is of the Lord, who disposeth all alterations, by his blessed will, to his own glory and the good of his; and, therefore, do assure myself, that all things shall work together for the best therein. And for myself, I have seen so much of the variety of the world, that I esteem no more of the diversities of countries, than as so many inns, whereof the traveler that hath lodged in the best, or in the worst, findeth no difference, when he cometh to his journey's end, and I shall call that my country, where I may most glorify God, and enjoy the presence of my dearest friends. Therefore, herein I submit myself to God's will and yours, and with your leave do dedicate myself (laying by all desire of other employments whatsoever) to the service of God and the company herein, with the whole endeavors, both of body and mind.

"The conclusions which you sent down, I showed my uncle and aunt, who liked them well. I think they are unanswerable; and it cannot but be a prosperous action, which is so well allowed by the judgment of God's prophets, undertaken by so religious and wise worthies of Israel, and indented to God's glory in so special a service."

Mr. Winthrop was skilled in chemistry and medicine, and in the dearth of medical practitioners in the colony his advice was widely sought. Thacher speaks of him as an eminent physician, and Daniel Neal says that his closet was always furnished with the best medicines, which he charitably distributed to such of his poor neighbors as had need of them.

Concerning John Winthrop, Jr., it was the beautiful testimony of his own father that "God gave him favor in the eyes of all with whom he had to do."

His son, Fitz John, was Governor of Connecticut from 1698 till his death in 1707.

WILLIAM WIRT.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, 1817-1829.*

JACOB WIRT, father of William, was from Switzerland; his mother, Henrietta, was a German. Jacob, with his brother Jasper, some years before the war of the Revolution, settled in Bladensburg, Md. Here he kept a tavern, and received rents accruing from a few village lots. He had six children, three sons and three daughters.

William Wirt, youngest child of Jacob, was born in Bladensburg, Md., November 8, 1772; died in Baltimore, February 18, 1834.

Left an orphan when eight years old, he passed into the family and guardianship of his uncle, Jasper Wirt, who, as well as his wife, was a Swiss by birth. Mr. Wirt always spoke of his aunt as having a cast of character worthy of the land of William Tell. She was tall, of large frame, and fair complexion; was very relig ious, and a great reader of pious books. She had an old folio German Bible, with brass clasps. A thunder-storm came up one evening, and the aunt got down her Bible, and began to read aloud. One flash struck a tree in the yard. One and another started from their chairs for the darkest corners of the room. The aunt alone remained firm in her seat, and noticed the peal in no other way than by the increased energy of her voice.

Mr. Wirt in his autobiography, speaks of his school days: "The school-house was across the street, at the farther corner of the opposite square. The schoolmaster was Elisha Crown, an Englishman, middle-sized, stoop shouldered, spare, and of dark complexion. He wore a suit of blue, black horn buttons, silver

"Memoirs of William Wirt," by Kennedy, vols. I and 2; "Letters of a British Spy;" Augusta [Ga.] Sentinel.

shoe buckles, an old fashioned cock and pinch hat. In 1779, I was sent to an academy in Georgetown kept by Mr. Rogers. I was placed at boarding with Mr. Schoolfield, a Quaker, who occupied a small house of hewn logs. He was a well-set, square-built, honest-faced, and honest-hearted Quaker-his wife one of the best of creation. From Georgetown I went to a classical school in Charles County, Maryland, kept by one Hatch Dent. I was boarded with a widow lady by the name of Love. She had three maiden daughters, the eldest verging on forty, and the youngest, perhaps, twenty-eight. Nancy was a round, plump, jolly old maid, the weaver of the family, and used to take snuff. Sally presided over the dairy, was somewhere about thirty, with good humored countenance and with one of the kindest hearts that beat in the bosom of her kind sex. She was fond of me, banquetted me on milk and cream to my heart's content, admired my songs, and sang herself. The youngest was the knitter and seamstress of the household, of sweet disposition, with a weak but kindly voice." [Of Mr. Wirt's acquaintance with a particular friend, while boarding at Mrs. Love's.] "Peggy Reeder was the only child of her parents,-about my own age, and very beautiful. We fell exceedingly in love with each other. She was accustomed to make long visits to her Aunt Love, and no two lovers, however romantic, were ever more happy than we. As for school, Mr. Dent was a most excellent man, a sincere Christian, and, I presume, a good teacher-for I was too young to judge, and, in fact, much too young for a Latin school. In 1783 I was removed from Mr. Dent's school to that of the Rev. James Hunt, the Presbyterian minister in Montgomery County." [Turning from his Autobiography to the pages of the historian:] "At this school he remained till it was broken up in 1787; was instructed in the Latin and Greek classics, Arithmetic, Trigonometry, Surveying, and the first six books of Euclid. During the last two years of the time he boarded with Mr. Hunt."

Mr. Wirt served as a private tutor a year and a half, studied law, was admitted to the Bar in 1792, commenced practice at Culpepper, Va., and afterwards removed to Richmond.

In 1816, he was appointed by President Madison United States Attorney for the District of Virginia; in 1817 was appointed