political
antipodes. The one was the eulogist and follower of John Quincy Adams,
the other was a sincere believer in the creed and the measures of
Andrew Jackson. As Adams and Jackson had agreed only in devotion to
the Union, so now Seward and Johnson seemed to have no other principle
of Government in common, and that principle was equally strong in each.

Not only was this obstacle of inherent difference of political view in
Mr. Seward's way, but he also encountered an intense personal
prejudice which even while he was disabled by wounds had been
insinuated into the President's mind. Nor had Mr. Seward any force of
popularity at the time with the Republican party of the country. It
had fallen to his lot during the four eventful years of the war to
assume unpleasant responsibilities and to perform ungracious acts. He
was not at the head of a department where popular applause awaited his
ablest work, or where popular attention was attracted by the most
brilliant triumphs of his diplomatic correspondence.

The successful placing of a vast loan among the people redounded
everywhere to the praise of Mr. Chase. The gaining of a victory in
the field reflected credit upon Mr. Stanton. But a series of
diplomatic papers far outreaching in scope and grasp those of any
statesman or publicist with whom he was in correspondence, recalling in
skill the best efforts of Talleyrand, and in spirit the loftiest ideals
of Jefferson, did not advance the popularity of Mr. Seward because the
field of his achievements and triumphs was not one in which the masses
of the people took an active interest. The most difficult and in many
cases the most successful of diplomatic work is necessarily
confidential for long periods. In legislative halls, discussion on
questions of interest enlists public attention and holds the popular
mind in suspense before the fate of the measure is decided. But the
dispatches and arguments of a minister of Foreign Affairs, which may
lead to results of great consequence to his country, are not gazetted
till long after they have borne their fruit; and the public rejoicing
in the conclusion, seldom turns to examine the toilsome process by
which it was attained. It was from the comparative isolation of the
Department of State, four years removed from active contact with the
people, that Mr. Seward now assumed the task of controlling the new
President and directing his policy on the weightiest question of his
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