of his invitation. It was to urge upon Mr. Marshall and Mr. Washington the propriety of their becoming candidates for Congress. Mr. Washington yielded to the wishes of his uncle, without a struggle; but Mr. Marshall resisted, on the ground of his situation, and the necessity of attending to his private affairs.

General Washington said, that "there were crises in national affairs which made it the duty of a citizen to forego his private for the public interest. He considered the country to be then in one of these."

The conversation was long, animated, and impressive, full of the deepest interest, and the most unreserved confidence. It had its effect. Mr. Marshall became a candidate, and was elected to Congress. Before his election he was offered a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court, by President Adams. This he declined, and Mr. Bushrod Washington was appointed. In May, 1800, Mr. Marshall was nominated by the President to the office of Secretary of War. In 1801, he became Chief Justice of the United States-an office which, by many, is considered the highest in our country.

"The fame of the warrior(9.) is forever embodied in the history of his country, and is colored with the warm lights reflected back by the praise of many a distant age. The orator and the statesman live not merely in the rec

(9.) " "The greatness of the warrior is poor and low compared with the magnanimity of virtue."

ollections of their powerful eloquence, or the deep impressions made by them on the character of the generation in which they lived, but are brought forth for public approbation in political debates, in splendid volumes, in collegiate declamations, in the works of rhetoricians, in the school-books of boys, and in the elegant extracts of after life."

"The place of justice," says Lord Bacon, " is a hallowed place," and he who holds that place and there sustains the majesty of the law, is to be venerated from age to age. In the character of Chief Justice Marshall, moderation was united with firmness, sagacity with modesty, learning with experience and solid wisdom.

"What, indeed, strikes us as most remarkable in his whole character, even more than his splendid talents, is the entire consistency of his public life and principles. There is nothing in either which calls for apology or concealment. Ambition never seduced him from his principles, nor did popular clamor deter him from the strict performance of duty."

Amid the extravagances of party spirit, he has stood with a calm and steady inflexibility; neither bending to the pressure of adversity, nor bounding with the elasticity of success. He has lived as such a man should live (and yet how few deserve the commendation), by and with his principles. If we were tempted to say in one word what it was in which he chiefly excelled other men,

we should say in wisdom; in the union of that virtue which has ripened under the hardy discipline of principles, with that knowledge which has constantly sifted and refined its old treasures, and as constantly gathered

"Interesting as it is to contemplate such a man in his public character and official functions,-there are few great men to whom one is brought near, however dazzling may be their talents or actions, who are not thereby painfully diminished in the estimate of those who approach them. The mist of distance sometimes gives a looming size to their character, but more often conceals its defects. To be amiable as well as great,-to be kind, gentle, simple, modest, and social, and at the same time to possess the rarest endowments of mind, and the warmest affections, is a combination devoutly to be wished, but seldom met. Yet Chief Justice Marshall was in the domestic circle exactly what a wife, a child, a brother, and a friend would most desire."

"Il possedait, au plus haut dégré, ces facultés brillantes qui président aux arts d'imagination mais qui constituent aussi, ou qui fécondent l'esprit d'invention, dans tous les genres; cette vivacité, et cette énergie de conception qui rendent une nouvelle vie aux objets, en les exprimant, et qui les embellisent encore, en les faisant revivre. Toutefois et par une rencontre aussi heureuse que rare, il était également doué de ces qualités éminentes, qui forment les penseurs. Exercé aux méditations profondes il était capable de suivre avec incroyable persévérance les deductions les plus étendues; il savant atteindre par un regard pénétrant, les distinctions les plus délicates, et quelquefois les plus subtiles."-De Gerando.

ONE of the most brilliant luminaries of the law came near hiding his legal talents under a bushel. William Pinckney, of Annapolis, in Maryland," commenced the study of medicine, but happily discovered that he had mistaken his vocation, and turned his attention to the legal profession. He seems to have lost no time in fitting himself for it, as we learn that, at the age of twentytwo, he was admitted to the bar.

Let us see with what equipments he was provided for

10 William Pinckney was born A. D. 1764.

the forensic field. He was carefully instructed in classical studies by a private teacher, to whom he afterward rendered the warmest tribute of gratitude and affection. For three years he pursued his legal studies under Mr. Justice Chase, an eminent lawyer of the Maryland bar. During this time he disciplined his mind by the cultivation of logic, so that no fallacies could be imposed upon his understanding. He became acute in his perception of truth, and dexterous in the use of arguments for its support. He had perfect command of his native language, and poured it forth in a rich, melodious voice, accompanied by an animated and graceful delivery. To all these he added a person dignified and manly, and a fine, strong physiognomy. It is not surprising, therefore, that his first efforts at the bar were hailed as omens of future distinction.

In 1796, Mr. Pinckney was induced to leave his professional pursuits and accept the appointment of Commissioner to Great Britain. He went with his family to London, where he resided for eight years.

In one of his letters written during this absence, he says," It is my most earnest wish to return home without loss of time, and to apply in earnest to my profession, for the purpose of securing, while my faculties are unimpaired, a competence for my helpless family. A few years of professional labor will bring me into the sere and yellow leaf of life, and if I do not begin speedily, I