Among the persons whom religious persecution compelled to leave England
during the reign of Charles I., and seek an asylum in the new world, was
Robert Wheaton, a Baptist clergyman. He first established himself in
Salem, but when the intolerance of that community led those of his
persuasion to remove elsewhere, he joined Roger Williams, and assisted
him in founding the now flourishing State of Rhode Island.
From him Henry Wheaton was descended. He was born in Providence, 1786,
and entered Rhode Island College at the age of thirteen. He was already
remarkable for his love of reading, particularly in the branches of
history and literature, and appears to have studied more from the
pleasure he had in the acquisition of knowledge, than from any love of
distinction. He graduated at the age of seventeen, and immediately after
entered upon the study of the law, in compliance with his father's
wishes rather than from personal inclination; for at that period he is
said not to have entertained any particular leaning towards the legal
profession. In 1806 he went abroad to complete his education. He passed
some time at Poitiers, where he learned to speak and write French
fluently, and had an opportunity of studying French law, and especially
the Code Napoleon, which had then but recently been promulgated. He also
attended the courts of justice, and heard some of the most distinguished
lawyers of the time, of whose eloquence he often spoke in his letters to
his family. He always recurred with pleasure in later years to the time
he passed at Poitiers. The kindness he experienced from the family in
which he lived, the graceful politeness and cheerfulness of the French
character, gave him ever after a predilection in favor of France. After
spending a few weeks in Paris, he went to England, where he applied
himself to the study of English law. He was often at the house of Mr.
Monroe, then our Minister in London, who seems to have taken some pains
to converse with him on the political and social state of Europe.
Perhaps these conversations contributed to form his taste for diplomatic
life, in which he was destined to play so distinguished a part, and also
to lead him in its course to show that willingness to impart information
of a similar kind, to the young men by whom he was himself surrounded,
which was so pleasing a trait in his character.
Soon after his return from Europe he was admitted to the bar in his
native State, where he continued to practise till 1813. At that period,
feeling the want of a wider field in which to exercise his talents, he
determined, having previously married his cousin, the daughter of Dr.
Wheaton of Providence, to remove to New-York with his wife. We must not
omit to mention, that before leaving Providence he pronounced a Fourth
of July Oration, in which he spoke with generous indignation of the
bloody wars which then distracted Europe, and the disastrous
consequences of which his residence in France had given him an
opportunity to observe. But although thus warmly opposed to wars of
conquest, there were cases in which he deemed resistance a sacred duty;
he therefore zealously devoted his pen to encouraging his
fellow-countrymen in resisting the unjust encroachments of England.
During two years he edited the National Advocate, and the spirit as well
as the fairness with which its leading articles were written, insured
the success of the paper, and established his reputation in New-York. At
the same time he held the office of Justice of the Marine Court, and for
a few months that also of Army Judge Advocate. In 1815 he returned to
the practice of his profession, and published in the same year a
Treatise on the Law of Maritime Captures and Prizes, which Mr. Reddie of
Edinburgh has since pronounced to have been the best work then published
on the subject; no small praise, if we consider that Mr. Wheaton was
only thirty years of age at the time it was written. In 1816 he was
named Reporter of the Supreme Court at Washington, and continued to hold
this place until 1827. The Reports, of which he published a volume
yearly, and which were highly esteemed by American lawyers, were
abridged without his consent soon after he went abroad. The publication
of this abridgment occasioned a lawsuit, which ended only with his life.
The following letter, for which we are indebted to the kindness of
Professor Parsons, of the Law-school in Cambridge, will, we think, be
read with interest. We must only remark, that it is an error to suppose
that Mr. Wheaton shunned general society after he went to Europe; he
joined in it, on the contrary, more than is usual to men of his age in
our country.
Cambridge, May 22, 1853.
"I am very glad to offer even a slight contribution to this memorial, of
one so worthy of all respect as the late Mr. Wheaton. And you must
permit me to express the hope that the sketch you now propose to make,
will hereafter be expanded into that history of his life and exhibition
of his character, which should be given to the world, in justice to him
and to the very many to whom it would be most acceptable. I can speak of
him from personal acquaintance, only after a long interval, when even
recollections so pleasant as those of my intercourse with him have
become somewhat dim.
"It was at the very close of the year 1821, that I went to Washington,
to pass some months there. The commissioners to distribute the money due
to American citizens under the then recent treaty with Spain, began
their sessions that winter. Mr. Webster was employed by most of the
large claimants in New England, and I went with him to assist him
generally, and also charged by some of those claimants with the especial
care of their interests. In New-York I became acquainted with Mr.
Wheaton; and he was with us during a part of the journey to Washington.
As fellow-travellers, we became intimate, and during the whole of my
stay in Washington,--nearly three months,--this intimacy was kept up.
From many parts of the country, eminent lawyers were at Washington, in
attendance upon the Supreme Court, or charged with the care of cases
before the commissioners under the Spanish treaty, and I was meeting
them continually in society; and I had the good fortune also to, become
acquainted with many of the most distinguished members of government and
of Congress, and visited freely in the whole range--then less broad than
now--of society in Washington.
"Wherever I went I met Mr. Wheaton. Every where he was upon the footing,
not of a received, but of a welcomed guest; and he seemed to be most
intimate in the best houses. It was easy to see the cause of this. His
important position as Reporter of the decisions of the Supreme Court of
the United States--which office he had then held for six years--brought
him into immediate contact not only with the judges of the court, but
with all who practised in it; and it might be supposed that with them he
would be on terms of intimacy and friendship. But there was something in
the character of that friendship, that no mere position explained; and
he inspired an equally warm regard in many who never met him in his
official duties. Among all his friends, if I were to name any persons, I
think it would be Mr. Webster himself, who treated him as he might a
brother; Sir Stratford Canning, Minister from England, and M. de
Neuville, the French Minister, who appeared to give tone and character
to Washington society so far as any persons can influence elements so
diversified and refractory, and in whose houses he stood on the footing
of a confidential friend; Mr Lowndes of South Carolina, a most wise and
excellent man; and lastly and most of all, Chief Justice Marshall. Let
me pause a moment to say one word of this great and good man, to whose
greatness and whose goodness, equally, this country is, and while its
prosperity endures, will be indebted; for his greatness rested upon his
goodness as its foundation. Even his wide and accurate learning, his
clear and close reasoning, his profound insight into the true merits and
exact character and bearing of every question, and the unerring sagacity
which enabled him to see the future in the present; all these together,
and whatever more there might have been of merely intellectual power,
would not have enabled him to lay the foundations of our national and
constitutional jurisprudence with the depth, breadth, and firmness,
which all attacks upon them have, as yet, only made more apparent, if it
had not been for his moral character. Here lay the inmost secret of his
power. Men felt, and the nation felt, his incorruptibility; meaning by
this, not merely the absence of that baser and more obvious selfishness,
which most men of decent self-respect overcome or suppress; but his
perfect and manifest freedom from all motives and all influences
whatever, which could tend to cloud or warp his understanding, or
qualify the utterance of his wisdom. He did not stand before us a man of
living ice, perfectly safe because perfectly cold; for he was
affectionate and gentle as a child; excitable even to enthusiasm, when
that kind heart was touched; listening, not only with an equal strength
to the strongest, but with a perfect sympathy to the eloquent, and with
a charming courtesy to all. There he stood, and no one ever saw him and
heard him, and did not know that his one wish was to do his great duty;
and that his admirable intellect came to its daily tasks, and did them,
wholly free from all possible distortion or disturbance, not because he
was strong enough to repel all the influences of party, or passion, or
prejudice, or interest, or personal favor, but because none of these
things could come near enough to him to be repelled. By the happy
constitution of his nature, there was no flaw in him to give entrance to
any thing which, could draw him one hair's breadth aside from the
straight course of truth and justice, and of the law, which in his mind
was but their embodiment and voice. Of this good and great man there is
as yet no adequate memorial; and it would require a strong hand, and if
not an equal, at least a sympathizing mind and heart, to construct one
which shall indeed be adequate. But I indulge the hope that it will be
given to us before the generation which knew him shall pass wholly away.
And you, I am sure, will pardon me for using this opportunity to render
to his cherished memory this slight and evanescent tribute. I do but
indulge myself in saying a part of what I have frequent occasion to say
to the many students to whom it is my official duty to teach the law of
their country as well as I can, and therefore to speak often of
Marshall.
"The Chief Justice treated Mr. Wheaton with the fondest regard, and this
example would have had its influence had it been necessary; but in fact
the best men then in Washington were on the most intimate and
confidential terms with him. The simple truth is, that universal respect
was rendered to him because he deserved it. He was a gentleman: and
therefore the same gentleman to all and under all circumstances; yes, he
was indeed and emphatically a gentleman, and combined--with no base
admixture--all the elements which go to compose what we mean, or should
mean, by that word, as thoroughly as any one that I have ever known.
"I did not meet him after leaving Washington until a short time before
his death, and then not often. I saw very little change in his manner,
for he appeared to be as glad as I was to revive the pleasant
recollections of that distant winter. But I have been told that after he
went abroad, he was considered somewhat silent, and even disposed to
avoid rather than seek general society. I cannot say how this was during
those later years; but when I knew him in Washington, no one more
enjoyed society, and few sought it more, or were more sought by it. He
was,--not perhaps gay,--but eminently cheerful; and his manner was
characterized by that forgetfulness of self, which, as in great things,
it forms the foundation for the highest excellence, so in the lesser
matters of social intercourse it imparts a perpetual charm, and
constitutes almost of itself, the essence of all true politeness.
There was with Mr. Wheaton, no watching of opportunity for display; no
indifference and want of interest when the topics of conversation, or
the parties, or other circumstances, made it impossible for him to
occupy the foreground; no skilful diversion of the conversation into
paths which led to his strongholds, where he might come forth with
peculiar, advantage. Still less did he--as in this country so many
do--play out in society the game of life, by using it only as a means of
promoting his personal or professional objects. Certainly, one may
sometimes help himself importantly in this way. Very useful
acquaintances may thus be made and cultivated, who might be rather shy
if directly approached. Facts may be learned, and opportunities for
advancement early discovered, or effectually laid hold of, by one who
circulates widely in a society like that in Washington, or indeed any
where. Nor perhaps should it be a ground of reproach to any one, that in
a reasonable way and to a reasonable extent, he seeks and cultivates
society for this purpose. But, whatever may be the moral aspect of this
matter, or whatever the degree in which conduct of this kind is or is
not justifiable, there was in Mr. Wheaton's demeanor nothing of this;
nothing of it in appearance, because nothing of it in fact; for one who
is mainly, or in any considerable degree governed by a purpose of this
kind, must be cunning indeed, to hide it effectually; and cunning of any
sort, was a quality of which he had none whatever. Every body felt and
knew this: and therefore every body met him with a sense of confidence
and repose, which of itself would go far in making any person more
acceptable as a friend or as a mere companion, in a society of which the
very surface constantly exhibited the many whirling under currents of
Washington life. In one word, there was in him nothing of _trick_; but
that constant and perfect suavity which is the spontaneous expression of
universal kindness; and an excellent understanding, well and widely
cultivated, and always ready to bring forth all its resources, not to
help himself, but to help or gratify others, and all others with whom he
came into contact, and all this, with no appearance of purpose or design
of any kind; for it was but the natural outpouring of mind and heart, of
one who was open to the widest sympathy, and whose interest in all
persons and things about him was most real and honest, because he loved
nothing so well as to do all the good he could, by word or deed, or
little or much, to one, or few, or many. He was therefore most popular
in society. But when we speak of Mr. Wheaton's social _popularity_, we
must be careful to use this word in a higher than its common sense; and
if I have made myself at all intelligible, I think you will understand
both the cause and the character of that popularity.
"And more than this I cannot say. Time has effaced from my memory
details and especial circumstances; nor can I therefore, by their help,
illustrate this slight sketch of Mr. Wheaton's character and position,
during those pleasant months which he helped so much to make pleasant.
Of these particulars, my recollection is dim enough. But no lapse of
time will efface from my mind the clear and distinct recollection of the
high excellence of his character, or the charms of his conversation and
manners; nor shall I ever lose any portion of the affection and respect
with which I regard his memory.
"I am, very sincerely,
"Your friend and obedient servant,
"THEOPHILUS PARSONS."
CAMBRIDGE, May 23, 1853.
In 1821, Mr. Wheaton was elected a member of the Convention for revising
the Constitution of the State of New-York, which having been formed amid
the tumults and perils of war, seemed defective and insufficient to the
wants of a richer, more enlightened, and more numerous society. In his
sittings he turned his attention more particularly to the organization
of the tribunals. In 1824, he was appointed by the New-York Legislature
a member of the commission appointed to draw up the civil and criminal
code of the State, a work in which he continued to be engaged until
1827. It has been remarked that this was the first effort made by any
State possessing the common law, to reduce its disconnected and
diffusive legislation to the unity of a code; so that his name is thus
connected with one of the most important landmarks in the history of
American law.
It may easily be imagined, that a person of so serious and thoughtful a
disposition could not have failed at some period of his life, to turn
his attention to the important subject of religion. While in college,
and during the ensuing years, he had studied deeply the works of the
great English theologians, and when the Unitarian Church was established
in New-York, he united himself with it.
His other occupations did not prevent him from entering into literary
pursuits. In 1820 he pronounced a discourse before the Historical
Society of New-York, and in 1824, one at the opening of the New-York
Athenaeum, both of which are considered to have unusual merit; he was in
the habit of contributing to the North American Review, and also
translated the Code Napoleon. Unfortunately, this manuscript and some
other interesting papers were soon after destroyed by fire. In 1826 he
published the life of William Pinkney, whom he had known in Washington,
and for whom he had the highest regard and admiration. This he
afterwards abridged for Sparks's American Biography. His familiarity
with the French language, laws, and customs, led to an intimacy with
most of the exiles whom the downfall of Napoleon brought to this
country. Count Real, the minister of police under the empire, Count
Regnault, the most brilliant orator of that time, General Bernard and
Prince Achille Murat, all considered him as a friend, and retained as
long as they lived a warm recollection of the kind welcome they had
found at his house.
In 1827 he was appointed by President Adams, Charge d'Affaires to
Denmark, and charged with negotiations the object of which was to obtain
an indemnity for the American vessels seized during the last war between
France and England. He embarked in July for England, where he had the
satisfaction of again seeing the friends whose kindness had made his
first visit to that country so pleasant, and also of meeting some of the
most distinguished literary and legal characters of the day. Among the
former, was Dr. Bowring, with whom he afterwards became intimate, and
who was indeed one of the warmest friends he had in Europe.
Although the first few months passed in Copenhagen were not without the
trials attendant on a removal to a foreign home, and in this instance
were still more overshadowed by the news of his father's death, and by
the illness and death of his wife's brother, who had gone with them, Mr.
Wheaton soon became acclimated, formed pleasant acquaintances among his
colleagues and among the Danes, who are remarkably kind and hospitable
to foreigners, and availed himself of the resources the country offered
to one of his tastes. The letter to Judge Story, of which we give a
_fac-simile_, will show his first impressions of Copenhagen.
The climate of Denmark is damp like that of England, and its verdure
quite as beautiful. Copenhagen is prettily situated, and contains as
many objects of interest as any city of the size in Europe. It has fine
palaces, a military and a naval academy, admirable hospitals, an
extensive public library, a valuable collection of Northern antiquities,
a good gallery of pictures, and fine public walks. The vicinity of the
capital, although level, is highly cultivated, and affords a number of
charming residences. The most pleasant of these are situated on the
Strandvei, a road which runs along the shore of the Baltic to the
Dyr-Hange, a fine park well stocked with deer, which is a favorite place
of resort during the summer season to the Danes, who enjoy out-of-door
life as much as the inhabitants of a Southern clime. Many of the houses
which stand at intervals along the pleasant Strandvei are rented by
their proprietors to foreigners. Of one of those occupied by Mr. Wheaton
and his family, we engrave a cut, from a view painted by an artist of
the country. It stood, and still stands, at some distance from the road,
with a green lawn before it, and surrounded by lilacs, laburnums and
beech-trees, whose white bark and light green leaves give a peculiar
character to the scenery of Denmark. From the windows of the house the
blue waves of the Baltic, studded with every variety of sail, may be
seen, and in clear weather the opposite coast of Sweden is discernible.
The road is enlivened by the brilliant equipages of the Royal family and
nobility, by the Holstein-wagen, long open carriages which contain ten
persons, two only being seated abreast, and much used for parties of
pleasure, and by the women from the neighboring fishing villages, with
their green petticoats and red boddices, carrying large baskets of fish
to the city.
At the time of Mr. Wheaton's arrival in Denmark, Count Schimmelmann
occupied the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. This nobleman was
possessed of great talents and worth, and for nearly thirty years was
employed in the service of his government. Although a great part of his
income was derived from his estates in the Danish West Indies, it was
chiefly by his influence that the emancipation of the negroes was
effected. He was a generous patron of art and science, and one of the
earliest friends of Niebuhr. By such a man Mr. Wheaton could not fail to
be appreciated; and although the business transacted between them was of
a delicate, and to the Danish government, which had been greatly
impoverished by the war, of a trying nature, these meetings were always
pleasant to both. The negotiations were terminated in 1831, by the
signature of a convention, by which the American government obtained
nearly all it had demanded.
While thus engaged, Mr. Wheaton had not neglected the literary pursuits
to which, in moments of leisure, he always turned with pleasure. He
prepared himself by the study of the languages, literature, and history
of Northern Europe, for writing a work which was published in London, in
1831, under the title of History of the Northmen. At that period,
Scandinavia was a new, and almost untrodden field, but although much has
since been added to the information we then possessed respecting its
history and antiquities, this work is still considered very valuable by
those who take an interest in the subject to which it relates. It was
translated into French in 1842, and a new edition of it being desired in
this country, Mr. Wheaton undertook the task of preparing it, but did
not live to complete it.
In the course of these studies he became acquainted with the most
distinguished literary characters of Denmark, such as Bask, Rafn,
Finn-Magnusen, the poet Ohlenschlaeger, Muenter, Bishop of Zealand, and
others. We must not omit to add Madame Frederika Brun, the sister of
Muenter, and herself a poetess of celebrity, whose splendid mansion in
Copenhagen and charming country-seat of Fredericksdal, were for many
years the resort of the most distinguished persons in Denmark.
It was in 1835 that he bade adieu to the country where nine pleasant
years had been passed, and where his amiable disposition, high integrity
and talents, had won him many friends. For more than a quarter of a
century, our country had no representative in Prussia; but our increased
trade with Germany rendering it important that we should renew our
relations with that country, he was appointed by President Jackson,
Minister Resident to the court of Prussia. On his arrival in Berlin, his
new colleagues took pleasure in pointing out to him the house which had
been the residence of his predecessor, John Quincy Adams, so long
before.
Mr. Ancillon, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was the descendant of a
Huguenot family, who, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes,
sought an asylum in Germany, and is even better known as a philosophical
writer and historian, than as a statesman. To him Mr. Wheaton presented
his credentials, and as the King, Frederick William III., and his
ministers, soon after left Berlin, according to custom, for the summer
months, he devoted the interval to visiting the Rhenish provinces, in
order to examine their resources and report to Government concerning
them. During the ensuing summers he made excursions into different parts
of Germany with the same object. In his private letters, he speaks with
delight of the beauty and fertility of the country, to which historical
associations gave additional charm in his eyes. In a dispatch, he says:
"Having diligently explored every state and every province, comprehended
in the Customs-Association, with the view of studying their economical
resources, I have been forcibly struck with the vast variety and rich
productions with which Heaven has endowed this beautiful and highly
favored land. Its fields teem with luxuriant harvests of grain and
fruit, the hillsides are clad with vineyards yielding the most exquisite
wines, the mountains contain inexhaustible treasures of useful minerals,
whilst the valleys are filled with health-giving fountains of salubrious
waters. When we add to these productions of nature and of agricultural
labor, the vast variety of useful and ornamental fabrics, furnished by
the persevering and patient industry of the German people, and their
extensive consumption of the peculiar staple productions of the New
World, we must be convinced of the great and increasing importance of
the constituent elements of German commerce, of the valuable exchange it
offers to the trade of other countries, and of the benefits which may be
derived to our own country, from cultivating and extending the
commercial relations between the United States and Germany."
In 1837, Mr. Wheaton was raised by President Van Buren to the rank of
Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary; and we cannot forbear
remarking, that after the opposition which--although never a violent
party man--he had in previous years shown Mr. Van Buren, it is most
honorable to the latter, that no feeling of rancor or pique, withheld
him from making a nomination which he felt the public services of his
former opponent to deserve.
In 1836, he published, in England and in the United States, his
"Elements of International Law," and in 1846 republished it in this
country with numerous additions. In 1841 he wrote in French, "Histoire
du Progres du Droit des Gens depuis la paix de Westphalie," which
obtained a _mention honorable_ from the French Institute. This work was
published in French at Leipsic, 1844, and afterwards in New-York, under
the title of "History of the Law of Nations." Competent judges have
spoken of it as the best work of the kind ever written; Mr. Reddie and
Mr. Manning in Great Britain, Baron Gagern in Germany, and the
enlightened and accomplished Minister of the King of Sardinia, Marquis
d'Azeglio, have all awarded high praise to it. By diplomatists, it is
considered an invaluable book of reference; by British statesmen, it has
several times been quoted in Parliament, and there can be no
exaggeration in saying, that it has entitled the author to a lasting
reputation in the Old World.
In 1840, Mr. Wheaton had the misfortune to lose his eldest son, a lad of
great promise, who died after a few days' illness in Paris, where he was
at school. From that moment, all the father's hopes centred in Robert,
his only remaining son. Of the latter, this is not the place to speak
fully; but we cannot forbear to say, that he lived long enough to
realize the fondest anticipations of his parents, and that his early
death, at the age of twenty-five years, will ever be a source of regret
to all who knew him. He died on the 9th of October, 1851, only three
years after his father.
In 1843, he was made a corresponding member of the French Institute, in
the section of Moral and Political Sciences. This nomination increased
the pleasure he felt in visiting Paris, which he did, whenever his
official duties would permit. In the literary and political circles of
that great capital, he found the stimulus which every mind like his
requires, and of which, he felt the want in Berlin, where men of letters
and _savans_ do not mix in the court-circles, which his official
position compelled him frequently to attend. He knew most of the eminent
statesmen and politicians of France; he was particularly well acquainted
with M. Guizot, for whose character and talents he entertained the
highest respect, and with M. Thiers, the charm of whose conversation he
admired no less than his works, He also enjoyed the opportunity he had
in Paris of meeting his countrymen, of whom comparatively few visited
Berlin. Nor did he neglect when there, to transmit to Government such
information respecting the general state of Europe, as his long
residence abroad, and his relations with the leading men in several of
its countries, enabled him to collect. In the ten years during which his
mission to Berlin lasted, scarcely a week elapsed without his addressing
a dispatch to Government. These dispatches are extremely interesting,
both from the variety and extent of information they contain concerning
the political and commercial state of Prussia, and the picture they
present of Europe and of European governments, and, if ever published,
will form a valuable addition to the history of American and European
diplomacy.
In many respects, Mr. Wheaton was peculiarly well qualified for
diplomatic life. His knowledge of international law, the soundness of
his judgment, the calmness and impartiality with which he could look at
the different sides of a question, his gentle and forbearing
disposition, his amiable and conciliating manners, were all in his
favor. To these advantages, he added the purest integrity, and the
highest sense of the duties and responsibilities attached to the
profession he so long followed. In the speech made at the public dinner
offered him in New-York, on his return to his native country after an
absence of twenty years, he said, and this was the true expression of
his feelings on the subject: "You will excuse me for remarking that the
mission of a diplomatic agent is, or ought to be, a mission of peace and
conciliation; and that nothing can be further removed from its true
nature and dignity, than intrigue, craft, and duplicity; qualities too
often, but in my opinion, erroneously, attributed to the diplomatic
character. At least, it may I believe be confidently asserted, that the
ablest public ministers, and those who have most effectually advanced
the honor and interest of their country, have been those who were
distinguished for frankness, directness, and a strict regard to truth."
The amount of business which devolved on him during his mission to
Berlin, independent of the negotiations for a commercial treaty with the
German Customs-Union or Zollverein, can hardly be estimated by reading
his dispatches only. Not a week elapsed without his receiving letters
from different parts of Germany and the United States, asking for advice
with regard to emigration, or to the disposition of property left by
friends in America or in Germany, and all requiring immediate attention.
But notwithstanding these demands upon his time, he did not neglect the
pursuits of literature. In 1838 he published, jointly with Dr. Crichton,
the volumes entitled "Scandinavia," which form a portion of the
Edinburgh Family Library; and in 1842, and the succeeding years, wrote a
number of interesting letters addressed to the National Institute at
Washington, which were published in the columns of the National
Intelligencer.
In 1844, he was named Member of the Academy of Sciences at Berlin, and
we must not omit to mention, that he was the only foreign diplomat to
whom the honor had then been awarded. With Raumer and Ranke, with
Ritter, the celebrated geographer, Encke, the astronomer, he was of
course acquainted; Savigny, Gans, and Eichorn, he knew well; and with
Alexander von Humboldt he was on the most friendly and familiar terms.
Count Raczynski, whose work on "Modern Art," has made his name known in
this country, and whose fine gallery is to amateurs of painting one of
the chief objects of interest in Berlin, was also his intimate friend.
With Bunsen, one of the most agreeable as well as intellectual men in
Germany, whose diplomatic duties kept him absent from Berlin, he passed
many delightful hours in Switzerland, and in London. All his colleagues
in Berlin met him on the most friendly terms; but the Russian, French
and English ministers were those whose company he most enjoyed, and who
perhaps entertained for him the most cordial friendship. The two latter
gave him their entire confidence, often showing him their dispatches,
and freely discussing with him the interests of their respective
governments.
It was in the spring of 1844, that the negotiations with the Zollverein,
with which Mr. Wheaton had been charged, and which the various interests
of the nineteen different states which it then included, had protracted,
drew to a close. On the 25th of March he signed a convention with Baron
Bulow, the Prussian Minister of Foreign Affairs, of whose enlightened
and liberal views he always spoke in high terms. This treaty, to the
accomplishment of which he had devoted all his energies during several
years, and which he fondly hoped would prove satisfactory to Government
and the country, was rejected by the Senate. It is hardly necessary to
say, that he felt this disappointment deeply.
In 1846, he was recalled by President Polk, and on the 22d July had his
farewell audience of the King of Prussia, by whom he had always been
treated with marked distinction and courtesy. He went to Paris to pass
the ensuing winter, during which he read to the Academy of Sciences a
paper on the Schleswig-Holstein question, which is still unpublished. In
May, 1847, he returned to his native land. A public dinner, to which we
have already alluded, was given him in New-York, where so much of his
early life had been spent, and where he had first distinguished himself;
a dinner was also offered him in Philadelphia, but this, circumstances
compelled him to decline. The city of Providence requested him to sit
for his portrait, to be placed in the hall of the City Council, "as a
memorial of one who shed so much honor on the place of his nativity." It
is interesting to mark the contrast between this portrait, which was
painted by Healy, and one painted by Jarvis nearly thirty years before.
Though the countenance has lost something of the animation of youth, and
the eyes have no longer the fire which flashes from the portrait of
Jarvis, the head has gained in intellectual expression, and the brow
wears that air of thoughtful repose, the mouth that pleasant smile,
familiar to those who knew him in his later years.
In September, 1847, he delivered an address in Providence, before the
Phi Beta Kappa Society, the subject of which was the Progress and
Prospects of Germany. This was the last public occasion on which his
voice was heard. The chair of International Law at Harvard University,
to which he had been called, on his return home, he never lived to fill.
His health gradually failed, and on the 11th of March, 1848, he breathed
his last.
=Webster.=
[Illustration: Webster fac-simile of letter]
[Illustration: Webster's Birth-place]