clouds, so surely will Oregon become the inheritance of the Americans, for it is theirs by right as well as by inevitable necessity.

The robust character of the Western men, and

their remoteness from that peculiar kind of civilization which belongs to sea board and manufacturing districts, have induced an idea that they are deficient in the proprieties and gentle moods of polished life. But, on the contrary, the very circumstances of their condition produce these virtues.

Show me a gentler, more affectionate nature than Edward Hannegan you cannot; and, believe me, the Western men in general resemble him. Shall I relate some anecdotes of this, my friend? When Mr. H. made his speech on the Oregon Question, he alluded, in terms of graceful approval, to Mr. Calhoun, and, after differing from the policy of that Senator, he apostrophized, in terms

of

generous and manly eulogy, his genius and his virtues. I was in the gallery immediately above with a large party of ladies, for the wives and friends of those Members who spoke always took great interest in their success; these ladies ever

X

regarded me as one of themselves, and I shared in their anxious hopes and fears that our many favourites should go through the ordeal with honour. We always went together to the Supreme Court, the Senate, or the House to listen to their speeches, and to cheer them by our presence; to walk home with them, to sympathize in their disappointments and their victories, and to congratulate them when the trial was over. The intercourse between the statesmen and politicians of all parties and the ladies was of the most agreeable kind, and to the latter it was a source of great instruction and improvement, for nothing elevates and corrects the female mind more than the friendship and confidence of distinguished men. On the occasion above alluded to, the party in the gallery were highly gratified, for Calhoun is precious in the sight of all; to me these words of praise were delightful for the sake of both the Senators. In the excitement of the moment I threw down my glove to the Speaker; it fell at his side. The chivalrous Hannegan instantly picked it up, pressed it to his lips, looked gratefully up to the gallery, bowed and placed it in his bosom.

The fortunate glove was transmitted by the next day's post to the Lady of the Senator, then in Indiana. I preserve the less happy fellow to it. When the speech was ended and the Senate adjourned, the ladies went down to the floor. I accompanied Mr. Hannegan to shake hands with Calhoun, and expressed my wish to publish that

speech in England. So much for the gallantry of

the Senator from Indiana to an Englishwoman. Another anecdote exhibits him in a still more amiable light. I had a careless trick of leaving my purse upon the table in my parlour. Mr. Hannegan, and almost all Americans, have a frank and ingenuous habit of imparting advice gratuitously to those with whom they are on terms of intimacy. Having often found the offending purse thus thoughtlessly left, the Senator had several times reminded me of the indiscretion in vain; I was almost incorrigible. At length, during an illness in Baltimore, he came to see me, and, on entering my parlour, found the old green purse on the table as usual, full of five dollar pieces (in gold). Upon my appearance he held it up, and, after wishing me good day, thus once again, and

for the last time, admonished me.

"You pray

that you may not be led into temptation; do unto others as you would they should do unto you."

Since then I have never

transgressed against this precept, and surely I never received a

efficient moral lesson.

One of the most agreeable evenings I spent in

Washington was at an ice cream

party given by

Mr. Hannegan in honour of a Lady's birthday:

the State he

he was ever glad to make us happy-
This Senator was not born in
represents, but in Kentucky, in
Lexington; consequently in the very
of Henry Clay, and I cannot well

the city of

atmosphere

tell how he

escaped being a Whig. He is a Presbyterian, but

has committed his only son to the

care of Dr.

Hailandière, Catholic Bishop of Vincennes, in Indiana, to be educated at the College in that city. A devoted lover of the country and

dependence, he so pined at last in

of its in

Washington,

that he was compelled to go home for a fortnight to refresh his spirits and recruit his health. I met

him on the Ohio on his way.

66

"with me," said he, to the Doctor

Come home

and myself,

come home with me, and I will show you the "lovely valley of the Wabash. I can endure "those hot and crowded halls no longer. I must "have free air and space to roam in; I like to "hunt when I please, and to shoot when I please, "and to fish when I please, and to read when I "please. Come home with me, and see how I "live in Indiana." But we were bound to the Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky, and could not.

In the Democratic Review, No. 96, there is an excellent likeness of Mr. Hannegan: while I write it is open before me. So true an index is his countenance of his mind, that, when the Senate were deliberating with closed doors upon the Oregon Treaty, I only wished to look at him for one moment in order to know how things were progressing. I think he is scarcely forty; brown hair, wears neither beard nor whiskers, of middling height, but broad shouldered, and very pleasant of address.