and to which no one was more thoroughly attached than Mr. MADISON; his exertions to substitute the moral artillery of that department for brute force, were incessant and intense. Although the war he tried so hard to prevent came at last, in spite of his exertions and Mr. Jefferson's immoveable determination to go out of office in peace; yet the legacy of trouble which was left by him to Mr. MADISON when he succeeded to the presidency, was at any rate preceded by a theory of prevailing if not perpetual peace in that code of international justice. and fair intercourse, which is now a goodly part of the inheritance of these United States, and a national property that all other civilized nations have begun to appreciate. That free ships make free goods, was a principle deemed by Mr. MADISON a legitimate part of the law of nations, and the best guarantee for maritime peace. Peace on earth and good-will to all mankind, were always principles dear to him. War he considered only and rarely tolerable as a necessary evil, to be kept off as long, and whenever it takes place, to be closed as soon, as possible.

With these impressions, it was nevertheless his lot to be president during the war which was declared against Great Britain in June, 1812. In 1809, he was elected president, on the retirement of Mr. Jefferson and excepting the short glimpse of accommodation which proceeded from Mr. Erskine's short-lived arrangement, the first period of his chief magistracy was but the prelude to the war which accompanied his reëlection. His inaugural addresses, annual messages, frequent special communications to congress, his proclamation for a fast, with the particular grounds on which it was issued, his letters to Governor Snyder of Pennsylvania in the Olmstead case, his recommendation of war, his conduct of the war, his various missions for peace, the peace of Ghent negotiated under his auspices, his settlement of the army, the navy, and the internal revenue, at the close of the war, his veto, on one of the last days of his administration, of the great system of internal improvement introduced by some of those who have since relinquished it as unconstitutional-these, together with the bank of the United States, may be deemed the principal measures of his plan of the federal government. Too many of the actors in those scenes are yet living and in public life, to render it proper to do more than merely indicate these measures. Before long, they will be treated by history and judged by posterity. But already, before Mr. MADISON's demise, there appeared to be well-nigh one universal sentiment of cordial respect and deference towards him as a patriot of the purest intentions and wisest conduct. Undertaking the presidency at a crisis

of the utmost difficulty, he continued in it, by reëlection, during the established period of eight years, and when he retired, left the country in the highest degree glorious, prosperous, and content. It cannot be but that future ages must look back to his administration as a time of great trial and great renown. The constitution which had succeeded in peace, under his governance triumphed in war. Hostilities were indeed checkered with the reverses which seldom fail to occur. But under all circumstances, Mr. MADISON was the same. Victory never elated, disasters never depressed him beyond measure; always calm, consistent, and conscientious, there was confidence that he would do right, come what might. Exposed to that deluge of abuse which the leading men of free countries, with a licentious press, cannot avoid, he was perfectly serene and unmoved by any vindictive emotion; true to friends, patient with adversaries, resolute but forbearing even with public enemies. All the emergencies of war never once betrayed him into infringements of the constitution. It has been stated on high authority, that while a candidate for the presidency, no one, however intimate, ever heard him open his lips or say one word on the subject. While president, he underwent torrents of calumny without the slightest complaint. If the uncomfortable necessity of being obliged to remove a secretary of state, or of war, or a postmaster-general, crossed his path, he performed the disagreeable duty with all possible gentleness, but with inflexible firmness. Constitutionally simple and unostentatious in his habits, tastes, and intercourse, he still sustained the dignity belonging to such a life and such a station as his.

At about sixty-six years of age he retired from public life, and ever after resided on his estate in Virginia, except about two months while at Richmond as a member of the convention in 1829, which sat there to remould the constitution of that state. His farm, his books, his friends, an' his correspondence, were the sources of his enjoyment and occupation, during the twenty years of his retirement. During most of that time his health, never robust, was as good as usual, and he partook with pleasure of the exercise and the conviviality in which he had always enjoyed himself. A good farmer on a large scale, he acted for some time as president of an agricultural society, and for a much longer time, first as visiter, and after Mr. Jefferson's death, as rector of the University of Virginia, located at Charlottesville, in his neighborhood; among whose founders and friends he bore a conspicuous part. Prevailed upon, when just convalescent from severe illness, to be a member of the Virginia convention of 1829, the infirm condition of his health, being then near eighty years old, prevented his

taking a very active part in its deliberations. His main purpose, indeed, appears to have been to promote a compromise between parties so stiffly divided on local and personal interests as to threaten the tranquillity of the state. On some of the principal topics discussed, he is understood to have yielded his own opinions to that consideration, as well as the urgent instances of his constituents.

At eighty-five years of age, though much reduced by debility, his mind was bright, his memory retentive, and his conversation highly instructive and delightful. Suffering with disease, he never repined. Serene, and even lively, he still loved to discuss the constitution, to inculcate the public good, and to charge his friends with blessings for his country. He was long one of the most interesting shrines to which its votaries repaired: a relic of republican virtue which none could contemplate without reverence and edification.

On the 28th of June, 1836, he died; as serene, philosophical, and calm in the last moments of existence, as he had been in all the trying occasions of life.

We cannot close this brief account of the life and public services of Mr. MADISON more appropriately, than by the following extract from the proceedings in the house of representatives of the United States, when the annunciation of his death was made by the president to both. houses of congress.

"WASHINGTON, June 30, 1836.

"To the Senate and House of Representatives .

"It becomes my painful duty to announce to you the melancholy intelligence of the death of JAMES MADISON, ex-president of the United States. He departed this life at half past six o'clock, on the morning of the 28th inst., full of years and of honor.

"I hasten this communication, in order that congress may adopt such measures as may be proper to testify their sense of the respect which is due to the memory of one whose life has contributed so essentially to the happiness and glory of his country, and to the good of mankind.

"ANDREW JACKSON."

The message having been read, and the house addressed by Mr. Patton, of the Virginia delegation, who offered the following resolution: "Resolved, That a committee be appointed on the part of this house, to join such committee as may be appointed on the part of the senate, to consider and report by what token of respect and affection it may be proper for the congress of the United States to express the deep