not in the balance. He has warmly espoused the cause of the Indians, and proposed that they should be allowed to appoint their own preachers and officers; also that provision be made for paying the money appropriated for them faithfully, and securing it to their use. Dr. Loras, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Dubuque, in the Territory of Iowa, obtained his friendly aid in behalf of the hapless Winnebagos.

THE HONOURABLE JOHN Y. MASON,

LATE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES,
NOW SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.

MASON is the idol of Washington; ever spoken of with respect and esteem, ever welcomed with pleasure. He is a Virginian by birth as well as by residence; hospitable, generous, and confiding. His conversation is replete with excellent sense and social gay good humour; and his countenance, without regularity of feature, or pretension to good looks, is lighted up by the most charming expression imaginable. The slightest attention which he offers derives, from the kindness of his manner, an inexpressible grace; and though my own acquaintance with the Judge has been less intimate than with many other distinguished men in Washington, I have found that all who possess the privilege of knowing him, concur in these feelings and impressions of mine.

Judge Mason was called from the Bench to

I

take the post of Secretary of the Navy in Mr. Tyler's Cabinet, and in his administration of this department he is said to have excelled. The officers of the service are universally attached to him.* He is the only member of Mr. Tyler's Cabinet who was invited to a seat in Mr. Polk's; and during the interval of his removal from the Navy Department and his return to it, he discharged the office of Attorney General of the United States.

The Secretary of the Navy is, of course, a follower of the Democratic banner; but his views are not extreme, and he is entirely free from the narrow jealousies of party feeling. The south of Virginia is his home; he is the father of a numerous family, and the owner of slaves, who are happy in his service, and would not change it for their freedom.

* In corroboration of this remark I have extracted the following from a New York paper:

VISIT TO THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.-A Washington letter, of the 14th instant, says:-A large number of the officers of the Navy, of all grades, were received by the Hon. J. Y. Mason, in his room, at the Navy Department, this morning. Never did man receive a heartier welcome, nor one more deserved. The juniors would have huzzaed if the seniors had given the command.

THE HONOURABLE ABBOTT LAWRENCE,

OF BOSTON.

How many delightful recollections are awakened by this name, and how many happy hours have I spent in the house and in the society of this accomplished gentleman and princely merchant. The author of his own fortunes, Mr. Lawrence makes the wisest and most liberal use of his wealth; his purse is ever open to aid in supporting public charities and improvements; in promoting objects of national usefulness and honour, and in adorning the metropolis of New England, the Corinthian pillar of the State, with institutions for the increase alike of her beauty and of her prosperity. Nor are his private benefactions on a less liberal scale; they are equally honourable to his heart, and becoming the position of so distinguished and influential a citizen of the Republic;

he is as earnest to pour the oil and wine upon the wounded stranger by the way side, as he is to raise up enduring and useful monuments to science. The residence of Mr. Lawrence is adorned with finished taste; no vulgar display of overloaded magnificence, but that subdued elegance and exquisite attention to comfort which the most refined of French authors describes as the chief attractions of luxury; books and sculpture are here the constant every day companions of the dwellers in those pleasant halls: and every domestic arrangement is faultless.

Mr. Lawrence has read and travelled much; he is well versed in the science of human life; has a thorough knowledge of statistics, and the experience which he has derived from comparing the institutions and society of other countries with those of America, renders his conclusions highly interesting. He formerly represented the city of Boston in Congress, but delicacy of health obliged

* AMHERST COLLEGE.-Hon. Abbott Lawrence, of Boston, has recently made a donation of 1000 dollars towards the erection of a fire proof Cabinet and Observatory, which it is proposed to build on the hill in front of Amherst College. Amherst is a town nearly a hundred miles distant from Boston, where Mr. Lawrence resides.