nted, and of these the Attorney-General might be described as a
head without a department, since the duties of his office were few and
required only his occasional attention. As it fell out, however,
the Attorney-General whom Jefferson appointed, Levi Lincoln of
Massachusetts, practically carried on the work of all the Executive
Departments until his colleagues were duly appointed and commissioned.
For Secretary of War Jefferson chose another reliable New Englander,
Henry Dearborn of Maine. The naval portfolio went begging, perhaps
because the navy was not an imposing branch of the service, or because
the new President had announced his desire to lay up all seven frigates
in the eastern branch of the Potomac, where "they would be under
the immediate eye of the department and would require but one set of
plunderers to look after them." One conspicuous Republican after another
declined this dubious honor, and in the end Jefferson was obliged to
appoint as Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith, whose chief qualification
was his kinship to General Samuel Smith, an influential politician of
Maryland.

The appointment by Jefferson of James Madison as Secretary of State
occasioned no surprise, for the intimate friendship of the two
Virginians and their long and close association in politics led
everyone to expect that he would occupy an important post in the new
Administration, though in truth that friendship was based on something
deeper and finer than mere agreement in politics. "I do believe,"
exclaimed a lady who often saw both men in private life, "father never
loved son more than Mr. Jefferson loves Mr. Madison." The difference in
age, however, was not great, for Jefferson was in his fifty-eighth
year and Madison in his fiftieth. It was rather mien and character that
suggested the filial relationship. Jefferson was, or could be if he
chose, an imposing figure; his stature was six feet two and one-half
inches. Madison had the ways and habits of a little man, for he was only
five feet six. Madison was naturally timid and retiring in the presence
of other men, but he was at his best in the company of his friend
Jefferson, who valued his attainments. Indeed, the two men supplemented
each other. If Jefferson was prone to theorize, Madison was disposed
to find historical evidence to support a political doctrine. While
Jefferson generalized boldly, even rashly, Madison hesitated,
temporized, weighed the pros and cons, and came wit