I have endured a great deal of ridicule without much malice, and have received a great deal of kindness not quite free from ridicule. Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing: I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside me. |
