place, a road passes under the railway. Of course I have seen those of our friends who stop at this house. Specula- tions and communications relating to the presidency formed the subject of our conversation. Afterward passing up-street I found Gerrit Y. Lansing smoking his long Dutch pipe in a store ; went to his house and drank a glass of wine with him ; called from the window to Weed, whom Lansing thereupon politely invited to come in ; then I went to "Ward's, read documents and talked till nine, and now am hurrying through this letter, so that I may be asleep at ten o'clock, and rise at five in the morning, to study a cause I have to argue to-morrow in the Court of Chancery. Weed's condition excites my feelings very much. His arm is broken, badly set, and, though nine weeks have elapsed since the accident, he is still deprived of the use of his arm, and suffers greatly from the pain of the fracture. Disraeli was then commencing his public career, and a new novel from his pen had appeared : Have you got " The Young Duke " yet ? You may find it at Doubleday's. It is by the author of "Vivian Grey; " and, if it but half sustain the spirit of that work, it must be worth perusal. I have, as yet, found no time to read any- thing. After disposing of my chancery business, I am listening with all the attention I can command to arguments in the Court of Errors. Sunday, August 28th. Mr. Azor Taber called this morning and took me to church, where I heard the Rev. Dr. Campbell address a beautiful sermon to the magnates of the city and State, among whom were Judge Spencer, Judge Sutherland, the Chancel- lor, the Attorney-General, Edwin Croswell, etc. In the afternoon I went to 1831.] ABRAM VAN VECHTEN. MRS. HAMILTON. 197 the North Dutch Church, where John Ogden Dey showed me into Ilarmanus Bleecker's seat, and I listened to a sermon from the Rev. Dr. Ludlow. After church, Bronson, the Attorney-General, proposed to walk. We went up the hill and through the hurying-ground, which afforded, of course, subjects for much moralizing. Passing over more humble graves, we noted those of the Clinton and Spencer families, and among them that of Mrs. Genet, wife of the minister plenipotentiary from the French Republic, and sister of De Witt Clinton. August BOth. Rose at five this morning, accomplished my work, and had time to spare to read. I thought when I came to shut up my book (the works of Bacon), as the bell rang for breakfast, that I would lose no more morning hours. This evening I called upon Abram Van Vechten, the father of the New York bar. He was sitting on his office-steps, smoking a pipe two feet long. I brought out a chair, and sat down beside him. We discoursed an hour on the dilatoriness of courts ; and I listened with great interest to the contrast between the judges of our day and those of the times when the State was young. I have somewhere read and admired the conceit that the world was not in its " antiquity," in the times when it was younger ; but these are the older times, when all the years are accumulated. ^But, if I were to determine upon the testi- mony, I should certainly believe that there is a growing corruption and impo- tency of public men ; and yet Mr. Van Vechten is no railer, no backbiter, no envious person. He is in a green old age ; and retains, not only unimpaired mental powers, but a confiding and affectionate heart, full of charity and good works. As it gradually became dark, he invited me into the office, closed doors and windows, produced a bottle of superior pale sherry, remarking that he seldom drank wine, and his wine was therefore good, and, relighting his pipe, we compared notes about the Court of Chancery till eight o'clock. September 1st. Bronson and I had a long and pretty animated debate yesterday about free- masonry, and it ended with the conclusion, assented to by both parties, that, as we could not agree, we would not hereafter dispute ; so we set out this after- noon arm-in-arm to go and call on the folks at the Eagle. September 6th. Having so ordered my business on Friday as to go to Orange County, I went off in the steamboat on a race, which continued for about an hour, during which we went part of the time fastened to our antagonist's boat, part of the time crowding, and part of the time being crowded on shore. There was some alarm lest we should all be blown up together. After we got below the shoals we were able to leave the other boat far behind us. We had the widow of General Hamilton on board. I talked an hour with her about the incidents of the stirring days in which she was the near associ- ate of one of the greatest and most celebrated men of America. 198 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. CHAPTER VI. 1831. A New England Journey. A Steamboat Lottery. Indian Traditions." Last of the Mo- hicans." Providence. President Wayland. Boston. Eevolutionary Memories and Men. The Polish Standards. Eide to Quincy. First Meeting with John Quincy Adams. Down the Delaware. The Baltimore Convention. "William Wirt. THE story of a journey to New England, in the fall of this year, was given in Seward's letters : September th. This morning I received a letter from Hunt, stating that a great deal of un- pleasant feeling exists at Boston in relation to our intended nomination for President. On showing it to Maynard and Weed, they concluded that I must set off at once for Boston, calling at Norwich to see Tracy. NORWICH, CONNECTICUT, September th. 1 arrived at New York at 5 A. M. ; went up Cortlandt Street and Broadway to the American Hotel. The streets were silent, and the great population had not yet left their slumber; but, by seven, milkmen, porters, carmen, servants, and all classes of laboring-men were out, and the city exhibited the usual bustle and animation. I could not but reflect what vast changes time and circumstances had wrought upon the multitude, who a few years ago occupied the places, performed the duties, and enjoyed the pleasures, to which the pres- ent race address themselves, careless of the recollection of their predecessors, or the thought that they soon must yield to another generation as active, as gay, as animated, as heedless, and as brief, as themselves. What I saw now failed to revive anything of past recollections except the pain. I was changed ; all my friends were changed. Berdan, who was the companion of my early residence in New York, was gone, and I saw nothing on which he had left any impres- sion. Even my old landlady here, when I announced my name, had no distinct recollection of my character or conduct. From the idleness, the poetic feeling, the buoyant enjoyments of that period, how strange the change wrought in me ; now seeking out, with anxious concern, associates for political action in refer- ence to government ! I met various friends in New York Sam Stevens, who took me to his office ; then Foot and Davies ; then fell in with William Kent ; returning, found Hoi- ley ; but Ward had gone to Boston. Then I went and saw West's great picture of " Christ Eejected," now being exhibited at Masonic Hall. The scene is at the porch of the temple ; the gal- lery is seen filled with the court of Pilate, his wife, Herod, and other distin- guished visitors. In the foreground is our Saviour, the crown of thorns upon his head, while the deriding Jews are drawing over his shoulders the purple robe of royalty. At one side are the disciples. Never, I imagine, did painter more boldly, more truly depict conscious guilt then in the haggard, desperate faces of Barabbas and the two thieves. Never saw I a more beautiful face than that of John, " the disciple whom Jesus loved," supporting the weeping mother of the Saviour with manly, confiding, and affectionate expression. Colonel Stone came to dine with me, and introduced me to Colonel White, of Pensacola, a member of Congress, who has been to Boston on a similar er- 1831.] A LOTTERY FOR BERTHS. 199 rand with mine. At the head of the table sat a young man of thirty-two or thirty-three, of dark complexion and foreign dress, who Stone thought was Major Hamilton, the author of " Cyril Thornton," because he wore mustaches, but who turned out to be an attache of some foreign mission. On the right was a gray-headed, sensible old gentleman, in light-blue coat, with prodigious ruffles on his bosom and at the ends of his sleeves. This was the Baron Stackle- burgh, minister plenipotentiary from Sweden. Near him was Willis the poet. Thence I wended my way to the steamboat, and we were off at five o'clock. It was a pleasant sail up the East Eiver, into the Sound, leaving behind the city with its immense piles of buildings, passing Harlem and the beautiful shore of Long Island, with its villas and country-seats. We soon arrived at Hell Gate, but the tide was high, and we passed through without difficulty. Then I was summoned, with all the other passengers, into the cabin, to attend to the distribution of the berths. The manner in which this important matter is disposed of is ludicrous. About one hundred passengers were gathered, seated by request, in four rows. Then the steward came along between the lines and counted us ; after having done so he reported to the captain. Then the captain counted the tickets purchased and paid for. He observed the num- bers did not agree. Then we were requested to have our tickets ready to deliver up as called for. The steward again passed the lines in review, and received the tickets, and carried them to the captain, who announced that still the numbers did not agree. Anon comes the steward, and counts us all over again. Still one ticket was missing. In a loud voice he inquired if there were any gentle- man who had not delivered up his ticket. No reply was made ; but a sup- pressed laugh was heard along the lines. " Go and get the list of passengers," said the captain; "I'll count once more." It was done; and there was not harmony of numbers. Then the list was read off, but no one confessed that he had suppressed his ticket. " Go," said the captain, " make another thorough search on deck ; there must be a passenger who won't deliver up his ticket." While the steward was gone on this searching expedition, complaints and laugh- ter among the imprisoned passengers became rather free and tumultuous. He returned, and reported that he found no delinquent. The captain and steward summed up their book once more, and found, to their gratification, that they had made a mistake of one ticket. This important business being disposed of, no other preliminaries occurred to prevent distribution of lodgings for the night. This was effected on the principle of referring it to chance. A number of tickets, equal to the whole number of passengers, were put into a hat ; of these a number said to be equal to that of the berths were prizes, the others were blanks. The steward drew them forth and distributed them. I, of course, had a blank ; but the captain, in kind recollection of Stone's introduction, took my blank ticket privately, and gave me a prize. Next morning I awakened at five, at the mouth of the Connecticut River ; landed at Essex, took the stage, and at eleven reached Norwich, which is one of the most beautiful towns I have ever seen. About as large as Geneva, it is built with great taste. The houses are principally of- wood, but are spacious, and surrounded by trees and shrubbery. Dr. Tracy took me out to show me the town, and a picturesque view of Chelsea. Afterward, ascending a hill, we came to a little grove of forest-trees, marked by a few very rough, old-fashioned gravestones. We got out of the chaise, and 200 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. went in. " This," said he, " is the burying-ground of the Uncases, the kings of Mohican." It is truly a spot for a royal resting-place. The little river makes up to its very base, arched with forest-trees. Up this river the royal funeral procession used to come in canoes. You can imagine the scene when, quitting their canoes, the Indians, with their death-song on their lips, ascended the little mount, with the remains of "the last of the Mohicans." Many of the inscriptions are illegi- ble. I was able to decipher two or three like this : Here lies y e body of POMPEY UNCAS, Son of BENJAMIN and ANN UNCAS, One of ye royal blood. Died May 12, 1741, In the X th year of his age. Others were to the memory of " Samuel Uncas, second and beloved son of just John Uncas," and young " Caesar Jonas, a cousin of Uncas;" and then this epitaph on the grave of the chief celebrated by Cooper in his novel : 1757. Here lies Uncas, the king of the Mohicans. For beauty, wit, and sterling sense, For manners mild, for eloquence, And everything that is "Wauwegan, He -was the glory of Mohican ; And his death "has caused great lamentation Both in the English and the Indian nation. These epitaphs are interesting as showing how easily the notions of the early settlers of Connecticut were imbibed by the honest and simple race of the Mo- hicans. The poor Indians thus took the idea of the peculiar merit of royal blood, and transferred its praise, just as civilized men do, to the tombstones of those who, whatever other merit they have, acknowledge none so great as that of relationship to him who " rules by divine right." I was much and painfully interested by the doctor's story of a Mohican who was educated, had property, married a white woman, had two daughters, was exemplary as a man, a citizen, and a Christian, but whose death was hastened by the seduction of his two daughters by white men. What sin is there that white men have not committed against this simple race ? PROVIDENCE, E. I., September \\ih-. Yesterday morning I took the stage, and arrived in this city at nine last evening. The country is rocky and uninteresting, resembling the rocky part of Orange County. Our route was from Norwich to Jewett City, thence to Plainfield, where we left Connecticut and entered this State, which I have traversed from west to east. This city contains about twenty thousand inhabitants, is situated on both sides of the Providence River, is built principally of wood, but is beautiful, and is more rural in its appearance than our towns and villages. I came to the " Roger Williams Hotel," an -excellent and spacious establishment. This morn- ing I strolled over the town, up to the college-yard, and along the wharves, through streets well paved and perfectly clean, with buildings of granite, brick, and stone, all apparently new and in good order. There is nowhere anything to offend the eye. The wharves are clean ; even the shipping seems bright or newer than that in other towns. 1831.] BOSTON SCENES AND MEMORIES. 201 As I came along the wharves I saw a white flag rigged upon the mast of a schooner, called the Richard Rush, with the inscription " Bethel." A crowd of sailors and others were gathered on the deck, listening with close attention to a young preacher. I went on to the Episcopal Church, where I made my morning devotions. I could not hut observe, as we came to the prayer for " all those who travel by land or by water," the advantages of the Liturgy over the often confused and extravagant prayers of other denominations. I need not tell you how strange it seemed to hear the clergyman, just before reading the first psalm, announce : "I publish the bans of matrimony between A B, of Boston, and C D, of this town ; if any of ^ou know of any just cause or impediment why these persons should not be joined in the bans of holy wedlock, ye are to make it known this is the first time of asking." Yet such is the form still observed here. After dinner I made my way to the door of a Baptist church, almost the largest I had ever seen (this town was settled by the Baptists). While stand- ing at the door Dr. Wayland, the president of the college, came along. He having been a tutor at Schenectady while I was a student there, we imme- diately renewed our acquaintance. He gave me a seat, and I heard him preach a most excellent sermon on the doctrine of " original sin," in which his argu- ment was, not that we participate in Adam's guilt, or that we suffer punish- ment for it, but that, in consequence of his sinning, we sin and suffer its fruits, unless we repent. After church he invited me home to tea with him. He was learned, clear, and rational ; and now, I think, he stands deservedly at the head of the clergy of his denomination. BOSTON, September IStTi. I left Providence yesterday at seven. The distance to Boston was forty-five miles. There were in the stage two ladies, one from Providence, and one from Boston, the husband of the latter, two Quakers from Bristol, New Jersey, and two other passengers. We discoursed on all subjects cities, politics, men, women, roads, bridges, stages, fashions, novels, poetry, printing, etc. They gave me instructions what to look at when I should arrive in Boston, commended me to the Tremont House, and showed an interest in my being comfortably bestowed and agreeably entertained at the city of their pride. We separated, with a hos- pitable invitation from the gentleman to visit his house. The Tremont House is now "the rage" in the United States. Of course, I could not get into it, except into No. 96, containing six beds, with the promise of having a private room next day. Behold me, then, with my trunk placed at the foot of cot No. 6, in room No. 96, meditating how and where to begin my tour of duty and observation. . * The dinner was served with ceremony ; but who cares for dinners ? Not you nor I. So let it be noted that it was very splendid, and we pass on. I found, by the aid of the directory, the residence of my old friend Dr. Phelps, who was a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention. While we were sitting there, the noise of drums, trumpets, and clarions, an- nounced the parade on the occasion of the departure of two elegant new stand- ards, presented by the young men of Boston to Poland. We went forth to see it, and a fine spectacle it was; the military with "pomp and circumstance" and in strong force. The standards were rich in Latin and gold, and, as the assem- bled ten thousand people shouted, one could not but share in the aspiration 202 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. that these encouraging gifts might reach the Poles before they should be sub- dued. All the ladies of Boston were in the windows, and the gentlemen in the streets ; and all the rest of the people were there also. As I stood gazing at the parade, Dr. Phelps said, " You are now standing upon the ground on which was committed the Boston massacre, in 1770; " and, truly, nearly every part of the town seems classic ground. After the procession, I called on several persons. I found matters, as con- cerned my mission, more favorable than I anticipated. As to all that relates to this, I have reported to those who sent me here ; and you will not desire to be troubled with allusions to it, for, though a very good Antimason, you are, with all due deference be it said, madam, not particularly distinguished as a politician. In the evening I went to the Antimasonic committee-room, where, it being the anniversary of the abduction of Morgan, an energetic harangue was pro- nounced by Dr. Porter, after which Mr. Walker made a very animated speech, announcing, at his conclusion, my arrival and presence, in very laudatory strains, and calling on me for some remarks. The chairman, a venerable man of seven- ty, added the expression of a similar request, and I had to take the floor. I said some things, loose and desultory enough, I fear ; but the meeting were too civil not to express their gratification. I went home, laid myself down on cot No. 6, in room ISTo. 96, and said to myself, " Harry Seward, is this your own self, preach- ing politics in the city of Boston ? " This evening I found my oration in the newspapers of Providence and Bos- ton, spread *out with much commendation. I rose at half-past five, and dispatched my letters before breakfast. Dr. Phelps called for me, and we walked to the State-House. It fronts upon the Mall, which is a walk of forty feet in width, inclosing a park, containing seventy acres, in the very heart of the city and with good, large old elms shading a clear living pond of fresh water in the centre. The State officers politely showed me through the legislative halls and offices, all of which are not superior in appear- ance to those at Albany. We went into the cupola, from which is a picturesque and beautiful view. Every point, every side of Boston was within my sight the fine rivers, the bay, the ocean, and villages and villas for a dozen miles round, in every direction. On one side was Bunker Hill, through all time to be celebrated as the spot where the first great battle of the Revolution was fought. What a host of glowing memories passed through my mind, as I thought of the sturdy farmers and townsmen who, without an army, without arms, with- out money, without generals, without organization, without determination of ultimate purpose, intrenched themselves on this height to resist the legions of Old England ! There was Charlestown, right before me, which was burned to ashes there was the place where the British army were encamped " There," said Dr. Phelps, " where you yesterday saw American troops performing a rite in the name and service of liberty, I myself saw General Gage march in, with the British troops, fifty and more years ago, to quell the factious spirit then called ' insurrection.' " Off beyond was Lexington, that spot where blood was first spilled in the cause of liberty ; beneath^ us was the venerable mansion formerly inhabited by John Hancock, worth then a million, all of which was spent in the cause of freedom. Dr. Phelps said that Mrs. Hancock, who died but a few years ago, at 1831.] THE STATE-HOUSE. 203 the age of ninety, had often told him how, when the French fleet and army came to the assistance of America, notice was brought at two o'clock one morning to her husband that the French officers would breakfast with him ; and how, on that short notice, she, good lady, sent out to her Whig neighbors for help and provisions ; and at eight breakfast was given to three hundred. Off on the right was the monument which covers the remains of the father and mother of Benjamin Franklin. Down in a low, obscure spot was the resi- dence of Samuel Adams, who, with John Hancock, were the only two for whom Governor Gage refused to allow hope of pardon if they would surrender. Among the archives of the State-House are preserved a brass drum, a mon- strous sword, a grenadier's cap, and a musket, taken from the Hessians at the battle of Bennington, with the vote of thanks passed by the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts to General Stark for these trophies. Here, also, was a monu- ment now taken from its place, but the slabs of which are preserved and placed in the hall, from which I copied for you the inscription : To . commemorate That . train . of . events . which . led To . the . American . Revolution And . finally . secured Liberty . and . Independence To . the . United . States This . column . is . erected By . the voluntary . contribution Of . the . citizens . of . Boston MDCCXC On the other side is a recapitulation of the leading events of that period, thus: Stamp Act passed, 1765 ; repealed, 1766. Board of Customs established, 1767. British troops fired on the inhabitants of Boston, March 5, 1770. Tea Act passed, 1773. Tea destroyed in Boston, December 16th. Port of Boston shut and guarded, June, 1774. General Congress at Philadelphia, September 4th. Provincial Congress at Concord, October llth. Battle of Lexington, April 19, 1875. Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17th. Washington took command of the army, July 2d. Boston evacuated, March 17, 1776. Independence declared by Congress, July 4, 1776 ; Hancock, President. Capture of Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776. Capture of Hessians at Bennington, August 16, 1777. Capture of British army at Saratoga, October 17th. Alliance with France, February 6, 1777. Confederacy of United States formed, July 9th. Constitution of Massachusetts formed, 1780 ; Bowdoin, President of Council. Capture of British army at Yorktown, October 19, 1781. Preliminaries of Peace, November 30, 1782. Federal Constitution formed, September 10, 1787. Definitive Treaty of Peace, September 11, 1783. New Congress assembled at New York, April 6, 1790. Washington inaugurated President, April 30. Public debts funded, August 4, 1790. 204 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. On the fourth side is the following inscription : Americans, While from this eminence Scenes of luxuriance, fertility, Of flourishing commerce, And the abodes of social happiness, Meet your view, Forget not those "Who by their exertions Have secured to you These blessings. In a kind of temple, standing within the great entrance to the State-House, is a marble statue of George Washington, executed by Chantrey, which cost ten thousand dollars. Within sight from where we stood was the old South Church, where the people of Boston resolved that they would not receive the tea on which the British Parliament had laid the duty of three cents per pound. Just beside it was the place where the Whigs disguised themselves as Indians, and just before us lay the wharf where they threw the tea overboard into the harbor. Nor must I forget to mention that in the State-House are preserved pictures, made in 1740, of the governors and clergymen of Massachusetts ; among others, that of Governor Winthrop, mentioned in " Hope Leslie." What think you of a clergyman with his hair cut off close, and a black cap over his head, or a gov- ernor with mustaches, and one long tuft of beard depending from the centre of his chin ? "We went next to Faneuil Hall, from whence proceeded the groans which aroused the sympathy of the colonies, the bold denunciation which startled King George and his Parliament, the manly appeals which gained the admiration of Europe, and the thunders which roused the people of America to resistance. I stood on the spot where Hancock presided, and where John Adams and Samuel Adams spoke. The room is decorated with a large portrait of General Washing- ton, resting upon his horse and watching the passage of the Delaware at Trenton. It was executed by Stuart, and is said to be the best likeness ever made of the great man of the world. What would I not give to be able to say I saw Wash- ington, as did the old man who had charge of the room ! He remarked, " The picture has one fault, Washington's knees were not so small." There was over the chair a portrait of John Adams, " looking just the same," said the old man, " as he did when I last saw him at Quincy, a few weeks before his death." There is a picture also of John Hancock, at his desk examining his ledger ; an excellent picture of General Knox, and another of General Washington, both painted by Mr. Copley, father of the late Lord Chancellor of Great Britain. Going down, this afternoon, to take the stage for Quincy, my guide pointed out to me a cannon-ball projecting from the wall, of a church, in the very spot where it was lodged when thrown from a mortar in Charlestown, early in the Revolution. QUINCY, September 14th. Nothing I have seen is so beautiful as the environs of Boston. This place is distant from the city ten miles, and very rural in its appearance. The mansion- house, in which died one man who had been President of the United States, and which is now occupied by his son, who has held the same exalted station, is 1831.] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 205 a plain, two-story building, about sixty feet long, with a few venerable trees be- fore it, and two doors of entrance in front. An old-fashioned knocker brought a servant, who said, " The President has walked up to his brother's, who is sick." Would he be in soon? "Probably not before nine. He walks there every evening, and stays one or two hours. He will be in in the morning ; he is always at home in the daytime." I left my card, saying I would call in the morning. A little girl about five years old, who was standing near, bade me "good-by." I happened not distinctly to understand her ; she repeated it, and repeated it until she arrested my attention, just as I was going out of the gate. I asked her whether she would come and kiss me? She ran and gave me a kiss, bade me good-by, and I left the house thinking of her venerable grand- father, the most excellent but the most wronged man of the age. Wednesday. I spent my hours before breakfast this morning in a ramble through the churchyard, looking at the monuments. I discovered several substantial ones erected to the memory of his ancestors by a grandson, and a great-grandson, and a great-great-grandson (John Quincy Adams), whose name was not expressed ; and on one of the monuments it was stated of the deceased that he was "the father of John Adams," and " the grandfather of the lawyer John Adams." Thus the burying-ground gives, in the most unobtrusive manner, the geneal- ogy of the Adams family, without a word laudatory of either of the Presidents. Having obtained the key of the meeting-house, I entered it, and there found the well-known inscription upon a plain marble monument in the wall, sur- mounted by a bust of John Adams, and closing with the lines : * From lives thus spent thy earthly duties learn ; From fancy's dreams to active duty turn, Let freedom, friendship, faith, thy soul engage, And serve, like them, thy country and thy age. And now from the dead we turn to the living greatness of Quincy. At nine o'clock I was shown into the house, and waited in the parlor till I was an- nounced. The house is very plain and old-fashioned ; no Turkey carpeting, no pier-tables, no " pillar-and-claw pianos." Very plain ingrain carpeting covered the floor, very plain paper on the walls ; modern but plain mahogany chairs, and a piano about like yours, composed the simple furniture of the room, ex- cept an ancient portrait of General Washington, another of Mrs. Washington, one of Jefferson, and one of John Adams. A short, rather corpulent man, of sixty and upward, came down the stairs and approached me. He was bald, his countenance was staid, sober, almost to gloom or sorrow, and hardly gave indication of his superiority over other men. His eyes were weak and inflamed. He was dressed in an olive frock-coat, a cravat carelessly tied, and old-fashioned, light-colored vest and pantaloons. It was obvious that he was a student, just called from the labors of his closet. With- out courtly air or attitude, he paused at the door of the parlor. I walked quite up to him, while he maintained his immovable attitude, and presented my letter of introduction from Tracy. He asked me to sit, read the letter, said he was happy to see me, sat down in the next chair, inquired with the earnestness of a particular friend concerning Tracy's health, my arrival, etc., expressed a strong 206 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. desire that he might see him, and then ensued a pause. I alluded to my busi- ness of seeing the prominent Antimasons of Boston, and stated that I was to have been a companion of Tracy. " Yes," said he, " Mr. Tracy was in the vicinity of the outrage in your State, "and his attention was, therefore, early drawn to the subject ; and his principles are too honest and correct not to deter- mine him to take the right side." " A fortunate coincidence of opinion," thought I, "both as to my principles and my friend." He spoke of freemasonry, said he had not wished to do anything which would injure Mr. Clay's prospect of ob- taining the presidency, and had therefore been restrained. He had long felt an anxious desire to discharge the duty which devolved upon him in relation to freemasonry ; but, situated as he was, had hoped that other and younger men enough would engage in the cause to dispense with his exertions. But he was satisfied this was a crisis which required every man to do his duty, and he should not shrink from his. He regretted that Mr. Clay had not been advised by him and by Mr. Rush to abandon the order ; but he would not be so advised, and that was his misfortune ; but the right cause must not be sacrificed. He spoke enthusiastically of Rush ; said Rush sent him copies of his letters before they were published ; that he advised him to be a candidate for the presi- dency, but he declined, and now he (Adams) regretted it. He said he should have more confidence in Rush than in Clay as President, and thought him, on the whole, superior to Clay. He spoke of Calhoun as a man possessed of great and splendid powers, having the capacity greatly to serve his country, but in- sincere, and possessing " the sin of unchastened ambition." He hoped Calhoun would retrieve his condition, adopt better principles, and yet be useful to his country. He spoke of General Jackson and the Seminole War without one word of reserve, or bitterness, or unkindness ; thought his Administration ruinous, but still doubted not that he would be reflected. Of John McLean he spoke, though not warmly. Of himself, he said that he would not desire to be Presi- dent of the United States again, though he should have the assurance of a unanimous vote. He had had the office ; he knew its duties, privations, enjoy- ments, perplexities, and vexations ; but if the Antimasons thought his nomi- nation would be better than any other, he would not decline. He had not, as a citizen, a right to decline ; but hoped they would not mention him, except on the ground that he was the best candidate. He said he should write in favor of Antimasonry. He knew what the opposing party would say they would impeach his motives ; he did not care for that; he was accustomed to it; he was callous to it. He spoke with great freedom of Daniel Webster, as a very great man, etc. Our interview lasted three hours ; he was all the time plain, honest, and free, in his discourse; but with hardly a ray of animation or feeling in the whole of it. In short, he was just exactly what I before supposed he was, a man to be respected for his talents, admired for his learning, honored for his integrity and simplicity, but hardly possessing traits of character to inspire a stranger with affection. Occasionally, indeed, he rose into a temporary earnestness ; and then a flash of ingenuous ardor was seen, but it was transitory, and all was cool, regular, and deliberate. When I left him he thanked me for the call, expressed a hope of seeing Tracy ; and, if he should come to Boston, he would call on me ; and so we parted ; and, as I left the house, I thought I could plainly answer 1831.] JOSEPH BONAPARTE. 207 how it happened that he, the best President since Washington, entered and left the office with so few devoted personal friends. September 19^. On returning from Quincy, I finished and dispatched my letter to you, after having received a dozen letters from everywhere. I went in the evening to the theatre ; saw young Kean and a tolerably full house. The next day Mr. Gassett called with a gig. I rode with him to the university at Cambridge ; traversed the halls, library, chapel, etc. ; called on Dr. Waterhouse, who cordially wel- comed me. I told him how much I was pleased with his work on the subject of Junius. lie showed me a congratulatory and beautiful letter from James Madison. I went home by the way of Bunker Hill; saw the half -finished monument and the scenes of many interesting incidents in the Revolutionary War ; at night, visited Mr. Odion, a merchant, who entertained a number of our friends with myself very hospitably ; talked politics till eleven, then went home to my lodgings. The next day I devoted to business; had the pleasure of seeing it all do well ; dropped into the Athenaeum ; went in the evening to the theatre ; saw Ilackett enter upon the character of Solomon Swap ; was called off to goto a political meeting; spoke to them half an hour, by solemn invi- tation. Next morning I took the stage at five o'clock ; took the boat at Provi- dence at one ; and yesterday arrived at New York. The Baltimore Convention was now at hand, and Seward went, as a delegate, to attend it. October 2d. I left Albany on Wednesday afternoon, reached New York the next morn- ing, and set out at six o'clock on the steamboat for Philadelphia. The weather was cold and wet, and the journey quite uncomfortable. Many delegates were on board. The route to Philadelphia is by steamboat, forty-five miles, to New Brunswick, on the Raritan River ; then twenty-six miles across the country, by stage, through Princeton to Trenton on the Delaware ; thence down the Dela- ware, by steamboat, about thirty miles, to the city of Philadelphia. At Bordentown, a few miles below Trenton, is the seat of Joseph Bonaparte, who has secured in this country an asylum from the storms of the Old World, and has brought with him wealth which, it is said, is used with munificence not unworthy of a king. You recollect that he was made, by his brother Napoleon, King of Spain, and was not an unimportant, though at times an ineffective, auxiliary in Napoleon's stupendous operations. It must be now fourteen or fifteen years since he came to this country to reside, during all which time he has demeaned himself as a quiet and inoffensive citizen ; and at no time has any aspiration on his part for a reentrance upon the busy theatre of French politics become public, save when, on the arrival of the news of the revolution in July, 1830, and at the time of the establishment of the new dynasty, he issued a manifesto, in which he asserted the right of the young Napoleon to the French throne ; doubtless in the hope that it might excite grateful recollections of the emperor among the French, and prepare the way for reestablishing the Bona- parte family. The manifesto hardly escaped ridicule in this country, and in France fell upon a people who seemed to regard it with indifference. The Raritan River is little less than a bay, or arm of the sea, extending forty 208 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1831. or fifty miles into New Jersey, and flowing through low land covered with wild salt grass. The banks of the river are destitute of beauty. The Delaware, below Trenton, flows through a tract of finely-improved land, with few natural objects of sublimity or interest, but has several beautiful towns upon its banks, composed principally of summer residences of the inhabitants of Philadelphia. We reached Philadelphia at seven in the evening, slept at the United States Hotel, and were roused at five by the summons to the steamboat. We set off at six o'clock, and floated down the Delaware till we reached the mouth of a fine ship- canal, of about fifteen miles in length, crossing which we were in Chesapeake Bay, where we found the Charles Carroll, a large and handsome steamboat. In her we proceeded down that beautiful sheet of water, seeming like a lake, twelve or fourteen miles wide, till, in a sequestered cove, we found stretched before us the city of Baltimore, of which the most prominent point is, as it should be, a monument to Washington. I found a roorn in the third story at Barnum's. Xow, if it were an agreeable subject, I would describe to you all the bustle, excitement, collision, irritation, enunciation, suspicion, confusion, obstinacy, foolhardiness, and humor, of a convention of one hundred and thirteen men, from twelve different States, assembled for the purpose of nominating candi- dates for President and Vice-President of the United States. But I pass over that, and the results you know already. The convention adjourned on Wednesday night at twelve. The next day I called, in company with several of the delegates, upon Mr. Wirt, and found him one of the most interesting, amiable, and intelligent men I have ever met. Thursday, October 6th. Do you remember my writing to you a long letter, last winter, about Colo- nel Burr and Blennerhasset ? If you will look up again the old trial of Burr, you will find there the speech of Mr. Wirt, and, when yoii have read that, rum- mage over your father's library until you find "The British Spy" and "The Old Bachelor," and look over them, and say if you do not share in the pride of the Antimasons in having Mr. Wirt for their candidate. It is cheering to them to find their cause manfully and zealously espoused by three so pure, so able, so illustrious men as John Quincy Adams, Richard Rush, and William Wirt. I have never seen our friends when they felt so enthusiastic. I am almost the only one here who, wishing Wirt to be elected, am not sanguine in the hope that he will be. Coming up the river, the other night, a man fell overboard from the steam- boat. There was a fearful moment of uncertainty as to who it might be; and if every passenger on board the boat thought and felt as I did, he thought only of that person, nearest and dearest to himself, who was among the passengers. Tedious minutes elapsed until it was known. I cannot describe to you the intense, painful anxiety that bound in silence all the crowd, which looked upon the man, as he seemed to stand erect in the water, waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the boats to approach him. What a possession is human life, to be exposed to such hazards ; and what must have been the solicitude of that poor mortal, while the boats were getting toward him ! And yet, had he sunk be- neath the waves, to rise no more, what would it have been but hastening for a few days, or months, or years, a catastrophe which is inevitable ; and how very soon would the surface of human society, momentarily agitated by the event 1832.J SPEECH ON THE UNITED STATES BANK. 209 like the face of the waters disturbed by his struggles, have become smooth and borne no trace of the commotion ! CHAPTER VII. 1832. Legislative Debates. Speech on the United States Bank. Railroads. General Root and the Regency. Boyish Memories. Ways of the Lobbyists. The Address. The Greeks. ANOTHER session was now at hand. Established for the winter, with his family, in Albany, Seward wrote describing their hotel-life : It has been intensely cold since we arrived here, the mercury standing, last week, at sixteen below zero. The wind has blo*wn a hurricane for the two days past ; snow and sand filled the air ; nothing was to be seen from the windows but half-frozen men hauling wood at ten dollars a cord, except, indeed, that night before last a fire threw its lurid glare over the city, and yesterday, in the midst of the storm, the procession of a funeral passed before us. Nobody moved without-doors that could avoid it. Though our parlor is but twelve feet square, a bureau, two tables, four chairs, and a coal-scuttle, constituting its furniture, the wind whistled through the door-cracks, and we drew our table up to within two feet of the coal-grate to write, but between-whiles stopping to warm our hands. But to-day the wind has fallen, the sun shines, the bells ring, and the streets are enlivened by the cheerful gathering of people at church. The United States Bank question had begun to loom up as a com- ing political issue. The petition of the bank for a continuance of its chartered rights lay upon the table of a Congress known to be fa- vorable to its request. But the President's hostility had already been foreshadowed. The Jackson party, in the Legislature at Albany, followed the Executive lead, and a resolution denouncing the bank was introduced in the Senate. Maynard opposed it with his usual eloquence. Seward followed on the same side. His speech on the 31st of January was the prominent event of his legislative life during the year. His previous modest efforts on the floor had made a favorable impression, and the news that he was to make an elaborate speech brought an unusual audience to the cramped space allotted to specta- tors in the chamber. He began : War, sir, is a grievous calamity. Consternation goes before, destruction attends it, and desolation marks its path ; and yet it is animating, exciting, and glorious. We love to dwell even upon its terrors. The poet of our own age, who excels all others in telling of the passions, has drawn his scene of most intense interest from the carnival of the dogs and vultures upon the field 14 210 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1832. of battle. Beauty delights to honor valor. Young ambition is emulous of its deeds, and poor human nature, dazzled and confounded, often sinks into hom- age before the blaze of military glory. Well does the gentleman from the Third District (Mr. Edmonds) understand this infirmity of our nature ; for, in the very commencement of his eloquent speech, he converted this Senate-cham- ber, ordinarily the forum of placid debate, into a battle-field, and having placed before us, as an enemy of huge dimensions, the United States Bank, he pro- claimed a war which, " if God had given him the power, should be a war of ex- termination." Raising high that standard, always equally victorious in the mar- tial or the political campaign, he rushed with tremendous energy upon the foe. We cheered him in the fight, and could not without reluctance withhold the wreath of victory. Continuing in the same strain, Seward ironically proposed that the Jackson men should apply their doctrines to their own banks ; and, since they had declared war against " bank aristocracy," should begin with those in the State which they had been so liberally charter- ing, and of which their own political friends were stockholders and directors. This " palpable hit " was received with some merriment. Much is said, sir, about the motives of this crusade against the bank, its disinterestedness and patriotism. I, too, am at least disinterested in relation to it. Like the poet who feared temptation, and therefore blessed his Muse " who found him poor and kept him so," I may be grateful that I am no bank-stock- holder, either in the Bank of the United States or any other of the banks, nor have I connection or communion with those who are interested in either. After giving a history of the national bank, an exposition of its relations to the fiscal system of the country, and a summary of the arguments for and against its recharter, he proceeded to draw a con- trast between the actual operations of the bank and the effects likely to result from its stoppage. In conclusion he said : I will conjure all the members of the Senate to reflect that he whose will is said to be the author of the mandate for the introduction of this resolution, and who it is avowed demands its passage, great, honored, loved, revered though he is, is nevertheless mortal mortal, therefore fallible and that his interests weigh but as the dust in the balance against the interests of twelve millions of people, and the thousands of millions of their posterity, to be affected by this legislation. Let their interests, not his glory, their welfare and prosperity, not his success in an election, determine our votes in this measure. On the 14th of February of this year a number of gentlemen, among whom were large landed proprietors, scientific students, and persons of prominence in political affairs, met at the capital to take into consideration the project of forming a State Agricultural Society. Le Ray de Chaumont was chosen its president, and Jesse Buel one of its secretaries. Among others who participated in the meeting were 1832.] NULLIFICATION MOVEMENTS. 21 1 Judge Conkling, Stephen Van Rensselaer, Isaiah Townsend, William James, Edward C. Delavan, Lieutenant-Governor Edward P. Living- ston, Chancellor Sanford, Francis Granger, Peter Sken Smith, John A. King, George Tibbits, Daniel D. Campbell, and William C. Bouck. Seward was a delegate from Cayuga County. This gathering was one of the early steps toward organizing the New York State Agri- cultural Society, since become so important and useful. Corporations were already engrossing much of the attention of the Legislature. In a speech, at this session, on a proposed charter to a whal- ing company, Seward showed the injustice of creating monopolies, and urged, what was through life a favorite doctrine with him, that privi- leges for commercial enterprise, in all its forms, roads, banks, railways, manufactures, and trade, ought to be thrown open to all citizens by general laws. In subsequent years this principle gradually gained more ground in the statute-book. March 18th. We have before us the great western and southern railroads. Last Monday the bill for constructing a railroad from Waterford to "Whitehall, along the line of the Cliamplain Canal, was before the Senate. It was lost, receiving the votes only of the northern Senators on its line, and the western Senators on the line of the Erie Canal. All the North River Senators, except Tallmadge, voted against it. It was at the same time distinctly avowed in debate by Beardsley, who led the opposition, that there should be no railroad constructed on the line of the Erie Canal. The reason given was an apprehension of a diversion of canal-tolls. The consequence will be, that the western railroad will be defeated. Should there be a charter granted to construct a road from SchenectadytoUtica, I think the road would probably be made. It is said it would not be possible to procure a subscription to the stock of a railroad from Utica or Schenectady to Buffalo ; but I would be willing to grant charters for roads from Buffalo to Schenectady, and from Lake Erie to Orange County. John A. King is not only an Antimason, but a clever, fine fellow, and very popular with the whole Legislature. April 2d. You doubtless have read General Root's attack upon the "Regency," and have observed the prompt denunciations which have been poured out upon him. The war is openly declared. I wish you could be here to see how much more violently the different factions of " the party " hate each other than they bate us. As yet the prospect gains ground that the Clay men in this State and in Pennsylvania will be content to support our tickets. You will have seen that the excitement growing out of the Cherokee question is postponed until next winter for the benefit of General Jackson. In the mean time Georgia will go on to survey the Cherokee lands in defiance of the Supreme Court. All private intelligence from Washington contributes to the belief that no arrangement of the tariff question will be made this winter ; and that within the summer South Carolina, aided probably by Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, 212 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1832. Alabama, and Mississippi, will hold conventions to nullify the tariff laws, and threaten dissolution of the Union. I am informed that it is probable that I have been nominated for supervisor. So far as concerns myself, I certainly would rather be run when I must be de- feated than to run and be elected. I understood that you were opposed to my nomination, and I think you were right ; but it is a matter of not very great importance. I trust our friends would not push me upon the course unless it were for the best ; and, if it be for the best, I shall care very little for being beaten. In April he made another visit to Orange County, leaving Mrs. Seward there. A letter, written her on his return to Albany, said : How does Orange County appear to you? I do not mean in such dull weather as this, but when the sun shines forth, and winds are stilled, and the air is soft. It is to me a land of many charms from the associations of youth and habit. I love its mountains and vales, its brooks and groves. There are a thousand localities there which I do not recollect to have admired, when I lived there, for their sublimity or beauty, yet which are green and fresh and lovely in my remembrance, and with them every one there is the association of some in- cident or feeling now recalled with pleasure. Let one speak to me of Mount Eve, which in truth, I suppose, is far from being beautiful in comparison with other mountains, and suddenly the green, forest-covered steep rises before me, with beautiful fleecy clouds resting midway on the ascent, now gathering form and proportion, now fading away over the summit, and with it is sure to come the recollection of the hundred times when I watched it, to see if there was cause to fear a storm might mar anticipated sport. I well remember once, when you were in Orange County, of your writing to me about strawberries in a meadow belonging to Mr. Curtis. I do not know that I had thought of the spot in twenty years, yet the distinct recollection of the grassy knoll, of my own hours passed in gathering the delicious fruit there, rises with all mi- nuteness of time, circumstance, incident, and even conversation. The little brooks which you so much admired when we went over to the hill on which Chloe lives, are marked distinctly by the recollection of many a jocund laugh, many a fearful story, many a pleasant truant hour. The old butternuts that shade her humble habitation, how venerable they seem in my memory ! How many hours I've spent, squirrel-like, in gathering, by slow labor, the nuts to lay in store for winter's evening enjoyment ! I think that this delight of the heart in ancient associations is the secret of the desire so common to return and close one's days, after a busy life abroad, in the scenes of youth. When I was studying law, I think at Goshen, there came a lecturer on the " Science of Mnemonics, or the Art of improving the Memory." His plan was this : He had a book of plates containing the pictures of many familiar objects a pump, a table, a carriage, etc. These were placed in regular order. The art consisted in forming an association between the fact or idea to be remembered and one of those objects, so that everything to be remembered should be, as it were, stowed away in the same room with one or another of the pictures, and whenever the picture occurred all the ideas associated with it came up in the memory. The plan was ingenious, but useless, because too artificial. Yet it 1832.] THE LOBBY. 213 was amusing to see how soon the fancy supplied the desired connection between the arbitrary memento and the thing to be remembered, and in all after-life I have had the association come up involuntarily in my mind. On the same prin- ciple it is that scenes acquire interest and preserve it by association. The striking of the clock admonishes me that I have spent an hour in this rambling letter. My anthracite is fading into stone. I will leave the residue till morning. April UtJt. Weed called this morning, and announced as news, among other things, that Marcy was to be the candidate for Governor. John Birdsall called, and we discussed that part of the science of demonol- ogy which relates to the " blue devils." He was delighted with an opportunity to relate his experience, and a melancholy one it was. Who would think that so kind-hearted, unobtrusive, and amiable a man would be the victim of such horrid oppression ? The canal will be opened on the 25th, but for the first week we shall hardly be able to get along without being crowded out of all comfort. I set apart to-day to write the address of the Antimasonic members of the Legislature, locked my door, and went to work with great diligence. Having half finished it, I went up to converse with one of our leaders upon the subject- matter. He advised me to leave out all on the subject of antimasonry, and fill it with matters relating to the conduct and doings of the Legislature. Thus advised, I proceeded until our other leader came into the room at noon. I read it to him ; he wondered at the selection of such topics, and thought I ought to confine myself principally to antimasonry. Then I made up my mind to take my own way, as I found it impracticable to meet the views of both parties. At last I have gone through with the draft, and laid it aside in order to write to you, which I find vastly more easy, as well as more agreeable. Here is a lonmot of Granger's. A newly-married pair, both recently wid- owed, have arrived on their bridal tour at Congress Hall. The Kanes sent them cards of invitation to their party, but the bride and the bridegroom came not. The Kanes asked Granger what he thought was the reason that they did not come. He answered that he "supposed it must be because they were both in deep mourning ! " April 19th. The lobby are becoming corrupt and impudent. Yesterday, after I had made up my mind to vote for the Leather Manufacturers' Bank, I received a let- ter requesting me to vote for it, because it would be to " the interest of .the writer." I threw the letter into the fire, and told Mr. Tracy that I was almost disposed to vote against the bank. The bank bill passed. To-day the gentle- man appeared and told me that any amount of stock I wanted in the bank I could have at ten per cent. I told him I wanted no stock in the bank. He said he could not offer it before the bank bill passed. I told him it was useless to offer it to me, either before or after it passed. I have seen too much of these operations. " Give me," said Agur, "neither poverty nor riches! " and so say I. And yet, though I see those now flourishing who practise mean and corrupt ways, I cannot think it always was so, or always will be. If I thought so, Heaven knows I would soon be out of the line altogether. But it has not been so with me. For my years, I have had good speed, and as little reverse as 214 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1832. most ; and yet I have never given one vote from interested considerations, or attached myself to a party whose principles did not receive the support of my conscience. There is nothing bright, to be sure, in prospect, yet the way seems no more difficult than that through which I have passed. You recollect the friendly fraternal solicitude Weed manifested about the success of my effort on the United States Bank? Among all the compliments, all the praise that effort brought me and it brought me more than it deserved one from Weed gave me most pleasure. None but one of his delicacy of principle would have thought of it. "Seward," said he, "that speech will do great things for you. It will win you much favor, not so much for its merit as a defense of the bank, though in that respect meritorious, but because it may lead people to know and esteem your principles, and your feelings." I have run on in this strain of egotism, I know not how ; but to return : I think such prin- ciples ought to distinguish our party from its opponents. Nine o'clock P. M. I have been vigorously at work on the address. It has grown upon my hands. Thursday, April 19^. You would give me joy, I know, if you were here. I have just finished the first copy of my address, after a labor of many hours. The feelings called forth in the composition of it are yet warm ; and therefore it seems to me a success- ful performance. I will speak well of it now, for, before many days, it will seem " weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable." Tallmadge reads his to-night in the Regency caucus. I am going to hear it, partly for the purpose of being prepared to answer anything in it that may require answer, and partly for the purpose of comparing my own with his, although the risk of being disgusted with my own is very great. Saturday, 21st. Yesterday was a day of caucusing. The Antimasonic committee were here to take into consideration the address. In the evening all the Antimasonic mem- bers were crowded in the ladies' parlor for the same purpose. It was submit- ted, criticised, and approved. It only remains that it be copied correctly for the press, and then it is off my hands. Before this time, notwithstanding the rain and clouds, I suppose George and his bride have arrived. The heavens smile not on your festivities. Jove laughs, they say, at lovers' prayers, but lovers, during the honeymoon, may laugh at his storms. I shall employ myself diligently in closing my concerns, so as to be off from Albany at the instant of the adjournment. Among the events of the year 1832 was the final adjustment, by the great powers, of the boundaries of Greece as an independent state, and the elevation of Otho to her throne. The news of her in- dependence was welcomed by the friends of the Greek cause in Amer- ica, though it hardly realized their highest hopes of Greek liberty. In February, 1827, when the tidings came that the fortress of Mis- solonghi, after long resisting the power of the Turks, had yielded, and 1832.J THE CHOLERA. 215 the greater part of the brave defenders had been massacred, Seward had joined, with youthful ardor, in the meetings and appeals for relief. Forty years later, when he made the circuit of the globe, and was received by every nationality with some demonstration of gratitude for remembered kindness, he landed one day among the isles of Greece. As he was setting sail at twilight from Syra, the town and hillside burst into a blaze of illumination, as for some festival. A deputation of venerable men came to say to him that the display was in his honor, and not merely for his renown as a statesman, but because they cherished with especial pleasure the remembrance of the young lawyer at Auburn, who, in years gone by, had so earnestly pleaded for help to the Greeks. CHAPTER VIII. 1832. Rural Fancies.* Rev. Alonzo Potter. The Fire-King. Coming of the Cholera. Maynard's Death. Lieutenant-Governor Livingston. Jackson reelected. Governor Marcy. A "Weather-Prophet Rival Stages. The Price of Candles. Edwin Forrest. A Pre- monition of the Civil War. ENJOYING at Auburn, after the adjournment, a respite from official labors, Seward, in a letter to Weed, alluded to that dream of rural life which was one of his favorite imaginings : Public life has produced a singular effect upon me. It is the desire to aban- don active occupation altogether. It has produced disgust for my profession ; that is natural enough, but it has diminished my ambition for public service. I seem now to wish only for a farm, with sufficient revenue to save me from actual embarrassment. So you see, when you and Granger, Whittlesey, Maynard, and the rest, come to your kingdom, I shall be looking out upon you from the " loop-holes of my retreat." But there was little time for the indulgence of such fancies. This was to be a busy summer. It was the year of the presidential elec- tion. In June the Antimasons were to hold their State Convention at Utica, and the Legislature was to meet in extra session to apportion congressional districts. Then, too, a new and comparatively unknown public danger was approaching. The cholera had made its appearance in America. Not only was that pestilence more dreaded than now, but it was fraught with more actual peril, for medical knowledge, in regard to its treatment, was scanty and imperfect. So vague and confused were many of the popular ideas about it that a story was told of a squad of men who went out from Albany, 216 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1832. armed with sticks, to drive it back if they should happen to meet it on the line of the Northern Canal ! CONGRESS HALL, June 21st. I have drawn the red-covered table into the centre of "Letter B," and made ready to write you a good letter, telling you that I have escaped upsets by stage, fire in the taverns, explosions by steam on the railroad, and cholera on the canal. As we anticipated, we arrived in Utica Tuesday evening. The next morning we took the Telegraph, which landed us at Schenectady at seven in the evening too late for the railroad-cars, so we concluded to remain there in preference to coming by night in the stage. I went over the college-grounds, after which I called upon one or two friends and spent the evening in conversation, reviving old recollections. There is no cholera here, and none known to exist in the State, except at Ogdensburg, Plattsburg, and Fort Miller. I believe there was a solitary case at Mechanicsville, but it does not appear to have infected the place. I think we shall have a short session. June 2lst. The alarm has greatly subsided. It disturbs no domestic circle, and, so far as I can learn, prevents no contemplated arrangement. Because the cholera has not yet come the people are quite well convinced it will not come at all, or, if it come, will be less fatal than was anticipated. The accounts now received from Canada induce the belief that its ravages are confined to the immigrants, of whom it is said twenty-five thousand have landed this year at Montreal, a number ex- ceeding the entire population of that city. The Drowned Land road cause came up in the Supreme Court, so I had to attend there at ten. At eleven we went into session as a legislature, and spent the day till two o'clock in passing a bill for the preservation of the public health. Its provisions, if they can be enforced, may be very useful, but it is rather re- garded as an endeavor to quiet the public mind than as growing out of any exigency actually existing. Thus far all continues well. In the evening the delegates arrived from the Utica Convention, among whom were Tracy, Weed, Andrews, Gary, and Holley. They had an harmonious meeting, and made nominations which suit the Nationals, without compromitting the interests or principles of our own party. The fair prospect now is, that we shall combine in support of our ticket the whole opposition, and many entertain confident hopes of the election of Granger and Stevens, and our Wirt electoral ticket. Last evening, we steamed an hour at the Museum in witnessing the exploits of the " Fire-King." They were marvelous enough to excite astonishment, but not sufficiently diversified to sustain the interest. The performance commenced with the operation of holding for five minutes a piece of white paper in the blaze of a candle, and preserving it unburned by means of blowing upon it. The next was eating liquid sealing-wax. Then " his majesty " poured liquid molten lead upon his tongue, and afterward swallowed boiling oil. He concluded with the feat of going into an oven, and remaining there ten minutes while he cooked a beefsteak. Of course there is nothing wonderful in all this, except the secret of the substances which he uses to counteract the heat. 1832.] CLAY AND WIRT. 217 Monday, June 2Htk. Yesterday morning I went to St. Peter's Church, where I heard a beautiful discourse from Alonzo Potter, of Schenectady. I came away satisfied that he is a fine scholar, as I had supposed when in college he would prove to be. In the afternoon I went to the Baptist Church, and was gratified, of course, with the impassioned sermon of Mr. Welch. "William Fosgate came here in the afternoon, and we spent two hours in rambling over the graveyards searching for the grave of Clinton. It turned out that his remains were deposited in some vault, so that we were disappointed in our search. Consternation here about the cholera has ceased ; indeed, I wish it had kept up a little longer. The streets are off ensive, but it seems to be thought probable that our State will escape the contagion. Tuesday, June 26^. After tea last evening, we had a caucus at Gideon Hawley's. Among those who attended was Judge Woodworth. On the way home he and I fell in with General Gansevoort, who extolled so highly his port wine, that we were induced to accept his invitation to taste it. We found the wine very good, and the general very hospitable. We talked about Indians in general, and the expedition to Chicago in particular. Next perhaps in importance was the call on Mrs. Livingston, the bride, who is domiciled at the Eagle. She made many inquiries about you and the boys, All seem to think, from the circumstance of your spending last winter with me, that you were enlisted for the whole senatorial term, and were to be expected here whenever the Legislature should be in session. If you were here you would enjoy Albany very much. The weather is warm, indeed, but morning and evening it is delightful. There are no lobby-men here, and nobody is writ- ing speeches. I purposed while here to prepare an address to be delivered at Schenectady. I found the time passing rapidly away, and yet I was unable to select any sub- ject, and so I read and wrote, not knowing " How the subject theme might gang ; Perhaps it may turn out a sang Perhaps turn out a sermon " until yesterday, when I became convinced that I had not and could not have time and opportunity to prepare such a discourse as would be satisfactory to my own mind. I burned the manuscript and abandoned the intention. Wednesday, June %Ith. Last evening I attended a joint meeting of the leading politicians at the Adelphi. The Nationals have declared their entire concurrence in the nominations made by the Antimasonic State Convention for Governor and Lieutenant-Gov- ernor and electors. Thus, after four years of reviling us, wasting their own strength, and embarrassing ours, to this end they are come at last, to take up our cause and our candidates. I hope it may not be too late. Now followed an active and exciting presidential campaign. The union between the supporters of Clay and those of Wirt, it was be- 218 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1832. lieved, might be successful in overthrowing the party in power, who had renominated General Jackson. By the local convention of his party Seward had, this year, been chosen the chairman of the Central Committee in Cayuga County, his associates being J. H. Hardenbergh, George C. Skinner, Robert Cook, and A. D. Leonard. Their address of August 4, 1832, " to the Anti- masonic Republicans " of the county, called upon them to " make a renewed and vigorous effort " in the election, " in which they will for the first time have the privilege of voting for candidates of their own nomination for President and Vice-President of the United States," and invited the cordial cooperation of all who approved the Utica nominations. But their high hopes were destined to swift disappointment in November. At the election the Jackson men again carried the State and nation by overwhelming majorities. A session of the Court of Errors, held soon after, called Seward again to Albany, whence he wrote : November T.Qth. I am resting from the labors of my journey under the wings of the Eagle. The result of the election has been so signally overwhelming as to leave no cause for idle or unavailing regrets. I find myself among men who are, like myself, beaten, but not desponding, and so much beaten that they, like me, laugh at the delusion which could hope for a different result. Besides this, our opponents have achieved so destructive a victory that in common decency they are compelled, when in our presence, to suppress the ex- pression of their exultation. Marcy came into the Senate-chamber this morn- ing and received the congratulations of his friends; but there was great deli- cacy in the conduct of the ceremonies, for which, as for the least of mercies, we ought to desire to be grateful. I went last night, as soon as I arrived, to see Weed. He is still confined to the house. He sits up, however, and his house is a levee, continually resorted to by our defeated friends. I found John Birdsall and others with him. Weed sustains defeat with firmness and spirit. Birdsall is now the only associate I have here. I have come to esteem him very much ; he is honest, candid, and unsuspecting. Sunday Night, November llth. I was tempted to-day to remain within-doors, the weather was so cold ; but I gallantly surmounted the artifices of the Evil-One in this particular, although I have abundant reason to fear that his grappling-irons seized more strongly upon some other parts of my religious character. In the morning I went with Mrs. Tracy and Mrs. Gary to St. Peter's Church. The pews were meagrely filled. I went, intending to be interested at least in the service, but the wretched expedient of labor-saving, by employing a clerk to utter the responses which the people alone ought to express, destroys the whole system of audible worship by individuals. Now, I could well enough have joined with all the congrega- 1832.] AFTER THE DEFEAT. 219 tion, in so low a voice as to attract no notice, and yet keep my mind riveted to the subject-matter of the prayers ; but when I heard a priest saying one part of the service in a loud and melodious tone, and a clerk uttering the other part in a still louder nasal sing-song, the whole seemed a ceremony which I might listen to without having any responsibility upon myself. In the afternoon I went to Dr. Campbell's, where people actually were not too lazy to sing, and the clergyman spoke as if he was conscious that his con- gregation had souls to be saved. The sermon was desultory, rather a lecture than a sermon ; but it was nevertheless one of the best I have ever heard from that amiable and eloquent preacher. Dr. Campbell had recently come to Albany from Washington. He was now settled in pastoral charge of the First Presbyterian Church the " Old Brick " whose walls had echoed the voices of so many elo- quent men. Dr. Campbell was still young, and of striking appearance: tall, very thin, very pale, and spiritual-looking, with dark hair and eyes, he was always dignified and grave in the pulpit, though in soci- ety his conversation never lacked genial humor. He had already grown very popular. Monday, November VLih. Every man I meet asks what we are to do next. How shall we proceed ? Shall we fight, or shall we surrender ? How and where shall we rally ? But no man pretends to answer the questions which all so eagerly propose. My friends give me credit for philosophical or stoical firmness in misfortune. "What do you think is my comfort now ? It is, that there is always some way out of the most intricate of labyrinths, and some relief in store for the most help- less of conditions. How we are to get along I know not ; but, when the confu- sion of our defeat is past, I doubt not that there will offer some course which can be pursued with honor and with advantage to the interests of our country- honor which I shall never sacrifice, interests which I shall continue to cherish and to defend. Tuesday. Last evening I sallied forth to Little's book-store in quest of a book to re- lieve the dullness of my spirits. I ransacked the inexhaustible treasures of Little's shelves annuals, lijoux, caricatures, comedy, and farce ; then the more rational stores of morals ; and, lastly, devout " Addresses to Persons in Afflic- tion," " Thoughts for a Quiet Man," the " Religious' Statesman," " Christian Solace in Season of Public Calamity ; " but I could be content with nothing, and at last in despair I seized upon Fielding's " Amelia," and bore it off to the Eagle. Kent came in, and we discoursed affectionately until midnight. When we parted I laid hands upon the novel, when lo ! I had brought the second vol- ume only. Judge with what disappointment I retired to bed. Fortunately, I had employment enough in the morning. I have devoted myself to it with assiduity, and now " Richard is himself again." I spent three delightful hours to-night with Mr. Van Vechten. He was at times gloomy, always charming, and seemed prophetic in his forebodings. " What madness is in the people," thought I, " that cannot listen to the remonstrances of this venerable man ! " 220 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1832. I do not know but the prospect of repose, and of drawing comfort and pleasure from the recollection of by-gone days, is always delusive. When I went to Auburn first, I carried with me a full bushel of letters, which I prom- ised myself at some leisure hour to assort and preserve for perusal, not doubt- ing but that I should delight in the recollections which they would call up. In haste I deposited them in a drawer in the office. There they lie now, and have remained, untouched, untasted. Many a gloomy hour have I had, many a list- less season ; but never have I seen the time that I would resort to their contents for support or for amusement. Nevertheless, I cannot but indulge the hope that there will be a time when I can withdraw from cares which harass me, and pursuits uncongenial to my taste and feelings ; and that then I shall derive pleas- ure in renewing the incidents and feelings of this, which I would fain believe to be the most busy and perplexed portion of my life. No record will remain of it but these hurried letters, that are written with all the freedom and thought- lessness in which I could write or speak to no being on earth save yourself. But shall I laugh or weep when I call from its musty abode this record of chagrin and disappointment? In truth, as my old friend Mr. Van Vechten says, " That is to depend upon the chapter of chances." November IQth. From the conversation of the good society at the head of our dinner-table, I infer that the town is engrossed by the subject of the two great marriages, one of which took place on Wednesday, and the other yesterday. The first was that of Mr. Barker, son of Jacob Barker, to a daughter of William James ; the other was Colonel Barnard to Miss Walsh. I have been at Weed's all this evening. He has related to me with great minuteness the melancholy story of Maynard's illness and death. Weed says he was wild and bewildered, much of the time, and talked politics always, when he was out of his senses. When possessed of his powers he was silent, con- scious of his danger, and undismayed about it. Weed describes most touchingly the ghastly but sublime appearance of his countenance in dying. Poor fellow ! he died most fortunately. The ruin of the political interests he had so much at heart would have consigned him to un- merited and insupportable obscurity. November 16th. "The sufferings" of the Antimasons "at this time is so intolerable," that individuals cannot endure them alone and in silence. To this cause, doubtless, I owed a visit yesterday from Tracy and Birdsall ; they came in at three o'clock, and determined to caucus. Was ever a patriot band reduced to num- bers so thin and forlorn as our trio ? We canvassed and discussed the state of our political affairs until five o'clock, when, having hit upon a plan of operations, we hastened to Weed to submit it. He fully accorded with us ; but, in the diffi- culty of carrying out the details, we foresaw its impracticability, abandoned it, adopted a different measure, and separated ; the burden being imposed upon me of writing the manifesto by which the .Evening Journal is to announce to Antimasons, all over the world, the policy which the party will pursue. November Ylth. I have now on hand the manifesto of which I spoke in my letter of yester- day, besides an unfinished opinion, and two more cases to study, with many let- ters, and some other business to transact. 1832.] STAGE-COACH TRAVELING. 221 This evening the Lieutenant-Governor gave me many details of his travels in France, his stay in Paris during the consulate of Bonaparte, his visits to the court, his introduction to Josephine, his dinners with Talleyrand, his interviews with Cambaceres, Massena, Junot, and others. November I$th. This day has been a worthless one. I feel wretchedly, always, when I have to retire to bed with the reflection that I have accomplished nothing I ought to have done, and learned nothing I ought to know. The Jackson men exult in the belief that Van Buren starts auspiciously for the presidency, and, although he has great opposition to contend with, it must be admitted that he has already more organized force than any other candidate. Wednesday, November 21st. About these days, when I think of little else but going to Auburn, I have become a constant weather-inspector. The accounts of the roads, for the last three weeks, have been disheartening. This morning was mild and moist, but before nine o'clock I discovered the great golden fish which points the weather from the Second Presbyterian Church was scenting about for a change. He vacillated, now showing his nose down the river, now a little west, then rapidly resuming his first position ; but I at length had the pleasure to see him present, direct to the west, his open mouth, while his golden fins, displayed to my eye, indicated that he preferred colder weather. A flurry of snow suc- ceeded. I shall hope to have sleighing before Thursday. November 22d. To-night the Regency have had their great celebration. They have fired one hundred guns, and feasted the populace, with which the populace are satisfied. I have come to be quite content and undisturbed amid the scenes which it was so painful to contemplate in prospect. November 23d. Mr. Adams's poem is called " Dermot McMarragh." I have tried, in vain, to buy one. All the copies received here have been sold immediately, and the booksellers say that the edition is exhausted. Nevertheless, as I suppose I shall go to New York next week, I hope to be able to bring one for you. In meas- ure and style, it somewhat resembles Lord Byron's " Beppo." A part of it con- tains a piquant satire on " princely marriages for convenience made : " ' Long round the torch of Hymen Cupid hovers, The case is not the same with royal lovers." Less than a month intervened for a brief stay at Auburn, before it was time to return for the opening of the annual session. There was rivalry between two lines of stage-coaches, and Seward narrated some of the incidents which relieved the monotony of his journey to Albany: December Wth. Our ride to Syracuse was exceedingly tedious. There were, besides myself, four passengers, one of whom was a very rough old man, who had paid half a dollar more than he could have gone for in the other coach. He seemed to have supposed that this additional compensation would induce the proprietors to smooth the turnpike, and cover it with snow. 222 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1832. Two other passengers had come to Auburn in our coach and there stopped, with the intention of taking the other ; but, neglecting to order their baggage taken out, it came on with us, leaving the owners at the American Hotel in Auburn. Full of wrath, they overtook us on horseback, about a mile east of the village, and took seats in the stage, after sending their horses back to the u library " (as they described the place from which they procured them). These men, too, uttered nothing but complaints against the villainous stage-proprietors who did not take out their baggage, in consequence of which they had to pay, in addition to the stage-fare r one dollar to the keeper of the " library-stable." How edifying was the discourse of my fellow-passengers, you may judge. One of them surveyed my baggage-marks, and then asked if I lived at Auburn. This was a plain question, and admitted an easy answer ; but the second ques- tion was a poser. " What is the price of candles there? " Being utterly unpre- pared to answer, I said, " What did you ask, sir ? " hoping that the question when next presented would come in such a shape that I might " speak to it." But there was no such relief for me. Out it came again : " What do you pay for candles at Auburn? " Now, what was I to say? Acknowledge my ignorance? It seemed to me that would not do. A man might be pardoned for not knowing the price of wheat. Wheat is bought and sold as a matter of speculation. Corn, iron, cotton-goods, anything else, a man may be ignorant of the condition of the market, if he be not a professed dealer. But candles ! Who does not burn can- dles ? Whether I was a merchant, or a lawyer, or a divine, I must have light, and how could I get it without buying candles, and how buy candles without learning the price? And I felt, too, that I ought to know I, a lawyer, a Senator, a man with a wife and two children, how could I make the inquirer understand how it could be that I did not have occasion to learn the price of can- dles? In the eloquent phrase of Senator T , " it is a question which comes home to every burner of candles, and who in this land is not such ? " Never- theless so it was, I could not answer. At first I thought I would excuse myself and say, " I burn oil ; " but the question then would come, " What is oil worth ? " and this would be no easier than the other. Then I thought I would guess the price of candles ; but the knowing look of the interrogator warned me from that purpose, and I finally acknowledged that I did not know the price of a pound of candles. My fellow-passenger sympathized in my confusion, and dispelled, in some degree, my mortification, by saying he was a tallow-chandler at Roches- ter, which was the reason he inquired. The old grumbler then announced him- self to be a butcher, and the two communed sweetly together, upon the mys- teries of slaughtering, dressing, moulding, dipping, and soap-boiling. Albany, as usual, was enlivened by the approach of winter. Hotels were filled with guests, society was preparing for pleasure, and legisla- tors and lobby for work. Seward's next letters adverted to meetings with new and old acquaintances, and visits to the theatre to see a young tragedian of rising fame : December 28tk. Wednesday evening I went with Thomas Y. How to see Forrest play Hamlet. Critics sayhe is not a first-rate actor, except in characters adapted for the dis- play of great physical power, and in such parts he is admitted to excel. But he 1832.] EDWIN FORREST. 223 certainly played Hamlet with profound judgment and much effect. I was very happily disappointed in it. Even the ghost-scene, unnatural as it is, seemed less so, because the eye and ear were riveted upon Hamlet, terrified, dismayed, horror-struck, but firm of purpose to discharge the duties of a son. The inter- view between Hamlet and his mother, in her closet, where he accuses her of murder and incest, and wrings from the lips of a mother, whose only remaining virtue is her love for her son, a confession of her guilt, was a scene of deep in- terest. There is another part of the play which, on reading, always seemed to me to be mistaken in point of effect. I mean the representation by the players of a tragedy intended to be the means of discovering, by its effect upon the guilty King and Queen, the truth of the accusations by the ghost. But here again I was disappointed, and admired still more the deep discernment of Shakespeare. Hamlet, meditating upon this plan, says : " The play, the play ; yes, the play's the thing ; With, that I'll catch the conscience of the king." Now, these lines I've read a thousand times, without discovering that they had any meaning, or were of more use than to end the scene in rhyme. But, when Forrest so uttered the lines as to express the full meaning, I saw how true both author and actor were to Nature when the King started at the first suspicion that his guilty secret was out ; when Hamlet insidiously urged on to quick discovery, and the King, losing all self-possession, rushed from the cham- ber, while the affrighted players dropped their curtain and fled. In my boyish days I kept a scrap-book, into which I transferred, as I thought, the finest passages of Shakespeare, and among the rest those which are found in " Hamlet ;" but Forrest's just perception showed me a thousand beauties and sublimities I never knew before. But I must not dwell longer on the the- atre. To-night he plays Metamora. I am going to see whether the Indian char- acter can be written and enacted. December 2M7i. Day before yesterday Mr. Bronson announced, at dinner, that Mr. Van Buren and Governor Throop had called this morning upon the ladies, and left their compliments for all the gentlemen of the Court of Errors. Yesterday morning Mr. Van Buren came into the Court of Errors, and remained until the adjournment. Did you notice in the papers the death of Mrs. Henry Hone, formerly Caro- line Burrill? " When you and I were first acquent," Mr. Burrill's three daugh- ters were the theme of all conversation in the society in which I lived. Their beauty of person, powers of mind, and traits of character, were subjects of discussion in almost every circle. Mrs. Murray Hoffman was dignified, Emily was modest and lovely, Caroline was witty and satirical. All three were mar- ried, had children, and died, within ten short years. Dignity, loveliness, and talent, though they possessed them all, have fled, and the earth covers the poor handfuls of dust which can no longer excite admiration or inflict pain. I cannot augur good of the proposed marriage to which you refer. But it seems always idle in such cases to advise. There is a disposition not to be ad- vised, and, moreover, this is such a " clever " world that many people always advise lovers to follow their own inclinations ; being willing to believe that all 224: LIFE -^ D LETTERS. [1832. will be as it ought to be, very happy, if the person most interested wishes to believe so. This is a kind of complacency of which I have no share. But I confess I have seldom seen the friend who had firmness enough to advise another against marrying in accordance with inclination. I am grieved to say that our poor friend Weed is in a very critical situation. He can hardly hope to escape without loss of limb or life. It is horrible ; it de- stroys all the happiness of his society. It is almost enough to make us repine at the dispensations of Providence. Never were men more honest, more pure in patriotic enterprise, than our feeble band of Antimasons. Yet the greatest and noblest is struck to the earth ; and another is prostrated ; and this comes simultaneously with the desolation of all our fair hopes ; while triumphs and festivities seem held in reserve for those who sacrifice their country to their party, and their party to themselves. But I had better tell you about Metamora than to fill up this page with mur- mur-ings against the dispensations of Providence. Metamora is Philip, the last King of the Wampanoags. Forrest looks like an Indian, walks like an Indian, and talks as well as if he were not an Indian. The play would be no play if the hero did not speak, and unfortunately we all know that Indians never do make long speeches, or declaim like white men. This inherent but unavoidable defect in the tragedy renders the whole thing so absurd that no one can be interested in the first four acts. The last act, however, is filled with incidents which excite intense interest. His child is pierced by a bullet sped at his wife (the Indian woman, by-the-way, was acted to the life). The enemy are in hot pursuit. The tribe of Wampanoags are all cut off, and the chief, his wife, and their dead child, are in their cave. The alarm of the approach of white men inspires him with a sudden resolution. He points his wife to the sky tells her the great and departed of her race beckon her thither. She de- spairingly declares she is ready. He stabs her, weeps over her, curses the white men the enemy discover him he bares his breast, receives a whole vol- ley of musketry, and dies execrating the cruelty of pale-faces. It is impossible to witness the representation of the play, and not rise from it without a feeling of detestation of our ancestors and ourselves. This bloody tragedy is not fic- tion ; it is a softer picture of more than a thousand massacres ; and yet we go on. The race is almost extirpated here ; we proceed to extirpate the remnant in their retreat. With the wrongs of the Indian and the negro races still fresh and ascending to Heaven for vengeance, little ground have we to hope to avoid civil war, and I sometimes think a just Providence overrules all efforts of the good and wise, that it may hasten the day of that calamity. 1833.] NEW-YEAR'S VISITS. 225 CHAPTER IX. 1833. New-Year's Reflections. A Round of Calls. United States Senators. Silas "Wright. N. P. Tallrnadge. Christian Faith. South Carolina Nullification. Speech defending Jackson's Proclamation. A Mother's Illness. Voyage to Europe. January 1, 1833. WITH this New-Year's day comes the reflection that my term of office is half expired. One-half of those by whom I was surrounded when I first took my seat in the Senate have vacated their places : Stephen Allen, Mather, Fuller, and Maynard. I can truly say I feel no regret at the evidences that my official term draws nearer to its close. What is to be " the color of the times" dur- ing the residue of my legislative term, I know not. At present there is little to encourage exertion. Our friends are desponding, the victors are arrogant, and the people- sunk in too profound a slumber to be waked to a conviction of their interests. What new events may come, and what may be the operation of such events, no man can read. It is certainly not impossible that a reorgani- zation of political elements may take place. The times indicate it, bat whether it will be one which will be fraught with weal or disappointment to those with whom I act, no one can even pretend to conjecture. January 2d. The Legislature adjourned yesterday, without receiving the Governor's mes- sage, in order to afford opportunity for the celebration of New-Year's day in the usual manner. The military were out, of course, and the usual public demon- strations were made. It is only of my own adventures that I can speak. First, I called on Lewis Benedict's family, who gave me an old-fashioned welcome. Here Birdsall joined me. W"e passed by Chancellor Sanford ? s dropped in at old Mr. Gregory's did not see Mrs. Wing, but Mrs. G. wished us a happy New- Year. Stopped at Congress Hall, called on Mrs. Gary, found Mrs. Tracy in the ladies' parlor arranging a table for the entertainment of her friends. The new Lieutenant-Governor, and the ladies of his family, held levee in the dining-room, where there was, of course, a throng. Birdsall mingled with the crowd that pressed into the room of " the magician." Our next call was at John T. Norton's, where we found Mrs. N. the mother, Mrs. N. the wife, and Miss Treadwell. Next we dropped in at the Chief -Justice's ; found Mrs. Savage as agreeable as formerly. Thence to Judge Sutherland's; him we found surrounded by his wife and half a dozen daughters. Our next call was at Mr. Weed's. Mrs. Bronson has fitted up the Hopkins House, so it seems to be a different establishment. We found the Chancellor at home with his family. Having now come down Washington Street, we went round the Academy Park. At Porter's, we met his late Excellency Governor Throop, Mrs. Porter, and Mr&. Lafarge. Then we called at Delavan's ; there we found ourselves in the crowd who thronged the halls of the new Governor. The sovereign people crowded, as idolaters always do, to worship the god they have just made. His Excellency was pleased to say he was very happy to see us. Mrs. Marcy occupied the draw- ing-room ; the Adjutant-General and the aides of the Governor were in attend- ance in uniform. 15 226 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1833. Left my card at Congress Hall for Mrs. Julius Rhoades ; crossed to John Keyes Paige's, who was out ; then to the Recorder's, who was in. Then to the Surveyor-General's, and then to his son's. Went into the Misses Lovett's ; then made our way to Isaiah Townsend's, and stopped at ex-Mayor John Townsend's, who puts a good grace upon the loss of his election, and declares he is glad he is out. Gary, by this time, had joined us, and we went into Coming's ; thence to Wendell's. Never saw a handsomer girl than Anna Mary, or a cleverer matron than her mother. Was informed that Mrs. Blanchard did not receive company ; nor did Mrs. James King. Called at Rufus H. King's, Mrs. Brinckerhoff's, Mrs. Mancius's, Chancellor Sanford's, Judge Spencer's, the Bleeckers', Kane's, Baine's, etc., etc. ; more than I can speak of in detail. We called at the new mayor's (Bloodgood's) ; his daughter is accomplished and elegant. While Gary and I were there, he happened to call me "uncle," at which they all started, and required explanation. I told them that it is a generic name applied to me by my Antimasonic brethren, who make me uncle to the whole party. On which the girls declared that they desired to be received as my nieces, and we all agreed that our family, though not the most numerous, was yet a very respect- able and worthy one. January 4, 1833. Friday was the day appointed for choosing a Senator in the Congress of the United States. I went into Spencer's room on business on Thursday evening, and he told me there was to be a caucus of our friends at Bement's at seven o'clock. I staid and took tea with him; we consulted upon the matter, and finally agreed that it would be well for us to scatter our vote among our Antimasonic friends. When the meeting organized, Spencer submitted his views, and called upon me. I concurred ; some others opposed ; Birdsall joined us ; Gary as- sented ; and finally all agreed in entire harmony and good feeling to the policy we proposed. This election was to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Judge Marcy, who had been elected Governor. There was no con- test ; the Democratic candidate was the Comptroller, Silas Wright ; and as his political friends numbered three-fourths of both Houses, he was elected without difficulty. The Antimasonic members scattered their votes as had been prearranged. Sunday Evening, January Sth. This afternoon I went to St. Paul's, where I heard a sermon on the necessity of evangelizing the heathen. I never enter a church and hear the doctrines, hopes, and fears of our faith explained, but that I feel sensibly how much bet- ter it is to believe, and to seek to act according to its precepts, than to be desti- tute of religious faith and practice, hope and comfort. Happy are those who receive this religion in childhood, grow up in the faith, go through life without doubting, and die with triumphant hope ; and miserable is he who either be- lieves or acts as if he believed that this span of life is the whole period allotted for his duration ! Monday, *ith. I have to tell you what will undoubtedly be most gratifying. Dr. McNaugh- ton was at Weed's yesterday and examined his limb ; he pronounced with much 1833.] NATHANIEL P. TALLMADGE. 227 confidence that the disease was a mere enlargement of the ligaments, and prom- ised him that he should be able to quit his house in a fortnight. I learned also that Dr. Williams's opinion is in accordance with Dr. McNaughton's. I would give half a kingdom (if I had a whole one) to be divested of my dis- position to suffer under an oppressive sense of responsibility. I brought with me the papers to argue two cases in the Supreme Court. The argument was to be brought on to-day ; I labored yesterday, and for two days previous, in pre- paring a brief, and was constantly depressed by apprehensions of failure. The day at length came ; I waited my turn in court with a state of feeling very much like that of a man about to be hanged. I rose, stated the case, read my notice, and looked round, when lo ! nobody appeared to gainsay my motion, and I took it by default in each case. Another Senator in Congress is to be chosen by the Legislature in February. Tallmadge and McLean are busily employed in canvassing. Tallmadge's chief opponent is Judge Sutherland. I incline to the belief that Tallmadge will suc- ceed. Comptroller Wright has already been elected to the Senate ; Flagg, the Secretary of State, is to be Comptroller ; General Dix, the Adjutant-General, it is understood, is to be promoted to fill Flagg's place, which leaves the Adjutant- General's place vacant ; there is, however, nothing left for us to do but to look on. My afternoon was occupied with calls, among which was that of Judge Woodworth, who condoled with me over our defeat, and we both agreed we would never be so much excited again in a political controversy. It is doubtful whether either of us adhere to so wise a resolution. After a brief visit to Auburn in the early part of February, lie re- turned to Albany, bringing his family with him, and wrote thence to Judge Miller : February Wt/i. Our journey was as comfortable as we could reasonably expect. The chil- dren seem to enjoy entire health. It will be something for them to tell of, if they live after a few years, that they sat on the knee of Aaron Burr. Yet it will be true. The old man spent the morning with me to-day. He had begun to tell me the story of the duel when Dr. Williams came in, and that broke off the narration. I would have given much to hear it from his lips. The chief incident which has occurred in the Legislature was the election of Tallmadge to be U. S. Senator. A question immediately arose as to the eligibility of Mr. Tallmadge. He was a member of the State Senate, and the Constitution contained a provision prohibiting any member of the Legislature from receiving " any civil appointment " from that body during the time for which he was elected. An animated debate ensued. Some of the political asso- ciates of Mr. Tallmadge, having scruples about the legality of the election, asked to be excused from voting. The Attorney-General (Greene C. Bronson), to whom reference of the question had been made, gave an opinion that the constitutional provision did not apply to the case. Various minor questions entered into the discussion in 228 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1833. the two Houses, in which Messrs. Edmonds, Foster, Sherman, Tracy, Spencer, Livingston, and Morris, took prominent part. Seward's closing- argument was a careful presentation of the legal points in- volved. Finally the election was approved and pronounced valid by a party vote. The country was now alarmed by the grave and exciting incidents of the nullification struggle, the resignation of Vice-President Calhoun, the passage of the South Carolina Ordinance, the memorable debate in Congress, Webster's reply to Hayne, President Jackson's proclamation, and the orders to the land and naval forces near Charleston. Of course the New York Legislature took cognizance of the crisis. A joint com- mittee was appointed, who presented a report that became a subject of debate. A question of this character could not fail to enlist Seward on the side of the Union, regardless of party prejudices. On the 16th of February he addressed the Senate at some length, and introduced a series of resolutions, closing with this : Jtesolved, That the President of the United States, in his late proclamation, has advanced the true principles upon which only the Constitution can be main- tained and defended. In his speech he said : The last resolution, sir, approving the principles contained in the procla- mation, seems absolutely necessary, inasmuch as the committee either forgot, or evaded expressing, any approbation in their report. They set out to vindicate the President, but compliments supply the place of vindication, or even approval of the proclamation. But we are told that in order to maintain and preserve the " Democratic character " of the State, we must adopt the Virginia and Ken- tucky resolutions of 1V98 and 1799. Have recent events brought suspicion on our " Democratic character ? " If not, why is it now necessary to burnish it ? And how is it to be effected ? Xew York demurely resolves against nulli- fication, but adopts the text-book of the heresy to show that she is not in earnest ! The resolution shows that we are opposed to nullification as practised by South Carolina ; but the report shows we can wink at it in the abstract, as indulged by Virginia. . . . Sir, South Carolina and the great party who favor nullification at the South ask nothing more of us than to waive the Con- stitution, and adopt those resolutions of Virginia and Kentucky. They are written in their hearts' core. If we adopt them, the question is no longer whether nullification and secession are constitutional, but it is reduced to a ques- tion of construction of your new text-book. Replying to the argument that the adoption of the resolutions was a tribute to Jefferson, "the second savior of his country," as they called him, he said : Sir, I remind you of the duty due to the first real savior of his country, the Father of his Country, under whose hand the Constitution has come down 1833.] A MOTHER'S ILLNESS. 229 to us. Were his venerated shade to witness these deliberations, how, with a countenance " more in sorrow than in anger," would he remonstrate against the infatuation of surrendering that sure and only guide, to adopt in its place the crude dogmas of any man or men !....! protest against the exhibition of the servile spirit toward Virginia indicated by the uncalled-for adoption of these resolutions. I know it is a custom in this State, but I can say of it : " Though I am native here, And to the manner born, it is a custom More honored in the breach than the observance." To find himself a champion and defender of General Jackson against the " Jackson party " in the Senate, was a novel position for Seward. But the ground was so well taken, and the popular heart so fully in accord with his Union sentiments, that, although the commit- tee's resolutions were adopted, and his own " postponed," yet he suc- ceeded in making a break in the party vote, some of his Democratic colleagues, Sudani, Sherman, and Van Schaick, voting for his stronger indorsement of the " Old Hero's " proclamation. Hardly had the Legislature adjourned, at the close of April, when he was summoned to Florida by news of the alarming illness of his mother. He remained there until her convalescence. One of his let- ters home spoke of the affection with which she was regarded : All the journey long I felt that I had never before realized how far I was living from a mother who had always loved me with more than ordinary mater- nal affection. When she became very sick, the front-gate was closed, and all access to her room was denied except to her children, physicians, and nurses. Billets of wood were laid on the west side of the street, to oblige people to pass as far as possi- ble from the house, so that she might not be annoyed. All these precautions were calculated to excite prejudice, but the sympathy of the neighbors far and near has been strong and affectionate. I rode out this morning, and all along the road, at almost every house, some person came out to inquire concerning her. There is not one who does not love her ; and in all this region there is none whom Death can, in his caprice, select as a victim whose removal would excite so deep and general concern. As soon as her recovery was assured, preparations began for a summer voyage to Europe with his father, already described in 1 his autobiography. There were, as yet, no ocean -steamers. At the open- ing of June they embarked on the Liverpool packet. 230 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1833-'34. CHAPTER X. 1833-1834. Eeturn Home. The "Wadsworths. Dissolution of the Antimasonic Party. Debate on Eemoval of the Deposits. The Six-Million Loan. Commercial Distress. A Depre- ciated Currency. The Cholera. Freeman the Artist. Nomination for Governor. DURIXG the summer and autumn of 1833, Seward's letters from Europe to his family and friends described the incidents of his tour. Weed, who had received some and read others, insisted that, though not written for publication, they were worthy of it ; and a reluctant consent was obtained for their appearance, without signature, in the Evening Journal. European life and travels were topics as yet fresh and novel to the American public, and the letters were widely read. As their substance is recounted in the autobiography, they may be passed over here. Returning home in the fall, the close of November found him again leaving Auburn for Albany, to resume his seat in the Court of Errors. CONGRESS HALL, November 22, 1833. The stage at Auburn was delayed quite an hour after the notice given me. The delay was occasioned, as I found, by the driver's having waked up Mr. Hills. Which was most vexed by a mistake thus occurring on a severe Novem- ber morning the driver, my neighbor, or myself is very doubtful. Our jour- ney was tedious enough to Utica, but a good fire, a good supper, and an inter- view with one good and estimable friend, Devereux, made the evening pass pleasantly. Devereux, after hearing my first impressions of his unhappy coun- try, interested me exceedingly in the detail of the political events which had occurred during my absence. He told me, among other things, that General Jackson had offered to Richard Rush the office of Secretary of the Treasury, and that Rush has the proposition at present under consideration. The object is supposed to be to enlist the Antimasons of Pennsylvania in favor of Van Buren for the presidency. All along the road during the day I heard from the drivers that Mr. TFads- worth, of Geneseo, with his family, were coming behind us in an " extra." We arrived at nearly the same moment, at Bagg's. Being entirely unacquainted with Mr. Wadsworth, but knowing him to have been an ardent, liberal, and distinguished member of our party, I thought circumstances justified me in making his acquaintance. He seemed to think so too ; he received me with warmth, and invited me to travel to Albany with them. In the evening Abijah Fitch came in from the State Temperance Convention. He was full of zeal in the great reform. A thousand recollections of intense interest crowded upon my mind when I lay down to rest in the same little room in the third story which you and I occupied when we visited Utica in 1828, during the sitting of the Young Men's State Convention. I reviewed my political course since that day, when it com- menced to attract public attention, and reflected with pleasure that it had been 1833-'34.] END OF ANTIMASONIC PARTY. 231 marred by no act and no motive which brought self reproach. I reviewed the same period of our domestic association, and was sincerely grateful that the affection which then united us had only continued to increase and to make us both more truly happy. Our party in the "exclusive extra" consisted of Mr. Wadsworth, his daugh- ter and son, and myself, with their servant. I hardly know a more interesting man than Mr. Wadsworth. He is about sixty-five, a gentleman of good educa- tion, and extensive philosophical reading. He had traveled in Europe some twenty-five years ago, and was an observer of men and things. In personal politeness, in urbanity, and kindness, as well as in the ease of his manners, he resembles Colonel Mynderse. His daughter is one of those beings who cannot be seen without being loved. She seemed unaffected, sincere, modest, and affectionate. She is about eighteen or nineteen, and is not in good health. Her brother appeared to be of the same elevated and honest class of minds as his father. You will readily imagine how much I enjoyed the society of my fellow-travelers. The conversation, which was principally between the father and myself, did not flag during the whole journey. We compared recollections of the Old World, and agreed entirely in our views of things on this side of the water. The good old man, with all his shrewdness, had not yet seen reason to doubt the eventual success of political Antimasonry, and grieved when he heard me express a doubt whether it would be either possible, or even expedient, to attempt another organization. November 2Sd. I am once more established in my old quarters, and already too much en-' grossed with the subjects which always absorb the attention of public men when congregated here. It makes me melancholy to look around my chamber ; it is the same in which Maynard lived. Eeminiscences of that great, estimable, and eccentric man crowd upon me, and I have mused in moralizing mood upon the incidents of my acquaintance with him. I remember well when I first saw him, how much influence he exerted in determining me to embark in a cause which had already enlisted my feelings, the intimate association which afterward existed between us, until, in his sudden withdrawal from earthly responsibilities, the cause suffered a loss which we justly deemed irreparable. Though I have often occasion to reflect upon the uncertainty of all political events, and the uneven and unsubstantial pleasures which are to be reaped in a field where such fiery competition is exhibited, I do not venture to doubt that I shall, from the force of constitutional bias, be found always mingling in the con- troversies which agitate the country. Enthusiasm for the right, and ambition for personal distinction, are passions of which I cannot divest myself, and while every day's experience is teaching me that the former is the very agent which must defeat the latter, I am far from believing that I should be more happy were I to withdraw altogether from political action. November Ztth. The visit of our members of Congress at this moment when the Senate is in session has brought about an interchange of opinion in regard to the condition and prospects of our party. All seem to agree that the experiment has been sufficiently made, and that it is proved that Antimasonry cannot succeed politi- 232 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1833-'34. cally. In a fe\v counties at the west, if our friends are to be reflected, it must be upon Antimasonic grounds, and it is not a little amusing to see one of them insisting upon a general organization of the Antimasonic party throughout the State, in order to secure his own reelection next year, while he does not hesitate to tell us that the party cannot go further than through that election, and when it is disbanded he intends to go in for Van Buren, who will be elected. Weed seems, like John Birdsall and myself, not to have inquired whether there is a hope of defeating Van Buren, but determined by principle and con- sistency to continue in the opposition. For myself, I have not been left to doubt for a moment what course duty dictates. Could I stop to calculate chances, I have seen too many instances in which political success has fallen to those who, to say nothing of talent or worth, had least of worldly wisdom, and too many instances in which the most acute have been disappointed in all their plans. I shall go on as always, adopting what my judgment and conscience approve. If my political career ends where it now is, I shall have enjoyed, if not all I deserved, as much of success as is my reasonable share. If success comes, as it heretofore has done, when I am laboring in what seems to me the right cause, it will be doubly gratifying, because it will bring no remorse of conscience. Sunday I went to church at St. Peter's. You may have understood that Mr. Horatio Potter, a brother of Alonzo, has been settled in that church. I have secured rooms for the winter at Bement's. The house is kept so clean and warm, and withal will be so quiet, that we shall live very pleasantly if we remain well, which I will hope, against past experience. Mr. Van Buren has the ladies' parlor, at the foot of the stairs. He has his card upon the door, and a constant succession of visitors are seen repairing thither. He came into the Senate-chamber on Tuesday, bowed to me, and con- descended to inquire of one of the Senators how old I was. I intend before I leave here to make the necessary attentions to him and to the other good people. January, keen and frosty, found the little family circle this year gathered round the fire in the parlor at Bement's. The legislative session opened, and Seward wrote to Judge Miller : January 7, 1834. You will have the Governor's message in the Journal of to-day. It is a war upon banks, which will probably be unsuccessful. The lobby is already here in almost as great force as both the Houses, and almost every member of the As- sembly is committed for a bank. From Washington Fillmore writes that there is a decided majority of about twenty against the United States Bank. Not only all political but all commercial circles were agitated and disturbed this winter. The engrossing theme was General Jackson's removal of the deposits from the Bank of the United States. The subject came up in the Legislature soon after its meeting, when joint resolutions were introduced approving the President's course, and denouncing the bank. Seward took the floor in the Senate on the 10th 1833-'34.] PAPER CURRENCY. 233 of January. He began by remarking that it required " no soothsayer's aid to foresee that these resolutions will pass," but prayed the Senate to " remember that neither boldness of assumption nor superiority of numbers is always the test of truth." After recounting the history of the controversy, he adverted to the financial laws of paper currency : Sir, it is settled, whether wisely or unwisely, that the circulating medium of the country must be a paper currency. The condition of that currency concerns every man's weal in the land. When it is unsound, it produces those "hard times " which we have often only imagined, but are now experiencing. When it is sound, it produces those good times, the enjoyment of which makes us for- getful of the cause that produced them. It adds to the value not only of the annual products of your farms, but of the farms themselves. Upon its condition may depend whether your merchandise shall be profitable or unprofitable; whether your manufacturing or mechanical operations shall yield a reward for your industry; whether you be able to collect your credits, or pay your debts. That currency has, until recently, been a long time sound and uniform, and the world has never witnessed a scene of greater prosperity than has been exhibited in this country. That currency has, at one period of our history, been diseased, and then it brought on a train of evils for which legislative wisdom in vain tried the efficacy of relief laws. So, sir, it will be now. . . . That currency obeys no administration ; the laws of its action are absolute and certain. It has none of the subserviency of secretaries, of political congresses, or of partisan Legislatures. Then, pointing to the results of the removal of the deposits, he continued : The reproof of your error now reaches you from every commercial city in the land. You know it will come, louder and bolder, and, ere you have closed your duties here, it will visit the homes of your constituents. Yes, you will re- turn to them to witness the depreciation of farms and merchandise, and the general gloom which mutual distrust and individual apprehension can so effect- ually produce. Your banks will close their vaults, and the applications for re- newals and additional loans will be answered by the visits of the sheriff to the houses of the debtors. The usurer will be abroad in the country as he is now in your cities. You have disturbed and deranged that subtile currency, and its vibrations will shake and unsettle all business transactions. In the course of the debate some of his opponents charged him with having acquired his doctrines from " aristocratical associations in Europe " during his recent visit. He remarked, in reply, that if he had learned anything by foreign travel, it had been a different lesson ; that he had learned, " from the boldness, intelligence, and patriotism of the republicans of Switzerland, the value of that democracy which spends itself, not in lauding the servants of the people, but in watch- ing their conduct ; " and that he had learned from his intercourse with Lafayette, in the shades of La Grange, " the value of a consistent and LIFE AND LETTERS. [1833-'34. enduring devotion to the principles of republicanism, not only when the people hail the champion of those principles as their deliverer, but even when they desert him in his solitude. Although there I have been exposed to the seductive influences of foreign manners, my hon- orable friend may rest assured that I have returned to love my country better, and to understand better the value of her institutions." In his letters to Judge Miller, a few days later, he adverted to the signs of the coming period of financial trouble : February IQth. I think the session will be shorter than usual. Every member is interested in the existing pressure. Our accounts of the state of things at New York are of the gloomiest character, and no better condition is anticipated. The Aliens have resumed, but so crippled in power as to be unable greatly to relieve the merchants. Knower has gone to New York to raise one hundred thousand dollars, and has expectations of an additional one hundred thousand dollars from the four banks of this city. There is no hope of a change in Congress. March $th The United States Bank will go on curtailing its discounts. It is obvious that tbe banks here fear a general loss of confidence and suspension of specie payments. The operations of currency are so subtile that it is not impossible such a result may come, although it will not come immediately, unless by means of tbe direct agency of the United States Bank. March Ylik. There is a state of excitement here such as I have never seen. Several cruel failures have taken place ; among them is that of our friends, B & R , who failed for twenty-five thousand dollars, having a full and clear balance of one hundred and ten thousand dollars. Other failures are anticipated, business is stagnant, and public feeling very much excited. The Jackson meeting was called by about eleven hundred men, the greater part of whose names are unknown in the city. On the list were five merchants, and, it is said, only seven or eight mechanics. I looked in upon the meeting, which, of course, was attended largely by members of the Legislature, of the lobby, and holders of public offices. The opposition meeting is called by twenty-six hundred names, embracing almost every merchant and mechanic in the city. It will be held in the City Hall, by daylight to-morrow. For that purpose the merchants and mechanics will close their doors. John Townsend will be chairman. How great the change here is, you may infer from the num- ber who call the meeting. The aggregate vote of all parties, at a contested election, is four thousand. Tuesday, April 1, 1834. It was my intention to set out for home to-day, and we are all ready to go ; but the general and intense solicitude felt by all our friends here and in New York, in relation to the public business yet to be transacted in the Legislature, has determined me to remain here. The six million dollar loan bill will pass the Assembly to-morrow, and, it is said, will be acted upon in the Senate this week. 1833-'34.] CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR. 235 The history of the " six-million loan " project, and of the debate in regard to it, has already been narrated in the autobiography. In his speech of the 10th of April, Seward remarked that the relief proposed by the bill was merely local. "It is temporary, and cannot be ade- quate." So it proved. The bill passed into a law, but the law never was put in operation. The next summer was a season of commercial distress. Writing in June, in the midst of labors for his clients, he said : God be praised, I am no merchant! The incessant labor in estimates of debt and credit, the devising of ways and means to pay debts, to save what was in danger of being lost, and to convert unproductive into productive property, in which I have been employed for the last month for others, wrought my mind to a point of excitement yesterday scarcely short of that at which delirium commences. I continued the detestable employment till tea-time last evening, but I went to bed at eleven, had a refreshing sleep, and arose this morning with a mind becalmed. Again in Albany, in August, on his way to attend the Court of Errors in New York, he wrote : ALBANY, August 20th. I have just disposed of a cup of black tea and toast at Crittenden's table, and hasten to advise you of my safe arrival here. The moon (and it was one of the finest that ever looked down upon this wicked world) was shining upon de- serted streets when we arrived, between nine and ten o'clock. The appearance of the cholera does make people more careful in their habits. The disease, however, has not become epidemic here. Almost all the cases which have occurred here were among the wretched inhabitants of what is called "the Pasture," in the lower part of the town. It seems that in New York the num- ber of cases continues to average about the same, twenty-three or twenty-four daily. Still there is no panic there. The disease there, as here, is confined to special localities. At Utica I met young Freeman, the painter, and engaged him to go to Auburn to take Augustus's picture. Then, from New York, he added : NEW YORK, August 22d. There was a difficulty at Albany that I was willing enough to escape from. In the uncertainty which hangs over the great political question of the Whigs, they all look to me as being able in some way to bring order out of confusion. This has been impracticable, and in the result speculations concerning myself have been pressed upon me, in such a manner that I could not encourage, nor yet, regarding the sources of them, resist. In this state of things I was ex- pected to prove either that your particular friend would or would not be the right candidate, and this was forced upon me by the conversation of Judge Woodworth, Judge Spencer, John Townsend, and such men. But the difficulty is about the same here. The idea is in the minds of many. Those who like to cherish it, naturally obtrude it; those who do not, because they have wiser judgments or other partialities, will doubtless hold me responsible for it. 236 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1834. In September the Whig State Convention was held, which re- sulted in his nomination as the Whig candidate for Governor. In a note to Mrs. Sevvard he said: September 19tk. To-night a meeting is held at the Exchange to respond. It is said to be a large one, and to embrace all who have been dissatisfied. Weed has sent me an- other long letter written in good spirits, in which he says that Eoot writes to him that " the nomination of one of the finest fellows in the State will revive Antimasonry and ruin everything." Hallet and Myron Holley warmly praise the nomination. A large meeting was to be held last evening at Masonic Hall, New York ; Gulian C. Verplanck was to preside. The New York American has a generous and handsome article. The Argus is yet silent. The New York Times says, " Our candidate is twenty- six, has red hair, and a long nose." " Our candidate " has received notice that a formal invitation will be presented to him inviting him to go to Syracuse and be introduced to the Young Men's Whig Convention, and of course make a speech. He has decided that it will not be wise to attend, and of course, if his views are consulted, the invitation will not be given. This letter brings the story of his life to the period when his auto- biography closes. The two pictures thus given of his legislative ex- perience in Albany are not without their value, for the opportunity they offer of comparing his opinions at the outset of his political career with those of the closing hours of his life. That the one should have a tone of youthful buoyancy, and the other of graver thought, is nat- ural. That there should be no contradiction in regard to facts, theories, or principles, is the more remarkable when it is remembered that the letters and the autobiography were never compared by him. CHAPTER XL 1834. Campaign of 1834. Seward and Stilwell." Young Man with Eed Hair." The Whig Party. Election. "Mourners." Journey with Gary. New York Hospitalities. Charles King. Chancellor Kent. New England Dinner. End of Legislative Life. ON the afternoon of the 26th of September, the people who lived on the old turnpike-road, between Syracuse and Auburn, were sur- prised by a novel sight. Carriages, coaches, and wagons, with music and flags, men on horseback with badges and streamers, filled the road, rattling and galloping by to the westward. There were several hun- dred in the cavalcade. These were the members of the Young Men's Whig State Convention at Syracuse, who at the close of their proceed- 1834.] ORIGIN OF THE WHIG PARTY. 237 ings had formally resolved to go en masse at one o'clock to visit their candidate for Governor, twenty-six miles distant. After a four hours' ride, they were received and welcomed at the outskirts of Auburn by a similar cavalcade, which had gone out to meet them. Then, greeted by a salute of fifty guns, the combined body entered the streets in triumphant procession. Of course, the little village was alive with en- thusiasm, as they passed on to the residence of the young candidate to severally take him by the hand, and assure him of their support. A brief interval for rest was followed by a " rousing meeting " at the Presbyterian Church, in whose proceedings prominent part was taken by Willis Hall, David Graham, Jr., Parliament Bronson, William C. Noyes, Mortimer M. Jackson, and W. H. L. Bogart. And now the campaign went on with vigor. The despondent and defeated little band of Antimasons of the preceding winter had plucked up new heart, when they began to carry town-meetings in the spring. They had combined with other elements of opposition under various appellations in different localities, calling themselves in one place "Anti- Jackson," in another " Anti- Mortgage," in a third "Anti- Regency," but consolidating at last in State Convention under the name of " Whig," which they had derived from New England and the city of New York. The new party exulted in its name. The followers of every creed, religious and political, love to trace their doctrines back to those of the real or supposed founders of their faith. The Whigs of 1834 announced themselves as the true successors of the "Whigs of 1776," and found analogies between their cause and that of the rebel colonists. They called their movement a " revolution," directed against " King Andrew," as its prototype was against King George. They charged " King Andrew " with " tyranny " and " usurpation," and " denial of popular rights." They accused him and his followers of affecting regal state, of reveling in "marble palaces," with "wine- vaults " and " British gold." They pointed out how hospitably Van Buren had been " entertained at Windsor Castle " by the " king and queen." They raised " liberty-poles " again in the streets of Boston and New York. They chose, as emblems peculiarly appropriate, the national flag, live eagles, and portraits of Washington. They declared that the New York charter election was the " Lexington " where the first struggle of the new revolution took place. They stigmatized their opponents as " Tories." Mr. Webster added to their enthu- siastic zeal by avowing himself in a letter to be " the son of a father who acted an humble part in establishing the independence of the country," and saying, "I have been educated from my cradle in the principles of the Whigs of '76 ! " The Democrats, who rightly felt that they had, in their own name, a tower of strength, replied by pointing to their chief, "the hero of 238 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1834. New Orleans," the "stern opponent of nullification," the successful "champion of the people" against the "monster bank." Strong in the prestige of past success and present power, they sneered at the " upstart party " with its high-sounding pretensions, recommended Stilwell to " stick to his boots and shoes," and pointed to the contrast between a mature and experienced statesman like Marcy, and his competitor, a " red-haired young man," without a record and unknown to fame. Of course the Whigs did not lose the opportunity thus offered to call upon all mechanics to observe the indignity shown to Stilwell be- cause he was one. Meetings were organized in which not only all shoe- makers, but all tinsmiths, hatters, printers, tailors, and men of every other handicraft, were exhorted to "rally around him," as the repre- sentative of "working-men" against the "Jackson aristocrats." As for the Whig gubernatorial candidate, elaborate biographies (one from the pen of William Kent) soon showed that, instead of being unknown, he had rendered " good service to the State ; " and William L. Stone, with felicitous humor, disposed of the other accusations in the Commercial Advertiser. He set forth, in an elaborate " Chapter on Young Men," how many of the greatest names in history were achieved in youth; how Charlemagne, Charles XII., Lafayette, Napo- leon, Pitt, Burke, Warren, Hamilton, Jefferson, Rush, Jay, Byron, Mil- ton, Mozart, Pope, Newton, Harvey, nay, even Henry Clay, De Witt Clinton, Daniel D. Tompkins, and John C. Calhoun, were "young men" when their deeds first made them famous. Then, in an equally exhaus- tive argument, two columns long, headed "The Last Objection an- swered," he pointed out how Esau, and Cato, Clovis, William Rufus, Rob Roy, and Brian Boroihme, not only " each had red hair," but were celebrated for having it ; how Ossian sung a " lofty race of red-haired heroes," how Venus herself was golden-haired, as well as Patroclus and Achilles, and closing with this peroration : Thus does it appear that in all ages, and in all countries, from Paradise to Dragon River, has red or golden hair been held in the highest estimation. But for his red hair, the country of Esau would not have been called " Edom." But for his hair, which was doubtless red, Samson would not have carried away the gates of Gaza. But for his red hair, Jason would not have navigated the Euxine and discovered the Golden Horn. But for the red hair of his mistress, Leander would not have swum the Hellespont. But for his red hair, Narcissus would not have fallen in love with himself, and thereby become immortal in song. But for his red hair, we should find nothing in Mr. Van Buren to praise. But for red hair, we should not have written this article. And, but for his red hair, William H. Seward might not have become Governor of the State of New York ! Stand aside, then, ye Tories, and "Let go of his hair! " The rural press were divided about equally between the two parties. 1834.] CAMPAIGN POETRY. 239 In the cities the Evening Journal, at Albany, the Commercial Adver- tiser, the American, and the Courier and Enquirer, in New York, waged hot battle with the Argus, the New York Times, and the Even- ing Post, who supported the Administration. The mottoes and songs of a popular contest, while they reflect all its absurd exaggerations and personalities, also illustrate the principles involved in it. Such were the cries at this election in 1834 : " Seward with Free Soil, or Marcy with Mortgage," " the Monster Bank Party," and the party of " Little Monsters," " Bank Influence and Bank Cor- ruptions," " Regency Spoils," " Perish Commerce, Perish Credit," " Marcy's Pantaloons," " Union and Liberty," " No Nullification," etc., etc., etc. Copper coins or medals were struck bearing the heads of the can- didates, and one or another of these inscriptions. Campaign songs had not then acquired the popularity which they achieved at subsequent elections, but a verse or two will illustrate the character of some of those on the " Whig " side. One alluded to the neglected flats and overslaugh in the Hudson River, nicknamed " Marcy's Farm : " " Those who have land like Marcy's farm, Where naught but sloops take root, May pawn it and sustain no harm But free soil brings forth fruit." Another, a parody on " Duncan Gray," referred to Mr. Van Buren's recent visit to Western New York : " Van came here to woo the folks, Ha, ha, the wooing o't ; The ' infected district ' would not veer, So back again Mat had to steer, Ha, ha, the wooing o't." Irishmen were appealed to by an imitation of " Erin go Bragh," thus : " Against freedom's foe we unitedly go, On Seward and on Stilwell our votes we'll bestow, And Columbia's eagle in pride shall be seen On our own Erin's flag, with the shamrock so green." Again, the sneers at the Whig " boy " candidate were adverted to : " At Lafayette Cornwallis railed ' That boy,' quoth he, ' is mine ; ' But soon to that same ' boy ' he quailed, In ' auld lang-syne.' " Nominations for Congress and the Legislature this year embraced some names since well known in the political history of the State. 240 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1834. i Among the former were Gulian C. Verplanck, Ogden Hoffman, James G. King, Dudley Selden, Adoniram Chandler, Samuel Beardsley, C. C. Cambreleng, John Cramer, Philo C. Fuller, Francis Granger, Gideon Hard, Gerrit Y. Lansing, Gideon Lee, Thomas C. Love, Levi Beardsley, Abijah Mann, Jr., Rutger B. Miller, John McKeon, Joshua A. Spencer, and Peter Sken Smith. Among the legislative nominations were Luther Braclisb, Austin Baldwin, Hamilton Fish, Joseph Blunt, George W. Patterson, Prosper M. Wet-more, James J. Roosevelt, Mark H. Sibley, Robert Denniston, and Preston King. Reports from elections in the other States now began to come in, inspiring the Whigs with fresh hopes. Though Pennsylvania had con- tinued Democratic, Ohio had given a Whig majority of ten thousand. Baltimore had been carried by the Whigs. Elections in Delaware, Vir- ginia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Rhode Island, and Vermont, all showed gratifying gains. Two elections of ominous significance for the future passed then almost unheeded ; those in Georgia and South Carolina, where the battle was between "Union" and " State Rights," the Union men in Georgia sending to Congress James M. Wayne, afterward the just and loyal Supreme Court Judge, and the " State Rights " men in South Carolina electing F. W. Pickens, who was afterward chosen Governor of that State under the " Con- federacy." The " three days " of the election came, and the contest began. The Evening Journal, on the night of the first day, said : " The Whigs made a noble rally." The second night it expressed an appre- hension that " the majority will be greatly reduced by the inattention of many of our friends." On the evening of the third day it briefly announced : " The Regency have carried the State, and probably by a majority equal to that of 1832." So Seward and Stilwell were defeated ; the new party had failed ; and the Democrats still remained masters of the field. The results of a State election at that period, when the horseback express was the speediest method of transmitting returns, were often in doubt for weeks. But in this case the triumph of the Democrats was too complete to allow the Whigs to entertain any false hopes. Marcy was elected Governor, and Tracy Lieutenant-Governor, by a majority of over eleven thousand. Every senatorial district had gone Democratic, except the eighth, and the Whigs had but a feeble minority of the Assemblymen. A few Whig Congressmen were elected among them Granger, Fuller, Lay, Hard, and Love. But most of the Whig majorities were in the old " infected district " of Antimasonry in West- ern New York. In the strongholds of the Democracy, its sway remained unbroken. 1834.] THE WHIGS DEFEATED. 241 Its followers celebrated their victory with speeches and festivities, among them a collation of beer and cold meat in the hall of the Capitol. Two days after the election Seward wrote to Weed : Evil tidings fly fast enough. I shall not trouble myself to give them speed. You will hear all from those to whom they bring joy. So far as I have heard I give you the reported majorities in this county. Do not take any grief for this result on account of my feelings. Be assured that it has not found me un- prepared. I shall not suffer any unhappiness in returning to private life, except that which I shall feel with all our political friends. Believe me, there is no affectation in my saying that I would not now exchange the feelings and asso- ciations of the vanquished William II. Seward for the victory and " spoils " of William L. Marcy. If I live, and such principles and opinions as I enter- tain ever find favor with the people, I shall not be without their respect. If they do not, I shall be content with enjoyments that politicians cannot take from me. Remember me with expressions of gratitude to all our friends who may take so much personal interest in me as to inquire how the defeat of our just cause is borne by him who they were willing should enjoy the best fruits of its success, A week later he wrote : I have cleared away the ground since the action ; after a brief visit to Albany I shall be ready to engage with a good heart in the labors of my profession and devote myself to them, and to the cultivation of what taste I have for study. Let me have your assurance that you have acquired the same philosophy. . . . Granger spent a day with me. He has had a fortunate escape from his dilemma, and I am rejoiced at it. He is a noble fellow ; and I am glad that, if we could not make him what we wished, we have been able to put him into a career of honor and usefulness. The Whigs drew some encouragement even from their defeat. Though they had not carried the State, yet the result of the election showed that they were stronger, on the whole, than the scattered oppo- sition elements out of which they sprung had been in the preceding year. They were now a national instead of a local organization, and their successes in other States assured them that, with time, success was not impossible in New York. In Massachusetts their victory was as great as their defeat had been at home. The Whigs had carried that State, and elected nearly all its members of Congress, among them Abbott Lawrence, Caleb Gushing, Levi Lincoln, and John Quincy Adams. The political career of Seward had now drawn to its close. His legislative duties had ceased in the spring ; the governorship had been refused him in the fall ; it only remained for him to attend the remain- ing brief session of the Court of Errors, and then to sit down in his law-office at Auburn and resume his cases in court. His letters described 16 242 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1834. his experiences on going to perform his final public duties in Albany and New York : UTICA, November 20, 1834. The end of this day's journey will be Utica, where this letter is dated, al- though written on board the canal-boat twenty miles west of that place. Al- though looked at by all the boys as a " dead lion," I find the majority of the traveling public are Whigs, and the " Tories," inasmuch as " he " is on board, abstain, from motives of commendable forbearance, from all kinds of glorying in their triumph. ALBANY, November '23d. This journalizing mode of correspondence is, for many reasons, the best, but principally because it is most acceptable to you. On my journey hither I met Raynor, Brewster, and others of the earnest and patriotic politicians, and the interviews were painful to me. They were yet smarting under the sore discomfiture of our good cause, and it was evident that the only cure for their dejection must be derived from the healing hand of Time. The excitement of traveling had roused the Whigs on board the boat from the despondency they felt while they remained at home, and as I needed no introduction to persons, all of whom had so recently deposited their votes for me, we were soon very well acquainted, and had a pleasant voyage. I arrived here yesterday morning, and determined to take lodgings in our old quarters at Bement's. I found Caleb dejected, as were the whole household, but they were evidently gratified that I had adhered to them with the same tenacity they had to me. After having paid my respects to my old friend John the barber, whom I found willing to cut the throats of all the " Tories " for preventing my election, I went down to Weed's. I found him dejected beyond measure. Then I went up to the Capitol, where the Court of Errors were in session. Although I had been the subject of much political action since I had last been among the mem- bers, there was nothing peculiar in our meeting. They gave me a greeting neither unwelcome nor embarrassed. At dinner I found Mr. Caldwell; Dr. Beck was with him, and I congratulated both upon the tenacity with which they cling to the habit of dining together on Saturday. Gary went on with his friend to New York. He is not yet returned. Poor Uncle Cary ! it must be very hard for him, at this time, to stay anywhere. He needs, as he deserves, to find his friends happy, in order that he may be happy himself. He finds nobody happy now but those whose happiness arises from the same cause which works all his woe. I found all the young men here who were, as you recollect, so- ardent and sanguine last spring, now dejected and desponding. My buoyancy of spirits had returned as soon as I left Weed, and I succeeded in bringing back their hopes and confidence. After dinner, Charles Kirkland, of Utica, and Gush- man, of Troy, came in, both in bad enough spirits. I found Weed and Tracy in my room ; both staid till eight o'clock ; both unhappy. Mr. Benedict and Mr. Hart came in and staid till their equanimity, just recovered, was put to flight. Went this morning to church. The new Baptist church is finished. I dined with Rathbone at the Eagle. I found at table three or four of my fast political friends ; they could not have been more melancholy if they had been attending 1834.] SHERIDAX KNOWLES. 243 my funeral. Henry Webb was with them, and was a sincere mourner. They were all astonished to find that I was not. In the afternoon went to Mr. Campbell's church, and heard a good sermon. I sat in Mr. Caldwell's pew, where I met the Misses Westerlo, whose acquaintance I made without intro- duction, but presuming that I was their candidate at the last election. Alas, even these young ladies had bright hopes founded on the success of the Whig ticket ! I found none but Whigs, of both sexes, at this church. November 2tth. On my way to the Capitol, this morning, I met Judge Spencer coming down to see me. He shares in the disappointment of our political labors. Judge Conkling fell in with us at the same time, having just come from my room. He, too, was a mourner, and I thought it best to pass on and not gather any more desponding Whigs in front of the " Eegency " offices. November 26tk. The aspect of society is changing so that, in a short time, many of your acquaintances will not be found here. John T. Norton is desirous of selling his beautiful house, and goes in the spring to reside on a farm in Connecticut. Mr. Delavan has grown enthusiastic in the temperance cause. They tell me here that, one or two weeks ago, he and Mrs. Delavan brought forth from their cellar seven hundred bottles of wine and poured the liquid treasure on the earth. Now they are selling their house, so that they may not be hindered in the great work of proselyting to temperance. Saturday, November 29^. I had with me at dinner to-day Mr. Willis Hall, the President of the late Young Men's Convention. He is a very intelligent and patriotic man, burning with zeal for a new contest, and, I confess, embarrassed me not a little by requir- ing me to show him the way to renew the war with some hopes of success. To me there is nothing cheering in the signs. The success of the Democrats in this State was all that was wanted to rally a corps of adventurers round Mr. Van Buren, sufficient in number to fight his way through all opposition to the throne. Be it so, I have done my duty ; it is the part neither of philosophy nor patriotism to suffer this calamity to oppress my spirits or dishearten me in the performance of duties as a citizen. Last night Gary and I went to the theatre. It has been considerably im- proved. The old drop-curtain has been substituted by a new one, pretty enough, and adorned among other devices with the coat of arms of this ancient city. Mr. James Sheridan Knowles played the part of Master Walter in his own piece of " The Hunchback." Although he is by no means a great actor, he plays with judgment and good taste ; and Mrs. Greene, although inferior in talent to Miss Fanny Kemble, was very effective in some of the most interesting parts of the piece. I have just finished the perusal of Bulwer's new novel, " The Last Days of Pompeii.'' I wait only for an opportunity to send it to you. There is some affectation of classical literature in it, but there is much of that rich philosophic vein which is especially pleasing in his other works. There are barbarous scenes, based doubtless on historic fact, but enough of talent, morals, religion, and phi- losophy, to redeem all the defects of the work. LIFE ^D LETTERS. [1834. Tuesday, December 2d. Again to the theatre last evening, this time to witness the performance of " The Wife," one of the dramas written by Mr. Knowles. The two principal parts were taken by himself and Miss Wheatley. The former fell far behind the merit evinced by him in " The Hunchback." The latter is a wonder. She is the daughter of an actress, and may almost be said to have been brought up on the stage. She is only thirteen years old ; yet her stature and person are so much developed that she seems to be held responsible to play her part, not as a child, but as a woman. This morning I saw Mr. Knowles at the American. His manner is some- what theatrical, and declamatory withal, yet I was not repelled thereby, for who can fail to admire a great mind and a generous heart ? I will give you a puzzle in phrenology. His head and face are almost a copy of our worthy neighbor Mr. Garrow's. Fred Whittlesey came along to-day, on his way to Congress ; he dined with me, and was every way interesting to me. He was bound by a new tie, which had been woven by generous and manly support of my personal interest in the election. Mr. Miner, of the New York American, was with us also. We made a pleasant party. Afterward, meeting James Horner in the street, I went to take tea at his house. The copper-coin bearing my image and superscription was carefully preserved, and I traveled over again, to an audience who appeared to be willing listeners, my journey to Chamouni and the glaciers. Tliursday, December 4th. I am performing the last act of the election drama. I have, as you know, many calls, and it would be churlish in me to withhold such attentions as it is in my power to bestow upon the generous and ardent partisans who have sustained me. I have some friends every day at dinner, and visitors every evening, if I do not go out myself. I know and feel that this is dissipation, of a fruitless kind ; but I console myself on that score by reflecting that I shall soon bring it all to an end. Mr. Rutherford, who carries this letter, goes to Auburn for the purpose of studying law in my office. His grandfather, Mr. John Rutherford, is a venera- ble and excellent citizen of ISTew Jersey, and has been one of its most distin- guished men. December Sth. Rathbone sent up to me this morning Hannah More's " Letters and Life." I have commenced reading them. Although these letters are imbued with all that religious feeling which has deterred many from the perusal of the works of Hannah More, as from that of Young's " ISTight Thoughts," I have found it one of the most fascinating books I have opened for many years. The letters are full of bright, flashing, and interesting anecdote, and correct conceptions of the characters of many of the most illustrious men and women of England during the period when Johnson, Sheridan, Burke, Garrick, Montagu, and Barbauld, were living. The universal and perpetual reading of Boswell's "Life of John- son " proves it one of the most interesting books ever written. You will be pleased with a similar work, in which Hannah More is the observer and scribe of the sayings and doings of so many brilliant personages. I shall send it to you by the first conveyance which offers. 1834.] TRUMBULL GARY. 245 The Court of Errors have to-day decided that they will take a recess from Thursday next for eight or ten days. Gary and I will go down the river, and prohably to Orange County. Trumbull Gary, stout and hearty, with mirthful face and benevo- lent expression, was a universal favorite. In later life his fine head was said to resemble that of Washington. His term as Senator from the Eighth District began and ended at the same time with that of Seward as Senator from the Seventh. President Jackson's message at the opening of Congress had now been received. A large part of it was devoted to the claims against France ; but the portions which had especial political significance, and were accepted as defining the position and future course of the Demo- cratic party, were those relating to the National Bank and to internal improvements. As to the National Bank, the Whigs were not inclined to pursue the contest, but rather to accept the result of the election as having settled that question. As to internal improvements, while not disposed to insist on the powers of the Federal Government in that regard, they continued their advocacy of canals and railroads, and of assistance to them by the State, to whose development and prosperity they had now grown so necessary. NEWBTJKG, December 16A. Mr. Gary and I came down the river to this place on Thursday evening last. We had many passengers ; among others, Mr. B. F. Butler, with his entire fam- ily, on their way to Washington to spend the winter ; it appears they have never removed to the capital. Possibly the experience that other chosen cabinet coun- selors have had of General Jackson's arbitrary conduct has rendered the At- torney-General prudent ; but I think his prospects are now fair for holding his post much longer than his recent predecessors. On board we had a party of defeated Whigs. The severity of our disappointment has greatly mitigated, and we had as pleasant a season as a December trip on board a steamboat usually affords. After spending a night at this place, Mr. Gary and I proceeded by stage and private conveyance to Florida. We found the household tranquil and in order. The politicians, Van Duser chief among them, spent an hour with us at the hotel. We called at General Wickham's, Horace Elliott's, and Dr. Daniel Seward's, and declined invitations to dinner, tea, etc., for the entire period of our stay in Orange County. Thence we came to this place in a small stage with nine other passengers ; two of them were Mr. Wisner and S. J. Wilkin. It was our intention to go to New York last night, but the weather has been so severe that the river is closed as far down as Red Hook. The boats now run irregularly; there has been none here since we arrived. We expect one at about twelve o'clock, and so Uncle Gary and I have withdrawn to our room, where we have a comfortable Liverpool-coal fire. He is reading " Peter Sim- ple," and I am recording for you the journal of our wanderings. 246 LIFE ANI) LETTERS. [1834. NEW YOKK, December IQth. We arrived and took lodgings at Bunker's on Tuesday evening. When three or three and a half arrives, I go to dine, and of course sit to a late hour. On Wednesday I dined with Patterson, Kent, and Hoffman, and spent the evening at a party at Colonel Stone's. One can eat only one dinner a day, and, being previously engaged at Van Schaick's, I disappointed two dinner-parties intended to include me : one at James G. King's, the other at this house. To-morrow we have a dinner here, and I am to visit Chancellor Kent in the evening. Monday is the New England dinner, at which they wish me to attend as a guest. I have been pressed to ac- cept the compliment of a public dinner for Tuesday, the last day of our stay in town. I have half consented, provided it shall be converted into a private din- ner, and everything in relation to it excluded from the newspapers. December Last Friday, Gary and I dined with Senator Van Schaick on Broadway. Rufus H. King, of Albany, was of the party, and my old master, John Anthon, was to be, but was detained in court. Mrs. Van Schaick is a daughter of John Hone. In the evening I went to a party at William Kent's in Bond Street. He is a gentleman delicate in taste, and of high honor, and I value him highly. I found Mrs. Kent an intelligent and charming woman, and we arranged that we are all to become acquainted next August, when they go to the westward. Chancellor and Mrs. Kent have, like yourself, and my father and mother, been so foolish as to believe all their son said of me in the flattering biography which he wrote, and the former caressed me with almost parental affection. Several of the gentlemen at Bunker's were desirous to have a small party on Saturday. It consisted of Charles King, Gulian C. Verplanck, Ogden Hoffman, James G. King, William L. Stone, William Kent, Nicholas Devereux, Patterson, and others. We had as spirited a convivial and intellectual meeting as I ever enjoyed. Charles King is rich in literary conversation, Kent animated, Patter- son fastidious, Verplanck humorous, Hoffman eloquent and free, J. G. King agreeable, and Stone entertaining. Cary and I had an opportunity to vindicate Weed from the absurd slander of depriving Timothy Monroe's corpse of whiskers, to make it resemble Morgan a slander that had half preserved its credit until this time among some of the guests. Kent nobly espoused Weed's cause, and we placed him beyond reach of attack from that source. It was half-past ten when we rose from the table, and I had yet two engage- ments at tea the one at Captain Reid's, the other at Chancellor Kent's. I took a coach and drove to Laight Street, where I found the Reids, made my apology, drank coffee, and at half -past eleven took my leave. My driver, pursuing my direction, erroneously copied from the directory, was unable to find Chancellor Kent's house. After having been driven half over the island, I gave it up and went home. Sunday morning I had only time, after a late breakfast, to reach Jennings's house before the hour for morning church, where I went with him and his fami- ly, and saw him with four others ordained, with all formality, elders of the congregation. I could not look upon the service (badly as I thought it per- formed) without feeling. 1834.] THE SONS OF NEW ENGLAND. 217 In the afternoon I went to church to hear Dr. Hawks. In the porch I met David Graham with his intended wife, Miss Hyslop. They gave me a seat with them, hut Dr. Hawks had a substitute in the pulpit. Monday morning my table was covered with cards and billets to be disposed of, first to decline invitations to tea, next to accept an invitation to dine with the young men, then to answer the committee of arrangements of the New- England Society, etc., etc. I wrote a letter to Chancellor Kent, telling my adventures in search of his house on Saturday night. I went to leave it at his office, in the event of his absence, but found him there, and made the explanation. He insisted upon having the letter to show his wife and daughter. December 2Sth. Mr. Gary and I, having accepted an invitation to dine with about twenty young men on Monday, at the City Hotel, came there at six, and met a very intelligent and agreeable party, of which Willis Hall was the chairman. After the cloth was removed, Mr. Hall made me a speech, and gave a toast in my honor, which was drunk by the company. I made a speech, brief and unstudied, in return, and gave for my sentiment, " The young men of the city of New York : they have committed but one error in political action, that of mistaking the justice of their cause for an indication of its immediate success. Their only reproach is, that they could not command the success they deserved." The vice-president toasted the Eighth District, and Mr. Cary responded. About ten o'clock a committee from the New England Society appeared, and invited Mr. Cary and myself into the salon where the descendants of the Pil- grims were celebrating their anniversary. We were received by the president, and took our seats upon his right! The spirit of the celebration was then at its height. I was called upon, and gave the sentiment which you have seen much garbled in the newspapers. It was received with marks of approbation, and soon afterward a toast was announced from the chair, and drunk with three times three, "William II. Seward, the independent politician, who received at the late election the largest New England vote ever given to any candidate in the State of New York." The toast was drunk with great cordiality. The party, of course, expected a speech, and I made one ; but I cannot recall more than the substance of it now. I told them I had no speech ready for the occasion, as I never anticipated such a compliment from the sons of the Pilgrims. It was the more gratifying to me inasmuch as the vote alluded to was given me over a son of New Eng- land ; while I was not one of that honored race, and had not a drop of Yankee blood in my veins. ( " You have ! you have ! You are an adopted Yankee, anyhow," said they). I added that I had in public life given the evidence of my veneration for New England, by acting in accordance with the principles she had inculcated. I would only add that if any citizen of any other State was inclined to listen to aspersions on the character of the citizens of New England, or to think their principles unworthy or inferior to those of his own State, let him recollect who were the school-masters of the American people. Gary's toast in honor of Maynard was drunk with respect and veneration for the memory of that great patriot, exceedingly gratifying to us, who were his associates. We now returned to the party below, where I met for the first time in the 24:8 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. city our Lieutenant-Governor (that was to be) Stilwell. The party broke up at midnight. Your letter received this morning asks how the Courier came to announce me as having taken lodgings at the " Masonic Hall." I answer your question now, lest I may forget it. Webb wrote his article with the words " Mansion House " (meaning Bunker's on Broadway). The compositor who set it up made it read " Masonic Hall." The other papers soon set the matter right, but the most ludicrous part of the matter was, that it could not be corrected without giving the Regency papers a good opportunity for a hearty laugh at us. Tuesday morning was devoted to receiving visits, answering billets, and returning cards. At four o'clock we went to Webb's to dine. There was a large party, a luxurious display, and a most fastidious taste ; the dinners at Pompeii were not more classical. From Webb's we came down-town and stopped at the Opera-House. It was the last night. The Italian Opera in New York has failed, for want of patron- age ; the ton of the city were there to enjoy it for the last time, and we were there to see the ton. I had an invitation for Tuesday evening to a large party given by Mrs. D. S. Jones, the daughter of De Witt Clinton; a similar invitation on Monday to Mrs. Hicks, on Bond Street. Charles King had invited a supper-party to meet us on Wednesday night. James G. King had made a dinner for us the day we dined with Van Schaick. We declined, and tore ourselves away from the hos- pitalities which pressed us on every side. At five o'clock we went on board the steamboat, and arrived about midnight at Poughkeepsie. It was cold and tem- pestuous, and we retired to sleep. On Christmas-morning, at six o'clock, we took the stage and traveled comfortably enough, although the weather was very cold. We arrived at Greenbush about eleven o'clock at night, and, after much ado, procured porters to carry our baggage across the river, and reached Bement's at midnight. I cannot yet say when I shall be able to leave Albany, but I am making my parting arrangements. I need not tell you that I have become more than ever attached to Uncle Gary, and that here we are inseparable. Mrs. Gary, with her genuine kindness, has proposed to meet him at Auburn. They have it so arranged that Wednesday of week after next, if there is sleighing, she will be with you. Mr. Gary will positively be there, and so will I. And so the part I have assumed among politicians has its inception, denoument, and finale! CHAPTER XII. 1835. Return to Private Life. Law and Chancery Practice. Judge Miller. Seward and Beards- ley. Political Speculations. French Claims. Personalities in Debate. Attempt to assassinate Jackson. Advice about going West. Editorial Life. " Optimism." Henry Bulwer. RETURNING to Auburn early in January, 1835, accompanied by Mr. Weed's daughter Harriet, he announced their arrival in a letter to her father : 1835.] GOVERNOR MARCY. 249 I am once more, thank God, and I hope for a long time, at home ; really, I was so weary of the unprofitable life I was leading at Albany, that I was unable to regret, as I otherwise must have done, that the time had come when a ter- mination must be set to our long, confidential, and intimate association. Keep me informed upon political matters, and take care that I do not so far get ab- sorbed in professional occupation, that you will cease to care for me as a poli- tician. Resuming his place among the law-books and papers in the old white office on South Street, he resumed with it his industrious habits there, and worked early in. the morning and late at night at the cases of his clients. His practice began to steadily increase and enlarge, though it was still confined to Cayuga and the adjoining counties in the western part of the State. He wrote : January IS, 1835. It goes with me, thus far, very much as I supposed it would. An entire week has passed, and I have found no leisure. All this would be comfortable enough if I were pleased with my employment. But I do not find that certainty in the results of long and painful investigation which compensates one for the trouble. " Eureka! " said the Grecian philosopher, when the key to his perplex- ing problem presented itself to his mind. But in law there is no "Eureka." You search forever, and, instead of finding out the truth of the matter, you find out, at the end of a long and troublesome litigation, that you are all wrong, or that the court and jury are ; and the consequences to you and your client are the same in both cases. But I am not indulging any morbid feelings. I would rather pursue my pro- fession than any other, and when I once get accustomed to it I shall find it go smoothly enough. Your hurried letter, written upon the blank page of Fillmore's, was rather melancholy. I am so selfish as not to be sorry that you were sad when Gary and I left you. I would not have you perform a shorter mourning than a widow's prescribed quarantine. It is a graceless world, my dear Weed, and we will soon enough forget each other. Meanwhile political affairs of some gravity were engrossing atten- tion at Albany and Washington. But as this book aims to present, not the history of the times, but the story of an individual life, it will be sufficient to allude to a few events then transpiring, as news of them reached the quiet village home, through the newspapers or the letters of friends. From Albany came the annual message of Governor Marcy, able and clear, as all his state papers were. In it he reiterated the argu- ments against the United States Bank, now become cardinal doctrines of the Jackson party. He felicitated the Legislature and the people that the commercial panic had passed, and confidence had been restored, so that it had not been necessary to make or use the six-million-dollar loan authorized at 250 LLFE AND LETTERS. [1835. the previous session, the United States Bank having ceased its curtail- ment of discounts. Its renewed expansion of loans was claimed to prove that its previous contraction had been made, not under the press- ure of necessity, but for political effect. The Governor recommended the enlargement of the Erie Canal, in accordance with an almost universal public sentiment. He further recommended the suppression of all bank bills under five dollars, and warned the Legislature against granting State bank charters too lavishly. His party, in the Senate and Assembly, followed him in denunciation of the Bank of the United States, and voted to use a part of the canal-tolls to enlarge the Erie Canal, but took little heed of his warnings against new bank charters, which continued at this session to be dispensed among the eager lobby that awaited them, and, naturally enough, perhaps, applicants who were supporters of the State and national Administrations were especially fortunate in obtaining them. The Whig minority, hardly numbering more than one-third of the Legislature, had no disposition to continue the war in behalf of the Bank of the United States after their signal defeat at the fall election. To the enlargement of the Erie Canal they gave a hearty support, and directed their artillery chiefly against the distribution of the bank charters, proposing investigations of the manner in which it was done. These, however, were usually tabled by a decisive vote. Seward's letters, during this period, to Weed, sketch his domestic and business life at -Auburn, with occasional comments upon political events : January ^lih. Charles King, when I saw him, was wanting Clay to decline in favor of somebody, and the only difficulty was, to select the man. None of those who protest against White and McLean seem to understand that Clay must decline in order to bring out anybody. The truth is, that we Whigs of 1834 are a very impracticable set of fellows. We are too independent to become good politi- cians. We all agree that the Tories are ruining the country, and that it is our duty to avert the calamity. But each man must have his own way of averting it. January SQlh. Mr. Savage has brought my miniature. It is universally admired, except by the very fastidious personage for whom it was painted. She, forsooth, calls it hard names, says it is pert, self-complacent, etc., etc., just as if that was not the true expression of the original. There is a Mr. Goodwin here, who has spent two years in the village, paint- ing everybody. The day before the miniature came, he called upon me. He had been diligently pursuing Ms art, as all artists must do in the country, until he was prepared to advance toward the city. He wished in the spring to make a stand in Albany, and was desirous to have a likeness of me, by way of intro- ducing himself. Now, this painter had been a good and ardent Whig when it would have been better for him to have been a Tory. I assented, of course, 1835.] TROUBLE WITH FRANCE. 251 and that without having seen one of his pictures ; and have been to give him my first sitting. I never was more gratified by any political movement than I have been in the extraordinary tact and talent exhibited by our minority in the Legislature since the commencement of the session. Sibley has made a fine debut. Young's resolution was rightly disposed of by our friends in both Houses. February Bth. Your long silence has produced much anxiety in our house. Harriet is apprehensive that you or her mother are ill. I do not so infer. But young ladies do not so well understand the difficulties which old fellows like us have in being punctual in our correspondence. I have not yet found time to read the Bank Commissioner's report, or the State-prison report. I take, perforce, your account of all these matters for truth. You will see how imperative your obligation is not to commit any of that offense which your sweet cousin of the Argus so often reminds you of in his amiable kind of way. But there are some things which I do read : Primo, all Mark Sibley's bold, talented speeches ; secondo, your editorials ; and tertio, all my dull letters from Paris. ... I think you are sustaining yourself with great success. You are yet, my good fellow, only at the threshold of your edi- torial career. You will be at the head of the profession in a few years. As for my letters, I am glad the manuscript you have of them is nearly out. The last letter was written so carelessly that I am ashamed of it. The one in Thursday's paper was both carelessly written and printed, but the fault is more mine than the printer's. I am made to speak of "elegant prison-walls," instead of "elo- quent " ones ! A great rage for speculation in real estate has arisen here. Property has advanced twenty-five per cent., and sells readily. This gives me reputation of an increase of property. Whether I realize it or not will depend upon whether I sell while the fever is upon us. I have real estate which I would be glad enough to sell, but the speculators pass me by to find those whose necessities they deem greater. Now came intelligence of the debates going on in Congress in re- gard to the French claims ; and then that the French Government, taking umbrage at President Jackson's recommendation of reprisals on French commerce, had recalled M. Serrurier, their minister, and sent to Mr. Livingston, the American minister at Paris, his passports. Con- gress, the press, and the public, evinced alarm at the prospect of war with France. But the next arrival from Europe tended somewhat to allay it, by the news that the French Government, after " vindicating the national honor from insult," as they said, by suspending diplomatic intercourse, immediately passed a law to pay the United States what was claimed. With this law, however, they coupled a proviso that they should have an apology from President Jackson. This condition neither he nor the American people were likely to comply with ; but the whole dispute, after a few months, was amicably arranged by the mediation of the British Government. Congress, with that curious 252 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. inconsistency which sometimes characterizes legislative action, after being apparently unanimous in favor of appropriating means for national defense in the coming contest, differed about the amount to be inserted in the " Fortification Bill ; " and, as the two Houses were unable to reach an agreement on the night of the 3d of March, before the adjournment, the bill failed entirely. So the country was left with- out any appropriation at all to meet the war if one had come. Two other affairs occurred, tending to strengthen General Jackson's hold on popular favor, by identifying him as personally bearing the brunt of all assaults upon the Government. One was an attempt by a lunatic to fire a pistol at him, as he was attending the funeral of a member of Congress at the Capitol. The other was the defeat of Colonel Benton's resolution to " expunge " from the Senate Journal its censure of the President in 1833 ; which defeat was followed by the prompt announcement of Colonel Benton that he would renew his resolution for such " expunction " at the opening of the next session. Strong as the President unquestionably was, he had been elected twice, and so could not be a third time a candidate. The Whigs in various States began to organize for the presidential canvass against his probable successor, Martin Van Buren. Judge McLean was nomi- nated by a gathering at Columbus, in which the Whig members of the Ohio Legislature took prominent part, and Daniel Webster was simi- larly nominated by a convention of the Whig members of the Legisla- ture of Massachusetts. On these topics Seward said : Clay quits the field, and I have no ability to believe that "White can get votes enough at the South to make a diversion from Van Buren. To run "Webster as a candidate now is useless. I have seen no suggestion which pleased me so much as that which presents General Harrison ; certain it is, there is none so safe. "We can give him all the votes we can to anybody. If we fail with him, we are a patriotic party and a great one. I agree with you that the charm of McLean's name is gone, unless he should resign his judgeship, and that, I think, he will not do ; and he would be very unwise if he should. I am serious in this Harrison business, and hope that, if you agree, you will exert yourself to give it a popular aspect. Let me know your best opinion, before I commit any overt act in regard to it. March 13, 1835. My conscience reproaches me for concurring with you in the disapproval of "Webster's nomination. I cannot support it, and why ? Because he is too great, too wise? But I cannot doubt that it is our duty to defeat Van Buren. To vote for "Webster is, indirectly, to elect Van Buren. You are right about Harrison, but do not go too fast, too soon. The bold attempt to assassinate the President is an incident so unique and so full of horror that it made a deep impression upon a large class of voters. They anticipated the party papers in saying it was a " Whig conspiracy." They would shut their ears to evidence which should exculpate any member of the 1835.] THE LAW-OFFICE. 253 Senate, and abhor to be undeceived. While Harriet and I were waiting in the wagon, at the door of an hotel in Springport, we overheard a conversation be- tween two old farmers, in which one said that he had always adhered to Jackson, and should, as long as Jackson lived. " Well," said the other, " you had like to have been discharged last month ; he came near being killed." " They can't kill him," said the first ; " they've tried it more than once, and would again, but his time hasn't come. Thank God," said he, "they've at last shown what they would do to get rid of the old hero ! " Now, I am very much inclined to believe, with this old man, that there is a destiny in relation to General Jackson. . . . The maniac who leveled his pistol at the President accomplished one step toward converting this Government into a monarchy. I shudder when I reflect upon recent indications, that mankind in Europe choose to be governed by kings. Even the people of this country set a higher value upon the life of their ruler than they do upon the safeguards of their own liberty. . . . My word for it, we shall yet see that the effect of the attempt has been greater than you now believe. In regard to his business affairs he wrote : AUBTJKN, March Bd. It is a matter of astonishment to me, in view of my long neglect of my office, that its income should be so much as it is. I had bought a few despised village lots, several years ago, and had built dwellings upon them to rent. These are productive, and my unoccupied lots have risen in value. I am now doing a very fair business, dividing to my partner, as before, one-third. If I could continue to attend to it, as I have done since my return from Albany, it would be worth more than three thousand dollars per annum to me. I am endeavoring to accu- mulate a reasonable surplus out of this, so as to be able to cast my books behind me, and take into my hands others that I like better. If our side keeps under, I shall make some money ; if it gets upward, my " spoils " may again be endan- gered. (This consummation, however devoutly it may be wished, does not give me any alarm.) AUBUEN, March llth. You are right on the French question, and have, in my poor judgment, been right from the beginning. It is neither patriotic nor wise to oppose the Ad- ministration, when the question involves an issue between us and any European government. He was now steadily and diligently building up his law practice. At first he had encountered some jealous opposition on the part of older practitioners, who feared his rise in the profession might draw off business from their own offices. But this was now all past. He had pursued in court the same rule as in the Legislative Chamber. He dis- regarded and ignored all personalities ; and with resolute self-possession addressed his arguments to the points at issue it is needless to say, with additional advantage from that self-control. His position was becoming an assured one ; and the engrossing of the prolix chancery papers, from his drafts or dictation, soon afforded labor for several clerks. Mr. Nelson Beardsley, who entered his office as a student in 254: LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. 1828, was his chief assistant. He was taken into partnership, and left in charge of the business on Mr. Seward's departure to Albany, to enter upon his duties in the Senate. This relation continued during his senatorial term, and until 1836. The business of a country lawyer in those days, while equally l^bori- ous, was much less methodical than that of a city attorney. All hours alike were considered by visitors for business or pleasure as open to them ; and legal advice, while freely solicited, was not expected to be paid for, unless under previous and definite contract. The old office on South Street continued to be Seward & Beardsley's place of business until, in 1835, the Exchange Block was erected on Genesee Street. Then the office was transferred there. It was a favorite habit of his then, as in later life, to concentrate all his attention upon the work in hand, and not allow himself to be di- verted from it until it was finished. The custom of carrying forward several different sorts of work at one time (though often an indispen- sable one, especially in official life) he always regarded as occupying more time, and as less productive of satisfactory results. This persever- ing concentration enabled him to accomplish tasks with marvelous rapidity. Mr. Beardsley relates some incidents of their practice. One day, just as they were closing its labors, a client came in with a case in which success was hopeless unless an injunction could be obtained before eleven o'clock the next morning from Judge Mosely, at Onon- daga Hill ; and to obtain it would require a review of the entire case, and an analysis of the papers, which his lawyer had told him would occupy at least a week. Seeing the situation of the affair at once, Seward said, " Beardsley, did you sleep well last night ? " " Tolerably well," was the answer ; " why do you ask ? " " Because I think you will have to sit up all night to-night." Lighting the candles, and closing the doors, the two partners set vigorously to work, Seward drafting, and Beardsley engrossing, until daybreak found them completing the last pages. A hasty breakfast and cup of coffee followed ; and then, taking a horse and buggy, Sew- ard drove twenty-five miles to Onondaga Hill, obtained the injunction, and saved his client's case. On another occasion, half a dozen rural friends came into the office with disturbed and anxious looks, and, taking Seward aside, said to him : " Here is the Whig County Convention in session at the court- house, and we have only just discovered that no resolutions or ad- dress have been prepared ; and there is not a man in it who can under- take the work. Besides, there is no time. If we adjourn without any we shall be laughed at, and the whole thing will be a failure. Can't you help us ? " 1835.] JUDGE MILLER. 255 Seward considered a moment, and said : " The convention will want its dinner, I suppose ? " " Yes," they answered, " of course." " Very well. Go back ; appoint a committee on resolutions, who- ever you like, and then adjourn the convention for dinner. After dinner send the committee to me." " Now, Beardsley," turning to his partner, " Loco-f oco as you are, you will have to copy some good Whig resolutions, and an address." Going into the back-room, and locking the door, he commenced drafting as fast as pen could travel over paper Beardsley engrossing each sheet as it was completed. The convention reassembled in the afternoon, and were as much astonished and gratified with the address and resolutions laid before them by their committee as the committee themselves were at having done it. Judge Miller had gradually withdrawn from actual business in the office, though continuing to give his counsel in many cases, where his judgment and experience rendered it valuable. His tenacious and accurate memory of historical facts made him an authority on all ques- tions of land-titles. A story is told of a case in court, involving title to lands, which had formed a part of " military lots," originally belong- ing to old soldiers of the Revolution. It happened that a defective point in the evidence was the date of a battle where one of the pen- sioners received a wound, which entitled him to a land-warrant. The old pensioners themselves were called as witnesses ; but their recollec- tions were confused and conflicting. There were no books or docu- ments at hand for reference. Just then the court-room door opened, and Judge Miller entered. He was, of course, ignorant of what was going on ; and was somewhat startled on hearing the presiding judge say, " Crier, call Judge Miller to the stand." The crier made proclamation accordingly. Judge Miller demurred: "What do you want of me? I don't know anything about the case. I don't even know what the case is." "No matter," was the reply from the bench ; "take the stand." He took the stand, and was sworn. " In what year," asked the presiding judge, " did the battle of Mon- mouth take place ? " "On the 28th of June, 1778," replied Judge Miller, without hesita- tion. " That is all, judge. The court called you because it knew that it could rely on your memory, and is much obliged to you." The almost interminable prolixity of bills in chancery, which were paid for "by the folio " (one hundred words), was a source of profit to lawyers, though a delay of justice to their clients. Yet the usages and 256 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. requirements of the courts rendered it difficult to omit any of the pro- fessional tautology, without risking dissatisfaction of the client, or loss of the cause. It is related of Judge Miller, who abhorred indirection, that, coming into the office one day, he took a mortgage foreclosure just completed, and, counting the words, found that there were forty- five hundred. Taking his pen, he drew up one containing but four hundred and fifty words, which comprised everything required of law or facts that had been set forth in the one ten times as long. March lUJt. Last evening I received an unusually interesting letter from you, and this evening I am quickened to answer it by the further obligation for the docu- ments, reviews, and magazines, you send me. I regret continually that I have not time to write deliberately. I might, in that event, make our correspondence a poor substitute for the long tete-d-tete of by-gone days. But, in truth, I go floundering on, from Monday's sunrise until Saturday's expiring hour, hurried with occupation. You talk about building more political " cob-houses " with me. Pardon me, I have exhausted the entire interest of the game. No inducement would now prevail upon me to be reinstated in the Senate. I am happy in being out, with the consciousness that I got honorably out. ArBUEir, Marcli ZMh. Don't start, my dear Weed, at this long sheet of foolscap. I have not alto- gether relapsed into barbarism. Harriet, like a dutiful child, has used the last sheet of letter-paper in writing to her mother. To-morrow will be a secular day, and then I can replenish my stock. I have "matter in excuse, though not of justification," as the lawyers say, of my long silence. When I have written to the foot of this page, I shall have completed the one hundred and fifty-second part of the amount of labor which I have bestowed, during the last ten days, upon a single "answer in chancery." Now, if you wish to understand how incompatible it has been for me to write a letter to you or anybody else while that pleasant occupation was in hand, I entreat you to take thirty-eight sheets of paper of this size, ruled as this is, write closely, as I do (and not scrawlingly, as you do your editorials), until you have a complete conviction that I could not by any possibility write to you before this day of sacred rest, and rest from folios in chancery. If you choose, the manuscript you produce shall be an epistle to me. I will preserve it as faithfully as the saints did those of the apostles. Granger and Whittlesey came here last Tuesday evening with William B. Kochester, Jewett, and Jared Wilson. They spent the night here. Granger, Whittlesey, and I, had a session (which commenced with a cup of tea at seven and closed at twelve), on the subject of the presidential nomination. You may show up the grounds of belief that we can succeed. " It never yet did hurt To lay down likelihoods and forms of hope." There are many difficulties ; I know not but insuperable ones. A propos, the improvement of the Journal is very fine. It is altogether the 1886.] FOREBODINGS. 257 handsomest paper in the State. I have an affection for it for your sake, and because quorum parsfui. AUBURN, April Hth. "Who reports your debates in the Senate ? I have been pleased with the skill manifested in the report of the altercation between Young and Hubbard. What an immense deal of learning the former has, and how little practical wisdom on this occasion ! No man ever appears to advantage in a legislative debate when he volunteers an issue relating to himself personally. Legislators, statesmen, and politicians, only appear great when identified with great popular interests, measures, or excitements. How admirably the French understand this ! Louis XVIII. understood it when he returned (on the downfall of Bonaparte), after a long exile, and, supported by foreign bayonets, ho said, " Je la revois cette France, et rien n'est change" excepte" qu'il y a un Francais de plus." Seward always looked upon personalities in debate, or " rising to a privileged question," to repel newspaper attacks, as worse than use- less. Members of the Legislature, he said, ought to understand that they can never safely bring their private grievances into the debates of the House. The confidence of their political friends is never shaken by newspaper calumnies ; and the dignity of legislation is compro- mitted by their efforts to retaliate. AUBURN, April The advance of spring in the country was always interesting to me ; and this is the first time I have enjoyed it in four years. I watch the development of vegetation with a lover's interest. I have my hot-bed in delightful success. My cucumbers are commencing their ramblings. The radishes begin to gather roughness upon the leaf. The sap starts from my grapes, and the polyanthus is in full bloom. To add to these pleasures, I have mastered the oppressive labor of my office, and left it last night with the proud satisfaction that its business was now behind me. We are yet undecided concerning our summer's journey. My mind inclines, if Mrs. Seward can endure the voyage, to a trip up the Mediterranean and to the Levant. Her sister protests, and we are without medical advice. It would, in my judgment, be the surest means of recovering her health, provided she should spend the next winter in Italy. But to make a voyage to Europe re- quires the assent of all one's friends. I may as well, in this place, inform you that the professor of phrenology here has favored me with a chart of the geog- raphy of my skull ; and that it is distinguished by two great mountains. Can you guess them? "Conscientiousness" and "Fondness for Foreign Travel- ing! I have during the past week been speculating upon politics, and I will tell you my conclusions. It is utterly impossible, I am convinced, to defeat Van Buren. The people are for him. Not so much for him as for the principle they suppose he represents. That principle is Democracy ; and the best result of all our labors in the Whig cause has only been to excite them, while they have been more and more confirmed in their apprehension of the loss of their liberties by an imaginary instead of a real aristocracy. It is with them, the poor against the rich ; and it is not to be disguised, that, since the last election, the array of 17 258 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. parties has very strongly taken that character. Those who felt themselves or believed themselves poor, have fallen off very naturally from us, and into the majority, whose success proved them to be the friends of the poor ; while the rich we " have always with us." Our papers, without being conscious of it, have been gradually assuming their cause ; not from choice, but by way of retaliation upon the victors. It is unavailing to discuss candidates. We can support White or Harrison or anybody. We can give them all our votes. But we can give no one any more ; and, what is the worst feature of all is, that this party of ours in its elements is such that it cannot succeed until there is a time of popular convulsion, when suffering shall make men feel, and because they feel, think ! Without by any means admitting that in the present instance the popular will is vox Dei, I be- lieve and know it to be absolute. I make these observations because I am where you never are, in the country, among the people. You will ask me, " To what end are these speculations ? " I answer, they are for your use, the deliberate and mature judgment of a friend who has examined the ground. They are intended to guard you against the indulgence of dreams of political reform and retribution which will not come to pass. They mean no further. For myself, they lay the basis of this resolution AUBCRX, April l$tk. The church-bell last Sunday morning called me off from a rambling letter I had been writing to you. In the evening I thought, without reading it, that it was calculated unnecessarily to make you unhappy by the gloomy view it took of the political field. As I could not doubt that you enjoy more satisfaction in your vocation, while you indulge hopes of success, I thought it unwise to ob- trude forebodings which would be of no avail. On Friday Mrs. Seward, who had read the letter, asked me why I did not send it. When I gave her the rea- sons, she pronounced them insufficient. She insisted upon it that I should then add the "resolution," which, it appeared, was to be the conclusion of the letter. This was impossible, for the sufficient reason that the resolution was not formed. So, in a merry mood, we concluded to send you the letter and leave you to draft a resolution to suit yourself ! I have now no resolution about the matter except this ; that for myself, my own interest, reputation, or advancement, I will not send out a single exploring wish over the political deluge. The safety of my friends, and their success and happiness, will afford motives enough to excite hopes and exertions if such hopes and exertions shall be expected from me. This letter, and others like it, hardly show him to be the " optimist " that many thought him. Its predictions of adverse political fortune, in the next two years, were all verified as time rolled on. That he was seldom an over-sanguine counselor his private letters attest. That in public utterances he sought to animate and encourage his party, is not strange. No leader can expect success who begins by disheartening his followers. Nor were his cheerfulness and confidence assumed. They grew naturally out of his life-long belief that he was advocating principles destined to ultimate and permanent triumph. Yet he had 1835.J "GOING WEST." 259 always the presentiment that the struggle would be a fearful if not a sanguinary one. That presentiment appears in his first parliamentary argument, when he warned the State Senate to prepare their militia for " the dark and perilous ways of national calamity yet unknown to us." It reappears throughout his writings and speeches down to the day when he finally announced to the nation that its "irrepressible conflict " was at hand. May U. .... By-the-way, have you ever read Bulwer's " France " (Henry Bulwer) ? I think you have not. Imagine how much I was struck with the paragraph I am going to quote, which I happened to read just after perusing your letter : " No fault is so absurd, in a public man, as that of confusing the nature of his position. As long as he is the decided enemy of one party, the decided friend of another, he never has any occasion to halt or to hesitate. He knows those from whom he may expect enmity, and those to whom he may naturally look for assistance. But the instant he complicates his relations, every action and consideration become uncertain. He has something to hope, something to fear, in either course he may adopt, and doubts as to the manner in which he may be most certain to succeed, prevent that concentration of purpose which is so es- sential to success." The remark is in relation to Bonaparte seeking alliance with the legitimists of Europe after having acquired all his power by humbling them to the earth. The two friends were accustomed to counsel each other in regard to private affairs, as well as public policy. Advising Weed on the subject of going West, he said : May 10th. I have read with more concern than my answers have indicated, the allu- sions in your letters to a desire to leave Albany to emigrate to Michigan ; and they have brought on cogitations whether a change would be desirable. I have (I use a friend's freedom) been confirmed in the conclusion that you ought to indulge no thought of change. The Journal has now established so strong a hold upon the favor of tbe people, that it is sure to support you, and yield you a surplus as long as you have health to continue. Make up your mind under no circumstances ever to be the editor of any other paper. The editorship of a city newspaper is a great capital, and that capital is like the usurer's, continu- ally increasing with the lapse of time, if the investment is continued without change. You are now realizing a little surplus, and have dreamy notions about laying it out in Michigan lands. It is all wrong. You have astute friends among the merchants ; they will easily convert it into good stocks. You are not the man to buy lands. Only two classes of men ought to buy them : those who will go upon them and cultivate them, and those who have ample surplus funds besides their land investments. Neither class is likely to reckon you among its number. Do not neglect to invest because the sums you can command seem trifling. It will be either investment or waste. As I have been very free and plain in my advice to you, I will excuse the boldness by telling you my own calculations. First, I am, as rapidly as I can, converting my little means into an investment in some stores which I know will 260 L1 FE AND LETTERS. [1835. rent pretty well, and will be a property that will increase in value, as this town must increase. My impression is that this arrangement is safe ; and I shall thus be freed from the commercial operations which my soul abhors, of lending money, taking notes, buying and selling, etc. With just enough experience of success and disappointment to chasten my spirit, I begin to love Philosophy as a companion and friend ; and I begin to be restive under the restraints which deprive me of her association. It is this re- straint which makes me dislike my profession. Your view of matters presented in your letter is correct and true. But I entreat you, "no more of Michigan, an thou lovest me." It is too late in your life to enter a new country, and live au sauvage. It is too late to abandon your profession. You cannot succeed in it so well, in any other sphere, as that in which you now are. You cannot be on the successful side in politics, under present circumstances, in Michigan, more than here. The delusion is, or soon will be, wide as the Union. If popular principles change, and ours come into vogue, it is likely to happen here as soon as there ; and, if they never change, you are the core in the heart of a generous, disinterested, great party; and you (as well as all of us) are far better situated, so far as your own happiness is concerned, in being in a minority, without responsibility, and safe from envy and malevolence. I preach the doctrine I practise in this respect. I have been during the whole of last week employed in preparing causes for the Circuit. Next week, the Circuit Court will be held. Next after that, our Court of Chancery ; and then I am off, with Frances and little Fred, in pur- suit of health on the banks of the Susquehanna and in the shades of the Blue Ridge. CHAPTER XIII. 1835. A Summer Tour. The Pennsylvania Mountains. The Susquehanna Valley. Harrisburg. Harper's Ferry. The Valley of Virginia. Weyer's Cave. Natural Bridge. Slaves and their Masters. TOWARD the close of May the weather had grown propitious for the contemplated summer trip. A light, strong carriage, having two seats and an extension-top, was provided with a pair of gray horses, " Lion " and " the Doctor." Mr. and Mrs. Seward occupied the back -seat. Only the younger of their two little boys could be taken, and he shared the front-seat with the colored driver, William Johnson. What little luggage was necessary was carefully stored in the boxes under the seats. A stout fishing-rod, and a few ropes and straps in case of acci- dent, packed in front, and a tin cup and a pail hanging behind, for use at the roadside streams, completed the equipage for the journey, which was commenced on the 23d of May. The letters written at various points on the way described the inci- ' ~ 1835.] TOILING UP A MOUNTAIN. 261 dents and impressions of this tour. They give a picture of American rural life, at that day, in those secluded regions. Our first day's ride was to Seneca Falls, twelve miles. "We spent the even- ing with our old friend Colonel Mynderse, to whom our visit was a duty ren- dered melancholy by the apprehension that it was probably the last one that we might make to him. The second day's journey was to Mrs. Seward's sister, at Aurora, where we spent the night. ATHENS, TIOGA POINT, May 28^7*. I begin at half -past four this morning to write you a long letter. "We had a delightful ride the morning we left Aurora, and enjoyed very much the lake- scenery. "When we arrived at the bridge below the Long Point (I think you call it), we found a pen, made of the bay which the road crosses on a bridge ; and my old friend and client, Captain Avery, with a dozen men and boys, hav- ing the bridge fenced in at both ends, were employed in performing the service of annual ablution of his thousand sheep, preparatory to taking off their fleeces. The captain was very kind to us, and inquired whether our horses would be afraid to go through the water below the bridge, in a tone so strongly marked by decided desire that I was induced to consent. But an athletic fellow, with a powerful and docile horse, was just behind us, in a one-horse wagon. Think- ing his risk of much less importance than that of my freight, I indirectly sug- gested that, as he was probably acquainted with the fording-place, we would give him precedence. But the gentleman bolted, and, finding that I was unwill- ing to lead him, raised a clamor of remonstrance, which caused the captain speed- ily to remove the obstructions he had thrown across the highway. "We came on very comfortably to Calvin Burr's, and there we had a very agreeable visit. Mrs. Miller and Miss Julia were happy to see us ; their room was airy, their shrubbery beautiful, and the veal-cutlets and tea set before us such as we may not hopo to find again in many a day. Mr. Burr broke a bot- tle of champagne. Emily was sent for from school, and was presented to us. At five o'clock we took leave of our friends at Ludlowville, and had a safe and comfortable ride along the lake-shore " in the gloaming." Spencer's house at Ithaca was airy and comfortable, beyond all our reasonable wishes. The next morning (Tuesday) we started at nine o'clock, and rode two hours, so much enjoying the views of lake, hill, and valley, that we took no note of our road until we found ourselves closing the rear of a grand "moving" cavalcade, ascending a prodigious hill by a rough path. The movers were a very comfortable family of colored folks, who seemed to have been able to charter Caucasian men and horses. Our little barouche and horses fell so natu- rally into this train that the lumbermen stared at the great grandeur of our establishment, mistaking the real owners of the caravan for our serving men and women. Great were our amusement and mirth over the mistakes into which the passers-by were drawn. And thus w& pursued our rough ascent until we reached the last rise of the mountain, where we stopped to give our horses breath, and inquired how far it was to Spencer, our destination for that day. " Spencer," said the interrogated; "I should guess you are a good deal out of your way if it's Spencer you want to go to." And so it most assuredly was ; and I had the mortification of finding that I had followed this sable procession two miles and a half up a mountain, only to 262 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. return again, unhonored, unnoticed, and alone. This accident made our morn- ing's ride a long one. We stopped at noon at a secluded tavern ten miles from Ithaca, where, having brought with us some lemons, we were refreshed with lemonade. The landlady, an exceedingly smart and agreeable person, was a Swedenborgian. We discussed with her for an hour the mysterious and strange doctrines of that faith, and obtained a much better knowledge of it than I ever had before possessed. She had a little locker stored with ponderous tomes of the founder of the sect. So desirous was she to proselyte us that she proposed to lend us her books to read on our journey. I bought one, which she very much recommended, and it has already afforded us much instruction concerning the principles of the sect and the secret of its success. Swedenborg has a dreamy German romance of benevolent thought and action. He addressed the passion for the marvelous by what he claimed to be revelations, which, though deemed to be impious and false by other sects, would as allegories be considered to have much beauty. We reached Spencer at five o'clock, and found a good house and pleasant family. William fitted up my fishing apparatus, and, as soon as we had taken our dinner, Fred and I repaired to the brook, where I drew out a dozen little fishes, weighing from two ounces to half a pound. We wrote letters home in the evening, and in the morning resumed our journey, which was through the valley of the Cayuta Creek, a branch of the Susquehanna River. The road, for the distance of fourteen miles, is on the immediate bank of the creek, which flows through a dense forest. Some enterprising people, years ago, made this a turnpike-road, in the hope that it would become a thoroughfare for the travel- ing between Tioga Point, in Pennsylvania, and Ithaca, Auburn, and Geneva, in our State. But the road was made so very narrow, and hangs so much over the creek, that it is a dangerous one. The travel has left it, and is now divided between the roads leading from Elmira and Owego to Tioga Point. The Cayuta has a continued succession of falls, and at distances of about every mile a saw- mill. We met great numbers of wagons, loaded with lumber, which seems to be the only trade that the country affords. The only tillable land lies along the valley of the creek, and is very narrow. After riding ten miles, we came to a house which had once been a tavern; and, as we were much wearied, we petitioned the old lady for shelter from the noonday heat. She bade us welcome. We brought out our store of oranges and lemons, but there was not an ounce of sugar in the house. Clear spring- water from the hillside was very good with lemon-juice ; and, after having taken our rest, we resumed our ride. We gathered bouquets of wild-flowers, of every hue and form, and arrived, wearied with enjoyment and exercise, at this place yesterday, at 3 p. M. It is one of the brightest, greenest, and loveliest spots the sun shines upon. Athens is a very old village, situate at the junction of the Chemung and Susquehanna Eivers. Its inhabitants suffered much from the depredations of the Indians in the Revolution, and had the satis- faction of ample retaliation when Sullivan arrived there with his brave little army. There are still shown the spots which were cultivated by the white men, when the Indians desolated the frontier. TOWANDA CREEK, BRADFORD COTTNTY, PA., May 292A. It is six o'clock in the morning. While my companions are dressing for the day's journey, and the landlady is preparing our ham and eggs, and William is 1835.] THE SUSQUEHANNA AND LYCOMIXG. 263 rubbing down the horses, I have half an hour to tell you where we are. We secured a whole house of friends in our stay at Athens, and they all bade us a kind farewell at eight o'clock yesterday morning ; when we took our departure, following the road down the west bank of the Susquehanna. It was a beautiful ride. The road is excavated along the steep bank of the river, and seems like a shelf hanging over the broad bosom of the clear water. Some- times we were twenty feet, sometimes one hundred feet, above the river, while above us the mountain rose almost perpendicularly to the height of one hundred and fifty feet, covered with a dense pine-forest with laurel underbrush. The roadway was so narrow that in many'places the variation of one or two feet would have precipitated horses, carriage, and cargo, into the river. The beauti- ful wild-flowers were more abundant than ever on the banks of the Cayuta Creek, and we decorated our wagon with the richest. Among them was a shrub honeysuckle, fragrant and redundant in flowers. We dined in one of the neatest of houses at Tovvanda, which is the county -town of this (Bradford) County, and is on the bank of the Susquehanna. The town is laid down on the map by the name of Meansville. Having rested two hours there, we resumed our journey. We left the Susquehanna a few miles below Towanda, and fol- lowed to this place the valley of the Towanda Creek. Writing next to his law-partner, Mr. Beardsley, he said : Monday, June 1st. It is not very easy to "affix a venue " more particular than the name of a county for the date of this letter ; but, if you will turn to any map of Pennsyl- vania, you will find, in Lycoming County, a village of Pennsbrough, situated at the bend of the west branch of the Susquehanna. Six miles below that village, on the main road to Northumberland, is Shannon's tavern, with the sign of the " green tree ; " and in that tavern are my little family located at the date of this present writing. Our seventh day's journey brought us to the wildest and most romantic dell I ever saw. It was situated in the valley of the Lycoming, a distance of twenty- three miles from the place where we staid the preceding night. The eighth day's journey was twenty-eight miles, and brought us to Williamsport. Switzerland possesses no more romantic valley than those of the Towanda and Lycoming. These streams are, strangely enough, sent forth from the same fountain, situate on high ground in Lycoming County, and known formerly as the place of " Seaver's Dam." The Towanda runs northwest, and discharges its waters into the north branch of the Susquehanna. The Lycoming takes a southerly direction, and swells the west branch. Our route was through the valleys of both creeks, ascending the Towanda from its mouth to its source, and following the Lycoming from its source to its mouth. The scenery of these two creeks is as diverse as their course. That of the Towanda is marked by rugged and rocky banks, of no very great height, and bounded by a cultivated region. The Lycoming passes through a narrow valley like some parts of the valley of the Rhine, always between steep, frowning mountains, which rise gradually to a height of one thousand or twelve hundred feet. The simple, half-formed road is forced to cross, alternately, from one side of the stream to the other. In a distance of about thirty miles we forded the Lycoming nine- 264 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. teen times, and crossed it on five bridges. My fishing-line was sure to bring out the dainty little trout from the clear, cold stream whenever I applied it ; but I was not required often to do so, as the table has been set, at every meal, for the last three or four days, with this luxury, which is the cheapest provision of our hosts. The mountains are filled with coal and iron-ore ; the state of society is simple and poor; the wolves were heard in the mountains, and our last meal in the Lycoming Valley was graced by vension, shot down in the road by the tavern-door. At Williamsport we were misdirected as to lodgings, and were placed in a room over the bar-room, at a very noisy hotel. Some drunken fellows were reveling over their cups at midnight ; and as the ceiling was of boards, and there was an aperture for a stove-pipe through the floor, we were disturbed by the noise so much that I rose, in the chilly part of the night, and effected a change of apartments. I have been concerned for you, in regard to the labor which must fall upon you, and would show my sympathy for you, if I knew what particular trouble is heaviest on your hands at this time. But it would be idle to conjecture, and I have learned this much philosophy, that both duty and interest dictate the un- divided application of our powers to the immediate occupation. Mine is to save the health of one without whose society and affection the most successful re- sults of all niy most diligent exertions would be valueless ; you must attend to the more profitable duties. Mrs. Sewarcl, continuing the journal of the tour, wrote to her sister : HAKRISBCRG, June 5t7i. Our road has been through charming valleys and along mountain-sides, through scenery everywhere attractive, though Fred and I thought it a little too solitary when we heard the wolves howling in pursuit of deer, and were many miles from any human habitation. "William had heard many fearful stories of attacks by wolves, robbers, and rattlesnakes, but we came through the danger- ous passes unharmed, and dined at Trout Eun, where, of course, the trout were the principal attraction. Three miles from Williamsport we stopped at the door of Colonel Burroughs. He lives on a farm of five hundred acres, in a high state of cultivation. The house is a little low cottage, just large enough to accommodate an old couple and their friends when they come to visit them. They are both upward of seventy-five years old. He is very dignified and gentlemanly in his manners, and was one of Washington's commanders. He is a Whig, an Antimason, and warm in his regard. She is the personification of good health and good-nature, and really seemed to take the pleasure she said she had, in making us comfort- able. They urged us to remain two or three days, but we could only stay to dinner. The next morning our ride to Milton was delightful. I cannot describe the picturesque scenery along the Susquehanna, the glassy appearance of the river, the blue mountains in the distance reflected by its smooth surface, and the beau- tiful little villages on its banks. The fine, smooth roads and handsome bridges added to the interest of the scene. I thought we could not have chosen a more pleasant route. There is an air of quiet repose about these villages which, with the primitive appearance of the buildings, gives them an especial charm. The 1835.] A CITY OF REFUGE. 265 log-houses in this country are altogether superior to ours, and may be called cot- tages with propriety. They are built of hewn logs, filled in with wood, and then plastered between the logs. The plaster is whitewashed so as to make a white stripe between each two logs. They are generally kept very neat. Rose- bushes are trained against the sides of the house and over the whitewashed fences. I never could have imagined a log-house so attractive as many I have seen here. We passed through Milton, dined at another small village called Lewisburg, and staid that night at Cumberland, where we found a comfortable tavern. Here the two branches of the Susquehanna meet and mingle their waters. A pretty canal runs along the bank of one of them. We continued to drive by the side of these united streams, passed through two or three small towns, and lodged the next night at Liverpool. Having be- come impatient to get letters from home that we knew must be waiting us at Harrisburg, we rose at half-past four and commenced our journey. We dined yesterday at a place on a small island the Susquehanna is full of islands. The house kept by Mrs. Duncan, a widow, is large, handsomely finished and furnished, well conducted, and surrounded by beautiful grounds. There we met ladies and gentlemen from Philadelphia, and others from Sunbury. The dinner was a little too stiff, but everything comme ilfaut. Sixteen miles more brought us to Harrisburg. We arrived here weary, at six o'clock, and found no letters. The mail came again last evening, but no letters ! I will keep this open till to-morrow morning and hope in the mean time to be more fortunate. Harris- burg, you know, is the State capital. It is larger than Auburn. The house we are in reminds me somewhat of Bement's; the servants are all colored, and neat in their personal appearance. It is midsummer here, the honeysuckles, pinks, etc., are in full bloom, and there are ripe strawberries on the table. Seward, resuming the journal, wrote : June Itth. Our friends at Harrisburg are earnest for the nomination of General Har- rison for the presidency, and have done much to prepare the people's mind for that course. WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA, June \ktli. Monday morning, rested and refreshed, with spirits restored by receiving letters from home, we rode to Carlisle. The country there is highly cultivated, and exhibits the appearance of much wealth and ease. Carlisle contains about four thousand inhabitants, and is principally distinguished as the seat of Dick- inson College. The aspect of the town is somewhat more staid and ancient than that of villages of equal population in our State. As far north as Carlisle the places begin to assume the peculiar appearance which belongs to southern towns all over the world. The public square, carefully preserved shade-trees, balconies, and verandas, indicate to the traveler that he is arrived in a more genial clime. The southern part of Pennsylvania discovers also a great augmentation of the negro population, with all its different shades of color. It is the emigra- tion ground, or rather the city of refuge, of fugitive slaves, each of whom, once securely settled after the danger of pursuit is over, furnishes in his cabin a harboring-place for others who seek the same mode of emancipation in prefer- 266 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. ence to waiting their deliverance at the hands of either the Colonization or the Abolition Society. We remained at Carlisle until late in the afternoon, and then proceeded ten miles on what is called the " Walnut Bottom road " to a country inn, where we lodged that night. At this place we saw a small vineyard, planted and cultivated after the European manner. I was curious to learn what was its productive- ness, as I have long believed it feasible and desirable to introduce the cultivation of the grape. I sought the owner, and soon learned from him that he is very tired of the experiment. He finds, in the first place, no person competent to manufacture the wine ; and, in the next place, the wine being of that kind which, in Europe, is used as freely as we use cider at dinner, and in lieu of coffee or tea at breakfast, there is no sale for it in this country. The owner called his overseer to converse with me, but he could not speak one word of English, and I was quite as ignorant of the German. I tasted the wine, and found it was a good Burgundy, worth seventy-five cents or a dollar in Paris, but almost valueless here. Our ride on Tuesday was to Chambersburg, a border town in Pennsylvania, twenty miles from the inn whence we set out. It is decidedly handsome. It contains four thousand inhabitants, and has extensive manufactures, on a very small stream. The description I have given of the aspect of Carlisle is appli- cable also to Chambersburg, except that there is much more taste and beauty in the latter town. We left Chambersburg at half-past seven on Wednesday morning, and about two in the afternoon, after traveling a very rough road through a limestone region, arrived at Hagerstown, in the State of Maryland. We were now in a climate which yielded us the early fruits and vegetables freely. The young chickens also are served up to us at every meal, and peas, strawberries, and cherries, are no longer new. Hagerstown has reached what seems the maxi- mum of population for towns in that region, four thousand, and is stationary. It has the aspect of much wealth and some ostentation, as well as dissipation ; but, as regards the taste exhibited in its dwellings, is inferior to Chambers- burg and Carlisle. At Chambersburg we came to the Baltimore turnpike, a continuation or branch of the great " National Eoad." It is the finest road in America, and may very well be compared to the great roads in England. A delightful ride through a luxuriant wheat-country, upon this road, brought us in the evening to Boonesborough, ten miles distant from Hagerstown. Here we had clean, pleasant rooms, and enjoyed a repose which renewed our strength. Boonesborough is a small, obscure village. We set out again on Thursday, at 7 A. M., and at ten, after a pleasant ride on a turnpike-road, arrived at the north branch of the Potomac. One glance at the scene before us would have been sufficient to assure us, had we been ignorant of it, that we were on the border of the "Old Dominion." On the Maryland shore was a large stone tavern, with piazzas, which, however pleasant it might otherwise have been, was repulsive to us, the court-yard being occupied by swine and the piazza by lounging topers. There was an intense sunshine pouring down on us, a nar- row, muddy river before us, on the opposite shore of which stood the village of Shepherdstown. It was obvious, at the first view, that a bridge might, with the greatest ease, and at a very small expense, be erected there ; but this 1835.] HARPER'S FERRY. 267 would be too great an enterprise. A small ferry-boat, or rather a scow, was fastened on the other side, and the sable boatmen were enjoying the shade of the mill. After we had made ineffectual attempt to quicken their action, by sounding a horn, we sought a refuge for ourselves from the sun's rays, and waited there the due time of the negroes. At length we were "put across," the scow being propelled by poles which reached the bottom in every part of the river. Shepherdstown is an ancient, dull-looking place. We waited two hours there, when, the sky having become overcast, we again started. And now we discovered evidences on every side that we had entered Virginia. We no longer passed frequent farm-houses, taverns, and shops, but our rough road conducted us through large plantations, in which the owner suffered the wood to stand by the roadside. The road had been very little labored, and was as obscure as those in the newer parts of our own State. The farm-houses had as appurtenances low log-huts, the habitations of slaves, and the farms, now covered by wheat and rye, were of greater dimensions than we usually see in New York. We met many travelers on horseback, but few carriages. Almost every white man was dressed with some pretension, like that of those who are, or affect to be, of the higher class in our villages, and this circumstance, among many others, indicated that we were in a land where color determines caste. After winding our way through circuitous passes for eight miles, we came again to the Potomac. We climbed its bank until we were three hundred feet above the water. Here was a waste, broken tract of land, with here and there an old, decaying habitation. Then we plunged into a ravine, over lime- stone-rocks that rendered our road dangerous and difficult. Finally, climbing the opposite side, wo reached Jefferson's Rock, the position taken by him in describing Harper's Ferry ; and there was that scene, just as he has described it, the site of which he pronounces worth a voyage across the Atlantic to see. The Shenandoah was on our right, the Potomac on our left; the rivers united almost beneath our feet, and flowed on through what is supposed to be a passage effect- ed by their pent-up floods to the ocean. But, after all, the Potomac was a shallow, muddy stream; the Shenandoah figures larger in description than. in reality, and the violent abruption of the mountain seems too great a work to have been effected by their united power. Harper's Ferry is a village, as we had been told, of twenty-five hundred inhabitants ; and the directions given us assured us that, if on the right road, we must now be within half a mile of that place. But no towers, steeples, or other objects appeared, to relieve our painful doubts whether we had not lost the way, until we had descended, by a winding road, a hundred and fifty feet, when we found ourselves in the midst of a train of carts employed in carrying earth from the hill to form an embankment of the new railroad across the valley. The weather was dry, and the dust rose in a cloud. We were left no discretion but to continue in this disagreeable procession, without even being able to see the cart next before us, and trusting that we were right because we were in the cloud. We thus wound our way down the declivity, and in the lowest depth of the valley, in a dell, we found Harper's Ferry. Here it was our intention to remain until Monday, but we fell into disagreeable lodgings. The next day we made our escape. We lodged at Charlestown on Friday night, and yesterday afternoon reached this village, Winchester, at an early hour, much gratified 268 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. with the promise which the general aspect of the village, as well as the hotel, afforded of a quiet, easy resting-place for the Sabbath. Winchester lays claim to antiquity as venerable as any settlement west of the Blue Eidge. It was " Fort London " in the old Indian War, and is the spot to which Washington retreated after Braddock's defeat. It bears un- equivocal marks of this antiquity. The style of architecture, not only here, but in all this region, is fifty years behind that in vogue in our State. It is substantially built of bricks and logs, and wears the appearance of consider- able business, but not of enterprise. The house in which we stop is celebrated far and near in the " Valley of Virginia." Life in this part of Virginia seems marked by profusion of luxury at the table, and in dress, poverty, meanness, and much uncleanness, in the style and ordering of the household. Winchester is destined, however, soon to experience a renovation of its for- tunes. A railroad will speedily be completed to Harper's Ferry. This will give Winchester the advantage to be derived from the transfer of goods and produce from the railroad-cars to the great wagons. In our ride up the Valley we have met hundreds of these six horse-wagons, employed in the transportation be- tween Baltimore and Eastern Tennessee. The road we traveled is a thorough- fare that seems not unlike the Great Western Turnpike in our State before the construction of the Erie Canal. You will understand, not only our past progress, but our future wanderings, by taking the map of Virginia, and following the main road from this place, through the valley between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghany Mountains. We seem to be continually in an amphitheatre. Whenever on a lofty eminence both these ridges are in sight, and to the eye appear to converge and meet, form- ing a circle and blending with the horizon. We are upon the site of headquar- ters occupied by Washington in the Indian War, and traveling in a region sur- veyed by him. WOODSTOCK, SHEXANDOAH COUNTY, VIRGINIA, June \5th. We are thus far arrived in our journey to the Natural Bridge with as much of comfort as we could reasonably anticipate. I selected the Natural Bridge as our destination, because it is necessary in every journey, although it be taken for pleasure and health alone, to have some point before us, so that traveling may assume something of the character of employment, and for the further rea- son that curiosity to see that wonderful work of Nature serves partially to keep down that feeling of sadness which Frances and all persons like her must have in traveling through a slave State. On our way we intend to visit Wey- er's Cave. Both these singular instances of the caprice of Nature are well de- scribed in Jefferson's " Notes on Virginia," as you doubtless recollect. It was necessary that I should travel in Virginia to have any idea of a slave State. We have now penetrated about seventy miles into the interior, and our travels have been confined to the valley between the Blue Ridge and the North Ridge, or Alleghany Mountains, a valley celebrated as the most flourishing in the State. An exhausted soil, old and decaying towns, wretchedly-neglected roads, and, in every respect, an absence of enterprise and improvement, distin- guish the region through which we have come, in contrast to that in which we live. Such has been the effect of slavery. And yet the people are unconscious, not merely of the cause of the evil, but are in a great degree ignorant that other portions of the country enjoy greater prosperity. 1836.] THE "VALLEY OF VIRGINIA." 269 Shepherdstown, on the Potomac, is an old dull town of fifteen hundred peo- ple, apparently destitute of trade. Harper's Ferry is becoming a considerable town by reason of its commanding position ; but nobody there seems to real- ize its advantages. It contains about two thousand persons, crowded together upon a shelving, rocky point, at the confluence of the rivers, and it seems as if Nature herself had set barriers to any further extension of the village. You are aware that it is the place of manufacturing fire-arms, under the authority of the General Government. I visited the armory and the manufactories. There are in the former about eighty thousand muskets and rifles. The manufactories form a vast establishment, turning out one thousand stand of arms monthly. Oharlestown, the county- seat of Jefferson County, is a very dull-looking place, about as large as Ovid, but far behind it in its general aspect. To-day we have reached "Woodstock, the shire town of Shenandoah County. I should do injus- tice to neglected and abandoned East Cayuga if I were to bring it into compari- son with this place, the only one of importance in the county. Henceforth you may place no reliance upon newspaper assertions of the political change here. Virginia is a Van Buren State, by a majority of five thousand or more; and the "caucus system," now barely received by her poli- ticians, will, in the end, abolish her glorious system of self-nominations the true secret, heretofore, of Virginian political independence and power. To his law-partner he next wrote : NATURAL BRIDGE, VIRGINIA, June 21, 1835. MY DEAR BEARDSLET : If I cannot help you examine witnesses in chancery suits, or fight special motions, or build houses, I can at least prove that I am not forgetting you. Our route through the " Valley of Virginia " has passed a suc- cession of wretched-looking and dilapidated towns, built half of bricks and half of logs, whose retrograde aspect is in melancholy keeping with the sterile coun- try. The road, for a great part of the distance, lies upon naked limestone-rock, and is rough enough. The average value of land is sixteen to twenty dollars per acre. I had thought that this part of Virginia, by reason of its being less oppressed under the curse of slavery, was exempted, in a great degree, from the evils suffered in that part of the State lying east of the Blue Ridge. But the " Valley," as this region is proudly called, has participated too deeply in the infatuation, not to say the guilt, of purchasing slaves, and lies " under the same condemnation." The great, chivalrous, proud Virginia the mother of Washington, of Jefferson, and Patrick Henry is reduced to the humiliating condition of a breeder of slaves for the Southern and Western markets, and the staple of her commerce is young slaves of both sexes. It adds to my commiseration for her that I find too much evidence that her political virtue has fallen with her pride and power. But there are monuments in Virginia which are unchanged and unchangeable. They are the works of the great God, who has stamped upon them something of his own sublimity. On Thursday last we visited Weyer's Cave, in Augusta County. It is one of the greatest curiosities of Nature. Situated in a mountain lying midway between the Blue Ridge and the North Ridge, the entrance to it is in the steep declivity of the mountain-side, about two hundred and fifty feet above 270 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. the plain. Over the roof of the cave, the earth and limestone-rock are two hundred feet thick. The spacious subterranean region is divided into about thirty different chambers, varying in form and dimensions, some very regular, and some constructed as if to show by their height and graceful proportions, and their variety of decoration, the vanity of human efforts in the production of the sublime. The roof is adorned with rich and varied magnificence of stalactites, and the chambers seem as if constructed to please the fancy of some Oriental monarch. The stalagmites rise from the floor in every diversity of shape, re- sembling monuments and devices of architecture. The grand scene is that called " Washington's Chamber," which is two hundred and seventy-five feet long, and has a glittering roof ninety feet high. The floor is a uniform level. As you ad- vance, you see rising, in the light of your glimmering candle, a solemn, colossal statue in solitary grandeur in the very centre, whose size and drapery cause it to be regarded as the monument of him whose name the chamber bears. Figures of various size and shape are ranged along the sides of the apartment, which it is difficult not to regard as having been placed there by human hands. Certain it is that human gratitude and human talent could not devise so fitting a sepulchral tribute to the memory of the worthiest of Virginia's sons as this subterranean vault found in her mountains. NATURAL BRIDGE, June 21st. Leaving the cave on Thursday, we passed through Staunton and Lexington, two very handsome towns. The country began to assume a broken and moun- tainous appearance, and we made our way very painfully by winding between the rocky hills. This morning we have visited the bridge, and are deeply im- pressed with its sublimity. It is a stupendous arch, which appears to have been hewed out of one great living rock. This creek is about one hundred feet wide. The banks, being the abutments, are perpendicular, and rise under the arch to about the height of one hundred and eighty feet. The bridge seems to have been formed by excavating all the rock below it. There is no perceptible seam or fissure. It has all the regularity of work done with the chisel. It is fifty feet thick, and about forty to sixty feet in width. "We crossed it without the slightest apprehension in our carriage. We descended into the chasm beneath, and spent hours in the luxury of looking at the gigantic arch. The letters frequently refer to the scenes that greet a traveler through a slaveholding and slave-trading region. One of these he afterward described : What is this slave-trade that we must favor and protect with such sacri- fices? I have seen something of it. Eesting one morning at an inn in Virginia I saw a woman, blind and decrepit with age, turning the ponderous wheel of a machine on the lawn, and overheard this conversation between her and my wife: " Is not that very hard work ? " " Why yes, mistress ; but I must do something, and this is all I can do now, I am so old." "How old are you?" " I don't know ; past sixty, they tell me." 1835.] VIRGINIA SLAVE-LIFE. 271 " Have you a husband? " " I don't know, mistress." " Have you ever had a husband? " "Yes; I was married." " Where is he now ? " " I don't know, mistress ; he was sold." " Have you children? " " I don't know, mistress; I had children, but they were sold." "How many?" " Six." " Plave you never heard from any of them since they were sold? " " No, mistress." " Do you not find it hard to bear up under such afflictions as these? " " Why, yes, mistress ; but God does what he thinks best for us." A still sadder spectacle was that at a country tavern on the way, where the carriage had arrived just at sunset. A cloud of dust was seen slowly coming down the road, from which proceeded a confused noise of moaning, weeping, and shouting. Presently reaching the gate of the stable-yard, it disclosed itself. Ten naked little boys, between six and twelve years old, tied together, two and two, by their wrists, were all fastened to a long rope, and followed by a tall, gaunt white man, who, with his long lash, whipped up the sad and weary little pro- cession, drove it to the horse-trough to drink, and thence to a shed, where they lay down on the ground and sobbed and moaned themselves to sleep. These were children gathered up at different plantations by the " trader," and were to be driven down to Richmond to be sold at auction, and taken South. William Johnson, the coachman, came, very soon after arriving in Virginia, to say that he was stopped in the street whenever he went out after sundown. " But you are a free man, William." " I told them so ; but they say it don't make any difference, that I have got to have a pass." So, on inquiry, it proved.^ There seemed to be no special police- regulation, or person in authority, to control the matter ; only a sort of general understanding that no colored man was allowed to be out after dark without a written permit from some white man, presumedly his employer, and that anybody who chose might stop him and demand to see it. At several of the places where they stopped for the night, the door- yard and barnyard, near the house, seemed to be literally swarming with black children, naked for the most part, engaged in antic capers, and chattering like so many monkeys. It was a merry sight, but the precursor of dismal consequences. Virginia was then " raising " slaves for the Southern market ; and these, as soon as they were old enough, 272 LIFE ^D LETTERS. [1835. and " likely " enough, were to be disposed of to " traders," who went about the State, very much as drovers do who gather up cattle for market. Mrs. Seward, writing to her sister, remarked : We are now in the land of " corn-bread and bacon," where people " reckon" instead of "guessing," and call stones "rocks." We are told that we see slavery here in its mildest form. The plantations are cultivated much like our farms, and the slaves are principally domestics. But, " disguise thyself as thou wilt, still, slavery, thou art a bitter draught." I often think over the wrongs of this injured race. The feelings I have in regard to it have always made me feel a strong disin- clination to travel in the Southern States, but I have so often been told that I might go from Maryland to Florida without meeting anything painful, that I began to believe my own impressions were incorrect, and my opinions preju- diced by education. So I consented to try the experiment, with a faint hope that my fears were unfounded. I can only say that I envy not the apathy of those who can see every natural tie severed, their fellow-creatures transferred from one owner to another like brutes, without the least regard for their suffer- ings, and yet experience no painful feelings ! Scenes of this kind continued to multiply as they approached Rich- mond. The travelers, therefore, willingly gave up their intended visit to that capital, and at the Natural Bridge turned their horses' heads northward and homeward. CHAPTER XIV. 1835. Virginia Hospitality. The Blue Eidge. Monticello. Jefferson. Fredericksburg. Mount Vernon. The Washington Estate. The National Capital in 1835. Visit to "Old Hickory." Baltimore and Philadelphia. The Biddies. Sully. Dr. Physick. Joseph Bonaparte. Long Branch Life. Old Memories and Traditions of Florida. The " Moon Hoax." Death of Mrs. Miller. The " Neutral Ground." MUCH of the region they were now passing through was so sparsely inhabited, and so unfrequently traveled, that there were no taverns, in the ordinary acceptation of the term. Travelers, however, fared all the better for this. On inquiry, they would be informed that there were families of planters, living near the road, who " entertained strangers." This meant that they were willing to give passing way- farers a dinner, or a night's lodging. Some desired no recompense, others would receive in return some suitable compensation on their guests' departure. Usually, this was pleasant for both parties. The family in that secluded region, while not seeking to make money out of 1835.] TRAVELERS' EXPERIENCES. 273 their guests, were quite willing to see such rare visitors, and to hear from them the latest news of the outer world. The travelers finding themselves taken into the family circle, seated at a table loaded with rural luxuries, and treated with hospitable kindness by the entire house- hold, white and black, congratulated themselves upon having such com- fortable quarters, instead of the usual rough and noisy experiences of a country inn. These houses had no signs or advertisements ; but, on leaving one of them, the traveler would be told where he would find the next. For mid-day refreshment, there were also occasional " cake and beer " shops the cake being fresh gingerbread, and the beer often a home-brewed mixture. Provender for the horses could be obtained at almost any house ; and the streams through which the road ran afforded opportunities enough for watering. The journal was continued by Mrs. Seward : "We left the Natural Bridge on Monday, drove fourteen miles to Lexington, where we spent the night. On Tuesday we went only eighteen miles to a Mr. Steele's, in the country, a nice log-tavern, where we were very comfortable. We were often told before we left home that we could not travel in Virginia with any pleasure, because the taverns were so poor ; but we have found it quite the reverse. With but few exceptions, and those principally in large towns, we have found the accommodations better than in our own State. The houses, to be sure, are not large, nor splendidly furnished ; but they are so neat, and the people so hospitable, that we do not feel these deficiencies. The little taverns in the country are just like private houses, no noise, no bustle, no dram-drinking. Few of them keep spirituous liquors to sell, and of course they are not annoyed with the crowd of loungers who frequent a tavern in New York. The ladies are always ready to talk with you when you are inclined, and do not persecute you in that way when it is not agreeable. From Mr. Steele's we drove on Wednesday about thirty miles, passing through Greenville and Waynesboro, crossing the Blue Ridge at the Rock-Fish Gap. We intended sleeping that night on the mountain-top, where there is a fine house, but we arrived there so early that we concluded to descend. There is a charming prospect from the top of the ridge. That night we staid at Mr. Brooks's, at the foot of the mountain. Having now come into what is called " Old Virginia," which signifies that part east of the Blue Ridge, there is a perceptible increase of the colored population, and a waiter at the back of almost every chair at table. The next morning there was a drizzling rain ; but it did not prevent our starting after breakfast. The appearance of the clouds hanging on the moun- tain declivities was very beautiful. Sometimes the entire mountain-side would' be enveloped in this fleecy covering, with nothing but the base and top visible. Thursday we arrived at Charlottesville. Here we passed the remainder of the day, for the purpose of visiting Monticello, where Jefferson lived and died. From here Seward wrote : The tavern at which we stopped was an immense, old-fashioned edifice, greatly out of repair. On my remarking this to our landlord, he gave me its history, 18 274 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. saying that it was built by Robert C. Nicholas, for a private dwelling. He pro- ceeded to tell me of Nicholas's death, and the emigration of one of his sons with a brother-in-law, a Mr. Rose, to the " Genesee country." "On this hint I spoke," saying that I knew the family of Mr. Nicholas, and also knew Mr. Robert S. Rose. This brought to me within a few minutes Mr. Rose, of Charlottesville, a brother of our friend ; and after a few moments' conversation it seemed as though our old friend Robert S. Rose was with us. From the chamber in our hotel we had a view of Monticello, distant three miles. The mount rises to a height of six or seven hundred feet, and is covered with a native forest. The western angle of the edifice is discernible be- tween the shade-trees, and they show us very plainly the oak which shades the grave of the man whose character has so long agitated the discussions of his countrymen, and whose principles have exerted a greater influence upon his country's destinies, for weal or woe, than those of any other of her sons. "We drove the same day to Monticello, making our ascent by a steep road winding up the mountain-side. Mr. Jefferson was prodigal in expenditures. His cultivated lands were in the valleys ; the mountain was retained in its prim- itive condition. The estate, after passing through the hands of an intermediate owner, came to be the property of Mr. Levy, of New York, a lieutenant in the Navy. He is said to have bought for twenty-seven hundred dollars what had cost Mr. Jefferson and his ancestors seventy thousand dollars. On arriving at the summit of the hill we found every door closed, and were fain to be content with a view of the exterior. But we had before us one of the most glorious prospects I ever looked upon ; the view terminated on the west by the long range of the Blue Ridge, and on the south and east by Carter's Mountains. In the intervening distance lay a highly-cultivated agricultural country, here and there interspersed with villages and country-seats. The mansion is built in imitation of European villas. It was evident that money had been lavished with a reckless hand. The annual expense of keeping the edifice and its appurtenances in repair must have been great. So with the gardens and grounds. We walked through a long avenue of tasteful shade-trees, and noted the rich profusion of shrubs and plants, carefully reared and culti- vated ; but desolation is now coming over the scene. From the terraces we descended the hill to the burying-ground. It contains the ashes of the philoso- pher, his wife, daughter, and some few relatives. A plain granite obelisk, eight or ten feet high, surmounts the grave of Jefferson. It bears no inscription, except the dates of his birth and death. The wall around the graveyard is in a very rough, dilapidated condition, and the whole scene seems to imply that, while the walks are daily trampled by the rude feet of the curious, visits of love or affection rarely greet the spot. Monticello, as its name imports, is a small eminence. Although neglected, it is still a magnificent place. The summit of the mount is leveled, and was once ornamented with a variety of choice trees and shrubs. Many of these have been cut down ; many have been dug up and carried away by the inhabitants of the neighboring country. I could not look upon these ravages unmoved. It must occasion much pain to his surviving daughter, Mrs. Randolph. There was a fine terrace in front and on two sides, which is now in a ruinous condition, and a beautiful lawn below is converted into a cornfield. Everything bears marks of neglect, and no one can visit the place without feeling regret that his 1835.] MONTICELLO AND MOUNT VERNON. 275 loss of fortune compelled his immediate descendants to allow it to pass into the hands of strangers. The day after visiting Monticello we visited the University of Charlottes- ville, of which Mr. Jefferson may be regarded as the founder. I know not what the obstacles are to successful collegiate education in the South ; but I am bold to say that the plan and system of education in this institution are superior to those adopted in any other American college with which I am acquainted. The buildings are spacious. They are constructed upon a scale which does honor to the State. In the library we found a portion of Mr. Jefferson's collection of books, and his entire museum of natural and artificial curiosities. Continuing the journal, Mrs. Seward wrote : Yesterday we came to Orange Court-House, twenty-two miles, and here we stay over Sunday. I have just returned from " meeting," where we heard a very absurd discourse from a young divine, who attempted to explain the chem- ical process of the transformation of Lot's wife. Sunday morning the blacks are allowed some hours to dispose of any little articles of produce they may have, at the store, in exchange for goods. The streets were thronged this morning with them, although this is a very small town. Most of them were miserably clad, many disabled by age, accident, or infirmity. Of course such scenes do not attract the attention of the people here who are accustomed to them ; but to me they were the source of many unpleasant reflections. July U. "We left Orange Court-House in the evening, rode ten miles, and staid over- night at a small country-tavern. The next day, a ride of twenty-six miles over a wretched road (a turnpike, by-the-way) brought us to Fredericksburg. This is one of the largest towns in Virginia. It is well built, a city resembling, though not so large as. Auburn. Fredericksburg is sixty miles from Washing- ton. The road lies through a barren, uninteresting part of the country. The traveling between the two places is chiefly by steamboats ; consequently the road was bad, and the accommodations were poor ; I may say there were none at all, and we were obliged to stop at a house which had once been a tavern, but was discontinued for want of custom. We were treated with much kind- ness and hospitality, and made as comfortable as circumstances would permit. Wednesday morning we started early, having a long ride in prospect, as we were obliged to go some miles out of our way in order to visit Mount Vernon, and there was no tavern nearer than Alexandria. We found a place to feed the horses, and ate our own dinner in the carriage. It consisted of cold ham, chickens, and biscuit, put up for us by the kind old lady with whom we passed the night. William gathered some fine, large blackberries for a dessert, and Fred's little tin cup supplied us with water from the spring. About four miles from Mount Vernon we found a church, which Washington used to attend. Of course we stopped to examine it. It must have been a very expensive building at the time it was erected. It is now occupied only by the birds, bats, and hornets. It is situated in a beautiful retired spot, and the fact of its having been Washington's place of worship invested it with sufficient interest. The road which we took to Mount Vernon apparently had not been passed over by a wagon in a year. 276 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. It was overgrown by grass in many places, and the dry leaves of the last year remained undisturbed. We thought many times that we had lost our way, but were finally reassured by meeting a gentleman in a carriage, who directed us to the house, which was then about three miles distant. The Washington estate at Mount Vernon was formerly four thousand acres. It is now reduced to twelve hundred. There is something imposing in the approach to the seat of a country gentleman in Virginia. You enter by a gate, sometimes two or three miles from the house, which is hidden by the intervening forest. In the present instance we entered one gate, and drove about two miles to a second, where we found the porter's lodge ; and here commences at this period the Washington estate. Another mile brought us to the house. It is built of plank, in a manner which so well imitates stone that we supposed it to be the latter material, until we were informed to the contrary. We found the old guide near the door of one of the numerous houses which are attached to a gentleman's residence, for the accommodation of his slaves. Here, as at Monticello, they were well built and rather an ornamental part of the establishment, which is not always the case. The old black man said he " was raised by Mrs. Washing- ton, the mother of the President." His next home was with her son, the father of Judge Washington. He passed from the father to the son, and came here to live when Judge Washington took possession of Mount Yernon. The judge died six or seven years ago, leaving no children ; and Mount Yernon became the property of his nephew, John A. Washington. He also died two years ago, and his widow and children are the present proprietors. The old slave spoke with much affection of his former master, the judge, who, he said, had never sold one of his children, and had made provision for him in his well. But John, the nephew, did not walk in the steps of his uncle ; and, when he suc- ceeded to the estate, he divided the slaves among his relatives, and sold some of the old man's children, retaining only a small household. Henry sent in a card requesting permission to see the house, which was very politely accorded, and we were shown through the lower rooms by the lady's maid, a smiling mulatto woman. The house is of two stories and painted white. A piazza on the east side runs the whole length of the building, supported by eight fine large columns. The Potomac is at the foot of the lawn, and is here about four miles wide. The view from the piazza is charming. The house is plainly furnished, but every- thing is in perfect order. A large hall through the centre is ornamented with pictures and busts. On one side of it is the President's library, the books re- maining much as he left them ; but all the other furniture is changed. I re- gretted this ; I think they should have left one room as it was when he died. A fire was burning on the hearth in the library ; an easy-chair and a book seemed to have been very recently abandoned, probably by Mrs. Washington, who, if pictures are to be trusted, is a very handsome woman of fifty-five or perhaps younger. We walked to the summer-house, and to the vault which contains the remains of Washington, and went through the garden. Here was a beautiful collection of greenhouse plants, and a grove of oranges and lemons in large tubs. Having satisfied the maid, the gardener, the old guide, and the porter, with a douceur, we left the premises amid their wishes for our pleasant journey. Altogether Mount Yernon is a beautiful place. The large ornamental trees, which were planted nearly a century ago, give it an air of antiquity and mag- 1835.] PRESIDENT JACKSON. 277 nificence which we do not find in our more newly-settled country. We drove seven miles to Alexandria, where we remained that night. The next day we drove on to Washington by the way of Georgetown, as the old bridge across the Potomac is impassable, and the new one unfinished. It is a distance of eight miles by a tedious, sandy road. We crossed the river at Georgetown in a horse-boat. Georgetown may be considered a part of Wash- ington, as they are only separated by a creek. Washington is one of the most splendid of cities in theory and plan ; but, unfortunately, the design has never been executed, and at present the houses are scattered over a wide extent of country, laid out in unfinished streets. There is a wide avenue for every State in the Union. But Pennsylvania Avenue is the only one which can be said to be built up, and this not very compactly. The others have buildings sometimes on the corners where they are intersected by cross-streets; sometimes a block of considerable size, then a long, vacant space intervenes. You can imagine how a town thus scattered would appear; the prominent buildings are the Capitol and the President's house, or " White House," built in similar style, both of freestone whitened. The Capitol is on an emi- nence at the eastern extremity of the town. From a plan of the city, I see it was intended for the centre. The President's house is a mile northwest from the Capitol. From these two buildings the avenues diverge in every direction. The Capitol is a magnificent building ; I could point out many defects, but we will criticise when I can talk longer. It is in the Grecian style ; large Corin- thian columns support pediments on each front. The capitals of these columns, as well as those of the interior, were carved in Italy. Passing through the porch you enter the Rotunda, of which every one has heard. It occupies the whole centre of the building ; its circular cornice is supported by pilasters with Corinthian capitals. Four large pictures by Trumbull, delineating scenes in the Revolution, occupy spaces on the wall ; and there are yet four spaces unfilled, because Congress cannot decide upon what artist to confer the honor. Here I am at the bottom of the page, and the third page too, and have but just entered the Rotunda, have not even looked up through the vaulted ceiling to the immense dome above, nor described the effect of the slightest noise, even a low whisper sounding like the murmuring of many waters. I must leave it all until I come home. The statuary, the library, the Senate and Representa- tive Chamber, the terraces, the lawns, the parks, the beautifully graveled walks, and the profusion of shrubbery, and even your old friend McLean, of Seneca County, I must leave him too (he came in just as we were leaving the Capitol), or I shall never arrive at the "palace," the abiding-place of the "greatest and best," as Jackson men say. Henry went to see Governor Dickerson, who, you know, is now Secretary of the Navy. He received him very cordially, and said we must go and pay our respects to the President the next day. He called at eleven o'clock with his nephew, Mr. Augustus Canfield. We were soon whirled over the macadamized road to the place of destination. The Secretary gave me his arm, Henry led our little boy, and we proceeded, unannounced, "to the presence." I thought this very unceremonious, at the time, but, when I expressed this opinion to that consummate politician McLean, he laughed at my simplicity, and said Dickerson had undoubtedly had a previous interview with " his royal master." The Presi- dent sat writing at a table filled with blank commissions, to which he was affix- 278 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. ing his signature. His audience-chamber was rather fantastically decorated with [here Mr. Seward takes up the pen and finishes the description] a multitude of portraits, paintings, busts, and statues, the tribute of the idolatry of his reign. The PresMent was dressed in black, wearing a bead watch-chain of variegated colors, on which was probably recorded, by some enthusiastic admirer, his superiority to all men of every age and nation. He rose, and in the most obliging and courteous manner took us all by the hand, and requested us to sit. No gentleman could have exhibited more true politeness than this stormy veteran, who has so often and so truly been represented as acting like a raging lion. This politeness was peculiarly and happily exhibited in his introductory greet- ings, and inquiries concerning Frances's health, and his attentions to the little boy. The subject of bur visit to Monticello was mentioned. You are to know, by-the-way, that Lieutenant Levy, the present proprietor of Monticello, has procured a bronze statue of Mr. Jefferson, to be made at Paris, and presented to Congress. The House of Eepresentatives voted to accept it ; the Senate did not care to receive it, or, for some other reason, have not acted on the subject. The superintendent of the Capitol has put it up in the Ptotunda on a temporary pedestal. I observed that Monticello was greatly dilapidated. The President replied that, as he was informed, there was a sufficient cause for it in the fact that the present proprietor has not the means to repair the place. Forgetting that Lieutenant Levy was doubtless a Jackson man, and that our information concerning him was derived exclusively from his Whig neighbors in Virginia, F innocently said that he did not appear to be very kindly regarded by the people there. " "Why," said the general, with much earnestness and decision, "he has done very well, though, in relation to Mr. Jefferson. That statue he has presented to Congress is a very handsome thing, and cost about fifteen hundred dollars." Mr. Secretary Dickerson said he thought it was not a very good likeness. This opinion of the minister was expressed with much hesitation of manner. "There, sir," said the general, with an air of conscious infallibility, " is where I think you are mistaken ; it is an excellent likeness, sir." Mr. Dickerson did not pursue the subject. "And I tell you," continued the general, "that I think, after the House of Representatives had voted to receive the statue, the conduct of the Senate in refusing to act upon the subject was very reprehensible ! " "Perhaps," said Mr. Dickerson willing to permit the Senate to escape denunciation on this occasion " perhaps the Senate did not think it proper that the statue of Mr. Jefferson should be obtained in that way." " Well, sir, then they might have bought it, or bought a better one. That is no argument." The conversation proceeded in this manner : he was earnest and dogmatical ; Mr. Dickerson contented himself with mere hypothetical suggestions of his own opinions, but in no case insisted on them, and left " the greatest and best " to infer that he was convinced. I inquired (prefacing an apology if the inquiry were improper) what would probably be the result of the French question, and said I thought Mr. Living- ston's last letter was a very able and satisfactory one upon the point, now the only one in the matter. 1835.J WASHINGTON AND BALTIMORE. 279 The President replied that Mr. Livingston's letter was conclusive, and ought to be satisfactory. I asked whether Mr. Livingston had any intimation, before leaving Paris, on the point whether the French Government intended to be satisfied with the view presented by him. The President answered : " We don't know anything about that, and don't want to know. We know we are satisfied ; they must take their own course ; they'll get no explanation from us." He continued, with warmth and energy : " There is no other way, sir, in private life, but to act justly do right, let people be satisfied with it or not, as they please. If they are just to you, it is very well ; if not, you must resort to such means as you can to compel them to be so ; it is the same between nations. No, no, sir, we can't have the French, or any other nation, interfering in our consultations ; that will never do." Thus, on every subject, of whatever magnitude, the President was peremp- tory ; and it must be added that, as far as his opinions were expressed, they were intelligent and perspicuous. I have given you the above dialogue, not on account of the interest of the subject, but to convey to you an idea of the President's manner. We were surprised, after leaving the White House with the impression that war must follow, and that the cabinet at Washington would enter into no further discus- sion on the subject, to hear Mr. Dickerson say that " there would be no war. If the French Government should ask for an explanation, they would receive a temperate, conciliatory answer, which," as he added, after a pause, " would put the French Government altogether in the wrong." It requires very little astuteness to see the manner in which the President's cabinet act. They fall in with him, and seem to yield to his views ; but often overreach and defeat them by the manner in which they affect to carry them into execution. When this cannot be done, they leave it to him to take his own course on his own responsibility. We have been convinced that we have been in no respect mistaken in our opinion of the President [here Mrs. Seward takes the pen and finishes the sentence and the letter] ; we found him polite, firm, chivalrous, passionate, and petulant. From the White House we went to the Patent-Office, and then again visited the Capitol. We spent an hour in the library, where were many curiosities, then returned to dine with Judge McLean, whom we had invited the day before. This is Gadsby's, the house in Washington. All the people there seem impressed with the idea that they have arrived at the summit of human glory in living in Washington, no matter what their occupation. Mr. Van Buren is there at pres- ent. The President and suite go on Monday to Norfolk, " to escape for a while," as he said, " the cares and perplexities of office." At Baltimore, Seward wrote : July 5th. We left Washington on the morning of the 4th. The road from there to Baltimore is as barren of interest as that between Albany and Schenectady. We were surprised by the desolate aspect of Georgetown, which appears to command enviable facilities for trade and manufactures. Its safe and accessible harbor, its canal along the Potomac, its mills and numerous warehouses, and its enterprising merchants, have been unable to prevent Baltimore from monopoliz- 280 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. ing the commerce, a portion of which was once enjoyed by Georgetown. Des- titute as Washington is of shipping, trade, manufactures, or other resource than the patronage of the General Government, and the profit of entertaining public officers, employes, and visitors there, it wears an air of prosperity contrasted with Georgetown. Arriving at Baltimore, after a hard drive of thirty-seven miles, at eight in the evening, the post-office was closed, and a grum voice growled at me as I politely tapped at the window, " We deliver no letters to-night." I persevered, and made my way into the den from which the salutation proceeded. I soft- ened the heart of the postmaster, and brought away ten letters and copious files of the Evening Journal. Mrs. Seward continued the narrative : Stopping at Barnum's Hotel, we spent two days and a half at Baltimore, went to church, visited the cathedral, and traversed the long, winding staircase to the top of the Washington Monument. In the cathedral, which is so much celebrated, I saw one fine picture. There were many others of inferior merit. This was presented by Louis XVIII. The subject is the "Descent from the Cross." The body of our Saviour is the principal figure. It quite realized my imaginings. The three Marys, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and the be- loved disciple, are the other persons represented. The monument is of white marble, one hundred and seventy feet high, surmounted by a colossal statue of Washington. We ascended on the inside by spiral steps ; it was perfectly dark, the only light we had proceeded from a lantern which Henry carried. The air was warm and close. From the top we had a fine view of the city, which is very substantially and compactly built, but by no means beautiful. A new hotel was altogether the finest building I saw. We attended the Episcopal Church on Sunday, and heard an excellent sermon from Mr. Wyatt. Monday afternoon we drove seventeen miles to a house in the country, where we fared tolerably. The next day, fourteen miles' ride brought us to Havre de Grace, where we crossed the Susquehanna at its mouth, a mile and a quarter wide. Here we had a view of Chesapeake Bay. I was a little afraid to go on the scow, and our horse " Lion " was still more so. It was with great difficulty that William Johnson could get him on the boat. However, we reached the opposite shore in safety. Mr. Seward added : Burning the town has not had the effect upon Havre de Grace which burn- ing the fields is said sometimes to have. It has not " risen like a phoenix " from the ashes to which Admiral Cochrane reduced it. The fact is, that the trade once enjoyed by Havre de Grace has been usurped by a small village called Port Deposit, situate on the opposite side of the Susquehanna, four miles farther up. At this point, the lumber and produce brought down the river are landed, and thence carried to Baltimore and Philadelphia. Fifteen miles farther we were obliged to stop at a miserable little house, six miles from Elkton, the place we had designed to reach. After an uncomforta- ble night, a drive of eight or ten miles the next morning took us out of Mary- land and brought us to the State of Delaware, which at this point is fifteen miles across. We hurried on for the purpose of taking the steamboat at Delaware 1835.J DELAWARE AND NEW JERSEY. 281 City, a high-sounding name bestowed on thirty or forty houses at the head of the bay. The boat was to pass there at twelve o'clock. The distance from our start- ing-place was twenty-one miles. We drove across the State, but our efforts were of no avail. We arrived at Delaware City, warm and weary, with jaded horses, just fifteen minutes after the boat had left the wharf. So we must wait another whole day. We could get across the bay in no other way. But we found a comfortable resting-place, a cool, clean house, nice beds, and a charm- ing prospect from the windows, looking over Delaware Bay and River. So we are waiting till to-morrow for the same boat. The little State of Delaware, which people seem to us to treat without any respect, as a mere passage-way between other and greater States, is a beautiful and apparently rich and contented country. The scene around us here is delightful. While we have been lamenting our detention, a thunder-storm has come up and caused us to rejoice that we did not have to encounter its drenching torrents in the woods of New Jersey. The Delaware & Chesapeake Canal, connecting the two bays, seems to be burdened with sloops, bringing wood from Virginia, and taking Lehigh coal in exchange for it. We saw also large quantities of lumber there, in rafts, which, having been brought down the Susquehanna, were now being towed up the Delaware to Philadelphia. Mrs. Seward continued the story : The next day the boat came at noon, and, cheating us out of our dinner, carried us, wagon, horses, and all, to Salem, in New Jersey, ten miles down the bay, on the opposite shore. We drove that night eighteen miles to Bridgeton, a pretty village, forty miles from Bargaintown. The next day our road was through a country somewhat resembling the Desert of Sahara, with the addition of some dwarf oaks and pines. The sand is so white that, in the evening, it has the appearance of snow. We passed but three or four houses in traveling twenty miles. No place offered where there was any probability of procuring a tolerable dinner, so we paused in such shade as we could find, fed the horses, and dined on biscuit and cheese. We walked a little occasionally, to gather whortleberries, which abound here; but the day was exceedingly warm, and the sand rendered walking no slight exertion. It was six o'clock when we came to May's Landing, and we were still twelve miles from Bargaintown. We had come nearly thirty, over a very fatiguing, sandy road, and the horses were tired ; but we were unwilling to remain with the prospect of rather a poor night's lodging ; so we took a fresh pair of horses and a driver, leaving William John- son, "Lion," and "the Doctor," to come on the next morning. BAKGAINTOWN, Wednesday, July I5th. We have had a pleasant visit here. Yesterday we spent in a very fatiguing though delightful visit to the beach, where all went to bathe in the surf. To- morrow we leave for Philadelphia, where we shall be detained a week. The names of the villages and hamlets among which they were now passing were a subject of some amusement and inquiry, as doubt- less they have been to other travelers ; for among them were Great Egg Harbor, Little Egg Harbor, Hospitality Branch, Innskeep, Seven- 282 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. Cross-Ways, White Horse, Long-a-coming, Mount Ephraim, Neso- chaque, Stockingtown, Jericho, Green Tree, Raccoon Creek, Skull- town, Shiloah, Cohansey, Good Intent, and Jobsville. Seward, writing to Mr. Weed, said : PHILADELPHIA, July 19, 1835. We came in yesterday in time to hear the note of preparation for the Living- ston dinner, and the sufficiency of clamor with which it passed off. [This was the dinner given to Mr. Livingston on his return from his mission to France.] What mockery of feeling is the action of masses of men or communities ! A week ago this city, if one might credit the newspapers, was overwhelmed with grief for the loss of Chief-Justice Marshall. Yesterday it resounded with ob- streperous feasting in honor of a diplomatist whose feet make haste to the same bourne where the object of the city's lamentation is lost. It provokes a smile to see our friends reckoning upon the probabilities of Southern votes. I repeat what I have before said, that the battle was fought last year. The " spoils " might be conceded without another impotent struggle. I marvel at the belief that Ritner's success will have a bearing in our favor on the presidential election. It will result in a compromise, giving a prodigious vote to Van Buren. To what good, you will ask, are these gloomy speculations? Only to show the folly of reckoning on any possible success at this juncture in our efforts against the immovable majority. You are altogether right about the alien question. I almost lose sympathy with our brethren, when I see them act so madly. But it was always so, New York City politicians act and reason as if the city was the entire country. The journal was continued by Mrs. Seward. PHILADELPHIA, July \%ih. We are comfortably lodged with Mrs. Lloyd, a Quakeress, on Third Street. The house is small, but neat, and quiet within-doors ; and the rattling of vehicles without is less than on the principal thoroughfares. Monday Afternoon. We have just returned from Fairmount Water-works, and a beautiful place it is with its fountains, statues, and other embellishments. After we had inspected the machinery which supplies the city with water from the Schuylkill, we visited the United States Bank, a handsome building of white marble, and then went to look in at Peale's Museum. It is raining fast; we cannot pursue sight-seeing further. You recollect Willis Gaylord Clark ? He is here ; is editor of a daily paper, besides being engaged upon the Knickerbocker, and several other periodi- cals. PHILADELPHIA, July lUli. At nine this morning we went to Sully's to sit for the portraits; in the after- noon walked up Chestnut Street. In all the shops in Philadelphia, at least in all I have visited, the clerks are women, which is very agreeable, except when you find one who does not choose to please, and then I would rather deal with six men than with one of them. However, I have generally found them very ac- commodating. Chestnut Street is the Broadway of Philadelphia. The shops are not as fine as in New York, but the goods are not so high-priced. Philadelphia 1835.] PHILADELPHIA. 283 contains a large number of handsome public buildings, and many pretty public squares ornamented with trees. The dwelling-houses are built with great uni- formity ; the streets cross each other at right angles ; but most of them are too narrow to admit of fine effect from the shade-trees with which they are orna- mented. But the perfect cleanliness makes everything agreeable. The water from the Schuylkill affords such facilities for cleansing that the city in that par- ticular has an advantage over all others in the Union. The ladies dress with more taste in general than those in New York. You see none of the excess which is so much practised there. My pretty dressmaker (she is English, by-the- way) said she had never seen a lady well dressed in New York, though many overloaded with color and ornament. Sunday Afternoon. We have been to church this morning, notwithstanding the excessive heat. We went to see Bishop White preach ; it is not easy to hear him. He is eighty- seven years of age, appears very infirm, and speaks so indistinctly that I hardly heard one sentence. He is a venerable-looking old man, with hair perfectly white. Henry was more fortunate (men not wearing cottage bonnets do not have their ears covered), and says he did not lose any part of the sermon, which was plain and sensible. Thursday, we went with Mr. James Biddle three miles out to his country-seat, where Mrs. Biddle is at present with her four children. The place is beautifully situated on the bank of the Schuylkill. Mrs. Biddle was agreeable, the children pretty, Mr. Biddle always full of mirth, the most incessant of talkers and some- times very eloquent. Saturday, I went to the painter's at nine, afterward visited the Mint, and the Academy of Fine Arts. Dr. Physick has called several times. He approved of our design of sea-bathing, and advised a continuance of our travels, adding that it was impossible for him to advise further without detaining us here a long time ; advised us to get out of the city as soon as possible ; to get lodgings at a private house at Long Branch if we could, and to avoid excitement and over- exertion. Dr. Physick is prepossessing in his appearance, and seems very con- scientious in his practice. He is between sixty and seventy years of age, and only acts now as consulting physician. He seemed hurried, and to have his time much occupied. With the other letters there was always one to the little boy who had been left at home. Writing to Augustus, his father related the incidents of their stay in Philadelphia, the sights seen at Fairmount and at Peale's Museum. One passage may be reproduced here, illus- trating as it does his sedulous care to instill patriotic principles into the minds of his children : In the museum there is also preserved a sash of blue ribbon which General Washington wore when he was commander-in-chief of the American army, in the Revolutionary War. It was presented by him to the founder of the museum. There is also preserved a manuscript song, written by Major Andr6, in deri- sion of the American soldiers, about two weeks before he was captured as a spy. You remember who Major Andr6 was, and how he was detected, tried, and hanged as a spy ? 284 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. "We went also to visit Independence Hall, which is the same room in which the first Congress of the United States sat when they adopted the Declaration of Independence, on the fourth of July, 1776. You have read so much history as to know that the reason why people celebrate the fourth of July is, because on that day, 1776, the Congress of the United States separated this country from Great Britain, and pronounced the people to be no longer subjects of the King of Great Britain, but free and independent, having the right to govern them- selves. The British king and Parliament sent a great many armies here, and fought our forefathers seven years, to make them subjects again ; but the God of heaven gave the victory to the Americans, and we have ever since been free. It is the duty of every man to love his country, to do all in his power to pro- mote its prosperity and honor, and to lay down his life for it, in the fear of God, if necessary. I hope you will always remember this, and in order to do so you ought to read the history of the Revolutionary "War, and the lives of General Washington, General Warren, Lafayette, and other great and good men, who fought so long, so bravely, and finally so victoriously, for the liberties of their country. The journal was continued by Mrs. Seward : LONG BRANCH, August 2d. We left Philadelphia on Monday morning, finding it so cold that I could hardly keep warm, though wrapped in shawl and cloak ; and this succeeded a day which had been so warm that the thermometer rose to 94 in the shade. From Philadelphia to Bristol is sixteen miles. The road is very pleasant, the land all cultivated, and the country thickly settled. Bristol is on the Delaware, opposite Burlington. We crossed to the latter place in a very tiny steamboat. From Burlington to Bordentown is fourteen miles, and here we found the road much less agreeable. Deep sand, which renders the country barren and the traveling unpleasant, abounds in the southern part of New Jer- sey. It was six o'clock when we reached Bordentown. The evening being fine, we concluded to visit the Bonaparte place at once. So, after taking off the baggage, and making other arrangements for the night, we drove on. The house or " palace," as they call it here, of the ex-King of Spain is about half a mile from the village, and can be distinctly seen from the road. It is built of stone, covered with stucco of a lead-color, the style somewhat peculiar for America. The roof is low, surrounded with battlements. Bonaparte, you know, is in Europe, or was ; for he is expected home daily. His house is under- going repairs, so we did not enter. At each end are buildings of corresponding style, appropriated to domestic affairs. The servants all seemed to be enjoying a holiday during the absence of their master. The maids, dressed in their best apparel, were promenading the graveled walks in company with their visitors. The men-servants were amusing themselves with a game of billiards in a salon on the first floor. The house is approached by two broad graveled roads, ornamented at the side by choice plants in boxes. The house is about as far from the road as yours, so that but a partial idea of the beauties of the place is given to the passer-by. I cannot tell the extent of the grounds, as I was unable to walk half over them. We went as far as the observatory, which is perhaps a quarter of a mile from the house. 1835.] JOSEPH BONAPARTE. 285 There were fine roads and walks in every direction, embellished by ornament- al trees and shrubs. Tasteful little bridges and summer-houses meet the eye, and give a picturesque effect to the scene. At the foot of the observatory is the fish-pond. But the shades of night now gathering around us, and our own fatigue, admonished us of the necessity of returning. I left this charming place with much regret, and not without curiosity to know whether he whose wealth had created so much to admire had sufficient taste to appreciate or contentment of disposition to enjoy it. It is now about two years, if I recollect right, since he went upon some wild suggestion of a sick heart to London, and sent a petition to the court of " the citizen king " to be allowed to visit his country. During that time his beautiful villa has been in the keeping of servants, and shows dilapidation and waste every- where. It is, nevertheless, even in its present condition, a magnificent dwelling, and bears some comparison with the hereditary chateaux of European princes. "Wednesday morning we set out in a drizzling rain, which continued until noon, rather improving the sandy roads. "We staid that night at Monmouth Court-House, where court was sitting. Consequently all the houses were full of mud and lawyers. We selected the most quiet, which we left early Thursday morning, and arrived at this place (Eatontown), five miles from the beach, about eleven o'clock. We prefer lodgings here to the crowded and comfortless board- ing-houses immediately on the beach. Mr. Seward added : Frances monopolizes the entire correspondence with you, so I have to tell my marvelous " traveler's tales " to less kind and credulous listeners. But, as I see she has left out a whole chapter, I will supply it. We stopped at Borden- town, at the fashionable house, set up for the accommodation of travelers be- tween Philadelphia and New York. We had a bedroom ten by twelve in the second story. In the morning she was too sick to travel, and it was cold and rainy. I proposed a fire, and asked the landlord, " Where ? " He said, " In the parlor, up-stairs." There was none except that which was inscribed " family- room," which had a sofa and a snug little fireplace. The sofa and tables were strewed with dolls and other toys of little girls, and as I entered it I saw it evacuated by half a dozen, all of one size. I had a fine oak-fire made up, drew out the sofa, brought Frances, laid her on it, shut the windows to make her comfortable, sat down and began to write a letter, when in came a middle- aged lady, the mother of the hopes whose delights were scattered around me. She retired in so much haste as to indicate a raging passion, and in three minutes afterward by the Shrewsbury clock entered a venerable grand-dame. She advanced to the windows, threw up the sash, opened all the windows. "Have you a particular wish, madam," said I, "to have that window open?" as she came to the one over Frances's head. " I like to have light and air in the room, sir T " said she. She seated herself with her knitting-work, and called the darlings one, two, three, four, five, six and romp, helter-skelter, went children and grandmother. I carried Frances and her bed into our bed- room. There, after three hours, I succeeded in getting a fire, and there we .staid during the rainy day in July. When we met the interesting family of the up-stairs parlor at dinner we discovered that the lady had "brought her own silver forks and spoons." 286 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. Can you guess the moral of my chapter ? Frances says she cannot. It is, that none but refined and amiable people carry their silver forks and spoons when they travel ! Continuing the journal, Mrs. Seward wrote : LONG BRANCH, August 9th. We have been to the beach each day. In the forenoon a drive of less than an hour takes us to the sea, where we bathe without the presence of " a cloud of witnesses." We return in time to drive, and in the afternoon ride or walk as we please in the woods, coming back to tea. Wednesday we drove out in the morning for the purpose of seeing some falls about two miles from here, where it seemed to be the fashion for all the people from the Branch to go, once at least. Our ride was pleasant ; as for the falls, after getting a man to show us where they were, we found one flat rock about twelve feet high, over which water might fall if there was any ; but, unfortunately, it is all used by a neigh- boring mill. The principal attraction for the multitude we had seen pass our door, instead of the falls, must have been " the cake and beer shop." The cake was very good, certainly ; and we came to the conclusion that they were not so very unwise after all. We then drove to Red Bank, where the steam- boats land from New York. It is on a small river called the Shrewsbury Inlet. The boat had gone, so we saw nothing but the red sand reflected in the bright smooth river, with a few houses and shops, most of them with vanes of some form, to ascertain the direction of the wind. This seems to be a prevailing cus- tom here near the ocean. Thursday it rained " from dawn of day to set of sun " without intermission. Of course, we were housed all day. I employed my time in pulling to pieces and improving a dress they had spoiled for me in Philadelphia. Henry em- ployed himself in reading " Don Quixote " and smoking poor cigars. I sat down and wrote a letter that I had promised, but had not before found a con- venient season. It is much harder to write some letters than others, if you have ever observed it. Well ! this long day actually came to a close, and, contrary to our expectations, the sun shone brightly next morning. At ten o'clock we proceeded to the beach. The sea was anything but a mirror that day. The waves came roaring and foaming against the shore with a degree of violence that was terrific. Saturday being another fine day we improved much in the same way, re- turned to dinner, and rode out two miles into the woods and among the huckle- berries. Saturday is a day when all the country-people go to the beach to bathe, and return to this place to eat, drink, and make merry. There were about thirty who dined here, and danced afterward. We lost all this sport by being absent. When we came home their wagons were all at the door, and the com- pany was about departing. Sunday we rode to Shrewsbury to church, about two miles. The country about here is very pleasant. The house we are at is kept by an old gentleman, with a bustling young wife. He has sons much older than she is. We have four or five rooms at our disposal ; there is very little company, and the good nature and obliging disposition make up for all deficien- cies. She seems to study nothing but our comfort ; and, if she does not kill us with kindness, I think our digestion may be considered wonderful. Car- riages are passing constantly to and from the beach. We are told that the 1835.] LONG BRANCH LIFE. 287 people at the boarding-houses on the beach suffered very much with cold during those chilly, wet days. The houses are built expressly for summer visitants ; of course, no conveniences or comforts are provided for such seasons as the past week. We congratulate ourselves more and more on having found such com- fortable quarters. We eat, drink, and sleep, when and how we please, have a fire in our room when the thermometer is at eighty, if we prefer it, without being questioned. We shall probably remain here until Thursday. While at this hospitable house there occurred an incident that Sew- ard used to relate with humorous relish. One day, while sitting after dinner in the shade, a benevolent -looking old gentleman said : " Excuse me, sir, if I ask you an intrusive question ; but I see by the papers that there was a candidate for Governor in your State last fall the one who was defeated whose name was the same as yours. Pray, was he any relative of your family ? " Mr. Seward had to admit that he was. " A near relative ? " " Yes." " Not your father was it, sir ? " " No, not my father." A pause ensued ; and then, overcome by curiosity, the old gentle- man returned to the attack. " Could it have been a brother of yours ? " " Well, Mr. T ," said Seward, " I may as well confess to you that I am myself that unfortunate man ! " " Dear me," said the other with unaffected surprise and sympathy, " I should never have thought it. And so young, too ! I am very sorry. How near did you come to being elected ? " " Not very near. I only got a hundred and sixty-nine thousand votes." " A hundred and sixty-nine thousand votes, and not elected ? " was the astonished reply. " Why, that is more than all the candidates to- gether ever get in New Jersey ! A hundred and good Heavens, sir ! how many votes does it take to elect a man in New York ? " FLORIDA, ORANGE COUNTY, August 20th. We left Long Branch last Thursday. We put our horses and wagon on board the steamboat in which we took passage, and came directly to New York, passing through the Shrewsbury Inlet into the ocean at Sandy Hook, and thenco through the Narrows and the bay. About half-way on the voyage a strong wind, with thunder and lightning, came on. A sloop just before us was capsized, scattering her load of peaches. We went with the steamboat to the relief of the boatmen ; but another boat from New York came up, at the signal of the telegraph, and took off two men and a boy. The third man on board the sloop was drowned. When we left her she lay on her side, with her mast and sail floating on the water. We did not stop in New York, but put our horses before the wagon and drove across 288 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1836. the city in the rain ; crossed the North River in a ferry-boat, and landed at Hoboken. There we staid that night, and next day drove through Newark and Morristown to Mendham. We staid there on Sunday. His native county, the home of his youth, was always full of attrac- tions for him, and he loved to take his friends there to show them the picturesque scenery associated with so many recollections of his early days. On these occasions the older people whom he met always had hearty greeting for him as " Harry Seward," the name by which he was called in boyhood. At Auburn, Judge Miller still called him " Henry," the appellation which Mrs. Seward always used. He was no one's namesake, the name William Henry being his mother's choice,, One of his boyish recollections was, that when a child he asked her who he was named after. She told him laughingly she did not know, unless it was Mr. William Henry, a respectable neighbor and farmer. And in reply to further inquiry as to what he was remarkable for, she said, "For his wisdom about fence-posts; " for on one occasion he g*ave his opinion that " cedar fence-posts, if well put down, will last a hun- dred year ; " and when asked how he knew the fact, he replied that " he had tried it many a time." There were still remaining some of those who knew John Seward, his paternal grandfather, who took part in the Revolutionary War. Many incidents were related by them, illustrative of his energetic character. A young man, residing in New Jersey, he was one of the earliest to raise a company to join in the struggle for independence. In command of this company he fought, under Washington, at the battle of Long Island, shared in the subsequent retreat, and in the battle at White Plains. He was again engaged in the battle of Prince- ton. Promoted to a militia colonelcy, he was in the battle of Mon- mouth ; and, in 1779, aided the expedition of "Mad Anthony Wayne " for the storming of Stony Point. With a part of his regiment 'he joined in the ineffectual pursuit of Brant, after the battle of Minisink. The Tories in his neighborhood heartily hated and feared him, and a reward of twenty pounds was offered for his head, " dead or alive." One story was of an attempt to decoy him into an ambush. It was, that as Colonel Seward was sitting in the evening in his porch, an ill- looking fellow, mounted on a cadaverous steed, which he guided with a rope-halter, rode up and delivered to him what purported to be a message from General Washington. Colonel Seward, suspecting some treacherous design, after questioning him, said, sharply, " General Washington never sent you on such a horse as that, with such a mes- sage as that to me ; " and, turning about, took down his rifle, which hung over the doorway. The spy, seeing himself discovered, hastily turned, and, whipping his horse, started to warn his confederates ; but 1835.] FLORIDA. THE MOON HOAX. 289 before he could reach the gateway a bullet from the colonel's rifle brought him down. Some of the descendants are still living, in Orange County, of a Hessian soldier who, having been captured by Colonel Seward, pre- ferred to exchange the service of King George for the more profitable and peaceful avocation of a laborer on his farm. One of the old pieces of furniture in the house at Florida was a tall, old-fashioned clock, surmounted by brass ornaments. At one time when a new house was built, and the clock was moved there, it proved to be about a foot too high for the parlor ceiling, and, rather than give up the clock, the owner caused a hole to be made through the ceiling in one corner of the room. For many years it stood there, sonorously ticking away the hours, with the upper part of its head invisible. Chloe Coe, occasionally referred to in his letters from Florida, was born a slave to Judge Seward, and was one of those who subsequently became free under the State law of emancipation. A playmate with her master's children, she always had a special regard for " Master Harry." She is still living in the cottage which he provided for her. The concluding days of the journey homeward were related in a letter to Mr. Weed : Thursday morning we set out for home in a dense fog. We dragged a weari- some journey under a burning sun, through Bloomingburg to Monticello, twenty-eight miles. On Friday we passed through the residue of that part of our route which lay in this State, bivouacked (though not literally) at Damascus, on the west side of the Delaware River ; having, with all diligence, accomplished no more than twenty-three miles over the " everlasting hills " of Sullivan County. On Saturday we descended into the valley of Tunkhannock and slept at a country inn. Our ride that day was thirty miles, over hills quite as difficult as those in Sullivan ; we rested on Sunday. Our landlady was sister to Barnum, of the City Hotel in Baltimore, and we were most munificently provided for after she learned that we had the good taste to stay at her brother's great house. The next day brought us, through a comparatively level country, and through. a cold northwest wind, to Binghamton. It was the first time I have met Collier since certain events. I thought at first that he liked me not much ; but my suspicions yielded to his earnest offers of kindness. "We continued our ride through Broome County to Owego, making forty-two miles for that day. We left Owego next morning, just as the generous Whig citizens of the town had completed their preparations for exhibiting me as a lion. They were disappointed, and I was sorry for it. But a sick lady was not to be restored to health by such oppressive kindness. That evening we arrived early at Ithaca, where we found Richard Varick De Witt and his wife, as agree- able and interesting as when we saw her moving in fashionable life in Albany. And now, in the villages through which they passed, and taverns at which they stopped, people were talking about marvelous discoveries 19 290 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835. in the moon recently made by Sir John Herschel. The story ran that, while at the Cape of Good Hope, having erected a telescope of great magnifying power, he found that the moon had inhabitants ; and that he was able to discern and describe minutely their appearance and oc- cupations nay, even to distinguish tailless beavers walking on two legs, amid beautiful vales and crystal lakes ; majestic temples, built by men with wings and angelic countenances, who spent their happy hours in collecting fruits, flying, bathing, and loitering on the summits of precipices of amethyst and mountains of sapphire ! This was the celebrated " Moon Hoax," written by Locke with so much plausibility and apparent scientific accuracy that it went the rounds of the press, and imposed upon the credulity of a large portion of the community, until finally denied and exposed by the great astron- omer himself. When approaching home on their return from this journey, intelli- gence reached them of the illness of Mrs. Paulina Miller, the grand- mother of Mrs. Seward. Eighty-three years old, she had still pre- served rare physical and intellectual vigor. She had led an eventful life. The early years after her marriage were spent at Bedford, West- chester County, in the " Neutral Ground," during the Revolutionary War. Her husband was a captain in the American army. Her mother was a loyalist. She used to recall a vivid picture of those " troublous times " by her tales of skirmishes between the " Regulars " and the Americans and between parties of the " Cow-Boys " and the " Skinners," of which she was an eye-witness. One morning a troop of British light-horse dashed into the little village, scattering its panic-stricken inhabitants, and in a few minutes she saw the houses of all her neigh- bors blazing, and finally burned to ashes. Early in the present century she had come to the West with her son, after the death of his wife, to take charge of his household, and of the care and education of his two little girls, who were almost too young to remember their own mother. Seward's letter to Weed said : On Tuesday night we arrived at Mrs. Worden's in Aurora. We came into Auburn the next day (yesterday). Here was a scene of afflic- tion, upon which I may not dwell. Mrs. Miller, who has been the only mother Frances has ever known, is prostrated upon a sick and, as we fear, death bed. We are greatly alarmed ; and the physicians think her recovery very doubtful. My poor wife is in the most anxious state ; I fear her strength is insufficient for the duties and solicitude so unexpectedly cast upon her. But such a sufferer, under alarming illness, I have never seen as is the object of our concern. She is free from pain and excitement, is tranquil, submissive, and confident. Her mind seemed never so strong, her earthly affections never so ardent, and her speech is eloquence itself. "Henry," said she to me this morning, "this sick- ness has brought, in my view, the two worlds very near together. I feared you 1835-'36.] "INCENDIARY PUBLICATIONS" AND RIOTS. 291 would not bring my daughter home to me before I died ; but I felt assured that we should meet in a very short time, in a state where we could never be sepa- rated. Remember you have my treasure in your keeping. Take care of it while Providence leaves it in your charge." AUBURN, October Uh. I have been three days confined to the house, in watching the dying bed of our deceased relative, in ministering to the comforts and wants of mourners, and attending the funeral. She was buried to-day in the Episcopal burying-ground by the side of the only one of her children who died before her. Mrs. Miller was a Baptist. Fond of religious thought and inquiry, she undoubtedly imparted to her children and grandchildren many of her own ideas on sacred subjects ; one of the most prominent of which was her dislike of sectarian disputes and prejudices. Seward, educated in like feelings at Union College, whose name implies its religious pur- pose, always found ready concurrence on the part of the household at Auburn, when he referred to the broad Christian teachings of Dr. Nott, CHAPTER XV. 1835-1836. Abolitionists. " Incendiary Publications " and Riots. The Auburn & Owasco Canal Project. Harrison and Granger. The " Loco-focos." Webster and Clay's With- drawal. The Small-Bill Law. Town and Country Life. THE year 1835 was marked by an increase of popular discussion on the subject of slavery, leading to fresh organization of societies op- posed to that system, and these in turn leading to popular outbreaks, mobs, and riots, by those who desired to repress antislavery opinions. The Charleston (South Carolina) post-office was broken open, the mails rifled of antislavery publications, and meetings were held approving of this lawless proceeding. Petitions were circulated throughout the North, to abolish slavery and the slave-trade in the District of Colum- bia, and those engaged in their circulation encountered a storm of re- proaches. In presenting these petitions to Congress, John Quincy Adams took a leading part. It was an illustration of the temper of the times, that the grand- jury of the county of Oneida, apparently without exciting any popu- lar indignation, brought in a presentment of " antislavery publications " as " incendiary," and called upon the people to " destroy all such pub- lications, where and whenever they can be found." Dr. Crandall, a brother of Prudence Crandall, of the Canterbury School, while visiting Washington to lecture on natural science, was arrested and thrown into jail, as " an antislavery agitator." A meet- 292 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835-'36. ing of the Boston Female Antislavery Society was broken up by a mob ; Mr. Garrison was seized and dragged through the streets by the rioters, and was only saved from further violence by being put into jail. George Thompson, the English philanthropist, who had taken an active part in the \Yest India emancipation, having come to this coun- try, as was presumed, to aid in similar movements here, was mobbed in Plymouth County, and threatened with violence if he should re- main in Boston. Another riot in Utica broke up the meeting of the New York Antislavery Society, and they were invited by Gerrit Smith to his home in the little town of Peterboro', as the only place where they could hold their discussion in safety and peace. Even in the capital of Vermont, antislavery meetings, held in the legislative halls, were assailed ; and in other portions of the State they were broken up. In Pennsylvania twenty-five out of thirty meetings were inter- rupted. Hitherto the antislavery movement had excited but little attention or interest on the part of the mass of the people ; its participators, having no connection with either of the great political parties, were regarded by some as Utopian philanthropists, by others as dangerous fanatics ; and even by those who sympathized in their purposes, as likely to accomplish little in the way of political action, however much they might achieve by works of private benevolence. But the occurrences of 1835 put a new phase upon the question, when the Government itself took ground against the right even to dis- cuss it. The Postmaster-General, in his instructions to postmasters, encouraged and approved the suppression of antislavery publications in the mails, although he admitted there was no law for such action. President Jackson, in his annual message to Congress, called attention " to the painful excitement in the South," and suggested " the propri- ety of passing such a law as would prohibit, under severe penalties, the circulation in the Southern States, through the mails, of incendiary publications, intended to instigate the slaves to insurrection." So be- gan the epoch of popular and congressional debate, lasting in its vari- ous phases, and with alternations of various fortune, for thirty years. The Democratic party as a whole, whatever might be the individual opinions of its members, was committed to the side of the slaveholders, by the action of its leaders, and their continued desire to secure the support of the South. The Whigs, being also desirous of a Southern following, were chary of accepting the issue thus tendered them by their opponents, or of committing their party to any positive support of the antislavery movement. Nevertheless, they were charged by the other side with sympathy in it ; and the charge was measurably true, as they were engaged in an attempt to overthrow the Administra- tion ; and the drift of public events was compelling each party in that 1835-'36.] AUBURN & OWASCO CANAL. 293 contest to assume more advanced ground, for and against the mainte- nance and spread of slavery. Seward, in a letter to Mr. Weed, said : The clamor against abolitionists will (as such violent efforts always do) pro- duce reaction. It may probably be followed up by similar meetings, in the large towns and villages. The very fact that no honorable, or high-minded, or repu- table man, in the North, even in the very excitement of mass meetings, will lend his sanction to the monstrous claims of the South, for legislation against aboli- tionists, and the still more monstrous conduct of the Post- Office Department, prove that, if the South persist, the issue will be changed, fearfully changed for them. The abolition question can in no other way injure Van Buren, than in driv- ing the South to the support of an exclusively Southern candidate, who acknowl- edges the " divine right " to hold the negro race in slavery, and regards slavery as " a blessing." I think those err, who suppose that the efforts at the North to extirpate abolitionism will tranquilize the South. No such thing ; they will only add fuel to the excitement at the South ; and the period before the election is so short, that there will be no time for reaction. What is more probable is, that whatever is done in the North by abolition and antiabolition men, will be insufficient to break the spell of Jacksonism at the South. And, in sober hon- esty, I dare not, cannot wish that Jacksonism should be tlius uprooted from its hold, because the result will be a permanent geographical line between the par- ties. I trust in God that the Van Buren men in the North will not attempt to enact " potent legal restraints " (against antislavery publications) ; but, if they do, their name will from that moment be " Ichabod." Those laws bring a ques- tion of awful import home to every man's understanding and heart, and no party in the North can sustain itself after enacting such measures. It is dan- gerous so far to encourage the abominable demands of the South. ^^^ In this year an enterprise which had long been a subject of discus- sion, at Auburn, ripened into execution. This was a project for a canal. Many years before, while the work on the Erie Canal was in progress, the people of Auburn had made unavailing efforts to have that great channel of commerce pass through the village. But the engineers, doubtless wisely, decided it to be more feasible to carry the line across the easy level of the Montezuma marshes than to try to bring it through Auburn, a town standing upon hills, and surrounded by them. When the Erie Canal was completed, and opened in 1825, Auburn par- ticipated in the celebration, and sent its delegation of citizens to greet Governor Clinton, with salutes, bonfires, and fireworks, as he passed through Weedsport with his suite, on board of the first packet-boat, the Seneca. After the Erie Canal had proved a success, and while railways were, as yet, an untried experiment, the people of Auburn had come to believe that a canal was essential to their commercial advance- ment and prosperity. Although debarred from the advantages of the main line, it was still believed that Auburn could easily share in them 291 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835-'36. by constructing a lateral canal, to connect with it. This project, during the succeeding years, took various forms ; and was the subject of va- rious meetings, surveys, and legislative applications, by the citizens of the village. In all these movements, Seward had taken the more or less prominent part assigned to him. Finally, in June, 1835, a company was organized and incorporated with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, and a board of directors chosen, comprising John M. Sherwood, Elijah Miller, Henry Polhemus, Amos Underwood, William H. Seward, George H. Wood, Nelson Beards- ley, N. B. Carhart, and Henry Yates. The plan now adopted was to erect a dam, thirty-eight feet high, which would raise the Owasco out- let to the level of the lake ; thus, in effect, extending the surface of the lake a distance of two and a half miles to the town, and securing a channel deep enough for steam navigation, throughout its entire length. Then the plan contemplated a navigable canal, from this dam to a basin and reservoir, some distance below, where the water would be dis- charged into the river, as required for hydraulic power, over wheels thirty feet in diameter, thus largely enhancing the manufacturing facil- ities of Auburn, while its commercial communication would be opened by building a railway from this basin to the Erie Canal. It was also deemed probable that the lake and canal navigation could be still further extended by connecting the inlet of the lake with the Susque- hanna River. It was believed that mills and manufactories would at once spring up in the town, and that vessels would bring lumber, grain, wool, etc., down the lake and canal, while, among the incidental advan- tages, would be an ample supply of water for household use and for the prevention of fires. On the 14th of October, the corner-stone of the " Auburn & Owasco Canal," or rather of the great dam which was to create it, was laid with imposing ceremony. The inhabitants of the adjoining towns came, in large numbers, to join in the celebration. There was a pro- cession of military and civic bodies, followed by cars on which the various mechanics and manufacturers were exercising their vocations ; the stone-cutters dressing the blocks of stone to be used in the dam, and the printers striking off and distributing among the crowd an ode celebrating the praises of the enterprise, and of " the fairest city of the West." There were prayers and benediction by the clergy, salutes by the artillery, an address by Seward, a dinner at the American Hotel, presided over by Elijah Miller, John Porter, U. F. Doubleday, and Colo- nel John Richardson. There were toasts and speeches, enthusiastic and patriotic, and there was a ball at the Western Exchange to close the day's festivities. Seward's address described the plan of the work, the growth and resources of Auburn, the commercial and agricultural condition, and 1835-'36.] RAILWAY TO SYRACUSE. 295 probable future of trade, in the region of which it formed a part. It awarded due credit to the promoters of the enterprise, and shared in the anticipations of the benefits to result from it. It enunciated with boldness the views in regard to internal improvements which had gov- erned his legislative action, remarking : If all the internal improvements required to cross this State were to be made at once, the debt which would be created would not impair the public credit or retard the public prosperity a single year. The expenses of a single year of war would exceed the whole sum of such cost. These doctrines seemed at the time rather ultra, even to his own political friends. But the experience of the relative cost of improve- ments and of war, which the State had, during the next thirty years, proved his calculations not very far wrong. According to his habit of looking forward toward the national fu- ture, he added : "Wealth and prosperity have always served as the guides which introduced vice, luxury and corruption, into republics. And luxury, vice, and corruption, have subverted every republic which has preceded us, that had force enough, in its uncorrupted state, to resist foreign invasion. This was a warning against a danger which, to his rural audience, must have seemed by no means imminent. Events in subsequent his- tory, however, showed it to be a real one. Adverting to the principle already announced as a cardinal one in his political faith, he remarked : The perpetuity of this Union is, and ought to be, the object of the most persevering and watchful solicitude on the part of every American citizen. And when called upon for his toast at the dinner, he gave : " The Union of these States. It must be preserved. Our prosperity began, and will end with it." The work on the dam was commenced at once. It was raised to a height of twenty-five feet, or twice the previous elevation. Here it paused. The further execution of the canal project was delayed until the public mind had come to learn the greater feasibility and cheapness of railways, and the canal was abandoned. Nevertheless, the benefits expected from the enterprise have nearly all been attained, although the enterprise itself failed. Since the construction of the dam, and the development of its manufactures, Auburn has gained the water-works, the railways, the trade, the population, and the channels of commerce, it then sought. Another projected improvement, though one regarded with much difference of opinion in the community, was a railroad to Syracuse. 290 LI ^E AND LETTERS. [1835-'36. One of the primary motives for its inception was to effect communica- tion between Auburn and the Erie Canal, then the great thoroughfare of trade and travel. That it would ultimately become a .part of a long line of railway between the seaboard and the West was hardly yet believed. It was the third link in that great chain ; the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad having been the first, and the Utica & Schenectady Railroad the next. The Auburn & Syracuse Railroad was incorporated in 1834, and subscription-books were opened for the stock. But the engineering difficulties on the route (confessedly great), and the doubt as to the possibility of its ever doing a paying business, occasioned the enterprise to drag. Work was begun on the line in the summer of 1835. Projects for railroads from Auburn to Rochester, and from Au- burn to Ithaca, now began to be canvassed. All these efforts in the direction of internal improvement, of course, had Se ward's earnest support. November found the political situation not materially changed, the Democratic party retaining its supremacy, and the Whigs in almost a hopeless minority. Mr. Van Buren was in the field as a candidate for the presidency at the election of the ensuing year, having received the unanimous nomination of the National Democratic Convention in May, with Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, for Vice-President. The prob- able success of that ticket was so generally acknowledged, that the fall election of 1835 aroused little contest, except in a few localities. The Democrats carried seven of the eight Senate districts in the State, and a large majority of the Assembly. In December the country was startled with the news of a great and destructive fire in New York, still memorable in its annals, which de- stroyed what was then the chief business portion of the city, com- prised between Wall and Broad Streets and the East River. Though less in actual extent than the conflagrations of later years in Chicago and Boston, yet its effect, both upon the city and upon the general business of the country, was relatively as disastrous and wide-spread. During the winter Seward continued steadily at work at profes- sional duties. He found time, however, to give his aid, when called upon, to movements for local or public benefit. The Auburn Journal and Advertiser chronicles his attendance and participation as secre- tary, chairman, committee-man, or commissioner, at the several meet- ings held to establish a college to be located at Auburn. The vener- able Bishop Hedding, and the Rev. Dr. Samuel Luckey, of Lima, w r ere named among the trustees. The Methodist Episcopal Church took an especial interest in the enterprise, for, at that time, as they stated, they were not represented by a professor in any one of the colleges of the State. It was not to be a sectarian institution, however. The Rev. William Lucas, of the Episcopal Church, ex-Governor Throop, 1835-'36.] HARRISON AND GRANGER. 297 and leading members of other denominations, were also to be trus- tees. The citizens of the town opened subscriptions to its fund. The commercial revulsion, which came a year or two later, checked and finally defeated the enterprise. The same journal also records the proceedings of village meetings, to extend the boundaries and amend the charter of Auburn, in view of the increase of its population. From this record it appears " that General William H. Seward had drawn up a charter, at the request of the trustees, which was then read by him and unanimously adopted." A new act of incorporation, framed in accordance therewith, and passed by the Legislature, went into operation in the spring of 1836. Cases in the Supreme Court, which was then held at the capital, as well as duties in reference to the village improvements, now called Seward to Albany. He wrote from there in January, describing his meetings with old friends, and alluding to " the immense snow-banks which lie between Auburn and the capital." This snow-fall was one of those memorable ones which " the oldest inhabitant " likes to recall. A two days' storm of wet, heavy flakes covered the ground to the depth of four feet in the central part of the State. Roofs were crushed in, roads blockaded, stages ceased to run, farmers were snow- bound in their houses, cut off from their cattle, and even from fuel and provision. The village hay-scales at Auburn recorded the pressure of the superincumbent mass upon it to be eighteen hundred-weight. The milkman, after three days' suspension of business, at last made his round through the streets drawn by three yoke of oxen ; " as to other vehicles," remarked the Auburn Journal, " they seem for the time being to be annihilated." One of the subjects of conference with political friends, during this visit to Albany, was the plan for the canvass of the approaching presi- dential election. There was little hope of obtaining a majority of the electoral votes ; but there was a possibility that the Whigs might carry States enough to throw the election into the House of Representatives. At all events, it was the part of wisdom to take such steps as would keep up the Whig organization, and would secure the largest number of local triumphs. So, instead of uniting in a national convention, the Whigs of different States made such nominations as they deemed strong- est. Daniel Webster had already been nominated in Massachusetts, Judge McLean in Ohio ; Hugh L. White was nominated as an inde- pendent candidate in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama ; and General Harrison was put in nomination by Whig Conventions in Indiana and Ohio. Born in Virginia, the birthplace of so many Presidents, the son of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a youthful aide-de- camp of Wayne, and holding his first commission from President Wash- 298 LIFE AND LETTERS. [ISSS-'SG. ington, Harrison was a soldier who, like Jackson, had achieved vic- tories in the War of 1812. He had served as Secretary of the North- west Territory, then as Governor, and afterward was elected to the House of Representatives from Cincinnati, then to the Senate, where he took General Jackson's place as chairman of the Military Commit- tee. He was a supporter of the Administration of John Quincy Adams, and was by him accredited as minister to Colombia, to enter upon diplo- matic relations with President Bolivar, the " Liberator of Spanish America." To add to this unimpeachable record, he had lived of late years in retirement, and so had escaped identification with any of the conflicting factions at Washington. In December he was nominated at Harrisburg, with Francis Gran- ger as candidate for Vice-President, by the Pennsylvania Whigs, and these nominations were unanimously indorsed by the Whig State Con- vention at Albany in February. The friends of Mr. Clay in these States did not hesitate to give Harrison their support, as their own favorite this year did not seek a nomination in a contest offering so little hope of success. Meanwhile, there came news each week from Washington of stormy discussions in Congress, which, though they showed the strength, hard- ly seemed auspicious for the continued harmony of the Administration party. Long and high debates ensued between Whigs and Demo- crats, and between Democrats themselves. There was a debate upon the President's recommendation of a law to prohibit the sending of " incendiary publications " by mail, and Calhoun's report of a bill to exclude everything from the mails which any Southern State might deem " incendiary." There was a debate over the Southern demand of " penal laws " in Northern States against " agitators," and over the natural hesitation of Northern States to enact such laws. There was a debate over the right of petition, and especially the right to petition for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia; a debate over the admission of Michigan as a free State, balanced by Arkansas as a slaveholding one; a debate over the extension of the Missouri boundary, giving up an Indian reservation to the slaveholders. There was a debate over the hostilities now opened with the Seminoles in Florida, in regard to their lands, the fugitives whom they harbored, and the United States troops whom they massacred ; and a debate over recognizing the independence of Texas, now in successful revolt against Mexico. There were debates over questions of the distribution of surplus revenues, and the regulation of public deposits ; over the question of our claims against France for money, and the claim of France against us for an apology ; debates over the question of con- firming Taney's nomination for Chief-Justice Marshall's place ; debates over the past issue of the National Bank, and the present one of Ben- 1835-'36.] THE "SMALL-BILL LAW." 299 ton's resolution to " expunge " from the record the censure of the President for his action in regard to it. Nor were the advices from Albany and New York without some interest. Governor Marcy had warned the Legislature in his messages against the increase of banks and banking capital as aiding an " un- regulated spirit of speculation." Yet banks and banking capital continued to increase under legis- lative sanction, until their expansion led to the formation of a new faction in the Democratic party, prepared to dispute its control, and avowedly opposed not only to all banks, but to all paper currency. This faction called themselves " Equal-Rights Men," but had gained the sobriquet of " Loco-focos," from a tumultuous meeting at Tammany Hall. On that occasion the regular Democrats finding themselves out- numbered, endeavored to break up the meeting by putting out the lights, but were defeated by the prudent forethought of the " Equal- Rights Men," who had provided themselves with "loco-foco" matches to light them again, and so continued the proceedings. The name of " Loco-foco " was, however, soon used indiscriminately by the Whigs, who applied it to all factions and all members of the Democratic party. Letters to Mr. Weed alluded to the political outlook : AUBURN, February Vlth. I am daily told, but listen with incredulous ears, that the bank will save Pennsylvania. In truth, I think the bank will lose to us Pennsylvania. I do not believe that the bank has now such wonder-working charm as to convert its worst enemies. But there is no doubt in my mind that Pennsylvania would, in any event, " bank or no bank," go for Van Buren. February fdh. I am less sanguine than you of the result of Webster's withdrawal in favor of Harrison. In short, I am altogether incredulous. The downward tendency of things has not, in my judgment, been arrested, nor will it be. But why dwell on the gloomy side? Heaven knows, not to induce a moment's relaxation of effort. Tell me about Granger ; how he looked, what he said, and what he thought. I am curious to know whether he is shaken from his coolness by the animating reports which he, like all other candidates, is sure to hear at Washington. I do, every day and every hour, see evidence that General Harrison is capable of be- ing made, under any other circumstances than the present, an invincible candi- date. But the time has not come ; the great issue is pressed upon us before men are ripe. One of the results of the " hard-money " theories now prevailing, was an act passed by the New York Legislature in 1835, called the " Small-bill Law." This prohibited the circulation of bank-notes under five dollars. It originated, possibly, in the desire to imitate the English practice of having bank-notes only for one pound sterling and 300 LIFE AND LETTERS. [1835-'36. upward, and in the belief that such a restriction would lead to the employment of specie in the minor business transactions of every-dav life. While it lasted it gave rise to numerous petty inconveniences, one of which is alluded to in a letter of May, 1836 : I thought traveling by boat from Utica would be more comfortable, and so went on board the packet at six. It was a beautiful day, and the valley of the Mohawk smiled beneath the bright sun. The passengers were all strangers to me, but of course all Whigs, and I was, unfortunately, there, as I yet am doomed a little longer to be, a hero, for the lack of another or better. There was but one trouble : seven passengers insisted upon paying their fare in Michi- gan three-dollar bills, the circulation of which is prohibited in this State ; they quarreled with the captain's agent, who suspected them of a design to pay him in depreciated paper. I finally quieted the excitement by taking their uncurrent money and giving them Auburn five-dollar bills in exchange, stipulating, how- ever, that there should be no more words on the subject. NEW YOEK, May 20, 1836. Here I am at the City Hotel, in !No. 46, which is small enough, and dark enough, and cold enough, to make me wish myself at home again. I fell into the city hurry as soon as I landed, and pressed forward to accomplish what I had to do in order to return last evening. There is, or ought to be, one man in the city whom I must see on a matter of business, and it seems to me I have seen everybody else. I met Auburn people, and people from everywhere. Some are talking of coming here to reside ; I marvel at such a desire. The population of so great a town is altogether too excitable; the feelings and customs which prevail are too factitious for my taste. The great topic of the town yesterday was the riot of the preceding night at the theatre, got up to settle the dispute about the conduct of Mr. and Mrs. Wood. In the print-shops on Broadway there is exhibited at every corner an engraving of Ellen Jewett. Another caterer for the vitiated taste of the metropolis has a likeness of Frank Eivers, " the supposed murderer of Ellen Jewett ; " and a third, not to be out- done, has brought out a picture called " the real Ellen Jewett." It would be endless to detail all such incidents and observations. NEW YORK, June 1st. My law-business drags, and is protracted by circumstances and surroundings. I sit down and commence my labor by drawing up papers at nine every morn- ing. Calls, messages, errands, letters, interrupt me every hour ; and, at last with little accomplished, the dinner-hour comes at half -past three. It is entirely the same, whether I dine out or dine at home. It is the business of the rest of the day. I must invite some to dine with me ; others invite themselves ; and the dinner and its engagements close at midnight. Everybody is here, and everybody is hospitable and kind ; and everybody will not let me be a churl. 1836.] GOING TO CHAUTAUQUA. 301 CHAPTER XVI. 1836. The Holland Land Company. Trouble with Settlers. A Fortified Land-Office. Seward as Pacificator. Life at Westfield. A Night Attack. Geology and Science. Exploring Chautauqua County. GARY, Lay, and Schermerhorn, were in trouble with the settlers on their huge purchase from the Holland Land Company, and needed some man who, with legal skill, should combine tact, address, resolu- tion, suavity, and courage, to go out among the settlers, and endeavor to allay the storm, which had already culminated in the destruction of the Chautauqua land-office, refusal to pay for lands, and open defi- ance of the new owners. Weed was of opinion that Gary's senatorial colleague was the very man they wanted, who would save their prop- erty from destruction. Then turning to Seward himself, he urged him to accept the difficult and responsible post as one in which success would lead to competence, and perhaps even to wealth. Gary, Lay, and Schermerhorn, fell in with these views at once, in- vited Seward to go with them to their domain, and become their agent or partner. Before leaving New York he had nearly made up his mind to accept their offers. On his way home to Auburn he paused at Utica, where the Whig State Convention had just nominated a Har- rison electoral ticket, and made Judge Buel the Whig candidate for Governor. AUBURN, June 14, 1836. Gary and I stopped