reared according to the strict system of the society, and by example and precept taught to ignore all those graceful accomplishments deemed so necessary in the formation of a woman's education. Attired in the close-fitting dress of her order, she would demurely attend to the duties imposed upon her, and the won derful undertone of sweetness in her character kept the brow serene, and the heart ever bright and hopeful. Hers was a sunny elastic nature, even as a child; and if she was not permitted to learn the worldly arts she desired, her disposition was not soured by these restrictions, and the inner graces which afterward made her famous, blossomed and bloomed in native harmony. Nothing could conceal her beautiful character. Nor could the quaint bonnet of the Friends hide her sparkling eyes and perfectly rounded features from the admiring gaze of her young acquaintances. At the age of nineteen she was married to John Todd, a rising young lawyer of Philadelphia and a member of the Society of Friends. Her father had manumitted his slaves when he moved to the city, and Miss Payne was accustomed to a life of simplicity and plentifulness, but never to even comparative wealth. Nor was she remarkable for her literary abilities or acquired attainments; but her warm heart beamed goodness from her expressive lips and lent a fascination to her frank, earnest face. After her union with Mr. Todd, her time was spent in her modest home according to the secluded manner of her sect, and during her short married life she pursued the even tenor of her quiet way, unconscious of her rapidly unfolding beauty, or of the

admiration it was exciting. Soon she was left a widow with an infant son, and made her home with her widowed mother.

The personal charms of the young widow, united as they were, with manners cordial, frank, and gay, excited the admiration and awakened the kind feelings of all who came within their influence, and unaided by the extrinsic and accidental advantages of fortune or fashion, she became a general favorite, and the object not only of admiration, but of serious and devoted attachment.

In October, 1794, Mrs. Todd was married to Mr. Madison, then one of the most talented members of Congress, a statesman of wealth and social position, and withal a great and good man. She had been a widow less than a year, and was at the time of her second marriage in the twenty-third year of her age.. The ceremony was performed at "Harewood," Jefferson County, Virginia, the residence of her younger sister, Lucy, the wife of George Steptoe Washington.. From this time forward, she lived at "Montpelier," the rural home of Mr. Madison, until he was called again to public life. It was at this time of her life that she developed the loveliest traits of her noble character. Placed in a position where she could command resources, the warmth and generosity of her nature was displayed, not in lavish personal expenditures, but in dispensing the bounties bestowed upon her to all who came as suppliants, and in giving to her widowed. mother and orphaned sisters a home. The blessings of her kindred, and the fond love of her husband,

gladdened these, the first years of her married life; and her relatives and friends were made partakers of her abundance; while the tender attentions of Mr. Madison to her aged mother filled her heart to reple tion. Had she not been placed in a position harmonious to her nature, it is probable that her days would have been spent in indifferent adherence to a dull routine, and the rills of her heart which bubbled and sang so gleefully in the summer of her content, never been discovered beneath the weight of circumstances. Fortunately hers was a disposition to rightfully appreciate the gifts of fortune and social consideration, and, in accepting her bright future prospects, determined to nourish the smothered generousness of her soul. Hitherto her lot had been circumscribed and the lofty emotions of her heart been hushed; but when the power was given her to do good, she filled the meas ure of her life with the benedictions of humanity, and reigned in the affections of her friends without a rival.

Mr. Jefferson appointed Mr. Madison Secretary of State in 1801, and in April of that year he removed with his family to Washington. Here her position was in perfect accordance with her disposition, and her house was a radiating point for every acquaintance. The great secret of her success lay in the innocence. which dwelt in her noble nature; and this nobleness of innocence underlaid the dignity and high-mindedness which attested an elevated nature. She drank the wine of human existence without the lees, and inhaled the perpetual breath of summer, even after

the snows of winter had clogged the dull course of life. She was gifted with that which was better than Ithuriel's spear, whose touch reveals the beauty which existed in every thing, for she was humble-hearted, tolerant, and sincere. Entirely free from malignant cavil, her instinctive sympathy with the good and beautiful led her to seek it in every thing around her, and her life, if not devoted to the higher cultivation of the mind, developed the sunny brightness of her heart. The power of adaptiveness was a life-giving principle in Mrs. Madison's nature. With a desire to please, and a willingness to be pleased, she was popular in society, and was to her husband a support and friend. Washington was little more than a wilderness when, in the spring, she commenced life there as the wife of a cabinet officer. The elements which combined to form the society of the Capital were various, and difficult to harmonize, and her situation was a delicate one to fill; yet she was loved by all parties, and embittered politicians who never met save at her hos pitable board, there forgot "the thorns of public controversy under the roses of private cheerfulness." In those days, steamboats were just beginning, railroads unknown, stage-coaches extremely inconvenient, national, indeed even turnpike roads were very rare, and the journeys were mostly performed in the saddle. The daughter of one of the Senators, who wished to enjoy the gayeties of the Capital, accompanied her father five hundred miles on horseback. The wife of another member not only rode fifteen hundred miles on horseback, but passed through several Indian settlements,

for many nights without a house to lodge in. Mrs. Madison herself had travelled from her Virginia home by easy stages, cumbered with household furniture, and stopping on the road to visit relatives; occupying what seems to us at this day an incredible length of time to perform such a journey. Her house, after the President's, was the resort of most company, and the cordial manners of the hostess lent a peculiar charm to the frequent parties there assembled. "Individuals who never visited at the President's, nor met at the other ministerial houses, could not resist the softening influ ences of her conciliatory disposition, of her frank and gracious manners, but frequented her evening circle, and sat at her husband's table." Political feuds ran high, and party spirit was more virulent than ever before experienced. Washington's administration had been a success, and in the eyes of the public he was not included in any party, but was above them all. Yet he placed himself, when the question was of a political order, under the banner of the republican party, and was the declared advocate of the unity and force of the central power." He insured its triumph during his two terms, and let his mantle descend upon one of his most attached friends. The democratic party, desiring the rule of the majority, opposed to the preponderance of the higher classes, and to aristocratic tendencies, overcame the successor of Washington, who was succeeded by Mr. Jefferson, the leader of the opposition. At the commencement of this era, Mrs. Madison appeared upon the scene, and gave to her husband that support which enhanced his popularity

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