ident Grant; yet, in all that period, he never departed from the
simple, sincere life that he was living in September, 1848. Writing of
him in the _Tribune_, on the day after his nomination for governor,
Horace Greeley voiced the sentiment of men irrespective of party.
"Wealthy without pride, generous without ostentation, simple in
manners, blameless in life, and accepting office with no other
aspiration than that of making power subserve the common good of his
fellow citizens, Hamilton Fish justly and eminently enjoys the
confidence and esteem of all who know him."[381]

[Footnote 381: New York _Tribune_, September 15, 1848.]

On the first ballot, George W. Patterson of Chautauqua received
eighty-four out of ninety-six votes for lieutenant-governor. In his
gentle manners, simple generosity, and moderation of speech, Patterson
was not unlike Hamilton Fish. He was a loyal friend of Seward, a
constant correspondent of Weed, and a member of the inner circle of
governing Whigs; he had been prominent as an Anti-Mason, satisfactory
as a legislator, and impartial as a speaker of the Assembly; he was
now recognised as a far-sighted, wise, and cautious politician. In
guiding the convention to the selection of Hamilton Fish and George W.
Patterson, it was admitted that Thurlow Weed's leadership vindicated
his sagacity.

The political contest in New York, unlike that in the South and in
some Western States, presented the novel feature of three powerful
parties in battle array. The Free-soil faction was a strange mixture.
Besides Barnburners, there were Conscience Whigs, Proviso Democrats,
Land Reformers, Workingmen, and Abolitionists--a formidable
combination of able and influential men who wielded the power of
absolute disinterestedness, and who kept step with John Van Buren's
trenchant and eloquent speeches which resounded through the State. Van
Buren was the accepted leader, and in this campaign he reached the
height of his reputation. His features were not striking, but in
person he was tall, symmetrical, and graceful; and no one in the State
could hold an audience with such delightful oratory and lofty
eloquence.

The ablest Whig to oppose him was William H. Seward, who frequently
followed him in localities where Whigs were likely to act with the
Free-soil party. On the slavery question, Seward held views identical
with those expressed by Van Buren; but he insisted that every Whig
vote cast for the third party was only a