singular eloquence. His success as an
advocate at the bar followed him to the Assembly, and in every debate
he proved a formidable antagonist. He had a gift of sarcasm that made
an adversary exceedingly uncomfortable; and as he shattered the
reasoning of Clinton, he exposed the imperious and domineering
trimmer to ridicule and jest. Van Vechten ranked among the ablest men
of New York. His tall, erect, and dignified figure was well known
throughout the State, and although he did not assume to lead his
party, the Federalists recognised his right to share in its
leadership. Governor Jay offered him a place on the Supreme bench; but
he preferred the bar and the brief sessions of the Legislature.

By the side of Van Vechten sat Daniel Cady, at that time thirty-six
years of age, already renowned as a lawyer, the rival of Ogden Hoffman
and Marcus T. Reynolds, and, in the estimation of his contemporaries,
one of the most generous and gifted men of his time. Three terms in
the Legislature and one in Congress measured, until his election to
the Supreme Court in 1847, his career in public life; but brief as was
this service, his great ability adorned the State and strengthened his
party. His distinguished daughter, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, whose
achievements covered more than half of the last century, represented
in a marked degree his gifts, his accomplishments, and the sweetness
of his nature.

Under the lead of Van Vechten and Cady, the Federalists tormented
DeWitt Clinton and the friends of embargo, by contrasting the busy
wharves in 1807, covered with bales of cotton, barrels of flour, and
hogsheads of sugar, with the stagnation that characterised all avenues
of commerce in 1809. Ropewalks were deserted, sailmakers idle, draymen
without business, and sailors without bread. If England bled, they
declared, the United States bled faster. An ocean whitened with
American sails had been turned over to British ships which were
absorbing the maritime trade. France showed an indifference to
America's commerce and England boasted an independence of America's
trade. As a weapon of coercion, exclaimed Cady, embargo has been a
failure--as a measure of defence it has been suicidal. What would
happen if our ships were suffered to go to Europe and the Indies? Some
would reach Europe and find a market; others would go to England,
obtain a license to sail to a Baltic port, and then sell at great
profit. Out of a hundred ships, two would prob