CHAPTER III.

The Library of Congress.—Conversation with several Members of Congress.—Practice of Public Speakers in Washington.—Mr.Van Buren’s Method of parrying an Invective.—Discussion of General Jackson’s Character.—Jackson and Wellington’s similarity of Character.—Mr.Van Buren’s Character.—Instability of American Institutions.—Insecurity of Property the Consequence of it.—Want of Enthusiasm in the Higher Classes.—Their Toad-eating in Europe.—Cooper’s last Publication.—Vanity of boasting of the Natural Resources of the Country.—Thin-skinnedness of the Americans when attacked by European Critics.—Toad-eating to the People.—Necessity of establishing a Moral Quarantine for all Americans returning from Europe.—Americans ashamed of their Institutions.—Anecdote of a vulgar rich American and the Grand Duke of Tuscany.—Democratic Twaddles.—Advantages of a poor Capital.

“Ambition rends, and gaming gains a loss;But making money, slowly first, then quicker,And adding still a little through each cross,(Whichwillcome over things,) beats love or liquor,The gamester’s counter, or the statesman’sdross.O gold! I still prefer thee unto paper,Which makes bank credit like a bark of vapour.”

Byron’sDon Juan., Canto xii. 4.

Being engaged in the evening, I spent the time from four till five in the afternoon in visitingthe library of Congress at the Capitol. I was introduced to the librarian by one of the members, and found him exceedingly obliging. The collection of books, manuscripts, newspapers, &c. is of course small, the number of works in any one department being probably insufficient to form a scholar: yet, for the entertainment of the members, and for such current and useful instruction as may be desirable for the purpose of reference, it is probably more than sufficient; and thus it well answers the purpose of its founders. After taking from one of the windows a fine view of the city, which looks more like a newly settled colony than the capital of a powerful country, I took a walk with two senators and a member up and down the macadamised road, called the Pennsylvania Avenue, which leads from the Capitol to the President’s house; this being the fashionable promenade, business street, habitable quarter, and sum total of the whole American metropolis.

The two senators belonged to the democratic party, it being a rare case for a Whig ever to associate with a Democrat, andvice versâ; the member of the House belonged to the same class of politicians.

“What sort of speech was itMr.*** madeto-day?” demanded one of the senators of the member.

“Clever enough, I believe; but nobody listened to it.Mr.*** speaks too much.”

“And on all occasions, probably?”

“Precisely so.”

“Then I do not wonder no one likes to hear him: it is the worst possible taste to be always up. A man has to be very careful with that. The older members do not like the younger ones to speak more on a question than is absolutely necessary. This privilege is entirely reserved for the veterans. A young man of talent must be cautious how he shows off; or they will make a dead set at him, and hunt him down. The best practice is to speak seldom, and only on great occasions.”

“But you know,” observed the member, “a man must give some signs of life, or he will not be re-elected. Most of our speeches are manufactured for home-consumption. We ‘let fly’ at them in the House, then print it, and then send a couple of thousand copies of it to our constituents. Uncle Sam, you know, pays the postage.”[23]

“None of us has a right to complain about that,” replied the senator: “speeches are made on both sides; each party possessing the same right, and making the same use of the privilege of franking.”

“But then our party does not make near as long speeches as the Tories: it is only the higher classes of society will read a discourse filling more than seventeen columns in a newspaper.”

“But how do they get people to listen to them?” demanded I.

“They don’t,” answered the member. “We just let him speak on, and employ our time in reading the newspapers, writing letters, conversing with one another, talking to some gentleman in the lobby, or in reading some interesting book. We always find some useful occupation: it is only the greenhorns listen to a long speech, with a view to catch an idea.”

“Reading is sometimes practised with great success,” observed the senator, “while a personalattack is made upon a gentleman.Mr.Van Buren,[24]for instance, is in the habit of reading a novel as often as a Whig or Tory senator gets up to pour out his abuse against him. In this manner he is not only able to weather the storm without getting angry, but to show at the same time his contempt for the invective.”

“That is a capital plan. I presume he occasionally looks over the book?” said the member with a laugh.

“Only when the abuse is very heavy; and then it is done with the most placid countenance, just to let his antagonist know how little he can shake him. It serves in the place of a reply, and keeps his party all the while in countenance.”

“But what must a member or a senator do to obtain a hearing from his colleagues?” demanded I.

“Why, he must have friends, either political or personal, and he must know how to keep his audience in good humour; a task which is more difficult than you imagine.”

The conversation then turned upon General Jackson, and the prospects of the opposition.

“General Jackson,” said one of the senators, “understands the people of the United States twenty times better than his antagonists; and, if his successor have but half the same tact, the Whigs may give up the hope of governing the country for the next half century.”

“You ought not to say ‘tact,’” interrupted the other senator, “for that alone will not do it; he must have the same manners as our present President. General Jackson has a peculiar way of addressing himself to the feelings of every man with whom he comes in contact. His simple, unostentatious manners carry into every heart the conviction of his honesty; while the firmness of his character inspires his friends with the hope of success. His motto always was, ‘Never sacrifice a friend to an enemy;’ or, ‘Make yourself strong with your friends, and you need not fear your foes.’ These things, however, must bebornwith a man; they must be spontaneous, and felt as such by the people, or they lose the best part of their effect. All the tact in the world will not answer the same purpose; for, in exactly the same proportion as we perceive a man is prudent, we become cautious ourselves,—and then farewell to popularity!

“When the people give their suffrages to a man,they never do so on a rigid examination of his political principles; for this task the labouring classes of any country neither have the time nor the disposition, and it is wholly needless to attempt to persuade them to a different course by a long and tedious argument. The large masses act in politics pretty much as they do in religion. Every doctrine is with them, more or less, a matter offaith; received, principally, on account of their trust in the apostle. If the latter fail to captivate their hearts, no reasoning in the world is capable of filling the vacancy: and the more natural and uncorrupt the people are, the less are they to be moved by abstract reasoning, whether the form of government be republican, monarchical, or despotic.”

“Precisely so,” ejaculated the member. “General Jackson is popular, just because he is General Jackson; so much so, that if a man were to say a word against him in the Western States, he would be ‘knocked into eternal smash.’”

“And this sort of popularity,” continued the senator, “our Northern people consider as the mere consequence of the battle of New Orleans. The battle, and General Jackson’s military character, had undoubtedly a great deal to do with it; but they were not of themselves sufficient toelevate him to the Presidency. In a country in which so large a portion of the people consider the acquiring of a fortune the only rational object of pursuit,—in which so great and so exclusive an importance is attached to money, that, with a few solitary exceptions, it is the only means of arriving at personal distinction,—a character like Jackson’s, so perfectly disinterested, and so entirely devoted to what he at least deemed the good of his country, could not but excite astonishment and admiration among the natural, and therefore more susceptible, people of the Western States. The appearance of General Jackson was a phenomenon, and would at the present time have been one in every country. He called himself ‘the people’s friend,’ and gave proofs of his sincerity and firmness inadheringto his friends, and of his power to protect them. The people believed in General Jackson as much as the Turks in their prophet, and would have followed him wherever he chose to lead them. With this species of popularity it is in vain to contend; and it betrays little knowledge of the world, and the springs of human action, to believe those who possess it men of ordinary capacity.

“What the French call ‘le génie du caractère,’ which is the true talisman of popular favour, isperhaps the highest talent with which mortals can be endowed. It is a pure gift of Heaven, and has accomplished the noblest deeds in history. When Napoleon reproached Voltaire with not having sufficiently appreciated the character of Mahomed, whom the French poet introduced in the drama of the same name as a mere impostor, he felt that none but a great mind could have conceived and executed what to ordinary men would have appeared absurd or chimerical; and that he who had the power to instil a lasting enthusiasm for a new cause into millions, and on that enthusiasm to establish an empire which has spread over half the world, must have been more than a mere charlatan, for he must have been possessed of a thorough knowledge of human character. This is a thing a man cannot acquire by study, if he do not possess it by intuition; and hence it can neither be defined nor understood by men not similarly gifted, who, applying their own scale to what is truly incommensurable, are always astonished at the success of those whom they were all their lives accustomed to look upon as second or third rate men.

“Have we not heard it objected to Napoleon, that he could not write an elegant epistle? Do the French not pity Shakspeare for having beenso little of a scholar, and so inelegant in his expressions? And yet wherein consisted the particular genius of these men, so entirely opposite to one another, if it was not, principally, in the perfect knowledge which truly intuitively they possessed of human character?

“In the same manner it has been said of General Jackson that he is incapable of writing a good English sentence, as if this were the standard by which to measure the capacity of a political chief, especially in America, where, out of a hundred senators and representatives, scarcely one has received what in Europe would be called a literary education. If classical learning were to constitute the scale by which to measure the talents of our statesmen, how far would they not rank behind the paltriest Prussian schoolmaster! General Jackson understood the people of the United States better than, perhaps, any President before him, and developed as much energy in his administration as any American statesman. I do not here speak as a partisan, nor do I wish to inquire whether all his measures were beneficial to the people; but they were, at least, all in unison with his political doctrines, and carried through with an iron consequence, notwithstanding the enormous opposition that wealth, and, in a greatdegree, also talent, put in the way of their execution. And yet they call Jackson a second-rate man, because he is not a regularspeechifyer, or has never published a long article in the newspapers!

“To judge of a man like General Jackson, one must not analyze him after the manner of a chemist; one must not separate his talents—his oratory—his style of composition—his generalship, &c.; but take thetout ensembleof the man, and I venture to say there is not such another in the United States. It is useless to draw envious comparisons between him and Washington, Wellington, Napoleon, Jefferson, and so forth. Great men always wear the imprints of the times and circumstances which call their talents into action; but history is sure to preserve the name of any man who has had the strength and genius to stamp his own character on the people over whose destinies he presided. General Jackson has many political enemies, and his political doctrines are perhaps only maintained—I will not say maintainable—by his own great personality. His successor in office may not be able to continue to make head against the opposition;—another party may get into power, and introduce different doctrines into the administration of the country;—butthe impulse which General Jackson has given to the democracy of America will always continue to be felt, and impel the government in a more or less popular direction.”

“You are a great friend of General Jackson,” said I, “from the animated defence you make of his character.”

“I certainly am, sir,” said he; “and I do not know a single man of our party that is not warmly attached to him. Not that I approve of all his political principles; but I like the man, and would rather seehimPresident than any other.”

“You have spoken my very heart,” cried the other senator. “I likeOld Hickory, because he is just the man for the people, and as immovable as a rock. One always knows where to find him.”

“He is just the man our party wanted,” rejoined the first senator, “in order to take the lead.”

“And I like Old Ironhead,” said the member, “because he is a man after my own sort. When he once says he is your friend, heisyour friend; but once your enemy, thenlook out for breakers.”

“And, what is more,” interrupted the senator, “his hatred is of that pure Saxon kindwhich is always coupled with moral horror; and, for that reason, irreconcileable.”

“And, what is better than all,” cried the member, chuckling, “he has a good memory; he never forgets a man who has rendered him a service, nor does he ever cease to remember an injury. The former is sure of being rewarded, the latter will with difficulty escape punishment.Mr.Adams, during his Presidency, was pusillanimous enough to endeavour to reconcile his enemies by all sorts ofdouceurs; he appointed them to office, invited them to dinner, and distinguished them even before his friends. This conduct naturally alienated the latter; while the former, perceiving his drift, did not think themselves bound to be grateful for his attentions. General Jackson introduced the doctrine of reward and punishment, and has ‘got along’ with it much better than his warmest friends anticipated. He appointed his friends to office, and dismissed his antagonists the moment they had taken an active part in politics. That principle, sir, is the proper one to go upon. The hope of reward, and the fear of punishment, govern men in politics and religion.”

“You have expressed some apprehension,” said I, turning to the senator, “thatMr.Van Buren,whom I suppose you mean by the successor of General Jackson, might not be able to retain the reins of government long.”

“If I did so,” replied the senator, “it was not becauseMr.Van Buren’s principles are not fully as orthodox as Jackson’s; but he will be called on the stage immediately after a great actor will have left it, in order to perform a part notoriginallyintended for him. He may be a much greater statesman than General Jackson, and yet fail to satisfy the country. He may not be allowed to act out his own views, and unable to identify himself with the party as General Jackson did,—be reduced to an exceedingly precarious position. Besides, his means of reward, as my friend chooses to call them, will be limited; General Jackson having already distributed the best offices among his friends, and the power of creating new ones being with great reluctance granted by the people. As regards the power of punishment,Mr.Van Buren will be left entirely impotent; General Jackson having already cleared the vineyard of the most noxious weeds, and the dismissal from office of a person appointed by Jackson being sure of raising a hue and cry throughout the country.”

“All that may be,” observed the secondsenator; “butMr.Van Buren is a shrewd man.”

“So he is; but all the shrewdness in the world will not change the disagreeable predicament in which he will be placed at the resignation of General Jackson. I am still afraid of the bank question.”

“That is long ago knocked on the head.”

“I wish it was; but I cannot bring myself to think so. The smallest commercial crisis—and our country is continually exposed to the largest ones—may revive the hopes of the opposition. It is the peculiar curse of our country never to come to a lasting conclusion on any political principle. What is law under one administration is abolished under another, andvice versâ, just as the one or the other party happens to command a majority of votes.

“What doctrine may now be considered as settled in the United States?—Not one; except that we are opposed to royalty—principally on account of its expenses. There is the system of internal improvements; have we come to a conclusion with regard to that?—No; the democratic party merely let it fall through, in order that the Whigs on obtaining power may take it up again. There is the American system withthe high tariff; how does that question stand?—The parties are precisely in the same position in which they were before the passing of the Compromise Bill in 1832-3; the North calling for a protective system, and the South determined to nullify.[25]And so it is with the question of a United States’ bank, the merit of each principle being every year newly tested by the result of the elections. This state of things is far from being enviable, as it renders the possession of property every day more and more insecure.”

“Not only does it render property insecure,” rejoined the other senator, “but it undermines the stability of our institutions. Instead of adhering to the text of theconstitution, our parties are led by differentpolicies. There is the tariff policy; as if manufacturing, or getting rich by selling home made cotton and broad-cloth, were the last end proposed by government. Then comes the national improvement policy; people must have large roads and canals in order to force trade into one or the other direction. They cannot wait until the wants of commerce shall have called them into existence; neither will they rely uponprivate enterprise for their execution: it must be done by the protecting guardianship of the government, and the whole countryen massemust contribute to benefit particular States. Then comes the question of a national bank; which has agitated the country before it was quite ushered into the world, and ever after. What great national question has occupied public attention more than the art, science, practice, custom, and expediency of making money? It has employed all the wisdom, all the discretion, and all the energies of our statesmen; clearly indicating what direction the republic of the nineteenth century would take, and wherein consists the greatness of our times.

“All these questions have been so continually agitated that we have found no time for anything else; and yet we wonder Europeans do not take a sufficient interest in the progress of our country. What have we done that is so very marvellous? We have, thanks to the infinite resources of our country, built more railroads and canals thantheyhave; we have built and blown up more steam-boats; and we have, in proportion to our population, a larger mercantile navy than any other people. But what progress have we made in the arts and sciences, in literature, or in philosophy,to entitle us to be ranked foremost in the scale of nations? There exists now an international literature among the civilized nations of the world. What share do we take in that? The present age is in labour to give birth to a new order of things, to a new era in history; what is America doing to aid the delivery?—she who has had so much to do with the conception, and who is now responsible to the world if the whole prove an abortion. Is not every such sympathy expressed by our people—I mean by the mass of our population—laughed to scorn by our ‘respectable’ citizens; and are not nine-tenths of all the Americans travelling in Europe a living parody of our republican institutions? Has not even Cooper written half a dozen books on England, Italy, France, &c. as if his main purpose were to teach his countrymen good manners, and to convince them that he is a competent instructor, having himself been admitted into the best society? Why, if the speeches of our fashionable gentlemen were published in Europe, iftheirestimation of our people and of our institutions were taken as a criterion of the justice and strength of our government, then the state of our country might, indeed, be held upin terroremto every nation aspiring to liberty.

“What have we achieved to be proud of, if it be not our national charter? And is not this expounded by every party in a different manner? We do not even seem to know whether we shall really have a republican government, or whether our constitution shall be a mere mock-word, granting to the people in theory what a large and influential portion of our citizens endeavour to deny them in practice. As long as our institutions are looked upon as a mere experiment, not only by a certain class in Europe, but by theéliteof ourownpeople; as long as our fashionable toadies pour out their contempt for popular governments in the ante-chambers of princes and nobles; and as long as our enlightened press finds no better food for the patriotism of our people than to entertain them with the court fashions and the court etiquette of Europe,—we have no right to find fault with the literary and thinking portion of Europeans for not wondering at our progress, or not thinking us the very first nation in the world.

“To boast of the inexhaustible resources of the country God in his infinite mercy has granted us for the noblest experiment; to be proud of our getting rich, of our being well-fed and well-clothed; and to look down with a mixture of pityand contempt on the millions which in less favoured climes are struggling against hunger and despotism,—proves a degree of vulgar egotism against which European writers have a right to use every weapon with which sarcasm and ridicule can furnish them.

“Instead of bawling like little children when we are hurt by some European critic, let us be sufficiently independent to go on fearlessly, and without reference to the fashions of other nations, in the developement of those maxims and principles which have led to the establishment of our government. Let every nation develope and improve that to which it is principally indebted for its existence and power, instead of continually borrowing from others, and introducing heterogeneous elements into the state, which can only weaken its cohesion. The peculiar genius of our people is their capacity for self-government. Let them follow the inspiration of that genius, and esteem themselves for theirrealworth, and they will have no need of fearing the sting of European sarcasm.”

“That’s it—that’s it exactly!” shouted the member. “Instead of going on ‘gloriously,’ ‘irresistibly,’ and ‘triumphantly,’ we stop all the time to pick up knowledge in Europe.”

“There is enough knowledge to be picked up in Europe for you or me,” replied the senator with a significant look on the member; “but, when our people go to Europe, they pick up the weed, and overlook the wholesome plant. We have no discrimination in our choice; and hence most of our countrymen, when they return home from abroad, arrive in a poisoned state, and immediately infect their neighbourhood. We ought to establish a sort of moral quarantine at the entrance of all our ports, where we ought to retain gentlemen and ladies returning from Europe, until they should have given symptoms of returning reason.”

“That’s exactly whatIsay,” cried the member. “I wish somebody would make such a motion!”

“Is it not strange,” continued the senator, “that we, who are descended from the English, should resemble them so little in one respect? The English carry their national customs and manners wherever they go; whereas we, poor unfortunate Yankees! with the sympathy of half the world in our favour, are absolutely ashamed of our own, and embarrassed when asked about the nature of our government.”

“If any such there be, I wish I knew theirnames,” interrupted the member; “they ought to be published.”

“That would be ungentlemanly,” retorted the senator, vexed with the interruption; “you would surely not introduce a reign of terror!”

“I don’t know about that,” ejaculated the member; “I am the man for the people, and, when any one insults them, mydanderis up; and then I don’t knowwhatI am doing.”

The senator made no reply.

“There are men in Paris,” continued he after a while, “who do more harm to their countrymen than all the books that have been written on America.”

“And who are they?” demanded the member eagerly.

“I shall not name them,” said the senator; “but they are some of our vulgar rich men, and the very worst hunters after nobility. One of them gives fine parties, and has by his extravagance acquired a sort of notoriety which he is mistaking for reputation. This man, who is much more proud of his intercourse with French noblemen than of his familiarity with his own countrymen, while at Florence actually refused to recognise one of our worthiest citizens whom he well knew, and whom the Grand Duke had received on severaloccasions.—‘Do you knowMr.***’ asked the Imperial Prince of Austria, the lion of Paris.—‘I do not,’ replied the latter, somewhat abashed.—‘He has certainly a very agreeable family,’ observed his Highness, by way of explaining his motive.—‘That may be,’ answered the wealthy nothing; ‘but he is amerchant, and I do not associate with these.’—‘Indeed!’ remarked the Grand Duke naïvely, ‘I was always told the merchants composed your best society!’”

“And I dare say,” said the member, “he would have been glad, while in America, to be ranked with the society of merchants.”

“It is the character of every toad-eater,” observed the senator drily, “that he ceases to recognise his friends the moment they can no longer be useful to him. There are toad-eaters in politics as well as in society. A man may be a toad-eater to the mob as well as to those above him; and I do not know which of the two kinds is the worst. We have a set of political sycophants who fawn and cringe before every party that is in power, and who are always the first to desert them at the leastmauvais contretemps. Our democracy has no greater enemies than those twaddles. They come over to the side of the people when they have no other alternative left,and are the servants of the people just as long as the people have the power to retain them. They are democrats for a share in the loaves and fishes, and injure the party more than its most avowed opponents; just as treachery in your own ranks is worse than an attack from your enemy.”

“But I should think people would soon find them out,” observed the member.

“They may indeed very easily be detected,” said the senator; “only thepeoplefind them out too late. One of the surest means of detecting them is to watch their animosity against harmless individuals, while they show the greatest delicacy for persons who have the power to injure them. These men are always ready to kill the fly that annoys them, but move quietly out of the way of the elephant; they never show their courage unless they are quite sure of opposing the weak, or, like Falstaff at the battle of Shrewsbury, merely stab the slain.”

The conversation here began to flag; and, in a short time after, the honourable member, under pretext of having a pressing engagement with a friend, left us to enjoy the rest of our walk as best we might, without the advantage of his remarks. I seized this opportunity to ask the senator whether what I had heard of the poverty ofthe city of Washington was true, and whether the town is really deserted during the summer?

“I am glad,” replied he, “the people here are poor, and unable to give splendid entertainments. They would otherwise have the power of seducing senators and representatives with the display of fashion, and the numerous attractions and manœuvres of wealthy coteries. It is a fortunate circumstance that the legislative assemblies of the States of New York and Pennsylvania meet in comparatively small towns; because not only the influence of the mob, which Jefferson dreaded, but also the aristocratic seductions of the higher classes, are capable of destroying the independence of legislators. From these evils we are happily exempted by the almost hopeless condition of the inhabitants of this place. Washington is, in this respect, like a German university, in which all the citizens make their living by the students and the professors, and on that account must do what the latter like, instead of holding out inducements for them to desert the path of duty. With the exception of half a dozen people of large estates, and particularly the very generous and hospitable General V—ss, all the parties, entertainments, balls, concerts, etc. are given by thecorps diplomatique, or by the gentlemen holdingoffice, among whom some of the secretaries are particularly remarkable for their unostentatious civility to strangers. The company, again, is principally composed of persons connected with the government, of senators, members of the House, and foreign diplomatic agents; so that the rich visitors from the Atlantic towns are incapable of making a sensation, and are only admitted on even terms.”

“That’s a very flattering account of Washington society,” said I, delighted with the prospect.

“If you are this evening invited to Mrs. ***’s, you may probably have an opportunity of verifying all I have said. The meagre salaries of our public functionaries do not enable them to pamper their guests with hot suppers, as is the custom among the nabobs of New York; but if agreeable and affable manners, and theréunionof the first talents of our country, can compensate you for a leg of a turkey or an oyster-pie, you will not regret staying a few days in the American metropolis.”

So saying, he bid me good-b’ye; begged me to make use of him in any manner I pleased, especially if I wished to be introduced to the President and Vice-president, or to any of his colleaguesonhisside of the question. I thanked him cordially for his kindness; and, intending to pay my respects to the President and Vice-president, told him frankly that I should be under great obligations to him for a personal introduction to General Jackson andMr.Van Buren. This declaration had the desired effect, and it was agreed between us that he should call on me early on the morning of the following day in order to present me to the chief magistrate.

FOOTNOTES:[23]Every member, as well as every senator in Congress, possesses the “privilege of franking.” “Uncle Sam” is the familiar appellation of “United States,” from the initials U. S. For the same reason, U. S. L. D. (the initials of “United States’ Light Dragoons,”) are translated into “Uncle Sam’s lazy dogs.”[24]The above notes were written in part during the administration of General Jackson, whenMr.Van Buren was President of the Senate.[25]Mr.Calhoun declared in one of his recent speeches that he was neither for the administration, nor against it; but was merely an honestnullifier.

[23]Every member, as well as every senator in Congress, possesses the “privilege of franking.” “Uncle Sam” is the familiar appellation of “United States,” from the initials U. S. For the same reason, U. S. L. D. (the initials of “United States’ Light Dragoons,”) are translated into “Uncle Sam’s lazy dogs.”

[24]The above notes were written in part during the administration of General Jackson, whenMr.Van Buren was President of the Senate.

[25]Mr.Calhoun declared in one of his recent speeches that he was neither for the administration, nor against it; but was merely an honestnullifier.

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