gratefully accepted the kindly sentiment, but declined the public
demonstration of it.




CHAPTER III.

HIS SUCCESS AT THE BAR.


Franklin Pierce's earliest effort at the bar, as we have already
observed, was an unsuccessful one; but instead of discouraging him, the
failure had only served to awaken the consciousness of latent power, and
the resolution to bring it out. Since those days, he had indeed gained
reputation as a lawyer. So much, however, was the tenor of his legal
life broken up by the months of public service subtracted from each year,
and such was the inevitable tendency of his thoughts towards political
subjects, that he could but very partially avail himself of the
opportunities of professional advancement. But on retiring from the
Senate he appears to have started immediately into full practice. Though
the people of New Hampshire already knew him well, yet his brilliant
achievements as an advocate brought him more into their view, and into
closer relations with them, than he had ever before been. He now met his
countrymen, as represented in the jury box, face to face, and made them
feel what manner of man he was. Their sentiment towards him soon grew to
be nothing short of enthusiasm; love, pride, the sense of brotherhood,
affectionate sympathy, and perfect trust, all mingled in it. It was the
influence of a great heart pervading the general heart, and throbbing
with it in the same pulsation.