strong] '^'i [Jan. 6, 



that ^vas expected was realized. If he found any 

 equal, he found no superior. He never stooped to the 

 arena of partisan discussions, but in the consideration 

 of important subjects, especially that of the removal 

 of the public deposits from the Bank of the United 

 States, he proved himself to be a statesman of high 

 rank, and a most accomplished debater. Though but 

 two years a member, he has left at Washington a most 

 enviable reputation. The old men who naturally recur 

 to olden times, speak of him as one of the giants of 

 the past, and worthy to be associated as a statesman 

 and an orator with the triumvirate that so long adorned 

 the American name. 



But public life was extremely distasteful to him. He 

 turned his back upon it with gladness " Public repu- 

 tation," said he, "is generally empty, and oftentimes 

 false, but the respect and affection of one's own kin- 

 dred and personal friends, ah ! that is delightful." De- 

 clining a re-election, he returned to Philadelphia, and 

 retired from all professional practice in the courts. In 

 the year 1836 he went to Europe because of the ill 

 health of a member of his family, and only once there- 

 after did he ever appear in any court as an advocate 

 or a counsellor. He continued, however, to give 

 opinions in his office until 1850. Many of these 

 opinions, written by him, are still in the hands of mem- 

 bers of the bar, and they are preserved with almost 

 religious care. They relate to tides to real estate, to 

 trusts and uses, to commercial questions, and to all 



