That he possesses ambition, will not be denied; but his ambition is limited to the attainment of excellence and distinction within the bounds of patriotism and honor. If he has not the unbending sterness of Cato, he has the more pleasing and benignant integrity of Fabricius. Mr. Monroe entered early into public life, and has performed the various and complicated duties of a soldier, a politician, and a statesman. His mind has been accustomed to dwell on the nature of governments and the revolutions of empire; subjects so vast produce a correspondent enlargement of intellect and sweep of comprehension. The mind which is occupied in trifles will not be apt to amaze by its greatness, or astonish by its magnificence; it may glitter, but will never blaze. The peculiar character and magnitude of Mr. Monroe's pursuits have withheld his attention from the minor and less important subjects of literature, and he is very far from what we should call a man of reading or general science. The knowledge he possesses has been acquired more by personal observation, laborious reflection, and frequent conversation, than by the repeated perusals of books, to which his important occupations would not permit him to devote his time; but he has examined and re-examined that knowledge till it has in fact become his own; recreated by combination, established by practice and tested by experience. It is said, his mind is neither rich nor brilliant, but capable of the most laborious analysis,

and the most patient research-not hasty in its decisions, and not easily changed when its decisions are formed. Judgment appears to be his prominent intellectual feature, and in the examination of any object, he seldom suffers it to be darkened by prejudice, or warped by passion. This brief sketch, my lord, will satisfy you I presume, that no man could be chosen, better calculated to fill the dignified station he holds under this government, and that no man could be more cordially and sincerely disposed to further the interests and to promote the prosperity and happiness of his country. Mrs. Monroe, to whom I was also introduced, is a lady of retired and domestic habits-not ungraceful and apparently very amiable. Having resided in Europe with her husband, she has acquired some of its manners and a good deal of its polish. She receives company but returns no visits;-she seems more attached to the silence and peace of obscurity, than the bustle, confusion and glare of public assemblies; but to preserve the custom established by her predecessor, a lady, it is said, of great elegance of manners and much dignity of deportment, she gives what we call conservationi, but what is here termed drawing rooms, for the purpose of gratifying the wishes and curiosity of such strangers as may please to visit her and the president. These conservationi are conducted on ́principles of republican simplicity, and are widely different from the magnificence and splendor of the

English levees. They appeared to me, however, very unpleasant. The rooms are so crowded, the hum of voices so loud, and the motion of the company so incessant, that the possibility of continuing a conversation on any subject, is wholly precluded, and you are obliged to move with the multitude, by whom you are jostled every instant, without the power of enjoying the "feast of reason," or even the pleasures of sense.

Mr. Monroe has never been blessed with male issue, and what is remarkable, out of the five presidents who have served since the organization of this government, but one has had sons. I mention this merely as a curious circumstance. Mr. J. Q. Adams, the present Secretary of State, is the son of the second president of the United States, and a man of great talent, information and industry. Mr. Monroe, since his elevation to the presidential chair, is said to have discovered much sagacity in the selection of his cabinet counsel or executive officers. These are the secretaries of state, war, treasury, navy, and attorney general, all of whom, with one exception, possess the rare gifts of nature in no ordinary degree; and who have already rendered themselves conspicuous in the walks of literature, the fields of eloquence, and on the theatre of politics. You will understand that I do not mean to include in these remarks the Secretary of the Navy, (the exception I have mentioned) with whom I have no acquaintance,

and with whom, from what cause I am unable to say, the American public seem to be a little dissatisfied.

Mr. Adams has distinguished himself in the paths of literature and politics. The early part of his life seems to have been devoted to the acquisition of general knowledge which has been subsequently augmented by travel observation and reflection. He was once attached to the party by whom his father was chosen president, but very soon after the republican administration came into power, he was induced to change his opinions, and to abandon what might have been the prejudices of education, for principles which I have no doubt, he conceived to be more consonant to his feelings, and more consistent with his ideas of liberty and independence. Whatever may be said as to the motive which produced the change, I have no hesitation in thinking it originated entirely from principle, and that his feelings and sentiments were more in harmony and unison with the party he joined than the one he had forsaken. The conduct he has since pursued has evinced the integrity of his motives, and the sincerity of his attachment to his party and his country; and the confidence which that country has reposed in him, is an evidence that she also has been influenced by a similar opinion.

Mr. Adams is in person short, thick, and fat, resembling a little in his face, the portrait of his father which you have seen; and neither very agreeable nor very repulsive. He is between forty-five and

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fifty years of age, and seems to be vigorous and healthy. He is regular in his habits, and moral and temperate in his life. To great talent, he unites unceasing industry and perseverance, and an uncommon facility in the execution of business. Though he has read much, and drank "deep of the Pierian spring," he seems not to solicit the character which hterature bestows, and what will seem extraordinary to you, chooses rather to be ranked among men of business than among men of science.

Mr. Adams is extremely plain and simple, both in his manners and habiliments; and labours to avoid alike the foolery and splendour of "fantastic fashion," and the mean and inelegant costume of affected excentricity. He is evidently well skilled in the rhetorical art on which he has lectured, and in which he displays considerable research and ability; but whether he succeeded in reducing his principles to practice, while a member of the senate, I am not able to say. I should infer, however, that his speeches were more correct and polished, if they were not more eloquent, than those of his coadjutors in legislation. Yet after all, my lord, there is something more required to complete an orator than the mere knowledge and practice of those principles which rhetoricians have established as the ground work of this art. If there be an absence of that peculiar kind of talent, or want of that peculiar enthusiasm, which propels the mind to embrace with ardour and delight the profession of