that
sound judgment, which is perhaps the most rare, and is certainly the
most valuable quality of the human mind. Devoting himself to the
duties of his station, and pursuing no object distinct from the public
good, he was accustomed to contemplate at a distance those critical
situations in which the United States might probably be placed; and to
digest, before the occasion required action, the line of conduct which
it would be proper to observe. Taught to distrust first impressions,
he sought to acquire all the information which was attainable, and to
hear, without prejudice, all the reasons which could be urged for or
against a particular measure. His own judgment was suspended until it
became necessary to determine; and his decisions, thus maturely made,
were seldom if ever to be shaken. His conduct therefore was
systematic, and the great objects of his administration were steadily
pursued.

Respecting, as the first magistrate in a free government must ever do,
the real and deliberate sentiments of the people, their gusts of
passion passed over, without ruffling the smooth surface of his mind.
Trusting to the reflecting good sense of the nation for approbation
and support, he had the magnanimity to pursue its real interests, in
opposition to its temporary prejudices; and, though far from being
regardless of popular favour, he could never stoop to retain, by
deserving to lose it. In more instances than one, we find him
committing his whole popularity to hazard, and pursuing steadily, in
opposition to a torrent which would have overwhelmed a man of ordinary
firmness, that course which had been dictated by a sense of duty.

In speculation, he was a real republican, devoted to the constitution
of his country, and to that system of equal political rights on which
it is founded. But between a balanced republic and a democracy, the
difference is like that between order and chaos. Real liberty, he
thought, was to be preserved, only by preserving the authority of the
laws, and maintaining the energy of government. Scarcely did society
present two characters which, in his opinion, less resembled each
other, than a patriot and a demagogue.

No man has ever appeared upon the theatre of public action, whose
integrity was more incorruptible, or whose principles were more
perfectly free from the contamination of those selfish and unworthy
passions, which find their nourishment in the conflicts of party.
Having no views which re