第44章

IhavetoacknolegethereceiptofyourtwofavorsofMay27&

29，sincethedateofmylastwhichwasofthe2inst。Inthatofthe27thyousay`youmustnotmakeyourfinalexitfrompubliclifetillitwillbemarkedwithjustifyingcircumstanceswhichallgoodcitizenswillrespect，&towhichyourfriendscanappeal。’——Tomyfellow-citizensthedebtofservicehasbeenfully&faithfullypaid。

Iacknolegethatsuchadebtexists，thatatourofduty，inwhateverlinehecanbemostusefultohiscountry，isduefromeveryindividual。Itisnoteasyperhapstosayofwhatlengthexactlythistourshouldbe，butwemaysafelysayofwhatlengthitshouldnotbe。Notofourwholelife，forinstance，forthatwouldbetobebornaslave——notevenofaverylargeportionofit。Ihavenowbeeninthepublicservicefour&twentyyears；onehalfofwhichhasbeenspentintotaloccupationwiththeiraffairs，&absencefrommyown。Ihaveservedmytourthen。Nopositiveengagement，bywordordeed，bindsmetotheirfurtherservice。NocommitmentoftheirinterestsinanyenterprisebymerequiresthatIshouldseethemthroughit——IampledgedbynoactwhichgivesanytribunalacalluponmebeforeIwithdraw。Evenmyenemiesdonotpretendthis。I

standclearthenofpublicrightonallpoints——MyfriendsIhavenotcommitted。Nocircumstanceshaveattendedmypassagefromofficetooffice，whichcouldleadthem，&othersthroughthem，intodeceptionastothetimeImightremain；&particularlythey&allhaveknownwithwhatreluctanceIengaged&havecontinuedinthepresentone，&ofmyuniformdeterminationtoretirefromitatanearlyday——Ifthepublicthenhasnoclaimonme，&myfriendsnothingtojustify；thedecisionwillrestonmyownfeelingsalone。

Therehasbeenatimewhenthesewereverydifferentfromwhattheyarenow：whenperhapstheesteemoftheworldwasofhighervalueinmyeyethaneverythinginit。Butage，experience&reflection，preservingtothatonlyit’sduevalue，havesetahigherontranquility。Themotionofmybloodnolongerkeepstimewiththetumultoftheworld。Itleadsmetoseekforhappinessinthelapandloveofmyfamily，inthesocietyofmyneighbors&mybooks，inthewholesomeoccupationsofmyfarm&myaffairs，inaninterestoraffectionineverybudthatopens，ineverybreaththatblowsaroundme，inanentirefreedomofrestormotion，ofthoughtorincogitancy，owingaccounttomyselfaloneofmyhours&actions。

Whatmustbetheprincipleofthatcalculationwhichshouldbalanceagainstthesethecircumstancesofmypresentexistence！worndownwithlaboursfrommorningtonight，&daytoday；knowingthemasfruitlesstoothersastheyarevexatioustomyself，committedsinglyindesperate&eternalcontestagainstahostwhoaresystematicallyunderminingthepublicliberty&prosperity，eventherarehoursofrelaxationsacrificedtothesocietyofpersonsinthesameintentions，ofwhosehatredIamconsciouseveninthosemomentsofconvivialitywhentheheartwishesmosttoopenitselftotheeffusionsoffriendship&confidence，cutofffrommyfamily&

friends，myaffairsabandonedtochaos&derangement，inshortgivingeverythingIlove，inexchangeforeverythingIhate，andallthiswithoutasinglegratificationinpossessionorprospect，inpresentenjoymentorfuturewish——Indeedmydearfriend，dutybeingoutofthequestion，inclinationcutsoffallargument，&soneverlettherebemorebetweenyou&me，onthissubject。

Iincloseyousomepaperswhichhavepassedonthesubjectofanewloan。Youwillseebythemthatthepaper-Coryphaeusiseitherundaunted，ordesperate。Ibelievethatthestatementinclosedhassecuredadecisionagainsthisproposition——IdinedyesterdayinacompanywhereMorris&Binghamwere，&happenedtositbetweenthem。

InthecourseofaconversationafterdinnerMorrismadeoneofhiswarmdeclarationsthataftertheexpirationofhispresentSenatorialtermnothingonearthshouldeverengagehimtoserveagaininanypubliccapacity。Hedidthiswithsuchsolemnityasrendersitimpossibleheshouldnotbeinearnest——ThePresidentisnotwell。

Littlelingeringfevershavebeenhangingabouthimforaweekortendays，andhaveaffectedhislooksmostremarkably。Heisalsoextremelyaffectedbytheattacksmade&keptuponhiminthepublicpapers。IthinkhefeelsthosethingsmorethananypersonIeveryetmetwith。Iamsincerelysorrytoseethem。Irememberanobservationofyours，madewhenIfirstwenttoNewYork，thatthesatellites&sycophantswhichsurroundedhimhadwounduptheceremonialsofthegovernmenttoapitchofstatelinesswhichnothingbuthispersonalcharactercouldhavesupported，&whichnocharacterafterhimcouldevermaintain。Itappearsnowthatevenhiswillbeinsufficienttojustifythemintheappealofthetimestocommonsenseasthearbiterofeverything。Nakedhewouldhavebeensanctimoniouslyreverenced，butinvelopedintheragsofroyalty，theycanhardlybetornoffwithoutlaceration。Itisthemoreunfortunatethatthisattackisplantedonpopularground，ontheloveo