ght justice, while he repelled, by his virtues, those who
traffic in the miseries or mistakes of unfortunate people, for they
dared not come to him and seek counsel to aid them in their villainy.

In 1847, Mr. Bates was delegate to the Convention for Internal
Improvement, held in Chicago, and by his action he came prominently
before the whole country. In 1850, President Fillmore offered him the
portfolio of Secretary of War, which he declined. Three years later,
he accepted the office of Judge of St. Louis Land Court.

When the question of the repeal of the Missouri Compromise was
agitated, he earnestly opposed it, and thus became identified with the
"free labor" party in Missouri, and united with it, in opposition to
the admission of Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution. He
afterwards became a prominent anti-slavery man, and in 1859 was
mentioned as a candidate for the presidency. He was warmly supported
by his own State, and for a time it seemed that the opposition to
Governor Seward might concentrate on him. In the National Republican
Convention, 1860, he received forty-eight votes on the first ballot,
but when it became apparent that Abraham Lincoln was the favorite, Mr.
Bates withdrew his name. Mr. Lincoln appointed Judge Bates Attorney
General, and while in the Cabinet he acted a dignified, safe and
faithful part. In 1864, he resigned his office and returned to his
home in St. Louis, where he died in 1869, surrounded by his weeping
family.

"----loved at home, revered abroad.
Princes and lords are but the breath of kings,
'An honest man's the noblest work of God.'"

On the 7th of February, 1844, the suit for my freedom began. A bright,
sunny day, a day which the happy and care-free would drink in with a
keen sense of enjoyment. But my heart was full of bitterness; I could
see only gloom which seemed to deepen and gather closer to me as I
neared the courtroom. The jailer's sister-in-law, Mrs. Lacy, spoke to
me of submission and patience; but I could not feel anything but
rebellion against my lot. I could not see one gleam of brightness in
my future, as I was hurried on to hear my fate decided.

Among the most important witnesses were Judge Robert Wash and Mr.
Harry Douglas, who had been an overseer on Judge Wash's farm, and also
Mr. MacKeon, who bought my mother from H. S. Cox, just previous to her
running away.

Judge Wash testified that "the defendant, Lucy A. Berry, was a mere
infant when