of his record, that he was far above the average politician. He was ambitious, as were Clay and Webster and Calhoun and Silas Wright and William H. Seward. A great many very excellent men have been ambitious, and they were no worse for it. Mr. Van Buren had a bright, keen intellect, but I have not been able to discover that there was anything tricky about him. I think he was a square man and upright. His administration was one of the purest the nation has ever had. His bitterest opponent, if living, would be troubled to put his finger upon a bad appointment or a discreditable act during the four years he occupied the presidential chair. He was charged with non-committalism, but there was nothing in his conduct while at the head of the nation to warrant the charge. Though temperate in the expression of his sentiments, there was never any doubt as to the meaning of his public utterances; and having taken a position he was as firm as Old Hickory. He was not an angular man; there was no roughness about him; he was a gentleman-a gentleman in his instincts, a gentleman in the presence of his friends and foes, a gentleman in all the relations of life. He was rather small in stature, though well formed. Referring to a visit of Mr. Van Buren to the Old Dominion, while he was vice-president, Mrs. Jessie Benton Fremont states that "it shocked the people of the ancient commonwealth, who were tall, to find him so small." But he was so agreeable in his manners, so polite in his intercourse with all with whom he came in contact, that his friends were as numerous as his acquaintances. Young people all liked him, for he took notice of and interest in them. He knew how to entertain, making all who visited him entirely at home. He dressed with great care. His clothes fitted perfectly, and they were carefully brushed.

In a word, he was a clean man, clean in his person, clean in his morals, and conscientious in his political

views. General Jackson had implicit faith in him, which is pretty good evidence of his trustworthiness. Had he been a trickster, the general would have made the discovery and given him a wide berth. But the two remained the warmest friends so long as General Jackson lived. I think he came as near being a statesman as any man we have had during the last half a century. I do not suppose he was altogether unselfish, but I doubt if the age in which he lived did justice to him. I believe he was a better man than he was esteemed, and that the more his private and public life is scanned the brighter it will appear. I think he was as good a man as our state has ever produced.

In later chapters, wherein the administration of President Van Buren is concisely reviewed and the campaign of 1840 more particularly described, I have given fuller details of this remarkable political upheaval and of the causes leading thereto, to which readers are referred who care for a more complete knowledge of the same.

CHAPTER X.

The Albany Regency-Who Composed It-What They Did-William L. Marcy-Azariah C. Flagg-John A. Dix.

The individuals composing what was termed the "Albany regency," so far as I can judge from my personal knowledge of them and the reputation they bore among their contemporaries, were men of more than ordinary ability and rare integrity. I do not think very much of their style of democracy; nevertheless I concede that they were upright men, and meant well. They liked to govern, but they intended to give the people good government. If they were selfish, they were sensible. They seldom committed an indiscretion, and personally they were above reproach.

I have already given my impressions of Martin Van Buren. I think well of him-better than I did when he was in official life, and his opponents were saying very mean and bitter things about him.

William L. Marcy I never knew personally, though I have met him. He was a majestic man in appearance. He was larger than Daniel Webster, with coarser features. If looks were a sure criterion by which to estimate men, Governor Marcy would have stood very high. I don't think the country has had many abler men than the governor. He was not an orator, as Webster was-I am not aware that he ever made any speeches-but as a writer he was the peer of the Massachusetts statesman; and I have always had the impression that if he had remained in his native state, (Massachusetts,) where greater deference is, or was, paid to their public men. than with us, he might have ranked with the "godlike

Daniel." He was certainly a superior judge and an able executive, and won distinction as secretary of state under Franklin Pierce. He was, moreover, a gentleman whose integrity was never questioned in any quarter. His opponents sometimes dubbed him "breeches Marcy," because, while acting as judge in the western part of the state, having torn his pantaloons, he sent them to the tailor for repair, who charged for his services four or five shillings, and the judge, in keeping an itemized account of his expenses, charged the same to the state, and it was audited by the comptroller.

Azariah C. Flagg, a native of Clinton county, I think, and at one time editor of the Plattsburg Republican, was a man whose name was the synonym of virtue and integrity. He was short and thick, dark complexioned, and prepared to give you a square answer to any question you might address him on very short notice. He was a plain man in his personal appearance, and plain in his speech. He went to the assembly from Clinton county in 1823, and served two years. In 1826 he was appointed secretary of state, and held the position seven years, at the end of which he was made comptroller, and held that office ten years. He was an able financier. His reports as financial officer of the state were models of perspicuity and clearness, and the suggestions they contained were so sensible that they were adopted by the legislature almost as a matter of course. He possessed an unusual amount of good practical sense, and so was a strong man. At the commencement of the troubles in the democratic organization which led to the defeat of Silas Wright for governor in 1846, Mr. Flagg acted with the radical wing; and the tremendous fight at the state convention at Syracuse in 1847 was over the nomination of comptroller, the barnburners being for Mr. Flagg and the hunkers against him. As some readers may recollect, Mr. Flagg was defeated and Orville Hungerford of

Watertown nominated; but the latter was badly beaten at the election.

Mr. Flagg afterwards removed to New York, where he was appointed to an important position in the financial department of the city government, and where he re. mained until failing health compelled him to relinquish the same. The last time I met him was in the park fronting the city hall, during his residence in the city. He had become an old man, and looked thin and jaded. I have always had a partiality for straightforward, reliable men, so I counted myself the friend of Mr. Flagg. John A. Dix was another gentleman whose name has been associated with "the regency." He was as unlike the individual last described as it is possible to conceive. General Dix was a literary man, and not a politician. He was scholarly in his tastes and manners. He was modest and gentle as a woman. While I was residing in Oswego, the General came there and addressed a political meeting. The next day he took the steamer for Ogdensburg, and having business down the St. Lawrence, I went along. I had been introduced to him at the meeting, and was at once recognized by him on the boat. As he was without traveling companions, and socially inclined, we very naturally fell into conversation, and were together a good part of the day. Arriving at Ogdensburg, the best parlor was assigned us at the hotel, with bedrooms off. The following day the General, with others, addressed a mass meeting in one of the country towns, (Madrid, if I remember right,) and I was requested to go along for company. We returned in the evening, occupied the same quarters at the hotel, and the next day went up the river and lake together as far as Kingston, when I passed over to Oswego, and the General went on to the Falls, I believe. I was with him, therefore, a good part of three days, and saw him to the best advantage. When I say he was one of the most perfect gentlemen I