52 



LIFE OF 



opinion was ancliored upon the system, by which he 

 Lad been reared himself, — the system of the Ameri- 

 can Colleges. 



While the Chief Justice continued his intercourse 

 with the learned ancients, he found leisure in the in- 

 tervals of office, for the literature of his own lan- 

 guage, in which he was extensively versed, and for 

 which he possessed the keenest relish ; and it is to 

 these two sources that he owed the purity of his style, 

 where nothing coarse or vwlgar ever appeared, and 

 which without being affected or elaborate, was re- 

 markable for the absence of all words of questionable 

 authority. 



In politics, he was a warm patriot, and a friend to 

 civil and religious liberty. But he never mixed in 

 party intrigues, and never learned to hate men for 

 being of a different opinion from his own. When 

 great and important questions arose, which involved 

 the fate and the happiness of his country, he took a 

 decided part, and his talents and influence were de- 

 voted to the support of the opinion that he had es- 

 poused. It is well known that he was a zealous 

 friend to the adoption of our present happy constitu- 

 tion, and that he promoted it by his exertions in the 

 Maryland Legislature. It is known also that through 

 life he was sincerely attached to its principles, and 

 considered the union of the States as the bulwark of 

 our future happiness. He was a warm admirer of 

 Washington, who, on his part, entertained a high 



