ough he did not boldly play a double
part, the astute editor was always seeking a position which promised
the highest advantage and the greatest security to himself and his
faction. This condition of mind made him quick to favour Polk and the
annexation of Texas, and to leave Van Buren to his now limited coterie
of followers.

Van Buren had much liking for the career of a public man. Very
probably he found his greatest happiness in the triumphs of such a
life; but we must believe he also found great contentment in his
retirement at Lindenwald. He did not possess the tastes and pleasures
of a man of letters, nor did he affect the "classic retirement" that
seemed to appeal so powerfully to men of the eighteenth century; but,
like John Jay, he loved the country, happy in his health, in his
rustic tastes, in his freedom from public cares, and in his tranquil
occupation. Skilled in horticulture, he took pleasure in planting
trees, and in cultivating, with his own hand, the fruits and flowers
of his table. There can be no doubt of his entire sincerity when he
assured an enthusiastic Pennsylvania admirer, who had pronounced for
him as a candidate in 1848, that whatever aspirations he may have had
in the past, he now had no desire to be President.

CHAPTER VII

SILAS WRIGHT AND MILLARD FILLMORE

1844

The New York delegation, returning from the Baltimore convention,
found the Democratic party rent in twain over the gubernatorial
situation. So long as Van Buren seemed likely to be the candidate for
President, opposition to Governor Bouck's renomination was smothered
by the desire of the Radicals to unite with the Conservatives, and
thus make sure of the State's electoral vote. This was the Van Buren
plan. After the latter's defeat, however, the Radicals demanded the
nomination of Silas Wright of Canton. Van Buren and Wright had taken
no part in the canal controversy; but they belonged to the Radicals,
and, with Wright, and with no one else, could the latter hope to
defeat the "Agricultural Governor." Their importunity greatly
distressed the Canton statesman, who desired to remain in the United
States Senate, to which he had been recently re-elected for a third
term, and to whom, from every point of view, the governorship was
distasteful.[333] Besides taking him from the Senate, it meant
contention with two bitterly jealous and hostile factions, one of
which would be displeased with impartiality, the other ready to