Yet
it may not be unjust to attribute it, in some degree, to the singular
good fortune of his life. He had never, in all his career, found it
necessary to stoop. Office had sought him; he had not begged it, nor
manoeuvred for it, nor crept towards it--arts which too frequently bring
a man, morally bowed and degraded, to a position which should be one of
dignity, but in which he will vainly essay to stand upright.
In our earlier meetings, after Pierce had begun to come forward in public
life, I could discern that his ambition was aroused. He felt a young
man's enjoyment of success, so early and so distinguished. But as years
went on, such motives seemed to be less influential with him. He was
cured of ambition, as, one after another, its objects came to him
unsought. His domestic position, likewise, had contributed to direct his
tastes and wishes towards the pursuits of private life. In 1834 he had
married Jane Means, a daughter of the Rev. Dr. Appleton, a former
president of Bowdoin College. Three sons, the first of whom died in
early infancy, were born to him; and, having hitherto been kept poor by
his public service, he no doubt became sensible of the expediency of
making some provision for the future.
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