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ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 
 
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 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924032743555 
 
ALEXANDER HAMILTON 
 
 AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES; 
 
 OB, 
 
 THE RISE OF THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION. 
 
 'CHRISTOPHER JAMES RIETHMULLER, 
 
 AUTHOR OF ''teuton, A POEM," AND "FREDERICK LUCAS, a BIOGRAPHY.' 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 BELL AND DALDY, i86, FLEET STREET. 
 
 1864. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 PKINTED BY E. CLAY, SON, AND TAYLOB, 
 
 BREAD STREET HILL. 
 
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 ^ ;C};|f;A>,f,u: < 
 
TO 
 
 RICHARD BAXTER, Esq 
 
 OF LINCOLN S INN. 
 
 My deae Baxter, 
 
 In our young days, when Eeform 
 was in the ascendant, it was the fashion for the 
 liberal party to point to the United States of 
 America, as the great example of the success of 
 democratic institutions. Since then, events have 
 occurred, which have shaken the faith of many, 
 and led the majority of Englishmen to reconsider 
 the subject. With our attention strongly drawn 
 to what is passing in the bosom of the republic, 
 we have naturally sought for an explanation of 
 so dire a convulsion, and have not been able to 
 rest satisfied with the narrow theory, that all this 
 has arisen from a difference on a single question. 
 
IV DEDICATION. 
 
 We have rather inclined to the belief, that the 
 causes must be various and complicated, and only 
 to be discovered by a diligent study of the past 
 history of the Union. 
 
 Any contribution to that history should, there- 
 fore, be of some value; and it has struck me, 
 that a brief account of the Eise of the American 
 Constitution — in connexion with the life and 
 opinions of the remarkable man, who did the most 
 to call it into existence and to bring it into work- 
 ing order, while he foresaw its dangers from the 
 beginning, and laboured incessantly to guard against 
 them — might not be without interest at the present 
 moment. In the career of Hamilton we trace the 
 progress of the Constitution, from its first germ 
 in the mind of the young soldier, through all the 
 difficulties of its establishment, and the trials of 
 its early years, until its administration passes from 
 the control of its authors, to fall iato the hands 
 of the champions of an absolute democracy. But, 
 apart from all political speculations, the story of 
 Hamilton him'self, his character, his services, and 
 his fate, are well worthy of record and ought to 
 
DEDICATION. y 
 
 be better known than tbey have hitherto been — : 
 especially in that England which he understood 
 with the instinct of genius, and loved with the 
 enthusiasm of a high and generous nature. Such 
 knowledge can only tend to the honour of his 
 name, and to the growth of kindly feelings between 
 his country and our own. 
 
 In treating of this theme, I have written as a 
 foreigner at a distance from the scene of action, 
 and have had to collect my materials from such 
 sources as were bpen to me. I have done my 
 best, however, to arrive at the truth, and have 
 little doubt as to the general accuracy of the 
 following sketch. Though much indebted to the 
 elaborate, and yet unfinished work, which Mr. John 
 Church Hamilton has devoted to the memory of 
 his father, I have distrusted the inevitable bias 
 of filial reverence, and have tried, wherever I could, 
 to test his statements by a comparison with indepen- 
 dent authorities. With regard to Hamilton's con- 
 temporaries, I have for the most part endeavoured 
 to estimate them by their own acts and words, 
 rather than by the comments of friends or enemies ; 
 
VI DEDICATION. 
 
 and, if I have erred in my appreciation of any 
 amongst them, I aia conscious of no other motive 
 than the wish to render justice to all. 
 
 To you, whose calm and sober judgment is so 
 well fitted to form an impartial opinion of its 
 contents, I dedicate this hook. You will read it 
 without passion or prejudice, and give due weight 
 to the facts it has brought together ; and, even 
 should you not agree in some of its political con- 
 clusions, you wiU respect the sincerity of the con- 
 victions on which it is founded, and welcome it if 
 only as a token of the esteem and affection of 
 
 THE AUTHOR 
 
 London, January, 1864. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. — "Washington 1 
 
 II.— The Young VoLtrNTEEK 26 
 
 III.— The Aide-de-camp . 43 
 
 IV.— Major Andre 77 
 
 v.— Close of the War ... . . . .94 
 
 VI.— The Confederacy in Danger 123 
 
 VII. — Hamilton at the Bar 140 
 
 VIII. — The Convention 172 
 
 IX. — Federalists and Republicans 212 
 
 X. — President and Vice-President 239 
 
 XI. — The Secretary of the Treasury 252 
 
 XII.— Thomas Jefferson 269 
 
VIU CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XIII.— The Fkbnoh Envoy 303 
 
 XIV.— Party Violence 335 
 
 XV. — MoTJNT Vernon "."". : . : 365 
 
 XVI.— The Tie .... •. 389 
 
 XVII.— The Duel 405 
 
 XVIII.— The Dbmocbacy . 426 
 
 Inkex 447 
 
ALEXANDER HAMILTON 
 
 AND HIS CONTEMPOEAEIES. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 ■WA.SHINGTON. 
 
 r I IHE British Colonies in North America had risen 
 -*- in arms against the mother-country. No acts 
 of gross cruelty and oppression, such as roused the 
 Swiss to throw off the yoke of Austria, or nerved 
 the people of the Netherlands to resist the power of 
 Spain, could be urged in justification of this revolt. 
 Yet a long course of unwise and vexatious measures, 
 of just claims neglected and services Hi-requited, 
 had been sufficient to provoke the deep and bitter 
 resentment of men of English blood, who, proud of 
 their descent, and jealous of their rights and privi- 
 leges, were already conscious of the strength derived 
 from increasing wealth and numbers aiid from the 
 
 B 
 
2 WASHINGTON, 
 
 possession of a vast territory that seemed to promise 
 an almost boimdless future. In the memorable war 
 which wrested Canada from the grasp of France, the 
 colonists had taken their full share in the sacrifices 
 and exertions necessary to bring it to a successful 
 issue. They had cherished a strong feeling of loyalty 
 and attachment to the parent-state; and there can 
 be little doubt, that a generous and conciliatory policy 
 on the part of England might have retained their 
 allegiance for years to come. But narrow and petty 
 restrictions on trade, prohibition of manufactures, 
 interference with the freedom of navigation, and that 
 general mode of dealing with the colonies which 
 Burke described as "the system of a monopoly," 
 excited and kept alive a growing spirit of discon- 
 tent; and, when to all this was added the attempt 
 to tax the Americans by a parliament in which they 
 were not represented, the discontent became dis^ 
 affection, and took the shape, first of passive resist- 
 ance, and then of open rebellion. 
 
 It is well to remember from the very commence- 
 ment of this narrative, that the thirteen colonies, 
 which were now united in opposition to the authority 
 of the British Crown, could in no sense be con- 
 lidered as a single nation or people^ but rather as 
 
WASHINGTON. 3 
 
 an assemblage of small, distinct societies, founded at 
 different times, under various circumstances, each 
 ■with a character and history of its own, and with 
 little to hind them together, save a common deter, 
 mination to uphold the right of self-government. 
 The Puritans of New England, the Catholics of 
 Maryland, the Quakers of Pennsylvania, and the 
 High-church Anglicans of Virginia, had each im- 
 pressed a specific type on their descendants ; and 
 so, in every one of the colonies, there might be 
 found some peculiar marks of its origin and ante- 
 cedents, by which it was easily distinguishable from 
 the rest. And whilst they all laid claim to the 
 benefits of the common law, and to the traditional 
 liberties of Englishmen, their provincial constitu- 
 tions differed very materially from each other, and 
 political power was variously distributed amongst 
 them, according to the several charters and customs 
 by which their local affairs had hitherto been regu^ 
 lated. 
 
 The people of New England, with their Puritan 
 principles, and strong democratic tendencies, were 
 fitted to take the lead ia the path of revolution. 
 Already in 1760, the town of Boston had resisted 
 the attempt to collect duties on foreign sugar and 
 B 2 
 
4 WASHINGTON. 
 
 molasses imported into the colony. It was there 
 that, five years later, the stamp-act was received with 
 closed shops and warehouses, the tolling of bells, the 
 display of colours half-mast high, and aR the signs of 
 a city in mourning. It was there that was con- 
 cocted the scheme to suspend the importation of all 
 articles liable to the payment of imperial imposts. 
 It was there that began the opposition to the quarter- 
 ing of troops, and that the first collision with the 
 soldiers took place in the public streets. It was 
 there that, on a December eveniug of 1773, the ships 
 from- England were boarded by a party disguised as 
 • Indians> who broke open the tea-chests, and emptied 
 them into the bay, rather than allow their contents 
 to be subject to taxation. It was at Boston too, that, 
 when their port had been closed, and their charter 
 violated, the inhabitants entered into " a solemn 
 league and covenant" to renounce all intercourse with 
 Grreat Britain, until the colony should be restored 
 to the full enjoyment of its rights ; and, finally, it 
 was the self-constituted assembly of Massachusetts 
 that collected the military stores at Concord, the 
 attempt to seize which, on the part of the British, 
 led to the battle (or skirmish) of Lexington, and to 
 the first bloodshed of the revolutionary war. 
 
WASHINGTON. 5 
 
 But the other colonies had not been slow in fol- 
 lowing the example of New England. The merchants 
 of New York and Philadelphia had from the first 
 sympathized with Boston, and, although the interests 
 of the landed gentry of Virginia might be less directly 
 concerned, it no sooner became a matter of right and 
 honour (in the claim set up to tax them without 
 their own consent) than the pride of the Old Dominion, 
 as it was called, burst into sudden flame, and they 
 showed themselves quite as earnest in defence of 
 their privileges, as any of their ISTorthem brethren. 
 A plan was soon contrived, by means of "corre- 
 sponding committees," to keep up a regular communi- 
 cation between the different colonies, and to devise 
 measures for the advancement of the common cause. 
 This led, after a while, to the demand for a general 
 convention ; and, at length, in 1774, the Fiest Con- 
 gress assembled at Philadelphia. All the colonies, 
 excepting Georgia, were there represented by delegates, 
 and, from that time, the idea of .Union took posses- 
 sion of the more enthusiastic minds. " All America," 
 said Patrick Henry, the young orator of Virginia, 
 "is thrown into one mass — Where are your land- 
 marks, your boundaries of colonies ? They are all 
 thrown down. The distinctions between Virginians, 
 
6 WASHINGTON 
 
 Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders, 
 are no more ; I am not a Virginian, but an American. 
 
 It is certain that this First Congress contained 
 a great number of able, patriotic, and moderate 
 men, who laboured honestly and zealously to effect 
 an arrangement of the disputes with the mother- 
 Country, and to yindicate the rights of the colonies, 
 without violating their allegiance to the Crown of 
 Great Britain. "When your lordships," said Chat- 
 ham, addressing the Peers of England, " look at the 
 papers transmitted to us from America ; when you 
 consider their decency, firmness, and wisdom, you 
 cannot but respect their cause, and wish to make 
 it your own. For myself, I must declare and avow, 
 that, in the master-states of the world, I know not 
 the people, or senate, who, in such a complication 
 of difficult circumstances, can stand in preference 
 to the delegates of America assembled in General 
 Congress at Philadelphia." 
 
 But, in this as in all revolutions, events travelled 
 faster than the designs and wishes of men. Between 
 the meetiugs of the First and Second Congress (an 
 interval of only a few months) General Gage, the 
 British Governor of Massachusetts, had ordered the 
 seizure of the stores at Concord, the yeomanry had 
 
WASHINGTON. 7 
 
 resisted the soldiers, and the battle of Lexington 
 had been fought. Then aU the people of New 
 England at once flew to arms, and Boston was 
 invested by a volunteer force. The Congress, which 
 met at Philadelphia on the 10th of May, 1775, found 
 it no longer possible to confine their proceedings 
 within the legal boundaries of petition and remon- 
 strance. They had to put the colonies into a state 
 of defence, to sanction the raising of a provincial 
 army, and to appoint a commander-in-chief. On the 
 choice, they might make for this ofS.ce would pro- 
 bably depend the only chance of standing their 
 ground, with raw levies, and a half-trained militia, 
 against the disciplined troops of England. It was 
 their great good luck to select a general, whose rare 
 qualities best fitted him for the difficult task, while 
 his extraordinary virtue and moderation secured them 
 from aU danger at the hands of their soldier and 
 champion. 
 
 Geoege Washington (the commander of their 
 choice) was a gentleman of ancient family and in- 
 dependent fortune. His lineage could be traced 
 hack, in the old country, to Norman knights, who 
 had settled in the palatinate of Durham soon after 
 the Conquest, and to Cavaliers, who had distinguished 
 
8 WASHINGTON. 
 
 themselves in the King's cause in the CivU War ; 
 hut his immediate ancestors belonged to the landed 
 gentry of Virginia, and resided on their estates in 
 the hospitable fashion of that country. He lost his 
 father when only eleven years of age, and was left 
 to the care of an excellent mother, who brought up 
 her children with strict discipline, but warm affec- 
 tion, and inspired them with the highest sentiments 
 of integrity and honour. The instruction he received 
 in the ordinary schools of the colony appears to 
 have been of a very limited kind, and his literary 
 acquirements were at no time extensive; but he 
 early adopted habits of order and exactness, which 
 accompanied him through life, and were of the ut- 
 most value to him on many important occasions. 
 He seems to have learned most from intercourse 
 with his fellow-men, and he doubtless derived much 
 general information from his elder brother Lawrence, 
 who had been educated in England, had served with 
 distinction in the West Indies, and had taken part 
 in the attack on Carthagena, under Admiral Yernon 
 
 and General Wentworth. In physical exercises 
 
 such as running, leaping, wrestling, and riding — he 
 soon became a proficient, and many tales are related 
 of his boyish prowess. But what chiefly marked his 
 
"WASHINGTON 9 
 
 school-days (as it did all the rest of his career) was 
 that iaflexible sense of truth and justice, which com 
 manded universal respect and confidence, and made 
 him, even in his childhood, the chosen arbiter in every 
 juvenile dispute. 
 
 One of his neighbours, and the owner of immense 
 landed property in Virginia, was Thomas, Lord Fairfax, 
 an amiable, but eccentric English nobleman, whom a 
 disappointment in love had induced to abandon his 
 country, and to bury his rank and talents in the 
 wilds of America. He was a great foxhunter, and 
 his attention was probably first attracted to young 
 Washington, by the boy's skilful and daring horse- 
 manship. Be that as it may, he took him into his 
 special, favour, and being just then in want of a 
 bold and trustworthy agent, to whom he could 
 confide the diflicult and hazardous survey of his 
 vast possessions beyond the Blue Eidge, he selected 
 this youth of sixteen for the purpose. In the beau- 
 tiful Valley of the Shenandoah, then a wilderness, 
 only inhabited by wandering Indians, or lawless 
 backwoodsmen scarcely more civilized, Washington 
 acquired his first experience of enterprise and ad- 
 venture. He accomplished his task to the perfect 
 satisfaction of his employer, and through his iufluence 
 
10 WASHINGTOlir. 
 
 was appointed to the office of public surveyor. He 
 spent three or four years in expeditions of a similar 
 character, amongst all sorts of strange scenes and 
 people, and the knowledge he thus gained, as well 
 as the toils and hardships he surmounted, must have 
 tended to mature and strengthen him hoth in mind 
 and body. 
 
 But a struggle with France was at hand, for the 
 possession of the Valley of the Ohio, and Washing- 
 ton soon found employment in the military service 
 of the colony. In the wild, half Indian warfare 
 that followed, he acquitted himself with great credit, 
 rose to the rank of colonel, and, although not always 
 successful, received the thanks of the Virginia House 
 of Burgesses for his conduct. In the subsequent 
 campaign of 1755, when war had been regularly 
 declared, and troops had arrived from England, he 
 served as a volunteer on the staff of General 
 Braddock, and was present in the disastrous expe- 
 dition, in which that unfortimate veteran lost his Ufe. 
 It is said, that, if Washington's advice had been 
 listened to, the catastrophe would have been averted ; 
 but Braddock, though a good and brave soldier, had 
 been trained in the usages of European war, and was 
 too old to adapt himself to the new circumstances, in 
 
"WASHINGTON. 11 
 
 ■whicli he was so unexpectedly placed. He persisted 
 in marching into the desert, as he ■would have moved 
 an army on the great highways of Europe, encum- 
 bered with baggage and artOlery, and aU the equipage 
 of a camp. Too confident in the excellence of his 
 troops, he neglected the precautions which "Washing- 
 ton constantly urged upon him, and refused to throw 
 his scouts in advance, to explore the dangerous coun- 
 try before him. On the contrary, he marched forward 
 "as at a review in St. James's Park." The conse- 
 quence was a surprise, followed by a panic, and a 
 total rout. His grenadiers foimd themselves sud- 
 denly assailed by an unseen foe, who mowed down 
 their ranks from behind trees and bushes, and agaiast 
 whom their ordinary tactics were of no avail. In 
 vain they formed in close order, and attempted to 
 charge with bayonets — in vain the artiUery-men stood 
 for a while to their guns — in vain the officers rushed 
 to the front, and devoted themselves to certain death, 
 They were shot down one by one from the covert, 
 into which it was impossible to penetrate, whilst the 
 smoke of the rifles, and the horrid yells of the 
 Indians, alone indicated where the invisible enemy 
 lay hidden. The unhappy general, after having five 
 horses killed under him, was at length struck down 
 
12 WASHINGTON. 
 
 by a bullet, and was most unwillingly borne away 
 from the fatal field. He died four days after, over- 
 wbelmed with mortification and despair ; but in bis 
 last moments, with brave and honourable feeling, he 
 did justice to the sagacity of Washington, apologized 
 to him for having rejected his advice, and, if tradition 
 is to be believed, left his faithful servant, and his 
 favourite charger, to the care of the young American. 
 All through that disastrous fight, Washington had 
 done everything in the power of man to retrieve 
 the fortune of the day. He exposed himself to the 
 utmost danger ; two horses were shot under him, 
 and his coat was riddled with bullets ; but he escaped 
 unwounded. When he saw that all was lost, he 
 exerted himself to bring off the poor remains of the 
 shattered army, and then rode forty miles in search 
 of supplies and reinforcements. He returned in time 
 to the Great Meadows to receive the last words of 
 Braddock, and to read the funeral service over his 
 grave. He then continued the retreat, and reached 
 home ia safety; but the events of that brief cam- 
 paign left a deep impression on his mind, as well as 
 on the public opinion of the colonies. " It gave us 
 the first suspicion," says Franklin, " that our exalted 
 ideas of the prowess of British regular troops had 
 
WASHINGTON. IS 
 
 not been well founded." To "Washington, at least, it 
 taught the lesson, how such troops might best be en- 
 countered by an army of bush-rangers and volunteers. 
 
 During the rest of the war with France, he was 
 intrusted, though still very young, with the com- 
 mand of the militia of his native colony, and 
 rendered many important services, the last of which 
 was the capture of Fort Duquesne on the Ohio. 
 But the national struggle was now nearly at an end. 
 The victory on the Plains of Abraham, so dearly 
 purchased by the blood of the gallant Wolfe, was 
 immediately followed by the surrender of Quebec, 
 and subsequently by the capitulation of Montreal 
 and all Canada. The French dominion was destroyed 
 on the Continent of America, and the supremacy 
 of England in those regions appeared to be for 
 ever established. 
 
 Then Washington retired to the privacy of do- 
 mestic life. During his late campaigns, he had, 
 whilst halting at the house of a Virginian gentle- 
 man, made the acquaintance of a charming young 
 widow, named Martha Custis, and seems to have at 
 once fallen in love with her. They were soon after 
 engaged, and, on his return from the reduction of 
 Fort Duquesne, they contracted a marriage, which 
 
14 WASHINGTON. 
 
 proved a very happy one. Although their union was 
 not blessed with offspring, the lady had two children 
 by her first marriage, and on thenj Washington 
 bestowed the fondest paternal care. He was now 
 twenty-seven years of age ; he had seen enough 
 of war and adventure ; and his sole wish was to 
 settle down quietly on his estate, to devote himself 
 chiefly to agricultural pursuits, and to lead a tran- 
 quil and useful life in the society of his friends and 
 neighbours. He fixed his abode at the beautiful 
 seat of Mount VeenoNj on the banks of the 
 Potomac, once the favourite residence of that 
 brother Lawrence, from whom he had learned so 
 much in his youth, and whose early death he had 
 since mourned with a true and deep affection. 
 There, in the midst of the woods and bill s, with 
 a noble river washing the borders of his land, pos-. 
 sessed of an ample fortune, already honourably dis- 
 tinguished amongst his countrymen, and with a mind 
 too healtby to cherish idle dreams of ambition, he 
 hoped to spend in peace the fruitful and prosperous 
 yearSi He little knew the work that was prepared 
 for him — the toils he was to undergo, the perils he was 
 to encounter, the glory he was ultimately to achieve. 
 It should not be forgotten by those who have been 
 
WASHINGTON. 15 
 
 accustomed to associate nothing but rude images of 
 democracy with their idea of the American Eepublic, 
 that its chief founder was truly and essentially what 
 in England we term a gentleman, and what some 
 people would call an aristocrat. Not only by birth 
 and fortune, but by tastes, habits, opinions, and 
 character, he belonged to a privileged class, and all 
 the descriptions we have of him leave the strong 
 impression,- that personally he much resembled an 
 Englishman of the higher ranks. The calm, un- 
 ruffled bearing, so dignified and seK-sustained — the 
 reserved, and somewhat stately manners, yet full of 
 real kindness and old-fashioned courtesy — the plain, 
 but handsome dress, always suitable to the time and 
 occasion — ^the utmost simplicity in' his own mode of 
 living, combined with a princely style of house- 
 keeping, and the largest hospitality to strangers — ■ 
 even the passion for field-sports, and the love of 
 dogs and horses — all show a famUy-likeness to his 
 English ancestry. He was much beloved by his 
 servants, whom he regarded almost as his children, 
 but from whom he always exacted respect and 
 obedience. He was himself an early riser, would 
 often light his own fire, and was content with the 
 most frugal fare ; but he gave great banquets tc 
 
1 6 -WASHINGTON. 
 
 the neiglibouring gentry, had his chariot-and-four 
 with rich liveries for Mrs. "Washington and her' 
 visitors, and kept his barge on the Potomac, rowed 
 by negroes in check shirts and velvet caps. Eegnlar 
 and systematic in all his transactions, he expected 
 the same punctuality from others, and whilst he 
 treated his guests of every degree with a natural 
 and cordial politeness, which put them perfectly at 
 ease, there was that about him which forbade in- 
 trusion, and checked all undue familiarity. It may 
 astonish some of our Eeformers to learn, that he was 
 a strict preserver of game ; and once, when a sturdy 
 poacher had been making sad havoc on the banks of 
 the river, Washington pursued him into the water, 
 dragged him and his canoe to the shore, wrested from 
 him the gun with which he was armed, and inflicted 
 such personal chastisement, as deterred hiTin from 
 again trespassing in those quarters. It is also 
 amusing to find that Washington was at this time 
 fond of dancing, and, although grave and ceremonious 
 as Sir Charles Grandison, a popular partner with the 
 fair sex. And whilst he thus cultivated the social 
 pleasures at Mount Vernon, he performed the duties 
 of a magistrate with much zeal and judgment, attended 
 the House of Burgesses of which he had been elected 
 
■WASHINGTON. 17 
 
 a member, and managed the affairs of his estate with 
 husiness-like accuracy and despatch. And when to 
 all this it is added, that he had been bred up as a 
 loyal subject of the Crown, and a devout member of 
 the Church of England, and that he was at all times 
 remarkable for the moderation and sobriety of his 
 views, it is obvious that such a man must have felt 
 many painful misgivings, before he consented to 
 embark on the stormy sea of revolution. 
 
 The truth is, that Washington, along with many 
 other wise and good men, most earnestly desired to 
 prevent the disputes with England from coming to 
 extremity. It must be remembered that no less 
 than fourteen years elapsed, between the first resist- 
 ance of Boston to the sugar-duties, and the first 
 meeting of Congress at Philadelphia. During that 
 long period of suspense, innumerable efforts were 
 made to effect a reconciliation with the mother- 
 country, and no one was more anxious than 
 Washington for the success of these endeavours. 
 It was only slowly and gradually that he became 
 convinced of the hopelessness of any satisfactory 
 arrangement, and even then he hesitated, before 
 counselling an appeal to arms. But when once 
 blood had been shed, and he saw his native land 
 
 c 
 
18 "WASHINGTON. 
 
 fairly committed to the contest, he resolved, with 
 whatever reluctance and sorrow of heart, to take 
 his full share in the dangers and responsibilities of 
 the crisis. No thought of the peaceful years he 
 had spent on the banks of the Potomac — of the 
 wife, and friends, and much-loved home, a,nd genial 
 pursuits and prosperous fortune, which must now 
 all be risked on the hazard of a die — could hold 
 him back for a moment from what he considered 
 the call of honour and duty. "Unhappy it is to 
 reflect," he writes, " that a brother's sword has been 
 sheathed .in a brother's breast, and that the once 
 happy and peaceful plains of America are to be 
 either drenched with blood, or inhabited by slaves. 
 Sad alternative ! But can a virtuous man hesitate 
 in his choice ? " 
 
 It was in this mood that he joined the Congress 
 of 1775. When the time came to appoint a com- 
 mander-in-chief, many eyes were turned upon him, 
 as the person whose high character and mUitary 
 experience entitled him to the first claim. Difficulties 
 aro^, however, from the jealousy which even then 
 liad arisen amongst the colonies, and from the un- 
 willingness of New England to confide the army to 
 a Virginian. It would seem that John Adams, of 
 
WASHINGTON. 19 
 
 Massachusetts, had the merit of deciding the Con- 
 gress on this memorable occasion ; and if so, it was 
 the most important of all the services he rendered 
 to his country. The dissentient members were per- 
 suaded to withdraw their opposition, and Washington 
 was unanimously elected to the command. He 
 accepted it on the sole condition, that he was not to 
 receive any pay or emolument. " I beg leave to 
 assure the Congress," he said, " that, as no pecuniary 
 consideration could have tempted me to accept this 
 arduous employment at the expense of my domestic 
 ease and happiness, I do not wish to make any 
 profit of it. I will keep an exact account of my 
 expenses. Those, I doubt not, they will discharge, 
 and that is all I desire." 
 
 Washington was now forty-three years of age, taU 
 and handsome, majestic in deportment, and fuU of 
 manly vigour. When he appeared on horseback, 
 every one was struck with his martial air and 
 carriage. The long interval of repose at Mount 
 Vernon had in no way diminished his aptitude for 
 military affairs, and he set about his arrangements 
 with a promptness and decision, which astonished 
 the few veterans with whom he was brought in 
 contact. Amongst these was General Charles Lee, 
 c 2 
 
20 WASHINGTON. 
 
 an English soldier of fortune, who had spent his life 
 in camps, and engaged in a variety of adventures. 
 Having served his own country in both hemispheres, 
 and being discontented with his promotion, he had 
 visited first the court of Frederick the Great, and 
 then that of Stanislaus Augustus, obtained employ- 
 ment in the Polish army, held a command of Cossacks 
 in the war between Eussia and Turkey, and otherwise 
 distinguished himself in different parts of Europe. 
 Eestless and dissatisfied, he now offered his sword to 
 the Americans, and was appointed to the rank o-f 
 major-general. His colleagues were Artemas "Ward 
 a native of Massachusetts, who had served under 
 Abercrombie in the Erench war; Philip Schuyler, 
 a member of one of the oldest Dutch families of New 
 York, who had gained his experience in the same 
 school ; and Israel Putnam, of Connecticut, who was 
 well versed in all the devices of Indian strategy. 
 At Washington's request, the post of adjutant-general 
 was bestowed on Horatio Gates, an English ex-major 
 settled in Virginia, with whom he had formed an 
 acquaintance in Braddock's fatal campaign, and who 
 like Lee, provoked by what he considered the neglect 
 of his merits, was prepared to turn his arms against 
 the land of his birth. 
 
WASHINGTON. 21 
 
 ■Whilst the American Congress was thus occupied 
 in organizing an army, large reiaforcements , had 
 arrived at Boston from England, under the command 
 of Generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton. The in- 
 vesting force, on the other hand, composed of the 
 Massachusetts levies and of volunteers from New 
 Hampshire, Ehode Island, and Connecticut, at- 
 tempted to seize the neighbouring heights, and to 
 intrench themselves in that position. This led to 
 the battle of Bunker's Hill, in which the American 
 yeomanry first showed that they could contend with 
 British soldiers more equally than had been antici- 
 pated ; for, although they were ultimately dislodged, 
 and their works carried with the bayonet, it was only 
 after hours of hard fightiug, and when they had 
 repulsed repeated attacks, with serious loss to the 
 enemy. The news of this battle reached Washing- 
 ton on his way to the camp, and when, in answer to 
 his eager inquiries, he was informed that the volun- 
 teers had stood their ground without flinching, sus- 
 taiued the fire of the English, and reserved their own 
 until they could deliver it at close quarters, he gave 
 a sigh of relief, and eicclaimed : " The liberties of the 
 country are safe!" 
 
 It is no part of the plan of the present work to 
 
22 WASHINGTON. 
 
 enter into the details of the American War of Inde- 
 pendence. It will, therefore, be enough to state in 
 general terms, that, when Washington arrived before 
 Boston, he found an army, brave indeed, and full of 
 enthusiasm, but half clad, ill-provided, inef&ciently 
 armed, and almost wholly undisciplined. One of 
 the first discoveries he made was, that there were 
 but thirty-two barrels of gunpowder in store, and 
 that nearly his whole stock of ammunition was con- 
 tained in the cartridge-boxes of the men. He had 
 to bring order out of chaos ; to reduce a mixed and 
 intractable multitude to subordination ; to clothe and 
 arm them, and supply, them with everythiag they 
 required ; to create a commissariat and military 
 chest ; and, finally, to instruct his officers in their 
 several duties, to obtain for them the respect of the 
 troops, and to inspire them with confidence in him- 
 self. Ifo less powerful intellect, no less resolute will, 
 would have sufficed for the task. He was aided in 
 it by an excellent soldier, whose friendship he at 
 this time acquired, and whose faithful and valuable 
 services continued through aU the worst periods of 
 the war. This was Nathaniel Greene, of Ehode 
 Island, who, although the son of a Quaker miller, 
 had early applied himself to the study of military 
 
WASHINGTON. 23 
 
 tactics, had become a self-taught master of the art, 
 and, having taken great pains to discipline the militia 
 of his native colony, had brought to the lines 
 before Boston the best-trained corps in the army. 
 He was now a brigadier-general, and was soon 
 selected by Washington for one of his most trusted 
 advisers. 
 
 The siege of Boston lasted nearly a year, with 
 various fortune. But all the efforts of the British 
 failed in breaking the net which Washington had 
 cast around them, and at length, in March, 1776, 
 the Americans obtained and held possession of Dor- 
 chester Heights, which commanded a large portion 
 of the town and harbour. Through the exertions of 
 Henry Kjqox, an artiUery-ofacer, who was destined 
 hereafter to play a distinguished part, they had been 
 supplied with mortars and heavy cannon, as well as 
 powder and shot, and were now in a condition to 
 bombard the place, and render it untenable by the 
 enemy. Under these cu-cimistances. General Howe 
 resolved to evacuate the town, and to embark his 
 soldiers on board the fleet, threatening to destroy 
 Boston if he were molested in. his departure. Wash- 
 ington was too wise to afford him any pretext for 
 executing this menace, and contented himself with 
 
24 WASHINGTON. 
 
 closely following on his retreat, and immediately 
 securing the abandoned works. The next day, he 
 entered Boston in triumph ; and it was soon noised 
 abroad, through Europe as well as America, that an 
 army of husbandmen, led by militia-of&cers, had 
 beaten the choice troops and veteran generals of 
 Great Britain, and forced them to surrender the 
 place which had been the first cause of the war. 
 Every one was loud in praise of "Washington, the 
 Congress voted unanimously their thanks for his 
 services, and a gold medal was struck in his honour. 
 But he knew better than most men, that the real 
 struggle was only then beginning, and that the time 
 for congratulations and rejoicings was yet far distant. 
 General Howe had sailed for Halifax; but it was 
 merely to await the arrival of his brother. Admiral 
 Lord Howe, who was on his way from England with 
 a fleet and strong reinforcements. It was impossible 
 to say where the next blow would fall. Washington 
 could only guess ; but his prescient sagacity told 
 Hm, that it was of the utmost importance to secure 
 New York and the Hudson. Thither he hastened, 
 with whatever troops could be spared from the other 
 points of danger, and proceeded at once to fortify 
 the approaches to the city and river. It was not 
 
WASHINGTON. 25 
 
 long before the event proved the correctness of his 
 judgment. 
 
 And now, having introduced the great central 
 figure, which necessarily overshadows every other 
 name in American history, it is time to turn to the 
 more immediate subject of the present narrative. 
 
CHAPTEE II* 
 
 THE YOUNG VOLUNTEEE. 
 
 ONE day, while Washington was preparing for 
 the defence of New York, his friend, General 
 Greene, on his way to head-quarters, had occasion 
 to pass through a field where some volunteers were 
 at drill. His attention was at once attracted by a 
 company of artillery, which seemed to be handled 
 with unusual skill by its commander — a mere boy, 
 small in stature, and of slender frame, but rapid in 
 all his movements, and with an air of remarkable 
 intelligence. The general stopped to speak to him, 
 and was convinced, by a few words of conversation, 
 that he had met with a youth of no ordinary 
 abilities. He desired to cultivate his acquaintance, 
 and made some inquiries about him. He was told 
 that the name of the young captain was Alexander 
 Hamilton, and that he was a student of King's 
 College. 
 
THE YOUNG VOLUNTEER. 27 
 
 Already in his short life (for he was only nineteen 
 years of age) Hamilton had seen some notable 
 changes of fortune. Born in the West Indies, on 
 the 11th of January, 1757 — a native of the mountain- 
 island of .Nevis, one of the many rich and fair pos- 
 sessions of the British Crown — he spent his childhood 
 amid the luxuriant beauty and balmy air of the 
 tropics. Yet he had early known poverty and priva- 
 tion. His father was a Scottish gentleman, descended 
 from a branch of the great house of Hamilton, 
 which plays so ^tiaguished a part both in history 
 and romance ; but, being a younger son, and having 
 embraced the profession of a merchant, he had emi- 
 grated to the "West Indies in search of wealth. 
 There he had married a lady of the name of Faucette, 
 a member of one of those Huguenot families, who, 
 banished from France by the revocation of the Edict 
 of Nantes, carried their virtues and their love of free- 
 dom to happier climes, and have been the progenitors 
 of so many illustrious men. Alexander was the only 
 child of this marriage that survived to maturity; and, 
 while yet of a very tender age, the death of his mother, 
 and the rmn of his father through commercial specu- 
 lations, left him entirely dependent on friends for 
 support and education. He was removed to the 
 
28 THE YOUNG VOLUNTEER. 
 
 island of Santa Cruz, where some of Ms mother's 
 relations afforded him such elementary instruction as 
 lay within their reach ; and, when only twelve years 
 old, he was placed as a clerk in the counting-house 
 of Mr. Nicholas Cruger, an opulent merchant. He 
 disliked the employment, and sighed for leisure to 
 engage in more congenial studies ; yet he showed 
 such capacity for business, that, before he had com- 
 pleted his fourteenth year, the head of the firm could 
 leave him in sole charge of the establishment during 
 a temporary absence. He found time, moreover, to 
 cultivate mathematics and chemistry, to improve his 
 knowledge by general reading, and to form his style 
 by the practice of composition. An accoimt, which 
 appeared in a newspaper, of the terrific hurricane 
 that desolated the Leeward Islands, in 1772, attracted 
 universal notice by its literary merit, and was traced 
 to the pen of the youthful Hamilton, It was thought 
 a pity that so much natural talent should not be 
 developed by education, and it was resolved to with- 
 draw him from the counting-house, and to send him 
 to pursue his studies at New York. Had that tem- 
 pest not raged, and that article not been written, a 
 great name would probably have been wanting in the 
 history of the United States. 
 
THE YOUNG VOLUNTEER. 29 
 
 Provided with the necessary funds, and with letters 
 of introduction to persons of repute, Hamilton em- 
 harked on board a vessel, which was nfearly destroyed 
 by lire on the voyage to Boston. He arrived there, 
 however, in safety, and proceeded thence to his place 
 of destination. Having delivered his credentials, 
 he soon found friends to interest themselves in his 
 welfare, and, acting by their advice, he first entered 
 a grammar-school at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and 
 then, after about a year's preparation, became a 
 member of Eang's College, New York. This was an 
 institution chartered by George II. "with the good 
 design of promoting a liberal education, and to make 
 the same as beneficial as may be," not only to the 
 inhabitants of the province, " but to all our colonies 
 and territories in America." And here the young 
 student was, for the first time, surrounded by an 
 atmosphere suitable to his tastes and powers. He 
 worked hard at the college-course, easily mastered 
 all the ordinary exercises, and soon added the study 
 of anatomy, having then some intention of adopting 
 the profession of medicine. He distinguished him- 
 self as a speaker at the local debating-club, wrote 
 serious poetry, as well as doggerel verses of a satirical 
 character, and, while he acquired a high reputation 
 
."fl • THE YOUNG VOLUNTEEE. 
 
 for ability, he was extremely popular with his fellow- 
 students, and generally regarded as a lively and 
 pleasant companion. It is stated on the authority 
 of the friend who shared his room, that he was also 
 very regular in his rehgious observances, not only 
 attending public worship, but always praying on his 
 knees night and morning — a habit which was pro- 
 bably rare with the young men of his age. The 
 same friend relates, that Hamilton's firm belief in 
 the truths of Christianity, and the eloquent and 
 weighty arguments he advanced in their favour, 
 greatly tended to confirm his own wavering faith. 
 
 But the political differences, which had arisen 
 between the colonies and the mother-country, were 
 now becoming a subject of universal interest, and 
 drew off the minds of men from every other question. 
 It was natural, that a youth like Hamilton, at an 
 age when the boyish imagination is so readily kindled 
 at the name of liberty, should be an enthusiastic 
 champion of the popular cause. In this, he no 
 doubt resembled the majority of his fellow-col- 
 legians. But what was peculiar to himself was the 
 skill, the force, and the judgment, with which he 
 defended his position. At an open-air meeting in 
 New York, he had attended to hear the speakers ; 
 
THE YOUNG VOLtTNTEEE. 31 
 
 when, suddenly impressed with the conviction, that 
 they had left the most important points untouched, 
 this unknown stripling of seventeen presented him- 
 self to the assembly, and proceeded to address them 
 in a strain of impremeditated eloquence. For a 
 short time, he seemed to be somewhat embarrassed by 
 his novel situation; but, risiag gradually with his 
 theme, he astonished his audience by the origin- 
 ality of his views, the cogency of his arguments, and 
 the manly style of his oratory. Not long after, an 
 attack appeared upon Congress, under the signature 
 of a Westchester Farmer, and in answer to this and a 
 subsequent publication, Hamilton (now just eighteen) 
 wrote two pamphlets of such remarkable power, that 
 they were at once ascribed to some of the leading 
 men in the colonies, and people long refused to 
 believe, that works of so much merit were the 
 unaided productions of the young inexperienced 
 "West Indian. Yet, decided as were his opinions, and 
 strenuous his exertions, on the side of the revolu- 
 tionary movement, he had already learned to temper 
 his zeal with a wise forbearance, and never to lose sight 
 of the paramount duties of humanity and justice. 
 When an excited mob attempted to seize the person of 
 Dr. Cooper, the loyal president of King's College, 
 
32 THE YOUNG VOLUNTBEK. 
 
 Hamilton threw himself between them and their 
 intended victim, and gave the worthy clergyman 
 time to escape; and when the house of a Tory 
 piiaterhad been assailed and riiled, it was Hamilton 
 who first denounced this outrage on the liberty of 
 the press, and called on the citizens to pursue and 
 arrest the plunderers. It would have been well for 
 America, if her advocates of popular rights had 
 always been equally fearless in resisting popular 
 violence. 
 
 As the prospect of war became more imminent, the 
 young orator and pamphleteer determined to fit him- 
 self for a soldier. In him there was none of that 
 idle kind of enthusiasm, which thinks to attain the 
 end' while neglecting the means. He at once set re- 
 solutely to work to study fortification, giumery, and 
 the various branches of the military art, besides 
 devoting much time to martial exercises and the 
 practice of arms ; so that, when a volunteer force was 
 raised at New York, he readily obtained the command 
 of a company of artillery. It was here, that, as before 
 mentioned, he attracted the attention of General 
 Greene, who invited him to his quarters, treated him 
 with marked kindness, and soon recommended him 
 to the notice of Washington. But some little time 
 
THE YOUNG VOLUNTEER. 33 
 
 elapsed before he was brought into personal relations 
 with his illustrious chief. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Congress had taken the final step 
 in the process of separating from England. Even 
 after the war had begun, many had continued to 
 believe in the possibility of an accommodation, and 
 it was only after long debate and doubt, that the 
 representatives of America determined to commit 
 themselves irrevocably to the policy of independence. 
 It was Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, who was com- 
 missioned to prepare the important document, that 
 was to proclaim to the world the termination of the 
 old sovereignty. " "When," runs this celebrated mani^ 
 festo, "in the course of human events, it becomes 
 necessary for one people to dissolve the political 
 bands which have connected them with another, and 
 to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate 
 and equal station, to which the laws of Nature and 
 of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the 
 opinions of mankind requires, that they should declare 
 the causes which impel them to the separation." It 
 then proceeds to enumerate the rights, which it sup-, 
 poses Great Britain to have violated, and to describe 
 the fruitless endeavours of the colonies to obtain 
 redress ; and it concludes by solemnly declaring "that 
 
 D 
 
34 THE YOUNG VOLUNTEEE. 
 
 these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, 
 FEEE AND INDEPENDENT STATES ; that they are absolved 
 from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that aU 
 political connexion between them and the state of 
 Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved ; 
 and that, as free and independent states, they have 
 fuU power to levy war, conclude peace, contract 
 alliances, establEsh commerce, and do aU other acts 
 and things which independent states may of right do." 
 The Declaration of Independence was adopted on 
 the 4th of July, 1776, and the anniversary has ever 
 since been commemorated by Americans with great 
 rejoicings in all parts of the world. They have more 
 than fulfilled the prediction of John Adams, who 
 believed that it would be solemnized "with pomp 
 and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, beUs, 
 bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this 
 continent to the other, from this time forth for ever- 
 more." Unhappily, they have too often forgotten, in 
 the hour of prosperity and success, the sober and 
 earnest spirit with which their fathers devoted to 
 the common cause "their lives, their fortunes, and 
 their sacred honour." They have needed the calm 
 self-control of a Washington to restrain the exu- 
 berance of their exultation ; even as, on the first 
 
THE YOUNG VOLUNTEEE. 35 
 
 appearance of tliat world-famous docmnent, he re- 
 buked his soldiers for indillgiag ia unseemly and 
 riotous demonstrations. "The General hopes and 
 trusts," he wrote, "that every of&cer and man will 
 endeavour so to live and act, as becomes a Christian 
 soldier, defending the dearest rights and liberties of 
 his country." 
 
 And, indeed, it was no time for any kind of 
 rejoicing. Scarcely had the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence been published, when the storm of war burst 
 with redoubled violence on the shores of America. 
 A British fleet forced the entrance of the Hudson, 
 a British army landed on Long Island, and, after a 
 disastrous battle, and a retreat under cover of a fog, 
 Washington was compelled to abandon New York, 
 and to faU back upon the heights of Harlem. It 
 was there that, while fortifying his camp and going 
 his round of inspection, he was struck with the 
 skilful construction of some earthworks by a young 
 officer of artillery. He entered into conversation 
 with him, and found it was the same Alexander 
 Hamilton, to whom General Greene had already 
 directed his attention. The chief invited the youth- 
 ful engineer to his tent, and soon discovered how 
 many rare qualities were united in his person. From 
 D 2 
 
36 THE YOUNG VOLUNTEER, 
 
 that moment dates the long intimacy which was 
 destined to exercise so marked an influence on the. 
 fortunes of the future republic. 
 
 It had become apparent, that the Americans were 
 not yet in a situation, either by numbers or discipline, 
 to contend successfully with the enemy in the open 
 field, and that their true policy was to hold him in 
 check, or draw him on in detachments, as circum- 
 stances might suggest, and to take advantage of their 
 superior knowledge of the country, to harass and 
 perplex him, without risking a general engagement. 
 This cautious policy, which was often attacked and 
 sneered at, until it was justified by the results, was 
 now adopted by Washington, and acquired for him 
 the name of the American Fabius. As the enemy 
 advanced, he retreated to White Plains, and it was 
 here that Hamilton first had the opportunity of 
 distinguishing himself in action. With two field- 
 pieces, planted on a ledge of rock, he had the honour 
 of offering an obstinate resistance to a large force 
 of British and Hessians, and, although ultimately 
 driven from his position, excited the admiration of 
 the whole army, by his cool courage, and the pre^ 
 cision and steadiness of his fire. In the subsequent 
 winter-campaign (one of the most critical of the 
 
THE YOUNG VOLUNTEEE. 37 
 
 •war) — ill which Washington had to retreat from post 
 to post, and river to river, with his ragged and 
 weather-beaten troops often exposed to the extremity 
 of cold and hunger, and supposed to be on the eve 
 of total destruction, till he turned suddenly on the 
 enemy, and gained the battle of Trenton — ^the conduct 
 of Hamilton, on every occasion of difficulty and 
 danger, confirmed and fully established his high 
 military reputation, and earned for him from his 
 comrades in arms the epithet of the Little Lion. 
 Two descriptions of his personal appearance at this 
 time remain on record, and may not be uninteresting 
 to the reader. 
 
 " Well do I recoUect the day," says one, " when 
 Hamilton's company marched into Princeton. It 
 was a model of discipline ; at its head was a boy, 
 and I wondered at his youth; but what was my 
 surprise, when, struck with his slight figure, he was 
 pointed out to me as that Hamilton, of whom we 
 had already heard so much ! " 
 
 " I noticed," says another veteran, speaking of the 
 retreat through the Jerseys, " a youth, a mere strip- 
 ling, small, slender, almost delicate in frame, marchiag 
 beside a piece of artillery, with a cocked hat pulled 
 down over his eyes, apparently lost in thought, with 
 
38 THE YOUNG VOLUNTEER. 
 
 his hand resting on the cannon, and every now and 
 then patting it as he mused, as if it were a favourite 
 horse, or a pet plaything." 
 
 It was this campaign, which enabled Hamilton not 
 only to prove his own merits as a soldier, but also 
 to form a true estimate of the character of his chief 
 He saw him contending with every variety of peril 
 and annoyance, not the least of which was the ill- 
 concealed envy of some of his principal officers. 
 Already, a party had arisen, to oppose and thwart 
 the designs of the great leader, on whose genius and 
 virtue depended the safety of America. Already, it 
 was whispered in the camp, that retreating was the 
 fashion, and that the frequent changes of position 
 were the result of indecision of mind. An attempt 
 was made to set up a rival, in the person of General 
 Charles Lee, whose rashness and obstinacy soon after 
 led to his own capture by the enemy. Washington 
 had the mortification of knowing, that some of those 
 in whom he had placed unlimited confidence, were 
 engaged in these unworthy intrigues, and, although 
 nothing could shake his calm resolution and mag- 
 nanimity, he was yet deeply sensitive to the treachery 
 and unkindness of friends. Through all this period 
 of trial, Hamilton seems to have taken the side of 
 
THE YOUNG TOLUNTEEE. 39 
 
 his general, ahd, notwithstanding his youth, he had 
 no douht considerahle influence with his companions 
 in the service. Of the campaign itself he has left 
 his testimony, that it presented the striking spectacle 
 of a powerful enemy, "straitened within narrow 
 limits by the phantom of a military force, and never 
 permitted to transgress those limits with impunity " 
 — and that, throughout that memorable winter, " skUl 
 supplied the place of means, and disposition was the 
 substitute for an army." 
 
 In the early part of 1777, when the American 
 head-quarters were fixed at Morristown, and Hamil- 
 ton's little company had been reduced, by the vicissi- 
 tudes of the war, to twenty-five men only, he received 
 an invitation from Washington to join the staff. 
 Having accepted the offer, he was appointed aide-de- 
 camp, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and, 
 although he found older and more experienced of&cers 
 in the military family of the chief, he soon became 
 the most valued and trusted of them aU. It is 
 greatly to their credit and his, that no jealousy or 
 ill-temper seems ever to have disturbed his inter- 
 course vsdth his fellows. From the first, his popular 
 manners made Tiitti a favourite with the other members 
 of the staff; and Colonel Harrison in particular, who 
 
40 THE YOUNG VOLUNTEEE. 
 
 was known as the Old Secretary, at once gave him 
 his friendship, and treated him with unfaUing and 
 almost paternal kindness. "Washington himself ad- 
 mitted him to the closest intimacy, and nothing can 
 be more indicative of the terms on which Hamilton 
 was with his commander, than the fact, that the 
 latter used often to address him by the endearing 
 appellation of " My Boy !" 
 
 The duties of an aide-de-camp must vary inde- 
 finitely with various circumstances. In some cases, 
 during intervals of quiet, they amount to little more 
 than assisting the general in his hospitalities and 
 social relations. In others, they consist of confi- 
 dential services, on which may depend the event of 
 a battle, or the safety of a state. In the present 
 instance, what Washington chiefly required was the 
 pen of a ready writer, to aid in his multifarious and 
 important correspondence. He had to be in constant 
 communication, not only with the Congress, whose 
 commission he held, but with the authorities of the 
 different States, from which his army was recruited — 
 with his own ofiicers, frequently at a distance from 
 head-quarters — ^with the English generals, on matters 
 of exchange, treatment of prisoners, and the like — 
 and, at a later period, with military allies, and the 
 
THE YOUNG VOLUNTEER. 41 
 
 ■representatives of foreign governments. He made 
 no pretension to literary skill, and, although what he 
 "wrote was always sensible and to the purpose, he 
 was too nobly modest and ingenuous, not to be 
 conscious of a certain deficiency in- style. Besides, 
 the labours of his high post were so many and 
 onerous, its responsibilities so pressing, as to render 
 it impossible, that he should give much time to the 
 composition of letters and papers. It was, therefore, 
 of the utmost moment, that he should have a 
 Secretary gifted with the necessary talents, and on 
 whose judgment and integrity he could place full 
 reliance. The first, who had served him in that 
 capacity — Colonel Joseph Eeed — had left him for 
 other employment in the army ; Colonel Harrison, 
 a true and good man of average ability, had not 
 sufficient grasp of mind, to take in at one view a 
 vast diversity of matter ; and in Hamilton alone was 
 found that singular mixture of genius and industry 
 which fitted him to render the exact assistance 
 required. Quick in seizing ideas, patient in masteriag 
 details, endowed with lucid clearness of thought, 
 and rich in the resources of language, he was emi- 
 nently suited to interpret between Washington and 
 the world. It would now be xiseless to attempt to 
 
42 THE YOUNG VOLUNTEER. 
 
 discriminate what were the several shares of the 
 general and his aide-de-camp, in the preparation of 
 the state-papers which issued from the head-quarters 
 of the American army ; but it is no disparagement 
 to the glory of the great commander to say, that the 
 hand of Hamilton is visible throughout these de- 
 spatches ; and there is good reason to believe, that 
 not only the finished documents, but often the rough 
 drafts, and the first conception, were entirely his 
 own. It was no light charge to intrust to a youth 
 of twenty, and the manner, in which he accomplished 
 the work, is not among the least of his titles to 
 lasting and honourable fame. 
 
CHAPTEE III 
 
 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 SOME time before Hamilton joiaed the staff, 
 ■Washington had thus addressed the Congress : 
 — " I give in to no kind of amusements myself, and 
 consequently those about me can have none, but are 
 confined from morning tiO. evening hearing and 
 answering the applications and letters of one and 
 another, which will now, I expect, receive a con- 
 siderable addition ; as the business of the Northern 
 and Eastern departments, if I continue here, must, I 
 suppose, pass through my hands. If these gentlemen 
 had the same relaxation from duty as other officers 
 have in their common routine, there woiild not be so 
 much in it ; but to have the mind always upon the 
 stretch, scarce ever unbent, and no hours for recrea- 
 tion, makes a material odds. Knowing this, and at 
 the same time how inadequate the pay is, I can scarce 
 find inclination to impose the necessary duties of their 
 office upon them." 
 
44 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 Plenty of work, therefore, was waiting for the pen 
 of Hamilton, and scarcely was he installed in his 
 of&ce, when he had to conduct a most important 
 correspondence on the subject of the treatment of 
 prisoners. At first, England had naturally claimed 
 to regard the Americans as rebels, who, when taken 
 in arms, must be entirely dependent on the mercy 
 of their captors. But, as the war continued, both 
 humanity and self-interest called for a modification 
 of these views. Washington had always insisted 
 that the prisoners taken by either party should be 
 placed on a footing of perfect equality, and had 
 threatened retaliation for any breach of the ordinary 
 customs of war. In Admiral Lord Howe and his 
 brother. General Sir William Howe, he had found 
 courteous and high-minded opponents, anxious to 
 avoid unnecessary harshness, and to mitigate the 
 evils inherent in such a conte^. Yet many points 
 of difference had arisen, and it was long before the 
 belligerents came to a perfect understanding on these 
 and similar questions. Hamilton now took up the 
 thread of the negotiation, with the special design of 
 promoting an early exchange of prisoners ; and it 
 was admitted on all hands that his letters were 
 models of good sense, moderation, and dignity. 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP.. 45 
 
 Even where they failed in attaining their immediate 
 object, they commanded the respect of friends and 
 enemies, and raised the American character in the 
 eye* )f the world. 
 
 Hamilton was next employed in writing instruc- 
 tions to the different generals for the ensuing cam- 
 paign, and in communicating the commander's plans 
 and wishes to Congress and the State governments. 
 He had to combat many fears and objections, and 
 especially to insist on the necessity of keeping up 
 the army, and furnishing it with supplies. He had 
 moreover to contend with the intrigues which were 
 constantly undermining "Washington's influence, and 
 interfering with his conduct of the war. The rivalry 
 between States, and the jealousy of particular officers, 
 often showed themselves in a manner dangerous to 
 the common cause, and Washington's recommenda- 
 tions were too frequently neglected or over-ruled. 
 It was agaiast his opinion that General Gates (who 
 had originally owed his place in the army to 
 Washington's favour) was now put forward in oppo- 
 sition to the brave and chivalrous General Schuyler, 
 and ultimately superseded him in the command of 
 the Northern division. Yet, while his advice was 
 thus set at nought, the patriot-hero had to compose 
 
46 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 the feuds occasioned by the disregard of his counsels, 
 and to repair the mischief which he had vainly 
 endeavoured to prevent. In all this he found 
 Hamilton's services of the utmost value, and the 
 wisdom and magnanimity of the chief never appear 
 to greater advantage, than when they take form and 
 substance in the words of the Young Secretary. 
 
 But the time for action was again approaching. 
 Philadelphia was menaced by the enemy, and, 
 however unwilling to risk a general engagement, 
 Washington felt that he must strike a blow in 
 defence of the capital. Accordingly, he fought the 
 battle of the Brandywine, and, after a severe struggle, 
 was defeated, and compelled to abandon the city to 
 its fate. Congress adjourned to Lancaster, having 
 first invested Washington with extraordinary powers 
 for the emergency; and, before the English arrived 
 at Philadelphia, Hamilton was despatched thither 
 to procure contributions of blankets, clothing, and 
 other stores, to remove the horses, and to send the 
 vessels up the Delaware, so as to prevent their 
 falling into the hands of the enemy. He executed 
 this delicate mission with great success, giving as 
 little offence as possible to the inhabitants, and 
 addressing a letter to the ladies, which seems to 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 47 
 
 have reconciled them to the necessity of parting with 
 their fleecy treasures. 
 
 It was at the battle of the Brandywine that another 
 young officer, whose name was afterwards well known 
 in both hemispheres, first had an opportunity of 
 showing his prowess. Amongst the foreigners, who 
 had lately joined the American army as volunteers, 
 was the Marquis de Lafayette, a French nobleman 
 of about Hamilton's age, who had left his pleasant 
 home and gentle bride, and all the gaieties of the 
 proudest court in Europe, to serve a cause with 
 which he had no direct concern, but which had 
 inspired his romantic fancy with an ardent en- 
 thusiasm. He belonged to a small class of high- 
 born men with popular sympathies, who in that age 
 were anticipating the speedy advent of a millennium 
 of political freedom, and cherishing dreams of human 
 perfection, from which ere long they were destined to 
 be rudely awakened. At aU times of his life he was 
 probably deficient in the wisdom and foresight of a 
 statesman, and at a subsequent period in his career 
 he exhibited an amount of weakness and infatuation, 
 which brought the most serious calamities on his 
 king and country; but there can be little doubt of 
 his honesty and singleness of purpose : and when, as 
 
48 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 in 1777, he appeared suddenly on the scene, with his 
 youth, his rank, his engaging manners, his generosity, 
 and his courage, it is no wonder that he speedily 
 gained the love and admiration of his new comrades. 
 Washington invited him to share his quarters with 
 his usual frankness and urbanity. " I cannot promise 
 you the luxuries of a court," he said ; " but as you 
 have become an American soldier, you wUl doubtless 
 accommodate yourself to the fare of an American 
 army." And, for several years from that date, 
 Lafayette lived in the most intimate relations with 
 the general and his family, and a friendship sprang 
 up between him and Hamilton, which left many 
 pleasing recollections to both of them. 
 
 After fighting another battle at Germantown, which 
 nearly proved a victory, Washington retreated to 
 White Marsh, and occupied himself in providing for 
 the defence of the forts on the Delaware. Meanwhile, 
 Gates had been more fortunate in the N'orthern cam- 
 paign. Aided by the magnanimous Schuyler, whom 
 he had supplanted in the command, and by Benedict 
 Arnold (a brave and adventurous soldier, whose ser- 
 vices had been poorly requited) he succeeded in 
 forcing Burgoyne to capitulate at Saratoga. It was 
 a brilliant achievement, and very beneficial to the 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 49 
 
 American cause, but it seems to have filled the 
 mind of Gates with a strange presumption. He 
 neglected to inform the commander-in-chief of his 
 success, and left him to hear of the event by public 
 rumour alone. Moreover, he gave no account of how 
 he intended to dispose of his' victorious troops, and 
 Washington was at this time in great need of rein- 
 forcements. It was therefore resolved, in a council 
 of war, to send Hamilton to Gates with a letter from 
 Washington, of which the following is an extract : — 
 "By this opportunity I do myself the pleasure to 
 congratulate you on the signal success of the army 
 under your command, in compelling General Burgoyne 
 and his whole force to surrender themselves prisoners 
 of war — an event that does the highest honour to the 
 American arms, and which, I hope, will be attended 
 with the most extensive and happy consequences. 
 At the same time, I cannot but regret that a matter 
 of such magnitude, and so interesting to our general 
 operations, shoiild have reached me by report only, 
 or through the channel of letters not beariag that 
 authenticity which the importance of it required, and 
 which it would have received by a line under your 
 signature stating the simple fact." 
 
 Besides this dignified rebuke, Hamilton was the 
 
 E 
 
50 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 bearer of instructions, in virtue of -whicli lie was to 
 represent to General Gates the situation of the main 
 army, and to urge on him the necessity of imme- 
 diately detaching a portion of his forces to the assis- 
 tance of his chief. On reaching Albany, he found 
 Gates most unwilling to comply with Washington's 
 wishes, ready to make any excuse for detaining the 
 troops, and supported in his views by many of his 
 officers, and by the New England States. It was 
 a difficult position for a young man like Hamilton, 
 thus brought into direct collision with a general 
 flushed with conquest, in the midst of his popularity 
 and triumph. But he never hesitated in the straight 
 line of duty. Having advanced every argument he 
 could think of, in favour of sending the rec[uired 
 reinforcements, and finding that Gates would only 
 agree, and that most reluctantly, to spare the weakest 
 of three brigades at his disposal, he at once addressed 
 him in language which could not be misunderstood 
 or disregarded. " Knowing that General Washington 
 wished me to pay the greatest deference to your 
 judgment," he wrote, "I ventured so far to deviate 
 from the instructions he gave me, as to consent, in 
 compliance with your opinion, that- two brigades 
 should remain here instead of one. At the same 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 51 
 
 time, permit me to observe, that I am not myself 
 sensible of the expediency of keeping more than one, 
 Tvith the detached regiments in the neighbourhood of 
 this place. . . . When I preferred your opinion to 
 other considerations, I did not imagine you would 
 pitch upon a brigade little more than half as large 
 as the others, and finding this to be the case, I 
 indispensably owe it to my duty to desire, in his 
 Excellenmjs name, that another may go instead of the 
 one intended, and without loss of time." — And to 
 General Putnam, who also hesitated to send forward 
 some troops, which had been ordered to join the 
 main army, he wrote still more emphatically, as 
 follows : — " I cannot forbear confessing, that I am 
 astonished and alarmed beyond measure, to find that 
 all his Excellency's views have been hitherto frus- 
 trated, and that no single step of those I mentioned 
 to you has been taken, to afford him the aid he 
 absolutely stands in need of, and by delaying which 
 the cause of America is put to the utmost conceivable 
 hazard. ... I now, sir, in the most explicit terms, 
 by his Excellency's authority, give it as a ^positive 
 orHerfrom him, that all the Continental troops under 
 your command may be immediately marched to 
 E 2 
 
52 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 King's Ferry, there to cross the river, and hasten 
 to reiaforce the army under him." 
 
 This bold and determined attitude, which was 
 probahly little expected ia one so young, had the 
 desired effect ; and he now lent his personal aid in 
 pushing on the reinforcements as fast as possible. 
 It was when exhausted by his efforts, and suffering 
 under severe Ulness, that he had the satisfaction 
 of receiving the unq[ualiiied approbation of his chief. 
 " I approve entirely," wrote Washington, " of all the 
 steps you have . taken, and have only to wish, that 
 the exertions of those you have had to deal with 
 had kept pace with your zeal and good intentions." — 
 And when Putnam complained of Hamilton's m- 
 jurious reflections, Washington answered : — " The 
 urgency of Colonel Hamilton's letter was owing to 
 his knowledge of our wants in this quarter, and to 
 a certainty that there was no danger to be appre- 
 hended from New York, if you sent all the Conti- 
 nental troops that were then with you, and waited 
 to replace them by those expected down the river. 
 I cannot but say there has been more delay in the 
 march of the troops than I think necessary ; and 
 I could wish that in future my orders may be im- 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 53 
 
 mediately complied with, without arguing upon the 
 propriety of them. If any accident ensues from 
 obeying them, the fault will lie upon me, and not 
 upon you." 
 
 It was indeed high time for Washington to assert 
 his authority. A cabal had been formed to deprive 
 Mm virtually of his command ; and, notwithstanding 
 the victory of Saratoga, this was perhaps the darkest 
 hour for America of the whole war. Whilst 
 Howe, reinforced by Lord Cornwallis, was advancing 
 against him, and Forts MifiiLu and Mercer fell into 
 the hands of the enemy, Washington, waiting ia 
 vain for the expected succours, which might have 
 enabled him to change the fortune of the campaign, 
 was exposed to every kind of intrigue and calmnny. 
 In Congress, as well as in the army, he was attacked 
 with bitter and shameless ingratitude, and every art 
 was used to exalt General Gates at his expense. 
 General Conway, an Irishman by birth, who had 
 been for some years in the service of Prance, appears 
 to have taken a prominent part in these plots. It 
 was he who wrote to Gates : — " Heaven has deter- 
 mined to save your country, or a weak geTieral and 
 had counsellors would have ruined it!" — which passage, 
 coming to the knowledge of Washington, was by 
 
54 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 him sent back to Conway without further comment. 
 Yet, although this incident was a matter of notoriety, 
 Conway was soon after appointed to the important 
 ofiice of inspector-general, and Gates himseK was 
 made President of the Board of War, with the evident 
 intention of checking, if not superseding, the com- 
 mander-in-chief As Washington retired to his 
 dreary winter-quarters at Valley Forge, about twenty 
 miles from Philadelphia, with his poor, half-famished 
 army, ragged and shoeless, and marking their foot- 
 steps with their blood— left almost entirely without 
 money, clothing, or provisions, and unable to obtain 
 any assistance from Congress, who now seemed rather 
 inclined to counteract his measures — ^his rivals were 
 taunting him with incapacity, and expressing their 
 weU-feigned astonishment, that he did not keep the 
 open field. Sadly and wearily must he have looked 
 round on the forlorn prospect ; but his great soul 
 never failed him, and neither neglect, nor insults, 
 any more than toil and danger, could move the iron 
 resolution, which was yet to triumph over all diffi- 
 culties. 
 
 In this conjuncture, however, the pen of Hamilton 
 was once more of essential service. Scarcely re- 
 covered from his late indisposition, we find him 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 55 
 
 again at Washington's side, engaged in a correspon- 
 dence, that exposed and confounded the machinations 
 of his enemies. Lafayette too, whom the conspirators 
 had sought to seduce to their faction, rejected all 
 their offers, and stood firmly and consistently by his 
 chief And, whatever might be the case with general 
 of&cers, and members of Congress, nothing could 
 shake the faith of the soldiers in their leader. They 
 loved, and honoured, and trusted Mm, in the midst 
 of their own sufferings and privations, and thereby 
 paid an unconscious tribute to the moral influence 
 of wisdom and virtue. In the end, the cabal was 
 utterly defeated, and most of its adherents sank into 
 obscurity and oblivion ; but, while it lasted, it was 
 fraught with incalculable dangers, and tried to the 
 utmost the temper and judgment of Washington, as 
 well as the fidelity and devotion of his friends. 
 
 To Hamilton, it was already apparent, that a marked 
 degeneracy had taken place in Congress. It was 
 no longer the same body which, at its first meeting, 
 commanded the admiration of Chatham. The spirit 
 of intrigue had infected its members ; favouritism 
 and injustice, caprice and indecision, improvidence 
 on the one hand, and false economy on the other, 
 began to characterize all their proceedings. The 
 
56 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 inquiring mind of Hamilton sougM to ascertain the 
 reasons for this change. " America once had a re- 
 presentation/' he writes to Governor Clinton, " that 
 would do honour to any age or nation. The present 
 falling ofp is very alarming and dangerous. "What is 
 the cause ? and how is it to be remedied ? are 
 questions that the welfare of these States requires 
 should be well attended to. The great men, who 
 composed our first council — are they dead, have they 
 deserted the cause, or what has become of them ? 
 Very few are dead, and still fewer have deserted the 
 cause ; they are all, except the few who still remain 
 in Congress, either in the field, or in the civil offices 
 of their respective States ; the greater part are en- 
 gaged in the latter. The only remedy, then, is to 
 take them out of these employments, and return 
 them to the place where their presence is infinitely 
 more important. Each State, in order to promote 
 its own internal government and prosperity, has 
 selected its best members to fill the ofBces within 
 itself, and conduct its own affairs. Men have been 
 .fonder of the emoluments and conveniences of being 
 employed at home; and local attachment, falsely 
 operating, has made them more provident for the 
 particular interests of the States to which they 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 57 
 
 belong, than for the common interests of the con- 
 federacy. This is a most pernicious mistake, and 
 must be corrected. However important it is to 
 give form and ef&ciency to your interior constitu- 
 tions and police, it is infinitely more important to 
 have a wise general council; otherwise, a failure 
 of the measures of the Union will overturn all your 
 labours for the advancement of your particular good, 
 and ruin the common cause. You should not beggar 
 the councils of the United States, to enrich the 
 administration of the several members. Eealize to 
 yourselves the consequences of having a Congress 
 despised at home and abroad. How can the common 
 force be exerted, if the power of collecting it be 
 put in weak, foolish, and unsteady hands ? How 
 can we hope for success in our European negotia^ 
 tions, if the nations of Europe have no confidence 
 in the wisdom and vigour of the great Continental 
 government ? " 
 
 Thus early had the difficulties of a federal organi- 
 zation forced themselves on the notice of that keen 
 observer; and already was the young soldier occu- 
 pied with the problems of the future statesman. 
 Meanwhile, the year 1778 had opened in clouds 
 and darkness on the encampment at Valley Forge. 
 
58 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 Famine and pestilence were in the American army ; 
 and the numbers of the effective troops were so 
 greatly reduced, that it seems almost certain, that, 
 had they been vigorously attacked by the English, 
 they must have suffered a disastrous defeat. Yet 
 they struggled on through the winter, without yield- 
 ing to despair, and the month of May brought them 
 the important intelligence, that a treaty of defensive 
 alliance had been concluded between France and 
 the United States. The news revived the drooping 
 spirits of the Americans, and was received, through- 
 out the country, with solemn thanksgivings and 
 public rejoicings. 
 
 It might, indeed, have been anticipated. From 
 the first, France had secretly encouraged the revo- 
 lution; and, long before the breaking out of actual 
 war, had been preparing to use the colonies as an 
 instrument of aggression against Great Britain. It 
 now rests on the unquestionable evidence of original 
 documents, that, as far back as 1766, the Duke de 
 Choiseul was sending agents to America, "for the 
 purpose of putting the king in a condition to be 
 able to undertake useful operations against his 
 enemies ;" and that he constantly impressed on 
 the French ambassadors in London, to keep him 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMF. 59 
 
 regularly informed on American affairs, with a view 
 to tlie ultimate dismemberment of the British empire. 
 The same policy seems to have been taken up by 
 the Coimt de Vergennes ia 1775, though at first with 
 considerable caution; While assuring the English 
 government, "that the king's inclination, as well 
 as a sense of justice, would prevent his majesty 
 from ever favouring the troubles in America," he 
 had a secret agent at Philadelphia, in direct com- 
 munication with* Franklin and the leaders of the 
 colonists. This agent was to hold out hopes, with- 
 out giving any definite promises, so as to leave 
 France at liberty to take advantage of events. And 
 in a paper drawn up by the Count de Yergennes 
 himself, in 1776, to be laid before the king, it is 
 assumed, as a matter of course, that the interests 
 of France and Spain, and those of humanity in 
 general, must be served by the injury and humilia- 
 tion of England; and it is recommended, that the 
 English ministry be kept in ignorance of the inten- 
 tions of the French government, but that the in- 
 surgents be clandestinely supplied with money and 
 military stores, and that France proceed to arm as 
 quietly and circumspectly as possible. 
 
 There can be no doubt that this treacherous and 
 
60 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 imwortliy policy was inspired solely by hatred of 
 England, and not in the slightest degree by love of 
 American freedom. Yet a claim has often since 
 been made on the gratitude of America, as though 
 she were under lasting obligations to the chivalrous 
 generosity of France. The truth is, that the French 
 government, which had never forgiven the loss of 
 Canada, saw an opportunity of takiag revenge on 
 an old rival, and had not the virtue or magnanimity 
 to forego it. The Americans profited by assistance 
 which was to them of the utmost value; but the 
 wisest amongst them detected the motives of their 
 new allies, and received the services rendered with 
 the caution and suspicion they deserved. 
 
 However, as far as England was concerned, France 
 had now thrown off the mask, and a French fleet 
 was on its way to America. Meanwhile, Sir William 
 Howe had been recalled, and Sir Henry CUnton was 
 left in command at Philadelphia. He resolved to 
 evactuate the city, and to remove his army to the 
 neighbourhood of New York. Washington had in- 
 telligence of the march, and hastened to follow on 
 his track. General Charles Lee, who had lately 
 been released from his captivity (having been ex- 
 changed for General Prescott), and who appears to 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 61 
 
 have returned to Ms duty as wrong-headed and 
 impracticable as ever, was strongly opposed to attack- 
 ing the enemy on this occasion. With his consent, 
 therefore, the advance was confided to Lafayette ; 
 but scarcely had this arrangement been made, when 
 Lee altered his mind, claimed the command of the 
 vanguard as senior officer, and prevailed upon 
 Washington to send him forward to the front. He 
 came up with the enemy near Monmouth Court 
 House, and, in accordance with the instructions of 
 his chief, commenced the engagement by falling on 
 the rear of the British, while Washington pushed 
 on to support him with the main body of the army. 
 Hamilton, who had been incessantly passing to and 
 fro between the generals, with orders and messages, 
 was just reporting Lee's position to Washington, 
 and the latter was standing with his arm thrown 
 over his horse, halting for a few minutes at a place 
 where two roads met, when, to his great surprise, 
 he was joined by some fugitives from the front, 
 who announced that the vanguard was in full retreat. 
 Spurring rapidly forward, he reached a rising ground, 
 when he beheld Lee approaclung with the rest of 
 his division. It was one of the few times in his 
 
62 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 life when Washington's indignation was thoroughly 
 aroused, and in such moments he is said to have 
 been terrible in his anger. 
 
 "What is the meaning of all this, sir?" he ex- 
 claimed, as Lee rode up to him. " I desire to know 
 the meaning of this disorder and confusion." 
 
 Lee hesitated, and attempted to explain that he 
 had been deceived by contradictory intelligence, and 
 that he did not choose to beard the whole British 
 army in such a situation. 
 
 " I have certain information," cried Washington, 
 " that it was merely a strong covering party." 
 
 " It was stronger than mine," replied Lee, " and I 
 did not think proper to run -the risk." 
 
 "I am very sorry," rejoined Washington, "that 
 you undertook the command, unless you meant to 
 fight the enemy." 
 
 " I did not think it prudent to bring on a general 
 engagement," persisted Lee. 
 
 "Whatever your opinion may have been," said 
 Washington, " I expected my orders would have 
 been obeyed." 
 
 When Hamilton was afterwards asked, whether 
 Washington was not provoked to cursing at this 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 63 
 
 interview, he gave the memorable answer : " Wash- 
 ington was careful of his words. He had no time 
 to curse. He had to retrieve the day." 
 
 Hamilton's own exclamation at the moment had 
 been : " Let us all die here, rather than retreat ! " 
 — and when, at the voice of their great commander, 
 the troops rallied on the heights, and once more 
 formed in face of the enemy, it was the young aide- 
 de-camp, who galloped here and there to bring up 
 the artillery, and led a charge with the bayonet, 
 which afforded time to complete the order of battle. 
 The English were ultimately repulsed, and Wash- 
 ington lay that night on the field, with Lafayette 
 beside him, at the foot of a tree. Hamilton was 
 thoroughly exhausted, for he had ridden all day in 
 the heat, bare-headed ; his horse had been shot under 
 him, and he was much hurt by the faU. When 
 morning dawned, the Americans found to their 
 astonishment, that Sir Henry Clinton had decamped 
 with his army in the darkness, and was already many 
 miles on his way to New York. 
 
 The part which Lee took in this affair was never 
 fully explained. It was the subject of a long inves- 
 tigation by a court-martial, which pronounced, that 
 he had made " an unrmcessary, and in some instances 
 
64 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 a disorderly retreat," but which seems to have ac- 
 quitted him of all suspicion of cowardice or treachery. 
 His conduct may probably be ascribed to a perverse 
 waywardness of disposition, rather than to any 
 deliberate design. He was sentenced to be sus- 
 pended for a year, and, at the end of that time, he 
 wrote so insolent a letter to Congress, that he was 
 finally dismissed from the service. He retired to his 
 estate in Virginia, and lived a solitary life in the 
 midst of his dogs and horses ; but he was bitter in 
 his enmity to Washington, and often assailed him 
 with sarcasm and invective. The latter bore these 
 attacks with a noble patience ; and when, after Lee's 
 death, he was consulted as to the publication of the 
 general's manuscripts, which might contain matter 
 hostile to himself, he simply answered : " I can have 
 no request to make concerning the work. I never 
 had a difference with that gentleman but on public 
 grounds ; and my conduct towards him on this 
 occasion was such only as I felt myself indispensably 
 bound to adopt, in discharge of the public trust 
 reposed in me. If this produced in him unfavourable 
 sentiments of me, I can never consider the conduct 
 I pursued with respect to him either wrong or im- 
 proper, however I may regret, that it may have been 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 65 
 
 differently viewed by Mm, and that it excited his 
 anger and animadversions. Should there appear in 
 General Lee's writings anything injurious or un- 
 friendly to me, the impartial and dispassionate world 
 must decide how far I deserved it, from the general 
 tenour of my conduct." 
 
 , An impartial posterity has long ago decided 
 between "Washington and his opponents ; but, during 
 his life, he was constantly exposed to malice and 
 detraction. It was one sure sign of his greatness, 
 that he was never moved frorft a settled purpose by 
 calumny or clamour ; but it was another, and still 
 rarer quality of his mind, that he did full justice to 
 the merits even of his most vindictive assailants. In 
 the ca,ge of Lee, for instance, he always acknowledged 
 the good points of that eccentric soldier, and, if he 
 mentioned him at all, spoke of hiTn without asperity. 
 Lee, on the contrary, retained his prejudices to the 
 last. He left directions by his vsdll, that he was not 
 to be buried in any church or churchyard, or within 
 a mile of any meeting-house, for the whimsical reason 
 "that he had kept so much bad company while 
 living, that he did not choose to continue it when 
 dead." And, with this misanthropical jest, he passes 
 away from history — a man, who had seen many wars. 
 
66 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP.* 
 
 and done good service in his time — but -who failed 
 in the main through his impatient self-will, and the 
 caprices of an ungovernable temper. 
 
 "Within a few days of the battle of Monmouth 
 Court House, a Erench fleet arrived at the mouth of 
 the Delaware. Washington at once despatched 
 Hamilton, to confer with the Count D'Estaing, thj 
 commander of the expedition. The first design was 
 to attack New York, and, when this was found not 
 feasible, the next attempt was directed against Ehode 
 Island. Eut some delay had taken place, and, just 
 as the French and Americans were prepared to act 
 together before Newport, a British fleet suddenly 
 appeared in the dffing. It was Admiral Lord Howe, 
 who, though inferior in force, had not hesitated to put 
 to sea on hearing of the Erench movements. A 
 battle was expected, but, after manoeuvring for two 
 days, the fleets were separated by a violent tempest, 
 and the ships on both sides were so much shattered 
 and disabled, that, while Howe returned to New 
 York, the Erench admiral bore away for Boston, to 
 repair the damage he had sustained. The Americans, 
 thus left alone in front of Newport, accused their 
 allies of deserting them, and were soon after them- 
 selves obliged to retreat. The utmost exasperation 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 67 
 
 prevailed in the army, and th»new alliance appeared to 
 be already in danger. Count D'Estaing was justly 
 offended by the tone adopted towards him, and 
 especially by a protest of American officers, in wlucb 
 his conduct was declared to be " derogatory to the 
 honour of France." He repUed, that such a paper 
 imposed on him "the painful, but necessary law of 
 profound silence," and he no doubt felt deeply 
 wounded by insults, which his position as a com- 
 mander forbade him personally to resent. In these 
 delicate circumstances, it needed all the wisdom of 
 Washington, and all the tact and urbanity of 
 Hamilton, to prevent a rupture. The latter was con^ 
 stantly employed in commivoicatiag with the French, 
 and nothing can be better than the courteous and con- 
 ciliatory style of his letters. He seems to have quite 
 captivated D'Estaing, who, writing to Washington on 
 the subject of a private mission he was about to 
 send to him, says : — " I entreat you not to confide the 
 secret to any person "except Colonel Hamilton. His 
 talents and his personal qualities have secured to 
 him for ever my esteem, my confidence, and my 
 friendship." 
 
 Having soothed the irritated pride of the French 
 commander, Washington was next occupied with a 
 F 2 
 
68 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 still more important matter. Lafayette had pro- 
 posed to return home, with the view of concerting 
 with the cabinet of Versailles a magnificent project 
 for the conquest of Canada, by the combined forces 
 of France and the United States. It was a com- 
 plicated scheme, includiag simultaneous attacks on 
 Detroit, Niagara, Oswego, Montreal, and Quebec. 
 Before finally sanctioning the proposal. Congress 
 referred it to the consideration of the commander- 
 in-chief On this, Washington again had recourse 
 to the pen of Hamilton, and a letter was addressed 
 to the President of the Congress, in which, though 
 signed by the general, and doubtless embodying his 
 views, it is impossible not to trace the peculiar 
 manner and turn of thought of the aide-de-camp. 
 
 " I do not know, sir," it says, " what may be your 
 sentiments in the present case ; but, whatever they 
 are, I am sure I can confide in your honour and 
 friendship, and shall not hesitate to unbosom myself 
 to you on a point of the most delicate and important 
 nature. The question of the Canadian expedition, 
 in the form it now stands, appears to me one of 
 the most interesting that has hitherto agitated our 
 national deliberations. I have one objection to it, 
 untouched ia my public letter, which is in my esti- 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 69 
 
 ination insurmountable, and alarms all my feelings 
 for tlie true and permanent interests of my country. 
 This is the introduction of large bodies of Prench 
 troops into Canada, and putting them in possession 
 of the capital of that province, attached to them by 
 aU the ties of blood, habits, manners, religion, and 
 former connexion of government. 
 
 "I fear this would be too great a temptation to 
 be resisted, by any power actuated by the common 
 maxims of national policy. Let us realize for a 
 moment the striking advantages France would derive 
 from the possession of Canada; the acquisition of 
 an extensive territory aboundiug in supplies for the 
 use of her islands ; the opening a vast source of the 
 most beneficial commerce with the Indian nations, 
 which she might then monopolize ; the having ports 
 of her own on this continent, iudependent of the 
 precarious good will of an aUy; the engrossing the 
 whole trade of Newfoundland, whenever she pleased, 
 the finest nursery of seamen in the world; the 
 security afforded to her islands ; and, finally, the 
 facility of awing and controlling these States, the 
 natural and most formidable rival of every maritime 
 power in Europe. Canada would be a solid acquisi- 
 tion to France on aU. these ' accounts, and because 
 
70 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 of the numerous inhabitants, subjects to her by- 
 inclination, who ■ would aid in preserving it under 
 her power against the attempt of every other. 
 
 "France, acknowledged for some time past the 
 most powerful monarchy in Europe by land, able 
 now to dispute the empire of the sea "with Great 
 Britain, and if joined with Spain I may say certainly 
 superior — possessed of New Orleans on our right, 
 and Canada on our left, and seconded by the nume- 
 rous tribes of Indians in our rear from one extremity 
 to the other, a people so generally friendly to her, 
 and whom she knows so well to conciliate — would, 
 it is much to be apprehended, have it in her power 
 to give law to these States. 
 
 " Let us suppose, that when the five thousand 
 Prench troops (and under the idea of that number 
 twice. as many might be introduced) had entered the 
 city of Quebec, they should declare an intention 
 to hold Canada, as a pledge and security for the 
 debts due to Prance from the United States ; or, 
 under other specious pretences, hold the place tUl 
 they can find a bone for contention, and in the 
 meanwhile excite the Canadians to engage in sup- 
 portiag their pretensions and claims ; what should 
 we be able to say, with only four or five thousand 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 71 
 
 men to carry on tlie dispute 1 It may -be supposed, 
 that Trance would not choose to renounce our friend- 
 ship by a step of this kind, as the consequence 
 would probably be a reunion with England, on some 
 terms or other, and the loss of what she had ac- 
 quired in so . violent and unjustifiable a manner, 
 with all the advantages of an alliance with- us. This, 
 in my opinion, is too slender a security against the 
 measure, to be relied on. The truth of the position 
 will entirely depend on naval events. If France 
 and Spain should unite, and obtain a decided supe- 
 riority by sea, a reunion with England would avail 
 very little, and might be set at defiance. France, 
 with a numerous army at command, might throw 
 in what number of land forces she thought proper, 
 to support her pretensions ; and England, without 
 men, without money, and inferior on her favourite 
 element, could give no effectual aid to oppose them. 
 Eesentment, reproaches, and submission seem to be 
 all that would be left us. Men are very apt to 
 run into extremes. Hatred to England may carry 
 some into excess of confidence in France, especially 
 when motives of gratitude are thrown into the scale. 
 Men of this description would be unwilling to sup- 
 pose France capable of acting so ungenerous a part. 
 
72 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 I am heartily disposed to entertain the most favour- 
 able sentiments of oux new ally, and to cherish 
 them in others to a reasonable degree. But it is a 
 maxim, founded on the universal experience of man- 
 kind, that no nation is to be trusted further than it 
 is bound by its interests ; and no prudent statesman 
 or politician mil venture to depart from it. In our 
 circumstances, we ought to be particularly cautious ; 
 for we have not yet attained sufficient vigour and 
 maturity to recover from the shock of any false 
 step into which we may unwarily fall. 
 
 " If France should even engage in the scheme, in 
 the first instance, with the purest intentions, there 
 is the greatest danger, that, in the progress of the 
 business, invited to it by circumstances, and perhaps 
 urged on by the solicitations and wishes of the 
 Canadians, she would alter her views. 
 
 "As the marquis (Lafayette) clothed his proposi- 
 tion, when he spoke of it to me, it would seem to 
 have originated wholly with himself; but it is far 
 from impossible, that it had its birth in the cabinet 
 of France, and was put into this artful dress to 
 give it the readier currency. I fancy that I read 
 in. the countenances of some people, on this occasion, 
 more than the disinterested zeal of allies. I hope 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 73 
 
 I am mistaken, and that my fears of mischief make 
 me refine too much, and awaken jealousies that 
 have no sufScient foundation. 
 
 "But upon the whole, sir, to waive every other 
 consideration, I do not like to add to the number 
 of our national obligations. I would wish, as much 
 as possible, to avoid giving a foreign power new 
 claims of merit for services performed to the United 
 States, and would ask no assistance that is not ia- 
 dispensable." 
 
 This wise and statesmanlike paper sufficiently 
 shows, that the sagacious minds, which had most 
 laboured to protect the French alliance from unjust 
 and injurious suspicions, were fully ahve to its real 
 dangers. Indeed, in some respects, it had already 
 proved less advantageous than was expected. While 
 it had roused the pride of England to new efforts, 
 it had produced a perilous feeling of security in 
 America, and led to a relaxation of the national 
 energies. Washington found it more difficult than 
 ever to' recruit his army, or to obtain the necessary 
 supplies, and during some of the winter months, 
 which he spent in Philadelphia, he was a witness 
 of the violent party feuds which had broken out in 
 Congress, and were distractiag the attention of the 
 
74 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 leaders from tlie great interests of the country. 
 The state of the finances, too, was most alarming ; 
 and several members of the legislature were en- 
 gaged in transactions, which laid them open to the 
 charge of pecuniary dishonesty. Indignant at some 
 of the abuses that happened to fall within his know- 
 ledge, Hamilton wrote a set of essays under the 
 name of Piiblius, which seem to have scattered 
 dismay through the ranks of the intriguers, and 
 to have roused the people to a sense of the risk 
 incurred by the corruption of their representatives. 
 
 "The station of a member of Congress," he says, 
 in the course of these essays, "is the most illus- 
 trious and important of any I am able to conceive. 
 He is to be regarded not only as a legislator, but 
 as a founder of an empire. A man of virtue and 
 ability, digniiied with such a trust, woidd rejoice 
 that fortune had given him birth at a time, and 
 placed him in circumstances; so favourable for pro- 
 moting human happiness. He would esteem it not 
 more the duty, than the privilege and ornament 
 of his office, to do good to all mankind. From 
 this commanding eminence, he would look down 
 with contempt upon every mean or interested pursuit. 
 
 " To form useful alliances abroad, to establish a 
 
THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 73 
 
 wise govermnent at home, to improve the iaternal 
 resources and finances of the nation, would be the 
 generous objects of his care. He would not allow 
 his attention to be diverted from these, to intrigue 
 for personal connexions to confirm his own influence, 
 nor would he be able to reconcile it, either to the 
 delicacy of his honoiir, or to the dignity of his pride, 
 to confound in the same person the representative 
 of the commonwealth, and the little member of 
 a trading company. Anxious for the permanent 
 power and prosperity of the State, he would labour 
 to perpetuate the union and harmony of the several 
 parts. He would not meanly court a temporary 
 importance, by patronizing the narrow views of local 
 interest, or by encouraging dissensions either among 
 the people or in Congress. In council or debate, he 
 would discover the candour of a statesman, zealous 
 for truth, and the integrity of a patriot, studious of 
 the public welfare ; not the cavilling petulance of 
 an attorney, contending for the triumph of an 
 opinion, nor the perverse duplicity of a partisan, 
 devoted to the service of a cabal. Despising the 
 affectation of superior wisdom, he would prove the 
 extent of his capacity by foreseeing evils, and con- 
 triving expedients to prevent or remedy them. He 
 would not expose the weak sides of the States, to 
 
76 THE AIDE-DE-CAMP. 
 
 find an opportunity of displaying his own discern- 
 ment by magnifying the follies and mistakes of 
 others. In his transactions with individuals, whether 
 with foreigners or countrymen, his condiict would 
 be guided by the sincerity of a man and the politeness 
 of a gentleman; not by the temporizing flexibility 
 of a courtier, nor the fawniug complaisance of a 
 sycophant." 
 
 So high was the conception, which Hamilton had 
 formed of the duties and character of a senator ! 
 And so far below it had the reahty already fallen ! 
 
 It is not possible, however, within the limits of 
 the present work, to describe all the services which 
 Hamilton rendered to the American cause, during 
 the period of his residence in the military family of 
 his chief. Throughout the campaigns of 1779 and 
 1780, in which Washington acted principally on the 
 defensive, the general and his aide-de-camp were in 
 constant, daily, familiar communication with each 
 other, and labouring incessantly together for the pro- 
 motion of the common interest. Passing over the 
 details of these campaigns, there is one incident, the 
 saddest and most tragical of the war, which, from the 
 part Hamilton took in it, requires a brief notice here, 
 and win form the subject of a separate chapter. 
 
CHAPTER ly 
 
 MAJOE ANDElfi. 
 
 rriHE city of New York being in tlie hands of 
 -^ the English, it was a prime object with Wash- 
 ington to secure the Highlands of the Hudson ; and, 
 with this view, the important position of "West Point 
 had been strongly fortified. A rocky promontory 
 here commands the river, which is little more than 
 a quarter of a mile in width, as it turns aside from 
 its course before that natural obstruction. The 
 enemy was as anxious to gain the post as the 
 Americans were to defend it, for upon its possession 
 would probably depend the safety of the country 
 beyond — ^the event of, at least, one campaign, and, 
 as some thought, the ultimate fortune of the war. 
 
 It was in the summer of 1780, that Washington, 
 yielding to the solicitations of Benedict Arnold, 
 confided to his valour and loyalty this momentous 
 charge. No braver soldier had drawn a sword in 
 
78 MAJOK Al^DRlfi. 
 
 the cause of independence ; and his daring exploits, 
 in the early part of the struggle, had extorted the 
 admiration of friends and foes. There can be little 
 doubt, that it was chiefly to him and Schuyler that 
 Gates was indebted for his victory at Saratoga. Yet 
 his services had not met with the gratitude they 
 deserved; and he had the mortification of seeing 
 his claims passed over, and the representations of 
 Washiagton, in his behalf, neglected by Congress. 
 Unable to emulate or understand the patient magna- 
 nimity of his chief, he seems to have cherished angry 
 and bitter feelings, which were yet to ripen into 
 schemes of violence and revenge. Moreover, he had 
 indulged in habits of luxury and extravagance, which 
 involved him in pecuniary embarrassments, destroyed 
 his sense of honourable independence, and exposed 
 him to fatal temptations. While in command at 
 Philadelphia, he had lived in the most expensive 
 style, engaged in questionable speculations, and 
 incurred debts to a large amount. The envy and 
 Ul-will he provoked by his ostentation, found a vent 
 in all sorts of charges against him. He had lately 
 married Miss Margaret Shippen, a beautiful younw 
 lady, whose family was suspected of hostility to the 
 American cause ; and this was enough to give rise 
 
MAJOE ANDE^. 79 
 
 to reports injurious to himself. He at first treated 
 these accusations with scorn; hut when they took 
 the form of special complaints to Congress, he de- 
 manded a court-martial to inquire into his conduct. 
 After a full investigation, the only charges that could 
 he proved to his disadvantage were a few venial 
 irregularities, which sink into insignificance hy the 
 side of his brilliant services. Yet he was sentenced 
 to he reprimanded by the commander-in-chief; and, 
 although Washington performed the unpleasant task 
 with the utmost delicacy, and tempered the reproof 
 with many flattering compliments, Arnold could not 
 forget that his country had been much quicker to 
 blame than praise. In addition to all this, he was 
 annoyed by delays in the settlement of his accounts, 
 and felt deeply aggrieved that, while his private 
 debts were pressing upon him, he failed to obtain 
 the money, which he believed to b,e due to him from 
 the nation. 
 
 It was in this frame of mind that he addressed 
 himself to the French Minister, M. de Luzerne, 
 requesting a loan to extricate him from his difficulties, 
 and hinting that it might be for the interest of the 
 King of France, to secure the attachment of an 
 American general in his position The Frenchman 
 
80 MAJOR AITDK^. 
 
 very properly replied, that for the envoy of a foreign 
 power to advance money uader such circumstances, 
 would be to huy, and not to secv/re the desired support; 
 and that his master, haviag entered into the league 
 with the United States from motives of justice and 
 policy, could have no objects to serve that were not 
 based on mutual interest and good-will. He was 
 therefore compelled to decline General Arnold's 
 rec[uest, with many expressions of esteem for his 
 character, and admiration of his achievements. 
 
 It was the gambler's last stake. , From that 
 moment, Arnold was not only a disappointed, but 
 a desperate man. He contrived, however, to conceal 
 his purpose ; and, while he engaged in a treasonable 
 correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton, he impressed 
 Washington with the belief, that he was most anxious 
 for an opportunity of proving the injustice of his 
 enemies, by again rendering some signal service to 
 his country. He obtained the command of West 
 Point, and fixed his head-quarters at Eobinson House, 
 a country-seat on the opposite bank of the river. 
 
 In the month of September, 1780, Washington had 
 visited Hartford, to hold a conference with Count 
 Eochambeau and other French officers, and on his 
 return to the Hudson, accompanied by Lafayette and 
 
MAJOR ANDe£. 81 
 
 Knox, it was arranged that they should look in at 
 "West Point, and breakfast ynth Arnold at his 
 quarters. They sent notice of their intention to 
 Eobinson House, and started early in the morning 
 for that place, but, when within about a mile of their 
 destination, Washington turned aside to examine 
 some redoubts. Lafayette observed that Mrs. Arnold 
 would be waiting breakfast, but the general answered, 
 with a smile : " Ah, Marquis ! you young men are all 
 in love with Mrs. Arnold. Go you to breakfast, and 
 tell her not to wait for me. I must ride down to the 
 river, but win be with her shortly." 
 
 Lafayette and Knox, however, declined to leave 
 their commander, and Hamilton, accompanied by 
 Major M'Hemy, rode on to Eobinson House, with 
 "Washington's apology to Mrs. Arnold, and a request 
 that the breakfast might not be delayed. 
 
 The two young officers sat down to table with the 
 .family. They were charmed with their a,miable 
 hostess, but could not help remarking that Arnold 
 himseK was silent and gloomy. He might weU be so. 
 Only forty-eight hours before, he had returned from 
 an interview with a British emissary, whom he had 
 met in a lonely spot, beneath the solemn stillness of 
 a midnight sky, to concert a scheme for the betrayal 
 
 G 
 
82 MAJOR ANDE^. 
 
 of West Point to tte enemy. The conditions had' 
 been agreed to, and the plot was ripe for execution, 
 when this unexpected visit of Washington seemed 
 likely to interfere with the plan. Before breakfast 
 was ended, Arnold's doubts were changed into a 
 fearful certainty. A messenger arrived with a letter, 
 stating that a British agent had been captured on his 
 way to ISTew York, having papers about him of so 
 dangerous a character, that the officer into whose 
 hands they had fallen had forwarded them at once to 
 Washington. 
 
 Arnold saw that all was over, but did not lose his 
 presence of mind. He beckoned Mrs. Arnold from 
 the breakfast-room, and told her, in a few words, that 
 he must fly for his life. While she sank fainting on 
 the floor of her chamber, he hastened down stairs, and 
 informed his guests that he had to meet the com- 
 mander-ia-chief at West Point. Then, mounting the 
 horse of the messenger who had brought the letter, 
 he galloped down to the river, threw himself on 
 board his barge, and effected his escape to the British 
 sloop-of-war, VvXture, which lay anchored a few miles 
 below. 
 
 Meanwhile, Washington arrived at Eobinson House, 
 and, being told that Arnold had gone to meet him at 
 
.MAJOE ande:]6. 83 
 
 West Point, proceeded thither in search of him. Not 
 finding him at the fortress, he was returning in some 
 surprise to the house, when he saw Hamilton ap-: 
 proaching with hasty step and anxious countenance. 
 He drew the general aside, and spoke to him in a low 
 voice. The packet containing the fatal papers had 
 been sent after Washington from place to place, and, 
 heing deliverd in his absence, was opened by Hamil- 
 ton as his confidential officer. The general received 
 it from his aide-de-camp, read the papers in silence, 
 and then handed them to Lafayette and Knox, with 
 the simple remark : " Whom can we trust now ? " 
 
 His first thought was to intercept the flight of the 
 traitor, and he at once despatched Hamilton in pur- 
 suit. The latter rode with aU speed to Verplanck's 
 Point, where batteries commanded a lower portion of 
 the river ; but Arnold had passed the spot in safety, 
 and was already on board the Vulture. Then Hamil- 
 ton, having written to General Greene (apparently on 
 his own responsibility) to detach a brigade imme- 
 diately to secure West Point from a surprise, returned 
 to Eobinson House. He seems to have been deeply 
 touched by the grief and despair of Mrs. Arnold. 
 '' Everything affecting," he says, " in female tears, or 
 in the misfortunes of beauty — everything pathetic in 
 g2 
 
84 MAJOR XKDUt. 
 
 the wounded tenderness of a wife, or in the appre- 
 hensive fondness of a mother — and (till I have reason 
 to change the opinion, I wHl add) everything amiable 
 in suffering innocence — conspired to make her an 
 object of sympathy to all who were present. She 
 experienced the most delicate attentions, and every 
 friendly office, till her departure for Philadelphia." 
 
 But Hamilton's humane and chivalrous feelings 
 were soon to be strongly aroused in favour of another 
 victim. The English emissary, whose capture had led 
 to the discovery of the plot, was at once perceived to 
 be an officer of distinction, and had himself lost no 
 time in writing to "Washington as follows : — 
 
 " I beg your Excellency wiU be persuaded that no 
 alteration in the temper of my mind, or apprehen- 
 sion for my safety, induces me to take the step of 
 addressing you, but that it is to secure myself from 
 the imputation of having assumed a mean character 
 for treacherous purposes or self-interest. It is to 
 vindicate my fame that I speak, and not to solicit 
 security. 
 
 "The person in your possession is Major John 
 Andr^ Adjutant-General of the British army. 
 
 " The influence of one commander in the army of 
 his adversary is an advantage taken in war. A corre- 
 
MAJOR ANDKlfe. 85 
 
 spondence for this piirpose I held, as confidential 
 with his Excellency Sir Henry Clinton. To favour it, 
 I agreed to meet, upon ground not within the posts 
 of either army, a person who was to give me intel- 
 ligence. I came up in the Vulture man-of-war for 
 this effect, and was fetched from the shore to the 
 heach. Being there, I was told that the approach 
 of day would prevent my return, and that I must 
 be concealed until the next night. I was in my 
 regimentals, and had fairly risked my person. 
 
 " Against my stipulation, my intention, and with- 
 out my knowledge beforehand, I was conducted 
 within one of your posts. Thus was I betrayed into 
 the vile condition of an enemy witlun your posts. 
 
 " Having avowed myself a British officer, I have 
 nothing to reveal but what relates to myself, which 
 is true on the honour of an officer and a gentleman. 
 
 "The request I have made to your Excellency 
 (and I am conscious that I address myself well) 
 is, that in any rigour policy may dictate, a decency 
 of conduct towards me may mark that, though 
 unfortunate, I am branded with nothing dishonour- 
 able — as no motive could be mine but the service of 
 my king, and as I was involuntarily an impostor.'' 
 
 This characteristic letter would at once excite the 
 
86 MAJOR ANDE^. 
 
 interest of brave men in the fate of the prisoner ; 
 and when he was brought to West Point, and it 
 was found that he was a young, amiable, and accom- 
 plished gentleman, most fascinating in manners, 
 agreeable in conversation, and full of the enthusiasm 
 and high spirit of his profession, the sympathy for 
 him was greatly increased. And with it came the 
 sad conviction, that by entering the American lines, 
 and carrying on a secret intercourse with Arnold, 
 he had placed himself in the position of a spy, and 
 was liable to a felon's fate. 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton claimed the release of Andr^ 
 on the ground that he had visited Arnold at the 
 request of that officer, then in command at West 
 Point — that he had landed under the sanction of 
 a flag of truce, and that he had been stopped when 
 travelling with Arnold's passports. But, unfortu- 
 nately, neither the invitation, nor the flag, nor the 
 passports — all of which would have been good in 
 any ordinary transaction between the parties — could 
 avail, where the intention of the American com- 
 mandant had been known from the flrst to his 
 visitor. A board composed of fourteen general- 
 officers, with Greene at their head — having examined 
 the prisoner, who frankly admitted all the facts 
 
MAJOR ANDK^. 87 
 
 relating to himself, but declined to implicate any- 
 one else— reported after brief deliberation, that Major 
 Andre must be considered a spy from the enemy, 
 and, according to the law and usage of nations, 
 ought to suffer death. 
 
 When his sentence was announced to him, Andre 
 remarked, that, since it was his lot to die, there was 
 still a choice in the mode, which would make a 
 material difference to his feelings ; and it was with 
 this view that he addressed the following appeal to 
 Washington : — 
 
 " Sympathy towards a soldier will surely induce 
 your Excellency and a military tribunal, to adapt 
 the mode of my death to the feelings of a man of 
 honour. Let me hope, sir, that if aught in my 
 character impresses you with esteem towards me — 
 if aught in my misfortimes marks me as the victim 
 of policy, and not of resentment — I shall experience 
 the operation of these feehngs in your breast, by 
 being informed that I am not to die on a gibbet." 
 
 Wo one acc[uainted with the benevolence of 
 Washington's character can doubt, that it must have 
 cost him many a pang, not only to leave Andr^ to 
 his fate, but to refuse him even his last request. 
 He acted on the conviction that it was necessary to 
 
88 MAJOK ANDK^. 
 
 make an example, which should deter others from 
 engaging in these secret plots, and, as on many 
 other occasions, he sacrificed his own feelings to 
 a sense of duty. Nor can it be disputed, that he 
 was justified in what he did, by the established prin- 
 ciples of military law. Yet it may be questioned 
 whether, in this instance, the course, which a 
 romantic generosity would have counselled, might 
 not in the end have proved the best and wisest. 
 1^0 incident of the war made such a painful impres- 
 sion in England as the execution of Andr^, and none 
 left behind it such bitter and lasting memories ; 
 while to have spared his life would have at once 
 been acknowledged as an act of clemency, would 
 have appealed to aU that is noblest in the English 
 character, and would have done more than almost 
 any other conceivable event, to bring about a speedy 
 and complete reconciliation between the two hostile 
 branches of the British race. And, even if this 
 could not be, it would have been in every way 
 expedient to have saved him from the last indignity. 
 No gallows could attach a felon's shame to the brave 
 young soldier, acting under the orders of his chief, 
 and in the service of his country ; and his doom, 
 instead of covering him with ignominy, and striking 
 
MAJOB ANDEi. 89 
 
 terror in the breasts of others, only excited a storm 
 of mingled pity and indignation. It was a cruel 
 because it was a wholly useless piece of severity. 
 
 Such at least was the opinion of Hamilton. From 
 the first moment he saw him, he took the warmest 
 interest in Andr^ and did all in his power, if not to 
 avert, at all events to mitigate his doom. He was 
 frequently with him, and paid him every kindly 
 attention that the most generous sympathy could 
 suggest. He seems to have gained his friendship, 
 and to have felt a sincere affection for him. " There 
 was something singularly interesting," he says, " in 
 the character and fortunes of Andrd. To an excellent 
 understanding, well improved by education and 
 travel, he united a peculiar elegance of mind and 
 maimers, and the advantage of a pleasing person. It 
 is said, he possessed a pretty taste for the fine arts, 
 and had himself attained some proficiency in poetry, 
 music, and painting. His knowledge appeared with- 
 out ostentation, and embellished by a diffidence that 
 rarely accompanies so many talents and accomplish- 
 ments." Andr^ opened his heart to Hamilton with- 
 out reserve, and the latter was much impressed by 
 the elevation of his sentiments. " There is only one 
 thing that disturbs my tranquillity," said the captive. 
 
90 MAJOR ANDeI 
 
 " Sir Henty Clinton has been too good to me ; he has 
 been lavish of his kindness. I am bound to him by 
 too many obligations, and love him too well to bear 
 the thought, that he should reproach himself, or that 
 others should reproach him, on the supposition of my 
 haying conceived myself obliged by his instructions 
 to run the risk I did. I would not for the world 
 leave a sting in his miad that should embitter his 
 future days." He then asked permission to write to 
 Sir Henry on this subject, as weU as to convey his 
 last wishes with regard to his mother and sisters. 
 Hamilton readily obtained compliance with this 
 request, and other alleviations in the condition of the 
 prisoner ; but when he came to speak of the sentence 
 itself, all his efforts were encountered by a stern, im- 
 placable resolution. For the first time, apparently, 
 the general and his aide-de-camp were directly op- 
 posed to each other on a matter of importance, and 
 the whole affair seems to have left a sore and dis- 
 satisfied feeling on the mind of the younger man. 
 
 '' Poor Andr^ suffers to-day," he writes, on the 
 morning of the execution. "Everything, that is 
 amiable in virtue, in fortitude, in delicate sentiment, 
 and accomplished manners, pleads for him ; but 
 hard-hearted policy calls for a sacrifice. He must 
 
MAJOE ANDE^. 91 
 
 die. I send you my account of Arnold's affair, and, 
 to justify myseK to your sentiments, I must inform 
 you, that I urged a compliance with Andre's request 
 to be shot, and I do not think it would have had an 
 ill effect; hut some people are only sensible to 
 motives of policy, and sometimes, from a narrow dis- 
 position, mistake it. 
 
 " When Andrd's tale comes to be told, and present 
 resentment is over, the refusing him the privilege of 
 choosing the manner of his death will he branded 
 with too much ohstinacy. 
 
 " It was proposed to me to suggest to him the idea 
 of an exchange for Arnold ; but I know I should 
 have forfeited his esteem by doing it, and therefore 
 declined it. As a man of honour, he could not but 
 reject it ; and I would not for the world have pro- 
 posed to biTTi a thing, which must have placed me in 
 the unamiable light of supposing him capable of a 
 meanness, or of not feeling myself the impropriety 
 of the measure. I confess to you, I had the weak- 
 ness to value the esteem of a dying man, because I 
 reverenced his merit." 
 
 AH the chivalry of Hamilton's character speaks in 
 the last paragraph. It is true, that Arnold was safe 
 under the shelter of that British flag, which never 
 
92 MAJOR ANDR^. 
 
 yet betrayed the fugitive who trusted to its protec- 
 tion, and that no English general would have con- 
 sented to purchase the life of friend or brother, by 
 delivering up the renegade whose proffered services 
 he had once accepted. But Hamilton felt that there 
 was dishonour in the very proposal, and that he 
 should forfeit the esteem of Andr6 by even mention- 
 ing it to him. He measured the nobleness of the 
 victim by his own lofty standard. 
 
 On that fatal morniug, there was a gloomy silence 
 in the camp, and, excepting the brigade on duty, 
 officers. and soldiers retired to their tents. It was 
 the natural and spontaneous delicacy of true valour. 
 Having breakfasted, and dressed himseK with care 
 in the full uniform of a British officer, Andr4 walked 
 calmly to the place of execution. There was a 
 serene smile on his lips, but, when he came in sight 
 of the gibbet, he asked with some emotion : " Must 
 I then die in this manner?" Being told it was 
 inevitable, he said : " It will be but a momentary 
 pang ; " and, springing upon the cart, he made the 
 necessary preparations with admirable composure. 
 He was informed, that the last moment was at hand, 
 if he had anything more to say. "Nothing," he 
 answered, " but to request you will bear witness, that 
 
MAJOE ANDE^. 93 
 
 I meet my fate like a brave man." It was the dying 
 tliouglit of a soldier, who felt that he had to maintain 
 the martial honour of his country. 
 
 The tale has been told a thousand times, and still 
 affects us, almost as it affected our grandfathers. In 
 America, as in England, the name of Andr^ still 
 awakens a sensation of sorrowing pity. " It was 
 among the extraordinary circumstances that attended 
 him," says Hamilton, " that, in the midst of his 
 enemies, he died universally regretted, and univer- 
 sally esteemed." And with regard to Hamilton 
 himself, nothing is more fitted to endear his memory 
 to gentle hearts on both sides of the Atlantic, than 
 the generous humanity he displayed in the case of 
 the unfortunate Andr4. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 CLOSE OF THE WAE. 
 
 nriHE struggle had now lasted for upwards of 
 -■- five years, and still there seemed to be no 
 sign of a speedy termination of the contest. Both 
 France and Spain were in alliance with America, 
 Holland was threatening to join the coalition, and 
 the States of Northern Europe had united in an 
 armed neutrality against the naval pretensions of 
 Great Britain; but still the invincible pride of 
 England refused to yield. On her own element, 
 Eodney maintained her supremacy; from the rock 
 of Gibraltar, her flag waved defiance to the world ; 
 and she clung with desperate tenacity to what re- 
 mained of her dominion on the continent of America. 
 "When the prolonged resistance to the independence 
 of the colonies is ascribed (as it often is) to the 
 obstinacy of George III, it should not be forgotten 
 that, throughout the greater part of the war, the king 
 fairly represented the opinions of the majority of the 
 
aOSE OP THE WAE. 95 
 
 nation. There was, indeed, a minority, brilliant in 
 eloq[uence and talent, wlio, from the first, had taken 
 the side of the Americans ; but even these were slow 
 to acquiesce in the dismemberment of the empire, 
 and the main body of the people looked upon the 
 surrender of their transatlantic possessions as tanta- 
 mount to disgrace and ruin. We have since learned, 
 indeed, that a kindred race may be more valuable as 
 friends and customers than as subjects, and that a 
 sovereignty which can only be preserved by force is 
 not worth preserving at all : but the lesson was hard 
 to learn; and the knowledge of that fact should 
 make us tolerant in our judgment of others, who, in 
 our own day, have striven, with equal stubbornness, 
 and hitherto with as doubtful fortune, to uphold the 
 integrity of an empire against states resolved to be 
 independent. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Americans had to suffer many 
 privations, and were by no means exempt from 
 reverses. Charleston had been taken by the English ; 
 and, in North Carolina, Lord Comwallis had surprised 
 and defeated Gates, whose military reputation was 
 rapidly declining. Besides all the old difficulties, 
 Washington had to contend with a mutiny in his 
 army, arising from the neglect of Congress to provide 
 
96 CLOSE OF THE WAE. 
 
 pay for the men, and also from a breach of faith in 
 detaining them heyond their term of enlistment. 
 But, ia fact, the Confederacy was altogether dis- 
 organized ; and the finances were in such a condition 
 that it was almost impossible to raise money for any 
 purpose. Hamilton, who saw more clearly than 
 most men the full danger of the situation, was also 
 one of the first to divine the causes of the existing 
 evils, and to suggest a remedy. He traced the weak- 
 ness and insoh'-ency of the Congress in a great 
 measure to the want of a central authority, and to 
 the loose way in which the States were held together, 
 without any settled government for the whole Con- 
 federacy. And already his busy and versatile mind 
 had sketched the plan of a Constitution for the 
 Union. "At the age of three-and-twenty," says an 
 able American writer, Mr. George Ticknor Curtis, 
 " he had already formed well-defined, profound, and 
 comprehensive opinions on the situation and wants 
 of these States. He had clearly discerned the prac- 
 ticability of forming a confederated government, and 
 adapting it to their peculiar conditions, resources, 
 and exigencies. He had wrought out for himself a 
 political system, far in advance of ithe conceptions of 
 his contemporaries." 
 
CLOSE OF THE WAE. 97 
 
 And, until a definite Constitution could he agreed 
 upon, he suggested, as measures of primary import- 
 ance — 1st. An army raised for the war, and not for 
 any shorter term. 2d. A foreign loan, to extricate 
 the Congress from the immediate pressure of insol- 
 vency. 3d. Full powers to the same body, to deal 
 with all matters of war, peace, trade, and finance, 
 that concerned the common interest. 4th. The 
 appointment of executive officers, instead of boards, 
 to administer the several departments of the public 
 service. 5th. The establishment of a national bank, 
 to regulate the issue of notes, and to place the cur- 
 rency of the country on a solid basis. 
 
 Yet all this activity of mind did not prevent his 
 attending to interests of a more tender nature. He 
 was at this time paying Ms addresses to Miss Eliza 
 Schuyler, second daughter of the gallant general of 
 that name, and in December, 1780, he was married 
 to the lady of his choice, at her father's house in 
 Albany. She is described by a French traveller as 
 a charming woman, who united to grace and beauty 
 " all the candour and simplicity of an American 
 wife." By this marriage, Hamilton became perma- 
 nently established as a resident in the State of New 
 York. 
 
 H 
 
98 CLOSE OF THE WAR. 
 
 And now an event occurred which has occasioned 
 much discussion, and which certainly cannot he 
 recorded without regret. A misunderstanding arose 
 between Washington and his favourite aide-de-camp, 
 which led to the resignation by the latter of his place 
 on the staff. Hamilton's account of the affair is con- 
 tained in a letter to General Schuyler : — 
 
 " Since I had the pleasure of writing you last, an 
 unexpected change has taken place in my situation. 
 I am no longer a member of the general's family. 
 This information will surprise you, and the manner 
 of the change will surprise you more. Two days ago 
 the general and I passed each other on the stairs ; 
 he told me he wanted to speak to me. I answered, 
 that I would wait upon him immediately. I went 
 below, and delivered Mr. Tilghman a letter to be sent 
 to the Commissary, containing an order of a pressing 
 nature. 
 
 " Eeturning to the general, I was stopped on the 
 way by the Marquis de Lafayette, and we conversed 
 together about a minute on a matter of business. He 
 can testify how impatient I was to get back, and that 
 I left him in a manner which, but for ciur intimacy, 
 would have been more than abrupt. Instead of finding 
 the general, as is usual, in his room, I met him at the 
 
CLOSE OF THE WAR. 99 
 
 head of the stairs, where, accosting me in an angry- 
 tone — ' Colonel Hamilton/ said he, ' you have 'kept 
 me waiting at the head of the stairs these ten minutes. 
 I must tell you, sir, you treat me with disrespect.' — 
 I replied without petulancy, but with decision : ' I am 
 not conscious of it, sir ; but since you have thought 
 it necessary to teU me so, we part.' — ' Very well, sir,' 
 said he, ' if it be your choice,' or somethiHg to this 
 effect, and we separated. I sincerely believe my 
 - absence, which gave so much umbrage, did not last 
 two miautes. 
 
 " In less than an hour after, Tilghman came to me 
 in the general's name, assuring me of his great con- 
 fidence in my abilities, integrity, usefulness, &c., and 
 of his desire, in a candid conversation, to heal a 
 difference which could not have happened but in 
 a moment of passion. I requested Mr. Tilghman to 
 tell biTiri — 1st, that I had taken my resolution in a 
 manner not to be revoked; 2d, that, as a conversa- 
 tion could serve no other purpose than to produce 
 explanations mutually disagreeable, though I cer- 
 tainly would not refuse an interview if he desired it, 
 yet I would be happy if he would permit me to 
 decline it ; 3d, that, though determined to leave the 
 family, the same principles which had kept me so 
 H 2 
 
100 CLOSE OF THE WAR. 
 
 long in it would continue to direct my conduct 
 towards him when out of it; 4th, that, however, I did 
 not wish to distress him or the public business, by 
 ■quitting him before he could derive other assistance 
 by the return of some of the gentlemen who were 
 absent ; 5th, that, in the meantime, it depended on 
 him to let our behaviour to each other be the same as 
 if nothing had happened. He consented to decline 
 the conversation, and thanked me for my offer of 
 continuing my aid in the manner I had mentioned. 
 
 " I have given you so particular a detail of our 
 difference, from the desire I have to justify myself in 
 your opinion. Perhaps, you may think I was pre- 
 cipitate, in neglecting the overture made by the 
 general to an accommodation. I assure you, my dear 
 sir, it was not the effect of resentment ; it was the 
 deliberate resvilt of maxims I had long formed for the 
 government of my own conduct. 
 
 " I always disliked the office of an aide-de-camp, as 
 having in it a kind of personal dependence. ... It 
 has often been with great difficulty that I have pre- 
 vailed upon myself not to renounce it; but while, 
 from motives of public utility, I was doing violence 
 to my feelings, I was always determined, if there 
 should ever happen a breach between us, never to 
 
CLOSE OF THE WAK, 101' 
 
 consent to an accommodation. I was persuaded that, 
 when once that nice barrier which marked the boun- 
 daries of what we owed to each other should be 
 thrown down, it might be propped again, but could 
 never be restored." 
 
 There is something so singular in this transaction, 
 9,s to appear almost inexplicable. It is difficult to 
 believe, that the intimate and endearing relations 
 of those four memorable years could have been thus 
 suddenly interrupted from so inadequate a cause; 
 and, considering the difference in rank and age of 
 the parties concerned, it is impossible to deny, that 
 the conduct of the younger man (on his own 
 showing) was marked by a haughtiness, not to say 
 presumption, which even his great talents and ser- 
 vices could not justify. On the other hand, Wash- 
 ington appears to much advantage, in his readiness 
 to make the first advances towards reconciliation, 
 and in the prompt and generous assurance of his 
 unaltered esteem for Hamilton. Schuyler (a punc- 
 tilious and chivalrous gentleman) was evidently of 
 opinion, that the general's friendly explanation ought 
 to have been accepted, for he thus writes in reply to 
 his son-in-law : — 
 
 " Long before I had the least intimation that you 
 
102 CLOSE OF THE WAE. 
 
 intended that connexion with my family, which is 
 so very pleasing to me, and which affords me such 
 extreme satisfaction, I had studied your character, 
 and that of the other gentlemen who composed the 
 general's family. I thought I discovered in all an 
 attention to the duties of their station ; in some 
 a considerable degree of ability ; but (without a com- 
 pliment, for I trust there is no necessity of that 
 between us) in you only I found those qualifications, 
 so essentially necessary to the man who is to aid 
 and counsel a commanding general, environed with 
 difficulties of every kind, and those, perhaps, more 
 and of greater magnitude than any other ever had 
 to encounter — whose correspondence must be exten- 
 sive, always interesting, and frequently so delicate, 
 as to require much judgment and address to be pro- 
 perly managed. The public voice has confirmed the 
 idea I had formed of you ; but what is most con- 
 soling to me, and more honourable to you, men of 
 genius, observation, and judgment think as I do on 
 the occasion. Your quittiag your station must, 
 therefore, be productive of very material injuries 
 to the public ; and this consideration, exclusive of 
 others, impels me to wish that the unhappy breach 
 should be closed, and a mutual confidence restored. 
 
CLOSE OF THE WAE. 103 
 
 You may both of you imagine when you separate, 
 that the cause will remain a secret ; but I will 
 venture to speak decidedly, and say it is impossible. 
 I fear the effect, especially with the French officers' 
 with the French minister, and even with the French 
 court. These already observe too many divisions 
 between iis. They know and acknowledge your 
 abilities, and how necessary you are to the general. 
 Indeed, how will the loss be replaced ? 
 
 " It is evident, my dear sir, that the general con- 
 ceived himself the aggressor, and that he quickly 
 repented of the insult. He wished to heal a dif- 
 ference, which would not have happened but in a 
 moment of passion. It falls to the lot of few men 
 to pass through life, without one of those unguarded 
 moments, which wound the feelings of a friend. 
 Let us then impute them to the frailties of human 
 nature, and, with Sterne's recording angel, drop a 
 tear, and blot them out of the page of life. I do 
 not mean to reprehend the maxims you have formed 
 for your conduct. They are laudable; and yet, 
 though generally approved, times and circumstances 
 sometimes render a deviation necessary and justifi- 
 able. This necessity now exists in the distresses 
 of your country. Make the sacrifice. The greater 
 
104< CLOSE OF THE "WAR., 
 
 it is, the more glorious to you. Your services 
 are wanted. Tliey are wanted in tliat particular 
 station, wMcli you have already filled so beneficially 
 to the public, and with such extensive reputation." 
 
 These arguments would in general have had great 
 weight with Hamilton, but, in the present instance, 
 they failed of their effect. He adhered to his resolu- 
 tion; and, at this distance of time, we can only 
 account for it by supposing, that there were other 
 causes for the step he took than the slight alterca- 
 tion on the stairs. It may have been, as some have 
 suggested, that even the strong and well-balanced 
 mind of "Washington, harassed by constant annoy- 
 ance, had given way to an irritability that made 
 the situation of his aide-de-camp peculiarly irksome. 
 Or, as others have thought, Hamilton, desirous of 
 obtaining a separate military command, and so of 
 distinguishing himself on a wider field, may have 
 taken the first opportunity of parting from Washing- 
 ton. But neither of these theories is quite consistent 
 with the characters of these two illustrious men. It 
 seems more probable, that some previous offence had 
 been given, perhaps unconsciously ; and it may well 
 be, that, in such an affair as that of Andre, vehe- 
 ment remonstrance on the one side, and stern refusal 
 
ClOSB OF THE WAE. 105 
 
 on the other, may have led, for a time, to coldness 
 and estrangement. But, whatever the cause of the 
 difference, it is satisfactory to know, that it did not 
 -ttitimately impair that noble friendship. A day was 
 to come when Washington again found in Hamilton 
 his most tried and faithful counsellor, and, to the 
 hour of his death, he never spoke or wrote of him 
 but in terms of affectionate esteem. 
 
 It was in the month of April, 1781, that Hamilton 
 retired from the staff, and, in the July following, 
 he obtained the command of a battalion. In the 
 brief interval of repose, he had occupied himself 
 in writing a series of essaj'-s, called the Continentalist, 
 with the view of impressing on the people the 
 necessity of those reforms in their government 
 which he had already suggested. But the time 
 had now arrived for decisive action on the part of 
 the American army. After a campaign in North 
 Carolina, Lord CornwaUis had entered Virginia, and 
 was encamped on York Eiver. Washington still 
 remained in the neighbourhood of New York, where 
 Sir Henry Clinton was in daily expectation of being 
 attacked by him, when tidings reached the American 
 general, that the Count de Grasse, with a French 
 fleet and army, was on his way to the Chesapeake 
 
106 CLOSE OF THE WAR. 
 
 Washington at once saw that the blow must be 
 struck in Virginia. With great secrecy and despatch, 
 having first garrisoned West Point and the posts 
 on the Hudson, he led his troops southwards. The 
 English were not aware of his departure, untU. he 
 was far upon the road, and it was too late for Sir 
 Henry Clinton to oppose any obstacles to the march. 
 Passing through Philadelphia and Baltimore, Wash- 
 ington heard, on his way, of the safe arrival of the 
 Prench, and that York Eiver was blockaded by their 
 fleet, while Lafayette had effected a junction with 
 their land forces. Awakened to a sense of his 
 danger, Cornwallis attempted to retreat to the Caro- 
 linas, but it was no longer possible. He found 
 himself surrounded by enemies, and had no choice 
 but to fall back on his intrenchments at Yorktown. 
 
 On the 28th of September, the combined armies 
 proceeded to invest the place, and their first parallel 
 was opened on the 6th of October. On the 9th 
 and 10th, three Prench and three American batteries 
 poured a continuous and heavy fire on the besieged, 
 and, on the 11th, the second parallel was opened 
 within three hundred and sixty yards of their works. 
 Cooped up in his defences, with an army reduced 
 to not more than six or seven thousand men, Corn- 
 
CLOSE OF THE WAE. 107 
 
 wallis felt that, unless relieved, his case was despe- 
 rate. He resolved, however, to make a vigorous 
 resistance, and severely galled the Americans from 
 two redoubts, which enfiladed the line of their 
 intrenchments. These redoubts it was determined 
 to carry by storm, and the one was to be attacked 
 by the American light infantry, while the other was 
 assigned to the French grenadiers and chasseurs. 
 
 Hamilton had started on the campaign, impatient 
 and eager to distinguish himself. He now saw the 
 opportunity he had so long desired, for, on the day 
 of the assault, his turn of duty had come round. 
 To his great mortification, he found that another 
 officer had been appointed to lead the attack. He 
 instantly appealed to Washington, and claimed his 
 right as the officer of the day. His claim was 
 admitted, and he returned in the highest spirits 
 to his men, repeating : " We have it ! we have it ! " 
 At eight o'clock in the evening of the 14th of 
 October, two rockets gave the signal for the simul- 
 taneous attacks on the redoubts. Hamilton rushed 
 forward at the head of his party, who, without 
 waiting for the sappers to demolish the ahatlis, 
 pushed or pulled them down with their hands, 
 and scrambled over. Placing his foot on the 
 
108 CLOSE OF THE WAE. 
 
 shoulder of a soldier, who knelt on one knee for 
 the purpose, Hamilton was the first to mount the 
 parapet. He stood on it for a moment with three 
 of his men, calling on the others to follow, and 
 then jumped into the ditch. Exposed to a tre- 
 mendous fire he reached the counterscarp, made 
 his way over every obstacle, and carried the work 
 at the point of the bayonet. So impetuous had 
 been the assault, that the whole affair only lasted 
 a few minutes. And the iastant he found himself 
 in possession of the redoubt, his humanity was as 
 conspicuous as Ms valour. He checked his men 
 in the rush and fury of the onslaught, turned aside 
 a bayonet that was directed against the breast of 
 Colonel Campbell, and so well exerted his authority, 
 that not one 'of the enemy was injured after the 
 resistance had ceased. The French attacked the 
 other redoubt in a more regular manner, and were 
 much longer about it ; but they also ultimately 
 succeeded in their part of the enterprise. 
 
 The next day Cornwallis wrote to Sir Henry- 
 Clinton : — " Last evening, the enemy carried my 
 two advanced redoubts on the left by storm, and 
 during the night have included them in their second 
 parallel, which they are at present busy in perfecting. 
 
CLOSE OF THE WAR. 109 
 
 My situation now becomes very critical; we dare 
 not show a gun to their old batteries, and I expect 
 tbat their new ones will open to-morrow morning. 
 Experience has shown that our fresh earth-works 
 do not resist their powerful artillery, so that we 
 shall soon be exposed to an assault in ruined works, 
 in a bad position, and with weakened numbers. 
 The safety of the place is, therefore, so precarious, 
 that I cannot recommend that the fleet and army 
 should run great risk in endeavouring to save us." 
 
 But, while Cornwallis thus generously warned 
 his countrymen not to expose themselves to immi- 
 nent danger on his account, he was himself ready 
 to dare the worst, rather than surrender. Having 
 tried a sortie, which, though gallantly conducted, 
 was repulsed by superior numbers, he resolved on 
 a desperate attempt to escape. His plan was to 
 leave his sick, wounded, and baggage ; to cross over 
 to Gloucester Point, on the opposite side of the 
 river, in the night — to attack the enemy's camp 
 there, and mount his infantry on the captured 
 cavalry horses, and such others as could be col- 
 lected — and then to push on northwards, and fight 
 his way through Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the 
 Jerseys, to New York. Wild as it appears, the 
 
110 CLOSE OF THE WAR. 
 
 scheme might possibly have succeeded ; but, when 
 a portion of the troops had actually crossed over, 
 and a second division was preparing to follow, a 
 violent storm arose, which dispersed the boats, and 
 drove them down the river. The day broke before 
 the passage could be effected, and it was with great 
 difficulty that the advanced party could be brought 
 back again. All hope was now at an end, and to 
 save the lives of the brave troops who had stood by 
 him with dauntless resolution, and only waited his 
 orders to bury themselves with him in the ruins 
 of Torktown, Cornwallis at length consented to 
 capitulate. Though the terms granted were not 
 dishonourable, it was with difficulty that the British 
 soldiers could be brought to submit to a humiliation, 
 which England, in the long course of her annals, 
 has not often suffered at the hands of any foe. 
 They marched out slowly and sullenly, their drums 
 beating a British march, and threw down their 
 arms with a violence that threatened to break them 
 to pieces. But the officers bowed courteously to 
 each other, whilst both French and Americans 
 looked on without any demonstrations of triumph, 
 and showed their respect for gallant enemies by 
 an expressive silence. 
 
CLOSE OF THE WAE. Ill 
 
 Yet the joy was great and general throughout 
 the Confederacy, and the consternation scarcely less 
 so in the United Kingdom. "When Lord North 
 received the news in Downing Street, he considered 
 it as decisive of the contest. "He took it," said 
 Lord George Germaine, who brought him the tidings, 
 "as he would have taken a ball in the breast; for 
 he opened his arms, exclaiming wildly, as he paced 
 up and down the apartment : God ! it is all over ! " 
 
 The part which Hamilton performed in this affair 
 gained him universal honour, and his bearing under 
 it was equally becoming. He received the con- 
 gratulations of his feUow-soldiers with modest 
 dignity, and it was in these quiet and unpretending 
 terms that he wrote to his wife with reference to 
 his late exploit : — " Two nights ago, my Eliza, my 
 duty and my honour obliged me to take a step in 
 which your happiness was too much risked. I 
 commanded an attack upon one of the enemy's 
 redoubts ; we carried it in an instant; and with 
 little loss. You will see the particulars in the 
 Philadelphia papers. There will be, certainly, no- 
 thing more of this kind ; all the rest will be by 
 approach ; and if there should be another occasion 
 it wOl not fall to my lot to execute it." 
 
112 CLOSE OF THE WAK. 
 
 Cornwallis having surrendered, and the efforts 
 of General Greene in South Carolina having brought 
 the campaign there to a successful issue for the 
 Americans, Sir Henry Clinton was left to act wholly 
 on the defensive, and the war was virtually at an 
 end. It was true that England might yet renew 
 the struggle ; but it was generally believed that 
 she was weary of so unprofitable a contest, and 
 that, if she could succeed in striking some great 
 blow at her old enemies of France and Spain, she 
 would be willing to let her rebellious children 
 depart in peace. A few months later, Eodney's 
 great victory restored to her the imdisputed empire 
 of the sea, the East and West Indies were once 
 more within her grasp, and the vaunted floating 
 batteries of the Chevalier d'Ar^on perished in blood 
 and fire beneath the guns of Gibraltar — ^but Lord 
 North's administration had already fallen before a 
 hostile vote of the House of Commons, and no 
 further operations were attempted on the continent 
 of America. Meanwhile, the Confederacy waited in 
 an attitude of expectation, and Hamilton returned 
 home to Albany to his wife and new-born child. 
 He expressed his intention of retiring from active 
 service, but at the same time announced that he 
 
CLOSE OF THE WAE. 113; 
 
 shoiild always be ready at the call of his country 
 to act in any capacity that might be required. 
 
 Convinced that the war was drawing to a close, 
 he had already determined to engage in a profession 
 which would enable him to support his family in 
 comfort and independence. It was now the spring 
 of 1782, and the soldier of five-and-twenty (to 
 whom had been committed such important interests 
 as were hardly ever before confided to a man so 
 young) withdrew from the field with no emolument 
 but his fame, and set himself to study the law, 
 in preparation for an entirely new career. De- 
 clining the generous offers of Schuyler, and re- 
 gardless of the advice of friends, who wished him 
 to apply to Congress for some employment worthy 
 of his talents and eminent services, he resolved to 
 trust to himself alone for the advancement of his 
 fortunes. Within four months from the commence- 
 of his studies, he had composed for his own use 
 a Manual on the Practice of the Law, which subse- 
 quently served as a guide for future students, and 
 became the groundwork of enlarged treatises on 
 the subject. The same vigour of mind, which he 
 had displayed in aU other pursuits, enabled him 
 to master with ease the difficulties and subtleties 
 
 I 
 
114 CLOSE OF THE WAE. 
 
 of legal procedure, and in after years lie 'attained 
 the position of a leading practitioner at the bar. 
 
 But while he was employed in preparing for 
 his new profession, his attention was never whoUy 
 diverted from politics. In June, 1782, he is found 
 strongly protesting against the contemplated exe- 
 cution of Captain Asgill, a young British officer, 
 who had been selected by lot from the other 
 prisoners, to suffer in retaliation for the murder 
 of an American captain, named Huddy, put to 
 death by some refugees on the English side. "A 
 sacrifice of this sort," he says, "is entirely repug- 
 nant to the genius of the age we live in, and is 
 without example in modern history, nor can it fail 
 to be considered in Europe as wanton and unneces- 
 sary. It appears that the enemy (from necessity, 
 I grant, but the operation is the same) have changed 
 their system, and adopted a more humane one ; 
 and, therefore, the only justifying motive of retalia- 
 tion, the preventing a repetition of cruelty, ceases. 
 But, if this were not the case, so solemn and de- 
 liberate a sacrifice of the innocent for the guilty 
 must be condemned on the present received notions 
 of humanity, and encourage an opinion, that we 
 are in a certain degree ia a state of barbarism. 
 
OLOSE OF THE WAE. 115 
 
 Gur affairs are now in a prosperous train, and so 
 Adgorous, I would rather say so violent a measure, 
 would want the plea of necessity. It would argue 
 meanness in us, that at this late stage of the war, 
 in the midst of success, we should suddenly depart 
 from that temper with which we have all along 
 borne with as great, and more frequent provo- 
 cations." These moderate and humane counsels 
 were soon after backed by the representations of 
 the Court of France, moved by the intercession 
 of the young officer's mother to Queen Marie 
 Antoinette, and Captain Asgill was ultimately set 
 at liberty, and restored to his friends ; but in this, 
 as in other instances, Hamilton had the merit of 
 upholding the cause of mercy from the first, and 
 of seeing at a glance that it was identical with 
 the true policy of his country. 
 
 He was next appointed Eeceiver of Continental 
 Taxes in the State of New York — a newly-created 
 office, which he held only for a short time — and, a 
 little later, he was elected a delegate to Congress. 
 He entered that body with a high reputation for 
 ability, which he more than justified in the sequel 
 General Schuyler, writing to his daughter from 
 Philadelphia, in December, 1782, thus speaks of 
 
116 CLOSE OF THE WAE: 
 
 his son-in-law : — " Participate afresh in the satis- 
 faction I experience from the connexion you have 
 made with my beloved Hamilton. He affords me 
 happiness too exqiiisite for expression. I daily 
 experience the pleasure of hearing encomiums on his 
 virtue and abilities, from those who are capable of 
 distinguishing between real and pretended merit. 
 He is considered, as he certainly is, the ornament 
 of his country, and capable of rendering it the most 
 essential services, if his advice and suggestions are 
 attended to. In short, every true patriot rejoices 
 that he is one of the great council of these States." 
 
 The principal questions, which occupied the atten- 
 tion of Congress during this session, were the ad- 
 justment of the terms of peace with England, the 
 reduction of the expenditure of the Confederacy, 
 the disbanding of the army, and the organization 
 of a peace establishment. No authentic reports of 
 the debates exist, but it is well known that Hamilton 
 took an important part in almost every discussion, 
 and that his influence was felt and acknowledged 
 from the commencement. He had clearly before his 
 mind one grand design — the union of the several 
 States into a nation, under a free and settled govern- 
 ment — and to this end he devoted aU his energies. 
 
CLOSE OF THE WAE. 117 
 
 He was aware that, to effect his purpose, many petty 
 fears, many local jealousies, must be met and con- 
 quered ; but, above and before all, he was convinced 
 that the Congress must begin by redeeming its credit, 
 and satisfying aU who had rightful claims on its 
 justice or its gratitude, if it hoped to establish the 
 Confederacy on sure and lasting foimdations. 
 
 One of the chief difficulties was the army. After 
 aU its hard service, it was about to be disbanded, 
 without any provision for the promised half-pay of 
 the of&cers, or even for the arrears due to the men. 
 The treasury was empty, and could only be reple- 
 nished with the consent of the several States ; for 
 Congress had no authority to raise taxes, and the 
 concurrence of nine States was required even to 
 contract a loan, or to appropriate public money. 
 The soldiers saw with dismay that, now they were 
 no longer needed, their claims were likely to be 
 postponed to an indefinite future, and they not un- 
 naturally resolved to ask for justice, while they had 
 yet arms in their hands, and were able to enforce 
 their demands. Meetings were held, and language 
 was uttered in the army, which filled the peaceable 
 citizens with alarm, and it needed all the firmness, 
 the moderation, and the popularity of Washington 
 
118 CLOSE OF THE WAK. 
 
 to avert the danger. He addressed the ofScers in 
 terms which found a way to their hearts, and im- 
 plored them by every consideration of honour and 
 patriotism, not to suUy the glory they had acquired, 
 hy any violent or mutinous conduct. He pledged 
 himself to exert whatever abilities he possessed in 
 their favour ; but he conjured them to rely on the 
 plighted faith of their country, and to place full 
 confidence in the purity of the intentions of Con- 
 gress. He produced a letter he had received, to 
 prove the good disposition of the governing body, 
 and when, after reading the first paragraph, he paused 
 to take out his spectacles, and excused himself with 
 the remark, " that he had grown gray in their service, 
 and now found himself growing blind," every heart 
 was touched, and every eye moistened. He finished 
 by persuading them to wait the result of the delibe- 
 rations in Congress, and not to take any measures 
 that might " open the floodgates of civil discord, and 
 deluge their rising empire in blood." 
 
 While Washington was thus labouring to control 
 the impatience of the army, and at the same time 
 representing their grievances to Congress, Hamilton 
 was pleading their cause in the bosom of that 
 assembly, Eenouncing his own claim to half-pay 
 
CLOSE OF THE WAR. 119 
 
 from motives of delicacy, he fought the battle of 
 his fellow-soldiers with dauntless and resolute per- 
 severance. The debates were long and stormy, and 
 Hamilton, who had nothing to conceal, wished them 
 to be op6n to the public ; but in this he was over- 
 ruled by the majority, and the delegate from Ehode 
 Island observed, "that if the member wished to 
 display his eloq^uence, he should address the people 
 from the balcony." No taimts or opposition, how- 
 ever, could silence the gifted orator in his advocacy 
 of the claims of justice. The decision was indeed 
 delayed, till the troops were on the verge of mutiny, 
 but Hamilton and the friends of fair dealing at 
 length prevailed. Nine States were brought to agree 
 in a tardy and reluctant act of good faith. The half- 
 pay was commuted into a sum equal to five years' 
 full pay, for which securities were to be issued, Kke 
 those given to the other public creditors, with in- 
 terest at six per cent. In the resolution making 
 this grant (which had been prepared by Hamilton) 
 it was stated, "that Congress was desirous, as well 
 of gratifying the reasonable expectations of the 
 officers of the army, as of removing aU objections 
 which may exist in any part of the United States 
 to the principle of the half-pay establishment— 
 
120 CLOSE OP THE WAE. 
 
 persuaded that those objections can only arise from 
 the nature of the compensation, not from any indis- 
 position to compensate those whose services, sacri- 
 fices, and sufferings have so just a title to the 
 approbation and rewards of their country." 
 
 And now the news arrived, that the long-wished- 
 for peace was really concluded. In December, 1782, 
 George III. had already acknowledged the indepen- 
 dence of the American Colonies in the speech from 
 the throne. "In thus admitting their separation," 
 he said, " from the Crown of these kingdoms, I have 
 sacrificed every consideration of my own to the 
 wishes and opinion of my people. I make it my 
 humble and earnest prayer to Almighty God, that 
 Great Britain may not feel the evils which might 
 resvlt from so great a dismemberment of the empire ; 
 and that America may be free from those calamities, 
 which have formerly proved in the mother-country 
 how essential monarchy is to the enjoyment of 
 constitutional liberty. Eeligion, language, interest, 
 affections, may, and I hope will, yet prove a bond 
 of permanent union between the two countries. To 
 this end neither attention nor disposition shall be 
 wanting on my part." On the 20th of the following 
 January, the preliminaries of peace were signed at 
 
CLOSE OF THE WAR. 121 
 
 Paris, and a letter from Lafayette, who had returned 
 to his native country, first brought the tidings of 
 the event to America. The vessel, which carried 
 the letter, reached Philadelphia on the 23d of 
 March, 1783. 
 
 The people of the United States have never stood 
 so high in the estimation of mankLad as they did 
 at this moment. The internal dissensions which had 
 begun to darken the face of their triumph were not 
 perceptible abroad, their financial difficulties were 
 rightly ascribed to the inevitable results of war, and 
 whatever weakness might be inherent in their Con- 
 federacy was unknown or disregarded. It was only 
 remembered that they had ventured all in defence 
 of those liberties which they claimed as their 
 birthright ; that, through eight long years, they had 
 maintained the struggle with singular courage, per- 
 severance, and sagacity ; that they had raised armies, 
 organized a government, contracted foreign alliances, 
 and finally succeeded in establishing their indepen- 
 dence, and taking their place amongst the recognized 
 powers of the world ; and that all this had been 
 done with means apparently inadeq[uate, and had 
 not been accompanied with the excesses of revo- 
 lutionary violence, No wonder that the philan- 
 
122 CLOSE OF THE WAK. 
 
 thropists of all countries hailed their success as 
 a great step in the progress of humanity, and looked 
 to their future as fuU of hope and prondse. It 
 seemed as if the problem of centuries was ahout 
 to be solved by the young Eepublic of the Weat^ 
 and that the nations were at length to behold the 
 spectacle of a people entirely self-governed, with 
 wisdom and virtue enough to unite aU the conditions 
 of order, security, and freedom. It remains to be 
 seen how far the hope has been realized, and the 
 briUiant promise fulfilled. 
 
CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 THE CONPEDBRACY IN DANGER. 
 
 SCAECELY was the termination of the war 
 known in America, when Hamilton thus wrote 
 to Washington : — " Your Excellency will, before this 
 reaches you, have received a letter from the Marquis 
 de Lafayette, informing you that the preliminaries 
 of peace, between all the belligerent powers, have 
 been concluded. I congratulate your Excellency on 
 this happy conclusion of your labours. It now only 
 remains to make solid establishments within, to 
 perpetuate our Union, to prevent our being a ball 
 in the hands of European powers, bandied against 
 each other at their pleasure; in fine, to make our 
 independence truly a blessing. This, it is to be 
 lamented, will be an arduous work; for, to borrow 
 a figure from mechanics, the centrifugal is much 
 stronger than the centripetal force in these States. 
 The seeds of disunion are much more numerous 
 
124 THE CONFEDERA.CY IN DANGBE. 
 
 than those of union. I will add, that your Excel- 
 lency's exertions are as essential to accomplish this 
 end, as they have been to establish independence." 
 
 A few days after, "Washington replied in these 
 terms: — "I rejoice most exceedingly there is an 
 end to our warfare, and that such a field is open 
 to our view, as will, with wisdom to direct the 
 cultivation of it, make us a great, a respectable, 
 and a happy people; but it must be improved by 
 other means than state politics and unreasonable 
 jealousies and prejudices, or it requires not the 
 second-sight to see that we shall be instruments 
 in the hands of our enemies. . . . My wish to see 
 the Union of these States established upon liberal 
 and permanent principles, and inclination to con- 
 tribute my mite in pointing out the defects of the 
 present constitution, are equally great. All my 
 private letters have teemed with these sentiments, 
 and, wherever this topic has been the subject of 
 conversation, I have endeavoured to diffuse and 
 enforce them; but how far any further essay by 
 me might be productive of the wished-for end, or 
 appear to arrogate more than belongs to me, 
 depends so much upon popular opinion, and the 
 temper and disposition of people, that it is not 
 
THE CONFEDEKACY IN DANGER. 125 
 
 easy to decide. I shall be obliged to you, how- 
 ever, for the thoughts you have promised me on 
 this subject, and as soon as you can make it 
 convenient. No man in the United States is or 
 can be more deeply impressed with the necessity 
 of a reform in our present Confederation than 
 myself No man, perhaps, has felt the bad effects 
 of it more sensibly; for to the defects thereof, and 
 want of powers in Congress, may justly he ascribed 
 the prolongation of the war, and, consequently, the 
 ea^enses occasioned hy it. More than half of the 
 perplexities I have experienced in the course of 
 my command, and almost the whole of the diffi- 
 culties and distress of the army, have their origin 
 here ; but stiQ, the prejudices of some, the designs 
 of others, and the mere machinery of the majority, 
 make address and management necessary to give 
 weight to opinions, which are to combat the doctrines 
 of these different classes of men in the field of 
 politics." 
 
 The general and his former aide-de-camp were thus 
 fully agreed in the necessity of a change in the consti- 
 tution, and, indeed, the defects of the Confederacy 
 soon forced themselves on the attention of all sober 
 and thoughtful miads. It had originated in a league 
 
126 THE CONFEDERACY IN DANGER. 
 
 of independent States for a special purpose, and 
 the first Congress was nothing more than a volun- 
 tary meeting of delegates from separate communi- 
 ties, to concert measures of resistance, to the demands 
 of England. When war became imminent, they 
 were obliged to raise a continental army, to appoint 
 a commander-in-chief, and to do other acts of 
 sovereignty, which are generally supposed to belong 
 exclusively to a national government. A little 
 later, the Declaration of Independence expressly 
 established the principle, that the United States 
 could enter into treaties, contract alliances, levy 
 war, or conclude peace, in their corporate capacity. 
 And on the 17th of November, 1777, Congress 
 recommended the thirteen States to invest their 
 delegates with competent powers to subscribe articles 
 of Confederation and Perpetual Union; but this 
 recommendation was not finally adopted by all 
 the States, till after a delay of nearly three years 
 and a half. New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Ehode 
 Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Vir- 
 ginia, and South Carolina, ratified the Articles on 
 the 9th of July, 1778 ; North Carolina followed on 
 the 21st of July, Georgia on the 24th of the same 
 month, and New Jersey on the 26th of November ; 
 
THE CONFEDEEACY IN DANGER. 127 
 
 but Delaware did not sign till the 5th of May, 
 1779, and Maryland not till the 1st of March, 1781. 
 These Articles of Confederation were, in them- 
 selves, very vague and unsatisfactory. They declared, 
 as might have been expected, that their object was 
 to establish a permanent Union, for their common 
 defence, the security of their liberties, and their 
 mutual and general weKare. They provided, that 
 the free iahabitants of each State should be entitled 
 to all the privileges of free citizens in the several 
 States ; that there should be an open intercourse 
 and commerce between them; that fugitives from 
 justice should be delivered up by one State to an- 
 other ; and that full credit should be given iu each 
 State to the records, acts, and judicial proceedings 
 of every other State. But they likewise declared, 
 that each State retained its sovereignty, freedom, 
 and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, 
 and right, not expressly delegated by the instru- 
 ment itself to the United States in Congress as- 
 sembled. The Congress was to consist of one 
 Eepresentative Assembly, elected by the several 
 States, in such manner as the Legislature of each 
 State might determine ; but no State was to be repre- 
 sented by more than seven, or less than two delegates. 
 
128 THE CONFEDERACY IN DANGER. 
 
 and, in deciding any question, eacH State was to 
 have one vote. 
 
 To the Congress, so constituted, was committed 
 the sole right of determining on peace and war, 
 of sending and receiving ambassadors, of entering 
 into treaties and alliances, of dealing with all 
 captures and prizes, of granting letters of marque 
 and reprisal, and of establishing courts for the trial 
 of piracies and felonies on the high seas. It was 
 also invested with power to decide, in the last resort, 
 all disputes between two or more States, concerning 
 boundary, jurisdiction, or any other cause ; to regu- 
 late the alloy and value of coin, struck by its own 
 authority, or that of the respective States ; to fix 
 the standard of weights and measures ; to regulate 
 the trade with the Indians ; to take the management 
 of the post-offices; and generally to appoint all 
 officers in the service of the United States, and 
 to direct the operations of the forces by sea and 
 land. 
 
 But the restrictions which accompanied these 
 powers rendered them almost nugatory. By the 
 same instrument it was provided, that Congress 
 should never engage in a war, nor grant letters of 
 marque or reprisal, nor enter into any treaties or 
 
THE CONFEDERACY IN DANGER. 129 
 
 alliances, nor coin money or regulate its value, not 
 ascertain the sums of money necessary for the puhlic 
 defence and welfare, nor emit bills, nor borrow 
 money on the credit of the United States, nor 
 appropriate money, nor agree upon the number of 
 vessels for the navy, or the number of land and 
 sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a commander- 
 in-chief, unless nine States should assent to the same. 
 And, while aU expenses for the common defence 
 and welfare had to be defrayed out of a 'public 
 treasury, this treasmy was to be supplied, not by 
 taxes, duties, or imposts levied by the authority 
 of Congress, hut ly taxes laid and levied ly the 
 Legislatures of the several States, in proportion to 
 the value of the land, buildings, and improvements 
 within the limits of each State. And although 
 the Articles of Confederation declared that every 
 State should abide by the decision of Congress, on 
 all the questions subject to the control of that 
 body, they contained no provision for enforcing its 
 • measures, and practically left every State at liberty 
 to disregard them, unless constrained by the feax 
 of the penalties of civil war. 
 
 There was, indeed, one security against the dis- 
 solution of the Confederacy, in the existence of a 
 
 K 
 
IBO THE CONEEDEEACY IN DANGER. 
 
 vast territory, as yet unoccupied, tut hereafter to 
 "be formed into new States and Governments, which 
 Was held, as it were, in trust by Congress, for the 
 benefit of the whole Union. It was clear that no 
 single State could withdraw from the Confederacy, 
 without risking its interest in these possessions, 
 ■and there can be little doubt that this consideration 
 ■had a powerful influence in binding the States 
 together. StUl, whatever may have been the force 
 of this motive, and of those recollections of common 
 danger and glory, whicb had been Mt by the events 
 of the war, it soon became apparent, when the 
 pressure from without was removed by the return 
 of peace, that the several members of the league 
 had a strong tendency to fly asunder, 'and that 
 the constitution they had adopted was far too 
 feeble to serve as a restraining tie. 
 
 The proofs of the weakness of the government 
 Were too patent to be denied. While Hamilton 
 was urging a provision for the maintenance of a 
 peace establishment of military and naval forces,- 
 the mutiny of some eighty soldiers at Philadelphia, 
 and the refusal of the local authorities to call out 
 the militia, obliged Confess to leave that place, 
 and to. adjourn to Princeton, in New -Jersey. It 
 
.THE CONFEDEKACY IN DASTGEI^. 131 
 
 afterwards removed to Aimapolis ; and, as tlie States 
 oould not agree on a seat of government, it seemed 
 likely to become a migratory body, with constantly 
 diminishing numbers and influence. It had so 
 dwindled away, that in December, 1783, on the 
 solemn occasion when Washington came to resign 
 his trust into the hands of the country he had 
 saved, only seven States, represented by about twenty 
 delegates, took part in the ceremony. And when 
 the Treaty of Peace was finally to be ratified by the 
 Legislature, many weeks elapsed before the attendance 
 of the required number of nine States could be pro- 
 cured, and, even then, only three-and-twenty members 
 were present at the ratification. 
 
 Such was the body — so powerless, and already 
 grown so neglectful of its duties — that was expected 
 to meet aU the difficulties of the transition from 
 war to peace, to maintain the faith of the country 
 with foreign nations, to uphold its credit abroad 
 and at home, and to preserve and perpetuate the 
 Union. Some stood aghast at the prospect, and 
 others attempted to avert the danger by temporary 
 expedients. Hamilton, and Hamilton alone, saw 
 the fuU extent of the peril, and was prepared to 
 devise a remedy. He entered into a complete 
 K 2 
 
132 .THE CONFEDEKACY IN DANGER. 
 
 examination of the principles of the existing Con- 
 federation, and condemned them as utterly im- 
 practicable, and incapable of adaptation or amend- 
 ment. He held that the only course was for 
 Congress freely and frankly to inform the country 
 of the defects under which they laboured, and 
 which made it impossible for them to conduct the 
 public affairs with honour to themselves or advan- 
 tage to the Union ; and to recommend to the several 
 States to appoint a Convention, with full powers 
 to revise the Confederation, and to adopt and pro- 
 pose such alterations in the constitution and govern- 
 ment as should appear necessary, to be finally 
 approved or rejected by the respective States. 
 
 With this, purpose, he drew up a set of resolutions 
 to be submitted to Congress, which afford the most 
 striking evidence of his far-reaching views, and 
 contain the first germ of the future constitution 
 of his country. In them he pointed out that the 
 Confederation was essentially defective : 
 
 1st. In confining the Federal Government within 
 too narrow limits ; in withholding from it ef&cacious 
 authority and influence in all matters of common 
 concern; in embarrassing general provisions by 
 unnecessary details and inconvenient exceptions, 
 
THE CONFEDEEACY IN DANGER. 133 
 
 tending to create jealousies and disputes between 
 the Union and the particular States. 
 
 2d. In confounding legislative and executive 
 powers in a single body, contrary to the most ap- 
 proved and well-founded maxims of free govern- 
 ment, which require that the legislative, executive, 
 and judicial authorities should be deposited in dis- 
 tinct and separate hands. 
 
 3d. In the want of a Federal Judicature, having 
 cognisance of all matters of general concern in the 
 last resort, especially those in which foreign nations 
 and their subjects are interested ; from which 
 defect the national treaties were liable to be in- 
 fringed, the national faith violated, and the public 
 tranquillity disturbed. 
 
 4th. In vesting the United States in Congress 
 assembled with the power of general taxation for 
 certain purposes, and yet rendering that power 
 nugatory, by withholding from them all control 
 over either the imposition or collection of taxes. 
 
 5th. In fixing a rule for determining the pro- 
 portion of each State towards the common charges, 
 which, if practicable at all, must in the execution 
 be attended with great expense, inequality, un- 
 certainty, and difBculty. 
 
134 THE CONFEDERACY IN DANGER. 
 
 6th. In authorizing Congress to borrow money, 
 or emit bills, on the credit of the United States, 
 without the power of establishing funds to secure 
 the repayment of the money, or the redemption of 
 the bills. And, indeed, in authorizing Congress 
 at all to emit an unfwnded ^paper as the sign of 
 value — a resource indispensable in the commence- 
 ment of the Eevolution, but in its nature pregnant 
 with abuses, liable to be made the engine of im- 
 position and fraud, and pernicious to the integrity 
 of government and to the morals of the people. 
 
 'Tth. In not making proper or competent pro- 
 vision for interior or exterior defence. 
 
 8th. In not vesting in the United States a 
 general superintendence of trade, equally necessary 
 in the view of revenue and regulation, 
 
 9th. In defeating essential powers by provisoes 
 and limitations inconsistent with their nature ; as 
 the power of making treaties with foreign nations, 
 provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made 
 restricting the respective States from imposing du- 
 ties, "or from prohibiting the importation or ex- 
 portation of any species of goods or eommodities 
 whatsoever." 
 
 10th. In granting to the .United States the sole 
 
THE .CONFEDERACY IN DANGER. 135 
 
 power of regulating the alloy aixd value of coin 
 struck by their' own authority, or that of the re- 
 spective States, without the power of regulating 
 foreign coin in circulation. 
 
 11th. In requiring the assent of nine States 
 to matters of principal importance, and of seven 
 States to all others, except adjournments from day 
 to day — a rule destructive of vigour, consistency, 
 oj expedition in affairs, and tending to subject the 
 sense of the majority to that of the minority, by 
 putting it in the power of a small combination to 
 retard, and even to frustrate, the most necessary 
 measures. 
 
 12th. In vesting in the Federal Government th§ 
 sole direction of the interests of the United 
 States in their intercourse with foreign nations, 
 without empowering it to pass all general laws in 
 aid and support, of the laws of nations ; for the 
 want of which authority the faith of the United 
 States might be broken, their reputation sullied, and 
 their peace interrupted,, by the fl,,egligenoe or mis* 
 conception of any particular State. ^ 
 
 The resolutions then go on to declare that, whereast 
 experience has clearly manifested that the powers, 
 reserved to. the Union, aje unequal to the purposes 
 
136 THE CONFEDEEACY IN DAl^GEK. 
 
 of the- comTnon welfare and defence — whereas the 
 United States have been too often compelled to 
 make the administration of their affairs a succession 
 of temporary expedients^ inconsistent with order, 
 economy, energy, or a scrupulous adherence to the 
 public engagements, and now find themselves, at 
 the close of a glorious struggle for independence, 
 without any certain means of doing justice to those 
 who have fought and suffered, and contributed their 
 property and personal service to the common cause ; 
 whereas the security of their funded debt depends 
 on the precarious concurrence of thirteen distinct 
 deliberative assemblies, the dissent of any one of 
 which might leave these States, at this early- period 
 of their existence, involved in all the disgrace and 
 mischief of violated faith and national bankruptcy — 
 and whereas it is essential to the happiness and 
 security of these States, that their Union should 
 be established on the most solid foundations, and 
 it is manifest that this desirable object cannot be 
 effected but by a Govbbnment, capable, both in 
 peace and war, of making every member of the Union 
 contribute in just proportion to the common necessities, 
 and directing the forces and wills of the several parts 
 to a general end — Congress conceive it to be their 
 
THE CONFEDEEACY IN DANGEE. 137 
 
 duty freely to. state to their constituents the defects 
 which have heen discovered in the Confederation, 
 and solemnly to call their attention to a thorough 
 revisal of the same. 
 
 The above is a brief summary of these important 
 resolutions, every line of which deserved the at- 
 tentive consideration of persons calling themselves 
 statesmen. But, as usual with him, Hamilton was 
 anticipating the progress of opinion. He found 
 that it would be impossible to carry his proposal 
 through Congress, and he was unwilling to risk 
 the injurious effect of its formal rejection. Waiting 
 for the period when his principles would be forced 
 on the nation by the lessons of a bitter experience, 
 he withdrew his resolutions, leaving this endorse- 
 ment on the draft he had made of them : — 
 "Intended to be submitted to Congress in 1783, 
 but abandoned for want of support." 
 
 No doubt, many regarded him as a dangerous 
 innovator, objected to him as a political theorist, 
 or smiled at him as a visionary. " But the tem- 
 porary expedients of the moment," says Mr. Curtis, 
 in his lucid History of the Constitution, " always 
 pass away. The great ideas of a statesman like 
 Hamilton, earnestly bent on the discovery and in- 
 
138 THE. aONFEDEEACY IN DANGER 
 
 cidcation of truth, do not pass away. Wiser than 
 those by whom he was surrounded, with a deeper 
 knowledge of the science of government and th^ 
 wants of the country than aU of them, and con- 
 stantly enunciating- principles which extended far 
 beyond the temporizing policy of the hour, the 
 smUes of his opponents only prove to posterity 
 how far he was in advance of them." 
 
 Perceiving, however, that he could effect little 
 good for the present, and anxious to maintain his 
 family by the practice of an honourable profession, 
 Hamilton determined to retire from Congress. Be- 
 fore the resignation of Washington, or the ratifi- 
 fication of the Treaty, he had already returaed 
 home. 
 
 It is now generally admitted, that the: interval 
 which elapsed between the Peace of 1783 and the 
 Convention of 1787 was fuU of extreme peril to 
 the Confederacy., While Congress was sinking in 
 the public estimation, unable to preserve its credit, 
 or fulfil tke national obligations, the jealousies and 
 rivalries of the States were on the increase, and 
 patriotism usually took the form of some narrow, 
 local attachment. The people of America, united 
 for a season by the great struggle for independency, 
 
THE CONFEDERACY IN DANGER. 139 
 
 seemed about to spKt into a number of obscure 
 and hostile factions, who only agreed in their 
 devotion to republican forms, and in their antipathy 
 to anjiihing that resembled a strong government. 
 It was observed that the relaxation of authority 
 had been followed by a corresponding change in 
 manners — that the old respect of servants for 
 masters, of children for their parents, of the young 
 for the aged, was on the wane — that politeness 
 and reverence were giving place to a rude and 
 boisterous self-assertion — and, while good men 
 apprehended a moral and social deterioration, merely 
 prudent men looked forward with dismay to the 
 prospect of political anarchy. 
 
CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 HAMILTON AT THE BAK. 
 
 WHEN the British evacuated New York in 
 1783, that city numbered only twenty-five 
 thousand inhabitants. It was, however, already a 
 place of importance, and the return of peace secured 
 for it a speedy accession of wealth and commerce. It 
 was there that Hamilton, resolved to fix his residence, 
 and to commence the practice of his profession. 
 
 The first cause in which he was engaged exactly 
 suited his character and talents. An action was 
 brought by an American citizen against a British 
 subject, under a local statute, which authorized 
 proceedings for trespass by persons who had left 
 their abodes in consequence of the invasion of the 
 enemy, against those who had been in possession 
 of the premises during the war. The statute ex- 
 pressly precluded a justification of the occupancy 
 by virtue of any military order. The case involved 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAR, 141 
 
 many others, and affected a large amount of pro- 
 perty; and, under the cireunistances of the times, 
 the plaintiff had all the sympathy of a population 
 which had suffered greatly from the war, and now 
 looked for redress and restitution from the laws of 
 their country. 
 
 But the treaty with Great Britain had secured an 
 amnesty for acts done during the war ;' and it was 
 without precedent, that, after the conclusion of peace, 
 suits could be commenced hy the subjects of one 
 belligerent against those of another, for injuries com- 
 mitted during the war % military orders. It was 
 obvious that the law of nations was here in collision 
 with the local statute, and it became of the utmost 
 urgency to determine whether the court would up- 
 hold the State-legislation, against the constitutional 
 powers of Congress to bind aU. the members of the 
 Confederacy by treaty. It was a question of national 
 faith and honour, and might be attended with the 
 most momentous consequences. 
 
 The attorney-general o£ the State appeared for 
 the plaintiff. The statute was explicit and obliga- 
 tory. ISTo court of limited jurisdiction could look 
 beyond it. Look where ? To the law of nations ? 
 That law was unsettled, changeable, affording no 
 
142 HAMILTON AT THE BAE. 
 
 certain rule, and ought to have no influence on the 
 government of this State. The war was unjust. By 
 an unjust war the unjust party can acquire no rights. 
 Nor was that court to be bound by the treaty. New 
 Tork was a sovereign, independent State. Congress 
 had no power to bind the State in this matter, and 
 could not by treaty give away the rights of its 
 citizens. A case lilce this had never before been 
 heard of It was without a precedent, and he stood 
 upon the statute. 
 
 Then Hamilton rose for the defendant. He began 
 by dilating on the importance of the question, which 
 might affect aU the relations of two great empires, be 
 discussed in Europe, produce a good or bad impres- 
 sion of America, and establish precedents that would 
 give a complexion to future decisions, and be handed 
 down to posterity as indicating the character of Ame- 
 rican jurisprudence. They were told there was no 
 precedent. Then, indeed, it was a new case, and a 
 new case must be determined by the law of nature 
 and the public good. But this case could be decided 
 by the laws of nations. He was asked, "Where are 
 they to be found? He answered, that they were 
 the deductions of reason, collected from the prin- 
 ciples laid down by writers on the, subject, estab- 
 
■HAMILTON AT THE EAK. 143 
 
 lished by the authorized practice of nations, and a 
 part of the law of the land. The laws of nations 
 and the laws of war are part of the common law. 
 
 After an ahle argument, to show how the general 
 principles of the law of nations applied to the 
 matter in hand, Hamilton proceeded to address him- 
 self to the special effect of the treaty, with a view 
 to prove that this action could not be maintained 
 without a violation of the terms -of peace. The 
 treaty included an amnesty, which was of its very 
 essence, and which applied to private persons as well 
 3u& to the public. To say that Congress had no right 
 to bind the State was to reduce the Confederation 
 to the " shadow of a shade." But Congress had an 
 uncLuestionable right. The sovereignty and inde- 
 pendence of the people began by a Federal act ; 
 foreign nations only recognized it in the Union ; 
 and the Union was known and legalized in the 
 constitution of New York. The Confederation had 
 left to Congress the full and exclusive powers of 
 war, peace, and treaty. The power of making peace 
 is the power of determining its conditions. It is a 
 rule of reason and law, that, to whomsoever any 
 thing is granted, fliat also is granted without which 
 it cannot exist. It is true that the power in this 
 
144 HAMILTON AT THE- BAR. 
 
 case did not permit the making all possible conr 
 ditions — suet, as dismembering the empire, or sur- 
 rendering the liberties of the people ; but it included 
 the power of making aU reasonable aiid usual con- 
 ditions — such as a remission of damages — for, with- 
 out it, the state of war would continue. 
 
 But could Congress, by treaty, give away the 
 rights of citizens of New York ? To this Hamilton 
 answered : — 1st. That the citizens of New York had 
 given them power to do it for their own safety. — ' 
 2d. That the property of all the individual members 
 of a State is the property of the State itself, in regard 
 to other nations. Hence, an injury from the Govern- 
 ment gives a right to take away, in war, the property 
 of its innocent subjects. Hence, also, the claim of 
 damages for injuries done is in the public, who may 
 agree for an equivalent, or release the claim without 
 it. Hence, to make the defendant answerable would 
 be a breach of the treaty of peace. It would be a 
 breach, also, of the Confederation. Congress having 
 made a treaty pursuant to their power, a breach of 
 that trea,ty would be a violation of their constitu- 
 tional authority, and a breach of the Confederation. 
 The power of Congress in making treaties is of a 
 legislative kind; their proclamation, enjoinino- the 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAE. 145 
 
 observance of a treaty, is a law, and a law paramount 
 to that of any particular State. If it be said that 
 the sovereign authority may, for reasons of state, 
 violate its treaties, and that the laws in violation of 
 them bind its own subjects ; it is not true that the 
 sovereignty of any one State has legally this power, 
 for it has delegated all power of the kind to 
 Congress, who are equally to judge of the neces- 
 sity of breaking, as of the propriety of making 
 treaties. 
 
 If it be said that the accession to the Confedera- 
 tion was an act of the Legislature, and why may 
 not another act alter or dissolve it? — the answer 
 is, that the Union was known in the constitution 
 as pre-existing, and that the act of Confederation 
 was a modification and abridgment of Federal 
 authority. But, if this were not the case, the 
 reasoning would not apply. For the government 
 of ]^ew York, in acceding to the Confederation, 
 must be considered, not as a sovereign enacting a 
 law, but as a party to a contract. It is absurd to 
 say that one of the parties to a contract may, at 
 pleasure, alter it without the consent of the others. 
 It is not denied that a part of an empire may, 
 in certain cases, dismember itself from the rest. 
 
 L 
 
146 HAMILTON AT THE BAK. 
 
 But this supposes a dissolution of the original 
 compact. While the Confederation exists, a law of 
 a particular State derogating from its constitutional 
 authority is no law. But how are the judges to 
 decide ? they are servants of the State ! — The answer 
 is, that the Confederation having vested no judicial 
 powers in Congress, excepting in prize causes, in 
 all other matters the judges of each State must, of 
 necessity, be judges of the United States, and take 
 notice of the law of Congress as a part of the law 
 of the land. It is conceded that the Legislature of 
 one State cannot repeal a law of the United States. 
 When there are two laws, one not repealing the 
 other, the judges must construe them so as to 
 make them stand together. And, where two laws 
 clash, that which relates to the most important 
 concerns ought to prevail. 
 
 "Many of these arguments," he continued, "are 
 on the supposition that the trespass act cannot 
 stand with the laws of nations and the treaty. 
 It may, however, legally receive such a construc- 
 tion as will stand with all; and to give it this 
 construction is precisely the duty of the court. We 
 have seen that to make the defendant liable would 
 be to violate the laws of nations, and to forfeit 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAE. 147 
 
 our character as a civilized people; to violate a 
 solemn treaty of peace, and revive the state of 
 hostility; to infringe the Confederation of the 
 United States, and to endanger the peace of the 
 whole. Can we suppose aU this to have been 
 intended by the Legislature ? The answer is : The 
 law cannot suppose it ; if it were intended, the act 
 is void!" 
 
 He then proceeded to lay down rules for the 
 construction of statutes, which would render this 
 extremity unnecessary ; and, after a minute investi- 
 gation of the jurisdiction of the court, and of the 
 distinctions to be taken between American citizens 
 and British subjects, claiming the protection of the 
 law of nations, he wound up with a vehement 
 exhortation to preserve the Confederation and the 
 national faith, and concluded in the words of Seneca : 
 " Fides sanctificissimum ihumani pectoris honum est." 
 
 The above argument, although much abridged, 
 has been given at some length, not only as charac- 
 teristic of Hamilton, but because it deals with a 
 great constitutional difficulty, which is constantly 
 reappearing in the history of the United States 
 It is this conflict between State rights and Federal 
 authority which has coloured almost every event 
 L 2 
 
148 HAMILTON AT THE BAR. 
 
 in the annals of America, influenced the men and 
 measures of the last eighty years, and been the 
 rock on which the republic was ever in danger of 
 splitting. To Hamilton belongs the merit, that he 
 was the first clearly to perceive, and distinctly to 
 point out, the full extent of the danger, and his 
 whole subsequent life was devoted to efforts to 
 remedy and correct the evil. If he did not entirely 
 succeed, it was owing to circumstances beyond 
 the control of any statesman, and to him at least 
 his country is indebted for such a solution of the 
 problem, as secured an interval of comparative 
 repose to more than one generation. 
 
 In the present instance, he brought over the 
 judges to his opinion, in spite of local prejudice 
 and popular clamour. The court decided that the 
 Union is known and legalized in the constitution, 
 and adopted as a fundamental law in the first act 
 of the Legislature. "The Federal compact," they 
 said, " hath vested Congress with full and exclusive 
 powers to make peace and war. This treaty they 
 have made and ratified, and rendered its obliga- 
 tion perpetual ; and we are clearly of opinion, that 
 no State in this Union can alter or abridge, in a 
 single point, the Federal articles or the treaty." 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAK. 149 
 
 But this decision, thougli given in due form of 
 law, was at once called in question. It was first 
 denounced in a great public meeting, as an act of 
 "judicial tyranny ; " and then the Legislature of New 
 York passed resolutions, declaring it to be "sub- 
 versive of all law and good order," and recommend- 
 ing the appointment of judges "who will govern 
 themselves by the known law of the land." A 
 disposition prevailed to set reason and equity at 
 defiance, and to admit no standard of right and 
 wrong but the blind popular will. 
 
 The same spirit showed itself in other ways, and, 
 wherever it showed itself, Hamilton was there to 
 confront it. Although the treaty had expressly 
 declared " that no prosecutions should be commenced 
 against any person on account of the part he might 
 have taken in the war, and that no person should, 
 on that account, suffer any future loss or damage, 
 either in person, liberty, or property," the Legis- 
 lature of New York passed an act, making those 
 inhabitants who had adhered to the enemy, if found 
 within the State, guilty of misprision of treason, 
 and rendering them incapable of holding of&ce, or 
 voting at elections. What made this proceeding 
 doubly odious was^ that some of the representatives 
 
150 HAMILTOlf AT THE BAR. 
 
 of tte State had already enriclied themselves by 
 the purchase of the forfeited property of the loyal- 
 istSj and their motives could hardly escape suspicion, 
 ■when they forced through another bill, entitled 
 " An Act for the speedy Sale of Confiscated Estates." 
 It was not -in Hamilton's nature to restrain his 
 indignation at such conduct, and this time it was 
 not as an advocate, but as a private citizen, that 
 he took up the cause of justice. He addressed a 
 pamphlet to the people of New York, under the 
 signature of Phocion, in which he called upon the 
 true friends of liberty to resist the attempts of 
 persons "who pretend to appeal to the spirit of 
 Whiggism, while they endeavour to put in motion 
 all the furious and dark passions of the human 
 mind. The spirit of Whiggism is generous, humane, 
 beneficent, and just. These men inculcate revenge, 
 cruelty, persecution, and perfidy. The spirit of 
 Whiggism cherishes legal liberty, holds the rights 
 of every individual sacred, condemns or punishes 
 no man, without regular trial and conviction of some 
 crime declared by antecedent laws, and reprobates 
 equally the punishment of the citizen by arbitrary 
 acts of the Legislature, as by the lawless combina- 
 tions of unauthorized individuals ; while these men 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAK. 151' 
 
 are the advocates for expelling a large number of 
 their feUow-citizens, unlieard, untried; or, if they 
 cannot effect this, are for disfranchising them in 
 the face of the constitution, without the judgment 
 of their peers, and contrary to the law of the land." 
 
 Inspired by those old words of Magna Gharta, 
 which to men of English blood carry more weight 
 than a thousand vague and frothy declamations 
 about natural rights, Hamilton proceeds to show the 
 dangers of such acts of arbitrary power. "Nothing 
 is more common," he says, " than for a free people, 
 in times of heat and violence, to gratify momentary 
 passions by letting into the government principles 
 and precedents which afterwards prove fatal to 
 themselves. Of this kind is the doctrine of dis- 
 qualification, disfranchisement, and banishment, by 
 acts of the Legislature. The dangerous consequences 
 of this power are manifest. If the Legislature can 
 disfranchise any number of citizens at pleasure, by 
 general descriptions, it may soon confine all the 
 votes to a small number of partisans, and establish 
 an aristocracy or an oligarchy ; if it may banish at 
 discretion all those whom particular circumstances 
 render obnoxious, without hearing or trial, no man 
 can be safe, nor know when he may be the innocent 
 
152 HAMILTON AT THE BAE. 
 
 victim of a prevailing faction. The name of liberty 
 applied to such a government would be a mockery 
 of common sense." 
 
 Having proved that the scheme proposed was in 
 direct violation of the treaty, he goes on to ask : — 
 " Can we do by act of the Legislature what the 
 treaty disables us from doing by due course of 
 law ? This would be to imitate the Eoman general, 
 who, having promised Antiochus to restore half his 
 vessels, caused them to be sawed in two before 
 their delivery ; or the Platseans, who, having pro- 
 mised the Thebans to restore their prisoners, had 
 them first put to death, and returned them dead. 
 Such fraudulent subterfuges are justly considered 
 more odious than an open and avowed violation 
 of treaty." 
 
 He then considers the supremacy of Congress 
 on the subject, the danger of retaliatory acts on 
 the part of England, and the impolicy of measures 
 which tend to keep aHve the seeds of perpetual 
 discord. "With regard to an argument which had 
 been used on the other side, that the artisans were 
 interested in excluding the Tories, because they 
 might introduce an injurious competition in their 
 several trades, he replies with a knowledge of 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAR. 153 
 
 principles not very common in his time : — " There 
 is a certain proportion or level in all the depart- 
 ments of industry. It is folly to think to raise any 
 of them, and keep them long above their natural 
 height. By attempting to do it, the economy of 
 the political machine is disturbed, and, till things 
 return to their proper state, the society at large 
 suffers. The only object of concern with an in- 
 dustrious artisan is, that there may be plenty of 
 money in the community, and a brisk commerce 
 to give it activity and circulation. All attempts at 
 profit, tTirough the medium of m.onopoly or violence, 
 will he as fallacious as they are culpahle." 
 
 The pamphlet closes with a passage which every 
 free nation should be ready to lay to heart, and 
 which the United States might stiU study with 
 great advantage to themselves and to the world : 
 
 " Were the people of America with one voice 
 to ask : — What shall we do to perpetuate our 
 liberties and secure our happiness ? — The answer 
 would be : Govern well ! and you have nothing 
 to fear either from internal disaffection or external 
 hostnity. Abuse not the power you possess, and 
 you need never apprehend its diminution or loss. 
 But if you make a • wanton use of it ; if you 
 
154 HAMILTON AT THE BAE. 
 
 furnish another example, that despotism may debase 
 the government of the many as well as of the 
 few ; you, like all others that have acted the same 
 part, wiU experience that licentiousness is the 
 forerunner of slavery. 
 
 "How wise was the policy of Augustus, who, 
 after conquering his enemies, when the papers of 
 Brutus were brought to him, which would have 
 disclosed all his secret associates, immediately 
 ordered them to be burnt. He would not even 
 know his enemies, that they might cease to hate 
 when they had nothing to fear. How laudable 
 was the example of Elizabeth, who, when she was 
 transferred from the prison to the throne, fell upon 
 her knees, and, thanking heaven for the deliverance 
 it had granted her from her bloody persecutors, 
 dismissed her resentment. The reigns of these 
 two sovereigns are among the most illustrious in 
 history. Their moderation gave a stability to their 
 government which nothing else could have effected. 
 This was the secret of uniting all parties. 
 
 "These sentiments are delivered to you in the 
 frankness of conscious integrity, by one who feels 
 that solicitude for the good of the community 
 which the zealots whose opinions he encounters 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAE. 155 
 
 profess; by one who pursues not, as they do, the 
 honours or emoluments of his country ; by one 
 who has had too deep a share in the common 
 exertions of this rerolution to be willing to see 
 its fruits blasted by the violence of rash or un- 
 principled men, without at least protesting against 
 their designs ; by one who, though he has had 
 in the course of the revolution a very confidential 
 share in the public councils, civil and military, 
 and has as often, at least, met danger in the common 
 cause as any of those who now assume to be the 
 guardians of the public liberty — asks no other 
 reward of his countrymen, than to be heard without 
 prejudice for their own interest." 
 
 The tone of these last few lines may, perhaps, 
 remind the reader of the close of Burke's Reflections 
 on the French Revolution ; but they were certainly 
 written some six years before the appearance of 
 that celebrated essay. 
 
 The pamphlet and its author were at once at- 
 tacked by various writers, and amongst others by 
 a Mr. Isaac Ledyard, under the name of Mentor. 
 To this Hamilton replied in a second letter by 
 Phocion, which finally demolished the arguments 
 of his opponents. The eloquent and solemn warning 
 
156" HAMILTON AT THE.BAE. 
 
 with which it concludes is all that can be quoted 
 here: 
 
 "Those who are at present intrusted with power 
 in all these infant republics hold the most sacred 
 deposit that ever was confided to human hands. 
 It is with governments as with individuals, first 
 impressions and early habits give a lasting bias 
 to the temper and character. Our governments 
 hitherto have no habits. How important to the 
 happiness, not of America only, but of mankind, 
 that they should acquire good ones ? — If we set 
 out with justice, moderation, liberality, and a 
 scrupulous regard to the constitution, the govern- 
 ment will acquire a spirit and tone productive of 
 permanent blessings to the community. If, on the 
 contrary, the public councils are guided by humour, 
 passion, and prejudice — if, from resentment to indi- 
 viduals, or a dread of partial inconveniences, the 
 constitution is slighted or explained away upon 
 every frivolous pretext — the future spirit of govern- 
 ment will be feeble, distracted, and arbitrary. The 
 rights of the subject will be the sport of every 
 vicissitude. There wiU. be no settled rule of 
 conduct, but everything will fluctuate with the 
 alternate prevalency of contending factions. 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAR. 157 
 
 " The world has its eye upon America. The 
 noble struggle we have made in the cause of liberty 
 has occasioned a kind of revolution ia human senti- 
 ment. The influence of our example has penetrated 
 the gloomy regions of despotism, and has pointed 
 the way to inquiries which may shake it to its. deep- 
 est foundations. Men begin to ask everywhere : — 
 Who is this tyrant, that dares to build his greatness 
 on our misery and degradation ? What commission 
 has he to sacrifice millions to the wanton appetites of 
 himself and the few minions that surround his throne? 
 
 "To ripen inquiry into action, it remains for us 
 to justify the revolution by its fruits. If the conse- 
 quences prove that we have really asserted the cause 
 of human happiness, what may not be expected 
 from so illustrious an example? In a greater or 
 less degree, the world will bless and imitate. 
 
 "But if experience, in this instance, verifies the 
 lesson long taught by the enemies of liberty — that 
 the bulk of mankind are not fit to govern them- 
 selves — that they must have a master, and were 
 only made for the rein and the spur— we shall 
 then see the final triumph of despotism over liberty. 
 The advocates of the latter must acknowledge it to 
 be an ignis^ fatuus, and abandon the pursuit. With 
 
158 HAMILTON AT THE BAR, 
 
 the greatest advantages for promoting it that ever 
 a people had, we shall have betrayed the cause of 
 human- nature. Let those in whose hands it is 
 placed pause for a moment, and contemplate with 
 an eye of reverence the vast trust committed to 
 them. Let them retire into their own bosoms, and 
 examine the motives which there prevail. Let 
 them ask themselves this solemn question : — Is 
 the sacrifice of a few mistaken or criminal indi- 
 viduals an object worthy of the shifts to which 
 we are reduced, to evade the constitution and our 
 national engagements? Then let them review the 
 arguments that have been offered, with dispassionate 
 candour; and if they even dovht the propriety of 
 the measures they may be about to adopt, let 
 them remember, that in a 4oubtful case the consti- 
 tution ought never to be .hazarded without extreme 
 necessity." 
 
 The letters of Phocion carried conviction to the 
 minds of all moderate men. For that very reason 
 they excited the intense anger and disgust of the 
 more violent demagogues. These determined to 
 pick a quarrel with Hamilton, to challenge him, 
 and to force him to fight them in succession. 
 Ledyard, the Mentor of the controversy, had the 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAE. 159 
 
 sense and manliness to prevent this stupid outrage. 
 "No, no, gentlemen,'' he said; "this can never be. 
 "What ! you write as you- please, and, because you 
 cannot refute what he writes in reply, you form a 
 combiaation to take his life ! One challenges, and, 
 if he falls, another follows ! " His remonstrances 
 put a stop to the design; but the fact of its ever 
 haviag been entertained is indicative of the spirit 
 of the party, to which Hamilton, at all times, offered 
 his fearless and uncompromising opposition. 
 
 It was the same party which distinguished itself 
 by its endeavours to evade the payment of American 
 obligations, private as well as public, and so brought 
 a load of obloquy on the whole Union. The treaty 
 had provided, that creditors on either side should 
 meet with no legal impediments to the recovery 
 of the full value in sterling money of all hond fide 
 claims. It was reckoned that, at the commencement 
 of the war, three millions sterling were due from 
 the inhabitants of the Colonies to merchants in 
 Great Britain, and, according to any fair interpre- 
 tation of the treaty, interest, when agreed to be 
 paid, or payable by custom, might justly be de- 
 manded on such debts. But when, at the return 
 of peace, the British merchants looked for a settle- 
 
160 HAMILTON AT THE BAE. 
 
 ment of their accounts, they found that the laws 
 of several of the States deprived them of all remedy 
 against their debtors.- Some prohibited the recovery 
 of the principal, some of the interest, and others 
 suspended the collection of both, or made land a 
 good payment in place of money. The patriots, as 
 they called themselves, strongly resisted any altera- 
 tion in these laws, and, for some years, a state of 
 things existed which men like Hamilton felt to 
 be scandalous and humiliating. Long after, a 
 young Irish poet, whose sympathies were not gene- 
 rally on the side of power, described in caustic 
 verse — 
 
 "Those vaunted demagogues, wlio nobly rose 
 From England's debtors to be England's foes — 
 Who could their monarch in their purse forget. 
 And break allegiance but to cancel debt ! " 
 
 And, although the vast majority of Americans 
 would indignantly repel the imputation, there was 
 certainly enough in the conduct of some of their 
 politicians, to give a colour to the charge, and to 
 make them feel its sting. 
 
 But, while Hamilton was thus contending with 
 faction, and haunted by anxious fears for the future 
 of his country, he did not neglect the ordinary 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAR. 161 
 
 duties of his profession. The young lawyer had 
 already taken the same high place at the bar which 
 the young soldier had filled in the life of camps. 
 His statement of a case is described as at once 
 clear and exhaustive of the subject, saying all 
 that could be said, and anticipating every objection ; 
 and his eloc^uence would sometimes enchain, for 
 two or three successive hours, the attention of court 
 and jury. His figure, though slight and short, was 
 elegant and graceful, his countenance bright, his 
 carriage dignified, his manner sweet and engaging. 
 He was remarkably fluent in speech, he could rise, 
 on occasion, to lofty flights of rhetoric, and his 
 arguments bore the impress of the integrity and 
 benevolence of his character. With him, law was 
 ever the handmaid to justice, and none could suspect 
 him of paltering with the truth, or suppose him 
 capable of taking any mean or dishonourable advan- 
 tage. Though never a rich man, he was disinterested 
 and generous in all his professional dealings. When 
 a merchant of New York, wishing to retain his 
 legal services for five years, sent him a note for a 
 thousand dollars, he returned it 'as leing too much; 
 and when he had successfully defended a member 
 of the Society of Friends from a charge of Ubel, 
 
 M 
 
162 HAMILTON AT THE BAE. 
 
 for publicly exposing a person detected in the act 
 of kidnapping free blacks, lie refused the proffered 
 fee, witb a request that, " as they were both engaged 
 in the cause of humanity, his declining it might 
 not be mentioned." 
 
 Hamilton, himself, was opposed to the principle 
 of negro-slavery. He never owned a slave; and 
 when he learned that a domestic he had hired was 
 about to be sold by her master, he immediately 
 purchased her freedom. He once belonged to an 
 association for the gradual abolition of slavery, and 
 proposed a resolution, that every member of the 
 society should begin by manumitting his own 
 negroes. To this the others demurred, and Hamil- 
 ton discontinued his attendance at their meetings. 
 He was not to be deceived by words, and would 
 certainly never have adopted that cheap and spurious 
 philanthropy, which consists in the unmeasured 
 and indiscriminate abuse of the slave-holder, while 
 feeding on the fruits, and trading with the produce, 
 and growing rich by the indirect employment of 
 slave-labour. 
 
 During his first years at the bar, Hamilton was 
 brought into constant intercourse with a man whose 
 name was afterwards fatally associated with his own. 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAR. 163 
 
 His chief rival in his profession was a young lawyer, 
 about a year his senior, who, like him, had served 
 with distinction in the army, and, at the close of 
 the war, had betaken himself to far different 
 studies. Aaron Burr was in many respects an 
 extraordinary person, and, if he fell far below 
 Hamilton in genius and moral qualities, he had 
 some great gifts, which would have secured him a 
 distinguished place in almost any career. He was 
 descended from that rigid Puritan stock, which had 
 taken such deep root in New England from the 
 earliest times. His grandfather, on the mother's 
 side, was Jonathan Edwards, a preacher of wonderful 
 power in his day, and equally remarkable for the 
 narrowness of his theology, and the saintliness of 
 his hfe. His father, also, was a Presbyterian divine, 
 a famous schoolmaster, and president of the College 
 of New Jersey. But there was nothing in young 
 Aaron which betokened such a descent, if we except, 
 perhaps, the stubborn vigour which he may have 
 derived from the blood of the old Calvinists, and the 
 free command of language, which seems to have been 
 hereditary in his family. Left an orphan in childhood, 
 he grew up a wild, adventurous, intrepid, ungovern- 
 able boy. He ran away from his uncle, he ran away 
 M 2 
 
164 HAMILTON AT THE BAE. 
 
 from school — at ten years of age he embarked on 
 board a ship as a cabin-boy, and, when pursued, 
 climbed up to the magt-head, and refused to come 
 down till he had made his own terms — yet, with 
 all this, he astonished his tutors both at school and 
 coUege, by his rapid progress in his studies, when- 
 ever he chose to work. As if in recoil from the 
 strict evangelical views of his relations, he appears 
 to have embraced, while yet very young, sceptical 
 opinions in religion, and somewhat lax notions in 
 morals, and his subsequent experience did not effect 
 much improvement on these heads. When he 
 entered the -si^orld — brave, handsome, intelligent, 
 with honeyed speech, and gay, insinuating manners 
 — he acquired a dangerous influence over the fair 
 sex, which he exercised with few scruples of con- 
 science. At different periods he was engaged in a 
 succession of love affairs, and his contemporaries 
 accused him of leading a life of licentiousness ; but 
 there is some reason to believe that his own vanity, 
 as well as the malice of enemies, contributed to 
 exaggerate the extent of his intrigues and conquests. 
 Be that as it may, he was a self-willed, self-indul- 
 gent, susceptible, and impulsive man, endowed with 
 many of the qualities that women admire and prize. 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAR. 165 
 
 and he might have trifled away still more of his 
 time in their society, had it not been for another 
 passion which roused him to energetic exertion. In 
 his secret soul he cherished an ambition as restless 
 and daring, as ever found a home in any human 
 bosom. 
 
 When the revolutionary war broke out. Burr 
 joined the army as a volunteer, and accompanied 
 Arnold in his bold attempt upon Canada. He 
 marched with him through the wilderness, and 
 travelled a hundred and twenty miles alone through 
 the enemy's country, to convey a message from his 
 chief. He was present in that desperate assault 
 on Quebec, in which the gallant Montgomery lost 
 his life, and, although the campaign was unsuc- 
 cessful, he returned from it loaded with honour. 
 The distinction he had attained recommended him 
 to the notice of Washington, and for a short time he 
 was a member of the general's military family. But 
 his impatient spirit could not brook the restraints 
 of that position, and he speedily threw up his ap- 
 pointment. Washington seems to have mistrusted 
 him from the first, and Burr always disliked the 
 wise, great man, whose virtues towered so im- 
 measurably above the vulgar standard. Yet Wash- 
 
166 HAMILTON AT THE BAE. 
 
 ington acknowledged to the last Burr's excellence 
 as a soldier, and when, after four years of hard 
 service, the latter, who had risen to the rank of 
 colonel, was compelled by his failing health to retire 
 from the field, the commander-in-chief expressed 
 his regret at "the loss of a good officer, and the 
 cause which made his resignation necessary." 
 
 Having rested for some months, and recovered 
 his health, he married an accomplished lady, named 
 Prevost, and finding it desirable to recruit his 
 fortune, which was already much impaired by his 
 expensive habits, he applied himself to the study 
 of the law. He settled at New York as a barrister, 
 in the same year with Hamilton, and, to a super- 
 ficial observer, there seemed to be a certain resem- 
 blance between the two. Both were young, newly- 
 married, of pleasing person (they were both below 
 the average height), agreeable in manners, brilliant 
 in conversation, gifted with rare talents, and pos- 
 sessed of dauntless resolution. Both had earned 
 their laurels in war, been inmates of the family of 
 the general, and attained to the same rank in the 
 army. Both had embraced their new profession 
 with ardour, and mastered its details with almost 
 incredible facility. And both, on their first appear- 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAK. 167 
 
 ance in court, had produced an impression, whicli 
 marked them out as the future leaders of the bar. 
 
 But here the resemblance stops. While Hamil- 
 ton loved to dwe^^ in the region of great ideas 
 and high principles, and stooped unwiPingly to the 
 lower ground of dexterous and skilful advocacy, it 
 was in the latter field that Burr was thoroughly at 
 home. A complete master of his weapons, and 
 careless of the side he took, he enjoyed the combat 
 almost as much as the victory, and seldom hesitated 
 as to the means he employed to achieve a purpose. 
 "Law," said he, "is whatever is boldly asserted, 
 and plausibly maintained ; " and, acting on that 
 maxim, he was ever ready to take advantage of 
 the weakness of a judge, or the ignorance of a 
 jury. He had a low opirion of human nature, 
 and turned all its interests and prejudices to ac- 
 count in dealing with his fellow-creatures. He 
 delighted in technicalities, and never failed to catch 
 an opponent tripping in the smallest matter of 
 detail. He neither gave nor received quarter, and, 
 when he had undertaken a cause, he would multiply 
 notices, motions, and appeals, and have recourse to 
 every form of annoyance, until his adversary was 
 wearied out and exhausted. Unlike the flowing 
 
168 HAMILTON AT THE BAE. 
 
 style of Hamilton, his eloquence was in general 
 concise, compact, and rapid, and he did not often 
 indulge in figures of speech. Yet, on occasion, he 
 would not scruple to avail himself of a theatrical 
 artifice. It is related, that, being engaged in the 
 defence of a person accused of murder, he became 
 convinced, as the trial proceeded, that the guilt lay 
 between the prisoner and one of the witnesses for 
 the prosecution. He subjected the latter to a 
 searching and relentless cross-examination, and then, 
 as he addressed the jury in the gathering dusk of 
 evening, he brought into strong relief every fact 
 that bore against the witness, and, suddenly seizing 
 two candelabra from the table, he threw a glare of 
 light on his face, and exclaimed : " Behold the 
 murderer, gentlemen ! " Alarmed and conscience- 
 stricken, the man reeled as from a blow, turned 
 ghastly pale, and fled from the court. The advocate 
 concluded his speech, and the jury acquitted the 
 prisoner. 
 
 It would seem that Burr both recognized and 
 admired Hamilton's talents^admired him, perhaps, 
 for some of the qualities in which he was himself 
 deficient,' and that he sought and cultivated his 
 friendship. They were often engaged together in 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAE. 169 
 
 the same cause, and must frequently have met in 
 society; but Hamilton, though courteous and con- 
 ciliatory to all, appears to have held aloof from 
 Burr's more intimate advances. His keen glance 
 had already detected, that this clever and agreeable 
 companion might prove a dangerous ally, and he 
 feared the influence which Burr would sooner or 
 later exercise in politics. He saw that none was 
 more likely to acquire power in a republic, and 
 none more incliaed to use it for his own advantage 
 — that he was just one of those able and ambitious 
 adventurers, who would play boldly for high stakes, 
 without much regard for rivals or partners in the 
 game — and that, if the opportunity should arise, 
 he would never hesitate to imperil the most sacred 
 interests for a personal end, seek for gain and glory 
 at any cost, and, in some great and formidable crisis, 
 might ruin, if he could not rule the state. 
 
 So the two men remained on terms of mere 
 civility, and Burr looked out for other allies to 
 aid him in his ultimate projects. In those days, 
 there were stiU certain leading families in the State 
 of 'New York — the Clintons, the Schuylers, and the 
 Livingstons — who organized parties, and possessed 
 considerable influence. But Burr did not join him- 
 
170 HAMILTON AT THE BAE. 
 
 self to any of these. He ratlier endeavoured to 
 play off one against the other, and watched his 
 opportunity to form an independent party of his 
 own. He gathered round him a number of young 
 men, the gay and thoughtless admirers of whatever 
 is bold and specious, who, charmed by his conversa- 
 tion, and proud of his abilities and accomplishments, 
 were pleased to find in their chief no rigid censor 
 of morals. In after years, Hamilton called them 
 Burr's Myrmidons, and, through many changes of 
 fortune, they showed extraordinary fidelity and 
 devotion to the hero of their choice. They became 
 indeed a power ta the commonwealth, but their 
 objects seem to have been purely personal, and it 
 would be difficult to define what principles they 
 held in common. As for their leader, however it 
 may have suited him to profess extreme democratic 
 views, when they served his purpose in the struggle 
 of parties, no one, who is aware of his contempt for 
 the majority of mankind, can believe that he really 
 held them. The true key to his policy may be 
 found in the words of Hamilton : — " I take it, he 
 is for or against nothing, but as it suits his interest 
 or ambition. He is determined, as I conceive, tft 
 make his way to be the head of the popular party. 
 
HAMILTON AT THE BAR. 171 
 
 and to climb, jperfas ant nefas, to the highest honours 
 of the state, and as much higher as cireumsiances 
 may permit." 
 
 The chief colours in this picture have not been 
 borrowed from Burr's political opponents. They 
 are plainly discernible, however ingeniously softened 
 down, in the pages of his latest biographer and 
 apologist, Mr. Parton. It was necessary to form 
 some conception of his peculiar character, to explain 
 the inevitable antagonism between him and Hamil- 
 ton, which accounts for several transactions in the 
 subsequent life of the latter, and which led in the 
 sequel to its tragical and melancholy close. 
 
 Meanwhile, they worked together at the bar, and 
 treated each other with a courtesy, which by some 
 was mistaken for friendship. In 1 784, Burr became 
 a member of the Legislature of New York, to which 
 Hamilton was not elected till 1786. But both were 
 preparing for a wider and more important stage; 
 and while Burr was studying those party tactics, 
 which he hoped would raise him to the enjoyment 
 of place and power, Hamilton was slowly elaborating 
 the great principles, on which he desired to establish 
 the fortunes and liberties of his country. 
 
CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 GEADUALLY, and almost imperceptibly, the 
 conviction liad gained possession of every 
 thoughtful mind in the Union, that the Confederacy 
 could not be maintained on its old footing. It had, 
 indeed, brought the war to a successful issue, but 
 it had signally failed in accomplishing the purposes 
 of peace. It had been unable to meet its engage- 
 ments, or to fulfil the ordinary obligations of a 
 government. Between 1781 and 1786, Congress had 
 made requisitions on the States for more than ten 
 millions of dollars, and less than two and a half 
 millions had been received by the public treasury. 
 The interest on the debt, the necessary establish- 
 ments for the safety of navigation and commerce, 
 the payment of civil officers at home, and of the 
 diplomatic service abroad, all remained equally un- 
 provided for. The Congress of 1786 declared, in 
 
THE CONVENTION. 173 
 
 the most solemn manner, that the crisis had arrived 
 when the people of the United States must decide 
 whether they would preserve the pubHc faith or not. 
 Under the pressure of this appeal, the States seemed 
 inclined to grant to Congress the power of levying a 
 national impost, provided they could all agree to the 
 arrangement ; but New York held out obstinately 
 against it, in spite of the efforts of Hamilton. The 
 old difficulties with regard to the treaty were also 
 still in existence ; and when Mr. Adams, as Minister 
 at the Court of St. James's, demanded why the British 
 garrisons had not been withdrawn from the military 
 posts in the West, he was assured that, whenever 
 the United States should manifest a real determina- 
 tion to fulfil their part of the treaty. Great Britain 
 would be ready to carry every article of it into com- 
 plete effect. It was, moreover, found impossible to 
 conclude treaties of commerce with foreign nations, 
 as there was no security for their provisions being 
 executed by the several States. In a word, the 
 government of the Union was fast falling into con- 
 tempt abroad and at home, and it became evident 
 that, if it did not perish from its own internal weak- 
 ness, the least accident or convulsion might sweep 
 it entirely away. 
 
174 THE CONVENTION". 
 
 At this conjuncture, a great danger arose in that 
 very State which had taken the lead in the early 
 days of the revolution. Massachusetts contained a 
 population at no time submissive to authority, and 
 now become more democratic than at any former 
 period. It was oppressed with a load of debt, both 
 public and private, which could only be met by con- 
 siderable exertions and sacriiices, and its trade and 
 manufactures had materially suffered by the war. 
 The taxes were heavy, poverty was on the increase, 
 and it soon became a popular doctrine with the more 
 needy citizens, that all ought to share alike in the 
 property which all had aided in defending. Then 
 was seen one of those perilous moments in the history 
 of republics, when the debtor turns his political 
 power against the creditor, and the man who has, 
 nothing against the possessor of wealth. Assemblies 
 were held, in which taxes were voted unnecessary, 
 the courts of justice a grievance, and the law and 
 its officers a nuisance. Armed mobs surrounded the 
 court-houses to prevent the administration of justice, 
 and in the autumn of 1786 the insurgents, regularly 
 embodied, bade defiance to the control of the magis- 
 trates. A majority in the local House of Eepresen- 
 tatives seemed inclined to sympathize with the rebels. 
 
THE CONTENTION. 175 
 
 and no efficient assistance in suppressing the insur- 
 rection could be expected from Congress. Fortu- 
 nately for Massachusetts, her Governor was a man of 
 sense and resolution, named James Bowdoin. He at 
 once called out the militia, and took the requisite 
 steps to put down the disturbances by force. But 
 great alarm had been excited, not only in New Eng- 
 land, but throughout the Union, and another example 
 had been given of the extreme weakness of Congress 
 in dealing with such emergencies. It was indeed 
 acknowledged, that the Confederation, as such, had 
 no power to interfere in the case of a State rebellion. 
 "You talk," wrote "Washington to a friend in Con- 
 gress, " of employing influence to appease the present 
 tumults in Massachusetts. I know not where that 
 influence is to be found, or, if attainable, that it would 
 be a proper remedy for the disorders. Influence is 
 not government Let us have a government, by which 
 our lives, liberties, and properties will be secured, or 
 let us know the worst at once." 
 
 It was in the midst of all this confusion and terror, 
 that the genius of Hamilton -at length saw the way to 
 the accomplishment of his designs. Already, in 1785, 
 the citizens of Virginia and Maryland had appointed 
 commissioners to settle their conflicting rights with 
 
176 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 regard to the waters of the Potomac and Pocomoke ; 
 and these commissioners, during a visit at Mount 
 Vernon, had concerted a further plan for regulating 
 the commercial relations between the two States. 
 This plan included arrangements for maintaining a 
 naval force in the Chesapeake, establishing a fixed 
 tariff of duties on imports, and doing other acts in 
 common ; and, when it came to be discussed in the 
 Legislature of Virginia, it was resolved to invite the 
 other States to send deputies to consider the whole 
 subject of the commerce of the Union. It was 
 proposed that they should meet at Annapolis, and 
 circulars to that effect were addressed to the different 
 States. Hamilton, who believed his opportunity to 
 be now at hand, urged upon New York the accept- 
 ance of the proposal, and was himself appointed one 
 of her commissioners. Arrived at Annapolis, he 
 found there the representatives of five States only, 
 but he was not the less resolved to bring before 
 therci, not only the commercial interests, but the 
 political condition of the country. He presented a 
 report, formally proposing to the several States the 
 assembling of a general Convention, to take into 
 consideration the position and prospects of the 
 United States. 
 
THE CONTENTION. 177 
 
 He showed in this document that the regulation 
 of trade (the professed object of the present meet- 
 ing) could not be effected without a corresponding 
 change in the general system of government. The 
 defects in that system were the real cause of the 
 embarrassments both in public and private affairs, 
 and could only be remedied by a complete revision. 
 The Articles of Confederation had provided that no 
 alteration should be made in them, unless agreed to 
 by Congress, and confirmed by the Legislature of 
 every State. It was Hamilton's design to obtain 
 such agreement and confirmation — for he was too 
 wise a man to risk any revolutionary interval be- 
 tween the old government and the new — but he felt 
 that Congress was not the proper body to originate 
 the required reforms. It had fallen into a premature 
 decrepitude, and the chief talent of the country was 
 absent from its debates. He, therefore, suggested 
 that a Convention should be named for the special 
 purpose of proposing the necessary changes, and that 
 these should then be submitted to Congress, and to 
 the State Legislatures. The report was adopted by 
 the commissioners at Annapolis, and, not long after, 
 the gathering dangers of the times forced Congress, 
 though unwiUingly, to agree to the plan. On the 
 
 N 
 
178 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 21st of February, 1787, it was resolved, "That, on 
 the second Monday in May next, a Convention of 
 Delegates, who shaU. have been appointed by the 
 several States, be held at Philadelphia, for the sole 
 and express purpose of revising the Articles of Con- 
 federation, and reporting to Congress and the several 
 Legislatures such alterations and provisions therein, 
 as shall, when agreed to in Congress, and confirmed 
 by the States, render the Federal Constitution 
 adequate to the exigencies of Government and the 
 preservation of the Union." 
 
 Hamilton had thus gained two most important 
 steps. He had the sanction of Congress for that 
 revision of the Constitution which he believed to 
 be essential to the public safety, and the new 
 movement was thereby placed under the protection 
 of the highest existing legal authority; while the 
 scheme of a separate assembly, elected expressly for 
 the purpose, made it almost certain that, on such a 
 momentous occasion, whatever constructive talent 
 was to be found in America would be discovered 
 and brought forward by the several States. 
 
 Since the meeting of that First Congress, which 
 led the way in the struggle for independence, 
 America had seen no such body of men as 
 
THE CONVENTION. 179 
 
 now assembled at PhUadelphia. Thither came 
 George Washington, from his retirement at Mount 
 Vernon, where he had hoped " to glide gently down 
 a stream which no human effort can ascend," called 
 away from his rural pursuits, and from his much- 
 loved home, to engage once more in the service of 
 his country. Thither, from the same fair land of 
 Virginia, came James Madison, afterwards President 
 of the United States, hut then a young and rising 
 politician — industrious, indefatigable, clear, logical, 
 eloquent — and Edmund Eandolph, Governor of 
 his native State, .who had defended her both in 
 war and peace, and watched with jealous care to 
 maintain her special interests. Thither, from Mas- 
 sachusetts, came EuFUS King, jurist and statesman, 
 who had doubted the policy of a Convention, but 
 who, when it was once determined on, resolved to 
 give it his best assistance. And thither, from South 
 Carolina, came Chaeles Coteswoeth Pincknbv, 
 soldier, scholar, and lawyer — brave, honourable, and 
 generous — devoted to the views of his brethren in the 
 Southern States, but prepared to surrender many 
 opinions, and make many sacrifices, in order to bind 
 together the scattered members of the Union. 
 
 Pennsylvania was peculiarly fortunate in her repre- 
 N 2 
 
180 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 sentatives on this occasion. At their head was Ben- 
 jamin Franklin, now in his eighty-second year, the 
 oldest and most widely known of American public 
 men, and in some sort combining in his own person 
 many of the leading characteristics of America. The 
 poor printer's boy, who had lived on potatoes and 
 rice, that he might save money to buy books — ^the 
 shrewd and skilful tradesman, ever attentive to the 
 advancement of his business, yet stealing time to 
 cultivate his mind, and to make discoveries in science 
 — the philosopher, whose paper kite had drawn the 
 lightning from the sky — the administrator, who had 
 passed from the printing-office to the management of 
 a great public department — the ambassador, who, 
 finding himself suddenly in the presence of courts and 
 kings, had proved more than a match for the trained 
 diplomatists of Europe — ^the moralist, who touched so 
 lightly on the follies and vices of his fellow-creatures, 
 and who never seems to have lost sight of the maxims 
 of the counter and the shop, even while charming 
 with his conversation the wits and beauties of Ver- 
 sailles — was certainly no ordinary character. It may 
 be conceded, that common sense and prudence were 
 his prime qualities, and that he never rose to 'what is 
 sublime and heroic in genius or virtue^ — that he was 
 
THE CONVENTION. .181 
 
 not free from the weakness of vanity, and that he was 
 sometimes, perhaps unconsciously, swayed by narrow, 
 personal motives — yet, after . ^11 deductions, it must 
 be acknowledged, that he was a man of great vigour 
 and sagacity of mind, and of much kindness of heart. 
 When he took his seat in the Convention, his vene- 
 rable age, his long services, his serene and benignant 
 aspect, commanded the respect of all, and imposed a 
 controlling power on the assembly. "With him came 
 GouVEENEXiR MoEKls, one of the best and wisest of 
 American patriots, who had early foreseen the dan- 
 gers of a too unbridled democracy — Egbert Moeeis, 
 who had made the first attempts at dealing with the 
 complicated difficulties of American finance — and 
 James Wilson, who brought a large share of the 
 acuteness and penetration of his native Scotland, to 
 bear upon the laws, institutions, and government of 
 his adopted country. 
 
 There were other men of note in the Convention, 
 such as EoGEE Sherman of Connecticut, John 
 Dickinson of Delaware, Luther Martin of Mary- 
 land, John Eutledge of South Carolina, and 
 Geoege Mason of Virginia — fifty-five members iu 
 all, representing twelve sovereign States, for Ehode 
 Island made no appointment. But the whole 
 
182 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 edifice would have wanted its crowning glory, if 
 ]Srew York had not sent Hamilton, with the trea- 
 sures of his genius and eloquence. Some few 
 leading Americans were necessarily absent — John 
 Jay was Secretary for Foreign Affairs under the 
 Congress, Thomas Jefferson was ambassador in 
 Prance, and John Adams in England — ^but all 
 could he better spared than he, who had first 
 conceived the plan of a reform in the constitution, 
 and who alone could carry it to a successful issue. 
 Whilst others were groping their way in the dark, 
 he saw clearly what was to be done, and was ready 
 to take the entire responsibility of his acts, and 
 to urge his views on the acceptance of unwilling 
 minds. 
 
 And this man, foremost in an assembly of the 
 most able representatives of the States, and who 
 had already achieved so much in field and council, 
 was yet only thirty years of age. " The very extra- 
 ordinary early maturity of his character," says Mr. 
 Curtis, "naturally reminds us of that remarkable 
 person, who was two years his junior, and who 
 became Prime-Minister of England at the age of 
 twenty-four. The younger Pitt entered public life 
 with almost every possible advantage. Inheriting 
 
THE CONTENTION. 183 
 
 a great and celebrated name, educated expressly for 
 the career of a statesman, and introduced into the 
 House of Commons at a moment when power was 
 just ready to drop into the hands of any man 
 capable of wielding it, he had only to prove himself 
 a hriUiant and powerful debater, in order to become 
 the ruler of an empire, whose constitution had been 
 settled for ages, and was necessarily administered by 
 the successful leaders of regular parties in its legis- 
 lative body. . . . The theatre, iu which Hamilton 
 appeared, lived, and acted, was one of a character 
 so totally different, that the comparison necessarily 
 ends with the contrast which it immediately sug- 
 gests. Like Pitt, indeed, he seems to have been born 
 a statesman, and to have had no such youth as ordi- 
 narily precedes the manhood of the mind. But, in 
 the American Colonies, no political system of things 
 existed, that was fitted to train him for a career of 
 usefulness and honour; and yet, when the years of 
 his boyhood were hardly ended, he sprang forth 
 into the troubled affairs of the time, with the full 
 stature of a matured and well-furnished statesman. 
 He, in truth, showed himself to be already the man 
 that was wanted. Everything was in an unsettled 
 and anxious state — a state of change and transition. 
 
184 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 There was no regular, efficient government. It was 
 all but a state of civil war, and tlie more clear- 
 sighted saw that this great disaster was coming. He 
 was compelled, therefore, to mark out for himself, 
 step by step (beginning in 1774), a system of poli- 
 tical principles, which should serve, not to administer 
 existing institutions with wisdom and beneficence, 
 but to create institutions able to unite a people 
 divided into thirteeen independent sovereignties ; to 
 give them the attitude and capacity of an indepen- 
 dent nation ; and then to carry them on, with con- 
 stantly increasing prosperity and power, to their just 
 place in the affairs of the world. . . . Mr. Hamilton, 
 therefore, I conceive, proved himself early to be a 
 statesman of greater talent and power than the 
 celebrated English minister, whose youthful success 
 was in the eyes of the world so much more brilliant, 
 and whose early death was no less disheartening ; 
 for none can doubt, that to buUd up a free and firm 
 State out of a condition of political chaos, and to 
 give it a government capable of developing the 
 resources of its soil and people, and of insuring to 
 it prosperity, power, and permanence, is a greater 
 work than to administer with energy and success, 
 even ia periods of severe trial, the constitution of 
 
THE CONVENTION. 185 
 
 an empire whose principles and modes of action 
 have been settled for centuries." 
 
 And here it may he well to relate an anecdote, 
 indicative of the high estimation in which Hamilton 
 was held by one of the subtlest intellects of France. 
 "When Mr. Ticknor was in Paris, in 1819, Prince 
 TaEeyrand said to him, that he had known nearly all 
 the marked men of his time, but that he had never 
 known one, on the whole, equal to Hamilton. The 
 American answered modestly, that the great states- 
 men of Europe had dealt with larger masses and 
 wider interests. " Mais, monsieur," replied the 
 Prince, "Hamilton avait deviriA I'Europe" 
 
 It would indeed appear, that Hamilton had an 
 almost intuitive knowledge of European politics. 
 He had studied the various forms of government, 
 and considered the relative position of the different 
 nations of the old world, until they had all 
 become familiar to him, and he spoke of them as 
 if from personal experience. The result was, that 
 he preferred the British Constitution to every other, 
 and held it to be the nearest approach to perfection 
 of all governments past or present. Could he have 
 found the materials for establishing such a form of 
 polity in his own country, there can be no doubt. 
 
186 THE CONTENTION. 
 
 that he would have devoted all his energies to that 
 end. But, entirely free from the mere fanaticism 
 of theory, he was always wiUing to sacrifice the form 
 to the substance, and to accept those conditions 
 which practically, and under the circumstances, 
 would be most likely to secure the happiness of the 
 people. He saw that some kind of republican 
 government was, at the period of the Convention, 
 the only thing feasible in America, and his object 
 was so to control and modify the democratic 
 element, as to render such a government safe and 
 salutary. 
 
 The truth is, that the monarchical and aristocratic 
 institutions of the mother-country had struck no 
 root in the United States. The peculiar situation 
 of the Colonies had not been favourable to the 
 growth of a landed gentry (although the germ of 
 it existed in Virginia and elsewhere), and the events 
 of the war had destroyed the old tradition of loyalty 
 to the throne. The Puritan spirit of the North had 
 more or less affected the whole Union, and the 
 revolution had left behind two leading characteris- 
 tics — a strong passion for equality, and an unrea- 
 soning jealousy of power. Here and there might be 
 found a man, who wished to offer the crown of the 
 
THE CONTENTION. 187 
 
 young Empire of the West to a son of George III. 
 But Hamilton well knew, that such a prince would 
 have heen isolated in the midst of hostile fac- 
 tions, and would have had nothing whereon to 
 rest the foundations of regal authority. There was, 
 indeed, one American, who, had he been less scru- 
 pulous and more ambitious, might possibly have 
 established a dynasty ; but the thought of personal 
 aggrandizement was wholly foreign to the wisdom 
 and moderation of "Washington. Just before the 
 end of the war, many eyes had been turned towards 
 him with some such design, and a veteran officer. 
 Colonel Lewis Nicola, had even addressed him as 
 follows : — " It will, I believe, be uncontroverted, that 
 the same abilities which have led us through diffi- 
 culties, apparently insurmountable by human power, 
 to victory and glory, those qualities that have 
 merited and obtained the universal esteem and 
 veneration of an army, would be most likely to 
 conduct and direct us in the smoother paths of 
 peace. ... If all other things were once adjusted, 
 I believe strong arguments might be produced for 
 admitting the title of king." But Washington at 
 once replied, that he had read these sentiments with 
 surprise and astonishment, and that no occurrence 
 
188 THE CONYENTION. 
 
 in the course of the war had given him more 
 painful sensations. He was at a loss to conceive 
 what part of his conduct covdd have given encourage- 
 ment to an address big with the greatest mischiefs 
 that could befaU the country, and more disagreeable 
 to himself than to any other person. "Let me 
 conjure you," he added, "if you have any regard 
 for your country, concern for yourself or posterity, 
 or respect for me, to banish these thoughts from 
 your mind, and never communicate, as from your- 
 self or any one else, a sentiment of the like nature." 
 
 And if monarchy was thus hopeless, all institu- 
 tions based on hereditary distinctions were equally 
 out of the question. At the close of the war, the 
 of&cers of the army, who had shared together so 
 many dangers and hardships, were anxious to pre- 
 serve the remembrance of their military brother- 
 hood, and with that view they founded the " Order 
 of the Cincinnati." Called after the famous Koman 
 who retired from war to the peaceful pursuits of 
 agriculture, their object was to maintain the rights 
 and liberties for which they had fought — to promote 
 feelings of national honour and union between the 
 States — to cherish friendship and brotherly kindness 
 towards each other — and to extend relief to such 
 
THE CONVENTION. 189 
 
 of their comrades, or their families, as might stand 
 in need of it. Their badge was to be a gold medal, 
 suspended from a deep blue ribbon, edged with 
 white; and they proposed that their society (a 
 purely voluntary association) should last during 
 their lives, and be continued by their eldest male 
 posterity. It was also provided that they might 
 admit persons of distinguished talents and patriotism 
 as honorary members. But scarcely had they formed 
 a design so natural, and in many respects so praise- 
 worthy, when a storm of invective was raised against 
 it from all parts of the Union. Massachusetts led 
 the way, Connecticut followed, and on all sides 
 the of&cers were accused of a plot to elevate the 
 military class above the civil, and to institute an 
 order of hereditary nobility. It was in vain to 
 reason with the popular jealousy ; and both Wash- 
 ington and Hamilton, who had taken much interest 
 in the society, advised that the hereditary principle, 
 and the power of electing honorary members, should 
 be abandoned. On these conditions, the old com- 
 rades in arms were allowed to meet in peace; but 
 the incident clearly proved, if it ever needed demon- 
 stration, how strong was the prejudice in the States 
 against even the shadow of an aristocracy. 
 
190 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 A republic was then the only resource ; but it by 
 no means follows, that the able leaders of the Con- 
 vention ever intended to give absolute sovereignty to 
 the mass of the people. They were yet too near to 
 English modes of thought to prefer the realization of 
 a theory to the attainment of a practical good, and 
 they had not learned from history or experience that 
 power is best lodged in the hands of the most igno- 
 rant and needy. They knew that, in the old re- 
 publics, the right of citizenship was a privilege not 
 lightly bestowed — that, in England, the House of 
 Commons was chosen by a limited number of electors 
 — and that, even in the States of the Union, the 
 suffrage was everywhere more or less restricted. They 
 knew that those free governments, which had met 
 with any success in the world, had been restrained 
 by checks, and guarded round with many precautions. 
 They still believed in the words of the sage, that 
 " the wisdom of a learned man cometh by opportunity 
 of leisure," and were not disposed to coniide the con- 
 duct of the most important affairs to him "that' 
 driveth oxen, and whose talk is of buUocks." The 
 modern notion of a pure, untempered democracy, 
 based on Universal Suffrage — that contrivance for 
 giving power to a single despot, or to one class only 
 
THE CONVENTION. 191 
 
 of the community, and that the lowest, to the exclu- 
 sion of aU the rest — ^would have found no favour in 
 their sight. They wished to provide for the inviola- 
 bility of property, the sacredness of law, the protection 
 of minorities, the peace and security of all. To ac- 
 complish these ends, they were willing to adopt such 
 expedients as might commend themselves to their 
 judgment, regardless of the abstract idea which either 
 visionaries or philosophers had chosen to form of a 
 republic. 
 
 The task was beset with difficulties, and the end by 
 no means certain of attainment. On almost all mat- 
 ters of detail, the members of the Convention differed 
 materially amongst themselves, and they had to con- 
 tend with the constant pressure of hostile influences 
 from without. That they succeeded in framing a 
 constitution, not perfect indeed, but founded on prin- 
 ciples of reasonable compromise, and capable of 
 practical working, is greatly to the credit of their 
 moderation, intelligence, and patriotism. 
 
 Washington was unanimously called to the chair, 
 and none could have been more fitted to preside over 
 the debates of a deliberative assembly. The proceed- 
 ings were all in secret — a precaution perhaps neces- 
 sary in the disturbed state of the public mind— but 
 
192 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 Madison devoted his nights to preserve a record of 
 the disciissions. Into particulars of those discussions 
 it is not intended to enter here, but the part which 
 Hamilton took in them was of an importance impos- 
 sible to rate too highly. He stood in the midst of the 
 jarring elements, like a beneficent genius, ready to 
 evoke order out of chaos ; and the proportion in which 
 his views were adopted or rejected may be almost 
 regarded as the measure of the strength and the 
 weakness of the Constitution. 
 
 Various plans were before the Convention. While 
 some were for maintaining the old character of the 
 Confederation as a mere league of independent 
 States, with a Congress composed of a single as- 
 sembly, invested with a few additional powers, but 
 hardly more effective than those already in exist- 
 ence — the majority recognized the necessity of some 
 kind of national government, and were prepared to 
 admit the principle of the division of the legislative, 
 executive, and judicial fimctions. But whether the 
 legislature should be composed of one or two houses, 
 how it should be elected, whether the ratio of repre- 
 sentation should be based on the wealth or popula- 
 tion of the different States, whether the executive 
 should consist of one, three, or more persons, what 
 
THE CONTENTION. 193 
 
 should be the qualification for office, and how long 
 its term, how the judges should be appointed, and", 
 finally, what were to be the exact limits of the 
 authority delegated to the central government — were 
 all matters of doubt and controversy. Two separate 
 schemes — commonly known as the New Jersey and 
 the Virginia schemes — were already under the con- 
 sideration of the assembly, when Hamilton rose for 
 the purpose of fully explaining his opinions. Of this 
 speech (one of the most remarkable ever delivered) 
 no accurate report remains, for Madison's notes 
 differ from the brief in Hamilton's own hand- 
 writing, and are, in any case, but a meagre sketch 
 of a discourse which held captive the attention of 
 the audience during the whole of a summer's day. 
 There can be little dispute, however, as to the main 
 scope and object of this memorable oration. 
 
 He seems to have begun by pointing out the 
 importance of the occasion, which, once let slip, 
 might never again present itself, and would beget 
 despair in the possibility of forming a government 
 by consent. After disposing of the objection, that 
 the Convention had no power to propose a plan 
 differing from the principle of the Confederation, 
 he showed that they had three lines of conduct 
 
194 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 before tliem : 1st. To make a league, offensive and 
 defensive, between sovereign States, with treaties 
 of conunerce, and an apportionment of the public 
 debt. 2d. To amend the present Confederation, by 
 merely adding such powers to Congress as the 
 public mind appeared ready to grant. 3d. To form 
 a new government to pervade the whole, with deci- 
 sive powers, and a complete sovereignty. The 
 practicability of the last course, and the mode of 
 accomplishing it, were the real questions before 
 them. They involved an inquiry into the principles 
 of civil obedience, which are the supports of all 
 government. 
 
 But those principles did not exist under the Con- 
 federation, in favour of a central power. The 
 constant feehng of interest was absent; for each 
 State pursued its particular interests, without regard 
 to those of the whole. The conviction of the utility 
 and necessity of a government was absent; for the 
 central power might dissolve, and yet the order of 
 society would continue protected from anarchy by 
 the institutions of the several States. The habitual 
 seme of obligation was unfelt; for it was. to the 
 State governments that the people looked for the 
 preservation of order, and the administration of 
 
THE CONVENTION. 195 
 
 justice, and they only knew the central govern- 
 ment by its unwelcome demands for money. Force 
 might be of two krads — coercion by law, and coer- 
 cion by arms ; but the Congress had no machinery 
 to employ the former, and to have recourse to the 
 latter would amount to civil war. There remained 
 then only influence, by which he meant not corrup- 
 tion, but the regular and legitimate patronage of a 
 government ; and, as the appointment to almost aU. 
 ofi&ces of honour and emolument was vested in the 
 particular States, this support also was lost to the 
 central power. 
 
 But no government could maintaiu itseK, which 
 had not in its favour the passions and interests, as 
 well as the reason of its subjects. Passing in rapid 
 review the nations of the old world, he showed 
 that all federal governments had been weak, dis- 
 tracted, and short lived. He showed that there 
 was a perpetual effort in each member of a league 
 to establish its iadependence of the central authority. 
 He showed that republics were no more exempt 
 than monarchies from intestine discord, that jealousy 
 of commerce begets hostility as well as jealousy of 
 power, and that there had been as many popular 
 as royal wars. He examined the constitution and 
 2 
 
196 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 history of the Greek Eepuhlics, the Germanic Em- 
 pire, the Swiss Cantons. He glanced from Sparta 
 to Athens, from Eome to Carthage, from Venice to 
 the Hanseatic League, and in this grand survey of 
 the experience of centuries, in which he quoted all 
 sorts of authorities, from Aristotle to Montesquieu, 
 from Cicero to Neckar, he laboured to prove that 
 any government, to be strong, must be sovereign. It 
 must not only have a strong soul, but strong organs 
 by which to operate. It must interest the wants 
 of men in its support, it must make itself useful 
 and necessary, it must have the means of coercion. 
 However it derived its powers, it must ultimately 
 have the decision of all questions without appeal. 
 
 Passing to the different forms of sovereignty that 
 have existed in the world, he endeavoured to show 
 by examples, that, if government is in the hands of 
 the few, they will tyrannize over the many; that, 
 if it is in the hands of the many, they will tyrannize 
 over the few. It ought to be in the hands of both, 
 the separation should be permanent, and they need 
 a mutual check. He avowed his preference for the 
 British Constitution over every other. An absolute 
 sovereignty vested in King, Lords, and Commons — 
 a monarch, with so much power, that it is not his 
 
THE CONVENTION. 197 
 
 interest to risk all to acc[uire more — a deinocracy, 
 fairly representing the popular will, combined with 
 an aristocracy capable of resisting popular haste and 
 violence. He admitted that such a combination was 
 not then attainable in America — ^that the political 
 principles of the people would endure nothing but 
 a republican goverrmient, and that it was right and 
 proper, under the circumstances of the country, to 
 give such a government a full and fair trial. But, 
 for that very reason, it was necessary that the 
 government should have all the energy and stability 
 reconcilable with the republican theory. Eecapitu- 
 lating his arguments, that it was impossible to secure 
 the Union by any modification of the present Con- 
 federation — that a mere league, offensive and defen- 
 sive, was fuU of certain evils and greater dangers — 
 and that to establish a general government {purely 
 national, and wholly independent of State organiza- 
 tion) was extremely difficult, if not impracticable — 
 he came to the conclusion, that they must balance 
 inconveniences and dangers, and choose that system 
 which seemed to have the fewest objections. 
 
 His own plan was, to vest the legislative power in 
 an Assembly and Sienate, subject to a negative— the 
 executive power in a President of the United States 
 
198 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 — and the supreme judicial authority in a Court of 
 not less than six^ nor more than twelve Judges. 
 
 The Assembly was to be chosen by the people for 
 three years, and the number of Eepresentatives was 
 to be distributed amongst the several States, accord- 
 ing to population. The Senate was to be appointed 
 by electors chosen for the purpose, but only by 
 persons who had an estate in land ; and the Senators 
 were to hold their office dwring good behaviour, 
 removable only on conviction of some crime or 
 misdemeanour. The President was to be named by 
 electors chosen by electors, according to a somewhat 
 complicated process, intended to secure the fair and 
 complete expression of the popular wishes. He was 
 to hold his office for life, removable only by im- 
 peachment by two-thirds of the Legislature. He 
 was to have the power to convene and prorogue 
 the two houses, except in case of impeachment, 
 which operated as a suspension untU determined — 
 to have a negative on their acts — ^to take care that 
 the laws be faithfully executed — to command the 
 army, navy, and militia — ^to have the absolute ap- 
 pointment of the chief officers in the great executive 
 departments — and, with the advice of the Senate, 
 of all other officers, except such as were differently 
 
THE CONVENTION. 199 
 
 provided for by law — and to be entitled to pardon 
 all offences except treason. The President of the 
 Senate was to be Vice-President of the United 
 States, and to exercise all the powers of the Presi- 
 dent, in case of his death, resignation, or removal 
 from oifice, until another should be appointed. In 
 the event of an impeachment, the President, Sena- 
 tors, and other great officers were to be tried by the 
 Judges of the Supreme Court, aided by the Chief 
 Justices of the several States. The Judges of the 
 Supreme Court, and of all courts constituted by the 
 Legislature, were to hold their appointments for life 
 or good lehaviour. 
 
 To such a government, Hamilton would have con- 
 fided sovereign authority. He would have retained 
 the State governments as great municipalities, most 
 important as subordinate agents of the central power, 
 and essential for conducting the local affairs of the 
 various portions of so vast an empire ; but he would 
 have had the central government supreme in all 
 matters whatsoever, and have made the laws of the 
 Union binding on aU its members. He foresaw, 
 with the prescience of a statesman, the inevitable 
 conflicts between the central and local authorities, 
 if both were to continue to exist with a co-ordinate 
 
200 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 jurisdiction. He would have made use of the State 
 organization, both to constitute his government, and 
 to aid in executing the laws ; but he sought to 
 establish a strong, stable, and permanent power, 
 able to command the allegiance of all its subjects, 
 to protect the national interests, and to uphold the 
 national faith. It was with this view, that he ap- 
 proached as near " to the confines of another govern- 
 ment '' — evidently meaning the British — as the 
 republican principles of America rendered either 
 safe or practicable. 
 
 It is of course impossible now to determine, 
 whether such a government would have worked 
 well in the long run. Hamilton was ever the first 
 to maintain, that, in politics, a theory can only be 
 tested by experiment, and must be judged ultimately 
 by its effects on the happiness of mankind. It is, 
 however, a remarkable fact, that Hamilton's scheme 
 differs from the constitution finally adopted, exactly 
 in those points in which the latter has proved most 
 defective. By giving an absolute, instead of a limited 
 sovereignty to the central power, he sought to. avoid 
 those collisions between the Confederacy and the 
 States, which have been the fertile source of half 
 the troubles of America; while, by retaining the 
 
THE CONVENTION. 201 
 
 State governments in a subordinate position, lie 
 hoped that they would apply themselves strictly 
 to the administration of local affairs, serve as a 
 school for the training of public men, and take the 
 place of those great European corporations, which 
 have always been the best safeguards of order, 
 liberty, and law. By vesting the executive power 
 in a Chief Magistrate, chosen indeed by the people, 
 but whose dignity and honour should not be the 
 sport of every breath of popular change, and who 
 should hold his office by a permanent tenure — ^he 
 sought to make that high post an object worthy of 
 the ambition of the best and noblest, and not to 
 be lightly bestowed by any less solemn sanction 
 than the deliberate exercise of a nation's will.. By 
 granting the same tenure of office to one Manch 
 of the legislature, he intended to strengthen the 
 hands of the executive for good, while keeping it 
 within the bounds of its legitimate authority, and 
 to control the impatience, while maintaining the 
 rights of the democracy. Both President and 
 Senators would have been responsible — ^but respon- 
 sible only to the law, interpreted by an impartial 
 and independent tribunal. The whole life of poli- 
 ticians would not have been wasted in election 
 
202 THE CONTENTION. 
 
 tactics, and wretclied intrigues for power. What 
 other evils might have arisen under this constitution, 
 it is now in vain to inquire. It would at least 
 have given time to adopt a national policy, and to 
 form a generation of statesmen ; and if, after a full 
 and fair trial, it had been found expedient to draw 
 still nearer to the British model, and to substitute 
 the hereditary for the elective principle, the transi- 
 tion need not have been violent, or have involved 
 any sacrifice -of the established liberties of the 
 people. 
 
 But great as was Hamilton's influence, he could 
 not have carried his plan of government, and indeed 
 he seems rather to have brought it forward as an 
 exposition of his views, than with any serious hope 
 of its' being accepted by the assembly. Short of 
 those views, he was ready to labour assiduously in 
 the preparation of the best attaiuable constitution. 
 With the extreme diversity of opinions in the 'Con- 
 vention — with the contendiag claims of State rights 
 and Federal interests — with some members advo- 
 cating a single chamber, and even Franklin in favour 
 of a plural executive — Hamilton felt, that the only 
 possible solution of their difficulties lay in com- 
 ^omise. In this, the majority agreed with him, 
 
THE contention; 203 
 
 and eacli in turn surrendered some cherished notion, 
 or proposed some modification of another's scheme. 
 After four months of careful deliberation — after 
 many tedious discussions, lasting through the long 
 days from May to September — a Constitution was 
 at length presented to the people of the United 
 States, to be by them either ratified or rejected. 
 The Congress was to consist of two separate cham- 
 bers — a House of Eepresentatives chosen every 
 second year by the [people of the several States, 
 according to the qualifications in each State for 
 election of its own Legislature, and in proportion 
 to the population of each State, reckoning only 
 three-fifths of the slaves — and a Senate composed 
 of two Senators from each State, chosen by the 
 Legislature thereof for six years. ISTo person hold- 
 ing ojBfice could be a member of this Congress, which 
 was to meet every year, and to have the power to 
 lay and collect taxes, and provide for the co m mon 
 defence and general welfare of the United States; 
 to borrow money; to regulate commerce; to estab- 
 lish uniform rules of naturalization and laws of 
 bankruptcy; to coia money; to provide for the 
 punishment of counterfeiting the public securities ; 
 to establish roads and post-offices ; to grant patents 
 
204) THE CONVENTION. 
 
 and copyrights ; to define and punish piracies, and 
 offences against the law of nations ; to declare war ; 
 to raise and support armies ; to provide and main- 
 tain a navy; to make rules for the government of 
 the forces ; to call out the militia to execute the 
 laws of the Union, to suppress insurrections, and 
 repel invasions ; to provide for organizing the militia, 
 and governing such part of them as may»be employed 
 in the service of the Union; to exercise exclusive 
 legislation over such district (not exceeding ten 
 miles square) as may become the seat of the govern- 
 ment of the United States, and over all forts, maga- 
 zines, arsenals, and dockyards of the Union ; and 
 generally to make all laws which shall be necessary 
 and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing 
 powers. But Congress was not to prohibit the im- 
 portation of such persons as any State shall think 
 proper to admit (in other words, the slave-trade) 
 prior to the year 1808 ; nor to suspend the writ of 
 Habeas Corpus, unless in case of rebellion or in- 
 vasion ; nor to pass any bill of attainder or ex post 
 facto law ; nor to lay any direct tax, unless in pro- 
 portion to the census; nor to tax articles exported 
 from any State ; nor to give any preference to one 
 State over another by regulations of commerce ; nor 
 
THE CONVENTION. 205 
 
 to draw money from the treasury, but in conse- 
 quence of appropriations made by law ; nor to grant 
 any title of nobility. And, not content with these 
 limitations of sovereignty, it was afterwards express- 
 ly provided by a separate article, that the powers 
 not delegated to the United States by the Constitu- 
 tion, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved 
 to the States respectively, or to the people. 
 
 The executive power was to be vested in a President 
 of the United States, to hold his office for a term of 
 four years. He and the Vice-President were to be 
 chosen by electors, appointed in such manner as the 
 Legislature of each State should direct, and equal to 
 the whole number of Senators and Eepresentatives to 
 which the State would be entitled in Congress. The 
 lists of persons voted for were to be sent sealed to the 
 Senate of the United States, and opened in presence 
 of Congress. The person having the greatest number 
 of votes, being a majority of the whole number of 
 electors, was to be President ; and if more than one 
 had such majority, and an equal number of votes, 
 then the House of Eepresentatives was to choose one 
 of them by ballot ; and if no person had such majo- 
 rity, then the said House was to choose the President 
 from the five highest on the list. And, after the 
 
206 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 choice of President, the person having the greatest 
 number of votes was to be Vice-President ; and, if 
 two or more remained with equal votes, the Senate 
 was to choose the Vice-President from them by 
 ballot. 
 
 The President was to have the power to return any 
 bill to Congress, with his objections to the same ; and 
 it could only become law without his consent, if 
 passed by a majority of two-thirds of both Houses. 
 He was to take care that the laws were faithfully 
 executed, to command the army, navy, and militia, 
 to recommend such measures as he should judge 
 necessary to Congress, to convene both Houses on 
 extraordinary occasions, to receive ambassadors and 
 other public ministers, to grant reprieves and pardons 
 for offences against the United States, and, with the 
 consent of the Senate, to make treaties with foreign 
 powers. He was to nominate, and with the advice of 
 the Senate appoint, all officers of the United States 
 whose appointments should not be otherwise pro- 
 vided for by law. He was to be liable to removal 
 from ofiice, on impeachment by the House of Eepre- 
 sentatives, and conviction by the Senate, of high 
 crimes and misdemeanours ; and in case of his death, 
 removal, resignation, or inability, the duties of his 
 
THE CONVENTION. 207 
 
 office were to devolve on the Vice-President, who, 
 until such event occurred, was to be President of the 
 Senate. 
 
 The remaiaing articles provided, that there should 
 be a Supreme Court of the United States, and such 
 inferior courts as Congress might from time to time 
 establish ; that the Judges should hold their offices 
 during good behaviour, and with a fixed compensation ; 
 that the citizens of each State should be entitled to 
 all the privileges of citizens in the several States ; 
 that fugitives from justice, and persons held to service 
 or labour in any State (meaning slaves), should be 
 delivered up by any other State iato which they 
 might have escaped; that new States might be ad- 
 mitted into the Union, but not to the prejudice of the 
 rights of any existing State ; that the Union should 
 guarantee a republican form of government to every 
 State ; that the Constitution might be amended by a 
 Convention called by two-thirds of both Houses of 
 Congress, such amendments being ratified by the 
 Legislatures or Conventions of three-fourths of the 
 several States ; that all debts and engagements pre- 
 viously contracted under the Confederation should be 
 valid against the new government ; that the Consti- 
 tution should be the supreme law of the land, binding 
 
208 THE CONTENTION. 
 
 all judges and of&cers whatsoever ; and that the rati- 
 fication of the Conventions of niae States shoiild be 
 sufficient for the establishment of this 'Constitution 
 between the States so ratifying the same. 
 
 Such was the Constitution which the Convention 
 proposed for the acceptance of the people of America. 
 Its authors knew well, and none better than Hamil- 
 ton, that it was in many respects imperfect. But, 
 like wise and practical men, they were content to 
 sink their differences, to moderate their wishes, and 
 to take whatever good lay within their reach. 
 Some of the delegates continued to protest against 
 the plan, some had withdrawn from the Convention, 
 and Luther Martin confidently predicted that his 
 own Maryland would never accept the Constitu- 
 tion. But the document which embodied the scheme 
 was ultimately signed by a majority of the delegates, 
 and by one or more representatives of each of the 
 twelve States present in the Convention. The first 
 name on the list is that of George Washington, 
 who is said to have paused a moment, with the 
 pen m his hand, as he pronounced these words : — 
 "Should the States reject this excellent Constitu- 
 tion, the probability is that an opportunity will 
 never again offer to cancel another in peace. The 
 
THE CONVENTION. 209 
 
 next will be drawn in blood." And in the last 
 speech which Franklin delivered in the assembly, 
 he thus expressed himself : — " I consent, sir, to this 
 Constitution, because I expect no better, and because 
 I am not sure that this is not the best. The 
 opinions I have had of its errors I sacrifice to the 
 public good. I have never whispered a syllable of 
 them abroad. "Within these walls they were born, 
 and here they shall die. If every one of us, in 
 returning to our constituents, were to report the 
 objections he has had to it, and endeavour to gain 
 partisans in support of them, we might prevent its 
 being generally received, and thereby lose all the 
 salutary effects and great advantages, resulting 
 naturally in our favour, among foreign nations as 
 well as among ourselves, from our real or apparent 
 unanimity. Much of the strength and efficiency 
 of any government, in procuring and securiug hap- 
 piness to the people, depends on opinion — on the 
 general opinion of the goodness of that government, 
 as well as of the wisdom and integrity of the 
 governors. I hope, therefore, that for our own 
 sakes, as a part of the people, and for the sake 
 of posterity, we shall act heartily and unanimously 
 in recommending this Constitution, wherever our 
 
 p 
 
210 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 influenee may extend, and turn our future thoughts 
 and endeavours to the means of having it well 
 administered." Then, while the members were 
 signing, he turned towards the image of a sun, 
 painted at the back of the President's chair, and 
 said: — "Often and often, in the course of the 
 session, I have looked at it without being able to 
 tell whether it was rising or setting; but now, at 
 length, I have the happiness to know, that it is 
 a rising, and not a setting sun." 
 
 Of the delegates from New York, the name of 
 Hamilton is alone attached to the instrument. His 
 two colleagues had withdrawn from the Convention, 
 and left him aU the honour and burthen of the day. 
 There is abundant testimony as to how he discharged 
 the duties of his position. " If," said Br. Johnson 
 of Connecticut, "the Constitution did not succeed on 
 trial, Hamilton was less responsible for it than any 
 other member; for he fully and frankly pointed out 
 to the Convention what he apprehended were the 
 infirmities to which it was liable. And if it 
 answered the fond expectations of the public, the 
 community would be more indebted to HamUton 
 than to any other member; for, after its essential 
 outlines were agreed to, he laboured most inde- 
 
THE CONVENTION. 211 
 
 fatigably to heal those infirmities, and to guard 
 against the evils to which they might expose it." 
 
 In thus lending his aid to amend what he could 
 not entirely approve, Hamilton showed the largeness 
 of his mind, and the sincerity of his patriotism. He 
 was not willing to risk anarchy, civil war, perhaps 
 military despotism, in the pursuit of that which 
 can only be attained by time and expeeibnce. 
 The explanation of his conduct is contained in his 
 own memorable words : — " It may be in me a defect 
 of political fortitude, but I acknowledge that I 
 cannot entertain an equal tranquillity with those, 
 who affect to treat the dangers of a longer continu- 
 ance in our present situation as imagioary. A 
 nation without a national government is an awful 
 spectacle. The establishment of a constitution in 
 a time of profound peace, by the voluntary consent 
 of a whole people, is a peodigy, to the completion 
 of which I look forward with trembling anxiety." 
 
 p 2 
 
CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 FEDEEALISTS AND EEPUBLICANS. 
 
 THE Convention being dissolved, the plan of 
 the Constitution was. laid before the country, 
 and at once excited the most varied feelings of 
 approbation and dissent. In general it was sup- 
 ported by those moderate men, who, like its framers, 
 looked with apprehension at the actual state of 
 affairs, and desired, by any reasonable compromise, 
 to consolidate a practicable government. On the 
 other hand, it was violently opposed by all that 
 class of politicians, who viewed with jealousy the 
 rise of any central power, and whose theory of 
 freedom precluded the notion of authority. Two 
 great parties joined issue on the question of its 
 acceptance or rejection. They took the names of 
 Federalists and Anti-Federalists. A few years later, 
 after the Constitution had been adopted, the same 
 two parties, with some modifications, continued to 
 
FEDEEALISTJ AND r REPUBLICANS. 213 
 
 divide the people of America ; but they were then 
 called Federalists and MepuUicans. 
 
 These names, like almost aU party designations, 
 do not, in themselves; convey any accurate meaning. 
 In one sense aU Americans were Federalists, for all 
 believed in the necessity of some Federal tie, to 
 bind together the several States; and in one sense 
 all were Eepublicans, for they were persuaded that 
 no other form of government was then possible in 
 the Union. But the original distinction between 
 the parties was, that the one sought first to establish 
 and afterwards to strengthen a central government, 
 with sufficient powers to uphold its own dignity 
 and that of the nation ; whilst the other strove to 
 circumscribe those powers on every side, and to 
 make them in all respects subservient to the local 
 privileges of the States; As time went on, other 
 causes of difference arose between them, some of 
 the leaders changed sides, old alliances were broken 
 up, and new combinations formed. A day was to 
 come, for instance, when Hamilton and Madison 
 stood in direct opposition to each other. But, for 
 the present, they acted heartily together, and their 
 first object was to secure the acceptance of the 
 Constitution. 
 
214 FEDEEALISTS- ..PUBLICANS. 
 
 One of the most efficient engines employed in 
 accomplishiQg this purpose was the publication of 
 a series of essays under the name of " The Fedeeal- 
 IST," which Americans stni regard as the greatest 
 and most complete exposition of the principles of 
 their constitutional law. It was the work of Hamil- 
 ton, Madison, and Jay ; but of the eighty-five essays, 
 of which it is composed, upwards of fifty were 
 written by Hamilton, "It was from him," says 
 Mr. Curtis, " that the Federalist derived the weight 
 and the power, which commanded the careful atten- 
 tion of the country, and carried conviction to the 
 great body of intelligent men in all parts of the 
 Union. The extraordinary forecast with which its 
 luminous discussions anticipated the operation of 
 the new institutions, and its profound elucidation 
 of their principles, gave birth to American consti- 
 tutional law, which was thus placed at once above 
 the field of arbitrary constructions, and in the 
 domain of legal truth. They made it a science; 
 and so long as the Constitution shall exist, they 
 wlU continue to be resorted to, as the most impor- 
 tant source of contemporaneous interpretation which 
 the annals of the country afford." 
 
 The iu'st number of the Federalist was written by 
 
FEDERALIST'S AND ItEPUBLICANS. 215 
 
 Hamilton in the cabin of a sloop, as he glided 
 down the waters of the Hudson on his way to 
 New York, and was published in that city on the 
 27th of October, 1787. It opens with a remarkable 
 introduction, as full of vigour and boldness as of 
 wisdom and moderation. " Among the most formid- 
 able of the obstacles," it says, "which the new 
 Constitution will have to encounter, may readily be 
 distinguished the obvious interest of a certain class 
 of men in. every State, to resist all changes which 
 may hazard a. diminution of the power, emolument, 
 and consequence of the offices they hold under the 
 State establishments — and the perverted ambition 
 of another class of men, who will either hope to 
 aggrandize themselves by the confusions of their 
 country, or will flatter themselves with fairer pro- 
 spects of elevation from the subdivision of the empire 
 into several partial confederacies, than from its union 
 under one government. 
 
 "It is not, however, my design to dwell upon 
 observations of this nature. I am aware it would 
 be disingenuous to resolve indiscriminately the 
 opposition of any set" of men into interested or 
 ambitious views, merely because their situations 
 might subject them to suspicion. Candour will 
 
216 FEDERALISTS 'l' ,, ..i^CTBLICANS. 
 
 oblige us to admit that even sucli men may be 
 actuated by upright intentions; and it cannot be 
 doubted that much of the opposition which has 
 already shown itself, or that may hereafter make 
 its appearance, will spring from sources, blameless 
 at least, if not respectable — the honest errors of 
 minds led astray by preconceived jealousies and fears. 
 So numerous, indeed, and so powerful are the causes 
 which serve to give a false bias to the judgndent, 
 that, upon many occasions, we see wise and good 
 men on the wrong, as well as on the right side 
 of questions of the first magnitude to society. This 
 circumstance, if duly attended to, would always 
 furnish a lesson of moderation to those who are 
 engaged in any controversy, however well persuaded 
 of being in the right. And a further reason for 
 caution in this respect might be drawn from the 
 reflection, that we are not always sure that those 
 who advocate the truth are actuated by purer 
 principles than their antagonists. Ambition, avarice, 
 personal animosity, party opposition, and many 
 other motives not more laudable than these, are 
 apt to operate as well upon' those who support, as 
 upon those who oppose the . right side of a question. 
 Were there not even these inducements to modera- 
 
FEDEEALISTS AND REPUBLICANS." 217 
 
 lion, notMng could be more ill-judged than that 
 intolerant spirit, which has, at aU times, character- 
 ized political parties. For, in politics as in religion, 
 it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes 
 by fire and sword. Heresies in either can rarely 
 be cured by persecution. 
 
 "And yet, just as these sentiments must appear 
 to candid men, we have already sufEicient indications 
 that it will happen in this as in aU former cases 
 of great national discussion. A torrent of angry 
 and malignant passions wUl be let loose. To judge 
 from the conduct of the opposite parties, we shall 
 be led to conclude that they will mutually hope to 
 evince the justness of their opinions, and to increase 
 the number of their converts, by the loudness of their 
 declamations, and by the bitterness of their invec- 
 tives. An enlightened zeal for the energy aiid 
 ef&ciency of government, will be stigmatized as the 
 offspring of a temper fond of power, and hostile 
 to the principles of liberty. An over-scrupulous 
 jealousy of danger to the rights of the people, which 
 is more commonly the fault of the head than of the 
 heart, wiU be represented as mere pretence and 
 artifice — the stale bait for popularity at the expense 
 of public good. It wlU be forgotten, on the one 
 
218 FEDEEALISTS AND EEPUBLIOANS. 
 
 hand, that jealousy is the usual concomitant of , 
 violent love, and that the noble enthusiasm of 
 liberty is too apt to be infected with a spirit of 
 narrow and illiberal distrust. On the other hand, 
 it will be equally forgotten, that the vigour of 
 government is essential to the security of liberty; 
 that, in the contemplation of a sound and well- 
 informed judgment, their interests can never be 
 separated; and that a dangerous ambition more 
 often lurks bfehind the specious mask of zeal for 
 the rights of the people, than under the forbidding 
 appearances of zeal for the firmness and ef&ciency of 
 government. History will teach us, that the former 
 has been found a much more certain road to the in- 
 troduction of despotism than the latter, and that, of 
 those men who have overturned the liberties of re- 
 publics, the greatest number have begun their career 
 by paying an obsequious court to the people — com- 
 mencing demagogues, and ending tyrants." 
 
 It was in this frank and manly strain — so unlike 
 the nauseous flattery of later times — that Hamilton 
 always addressed his countrymen. By thus appeal- 
 ing to their good sense and spirit of fairness, he was 
 reaUy paying them a higher compliment, than if he 
 had sought to conciliate their prejudices, or pander 
 
FEDERALISTS AND EEPUBLICANS. 219 
 
 to their foibles. And there was yet enough of sound 
 opinion ia America, unspoiled by the base and grovel- 
 ling adulation which has since exalted the popular 
 idols into gods, to appreciate this mode of dealing 
 with great subjects. The influence of the Federalist 
 was felt throughout' the Union, and left behind it 
 an impression, which all the foUy and arrogance 
 of succeeding years have never whoUy obhterated. 
 It is not intended here, to give a detailed account 
 of this memorable treatise. It purports to discuss 
 the utility of the Union — the insufficiency of the 
 Confederation to preserve it — the necessity of a 
 government at least equally energetic with the one 
 proposed — the conformity of the proposed Consti- 
 tution to republican principles — ^its analogy to the 
 State constitutions — and the additional security 
 which its adoption would afford to the preserva- 
 tion of a republican government, to liberty, and to 
 property. While it exhausts the subject iahand, 
 it abounds ta general reflections of the highest 
 value, and in passages rich with the sterling ore 
 of true political wisdom. It anticipates and answers 
 every objection to the main principles on which 
 the authority of all government must be founded, 
 and its arguments are in many respects as applic- 
 
220 FEDERALISTS AND KEPUBLICANS. 
 
 aWe to our own or any other day, as they were to 
 the particular times and circumstances in which 
 they were first written. 
 
 The conclusion to which Hamilton came, and 
 which he endeavoured to impart to his fellow- 
 citizens, was, that the proposed Constitution, al- 
 though not perfect in every part, was upon the 
 whole a good one — the best, perhaps, that the 
 present views and circumstances of the country 
 would permit — and such as promised every species 
 of security which a reasonable people could desire. 
 But he laboured also to impress on their minds, that 
 its success or faHuie must depend, after aU, upon 
 them — that institutions are in themselves of little 
 avaU, unless worked by the energy, and supported 
 by the virtue of freemen. He wished to have a 
 government strong enough to maintain itself against 
 personal cupidity or ambition ; but he looked for no 
 permanent existence of such a government, imless 
 it could command the confidence, acquire the affec- 
 tion, and be sustained by the active co-operation of 
 the main body of the people. " If opposition to the 
 National Government should arise," he says, "from 
 the disorderly conduct of refractory or seditious 
 individuals, it could be overcome by the same 
 
FEDERALISTS AND EEPUBLICANS. 221 
 
 means, which are daily employed against the same 
 evil under the State Governments. The magistracy, 
 being equally the ministers of the law of the land, 
 from whatever source it might emanate, would 
 doubtless be as ready to guard the national as the 
 local regulations from the inroads of private licen- 
 tiousness. As to those partial commotions and 
 insurrections which sometimes disquiet society, from 
 the intrigues of an inconsiderable faction, or from 
 sudden or occasional iU-humours that do not affect 
 the great body of the community — the general 
 government could command more extensive re- 
 sources for the suppression of disturbances of that 
 kind, than would be in the power of any single 
 member. And as to those mortal feuds, which, in 
 certain conjunctures, spread a conflagration through 
 the whole nation, or through a very large propor- 
 tion of it, proceeding either from weighty causes 
 of discontent given by the government, or from 
 the contagion of some violent popular paroxysm, 
 they do not fall vjithin any ordinary rules of 
 calculation., "When they happen, they commonly 
 amount to revolutions, and dismemberments of 
 empire. No form of government can always either 
 avoid or control them. It is in vain to hope to 
 
222 FEDERALISTS AND EBPUBLICANS. 
 
 guard against events too mighty for human fore- 
 sight or precaution ; and it would be idle to object 
 to a government, because it could not perform im- 
 possibilities." 
 
 It is certaia from this, and many similar passages, 
 that, much as he wished to strengthen the central 
 government for aU ordinary purposes, Hamilton 
 never" contemplated the maintenance of the Union 
 ly force, against the declared opposition of a large 
 portion of its members. " Every view we may take 
 of the subject," he says, "as candid inquirers after 
 truth, will serve to convince us, that it is both 
 unwise and dangerous to deny the federal govern- 
 ment an unconfined authority, in respect to aU those 
 objects which are intrusted to its management. It 
 will indeed deserve the most vigilant and careful 
 attention of the people, to see that it be modelled 
 in such a manner, as to admit of its being safely 
 vested with the requisite powers. If any plan, 
 which has been, or may be offered to our con- 
 sideration, should not, upon a dispassionate inspec-. 
 tion, be found to answer this description, it ought 
 to be rejected. A government, the constitution of 
 which renders it unfit to be intrusted with aU the 
 powers which a free peaplc ought to delegate, to any 
 
FEDEEALISTS AUB EEPUBLICANS. 223 
 
 government, -would be an unsafe and improper deposi- 
 tary of the national interests. "Wherever these can 
 with propriety be confided, the coincident powers 
 may safely accompany them. This is the true 
 result of all just reasoning upon the subject. And 
 the adversaries of the plan promulgated by the Con- 
 vention would have given a better impression of 
 their candour, if they had confined themselves to 
 showing, that the internal structure of the proposed 
 government was such as to render it unworthy of 
 the confidence of the people. They ought not to 
 have wandered into inflammatory declamations and 
 \mmeaning cavils about the extent of the powers. 
 The powers are not too extensive for the objects of 
 federal administration, or, in other words, for the 
 management of our national interests; nor can any 
 satisfactory argument be framed to show that they 
 are chargeable with such an excess. If it be true, 
 as has been insinuated by some of the writers on 
 the other side, that the difiiculty arises from the 
 nature of the thing, and that the extent of the 
 coujitry will not permit us to form a government, 
 in which such ample powers can safely be reposed, 
 it would prove, that we ought to contract our views, 
 and resort to the expedient of separate confederacies. 
 
224 FEDERALISTS AND EEPUBLICANS. 
 
 which will move within more practicable spheres. 
 For the absurdity must continually stare us in 
 the face, of coniidiag to a government the direction 
 of the most essential national concerns, without 
 daring to trust it with the authorities which are 
 indispensable to their proper and efficient manage- 
 ment. Let us not attempt to reconcile contradic- 
 tions, but firmly embrace a rational alternative." 
 
 All the ability displayed in the Federalist, and all 
 the exertions of Hamilton and his friends, were 
 required to secure the acceptance of the Constitu- 
 tion. The struggle was long and arduous. The 
 adoption of the scheme was not only opposed by 
 passion and prejudice, but by the strong and earnest 
 convictions of some men of high talent and character. 
 "I can say with truth," exclaimed liUther Martin, 
 addressing the legislature of Maryland, "that so far 
 was I from being influenced in my conduct by 
 interest, or the consideration of office, that I would 
 cheerfully resign the appointment I now hold; I 
 would biad myself never to accept another, either 
 under the general government or that of my own 
 State ; I would do more, sir — so destructive do I 
 consider the present system to the happiness of my 
 pountry — I would cheerfully sacrifice that share of 
 
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS. 225 
 
 property with which heaven has blessed a life of 
 industry; I would reduce myself to indigence and 
 poverty; and those who are dearer to me than my 
 own existence, I would intrust to the care and 
 protection of that Providence who hath so kindly 
 protected myseH — if on these terms only I could 
 procure my country to reject those chains which are 
 forged for it." 
 
 In the face of such an opposition it was impossible 
 not to feel anxious. '' It is almost arrogance," said 
 Hamilton, "in so complicated a subject, depending 
 so entirely upon the incalculable fluctuations of the 
 human passions, to attempt even a conjecture about 
 the result." What he did was to throw his whole 
 strength into the contest, and to leave no honest 
 means untried to accomplish the end. During the 
 months that elapsed between the dissolution of the 
 Convention and the ratification of the Constitution, 
 his vigilance never slumbered, and his exertions were 
 not relaxed for a moment. Many able men were 
 engaged in that struggle, but none rendered such 
 service as he did to the Federalist cause. He had 
 made it emphatically his own, and was resolved 
 to aid it with all the resources of his genius. 
 
 The first State which ratified the Constitution 
 Q 
 
220 FEDEEALISTS AND EEPUBLICANS. 
 
 was the little community of Delaware, on the 7th of 
 December, 1787. Tlie important State ^of Pennsyl- 
 vania, influenced by the name of Tranlslin, and the 
 personal exertions of James Wilson, was the next 
 to foUow. Then came New Jersey, Georgia, and 
 Connecticut. But, with the opening of the year 
 1788, it was felt that the chief battle must be fought 
 in^ Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia, and that, 
 if even all three were gained* over, it would still 
 require one of the remaining States, to make up 
 that mystical number nine on which so mvich 
 depended. The Convention of Massachusetts met 
 on the 9th of January, and, after long debate, ratified 
 the Constitution on the 7th of February, but only 
 by a majority of nineteen votes, in a house of 355 
 members. Maryland followed on the 28th of AprU, 
 in spite of the efforts of Luther Martin, and, before 
 the close of May, South Carolina had given in her 
 adhesion. Eight States were thus gained ; but New 
 York, Virginia, and New Hampshire were yet 
 doubtful, and North Carolina and Ehode Island 
 seemed determined to stand aloof. The Convention 
 of Virginia was to meet on the 2d of June at 
 Eichmond, and that of New York on the 17th of 
 the same month, at Poughkeepsie, on the banks of 
 
FEDERALISTS AND EEPUBLIOANS. 227 
 
 the Hudson. In tlie one was Madison, in the other 
 Hamilton; and a system of horse-expresses was 
 arranged between them, as well as with the Federal- 
 ists of New Hampshire, to convey the earliest 
 intelligence of those momentous proceedings to 
 each other. 
 
 In Virginia the opposition was led by Patrick 
 Henry, whose fiery eloq^uence had done so much in 
 exciting his countrymen to resistance, in the com- 
 mencement of the struggle with Great Britain ; in 
 New York the whole interest of Governor Clinton 
 and his friends, and many local, and many personal 
 prejudices, were arrayed against the adoption of the 
 Constitution. There was even a party in the latter 
 State, with sufficient confidence ia the growing power 
 and importance of their own community, to be 
 willing to separate altogether from the Union. " Let 
 us tui-n our eyes," says Mr. Curtis, in the valuable 
 work so often quoted in these pages, " to the pleasant 
 village on the banks of the Hudson, where the 
 Convention of New York was already assembling. 
 Hamilton was there, and was its leading spirit. 
 How vigilant and thoughtful he was, we know — 
 sometimes watching for the messenger who might 
 descend the Eastern hiUs with reports from New 
 Q 2 
 
228 FEDERALISTS AND EEPTJBLICANS. 
 
 Hampshire — sometimes turning to the South, and 
 listening for the footfall of his couriers from Virginia 
 — but always preparing to meet difficulties, always 
 ready to contest every inch of ground, and never 
 losing sight of the great end to be accomplished. 
 The hours were slow and heavy to him. The lines 
 of horse-expresses which he had so carefully adjusted, 
 and at whose intersection he stood to collect the 
 momentous intelligence they would bring him, were 
 indeed a marvel of enterprise at that day ; but how 
 unlike were they to the metallic lines that now 
 daily gather for us, from all ends of the land and 
 with the speed of lightning, minute notices of the 
 most trivial or the most important events ! Still, 
 such as his apparatus was, it was all that could be 
 had ; and he awaited, alike with a firm patience and 
 a faithful hope, for the decisive results. Even at 
 this distance of time, we share the fluctuations of 
 his anxious spirit, and our patriotism is quickened 
 by our sympathy. 
 
 "Earely indeed, if ever, was there a statesman 
 having more at stake in what he could not person- 
 ally control, or greater cause for solicitude concern- 
 ing the public weal of his own times, or that of 
 future ages, than Hamilton now had. His own 
 
FEDERALISTS AND KEPUELICANS. 229 
 
 prospects of usefulness, according to tlie principles 
 which had long guided him, and the happiness 
 or misery of his country, were all, as he was deeply 
 convinced, involved in what might happen within 
 any hour of these few eventful days. The rejection 
 of the Constitution by Virginia would, in all pro- 
 bability, cause its rejection by ^ew York. Its rejec- 
 tion by those States would, as he sincerely believed, 
 be followed by eventual disunion and civil war. 
 But if the Constitution could be established, he 
 could see the way open to the happiness and wel- 
 fare of the whole Union; for, although it was not 
 in all respects the system that he would have pre- 
 ferred, he had shown in the Federalist how pro- 
 foundly he understood its bearing upon the interests 
 of the country, into what harinony he could bring 
 its various provisions, and what powerful aid he 
 could give in adjusting it into its delicate relations 
 to the States. He had, too, akeady conceived the 
 hope that its early administration might be imder- 
 taken by Washington; and with the government 
 in the hands of Washington, Hamilton could foresee 
 the success which, to us, is now historical. 
 
 " To say that Hamilton was ambitious, is to say 
 that he was human ; and he was by no means free 
 
230 FEDEEALISTS AND ■ KEPUBLICANS. 
 
 from human imperfections. But his was the ambi- 
 tion of a great mind, regulated by principle, and 
 made incapable by the force and nature of his con- 
 victions of seeking personal aggrandizement through 
 any course of public policy, of which those convic- 
 tions were not the mainspring and the life. In no 
 degree is the character of any other American states- 
 man undervalued or disparaged, when I insist on 
 the importance to all America, through all time, 
 of Hamilton's public character and conduct in this 
 respect. It was because his future opportunities 
 for personal distinction and usefulness were now 
 evidently at stake, in the success of a system that 
 would admit of the exercise of his great powers in 
 the service • of the country — a system that wouM 
 afford at once a field for their exercise, and for the 
 application of his political principles — and because 
 he could neither seek nor find distinction in a line 
 of politics which tended to disunion — that his posi- 
 tion at this time is so interesting and important. 
 As a citizen of New York, too, liis position was 
 personally critical. He had carried on a vigorous 
 contest with the opponents of the Constitution in 
 that State; he had encountered obloquy, and mis- 
 representation, and rancour — perhaps, he had pro- 
 
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS. 231 
 
 voked them. He had told the people of the State, 
 for years, that they had listened to wrong counsels, 
 ■when they had lent themselves to measures that 
 retarded the growth of a national spirit and an 
 efficient general government. The correctness of 
 his judgment was now, therefore, openly and pal- 
 pably in the issue. His public policy, with reference 
 to the relations of the State to the Union, was now 
 to stand or to fall with the Constitution proposed." 
 
 At first, the opposition sought to reject the plan 
 as defective, while they disclaimed all wish to bring 
 about a dissolution of the Union ; but when, on 
 the 24<th of June, Hamilton received intelligence, 
 that, by the ratification of New Hampshire, the 
 Constitution had been adopted by nine States — the 
 number requisite for its establishment — ^the question 
 was at once raised whether N"ew York was to 
 remain in the Confederacy, or to stand alone as 
 an independent power. There can be no doubt 
 that there was a party in the Convention prepared 
 for the latter alternative ; but Hamilton felt, that, 
 to leave out New York, would be to abandon the 
 heart and centre of the Union, and resolved to 
 combat the project by all the means at his disposal. 
 Anxiously, most anxiously, did he watch for tidings 
 
232 FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS. 
 
 from Virginia; and at length, on the 8th of July, 
 one of his horsemen came spurring to .Poughkeepsie 
 with the news, that the land of Washington had 
 ratified the Constitution. The vote had been carried 
 by a majority of ten, and Patrick Henry, yielding to 
 what he could not prevent, had declared that he 
 would still be a peaceable citizen, and wait with 
 hope, "that the spirit which predominated in the 
 Eevolution is not yet gone, nor the cause of those 
 who are attached to the Eevolution yet lost." A 
 tenth State — ^the eldest and noblest of the Con^ 
 federacy — was thus gained over to the side of 
 regular government. 
 
 But the Convention of New York still hesitated. 
 Unable to procure the absolute rejection of the 
 Constitution, the Anti-Federalists resolved, that it 
 should only be accepted conditionally. They ham- 
 pered it with a nimiber of amendments, and pro- 
 posed, that, if these were not adopted within a 
 certain time, their State should be at liberty to 
 withdraw from the Union. They sought to carry 
 constructive declarations of its ' meaning, which 
 would have materially interfered with the powers 
 exercised under it. The Federalists were obliged 
 to concede that sundry amendments should be 
 
FEDERALISTS AND EEPUBLICANS. 233 
 
 recommended, though they would not allow them 
 to be made conditions. The final struggle took 
 place on the question of conditional or uncondi- 
 tional ratification, and, after protracted and violent 
 debates, the Constitution was at length adopted 
 on the 26th of July, by thirty votes against 
 twenty-seven. 
 
 And so Hamilton had triumphed. He had tri- 
 umphed against difficulties and prejudices, which, 
 at this distance of time, it is perhaps impossible 
 fully to estimate. And he had the proud satisfac- 
 tion of knowing, that his success was due to no 
 truckling to popular delusions, no flattery of the 
 popular will, but to the free, bold, uncompromising 
 enunciation of great truths and high principles. 
 And that very people, so often amused or disgusted 
 by the clumsy worship of the demagogues they 
 despise, had learned to honour and appreciate this 
 man. During the last days of the Convention, the 
 streets of New York were fiUed with an excited 
 crowd, waiting for news from Poughkeepsie, and, as 
 each messenger arrived, it was repeated from mouth 
 to mouth : " Hamilton is speaking ! Hamilton is 
 speaking yet ! " as though the destinies of the 
 country hung suspended on his words. And when at 
 
234 FEDERALISTS AND EEPUBLICANS. 
 
 length the tidings of the ratification reached the city, 
 the bells pealed from the church-towers, the cannon 
 resounded from the forts, and a loud and exulting 
 shout proclaimed, that the popular voice had sanc- 
 tioned the victory of the Constitution. 
 
 On the 5th of August, 1788, the ratification was 
 celebrated at New York with great public rejoicings, 
 and Hamilton was the hero of the festival. " He 
 must have experienced on that day," says Mr. Curtis, 
 to quote 'once more from a book to which I am 
 anxious to acknowledge my obligations, "the best 
 reward that a statesman can ever find ; for there 
 is no purer, no higher pleasure for a conscientious 
 statesman, than to know, by demonstrations of pub- 
 lic gratitude, that the humblest of the people, for 
 whose welfare he has laboured, appreciate and are 
 thankful for his 'services. Public life is often repre- 
 sented, and often found, to be a thankless sphere 
 for men of the greatest capacity and the highest 
 patriotism ; and the accidents, the defeats, the 
 changes, the party passions and obstructions of the 
 political world, in a free government, frequently 
 make it so. But mankind are neither deliberately 
 heartless, nor systematically unthanliful ; and it has 
 sometimes happened, in popular governments, that 
 
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS. . 235 
 
 statesmen of the first order of mind and character 
 have, while living, received the most unequivocal 
 proofs of feeling, direct from the popular heart ; 
 while the sum total of their lives appears, in history, 
 to be wanting in evidences of that personal suc- 
 cess, which is attained in a constant triumph over 
 opponents. Such an expression of popular gratitude 
 and sympathy, it was now the fortune of Hamilton 
 to receive. 
 
 " The people of the city did not stop to consider 
 on this occasion, whether he was entitled, in com- 
 parison with all the other public men in the United 
 States, to be regarded as the chief author of the 
 blessings which they now anticipated from the Con- 
 stitution. And why should theyl He was their 
 fellow-citizen — ^their own. They remembered the 
 day when they saw him, a mere boy, training his 
 artillerymen in their public park, for the coming 
 battles of the Eevolution. They remembered the 
 youthful eloquence, and the more than youthful 
 power, with which he encountered the pestilent and 
 slavish doctrines of their Tories. They thought of 
 his career in the army, when the extraordinary 
 maturity, depth, and vigour of his genius, and his 
 great accomplishments, supplied to Washington, in 
 
'236 PBDEKALISTS AND REPUBLICANS. 
 
 some of the most trying periods of his vast and 
 prolonged responsibility, the assistance that Wash- 
 ington most needed. They recollected his career 
 in Congress, when his comprehensive intellect was 
 always alert, to bear the country forward to measures 
 and ideas, that would concentrate its powers and 
 resources in some national system. They called to 
 mind how he had kept their own State from wander- 
 ing quite away into the paths of disunion — how he 
 had enlightened, invigorated, and purified public 
 opinion, by his wise and energetic counsels — how 
 he had led them to understand the true happiness 
 and glory of their country — how he had laboured to 
 bring about those events, which had now produced 
 the Constitution — how he had shown to them the 
 harmony and success that might be predicted of its 
 operation, and had taught them to accept what was 
 good, without petulantly demanding what individual 
 opinion might claim as perfect. 
 
 "What was it to them, therefore, on this day of 
 public rejoicing, that there might be in his pohcy 
 more of consolidation than in the policy of others 
 — that he was said to have in his politics too much 
 that was national, and too little that was local — 
 that some had done as much as he in the actual 
 
FBDERAIilSTS AND EEPUBLICANS. 237 
 
 construction of the system which they were now 
 to celebrate ? Such controversies might be for 
 history, or for the contests of administration that 
 were soon to arise. On this day, they were driven 
 out of men's thoughts by the glow of that public 
 enthusiasm, which banishes the spirit of party, and 
 touches and opens the inmost fountains of patriot- 
 ism. Hamilton had rendered a series of great ser- 
 vices to his country, which had culminated in the 
 adoption of the Constitution by the State of New 
 York ; and they were now acknowledged from the 
 very hearts of those who best knew his motives, 
 and best understood his character. 
 
 "The people themselves, divided into their re- 
 spective trades, evidently undertook the demonstra- 
 tions in his honour, and gave them an emphasis 
 which they could have derived from no other source. 
 They bore his image aloft upon banners. They 
 placed the Constitution in his right hand, and the 
 Confederation in his left. They depicted Fame, with 
 her trumpet, crowning him with laurels. They em- 
 blazoned his name upon the miniature frigate, the 
 Federal ship of state. They anticipated the adminis- 
 tration of the first President, by uniting on the 
 national flag the figure of "Washington and the figure 
 
238 FEDERALISTS AND EEPTJBLICANS. 
 
 of Hamilton. All that ingenuity, all that affection, 
 aU that popular pride and gratitude could do to 
 honour a public benefactor, was repeated again and 
 again through the long line of five thousand citizens, 
 of all orders and conditions, which stretched away 
 from the shores of that beautiful bay, where ocean 
 ascends into river, and river is lost in ocean — and 
 where commerce then wore her holiday attire, to 
 prefigure the magnificence and power which she 
 was to derive from the Constitution of the United 
 States." 
 
CHAPTEE X. 
 
 PRESIDENT AND VICE-PEESIDBNT. 
 
 ELEVEN States having now ratified the Consti- 
 tution, the old Congress, which was still 
 sitting, resolved not to wait for the tardy concurrence 
 of Ehode Island and North Carolina, but tq take 
 at once the necessary steps for inaugurating the_ 
 new government. The seat of that government, 
 which had not been determined by the Convention, 
 was one of the first subjects of discussion. A 
 thousand jealousies were raised by this question, 
 which threatened to throw the whole country once 
 more into tumult and confusion. Hamilton again 
 exerted himself to effect a compromise between the 
 contending parties, and it was at length arranged 
 that they shoidd have recourse to a temporary settle- 
 ment. Postponing to a future time the claims of 
 Virgiaia and Pennsylvania, and the plan for a central 
 capital, to be erected on neutral territory on the 
 
240 PRESIDENT AND VICE-PEESIDENT. 
 
 banks of the Delaware or the Potomac, it was agreed 
 that the city of New York should be for the present 
 the seat of government. The first Wednesday in 
 January, 1789, was fixed for the appointment of 
 electors ; the first Wednesday in February for the 
 election of President ; and the first Wednesday in 
 March for the Constitution to come into working 
 order. 
 
 As the time drew near, almost every eye in America 
 was turned towards one man, as the destined choice 
 of the nation for its highest of&ce. It had not yet 
 been discovered, that insignificance and obscurity are 
 qualifications for the chief magistrate of a great 
 empire, and so long as tried and honourable service 
 was the test of fitness, no one could for a moment 
 compete with the claims of Washington. He was 
 emphatically the leader, the deliverer, foremost in 
 peace and war — the founder of the commonwealth, 
 the father of his country. Even faction was silenced 
 in his presence, and envy could detect no weak place 
 in the panoply of his virtue. To him all were 
 willing to yield a pre-eminence, which was acknow- 
 ledged by the voice of the whole civilized world ; 
 or if he still had his enemies and detractors, who 
 had dogged his footsteps from the first, and were 
 
PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT. 241 
 
 afterwards found yelping at his heels with cur-like 
 pertinacity, they now deemed it prudent to slink 
 into their holes and corners, and dared not rouse 
 the indignation of a grateful and admiring people. 
 
 As free from affectation as from vulgar ambition, 
 there can be no doubt of the sincerity of the vrish 
 he expressed to pass the remainder of his days in 
 quiet. His friends, his family, the shades of Mount 
 Vernon, the pursuits of agriculture, the tranquil 
 dignity of private life, these were the true objects 
 of his desire. He was at this time engaged in 
 attending the sick-bed of his aged mother, who had 
 trained him in childhood to obedience and self- 
 control, and from whom he had derived the simpli- 
 city and moderation of his character. She had 
 watched his career with tender interest, but with 
 no undue exultation, and valued more the good son 
 and the good citizen than the hero and conqueror. 
 When he was called away from her on this occasion, 
 their parting had the solemnity of a last interview, 
 for they could hardly hope to meet again upon 
 earth. And, no doubt, the old lady felt, as in the 
 years long ago, that although "her George'' might 
 have done better " to stop at home and mind 
 his farm," yet, wherever he went, and whatever 
 
 E 
 
242 PRESIDENT AND VICE-PEESIDENT. 
 
 he. undertook, he would " do his duty like a 
 man." 
 
 But while the universal expectation had fixed on 
 Washington as the President, it was not so clear to 
 whom the second place in the republic was to be 
 offered. The post of Vice-President has not proved 
 very influential in practice ; but, when the Constitu- 
 tion was yet untried, it was impossible accurately 
 to determine how far his powers might extend. At 
 all events, he was to preside in the Senate, and to 
 have the casting vote; and, in case of the death 
 or resignation of the President, he was to replace 
 that great officer in aU his functions. It was, there- 
 fore, an appointment of high dignity, and might 
 become one of serious importance. In this, as in 
 many other matters, the division of the States led 
 to the first choice. If Virginia was to supply a 
 President, and New York was to be the seat of 
 government, it was necessary to conciliate New 
 England in the selection of a Vice-President. 
 
 Just before this time, John Adams had returned 
 from his mission to the Old World, and had been 
 received by his feUow-citizens with the respect due 
 to his unwearied exertions in their behalf. He was a 
 native of Massachusetts, the son of a New England 
 
PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT. 243 
 
 farmer, who gave him the advantage of an education 
 at Harvard College. Descended from the Puritans, 
 and at first intended for the ministry in one of their 
 churches, he soon found that he could not accept 
 their Calvinistic tenets, and resolved to devote him- 
 self to the study of the law. Born ia 1735, he 
 was in the prime of manhood at the commencement 
 of the troubles in America, and at once took a 
 prominent part in public affairs. He was employed 
 by the town of Boston to contest the legality of the 
 Stamp Act, and on all occasions defended the rights 
 of the Colonies, while he strongly deprecated any 
 acts of popular violence. "When the collision took 
 place between the king's troops and the citizens, 
 which was afterwards absurdly described as the 
 Boston Massacre, Mr. Adams distinguished himself 
 most honourably by his advocacy of the unfortunate 
 soldiers accused of murder. Having proved that 
 they had only fired in self-defence, he upheld the 
 principles of justice, and the undoubted law of the 
 land, against the excited passions of the people, and 
 succeeded in obtaining a reasonable verdict. Elected 
 to the First Congress, he assumed his full share of 
 the responsibility of their measures, and was engaged 
 R 2 
 
244 PEBSIDENT AND VICE-PKESIDENT. 
 
 during the following years in most of the chief 
 acts of the revolution. Once convinced that a 
 reconciliation with England was impossiUe, he 
 urged the policy of an open, irrevocable rupture. 
 His influence secured the appointment of Washing- 
 ton to the command of the army, and he was a 
 member of the committee which prepared the 
 Declaration of Independence, although that docu- 
 ment was really written by Jefferson. He seems 
 to have participated in the doubts, the fears, and 
 the impatience with which most Americans regarded 
 the inevitable delays of the war, and at one time 
 to have lost coniidence in the illustrious chief he 
 had himself recommended to the choice of the 
 country ; but there is no pretence for the assertion 
 that he ever -wavered in the cause he had embraced. 
 In ]778, he was sent on a mission to France, 
 whence he returned in 1779, and before the close 
 of that year was again despatched to Europe. He 
 negotiated a treaty with Holland, and was afterwards 
 engaged in discussing the preliminaries of peace with 
 Great Britain, and, throughout these transactions, 
 his plain sense and integrity appear in favourable 
 contrast to the refined and tortuous diplomacy 
 
PRESIDENT AND VICE-PEESIDENT. 245 
 
 of the French Ministers. In 1785, he was appointed 
 envoy to the Court of St. James's, and continued 
 to reside in England till 1788. 
 
 The important affairs in which Mr. Adams was 
 concerned abroad, the high place he afterwards fOled 
 at home, and the partiality of friends and admirers, 
 who knew and honoured him in the "calm retirement 
 of his extreme old age, have left a somewhat ex- 
 aggerated impression of his abilities. He was un- 
 doubtedly a brave, hoiiest, energetic man, indefatigable 
 in the public service, endowed with good talents for 
 business, and holding many soimd, practical views 
 on political subjects ; but he was not a great states- 
 man, and nothing but ignorance or prejudice could 
 ever have thought of comparing him with Hamilton 
 in that capacity. His letters and journals afford the 
 best key to his character, and in them we may trace 
 the picture of a shrewd, sensible, bustling, irascible 
 person, somewhat obstinate, somewhat dogmatical, 
 with a strong conviction of the value of his own 
 opinions, and rather inclined to force them upon 
 others; but amiable in his private relations, kind- 
 hearted, and devoted to the cause of his country. 
 He was a portly man of moderate stature, with an 
 open countenance, broad forehead, and sparkling eye, 
 
246 PEESIDENT AND VICE-PEESIDENT. 
 
 and in look and bearing must have much resembled 
 a comely and prosperous Englishman of the middle 
 class. There can be no question as to the many and 
 great services he rendered to America ; but his errors 
 of temper and judgment were attended with serious 
 consequences, of which the following pages will 
 supply some striking illustrations. 
 
 When the time came for the choice of a Vice- 
 President, and it was generally acknowledged, for 
 the reasons already stated, that a citizen of New 
 England should have the preference, the name of 
 Adams was one of those which at once attracted the 
 public attention. Hamilton was of course consulted, 
 and seems at first to have hesitated. He knew that 
 Adams had declared in favour of the Constitution, 
 and that he would have the support of many 
 Federalists ; but he also remembered that the New 
 Englander had formerly shown distrust of Washing- 
 ton, and he feared that he was too democratical in 
 his tendencies. He wrote to friends in Massachusetts 
 to make inquiries on the subject. He was assured 
 that Adams had returned from Europe with his pre- 
 judices softened, and his views much modified, and 
 that he was a man of " imconquerable intrepidity, 
 and incorruptible integrity, greatly experienced in 
 
PRESIDENT AND VICE-PKESIDENT. 247 
 
 the interests and character of the country." Under 
 these circumstances, Hamilton resolved to give him 
 every assistance in securing his election. But another 
 danger soon presented itseK to the sagacious mind 
 of the Federalist leader. The Anti-Federalists had 
 started Clinton as a candidate, and threatened to 
 divide their vote between him and Adams. The 
 Constitution had provided that two names should be 
 selected, the one with the largest number of votes 
 for President, and the one with the next largest for 
 Vice-President. If the Federalists all voted for 
 Adams, it might so happen that Washington's elec- 
 tion for President would fail. It was necessary, not 
 only to prevent the possibility of such an occurrence, 
 but to procure the return of the great chief by such a 
 preponderating majority, as would clearly prove that 
 no other name could for a moment be brought into 
 competition Avith his. It was, therefore, Hamilton's 
 opinion, that the Federalists should take care to give 
 so many less votes to Adams than to Washington 
 as would secure the above objects ; and the electors 
 of the different States appear to have acted upon his 
 advice. When the returns were made up, Washington 
 had sixty-nine votes, or the unanimous voice of all 
 the States; whereas Adams had thirty-four votes 
 
248 PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT. 
 
 and the remaining thirty-five were distributed amongst 
 various persons. 
 
 Mr. Adams was deeply offended at the course pur- 
 sued by Hamilton on this occasion, and his grandson 
 and biographer, Mr. Charles Francis Adams, stigma- 
 tizes it as a " refinement of policy," and " ominous of 
 imperfect faith." It is difficult to say what is meant 
 by this. Hamilton was no personal friend of Adams, 
 and was in no way pledged to him as a politician. 
 He gave him the preference over other candidates 
 on public grounds alone ; and, in consulting with 
 those who confided in his judgment and patriotism, 
 he had a perfect right to suggest such measures as 
 he thought necessary, to place the paramount claims 
 of Washington above all dispute. In this there 
 was no breach of faith, and nothing that ought to 
 have wounded the most sensitive pride. But Adams 
 was peculiarly susceptible on the subject of his own 
 dignity, and strongly resented what he considered 
 an unjustifiable interference with his votes. It was 
 the beginning of a misunderstanding between him 
 and Hamilton, which afterwards grew to larger pro- 
 portions, and, in the end, proved very fatal to the 
 interests of the Federalist party. 
 
 But, for the present, aU else was forgotten in the 
 
PEESIDENT AND VICE-PEESIDENT. 249 
 
 triumphant progress of Washington. When the 
 result of the election was known, the whole country- 
 prepared to honour the chieftain of their choice. 
 His friends and neighbours escorted him on the 
 first part of his journey. At Baltimore and Phila- 
 delphia, he was receiyed by a numerous cavalcade, 
 and passed under laurelled arches, amid the roar 
 of artillery. At Trenton, the scene of his former 
 exploits, young girls dressed in white strewed flowers 
 before him, and the bridge bore the inscription : 
 " The defender of the mothers wiLL be the protector 
 of the daughters." Through aU New Jersey, the 
 line he had so often traversed in his weary marches 
 was marked by a series of festivities. As he ap- 
 proached New York, a committee of Congress came 
 out to meet him, and, embarking on board a splendid 
 barge, he entered the bay to the sound of martial 
 music, amid the ringing of beUs, the thunder of 
 salutes, and the shouts of an excited multitude. 
 Governor Clinton received him at the landing-place, 
 and General Knox, and other old comrades in arms, 
 welcomed him as he stepped on shore. The streets 
 were hung with flag9 and garlands, ladies waved 
 their handkerchiefs from the windows, the people 
 crowded on his passage, and tears of joy and en- 
 
250 PEBSIDENT AND VICE-PEBSIDENT. 
 
 thusiasm were mingled with acclamations. It was 
 one of tlie brightest, fairest, and most genuine of 
 • civic triumphs. And yet, in the midst of it all, 
 Washington had a painful feeling, that he might not 
 be able to satisfy the expectations of his countrymen, 
 and that he might live to witness the reverse of that 
 joyous spectacle. 
 
 A few days later, on the 30th of April, 1789, he 
 was finally inaugurated as President. In the morn- 
 ing, the churches were thronged with worshippers, 
 imploring the blessing of heaven on the new govern- 
 ment. A procession was formed to attend the Presi- 
 dent to the Hall of Congress. John Adams, as 
 Vice-President, conducted him to the chair of state ; 
 but it was in an open balcony, in full view of the 
 people, that he was to take the oath of office. Clad 
 in a suit of dark brown cloth, with white silk 
 stockings, and a steel-hilted sword, Washington ad- 
 vanced to the table, on which lay a richly-bound 
 Bible on a velvet cushion. Chancellor Livingston 
 administered the prescribed oath, the Secretary of the 
 Senate presented the Bible, and Washington, having 
 solemnly repeated the words, " I swear — so help me 
 God!" stooped down, and reverently kissed the book. 
 Then the Chancellor exclaimed, in a loud voice : 
 
PEESIDENT AND VICE-PKESIDEHT. 251 
 
 " Long live George Wasliington, President of the 
 United States ! " — a signal-flag rose into the air, the 
 artillery pealed from the batteries, and the re- 
 newed acclamations of the populace announced the 
 completion of this simple, but impressive ceremony. 
 
 While it lasted, old friends and fellow-soldiers 
 were grouped around their beloved chief ; and among 
 the foremost was Hamilton. For this day he had 
 long schemed and toiled, and it must have been 
 with no small satisfaction that he at length saw the 
 fruit of his labours, in the establishment of a regular 
 government, with the greatest of American citi- 
 zens at its head. It was, indeed, one of those mo- 
 ments of exultation which do not often occur in the 
 life of any man, when success comes to reward the 
 efforts of the past, and even the wisest may be 
 excused for indulging in too sanguine hopes of the 
 future. But however Hamilton might rejoice in what 
 he had already accomplished, he well knew how 
 much remained to be done, before the institutions of 
 his country could repose upon a solid basis. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE SECEETAEY OF THE TEEASUKY. 
 
 SCAECELY was the inauguration over, when 
 Washington's difficulties began. At first, he was 
 heset with visitors, who intruded on his privacy, and 
 left him not a moment to himself. " By the time I 
 had done breakfast," he writes, " and thence till 
 dinner, and afterwards till bed-time, I could not get 
 rid of the ceremony of one visit, before I had to 
 attend to another. In a word, I had no leisure to 
 read or to answer the despatches that were pouring 
 in upon me from all quarters." 
 
 It was necessary at once to take some steps to 
 protect him from this annoyance, and to secure the 
 respect due to the dignity of his office. He consulted 
 several persons on the subject, and amongst them 
 Adams and Hamilton. The former advised, that he 
 should, to a great extent, adopt the ceremonial of 
 European courts, and that none should be admitted 
 
THE SECEETAKY OF THE TREASUKY. 253 
 
 to his presence, except on proper application to a 
 chamberlain, or other great officer. The latter also 
 was of opinion that it was essential to maintain the 
 dignity of the chief magistrate, but, at the same time, 
 he considered it expedient to offend, as little as pos- 
 sible, the republican prejudices .of the country. He 
 counselled that the President should hold a levee 
 once a week, for not more than half an hour ; that 
 he should accept no invitations, and only give formal 
 entertainments at certain stated intervals ; and that 
 the heads of departments, foreign ministers, and the 
 members of the Senate, should alone have the general 
 right of access. Other suggestions were made in 
 different quarters, and at length some sort of eti- 
 quette was established. But the most obvious regu- 
 lations in these matters provoked the jealous spirit of 
 the people, and were soon made use of by hostile 
 factions to injure the popularity of the President. 
 
 In the same way, accusations were brought against 
 him of an excessive love of pomp and parade. No- 
 thing could be further from the truth, for Washington 
 was a man of noble and simple tastes. But he rightly 
 thought, that the chief magistrate of a great empire 
 should appear in public with some regard to the 
 decencies of his station, and that to neglect them 
 
254 THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. 
 
 would really be to insult the nation he represented. 
 If, therefore, he drove through the streets of New 
 York with four horses to his carriage, gave splen- 
 did and hospitable entertainments, and received his 
 guests in a full suit of black velvet, with bag, and 
 sword, and powdered hair — the usual dress of state 
 and ceremony in those days — he showed himself 
 wiser and more consistent than his assailants, who, 
 by their senseless cavils and objections, only proved 
 the undue importance they attached to such trifles. 
 These were the persons who could find, in a sofa at 
 the President's ball, some fancied resemblance to a 
 throne ; and such as they have ever since continued 
 the same system of attack, till they have driven the 
 best minds of America from office, lowered the 
 standard of public life, and substituted a class of 
 nameless adventurers, for the really eminent order 
 of men, who founded, and might have saved the 
 republic. 
 
 But Washington was soon occupied with more 
 serious questions than those of etiquette. It was 
 necessary to organize executive departments, and to 
 appoint the members of the cabinet. Before anything 
 could be done, the constitution of the several depart- 
 ments had to be settled by Congress, and, while the 
 
THE SECRET AEY OF THE TREASURY. 255 
 
 matter was still pending, the Presid,ent was taken 
 alarmingly ill. For some weeks he was in great pain 
 and danger, and prepared himseK for the worst with 
 his accustomed courage and resignation. " Whether 
 to-night or twenty years hence," he said to his 
 physician, " makes no difference. I know that I am 
 in the hands of a good Providence." His illness had, 
 however, the effect of rousing the people to a sense 
 of what they might suffer by his loss, and of silencing 
 for the moment the cabals already forined against 
 him. "While slowly recovering, he received intelli- 
 gence of the death of the venerable mother, who had 
 guided his childhood with so firm and steady a hand, 
 and whom in age he had never ceased to revere. He 
 was deeply affected by the news, and his strength 
 had been much shaken by his late malady ; but the 
 public service demanded his immediate attention, 
 and he never postponed the national interest to any 
 private consideration. 
 
 It was Madison who proposed in Congress the 
 plan for the establishment of executive departments. 
 After long discussion, bills were passed, instituting 
 the several offices of a Secretary for Foreign Affairs, 
 to be called the Secretary of State, who was also 
 to have the custody of the seals and archives — a 
 
256 THE SECEETAEY OF THE TEEASURY. 
 
 Secretary for ^"ar, whose functions included the 
 management of both army and navy — and a Secretaiy 
 of the Treasury, who was, in most respects, to per- 
 form the duties of an English Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer. These appointments were to be made 
 by the President, with the advice and consent of the 
 Senate, but the ministers might be removed by the 
 authority of the President alone. The latter clause 
 led to much debate, and was only carried in the 
 Senate by the casting vote of the Vice-President. 
 The above three officers, with the Attorney- General, 
 were to form the cabinet. 
 
 Washington at once confided the "War Department 
 to his old comrade in arms. General Knox, and 
 offered the Treasury to Hamilton. He is said to 
 have consulted Piobert Morris, the former Super- 
 intendent of Finance, as to the second of these 
 appointments, asking with a sigh: "What is to be 
 done with this heavy debt?" — "There is but one 
 man in the United States," answered Morris, "who 
 can tell you, and that is Alexander Hamilton. I 
 am glad you have given me this opportunity to 
 declare to you the extent of the obligations I am 
 under to him." 
 
 The President, who well remembered the in- 
 
THE SECKETAEY OF THE TEEASUEY. 257 
 
 valuable services of his aide-de-camp, could fully 
 subscribe to this flattering estimate of his talents. 
 He had lately been in frequent communication with 
 Hamilton, and had consulted him on several grave 
 and delicate questions. He had always cherished a 
 pleasant recollection of their intimacy, and now the 
 old feelings of friendship had strongly revived be- 
 tween them. In his elevated position, Washington 
 needed more than ever a friend he could entirely 
 trust. On every ground, therefore, private as well 
 as public, he was glad to offer this important post 
 to Hamilton; and the latter did not hesitate to 
 accept it, although he well knew its diflaculties. 
 When warned of the calumny and persecution, which 
 would inevitably attend his efforts to do his duty 
 in such a position, Hamilton only answered: "Of 
 that I am perfectly aware ; but I am convinced it 
 is the situation in which I can do most good." 
 
 Soon after, Washington informed him that he in- 
 tended to nominate Mr. Jefferson, then absent in 
 France, as Secretary of State, and Mr. Edmund 
 Eandolph as Attorney-General. The last-named 
 gentleman had formerly served with him in the 
 army, and had since been Governor of his native 
 State of Virginia. As a member of the Convention 
 
 s 
 
258 THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. 
 
 he had opposed several of the provisions of the Con- 
 stittition, and refused his signature to the draft ; but 
 he afterwards gave his support to its final adoption. 
 Like Knox and Hamilton, Mr. Eandolph at once 
 accepted the appointment. Mr. Jay, who had been 
 Secretary for Foreign Affairs under the Congress, 
 ■was made Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and 
 no wiser, no more upright judge ever sat in any 
 tribunal. 
 
 Hamilton now devoted all his thoughts to the 
 national finances, and was busy in devising schemes 
 to meet the pressing exigencies of the time. He 
 ■was at once assailed with applications for his interest 
 to obtain appointments, and with questions as to 
 his intentions with regard to the policy to be 
 adopted. Calmly and resolutely he refused to return 
 any answer to these importunities, or to give any 
 information which could by possibility be turned to 
 the promotion of private interests. Even when an 
 old friend made some inquiries as to the value of 
 the debt and other matters, a knowledge of which 
 could hardly be thought injurious to the public, 
 Hamilton replied : " My dear friend, I have received 
 your letter of the 16th instant. I am sure you are 
 sincere when you say you would not submit me to 
 
THE SECRETARY OP THE TREASURY. 259 
 
 an impropriety. Nor do I know that there would 
 be any in answeriag your queries. But you re- 
 member the saying with regard to Caesar's wife. I 
 think the spirit of it applicable to every man con- 
 cerned in the administration of the finances of a 
 country. With respect to the conduct of such men, 
 suspicion is ever eagle-eyed, and the most innocent 
 things are apt to be misinterpreted. Be assured of 
 the affection and friendship of . . . Yours, &c. &c." — 
 It is to be feared that the statesmen of America have 
 not all inherited this refined and sensitive delicacy. 
 
 The duties of the Secretary of the Treasury were 
 many and various. Besides originating plans for 
 the improvement and management of the revenue, 
 and for the support of the public credit, he had to 
 prepare and report the estimates, and to superintend 
 the collection, receipt, and disbursement of the 
 public moneys, all authority for transfers or pay- 
 ments being vested in him. He was the exclusive 
 judge of the time and amount of the disbursements, 
 subject only to the check of the Comptroller, who 
 countersigned the warrants, and to the ultimate 
 settlement of the accoimts by the Auditor and 
 Comptroller. And it must be remembered that, 
 when Hamilton assumed the office, almost everything 
 s 2 
 
260 THE SECEETAEY OF THE TEEASUET. 
 
 ■was new, strange, and untried in this great depart- 
 ment, and that he had to construct the machinery 
 "with which he was to perform his task. 
 
 He began by establishing a system for the collec- 
 tion of the revenue, and the organization of the 
 Treasury, which has since been generally admired 
 for the completeness of its self-acting checks, and 
 on the principle of which all subsequent innova- 
 tions have been founded. He instituted a strict 
 and regular audit of accounts, to secure that all 
 expenditure should be made in pursuance of legal 
 appropriations, and that the balances of amounts 
 unexpended should be clearly shown. But the great 
 difficulty with which he had to contend was the 
 necessity of taking immediate steps to support the 
 public credit. No really ef&cient measures had yet 
 been adopted to meet the debts and obligations of 
 the United States. The Foreign Debt, due to France, 
 Holland, and Spain, wdth heavy arrears of interest 
 ■ — the Loan Office Debt, for moneys lent to govern- 
 ment in each State — ^the Army Debt, for pay and 
 commutation of pensions — ^the Debt of the Five 
 Great Departments (as it was called), for services 
 and supplies during the war — the old Continental 
 issues, and innumerable obligations for interest and 
 
THE SECEETAEY OF THE TREASURY. 261 
 
 unpaid balances — all had to be provided for. To 
 add to the inextricable confusion of these various 
 claims, some were held to be State debts, and 
 others debts of the Union. Hamilton saw at once 
 that there was but one way to deal effectually with 
 this pressing emergency. It was to assume the 
 State debts as identical with those of the Union, 
 to fund ike whole, and to make all the national 
 resources available for the security of the public 
 creditor. 
 
 In the report which he presented to Congress, ' 
 he urged the importance of maintaining the national 
 credit, as upon it depended the individual and 
 aggregate prosperity of the citizens of the United 
 States, their relief from the embarrassments they 
 now experienced, their character as a people, and 
 the cause of good government. But, besides motives 
 of political expediency, there were arguments for 
 it which rested on the immutable principles of 
 moral obligation. And these derived additional 
 strength from the nature of the debt of the United 
 States. It was the price of liberty; and the faith 
 of America had been repeatedly and solemnly 
 pledged for its redemption. 
 
 He then proceeded to point out the evils of an 
 
262 THE SBCEETAEY OF THE TEEASUEY. 
 
 unfunded debt as an object of speculation, diverting 
 capital from more useful channels, and being itself 
 a precarious commodity from its fluctuation and 
 insecurity. Wbereas, by funding the debt, and 
 making due provision for it, they would render 
 the obligations of the government in some sort a 
 substitute for money, and promote, instead of dis- 
 couraging, the great interests of industry. 
 
 But while they were aU agreed, that the foreign 
 debt ought to be provided for in accordance with 
 the precise terms of the contract, there was a 
 difference of opinion as to the domestic debt. Some 
 urged, that there ought to be a discrimination 
 between the original holders and the present pos- 
 sessors by purchase. This doctrine Hamilton de- 
 nounced as "unjust, impolitic, highly injurious even 
 to the original holders, and ruinous to the public 
 credit." He then proceeded to the question, whether 
 any difference ought to remain between the creditors 
 of the Union and those of the individual States. 
 He showed that a provision by one authority would 
 be more effectual than by several; that collision 
 and confusion would thus be prevented ; that con- 
 flicting systems must needs diminish the aggregate 
 revenue ; and that the public creditors, receiving 
 
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. 263 
 
 their dues from one source, distributed with an equal 
 hand, would hare a common interest, and would 
 all unite in supporting the fiscal arrangements of 
 the government. 
 
 " Hence," he argued, " it was the interest of the 
 creditors of the Union, that those of the States 
 should be comprehended in a general provision. 
 Neither would it be just that one class of pubhc 
 creditors should be more favoured than the other. 
 The objects for which loth debts were contracted were 
 the same ; indeed, a great part of the State debts had 
 arisen from assumptions hy them on accownt of the 
 Union." 
 
 Therefore he insisted that both should be placed 
 on the same footing, and he devised a scheme for 
 the equitable adjustment of accounts between the 
 Union and the States, to be executed under the 
 superintendence of commissioners appointed for the 
 purpose. With regard to the question of interest, 
 he contended that all arrears then due were entitled 
 to an equal provision with the principal of the debt. 
 Assuming the whole to be a capital bearing interest 
 at six per cent., he proposed a loan for the entire 
 amount, on five different plans at the option of the 
 creditor. To provide for the payment of interest 
 
264 THE SECEETAEY OF THE TEEASUEY. 
 
 on the same, and also to meet tlie current expenses, 
 he suggested additional duties on wine, spirits, tea, 
 and coffee. But persuaded that "the creation of 
 debt should always be accompanied with the means 
 of its extinguishment," he likewise proposed that 
 the net revenue of the Posi^Of&ce should be vested 
 in commissioners, to be applied by them to the 
 gradual discharge of the debt. And to facilitate 
 all these operations, and assist in the general business 
 of the country, he contemplated the establishment 
 of a National Bank, of which he was prepared to 
 submit a sketch for the consideration of Congress. 
 
 When this memorable report was ready to be 
 laid before the Legislature, one of the main defects 
 in the Constitution became apparent. That instru- 
 ment had provided that no person holding of&ce 
 could be a member of Congress,''and the able and 
 eloquent minister, who had conceived and elaborated 
 this great scheme of finance, was precluded from 
 explaining or defending his views, in presence of 
 the assembly which was to decide upon their adop- 
 tion or rejection. It was, indeed, moved in the 
 House, that the Secretary of the Treasury might be 
 permitted to make his communication in person; 
 but, after a short debate, it was resolved to receive 
 
THE SECEETAEY OF THE TEEASUEY. 266 
 
 his report in -writing — a decision which deprived 
 Congress at the time of most valuable assistance, 
 and established a precedent which has been highly 
 injurious to America. 
 
 Nothing can be more absurd than the rule, which 
 forbids a statesman to expound and elucidate his 
 own plans, and prevents him from answering ob- 
 jections and removing difficulties, while it leaves to 
 his opponents the power of putting forth their whole 
 strength to defeat him. Only the extreme jealousy 
 of government, which prevails in a purely democratic 
 society, could have led to the adoption of such a 
 rule. It has forced the chief politicians of America 
 either to refuse office, or to accept it at the cost of 
 their parliamentary influence ; it has alternately 
 robbed the Administration and the Legislature of 
 some of their best men ; it has compelled ministers to 
 have recourse to indirect means, through the press or 
 the platform, to support the policy which they ought 
 to have upheld in Congress ; and it has thus had a 
 direct tendency to degrade both the Cabinet and the 
 Assembly, and to transfer the discussion of aU im- 
 portant matters, from the representatives* of the 
 people to the agitators of the newspapers and the 
 hustings. 
 
266 THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. 
 
 On this occasion, the opponents of the Secretary's 
 measures found an unexpected and formidable cham- 
 pion in James Madison. That gentleman had sided 
 with Hamilton in the Convention, and shared with 
 him and Jay in the labours and honours of the 
 Federalist. He had fought manfully for the establish- 
 ment of the Constitution, had partaken largely of the 
 favour and confidence of Washington, and was pecu- 
 liarly obnoxious to the Anti-Federalist party. But 
 he now sat in the House of Eepresentatives, in which 
 he was ambitious of the post of leader, and his con- 
 stituents in Virginia were strongly opposed to some 
 of Hamilton's plana Agriculturists, and often in 
 need of money, they had been forced to part with 
 their government bonds or certificates at a great 
 sacrifice ; and they now resented as an injustice, that 
 the speculators, who had purchased these securities, 
 and who chiefly belonged to the Northern States, 
 should be placed in so much better a position than 
 themselves, and profit by the losses they had sus- 
 tained. They likewise urged, that the North had the 
 larger share of State debts to transfer to the Federal 
 account,* and they protested against additional bur- 
 dens being entailed on the South, by the assumption 
 of obligations to which they were not already liable. 
 
THE SECKETAEY OF THE TREASURY. 267 
 
 Madison made Mmself the interpreter of these 
 views, advocated a discrimination between the origi- 
 nal holders of the debt and its present possessors, 
 and resisted the priaciple of the assumption of the 
 State debts by the Union. Had he succeeded in his 
 opposition, Hamilton's whole scheme must have mis- 
 carried, and the credit of America have been ruined 
 for many a day. But the friends of a just settlement 
 of the debt, amongst whom Fisher Ames was honour- 
 ably distiaguished, were fortunately in the majority, 
 and resolutions were at length passed in accordance 
 with Hamilton's report. Once more the statesman 
 had triumphed in the face of unnumbered difficulties, 
 and, however bitter the enmity he had provoked, he 
 felt certain of the ultimate success of his financial 
 measures. That success was yet to come, more bril- 
 liant than could have been anticipated, to justify his 
 prescience, and consecrate the work of his genius. 
 " He smote the rock of the national resources," says 
 Daniel "Webster, " and abundant streams of revenue 
 gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of the 
 Public Credit, and it sprang upon its feet. The 
 fabled birth of Minerva from the brain of Jove was 
 hardly more sudden or more perfect, than the finan- 
 
268 THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. 
 
 cial system of the United States, as it burst forth 
 from the conceptions of Alexander Hamilton." 
 
 But, before he finally accomplished his object, 
 another actor appeared upon the scene, who was 
 destined to play an important part in the subsequent 
 history of his life. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THOMAS JEFFEESON. 
 
 IT has been already said, that the post of Secretary 
 of State was offered to Jefferson, and as he had 
 now arrived in New York, to un'dertake the duties of 
 his office, it is time to introduce this singular per- 
 sonage to the notice of the reader. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson was born in Virginia, on the 
 2d of April, 1743. He was the son of a planter of 
 considerable wealth, and descended from a family of 
 Welsh origin. He • was educated at Williamsburg, 
 and, while at college, appears to have had the repu- 
 tation of a shrewd, lively, pleasant fellow, who, in 
 spite of his tall, gaunt figure, red hair, harsh features, 
 and freckled face, was welcome in most companies, 
 and somewhat of a favourite with the ladies. He 
 seems early to' have adopted a light and easy phi- 
 losophy, with sceptical views in religion, to have 
 cultivated a taste for literature and music, and to 
 
270 THOMAS JEFFEESON. 
 
 have acquired the habits and address of a man of the 
 world. Within a few years of leaving college, he was 
 called to the bar, and obtained a seat in the Assembly 
 of Virginia, where, fired by the eloquence and enthu- 
 siasm of Patrick Henry, and always strongly at- 
 tracted by a popular cause, he threw himself heart 
 and soul into the struggle with England. But it was 
 less by speeches and open demonstrations, than by 
 schemes concocted in private, and the dexterous man- 
 agement of the " corresponding committees," that he 
 was able to render good service to the Colonies. It 
 is said that, when at school, he used to put forward 
 other boys to ask for whatever he himself wanted ; 
 and he continued through life the same tactics — ^pre- 
 ferring to remain in the background and pull the 
 wires, rather than engage actively in personal or 
 political combats. 
 
 His services were, however, well known ; he was 
 elected a delegate to the General Congress, and, when 
 it was determined to break finally with England, he 
 was appointed one of the committee to prepare the 
 Declaration of Independence. Both Adams and 
 Franklin pressed him to undertake its composition, 
 and, as he was always ready with his pen, he con- 
 sented to make the draft. It contained some extrava- 
 
THOMAS JEFFEESON. 271 
 
 gant expressions which Congress had the good sense 
 to omit ; but, in the main, his sketch was ultimately 
 adopted, and there can he no doubt, that the mere 
 fact of his having been the author of that celebrated 
 document greatly contributed to the influence which 
 he afterwards exercised over the public mind. 
 
 The next task in which he was engaged was one 
 exactly suited to his character. Washington only 
 became a republican from the necessity of the case, 
 and, if Adams was one by conviction, it was with no 
 fanatical attachment to any particular form. But 
 Jefferson was a republican on system, with a philo- 
 sophical theory to be carried out to its logical con- 
 clusions, and in this, as in many other respects, his 
 mind seems to have been cast in a French, rather 
 than an English mould. It was, therefore, with real 
 satisfaction, that he set about remodelling the laws 
 and constitution of his native Virginia, so as to bring 
 them into harmony with his democratic notions. 
 Entails and primogeniture, hereditary distinctions, a 
 powerful gentry, and an Established Church, stiU 
 existed in that portion of America; and all these 
 were doomed to destruction by this ardent repub- 
 lican. "When I left Congress in 1776," he says, "it 
 was iri the persuasion that our whole code must be 
 
272 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 reviewed, and adapted to our republican form of 
 government ; and now that we had no negatives of 
 councils, governors, and kings, to restrain us from 
 doing right, that it should be corrected, in all its 
 parts, with a single eye to reason." 
 
 Some people might have thought, that reason 
 generally points to the lessons of experience, and 
 that, before destroying an aristocracy which had no 
 exclusive political privileges, it would be well to 
 examine the working of the new institutions, and 
 wait to see what checks might possibly be required. 
 But such timid counsels were by no means suited to 
 the impatience of a philosopher like Jefferson. He 
 urged on the Assembly of Virginia the immediate 
 abolition of every law and custom, that had any 
 tendency to favour the preservation of the old he- 
 reditary fortunes and families ; and he persevered 
 in his efforts, till he succeeded in almost entirely 
 breaking down the aristocracy of the Ancient Do- 
 minion. It might have been better for posterity, had 
 he shown equal perseverance in maintaining his 
 views with regard to negro-slavery ; but, though 
 always opposed to it in theory, he was more com- 
 plying on this head, and he left to another age the 
 bitter legacy of a question, which in his time lay 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 273 
 
 within narrow bounds, and admitted of a peaceable 
 solution. 
 
 Appointed Governor of his native state, he was 
 surprised by the sudden invasion of a few hundred 
 English soldiers, who were allowed to penetrate to 
 the very heart of Virginia, and very nearly captured 
 both the Governor and the Legislature. Jefferson 
 owed his safety to the speed of his horse, and was 
 accused by his enemies of having displayed, on this 
 occasion, a total want of capacity and courage. But, 
 after all, it is no great reproach to a civilian that 
 he happens to be deficient in martial qualities, and 
 the only objection which can fairly be taken to his 
 conduct is, that he should ever have accepted an 
 ofl&ce, which in those days was so likely to involve 
 the necessity of mUitary service. 
 
 In 1 782, he was named as one of the negotiators 
 for peace with England, but the prelLminaries were 
 concluded before he could set out on his mission. 
 Two years after, however, he was despatched to 
 Europe to negotiate treaties of commerce with 
 different nations, and, when Dr. Erankhn returned 
 to America, he remained in Paris as Minister of the 
 United States. He was here far more in his element 
 than in a position where he was exposed to the 
 
 T 
 
274 THOMAS JEFFERSON". 
 
 rough criticism of political opponents, or to the still 
 more troublesome attacks of hostile invaders. Diplo- 
 macy was suited to his tastes, and France was just 
 then the field for the cultivation of his peculiar 
 opiaions. At his house were assembled many of 
 the members of the reforming party, and his vanity 
 seems to have been flattered by the deference paid 
 to his judgment. He was free with his advice on 
 all subjects, political, religious, scientific, social ; and 
 the polite Frenchmen of that day, still faithful to 
 their traditional manners, listened and admired with 
 exemplary good-breeding. The smiles of beauty, the 
 play of wit, the charm of conversation, the delicacy 
 of compliment, all conspired to seduce this wanderer 
 from the wilds of America. He formed an attach- 
 ment for France, to which he adhered through many 
 ■vicissitudes of fortune. Years after, he wrote : " In 
 a comparison of this with other countries, we have 
 the proof of primacy which was given to Themis- 
 tocles after the battle of Salamis. Every general 
 voted to himself the first reward of valour, and the 
 second to Themistocles. So, ask the travelled in- 
 habitant of any nation, in what country on earth 
 would you rather live ? — Certainly, in my own, 
 where are all my friends, my relations, and the 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 275 
 
 earliest and sweetest affections of my life. — Which 
 would be your second choice ? — France ! " 
 
 But it was not only the grace and polish of society 
 which had so strong a fascination for Jefferson. Here 
 also he found that love of theory, that fondness for 
 grand ideas and symmetrical systems, which had for 
 him an irresistible attraction, and in which he deemed 
 the "lethargic Englishman" so deficient. And he 
 came at a time when he might hope to gratify every 
 vague aspiration, and realize the wildest dreams ; 
 for it was the eve of the French Eevolution, and the 
 air was charged with the electricity of the impending 
 storm. 
 
 He hailed the advent of that revolution with 
 delight, and watched its progress with ever-increasing 
 interest. He had certainly no prejudices to stand in 
 the way of his sympathy, for he wished " to extirpate 
 from creation that class of human lions, tigers, and 
 mammoths, called kings ; " and held it desirable that 
 " the tree of liberty should be refreshed from time to 
 time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Nor 
 would his religious scruples have been shocked by 
 the boldest flights of the sceptical philosophy. " It 
 is not to be understood," he says, " that I am with 
 Christ in all His doctrinas. I am a materialist ; He 
 T 2 
 
276 THOMAS JEFFEESOK 
 
 takes the side of spiritualism." And in writing to 
 a youth at college, his own nephew, who had con- 
 sulted him on such matters, he advises him " not to 
 be frightened from this inquiry by any fear of its 
 consequences. If it ends in a belief that there is 
 •no God, you will find incitements to virtue in the 
 comfort and pleasantness you feel in its exercise, 
 and the love of others which it will procure you. 
 If you find reason to believe there is a God, a con- 
 sciousness that you are acting under His eye, and 
 that He approves you, will be a vast additional in- 
 citement. If that there be a future state," &c. &c. — 
 with much more to the same effect. And, whatever 
 his doubts on these important subjects, he had the 
 most superstitious confidence in popular wisdom — 
 or, at least, in the wisdom of a people enlightened 
 by newspapers — and was even convinced that " those 
 societies (as the Indians) which live without govern- 
 ment enjoy, in their general mass, an infinitely 
 greater degree of happiness than those who live 
 under the European governments." 
 
 No wonder that so thorough a democrat, and so 
 profound a philosopher, was not fully satisfied with 
 the Constitution, which the labours of Hamilton and 
 his colleagues had bestowed on the United States. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON, 277 
 
 He particularly objected to the re-eligibility of the 
 President. "This, I fear," he says, "will make it 
 an office for life first, and then hereditary. I was 
 much an enemy to monarchies before I came to 
 Europe, and am ten thousand times more so since 
 I have seen what they are. There is scarcely an evil 
 known in these countries which may not be traced 
 to their king as its source, nor a good which is not 
 derived from the small fibres of republicanism 
 existing among them." — It was a great relief to him 
 when he found, that the President of the United 
 States was not to be addressed as His Highness. 
 " I hope," says Jefferson, " the terms of Excellency, 
 Honour, Worship, Esquire, may for ever disappear 
 from among us from this moment. I wish that of 
 Mr. would follow them ! " — One almost regrets that 
 Jefferson did not remain in Prance, and join that 
 Jacobin Club, of which he would have been so 
 distinguished an ornament. 
 
 When summoned to the post of Secretary of 
 State in his own country, he does not appear to 
 have shown much alacrity in acceptiag office. It 
 probably involved too direct an amount of re- 
 sponsibility, to be qidte in accordance with the tastes 
 of the wary diplomatist. But Washington desired 
 
278 THOMAS JEFFEESON. 
 
 to found his cabinet on as wide a base as possible, 
 and to include in it the author of the Declaration 
 of Independence, as well as the champion of the 
 Constitution. Urged to accept the appointment, 
 Jefferson wrote to the President in a tone of extra- 
 ordinary modesty, expressing doubts of his own 
 abilities, and concluding with these remarkable 
 professions of respect and submission : " Signify 
 to me by another line your ultimate wish, and I 
 shall conform to it cordially. If it should be to 
 remain in New York, my chief comfort will be to 
 work under your eye — my only shelter the authority 
 of your name, and the wisdom of measures to be 
 dictated by you, and implicitly executed by me." 
 It is unfortunate that he did iiot always retain 
 the same sense of inferiority to that illustrious 
 man. 
 
 It was in November, 1789, that Jefferson arrived 
 in the United States, but, having affairs of his own 
 to settle in Virginia, he did not reach New York 
 tiU March, 1790. He came just in time for the 
 great struggle on the financial question, for, although 
 resolutions had been carried in conformity with 
 Hamilton's report, the bills had yet to be passed 
 for executing the proposed plan. A violent oppo- 
 
THOMAS JEFFEESON. 279 
 
 sition to the measure still existed, especially in 
 Virginia; and North Carolina, which had now 
 joined the Union, threw all her members into the 
 same scale, and thus reversed the former majority. 
 Hamilton saw that his great scheme was once more 
 in danger, and that it was of the utmost importance 
 to gain over Jefferson to its support. The steps 
 he took with this view shall be related in Jefferson's 
 own words : — 
 
 "As I was going to the President's one day, I 
 met Hamilton in the street. He walked me back- 
 wards and forwards before the President's door for 
 half an hour. He painted pathetically the temper 
 into which the Legislature had been wrought ; 
 the disgust of those who were called the creditor 
 States ; the danger of the secession of their mem- 
 bers, and the separation of the States. He observed 
 that the members of the administration ought to 
 act in concert; that, though this question was not 
 of my department, yet a common duty should make 
 it a common concern ; that the President was the 
 centre on which all administrative questions ulti- 
 mately rested, and that aU of us should rally around 
 him, and support, with joint efforts, measures ap- 
 proved by him; and that, the question having 
 
280 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 been lost by a small majority only, it was probable 
 that an appeal from me to the judgment and dis- 
 cretion of some of my friends might effect a change 
 in the vote, and the machine of goverimient, now 
 suspended, might be again set into motion. I 
 told him that I was really a stranger to the whole 
 subject ; that, not having yet informed myself of 
 the system of finance adopted, I knew not how 
 far this was a necessary sequence ; that, undoubtedly, 
 if its rejection endangered a dissolution of our 
 Union at this incipient stage, I should deem that 
 the most unfortunate of all consequences, to avert 
 which aU partial and temporary evils should be 
 yielded. I proposed to him, however, to dine with 
 me the next day, and I would invite another friend 
 or two, and bring them into conference together; 
 and I thought it impossible that reasonable men, 
 consulting together cooUy, could fail, by some 
 mutual sacrifices of opinion, to form a compromise 
 which was to save the Union. The discussion took 
 place. I could take no part in it but an exhortatory 
 one, because I was a stranger to the circumstances 
 which should govern it. But it was finally agreed 
 that, whatever importance had been attached to the 
 rejection of this proposition, the preservation of 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 281 
 
 the Union, and of concord among the States, was 
 more important, and that therefore it wotdd be 
 better that the Yote of rejection should be re- 
 scinded — to effect "which some members should 
 change their votes. But it was observed that this 
 pill would be peculiarly bitter to the Southern 
 States, and that some concomitant measure should 
 be adopted, to sweeten it a little to them. There 
 had before been projects to fix the seat of govern- 
 merit either at Philadelphia, or at Georgetown, on 
 the Potomac; and it was thought that by giving 
 it to Philadelphia for ten years, and to Georgetown 
 permanently afterwards, this might, as an anodyne, 
 calm in some degree the ferment which might be 
 excited by the other measure alone. So two of 
 the Potomac members (White and Lee, but White 
 with a .revulsion of stomach almost convulsive) 
 agreed to change their votes, and Hamilton under- 
 took to carry the other point. In doing this, the 
 influence he had established over the Eastern mem- 
 bers, and the agency of Eobert Morris with those 
 of the Middle States, effected his side of the en- 
 gagement." 
 
 On Jefferson's own showing, nothing could be 
 fairer than Hamilton's part in this transaction. 
 
282 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 What he says about the necessity of. the cabinet's 
 acting together would appear to Englishmen a self- 
 evident proposition, and he was clearly justified 
 in offering to yield the less important question of 
 the site of a capital, to the far higher consideration 
 of maintaining the public faith of the Union. Yet 
 Jefferson afterwards charged Hamilton with trickery 
 and finesse, in having induced him to bring about this 
 compromise. "It was a fiscal manceuvie," he says, 
 "to which I had most ignorantly and innocently 
 been made to hold the candle." Of Jefferson's 
 ignorance of finance, there can indeed be no doubt. 
 He held opinions on that head, which are not 
 only opposed to great principles, but even to 
 common sense and common honesty. He had a 
 theory, that one generation cannot bind another, 
 and that, as by the laws of mortality the majority 
 of grown men gives place to a new majority every 
 nineteen years, no national contract should extend 
 beyond that period. In other words, each generation 
 was to inherit from its predecessors all the advan- 
 tages of their wealth, and aU the triumphs of their 
 skill and industry, but none of their debts, burdens, 
 or obligations. With his usual caution, he did not 
 bring forward this notable doctrine himself, but 
 
THOMAS JEFFEESON. 283 
 
 endeavoured to persuade Madison to adopt it. " At 
 the first blush," he says, " it may be laughed at as 
 the dream of a theorist ; but examination will prove 
 it to be solid and salutary." — Madison was in no 
 way inclined to be made the cat's-paw in such a 
 business, and the theory had to slumber undisturbed 
 in the breast of its ingenious author. But he never 
 abandoned it ; and, even at a late period of his 
 life, he reverted to the proposition, that no public 
 debt or contract should be binding for more than 
 nineteen years. Surely, Jefferson may fairly claim 
 the merit of being the father of the great system 
 of r&pudiation ! 
 
 "Was he sincere in these strange and startling 
 paradoxes ? It is difficult to answer, for he talked 
 wildly on many subjects, and often shifted his 
 ground. Still, there is a certain thread of consis- 
 tency which runs through all his opinions, and 
 would rather tend to show that he was in earnest. 
 If so, his views much resembled the exaggerated 
 notions of schoolboys — ^respectable, as the concep- 
 tions of young, ardent, inexperienced minds, dazzled 
 by vague dreams of liberty and popular right — but 
 wholly deficient in the elements which constitute 
 the character of a statesman. And among the less 
 
284 THOMAS JEFFERSON, 
 
 worthy motives which seem to have influenced his 
 conduct, it is impossible not to recognize a restless 
 jealousy of those superior natures, with whom he 
 was brought in contact, and, whose gifts were so 
 different from his own. 
 
 Thus, when he had aided Hamilton to pass his 
 measures, although in a modified form — with the 
 understanding that Congress was to meet for ten 
 years at Philadelphia, and then in a new city to 
 be founded on the confines of Maryland and Virginia 
 — he appears almost immediately to have repented 
 of the help he had given him. He saw that those 
 measures were attended with remarkable success, 
 and that Hamilton was likely to become a great 
 power in the state. At once he began to insinuate 
 suspicions of his intentions. Might not fiscal 
 schemes be directed to obtain political influence? 
 Had he not been duped by the Secretary of the 
 Treasury, and made a tool for forwarding his ambi- 
 tious views? Was Hamilton really a republican, 
 and might not the liberties of the country be in 
 danger from his monarchical tendencies? 
 
 From that moment, Jefferson lost no opportunity 
 of damaging the colleague before whose genius he 
 stood rebuked. Too proud to conceal his opinions, 
 
THOMAS JEFFEESON. 285 
 
 and taking little pains to conciliate the prejudices 
 of the people, Hamilton laid himself open to attack 
 by the frankness and boldness of his speech. 
 Eesolved to give the republic a fair trial, and 
 having done more than any other man to secure 
 for it the chances of durability, he still avowed his 
 preference for the British Constitution. In the 
 unguarded freedom of after-dinner conversation, he 
 expressed himseK strongly, often carelessly. On one 
 occasion, after the cloth was removed, the talk ran 
 upon the government of the mother-country. " Purge 
 it of its corruption," said Adams, " and give to its 
 popular branch equality of representation, and it 
 would be the most perfect constitution ever devised 
 by the wit of man." " Purge it of its corruption," 
 replied Hamilton, "and give to its popular branch 
 equality of representation, and it would become an 
 impracticMe government ; as it stands at present, 
 with all its supposed defects, it is the most perfect 
 government which ever existed." 
 
 This was enough for Jefferson. He spread the 
 report everywhere — but only in whispers, to be 
 spoken aloud by others — ^that the Secretary of the 
 Treasury was in favour of "a monarchy bottomed 
 on corruption." Either he misunderstood Hamilton, 
 
286 THOMAS JEFFEESON. 
 
 or he wilfully misrepresented his meaning. No 
 candid person would have taken those words literally. 
 It was far from Hamilton's intention to defend or 
 justify corruption — no man had combated it more 
 bravely in all its forms — but he held that there 
 was a legitimate mode of exercising personal or 
 political influence, and that such influence ought 
 not to be destroyed, because it was liable to some 
 abuses. He believed that rank and wealth played, 
 a necessary and salutary part in the working of 
 the English system — ^that even rotten boroughs might 
 have their advantages, in giving a voice to minorities, 
 and opening a road for untried talent — and that to 
 attempt to equalize representation, by any such plan 
 as dividing the country into uniform electoral dis- 
 tricts, would be to sacrifice the strength and harmony 
 of the British Constitution, to the whims of pedants, 
 and a passion for mere outward symmetry. If he 
 erred, it was in company with some of the wisest 
 of British statesmen; and, although subsequent 
 experience may have proved, that certain reforms 
 in the institutions of the United Kingdom were 
 safe, practicable, and expedient, there is no reason 
 to suppose that it would have altered the main 
 grounds on which he based his opinions. 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 287 
 
 But it suited Jefferson's purpose to disfigure and 
 exaggerate all this. He invented new words .to describe 
 Hamilton and his friends, with a view of throwing 
 discredit on their loyalty to the republic. He called 
 them monocrats and anglomen, evidently insinuating 
 that their attachment to monarchy and to England 
 was inconsistent with their duty as American 
 citizens. He did all in his power to foster that 
 stupid and vulgar prejudice against the land of their 
 fathers, which has since become so marked a feature 
 in the character of the American populace. And 
 in this, at least, Jefferson's inclinations went along 
 with his policy. He had always disliked England, 
 and it was natural he should dislike her. The 
 country, whose temperate freedom rests on the foun- 
 dations of habit, experience, and old tradition, and 
 which cherishes, beyond most other lands, the faith 
 in contracts, the respect for authority, and obedience 
 to the supremacy of law, could expect little sympathy 
 from the hollow theorist, whose only rule was sub- 
 mission to the blind wUl of the people, and who 
 contemplated making a clean sweep every nineteen 
 years, and beginning the world afresh. And the 
 very same motives, which weighed with Jefferson 
 in his dislike for England, contributed to confirm 
 
288 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 and strengtlien his partiality to France. There he 
 saw a people ready to break loose from all their 
 old moorings, and to venture rashly on the untried 
 sea of change. There he found the novelty and 
 excitement, which, for him, had so irresistible a 
 charm. And there he hailed with delight the 
 progress of that destructive spirit, which, acknow- 
 ledging nothing stable in the present, and nothing 
 venerable in the past, was eager to pull down all 
 that the world had hitherto held sacred, in the 
 hope of erecting in its stead the idols of a vain 
 philosophy. 
 
 Very different was the view which the really great 
 men of America took of the French Eevolution. 
 Already in October, 1789, when affairs in France 
 looked bright and promising, Hamilton had thus 
 written to Lafayette : — 
 
 " I have seen, with a mixture of pleasure and 
 apprehension, the progress of the events which have 
 lately taken place in your country. As a friend to 
 mankind and to liberty, I rejoice in the efforts you 
 are making to establish it, while I fear much for the 
 final success of the attempt, for the fate of those I 
 esteem who are engaged in it, and for the danger, 
 in case of success, of innovations greater than will 
 
THOMAS JBFFEESON. 289 
 
 consist witli the real felicity of your nation. If your 
 affairs stUl go well when this reaches you, you will 
 ask why this forehodiag of ill, when all the appear- 
 ances have been so much in your favour ? I will 
 tell you. I dread disagreements among those who 
 are now united. ... I dread the vehement character 
 of your people. ... I dread the interested refractori- 
 ness of your noMes. . . . And I dread the reveries 
 of your philosophic politicians, who appear in this 
 moment to have great influence, and who, being mere 
 speculatists, may aim at more refinement than suits 
 either with human nature or the composition of 
 your nation. These, my dear Marquis, are my 
 apprehensions." 
 
 " I assure you," writes "Washington, at a somewhat 
 later date, " I have often contemplated, with great 
 anxiety, the danger to which you are personally 
 exposed by your peculiar and delicate situation. . . . 
 The tumultuous populace of large cities are ever to 
 be dreaded. Their iadiscriminate violence prostrates, 
 for the time, all public authority, and its conse- 
 quences are sometimes extensive and terrible. In 
 Paris we may suppose these tumults are peculiarly 
 disastrous at this time, when the public mind is in a 
 ferment, and when, as is always the case on such 
 
 u 
 
290 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 occasions, there are not wanting wicked and de- 
 signing men whose element is confusion, and who 
 will not hesitate in destroying the public tranquillity 
 to gain a favourite point." 
 
 If Lafayette could have profited by the warning of 
 his former chief, and, instead of coquetting with mobs 
 until they became his masters, had resolutely main- 
 tained the public peace at any and every risk, it 
 might have been better for his king, his country, and 
 his own fame. 
 
 But, as the revolution proceeded with all its vio- 
 lence and terror, Jefferson could only see subjects 
 for admiration. "When the unhappy Louis XVI. was 
 brought back a prisoner to Paris, after the flight to 
 Varennes, Jefferson merely remarks : " Such are the 
 fruits of that form of government, which heaps 
 importance on idiots. ... It would be unfortunate 
 were it in the power of any one man to defeat the 
 issue of so beautiful a revolution ! " And when the 
 September massacres had disgusted the outraged 
 humanity of the whole civilized world, it is thus 
 that this amiable philanthropist explains and extenu- 
 ates the crime : — " In the struggle which was neces- 
 sary, many guilty persons fell without the forms of 
 trial, and with them some innocent. These I deplore 
 
THOMAS JEFFEKSON. 291 
 
 as much as anybody, and shall deplore some of them 
 to the day of my death ; hut I deplore them as 
 I should have done had they fallen in battle. It was 
 necessary to use the arm of the people, a machine 
 not quite so blind as balls and bombs, but blind to a 
 certain degree. A few of their cordial friends met at 
 their hands the fate of enemies. But time and truth 
 will rescue and embalm their memories, while their 
 posterity will be enjoying that very liberty, for which 
 they would never have hesitated to oflfer up their 
 lives. The liberty of the whole earth was depending 
 on the issue of the contest, and was ever such a prize 
 won with so little innocent blood? My own affec- 
 tions have been deeply wounded by some of the 
 martyrs to this cause, but, rather than it should have 
 failed, I would have seen half the earth desolated. 
 Were there hut an Adam and Eve left in every 
 country, and left free, it would be letter than as it 
 now is." 
 
 The mingled foUy and ferocity of this passage 
 would almost lead to a doubt of the sanity of the 
 writer, were it not for the sagacity and self-possession 
 with which, at this very time, he conducted his 
 political schemes. They were, indeed, chiefly directed 
 to injure and supplant his rivals ; but, whatever his 
 u 2 
 
292 THOMAS JEFFEESON. 
 
 objects, he showed no want of capacity in adapting 
 means to ends, No stone was left unturned to throw 
 suspicion on the Secretary of the Treasury, and to 
 excite that popular jealousy which, in democratic 
 societies, is the most insidious and fatal of weapons. 
 The assumption of the State obligations, the funding 
 of the debt, the establishment of the National Bank — 
 all the great measures, in fact, which Hamilton had 
 conceived and carried out — ^were represented as so 
 many steps in a conspiracy, to obtain power by 
 wholesale corruption, and then to betray the republic. 
 But the author of these charges took care not to 
 briug forward the worst 'of them in his own name. 
 A paper was started, called the National Gazette, 
 edited by Philip Preneau, a clerk in Jefferson's 
 ofhce. It contained the most shameless and virulent 
 attacks on the government — always excepting the 
 Secretary of State — spread the alarm of monarchical 
 and aristocratic plots, accused respectable men of 
 bribery and stock-jobbing, gave currency to every 
 absurd rumour affecting the Federalist leaders, and 
 in general set the example of that unscrupulous style 
 of warfare, which has lowered the American press in 
 the eyes of aU candid observers. Neither Washing- 
 ton's exalted virtue, nor the unblemished reputation 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 293 
 
 of Mr. Adams, could shield them from these shafts of 
 calumny; but Hamilton was the principal mark at 
 which they were pointed, and to ruin. his influence 
 with the pubKc seemed to be the main design of the 
 journalist. 
 
 At first, Hamilton treated such charges with the 
 contempt they deserved. For many months he bore 
 the attacks of the Gazette without retaliation, al- 
 though he well knew the hand from which they 
 originated. He continued to meet Jefferson in the 
 cabinet, and was there always prepared to contest 
 with him, on the broad grounds of national honour 
 and interest, the policy of their several measures. 
 But Jefferson had no relish for such close encounters, 
 and ah-eady talked of retiring from office. He had 
 won over Eandolph to many of his views, whUe 
 KJaox stood firmly by Hamilton, and Washington 
 saw with regret the growing divisions in his cabinet. 
 The President had wished to unite various shades of 
 opinion in the administration, iu order to modify the 
 violence of parties, and facilitate the working of the 
 Constitution ; but he had not expected these radical 
 differences, and stUl less these extremes of personal 
 antipathy. He complained to Jefferson of the gross 
 unfairness of the democratic press, and especially of 
 
294i THOMAS JEFFEESON. 
 
 those articles which tended to excite hatred agaiust 
 the government, and had actually led in Pennsyl- 
 vania to an illegal combination to resist the spirit- 
 tax. Without identifying himself with these articles, 
 Jefferson endeavoured to excuse them, as directed 
 against the Treasury department only. But "Wash- 
 ington refused to accept this explanation, or to 
 separate himself from the acts of his Minister of 
 Finance. "In condemning the administration," he 
 said, " they condemn me ; for, if they thought these 
 were measures pursued contrary to my sentiments, 
 they must conceive me too careless to attend to 
 them, or too stupid to understand them.'' 
 
 StUl the attacks went on, and, at length, Hamilton 
 lost patience. In a letter, signed An American, he 
 denounced '' an experiment somewhat new in the 
 history of political manceuvres in this country; a 
 newspaper instituted by a public of&cer, and the 
 editor of it regularly pensioned with the public 
 money in the disposal of that of&cer." — He asked 
 whether it was possible " that Mr. Jefferson, the head 
 of a principal department of the government, could 
 be the patron of a paper, the evident object of which 
 was to decry the government and its measures ? If 
 he disapproves of the government itself," continues 
 
THOMAS JEFFEESOK 295 
 
 the writer, " and thinks it deserving of his opposition, 
 can he reconcile it to his own personal dignity, and 
 the principles of probity, to hold an office under it, and 
 employ the means of official influence in that opposi- 
 tion ? If he disapproves of the leading measures which 
 have been adopted in the course of his administra- 
 tion, can he reconcile it with the principles of 
 delicacy and propriety to hold a place in that 
 administration, and at the same time to be instru- 
 mental in vilifying measures, which have been adopted 
 by majorities of both branches of the Legislature, 
 and^ sanctioned by the chief magistrate of the 
 Union? " 
 
 The blow told ; for, in spite of an affidavit from 
 Mr. Freneau that he was acting quite independently 
 of the Secretary of State, most people believed 
 in the substantial truth of Hamilton's accusation. 
 Anxious to avoid a violent rupture, which he be- 
 lieved would be detrimental to the public interests, 
 Washington wrote to both the Secretaries, urging 
 them to mutual concessions. Both sent letters in 
 reply, which are very characteristic of the two men. 
 Jefferson repeats the old nonsense, that his difference 
 with Hamilton arose entirely from the attempts of 
 the latter to establish a system adverse to liberty. 
 
296 THOMAS JEFFEESON. 
 
 and "calculated to undermine and denJolisli the 
 republic, by creating an influence of his department 
 over the members of the Legislature." He adds, that 
 he is about shortly to retire from the administra- 
 tion ; that he looks to that event " with the longing 
 of a wave-worn mariner," and that " his main object 
 during the residue of his term will be to wind up 
 the business of his of&ce — reserving until that time 
 his defence under his own name, by a public appeal, 
 which he hopes will not be necessary." And he 
 concludes by declaring that he " wUl not suffer his 
 retirement to be clouded by the slanders of a man 
 whose history, from the moment at which history 
 can stoop to notice him, is a tissue of machinations 
 agaiust the liberty of the country, which has not 
 only received and given him bread, but heaped its 
 honours on his head." — Hamilton, on the contrary, 
 frankly avows that he has been driven into retaUa^ 
 tion by personal attacks, which were intended to 
 make himself and his department odious, and to 
 subvert his measures. He has considered it his 
 duty " to endeavour to resist the torrent, and, as an 
 essential mean to this end, to draw aside the veil 
 from the principal actors." He thinks that events 
 will prove he has judged rightly. "Nevertheless," 
 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 297 
 
 he concludes, " I pledge my honour to you, sir, that, 
 if you shall hereafter form a plan to reunite the 
 members of your administration, upon some steady 
 principle of co-operation, I will faithfully concur m 
 executing it duriag my continuance ia office. And 
 I will not, directly or indirectly, say or do a thing 
 that shall endanger a feud." 
 
 Whilst Hamilton was thus defending himself from 
 the assaults of a colleague, Aaron Burr, his old rival 
 at the bar, was gradually making his way to political 
 distinction. Already in January, 1791, he was 
 elected in opposition to General Schuyler to repre- 
 sent New York in the Senate of the United States. 
 His success appears to have caused some surprise at 
 the time, and was probably the result of a coalition 
 of parties. Be that as it may, it was soon felt on 
 both sides that his support was worth gaining, and 
 Jefferson seems to have courted him assiduously. 
 But Burr's game was to belong to no party for the 
 present, to act independently of aU, and to wait for 
 the chapter of accidents. He knew that Washington 
 dishked, and that Hamilton distrusted him; but cir- 
 cumstances might oblige them to accept his alliance, 
 and he was too able a man not to estimate the value 
 of their moral influence. It would not have been 
 
298 THOMAS JEFFEESON. 
 
 difficult, perhaps, to secure his aid to the President 
 and to the Federalist party ; and there can be no 
 doubt that Jefferson would have found in him the 
 most formidable of opponents. He could plot and 
 counter-plot more effectually than the Secretary of 
 State; he had the courage to face the multitude, 
 and the craft to lead them ; he exercised a personal 
 fascination over many men, and almost all women. 
 The one obstacle, that stood in the way of his junction 
 with the Federalists, was the invincible repugnance 
 of Hamilton to offer him the right hand of fellowship. 
 It would be a mistake to suppose that Hamilton 
 undervalued Burr's talents. It was because he rated 
 them highly that he believed him to be so dangerous 
 a man. He would not trust him with power, because 
 he feared its abuse in those bold and dexterous 
 hands. When, therefore. Burr was proposed as 
 Governor of New York in April, 1792, and the 
 votes of the Federalist party would have carried his 
 election, Hamilton refused his sanction, and the 
 candidate was forced to retire. From that time, 
 Burr drew closer to the avowed opponents of the 
 government, and adopted the watch-words of the 
 extreme Eepublican faction. In the Answers to 
 some of Jefferson's charges, which Hamilton ad- 
 
THOMAS JEFFEESON'. 299 
 
 dressed to Washington in the August of the same 
 year, there occurs a passage which evidently alludes 
 to Burr : " The only path to a subversion of the 
 republican system of this country is, by flattering 
 the prejudices of the people, and exciting their 
 jealousies and apprehensions, to throw affairs into 
 confusion, and bring on civil commotion. Tired at 
 length of anarchy or want of government, they may 
 take shelter in the arms of monarchy for repose and 
 security. Those, then, who resist a confirmation of 
 public order are the true artificers of monarchy. 
 Not that this is the intention of the generality of 
 them. Yet it would not be difficult to lay the 
 finger upon some of their party, who may justly be 
 suspected. When a man, unprincipled in private 
 life, desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, 
 possessed of considerable talents, having the ad- 
 vantage of military habits, despotic in his ordinary 
 demeanour, known to have scoffed in private at the 
 principles of liberty — when such a man is seen to 
 mount the hobby-horse of popularity, to join in the 
 cry of danger to liberty, to take every opportunity 
 of embarrassing the general government and bringing 
 it under suspicion, to flatter and fall in with aU the 
 nonsense of the zealots of the day — it may justly 
 
300 THOMAS JEFFEESON. 
 
 be suspected that his object is to throw things into 
 confusion, that he may ride the storm and direct the 
 whirlwind." 
 
 But a more important election than that of Go- 
 vernor of New York was approaching. Washington's 
 first term of office had nearly expired, and the choice 
 of a President and Vice-President was again in ques- 
 tion. Alarmed at the gathering tempests in the 
 political horizon, the universal voice of the country 
 once more silenced the whispers of faction, and all 
 parties united to call the great pilot to the helm. 
 But those, who dared not attack Washington, re- 
 solved to oppose the re-election of Adams, and Burr 
 was now mentioned as a candidate for the Vice- 
 Presidency. Other names were in the field, and, 
 in the complication of jarring interests. Burr had 
 reason to hope for the support of Federalist votes. 
 But again Hamilton interposed. " I am mistaken," 
 he said, "if it be not Burr's object to play the game 
 of confusion, and I feel it a religious duty to oppose 
 his career. Mr. Adams is the man who wiU be 
 supported by the friends of the government. They 
 reason thus : — Mr. Adams, like other men, has his 
 faults and foibles— some of the opinions he is sup- 
 posed to entertain we do not approve — but we 
 
THOMAS JEFFEKSON. 301 
 
 believe him to be honest, firm, faithful and inde- 
 pendent, a sincere lover of his country, a real friend 
 to genuine liberty, combiuing his attachment to 
 that with love of order and stable government. No 
 man's private character can be fairer than his. No 
 man has given stronger proofs of disinterested and 
 intrepid patriotism." The views of Hamilton pre- 
 vailed, and Adams was re-elected by a small 
 majority. 
 
 And now the Secretary of State began to re- 
 consider his resolution to withdraw from ojffice, 
 He had tried a last effort to drive Hamilton from 
 bis post, by instigating an inquiry into the affairs 
 of the Treasury, in Congress, and endeavouring to 
 cast imputations on the probity of the rival minister. 
 The result had been a triumphant refutation of every 
 charge, and the House had confirmed the opinion 
 of Boudinot, that the Secretary of the Treasury " was 
 free from even a suspicion of malconduct in the 
 whole transaction." Then Jefferson reflected, that 
 for him to retire would be to leave Hamilton vic- 
 torious and powerful, and he expressed his wiUing- 
 ness, if the President had made no arrangements 
 to the contrary, to continue in the cabinet somewhat 
 longer — "how long he could not say, perhaps the 
 
302 THOMAS JEFFEESON. 
 
 summer, perhaps the autumn." If Washington 
 consented to this proposal, it was, that he still 
 hoped to control the violence of faction, and to 
 prevent a convulsion at home, in the face of the 
 innumerable dangers which threatened the peace 
 of the world. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE FEENCH ENVOY. 
 
 THE year 1793 opened under the darkest 
 auspices. The judicial murder of Louis XVI. 
 was followed by the French declaration of war 
 agaiast England, and by the commencement of a 
 contest that was to shake all the corners of the 
 globe. The wise and good men of America beheld 
 with dismay the rise of a new republic, whose creed 
 was atheism, and whose foundations were laid in 
 blood. The king, who had aided them in their 
 struggle for liberty, had perished on the scaffold; 
 the friends, who had fought by their side, were in 
 exile or in prison; the principles they had loved 
 and cherished were degraded by the foul caricature 
 of a mad and impious anarchy. To such men as 
 "Washington and Hamilton, the state of France could 
 only be a subject for deep regret, and their chief 
 anxiety was to avert from their own country the 
 evils of so pernicious an example. 
 
304! THE FRENCH ENVOY. 
 
 Very different was the mood in which Jefferson 
 watched the progress of events, and received intelli- 
 gence of each new piece of Jacobin frenzy. He 
 could see nothing objectionable in the excesses of 
 republican zeal, and was always ready to extenuate 
 crimes that were committed in the name of liberty, 
 equality, and fraternity. Freneau and the National 
 Gazette were employed to excite the popular mind 
 in favour of France, the execution of the king was 
 described as "a great act of justice," and the ex- 
 pression of pity for his fate was represented as 
 "the shriek of a monarchical junto." Every art 
 was used to stimulate the unworthy prejudice against 
 England, to stigmatize her as the champion of the 
 tyrants and despots of Europe, and to sow the seeds 
 of a lasting enmity between two kindred races of 
 freemen. 
 
 The treaty which France had concluded with the 
 United States, during the course of the War of 
 Independence, was entitled "a treaty of alliance 
 eventual and defensive ; " and it now became a 
 question whether, under its provisions, America 
 might not be bound to assist France in the present 
 crisis. "E"ow is the time," wrote Jefferson to 
 Madison, "for America to show her gratitude to 
 
THE FRENCH ENVOY. 305 
 
 her friendly ally, France ; now is the time to assist 
 in the struggles of liberty." And if this language 
 could be held by a person in the responsible posi- 
 tion of Secretary of State, it is no wonder that the 
 excited populace were ready to put the most forced 
 and violent construction on the national obliga- 
 tions. Hamilton saw the danger that America 
 might be dragged into a war with half the world, 
 for interests that were not hers, and objects which 
 she could not in sober reason approve. It was 
 his opinion that, in acknowledging the French Ee- 
 public as a government de facto, America should 
 reserve to herself the right to consider the appli- 
 cability of the treaty to the changed situation of 
 the contracting parties. And he urged upon Wash- 
 ington that, before receiving a minister from the 
 French Convention, it would be expedient to pub- 
 lish a Declaration of Neutrality with regard to the 
 war now raging between France and Great Britain. 
 A stormy, and most important cabinet-council 
 followed. Jefferson opposed the Declaration of 
 Neutrality, but, with his usual cunning, based his 
 objections legs on the measure itself, than on the 
 want of power in the President to take such a 
 step without the consent of Congress. In the dis- 
 
 X 
 
306 THE FEENCH ENVOY. 
 
 cussion wMch ensued, Hamilton tore his arguments 
 to pieces, and scattered tliem to the winds. The 
 author and interpreter of the Constitution knew too 
 well the just limits of the executive authority to 
 be beaten on such a point. His opinion prevailed, 
 and a proclamation was issued by the President 
 "forbidding the citizens of the United States to 
 take part in any hostilities on the seas, with or 
 against any of the belligerent powers; warning 
 them against carrying to any such powers any of 
 those articles deemed contraband according to the 
 modern usage of nations ; and enjoining them from 
 all acts and proceedings inconsistent with the duties 
 of a friendly nation towards those at war." 
 
 While these affairs were in progress at Phila- 
 delphia, now the seat of government, Edmond 
 Charles Genet, or Citizen Genet as he called himself, 
 minister from the French Eepublic to the United 
 States of America, had landed at Charleston, in 
 South Carolina. He was a brother of Madame 
 Campan, well known as a trusted attendant on 
 Marie Antoinette, and, probably through the interest 
 of his sister, had experienced many acts of kindness 
 from the royal famUy. He obtained, at an early 
 age, a commission in the dragoons, and was after- 
 
THE FRENCH ENVOY. 307 
 
 wards attached to various legations ; but, when the 
 fortunes of his patrons changed, Genet was not 
 the man to follow them to the prison or the 
 scaffold. He discovered, indeed, that his patriotism 
 required him to declare strongly on the other side, 
 and he so far gained the confidence of the revolu- 
 tionary government as to be selected for the impor- 
 tant mission to America. There can be no doubt 
 that his instructions were to take every advantage 
 of the popular feeling, whether sanctioned or not 
 by the chief magistrate, and to use any means, 
 however extraordinary, to implicate the United 
 States in the general war. 
 
 He is described as a young man "of a good 
 person, with a fine ruddy complexion, always in 
 a bustle, and more like a busy man than a man 
 of business." He was fond of talking and boasting, 
 and seems rather fo have undervalued the penetra- 
 tion of the Americans. "His system is, I think," 
 says one of Hamilton's friends, "to laugh us into 
 the war, if he can." His object in landing at 
 Charleston, instead of at the seat of government, 
 was to receive a popular ovation before presenting 
 his credentials, and, if possible, to involve the 
 American people in his designs. The very day 
 X 2 
 
308 THE FRENCH ENVOY. 
 
 after his arrival, intoxicated "by the warmth of his 
 reception, and presuming on the support of the 
 democracy, he began to issue commissions for fitting 
 out privateers against British commerce, and ordered 
 the French Consul at Charleston to establish a 
 Court of Admiralty to adjudicate upon the captures. 
 Thus American vessels, manned by American sea- 
 men, were armed and equipped in an American 
 port, under the authority of a foreign minister, to 
 make war upon a friendly nation — and that very 
 minister was to appoint the tribunal that was to 
 decide on the validity of the prizes ! 
 
 The impudence of these pretensions did not cool 
 the enthusiasm of the populace, and Genet's progress 
 through the country was a continued triumph. His 
 arrival at Philadelphia was celebrated by public 
 rejoicings, in which red caps, and trees of liberty, 
 and fraternal embraces, might have almost made 
 him fancy himself back m Paris. Of course, Jeffer- 
 son looked on approvingly ; but Hamilton was filled 
 with disgust and indignation. " It cannot be without 
 danger and inconvenience to our interests," he says, 
 " to impress on the nations of Europe an idea, that 
 we are actuated by the same spirit which has for 
 some time past fatally misguided the measures of 
 
THE FRENCH ENVOY, 309 
 
 those who conduct the affairs of France, and sullied 
 a cause once glorious, and that might have been 
 triumphant. The cause of France is compared with 
 that of America during its late revolution. Would 
 to heaven that the comparison vs^ere just ! Would 
 to heaven that we could discern, in the mirror of 
 French affau's, the same humanity, the same decorum, 
 the same gravity, the same order, the same dignity, 
 the same solemnity which distinguished the course 
 of the American Eevolution ! Clouds and darkness 
 would not then rest upon the issue, as they now do. 
 
 " I own I do not like the comparison. When I 
 contemplate the horrid and systematic massacres of 
 the second and third of September ; when I observe 
 that a Marat and a Eobespierre, the notorious 
 prompters of those bloody scenes, sit triumphantly 
 in the Convention, and take a conspicuous part in 
 its measures — and that an attempt to bring the 
 assassins to justice has been obliged to be aban^ 
 doned; when I see an unfortunate prince, whose 
 reign was a continued demonstration of the goodness 
 and benevolence of his heart, and of his attachment 
 to the people of whom he was the monarch — who, 
 though educated in the lap of despotism, had given 
 repeated proofs that he was not the enemy of liberty 
 
310 THE FEENCH ENVOY. 
 
 — brought precipitately and ignominiously to the 
 Mock, without any substantial proof of guilt as yet 
 disclosed — without even an authentic exhibition of 
 motives, in decent regard to the opinions of man- 
 kind ; when I iind the doctrines of atheism openly 
 advanced in the Convention, and heard with loud 
 applauses ; when I see the sword of fanaticism ex- 
 tended to force a political creed upon citizens, who 
 were invited to submit to the arms of France as the 
 harbingers of liberty ; when I behold the hand of 
 rapacity outstretched to prostrate and ravish the 
 monuments of religious worship, erected by those 
 citizens and their ancestors ; when I perceive passion, 
 tumrdt, and violence usurping those seats where 
 reason and cool deliberation ought to preside — I 
 acknowledge that I am glad to believe there is no 
 real resemblance, between what was the cause of 
 America, and what is the cause of France — that the 
 difference is no less great than that between liberty 
 and licentiousness. I regret whatever has a tendency 
 to confound them; and I feel anxious, as an American, 
 that the ebullitions of inconsiderate men among us 
 may not tend to involve our reputation in the issue." 
 But Hamilton was not content with protesting 
 agaiast the follies of the mob. Practical c[uestions 
 
THE FRENCH ENVOY. 311 
 
 'were forcing themselves on the attention of the 
 cabinet, and he was ever at his post to support the 
 cause of- public faith and the law of nations. Genet's 
 cruisers had brought prizes into port, and one British 
 vessel had been actually captured in American 
 waters. The English minister demanded restitution, 
 and Hamilton was clearly of opinion that it should 
 at once be granted. Jefferson agreed to restore the 
 ship captured in American waters, but demurred to 
 all the rest. He thought the other questions should 
 be left to the ordinary courts. Hamilton argued, on 
 the contrary, that the acts of the French envoy 
 involved a national injury and affront, which the 
 government of the United States was bound to 
 redress, on pain of being regarded as an associate of 
 Prance, and a party to the war. " It is the case," 
 he said, "of an infringement of our sovereignty to 
 the prejudice of a third party ; " and he held that 
 it must be settled " by reasons of state," as well as 
 by " rules of law." Knox sided with Hamilton, but 
 Eandolph adhered to Jefferson's opinion. The cabinet 
 was equally divided, and the point was reserved for 
 further deliberation. But Washington insisted that 
 the foreign ministers should at once be officially 
 informed, that he would take effectual measures " to 
 
312 THE FEBNCH ENVOY. 
 
 prevent the future commissioning, equipping, and 
 manning of vessels in American ports, to cruise 
 against any of the belligerent powers." 
 
 And now Genet presented his credentials, and was 
 received by "Washington with a calm and dignified 
 courtesy. The impetuous Frenchman complained 
 of the coldness of his reception, and sought the 
 congenial sympathy of the Secretary of State. " It 
 is impossible," writes Jefferson, " for anything to be 
 more affectionate, more magnanimous, than the pur- 
 port of his mission ; " and forthwith he proceeds to 
 make this foreigner his confidant in all his suspicions 
 and jealousies of his colleagues and countrymen. 
 No wonder that Genet looked on Washington as the 
 tool of a coterie, and believed he could set him at 
 defiance, by appealing to the people against the 
 President. He determined to adopt a tone unpre- 
 cedented in. the intercourse of a diplomatic agent 
 with a sovereign state, and which neither his native 
 insolence, nor the absurdities of his Jacobin masters 
 will explain, without those " useful hints respecting 
 tnen in office," which he boasts to have derived from 
 Jefferson. 
 
 Pursuant to the President's resolution, two Ameri- 
 cans, who had embarked on one of the privateers, 
 
THE FEENCH ENVOY". 31 3 
 
 ■Were brought on shore and sent to prison. Genet 
 denounced this act in the most extravagant terms. 
 " The crime laid to their charge/' he sayS, " the 
 crime which my mind cannot conceive, and which 
 my pen almost refuses to state, is the serving of 
 France, and defending with her children the common 
 and glorious cause of Liberty ! " And he proceeds 
 to demand the instant release of the prisoners. The 
 government refused to comply, but Genet was not 
 discouraged. Availing himself of the temporary 
 absence of Washington from Philadelphia, he caused 
 the Little Sarah, a British merchant vessel captured 
 by a French privateer, to be armed, equipped, and 
 manned as a cruiser, and her name to be changed to 
 that of the Petit Dimocrat. The Governor of Penn- 
 sylvania, informed that this vessel was about to put 
 to sea, sent his secretary to Genet to request him 
 to detain her until the return of the President. The 
 Frenchman flew into a violent passion, declared that 
 the President was not the sovereign of the countiy, 
 threatened to appeal to the people, and added that 
 he expected the arrival of three ships of the line, 
 and that he was prepared to repel force by force. 
 On this menace, the Governor called out a portion 
 of the militia, and communicated the affair to the 
 
814 
 
 THE FRENCH ENVOY. 
 
 cabinet. JefPerson at once undertook to arrange 
 matters amicably with the envoy. He endeavoured 
 to persuade him to await the return of the President ; 
 and when Genet repeated, that the President was 
 not the sovereign, Jefferson explained to him that 
 the Constitution had left to the executive the carry- 
 ing out of laws and treaties. The Frenchman only 
 shrugged his shoulders, and said "he would not 
 compliment Mr. Jefferson on such a Constitution ! " 
 He declined to give any pledge as to the departure 
 of the vessel ; but he assured Mr. Jefferson that she 
 was not in a state of readiness, and was going to 
 fall down the river to complete her equipment. 
 " But let me beseech you," he added, " not to permit 
 any attempt to put men on board of her. She is 
 filled with high-spirited patriots, and they will un- 
 questionably resist. And there is no occasion ; for 
 I tell you she will not be ready to depart for some 
 time." — On this, Jefferson expressed himseK satisfied, 
 and the Governor dismissed the militia ! 
 
 When Hamilton heard of what had happened, he 
 took a very different view of the question. He saw 
 that the honour of the country was concerned, and 
 his advice was to plant guns immediately on Mud 
 Island, with orders to stop the departure of the 
 
THE FRENCH ENVOY. 315 
 
 vessel, by firing on her if she attempted to pass. But 
 this obvious precaution was far too simple for Jeffer- 
 son. He was sure that the vessel would not sail, and, 
 if she did, he conjured up all sorts of imaginary 
 dangers from trying to stop her. She would resist 
 the attempt, and other French ships would arrive 
 and joiu ia the conflict. A war would ensue, the 
 kings of the earth, would be gratified by the un- 
 natural spectacle of a contest between two republics, 
 and the hopes of man would receive the last mortal 
 stab from the hands of the friends of liberty ! While 
 Jefferson was talking this nonsense, the Petit Demo- 
 crat dropped down the stream, and viltimately sailed 
 in open defiance of the government. Meanwhile, 
 Washington returned to Philadelphia, and instantly 
 wrote to Jefi'erson : — " What is to be done in the 
 case of the Little Sarah ? Is the minister of the 
 French Eepublic to set the acts of this government 
 at defiance with impunity, and then threaten the 
 executive with an appeal to the people? What 
 must the world think of such conduct, and of the 
 government of the United States in submitting to 
 it ? " Jefferson could only reply, that he had received 
 assurances from the French minister that the vessel 
 would not depart before the President's decision. 
 
316 THE FRENCH ENVOY. 
 
 But, althougli a cabinet-council was held the next 
 day on the subject, it was too late to take any 
 effective measures to prevent the sailing, and the 
 Petit Dimocrat, true to her name, proceeded on her 
 cruise in contempt of all lawful authority. 
 
 It was in the midst of the excitement caused by 
 these events, that Hamilton had once more recourse 
 to his fertile and powerful pen,, and in a series of 
 letters, signed Pacificus, entered into a full justifica- 
 tion of the policy of neutrality, as understood by 
 himself, and adopted by the President. In the clear 
 and forcible statement and elucidation of sound prin- 
 ciples, as distinguished from vague assertions and 
 popular clamour, these letters are only second in 
 importance to the Federalist. They were written, he 
 says, to counteract " attempts very dangerous to the 
 peace, and, it is to be feared, not very friendly to the 
 Constitution of the United States ; " and they under- 
 took to answer, one by one, all the objections urged 
 against the Proclamation of Neutrality and its con- 
 sequences. They showed that the President, being 
 charged with the executive power, was bound to 
 guard against the infringement of the law of nations 
 as well as the municipal law ; and that it was his 
 duty to prevent the country's being made responsible 
 
.THE FEENCH ENVOY. 317 
 
 for acts done by its citizens, without the privity or 
 connivance of the government, in contravention of 
 the principles of neutrality. The Proclamation was, 
 therefore, a warning to American citizens, and also 
 indirectly a notification to foreign powers of the in- 
 tentions of the government. And in this there was 
 no usurpation of authority, for, although the legis- 
 lature had reserved to itself the right to declare war, 
 it was obvious that, until it did so, it was the 
 province and duty of the executive to maintain 
 peace. But it had been objected, that the Proclama- 
 tion was contrary to treaties with France. It was 
 said, that a defensive alliance existed between the 
 two nations, and that America was bound to assist 
 France in the present war. Now a defensive alliance 
 implies, that the stipulated assistance is only to be 
 given, when one of the allies is engaged in a defensive, 
 and not in an offensive war. But the nation which 
 commences hostilities, from whatever cause, is held 
 to make an offensive war; and there could be no 
 doubt that France first declared and began war 
 against Austria, Prussia, Savoy, Holland, England, 
 and Spain. 
 
 The cause or occasion of the war, and the war 
 itself,- are things entirely distinct. The first who 
 
318 THE FEENCH ENVOY. 
 
 takes up arms, whether justly or unjustly, com- 
 mences an offensive war; and France, being on the 
 offensive, could not claim the assistance of the 
 United States under the treaty. But it was objected 
 that, although the war might be offensive in point of 
 form, yet in point of principle it was defensive ; that, 
 in each instance, it was a mere anticipation of medi- 
 tated attacks, and justified by previous aggressions of 
 the opposite parties. In answer to this, Hamilton 
 argued, that a legal and positive obligation must be 
 construed strictly, by certain rules, and not by vague 
 matters of opinion; and that the abstract justice of a 
 war cannot bind any nation to engage in it, when its 
 formal obligations do not enjoin it to do so. But, 
 even if this were not the true doctrine, an impartial 
 examination would prove that France was not blame- 
 less in the circumstances which led to the war ; that, 
 if she received, she also gave cause of offence ; and 
 that the justice of the war on her side was, in some 
 cases, not a little problematical. 
 
 Hamilton then proceeded to comment on those 
 acts of the French nation, which had given such 
 general and serious cause of alarm in foreign coun- 
 tries — more especially the interference between the 
 government and people of other states, and the 
 
THE FRENCH ENVOY. 319 
 
 attempt to excite revolution beyond the limits of 
 France. He showed how impolitic it would be for 
 America to involve herself in such a quarrel, xmless 
 absolutely forced to it by the letter of her bond. But 
 it was objected that, if not opposed to the treaty, the 
 Proclamation was yet inconsistent with gratitude to 
 France, for services rendered during the war of inde- 
 pendence. On this subject of gratitude, Hamilton 
 entered into a strict and searching investigation of 
 the claims thus confidently advanced, and what he 
 thought of them may be gathered from the following 
 passage : — 
 
 " France, the rival from time immemorial of Great 
 Britain, had, in the course of the war which ended in 
 1763, suffered from the successful arms of the latter 
 the severest losses and the most mortifying defeats. 
 Britain from that moment had acquired an ascendant 
 in the affairs of Europe and in the commerce of the 
 world, too decided and too humiliating to be endured 
 without extreme impatience, and an eager desire of 
 finding a favourable opportunity to destroy it, and to 
 repair the breach which had been made in the 
 national glory. The animosity of wounded pride con- 
 spired with calculations of interest to give a keen 
 edge to that impatience and to that desire. 
 
320 THE FEENCH ENVOY. 
 
 "The American Eevolution offered the occasion. 
 It early attracted the notice of France, though with 
 extreme circumspection. As far as countenance and 
 aid may he presumed to have been given, prior to 
 the epoch of the acknowledgment of our indepen- 
 dence, it will be no unkind derogation to assert, that 
 they were marked neither with liberality, nor with 
 vigour; that they wore the appearance rather of 
 a desire to keep alive disturbances which might 
 embarrass a rival, than of a serious design to assist 
 a revolution, or a serious expectation that it could 
 be effected. 
 
 " The victories of Saratoga, the capture of an army, 
 which went a great way towards deciding the issue 
 of the contest, decided also the hesitations of France. 
 They established, in the government of that country, 
 a confidence of our abOity to accomplish our purpose, 
 and, as a consequence of it, produced the treaties of 
 alliance and commerce. 
 
 " It is impossible to see in all this anything more 
 than the conduct of a jealous competitor, embracing 
 a most promising opportunity to repress the pride 
 and diminish the power of a dangerous rival, by 
 seconding a successful resistance to its authority, 
 with the object of lopping off a valuable portion of 
 
THE FRENCH ENVOY. S21 
 
 its dominions. The dismemberment of this country 
 from Great Britain was an obvious, and a very- 
 important interest of France. It cannot be doubted, 
 that this was both the determining motive, and an 
 adequate compensation for the assistance afforded 
 to us. 
 
 " Men of sense, in this country, derived en- 
 couragement to the part which their zeal for liberty 
 prompted them to take in our revolution, from the 
 probability of the co-operation of France and Spain. 
 It will be remembered, that this argument was used 
 in the publications of the day ; but upon what was 
 it bottomed ? Upon the known competition between 
 those nations and Great Britain, upon their evident 
 interest to reduce her power and circumscribe her 
 empire ; not certainly upon motives of regard to our 
 interest, or of attachment to our cause. Whoever 
 should have alleged the latter, as the grounds of the 
 expectation held out, would have been then justly 
 considered as a visionary or a deceiver. And 
 whoever shall now ascribe to such motives the aid 
 which we did receive would not deserve to be 
 viewed in a better light. 
 
 "The inference from these facts is not obscure. 
 Aid and co-operation, founded upon a great interest 
 
 Y 
 
322 THE FEENCH ENVOY. 
 
 pursued and obtained by a party rendering them, 
 is not a proper stock upon which to engraft that 
 enthusiastic gratitude, -which is claimed from us 
 by those who love France more than the United 
 States." 
 
 Hamilton admitted, however, that France, though 
 acting from motives of policy, had not taken 
 advantage of the situation of America to extort 
 from her any humiliating or injurious concessions, 
 and that she was therefore entitled to claim, not 
 indeed the extraordinary sacrifices proposed, but the 
 friendship, esteem, and good offices of her allies. 
 But then came the question, to whom were these 
 chiefly due — to the unfortunate prince, by whom 
 the assistance was given, or to the nation, of which 
 he was the head? Louis XVI. had at the time 
 the sole power of directing the will of France, the 
 sole legal right of deciding to assist America, and, 
 if there was kindness in the decision, the kindness 
 was his. If the concurrent testimony of the period 
 may be credited, there was no man more personally 
 friendly to the cause of America than Louis XVI. 
 The repeated declarations of Franklin proved this 
 fact. And yet the very men, who were so loud in 
 their expressions of gratitude to France, were ready 
 
THE FKENCH ENVOY. 323 
 
 to consign to the flames all those who gave a sigh 
 of sympathy ot regret to the fate of that unhappy 
 monarch. Could it consist with justice or humanity, 
 thus to partake in the angry and vindictive passions 
 ■ excited against him 1 Was it a crime in him to 
 have heen born a prince ? Could this circumstance 
 forfeit his title to the commiseration due to his 
 misfortunes as a man? 
 
 " But complete justice," continues Hamilton, 
 "would not be done to this question of gratitude, 
 were no notice to be taken of the address which 
 has appeared in the public papers, from the Con- 
 vention of France to the United States, announcing 
 the appointment of the present minister plenipo- 
 tentiary. In that address the Convention informs 
 us, that the sujpport which the ancient French Court 
 had afforded the United States to recover their inde- 
 pendence VMS only the fruit of a hose speculation; 
 that their glory offended its ambitious views, and the 
 ambassadors of France bore the criminal orders for 
 stopping the career of their prosperity. 
 
 "If this information is to be admitted in the 
 
 fuU force of the terms, it is very fatal to the claim 
 
 of gratitude towards Trance. . . . K the organ of 
 
 the nation, on whose will the aid which was given 
 
 y2 
 
324 THE FEENCH ENVOY. 
 
 depended, acted not only from motives irrelative to 
 our advantage, but from unworthy motives, or, as 
 is alleged, from a base speculation; if afterwards 
 he displayed a temper hostile to the confirmation 
 of our security and prosperity — he acquired no title 
 to our gratitude in the first instance, or he forfeited 
 it in the second. And the people of France, who 
 can only demand it in virtue of the conduct of 
 their agent, must, together with him, renounce the 
 pretension. It is an obvious principle, that, if a 
 nation can claim merit from the good deeds of its 
 sovereign, it must answer for the demerit of his 
 misdeeds. 
 
 " The truth probably is, that the base speculation 
 charged amounts to nothing more, than that the 
 government of France, in affording us assistance, 
 was actuated by the motives which have been 
 attributed to it — namely, the desire of promoting 
 the interest of France, by lessening the power of 
 Great Britain, and opening a new channel of com- 
 merce to herself ; that the orders said to have been 
 given to the ambassadors of France, to stop the 
 career of our prosperity, are resolvable into a 
 speculative jealousy of the ministers of the day, 
 lest the United States, by becoming as powerful 
 
THE FRENCH ENVOY. 325 
 
 and great as they are capable of being under an 
 efficient government, might prove formidable to the 
 European possessions in America. "With these 
 qualifications, the address oifers no new discovery 
 to the intelligent and unbiassed friends of their 
 country. They knew long ago, that the interest 
 of France had been the governing motive of the 
 aid afforded ; and they saw clearly enough in the 
 conversation and conduct of her agents, while the 
 present Constitution of the United States was under 
 consideration, that the government, of which they 
 were the instruments, would have preferred our 
 remaining under the old form. They perceived also, 
 that these views had their effect upon some of the 
 devoted partisans of France among ourselves ; as 
 they now perceive, that the same characters are 
 embodying, with all the aid they can obtain, under 
 the same banner, to resist the operation of that 
 government of which they withstood the establish- 
 ment. 
 
 " All this was and is seen ; and the body of the 
 people of America are too discerning to be long in 
 the dark about it. Too wise to have been misled 
 by foreign or domestic machinations, they adopted 
 a Constitution which was necessary to their safety 
 
326 THE FRENCH ENVOY. 
 
 and to their happiness ; too wise still to be ensnared 
 by the same machinations, they will support the 
 government they have established, and will take 
 care of their own peace, in spite of the insidious 
 efforts which are employed to detach them from the 
 one, and to disturb the other. 
 
 " The information, which the address of the Con- 
 vention contains, ought to serve as an instructive 
 lesson to the people of this country. It ought to 
 teach us not to overrate foreign friendships, and to 
 be upon our guard against foreign attachments. 
 The former will generally be found hollow and 
 delusive ; the latter will have a natural tendency 
 to lead us aside from our own true interest, and 
 to make us the dupes of foreign influence. Both 
 serve to introduce a principle of action, which, in 
 its effects, if the expression may be allowed, is anti- 
 national. Foreign influence is truly the Grecian 
 horse to a republic. We cannot be too careful to 
 exclude its entrance. Nor ought we to imagine 
 that it can only make its approaches in the gross 
 form of direct bribery. It is then most dangerous 
 when it comes under the patronage of our passions, 
 under the auspices of national prejudice and parti- 
 ality." 
 
THE FRENCH ENVOY. 327 
 
 These Letters of Pacificus had a great effect. They 
 convinced and carried with them the sober and 
 enlightened part of the community, and provoked in 
 proportion the rage and animosity of the agitators. 
 The authorship was not concealed, and the Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury was attacked with the utmost 
 fury. He was called the "Votary of Despotism," 
 the "Abettor of Carthagiaian Faith," the "Arnold 
 of his country." Washington was emphatically 
 warned, that he must disentangle himself from the 
 meshes of enemies and traitors to liberty, on pain 
 of forfeiting the respect and confidence of the people. 
 A public meeting in honour of France was held at 
 Philadelphia, and Genet, growing bolder with this 
 encouragement, caused the walls to be placarded 
 with bills, inviting all able-bodied seamen to enlist 
 in the service of the French republic. In the 
 American sea-ports, the tri-coloured flag floated 
 above the national ensign, French ships lay moored 
 along the coast, and French privateers issued forth 
 to plunder the commerce of friendly nations. Under 
 these circumstances the cabinet again met, and this 
 time Jefferson became alarmed at his own work. 
 Slowly, but surely, the real voice of the country, 
 as distinguished from the shouts of the rabble. 
 
328 THE FRENCH ENVOY. 
 
 was beginning to make itself heard. The bulk of 
 Americans might be deceived by demagogues, or 
 bewildered by theorists, but they had yet too much 
 Saxon blood in their veins to submit quietly to be 
 bearded by an insolent foreigner. The reaction had 
 set in, and Jefferson at once yielded to the stream. 
 It was resolved unanimously, that restitution of prizes 
 illegally taken should be made in every case, and 
 that the French nation should be held responsible 
 for damages. It was also determined, that a state- 
 ment of Genet's proceedings should be laid before 
 the government of France, accompanied by a request 
 for his recall. The Secretary of State was compelled, 
 however reluctantly, to communicate the views of 
 the cabinet to the French Minister. 
 
 When the Letters of Pacificus . first appeared, 
 Jefferson had urged Madison to take up his pen 
 in answer ; and that versatile statesman, once the 
 ally of Hamilton in the battle for the Constitution, 
 but now the instrument of the opposite faction, had 
 published a series of essays under the signature of 
 Helvidius, directed against the form and substance 
 of the Proclamation of Neutrality. With curious 
 consistency, Jefferson could thus write to Madison 
 only a few weeks after : — " I believe it will be true 
 
THE FRENCH ENVOY. 329 
 
 wisdom in the Eepublican party to approve un- 
 eqtdvocally of a state of Neutrality ; to avoid little 
 cavils about who should declare it ; to abandon Genet 
 entirely, with expressions of strong friendship and 
 adherence to his nation, and confidence that he has 
 acted against their sense. In this way we shall 
 keep the people on our side, by keeping ourselves 
 in the right. I have been myself under a cruel 
 dilemma with him. I adhered to him as long as 
 I could have a hope of getting him right, because 
 I knew what weight we slumld derive to our side, 
 by keeping in it the love of the people for the 
 French cause and nation, and how important it was 
 to ward off from tliat cause and nation any just 
 grounds of alienation. Finding at length that the 
 man was incorrigible, I saw the necessity of quitting 
 a wreck which would but sink all who should cling 
 to it. It is determined to insist on his recall, and 
 I am preparing a statement of his conduct to be 
 laid before the Executive Council." 
 
 But Jefferson, like other magicians, had raised a 
 demon whom it was not so easy to quell. Genet 
 refused to be put down by the changed demeanour 
 of the Secretary of State. He repaired to New 
 York, and began a new career of agitation; he 
 
330 THE FRENCH ENVOY. 
 
 addressed a letter to the President, surpassing in 
 effrontery all his former productions ; and he openly- 
 accused Jefferson of betraying him, after pretending 
 to be his friend, and " initiating him into mysteries 
 which had inflamed his hatred against all those 
 who aspire to absolute power." It must have been 
 hard for Jefferson to be told, that it was ijot in 
 Genet's character, "to speak, as many people do, 
 in one way and act in another — to have an official 
 language, and a language confidential" — and it 
 must. have been still harder to have all his own 
 principles thrown in his teeth, and to be denounced 
 as an associate of aristocrats, and a tool of the 
 partisans of England! 
 
 In the midst of these tumultuous scenes, Hamil- 
 ton fell ill of yellow fever, and was for some time 
 in extreme danger. He was forced to retire to 
 Albany to recruit his strength, and it was only 
 late in the autumn that he returned to Philadelphia. 
 He found, however, that, during his absence, the 
 policy he had so warmly advocated — the policy of 
 reason, justice, and honour — had been rapidly making 
 progress. The best men of the nation, not yet 
 deprived of aU influence in the state, were once 
 more rallying round the President. The Letters of 
 
THE FRENCH ENVOY. 331 
 
 Pacifleus had borne fruit, and, when Congress re- 
 assembled, Washington's public censure of the acts 
 of the French minister was received with general 
 approbation. 
 
 It was in this position of affairs, that Jefferson 
 was seized with an intense desire for retirement 
 and philosophic leisure. As if to signalize his 
 withdrawal from office, by something more credit- 
 able than his late performances, he produced a 
 very able report on the commercial relations of 
 the country, in which he pointed out the various 
 restrictions and prohibitions that embarrassed the 
 trade of America, and suggested either friendly 
 arrangements with foreign nations to remove them, 
 or else a system of countervailing duties. Allowing 
 for the notions of commercial policy then in vogue, 
 and a certain latent prepossession against England^ 
 this document appears to have had considerable merit, 
 and went far to redeem the reputation of its author. 
 It was to have been his last act, but his old friend 
 Genet would not let him depart in peace. The 
 restless envoy now sent him translations of the 
 instructions of the French Government, and desired, 
 that the President should lay them officially before 
 Congress, adding that he would furnish him in 
 
332 THE FEENCH ENVOY. 
 
 succession with copies of other papers for the same 
 purpose. Jefferson -wished to escape the re- 
 sponsibility of answering this offensive letter; but 
 Washington expressed a strong wish that the reply 
 should bear the signature of the Secretary of State, 
 and' it was sent accordingly, in these terms : — " I 
 have it in charge to observe that your functions, as 
 the missionary of a foreign nation here, are confined 
 to the transaction of the affairs of your nation 
 with the Executive of the United States ; that the 
 communications, which are to pass between the 
 executive and legislative branches, cannot be a 
 subject for your interference ; and that the President 
 must be left to judge for himself what matters his 
 duty or the public good may require him to propose 
 to the deliberations of Congress. I have, therefore, 
 the honour of returning you the copies sent for 
 distribution, and of being with great respect, sir, 
 your most obedient and most humble servant." — 
 Such was the end of that famous political friendship, 
 and of all those wonderful raptures of international 
 enthusiasm ! 
 
 The parting words of Jefferson to Washington 
 were : " I carry into niy retirement a lively sense 
 of your goodness, and shall continue gratefully to 
 
THE FKENCH ENVOY. 388 
 
 remember it." — Mr. Eandolph succeeded him as 
 Secretary of State, and Mr. William Bradford, of 
 Pennsylvania, became Attorney-General. 
 
 But they had not yet done with Genet. It was 
 discovered that he had sent emissaries to Kentucky 
 (then lately admitted as a State of the Unioii) to 
 enrol American citizens for an attack on the Spanish 
 possessions in the South, and that he was trying 
 to organize a similar expedition in Carolina and 
 Georgia. A cabinet-council was summoned, in 
 which it was determined to supersede his functions, 
 and deprive him of the privileges of an envoy ; 
 and Hamilton was charged to prepare a message 
 to Congress in justification of the measure. Before 
 it could be executed, however, news arrived from 
 France that Genet was recalled from his mission, 
 and that all his acts were disavowed by the Com- 
 mittee of Public Safety, then sitting in Paris. 
 Condemned for the failure of intrigues, which would 
 have been sanctioned if successful, Genet was too 
 wise a man to trust himself to the tender mercies 
 of his beloved republic. He had no ambition to 
 finish his career on the scaffold, and preferred the 
 safety of a private life in America, to the honours 
 of an ex-minister, and the chances of the guillotine 
 
33-i THE FRENCH ENVOY. 
 
 at home. He became a citizen of the United States, 
 and so passed away into obscurity, leaving the 
 reputation of perhaps the most impudent diplomatist 
 that was ever employed by one nation to force its 
 designs upon another. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 PARTY VIOLENCE. 
 
 THE great mau who held the highest post m 
 America, and the great minister who so ably 
 seconded his views, had thus far maintained their 
 position against every attack. But those who conld 
 neither confute them in argument, nor circumvent 
 them in policy, had yet a weapon which they could 
 use with impunity against them, because it was 
 one with which brave and honest men scorned to 
 soil their hands — and that weapon was calumny. 
 
 In the years which followed the retirement of 
 Jefferson from ofi&ce, nothing is more remarkable 
 than the persevering, unscrupulous, and almost 
 savage spirit, in which the most eminent characters 
 in the Union were assailed by anonymous writers. 
 It was not only their public measures which were 
 properly and fairly made the subjects for criticism, 
 but their secret motives, and the purity of their 
 
336 PARTY VIOLENCE. 
 
 personal honour, their domestic relations, and all 
 the sanctities of private life, were rudely and in- 
 decently called in question. The democratic press 
 of America seemed to have cast aside all the re- 
 straints of civilized society, and to be acting the 
 part of common assassins, ready to stab in the 
 dark without either hesitation or remorse. There 
 is no blacker stain on the history of free states 
 than the base, cowardly, and infamous conduct of 
 these literary bravoes, unless it be the occult in- 
 fluence which prompted their efforts, and the con- 
 dition of public opinion which could for a moment 
 endure them. 
 
 It is impossible to determine what share Jefferson 
 and the Eepublican leaders had in these outrages, 
 but there is too much reason to suspect that they 
 approved and encouraged them. From his retire- 
 ment at Monticello (his favourite retreat) the philo- 
 sopher, who had expressed his intention of detaching 
 his mind from politics, and devoting himself wholly 
 to rural pursuits, wrote letters filled with the wildest 
 fanaticism, and took the warmest interest in every 
 movement of faction. " I cannot but hope," says 
 the gentle sage, in one of his epistles, "that the 
 triumph of the French, and the consequent disgrace 
 
PARTY VIOLENCE. 337 
 
 of the invading tyrants, is destined in the order of 
 events to kindle the wrath of the people of Europe 
 against those who have dared to embroil them in 
 such wickedness, and to bring at length kings, 
 nobles, and priests to the scaffolds which they have 
 been so long deluging with human blood." — ^At the 
 same time, he was constantly giving his opinion on 
 American affairs, and repeating his old charges 
 against the Federalists. He was in the habit of 
 familiar intercourse with Madison, and wrote and 
 talked freely to other leading politicians ; but it 
 seems likely that he was also in communication 
 with some of a lower grade, and it is certain that 
 men of scandalous repute (such as Callender, a 
 libeller by profession) afterwards claimed rewards 
 on the ground of services rendered. Such evidence 
 must be received with suspicion, for it is tainted 
 by the character of the witnesses ; but there was 
 a singular agreement between the known views of 
 Jefferson and those advocated by the incendiary 
 portion of the press ; while his enemies were the 
 persons denounced with the most violence, and held 
 up most systematically to the contempt and execra- 
 tion of the people. 
 
 It is not pretended that Jefferson, or men in the 
 z 
 
338 PAETY VIOLENCE. 
 
 position of Jefferson, could ever have sanctioned 
 the coarse ribaldry of these attacks. Their taste, 
 if not their morals, must have revolted from such 
 brutality. In after years, when he and his friends 
 had come in for their share of abuse, Jefferson 
 complained bitterly of the licentiousness of public 
 writers. But those who had set the example of 
 personal aggression, could not possibly limit the 
 extent to which such aggression might be carried ; 
 and, if they employed ruffians to do dirty work, they 
 ought not to have been surprised at the manner in 
 which the task was performed. From that time 
 dates the rapid degeneracy of the press, and on it 
 closely followed the degradation of public life. The 
 tone, which was first adopted by venal journalists 
 and pamphleteers, was transferred to official inter- 
 course, and the daily business of the legislature. 
 Men, who had ceased to respect each other, soon 
 forgot to respect themselves ; gross insults were ex- 
 changed between equals, and bludgeons and pistols 
 usurped the place of arguments ; and this evil grew 
 and spread, till no person of eminence could take 
 part in the government of the country, without some 
 damage to his character, or at least some sacrifice 
 of his dignity. 
 
PAETY VIOLENCE. 339 
 
 What must have been the fate of others, when 
 even the august name of Washington did not screen 
 him from cruel affronts ? At one time, they had 
 reached to such a pitch, that Jefferson, who had 
 always professed the highest reverence for the 
 President, thought it necessary to write to him, 
 deprecating the suspicion of having had anything 
 to do with these attacks. "I have formerly men- 
 tioned to you," he says, "that, from a very early 
 period of my life, I had laid it down as a rule of 
 conduct never to write a word for the puhlic papers. 
 From this I have never departed in a single in- 
 stance." He does not say, that he never employed 
 others to write for him ; but he goes on to insinuate, 
 that a third party (evidently Hamilton) is endea- 
 vouring to sow tares between him and Washington, 
 by representing him (the recluse of Monticello) as 
 still engaged in the bustle of politics, and in turbu- 
 lence and intrigue against the government. " I never 
 believed for a moment," he adds, "that this could 
 make any impression on you." 
 
 Washington's reply is at once a noble justification 
 
 of himself, and a severe rebuke to his slanderers. 
 
 "As you have mentioned the subject yourself," he 
 
 says, " it would not be frank, candid, or friendly 
 
 z 2 
 
340 PARTY VIOLENCE 
 
 to conceal, that your conduct has been represented 
 as derogating from that opinion I had conceived 
 you entertained of me ; that to your particular friends 
 and connexions you have described, and they have 
 denounced me, as a person under a dangerous in- 
 fluence ; and that if I would listen more to some 
 other opinions, all would be well. My answer in- 
 variably has been, that I had never discovered any- 
 thing in the conduct of Mr. Jefferson to raise sus- 
 picions in my mind of his insincerity; that, if he 
 would retrace my public conduct while he was in 
 the administration, abundaiit proofs would occur to 
 him, that truth and right decisions were the sole 
 object of my pursuit; that there were as many 
 instances, within his own knowledge, of my having 
 decided against as in favour of the opinions of the 
 person evidently alluded to ; and, moreover, that I 
 was no believer in the infallibility of the politics 
 or measures of any man living. In short, that 
 I was no party man myself, and the first wish 
 of my heart was, if parties did exist, to reconcile 
 them. 
 
 " To this I may add, and very truly, that until 
 within the last year or two I had no conception, 
 that parties would or even could go the length I 
 
PARTY VIOLENCE. 341 
 
 have been witness to ; nor did I believe, until lately, 
 that it was within the bounds of probability, hardly 
 within those of possibility, that while I was using 
 my utmost exertions to establish a national character 
 of our own, independent, as far as our obligations 
 and justice would permit, of every nation of the 
 earth, and wished, by steering a steady course, to 
 preserve this country from the horrors of a desolating 
 war — I should be accused of being the enemy of 
 one nation, and subject to the influence of another ; 
 and, to prove it, that every act of my administration 
 would be tortured, and the grossest and most in- 
 sidious misrepresentatious of them be made, by 
 giving one side only of a subject — and that, too, in 
 such exaggerated and indecent terms, as could scarcely 
 be applied to a Nero, to a notorious defaulter, or even 
 to a common pichpochet. . But enough of this ... I 
 have already gone further in the expression of my 
 feelings than I intended." 
 
 While Washington was thus accepting the ex- 
 planations of Jefferson, and comforting him with the 
 assurance that he had never discovered anything to 
 raise a doubt of his sincerity, the latter must have 
 well known that such a discovery was Kkely one 
 day to take place. Only a short time before, he had . 
 
342 PAETY VIOLENCE. 
 
 written the following letter to M. Mazzei, one of 
 his correspondents ia Europe: "The aspect of our 
 politics has wonderfully changed since you left us. 
 In place of that noble love of liberty and republican 
 government, which carried us triumphantly through 
 the war, an Anglican, monarchical, aristocratical 
 party has sprung up, whose avowed object is to 
 draw over us the substance, as they have already 
 done the forms, of the British Government. The 
 main body of our citizens, however, remain true to 
 their political principles ; the whole landed interest 
 is republican, and so is a great mass of talent. 
 Against us are the executive, the judiciary, two out 
 of three branches of the legislature, all the officers 
 of the government, all who want to be officers, all 
 timid men who prefer the calm of despotism to 
 the boisterous sea of liberty, British merchants, and 
 Americans trading on British capital, speculators 
 and holders in the banks and public funds — a con- 
 trivance invented for the purposes of corruption, and 
 for assimilating us in all things to the rotten as well 
 as the sound parts of the British model. It would 
 give you a fever were I to name to you the apostates 
 who have gone over to these heresies — men who 
 were Samsons in the jield, and Solomons in the 
 
PARTY VIOLENCE. 343 
 
 council, hut wlio have had their heads shorn hy the 
 harlot England." 
 
 Unfortunately for Jefferson, his correspondent 
 appears to have been wanting in discretion, for the 
 letter fell into the hands of the French Government, 
 and by them was published in the Moniteur. Long 
 afterwards, the writer laboured to prove that the 
 offensive expressions contained in it could, not apply 
 to Washington. But it was .well understood at the 
 time, that the allusion to Samson and Solomon was 
 meant for the President, and for none other. He 
 and the ex-minister seem never to have met after 
 the publication of that letter, and it is said that 
 Jefferson studiously avoided an interview, often 
 passing the gates of Mount Vernon without calling. 
 Be that as it may, it is highly probable that he 
 repented of what he had written ; for, in later years, 
 he did justice to Washington by declaring " that he 
 was, indeed, in every sense of the word, a good and 
 a great man." 
 
 The charges of undue partiality to England were 
 all founded on the President's anxiety to maintain 
 peace. Like the great Duke of Wellington, whom 
 in many respects he resembled, he had seen too 
 much of war to think lightly of its evUs, and he 
 
344 PARTY VIOLENCE. 
 
 would, above all, have deplored the renewal of the 
 contest between the two branches of the same old 
 Saxon stem. When, therefore, questions arose as 
 to British infractions of the rights of neutrals by 
 the seizure of cargoes bound for France on the high 
 seas, the search for English seamen on board 
 American vessels, and other vexatious acts of mari- 
 time power, Washington resisted the cry for an 
 immediate recourse to arms, and preferred to make 
 an appeal, in the first instance, to the justice and 
 good feeling of England. It was Hamilton's sugges- 
 tion that a special mission should be despatched 
 to Great Britain, both to arrange the matters in 
 dispute, and to negotiate a commercial treaty; and 
 this plan at once met with the President's approval. 
 When the time came to select the person to be 
 appointed, Washington's choice would have fallen 
 upon Hamilton himself, had it not been for the 
 strong opposition of personal and political enemies. 
 "You know," said he, "whom I wish — but for the 
 clamour they have raised against him." StOl he 
 hesitated ; till Hamilton relieved him from his 
 embarrassment by begging to be left altogether out 
 of the question, and by recommending another 
 person as well fitted for the appointment. 
 
PARTY VIOLENCE. 345 
 
 "Knowing as I do, sir/' he writes, "that I am 
 among the persons who have been in your contem- 
 plation to be employed in the capacity I have 
 mentioned, I should not have taken the present 
 step, had I not been resolved, at the same time, 
 to advise you with decision to drop me from your 
 consideration, and to fix upon another character. 
 I am not unapprized of what has been the bias of 
 your opinion on the subject. I am well aware 
 of aL. the collateral obstacles which exist; and I 
 assure you, in the utmost sincerity, that I shall be 
 completely and entirely satisfied with the election 
 of another. 
 
 " I beg leave to add, that, of the persons whom 
 you would deem free from any constitutional objec- 
 tions. Me. Jay is the only man in whose qualifica- 
 tions for success there would be a thorough confidence, 
 and him alone it would be advisable to send. I 
 think the business would have the best chance 
 possible in his hands; and I flatter myself that 
 his mission would issue in a manner that would 
 produce the most important good to the nation. 
 
 "Let me add, sir, that those whom I call the 
 sober-minded men of the country look up to you 
 with solicitude upon the present occasion. If 
 
346 PARTY VIOLENCE. 
 
 happily you should be the instrument of still 
 rescuing the country from the dangers and calami- 
 ties of war, there is no part of your life, sir, which 
 will produce to you more real satisfaction or true 
 glory, than that which shall be distinguished by 
 this very important service. 
 
 "In any event, I cannot doulat, sir, that you 
 will do justice to the motives which impel me, 
 and that you will see in this proceeding another 
 proof of my sincere wishes for your honour and 
 happiness, and anxiety for the public weal." 
 
 Chief Justice Jay, an excellent man, was ac- 
 cordingly chosen for this important mission; and 
 Hamilton — freely renouncing an appointment which 
 would have exactly suited his taste and genius, 
 and have brought him to a country that he had 
 long wished to see, and where his high qualities 
 would have been recognized and appreciated — 
 remained at his post, only to be slandered and 
 reviled more furiously than ever. Again and again, 
 the Secretary of the Treasury was accused of 
 irregularities, corruption, and malversation; again 
 and again, a searching inquiry in Congress resulted 
 in his triumphant acquittal, and in the confusion 
 of his enemies. But those, who could find no flaw 
 
PAETY VIOLENCE. 347 
 
 in his political armour, could yet have recourse to 
 calumnies, which even at this distance of time must 
 arouse a feeling of shame and indignation. In all 
 his dealings with men, Hamilton could challenge 
 and defy the nicest scrutiny; but in his relations 
 to that gentler sex, which has so often tempted 
 the wise to folly, he was not exempt from the 
 frailties of human nature. Thrown, a mere boy, 
 into the wild life of camps, and since exposed to 
 the perils of a society which had lately imported 
 from France a somewhat lax tone of gallantry, it 
 is enough to say that he had not always been 
 immaculate on this head. But errors, which good 
 men would have buried in charitable silence, and 
 which men with the slightest spark of honour would 
 have scorned to use against an opponent, were 
 turned to the basest purposes in assailing Hamilton's 
 character ; and the means employed were worthy of 
 the end in view. Vile perversions of fact, garbled 
 extracts from stolen letters, were so arranged as to 
 cast imputations of of&cial fraud, which could only 
 be answered by the exposure of private indiscre- 
 tions. How affecting are the words with which he 
 accompanied an explanation wrung from him by 
 infamous charges! "This confession," he says, "is 
 
348 PARTY VIOLENCE. 
 
 not made without a blush. I cannot be the apologist 
 of any vice, because the ardour of passion may 
 have made it mine. I can never cease to condemn 
 myself for the pang which it may inilict on a bosom 
 eminently entitled to all my gratitude, fidelity, and 
 love; but that bosom wUl approve that, even at so 
 great an expense, I should effectually wipe away a 
 more serious stain from a name which it cherishes 
 with no less devotion than tenderness. The public, 
 too, I trust, will excuse the confession. The necessity 
 of it to my defence against a more heinous charge 
 could alone have extorted from me so painful an 
 indecorum." 
 
 It is gratifying to know that the conspirators 
 failed in their object. All that was left of gentle- 
 manlike and chivalrous feeling rallied to the side 
 of Hamilton ; and she who had most right to 
 complain of these revelations — true wife and noble 
 woman — not only forgave the erring husband, but 
 remained fondly attached to him to the last, and 
 mourned his untimely fate with a love and a sorrow 
 that were indeed " stronger than death." 
 
 The few preceding pages have rather anticipated 
 events, for some of the circumstances narrated did 
 not occur tUl after Hamilton's retirement from office. 
 
PARTY VIOLENCE. 349 
 
 They have been brought together here, as illustrative 
 of that excess of party violence, which became so 
 disgracefully apparent between the years 1793 and 
 1800. In those years were laid the foundations 
 of that democratic despotism, which ultimately 
 prevailed over all independence of thought and 
 action, drove the wisest and the best from the 
 conduct of public affairs, and gave the highest 
 places in the commonwealth to mere flatterers of 
 the passions of the hour. Alas ! the great intellects 
 and generous hearts which were then sacrificed have 
 been but too fatally avenged; and America has 
 had to pay, in rivers of blood and tears, for the 
 fallacy that the government of a nation requires 
 neither wisdom nor virtue. 
 
 It was in April, 1794, that Jay was appointed 
 to the English mission, and in the following month 
 it became necessary to send a new minister to the 
 French Eepublic. On this occasion Madison and 
 Monroe, both members of the opposition, called 
 upon Washington as representatives of a meeting of 
 their party, and urged him to nominate an envoy 
 in whom they could -have confidence. He asked 
 them to name some person, and they at once 
 recommended Colonel Burr. Washington seems to 
 
350 PARTY VIOLENCE. 
 
 have been taken by surprise ; but lie answered that 
 he had no faith in that gentleman, and must there- 
 fore decline to appoint him. A second application 
 to the same effect met with a similar result. " But," 
 said the President, "I will nominate you, Mr. 
 Madison, or you, Mr. Monroe." The rejection of 
 Burr was evidently quite spontaneous; yet it was 
 again ascribed to Hamilton's influence, and must 
 have added to the irritation of his old rival. To 
 do Burr justice, however, he does not appear to 
 have had any part in the base and cowardly libels 
 on the Secretary of the Treasury. With all his 
 faults, he was above such revenge. He was the 
 man to MU his enemy, but not to stab him 
 under the cloak of night. He left that to the 
 tender conscience of some of his political asso- 
 ciates. 
 
 Soon after, an insurrection broke out in Pennsyl- 
 vania, on account of the excise laws. Once more 
 Hamilton exerted all his powers to re-establish 
 order, and maintain the authority of the government. 
 It was a crisis in which his energetic support was 
 of the utmost importance to Washington, for the 
 President's right to suppress the rebellion was 
 called in question, and he needed all the aid of 
 
PARTY VIOLENCE. 351 
 
 the constitutional party. That aid "was given, and 
 the insurrection was happily put down without 
 bloodshed. When peace was restored, Hamilton 
 resolved to retire from of&ce. Doubtless, he was 
 sick and weary of that constant struggle, and the 
 necessity of ceaseless watchfulness against ambushed 
 foes; but there were other reasons which made 
 him wish to retire, and which, if anything could 
 have done so, might have called up a blush to 
 the cheeks of his persecutors. This man, who had 
 held the revenues of an empire at his disposal, 
 and whom his adversaries had not scrupled to charge 
 with enriching himself at the public expense, was 
 in reality very poor. His official salary did not 
 suffice for the wants of his family, and his ministerial 
 duties had obliged him to abandon his practice at 
 the bar. He was anxious, before it was too late, 
 to repair his fortunes, and provide for his wife and 
 children. On the 1st of December, 1794, he thus 
 wrote to the Speaker of the House of Kepresenta- 
 tives : — " I beg leave, through you, to make known 
 to the House, that I have signified to the President 
 of the United States my intention to resign my 
 office of Secretary of the Treasury, on the last day 
 of January next. I make this communication in 
 
352 PARTY VIOLENCE. 
 
 order that an "bpportunity may be given, previous 
 to that event, to institute any further proceedings 
 which may he contemplated, if any there be, in 
 consequence of the inquiry during the last session 
 into the state of this department." 
 
 It was a challenge to repeat the charges against 
 him, but this time it was not accepted. The former 
 investigations had proved too disastrous for the 
 accusers, and henceforth they preferred the safer 
 tactics of private calumny. After waiting some 
 weeks, Hamilton presented to Congress a final 
 report on the national revenues, and a plan for 
 the further maintenance of the public credit. He 
 gave a complete account of the existing sources 
 of income, and considered in detail the provisions 
 for funding the debt, paying the interest on it, 
 and gradually extinguishing it. He proposed amend- 
 ments in the modes of levying taxes, and securities 
 to render the Sinking Fund inviolable, until the 
 faith of the country had been fuUy redeemed. It 
 was his parting legacy to the Union ; and on the 
 31st of January, 1795, he retired from the admin- 
 istration, having just completed the thirty-eighth 
 year of his age. 
 
 Two days after, the President addressed him in 
 
PARTY VIOLENCE. 353 
 
 a letter, which must ever remain as a striking tes- 
 timony to his merits. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — After so long an experience of your 
 public services, I am naturally led, at this moment 
 of yoTir departure from office (which it has always 
 been my wish to prevent), to review them. In 
 every relation which you have borne to me, I have 
 found that my confidence in your talents, exertions, 
 and integrity has been well placed. I the more 
 freely render this testimony of my approbation, 
 because I speak from opportunities of information 
 which cannot deceive me, and which furnish 
 satisfactory proof of your title to public regard. 
 
 "My most earnest wishes for yoiir happiness 
 will attend you in your retirement, and you may 
 assure yourself of the sincere esteem, regard, and 
 friendship of, 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 "Your affectionate 
 
 " George Washington." 
 
 To this emphatic eulogy, which would of itself 
 outweigh all the slanders of his adversaries, Hamil- 
 ton replied as follows : — " As often as I may recall 
 
 A A 
 
354 PARTY VIOLENCE. 
 
 the vexations I have endured, your approbation 
 will be a great and precious consolation; It was 
 not without a struggle that I yielded to the very- 
 urgent motives, which impelled me to relinquish 
 a station in which I could hope to be in any degree 
 instrumental in promoting the success of an ad- 
 ministration under your direction — a struggle which 
 would have been far greater, had I supposed that 
 the prospect of future usefulness was proportioned 
 to the sacrifices to be made. "Whatever may be 
 my destination hereafter, I entreat you to be per- 
 suaded (not the less for my having been sparing 
 in my professions) that I shall never cease to render 
 a just tribute to those eminent and excellent 
 qualities, which have been already productive of 
 so many blessings to your country — that you will 
 always have my fervent wishes for joxvc public 
 and personal felicity, and that it will be my pride 
 to cultivate a continuance of that esteem, regard, 
 and friendship, of which you do me the honour 
 to assure me." 
 
 In a private letter written about this time to a 
 relation in Scotland, Hamilton thus alludes to his 
 motives for withdrawing from the Treasury : — " In 
 that of&ce I mi \with many intrinsic difficulties 
 
PARTY VIOLENCE. 355 
 
 and many artificial ones, proceeding from passions 
 not very worthy, common to human nature, and 
 whicli act with peculiar force in republics. The 
 object, however, was effected of establishing public 
 credit, and introducing order into the finances. 
 
 " Public of&ce in this country has few attractions. 
 The pecuniary emolument is* so inconsiderable, as 
 to amount to a sacrifice to any man who can employ 
 his time with advantage in any liberal profession. 
 The opportunity of doing good, from the jealousy 
 of power and the spirit of faction, is too small in 
 any station to warrant a long continuance of private 
 sacrifices. The enterprise of party has so far suc- 
 ceeded, as materially to weaken the necessary iq- 
 fluence and energy of the executive authority, and 
 so far diminished the power of doing good ia that 
 department, as greatly to take away the motives 
 which a virtuous man might have for making 
 sacrifices. The prospect was even bad for gratifying 
 in future the love of fame, if that passion was to 
 be the spring of action. 
 
 " The union of these motives with the reflections 
 of prudence in relation to a growing family, de- 
 termined me, as soon as my plans attained a certain 
 maturity, to withdraw from office. 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 PAKTY VIOLENCE. 
 
 " It is a pleasing reflection to me, that, since the 
 commencement of my connexion with General 
 Washington to the present time, I have possessed 
 a flattering share of his confidence and friendship." 
 
 On his return to Kew York, Hamilton was pre- 
 sented with the freedom of that city, and was offered 
 to be put in nomination as Governor of the State. 
 This he refused, having determined to devote him- 
 self to the practice of his profession. But he could 
 not keep clear of politics, for he was often con- 
 sulted by "Washington, and he was still the ac- 
 knowledged head of the Federalist party. In 
 March, 1795, the " Treaty of Amity, Commerce, 
 and Navigation" with great Britain, which Jay 
 had concluded in London, was received in the 
 United States. It was a fair and reasonable ar- 
 rangement of the difficulties pending between the 
 two countries, in which both parties conceded some-, 
 thing for the sake of peace, and, if not quite satis- 
 factory to the expectations of the Americans, it 
 demanded at least their candid consideration. But 
 the Eepublicans had resolved beforehand, that it 
 should meet with the most violent opposition. All 
 the democratic machinery was set to work, and a 
 cry was raised from one end of the Union to the 
 
PARTY VIOLENCE. 357 
 
 other, tliat America was sold to England, and that 
 the monocrats had betrayed the republic. After 
 long and stormy debates, the legal majority of two- 
 thirds of the Senate voted for the acceptance of 
 the treaty, but only with certain modifications. It 
 then became a question whether the President could 
 ratify conditionally. The cabinet was divided, and 
 Mr. Randolph in particular strongly opposed the 
 ratification. All was doubt and confusion, peace 
 and war trembled in the balance, and many anxious 
 eyes were turned once more upon Hamilton. 
 
 A pubKc meeting was held at New York. Hamil- 
 ton came down to it, and attempted to address the 
 multitude. But the agitators were too conscious 
 of his elocLuence to allow him to be heard. They 
 raised a clamour which drowned his voice. '' Fellow- 
 citizens," he said, " respect yourselves ! " The 
 answer was a volley of stones, one of which struck 
 him on the forehead. " Oh," said he, bowing to 
 the populace, "if you use such knock-down argu- 
 ments, I shall have to retire." He then proposed 
 a resolution, declaring the confidence of the meeting 
 in the President, and affirming his constitutional 
 right to deal with the treaty. The motion was lost 
 in uproar, and the friends of the government with- 
 
358 PARTY VIOLENCB. 
 
 drew from the assemWy. "What a head-lopping 
 set of fellows," remarked Hamilton, "you have 
 brought to consider the treaty ! " 
 
 But, if he could not obtain a hearing from the 
 mob, his influence was soon apparent in other quar- 
 ters. At his suggestion, the merchants of the dif- 
 ferent seaports expressed their confidence in the 
 President, and the better sense of the country began 
 to speak out, in deprecation of a war with England. 
 His ready pen, under various signatures, supplied 
 arguments to the friends of peace ; and in a corre- 
 spondence with Wolcott, his successor at the Treasury, 
 with Bradford, the Attorney-General, and with 
 "Washington himself, he urged the immediate ratifi- 
 cation of the treaty. An accident came to aid his 
 endeavours. A despatch of the French minister, 
 captured at sea, and sent by the British Government 
 to America, implicated Mr. Eandolph in discreditable 
 intrigues with France. This decided the President 
 to act on his own opinion, and on the advice of 
 Hamilton. He ratified the treaty, and then handed 
 the intercepted despatch to Eandolph. The latter 
 resigned his office, and, although he afterwards 
 •published a laboured vindication of his conduct, 
 interspersed with virulent attacks on Washington 
 
PAKTY VIOLENCE. 359 
 
 and Hamilton, he never succeeded in removing 
 the impression left hy this discovery, both as to 
 his own designs and those of the Eepublican party. 
 
 Hamilton now set to work at his profession, and 
 was once more the leading spirit of the bar. Talley- 
 rand, who knew him at this time, has borne testi- 
 mony to his unwearied iadustry. " I have beheld," 
 said he, " one of the wonders of the world. I have 
 seen a man, who has made the fortune of a nation, 
 labouring all night to support his family." And 
 yet, while thus working at his ordinary calling, 
 Hamilton never withdrew his attention from public 
 affairs. He was still the leader of his party, and 
 the unsalaried adviser of the President ; and, as 
 a necessary consequence, he was still the mark 
 for the poisoned arrows of his enemies. 
 
 Prom 1795 to 1797, Washington found it difdcult to 
 maintain the just authority of the executive against 
 the constant assaults of the democracy, and often had 
 recourse to Hamilton for counsel. He had resolved 
 to retire from office at the expiration of his second 
 term ; and, as the time approached, he determined 
 to issue a Farewell Address to the American people. 
 On this subject also he consulted Hamilton. There 
 has been much controversy as to the exact author- 
 
360 PARTY VIOLENCE. 
 
 ship of this celebrated paper, but the fact seems 
 to be that, while the original groundwork was 
 Washington's own, the superstructure was in a 
 great part Hamilton's. Already at the close of his 
 first term, the President had consulted Madison 
 (who then possessed his confidence) on a similar 
 scheme, and that gentleman had prepared the draft 
 of an address. "Washington now sent this draft 
 to Hamilton, with an explanatory introduction, a 
 series of hints or heads of topics for further de- 
 velopment, and a conclusion. It was upon this 
 basis that Hamilton founded his draft, and, while 
 he retained wherever he could the thoughts and 
 language of Washington, he added much valuable 
 matter, and brought the whole into its present form. 
 Calm, wise, and noble, it is a monument worthy of 
 the great man whose name it bears, and, had the 
 American people always remembered its lessons, it 
 would have been well for their own peace, and con- 
 ducive to the happiness of the world. 
 
 As the election for President drew nigh, the sage of 
 Monticello reappeared on the scene. When it was 
 positively known that Washington would not again 
 accept the Presidency, pamphlets were circulated, 
 canvassing the claims of every possible candidate. 
 
PARTY VIOLENCE. 361 
 
 "Ambition, servility, pride, meanness, hypocrisy," 
 were laid to the charge of the modest and high- 
 minded Jay — Hamilton was a man "formed by 
 nature to shine in a subordinate sphere" — and the 
 inteEects of Adams were " in a state of rapid decay." 
 But there was one man who, " even in his philosophic 
 seclusion, blushed as he received the crowning honours 
 of his countrymen" — and the choice of the nation 
 was plainly directed to the touching simplicity and 
 retiring virtues of Jefferson. At the same time, 
 every effort was used to divide and discredit the 
 Federalist party. That party looked to Hamilton 
 for advice, and he at once counselled them to unite 
 their votes in favour of John Adams and Thomas 
 Pinckney — the one as likely to command pretty 
 general support from moderate men, and the other 
 as distinguished for many estimable qualities, and 
 sure to be sustained by South Carolina, of which 
 he was a citizen. The main object was, of course, 
 to exclude Jefferson ; but some of the New England 
 friends of Mr. Adams, fearful lest he should be 
 elected as Vice-President only, did not give their 
 second suffrage to Mr. Pinckney. The result was, 
 that Adams received seventy-one votes, Jefferson 
 sixty-eight, and Pinckney fifty-nine. The two 
 
362 PARTY VIOLENCE. 
 
 former thus became President and Vice-President. 
 Colonel Burr was among the candidates, and, al- 
 though unsuccessful, could boast of thirty votes. It 
 was clear that he was becoming an important per- 
 sonage in the commonwealth. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1797, Mr. Adams took the 
 oath of of&ce, and Washington laid down the burden 
 of his cares and labours. As he withdrew from the 
 hall, there was a general rush from the galleries to 
 catch a last glimpse of that noble and venerable 
 countenance, and as he passed into the street the 
 multitude thronged around him with every mark of 
 respect and affection. He stood for a moment with 
 his white head uncovered, and his eyes filled with 
 tears ; but, unable to express his emotions in words, he 
 could only wave a mute blessing to the people whom 
 he had served so faithfully and loved so truly. 
 "There was more weeping," writes John Adams, 
 " than there ever has been at the representation of 
 a tragedy " — and, doubtless, it was one of those rare 
 occasions, when the popular heart is deeply and irre- 
 sistibly moved, and gives way without restraint to 
 the indulgence of strong, natural feeling. 
 
 But on the very day when this scene was passing 
 in the streets of Philadelphia the following article 
 
PARTY VIOLENCE. 363 
 
 appeared in Bache's Aurcyra, one of the organs of 
 tlie Eepublican party : — " Emjo lettest thou thy servant 
 depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 
 was the pious ejaculation of a man who beheld a 
 flood of happiness rushing in upon mankind ; if ever 
 there was a time, that would license the reiteration of 
 this exclamation, the time is now arrived ; for the 
 man who is the source of the mAsfortunes of our country 
 is this day reduced to a level with his fellow-citizens, 
 and is no longer possessed of power to multiply evils 
 on the United States. If ever there was a period for 
 rejoicing, this is the moment. Every heart in unison 
 with the freedom and the happiness of the people 
 ought to beat high with exultation, that the name of 
 Washington from this day ceases to give currency to 
 political iniquity and to legalize corruption. A new 
 era is opening upon us, an era that promises much 
 to the people, for public measures must now stand 
 on their own merit, and nefarious projects can no 
 longer be supported by a name. When a retrospect 
 is taken of the Washington Administration for eight 
 years, it is a subject of the greatest astonishment 
 that a single individual could have cankered the 
 principles of Eepublicanism in an enlightened people, 
 and should have carried his designs against the public 
 
364 PA.ETY VIOLENCE. 
 
 liberty so far as to have put in jeopardy its very 
 existence. Such, however, are the facts ; and, with 
 these staring us in the face, this day ought to be a 
 day of jubilee in the United States." 
 
 And this farrago of blasphemy, absurdity, and in- 
 gratitude was the farewell of the democratic press to 
 the Father of American Independence ! 
 
CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 MOUNT VERNON. 
 
 IT is refreshing to turn from the violence and 
 malignity described in the last chapter, to the 
 tranquil and beautiful home on the banks of the 
 Potomac, where the tired hero was at length to find 
 repose. There, in the midst of the well-known wood- 
 lands, by the side of the familiar stream, his fancy 
 could stray back to the happy days of youth, and 
 recall the images of old friends long departed. He 
 has left on record that he often cast his eyes towards 
 Belvoir, the ancient home of the Fairfaxes, now in 
 ruins, and thought with regret of the pleasant times, 
 before war and revolution had severed so many ties 
 of neighbourhood and aflfection. But he had the 
 consolation which springs from the consciousness of 
 duty unflinchingly performed, and many delights 
 and blessings seemed reserved for his honourable 
 old age, He was venerated by all the best of his 
 
366 MOUNT VERNON. 
 
 countrymen, beloved by his friends, almost adored 
 by his family and dependents— and the envious 
 whispers of faction could hardly reach him in those 
 peaceful retreats. The wife of his bosom was worthy 
 of all his tenderness, and, although heaven had denied 
 him children, he was not without the sunshine of 
 young faces in his house, and the glad sound of 
 youthful voices. Mrs. Washington's son by her first 
 marriage had left a boy and girl to the care of their 
 grandmother, nephews and nieces were frequent 
 visitors at Mount Vernon, and young Lafayette had 
 there sought shelter and protection from his father's 
 old comrade in arms. The general had, moreover, 
 the congenial occupation of repairing his long- 
 neglected home, putting his estate into order, and 
 following those agricultural pursuits in which he 
 delighted. In spite of the hardships he had gone 
 through, his health seemed yet unimpaired, and his 
 frame still vigorous ; and it was no presumption to 
 hope that he might continue for many years in the 
 enjoyment of his well-earned rest. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Adams had retained the late 
 cabinet in of&ce. They were members of the 
 Federalist party, trusted by Washington, and likely 
 to continue his policy. They were, moreover, in 
 
MOUNT VEENON. 367 
 
 habits of confidential communication with Hamilton, 
 whose influence would therefore still be felt in the 
 government. Colonel Pickering, the Secretary of 
 State, and Mr. Wolcott, the Secretary of the 
 Treasury, were notoriously friends of Hamilton. 
 On the other hand, the views of Mr. Jefferson, the 
 Vice-President, were known to be with the opposi- 
 tion, especially on the subject of the relations of 
 America with France. Those relations were be- 
 coming daily more and more unsatisfactory. The 
 Directory, which had succeeded to power after the 
 fall of Eobespierre, if less bloodthirsty, was quite 
 as arrogant as its predecessors. It had adopted a 
 tone towards America, which appeared to be one 
 of command rather than remonstrance. The treaty 
 with England was held to be an offence to France, 
 complaints of breaches of neutrality were laid against 
 the American Government, and, when Mr. Monroe 
 was recalled from Paris to make way for another 
 minister, the Directory declared that no other envoy 
 would be received from the United States, until 
 all grievances had been redressed. This declaration 
 was accompanied by words of insult and menace. 
 "The French Eepublic hopes,'" said Barras, "that 
 the successors of Columbus, of Ealeigh, and of Penn, 
 
368 MOUNT VEENON. 
 
 ever proud of their liberty, will never forget that 
 they owe it to France ! ... In their wisdom, they 
 will weigh the magnanimous benevolence of the 
 French people, against the artful caresses of per- 
 fidious plotters, who meditate to draw them back 
 to their ancient slavery. . . . They will find in the 
 French people the republican generosity, which 
 knows how to grant peace, but which knows also 
 how to make its sovereignty respected." Along 
 with this bombast came measures of a stringent 
 character, directed against the commerce of the 
 United States. The doctrine, that free ships make 
 free goods, which had formed part of the old treaties 
 with France, was declared to be abolished ; the 
 French cruisers were ordered to seize all British 
 property found on board of American vessels, and 
 aU provisions bound for England; and it was 
 announced, that Americans serving on English ships 
 would be treated as pirates. The policy of the 
 French Government was evidently one of intimida- 
 tion, by which America was to be coerced into 
 compliance with the designs of her sister-repubUc. 
 But the Directory had miscalculated the character 
 of the American people. Singularly open to the 
 influences of cajolery, that people had yet retained 
 
MOUNT VEKNON. 369 
 
 the high spirit of their fathers, and were not easily 
 moved by threats. The language of France was' 
 answered by a shout of defiance, and the French 
 party in the United States found themselves suddenly 
 in a hopeless minority. The President summoned 
 the Congress to a special session, and, when he 
 declared his determination to preserve the national 
 honour, and recommended immediate measures for 
 the defence of the countiy, he met with almost 
 universal support and approval. He had resolved, 
 however, to make one more attempt to adjust the 
 differences, amicably; and, with that view, Charles 
 Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge 
 Gerry (two Federalists, and one EepubKcan) were 
 despatched on a joint mission to France. The 
 Directory declined to receive the three envoys, but 
 opened with them a private negotiation, the details 
 of which would be thought incredible, if they did 
 not rest on positive evidence. The secret agent of 
 the French Government informed the envoys that 
 there might be a way to arrange matters, but that 
 a necessary preliminary would be a douceur of two 
 hundred and fifty thousand dollars to the Directory, 
 and a loan of thirty-two millions of francs to France. 
 When the envoys proposed to enter on a discussion 
 BB 
 
370 MOUNT VEKNON. 
 
 of the grotmds of difference between the countries, 
 the same agent said to them: "Gentlemen, you 
 mistake the point. You say nothing of the money 
 you are to give ; you make no offer of money ; on 
 that point you are not explicit." "We are explicit 
 enough," replied the indignant Americans. " We 
 will not give you one farthing ; and, before coming 
 here, we should have thought such an offer as you 
 now propose would have been regarded as a mortal 
 insult." 
 
 Unable to effect anything in Paris, the com- 
 missioners returned, though at separate times, to 
 ..America ; but the news of their failure had preceded 
 them, and the spring of 1798 witnessed a scene of 
 intense excitement throughout the United States. 
 " France pretends to levy tribute ! " was the cry. 
 " Millions for defence, not a cent to purchase peace ! " 
 Jefferson heard it with dismay, for it sounded like 
 the death-knell of the Eepublican party. All the 
 popular enthusiasm, which had formerly gathered 
 round France and her adherents, was now turned 
 in the opposite direction. It was the hour of 
 triumph for the Federalists, and it seemed possible 
 that, if they used well the occasion, they might 
 secure for themselves a long period of supremacy. 
 
MOWT VEKNON. 37 J 
 
 The last decree of the French Government had 
 subjected to capture all neutral vessels and their 
 cargoes, if any portion of the latter was of British 
 fabric or produce, although the entire property might 
 belong to neutrals. This was the finishing stroke at 
 the carrying-trade of the United States, and, cora- 
 bined with the treatment of the French envoys, pro- 
 duced a general desire for war. It was necessary to 
 raise an army, and to prepare for all contingencies. 
 Adams was greatly perplexed, and doubtful where to 
 look for a commander-in-chief. But Hamilton saw 
 from the first, that no name but that of Washington 
 would command the entire confidence of the country, 
 and his views were soon backed by the unanimous, 
 voice of the people. The President and the Senate 
 confirmed the popular judgment, and Mr. McHenry, 
 the Secretary for War, was despatched to Mount 
 Vernon with the offer of new cares and respon- 
 sibilities. 
 
 No message could be less welcome to those plea- 
 sant shades, where the veteran soldier and statesman 
 had hoped to spend his last years in peace. But 
 already he had written, in answer to a letter on the 
 subject: — "As my whole life has been dedicated to 
 my country in one shape or another — for the poor 
 BB 2 
 
372 MOUNT VEENON. 
 
 remains of it, it is not an object to contend for ease 
 and quiet, when all that is valuable is at stake." 
 And when McHeniy presented himself with the 
 President's commission, and at the same time handed 
 in a letter from Hamilton, urging the acceptance of 
 the appointment, Washington did not hesitate a 
 moment. He only stipulated, that he should not be 
 called into active service until his presence was 
 absolutely required, and that he should have the 
 nomination of his principal of&cers. He had been 
 too much fettered in his great campaigns, by having 
 men thrust upon him against his better judgment, 
 and he now held, that no officer of the old army 
 should claim precedence on the mere ground of his 
 former rank, but that the country should have the 
 advantage of the best talents, energy, and experience 
 within its reach. Acting upon this opinion, he 
 recommended, that his three Major-Generals should 
 be Hamilton, Pinckney, and Knox, and that the 
 first place should be Hamilton's. 
 
 Mr. Charles Prancis Adams, in writing the life of 
 his grandfather, endeavours to show, that all this 
 was planned by Hamilton, and that he made use of 
 Washington as a mere instrument to force his views 
 on the unwilling mind of the President. It is true, 
 
MOUNT VERNON; 373 
 
 that Mr. A"dams always entertained an unfortunate 
 jealousy and suspicion of Hamilton, and that he 
 would not of his own accord have advanced him to 
 so high a post. It is equally true, that "Washington 
 often consulted Hamilton ; but the mind of the great 
 chieftain was as clear as ever, his intellect as un- 
 clouded, his will as firm ; and when he chose Hamil- 
 ton for his second in command, he was influenced by 
 no consideration but the fitness of the appointment, 
 founded on his intimate knowledge of the high 
 qualities of his friend. 
 
 "Although Colonel Hamilton," he says, in ad- 
 dressing the President, "has never acted in the 
 character of a general-officer, yet his opportunities, as 
 the principal and most confidential aid of the com- 
 mander-in-chief, afforded him the means of viewing 
 everything on a larger scale than those whose at- 
 tention was confined to divisions or brigades, who 
 knew nothing of the correspondence of the com- 
 mander-in-chief, or of the various orders to, or trans- 
 actions with, the general staff. of the army. These 
 advantages, and his having served with usefulness in 
 the old Congress and in the general Convention, and 
 having filled one of the most important departments 
 of government with acknowledged abilities and in- 
 
374 Mount veenon. 
 
 tegrity, have placed tim on high ground, and made 
 him a conspicuous character in the United States 
 and in Europe. ... By some he is considered an 
 simbitious man, and therefore a dangerous one. That 
 he is ambitious I shall readily grant; but it is of 
 that laudable kind which prompts a man to excel in 
 whatever he takes in hand. He is enterprising, quick 
 in his perceptions, and his judgment is intuitively 
 great— qualities essential to a military character; 
 and therefore, I repeat, his loss will be irreparable." 
 
 General Knox, with a pardonable sense of his own 
 claims to distinction, declined to serve under Hamil- 
 ton, who was so much his junior ; but Pinckney at 
 once accepted the appointment, and applauded the 
 advancement of his inferior officer to the foremost 
 place. Indeed, th& acquiescence of the majority of 
 his former comrades was a striking homage to the 
 merits of this extraordinary man, and proved, that no 
 personal influence or intrigue, but only a thorough 
 knowledge of his deserts^ had induced the com- 
 mander-in-chief to exalt him over so many older 
 heads. 
 
 In November, 1798, "Washington came to Phila- 
 delphia, to confer with Hamilton and Pinckney on 
 the organization of the new ariny. Adams proposed 
 
MOtTNT VEENON. • 375 
 
 to nommate Burr for a brigadier-general, but Wasb- 
 ington at once repKed: — "By all tbat I bave known 
 and beard, Colonel Burr is a brave and able officer ; 
 but tbe question is, wbetber be bas not equal talents 
 at intrigue ? " He refused, tberefore, to second tbe 
 nomination, and Adams was very indignant at tbe 
 refusal Tor five weeks, tbe triwrnvirate (as Adams 
 called tbem) were engaged in drawing up plans for 
 tbe regulation and management of tbe forces, wbile 
 tbe President watcbed tbeir proceedings witb a rest- 
 less and impatient jealousy. At tbe end of tbat 
 time, Wasbington returned to Mount Vernon, wbere 
 be determined to remain till actually summoned to 
 tbe field. He knew tbat be could depend on 
 Hamilton in all tbings, and tbat bis presence 
 would not again be required in tbe preliminary 
 arrangements. 
 
 One of tbe cbarges brougbt against Hamilton is, 
 tbat, from motives of personal ambition, be was now 
 most desirous and anxious for war. It is said tbat 
 be boped by war to consolidate tbe Federalist party, 
 to obtain for bimself distinction as a military leader, 
 and to establisb bis preponderance in tbe country. 
 Now it is most certain tbat no man had done more 
 to preserve peace tban Hamilton. It was tbe condi- 
 
376 ' MOUNT VEENOK 
 
 tion on which depended the success of his financial 
 schemes, and, soldier as he was, his humane and 
 gentle- nature abhorred the prospect of rapine and 
 slaughter. But if war must comei (and he saw only 
 too plainly that, sooner or later, America was likely 
 to be involved in the world-wide struggles of the 
 French Eevolution), he preferred that it should be 
 with France rather than with England. He knew 
 that the first shot fired would destroy for ever the 
 worship of Gallic ideas and Jacobin politics ; and 
 his imagination had already conjured up the picture 
 of a more congenial alliance, in which the two great 
 branches of the English race, mingling their navies 
 on the ocean, and their blood on the same fields of 
 battle, should forget every old cause of quarrel, and 
 become united by closest ties of confidence and 
 friendship, for their mutual advantage, and for the 
 common interest of mankind. It is no disparage- 
 ment to the wisdom or patriotism of his views, if 
 they included also the triumph of his party, and his 
 own honourable fame. He would have been more 
 or less than man, had he been indifferent to these 
 incidental gains; but it is contrary to the whole 
 history of his life to believe, that he ever allowed 
 such considerations to interfere with his larger 
 
MOUNT VERNON. 377 
 
 plans for the glory and the happiness of his 
 country. 
 
 The war-cry of 1798 was not raised by any parti- 
 cular section of the comniunity, but was a natural 
 and universal outburst of indignation, provoked by 
 the overweening arrogance of the French Govern- 
 ment. No one joined in it more heartily than 
 President Adams. He had said in an official 
 message to Congress : " I will never send another 
 minister to France, without assurances that he will 
 be received, respected, and honoured as the repre- 
 sentative of a great, free, powerful, and independent 
 nation." And in his answers to the addresses, which 
 poured in from all parts of the Union, he used 
 language so warm and energetic that even Federalists 
 were alarmed at its tendency. "It is not for us," 
 wrote Hamilton to the Secretary of the Treasury, 
 "particularly for the government, to breathe an 
 irregular or violent spirit." But Adams, once roused 
 to anger, was not easily restrained. Downright, 
 irascible, and uncompromising, he spoke out aU that 
 he thought, without much regard to consequences. 
 He, if any one, was responsible for stimulating the 
 warlike ardour of the time ; and, although he may 
 have left to Congress the task of originating the 
 
378 MOUNT VEKNON. 
 
 principal measures taken, there can be no question 
 that he gave his sanction to those measures, and 
 that he did not separate himself in any way from 
 the general policy of the Federalist party. 
 
 That policy was marked by a vigour which was 
 sometimes carried to excess. The treaties with 
 France were declared null and void, an army was 
 raised, a fleet equipped, and the country put into 
 a state of defence. But not content with these 
 necessary precautions, the Congress passed two bills 
 of an exceptional kind, which have since been known 
 as the Alien and Sedition Acts. They were intended 
 to strengthen the hands of the government, by 
 giving it extraordinary powers to deal with that 
 mass of foreigners (often the scum and off-scouring 
 of Europe) which infested the large towns, and also 
 with those natives of America whose attachment to 
 France was stronger than their allegiance to their 
 own country. In passing these bills, the Federalists 
 imitated a political error which the Tories had not 
 long before committed in England. They availed 
 themselves of a moment of popular excitement in 
 their favour, to obtain restrictions on the liberty of 
 speech and writing, which were utterly opposed to 
 the customs and genius of the people. The inevitable 
 
MOUNT VERNON. 379 
 
 result was a reaction, which contributed in the end 
 to the overthrow and ruin of their party. Nothing 
 can be more unjust, however, than to lay the chief 
 blame of these acts to Hamilton. It is quite certain 
 that he made use of his influence, to moderate, and 
 not to inflame the ardour of his friends. " Let us 
 not establish a tyranny," he wrote to Wolcott; 
 " energy is a very different thing from violence. If 
 we make no false step, we shall be essentially 
 united; but if we push things to an extreme, we 
 shall then give to faction body and solidity." 
 
 It is equally certain that Mr. Adams had joined, 
 approved, and sanctioned the Federalist policy, and 
 that he was more deeply committed than any one 
 else to the maintenance of a bold and dignified 
 attitude towards France. What was it, then, which 
 wrought a sudden change in his views ? The question 
 seems to admit but of one answer, and that is — 
 jealousy of Hamilton. His grandson and biographer 
 virtually confirms the fact in the following passage : 
 " Although not by any means acquainted with the 
 whole truth, he saw enough to understand the 
 nature of the expedients resorted to for the purpose 
 of controlling his will. He had had more than one 
 occasion to feel that his cabinet officers were effective 
 
380 MOUNT VEENOIT. 
 
 instruments to this end, and that he could place 
 little reliance upon them for the execution of his oivn 
 wishes. Yet he was to be exposed to the world 
 and to posterity as the responsible instrument to 
 execute a policy, in framing which no discretion 
 was to be allowed him. Already the outline, so 
 far as it had been developed, alarmed him. It 
 involved demands on the public purse, which he 
 saw no means of supplying without risk of con- 
 vulsions, and the establishment of a permanent 
 military organization, the necessity for which he 
 could not understand. Above all, his instincts 
 warned him, in no dubious tones, that the extra- 
 ordinary management resorted to for placing Mr. 
 Hamilton at the head of this great power, was 
 designed certainly to give to him, and in certain 
 contingencies, perhaps, to the country itself, A 
 
 MASTER." 
 
 Is not this the picture of a man — honest, well- 
 meaning, able enough in the discharge of ordinary 
 functions — but placed by circumstances in a posi- 
 tion above his strength, irritably conscious of his 
 inferiority to one powerful mind, and chafiiig against 
 an influence which he yet was obliged to acknow- 
 ledge ? That Hamilton would ever usurp authority 
 
.MOUNT VEKNON. 381 
 
 which did not of right belong to him, was an 
 utterly groundless fear; but, in one sense, Adains 
 would have done weU to own him as a master — 
 or, in other words, to have followed his advice and 
 guidance. Had he frankly adhered to the policy 
 of the great Federalist, and given it to the end the 
 BuppOTt of his name, character, and official station, 
 he would have pursued a consistent course, earned 
 the respect of friends and enemies, kept his party 
 together, and probably laave triumphed at last over 
 all opponents. But unfortunately for himself, still 
 more unfortunately for America, he could not conquer 
 the personal feeling of dislike and suspicion which 
 prompted him, at all hazards, to break through the 
 delicate network of Hamilton's influence. It was 
 easy to assert his independence by an act of self- 
 will, but it was not so easy to measure the full 
 consequences of such an act. 
 
 The President, the cabinet, and the people seemed 
 all agreed that, if any reconciliation with France 
 were possible, the first advances must come from 
 her side. After what had taken place, it was clearly 
 for the honour and dignity of America, to wait till 
 France should distinctly propose the renewal of 
 diplomatic relations. What then was the astonish- 
 
382 MOUNT A^KNON. 
 
 ment of the world to learn, that, on the faith of a 
 private comnmnication from Mr. Murray, the minister 
 at the Hague, the President had nominated that 
 gentleman as envoy to France ! and that he had 
 done so without the consent or privity of his own 
 cabinet ! 
 
 "He acted," says Hamilton, "like a man out of 
 his mind. Congress being on the point of opening, 
 his cabinet recommended a paragraph in his speech 
 to the effect, that if Trance, disposed to conciliation, 
 would send a representative, he would be received 
 with the respect due to his position. To which 
 Adams abruptly and indignantly replied, thai if 
 France should send a minister to-morrow, he would 
 send him lack again; and this, he declared, was 
 his decision after mature reflection. Within forty- 
 eight hours he intimated in his speech, that if France 
 would receive with respect a minister from America, 
 he would send one; and immediately, without 
 waiting for the reply to his communication, or even 
 consulting his ministers, actually appointed an envoy 
 to that country ! " 
 
 "When the news of this event reached Mount 
 Vernon, Washington expressed his extreme surprise. 
 "But far, very far indeed," writes he, "was that 
 
MOUNT VBENON. 383 
 
 surprise short of what I experienced the next day, 
 when, by a very intelligent gentleman immediately 
 from Philadelphia, I was informed that there had 
 been no direct overture from the government of 
 France to that of the United States for a negotia- 
 tion." And this was literally the case ; for, although 
 Mr. Murray had obtained indirect assurances of the 
 more amicable disposition of the French government, 
 this was surely not the way in which the insult 
 of dismissing the former envoys could be redressed, 
 or the relations of the two countries be placed on 
 a satisfactory footing. 
 
 In spite of what had occurred, Washington did 
 not relax his efforts to bring the army into an 
 efficient state. From his rural solitude he kept 
 up a constant correspondence on the subject, and 
 his letters show that the general aspect of affairs 
 filled him with apprehension. "I have for some 
 time past," he says, "viewed the political concerns 
 of the United States with an anxious and painful 
 eye. They appear to me to be moving by hasty 
 strides to a crisis ; but in what it will result, that 
 Bein", who sees, foresees, and directs all things, alone 
 can tell. The vessel is afloat, or very nearly so, 
 and considering myself as a passenger only, I shall 
 
384 MOUNT VEENON. 
 
 trust to the mariners (whose duty it is to -watch) 
 to steer it into a safe port." 
 
 In the trouble and confusion, however, which the 
 President's late proceedings had occasioned,- many 
 Federalists cast longing looks towards Mount Vernon, 
 and it seemed likely that, when an opportunity 
 offered, Washington would again be called to the 
 helm. It would have been much against his wishes, 
 and it is doubtful whether anything short of the 
 imminent danger of the country could have induced 
 him to consent to a third term of office. But he 
 was spared the necessity of choice, and the pain of 
 refusal. The month of December, 1799, set in with 
 cold and wet, but found him still vigorous and 
 active. He was frequently on horseback, going the 
 rounds of his estate, and putting everything into 
 order, so that no reproach might attach to him, as 
 he saidi " when he took his departure for the land 
 of spirits." He was occupied with arrangements for 
 hutting the troops during winter, and with writing 
 to Hamilton on the plan of a military academy. 
 On the morning of the 12th he addressed a letter 
 to his faithful lieutenant, which he closed with the 
 assurance of his "very great esteem and regard." 
 He then mounted his horse, and rode for some 
 
MOUNT VEENON. 385 
 
 hours tlirougli a storm of snow, hail, and rain. He 
 returned apparently well, but found the next day 
 that he had taken a severe cold. He treated it 
 lightly, but grew worse towards evening, and in 
 the night became alarmingly ill. With his usual 
 consideration for others, he would not have any one 
 disturbed before morning. Medical aid was then 
 sent for, bleeding and other remedies were tried, 
 but without avail. His breathing had become 
 difficult, and he was unable to swallow. "I find 
 I am going," he said; "my breath cannot last 
 long." He then gave directions about his will and 
 papers, spoke affectionately to his wife, his secre- 
 tary, his servants, apologized for the trouble he gave 
 them, and added : " Well, it is a debt we must all 
 pay to each other ; and I hope, when you want aid 
 of this kind, you will find it." — And with such kind 
 speeches, as long as he could speak, and the same 
 noble simplicity that had distinguished his whole 
 life, the hero, statesman, and patriot passed away 
 from a sorrowing world. 
 
 For, at the rumour of that death, every sound of 
 
 faction was hushed, and even calumny was awed 
 
 to silence. Through the ' length and breadth of 
 
 America ran the thrill of a great emotion, and a 
 
 c c 
 
386 MOUNT VEENON, 
 
 common sjonpathy once more united her people. A 
 solemn and religious gloom overspread the Union, 
 accompanied by every outward sign of respect, and 
 even foreign countries joined in the national mourn- 
 ing. Par away over the ocean, the mighty fleets 
 of England lowered their unconquered flag at the 
 news ; and the young soldier of France, then in the 
 first flush of his glory, ordered his victorious stan- 
 dards to be veiled with crape. But, like all men 
 of genuine worth, Washington was mourned the 
 most by those who had known him best. " I shall 
 soon follow him," said the wife, who for forty years 
 had partaken of all his cares and honours ; " I have 
 no more trials to pass through." "There can be 
 few who equally with me participate in the loss 
 you deplore," wrote Hamilton to Mrs. Washington. 
 His family, his friends, his servants, these were 
 the true witnesses to his virtues ; and the grief 
 which darkened the face of a whole continent fell 
 with a still deeper shadow on the quiet happiness 
 of his home. 
 
 His wiU had been prepared not many months 
 before, and, along with ample provisions to satisfy 
 the claims of kindred and affection, it contained one 
 remarkable clause, giving freedom to all his slaves 
 
MOUNT VEENON, 387 
 
 after the demise of Mrs. Washington, and charging 
 his estate with the maintenance of the sick, the old, 
 and the infirm, and with the nurture and apprentice- 
 ship of the children. Born and bred a slave-owner, 
 he had always treated his negroes with the kindness 
 of a father ; but he felt that slavery was in itself 
 an evil, and he wished to see it gradually abolished — 
 while the term he fixed for the manumission of his 
 own slaves, and the wise and humane precautions 
 with which he accompanied it, are sufficient to prove 
 (if any proof were needed), that he would never have 
 dealt with this subject rashly or intemperately, or 
 without due regard to the rights, the interests, and 
 the welfare of all parties concerned. 
 
 They laid him in the family vault at Mount Ver- 
 non, where he had himself desired to rest. The 
 silence and the beauty of nature encompassed the 
 spot, and for many years the pilgrim, who came to 
 visit it, was undisturbed by any ruder association. 
 Since then, the hostile forces of a divided empire 
 have encamped on the banks of Washington's be- 
 loved river, and fought for possession of the soil 
 which holds his remains, like Greeks and Trojans 
 contending over the body of Patroclus. But no 
 change of circumstance, or ■ madness of men, can 
 CC 2 
 
388 jVfOUNT VBENON. 
 
 desecrate the sylvan scenes, whicli his life and death 
 have hallowed ; and his memory is enshrined for 
 ever in that proud temple of history, where few 
 have left a greater, and none a more unsullied 
 name. 
 
CHAPTEE XVI. 
 
 THE TIE. 
 
 WHILE the death of Washington, following 
 near on the imprudence of Adams, was felt 
 to be a heavy blow to the Federalist party, two 
 men were anxiously watching to improve the occa- 
 sion for their several purposes. These men were 
 Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. 
 
 In the temporary triumph which French insolence 
 had given to the Federalists, and when most of the 
 Eepublican leaders were inclined to despair of their 
 faction, Jefferson had retained his coolness and pre- 
 sence of mind. His policy was to wait for events, 
 and to take advantage of the least indiscretion on 
 the part of his opponents. The Alien and Sedition 
 Acts first gave him an opportunity to stem the tor- 
 rent of Federalist success, and there can be no doubt 
 that he was the instigator of that resistance in Vir- 
 ginia and Kentucky, which led to the earliest attempt 
 
•390 THE TIE, 
 
 to nullify the acts of Congress by a vote of the State 
 legislatures. But his efforts would probably have 
 failed, if Adams had not thrown the game into his 
 hands by dividing the I'ederalist party. From that 
 moment he saw that he had only to bide his time, 
 and the intestine feuds of his adversaries would 
 leave them at his mercy. 
 
 But while Jefferson was thus scheming and wait- 
 ing, Burr was animating his partisans with the fire 
 of his own restless disposition, and gathering round 
 him all the daring and ambitious spirits amongst the 
 younger members of the democracy. He was at this 
 time in pecuniary difficulties, embarrassed by the 
 result of various speculations, and exposed to some 
 private slanders, which appear to have been without 
 foundation ; but he never relaxed his energy in the 
 pursuit of his political objects, and the more des- 
 perate his fortunes, the more determined he was to 
 force his way to power. 
 
 A new election for President was approaching, and 
 no "Washington was there to throw the weight of his 
 influence into the scale. Meanwhile, the schism in 
 the Federalist camp was complete. Not only had 
 Mr. Adams resolved, that General Hamilton should 
 not be left in command of the army, but he had 
 
THE TIE. 391 
 
 denounced that gentleman in conversation with an 
 extraordiaary display of acrimony, had accused him 
 of being the leader of a British faction, and had got 
 rid of Colonel Pickering and Mr. McHenry from the 
 administration. On his side, Hamilton saw that it 
 was hopeless again to co-operate with Adams. Al- 
 ready in January, 1800, he writes: "The leading 
 friends of the government are in a sad dilemma. 
 Shall they risk a serious schism by an attempt to 
 change ; or shall they annihilate themselves, and 
 hazard their cause, by continuing to uphold those 
 who suspect or hate them, and who are likely to 
 pursue a course for no better reason than because 
 it is contrary to that which they approve ? " — But, 
 by the May following, his mind was made up. " I 
 will never more," he says, "be responsible for him 
 (Adams) by my direct support, even though the 
 consec[uence should be the election of Jefferson." 
 
 The plan for the electoral campaign, as proposed 
 by Hamilton, was as follows. General Charles 
 Cotesworth Pinckney was to be started as the second 
 Federalist candidate, and it was hoped, that, while 
 many would still vote for Adams, parties would 
 be so divided as to secure Pinckney's election for 
 President. The friends of Mr. Adams have ex- 
 
392; THE TIB. 
 
 hausted their vocabulary, in denouncing what they 
 call the treachery of this scheme ; but there does not 
 appear to be any good ground for such a charge. If 
 the Federalists were in a majority, they were of 
 course free to choose the candidate they preferred. 
 If they voted unanimously for Adams, he would be 
 President ; if only a portion of them voted for him, 
 it would show that the second candidate was the 
 man of their choice. There was no conceivable 
 reason why Mr. Adams should enjoy a prescriptive 
 right to their suffrages. It may be true, that the 
 splitting of votes favoured the success of the opposite 
 party ; but this was a contingency, which Hamilton 
 and his friends were surely entitled to risk, to pre- 
 vent the supremacy of a man who had described 
 them as a British faction. 
 
 The truth seems to be, that the Federalists could 
 not in any case have carried the election. Their 
 divisions had already paralysed their strength, and 
 revived the courage of their opponents, whilst the 
 el»b and flow of public opinion (inconstant in de- 
 mocracies as the moon) had once more given the 
 majority to the Kepublicans. " The question is not, 
 I fear," said Fisher Ames, " how we shall fight, but 
 how we and all Federalists shall fall " — and the 
 
THE TIE. 39g 
 
 result proved the correctness of Ms judgment. Still 
 Hamilton struggled to gain votes for General Pinck- 
 ney. He undertook a journey througli the New 
 England States, was in communication with most of 
 the leaders there, and tried to induce the Federalists 
 generally to act independently of Mr. Adams. It 
 was during the heat of this contest that a singular 
 incident occurred. Provoked by the bitter attacks of 
 the President on himself and his friends, Hamilton 
 had prepared a letter on the Public Conduct and 
 Character of John Adams, Esquire, and had pro- 
 ceeded so far as to have it printed. It is supposed, 
 that he intended it for private circulation, and 
 perhaps to hold in reserve for some future oppor- 
 tunity; but it seems clear, that it was not meant 
 for present publication, when, by mere chance, it 
 fell into the hands of Colonel Burr. That unscru- 
 pulous personage, it is said, met the printer's boy 
 with a basket full of pamphlets for General Hamil- 
 ton, and managed to obtain a copy. Extracts were 
 instantly inserted in the Eepublican journals, and 
 Hamilton had no alternative but to publish the 
 entire pamphlet. It contained a severe criticism of 
 the President's public career, and some exposure of 
 his personal foibles; but the faults charged against 
 
394 THE TIE. 
 
 him were chiefly those of vanity and temper, and 
 there was nothing after all in the sketch inconsistent 
 with a belief in his honesty and good intentions. 
 It was, however, attended with mischievous effects, 
 for it widened the breach between the rival sections 
 of the Federalist party, inflamed the angry feelings 
 already existing amongst them, and hastened the 
 inevitable catastrophe, which involved them all in 
 a common ruin. 
 
 When the final result of the election was made 
 known, it was found, that neither of the Federalist 
 candidates had been returned, and that two of the 
 Eepublicans had exactly the same number of votes. 
 "While Adams counted sixty-five suffrages, and 
 Pinckney sixty-four, both Jefferson and Burr could 
 boast of seventy-three. It was, therefore, A tie, and, 
 by the provisions of the Constitution, the choice 
 between the two devolved on the House of Eepre- 
 sentatives. 
 
 The Congress met for the first time at the new 
 city of Washington, and the most pressing question 
 for settlement was the succession to the Presidency. 
 The proper and dignified course for the Federalist 
 party was obvious enough, and was never doubtful 
 for a moment to the clear intellect of Hamilton. 
 
THE TIE. 395 
 
 It was to acknowledge themselves defeated, to retire 
 from the contest, and to leave to the Eepublicans 
 the responsibility of selection between their own 
 two candidates. Whatever had then occurred, the 
 Federalists were in no way answerable for the con- 
 sequences, they were not brought into connexion 
 with either of their opponents, and they remained an 
 unbroken phalanx as far as their adversaries were 
 concerned. The time would come, when they might 
 once more assert their influence, and, in the mean- 
 while, they would retain all the advantages of a 
 perfectly independent position. 
 
 But, unfortunately, the Federalists were in no 
 temper to follow this prudent advice. Maddened 
 by the reverses they had sustained, they were de- 
 termined to seize every opportunity of revenge, and 
 to inflict an injury, if they could not secure a 
 triumph. They were still powerful in the House 
 of Representatives, where, of the sixteen States that 
 now composed the Union, they commanded the votes 
 of six, and neutralized those of two. But the voices 
 of nine States were required to elect a President, 
 and, although there could be no doubt that the 
 Eepublican majority intended Jefferson for that 
 office, it would be possible to defeat their object 
 
396 THE TIE. 
 
 by giving the Federalist support to Burr. There 
 may have mingled with this calculation some hope 
 of gaining over Burr to the Federalist cause ; but 
 the main design was to exclude Jefferson, and so 
 practically to reverse the decision of the national 
 vote. 
 
 It was an unwise and unworthy policy, which did 
 more harm to the party that adopted it than all the 
 plots of their enemies. That honest and aisle man, 
 Gouverneur Morris, at once protested against it, on 
 the plain ground of right. " Since it was evidently 
 the intention of our fellow-citizens," he said, "to 
 make Mr. Jefferson their President, it seems proper 
 to fulfil that intention." And a little later he wrote 
 to Hamilton, complaining that the excitement amongst 
 their political friends rendered them deaf to the voice 
 of reason, and that it was dangerous to quote an 
 opinion in opposition to their plans. " You who are 
 temperate in drinking," he adds, " have never, perhaps, 
 noticed the awkward situation of a man who continues 
 sober after the company are drunk." 
 
 But Hamilton, whom no danger from friend or foe 
 ever held back from his duty to his country, had 
 strongly urged his opposition to the intended scheme. 
 He wrote private letters to many of the leaders of 
 
THE TIE. 397 
 
 the party, and laboured incessantly to convince them 
 of the perils of an alliance with Burr. The most 
 remarkable of these letters is addressed to Mr. 
 Bayard, and may be taken as a complete exposition 
 of Hamilton's views on the subject. "I was glad to 
 find, my dear sir, by your letter," he says, "that you 
 had not yet determined to go, with the consent of 
 the Federal party, in support of Mr: Burr ; and that 
 you were resolved to hold yourself disengaged till 
 the moment of final decision. Your resolution to 
 separate yourself in this instance from the Federal 
 party, if your conviction shall be strong of the 
 unfitness of Mr. Burr, is certainly laudable. So 
 much does it coincide with my ideas, that if the 
 party shall, by supporting Mr. Burr as President, 
 adopt him for their of&cial chief, I shall be obhged 
 to consider myself as an isolated man. It wiU be 
 impossible for me to reconcile with my notions of 
 honour or policy, the continuing to be of a party 
 which, according to my apprehension, will have de- 
 graded itself and the country. 
 
 " I am sure, nevertheless, that the motives of many 
 will be good, and I shall never cease to esteem the 
 individuals, though I shall deplore a step which I 
 fear experience wiU show to be a very fatal one. 
 
398 THE TIE. 
 
 Among the letters which I receive, assigning the 
 reasons (pro and con) for preferring Burr to Jefferson, 
 I observe no small exaggeration to the prejudice of 
 the latter, and some things taken for granted as to 
 the former which are at least questionable. Perhaps 
 myself the first, at some expense of popularity, to 
 unfold the true character of Jefferson, it is too late 
 for me to become his apologist ; nor have I any dis- 
 position to do it. 
 
 " I admit that his politics are tinctured with fanati- 
 cism ; that he is too much in earnest in his democracy; 
 that he has been a mischievous enemy to the principal 
 measures of our past administration ; that he is crafty 
 and persevering in his objects ; that he is not scru- 
 pulous about the means of success, nor very mindful 
 of truth, and that he is a contemptible hypocrite. 
 But it is not true, as is alleged, that he is an enemy 
 to the power of the Executive, or that he is for 
 confounding all the powers in the House of Eepre- 
 sentatives. It is a fact which I have frequently 
 mentioned, that, while we were in the administration 
 together, he was generally for a large construction of 
 the executive authority, and not backward to act 
 upon it in cases which coincided with his views. 
 Let it be added, that in his theoretic ideas he has 
 
THE TIE. 399 
 
 considered as improper the participation of the 
 Senate in the executive authority. I have more than 
 once made the reflection, that, mewing himself as the 
 reversioner, he was solicitous to come into the posses- 
 sion of a good estate. Nor is it true that Jefferson 
 is zealous enough to do anything in pursuance of his 
 principles, which wiH contravene his popularity or 
 his interest. He is as Kkely as any man I know to 
 temporize ; to calculate what will be likely to promote 
 Ms own reputatioii and advantage ; and the probable 
 result of such a temper is the preservation of systems, 
 though originally opposed, which, being once esta- 
 blished, could not be overturned without danger to 
 the person who did it. To my mind, a true estimate 
 of Mr. Jefferson's character warrants the expectation 
 of a temporizuig rather than a violent system. That 
 Jefferson has manifested a culpable predilection for 
 France is certainly true; but I think it a question 
 whether it did not proceed quite as much from her 
 popularity among us as from sentiment ; and in pro- 
 portion as that popularity is diminished his zeal will 
 cool. Add to this, that there is no fair reason to 
 suppose him capable of being corrupted, which is 
 a security that he will not go beyond certain limits. 
 It is not at all improbable that, under the change 
 
400 THE TIE. 
 
 of circumstances, Jefferson's Gallicism has consider- 
 ably abated." 
 
 Hamilton then proceeds to consider how far the 
 Federalists would gain by substituting for Jefferson 
 a man of extreme and irregular ambition like Burr. 
 He combats the notion, that the very selfishness of 
 that artful and dexterous intriguer will lead him to 
 adopt sound views of policy. He shows that, how- 
 ever Burr may break with the Eepubhcans, it will 
 certainly not be to join the Federalists. He will 
 take care not to disoblige his present supporters, 
 "and he will always court those among them who 
 are best fitted for tools. He wiH never choose to 
 lean on good men, because he knows that they wiU 
 never support his bad projects ; but, instead of this, 
 he will endeavour to disorganize both parties, and to 
 form out of them a third, composed of men fitted by 
 their characters to be conspirators and instruments of 
 such projects." 
 
 He goes on to say, that Burr had blamed him 
 (Hamilton) for not having improved the situation 
 he once was in, to change the government; that, 
 when told it could not have been done without guHt, 
 he had answered : " Great souls care little for small 
 morals ; " and that, when it was observed the thing 
 
THE TIE. 401 
 
 was never practicable, froia the genius and situation 
 of the country, he had only remarked : " That depends 
 upon the estimate we form of the human passions, 
 and of the means of influencing them." 
 
 " The truth is," continues Hamilton, " that, with 
 great apparent coldness, he is the most sanguine man 
 in the world. He thinks ever3dihing possible to ad- 
 venture and perseverance ; and, though I believe he 
 will fail, I think it almost certain he wiLL attempt 
 usurpation, and the attempt will involve great 
 mischief. 
 
 " But there is one point of view which seems to me 
 decisive. If the Anti-Federalists, who prevailed in 
 the election, are left to take their own man, they 
 remain responsible, and the Federalists remain free, 
 united, and without stain, in a situation to resist 
 with effect pernicious measures. If the Federalists 
 substitute Burr, they adopt him, and become an- 
 swerable for him. Whatever may be the theory of 
 the case, abroad and at home (for so from the be- 
 ginning it will be taught) Mr. Burr must become, in 
 fact, the man of our party ; and if he acts ill, we must 
 share in the blame and disgrace. By adopting him, 
 we do aU we can to reconcile the minds of Federalists 
 to him, and we prepare them for the effectual opera- 
 
 J) D 
 
402 THE TIE. 
 
 tion of his acts. He will, doubtless, gain many of 
 them, and the Federalists will become a disorganized 
 and contemptible party. Can there be any serious 
 question between the policy of leaving the Anti- 
 Federalists to be answerable for the elevation of an 
 objectionable man; and that of adopting ourselves, 
 and becoming answerable for, a man, who on all 
 hands is acknowledged to be a complete Catiline? 
 'Tis enough to state the question to indicate the 
 answer, if reason, not passion, presides in the 
 decision. 
 
 " You may communicate this and my former letter 
 to discreet and confidential friends." 
 
 But the counsels of moderation and wisdom were 
 thrown away on the excited passions of the hour. 
 The Federalists persisted in voting for Burr, the 
 House was equally divided, and thirty-five ballotings 
 took place without a result. For seven days the 
 contest was continued with dogged obstinacy, amid 
 the threats of the Eepublicans and the indignant 
 murmurs of the people. Burr claimed the credit of 
 taking no part in this intrigue; but Jefferson evi- 
 dently suspected him of acting indirectly through 
 agents. As it turned out, the only effect of the 
 struggle was to complete the ruin of the Federalist 
 
THE TIE. 403 
 
 party. The unseemly strife was at length terminated 
 by Mr. Bayard, Hamilton's correspondent. Finding 
 the case hopeless, he declared his intention of voting 
 for Jefferson ; others stayed away, and, on the thirty- 
 sixth hallot, the necessary majority was obtained. 
 But this late and forced concession could not repair 
 the mischief already done, and the party, which had 
 been most distinguished for devotion to the Constitu- 
 tion, paid dearly for neglecting the advice of the 
 great constitutional leader. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1801, Mr. Jefferson was 
 inaugurated President of the United States, and Mr. 
 Adams, wrathful and implacable, refused even to be 
 present at the installation of his successor. "The 
 last day of his poKtical power," says Jefferson, " the 
 last hour, and even beyond midnight, were employed 
 in filling all of&ces, and especially permanent ones, 
 with the bitterest Federalists, and providing for me 
 the alternative either to execute the government by 
 my enemies — whose study it would be to thwart and 
 defeat all my measures — or to incur the odium of 
 such numerous removals from office as might bear 
 me down." It may be added, that Jefferson preferred 
 to encounter the latter danger, and that his example 
 has since been generally followed in America. It 
 DD 2 
 
404 THE TIE. 
 
 has been one of the great evils of the system, that 
 the accession of every new President has been 
 accompanied by innumerable changes in the inferior 
 posts, and by the disturbance of official relations 
 from one end of the country to the other. 
 
 Wearied and desponding, Hamilton saw the 
 supreme power passing into the hands of his ene- 
 mies, and the pile he had reared with so much 
 toil shaken to its foundations. The unchecked flood 
 of democracy was breaking in upon all sides, and he 
 felt that henceforth nothing would be able to resist 
 its course. " Mine is an odd destiny," he vrrote to 
 Gouverneur Morris. " Perhaps, no man in the United 
 States has sacrificed or done more for the present 
 Constitution than myself; and, contrary to all my 
 anticipations of its fate, as you know from the very 
 beginning, I am still labouring to prop the frail and 
 worthless fabric. Yet I have the murmurs of its 
 friends, no less than the curses of its foes, for my 
 reward. What can I do better than withdraw from 
 the scene ! Every day proves to me more and more, 
 that this Avierican world was not made for me." 
 
CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 THE DUEL. 
 
 IN the neighbourhood of New York, hut still ia 
 the midst of rural sceueryj and not far from the 
 ancient village of Manhattan, Hamilton had pur- 
 chased a small estate. The ground was undulating, 
 and adorned with fine old trees, a pleasant lawn 
 spread in front of the house, and the balcony of the 
 drawing-room commanded a magnificent prospect. 
 Harlem Eiver, and Long Island Sound, and many a 
 scene endeared by its own beauty, or made interesting 
 by old recollections, were visible from this lovely 
 spot. Hamilton called it The Grange, after the 
 name of his grandfather's house in Scotland, in the 
 bonny shire of Ayr; and thither he often retired 
 from the labours of his profession, to enjoy the 
 society of his family, and the refreshment of a 
 country life. 
 
 He had laid aside the truncheon of command, and 
 
408 THE DUEL. 
 
 Monstrous stories are told, that Burr devoted three 
 months to pistol-practice before calling out his 
 intended victim, and that he set up a mark in his 
 own grounds to shoot at. It is not necessary to 
 helieve these tales. They rest on no good evidence, 
 and have aU the character of vague popular rumours. 
 BuiT was a brave man — a man of iron resolution — 
 with steady nerves, and no doubt a fair mastery of 
 his weapon. It is very unlikely, that he would have 
 thus waited to train himself for combat. It is far 
 more conceivable, that the delay was caused by the 
 want of a decent pretext for a quarrel. 
 
 That pretext was at length found in the columns 
 of a newspaper. A letter from a Dr. Cooper to a 
 friend, with reference to the late election, had 
 appeared in one of the journals. It contained this 
 passage : " General Hamilton and Judge Kent have 
 declared in substance, that they looked upon Mr. 
 Burr to be a dangerous man, and one who ought 
 not to be trusted with the reins of Government. I 
 could detail to you a still mme, despicable opinion, 
 which General Hamilton has eapressed of Mr. Bmr." 
 And this wretched gossip, such as was going about 
 with regard to aU the public men of the day, was 
 made the ground to fasten an offence on Hamilton, 
 
THE DUEL. 409 
 
 and to force him to risk his life in a personal 
 encounter. 
 
 On the 17th of June, Burr sent for Mr. Van Ness, 
 one of his most intimate friends, and requested him 
 to deliver a note to General Hamilton. It called 
 attention to the passage in the published letter, and 
 added: "You must perceive, sir, the necessity of a 
 prompt and unqualified acknowledgment or denial 
 of the use of any expressions, which could warrant 
 the assertions of Dr. Cooper." 
 
 Hamilton might well be surprised at this demand. 
 It was clear, that whatever opinions he had ex- 
 pressed to his friends, with regard to the fitness or 
 unfitness of a particular man for of&ce, were privi- 
 leged communications, which could not with pro- 
 priety be called in question. At the same time he 
 did not wish to evade the subject, and asked time 
 for consideration. On the 20th he sent a reply to 
 Burr's note, in which he declined to make the 
 acknowledgment or denial demanded. He could 
 attach no meaning to the words more desjoicaUe as 
 used in the letter, and he could not consent to be 
 interrogated as to the inferences drawn by third 
 parties, from what he had said of an opponent 
 during fifteen years' competition. He was ready 
 
410 THE DUEL. 
 
 to avow or disavow any definite opinion, which he 
 might be charged with having expressed of any 
 gentleman. He trusted that, on reflection, Colonel 
 Burr would see the matter in the same light. If 
 not, he must abide the consequences. 
 
 To this Burr returned an answer, which seems 
 intended to prevent the possibility of compromise. 
 "Your letter of the 20th instant," he says, "has 
 been this day received. Having considered it 
 attentively, I regret to find in it nothing of that 
 sincerity and delicacy, which you profess to value. 
 Political opposition can never absolve gentlemen 
 from the necessity of a rigid adherence to the laws 
 of honour and the rules of decorum. I neither claim 
 such privilege, nor indulge it in others. The common 
 sense of mankind affixes to the epithet adopted by 
 Dr. Cooper the idea of dishonour. It has been 
 publicly applied to me under the sanction of your 
 name. The question is not whether he has under- 
 stood the meaning of the word, or used it according 
 to syntax, and with grammatical accuracy; but 
 whether you have authorized this application, either 
 directly, or by uttering expressions or opinions 
 derogatory to my honour. The time when is in 
 your own knowledge, but no way material to me ; 
 
THE DUEL. 411 
 
 as the calumny has now first been disclosed, so as 
 to become the subject of my notice, and as the 
 effect is present and palpable. Your letter has 
 furnished me -with new reasons for requiring a 
 definite reply." 
 
 "When Mr. Van Ness delivered this xmcourteous 
 epistle, Hamilton said that it was not such as he 
 had hoped to receive ; it contained several offensive 
 expressions, and closed the door to a reply ; but he 
 was even yet willing to enter more fuUy into ex- 
 planations, and, if Colonel Burr chose to give another 
 turn to the discussion, he was at liberty to withdraw 
 that letter. 
 
 Other communications followed, through the in- 
 tervention of Hamilton's friend, Mr. Pendleton, and, 
 for ten days, the correspondence and interviews 
 continued. Hamilton showed throughout a con- 
 ciliatory temper, and a wish to do everything con- 
 sistent with honour to bring about an amicable 
 arrangement. He gave Van Ness a paper in his 
 own handwriting, in which he stated, that, if 
 Colonel Burr chose to inquire the purport of any 
 conversation between General Hamilton and Dr. 
 Cooper, General Hamilton would be able to reply 
 with truth, that it turned wholly on political topics, 
 
406 THE DUEL. 
 
 was once more a busy man at tlie bar, and, although 
 he cotild never keep quite clear of politics, they no 
 longer occupied all his thoughts. He could occupy 
 himself with his garden — " a very usual refuge," he 
 says, "for a disappointed politician" — send to 
 Carolina for melon-seeds and paroquets for his 
 daughter, play at soldiers with his boys, and spend 
 summer evenings with his friends on the green 
 slopes of his domain. A great sorrow came to 
 darken this cheerful picture. His eldest son, a 
 promising youth of twenty, was killed in a duel 
 arising from a dispute at the theatre. It was a 
 bitter grief to the father and all the family ; but it 
 only foreshadowed the worse calamity that was to 
 follow. 
 
 While Jefferson, during the first years of his 
 administration, was filling every place with his 
 partisans, reducing the army and navy to satisfy the 
 tax-payers, and doing aU in his power to increase 
 the influence of the democracy. Colonel Burr was 
 by no means content with his share of the spoils 
 of victory. He was indeed Vice-President ; but he 
 found that he had scarcely any direct weight with 
 the government, that his immediate friends were 
 not appointed to office, and that the leaders of the 
 
THE DUEL. 4,07 
 
 Eepublican party were inclined to keep him in the 
 background. It was a dangerous game to play with 
 such a man, and he once more cast about him to 
 obtain a lever for his ambition. He not only en- 
 deavoured to strengthen his own faction, but he 
 carried on a kind of political flirtation with the 
 Federalists, and some of them cherished a hope of 
 a return to power, by the help of what Hamilton 
 called "Burr's flying squadrons." It was after an 
 interview with Jefferson, in which he vainly tried 
 to extort from the President some definite pledge, 
 that Burr resolved to act quite independently, and to 
 start as a candidate for the Governorship of New 
 York. Could he succeed in this election, the highest 
 post in the Union might yet be within his grasp. 
 But to succeed he must have the support of the 
 Federalists, and that support was yet in some 
 measure dependent on Hamilton. The latter de- 
 clared against him, and, although he polled 28,000 
 votes, he was defeated by a majority of 7,000. It 
 was the last drop in the cup. Burr looked on 
 Hamilton as the evil genius of his life, and it is 
 only too probable that, from that moment, he deter- 
 mined to destroy him. 
 
 The election took place in the spring of 1804. 
 
412 THE DUEL. 
 
 and had no relation to Colonel Burr's private 
 character. And he added, that he was ready to 
 make an equally frank answer, with regard to any 
 other conversation, which Colonel Burr would specify. 
 But Burr was not so to be turned from his prey, 
 which he pursued with the savage eagerness and 
 obstinacy of the bloodhound. He persisted, "that 
 the partial negative General Hamilton was disposed 
 to give, with the reservations he wished to make, 
 were proofs that he had done the injury specified ; " 
 and refused to accept anything short of a general 
 disavowal of all imputations on his character. This 
 he was not entitled to ask, and, as he well knew, 
 Hamilton could not grant. But the reasons, which 
 Burr advanced, were in fact of secondary importance. 
 His motives were only too apparent. He had said 
 in his heart: "This man has crossed me for years 
 in aU my schemes of . ambition. I admired his 
 talents, but he refused my homage. I offered him 
 my friendship, but he repelled the offer. I would 
 have shared with him the three idols of my soul's 
 worship — pleasure, and glory, and power. But he 
 chose to go his own way, with his fine phrases of 
 public virtue, to thwart me at every step, and to 
 foil my best-laid plans. He did it at his peril; 
 
THE DUEL. 413 
 
 and now the alternative shall be his life or 
 miTie." 
 
 But why did Hamilton accept the challenge? 
 Before answering this question, it should not he 
 forgotten, that a complete and most beneficent change 
 in public opinion with regard to dueUing has taken 
 place within the memory of one generation. The 
 absurd and barbarous custom, which staked the most 
 valuable life against that of any scoundrel who could 
 pull a trigger, and which, though it flourished in 
 every Christian country, must be condemned by 
 every possible code of Christian ethics, has now 
 been happily consigned (in England at least) to the 
 same limbo as the witchcraft and astrology of the 
 middle ages. But, when Burr challenged Hamilton, 
 and for many years after, it prevailed almost uni- 
 versally, and exercised a tyrannical influence over 
 men of all ranks and conditions. Many of the 
 leading statesmen of that day were engaged ia duels, 
 and, a quarter of a century later, the greatest soldier 
 and subject of the British Crown, then holding the 
 highest official station, thought it necessary to go 
 out and fight in defence of his political consistency. 
 Habit, example, prejudice, all were in favour of 
 accepting a challenge, especially when offered by 
 
414 THE duel; 
 
 one military man to another ; and no one could 
 refuse it under those circumstances, without incur- 
 ring a certain amount of popular contempt and 
 obloquy. 
 
 And yet it must be acknowledged, that, in con- 
 senting to fight with Burr, Hamilton committed a 
 grave and fatal error. Often enough, in the course 
 of his splendid career, he had dared to stand alone, 
 and to brave alike the malice of enemies, and the 
 senseless clamour of mobs. In this instance also, 
 he would have done well to prefer his duty to God, 
 his family, and his country, to any mere pressure 
 of public opinion. He should have refused to expose 
 a life, on which so much depended, to the chances of 
 a marksman's fire; and the studied and deliberate 
 malignity of his adversary would have justified him 
 in the eyes of all honourable men. It may be said, 
 that a soldier's courage, like a woman's chastity, is 
 not able to endure even the suspicion of a stain. 
 But the man who had earned in his youth the 
 name of the Little Lion — who had turned the tide 
 of battle at Monmouth Court House, and been the 
 first over the ramparts at the siege of Yorktown — 
 had surely no need to prove his valour by engaging 
 in private combat. The truth is, that, with all his 
 
THE DUEL. 415 
 
 magnanimity, Hamilton was not exempt from mortal 
 imperfections ; and among them none was more 
 prominent than the extreme sensitiveness of his 
 pride. He could not bear the whisper of a doubt 
 affecting his military honour; and he, who had 
 defied the multitude on questions of public principle, 
 sacrificed his convictions to their breath in a matter 
 of personal reputation. He seems -to have feared 
 also, that his refusal to fight would diminish his 
 influence, and so impair his future usefulness. Biit, 
 whatever the grounds of his resolution, he determined 
 to accept the challenge, and to risk his own life in 
 the combat, while he abstained from taking that of 
 his deadly foe. 
 
 He informed Colonel Burr, through Mr. Pendle- 
 ton, that he had yet some business to transact, and 
 private affairs to arrange, but that he would meet 
 him with as little delay as possible. The seconds 
 conferred together to settle the preliminaries, and at 
 length fixed on the 11th of July, at seven o'clock in 
 the morning, for the time of the encounter. The 
 place was to be Weehawken, on the Jersey shore 
 of the Hudson, the weapons pistols, and the distance 
 ten paces. 
 
 The fact, that a fortnight elapsed between the 
 
416 THE DUEL. 
 
 acceptance of the challenge and the meeting, and 
 that during the interval the secret was known to 
 several persons, adds a peculiar character to the 
 lamentable circumstances of this duel. One would 
 have thought that some friend, warned in time, 
 would have interposed between these two men — 
 both distinguished, both followed by faithful adhe- 
 rents — ^to save them from a cruel fate.. One would 
 have hoped that even the heart of the aggressor 
 would have relented, at the cool contemplation of 
 what he was about to do. But no warning came, 
 no friend interposed,, and the heart of Colonel Burr 
 remained hard as the nether millstone. Both the 
 principals went about their business as usual ; and it 
 was long remembered how well Hamilton had pleaded 
 his causes, how kind and courteous he had been to 
 his friends and clients, how gentle and amiable to 
 all men, during that dread period of suspense. Daily 
 he returned to The Grange, and saw his wife and 
 seven children gathered about his table, and listened 
 to the gay talk and innocent prattle, which he knew 
 might so soon be changed to wailings of anguish and 
 despair. The 4th of July came round, and both 
 Hamilton and Burr were present at the hanc[uet of 
 the Cincinnati. Late in the festival,- some of his old 
 
THE DUEL. 417 
 
 comrades urged Hamilton to sing the ballad of The 
 Drvmi. He was at first reluctant, but at length 
 yielded to their wish, and sang it in his best 
 manner. Burr leaned on the table, and looked 
 steadfastly at him during the performance. But 
 no word passed between them, and their next 
 meeting was the last 
 
 On the 9th of the month Hamilton executed his 
 will He left everything he possessed, after payment 
 of his debts, to his dear and excellent wife. " Should 
 it happen," he says, " that there is not enough for the 
 payment of my debts, I entreat my dear children, 
 if they or any of them should ever be able, to make 
 up the deficiency. I, without hesitation, commit to 
 their delicacy a wish which is dictated by my own. 
 Thongh conscious that I have too far sacrificed the 
 interests of my family to public avocations, and on 
 this account have the less claim to burden my chil- 
 dren, yet I trust in their magnanimity to appreciate' 
 as they ought this my request. In go unfavourable 
 an event of things, the support of their dear mother, 
 with the most respectful and tender attention, is a 
 duty, all the sacredness of which they will feel. 
 Probably, her own patrimonial resources will pre- 
 serve her feom indigence. But in all situations 
 
 E£ 
 
418 THE DUEL. 
 
 they are charged to bear in mind, that she has been 
 to them the most devoted and best of mothers." 
 
 And now the eve of the fatal day had come. 
 Hamilton sat writing late into the night, and left 
 a paper, containing an explanation of his motives. 
 In this interesting and affecting document, he avowed 
 that he had shrunk from the coming interview — that 
 his religious principles, his regard for his family, 
 and his duty to his creditors, were alike opposed 
 to it — that he should hazard much, and could gain 
 nothing by it — that he was conscious of no ill-will 
 to Colonel Burr, apart from political opposition, 
 which he hoped had proceeded from pure and up- 
 right motives. But there were insuperable diffi- 
 culties, intrinsic and artificial, in the way of an 
 accommodation; intrinsic, because he had really, 
 at various times, made severe remarks on Colonel 
 Burr — artificial, because the explanation had been 
 demanded in such a manner as to preclude a peace-' 
 ful discussion. Then foUows a passage which, in 
 its candour and generosity, is quite characteristic of 
 Hamilton. " As weU because it is possible," he says, 
 "that I may have injured Colonel Burr, however 
 convinced myself that my opinions and declarations 
 have been wpU founded, as from my general prin- 
 
THE DUEL, 419 
 
 eiples and temper in relation to similar affairs, I 
 have resolved, if our interview is conducted in the 
 usual manner, and it pleases God to give me the 
 opportunity, to reserve and throw away my first fire ; 
 and I have thought even of reserving my second fire, 
 and thus giving a double opportunity to Colonel 
 Burr to pause and to reflect. It is not, however, 
 my intention to enter into any explanations on the 
 ground. Apology — from principle, I hope, rather 
 than pride — is out of the question. To those who, 
 with me abhorring the practice of duelling, may 
 think that I ought on no account to have added 
 to the number of bad examples, I answer that my 
 relative situation, as well in public as in private, 
 enforcing all the considerations which constitute 
 what men of the world denominate honour, imposed 
 on me, as I thought, a peculiar necessity not to 
 decline the call. The ability to be in the future 
 useful, whether in resisting mischief or effecting 
 good, in those crises of our public affairs which 
 seem Kkely to happen, would probably be, insepa- 
 rable from a conformity with public prejudice in 
 this particular." 
 
 There is, at all events, something very consolatory 
 in the above mournful sentences. They show that 
 E E 2 
 
420 THE D€fEL. 
 
 Hamilton went to the ground with no hostile or 
 murderous intention— that he went to risk his life in 
 deference to a prejudice he despised — ^but that he had 
 fully resolved to spare the enemy who was hunting 
 him so remorselessly to the death, and only to use his 
 weapon in the last extremity of self-defence. Is it 
 presumption to hope that those last thoughts and 
 words, preserved and registered by angels of love 
 and pity, have pleaded eloquently for him at the 
 bar of heaven ? And may we not safely leave him 
 in the hands of that supreme tribunal, in humble 
 but perfect reliance on the mercy of his Judge and 
 ours ? 
 
 The morning of the 11th of July rose warm and 
 bright over the waters of the Hudson, when a boat 
 was seen to glide from the New York to the Jersey 
 shore, and Burr and his second, landing beneath 
 the heights of Weehawken, ascended to a grassy 
 ledge about twenty feet above the river, and there 
 stood waiting for the arrival of the adverse party. 
 They were not kept long in suspense. A few mi- 
 nutes before seven Hamilton's boat touched the 
 rocks below, and he and his friend, Mr. Pendleton, 
 mounted to the same spot. A surgeon was left with 
 the boats, to be called if his services were required. 
 
THE DUEL. 421 
 
 Gravely and courteously the principal's saluted each 
 other, and the seconds proceeded to measure the 
 ground, and to cast lots for the choice of position. 
 When the priacipals were placed, Pendleton said 
 to Hamilton : " WiU you have the hair-spring set ? " 
 " Not this time," answered the other, quietly ; and in 
 those words was the confirmation of the resolve he 
 had taJsen, to spare the life of his enemy. 
 
 The pistols were handed to the principals, and 
 the seconds inquired if they were ready. Both 
 replied in the affirmative, and a moment's pause 
 ensued. Then the fatal word was given, hut Hamil- 
 ton remained motionless. Burr raised his pistol, 
 took deliberate aim, and fired. Hamilton sprang 
 forward, involuntarily discharging his pistol, and 
 fell headlong upon his face. As he saw him fall, 
 an expression of soniething like regret passed over 
 the countenance of Burr; but Van Ness hurried 
 him from the ground, for the surgeon and the 
 boatmen were approaching. They found Hamilton 
 half lying, half sitting on the grass, supported in 
 the arms of his second. The ball had entered his 
 right side, and the pallor of death was on his 
 features. "Doctor," he said, "this is a mortal 
 wound," — and he swooned away yith the effort. 
 
422 THE DUEL! 
 
 They barried him down the rocks, and placed him 
 tenderly in the boat. The surgeon applied the usual 
 restoratives, and he began slowly to revive. His 
 eyes wandered — he murmured: "My vision is in- 
 distinct " — ^but soon after he caught sight of a pistol 
 lying near him, and his first thought was for the 
 safety of others. "Take care of that pistol," he 
 said; "it is undischarged and still cocked; it may 
 go off and do harm. Pendleton knows that I did 
 not intend to fire at him." 
 
 Then he remained silept till they approached the 
 city. "Let Mrs. Hamilton be sent for," he said, as 
 they drew near the wharf ; " let the event . be 
 gradually broken to her, but give her hopes." His 
 friend, Mr. Bayard, was waiting at the landing-place. 
 He had heard from his servant, that General 
 Hamilton and Mr. Pendleton had Crossed the river, 
 and he guessed the nature of their errand. When 
 he saw his poor friend lying at the bottom of the 
 boat, he burst into tears and lamentations. Hamilton 
 alone was calm, and gave the necessary directions. 
 They conveyed him to Mr. Bayard's house, and 
 despatched messengers for his family. 
 
 It is best to draw a veil over that closing scene, 
 Suffice it to say that he lingered for thirty hour^ 
 
THE DUEL. 423 
 
 in great agony, but retained his composure and 
 seK-command to the last. He tried, with failing 
 voice, to comfort his broken-hearted wife — ^he fixed 
 his dying looks with unutterable tenderness on his 
 children — and he resigned his soul to his Maker 
 with the unaffected penitence and submission of an 
 erring, but noble nature. 
 
 When the result of the duel was first known, it 
 spread consternation through the city. In a moment 
 all was forgotten, except the services and the fame 
 of the victim. That very populace, which at one 
 time had received him with acclamations, and at 
 another had stoned and hooted him in the streets, 
 now thronged, with pale faces and tearful eyes, to 
 glean the slightest intelligence of the state of the 
 iQustrious sufferer. Bulletins were issued hourly, 
 and the people waited for them with intense and 
 breathless anxiety. When his death was at length 
 annoimced, a cry of sorrow for his fate, and of 
 execration on his murderer, burst from the lips and 
 hearts of the multitude. On the day of his funeral 
 the whole city was in mourning. The procession, 
 which followed him to the grave, comprised men 
 of every degree, without distinction of parties. The 
 minute-guns from the batteries were answered hy 
 
424? THE DUEL. 
 
 the Freuch and Britisli ships-of-war in the harbour. 
 On the steps of Trinity Church, Gouverneur Morris, 
 with the four sons of the deceased by his side, 
 pronounced a solemn oration in memory of his 
 slaughtered friend ; and when they had laid him 
 in the earth, and the parting volley had been fired 
 over his remains, the vast crowd dispersed in silence, 
 4nd each man carried to his home the impression 
 of a profound grief Nov was this feeling confined 
 to New York. It spread rapidly through the 
 Union, and found utterance in every variety of 
 form. Speeches, and sermon's, and poems innumer- 
 able were composed in honour of Hamilton, towns 
 and villages in all parts of America were called 
 after his name, and never, since the death of Wash- 
 ington, has any event produced so universal an 
 expression of sympathy on that continent, as the 
 untimely and lamentable end of the great Federalist. 
 Well might they grieve for Mm, who had left 
 none like himself in all the wide area between the 
 Atlantic and Pacific, and to whom the subsequent 
 history of America has furnished no equal. Into 
 the forty-seven years of his mortal career, he had 
 compressed such an amount of difficult and laborious 
 service, as few men have ever rendered to any 
 
THE DUEL. 425 
 
 country in the longest term of human existence ; 
 and, when he fell, his great powers were in their 
 meridian fulness, and their exercise was never more 
 needed than at the moment of their loss. Every 
 generous and every selfish consideration combined 
 to make his death a subject for national mourning. 
 And so, in the first days of remorseful sorrow, 
 America wept for Hamilton as for her favourite son 
 — and then, with the strange inconsistency of 
 democracies, forgot at once his precepts and his 
 example, and yielded to the downward current that 
 was bearing her far away from all the principles 
 of his life. 
 
CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 THJS DEMOCEACY. 
 
 WITH Hamilton fell the last hopes of the 
 Federalist party. Burr's fatal shot had 
 destroyed more than his great rival. It had cut 
 the ground from under his own feet, and left Jeffer- 
 son in undisputed possession of the field. From 
 the day of the duel, Burr ceased to he a political 
 leader, and his name was held in horror by the 
 great majority of his countrymen. A coroner's jury 
 returned a verdict of Murder, and the Vice-President 
 had to fly and conceal himself until the first fury 
 of the people had blown over. After a time, his 
 friends seem to have obtained a promise that no 
 criminal proceedings would be taken against him ; 
 but his position was gone, and he was in most 
 respects a ruined man. Driven from his profession, 
 overwhelmed with debts, abandoned by one faction, 
 and denounced by the other, he appeared to have 
 
THE DEMOCRACY, i27 
 
 , no choice but to sink into obscurity and be forgotten: 
 It was under these circumstances, that his wonderful 
 energy contrived a scheme of matchless daring, 
 which only proved how true had been the instinct 
 of Hamilton, when he warned his country against 
 placing power in the hands of this reckless ad- 
 venturer. 
 
 The United States had just acquired Louisiana by 
 purchase from France, but the Spaniards stiU held 
 extensive possessions to the West of the Mississippi, 
 and the border-land was inhabited by a wild, un- 
 settled population, not very strict in their allegiance 
 to any power. After the death of Hamilton, Burr 
 went to travel in the South-Western regions, descend- 
 ing the Ohio in a boat, and afterwards proceeding 
 in the same manner to New Orleans — a voyage 
 which, with stoppages by the way, took him sixty- 
 seven days. He returned on horseback through the 
 wilderness, halted at Natchez, NashviUe, and other 
 places, made himself well acquainted with the 
 habits and feelings of the people of those parts, 
 and, if he is not much belied, conceived the most 
 magnificent project that ever dazzled the eyes or 
 mingled with the dreams of ambition. He hoped 
 that a war with Spain was at hand; but, whether 
 
428 THE DEMOCEACy. 
 
 it broke out or not, his design was to assemble a 
 host of restless and. adventurous spirits on the 
 frontier, and to take the first opportunity that might 
 offer to invade the Spanish dominions. The conquest 
 of Texas, the ultimate subjugation of Mexico — all 
 those plans of lawless aggrandizement, which have 
 since bewildered and misled so many of his country- 
 men — ^were present to the mind of Burr. It is 
 said that the throne of Montezuma was his object, 
 and that he saw himself already at the head of a 
 new empire, which was to absorb the valley of the 
 Mississippi, and the Western States of the Union. 
 It is certain that he laboured incessantly to collect 
 money, stores, and adherents, and that he was 
 making every preparation for a warlike expedition, 
 when he was betrayed by one of his confederates, 
 and arrested by order of the President. He was 
 brought a prisoner to Eichmond, and there tried 
 on a charge of treason. He was attacked and 
 defended with equal violence and passion, but the 
 evidence failed to prove the charge, and the jury 
 returned a verdict of Not Chiilty, Burr's own 
 account of the matter was, that the object of his 
 proposed expedition was to settle lands on the 
 frontier, and not to levy private war, or to separate! 
 
THE DEMOCEACY. 429 
 
 the "Western from the Atlantic States. He was 
 accordingly acquitted ; but the outcry raised against 
 him made it prudent for him to leave America for 
 some time, and he embarked under a feigned name 
 for Europe. 
 
 For several years, he led the life of a wandering 
 exUe — ^in. England, in Sweden, in Germany, in 
 France. Suspicion seems to have followed him 
 wherever he went, and he was frequently reduced 
 to extremities for want both of cash and credit. 
 He retained his taste for intrigue, his talents, energy, 
 and courage ; but the ghost of Hamilton must often 
 have crossed his path, and barred his way to the 
 recovery of fame and fortune. It is related, that, 
 when in Paris, he wrote to Talleyrand requesting 
 an interview, and that the latter replied: "The 
 Minister for Foreign Affairs will be happy to see 
 the late Vice-President of the United States; but 
 M. Talleyrand thinks it due to Colonel Burr to 
 state, that he always has the miniature of General 
 Hamilton hanging over his mantel-piece." 
 
 At length, the exHe returned home, and was 
 aUbwed to spend the rest of his days unmolested ; 
 but his society was generally shunned, and he lived 
 in poverty and seclusion. He was, indebted for the 
 
430 THE DEMOCEACY. 
 
 few comforts of Ms last years, when old and stricken 
 with paralysis, to the ministry of that charitable 
 sex, which had never ceased to regard him with a 
 romantic interest. He lingered on to the age of 
 eighty, and then died in obscurity — his end forming 
 a singular contrast to the brilliancy of his youth, 
 and the stormy ambition of his manhood. Let us 
 hope, that this prolonged period of existence was 
 not granted him in vain; and that, in sickness and 
 solitude, he learned to repent of the great crime, 
 which robbed America of her foremost statesman, 
 and stained his own soul with blood. 
 
 Meanwhile, Jefferson had endeavoured to maintain 
 his power by the same arts that had acquired it. 
 His object was " to sink Federalism into an abyss, 
 from which there shall be no resurrection," and 
 to complete the revolution he had begun, by giving 
 entire sovereignty to the populace. He chose indeed 
 to govern — ^but to govern by submission to the de- 
 mocracy. From his Presidency dates that utter 
 prostration of the intellect of America to vulgar 
 ignorance and clamour, which has made the tenure 
 of oifice in that country a reproach and degrada- 
 tion to the holders. Every dyke and barrier, which 
 still remained to check the advancing flood, vas 
 
THE DEMOCEACY, 431 
 
 gradually swept away. The States followed each 
 other in the course of change, and, through the 
 succeeding years, hroke down the last remnants of 
 strength and stahility in their institutions. Universal 
 suffrage (or something nearly approachiag it) every- 
 where took the place of the old qualifications for 
 voters. The rights of citizenship, once jealously 
 guarded, were lightly bestowed on all comers, with- 
 out limitation or precaution. In some States, the 
 independence of the tribunals was attacked, by 
 making the judges remova,ble, or only electing them 
 for terms ; in others, the abolition of existing grants 
 and endowments left the ministers of religion more 
 and more at the mercy of their flocks. The whole 
 tendency of the time was to submit the governors 
 to the governed, and to treat authority and obedience 
 as the old-world fancies of a worn-out superstition. 
 Hence the rude familiarity in manners, the arrogant 
 self-assertion, the untenable claims to social equality, 
 and the general want of reverence, which make so 
 strong an impression on visitors to the United States. 
 Of course, all this did not grow up in the Presidency, 
 or even in the life of Jefferson But it is from the 
 triumph of him and his partisans, and the fall of 
 their gifted opponents, that we trace the unchecked 
 
432 THE DEMOCKACY. 
 
 progress of the democratic stream. And henceforth 
 it was not one party only, but all, that shared in 
 the abject worship of the popular idolatry. Many 
 factions have since arisen in the United States, with 
 various professions of opinion, and under many dif- 
 ferent titles — ^but all have alike acknowledged the 
 practical supremacy of the mob, and striveh to gain 
 its support by flattering its passions and prejudices. 
 No politician has since addressed the American 
 people, as Hamilton used to address them ; and they, 
 in their turn, have substituted the mere agents of 
 their will, for leaders that could guide their judg- 
 ment, or statesmen that could rule the republic. 
 
 Therefore it is, that the history of the United 
 States presents from this time such singtdar contrasts 
 to the world. On the one hand, favoured by the 
 circumstances of their climate and geographical 
 position, their immense and fertile territory, their 
 chain of lakes and rivers, and a thousand other 
 natural advantages, and by the constant tide of 
 immigration for ever setting in from the shores of 
 Europe — ^they have: enjoyed a material prosperity, 
 such as was never before bestowed on man by a 
 beneficent Providence. Nowhere, probably, have the 
 labouring classes been blessed with so many com- 
 
THE DEMOCRACY. 433 
 
 forts, or with such fair prospects for themselves and 
 their children. Nowhere has commerce flourishe 
 more abundantly, or such wide-spread wellbeing 
 rewarded the industry of a nation. The number 
 of the States has been nearly trebled, the people 
 have multiplied tenfold, the desert has bloomed 
 into a garden, towns and cities have sprung up 
 like Aladdin's palaces, and all the discoveries of 
 science have been as genii of the lamp to this 
 energetic race. And yet, on the other hand, in 
 the midst of wealth and apparent progress, there 
 have not been wanting signs of social, moral, and 
 political deterioration. Not only has this been 
 visible in the decay of ancient manners, and the 
 decline of honourable feeling, but also in the loss 
 of all independence of thought, and in the blind 
 submission of the understanding to the freaks and 
 fancies of the multitude. One by one, the higher 
 class of minds have retired from public life, and 
 left the stage to the dulness of mediocrity, and to 
 the intrigues of adventurers. Nothing can be more 
 dreary than the records of that half-century of 
 ever-deepening gloom — relieved here and there by 
 a flash of light from the intellectual activity of a 
 Clay, a Calhoun, or a Webster, but, in the main. 
 
434 THE DEMOCKACT. 
 
 Tolling darkly along on its obscure and blundering 
 course, till all difference of principle is absorbed 
 in a selfish contest for pelf and power. Then, -while 
 the mantle of Washington passes from one lay- 
 figure to another, all great questions are suppressed, 
 all inquiries stifled, aU difiSculties evaded or shuffled 
 out of the way; and the American people, soothed 
 by the voice of flattery, and plunged in an atmo- 
 sphere of self-delusion, are content to admire their 
 own perfections, and look down with contemptuous 
 pity on the rest of the world — ^tDl the inevitable 
 END comes, and history affords one more example, 
 that no nation can safely dispense with the services 
 of its ablest citizens, or confide its government with 
 impunity to the management of inferior men. 
 
 It would be idle to ascribe the catastrophe to any 
 one party, or to any particular series of measures. 
 Sooner or later, it must have come in the natural 
 sequence of events. It was not because this or that 
 question pressed for settlement, and that the interests 
 of the States were divided on many important sub- 
 jects ; but because the vessel of the Union was drifting 
 helplessly on the waters, without helm, or pilot, or 
 chart, or compass, and the democracy looked on 
 with careless indifference, foreseeing, anticipating. 
 
THE DEMOCKACY. 435 
 
 and preventing nothing. It suited them better to 
 indulge in visions of boundless prosperity and glory 
 and to use the language of ostentation at home, and 
 of unprovoked defiance abroad, than to give a thought 
 to the dangers that were gathering around, them ; 
 and the first notes of civU war aroused them from 
 the dream of a fool's paradise, to find their empire 
 rent asunder, and the most terrible of calamities 
 about to fall upon them. 
 
 It would, perhaps, be still vainer to inquire what 
 would have been the result if Hamilton's life had 
 been spared. Both Adams and Jefferson lived to a 
 great age — dying in 1826, by one of the strangest 
 coincidences in history, on the same day, and on the 
 anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — ^yet 
 the troubles were still far distant, and they knew not 
 of the evil to come. Though Hamilton was younger 
 than either, he could hardly have survived them 
 many years. He had already foretold the perUs that 
 menaced the republic, and his provident wisdom 
 might have guarded against some of them ; but it is 
 more than doubtful whether he could have succeeded 
 in stemming the tide of democracy, or in reviving 
 that Conservative party which alone could have 
 saved the Union. 
 
 F F 2 
 
436 THE DEMOCRACY. 
 
 Yet, if it be permitted to dwell for a few moments 
 on a picture of fancy, and to conceive Hamilton still 
 alive, and taking a prominent part in the government 
 of his country, it may not be uninstructive to con- 
 sider what would have been his policy. 
 
 In the first place, he would have prepared for the 
 crisis ^long before it came. As far as his influence 
 extended, he would have trained his countrymen to 
 meet, adversity with patience and dignity, by accus- 
 toming them to the accents of reason and moderation. 
 But, more than this, he would have grappled boldly 
 with the questions at issue between the States, and 
 have laboured to arrange them amicably, while it 
 was yet time. He would have taken care not to 
 step one hair's breadth beyond the limits of the 
 Constitution, but within those limits he would have 
 applied his whole soul to the task of reconciliation. 
 With what scorn would he have looked down upon 
 those personal and party feuds, which were with- 
 drawing the attention of politicians from the great 
 interests of the country ! How indignantly would 
 he have denounced the petty jealousies of trade, 
 which were sacrificing the industry of one section of 
 the Union to the protective tariffs of the other ! And 
 how anxiously would he have sought for the solution 
 
THE DEMOCRACY. 437 
 
 of that awful problem of slavery, whicli was fast 
 escaping from the hands of the statesman, to fall into 
 those of incendiaries and fanatics on hoth sides ! 
 
 "With regard to slavery, Hamilton had from his 
 youth upward been opposed to it. Embracing all 
 men, black and white, in his comprehensive and 
 genuine humanity, he desired to see them all happy 
 and free. He well knew the evils inseparable from 
 a state of serfdom, and he would not willingly 
 have trusted any mortal with irresponsible power 
 over his fellow-creatures. But he also knew, that 
 the right to possess negroes was interwoven with 
 the laws, the customs, and the interests of large 
 numbers of his countrymen, and that it had been 
 recognized and confirmed by the whole course of 
 American legislation. North and South had origi- 
 nally shared in the practice, and both still profited 
 by a commerce which was based on the growth 
 and extension of slave-labour. The present race 
 of planters had inherited their slaves from their 
 fathers, held them by the same title as any other 
 property, and, in spite of some glaring and horrible 
 exceptions, treated them in general with more 
 kindness than was often bestowed on the negro 
 by the inhabitants of the free States. Hamilton 
 
438 THE DEMOCKACY. 
 
 was too just to impute tlie existence of the institu- 
 tion, still less its flagrant abuses and scandals, to 
 any peculiar -wickedness in the slave-owners. He 
 was too wise to expect them to make sacriiices for 
 priuciple, in which the rest of the Union was not 
 disposed to join, and so to become scapegoats for 
 ■the sins of the whole republic. He would have 
 seen that, if the question was ever to be satisfactorily 
 adjusted, it could only be by approaching it with 
 large and liberal views — ^by dealing with it equitably 
 and generously — and by calling on every citizen, 
 in every portion of the empire, to take his full 
 share in the cost and the burden of curing this 
 national disease. He would have seen that, under 
 the most favourable circumstances, the result could 
 only be brought about slowly, gradually, cautiously 
 — for the sake of every person and interest concerned, 
 and especially for the sake of the negroes themselves. 
 He would have seen that to continue, and even to 
 extend the institution, was the undoubted legal right 
 of the several States — that to circumscribe, and 
 ultimately to abolish it, was a matter of high policy 
 for the Union — and that these two things could 
 only be reconciled by mutual forbearance, wisdom, 
 patriotism, and a common desire to promote the 
 
THE DEMOCEACT. 439 
 
 public good at the expense of some private advantage. 
 He would have seen that to stimulate sectional 
 differences, by making them the ground for party- 
 contests, and ignoble struggles for place, was to 
 render all agreement impossible, and to prepare 
 the way for a violent disruption. He wotdd have 
 spoken the whole truth, appealed to the judgment 
 of North and South alike, deprecated every breach 
 of the law, and every attempt at coercion, and 
 have trusted to time and reason to effect a peaceable 
 settlement of this great controversy. 
 
 He would probably have failed. His voice would 
 have been drowned in the senseless roar of the 
 democracy, the antipathy between the Northern and 
 Southern States would have gone on increasing, 
 and the day of separation would have arrived. 
 What then would have been Hamilton's course? 
 If any one had laboured indefatigably to cement the 
 Union, Tie was the man. He cherished it with the 
 jealous love of a parent, and would have grieved 
 to miss a single star from the bright American 
 constellation. But Hamilton was essentially a 
 practical statesman, and would have understood at 
 once the full meaning of the fact before him. Had 
 it been some local rebellion for a temporaiy purpose 
 
440 THE DEMOCRACY. 
 
 — such as the old resistance to the excise laws — 
 he would undoubtedly have supported the central 
 government, in strong and bold measures to suppress 
 it. But when one thied of the States had delibe- 
 rately resolved to separate from the remainder, when 
 the only alternative was acquiescence or war to 
 the knife, he would have perceived that one of 
 those " mortal feuds " had come, which, in the words 
 of the Federalist, "do not fall within any ordinary 
 rules of calculation," but really " amount to revolu- 
 tions, and dismemberments of empire." He would 
 have felt that the old Union, as conceived by its 
 founders, had virtually ceased to exist — that the 
 "government by consent," which was its essence, 
 had become a thing of the past — and that a republic 
 maintained by force was no republic at all. Then, 
 although he loved union much, he loved freedom 
 more, and would never have consented to sacrifice 
 the reality to an empty name. The mere extent 
 of territory would have had little value in his eyes, 
 if no longer to be inhabited by willing members 
 of the commonwealth. He would have bowed to 
 the force of circiimstanees, and have preferred two 
 confederacies to one despotism. Nor could he have 
 failed to see, that the North would find many 
 
THE DEMOCEACY. 441 
 
 compensations for the loss of its Southern allies — 
 that it would get rid at once of the whole difficulty 
 of slavery, and be able to establish within its 
 borders a more manageable and homogeneous govern- 
 ment. And, with regard to the negToes, he would 
 rather have left them to the gradual influence of 
 time and opinion on their old masters, than have 
 committed them to the cruel and terrible chances 
 of insurrection and servile war, in which defeat or 
 victory would be alike fatal to them. In a word, 
 he would have counselled his countrymen to antici- 
 pate, the issue of the contest, and apply themselves 
 at once to negotiate such terms of pacification, as 
 might best conduce to the honour and happiness, 
 of all. 
 
 This, or something like this, if I have not quite 
 mistaken the character and opinions of Hamilton, 
 would have been the tenour of his advice, had he 
 lived in the present day. Of course he might have 
 failed to convince his fellow-citizens, or even to 
 obtain a hearing from the excited and maddened 
 democracy. But, at aU events, there would have 
 been owe voice raised in favour of humanity and 
 reason — a voice too bold to be silenced, too weighty 
 to be altogether neglected — the voice of one who 
 
442 THE DEMOCRACY. 
 
 had given his whole life to the people, and would 
 have cheerfully laid it down in their service, but 
 who loved them too well to flatter them, and had 
 never shrunk from telling them the unvarnished 
 truth. Even now that voice speaks to them in 
 solemn accents from the tomb, and warns them 
 not to destroy the work of the founders of the 
 republic. "Do not sacrifice," it says, "the end to 
 the means. The Union is worthless without liberty, 
 and liberty can only be saved by ending this un- 
 natural war. If our empire must be maintained by 
 the sword, it is not for this that we threw off the 
 yoke of England, or devised the Constitution of the 
 United States. That Constitution must perish in 
 the attempt to force our dominion upon unwilling 
 subjects, and its wreck and ruin will alone remain as 
 the monument of all our baffled efforts and blighted 
 hopes." 
 
 And let Americans be assured, that the country, 
 which next to his own Hamilton most loved and 
 prized, views their present calamities (whatever 
 foolish people may affirm to the contrary) with 
 feelings of deep sympathy and regret. No provo- 
 cations on their part — no rash or unfriendly words, 
 whether spoken in the pride of success, or the bitter- 
 
THE DEMOCRACY. 44!3 
 
 ness of disappointment — can ever make us forget 
 that they are men of our own race, brothers of the 
 same blood, heirs of the language and literature, the 
 history and traditions of England. Nor can all the 
 excesses of democratic violence, nor the infusion of 
 foreign elements into the nation, nor those mysterious 
 influences of climate which have wrought so marked 
 a change in their outward appearance, have wholly 
 obliterated from their minds the remembrance of our 
 common origin. We believe and trust, that the 
 English virtues yet flourish in thousands of American 
 homes, and that English memories are stiQ warm in 
 millions of American hearts. We could not persuade 
 ourselves, if we would, that all ranks and classes of 'a 
 kindred people are united in bitter hostility to the 
 land of their fathers. When we turn, indeed, to 
 their public speakers and writers, we see but few 
 signs of moderation or candour; and, were we to 
 judge by the utterances of the platform and the 
 press, we should really despair of the future relations 
 between the countries. But our hope is, that, roused 
 by the peril of the times, the cultivated intellect of 
 America may start from its long sleep, and resume 
 its natural supremacy over all the multitude of her 
 citizens ; and we can frame no better wish for her 
 
444 THE DEMOCEACY. 
 
 and for the whole world, than that she may find 
 other Washingtons to rule her empire, other Hamil- 
 tons to guide her councils — to wean her from mad 
 dreams of ambition, conquest, and aggrandizement, 
 and bring her back to the happier domain of law and 
 liberty, civilization and peace. 
 
 Meanwhile, the curse of civil war which has 
 fallen upon the great republic — traceable in its 
 causes to that uncontrolled licence of the democracy, 
 which has substituted mere self-will and caprice for 
 knowledge, experience, and wisdom — may serve as a 
 warning and a lesson to other nations and people. 
 It may teach the remaining colonies of Great Britain 
 to be slow in breaking the "golden link of the 
 crown" which binds them to the mother-country, 
 until they have secured for themselves institutions 
 firm enough and strong enough to resist the strain of 
 popular violence. It may teach those nations of 
 Europe, which are struggling manfully to obtain the 
 old English privileges of free thought, free speech, 
 and just and equal government, to base the rights 
 thus acquired on the broad ground of practical and 
 constitutional liberty, not on any fanciful application 
 of democratic theories. Above all, it may and must 
 teach the people of England, to be content with the 
 
THE DEMOCRACY. 445 
 
 manifold blessings they enjoy, and not to risk them 
 by rash experiments. More devotedly than ever 
 shall we guard that time-honoured Throne, 
 
 " "WTiose deep foundations lie 
 
 In veneration and the people's love ; 
 Whose steps are equity, whose seat is law. " 
 
 And because we know, that it can never be main- 
 tained by cold calculations of utility, we shall 
 cherish those sentiments of loyalty and personal 
 attachment which unite the highest with the lowest 
 in joy and sorrow — as when, of late, the death of an 
 illustrious prince cast a shadow over every English 
 home, and the arrival of a royal bride made a holiday 
 round every English hearth. In the same temper, 
 we shall grudge no mark of reasonable deference 
 and respect to that ancient Nobility, which, mingling 
 in aU the pursuits of daily life, and constantly 
 recruited from the ranks below it; exists amongst us, 
 not as an effete and obsolete order, but as a real 
 power in the state, balancing the two extremes. Nor 
 shall we fail to support that National Church, which, 
 by its wise moderation, has saved us alike from the 
 "loom of infidelity on the one side, and the wild 
 extravagance of religious fanaticism on the other — 
 confiding the care of our parishes, not to bigoted 
 
446 THE DEMOCKACY. 
 
 priests or ignorant zealots, but to kindly and edu- 
 cated gentlemen, good fathers of families, for the 
 most part models of a Christian life, and centres of 
 civilization in their several neighbourhoods. And, 
 along with these venerable institutions, we shall 
 study to uphold the dignity of the Commons' House 
 of Parliament, and resist every attempt to establish 
 the brute force of numbers, in place of the virtual 
 representation of the spirit and intelligence of the 
 country. In a word, we shall cling faster than 
 before to the old laws, the old franchises, the old 
 customs of England ; and, by so doing, we shall best 
 preserve that glorious inheritance of freedom, which 
 we have derived from a long line of patriots and 
 statesmen, and which I trust in God we shall trans- 
 mit unimpaired to distant generations. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Adams, John, recommends Washington as commander-in-chief, 18 ; 
 exults in the Declaration of Independence, 34 ; minister at the 
 English Court, 173; returns home, 242 ; his character, 243, 246; 
 elected Vice-President, 247 ; re-elected, 301 ; elected President, 
 362 ; retains the late cabinet, 366 ; sends a special mission to 
 France, 369 ; prepares for war, 371 ; jealous of Hamilton, 379 ; 
 renews diplomatic relations with France, 382 ; denounces Hamilton 
 and his friends, 391 ; refuses to be present at the inauguration of 
 his successor, 403 ; his death, 435. 
 
 Ames, FiaHEB, supports "Hamilton's financial scheme, 267; predicts 
 the fall of the Federalist party, 392. 
 
 Andr£, Major, captnred on bos return from an interview with 
 Arnold, 84 ; condemned as a spy, 87 ; his relations with Hamilton, 
 89, 91 ; his melancholy fate, 92, 93. 
 
 Arnold, Benedict, renders good service at Saratoga, 48 ; poorly 
 requited, 78 ; considers himself wronged, 79 ; obtains the com- 
 mand of West Point, 80 ; carries on a treasonable correspondence 
 with the enemy, 81 ; finds himself discovered, and flies, 82. 
 
 AsQiii, Captain, selected by lot for execution, 114 ; saved by the 
 representations of the Court of France, 115. 
 
 Baohe'sAuroba, its remarks on the retirement of Washington, 363. 
 
 Babbas, M. his insolent message to America, 367. 
 
 Batabd, Me. induced by Hamilton to vote for Jefferson rather than 
 Burr, 403. 
 
 BowDOiN, James, suppresses the insurrection in Massachusetts, 175. 
 
 Bbaddock, General, Ha unfortunate campaign, 10, 12. 
 
 Bkadtobd, William, becomes Attorney-General, 333. 
 
 Buegotse, Genbeal, forced to capitulate at Saratoga, 48. 
 
 BuBE, Aaron, his birth, education, and character, 163, 165; 
 compared with Hamilton, 166, 171 ; elected to the senate, 297 ; 
 his policy, 298 ; candidate for the Presidency, 362 ; ties with 
 Jefferson, 394; elected Vice-President, 406; candidate for the 
 governorshipof New York, 407; challenges Hamilton, 409; his 
 obduracy, 410, 416 ; his conduct on the ground, 421 ; his subse- 
 quent adventures and death, 426, 430. 
 
 Callendee, a libeller by profession, 337. 
 
 Chatham, Lord, expresses admiration of the First Congress, 6. 
 
448 IN-DEX. 
 
 CnoTSEnL, Duke de, sends agents to the American colonies, with a 
 view to detach them from England, 58. 
 
 Clinton, Governob, letter from Hamilton to him, 56 : oiipoees 
 the Constitution, 227 ; candidate at the presidential election, 247. 
 
 Clinton, Sir Hknrt, withdraws from Philadelphia to New York, 
 60 ; attacked near Monmouth Court House, 61 ; demands the 
 release of Andr^, 86; obliged to act wholly on the defensive, 
 112. 
 
 Conway, General, plots against Washington, who discovers the 
 intrigue, 53. 
 
 CoRNWALLis, Lord, defeats General Gates, 95 ; blockaded in York- 
 town, 106; makes a desperate attempt to escape, 109; capitu- 
 lates to the allied armies, 110. 
 
 CcBTis, George Ticknob, extracts from his work on the " History 
 of the Constitution," 96, 137, 182, 214, 227, 234. 
 
 CusTis, Martha, married to Washington, 13 ; worthy of her husband 
 366 ; her eense of his loss, 386. 
 
 D'Aroon, Chevalier, his batteries destroyed before Gibraltar, 112. 
 D'Estaino, Count, arrives with a French fleet to assist the 
 
 Americans, 66; insulted by their officers, but appeased by 
 
 Hamilton, 67. 
 Dickinson, John, delegate to the Convention from Delaware, 181. 
 
 Edwards, Jonathan, grandfather to Aaron Burr, 163. 
 
 Fairfax, Lord, the early friend and patron of Washington, 9. 
 Franklin, Benjauin, his remarks on Braddock's defeat, 12; 
 
 member of the Convention, 179; his character, 180; his last 
 ' speech, 209 ; influence of his name, 226. 
 Fbeneatj, Philip, editor of the National Gazette, 292 ; declares he 
 
 is acting independently, 295; incites the people in favour of 
 
 France, 304. 
 
 Gaqe, General, orders the seizure of the stores at Concord, 6. 
 Gates, Horatio, Adjutant-General to the American army, 20 ; 
 
 supersedes Schuyler, 45 ; gains the victory of Saratoga, 48 ; his 
 
 presumption, 49 ; made President of the Board of War, 54 ; 
 
 defeated by Lord Comwallis, 95. 
 Genet, Citizen, arrives at Charleston, 306; his designs, 307; his 
 
 insolence, 312, 327 ; quarrels with Jefferson, 330, 332 ; recalled 
 
 from his mission, 333. 
 GEORas III., represents the opinions of the majority of the British 
 
 nation, 94 ; acknowledges the independence of America, 120. 
 Gerrt, Elbridge, one of the commissioners to France, 369. 
 Gbasse, Count de, arrives with a French fleet and army at York 
 
 River, 106. 
 Greene, Nathaniel, joins the army before Boston, 23 ; first notices 
 
 Hamilton, 26 ; his successes in South Carolina, 112. 
 
 Hamilton, Alexander, his birth and education, 27, 30; first 
 political essays, 31 ; noticed by General Greene, 32 ; introduced 
 
INDEX. 449 
 
 to Washington, 35; first campaign, 36 ; his personal appearance, 
 37 ; appointed aide-de-camp, 39 ; acts as secretary, 40, 45; mission 
 to Philadelphia, 46 ; transactions witli Gates, 49, 51 ; rallies the 
 army at Monmouth Court House, 63 ; conciliates the French, 67 ; 
 writes on the projected conquest of Canada, 68 ; essays of Publms, 
 74 ; interested in the fate of Andr^, 84, 93 ; conceives the plan 
 of a Constitution, 96 ; marriage, 97 ; diflFerenoe with Washington, 
 98, 104 ; retires from the staff, and writes the Continentalist, 105 ; 
 captures a redoubt at Yorktown, 107, 111 ; retires from active 
 service, 112 ; studies the law, 113 ; writes in favour of Captain 
 Asgill, 114 ; enters Congress, 115 ; pleads the cause of the army, 
 118 ; prepares resolutions on the state of the country, 132 ; 
 leaves Congress, 138 ; practices at the bar, 140 ; letters of Phocion, 
 150 ; opposed to slavery, 162 ; sent as commissioner to Annapolis, 
 176 ; proposes a Convention, 177 ; delegate from New York, 182 ; 
 his great speech, 193 ; his plan of a Government, 197 ; recom- 
 mends a compromise, 202 ; writes the chief part of the Federalist, 
 214 ; attends at Poughkeepsie, 227 ; his exertions, 231 ; his 
 triumph, 234 ; his advice as to Adams, 246, 247 ; made Secretary 
 of the Treasury, 256 ; duties of his office, 259 ; his financial 
 schemes, 261, 264 ; carries his measures, 284 ; his view of the 
 British Constitution, 285, and of the French Revolution, 288 ; 
 letter of An Americam, 294 ; writes to Washington, 296 ; his 
 character of Burr, 299 ; recommends a declaration of neutrality, 
 305; protests against the popular reception of Genet, 308; letters 
 of Pacificus, 316 ; recommends Jay for the mission to England, 
 345 ; subject to groundless charges in Congress, 346; shamefully 
 calumniated, 347 ; retires from office, 351 ; his motives, 354 ; 
 assaulted by the mob, 357 ; urges the ratification of Jay's treaty, 
 368 ; made second in command of the army, 372 ; endeavours to 
 moderate his party, 379 ; declares against Adams, 391 ; differs 
 from the Federalists on the Tie question, 396, 402 ; his despon- 
 dency, 404 ; his residence at the Grange, 405 ; loses his eldest 
 son, 406 J opposes Burr's election, 407 ; challenged by him, 409 ; 
 correspondence, 410; accepts the challenge, 415 ; banquet of the 
 Cincinnati, 416 ; his will, 417 ; his last hours and death, 418, 
 423 ; what would have been his conduct now, 436, 441. 
 
 Harbison, Colonel, Washington's Old Secretary, 40 ; not equal to 
 all the duties of the post, 41. 
 
 Henbt, Patkick, declares for Union in the First Congress, 5 ; 
 opposes the Constitution, 227 ; submits to the vote of the 
 majority, 232. . , . 
 
 Howe, Lord, appears with his fleet before Newport, but is driven 
 back by a storm, 66. 
 
 Howe, Sir William, evacuates Boston, 23 ; a courteous opponent, 
 44 ; advances against AVashington, 63 ; recalled from his com- 
 mand, 60. 
 
 HuDDY, Captain, murdered by refugees on the English side, 114. 
 
 Jay, John, Secretary for Foreign Aflfairs to the Congress, 182 ; con- 
 
 G 6 
 
450 INDEX 
 
 cemed in the Federalisi, 214 ; made Chief-Justice, 258 ; sent On 
 a mission to England, 346 ; concludes a treaty with Great 
 Britain, 356. 
 
 Jepfeeson, Thomas, prepares the Declaration of Independence, 33 ; 
 named Secretary of State, while absent in France, 257 ; returns 
 home, 269 ; his life, character, and opinions, 270, 278; his inter- 
 view with Hamilton, 279 ; his own views on finance, 282 ; his love of 
 paradox, 283 ; his attacks upon Hamilton, 284, 287 ; his sympathy 
 with the French Revolution, 290 ; his intrigues, 292 ; letter of 
 explanation to Washington, 295 ; offers to resign, 296 ; recon- 
 siders his resolution, 301 ; opposes neutrality, 305 ; makes Genet 
 his confidant, 312 ; deceived by him, 314 ; retires from office, 
 332 ; his connexion with the press, 337, 339 ; letter to Mazzei, 
 342 ; put forward for the Presidency, 361 ; elected Vice-President, 
 362 ; instigates i-eaistance to the Alien and Sedition Acts, 389 ; 
 ties with Burr, 394 ; inaugurated as President, 403 ; his subrnis- 
 sion to the democracy, 430 ; his death, 435. 
 
 Johnson, Dr. of Connecticut, expresses his opinion of Hamilton's 
 conduct in the Convention, 210. 
 
 King, Rutus, delegate to the Convention from Massachusetts, 179. 
 Knox, Hbnrt, supplies the Americans with artillery, 23; made 
 
 Secretary for War, 256 ; sides with Hamilton, 311 ; declines to 
 
 serve under him, 374. 
 
 Lafayette, Marquis de, joins the American army, 47 ; stands 
 firmly by Washington, 55; plans the conquest of Canada, 68; 
 sends news of the preliminaries of peace, 121 ; takes part in the 
 French Revolution, 288, 290. 
 
 Lee, Geneeal Charles, offers his services to America, 20 ; captured 
 by the English, 38 ; exchanged, 60 ; his conduct at Monmouth 
 Court House, 62 ; his retirement and death, 64, 65. 
 
 Ledtabd, Isaac, writes under the name of Mentor against Hamilton, 
 155 ; prevents a gross outrage, 159. 
 
 Louis XVI., brought a prisoner to Paris, 290 ; put to death, 303. 
 
 Luzerne, M. de, applied to by Arnold for an advance of money, 79. 
 
 MoHenet, Mr. Secretary for War, 371. 
 
 Madison, James, delegate to the Convention from Virginia, 179 ; 
 
 keeps a record of the proceedings, 192 ; helps to write the 
 
 Federalist, 214 ; supports the Constitution at Richmond, 227 ; 
 
 opposes Hamilton's measures, 266 ; letters of Helvidms, 328. 
 Marie Antoinette, Qdee.n, intercedes for the life of Captain 
 
 Asgill, 115. 
 Marshall, John, one of the commissioners to France, 369. 
 Martin, Luther, delegate to the Convention from Maryland, 181 ; 
 
 opposes the Constitution, 208, 224. 
 Mason, Geoeob, delegate to the Convention from Virginia, 181. 
 Mazzei, Jefferson's letter to, 842. 
 Monroe, James, a member of the opposition, 349 ; minister in 
 
 Paris, 367. 
 
.A. 451 
 
 BY THE SAME AUTHO' 
 
 MoKRls,.w»«>''"^"'"*Tc ««•»«« • ,f,a.Ge to the Convention from Pennsyl- 
 vania, 181 ; his opinion on the Tie, 396 ; pronouuoes Hamilton's 
 funeral oration, 424. 
 
 MoBEis, Robert, delegate to the Convention from Pennsylvania, 
 Ibl ; his opinion of Hamilton, 256. 
 
 Nicola, Colonel, proposes to make Washington king, 187. 
 North, Lord, receives the news of the capitulation of Yorktown, 
 111 ; fall of his administration, 112. 
 
 Pendleton, Mr. acts for Hamilton in the dispute with Burr, 411. 
 
 Pickering, Colonel, Secretary of State, 367. 
 
 PiNOKNET, Charles Coteswoeth, delegate to the Convention from 
 
 South Carolina, 179 ; sent on a mission to France, 369 ; accepts a 
 
 command under Hamilton, 374 : second Federalist candidate, 
 
 391. 
 PiKCKNET, Thomas, put forward with Adams for President, 361. 
 Prevost, Theodosia, married to Burr, 166. 
 Putnam, Israel, appointed to a command in the American army, 
 
 20 ; complains of Hamilton's reflections, 62. 
 
 Randolph, Edmund, delegate to the Convention from Virginia, 
 
 179 ; appointed Attorney-General, 257 ; sides with Jefferson, 311 ; 
 
 made Secretary of State, 333 ; opposes Jay's treaty, 357 ; the 
 
 intercepted despatch, 358. 
 Reed, Colonel, the first who served Washington as secretary, 41. 
 EocHAMBEAU, Count de, holds a conference with Washington at 
 
 Hartford, 80. 
 Rodney, Admiral, his great victory, 112. 
 Rutledge, John, delegate to the Convention from South Carolina, 
 
 181. 
 
 Schuyler, Philip, appointed Major-General, 20 ; superseded by 
 Gates, 45 ; helps him to gain the victory of Saratoga, 48 ; writes 
 to Hamilton upon his difference with Washington, 101 ; writes 
 to his daughter, giving an account of Hamilton's success in 
 Congress, 115 ; defeated by Burr in his election for senator, 297. 
 
 Schuyler, Eliza, married to Hamilton, 97 ; her devotion to her 
 husband, 348. 
 
 Sherman, Roger, delegate to the Convention from Connecticut, 
 181. 
 
 Shippen, Margaret, married to Arnold, 78 ; informed of his treason, 
 82 ; her grief and despair, 83. 
 
 Talleyrand, Prince, his opinion of Hamilton, 185, 359; his an- 
 swer to Colonel Burr, 429. 
 
 Van Ness, Mr. takes Burr's message to Hamilton, 409. 
 
 Veeqennes, Count de, his treacherous policy with regard to the 
 British Colonies in America, 59. 
 
 Ward, Artemas, appointed to a command in the American 
 army, 20. 
 
Washington, Georob, his birth aadT!lfBP^^^o4»4Lal days, 
 8,9; first campaigns, 10, 12; marriage, 13; character, 14,17; 
 joins Congress, 18 ; made commander-in-chief, 19 ; organizes an 
 army, 22 ; takes Boston, 23 ; fortifies New York, 24 ; compelled 
 to retreat, 35; fights the battle of the Brandy wine, 46; and of 
 Germantown, 48 ; retires to Valley Forge, 54 ; censures the 
 conduct of Lee, 62 ; informed of Arnold's treason, 83 ; refuses 
 Andre's request to be shot, 87 ; forces Cornwallis to capitulate, 
 110 ; pi'eveats a mutiny, 117 ; resigns his command, 131 ; 
 member of the Convention, 179 ; called to the chair, 191 ; signs 
 the Constitution, 208 ; elected President, 247 ; his triumphant 
 progress, 248, 251; his difficulties, 252; his illness, 255; death 
 of his mother, 255 ; appoints his cabinet, 257 ; writes to Lafayette, 
 289 ; complains of the violence of the press, 293 ; dissensions in 
 the cabinet, 295 ; re-elected President, 300 ; declares the neu- 
 trality of America, 306 ; the case of the Little Sarah, 315 ; justi- 
 fies himself fi'om attacks, 339 ; the Pennsylvania insurrection, 
 350 ; writes to Hamilton on his retirement, 353 ; ratifies Jay's 
 treaty, 358; farewell address, 359 ; retires, 362; his life at Mount 
 Vernon, 365 ; called to the command of the army, 371 ; his 
 opinion of Hamilton, 373 ; his anxieties, 383 ; his last illness and 
 death, 385. 
 
 Wkbster, Daniel, his estimate of Hamilton's financial measures, 
 267. 
 
 Wilson, James, delegate to the Convention from Pennsylvania, 181 ; 
 exerts himself in favour of the Constitution, 226. 
 
 Wolfe, General, killed on the Plains of Abraham, 13. 
 
 WoLOOTT, Oliver, succeeds Hamilton at the Treasury, 358 ; in con- 
 fidential communication with him, 367. 
 
 R. CLAY, SON, AND TAYLOR, PBINTICRS, BREAD STREET HILL. 
 
BY THE SAME AUTHOK, CROWN 8V0. PRICE 7s. 6d. 
 
 TEUTON: A POEM. 
 
 A Dream, with meanings haply understood 
 By those, for whom these mnic lines were strung — 
 
 The men, who boast the old Teutonic blood. 
 And speak in divers tones the Gothic tongue. 
 
 O brave descendants of the mighty race, 
 That spm-ned the axes and the rods of Rome ! 
 
 Sons of the North ! whate'er the special place, 
 Which time and fortune may have made your home ! 
 
 We hail you — &om this isle of ancient fame, 
 Where Saxon laws have kept a people free, 
 
 And still the Vildng's children proudly claim 
 The chief dominion o'er the conquered sea — 
 
 We hail yon brothers ! not by blood alone, 
 But word and deed ; for, let what will befall, 
 
 We Northmen have a story of our own, 
 And thoughts, and feelings, common to us all ! 
 
 That story have I sketched in colours faint. 
 Pale emblems of our struggles, hopes, and fears. 
 
 And in a single life essayed to paint 
 The moral changes of a thousand yeju's. 
 
 Weak is the hand, which dared a task so high. 
 And offc, perchance, the effort has been vain ; 
 
 But let your synipathies each want supply, 
 And bind the broken links in memory's chain I 
 
 Then may you trace, through legend, tale, and song. 
 The Northern mind from its poetic youth, 
 
 Awakening early to the sense of wrong. 
 The love of freedom, and the quest for truth— 
 
 May see it bravely battling for the right 
 With ignorance, superstition, bigot rage, 
 
 Till crowned a victor in the glorious fight, 
 And monarch of the new and wondrous age ! 
 
 But, with the gain, you there vrill find the loss, 
 Presumptuous errors, wanderings far astray, 
 
 Clouds of despondency and doubt, that cross 
 The brightness of the full meridian day — 
 
 The restless search, the cold and barren lore. 
 Which science, culture, intellect impart, 
 
 Till suffering cleanse the soul, and faith restore 
 The simpler, holier wisdom of the heart ! 
 
 '* Teuton is a poem, and written by a poet." — Atlienmum. 
 
 " A riddle hke this needs no interpreter. Its propouuder does not lose him- 
 self in any imaginative depths, but displays, even while allegorizing, the 
 practical aspect of the Teutonic mind. His language is simple, pure, and 
 forcible."— Cfuardian. . 
 
 " One short extract from the conclusion of the poem will give the reader a 
 fair idea of the simple, manly, and in general hannonious language, in which 
 Mr. RiethmuUer has clothed his aXlegory."— Economist. 
 
 LONDON BELL AND DALDY, 186, FLEET STEEET. 
 
BY THE SAME AUTHOR., 
 Crown 8vo. price is. 6d. 
 
 FREDERICK LUCAS. 
 
 A BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 *'Itis very seldom that so goodajjieceofbiography as this is offered to the 
 public. It is almost everything a biography of the kind ought to be, and yet it 
 is written under disadvantages which, in the vast majority of cases, prove fata). " 
 — SoMrday Review. 
 
 " This is a pleasant memoir of a man who desei-ves to be remembered by bis 
 contemporaries, and to be respected wherever he is remembered." — Spectator. 
 
 "However false were his views, there was nothing false in his heroism."— 
 Examiner. 
 
 "Lucas is happy in his friend and biographer."— London Review. 
 
 " A graceful and generous memorial of a youtliful friendship."— Dail^/ News. 
 
 " An instructive account of the progress of a noble and impulsive nature, not 
 always successful in its search after truth, nor always wise in its advocacy of 
 favourite principles ; but always commanding respect and a measui'e of sympathy, 
 from the fearless earnestness and unselfish zeal by which its proceedings were 
 actuated."— SngJisft Churchman. 
 
 " In contemplating his history, we cannot but desire, that he who was our 
 foe had been our friend." — Ecclesiastic. 
 
 "This little biographical notice is in every way a complete surprise. The 
 writer is a poet, and his prose has a harmony and rhythm in its cadence, the 
 sentences have a flow and fulness in them, which mark the cultivated taste of 
 the true poet. Besides this grace of style, everything is said which ought to 
 be said, with true feeling and gentle sympathy, whether it be praise or blame." 
 —Ch/ristian Advocate. 
 
 ""Without concealing any one fact of the singular story ho has to tell, 
 Mr. Riethmiiller has succeeded, not merely in awakening our interest in the 
 character of his friend, but also, we think, in satisfying every impartial reader, 
 that the late Mr. Lucas was a man of fine natural gifts, and endued with a larger 
 share of moral graces than falls to the lot of most public men." — Christian 
 Reformer. 
 
 " Mr. Riethmiiller is a Protestant ; we doubt whether any Catholic could 
 have written this biography without giving more cause for dissatisfaction." — 
 Tablet 
 
 " A thoroughly good piece of literary ■wotk."—Edi/n'bm'gh Daily Review. 
 
 "A story suggesting many questions of intellectual interest to our age."— 
 Edinhv/rgh Evening Cov/rant. 
 
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