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WILLLOl WINSTON SEATON 
 
 OF THE "NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER." 
 
 WITH PASSINa NOTICES OF HIS ASSOCIATES 
 
 A^D FRIENDS. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 JAMES R. OSGOOD AND COMPANY, 
 
 Late Ticknor & Fields, and Fields, Osgood, &: Co. 
 
 I 87 I. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, 
 
 UY JAMES R . OSGOOD & CO., 
 
 in the Office of the Lihrarian of Congress, at Washington, 
 
 University Press: Welch, Bigelow, & Co,, 
 Cambridge. 
 
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PREFACE. 
 
 ry^HE follo-^ng pages are simply extracts from a 
 -^ memoir of IVIr. Seaton, ^vritten for liis family, to 
 be preserved for liis descendants, tliajb they may know 
 liim as he lived, — his domestic and social surround- 
 ings, — and understand in a degree the love and honor 
 that hedged about his living steps. His name is still 
 a household word by many a hearthstone, and it has 
 been thought that these recollections of him, his home 
 and virtues, may be acceptable to those of his country- 
 men who yet cherish his memory. This sketch does 
 not venture within the domain of politics ; still less, 
 assume to be a history of Gales and Seaton, ample 
 materials for which were placed in the hands of the 
 late Edward William Johnston, the brilliant journalist, 
 who was for a series of years literary editor of the 
 National Intelligencer, and whose knowledge of public 
 men and events, the rise and decline of political parties, 
 and his personal friendship for Mr. Seaton and Mr. 
 Gales, pre-eminently fitted him for the task. His 
 
 No 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 death frustrated this design, which, however, it is 
 hoped will yet be accomplished by a competent pen, 
 and an essential chapter of our political history pre- 
 served for posterity. 
 
 Washington, July 15, 1870. 
 
WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 MR. SEATON was lineally descended from that 
 historic family whose name during many cen- 
 turies has been inwoven with the annals of Scotland. 
 There were few surnames in Scotland previous to the 
 reign of IMalcolm Canmore, who bestowed on the gal- 
 lant gentlemen of his time especial surnames after that 
 of their land. Among those so distinguished was one 
 Dougall, the founder of the Seaton family, whose pat- 
 ronymic was thus derived from the possession of lands 
 and a town hard upon the sea. The silvery Firth of 
 Forth nearly encircles this beautiful and widespreading 
 domain, where yet stand the stately home, the ancient 
 toun, and the venerable collegiate church of Seaton. 
 
 Devoted adherents of the exiled Stuarts, for whose 
 throne and restoration they had stanchly fought and 
 unceasingly striven, the Seatons opposed the Prince 
 of Orange, making themselves peculiarly obnoxious 
 to the government by their complicity in the Jaco- 
 bite schemes for its overthrow. Finally, convinced 
 of the futility of any further resistance to the meas- 
 ures and authority of William III., Henry, the eldest 
 son of John Seaton, of Gair-miltoun in East Lothian 
 or Haddington, with a number of other gallant Scotch 
 
6 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 loyalists, or rebels, as they were dubbed by the Orange 
 party, sought refuge, in 1690, in the colony of Vu^ginia. 
 Henry Seaton settled first in Gloucester County, on 
 the Pyanketank, where for some years he continued 
 to reside, during which period he married Elizabeth 
 Todd, daughter of a gentleman of standing in the same 
 county. 
 
 Mr. George Fitzhugh, of Eappahannock, — a gentle- 
 man remarkable for his wit and abstruse learning, — in 
 his valuable papers on the " Valleys of Virginia," quotes 
 Bishop Meade's list of the early justices and vestry- 
 men, — at that time of&ces of mark, — among whom 
 in Petworth parish is named Henry Seaton, and says : 
 *' ]N'one but men of substance and consideration were 
 made vestrymen, and the reader will find that the de- 
 scendants of these gentlemen have retained their high 
 social position. Mr. Seaton, of the Intelligencer, is a 
 great-grandson of the Seaton mentioned above, having 
 been born in the adjoining County of King William, 
 at an old ancestral seat. His family is of the Scotch 
 Seatons." Henry Seaton subsequently removed to an 
 estate on the Mattapony, which for several gener- 
 ations continued to be the home of his descendants, 
 and where in 1811 was born his only child, George 
 Seaton. 
 
 By a deed a century and a half old, in possession of 
 the family, " An Indenture Tripartite, made in the first 
 year of the reign of our most gracious Sovereign Lord 
 and King, George the Second, between Colonel Tayloe, 
 George Seaton, only son and heir of Henry Seaton, 
 and Elizabeth his wife, now wife of Augustine 
 Moore, gentleman," we learn that Henry Seaton's 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 7 
 
 widow had re-married. Among the children of this 
 second alliance was Annie Moore, afterwards the wife 
 of Charles Carter, who purchased the estate of Shirley, 
 by which designation himself and numerous descend- 
 ants of his prominent family have been since well 
 known in Virginia, and whose ancestress was thus 
 Mrs. Henry Seaton. 
 
 In 1734 George Seaton married Elizabeth, daughter 
 of " Leonard Hill, of King William, gentleman," and 
 seems to have maintained the family dignity, holding 
 large properties in Spottsylvania, besides the paternal 
 estate, which, at his death in 1750, he bequeathed to 
 his son Augustine. By the " inventory of the estate," 
 still in possession of the family, we get an interesting 
 glimpse of the belongings and "habit as he lived," 
 of a gentleman of fortune in colonial times. There, 
 " three dozen gilt coat buttons " of the courtly flowing 
 suit, do not disdain contact with " three pounds of shoe- 
 thread," with which doubtless to repair the "high 
 heeled pumps " ; while homely " stone porringers and 
 earthen pipkins " are neighbors to the aristocratic " sil- 
 ver table service and caudle cup." "Two spinning 
 wheels " speak pleasantly of stately dames in pinner 
 and kerchief, notably engaged, seated the while in the 
 " large high-backed leathern chairs " ; and the impos- 
 ing culinary array, and stiU more significantly the 
 " stone, china, glass, and silver pimch-hovjls," conjure up 
 a vivid picture of the generous hospitality of that old 
 Virginia household. The folio family Bible, Burkett's 
 commentaries on the Testament, and "ye morning 
 exercise for communicants," are in startling propin- 
 quity with Ovid's Epistles, Coesar's Commentaries, Cor- 
 
8 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 nelius Nepos and Ovid's Metamorphoses. But more 
 vividly suggestive still are the items, " one hanger, one 
 swivel, one hauberk and breastplate ! " 
 
 What visions of plumed cavaliers and grisly round- 
 heads cluster about the words of this old deed ! Not 
 very many years agone, and the father of this quiet 
 country gentleman in the New World had defied " silent 
 William," had kissed the hand of his exiled Stuart 
 king, perhaps bent his knee in the presence of the 
 Grand Monarque. That hauberk may have shown 
 brightly in the morning rays on Marston's fatal moor, 
 — the breastplate, dull and dented, have covered a sad 
 heart as the sun set on Worcester's bloody field. 
 
 In 1741 Elizabeth, daughter of George Seaton, mar- 
 ried " John West of York River, gentleman," a scion 
 of a noble British house, being a direct descendant 
 from father to son of Lord De la Warre, the gor- 
 geous colonial governor of Virginia. The Wests are a 
 family of great historical distinction. They have been 
 Barons from the male line since the year 1342 ; their 
 ancestor, Sir Thomas West, having for great valor in 
 the wars been summoned to Parliament as Lord West, 
 early in the reign of Edward III. His son, the sec- 
 ond Baron, shared in the glories of Crecy. The ninth 
 Baron, having no issue, adopted his nephew William, 
 who, impatient to inherit, prepared poison for his 
 uncle, wdiich so enraged his Lordship that he com- 
 plained to Parliament, and the over-hasty William 
 was disabled from succeeding to the estates. The too 
 fiery youth, however, served so gallantly in Picardy 
 as to efface the stain of his ill-timed exploit ; and by 
 act of Parliament he was restored to the full honors 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 9 
 
 of his House. It was his grandson, the Earl De la 
 AVarre, who in 16 10 was appointed "governor for life" 
 of Virginia, being accompanied by a number of stately 
 nobles, his appointments far better fitted for a luxu- 
 rious court than the wilds of the " plantations." 
 
 Upon the Earl's departure from America, his mission 
 being relinquished by reason of ill-health, his second 
 son, the Honorable John West, remained in the colony, 
 having acquired possession of an immense tract of 
 land, wliich was inherited by his eldest son and heir, 
 John. This princely estate, situated in King Wil- 
 liam County, at the head of York Eiver, received the 
 name of West Point, in honor of the family; and 
 is now well known in connection with General Mc- 
 Clellan's peninsular campaign during our late civil war. 
 Here also Mr. John West established a village called 
 De la Warre, — no longer in existence. Two descend- 
 ants of this gentleman, Sir Thomas and Sir Erancis 
 West, renewed their ancestral dignity, becoming in 
 turn governors of Virginia ; and thus intermarrying 
 with the Dandridges, Claibornes, Byrds, Pegrams, and 
 other great folk of that day, the family continued 
 in high esteem. West Point, being strictly entailed, 
 descended always to the eldest son, according to 
 British law, until the revolt of the American colonies, 
 at which period it was in the possession of Colonel 
 John West of York, who manned IMiss Elizabeth 
 Seaton, respecting which distinguished lady a descend- 
 ant writes : " My grandmother, ]\Irs. West, the aunt of 
 the late beloved Colonel Seaton, was born in the neigh- 
 borhood of West Point, on her paternal estate. I re- 
 member her quite well, as very handsome, exceedingly 
 
 1* 
 
10 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 dignified aud imposing in appearance, with a courteons 
 demeanor like tlie stately Virginia ladies of the olden 
 time." A magnificent silver urn and a rare India 
 china bowl, the latter during many generations the 
 christening chalice of the heirs apparent of the De la 
 Warres, are now among the family relics in possession 
 of Mrs. Walter Brooke of Wasliington, having been 
 brought to tliis country by her great-great-grandfather, 
 Sir Thomas West ; and, so precious was the porcelain 
 heirloom, that when broken, a hundred years ago, it 
 was sent to England to be repaired with bands of 
 silver. After the Eevolution, the law of entail being 
 set aside, the estate of West Point was divided among 
 the several children of Mr. John West and Elizabeth 
 Seaton, his wife. Their elder son, Thomas, married 
 Miss Boiling, a direct descendant from the Princess 
 Pocahontas, but left no issue. The younger son, Mr. 
 John West of Is'orfolk, left two sons, one of whom, 
 De la Warre Seaton West, died in the Confederate 
 service in 1863 ; the other, Mr. Thomas Boiling West, 
 being now the lineal male representative in this coun- 
 try of the great English Viceroy of Virginia. 
 
 In 1776 Mr. Augustine Seaton, son of George 
 Seaton, married Mary, daughter of Samuel Winston, 
 Esquire, of Louisa County, Virginia. Two hundred 
 years ago, five brothers Winston, of Winston Hall, 
 Yorkshire, England, gentlemen of fortune and family, 
 emigrated to the colony in the spirit of adventure 
 which led so many scions of good houses to accom- 
 pany the early governors to the 'New World. These 
 brothers, all men of great stature and uncommonly 
 handsome, — so tradition and family portraits assert, — 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 11 
 
 and well endowed morally and intellectually, settled in 
 Hanover County, stocking Virginia with a stalwart 
 and prolific race, the offshoots founding fresh branches 
 in Kentucky, Mississippi, and North Carolina, in 
 which States at this day their representatives arc 
 noted for their fine personal presence. One fair 
 "Winston matron presented to the nation three sons 
 at a birth, who each one attained to over six feet of 
 superb manhood. But the name which most brilliantly 
 illuminates the Winston family record is tliat of the 
 immortal Patrick Henry. 
 
 Colonel John Henry, a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, 
 and nephew of the historian Kobertson, came to this 
 country in quest of fortune, enjoying the patronage 
 and friendship of Governor Dinwiddle of Virginia, by 
 whom he was introduced to Colonel Syme of Hanover, 
 whose wife was Miss Sarah Winston, in whose family 
 he became domesticated, and whose widow he sub- 
 sequently married, continuing to reside on the family 
 estate of Studleisfh, where their son Patrick Henrv 
 was born. 
 
 The great orator seems to have been another ex- 
 emplification of the theory that genius is usually 
 derived from the mother. " The family of Winston," 
 says Mr. Sparks, " was among the most distinguished 
 of the colony ; and, so far as the eloquence of Patrick 
 Henry may be supposed hereditary, it seems to have 
 been transmitted through the female line." AVirt 
 says : " She possessed in an eminent degree the mikl, 
 benevolent disposition, the undeviating probity, the 
 correct understanding and easy elocution, by which 
 that ancient family has so long been distinguished. 
 
12 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Her brother William, popularly called Langaloo, the 
 father of the present Judge Winston, is said to have 
 been highly endowed with that peculiar cast of 
 eloquence for which his great nephew was celebrated." 
 " I have often heard my father/' says Mr. Natlianiel 
 Pope, " who was intimately acquainted with William 
 Winston, say that he was the greatest orator whom he 
 had ever heard, Patrick Henry excepted : that during 
 the French and Indian war, after Braddock's defeat, 
 when the militia were marched to the frontier against 
 the enemy, William Winston was lieutenant ; that the 
 men, indifferently clothed, without tents, and exposed 
 to the rigor and inclemency of the weather, discov- 
 ered great aversion to the service, and, clamoring to 
 return to their families, were on the point of 
 mutiny, when Winston, mounting a stump, — the 
 rostrum of the field orator in Virginia, — addressed 
 them with such keen invective, and declaimed vnth. 
 such eloquence on liberty and patriotism, that the 
 troops cried out : " Lead us on ! lead us against the 
 enemy ! " Judge Winston, the son of this military 
 Demosthenes who had thus opportunely proved his 
 descent from a rhetorical race, at the death of his 
 cousin Patrick Henry, intermarried with his widow, 
 a daughter of Xathaniel Dandridge, Esq. 
 
 The fiery spirit, which, breathing through the burn- 
 ing words of Henry, lighted the flame of rebellion 
 throughout the colonies, the love of liberty which 
 glowed in his soul, were shared by others of his Idndred, 
 who also devoted " fortune and sacred honor " to their 
 country's cause ; his seven cousins, sons of Mr. Samuel 
 Winston, being ardent patriots and actively prominent 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 13 
 
 in the contest against Farmer George; one of tliem 
 especially, Colonel Joseph Winston, winning great re- 
 nown for his gallant services throughout the Eevolu- 
 tion. Colonel John Campbell of Abingdon, in prepar- 
 ing his " Memoir of the Military Transactions of West 
 Virginia," says : " In the unique affair of King's 
 IVIountain Colonel Winston played a very conspicuous 
 part. He led the right wing of the American forces, 
 and bore a distinguished part in this Bunker Hill of 
 the South, contributing greatly to that momentous 
 victory, of which the battles of Cowpens and Guilford 
 were among the consequences. Mr. Jefferson, in a 
 letter now before me, says that he remembered well 
 the deep and grateful impression made by that mem- 
 orable victory. It was the joyful enunciation of the 
 first turn in the tide of success that terminated the 
 war with the seal of our independence." 
 
 Mary, the youngest sister of these gallant Winston 
 brothers, became the wife of Mr. Augustine Seaton, and 
 the mother of William Winston Seaton, who was 
 born January 11, 1785, and in whom were fitly con- 
 centred the mingled high qualities of the brave stock 
 from which he sprang. 
 
 Chelsea, the ancestral home, — since passed into the 
 sixth generation on the mother's side, — is one of the 
 most ancient houses in Virginia, its brick having 
 been imported from England; and it is still, despite 
 the dilapidations of two revolutions, an imposing and 
 stately residence. Here were the graves of young 
 Seaton's forefathers ; and within the venerable mansion 
 were gathered cherished Old-World family relics, with 
 worm-eaten wills and musty parchments, while on the 
 
14 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 walls were the portraits of his progenitors of a century 
 and a half. One of these, representing a superb 
 cavalier in the elaborate scarlet hunting-garb of his 
 day, gun in hand, leaning on his horse, his dogs 
 crouched at his feet, his bugle raised as if to wind a 
 *' mote," had suffered damage during some Eevolution- 
 ary skirmish, an unfortunate bullet having whistled 
 through, the canvas, destroying one of the blue eyes 
 of the handsome Nimrod ; and this pictured hunter, 
 captivating the boyish fancy of young Seaton, gave 
 doubtless the first impulse to his well-known passion 
 for field sports, which he continued to pursue with 
 zest when nearly fourscore years of age. 
 
 Under the paternal roof passed young Seaton's 
 childhood, in the happy companionship of brothers 
 and sisters, his tastes refined by gentle maternal in- 
 fluences, his intelligence quickened by the noted 
 society frequenting his father's hospitable home, 
 which numbered among its cherished guests the 
 illustrious Patrick Henry. Mr. Seaton ever retained 
 a vivid remembrance of the fascinating speech, 
 wonderful play of countenance, and commanding 
 presence of his great kinsman, who, himself a devoted 
 follower of the hounds, guided the first shot of his 
 young relative, whose proverbial skill, thus acquired 
 in chasing the deer through the wild woods on the 
 Mattapony, received sixty years afterwards enthusiastic 
 recognition among the " preserves " of England. 
 
 A domestic tutor directed the youth in the earlier 
 paths of learning, until he reached in Eichmond what 
 was then the culminating academic polishing of Ogilvie 
 the Scotchman, " whose Earldom of Finlater slept while 
 
A BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 15 
 
 its heir was plapng pedagogue in America A great 
 
 enthusiast by nature, and a master of the whole art 
 of discoursing finely of even those things wliicli he 
 knew not^well, he dazzled much, pleased greatly, and 
 obtained a high reputation ; . . . . infusing into his 
 pupils by tlie glitter of his accomplishments • a high 
 admiration for learning and for letters." * "With youu'*- 
 Seaton this was no difficult task ; for an absorbing de- 
 light in reading had been one of his earliest, developed 
 tastes ; and in his father's solid library his opening 
 mind was nourished on wdiolesome pabulum, forming 
 the foundation of the liberal, wide-embracing culture 
 for which he was in after life distinguished. His 
 father, a gentleman noted for his hidi-toned bearincr, 
 winning manners, and strong good sense, died suddenly 
 at West Point, the residence of his sister, Mrs. John 
 West of York. 
 
 At the early age of eighteen Mr. Seaton's mind was 
 matured, his ambition aroused, his vocation decided, 
 and he passed into the arena of public life, entering 
 wdth manly earnestness upon the career of political 
 journalism, of which he w^as one of the country's pio- 
 neers, and which his w^ell-won fame and social distinc- 
 tion crowned with honor. Mr. Seaton made his first 
 essay in the field of politics as assistant editor of a 
 Eichmond journal, having already acquired a practical 
 knowledge of " the art preservative of all arts " in the 
 same office with that master of Virginia journalism, 
 Thomas Eitchie, the early personal friendship thus 
 formed surviving forty years of wide divergence in polit- 
 ical sentiment and action. Our youthful editor, by his 
 
 * Atlantic ]\Iontlily, 1860. 
 
16 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 talent for ready expression, his force of character and 
 fairness of discussion amid party heat, soon made his 
 mark, and won an invitation to take charge of a more 
 prominent journal in Petersburg, then edited by Colo- 
 nel Yancey, who, " one of the most discerning men of 
 the day, predicted a glorious future for young Seaton, 
 advising him to strike for that fame he so nobly won 
 and carried with him to an honored grave." 
 
 In the jnidst of unqualified success and personal 
 popularity Mr. Seaton was called on a friendly errand 
 to Ealeigh, which chance visit proved to be the event 
 by which his whole future life was influenced. 
 
 Little more than liaK a score of years had passed 
 since Colonel Jack Lane of Halifax, on the Eoanoke, 
 had presented the site of the " City of Oaks " to the 
 State. This gentleman had been a member of the 
 Provisional Convention, which met at Hillsborough 
 in 1775, in defiance of the proclamation of Governor 
 Martin forbidding the assemblage " in the heart of the 
 Province of a body of men with the purpose of ex- 
 tending more widely the traitorous and rebellious de- 
 signs of the enemies of His Majesty " ; and denouncing 
 the address of the Mecklenburg Committee as " a pub- 
 lication the preposterous enormity of which cannot be 
 adequately described and abhorred." To which the 
 convention responded by a resolution, that the Gov- 
 ernor's Proclamation should be burned by the common 
 hangman, as " a false, scandalous, scurrilous, mischiev- 
 ous, and seditious libel." It was at the house of Colo- 
 nel Lane that the General Assembly of this most re- 
 bellious of Provinces met, amidst the darkest hours of 
 the Revolution. The corner-stone of the State House 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 17 
 
 at Ealeigli had been laid by this patriot in 1792 ; and 
 now, in the spring of 180G, Mr. Seaton found in the 
 young capital a society refined, intelligent, simple in 
 manners, unaffected in worth, a few of its members 
 with the halo of the achievements of " seventy-six " 
 surrounding them, others, whose names, after a lapse 
 of sixty years, would be among those whom their coun- 
 try will not let die. 
 
 The household of Joseph Gales, the editor of the 
 " Ealeigh Eegister," the most influential journal in the 
 State, was presided over by a wife whose intellect and 
 womanly charm, united to the inexhaustible benevo- 
 lence of her husband, with the loveliness and talent of 
 their children, made their home the centre of culture, 
 hospitality, and refined gayety. To this circle Mr. 
 Seaton brought the prestige of recent political success 
 and distinguished family connection ; he had famil- 
 iarly conversed with Jefferson, Marshall, Aaron Burr, 
 and Patrick Henry ; possessing, moreover, an uncom- 
 mon charm of manner and person, for which he had 
 abeady been noted in Eichmond, especially among the 
 gentler portion of creation, by w^hom he was pronounced 
 " the most elegant young man in Virginia." 
 
 It was, then, in this pleasant home circle of Mr. 
 Gales that Mr. Seaton's public career w^as to be shaped, 
 and his domestic happiness to receive its crowning 
 grace, — the first result springing from the friendship 
 with his colleague that was to be, Joseph Gales the 
 younger, — the second auspicious realization being 
 secured by his successful wooing of IVliss Sarah Gales, 
 the sister of his future associate. 
 
 In the spring of 1807 Mr. Seaton yielded to the 
 
18 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 advantageous offers and persuasions of the retiring 
 editor to assume the proprietary editorship of the 
 " North Carolina Journal," in the interesting old town 
 of Halifax, late the State capital. Dif&dent of his 
 ability, and singularly modest in self-appreciation, he 
 accepted with hesitation the post, — a responsible one 
 at this party crisis ; for in the solid " Old North State," 
 as in Virginia, politics at tliis period moved all men to 
 unwonted passion, and the position of editor was one 
 of personal danger, to maintain which required alike 
 a stout arm and cool head. Especially was this the 
 case at Halifax, at that time noted for the violence 
 with wliich its political waves ran, as also for the 
 desperate character of its partisan leaders. But Mr. 
 Seaton soon showed himself master of the situation. 
 To curb this fiery opposition, to obtain from his oppo- 
 nents a candid discussion of the political questions 
 at issue, to charge valorously against the pure Fed- 
 eralism of which that region had been heretofore the 
 stronghold, and to transfer its allegiance to Republi- 
 canism, were the fruits of the young editor's success- 
 ful contest. 
 
 " There can be no doubt that he who made a change 
 so radical conducted his paper with spirit. Yet he 
 must have done so with that wise and winning mod- 
 eration and fairness which have since distinguished 
 him and his associate. William Seaton could never 
 have fallen into anything of the temper or the taste, 
 the morals or the manners, which are now so widely 
 the shame of the American press ; he could never have 
 written in the ill spirit of mere party, so as to wound 
 or even offend the good men of an opposite way of 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 19 
 
 tliiiikins:. The inference is a sure one from his whole 
 character." * 
 
 Halifax, noted for the Constitutional Convention of 
 1776, is an ancient town, and was, many years ago, 
 the seat of elegance, wealth, and refinement. Among 
 its more distinguished citizens were Willie and Gov- 
 ernor Allen Jones, sons of the Attorney-General under 
 the Colonial Government, who had been educated at 
 Eton and Oxford, England, and were men of uncom- 
 mon social talent. Willie Jones, wdiose daughter mar- 
 ried John Eppes, the first wife of whom was a daughter 
 of Thomas Jefferson, was the leader of the great ma- 
 \ jority that declined to accept the Federal Constitution 
 in 1780 at Hillsborough, and was regarded at the time 
 as the exponent of Mr. Jefferson, whose disciple he 
 ■^vas in religion as well as politics. He was buried on ^ . 
 his estate near Ealeigh, his coffin being by his direc- / . 
 tion placed with the head to the north. He was one 
 of the earliest and most influential friends of Joseph 
 Gales, and at his house in Halifax Mr. and Mrs. Gales 
 paid a visit on their arrival in North Carolina. His 
 style of living was English, his hospitality genuine, 
 genial, and overflowing ; but " our army swore terribly 
 in Elanders," and profanity at the close of the Ameri- 
 can and during the French Eevolution was general and 
 fearful, of which Willie Jones was a conspicuous ex- 
 ample. Mrs. Gales had the moral courage, while 
 thanking him for the kindness of their reception, to 
 intimate that there w^as but one abatement in their 
 gratification, — " that profanity w^as not usual or pleas- 
 ant to the ears of an English lady." He received the 
 
 * Atlantic Moutlily, 1860. 
 
20 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 gentle reprimand in a proper spirit, and became ever 
 after more guarded in expression. 
 
 In Stokes County Mr. Seaton's uncle, Colonel Jo- 
 seph Winston, of Eevolutionary celebrity, resided on 
 his beautiful estate, hedged about with reverential 
 pride by the old North State, whose adopted son he 
 was, and which he was at that period representing in 
 Congress. He was especially attached to his young 
 nephew, who, in a letter to Miss Gales, thus speaks of 
 a visit to his distinguished relative : — 
 
 "My uncle lives at the most magnificent place I 
 have seen in this State ; and is so obliging and atten- 
 tive in his endeavors to make my visit agreeable that 
 he almost distresses me. His mansion is near the 
 mountains, and I am sitting enjoying a full view of 
 them, — a sight so grand, so sublime, I never wit- 
 nessed. It seems as if their ' cloud-capt ' summits 
 were within a squirrel's jump of Heaven." Mr. Sea- 
 ton remembered his uncle as of stately, old-school 
 manners, and commanding presence ; and the portrait 
 of him in possession of the family proves him to have 
 inherited the proverbial Winston gift of good looks. 
 
 A contemporary of Mr. Seaton during his residence 
 at Halifax, still living at a very advanced age, thus 
 speaks of him as he appeared in the bright flush of 
 manhood. 
 
 " I remember perfectly Mr. Seaton's personal ap- 
 pearance at this period," writes the venerable lady : 
 " he was noble-looking, singularly handsome, with 
 most prepossessing manners, of great dignity, his 
 every act proving him worthy the regard of our best 
 citizens. In his too brief editorial career among us 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 21 
 
 he commanded the respect of his adversaries by his 
 ability and high tone, while his urbanity and courtesy 
 no less won their regard. But the sphere was too 
 narrow for one of his talents, and he sought a wider 
 field of action, to the regret of our community." 
 
 Combining such varied and attractive qualities, it 
 may readily be supposed that he speedily eclipsed all 
 rivals in the generous esteem of his own sex, and in 
 the appreciation of the fair daughters of Halifax. ISTo 
 gathering, w^hether the object would be to lead a part- 
 ner in " Sir Eoger de Coverley," to follow the hounds, 
 or to engage in whist and punch, was deemed complete 
 unless brightened by his genial presence ; but the 
 social habits of that day — still such as prevailed 
 in colonial times among good King George's lieges, 
 when conviviality not infrequently degenerated into 
 excess — were ever repugnant to Mr. Seaton's tastes. 
 Not that he ascetically held aloof from the amusements 
 natural to his age and position, as may be inferred from 
 the memorandum in his day-book, "A rubber and 
 punch last evening," — the significant entry on the 
 morrow being, " For medicine, twenty-five cents." The 
 sequel of some similar occasion of good-fellowship is 
 narrated in the following penitential extract from a 
 letter to Miss Gales : " I am astonished when I re- 
 flect on my temerity in having \ATitten to you. Suf- 
 fering under a headache, hypochondria, ennui, home or 
 rather heart-sickness, I must have sent you a refreshing 
 account of my recent perambulations and adventures. 
 However, 1 might as well candidly attribute all my afflic- 
 tions to the two primary causes, — wine and tobacco, — 
 whose stupefying qualities had so entirely enervated 
 
22 AVILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 the powers of my Pegasus, that I could not, for my 
 life, have spurred him out of a jog-trot, although I 
 was writing in college, the seat of science and erudi- 
 tion, where I expected my pen would instinctively 
 trace the characters of the most refined and accom- 
 plished language." 
 
 Eeplying to Miss Gales, who gently rallies him on 
 his enjoyment of society while absent from her, he 
 says : " So you are really apprehensive of a developed 
 and determined taste for dissipation ? Although I 
 sincerely deprecate such a contingency, I tliink there 
 is some danger of it becoming inveterate. INIoving 
 in the region where every propensity for pleasure may 
 be indulged, it would require all the philosophy of 
 Lady Magdaline jMontmorell to resist the fascinating 
 amusements of the gay world. Still, I feel no dread 
 so long as your heart remains in the right place." 
 He further adds : " I am studying the parts of ' Cap- 
 tain Absolute' and 'Duremil,' and hope to acquit 
 myself with credit " ; by which it will be seen that 
 among the profane amusements of the taste prevailing 
 with the youth of Halifax was the love of stage-plays, 
 in the enacting of which, we gather from contemporary 
 record, Mr. Seaton gained no slight reputation, having 
 indeed acliieved histrionic triumphs previously in Ea- 
 leigh, in conjunction with his future brother-in-law, 
 Joseph Gales the younger, their talent embracing 
 rather an ambitious range of character; for at that 
 primitive era ladies did not deign to tread the boards, 
 and Mr. Seaton was alternately " My Lord Duberly," 
 " Young Mirabel," or " Donna Violante " ; while ]\Ir. 
 Gales personated " Lydia Languish," or " Miss Lu- 
 
A BIOGRAPHIC-\J[i SKETCH. 23 
 
 cretia McTab." Small was the stage, simple tlie 
 accessories, yet among the auditors were those whose 
 critical appreciation a Siddons or a Garrick might not 
 have disdained to deserve. 
 
 There sat the learned, genial Judge Gaston, who was 
 equally happy in sentimental song and convivial cho- 
 rus, or in racy anecdote, foUomng, perchance, on a 
 profound and elaborate " summing up " from the 
 Bench. Unbending from his usual staid reserve was 
 Xathaniel Macon, " whose name has stood as a sort of 
 proverb for honesty." By his side, polished, insinuat- 
 ing, bewitching the hearts of gentle and simple, was 
 that wily genius, Aaron Burr; while, greater still in 
 his charming guilelessness, the wise and benevolent 
 Chief Justice Marshall — whom, in Eichmond, ^Ir. 
 Seaton had often seen carrvincr in his liand from 
 market the diurnal leg of mutton — undisguisedly 
 wept over the woes of Jane Shore, or laughed with 
 boyish glee until the tears fairly rolled down his 
 cheeks, when, seated near the stage, he -overheard 
 the " asides " of Mr. Seaton, who, as " Frederick " in 
 Colman's " Poor Gentleman," thus interpolated his 
 apostrophe to the miniature of his absent love, with 
 iterated threats to an obstreperous urchin perched near 
 the footliohts : — 
 
 " Give me those dear bewitching features " — ( Bob, 
 stop cracking those walnuts) — "where sweet expres- 
 sion always speaks and sometimes sparkles," — (Bob, 
 do you hear me ? ) — " Give me that dimpled beauty I " 
 — (Bob, if you don't stop cracking those walnuts I '11 
 crack your d — d head ! ) 
 
 Although thus engaging in the pleasures natural to 
 
24 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 liis genial nature, and to which his presence lent such 
 added spirit, Mr. Seaton's character and habit of 
 thought were marked, even at that impulsive age, 
 hy a high sense of moral responsibility, a serious 
 estimate of the duties of life, and a deeply-rooted 
 reverence for all religious influences, which formed the 
 sure foundation for the finished and gracious super- 
 structure of his beneficent and rounded life. He thus 
 writes of his first sorrow since manhood : — 
 
 "Halifax, 1808. 
 " .... I am confident that you participate in all 
 my joys, and no less in my sorrows. You are acquainted 
 with my heart, and know it to be susceptible of the keenest 
 distress. Judge, then, what must be my feehngs in learn- 
 ing the loss of a much-loved brother When death 
 
 deprives us of a relative, however near, whose advanced 
 years impress us with the daily expectation of the most 
 certain of all events, we can bear the loss at least with 
 proper resignation, if not with calmness ; but to see a 
 beloved brother snatched from us who had just started 
 in the career of life, and whose amiable qualities had 
 strengthened our natural love, adding respect to affec- 
 tion, is more than our firmness can at first sustain 
 
 Yet I will not repine, but endeavor to think that Heaven 
 wills the death of every being that falls, and submit to its 
 dispensation. 'T is fruitless, I know, to mourn a loss which 
 cannot be remedied ; but what breast can smother its sor- 
 row or repress the tear of affection at the departure of one 
 so dearly and so deservedly beloved 1 He had just arrived 
 at the age of manhood. Deprived of his father before he 
 could profit by his virtuous counsel, and unassisted by that 
 advice which could best instil into our minds correct prin- 
 ciples, I feel proud that he advanced so far on his journey 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 25 
 
 with honor to himself and credit to his connections. 
 Thrown upon the ocean of hfe with no experienced 
 friend to point out to him its rocks and quicksands, his 
 reputation might have been wrecked ere he was aware 
 
 of danger ]\Jy venerated mother is inconsolable. 
 
 I have done all in my power to afford alleviation to her 
 affliction, and I pray Heaven it may answer my wishes. 
 .... God bless you." 
 
 "Halifax, Jul}^ 1808. 
 " . . . . You have heard of the death of Mr. John 
 Gilmour, a man whom I respected very highly, my first 
 friend here, and who always showed me the greatest atten- 
 tion. His funeral was attended by all the most respectable 
 inhabitants of the town and neighboring country. At the 
 request of Mr. Burt and others, I had consented to read 
 the Service. After the body w^as deposited I approached the 
 grave. Never did I feel so great a degi^ee of agitation ; 
 I was scarcely able to support myself, the power of utter- 
 ance seemed suspended, and it was some time before I 
 could command mj voice sufficiently to proceed. The 
 scene before me, and the solemn office I had undertaken to 
 perform, impressed my mind with sensations of awe and 
 reverence which I never before experienced. Never did I 
 pray more fervently ; every word that fell from my lips 
 
 was breathed in a spirit of the truest devotion 
 
 Why do you say that T consider the claims of religion in 
 too light a manner 1 Are you acquainted wath any acts of 
 moral depravity which manifest in me the want of a proper 
 sense of religion 1 or is it because I have ever condemned, 
 as I shall ever reject, the precepts of bigotry and fanati- 
 cism 1 Every man is endowed with reason by w^hich to 
 enable him to judge of right fi'om wrong. Mine has always 
 taught me to reject that with which I could not reconcile 
 it ; and if it is too weak to point out a better course, the 
 
 2 
 
26 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 fault lies not with me, I am sure. Nature has implanted 
 in mj bosom, as in every other, a monitor, the dictates of 
 T\'hich, guided by reason and reflection, I am content to 
 follow; and, in so doing, am confident that I shall never 
 err past forgiveness. 
 
 "If, however, the conclusion you draw, that 'the man 
 with httle religion must have as little affection,' were not 
 inconsistent with the supposition, I should imagine you 
 were led to the remark by the knowledge that at present 
 the object of my idolatry is one who (though I offend 
 against the rules of gallantry), I must confess, is not a 
 deity of the celestial order, but one that I shall ever wor- 
 ship, and whose kindness and affection have confirmed my 
 infidelity. 
 
 "My dearest life, let no doubts of my being fully 
 impressed with a reverent sense of duty to my Maker 
 disturb your peace. The man whose heart is capable of 
 entertaining the pure and exalted sentiment of love cannot, 
 in my opinion, be destitute of religion ; although, I will 
 admit, his judgment may lead him into an improper con- 
 ception of it." 
 
 "Halifax, 1808. 
 
 " . . . . I rejoice to learn that you are once more 
 lodged in the peaceful bosom of your enviable family. Sur- 
 rounded as you were by a crowd of adorers vying with 
 each other in their devotion, and, I suppose, with their 
 hearts in their hands, ready, at a smile, to cast them at 
 your feet, I am surprised that yours is not reduced to a 
 
 cinder, or perforated as a honey-comb Add to 
 
 all this, the stentorian eloquence of G. C, endeavoring to 
 impress on your mind the charms of Georgia. I dare say, 
 he wished to convince you that the croaking of frogs and 
 the roaring of alligators, pouring forth their divine strains 
 in heavenly concert, produce * a concord of sweet sounds,' 
 
A BIOGKAPIIICAL SKETCH. 27 
 
 compared with which the music of the spheres is as far 
 inferior as the light of a taper is to the blaze of a merid- 
 ian sun. Had I known that you were driving with the 
 Governor, I should have been doubly uneasy, as his con- 
 founded horses have before shown a disposition to thwart 
 any gracious intentions towards his Excellency. I wisli 
 they were in Guinea, and that I were with Mrs. G., that 
 
 we might unite in abusing their ovvuer a Uttle I 
 
 am much pleased with your intention of learning to paint, 
 for several reasons : one, that I think it an elegant accom- 
 plishment, and in which I denght ; another, that I wish 
 my wife to excel still more than she already gi'eatly does, 
 every other woman I ever saw. I wish you would add 
 geography to it I am glad that you are improv- 
 ing your French ; and so confident am I of your paying a 
 visit to this place, at some time, that I am preserving a 
 file of French papers for your amusement. Am I not very 
 considerate to begin already to provide for your pleasures ] " 
 
 That Mr. Seaton's services in behalf of his party 
 were most acceptably performed, we may judge from 
 the evidence of Mr. Atlas Jones, a prominent politi- 
 cian of the day, who thus ^\Tites to the spirited young 
 editor : — - 
 
 "Your journal is very much approved in Deep 
 River ; my copy is borrowed by many gentlemen who 
 take other papers, and their sentiment agrees with my 
 own, that it is the best edited gazette in the State ; 
 more candid, more impartial, and less fermented by the 
 spirit of party. The dignity and fairness of your edi- 
 torials have a powerful influence over even preju- 
 diced minds, and give a steadily increasing value to 
 your journal." 
 
28 AVILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Notwithstanding that this emphatic testimony to 
 his ability and success inclined him to remain at his 
 post, the specific object for which Mr. Seaton had 
 assumed the editorial chair at Halifax having been 
 satisfactorily achieved, he resolved to seek a wider 
 sphere for his energies ; and, returning to Ealeigh, 
 became associated with Joseph Gales in the " Regis- 
 ter," being doubtless mainly impelled to this decision 
 by the sweet influences moulding his career, and which 
 were destined to crown with tender joy all the future 
 days of Ms life. 
 
 A sketch of the history of Joseph Gales will best 
 illustrate the source whence such abounding virtues 
 drew their life, as were manifested in the lives of his 
 children, whose ability and worth are an enduring 
 monument to the excellence of their honored, stout- 
 hearted father. 
 
 The familv of Gales, until illustrated by the virtues 
 and well- won eminence of Joseph Gales, was unknown 
 out of the simple annals of the rural home of him who 
 may be callfed its founder ; owing the respect and con- 
 sideration now investing the name to no fortuitous 
 gifts of inheritance or remote ancestrv. The name of 
 GaU is a familiar one both in England and this coun- 
 try, notably in the State of North Carolina, in which 
 " the county of Wake, erected in 1772, perpetuates the 
 maiden name of the accomplished wife of Governor 
 Tryon," whose mother, Lady Wake, was Penelope Gale. 
 " The name of Tryon," says Governor Swain, " has been 
 expunged from the map of the State, but not from the 
 memory of men ; and the unenviable fame of the royal 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 29 
 
 Governor, and the good name of Penelope Gale AVake, 
 are alike immortal." 
 
 But the patronymic Avith the final s can be retraced 
 no further than to Eichard Gales, who guided the 
 youth of the ancient village of Eckington, Derbyshire, 
 Eno-land, in the path of learning, and who was deemed 
 a good classical scholar. 
 
 His son Timothy — who continued in his native 
 village to vary his routine of labor with the lighter 
 duties of Parish Clerk — married into the family of 
 Clay, well known in the West of England as Iron- 
 founders, and as possessing unusual mechanical skill ; 
 the ingenious Henry Clay, a nephew of Mrs. Timothy 
 Gales, being noted as the first manufacturer of decora- 
 tive articles in papier maclie ; his warerooms being 
 at that time among the great attractions of Birming- 
 ham, the " toy-shop of Europe." Joseph Gales always 
 thought that Henry Clay of Kentucky strikingly re- 
 sembled his own relatives, the English Clays, some 
 of whom had emigrated to this country ; and it is not 
 improbable that they and the peerless Son of the West 
 sprang originally from the same stock. Timothy Gales 
 'v\-as drowned at the advanced age of eighty-three, while 
 attempting to cross a stream by means of a fallen tree. 
 
 The excellent old man transmitted his virtues, ac- 
 companied with but little worldly store, to his son 
 Thomas. Mrs. AYinifred Gales, in her autobiography, 
 addressing her children, says : " If Pope's axiom be 
 true, that ' an honest man 's the noblest work of God,' 
 then were your paternal ancestors nobles of God's own 
 making. In every relation of life they conducted them- 
 selves with an admirable propriety, and were governed 
 
30 -WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 l3y an integrity that elicited the good-will and respect 
 of their compeers. Your grandfather, Thomas Gales, 
 was indeed an Israelite without guile ; and his that 
 true nobility of soul to which wealth could add no 
 distinction, rank no lustre. Your grandmother Gales 
 was from Newport-Pagnell, Buckinghamshire ; and of 
 this truly excellent woman I cannot deny myself the 
 pleasure, and her the justice, to say that she was wor- 
 thy the ardent affection of her family, — and was, of 
 all persons I ever knew, the most disinterested and 
 candid ; seK was omitted from her vocabulary." 
 
 The oldest child of this estimable pair, Joseph, was 
 born at Eckington, in 1761. In 1809 his venerable 
 father went to rest, which event was communicated 
 to Joseph Gales, then residing in North Carolina, by 
 James Montgomery, in the following letter, which is 
 interesting as an expression of the undiminished affec- 
 tion cherished by the amiable poet, after a separation 
 of fifteen years, for his former patron and master. 
 
 ''Sheffield, October 20, 1809. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — A letter from me is now such a rarity, 
 that the very appearance of my writing will be an omen of 
 mournful tidings. Such tidings indeed I have to commu- 
 nicate, but 'they are mingled and softened and sweetened 
 with so many consolations, not vain and imaginary, but 
 deep and unfailing, that you will think, with me, that there 
 is at least as much cause for gratitude as for gi'ief, when I 
 inform you that your dear and venerable father departed 
 this hfe, most peacefully and piously, on Saturday last. . . 
 You w^ill therefore be less shocked, though not less sorry to 
 learn, that he has had the privilege of going first to his eter- 
 nal home. For many months past I have with secret con- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 31 
 
 cern perceived his decline from that florid and hearty com- 
 plexion of health and vigor which marked his green old age. 
 .... On my return from Scarboro' and Harrowgate in 
 September I saw him at Eckington, and then indeed I read 
 on his meek emaciated face the sentence which is passed 
 upon all the living. . . On the 14th he expired as quietly 
 as an infant falling asleep. . . His mind seemed deeply 
 engaged in meditation on those most awful concerns that 
 ought to occupy more of our thoughts in health than they 
 usually do. He was always sweetly and solemnly affected 
 when his daughters prayed with him, or spoke gentle words 
 of hope and faith in God. The expressions that fell from 
 his dear dying lips were divinely consoling to us whom he 
 has left behind. We have a confidence, which we would not 
 relinquish for all the hopes that this life can offer, that he 
 is at rest at the footstool of the Eternal Throne, and that 
 we shall all meet him in everlasting felicity, and inseparable 
 communion. Thus far of the honored and loved and la- 
 mented dead who is gone before us. Of the living, your 
 mother is humbly and simply resigning herself to the will 
 of the Lord. . . . No words that I could command would 
 do justice to the filial piety of your sisters, and their un- 
 wearied attention to every word and look of their suffer- 
 ing but now sainted father. . . Your name was frequently 
 in their hearts and on their lips. ... I send most cordial 
 and affectionate remembrances to dear Mrs. Gales and to all 
 your beloved family. I shall write next week by the Packet, 
 hoping that you will certainly receive one or both of these 
 
 letters, from 
 
 " Your sincere friend, 
 
 **J. Montgomery. 
 "Mr. Joseph Gales." 
 
 It was then, with no patrimony save the indiscerp- 
 tible one of probity, industry, and a good capacity, that 
 
32 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Joseph Gales entered upon the arena of life, achieving, 
 by the unassisted force of these qualities, a just dis- 
 tinction in his native land, which was recognized and 
 deex3ened into reverential love in that of his adoption. 
 Alternating his hours of work — for in that frugal 
 household toil was a necessity — with persistent and 
 conscientious study, the stout-hearted boy had soon ex- 
 hausted the educational resources of Ecldngton. Mr. 
 Gales, in writing of this period of his life, says : " The 
 inhabitants of our village were in moderate circum- 
 stances, and of good morals, and I have thought the 
 latter merit in a great degree owing to the attention 
 paid to the cultivation of music. Fortunately, there 
 was a resident of Eckington of better fortune, and who 
 had received greater advantages than the rest of the 
 villagers, and who to a knov»dedge of music superadded 
 the gift of a fine bass voice, singing well and playmg 
 on more than one instrument. This gentleman gladly 
 instructed all who wished to join the village choir, 
 where my father had cliarge of the violoncello and 
 sang bass, while my brother and I sang treble." This 
 love of the gentle art continued through life to be the 
 favorite recreation of the hours of leisure snatched by 
 Mr. Gales from his industrious career. 
 
 And now at the ao'e of thirteen the stalwart lad 
 began to heed the stirring of a moderately ambitious 
 nature, prompting him to seek a more advanced post 
 in the bivouac of life than the humble one occupied by 
 his worthy forbears. 
 
 An advantageous opening soon offered in the city of 
 Manchester, where the young Joseph was bound for a 
 term of seven years to the bookbinding and printing 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 33 
 
 business ; and where, during three years, he applied 
 himself with characteristic diligence to his specific 
 duties, and the acquisition of all the extraneous knowl- 
 edge within his circumscribed means. 
 
 The system of apprenticeship, as conducted and le- 
 gally countenanced at that period, in England, was dis- 
 graced by a severity, a cruelty, little removed from the 
 tyranny of the feudal ages. No Exeter-Hall fabled 
 sufferings of slavery could surpass those to which re- 
 spectable youths were subjected by their irresponsible 
 master, w^ho held almost unchecked power over the very 
 life of the apprentice. The experience of young Gales 
 did not differ from that of many of his fellow-bonds- 
 men ; but rather than afflict his parents with a knowl- 
 edge of his situation, he bore in silence the humiliations, 
 starvation, and personal inhumanity of his employer, 
 continuing bravely to fulfil his duties and practice his 
 craft, until a series of outrages culminated in an at- 
 tempt on his life by his master's wife, " a notorious 
 vixen," wlio in a fit of passion seized a knife and 
 swore to run it through the heart of the mild, obedient 
 boy. Escaping from the infuriated woman, his relatives 
 appealed to a court of justice, and pending the decision, 
 young Gales determined to place himself beyond the 
 power of his evil taskmasters. " I therefore set out," 
 he says, in recounting the occurrence, " wdth not more 
 than half a crown in my pocket, to walk over fifty 
 miles to my native village ; and to show the state of 
 my religious impressions at that time, I w411 mention, 
 that, in a solitary spot on the mountainous moors over 
 which T wended my way, I bent my knees in prayer 
 to my God, tlianking him for my release from a heavy 
 
 2* C 
 
o 
 
 4 WILLIAM WIXSTON SEATON. 
 
 bondage and praying for liis future guidance and pro- 
 tection." 
 
 This incident is illustrative of the simple, firm trust 
 in an overruling Providence which ever characterized 
 Joseph Gales ; who, indeed, in guileless purity, single- 
 ness of purpose, and stern uprightness, seemed framed 
 in patriarchal mould, — "A just man, and walked with 
 God." 
 
 Fortune smiled compensatingiy on the next venture 
 of the earnest young typographer, who, in the fine 
 old town of Newark, entered into an apprenticeship 
 with a generous, worthy gentleman, under whose guid- 
 ance he became a master in his craft, and in whose A 
 home he found culture, refinement, and affection. He 
 was now approaching man's estate, intelligent, robust, 
 and bright-eyed, which passports to feminine favor 
 were appreciated by a fair young creature, ^diom, after 
 a wooing of five years, Mr. Gales won to be the partner 
 of his checkered life ; his joy in prosperity, his com- 
 fort and helpmeet in adversity. This young lady was 
 Miss Winifred Marshall, daughter of John Marshall, of 
 IN"ewark-upon-Trent. 
 
 The family of Marshall had for many generations 
 occupied a position of high respectability in ;N'otting- 
 liamshire, whence they sprang from an ancestry of 
 gentle birth, possessing competent means, and noted 
 f )r a love of letters. Mrs. Gales, in her autobiography, 
 sp.ys : " Your grandfather Marshall's family, my dear 
 ciiildren, were proud of their lineage, and though their 
 claim to distinction on the score of wealth had passed 
 away before my time, yet they were tenacious of their 
 pretensions and loved to dwell upon the family descent. 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 35 
 
 Genealogical tree, seals, parchments setting forth hered- 
 itary family claims, were jealously cherished posses- 
 sions, exciting my youthful interest ; noiv, in this land 
 where honorable conduct is the only patent of true no- 
 bilit}^, such distinctions seem puerile ; yet a degree of 
 tenderness pervades my feelings at this retrospective 
 view, and I am pleased to remember that my ances- 
 tors were persons of integrity, well-educated, and of no 
 mean intellect." 
 
 It will suffice for this sketch to retrace the family 
 history only to Gervase Marshall, a clergyman of the 
 English Church, and Eector of Wliatton in Notting- 
 hamshire, whose wife brought liim the livings also of 
 Balderton and Farndon. 
 
 His eldest son, Gervase Marshall of Southwell, mar- 
 ried Mary, daughter of WiUiam Burnett, — a great- 
 nephew of the celebrated Bishop Burnett, — whose 
 wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Mark Lamb. Through 
 this lady the Marshalls were nearly allied to the ^lel- 
 bourne family, having a common ancestor in Matthew 
 Peniston Lamb, of Brocket HaU, Hertfordshire. Sir 
 Matthew Lamb — an inmate of his cousin Elizabeth's 
 house while pursuing his legal studies — was the fa- 
 ther of the first Lord Melbourne, whose family honors 
 and estates it was at one time supposed would devolve 
 on the son of Gervase IMarshall ; but subsequently an 
 heir was born to the title, the late Viscount Melbourne, 
 the Premier and friend of Queen Victoria. The sister 
 of this second Lord IMelbourne, the Countess Cowper, 
 afterwards Lady Palmerston, died in 1869, surviving 
 her husband, the great Premier, several years ; and 
 while he during half a century shaped the policy of 
 
36 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Europe, the beauty and fascination of Lady Palmerston 
 lield equal sway over English society during four 
 reims. 
 
 Gervase, the eldest son of Gervase and Mary Mar- 
 shall, occupied in early life an honorable position in 
 the royal honsehold of King George II., but finding the 
 duties of a court life incompatible with the prosecution 
 of his favorite pursuits, he retired to the country, there 
 to remain absorbed through a long life in the " Follies 
 of Science," casting horoscopes and seeking the Phi- 
 losopher's Stone. 
 
 His sister Mary married George Hodgkinson, Esq., 
 a lawyer of eminence of Southwell, who was, says Mrs. 
 Gales, " an elegant gentleman in appearance, manners, 
 and acquirements, and related to the family of Pierre^ 
 pont, Dukes of Kingston. I met frequently at my 
 aunt's house Charles Pierrepont, who at the death of 
 the Duke of Kingston, and the extinction of that title, 
 succeeded his relative in the minor title of Earl Man- 
 vers." 
 
 John Marshall, of Newark, the youngest son, mar- 
 ried, in the memorable year 1745, Elizabeth, daughter 
 of Simeon AVeston, of Carleton-upon-Trent. "My 
 mother," writes Mrs. Gales, "was an only child, and 
 her patrimonial inheritance was considered at that 
 time quite large. According to the testimony of old 
 friends, she was a very lovely girl, and at a later period 
 was the handsomest woman of her aoje I ever saw. 
 Her tastes were superior and her manners polished ; 
 but, better still, she possessed the strength of a sensible 
 mind and the piety of a Christian, living in the exer- 
 cise of faith, and dying at the advanced age of eighty- 
 three years." 
 
A BlOGKArniCAL SKETCH. 37 
 
 John Marshall was a man of strong intellect, well 
 improved by a liberal education, possessing a cultivated 
 taste for science and letters, a too absorbed devotion 
 to which, combined with an inert habit, lessened the 
 practical usefulness of his life, and cut short his career 
 at the age of fifty years. His children inherited his 
 fine natural gifts, but the endowment of intellect, vi- 
 vacity, sensibility and beauty, was conferred in especial 
 measure upon the youngest daughter, Winifred, born in 
 1761. 
 
 " AVell do I remember my honored father's counte- 
 nance," writes Mrs. Gales sixty years after his death. 
 " He was very handsome, had a dark, fine eye, with a 
 very dignified manner. The best likeness of him I 
 ever saw, strange to say, was a portrait of Dr. Markham, 
 Archbishop of York, which hung in my uncle Hodg- 
 kinson's parlor, he being related to that Prelate, whom 
 I also remember well, having when a little girl seen 
 him during a visit he made to my uncle, Avith his wife 
 and seven daughters. I was my father's favorite, on 
 whom was showered every indulgence ; and although 
 he carefully superintended the education of all his chil- 
 dren, my love of reading, which I have from youth pur- 
 sued with never-ceasing avidity, drew me more nearly 
 to his side. Very often after the family had retired, in 
 reading or conversation we wasted the midnight oil. 
 I read to him all the political ephemeral works on the 
 right (the Ministerial) side of the questions of the day. 
 " Ah," said a gentleman to me subsequently, while 
 ]\lr. Gales pul)lished the Sheffield Eegister, " what 
 would your father say, could he now witness your 
 political heresy 
 
 I 5J 
 
38 WILLIAM -SVINSTON SEATON. 
 
 " Among my more solid literary food, I remember 
 ' Longinus on the Sublime/ Adam Smith's ' Essays ' 
 and 'Wealth of ISTations/ Burnett's and Clarendon's 
 Histories, various Topographical works, Shakespeare, 
 Milton, and the best poets. A favorite volume, gener- 
 ally carried by my father in his pocket, and which he 
 pronounced the best extant on the subject, was Scou- 
 gaU's ' Life of God in the Soul of Man.' " 
 
 Here indeed was substantial mental pabulum for a 
 girl of seventeen, but not calculated to satisfy the 
 ardent poetical mind and sprightly imagination of the 
 young Winifred, who, already a devotee at the shrine 
 of the muses, writing graceful verse, sought still further 
 relaxation and achieved no slight fame, in portraying f / 
 the history of " Lady Emma Melcombe," " Matilda ^ 
 Berkeley," and other heroines of the sentimental or , 
 " Minerva Press " school. A not uninteresting coinci- j 
 dence, as quite in keeping with the romantic turn of 
 Mrs. Gales's own taste, may be cited. 
 
 The heroine of one of her novels, ^vTitten while still 
 Miss Marshall, was styled the Lady Julia Seaton. 
 Thirty years afterwards, having as Mrs. Gales sought 
 a home in America's western wilds, her daughter 
 married Mr. Seaton ; and she saw perpetuated in their 
 daughter the name of her own eldest English child of 
 fiction. 
 
 " This day forty-eight years ago," writes Mrs. Gales, 
 May 4, 1832, "I pledged my faith and best affections 
 to the dear and honored companion of my joys and 
 sorrows. It was a lovely spring morning, and the 
 drive from Collingham to Newark, my native place, 
 was delightful. We were married by my brother, an 
 
 n ^^ 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 39 
 
 Episcopal clergyman, in the venerable cinircli which 
 for more than six centuries has resisted the dilapida- 
 tions of time and warfare, whence we drove thirty 
 miles to Eckington, the residence of my newly acquired 
 parents, who greeted us with the most affectionate 
 salutations of welcome." 
 
 Mr. Gales had already established himself at Shef- 
 field, Yorkshire, as Printer and Publisher; possessed 
 of small ibrtune indeed, but, as he records with com- 
 mendable pride, Avith what he " found to be more valu- 
 able than money, — the character of an upright, indus- 
 trious business man." Characteristically, the first work 
 undertaken by Mr. Gales was the publishing of a folio 
 Bible, illustrated by plates, with annotations from the 
 versatile pen of his clever wife. 
 
 In 1787 Mr. Gales issued the first number of the 
 Sheffield Eegister, a weekly journal, which soon won 
 its way to unprecedented esteem and circulation in the 
 West Riding of Yorkshire, treating as it did of science 
 and literature, foreign and domestic politics ; the ex- 
 pression of its views being marked by good sense, high 
 tone, and probity of purpose, — life-long characteristics 
 of its founder. Mr. Gales continued to prosper, the 
 happiness of his domestic circle being enhanced by the 
 birth of several children, among whom were Joseph, 
 born at Eckington, April 10, 1786, and Sarah, born at 
 Sheffield, May 12, 1789. 
 
 In 1792 the subject of Parliamentary Eeform awoke, 
 after a number of years. Eke a giant refreshed with 
 wine, and shook England to its centre. AMien in 1782 
 this question of Equal Eepresentation of the people in 
 the House of Commons had been agitated, meetins^s 
 
40 AVILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 were held throughout the kingdom to discuss the rights 
 of the unfranchised classes, and the best means of for- 
 cing from their legislators the recognition of their legiti- 
 mate demands as freemen. Delegates from the associ- 
 ations first assembled at the Thatched-House Tavern 
 in London, some of the most prominent members being 
 the Dukes of Norfolk and Eichmond, William Pitt — 
 then an opposition member, afterwards Premier of 
 England — and Major John Cartwright, who, thirty- 
 five years after the failure of these initiatory measures 
 of Eeform, was again active in arousing the people of 
 England to a candid and peaceable mode of redressing 
 their grievances. 
 
 The Eesolutions were offered by William Pitt, and 
 unanimously adopted, and, in the form of a Petition, 
 were presented to the House of Commons for a Eeform 
 in Parliament, "without which," said the ]Dreamble, 
 " neither the liberty of the nation can be preserved, nor 
 the permanency of a wise and virtuous administration 
 be secure." Mr. Pitt's motion in Parliament was sup- 
 ported by Charles James Fox, and lost. Sir George 
 Saville said in debate, that " the House might as well 
 call itself a representation of France as England." 
 
 The following incident, as related by Mrs. Gales, is 
 of interest, as illustrative of the mode of carrying Eng- 
 lish elections, and of the influence exercised by the 
 gentler sex over the ballot-box at that period, — an in- 
 fluence as poAverful, if not so openly exerted, as that 
 claimed by the friends of female suffrage to-day. 
 
 " I well remember hearing the bells ring a muflled 
 peal for the death of the famous IMarquis of Granby, 
 the celebrated military commander, whose portrait still 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 41 
 
 forms the weather-beaten sign of old English inns; 
 a man of great worth, and whose general popularity 
 among the English had not been equalled since the dtiys 
 of Marlborough. I was a young girl when the ]\Iar- 
 quis was a candidate for the borough of Newark, where 
 my father lived, who held the office of ' Headborough' 
 of the county, and who was anxious for the success of 
 the ministerial candidates. The election was strongly 
 contested, and the friends of the government, fearing 
 defeat, were assembled for consultation, when Shelley 
 and the ^larquis joined them. * How goes the poU ? ' 
 *Ah, we fear against you.' The Marquis thought a 
 moment, then ordered his servants to go out and pur- 
 chase several large baskets of oranges and take them 
 to Appleton Close. ' I saw a number of females play- 
 m^ at ball in a beautiful green enclosure,' said he, 
 ' and we will distribute the fruit among the fair.' The 
 party accompanied him, and with a gay, captivating 
 manner he said to a pretty girl, 'Play with me 
 sweetheart, for oranges.' The game began, and in 
 every orange he stitch a guinea; and every damsel 
 had a game with the gallant Marquis, her orange and 
 
 guinea. 
 
 " ' Shelley and Manners ' — the family name of the 
 great ducal house of Rutland — was now the burden of 
 the song. ' I am wearied and will go now to bed,' said 
 the Marquis, 'but let me know when Ave are elected. 
 Every one of these women will oblige father, brother, 
 husband, and lover to vote for us.' 
 
 " The orange device succeeded, and at midnight it 
 was announced that the ]\Iarquis and Shelley had tri- 
 umphantly carried the day." 
 
42 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 " Now again, ten years later/' writes Mrs. Gales, 
 " the people were once more awakened to tlie assertion 
 of their political rights, and distnr])ed, alarmed, could 
 see only tyranny and oppression on the one hand, re- 
 form on the other, while the rulers recognized in the 
 movement only rebellion and revolution. To men 
 capable of thought, neutrality of opinion in this crisis 
 was impossible ; and if their views passed into speech, 
 or became visible on paper, they were ranked, accord- 
 ing to the side embraced, as Disorganizers or as 
 Eoyalists ; the latter class comprising those whom 
 hereditary possessions or official position rendered 
 strictly conservative, their slogan being Aris et focis, 
 which in their translation signified, Our places, our 
 l^ensions. 
 
 " Honorable exceptions, however, to this spirit of 
 caste were to be found in the phalanx of reformers, 
 comprising men of talent, rank, and wealth ; among 
 whom were Earl Stanhope, Marquis of Lansdowne, Sir 
 Charles Grey, Home Tooke, Sheridan, and, in our own 
 vicinity, the Duke of I^orfolk, Lord of the Manor of 
 Sheffield, the Shears — eminent bankers — and others 
 of learning and integrity among our j)ersonal friends. 
 
 " Constitutional Societies were established in the 
 country, breathing a spirit of peace. Mr. Erskine's 
 speech at a meeting of the ' Eriends of the Liberty of 
 the Press,' expressed the true feeling of this momentous 
 period. ' If,' said the eloquent jurist, ' in the legal and 
 peaceable assertion of freedom we shall be calumniated 
 and persecuted, we must be content to suffer in its 
 cause, as our fathers before us ; but we will, like our 
 fathers, persevere until we prevail. 
 
A BIOGKAPIIICAL SKETCH. 43 
 
 " Such was the original spirit actuating the public 
 mind at the meetings inaugurating this movement." 
 
 Sprung from the yeomanry, j\Ir. Gales was naturally 
 in sympathy with his order ; and the ' Eegister ' firmly, 
 but moderately, espoused the liberal cause, being the 
 only journal in the West Eiding which, open to dis- 
 cussion, candidly avowed its sentiments on the ques- 
 tion of the dav. Mr. Gales had obtained oreat ascen- 
 dency over tlie industrial classes of the community, to 
 whom he became endeared by his unaffected goodness, 
 ui'banity of manner, and proverbial integrity ; yet, 
 while boldly upholding the popular demands, striking 
 heavy and well-aimed blows Avith manly freedom at 
 the ministerial paltering policy, he was temperate in 
 language, and invariably prudent in counsel. 
 
 In the midst of this feverish perturbation of the 
 •public pulse, Mr. Gales received into his employment 
 a prepossessing youth, " who quickly and progressively 
 matured into his assistant editor, dearest friend, and 
 finally successor in his journal." This youth was 
 James ^lontgomery, the poet. 
 
 The first waves of the French Eevolution, dashing 
 against the shores of England, gave a fresh impetus 
 to the hopes of reform ; the destruction of the Bastile 
 exciting general enthusiasm, "filling the heart with 
 liope that, the day-star of liberty had dawned over 
 earth ; for no one could foresee that this glorious up- 
 heaval of peoples would degenerate into a licentious- 
 ness which prostrated all order and violated every 
 right." Montgomery, who threw himself with youthful 
 ardor into the popular cause, says of this period : " The 
 excitement of the most violent j^assions caused such a 
 
4-4 WILLIAM WIN'STON SEATON. 
 
 conflict of minds, such activity of tlie highest powers 
 of the human soul, as had never been exhibited since 
 Britain was an island. E\'ery man, woman, and child 
 in the kingdom was a politician." 
 
 'No district was more agitated than Sheffield, one of 
 the most important English centres of manufacturing 
 interest, whose mechanics were a w^ell-paid, intelligent, 
 reading, and consequently liberal body of men. The 
 " Test Law," bv which Catholics and Dissenters from 
 the Established Church of England were cut oft' from 
 all governmental office, was also an irritating source 
 of discontent to a large body of the most respectable 
 and influential English subjects ; and not the least of 
 the Duke of AVellington's claims to the gratitude of 
 posterity, is in the abrogation of those puerile and 
 odious laws during his Premiership. With the excep- 
 tion of the Duke of Norfolk, Lord of the Manor, the* 
 cliief of whose great house has always been the lead- 
 ing Catholic of the realm, the residents of Sheffield 
 were generally Dissenters, the majority being favor- 
 able to Iieform ; the Unitarians, to which enlightened 
 branch of the Christian Church Mr. and Mrs. Gales 
 l)elonged, being earnestly so, although they did not 
 manifest their opinions by constant attendance at the 
 political meetings ; partly by reason of their domestic 
 habits, and still more from prudential motives induced 
 by the recent scenes of violence at Birmingham, and 
 the disgraceful persecution of Dr. Priestley, the emi- 
 nent convert to liberal Christianity. 
 
 Tlie riots of Birmingham were occasioned by a hand- 
 bill, attributed to Dr. Priestley, calling on the frieiids 
 of liberty to celebrate the anniversary of the destruc- 
 
A r.IOGKAPIIICAL SKETCH. 45 
 
 tion of the Bastile ; and from this little spark the 
 party of Church and State kindled tlie flame which 
 consumed the houses of the wealthy Unitarians. Dr. 
 Priestley's loss was irreparable in a valuable philosoph- 
 ical apparatus, his unpublished manuscripts, and a 
 library which it had cost him forty years to collect. 
 Dr. Priestley's claims to distinction in the annals of 
 Christian piety and intellectual progress are too uni- 
 versally known to need any detailed history in this 
 sketch. Goaded by party enmity, he was finally forced 
 to seek an asylum in the United States, where Mr. and 
 Mrs. Gales renewed with him the intiniacy so valued 
 in Sheffield. " A man of more genuine piety, simpli- 
 city of manners, and frank charm than Dr. Priestley 
 never lived," writes ^Irs. Gales. " Ardent in opinion, 
 even his opponents honored him for his gentle urban- 
 ity ; and the celebrated Dr. Parr, one of the most 
 strenuous supporters of Church and State, avowed 
 reverence for him in a letter to the inhabitants of 
 Birmingham, which generous eulogium concludes 
 thus : — 
 
 " ' Let Dr. Priestley be confuted where he is mis- 
 taken, exposed where he is superficial, repressed where 
 dogmatical ; but let not his attainments be depreci- 
 ated, because they are numerous, almost beyond paral- 
 lel ; let not his talents be disparaged, for they are 
 superlatiA^ely great ; let not his morals be vilified, for 
 they present even to common observers the iimocence 
 of a hermit and the simplicity of a patriarch, and 
 because a candid eye will discover in them the deep- 
 fixed root of religious principle and the solid trunk 
 of virtuous habits.' " 
 
46 WILLIAM WIXSTOX SEATON. 
 
 In theological science Dr. Priestley had conscien- 
 tiously progressed from Calvinism to Unitarianism, 
 and was, to his latest moment, one of the ablest foes 
 to infidelity. 
 
 In the spring of 1793 the political cloud grew darker, 
 every one looking with fear to the impending storm. 
 The main object of the Eeformers at this period was 
 the abrogation of Septennial and the introduction of 
 Annual Parliaments, granting free suffrage to all 
 males. " AYilliam Pitt," writes ]\Irs. Gales, " as if to 
 show how great, how mean, how versatile is man, now 
 voted against Eeform, alleging that he did not believe 
 the people to be suffering any evil on that ground " ; 
 and in thus opposing the rights of the people Pitt made 
 his professed patriotism a stepping-stone to the high- 
 est round of the political ladder. " Petitions addressed 
 to the King and Commons poured in from all quarters ; 
 the press teemed with pamphlets from both sides, one 
 of which, by Count Zenobia, a German patriot of dis- 
 tinction, and purporting to be written by an indepen- 
 dent English country member, was a spirited, sensible 
 rebuke of Pitt's tergiversation, procuring for its author 
 the honor of being sent out of the country under the 
 Alien and Sedition Law." 
 
 At this juncture Thomas Paine, abeady a celebrity 
 in the American colonies, reappeared on the English 
 political stage, aiding by powerful, if misdirected ap- 
 peals, to widen the breach between the people and the 
 government. The son of an English Quaker, he had 
 been introduced in London to Benjamin Franklin, who, 
 discerning his talent, advised him to seek America as a 
 more promising field in which to work off superfluous 
 
A BIOGr.APIIICAL SKETCH. 47 
 
 energy. Paine, disembarking at Pliiladelphia in 1774, 
 soon became noted for bis outspoken beresies, editing 
 with ability the Pennsylvania Magazine ; and upon 
 the declaration of hostilities between the rebellious 
 colonies and the mother country, wrote his famous 
 pamplilet, " Common Sense," the importance of which 
 production the Pennsylvania Legislature recognized by 
 voting its author the enormous sum of £ 500. His rest- 
 less spirit carried him back to Europe at the moment 
 when the English nation was seething in the turbu- 
 lent waves of faction, and France convulsed by the dis- 
 astrous outbreak of ferocious radicalism. iSTaturally, 
 Paine with hot ardor threw himself into the contest, 
 issuing his fiery " Plights of Man," in answer to Ed- 
 mund Burke's " Eefiections on the Eevolution in 
 Prance " ; tlie latter one of the most celebrated pam- 
 phlets of modern times. Burke's Toryism on this 
 stupendous question severed him from Fox, Sheridan, 
 and other erewhile friends, renderincj him the target 
 for every species of invective from his quondam Whig 
 associates. Yet Burke was no apologist for tyranny, 
 — no man loved true freedom more ; but his pres- 
 cience descried, and his warning eloquence vividly de- 
 picted, the dangers of the quicksand into which French 
 liberty was destined to be so fatally engulfed. 
 
 Paine proved to be tke firebrand which, igniting the 
 combustible elements of the opposing parties, caused an 
 explosion involving the ruin of many eminent men, and 
 tending directly also to a crisis in the fortunes of Mr. 
 Gales. 
 
 Many respectable booksellers had been arrested and 
 punished under an eoi^ 'post facto law for selling Paine's 
 
48 WILLIAM WINSTON S EATON. 
 
 " Eights of Man," and other appeals obnoxious to the 
 Ministry. Among the delinquents was Holt, a printer \ 
 of talent, who had learned his craft in Mr. Gales's office, 
 and who, for reprinting a letter from the Duke of Eich- 
 mond in favor of Eeform, was convicted of treason and 
 sentenced to four years' imprisonment, with a fine of 
 £ UOO. Eichard Phillips, of Leicester, received nearly 
 as severe a sentence, prosperously ending his subse- 
 quent career, however, by being knighted, when carry- 
 ing up an address to the throne as Sheriff" of London. 
 To an American was Mr. Gales indebted for exemp- 
 tion from a similar fate. " This gentleman," writes Mrs. 
 Gales, " was Mr. Thomas Digges, who had come to 
 Sheffield on a visit to the Duke of Norfolk. We were 
 delighted with his manners and conversation, frank, 
 manly, and polished, and he opened to us a new view 
 of America, giving the first impetus to our feelings re- 
 specting the present home of our adoption. The casual 
 acquaintance ripened into intimate friendship, which 
 was proved in this way. During an absence of Mr. 
 Gales in London, Mr. Digges one morning requested 
 to see me alone, asking me anxiously if we had any of 
 Paine's works. ' Yes, a great many.' He replied, ' Let 
 me then as a friend entreat you to put them carefully 
 aside, and if inquired for, to deny the possession of a 
 single copy. I have indisputable authority for saying, 
 that to disregard my advice would be productive of 
 positive danger.' 
 
 '' We had sold hundreds and printed thousands of 
 Paine's works, but now acted gratefully on the friendly 
 warning of Mr. Digges, whom we next met, twenty years 
 afterwards, on the banks of the Potomac." 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 49 
 
 The King now issued a Proclamation, forbidding liis 
 subjects to read " those dangerous Books," characteriz- 
 ing them as " wicked, seditious works," which prohibi- 
 tion naturally increased the general eagerness to obtain 
 them, their sale, in Scotland especially, rising from three 
 to seven hundred copies a week. 
 
 On the day of the Proclamation the Attorney-General 
 entered upon the prosecution of Paine, Avho, while the 
 trial was pending, escaped to France, where he was chosen 
 a member of the atrocious Jacobin Convention. He 
 voted, to his credit be it recorded, against the death of 
 Louis Sixteenth, proposing, in lieu of the guillotine, that 
 the King be imprisoned or banished ; which humane 
 alternative offending the Bonnets Eoiiges, Paine was 
 sent to expiate his treasonable lenity in the Luxem- 
 bourg. On the fall of Kobespierre he was released, 
 and once more sought America, where his subsequent 
 career is a matter of history. Even in death he caused 
 contention, the Quakers refusing, because of his aggres- 
 sive atheism, to allow him burial in their cemetery. It 
 is almost impossible at this distance of time to form an 
 impartial estimate of a man execrated by one half of 
 his contemporaries as a mischievous Infidel, and lauded 
 by the opposing party as an apostle of liberty ; but 
 Mrs. Gales bore testimony, from friendly personal in- 
 tercourse, to Paine's sincerity, the simplicity and sweet- 
 ness of his nature, and the sprightly wit that charmed 
 the social circle. 
 
 The following impromptu, thrown off in sportive 
 vein at some suggestion by Mrs. Gales, is an inter- 
 esting specimen of the famous agitator's versatility. 
 
 3 D 
 
50 WILLIAIVI WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 ME AND MY MUSE. 
 
 A TALE. 
 
 From the Castle in the Air to the Little Corner of the World. 
 
 'T WAS in the dog-star's raging days, 
 "When all the heavens were in a blaze, 
 
 And thought itself was tired ; 
 'T was then a lady laid on me, 
 The cruel task of Poesy, 
 
 As if I was inspired. 
 
 I sought my muse ; I found the maid 
 Reclining in a myii;le shade, 
 
 With slumber in her eye ; 
 She looked as dull as dull could be, 
 She scarcely cast a glance at me. 
 
 And this is her reply : — 
 
 " The lady that you love to praise, 
 'T is she that must inspire your lays. 
 
 And touch the spring of thought ; 
 She 's handsomer, you know, than me, 
 You like her better too, I see. 
 
 Though I 'm without a fault. 
 
 *' I 've been your muse for many years. 
 Sometimes in joy, sometimes in tears. 
 
 But always with applause : 
 'T was I that passed the Stygian Gulf, 
 And brought to life your General Wolf, 
 
 Against all Nature's laws. 
 
 " 'T was I that taught you how to plan 
 Your Covimon Seiisc, your Eights of Man, 
 
 Your Age of Reason too : 
 I led you to the source of thought. 
 From whence the heavenly flame was caught, 
 
 That burns forever new. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 51 
 
 ** I taiiglit you castles in the air, 
 And how to wTite to ladies fair, 
 
 With whom you might be smitten ; 
 To hint a love you dare not tell, 
 And yet to hide that hint so well, 
 
 In sonnets you have written. 
 
 ** I 've been more constant than a wife ; 
 I never vexed you in my life, 
 
 Nor thought a thought untrue ; 
 But since your tickle fancy chuse 
 To have a lady for a muse, 
 
 I can be hard on you." 
 
 *' Then, charmer of my life," said I, 
 The tear just standing in my eye, 
 
 As when the heart is gi'ieved ; 
 " Pray look again and you will see, 
 'T is you she courts, it is not me, 
 
 So pray be undeceived. 
 
 * ' Besides, I 'm growing out of date, 
 
 At least, I 've fancied so of late, 
 
 But she is still divine." 
 
 *' Oh ! be it so," replied my muse, 
 
 " I '11 send her whatsoe'er she chuse, 
 
 But be you ever mine." 
 
 T. P. 
 
 The royal proclamation was at once made a test of 
 political principles. A public meeting was convened 
 at Sheffield, at which Dr. Browne, a gentleman of 
 standing in the " Church and State " party, offered res- 
 olutions of " Thanks to his Gracious Majesty for his in- 
 terest in the welfare of his subjects, in prohibiting the 
 circulation of Paine's writings " ; which resolutions, 
 after various spirited addresses, were negatived. Anoth- 
 er meeting was called for the following evening, of per- 
 sons favorable to addressing the King, which was not 
 
52 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 attended by the friends of liberty, among whom, of 
 course, was Mr. Gales. 
 
 " While we were at tea," records Mrs, Gales, " alarm- 
 ing shouts were heard, and the appalling rumor spread 
 that a furious mob was threatening Cutlers' HaU. !Mr. 
 Gales ran immediately, without his hat, to the scene of 
 riot, and found the Vicar of Trinity Church haranguing^ 
 the swaying crowd. He talked to the winds. In a 
 moment the new-comer was discovered, and the cry 
 arose, ' Mr, Gales in the chair ! ' It was repeated by 
 a thousand voices, and without any personal volition 
 he was carried to the chair rapidly vacated by the 
 Vicar. There was no time to hesitate, and eloquence, 
 had your father possessed the power of TuUy, would 
 have availed little at this crisis. A few plain words 
 best suited the emergency, and in his usual quiet, com- 
 posed way, he asked, ' Is this large assemblage of cit- 
 izens before me, here in consequence of the handbills 
 issued to-day ? ' 
 
 " ' Yes.' 
 
 " ' Did you intend to sign a vote of thanks to the 
 King ? ' 
 
 "'No! N'o!' 
 
 " ' Then, my friends, you certainly have no business 
 here. You expressed your sentiments yesterday, and 
 surely would not deprive your neighbors of the same 
 privilege. Sheffield has hitherto been celebrated for 
 the orderly conduct of the manufacturing part of the 
 community ; do not forfeit your claim to this honor- 
 able distinction.' 
 
 " ' Speak on, Mr. Gales ; you are a good man, we wiU 
 hear what you say.' 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 53 
 
 " ' If you rely on my ad^dce because you believe 
 me to be your friend, I will prove it by recommend- 
 ing that every one depart peaceably home. Oblige 
 even your enemies to respect you by respecting your- 
 selves.' 
 
 " ' Home, home !' was the general cry. And in twen- 
 ty minutes not one of the angry thousands assembled 
 was to be seen. 
 
 " ' See,' said an Anti-Eeformer, ' what influence 
 Gales has over the populace. By what art has he 
 attained this power ? ' 
 
 " ' By pleading the poor man's cause, by advocating 
 equal representation, by treating them as brethren. 
 Gales is a friend to the oppressed, an admirable man 
 in every relation of life.' 
 
 " ' Yes, yes ; we know all that, and there 's the rub ; 
 be could lead ten thousand men by the crook of his 
 finger ; and if French principles should take root, what 
 might not be the result of his popularity ! ' 
 
 " This occurrence called forth praise from all sides, 
 raising your father still higher in the esteem of the 
 popular party, and increasing the respect even of our 
 opponents. 
 
 "About the close of 1792 a new meteor, blazed in 
 the political horizon in the person of Henry Bedhead 
 Yorke. He w^as the son of a Governor of one of the 
 West India Islands, by whom he had been sent to 
 England for education and placed under the superin- 
 tendence of Edmund Burke, whose favorite protege, he 
 soon became. At the beginning of the French Eevolu- 
 tion he was an ardent aristocrat, having imbibed the 
 sentiments of his high-minded friend and patron ; but 
 
54 WILLIAM AVINSTON SEATON. 
 
 chancing to be at Paris during the sittings of the Jaco- 
 bin Club, and carried away by the specious programme 
 of that infamous body, he flung aside his conservative 
 principles, becoming a sudden proselyte and flaming 
 stickler for the rights of man. This defection naturally 
 severed all friendship or intercourse with Burke. 
 
 *' The first notice Mr. Gales had of this extraordinary 
 man was through two pamphlets : ' Eeasons against 
 the Abolition of the Slave Trade, by Henry Eedhead 
 Yorke.' 'Answered and Eefuted by Himself The 
 first one he had written before he left England ; the lat- 
 ter, after his return. He came to Sheffield as a dele- 
 gate from the Derby Society, fascinating by his charm- 
 ing manners, wit, and unusual attainments all who 
 came within the sphere of his influence, while his dis- 
 cussion of the all-absorbing national question, in throw- 
 ing new light on the subject, rendered him a powerful 
 auxiliary in the Eeform movement. Few men could 
 withstand his eloquent boldness of assertion and flat- 
 tering prognostication ; and several powerful appeals, 
 ' The Times that try Men's Souls,' quoting from Locke 
 and Milton, largely increased his popularity." 
 
 A deep-seated alarm now pervaded all classes, public 
 indignation being still further excited by the employ- 
 ment of Hessian and Hanoverian troops, and the forma- 
 tion of volunteer companies by the Court party, for the 
 purpose of overawing the " seditious populace." A pub- 
 lic meeting held at Chalk Farm near London, for the 
 purpose of denouncing this aggression upon the rights 
 of Englishmen, and one convened in a similar spirit at 
 Castle Hill, in Sheffield, precipitated events to a crisis. 
 The resolutions offered and advocated by Yorke on the 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 55 
 
 latter occasion created sucli wild enthusiasm that the 
 multitude drew him in a carriage through the streets. 
 " I had tlie honor to be drawn along with Yorke amidst 
 excited thousands," writes Mr. Gales. 
 
 This protest was, however, disastrous in its results, 
 as forming a pretext for the arrest by Government of 
 many of the obnoxious participants. At the first note 
 of alarm Yorke left Sheffield, being, however, after 
 many ineffectual attempts for his apprehension, arrest- 
 ed in a singular and characteristic manner. Secreting 
 himself on the banks of the Humber, he used to amuse 
 himself by sailing about the coast in a skiff. On one 
 of his excursions he saw a boat approach which he 
 could not avoid, and the oarsmen bearing down, hailed 
 him : " What is your name ? " 
 
 " Melville. "Why do you ask ? " 
 
 "No. You are Eedhead Yorke. I know you by 
 your eyes, which a lady so well described that they 
 cannot be mistaken." 
 
 Instead of being alarmed at his discovery and its 
 sure consequences, he coolly replied, "AYho was the 
 dear creature who so sweetly observed me ? I hope 
 she was young and beautiful." 
 
 The fascinating " conspirator " was committed to 
 Doncaster jail, and finally sentenced to four years in 
 York Castle, for misprision of treason. 
 
 "There he was incarcerated," writes Mrs. Gales, 
 " when we left England, his efforts in the cause of Re- 
 form terminating in a manner befitting his romantic 
 career. The beautiful daughter of Mr. Clayton, the 
 Governor of the Castle, became attached to this extraor- 
 dinary young man, and at the expiration of his term of 
 
56 AVILLIAM WIXSTOX SEATON. 
 
 imprisonment they were married. He published a 
 Yohime called ' Mural Hours/ composed in prison, tak- 
 ing its idea perhaps from the ' Attic Xights ' of Aulius 
 Gellius. He subsequently edited a ministerial paper, 
 and became one of the most strenuous opponents of 
 Eeform." 
 
 The thunder that had so long rolled at a distance 
 at length burst, and the bolt that struck many distin- 
 fmished victims, also shattered the more humble for- 
 tunes of Mr. Gales. 
 
 "Gerald, and other eminent patriots," writes Mrs. 
 Gales, " were arrested, and sentenced to Botany Bay ; 
 two more were executed for treason whose crime lay in 
 attending patriotic meetings; two dissenting clergy- 
 men were transported to IsTew South Wales ; while 
 Mr. Muir, a Scotchman of high standing, underwent 
 the same severe sentence, being convicted, on the evi- 
 dence of his servant, of lending seditious books to his 
 neighbors. Hamilton Eowan, a distinguished man and 
 good friend of ours, who had a beautiful seat near New- 
 ark, was implicated, but escaped to America, where, 
 with other refugees from the injustice of our native 
 land, we met him in later years. The dreadful fate 
 of the brothers Sheares, and of the young and gifted 
 Eobert Emmett, has been wept over wherever freedom 
 is loved." 
 
 Home Tooke, Thelwell, and Hardy were appre- 
 hended in London, the last-named being Secretary 
 of the London Society, and among whose papers was 
 found an account of an enthusiastic Eeform meeting at 
 Sheffield, at which a hymn written for the occasion by 
 Montgomery was sung in full chorus ; " and thus," as 
 
 /: 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 57 
 
 the poet said, " one of my first hymns ever sung, found 
 its way into Billy Pitt's green bag." 
 
 But material more inflammatory, and more moment- 
 ous in its effect on the fortunes of Mr. Gales had also 
 found its way into the Premier's hands. A capable, 
 clever printer in the Eegister office had rashly indited 
 an insurrectionary letter to the London Club, detailing 
 very formidable revolutionary plans as to arms and 
 troops, which sage epistle, seized with Hardy's papers, 
 was dated " Gales's printing-office." 
 
 Mrs. Gales w^as now seriously alarmed, and tried to 
 dissuade her husband from printing for these societies, 
 or having any connection with them ; but he replied, 
 that "so long as their object continued to be none 
 other than the one avowed, — Parliamentary Ptcform, — 
 it was his duty to stand by them." But the blow now 
 fell, from which Mr. Gales was only saved by his 
 timely absence in Derbyshire. 
 
 The alarming rumor one morning flew through 
 Sheffield that King's Messengers — names of terror in 
 those days — armed with a Secretary of State's warrant, 
 were on their way to arrest Eedhead Yorke, Mr. Gales, 
 and ■ his spirited but indiscreet printer. The extreme 
 measure of the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, K 
 cutting off victims of suspicion from legal redress, the 
 severity of sentence in the cases of mere sympathy 
 with Eeform, and the knowledge that certain impris- 
 onment and probable conviction awaited his return, 
 combined to induce Mr. Gales to yield to the represen- 
 tations of influential friends — conveyed to him by 
 Montgomery — and to place the German Ocean between 
 himself and prosecution. 
 
 3* 
 
58 WILLIA^I WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 " A few days passed in extreme inquietude," writes 
 Mrs. Gales, " when early one morning I was awakened 
 by a message from the men in the office informing me 
 that the ' King's Messengers ' were in town. Calling 
 up my sister-in-law and Montgomery, we were listen- 
 ing with trembling anxiety to the account of the 
 atrocious conduct of Eoss and Diggs, whose ^ery names 
 carried terror, when Justice Althorpe and some stran- 
 gers entered. 
 
 '' * You are Mrs. Gales I presume,' said a well-look- 
 ing man. 
 
 " I bowed mth a swelling heart, but could not speak. 
 
 " ' It is with great concern, madam,' said Colonel 
 Althorpe, ' that by duty I am included in so painful a 
 business ; but the exigency of the times calls for ex- 
 treme vigilance, and I am sorry to add that Mr. Gales 
 is implicated as printer of seditious works, and we are 
 authorized to search for the authors.' 
 
 " I cheerfully accompanied them through the house, 
 opening each door, but they only bowed and passed 
 on ; but they were answered very cavalierly by the 
 indignant printers at work in the office. 
 
 " ' You have a very extensive establishment, madam, 
 and I am informed that you are fully competent to 
 carry it on in all its branches.' 
 
 '' ' I endeavor to do my duty, sir. But when is this 
 persecuting spirit to cease ? Where will it end, if an 
 Englishman cannot discuss public measures, and in- 
 form the people through the press, of what so nearly 
 concerns their interest ? ' 
 
 " ' I hope at least, madam, that Mr. Gales may no 
 longer be involved in the dangers of this period ; and 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 69 
 
 knowing the opinion entertained of him by his politi- 
 cal opponents, 1 shall rejoice to learn that he remain 
 absent until the present state of feeling shall subside.' 
 
 " They courteously took leave, and I mention their 
 civility as being in such contrast with their usual 
 cruelty in these domiciliary visits. A lady eighty 
 years of age was rudely taken from bed, while her 
 room was searched. And in London, when Thomas 
 Hardy was arrested, tliey brutally insulted his wife, by 
 telling her that she might see her husband hanged if 
 she wished. She sank under her fears, her infant and 
 herself dying during her husband's imprisonment." 
 
 The good sense, cleverness, and energy of Mrs. Gales 
 were severely tested at this trying moment ; but her 
 latent force of character was called forth, and her 
 resolution, strengthened as the difficulties increased. 
 " My husband gone, a large printing establishment in 
 full business, a paper to edit, and a young family claim- 
 ing my care." From every rank of the community 
 now flowed in evidences of the respect and personal 
 love entertained for Mrs. Gales and her absent hus- 
 band, in generous and delicate proffers of service from 
 the lowly as well as affluent citizens. Mrs. Gales was 
 especially touched by the expression of feeling on the 
 part of the workingmen, who regarded Mr. Gales as 
 their exemplar and protector. During one of the riots, 
 frequent at this disturbed period, a volunteer guard 
 kept watch around her sleeping family, shielded for the 
 remainder of their stay in Sheffield by these unknown 
 friends. 
 
 A deputation of mechanics waited on Mrs. Gales to 
 present a paper signed by the head workman of every 
 
60 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATOX. 
 
 craft in Sheffield, stating that they " had sworn to pro- 
 tect her and her children, and if it was her husband's 
 wish to return, thousands stood pledged to guard him." 
 " My feelings," says Mrs. Gales, " overcame me at this 
 demonstration of devotion ; but when composed, I 
 pointed out that this proof of attachment would bring 
 ruin on them from civil authority, and I would give 
 them the advice which my husband would approve : 
 that they return home, and continue to be orderly, in- 
 dustrious, temperate citizens. After asking to shake 
 my liand in farewell, they gravely went their way. 
 Worthy men of Sheffield ! never shall this kindness be 
 effaced from my rfiemory." 
 
 Mr. Gales had safely reached Amsterdam, thence 
 making his way to Hamburg. To return to England \ 
 would be to risk the tender mercies of a packed jury 
 and prejudiced judges ; and the turn of events hastened 
 to a decision the project long entertained by Mr. 
 Gales, to try his fortunes in the more congenial polit- 
 ical clime of the new Western Kepublic. A sentence 
 or two from the letter instructing his wife and children 
 to join him in Germany prove that no storm of adver- 
 sity, as no temptation of poverty, could swerve the 
 rigid integrity of this upright man. 
 
 "Bring nothing with you, my dear Winifred, but 
 what the strictest justice warrants. Let us meet in 
 peace, with a clear conscience, and* my trust is in God, 
 that he will help us. We are young, healthy, and able 
 to struggle for a support for our dear children ; and 
 leaving no one behind us who can with truth say that 
 we have wronged him, fear not but that He who feeds 
 the young ravens will feed us." 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 61 
 
 Mrs. Gales noAv made all arrangements, and offered 
 the establishment for sale. Very liberal proposals 
 were made for the ' Eegister ' by an agent for Govern- 
 ment, which would gladly have suppressed so obnox- 
 ious a medium of free discussion ; but Mrs. Gales 
 rejected the offer with spirit, and had the satisfaction 
 of placing the paper in the hands of one who would 
 manfully uphold the principles so vigorously advocated 
 by its conscientious founder. 
 
 The moment of parting came ; and amidst the tears 
 of friends, and the ardent blessings of the humbler 
 crowd that filled the street, Mrs. Gales bade farewell 
 to the endeared scenes and loved relatives whom she 
 was to behold no more on earth ; and sailing from 
 Hull, her native land set upon her sight forever. 
 
 "The torchlike blaze of the 'Eegister' being thus 
 quenched, it soon afterwards, in the hands of Mont- 
 gomery, revived under the milder light of the ' Iris.' 
 The young poet-editor inherited the political odium 
 attaching to his predecessor in the eyes of the govern- 
 ment ; and, watched with vigilance, w^as marked out as 
 the victim of that bolt of vengeance which had missed 
 his patriotic master." Under the most paltry pretext 
 of writing and printing seditious songs, he suffered a 
 state prosecution at the hands of Sir John Scott, sub- 
 sequently Lord Eldon, and was twice imprisoned in 
 York Castle. 
 
 The incidents and labors of ]\Iontgomery's career, as 
 journalist, politician, and philanthropist, are too famil- 
 iar to the pubhc to be here recited. As a poet, his 
 name is indelibly inscribed in the ranks of England's 
 most cherished sons ; while his memory is endeared to 
 
62 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 thousands of Christians, who find in the fervor and 
 poetic fire of the unsurpassed hymns of this " sweet 
 singer in Israel" the truest expression of their soul'^ 
 worship. 
 
 In 1825, on the occasion of Montgomery's retirement 
 from public life, he was complimented by a dinner, 
 offered by gentlemen of every shade of political opin- 
 ion, presided over by Earl Fitzwilliam, whose father 
 had been the poet's first patron. The runaway youth 
 with his cherished manuscript in his pocket, his sole 
 wealth, had the good fortune to meet the Earl riding 
 in his park at Wentworth ; and puUing out the poem, 
 presented it to the kindly nobleman, who, reading it on 
 the spot, gave the elated author his first golden guinea. 
 
 In replying to a toast at this banquet, Montgomery 
 spoke of Mr. Gales and the cause he had so nobly de- 
 fended. 
 
 " With all the enthusiasm of youth I entered into 
 the feelings of those who called themselves the friends 
 of freedom and humanity. Those with whom I was 
 immediately connected, verily were such ; and had all 
 the Eeformers of that era been generous, upright, and 
 disinterested like the noble-minded editor of the Shef- 
 field Eegister, the cause which they espoused would 
 never have been disgraced, and might have prevailed 
 at that time ; since there could have been nothing to 
 fear from the patriotic measure of patriotic men." 
 
 Strongly attached to the family of Mr. Gales, Mont- 
 gomery passed into his remaining household, consisting 
 of three sisters, to whom, until the circle was broken 
 by death, he supplied the place of a brother. The ill- 
 health of the eldest Miss Gales alone prevented the 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 63 
 
 cementing of this fraternal association by a more tender 
 tie, her virtues being commemorated by Montgomery 
 at the period of her death, by the following hitherto 
 unpublished lines : — 
 
 ' ' She went as calmly as at eve 
 A cloud in sunset melts away, 
 "Wliile blending nights and shadows weave 
 The winding-sheet of dying day. 
 
 " No : — the day dies not : — round the globe 
 It holds its flight o'er land and main ; 
 Morn, noon, and evening are its robe, 
 And solemn night its flowing train. 
 
 *' So when to us she seemed to die, 
 And leave a shadow in her shroud, 
 'T was but the glory passing by, 
 And darkness gathering round a cloud. 
 
 " Such words as angel-lips conveyed 
 To Mary at the sepulchre, 
 "Where she had seen her Saviour laid, 
 Seemed for a moment true of her. 
 
 ** For she had risen, and cast away 
 The vestments which her spirit wore ; 
 ' The linen clothes and napkin ' la}?-, 
 But she, our friend, was there no more. 
 
 *' Yes, she was risen, and whither ^ovm 
 The mind of man might not conceive ; 
 Yet, that she stood before the Throne, 
 Faith, though it saw not, could believe. 
 
 * * For by no sophistry beguiled, 
 She loved the Gospel's joyful sound, 
 Received it like a little child. 
 And in her heart its sweetness found. 
 
 ** Farewell, a brief farewell, dear friend! 
 Dear sister! — we are following fast ; 
 
64 WILLIAM WIXSTOX SEATON. 
 
 for endurance to the end, 
 
 And home in Heaven when toils are past ! 
 
 *' Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, 
 "VVe laid thee where thy fathers sleep : 
 There, till the rising of the just, 
 "Watch o'er thy bed the stars will keep. 
 
 *' * Good night ! ' once more; — when next we meet 
 
 May this our salutation be, 
 
 ' Good morrow ! ' at the judgment-seat ; 
 
 * Good morrow ! ' to eternity. 
 
 "J. Montgomery. 
 "The Mount, Sheffield, 
 
 February 24, 1838." 
 
 A member of j\Ir. Seaton's family thus describes, in 
 1848, a visit to the " Mount" in Sheffield, where the 
 venerable poet, then seventy-seven years of age, was 
 happily passing the ]3lacid evening of a somewhat 
 stormy life, in the faithful companionship of the sur- 
 vivor of the Gales sisters : — 
 
 " "WHio says that Montgomery is morose ? He is a 
 trump, a delightful old man, whom I could reverence 
 and love in a week, so unsophisticated and pure in his 
 tastes and habits is he. I have seen him and Aunt 
 Sarah every day, and they are cordial and affectionate 
 as possible ; and in the dinner at their house I enjoyed 
 the meeting exceedingly ; Montgomery took his pipe, 
 and chatted in the most charming, easy, and winning 
 manner." 
 
 At the close of a spring day in 1854 the aged poet 
 surprised Miss Gales at family worship by handing 
 her the Bible, saying, " Sarah, you must read " ; after 
 which he prayed with a peculiar pathos, exciting his 
 friend's attention, conversing cheerfully, however, while 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 65 
 
 smoking his customary pipe. But the end of earth 
 had come ; and a few hours later, while speaking with 
 Miss Gales, " he fell on sleep." 
 
 The transit of Mrs. Gales, from Hull to Hamburg, 
 was not witliout danger, from a severe gale threatening 
 instant destruction ; but all suflering was forgotten in 
 the joyful reunion with the exile at Altona. In Sep- 
 tember they embarked for America, but tlie manners 
 of the captain, and the whole discipline of the vessel, 
 were so offensive as to excite disgust and uneasiness 
 among the passengers ; and a prolonged calm succeed- 
 ing to a terrific storm, adding to the discomfort, in- 
 duced Mr. Gales to forfeit his passage. Hailing a 
 passing pilot-boat, the wandering family once more 
 safely landed on German soil. 
 
 This incident, apparently affecting only the personal 
 comfort of Mrs. Gales, was a providential link in the 
 chain of events shaping the future fortune of ]\Ir. 
 Gales, and that of his descendants in the New World. 
 With characteristic industry, during the winter he set 
 himself the task of mastering the German tongue and 
 the art of short-hand ; and it was his skill in the latter 
 chance acquisition that virtually founded the National "^ 
 Intelligencer, and gave to fame its brother editors. 
 
 Altona, in the Duchy of Holstein, the claim to 
 whose allegiance was so recently casus belli between "^ 
 gallant little Denmark and the great German powers, 
 is a quaint, pretty town on the banks of the Elbe, sep- 
 arated, only by ancient, picturesque gates from the 
 beautiful free city of Hamburg ; and it would be in- 
 teresting to present the details of continental life dur- 
 ing a residence there seventy-four years ago, as noted 
 
66 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 by the graphic and sprightly pen of Mrs. Gales ; but 
 the limits of this sketch preclude more than a passing 
 glance at a few of the persons and incidents described 
 in her autobiography. 
 
 " The season set in with intense rigor, and persons 
 in America recollect the bitter severity of the winter 
 of 1794 The rivers became solidly frozen to a great 
 thickness, insomuch that hundreds of persons assem- 
 bled on the Elbe, lighting large fires, eating, dancing, 
 skating, and roasting oxen whole on the ice. Early 
 in January, 1795, General Pichegru and his victorious 
 army having expelled the Austrians from the Nether- 
 lands, drove the Dutch and British before them, and 
 passing over the frozen Meuse, literally conquered the 
 country on skates. 
 
 " This unlooked-for event in a manner affected our 
 humble fortunes, bringing as it did to Altona an influx 
 of several thousand French emiOTants, amonsj whom we 
 renewed old and formed fresh friendships. The French 
 royalists had escaped in vast numbers from Jacobin- 
 ical atrocities to England and Holland, and on the ad- 
 vance of Pichegru they fled disrSayed from their asy- 
 lum, the females shrieking, ' They are come, the French 
 are come ; we are lost ! ' But Pichegru possessed the 
 spirit of humanity always accompanying true bravery, 
 and on his entrance into Amsterdam performed a most 
 gracious action. AA^iilst the affrighted French were 
 flying in all directions, a small number of them, mad- 
 dened by conflicting feelings, rushed into the victori- 
 ous general's presence, demanding instant death ! To 
 their impassioned supplications Pichegru replied, with 
 averted face, ' I know you not,' motioning as he left 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. ' 67 
 
 the room to one of his aides, who, conducting the reck- 
 less creatures into another apartment, drew their atten- 
 tion to a table covered with rouleaux of gold. A few, 
 yielding to the pressure of the moment,^ availed them- 
 selves of this noble, delicate liberality ; others, from 
 honorable but mistaken feeling, turned silently away. 
 One of the latter, a gifted man of high rank at home, 
 related this anecdote to us, with expressions of grati- 
 tude for the kindly victor. 
 
 " Eeduced to utter penury, it was no unusual thing 
 for us to see in the streets of Altona the cherished 
 Cross of St. Louis glittering beneath the threadbare 
 vestments of these emigres ; and ladies who had graced 
 the circles of a court cheerfully submitted to menial 
 employments. 
 
 " We were surprised one morning by a visit from 
 Citizen, ci-devant Count, Zenobia, whom we had known 
 in Sheffield, where Mr. Gales published for him the 
 spirited pamphlets advocating the liberal cause, which 
 had rendered him so obnoxious to the Ministry ; and 
 while waiting to correct his proofs he had passed many 
 hours in my drawing-room. He was a novel charac- 
 ter to me, very entertaining, having for some years been 
 Envoy from Venice to England, where he remained 
 after his embassy had ceased. Speaking English flu- 
 ently, he was now, in Germany, a welcome guest at 
 our humble board, his wife also being a pleasant acqui- 
 sition to our circle, a beautiful woman, with a superb 
 suit of brown hair that swept the floor. 
 
 "He presented to us General Clarke, of the Irish 
 Brigade in France, a most charming man, Avho after- 
 wards, such are Fortune's caprices, was created by Na- 
 
68 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 poleon a peer of France, Due de Dantzic, and accom- 
 panied Madame Lafayette to Olmiitz. 
 
 " Amon2: other notables of our little coterie mav be 
 mentioned General Dumouriez, who there wrote his 
 memoirs ; and Mr. Dutton, proscribed in England as 
 the author of essays under the signature of Junius 
 Eeclivivus, for whose apprehension a large reward was 
 offered. 
 
 " Citizen and Citizeness Zenobia were pleased with 
 my children, and frequently begged that they be al- 
 lowed to accompany them to dessert at the celebrated 
 talle cVhote in Altona, where my little girls were always 
 received with enthusiasm, returning to me full of ad- 
 miration at the beauty of the ladies, their lovely red 
 cheeks, and grand gowns. 
 
 " Amon£( the emio^rants whom we came to know well 
 was the celebrated Madame de Genlis, whose husband, 
 Sillery-Brulart, had been a victim of the guillotine. 
 She retained in full her great beauty and fascination, 
 was witty, perhaps a little frivolous, and unsubdued 
 by the fearful scenes that had banished her from the 
 brilliant society of a luxurious court. She often spoke 
 with devoted affection of her former pupil, the Due de 
 Chartres — afterwards King Louis Philippe — and I 
 was surprised in after-years to learn that she had trans- 
 ferred her allegiance ardently to the Imperial Corsican, 
 by whom she was allowed a pension and handsome 
 apartment at the Tuileries, playing again a conspicuous 
 role at the court of St. Cloud. Estranged from the 
 Orleans family by this defection, the accession of Louis 
 Philippe brought her no increase of honor, and this 
 once-cherished favorite of princes sank into poverty 
 
A BlOGliAPmCAL SKETCH. 69 
 
 and obscurity. She was engaged in literary pursuits 
 while at Altona, writing there her ' Knights of the 
 Swan.' My little Sarah — afterwards Mrs. Seaton — 
 was her special pet, and so much did the cliild win 
 upon her aftection, that she urged us to let her fill the 
 empty place in her heart ; but we could not part with 
 our daughter, even to bestow upon her all the worldly 
 advantages attending the rank and fame of Madame de 
 Genlis." 
 
 In the diverse circle thus strangely resolved into so- 
 cial harmony was the philanthropic Joel Barlow witli 
 his wife, whose acquaintance witli ]\Ir. and Mrs. Gales 
 ripened into intimacy. This gifted man had already 
 played a prominent part in the revolutionary dramas 
 of the rebellious American Colonies, and of republican 
 France, having left college to participate in the victory 
 of White Plains. Eeturning to the prosecution of his 
 studies, the youthful patriot's graduating poem was on 
 the " Prospect of Peace," and still fired by rebellious 
 ardor, he prepared himself, after six vjcehs devotion to 
 theology, for the post of army chaplain, one of the un- 
 usual duties of which spiritual office he assumed to be 
 the composition of spirited odes, by which to animate 
 the soldiers. His "Vision of Columbus," afterwards 
 elaborated into his magnum opus the "Columbiad," 
 met with great success both in London and Paris ; and 
 Miss Berry, the beautiful friend of Horace AValpole, 
 speaks of it as a work of genius. 
 
 This enthusiastic nature naturally led its possessor 
 to the van, in the cry of liberty then shaking thrones 
 and peoples, and Joel Barlow precipitated himself into 
 the maelstrom of French anarchy, becoming involved 
 
70 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 in the intrigues of the Girondists ; and in a poem en- 
 titled " The Conspiracy of Kings " launched a furious 
 denunciation at the devoted head of Edmund Burke as 
 the author of the calamities of the times. Being sent 
 on a diplomatic mission to Savoy, he made stirring 
 appeals to the Piedmontese to embrace the alluring 
 principles of Eevolution, composing meanwhile liis 
 humorous poem, " The Hasty Pudding," 
 
 He now formed one of the most brilliant members 
 of the little community of proscrits, united by the sym- 
 pathetic tie of persecution in this hospitable German 
 town. " Once more," writes Mrs. Gales, " were we 
 tempted to part with our little daughter Sarah. Our 
 kind friends the Barlows earnestly plead with us to 
 resign her to them, if only for a year. ' We will take 
 her to France, and give her again to your arms in 
 America,' said they ; but Ave firmly resisted the en- 
 treaty, and happily so, for Mr. Barlow was appointed 
 Consul at Algiers — where he released the prisoners 
 held as slaves by the Barbary Powers — and to various 
 other missions ; so that we only met in America after 
 an interval of fourteen years." 
 
 Durinf; the winter the domestic content of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Gales was enhanced by the birth of a daughter, 
 named, in commemoration of their city of refuge, Al- 
 tona Holstein. 
 
 The moment now arrived in which these English 
 wanderers were once more to leave kind friends and 
 pleasant scenes, and in July, 1795, they sailed for 
 Philadelphia. The ship skimmed lightly over the sum- 
 mer seas in uninterrupted safety, except from an inci- 
 dent that afforded the facile' pen of Mrs. Gales subject- 
 matter for frequent romantic after-sketches. 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 71 
 
 " When about four hundred miles from the Delaware 
 Capes, one morning the lookout called, ' A sail, a sail 
 ahead.' 'A pilot-boat,' said one. 'How curiously 
 ri^f^ed, and what a cloud of canvas she carries!' said 
 anotlier. ' But,' said I, placing the telescope to my 
 eye, 'the people on her deck are dancing like wild 
 men ' ; and at these words a shot whizzed across our 
 bow from the privateer, to bring us to. 
 
 " All was now hurry and consternation. England, 
 France, and the Barbary Powers were at war, and the 
 Algerine pirates were spreading terror over every sea. 
 In a moment it was determined that some of the pas- 
 sengers were to be Spaniards, — ourselves, an American 
 family returning from Hamburg, — the Germans to 
 remain in statu q^uo. Within half an hour the priva- 
 teer had boarded us, put our crew under hatches, and 
 carried off our captain, leaving a lieutenant and prize- 
 master in charge of our vessel. 
 
 " Shielded by my clinging children, and fearing no 
 insult, I went on deck, when the lieutenant, bowing, 
 said, ' An American family from Hamburg, madam ? ' 
 I merely bowed. ' Your husband may be an American, 
 but you surely are an Englishwoman, and these chil- 
 dren,' patting the heads of Joseph and Sarah, 'were 
 born on British soil.' 
 
 " ' Can you, then, draw such nice distinctions be- 
 tween those who, though living in different hemi- 
 spheres, claim a common origin and speak the same 
 language ? ' I replied. 
 
 " ' Yes, madam, for I am an Englishman.' 
 
 " I instantly made up my mind, and lield out my 
 hand to my countryman. At the same moment the 
 
72 WILLIAxM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 bluff prize-master came up, saying, ' You are a York- 
 shire woman too, madam, and blessed is the sound of 
 your voice, for it is thirteen years since I heard my 
 native dialect.' I shook hands also with him cordially, 
 and then expatiated on the hardship of being carried 
 to Bermuda. Lieutenant Bethel tried to console me ; 
 his house, the prettiest on the island, should be at my 
 service, and we should be honored guests. 
 
 " In quite a prolonged conversation I adjured him 
 to abandon a profession in which every man's hand 
 was against his own. 
 
 " Late at night the captain returned, and came to 
 our cabin, where I sat reading. ' Well, where is this 
 lady passenger and her children, who are like angels 
 in green and gold ? ' 
 
 " His voice made me tremble, but I calmly returned 
 his salutation. He insisted on seeing the children, and 
 I lighted him to their cots, when he passed his hand 
 gently over their sleeping faces, and, stooping, kissed 
 my little girls. From that moment I was assured of 
 our safety. 
 
 " The letter-l)ag was handed to him by his orders, 
 and as he opened and deliberately read its contents, I 
 smiled. ' AA^iat amuses you, madam ? ' 
 
 " * Your honorable profession, sir, which rises every 
 moment in my estimation.' 
 
 " He crimsoned, saying, ' Do you remember that you 
 are a captive ? ' 
 
 " ' Yes , but if we had had but one stern-chaser, you 
 could not have called me so.' " 
 
 A lengthened colloquy ensued, in which the tact and 
 spirit of Mrs. Gales, pleading for husband and children. 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 73 
 
 won the day ; and the priA'ateer relinquished his prize, 
 parting with his late prisoner even cordially, his last 
 words being : " Until your reputation for personal ve- 
 racity shall be established in Philadelphia, do not say 
 that this vessel had been during many hours in posses- 
 sion of, and was voluntarily surrendered by, Hutch- 
 ins and Bethel. To you alone, madam, it is relin- 
 quished." 
 
 Good cause indeed had the souls on board that ship 
 to be grateful to Mrs. Gales for deliverance from the 
 clutches of the captain of this privateer, — a bad man, 
 already notorious for every violation of honor and hu- 
 manity. 
 
 Immediately on his arrival at Philadelphia Mr. Gales 
 sought employment as a printer, his skill as a crafts- 
 man and his merit as a man commanding speedy rec- 
 ognition. The reports by the press, of the congressional 
 del3ates were at this period few and meagre, the art 
 of short-hand being in its infancy even in the British 
 Parliament ; and when a faithful transcript by Mr. Gales 
 of a day's debate in Congress appeared in full in the 
 succeeding morning's paper of his employer, the sensa- 
 tion was immense among the reading public of the city. 
 This stenogTaphic skill proved a ready stepping-stone 
 to better fortune, and Mr. Gales soon purchased the 
 Independent Gazetteer from the widow of Colonel 
 John Oswald of Eevolutionary fame. 
 
 Several years now passed in prosperity, the social 
 pleasure of the family being greatly increased by the 
 renewal of several home friendships among the refu- 
 gees who had here gathered to seek safety from the 
 storm evoked by English Pieform, among thorn being 
 
 4 
 
74 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 the learned and pious Priestley, who here baptized sev- 
 eral of Mrs. Gales's children. 
 
 " A number of our English friends/' says Mrs. Gales, 
 " were, like ourselves. Unitarians ; and there being no 
 church -for this denomination of Christians in Phila- 
 delphia, it was resolved to form a society of those of 
 our faith ; and a room was engaged in the University 
 Buildings in South 4th Street, where our first meeting 
 was held June 12, 1796. This little flock consisted at 
 first of only thirteen individuals and their respective 
 families. Six persons were appointed to ofiiciate as 
 lay readers. Dr. Priestley's forms of prayer being used, 
 each reader selecting such sermon as he thought prop- 
 er, Mr. Gales being the first reader who officiated. 
 After we left Philadelphia in 1799, the number of the 
 society largely increasing, a place of worship was 
 erected in 1816 ; and in 1828, the congregation being 
 greatly multiplied, the present church was built and 
 consecrated to the worship of the One True God, — 
 * for there is one Jeliovah, one God.' " 
 
 The yellow-fever during several seasons had devas- 
 tated Philadelphia, and Mrs. Gales was among the suf- 
 ferers from this terrible visitation. In 1799, the scouroe 
 again appearing, threatening now to become an annual 
 calamity, Mr. Gales yielded to the advantageous induce- 
 ments urgently offered him by some warm friends 
 among the North Carolina Delegation, and decided to 
 remove to the recently established capital of that State, "^ 
 Ealeigh. He disposed of his paper to Mr. Samuel Har- 
 rison Smith, who in 1800 accompanied the government 
 to Washington, where his journal was rebaptized as the 
 National Intelligencer. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 75 
 
 A tliird time, then, Mr. and Mrs. Gales left a com- 
 fortable home and agreeable social surroundings for 
 untried scenes in a foreign land ; but in the hospitable 
 little Southern community to which they now directed 
 their almost pioneer steps, the open hand of kind wel- 
 come was extended to the new-comers. Mr. Gales at 
 once established a journal, reviving the name and motto 
 of the one that had fought so good a light in stanch 
 old Sheffield, — The Ealeigh Eegister. 
 
 " By the constant merit and sober sense of his paper," 
 says the Atlantic Monthly, " its moderation and its in- 
 tegrity, Mr. Gales won and maintained the confidence 
 of all on that side of politics with wliich he concurred, 
 — the old Eepublican, — and not less conciliated the 
 respect of his opponents. In the just and kindly old 
 commonwealth which he so long served, it would have 
 been hard for any party to move anything for his in- 
 jury ; and the good ]N"orth State honored and cherished 
 no son of her own loins more than she did Joseph Gales. 
 In Ealeigh there was no figure that, as it passed, was 
 greeted so much by the signs of a peculiar veneration 
 as that great, stalwart one of his, with a sort of noble- 
 ness in its very simj)licity, an inborn goodness and 
 courtesy in all its roughness of frame, — a countenance 
 mild, commanding yet pleasant, betokening a bosom 
 that no low thought had ever entered. You had in 
 him, indeed, the highest image of that stanch old order 
 from which he was sprung." 
 
 Thirty-four years now passed tranquilly and happily, 
 cheered by constant evidences of regard from the com- 
 munity, and surrounded by a band of dutiful, affection- 
 ate, and gifted children. But the time had now come 
 
VG WILLIAM WINSTOX SEATON. 
 
 for repose from the labors of this prolonged life, and 
 Mr. Gales decided to remove to Washington to pass the 
 remainder of his days near his two children, Joseph and \ 
 Mrs. Seaton. This intention being publicly announced, 
 produced a considerable excitement in the little city of 
 which, during one third of a century, Mr. and Mrs. Gales 
 had been active members. They could not be parted 
 from silently. A public dinner was given in tliis good 
 man's honor, presided over by Governor Swain, on which 
 occasion every respectable citizen of the community, 
 and many friends from a distance, — among whom were 
 Judge Gaston and Chief- Justice Marshall, — assembled 
 to pay tribute in warmest expressions of respect and 
 love, and with full hearts to bid farew^ell to their ven- 
 erable parting friend. 
 
 The Eegister was transferred to his third son, 
 Weston Ealeigh Gales, who was endowed in full meas- 
 ure with the intellectual activity, editorial facility, and 
 a nature brimming over with every generous and kind- 
 ly impulse that characterized his parents, and whose 
 premature death was mourned by his State and city 
 as a public and personal loss. 
 
 Passincr, then, into the hands of Mr. Weston Gales's 
 youthful son, Seaton Gales, the Eegister, thus in the 
 third generation of its founder's family, continued to 
 be conducted with the ability wdiich had won for it so ^ 
 prominent a position among the journals of the South. 
 
 It was not possible for Mr. Gales, even at his ad- 
 vanced age, to cast off completely the harness of toil ; 
 and in the chief manasjement of the affairs of the Afri- 
 can Colonization Society at Washington he found, until -; 
 his final return to Ealeigh, congenial occupation for his 
 benevolent nature. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 77 
 
 The close of Joseph Gales's career now drew near ; 
 hut he was preceded to the abode of "just men 
 made perfect" by his honored life-companion, whose 
 poetic and. buoyant temj^erament, conversational gift, 
 and gay intelligence had brightened his leisure hours, 
 as her womanly tenderness and self-sacrifices had chased 
 many shadows from his laborious existence. 
 
 Within two years of her death he fell quietly asleep, 
 in the sustaining faith which had guided his useful, 
 blameless Christian life. 
 
 It was, then, nnder the auspices of a man whose no- 
 bility of nature was so kindred to his own that ^Ir. 
 Seaton made his next step in political journalism. In 
 the same year, 1809, the relationship was yet more 
 closely cemented by his union with Miss Sarah Gales, 
 who liad shared with lier brothers and sisters a careful 
 training by her father, being schooled in Latin and 
 English classics, well versed in French and Spanish, 
 with a taste for general literature critically cultivated ; 
 acquiring also from her father a rare accomplishment 
 for a lady, that of stenography. Inheriting with the 
 excellent judgment of her father the conversational 
 talent and the generous nature of her mother, she had 
 formed the delight of her parents' home, where, sur- 
 rounded by intellectual influences, and in the compan- 
 ionship of cultured minds, she had acquired the accom- 
 plishments, and developed the virtues, which subse- 
 quently adorned her husband's home with gentle good- 
 ness and social distinction. 
 
 Meanwhile Joseph Gales the younger, bred to the 
 paternal art, and matured in profession and character, 
 
78 WILLIAil WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 liad entered upon the career of journalism in whicli he 
 was destined to attain unusual eminence. 
 
 " His boyhood, as usual, prefigured the man ; it was 
 diligent in study, hilarious at play; his naind bent 
 upon solid things, not showy. For all good, just, gen- 
 erous, and kindly things he had the warmest impulse 
 and the truest perception. Quick to learn and to feel, 
 he was slow only of resentment. Of the classic 
 tongues he can be said to have learnt only the Latin. 
 For the positive sciences he had much inclination, since 
 it is told that he constructed instruments for himself, 
 such as an electrical machine, with the performances of 
 wliich he amazed the good people of Ealeigh. Mean- 
 time,- he was forming at home, under the good guidance 
 there, a solid knowledge of those fine old authors, 
 whose works make the un degenerate literature of our 
 language, and then constituted what they called Polite 
 Letters." * 
 
 Graduating at the State University, this young 
 printer, to obtain a more thorough knowledge of his 
 craft, was sent to his father's old English friend, 
 William Birch, of Philadelphia, where he speedily 
 became skilled in his art. The chance acquirement 
 by Joseph Gales of the art of stenograj^hy again led, 
 at this juncture, to important results, in its bearing 
 on the fortunes of his son, whom he had alreadv in- 
 structed in this adjunct of his intended profession. 
 
 Mr. Samuel Harrison Smith, having transferred, with 
 the removal of the seat of government, the paper pur- 
 chased of Joseph Gales to Washington, there reissued 
 it on the 31st of October, 1800, under the double title 
 
 * Atlantic Monthly, 1860. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 79 
 
 of " The National Intelligencer and Washington Ad- 
 vertiser." 
 
 " During the whole of Mr. Jefferson's administration, 
 the most confidential personal and editorial relations 
 existed between the President and Mr. Smith, who ably 
 supported liis administration, as he continued to do 
 that of Mr. Madison, who, as Secretary of State, and 
 subsequently as Chief Magistrate, manifested the ut- 
 most respect and confidence for Mr. Smith's intellec- 
 tual ability, patriotism, and moral purity." 
 
 In 1807 jVIr. Gales offered his son Joseph, then just 
 of age, as an assistant to Mr. Smith in the business 
 of the " Intelligencer," with an especial view to his 
 employment as a reporter, and himself attended the 
 ensuing session of Congress for the purpose of initiat- 
 ing his son in the difiiculties of reporting the debates. 
 
 His pupil soon became noted for his stenographic 
 accuracy, and eventually one of the best reporters 
 kno^vn at that day. " To the ' Intelligencer' young Mr. 
 Gales brought such vigor, such talent in every depart- 
 ment, that within two years of their association he was 
 admitted by iMr. Smith into partnership." In 1810 
 Mr. Smith withdrew from his laborious occupation as 
 editor, wishing to pass the remainder of his life in the 
 literary and philosophical pursuits for which his love 
 of letters and liberal culture so signally fitted him. 
 " . . . . The evening of his life of blameless purity 
 found him conscious, prepared, and tranquil ; and hav- 
 ing lived the life of a philosopher, he gave to the 
 friends who surrounded him a lesson how to die as a 
 Christian." * 
 
 * N.itional Intelligencer. 
 
80 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 " Of the administrations of Mr. Jefferson and Mr. 
 IMadison the Intelligencer had been the supporter, 
 only following in that regard the transmitted politics 
 of its original, the ' Gazetteer/ derived from the elder 
 Mr. Gales. Bred in these, the son had learnt them of 
 his sire, as he had adopted his religion or his morals. 
 Sprung from one who had been educated in Eng- 
 land as a republican, it was natural that the son should 
 love the faith for which an honored parent had suf- 
 fered." * 
 
 In October, 1812, Mr. Seaton imited his fortunes 
 with those of his brother-in-law, which association 
 transferred the names of Gales and Seaton from the 
 head of the Kegister to that of the Intelligencer, and 
 the former journal rcA'erted to its original status, with 
 Joseph Gales, senior, as editor. 
 
 " Ealeigh, in this instance, gave to "Washington a 
 brace of editors trained in the office of the Ealeigh 
 Eegister, who, during half a century, published a paper 
 that for ability, fairness, courtesy, dignity, purity, and 
 elegance of style, obtained a reputation equalled by 
 few Gazettes in any part of the world." 
 
 " The early tie of youthful friendship which had 
 grown between Mr. Seaton and Mr. Gales at Ea- 
 leigh, and which the new brotherly relation had drawn 
 still closer, gradually matured into that more than 
 friendship or brotherhood, that oneness and identity 
 of all purposes, opinions, and interests, which ever 
 after existed between them without a moment's inter- 
 ruption, and was long, to those who understood it, a 
 rare spectacle of that concord and affection so seldom 
 
 * Atlantic Monthly, 1860, 
 
 \ 
 
A BIOGRAPHIC AL SKETCH. 81 
 
 witnessed, and which could never have come about 
 except between men of singular virtues." * 
 
 The wings of the capitol, the President's mansion, a 
 few public buildings, and a score or so of private 
 dwellings stranded among the marshes, scattered from 
 Greenleaf 's Point to Georgetown, over rural hills and 
 alonsj the banks of " Goose Creek once and Tiber now," 
 then constituted the main features of the infant me- 
 tropolis, — the "Federal City," as General Washington 
 modestly addressed a letter, franked by his own great 
 name, now in the writer's possession. The increase or 
 improvement of the city had not made many strides 
 since the removal thither of the government, " which," 
 as Mr. Walcott expressed it, '' left the comforts of 
 Philadelphia to go to the Indian place with the long 
 name, in the woods on the Potomac." Contemporary 
 accounts represent it as desolate in the extreme, with 
 its unopened streets and avenues, its deep morasses, and 
 its vast area coshered with trees instead of houses." 
 
 "The ridge of hills," says Mrs. Harrison Smith, "of 
 which Capitol Hill forms a part, w^as covered with 
 a growth of fine, wide-spreading forest trees, natives 
 of the soil, which, if properly managed, would have 
 formed a noble park ; but in purchasing the ground 
 no right to these majestic trees had been reserved by 
 the government, and they were felled and sold by their 
 orioinal owners for fuel." 
 
 " I wish I were a despot," cried j\Ir. Jefferson, " that 
 I might save those noble trees." 
 
 Many a snipe has fallen before Mr. Seaton's unerring 
 aim where his old homestead stands, and many a 
 
 * Atlantic Monthl}-, 1S60. 
 4 * p 
 
82 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 covey of partridges has his pointer flushed among the 
 woods of our now broad avenues. JSTotwithstanding 
 the desolate surroundings of the inchoate city, its 
 society had already attained the cosmopolitan fea- 
 tures characterizing a political capital. " The hterary 
 and philosophical, as well as political reputation of 
 Mr. Jefferson, had made it the resort of foreigners, of 
 men of science, and of all European travellers " ; and 
 ^^pon the accession of Mr. Madison, and notably of his 
 charming wife to the honors of the executive mansion, 
 a refined ease and polished gayety pervaded the circles 
 graced by the winning presence of the new Presi- 
 dentess. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Seaton, upon their entrance on the 
 more enlarged sphere of their new home, were wel- 
 comed with the hospitality characteristic of that day ; 
 the consideration evinced towards them as strangers, 
 speedily warming in the community to the respect 
 and personal affection due to their virtues and rare 
 attractive qualities. Few are the survivors, and fewer 
 still the reaords of that era of a courtly tone and 
 stately grace of society, marked by the simplicity of 
 high breeding, and the absence of tawdry display; 
 when the flavor of royalty still clung to habits and 
 modes of speech ; when Mrs. Madison was approached 
 ^as a Queen, and the President's mansion was desig- 
 nated as the " Palace." 
 
 Mrs. Seaton's family correspondence depicts many 
 interesting persons and incidents prominent during 
 this period ; various extracts from which will best 
 illustrate the position of herself and husband, their 
 domestic happiness, and the intelligent perception 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 83 
 
 which seized and graphically portrayed the living 
 manners as they rose ; while it will be matter for 
 regret that family reserve should deprive the public 
 of these entire ana, which have now crystallized into 
 valuable social history. 
 
 Mrs. Seaton humorously describes the difficulties 
 attending her housekeeping researches, the young 
 metropolis being entirely supplied with such requisites 
 by Georgetown, at that period the emporium of 
 fashion, and thus continues her diary : — 
 
 ^ "October, 1812. 
 
 " Yesterday was a day of all days in Washington, — hun- 
 dreds of strangers from Maryland and Virginia, in their grand 
 equipages, to see a race ! Gov. Wright with his horses to 
 run, Col. Holmes with his, and people of every condition 
 straining at full speed. Mr. and Mrs. Madison, the depart- 
 ments of government, all, all for the race ! Major L , 
 
 who is hand and glove with every grandee, and perfectly 
 in his element, called for WilUam (Mr. Seaton), while I 
 accompanied Dr. and Mrs. Blake, and old Governor Wright 
 of Maryland, in their handsome carriage to the field. It 
 was an exhilarating spectacle, even if one took no interest 
 in the main event of the day ; and such an assemblage of 
 stylish equipages I never before witnessed. A large num- 
 ber of agreeable persons, residents and strangers, were in- 
 troduced to us 
 
 " Yesterday the first drawing-room of the • season was 
 held. . Joseph (Mr. Gales) and R. started in fine style, the 
 latter sporting ^ve cravats, Joseph contenting himself with 
 three. William was much solicited to accompany them, 
 but as I have not yet been presented to her majesty, and 
 it not being etiquette to appear in public until that cere- 
 mony be performed, he prefeiTed remaining with me. Mi's. 
 
84 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Madison told Joseph, that she ' anticipated much pleasure 
 
 in my acquaintance.' .... I shall not fail to enumerate 
 
 every instance of attention exhibited towards us, as I 
 
 know that your maternal tenderness is ever awake on our 
 
 account." 
 
 "November 12, 1812. 
 
 ". .". . On Tuesday, William and I repaired to the 
 palace between four and five o'clock, our carriage setting 
 us down after the first comers, and before the last. It is 
 customary, on whatever occasion, to advance to the upper 
 end of the room, pay your obeisance to Mrs. Madison, 
 courtesy to his Highness, and take a» seat ; after this 
 ceremony being at liberty to speak to acquaintances, or 
 amuse yourself as at another party. The party already 
 assembled consisted of the Treasurer of the United States ; 
 Mr. Russell, the American Minister to England ; Mr. Cutts, 
 brother-in-law to Mrs. Madison ; Gen. Van Ness and family ; 
 Gen. Smith and daughter from New York.; Patrick Magni- 
 der's family ; Col. Goodwyn and daughter ; Mr. Coles, the 
 Private Secretary; Washington Irving, the author of 
 Knickerbocker and Salmagundi ; j\Ir. Thomas, an European ; 
 a young Hiissian, Mr. Poindexter, William R. King and two 
 other gentlemen ; and these, with Mr. and Mrs. Madison, 
 and Payne Todd, their son, completed the select com- 
 pany. 
 
 " Mrs. Madison very handsomely came to me and led me 
 nearest the fire, introduced Mrs. Magi'uder, and sat down 
 between us, politely conversing on familiar subjects, and 
 by her own ease of manner making her guests feel at 
 home. Mr. King came to our side sans ceremonie, and 
 gayly chatted with us until dinner was announced. Mrs. 
 Magruder, by priority of age, was entitled to the right 
 hand of her Hostess ; and I, in virtue of being a stranger, 
 to the next seat, Mr. Russell to her left, Mr. Coles at the 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 85 
 
 foot of the table, the President in the middle, which re- 
 lieves him from the trouble of serving guests, drinking 
 wine, etc. The dinner was certainly verj' fine ; but still I 
 was rather surprised, as it did not surpass some I have 
 eaten in Carolina. There were many French dishes, and 
 exquisite wines, I presume, by the praises bestowed on 
 them ; but I have been so little accustomed to drink, that 
 I could not discern the difference between Sheny and rare 
 old Burgundy Madeira. Comment on the quality of the 
 wine seems to form the chief topic after the removal of 
 the cloth, and during the dessert, at which, by the way, 
 no pastry is countenanced. Ice-creams, maccaroons, pre- 
 serves and various cakes are placed on the table, which are 
 removed for almonds, raisins, pecan-nuts, apples, pears, 
 etc. Candles were introduced before the ladies left the 
 table ; and the gentlemen continued half an hour longer 
 to drink a social glass. Meantime Mrs. Madison insisted 
 on my playing on her elegant grand piano a waltz for Miss 
 Smith and Miss Magruder to dance, the figure of which 
 she instructed them in. By this time the gentlemen came 
 in, and we adjourned to the tea-room, and here in the 
 most delightful manner imaginable I shared with ]\Iiss 
 Smith, who is remarkably intelligent, the pleasure of Mrs. 
 Madison's conversation on books, men and manners, liter- 
 ature in general, and many special branches of knowledge. 
 I never spent a more rational or pleasing half hour than 
 that which preceded our return home. On paying our 
 compliments at parting, we were politely and particulai'ly 
 
 invited to attend the levee the next evening: I would 
 
 describe the dignified appearance of Mrs. Madison, but I 
 could not do her justice. 'T is not her form, 't is not her 
 fabe, it is the woman altogether, whom I should wish you 
 to see. She wears a crimson cap that almost hides her 
 forehead, but which becomes her extremelv, and reminds 
 
S6 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 one of a crown from its brilliant appearance, contrasted 
 with the white satin folds and her jet black curls ; but her 
 demeanor is so far removed from the hauteur generally 
 attendant on royalty, that your fancy can carry the re- 
 semblance no further than the head-dress Tn a 
 
 conspicuous position every fault is rendered more discern- 
 ible to common eyes, and more liable to censure; and the 
 same rule certainly enables every virtue to shine with 
 more brilliancy than when confined to an inferior station in 
 society ; but /, and I am by no means singular in the 
 opinion, believe that Mrs. Madison's conduct would be 
 graced by propriety were she placed in the most adverse 
 circumstances in life. 
 
 " Mr. Madison had no leisure for the- ladies : every 
 moment of his time is engrossed by the crowd of male 
 visitors who court his notice, and after passing the first 
 complimentary salutations, his attention is unavoidably 
 
 withdrawn to more important objects Some days 
 
 ago invitations were issued to two or three hundi-ed 
 ladies and gentlemen, to dine and spend the day with Col. 
 Wharton and Capt. Stewart, on board the Constellation, — 
 an immense ship of war. This, of all the sights I have 
 ever witnessed, was the most interesting, grand and novel. 
 William, Joseph, R. and I, went together, and as the 
 vessel lay in the stream off the Point, there were several 
 beautiful little yachts to convey the guests to the scene of 
 festivity. On reaching the deck we were ushered immedi- 
 ately under the awning composed of many flags, and found 
 ourselves in the presence of hundreds of ladies and gentle- 
 men. The effect was astonishing : every color of the rain- 
 bow, every form and fashion, nature and art ransacked to 
 furnish gay and suitable habiliments for the belles, who 
 with the beaux, in their court dresses, were gayly dancing to 
 the inspiring strains of a magnificent band. The ladies 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 87 
 
 had assumed youth and beauty in then- persons, taste and 
 splendor in their dress ; thousands of dollars having been 
 expended by dashing fair ones in preparation of this 
 fHe 
 
 "At the upper end of the quarter-deck sat Mrs. Madison, 
 to whom we paid our respects, and then participated in the 
 conversation and amusements with our friends, among 
 whom were Mrs. Monroe, Mrs. Gallatin, etc. I did not 
 dance (though ' 't was not for want of asking '), being 
 totally unacquainted with the present style of cotillons, 
 which were danced in the interstices, that is, on a space 
 of four feet square. There was more opportunity to dis- 
 play agility than grace, as an iron ring, coil of rope, or gun- 
 carriage would prostrate a beau or belle. A number of 
 gentlemen were introduced to me, among others Mr. John- 
 stone, of Kentucky, a pleasant, sensible man, from whose 
 conversation I derived much satisfaction, and who pre- 
 sented to me the gallant Captain Hull and Lieutenant 
 Morris, who so 'nobly fought the foe' on boai'd the Con- 
 stitution. 
 
 " AVe naturally, in imagination, frame the figure of any 
 character of celebrity ; and I must confess to being consid- 
 erably disenchanted in my fancied hero's appearance. A 
 little sturdy, fat-looking fellow, with a pair of good black 
 eyes, but not 'like Mars to threaten and command,' I 
 should never have suspected the gallant Captain Hull and 
 the jolly little man to be one and the same person. Lieu- 
 tenant Morris has a more interesting appearance ; is pale 
 
 and thin The banquet consisted of every delicacy 
 
 that the District could produce, — claret, Burgundy, and 
 every vintage that could be wished for by connoisseurs. 
 Mr. Payne Todd and Colonel Goodwyn were my cavaliers 
 for the nonce. We rose from table at dark, and returned 
 home with an interest in the fate of every brave sailor on 
 
88 WILLIAM WIXSTOX SEATON. 
 
 board ; and whatever good or ill fortune may befall Captain 
 Stewart, he will ever have the sympathy and good-will 
 of our inhabitants ; for, independent of his endeavors to 
 contribute to the pleasure of his friends by incurring the 
 expense of this party, his general amiability of deportment 
 has interested them in himself and crew 
 
 " It is customary to breakfast at nine o'clock, dine at four, 
 and drink tea at eight, which division of time I do not like, 
 but am compelled to submit. I am more surprised at the 
 method of taking tea here than any other meal. In private 
 families, if you step in of an evening, they give you tea 
 and crackers, or cold bread ; and if by invitation, unless 
 the party is very splendid, you have a few sweet-cakes, — 
 maccaroons from the confectioner's. This is the extent. 
 Once I saw a ceremony of preserves at tea ; but the defi- 
 ciency is made up by the style at dinner, with extravagant 
 wines, etc. Pastry and puddings going out of date and 
 wine and ice-creams coming in, does not suit my taste, 
 and I confess to preferring Raleigh hospitality. I have 
 never even heard of warm bread at breakfast 
 
 "On Tuesday last was the grand naval ball, given in hon- 
 or of Captains Hull, Morris, and Stewart, of which I must 
 
 say a few words The assembly was crowded with 
 
 a more than usual portion of the youth and beauty of 
 the city, and was the scene of an unprecedented event, — 
 two British flags unfurled and hung as trophies, in an 
 American assembly, by American sailors. lo triumphe! Be- 
 fore we started our house had been illuminated, in token of 
 our cheerful accordance with the general joy which pervad- 
 ed the city, manifested by nearly every window being more 
 or less lighted. This was inspiring, and calculated to give 
 every patriot and old officer in AVashington an inclination 
 to join in the festivities of an evening devoted to the 
 pleasing task of paying homage to the bravery and polite- 
 ness of the naval heroes. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 89 
 
 " The conntenaiices of the old and young were bright 
 and unclouded on our entrance, and cheerfulness was the 
 order of the night, when suddenly a loud noise and huz- 
 zaing were heard from below, and such running and con- 
 fusion as I cannot describe. Some thought it fire, others 
 that the unusual weight had caused the dancing-room to 
 give way ; but all were relieved from terror by a wild- 
 lire rumor that Lieutenant Hamilton had arrived with 
 the Flags. My first dancing essay was checked, every 
 man deserted his partner, and in a few minutes those 
 who hoped th^ news to be true were gratified by ocular 
 evidence of its certainty, while those sceptics who make it 
 a point never to allow ' McDonald's army to prosper, right 
 or wrong,' were convinced, apparently against their will, 
 that for once American seamen were eqiml to Britons on 
 the ocean. 
 
 " Young Hamilton appeared, preceded by General Gush- 
 ing, Hull, Morris, his father, and many old naval and field 
 ofiicers, and in a moment was encircled in the arms of his 
 mother and sisters, who have never seen him since his 
 providential escape from the Richmond Theatre, where he 
 went with young Gibbon, who met with such a tragic fate. 
 I cried excessively, and could not check my teai-s, at which 
 I was considerably abashed ; but, on looking around, I 
 recovered, in the conviction that I was far from being 
 singular. 
 
 " After half an hour's congratulation and chat about our 
 young officer's adventures, and a description of the seven- 
 teen-minutes engagement with the Macedonian (which was 
 never nearer than half a mile), I finished my cotillon, and, 
 after dancing till midnight, retired from the exciting and 
 
 gratifying scene Last night William had a supper, 
 
 among our guests being Hull, Morris, Stewart, Hamilton, 
 the Laws, and all the young officers " 
 
90 WILLIAM WIXSTON SEATOX. 
 
 "January 2, 1813. 
 
 {( 
 
 Soon after our arrival here I received a very polite 
 message from Mrs. Gallatin, to the effect that ' as soon as I 
 was established in my own house she would do herself the 
 pleasure to wait on me.' Yesterday, however, I discovered 
 that it is a point of etiquette for all new settlers in the city 
 to make the first visit to the families of the Secretaries. 
 This .ceremony I knew was indispensable towards Mrs. 
 Madison; but as Dr. Eustis and Mr. Hamilton have re- 
 signed, it is now unnecessary in their case. Mrs. Gallatin's 
 civility in calling on me prevented my suspecting that I had 
 failed in politeness to the other officers of the Government; 
 and this leads me to describe the brilliancy of her first 
 ball. 
 
 " The assembly was more numerous at the Secretary of 
 the Treasm-y's, — more select, more elegant, than I have 
 yet seen in the city. Ladies of fifty years of age were 
 decked with lace and ribbons, wreaths of roses and gold 
 leaves in their false hair, wreaths of jasmine across their 
 bosom, and no kerchiefs ! Indeed, dear mother, I cannot 
 reconcile this fashion to myself, and though the splendid 
 dress of these antiquated dames of the heau monde adds to 
 the general grandeur, it certainly only tends to make the 
 contrast still more striking between them and the young 
 and beautiful. Do you remember a frontispiece to one of 
 the plays in the ' British Theatre,' — Bridget in the ' Chap- 
 ter of Accidents 1 ' I can only think of this picture in 
 beholding such incongruity of dress; while that of young 
 
 girls is equally incompatible with general propriety 
 
 Madame Bonaparte is a model of fashion, and many of our 
 belles strive to imitate her ; . . . . but without equal eclat, 
 as Madame Bonaparte has certainly the most transcendently 
 
 beautiful back and shoulders that ever were seen It 
 
 is the fashion for most of the ladies a little advanced in 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 91 
 
 age to rouge and pearl, which is spoken of with as much 
 sang froid as putting on their bonnets. Mrs. Moni'oe 
 paints very much, and has, besides, an appearance of 
 youth which would induce a stranger to suppose her age 
 to be thirty : in Heu of which, she introduces them to her 
 granddaughter, eighteen or nineteen years old, and to her 
 own daughter, Mrs. Hay, of Richmond. Mrs. Madison is 
 said to rouge ; but not evident to ray eyes, and I do not 
 think it true, as I am well assured I saw her color come 
 and go at the naval ball, when the Macedonian flag was 
 presented to her by young Hamilton. Mrs. C. and Mrs. 
 G. paint excessively, and think it becoming ; but with 
 them it is no deception, only folly, and they speak of it as 
 indispensable to a decent appearance. 
 
 " But I have digressed from the entertainment. I am 
 siu-e not ten minutes elapsed without refreshments being 
 handed. 1st, coffee, tea, all kinds of toasts and warm 
 cakes; 2d, ice-creams; 3d, lemonade, punch, burgundy, 
 claret, cm-agoa, champagne; 4th, bonbons, cakes of all 
 sorts and sizes ; 5th, apples, oranges ; 6th, confectionery, 
 denomination divers ; 7th, nuts, almonds, raisins ; 8th, set 
 supper, composed of tempting solid dishes, meats, savory 
 pasties garnished with lemon ; 9th, drinkables of every 
 species ; 10th, boiling chocolate. The most profuse ball 
 
 ever given in Washington I was engaged to John 
 
 Law as a partner for cotillons the day before. This gen- 
 tleman ranks high in William's estimation, and I am always 
 pleased by his polite attentions in company. Governor 
 Turner invited me to dance when I first entered the room, 
 and I was glad of an excuse to plead a prior engagement, 
 as I know the offer proceeded from goodness of heart 
 which manifests itself in kindness to a good Carolinian, and 
 not from a desire to dance in a crowd where / coald hard- 
 ly preserve my equilibrium. I danced also with Mr. Black- 
 
92 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 ledge. Mr. Pickens was not there, on account of his moth- 
 er's death. Mr. Macon was very polite and lively, likewise 
 William King, who, though not so solid or amiable as Pick- 
 ens, in my opinion, is a very pleasant companion. Young 
 Swartout, who was so unfortunately entangled in Burr's 
 web, was introduced to me, and I like him much. He 
 was in town on Christmas Day, and William wished to in- 
 vite him to dinner, but apprehensive that it would not be 
 congenial to the other guests, postponed it ; though he 
 esteems him highly, and he is universally admired by old 
 and young. . . . 
 
 " The issue of the Daily Paper gives us now every even- 
 ing the duties of Proof Night, but Joseph and William 
 divide their labors and cheerfully put their shoulders to 
 the wheel, which makes everything smooth and agree- 
 able. The President admires it, and indeed every one 
 who has seen it, with this remark : ' But I am afraid it 
 cannot be suppoi'ted in such handsome style.' However, 
 William and Joseph are both sanguine as to its success, 
 and anticipate as many as five hundred subscribers before 
 
 the conclusion of the year Miss M played at 
 
 the drawing-room in ' high style,' but I think our D. G. 
 could have excelled her. I played once at Mr. Madison's 
 at a private party, but declined exhibiting at the drawing- 
 room On New Year's Day we went to gi^eet Mr. 
 
 Madison, which ceremony is generally deemed a test of 
 loyalty, and of coiu-se the terrace was thronged with 
 carriages from 12 till 3 o'clock, with constant streams of 
 visitors. Daschkoff, the Russian Minister, was there, and 
 Serrurier, the French, both apparently uninteresting men, 
 but most splendid in uniform and equipage. The good 
 wishes for the New Year resounded from all quarters, and 
 the Carolinians were very earnest in paying the compliments 
 of the season to us. Indeed, I think that our members 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 93 
 
 appear very well here generally. There is a most interest- 
 ing, venerable revolutionary officer, Colonel Gushing, with 
 whom I am well acquainted, and who reminds me of Colo- 
 nel Ingle ; and I cannot help wishing I could see them 
 tof>-ether ' shoulder their crutch, and show how fields were 
 won.' " 
 
 Madame Patterson Bonaparte, the divorced wife and 
 widow of Jerome Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, still 
 survives her weak and selfish husband, and has recently 
 followed to the grave their son, Jerome Napoleon Bona- 
 parte. She has long outlived the despot whose decree 
 invalidating her marriage enlisted in her behalf the 
 sympathy of Europe, the indignation of her own coun- 
 trymen, and the reprobation of France. With intel- 
 lect, tact, courage, and energy as her only weapons, 
 she resisted the imperial brother, who sought to de- 
 grade her wifehood ; and spurned the unmanly poltroon 
 who, at the dictate of ambition, avarice, and fear, falsi- 
 fied the vows so solemnly pledged to the young wife, 
 forswore the tender, passionate letters to his " beloved 
 Eliza," and, summit of stony heartlessness, sought to 
 wrest their child from its mother's arms. When, judg- 
 ing her by his own dwarfed nature, King Jerome, after 
 his soi-disant marriage with the amiable Princess 
 E^therine, insulted the dignity of his true wife by 
 offering to her acceptance the principality of Smalcand, 
 she replied with spirit, that " Westphalia no doubt 
 was a considerable kingdom, but not large enough to 
 hold two queens." His malignity could devise no 
 more worthy revenge than in his will to ignore her 
 existence and that of her son, whose rights she person- 
 allv contested in Paris witli unabated vigor and resolu- 
 
94 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 tion : but lier son stood too near the tlirone, and lier 
 grandson, the handsome, gallant young officer, was too 
 deeply seated in the affections of the French army, to 
 render possible a verdict in their favor; which, in 
 legalizing their claims, might have rendered them for- 
 midable rivals, in the Napoleonic succession, to their 
 young kinsman the Prince Imperial. During this 
 trial, conducted on behalf of Madame Bonaparte with 
 admirable skill by the renowned Berry er, Prince Xa- 
 poleon, while disgracefully and successfully striving to 
 defraud his father's son of his legitimate inheritance, 
 cleverly characterized the brave woman battling for 
 her son's birthright and her own wifely fame : " Am- 
 Mtieuse, un tact merveillenx, un esprit indomptahle, et 
 pour le reste, lone reputation saiis tdchey 
 
 Emile de Girardin, the brilliant litterateur and jour- 
 nalist, an ardent supporter of Madame Bonaparte's 
 opposing litigant. Prince Napoleon, asked her for a true 
 estimate of King Jerome. " C'est un Hard qui s'est 
 gliss^ par hazard entre deux Napoleonsl'' was the witty 
 reply, — a mot keenly relished by the appreciative 
 Parisians. 
 
 Madame Bonaparte retains in marvellous force the 
 well-stored memory, the grace and strength of phrase 
 that distingTiished her even amid the hosts of celebrities 
 who make for us the history of their day, — a society 
 irradiated by the brilliant if somewhat fatiguing mon- 
 ologues of Madame de Stael, the Eussian finesse of 
 Gortschakoff, — then young, subtle, handsome, and ir- 
 resistible, — the masterly and tender eloquence of I.e 
 Maistre, and the lightning epigrams of Talleyrand, 
 whose Damascene thrusts Madame Bonaparte parried 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 95 
 
 with a blade nearly as keenly tempered as his o^vlL 
 To these mental gifts was added a beauty of a Greek 
 yet glowing type, which not even the pencil of Stu- 
 art adequately portrayed in the exquisite portrait that 
 he wished might be buried with him ; nor yet on his 
 other canvas, Avhich, with its dainty head in triple 
 pose of loveliness, still smiles in unfading witchery, — 
 a beauty which equalled that of her friends, Lady Jer- 
 sey, the cynosure of the Eegent's Court, and the iair 
 Lady Ellenborough, who eloped with Prince Swartzen- 
 burg, and then, in emulation of the eccentric niece of 
 Pitt, the Lady Hester Stanhope, fled to the desert to 
 reign as queen of the Bedawee. Madame Bonaparte's 
 charms did not pale even in the presence of Madame 
 Eecamier and Princess Pauline Borghese, Napoleon's 
 favorite but frivolous, heartless sister, whose beauty 
 was the wonder of the day, and whose statue by Ca- 
 nova, now one of Eome's treasures, fairly rivals that 
 of her sister Yenus, which, in the Pitti Palace, " en- 
 chants the world." Madame Eecamier's empire over 
 the hearts of men was due not more, perhaps, to her 
 beauty — bewildering as it was with her soft eyes, se- 
 ductive smile, dazzling skin, and shoulders of a god- 
 dess— than to her subtle flattery, and the amiable tact 
 that allowed her to recognize the lustre of neighbor- 
 ing planets. " V021S etes la phcs belle femme au rnmide" 
 she said to Madame Bonaparte, "plus telle memc que 
 la parfaite Pauline Borghese!' 
 
 " Mais qa est lien mip)ossible, vii que ma telle sceur est 
 parfaitement telle" was the deprecating reply. 
 
 It was Madame Bonaparte's triumph, that in an era 
 of society free to license, though its laxity was gTace- 
 
96 WILLIAM WINSTON BEATON. 
 
 fully veiled by the lingering refined elegance of ante- 
 Imperial salons, her name should have remained un- 
 sullied. Her romantic story, her anomalous position, 
 her wit and beauty, made her a shining mark for the 
 homage of the one sex, the envy of her own ; but her 
 undeviating propriety and acknowledged discretion 
 shielded her from even the whisper of detraction. 
 
 " Clure Madame',' said her good friend, the Grand 
 Duke of Florence, — the Sovereign Prince recently dead, 
 who was at that period the charm of his Court, as con- 
 spicuous for his rigid principle as for the elegance of 
 Iris person and captivating courtesy, — " cliere Madame, 
 savez vous que nous sommes d\me singuliere moralite, 
 vous et nioi ? Nous seids, dans ma belle et morale ca-pi- 
 tale, nous trouvous sans amantr 
 
 It was Madame Bonaparte's misfortune not to have 
 met the Emperor Napoleon, to whose greatness she 
 ever paid willing and ardent tribute. Her rigorous 
 exclusion from the shores of France would almost 
 indicate that he feared the power of his new sister's 
 attractions ; and with his actual sensibility to womanly 
 charm, subordinate as it seemed to his cold, selfish 
 ambition, it can hardly be doubted that she would 
 have disarmed his anger, conquered his prejudice, re- 
 'gained her husband, and it may even be have changed 
 the destiny of France, — have lived to see her son, an 
 American Bonaparte, bequeath to his son and succes- 
 sor the Imperial Throne. 
 
 •• January, 1813. 
 
 " .... A few days since we were invited to Dr. EwelFs 
 to a christening. This gentleman is a brother to the Dr. 
 Ewoll who was in Ralei,o:h, and who speaks of yoiu' kind 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 97 
 
 hospitality. Gratitude would seem to be a characteristic 
 feature in this family. Having in the beginning of Hamil- 
 ton's prosperity received some kindness from him, Dr. 
 Ewell invited some fifty persons to celebrate the baptism 
 of his son Paul Hamilton. Everything was conducted in 
 much style, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton occupying the head of 
 the table at supper. Jones, the new Secretary, was not 
 there, and at the conclusion of supper, Dr. Ewell, called on 
 for a toast, made a graceful little speech, and bowing to the 
 ex-Secretaiy, said emphatically, 
 
 * Let others hail the rising sun, 
 7 bow to him whose race is run.' 
 
 " We saw a letter the other day from General Jackson 
 to Mr. Monroe, in which he mentions having sent Major 
 Gales into the town of Pensacola to demand the capitula- 
 tion of the fort. We have since received a letter from 
 Judge Toulmin, in which he mentions Thomas stavino; a 
 day at his house with General Jackson. I long to hear 
 again from New Orleans, though the last accounts are very 
 favorable, stating the army to be perfectly prepared. 
 Crooks, editor of the Mercantile Advertiser, has sent us a 
 London paper, in which is contained an extract from the Iris, 
 from the pen of Montgomery, in answer to an abusive para- 
 graph in a government paper edited by Canning. It is 
 warm from Montgomery's heart, and exposes the ignorance 
 and malice in regard to American affairs." 
 
 Thomas Gales, the brother of ^Irs. Seaton, was a man 
 of brilliant promise, cut off in the flush of successful 
 and vigorous manhood. He had followed the footsteps 
 of his brother Joseph, in preparing himself as a prac- 
 tical printer in Philadelphia, but preferring the profes- 
 sion of law, studied under General Walter Jones of 
 
98 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 AVashington, the eminent lawyer. Being captivated by 
 the representations of friends as to the promising field 
 for his profession in Louisiana, he removed thither, and 
 married the daughter of Alfred Hennen, Esq., of New 
 Orleans, a lady beautiful in person and of superior 
 powers of mind. In a few months he was appointed 
 by General Wilkinson, then commander-in-chief. 
 Judge- Advocate-General of the Southern Department, 
 and Justice of Faubourg St. Marie, w^hich arduous 
 position he filled well, being held in high esteem. 
 He took an active part during the war, being on 
 General Jackson's staff at Pensacola, where, at the sur- 
 render of the fort, he with his own hands hauled down 
 the Union Jack and ran up the American flag. He 
 possessed in a remarkable degree varied social powers, 
 a generous nature, with a cultivated, energetic mind. 
 
 " March 5, 1813. 
 
 " . . . . Mrs. Madison called on me last week, and very 
 politely invited me to attend the drawing-room of Wednes- 
 day, and 'not to desert the standard altogether,' which, prom- 
 ising to do, I prevailed on William to accede to my wishes. 
 Judge Johnson pushed his way through the crowd to speak 
 to me, saying, with his usual gallantry, that 'he had been 
 examining every group of Youth and Beauty in expectation 
 of identifying Mrs. Seaton.' Immediately afterwards a gen- 
 tleman came up with Judge IMarshall, who had inquired for 
 me, and wished to pay his compliments, he said. You may 
 remember, perhaps, that I always stood high in his good 
 
 graces Our dinner-party on Saturday consisted of 
 
 Judge Johnson, Colonel Swift, Major. William Hamilton, 
 Mr. Boiling Robinson, from New Orleans, and a few other 
 strangers Mr. Robinson is a young man, extremely 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 99 
 
 prepossessing in his appearance and manners, originally 
 from Petersbm'g, and exceedingly popular. I should like 
 you to be acquainted with him, as he is a fine, noble, inde- 
 pendent man, whose genius and benevolence are reflected 
 in his countenance, and whose brilliant intrinsic merit ren- 
 ders him a favorite visitor at our house 
 
 " Yesterday the most crowded and interesting sight we 
 ever witnessed was presented to our view in the inauguration 
 of Mr. Madison. Escorted by the Alexandria, Georgetown 
 and city companies, the President proceeded to the Capitol. 
 Judge Marshall, and the associate Judges, preceded him and 
 placed themselves in front of the Speaker's chair, from 
 whence the Chief Magistrate delivered his inaugural ad- 
 dress ; but his voice was so low, and the audience so very 
 gi'eat, that scarcely a word could be distinguished. On con- 
 cluding, the oath of office was administered by the Chief 
 Justice, and the little man was accompanied on his return 
 to the palace by the multitude ; for every creature that 
 could afford twenty-five cents for hack-hire was present. 
 The major part of the respectable citizens offered their 
 congratulations, ate his ice-creams and bonbons, drank his 
 Madeira, made their bow and retired, leaving him fatigued 
 bevond measure with the incessant bendino- to which his 
 politeness urged him, and in which he never allows him- 
 self to be eclipsed, returning bow for bow, even to those 
 ad infinitum of Serrurier and other foreigners 
 
 " You will regret to hear that your good friend Joel Barlow 
 is dead. I send the notice of the event from foreign papers. 
 Although of too tender an age to appreciate the generous 
 and brilliant qualities of this eminent man when the recip- 
 ient of his kindness in Germany, I still retain a vivid 
 remembrance of his appearance and manners. The place 
 and circumstances attending his death seemed a fitting 
 close to his volcanic and eccentric career." 
 
100 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Joel Barlow exercised a very uncommon influence 
 over men through his personal eloquence, and it was 
 doubtless to employ him in the furtherance of some pro- 
 ject by which to win the popular good-will, that the 
 Emperor Napoleon, who judged highly of liis ability, 
 requested his presence at Wilna, where, overcome by 
 excitement and a forced journey, IVIr. Barlow was at- 
 tacked by his fatal illness. The unfavorable feeling- 
 excited against him in ximerica in consequence of his 
 reputed atheism — a mistaken charge, for he was a 
 deist — was founded chiefly upon his intimacy with 
 Tom Paine, who, when imprisoned in France by the 
 Jacobins, had intrusted his " Age of Eeason " to Mr. 
 Barlow's care for publication ; but the prejudice, al- 
 though diminished, still existed and formed one count 
 in the indictment against him on the occasion of his 
 nomination as Minister to France. The vote of Timo- 
 thy Pickering in his favor having at the time excited 
 invidious comment, Colonel John Lee, a distinguished 
 citizen of Maryland, obtained from Mr. Pickering the 
 following valuable memorandum of the debate in se- 
 cret session on Mr. Barlow's appointment, which has 
 not hitherto been made public : — 
 
 " Against the nomination it was said, — 
 " 1. That Mr. Barlow stood on the books of the 
 Treasury a debtor to the United States. 
 
 " 2. That he went to France poor and returned rich, 
 without any known means of acquiring wealth ; hence 
 it was inferred that he had acquired his wealth by im- 
 proper means, and the speculations in American claims 
 under the Louisiana Treaty were mentioned as a pos- 
 sible mode. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 101 
 
 « 
 
 (I Q 
 
 3. That having lived in France many years, there 
 must be his predilection and attachments, and that lie 
 was also a French citizen. 
 
 " 4. That Mr. Barlow was a poet, and poets dealing 
 in visions were ill qualified for the business of the 
 world. Addison and Prior were mentioned as in- 
 stances. And an opinion (by General Smith) was 
 explicitly given, that Mr. Barlow was not qualified for 
 the mission. 
 
 " 5. That he had no mercantile knowledge, which 
 would be very important in enforcing claims for the 
 restitution of American property in France." 
 
 " To the first objection, Mr. Clay produced a letter 
 from the Comptroller of the Treasury to JMr. Barlow, 
 stating that his accounts of moneys expended in nego- 
 tiating treaties with the Barbary powers had been 
 finally closed at the treasury ; and with respect to his 
 being a French citizen, Mr. Clay stated that this citi- 
 zenship was merely honorary, and that the title of 
 French citizenship was by the same act conferred on 
 General Washington and General Hamilton. ^Mr. 
 Pickerimr stated that he knew ]\Ir. Barlow when a 
 chaplain in the Eevolutionary war, that he maintained 
 a sood character until he Avent to France, — that 
 whore of Babylon which had polluted the world ; 
 that it was understood that Mr. Barlow, in France, 
 had renounced his belief in the Christian religion, but 
 not that he had become an atheist, though at one 
 period of the French revolution it had been for- 
 mally proclaimed in their national Assembly that 
 there was no God, and that afterwards Eobespierre 
 claimed much merit for causing a counter declara- 
 
102 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 lion to be made in favor of God; that Mr. Barlow 
 possessed an understanding superior to such an opin- 
 ion, which only fools could entertain ; that liis being a 
 deist could not be a serious objection with the party 
 now in power, nor with a majority of the people of 
 the United States, who had raised to higher ofi&ces — 
 the highest in the nation — men whose faith was 
 
 doubtless the same with Mr. Barlow's That it 
 
 was true that Mr. Barlow was a poet, but certainly not 
 a mere poet, for it had been objected against him that 
 he had become rich, — a proof that he understood the 
 world as well as poetry ; that his abilities and general 
 literature were well known, and in his reading it was 
 most prob.able that he had made the law of nations a 
 part of his studies. That in the early period of the 
 French Eevolution he had ^\Titten some pamphlets 
 which gained him considerable distinction ; and it 
 was also true that he had written some thingjs that 
 were extravagant. There was at the time a political 
 frenzy, and Mr. Barlow appears to have been witliin 
 its vortex. This fanaticism pervaded the United 
 States ; and Mr. Pickering confessed that he had him- 
 self partaken of the general enthusiasm of his country 
 in favor of the revolution, and entertained the hope 
 that a new government was to be established in 
 France, — a hope frustrated by the atrocious conduct 
 
 of its successive rulers That, for his own part, 
 
 Mr. Pickering had no reason to be pleased with j\Ir. 
 Barlow; on the contrary, his conduct at the time 
 when the French Directory most grossly insulted the 
 government of the United States, appeared to be very 
 reprehensible. That the sentiments expressed by Mr. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 103 
 
 Barlow in a letter to his brother-in-law, Mr. Baldwin, 
 concerning our government, were so exceptionable as 
 to attract ^Ir. Pickering's notice, in a report he made 
 to President Adams on French affairs and ]\Ir. Geriy's 
 negotiations at Paris, which the President communi- 
 cated to Congress, and in which Mv. Pickering had 
 pointedly reprobated the conduct of Mr. Barlow. That 
 this very conduct of Mr. Barlow was acceptable to the 
 party then in opposition, and now in power. Tliat 
 'My. Barlow now entertained very different sentiments 
 respecting the French. That he had an intimate knowl- 
 edo-e of the lansjiiac^e, — a consideration of some con- 
 sequence to a Minister to that government. That 
 although Mr. Barlow would be a most improper Minis- 
 ter to send to the Court of London, yet he possessed 
 so many qualifications suited to that of Paris, that Mr. 
 Pickering was disposed to vote in favor of the nomina- 
 tion. In answer to the objection that Mr. Barlow was 
 not qualified to enforce the claims for restitution of 
 American property seized and sequestered by the 
 French Emperor, Mr. Pickering remarked, that if the 
 objection were well founded, he really thought it of 
 little consequence, because there was no ground to 
 expect that even one cent would ever be restored. 
 The French Emperor took, and held, that property as 
 a pledge that our government would conform to his 
 views in respect to Great Britain. But Mr. Pickering 
 considered the measure now ac^itated in the other 
 House to be so far from a compliance with the Em- 
 peror's expectations, that if it should be adopted, 
 Bonaparte would make it a cause for confiscating the 
 whole of the American property at once. We know, 
 
104 "^VILLTAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 too, that if Bonaparte is not fnrnislied with a pretext, 
 he can easily fabricate one. Witness his making the 
 non-intercourse law a ground for confiscating Ameri- 
 can vessels and cargoes, on the principle of retaliation 
 for the confiscation of French vessels in the ports of 
 the United States, when not one snch vessel had been 
 touched ! We should also recollect the information 
 given by General Armstrong respecting the neutral 
 property seized and then under sequestration in France, 
 amounting to twenty million of livres : ' that the A^ery 
 magnitude of the sum was a decisive reason why the 
 Emperor would not release it/ But the American 
 property in his hands now amounted to a much larger 
 sum, — probably to twenty millions of dollars, — which 
 proportionably strengthened his motives never to let 
 
 go." 
 
 Mr. Barlow's distinction, and extended fame in two 
 hemispheres, render every memento of so brilliant a 
 man valuable ; and the subjoined notes from the auto- 
 graphs are interesting, as bearing trace of the great 
 men and events with whom he was familiarly asso- 
 ciated : — 
 
 **A MoxsiEUR, Monsieur Barlow, 
 
 Hotel de Languedoc, Rue Grenelle, St. Honore. 
 
 " Mr. Jefferson presents his compliments to Mr. Barlow. 
 He wished yesterday to have had more particular conversa- 
 tion with him, but the circumstances of the moment did 
 not permit it. He should be very happy to see Mr. Barlow 
 at a family dinner to-day, where he will be more at liberty 
 in his inquiries, and have a better opportunity to show his 
 respect for him. Mr. Barlow will be so good as to bring 
 with him his young charge. Master Greene. 
 
 ''Saturday, July 5, 17S8." 
 
A BIOGHAPHICAL SKETCH. 105 
 
 ** Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States, 
 
 Washington. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — The bearers of this, the two Mr. Emmets, 
 from Irehiiid, have been particuLarly and grievously per- 
 secuted by the English government for their political opin- 
 ions ; that is, for their inflexible and enlightened attachment 
 to those principles of liberty which they, and we, think 
 ought to prevail in all societies. 
 
 " The elder Mr. Emmet was an eminent counsellor in 
 Dublin. He was imprisoned and detained there after the 
 peace. His brother took refuge in Paris, where he has 
 occupied himself in pursuit of the sciences, with good 
 proficiency. They have now chosen America for their 
 second countr}", — a movement wdiich, if our fathers had 
 not made it for us, you and I might be making at this 
 moment. May' I beg 3'ou, dear sir, to favor them with 
 your good advice, as well as other acts of friendship and 
 protection which may be useful to them. I know not 
 what fortune they carry, except that of fair and honorable 
 reputations and good talents. 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 "Joel Barlow. 
 
 ** Paris, 29 July, 1802. 
 "To Mr. Jefferson." 
 
 "To Mrs. Sw^an, Boston. 
 
 " Dear Mrs. Swan, — The continuance of your grief for 
 the loss of oiu' excellent friend. General Jackson, awakens 
 all my sympathy, and has induced me, at last, to give 
 utterance to those feelings which I had hitherto suppressed. 
 It is, indeed, a heavy loss — a wide breach in the circle of 
 my friends as well as in that of yours ; and since you could 
 not doubt of my most cordial condolence, it seemed to me 
 that my silence w^ould be more efficacious than my language 
 in obtaining for you that relief which your own habitual 
 
 5* 
 
106 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 reflections on the frailty of human dependencies could not 
 fail to furnish. But as you call for a communication of 
 sentiment on the vu'tues and character of our friend, let us 
 indulge a moment in the melancholy recital. To dwell on 
 the amiable qualities of those we love, is to strengthen such 
 qualities in ourselves. 
 
 " The place of his birth and education being distant 
 from mine, many of his surviving friends must have known 
 him longer than I did, though few have known him better. 
 I knew him an early and zealous military volunteer in the 
 service of our country in its revolutionary war. I knew 
 him always at the post of duty, frequently at that of 
 danger. He raised a regiment in 1776, which he con- 
 tinued to conduct, with skill and bravery, through all 
 the vicissitudes of fatigue and privation, through battles, 
 defeats, and victories, till the object was attained for which 
 he drew his sword, — the liberty of his country. At the 
 peace of 1783 — not so much in imitation of the Roman 
 Cincinnatus as in obedience to the call of honest industry — 
 he retired wdth the other illustrious relics of our armies 
 to the pursuits of civil life. These pursuits, though less 
 brilliant than those of war, are sometimes more difficult to 
 follow with consistency, as the history of our country 
 has abundantly proved. How many of his former fellow- 
 laborers in the arduous toils of independence have for- 
 gotten the principles they once taught us to revere ; and, 
 as if disgusted with their own good fame, are striving to 
 destroy the institutions with which that fame was united ! 
 Our departed friend never deviated from himself in this 
 imhappy manner. Henry Jackson continued firmly to 
 support the republican system which General Jackson had 
 assisted to establish. 
 
 " If it was this adhesion to principle that lost him the 
 affections of some of his few companions in arms who 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 107 
 
 survive him in his native city of Boston, — if it was really 
 for this reason, as I have understood, that they suffered 
 his body .to be committed to the gi'ound without the ac- 
 customed pomp of military honors (vain pomp indeed, but 
 sufficiently important in their view to be withheld, as a 
 mark of disapprobation), let us pity them : it is n t upon 
 our friend that this dishonor falls. No ! the stain of dis- 
 honor never touched him when alive, and death has now 
 placed him forever beyond its reach. 
 
 " But as you may intend this letter for publication, it 
 is not so important to dwell upon public character and 
 political principles, which are well known to his country," 
 as to bring into view the less conspicuous, but more 
 endearing traits that distinguish him from most of those 
 who have been dear to us in life. A purer heart, or a 
 finer sense of duty than his, never guided the actions 
 of a human being. His natural desire of doing good was 
 strengthened by constant exercise ; and beneficent actions 
 became so habitual as to be almost indispensable among 
 his daily enjoj^ments. 
 
 " His private fortune, though ample for himself and for 
 charity, was made so by a virtuous attention to frugality, 
 by moderating his expenses and avoiding extravagant spec- 
 ulations. He seemed to consider himself only as the 
 steward of his own estate ; as if the property of it belonged 
 to his friends who were less fortunate than he, or less 
 regular in their habits of life. To mention particular in- 
 stances that may have come to our knowledge would 
 betray his confidence ; and though the cause of morals 
 would often gain by a less scrupulous concealment of good 
 actions than their authors observe, vet secrets of this kind 
 are a property to which the public has no right until the 
 proprietors choose to give it up. 
 
 " If, my dear madam, these feeble expressions of my 
 
108 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 regret should afford you any consolation for the loss of 
 our incomparable friend, it will be from the assurance that 
 I knew his worth, and that my attachment was founded 
 on the same moral qualities in him which gave rise to 
 your own. My consolation must arise from the contin- 
 uance of your friendship to me and my wife ; and from the 
 confidence that your excellent heart, so nearly resembling 
 his, will induce you, not only to continue your usual 
 course of charities, but adopt in some measure the objects 
 of his own ; and do much of the good that he would have 
 done had not a wiser dispensation an-ested his career. 
 " Accept our best affections, 
 
 " Joel Barlow. 
 *' Kalorama, March 7, 1809. 
 
 At the period of Mr. Seaton's arrival in Washing- 
 ton, hostilities had already been declared apjainst 
 Great Britain. The country was roused to a spirit of 
 patriotic fervor, although party feeling ran so high as 
 to imperil the necessary measnres of policy adopted 
 by President Madison, to whose Administration the 
 Intellisrencer stood in the most intimate and faithful 
 relations. " Dnrinsj the entire course of the war that 
 journal sustained most vigorously all the measures 
 needful for carrying it on with efficiency ; and it did 
 equally good service in reanimating, whenever it had 
 slackened at any disaster, the drooping spirit of our 
 people. 'Nov did its editors, when there were two, stop 
 at these proofs of sincerity, nor shiink when danger drew 
 near, from that hazard of their own persons to which 
 they had stirred up the country." * 
 
 The metropolis, from its exposed and ill-]Drepared 
 condition, seemed to invite the enemy's assault ; and 
 
 * Atlantic Monthly, 1860. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 109 
 
 each clay the public ear was strained to catch the 
 boom of the first gun that should announce the 
 advance of the British squadron up the Potomac, or 
 the descent upon the city by Eoss. 
 
 Mrs. Seaton writes under date of March, 1813 : — 
 
 " Your fears, my dear mother, were not entirely without 
 foundation, though we laughed you out of them when 
 they were mentioned. When our removal to Washington 
 was in contemplation, you expressed apprehension lest we 
 should be exposed to British invasion and consequent 
 crueltv. You will see by the Federal Republican, that the 
 plan might be carried into execution without a muacle, 
 of seizing the President and Secretaries with fifty or a 
 hundred men ; and rendering this nation a laughing-stock 
 to every other in the world. I did not think much of 
 these possibihties until hearing them discussed by General 
 Van Ness and others, who, far from wishing a parade of 
 guards or ridiculous apprehensions to be entertained, were 
 yet anxious that the city should not be unprepared for 
 a contingency the danger of which did certainly exist. 
 Col. Swift since his arrival here has sent an officer to Nor- 
 folk to inspect and make proper an-angements, and appears 
 anxious to receive news of the results." 
 
 At the first call of danger Mr. Seaton and Mr. 
 Gales enrolled themselves as privates in a volunteer 
 infantry company, commanded by the gallant Cap- 
 tain John Davidson, encamped at Fort Warburton, the 
 present site of Fort Washington ; and served with 
 this corps on the various expeditions on which it was 
 detached during the war. Mrs. Seaton continues to 
 depict the uneasiness of the inhabitants at this im- 
 minent danger of invasion. 
 
110 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 "July 20, 1813. 
 
 C( 
 
 . . . We still remain passive sufferers under the al- 
 most intolerably distressing state of suspense. Joseph has 
 been home twice to attend to the paper, riding all night 
 and returning the next day. William has never been home, 
 but has removed six miles below Warburton with his com- 
 pany to intercept the enemy's scouting-parties and prevent 
 their landing in small bodies. There are a sufficient num- 
 ber of troops at the fort and near it, it is generally allowed, 
 but some fears are entertained of the enemy's approach in 
 another direction ; and though every precaution and prepa- 
 ration have been made, the citizens are in a cruel state of 
 alarm. You will see that CongTCss has reported that we 
 are in a securely defended position, nevertheless it is not to 
 be expected that our fears can be so easily calmed after an 
 excessive fright. I have no personal fears, being with my 
 children in the abode of safety, at Mr. Smith's house. 
 The British, peradventure they reach the city, would be 
 in too violent a hurry to make good their retreat after 
 the perpetration of all the mischief they might be able to 
 effect, to stop for a moment in the interior of the country. 
 Many families from the navy-yard and Capitol Hill have 
 proposed to stay here during the continuance of the British 
 in our waters, but Mrs. Henry Clay, Mrs Cutting, and my 
 family are all who are pressingly, tenderly urged to stay 
 during this tempestuous season of disturbance. No un- 
 easiness, therefore, is experienced here personally, but the 
 possibility of either of our dear protectors being injured 
 at Warburton, fills us with inexpressible anguish, you will 
 readily conceive. Joseph assures us most solemnly that 
 he does not believe they will dare attempt to land or pass 
 the numerous and brave force of volunteers and regulars 
 who are assembled, and positively believes that there will 
 be no fighting. William and he are both perfectly well 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. Ill 
 
 and in excellent spirits, which augurs well for victoi-y if 
 engaged, or a peaceable return. They have an express 
 engaged to let us know every morning of their welfare. 
 Nine of the office men are volunteers, and there are only 
 three men and three boys left to get the paper out. Joseph 
 will apply to General Armstrong for a furlough for William 
 to come up from below, attend to the paper, and return 
 the following day; so I shall go to the city to see my 
 beloved, my devoted husband. Be perfectly at ease, I 
 entreat you, as in case of an absolute attack on the city we 
 should be still secure ; and our protectors at Warburton 
 would not be exposed to danger either, as the British would 
 come up another way without exposing themselves to the 
 fire of the fort " 
 
 "July 22, 1813. 
 " . . . . William came from the camp yesterday, and 
 after an-anging the paper will return by daylight. He and 
 Joseph will now come alternately during the time it may 
 be thought necessary that the troops should remain on 
 duty. Their friends think it out of reason that the paper 
 should be neglected, and are of opinion that the proper and 
 continual direction of the public record printed in their 
 office is of infinitely more importance than any individual 
 exertion they could possibly make in the camp ; but this 
 an-angement of one staying and one going would be very 
 unpleasant, and they appear more disposed to encounter 
 danger, or rather exertion, together, than separate. Jo- 
 seph would more naturally incur the imputation of disin- 
 clination to defend his country from enemies than William, 
 from the accident of being a foreigner, and therefore I 
 should like him to prove the contrary, if he has indeed a 
 political enemy who would be so ungenerous as to asperse 
 his actions and motives. William, on the other hand, has 
 been more accustomed to military duty, always belonging 
 
112 "V^^LLIAM WIXSTOX SEATON. 
 
 to a company in Richmond from boyhood, and being also 
 a sportsman skilled in the free use of fire-arms. But for 
 the necessity of one or the other being here, I should be 
 unwilling for them to leave their companies even for a day, 
 as they are a brave, handsomely disciplined corps as any 
 in the District, and appear united as a band of brothers, 
 encouraging each other in activity and good spirits. There 
 is not a single instance of sickness in the whole number of 
 
 3,000 men There were only two pressmen left in 
 
 the office, and one of them ill this evening, so that the 
 
 paper will be published with great difficulty The 
 
 House is sitting with closed doors to-day on a confidential 
 message from the President, which is very well, as there 
 would be no one to attend the debates or to take any note 
 of their business. You will see that prejudice exists as 
 strongly here against foreigners as anywhere, the Senate 
 refusing to confirm Mr. Gallatin's appointment ! " 
 
 In December, 1813, Mr. Gales married j\Iiss Juliana 
 Lee, the beautiful and accomplished daughter of Mr. 
 Theodoric Lee of Westmoreland, Virginia. 
 
 "January 2, 1814. 
 " . . . . Yesterday being New Year's day, everi/hodj, 
 affected or disaffected towards the government, attended to 
 pay Mrs. Madison the compliments of the season. Be- 
 tween one and two o'clock we drove to the President's, 
 where it was with much difficuly we made good our 
 entrance, though all of our acquaintances endeavored with 
 the utmo^ civility to compress themselves as small as they 
 could for our accommodation. The marine band, stationed 
 in the ante-room, continued playing in spite of the crowd 
 pressing on their very heads. But if our pity was excited 
 for these hapless musicians, what must we not have ex- 
 perienced for some members of our own sex, who, not fore- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 113 
 
 seeing the excessive heat of the apartments, had more 
 reason to apprehend the efforts of nature to relieve her- 
 self from the effects of the confined atmosphere. You 
 perhaps will not understand that I allude to the rouge 
 which some of our fashionables had unfortunately laid on 
 with an unsparing hand, and which assimilating with the 
 pearl-powder, dust and perspiration, made them altogether 
 unlovely to soul and to eye. 
 
 ^' Her majesty's appearance was truly regal, — dressed 
 in a robe of pink satin, trimmed elaborately with ermine, a 
 white velvet and satin turban, with nodding ostrich-plumes 
 and a crescent in front, gold chain and clasps around the 
 waist and wrists. 'T is here the woman who adorns the 
 dress, and not the dress that beautifies the woman. I 
 cannot conceive a female better calculated to dignify the 
 station which she occupies in society than Mrs. Madison, — 
 amiable in private life and affable in public, she is admired 
 and esteemed by the rich and beloved by the poor. You 
 are aware that she snuffs ; but in her hands the snuff-box 
 seems only a gracious implement with which to charm. 
 Her frank cordiality to all guests is in contrast to the manner 
 of the President, who is very formal, reserved and precise, yet 
 not wanting in a certain dignity. Being so low of stature, 
 he was in imminent danger of being confounded with the 
 plebeian crowd ; and was pushed and jostled about like a 
 common citizen, — but not so with her ladyship ! The 
 towering feathers and excessive throng distinctly pointed 
 out her station wherever she moved. 
 
 "After partaking of some ice-creams and a glass of 
 Madeira, shaking hands with the President and tendering 
 our good wishes, we were preparing to leave the rooms, 
 when our attention was attracted through the window 
 towards what we conceived to be a rolling ball of burnished 
 gold, caiTied with swiftness through the air by two gilt 
 
 H 
 
114 WILLIAM WINSTOX SEATOX. 
 
 wings. Oar anxiety increased the nearer it approached, 
 until it actually stopped before the door ; and from it 
 alighted, weighted with gold lace, the French Minister and 
 suite. We now also perceived that what we had supposed 
 to be wings, were nothing more than gorgeous footmen 
 with chapeaux bras, gilt braided skirts and splendid swords. 
 Nothing ever was witnessed in Washington so brilhant and 
 dazzling, — a meridian sun blazing full on this carriage 
 filled with diamonds and glittering orders, and gilt to the 
 edge of the wheels, — you may well imagine how the 
 natives stared and rubbed their eyes to be convinced 't was 
 no fairy dream 
 
 " I have just had a most delightful conversation with 
 Mr. Wirt of Eichmond, who called to see me, and pro- 
 longed his visit, finding me alone, very much to my grati- 
 fication. He is one of the most elegant belles lettres scholars 
 I ever met ; and excels in colloquial talent as much as 
 he does in descriptive prose. I wish you knew him, as he 
 is a being of the first order." 
 
 "June 27, 1814. 
 
 **.... Joseph has returned within an hour from a 
 fatiguing and really dangerous expedition, without any 
 other injury than excessive weariness, after being exposed 
 to the fire of the British on an open plain, where the balls 
 whistled round his ears for the first time. The scene was 
 novel to him, but unlike most other novelties, it was not 
 pleasing. He volunteered his services while absent, on 
 every occasion of fatigue or hazard which occurred ; and 
 
 was always ' to the fore ' when they expected attack 
 
 William has held himself in readiness to be called out with 
 his compan}'- at a moment's warning ; but I trust they will 
 have no further occasion for their services, as Gen. Arm- 
 strong has issued orders for the return of those who are at 
 Benedict. Sunday, the day on which the cavalry, riflemen 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 115 
 
 and infantry from Georgetown and Washington started to 
 Nottingham, was a distressing period. Seeing Joseph go, 
 and expecting William to be ordered off every moment, 
 rendered the parade which took place before our door 
 previous to starting extremely painful False re- 
 ports reached us from the scene of action, it being con- 
 fidently asserted that six of Capt. Caldwell's troopers were 
 killed ; and you may imagine that each individual having 
 relatives in the troop trembled and conceived the loss 
 theirs. There was something very awful at the sight of 
 cannon rattling through the streets, suiTounded by sol- 
 diers, chiefly friends. I had never seen these dreadful imple- 
 ments of war associated with the idea of their immediate 
 destination and probable use. The present danger has 
 passed ; yet we are kept in a perpetual state of alarm. 
 Capt. Davidson's volunteers, among whom is William, were 
 left in the city as our safeguard " 
 
 Mr. Gales was absent on furlough for the purpose of 
 placing his wife and Mrs. Seaton and family in safety 
 at Kaleigh ; and Mr. Seaton was at the editorial post 
 on the memorable morning of August 24, 1814, when 
 the sound of the distant gun brought dismayed con- 
 viction to the affrighted and ill-prepared city, that the 
 British were in truth advancing in force on the Capital. 
 Dismissing the workmen to their respective corps, and 
 closing the office, Mr. Seaton hastened to join liis com- 
 pany, then at the Eastern Branch, which at once pro- 
 ceeded to the front, meeting the enemy at Bladensburg, 
 where, placed in the advance, it acted a conspicuous 
 part in the sharp engagement that ensued. Mr. Sea- 
 ton always deprecated the injustice which this really 
 spirited skirmish received at the hands of history; 
 
116 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 and was glad when the incidents of the action were 
 placed in their true light by the late Colonel John S. 
 Williams, a nephew of the gallant Eevolutionary pa- 
 triot, General Otho Williams of Maryland, and a par- 
 ticipator in the events he impartially narrates in his 
 " Invasion of Washington." 
 
 The editors of the Intelligencer, in npholding their 
 country's rights, in animating the public by their 
 ardent and effective appeals to patriotism, had in an 
 especial manner excited the ire of the valorous in- 
 vaders ; and no surer attestation of the value of their 
 labors could have been offered than in the inglorious 
 act of Admiral Cockburn, who caused the Intelligencer 
 office to be sacked ; and ordering the books and other 
 property of the establishment to be piled on the banks 
 of the canal, set fire to and destroyed them, himself 
 urging the mariners to the pitiful work. The building 
 was spared, however, at the intercession of the women 
 of the neighborhood, who alone remained to guard 
 the premises, there having been a levy en masse of 
 the men. Sala, the brilliant English author, when in 
 this country, in commenting on Cockburn's petty 
 revenge on the editors, says : " The ISTational Intel- 
 ligencer still lives, and, what is more, the editor is 
 living too. I had the honor of seeing Colonel Seaton 
 one night, — a hale gentleman of eighty, very much 
 resembling Lord Brougham in appearance, in full 
 possession of his powers, editing his Intelligencer as 
 fearlessly under the sway of Abraham Lincoln as he 
 was wont to do under James ]\Iadison, — revered for 
 his blameless character, and, as the Nestor of American 
 journalism of the higher class, universally esteemed, 
 
A BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 117 
 
 not only by the great of liis own country, but by all 
 the diplomatic corps of Washington. But there is no 
 doubt about our having thrown his types out of the 
 window." 
 
 These types fortunately were partly saved by the 
 eneroy of an Englishwoman attached to the family, 
 who has also additionetl claim to mention, as having in 
 her youth known Dr. Samuel Johnson, — - the burly 
 lexicographer having at one period lived in her vil- 
 lao-Q — on whose knee she had often sat, and who had 
 given her a sacredly treasured pair of silver shoe- 
 buckles. 
 
 It would be an injustice to include in censure all 
 the British officers under Cockburn's command in this 
 invasion, his inglorious deeds having been, in truth, 
 checked by a gallant Guardsman, to whom reference 
 is made in the following letter from General George 
 H. Stewart, a gallant Marylander, conspicuous in the 
 skirmish of Bladensburg and the defence of Baltimore. 
 Major, now Sir Norman Pringie, often, in later years, 
 spoke to Americans of the mortification felt by him- 
 self and comrades at the vandalism disgracing the 
 capture of Washington. He is a high-toned, well- 
 bred, soldierly gentleman, of an ancient Scotch house, 
 doing honor to the baronetcy to which he has recently 
 succeeded. 
 
 " I do not remember to have mentioned to you that I 
 wrote to our friend Major Pringie, at Stockholm, advising 
 him to apply for one of the vacant considates in this coun- 
 try, which I presume are more desirable than the one he 
 now fills in Sweden. Pringie replied, that perhaps his 
 presence here would not be acceptable, as he had been 
 
118 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 with the army in the capture of "Washington, and conse- 
 quently might have incurred some odium on that account. 
 I rejoined that no one here would feel any the slightest 
 objection to him on that scofe ; and when it should be 
 explained that he was detailed with his Grenadier company 
 to protect 'private x>yoperty on Pennsylvania Avenue (which 
 duty he performed faithfully and successfully, during the 
 night, to the satisfaction of General Ross, and also of the 
 citizens of that locality), I thought his appointment to any 
 
 consulate here would he acceptahle 
 
 " Yours faithfully, 
 
 "G. H. Stewaet." 
 "Colonel W. W. Seaton." 
 
 One of the most notable of Mr. Seaton's circle of 
 friends, and chief, indeed, among the social celebrities 
 of Washington at that period, was Mr. Thomas Law, 
 of whom few persons then living had not some anec- 
 dote to relate, as well respecting his eccentricities as 
 his brilliant talent. This distinguished gentleman was 
 a younger brother of Lord EUenborough, who had suc- 
 ceeded Lord Kenyon as Lord Chief Justice of the 
 King's Bench, being raised to the peerage on his 
 accession to the dignity of Lord Chancellor of Eng- 
 land; a second brother being Bishop of Bath and 
 Wells. jNIr. Law's early life Avas passed in India 
 with Lord Cornwallis, holding there a high civil 
 trust which he discharged with signal ability, receiv- 
 ing, on the resignation of his office, many gratifying 
 testimonials to the beneficence of his rule. Infected 
 by the spirit of liberty then moving all nations to 
 violent upheaval, Mr. Law's enthusiasm was roused in 
 favor of Eepublican institutions, and, inspired with 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 119 
 
 ardent admiration for the character of Washington, 
 lie came to America; having, however, no political 
 affinities whatever in this country. He attracted much 
 attention from his fine person, aristocratic connections, 
 and undoubted genius, and also from his wealth, which, 
 accumulated in the golden days of India, was dissi- 
 pated chiefly through building speculations, for which 
 he had a mania ; while he was also generous, prodigal 
 indeed, in good Avorks, as in the hospitalities dispensed 
 at his country-seat near Washington. Mr. Law mar- 
 ried Miss Anne Custis, sister of the well-known George 
 Washington Parke Custis, of Arlington, the adopted 
 son of Washington ; . but his numerous peculiarities 
 unfitted him for domestic life. His eccentricities were 
 many ; one of his habits being to carry in his hand a 
 piece of dough, which he constantly manipulated, the 
 loss of which would cause him to lose the thread of his 
 story. His absence of mind was at times inconvenient, 
 being obliged, when asking on one occasion at the post- 
 office for his letters, to confess that he did not remember 
 his name ; but a few moments afterwards, meeting a 
 friend who saluted him as Mr. Law, he hurried back, 
 gave his address, and received his mail. Another more 
 embarrassing instance of his distrait faculties occurred 
 at Berkeley Springs, where, after a bath, forgetting to 
 dress, he appeared in the crowded grove in pur is natu- 
 ralibus, scattering consternation among the prome- 
 naders. A note from a lady residing in his house for 
 some time winds up the enumeration of his oddities 
 by saying, " What an uncomfortable, extraordinary old 
 man he is, with his ' instinctive impulses ! ' on which 
 theme he theorizes, as upon ' elective affinities.' " 
 
120 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Mr. Law was an enthusiast, and regarded by less 
 sanguine mortals as more than visionary, especially 
 when riding his hobby, the currency question, reams 
 of discussion on this his favorite topic being in Mr. 
 Seaton's library. In religious views he was a deist ; 
 and although he subscribed to the building of the 
 Unitarian cliurch, and went often to enjoy the simple, 
 touching eloquence of Kobert Little, its first pastor, he 
 remarked on the first occasion of hearing him : " To 
 think that Little was talking about Jesus Christ, and 
 that 1 did not know he believed in that sort of thing ! " 
 Mr. Law was also quite a graceful poet, his Vers de 
 Societe being highly prized in the bright circle, the 
 incidents and personages of which he cleverly com- 
 memorated. Mrs. Seaton writes in November, 1814 : — 
 
 " Mr. Law yesterday brought me some lines applicable 
 and striking, to us who are spectators of the ruius of the 
 Capitol, and listeners to the constant disputation concern- 
 iug a removal of the seat of government, or a rebuilding 
 of the public offices. You can only half appreciate his 
 effusions when deprived of the advantage of hearing him 
 read them himself, as he is an energetic declaimer, and 
 possessed of a full-toned, melodious voice. We see much 
 of him and his sons, John and Edmund, who are both 
 perfectly unexceptionable as regards either their manners, 
 principles, or acquirements." 
 
 *'A DREAM. 
 
 The scene of conflagration wliich by day 
 Excited feelings painful to convey, 
 Appeared in sleep ; and faintly I disclose 
 The pleasing vision which in dreams arose. 
 High on the Capitol's smeared, smoky wall. 
 Midst fractured pillars of the Congress Hall 
 
A BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 121 
 
 Columbia sat : full frequeut heaved the sigh, 
 And giiefs dull languor Hoated in her eye, ' . 
 
 "With wild emotion every feature wrought, 
 Her air was sorrow, and her look was thought. 
 Lo ! .smiling Liberty, with heavenly grace, 
 And form angelic, gives a warm embrace ; 
 " Mourn not," she said, " the vandal's savage flame,— . 
 A lasting tarnish to the invader's fame ; 
 To just revenge thy children it inspires, 
 And makes them emulate their sainted sires ! 
 Extend your view o'er lakes, o'er seas, o'er lands, 
 Triumphant everywhere behold your bands ; 
 Whole fleets are taken and whole armies yield ; 
 Before your sons e'en veterans fly the held. 
 Even in sight of Albion's clifls your fleet 
 Seeks the proud ruler of the waves to meet. 
 My spirit gives an energy divine. 
 And makes your sons all former deeds outshine." 
 Now an eff"ulgent burst of western light. 
 And gilded clouds, wide spreading, struck my sight. 
 Justice descends ! but as she nearer drew 
 A blaze of glory hid her from my view. 
 I heard a voice, though solemn, full of love. 
 Pronounce she came commissioned from above. 
 " Droop not, Columbia," she exclaimed, " but trust 
 In power Almighty, as your cause is just ; 
 The machinations of the bad shall fail. 
 The force of numbers be of no avail. 
 Our God shall shield thy chosen land from harm, •— 
 Our God protects thee with his outstretched arm ! '' 
 At this, methought a peal of victory rung. 
 And a new edifice in splendor sprung. 
 Like Phcenix from its ashes, and a sound 
 Of triumph and rejoicing rose around. 
 Sudden I woke, all glowing with delight. 
 And full of faith in all that passed by night- 
 One dove to Noah in the deluge bore 
 The welcome tidings of appearing shore : 
 Two harbingers from heaven methought appeared, 
 That sorrowful Columbia might be cheered. 
 0, may it be the Almighty's gi-acious will. 
 This welcome vision quickly to fulfil ! " 
 
122 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — I am to deliver an address on Satur- 
 day in lieu of Edmund, and in it I shall demonstrate, from 
 important facts, the ruin which must ensue if it be at- 
 tempted to liquidate our debt of 3,900,000 six per cent 
 before the 1st January, 1830, and the benefits which 
 will be obtained if all the surplus revenue be applied to 
 public improvements. I have much to communicate. A 
 meeting must be called to consider how we can extricate 
 ourselves from our dilemma. ^Mi'. Mercer would, I think, 
 co-operate if he knew the objections to a canal which will 
 cost $ 5,000,000, and which will never be used if accom- 
 plished. 
 
 " Bonaparte, by giving three hundred monasteries to man- 
 ufacturers, and by lending money without interest for nine 
 years, has elevated France more than he did by all his vain- 
 glorious conquests. If every slave State had a cotton man- 
 ufacture in which only free persons would be employed, a 
 town would spring up, containing say fifty thousand in 
 each State, — here would be in twelve States six hundred 
 thousand. The mulattoes, now a dangerous class, might 
 be purchased and made free after six or eight years, and 
 they would become tradesmen and shopkeepers. Irishmen 
 and other foreigners would become weavers, etc. ; hay, 
 fruit, vegetables, meat, would become valuable, land would 
 rise in price, increased exports would produce wealth. The 
 more whites and free persons having a common interest, 
 the more safety and the more prosperity, for free labor is 
 proved to be more advantageous. If the general govern- 
 ment could give back to the States surplus revenue for 
 such works, what a scene of advancement would be exhib- 
 ited. The great object of statesmen should be to multiply 
 whites and freemen in slave States. 
 
 '^ I rejoice at the vote for the * dismal swamp ' canal. 
 Every day the advocates for public improvements increase. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 123 
 
 The middle class is always adverse to despotism aud party 
 spirit; they wish for peace and quiet. Money only is 
 wanted to make this country most prosperous ; our Poto- 
 mac canal, the Louisville canal on the Ohio, the Florida 
 canal and many others, would yield 100 per cent to the 
 nation. If also cotton were manufactured where it is pro- 
 duced, foreign competitors would be undersold. 
 
 " Think not I mean to bore you ; this perhaps is the last 
 letter I shall ever write on public affairs. When you have 
 a spare half-hour, let your zeal induce you to come from 
 the Capitol to me. The crisis is favorable ; we only want 
 concurrence among ourselves. I wish to unburthen myself 
 to you, who have beeji so active and distributed letters and 
 pamphlets so liberally. Bernard cannot report in time, 
 and, be his report ever so favorable, it will be useless. 
 
 " I shall soon retire to the country, and swear never more 
 to harass myself with finance ; the charms of nature, too 
 much overlooked hitherto, I will more dwell upon. On this 
 subject I will show you some good lines. Consider my 
 suggestion. 
 
 " That I know how to improve a country is shown by the 
 
 accompanying letter from the man Johnson applauds in his 
 
 torn- to the Hebrides, and who went to India. 
 
 " Yours sincerely, 
 
 "T. Law, 
 
 ** To AViLLiAM W. Seatox, Esq. 
 
 March 14, 1826." 
 
 " MEDDEXPorcE, March. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — I cannot leave this part of the countrj^, 
 which is so happy under your care, without thanking you 
 for myself and the party for the very great kindness and 
 hospitality which you showed us, and for the pleasure of a 
 higher nature for which we are indebted to you. Since we 
 parted with you we have not rode a step without perceiving 
 the beneficial effects which your wise as well as humane 
 
124 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 treatment of the peasants has produced' in the country ; 
 large tracts, evidently newly rescued from the desert jun- 
 gles, converted into corn-fields ; houses, villages everywhere 
 rising, and, above all, happy faces. I have often thought 
 when riding formerly through different parts of India, that 
 the poor people said in their hearts, ' There goes one of our 
 tyrants, there is our oppressor, or the supporter of our op- 
 pressors ' ; a different idea has lately pleased me. I have 
 imagined that ryots called out to their children, ' There is 
 a countryman of our father, our benefactor,' etc., etc. 
 
 (Signed) "Norman McLeod." 
 
 ** MoNTiCELLO, Dec. 12, 1822. 
 
 " Thomas Jefferson salutes Mr. Law with ancient and 
 friendly recollections, and with a mind which does not 
 easily part with early impressions. He hopes the years 
 which intervened since they last saw each other have been 
 to Mr. Law years of health and pleasantness, and that he 
 yet has many such to come. 
 
 " Marching abreast with Mr. Law in the calendar of 
 time, it is his particular lot to suffer by two dislocated 
 -WTists, now stiffened by age, and rendering writing slow, 
 painful, and all but impossible. He is happy to find by 
 the pamphlet Mr. Law has so kindly sent him, that his 
 mind is still equal to the continuation of his useful labors, 
 and that his zeal for the general good is unabated. "Where 
 they are next to meet, in this or some other untried state 
 of being, he knows not. But if we carry w4th us the 
 affections of this world, he shall thence greet Mr. Law 
 with unchanged esteem and respect. , 
 
 *'To Thomas Law, Esq." 
 
 "January 11, 1815. 
 
 " In twenty-four hours, dearest mother, we shall hear 
 whether the British are repulsed from the shores of the 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 125 
 
 Mississippi, or in possession of New Orleans. We are 
 excessively uneasy about dear Tom. He would, we know, 
 be in the very front of danger in any event ; and Gen- 
 eral Jackson's bravery approaches to hardihood, it being 
 well known that he will never desist from fighting while 
 one of his men shall remain. The British are several thou- 
 sand strong, superior in number, many of them well-tried 
 veterans ; while our force is said to consist of a proportion 
 of one thousand regulars to three thousand militia, — add 
 to which, the Spanish population are entirely disafi:ected, 
 and inclined to the invaders. The general opinion here 
 entertained is, that nothing short of a miracle can save 
 that devoted city. These fiicts are from Senators Brown 
 and Boiling Robinson,* who are too well convinced of then: 
 truth to entertain a hope of the salvation of their country. 
 Mr. Eppes and Colonel Johnson came in to tea this even- 
 ing, who have put me in a little heart by assuring me, 
 that if our arms be victorious, the contest decided in our 
 favor when so unequally lu'ged, a wreath of honor and 
 glory will crown the survivors, and the gratitude of their 
 fellow-citizens immortalize their worthy deeds. Colonel 
 Johnson places the most implicit confidence in Jackson ; 
 and says that his soldiers must be successful under a com- 
 mander whose skill equals his bravery. Heaven grant 
 success ! both for our individual happiness and the interests 
 of our adopted country; to restore my brother to the 
 bosom of his family, and to induce our implacable enemy to 
 consult their interest in a speedy and honorable termina- 
 tion of the war, which would doubtless be accelerated by 
 discomfiture in attack. What do father and yourself 
 think of America now, without men or money to meet the 
 immense armament prepared by the English for our 
 coasts '? The members of Congi-ess are mad enough to bite 
 off their own heads at their own proceedings, and still con- 
 
126 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 tinue to act inconsistently, to disgrace their country in the 
 estimation of their own and other nations." 
 
 "February 4, 1815. 
 
 " Let us join with you in present gratitude and joy, 
 dear mother, in being permitted once more ^to welcome the 
 anniversary of our beloved father's birthday. May this 
 day find him still healthful and serene, dispensing happi- 
 ness to all around him. We shall celebrate this festival 
 of the heart in domestic quiet and loving content. The 
 4th of February will ever be distinguished by the in- 
 habitants of Washington, as giving them the first authentic 
 account of the most decided victory over our enemies that 
 ever was obtained by America, with the loss of five men 
 killed and twelve w^ounded on our side. The bravery, the 
 daring intrepidity displayed by the poor English fellows, 
 who persisted in advancing to the very mouth of the 
 cannon, though mowed down by hundreds, render even 
 the triumph obtained over them painful. We are still 
 uncertain and anxious for the eventual fate of Orleans ; 
 but are entirely roused from the state of despondency 
 w^hich the prospect of inevitable destruction to so valu- 
 able a portion of the United States had occasioned." 
 
 " November, 1815. 
 " .... On dit that the winter will be extremely gay, 
 and decked w^ith all the splendor of polished manners, 
 brilliant talent and transcendent beauty, and the drawing- 
 rooms will sparkle with scintillations of wit and fire of 
 genius. Mr. Jeff'erson's granddaughter, Miss Randolph, 
 will lead the van in accomplishments and beauty ; Miss 
 Law, Miss Harrison of Philadelphia, and Miss Livingston 
 will fill an elevated place in the admiration of every 
 observer, while daughters and nieces of the members will 
 fill up the interstices. There is every reason to expect a 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 127 
 
 crowded and interesting winter, as it will be the first meet- 
 ing of Congress since the peace. Mrs. Madison tells me 
 that there will be a great many foreigners of distinction 
 
 here There was a document received some time 
 
 since at the State Department, in Spanish, which frustrated 
 the talent of all the city to translate. Estimating highly 
 Mr. Jefferson's knowledge as a linguist, it was sent to him 
 by the President. He called Miss Randolph, and gave her 
 the manuscript for her morning task, and long before the 
 appointed hour she placed in his hands an elegant and 
 correct translation, which was at once transmitted to the 
 department; and being an important state paper, it has 
 paved the way veiy handsomely for Miss Randolph. She 
 will stay with Mrs. Madison, and will no doubt be very 
 attractive to the various well-informed visitors at the 
 
 palace At the first drawing-room, old :Mr. Digges 
 
 was very attentive to me, inviting me pressingly to visit 
 Warburton and bring any party with me, and thence to go 
 to Mount Yemon, retm-n and stay a day with him, to view 
 the charming scenery which he ' should delight to point 
 out to the amiable daughter of his old friends.' He spent 
 a couple of hours with me yesterday, — most agreeably on 
 my part. This recalls our late trip to Mount Vernon, the 
 occasion being an entertainment given by Major Miller and 
 the officers of the Marine Corps, to a party of our friends. 
 The band accompanied us ; and after visiting the tomb, 
 and seeing every object of note on the hallowed gi'ound, 
 we adjourned to the boat, where an elegant collation 
 awaited us. We were invited with much politeness and 
 earnestness by Judge Bushrod Washington to remain and 
 partake of refreshments, but declined his hospitality. I, 
 however, accepted his offer to walk over the house and see 
 the various pictures of the former possessor. It is singular, 
 that of all the likenesses preserved of Gen. Washington, 
 
128 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON, 
 
 the one held in gi-eatest estimation as a striking resera- 
 l)lance was cut fi'om a common water pitcher made in Eng- 
 land. This piece of crockery is ft-amed, and holds a place 
 of honor in the drawing-room. An elegant organ was 
 open, upon the desk of which was one of Handel's master- 
 pieces j but Mrs. Washington unfortunately was indisposed, 
 or we should have enjoyed the pleasure of hearing her 
 play. The Judge is . passionately fond of music, and 
 appeared much pleased with the skill of the band, which 
 
 performed admirably in the grove The gardener was 
 
 a German, and whether it was my enthusiasm for his old 
 master, the mvsteries of horticulture which we discussed, 
 or something winning in my ways, I know not j but he 
 took a fancy to me, and offered me plants of any kind I 
 wished, which, however, I of course declined. While we 
 were standing on the lawn with Judge Washington listening 
 to the music, the old German walked up very formally 
 through the assembled party, and presented me with a 
 bouquet of great fragrance, with a bow and approving 
 smile. The company congratulated me on my conquest; 
 and Judge Washington assured me that the favor was 
 totally unprecedented and astonishing, as during his whole 
 knowledge of him he had never given away a flower 
 before." 
 
 ]\Ir. Thomas A. Digges, whose acquaintance with INIr. 
 and Mrs. Gales in England had given the first impulse 
 to their subsequent removal to America, was a l^dary- 
 land gentleman of ancient colonial family, and note- 
 worthy English descent. One of liis ancestors, Sir 
 Dudley Digges, having unfortunately incurred the ire 
 of Queen Elizabeth, he was condemned by the impla- 
 cable sovereign to be first disembowelled, and then 
 beheaded. He sent for Essex to use his powerful in- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 129 
 
 fluence in interceding with the queen for a mitiga- 
 tion of the sentence, so far as to reverse the order of 
 punislmient, and permit him to be beheaded /rs^. But 
 to the petition of Essex the gentle virgin answered, 
 " Why, that is the very beauty of it ! " During our 
 Eevolutionary struggle Mr. Digges visited England, 
 where he remained during many years, being a wel- 
 come guest in the most distinguished circles of society, 
 and maintaining intimate relations especially with the 
 Whigs or Liberals, whose leader, the Prince of Wales, 
 favored the rebels or American party, as opposed to 
 the Tories, who sided- with Kino- GeorQ-e. Mr. Diooeg 
 was a bachelor, a well-bred man, and charming com- 
 panion, his conversation replete with thrilling memo- 
 ries of the French Eevolution, the horrors of which 
 he had witnessed, and sparkling with anecdotes of 
 Eox, Sheridan, and other celebrities of the brilliant 
 and famous Carlton House coterie. He was a man of 
 many eccentricities of habit, but a generous heart 
 withal, capable of kind deeds. Major L'Enfant, the 
 engineer brought from France by Count Eochambeau, 
 — who accompanied Lafayette to aid the Colonies, — 
 was subsequently employed under General Washington 
 to lay out the Federal City, in the growth of which the 
 beauty and magnificence of his designs are daily devel- 
 oped. Feeling aggrieved at some unjust treatment 
 from the government, he used to appear invariably at 
 the Capitol each day, with a hdton under his arm, to 
 prosecute his claim befoi:a Congress ; but being disap- 
 pointed in his hopes, he retired to Warburton Manor, 
 where for ten years previous to his death he enjoyed, 
 from the generosity of Mr. Digges, a comfortable home. 
 
130 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 The hospitalities of this charming seat, long years ago 
 passed away, were proverbial ; and it was on the occa- 
 sion of a visit to Mr. Digges, their former friendship be- 
 ing warmly renewed, that Mrs. Gales wrote the follow- 
 ing im;prom]ptu, discovered by her host on her dressing- 
 table the morning of her departure from the manor : — 
 
 *' 0, what a goodly scene mine eyes embrace ! 
 Mingling with Flora's tincts of varied dye, 
 Painted on Nature's sweet and pleasant face, 
 "Woods, vales, and streams in sweet confusion lie. 
 
 • • • • • 
 
 "Let poets boast of Arno's ' shelvy side,' 
 And sing the beauties of the classic Po, 
 Give me Potomac's gi'and, majestic tide. 
 Sparkling beneath the sun's effulgent glow ! 
 
 " Yet one regret must mingle with the pride 
 
 Which erst enkindled at thy * fair mild ' name ; 
 Here Britain's navy dared unchecked to ride, 
 And history will the monstrous fact proclaim. 
 
 " Ah ! could the sainted Washington have seen 
 The vandal hordes, with desolating rage. 
 Pour dire destruction o'er the once-loved scene, 
 And more than Gothic warfare rudely wage, — 
 
 " E'en from those scenes of glory, where on high 
 He sits enthroned amidst celestial choirs. 
 E'en there he would have breathed a mournful sigh 
 As rose the devastating monsters' fires. 
 
 ** But let not one foul stain eclipse the rays 
 Diverging from a thousand gallant deeds; 
 All else has been a glorious, splendid blaze. 
 Worthy the poet's song, the historian's meed. 
 
 " Let Plattsburg, Chippewa, and Orleans tell, 
 
 Tlurc the proud triumph of our arms were shown ; 
 While Erie, Champlain, and Ontario swell 
 
 The note which Fame through every land hath blown ! 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 131 
 
 *' Farewell, Potomac ! o'er thy waters wide 
 I take a lingering but delightful view ; 
 Whilst the gay vessel dances on the tide, 
 I bid thee, Warburton, a last adieu. 
 
 ** Perhaps no more to see my early friend, — 
 No more his hospitable smile to meet, 
 "Where true politeness and kind friendship blend, 
 The ever-welcome, grateful guest to gi-eet. 
 
 ** Winifred Gales." 
 
 The " one foul stain " to which the verses allude 
 was, doubtless, the desertion of his post by the young 
 officer in command. Fort Warburton being captured by 
 the British in consequence of his running away. The 
 fort was on the domain of Mr. Digges, the present Fort 
 Washington being erected on its site. 
 
 *' November, 1815. 
 " . . . . About fifty members have arrived and marked 
 their seats in the new building on Capitol Hill, erected for 
 their temporary accommodation by old Mr Law, Carroll, 
 and others, who wished to enhance the value of their prop- 
 erty. You wiU perceive by the papers that General Jack- 
 son's visit here has excited a great commotion. Dinners, 
 plays, balls, throughout the District. I wish much that 
 some little aerial machine, uniting expedition and safety, 
 could be invented, that you could take wing and remain a 
 day, or an hour even, with us, and participate in the pleas- 
 ure which every true lover of their country must feel in 
 conversing with so distinguished a warrior as Jackson. 
 Immediately on Mrs. Jackson's arrival a dilemma was 
 presented, and a grand debate ensued as to whether the 
 ladies would visit her Colonel Reid and Dr. Good- 
 let, the friends of years of General Jackson, having settled 
 the question of propriety satisfactorily, all doubts were laid 
 aside I have seen a good deal of General Jackson 
 
132 WILLIAM WIXSTON SEATON. 
 
 and his wife, who both received me with great attention 
 and civiUty. He is not striking in appearance ; his fea- 
 tures are hard-favored (as our Carohnians say), his com- 
 plexion sallow, and his person small. Mrs. Jackson is a 
 totally uninformed woman in mind and manners, but 
 
 extremely civil, in her way I suppose there have 
 
 never been in the city so many plain women, in every sense 
 of the word, as are now here among the families of official 
 personages. I have always heard it asserted without con- 
 tradiction, that nothing was easier than to learn to be a 
 fine lady ; but I begin to think differently, being morally 
 certain that many among the new-comers will never achieve 
 that distinction. Among the most amiable and refined of 
 my acquaintances is Mrs. Crawford, of whom, being intro- 
 duced to me by my intimate friends Mrs. Meigs and Mrs. 
 Forsyth, who are also her old friends, I shall probably see a 
 good deal. She has received by Mr. Crawford, from Paris, 
 the most elegant furniture ; but she has no disposition for 
 gayety, and thinks her husband's appointment as Secre- 
 tary of War the most unfortunate circumstance, inasmuch 
 as it will require her to forsake, in a good degree, those 
 domestic habits which have heretofore constituted her sole 
 
 happiness You may be sure, however, dear mother, 
 
 that these homespun propensities of our great folk cannot 
 diminish my respect for their intrinsic merit and many 
 excellent qualities 
 
 "May, 1816. 
 " This day, for the first time this year, we recognize 
 
 sprnig. 
 
 * Burst are the chains which lately bound, 
 And, lo ! the emancipated ground 
 . Her independence feels. 
 The liberated rivers flow, 
 And conscious forests laugh to know 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 133 
 
 Their species are set free 
 From tjTant Winter : — and again 
 Bounds the white blood through every vein 
 
 Of every joyous tree.' 
 
 Nerer here was this genial season so long retarded ; and 
 even now we present the phenomenon of eating straw- 
 berries and cream by a bright fire We have been 
 
 on a jaunt to Annapolis, to visit the ' Seventy-four,' about 
 to carry ^Ir. Pinckney on his mission. It is one of the 
 oldest towns in the Union, and though exhibiting every 
 symptom of decay, is the most lovely spot you can con- 
 ceive. On our way we met Judge Duvall, who pressed us 
 to dine at his house, about fifteen miles from Washington, 
 on the roadside, where we spent a few hours most delight- 
 fully in the society of this venerable, j^atriarchal man and 
 hospitable, loquacious, kind old lady, who displayed on her 
 table every luxury in and out of season. The President and 
 family had stayed a day and night just before, being much 
 gratified in their visit. The evening we reached Annapolis 
 there was a gi-eat ball in honor of the Bresident, and half 
 an hour after our aiTival we received invitations. Every 
 one was there. Among other families in Annapolis, we 
 were glad to meet our fi'iends Mrs. Rush, Mrs. Lowndes, 
 General Scott, Rogers, Porter, etc., who all fraternized 
 very cordially. Mrs. Madison was very polite, expressing 
 herself surprised and delighted at our arrival, introdu- 
 cing me very handsomely to Mrs. Pinckney, — her husband 
 I knew very well before, — Governor and Mrs. Ridgely, 
 'of Maryland, and other notabilities, which, in a strange 
 land, was very kind and acceptable. Commodore Chauncy 
 and wife treated us with great respect and attention, and 
 Captain Creighton, the commander, was an old acquaintance, 
 to see whom, indeed, was one inducement of our trip. The 
 Seventy-four was the ostensible cause of the jaunt, but the 
 
134 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 beautiful country and scenery had by far the greater por- 
 tion of our time. A description of the interior of such a 
 magnificent man-of-war transcends my power; suffice it 
 that the clock-work regularity, the rigid discipline reigning 
 throughout, and the delicate neatness pervading every nook 
 of the vast monarch of the seas, received my full meed of 
 admiration. The little President was as gay as a lark, and 
 jested very humorously on the incidents of their journey ; 
 the cares of state thrown off his shoulders completely met- 
 amorphosed him, and relaxed his frigidity amazingly 
 
 I called to see your old friend, Mr. Law, yesterday, and 
 found him employed in the most delightful and edifying 
 occupation, — whistling variations to an operatic air to his 
 son and heir, aged five weeks ! 
 
 " I enjoyed a treat last week, my dear sister, which, great 
 as it was, I would have willingly transferred to you, from 
 the consideration that you were enabled both by nature 
 and education to enjoy it more exquisitely than I could 
 without your advantages, — and this was a view of some 
 of the finest paintings ever in America. Mr. Calvert of 
 Bladensburg went to Antwerp, where he man'ied a Miss 
 Steers, whose father, a descendant of Reubens, and an 
 enthusiastic devotee of art, became possessed of several 
 masterpieces to the great Fleming, to which were added 
 Titians, Yanderlyns, and other undoubted originals, — in all 
 about forty specimens of the old masters. During Bona- 
 parte's absolute sway in France, and his lawless thirst for 
 the acquisition of paintings with which to adorn the Lou- 
 vre, he instituted a search for these same gems, well known 
 in the art world, which Mr. Steers apprehending, he se- 
 creted and subsequently brought his treasures to his daugh- 
 ter in America, for safe keeping. The Bourbons being now 
 reinstated, without, as Mr. Steere thinks, any danger of 
 a reverse of fortune, he has reclaimed the paintings ; and 
 
• A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 135 
 
 Mr. Calvert, inasmuch as such an opportunity might never 
 again occur to the citizens of Washington, invited all con- 
 noisseurs and amateurs to come for five days and gi'atify 
 their taste and curiosity. Peale from Philadelphia, King 
 and Wood from Baltimore, were transported with admira- 
 tion. The Grecian Daughter, as it is called, Euphrasia, 
 by Reubens, excited the most hvely emotions of admira- 
 tion ; but ' The unbelieving Priest,' by Titian, was decided 
 by them to be incomparably the most splendid effort of 
 genius in that superb collection. Although convinced that 
 my emotions of delight were inferior to those which ani- 
 mated the countenances of many connoisseurs present, I 
 have felt ever since as if I had gained an idea, as if an- 
 other ray of intellect had been given me by which to esti- 
 mate the productions of other artists, by comparing them 
 with these imprinted on my memory." 
 
 ** March, 1818. 
 " .... I have mentioned the very agreeable accession 
 to our neighborhood in the Calhouns. You could not fail 
 to love and appreciate, as I do, her charming qualities ; a 
 devoted mother, tender wife, industrious, cheerful, intel- 
 ligent, with the most perfectly equable temper. Mr. Cal- 
 houn is a profomid statesman and elegant scholar, you 
 know by public report ; but his manners in a private circle 
 are endearing, as well as captivating ; and it is as much 
 impossible not to love him at home as it would be to 
 refuse yoiu' admiration of his oratorical powers in the Hall 
 of Representatives. Since his absence in Carolina his wife 
 has spent much time with me, coming down at nine in the 
 morning and stopping till ten at night, and we generally 
 
 go to church together on Sunday I returned last 
 
 week the visit of Mrs. W., accompanied by Mrs. Calhoun, 
 thinking it would gratify our old friend to give her the 
 benefit of any acquaintance who might be thought by the 
 
136 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 mass of the people to confer honor by paying the first 
 visit. But I do not fancy being pressed into such service, 
 as has been recently the case with Mrs. M., whose husband 
 having no acquaintance with whom he could take the 
 liberty except myself, earnestly requested the favor of my 
 introducing his wife to the President's family, foreign min- 
 isters, secretaries, etc. Decline I could not ; the respecta- 
 bility of the lady, as the wife of a member of Congress, being 
 a sufficient passport into any society here. They were grati- 
 fied in having the visits returned, and on being invited con- 
 sequently to dine with Monsieur de Neuville, and to meet 
 us and a few other acquaintances at Mr. Calhoun's. So 
 far, so well ; but it is an office that neither William* nor I 
 are fond of, as it seems almost a demand for civility to our 
 acquaintances, in addition to that voluntarily bestowed on 
 
 ourselves It is said that the dinner-parties of Mrs. 
 
 Monroe will be very select. Mrs. Hay, daughter of Mrs. 
 Monroe, returns the visits paid to her mother, making 
 assurances, in the most pointedly polite manner, that Mrs. 
 Monroe will be happy to see her friends morning or 
 evening, but that her health is totally inadequate to visit- 
 ing at present ! Mrs. Hay is understood to be her proxy, 
 and there this much-agitated and important question 
 ends ; and as there is no distinction made, but all treated 
 alike, I suppose it will eventually go down, though this alter- 
 ation in the old regime was bitter to the palates of all our 
 citizens, especially so to foreign ministers and strangers." 
 
 Previous to the accession of Mr. Monroe to the 
 Presidency, the lady of the executive mansion had fol- 
 lowed the rules of etiquette in regard to social visiting 
 usually accepted in the conventional world. Mrs. 
 Madison, with her frank, cordial, unassuming manner, 
 had shown no distinction in individual or political 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 137 
 
 position, when reciprocating the respect and attention 
 so universally accorded to her personally. But with the 
 growth of the city it became fitting to draw the line 
 of demarcation more stringently; and the question as 
 to the propriety of indiscriminate visiting on the part 
 of the ladies of the President's family, or indeed of 
 the head of his house returning any visits whatsoever, 
 w^as hotly debated ; this social revolution creating no 
 little heart-burning among those left in the shade 
 of non-recognition. This apparently trivial subject 
 assumed such important shape, as subsequently to 
 involve diplomatic and state correspondence, being 
 finally adjusted by John Quincy Adams, v/ho drew up 
 the formula which has since regulated social etiquette 
 between "Washington officials. 
 
 Mrs. Seaton writing on this subject at a later period, 
 says : " I have a letter from J. Q. Adams to the 
 President of the United States on the question of 
 etiquette. Do not mention it, but I will forward it to 
 you as a curious document, which will display the 
 character of the man who may be our future President, 
 in stronger light than all the public papers he has 
 written, and proves him to be more of a bookworm and 
 abstracted student than a man of the world." 
 
 The following extracts from this voluminous exposi- 
 tion of etiquette, are characteristic of the earnestness 
 and clearness with which Mr. Adams treated even the 
 apparently trivial details of this social question. 
 
 ** To THE President of the United States. 
 
 ""Washington, December 25, 1819. 
 "Sir : The meeting held yesterday having terminafed with- 
 out any arrangement relative to the subject upon which it 
 
138 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 had, at your desire, been convened, to avoid being mis- 
 understood in the course of conduct which I have hitherto 
 pursued, and to manifest my wish to pursue in the future 
 any other which you will please to direct, I have thought 
 it necessary to submit the following observations to your 
 candor and indulgence. 
 
 " It has, I understand fi'om you, been made a subject of 
 complaint to you, as a neglect of duty on the part of the 
 Secretary of State, that he omits paying at every session 
 of Congress a first visit of form to every member of the 
 Senate ; and that his wife is equally negligent of her sup- 
 posed duty, in omitting similar attention to the ladies of 
 every member of either house, who visit the city during 
 
 the session I must premise, that having been five 
 
 years a member of the Senate, and having during four of 
 the five sessions been accompanied at the seat of govern- 
 ment by my wife, I have never received a first visit fi'om 
 any one of the heads of department, nor did Mrs. Adams 
 
 ever receive a first visit from any of their ladies 
 
 Visiting of form was considered as not forming a part 
 either of official right, or official duty. 
 
 " I never heard a suggestion that it was due in courtesy, 
 from a head of department, to pay a first visit to senators, 
 or from his wife to visit the wife of any member of Con- 
 gress Entertaining the profoundest respect for the 
 
 senate as a body, and a high regard for every individual 
 member of it, I am yet not aware of any usage which 
 required formal visits from me, as a member of the admin- 
 istration, to them as senators. The Senate of the United 
 States, independent of its importance and dignity, is of all 
 the associations of men upon earth, that to which I am 
 bound by the most sacred and indissoluble ties of gratitude. 
 .... Unworthy, indeed, should I be of such confidence, 
 if I had a heart insensible to those obligations. Base 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 139 
 
 indeed should I feel myself, if inflated by the dignity of 
 the stations to which their frequently repeated kindness 
 has contributed to raise me, I were capable of with- 
 holding from them collectively or individually, one particle 
 
 of the reverence and honor due from me When I 
 
 learnt that there was such an exjyectation entertained by the 
 senators in general, I quickly learnt from other quarters, 
 that, if complied with, it would give great offence to the 
 members of the House of Eepresentatives unless extended 
 also to them. These visits of ceremony would not only be 
 a very useless waste of time, but incompatible with the 
 discharge of the real and important duties of the dej)art- 
 
 ments Neither did the introduction of a system of 
 
 formality appear to me congenial to the Republican sim- 
 plicity of om' institutions In paying the first visit 
 
 to ladies coming to this place as strangers, Mrs. Adams 
 could draw no discrimination; to visit all would be im- 
 possible ; to visit only the ladies of members of Congress 
 would be a distinction offensive to many other ladies of 
 respectability ; it would have applied even to the married 
 
 daughter of the President Above all, we wish it 
 
 understood, that, while we are happy to receive any respec- 
 table stranger who pleases to call upon us, we have no 
 
 claim or pretension to claim it of any one I am 
 
 entirely disposed to conform to any other course which you 
 may have the goodness to advise. 
 
 " With perfect respect, I remain, sir, 
 
 " Your very obedient servant, 
 
 " J. Q. Adams." 
 
 "March, 1818. 
 
 " . . . . Old Mr. Digges lives in the city at present, and 
 
 brought me a letter yesterday addressed to him by Thomas 
 
 Jefferson, which bears the imprint of a mind unimpaired 
 
 by continual intellectual exertion, and characterized by a 
 
140 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 vivacity astonishing at the age of seventy years. Mr. 
 Digges is perfectly at home here, one day dining en famille 
 with the President, spending the next with Mr. Bagot, and 
 frequently alternating between these great folk with us, 
 equally easy and agreeable to all. Mr. Bagot told me that 
 Mr. Digges knew circumstances and people in his (Bagot's) 
 neighborhood better than himself, and there is no part of 
 England, nor few prominent persons there, with whom he 
 is not perfectly acquainted. This reminds me of the un- 
 precedented entertainment that has just taken place in 
 the city, — a ball given to a British Minister by American 
 citizens. A more festive or brilliant assembly I never at- 
 tended. The occasion was honored by all the officials and 
 most of the strangers of distinction in town. Mr. Bagot 
 acted, as he has done on every occasion since his residence 
 here, the perfect gentleman, and she ' looked an empress.' 
 They were both veiy much excited, and expressed gratitude 
 in unbounded and apparently sincere terms. They will 
 carry with them the admiration and good wishes of all 
 who knew them here, as their private character is as much 
 esteemed as their public deportment. William looked un- 
 commonly handsome, and as it was a subject of general 
 remark, you will not accuse me of wifely partiality, when 
 I say that, as he waltzed the Spanish dance with Mrs. J. 
 Q. Adatns, he was the most elegant man in the assembly, 
 not excepting the guest of the evening." 
 
 The Eight Honorable Sir Charles Bagot, G. C. B., 
 and Privy Councillor, was a son of Lord Bagot, of Ba- 
 got's Bromley, an ancient family connected with such 
 historic houses as those of Suffolk and Fulke-Greville, 
 while his mother was a daughter of Lord Bolingbroke. 
 Sir Charles rose rapidly in the diplomatic service, a 
 career for which his personal gifts especially fitted 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 141 
 
 him ; one of his first missions being that of Washing- 
 ton, where he was during some years the very popular 
 British Envoy, winning golden opinions by his hand- 
 some presence and engaging manners. He was ably 
 supported in these diplomatic requirements by Lady 
 Bagot, who was the Honorable Miss Wellesley, a daugh- 
 ter of Lord Maryborough, late Earl of Mornington, the 
 eldest brother of the Duke of Wellington. From her 
 father she inherited her uncommon beauty, he being 
 notably one of the handsomest men of his day, as was also 
 his brother, the late Lord Cowley, whose exquisite por- 
 trait by Lawrence was one of the gems of the Duke of 
 Wellington's famous gallery. The amiability and good 
 breeding by which Mrs. Bagot attracted the regards of 
 the citizens were the more admirable, as it was whispered 
 that she found society in the New World a great bore, 
 and deplored " the necessity of sticking pins in herself 
 to keep awake at the stupid balls." Sir Charles Bagot 
 subsequently succeeded Lord Sydenham in the distin- 
 guished post of Governor-General of Canada, where he 
 died in 1843. His daughter married the present Mar- 
 quis of Anglesey, son of the famous companion-in-arms 
 of Welluigton, and one of the heroes of Waterloo. 
 
 "May, 1819. 
 "... . We heard to-dav in Blasrden's church a most 
 ^ confused declamatory discourse, without method or matter, 
 from ;Mr. Breckem'idge, who is the Presbyterian Atlas of 
 the District. The church is very commodious, and the 
 congi-egatiou highly respectable and intelligent ; but really 
 the illiterate and weak delivery of the speaker renders it 
 astonishing that so many well-informed people should 
 have selected a pastor so little likely to benefit his flock. 
 
142 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 In Raleigh, where a good rational preacher can be heard 
 every Sabbath, it would be deemed strange to give en- 
 couragement to any man, however amiable in private life, 
 who had no single requisite for an orator, which is the 
 case of the gentleman I mention 
 
 " General Jackson has attended several private balls 
 since the decision of Congress, and has received universal 
 homage from male and female, a circle constantly around 
 him waiting for an introduction, and ambitious of ex- 
 changing a few words with the greatest of American gen- 
 erals. Such is the prevailing sentiment among the inhab- 
 itants and congregated strangers here 
 
 " Our dear father will hardly think it credible that a 
 rational, intelligent human being in full possession of his 
 mental faculties, should madly rush into eternity. You 
 will have seen by the Intelligencer that General Mason 
 has fallen a victim to his own and antagonist's vindictive 
 passions ; and the feelings of disgust and horror at the 
 mode adopted by the duellists has occasioned as much sen- 
 sation here as the murder of poor Conway did in Raleigh. 
 It was the mildest of three propositions which were made 
 to rid each other of existence ; the first, being to sit on a 
 barrel of gunpowder together ; the second, to hold hands 
 and jump from the top of the Capitol; and the third 
 scarcely less impious, to shoot at each other within ten 
 paces with three musket-balls ! The antagonists were first 
 cousins. McCarty's brother is the husband of Mason's 
 sister. The deceased has cast a stain upon his memory, 
 and involved a very large and honorable family in his dis- 
 gi-ace, which no previous act of his life had allowed them 
 to anticipate. He was universally beloved. Unfortunately 
 for Mason, he selected some young officers in Jackson's 
 suite as counsellors and seconds. Had he advised with 
 any of his old friends in Congress, or. here, the catastro- 
 phe might have been averted 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 143 
 
 " There has been more gayety than I have ever known 
 liore in the summer, caused by the farewell dinners, the 
 private and public balls, given to Monsieur and Madame 
 de Neuville, who have by their unaffected kindness to 
 their equals and their munificence to the poor won upon 
 the popular esteem and gratitude. They do not possess 
 the external advantages of address and person for w^hich 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bagot were admired, and we shall never again, 
 I imagine, witness so much style and splendor as the enter- 
 tainments of the British Envoy presented. The public ball 
 was a great success, Monsieur de Neuville making a very 
 impressive little speech of thanks to the citizens. William, 
 with five other married men, officiated as master of cere- 
 monies, and I was pleased that he had an o^Dportunity of tes- 
 tifying respect for the worthy old couple, as we have spent 
 many agreeable hours in their hospitable house. They are 
 uncertain if their master will send them here again, but 
 profess a desire to represent their nation at this republican 
 capital rather than at any of the splendid courts of Europe, 
 not excepting St. Petersburg, considered by far the most 
 magnificent in the world. They came, the morning they 
 started, to see us, bringing remembrances for the children. 
 The French, more than any other people, study these 
 graceful attentions, slight in themselves, bat the sure ave- 
 nue to a mother's heart " 
 
 The " Intelligencer," as an independent and national 
 expositor, and indeed it may be said controller of pub- 
 lic sentiment, was now a power in the land, wliile Mr. 
 Seaton's commanding personal qualities and rare social 
 gifts conld not fail to establish a peculiar influence 
 over liis fellow-citizens. These slight sketches of a 
 few of the prominent friends and events distinguishing 
 Mr. Seaton's familiar circle indicate the marked con- 
 
144 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 sideration enjoyed by him, even at his early age, among 
 the good and great of our golden era, and which, as 
 time went on, matured into a reverential regard and 
 appreciation of liis character and attainments by the 
 community. Under the public law, the citizens of 
 Washington are privileged to bestow but meagre testi- 
 monials of respect and popularity, the municipal office 
 being the highest in their power to confer on those 
 who win their favor; and the first step in the pro- 
 gressive evidence of their esteem Mr. Seaton was at 
 last persuaded to accept, as we see by Mrs. Seaton's 
 mention. 
 
 ** December, 1819. 
 
 " You will perceive by the paper that William's blushing 
 honors crowd thick upon him, which, however, he bears 
 with singular meekness, not having given himself a single 
 air since his exaltation as alderman, for which office he has 
 become increasingly eligible by his embonpoint. There is 
 greater commotion existing in the city than was ever known 
 before about the election of Lord Mayor, the contest lying 
 between Colonel Orr, Roger Weightman, Richard Lee, and 
 General Van Ness The di-awing-room of the Presi- 
 dent was opened last night to a ' beggarly row of empty 
 chairs.' Only five females attended, thi^ee of whom were 
 foreigners. Mrs. Adams, the previous week, invited a large 
 party, which we attended, at which there were not more 
 than three ladies. In a familiar, pleasing manner, the 
 sprightly hostess made known to each of her visitors that 
 every Tuesday evening during the winter, when they had 
 nothing better to do with themselves, it would give her 
 great pleasure to receive them. The evening arrived, and 
 with it two other guests besides her sisters ! Don't you 
 think we must be reforming ? Some wise distinctions in 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 145 
 
 etiquette were, however, probably the cause of ine defalca- 
 tion. There is to be a splendid party at Madame de Neu- 
 ville's, who enlists all varieties of character under her 
 banner. Since her return she has resigned herself to be 
 poorly lodged in the attic, so as to afford more room below 
 for constant hospitalities. Madame Van Greuhm, formerly 
 governess to Governor Middleton's daughters, resides at 
 Kalorama, and intends entertaining all citizens who have 
 sufficient leisure to honor her invitations. The diplomatic 
 corps are very much chagrined at the descent made by the 
 Prussian Minister, considering it a degradation ; but inas- 
 much as he is a sensible, amiable man, and a nohle, they 
 magnanimously agi'ee to forgive him. At the drawing- 
 room, Madame de Neuville was exquisitely dressed in a 
 white satin under-slip, with silver lace tunic, head-dress of 
 
 superb pearls and lace." 
 
 "February, 1820. 
 
 " Congress has been occupied during three weeks in the 
 discussion of the Missouri bill, — the right to prohibit the 
 admission of slaves in the new State of Missouri ; or rather 
 the question is. Shall Missouri be a State, or not? for 
 it is well understood that she does not wish to enter the 
 confederation, except on an equal footing with other States 
 which have been permitted to form their own constitutions 
 without interference from Congress. The excitement dur- 
 ing this protracted debate has been intense. The galleries 
 are now crowded with colored persons, almost to the exclu- 
 sion of whites. They hear all, but imderstand much less 
 than half They know it to be a question of servitude or 
 freedom, and imagine that the result will immediately affect 
 their condition ; so, as one side or other of the question 
 preponderates, they rejoice or are depressed. "When the 
 slaves of the Southerners, now here, return home with 
 mutilated and exa2:gerated accounts of what thev have 
 
 7 J 
 
146 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 heard, I fear that many dehided creatures will fall sacri- 
 fices to their misapprehension of the question. Mr. Meade, 
 the Colonization Society, have all grasped at that which 
 was too mighty for individual hands, and have, with good 
 intentions, raised a flame which their united eflorts at 
 counteraction will scarcely quench. If ever the abolition 
 of slavery be attempted, it must be by the government of 
 the United States ; it cannot, it ought not to be touched 
 without awful consideration. Already does Maryland feel 
 the effects of this unfortunate discussion. The conse- 
 quences of this ill-judged indulgence in public curiosity can 
 hardly be calculated. Had Congress sat with closed doors, 
 these evils would have been avoided. There is no guessing 
 when the question will be decided, as many members have 
 long speeches prepared for the benefit of an admiring world. 
 The Senators and members generally are so excited, that 
 unless their angry passions are allowed to effervesce in 
 speaking, the most terrible consequences are apprehended 
 even by experienced statesmen. This subject being made 
 subservient to political views, and having in perspective 
 the Presidential election, is bandied from one to the other 
 speaker alternately. Rufus King enkindled a flame in the 
 Senate by a factious speech which required the combined 
 efforts of all his contemporaries to moderate. I prefer Mr. 
 King's oratory to any I have heard, his manner so gi'ave 
 and dignified, chaste language, disdaining flowers, orna- 
 mental tropes or figures, or the studied grace of gesture. 
 In this opinion I am singular, perhaps unique, as the palm 
 is unanimously awarded to Pinckney. Indeed, you may 
 have seen comparisons made between this celebrated mod- 
 ern and the ancients, Demosthenes and Cicero, in which 
 the latter are evidently in the background of the pictiu-e. 
 There have been not less than a hundred ladies on the floor 
 of the Senate every day on which it was anticipated that 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 147 
 
 Mr. Pinckney would speak, encompassing the Senators, 
 and absolutely excluding Representatives, foreign :Minis- 
 ters, etc. Governor Tompkins, a very gallant man, had 
 invited a party of ladies whom he met at Senator Brown's, 
 to take seats on the floor of the Senate, having, as Presi- 
 dent of the Senate, unlimited power, and thinking proper 
 to use it, contrary to all former precedent. I was one of 
 the select, and gladly availed myself of the invitation, with 
 my good friend Mrs. Lowndes, of South Carolina, and half 
 a dozen others. The company in the gallery seeing a few 
 ladies very comfortably seated on the sofas, with warm 
 foot-stools and other luxuries, did as they had a right to 
 do, — deserted the gallery ; and every one, old and young, 
 flocked into the Senate. 'T was then that our Vice-Presi- 
 dent began to look alarmed, and did not attend strictly to 
 the member addressing the chair. The Senators (some of 
 them) frowned indignantly, and were heard to mutter audi- 
 bly, ' Too many women here for business to be transacted 
 properly!' Governor Tompkins found it necessary the 
 next morning to aflix a note to the door, excluding all 
 ladies not introduced by one of the Senators. Having so 
 many polite friends among them, I shall probably attend 
 
 the whole debate 
 
 " On Sunday last I went to the Capitol, and listened with 
 gi-eat interest to one of the purest strains of eloquence that 
 ever issued from the pulpit m my hearing, — a young man 
 named Everett, an Unitarian preacher from Boston, of rare 
 talents and profound learning, professor of Greek and He- 
 brew at Cambridge. He has just returned from Europe, 
 where he has been perfecting himself in languages, particu- 
 larly Oriental knowledge. He left Constantinople and 
 returned home at the same time as Mr. Lowndes. It is 
 supposed that he will accept the post of chaplain to Con- 
 gress next year. Jonathan Mason promises to procure for 
 
148 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 me Everett's sermon, which I wish dear father to read, 
 especially that portion drawing an advantageous compari- 
 son between America and every other country, ancient and 
 modern. . . . 
 
 " Maria Monroe is to be married on Tuesday to her 
 cousin, young Gouverneur. The following day a brilliant 
 drawing-room will be held, and the immense ball-room 
 opened. The man-iage to be entkely private." 
 
 " March 28, 1820. 
 " . . . . The New York style was adopted at Maria 
 Monroe's wedding. Only the attendants, the relations, and 
 a few old friends of the bride and groom witnessed the cer- 
 emony, and the bridesmaids were told that their company 
 and services would be dispensed with until the following 
 Tuesday, when the bride would receive visitors. Accord- 
 ingly all who visit at the President's paid their respects to 
 Mrs. Gouverneur, who presided in her mother's place on 
 this evening, while Mrs. Monroe mingled with the other 
 citizens. Every visitor was led to the bride and intro- 
 duced in all form. But the bridal festivities have received 
 a check which will prevent any further attentions to the 
 President's family, in the murder of Decatur ! The first 
 ball, and which we attended, consequent on the wedding, 
 was given by the Decaturs ! Invitations were out from Van 
 Ness, Commodore Porter, etc., all of which were remanded 
 on so fatal a catastrophe to the man identified with the 
 glorious success of his country in the late war. In the 
 event of another war, he would have been the first one to 
 whom his country would have turned for a repetition of 
 services so hazardous and valuable. Commodore Ban-on 
 lies ill, but not dangerously wounded. The explanation 
 which took place after the rencontre, and before they were 
 removed from the ground, would have prevented it. They 
 repeated to each other that they harbored no enmity, and 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 149 
 
 hoped to meet, better friends, in another world. Commo- 
 dore Decatur suffered excruciating agony for several hours 
 after arriving at his home, and his chief surgeon. Dr. Lov- 
 ell, told me that he said only : ' If it were in the cause of 
 my country it would be nothing.' He has left the whole 
 of his property, which is very large, to his wife, with the 
 exception of legacies to his two nieces, the Misses Mc- 
 Knight, who reside with him. So many friends were privy 
 to this intended duel, that it appears most extraordinary 
 it should not have reached the ears of the President, who 
 alone could have averted it. Mr. Wirt, Bomford, Rogers, 
 Porter, Bainbridge, General Harper, his father-in-law, Mi'. 
 Wheeler, all, all kept the secret, though they did every- 
 thing else to prevent it. Mrs. Decatur never saw her hus- 
 band, not even after death. She still lies in a lethargic 
 stupor, her physicians fearing apoplexy, and unable to bleed 
 her. No child, no relative except her father, an old man, 
 what must be her situation when her sense of feeling shall 
 return with all its poignancy. Commodore Barron has a 
 wife and eleven children. If he recover, he will be an 
 object of execration to his enemies, and scarcely of pity to 
 
 his friends We attended, a few days since, a grand 
 
 mass for the repose of the soul of the Due de Berri, a most 
 imposing ceremony, and interesting from the sympathy 
 universally excited by the sad fate of so amiable a prince. 
 .... William has been applied to by all his own friends 
 and very many of the citizens, to know if he will consent 
 to serve as mayor ; but he has uniformly declined the 
 proposition, flattering as he feels it to be, viewing it as both 
 unneighborly and unfriendly to oppose the known wishes 
 
 of , who has always had this elective honor at heart, 
 
 and who is conscious that he could not be elected if Wil- 
 liam were to allow his own name to be mentioned for the 
 dignity. There are only eight candidates ! 
 
150 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 " You see that John Randolph did not have much en- 
 couragement for his crazy proposition. It is the universal 
 opinion that he is deranged, and he affords, certainly, con- 
 firmation of this idea every day of his life by his outre 
 conduct. He is chock-full of fight ever since the late duel, 
 and endeavors to provoke a quarrel with everybody he 
 meets, makes speeches in favor of this mode of settlino- 
 disputes, and seems entirely to have forgotten the excuse 
 he made to Boiling Kobinson ! " 
 
 The celebrated, eccentric John Eandolph, as is well 
 known, vehemently opposed the Missouri Compromise, 
 not so much probably from any principle involved in 
 that important question, as from his innate aversion 
 to be led by the arguments of a majority, and from 
 his Ishmaelitisli nature, which delighted in ]3rovoking 
 every man's hand against his own, — an inborn aris- 
 tocrat, and yet from mere perversity of temper uphold- 
 ing every levelling project. It was during these acri- 
 monious compromise debates that he stigmatized the 
 JSTortherners who voted for that pacificatory measure 
 as "doughfaces," which cognomen was long a slogan 
 in party warfare; and it was on this occasion also 
 that he allowed his peevish antagonism to overpower 
 his gallantry. The floor and gallery of the House 
 were crowded by eager listeners among the fair sex, 
 when Randolph rose, and all looks fastened on his 
 weird figure, as, pointing that long skeleton index- 
 finger toward the ladies, and in his peculiar, shrill, 
 squeaking voice, he said : " Mr. Speaker, what pray are 
 all these women doing here, so out of place in this 
 arena ? Sir, they had much better be at home attend- 
 ing to their knitting ! " The reproof, though unde- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 151 
 
 sensed, was accepted, and for a few days following the 
 congressional gladiators received no inspiration from 
 bright eyes. 
 
 Randolph's hostility to Clay — wiiose acceptance of 
 the position of Secretary of State in the Adams cabi- 
 net liad induced the cry of " bargain and corruption," 
 and greatly impaired the popularity of the great Com- 
 moner — culminating in his insulting denunciatioii 
 of Adams's election as a "coalition of Puritan and 
 black-leg," and for which characteristic epigram Clay 
 demanded satisfaction on the field of honor, had 
 existed from their first meeting in public life. Of that 
 famous duel between the fiery Virginian and the peer- 
 less Kentuckian Mr. Seaton Avas known to have an in- 
 side history ; but, imfortunately, the authentic version 
 of this, as of so many of the great events, and the in- 
 exhaustible anecdotes of the compeers of Mr. Seaton's 
 exceptional career, with which his memory teemed, 
 are without written record, and lost to historv. Es- 
 pecially of Randolph's inner life, the true man under- 
 lying that crust of eccentricity and infirm temper, 
 Mr. Seaton seemed to hold the key, his relations with 
 him being of a nature that brought him very near the 
 singular and gifted man. During several years Mr. 
 Seaton and , Mr. Gales were exclusively their own re- 
 porters in the Senate and House of Representatives, 
 where they respectively had appropriated to them a 
 seat at the side of the Vice-President and the Speaker. 
 This privilege, with its concomitant of the daily ex- 
 change of the snuff!-box and friendly sentiment with 
 the members, giving the brother-editors a rare insight 
 into the secret springs of debate, the actual force and 
 
152 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 individuality of the giants of that day. Mr. Ran- 
 dolph sat near Mr. Seaton, and on one occasion when 
 ]\Ir. Clay, speaking in his not nnusual personal and 
 self-sufficient strain, said, among other things, tliat 
 '' his parents had left him nothing but indigence and 
 ignorance!' Randolph, turning to Mr. Seaton, said, in a 
 stage whisper to be heard by the House : " The gentle- 
 man mioht continue the alliteration, and add insolence.''' 
 It was said tliat Clay was somewhat afraid of his an- 
 tas^onist's caustic wit, and on this occasion at least it 
 was not resented by the " Rupert of debate." 
 
 A member of Mr. Seaton's family, writing from Vir- 
 ginia early in 1833, says : "Mr. Randolph has been 
 staying with us, but so feeble that he could not leave 
 his room. He talks as much and as wonderfully as 
 usual; and is, if possible, more witty and eccentric 
 than ever. Cousin J. remarked to him that he was 
 surprised to see liim persist in the exploded fashion 
 of ^vearing round-toed shoes. ' 0,' replied Mr. Ran- 
 dolph, ' I am like Ritchie, — I neither track one way 
 nor the other.' He spoke with great regard of Gales 
 and Seaton, and their talent, and wishes to be kindly 
 remembered." 
 
 *'Fel3maiy, 1821. 
 " . . . . The city is unusually gay, and crowded with 
 agi'eeable and distinguished visitors. Mr. Canning's initia- 
 tory ball seemed to rouse the emulation of his neighbors, 
 and we have had a succession of fetes. The British 
 Minister's rout was unique. The English are half a 
 centiuy before us in style. Handsome pictures, books, 
 and all sorts of ' elegant litter ' distinguish his rooms, 
 the mansion being decorated with peculiar taste and pro- 
 priety. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 153 
 
 "Mr. Canning is himself a most unpretending man in 
 appearance and manners ; modesty appears to be his 
 peculiar chai'acteristic, which for a foreign minister is no 
 
 negative praise The birthnight ball was brilliant. 
 
 The contrast between the plain attire of President Monroe 
 and Mr. Adams, and the splendid uniforms of the diplomatic 
 corps, was very striking ; the gold, silver, and jew^els donned 
 by the foreigners in compliment to the anniversary festival 
 of our patriot and hero certainly adding splendor to the 
 scene. The captivating D'Asprament made his debut in 
 brilliant crimson indispensables laced with gold, an em- 
 broidered coat, stars and orders, golden scabbard and gold- 
 en spurs. Poor girls ! perfectly irresistible in person, he 
 besieged their hearts ; and, not content with his triumphs 
 there, his sword entangled their gowns, his spurs demolished 
 their flounces in the most attractive manner possible, — 
 altogether he was proclaimed invincibly charming. Mons. 
 de Neuville has adopted a new course since his return. 
 Formerly, his secretaries were remarkably small and in- 
 significant in appearance, and he now appears to have 
 selected his legation by their inches. The most cultivated 
 Frenchman whom I have ever met is now in Mons. de 
 Neuville's familv, — the Chevalier du Menu. He has re- 
 sided ten years in America, and is a poet, orator, and 
 scientific man, though still young " 
 
 Mr. Stratford Canning, the son of a London mer- 
 chant, and a cousin of the eminent statesman George 
 Canning, who died in 1827 while Prime Minister of 
 England, filled very acceptably during three years the 
 post of British Envoy to Washington ; and although 
 not possessing the popular manners of his predecessor 
 Mr. Bagot, he was remarkable for exquisite high 
 breeding, refinement, and the best attributes of an 
 
 7* 
 
154 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 English gentleman, which won the appreciation of the 
 government and warm good-will of the community. 
 He was tall, slender, and somewhat out of health, a 
 consequence of which delicate state created some 
 animadversion among the genial convives of the day. 
 The fashion then prevailing of drinking wine with 
 each guest, Mr. Canning, instead of a decanter of gen- 
 erous Burgundy, always had one of toast-and-water 
 j)laced at his plate, in wMch innocuous beverage he 
 X^ledged the health of all ; but liis ruse was discovered, 
 and subjected him to some ill-natured criticism. 
 
 Although of a perfect and captivating courtesy, he 
 was reserved in manner, and it is said sometimes 
 allowed his diplomatic suavity to be overcome by a 
 certain impatience and even asperity of temper, which 
 subsequently, on a grander stage and while adjusting 
 the most delicate and momentous negotiations, unfor- 
 tunately developed into an acrimony which, irritating 
 Prince Gortschakoff, incited the famous Eussian " ulti- 
 matum," and precipitated the great powers into the 
 Crimean war. In 1841 Mr. — then Sir Stratford — 
 Canning was appointed Ambassador at the Porte, 
 where he remained until the close of the war ; liis 
 prolonged study of Eastern politics, his diplomatic 
 sagacity, and his unequalled influence over the Sultan 
 enabling him to perform very important services for 
 his country, especially as connected with the status 
 of Christians in Turkey. He also showed acceptable 
 kindness, politically and socially, to Americans, on 
 various occasions while in Constantinople. In 1852 
 he was raised to the peerage, under the title of Vis- 
 count Stratford de Eedclyffe. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 155 
 
 " 1822. 
 " . . . . You will perceive that among the new members 
 there are as many speakers as usual, and that consequently 
 3^our sons are sufficiently occupied, notwithstanding their ac- 
 quisition of a stenographer at $1,000 per session. I think, 
 dear fiithcr, you would have thought this handsome com- 
 pensation when you piu*sued the same avocation with more 
 indefatigable intensity in Philadelphia. You will perceive 
 by the debates that truly the course of editors never does 
 run smooth. In truth, 't is a thanldess task in most 
 instances, considering too that the labor is voluntary and 
 of no pecuniary value, unless enhancing the interest of the 
 paper may be considered an equivalent for querulous 
 carping and fault-finding from dissatisfied members, who 
 feel themselves slighted in not finding their wisdom dis- 
 played to their constituents in two or three columns of the 
 Intelligencer. Joseph writhes under these attacks, being 
 never very tolerant of censure, but William bears them 
 with rather amused patience. Some of the friends of the 
 editors begin to be extremely anxious to know under what 
 colors the Intelligencer will sail during the next three 
 years' voyage, and urge them to declare immediately in 
 favor of the only man fit to guide the government bark, 
 each individual probably having a different man in view. 
 Encompassed as they are by friends in the shape of presi- 
 dential candidates, the choice will be unpleasant, come 
 when it may, and they feel no anxiety to anticipate the 
 free and full expression of the Republican majority. 
 Meantime, the present incumbent is treated with very little 
 ceremony, while casting about for his successor ; and there 
 was some humor in Colvin's proposition, that " a commit- 
 tee be appointed to wait on the President and ask him to 
 have the goodness to resign, inasmuch as gentlemen were 
 in a hurrv and did not like to wait " 
 
156 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 " The Unitarian church has been dedicated with all the 
 solemnity and simplicity characterizing the profession of 
 its members. Mr. Little's discourse on the occasion T\-as 
 irresistibly forcible and pathetic, his impressive manner 
 adding to its exceeding interest. The performance of the 
 choir created pleasure and surprise in all the audience, who 
 were not aware of the harmonious treat prepared for them. 
 How we wished that you, dear father, could have been 
 present to join in every part of the day's services. There 
 were upwards of four hundred persons present, which, con- 
 sidering that the Bishop preached and administered the 
 rite of confirmation at the Episcopal church, was a very 
 large congregation. If you will now come to us, you may 
 worship God according to the mode you prefer, and under 
 the voice of a man after your own heart, for so I think 
 Mr. Little will prove. So patriarchal in appearance, mild 
 and truthful, yet so energetic in his appeals to the reason 
 and the heart, that the most indifferent auditor finds 
 himself imperceptibly engaged in self-examination. The 
 closing sentences of his beautiful effort were thus : " All is 
 torpidity in the grave. Shall it be said that we have left 
 no useful memorial behind us 1 What ! not a handful of 
 grass which the mower may regard as the fruit of our 
 labor ? Forbid it. Gracious Father ! These walls I trust 
 will bear witness that our lives have not been altogether 
 useless to mankind. Some I hope may be better and 
 wiser for our exertions in the cause of truth. If not in an 
 obvious and direct manner, yet in some effectual way may 
 we have sei^^-ed our generation, and promoted the knowl- 
 edge, the service, and the will of the one true God^ 
 
 As has been seen, Joseph Gales had been mainly 
 instrumental in the dissemination of his religious 
 faith in Philadelphia, by his successful efforts in the 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 157 
 
 establishment of the first church' erected there for the 
 worship of Unitarian Christians, while his name will 
 be held in grateful memory as being in truth the 
 founder of Unitarianism in Charleston and Washing- 
 ton. His daughter married the Eev. Anthony Forster, 
 an esteemed Presbyterian divine of the former city, 
 who, a year afterwards, announced to Mr. Gales his 
 renunciation of Calvinism, saying : " In reading all the 
 most eminent works on divinity in order to convince 
 you of your error, the issue has been that I am con- 
 vinced of my oitm." Mr. Forster was ordained pastor 
 ot the first Unitarian Church of South Carolina, being 
 at his death succeeded in the pastorate by Eev. Mr. 
 Oilman, of Massachusetts. Mrs. Seaton thus Avrites of 
 her relative's change of views : — 
 
 "That he whom I have been accustomed to consider 
 most tenacious, bigoted even, in adherence to the Athanasian 
 creed, shoiUd abjure its fallacies, seems almost miraculous ! 
 But the simplicity of truth has prevailed. I firmly believe 
 the day not far distant when these principles will receive 
 enlightened encouragement throughout America. Massa- 
 chusetts generally is Unitarian, its learned men and pro- 
 fessors being for the most part decidedly averse to the 
 inculcation of Trinitarian doctrines. Most of the eminent 
 clergymen of Boston have seceded, and refuse to subscribe 
 to the Thirty-nine Articles. ISIauy of the most intellectual 
 and pious strangers, as well as citizens among our acquaint-- 
 ances, agree perfectly in this gospel doctrine, against which 
 I have never yet heard nor read a word to counteract 
 my early prepossession.'* 
 
 It was chiefly through the influence and active aid 
 of Mr. Seaton, and his brother-in-law Mr. Gales, that 
 
158 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 the cliurcli of their faith was founded in "Washington, 
 then the outpost of liberal Christianity. Among its 
 warm friends and consistent adherents was Mr. Cal- 
 houn, who, on the occasion of contributing generously 
 to the erection of the church, remarked to Mr. Seaton, 
 that '' Unitarianism was the true faith, and must ulti- 
 mately prevail over the world." 
 
 *' Boston, 1823, 
 
 " .... I close my letter with a few words as to the 
 most interesting Visit I have ever ^^et paid, — to the vener- 
 able ex-President John Adams, residing at Quiucy, nine miles 
 from Boston. Our good friend John Qiiincy Adams is here, 
 in the same house with us, and this morning invited him- 
 self to a seat in our carriage for the purpose of introducing 
 us to his venerated father. It happened to be au impor- 
 tant day, the patriarchal statesman having appointed it 
 to review the Boston Democratic company of Fusileers, who 
 went out for the purpose. We found him sitting to the 
 ftxmous Stuart for his portrait, to be completed on his 
 eighty-ninth birthday. Mr. Adams led me to him and said 
 a few words aside, when I was quite affected by his rising 
 from the sofa, and affectionately kissing my cheek, bid- 
 ding me welcome to Quincy. He is ver}^ infirm, his voice 
 tremulous with age ; but he retains all the dignity which I 
 have heard ascribed to him, with nothing of the hauteur. 
 We partook with himself, John Quincy Adams, and a 
 younger brother, and a large family circle, of a collation 
 prepared for the Corps of Fusileers, the officers participating 
 with us, the privates occupying another room. We were 
 dehghted, and the scene will not easily be eradicated from 
 our memory. On taking leave we were pressingly invited 
 to repeat our visit, and thanked for the compliment of 
 paying our respects." 
 
A BIOGEAPIIICAL SKETCH. 159 
 
 "December, 1823. 
 
 " . . . . You will see that our congressional body take 
 things coolly. After they once fairly enter the arena, how- 
 ever, we shall have no deficiency of warmth, I presume ; 
 and we are prepared for an unusual display of eloquence 
 from ]\Ir. Webster, and other conspicuous members, on the 
 subject of the Greeks. I\Iy impression is that they push 
 the matter too far in the Northern cities, when they extend 
 tlieir views beyond an expression of sympathy in sufferings 
 incurred in the cause of freedom, and individual contribu- 
 tions for the relief and assistance of a brave people. 
 
 ''Propositions to alter and amend the Constitution, in 
 time to operate on the Presidential election, will also elicit 
 nmch declamation ; and, after the ice is once broken, there 
 will be occupation for all the stenographers who attend 
 Congress, — some dozen or two now. You have no con- 
 ception of the attentions with which the winning, com-tly 
 Mr. Clay, and the interesting, agreeable Mr. Calhoun 1% 
 the new and old members here. Mr. Macon, with his 
 usual obstinacy, and to be different in detail if not in 
 principle, from his party, is an anti-caucus man, and will 
 countenance no such practice. I suppose he will prove 
 that there were no caucuses in the time of Moses, and 
 therefore there is no necessity for them now. Such is tKe 
 argument with which he usually wdnds up his opinions. 
 .... I conversed to-day with Dr. Holcombe, from Xew 
 Jersey, who has been called in to ]\Ir. Crawford, who is 
 extremely low. His general debility has occasioned an 
 affection of the eyes, exceedingly painful, compelling him 
 to remain with them bandaged in a dark room, which will 
 be an incalculable disadvantage when Congress is becoming 
 impatient for the Treasury Pieport, and when he will re- 
 quire all his eyes to make no second blunder. William has 
 seen him this morning, and reports his health and constitu- 
 
160 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 tion as apparently shattered. He has been bled twenty- 
 three times, largely, within three weeks. The physicians 
 apprehend total blindness, the confirmation of which fear 
 would be an irremediable misfortune in a President. My 
 private opinion is, that he will never live to be President. 
 His herculean size and almost entire blindness bring to 
 my mind ' Samson,' as I conceived him to be in my early 
 years. I trust, how^ever, that he will recover, to defeat 
 the insidious as well as open attempts to injure him. 
 Doubly now do we deprecate the event of his being with 
 drawn from the contest, as we could not conscientiously sup- 
 port his probable rival, a man so unreasonable and exacting 
 in all his concerns, and with whom it would be difficult to 
 transact business without forfeiting independence. Except 
 Mr. Adams, the editors have never thought of any other 
 candidate but Mr. Crawford. The recent conduct of Mr. 
 
 would leave only a choice of evils. He has displayed 
 
 a A'indictive, implacable resentment for an oversight in 
 the publication of his documents, which ought not to have 
 created an emotion of anger, and which was corrected as 
 soon as pointed out to the editors ; but because the whole 
 paper was not made subservient to his particular interests 
 
 to the exclusion of others, he cannot forgive Truth 
 
 to say, however, I believe that his self-love being wounded 
 was the principal reason for his conduct j and I begin to 
 think, with Timothy Pickering, that he is unrelenting 
 when either ambition or vanity is concerned. 
 
 " The war waxes hot, and it will continue until after the 
 exciting election. Mr. Adams moves neither to the right 
 nor left, but keeps an undeviating course, regardless of the 
 opinion of friend or foe. Mr. Clay spares neither of the 
 editors of the ' Intelligencer ' as such, nor the men person- 
 ally, whenever opportunity presents ; for they are unaccus- 
 tomed to bow to any authority save that of conscientious 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 161 
 
 duty, and will teach this Western Hotspur that they control 
 public opinion and the ' most sweet voices ' he is so anxious 
 to win. General Jackson appears to possess quite as much 
 8\iaviter in modo as fortiter in re. He is, indeed, a polished 
 and perfect courtier in female society, and polite to all. 
 He will, however, if our President, have a most warlike 
 cabinet, I presume, and will send his Message to Congress 
 h\ the Secretary of War, flanked by Orderly Sergeants. A 
 
 more despotic sovereign would not reign in Europe 
 
 All well with us. 
 
 " Your dutiful and affectionate 
 
 " Sarah." 
 
 " Richmond, July 15, 1S24. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — My friend Mr. William Ruffin, of 
 Raleigh, writes me for Mr. J. Q. Adams's letter to Gen- 
 eral Smith's constituents. I have no spare number, but 
 5'ou have pamphlet copies. Do send him one and charge 
 it to the good cause. Virginia is firm as the Rock of 
 Gibraltar. My friend writes me (I have it confirmed by 
 another letter by the same mail), that Mr. Crawford will 
 get the electoral vote of North Carolina. Come out boldly. 
 Trust to God and your country. Crawford and truth will 
 triumph. His friends must be bold, firm, active, and there 
 is no danger of his non-success. The country 's up. Speak 
 out, without mincing or modification. You are the ad- 
 vocate of the cause of Truth ; speak as her friends ought 
 always to speak when the public weal demands it, — fear- 
 lessly and freely. Adams's friends are reeling, and, in all 
 directions, confessing nobly and conscientiously that they 
 cannot support him. 
 
 " The time draws nigh. The crisis has come. Three 
 months decide the contest. The country is large, and it 
 takes some time for the voice to reach to our remotest 
 hamlets. 
 
 K 
 
162 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 " I assure you, in confidence, that all parties here thiiik 
 
 the JV. Intellif/encer is too mild. Your enemies here are 
 
 chuckling at your late appearance of giving up to Mr. 
 
 Adams. Excuse me for my suggestions. I should be the 
 
 first to call them impertinent and officious if the good of 
 
 the country was not at stake. 
 
 "In haste, yours, 
 
 " Thomas Ritchie. 
 **ToMr. Seatox." 
 
 Mr. George Bancroft relates the following charac- 
 teristic anecdote of the great Carolina statesman's 
 political aspirations. " AVlien Monroe was about to 
 retire from the office of President there was a great 
 struggle for the successorship. Calhoun desired to be 
 a candidate. Mr. Seaton had a ereat res^ard for ]Mr. 
 Calhoun, but thought his nomination at that time 
 would be premature. One evening as they w^ere walk- 
 ing together by the banks of the Potomac Mr. Seaton 
 reasoned with him, using the argument : ' At the end 
 of your second term you will be still in the prime of 
 manhood. What would you do ? ' And Calhoun an- 
 swered, 'I would retire and write my memoirs.'" 
 
 The following letter from our great historian and 
 diplomatist is a graceful expression of the feeling en- 
 tertained by him for Mr. and Mrs. Seaton; a friend- 
 ship which was mutual and lasting. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — If I may judge of your sentiments 
 by the lively recollections I retain of the very pleasant 
 hours it was my happiness three winters ago to pass in 
 your family, I should believe that I am not yet entirely 
 forgotten in the circle to which you and Mrs. Seaton so 
 kindly bade me welcome. It is in that persuasion that I 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 163 
 
 venture to direct my publisher to send you a volume which 
 will reach you shortly after the adjournment of Congress ; 
 and which, I hope, will then find you able to give an hour 
 or two to its contents, and perhtips win a little time from 
 IMrs. Seaton. Of her approbation I should be proud indeed. 
 " I have been long engaged in gathering material for 
 writing a history of the United States. I dare not own to 
 you how much labor I have given to the preparation. One 
 volume I have completed and printed ; it is that which I 
 have taken the liberty to send you. Accustomed to a large 
 consideration of the affairs of the country, you are emi- 
 nently qualified to pass an opinion upon the manner in 
 which the work is conceived. I confess my desire that you 
 may find leisure to make the work a subject of careful 
 criticism. Your views w^ould be exceedino-lv valuable to 
 me ; as the work is, in its design at least, national, I feel 
 a strong hope that it will win your approbation. I beg to 
 be remembered with respectful regard to Mrs. Seaton and 
 your family. How unlike the quiet of the village in which I 
 reside is the turbulent ambition of Washington. Should 
 you and Mrs. Seaton travel to the North, pray promise her 
 from me the richest of our fine moss-roses, and the most 
 delicate of our fruit and flowers. 
 
 " With sincere respect, yours, 
 
 " George Bancroft. 
 "Mr. Seaton. 
 
 ** Northampton, Mass., June 21, 1834." 
 
 ''September, 1824. 
 
 " You will see, dear mother, that Lafayette is expected 
 on the first ; and nothing is heard but drumming, nothing 
 seen but regiments from one end of the District to the 
 other. The Committee of Arrangements, of which Wil- 
 liam is one, have some very magnificent plans in view, as 
 yet secrets of state. Amongst them one, which, if can'ied 
 
164 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 into effect, would be unique, suh rosa, of course, viz. to 
 throw a treble arch over the central dome of the Capitol, 
 containing three rows of colored lamps of primary colors, 
 to represent a rainbow. It will require about six thousand 
 lamps, which fortunately can be furnished at a mere 
 marevedi in comparison with former cost. 
 
 " There is no withstanding public opinion, and William 
 has consented that Augustine, at the head of his company, 
 shall be allowed to meet Lafayette at the District line ; 
 so the young Captain and Ensigns are in a way to tread 
 the Avenue with as much precision and dignity as their 
 fathers." 
 
 An eloquent pen characterizing Mr. Seaton's attri- 
 butes at this period says : " The course of Mr. Seaton's 
 life from a period little advanced from boyhood was 
 such as to insure, indeed, to necessitate, an intimate 
 familiarity with the men and events of his time, with 
 all changes of public opinion, with all discussions of 
 constitutional law, with all the movements of inter- 
 est, prejudice, and affection by which the affairs of 
 the world are governed. The thoughts, the passions, 
 the motives of his fellow-men were necessarily with 
 him subjects of scrutinizing observation and intelli- 
 gent reflection. When he removed to W^ashington, the 
 sphere of his observation and influence was, of course, 
 greatly widened. The trusted friend and counsellor 
 of the earlier administrations, there can be no doubt 
 that, as he was the depositary of their confidence, he 
 often contributed in no small degree to shape their 
 measures." These advantages, united to the personal 
 charm of Mr. Seaton, had not failed to give him an 
 enviable status in the consideration of his fellow- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 165 
 
 citizens. His genial cordiality, his captivating courtesy, 
 I lis large hospitality, and a readiness of beneficence 
 having few equals, had won their individual affection, 
 while their confidence was based on the justice, the 
 candor, the upriglitness of purpose and generosity of 
 temper characterizing his daily walk of life. 
 
 They already relied on him as their most able coad- 
 jutor in every plan having for its object the welfare 
 of the city ; and turned to him as their representative 
 on all civic pubHc occasions, whether the duty involved 
 were to offer an address of welcome to an incoming, 
 or to speed the parting President, — to inaugurate 
 benevolent institutions, or to assume the more deli- 
 cate and gracious task of presiding at social festivals. 
 Possessed of these unusual traits, Mr. Seaton naturally 
 would be chosen to sustain the principal part in offer- 
 ing the city's hospitality to foreigners of distinction ; 
 and thus, upon the occasion of Lafayette's sojourn in 
 our midst, upon Mr. Seaton, although in no official 
 capacity, seemed by tacit consent to devolve the 
 special charge of the nation's guest. Those who for 
 half a century were familiar with Mr. Seaton's varied 
 attributes can well understand that his conversational 
 gift, his full intelligence, his noble i^resence and the 
 seal of distinction with which nature had stamped him, 
 should have fascinated our great French ally, who, 
 versed in every phase of life, — from the brilliant 
 circles about the throne to the camp-fires of our 
 colonial wilderness, — was a keen judge of men ; and 
 a sure index of Mr. Seaton's power of attraction may 
 be discerned in the friendship then formed, and cher- 
 ished for him through life by Lafayette. 
 
166 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Mr. Seaton was Secretary to the Coramittee charged 
 with the duty of proceedmg to Baltimore to welcome 
 and escort Lafayette to Washington, The gastronomic 
 excellence for which the fair Monumental City has 
 ever been fam^ found an appreciative judge in the 
 illustrious guest, who, on the occasion of the break- 
 fast at Barnum's, Mr. Seaton described as especially 
 enjoying the fine bay perch, six of which he con- 
 sumed, bread a discretion, all washed down with 
 generous Bordeaux; the culmination of his enthusi- 
 asm, however, being reserved for the unsurpassed 
 canvas-back duck and hominy ; and so constantly 
 was the General in the open air with receptions, 
 processions, and speeches, — the excitement naturally 
 inducing an unusual appetite, — that the consumption 
 of a whole duck would be the tribute paid by him 
 to the excellence of our unequalled Southern winged 
 delicacy, the enjoyment of which a subsequent distin- 
 guished traveller, Lord Morpeth, declared to be worth 
 a voyage across the Atlantic. 
 
 Among the noteworthy incidents attending Lafay- 
 ette's reception in Washington was that described in 
 the following letter by Mrs. Seaton, whose modesty, 
 however, did not permit her to express the charm lent 
 by her presence and that of her attendant maidens, to 
 the welcome extended to the General. 
 
 "October, 1S24. 
 " Dear Mother, — I don't know how it was, but I cer- 
 tainly figured more than I had any wish or expectation of 
 doing, on the day of Lafayette's arrival. In the first place, 
 I was selected by the committee of arrangements to super- 
 intend the dress and decoration of twenty-five young ladies 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 167 
 
 representing the States and District, and procure appro^ 
 priate wreaths, scarfs, and Lafayette gloves and flags for 
 the occasion, to assemble them at my house, and attend 
 them under my protection to the Capitol. 
 
 " I had previously been influenced by various reasons to 
 present a flag to the ' Washington Guards,' of which Wil- 
 liam is the proud Captain ; and as this was now a duty, I 
 determined to make it a pleasant one, and to avail myself 
 of the dear little children's presence to render my own 
 position less conspicuous by being thus surrounded. 
 
 " At eight o'clock a crowd had assembled around the 
 house, and many friends were within to witness the cere- 
 mony. The little girls were in uniform, long blue scarfs, 
 hair curling down, and wreaths of eglantine on their pretty 
 young heads. They formed in double line^ separating on 
 each side of the front steps, twenty being so disposed, 
 while four were selected — of which J. represented North 
 Carolina and M. Virginia — to bear the flag to the centre 
 of the stone-platform, and forming a star, to await the 
 Priestess of the ceremonies, who, stepping forth arrayed in 
 India muslin trimmed with blue ribbons and lace, and with 
 a nodding but modest plume of the same color, making 
 the most of her height, thus, as nearly as recollected, ad- 
 dressed the Guards : — 
 
 " ' Friends and Gentlemen of the Guards, — This 
 standard is presented to the Washing-ton Guards as a 
 tribute of respect, in the firm belief that the gift will 
 never be dishonored, nor the motto which it bears disgraced 
 by the youngest brother of the company. {Dehellaverunt 
 over Lafayette and Washington : " They fought together." 
 Tituhimur in the clouds : "We follow in yoiu- steps.") The 
 deep interest which my husband feels in your corps, and 
 the high post with which he is honored in it, will always 
 inspire me with the truest solicitude for its reputation and 
 
168 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 success. Should the day of trial come and events call 
 them to the field, I entertain the most trustful hope that 
 the Washington Guards will be distinguished by a noble 
 devotion to the cause of their country, and that in the 
 protection of wives, children, and friends they will be 
 the last to desert their standard.' 
 
 " Modesty forbids my description of the reception of this 
 simple little address, and the Lieutenant's glowing reply ; 
 suffice it to say, that I was formally petitioned on behalf 
 of the corps to allow its publication ; being unable to do 
 so, however, from the circumstance of trustino- to the ex- 
 
 7 7 O 
 
 citement of the occasion and having no notes. And so I 
 was saved from the mortification of blazing at the head of 
 the Gazette columns, and can say very cheerfully, ' All 's 
 well that ends well.' I should have liked my fi-iends in 
 Raleigh to see the little States arranged around me ; it was 
 a perfect parterre, and Judge Cranch, with other elderly 
 gentlemen present, were affected by their interesting ap- 
 pearance and delighted countenances. The picture was 
 complete as they moved off, surrounded by their escort 
 the 'Young Guards,' commanded by Captain Augustine 
 Seato7i, preceding my guard of honor commanded by his 
 fitther, Captain William Seaton. Augustine's company has 
 eclipsed even the veterans here, and was declared to be the 
 best drilled volunteer corps at the reception of Lafayette 
 in Alexandria At General Brown's ball I was pre- 
 sented to Lafayette, once by mine host, once by my 
 husband. On both occasions my hands were most affec- 
 tionately pressed, though I had my suspicions that my 
 second introduction was like unto the first in the Veteran's 
 eyes, it being next to an impossibility that he should rec- 
 ognize all the ladies with w^hom he was compelled to shako 
 hands, amounting to thousands during his triumphant 
 tour You ask what influence poHtics have upon 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 169 
 
 social intercourse, — positively none. No individual could 
 have had more enjoyment, or been treated with more atten- 
 tive politeness by the master of the feast, than I, at Mr. 
 Adams's ball. Mr. Calhoun's family and oiu-selves are, and 
 always have been, on terms of kindest intimacy. Our cause, 
 however, seems shivering in the wind, and I would not 
 venture a baubee on the Presidential election now, for one 
 candidate or the other, so uncertain does it appear in the 
 perspective. The Ultras now court the people with all 
 
 assiduity AVilliam has had the onus of the banquet 
 
 and other civilities offered to the General, and indeed by gen- 
 eral consent, the charge of our illustrious Guest's entertain- 
 ment has mainly devolved on him ; how acceptably he per- 
 forms the social behest the public voice proclaims 
 
 " Your affectionate daughter, 
 
 " S." 
 
 The form of invitation to this historical festival was 
 characteristic of the simplicity of style then prevailing, 
 the one fortunately preserved being as follows : — 
 
 "The Committee of Arrangements respectfully request 
 the Secretary of War to dine with General Lafayette this 
 day at the Franklin House, at five o'clock. 
 
 "W. W. Seaton, Secretary.''^ 
 
 "October 12, 1824." > 
 
 The Franklin House was kept by O'Xeale, being 
 one of the row of houses since knowai to the old resi- 
 dents as the " Six Buildings " ; and here were gathered 
 those whose deeds had already given them fame, mth 
 others whose names were to be imperishably Avritten 
 in their country's history. Mr. Seaton's toast on the 
 occasion was: "The United States and France — their 
 early friendship — may it ever be maintained by mu- 
 
 8 
 
170 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 tual acts of kindness and justice," — the qualities 
 which so conspicuously characterized the whole life of 
 him who offered the sentiment. 
 
 "December 16, 1824. 
 " Last evening we had the high gratification of enter- 
 taining and welcoming Lafayette in our own house, being 
 the only private individuals so honored, as yet. Three hun- 
 dred and sixty persons took leave of him last evening, 
 being within a score of those invited ; and, although a very 
 crowded party, I hope not an unpleasant one to the old 
 General. He is very lame, and we contrived to keep him 
 seated as much as his extreme politeness would aUow. 
 Those persons who had never before been so closely in 
 contact with him were brought forward and introduced ; 
 those who aheady had been presented availed themselves 
 of their privilege to converse with the hero. My chamber 
 and the large nursery were deranged and aiTanged for the 
 occasion, serving as card and supper rooms. We danced in 
 the dining and drawing rooms, the latter opened for the first 
 time, and thus pleasantly inaugurated. I never saw a gayer 
 or, / think, a more agi'eeable party. The guest of the 
 evening was evidently gratified, and we were told from 
 every source that it was enchanting. The leader of the 
 Marine Band came up in the ■ morning and requested to 
 play for us in the evening, which added much to the enjoy- 
 ment. All the cabinet were with us except Mr. Crawford, 
 who could not come, and the Executive, who was not asked. 
 Mr. J. Q. Adams and family seemed to enjoy themselves 
 as much as our other friends, notwithstanding our wordy 
 war. Every member of the diplomatic corps was here 
 except Baron de Mareuil and family, the French Minister, . 
 who are en grand denil for the King of France, and by 
 court etiquette are precluded from society for three months. 
 I regretted their absence, as Madame Mareuil is an excel- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 171 
 
 lent and very attractive woman, superior to the generality 
 
 of her countrywomen whom I have met There has 
 
 not been such buoyancy of feeling in my heart for several 
 years as I experienced last evening, and William and Jo- 
 seph were rejoiced to see me dance once more. All of our 
 old friends were here, in great glee, among the members, 
 except Mr. Macon, who never goes out at night La- 
 fayette goes with us next Sunday to the Unitarian church, 
 being desirous of hearing Mr. Little, of whose fervid elo- 
 quence he has heard much " 
 
 *' December, 1824. 
 " My dear William is from home for a few days in Phila- 
 delphia, having paid Lafayette the compliment of accom- 
 panying him as far as Baltimore, attending him to the 
 cattle-show, and receiving, as proxy for Joseph, a pair of 
 prize goblets, awarded by the committee and presented by 
 Lafayette, for the two finest hogs which were exhibited, 
 
 and about which Joseph is quite exultant I was 
 
 privileged a few days ago to enjoy an unusual opportunity 
 of quiet converse with the ' nation's guest.' The Marquis 
 was very intimate with Joel Barlow, and they passed most 
 of their time together during the stay of the latter in 
 France ; consequently Mrs. Bomford (sister of Mrs. Barlow, 
 as you know) is a gi'eat favorite of the Marquis ; and I am 
 of Mrs. Bomford ; and consequently, again, I received an 
 intimation that he would spend a private en famille evening 
 there, in which I needed no pressing to participate. Wil- 
 liam and the Mayor were to escort him there from the 
 President's ; and I went solus. I found no company but 
 the families of Mr. Cutts (brother-in-law of Mrs. Madison) 
 and General Dearborn, old friends of ours both; and we 
 passed a most agreeable and charming evening, from whence 
 we accompanied the General to the concert. We had much 
 plain, pleasant conversation, in which the benevolent old 
 
172 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 hero participated with all the characteristic ardor of an 
 
 accomplished Frenchman " 
 
 '•January, 1825. 
 " My dear Mother, — The bearer of this note is Colonel 
 G. C, of Georgia, whose name you will perhaps recollect 
 
 as pertaining to one of W.'s quondam lovers He is 
 
 a decided Jackson ite, and insists that I had a design on his 
 political principles ' by ushering him into the presence ' of 
 Mrs. Jackson, at the great ball given by General Brown on 
 the eighth of January. I introduced him to every one, 
 and he was much pleased with the first hona fide squeeze 
 he has attended in the metropolis. The whole city was 
 invited to celebrate the anniversary of Jackson's victory ; 
 and I wish it may not be the only victory at which he may 
 have an opportunity of rejoicing, though Mr. Crawford's 
 friends are still sanguine rather than despairing. Much 
 depends on Mr. Clay, and he is scarcely to be depended on. 
 The different candidates are very jocose with each other. 
 At Mr. Calhoun's ball last week I stood among the dancers 
 with Mr. Adams, when Mr. Clay passed in high glee, laugh- 
 ing, and saying he was much in the way of the dancers ; 
 or rather, they were very troublesome to him. ' 0,' says J. 
 Q., ' that is very unkind ; you who get out of every body 
 else's way, you know.' This dry joke, so evidently allud- 
 ing to his exclusion fi'om the House of Representatives, 
 was received as merrily as it was given, and they both 
 * laughed long and loud.' Mrs. Adams came to see me this 
 morning, being the first visit without invitation which has 
 been exchanged since that unlucky stab under the fifth 
 rib. They are all very courteous just now ; but should 
 Mrs. A. be Presidentess, .... she, perhaps, will not for- 
 get that her husband was foiled in combat with us even 
 
 with his own weapon, — the pen We received a 
 
 letter from John S. Skinner yesterday, saying : ' We are 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 173 
 
 dished!' but I hope not. There is no more reason for 
 despair on the part of Mr. Crawford's fi'iends now than 
 heretofore, and thej don't ' give up the ship.' 
 
 " We have now completed our homage to Liberty in the 
 person of Lafayette. Congress can do nothing more, ask- 
 ing as a favor, by resohition of the House, that he will add 
 to their obligations to him by accepting a grant of two 
 hundred thousand dollars and a township of land. They 
 are to give him, also, a public dinner at a cost of one thou- 
 sand dollars All w^ell with my little folk, and I am 
 
 the happiest wife, mother, and daughter in Christendom. 
 With tenderest love to cm' father and yourself, 
 
 " Your dutiful daughter, 
 
 "Sarah Seaton." 
 
 *' February 15, 1825. 
 " Dear Weston, — Lest our paper of to-morrow should 
 by aqpident not reach you in time for Friday's Register, I 
 use a page of Sarah's letter to say that last evening, pur- 
 suant to notice, a number of the Republican members, 
 about sixty-eight or seventy, met in the Capitol to recom- 
 mend to their fellow-citizens candidates for the Presidency 
 and Vice-Presidency. -Of the number present, Mr. Craw- 
 ford received (including two proxies from sick members), 
 sixty-four votes for President, the rest scattering ; and the 
 old JefFersonian Republican, Albert Gallatin, received fifty- 
 seven votes for Vice-President. About thirty members of 
 Congress, the friends of Mr. Crawford, did not, from various 
 motives, attend the caucus. Nearly one hundred members 
 of the two Houses are the known and avowed friends of 
 Mr. Crawford, — the remainder are divided among the 
 other candidates, in about the proportion of the follow- 
 ing statement, prepared for us by the members themselves ; 
 by which is proven that Mr. Crawford is the second prefer- 
 ence of nearly all Mr. Adams's Republican friends. You 
 
174 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 may easily perceive from this why the partisans of the 
 others refused to join in the convention. They thought it 
 best to endeavor to put down by a joint effort the strong 
 man of the nation, and then fight 4or the prize amongst 
 themselves. They will be foiled. I am sorry that Mr. 
 Macon, and Courier, of your State, threw their weight into 
 the scale of the ^fragments,'' by refusing to join their 
 friends and party in caucus. The galleries were crowded 
 with not less than one thousand persons, and a more order- 
 ly or dignified scene I never beheld, the splendid hall 
 being brilliantly lighted. The reporters were all at their 
 places, and eveiything conducted in the most open man- 
 ner. 
 
 " The factionists are appalled at the firmness of the 
 men who met, and a purer or more sterling body of Re- 
 publicans than assembled there last night the world can- 
 not produce. 
 
 " General Lafayette will leave here for Raleigh about the 
 23d, but will not take Warrenton in his way, some busy- 
 body having put him in such dread of the stage road, and 
 fully persuaded him that he would lose two days. He tells 
 me that he will touch at Halifax and Enfield, having taken 
 up an idea that the latter town is a place of much impor- 
 tance, perhaps derived from conversations with Mr. Branch. 
 " In haste, with love to all, 
 
 " Your affectionate Brother, 
 
 "W. W. Seaton. 
 
 *' Weston R. Gales, Esq," 
 
 " February, 1825. 
 
 " . . . . Having received incessant, though for the most 
 part unaccepted civilities from our friends, and there be- 
 ing an unusual number of respectable and accomplished 
 strangers in town from Baltimore, Lancaster, and Boston, 
 from many of whom we received kind attentions during 
 our Northern tour, we concluded to present our return hos- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 175 
 
 > 
 pitality in the condensed and most acceptable mode of a 
 party ; and taking advantage of the morning report from 
 the nursery, " All well," we invited a select and agreeable 
 circle of friends for Tuesday. The evening was boisterous, 
 extremely inclemenjt, but not half a dozen of the invited 
 neglected the summons, from the President's family down 
 to common folk like ourselves. We had most charming 
 music from Dominick Lynch, of New York, whom we met 
 at Saratoga, and who is the delight of every lover of mel- 
 odv. Miss Davis, of Boston, second only to our Mrs. 
 French, accompanied him in his duets, which were sung 
 
 with entrancing taste and effect Among our guests 
 
 I must not forget to name a Prince, Achille Murat, son to 
 the late King of Naples, who called with :Mr. McKim of 
 Baltimore, and was invited to accompany him. We had 
 considerable amusement in making the young ladies desig- 
 nate the Prince among other young gentlemen equally 
 strangers to them, but not one succeeded, and the reason 
 was evident : they associated nobility of appearance and 
 striking elegance of manners with the accident of noble 
 birth, and these were not particularly characteristic of oiu* 
 titled visitor, son though he is, of the dashing " heau 
 sabreur.'" He has come to this country with the deter- 
 mination to make it his future home, and has applied 
 for the oath of allegiance, — is said to be plainly republi- 
 can in his principles, and is certainly so in his manners. 
 Old Mr. Macon would not attend the caucus, and did not 
 come to our party, — both very treasonable acts in the 
 eyes of his colleagues, who thought he ought to have de- 
 parted from all previous obstinacy on so important occa- 
 sions Our visitors remain until after the inaugura- 
 tion, and while occupied with attending dancing-parties 
 every evening with them, and sight-seeing every morning, 
 I have been seriously apprehensive of the death, without 
 the glory, of a martyr in a more noble cause." 
 
176 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 " February 24, 1825. 
 
 " The city is thronged with strangers, and Yaiikees swarm 
 like the locusts of Egypt in our houses, our beds, and our ^ 
 kneading-troughs ! Mr. and Mrs. Adams are perfectly 
 
 comme il faut, — Ae a little more gay and polite 
 
 Their last drawing-room for the season was on Monday- 
 last, which we all attended, immediately after ascertaining 
 our triumphant election, which spoke in a language not to 
 be misunderstood, the approbation of Congi'ess generally 
 and individually. We were congratulated on every side, 
 and passed a pleasant evening. The powers that be, did 
 not congratulate us ; probably we had omitted the same 
 ceremony in regard to them on a similar occasion. We 
 should at least have been as sincere as General Jackson in 
 his felicitations on Mr. Adams's accession to the Presidency. 
 It is now ascertained, though not announced, that Mr. 
 Clay has accepted the office of Secretary of State, and Mr. 
 
 Southard remains in the Navy Department The 
 
 office of Secretary of War will be accepted by Governor 
 Barbour, of Virginia, and Mr. Richard Rush is to have the 
 refusal of the Treasury in place of Mr. Crawford, resigned ; 
 Governor Clinton to go to St. James*s. The great Hal, as 
 the Kentuckians style Mr. Clay, is not our fi'iend and prob- 
 ably never will be, but his friends are peculiarly ours, so 
 that we shall have probably a smooth path for the next 
 four years, as Mr. Adams is evidently in a conciliatory 
 mood, and all the rest of the cabinet friendly. They have 
 tried, and found it rather inconvenient, to do without the 
 Intelligencer, which will probably hold the same place in 
 relation to the administration as heretofore. Such are the 
 present indications. 
 
 " General Lafayette started yesterday towards Raleigh, 
 but has taken the lower road, which provokes me, his pre- 
 viously announced programme having disappointed W. of 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 177 
 
 a pleasant sojourn with us. "VVe had, the day previous 
 to his departure, an accidental assembling of notable people 
 at our house as morning visitors. General Lafayette, Le- 
 vasseur, General Bernard, Major Poussin, and the Presi- 
 dent's fiimily, all calling to take leave. General Bernard 
 is one of the most interesting, animated, agreeable old men 
 I have ever yet seen ; and when his idol Bonaparte is the 
 subject of discussion, his eyes flash with the fire of youth 
 and his countenance is radiant. 
 
 " Mr. Crawford and family are well, and have sold their 
 furniture preparatory to their return to their impaired 
 prospects in Georgia, which present no enlivening hope. 
 I most truly feel for their disappointed views, but hold 
 them in increased respect from their noble bearing of mis- 
 fortune I send you a characteristic note from Mr. 
 
 Custis, who is as vivacious as usual.' " 
 
 George Washington Parke Custis was, as is well- 
 known, the adopted son of General Washington, and 
 the grandson of Mrs. Washington by her first marriage. 
 During the many years in which he lived at his 
 beautiful home of Arlington, he delighted in recount- 
 ing to guests and pilgrims from every part of our own 
 and foreign lands his personal participation in the 
 momentous days of the Revolution, and his memories 
 of the social circle and domestic life of Washington. 
 Countless were the anecdotes of the ^amp and its 
 patriot heroes ; of the republican court, the beauty and 
 aristocratic elegance of its belles, — wliile his mansion 
 was a treasure-house of sacred relics of pater patrice. 
 At the foot of a wooded slope of Arlington, on the 
 banks of the river, was the famous spring, a crystal 
 stream gushing from the root of a noble, primeval oak, 
 
 8* L 
 
178 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 the grove surrounding wliicli was, during nearly half a 
 century, the resort of gay parties resting from- their sail 
 on the lovely Potomac, and of innumerable celebrities 
 seeking respite on the shaded lawn from the turmoil 
 of Washington life. Hospitable, kind, and easy in 
 manner, the presence of the old man venerable was 
 eagerly welcomed at the spring, to which his vivacity, 
 his violin, and exhaustless reminiscences lent an at- 
 traction lonsj to be remembered. He was an amateur 
 American Vernet, covering acres of canvas with battle- 
 pieces, in which his beloved Chief was depicted on 
 the inevitable white charger; nevertheless, these 
 efforts, startling as specimens of art, were of patriotic 
 interest, as drawn by one who had witnessed the 
 scenes comrmemorated by his pencil, and had from 
 infancy been familiar with the heroes who had made 
 
 them immortal. 
 
 "Arlington House, 15th July, 1825. 
 " My dear Sir, — Old John, the genius of the spring, 
 gave me your card^ I should have had the pleasure of 
 seeing you, bat that my rheumatic bones gave 'note of 
 preparation ' for rain, and I sat down to finish Mademoi- 
 selle de Genlis, and left the farm to the comfort of the 
 showers, which I hoped would fall upon it. I could have 
 shown 3^ou much improvement in gi'ass, better than Smith's 
 philosopher, who only caused 'two spears to grow where 
 but one grew before,' whereas I have caused them^ to 
 grow where none grew before. You will find the spring a 
 comfortable place for Aldermen to retire to from feasting 
 and fagging in the toils of elections and great city affairs, 
 or for you laborers of the type ; and if you are not 
 ' worthy of your hire,' 't is not because the sweat of your 
 brains is less than that of your brow, or that you have one 
 
A BIOGRAPPIICAL SKETCH. 179 
 
 moment to rest them for 'lack of argument.' Then 
 come over to the shades of Arlington, where peace and 
 pleasant breezes, good air, good water, and a tolerably good 
 fellow will make you welcome. Apropos, have you seen 
 the Bolivar present? You will find it at Gaither's, — a 
 most splendid specimen of miniature painting by Field • 
 a medal well wrought for the state of the arts in Virginia 
 fifty years ago, and the venerated hair of the old chief. 
 AVill you propose to the Literati an illustration of the 
 'Endat Virginia primum.' Of the last, thereby 'hangs a 
 tale.' I should say hominem, but I am only superficial in ♦ 
 ancient classics, not having been, like Dr. Johnson, flogged 
 enough when at school. 
 
 " Adieu, — health and respect, 
 
 ,,„, _ "George W. P. Custis. 
 
 "W. W. Seaton, Esq." 
 
 "Arlington Spring, 3d July, 1848. 
 "My dear Mr. Seaton, — I do myself the honor to 
 accept your most kind invitation to dinner to-morrow. 
 ' The sun is making a golden set,' and 'giving promise of a 
 goodly day to-morrow.' May the auguries all be favorable, 
 and the 'Eagle fly on the dexter hand' on the ever- 
 glorious and venerable anniversary of the 4th of July. If 
 my large equestrian painting of Washington will be of any 
 service to you, eith-er in your ceremonials or in your 
 banqueting-hall, or in any way, you can procure it by 
 letter from your very worthy townsman John C. Rives, 
 who has it in charge, to be used on public and patriotic 
 occasions. I shall to-morrow have witnessed fifty-eight 
 celebrations of the 4th July, beginning with the first, under 
 the present government, 1789. May to-morrow's anni- 
 versary, with the great and patriotic ceremonies that will 
 attend it, gladden the hearts of all Americans, and may 
 
180 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 everything go ofif harmoniously and happily, is the sincere 
 
 wish of • 
 
 " Dear sir, yours faithfully, 
 
 " George W. P. Custis. 
 
 "To W. W. Seaton, Esq. 
 
 *' P. S. No wafers at the Spring." 
 
 ''Arlington House, 20th February, 1853. 
 
 " My dear Gales & Seaton, — I send you another of 
 the Recollections, in ' The last Days at Mount Vernon.' 
 This will probably be the finale, as I am hard pressed by 
 some of the first men in our country, including the ex- 
 cellent Professor Silliman, to bring out the work entire in 
 book form ; and as a man at 72, if he has anything to do 
 should do it as a beefsteak should be broiled, — quickly, 
 I have no time to lose. How shall I, my dear sirs, suf- 
 ficiently express my grateful acknowledgments to the press 
 of the National Intelligencer, that has published for me so 
 long and so well, and diffused my humble works through 
 all parts of the literary world 1 
 
 "I am now (since the death of Mrs. Lewis), the sole 
 survivor of the domestic family of the Chief, and the only 
 human being he ever honored with the title of adopted 
 son ; as such I feel a bounden duty to transmit my recollec- 
 tioTis and private memoirs to the posterity of the Americans 
 and the world at large, as relations coming from one, who 
 of much he has told, may say Ut pars f 21V I am an old 
 man, untiring and untirable as a speaker, but dreadfully 
 annoyed by penmanship ; so that I shall employ a litterateur 
 to arrange the work, and hope to send you a presentation 
 copy before a great while. As my very voluminous papers 
 are in some confusion, I am not sure I have sent you the 
 
 Revolutionary letter Accept, Dear Sirs, sahitation 
 
 and respect. 
 
 *' From your obliged faithful servant, 
 
 "George W. P. Custis." 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 181 
 
 "Arlington House, 21st Febraary, 1854. 
 
 " My dear Col. Seaton, — .... The story of the 
 Lost Letters of the Raivlins Booh I have put off to the 
 last. It is a painful subject to me, for it implicates one 
 who while living was dear to me, and whose melancholy 
 end excited much commiseration many years ago. But if 
 I loved my poor friend much, I love the fame and memory 
 of Washington more ; and it was my duty as his biographer 
 and member of his family, to place this matter in the only 
 light in which it can ever appear to the world. 
 
 *' I was charmed by the visit of Mrs. Kirkland. What 
 a fine, handsome woman ! I am not, therefore, surprised 
 that you, my dear sir, ' a squire of dames,' should be so 
 eloquent in her favor 
 
 " Apropos of the railroad and national bridge. Will you 
 
 not go for the Jefferson route, as described iii his letter to 
 
 me more than forty years ago, ^when he made a re- 
 
 connoissance from the camp, now Observatory Hill ? . . . . 
 
 Recollect, if j^ou adopt the Jefferson route, the land requisite 
 
 for the western abutment of the bridge, at the northern 
 
 extremity of the Arlington estate, will cost you nothing. 
 
 My love to Gales. Believe me, my dear sir, 
 
 " Faithfully yours, 
 
 " George W. P. Custis. 
 **CoL. Seaton." 
 
 " September, 1825. 
 " My dear Mother, — We had yesterday a most kind 
 note from Lafayette, proposing to spend half an hour with 
 us during the last day of his stay here. The half-hour 
 passed quickly in the most interesting conversation, and he 
 protracted the visit until the hour had also fled. He spoke 
 to me much of North Carolina, of your kmd hospitality to 
 him, of Washington's statue by Canova, which he says is 
 a splendid monument of the sculptor's genius, but is the 
 
182 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 most inexcusable action of his life, as he sinned both 
 against light and knowledge in making it as much like me 
 as the great Washington ! But mum to the Raleighites. 
 He dwelt on the magic changes which a few short years had 
 made in our cities, our arts, our wealth, and above all in our 
 population, and in the most' touching strain spoke of the 
 spring-time of his youth w^hen visions of hope ^were strong, 
 and which in age he had the singular felicity of seeing 
 realized. 
 
 '' Our friend Mr. John Lee, of Maryland, the representa- 
 tive in Congress from Frederick, was one of the committee 
 to accompany Lafayette on his visit to that place, and 
 relates the hero's sang froid on the occasion of the car- 
 riage being overturned, when he was rolled over and over 
 down a bank, but exhibited the utmost composure, and 
 laughingly resumed his seat and conversation." 
 
 " July 12, 1826. 
 "•. . . . You will see noted in the Intelligencer, Mr. 
 Little's intention of answering General Smyth's and Mr. 
 Shultz's proposed substitutes for the Christian Code which 
 happily rules our land. He has during three successive 
 Sunday evenings preached to the most crowded congrega- 
 tions we have ever witnessed in our church, and many of 
 those ^ who went to scoff remained to pray.' His argu- 
 ments were unanswerable, his eloquence most admirable. 
 He has now taken his undisputed pre-eminence among the 
 learned, the pious and wise men of our community, which 
 has hitherto been churlishly withheld by the spirit of big- 
 otry. He preaches a sermon on Sunday next, commemora- 
 tive of the death of the two illustrious sages who have j ust 
 preceded him through the dark valley of the shadow of 
 death. On last Sunday he announced from the pulpit the 
 singular coincidence of the decease of John Adams on the 
 same day with the illustrious Virginia patriot, the first re- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 183 
 
 ceived intelligence of which event Joseph handed to him 
 after service ; and in the most delicate and touching man- 
 ner Mr. Little alluded to the mistaken opinion entertained 
 by many of our countrymen regarding Mr. Jefferson's deis- 
 tical opinions, which he disproved absolutely by reading two 
 original letters from this great man to our famous Dr. 
 Priestley, when the latter first arrived from England, dated 
 AVashington, inviting the Christian apostle of liberty to 
 visit this city and confer with him on religious topics; 
 avowing his entire belief in, and reverence for, the Scrip- 
 tures, and announcing himself a Christian Unitarian. Mr. 
 Little then dwelt on the warm and uniform faith in Unita- 
 rianism professed by the great and venerable John Adams, 
 and very cogently expressed the consolation and encourage- 
 ment which Unitarians must feel in the knowledge that 
 in all ages the greatest, wisest, and holiest men have been 
 found professing and acting on this faith. There were 
 High Churchmen, Blue Calvinists and Presbyterians, Meth- 
 odists and rigid Catholics composing his auditory; and 
 what with astonishment at the coincident deaths, Jeffer- 
 son's letters, and the deductions drawn by Mr. Little, they 
 were ' plussed, — I may say non-plussed.' .... 
 
 '' You see that Commodore Porter is actually in the Mex- 
 ican service. Mrs. Porter, one of my most intimate friends, 
 came to show me the articles which the Mexican govern- 
 ment have entered into with him. Imjorimis, they guaran- 
 tee the payment of a claim on the old :Mexican government 
 of $50,000 or $60,000 for destroying privateers; they 
 put the navy under the absolute control of Commodore 
 P., he selects all his officers; he locates a certain quan- 
 tity of land where he pleases ; to be made an admiral at the 
 next session of Congress ; to have a specified liberal salary, 
 his pay to be continued in all cases of illness or necessary 
 absence in the United States, and a pension to his family in 
 
184 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 case of accident or death. These are the leading features 
 of the agreement Remembering father's amused in- 
 terest in David Crockett's eccentricities, I send him verba- 
 tim et literatim some extracts from a letter William brought 
 me to read, ft'om the odd but warm-hearted old pioneer. 
 
 " ' Dear Friends, — .... I consider the time has come 
 when every man aught to do his duty I hope the time 
 will soon come when this man worship will cease. I am 
 grattifyed that I can informe you that I beat in nine Coun- 
 ty s out of eighteen and I beat 103 votes' in the County 
 that Fitz and myself both live in. and I beat him up- 
 wards of six hundred in the Countys that will compose the 
 district when divided and of course I will hold myself in 
 readiness for the next race, by that time the people will 
 see the purity of my motive all the people wants is infor- 
 mation and they will do right This little Thing has been 
 blowed into Congress by lying and huzzawing for Jackson 
 in fact I had to run against Jackson as well as this mean 
 puppy . ... he is ready to taike the coller with my dog on 
 it and the name of Andrew Jackson on the Coller he will have 
 the name of beating me on General Jacksons poppularity 
 but this is not true, he beat me by writing down wilful 
 lies and publishing to the world that which ought to sink 
 every honorable man into insignificants I would rather be 
 beaten and be a man than to be elected and be a little 
 puppy dog I must close with great respects I remain 
 
 " ' your obt servt 
 
 " ' David Crockett — 
 "Joseph Gailes 
 
 and 
 William Seaton. 
 
 *' ^ P S please to correct errs and publish this letter. You 
 know me DC—'" 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 185 
 
 The laborious and unintermitting duties of an edito- 
 rial career allowed Mr. Seaton during his prolonged 
 life comparatively few opportunities for relaxation 
 away from home, other than the shooting excursions 
 in which he delighted, and which mainly contributed 
 to the health and vigor enjoyed by him to a very ad- 
 vanced age. This is now doubly to be regretted, as the 
 results of his keen observation, candid spirit, and intel- 
 ligent investigation would be an invaluable picture of 
 men and manners ; while the tenderness of his nature, 
 the endearing sweetness of his domestic affections, would 
 be mere forcibly portrayed by his own unguarded pen. 
 During a visit to New England he thus writes : — 
 
 *' PoRTSMOTiTH, N. H., August, 1826. 
 " . . . . You will be not a little surprised to find that 
 I have penetrated so far towards the extreme point of the 
 New England coast ; but you will be glad that I had an 
 opportunity of doing so without delaying the longed-for 
 period of my return to my dear wife. I accepted yester- 
 day the proposition of Mr. Harrold (an old English fac- 
 tor resident in Philadelphia, well known to our English 
 friends), to come down with him. Though sixty odd 
 miles from Boston, such is the excellence of the roads 
 and conveyances that the journey is performed in seven 
 hours. 1 have been exceedingly interested by the ride, as 
 the road lies through Beverly, Newburyport, and numerous 
 beautiful villages. This morning I spent an hour with 
 Mr. Parrott and his amiable family, who I find had heard 
 that report that is everywhere given of you, and which 
 so often makes my heart swell with pride and happiness. 
 Before dinner I walked about a mile across the Piscataqua 
 bridge into the State of Maine, where at a farm-house I 
 obtained a glass of the New England beverage, hard cider. 
 
186 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 and drank it in celebration of my first visit to the eastern- 
 most State of the Union. Returning, I found the bridge- 
 keeper fishing from the bridge for cod, the water being 
 there sixty feet deep, and taking his line had the lack in a 
 few minutes to haul up a fine large codfish, much to the 
 surprise of Mr. Harrold, who accompanied me, and who, 
 by the by, is even a greater walker than your excellent 
 father. This you will credit when I tell you that after 
 dinner we walked three miles to the fortress at the mouth 
 of the river, and passed an hour on the rocky shore of the 
 great deep, whose boundless expanse lay before us, contem- 
 plating its ceaseless surges as they rolled in and broke on 
 the clifi's. I do not think that any one not living (5n the 
 ocean can view its vast bosom and heaving billows with- 
 out experiencing feelings of solemnity and awe, that soften 
 the heart and awaken all its best impulses. And if the 
 heart have anything to love in the world, with how much 
 force does the tide of feeling turn at such moments to the 
 objects of its affection. It is not worth the while, even if 
 time did not fail me, to endeavor to imravel and describe 
 those complicated impressions which the sublime view be- 
 fore me, and consciousness of absence from all that my 
 soul holds dear, at the same time inspired, but while I 
 gazed my lips involuntarily almost repeated blessings on 
 you and yours and mine, and rendered absence more sor- 
 rowful Captain Watson, of the Marine Corps, and 
 
 other gentlemen, have called on me, and pressed me to re- 
 main ; but I must resist their kind and pleasant induce- 
 ments Having finished the day, I give you its his- 
 tory, before I go to bed to pray for your happiness and to 
 dream of my own." 
 
 "Northampton, August 16, 1826. 
 "We reached this beautiful town last evening, and I 
 must give my dearest wife a brief narrative of the journey 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 187 
 
 and its transactions. ..... I shall never be satisfied until 
 
 I take the ride up the lovely valley of the Connecticut in 
 your sweet company. Charming as it is, I could not enjoy 
 its beauties fully without you ; and this place, the most lovely 
 of all, would be enchanting if viewed in your presence. As 
 it is, I feel it selfish to enjoy what my beloved wife is not 
 at my side to partake. But I am writing of myself when 
 
 you want to hear of your son I find Mr. Cogswell 
 
 and Mr. Bancroft very kind, the former having been in 
 Washington, he tells me, two winters ago, where he knew 
 both you and myself. .... I found this morning, from the 
 number of strangers in town, that something was on foot ; 
 and behold, the pastor of the new and only Unitarian church 
 here was to be ordained. The church is a very chaste and 
 beautiful specimen of Greek architecture. Several clergy- 
 men from Boston were present, among them old Dr. Ware, 
 to all of whom Mr. Bancroft introduced me. My being 
 known as a member of the Unitarian congregation at 
 Washington increased whatever of interest I might have 
 claimed of their politeness, and I was treated with a good 
 deal of attention. Everything, you know, ends in New 
 England with a dinner ; and after I returned to the hotel 
 from the church services, which lasted fom- hours, I was 
 waited on by some gentlemen and taken to the public 
 dinner at the Masonic Hall. All the clerg}-men and repre- 
 sentatives of churches were present, and I was placed near 
 the head of the table. The repast was as cheerful as other 
 dinners; and what would you, or what would any raw 
 Southerner have thought, had he entered after the cloth 
 had been removed, and the wine had circulated a short 
 time, to see a large company standing up at a public 
 dinner, and, with one voice, singing a hymn to the tune of 
 Old Hundred ! I declare to you, I never was so impressed 
 in my life. The spirit of devotion which among these 
 
188 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 descendants of the Pilgrims enters into their festivities and 
 evinces the moral basis of their character, has in it some- 
 thing that commands respect. After the hymn the com- 
 pany separated. I was pressed by Judge Lyman and other 
 gentlemen to accept hospitality at their homes, but I 
 declined for the pleasure of writing to you " 
 
 "Boston, 1826. 
 " .... I came up yesterday from Salem, the ancient 
 theatre of witchcraft and of faith in sea-serpents, both of 
 which are cardinal points of belief with the good people of 
 the place. Mr. Crowninshield, seeing me on the stage-box 
 as we passed down the street, called on me, took me to his 
 family, who were very earnest in their inquiries for you, 
 and, with Mr. Silsbee, has been exceedingly kind and 
 attentive, showing me everything worth notice in the place, 
 several of which deserve very particular mention, but are 
 reserved until I have the happiness to embrace my beloved 
 wife. I am impatiently waiting the return of Mr. Webster, 
 whom I saw at Ipswich, the oldest settlement in America, 
 where we stopped for an hour. Mr. Webster was attending 
 court, and made me promise to meet him here. .... To- 
 day I heard our great Channing. 0, how I wished you 
 could be by my side to listen with me to his inspired 
 accents, as his rapt soul seemed to ascend on high, and 
 
 his vision to penetrate to the very presence of God 
 
 Good night, my dearest wife ; may all good angels watch 
 over you and my dear little ones. 
 
 " Your affectionate husband, 
 
 "W. W. Seaton." 
 
 Mrs. Seaton writes to her mother, under date of 
 October, 1826: — 
 
 " You will see that William is to be orator on the occa- 
 sion of laying the corner-stone of the new Masonic Hall, the 
 
A BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 189 
 
 ceremouies attending which are to be especially interesting 
 and imposing, President Adams and other dignitaries to 
 take part in them." 
 
 The following extracts from the eloquent address 
 then delivered show how exalted was Mr. Seaton's 
 estimate of the true aims of ]\f asonry, the handmaid of 
 Christianity, of the almost ideal perfection exacted 
 from its sons ; the virtues thus glowingly depicted and 
 held up for attainment being nobly illustrated in the 
 life and character of him who paid this tribute to 
 the beneficent brotherhood : — 
 
 "You have laid the first stone of a temple to be dedi- 
 cated to the most noble and the most venerable of all the 
 institutions of human origin. Founded in an early age of 
 the world, by men whose wdsdom and sagacity were equalled 
 only by their virtue and benevolence, this institution has 
 survived through successive ages the various revolutions of 
 mankind. Empires have risen, and flourished, and crum- 
 bled into dust ; other institutions have one after another 
 sunk into oblivion ; while Masonry, miraculously kept 
 alive, even during the long night in which civilization 
 itself was extinct, and the world lay for centuries wrapt 
 in the gloom of profound barbarism, as if rendered inde- 
 structible by the eternal principle of good which its im- 
 mortal founders infused into its constitution, yet survives 
 the lapse of thirty centuries, in all its pristine vigor, in 
 all its sublime principles, in all its mysterious rites, and 
 all the loveliness of its first creation 
 
 "I assert, then, that to be a perfect Mason implies little 
 less than to be a perfect man. The perfection of its char- 
 acter comprises within itself the whole circle of virtues, 
 and the whole duty of man, both to his Creator and to his 
 fellow-man. That these virtues impose an obligation on 
 
190 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 the conscience independent of any social institution is 
 admitted. But we sometimes neglect our duty, not be- 
 cause we are disposed to violate it, but because the obliga- 
 tion it imposes is imperfectly felt, or, for a time, forgotten. 
 .... Those institutions, therefore, which enjoin and en- 
 courage the performance of our moral duty ; which cultivate 
 the social temper ; which soften the asperities of the human 
 character, and awaken into activity the native philanthropy 
 of man, have a peculiar and happy influence upon society 
 in general. Of this exalted natm-e, these excellent princi- 
 ples, and this philanthropic tendency is the masonic insti- 
 tution. Its solemn rites, its visible emblems, its peculiar 
 symbols, its mystic language, were all designed to illustrate 
 and to inculcate our duty to God, to our brethren, and 
 ourselves ; and while they serve to distinguish Masons 
 from the rest of the world, and make them known to each 
 other throughout the globe, they are, at the same time, 
 ever-present monitors that at once command and instruct 
 us in the discharge of those high and sacred duties to which 
 all Masons stand pledged by the most solemn sanctions. 
 Did I say that these monitors are never disobeyed 1 Alas ! 
 we cannot lay that flattering unction to our hearts. In 
 this respect (I repeat the admission). Masonry shares the 
 lot of all other institutions. But if it sometimes fails to 
 make a bad man good, it never fails to make a good man 
 better. 
 
 " The leading attributes of Masonry are faith, hope, and 
 charity ; but the greatest of these is charity. Charity is 
 emphatically the great duty which Masons owe to each 
 other, and is one of those virtues which Masons, above all 
 others, are enjoined to cherish and exercise. Those vota- 
 ries of Masonry who have not this virtue ought never to 
 pollute her sanctuary. If we approach her altar without it 
 we act impiously against the cause we profess. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 191 
 
 " .... It is, in short, a compact between certain men 
 throughout the world to perform towards each other, and 
 to "each other's famihes, the offices of charity and friend- 
 ship, whenever the vicissitudes of fortune place them in 
 a situation to require it. The same principle extends 
 through other relations of society. Citizens are bound to 
 allegiance; but the oath is superadded. Christians are 
 , bound to obedience to the Gospel, but they unite in soci- 
 eties and obligations for the observance of their duties. 
 Thus Masons are subject to the common duties of social 
 life ; but they have added special obligations to each other, 
 as the citizen to his country, and the Christian to his 
 church. 
 
 *' Masonry, elevated by the nobleness of its precepts, 
 derives not mere interest from its venerable antiquity and 
 surprising preservation, than it does from the land of its 
 birth. In speaking of this ancient institution, the mind 
 involuntarily recurs to the interesting region in which it 
 had its origin. How pre-eminent have been the destinies 
 of that remarkable portion of the globe to which poetry 
 and religion and history and Masonry are continually sum- 
 moning the thoughts of civilized man. Thence flow alike the 
 primitive streams of our sacred and profane history, in the 
 writings of the lawgiver of the Hebrews, and those of the 
 venerable historian of Assyria. Nay, where but there was 
 the Garden of Eden, in all the virgin glory of fresh creation, 
 planted] Where but there did the sire of the human 
 family first inhale the breath of life ] There, too, was the 
 elected spot of earth which bore the footsteps of Eve, in 
 that primeval hour, when 
 
 ' Grace was in all her ^eps, heaven in "her eye, 
 In eveiy gesture dignity and love.' 
 
 There, also, Chaldean sages uplifted those ' lighthouses of 
 the skies,' from which they scanned the march of the 
 
192 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 planets, and assigned the stations of the heavenly constel- 
 lations. There was the land of the patriarchs. And thither 
 the chosen people of God were guided by Moses to estab- 
 lish a theocracy taught them amid the thunders of Mount 
 Sinai, and to build up the holy city of Jerusalem, towards 
 which the devotee, in whatever distant land he lives, bows 
 his head in reverence. There, too, was erected the splen- 
 did temple of Solomon, upon which all the skill and taste , 
 and wealth of the East were piled in gorgeous prodigality. 
 The same fortunate land witnessed the birth, the life, and 
 death of Jesus Christ, and the miracles which he wrought 
 in attestation of his divine mission. And when the glory 
 of that land was faded away, and the ploughshare had 
 passed over the palaces of Jerusalem, the sanctity of the 
 soil hallowed by every religious recollection- made it the 
 arena on which Christian and Saracen hosts contended for 
 the mastery, — the bravest and the best of Christendom flock- 
 ing thither, in the elevated enthusiasm of Chivalry, to pour 
 out their blood like water for the rescue of the sepulchre 
 from its infidel masters. This land, sanctified by so many 
 recollections, and ennobled by events of such moment to 
 the whole family of man, — this was the native land of 
 Freemasonry." 
 
 Mrs. Seaton writes under date of January 8, 1827 : — 
 
 " . . . . You will see by the Intelligencer that person- 
 alities are the order of the day, and that the ' honorable, 
 excellent, worthy, high-minded, and amiable ' editors there- 
 of have had their full share of eulogium. 'T is rather an 
 amusing position in which they are placed, attending Con- 
 gress daily in the line of their duty as stenographers, and 
 laboring in their vocation, to 4isten to praises from every 
 side of the House on a subject in which they are not at all 
 interested except as ' lookers on in Vienna.' The resolu- 
 tion introduced by General Sanders was entirely unadvised 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 193 
 
 and unexpected by your sons, and rather deprecated by 
 them. . ." . . Mr. Clay sits rather uneasy, no doubt, to 
 have the propriety of his reasons and causes doubted, 
 when he only exercised his sovereign pleasure. You see 
 that William is accounted a Carolinian, and since poor 
 Virginia and her state rights have been so conspicuously 
 wrong, I suppose he will brook the aftront. We want no 
 fussing (I believe a legitimate Yorkshire word) ; if the 
 members choose to quaiTel among themselves they must 
 use their own discretion. The Bankrupt Bill, the Tariff, 
 woollens and all, have not excited a tithe of the attention 
 and interest which this merely personal question has given 
 rise to. It is not expected that the bankrupt bill will ex- 
 perience a better fate by being reconsidered after its rejec- 
 tion in the House, which on every score is a subject of 
 regi-et. Parties will wax hot as the session advances, as 
 there is a great deal of anger and ill-nature in some of the 
 members opposed to the administration ; but we feel san- 
 guine that the fair course pursued by the Intelligencer 
 will carry us safely through the ordeal. Dr. Floyd has 
 become the warm friend of Calhoun, and hates Adams and 
 everybody who thinks differently from himself; but then 
 he says he loves Mrs. Seaton so weU !!.... Mrs. Everett 
 and manv of the members' wives have been to see me : but 
 Mrs. Webster is not here, I regi'et to say, as she is one of 
 
 the strangers whose society I most enjoy Guns are 
 
 firing from every point, and great demonstrations of re- 
 joicing are made to celebrate the anniversary of Jackson's 
 victory, and to give eclat to the dinner to-day, which has 
 become an entire party matter, and will draw the line of 
 demarcation* in social as well as political circles more dis- 
 tinctly than hitherto " 
 
 ''March, 1827. 
 " . . . .1 have received a long letter from Mrs. Porter, 
 
 9 M 
 
194 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 who sends her kind love to you. She is with her parents, 
 and wields a graphic pen ; but my heart bleeds for her in 
 the state of incertitude to w^hich she may be condemned 
 for weeks or months. The Commodore is blockaded by so 
 superior a force as renders his escape next to impossible ; 
 though, 
 
 * What man dare do, he '11 dare ; who dares do more is none.' 
 
 " In that state of mind which rejects desultory, miscella- 
 neous reading, as being insufficient to ward off recollections 
 and poignant feelings which every sense of duty warned 
 me to struggle with and overcome, ere they destroyed my 
 peace and health, I applied myself indefatigably to the 
 study of Spanish, by which I have benefited myself and 
 gratified William. I have already found it useful in trans- 
 lating Mexican documents, Spanish papers, etc., for the 
 Intelligencer, and it may be that my interest in everything 
 concerning poor Porter is increased by tracing his prepara- 
 tions and movements. 
 
 "You will perceive that the Senate election has gone 
 against us, and that some of our old friends have deserted 
 us in our hour of need. Branch, Eaton, and other smnmer 
 friends, we did not expect to support us. There was great 
 excitement in both House and Senate, and Mr. Webster 
 came up after balloting, to ask what they could do in the 
 House to counterbalance the spite of the Senate ; that they 
 •were mortified and angry, and would do anything consist- 
 ent with propriety and principle for our benefit. This is 
 the temper of our friends, and an entire proscription of the 
 course of our enemies, — i. e. the Jackson men. Van Bu- 
 ren of New York is the master spring of all the mischief, 
 though working entirely under ground. Party spirit is 
 now fiery hot, and will increase every day. We have never 
 been so much aware of it, not even in war and embargo 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 195 
 
 times, as it has severed the most intimate hnks of friendship 
 and good-will. Mr. S., among our other old acquaintances 
 is decidedly inimical to oiu' interests, his high collective 
 and individual eulogium to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 This morning the line is distinctly drawn for the first time 
 in the Intelligencer, and was unavoidable. It will make 
 Bome of the Senators a leetle uneasy in their relative jour- 
 neys home ; but you have no conception to what lengths 
 they went in other things, as well as the sacrifice of old 
 friends. General Ban-inger appears to be unsettled, if not 
 entirely changed, in his political opinions, and abused the 
 factions here, and eulogized Daniel Webster in a strain that 
 would have been music to the ear of our friend Lewis Wil- 
 liams, in the last evening he spent with me. I say me, be- 
 cause, in sooth, William turns all this kind of visitors over 
 to me in fee simple, if he should chance to be in the house, 
 which at this exciting and busy season he has rarely been 
 until near midnight. On parting, the General expressed 
 much fear of not coming again, and hoped that Weston would 
 vote this year, and that father would not vote against him. 
 He was fiery red-hot for Jackson when he came, and quite 
 the reverse when he went away. You will see that our 
 friend McLean, Postmaster-General, is always exempted 
 from crime or the imputation of crime, in the sweeping 
 denunciations against the cabinet in one of the city Gazettes. 
 Mr. McLean is a worthy man we think, though led away 
 
 by partialities Colonel John Williams is here, and 
 
 as usual spends all his leisure time with us. He returns 
 in a few days to Tennessee, to hard work at the law, being 
 compelled to bend to the fury of the storm, and leave 
 public life until a more tolerant spirit shall prevail, as Gen- 
 eral Jackson and he divide the State, but, unfortunately for 
 him, not equally. In om- opinion. General Jackson is in- 
 finitely superior in magnanimity and other good qualities 
 
196 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 to his fi-iends. They are outrageous, and would wilhngly 
 trample under foot and massacre all who do not bow the 
 knee to Baal 
 
 " Mrs. Governor Barbour has just called m her carriage 
 on her way to Virginia, to entreat and so strenuously 
 insist on my visiting her for a few weeks, and accompany- 
 ing the Governor and herself to the White and Warm Sul- 
 phiu" and Bedford Springs, that I could not avoid, without 
 appearing insensible to such urgent kindness, saying that 
 I would consider of it. She says that if William cannot 
 leave Washington, her husband shall come for me, and we 
 can arrange under their roof our plans, which she certainly 
 painted in pleasant colors, if I could feel interested in 
 paying a visit anywhere unaccompanied by all my chil- 
 dren 
 
 " Our friend Swift, you see, has sunk under the storm, 
 and his family must be the sufferers from his indiscretion, 
 for of nothing more, we are certain, could he be found 
 guilty. We were surprised and glad yesterday to see him 
 alight at our door from New York. He is utterly in the 
 dark as to the cause of his dismissal, but supposes it the 
 result of party feelings, as he was always devoted heart 
 and soul to Mr. Calhoun, and needed prudence in the ex- 
 pression of his prepossession. We felt affected at seeing 
 him a bankinipt in fortune, and that he asserts to be the 
 
 least bitter of his trials He fears that his good 
 
 name may suffer by being superseded at this moment. He 
 and his excellent wife have suffered much in a short period, 
 their eldest child, a lovely girl, having died dm^ing his trial. 
 You will be interested in this, as I know how much you 
 
 liked him With William's and my own miited love 
 
 to yourself and our honored father, 
 
 " Your dutiful and affectionate daughter, 
 
 "Sarah Seaton." 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 197 
 
 The domestic affliction to which Mrs. Seaton alludes 
 was the sudden death of a lovely son of six years, 
 interesting in all promise of character, beautiful and 
 engaging in person, who was brought home from his 
 morning canter on his pony, dragging at the stirrup, 
 fatally injured, lingering on earth but a few hours. 
 This blow, so cruel to the parents, was one of tlie 
 many wliich Mr. and Mrs. Seaton were called to endure 
 through their long life, and which — in the simple 
 faith and resignation to the Divine Will, the added 
 tenderness of the tie imiting them to each other and 
 to those remaining to their love and care, wrought for 
 them through the chastening — seemed to bring still 
 nearer to perfection the Clnistian graces that crowned 
 their character. 
 
 Joseph Gardner Swift, born in Massachusetts, 1783, 
 was a civil and military engineer of great distinction 
 in the United States service. In 1807 he was ap- 
 pointed to the command of the Academy at West 
 Point, of wliich school of brilliant soldiers he had 
 been, in 1802, the first graduate. He succeeded Colo- 
 nel Jonathan Williams as chief of the corps of topo- 
 graphical engineers, distinguishing himself highly in 
 the war of 1812, especially in the defence of Xew 
 York, for which grateful services that city paid him 
 various flattering marks of approval and thanks. The 
 work for which he will be specially remembered was 
 the skilful and ingenious construction of the railroad 
 from New Orleans to Lake Pontchartrain through an 
 imfathomable swamp, the rails of which he laid on the 
 mass of fossil shell remains found in the depths of the 
 morass ; and of this shell dehris he also formed the 
 
198 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 famous " shell road," now the favorite drive near ISTew 
 Orleans. 
 
 General Swift was possessed of unusual scientific 
 and literary attainment; was charming in manners, 
 genial in temper, strong in domestic and social affec- 
 tions, an excellent art critic, a devotee to music, sing- 
 ing an admirable song in a rich bass voice, and a keen 
 sportsman. From early years a friendship had sub- 
 sisted between himself and Mr. Seaton, congenial in 
 so many points of taste and tone of character, which 
 matured in middle age to the intimate affection that 
 lasted to the end of life ; and of which tlie following 
 note is one of the many similar pleasant records pre- 
 served in the family. 
 
 *' Geneva, March, 1848. 
 
 "Very dear Friend Seaton, — Thomas March, Esq., of 
 Brooklyn, has proposed an excursion to the south side of 
 Long Island, early in May, to renew, as we sexagenarians 
 may, the joy of days gone by. He, Major Tucker, and myself 
 hope you will smoke a pipe with our party of four. I am 
 mournfully aware of the inevitable relation that subsists 
 between Congi-ess and the Intelligencer, and especially 
 now in these piping times of prospective peace, that may 
 run debate into summer. But we hope that the speed of 
 the political car may allow you to dip a line into this water, 
 and help us to broil a trout d, la Colonel Hawkins. So 
 think well of this bid to the reel Mrs. Swift's re- 
 spects to Mrs. Seaton, and mine also. 
 
 " Ever yours, 
 
 " J. G. Swift. 
 
 "Hon. W. AV. Seaton." 
 
 In 1818 General SA\ift resigned his commission in 
 the army, as did other officers, from dissatisfaction and 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 199 
 
 wounded pride at the appointment by President Mon- 
 roe of General Bernard to the charge of the coast 
 defences. This etc facto supersedure, by a foreigner, of 
 General Swift in the position in which he had earned 
 such distinction created naturally a strong feeling of 
 resentment throughout the army, so sensitively gen- 
 erous in its esprit de corps. Subsequently, General 
 Swift's actions were subjected to the crucible of polit- 
 ical misrepresentation, from which they emerged unal- 
 loyed metal ; and it was to that persecution that Mrs. 
 Seaton referred in her letter, and of wliich General 
 Swift so clearly disposes in the following note : — 
 
 ♦' February 18, 1827, 
 ^' Dear Seaton, — My name appears with no good ob- 
 ject or aspect in the congressional matter of the 9th inst. 
 Mr. Forsyth calls up the uncandid Report on the Mobile 
 Fort, and enters an extract therefrom on the Journals of 
 the House of Representatives, for the use or abuse of pos- 
 terity. That report — falsely and in my opinion inten- 
 tionally to injure — asserts that I, as United States Agent, 
 was to divide a profit with Mr. T. and others ! The facts : 
 In May, 1818, I, as United States Agent, contracted with 
 B. W. Hopkins to build the Mobile Fort. In November, 
 1818, I resigned my army commission and of course agen- 
 cy. In August, 1819, B. W. Hopkins dies of yellow-fever 
 at his work. In 1820 the executor sells B. W. H.'s con- 
 tract to Colonel Hawkins, who comes to me and offers me 
 one fourth of the profits for my advice and ii;istructions as 
 engineer how to execute his work. I agree to give them. 
 Am I in this any species of United States Agent, or in 
 any manner or degree censurable ] Think a moment on 
 the object and effect of these cuts and thrusts, and think 
 on the humiliating truth that nobody cares for any attempt 
 
200 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 to justify'? So mucli does love of detraction overbalance 
 inclination to render justice. Compare the eager reading 
 of an accusation with the apathy which a refutation ex- 
 cites ! It is quite probable that Mr. Forsyth's extract may 
 be republished or referred to, to prove that I am — any- 
 thing. I had thought that the asperity of political feeling 
 on the Presidential question had long subsided, so far as it 
 
 related to persons not filling prominent places 
 
 " As ever, your friend, 
 
 " J. G. Swift. 
 "W. W. Seaton, Esq." 
 
 General Simon Bernard, born at Dole, France, in 
 1779, was one of the many illustrations of the distinc- 
 tion achieved in the French service by unassisted merit. 
 He was educated by charity at the famous Polytechnic 
 school, to which he was making his way on foot, when, 
 overcome by cold and starvation, he would have per- 
 ished on the road but for the succor afforded by a poor 
 woman, who gave him shelter and saw him safely to 
 his destination. The boy soon showed unusual talent, 
 fostered by such masters in military science as La- 
 place and Monge ; and, winning the position of second 
 lieutenant of engineers, served on the Ehine, under 
 E'apoleon, by whom he was promoted to a captaincy. 
 The Emperor, eagle-eyed to discern capacity, and quick 
 to employ it, confided to the young ofificer an important 
 commission, rewarding his success in its fulfilment by 
 a coveted appointment to his staff. During the " hun- 
 dred days," General Bernard was placed at the head 
 of the Topographical Bureau, and after Waterloo came 
 to this country with a high reputation and strong let- 
 ters from Lafayette. His appointment as Engineer 
 in Chief of the United States Army, although certain- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 201 
 
 ly an injustice to our native talent, and an undeserved 
 slight to the distinguished Swift, was not without good 
 fruit ; and the able Frenchman rendered good service 
 to the country in his mihtary capacity, one of the best 
 known monuments of his skill being Fortress Monroe. 
 After the " three days of July," he returned to France, 
 where he was received with honor and high preferment, 
 being appointed Aide-de-Camp to Louis Philippe, and 
 subsequently Lieutenant-General of Engineers, and 
 Minister of War, remaining in office until the downfall 
 of the Ministry in 1837. In 1839 he closed his varied 
 and honorable cureer. During his fifteen years' service 
 under the United States government he won, together 
 with his interesting and amiable wife and daughters, the 
 esteem and affection of the society of Washington, the 
 relations of himself and family being especially intimate 
 with ]\Ir. and Mrs. Seaton, in whose home, graced by 
 refined intelligence and open hospitality, strangers, 
 during half a century, found a welcome atmosphere 
 of kindness and congeniality. When, at Louis Phil- 
 ippe's accession. General Bernard returned finally to 
 France, his departure was the signal for many part- 
 ing compliments and testimonials of regard from the 
 citizens to the worthy Frenchman ; and it was on 
 one of these occasions that the honored guest paid 
 a graceful tribute to the virtues of Mrs. Seaton, the 
 scene being thus described by one who was privi- 
 leged to be present: — 
 
 "At a large dinner at the hospitable mansion of Eck- 
 ington, after the dessert was served and the guest had 
 been toasted, and had replied in warm terms of gratitude 
 and respect to our country, he was called on for a toast, 
 
 9* L 
 
202 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 and rising said : * I will give you, gentlemen, a sentiment 
 which will be echoed in the hearts of all present, as it 
 would be by the society of Washington and all the good 
 and great of foreign courts who have resided in this city, 
 — I give you, gentlemen, Madame Seaton, the accom- 
 plished lady, wife, and mother.' 
 
 "Edward Livingston, then Secretary of State, immedi- 
 ately rose and said : ' He would relieve his friend, Mr. 
 Seaton, and also their friends, Mr. and Mrs. Gales (the 
 hosts), from the embaiTassment of acknowledging this per- 
 sonal compliment, so beautiful, so just, and in such accord 
 with the feelings of all present, by taking the pleasure of 
 that task on himself, on his own behalf and that of his 
 family.' He then proceeded in a strain of delicate and 
 exalted eulogy of Mrs. Seaton, which called forth a burst 
 of applause from the distinguished company present." 
 
 "Washington, December, 1830. 
 "General Bernard has the honor to present all his re- 
 spects to Mr. Seaton, and to inform him that, having 
 obtained a furlough to visit Europe, he will do himself the 
 honor to call on Mr. Seaton to receive his commands for 
 France. General Bernard has just received the enclosed 
 article relating to the American claims fi'om the Constitu- 
 tionnel, transmitted to him from General Lafayette, whose 
 desire was that the article should be known to the Ameri- 
 can public. 
 
 " Very respectfully, 
 
 " Bernaed." 
 
 It was during this absence, thus announced, that 
 the General visited his native town of Dole, where 
 a triumphant reception awaited the once penniless 
 boy, now the renowned soldier who conferred honor 
 by his presence. This interesting incident is alluded 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 203 
 
 to by M. Poussin, — also a Frenchman, who won high 
 position, professional and diplomatic, in the new 
 Eepublic, — in the folloAving note to Mr. Seaton : — 
 
 "May 14, 1831. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — You will no doubt learn with pleasure 
 that this excellent man, General Bernard, who has resided 
 so long: amonor us as to be considered as one of our most 
 distinguished officers, is about to return to his adopted 
 country to resume his highly useful occupations as an 
 engineer. Previous to leaving his country the General 
 visited his aged father residing in his native town, of 
 which occasion the National makes -the following men- 
 tion : — 
 
 " They write to us from Dole (department of Jura, 
 Franche-Comte), — ' The arrival in our town of the brave 
 General Bernard of the engineers, who has come to us after 
 an absence of fifteen years, has been the occasion of a pa- 
 triotic celebration. The National Guard, the Sappers, Fire- 
 men, the Artillery with a band of musicians at their head, 
 marched spontaneously to meet and greet this worthy citi- 
 zen.' 
 
 " General Bernard begs to be particularly remembered 
 to you and your family. 
 
 " Most sincerely yours, 
 
 " W. T. Poussin." 
 
 William Tell Poussin, a young French engineer, 
 came to this country with letters of introduction 
 from Lafayette, commending his professional abilities 
 to our government, by whom he was employed in 
 various works of engineering, in which he showed 
 undoubted skill. Possessed of talent and many amia- 
 ble traits of character, he won the esteem of officials 
 and society ; and when the French government ap- 
 
204 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 pointed him Minister to the United States, the 
 deserved promotion met with signal approbation. 
 
 M. Poussin continued to represent France until a 
 change of ministry recalled him home, being, however, 
 reappointed to the same honorable post during the 
 Presidency of the EmjDcror Napoleon III. He was 
 kind-hearted, and gratefully devoted to those who 
 showed him friendship ; to Mr. Seaton, especially, tes- 
 tifying an almost filial affection. "I was blind," he 
 used to say, " and Mr. Seaton made me to see ; dumb, 
 and he made me to speak ; a stranger, and he gave 
 me home." 
 
 Unfortunately, his native impulsiveness had not 
 been calmed down in the reticent school of diplomacy, 
 and betrayed him finally into an indecorous warmth 
 of correspondence with the State Department, which 
 eventuated in his virtual dismissal from our shores ; 
 the second occasion in the history of our government, 
 on which a want of the respect due from a foreign 
 minister in his official intercourse had resulted in the 
 presentation of his passports to the offending digni- 
 tary. 
 
 The circumstances attending the cessation of M. 
 Poussin's diplomatic relations with this country, were 
 in substance as follows : — 
 
 Wliile ]Mr. Clayton was Secretary of State, he re- 
 ceived from M. Poussin a note calling the attention 
 of the department to the case of a French resident in 
 Mexico, on whose behalf he desired to appeal from the 
 sentence of a military court held previously at Puebla, 
 by which the Frenchman had suffered in property. 
 After careful investigation into the merits of the 
 
A BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 205 
 
 case, ]\Ir. Clayton was unable to perceive any legal 
 or equitable grounds for reversing the decision of 
 the tribunal, and so he courteously informed the 
 French Minister. To this communication on the 
 part of the Secretary M. Poussin replied in a very 
 acrimonious note, in which he impugned the in- 
 tegrity of the Court, and more particularly the 
 evidence of Colonel Churchill. To this rude note 
 Mr. Clayton, impelled by courtesy and ofiicial consid- 
 eration for M. Poussin, replied, although liis first note 
 to the Minister, sustaining the decision of the Court, 
 was a finality, beyond which he was not really bound 
 to take further action. After defending Colonel Chur- 
 chill from the aspersions of M. Poussin, and adducing 
 in his favor the approval of General Scott, Mr. Clay- 
 ton proceeded to controvert, in the most respectful 
 manner, some of the positions assumed by M. Poussin. 
 This drew from M. Poussin a communication so dis- 
 respectful and intemperate in language, so insulting in 
 its tenor towards the government of the United States, 
 that Mr. Clayton was compelled to lay it personally 
 before the President, in obedience to whose directions 
 the Secretary of State informed M. Poussin that 
 thenceforth the government of the United States 
 must decline to recognize him as the representative 
 of France. The French government was promptly 
 informed of our action in the premises, the polite 
 suggestion being made, that every facility for INI. 
 Poussin's departure would be afforded him, whencA^er 
 he should be pleased to make known his desire to 
 return to France. 
 
 M. Poussin's last insulting note was dated Washing- 
 
206 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 ton, although he was in ISTew York at the time it was 
 written. Mr. Clayton politely requested his prompt 
 appearance at Wasliington, to afford him an oppor- 
 tunity of retracting the objectionable language; but 
 no retraction or "explanation was ever made, and the 
 French government seemed for a while to sustain the 
 action of its representative, characterizing Mr. Clay- 
 ton's note as " an imperious summons." 
 ' The intercourse of the French government with Mr. 
 Eives, the United States Minister, was interrupted by 
 a refusal to receive him at Court, which action Mr. 
 Clayton met by instructions to Mr. Eives to discon- 
 tinue his relations with the French government should 
 his exclusion be persisted in, or any explanation be 
 demanded prior to his reception at Court. Our gov- 
 ernment, added Mr. Clayton in his able despatch to 
 Mr. Eives, was the sole guardian of its honor and dig- 
 nity, and would, in its estimate of what was disrespect- 
 ful and insulting, submit to no judgment save its own ; 
 and in like manner the government of France was at 
 perfect liberty to act in any manner consistent with 
 its own ideas of dignity. This - Mr. Clayton expressed 
 with an aptness and propriety that elevated it above 
 the range of retort. 
 
 The following is one among the numerous letters 
 addressed to Mr. Seaton during many years by the 
 impulsive, warm-hearted Frenchman. 
 
 **No. 2 Rue de la Ferme des Mathurins. 
 Paris, 28tli March, 1832. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — I long wished to inform you in what part 
 of the old continent I were, and that amidst the multi- 
 plicity of attractions the two rival metropolis, London and 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 207 
 
 Paris, offered to a pilgrim from the New World, I were not 
 unmindful of my friends, and of none less so than the gi'ate- 
 fully remembered members of your amiable family. I have 
 been constantly in the hope of hearing some gratifying 
 news which I could send you relative to our dear and wor- 
 thy friend, the good General Bernard. As yet, nothing is 
 done ; hope we have, however, that ere long that profoundly 
 scientific and useful man will at last be in position to con- 
 tribute something towards the improvement of this Old 
 
 Society. 
 
 "I had 17 days only to Liverpool, and a most de- 
 lio-htful trip over. I travelled through North and South 
 Wales, and some of the most famous and beautiful English 
 counties ; buf English weather growing too intolerable even 
 for a Franco-American to bear, I decided on leaving John 
 Bull, and arrived in the gay metropolis of the French in 
 ]\Iarch. T was much pleased indeed with Old England, highly 
 gratified, gi'eatly amused and benefited by the journey, dur- 
 ing which I met with many courteous and hospitable recep- 
 tion. Having good letters of introduction, I found myself 
 quite at home in the drawing-rooms of the gentry and nobil- 
 ity. My name, (Poussin, should you have forgotten that I 
 am a true lineal descendant of that eminent painter !) my 
 profession, and my character of an American smoothed down 
 all asperities and strong English prejudice. My task was 
 one of the most pleasing of narrating the wonderful achieve- 
 ments of civilization in America ; and such eyes ! and such 
 wonders ! at all which I would say touching the state of 
 our society ! ! Never in my life have I met with so igno- 
 rant people respecting the possibility of the existence of 
 another societv as much advanced and refined as theirs, to 
 say the least ; and that in America, that savage country to 
 the saying of Basil Hall & Co. ! ! By the way, I met one 
 day with this truly John Bull at a meeting of the Royal 
 
208 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATOK 
 
 Society. ' Ah ! is that you 1 I thought you could not 
 long live amongst those Yankies.' 'No!' said I, 'that is 
 the reason I am just going back, for I have found nothing 
 as yet so much to my taste as Yankie habits and laws.' 
 And there we parted, neither foe nor friend ; for 'pon my 
 soul ! I would not be either. I found scientific men more 
 liberal j indeed, these are of no country. John Bull, Johnny 
 Crapeau, and Brother Jonathan all agree well when they 
 have this freemasonry to cement them. Take this away, 
 and ' /Sacre bleu ! ! God dem, Bos hif, Soiqoe maigre, and 
 "molasses and water" ' are the best epithets they have for 
 each other. The civil engineers assisted me to witness 
 and explain the mechanical wonders of that immense work- 
 shop, as it has been aptly styled. In the paths of science 
 France bears the palm, but in the useful though more 
 humble task of applying the light of modern science to the 
 wants and uses of man, England and our own United States 
 will dispute the prize with the combined world. I think the 
 experience of time will establish the fact, that the inventive 
 genius of America can bear more than a successful compar- 
 ison with all other countries. Stevens and others prove 
 the fact as to its application to boats, and when locomo- 
 tives become familiar there it cannot remain a doubt that 
 the Americans will contribute to the improvement of this 
 new mode of land travel in a commensurate manner with 
 that of steamboats. 
 
 " France has remained much behind either nation in the 
 application of this new power. No country is more in need 
 of improved communication, and should peace be main- 
 tained, public confidence restored, she will take an aston- 
 ishing start in industry. All elements of prosperity exist 
 within France, only let her get out of this terrible incer- 
 tainty, and she will again be La belle et graiuLe France. I 
 speak like an American who knows France, ^nd not from 
 the blood which runs through my veins. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 209 
 
 " The venerable General Lafayette is in perfect health, 
 and happy in the settlement of his children. His devoted 
 son is well. Our excellent General Bernard very well, his 
 dear flimily also, and regretting much America and our 
 Washington friends. You have no doubt seen the noble and 
 generous part he took in common with our distinguished 
 novelist, Cooper, to sustain the excellence of American legis- 
 lations, in comparison wdth the elaborated and purposely 
 perplexed administration of the French. The excellent 
 General proved beyond all doubt that ' an American pays 
 his personal tax with the labor of less than four days' work ; 
 whereas the Frenchman must work twelve days to pay his ! ' 
 
 " AVe expect Mr. Van Buren here from London on the 
 6th April, on his way to the United States, by Havre. 
 
 " Mr. Rives speaks of returning home in the autumn. 
 
 *' Pray to remember me most particularly to Mrs. Seaton, 
 Mrs. Gales, and her worthy husband, to your good neigh- 
 bor, M. St. Clair Clark and his lady ; and never doubt the 
 sentiments of lasting regards and friendship of your obliged 
 and devoted friend and servant, 
 
 " W. T. PoussiN, Major U. S. Top. Engs. 
 
 "To W. W. Seaton, Esquire." 
 
 With the advent of Jacksonism was inaugurated 
 proscription for opinion's sake, and a state of party 
 hostility ensued which not only strictly separated 
 political opponents, but pervaded social relations and 
 severed friendly ties. It was indeed a dark era in the 
 hitherto aristocratic circles of the capital, which had 
 been characterized by elegance of manners and the 
 charm of high-breeding : but now came upon the aston- 
 ished and exclusive citizens the reign of the " masses." 
 Notwithstanding, however, the extreme bitterness of 
 party spirit ruling political and social events during 
 
210 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 this " reign of terror," General Jackson himself had the 
 power of appreciating the talent, dignity of character, 
 or individual influence to be found in the ranks of 
 the opposition ; and with the sagacity characterizing a 
 great general, appropriated to his own service what- 
 ever in the enemy's camp could enhance the reputa- 
 tion of his administration or subserve his ends. Bitter, 
 therefore, as was the war between the Intelligencer 
 and the President, the latter respected the editors of 
 that powerful journal, their virtues and abilities, and 
 deprecated their censure ; magnanimously manifesting 
 his sense of Mr. Seaton's position in the community 
 and. high personal qualities, by appointing him one of 
 the Visitors to West Point. 
 
 A short time preceding the inauguration of General 
 Jackson, Mr. Eobert Little, the eloquent Unitarian 
 pastor, preached a remarkable sermon, the text of 
 which was : " When Christ drew near the city he wept 
 over it." Thirty-eight years afterwards, Mr. Seaton 
 spoke of this effort as " a grand sermon, depicting with 
 prophetic force the evil effects of General Jackson's 
 election, — that triumph of demagoguism, ignorance, 
 and radicalism in its worst form, which then deluged 
 the country, defeating Adams, sweeping away Conserva- 
 tive and Tory, gentlemen, and the highest standard of 
 honor, in the tide of unlettered, unmannered vulgarity, 
 from which the country has not recovered ; whose fruits 
 are still beheld in this second upheaval of society, 
 when the refined, the wise,- must retreat before the 
 untutored empirics who sit in the places of the giants 
 of our Eepublic." 
 
 The amazing contrast between the stately dignity 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 211 
 
 attending tlie induction into office of the earlier Pres- 
 idents, and the scenes occurring at the inauguration 
 of the " Hero of the People/' is vividly portrayed by 
 Mrs. Samuel Harrison Smith, whose sketch graphically 
 presents the new order of things, which saddened and 
 terrified the circles accustomed to the elegant decorum 
 of previous ceremonies. 
 
 Mrs. Smith was a lady of unusual intellect and cul- 
 tivated literary tastes, whose active pen painted numer- 
 ous sprightly and characteristic pictures of Washington 
 society in the days of Jefferson and Madison ; whose 
 charming conversational gift and benevolence of heart 
 won the affection of all who came within their in- 
 fluence, and whose hospitable home was the resort of 
 all who were distinguished for talent or worth. 
 
 " Wlien the President's address was concluded," thus 
 proceeds Mrs. Smith's account, "the barricades gave 
 way before the multitude, who forced a passage to 
 shake hands with the choice of the people. General 
 Jackson mounted his horse, having walked to the Capi- 
 tol, and then such a cortege foUowed ! Countrymen, 
 laborers, — white and black, — carriages, wagons, and 
 carts, all pursuing him to the President's house. .... 
 The closing scene was in disgusting contrast with the 
 simphcity of the impressive drama of the inaugiiral oath ! 
 The President was literally pursued by a motley con- 
 course of people, riding, running helter-skelter, striv- 
 ino- who should first crain admittance into the Executive 
 mansion, where it was understood that refreshments 
 were to be distributed. The haUs were filled with a 
 disorderly rabble of negroes, boys, women, and children 
 scramblinc^for the refreshments designed for the draw- 
 
212 "WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 ing-rooms ! tlie people forcing their way into the 
 saloons, mingling with the foreigners and citizens sur- 
 rounding the President China and glass to the 
 
 amount of several thousand dollars were broken in 
 the struggle to get at the ices and cakes, though 
 punch and other drinkables had been carried out in 
 tubs and buckets to the people ; but had it been in 
 hogsheads it would have been insufficient besides un- 
 satisfactory to the mob, who claimed equality in aU 
 
 things The confusion became more and more 
 
 appalling. At one moment the President, who had 
 retreated until he was pressed against the wall of the 
 apartment, could only be secured against serious dan- 
 ger by a number of gentlemen linking arms and form- 
 ing themselves into a barrier. It was then that the 
 windows were thrown open and the living torrent 
 
 found an outlet It was the People's day, the 
 
 People's President, and the People would rule ! " 
 
 The policy of rotation in office and party proscrip- 
 tion, inaugurated by General Jackson, is interestingly 
 discussed in the following letter from Mr. Eichard Push, 
 who speaks as one having authority. This distinguished 
 statesman and diplomatist, whose career is familiar 
 to every intelligent American, who filled with honor to 
 himself and country the positions of Attorney-General, 
 Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Minister 
 to France and to England, was noted for his elegance 
 of manner and his^h-breedinof, his charminsr conversa- 
 tion, replete with instructive and fascinating reminis- 
 cences, a tact and vivacity somewhat French, and the 
 finished grace acquired by so long a residence at Courts, 
 in the days when diplomacy was a high art, even sci- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 21 
 
 o 
 
 ence, — ^vhell the partition of empires aud the over- 
 throw of kingdoms hinged perhaps on the success of 
 an ambassadorial banquet, a Ion mot over the snufi-box, 
 or a game of whist, the players being Castlereagh and 
 Talleyrand, a Canning or a ^letternich, who, with their 
 cards, dealt out crowns for trumps. Mr. Eush was 
 very successful in his negotiation of several treaties 
 with England, especially the important one of 1818, 
 with Lord Castlereagh, relative to the fisheries and our 
 Northwestern Boundary. And it was said, that only 
 by the influence of his personal qualities and the 
 friendship entertained for him by the British Cabinet, 
 was a war averted with England, then imminent in 
 consequence of General Jackson's execution of two 
 British subjects, with his usual defiance of constitu- 
 tional law and international comity ; being guided by 
 the rashness of conceited ignorance, not enlightened 
 
 courage. 
 
 "Sydenham near Philadelphia, September 30, 1853. 
 
 " Dear Sirs, — A short absence over in Jersey has pre- 
 vented a more prompt answer to your letter, but I take the 
 first chance opening to me since my return to enclose a 
 
 little notice of Mr. Trescot's letter You could have 
 
 done it yourselves much better. What I say of his secre- 
 taryship at London, Mr. Everett himself told me the day I 
 dined there last winter, when you, Mr. Seaton, were there. 
 After you have published this, his diplomatic-reform letter, I 
 may possibly be led to make it the occasion of some remarks 
 on our whole diplomatic system, though I rather fear not ; 
 they would be so revolutionary ; not radical, however. 
 
 " I should go against all turnings out of our foreign minis- 
 ters or consuls, except for downright misbehavior or inca- 
 pacity, and could give, as I almost dare to persuade m.yselfj 
 
214 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 sufficient and solid reasons for adopting that course, or 
 rather coming hack to it, for we had it in efifect formerly. 
 The opposite course is intrinsically unwise. It has done 
 mischief, will continue to do it, and finally produce results 
 entangling and disgraceful to us. But our public have got 
 so thoroughly wrong-headed about the necessity of each 
 new President choosing his own foreign ministers, that 
 an elementary discussion would be required to bring back 
 right thoughts, if even that could ever in the least be 
 hoped for. You Whigs are as bad as we Democrats, each 
 side gi'owing worse with time, in this battle for the spoils 
 as the four years come round ; so that the subject would 
 be ticklish and staggering, though not unmanageable, if 
 resolutely taken up. Washington even thought that there 
 was no need of choosing the heads of department on 
 party grounds. He put Jefferson at the head of one, and 
 Hamilton of another, when parties were more distinctly 
 marked on principle than now, or have ever been since his 
 day. Jackson advised Mr. Monroe to call to his adminis- 
 tration two Republicans or Democrats and two Federalists, 
 the latter name still existing in his time. Washington's prac- 
 tice and Jackson's theory were right, under the true theory 
 of our government. The very idea of a cabinet is out of 
 place with us, and the notion that it should be a unit still 
 more so. This is for constitutional monarchies, where 
 ministers, not the monarch, are responsible, but it has no 
 legal or constitutional existence here. The very tenn cah- 
 inet is of party coinage. The republicans of '98 com- 
 plained of it as monarchical, as the old columns of the 
 Philadelphia Aurora might show if searched. 
 
 " The utmost with us is, that the President may, if he 
 choose, require the opinion in writing of any one of his 
 officers; but all are to do their duty under his direction. 
 
 *' Yet we have arrived at a code of universal partisan pro- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 215 
 
 scription, which each party seems equally to approve and 
 practise, under a supposed necessity that every new Presi- 
 dent is morally and wisely, if not politically, bound to em- 
 ploy as officers from A to Z, abroad and at home, those 
 only who hold his own opinions ! This now estabhshed 
 practice of universal change every four years, and the ter- 
 rible contests and corruptions to which it will give birth 
 in our presidential elections, the ratio of each increasing, 
 geometrically, as offices and emoluments grow more nu- 
 merous and tempting under the prodigious growth of our 
 country, must end in breaking the government to pieces. 
 So it is that the choice of the Chief Magistrate has ever 
 been the gi'eat test of popular government. Thus much I 
 have been incited to say in thinking of Mr. Trescot's vain 
 hope of bringing about permanent appointments in our 
 diplomatic service I did not intend to let Septem- 
 ber run out without thanking you, as now let me do, for 
 your acceptable favor. No. 1654 of the Intelligencer, and 
 your more curious number eight, as certainly it is. I will 
 bring the latter safely with me to Washington, where I shall 
 probably be, on Smithsonian business, before January comes 
 round. I do not quite like to trust the precious little relic 
 to the mail a second time. In the Intelligencer of Septem- 
 ber 3d I read Randolph's old unpublished speech against 
 the war, with unusual avidity, for the sake of calling up old 
 matters ; and the more, as I heard it in part. The fifth 
 paragraph, a short one of five lines, should end with the 
 word pity, I think. That sentence struck upon my ear 
 from the threefold alliteration. ' I ask its (the House's) 
 patience, its pardon, and its pity.'' What says Mr. Gales's 
 short-hand manuscript, w^hich I also remember when it was 
 ' solitary and alone ' % It would be odd if that third little 
 word was in the speech, as delivered, and struck out after- 
 wards ! I consider the notes appended to the speech as 
 
216 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 better than the speech itself. I did not think as much as 
 others of Randolj^h's genius, and liked his character still 
 less. There was too much malignity about him, for me, and 
 pretension. The note about Mr. Monroe is all true, as I 
 could abundantly confirm, in many things. He was the 
 main propeller of the war in the' executive councils, and its 
 main prop there afterwards And now in conclud- 
 ing, I pray you to believe me in old friendship and esteem, 
 
 " Yours ever very faithfully, 
 
 " Richard Rush." 
 
 The Monroe doctrine, which, fifty years ago, as Mr. 
 Rush in the following note says, " surprised " European 
 diplomacy, again agitates and controls the policy of a 
 continent, and by its tyrannous " law of force " precip- 
 itated and sheltered the mournful Mexican tragedy, 
 over which the civilized world still shudders and 
 weeps, — the murder of the gallant Maximilian, the 
 madness of a widowed Empress. 
 
 "Philadelphia, 22d March, 1857. 
 " My dear Sir, — I remember the Mr. Stapleton who 
 signs the enclosed slip from the Albion. He was Canning's 
 private secretary in the days of my negotiations, and a very 
 clever man he was. He is right in what he savs. Mr. 
 Canning did, explicitly and repeatedly, deny the ' Monroe 
 Doctrine.' He denied it in a solemn protocol, and other- 
 wise, in my negotiation of 1824, he being then Foreign 
 Secretary of England. Russia denied it, as did France. 
 You may say all Europe was surprised at it. They could 
 not comprehend it, except as a threat, and holding up the 
 law of force as soon as we were able. This may be plainly 
 enough seen in the second volume of the work, ' Residence 
 at the Court of London,' which I published in 1845, a copy 
 of which I understand is in the Congress Library. I refer 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 217 
 
 you to it only as presenting the matter in a nutshell in 
 place of hunting through public documents, should you 
 wish to see the record of it. Stapleton wrote the ' Politi- 
 cal Life of Canning,' in three volumes, v;hich I have, but 
 not at hand, as I am staying with a son in town. In one 
 of the volumes you will find the account of the part Mr. 
 Canning took in that whole Spanish-American question, 
 when the European Alliance was for falling foul of the 
 
 Spanish Colonies. 
 
 " Ever yours faithfully, 
 
 "Richard Rush. 
 "Me. Seaton." 
 
 In the summer of 1834 Mrs. Seaton writes to a 
 member of her family : — 
 
 " . . . . During the past two days we have been in an 
 alarming state of disorder from a dread of insurrection, or 
 rather a dread of the illegal hanging of instigators to mis- 
 chief. A white man was put in jail a few days since on 
 the charge of circulating incendiary pamphlets. This was 
 the beginning of the disturbance. Mobs have collected 
 to break open the jail, and hang him without trial. Ma- 
 rines are stationed in and around the jail, but there is great 
 apprehension felt, the soldiers from Point Comfort having 
 gone to Baltimore, so that we have no means of suppressing 
 the riot. Snow will certainly be torn to pieces by the me- 
 chanics if he be caught, and they are in full pursuit of 
 him. Unfortunately, several hundred mechanics of the 
 navy yard are out of employment, who, aided and abetted 
 by their sympathizers, create the mob, — the first I have 
 ever seen, not recollectmg those of Sheffield, and it is truly 
 alarming. I tremble for the consequences of any encoun- 
 ter with mistaken, infuriated men who have set the laws at 
 defiance, and must now be put down by force. The post- 
 office is guarded, but they threaten the Mayor ; and you 
 
 10 
 
218 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 will understand all my fears when I tell you that your dear 
 father has been out during the last two nights, exerting his 
 influence to quell the storm. We have only a handful of 
 troops here, but a company from Annapolis is expected to- 
 night. Last night the rain poured heavily, and probably 
 prevented much mischief, though we hope that the elements 
 of disturbance are somewhat quieted. General Jackson 
 arrives to-morrow and will be prompt to suppress all disor- 
 ders Midnight. Your father has just returned 
 
 home, and reports that all is tranquil." 
 
 This man Snow was a mulatto, at the very head of 
 the respectable colored population, keeping a restau- 
 rant much frequented by the good society of Washing- 
 ton. It being reported that he had s^Doken disrespect- 
 fully of the wives of the mechanics as a class, using 
 very coarse and insulting language with regard to their 
 virtue, a mob, a white mob ensued, and the city during 
 several days and nights was at its mercy. All the 
 gentlemen of the city protected Snow so far as they 
 could, not ■ believing him guilty, and even had such 
 been the case they were the friends of law and order, 
 and willing that Snow should be dealt with accord- 
 ingly, but not by the hands of Judge Lynch. Mr. 
 Seaton was not mayor, but of course was called on for 
 aid and counsel ; for none ever lived who could offer 
 more prompt service and wiser words, and he possessed 
 pre-eminently the qualities to gufde a popular storm, — 
 mildness, reason, and decision. In this instance it was 
 mainly through his personal efforts that order was 
 restored, through the respect with which the people 
 regarded him, and the unflinching courage with which, 
 bareheaded and unarmed, he threw himself into the 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 219 
 
 midst of the mob, controlling by his presence, and the 
 undaunted bearing that finds a responsive chord in the 
 heart of every really brave man, a crowd of excited, 
 maddened men, touched on the most sensitive nerve 
 of honor. 
 
 Mr. Seaton had a high esteem for the mechanics of 
 Washington, believing that no community possessed a 
 more order-loving, intelhgent, self-respecting body of 
 citizens. He was proud of the confidence of the 
 working classes, sympathized in their needs, protected 
 their interests, and enjoyed the interchange of thought 
 with their practical minds ; his constant, respectful 
 kindness to them springing from an appreciation of all 
 intrinsic worth and good citizenship, and being, not the 
 condescension for an especial object, to obtain their 
 suffrages during an election, but the gracious habit of 
 his hfe. While no man had less of that spurious 
 " pride wliich apes humility," no one more valued the 
 honors of an ancient lineage than Mr. Seaton. It was 
 indeed a controlling sentiment of his nature ; but a 
 citizen of a land where ancestral distinctions and 
 privileges are opposed to the spirit of the government 
 and people, his perfect taste forbade all vain boast of 
 such possession, leading him to cherish it in its true 
 sense, as a hostage to the world so to emulate the vir- 
 tues of those who had preceded him, that in his hands 
 their escutcheon should suffer no stain. 
 
 In 1838 Mrs. Seaton, being in ISTew York, had the 
 privilege of once more hearing in the pulpit Dr. FoUen, 
 the learned, evangelical, and beloved Unitarian, whose 
 life, so exquisitely in accordance with the pure and 
 lovely truths he taught, was sadly closed by the burn- 
 
220 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 ing of the steamer Lexington on the Sound, he being 
 one of those who perished. Mrs. Follen was also 
 widely knoA\Ti for various valuable works, principally 
 on education. 
 
 Mrs. Seaton thus writes of this eminent divine : — 
 
 "....' All of our party went to the sea-side this 
 morning, as the weather, being a little tempestuous, ren- 
 dered it even more desirable to those who have never wit- 
 nessed the majesty of the ocean, than a bright, sunny day. 
 I, in despite of the uncomfortable morning, found my way 
 to Dr. Follen's church. He appeared to better advantage 
 personally than when with us. The light came down on 
 his guileless countenance from above, and his simple ges- 
 tin^es and earnest eloquence, heightened by the effect thus 
 produced, went right to the heart, and I am sure came 
 from it. He is scarcely old enough to be called patriarchal, 
 but he has the wisdom and fervor of one of the Apostles. 
 The music is very unpretending, but soft and sweet, calcu- 
 lated, as all church harmony should be, to prepare the mind 
 for serious impressions. It was Communion Sunday, and 
 Dr. Follen spoke of the mysterious dread experienced by 
 many persons of ' eating and drinking unworthily,' and 
 cautioned them against entertaining superstitious notions 
 of the Eucharist. '■ What ! ' said he, ' is it necessary to 
 entitle you to partake of this comforting sacrament that 
 you should be able to say, " I am pure in the sight of 
 God." " Can any man convict me of sin ? " " Am I not 
 exemplary even as Christ was V No ! my brethren ; 
 were this so, few would participate, none dare administer 
 it ; this sacred rite would cease. It is intended to en- 
 courage us to persevere in that self-sacrificing principle 
 W'hich guided our Master on earth, and deserted him not 
 in death : to comfort, to console, to encourage us to follow 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 221 
 
 the example of Christ.' I listened with reverence as 'truths 
 divine came mended from his tongue,' and accepted Mrs. 
 Follen's invitation to go forward w^ith her to the table. 
 The ceremony was shorter than with us, but highly impres- 
 sive I appointed an hour to receive Dr. and Mrs. 
 
 Foil en, and to accompany them to see Mrs. Jameson, the 
 celebrated English authoress, who is now in New York. 
 
 " I did not tell you, I think," continues Mrs. Seaton, 
 " that before leaving home I had much gTatification in the 
 perusal of the journal kept by Mrs. John Quincy Adams 
 during her journey to Russia, which, despite the depreca- 
 tory tone of her accompanying note, I found interesting 
 from the novelty of the scenes described, and the sprightly 
 cleverness of this record of her impressions. I had previ- 
 ously been indebted to her for the manuscript letters of 
 John Adams to his sons, which were so valuable for their 
 condensed instruction and parental wisdom that I obtained 
 permission to copy them for the benefit of my own 
 children." 
 
 The note from Mrs. Adams was as follows : — 
 
 " My dear Madam, — I do not know why I should inflict 
 such a penance on you as the reading of my prosy and un- 
 interesting detail of a journey which, in itself, yielded little 
 to amuse the mind or excite the fancy, although it was 
 productive of much unnecessary anxiety, and some serious 
 apprehension diu-ing a few short but trying hours. Such 
 as it is, I ofi'er it to your perusal : and as it was written in 
 great haste and without any pretence of literary merit, you 
 must be merciful in your judgment, and lenient in your 
 criticism of the silly attempts of your friend, 
 
 " Louisa C. Adams. 
 "7 May. 
 To Mrs. Seaton." 
 
222 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 " You are welcome, dear Mrs. Seaton, to take copies of 
 the papers which I had so much pleasure in lending you, 
 and which I trust will prove a real benefit to your children. 
 Early impressions are the most durable, and children in- 
 sensibly imbibe principles, which though they may not 
 apparently produce any effect, gi^adually expand the mind, 
 and operate most favorably on their future conduct. That 
 they may derive all the advantage from these letters which 
 yom- exertions for their improvement so eminently merit 
 is the sincere wish of your friend, 
 
 " L. C. Adams. 
 
 " I request you will not hurry the copy." 
 
 Mrs. Seaton's own letters, and those of her husband 
 to their children, are in many points unsurpassed even 
 by the famous ones of Pitt and the elder Adams : 
 but being precluded the gratification of lifting for 
 the public the veil of family reserve, a few extracts 
 must suffice to show the strength of parental tender- 
 ness and wisdom of admonition bestowed by Mr. 
 Seaton on his sons, and which are striking as evidences 
 of his own delicate, honorable nature. This sentiment 
 of honor indeed, fastidious, almost overstrained, being 
 the pervading essence of his life, — a religion in its 
 sanctity. 
 
 '*My dear Son, — .... I was a little mortified at 
 what I conceived to be indifference to that virtue, punctu- 
 ality, in not reaching West Point on the day ordered, after 
 the great indulgence extended to you. It is not enough 
 that you escape censure, but you should endeavor to obtain 
 approbation from your superiors. But on this head I will 
 not dwell further. Parents, from their great anxiety, may 
 appear to their children fastidious, and I would not wish 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 223 
 
 to evince an unreasonable sensitiveness at any slight dere- 
 liction from rule, and shall, without further admonition, 
 leave it to your affection for us and just pride in yourself 
 to attain a high standing. When your steadiness and good 
 conduct have been sufificiently manifested to Colonel Thayer 
 to pave the way for sush an application, I will write to him 
 
 on the subject of your promotion Your brother, 
 
 you know, is at Georgetown College, and I feel every day, 
 as his mind and qualities develop, a stronger hope that 
 he will do well, even distinguish himself. 
 
 " It is in truth a happiness to your mother and myself 
 to witness the promise of his opening character ; and more 
 happy am I to observe it, for it has pleased Providence to 
 afflict her so severely, that I rejoice doubly in the prospect 
 she derives of consolation from the good and honorable 
 career of her remaining children. That you will yourself, 
 my dear son, prove an added source of this comfort to your 
 dear and incomparable mother, I ardently hope, and confi- 
 dently trust. • Remember, my dear son, that we are always 
 thinking of you, and every day talking of you. God bless 
 
 you. 
 
 " Your affectionate father, 
 
 " W. W. Seaton." 
 
 " Your letter, my son, has diffused pleasure through the 
 family, as it assures us of your determination to labor 
 
 steadily during the two months previous to June 
 
 Do not be lulled into a false security ; if persevering effort 
 can insure your going through, do not fail to try your utmost. 
 You speak of various novels and romance-w^riters, as if you 
 consumed your precious time in reading them. Pray cast 
 aside henceforth everything that can divert your mind 
 from the one great object, and resolve to achieve it at 
 every sacrifice of ease and amusement. You make us very 
 happy by the standing already acquired in your studies. 
 
224 WILLIAM \AaNSTON SEATON. 
 
 Persevere, my dear son, and add this quality to your amia- 
 bility and integrity of character, and you will have the 
 felicity of knowing that your parents bless the day of your 
 birth, and your excellence will be to them a source of con- 
 solation under all the trials which may yet await them. 
 .... You have now too many correspondents, and I wish 
 that you would write to them less often and with more care. 
 You should not have mentioned to any one that young 
 
 H was dismissed. Never spread even confidentially, 
 
 much less voluntarily, anything to the disparagement of an- 
 other, especially a friend. It will spread fast enough. You 
 meant no harm in this instance, and no one has said a word 
 about it ; my remark is spontaneous ; but remember it as 
 
 a hint for the future You have our daily blessings 
 
 and prayers. Take not time to write home more than a 
 line, and win the prize of success at all hazards." 
 
 "1834. 
 
 "My dear Son, — . . . ." There is no altenaative, with- 
 out a show of favoritism, but for you to join your regiment. 
 To grant your request, the Secretary thinks would too ob- 
 viously savor of making the ser-sdce bend to personal favor. 
 His reasons were fair and rational, and not being able to 
 controvert them I was obliged to acquiesce in their just- 
 ness. So that we must submit, my son, and, so far from 
 repining at the inevitable, must be thankful that you were 
 permitted to be so long with us. . . . . There was a heavy 
 blow the day after you sailed, and though perhaps not 
 altogether welcome, you had an opportunity of witnessing 
 the most sublime of nature's work, — ' the ocean into 
 mountains tossed.' .... And now, my dear son, farewell. 
 You are fully embarked on the career of life, with no guide 
 save your own sense of right, and your own firmness in 
 pursuing it. I fervently trust and, hope, I believe, that 
 these will be sufficient guides so long as you abstain from 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 225 
 
 two rocks on which so many sanguine hopes have been 
 wrecked , namely, cards and conviviality. They are sunken 
 rocks, not fully discerned till they are struck. The first leads 
 to pecuniary embarrassment, then obligation and slavery to 
 others, — the second to intemperance and ultimate disgrace. 
 I ask of you, my son, a resolution -vvhich will preserve you 
 through life from sleepless nights and anxious days, at least 
 ft'om one of their most prolific causes, — never to incur a 
 debt unless it be under the most pressing exigency. A man 
 in debt is no longer a fi'eeman ; he loses his erect caniage, 
 his mind sinks under the degrading pressm'e. Cards would 
 soon run away with the largest fortune, and are the besetting 
 mischief of the young officers of the army, involving them in 
 drink and ruin. Under all pressure and persuasion, shun 
 touching them as you would dishonor and death. Touch 
 them for pastime, and the taste will grow with fearful rapid- 
 ity. You may think that I repeat these admonitions unne- 
 cessarily often, but, my dear son, if you had seen the num- 
 ber whom I have, in thirty years, swept into the vortex by 
 these enticing pleasures, and ultimately lost to themselves, 
 their families, and society, you would think my anxiety 
 natural. " Idleness so naturally resorts to amusement, and 
 amusements so easily run into excess, ijiat officers in the 
 army are peculiarly exposed to danger. These are truths 
 of the greatest moment, my son ; keep them in mind, and 
 in time to come you will appreciate their value more highly 
 than you can do now. But I will not pursue the ungi'ate- 
 
 ful theme May a gracious Providence preserve and 
 
 direct you, and may you be worthy of that direction, 
 prays 
 
 " Your affectionate father, 
 
 " W. W. Seaton." 
 
 Augustine Fitzwhylsson Seaton, the eldest child of 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Seaton, to whom were addressed these 
 
 10* o 
 
226 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 striking exhortations to virtue, fulfilled the brightest 
 hopes of his parents in all that forms an honored man- 
 hood. Eich in talent, inheriting especially his father's 
 gift of graceful oratory as well as beauty of presence, 
 and possessed of the most endearing traits of charac- 
 ter, his gallant youug spirit was quenched as its light 
 began to brighten the career upon which he had so 
 hopefully embarked. After graduating at West Point, 
 he was ordered to that charnel-house, Fort Gibson, 
 tlien far beyond the limits of civilization, where with 
 so many other brave hearts his life was sacrificed in 
 barren conflicts with savages. During an expedition 
 in 1835 against the Indians, far into the wilderness on 
 the plains of the Ozark, suffering intense privations, the 
 health of this gallant young Seaton gave way, and in 
 a few weeks the grave closed over a life of brilliant 
 promise. Eespected by his command, beloved by his 
 comrades, he died in the discharge of liis duty, — a 
 soldier's noblest epitaph. 
 
 During the summer of 1838 Mr. Seaton indiilged in 
 one of the rare holidays of his busy life, in a flying 
 jaunt to Canada, joining a quartette of friends who 
 dul)bed themselves the Pickwick Club, of which Mr. 
 Seaton of course personated the benevolent and im- 
 mortal President. The respect entertained for Mr. 
 Seaton's reputation and character was most agreeably 
 evinced in the attentions he received from private 
 and official hospitality. The Earl of Durham, then 
 Governor-General of Canada, whose political services 
 and talent as Mr. Lambton had been rewarded by the 
 peerage, and who showed great ability and tact dur- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 227 
 
 ing the alarming complications between England and 
 the United States arising from the " Caroline " and 
 " McLeod " imbroglio, was of somewhat reserved, even 
 haughty demeanor, though of a truly kindly nature, 
 and Avas noted for the high-bred tone of his social 
 circle, the charm of which was enhanced by the gentle 
 presence and grace of Lady Durham, a daughter of 
 
 Earl Grey. 
 
 Lord Durham seemed at once to appreciate Mr. 
 Seaton's wide intelligence, knowledge of political his- 
 tory, and distinction of manners ; expressing subse- 
 quently to various persons the opinion that he was 
 " the most charming American he had ever met," while 
 the acquaintance then formed by Mr. Seaton with 
 several civil and military members of his Excellency's 
 household ripened into warm regard and frequent 
 correspondence. A few extracts from the details 
 sketched by Mr. Seaton for the domestic circle wdll 
 indicate the impression made by him on these critical 
 foreigners. . 
 
 Mr. Seaton AATites from '^ Toronto, July, 1838": — 
 
 " .... A run of four hours this morning across Lake 
 Ontario brought us to the capital of Upper Canada. I 
 begin to be quite anxious to reach the end of our journey, 
 for, truth to say, I am quite tired of the jaunt, and would 
 gladly turn my face homewards if I were not ashamed. 
 ..... We crossed over yesterday morning to the British 
 side of the Falls, the first time I ever set foot on a foreign 
 soil ; and it was not with indifference that I saw the 
 British flag flying on its own ground, and surrounded by 
 British troops. At the Falls there are about 600 of the 
 4.3d Infantry, and at dinner, who should sit opposite to 
 
228 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 me but Mr. W , who is here with his regiment. I was 
 
 at first not able to identify his famihar face, he being in 
 uniform ; he, however, at once recog-nized me, and during 
 the hour that intervened before my departure he was ex- 
 ceedingly civil, among other marks of it tendering me a 
 letter to his friend Captain Arthur, the son and Aide to 
 the Governor here, as well as letters to some officers of the 
 Guards at Quebec. There is a regiment of foot here, which 
 I shall see parade to-morrow, Sunday being in camp a grand 
 parade day, and shall embrace the opportunity of going to 
 
 church." 
 
 " Ogdensbitrg, on the St. Lawrence. 
 
 " .... I have got so far on my road to Quebec, and 
 through the task which for my sins I undertook of coming 
 from home alone on a jaunt of curiosity. Mr. G 's let- 
 ter commanded from Captain B , of the Guards, at 
 
 Toronto, very great politeness, as did also Mr. W 's, 
 
 from Captain Arthur. This latter called on me on Sunday, 
 though not here a visiting day, and invited me, in his 
 father's name, to see him the next day, which I did. Sir 
 George Arthur, a fine gentlemanly looking man of sixty, 
 received me with much civility, expressing regi'et that my 
 early departure prevented the attentions he would have 
 been glad to show me. I spent fifteen minutes with him 
 very pleasantly, and went immediately on board the 
 steamer, which reached Kingston at sunrise this morning. 
 While waiting for the Montreal boat, I have run over here 
 to send you this hasty note, with love and blessings for the 
 household, and prayers for your safety in my absence." 
 
 " Quebec, August, 1838. 
 " . . . . To-night I set out on my most welcome home- 
 ward route, — though the two days I have passed here have 
 been most agreeably occupied in viewing the fine city, and 
 in the enjoyment of kind hospitality On Saturday 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 229 
 
 morning, shortly after my arrival, I received a card of 
 invitation to dinner from the Governor-General and the 
 Countess of Durham, for four o'clock of the same day, — no 
 visiting or company among the English on Sunday, I find. 
 There were present about fifteen persons, military and 
 ofiicial, but no American except myself. After a most 
 agreeable dinner, and coffee, his Lordship invited me to 
 drive with him ; so I took a seat in the barouche with 
 Lord and Lady Dm'ham, and Mr. Charles Buller, to whose 
 kind attentions I have been so much indebted. We drove 
 eight or nine miles up the beautiful banks of the St. 
 Charles, — a good deal of chat of course. The next day I 
 went to church alone, my companions declining To- 
 day I called to pay my parting respects to the Earl of 
 Durham, and, though engaged with a member of the Coun- 
 cil (the famous Mr. Turton by the w^ay), he put him aside 
 to give me an audience ; and so full was he of his ofl&cial 
 objects here, and of our question and delicate relations with 
 Great Britain, that I could hardly get away in decent time, 
 knowing, as I did, that Turton was waiting to resume his 
 business. ^ This afternoon I have spent in visiting the 
 striking works, citadel, etc., under the guidance of one of 
 the aides-de-camp, who tendered his services for that purpose 
 at Lord Durham's table on Saturday. I have an hour now 
 in which, to take tea with Mr. Buller, — and then on board 
 
 the boat for Montreal But in all this gratification 
 
 my heart lies in me like lead at my ignorance of home 
 events ; but I must still my anxious thoughts as best I 
 may Lord Clarence Paget, I regret to say, is ab- 
 sent on a tour for the benefit of his health." 
 
 "Washington, August, 1838. 
 " My dear Sir, — Learning from ]Mr. Gales that you are 
 expecting to wing me on my flight homeward, I send you a 
 word to apprise you of my return last evening to this quiet 
 
230 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATOX. 
 
 metropolis, where I wish with all my heart, selfish as it is, 
 that I could have found you still sojourning. I passed New 
 Brighton on Saturday, and while looking with admiration 
 at its delightful position and beautiful edifices, little dreamed 
 that you were one of its inmates. I could have run over 
 to you instead of sweltering in the fourth story of the 
 Astor House. 
 
 " I have had a fatiguing but most interesting joinrney, 
 and was fortunate in meeting old acquaintances (among 
 them Lieutenant West, of the 43d, a son of Earl De la 
 AVan-e, with his regiment, now stationed at the Falls) and 
 making new ones, which gave me, in addition to your own 
 letters, a key to all desirable society at Toronto and Quebec. 
 At the former place I saw Sir George Arthur, a fine-looking, 
 dimified old officer ; and at the latter I saw and conversed 
 a good deal with the Governor-General, whose manner, both 
 at his table and in his bureau, was altogether diff'erent from 
 that described by AVillis in the last Mirror. I found him 
 anything but reserved, — not only exceedingly conversible, 
 but frank to a degree that rather surprised me, — this, how- 
 ever, was when tete-cL-tete. The Countess of Durham is a 
 handsome, not beautiful, unaff'ected, and apparently ami- 
 able woman, who, with some aid of the imagination, might 
 
 come up to Byron's portrait of her From Quebec I 
 
 travelled home with great rapidity, my anxiety to obtain 
 news of my family having become painful. Think of doing 
 the distance between Montreal and New York in forty-three 
 hours ! I am stunned by the incessant jostle and loss of 
 sleep of the trip, and feel pretty much, I suppose, as if I 
 had been shot fi'om a mortar ! 
 
 " I received every civility from Captain Baddeley, and 
 dined with him at his beautiful cottage on the bank of Lake 
 Ontario. I am gi'eatly your debtor for bringing me ac- 
 quainted with so clever, intelligent, and guileless an old 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 231 
 
 soldier. Adieu. Have the goodness, when you have an 
 hour on your hands which you cannot kill, to write to me. 
 " Yours faithfully, and sincerely, 
 
 ''W. W. Seaton." 
 
 Mr. Charles Buller, mentioned in Mr. Seaton's let- 
 ter, a member of Lord Durham's council, was already 
 distinguished in Parliament, being regarded as the 
 foremost among the rising British statesmen ; and such 
 weight had he already attained in the estimation of 
 government and in popular confidence, as to bid fair 
 soon to fill the great position of Premier of England. 
 Unfortunately for his country he was cut off in the 
 fulness of his talent and. usefubiess, to the universal 
 regret of the nation. The following note^ from Mr. 
 Buller and the fine old officer of the Guards show their 
 appreciation of Mr. Seaton's attractive powers, their 
 mutual regard being subsequently cemented by pleas- 
 ant intercourse in Washington. 
 
 'O' 
 
 ^ "Quebec, October 22, 1838. 
 
 "Dear Sir, — Your letter of the 1st, coming at the 
 leisurely and dignified pace of an officer of the Guards, 
 reached me only two or three days ago. I am much in- 
 debted to you for the very interesting papers you sent me, 
 and Lord Durham desires me to express his thanks to you 
 for the really valuable paper which you were so good as to 
 forward to him. 
 
 " I am much obliged to you for your words of comfort to 
 us in our fallen fortunes, and I must say for our friends in 
 the United States, that we receive very much, both public 
 and private. I have been much gratified by your notice of 
 our proceedings in the Intelligencer. The American Whig 
 Press has been of great service to Lord Durham, and acted 
 a most o-enerous part. 
 
232 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. • 
 
 " I need not now enter into the propriety of his return- 
 ing home, as he has explained the necessity of it in his 
 Proclamation. I wish he could, as he at first proposed, 
 have gone through the States and visited New York and 
 Washington. But on second thoughts he determined that, 
 in the present alarming state of the Province, it was neces- 
 sary that he should go home forthwith, to try if his presence 
 can do any good. 
 
 " I remain a short time behind, and shall go home in the 
 Great Western from New York. Whether I shall be able 
 to get to Washington I know not, but shall make the en- 
 deavor. I am really sorry, in spite of all my ultra-democ- 
 racy, to see Van Burenism triumphing in these elections. 
 " Believe me, dear sir, yours very truly, 
 
 "Charles Buller, Jr." 
 
 "Glasgow, April 5, 1841. 
 " My dear Colonel Seaton, — Your kind letter and pres- 
 ent have been following me from place to place The 
 
 fac-simile of General Washington's writing was particularly 
 welcome ; for, although I cannot be supposed to be so great 
 a worshipper at the shrine of that truly great man as you 
 must be, yet the cosmopolitan reverence we bear on this side 
 of the water to his memory is scarcely less warm than the 
 patriotic one which electrifies the Union ; among men at 
 least who have read his life, — and who has not ? The plans 
 on the Boundary question, that knotty point, are very ac- 
 ceptable. On this subject I am somewhat disposed to think 
 privately, that you have, in point of law, as much in your 
 favor as ourselves ; but how infinitely you fall short of us 
 on the score of equity ! ! Look at the encroachment, and 
 think of the object of this, as of all similar portions of 
 treaties, — to remove as much as possible all inducements 
 to an unfriendly interference. If you succeed without war, 
 I will give you credit for diplomatic skill, but not for mag- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 233 
 
 naniraitj. War, however, I trust is out of the question, — 
 men are too wide awake at this day to deal with its horrors 
 until every other means have been had recourse to to avert 
 itj — and, above all, a war with America ! No ! I, for one, 
 would rather see you usurp the land, and if you can keep it 
 gracefully^ do so. If the foregoing political tirade should 
 not settle the question in our favor, it will, I trust, induce 
 you to reply to it, and thus I shall get another letter from 
 
 you, if not the Disputed Territory Have you read the 
 
 Quarterly for March ] There is a good article on this sub- 
 ject, the impossibility by the words of the Treaty of showing 
 which is the northwest angle of Nova Scotia. This is more 
 curious than useful, — proving, however, what a blundering 
 Commission drew it up. Indeed, I think the men who 
 composed it have much to answer for, no less than for 
 all the blood that may be spilled in the dispute. 
 
 " As to the McLeod affair, we do not dream of it beino' a 
 source of bloodshed, unless, indeed, 3'ou allow Lynch law 
 to prevail, as you have done in too many instances. One 
 thing I have to propose ; namely, that if ever you and I do 
 
 meet in deadly collision, we will spare each other 
 
 " Faithfully and devotedly 3'ours, 
 
 " T. W. Baddeley, Col. R. E." 
 
 The following extracts, referring pleasantly to the 
 impression made by ]\Ir. Seaton in Canada, are from 
 the letters of an English gentleman in the British -ser- 
 vice. So unusually clever and witty are his sketches 
 of men and current events as to cause rcOTct at the 
 impossibility of presenting them unmutilated for peru- 
 sal ; but this is forbidden touchingly, though tacitly, 
 by Mr. Seaton liimself; for in his remaining corre- 
 spondence and papers, all that is malicious, — the sting 
 of a story propagating, however unintentionally, some 
 
234 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 unkind gossip, — the name of the hero of an anecdote 
 implicating, perhaps, not very creditably some of the 
 most prominent men of the day, — all are found care- 
 fully erased ; presenting an example of reticence that 
 must be faithfully observed, — a delicacy characteristic 
 of Mr. Seaton's benevolence and kindliness of nature, 
 which never inflicted a wound on the heart or even 
 the vanity of another, which shielded even an adver- 
 sary from misrepresention or ridicule. 
 
 " New Brighton, August, 1838. 
 
 "My dear Sir, — How you managed to get from Mont- 
 real to Washington in forty-three hom's must be an affair be- 
 tween you and the Great Western. I shall take the liberty 
 of communicating the fact to Captain Hoskins. Pray offer 
 your services to the Hon. Amos Kendall. But what I am 
 most concerned about is having missed you. You would 
 have passed a pleasant evening at this delightful place. 
 We have lofty and clean bedrooms, a good table, delicious 
 breezes, half an hour's trip to New York offering itself every 
 hour, besides the National Intelligencer, which I, and only 
 I, have the good taste to go to New York for once a day. 
 The funny old fellow at the P. 0. who delivers the mail 
 always talks to me. 
 
 " ' This is not the worst paper in the world,' says he. 
 * You mean it is the best,' says I. ' You don't take the 
 Globe'?' says he. 'Not I,' said I. 'I should be surprised if you 
 did,' says he. ' I once saw Joe Gales,' he began again, 
 ' but I never saw the t' other fellow. What is he like 1 ' 
 ' Just figure to yourself a scalded-to-death corpse walking 
 about,' I replied. ' Ecod, I can just see him,' says he. 
 
 " I wrote you a note, and every day did I hope to see 
 you, but, like yourself, jo\i preferred seeing your wife and 
 children. I congratulate them on j'our safe return. This 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 235 
 
 place has become quite an appendage to New York. The 
 night before last we had an Italian concert, — Fornasari, la 
 Maroncelli (wife of the fellow-sufferer of Silvio Pellico, who 
 lives here), and others. The company leaving New York 
 at seven p. m., and returning at eleven. And last night a par- 
 ty from New York came out, and had a regular ball, bringing 
 their own fiddlers. Think of that ! In old times, before 
 the reign of steamers, this would never have been attempt- 
 ed. They might have been driven ashore at Bedlow's Isl- 
 and, or some other country inhabited by cannibals, or all 
 shut up, men and maidens in their dancing gear, in the tin 
 castle of some Connecticut giant. Here am I, writing at 
 my ease in the morning, going quietly to New York at two 
 p. M., to put my letters on board the Great Western, 
 which sails at four, not forgetting a letter to W. W. Seaton, 
 by the great Amos ! What revolutions ! I had the satis- 
 faction of finding all my old friends here, after an absence 
 of eight years, looking a great deal older than myself. Two 
 or three are here taking Brandreth's Pills. Many are dead, 
 
 nothing but odd volumes left I am off to J^Iont- 
 
 real for the races. I was sure it was enough for you to pre- 
 sent yourself to be well received by the society there. I shall 
 hear of you. Adieu for the present, being unfeignedly 
 
 " Your friend and servant, 
 
 " G." 
 
 Quebec, September, 1838. 
 " My dear Seaton, — I shall confound my enemies with 
 the glorious National Intelligencer which Charles Buller 
 has just shown me. I '11 tell you what I think of you when 
 we meet. But what, under Heaven, has caused you, from 
 whom I expected other things, to disappoint me so per- 
 fidiously '? I know nothing that could give me more 
 pleasm-e than a letter from you, and yet you don't write, 
 you gallant, malicious Colonel, you hero of Bladensburg ! 
 
236 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Take that as the heaviest denunciation of my resentment. 
 .... I have just got into circulation here, and find 
 it pleasant enough. Lord Durham speaks in the kindest, 
 most flattering manner of you, and Charles Buller likes 
 you better than any American he has yet seen. I break- 
 fasted with the latter this morning I find Lord 
 
 Durham's dinners very pleasant, nothing awful in them. 
 A good cuisine, attentive servants, and perfect ease. What 
 delicious ices ! how superior to Kinchy's greasy contrivances ! 
 The day before yesterday we had a charming dinner there. 
 I had an hour's talk in the morning with his Lordship, 
 who is in good health and good humor just now, as Lord 
 Brougham and others have been got the better of He is a 
 man of accurate information and fine judgment, a little like 
 Mr. Fox in some things, — with whom, by the way, and with 
 Turton, he was at Eton. We were about fifty that day at 
 table. His Lordship had Mrs. T., a very accomplished 
 woman, on his right ; I was on her right ; opposite we 
 had Lady Durham betwixt two Catholic Bishops in their 
 rochets and paraphernalia. I happened to be in a very 
 talkative mood, and told Mrs. T. and Lord Durham so 
 many ridiculous stories, and there was so much laughing, 
 that the lots of Guardsmen present could not choose but 
 stare. After dinner we had some good music, and a couple 
 of rubbers with Sir John D., and I won, — which, you know 
 is pleasant. I know of no more agreeable way of winding 
 up the day than dining with a lord w^ho keeps a good table, 
 and winning money afterwards from good fellows who have 
 the grace to pay. Last night we all went to the theatre, 
 Miss Tree playing "by command." Audience rising on the 
 entrance of the Governor-General and his family, orchestra 
 pla^'ing God save the Queen, curtain rising, and the act- 
 ors and actresses coming forward to sing the same most 
 abominably. You don't do things in that style with Mar- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 237 
 
 tin Van Biiren ! . . . . May my enemies get all they de- 
 serve, but may all happiness and prosperity and fame be 
 with you and your generation in secula seculorum ! We 
 are all mad here about mesmerism, or animal magnetism. 
 The other evening we had a private exhibition at Charles 
 Buller's before Lord Durham. Two Canadian w^omen, one 
 stone blind, were put into the arms of Morpheus in a mo- 
 ment. A young Englishwoman, a servant-maid, was fre- 
 quently put to sleep, and upon trial it was found that I had 
 the power over her. I witnessed the influence it produced 
 upon some officers of the Guards, — one of whom was taken 
 with spasms, quite sea-sick. It is an odd affair, — I don't 
 know what to think. The Eoyal Society of London has 
 taken it up, and we are to have a report. . . . . " 
 
 "Quebec, December, 1839. 
 " My dear Seaton, — I have not forgotten you, and 
 never shall, nor anything about so worthy a fellow as you 
 are. I sent you lately an address which it was hoped might 
 serve to conciliate the feverish people on both sides the 
 frontier. I hope, if the National Intelligencer notice the 
 Boundary question, it will strongly point out the wicked- 
 ness of any individuals, or Provincial or State govern- 
 ments interfering when they are not called to do so, in 
 the management of a question which by treaty and law be- 
 longs solely to the governments of the two nations 
 
 Help us to settle this grave question in a friendly way, I 
 beseech you. I regard the bad and unprincipled in all 
 countries w4th detestation, but there is no reason why I 
 should dislike the countries they disgrace, or cease to love 
 and honor those whose probity and excellence I know, and 
 whom a cruel fate threatens to render powerless to raise 
 your country to the honest eminence it ought to have " 
 
 "London, February, 1840. 
 ** My dear Seaton, — I cannot permit the British Queen 
 
238 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 to sail without assuring you that I remember you, and with 
 undiminished affection. No time will efface the sincere 
 
 friendship I feel for you and those most dear to you 
 
 Some of the rabid Opposition papers ride over every pub- 
 lic man in order to damage the Ministers. This^ has been 
 carried to such extremes that it scarce does harm any 
 longer. The safe rule is to take no notice of such attacks. 
 A man named Westmacott, the editor of the Age, a very 
 scurrilous paper, aspersed the character of a daughter of 
 Charles Kemble, upon which, taking a horsewhip to repre- 
 sent judge and jury, the father went to the fellow's office, 
 and laid the damages on his shoulders in a manner that was 
 'a caution to Crockett.' He got sixpence damages, and 
 
 the offence was not repeated I entertain the kindest 
 
 feelings towards ' Yankeedonia,' as the Turks call your coun- 
 try, and neglect no occasion of doing justice to the wise and 
 good I havie left there. At the same time, when the occa- 
 sion arises, I express myself in strong terms of what I have 
 never approved of in the United States. I do not blame 
 individuals so much as I condemn the laws, which have 
 made many men less good and wise than others. The 
 frightful effects produced by unrestrained democracy, the 
 demoralizing effects produced by universal suffrage, never 
 appeared to me so odious or so striking as they do now, by 
 contrast with the good breeding, the integrity, the order 
 and mutual support which all give to each other in this 
 country, from the highest to the lowest. Existence is really 
 a continual luxury to me. The houses are so commodious, 
 so clean ; the furniture so apt to every purpose ; the food 
 and the art of preparing it so perfect ; the servants so hon- 
 est, so methodical, so obedient, and well dressed, that one 
 almost regrets the passing over of every day, and would do 
 so, but for the pleasure which is sure to be reproduced the 
 next. Then society is so admirably conducted, there is 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 239 
 
 such universal good breeding, intelligence, ana ease to 
 characterize it, that one cannot conceive of anything more 
 perfect amongst human beings. This city, with its two 
 millions of inhabitants, is a miracle of order and tranquil- 
 lity. I walked home at two o'clock this morning from a 
 dinner at least a mile, and saw no one but the respectable 
 policemen walking about. The establishment of the pres- 
 ent police does great honor to Sir Robert Peel. In the 
 daytime no disorder ever does or can take place. The po- 
 liceman appears to be looking at nothing, yet has his eye 
 on everything. So that the good walk with confidence, and 
 
 the bad commit no disorders The idea that there is 
 
 a strong Administration faction in the United States seek- 
 ing to embroil the two countries in order to enrich them- 
 selves by war expenditures has attracted great attention. 
 All deprecate it, but all know that political considerations 
 are often the cause of weakness in the Federal Government, 
 
 rendering it the minister of selfish political cabals 
 
 Mr. Calhoun's influence would, I trust, be directed against 
 it, for a war would be especially injurious to the cotton- 
 planters No doubt is entertained here that if the 
 
 two national governments are permitted to come to an 
 understanding, everything can be arranged consistent with 
 w^hat is due to justice, and the reverence civilized men owe 
 to treaties. But if the frontier people will not obey the 
 laws of the country, and you cannot enforce your laws, it 
 
 will be a great public misfortune I pray that Maine 
 
 may remain quiet. Justice will in the end be done. No 
 English Minister could retain his place one day who would 
 incur the risk of leading England into a war with you for 
 
 the sake of enforcing an unjust claim People here 
 
 have not the time to make themselves acquainted with the 
 structure of the Federal government, and that it is not 
 directly responsible for so much hrutim fulmen by a State 
 
240 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON.. 
 
 government like Maine, and when questions are asked of 
 those who know America, it requires a long story which 
 
 nobody cares to listen to Society is an old, quiet, 
 
 reflecting animal here, and believes that a cause defended 
 by abuse must be inherently weak The Royal mar- 
 riage keeps London in a magnificent bustle yet. It is im- 
 possible to get a chance to dine at home. I had the honor 
 of kissing the Royal bride's hand at the first levee, down on 
 my knee, all in toggery, and she has a beautifully small 
 hand. Prince Albert is a fine-looking young fellow, and 
 likely to be popular in England, as he is believed to be 
 uncorrupt, amiable, and honest. Sir Charles Vaughan was 
 at the levee, and looking very well. We often talk of Wash- 
 ington, and he frequently speaks of you. I met Charles 
 MuiTay, your friend, the other day at Catlin's Exhibition, 
 with the Duchess of Sutherland upon his arm. I also 
 sometimes get a chance of talking about America with the 
 Marchioness of Wellesley, who is attached to her native 
 country. I see Mr. Stevenson now and then and his wife, 
 who is much liked here. And Joseph Bonaparte also likes 
 
 to talk about America 
 
 " Ever, dear Seaton, yours most faithfully." 
 
 "London, July, 1840. 
 "My dear Seaton, — ... .1 read your letter with 
 gi'eat interest, and your observations on the proneness of 
 governments purely democratic to get into collisions with 
 foreign nations appeared to me so just, and were so admira- 
 bly expressed, that I took occasion, when talking over such 
 matters with Lord Palmerston the other dav, to read the 
 passage over to him, and he expressed his admiration for it. 
 .... When I first knew your fine country, a dishonest or 
 a dirty action, whether public or private, was frowned down 
 at once by the stern face of the universal moral public 
 opinion. Universal suffrage was introduced in the name 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 241 
 
 of liberty, and then demagogues began openly to use the 
 many for the exclusive benefit of the few. But from what 
 class were the few drawn 11 I \ In countries where there is 
 no distinction but that created by wealth or political power, 
 men will take the shortest road to wealth ; and so it arrives 
 that in a generation or two, the old examples of honesty 
 and moderation in conduct and action become so far a dead 
 letter that they are seldom referred to, and in time the 
 ethics of the Old Bailey come to supplant them. How is 
 a nation in such a deplorable position to be disenthralled 
 from such influences 1 It is this insane desire to acquire 
 wealth which has injured Americans so much in Europe 
 that enterprises of the most promising kind are no longer 
 looked at by capitalists. You might as well ask a man to 
 take a share in the small-pox as in an American coal-mine. 
 ... r As to a war, it almost amounts to wickedness to talk 
 about it. Maine has not risen in the estimation of this 
 country by her blustering. "VVe do not deem that tone an 
 
 evidence of honest conviction of being in the right 
 
 I congratulate you, or rather your good city, in its worship- 
 ful choice of Mayor. My only objection is that the honors 
 so long declined by your Lordship may postpone that con- 
 stantly promised trip to see how you like old England. No 
 
 doubt about her liking you " 
 
 ♦'LoxDOX, 1841. 
 " My dear Seaton, — .... The peaceful relations be- 
 tween our two countries have been further menaced of late, 
 and Boundary matters seem to be subordinate to the im- 
 prisonment of McLeod, and to the singular fermentation 
 which the bellicose report of Squire Pickens (as the Times 
 calls him) has temporarily produced. The Legislature of 
 Maine, too, with its lofty resolves to " remove the Queen's 
 troops from Madawasca," and its splendid appropriation of 
 a miUion of dollars (since whittled down to one man paid 
 
 11 ■ p . 
 
242 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 and maintaiued at the joint expense of Maine and Massa- 
 chusetts), all these things have fairly dumbfoundered the 
 people on this side. They are beginning to ask, seeing so 
 many big words followed by such small consequences, 
 whether Sam Slick is a romance or not. But their effect 
 
 on American securities is terrible The true way to 
 
 remove every obstacle quo ad hoc is to liberate McLeod. I 
 should hope that the Federal government will begin its 
 administration by frowning upon this irreverence done to 
 
 justice A sentiment of abhorrence for war meets 
 
 one here at every turn. We do not like Frenchmen, and, 
 having no affinities with the other Continental powers, have 
 little partiality for them ; but the colonies founded by John 
 Bull, and the colonists sprung from his loins are dear to him. 
 It will require great provocation to make him strike the 
 
 first blow at them Mr. Forsyth and Fox have not 
 
 liked each other for some time past. They are both men 
 of talent, and when they are in the humor, you can get as 
 good tincture of myn-h from them as you can at the worthy 
 Dr. Gunton's. Let us pray that our hearts high and low 
 may be disposed to do each other all the good we can, 
 and to avoid every occasion of raising the arms of Ameri- 
 cans and Englishmen against each other. General Harri- 
 son's cabinet I know personally, and can bear testimony to 
 their fitness for the important stations they occupy. Gen- 
 eral Harrison I have met more than once. He was a very 
 handsome man, and a very pleasing, well-informed gentle- 
 man. How thankful you must be for having such a true- 
 hearted man at the head of such a cabinet ! IVIay Heaven 
 prosper them and your country in peace, and make us all 
 what you and I are, — friends in the best sense of the word. 
 
 " Ever yours." 
 
 "LoNDOx, 1841. 
 " My dear Seaton, — .... Since the very unequivo- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 243 
 
 cal declarations made by some of Mr. Van Buren's friends, 
 that the American people ought not to be -gTOund down to 
 enrich the English holders of American securities, it has 
 become impossible to inspire confidence in any securities 
 whatever. Such declaration is considered equivalent to 
 a proposition to confiscate eveiy security held by British 
 subjects, and for the moment the effect is prostrating. That 
 the gentlemen now administering the government of the 
 United States will always be opposed to such flagitious 
 propositions, and that they will produce a restoration of 
 American credit here, I sincerely believe ; but it must of 
 
 necessity be slow For the last fortnight all who 
 
 take an interest in America have had a gloom upon their 
 minds in consequence of the non-appearance of the steamer 
 President. She left New York on i\Iarch 11, and has not 
 yet been heard of. The only hope entertained is that 
 she was disabled in a storm, and has either gained Ber- 
 muda, or is slowly wending her way under sail and in a 
 crippled state, "Who comes here in the place of Mr. Ste- 
 venson 1 . . . . Such a man, for instance, as Colonel — what 
 the deuce is his name 1 — would be worth millions to your 
 
 country. I met j\Ir. G some weeks ago, looking as St. 
 
 John the Baptist would do in a wig and new clothes. He 
 has rum manners, although I dare say a very good man. 
 Such men are only fit to keep company with the four-and- 
 
 twenty elders in Revelations We have reached a 
 
 political crisis here ; a division will probably take place to- 
 night on a motion of ' Want of Confidence ' brought forward 
 by Sir Robert Peel. A dissolution will probably take place 
 
 and a new general election I am happy to say that 
 
 the wise act of the Maryland Legislature in taxing their 
 people for the interest of a debt created for their own ben- 
 efit will produce a corresponding wholesome effect here. 
 . ... It is Jackson-Van-Buren-republican-democratic- 
 
244 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 universal suffrage philosophy that has done all the mis- 
 chief, and now that you have an opportunity you must 
 repair it. Is it possible for that monstrous combination of 
 horrors ever to overpower you again 1 . . . ." 
 
 " SCARBOEOUGH, 1842. 
 
 " My dear Seaton, — .... When your Senate shall 
 have ratified the arrangements Lord Ashbiu-ton has made 
 with the Washington government, I shall most sincerely 
 return your congratulations. I see that a very strong op- 
 position will be made, but pei'ceive with pleasure that the 
 American Press advises a ratification. Lord Ashbuiton is 
 not yet arrived ; at least, we have not heard of it at this 
 remote watering-place. Lord Aberdeen is at present with 
 the Queen in Scotland, and my holiday lasts until the de- 
 cision of the Senate is known, wheii we shall all make our 
 
 way to Downing Street Providence has favored Sir 
 
 Robert Peel by giving lis a most abundant harvest, and one 
 of the most splendid summers "I ever saw. The disturb- 
 ances in the manufacturing districts no longer give trouble. 
 The income tax is submitted to with the best grace, and 
 will produce an immense sum, and money is plentiful. The 
 Queen and Prince are universally popular, and nothing is 
 wanting towards rendering the satisfaction more perfect, 
 but the establishment of a regular and mutually prosper- 
 ous intercourse with your country " 
 
 "Novemher, 1842. 
 " .... I have been during this season making a round 
 of autumnal visits at various countiy-seats in many of our 
 Eno-lish counties as far west as Devonshire and Cornwall, 
 and a few days ago I left the Grange, a highly embellished 
 place belonging to Lord Ashburton, where, with some prom- 
 inent persons who take an interest in American affairs, we 
 had a full discussion of the Treaty made by him. You 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. ^ 245 
 
 know what magnificent gardens are kept up at these family 
 places, hot-houses, pineries, &c. There is a very great fancy 
 just now for the introduction and cultivation of foreign 
 grapes, of which singular fine varieties exist, brought from 
 all parts of the world, and some of which, as you may im- 
 agine, are very delicious ; but at no place have I met with 
 an American grape. I wish, therefore, to introduce them 
 here, especially the Catawba and Isabella. I have prom- 
 ised cuttings in various quarters, especially to Lady Ash- 
 burton, who, you know, is an American by birth, and at 
 whose table I met with boiled Indian corn on the cob, waf- 
 fles, and other American dishes. Lord Ashburton often 
 talks to me of you in high terms, and Mr. H. M. is very 
 
 much your friend The respectable and prudent 
 
 men in America are very much pitied here, and it afflicts 
 me that the demagogues and politicians seem to menace 
 you with still fiuther embroilments for an indefinite time. 
 I have, always thought that if you could only have one 
 Presidential term under that excellent person, Mr. Clay, 
 with a friendly Congress, that such examples of well-con- 
 sidered measures might arise that the people would become 
 enamored of them, and, feeling the prosperity they would 
 create, would at length give to such men and measm-es a 
 
 steady support How happily we have got out of 
 
 our Indian and Chinese wars ! Mr. John Bull has at length 
 his belly full of satisfaction, and expects a reg-ular supply 
 of ammunition for his teapot hencefoi-ward. Your com- 
 merce will benefit by it, for that Nankin treaty will open 
 China to the whole of Christendom " 
 
 ''London, April, 1843. 
 " My dear Seaton, _ .... The grape-vines so kindly 
 ,sent by you have been distributed in the vineries of noble- 
 men and gentlemen in various parts of the kingdom. I 
 hope the Catawba grape will be considered a valuable ad- 
 
246 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 dition to the best grapes now known in England. I have 
 principally sent them into Devonshire and Cornwall, which 
 I think are our most sunny counties. Some of them are at 
 Lord Mount Edgecumbe's, Sir Charles Leman's, and Sir 
 Thomas Dyke Acland's. I also gave Lady Ashburton a 
 couple at her desire, and a couple of roots to the Marquis 
 of Lansdowne, who has a celebrated gardener a,t Bowood. 
 If you ever come to England in my time, I hope it may be 
 . in the season when you can judge for yourself of the fruits 
 of your kindness. If it is convenient for you to visit us 
 now, you ought not to be deterred by the considerations to 
 which you allude. We here understand that the honorable 
 and good of America are not to be blamed for those evils 
 they have had no share in bringing about, and rest assured, 
 you would have no occasion to feel yourself slighted, but 
 
 would be well received We are all delighted with 
 
 Mr. Tyler's message on the subject of the Right of Visi- 
 tation. Your navy has always practised the right of visit- 
 ing suspected vessels, whether of slavery or piracy, and 
 this country will always practise it. I see by a late speech 
 of Mr. Cushing's that he is as Anti-English as ever, and 
 that his opinions on the Right of Visitation do not har- 
 monize with those laid down in Mr. Tyler's message of 
 February, which I take for granted are Mr. Webster's opin- 
 ions adopted by Mr. Tyler " 
 
 The Sir Thomas Dyke Acland mentioned above was 
 a nephew of a brave officer, Colonel John Dyke Acland, 
 of Pictou, of the British army, who fought during our 
 Ee volution, and died, eventually, of the effects of 
 wounds received at Saratoga. His wife -was the Lady 
 Caroline Fox, daughter of the Earl of Ilchester, and 
 cousin of the celebrated Charles James Fox. She 
 married Sir John in 1770, followed him to this country, 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 247 
 
 and passed heroically througli many dangers in the 
 wilderness for the purpose of nursing her husband, 
 whom she long survived. Her history has been writ- 
 ten as one of the celebrated women of those heroic 
 days. 
 
 ** August, 1846. 
 "My dear Seaton, — I know how difficult it is to get a 
 
 letter from you. Mr. M says sometimes in his letters, 
 
 'Mr. Seaton is going to write to you by the next steamer,' 
 which always enables me to say accurately to my wife, 
 '^Ir. Seaton was not going to write to me by the next steam- 
 er.' . . . . The death of Harrison was a fatal blow to you 
 all, and led the way, step by step, to the present order of 
 things, from which I hope you will soon be relieved. Many 
 years ago I was thrown famiharly with General Z. Taylor, 
 now in Mexico. You cannot do better tiian make him your 
 President. I think I never knew one more likely to tread 
 in the footsteps of the great Washington than General Tay- 
 lor. I think there is reason to apprehend that if he gets 
 engaged too far in that wretched country about Saltillo, he 
 will lose all the advantages he possessed when he crossed 
 the Rio Grande. However, the Mexicans — poor devils! — 
 may be frightened enough to make a treaty of cession to 
 stop your rapacious territorial maws. We are all glad the 
 Oregon is closed. Mr. Polk cuts a ciu-ious figure in Europe 
 blustering about 54.40, and then inviting the Senate to 
 ratify on 49. The Senate stands very high in Europe for 
 its judicious management of the affair, and if the defaulting 
 States would only make good their deficiencies, American 
 
 credit would soon be re-established Prav tell me 
 
 what Mr. Fox does, and what you understand his plans to 
 be. He has discontinued writing to everybody in Europe." 
 
 Mr. Seaton thus replies to his friend : — 
 
248 WILLIAM • WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 '* Washingto^^, November 12, 1845. 
 '• My dear Sir, — If it be true, as said, that a certain place, 
 which I trust you nor I will ever see, is paved with good 
 resolutions, I fear much that many of mine may be found 
 there, — among them is the often cherished, but much neg- 
 lected intention to write to you more frequently ; and this 
 desire was never more ardently entertained than on the 
 receipt of your welcome and very obliging letter. But for 
 my failure, I have a valid apology. During the whole year 
 Mr. Gales has been ill, dangerously so Then Con- 
 gress has been in session nearly all the summer 
 
 You inquired about ^Ir. Fox, and a month ago I should 
 have written of him in a different vein from the present. 
 You have, of course, heard of his death. He had continued 
 to live in his usual perfect seclusion, and one morning, to 
 my entire amazement, his death was announced. He had 
 had no recent illness, and the suddenness of the event 
 shocked me exceedingly. It now appears that he had been 
 in the habit of using opium very largely, — his servants 
 beino- under orders never to disturb him until run^^ for. 
 He had been in his chamber a night, and nearly the follow- 
 ing day, before a domestic ventured to enter. He w^as found 
 in a state of letharg}^ from which he could not be roused ; 
 and all medical eftbrts to revive him failing, he died in a 
 few hours. He was supposed to have taken an over dose 
 of morphine. Thus was a light that might have graced 
 society extinguished, — a fine mind lost, which, from mis- 
 {ftithropy and singular eccentricit}^, was of little compara- 
 tive value to the world. His remains were attended to the 
 grave by the President of the United States, all the Cabinet, 
 the Diplomatic Corps, and all persons of distinction in the 
 city. His body is placed in the CongTCSsional Cemetery to 
 await the directions of his family for its final disposition. 
 .... You were quite right in predicting for General 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 249 
 
 Tavlor a rouo-h road in ^Mexico, even a long way this side of 
 Saltillo ; bnt his courage, and that of his troops, has so far 
 been victorious. His attack and three days' conflict at Mon- 
 terey remind me of the hard fighting in Spain, where many 
 similar assaults took place on the fortified towns and posi- 
 tions occupied by the French, by the British army ; and 
 where the same sort of persevering and irresistible braveiy 
 was displayed by the assailants. I am proud of the manner 
 in which our troops acquitted themselves on the Rio Grande 
 and at Monterey, and especially the raw volunteers. 
 They have certainly done credit to their race and lineage, 
 and that is praise enough. Nor have they found a timid 
 enemy. The Mexicans have shown more pluck than I 
 looked for, and have certainly behaved well for so mongrel 
 a race. But if Taylor is under orders to push his way to 
 Mexico (City), I fear for the safety of his army. He has a 
 long march through a difficult countiy, badly watered, and 
 poor, with several strong points to carry, and he must 
 weaken his army by leaving garrisons to secure his rear 
 communications. What an ill-judged measure was this war, 
 when everything we are fighting for might have been won 
 by money and negotiation ! Our only solace under it is 
 the honor achieved by our arms ; but this at a teiTible sac- 
 rifice of life. How nobly the training of West Point has 
 vindicated itself! This war has settled the wisdom and 
 value of that institution, and that is one good consequence 
 of it. I read with gi'eat satisfaction and interest your ac- 
 count of your comfortable berth and its agreeable concomi- 
 tants ; but it was almost cruel to tantalize me with the 
 description, fated, as I am, not to see the picture. A voyage 
 across, as you say, is very easy now ; but how am I, be- 
 fore the period of decrepitude comes on, ever to break away 
 fi'om the trammels that bind me doT^^l here ] If I had reso- 
 lutely refused the mayoralty last June, I might have got 
 
 11* 
 
250 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 off this summer with my son ; but we are too easily per- 
 suaded to keep office, especially one of which I have so 
 much reason to be proud, — but cannot you visit us 1 I 
 will return with you, even if I have to resign the mayoralty. 
 Pray, if possible, come and see us once more, if but for a 
 
 month or a fortnight 
 
 " Yours sincerely, always, 
 
 " W. W. Seaton." 
 
 In awarding just praise to the graduates of West 
 Point — the military genius and heroic valor of those 
 of her sons who, in drawing their sword in the cause 
 of Southern independence, achieved immortal fame, as 
 well as the signal ability and undaunted courage of 
 those who sustained the North, having alike added 
 fresh lustre to that nursery of arms — ^Ir. Seaton did 
 not in any degree seek to depreciate the gallantry of 
 our volunteers, or the talent and great deeds of Win- 
 field Scott. If, as some critics assert, Scott's military 
 prestige culminated at Lundy's Lane, — though Wel- 
 lington said that his march to Mexico was the greatest 
 achievement of modern warfare, — it cannot be denied 
 that the civil talent evinced in his organization of 
 Mexican society ; the peace he gave that distracted 
 country, torn as to-day by faction and anarchy ; the 
 order and content growing out of the presence of his 
 invading and triumphant army, added laurels to his 
 name not surpassed in brilliancy by his deeds of arms. 
 After a series of victories following the great successes 
 of the gallant Taylor, Scott rode into the grand 
 Plaza, the folds of the American flag waving from 
 the palace of the Montezumas. He had conquered 
 Mexico, and — a greater victory still — he conquered 
 the love and lilessings of lier people. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 251 
 
 General Scott, a year younger than Mr. Seaton, the 
 companion of his boyhood, and cherished friend until 
 parted by death, shared with him in Eichmond the 
 tuition of the learned and eccentric Ogilvie, Earl of 
 Fiiilater, and it was doubtless to his teachings, as was 
 notably the case with other pupils of the genial peda- 
 gogue, that the future great Captain owed his love of 
 "polite letters." Scott prided himself as greatly on the 
 purity of his French accent, the felicity of his " retort 
 courteous," his critical acumen and apposite quotation, 
 as on his ability to lead serried ranks to victory. And, 
 indeed, his taste for literary discussion and allusion 
 inspired his staff with a salutary terror, as he required 
 his aides to be as conversant with the classics as with 
 field-tactics and the science of fortification. A gentle- 
 man present described his amusement at the conster- 
 nation of the General's military family on one occasion, 
 when their chief, in the presence of a distinguished 
 circle, was arguing some literary point, illustrating it by 
 a quotation from Pope, whereupon one of his aides, 
 whose usual accuracy was, perhaps, a little obscured 
 by a late dinner, incautiously asked, " Is that from 
 Shakespeare, General ? " Scott turned majestically, and, 
 transfixing the unfortunate querist by his severity of 
 look and tone, replied : " Sir, I am deeply humiliated 
 that a member of my personal staff should be so 
 ignorant as to confound Pope with Shakespeare. Be 
 good enough to leave the room, sir ! " Scott was an 
 untiring talker ; and few persons surpassed liim in the 
 charm of those monologTies, heaped up as they were 
 with instructive and entertaining reminiscence of his 
 magnificent career, — an interminable parenthesis of 
 
252 WILLIAM AVIXSTOX SEATON. 
 
 anecdote, which in Mr. Seaton's drawing-room often 
 stretched to an hour past midnight, — the General occa- 
 sionally refreshing his memory by a pinch of snuff, 
 which, in imitation of Napoleon, he carried loose in 
 his vest pocket. His voice was sweet, his countenance 
 and blue eyes gentle in expression, his manner of true 
 Southern courtesy to ladies and exceeding kindness to 
 young people, while, like Saul, "from his shoulders 
 and upwards he was higher than any of the people " ; 
 but the severe wound received at Lundy's Lane in his 
 left shoulder partially disabled him, slightly drawing 
 down that side, without, however, impairing the majesty 
 of his height and imposing presence. General Scott 
 held the pen of a ready writer, — rather, indeed, it was 
 thought, to the detriment of his political aspirations, 
 and was not a little vain of his eloquence cle 'billet. A 
 note or two are subjoined, as thoroughly characteristic 
 of his tone of expression : — 
 
 " My dear Sir, — The Hon. Messrs. Barrow, White, and 
 Green, whom I accidentally met, have engaged themselves 
 to eat oysters and terrapins with me this evening after 
 the arrival of the mail, say at nine o'clock. They were 
 afraid of too much anxiety and depression, but I prom- 
 ised to keep their spirits up by pouring spirits doivn, if 
 there should be an excess of bad news over the good by the 
 mails. I hope for the reverse, — that all that has been bad 
 may be reversed. 
 
 " I sent General Chnch to the Capitol this morning to 
 invite you and some half-dozen other friends to join us, but 
 the General has just told me that he could not find you, 
 and I am equally unsuccessful. This is written ex cathedra 
 from your editorial chair, and I hope jow will obey the 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 253 
 
 wishes of jour friends, however short the notice. Come 
 thou then, and rejoice with us. 
 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 " WiNFiELD Scott. 
 
 ** Wednesday, October 9. 
 "W. W. Seaton, Esq." 
 
 " My dear ^Ir. and Mrs. Seaton, — I am quite un- 
 hicky — I may say, unhappy — in respect to that same fried 
 chicken, — a dish that I do infinitely affect. But I have 
 invited for the day a stranger in the land, Judge Woolley, of 
 Kentucky, formerly of the army, one of Crittenden's friends ; 
 and as I am obliged to forego the happiness of meeting the 
 ladies, his Honor the Mayor — also a gallant Colonel, and 
 as such amenable to the call, Roast Beef, or Peas on the 
 Trencher, as well as to the 2d section — ought to dine with 
 me. The case being plain, I rely upon his letter part to 
 send him accordingly. My dinner shall be set forward an 
 hour, all the way till three o'clock. 
 
 " Apropos of late hours, here is a charming epistle of 
 eight pages from Crittenden, complaining that Archer and 
 myself starve him by compelling him to dine regularly with 
 one of us at four. 
 
 " And so I make my Simday morning bow, reserving one 
 more profound for the evening. 
 
 " WiNFiELD Scott." 
 
 ''West Poixt, N. Y., September 9, 1863. 
 " ;My dear Mr. SeXton, — After a long and most pleas- 
 ing intimacy with your family, it is painful to think it un- 
 likely that I shall ever be again in Washing-ton. Travel- 
 ling has become in my case difficult, as I am obliged to take, 
 with me my go-cart (Brougham), coachman, and valet, with 
 many other 'means and appliances to boot.' My migra- 
 tions, therefore, must in future be short and rare, perhaps 
 exclusively limited to the fifty miles between this place and 
 
254 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 New York. Yet a few days in Washington would enable 
 me to hunt up certain historical matters "much needed for 
 the memoirs I have, very recently, undei-taken to write. In 
 respect to two of these, I think you may, without much 
 labor, be able to help me, — 
 
 " 1. The proposition to abolish the office of Major-Gen- 
 eral or Commanding-General was often before Congress. 
 In the last instance C. J. {not Jos. R.) Ingersoll made an 
 extravagant speech in my favor, declaring that, perhaps but 
 for my ser^dces, that body (the one he was then addressing) 
 might not be in existence. This speech was made in his 
 last three terms in the House of Representatives. To 
 the great regret of the public, your Annals of Congress 
 stopped short of that period, and there 's not a file of the 
 National Intelligencer within my reach. Probably your 
 memory may be able to fix the date of the speech wdthin a 
 much narrower period, and perhaps my young friend, Miss 
 , may be kind enough to copy the short passage allud- 
 ed to. 
 
 " 2. Sir Henry Bulwer, w^ho I think was some two years 
 in the United States, w^^ quite a dinner orator. In some 
 speech, being hard pressed for complimentary topics, he 
 ran parallels between certain Englishmen and Americans, 
 ■which was read to me, I think from tHe Intelligencer. 
 
 Alexander Hamilton and were in one of the parallels, 
 
 and Sir Walter Scott and your humble serv^ant in another. 
 There was again much extravagance on my subject, in the 
 latter. Sir Walter Scott, it was said, had turned history 
 into romance, and the American, in allusion to Mexico, had 
 done the reverse, &c. Far be it from me to arrogate to 
 myself much of the merit attributed by either of the ora- 
 tors cited, but should be happy to refer accurately to the 
 passages in question. Again I appeal to your friendship 
 for help. Sir Henry's compliment is not found in his din- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 255 
 
 ner speech before the Maryland Historical Society, as re- 
 ported ; it must therefore have been delivered in some 
 other place, or the Commercial omitted it in deference to 
 i\[r. Webster, who spoke eloquently on the same occasion. 
 Until within ten days, I felt confident that the speech was 
 made at Baltimore. Did Sir H. make a second speech be- 
 fore that society 1 Messrs. J. P. Kennedy, Meredith, and 
 Latrobe say not. The Secretary of the New York Historical 
 
 Society says that he did not speak before that body 
 
 I should say that the passage in question had been wilfully 
 left out. Pardon this tedious note. 
 
 " With the kindest regards to Mrs. and Miss Seaton, 
 
 *' I remain your friend, 
 
 ^'WiNFiELD Scott. 
 
 " W. W. Seaton, Esq." 
 
 Mr. Seaton, as usual foremost in the recognition of 
 merit, had been especially solicitous regarding the cre- 
 ation, or, rather, revival, of the rank of Lieutenant- 
 General in favor of General Scott, not only for the 
 reason of their long friendship and his State pride in 
 the noble Virginian, but as a matter of justice ; this 
 honor, a]3proved of by the majority of his country- 
 men, having been mainly withheld by the action of a 
 party and political feeling inimical to General Scott. 
 
 A prominent Northern politician thus alludes to the 
 circumstance in a bright notfe : — 
 
 ** Boston, February, 1858. 
 *' My dear Mr. Seaton, — I hope your Grace is well. 
 As I was not permitted to see Gustavus Adolphus nor Na- 
 poleon, I thank the gods that I am a contemporary of yours. 
 Not an annual ' Thanksgiving ' ushered into nativity by 
 pumpkin-pies, drums, and fifes, but a daily offering before 
 
256 WILLIAM WIXSTOX SEATOX. 
 
 an altar where the candles of esteem and regard are always 
 burning 
 
 " I saw Mr. Ashmiin the other day for a moment, and we 
 had a word about your Excellency, which would have made 
 your ears tingle and perhaps blush. Do great men ever 
 blush] .... 
 
 " General Scott spoke to me of the Lieutenant-General- 
 ship, and I took the liberty of mentioning how nobly you had 
 acted with the President in this matter. Wrong or no 
 wrong, I could not help it, because it was so just, and like 
 yourself. .... I met Colonel Benton here, who was highly 
 pleased. He was well received, and may well be proud of 
 the respect and attention which have l)een shown him by 
 the ' cold and chilling North.' 
 
 " If you will take the trouble to send to the freight depot, 
 you will find a kit of mackerel, which I hope you will 
 enjoy. If you do enjoy them, ilianJc the gods and tliinh 
 of me.." 
 
 Henry Stephen Fox, whose sad death Mr. Seaton 
 announced to his friend, was born in 1791, the son of 
 General Henry Stephen Fox of the British army, who 
 bore part in the battle of Lexington, 1775. His grand- 
 mother was a daughter of the Duke of Pdchmond, 
 through whom this distinguished family derived from 
 Charles IT. and Henry of Navarre. A sister of Mr. 
 Fox married IVIajor-General William Napier, one of the 
 brilliant brothers of that renowned family of warriors. 
 Mr. Fox was a nephew of the great Charles James 
 Fox, whose portraits he strongly resembled, and in- 
 herited no small share of the talent common to Ms 
 race, which, however, in his case was so marred and 
 obscured by eccentricity as to be worth little to its 
 possessor. He had been in the diplomatic career for 
 
A BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 257 
 
 a number of years in the East, and latterly in Soutli 
 America, whence he was named to AVashington as 
 British Envoy, and successor to the handsome, genial, 
 and popular Sir Charles' Vaughan. Mr. Fox rarely, 
 entered general society, or any house save that of a 
 colleague ; his intercourse with the government even 
 seldom passing beyond scant official ceremonies. His 
 habits and dress were singularly at variance with the 
 l^eople and modes around him. He rose at three o'clock 
 in the afternoon, and would appear about six o'clock 
 on Pennsylvania Avenue taking his morning walk. 
 
 A gentleman on one occasion meeting him at dusk 
 in the Capitol grounds, urged him to return with him 
 to dinner, to which ]\Ir. Fox replied that " he would 
 willingly do so, but his people were waiting breakfast 
 for him." On the occasion of the funeral of a member 
 of the Diplomatic Corps, turning to the wife of the 
 Spanish ]\Iinister, he said, " How very odd we all look 
 by daylight ! " it being the first time he had seen his 
 colleagues except by candle-light. He went to bed at 
 daylight, after watering his plants, of which he was 
 passionately fond, and which he had a mania for col- 
 lecting, also entomological specimens, and furniture 
 of every description, which constantly arrived in vans 
 from auctions far and near, cumbering attics, cellars, 
 stairways ; the immense accumulation found at his 
 death never having even been opened.' He died pos- 
 sessed of a large amount of money in bank in this 
 country ; and yet with such sums at command could 
 rarely be induced to pay the smallest bill, — resisting, 
 for instance, the claims of the cartmen who brouoht 
 articles to his residence, which he would allow to be 
 
258 WILLIMI WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 left on the pavement ratlier than give the men their 
 due. This was eccentricity, not parsimony, for he was 
 known to be even reckless in some expenditures. Like 
 his celebrated kinsman, Charles James Fox, he played 
 much and for high stakes at cards, but had not the 
 reputation of being always prompt in the settlement 
 of debts of honor. He led the life of a hermit, — his 
 fear of intrusion amounting to a mania, his grounds 
 and residence being almost barricaded to keep even 
 inquisitive eyes at a distance, — and he never enter- 
 tained, except to give gentlemen dinners, and those 
 rarely, assigning as a reason, that he " would have to 
 shake hands with the women " ; but he appeared to be 
 amused en petit comite, and knew the gossip of society, 
 to which he himself contributed not a little in the 
 innumerable stories circulated of his oddities. He 
 thought American women pretty, as a rule, but " look- 
 ing as if they physicked themselves into ill health." 
 He was scrupulously neat, in nankeen pantaloons 
 guiltless of straps (for those were the days when such 
 things were), a coat constructed years before by a Eio 
 Janeiro tailor, swallow-tailed, blue, with brass buttons ; 
 a shirt collar nearly concealing the crown of his head, 
 a large hat suggestive of West Jndia planter or Span- 
 ish contrabandisto, and always a huge green silk um- 
 brella. And yet with this singular costume, and an 
 exceeding awkwardness of movement, there was a 
 musical voice, an air of peculiar refinement, and the 
 unmistakable impress of a gentleman. He was tall 
 and excessively thin, with the peculiar expression and 
 cadaverous complexion of a confirmed opium-eater. 
 His observation was acute, his conversation at times 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 259 
 
 fascinating, and he was noted for his wit. One of his 
 famous mots was recorded by Lord Byron, who, writing 
 from ISTaples, says : " I met the other day Henry Fox, 
 who has been dreadfully ill, and, as he says, so changed 
 that his oldest creditors would not know him." 
 
 "London, 1847. 
 "My dear Sir, — .... Your valuable present was hand- 
 ed me by Mr. Curtis within fourteen days of his departure 
 from New York ; a remarkable quick passage, which might 
 tempt you to the chance of a similar wafting across the 
 ocean if you had not taken too firm root in your native land 
 to be moved by any northwester, — which I begin to think 
 
 is the case The conduct of the government "of the 
 
 United States, in the matter of Mexico, has occasioned many 
 reflections to be made by the serious part of English society. 
 That ' repudiating ' America should have invaded a younger 
 and neighboring Republic because it had not and could 
 not pay its debts is a measure thought to be pregnant with 
 retributive consequences ; and the sooner you back out of 
 that false step, the sooner you will return to the enjoyment 
 of the high moral reputation you once had. I think Mr. 
 Clay right, that an amalgamation with those corrupt Mexi- 
 cans will eventually bring about the ruin of all that is moral 
 and admirable in your government. All history points to 
 such results as inevitable, and no Englishman, who feels as 
 he ought to do, wishes to see your countiy degi'aded. Pray 
 elect Mr. Clay if you can, or some one not of the Polk 
 school. The people of England have been suffering for 
 their mad speculations. What is to be done with Ireland 
 no one ventures to say. To temporize with that great evil 
 
 is all that we can do 
 
 " Ever yours." 
 
 In 1840 Mr. Seaton had accepted at the hands of 
 
260 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 his fellow-citizens the highest testimony of their re- 
 spect and confidence in their power to offer, — the 
 dignity of the mayoralty, — which he had dechned as 
 early as 1820, and again, in 1834, resisted the follow- 
 ing expressed wish of his constituents : — 
 
 "Washington, May 18, 1834. 
 " Dear Sir, — For the last two years the propriety of 
 presenting you as a candidate for the mayoralty of our city 
 has been acknowledged by om- friends, believing you to be 
 the only individual on whom the respectable part of the, 
 community and the party would concentrate then force. 
 In the present state of things, the Whigs must be perfectly 
 
 blind if they do not see a defeat before them You 
 
 are the one whom all good men will support, and I beg to 
 know, in their name, if you will consent to have your name 
 presented for the office 
 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 ''Jo. L. KUHN. 
 "W.W. Seaton, Esq." 
 
 Mr. Seaton's inaugural address was characteristic of 
 the man, — courteous, regretful for the possible morti- 
 fication felt by his unsuccessful opponents, modest, yet 
 firm in the intention to uphold his own sense of right, 
 and to do his duty, — the watchword of his life. 
 
 ISTever were the promises of an incoming magistrate 
 more abundantly fulfilled than during the succeeding 
 ten years in which ^Ir. Seaton was unanimously recalled 
 to the mayoralty, an unprecedented tenure of the office 
 in this country. In his civic administration Mr. Seaton 
 
 K.' 
 
 manifested an ability, a fidelity and firmness, an uncom- 
 promising honesty and sense of justice in the discharge 
 of his duties, that marked him as a model magistrate. 
 He labored incessantly for the best interests of the 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 261 
 
 community over Avliicli he was the watchful guardian, 
 advancing witli the most earnest solicitude all move- 
 ments tending to its moral and intellectual progress ; 
 inaugurating projects for its material improvement, 
 adornment, and solid comfort, and with a full knowl- 
 edge of its people aud their needs, devoted himself 
 with unceasing interest and just pride to securing their 
 welfare. By his personal influence in Congress he 
 obtained so many grants and privileges, that the results 
 *of his persuasive power became a jest among the hon- 
 orable members, who predicted that "if Mr. Seaton 
 remained mayor much longer he would bankrupt the 
 national treasury." 
 
 Bringing these dispositions to bear upon the exe- 
 cution of his trust, Mr. Seaton's administration was 
 naturally the most successful in the history of the 
 metropolis, the results of his far-sighted views, of his 
 philanthropic suggestions and measures, being visible 
 in the best features of its subsequent prosperity. 
 *Early in Mr. Seaton's administration an incident oc- 
 curred, slight in itself, but striking in its testimony to 
 his loyalty to truth and delicate conscience. 
 
 At the expiration of :Mr. Van Buren's term of office, 
 the Corporation of Washington obsequiously passed a 
 vote of thanks to the retiring President for the cour- 
 tesy, liberality, and kindly interest evinced by him 
 towards the city during his administration. Mr. Sea- 
 ton considered this proceeding on the part of the 
 Councils as derogatory to their self-respect and inde- 
 pendence, the fact being notorious that from no pre- 
 vious President had the city received so little benefit 
 or token of good-will, either through the personal 
 
262 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 action of the Chief Magistrate or from his recommend- 
 ations to Congress, the omission of even the heretofore 
 ordinary civilities and hospitalities offered by the 
 Executive to the citizens having become a matter of 
 indignant comment in the community. Mr. Seaton, in 
 upholding his magisterial and personal dignity, could 
 not permit his name to ratify, as it were, not only a 
 perversion of the true feeling of the society of which 
 he was the recognized leader, but also an ex officio 
 misrepresentation of fact relative to public measures,' 
 for which, in the corporation archives, he would be 
 recorded as responsible ; he therefore sent in the fol- 
 lowing veto : — 
 
 " .... If the fulfilment of this resolution could be 
 construed as an expression of mere personal good wishes for 
 a gentleman going into retirement, who had filled the office 
 of President of the United States, I should not object to 
 uniting with the two Boards in the ceremony ; although, as 
 a tribute not rendered to Presidents Jefferson, Madison, 
 Monroe, and Adams, I might deem it uncalled for, and a 
 precedent not altogether judicious. But as the terms of 
 the resolution express a sentiment of high respect for the 
 official comse of the President, and as that sentiment would 
 naturally be construed by him into one of approbation, my 
 signature to the resolution would not be in unison with my 
 avowed opinion, and would be known to the President him- 
 self as hollow and insincere. 
 
 " Though, therefore, I cannot hesitate as to the course 
 which consistency and self-respect require me to pursue, 
 my decision has not been unattended with embarrassment. 
 By signing the resolution I should virtually retract my 
 known opinions in regard to the administration of Presi- 
 dent Van Buren, while, by withholding my signature, I 
 
A BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 263 
 
 may wear to aim an incivility at the Chief Magistrate of 
 the Union, -a misconstruction which I should exceedin-lv 
 regret, as it would impute to me a motive repugnant to my 
 fee ings, and to my sense of propriety. But, however un- 
 willing to incur such an imputation, I must meet it in 
 
 preference to its more objectionable alternative 
 
 " I remain, gentlemen, very respectfully, 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 "W.W. Seaton." 
 The Councils feared that the Democratic party in 
 Congress .vould visit upon the city their disapproba- 
 tion of the recalcitrant mayor ; but there is a spirit of 
 appreciation of right in all men, and so it was In this 
 case, for the measures for the relief or improvement of 
 the city never lost a vote by the honesty of its chief 
 magistrate This duty had been the more distasteful 
 to Mr. Seaton to perform, as he had maintained during 
 fo mer years very friendly and even intimate social 
 rela ions with Mr. Van Buren, who always testfied 
 for him personally the highest respect, the' follojg 
 feeling 1° °"' '"'°"«^ ^^'^^^' ^^P^essions of kindi; 
 
 „-n „ "Albakt, April 27, 1823. 
 
 Butler^'^F ^""'-^^y fr''^"'' ^^^ partner, Benjamin F. 
 Jintler, Esq., accompanies the Vice-President to Washin<.- 
 ton,-make him acquainted with Mrs. Seaton and M^ 
 Ga es. A Southern man would say that he is one of the 
 
 ot the M, I can only say that he is a young gentleman 
 of the finest promise and character in this State. ^ '°'^" . 
 
 " Your friend, 
 
 "Mr. Seaton," "^^' ^^^ Bueen. 
 
264 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Mr. Seaton's prolonged career, so inwoven with the 
 social and political annals of Washington, was no less 
 intimately identified with its national and philan- 
 thropic societies, wliich bear on their records the evi- 
 dences of his unselfish labors and invaluable influence. 
 Amonsj the more noted of those which claimed durinsc 
 many years his earnest interest and constant co-opera- 
 tion was the Colonization Society, of which he was 
 from its inception one of the Vice-Presidents. 
 
 " For many years," writes a well-known philanthro- 
 pist, "Mr. Seaton was an executive member of the 
 American Colonization Society, which ever enjoyed 
 his confidence and regard, and received the powerful 
 patronage of his persuasive pen and influential journal. 
 His personal appearance, the geniality and warmth of 
 his disposition, his unceasing kiixlness of heart, — all 
 that goes to make up a good and lovely man, — were 
 not only characteristics, but were speaking and visible 
 features of his entire life. His name will alwavs be 
 associated \yith the early days and eminent men of the 
 Eepublic." 
 
 As the result of the labors of this beneficent so- 
 ciety, Mr. Seaton hoped for the gradual solution of the 
 questio vcxata of slavery ; for although by inheritance 
 and association attached to this Southern patriarchal 
 institution, a witness to the general benevolence of its 
 operation and .the happiness of the race subjected to 
 its protecting administration, Mr. Seaton yet recognized 
 its coexisting evils attaching to the master and tlic 
 body politic of the state, the complications and deso- 
 lating- results of wliich his sacjacious mind discerned, 
 but which, with others of the wise and unselfish, he 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 265 
 
 was powerless to avert. With liis benevolent nature 
 and keen sense of responsibility, he naturally cared for 
 those who called him master, with the gentle forbear- 
 ance and kindness to which their condition especially 
 appealed. In the following editorial which the press 
 widely commended as a " Blister for the Tribune," Mr. 
 Seaton, prophetically commenting on the evils of sud- 
 den emancipation throughout the South, incidentally 
 alludes to the practical illustration given by Mr. Gales 
 and himself of the earnestness of their philanthropic 
 theories : — 
 
 " Our active contemporary assumes imaginary ground for 
 an adversary, attacks a position which was never occupied, 
 and having carried it with great gallantry, rejoices in a vic- 
 tory when there has been no battle. This is a decided im- 
 provement upon the tactics of the redoubtable Captain Bob- 
 adil, for that hero proposed the ho7ia fide kihing of his foes, 
 though he never achieved it. The ingenious editor of the 
 Tribune has brought his peculiar strategy to bear upon our- 
 selves by ascribing to us the ' assumption that the South 
 unanimously desires the President to restore slavery.' We 
 disclaim the assumption, for we know it not to be true. 
 .... All that we ask of the President in regard to slavery 
 
 is to let it alone as a policy The theoretical abolition 
 
 of slavery was as much beyond the President's power as 
 
 it transcended his constitutional right There are 
 
 thousands of masters in the South who would gladly get 
 rid, if possible, of their slaves. The number of negToes of- 
 fered to the Colonization Society, in every Southern State, 
 for removal to Africa, during the last thirty years, is proof 
 
 of the fact Can the fiercest or most fanatical 
 
 friend of the negi'o look with complacency on the over- 
 whelming ruin of the whites of the South, upon the sud- 
 12 
 
266 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 den demolition of the whole framework and foundations 
 of society of that vast region? .... Is such a revolu- 
 tion the work of a day, or should it be one of an age I It 
 is not in the interest of slavery we speak, but in that of 
 humanity, of civilization, we protest against the President 
 imdertaking to trample on State Constitutions, State Laws, 
 and State Institutions. As for slavery itself, we have long 
 regarded it as a deciduous institution, but it must fall by 
 the action of the States themselves, not by usurped power 
 or convulsion. The editor of the Tribune mistakes if he 
 supposes that we oppose all arbitrary meddling with slavery 
 because we are fanatical advocates of the institution. It is 
 very easy to be generous and philanthropic at other people's 
 expense ; — but we can tell our contemporary, tbat the pub- 
 lishers of the National Intelligencer have emancipated more 
 slaves at their own cost and out of their own pockets, long 
 before the present agitation, than all the abolitionists put 
 together between the Penobscot and the Potomac, including 
 the zealous emancipationist, the editor of the Tribune." 
 
 Thus, in giving his slaves unbought freedom, Mr. 
 Seaton individually carried out the principle to which 
 he so earnestly gave h^ editorial adhesion, in the 
 humane scheme of African colonization, realizing in 
 his own personal efforts, in the most equitable and 
 unselfish manner, the wishes of Lafayette, as ex- 
 pressed in the following letter to Mrs. Bomford : — 
 
 '*' January 1, 1827. 
 " .... I am much obliged to you, dear Clara, for 
 your inquiries after my beloved friends Fanny and Camilla 
 
 Wright These noble girls have devoted them_- 
 
 selves to a noble cause, but I am afraid the smallness of the 
 scale and the shortness of their purse will not effect an end 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 267 
 
 proportionate to their sacrifice of society and friends, for 
 they have turned pioneers in the woods of Wolf River, Ten- 
 nessee. How much more extensive would be a measure of 
 gi'adual emancipation in the District of Columbia, however 
 distant might be the assigned term, connected with coloni- 
 zation ! The state of slavery, especially in that emporium 
 of foreign visitors and European ministers, is a most lam- 
 entable drawback on the exapaple of independence and free- 
 dom presented to the world by the United States. It would 
 be for our friends of the National Intelligencer a glorious 
 task to examine how far those truths can be offered to a 
 generous population, and to take the lead in making them 
 by degTees palatable, thereby softening the susceptibilities 
 partly founded on considerations quite foreign to the main 
 question. I hope Mrs. Seaton and child, whose birth near- 
 ly dates with my departure, are in good health." 
 
 In relation to the feeling^ excited amono- forei^jners 
 in Washington on this subject, to which Lafayette 
 alludes, the following note from an esteemed French 
 minister is not without interest. The young prince 
 whose birth he thus wished to commemorate was the 
 posthumous son of the Due de Bcrri, — who had been 
 assassinated at the opera-house in Paris, — and now 
 known as the Due de Bordeauo:, or Henri V., as he is 
 styled by the Legitimists of France, who hope con- 
 fidently for his restoration to the throne of his an- 
 cestors. 
 
 "Dear Sir, — It is my intention, in celebration of the 
 baptism of the young prince who is one day to rule over the 
 Franks, to make free one poor little slave child. I pray, 
 sir, please you, without any mention of my name to obtain 
 information respecting the ;)»ouug slave girl who is spoken 
 of in the enclosed advertisement, to be sold at public sale, 
 
268 WILLIAM WIXSTON SEATON. 
 
 by. Moses Poor, auctioneer. This communication I desire 
 
 to be for yourself alone 
 
 " I have the honor to offer you the assurance of my dis- 
 tinguished consideration. 
 
 "Yours, 
 
 " E. Hyde be Neuville. 
 "Washington, 25 June, 182L 
 " Monsieur Seaton." 
 
 IS'o project for the improvement of the city had Mr. 
 Seaton's more cordial advocacy and anxious desire for 
 its success than the Washington Monument Society, of 
 which he was one of the founders, his relations with 
 which dated from the day of its organization, when he 
 was elected Vice-President, the memorandum on the 
 first leaf of its record being in his writing. 
 
 " Of that small but select band of patriots," writes one 
 of the officers of the Society, " Mr. Seaton was the only 
 survivor, with the exception of Peter Force, who, in con- 
 sideration of being as it were Ultimus Romanorum, was 
 appointed to fill the vacancy caused by Mr. Seaton's death. 
 Surpassed by none in affectionate veneration for Pater 
 Patrice, the minutes of the Society from the first day of its 
 existence bear tribute to his zeal, his earnest and valuable 
 discharge of all the duties pertaining to his office ; his 
 presence at the Board inspired hope, while his judicious 
 counsel, his constant and patriotic devotion to the best in- 
 terests of the cause during the long period of thirty-three 
 years, contributed mainly to its success." 
 
 It was during Mr. Seaton's mayoralty that the cor- 
 ner-stone of the Washington Monument was laid with 
 elaborate ceremonies and ruuch enthusiasm, the occa- 
 sion being memorable also as the last appearance in 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 269 
 
 public of President Taylor. Mr. Wintlirop's beautiful 
 address, felicitous as every effort invariably is of that 
 liberal scholar, trained statesman, and high-bred gentle- 
 man, was followed by proceedings so prolonged under 
 the overpowering heat of a July sun, that the Presi- 
 dent, already indisposed, and who had consented to be 
 present only at Mr. Seaton's earnest solicitation, was 
 overcome, and in fact there received his death-stroke, 
 — as Governor Corwin jocosely declared, "through the 
 malice prepense of Mr. Seaton, who thought that 
 Fillmore would make a better Chief Magistrate." And 
 in truth the Intelligencer, while doing full justice to 
 General Taylor's frank honesty, good judgment, and 
 brilliant soldierly qualities, and by no means indors- 
 ing !Mr. Webster's opinion that " his nomination was 
 one not fit to be made," yet deemed it fortunate for the 
 country that the accession of Mr. Fillmore should place 
 the helm of state in the hands of a more experienced 
 pilot, this prepossession being abundantly justified by 
 the calm strength and conservative wisdom marking 
 Mr. Fillmore's administration. 
 
 However the surviving participant in this generous 
 action may " blush to find it fame," yet, in justice to 
 jMr. Winthrop and Mr. Webster, the following evidence 
 of the modest yet munificent spirit of N'orthern gentle- 
 men must not be withheld, strikingly illustrative as it 
 is, as well of the cordial kindness uniting the " brother- 
 peoples " during the happy era of good feeling as of 
 the reticent delicacy of a Southern gentlewoman, who, 
 without appeal to the generosity of her countrymen, 
 and declining it even when thus unobtrusively proffered, 
 had maintained the dignity of her position as v/idow of 
 a President of the United States. 
 
270 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 "Boston, October 9, 1846. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — I was greatly grieved, before leaving 
 Washington, to learn through some friends of the destitute 
 condition of Mrs. Madison, and resolved to see if something 
 in the shape of permanent and periodical relief could not be 
 provided for her by those richer than myself. I think that 
 means may be procm-ed among us close-fisted, dividend- 
 loving Yankees for buying her a little annuity, say of four 
 or five hundred dollars per annum, for the remainder of her 
 life, if it be thought worth while to do so. In order that 
 we may do this, however, it will be necessary to know her 
 precise age, as that will determine the cost, — and as the 
 older she is the larger the annuity will be for the same 
 money, it is desirable that she should not use the proverbial 
 privilege of her sex on this subject. Two or three points, 
 then, I should like to be assured of, viz. : — 
 
 " 1. Whether jSIrs. Madison's circumstances are really 
 such as to make such an arrangement desirable for her. 
 
 " 2. If so, her exact age in years ; if her birthday could 
 be ascertained it might be best. 
 
 " 3. How such a provision could best be communicated to 
 her after it is made up, without occasioning her any feelings 
 of delicacy or mortification, or even obligation. 
 
 ''Pray do not yet commit anybody to this arrangement, 
 as there may still be a * slip betwixt the cup and the lip.' 
 But Mr. Webster and I have a notion that we can accom- 
 plish the matter if we try. 
 
 " With kind regards to Mrs. Seaton, 
 
 " Yours most truly and respectfully, 
 
 *' Robert C. Winthrop. 
 
 *' Hon. W. W. Seaton." 
 
 During Mr. Seaton's official incumbency, the recep- 
 tion and entertainment of celebrities naturally devolved 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 271 
 
 on liim, the citizens appreciating tlieir good fortune in 
 that the reputation of the metropolis should be sustained 
 by the unfailing hospitality of their civic chief. Among 
 his more noted guests — in addition to Presidents ex- 
 pectant and m esse, and unnumbered distinguished citi- 
 zens and foreigners — may be mentioned General Ber- 
 trand, the famous comj^anion-in-arms and friend of 
 Xapoleon, who accompanied his imperial master to St. 
 Helena, and whose devotion drew from the illustrious 
 captive the signal praise of being Jidele jparmi les infi- 
 cleles. More interesting still, perhaps, was his guest, 
 Charles Dickens, whom a nation welcomed with a 
 spontaneity unsurpassed save in the reception of Lafay- 
 ette. In the raciness and charm of Mr. Seaton's con- 
 versation and manner, in the genial goodness stamped 
 on every lineament of his countenance, the great 
 novelist, the keen reader of every phase of human 
 character, at once recognized the qualities of a man 
 whom to know was to love. The immortal Cheeryble 
 Brothers might seem to have been a prevision of the 
 brother-editors of the Intellioencer, whose unhmited 
 generosity and active sympathy with all suffering and 
 wrong, and whose mutual devotion had already passed 
 into liistory. Nor was there lacking, to complete the 
 portraiture of the trio, the embodied fidelity, shrewd- 
 ness, and personal devotion of Tim LinldiivjateTy who 
 lived aojain in the trusted clerk, the lifelono^ friend of 
 Gales and Seaton, — Thomas Donoho. 
 
 The followinsj notes are characteristic in their ex- 
 pression of friendly feeling on the part of the illus- 
 trious " Boz " : — 
 
272 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 "Washington, 16th March, 1842. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — I am truly obliged to you for your 
 kind note. I am so constantly engaged, however, that I 
 think I must deny myself the pleasure of making an ap- 
 pointment with you, which I could scarcely keep without 
 making a most uncomfortable scramble of it. I will re- 
 port my knowledge of the lions to you, and you shall judge 
 how I have been shown about. 
 
 " In case I should forget it when we meet to-night, may 
 I tenture to ask two favors of you, — or rather one favor 
 w'ith tw^o heads. 
 
 ''It is^hat you will kindly (if you see no objection) let 
 my friends here know through that channel which is open 
 to you, and over which you so ably preside, that whenever 
 I make an appointment I keep it ; and that it gives me 
 great uneasiness and pain to be placarded all over the town 
 as intending to make a Adsit to the theatre, when I have 
 given no authority whatever to any person to publish such 
 an announcement; and secondly, that travelling as we 
 do, we can never return the calls of our friends, in conse- 
 quence of their immense number, and our very limited stay 
 in any one place. 
 
 "Let me take this opportunity of thanking you, most 
 heartily and earnestly, for the exceedingly kind attention I 
 have received at your hands, and the pleasure I have en- 
 joyed in your society and in that of your family. I need 
 scarcely say that Mrs. Dickens desires me to say as much 
 for her. 
 
 " I am, my dear sir, with true regard, faithfully yours, 
 
 "Charles Dickens. 
 *'W. W. Seaton, Esq." 
 
 "NiAGAEA Falls, SOtli April, 1842. 
 " My dear Sir, — You will be glad, I know, to receive 
 my hasty report of our safe an-ival at this scene of beauty 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 273 
 
 and wonder, — of our being off Western waters and cordu- 
 roy roads, — and of our looking forward with gi'eat pleas- 
 ure and delight to home. We are perfectly well, and not 
 at all tired by our long journey. 
 
 " I have received some documents from the greatest 
 writers in England, relative to the International Copyright, 
 which they call upon me to make public immediately. 
 They have taken fire at my being misrepresented in such a 
 matter, and have acted as such men should. 
 
 "They consist of two letters, and a memorial to the 
 American people, signed by Bulwer, Rogers, Hallam, Tal- 
 fourd, Sydney Smith, and so forth. Not very well know-- 
 ing, as a stranger, whether it would be best to publish them 
 in newspapers, or in a literary journal, I have sent them to 
 some gentlemen in Boston, and have begged them to de- 
 cide. In the event of their recommending the first-men- 
 tioned course, I have begged them to send a manuscript 
 copy to you immediately. 
 
 *' We often speak of you and your family, I assure you ; 
 and entertain a lively recollection of your great kindness, 
 and the pleasant hours we passed in your society. Mrs. 
 Dickens unites with me in cordial regards to Mrs. Seaton 
 and your family. And I am always, my dear sir, 
 
 " Faithfully yours, 
 
 "Charles Dickens. 
 
 " P. S. I enclose your son's pleasant and capital letter. 
 Tell him that if he should ever come to London I will 
 'swing' him about that city to some purpose, — being an 
 indifferent good showman of the lions thereof." * 
 
 * While these words have been in press, that great heart, that 
 teeming brain and lo\"ing hand liave been stilled, — and to millions 
 ■whose mortal eyes never beheld him the earth is more sad, the sun 
 less bright, since Charles Dickens went to rest. 
 
 12* R 
 
274 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 The letter referred to from Mr. Seaton's son, then 
 resident in Pdchmond, is a pleasant x^ictnre of Mr. 
 Dickens and of the impression made by him on an 
 enthusiastic, modest young admirer of his genius. 
 
 " Richmond, March 20, 1842. 
 
 "-. ... I wrote a humed note last night, to advise you 
 that Mr. and Mrs. Dickens proposed going to Washington 
 this morning, a delay in the departure of the boat to Nor- 
 folk preventing their reaching Baltimore so soon as desired ; 
 so they go no farther South. I was amused at the earnest- 
 ness with which he asked me if I was sure St. Louis is far- 
 ther north than Charleston. 
 
 "C.'s letter reached me too late to allow me to comply 
 with your wishes; and though I should of course have 
 attended to your behests, it would have placed me rather 
 more in the attitude of a lion-hunter than I like. Indeed, 
 I have barely escaped as it is. I sent up my card to him, 
 anticipating that I shoidd find a crowd, and determined to 
 pester him with very little of my chat, after offering my 
 services. I thought I might approach him calmly, and like 
 Malvolio, ' quenching my familiar smile with an austere 
 regard of control,' address him in the loftiest style of hos- 
 pitable welcome. I had only time to frame an appropriate 
 exordium, when his Secretary informed me that Mr. Dick- 
 ens had been expecting me, and would be glad to see me. 
 Entering the room with somewhat of a tremor, for I knew 
 not whether he would ' roar as gently as a sucking dove,' I 
 was seized by the hand and almost shmg across the room, 
 and a dozen remarks and questions addressed to me in a 
 breath. For he was entirely alone and writing. In reply, 
 I at first could only gasp, without much power of articula- 
 tion ; for I suppose few persons feel with more devotion 
 the homage due to the majesty of genius than I. He pro- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 275 
 
 posed a walk, and we went to French Gardens. I need 
 not say that I was delighted with his affable, cordial, frank, 
 and conversible manner, a strong proof of which is, that in 
 ten minutes I nearly forgot his distinction as an author, 
 and conversed with him on -a variety of topics as they 
 naturally arose. We discussed law, London, negro sono-s, 
 Richmond, etc. And in truth, if I were to sum up in one 
 sentence the impression he left on my mind, it would be, 
 that he is a thorough good fellow. As you may suppose^ 
 from your own feelings, I sedulously avoided the crowded 
 streets, having no idea of being pointed out as having 
 seized Boz immediately and monopolized him. On our 
 return we found several gentlemen, and, with Mrs. Dickens, 
 we walked to Church Hill. She spoke of the pleasure she 
 enjoyed at our house, and their hope soon to see you again. 
 Afterwards we went to the Capitol, but persons crow'ding 
 in to see them, I made my bow, after a kind invitation 
 from him to call whenever I felt disposed. I saw that he 
 was likely enough to have people around him, and did not 
 see him again that day ; though I felt unquiet and restless, 
 I must confess, and could hardly resist going again. 
 
 "On Saturday morning I sent up my card, and sat a 
 short time ; but he was at breakfast, and expected a crowd 
 of visitors, so did not go out. He had been up late at "a 
 supper the night before, and laughed at my reason for not 
 attending it, that I should have been called on for a 
 speech. He was, I hear, very happy, and every one else 
 very insipid in their efforts, except Mr. Ritchie, with whom 
 he was greatly pleased. 
 
 "At his levee, from twelve to two, I attended to pre- 
 sent a lady, and spoke awhile with him. He and his 
 wife offered to bear letters, etc., to you from me, which I 
 dechned, and took leave. I knew last night that they were 
 receiving friends, and I could with difificulty keep away 
 
276 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 from the Exchange. Whether from gratified vanity or a 
 pm-er feeling, admiration of genius, or simply a Hking for 
 the man, I know not, but I do feel very sorry that he has 
 gone. I have never seen a man in whom, in so brief a 
 period, I was so greatly interested. His likenesses cer- 
 tainly flatter him, but they cannot give the charm of his 
 face, his rich expression of humor and merriment when 
 he laughs, — his whole face lights up. And then if he is 
 not a man of fine feeling, no confidence is to be placed in 
 the face as an index of the heart. I do sincerely, hope his 
 
 life may be a happy and prosperous one 
 
 " Your affectionate son, 
 
 "Gales Seaton." 
 
 One feature of Mr. Seaton' s municipal administra- 
 tion possesses a value hardly to be over-estimated, — 
 his persistent efforts in the cause of public education. 
 His investigations had developed a deplorable state of 
 ignorance among the children of the city, and a general 
 apathy on this vital subject which awakened his most 
 earnest solicitude. During several years the pages of 
 the National Intellii^encer were laden with arf^^uments 
 and appeals in this matter, the facts gathered and 
 recorded by Mr. Seaton having produced the deepest 
 impression on his own mind, and, in truth, startled the 
 whole community. In 1842 Mr. Seaton, in his annual 
 communication to the Councils, in the most express 
 language and strongest terms, urged reform in the ex- 
 isting state of education and the immediate adoption 
 of the Massachusetts school system. 
 
 "The recommendation in Mr. Seaton's message, in 
 harmony with the enlightened philanthropy of its au- 
 thor, was in advance of public sentiment and encoun- 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 277 
 
 tered great hostility. Public meetings were held on 
 the subject, and the names of John Quincy Adams, 
 Levi Woodbury, and Caleb Gushing are found among 
 those who stood boldly and cons^ncuously for reform." 
 A municipal colleague of Mr. Seaton thus records 
 the value of his services in behalf of education : — 
 
 *'Tt was to Mr. Seaton's persevering efforts that the 
 youth of this generation are indebted for the present ex- 
 cellent system of public schools. When he entered on the 
 duties of the mayoralty there were only two public schools 
 in the city ; but justly estimatmg the value to the com- 
 munity of a new and improved system, he continued from 
 year to year to press the subject on the attention of the 
 legislative branches of the government, until it was adopted 
 in the fourth year of his administration, from which time 
 the number of schools has continued to increase until their 
 scholars now amount to nearly twice as many thousands as 
 there were hundreds at the time of his inaug*uration. 
 Among the many beneficeDt acts of his official life this 
 will stand preeminent; and among the many friends in 
 whose hearts his memory will be the longest cherished 
 there will be thousands who, but for his philanthropic 
 efforts, would have been denied the blessing's of education, 
 and the manifold benefits resulting from that mental and 
 moral culture which the children of all classes of our fel- 
 low-citizens have since enjoyed, by means of the more 
 liberal and enlightened system which he so opportunely 
 introduced and established." 
 
 To Mr. Seaton's unfailing interest in the " increase 
 and diffusion of knowledge," and in every movement 
 tending to moral and intellectual progress, the country 
 may be said to be mainly indebted for the successful 
 
278 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATOX. 
 
 realization of the beneficent design of James Smith- 
 son in the foundation of the Smithsonian Institution. 
 Tlie following sketch of Mr. Seaton's services in con- 
 nection with this valuable society is extracted from an 
 eloquent eulogy by its distinguished secretary, Profes- 
 sor Joseph Henry, whose profound learning and benev- 
 olent nature Mr. Seaton held in reverential regard, 
 whose name is honored wherever science finds a votary, 
 and whose modesty is only equalled by the value of 
 his discoveries in the operations of Nature's laws : — 
 
 " The Smithson fund, paid into the treasury of the 
 United States in 1838, had been, with other moneys, lent 
 by the government to the State of Ai'kansas, and remained 
 for eight years without appropriation to any object contem- 
 plated by the donor. In 1846 Mr. Seaton, being then 
 mayor of Washington, and surpassed by no one in zeal for 
 the public good, and in the influence due to his rare social 
 quahties, his knoAvn integrity, and peculiarly winning and 
 unaffected eloquence, united with other gentlemen in urg- 
 ing upon Congress the organization of an establishment 
 which should at length do justice to the benevolent views 
 which had dictated the bequest. Their labors, after much 
 opposition, were finally crowned with success; the good 
 faith of the country was redeemed by an unconditional as- 
 sumption of the debt incurred by the improper disposition 
 
 of the fund The Institution was placed under the 
 
 guardianship of fifteen regents, among whom was included 
 the mayor of Washington, a provision chiefly due to the 
 zealous interest which had been manifested by Mr. Seaton 
 in his enlightened advocacy of the enterprise. 
 
 ''At the first meeting of the Board of Regents he was 
 elected Treasurer, and subsequently one of the building 
 committee. The former office he continued to hold until 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 279 
 
 the time of his death, and during the whole of this period, 
 ncrirlj twenty years' discharged its duties without other 
 compensation than the pleasure he derived from an associ- 
 ntion with the Institution, and the laudable pride he felt in 
 contributing to its prosperity and usefulness. It is well 
 known that at the time of its organization a wide diver- 
 sity of opinion existed as to the practical means which 
 would be most suitable for realizing the objects of the leg- 
 acy. ]Mr. Seaton, on mature reflection, finally gave his cor- 
 dial support to the policy which sought to impress on the 
 Institution a truly cosmopolitan character. He strenu- 
 ously advocated the plan which the Secretary had been in- 
 vited to submit to the Regents, and w^hich looked to the 
 advancement of knowledge chiefly through the encourage- 
 ment and publication of original researches, a system 
 which may be claimed, without undue pretension, to have 
 made the Institution favorably known, and to have exerted 
 a well-recog-nized influence wherever men occupy them- 
 selves with intellectual pursuits. 
 
 *' The relation borne by Mr. Seaton to the city of Wash- 
 ington, the delight with which he watched and aided its 
 progress, a native taste also for artistic embellishment, led 
 him to take special interest in the architectural character 
 of the building and the ornamentation of the grounds sur- 
 rounding it. * 
 
 " Mr. Seaton, from his familiarity with the early history 
 of the Institution, as well as from his long experience in 
 public office was enabled to offer suggestions to the Board 
 of Regents, always marked by clearness and soundness of 
 judgment. The social attentions which he was accustomed 
 to extend to the Regents, and to gentlemen invited to lec- 
 ture before the Institution, were but the expression of his 
 characteristic hospitality ; but by thus adding to the pleas- 
 ure of their sojourn in the capital, he contributed larg-ely 
 
280 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 to increase the number of its friends and supporters. The 
 cohimns of the Intelligencer under *his direction were 
 always open to the defence of the policy adopted and the 
 course pursued by the Institution, and he rarely failed to 
 soften by the courtesy of his manner and the moderation 
 of his expressions any irritable feeling which might arise 
 in the discussion of conflicting opinions. It would indeed 
 be difficult to say in how many and. in what various ways 
 he contributed to the popularity as well as the true inter- 
 ests of the Institution. The Secretar}", who was in the 
 habit of conferring with him on all points requiring mature 
 deliberation, may with justice acknowledge that he never 
 failed to derive important assistance from the wisdom of 
 the counsels of this distinguished and lamented citizen, 
 who will be remembered as one of the most constant and 
 enlightened friends and benefactors of the Institution." 
 
 One of the most interesting public incidents occur- 
 ringr durincr j\lr. Seaton's official life was the relief ex- 
 tended by the government and people of this country 
 to ill-fated Ireland. The sad tidings reached us that 
 once more that land was stricken by famine and pesti- 
 lence, that thousands were perishing for bread ; and to 
 Mr. Seaton's owm overflowing sympathy with suffering, 
 under whatever form or on whatev^ shore, are due the 
 conception and inauguration of the movement result- 
 ing in such imperial munificence of aid. 
 
 "Never," writes a gentleman cognizant of the circum- 
 stances, " never shall I forget Mr. Seaton's touching expres- 
 sion, and the words with which he met me one morning in 
 the autumn of 1846. 'I declare,' said he, Hhat when I 
 left the office last evening and sat down to dinner, and 
 thought of the famishing Irish, the women and children, I 
 could not eat a mouthful. What can be done 1 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 281 
 
 ''Taking his seat at the office table, in a minute ho 
 handed me a notice 'caUing upon the Irishmen, and all 
 friends of humanity in Washington, to meet at the City 
 Hall, to adopt measures of relief for our suffering brothers." 
 
 At the very large assemblage consequent upon this 
 appeal INIr. Seaton was chosen chairman, making an 
 address which aroused enthusiasm not only in his 
 hearers, but was answered and re-echoed from many 
 a distant point throughout the country, Henry Clay, 
 among other patriots, coming from his retirement to 
 X^reside at a meeting in New Orleans, and to quicken 
 with his matchless voice this gracious throb of our 
 national heart. Mr. Seaton rested not in his active co- 
 operation until, in a month, ten thousand dollars were 
 collected, a ship chartered and laden with provisions 
 and despatched on her errand of mercy. The bark Gen- 
 eral Harrison, commanded by a Virginian, arrived early 
 in June, 1847, in the port of the Cove of Cork, now 
 Queenstown, — her officers and crew being received 
 with rejoicing wherever they appeared ; and at Galway 
 a magnificent banquet was held in honor of these 
 bearers of glad tidings, a description of which, and of 
 his OAvn maiden essay in post-prandial oratory, is thus 
 narrated by one of the participants in the pleasant 
 occasion, then a very young man : — ^ 
 
 " I was waited on by a committee of gentlemen, at Kil- 
 ray's Hotel, Galway, and invited to a public dinner to be 
 given the succeeding day by the nobility, gentry, His Wor- 
 ship the Mayor, and their Honors the Corporation of the 
 ' Towne of Galway,' at Nolan's Hotel, Eyre Square. It was 
 also intimated to me that I should be expected to reply to 
 a regular toast. Hov; much I felt honored, and how far 
 
282 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 ' flustered ' by this intelligence, at that tender age, would 
 be difficult to say. 
 
 " When the committee, of whom I remember Sir Thomas 
 Blake, of Menlough Castle, and Vicar-General Roche, had 
 shaken hands and retired, I started out for a walk by the 
 banks of the beautiful Lough Carib, and the ruins of Tier- 
 land Castle. The delicious air and tranquillizing melody 
 of numerous thmshes, with the exquisite scenery, and its 
 novelty and poetic associations, so di'ove all thoughts of my 
 speech far from me, that when I found myself the next 
 evening seated at the banquet, I had as little idea of what 
 my speech was to be as I now have of what it was. His 
 Worship the Mayor presided, assisted by the most distin- 
 guished representatives of the ' City of the Tribes,' — the 
 Blakes, of Menlo and Renville Castles, the Badkins, the 
 Burkes, the Ffrenches, Lord Wallscourt, of Ardfiy, and 
 tlu'ee hundred other prominent gentlemen. 
 
 " The hall was a noble one, draped with the American, 
 British, and Irish flags, a profusion of flowers, while two 
 magnificent bands of British regiments — one of them the 
 famous 43d, or Faugh-a-hallach — discoursed inspiring 
 national music. 
 
 " The Macedonian had arrived a few days before, and 
 an American bark, the Selma, had that day anchored off 
 Galway, laden with provisions, on the noblest mission to 
 which Heaven ever lent favoring gales. 
 
 " The enthusiasm was unbounded, the gi'eat Irish heart 
 was lifted up, and swelled almost to bursting, and when, — 
 after a few almost sobbing words of praise and gi'atitude 
 had ushered in the toast, * America, the land of the fi'ee, 
 and the home of the brave,' and all, rising amid a burst of 
 thundering cheers, had dnink off a bumper, — I heard my 
 name passing fi-om lip to lip and resounding through the 
 hall, any idea of a set speech abandoned me, as it would 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 283 
 
 have done a more accustomed orator. At last, ^ when silence, 
 like a poultice came to heal the blows of Sound,' I arose. 
 
 " ' Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen — ' Cries of 'Hear, hear,' 
 before I had uttered another word, disconcerted me ; but 
 I remembered that I was but the mouthpiece of my philan- 
 throjjic countrymen, the speaking-trumpet, as it were, of 
 the bark Harrison, and proceeded without fear. When I 
 sat down, after a speech of half an hour, there was great 
 crowding round me, and hand-shaking, while the health of 
 ' His Worship, William Winston Seaton, Mayor of Wash- 
 ington,' was drunk standing, with three times three, and 
 music by the band. 
 
 " When the editors of various papers called to obtain 
 a copy of my address, it would sadly have puzzled me to 
 recall what I uttered during those to me memorable thirty 
 minutes. One point only I adhered to in the speech, — 
 warm laudation of that eminently good man and public 
 benefactor, whose departure our community still mourns, 
 — William Winston Seaton. I gave honor to whom honor 
 was' due. I told them to whom pre-eminently the Irish 
 people were indebted. I mentioned the name of that 
 honest, true, heartfelt friend of Ireland and the Irish, by 
 the side of whom, in practical benefits confeiTcd upon their 
 people, a host of their native pretended patriots, craving 
 notoriety, must pale their mirage light. 
 
 '^ I related how Mr. Seaton was the very first to start 
 this Heaven-directed movement in my native land, bent all 
 his energies to the labor of love, and though he had been 
 the means of launching already a victorious annada upon 
 this mission of mercy, even yet he rested nor day nor night, 
 nor proposed to do so, until the last cry of fever and famine 
 in Ireland be turned into tears and prayers of gratitude to 
 God. I told them that he was mainly, if not alone, instru- 
 mental, through his personal persuasion with eminent men, 
 
284 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 in causing the ft-igate Macedonian to be sent to the relief 
 of our Irish brothers. 
 
 " The effect of this just though inadequate eulog}'- was 
 such that I refrain from the description of the enthusiasm." 
 
 Proverbially susceptible to kindness, the ardent 
 Irish heart warmed to Mr. Seaton in gratitude, not 
 only for his unwearied exertions in alleviating their 
 national affliction, but for his constant sympathy and 
 active aid in pen, purse, and kindly words, during his 
 whole life. The story of these services had been borne 
 to their native land by many a son of Erin, so that 
 when for a few brief days Mr. Seaton sojourned in the 
 Emerald Isle, he was welcomed by hospitality from the 
 Lord Lieutenant, the late amiable Earl of Carlisle, and 
 more humble friendly hearths. Among those who had 
 spread the fame of his benevolence was the Eev. Mr. 
 Gill, of Galway, " whom I presented," writes his rela- 
 tive, " to Mr. Seaton, the friend of poor Ireland, whose 
 kind reception and warm-hearted welcome delighted 
 the good priest. He had travelled in many lands, and 
 was an enthusiastic admirer of old families, old tradi- 
 tions, and was especially fascinated by Mr. Seaton's 
 manners and winning presence. ' I seemed,' said he, 
 ' to have known him for many years, and had I heard 
 his voice, with bandaged eyes, I should have believed 
 myself to be in the presence of the head of the house 
 of Seaton, whose guest I was some years ago, while 
 sojourning near his lordship's seat in Scotland; and 
 what is still more remarkable, in personal appearance 
 Mr. Seaton bears a singular resemblance to that noble- 
 man.' " 
 
 Among the celebrities whom Mr. Seaton had the 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 285 
 
 gratification of welcoming to his hospitality was the 
 apostle of temperance, Father jNIathew, whose labors 
 were crowned with signal success in this country, and 
 who moved amid the fervent blessinos of a million of 
 
 o 
 
 grateful hearts. The following note expresses a grace- 
 ful recognition of the honors so worthily bestowed on 
 the modest and holy man : — 
 
 "Richmond, Va., 22d December, 1849. 
 
 " Honored dear Sir, — My sojourn in Washington was so 
 short, and my avocations so numerous, that I was prevented 
 from, thanking you previous to my departure for your 
 exceeding courtesy and urbanity. The hospitality of the 
 Catholic pastor, my zealous, learned, pious, and most 
 esteemed friend, the Rev. Mr. Donelan, prevented me from 
 enjoying the privilege of being your gTiest ; but accept my 
 grateful acknowledgment of your kind and courteous invi- 
 tation. I feel honored by this proof of your approbation of 
 my labors. I thank you and your amiable and most esti- 
 mable lady for all those delicate attentions, so pleasing to 
 human feelings, which you and Mrs. Seaton have paid to 
 me so gracefully. The happiest moments of my life w'ere 
 passed in Washington, and are to me forever memorable for 
 the high honor conferred on me by your illustrious Houses 
 of Representatives and Senate. Your gi-eat and good Pres- 
 ident, too, complimented me more than I could even hope 
 for, by allowing me the privilege of dining at his table, and, 
 what I prize much more, by treating me as a friend. 
 
 "But amidst all the splendors of Washington, not except- 
 ing that perfect model of architecture, the thrice majestic 
 Capitol, the most sublime spectacle I beheld Was the Presi- 
 dent of this glorious and mighty country, unattended and 
 alone, in your public streets, in the true Republican sim- 
 plicity of the olden time 
 
286 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 " I have the honor to be, with the most profound respect, 
 
 Honored dear Mr. Mayor, 
 
 " Yours gratefully and devotedly, 
 
 " Theobald Mathew. 
 " Hon. Mr. Seaton." 
 
 In 1850 Mr. Seaton retired from the mayoralty, 
 after an unexampled length of service, peremptorily 
 declining, on the score of advancing age, the office to 
 which he had been called with unanimity during times 
 of high party excitement, " and which it would seem 
 indeed to have rested only with himself to fill to per- 
 petuity." An address from the citizens, requestiag 
 Mr. Seaton to reconsider his proposed retirement, thus 
 urges the wishes of his constituents : — 
 
 " . . . . We may be permitted to say that you have con- 
 ferred large benefits upon our city during your successive 
 terms of office, and that the extended period of your public 
 service, so honorably prolonged, furnishes the best assur- 
 ance, not only of the value of those benefits, but of their 
 appreciation by your fellow-citizens. We feel confident that 
 you have lost no portion of that zeal which, through a long 
 life, you have manifested towards the city, nor the public 
 of that confidence which it has always so warmly felt and 
 bestowed. Looking, then, upon the past and the present, 
 we can discover no reason, other than the further sacrifice 
 of your personal interests and quiet, which should induce 
 
 you to decline 
 
 " With great respect, your fellow-citizens." 
 
 In expressing the gratification derived from this 
 approval of his official life Mr. Seaton says : — 
 
 ". . . . But, gentlemen, I crave relief from the engrossing 
 labors and anxieties of the office, and however your indul- 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 287 
 
 gence might be disposed to dissent from the plea, I feel that 
 its increasing duties require to be placed in younger hands. 
 It is not without an effort, I confess, that I resist an appeal 
 from so large a body of my fellow-citizens ; but resist I must, 
 and I pray you to excuse my adhering to the purpose I have 
 indicated. I have not words to thank you for this signal 
 proof of your approbation at the end of so long a term of 
 
 service 
 
 " I remain your faithful and grateful friend, 
 
 " W. W. Seaton." 
 
 Upon the occasion of the inauguration of his suc- 
 cessor, Mr. Walter Lenox, in the honors of the mayor- 
 alty, Mr. Seaton, after receiving the joint resolution of 
 thanks from the two Boards for the able manner in 
 which during ten consecutive years he had discharged 
 his onerous duties, arose and addressed the assemblage 
 with his usual modest and effective eloquence. " He 
 briefly reviewed the prosperity wdiich had attended the 
 infant metropolis during the past ten years ; highly 
 complimented the Senate and House of Eepresenta- 
 tives for their liberality towards it ; referred with deep 
 feeling to the Washington ]\Ionument and to our pub- 
 lic schools, — ten years ago there were two, now twenty ; 
 faithfully and glowingly portrayed the advantages of 
 the Smithsonian Institution ; and, adverting with pride 
 to the fact, that during the ten years of his adminis- 
 tration there had not been between liimself and the 
 Council a single misunderstanding or unkind word, he 
 reiterated his congratulations upon the choice of a 
 gentleman of such energy and intelligence for his suc- 
 cessor. We may say, and without contradiction, that 
 it was one of the most felicitous speeches for a retiring 
 
288 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Chief JMagistrate we ever heard, and for its brevity, 
 propriety, and good feeling, worthy of being character- 
 ized as a model address/' 
 
 " Turning to Mr. Seaton's record as mayor/" writes 
 still another eulogist, "we find in him a model worthy 
 of imitation. Possessing all the requisites to insure 
 success, — honesty, intelligence, firmness, energy, and 
 perseverance, — he labored diligently, and used all his 
 personal influence and power to make the city what 
 it was designed to be by its illustrious founder. The 
 dignified and impartial manner in which he discharged 
 his duties will ever be the subject of commetidation, 
 and those who aspire to places of profit and trust may 
 well take him for their guide and study." 
 
 If of&cially his administration had thus signally 
 gained the suffrages of his constituents, he no less won 
 their heart. 
 
 Accessible to all classes, listening with patient 
 sympathy to the story of need or wrong, which was 
 ever promptly relieved or redressed ; tenderly consider- 
 ate of the humble and poor, these were the qualities 
 which appealed to the sensibilities of all the good and 
 all the suffering. .^ 
 
 A friend of fifty years says of Mr. Seaton : "His 
 unbounded benevolence was a household word, and a 
 folio could not contain the record of his disinterested 
 acts of kiadness, of the charities that marked his daily 
 path. So well was his liberality known to exceed his 
 official income, that the city fathers several times pro- 
 posed to increase the mayor's salary ; but this, as well 
 as other substantial testimonials of appreciation, Mr. 
 Seaton peremptorily declined and persisted in vetoing. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 289 
 
 Generous as a prince, he suffered no appeal to go un- 
 answered. To the destitute, the stranger, he gave his 
 last cent. I have seen this, and more. I was present 
 in his office when a poor man, ill and travel-stained, 
 came in, and related his case to Mr. Seaton. The eye 
 of the dear old Colonel softened with feeling, and in- 
 stinctively his hand went to his pocket, — empty, alas ! 
 for it had only a few moments before been drained for 
 another poor creature ; but he rose from his seat, sent 
 out and borrowed a few dollars for this stranger. I 
 would rather have been that man than the owner of 
 the mines of California ! " And this is only one among 
 thousands, literally, of similar incidents, unremembered 
 and unrecorded by himself, and only learned from the 
 grateful hearts which invoked blessings on his head. 
 
 In Mr. Seaton were united, in a remarkable degree, 
 all the elements of personal popularity, — calm, digni- 
 fied, engaging manners, a generous temper, exquisite 
 courtesy and refinement, a genial affability and spright- 
 liness, blended in a person of rare manly beauty, were 
 among the attractions with which all who had the 
 privilege of his friendship, nay, all who approached 
 him, confessed him to be so eminently gifted. 
 
 Mr. Seaton's colloquial power was indeed of a high 
 order. His exceptional personal knowledge of the 
 secret springs of political and social history and rare 
 reminiscences of the great actors in public events 
 , during the past sixty years, his varied information, 
 derived alike from books and men, his originality of 
 thought illustrated by apposite and pointed quotation, 
 his quaint humor and fine wit, his freedom from dog- 
 matic or disputatious temper, were among the traits 
 
 13 s 
 
290 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 which imparted to his conversation an exalted charm, 
 and rendered his society proverbially captivating, — an 
 attractiveness not only recognized among the humble, 
 the great, and wise of our own land, but widely ac- 
 knowledged by foreigners, "especially the diplomatic 
 representatives of other governments solicitous of ob- 
 taining from his lips an explanation of our involved 
 politics, and those sagacious views of public measures 
 which have been known on several noted occasions to 
 materially influence the deliberations of foreign cabi- 
 nets, and to determine their international policy." 
 
 A most touching tribute speaks of Mr. Seaton's con- 
 versation, as "wisdom, substantial and gentle. He 
 was an admirable listener. How clearly do ^ve re- 
 member his aspect and manner, especially in his ofi6.ce, 
 as editor of the great modern press ! Dear exhibitions 
 w^ere they of his interesting, peculiar self. Who can 
 forget that almost deferential kindness, leading him4o 
 interlock his hands, recline ba<3k in his chair, and 
 listen to your statement or remarks wdth that native 
 politeness, the true source of which is benevolence, 
 loving' and caring for others ? And so, when he spoke, 
 no one desired to interrupt the calm and precious flow 
 of his ideas. There was a w^eight of influence in all 
 that he said, more telling than energy ; w^hile manli- 
 ness, gentleness, and the dignity of a natural grace, 
 w^ere characteristics of his manner, the more artistic 
 from being simple. Dear Colonel Seaton 1 Good, 
 noble, brave, generous, kind. I feel now- more recon- 
 ciled to the kingdom of death, for I know you are 
 there to street me." 
 
 In shielding others from the wound which a thought- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 291 
 
 less or unkind word might inflict, and in drawing forth 
 to the best advantage the talents and attainments of 
 each, Mr. Seaton's tact was of a dehcate grace. In- 
 deed, his manners, without assumption or condescen- 
 sion, suave yet stately and reserved, were those w^hich 
 we are wont to describe as " royal " — although, per- 
 haps, his liigher title to distinction resided in the 
 truth of ]iis characterization, by persons from very 
 opposite points of our country, as " the first gentleman 
 in America." An indorsement of this reputation is 
 related by a gentleman who chanced to be present at 
 the State Department during an interview between 
 Governor Cass and a newly arrived British minister, to 
 whom the venerable secretary said, in his well-known 
 George-the-Third way : " Have you seen Mr. Seaton ? 
 Eh, eh ? The best we have to show, — best we have to 
 show ' " 
 
 There was in Mr. Seaton's manner a certain bear- 
 ing, something indefinable in his air, which effectu- 
 ally repressed any undue familiarity ; and bold would 
 have been the man who, misled by his geniality and 
 urbanity, presumed to take a liberty with him.- 
 
 A gentleman whose associations had been those of 
 a provincial town, upon his arrival in Washington, not 
 quite appreciating the dignity underlying Mr. Seaton's 
 playful spirit, presumed to address him in a large cir- 
 cle as "Seaton" ! Mr. Seaton, when next alone with this 
 rather ambitious social neophyte, administered this 
 
 gentle rebuke : " Mr. , you will pardon me, but as 
 
 I have never in my life taken a liberty with any man, 
 so have I never permitted a liberty with myself, and 
 for the future I must ask you to remember that I am 
 
292 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Mr. Seaton." The characteristic reproof was received 
 in a spirit that proved its recipient to be worthy of 
 the regard with which Mr. Seaton subsequently distin- 
 guished him. 
 
 This rigid self-respect, enjoining an equal recogni- 
 tion of the rights of other men ; the delicate honor, 
 almost a religion in its sanctity, pervading his inter- 
 course with others ; the reserve, even reticence, gov- 
 erning his general relation with society, which yet 
 never made him ungenial or uncandid, were the char- 
 acteristics which mainly conduced to the freedom from 
 all personal enmity or hostile collision with political 
 adversaries, that marked Mr. Seaton's prolonged career. 
 Yet, with this absence of self-assertion existed a quick 
 perception of any infringement on his personal dignity. 
 
 Upon the arrival in Washington of General Harri- 
 son, previous to his inauguration, Mr. Seaton, partly in 
 his official capacity, made an address of welcome to 
 the incoming President, followed by some remarks of 
 a similar nature in an editorial, which had the effect 
 of exciting the especial ire of Mr. William E. King, 
 of Alabama, afterwards Vice-President of the United 
 States, who, in the Senate, severely commented on 
 them in terms which savored of personal disrespect to 
 Mr. Seaton, and in some degree seemed to impugn the 
 honor of himself and Mr. Gales. Without delay Mr. 
 King was required to offer a full explanation, and 
 in his senatorial seat to retract whatever might be 
 deemed offensive in his remarks, or to give Mr. Seaton 
 the satisfaction usual with gentlemen. 
 
 Senator Mangum, having great tact in such matters, 
 was intrusted by Mr. Seaton with this delicate mission, 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 293 
 
 being met, on the part of Mr. King, by Senator William 
 C. Preston. Finally, Mr. King's better feeling asserted 
 itself ; he manfully and honorably avowed himself in 
 the ^^Tong ; the result of the spirited correspondence 
 was made public, and the friendship between Mr. Sea- 
 ton and himseK, begun in early manhood, was warmly 
 renewed, only to be interrupted by the death of Mr. 
 Iving. 
 
 " While possessed of unswerving firmness and rigid adhe- 
 rence to principle," writes a prominent public man and 
 journalist, " Mr. Seaton was charitable alike in his personal 
 opinions and in his political faith. Bearing no malice, a 
 model of courtesy, he observed in conversation and in his 
 journal the wise proverb, which says, ' Think twice before 
 you speak once,' — and this trait leads me to another qual- 
 ity in which he was also pre-eminent, — a peacemaker ; for 
 with his large heart and magnanimous nature, his counsel 
 was always for conciliation and forgiveness, in proof of 
 which I cite the following incident : — 
 
 " During the administration of President Tyler, when 
 Daniel Webster was Secretary of State, there was a painfid 
 estrangement between the United States Senate, where the 
 Whigs were in the majority, and Mr. Webster. It grew 
 partly out of the fact of Mr. Webster remaining in the Cab- 
 inet of Mr. Tyler, selected by General Harrison, after his 
 associates had resigned ; and partly from the policy of Mr. 
 Tyler, w^hich was almost w^hoUy adverse to those who had 
 made him Vice-President. Mr. Webster, however, remained 
 in the Cabinet for the purpose of negotiating a Treaty with 
 Lord Ashburton. The Northeastern Boundaiy difficulty, 
 long pending, and leading to angry controversy in Congress, 
 in New England, and among the people, and at one time 
 seriously threatening war, was one of several points settled 
 by this famous treaty. 
 
294 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 " Mr. Seaton was deeply pained to see the Whig- Senators 
 alienated from Mr. Webster, and was resolved, if possible, 
 to bring them together, and restore their friendly feeling. 
 They met at his own house, surrounded by a large number 
 of personal and political friends, and the hope was, that 
 before the night should pass, ' the good old humor and the 
 old good-nature ' of fomier times would be restored. These 
 honorable and praiseworthy sentiments were more than real- 
 ized. In the midst of the delightful supper I was requested 
 by Mr. Seaton to remind Mr. Webster that he was about to 
 be toasted, as he was upon the instant, by Mr. Mangum, 
 then President 'pro tern, of the Senate, as ' The Author of 
 the Washington-Ashhurton Treaty.' Mr. Webster, who was 
 never at a loss for the word of inspiration on such occasions, 
 and who often showed greater qualities in private life than 
 in public services, replied instantly, ' The United States 
 Senate, without which the Treaty could never have been rati- 
 fied.'' Nothing in matter or manner could have been better 
 said or done on either side, and the fruit of Mr. Seaton' s tact 
 and kindliness was the restoration of the best relations 
 between the Senate and Mr. Webster. If on earth the 
 peacemakers are blessed, then indeed, for this and many 
 similar services, the memoiy of good Colonel Seaton will 
 be cherished by all who honor unselfish actions and noble 
 deeds. " 
 
 t 
 
 Another incident, illustrative of this benevolent 
 wish to restore harmony between dissevered friends and 
 colleagues, is thus related by the late Governor Swain, 
 of N'orth Carolina : — 
 
 *' Among the thousand anecdotes which Judge Gaston was 
 wont to narrate in connection with his public life, was one 
 in reference to the known kindliness of the editor of the 
 Intelligencer. Perhaps the most brilliant of Judge Gaston's 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 295 
 
 legislative tournaments was a conflict with Mr. Clay on the 
 Previous Question, as a rule of order. Mr. Gaston went into 
 the debate after careful examination of all the points of law 
 and history that had been mooted in the mother country 
 and our own on the subject, and caught j\Ir. Clay wholly 
 unprepared. Eminent statesman and patriot as he was, Mr. 
 Clay was nevertheless human, and retired from the contest 
 somewhat soured. They did not meet again for many years, 
 the feeling rankling in Mr. Clay's heart, until, during a visit 
 of Mr. Gaston to Washing-ton, they met at Mr. Seaton's 
 dinner-table. They each gave token of recognition, but 
 preserved a stately reserve, until, with an expression well 
 understood by both, the host offered the sentiment : ' Friend- 
 ships in marble; enmities in dust.' Kind and cordial inter- 
 course ensued, and they were personal and political friends 
 dming the remainder of their lives." 
 
 ]\Ir. Seaton's intmiacy with Mr. Webster, the almost 
 romantic attachment existing- between them, has be- 
 come a record of history, and during the period of 
 nearly forty years but one absolute break occurred in 
 this close and honorable friendship. 
 
 This interregnum also hinged upon Mr. Webster's 
 continuance at the helm of state, when his colleagues 
 had resigned their positions in the Cabinet of Mr. 
 Tyler, who, true to his instincts as an old-school Vir- 
 ginia Eepublican, had a second time vetoed the re- 
 establishment of a National Bank. Mr. Webster's 
 course elicited great severity of comment even among 
 his warmest friends in the "Whig party, and his famous 
 speech at Faneuil Hall, defining his position, had drawn 
 from the Intellio'encer a criticism rather unusual in 
 strength of expression for the stately columns of that 
 journal. This action on the part of the Whig oracle 
 Mr. Webster felt most keenly. 
 
296 WILLIAM WmSTON SEATON. 
 
 A few days after Mr. Webster's return to Washincr- 
 ton, ]Mr. Seaton being at the State Department, called 
 to have one of his usual friendly chats with the Secre- 
 tary, when, to his surprise, his frank greeting was met 
 by an icy and repelling politeness. Instantly seizing 
 the position, and perfect master of himself, he remained 
 for a few moments conversing on indifferent topics, 
 and then withdrew with a quiet dignity not to be 
 ruffled by the haughty temper of a Webster. Conscious 
 that the course of the Intelligencer was justifiable, and 
 never deviating for foe or favor from what he held to 
 be a duty, Mr. Seaton calmly awaited the conciliatory 
 advance, which, from Mr. Webster's sense of justice, 
 and personal feeling for himself, he was sure w^ould be 
 offered. 
 
 Meanwhile an embargo was laid upon the usual 
 intimate intercourse maintained between the two 
 families, against w^hich the younger members strongly 
 rebelled, contriving to run the blockade under the very 
 guns of the two stately frigates, which merely exchanged 
 signals of courtesy. Many were the efforts of friends, 
 frequent the private embassies to eff'ect a reconciliation 
 between the beUigerents ; but Mr. Seaton made no sign, 
 remaining firm in his position that the overture for 
 peace must distinctly proceed from Mr. Webster. At 
 last this estrangement could be borne no longer ; and, 
 preceded by his son Fletcher, as a diplomatic mant 
 courier, jNIr. Webster one evening entered the smoking- 
 sanctum of ]\Ir. Seaton, and fairly taking him in his 
 arms, with one hand-clasp all was forgiven. 
 
 There was no friend with whom Mr. Webster's rela- 
 tions were more close and enduring than with Mr. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 297 
 
 Seaton, whose affection he had tried in many a conflict 
 of opinion, and had, indeed, grappled him to his soul 
 with hooks of steel. With the exception, perhaps, of 
 Eiifus Choate, no one so well as Mr. Seaton had the 
 art of " drawing out " the " Great Expounder " ; but Mr. 
 Choate was deficient in an appreciation of the beauties 
 of nature, and still more in that love of field sports, 
 which was so strong a tie between Mr. Seaton and the 
 great fisherman. Mr. Choate would roam about the 
 country with his eyes .and thoughts absorbed in the 
 book he ever carried, unheeding the fresh sweetness 
 of morning, or the sunset glory over the ocean ; or, 
 which still more excited Mr. AA^ebster's ire, would pass 
 unnoticed the magnificent Durham "short horns," their 
 master's boast. Finally, one morning at breakfast at 
 Marshfield, Mr. Choate coming in tranquilly from a 
 stroll, with his Horace in his hand, Mr. Webster, 
 turning impatiently to Mr. Seaton, said, "I declare 
 to you that I do not believe Choate knows a horse 
 from a cow." 
 
 Mr. Charles Lanman, so widely known for his in- 
 teresting narratives of sporting lore and adventures, 
 as also for other valuable contributions to litera- 
 ture, — among them his delightful private life' of 
 Daniel Webster, — thus pleasantly relates his indebt- 
 edness to Mr. Seaton's kindness for his introduction 
 to Mr. Webster : — 
 
 " Having in the summer of 1850 captured an unusually 
 large rock-fish, at the Little Falls of the Potomac, I had 
 Bent Mr. Seaton the spoils with my compliments, which he 
 in turn presented to Mr. Webster. On the following morn- 
 ing Mr. Seaton entered the library of the War Department, 
 
 13* 
 
298 ^VILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 of which I was hbrarian, and in a solemn voice, without 
 any explanation, informed me that my presence was de- 
 manded by the Secretary of State. I hastened to the 
 Department with a palpitating heart, and entering the 
 ' presence,' was welcomed by the Secretary with these words : 
 ' I am told, sir, that you are a famous fisherman, and I wish 
 to capture a monster rock-fish in your company.' A variety 
 of fishing and sporting adventures wdth Mrr Webster and 
 Mr. Seaton were the result of this interview. Mr. Seaton's 
 passion for field sports was a marked and widely known 
 featm-e of his character, and during many years his duck- 
 hunting and piscatorial expeditions down the Potomac were 
 a delight to himself and the various distinguished friends 
 eager to be included in his party ; while to hear him 
 recite his adventures on his return home was a pleasure 
 never to be forgotten by those so privileged. Mr. Seaton 
 was an intense lover of Nature in all her multitudinous as- 
 pects, and bound me to a promise to report to him every- 
 thing new and interesting that I might learn on the subjects 
 of hunting and fishing. A little incident will illustrate his 
 long-continued pleasure in the sports of the field, in Avhich 
 his skill was hardly surpassed in this country. A few 
 months previous to his last illness his favorite pointer, the 
 companion of many a delightful expedition, and whose intel- 
 ligent devotion to his master was a matter of local history, 
 died of old age ; and Mi. Seaton, in paying a tribute to the 
 qualities of his faithful canine friend, said to a gentleman, 
 ' Ah, how much I should like to have a good dog in Ponto's 
 place ! ' His friend expressed surprise, intimating that at his 
 advanced age he could scarcely be equal to such hardy 
 amusements. 
 
 " ' I shall be eighty-one years old in two months,' replied 
 Mr. Seaton, ' and not only should enjoy, but it would do 
 me good to go out and bag a dozen woodcock to-mon'ow ; 
 and if I had a dog, should certainly do so.' " 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 299 
 
 Mr. Seaton owned a fine farm and shooting-box up 
 among tlie Alleglianies of his native Virginia, — known 
 by his family name of Winston, — where he would 
 often escape for a few days' relaxation, to breathe the 
 pure air of the wilderness, and hunt the red deer ; 
 being always accompanied by fellow-sportsmen, among 
 whom Mr. Webster delighted to be numbered. Those 
 memorable shooting excursions ! The ten-miles tramp 
 through the stubble-fields of Prmce George, or the 
 havoc among the ortolaji along Potomac's reedy banks ! 
 By those privileged to share them, they can never be 
 forgotten, when, genial and full of fresh spirit, i\Ir. 
 Seaton fascinated his very pusher : " willin' to pull all 
 day to hear the Colonel talk." Fortunate pusher! 
 AMiat treasures might have been preserved for history 
 had he noted down the political disquisitions, the dis- 
 cussions of life's grave problem, the wit, the boyish 
 fun which fell from the lips of Daniel Webster and 
 Mr. Seaton over their " double barrels " while rocking 
 in that little skiff! With what heartiness would 
 AVebster's contagious laughter awaken the echoes, ex- 
 cited by some quiet stroke of humor or anecdote from 
 Mr. Seaton ! This joyous phase of the Great Defend- 
 er's nature was little kno^Ti to the outside world, 
 which approached him with awe and bored him in- 
 tensely. " ^y^^J do people always talk law to me ? " 
 he used to say ; " I know enough law." The world 
 knew Mr. Webster in the Senate, the Forum, gTand, 
 sublime in the majesty of his intellectual greatness, 
 but little comprehended the sprightly humor, the play- 
 ful grace, the tender sweetness which rendered him so 
 captivating in an intimate circle. In his own home, 
 
300 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 where lie was the most noble, regal host; or in Mr. 
 Seaton's drawing-room, singmg every known song, — 
 generally impartially to the same tune ; or gravely 
 essaying the steps of a minuet cle la cour, which he 
 had seen danced in the courtly Madisonian era; or 
 joining in the jests of the gay circle, liis magnificent 
 teeth gleaming, his great living coals of eyes, — 
 " sleepmg furnaces," Carlyle called them, — soft as a 
 woman's ; or his rare, tender smile lighting up the 
 dusky grandeur of his face, — then it was that Mr. 
 Webster was infinitely fascinating. He enjoyed the 
 society of agreeable and beautiful women. "I love 
 to hear women prattle," he said, "even if they talk 
 nonsense, — but why will they use such long words ? 
 "With them every one is ' the most exquisite creature,' 
 *the most enchanting fellow,' ' tlie most delicious 
 dancer.' My dear, why can you not say, ' She is 
 comely, — he is agreeable, — he dances well ' ? " 
 
 In connection with this well-known simplicity of 
 Mr. Webster's language, which renders his style a 
 model of Anglo-Saxon strength, Governor Swain re- 
 lated this characteristic anecdote of the genial and 
 learned Judge Gaston : — 
 
 " During a period of high party excitement, Judge Gaston 
 made a speech in the House of Representatives which the 
 Federalists regarded with favor, and the Republicans feared 
 might do injury ; it was not reported in the Intelligencer. 
 Various gentlemen called on Mr. Gaston, requesting him to 
 write out his remarks for the Federal Republican, which he 
 dechned doing, until Mr. Webster came in and would take 
 no denial. Mr. Gaston complained of weak eyes. ' That 
 shall be no obstacle,' said Webster, 'I will act as your 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKP:TCH. 301 
 
 amanuensis ; walk across the floor, and I will write as you 
 dictate.' Mr. Gaston, who until then had never regarded 
 himself as chargeable with redundancy of style, had ut- 
 tered but a sentence or two when Mr. Webster stopped him 
 with the inquir}^ repeated again and again before he got 
 through, ' Gaston, won't one of those Avords do 1 I make it 
 a rule never to use two words when one will answer as 
 weU.' " 
 
 INIr. Webster liked an audience. An appreciative 
 word, an intelligent glance, especially from bright eyes, 
 and he became inspired. Masterly criticisms of 
 Shakespeare, historical parallels, anecdotes of Eng- 
 lish statesmen and jurists, learned disquisitions on 
 oak-trees, reminiscences of his own career, varied by 
 clever nonsense, or some story of wrong and scathed 
 affection told with inimitable power and pathos, would 
 keep the circle spellbound far into the night. But it 
 was in touching on more solemn themes, when speak- 
 ing most reverently and in his grand way of the con- 
 soling, sublime promises of the Scripture, that ]\Ir. 
 Webster rose into a wonderful elevation of strength 
 and eloquence. Strongly religious in his nature, — 
 his theological convictions were Unitarian, — he was 
 a daily student of the sacred volume, recognizing the 
 beautiful harmony between Mature and Kevelation, 
 dwelling with profound interest on the magnificent 
 prophecies of Isaiah, the unapproachable imagery and 
 inspiration of the Book of Job and the Psalms, but 
 especially on the value of the Gospel of John, or, as 
 he termed it, the " Gospel of Love " ; esteeming one 
 chapter of this Apostle to be worth all the disquisitions 
 of Paul, in sorrow or at the approach of death. 
 
o 
 
 02 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 The evening before Mr. "Webster delivered his great 
 compromise speech of 1850 he spent several hours 
 with Mr. Seaton, who, when his friend rose to qo, 
 took his arm, and they strolled pleasantly along. On 
 arriving at Mr. Webster's house he in turn took Mr. 
 Seaton' s arm and insisted upon seeing him home. 
 The scene was amusing, Mr. Webster wishing to take 
 the exercise, enjoy his friend's society, and look up 
 at the star-studded sky, now descanting on the won- 
 ders of Nature, then repeating passages from the 
 Bible, Milton, and A^irgil. Incidents of this character 
 might be multiplied indefinitely, and they prove the 
 power which, in his peculiarly quiet way, Mr. Seaton 
 exercised over every manner of man who approached 
 him ; and Mr. Webster constantly sought his society, 
 at his office, at his fireside, while Mr. Seaton enjoyed 
 his cigar, though Mr. Webster seldom smoked. 
 
 As is known, Mr. Webster was an unconscionably 
 early riser, — reading, working, making notes for sena- 
 torial or forensic onslaught, or the basis of a treaty, 
 before the sun was up, varied by visits to his kitchen, 
 where he delighted to confer vnth Monica, its presid- 
 ing Congo priestess, as to the. mode of dressing the 
 " bass " for dinner, or salting a round of beef, gravely 
 discoursing to her meanwhile on matters of higher 
 import ; or strolling through the market, startling 
 wondering lookers-on by pricing a bunch of parsley 
 in that sonorous voice accustomed " listening senates 
 to command." He had a habit of scribbling notes to 
 My. Seaton at this matutinal hour, jotting down some 
 passing thought, making an engagement for the day, 
 and not unfrequently sending i7iiproin2')tn doggerel lines, 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 303 
 
 indited while at breakfast on an empty egg-sliell. 
 Unfortunately, only a few of these disjecta memhra 
 have been preserved, but they are valuable relics as 
 exhibiting Daniel Webster in a phase of character 
 not known to the outer world. It may be interesting 
 to record several of these memorable scraps. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — I thank you for the summer ducks, 
 which were found delicious. I thank you for the woodcock, 
 aud have yet to thank you for other favorable and friendly 
 kindnesses not forgotten. 
 
 "Yours truly, 
 
 " Daniel Webster. 
 "Mr. Seaton. 
 
 " These are black fish, sometimes called Tautog. Monica 
 cooks them thus : — 
 
 " Put the fish into a pan with a little butter, and let 
 them fry tiU pretty nearly cooked, then put in a little 
 wine and pepper. and salt, and let them stew. She uses 
 no water. A little more wine, pepper, and salt to make a 
 good gi'avy. 
 
 " So says Monica, who stands at my elbow at half past 
 five o'clock. A good way also to make agreeable table 
 companions of these fellows is to barbecue or broil them 
 without splitting. 
 
 " D. W. 
 
 "Confidential and Diplomatic." 
 
 " My dear Sir, — Mrs. Webster leaves in the cars this 
 p. M. Speaking of a little basket of one half-dozen peaches 
 and two seckle pears, the other evening, — how well-timed 
 it w^ould be, if that little basket, contents as aforesaid, 
 should meet her at the cars ! 
 
304 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 " I have the honor, with distinguished consideration, etc., 
 
 etc., 
 
 " Yours, 
 
 "D. Webster. 
 «* Mr. Seaton." 
 
 "Friday Morning. 
 " Dear Mrs. Seaton, — As I could not accompany Mr. 
 Seaton on his expedition to Piney Point, I hope for the 
 subordinate pleasure of listening to his recital of its inci- 
 dents, his capture of fishes, his battles with the mosquitoes, 
 
 " I wish, therefore, to engage him to dine to-morrow at 
 five o'clock here, at the Burdiue Mansion, with one or two 
 friends only ; and I write this to insure youi- influence on 
 the occasion. 
 
 " Mr. Curtis took an abrupt departure last evening, 
 leaving messages of love for your household with me. 
 
 " I sent over a letter of Fletcher's, yesterday, and had a 
 kind reply from M . But she did not ' catch the idea.' 
 
 " I shall be obliged to come round this evening, and go 
 into explanations. 
 
 " YoLirs, with the truest regard, 
 
 " Dan'l Webster." 
 
 "Dear W. W. S., — Fish all right for to-morrow. Let 
 them bask in Monica's ice-box till the day comes. 
 
 " D. W. 
 
 "5 o'clock." 
 
 "Friday Morning, January 29, 1847. 
 " My dear Sir, — There happen to be four of General 
 H.'s Cabinet now in town, viz. Messrs. Ewing, Badger, 
 Crittenden, and myself We dine at my house to-moiTow 
 at five o'clock. Mrs. Webster and Mr. and Mrs. Curtis 
 will bring up the number to seven. Our round table holds 
 eight. At breakfast this morning we proceeded to elect by 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 305. 
 
 ballot a person to take the vacant place, and great was the 
 satisfaction when it was found that by general concun'ence 
 ' Colonel Seaton ' was chosen ! It devolves on me to com- 
 municate the result to you. 
 
 " Daniel Webster. 
 *• Colonel Seaton." 
 
 "Wednesday Morning. 
 "My dear Sir, — Your leader to-day is Capital. It is 
 exactly the thing needed, and that tone must be continued. 
 The disturbers of the public peace must be made to feel 
 the force of public opinion. 
 
 " Yours, 
 
 " D. W. 
 
 "To Mr. Seaton." 
 
 " I am sitting down, aU alone at five o'clock, to a nice 
 
 leg of lamb, etc., and a glass of cool claret — come. 
 
 '' D. W." 
 
 "Boston, June 21, 1847. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — We came up from the place of places, 
 three days ago, and have inflicted on ourselves a residence 
 of that length in Boston ; to-day we hasten back to the 
 
 Old Elms and the Sea. Mrs. Webster has received J 's 
 
 letter from New York, and bids me sa}'' that she has obeyed 
 all its injunctions, requests, and intimations. 
 
 " Our journey was shortened, to our disappointment. Still 
 it was pleasant. We saw many new things and many good 
 people. I can now talk, like an eyewitness, of cotton- 
 fields and rice plantations, turpentine, cypress swamps, and 
 alligators. 
 
 " . . . . Think of us at Marshfield, — on our piazza, with 
 now and then a grandchild with as, a pond near, where 
 * cows may drink and geese may swim,' and Seth Peterson, 
 in his red shirt-sleeves, in the distance. Then there is 
 green grass, more than we saw in all the South ; and then 
 
 T 
 
306 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 there is such a chance for rest, and for a good long visit 
 
 from 'tired Nature's sweet restorer.' .... 
 
 " Yours^ 
 
 " D. W. 
 "To W. W. Seatox, Esq." 
 
 "Saturday, August 27. 
 
 " Mr. AYebster wishes much to talk over matters, compare 
 notes, etc. Will be ready for a ' little sociality ' on Thurs- 
 day. Wishes much to make an effort 'to brighten the 
 future,' and will expect the pleasure of a call from Mr. 
 Seaton to-moiTow at three o'clock. It is an early hour, 
 but will have the advantage of a long afternoon behind it. 
 
 " You shall have a plain New England dinner, and a New 
 
 England friend or two, besides D. W. and D. F. W. 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 " D. Webster." 
 
 "May 2, 1850. 
 
 " Snipe-shooting in mittens, with a heavy overcoat and 
 fur cap on, is ver}" amusing. The mercury this morning, 
 five o'clock, at 34." 
 
 " Dear Mrs. Seatox, — That you have higher talents 
 than belong to good housekeeping, all know ; but that you 
 have any more perfect of their kind, I very much doubt. 
 My convictions on this head, always firm and strong, were 
 rendered still stronger by the admirable piece of salted 
 beef which we had the pleasure to receive last Saturday. 
 I never tasted better. Some friends were with us from 
 New York w^hen it was brought to the table, and they ac- 
 knowledged that Manhattan Island could not equal it. I 
 was decidedly of the same opinion. It is a wonder if 
 Monica, who does not like to be outdone, does not go some 
 day and have an interesting conference with your cook. 
 She has already intimated as much. 
 
 " If the present had been literally a crust or a crumb 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 307 
 
 from your table, the kindness with which you have offered 
 it would make it acceptable. 
 
 " Yours always truly, 
 
 " Daniel Webster." 
 
 "February 17, 1852." 
 
 " A few slices of Marshfield beef, cured last fall, and put 
 away for family provision for the year. 
 
 " 1 have found it a good lunch for the field or the sea ; 
 for although it is rather salt, yet gentlemen engaged in those 
 employments, I have noticed, are not unwilling to be some- 
 times a little dry. 
 
 "D. W. 
 *' April 30, 1851. 
 
 "W. W. S." 
 
 In September, 1844, a monster Whig meeting was 
 held in Boston to ratify the nomination of Mr. Clay 
 for the Presidency, in which contest, however, Mr. Polk 
 was the victor. ]\Ir. Seaton was one of the delegates 
 from Washington on this occasion, and writes thns 
 pleasantly of the cordial reception extended to him by 
 jSTorthern friends, and especially of his w^arm greeting 
 from Mr. Webster. 
 
 ** Boston, Thursday, 7 A. m. 
 " . . . . Such was the ovei'flow and jam of every inch of 
 space in the hotels, that I had no chance of a place to write. 
 I found at first difficulty in obtaining even a bed, at the 
 Tremont ; but on learning my name the proprietors kindly 
 gave me another person's room. A few moments afterwards 
 I met Mr. Choate, who insisted on taking me off to stay 
 with him ; but as they had taken some trouble to accommo- 
 date me at the hotel, I remained. The whole town I find 
 alive and running over. Among the many entertainments 
 last night was one at Mr. Winthrop's, to which Choate per- 
 
308 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 suaded me to go, tired as I was, and unwilling to take the 
 trouble of dressing ; but thought you would wish it, and 
 acted on the golden rule. I cannot express the cordiality 
 with which I was greeted, and have been by all the friends 
 I have met. At Mr. Winthrop's, had I been Captain Tyler 
 himself, I could not have been made more of. I found there, 
 among others, Mr. and Mrs. Grinnell, and the affectionate 
 inquiries after you, and the fervent wishes that you were 
 here, were very gratifying. Everybody asked for you as if 
 you were first in their affections. I have already had more 
 invitations to dine than I could make good in a week, — 
 Winthrop's, Choate's, a gTand banquet at the Mayor's, etc. 
 Mr. Webster came up from Marshfield last evening, and was 
 expected at Winthrop's, but not being yet well, and an 
 arduous day before him, he went to bed early. Having re- 
 ceived notice to appear at the Senate Chamber at nine o'clock 
 this morning, among the invited guests, to take part in the 
 ceremonies, and as I shall be in the throng all day, I rose 
 at six, have dressed and taken a stroll before breakfast, and 
 have stepped into a bookstore to write this scarcely legible 
 letter. It is a glorious, bright morning, and the note of 
 preparation is heard on every hand. A gi-eat people, these 
 Yankees. One thousand Yankee Whigs, from New York, 
 left in two steamers yesterday for the celebration, and will 
 be here this morning ; and others are pouring in from all 
 quarters, fine, respectable-looking men, young and old, — 
 like the Jews of old going up to Jerusalem. I wish you 
 could have seen the procession of the ' Young Whigs of 
 Boston,' last night, with their flambeaux, noble band, and 
 thrilling cheers opposite the Tremont House, as they passed. 
 Next to yourself, I only wish your brother were here to 
 enjoy the sight, and receive the cordial greetings of the good 
 
 men who love and appreciate him 
 
 ^' God bless you, dear wife " 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 309 
 
 ** Boston, Friday Morning. 
 ". . . . Before setting out for ]\Iarshfield, I send you a 
 word to advise you of my health and plans merely. Impos- 
 sible now to give any account of the many people, things, 
 and incidents which have rendered the last twenty-four 
 hours so interesting to me. It is worth coming from home 
 to be made much of, and certainly in that regard I have 
 had everything to gratify me. When I repaired to the 
 State House yesterday morning, whither I was escorted by 
 Abbott Lawrence, who called on me, I found a number of 
 magnates assembled from different parts of the Union, in- 
 vited guests. Mr. Webster, President of the day, soon after 
 entered, looking magnificent. Several friends who had seen 
 him in the morning told me how glad he was that I had 
 come, and how anxious to see me. He came up to me in 
 the middle of the Senate, and did not hug me, but very like 
 it, saying aloud, that there was not another man in the 
 whole country he would be so happy to meet here, and 
 kindly regretted that you were not with me. Mr. Webster 
 told me what he had decided when he heard of my arrival, 
 — that it was fixed as any decree of fate, and would be vain 
 to say a word against it ; that is, to return with him to 
 Marshfield this afternoon, and remain at least until Sunday, 
 if I could give him no longer. We therefore dine with Mr. 
 Paige at two o'clock, and go thence to Marshfield via Quincy, 
 
 where I wish to stop and see Mr. and Mrs. Adams 
 
 "The day, yesterday, was a glorious one. Such an 
 assemblage, and such a magnificent spectacle altogether, I 
 never before witnessed. The noblest cavalcade of two thou- 
 sand well-mounted men formed a part of the procession. I 
 was in an open barouche, next to the first, accompanied by 
 Judge Berrien, Mr. Bates, and Cassius M. Clay. We were 
 cheered at every pause by the crowd, and Mr. Seaton and the 
 National Intelligencer had some tremendous cheers at one 
 
310 WILLIAM WINSTOX SEATON. 
 
 place Mr. Isaac P. Davis has called to say it is 
 
 time to be off. I am writing in the chair and at the table 
 of the first Governor Winslow, in the Historical Society's 
 rooms, and I think that my scrawl partakes of the antique 
 around me, being written with an old steel pen made in the 
 time of the Mathers, I should judge. 
 
 " There is an autograph letter of John Cotton open before 
 me, about two hundred years old, written to his wife, in 
 which he addresses her as ' my dear wife and comfortable 
 yoke-fellow.' Take these homely but true words in their 
 fullest sense to yourself, my dearest wife, from 
 " Your ever affectionate husband,' 
 
 " W. W. Seaton." 
 
 The death of Mr. "Webster was the severest social 
 loss ever sustained by Mr. Seaton. During the pro- 
 longed period of their friendship, and of Mr. Webster's 
 almost continuous residence at Washington, seldom a 
 day passed without tlie interchange of word or note, 
 or social gathering at the house of one or the other. 
 Profoundly as Mr. Seaton estimated the calamity to 
 the country in the withdrawal of the wisdom and 
 weight of Mr. Webster's counsels, which acted as a 
 breakwater in the headlong tide of American affairs, — 
 deeply as he felt the loss to the civilized world of its 
 most comprehensive statesmanship and grandest intel- 
 lect, — his death was yet more consecrated to liis affec- 
 tions, and it was the friend whose departure was to 
 cause henceforward a blank in Mr. Seaton's daily life. 
 That he should no more feel the influence of that great 
 mind elevating and strengthening his own, should 
 ne'v'er more meet the kindly glance of those huge eyes, 
 nor hear again that voice vibrating to him always in 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 311 
 
 tones of affection and sympathy, moved Mr. Seaton 
 to personal and permanent grief. His discriminating 
 affection pays the following tribute to Mi. Webster's 
 many-sided greatness: — 
 
 "Washington, January 13, 1859. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — I have had the pleasm-e to receive the 
 invitation which you so obligingly convey to me on behalf 
 of the gentlemen of Boston, to unite with them on the 18th 
 instant in celebrating the anniversary of the birthday of 
 our illustrious countryman, the late Daniel Webster. In 
 tendering my best acknowledgments for this mark of cour- 
 tesy, I beg to assure you, and those for whom you speak, 
 that I feel myself very much honored by such an invitation 
 from such a som-ce, and one which I value the more highly, 
 placed as it is, on Hhe intimate personal relations' to 
 which you are pleased to allude as having existed between 
 that gi'eat man and myself. 
 
 " Happy should I be to obey a summons so flattering. 
 .^ . . . If, prompted by the occasion, and yielding to the 
 impulse of my own inclinations, I should attempt to speak 
 in eulogy of the great statesman whom we revered while 
 living, and whose loss the country has not ceased to deplore, 
 I might well be deterred from wdiat could not but seem, to 
 those amongst whom he lived and died, a work of superer- 
 ogation. History has set its seal upon his greatness ; and 
 his peerless fame, placed by death beyond the hazards of 
 time and the mutations of opinion, is WTitten on the annals 
 of his countiy in characters as bright as they are imperish- 
 able. In every branch of the civil service, — whether in 
 the Forum, the Senate, or the Cabinet, he displayed at once 
 the gi-andeur and the opulence of his massive intellect. 
 The eminence he attained in each of these departments 
 could have singly sufficed to fill the measure of any other 
 man's ambition. It is Mr. Webster's peculiar distinction to 
 
312 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 have been equally transceudent in them all. Nor need I 
 
 say to those who, like yourself and your favored associates, 
 
 were admitted to his private friendship, that he was no less 
 
 admirable for the qualities of his heart than imperial in the 
 
 endowments of his mind. If in high debate at the Bar, and 
 
 on the floor of the Senate, he made it doubtful whether he 
 
 more excelled as a jurist or a statesman, his friends might 
 
 almost be pardoned if they postponed both to the genial 
 
 traits which endeared him to them as a man. 
 
 " Renewing to you the expression of my thanks for the 
 
 honor you have done me, I beg leave to add how ti-uly I 
 
 remain, dear sir, your friend and servant, 
 
 " W. W. Seaton. 
 "P. Harvey, Esq., Boston." 
 
 Amid all the changes of party, and violence of fac- 
 tion, or the hostilites pervading even social relations, 
 among the respective adherents and opponents of suc- 
 cessive administrations, Mr. Seaton's long life was sin- 
 gularly unembittered by personal asperities. Neither 
 se\'ere editorial stricture upon official action, nor the 
 gulf separating him from certain political parties, ever 
 prevented the recognition by adversaries of his high- 
 toned character. These tributes to his ability and 
 candid sp»irit were sometimes very charmingly paid, as 
 on one occasion by LIr. Simon Cameron, at the begin- 
 ning of our Civil War, whose official course was, at the 
 time, the subject of very stringent animadversion by 
 the Intelligencer, but who, on rising to return thanks 
 at a St. Andrews festival, said, with much magnanim- 
 ity and grace of sentiment : — 
 
 " When the toast of ' Secretary of War' was proposed, I 
 had forgotten that it bore any allusion to myself, especially 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 313 
 
 Tvhen I looked to my left on the face and form of my ven- 
 erable friend, Colonel Seaton, who, not many years ago, 
 paid me my weekly wages as a joiu^neyman printer ni his 
 office ; who, for more than fifty years, has been one of the 
 most earnest and poweiful defenders of this free govern- 
 ment, and who, with great political sagacity combines a 
 purity of character and sincerity of heart, that prove him 
 to be a worthy descendant of a brave and noble Scotch 
 family." 
 
 Among the prominent statesmen whose political 
 principles, so widely divergent from those cherished 
 l)y Mr. Seaton, did not preclude social relations during 
 forty years of a very close cordiality, was Mr. Bu- 
 chanan. The letters in wliich he pleasantly speaks of 
 their friendship are the more interesting now that the 
 earthly and distinguished career of the venerable ex- 
 President is also closed. The following is addressed 
 to a member of Mr. Seaton's family. 
 
 "Wheatland near Lancaster, June 26, 1862. 
 
 " . . . . Mr. and Mrs. Seaton are associated with my ear- 
 liest recollections of Washington, and I shall ever remem- 
 ber them w^ith gi'ateful regard. Mr. Seaton's youthful and 
 buoyant spirit is worth more than a fortune, and must ren- 
 der himself, and those who are near him, happy in his green 
 old age. Although he cannot say that, ' In his youth he 
 never did apply hot and rebellious liquors to his blood,' 
 yet this was always done in the society of choice spirits and 
 mth Christian moderation. May he yet live a thousand 
 years surrounded by troops of friends ! 
 
 " Had it not been for the troubles of the times, I should 
 have passed some months every year of my life in Wash- 
 ington. Its society was more agi-eeable to me than that of 
 
 14 
 
314 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 auy other city I have ever known. How sadly must this 
 now be changed ! For my own part, I am tranquil and 
 contented, and would be happy in my peaceful home were 
 it not for the dreadful condition of the country. Still, I 
 have the consolation of reflecting that I did nothing to pro- 
 mote, but everything in my power to avoid, the civil war 
 now raging. 
 
 " . . . . You are, T trust, mistaken in believing me to 
 have been the last of the race of Constitutional Presidents. 
 May you live to see many more of them, and be as pros- 
 perous and happy in their day as I wish you to be from 
 my heart ! 
 
 " I have faith that the kind Providence which sustained 
 our forefathers in the days of the Jlevolution, and has 
 from small beginnings made us a great nation, will not 
 abandon us in this the hour of our utmost need 
 
 " With sincere and tender regard, I remain 
 
 *' Truly your friend, \ 
 
 "James Buchanan." 
 
 ""Wheatland near Lancaster, September 9, 1866. 
 " . ... Though unfortunately never identified in political 
 action with Mr. Seaton, I ever entertained for him a high es- 
 teem, as well as a warm personal regard. In the good old 
 days, when the National Intelligencer was the ablest oracle 
 of the Whig party, a difference in political opinion did not 
 interfere with friendly social relations. I therefore knew Mr. 
 Seaton well in the familiar circle, and have never known a 
 more perfect model of a man in private life. Whilst firm 
 in his political convictions and able in defending them, by 
 his manners and qualities he conciliated and secured the 
 esteem and regard of the best of his political opponents. 
 In his social relations he was a charming companion. He 
 possessed an excellent heart combined with a clear and 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 315 
 
 firm intellect. Having a perfect knowledge of the distin- 
 guished men of the day of all political parties, his conver- 
 sation was agreeable, racy, and instructive. 
 
 " I shall always remember with the mournful pleasure of 
 an aged man the refined and elegant hospitality of his old 
 
 mansion in the happier da}'s of former years 
 
 *' With sentiments of warm regard, I remain 
 *' Sincerely your friend, 
 
 "James Buchanan." 
 
 The following letter may possess an additional in- 
 terest from the allusion to the famous trial of Judo^e 
 Peck, of which Mr. Buchanan was one of the Man- 
 agers ; as the manner of conducting that case was re- 
 ferred to as a precedent on the occasion of the recent 
 impeachment of President Johnson. 
 
 " St. Petersburg, April 7, 1833. 
 *' My dear Sir, — I now send you my remarks on pre- 
 senting the resolution from the Judiciary Committee for the 
 Impeachment of Judge Peck. I should regret very much 
 should they arrive too late for the Register, as it would 
 have a veiy awkward appearance should the debate be pub- 
 lished without the introductory observations of the Chair- 
 man of the Committee. The greater part of them had been 
 written out at length by Mr. Stansberry. Will you be good 
 enough to supply the omission of a quotation, consisting of 
 one or two sentences in the defence of the Judge, presented 
 to the House in the Session of 1829 - 30. Much as I revere 
 the independence of the Judiciary, and after a review of 
 the case in this land of despotism, I think the Judge's 
 acquittal was a strong one. The tribunal was above, all 
 suspicion. . . . 
 
 " Although 1 have been treated with much kindness since 
 my arrival in St. Petersburg, yet I feel I shall never be 
 
316 WILLIAil WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 happy except in my native land. My residence abroad, far 
 from estranging me from my own counti-y, has made me 
 ■ love it much better than ever. Would that our people 
 were justly sensible of the blessings they enjoy ! 
 
 " The Emperor of Russia, whatever we may think of his 
 conduct towards Poland, is a sovereign to whom his subjects 
 are devotedly attached. His private character is vdthout a 
 blemish. Indeed, his example, and that of the Empress, 
 have done much already to reform the manners of their 
 Court. He is, by far, the most able and energetic sov- 
 ereign in E\u'ope. I am convinced it is his policy to avoid 
 war for the present. I cannot foresee any change in the 
 nature of the Belgian question which would induce him to 
 assume a hostile attitude. Besides, the character of the 
 '"Xing of Prussia is a guaranty for the general peace ; yet it 
 cannot be denied that Europe at present is a magazine of 
 powder, and any accidental hand may apply the spark. I 
 send you a very important article just published by this 
 government in relation to Turkish affairs 
 
 " Will you be kind enough to answer this letter, and give 
 me a little news, local and general 1 Remember me with 
 kindness and respect to Mrs. Seaton and your family. I 
 hope to have the pleasure of again spending happy hours 
 in their interesting society. Reuiember me also to Mr. 
 Gales. I write by the minute. . . . 
 
 " Always truly yours, 
 
 "James Buchanan. 
 
 "William W. Seaton, Esq." 
 
 There was, perhaps, no position in which Mr. Seaton 
 appeared to gTeater advantage than as a presiding offi- 
 cer. Whether controlling a mass meeting during a 
 Presidential campaign, or addressing a more dignified 
 assemblage of citizens, or as the chairman of nnnum- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 317 
 
 bered anniversary festivities, the duties of the occasion 
 were performed with a promptness, unruffled dignity, 
 and acceptability rarely surpassed. His love of the 
 drama, and early histrionic efforts no doubt contributed 
 to the easy declamation, clearness of intonation, and 
 quiet, graceful gesture which distinguished him ; and 
 adding to these characteristics a felicitous turn of ex- 
 pression, and remarkably effective wit, it may be con- 
 ceived that his eloquence w^ould call forth invaria- 
 ble enthusiasm. His fame in this regard was widely 
 spread; and he often was forced to run the gauntlet 
 of post-prandial oratory and political meetings, during 
 his excursions. In a letter from Cumberland, in 1844, 
 while on a shooting expedition, he writes : — 
 
 "I have just had a deputation from the Whigs of this 
 good town, saying that, hearing of my presence in their 
 midst, they had appointed a meeting of the citizens to- 
 morrow to hear an address from me. I had rather fight 
 the battle of Bladensburg over again, but of course cannot 
 decline the flattering invitation." 
 
 The foUomng little incident, among many others, 
 shows the manner in which Mr. Seaton's appearance 
 among his fellow-citizens was greeted. The occa- 
 sion was a political meeting during the campaign 
 of 1860. 
 
 "At this jimcture, Colonel Seaton, the venerable yet ac- 
 tive editor of the Intelligencer, entered the room and ad- 
 vanced to the stand. As he passed down the aisle he was 
 greeted by the most tumultuous cheers, w^hich continued 
 unabated for several minutes. When he had reached the 
 stand he bowed gracefully to the assemblage, who gave 
 three tremendous cheers for the old war-horse.' The 
 
318 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Colonel was warmly received by the Chair, Mr. Ogle Tay- 
 loe, and then turning to the audience, most gracefully ac- 
 knowledged the flattering reception which had been ex- 
 tended to him, and concluded a spirited address by trust- 
 ing that, ' whether present or absent, every one knew that 
 he was heart and soul with the party that hoisted the 
 Whig and Union flag.' " 
 
 " The first evening assembly I ever attended in Wash- 
 ington," writes a prominent litterateur, " was one given by 
 Mr. Seaton to his congressional friends. These suppers were 
 famous, and worthy of their niche in the social and politi- 
 cal annals of the metropolis. The entertainment, though un- 
 ostentatious, was marked by perfect taste and elegance, and 
 in view of the men who were thus brought together for an 
 hour or two of social enjoyment, it was grand and impos- 
 ing. Webster, Clay, and Calhoun were the leading stars 
 of the evening, and around them were grouped diploma- 
 tists, notable citizens, and a score or two of those whom we 
 delight to honor as the representative men of their time. 
 With all of them Mr. Seaton was on friendly, generally 
 intimate terms ; for as his abilities and high character 
 commanded universal respect, so did his aff'ability, gen- 
 erous kindliness, and winning manners retain the affection 
 of all who knew him socially or in the business walks of 
 life." 
 
 In Professor Joseph Henry's beautiful tribute to Mr. 
 Seaton the question is asked : — 
 
 " Who can forget Mr. Seaton as host 1 In the gatherings 
 about his generous board mingled the cordial welcome and 
 that air of an older and better school which constantly 
 distinguished him; the kindly and reassuring attention, 
 unaffectedly bestowed on the least distinguished guest; 
 the colloquial charm, which extended the fame of his hos- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 319 
 
 pitality far beyond the sphere of its exercise. No unim- 
 portant part of the charm exercised by Mr. Seaton resided 
 in his engaging presence, — in the winning smile, the bright 
 eye, the gentle voice, the benignity of a countenance upon 
 which a long life of manly effort and kindly purpose had 
 left its impress." 
 
 The Hon. A. H. H. Stuart, of Virginia, in writing of 
 Mr. Seaton's power of attractiveness, says : — 
 
 "I have always regarded Mr. Seaton as my heau-ideal 
 of a true Virginia gentleman, — * one of the olden time.' 
 To sound masculine intellect and a vast fund of information 
 upon almost every subject, he united an amenity and a 
 grace of manner and expression, which rendered him one 
 of the most fascinating and instructive of companions. On 
 all questions of difficulty I sought the guidance of his 
 counsel ; and in hours of social indulgence there was no one 
 who contributed so largely to the enjoyment of his friends. 
 I have heard him often narrate the most striking and 
 piquant incidents connected with our early history, and in- 
 tended to illustrate the character of such men as Rufus 
 King, Nathaniel Macon, William Wirt, Crawford, and es- 
 pecially John Randolph and a host of those giants. 
 
 " But there was nothing sensational about Mr. Seaton. 
 He was not a professed colloquialist. He did not talk for 
 effect, nor attempt to make brilliant hits in the game of 
 conversation. All that he said flowed like a gentle stream, 
 and was intended to minister to the enjoyment of his hear- 
 ers, not to display his own great powers." 
 
 " Mr. Seaton had an especial gift as a raconteur,'' writes 
 Governor Henry A. Wise, of Virginia. " He always made 
 me think of Sir Walter Scott, in his narratives. He had 
 just his genial, manly, open, candid, ingenuous face, and 
 could humor a story with almost equal grace and gusto. 
 
320 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 He was always fj'esh and natural, simple and truthful, and 
 "w'ise without being disquisitive. He was a man to be plain 
 
 and familiar with, and yet to love and honor The 
 
 Biography of ' Gales and Seaton ' would be a history of me- 
 tropolitan life and journalism during six tenths of a cen- 
 tury, embracing the lives of all the distinguished men from 
 Mr. Jefferson down to these times, the secrets of Cabinets, 
 the scenes and subjects of Congress and of the Supreme 
 Court, the tenants of the AVhite House, the cycles of par- 
 ties and of public opinion, and all the tones of the social 
 circles since 1800. What a mass of various interest such 
 . a memoir might be made to contain, but it would take 
 a Dr. Johnson to write it and years to prepare the ma- 
 terials. 
 
 I knew Mr. Seaton from the year 1833, when I first en- 
 tered the House of Representatives. I was elected a mem- 
 ber of the Jackson party, in favor of the Union and in op- 
 position to the then raging doctrine of nullification. 'This 
 brought me in personal affiliation with Mr. Seaton, and 
 soon after, the issue of the removal of the public deposits 
 from the Bank of the United States brought me in still 
 closer affinity with him, and finally the common opposi- 
 tion to the party of Mr. Van Buren, called the Loco-Foco 
 party, united us together in the new organization called 
 the Whigs. That party was truly composed of the old 
 Federalists, the more modern American System party, 
 headed by Clay and Webster, the extreme State Rights 
 party led by Calhoun, and the old Madisonian portion of 
 the Virginia school of Democracy, of which I was always, 
 and am still, an humble advocate. 
 
 " This status of mine brought me closer still to Mr. 
 Seaton, and he used to pet me much with his counsel and 
 a place for my speeches in the Intelligencer. We never ex- 
 actly, or even generally, agreed in our politics, or rather in 
 
A BIOGHAPIIICAL SKETCH. 321 
 
 the ground-work of political opinion, but he was a true old 
 Virginian. He had begun his career with Mr. Ritchie, 
 loved our old commonwealth and her old white-cravat, 
 tobacco-chewing people. Mr. Seaton was fond of his gun, 
 his pointer dogs, and his manly sports. Do you know that 
 I have now a most beautiful descendant of his breed of set- 
 ters 1 My boy procured the ancestor pup from Mr. Sea- 
 ton's gardener, and Mr. Sergeant asked him for the whole 
 pedigi'ee and made my son record it. ... I used to delight 
 to talk with Mr. Seaton about past events and the old Ro- 
 mans of our country. He told me more of John Randolph 
 than I ever got from any one else,' except Benjamin Wat- 
 kins Leigh. He had a juster view of men and things than 
 
 any one else of my acquaintance The Yankees got 
 
 all my papers and letters. The last letter I had from Mr. 
 Seaton w^as when I was Governor of Virginia, — a long ap- 
 peal from himself and others on the John Brown raid. 
 That I suppose is now in the State archives. . . . 
 " Believe me most truly yours, 
 
 " Henry A. Wise. 
 ** Richmond, July 10, 1867." 
 
 The world-wide celebrity attaching to the name of 
 Governor Wise as the dispenser of justice to a great 
 criminal, renders his reply to the appeal above alluded 
 to of especial interest. 
 
 "Boston, October 26, 1859. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — I have written this letter in order that 
 it may reach Governor Wise. Perhaps it is asking too 
 much to have it sent to him by yourself. But it is on a 
 subject which interests us all. There are not too many of 
 us ' national ' men left here in Massachusetts, and the ac- 
 tion of the court now sitting for the trial of old Brown 
 threatens to blot us out forever. But though we are not 
 
 14* U 
 
322 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 of much account here, we feel that we have a great stak 
 
 in preserving a good understanding with our friends in the 
 
 other sections. 
 
 " Yours very truly, 
 
 " Amos A. Lawrence. 
 •*HoN. W. W. Seaton, Washington." 
 
 "Richmond, Va., October 31, 1859. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — Mr. A. Lawrence wrote directly to me, 
 and I have replied to him, saying that Brown is in the 
 hands of the Judiciary, — that by our laws no man can he 
 tried even, without an Examining Court to inquire whether 
 he ought to be tried, — that the sitting of this Court, I pre- 
 sume, has caused the appearance of suddenness in the pros- 
 ecution, — that another, the Circuit Court is now sitting 
 upon his trial, and is competent in ability and fairness to 
 try any plea he may put in, — and that the prisoner has all 
 protection, even in his impiident defiance of the justice 
 which surely should visit robbery, rapine, insurrection, inva- 
 sion, murder, and treason. He shall not be rescued on the 
 one hand, nor tynched on the other ; and you know Judge 
 Parker well enough, to say nothing of our Bar, to assure all 
 strangers to our laws and people of the certainty of fair, 
 impartial trial ; and if the prisoner be convicted unduly or 
 unjustly, he will be in my hands, as well as in the hands of 
 an Appellate Court. And it is, I regret to say, super-ser- 
 viceable in Mr. L. to obtrude upon either of us what he 
 would do. I can say to him, in reply to such intimations, 
 that he will find that I will do whatever I may do, about as 
 decisively and obdurately as he could desire, on the one 
 hand or the other. I say this, intimately, to you who know 
 me well, the more tartly for him, who, I believe was the very 
 gentleman who threw the glove in the settlement of Kansas 
 per f CIS aut nefas, — by Sharpe's rifles or otherwise. 
 
 " We are getting impatient under the folly and faDaticism 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 323 
 
 T the two extremes. Let Mr. L. keep his sympathy for 
 :hose who need it more than Brown does, for either excuse 
 rbr crime or fair justice in its punishment. Let him restrain 
 he wicked fanaticism at home, not provoke fools amono- 
 us. You may be assured that justice shall be administered 
 calmly and dignifiedly, and its execution shall be tempered 
 with due mercy ; and the less intrusion there is from the 
 North, the more easily can we act as we ouo-ht. 
 
 " Very truly, your friend, 
 
 <.^r ,xx r. "Henry A. Wise. 
 
 **W. W. Seatox, Esq., Washington." 
 
 "Richmond, Ya., Nov. 1, 1859. 
 " My dear Sir, — As I said to you, in mine of the day 
 before yesterday, Mr. Lawrence seems to me super-service- 
 able in his sympathy for Brown. He, like other conscien- 
 tious men at the North, who deem themselves conservative 
 too, see that Brown's folly is the result of theh- own teach- 
 ing and preaching, and material aid in money and arms, to 
 make war in Kansas. It has come to this outrage on our 
 borders, and Brown and his comrades are in danger of exe- 
 cution for crimes to which they have been incited by men 
 like Mr. Lawrence. They now are troubled for the conse- 
 quences for which they are responsible in conscience, if not 
 in law ; and hence much of their divine sympathy and 
 humanity. I would not convict Mr. L. on Forbe's testi- 
 mony, but upon Mr. L.'s own sympathy. He is too rercdy 
 in excuse for him, and in distrust of our own judges and 
 people. 
 
 " Brown, I am told, is already convicted, and I shall have 
 
 soon to pass upon the record of his trial ; and, therefore, 
 
 can add no more than that I am, 
 
 " Very truly, your friend, 
 
 "<Hexry a. Wise. 
 "W. W. Seatox, Esq." 
 
324 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 For many years it had been Mr. Seaton's ardent desire 
 to visit Europe, especially to tread the soil of Great 
 Britain, for whose history, constitution, true liberty, 
 and glorious people he ever entertained an enthusias- 
 tic reverence and regard ; England being peculiarly en- 
 deared to him as the birthplace of his wife, while Scot- 
 land Avas the cradle of his ow^n race. The unceasing 
 labors of an editorial life had hitherto interposed an 
 insurmountable obstacle to the accomplishment of his 
 wishes ; but in August, 1855, he took heart of grace, 
 and crossing the oceail paid a flying visit to the great 
 centres of European interest and civilization. With 
 his fulness of information derived from sixty years' ex- 
 ceptional study of men and events, he was prepared to 
 form an enlightened judgment concerning the political 
 and social status df European states, and also, as the 
 press throughout our country expressed with gratifying 
 unanimity, fittingly to represent America as her highest 
 embodiment of a gentleman. Unfortunately, owing to 
 the very large and scattered family connection through 
 which his letters were disseminated, but few memo- 
 randa were preserved of his " steeple chase," as he called 
 his three months of rapid travel ; during which, at the 
 advanced age of seventy-one years, his physical vigor 
 and buoyant spirit enabled him to endure more fatigue, 
 and to extract more pleasure, than is accomplished by 
 many a tourist fifty years younger. 
 
 "London, September 7, 1855. 
 '* My dearest Wife, — That you may hear from me up 
 to the latest hour, I send a brief supplemental letter to mine 
 
 of yesterday We took the cars yesterday morning 
 
 for Richmond, where, at the famous Star and Garter, we 
 
A BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 325 
 
 •were received by our Minister in the warmest manner, who 
 accompanied us in our walk over the hill and park, the 
 latter consisting of 1,600 acres, and containing some of the 
 finest trees I ever beheld. To attempt any description of 
 the view from the brow of Richmond Hill — an elevated 
 tract overlooking the valley of the Thames for many miles, 
 and even including the sight of Windsor towers, eighteen 
 miles distant — would be utterly futile for even the highest 
 power of pen, — even my friend, Mr. James himself, could 
 convey no adequate idea of its beauty : as indeed all de- 
 scriptions of natural scenery are failures, — at least, I have 
 ever found them so. Accompanying Mr. Buchanan and his 
 niece in his carriage, we set out for Hampton Court, calling 
 on the way for Sir William and Lady 0., and Miss G., who 
 reside in a beautiful place on the bank of the Thames, 
 
 adjoining Garrick's Villa, and near Twickenham 
 
 The palace is a vast extent of Gothic brick building, with 
 turrets, courts, corridors without number, all plain and 
 unadorned, containing no furniture, except a few histori- 
 cal beds, cabinets, etc. The entire suite of the principal 
 story — comprising halls, reception-rooms, staterooms, bed- 
 rooms — is filled with pictures, embracing hundreds of por- 
 traits, many of which, of eminent men who have illustrated, 
 or rather made, British history, interested me much. It 
 occupied three hours to go the roimd of this story, dwelling 
 on an occasional object more attractive than others, or lin- 
 gering at the great windows to admire the most beautiful 
 gardens and grounds. In all this review, Sir William was a 
 very valuable g-uide explaining these varied objects of inter- 
 est, — though I had the book in my hand, — as he has long 
 been familiar with them all. Those gardens and grounds ! 
 how they would charm you, and how much did I long for you 
 to stroll through them with me ! They are laid out in the 
 highest art, kept in exquisite order, filled with parterres and 
 
o 
 
 26 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 rambles, — everything to delight the eye. But that ■which 
 would have excited your highest admiration was the famous 
 black Hamburg grape-vine. If you could but see it ! The 
 trunk is nearly as large as my body, is trained under a space 
 of glass of more than 2,000 square feet, and depending from 
 the vine were 1,600 fall-formed and ripening clusters of 
 magnificent grapes. The palace and grounds were filled 
 with hundreds of people, — among them the boys and girls 
 of a London school, — all roaming about and enjoying 
 
 the beauties spread before them On our return, we 
 
 passed Pope's Villa, Strawberry Hill, and the church where 
 Pope lies, the tower of which is a striking piece of time-worn 
 antiquity. But the parks, — the parks ! the beautiful little 
 river, the emerald verdure, and the scores of swans floating 
 about fearless of any harm ! We reached the Star and 
 
 Garter in time for one of its renowned dinners Mr. 
 
 Buchanan contributed to the gratification of the day in the 
 most assiduous manner, kindly culminating in proposing 
 your health at dinner. He offers me every facility in his 
 power, and letters to all the great people in the kingdom ; 
 but in using these I shall be very chary " 
 
 ''Sheffield, Saturday Evening, September 15. 
 " . . . . What a strange thing it appears to me that 
 I should ever. write you a letter from this place ; yet here I 
 am veritably in dingy, smoky Sheffield, so deeply interest- 
 ing to me. I reached here late this afternoon and set out 
 for the Mount, in search of your Aunt Sarah ; found she 
 had gone for a day to Baslow, thirteen miles off; so, after 
 a stroll, I have returned to the Royal Hotel to jot down 
 some notes of my movements before bed. The old Tontine, 
 so associated with the history of your parents and your own 
 early recollections, has been pulled down, and a fine market 
 is being erected on its site. Sheffield, perhaps you may 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 327 
 
 remember, is surrounded by lofty hills, now greatly im- 
 proved, good well-built streets running up their slopes, 
 and their tops embellished by handsome villas. One of 
 these streets leads up to the Mount, which is ornamented 
 with lawns and fine trees, almost a park, descending from 
 a grand-looking edifice as long as our post-office, with col- 
 umns and porticos, which I supposed to be a palace or public 
 institution, until the cab turned into its gate, and I found 
 it to be a series of private dwellings, in one of which Mont- 
 gomery lived, and Aunt Sarah continues to reside, and of 
 whose absence I shall avail myself to go to-morrow to Eck- 
 
 ington I came down to Cambridge from London, and 
 
 had time only for a few hours to go through some of its 
 numerous ancient colleges, and the fine old chapel of King's 
 College, a beautiful as well as venerable specimen of the 
 impressive Gothic style ; but I would rather, if it were pos- 
 sible, describe for you the green velvet gi'ounds and groves 
 and glades, the magnificent trees that spread away off in 
 front of the colleges, a wilderness of shade, much of it bor- 
 dering the beautiful little Cam, with its fine, lofty stone 
 bridges, each of them, as seen through the exquisite vistas 
 of old willows, elms and limes, oaks and chestnuts, looking 
 as grand almost as the Rialto. Passing hither from Cam- 
 bridge, I had near views of the great cathedrals of Ely and 
 Peterborough, and came through Newark, so dear to us all 
 from its association with your father and mother ; and how 
 gladly I would have stopped a short time, but it was im- 
 possible in this hurried jaunt. Almost the finest mere 
 church in England — that is, any one below a cathedral — 
 is that of Newark, in which, as you know, your honored 
 
 parents were married I do not think I mentioned 
 
 that, on arriving at Ptichmond an hour before Mr. Buchanan 
 and party, I filled up the time veiy interestingly by driving 
 over to Eton College, and going through its aged and 
 
328 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 crumbling cloisters and its noble old chapel. These Gothic 
 chapels, with their curiously and richly stained windows, 
 their groined and carved ceilings, inspire an ever-fresh in- 
 terest. I must to bed, — my eyes are blinking. So good- 
 night, my ever dear wife. 
 
 " Sunday Night. — I returned from Eckington at six 
 this evening, and have just come in from a visit to the 
 venerable Hartshead, so important in family history, and 
 familiar to us as household word. I reached it through 
 one of the little lanes that communicate from street to 
 street, and instantly knew its circular corner and bow-win- 
 dow, — not changed in anything, I presume, except the 
 marks of age. With what interest I looked at it, and 
 thought over so much with which it is wound up in my 
 heart. But Eckington ! that precious old hamlet, with what 
 feelings did I enter its precincts and walk through its calm 
 little churchyard, — the very embodiment of the immortal 
 one of the Elegy, — decipher its aged and half-obliterated 
 gravestones and pace the aisles of its venerable church ! 
 I set out at nine this morning, the train stopping a mile 
 and a half from the village. There was no conveyance to 
 be had at the station, so, with my overcoat over my arm, I 
 made a merit of necessity and walked. And soon the spire 
 and time-worn tower of the church hove in view, and the 
 bells were ringing the chimes for morning service. How 
 sweetly they sounded in the still Sabbath morning, as I ad- 
 vanced by road and field path nearer to the village ; and I 
 thought how often your dear father had listened to those 
 same bells, and with what pleasure he described the mode 
 of ringing the changes, the skill and strength required. 
 The good old beadle found me a seat, and the service of 
 the old Church has never, I am sure for many a year, been 
 so interesting to any participant as was this morning's 
 to me. The lessons were read by Mr. Estcourt, a brother 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 329 
 
 of our friend, General Estcourt ; the sermon, prercched by a 
 clergyman from a distant parish. After service the sex- 
 ton accompanied me through the churchj-ard and pointed 
 out the grave of your uncle Thomas Gales, who, I found, 
 died July 5, 1787, and those of yoiu* aunts, — the inscrip- 
 tions on all of which are entirely legible and unimpaired. 
 1 cannot express to you how the well-sung hymns in the 
 church and the standing by these old graves affected me. 
 I gathered some small memorials of the place, and, after 
 chatting w^ith the good sexton and old beadle awhile in the 
 nice parlor of the neat, clean little inn close to the church, 
 I set forth on my walk to the station. I passed the little 
 stream in which the catastrophe happened to your aged 
 great-grandfather, and in which your brother Joseph has 
 often cast his pin hook, and fancied that I walked the old 
 and well-worn path by which your father and mother used 
 to take their afternoon stroll to Eckington. I pondered 
 these things as I pursued my way, and they so filled my 
 thoughts that, had the distance been twice as great, it 
 
 would not have been marked It is bedtime, and I 
 
 have ordered a cab early in the morning to drive to Bas- 
 low to see your aunt. So good-night, dear wife. 
 
 "■ Mo7iday Evening. — A most interesting day I have had, 
 dear wife. When undressing last night, I received a mes- 
 sage from the Mount that your aunt, hearing of my arri- 
 val, had returned, and expected me to breakfast this morn- 
 ing. So at nine o'clock I found her awaiting me, and I 
 was received with the warmth of a mother ; she was much 
 
 affected, and affected me She remembered most 
 
 surprisingly every member of the family, even to the third 
 generation. She spoke a good deal of Mr. Montgomery, 
 his excellence, his constant friendship and his deep, endur- 
 ing affection for your parents and their children I 
 
 intended leaving Sheffield this afternoon for York, but your 
 
o 
 
 30 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 aunt appeared so gratified by my visit and so reluctant to 
 part with me, that I deferred my departure until to-morrow 
 and decided to spend the afternoon at far-famed Chatsworth, 
 twelve miles from here. I accordingly took a cab to Bars- 
 low, and thence walked half a mile or so through the park 
 to the palace, for such it may with all propriety be called. 
 A part of my drive, for a few miles, lay across the moors, a 
 very extensive range of elevated barren country, consisting 
 of long, sloping undulations without tree or house, but cov- 
 ered with a thick coat of purple heather, with patches of 
 green fern that combine to make it look hke vast paintings. 
 They stretch away into Derbyshire, almost to Manchester, 
 and are owned by the nobility, being kept as preserves for 
 grouse and partridge, several coveys of which I saw fly 
 across the road. But Chatsworth ! its riches and grandeur 
 and beauties far surpassed any previous imaginings. The 
 grounds, the gardens, conservatories ; the fountains, the pic- 
 turesque, artificial, rocky, rugged cliffs and dells and caves, 
 formed of huge rough rocks brought from the mountain 
 back, which no one would suppose not to be placed there 
 by nature ; the great palmery, a crystal house sixty feet 
 high, with exotic trees from all parts of the world, the hot- 
 test regions, among them a cocoanut-tree reaching the 
 glass dome, — this glass house was built by Sir Joseph Pax- 
 ton, and furnished the model for the great Crystal Palace of 
 1851 ; then the treasures of art in painting and sculpture 
 in the immense galleries of the palace, — all made up a 
 spectacle which exceeded even Windsor in its wilderness of 
 beauty. The graperies far surpass Hampton Court, and 
 their immense extent, the great variety of the fruit, and its 
 astonishing size could but interest me. One species, the 
 Muscat, or Tokay, I am not certain which, had berries 
 more than three inches in circumference. I would have 
 given any price for a few of them for you, had they been 
 
A BlOGKAPillCAL SKETCH. 331 
 
 purchasable and possible to keep. The clusters would 
 
 weigh more than three pounds each, maybe five 
 
 And now, dear wife, having finished this crude, disjointed 
 yarn of to-day's proceedings, and it being late^ I wdll ' turn 
 
 in ' and dream of dear home." 
 
 • 
 
 ** York, September 20. 
 " .... I reached this ancient city yesterday, coming 
 round by Lincoln to see its noble old cathedral, hardly 
 equalled by any other in England, and the couple of hours 
 spent in going through it, conducted by a clever guide, 
 richly repay the joui^ney. It is immense in its height and 
 proportions, eight or nine hundred years old, its outer walls 
 much decayed and crumbled, but like all other ancient 
 ecclesiastical houses in England constantly undergoing 
 repair and renovation. In one of the cloisters I saw the, 
 to me, curiosity of a Roman pavement, some fourteen by 
 eight feet, discovered a few years ago in excavating, three 
 feet below the surface ; it is composed of small white and 
 greenish cubes. While in the cathedral, I had the pleas- 
 ure of hearing Great Tom of Lincoln, the largest bell in 
 England, boom out the hour. In the afternoon I came 
 on to Hull ; and the next day, being the last of three days 
 of a great cricket-match between Yorkshire and All England, 
 and I never having seen the game, I resolved to spend an 
 hour or two on the cricket-gTound. The match had excited 
 a widespread interest, and an immense number of specta- 
 tors gathered. How your dear father delighted to describe 
 the game ! It was really an interesting sight. The players 
 numbered about thirty, and what fine specimens of men, 
 so athletic and well formed ! The day was very warm for 
 England, and they w^ere attired in cricket dress. How 
 active and skilful they were with the bat and balls ! . . . . 
 I have spent three hours in visiting the celebrated Y^ork 
 
332 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Castle, so connected -vvith family reminiscences, as well 
 as deeply interesting from historical association. Of the 
 famed castle of William the Conqueror nothing remains but 
 the Keep, high up on a steep mound, in the middle of the 
 great court made by the smTOunding modem prisons and 
 'court buildings ; and of this nothing is left but its mossy, 
 crumbling great walls and embrasures, with no roof, and 
 ^covered all over inside with ivy. But the noble, the mag- 
 nificent, thrice glorious old Minster ! who would venture to 
 describe it, or the impressions which such a sight for the 
 first time beheld produces ? Westminster Abbey of itself, 
 independently of its monuments, cannot vie with it. There 
 is more curious and elaborate carving in Lincoln Cathedral 
 than in this, but the vastness and grandeur of this great 
 shrine rise indeed to the sublime. The ten-o'clock morn- 
 ing service, which takes place every day in all cathedrals, 
 — honorable custom, — was about to begin, and I stayed 
 through it to hear the chanting, accompanied by the power- 
 ful organ. I was standing in the centre of the great tran- 
 sept, looking up at its impressive height, when the rolling 
 volume of harmony struck my ear, and reverberated through 
 the clustered columns and aisles and arches of the vast pile. 
 The only drawback to these relished enjoyments is that I 
 am alone ; that you, dear wife, are not with me to partici- 
 pate in them. T have returned to the ' Black Swan ' to post 
 up my crude diary " 
 
 An amusing commentary on the ignorance respect- 
 ing America, pervading even the educated and higher 
 classes in England, was the remark to Mr. Seaton of 
 the Governor of York Castle, who, on discovering his 
 visitor to be an American, exclaimed, with surprise, 
 "Why, you speak English very well." " Yes," quietly 
 replied Mr. Seaton, "you speak it pretty well yourself." 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 333 
 
 ** Edinburgh, Saturday, September 22, 
 *' I am able at last, clearest wife, to write you a line from 
 
 the ancient, and most interesting capital of Scotland 
 
 From York we passed through Newcastle and Berwick, — 
 the former a manufacturing place, in a deep dell on the 
 Tyne, dark and smoky as a hundred great chimneys con- 
 stantly vomiting black smoke from its proverbial coals could 
 make it, and has in good preservation an old tower of the 
 time of AVilham the Conqueror. The second, a walled city 
 on the Tweed, a frontier town, which has stood many a sieoe 
 in the border wars of the olden time, and a place of much 
 historical interest. On our route we stopped two hours, 
 between one train and its successor, to visit Alnwick Castle, 
 the ancient seat, as you know, of the Percys, to which there 
 is a branch railroad of four miles. It is an extensive and 
 impressive specimen of the old feudal stronghold and palace, 
 w4th its high walls and battlements, and towers and moat. 
 As the home of Hotspm-, and a place of so much importance 
 in the civil wars, it could not fail to be interestino- 
 
 " We reached this truly noble city at night. It would be 
 impossible to picture to you its great peculiarities and its 
 pre-eminent beauties. A deep ravine — now turned to the 
 most ornate account by grassy slopes and walks and beds 
 of flowers — divides the towering old town from the splen- 
 did new one, — the two looking at each other from opjjosite 
 heights. In a deep walled trench, as it were, in the centre 
 of the ravine, and its sweet though nan-ow grounds, the 
 railroad runs, bringing the terminus to the centre of the 
 city. When I looked up to the right, towards the old town, 
 with its nine and ten storied houses, it appeared like the 
 dark face of a perpendicular mountain, wdth long galleries, 
 away up one above the other, of lights, there being noth- 
 ing visible in the darkness but these lines of glittering win- 
 dows. After coming up to our quarters in the new town 
 
334 WILLIAM WIXSTOX SEATON. 
 
 I sat until bedtime looking across at the novel and strik- 
 ing spectacle. This morning betimes we were on the 
 peak of Calton Hill, enjoying the beautiful and most pic- 
 turesque panorama of the city below, the neighboring emi- 
 nences of Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags, the high- 
 perched old castle on its rocky cliff, all bordered away off, 
 as far as the eye could reach, by lovely fields and the high- 
 est cultivation. All these points of interest we have vis- 
 ited, and such others in the old town as Scott's stories have 
 made familiar, and then to Holyrood, — a spot of sad- 
 dening, most touching interest. Its faded decorations, its 
 gloomy halls, and dilapidated architecture could not be 
 viewed without pain, the mind recun-ing to the periods of 
 its brillianc}'', and the career of its beautiful, unfortunate, 
 and immortal mistress. The once almost peerless chapel is 
 roofless, ruined, and in an almost prostrate condition. It 
 would be idle, however, to attempt to convey to you an 
 idea of these interesting memorials or the emotions they 
 produced. I will now take a walk through the charming 
 new town and resume my memoranda to-morrow. 
 
 " Sunday, P. M. — . . . . The striking features of this 
 noble city, which I have already seen, have convinced me 
 that in picturesque beauty there can hardly be any compar- 
 able to it, and I am quite prepared to agree with G. that 
 in urban elegance the new town has no equal. We have 
 heard of ^uld Reekie and its noisome streets and closes so 
 long, that I was unprepared for the breadth of the famous 
 Cannon-gate and High Street of the old town, and the gen- 
 eral cleanliness of its thoroughfares. And what a teeming 
 population pouring through its wynds, so decent in appear- 
 ance, so orderly ! The beauty of the hew town, its fine long 
 rows of elegant, large, hewn stone houses, the breadth and 
 number of its streets, the beauty and richness of its shops 
 quite equalling Regent Street, all surpass my previous con- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 335 
 
 ception We shall set out for Glasgow in the morn- 
 ing, via Stirling, and Lochs Katrine and Lomond, making 
 it all in one day " 
 
 "Trosachs Hotel, Monday Night. 
 " Our progress, dearest wife, is much slower than I ex- 
 pected. We left Edinburgh at eight this morning, and 
 arriving at Stirling at ten, stopped there two hours to 
 view the famous castle and town, the scene of so many ro- 
 mantic events in Scottish histoiy. The castle answ^ers 
 fully in its lofty position, extent, strength, and picturesque- 
 ness to all the views we have had of it ; and there was a 
 drill going on within its walls, when we entered, of the 
 42d Highland Regiment, originally the celebrated Black 
 Watch, in their striking national dress ; that is to say, the 
 lower limbs in no costume at all. The reiriment itself is 
 now in the Crimea, but this was a body of four hundred 
 men, enlisted and drilled to send out and fill up the thin- 
 ning of its ranks by war. From the' battlements we see the 
 field of Bannockburn. On our way to Stirling we passed, 
 among other objects of interest, the fine ruin of Linlithgow 
 Castle, where Mary was born. There is no conveyance fi-om 
 Stirling to the lochs except omnibuses and cabs, so in one 
 of the latter we reached this heroic region at five, unable 
 to proceed farther to-day, the steamer not leaving the head 
 of Loch Katrine until the morning. I have taken a long 
 walk ■ up the wild and romantic glenfinlass, and also gone 
 through the ceremony of tea, and now bring my journal up 
 to the close of day " 
 
 "Head of Loch Lomoxd, Tuesday. 
 
 " We are left here high and dry, for three or four hours, 
 
 until the steamer from below shall call and take us to 
 
 Glasgow. We came over to Loch Katrine this morning, 
 
 being brought in its little steamer ten miles, up to its head, 
 
336 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 in an hour, and thither by coach in another hour. When 
 lo ! the Loch Lomond steamer will not arrive for some 
 hours ; so here we are at the little Scotch inn to kick our 
 heels and kill the time as best we may, — which I employ 
 
 in jotting down a line to you The lochs are certainly 
 
 very pretty, and the mountains may be termed grand ; but 
 except for the scenes of imaginary incidents made famous 
 by Scott 's magic pen, they would scarcely be worth the 
 trouble of coming so far to see, by any one so familiar as 
 I am with the mountains and lakes, large and small, of our 
 own country. The mountains here, of Lomond and Levis, 
 are a little higher ; but this celebrated Lake of Lomond 
 does not surpass in beauty or grandeur Lake George, and 
 there is no story connected with this lake, in all of Scott's 
 charming fictions, more thrilling than the one related of 
 Lake George in our romance of the Huron Chief, to say 
 nothing of the scenes by which that and other of our beau- 
 tiful inland seas have been commemorated by Cooper. But 
 the Helens and Macgregors, and Fitz-Jameses and Roderick 
 Dhus have imparted a classic character and vivid life to 
 these mountains which will be perpetuated with all of Brit- 
 ish origin. I feel a good deal of it myself, and you may well 
 imagine that I could not pass by Falkirk, and Bannockburn, 
 and Sheriff" Muir without having my interest in the chival- 
 ric deeds enacted on their fields centuries ago keenly ex- 
 cited. On our way from Stirling, the post-boy diverged 
 from the public road to drive us through the park of Drum- 
 mond, — a princely one it is, and such magnificent trees I 
 have hardly seen in England. We traversed nearly three 
 miles in passing through it on the finest road, made for the 
 accommodation of travellers desiring to see the park, as 
 well as for the pleasure of the noble owner. But the 
 steamer is in sight, so for the present good by, my dearest 
 wife. Glasgow will not detain me more than half a day, 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 337 
 
 as there are few objects in that great but manufacturing 
 city to keep me longer from Oxford, where my dear home 
 letters await me " 
 
 "Glasgow, Wednesday, 2 p. m. 
 " We reached here last night, after a raw, cold, uncomfort- 
 able voyage down Loch Lomond — which 1 must now ad- 
 mit is very fine and its mountains superb — in a miserable 
 little crowded steamer, thence by rail and another vile 
 steamer on the Clyde, — a dirty stream not twice as wide 
 as the Washington Canal. This is a fine city indeed, and 
 so full of life and business, with above four hundred thou- 
 sand inhabitants, and large, broad, regular, well-paved, and 
 clean streets lined with splendid shops. I went through a 
 mercantile establishment, Stewart and MacDonald's, — more 
 extensive than Stewart's of New York. I visited of course 
 the old cathedral and its remarkable crypt ; but the most 
 astonishing things I have looked at here are the great ma- 
 chine works of Napier, and the immense iron Cunard 
 steamer Persia (four thousand tons), now taking in her vast 
 engines, which I went on board to examine ; both were 
 truly wonderful. AVishing, for the sake of Mr. Donoho and 
 my other Irish friends, to tread the soil of old Ireland, and 
 take a look at the Hill of Howth, if nothing more (Donny- 
 brook Fair, the great institution of the island, has been 
 abolished), without going via England, I shall take the mail 
 steamer this evening for Belfast and go on board in a few 
 minutes ; so farewell, dearest wife. To-morrow I hope to 
 open my eyes on the hills of Antrim, and be able to resume 
 my pen at ' Dublin's fair city.' " 
 
 " Dublin, September 27. 
 " After a calm night and a quiet passage across the 
 Irish Sea, we reached Belfast at five a. m., and taking the 
 cars arrived here at middav, an hour a^'o. While wait- 
 
 15 V 
 
338 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 ing for the train at Belfast, I drove to look at its beautiful 
 Queen's College, an extensive and very fine Gothic building 
 recently erected. As far as I have seen this place, it is a 
 noble city. Sackville Street, on which my hotel is situated, 
 is a princely one, finer even than Argyle or other of the 
 handsome streets of Glasgow. I write this much before I 
 have seen it, as I must mail these disjointed notes for the 
 
 American steamer And now, my dearest wife, 
 
 Heaven bless you and all at our dear home. 
 "Ever your affectionate husband, 
 
 "W. W. Seaton." 
 
 "Wateeford, Sunday, September 30, 1855. 
 
 " My dear Thomas, — As I have ventured into the land 
 of the O'Douohues, — the origin of which patronymic I un- 
 derstand to be ' Hy-dim-na-moi^ the ' chiefs of the hill of 
 the plains,' meaning the Rock of Cashel, — being, as I have 
 said, in the land of that great, ancient race, I think it due 
 to report the fact to their representative in the distant 
 Hesperia, and therefore while waiting the departm-e of the 
 train which will take me back to Dublin, I occupy the time 
 in sending you a few words. 
 
 " I have been in the island but three days, yet have trav- 
 elled over not less than six hundred miles of its fine roads, 
 — my limited time denying me anything beyond a cursory 
 glance at town and country in my rapid movements. I 
 came over from Glasgow to Belfast on Thursday morning, 
 thence by rail to Dublin ; went through that fine city, in- 
 cluding the Phaynix Park (seventeen hundred acres) in the 
 afternoon. Friday to Gal way (a lively, handsome, busy 
 town,, and where I saw good old Father Gill) ; thence, as 
 there was no ready conveyance across to Limerick, back to 
 Dublin. On Saturday morning took the rail to Cork, one 
 hundred and sixty-four miles, and so by Kilmallock, Tip- 
 perary, and Clonmel to this city, whence I shall go by the 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 339 
 
 way of Glenvallyvally, Kilkenny, Kildare to Dublin and so 
 to Holyhead. So you see my tour has been pretty exten- 
 sive, if it has not aftbrded me oj^port unity for minute ob- 
 servation. As far as I have been able to judge, the country 
 fully merits its character for fertility and beauty, and is 
 capable of supporting in comfort five times its present popu- 
 lation. If inferior to the sister islands in agricultural beau- 
 ty, it is from bad systems of rack-renting, the habits of the 
 peasantry, the effect of political agitation, agitators, j^t^cJu- 
 dices, and absenteeism. 
 
 " But the late act for selling the encumbered estates will 
 work a great revolution in the social condition of Ireland, by 
 abolishing the middle-men, and making the actual cultivator 
 the only renter and tenant. It has disposed of many large 
 estates to new hands, and its good fruits begin already to 
 be perceptible in improved cottages, and neatness of hus- 
 bandry. Prejudice and suffering have driven so many 
 hundreds of thousands away during the last ten years, as 
 to have given a desolate appearance to many parts of the 
 country, every mile exhibiting roofless, deserted cabins, and 
 neglected fields. Such must necessarily be the aspect of a 
 country which has in a few years lost by pestilence, famine, 
 and emigration one eighth of its population. This emigra- 
 tion, however, has been of vast benefit to our country phys- 
 ically ; for although the emigrants have most deplorably 
 damaged our j^olitical interests, they have enabled us to 
 execute the great works of internal improvement which 
 could not otherwise have been can-ied out for many years, 
 so we must balance the account by placing material advan- 
 tage against political detriment. 
 
 "I was surprised at the general level nature of the 
 country, at least throughout the midland. counties. It was 
 only hilly or mountainous as we approached the coast, with 
 two or three exceptions. There is a good deal of stone in 
 
340 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 some districts, resembling much parts of Massachusetts, 
 especially in Galway, the derivative of which, by the way, sig- 
 nifies its character, being in the Gaelic, or Celtic, Guallief^ — 
 stony land. Speaking of Galway, to show the deserted state 
 of some portions of the island. Father Gill mentioned that 
 in a single village in his parish, where ten years ago there 
 were twenty occupied cottages, there is now but one, — the 
 other nineteen abandoned, roofless, and tumbling down. 
 But, as a young man said to me last night in the coffee-room, 
 ' we have got rid of the agitators and the middle-men, the 
 " Encumbered Estates Act " has emancipated the small 
 holders, the people are attending to their proper business, 
 the country has not for years been so quiet, and it will now, 
 God willing, begin to prosper.' He spoke very feelingly, 
 and I believe correctly. I have no doubt, ft-om what I have 
 seen, that under a proper system four fifths of the island 
 might be made a rich garden, equal to England, or even the 
 lowlands of Scotland, which surpass, if possible, England 
 herself in agricultural beauty. It was melancholy to see 
 so many fields between Belfast and Dublin lying waste, 
 grown up with thistles and weeds. But a better day is 
 dawning for Erin ; she has peace, and will erelong have 
 prosperity. I have seen many remains of ancient feudal 
 and ecclesiastical grandeur in the ruins of castles and 
 abbeys. On the way to Galway I passed Mullingan and 
 Athlone and the Curragh of Kildare. I have seen the Hill 
 of Howth, and passed old Blarney Castle, where the famous 
 and miraculous stone is ; but rail trains have little senti- 
 ment, for they would not stop to let me imbibe inspiration 
 by a kiss. The national institution of Donny brook Fair, 
 w^here flourished the ' sprigs of shillelagh and shamrocks so 
 green,' and where each b'hoy ' met his friend, and for love 
 knocked him down,' no longer exists ; it has been barbar- 
 ously abolished. They tried to revive it at another place, 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. • 341 
 
 but it proved a dead failure, as they could not get up five 
 fights during the day. Having seen the chief natural curi- 
 osities of the island, I have also had opportunities of admir- 
 ing its great artificial one, for I have been driven in a 
 jaunting-car, — the most extraordinary, most awkward, most 
 uneasy, and most horrible vehicle that the wit of man ever 
 devised. 
 
 " I am writing in full view of, and not fifty yards from, 
 an old tower built by the Danes more than a thousand years 
 ago as a fort. It is in good preservation, and now used as 
 the city prison " 
 
 "London, October 2. 
 " I came fi'om Waterford to Dublin on Sunday, stopping 
 an hour at Kilkenny. At Oxford I remained two hours 
 examining its noble and unrivalled colleges. At Kilkenny 
 I saw the grand old castle of Ormond, a baronial residence 
 worthy of that gi^eat and renowned family. On arriving at 
 Dublin I found an invitation from the Lord Lieutenant, Earl 
 of Carlisle, to dine at the palace, but it would have detained 
 
 me beyond my time 
 
 " Yours with constant regard, 
 
 "W. W. Seaton. 
 "Major Thomas Donoho." 
 
 Mr. Seaton truly appreciated the virtues, the warm 
 heart, the instant sensibility, the wit and delicious 
 humor of the Irish nature, and in return was enthu- 
 siastically regarded by his Irish constituents, who 
 found in him personally a beneficent friend, and who 
 never forgot that to his large sympathy their famish- 
 ing countrymen were indebted for bread. On the 
 occasion of a St. Patrick festival, Mr. Seaton thus 
 alludes to his glimpse of the " Gem of the Sea " : — 
 
 " Colonel Seaton, who has so frequently officiated at 
 
o 
 
 42 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 similar celebrations, gave great satisfaction by the graceful 
 manner in which he discharged the duties of the Chair. 
 The following toast was then offered and drunk with enthu- 
 siasm : — 
 
 " ' Colonel W. W. Seaton, the friend of Ireland and Irish- 
 men. The alacrity with which he attends on all occasions 
 our national festival, shows that his heart is in the right 
 place.' 
 
 " Mr. Seaton acknowledged in felicitous terms the honor 
 conferred on him, and the compliment which his selec- 
 tion as chairman implied. He paid a glowing tribute to St. 
 Patrick, whose labors in the cause of civilization and Chris- 
 tianity had conferred such lasting benefits on Ireland, and, 
 through its men of letters and missionaries, upon all Europe. 
 A descendant of Scotchmen, he had nothing in common with 
 the people of the sister isle except that he belonged to the 
 same Celtic race. He had, however, always felt much 
 interest in whatever concerned Irishmen, and during a visit 
 to the British Islands a few years ago he passed over from 
 the romantic glens and garden lowlands of Scotland to the 
 green hills and fertile plains of old Ireland, and during a 
 rapid though pretty extensive tour, he was truly glad to find 
 everywhere evidences of improved agriculture and returning 
 prosperity. He adverted incidentally to some of the causes 
 to which he conceived the amelioration of the condition 
 of the country was due ; and concluded by expressing his 
 pleasure at finding himself once more in festive communion 
 with so many to whose support he had been in times past 
 largely and repeatedly indebted for the highest honors 
 of the city, — honors of which he should ever be proud, 
 and which he believed he could say with truth he would 
 rather wear again, were he young enough, than even the 
 high but harassing ones of Chief Magistrate of the Re- 
 public." 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 343 
 
 " Paris, October 5, 9 A. m. 
 
 " My dearest Wife, — My last letter brought my weekly 
 
 report down to yesterday afternoou in London We 
 
 reached Dover at near midnight, and went on board the 
 Channel steamer, but she could not get out before 3 a. m., 
 when the tide made. It was a rainy, bad, dark night ; the 
 boat a little, confined, miserable atlair, not larger than one 
 of our Alexandiia ferry-boats, but strong ; the men's cabin 
 not so large as our little front parlor, and into that all the 
 male passengers had to stow, from the bad weather on deck ; 
 no berths but the cushioned bench seats, and no comfort of 
 any kind ; and there we remained packed until we put out 
 into a heavy sea, and then lor two hours were rolling and 
 pitching as if the cockle-shell would roll clean over or go 
 
 under I was ensconced on a sort of upper shelf, 
 
 where I lay witnessing this scene, for sleep was impossible, 
 and wretched enough, but not the slightest sick. We at 
 last got across, and at once took the train, accomplishing in 
 nine hours the two hundred miles between Calais and this 
 most magnificent, most polished city, the undisputed metrop- 
 olis of the world. We drove to the lodgings of our amiable 
 and able correspondent, Mr. Mann, who instantly and most 
 zealously embarked in my service, and after an hour's indus- 
 trious search (for the city is excessively full of strangers, 
 and desirable lodgings difficult to find), we succeeded in 
 obtaining rooms in the Hotel Choiseul, Rue St. Honore, not 
 far from the Place Vendome. 
 
 " We have for four hours visited some of the more strik- 
 ing points of this emporium of the grand and beautiful. 
 We walked from the Place Vendome, where stands on the 
 lofty and celebrated column the statue of Napoleon the 
 First, through street after street of colonnades and grand 
 houses to the Place de la Concorde, the Champs Elysees, 
 till it grew to night, and T have returned to bring up for 
 you a sketch of my movements 
 
o 
 
 44 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 "Saturday Night. 
 ". . . . Such acquaintances as I have met are as much 
 amazed at seeing me in Europe as I am to find myself here ; 
 and \yell they may be. The first one who stumbled over 
 me was Mr. H., who, as I was going to a cafe to breakfast, 
 suddenly seized me by the shoulders with such a grip that 
 I doubted not the police with a lettre de cachet had got me. 
 ' Of course I must dine with him,' but this I must decline, 
 having no time. An hour after, I met Mme. C. de la B. on 
 the boulevard, who was equally astounded at my appari- 
 tion and most earnestly cordial My attention of 
 
 course was due to our Minister, whose wife I found at home, 
 — her reception-day. Were I her father, she could not 
 have given me a warmer welcome, or introduced me to 
 her guests with more empressement ; while for you her in- 
 quiries were as affectionate as if for a sister. Mr. M. was 
 
 equally kind They pressed me to drive to-morrow 
 
 to the Bois de Boulogne and dine. The drive I accept, 
 
 dinner decline What a city it is, in its magnificent 
 
 proportions, finely paved, noble streets, beautiful, lofty, 
 cream-colored, finely cut stone houses, its Places, avenues, 
 palaces, jardins, grand ancient hotels of the Montmorencis, 
 the Guises, and the old historic names ! And the gardens 
 of the Luxembourg, the exquisite drives, the ever-shifting 
 scene of gay splendor ! The present Emperor has done, 
 and is still doing, more to improve and adorn the capital 
 than any predecessor. He cuts without hesitation through 
 half a mile of an old, confused, crowded district, to open a 
 grand avenue to some other, or to continue some beautiful 
 street or boulevard, upon which is forthwith erected long 
 uniform rows of stone houses. This afternoon I went to 
 the ' Exposition Universelle ' ; and great it certainly is, far 
 exceeding the most labored description to convey an idea of 
 its vastness and boundless riches in works of human skill. 
 
A BIOGllArillCAL SKEICII. 345 
 
 in eveiy form of fabric, of the loom, of gold, jewels, and 
 porcelain, and thousands of art treasures. Shawls I saw 
 marked ten thousand francs, and lace dresses fifteen thou- 
 sand francs. I should think such exhibitions so likely to 
 craze the brain of many women who would have to long in 
 vain for such gorgeous attire, that from the mere dictates 
 of humanity they ought to be suppressed. But my candle 
 is burnt out, and I must bid you good night." 
 
 " Sunday Night. 
 " It has rained so steadily all day that I took for gi-anted 
 Mrs. M. would not drive, so I assumed our engagement to 
 be ex necessitate released ; but I have spent the day as if it 
 had been clear. I began my rounds at nine, and we went 
 afoot and in cabs to many quarters of the immense city, 
 whose greatness and gxandeur grow on one at every step ; 
 among other places the Jardin des Plantes and the exten- 
 sive galleries of natm-al history connected with it. Merely 
 to enumerate the objects viewed during the day would fa- 
 tigue, not interest you, and my midnight chats, as it were, 
 permit nothing moi'e in detail ; but I must mention venera- 
 ble Notre Dame, the Invalides, Tuileries, and above all for 
 a gem of interest, the chapel of St. Louis, — an enclosure, 
 above the base, of one entire mass of richly stained glass, 
 ancient and modern. It was nearly destroyed in '89 by 
 the monsters who broke open the tomb and scattered the 
 ashes of Du Guesclin and murdered their queen, but was 
 restored by Louis Philippe, and is now undergoing further 
 adornment by the present great imperial patron of Paris. 
 
 Good night." 
 
 " Monday Night. 
 
 " Soon after breakfast we set out on our daily tour, the 
 morning being occupied with few objects, but of much in- 
 terest. The first, Pere la Chaise, the great cemetery for 
 the opulent and eminent, and temporarily, three or four 
 
 15* 
 
346 AVILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 years, for the poor, ^Yhose remains after the stij^ulated time 
 are removed. So indeed are those of all others, high and 
 low, who have not purchased a ' concession 2>er2oetuelle.'' It 
 is strictly a great city of the dead, consisting of long streets 
 of handsofiie vaults, all above ground, like small stone 
 lodges of various plans and devices. Every tomb, as you 
 know, especially of the more humble, being decorated with 
 chaplets of immortelles, supplied by the shops for their sale 
 w^hich line the approach to the gates. From the eminence 
 of the cemetery we had a fine view of Paris in its noble 
 
 proportions The Bois de Boulogne — for thick 
 
 wood it is and not open park — was destroyed by the in- 
 vaders in 1815 for fuel, but was subsequently replanted by 
 Louis Philippe, and is now of handsome size. The present 
 Emperor has made a grand avenue . out of the city to it, 
 and has in every way greatly improved and beautified it. 
 It is of great extent, several hundred acres, furnishing 
 various delightful winding drives over the finest roads, 
 which one may pursue for hours without repassing the 
 same one I cannot accept these pressing invita- 
 tions, kind as they are. Truth to say, in the evening 
 I am tired out, and want to dine quietly and enjoy my 
 
 cigar. 
 
 ** Tuesday Night. 
 " It has rained drearily all day, but I faced the weather 
 to visit the tomb of Napoleon, a most gorgeous and most 
 impressive object. The body is not yet placed in the splen- 
 did porphyry sarcophagus prepared for it, but lies in a small 
 grated room, in a plain black marble tomb, with his sword 
 and well-known little cocked hat placed before it. Relics do 
 not usually have much efi'ect on me, but these personal me- 
 morials brought me, in the presence, too, of his actual body, 
 in such close proximity to that great, most wonderful man, 
 who had in long years past filled my own soul, as every 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 347 
 
 other, with deep and daily interest, that I could not con- 
 template them without emotion, and a good deal of spon- 
 taneous moralizing This afternoon we set out for 
 
 the Rhine, and a little toiu' in Germany. We go at 5 p. m., 
 sleep at Epernay to-night, and Manheim to-morrow. I met 
 Mr. W. B. H. just now, W'ho nearly devoured me " 
 
 ** Manheim, on the Khine, October 11, 1855. 
 " My dearest Wife, — When you read the above date 
 you will think I am putting half the globe between us, but in 
 these days of steam a score of hundred miles are accom- 
 plished as if by magic, and I am now near my extreme point 
 from you, and hope in a short time to turn my face home- 
 wards. We halted last night at Epernay, a principal town 
 in the champagne wine district of France, where I was glad 
 to spend an hour or two in viewing the vine fields, the 
 character of the fruit, the wine-making, it being the height 
 of the vintage, and the great wine-vaults of M. Moet. We 
 rose at six, and before seven had ascended a long hill (the 
 vineyards are generally on the sides and tops of hills both 
 in this country and on the Rhine), and were quickly in a 
 field of two hundred acres, among the gatherers. After 
 satisfying our curiosity we returned to breakfast, wdien, hav- 
 ing still two hours before the train started, we spent them 
 in going through M. Moet's immense vaults. They consist 
 of long arched galleries cut out of the soft chalky stone, two 
 sets, one below the other, and their aggregate length is esti- 
 mated at six miles, comprehending an area of six acres under 
 ground. There were a million of bottles in the vaults ready 
 for exportation, and almost as much more in various stages 
 of progress, in bottles, casks, and vast vats. M. Moet 
 handed me a silver cup of the juice of the red or tinto cham- 
 pagne, as it ran from the press, which was sw^eet and 
 pleasant. They cultivate both the w^hite and the black 
 grape for the purpose, but give the preference to the latter, 
 
348 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 — both kinds being small and sweet, and good table grapes. 
 From Epernay we passed through the beautiful and highly 
 cultivated country of the Marne, and then across some hills 
 to the still lovelier valley and country of the Moselle, a trib- 
 utary of the Rhine; and on all the hillsides, for thirty or 
 forty miles, as far as our road followed, nothing but grape 
 fields. We reached this place, the head of navigation, at ten 
 o'clock to-night, but before going to bed make this brief 
 record of my peregTi nations. A little distance from Metz 
 to-day we passed and had a fine view of the remains of a 
 Roman aqueduct across the Moselle, of which a hundred or 
 two yards and many of its loft}?^ arches are standing entire. 
 I did not mention that on reaching Dover, and leaving it in 
 the dark, I missed seeing Shakespeare's cliff, but I passed 
 under it through a railway tunnel ! 
 
 " At daybreak we go in a steamer to Cologne, or rather 
 for Bonn, a few miles this side, the famous university town, 
 where Madame G. is, whom her husband requested me to 
 see if I came to the Rhine " 
 
 " DussELDORF, Saturday Night. 
 " L Uiomme propose, et Dieu dispose. I little thought, 
 when I penned my memoranda at Manheim, that I should 
 be no farther on my journey than this place to-night, 
 but such is our adverse fortune. We left Manheim at day- 
 light, — a dismal, rainy morning ; indeed, it has rained al- 
 most constantly from the day I left London, — and came on 
 very well for forty or fifty miles, with every prospect of being 
 in Cologne by evening ; but it happened to be a Rotterdam 
 boat, and stopping at the towns to take in freight, lost so 
 much time that at seven o'clock we were still many miles 
 from Bonn ; and soon after, the rain made the darkness so 
 intense that the captain, afraid to proceed, came to anchor 
 till five next morning, thus rendering my visit to Madame 
 G. impossible. We spent two hours in driving about the 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 349 
 
 curious old town of Cologne, and in viewing its wonderful 
 Cathedral, begun six hundred years ago, but yet unfinished, 
 though four hundred workmen are now employed on it, and 
 there is a hope that it will be completed in fifteen years. 
 While the new portions are going up the old are crumbling 
 away with age. The weather destroyed all the romance of 
 the Pthme, which was nearly the color of pea-soup, and its 
 banks were made dim by the incessant rain. We could dis- 
 cern, however, many ruined castles on their rocky peaks, 
 and many magnificent views as we passed the mountain por- 
 tions. The slopes and mountain-sides were covered with 
 grape-vines for a hundred miles or more, — we can hardly 
 say vines, however, as both here and in France the vine- 
 yards resemble fields of green peas, being not higher, and 
 
 each supported in like manner by sticks I doubt if 
 
 any tourists ever passed a more uncomfortable night on the 
 Rhine, — no bedding, and only the bench seat of stuffed 
 cushion, and of even that luxury few could get a lengthy and 
 most of the passengers sat up or lolled about all night. 
 With Mr. M.'s carpet-bag, and a cushion he found for me, 
 I was among the most comfortable, while he sat up all night. 
 It rained hard, and the cabin, without fire, was very cold 
 and cheerless, — enough so to knock all the poetry about 
 
 the Rhine on the head 
 
 "Berlix, Monday. 
 " We left Dusseldorf yesterday morning, dearest wife, and 
 reached Magdeburg — so interesting to all juveniles as the 
 place of Baron Trenck's imprisonment — about 7 P. m., a 
 distance of three hundred miles. It was too late to see any- 
 thing of the fortress, as we left it before day to be able to 
 stop two or three hours at Potsdam. We arrived at that cele- 
 brated residence of the great Frederick at nine, and stayed 
 till twelve. We drove out to Sans Souci, and the new palace, 
 both built by Frederick ; the former we could only view ex- 
 
350 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 teriially, as the royal family were there, but the latter we 
 went through above and below ; and I found it in many 
 respects superior to all other palaces I have seen, — I was 
 forced to leave Versailles unvisited, — even Windsor itself 
 in its state apartments, which are very spacious, and very 
 remarkable for their peculiar taste. The paintings are fine, 
 many of the great masters ; and everything about the palace 
 bespeaks the genius of the great designer. The parks" are 
 on a commensurate scale, the trees and drives noble ; but 
 the lowness and flatness of the land is a serious disadvantage. 
 In fact, ft'om the Rhine, rather more than thi'ee hundred 
 miles, the whole country, with the exception of a small chain 
 of hills near the Weser, is as level as a race-course ; much 
 of it good and well cultivated, but a good deal thin, poor, 
 and sandy. In some districts we passed miles without see- 
 ing a single tree, while scattering farm-houses are unknown, 
 the cultivators all living in closely built villages or hamlets. 
 After leaving the palace we went to the church where the 
 remains of my hero Frederick, and those of his crazy, ruffian 
 fptther, are deposited. We entered the little grated cell 
 beneath the pulpit, and found only the two coffins, side by 
 side, of thick plain mahogany, but lined, we were told by the 
 valet de place, with metallic ones, and, placing my hand on 
 the one in which rests the greatest man of his age, I could 
 V)ut contrast its plainness with the splendor of that of the 
 other great warrior (but his inferior), which I had gazed 
 upon a few days before, beneath the dome of the Invalides. 
 I was early in life impressed with a gi^eat and indelible ad- 
 miration for Frederick, as a soldier and a genius, and it never 
 yielded precedence even to the exploits of the wonderful 
 Corsican. We shall remain here this afternoon to see what 
 is most worthy of curiosity ; but there is not very much 
 that specially interests me ; for though a fine city, it is 
 'comparatively new. It is rich in museums, pictures, hos- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 351 
 
 pitals, etc., but these are common to all European capitals ; 
 and as I have onl}'^ time to glance at the infinite multitude 
 of such objects, I begin to weary of such cursory sight-see- 
 ing. I should have liked much to stop in Brunswick, Han- 
 over, and Magdeburg, a few hours in each, but could not 
 without losing too much time, or travelling late in the night. 
 From this city we shall to-morrow turn to the south, and 
 after a day or two in that direction shall set my face to- 
 wards England. Now for a drive, and then home to dinner 
 at the Hotel de Russie " 
 
 ^ ** Tuesday, 11 a. m. 
 
 " This morning I find Mr. Fillmore and Mr. Corcoran 
 
 here, on their way from the south back to France 
 
 I have seen this morning much of the city (it improves on 
 examination and is certainly a fine one) and museums, and 
 regiments of statues and acres of paintings ; but there ap- 
 pears to me a great sameness in these things, similar to 
 those in other capitals. If I had time for careful inspec- 
 tion, I might perceive great diversity, but for me the ob- 
 ject would not be worth the delay, even if I could command 
 the time. As I now pass rapidly through these bewildering 
 collections, I am only thinking of when the circuit will be 
 completed and my voyage home begun. I shall set out in 
 an hour for Dresden, that treasure-house of art, and so on to 
 my ultima thule. I intended to call on Baron Humboldt, 
 but he is absent from Berlin. By the time you read this, 
 I hope to be On the ocean wending my way back to my 
 dear home and household. .... 
 
 " Your ever devoted husband, 
 
 " W. W. Seaton." 
 
 "Munich, October 23, 1855. 
 
 " My dearest Wife, — My brain is so shaken by three 
 successive entire nights without even taking ofif my coat, and 
 
352 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 almost without sleep in steamboat and mail-wagons, that 
 both memory and thought are nearly obliterated ; but my 
 letter must go in an hour, and I must give you a skeleton 
 sketch of my wanderings since we left Berlin, that rather 
 insipid though large city. We reached Dresden the same 
 night, spent half a day there looking about its pleasant 
 streets and parks, and especially its peerless gallery, and its 
 vaulted suite of rooms in the old palace filled with every 
 variety of rococo, in jewels, gold, and precious stones, uten- 
 sils and ten thousand objects of curious beauty; and at 
 noon set out for Prague, interesting for its historical asso- 
 ciations, its peculiarities, its Oriental cast of character. 
 From Dresden the road lay for one hundred miles along 
 the banks of the charming Elbe, combining the grand with 
 the beautiful. We left Prague early next morning, and, 
 passing through Moravia into Austria, arrived at Vienna 
 the noble in the evening, and stood on the banks of the 
 Danube. That is truly a gi^and city, with its stately streets, 
 its palaces, its pleasure-gTounds on the ramparts, in every 
 direction, and its magTiificent Prater, four miles square, 
 composed of parks, woods, drives, walks, glades, — one vista 
 of it being two miles long, — its music, gay, happy crowds, 
 and brilliant life. Then the palace and beautiful grounds 
 and parks of the glorious Schonbrunn. What would 
 I not have given for you to stroll through them with 
 me ! Among other interesting things I visited the burial 
 vaults of the emperors and royal family, all in elaborately 
 ornamented bronze coffins, — comprising those of the heroic 
 Maria Theresa, the Due de Reichstadt (Napoleon's son), and 
 his miserable mother, Maria Louise. 
 
 " On Saturday morning we took the steamer on the Dan- 
 ube for Linz, one hundred and thirty miles, to arrive early 
 the next morning ; but the fogs compelled the captain to 
 stop nearly all night, and we did not reach Linz until the 
 
o --o 
 
 A lUOGEAPIIICAL SKETCH. 006 
 
 afternoon of next day. There was no bedding on board, 
 no accommodation for sleeping, so we lolled about on 
 chairs all niglit, cold and comfortless. At Linz we took 
 an eil wagen, and driving all night reached Salzburg next 
 morning. From this interesting and fortified town we set 
 forth in a post-wagon, and after a third night spent on the 
 road, without undressing and with only uneasy, disturbed 
 snatches of sleep, arrived here at daybreak this morning. 
 I have been two hours threading its fine streets, its gal- 
 leries and other places of curiosity, and find it a magnifi- 
 cent city, highly interesting. I have returned to scratch off 
 this brief summary, to be mailed at Augsburg, for which 
 place we shall depart in a few moments " 
 
 "AuGSBiJEG, 7 p. M. 
 
 " A pleasant ride of two hours in the cars brought us to 
 
 this bijou of an old Byzantine town, through which and 
 
 around its ramparts we drove this afternoon. Its most 
 
 peculiar and quaint old features, surpassing anything I 
 
 have yet seen, would delight J We shall set out 
 
 early in the morning for Lake Constance, take a glance at 
 the Alps, turn about for France, remain a day in Paris, 
 hasten over to England, run to take a look at Stratford, 
 Kenilworth, and Stonehenge, thence to Liverpool to embark 
 in the Pacific for dear home. I am in great hopes that 
 Captain Comstock has secured me a berth in her ; but if 
 he have not, I will agree to sleep on the cabin floor or in the 
 engine-room, rather than wait for the next steamer. Tell 
 J. that I am writing in 'die drei Mooren,'' the oldest inn 
 in Europe, and truly it looks so. Prayers and blessings to 
 
 all " 
 
 "Paris, October 27, 1855. 
 
 " .... I proceed to post up my brief, disjointed notes 
 of my wanderings since we left Augsburg, whence we went 
 to beautiful Lake Constance, where,- as I wished much to 
 
 w 
 
354 - WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 get a glimpse of Swiss mountains, instead of turning back 
 through Germany by Baden-Baden, we took a steamer up 
 the lake, and that night by rail and diligence to Zurich, 
 fifty or sixty miles into the country, a curious old town 
 on the lovely Zurich's waters. This forced travelling by 
 night of course I regret, depriving me of viewing so *nuch 
 interesting scenery ; but it is unavoidable. The next 
 evening we were in Strasbourg, and went forthwith, our 
 only chance, to see by bright moonlight the famous spire of 
 its grand cathedral. After a fatiguing run of sixteen hours 
 we reached here late last night, where I found my precious 
 home letters, which so excited me that, notwithstanding my 
 prolonged shaking in the cars, and incessant strain, mental 
 and bodily, for these past weeks, I could not sleep ; but 
 after a cup of good coffee I am quite fresh this morning. I 
 am glad to be able to say also that, although it has rained 
 or drizzled every da}^ since I left England, and has been con- 
 stantly cold as well as wet (they seem to have no concep- 
 tion of warm weather here), I have suffered no indispo- 
 sition " 
 
 "Monday. 
 
 " I still date from this truly imperial city, but shall leave 
 it to-night. Yesterday w^as raining and cold, but as it would 
 be ridiculous to return without seeing Versailles, I went 
 thither at 10 a. m., and returned at four. This vast palace 
 and magazine of art, unsurpassed, if equalled, in the world, 
 was worthy of being the culminating point of my continental 
 sight-seeing. The army of statues, the galleries of interest- 
 ing portraits, each one a history ; the ornate grounds on 
 which art has exhausted itself ! They beggar language as 
 they outstrip imagination ! Inclement as was the day, there 
 must have been ten thousand Parisians, — the bourgeoisie 
 and common people, — carried out in suecessive hourly 
 trains of immense length, filling the galleries and grounds. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 355 
 
 lu the evening I dined with Mr. and Mrs. M., — their ear- 
 nest and warm kindness, and indeed overwhehning expres- 
 sions of aftection for you, entirely disconcerted me " 
 
 "London, Wednesday Night. 
 
 ". . .*. I visited to-day, for the first time, the gorgeous 
 Houses of Parliament, the British Museum, and Sydenham 
 Crystal Palace, and had barely time to make my toilet for 
 our very agreeable dinner, and, the guests gone, I have only 
 a moment to bring up any rough notes " 
 
 '* Liverpool, Saturday Morning. 
 
 " Here I am, dearest wife, safe and well, and find a berth 
 reserved for me on the fine ship Pacific, Captain Nye, and 
 I, most ready and willing and anxious to embark for dear 
 home. I reached Salisbury on Thursday evening, was in a 
 cab at daybreak yesterday morning for Stonehenge, — eigh- 
 teen- miles there and back, — so as to be back for the ten- 
 o'clock train for Liverpool. Those gigantic and mysterious 
 remains of an unknown age and race have always impressed 
 me with interest, and there I found them, in silent and soli- 
 tary grandeur, on the desolate downs of Wiltshire, render- 
 ing no account to mortal intelligence of their age, their 
 object, or by whom or what agencies or powers created. I 
 got back to Salisbury to breakfast, not only in time for the 
 train, but for a rapid view of the cathedral, the most beau- 
 tiful externally, I think, which I have seen in England. So 
 far, however, from being able to stop at Stratford, I did not 
 reach here until midnight, — and now, dearest wife, I must 
 get ready to go on board the ship which, by the favor of an 
 ever-gracious and good Providence, is to bear me across the 
 great waters to her whose prayers, if any can avail, I know 
 will secure me safety. Good night. May good angels 
 guard you and all my dear household ! " 
 
356 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 " Sunday, November, 4 p.m. 
 " We left Liverpool yesterday afternoon, dearest wife, and 
 have been all day steaming along in sight of the Irish coast. 
 A fine clear day, but cold. In a few hours we shall take a 
 last look at the shores of Europe and set our faces fairly out 
 upon the dark and turbulent Atlantic. Ten days, I trust, 
 will give to my eyes the shores of my own dear country, 
 where all my treasures are. God grant it, and ever bless 
 you." 
 
 In 1859 Mr. and Mrs. Seaton celebrated their 
 " golden wedding," an occasion which drew from many 
 quarters of the land kind salutations, gifts, floral offer- 
 ings, and congratulatory odes, while the public press 
 expressed very generally the regard entertained for the 
 honored and venerable couj^le, paying graceful tributes 
 to their virtues, and the courtesy and hospitality 
 which had, during half a century, crowned their home. 
 The two following notes from well-known personages 
 are among many recognitions of the anniversary : — 
 
 "HAETroRD, Conn., May 2, 1859. 
 • " My dear Sir, — I was delighted to see in the public 
 papers that you and your estimable lady had celebrated your 
 golden wedding, and I felt moved to place your names in a 
 book, where the observance of that beautiful custom is com- 
 mended. Having missed the opportunity by which I had 
 hoped to transmit the gift, I hesitated whether to send it at 
 all, but decide this morning to commit it to the post ; for 
 though somewhat behind the date, the sentiments of respect 
 and friendship that prompted the tribute are fresh ; and 
 with best wishes for your health and happiness, and for 
 those of Mrs. Seaton and your children, I remain, 
 
 " Sincerely yours, 
 
 " Lydia Huntley Sigourney, 
 **W. ^Y. Seaton, Esq." 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 357 
 
 " Geneva, April 4, 1859. 
 " Dear Mr. axd Mrs. Seaton, — Your * golden wedding ' 
 rejoices me and many more. Its notice in the public 
 gazettes is greatly to my enjoyment. It brings, too, the 
 reminiscence of our early days in quiet, unpretending pat- 
 riotic North Carolina, where I also found a jewel ! this adds 
 zest to my greeting. I hope to see both of you again, but 
 this is of the uncertainties ; and yet the hope of it being 
 a reality by and by enhances my pleasure in recalling mo 
 to the memory of you both, dear friends. I thank you, W. 
 W. S., for your prompt response to my inquiries about a 
 dear son, and for your invitation to Washington. 
 '' While life endures, I am yours, 
 
 " J. G. Swift." 
 
 In Auf^ust, 1860, the tie which had far forty-eight 
 years united the editors of the National Intelligencer 
 in so famous, so beneficent, and so close a partnership, 
 was severed by the death of Mr. Gales. " The early 
 tie which had grown between them at Ealeigh grad- 
 ually matured into that more than friendship or 
 Lrotherhood, that oneness and identity of all pur- 
 poses, opinions, and interests which ever after existed 
 between them, without a moment's interruption ; and 
 which was long, to those who understood it, a rare 
 spectacle of that concord and affection so seldom wit- 
 nessed, and which could never have come about except 
 between men of singular virtues. From the point 
 of their editorial union, their stories, like their lives, 
 merge with a rare concord into one. They had no 
 bickerings, no misunderstanding, no difference of view 
 which a consultation did not at once reconcile ; they 
 never knew a division of interests ; from their com- 
 
358 -WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 moil coffer each always drew whatever he chose, and 
 down to the death of Mr. Gales there had never been 
 a settlement of accounts between them. \Vhat facts 
 could better attest, not merely a singular harmony of 
 character, but an admirable conlbrmity of virtues ? " * 
 Possessed of the most lavish generosity of nature, his 
 heart the home of all charitable emotion, Mr. Gales 
 was exceedingly beloved by the community in wliich 
 he had passed so large a portion of his life, his virtues 
 .being appreciated by the whole country, while the 
 columns of the Intelligencer during a period of fifty 
 years bear signal evidence of his intellectual and 
 journalistic eminence. "A very able writer," says 
 Mr. Everett, " there were articles from the pen of Mr. 
 Gales which would do credit to the most accomplished 
 of his contemporaries, and which were often ascribed 
 to different individuals, who from time to time were 
 regarded as the clearest thinkers and most vigorous 
 writers of the day." 
 
 As an illustration of the rare unity of feeling 
 and action subsisting between these brother-editors, 
 a prominent journalist related the following incident, 
 almost touchingly characteristic of their habit of doing 
 good by stealth, and the endeavor of each to bear the 
 friendly burden alone. The gentleman in question 
 chanced for the moment to be deprived of resources, 
 and coming to Washington naturally turned to that 
 asylum for the distressed, the sanctum of his friends 
 of the Intelligencer. Mr. Seaton, after discussing the 
 prospects for journalistic venture at that time, said, 
 " We can offer you nothing satisfactory, and unfortu- 
 
 * Atlantic Moiitlily, 1860. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 359 
 
 nately just now our pockets are empty; but wliat we 
 can do lor ourselves we can do for- a friend, and I 
 will make a loan wliich is at your service ; but it is 
 a private affair between you and myself, not the firm, 
 and I wish that you should not mention the matter 
 to Mr. Gales." 
 
 The next morning, a nearly similar conversation 
 ensued with Mr. Gales, who also offered to procure the 
 aid not in his immediate personal power to advance ; 
 but when he proceeded, in almost the very words used 
 by Mr. Seaton, to beg that it might be " an affair be- 
 tween themselves, and not necessary to be made known 
 to Mr. Seaton," the gentleman fairly laughed, and 
 noted in his diary this beautiful coincidence of two 
 benevolent natures. The hearty, absolute appreciation 
 entertained by each of these noble men for the attain- 
 ments and virtues of his alter ego was rare in its sin- 
 cerity, — Mr. Seaton regarding Mr. Gales with un- 
 alterable affection, and respect for his talent, who in 
 turn was ever happy in testifying to the ability and 
 singularly winning characteristics of his colaborer, — 
 " My Lord Duke," as he was fond playfully of styling 
 him. A gentleman in alluding to tliis generosity of 
 affection so closely uniting them, writes : " The press, 
 in commenting on the ability of the Intelligencer, 
 occasionally attributed its leading articles exclusively 
 to Mr. Gales, who was exceedingly annoyed at this 
 injustice, which only excited Mr. Seaton's amusement. 
 I remember more than once finding Mr. Gales quite 
 excited on this subject; and one morning especially 
 he was wrought up to great disturbance. ' See this,' 
 he said, showing me a paragraph ; ' this paper, in 
 
360 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 praising our late masterly series of articles, says tliey 
 were written by me. Now I say it is false, for every 
 one of them is by Mr. Seaton, and I never coidd write 
 as well as he does.' The controversy was between 
 the government organ, edited by a cabinet officer, and 
 the Intelligencer, and the editorials in question were 
 among the ablest that appeared in that journal during 
 General Jackson's administration, being copied more 
 extensively probably than any other of that period, 
 and admitted even by political opponents to have 
 silenced their adversary." 
 
 A month subsequent to the lamented death of Mr. 
 Gales, Mr. Seaton announced that thenceforth Mr. 
 James C. Welling would be associated with him in 
 the editorial conduct of the Intelligencer, with which 
 indeed, during the previous ten years, he had been 
 connected ; first, in charge of its literary department, 
 after the retirement from that position of the accom- 
 plished gentleman and brilliant writer, the late Edward 
 AVilliam Johnston. " Mr. Welling," adds Mr. Seaton, 
 " was the author of those Notes on New Books, which, 
 by their scholarship and ability, would of themselves 
 be a sufficient evidence of the qualifications he brings 
 to the tasks of journalism. Enjoying in the fullest 
 degree the confidence of my late lamented colleague, 
 Mr. Gales, he has equally by his high moral and con- 
 scientious character, no less than by his rare attain- 
 ments, merited my o\\m." Most ably indeed did Mr. 
 Welling meet these flattering expectations. To a 
 fulness of matured thought upon every point of theo- 
 retical or practical national polity, and an erudition 
 ranging through every field of science and literature. 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 361 
 
 Mr. Welling united a force and readiness of discussion 
 with an appreciation of the conservative tone and 
 dignity characterizing the Intelligencer, which gained 
 the marked approval of the constituents of the time- 
 honored journal, and amply justified the confidence 
 reposed in him by Mr. Seaton. 
 
 The close of the year 1863 brought to Mr. Sea- 
 ton the sorrow which was to darken with its heavy- 
 shadow the remaining days of his pilgrimage. On 
 Christmas day he laid in the dust the beloved and 
 cherished head of her who had during fifty-four years 
 been the " modest yet shining ornament and charm of 
 his household. Mr. Seaton' s union with the honored 
 partner of his life was marked by a mutual tenderness 
 so seldom paralleled, by a devotion so chivalrous on 
 the one part, a reliance so truthful and unhesitating on 
 the other, that it must ever be referred to as the crown 
 and complement of his earthly existence. The loveli- 
 ness and good report of this conjugal example were 
 treasured, it may be said, as a personal pride and 
 possession by the community in which for so long a 
 period the virtues, the talents, the ineffable grace of 
 true womanhood, as exliibited in the person of Mrs. 
 Seaton, sustained and cheered the toils of her husband 
 in his arduous career." * 
 
 " The chronicle of Mrs. Seaton's life may be said to 
 be that of Washiag-ton, of wliich, during wellnigh half 
 a century, she was the recognized head of its highest 
 type of society. Coming to the capital in its infancy, 
 she had witnessed its many changes of rulers, and 
 strange mutations of social circles, outliving nearly 
 
 * Professor Joseph Henry. 
 
362 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 all lier associates of an era we are wont to call the 
 golden one of our re]3ublic. Maintaining close friendly 
 relations with all that our own country had offered of 
 good and great, Mrs. Seaton was equally sought by 
 foreigners, who would be drawn to her by their pre- 
 decessors' report of her charm of manner, her gifts of 
 conversation, and the cordial hospitality that gave her 
 home a special place in the memory of all who visited 
 it. The sprightliness and felicity of expression mani- 
 fested in her domestic correspondence have been 
 already seen, and the columns of the Intelligencer 
 bore occasional evidence of her graceful pen. Among 
 her correspondents, whose notes are filled with thanks 
 for kindness bestowed and the expression of their 
 friendship, may be found the names of most of the 
 learned and notable who have successively played 
 their part in public life, and passed from the stage, 
 while may be included hospitable and friendly tributes 
 from every chief magistrate of the United States, 
 except one, since Washington. But Mrs. Seaton's 
 highest distinction resided in her moral characteristics, 
 her strong intellect and numerous acquirements being 
 heightened and beautified by the gentleness, benignity, 
 and charity, the unfailing generosity and constant un- 
 selfishness, which pervaded the life of this virtuous 
 matron, wise and tender mother, incomparable wife, 
 and gracious lady. While devoted to her own faith, 
 Mrs. Seaton was yet truly catholic in her religious 
 love and charity for all Christian persuasions. Wher- 
 ever the pure, the virtuous were found, she recognized a 
 kindred soul, and yet Unitarians may be permitted to 
 rejoice that it was the church of Liberal Christianity 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 36 
 
 o 
 
 that developed a faith so true, so enduring, vivified by 
 active benevolence and good works without which the 
 * Faith is dead also.' " * 
 
 The unclasping of the earthly links of this chain of 
 wedded happiness was speedily followed by the sever- 
 ance of another tie, cherished by Mr. Seaton with just 
 pride and fond affection. The National Intelligencer 
 of December 31, 1864, announced to the country, in 
 a dignified and touching valedictory address, ]\Ir. 
 Seaton's retirement from his connection with the press, 
 of which he had so long been an illustrious exemplar. 
 From every portion of the country came a burst of 
 professional and personal tribute to the old man ven- 
 erable, around whose name were twined the pride, the 
 confidence, the affectionate associations of three gener- 
 ations of men, who of themselves, or through tradition, 
 had come to resjard the editors of the Intelligencer as 
 the embodiment of wisdom, truth, benevolence, and 
 justice ; who had honored the gTand old journal for 
 more than half a century, or from boyhood, and who 
 now witnessed its extinction with deep emotion. 
 
 " From every part of the land ; from the rugged hills 
 of the North, the fertile plains of the South, the broad 
 valleys of the West, went forth a loving benison for the 
 prosperity and happiness of the then surviving patri- 
 arch of the press." 
 
 " If the retrospect of a long life," writes Edward 
 Everett, in the last article he ever penned, " usefully 
 and honorably devoted to the service of the country 
 in the highly responsible relation of a leading journal- 
 ist ; if the recollection of confidential intercourse with 
 
 * The Cliristiau Inquirer. 
 
364 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 the most distinguislied statesmen of his day and gen- 
 eration ; if the warm attachment of troops of friends, 
 and the respect of political opponents, can afford a 
 solace down the hill of life, few persons could ever be 
 better entitled to it than Mr. Seaton, who now -bids the 
 public a last farewell." " The National Intelligencer," 
 continues Mr. Everett, " was at its foundation devoted 
 to the support of Mr. Jefferson's administration, its 
 politics being consequently what were then called 
 ' Eepublican,' the epithet ' Democratic ' not having yet 
 been accepted by the party of which Mr. Jefferson was 
 the leader. During the ' era of good feeling ' which 
 followed the war of 1812, and which lasted till the 
 second term of President Monroe's administration, the 
 Intelligencer, in conformity with the public sentiment 
 of the day, gradually dropped its partisan character, 
 and assumed that independent, national, and conser- 
 vative position which it ever afterwards occupied. 
 When the disintegrated fragments of the old parties 
 were reorganized under General Jackson, the Intelli- 
 gencer gave its support to Adams and Clay and their 
 successors in the same line of policy. The Intelli- 
 gencer fulfilled one of the highest duties of journalism 
 by the careful and elaborate discussions of great na- 
 tional questions. Its editors, living in constant per- 
 sonal intercourse with the leading minds in all the 
 departments of the government, and of the foreign 
 legations, were able to treat the most important topics 
 of the day, so to say, at first hand, with an unsurpassed 
 journalistic breadth of view and weight of authority. 
 The length of time for which the editorship of the 
 journal was in the same hands gave it a mastery of 
 the political traditions of the country." 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 3G5 
 
 The following eloquent tribute to the value of the 
 Intelligencer was paid while the brother-editors still 
 steadily labored at its helm : — 
 
 " Amidst the many popular passions with which nearly 
 all have, in our country, run wild, the editors of the Intel- 
 ligencer have maintained a perpetual and sage moderation ; 
 amidst incessant variations of doctrine, they have preserved 
 a memory and a conscience ; in the frequent fluctuations of 
 power they have steadily checked the excesses of both 
 parties ; and they have never given to either a factious 
 opposition or a merely partisan support. Tempering the 
 heat of both sides, renationalizing all spirit of section, com- 
 batting our propensity to lawlessness at home and aggi'ession 
 abroad, the venerable editors have been, all the while, a 
 power and safety in the land, no matter who were the rulers. 
 Thus ■ it cannot be deemed an American exaggeration to 
 declare the opinion as to the influence of the Intelligencer 
 over our public councils, that its value is not easily to be 
 oven-ated." * 
 
 A prominent I^orthern editor thus speaks of this 
 setting sun of journalism : — 
 
 "'We have read the touching words in which Colonel 
 Seaton takes leave of the patrons of the National Intelli- 
 gencer, and we should be something less than human if we 
 could read this farewell address without emotion. We can 
 hardly recall the time when the names of Gales and Seaton 
 were not associated in our minds with solid ability, sterling- 
 patriotism, sound political views, and eminent decorum and 
 propriety of tone. It has been an institution in this land. 
 Amid all the stonn of faction, it has shone with the same 
 serene and steady light, a star of hope and comfort to all 
 who loved their country and meant to abide by its Constitu- 
 
 * Atlantic Monthly. 
 
366 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 tion and laws. It has been consistent, because faithful to 
 principle, never strongly partisan, but always manly and in- 
 dependent. Since the breaking out of the war, the Intelli- 
 gencer has been conducted with unerring prudence and un- 
 deviating ability. Dimng the whole period of our civil 
 troubles the Intelligencer has discussed the grave political 
 problems of the day with an enlightened philosophy, an 
 affluence of historical knowledge, and a wise statesmanship, 
 that have sometimes caused our admiration to be alloyed 
 with regret that such masterly productions were not com- 
 mitted to the charge of something less fleeting than the 
 columns of a newspaper." 
 
 During the inflamed political and exasperated per- 
 sonal agitation incident to the late civil war, unceasing 
 evidences of sympathy and approval of the course of 
 the Intelligencer reached the editors from many of the 
 good and wise. A selection or two from these innu- 
 merable testimonials of respect will best express the 
 commendation which so greatly cheered a difficult 
 patriotism : — 
 
 *' Boston, June 27, 1861. 
 
 " Gentlemen, — Please to place my name on the list of 
 subscribers to your very valuable paper. I had almost said 
 invaluable. Though I have not been in the habit of read- 
 ing it regularly, I know its value from the extracts I have 
 often seen from its columns, from the soundness of the 
 principles it has maintained, and from its regard to truth in 
 every sense of the word. As I am now in my eighty-fourth 
 year, I may not remain long on your list ; but I shall as 
 long as I live, because I consider it very important for the 
 national welfare that your paper should be sustained. 
 
 " I am respectfully yours, 
 
 "James Jackson. 
 "3 Hamilton Place, Boston." 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 367 
 
 " Detroit, July 15, 1861. 
 a Pear Sir, — I have read with care and instruction the 
 able articles in the Intelligencer upon the impending crisis. 
 Their fairness and candor have made a deep impression 
 wherever read in this section. Will you permit me to sug- 
 gest the propriety of preparing and publishing an article 
 on the subject of subjugation. It is entirely misunderstood 
 among the Northern masses ; and there is no source from 
 which a moderate and well-conceived article would be more 
 favorably received, because you are considered by all as 
 truly conservative and patriotic. The Northwest is almost 
 unanimous in the determination to prosecute the war vigor- 
 ously. The excitement has been so intense that many of 
 our most considerate and intelligent men have been betrayed 
 into rash and unfortunate expressions, which have seriously 
 affected the public mind. It is truly surprising to find that 
 very many of our citizens, blinded by their passions, are 
 misled in regard to the relations which the States betir to 
 the general government. They speak and act as if it were 
 of no importance to encourage and cultivate the Union feel- 
 ing in the South. They do not reflect that after the Con- 
 federates are conquered, the people of the State must govern 
 and control its internal affairs ; in other words, they do not 
 consider the powers appropriately belonging to the general 
 government, and those retained by the States. I think Mr. 
 Lincoln made a great mistake in his inaugural and recent 
 messages by not more definitely and clearly enunciating his 
 views in regard to the future policy to be pursued towards 
 the South. There is no doubt that the enlightened public 
 mind of the Northwest is for preserving the institutions of 
 the South as they are, and when the war closes will will- 
 ingly agree to a national convention which may consider all 
 the grievances of the different States, real and imaginary, 
 and i^rant the most liberal redress. What then can be the 
 
368 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 objection to the proclaiming of this policy now, when its 
 effect might have such influence upon the masses, at least 
 in the border States 1 It does appear to me that something 
 of the kind is absolutely necessary as an antidote to Love- 
 joy's poison. His movement is repudiated by all our sen- 
 sible men, and if this'fact could be communicated to the 
 South, it might tend to break its force with them. 
 
 " For several years past I have been in a state of political 
 retiracy, but still a close observer of passing events. 1 
 have an abiding faith in the stability of the Union, and al- 
 though I almost despair of success from human power, yet 
 that God who has so long ruled our destiny will not per- 
 mit this fair fabric to be soon destroyed. 
 *' Dear Sir, truly yours, 
 
 "R. McClelland. 
 
 "W. W. Seaton.'Esq." 
 
 **New York, August, 1863. 
 " My dear Sir, — I have been greatly encouraged and 
 delighted by the perusal of the recent editorials of the In- 
 telligencer. It wiU be a sad day, should it ever arrive, 
 when the spring which sends forth such refreshing and 
 healing waters shall be sealed. Your review of Whiting's 
 letter and the article under the caption of ' Who are the 
 enemies of the Union ? ' and that other article, ' The Duty 
 of Public Journalists,' are written with masterly ability. 
 Persevere, my dear Sir, in this course as long as the public 
 
 will let you 
 
 *' Very truly yours, 
 
 "Hiram Ketchum. 
 "Colonel. W. W. Seaton." a 
 
 "Worcester, Mass., November 25, 1863. 
 " My dear Sir, — I beg to express to you my cordial, 
 most respectful and friendly recollections and regard, and 
 my acknowledgment of the satisfaction with which, through 
 
A BIOGEAPIIICAL SKETCH. 369 
 
 these anxious and troubled times, I continue to receive 
 your ably conducted and patriotic paper. The truly loyal, 
 constitutional, and statesmanlike course to which it has so 
 nobly adhered commands my admiration ; and it is only 
 in the prevalence of the principles which it maintains, the 
 certain and speedy suppression of the rebellion, and the 
 restoration of the Union, that I can see hope for a return 
 of prosperity, peace, and glory to our now bleeding and dis- 
 tracted comitry. 
 
 " Be pleased to offer to such of yom- family as may honor 
 me wdth their remembrance, the assurance of my grateful 
 regards. 
 
 " Very truly, my dear Sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 " Levi Lincoln. 
 
 "Hon. W. ^Y. Seaton." 
 
 "New York, January 4, 1865. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — Having learned through the press of 
 your retirement from the National Intelligencer, I feel it 
 an agreeable duty to write and congi'atulate you on the 
 termination of a long, laborious, and honorable career ; and 
 to express to you my appreciation of your great kindness 
 to myself for a period of several years. 
 
 " When I first began to take an interest in public afi\ii"rs 
 the Intelligencer commended itself to my judgment and 
 taste by the soundness of its political views, the purity of 
 its style, the elevation of its morals, the accuracy of its 
 statements, the fulness of its knowdedge, and its courtesy 
 to all. It was therefore with feelings of just pride that I 
 regarded the admission of my own contributions to its col- 
 imms, especially as at the time of my earlier efforts I was 
 personally unknown to both of its editors. When subse- 
 quently I made your acquaintance, I found additional rea- 
 son to be grateful to you for the cordiality of your gi-eeting 
 
 16* X 
 
370 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 and the kindness with which you always welcomed me to 
 your sanctum on the occasion of my visits to Washington. 
 The conversations then held with you are among my most 
 
 agreeable reminiscences of the Capitol In reviewing 
 
 the many stirring incidents of your eventful past, in recall- 
 ing the cherished memories of your fellow-laborers in pub- 
 lic and private life, wh6 have gone before you to their rest, 
 and in enjoying the repose to which you are fairly entitled, 
 you w^ill probably be content to pass the remainder of your 
 daj's. I cannot, however, avoid the hope that you may find 
 a pleasant and profitable employment of a portion of your 
 time, in collecting and editing such editorials of the Intel- 
 ligencer as have from time to time elucidated great ques- 
 tions of public law and poliay. Such a work would prove 
 
 a valuable contribution to our political literature 
 
 " Believe me to remain, very respectfully and gratefully 
 
 yours, 
 
 *' George Merrill. 
 "Colonel W. W. Seatox." 
 
 The following note from the distinguished scholar, 
 the author of perhaps the most charming recent book 
 of travels, " Six Months in Italy," will be the more in- 
 teresting, as having elicited from Mr. Seaton a reply 
 most touching in its simple pathos and modest dignity. 
 In transmitting;- this to a friend, Mr. Hillard takes 
 occasion to ^vTite : — 
 
 " I never was in Washington but once, and Mr. Seaton was 
 the first person I went to see. It is now a pleasure to me 
 
 to reflect that I have seen him From my boyhood 
 
 the National Intelligencer was the type of a sound, wise, 
 national, conservative journal ; and the influence which 
 Mr. Seaton thus exerted was wide and most valuable. We 
 have fallen upon different times, different journals, diff'er- 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 371 
 
 ent men, and influence is now only enjoyed by the papers 
 and the statesmen that represent extreme opinions. I am 
 not one of those who think the change an improvement." 
 
 "Boston, January 3, 1865. 
 
 " My dear Sir, — .... I cannot let the occasion go 
 by, without a more immediate and personal acknowledg- 
 ment of gratitude and regard. During these last four 
 dreary years the Intelligencer has been to me a source of 
 comfort, satisfaction, and support beyond expression ; and 
 now that you are to leave it, I feel that something of the 
 daily light around my path is lessened. My heart is heavy 
 unto death at the condition of our beloved land. Clouds 
 and darkness rest upon the future, and I don't see the star 
 behind the cloud. I do not see any statesmanship at all 
 commensurate with the gigantic problems to be solved. 
 We are drifting like the Great Eastern after she had lost 
 her rudder. It is fearful to think of such interests com- 
 mitted to the charge of such small capacities. 
 
 " I wish you and Mr. Welling would come to Boston. 
 You should swim in a ' Caspian Sea of soup,' as Sydney 
 Smith said of Prescott. Please convey to him an expres- 
 sion of my warm regard. 
 
 " Yours faithfully, 
 
 " G. S. HiLLARD. 
 
 "W. W. Seaton, Esq." 
 
 ""Washington, January 9, 1865. 
 " Many thanks, my dcnr Sir, for your very kind letter, 
 the more precious to me, coming as it does from one whose 
 good opinion I value so highly. The parting with my old 
 paper is painful in the extreme. But the untoward cir- 
 cumstances of the times had reduced it to the point of ex- 
 tinction, and no alternative was left me but to see it expire, 
 or to transfer it to some younger men, who thought that, 
 
372 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 by withdrawing it from the arena of pohtics and converting 
 it into a news and business sheet, they could make it pay. 
 I would, I confess, have preferred for it the dignity of death ; 
 but justice to a few friends around me, who have enabled 
 me to sustain it during three years of vainly hoping for 
 peace and better times, compelled me to part with it. Pride 
 and hope induced me to struggle on against the difficulties 
 that beset me, at the sacrifice of everything I possessed ; but 
 I was at last obliged to succnmb. The loss of two thirds of 
 my entire circulation by the secession of the South I could 
 have borne ; the proscription of the government I could 
 have borne singly ; but the weight of the two united was too 
 much for me, and, receiving no compensatiijg support in the 
 North, I was forced to yield. In the high character of the 
 friends like yourself, who have stood by the old journal in 
 - its adversity and cheered its editors by their approval and 
 support, I find a consolation which I would not exchange 
 for better fortune, although I end fifty-two years oT labor 
 with nothing. 
 
 " Believe me, dear Sir, with the highest respect, your 
 
 gi'ateful friend and servant. 
 
 "W. W. Seaton. 
 "Geoege S. Hillakd, Esq., Boston." 
 
 Mr. Seaton's heart was deeply stirred by these mani- 
 festations of love, sympathy, and reverence which daily 
 reached him from his countrymen. The verdict of 
 posterity came to him, as it were, while he yet could 
 rejoice in this approval of his labors, while his living 
 ear could catch the voices which rose in unison of 
 benediction : " Well done, good and faithful servant." 
 
 The prominent features of Mr. Seaton's career of 
 journalism were his candor, fairness, and " an evenness 
 and refinement of temper which never allowed him to 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 373 
 
 question the motives of an adversary." He never tried 
 to enhance his own dignity, or the merits of the cause 
 he upheld, at the expense of his adversary ; he never 
 resorted to factious, belittling strife ; never mistook 
 malignant bitterness or detraction for vigor and frank- 
 ness, but carried into the editorial arena liis innate 
 decorum and gracious amenity, which not even the 
 acerbities of partisan warfare could disturb. 
 
 The distinguished divine, Dr. Dewey, writing of Mr. 
 
 Seaton, says : — 
 
 " There is one thing in his career that ought to be em- 
 phasized, that is, his keeping the Intehigencer free from all 
 personahties, not only of abuse, but partisanship. I once 
 heard an instance of this dignified forbearance that struck 
 me very much. When Webster was candidate for nomina- 
 tion before the Baltimore Convention, the Intelligencer was 
 silent upon his claims. Day after day passed and not a 
 word was said. Mr. Webster was impatient under this neg- 
 lect, where he expected help, considering the well-known 
 friendly and intimate relations between himself and Mr. 
 Seaton, and at length expressed his dissatisfaction. Mr. 
 Seaton's answer was this : ' We established and have always 
 conducted the Intelligencer as an organ of public intelli- 
 gence and general discussion. We have never lent it to 
 personal predilections or antipathies. Upon the Intelligen- 
 cer as such I have built up my life, and I desire that it 
 should bear this honorable record of me, and that it should 
 still preserve the same high character after I am gone. 
 And I cannot consent that it depart from this rule which 
 has always governed me, even to express the friendly m- 
 terest that I feel for you: It was a position of great dig- 
 nity and firmness to take with such a man and friend as 
 Daniel Webster." 
 
374 - WILLIAM WINSTOX SEATON. 
 
 A gentleman for many years intimate with Mr. 
 Seaton thus writes : — 
 
 " The care and high sense of honor which he unceasingly 
 exercised in the conduct of the Intelhgencer were to me a 
 perpetual source of wonder. Coarse and unkind expres- 
 sions received no quarter at his hands ; rude personahties 
 he utterly abominated ; aud his information was so exten- 
 sive, so various, as to render it certain that whatever re- 
 ceived his editorial sanction would be found new and 
 instructive. His integrity was incorruptible. I was pres- 
 ent on one occasion in his office when a man used, in vain, 
 every argument to obtain from him the insertion of an ad- 
 vertisement which Mr. Seaton deemed unfitting for thepm-e 
 columns of the paper. Finally an amount was offered that 
 would have made many men waver, but Mr. Seaton's an- 
 swer was this : ' Sir, there is not in the world gold enough 
 to tempt me to insert in the Intelligencer one line which I 
 should be unwilling for my wife and daughters to read.' 
 The instances were numerous also in which he was proof 
 against the temptation of large sums tendered him for per- 
 mission to publish, as editorials, articles which did not em- 
 body his real opinions. With a warm, tender heart, he had 
 the will and courage of a bold and honest man, who knew 
 not what it was to play a double game where principle was 
 at stake. 
 
 " Mr. Seaton's modesty reached to a fault, leading him 
 to depreciate the abilities so fully recognized by that public 
 whose political creed and action he had so materially aided 
 to enforce and guide, during sixty years of editorial life. 
 He was sound in discrimination, sagacious in his perception 
 of the bearing of present measures on future issues; while 
 his tact and facility of expression, with the readiness of 
 long editorial training, made him an exceptionally effective 
 paragraphist ; and in grace and variety as a commentator 
 on passing events he was especially happy." 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 375 
 
 AVliile these tributes from the public came winged 
 by all heartfelt aspirations, Mr. Seaton's daily path was 
 marked by blessings from those who so long had relied 
 on him as friend, counsellor, and benefactor. Where- 
 ever he moved, the earnest greeting, the respectful 
 recognition from all ranks, attested the almost filial 
 love and veneration cherished for the silver-haired old 
 man. 
 
 " j\Ir. Seaton has reached a period of life," concludes 
 an editorial eulogist, " in which a man is permitted to 
 rest from his labors, and to ' adjust his mantle ere he 
 fall.' He is surrounded by ' all that should accompany 
 old age,' as ' honor, love, obedience, troops of friends ' ; 
 and if love and respect could avert the inevitable stroke, 
 he would enjoy a patent of earthly immortality." 
 
 And now the end drew near, — the mantle was 
 adjusted ; and this life of two and fourscore years, so 
 replete with all that did honor to our common nature, 
 was to close. The indomitable courage, the hopeful 
 patience, the gentle sweetness, all the harmonized 
 beauty of a noble nature, shone with almost celestial 
 light as he neared the golden shore. " Mark the per- 
 fect man and behold the upright ; for the end of that 
 man is peace." 
 
 Thus, adored by those nearest him, beloved and 
 revered by his friends, honored through the land, he 
 passed to '' a nobler stewardship in the spiritual world," 
 crowned by the tears and blessings of the great, the 
 wise, the humble, the afflicted, the widow, and the 
 orphan, "' to whom the withdrawal of his earthly 
 presence seemed a domestic calamity." 
 
 "Eeserved, even reticent in the expression of his 
 
376 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 feelings, the depth of Mr. Seaton's religious nature was 
 hardly known, except as it was manifested in his noble 
 ]ife. To the most exalted reverence and awe for the 
 Almighty Power, he united in a peculiar degree the 
 tender, confiding love of a child. His faith in the 
 future was simply truthful, beheving in the recognition 
 of friends ; that in one of the ' many mansions ' of the 
 Father's house he should be reunited to those loved 
 on earth, and, accepted, pardoned, redeemed by God's 
 mercy, should continue through eternity to minister 
 to His will. Mr. Seaton was one of the founders of 
 the Unitarian Church in Washington, beings among- the 
 earliest and most zealous to establish and maintain a 
 foothold for liberal Christianity at this advanced out- 
 post, and illustrating by his beautiful and blameless 
 life the truth of its doctrines. His youth and early 
 manhood were passed in the communion of the Epis- 
 copal Church, to whose forms he ever remained at- 
 tached, frequently reading its impressive services with 
 tender reverence ; but his theological views changed, 
 founded upon earnest conviction, and he became a 
 Unitarian, and communicant of that church, remaining 
 firm and unchangeable in his belief of the truth of its 
 tenets. A daily student of the Bible, he there found 
 his best rest and encouragement, while deeply enjoying 
 its sublime poems, which he read with the keenest in- 
 tellectual discrimination, as well as devotional fervor." 
 Seldom has a living presence been hedged about 
 with such an atmosphere of love ; while in the wealth 
 of public and private tribute to the memory of this 
 good man — " doubly great, for goodness is great- 
 ness " — the dominant note is that of a rare personal 
 affection. 
 
A BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCH. 377 
 
 " Tliere have probably not lived many men," says 
 the Eev. Mr. Angier in his eulogy of j\Ir. Seaton, 
 ''whose characters, public and private, were subject 
 to less deduction on tlie score of defect or incon- 
 sistency. But while all tongues proclaim his merits, 
 I have yet to hear the first word lisped in dero- 
 gation from his claims upon the love and reverence 
 of his fellow-citizens ; and the tone in which these are 
 spoken of, the evident personal feeling wdiich accom- 
 j^anies the general award, the warm coloring suffusing 
 the judicial verdict, bear conviction alike to the judg- 
 ment and heart, that w^e have in contemplation a man 
 
 whom it is not only safe, but wholesome, to praise 
 
 And wliile Mr. Seaton thus inspired the hearts of all 
 who approached him with sentiments of the warmest 
 friendship and esteem, w^ho can doubt that many have 
 been made good and noble by his generous appreciation 
 and encouragement ? Ah ! I doubt it not, how worthy 
 of emulation is such a heart and such an example by 
 all who w^ould most benefit, by most ennobling their 
 fellow-men I am persuaded that a greater in- 
 fusion of these generous and tender characteristics of 
 our venerated friend into the hearts Of all who would 
 regenerate and strengthen their fellow-men, w^ould in- 
 sure a greater amount of success than usually attends 
 the sincerest efforts in their behalf. That the influ- 
 ence of Mr. Seaton for these higher interests of men 
 was extensively experienced, we cannot doubt ; and 
 it becomes, therefore, no wonder that there are so 
 many noble minds to pay him reverence, so many 
 loving hearts causing their possessors to rise up and 
 call him blessed. Mr. Seaton's character was of a 
 
378 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 type of which one longs to see more in the com- 
 munity, — men not wanting in the sterner qualities of 
 the John of the wilderness, preaching repentance, but 
 more conspicuous for the qualities of that John whom 
 Jesus especially loved, — men, who if they command 
 reverence, do not less attract affection ; whom to love 
 is as natural and easy as to respect is an obligation 
 and duty. With all who knew Mr. Seaton, the heart 
 followed easily the approbation of the moral judg- 
 ment. Goodness sat on his head as a crown of beauty, 
 as attractive in its loveliness as it was commanding in 
 its majesty." 
 
 " Why," asks one of his public eulogists, " why this 
 sorrow and sadness ? Whj these tolling bells and 
 emblems of mourning throughout the city ? Why is 
 the name of William Winston Seaton on every tongue ? 
 Because a good man has left us ; one who served the 
 people faithfully and well, whose life was one of use- 
 fulness and honor, of whom it has been truly said, 
 that he was without an enemy, — a man illustrious in 
 all those traits of character, those virtues and graces, 
 which go to^form the perfect gentleman. Let us re- 
 member his patience and equanimity, his dignity and 
 courtesy, his impartiality, love of truth and justice, 
 his charity and loving-kindness, his temperance and 
 forbearance ; let us, in the discharge of our duty, take 
 William Winston Seaton as an example, and so may 
 we hope that in the end our record may be as bright, 
 pure, and angelic as his." 
 
 A member of the Burns Club thus pays a tribute to 
 the virtues of his departed colleague : — 
 
 " It seems to me eminently fitting that in a meeting 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 379 
 
 of Scotsmen and descendants of Scotsmen, the death of 
 WiUiam Winston Seaton should receive such notice as will 
 attest at least our sensibility at his loss, and our high ap- 
 preciation of his merits. That beloved and revered name, 
 it is true, does not now need our commemoration, as it has 
 received general and unenvied honors from all classes in this 
 communit}^, and our highest eulogy may, perhaps, sound 
 like the echo of his wide and undisputed reputation. Yet 
 Seaton is a name peculiarly endeared to us ; first, as it is 
 thoroughly Scottish ; then as associated with the most vari- 
 ous, animating, or affecting recollections — historic, poetic, 
 and romantic — of our fatherland ; but most of all from 
 the personal character of him we mourn, who made the time- 
 honored name of Seaton an acquaintance throughout the 
 length and breadth of the land, among all classes, — * familiar 
 in their mouths as household words.' .... But Mr. Sea- 
 ton, perhaps, was most remarkable for his smooth, polished, 
 Addisonian periods. He was a very graceful and effective 
 writer at all times, and often rose to a force of argument 
 and earnestness of appeal when great questions of national 
 policy came under his consideration, which could scarcely 
 have been heightened by any speaker or writer of his times. 
 But, great and far-reaching as was his influence through the 
 leading metropolitan journal for more than half a century, 
 the effect of his character, his conversation, and his counsels 
 upon the mox-e active and controlling directors and propa- 
 gators of opinion was not less important and extensive, and, 
 indeed, cannot be overestimated. Those who have known 
 Washington best, are well aware that its society has always 
 been a region in which nearly as much is done towards 
 moulding and determining great measures of policy, on the 
 part of government or the opposition, as in the halls of Con- 
 gress Altogether, the standard in such a circle — 
 
 social, intellectual, moral, and political — is as high as is 
 
o 
 
 80 WILLIAJI WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 really ever reached elsewhere. It was in this circle that 
 William Winston Seaton, by the magnetism of his personal 
 character, so pure, so lofty, so amiable and engaging, by his 
 powers of varied and vivacious conversation, by his full in- 
 telligence on every question, foreign or domestic, and that 
 combination of gifts of manner, tact, and address, the highest 
 result of w-hich is best expressed in the word gentleman, 
 exercised an influence for years which was felt and recog- 
 nized from the centre to the utmost hmits of American 
 society, abroad as well as at home." 
 
 A distinguished ]N'orthern journalist thus toucliingly 
 dwells on Mr. Seaton's winning traits of character : — 
 
 " In the death of this venerable editor the countiy has 
 sustained a loss for which the only consolation is, that he 
 had served all his appointed time, and served well. Eighty 
 years of faithful labor is far more than the ordinary contri- 
 bution of one man to the good of his fellow-men 
 
 But we cannot part with him or his memory yet. He be- 
 longs to us by virtue of a thousand recollections, for which 
 we are indebted to his long life and experience, so that his 
 name will always be associated with the best days and 
 greatest men of the Eepublic. There was not living in 
 America, two weeks ago, any other man whose mind was 
 such a storehouse of the personal history of the giants of 
 old time in American statesmanship. A man of sound judg- 
 ment, extensive reading, eminent ability, able to advise and 
 direct, but never intruding his advice, he was in every way 
 fit to be, as he was, the intimate friend and confidential 
 associate of all the eminent statesmen of the past age. 
 There is a parlor in Mr. Seaton's old house at Washington, 
 which, could its walls speak, would be more eloquent than 
 the walls of any other room in America. In that well- 
 known room it was for many years the custom for the 
 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 381 
 
 • 
 
 greatest men in the country, and the representatives of other 
 
 nations, to gather in the freedom of social intercourse ; and 
 
 this may be said with undoubted truth, that in those free 
 
 social conversations and exchanges of thought were born 
 
 many of the great measures of government which added 
 
 lustre to the American name ; so that that room may be 
 
 regarded as the birthplace of much of our national glory. 
 
 We may be pardoned for recalling at this moment the last 
 
 visit which wG made to that historic room. It was in the 
 
 midst of the war, and the long evening passed into the 
 
 morning hours, while we sat listening to the venerable 
 
 patriot, as he recited conversations which had been held 
 
 there. Mindful, from many such hours passed with him, of 
 
 the inestimable value of his recollections, we begged him to 
 
 do a pubhc service by allowing a stenogi'aphic reporter to 
 
 take down from his lips such of his personal memories as 
 
 he might judge proper and desirable for historical purposes. 
 
 We had subsequently a correspondence with him on the 
 
 same topic, and it can never cease to be a subject of regi'et 
 
 that the idea was not carried into operation. But the fail- 
 
 ino- health of our asred friend interfered with this last service 
 
 to the world, and forbade its accomplishment. Would that 
 
 those silent walls could give us back the impressions which 
 
 other voices, forever hushed, have made upon them ! If 
 
 there be anything in the theory of the 'conservation of 
 
 forces,' every atom of those walls would furnish a volume of 
 
 history, written there by the voices of the great dead 
 
 But while we lament the loss of the editor, the companion, 
 adviser, and friend of the great men of the past, the origi- 
 nator and assistant in so many of the most important political 
 events in our history, we more than all lament the man. 
 He was rightly loved, for he deserved, and it may be said 
 he commanded, affection. None knew him but to love him. 
 Over his grave will be shed the tears of no ordinary affec- 
 
382 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 tion. Nor is it improper here to allude to his devotion to 
 the companion of his long life, whose honored head he 
 laid in the dust only two years ago, — a devotion which 
 marked his whole character, the memory of which makes his 
 rest by her side to seem exceedingly welcome. The past is 
 fast vanishing out of sight, and the men of our golden age 
 are becoming, day by day, part of the land they loved. We 
 who survive should better love the dust made up of such 
 precious material. Who shall fitly speak the increase in its 
 value when we give to it such men as this, our best and 
 purest relics of the glorious day 1 
 
 From the far South comes this discriminating esti- 
 mate of the value of Mr. Seaton's labors and example : — 
 
 " The files of the noble old Intelligencer are a monument 
 which will ever bear testimony to Mr. Seaton's ability, 
 courtesy, honesty, truthfulness, and conservatism, and will 
 show why his society was prized by the great men who 
 adorned our country in its palmy days. For nearly half a 
 century he was at the head of one of the most influential 
 journals of this or any other country, and nearly up to the 
 close of his career gave tone largely to the public opinion 
 of the American people. It is seldom that any political 
 journal has been under the control of two individuals so 
 admirably fitted by genius, education, and practice to im- 
 part to it influence and popularity. It is seldom that two 
 editors acting together have been characterized by such 
 high intellectual endowments and such generosity of tem- 
 per. Mr. Seaton was a gentleman in his intercourse, a 
 scholar in his tastes, and American literature always received 
 encouragement at his hands, and was advanced by his la- 
 bors. No individual was better acquainted with the his- 
 tory of his country from the origin of the government, nor 
 more familiar w4th the character, the rise and fall of parties. 
 
A BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH. 383 
 
 His manners were pre-eminently winning, his conversation 
 full of instruction and charm ; and no club-room was ever 
 visited with niQre enthusiasm by statesmen and inquirers of 
 all classes, from every portion of the land, solicitors for in- 
 formation, than the sanctum of his office. His judgment 
 had high influence on all party counsels, policies, and con- 
 duct of the day; while with his rare social qualities, his 
 house was the centre of all that was attractive in the me- 
 tropolis, including political adversaries, who were, however, 
 generally his personal friends. Mr. Seaton was always 
 proud of his connection with the ' art preservative of arts,' 
 and especially must his loss be regTetted by the younger 
 members of the profession which he adorned, and for whom 
 he ever evinced a parental regard. Many an old printer ' out 
 of sorts,' many an old typo worn out in his service, was wel- 
 comed each returning Saturday to the Intelligencer office to 
 receive his pay, and when the days of the old printer would 
 draw to a close, he had the comforting assurance that to 
 those dear to him the same generosity would be continued. 
 Mr. Seaton's long life was a brilliant success, except in the 
 accumulation of wealth, which his integi'ity, his generosity 
 and hospitality prevented. These qualities, united to his 
 enlarged statesmanship, his philanthropy, his pure and lofty 
 patriotism, commanded for Mr. Seaton the unqualified con- 
 sideration and respect of a great party, as well as the sincere 
 friendship of so many illustrious men ; and his name and 
 fame will be associated with some of the brightest stars that 
 adorn the annals of American history." 
 
 In view of these virtues so visibly impressed on Mr. 
 Seaton's entire life, the recital of which might almost 
 be deemed an exaggeration, one may ask, " Was he 
 then perfect ? " A friend who from boyhood to old 
 age has spent his daily life in closest knowledge of Mr. 
 
384 WILLIAM WINSTON SEATON. 
 
 Seaton, replies : " He possessed more of the great and 
 good qualities of human nature than any man I ever 
 knew ; and never, in my estimation, was there a mortal 
 his peer in all that makes man godlike." 
 
 What, then, it may be asked, was the secret of this 
 life of success ? and what may be the value of the les- 
 son learned from its teachings ? 
 
 It was not political power or gift of place ; Mr. 
 Seaton possessed not these. It was not wealth; for 
 his large heart and open hand impoverished his earthly 
 store. The forum knew him not ; the haUs of legis- 
 lation had never echoed to his voice ; he fiUed no post 
 of Cabinet Councillor or Presidential Chair ; he won 
 no battles on ensanguined field. True, he possessed a 
 stern uprightness that would have guarded the ermine 
 with jealous purity, an eloquence to have swayed 
 listening Senates, signal administrative ability, an 
 intrinsic dignity to have illustrated the highest office, 
 rapid intuition, decision, and a cool courage that would 
 have placed him high in the rank of military heroes. 
 But Mr. Seaton's triumphs were the quiet ones of the 
 closet ; his distinctive influence was the subtile one 
 emanating purely from personal characteristics, from 
 the intangible charm of presence, necessarily impos- 
 sible to embody and delineate for the appreciation of 
 posterity. The usefulness of his life flowed in a per- 
 ennial stream, and in the beneficent tenor of its ex- 
 ample, rather than in prominent action or salient 
 incident to be segregated for especial record, consists 
 its permanent value. His protecting hand was stretclieil 
 out wherever his felloAV-men were to be helped ; and 
 in the self-abnegation and benevolence of his nature, 
 
A BIOGRAPHICiU. SKETCH. 385 
 
 in the assimilating sympathies which magnetized all 
 hearts to go forth to meet him, lay the power which 
 he exercised over all who approached him ; simply by 
 " the divining-rod of his own goodness," calling forth 
 the best qualities of others, — the true secret of all 
 noble influence. 
 
 Mr. Seaton was one of the last links between the 
 illustrious men who framed our Government, and those 
 who make our history of to-day. He had seen Wash- 
 ington; had listened to the magic voice of Patrick 
 Henry. Can it be wondered that the greatness and 
 virtues of the Fathers of the Kepublic should have 
 been reflected in him who had touched their mortal 
 garments, who had been glorified by their visible 
 presence ? 
 
 And thus, undimmed by a single unworthy act, in 
 every word and thought of his spotless life a true 
 gentleman, duty his watchword, exalted honor his in- 
 stinct, Christianity his guide, William Winston Seaton 
 bore his historic name untarnished to the grave ; nobly, 
 illustrating the legend of his family arms : — 
 
 In\^a Virtuti Via Nulla. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Cambridge : Printed by Welch, Bigelow, and Company. 
 

 
 
 
 -•iii!' 
 
 
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