James  A.  Bayard,  the  gentleman  whom  Mr.  Jefferson
mentions  so  improperly,  was  a  descendant  of  the  Chevalier
Bayard,  who  died  in  1524  ;  and  who  is  familiarly  known


ON   PUBLIC    CHARACTERS.  151

as  the  man  (sans  peur  et  sans  reproche)  without  fear  and
without  reproach.  In  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Bayard  in
1801,  and  which  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix,  he  says,
"  I  shall  never  lose  sight  of  the  motto  of  the  great  original
"  of  our  name."  This  gentleman  was  an  eminent  lawyer
in  the  state  of  Delaware.  He  was  in  both  branches  of
Congress,  and  was  second  to  no  one  in  either  branch.  He
was  one  of  the  envoys  who  made  the  treaty  of  peace  at
Ghent  in  1814.  He  was  a  tall,  well  proportioned,  erect
man,  of  light  complexion,  light  hair,  of  handsome  face,
intelligent  and  manly  expression,  and  of  courteous  and  dig-
nified manners.  He  was  one,  of  whom  it  might  be  truly
said,  that  nature,  education,  mind,  heart,  and  habit,  had"
combined  to  make  a  gentleman.  His  eloquence  was  lofty
and  commanding.  He  had,  eminently,  the  first  of  its
requisites,  sincerity,  and  certainty  that  he  was  right.  It
was  such  a  man,  that  Thomas  Jefferson  would  declare,  even
from  his  own  tomb,  to  be  a  political  knave.
The  two  passages  complained  of  by  Mr.  Bayard's  sons  are
the  following.  The  first  of  them  will  be  found  in  vol.  iv.
p.  515.
"  February  12,  1801.  Edward  Livingston  tells  me,  that
Bayard  applied  to-day,  or  last  night,  to  General  Smith,  and
represented  to  him  the  expediency  of  his  coming  over  to
the  states  who  vote  for  Burr  ;  that  there  was  nothing  in
the  way  of  appointment  which  he  might  not  command,
and  particularly  mentioned  the  Secretaryship  of  the  Navy.
