"injured by this jangling."* As the years went by, the matter pressed more and more upon the authorities, and it became necessary to do something. Finally, in the early part of 1779, George Bryan, John Ewing, and David Rittenhouse, on the part of Pennsylvania, and Dr. James Madison and Robert Andrews, on the part of Virginia, were appointed commissioners to agree upon a boundary between the States. They met at Baltimore on the 31st of August, 1779, and after a thorough consideration of the subject of debate, they agreed as follows: "To extend Mason and Dixon's line due west five degrees of longitude, to be computed from the river Delaware, from the southern boundary of Pennsylvania, and that a meridian, drawn from the western extremity thereof to the northern limit of said State, be the western boundary of said State forever." This agreement, with some conditions which it is not necessary to specify here, was ratified and confirmed by the legislature of Virginia, June 23, 1780, and by that of Pennsylvania, September 23, 1780.1 In 1782, commissioners appointed by the two States interested ran the lines accordingly, but of course it was objected to by some of the Virginians, who claimed that it was only a temporary line. It was determined then to locate the lines permanently, and for this purpose, in 1783, the following commissioners were appointed: David Rittenhouse, John Lukens, John Ewing, and Captain Hutchins, on the part of Pennsylvania, and Dr. James Madison, Andrew Ellicott, Robert Andrews, and T. Page, on the part of Virginia. The lines were again run, and clearly and definitely marked on the ground, by cutting vistas through the woods, and setting up stone pillars at regular intervals. This work was accomplished in 1784, and ended all dispute in the matter. 5. J. Chapman. + Col. Rec., Vol. XII., p. 213. *Penna. Archives, Vol. VII., p. 79. Penna. Archives, Vol. VIII., pp. 352, 570. THE CHARACTER OF ANDREW JACKSON ILLUSTRATED THROUGH PRIVATE LETTERS The time has not yet come for a just and proper appreciation of the character of Andrew Jackson, as many of his contemporaries, who sided with or against him are still living, although advanced in years. The flames of political warfare, through which he strode so fearlessly, are extin guished, but the ashes which they have left are not yet cold. No great actor on the human stage can be safely tried before a tribunal of the men of his time, who may, however, be allowed to furnish the evidence by which, when sifted and measured, he is ultimately to be judged. Posterity alone is the competent authority to assign him his permanent place in the annals of our race. It is profitable at this time to trace some of the features of his moral and intellectual character, from a series of private letters with which I have been intrusted, written by him to one who had been consigned to his guardianship, and who cherished his memory with the deepest affection and the most enthusiastic admiration. In nothing does a man reveal himself more unguardedly and truthfully, and exhibit more clearly his genuine nature than in such correspondence--where he can forget to protect his breast with that cloak, and may be with that armor, which circumstances make it necessary for him to do in his intercourse with the world. These are the best means by which many historical characters (that would forever have remained dark enigmas, or been partially misrepresented) have been fully illustrated. William, the champion of England's liberties, would still have been for us the same cold-blooded, soul-lacking impersonation of stern ambition, if Macaulay had not shown, with that great man's correspondence in hand, that he who seemed to have no more feeling than the steel cuirass which he wore on the battlefield, had within his stubborn heart the softness and tenderness of a woman. Thus these letters of General Jackson may exhibit that personage in a light in which many may never have expected to see him. It has frequently been asserted that General Jackson was narrow-minded and easily prejudiced against men and things. On the contrary, we read in a letter dated at the Hermitage, 8th January, 1821: "Dear "Yours of the 19th ult has just reached me, which advises me of your return from Boston to New York, after taking a full recognizance and sur VOL. XIII.-No. 2.-11 vey of the harbor of Boston. The experience of the hospitality of the good people of Boston ought hereafter to prevent you from forming prejudices against any nation or people upon vague report. Although there are many anecdotes told upon the Yankees, you will find the people of New England, like all other people, a mixture of good and bad, hospitable and inhospitable, polished and unpolished; but, as a people, moral and humane." The following letter is addressed to his ward, an officer in the United States army, who, smarting under some temporary disappointment and burning with martial desire to add new luster to an ancestral name already celebrated in the annals of war, had consulted General Jackson on the propriety of seeking a wider field of action by entering the Russian service. The sage and warrior then resting in the shades of the Hermitage, writes: "January 8, 1822. "It has been with the greatest pleasure, my young friend, that I have tendered you that advice and counsel which my experience has enabled me to give, and especially when I have believed that I could contribute to your future welfare by impressing upon your mind the importance of morality, and by directing your attention to such objects as were most likely to eventuate in your permanent interest. I have done so with the greatest cheerfulness and an eye single to your good. I trust, then, that you will view me when opposing your determination to join the Russian service and abandon that of your country as influenced by no sinister motive, but as alive only to those prospects which may determine your reputation and the character to which you may attain as a soldier and as a citizen. You say that you have spent the best of your life in a profession which offers no inducements in your own country. Let me ask you what is it in the profession of arms in your country that is inconsistent with the character which awaits an officer devoted to its service-prepared by science for distinction in that service, and competent to share in its battles and dangers? What is it in the character of your country that is unworthy of your efforts to sustain it? What in its national feeling that cannot claim your participation? Where is the country, besides your own, whose glory is the protection of liberty and those equal rights which have long since been lost in the despotism and corruption of every European government? Where is that love of country which, living even with the chained and shackled peasantry of a monarch, despises all control? And would you renounce this sacred tie for the glory to be won in the uncertain career of a foreign emperor? Can you sacrifice the feelings which should characterize an American officer to the illusions which support royalty and conceal its corruption? I hope you could not. There are many objections, Edward, to your adopting the course which you have named, but which I shall not mention, believing that you will unhesitatingly abandon a scheme which you have formed without reflection. It is true that the blind policy of the last Congress has limited the prospects of reputation and distinction in our army, but things will not be always as they are. The policy must change; and, independent of this, what greater incentive do you want than the persuasion that by improving the advantages which you now possess, you will be prepared to enter with distinction into the service of your country, when it shall need and shall ask for your service and talents. Continue your studies, and your proficiency shall be rewarded. Be industrious, and you will not feel the miseries of idleness." This last phrase does not savor of the cock-fighting, horse-racing idler, General Jackson was represented to be by some of his adversaries. A lofty spirit breathes throughout the whole epistle! And still more remarkable is the moderation and the almost apologetic tone with which one who was believed to be the very incarnation of haughtiness and despotism, gives his views and opinions to one so much his inferior in age and position, and seeks in argument to change the hasty resolution of a ward while possessing the right to exercise the authority of a father. On the 3d of March, 1823, he wrote to the same young officer: "I am happy to hear that your health is restored, and that justice has been done you at last by the chief of the Engineer Department. Never make enemies that you can avoid, and never permit injury from any source without proper resentment." "Never make enemies that you can avoid," sounds like the voice of wisdom, and not like that of one who had the reputation, not only of cherishing a reckless indifference to provoking enmities, but even of entertaining a natural propensity to rush into strifes, as the eagle is said to utter its most joyous shriek when the lightning plays round its head and the howling wind rocks its nest. "Never permit injury from any source without a proper resentment," reminds one of Polonius' celebrated advice to his son in Hamlet: "Beware Of entering into a quarrel: but, being in This calm recommendation to his ward is certainly no indication of the rash and fiery temper which was attributed to the illustrious chieftain, and for which he incurred so much censure. It is no sudden, impetuous outburst, but it seems to be a cool and practical appreciation of the course which, in this world, socially organized as it is, a man is frequently compelled to pursue in self-defense and as a matter of policy, even when inclination would lead to a different path. When struck on the right cheek to turn the left to the aggressor in invitation of another blow may be the very perfection of human and Christian excellence, but it is doubtful whether in the general disregard of evangelical precepts by the mass of mankind, existence would be safe and tolerable on such terms of submission, abnegation and meekness. The unresisting martyr would, probably, without a special interposition of Providence, be soon torn to pieces by the wild beasts to which he would be delivered. "You are entering life on the military stage," continues Jackson, "and although we are now blessed with peace it is doubtful from the collecting cloud in Europe, how long we may enjoy that blessing. It is in the scenes of military life that you can judge properly of men. recommend to you a better book than the history of Sir William Wallace for your guide, and the example of the immortal Washington." At the very moment when General Jackson was writing these generous recommendations to the youth for whom he had an almost paternal affection, half of the papers of the Union were accusing him of being a bloodthirsty villain, who had perpetrated the most shameful deeds, and whose tyrannical career of enormities would, if not checked, luxuriantly expand into a wider range. "In the history of Wallace," he further writes, "you will find human nature fully displayed, with all its envy, hatred and treachery. Adopt his virtues and shun the vices of his enemies; for let me assure you, men are not now better than they were in the days of Wallace, and by studying human nature you may come to avoid its treachery. Be not too suspicious, but never take a man to your bosom as confidant, until you are certain that he merits it. Pursue this course, and you will be able to avoid many disagreeable occurrences, and it never will be in the power of the base betrayer to injure you. These remarks have occurred to me to be proper to make to you, being advised by your letter that you will be in the city of Washington for six months." All must acknowledge that this dauntless man of the sword, notwithstanding the fool-hardy temerity with which he was reproached through prejudice or misconception, expresses here such sentiments as the cautious. pen of the meditative and phlegmatic Franklin himself would not have hesitated to lay down as prudential rules of conduct in all the departments of life. In the same letter he says: "I have declined the mission to |