traction for the GALLATINS of Switzerland, than the tinsel of royal courts. It was thus with ALBERT GALLATIN, who at the early age of eighteen was introduced to some of the reigning sovereigns of Europe by his noble relatives. He was offered high positions in military and civil service, but declined them all, deciding to cast his lot with the people of this country, in the darkest hour of our first great struggle for liberty and the rights of man. His irrepressible love of free government, inhaled with the genial air of the mountains around his native city, Geneva, triumphed over all the attractions royalty could present. There has not yet been any compilation of his life, writings, and correspondence. He died in the year 1849, at the advanced age of 89 years. Not the least noticeable characteristic of his life, was his indifference to the accumulation of a large fortune, opportunities for which were constantly presented. The late JOHN JACOB ASTOR, having had some dealings with government during his administration of the Treasury Department, was so favorably impressed with his business talents that he invited him to become a partner with him at New York, offering the most liberal terms. The invitation was declined, but the acquaintance thus formed ripened into a friendship that continued through life, and in those movements of our government for perfecting the national title to the territories on the Pacific coast, in which Mr. ASTOR's commercial enterprise, succeeding the government expedition under LEWIS and CLARKE, was so conspicuous and important, there were evidences of the intimacy of that friendship.

ALBERT GALLATIN married Miss NICHOLSON, daughter of Commodore JAMES NICHOLSON, the first on the list of American post captains, being the chief officer in command of the naval forces during the war of independence. The family of Commodore NICHOLSON has, for three generations, maintained the honor of the American naval service.

JAMES GALLATIN was named after his grandfather, the Commodore, at whose house he was born, during his mother's visit to the city of New York. He is the oldest son. ALBERT, his younger brother, has always occupied an honorable position in business and social life in this city, where he continues to reside.

In 1813, when JAMES was absorbed with his classical studies, at Mount Airy College, in Pennsylvania, he was aroused to contemplate the solemn business of life, at the early age of sixteen, by an invitation to take the situation of private secretary to his father, who had been appointed embassador to Russia. That true and ever faithful friend of America, by her Emperor, the first ALEXANDER, had tendered her mediation to put an end to the war then existing between this country and England. The New England States had been clamorous for peace; their representatives in Congress would not vote the requisite taxes for maintaining the war, and although this embarrassed the Treasury, and led to propositions for the issue of a government legal tender paper money, every temptation to interfere with the national standard of value was successfully resisted, and the wants of the government were supplied by means of interest bearing treasury notes, not made a legal tender: specie did not go to a higher premium than that corresponding with twenty-three per cent discount on bank paper, and this was only for a short time, a year or more (in 1816) after the peace, at Baltimore; the greatest discount, in this city, was also alter the peace, being sixteen per cent, in October, 1815.

At sea, the American navy was pre-eminently successful, but the disaffection, so prevalent in the eastern states, rendered it extremely difficult to wage the war with energy. There was, consequently, much gloom and no little despondency among public men, as to an honorable termination of the strife. As a people, we were divided in opinion, although not conquered. It was in the midst of this gloom and this despondency, that the offer of the Emperor ALEXANDER'S mediation arrived. It was accepted, of course-it was gratefully accepted. True, it was doubtless a part of the combination, that the allied powers of Europe were then forming against the encroachments of the first NAPOLEON, but as our war with England had been undertaken wholly in self-defence, without any regard to the compilations existing in Europe, the statesmen of this country, bearing always in mind the admonitions of WASHINGTON against entangling alliances, had neither interest nor desire to make us a party to the contests of European powers. They, therefore, promptly accepted the offer of the Emperor ALEXANDER, and dispatched ALBERT GALLATIN, Secretary of the Treasury, as minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary to the court of the emperor. The embassy set out from this country in the spring of 1813, and JAMES, who was in his seventeenth year, accompanied it as private secretary to his father, copying dispatches and correspondence, and attending conferences. He continued to apply himself sedulously to these duties through all those negotiations, which resulted in the treaty of peace at Ghent, Dec. 24th, 1814, and the treaty with England, at London, in 1815. He was also present at the negotiations at the Hague, in 1817; and, again, at London, in 1818; and resided some years in Paris, where he completed his education.

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In 1823, he returned to his native land; and in 1824, married Miss JOSEPHINE PASCAULT, one of the most beautiful ladies of America. There were three sisters. Mr. PASCAULT, their father, was a French merchant, settled in Baltimore. His elder brother had been murdered by the blacks, during the massacre in St. Domingo. The three young ladies were remarkable for their great beauty and accomplishments. They were spoken of sometimes, by their admirers, as the Three Graces." When Prince JEROME BONAPARTE, escaping from the British fleet, sought refuge at Baltimore, one of the first to receive him as an honored guest, was Mr. PasCAULT. The prince was accompanied by a young Frenchman, General ROUBELL, as his aid; and while the former fell in love with and married Miss PATTERSON, the latter fell in love with and married one of the Miss PASCAULTS. Another of the three sisters married General COLUMBUS O'DONNELL. Mrs. GALLATIN is said to have been the most beautiful of the three, and her young husband was considered one of the handsomest men of that day. Indeed, such was his reputation in Paris, that the most fashionable tailors were constantly soliciting his patronage, and besieging the American embassy for the honor of supplying the young Attache with his clothing. We mention this fact, not of course because we think it of any importance in itself considered, but because it shows the temptations by which he was surrounded at that period. Self-respect, self-denial, and self-reliance are parts of that sturdy independence of character, which have always distinguished JAMES GALLATIN. It was these, as much as his excellent training, and the pure and noble example of his father, that he was indebted to for his ability to pass through

the gay scenes of the great capitals of Europe without injury, and to return to his native land to enter upon the duties of an honorable citizen.

At the time of his marriage, "the young giant of the west " was calling the young men of the older states to go out, and occupy the rich farming lands of that region. He was twenty-eight years of age, a married man, but by no means a rich man. He had passed through the highest circles of polished society abroad. His young bride had shone as "the bright particular star" in the most refined circles at home. And when Madame Rumor announced that "Mr. and Mrs. JAMES GALLATIN were going to bury themselves in the back woods," a cry of horror arose in all the leading households of Baltimore. The report was pronounced “incredible, shocking-who could believe it?" But it was nearly true. They went west. He substituted for his fine Paris suit, plain American home-made; Mrs. GALLATIN donned the homely attire of the good housewives of the new territories. He took up the business of a land surveyor, trudging through woods and swamps, measuring lands, laying out counties, townships, and villages, and marking the boundaries of farms. For eight years he worked at this business.

He was no ordinary man-they are no ordinary people-who can thus exchange the very highest intellectual pursuits, for the most severe outdoor toil. But this is a characteristic of our people. "An American," as they say of us in Europe, "thinks he can do anything that any man has ever done." He might have obtained a diplomatic appointment from government, during the administrations of JOHN QUINCY ADAMS and General JACKSON, and subsequently; but it was generally understood that his father advised against it, and his own love of independence was such, that he preferred to acquire a competency by his personal exertions.

How seldom it is that the young men of our day, brought up in luxury, are willing to deny themselves in any way, or to begin where their fathers began. The same ease and abundance and gratifications they see indulged in by those, who have almost finished their course and fought the battle well, they think they too must at once enjoy. And herein arises one of the greatest evils of our time-that disposition to display and show and live beyond ones means, which we see on every side of us. Self denial now is considered a fault; prudent economy, meanness. Remember, however, that, as a general rule, a fast young man makes a very slow old one: and if you begin life in great splendor and show, ten to one you will shut your eyes, at its close, with none of life's work done, and with a large legacy of unpaid debts for your heirs. The peacock stripped of its feathers is a very ugly bird.

While JAMES GALLATIN was in the western wilds, during those eight years of hard toil, one can readily imagine the zest with which the social circle around him heard his anecdotes of the great personages and great events he had seen and passed through during his residence in Europe; and he has an admirable faculty of remembering and relating facts and incidents. He was in Paris when NAPOLEON escaped from Elba, and was introduced to the Emperor at the Tuilleries. He saw the white flag taken down and the imperial tri-color raised in its place. He saw and conversed with KOSCIUSKO.

One anecdote which he relates of NAPOLEON and BENJAMIN CONSTANT, the celebrated republican and friend of Madame DE STAEL, is worthy of

mention here. When NAPOLEON returned from Elba, CONSTANT had not time to escape from Paris before the arrival of the Emperor, and being very much alarmed for his personal safety, he sought the aid of the American Ambassador to enable him to escape from France. Mr. GALLATIN accepted the task with his usual benevolence and good feeling; and JAMES entered heartily into the movement. They hired the whole of the dilligence for Dieppe in the name of the American Embassy, in order to get CONSTANT off without any stranger accompanying him, concealing the fugitive as well as possible in the meantime. While these efforts were being made at the Embassy, all Paris was being searched for CONSTANT, by order of the Emperor-not to take his life, but to obtain his aid in establishing a free Constitution! Poor CONSTANT, frightened almost to death, could not believe that so much good fortune had befallen him. It was not possible, he thought, for the Emperor to make such a proposal: it was only atrick of the police to catch him. But when the American Ambassador found, on enquiry at official quarters, that the report was really true, and announced it to CoNSTANT, with the sanction of his high office, the joy of the distinguished republican knew no bounds. CONSTANT was taken to the palace-not to the guillotine,-was closeted with the Emperor as a friend; and it will be remembered, that the free Constitution was proposed during the hundred days.

Another anecdote, of the Emperor ALEXANDER, deserves mention here, lest it be forgotten; for it has never yet been published. When the Emperor came to London to meet the allied Sovereigns, who were all there (before the treaty of Ghent, in 1814), he insisted upon having the American Ambassador, ALBERT GALLATIN, sent for and introduced to him at the earliest moment. Mr. GALLATIN came, attended only by his son JAMES. There was a great crowd of people around the building, and the passages were densely packed with distinguished personages waiting an audience, or anxious to demonstrate their respect for the Emperor. It was so arranged that no one outside should know who the American Ambassador was, for America and England were still at war, and even a knowledge of the presence in London, of the American Ambassador to Russia, was intended to be kept from the public as much as possible. With great difficulty the Ambassador and his son reached the audience chamber, as the passages and stairway were densely packed, most of the people being ladies of the aristocratic families. The Emperor was alone. He advanced to Mr. GALLATIN the moment the latter entered the room, and seizing both his hands, grasped them ardently, saying "I am glad to see you, my dear Mr. GALLATIN. I know you very well. I know all about you and your great country!" They had never met before. The interview was prolonged during two hours and a half. The City authorities of London had a grand banquet spread, at which the Emperor was to be present, and the guests waited anxiously for him, until, long after the appointed hour, the cause of his detention was made known. The news was spread that some eminent person and a youth were in private conversation with him; but no one knew who the two persons were. All, however, that passed at that interview is probably recorded in the archieves of Russia and America, and will, no doubt, one day be made generally known. It is enough for us now to know, that a friendship of the most substantial character exists between the two nations; and the

Emperor, a short time after that interview, demonstrated it when, hearing that England was endeavoring to exact harsh terms at the conference in Ghent, he exerted all his influence against Great Britain at the Congress in Vienna, until he had the most positive assurances, that she would make peace with America upon honorable terms. His distinguished namesake, the present Emperor, demonstrated that friendship again last winter, when, in the midst of our domestic troubles, he dispatched his fleets to rendezvous in our harbors. The interview having terminated, the American Ambassador and his son, in descending the stairs from the audience chamber, were seized upon by the crowd of ladies, who kissed the younger and kissed the hands of the elder without knowing who they were, all the time calling them "majesty," "royal highness," "your grace," &c., &c. JAMES often declared that since he left his mother's arms he had never been so caressed.

There is another anecdote which we must give, of GEORGE the Fourth and Queen CAROLINE, related by Mr. GALLATIN. He attended the opera in London the evening that the allied Sovereigns were present, with their suites and the British aristocracy. These occupied nearly the whole house, except the pit. Mr. GALLATIN was in so dense a crowd in the pit that he nearly fainted, and had to be passed over the heads of the people up to and into the boxes. GEORGE the Fourth, then Regent, and separated from his Queen, sat in one of the boxes, between two of the Sovereigns. Queen CAROLINE came in and took a seat in a box nearly opposite, when the Sovereigns rose and bowed to her. GEORGE, being tipsy, rose and bowed to her also, in full view of the whole house. The audience instantly rose and greeted him with a tremendous cheer. He was taken out between two of his household.

Having completed his surveys of the Western lands, Mr. GALLATIN returned to New York in 1833, entering into business with his brother ALBERT, as bankers. In 1839, he succeeded his father as President of the Nationa! Bank, and still continues to preside over that excellent institution.

Although most of the prominent public events in his life, since his election to the presidency of the National Bank, have related to financial affairs, he has on several occasions been brought before the public in positions where he displayed eminent abilities as an orator and a statesman. In the revulsion of 1857, he rendered efficient services in bringing about the speedy resumption of specie payments. And in the investigations, which followed that revulsion, as President of the Board of Currency, he took a leading part. He participated in all the discussions of the board, aided in drawing up several reports on the principles of banking and currency; and delivered a public address at the hall of the Historical Society, in reply to Mr. WHIPPLE, of Rhode Island, upon the usury laws. The address was published in pamphlet.

Many important trusts have been committed to him. He was appointed by the late JOHN JACOB ASTOR one of his executors, together with WASHINGTON IRVING and DANIEL LORD. He is a Director in Life and Fire Insurance Companies, a Trustee in one of the Savings Banks, and connected with several associations, benevolent, literary, scientific and religious. Many other prominent positions that have been offered to him he has declined.