POLITICAL PORTRAITS WITH PEN AND PENCIL. (No. IX.) JONATHAN CILLEY. On the opposite page will be found a bold nd spirited sketch of a countenance which will rivet, with a deep and melancholy interest, every eye that rests upon the fac simileutogaph name be neath. Alas, poor Cilley! The object of this series of Political Portraits is not to present highly finished engravings of their respective subjects, but rather such bold and strongly marked outline sketches as serve to convey, at a glance, perhaps a more striking idea of general appearance, countenance, and character, than more elaborate portraits. In the present instance, though the artist has been subject to the disadvantage of relying upon the copy of a copy of the lamented original-the shadow of a shade-it will not fail to recall strongly to the recollections of those who have known its subject, that kindly, intelligent, energetic, resolute, and strongly marked countenance of JONATHAN CILLEY. In a former Article, wrung from an unwilling pen by the agonizing emotions of the time, we performed the painful duty of presenting the narrative of his death, in the high point of view which a solemn justice to the dead and the living seemed to require at our hands. To that dark picture it is not our purpose now again to direct the eyes of our readers. The subject has passed into the hands of history, the amplest light being cast over all its details by the most authentic documentary testimony; and it is sufficient for us here, in general terms, to refer to those documents, now widely spread before the country, and preserved for perpetuity among the national archives, for the fullest justification of our former remarks, which were based, at the time, on the same evidences, given orally, which have been since embodied in that more solemn authentic form. But we gave a pledge, on that occasion, to our readers, of which the present Article is the redemption-to present a sketch of the life of the lamented Cilley, previously to his fatal entrance upon the Congressional career, so soon to terminate in the “dark pitfall” that yawned across his path. That pledge had its origin in one of those casual remarks, to the subject of it himself, to which sometimes, in the course of the strange vicissitudes of life, a mysterious prophetic sanctity seems afterwards to be imparted by the developement of the startling coincidences of chance and circumstance, at the time deeply buried in the darkness of the unknown and unimagined future. It was but a very short time before Mr. Cilley's death, that the remark, half sportive and half serious, was made to him, on an occasion of which the saddest of recollections will long haunt the memory of the writer of the present lines, that the day would come, at some time or other, when he would take a place in this series of "Political Portraits," then recently commenced. It is well, indeed, that, to the common eye, coming events do not cast their shadows before;-for else, how darkly would the brightness of that social hour have been clouded, by a prophetic presentiment of that untimely fate which, defrauding him of the high and glorious destiny which seemed to smile over his opening career, was to make his name so soon the subject of one of the saddest and most painful efforts of the biographer's pen! That Mr. Cilley would have early achieved a very honorable prominence on the noble theatre of the general politics of the Union, as he had already, in a very signal and rapid manner, on the more restricted stage of action of his own State, none of his friends entertained a doubt. The present were exactly the times for such a man; and the unanimous opinions of all who knew him best are greatly deceived, if in the midst of them he would not very early have attained a position which would have afforded his biographer much more to record, of useful service rendered to his country, and honorable distinction acquired for himself, than can be permitted by the brief career which it was to be his to run. As the task was most appropriate to the hand of early friendship, the reader will perceive that it was to another pen that we have committed the task of preparing this brief biographical narrative. It was prepared very shortly after the unhappy catastrophe that occasioned its requisition. Difficulty in procuring a satisfactory accompanying drawing has hitherto delayed its publication. The severe simplicity and candor of style pervading it, while it reveals most strikingly the intimate extent of personal knowledge, and the deep conviction and strong appreciation of the character described, exhibits, throughout every page, the most authentic attestation to the truth of all the points of view in which it is here presented, by one equally competent to analyze and to portray a character so interesting and remarkable as that of poor Cilley. We present, then, the following sketch from a pen whose lighter and more fanciful creations have often charmed the readers of the Democratic Review-with no further preface, than to embody the deeply seated feelings of all Mr. Cilley's friends in the exclamation, as an appropriate inscription for his untimely tomb "Quis desiderio sit pudor aut modus BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JONATHAN CILLEY. BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, ESQ. THE subject of this brief memorial had barely begun to be an actor in the great scenes where his part could not have failed to be a prominent one. The nation did not have time to recognize him. His death, aside from the shock with which the manner of it has thrilled every bosom, is looked upon merely as causing a vacancy in the delegation of his State, which a new member may fill as creditably as the departed. It will, perhaps, be deemed praise enough to say of Cilley, that he would have proved himself an active and efficient partisan. But those who knew him longest and most intimately, conscious of his high talents and rare qualities-his energy of mind and force of character-must claim much more than such a meed for their lost friend. They feel that not merely a party nor a section, but our collective country, has lost a man who had the heart and the ability to serve her well. It would be doing injustice to the hopes which lie withered upon his untimely grave, if, in paying a farewell tribute to his memory, we were to ask a narrower sympathy than that of the people at large. May no bitterness of party prejudices influence him who writes, nor those, of whatever political opinions, who may read! Jonathan Cilley was born at Nottingham, New Hampshire, on the second of July, 1802. His grandfather, Col. Joseph Cilley, commanded a New Hampshire regiment during the Revolutionary war, and established a character for energy and intrepidity of which more than one of his descendants have proved themselves the inheritors. Greenleaf Cilley, son of the preceding, died in 1808, leaving a family of four sons and three daughters. The aged mother of this family, and the three daughters, are still living. Of the sons, the only survivor is Joseph Cilley, who was an officer in the late war, and served with great distinction on the Canadian frontier. Jonathan, being desirous of a liberal education, commenced his studies at Atkinson Academy, at about the age of seventeen, and became a member of the Freshman Class of Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, in 1821. Inheriting but little property from his father, he adopted the usual expedient of a young New Englander in similar circumstances, and gained a small income by teaching a country school during the winter months, both before and after his entrance at college. Cilley's character and standing at college afforded high promise of usefulness and distinction in after life. Though not the foremost scholar of his class, he stood in the front rank; and probably derived all the real benefit from the prescribed course of study that it could bestow on so practical a mind. His true education consisted in the exercise of those faculties which fitted him to be a popular leader. His influence among his fellow-students was probably greater than that of any other individual; and he had already made himself powerful, in that limited sphere, by a free and natural eloquence,—a flow of pertinent ideas, in language of unstudied appropriateness, which seemed always to accomplish precisely the result on which he had calculated. This gift was sometimes displayed in class-meetings, when measures, important to those concerned, were under discussion; sometimes in mock trials at law, when judge, jury, lawyers, prisoner, and witnesses, were personated by the students, and Cilley played the part of a fervid and successful advocate; and besides these exhibitions of power, he regularly trained himself in the forensic debates of a literary society, of which he afterwards became president. Nothing could be less artificial than his style of oratory. After filling his mind with the necessary information, he trusted every thing else to his mental warmth and the inspiration of the moment, and poured himself out with an earnest and irresistible simplicity. There was a singular contrast between the flow of thought from his lips, and the coldness and constraint with which he wrote; and though, in maturer life, he acquired a considerable facility in exercising the pen, he always felt the tongue to be his peculiar instrument. In private intercourse, Cilley possessed a remarkable fascination. It was impossible not to regard him with the kindliest feelings, because his companions were intuitively certain of a like kindliness on his part. He had a power of sympathy which enabled him to understand every character, and hold communion with human nature in all its varieties. He never shrank from the intercourse of man with man; and it was to his freedom in this particular that he owed much of his subsequent popularity, among a people who are accustomed to take a personal interest in the men whom they elevate to office. In few words, let us characterize him at the outset of life as a young man of quick and powerful intellect; endowed with sagacity and tact, yet frank and free in his mode of action; ambitious of good influence, earnest, active, and persevering; with an elasticity and cheerful strength of mind which made difficulties easy, and the struggle with them a pleasure. Mingled with the amiable qualities that were like sunshine to his friends, there were harsher and sterner traits which fitted him to make head against an adverse world; but it was only at the moment of need that the iron frame-work of his character became perceptible. Immediately on quitting college, Mr. Cilley took up his residence in Thomaston, and began the study of law in the office of John Ruggles, Esq., now a Senator in Congress. Mr. Ruggles being then a prominent member of the Democratic party, it was natural that the pupil should lend his aid to promote the political views of his instructor; especially as he would thus uphold the principles which he had cherished from boyhood. From year to year, the election of Mr. Ruggles to the State Legislature was strongly opposed. Cilley's services in overcoming this opposition were too valuable to be dispensed with; and thus, at a period when most young men still stand aloof from the world, he had already taken his post as a leading politician. He afterwards found cause to regret that so much time had been abstracted from his professional studies; nor did the absorbing and exciting nature of his political career afford him any subsequent opportunity to supply the defects of his legal education. He was admitted an attorney at law in 1829, and, in April of the same year, was married to Miss Deborah Prince, daughter of Hon. Hezekiah Prince, of Thomaston, where Mr. Cilley continued to reside, and entered upon the practice of his profession. In 1831, Mr. Ruggles having been appointed a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, it became necessary to send a new representative from Thomaston to the Legislature of the State. Mr. Cilley was brought forward as the Democratic candidate, obtained his election, and took his seat in January, 1832. But, in the course of this year, the friendly relations between Judge Ruggles and Mr. Cilley were broken off. The former gentleman, it appears, had imbibed the idea that his political aspirations (which were then directed towards a seat in the Senate of the United States) did not receive all the aid which he was disposed to claim from the influence of his late pupil. When, therefore, Mr. Cilley was held up as a candidate for re-election to the Legislature, the whole strength of Judge Ruggles and his adherents was exerted against him. This was the first act and declaration of a political hostility which was too warm and earnest not to become in some degree personal; and which rendered Mr. Cilley's subsequent career a continual struggle with those to whom he might naturally have looked for friendship and support. It sets his abilities and force of character in the strongest light, to view him, at the very outset of public life, without the aid of powerful connections, an isolated young man, forced into a position of hostility, not merely with the enemies of his party, but likewise with a large body of its adherents, even accused of treachery to its principles, yet gaining triumph after triumph, and making his way steadily onward. Surely his was a mental and moral energy which death alone could have laid prostrate! We have the testimony of those who knew Mr. Cilley well, that his own feelings were never so embittered by these conflicts as to prevent him from interchanging the courtesies of society with his most violent opponents. While their resentments rendered his very presence intolerable to them, he could address them with as |