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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m4thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 I.I 1.25 [fie i^ llf i£ 1 2.2 !: 1^ 12.0 1.8 1.6 A APPLIED IIVHGE I ^S-^ '653 Eost Mam Street y.^ Rochester, New York ueog USA "-^ (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone ^= (716) 288 - 5989 - Fax .-r^'" ^— --s»Sf'Sak\jft!? THE CONQUEROR BY THE SAME AUTHOR SENATOR NORTH THE ARISTOCRATS PATIENCE SPAR HAWK AND HER TIMES THE DOOMSWOMAN A DAUGHTER OF THE VINE THE CALIFORNIANS AMERICAN WIVES AND ENGLISH HUSBANDS HIS FORTUNATE GRACE In Preparation A VOLUME OF HAMILTON'S LETTERS ( With Portraits) V,. THE CONQUEROR BEING THE TRUE AND ROMANTIC STORY OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON BY GERTRUDE FRANKLIN ATHERTON " Je coniidire Napoleon, Fox, et Hamilton comme les trois plus grand* hommes de notre epoque, et si je devais me prononcer entre les trois, je donnerais sans hesiter la premiere plac» i Ham- ilton. II avait devine I'Europe." 1 ALLEYRAND, £tudts sur la RtpubHqut TORONTO GEORGE N. MORANG & COMPANY, LIMITED 1902 t\c>i].^ ^- X ' Fawcett made up her definite mmd : she announced her intention to leave her husband while it was yet possible to save her property for herself and the child to whom she soon became passion- ately attached. Dr. Fawcett laughed and shut himself up m a wing where the sounds of baby distress could not reach him ; and it is doubtful if his glance ever lingered THE CONQUEROR on the lovely face of his youngest born. Thus came into the world under the most painful conditions one of the unhappiest women that has lived. It was her splendid destiny to become the mother of the greatest American of his centuries, but this she died too soon to know, and she accomplished her part with an immediate bitterness of lot which was remorselessly ordained, no doubt, by the great Law of Compensation. There were no divorce laws on the Islands in the eighteenth century, not even an act for separate mainten- ance ; but Mary Fawcett was a woman of resource. It took her four years to accomplish her purpose, but she got rid of Dr. Fawcett by making him more than anxious to be rid of her. The Captain-General, William Matthew, was her staunch friend and admirer, and espoused her cause to the extent of issuing a writ of supplicavit for a separate maintenance. Dr. Fawcett gradually yielded to pressure, separated her property from his, that it might pass under her personal and absolute control, and settled on her the sum of fifty-three pounds, four shillings annually, as a full satisfaction for all her dower or third part of his estate. Mistress Fawcett was no longer a woman of consequ' nee, for even her personal income was curtailed by the great drought of 1737, and Nevis, complaisant to the gallantry of the age, was scandalized at the novelty of a public separation. But she was free, and she was the woman to feel that freedom to her finger tips ; she could live a life with no will in it but her own, and she could bring up her little girl in an atmosphere of peace and affection. She moved to an estate she owned on St. Christopher and never saw John Fawcett again. He died a few years later, leav- ing his diminished property to his children. Rachael's share was the house in Charles Town. The spot on which Rachael spent her childhood and brief youth was one of the most picturesque on the moun- tain range of St. Christopher. Facing the sea, the house stood on a lofty eminence, in the very shadow of Mount Misery. Immediately behind the house were the high peaks of the range, hardly less in pride than the cone of the RACHAEL LEVINE great volcano. The house was built on a ledge, but one could step from the terrace above into an abrupt ravine, wrenched into its tortuous shape by earthquake and flood, but dark for centuries with the immovable shades of a virgin tropical forest. The Great House, with its spacious open galleries and verandahs, was surrounded with stone terraces, overflowing with the intense red and orange of the hybiscus and croton bush, the golden browns and softer yellows of less ambitious plants, the sensuous tints of the orchid, the high and glittering beauties of the palm and cocoanut. The slopes to the coast were covered with cane- fields, their bright young greens sharp against the dark blue of the sea. The ledge on which the house was built terminated suddenly in front, but extended on the left along a line of cliff above a chasm, until it sloped to the road. On this flat eminence was an avenue of royal palms, which, with the dense wood on the hill above it, was to mariners one of the most familiar landmarks of the Island of "St. Kitts." From her verandah Mary Fawcett could see, far down to the right, a large village of negro huts, only the thatched African roofs visible among the long leaves of the cocoanut palms with which the blacks invariably sur- round their dwellings. Beyond was Brimstone Hill with its impregnable fortress. And on the left, far out at sea, her purple heights and palm-fringed shores deepening the exquisite blue of the Caribbean by day, a white ever changing spirit in the twilight, and no more vestige of her under the stars than had she sunk whence she came — Nevis. Mary Fawcett never set foot on her again, but she learned to sit and study her with a whimsical affection which was one of the few liberties she allowed her imagination. But if the unhappiest years of her life had been spent there, so had her fairest. She had loved her brilliant husband in her youth, and all the social triumphs of a handsome and fortu- nate young woman had been hers. In the deep calm which now intervened between the two mental hurricanes of her life, she sometimes wondered if she had exaggerated her past afiiictions; and before she died she knew how insignificant the tragedy of her own life had been. Ili ft if If 8 THE CONQUEROR Although Rachael was born when her parents were past their prime, the vitality that was in her was concentrated and strong. It was not enough to give her a long life, but while It lasted she was a magnificent creature, and the end was abrupt ; there was no slow decay. During her child- hood she lived in the open air, for except in the cold nights of a brief winter only the jalousies were closed ; and on that high shelf even the late summer and early autumn were not insufferable. Exhausted as the trade winds become, they give what little strength is in them to the heights of their favourite isltv, and during the rest of the year they are so constant, even when storms rage in the North Atlantic, that Nevis and St. Christopher never feel the full force of the siu, and the winter nights are cold. Rachael was four years old when her parents separated, and grew to womanhood remembering nothing of her father and seeing little of her kin, scattered far and wide. Her one unmarried sister, upon her return from England, went almost immediately to visit Mrs. Lytton, and married Thomas Mitchell, one of the wealthiest planters of St Croix. Mary Fawcett's children had not approved her course, for they remembered their father as the most in- dulgent and charming of men, whose frequent tempers were quickly forgotten ; and year by year she became more wholly devoted to the girl who clung to her with a pas- sionate and uncritical affection. Clever and accomplished herself, and quick with ambi- tion for her best beloved child, she employed the most cultivated tutors on the Island to instruct her in English Latin, and French. Before Rachael was ten years old' Mistress Fawcett had the satisfaction to discover that the httle girl possessed a distinguished mind, and took to hard study, and to /cs graces, as naturally as she rode a pony over the hills or shot the reef in her boat. For several years the women of St. Christopher held aloof, but many of the planters who had been guests at the Great House in Gingerland called on Mistress Fawcett at once, and proffered advice and service. Of these William Hamilton and Archibald Hamn became her staunch and RACHAEL LEVINE p intimate friends. Mr Hamn's estate adjoined hers, and his overlooker reheved her of much care. Dr ikmes Hamilton, who had died in the year preceding he; ioZal separation, had been a close friend of her husbandTnd hersef. and his brother hastened with assurance of h^ wish to serve her. He was one of the eminent men of the Island, a planter and a member of Council; also, a "doc! wul PJ^''"- , -"^ ^^"""^^ R^^hael safely through her childhood complaints and the darkest of her days ; and if his was the hand which opened the gates between hersetf and history, who shall say in the light of the glorified result that Its master should not sleep in peace ? In time his wife called, and his children and stepchildren brought a new experience into the life of Rachael. ^She had been permitted to gambol occasionally with the "pic'nees" of her mother's maids, but since her fourth year had not c^me'lo visit'l^'" ''"' ""'" ""^^ ^^^^^""^ "--""o" came to visit her one morning and broue-ht Christiana Huggins of Nevis. Mistress Huggins had known Mary Fawcett too well to call with Mistress Hamilton but sen^ Christiana as a peace oifering. Mary's first d snositfon was to pack the child off while Mist^ress H^Sn Tas to her"i "'. ^'"barrassed explanations; but Rachael cknl to her new treasure with such shrieks of protest that her mother, disconcerted by this vigour of opposition to her will, permitted the intruder to remain ^^°^'^^°" ^^ ^^^ folt Zt%nfr^T P^"'"" f°"°^^^ ^''''^'' Hamilton, tor in that soft voluptuous climate, where the rush and a?lv %TX"''%''^ '"^ ^,"^^^'^ ''''' disapproval dTes early. They would have called long since had they not been a rifle m awe of Nevis, more? perhaps, of Sress Fawcett's sharp tongue, then indolent. But when Mis- tress Hamilton suddenly reminded them that thev were Christians and that Dr. Fawcett was dead, they puT on their London gowns, ordered out their coaches, and called Mary Fawcett received them with a courteous indifference fter, with their coaches and brocades and powdered Inrk^ but the ghosts of the Nevis of her youth. ^H^ child he'; lO THE CONQUEROR estate, and her few tried friends absorbed her. For the sake of her daughter's future, she ordered out her ancient coach and made the round of the Island once a year. The ladies of St. Kitts were as moderately punctilious. And so the life of Rachael Fawcett for sixteen years passed uneventfully enough. Her spirits were often very high, for she inherited the Gallic buoyancy of her father as well as the brilliant qualities of his mind. In the serious depths of her nature were strong passions and a tendency to melancholy, the result no doubt of the unhappy condi- tions of her birth. But her mother managed so to occupy her eager ambitious mind with hard study that the girl had little acquaintance with herself. Her English studies were almost as varied as a boy's, and in addition to her accom- plishments in the ancient and modern languages, she painted, and sang, played the harp and guitar. Mary Fawcett, for reasons of her own, never let her forget that she was the most educated girl on the Islands. " I never was one to lie on a sofa all day and fan myself, while my children sat on the floor with their blacks, and munched sugar-cane, or bread and sling," she would remark superfluously. " All my daughters are a credit to their husbands; but I mean that you shall be the most brilliant woman in the Antilles." The immediate consequences of Rachael's superior edu- cation were two: her girl friends ceased to interest her, and ambitions developed in her strong imaginative brain. In those days women so rarely distinguished themselves individually that it is doubtful if Rachael had ever heard of the phenomenon, and the sum of her worldly aspirations was a wealthy and intellectual husband who would take her to live and to shine at foreign courts. Her nature was too sweet and her mind too serious for egoism or the pettier vanities, but she hardly could help being conscious of the energy of her brain ; and if she had passed through child- hood in ignorance of her beauty, she barely had entered her teens when her happy indifference was dispelled ; for the young planters besieged her gates. Girls mature very early in the tropics, and at fourteen RACHAEL LEVINE II Rachael Fawcett was the unresponsive toast from Basse- terre to Sandy Point. Her height was considerable, and she had the round supple figure of a girl who has lived the out-door life in moderation ; full of strength and grace, and no exaggeration of muscle. She had a fine mane of reddish fair hair, a pair of sparkling eager gray eyes which could go black with passion or even excited interest, a long nose so sensitively cut that she could express any mood she chose with her nostrils, which expanded quite alarmingly when she flew into a temper, and a full well-cut mouth. Her skin had the whiteness and transparency peculiar to the women of St. Kitts and Nevis; her head and brow were nobly modelled, and the former she carried high to the day of her death. It was set so far back on her shoulders and on a line so straight that it would look haughty in her coffin. What wonder that the young planters besieged her gates, that her aspirations soared high, that Mary Fawcett dreamed of a great destiny for this worshipped child of her old age } As for the young planters, they never got beyond the gates, for a dragon stood there. Mistress Fawcett had no mind to run the risk of early entanglements. When Rachael was old enough she would be provided with a distinguished hus- band from afar, selected by the experienced judgement of a woman of the world. But Mary Fawcett, still hot-headed and impulsive in her second half-century, was more prone to err in crises than her daughter. In spite of the deeper passions of her nature, Rachael, except when under the lash of strong excitement, had a certain clearness of insight and delibera- tion of judgement which her mother lacked to her last day. Ill Rachael had just eaten the last of her sixteenth birthday sweets when, at a ball at Government House, she met John Michael Levine. It was her debut; she wa.' the fairest creature in the room, and, in the idir»m of Dr. Hamilton, the men besieged her as were she Brimstone Hill in pos- la THE CONQUEROR session of the French. The Governor and the Captain- General had asked her to dance, and even the women smiled indulgently, di armed by so much innocent loveliness. Leviuj, albeit a Dane, and as colourless as most of his countrymen, was her determined suitor before the nieht was half over. It may be that he was inertly dazzled by the regal position to which the young men had elevated her, and that his cold blood quickened at the thought of possessing what all men desired, but he was as immediate and persistent in his suit as any excitable Creole in the room. But Rachael gave him scant attention that night bhe may have been intellectual, but she was also a girl and It was her first ball. She was dazzled and happy, deUghted with her conquests, oblivious to the depths of her nature The next day Levine, strong in the possession of a letter from Mr. Peter Lytton, — for a fortnight forgotten, — pre- sented himself at Mistress Fawcett's door, and was admitted The first call was brief and perfunctory, but he came the next day and the next. Rachael, surprised, but little inter- ested, and longing for her next ball, strummed the harp at her mother's command and received his compliments with indifference. A week after his first call Mary Fawcett drove into town and spent an hour with the Governor. He told her that Levine had brought him a personal letter from the Governor of St. Croix, and that he was wealthy and well born. He was also, in his Excellency's opinion a distinguished match even for the most beautiful and accom- phshed girl on the Island. Peter Lytton had mentioned in his letter that Levine purposed buying an estate on St Croix and setthng down to the life of a planter. On the fol- lowing day Levine told her that already he was half a West Indian, so fascinated was he with the life and the climate, but that if she would favour his suit he would take Rachael to Copenhagen as often as she wished for the life of the world Mary Fawcett made up her mind that he should marry Rachael, and it seemed to her that no mother had ever come to a wiser decision. Her health was failing, and it was her passionate wish not only to leave her child encir- cled by the protection of a devoted husband, but to realize RACHAEL LEVINE »J the high ambitions she had cherished from the hour she foresaw that Rachael was to be an exceptional woman. Levine had not seen Rachael on the morning when he asked for her hand, and he called two days later to press his suit and receive his answer. Mistress Fawcett told him that she had made up her own mind and would perform that office for Rachael at once, but thought it best that he should absent himself until the work was complete. Levine, promised an answer on the morrow, took himself off, and Mary Fawcett sent for her daughter. Rachael entered the library with a piece of needlework in her hand. Her mind was not on her books these days for she had gone to another ball; but her hands had been too well brought up to idle, however her brain might dream. Mary Fawcett by this time wore a large cap with a frill, and her face, always determined and self-willed, was grow- ing austere with years and much pain : she suffered fright- fully at times with rheumatism, and her apprehension of the moment when it should attack her heart reconciled her to the prospect of brief partings from her daughter. Her eyes still burned with the fires of an indiminishable courage however ; she read the yellow pages of her many books as rapidly as m her youth, and if there was a speck of dust on her mahogany floors, polished with orange juice, she saw it. Her negroes adored her but trembled when she raised her voice, and Rachael never had disobeyed her. She expected some dissatisfaction, possibly a temper, but no opposition. Rachael smiled confidently and sat down. She wore one of the thin white linens, which, like the other women of the Islands, she put aside for heavier stuffs on state occasions only, and her hair had tumbled from its high comb and fallen upon her shoulders. Mary Fawcett sighed as she looked at her. She was too young to marry, and had it not been for the haunting terror of leaving her alone m the world, the Dane, well circumstanced as he was, would have been repulsed with contumely. " Rachael," said her mother, gently, " put down your tapestry. I have something to say to you, son.ethine of great import." 14 THE CONQUEROR Rachael dropped her work and met her mother's eyes They were hard with will and definite purpose. In an instant she divined what was coming, and stood up. Her face could not turn any whiter, but her eyes were black at once, and her nostrils spread. " It cannot be possible that you wish me to marry that man — Levine," she stammered. " I do not know how I can thmk of such a thing— but I do— it seems to me I see It m your eyes." " Yes," said her mother, with some uneasiness. " I do • and my reasons are good — " ' " I won't listen to them ! " shrieked Rachael. " I won't marry him ! His whiteness makes me sick ! I know he is not a good man ! I feel it ! I never could be happy with him ! I never could love him ! " Mary Fawcett looked at her aghast, and, for a moment, without answering ; she saw her own will asserting itself, heard it on those piercing notes, and she knew that it sprang from stronger and more tragic foundations than had ever existed m her own nature ; but believing herself to be ngnt, she determined to prevail. " What do you know about men, my darling .? " she said soothingly. " You have been dreaming romantic dreams, and young Levine does not resemble the hero. That is ail Women readjust themselves marvellously quick. Wheii you are married to him, and he is your tender and devoted husband, you will forget your prince — who, no doubt is dark and quite splendid. But we never meet our princes my dear, and romantic love is only one of the things we live for — and for that we live but a little while. Levine IS all that I could wish for you. He is wealthy, aristo- cratic, and chivalrously devoted." Her long speech had given her daughter time to cool, but Rachael remained standing, and stared defiantly into the eyes which had relaxed somewhat with anxious surprise. .. " l-ff ^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^°^ ^ S°°^ "^^"'" she repeated sullenly, and I hate him. I should die if he touched me. I have not danced with him. His hands are so white and soft, and his eyes never change, and his mouth reminds me of a shark's." RACHAEL LEVINE «5 "Levine is a remarkably handsome man," exclaimed Mistress Fawcett, indignantly. "You have trained your imagination to some purpose, it seems. Forget your poets when he comes to-morrow, and look at him impartially. And cannot he give you all that you so much desire, my ambitious little daughter ? Do you no longer want to go to Europe ? to court } to be grande dame and converse with princes ? " " Oh, yes," said Rachael. " I want that as much as ever ; but I want to love the man. I want to be happy." " Well, do love him," exclaimed her mother with energy. " Your father was twenty years older than myself, and a Frenchman, but I made up my mind to love him, and I did — for a good many years." " You had to leave him in the end. Do you wish me to do the same } " " You will do nothing of the kind. There never was but one John Fawcett." " I don't love this Levine, and I never shall love him. I don't believe at all that that kind of feehng can be created by the brain, that it responds to nothing but the will. I shall not love that way. I may be ignorant, but I know that." " You have read too much Shakespeare ! Doubtless you imagine yourself one of his heroines — Juliet.? Rosa- lind.?" "I have never imagined myself anybody but Rachael Fawcett. I cannot imagine myself Rachael Levine. But I know something of myself — I have read and thought enough for that. I could love someone — but not this bleached repulsive Dane. Why will you not let me wait ? It is my right. No, you need not curl your lip — I am not a little girl, I may be sixteen. I may be without experi- ence in the world, but you have been almost my only com- panion, and until just now I have talked with middle-aged men only, and much with them. I had no real childhood. You have educated my brain far beyond my years. To-day I feel twenty, and it seems to me that I see far down into myself — much deeper than you do. I tell you that 'f I x6 THE CONQUEROR 'I- i 1 marry this man, I shall be the most hopeless wretch on earth." Mary Fawcett was puzzled and distressed, but she did not waver for a moment. The cleverest of girls could not know what was best for herself, and the mother who per- mitted her daughter to take her life into her own hands was a poor creature indeed. " Listen, my dear child," she said tenderly, " you have always trusted in me, believed me. I know that this is a wise and promising marriage for you. And — " she hesi- Uted, but it was time to play her trump. " You know that my healch is not good, but you do not know how bad it is. Dr. Hamilton says that the rheumatism may fly to my heart at any moment, and I must see you married " She had ejaculated the last words; Rachael had shrieked, and flung herself upon her, her excitement at this sudden and cruel revelation bursting out in screams and sobs and a torrent of tears. Her mother had seen her excited and in brief ungovernable tempers, but she never had suspected that she was capable of such passion as this ; and, much disturbed, she led her off to bed, and sent for her advisers. Archibald Hamn and Dr. Hamilton. I IV Mr. Hamn responded at once to the widow's call, his adjacence giving him the advantage of Dr. Hamilton, of whom he was a trifle jealous. He was an old bachelor and Ml uP'^^f °^®^ *° Mistress Fawcett — a captivating woman till her last hour — twice a year since her husband's death. But matrimony had been a bitter medicine for Mary after her imagination had ceased to sweeten it, and her invariable answer to her several suitors was the disquieting assertion that if ever she was so rash as to take another husband, she certainly should kill him. Archibald was not the man to conquer her prejudices, although she loved the sterling in him and attached him to her by every hook of frienu- iir P* T^? ^^^ ^ ^^^^ nervous little man, spare as most West Indians, used a deal of snuff, and had a habit of RACHAEL LEVINE »7 his wig with a jerking forearm when in sy with Dr. Hamilton, or expounding pushing back heated contf matrimony to ine widow Dr. Hamilton, for whose arrival Mr. Hamn was kept waiting,— Mistress Fawcett tarried until her daughter fell asleep,— was a large square man, albeit lean, and only less nervous than the widow's suitor. His white locks were worn in a queue, a few escaping to soften his big powerful face. Both men wore white linen, but Dr. Hamilton was rarely seen without his riding-boots, his advent, except in Mistress Fawcett's house, heralded by the clanking of spurs. Mary would have none of his spurs on her mahogany iloors, and the doctor never yet had been able to dodge the darkey who stood guard at her doorstep. The two men exchanged mild surmises as to the cause of the summons ; but as similar summons occurred when newly wedded blacks were pounding each other's heads provoked thereto by the galling chain of decency, or an obeah doctor had tied a sinister warning to Mistress Fawcett's knocker, neither of the gentlemen anticipated serious work When M-ry Fawcett entered the long room, however, both forgor the dignity of their years and position, and ran forward. Dr. Hamilton lifted her as if she had beer 3 palm leaf and laid her on the sofa. He despatched Mr. Hamn for a glass of Spanish port, and forbade her to speak until he gave permission. But Mary Fawcett made brief concessions to the weak- ness of the flesh. She drank the wine, then sat up and told her story. " Oh, Mary," said Dr. Hamilton, sadly, "why do you ask our advice ? Your ear may listen, but never your mind. If It were a matter of business, we might even be allowed to act for you ; but in a domestic — " " What ? " cried Mistress Fawcett ; " have I not asked your advice a thousand times about Rachaei, and have I not always taken it.?" "I recall many of the conversations, but I doubt if you could recall the advice. However, if you want it this time, c i8 THE CONQUEROR li the Edwardses to boot." his jibe at the limit of with a husband. To What have you to say, I will give it to you. Don't force the girl to marry agaiinst her will — assuredly not if the man is repulsive to her. For all your brains you are a baby about men and women. Rachael knows more by instinct. She is an extraordinary girl, and should be allowed time to make her own choice. If you are afraid of death, leave her to me. I will legally adopt her now, if you choose — " " Yes, and should you die suddenly, your wife would think Rachael one too many, what with your brood and Mistress Fawcett was nettled by her wisdom. " I shall leave her that I have made up my mind. _ Archibald.?" This was an advantage which Mr. Hamn never failed to seize; he always agreed with the widow; Dr. Hamikon never did. Moreover, he was sincerely convinced that — save, perhaps, in matters of money — Mary Fawcett could not err. " I like the appearance of this Dane," he said, reassur- ingly, " and his little country has a valiant history. This young man is quite prince-like in his bearing, and his extreme fairness is but one more evidence of his hierh breeding — " ^ " He looks like a shark's belly," interrupted Dr. Hamil- ton, " I don't wonder he sickens Rachael. I have nothing against him but his appearance, but if he came after Kitty I'd throw him out by the seat of his breeches." " He never looked at Kitty, at Government House, nor at Mistress Montgomerie's," cried Mary. "You are jealous, Will, because Rachael has carried off the foreign prize." D' Hamilton laughed, then added seriously, " I am too fond of the girl to forbear to give my advice. Let her choose her own husband. If you dare to cut out her future, as if ii were one of her new frocks, you have more courage than I. She has more in her than twenty women. Let her alone for the next five years, then she will have no one to answer to but herself. Otherwise, my lady, you may find yourself holding your breath in a hurricane track, with no refuge from the storm you've whipped up RACHAEL LEVINE -. but five feet underneath If you won't give her to me. t lere are her sisters. They are all wealthy — " "They are years older than Rachael and would not understand her at all. ' "^ " I can't see why they should not understand her as well as a strange man. " He will be her husband, madly in love with her " "Levuie will never be madly in love with anybody Besides it would not matter to Rachael if her sisters dS no understand her; she has too strong a brain nofto be independent of the ordinary female nonsenseTmoreove^ she has a fine disposition and her own propertv But if her husband did not understand her.- fn o?her\ords tf their tastes proved as opposite as their temperaments - it r"d"of but h V.' ^^'^ °^, ^'^'''''''- Sisters can b^ go ..T «^iwk"',^^"'^'~;,^^"' y°" ''"^^ the diflRculties." I will think over all you have said," replied Mary, with sudden humihty; she had great respect for the dicC But don't you say a word to Rachael" thr^\v'-^' t°\"^"^h afraid of you for that. But I wish that VVh. were home or Andrew old enough. I'd set one of them on to cut this Dane out Well, I must go send for me whenever you are in need of advic"'' and wi?h a partmg laugh he strode out of the house SVoaredTo the darkey to come and fasten his spurs. Archibald Hamn, who foresaw possibilities in the widow's lonehness. and who judged men entirely by the r m^nne^s cSr and r """If """r ^ ^^"^^« ^^^^^ wisdom of hS Choice and to offer his services as mediator. Marv alftntu'lT!,''T'°"". ?^^ "^°^^ '- Levine not S call unt'.l she bade him, and for several davs nonderprl deeply upon her daughter's opposition and dThSS m.n • I " ''''^ '^'"^^ °^ th'^ perturbing distrust in her own wisdom was a violent attack of rheSmatism in thl region of her heart; and while she believed hersdf to be tt'm";;,^' lS'^'Sh'^^ '^^^^^^^^^ daughterTpromisJ condS tw Tk ^^^. 'T""^'^^ ^^""^ the attack, but Iwetu. i^' \^^ ^'^"'''^ ^""S ^^'""' it would be folly to give It back. Moreover, the desire to see her daughta 20 THE CONQUEROR m married had been aggravated by her brush with death, and after another interview with Levine, in which he promised all that the fondest mother could demand, she opened her chests of fine linen. Rachael submitted. She dared not excite her mother. Her imagination, always vivid though it was, refused to picture the end she dreaded ; and she never saw Levine alone. His descriptions of life in Copenhagen interested her, and when her mother expatiated upon the glittering destiny which awaited her, ambition and pride responded, although precisely as they had done in her day dreams. She found herself visioning Copenhagen, jewels, brocades, and courtiers ; but she realized only when she withdrew to St. Kitts, that Levine had not entered the dream, even to pass and bend the knee. Often she laughed aloud in mer- riment. As the wedding-day approached, she lost her breath more than once, and her skin chilled. During the last few days before the ceremony she understood for the first time that it was inevitable. But time — it was now three months since the needlewomen were set at the trous- seau — and her unconscious acceptance of the horrid fact had trimmed her spirit to philosophy, altered the habit of her mind. She saw her mother radiant, received the per- sonal congratulations of every family on the Island. Her sisters ca'me from St. Croix, and made much of the little girl who was beginning life so brilliantly ; beautiful silks and lace 3 had come from New York, and Levine had given her jewels, which she tried on her maid every day because she thought the mustee's tawny skin enhanced their lustre. She was but a child in spite of her intellect. Her union with the Dane came to appear as one of the laws of life, and she finished by accepting it as one accepted an earthquake or a hurricane. Moreover, she was profoundly innocent. Mary Fawcett accompanied the Levines to Copenhagen, but returned to St. Christopher by a ship which left Den- mark a month later, being one of those women who picture I I RACHAEL LEVINE 21 their terrestrial affairs in a state of dissolution while de- prived of their vigilance. She vowed that the North had killed her rheumatism, and turned an absent ear to Rachacl's appeal to tarry v and who made me feel as if the world had turned to fire and light ? It may have been but a mood of my own, it is so long since I have talked with a man near to my own age — and he is so near ! — and yet so real a man. ... No one could call him handsome, for he looks like a flayed Carib, and I have met some of the handsomest men in Europe and not given them a thought. Yet this man kept me be.:..de him for four hou - and has me awake a whole night because he is not with Has the disci- pline of these last years, then, gone for no.I.ing > Am I but an excitable West Indian after all, and shall I have corded hands before I am twenty-five ? It was a mistake to shut myself away from danger. Had I been constantly meeting the young men of the Island and all strangers who have come here during the last iwo years, I should not be wild tor this one — even if he has something in him unlike other men and lie awake all ni^^ht like the silly women who dream everlastingly of the lover to come. I am a fool." She lit her candle and went into her mother's room. Mary Fawcett was sitting up in bed, her white hair hang- mg out of her nightcap. It seemed to her that the end of the world had come, and she cursed human nature and the governors of the Island. " I know what has kept you awake," said Rachael, " but do not fear. It was but a passing madness — God smite those guinea fowl ! I have lived the life of a nun, and it is an unnatural life for a young woman. Yesterday I learned that I have not the temperament of the scholar, the recluse —•that is all. I should have guessed it sooner — then I should not have been fascinated by this brilliant Scot. ' I I 34 THE CONQUEROR It was my mind that flew eagerly to companionship — that was all. The hours were pleasant. I would not regret them but for the deep uneasiness they have caused you. To-day I shall enter the world again. There are many clever and accomplished young men on St. Kitts. I will meet and talk to them all. We will entertam them here There is a ball at Government House to-night, another at Mistress Irwin's on Wednesday week. I prom- ise you that I will be as gay and as universal as a girl in her first season, and this man shall see no more of me than any other man." , , ,. , . i Her mother watched her keenly as she dehvered her long tirade. Her face was deeply flushed. The arm that held the candle was tense, and her hair fell about her splendid form like a cloud of light. Had Hamilton seen anything so fair in Europe ? What part would he play in this scheme of catholicity ? , , „ , i- j " You will meet this man if you go abroad, she repUed. " Better stay here and forbid him the gates." " And think about him till I leap on my horse and ride to meet him ? A fevered imagination will make a god of a Tom Noddy. If I see him daily — with others— he will seem as commonplace as all men." Mary Fawcett did not speak for some moments. Then she said: "Hark ye, Rachael. I interfered once and brought such damnable misery upon you that I dare not — - almost — (she remembered her note to Dr. Hamilton) interfere again. This time you shall use your own judge- ment, something you have taught me to respect. Whatever the result, I will be to the end what I always have been, the best friend you have. You are very strong. You have had an awful experience, and it has made a woman of thirty of you. You are no silly little fool, rushing blindly into the arms of the first man whose eyes are black enough. You have been brought up to look upon light women with horror. In your darkest days you never sought to console yourself as weaker women do. Therefore, in spite of what I saw in both your faces yesterday, I hope." '« Yes — and give yourself no more uneasiness. Could / RACHAEL LEVINE 35 look upon the love of man with favour? Not unless I were to be born again, and my memory as dead as my body." "If you love, you will be born again; and if this man overmasters your imagination, your memory might quite as well be dead. One of the three or four things in my life that I have to be thankful for is that I never had to pass through that ordeal. You are far dearer to me than I ever was to myself, and if you are called upon to go through that wretched experience, whose consequences never finish, and I with so little time left in which to stand by and pro- tect you— " She changed abruptly. "Promise me that you will do nothing unconsidered, that you will not behave like the ordinary Francesca — for whom I have always had the most unmitigated contempt. The hour. The man. The fall. The wail : ' The earth rocked, the stars fell. I knew not what I did ! ' You have deliberation and judge- ment. Use them now — and do not ramble alone in the gorge with this handsome Scot — for he is a fine man ; I would I could deny it. I felt his charm, although he did not open his mouth." Rachael's eyes flashed. " Ah ! did you ? " she cried. " Well, but what of that ? Are not our Creoles a handsome race, and have not all but a few been educated in England ? Yes, I will promise you — if you think all this is serious enough to require a promise." " But you care so little for the world. You would be sacrificing so much less than other women — nevertheless it would make you wretched and humiliate just as much; do not forget that. I almost am tempted to wish that you had a lighter nature — that you would flirt with love and brush it away, while the world was merely amused at a suspected gallantry. Butj>ou — you would love for a life- time, and you would end by living with him openly. There is no compromise in you." "Surely we have become more serious than an after- noon's talk with an interesting stranger should warrant. I am full of a sudden longing for the world, and who knows but I shall become so wedded to it that I would yield it for t S6 THE CONQUEROR no man ? Besides, do I not live to make you happy, to reward as best I can your unselfish devotion ? If ever I could love any man more than I love you, then that love would be overwhelming indeed. But although I can imagine myself forgetting the world in such a love, I can- not picture you on the sacrificial altar." IX Rachael was asleep when Dr. Hamilton called. Mistress Fawcett received him in the Ubrary, which was at the ex- treme end of the long house. He laughed so heartily at her fears that he almost dispelled them. Whatever he an- ticipated in Rachael's future, he had no mind to apprehend danger in every man who interested her. , , ^ . , "For God's sake, Mary," he exclaimed, "let the girl have a flirtation without making a tragedy of it. She is quite right. The world is what she wants. If ever there was a woman whom Nature did not intend for a nun it is Rachael Levine. Let her carry out her plan, and in a week she will be the belle of the Island, and my poor cousin will be consoling himself with some indignant beauty only a shade less fair. I'll engage to marry him off at once, if that will bring sleep to your pillow, but I cant send him away as you propose. I am not King George, nor yet the Captain-General. Nor have I any argument by which to persuade him to go. I have given him too niuch encouragement to stay. I'll keep him away from routs as long as I can — but remember that he is young, uncommonly good-looking, and a stranger: the girls will not let me keep him in hiding for long. Now let the girl alone. Let her think you've forgotten my new kinsman and your fears. I don't know any way to manage women but to let them manage themselves. Bob Edwards failed with Catherine. I have succeeded. Take a leaf out of my book. Rachael is not going through life without a stupen- dous love affair. She was marked out for it, specially moulded and equipped by old Mother Nature. Resign yourself to it, and go out and put up your hands against ii RACHAEL LEVINE 37 the next tidal wave if you want an illustration of what interference with Rachael would amount to. I wish Levine would die, or we could get a divorce law through on this Island. But the entire Council falls on the table with horror every time I suggest it. Don't worry till the time comes. I'll fill my house with all the pretty girls on St. Kitts and Nevis, and marry this hero of romance as soon as I can." Rachael went to the ball at Government House that night, glittering in a gown of brocade she had worn at the court of Denmark : Levine had sent her trunks to Peter Lytton's, but not her jewels. She was the most splendid creature in the rooms, and there was no talk of anyone else. But before the night was a third over she realized that the attention she would receive during this her second dazzling descent upon society would differ widely from her first. The young men bowed before her in de j appre- ciation of her beauty, then passed on to the girls of that light-hearted band to which she no longer belonged. She was a woman with a tragic history and a living husband ; she had a reputation for severe intellectuality, and her eyes, the very carriage of her body, expressed a stem aloofness from the small and common exteriorities of life. The Gov- ernor, the members of Council, of the Assembly, of the bench and bar, and the clergy, flocked about her, delighted at her return to the world, but she was the belle of the matrons, and not a young man asked her to dance. She shrugged her shoulders when she saw how it was toV- they guess that I am younger than they are?" s ught. " And would I have them ? Would' I share t! •' ;cret with any in the world — but one ? Do I want to dance — to dance — Good God! And talk nonsense and the gossip of the Island with these youths when I have naught to say but that my soul has grown wings and that the cold lamp in my breast has blown out, and lit again with the flame that keeps the world alive.? Even if I think it best never to see him again, he has given me that, and I am young at last. " 38 THE CONQUEROR I r When she returned home, as the guinea fowl were at their raucous matins, she was able to tell her mother that the Scot had not attended the ball, and Mary Fawcett knew that Dr. Hamilton had managed to detain him. But a fortnight later they met again at the house of Dr. George Irwin, an intimate friend of the Hamiltons. The Irwin's house in Basseterre was on the north side of the Park, which was surrounded bv other fine dwellings and several public buildings. The broad verandahs almost overhung the enclosure, with its great banyan tree, the royal palms about the fountain, the close avenues, the flaming hedges of croton and hyljiscus, and the traveller's palm and tree ferns brought from the mountains. When a ball was given at one of the houses about this Park on a moonlight night, there was much scheming to avoid the watchful eyes of lawful guardians. It was inevitable that Hamilton should attend this ball, for the Irwins and his relatives were in and out of each other's houses all day and half the night. By this time, however, he had met nearly every girl on St. Kitts, and his cousin had ridden out that afternoon to assure Mistress Fawcett that the danger weakened daily. But for an hour, he did not leave Rachael's side that night. The beauties of St. Christopher — and they were many, with their porcelain-like complexions and distin- guished features — went through all their graceful Creole paces in vain. That he was recklessly in love with Rachael Levine was manifest to all who chose to look, and as un- daunted by her intellect and history as any man of his cousin's mature coterie. As for Rachael, although she dis- tributed her favours impartially for a while, her mobile face betrayed to Dr. Hamilton that mind and body were steeped in that tremulous content which possesses a woman when close to an undeclared lover in a public place ; the man, and Life and her own emotions unmortalized, the very future bounded by the gala walls, the music, the lights, and the perfume of flowers. These walls were hung with branches of orange trees loaded with fruit, and with ferns and orchids brought fresh from the mountains. A band of blacks played on IJ! RACHAEL LEVINE 39 their native instruments the fashionable dances of the day with a weird and barbaric effect, and occasionally sang a waihng accompaniment in voices of indescribable softness There was light from fifty candles, and the eternal breeze lifted and dispersed the heavy perfume of the flowers. Ham- ilton had been m many ball-rooms, but never in one like this He abstained from the madeiras and ports which were passed about at brief intervals by the swinging coloured women in their gay frocks and white turbans ; but he was in- toxicated, nevertheless, and more than once on the pomt of leaving the house. The unreaUty of it all held him more than weakness, for in some things James Hamilton was strong enough. The weakness in him was down at the roots of his character, and he was neither a feathercock nor a flasher. He had no intention of making love to Kachael until he. saw his future more clearly than he did to-night. During the fortnight that had passed since he met her, he had thought of little else, and to-night he wanted nothing else, but impulsive and passionate as he was he came of a race of hard-headed Scots. He had no mind for a love affair of tragic seriousness, even while his quick- ened imagination pictured the end. He deliberately left her side after a time and joined a group of men who were smoking in the court. After an hour of politics his brain had less blood in it, and when he found himself standing beside Rachael on the verandah he suggested that they follow other guests into the Park He gave Rachael his arm in the courtly fashion of the day" and they walked about the open paths and talked of the negroes singing in the cane-fields, and the squalid poverty of the North, as if their hearts were as calm as they are to- day. People turned often to look at them, commenting according to the mixing of their essences, but all concurring m praise of so much beauty. Hamilton's sunburn had passed the acute stage, leaving him merely brown, and his black silk small clothes and lace ruffles, his white silk stock- ings and pumps, were vastly becoming. His hair, lightlv powdered, was tied with a white ribbon, out although he carried himself proudly, there was no manifest in his bear- 40 THE CONQUEROR 1 ing that the vanities consumed much of his tho'ight He was gallanted like a young blood of the period, anl so^vois the young men of St. Kitts. Rachael wore a heavy gold- coloured satin, baring the neck, and a stiff and pointed tomacher, her hair held high with a diamond comb. Her lairness was dazzling in the night-light, and it was such a light as Hamilton never had seen before : for in the Tropics the moon is golden, and the stars are crystal. The palm leaves, high on their slender shafts, glittered like polished dark-green metal, and the downpour was so dazzling that more than once the stranger shaded his eyes with his hand. Had it not been for the soft babble of many voices, the silence would have been intense, until the ear was tuned to the low tinkle of the night bells, for the sea was calm. Once, as if in explanation for words unspoken, he com- mented nervously on the sensation of unreality with which these tropic scenes inspired him, and Rachael, who longed to withdraw her hand from his arm, told him of an enter- tainment peculiar to the Islands, a torchlight hunt for land- crabs, which once a year travel down from the mountains to the sea, to bathe and shed their shells. Words hastened. Before she drew breath she had arranged a hunt for the night of the loth of April, and received his promise to be one of her guests. They were not so happy as they had been within doors, for the world seemed wider. But their inner selves pressed so hard toward* each other that finally they were driven to certain egotisms as a relief. " I think little of the future," she said, after a direct question, "for that means looking beyond my mother's death, and that is the one fact I have not the courage to face. But of course I know that it holds nothing for me. A ball occasionally, and the conversation of clever men who admire me but care for some one else, books the rest of the week, and life alone on a shelf of the mountain. The thought that I shall one day be old does not console me as it may console men, for with women the heart never grows old. The body withers, and the heart in its awful eternal youth has the less to separate and protect it from the world that has no use for it. Then the body dies and is put away, I RACHAEL LEVINE 4» but the heart is greedily consumed to feed the great pulses of the world that lives faster every year. We give, and give, and give." " And are only happy in giving," said Hamilton, quickly. " But if men preserve the balance of the world by taking all that women give them, at least the best of us find our happiness in the gifts of one woman, and a woman so be- sought dare not assert that her heart is empty. I under- stand — and no one more clearly than I do to-night — that if she give too much, she may curse her heart and look out bitterly upon the manifold interests that could suppress it for weeks and months — if life were full enough. Is yours ? What would you sacrifice if you came to me ? " He asked the question calmly, for there were people on every side of them, but he asked it on an uncontrollable impulse, nevertheless ; he had vowed to himself that he would wait a month. His natural repose was greater than hers, for she had the excitable nerves of the Tropics. He felt her arm quiver before she dropped her hand from his arm. But she replied almost as calmly : " Nothing after my mother's death. Absolutely nothing. When a woman suffers as I have done, and her future is ruined in any case, the world counts for very little with her, unless it always has counted for more than anything else. We grow the more cynical and contemptuous as we witness the foolish gallantries of women who have so much to lose. I am not hard. I am very soft about many things, and since you came I am become the very tragedy of youlh ; but I have no respect for the world as I have seen it. For many people in the world I have a great deal, but not for the substance out of which Society has built itself. One never loses one's real friends, no matter what one does. Every circumstance of my life has isolated me from this structure called society, forced me to make my own laws. I may never be happy, because my capacity for happiness is too great, but in my own case there is no alternative worth considering. This is the substance of what I have thought since we met, but you are not to speak to me of it again while my mother lives." ! t I \ k 42 THE CONQUEROR "I do not promise you that — but this: that I will do much thinking before I speak again." X But although they parted with formal courtesy, it was several nights before either slept. Rachael went home to her bed and lay down, because she feared to agitate her mother, but her disposition was to go out and walk the circuit of the Island, and she rose as soon as she dared, and climbed to the highest crest behind the house. It was cold there, and the wind was keen. She sat for hours and stared out at Nevis, who was rolling up her mists, indifferent to the torment of mortals. During the past fortnight she had conceived a certain stern calm, partly in self-defence, due in part to love for her mother. But since she had left Hamilton, last night, there had been moments when she had felt alone m the Universe with him, exalted to such heights of human pas- sion that she had imagined herself about to become the mother of a new race. Her genius, which in a later day might have taken the form of mental creation, concentrated in a supreme capacity for idealized human passion, and its blind impulse was a reproduction of itself in another being. Were she and Hamilton but the victims of a mighty ego roaming the Universe in search of a medium for human expression.? Were they but helpless sacrifices, consum- mately equipped, that the result of their union might be consummately great.? Who shall affirm or deny.? The very commonplaces of life are components of its eternal mystery. We know absolutely nothing. But we have these facts : that a century and a half ago, on a tropical island, where, even to common beings, quick and intense love must seem the most natural thing in the world, this man and woman met ; that the woman, herself born in un- happy conditions, but beautiful, intellectual, with a character developed far beyond her years and isolated home by the cruel sufferings of an early marriage, reared by a woman whose independence and energy had triumphed over the RACHAEL LEVINE 43 narrow laws of the Island of her birth, given her courage to snap her fingers at society — we know that this woman, inevitably remarkable, met and loved a stranger from the North, so generously endowed that he alone of all the active and individual men who surrounded her won her heart ; and that the result of their union was one of the stupendous intellects of the world's history. Did any great genius ever come into the world after commonplace pre-natal conditions ? Was a maker of his- tory ever born amidst the pleasant harmonies of a satisfied domesticity? Of a mother who was less than remark- able, although she may have escaped being great ? Did a woman with no wildness in her blood ever inform a brain with electric fire? The students of history know that while many mothers of great men have been virtuous, none have been commonplace, and few have been happy. And lest the moralists of my day and country be more prone to outraged virtue, in reading this story, than were the easy-going folk who surrounded it, let me hasten to remind them that it all happened close upon a hundred and fifty years ago, and that the man and woman who gave them the brain to which they owe the great structure that has made their country phenomenal among nations, are dust on isles four hundred miles apart. A century and a half ago women indulged in little intro- spective analysis. They thought on broad lines, and hon- estly understood the strength of their emotions. Moreover, although Mary WoUstonecraft was unborn and " Emile " unwritten. Individualism was germinating ; and what soil so quickening as the Tropics ? Nevertheless, to admit was not to lay the questiou, and Rachael passed through many hours of torment before hers was settled. She was not unhappy, for the intoxication lingered, and behind the methodical ticking of her reason, stood, calmly awaiting its time, that sense of the Inevitable which has saved so many brains from madness. She slept little and rested less, but that sentinel in her brain prevented the frantic hopelessness which would have possessed her had she felt herself strong enough to command James Hamilton to leave the Island. -( i 44 THE CONQUEROR She met him several times before the night of her enter- tainment, and there were moments when she was filled with terror, for he did not whisper a reference to the conversation in the Park. Had he thought better of it ? Would he go ? Would he conquer himself? Was it but a passing mad- ness ? When these doubts tormented her she was driven to such a state of jealous fury that she forgot every scruple, and longed only for the bond which would bind him fast ; then reminded herself that she should be grate- ful, and endeavoured to be. But one day when he lifted her to her horse, he kissed her wrist, and again the intoxi- cation of love went to her head, and this time it remained there. Once they met up in the hills, where they had been asked with others to take a dish of tea with Mistress Montgomerie. They sat alone for an hour on one of the terraces above the house, laughing and chattering like children, then rode down the hills through the cane-fields together. Again, they met in the Park, and sat under the banyan tree, discussing the great books they had read, all of Europe they knew. For a time neither cared to finish that brief period of exquisite happiness and doubt, where imagination rules, and the world is unreal and wholly sweet, and they its first to love. The wrenching stage of doubt had passed for Hamilton, but he thought on the future with profound disquiet. He would have the woman wholly or not at all, after Mary Fawcett's death ; he knew from Dr. Hamilton that it would occur before the year was out. He had no taste for intrigue. He wanted a home, and the woman he would have rejoiced to marry was the woman he expected to love and live with for the rest of his life. Once or twice the overwhelming sense of responsibility, the certainty of children, whom he could not ".egalize, the possible ruin of his worldly interests, as well as his deep and sincere love for the woman, drove him almost to the bows of a home- ward-bound vessel. But the sure knowledge that he should return kept him doggedly on St. Christopher. He even had ceased to explain his infatuation to himself by such excuse as was given him by her beauty, her grace, ^ RACHAEL LEVINE 4$ her strong yet charming brain. He loved her, and he would have her if the skies fell. It is doubtful if he understood the full force of the attraction between them. The real energy and deliberation, the unswerving purpose in her magnetized the weakness at the roots of his ardent, impulsive, but unstable character. Moreover, in spite of the superlative passion which he had aroused in her, she lacked the animal magnetism which was his in abundance. Her oneness was a magnet for his gregariousness and concentrated it upon herself. That positive quality in him overwhelmed and intoxicated her ; and in intellect he was far more brilliant and far less profound than herself. His wit and mental nimbleness stung and pricked the serene layers which she had care- fully superimposed in her own mind to such activities as mingled playfully with his lighter moods or stimulated him in more intellectual hours. While the future was yet unbroken and imagination remodelled the face of the world, there were moments when both were exalted with a sense of completeness, and terrified, when apart, with a hint of dissolution into unrelated particles. When a man and woman arrive at that stage of reasoning and feeling, it were idle for their chronicler to moralize ; her part is but to tell the story. XI Mary Fawcett encouraged her daughter's social activity, and as Hamilton's name entered the rapid accounts of revels and routs in the most casual manner, she endeavoured to persuade herself that the madness had passed with a languid afternoon. She was a woman of the world, but the one experience th?* ' ivelops deepest insight had passed her by, and there wde shades and moods of the master passion over which her sharp eyes roved without a shock. As she was too feeble to sit up after nine o'clock, she re- fused to open her doors for the crab hunt, but gave Rachael the key of a little villa on the crest of a peak behind the house, and told her to Keep her friends all night if she chose. 4« THE CONQUEROR I This [j...ilinn, designed for the hotter weeks of the hurricane sea-^ n, but seldom used by the Fawcetts, \ as a small stone buiiuing, with two bedrooms and a living room, a awimming bath, and several huts for servants. The out buildings were dilapidated, but the house after an airing and scrubbing was as fit f>r entertainment as any on St Kitts. The furniture i ) the Tropics is of cane, and there ire no carpets or han^ ags to invite destruction. Even the mattresses arc j»t:in j it plaited thongs of leather, coverer' with strong Iron, aii . stretched until they arc hard a wood. All ^ iry Favvcett's furniture was of 'tiahogany, the only wood hnryf vi )ut to the bonng of the - . est Indian worm. This tiay .use on the mountain ne ded but a day's work to t lean it .md another to transfer;. i it int > ai- arbour of the forest Fh' wail^ ot the rooms were covered with ferns, orchids, and roton leaves. Gokl and silver candelabra had been carried up from the house, a^id they would hold half a hundred mdles All day the strong black women climbed the gorp:e and hill, their hips swinging, baskets of wine, trays of delirate edibles, pyramids of Unen, balanced as lightly on t leir heads as were they no more in weight nd size than the turban beneath; their arms hanging, their soft voices scold- ing the "pic'nees" who stumbiod after them. Toward evening, Rachael an i Kitty Hamilton walked down the mountain together, and lingered in the heavy beauty of the gorge. The terns grew high above their heads, and palms of many shapes. The dark m;ichineel with its deadly fruit, the trail! '\g vines on the tan irmd trees, the monkeys leaping, chattering with terror, ih: agh flaming hybiscus and masses of orehid, the white v( anic rock, the long torn leaves of the banana tree, the .. "rupt declines, crimson with wild strawberries, the loud b -m of the sunset gun from Brimstone Hill — Rachael ne ■'' tor- got a detail of that last walk with her old Iriemi. Hers was not the nature for intimate friendships, but CatV rine Hamilton had been one of her first remembered playn es, her bridesmaid, and hzd hastened ^-o companion her v en she emerged from the darkness of er married life. Jut I RACHAEL 1J;VINE 47 C itherine was an austere gir of no great mental liveliness, and ie frienfl hip, althoui^h sincere, was not rooted in the sym thies and affections. She bilieved R hael to be the nost remarkable woman in the world, au 1 had never dar.-d to contradict n alll .mgh she lowered 1 t fine head to no one e^se. I'm t.male v irtue, as they exiacssi i it in the eighteentii century, : lood nigher n her estimation than aii th'- gifts of min' arc! soul wh* h had been lavished upon Rachat^ L^vin , ad she wa.s ihe nrst to • sert her vhen the final tp v^as ^ ken. B'^t on this evenmg there IS no larrie nd she talked t her future with the man ^hat I she \va to marr b mental. Rachae. si^h hon 1 trie ds wer eitn= Chnstiai; who ha ! n< were in iw and lisgr.. loni^, s->e aouf, ronged n one rtends ot line. nd lea ae- is the homage of out, rst, tor woman, then ' wi' \ man 1 i wife :hat I all the pt At tei u <». hapny and somewhat enti- and her lips. All h' Tirl- ■ art! or ah' it to be — pt cr, he' ttle world. vV hy . al ? What have I to be ursed ? 1 have moie gifteu than any of these .\ jt one of them has s: udied so severely, oh as I. Not one of them can coi mand men as I. And yet I alone am singled e most hideous fate which can ;»* ck a live apart from all good men : men not marry, and who may break i ^ I ot been bom, and I would not be )r e that is the most silent depths of the L ^. ck, I it night, the hills were red w torches t 4ay a c )mpany as ever had assembled xic li^iand. Th J Governor and Dr. Hamilton were keen sports- mei and r thing delighted them more than to chase in- fur ted laud-crabs down the side of a mountain. There wci some twenty men in the party, and most of them fol- '"wed their f-istinguished elders ;!i ough brush and rocky passes Occasionally, a sudden yell of pain mingled with the sh. ts *" mirth, for land-crabs have their methods of reveng iiie three or four girls whom Rachael had in- duced I attend this masculine frolic, kept to the high refuge of the villa, attended by cavaliers who dared not hint that maiden charms were less than land-crabs. 48 THE CONQUEROR Hamilton and Rachael sat on the steps of the terrace, or paced up and down, watching the scene. Just beyond their crest was the frowning mass of Mount Misery. The crystal flood poured down from above, and the moon was rising over the distant hills. The sea had the look of infinity. There might be ships at anchor before Basseterre or Sandy Point, but the shoulders of the mountain hid them ; and below, the world looked as if the passions of Hell had let loose — the torches flared and crackled, and the trees took on hideous shapes. Once a battalion of the pale venomous-looking crabs rattled across the terrace, and Ra- chael, who was masculine in naught but her intellect, screamed and flung herself into Hamilton's arms. A moment later she laughed, but their conversation ceased then to be impersonal. It may be said here, that if Hamil- ton failed in other walks of life, it was not from want of resolution where women were concerned. And he was tired of philandering. The hunters returned, slaves carrying the slaughtered crabs in baskets. There were many hands to shell the victims, and in less than half an hour Mary Fawcett's cook sent in a huge and steaming dish. Then there were mulled wines and port, cherry brandy and liqueurs to refresh the weary, and sweets for the women. A livelier party never sat down to table ; and Hamilton, who was placed between two chattering girls, was a man of the world, young as he was, and betrayed neither impatience nor ennui, Rachael sat at the head of the table, between the Governor and Dr. Hamilton. Her face, usually as white as porcelain, was pink in the cheeks ; her eyes sparkled, her nostrils fluttered with triumph. She looked so exultant that more than one wondered if she were intoxicated with her own beauty ; but Dr. Hamilton understood, and his supper lost its relish. Some time since he had concluded that where Mary Faw- cett failed he could not hope to succeed, but he had done his duty and lectured his cousin. He understood human nature from its heights to its dregs, however, and promised Hamilton his unaltered friendship, even while in the flood of remonstrance. He was a philosopher, who invariably held I RACHAEL LEVINE 49 out his hand to the Inevitable, with a shrug of his shoulders, but he loved Rachael, and wished that the ship that brought Levine to the Islands had encountered a hurricane. The guests started for home at one o'clock, few taking the same path. The tired slaves went down to their huts. Rachael remained on the mountain, and Hamilton returned to her. XII It was a month later that Rachael, returning after a long ride with Hamilton, found her mother just descended from the family coach. " Is it possible that you have been to pay visits ? " she asked, as she hastened to support the feeble old woman up the steps. " No, I have been to Basseterre with Archibald Hamn." " Not to St. Peter's, I hope." " Oh, my dear, I do not feel in the mood to jest. I went to court to secure the future of my three dear slaves, Rebecca, Flora, and Esther." Rachael placed her mother on one of the verandah chairs and dropped upon another. "Why have you done that?" she asked faintly. "Surely—" "There are several things I fully realize, and one is that each attack leaves me with less vitality to resist the next. These girls are the daughters of my dear old Rebecca, who was as much to me as a black ever can be to a white, and that is s zing a good deal. I have just signed a deed of trust before the Registrar — to Archibald. They are still mine for the rest of my life, yours for your lifetime, or as long as you live here ; then they go to Archi- bald or his heirs. I want you to promise me that they shall never go beyond this Island or Nevis." " I promise." Rachael had covered her face with her hand. " I believe you kept the last promise you made me. It is not in your character to break your word, however you may see fit to take the law into your own hands." f SO THE CONQUEROR >■] i I " I kept it." " And you will live with him openly after my death. I have appreciated your attempt to spare me." " Ah, you c/o know me." " Some things may escape my tired old eyes, but I love you too well not to have seen for a month past that you were as happy as a bride. I shall say no more — save for a few moments with James Hamilton. I am old and ill and helpless. You are young and indomitable. If I were as vigorous and self-willed as when I left your father, I could not control you now. I shall leave you independent. Will Hamilton, Archibald, and a few others will stand by you ; but alas ! you will, in the course of nature, outlive them all, and have no friend in the world but Hamilton — although I shall write an appeal to your sisters to be sent to them after my death. But oh, how I wish, how I wish, that you could marry this man." Mary Fawcett was attacked that night by the last harsh rigours of her disease and all its complications. Until she died, a week later. Rachael, except for the hour that Ham- ilton sat alone beside the bed of the stricken woman, did not leave her mother. The immortal happiness of the last month was forgotten. She was prostrate, literally on her knees with grief and remorse, for she believed that her mother's discovery had hastened the end. " No, it is not so," said Mary Fawcett, one day. " My time has come to die. Will Hamilton will assure you of that, and I have watched the space between myself and death diminish day by day, for six months past. I have known that I should die before the year was out. It is true that I die in sorrow and with a miserable sense of failure, for you have been my best-beloved, my idol, and I leave you terribly placed in life and with little hope of betterment. But for you I have no reproach. You have given me love for love, and duty for duty. Life has treated you brutally; what has come now was, I suppose, inevitable. Human nature when it is strong enough is stronger than moral law. I grieve for you, but I die without grievance against you. Remember that. And Hamilton ? He is honourable, and RACHAEL LEVINE 5' he loves you utterly — but is he strong? I wish I knew. His emotions and his active brain give him so much ap- parent force — but underneath? I wish I knew." Rachael was grateful for her mother's unselfish assurance, but she was not to be consoled. The passions in her nature, released from other thrall, manifested themselves in a grief so profound, and at times so violent, that only her strong frame saved her from illness. For two weeks after Mary Fawcett's death she refused to see James Hamilton ; but by that time he felt at liberty to assert his rights, and her finely poised mind recovered its balance under his solace and argument. Her life was his, and to punish him assuaged nothmg of her sorrow. He had decided, after consultation with his cousin, to take her to Nevis, not only to seclude her from the scandalized society she knew best, but that he might better divert her mind, in new scenes, from her heavy affliction. Hamilton had already embarked in his business enterprise, but he had bought and ma:-,ned a sail-boat, which would carry him to and from St. Kitts daily. In the dead calms of summer there was little business doing. " I attempted no sophistry with my cousin," said Hamil- ton, "anH for thu?: reason I think I have put the final cork- ing-pin into our friendship. Right or wrong we are going to live together for the rest of our lives, because I will have no other woman, and you will have no other man ; and we will live together publicly, not only because neither of us has the patience for scheming and deceit, but because passion is not our only motive for union. There is gallantry on every side of us, and doubtless we alone shall be made to suffer; for the world loves to be fooled, it hates the crudeness of truth. But we have each other, and nothing else matters." And to Rachael nothing else mattered, for her mother was dead, and she loved Hamilton with an increasing pas- sion that was long in culminatmg. xni They saiiv.J over to Nevis, accompanied by a dozen slaves, and took possession of Rachael's house in Main Street. It fl 52 THE CONQUEROR stood at the very end of the town, beyond the point where the stiee*- ceased and the road round the Island began. The high wall of the garden surrounded a grove of palms and cocoanut trees. Only sojourners from England had occu- pied the big comfortable bouse, and it was in good repair. When the acute stage of her grief had passed, it was idle for Rachael to deny t». Hamilton that she was happy. And at that time she had not a care in the world, nor had he. Their combined incomes made them as careless of money as any planter on the Island. Every ship from England brought them books and music, and Hamilton was not only the impassioned lover but the tendercst and most patient of husbands. Coaches dashed by and the occupants cast up eyes and hands. The gay life of Nevis pulsed unheeded about the high walls, whose gates were always locked. The kinsman of the leading families of the Island and the most beautiful daughter of old John and Mary Fawcett were a constant and agitating theme, but two people lived their life of secluded and poignant happiness, and took Nevis or St. Kitts into little account BOOK II ALEXANDER HAMILTON HIS YOUTH IN THE WEST INDIES AND IN THE COLONIES OF NORTH AMERICA i ^..i >J ■ ( I should have been glad to find an old Almanac of Nevis which contained a description of its nth of January, 1757. But one January is much like another in the Lee- ward Islands, and he who has been there can easily imagine the day on which Alexander Hamilton was bom. The sky v/as a deeper blue than in summer, for the sun was resting after the terrific labours of Autumn, and there was a prick in the trade winds which stimulated the blood by day and chilled it a trifle at night The slave women moved more briskly, followed by a trotting brood of " pic'nees," one or more clinging to their hips, all bewail- ing the rigours of winter. Down in the river where they pounded the clothes on the stones, they vowed they would carry the next linen to the sulphur springs, for the very marrow in their bones was cold. In the Great Houses there were no fires, but doors and windows were closed early and opened late, and blankets were on every bed. The thermometer may have stood at 72°. Nevis herself was like a green jewel casket, after the autumn rains. Oranges and sweet limes were yellow in her orchards, the long-leaved banana trees were swelling with bunches of fruit, the guavas were ready for cream and the boiling. The wine was in the cocoanut, the royal palms had shed their faded summer leaves and glittered like burnished metal. The gorgeous masses of the croton bush had drawn fresh colour from the rain. In the woods and in the long avenues which wound up the mountain to the Great House of every estate, the air was almost cold ; but out under the ten o'clock sun, even a West Indian could keep warm, and the negroes sang as they reaped the cane. The sea near the shore was like green sunlight, but some 55 56 THE CONQUEROR yards out it deepened into that intense hot blue which IS the final excess of West Indian colouring. The spray flew high over the reef between Nevis and St. Kitts, glitter- ing like the salt ponds on the desolate end of the larger island, the roar of the breakers audible in the room where the child who was to be called Alexander Hamilton was born. Rachael rose to a ceaseless demand upon her attention for which she was grateful during the long days of Hamil- ton's absence. Alexander turned out to be the most rest- less and monarchical of youngsters and preferred his mother to his black attendants. She ruled him with a firm hand, however, for she had no mind to lessen her pleasure in him. and although she could not keep him quiet, she prevented the blacks from spoiling him. During the hurricane montlis Hamilton yielded to her nervous fears, as he had done in the preceding year, and crossed to St. Kitts but seldom. As a matter of fact, hurri- canes of the first degree are rare in the West Indies, the average to each island being one in a century. But from the 25th of August, when all the Caribbean world prostrates itself in church while prayers for deliver- ance from the awful visitation are read, to the 25 th of October, when the grateful or the survivors join m thanksgiving, every wind alarms the nervous, and every round woolly cloud must contain the white squall. Rachael knew that Nevis boats had turned over when minor squalls dashed down the Narrows between the extreme points of the Islands, and that they were most to be dreaded in the hurricane season. Hamilton's inclination was to spare in every possible way the woman Arho had sacrificed so much for him, and he asked little urging to idle his days in the cool library with his charming wife and son. There- fore his business suffered, for his partners took adva' - ^e of his negligence ; and the decay of their fortunes be, an when Rachael, despite the angry protests of Archibald Hamn, sold her property on St. Kitts and gave Hamilton the money. He withdrew from the firm which had treated him inconsiderately, and set up a business for himself. For ALEXANDER HAMILTON 57 a few years he was hopeful, although more than once obliged to borrow money from his wife. She gave freely, for she had been brought up in the careless plenty of the Islands. Mary Fawcett, admirable manager as she was, had been lavish with money, particularly when her favourite child was in question ; and Rachael's imagination had never worked toward the fact that money could roll down hill and not roll up again. She was long in discover- ing that the man she loved and admired was a failure in the uninteresting world of business. He was a brilliant and charming companion, read in the best literatures of the world, a thoughtful and adoring husband. It availed Archibald Hamn nothing to rage or Dr. Hamilton to remonstrate. Rachael gradually learned that Hamilton was not OS strong as herself, but the maternal instinct, so fully aroused by her child, impelled her to fill out his nature with hers, while denying nothing to the man who did all he could to make her happy. In the third year Hamilton gave up his sail-boat, and had himself rowed across the Narrows, where the overlooker of a salt estate he had bought awaited him with a horse. Once he would have thought nothing of walking the eight miles to Basseterre, but the Tropics, while they sharpen the nerves, caress unceasingly the indolence of man. During the hurricane season he crossed as often as he thought necessary, for with expert oarsmen there was little danger, even from squalls, and the distance was quickly covered. Gradually Rachael's position was accepted. Nothing could alter the fact that she was the daughter of Dr. and Mary Fawcett, and Hamilton was of the best blood in the Kingdom. She was spoken of generally as Mistress Hamilton, and old friends of her parents began to greet her pleasantly as she drove about the Island with her beautiful child. In time they called, and from that it was but another step to invite, as a matter of course, the young Hamiltons to their entertainments. After all, Rachael was not the first woman in tropical Great Britain to love a man she could not marry, and it was fatiguing to ask the ever- lasting question of whether the honesty of a public irregu- 58 THE CONQUEROR lar alliance were not counterbalanced by its dangerous example. It was a day of loose morals, the first fruit of the vast scientific movement of the century, whose last was the French Revolution. Moreover, the James Hamiltons were delightful people, and life on the Islands was a trifle monotonous at times; they brought into Nevis society fresh and unusual personalities, spiced with a salient variety. Hamilton might almost be said to have been bom an astute man of the world. He opened his doors with an accomplished hospitality to the most intelli- gent and cultivated people of the Island, ignoring those who based their social pretensions on rank and wealth alone. In consequence he and his wife became the leaders of a small and exclusive set, who appreciated their good fortune. Dr. Hamilton and a few other Kittifonians were constant visitors in this hospitable mansion. Christiana Huggins, who had taken a bold stand from the first, carried her father there one day in triumph, and that aus- tere parent laid down his arms. All seemed well, and the crumbling of the foundations made no sound. And Alexander ? He was an excitable and ingenious imp, who saved himself from many a spanking by his sparkling mind and entrancing sweetness of temper. He might fly at his little slaves and beat them, and to his white playmates he never yielded a point; but they loved him, for he was generous and honest, and the happiest little mortal on the Island. He could get into as towering a rage as old John Fawcett, but he was immediately amenable to the tenderness of his parents. When he was four years old he was sent to a small school, which happened to be kept by a Jewess. In spite of his precocity his parents had no wish to force a mind which, although delightful to them in its saucy quickness, aroused no ambitious hopes; they sent him to school merely that there might be less opportunity to spoil him at home. His new experience was of a brief duration. Hamilton on a Sunday was reading to Rachael in the library. Alexander shoved a chair to the table and climbed with some difficulty, for he was very small, to an elevated ALEXANr^:R HAMILTON 59 position among the last reviews of Europe. He demanded the attention of his parents, and, clasping his hands behind his back, began to recite rapidly in an unknown tongue. The day was very hot, and he wore nothing but a white apron. His little pink feet were bare on the mahogany, and his fair curls fell over a fhished and earnest face, which at all times was too thin and alert to be angelic or cherubic. Hamilton and Rachael, wondering whom he fancied him- self imitating, preserved for a moment a respectful silence, then, overcome by his solemn countenance and the fluency of his outlandish utterance, burst into one of those peals of sudden laughter which seem to strike the most sensitive chord in young children. Alexander shrieked in wrath and terror, and made as if to fling himself on his mother's bosom, then planted his feet with an air of stubborn deflance, and went on with his recital. Hamilton listened a moment longer, then left the house abruptly. He returned in wrath. " That woman has taught him the Decalogue in He- brew! " he exclaimed. '"Tis a wonder his brains are not addled. He will sail boats in the swimming bath and make shell houses in the garden for the next three years. We'll have no more of school." II Alexander Hamilton had several escapes from imminent peril when he was a boy, and the first occurred in the month of December, 1761. Hamilton had gone to St. Croix on business, and Rachael and tiie child spent the fortnight of his absence with Christiana Huggins. Rachael was accus- tomed to Hamilton's absences, but Nevis was in a very unhealthy condition, through lack of wind and rains during the preceding autumn. The sea had looked like a metnl floor for months, the Island was parched and dry, the swamps on the lowlands were pestiferous. Many negroes had died in Charles Town, and many more were ill. The obeah doctors, with their absurd concoctions and practices, were openly defying the physicians of repute, for the ter- 6o THE CONQUEROR rifled blacks believed that the English had prayed once too often that the hurricane should be stayed, and that he sulked where none might f'*oi his faintest breath. There- fore they cur .sea the whiu u/Ctor as futile, and flung his physic from the windows. Rachael was glad to escape to the heights with Alexander. There it was almost as cool as it .should be in December, and she could watch for her husband's sloop. He had gone with the first light wind, and there was enough to bring him home, although with heavy sail. She forgot the muttering negroes and the sickness below. Her servants had been instructed to nurse and nourish where assistance was needed, and up here there was nothing to do but wan- der with her friend and child through the gay beauty of the terraced garden, or climb the stone steps to the cold quiet depths of the forest. At the end of a fortnight there was no sign of her hus- band's sloop, but the wind was strengthening, and she decided to return home and make ready for him. During the long drive she passed negroes in large numbers, either walking toward Charles Town or standing in muttering groups by the roadside. At one time the driveway was so thick with them that her coach could not pass until the postilion laid about him with his whip. " This is very odd," she said to her nurse. " I have never seen anything like this before." "Me no t'ink he nothin'. All go tee tick — oh, dis pic'nee no keep till one minit. Me no t'ink about he 'n de road." She lifted the child between her face and her mistress's eyes, and Rachael saw that her hand trembled. " Can the negroes be rising ? " she wondered ; and for a moment she was faint with terror, and prayed for Hamilton's return. But she was heroic by nature, and quickly recovered her poise. When she arrived at home she sent the nurse to Charles Town on an errand, then went directly to her bedroom, which was disconnected from the other rooms, and called her three devoted maids, Rebecca, Flora, and Esther. They came running at the sound of her voice, ALEXANDER HAMILTON 6i iiid she saw at once that they were terrified and ready cling to her garments. "What is the matter?" she demanded. "Tell me it once. "Me no know fo' sure," said Rebecca, "but me t'iur:, t'ink, till me yell in me tleep. Somethin' tcr'blc go to hap- pen. Mc feel he in de air. All de daddvs, all de buddys, 'peak, 'peak, togedder all de time, an' look so bad — an' de oby doctors put de < in-sc ebberywheres. Me fine befo' de gate dis mornin' one judden', de mud an' oil an' horsehair, but me no touch he. Me ask all de sissys me know, what comes, but he no 'peak. He run out he tongue, and once he smack me ear. Oh, Mistress, take us back to Sinkitts." " But do you knozv nothing .' " They shook their heads, but stared at her hopefully, for they be'.^ved implicitly in her power to adjust all things. " And my other slaves .' Do you think they are faithful to mc ? " " All in de town all de time. Me ask ebbery he tell me what comes, and he say ' nothin,' but I no believe he." "And has the Go^ . "nor take" no notice ^ " " De Gobbcnor lord and n^l de noble Bi kras go yis'day or — n iarade in Basse- < bcatr lord de Sinkitts. ' .bin', an' all quiet on r. to town an' look so bad, to i nkitts. Take de mili ' tarr. Is de birf day to-morro Up in de Groat Houses nc states till yes 'day. Now c so bad ! " " Very well, then, the Governor and the militia mui' '.oni- back. Rebecca, you are the most sensible as well as the weakest in the arms. You will stay here to-nigh t^ and you will not falter for a moment. As s 'on ar, it is c'i»rk Flora and Esther will row me across the ■ ?nnel, and I will send the Buckra's agent on a fast horst. \.;th a note to the Gov- ernor. If the other house servants return, you will tell them that I am ill and that Flora and Esther are nursing me. You will lock the gates, and opC; '■hem to no one unless your Buckra should return. Do yoi mderstand } " The slave relied her eyes, but nodded. S e might have defied the Captain-General, but not one of tiie Fawcetts. 6s THE CONQUEROR There were two hours before dark. Rachael was con- scious of every nerve in her body, and paced up and down the long line of rooms which terminated in the library, until Alexander's legs were worn out trotting after her, and he fell asleep on the floor. Twice she went to the roof to look for Hamilton's sloop, but saw not a sail on the sea ; and the streets of Charles Town were packed with negroes. England ''ent no soldiers to protect her Islands, and every free male between boyhood and old age was forced by law to join the militia. It was doubtful if there were a dozen muscular white men on Nevis that night, for the b^'-thday of a Governor was a fdte of hilarities. Unless the militia returned that night, the blacks, if they really were plotting vengeance, and she knew their superstitio.is, would have burned every house and cane-field before morning. The brief twilight passed. The mist rolled down from the heights of Nevis. Rachael, with Alexander in her arms, and followed by her maids, stole along the shore through the thick cocoanut groves, meeting no one. They were far from the town's centre, and all the blacks on the Island seemed to be gathered there. The boat was beached, and it took the combined efforts of the three women to launch it. When they pushed off, the roar of the breakers and the heavy mist covered their flight. But there was another danger, and the very physical strength of the slaves departed before it. They had rowed their mistress about the roadstead before St. Kitts a hundred times, but the close proximity of the reef so terrified them that Rachael was obliged to take the oars; while Flora caught Alexander in so convulsive an embrace that he awoke and protested with all the vigour of his lungs. His mother's voice, to which he was peculiarly susceptible, hushed him, and he held back his own, although the gasp- ing bosom on which he rested did not tend to soothe a nervous child. But there were other ways of expressing outraged feelings, and he kicked like a little steer. Rachael herself was not too sure of her knowledge of the dangerous channel, although she had crossed it many times with Hamilton ; and the mist was floating across to ALEXANDER HAMILTON 63 St. Kitts. The hollow boom of the reef seemed so close that she expected to hear teeth in the boat every moment, and she knew that far and wide the narrows bristled. She wondered if her hair were turning white, and her straining nerves quivered for a moment with a feminine regret ; for she knew the power of her beauty over Hamilton. But her arms kept their strength. Life had taught her to en- dure more than a half-hour of mortal anxiety. She reached the shore in safety, and Esther recovered her muscle and agreed to run to the overlooker's house and send him, on his fleetest horse, with her mistress's note to the Governor of Nevis. When the others reached the house, a mile from the Narrows, the man had gone ; and Rachael could do no more. The overlooker's wife mulled wine, and the maids were soon asleep. Alexander refused to go to bed, and Rachael, who was not in a disciplinary mood, led him out into the open to watch for the boats of the Governor and his militia. There was no moon ; they could cross and land near Hamilton's house and overpower, without discharging a gun, the negroes packed in Charles Town. If the Governor were prompt, the blacks, even had they dispersed to fire the estates, would not have time for havoc ; and she knew the tendency of the negro to pro- crastinate. They did not expect the Governor until late on the following day; they could drink all night and light their torches at dawn when Nevis was heavy in her last sleep. Nevertheless, Rachael watched the Island anxiously. Fortunately, Alexander possessed an inquiring mind, and she was obliged to answer so many questions that the strain was relieved. They walked amidst a wild and dismal scene. The hills were sterile and black. The salt ponds, sunken far below- the level of the sea, from lack of rain, glittered white, but they were set with aloes and manchi- neel, and there were low and muddy flats to be avoided. It was a new aspect of nature to the child who had lived his four years amid the gay luxuriance of tropic verdure, and he was mightily interested. Nevertheless, it was a long hour before the overlooker returned v/ith word that the Governor was on his way to Nevis with the militia of both 64 THE CONQUEROR Islands — for St. Kitts was quiet, its negroes having taken the drouth philosophically— and that her husband was with them. He had arrived at Basseterre as the boats were leaving ; as a member of the Governor's staff, he had no choice. He had sent her word, however, not to return to Nevis that night ; and Rachael and Alexander went down to the extreme point of the Island and sat there through a cold night of bitter anxiety. With the dawn Hamilton came for them. , , , j j The negroes, surprised and overwhelmed, had surrendered without resistance, and before they had left the town. They confessed that their intention had been to murder every white on the Island, seize the ammunition which was stored on the estates, and fire upon the militia as it passed, on the following day. The ringleaders and obeah doctors were either publicly executed or punished with such cruelty that the other malcontents were too cowed to plan another re- bellion ; and the abundant rains of the following autumn restored their faith in the white man. mi 1!^ Ill When Alexander was five years old, James arrived, an object of much interest to his elder brother, but a child of ordinary parts to most beholders. He came during the last days of domestic tranquillity; for it was but a few weeks later that Hamilton was obliged to announce to Rachael that his fortunes, long tottering, had collapsed to their rotten foundations. It was some time before she could accommodate her understanding to the fact that there was nothing left, for even Levine had not dared to lose his money, far less her own ; and had she ever given the subject of wealth a thought, she would have assumed that it had roots in certain families which no adverse circum- stance could deplace. She had overheard high words be- tween Archibald Hamn and her husband in the library, but Hamilton's casual explanations had satisfied her, and she had always disliked Archibald as ' possible stepfather. Dr. Hamilton had frequently looked grave after a conversation ALEXANDER HAMILTON with his kinsman, but Rachael was too unpractical to attrib- ute his heavier moods to anything but his advancing years. When Haniilton made her understand that they were penniless, and that his only means of supporting her was to accept an offer from Peter Lytton to take charge of a cattle estate on St. Croix, Rachael's controlling sensation was dismay that this man whom she had idolized and ideal- ized, who was the forgiven cause of her remarkable son's illegitimacy, was a failure in his competition with other men. Money would come somehow, it always had ; but Hamilton dethroned, shoved out of the ranks of planters and mer- chants, reduced to the status of one of his own overlookers, almost was a new and strange being, and she dared not bid forth her hiding thoughts. Fortunately the details of moving made life impersonal and commonplace. The three slaves whose future had been the last concern but one of Mary Fawcett, were sent, wailing, to Archibald Hamn. Two of the others v :re retained to wait upon the children, the rest sold with the old mahogany furniture and the library. The Hamiltons set sail for St. Croix on a day in late April. The sympathy of their friends had been expressed in more than one offer of a lucrative position, but Hamilton was intensely proud, and too mortified at his failure to remain obscure among a people who had been delighted to accept his princely and exclusive hospitality. On St. Croix he was almost unknown. They made the voyage in thirty-two hours, but as the slaves were ill, after the invariable habit of their colour, Rachael hid little respite from her baby, or Hamilton from Alexander, whose restless legs and enterprising mind kept him in constant motion ; and the day began at five o'clock. There was no opportunity for conversation, and Hamilton was grateful to the miserable mustees. He had the tact to let his wife readjust herself to her damaged idols without weak excuses and a pleading which would have distressed her further, but he was glad to be spared intimate conver- sation with her. As they sailed into the bright green waters before Fred- erikstadt, the sun blazed down upon the white town on the I ¥ 66 THE CONQUEROR i: white plain with a vicious energy which Rachael had never seen on Nevis during the hottest and most silent months of the year. She closed her eyes and longed for the cool shallow* of the harbour, and even Alexander ceased to watch the flying fish dart like silver blades over the water, an^ith one of his former business connections. He had no choice but to leave his wife and children dependent upon her lelatives until he could send for them ; and a week later Rachael was forced to move to Peter Lytton's. Her brother-in-law's house was very large. She was given an upstairs wing of it and treated with much con- sideration, but this final ignominy broke her haughty spirit, and she lost interest in herself. She was thankful that her children were not to grow up in want, that Alexander was able to continue his studies with Hugh Knox. He was beyond her now in everything but French, in which they read and talked together daily. She also discussed constantly with him those heroes of history distinguished not only for great achievements, but for sternest honour. She dreamed of his future greatness, and sometimes of her part in it. But her inner life was swathed like a mummy. To Alexander the change would have been welcome had he understood his mother less. But the ordinary bright boy of nine is acute and observing, and this boy of Rachael's, with his extraordinary intuitions, his unboy- ish brain, his sympathetic and profound affection for his mother, felt with her and criticised his father severely. To him failure was incomprehensible, then, as later, for self- confidence and indomitability were parts of his equipment ; and that a man of his father's age and experience, to say nothing of his education and intellect, should so fail in the common relation of life, and break the heart and pride of the uncommonest of women, filled him with a deep disap- pointment, which, no doubt, was the first step toward tiie early loss of certain illusions. Otherwise his life was vastly improved. He soon be- came intimate with boys of neighbouring estates, Edward and Thomas Stevens, and Benjamin Yard, and for a time they all studied together under Hugh Knox. At first there was discord, for Alexander would have led a host of cheru- bims or had naught to do with them, and these boys were MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) A ^iPPLIED IIVMGE Inc ^Sr 1653 East Main Street SI^S Rochester, Ne* York 14609 USA '■^S (716) *82 - 0300 - Phone a^ (716) 288 - 5989 - fox 74 THE CONQUEROR clever and spirited. There were fights of word and fist in the lee of Mr. Lytton's barn, where interference was un- likely ; but the three succumbed speedily, not alone to the powerful magnetism in little Hamilton's mind, and to his active fists, but because he invariably excited passionate attachment, unless he encountered jealous hate. When his popularity with these boys was established they adored the very blaze of his temper, and when he formed them into a soldier company and marched them up and down the palm avenue for a morninc: at a time, they never mur- mured, although they were like to die oi the heat and un- accustomed exertion. Neddy Stevens, who resembled him somewhat in face, was the closest of these boyhood friends. Alexander was a great favourite with Mr. Lytton, who took him to ride every morning ; Mrs. Lytton preferred James, who was a comfortable child to nurse; but Mrs. Mitchell was the declared slave of her lively nephew, and sent her coach for him on Saturday mornings. As for Hugh Knox, he never ceased to whittle at the boy's am- bition and point it toward a great place in modern letters. Had he been born with less sound sense and a less watch- ful mother, it is appalling to think what a brat he would have been ; but as it was, the spoiling but fostered a self- confidence which was half the battle in after years. Hamilton never returned. His letters to his wife spoke always of the happiness of their final reunion, of belief in the future. His brothers had sent him money, and he hoped they would help him to recover his fortunes. But two years passed and he was still existing on a small salary, his hopes and his impassioned tenderness were stereotyped. Rachael's experience with Hamilton had developed her insight. She knew that man requires woman to look after her own fuel. If she cannot, he may carry through life the perfume of a sentiment, and a tender regret, but it grows easy and more easy to live with- out her. It was a long while before she forced her pene- trating vision round to the certainty that she never should see Hamilton again, and then she realized how strong hope had been, that her interest in herself was not dead, ALEXANDER HAMILTON 75 that her love must remain quick through interminable years of monotony and humiliation. For a time she was so alive that she went close to killing herself, but she fought it out as she had fought through other desperate crises, and wrenched herself free of her youth, to live for the time when her son's genius should lift him so high among the immortals that his birth would matter as little as her own hours of agony. But the strength that carried her triumphantly through that battle was fed by the last of her vitality, and it was not long before she knew that she must die. Alexander knew it first. The change in his mother was so sudden, the earthen hue of her white skin, the dimming of her splendid eyes, spoke so unmistakably of some strange collapse of the vital forces, that it seemed to the boy who worshipped her as if all the noises of the Uni- verse were shrieking his anguish. At the same time he fought for an impassive exterior, then bolted from the house and rode across the Island for a doctor. The man came, prescribed for a megrim, and Alexander did not call him again ; nor did he mention his mother's condition to the rest of the family. She was in the habit of remaining in her rooms for weeks at a time, and she had her own attendants. Mrs. Lytton was an invalid, and Peter Lytton, while ready to give of his bounty to his wife's sister, had too little in common with Rachael to seek her companion- ship. Alexander felt the presence of death too surely to hope, and was determined to have his mother to himself during the time that remained. He confided in Hugh Knox, then barely left the apartments. Just before her collapse Rachael was still a beautiful woman. She was only thirty-two when she died. Her face, except when she forced her brain to activity, was sad and worn, but the mobile beauty of the features was unimpaired, and her eyes were luminous, even at their darkest. Her head was always proudly erect, and nature had given her a grace and a dash which survived broken fortunes and the death of her coquetry. No doubt this is the impression of her which Alexander carried through life, for 76 THE CONQUEROR those last two months passed to the sound of falling ruins, on which he was too sensible to dwell when they had gone into the control f his will. After she h- J admitted to Alexander that she understood her condition, they seldom alluded to the subject, although their conversation was as rarely impersonal. The house stood high, and Rachael's windows commanded one of the most charming views on the Island. Below was the green valley, with the turbaned women moving among the cane, then the long white road with its splendid setting of royal palms, winding past a hill with groves of palms, marble fountains and statues, terraces covered with hibiscus and orchid, and another Great House on its summit. Far to the right, through an opening in the hills, was a glimpse of the sea. Rachael lay on a couch in a little balcony during much of the soft winter day, and talked to Alexander of her mother and her youth, finally of his father, touching lightly on the almost forgotten episode with Levine. All that she did not say his creative brain divined, and when she told him what he had long suspected, that his mother's name was unknown to the Hamiltons of Grange, he accepted the fact as but one more obstacle to be overthrown in the battle with life which he had long known he was to fight unaided. To criticise his mother never occurred to him; her control of his heart and imagination was too absolute. His only regret was that she could not live until he was able to justify her. The audacity and boldness of his nature were stimulated by the prospect of this sharp battle with the world's most cherished convention, and he was fully aware of all that he owed to his mother. When he told her this she said : — " I regret nothing, even though it has brought me to this. In the first place, it is not in me to do anything so futile. In the second place, I have been permitted to live in every part of my nature, and how many women can say that? In the third, you are in the world, and if I could live I should see you the honoured of all men. I die with regret because you need me for many years to come, and I have ALEXANDER HAMILTON 77 suffered so much that I never could suffer again. Re- member always that you are to be a great man, not merely a successful one. Your mind and your will are capable of all thin^;s. Never try for the second best, and that means to put your immediate personal desire aside when it en- counters one of the ideals of your time. Unless you identify yourself with the great principles of the world you will be a failure, because your mind is created in bar- mony with them, and if you use it for smaller purposes it will fail as surely as if it tried to lie or steal. Your passions are violent, and you have a blackness of hate in you which will ruin you or others according to the control you acquire over it; so be warned. But you never can fail through any of the ordinary defects of character. You are too bold and independent to lie, even if you had been born with any such disposition ; you are honourable and tactful, and there is as little doubt of your fascination and your power over others. But remember — use all these great forces when your ambition is hottest, then you can stumble upon DO second place. As for your heart, it will control your head sometimes, but your insatiable brain will ac- complish so much that it can afford to lose occasionally ; and the warmth of your nature will make you so many friends, that I draw from it more strength to die than from all your other gifts. Leave this Island as soon as you can. Ah, if I could give you but a few thousands to force the first doors ! " She died on the 25th of February, 1768. Her con- dition had been known for some days, and her sisters had shed many tears, aghast and deeply impressed at the tragic fate of this youngest, strangest, and most gifted of their father's children. Unconsciously they had expected her to do something extraordinary, and it was yet too soon to realize that she had. His aunts had announced far and wide that Alexander was the brightest boy on the Island, but that a nation lay folded in his saucy audacious brain they hardly could be expected to know. 78 THE CONQUEROR The Great House of Peter Lytton was hung with white from top to bottom, and every piece of furniture looked as if the cold wing of death had touched it. A white satin gown, which had come from London for Rachael six years before, — just too late, for she never went to a ball again, — was taken from her n,.ihogany press and wrapped about her wasted body. Her magnificent hair was put out of sight in a cap of blond lace. The fashionable world of St. Croix, which had seen little of Rachael in life, came to the ceremonious exit of her body. They sat along the four sides of the large drawing- room, looking i .ke a black dado against the white walls, and the Rev. Cecil Wray Goodchild, the pastor of the larger number of that sombre flock, sonorously read the prayers for the dead. Hugh Knox felt that his was the right to perform that ceremony; but he was a Presbyterian, and Peter Lytton was not one of his converts. He was there, however, and so were several Danes, whose colour- less faces and heads completed the symbolization encir- cling the coffin. People of Nevis, St. Christopher, and St. Croix were there, the sisters born of- the same mother, a kinsman of Hamilton's, himself named James Hamilton, these bleached people of the North, whose faces, virtuous as they were, would have seemed to the dead woman to shed the malignant aura of Levine's, — and the boy for whom the sacrificial body had been lain on the altar. He paid his debt in wretchedness then and there, and stood by the black pall which covered his mother, feeling a hundred years older than the brother who sat demurely on Mrs. Lytton's agitated lap. When Mr. Goodchild closed his book, the slave women entered with silver pitchers containing mulled wines, porter mixed with sugar and spice, madeira, and port wine. Heaped high on silver salvers were pastries and "dyer bread," wrapped in white paper sealed with black wax. The guests refreshed themselves deeply, then followed the coffin, which was borne on the shoulders of the dead ALEXANDER HAMILTON 79 woman's brothers and their closest friends, across the valley to the private burying-ground of the Lyttons. Old James Lytton was placed beside her in the following year, and ten years later a child of Christiana Huggins, the wife of his son. The cane grows above their graves to-day. VI Alexander went home with Mrs. Mitchell, and it was long before he returned to Peter Lytton's. His favourite aunt was delighted to get him, and her husband, for whom Alexander had no love, was shortly to sail on one of his frequent voyages. Mrs, Mitchell had a winter home in Christianstadt, for she loved the gay life of the little capital, and her large house, on the corner of King and Strand streets, was opened almost as often as Government House. This pile, with its imposing facade, represented to her the fulfil- ment of worldly ambitions and splendour. There was nothing to compare with it on Nevis or St. Kitts, nor yet on St. Thomas ; and her imagination or memory gave her nothing in Europe to rival it. When Government House was closed she felt as if the world were eating bread and cheese. The Danes were not only the easiest and most generous of rulers, but they entertained with a royal con- L mpt of pieces of eight, and their adopted children had neither the excuse nor the desire to return to their native isles. Christianstadt, although rising straight from the harbour, has the picturesque effect of a high mountain-village. As the road across the Island finds its termination in King Street, the perceptible decline and the surround- ing hills, curving in a crescent to the unseen shore a mile away, create the 'ilusion. On the left the town straggles away in an irregular quarter for the pof~, set thick with groves of cocoanut and palm. On the right, and parallel with the main road, is Company Street, and above is the mountain studded with great white stone 8o THE CONQUEROR houses, softened by the lofty roofs of the royal palm. All along King Street the massive houses stand Jose together, each with its arcade and its curious outside staircase of stone which leads to an upper balc&ny where one may catch the breeze and watch the leisures of tropic life. Almost every house has a court opening into a yard sur- rounded by the overhanging balconies of three sides of the building; and here the guinea fowl screech their matins, the roosters crow \\l night, there is always a negro asleep under a cocoan' ee, and a flame of colour from potted plants. Down by the sea is the red fort, built on a bluff, and commanding a harbour beautiful to look upon, with its wooded island, its sharp high points, its sombre swamps covered with lacing mangroves, but locked from all the world but that which can come in sailing ships, by the coral reef on which so many craft have gone to pieces. From Alexander's high window in Thomas Mitchell's house, he could see the lively Park behind the Fort ; the boats sail over from the blue peaks of St. Thomas and St John, the long white line of the sounding reef. Above the walls of Government House was the high bold curve of the mountain with its dazzling facades, its gUtter of green. In the Kmg Street of that day gentlemen in knee breeches and lace shirts, their hair in a powdered queue, were as familiar objects as turbaned blacks and Danes in uniform. After riding over their plantations "to hear the cane grow," they almost invariably brought up in town to talk over prospects with the merchants, or to meet each other at some more jovial resort. Sometimes they came clatter- ing down the long road in a coach and four, postilions shouting at the pic'nees in the road, swerving, and halting so suddenly in some courtyard, that only a planter, accus- tomed to this emotional method of travel, could keep his seat. Ordinarily he preferred his horse, perhaps because at told no tales. Thomas Mitchell had made his large fortune in the traffic of slaves, and was on terms of doubtful courtesy with Peter Lytton, who disapproved the industry. Blacks were by no ALEXANDER HAMILTON 8i means his only source of revenue ; he had one of the two large general stores of the Island— the other was Nicholas Cruger's — and plantations of cane, whose yield in sugar, molasses, and rum never failed him. He was not a pleas- ing man in his family, and did not extend the hospitality of its roof to Alexander with a spontaneous warmth. His own children were married, and he did not look back upon the era of mischievous boys with sufficient enthusiasm to prompt him to adopt another. He yielded to his wife's voluble sup- plications because domestic harmony was necessary to his content, and Mistress Mitchell had her ways of upsetting it. Alexander was immediately too busy with his studies to pay attention to the indifferent grace with which Mr. Mitchell accepted his lot, and, fortunately, this industrious merchant was much away from home. Hugh Knox, as the surest means of diverting the boy from his grief, put him at his books the day after he arrived in Christianstadt. His own house was on Company Street, near the woods out of which the town seemed to spring ; and in iiis cool library he gathered his boys daily, and crammed their brains with Latin and mathematics. The boys had met at Peter Lyt- ton's before, but Knox easily persuaded them to the new arrangement, which was as grateful to him — he was newly married — as to Alexander. When the lessons were over he gave his favourite pupil a book and an easy-chair, or made experiments in chemistry with him until it was cool enough to ride or row. In the evening Alexander had his difficult lessons to prepare, and when he tumbled IrJo bed at midnight he was too healthy not to sleep soundly, lie spent two days of every week with his friend Ned Stevens, on a plantation where there were lively people and many horses. Gradually the heaviness of his grief sank of its weight, the buoyancy and vivacity of his mind were released, the eager sparkle returned to his eyes. He did not cease to regret his mother, nor passionately to worship her mem- ory ; but he was young, the future was an unresting magnet to his ambitious mind, devoted friends did their utmost, and his fine strong brain, eager for novelty and know- ledge, opened to new impressions, closed with inherent phi- 8a THE CONQUEROR losophy to what was beyond recall. So passed Rachael Lcviiie. A year later his second trial befell him. Ned Stevens, the adored, set sail for New York to complete his education at King's College. Alexander strained his eyes after the sails of the ship for an hour, then burst unceremoniously into the presence of Hugh Knox. " Tell me quick," he exclaimed ; " how can I make two thousand pieces of eight.!* I must go to college. Why didn't my uncles send me with Neddy ? He had no wish to go. He swore all day yesterday at the prospect of six years of hard work and no more excuses for laziness. I am wild to go. Why could it not have been I?" " That's a curious way the world has, and you'll be too big a philosopher in a few years to ask questions like that. If you want the truth, I've wrangled with Peter Lytton, — it's no use appealing to Tom Mitchell, — but he's a 'bit close, as you know, when it actually comes to putting his hand in his pocket. He didn't send any of his own sons to New York or England, and never could see why any- one else did. Schooling, of course, and he always had a tutor and a governess out from England ; but what the devil does a planter want of a college education > I argued that I couldn't for the life of me see the makings of a planter in you, but that by fishing industriously among your intel- lects I'd found a certain amount of respectable talent, and I thought it needed more training than I could give it ; that I was nearing the end of my rope, in fact. Then he asked me what a little fellow like you would do with a college education after you got it, for he couldn't stand the idea of you trying to earn your living in a foreign city, where there was ice and snow on the ground in winter ; and when I suggested that you might stay on in the college and teach, if you were afraid of being run over or frozen to death in the street, he said there was no choice between a miserable teacher's life and a planter's, and he'd leave you enough land to start you in life. I cursed like a planter, and left the house. But he loves you, and if you plead with him he might give way." ALEXANDER HAMILTON 83 " I'd do anything else under heaven that was reasonable to get to New York but ask any man for money. Peter Lytton knows that I want learning more than all the other boys on this island; and if I'm little, I've brok n in most of his colts and have never hesitated to fight. He finds his pathos in his purse. Why can't I make two thousand pieces of eight .' " " You'd be so long at it, poor child, that it would be too late to enter college ; for there's a long apprenticeship to serve before you get a salary. But you must go. I've thought, thought about it, and I'll think more." He almost wished he had not married ; but as he had no other cause to regret his venture, even his interest in young Hamilton did not urge him to deprive his little family of the luxuries so necessary in the West Indies. Economy on his salary would mean a small house instead of large rooms where one could forget the heat ; curtailment of the voluminous hnen wardrobes so soon demolished on the stones of the river; surrender of coach and horses. He trusted to a moment of sudden insight on the part of Peter Lytton, assisted by his own eloquent argument ; and his belief in Alexander's destiny never wavered. Once he approached Mrs. Mitchell, for he knew she had money of her own ; but, as he had expected, she went into immediate hysterics at the suggestion to part with her idol, and he hastily retreated. ^ Alexander turned over every scheme of making money his fertile brain conceived, and went so far as to ask his aunt to send him to New York, where he could work in one of the West Indian houses, and attend college by some special arrangement. He, too, retreated beforr Mrs. Mit- chell's agitation, but during the summer another cause drove him to work, and without immediate reference to the wider education. Mr. Mitchell was laid up with the gout and spent the sump or on his plantation. His slaves fled at the sound of his voice, his wife wept incessantly at this the heaviest of her life's trials, and it was not long before Alexander was made to feel his dependence so keenly by the irascible «4 THE CONQUEROR planter that he leaped on his horse one day and calloDed five miles under the hot sun to Lytton's Fancy. " I want to work," he announced, with his usual breath- less impetuosity when excited, bursting in upon Mr. Lytton who was mopping his face after his siesta. "Put me at anything. I don't care what, except in Uncle Mitchell's store. I won t work for him." Mr Lytton laughed with some satisfaction. "So you two have come to loggerheads.? Tom Mitchell, well, is insufferable. With gout in him he must bristle with every damnable trait in the human category. Come back and live with me, he added, in a sudden burst of sympathy tor the boy looked hot and tired and dejected ; and his diminutive size appealed always to Peter Lytton, who was six feet two. " You're a fine little chap, but I doubt you're strong enough for hard work, and you love your books Come here and read all day if you like. When you're grown 1 II make you manager of all my estates. Gad' I'd be glad of an honest one ! The last time I went to Ene- land, that devil, Tom Collins, drank every bottle of my best port, smashed my furniture, broke the wind of every horse I had, and kept open house for every scamp and loafer on the Island, or that came to port. How old are you -twelve.? I'll turn everything over to you in three years. You ve more sense now than any boy I ever saw Three years hence, if you continue to improve, you'll be a man, and I'll be only too glad to put the whole thing in your hands. ^ Alexander struggled with an impulse to ask his uncle to send him to college, but not only did pride strike at the words, but he reflected with some cynicism that the affec- tion he inspired invariably expressed itself in blatant selfish- ness, and that he might better appeal to the enemies he had made to send him from the Island. He shook his head. " I'll remain idle no longer," he said. " I'm tired of eat- mg bread that's given me. I'd rather eat yours than his, but I ve made up my mind to work. What can you find for me now ? " ^ i« ALEXANDER HAMILTON «5 *• You are too obstinite to argue with in August. Cruger wants a reliable clerk. I heard him say so yesterday. He'll take you if I say the word, and give you a little something in the way of salary." "I like Mr. Cruger," said Alexander, eagerly, "and so did my mother," " He's a kind chap, but he'll work you to death, for he's always in a funk that Tom Mitchell'll get ahead of him But you cannot do better. I have no house in to"'i. but vou can ride the distance between here and Chr" ■ idt night and morning, if my estimable brother-in-lu . > nom may the gout convince of his sins — is too much you." But Alexander had no desire to retrrn to the house where he hpd passed those last terrible weeks with his mother, and Mis. Mitchell begged him on her knees to forgive the invalid, and sent him to the house in Christianstadt, where he would be alone until Decenber; by that time, please God, Tom Mitchell would be on his way to Jamaica. But Alexander had little further trouble with that personage. Mr. Mitchell had his susceptibilities; he was charmed with a boy of twelve who was too proud to accept the charity of wealthy relatives and determined to make his living. Alexander entered Mr. Cruger's store in October Mr. Mitchell did not leave tb Island again until the following spring, and moved to vn in November. He and Alexander discussed the prosj . jts of rum, molasses, and sugar, the price of mahogan} , of oats, cheese, bread, and flour, the various Island ai^H American markets, until Mrs Mitchell left tl .-able. Her husband proudly told his acquaintance thai lis nephew, Alexander Hamilton, was destmed to become the cleverest merchant in the Caribbees. VII But Alexander had small liking for his employment. He had as much affinity with the sordid routine of a gen- eral store and counting-house as Tom Mitchell had with the angels. But pride and ambition carried him through most of the distasteful experiences of his life. He would 86 THE CONQUEROR come short m nothing, and at that tender age, when his relatives were prepared to forgive his failures with good- humoured tact, he was willing to sacrifice even his books to clerical success. He soon discovered that he had that order of mind which concentrates without effort upon what- ever demands its powers, — masters the detail of it with incredible swiftness. At first he was a general clerk, and attended to the loading and unloading of Mr. Cruger's sloops; after a time he was made bookkeeper; it was not long before he was in charge of the counting-house. He got back to his books in time — for business in the Islands finishes at four o'clock — and when he had learned all the l^atm, Greek, Hebrew, and mathematics Hugh Knox could tear'! him, he spent his leisure hours with Pope, Plutarch Shakespeare, Milton, Plato, and the few other English poets and works of Greek philosophers which Knox pos- sessed, as well as several abridged histories of England and Europe. These interested him more than aught else, purely literary as his proclivities were supposed to be, and he read and reread them, and longed for some huge work m twenty volumes which should reveal Europe to his searching vision. But this was when he was fourteen, and had a most forgotten what the life of a mere boy was like. Shortly after he entered Mr. Cruger's store he wrote his famous letter to young Stevens. It will bear republication here, and its stilted tone, so different from the concise sim- plicity of his business letters, was no doubt designed to produce an effect on the mind of his more fortunate friend He became a master of style, and before he was twenty • but there IS small indication of the achievement in this letter lovable as It IS : — ' St. Croix. November n, 1769. Dear Edward, This serves to acknowledge the receipt of vours of Capt. Lightbowen and Lowndes' information is now verified by he presence of your father and sister, for whose safe arrival I pray^anJ that they may convey that satisfaction to your soul, that must naturallv ALEXANDER HAMILTON »7 As to what you say, respecting your soon having the happiness of seeing us all, I wish for an accomplishment of your hopes, provided they are concomitant with your welfare, otherwise not ; though doubt whether I shall be present or not, for to confess my weakness, Ned, my ambition is prevalent, so that I contemn the grovelling condition of a clerk, or the like, to which my fortune condemns me, and would will- ingly risk my life, though not my character, to exalt my station. I am confident, Ned, that my youth excludes me from any hopes of immedi- ate preferment, nor do I desire it ; but I mean to prepare the way for futurity. I'm no philosopher, you see, and may be justly said to build castles in the air; my folly makes me ashamed, and beg you'll conceal it ; yet, Neddy, we have seen such schemes successful, when the projec- tor IS constant. I shall conclude by saying I wish there was a war. I am, Dear Edward, Yours Alex. Hamilton. P.S. I this moment received yours by William Smith, and pleased to see you give such close application to study. He hoped that in time Mr. Cruger would find it neces- sary to send him to New York ; but his employer found him too useful on St. Croix, and recognized his abilities, not to the extent of advancing his intellectual interests, but of taxing and developing his capacity for business and its heavy responsibilities. In the following year he placed him in temporary charge of his branch house, in Frederikstadt, and Alexander never wished for war so desperately as when he stood under the arcade on Bay Street and stared out at the shallow green roadstead and the illimitable ocean beyond. Frederikstadt was a ham- let compared to Christianstadt, and unredeemed — the arcades excepting — by any of the capital's architectural or natural beauty. Alexander believed it to be the hottest, dullest, and most depressing spot on either hemisphere. The merchants and other residents were astonished that Nicolas Cruger should send a lad of thirteen to represent him in matters which involved large sums of money, but they recognized young Hamilton's ability even while they stared with some rudeness at the small figure in white linen, and the keen but very boyish face. When they passed him under the arcades, and asked him what ship he expected to heave in sight, he was tempted to say a 88 THE CONQUEROR man-of-war, but had no mind to reveal himself to the in- different. He read from sundown until midnight or later, by the light of two long candles protected from draughts and msects by curving glass chimneys. Mosquitoes tor- mented him and cockroaches as long as his hand ran over the table; occasionally a land-crab rattled across the room, or a centipede appeared on the open page. But he was accustomed to these embellishments of tropic life, and ahhough he anathematized them and the heat, he went on with his studies. It was about this time that he be- gan to indulge in literary composition ; and although less gifted boys than Alexander Hamilton struggle through this phase of mental development as their body runs the gamut of juvenile complaints, still it may be that had not his enormous energies been demanded in their entirety by a country in the terrible straits of rebirth, or had he dwelt on earth twenty years longer, he would have realized the ambi- tions of his mother and Hugh Knox, and become one of the greatest literary forces the world has had. But although this exercise of his restless faculties gave him pleasure It was far from satisfying him, even then. He wanted the knowledge that was locked up in vast libraries far beyond that blinding stretch of sea, and he wanted action and a sight of and a part in the great world. Meanwhile he read every book he could find on the Island, made no mistakes in Mr. Cruger's counting-house, and stood dream- ing under the arcade for hours at a time, muttering his thoughts, his mobile features expressing the ceaseless ac- tion of his brain. Sometime during the previous year Peter Levine had returned to St. Croix for his health, and he remained with relatives for some time. He and Alexander met occasion- ally and were friendly. As he was a decent little chap our hero forgave him his paternity, although he never could quite assimilate the fact that he was his mother's child. Alexander returned, after six months of Frederikstadt, to the East End of the Island. A few months later, Mr! Cruger, whose health had failed, went to New York for ALEXANDER HAMILTON 89 an extended sojourn, leaving the entire responsibility of the business in young Hamilton's hands. Men of all ages were forced to obey and be guided by a boy in the last weeks of his fourteenth year, and there were many manifestations of jealous ill-will. Some loved, others hated him, but few submitted gracefully to a leadership which lowered their self-esteem. For the first time Alexander learned that even a mercantile life can be interesting. He exercised all the resources of his inborn tact with those who had loved and those who did not hate him, and won them to a grateful acceptance of a mastership which was far more considerate and sympathetic than anything they had known. As for his enemies, he let them see the implacable quality of his temper, mortified them by an in- cessant exposure of their failings, struck aside their clumsy attempts to humiliate him with the keen blade of a wit that sent them skulking. Finally they submitted, but they cursed him, and willingly would have wrung his neck and flung him into the bay. As for Hamilton, there was no compromise in him, even then, where his enemies were concerned. He enjoyed their futile wrath, and would not have lifted his finger to flash it into liking. Only once the tropical passions of his inheritance con- quered his desire to dominate through the forces of his will alone. One of the oldest employees, a man named Cutter, had shown jealousy of young Hamilton from the first, and a few days after Mr. Cruger's departure began to manifest signs of open rebellion. He did his work ill, or not at all, absented himself from the store for two daysi and returned to his post without excuse, squaring his shoulders about the place and sneering his contempt of youthful cocks of the walk. Alexander struggled to main- tarn a self-control which he felt to be strictly compatible with the dignity of his position, although his gorge rose so high that it threatened to choke him. The climax came when he gave Cutter a peremptory order, and the man took out a cigar, Ut it, and laughed in his face. For the next few moments Alexander had a confused impression that he was in hell, struggling his way through the roar 90 THE CONQUEROR and confusion of his nether quarters. When he was himself again he was in the arms of his chief assistant, and Mr. Cutter bled profusely on the floor. He was in- formed later that he had " gone straight over the counter with a face like a hurricane" and assaulted his refractory hireling with such incredible rapidity of scientific fist that the man, who was twice his size, had succumbed from astonishment and an almost supernatural terror. Alex- ander, who was ashamed of himself, apologized at once, but gave the n»an his choice of treating him vith proper respect or leaving the store. Cutter answered respectfully that he would remain ; and he gave no further trouble. " You'll get your head blown off one of these days," said Hugh Knox to Alexander, on a Sunday, as they sat in the library over two long glasses of " Miss Blyden," a fash- ionable drink made of sugar, rum, and the juice of the prickly pear, which had been buried in the divine's garden for the requisite number of months. " These Creoles are hot, even when they're only Danes. It's not pleasant for those clerks, for it isn't as if you had the look of the man you are. /ou look even younger than your age, and for a man of thirty to say ' Yes, sir ' to a brat like you chokes him, and no wonder. I believe if there was a war this minute, you'd rouse the Island and lead it to battle with- out a misgiving or an apology. Well, don't let your triumphs lead to love of this business. I happen to know that Cruger means to make a partner of you in a few years, tor he thinks the like of you never dropped into a merchant's counting-house ; but never forget that your exalted destiny is to be a great man of letters, a historian, belike. You're taking to history, I notice, and you're getting a fine vocabulary of your own." "I'd like to know what I'll write the history of if I'm to rot in this God-forsaken phice. Caribs ? Puling rows be- tween French and English ? I'd as well be up on Grange with my mother if it wasn't for you and your books. I want the education of a collegian. I want to study and read everything there is to be studied and read. I've made out a list of books to send for, when I've money ALEXANDER HAMILTON 91 enough, as long as you are. It's pinned on the wall of my room." ^ " And I suppose you've never a qualm but that head of yours will hold it all. You've a grand opinion of yourself, Alec. "That's a cutting thing for yor to say to me, sir," cried Alexander, springino: to his feet. " I though*: you loved me. If you think I'm a fool, I'll not waste more of your time." ^ " A West Ind'an temper beats the conceit t at of the Irish. You'll control yours when you're older, for there's nothing you won't do when you put your mind to it, and you'll see the need for not making a tool o. yourself too often. But as for its present liking for exercise — it's a long way the Uveliest thing on St. Croix. However, you've forgiven me ; I know that by the twinkle in your eye, so I'll tell you that your brain will hold all you care to put into it, and that you'll have made another list as long as King Street before you're five years older. Meanwhile, I've some books on theology and ethics you haven't had a dash at yet, and you can't read my other old boo^.s too often. Each time you'll find something new. Sitting up till midnight won't hurt you, but don't forg-t to say your prayers." Knox, long since, had laid siegp to Alexander's suscep- tible and ardent mind with the lively batteries of his religious enthusiasms. His favourite pupil was edifyingly regular in attendance ac chuich, and said his prayers with much fervour. The birden of his petitions was deliver- ance from St. Croix. When this deliverance was effected by a thunderbolt from heaven, his saving sense of humour and the agi d springs of his sympathy forbade a purely personal l i- cation. But twenty years later he might have reflected upon the opportune cause of his departure from St. Croix as one of the ironies of the world's history ; for an Island was devastated, men were ruined, scores were killed, that one man might reach his proper sphere of usefulness. 92 THE CONQUEROR VIII Early in August, 1772, Mr. Cruger sent hir" on a busi- ness tour to several of the neighbouring Islanus, including the great entrcpdt of the West Indies. — St. Thomas. De- spite the season, the prospect of no wind for days at a time, or winds in which no craft could live, Alexander trembled with delight at the idea of visiting the bustling brilliant versatile town of Charlotte Amalie, in whose har- bour there were sometimes one hundred and eighty ships, where one might meet in a day men of every clime, and whose beauty was as famous as her wealth and importance. How often Alexander had stared at the blue line of the hills above her ! Forty miles away, within the range of his vision, was a bit of the great world, the very pivot of maritime trade, and one cause and another had prevented him from so much as putting his foot on a sloop whose sails were spread. As soon as the details of his tour were settled he rode out to the plantations to take leave of his relatives. Mrs. Mitchell, who barred the hurricane windows every time the wind rose between July and November, and sat with the barometer in her hand when the palms began to bend, wept a torrent and implored him to abstain from the mad- ness of going to sea at that time of the year. Her distress was so acute and real that Alexander, who loved her, for- got his exultation and would have renounced the trip, had he not given his word to Mr. Cruger. " I'll be careful, and I'll ride out the day after I return," he said, arranging his aunt on the sofa with her smelling- bottle, an office he had performed many times. "You know the first wind of the hurricane is a delight to the sailor, and we never shall be far from land. I'm in com- mand, and I'll promise you to make for shore at the first sign of danger. Then I shall be as safe as here." His aunt sighed for fully a minute. " If I only could believe that you would be careful about anything. But you are quite a big boy now, almost sixteen, and ought to be old enough to take care of yourself." ALEXANDER HAMILTON 93 " If I could persuade you that I am not quite a failure at keeping the breath in my body we both should be hap- pier. However, I vow not to set sail from any island if a hurricane is forming, and to make for port every time the wind freshens." " Listen for that terrible roar in the southeast, and take my barometer — Heaven knows what barometers are made for ; there are not three on the Island. I shall drive in to church every Sunday and besiege Heaven with my suppli- cations." " Well, spare me a breeze or I shall pray for a hurri- cane." He did not see Mrs. Lytton or James, but Mr. Lytton had scant apprehension of hurricanes, and was on'y con- cerned lest his nephew roll about in the trough of the sea under an August sun for weeks at a time. "That's when a man doesn't repent of his sins; he knows there is nothing worse to come," he said. " I'd rather have a hurricane," and Alexander nodded. Mr, Lytton counted out a small bag of pieces of eight and told the boy to buy his aunt a silk gown in Charlotte Amalie. "I've noticed that if it's all one colour you're not so sure to have it accepted with a sigh of resignation," he said. " But be careful of plaids and stripes." And Alexander, with deeper misgivings than Mrs. Mitchell had inspired, accepted the commission and rode away. He set sail on the following day, and made his tour of the lesser islands under a fair breeze. Late in the month he entered the harbour of St. Thomas, and was delighted to find at least fifty ships in port, despite the season. It was an unusually busy year, and he had dared to hope for crowded waters and streets ; exquisite as Charlotte AmaUe might be to look upon, he wanted something more than a lovely casket. The town is set en three conical foot-hills, which bulge at equal distances against an almost perpendicular moun- tain, the tip, it is said, of a range whose foundations are four miles below. The three sections of the towr jweep from base to pointed apex with a symmetry so perfect. m 94 THE CONQUEROR their houses are so light and airy of architecture, so brill- iant and varied of colour, that they suggest having been called into being by the stroke of a magician's wand to gratify the whim of an Eastern potentate. Surely, they are a vast seraglio, a triple collection of pleasure houses where captive maidens are content and nautch girls dance with feet like larks. Business, commerce, one cannot as- sociate with this enchanting vista ; nor cockroaches as long as one's foot, scorpions, tarantulas, and rats. When Alexander was in the town he found that the houses were of stone, and that one long street on the level connected the three divisions. Flights of steps, hewn out of the solid rock of that black and barren range, led to the little palaces that crowned the cones, and there were palms, cocoanuts, and tamarind trees to soften the brilliancy of facade and roof. Above the town was Blackbeard's Cas- tle; and Bluebeard's so high on the right that its guns could have levelled the city in an hour. Although not a hundred years old, and built by the Danes, both these frowning towers were museums of piratical tradition, and travellers returned to Europe with imaginations expanded. The long street interested Alexander's practical mind more than legends or architecture. Huge stone buildings — warehouses, stores, exchange- and counting-houses — extended from the street to the edge of the water, where ships were unloaded and loaded from doors at the rear. Men c' every nation and costume moved in that street; and for a day Mr. Cruger's business was in abeyance, while the boy from the quiet Island of St. Croix leaned against one of the heavy tamarind trees at the foot of the first hill, and watched the restless crowd of Europeans, Asiatics, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, North and South Ameri- cans. There were as many national costumes as there were rival flags in the harbour. There wa.s the British admiral in his regimentals and powdered queue, the Chinaman in his blouse and pigtail, the Frenchman with his earrings, villanous Malays, solemn merchants from Boston, and negroes trundling barrows of Spanish dol- lars. But it was the extraordinary assortment of faces ALEXANDER HAMILTON 95 and the violent contrasts of temperament and character they revealed which interested Alexander more than aught else. With all his reading he had not imagined so great a variety of types ; his mental pictures had been the uncon- scious reflection of British, Danish, or African. Beyond these he had come in contact with nothing more striking than sailors from the neighbouring Islands, who had sug- gested little besides the advisability of placing an extra guard over the money boxes whilst they were in port. Most of these men who surged before him were merchants of the first rank or the representatives of others as impor- tant, — captains of large ships and their mates. The last sauntered and cursed the heat, which was infernal; but the merchants moved rapidly from one business house to another, or talked in groups, under the tamarind trees, of the great interests which brought them to the Indies. Upon the inherent characteristics which their faces ex- pressed were superimposed the different seals of those acquired, — shrewdness, suspicion, a hawk-like alertness, the greed of acquisition. Alexander, with something like terror of the future, reflected that there was not one of these men he cared to know. He knew there were far greater cities than the busy little entrepdt of the West Indies, but he rightly doubted if he ever should see again so cosmopolitan a mob, a more picked assortment of repre- sentative types. Not one looked as if he remembered his wife and children, his creed, or the art and letters of his land. They were a sweating, cursing, voluble, intriguing, greedy lot, picturesque to look upon, profitable to study, calculated to rouse in a boy of intellectual passions a fury of final resentment against the meannesses of commercial life. Alexander jerked his shoulders with disgust and moved slowly down the street. After he had reflected that great countries involved great ideas, and that there was no place for either political or moral ideals in an isolated and purely commercial town like little Charlotte Amalie, he recovered his poise, and lent himself to his surroundings again with considerable philosophy. He had almost crossed the foot of the third hill when he 96 THE CONQUEROR turned abruptly into a large store, unlike any he had seen. It was full of women, splendid creatures, who were bar- gaining with merchants' clerks for the bales of fine stuffs which had been opened for the display of samples to the wholesale buyers from other Islands. These women pur- chased the exiled stuffs to sell to the ladies of the capital, and this was the only retail trade known to the St. Thomas of that day. Alexander bethought himself of his uncle's commission, and precipitately bought from the open bale nearest the door, then, from the next, a present for Mrs. Mitchell. Mrs. Lytton, who was an invalid and fifty-eight, received, a fortnight later, a dress pattern of rose-coloured silk, and Mrs. Mitchell, who aspired to be a leader of fashion, one of elderly brown. But Alexander was more interested in the sellers than in the possible dissatisfaction of his aunts. The women of his acquaintance were fair and fragile, and the Africans of St. Croix were particularly hideous, being still of parent stock. But these creatures were tawny and magnificent, with the most superb figures, the most remarkable swing, that ever a man had looked upon; and glorious eyes, sparkling with deviltry. On their heads the white linen was wound to a high point and surmounted by an immense hat, caught up at one side with a flower. They wore for clothing a double skirt of coloured linen, and a whi^e fichu, open in a point to the waist and leaving their gc l-coloured arms quite bare. They moved constantly, if only from one foot to the other. Occasionally their eyes flashed sparks, and they flew at each other's throats, screeching like guinea fowl, but in a moment they were laughing good-naturedly again, and chattering in voices of a remarkable soft sweetness. Several of them noticed Alexander, for his beauty had grown with his years. His eyes were large and gray and dark, like his mother's, but sparkled with ardour and merriment. His mouth was chiselled from a delicate fulness to a curving line ; firm even then, but always humorous, except when some fresh experience with the ingenuous self-interest of man deepened the humour to cynicism. The nose was long, sharply cut, hard, strong in the nostrils, the head ALEXANDER HAMILTON 97 massive, the brow full above the eyes, and the whole of a boyish and sunburned fairness. He could fetch a smile that gave his face a sweet and dazzling beauty. His figure was so supple and well knit, so proud in its bearing, that no woman then or later ever found fault with its inconsider- able inches ; and his hands and feet were beautiful His adoring aunt attended to his wardrobe, and he wore to-dav as usual, white linen knee-breeches, black silk stockings! a lawn shirt much beruffled with lace. His appearance pleased these gorgeous birds of plumage, and one of them snatched him suddenly from the floor and gave him a resounding smack. Alexander, much embarrassed, but not wholly displeased, retreated hurriedly, and asked an tnghshman who they were and whence they came " They are literally the pick of Martinique, Cuba,' Puerto Rico, and the other Islands celebrated for beautiful women. Of course they ve all got a touch of the tar brush in them, but the French or the Spanish blood makes them glorious for a few years, and during those few t.iey come here and make hay. Some come at certain seasons only, others perch here till they change in a night from houri to hag. 1 his daylight trade gives them a raison (Titre, but wait till after dark God ! this is a hell hole ; but by moonlight or torchlight this street is one of the sights of the earth. The magnificent beauty of the women, enhanced by silken stuffs of every colour, the varied and often picturesque attire of the men, all half mad with drink — well, if vou want to sleep, you'd better get a room high up." " Mine IS up one hundred and seventeen steps. I am but afraid I may not see all there is to see " But before the week was half out he had tired of St. Thomas by day and by night. The picture was too one- sided, too heavily daubed with colour. It made a palette of the imagination, sticky and crude. He began to desire the green plantations of St. Croix, and more than ever he longed for the snow-fields of the north. Two days of hard work concluded Mr. Cruger's business, and on the thirtieth of the month he weighed anchor, in company with many others, and set sail for St. Croix. He started under H 98 THE CONQUEROR a fair breeze, but a mile out the wind dropped, and he was until midnight making the harbour of Christianstadt. When they were utterly becalmed the sun seemed to focus his hell upon the little sloop. It rolled sickeningly in the oily wrinkled waters, and Alexander put his Pope in his pocket. The sea had a curious swell, and he wondered if an earth- quake were imminent. The sea was not quite herself when her foundations were preparing to shake. Earth- quakes had never concerned him, but as the boat drifted past the reef into the harbour of Christianstadt at midnight, he was assailed by a fit of terror so sudden and unaccount- able that he could recall but one sensation in his life that approached it: shortly after he arrived on the Island '^e had stolen down to the lagoon one night, fascinated by inc creeping mist, the scowling manchineels, the talk of its sinister inhabitant, and was enjoying mightily his new feeling of creeping terror, when the silence was broken by a heavy swish, and he saw the white belly of the shark not three feet from him. He had scampered up the hill to his mother's skirts as fast as his legs could carry him, nor visited the lagoon again until the shark was mouldering on its bed. To-night a mist, almost imperceptible except on the dark line of coast, changed the beauty of the moonbeams to a livid light that gave the bay the horrid pallor of a corpse. The masses of coral rock in the shal- low waters looked leprous, the surface was so glassy that it fell in splinters from the oars of the boat that towed them to shore. There was not a sound from the reef, not a sound from the land. The slender lacing mangroves in the swamp looked like upright serpents, black and petri- fied, and the Fort on the high bluff might have been a sarcophagus full of dead men but for the challenge of the sentry. Alexander began to whistle, then climbed down into the boat and took an oar. When he had his feet on land he walked up King Street more hastily than was his habit in the month of August. But here, although the town might have been a necropolis, so quiet was it, it had not put on a death mask. There was no mist here; the beautiful ALEXANDER HAMILTON 99 coral houses gleamed under the moonbeams as if turned to marble, and Alexander forgot the horror of the waters and paused to note, as he had done many times before the curious Alpine contrast of these pure white masses against the green and burnished arches of tropic trees Then he passed through the swimming-bath to his bed and a half-hour later slept as soundly as if the terrible forces of the Caribbean world were safe in leash. IX When he awoke, at seven o'clock, he heard a dull low roar m the southeast, which arrested his attention at once as a sound quite dissimilar from the boom of the reef As he crossed Strand Street to Mr. Cruger's store, an hour later, he noticed that a strong wind blew from the same direction and that the atmosphere was a sickly yellow For a n^oment, he thought of the hurricane which he had passed his life expecting, but he had a head full of business and soon forgot both roar and wind. He was immediately immersed m a long and precise statement of his trip, writ- ing from notes and memory, muttering to himself, utterly oblivious to the opening of the windows or the salutations of the clerks. Mr. Cruger arrived after the late breakfast He looked worried, but shook Alexander's hand heartily, and thanked heaven, with some fer% jur, that he had returned the night before. They retired to the private office on the court, and Mr. Cruger listened with interest lo young Hamilton s account of his trip, although it was evident that his mind felt the strain of another matter. He said abruptly : — " The barometer was down two-tenths when I visited the t ort at a quarter to eleven. I'd give a good deal to know wneie it is now. Alexander remembered his aunt's barometer, which he ftad hung in his room before saiUng, and volunteered to go over and look at it. shifted'" ^''''^^™^^ ^'■' Cruger; "and see if the wind's lOO THE CONQUEROR As Alexander crossed Strand Street to the side door of Mr. Mitchell's house he encountered the strongest wind he had ever known, and black clouds were racing back and forth as if lost and distracted. He returned to tell Mr. Cruger that the barometer stood at 30.03. " And the wind hasn't shifted ? " demanded Mr. Cruger. "That means we'll be in the direct path of a hurricane before the day is half out, unless things change for the better. If the barometer falls four-tenths" — he spread out his hands expressively. " Of course we have many scares. Unless we hear two double guns from the Fort, there will be no real cause for alarm ; but when you hear that, get on your horse as quick as you can and ride to warn the planters. The Lyttons and Stevens and Mitchells will do for you. I'll send out three of the other boys." They returned to accounts. Mr. Cruger expressed his gratification repeatedly and forgot the storm, although the wind was roaring up King Street and rattling the jalousies until flap after flap hung on a broken hinge. Suddenly both sprang to their feet, books and notes tumbling to the floor. Booming through the steady roar of the wind was the quick thunder of cannon, four guns fired in rapid succession. As Alexander darted through the store, the clerks were tumbling over each other to secure the hurricane windows ; for until the last minute, uneasy as they were, they had persuaded themselves that St. Croix was in but for the lashing of a hurricane's tail, and had bet St. Kitts against Monserrat as flattening in the path of the storm. The hurricane windows were of solid wood, clamped with iron. It took four men to close them against the wind. Alexander was almost flung across Strand Street. Shingles were flying, the air was salt with spray skimmed by the wind from the surface of waves which were leaping high above the Fort, rain was beginning to fall. Mr. Mitchell's stables were in the rear of his house. Every negro had fled to the cellar. Alexander unearthed four and ordered them to close the hurricane windows. He had saddled many a horse, and he urged his into Strand Street but a few moments later. ALEXANDER HAMILTON ,oi Here he had to face the wind until he could reach the corner and turn into King, and even the horse staggered and gasped as If the breath had been driven out of him l!.Vit^ back against the wall, and Alexander was obligS to dismount and drag him up the street, panting for breath himself, although his back was to the wind and he kept Ws head down. The din was terrific. Cannon balls might^Lve been rattling agamst the stones of every house and to Tmc was added a roar from the reef as werj all th; sounds o nnllS h r^i'^^ ^^'^T.^ '^^'^- Alexander would have fni h. ? > l^i^r"" °''^'" ^'' ^^''' ^^' the noise was madden^ mg. but It had flown over the top of a house as he left the store He was a quarter of an hour covering the few vards which lay between the stable and the cornef. and wh Jn he T^ff '^^ °??" ^"""^1 "^ ^^"S Street he wa's nearTy swept off his feet. Fortunately the horse loved him, and, terrified as It was, permitted him to mount; and then it seemed to Alexander, as they flew up King Street to the open crntry t5,-Vi^^.r'^ '", ^ ^^'■^ «^ the wind, which tugged and twisted at his neck while it carried thei^ on. He flattened himself to the horse, but kept his eyes open and saw other messengers, as dauntless as himself, tearing in various directions to warn the planters, many of whom had erTwn callous to the cry of "Wolf." grown n. W ^u-^l ^^"^ ^^''"^ the magnificent avenue of royal IslaTd ''^'t""''''^''^^ i^" '^'' ^"d ^^«t ends of t^e island. They were bendmg and creaking horribly the masses of fohage on the summits cowering awayVom the storm, wrapping themselves about in a furiSy pit? ful manner; the long blade-like leaves seemed sLin^ roato? tC? ''" other. Through the eyer-LSnf roar of the storm, above the creaking of the trees the pounding of the rain on the earth, and In the young cane Alexander heard a continuous piercing note Ditched nn^n had herJr"|t'?H"'^^ ^'^^"^? ofVg&s^S^^^^^^^ the din wa.l. 7^°""^'- "^^brain. indifferent now to tne dm was as active as ever, and he soon made out this particular noise to be the rattle of millions oT seeds iL the dry pods of the "shaggy-shaggy," or " giant," a common ■• 1 i I I02 THE CONQUEROR Island tree, which had not a leaf at this season, nothing but countless pods as dry as parchment and filled with seeds as large as peas. Not for a second did this castinet accompaniment to the stupendous bass of the storm cease, and Alexander, whose imagination, like every other sense in him, was quickening preternaturally, cuuld fancy him- self surrounded by the orchestra of hell, the colossal in- struments of the infernal regions performed upon by infuriate Titans. He was not conscious of fear, although he knew that his life was not worth a second's purchase, but he felt a wild exhilaration, a magnificent sense of de- fiance of the most powerful element that can be turned loose on this ^.'lanet ; his nostrils quivered with delight ; his soul at certain moments, when his practical faculty was uncalled upon, felt as if high in the roaring space with the Berserkers of the storm. Suddenly his horse, in spite of the wall of wind at his back, stood on his hind legs, then swerved so fiercely that his rider was all but unseated. A palm had literally leaped from the earth, sprawled across the road not a foot in front of the horse. The terrified brute tore across the cane-field, and Alexander made no attempt to stop him, for, although the rain was now falling as if the sea had come in on the high back of the wind, he believed himself to be on the Stevens plantation. The negro village was not yet deserted, and he rode to the west side of the mill and shouted his warning to the blacks crouching there. On every estate was a great bell, hung in an open stone belfry, and never to be rung except to give warning of riot, flood, fire, or hurricane. One of the blacks obeyed Alexander's peremptory command to ring this bell, and, as it was under the lee of the mill, reached it in a moment. As Alexander urged his horse out into the storm again, he heard the rapid agitated clang of the bell mingle discordantly with the bass of the wind and the piercing rattle of the giant's castinets. He rode on through the cane-field, although if the horse stumbled and injured itself, he would have to lie on his face till the storm was over. But there was a greater danger in the avenue; he was close enough ALEXANDER HAMILTON 103 to see and hear tree after tree go down, or their necks wrenched and the great green heads rush through the air with a roar of their own, their long glittering leaves ex- tended before them as if in supplication. The Lytton plantation was next on his way, and Alex- ander rode straight for the house, as the mills and village lay far to the left. The hurricane shutters on the sides en- countering the storm were already closed, and he rode round to the west, where he saw his uncle's anxious face at a drawing-room window. Mr. Lytton flung himself across the sash in an attempt to lift the boy from his horse into the room, and when Alexander shouted that he was on his way to the Mitchell estate, expostulated as well as he could without breaking his throat. He begged him to rest half an hour at least, but when informed that the Fort for the first time within the memory of man had fired its double warnmg, he ran to fasten his hurricane windows more securely, and despatch a slave to warn his blacks ; their huts never would survive the direct attack of a hurricane. He was horrified to think of his favourite exposed to a fury, which, clever and intrepid as he was, he had small chance of outwitting ; but at least he had that one chance and Mrs. Mitchell was alone. ' Alexander passed through one other estate before he reached Mr. Mitchell's, terrifyinp- those he warned almost as much by his wild and rag^c;^ appearance — his long hair drove straight before him, and his thin shirt was in sodden ribbons — as by his news that a first-class hurri- cane was upon them. At last he was in the cane-fields of his destination, and the horse, as if in cou^munication with that ardent brain so close to his own, suddenly accelerated his already mercurial pace, until it seemed to Alexander that he gathered up his legs and darted like an inflated swallow straight through crashing avenues and flying huts to the stable door. Fortunately this solid building opened to the west, and Alexander was but a few moments stalling and feeding the animal who had saved two necks by his clever feet that day. He was sorry so poorly to reward him as to close and bar the door, but he feared that he 104 THE CONQUEROR If might forget to attend to it when the hurricane veered, and in all the fury of approaching climax was pouring out of the west. The house was only an eighth of a mile away, but Alex- ander was half an hour reaching it. He had to travel on his knees, sometimes on his stomach, until he reached the western wall, keeping his arm pressed close against his eyes; his sense of humour, not to be extinguished by a hurricane, rebelling at the ignoble pass to which his pride had come. When he reached the north wall he rose, think- ing he could cling to the projections, but he was still facing the storm ; he flung himself prostrate again to avoid being lifted off his feet and sailing with the rubbish of Mr. Mitchell's plantation. As he reached the corner the wind gave him a vicious flip, which landed him almost at the foot of the steps, but he was comparatively safe, ai.a he sat down to recover his breath. He could afford a few mo- ments' rest, for the heavy wooden windows facing the east, north, and south, were closed. Here he was sheltered in a way. The only two good words that can be said for a hurricane are that it gives sufficient warning of its approach, and that it blows from one point of the compass at a time. Alexander sat there panting and watched the wild battle m mid-air of shingles, fences, thatched roofs, and tree-tops ; listened to the artillery of the storm, which, with a stone building to break its steady roar, sounded as if a hundred cannon were bombarding the walls and rattling here and there on their carriages meanwhile ; listened to crash after crash of tree and wall, the terrified bowlings and bellowings of beasts, the shrieking and grinding of trees, the piercing monotone of the dry seeds in their cases of parchment, the groans and nraver«s of fhf> rtp^crmpa in fhc /^(.llor Kp»»«'nJ mm. He turned his head and looked through the windows of the great apartment, which, although above ground, was supposed to be safest in a hurricane. All but the western blinds being closed, the cellar was almost dark, but Alexander knew that it was packed: doubtless every African on the estate was there ; he could see, for some distance back, row after row of rolling eyes and hanging ALEXANDER HAMILTON 105 tongues. Some knelt on the shoulders of others to get the air. Alexander shuddered. The sight reminded him of his uncle's slave-ships, where the blacks came, chained together, standing in the hold, so closely packed that if one died he could not fall, nor the others protect them- selves from the poisons of a corpse, which pressed hard against the living for twenty hours perhaps, before it was unchained and flung to the sharks. Alexander went close to one of the windows and shouted to them not to forget to secure the western blinds when the lull came, then ran up the steps and vaulted through an open window. It was a few minutes before he found his aunt, and it must be re- corded that on his way to the front of the house he looked under two beds and into four wardrobes. He came upon her in the drawing-room, valiantly struggling with a hurri- cane window. Her hair was dishevelled, and her eyes bulged with horror, but even as Alexander came to the rescue, she shoved the bar into place. Then she threw herself into his arms and fainted. He had but time to fling water on her face, when a loud rattle from another window sent him bounding to it, and for ten minutes he struggled to fasten the blind soundly again, while it seemed to him that a hundred malignant fingers were tugging at Its edge. He had no sooner secured it, than his aunt's voice at his ear begged him to try every window on three sides of the house, and he went rapidly from one to the other, finding most of them in need of attention — long disuse had weakened both staples and hooks. His aunt trotted after him, thumping every window, and reminding him that if one went, and the wind burst in, the roof would be off and the torrents upon them before they could reach the cellar. Fortunately for those who fought the storm, the temper- ature had fallen with the barometer, and these two dared not relax their vigilance for a moment. Every negro had deserted to the lower region. Alexander was unable to change his wet clothes or to refresh himself with so much as a banana, but there was not a second's time to think of hunger or discomfort. More than once that sense of wild io6 THE CONQUEROR exultation in fighting a mighty element possessed him. Hie own weak hands and a woman's weaker against one of the Titanic hurricanes of the world's history, with a pros- pect of winning the fight, was a sight to move comfortable gods to paean or laughter, according to their spiritual de- velopment. But during much of that terrible day and night Alex- ander's brain was obliged to work on device after device to strengthen those battered boards which alone protected the house from destruction, its inmates, perhaps, from death. A tamarind tree came down on a corner of the roof with a crash ; and when Mrs. Mitchell and Alexander reached the room, which was in a wing, the rain was strug- gling past the heavy mass through a hole in the roof. They closed up the room, as well as the jalousies of the inner walls, but as they returned to the windows they heard the rain fighting to pass the branches, and knew that if the wind snatched the tree, the deluge would come in. Mrs. Mitchell neither fainted again nor exhibited other sign of fear. While that hurricane lasted she was all Mary Fawcett ; and Alexander, meeting her eyes now and again, or catching sight of her as she darted forward at the first rattle of a shutter, recalled his mother's many anecdotes of his redoubtable grandmother, and wondered if that val- iant old soul had flown down the storm to the relief of the fortress. Toward evening that sudden lull came which means that at last the besieged are in the very centre of the hurricane, and will have respite while the monster is swinging his tail to the west. Alexander and Mrs. Mitchell, after opening the windows on the east side of the house, and securing those opening to the west, went to the pantry and made a substantial meal without sitting or selecting. To his last day Alexander could not remember what he ate that night, although he recalled the candle in the long chimney, the constant craning of his aunt's head, the incessant racing of the rats along the beams. He went to his room and took a cold bath, which with the food and suspended excitement quite refreshed him ; put on dry clothes, nailed ALEXANDER HAMILTON 107 a board against the hole in the roof, then sat down with Mrs. Mitchell in the western gallery to await the hurricane's return. " We have three windows where we had one before," remarked Mrs. Mitchell ; " and the hinges of that door are rusty. God knows ! If you had not come, the roof would have gone long before this." " The silence is horrible," said Alexander. It was, indeed, earsplitting. Not a sound arose from that devastated land. Birds and beasts must lie dead by the thousand ; not a horseman ventured abroad ; not a whisper came from the cellar, where two hundred Africans might be dead from fright or suffocation. Mrs. Mitchell had lit the candles, and there was something sinister and ironical in the steady flames. How long before they would leap and add the final horror to what must be a night of hor- rors ? It was impossible to work in the dark, but every yellow point was a menace. They had not long to endure the silence. This time the hurricane sent no criers before it. It burst out of the west with a fury so intensified that Alexander wondered if one stone in Frederikstadt were left upon another. It was evi- dent that it had gathered its forces for a final assault, and its crashing and roaring, as it tore across the unhappy Island it had marked for destruction, was that of a gigantic wheel whirling ten thousand cannon, exploding, and lashing each other in mid-air. It seemed to Alexander that every ball they surely carried rattled on the roof, and the heavy stone structure vibrated for the first time. It was two hours before he and Mrs. Mitchell met again, for they worked at opposite ends of the long gallery; but in the third both rushed simultaneously to the door. It sprang back from its rusty fastenings, and they were but in time to seize the bar which passed through a staple in its middle, and pull it inward until it pressed hard against the jamb on the right. There was no other way to secure it, and for three hours Alexander and Mrs. Mitchell dragged at it alternately, while the other attended to the windows. By this time Alexander had ceased to wonder if he should io8 THE CONQUEROR see another morning, or much to care : the storm was so magnificent in its almighty power, its lungs of iron bellowed its purpose with such furious iteration, as if out of all pa- tience with the mortals who defied it, that Alexander was almost inclined to apologize. More than once it took the house by the shoulders and shook it, and then a yell would come from below, a simultaneous note pitched in a key of common agony. Suddenly the house seemed to spring from its foundations, then sink back as if to collapse. Al- exander called out that it had been uprooted and would go down the hill in another moment, but Mrs. Mitchell, who was at the bar, muttered, " An earthquake. I believe a hurricane shakes the very centre of the earth." They feared that the foundations of the house had been loosened, and that the next blast would turn it over, but the house was one of the strongest in the Caribbees, built to withstand the worst that Nature could do, so long as man saw to its needs ; and when the hurricane at last re- volved its artillery away into the east, carrying with it that piercing rattle of the giant's castinets, which never for a moment had ceased to perform its part, roof and walls were firm. Mrs. Mitchell and Alexander sank where they had stood, and slept for twenty hours. Alexander rode back to Christianstadt two days later, and again and again he drew a hard breath and closed his eyes. Ic was a sight to move any man, and the susceptible and tender nature of young Hamilton bled for the tragedy of St. Croix. There was not a landmark, not a cane-field, to remind him that it was the beautiful Island on which he had spent the most of his remembering years. Although all of the Great Houses were standing, their mien and man- ner were so altered by the disappearance of their trees and outbuildings, and by the surrounding pulpy flats in place of the rippling acres of young cane, that they were unrec- ognizable. Here and there were masses of debris, walls and thatched roofs swept far from the village foundations ; I ! ALEXANDER HAMILTON 109 but as a rule there was buL a board here or a bunch of dried leaves there, a battered utensil or a stool, to reward the wretched Africans who wandered about searching for the few things they had possessed before the storm. They looked hopeless and dull, as if their faculties had been stunned by the prolonged incessant noise of the hurricane. Alexander was riding down what a week ago had been the most celebrated avenue in the Antilles. Where there were trees at all, they were headlesr, the long gray twisted trunks as repulsive as they had once been beautiiul. The road was littered with many of the fallen ; but others were far away in what had been the cane-fields, serpents and liz- ards sunning themselves on the dead roots. Even stone walls were down, and under them, sometimes, were men. Mills were in ruins ; for no one had remained to keep hooks and bars in their staples. Tanks of last year's rum and treacle had been flung through the walls, and their odours mingled >yith the stench of decomposing men and cattle. The horrid rattle of the land-crab was almost the only sound in that desolate land. " The Garden of the Antilles ' ' looked like a putrid swamp, and she had not a beauty on her. Alexander turned at a cross-road into a path which led through the Grange estate to the private burying- ground of the Lyttons. These few moments taxed his courage more heavily than the ride with the hurricane had done, and more than once he opened his clenched teeth and half turned his horse's head. But he went on, and before long he had climbed to the end of his journey. The west wall of the little cemetery had been blown out, and the roof of old James Lytton's tomb lay with its debris. A tree, which evidently had been torn from the earth and flung from a distance, lay half in and half out of the enclosure. But his mother's headstone, which stood against the north wall, was undisturbed, although the mound above her was flat and sodden. The earth had lieen strong enough to hold her. Alexander remembered its awful air of finality as it opened to receive her, then closed over her. What he had feared w- 3 that the burying- no THE CONQUEROR ground, which stood on the crest of a hill, would have been uprooted and scattered over the cane-fields. He rode on to Christian stadt. There the evidences of the hurricane were less appalling, for the houses, standing close together, had protected each other, and only two were unroofed; but everywhere the trees looked like twisted poles, the streets and gardens were full of rubbish, and down by the bay the shore was strewn with the wreckage of ships ; the Park behind the Fort was thick with decaying fish, which the blacks were but just now sweeping out to the water. After Alexander had ascertained that Mr. Mitchell's house was quite unharmed, although a neighbour had lost half a roof and been deluged in consequence, he walked out Company Street to see how it had fared with Hugh Knox. That worthy gentleman was treating his battered nerves with weak whiskey and water when he caught sight of Alexander through the library window. He gave a shout that drew an exasperated groan through the ceiling, flung open the door, and clasped his beloved pupil in his arms. ^ " I knew you were safe, because you are you, although I've been afraid to ask if you were dead or alive. Cruger sent out three others to warn the planters, and they've all been brought home, one dead, one maimed, one with chills and fever and as mad as a March hare. Good God ! what a visitation! I'd rather have been on a moving bog in Ireland. You wouldn't have ridden out in that hurricane if I'd got you, not if I'd been forced to tie you up. Fancy your being here alive, and not even a cold in your head ! But you've a grand destiny to work out, and the hurricane — which I believe was the Almighty in a temper — knew what it was about. Now tell me your experience. I'm panting to tell you mine. I've not had a soul to talk to smce the hour it started. The Missis behaved like a Tro- jan while it lasted, then went to bed, and hasn't spoken to me since; and as for everyone else in Christianstadt well, they've retired to calm their nerves in the only way, — prayer first and whiskey after." Alexander took possession of his own easy-chair and ALEXANDER HAMILTON III oked gratefully around the room. The storm had not disturbed it, neither had a wench's duster. Since his mother's death he had loved this room with a more grate- ful affection than any mortal had inspired, well as he loved his aunt, Hugh Knox, and Neddy. But the room did not talk, and the men, who had written the great books which made him indifferent to his island prison for days and weeks at a time, were dead, and their selfishness was buried with them. Meanwhile Knox, forgetting his desire to hear the expe- rience of his guest, was telling his own. It was sufficiently thrilling, but not to be compared with that of the planter's ; and when he had finished, Alexander began with some pride to relate his impressions of the storm. He, too, had not talked for three days ; his heart felt warm tigain ; and in the familiar comfortable room, the terrible picture of the hurricane seemed to spring sharp and vivid irom his memory ; he had recalled it confusedly hitherto, and made no effort to live it again. Knox leaned forward eagerly, dropping his pipe ; Alexander talked rapidly and brill- iantly, finally springing to his feet, and concluding with an outburst so eloquent that his audience cowered and covered his face with his hands. For some moments Knox sat thinking, then he rose and pushed a small table in front of Alexander, littering it with pencils and paper, in his untidy fashion. '• My boy," he said, " you're still hot with your own elo- quence. Before you cool off, I want you to write that down word for word as you told it to me. If it twisted my very vitals, it will give a similar pleasure to others. 'Twould be selfish to deny them. When it's done, I'll send it to Tiebout. Now I'll leave you, and if my niggers are still too demoralized to cook supper for you, I'll do it myself." Alexander, whose brain, in truth, felt on fire, for every nerve had leapt to the recreating of that magnificent Force that had gathered an island into the hollow of its hand, crushed, and cast it back to the waters, dashed at the paper and wrote with even more splendour than he iia THE CONQUEROR had spoken. When he had finished, he was still so excited that he rushed from the house and walked till the hideous sights and smells drove him home. He was quivering with the ecstasy of birth, and longed for another theme, and hours and days of hot creation. But he was to be spared the curse of the "artistic temperament." XI The description of the hurricane went to St. Christopher by sloop two days later (there were no English papers on :5t. Lroix), and was not heard from for two weeks Mean- while Alexander forgot it, as writers have a way of for- gettmg their infants of enthusiastic delivery. There was much to do on St. Croix. The negroes were put at once to rebuilding and repairing, and masters, as well as over- lookers and agents, were behind them from morning till night. Mr. Mitchell had not returned, and Alexander was ob iged to take charge of his estates. When he was not galloping from village to village and mill to mill, driving the sul en blacks before him, or routing them out of ruins and hollows, where they huddled in a demoralized stupor he was consoling his aunt for the pos?,ible sacrifice of Mr' Mitchell to the storm. Alexander was quite confident that the hurricane had spared Tom Mitchell, whomsoever else It may have devoured, but his logic did not appeal to his aunt, who wept whenever he was tliere to offer his arm and shoulder. At other times she bustled about among her maids, who were sewing industriously for the aflflicted Alexander was grateful for the heavy task Mr. Mitchell's absence imposed, for there was no business doing in Chris- tianstadt and his nerves were still vibrating to the storm he had fought and conquered. His rigorous self-control was gone, his suppressed energies and ambitions were quick and imperious, every vial of impatience and disgust was uncorked. As he rode thiough the hot sunlight or moved among the Africans, coaxing and commanding getting more work out of them by his gay bright manner than the overlookers could extract with their whips his ALEXANDER HAMILTON 113 brain was thumping with plans of delivery from a life which he hated so blackly that he would wrench himself free of it before the year was out if he had to ship as a common sailor for New York. It seemed to him that the vacancies in his brain ached. His imagination was hot with the future awaiting him beyond that cursed stretch of blinding water. For the first time he fully realized his great abilities, knew that he had in him the forces that make history. All the encouragement of his mother and Hugh Knox, the admiration and confidence of such men as Mr. Cruger, the spoiling of his relatives, and his easy conquest or equally flattering antagonism of the youth of the Island, had fostered his self-confidence without per- suading him that he was necessarily a genius. Strong as his youthful ambitions had been, burning as his desire for more knowledge, much in his brain had been dormant, and a humorous philosophy, added to the sanguineness of youth md a deep affection for a few people, had enabled him to bear his lot with unbroken cheerfulness. But the clashing forces of the Universe had roused the sleeping giant in his brain and whirled his youth away. His only formulated ambition was to learn first all that schools could teach him, then lead great armies to battle. Until the day of his death his desire for military excitement and glory never left him, and at this time it was the destiny which heated his imagination. It seemed to him that the roar and rattle of the hurricane, in whose lead he had managed to maintain himself unharmed, were the loud prophecy of battle and conquest. At the same time, he knew that other faculties and demands of his brain must have their way, but he could only guess at their nature, and statesmanship was the one achievement that did not occur to him ; the American colonies were his only hope, and there was no means by which he could know their wrongs and needs. Such news came seldom to the West Indies, and Knox retained little interest in the country where he had sojourned so short a while. And at this time their strug- gle hardly would have appealed to young Hamilton had he known of it. He was British by instinct and association, 114 THE CONQUEROR and he had never received so much as a scratch from the little-finger nail of the distant mother, whose long arm was rigid above her American subjects. His deliverance was so quick and sudden that for a day or two he was almost as dazed as the Africans after the hurricane. One day Hugh Knox sent him out a copy of the St. Christopher new.spaper which had published his description of the storm. With some pride in his first- born, he read it aloud to his aunt. Before he was halfway down the first column she was on the sofa with her smell- ing salts, vowing she was more terrified than when she had expected to be killed every minute. When he had finished she upbraided him for torturing people unnecessarily, but remarked that he was even cleverer than she had thought him. The next morning she asked him to read it again ; then read it herself. On the following day Hugh Knox rode out. Alexander was at one of the mills. Knox told Mrs. Mitchell that he had sent a copy of the newspaper to the Governor of St. Croix, who had called upon him an hour later and insisted upon knowing the name of the writer. Knox not only had told him, but had expanded upon Alex- ander's abilities and ambitions to such an extent that the Governor at that moment was with Peter Lytton, endeav- ouring to persuade him to open his purse-strings and send the boy to college. •* He will not do all," added Knox, " and I rely upon you to do the rest. Between you, Alexander can get, first the education he wants now more than anything in life, then the chance to make a great reputation among men. If you keep him here you're no better than criminals, and that's ail I have to say." Mrs. Mitchell shuddered. "Do you think he really wants to go } " she asked. " Do I think he wants to go ! " roared Hugh Knox. " Do I think — Good God ! why he's been mad to go for five years. He'd have thought of nothing else if he hadn't a will like a bar of iron made for a hurricane door, and he'd have grown morbid about it if he hadn't been blest with a ALEXANDER HAMILTON "5 You adore him, and cheerful and a sanguine disposition, you couldn't see that ! " " He never said much about it," said Mrs. Mitchell, meeH', -u„ t I think I can see now that - - — ^y,y. Ll^Jn iiidL _yuu are nernt. Itvul make lue xl to part with him. but he ought to eo ^^K ". ^^"f ' ^^'y'"" "V^^ P^y ^^^^ ^'^ expenses. I'll pay the oth; r ],alf, and J, eep him m pocket coin besides. Of course Ion. aua I ^.ve a penny, but I have something of my own and he is welcome to it. Do have everything arranged be- fore my husband's return. He is alive and well. I had a letter from him by the sloop that came from St. Kitts and he'll be here by the next or the one after " As soon as Knox had gone Mrs. Mitchell ordered her coach and drove to Lytton's Fancy. Her love for Alex- ander had struggled quite out of its fond selfishness and she determined that go to New York he should and b^ the next ship. She found her brother-in-law meditating ipon the arguments of the Governor, and had less difficulty °n persuading him than she had anticipated ''I'm sorry we haven't sent him before." he said finally. J,,' M fu-"" ""^l? .1'^^ Walsterstorff and Knox think so highly of him. and if he can write hke that. — it gave me the horrors, -he ought to have his chance, and this pSce is unfZfJ'W"^- i'" ^."^P y°" ^° ^^^P him at ^college until he s got his education, — and it will take him less time than most boys to get it, - and then he'll be able to take care of himself. If he sails on Wednesday, there's no produce to send with him to sell; but I've silve/, and so have you, and he can take enougl to keep him until the Island is well again. We'll do the ihing properly and hi shan't worry for want of plenty." ^ ^ When Alexander came home that evening he was in- formed that the world had turned round, and that he stood on lis apex. VTT esflll -^u ^^u^ he sailed he rode out to the Grange estate. The wall of the cemetery had been repaired James Lytton's slab was in its place, the tree had beer! ii6 THE CONQUEROR removed, and he had rebuilt the mound above his mother as soon as the earth was firm again. There v^ras no evi- dence of the hurricane here. The moon was out, and in her mellow bath the Island had the beauty o^ a desert. Alexander leaned his elbows on the wall and stared down at his mother's grave. He knew that he never should sec it again. What he was about to do was for good and all. He would no more waste months returning to this remote Island than he would turn back from any of the goals of his future. And it mattered nothing to the dead woman there. If she had an immortal part, it would follow him, and she had suffered too much in life for her dust to re- sent neglect. But he passionately wished that she were alive and that she were sailing with him to his new world. He had ceased to repine her loss, much to miss her, but his sentiment for her was still the strongest in his life, and as a companion he had found no one to take her place. To-night he wanted to talk to her. He was bursting with hope and anticipation and the enthusiasm of the mere change, but he was close to melancholy. Suddenly '^e bent his head. From the earth arose the golden music of a million tiny bells. They had hung rusty and warped since the hurricane, but to-night they rang again, and as .sweetly as on the night, seventeen years ago, when their music filled the Universe, and two souls, whose destiny it was to bring a greater into the world, were flooded with a diviner music than that fairy melody. Alex- ander knew nothing of that meeting of his parents, when they were but a few years older than he was to-night, but the inherited echo of those hours when his own soul awaited its sentence may have stirred in his brain, for he stood there and dreamed of his mother and father as they had looked and thought when they had met and loved; and this he had never done before. The tireless little ringers filled his brain with their Lilliputian clamour, and his imagination gave him his parents in the splendour of their young beauty and passion. For the first time he forgave his father, and he had a deep moment of insight : one of the mysteries of life was bare before him. He was ALEXANDER HAMILTON 117 to have many of these cosmic moments, for although his practical brain relied always on hard work, never on inspi- ration, his divining faculty performed some marvellous feats, and saved him from much plodding ; but he never had a oment of insight which left a profounder impres- sion than this. He understood in a flash the weakness of the world, and his own. At first he was appalled, then he pitied, then he vibrated to the thrill of that exultation which had possessed his mother the night on the moun- tain when she made up her mind to outstay her guests And then the future seemed to beckon more imperiously to the boy for whose sake she had remained, the radiant image of his parents melted in its crucible, and the world was flooded with a light which revealed more than the smoke of battlefields and the laurels of fulfilled ambition XIII On the following day, as Alexander stood on the wharf with his tearful relatives and friends, Hugh Knox detached him from Mrs. Mitchell and led him aside. "Alec," he said, "I've two pieces of -Girting advice for you, and I want you to put them into i pocket of your memory that's easiest to find. Get a t.^-ht rein on that temper of yours. It's improved in the last year, but there's room yet. That's the first piece. This is the second : keep your own counsel about the irregularity of your birth, unless someone asks you point-blank who has the right • if any- one else does, knock him down and tell him to go to hell AMth his impertinence. And never let it hit your courage m the vitals for a moment. You are not accountable ; your niother was the finest woman I ever knew, and you've got the best blood of Britain in your veins, and not a relative in the world who's not of gentle blood. You're an aristo- crat m body and brain, and you'll not find a purer in the American colonics. The lack of a priest at the ri^rhA tJr>,A can cause a good deal of suffering and trouble, bufit can't muddy a pure stream ; and many a lawful marriage has dune that. So, mind you never bring your head down for ii8 THE CONQUEROR a minute, nor persuade yourself that anyone has a better right to keep it up. It would be the death of you." Alexander nodded, but did not reply. He was feeling very low, now that the hour for parting was come, for his affections were strong and tender, and they were all rooted in the Island he hated. He understood, however. He was six weeks reaching Boston, for even the wind seemed to have had the life beaten out of it. He had a box of Knox's books, which he was to return by the Cap- tain ; and although he had read them before, he read them again, and wrote commentaries, and so kept his mind occu- pied for the greater part of the voyage. But an active brain, inexperienced in the world, and in no need of rest, is always bored at sea, and he grew sick of the sight of that interminable blue waste; of which he had seen too much all his life. When he had learned all there was to know about a ship, and read all his books, he burned for change of any sort. The change, when it came, was near to making an end of him : the ship caught fire, and they were a day and a night conquering the flames and pre- paring their philosophy to meet death ; for the boats were unseaworthy. Alexander had all the excitement he wanted, for he fought the fire as hard as he had fought the hurri- cane, and he was delighted when the Captain gave him permission to turn in. This was his third touch-and-go with death. He arrived in Boston late in October, and took passage immediately for New York. There had been no time to announce his coming, and he was obliged to find his own way to the house of Hercules Mulligan, a member of the West Indian firm, to whom Mr. Cruger had given him a warm letter of introduction. Mr. Mulligan, a good-natured Irishman, received him hospitably, and asked him to stop in his modest house until his plans were made. Alexander accepted the invitation, then started out in search of his friend, Ned Stevens, but paused frequently to observe the queer, straggling, yet imposing little city, the red splendour of the autumn foliage ; above all, to enjoy the keen and frosty air. All his life he had longed for cold weather. He ALEXANDER HAMILTON 119 had anticipated it daily during his voyage, and, although he had never given way to the natural indolence of the Tropics, he had always been conscious of a languor to fight. But the moment the sharp air of the Nor^h had tingled his skin his very muscles seemed to harden, his blood to quicken, and even his brain to become more alert and eager. If he had been ambitious and studious in an average tem- perature of eighty-five degrees, what would happen when the thermometer dropped below zero ? He smiled, but with much conl2ntment. The vaster the capacity for study, the better ; as for his ambitions, they could rest until he had finished his education. Now that his feet were fairly planted on the wide highway of the future, his impatience was taking its well-earned rest ; he would allow no dreams to interfere with the packing of his brain. It was late in the afternoon, and the fashionable world was promenading on lower Broadway and on the Battery by the Fort. It was the first time that Alexander had seen men in velvet coats, or women with hoopskirts and hair built up a foot, and he thought the city, with its quaint Dutch houses, its magnificent trees, and these brilliant northern birds, quite like a picture book. They looked high-bred and intelligent, these animated saunterers, and Alexander regarded the women with deep inquisitiveness. Women had interested him little, with the exception of his mother, who he took for granted vfa.s sut g-eneris. The sisters of his friends were white delicate creatures, languid and somewhat affected; and he had always felt older than either of his aunts. In consequence, he had meditated little upon the sex to which poets had formed a habit of writing sonnets, regarding them either as necessary ap- pendages or creatures for use. But these alert, dashing, often handsome women, stirred him with a new gratitude to life. He longed for the day when he should have time to know them, and pictured them gracing the solid home- like houses on the Broadway, and in the fine grounds along the river front, where he strayed after a time, having mis- taken the way to King's College. He walked back through Wall Street, and his enthusiasm was beginning to ebb, he I20 \i THE CONQUEROR was feeling the first pangs of a lonely nostalgia, when he almost ran into Ned Stevens's arms. It was four years since they had met. Stevens had grown a foot and Alexander a few inches, but both were boyish in appearance still and recognized each other at once. "When I can talk," exclaimed Stevens, "when I can get over my amazement — I thought at first it was my double, come to tell me something was wrong on the Island — I'll ask you to come to Fraunces' Tavern and have a tankard of ale. It's healthier than swizzle." " That is an invitation, Neddy," cried Alexander, gaily. " Initiate me a', once. I've but a day or two to play in, but I must have you for playfellow." They dined at Fraunces' Tavern and sat there till nearly morning. Alexander had much to tell but mo'-e to hear, and before they parted at Mr. Mulligan's door he knew all of the New World that young Stevens had patiently accumu- lated in four years. It was a stirring story, that account of the rising impatience of the British colonies, and Stevens told it with animation and brevity. Alexander became so interested that he forgot his personal mission, but he would not subscribe to his friend's opinion that the Colonials were in the right. " Did I have the time, I should study the history of the colonies from the day they built their first fort," he said. " Your story is picturesque, but it does not con- vince me that they have all the right on their side. Eng- land— " " England is a tyrannical old fool," young Stevens was beginning, heatedly, when a man behind arose and clapped a hand over his mouth. " There are three British officers at the next table," he said. "We don't want any more rows. One too many, and God knows what next." Stevens subsided, but Alexander's nostrils expanded. Even the mental atmosphere of this brilliant North was full of electricity. The next day he presented to Dr. Rogers and Dr. Mason the letters which Hugh Knox had given him. He ALEXANDER HAMILTON 131 interested them at once, and when he asked their advice regarding the first step he should take toward entering college, they recommended Francis Barber's Grammar School, at Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Stevens had sug- gested the same institution, and so did othei acquaintances he made during 1 ". brief stay in the city which was one day to Lw christened by > -^ry politicians, " HamiltonopoHs." Early in the following .veek he crossed to New Jersey and rode through the forests to the village, with its quaint streets and handsome houses, •' the Burial Yard Lot," beside the main thoroughfare of the proud little hamlet, and Mr. Barber's Grammar School at its upper end. Hamilton was accepted immediately, but where to lodge was a harassing question. The only rooms for hire were at the tavern, where perma- nent lodgement would be intolerable. When he presented a letter to Mr. Boudinot, which Mr. Cruger had given him, the problem was solved at once. Mr. Boudinot, one of the men of his time, had a spacious and elegant house, set amidst gardens, lawns, and forest trees; there were many spare bedrooms, and he invited Hamilton to become a member of his family. The invitation was given as a matter of course, and Hamilton accepted it as frankly. All the pupils who were far from home visited in the neighbourhood. Liberty Hall, on the Springfield turnpike, was finishing when Hamilton arrived. When the family was installed and he presented his letter to its owner, William Livingston, he received as pressing an invitation as Mr. Boudinot's, and divided his time between the two houses. Mr. Boudinot was a large man, with a long nose and a kindly eye, who was deeply attached to his children. Susan was healthy, pretty, lively, and an ardent young patriot. The baby died, and Hamilton, having offered to sit up with the little body, entertained himself by writing an appropriate poem, which was long treasured by Mr. Boudinot. At Liberty Hall life was even more interesting. William Livingston was one U the ablest lawyers, most independent thinkers, and ardent republicans of the unquiet times. Witty laa THE CONQUEROR and fearless, he had for years made a target of kingly rule ; his acid (.ut deep, doing much to weaken the wong side and encourage the right. His wife was as unco.nprcrnis- ing a patriot as himself; his son, Brockholst, and his sprightly cultivated daughters had grown up in an atmosphere of political discussion, and in constant asso- ciation with the best intellects of the day. Sarah, the beauty, was engaged to John Jay, already a distinguished lawyer, notoriously patriotic and highminded. He was a handsome man, with his dark hair brushed forward about his face, his nobility and classic repose of feature, Mr. Livingston wore his hair in a waving mass, as long as he had any. His nose was large and sharp, and he had a very disapproving eye. He took an immediate liking to young Hamilton, however, and his hospitality was frank and delightful. Brockholst and Alexander liked and admired each other in those days, although they were to become bitter enemies in the turbulent future. As for the lively bevy of women, protesting against their exile from New York, but amusing themselves, always, they adopted " the young West Indian." The delicate-looking boy, with his handsome sparkling face, his charming manners, and gay good humour captivated them at once ; and he wrote to Mrs. Mitchell that he was become shockingly spoiled. When Mr. Livingston discovered that his brain and know- ledge were extraordinary, he eased at once to treat him as a fascinating boy, and introduced him to the men who were constantly entertained at his house : John Jay, James Duane, Dr. Witherspoon, President of Princeton ; and members of the Morris, Schuyler, Ogden, Clinton, and Stockton families. The almost weekly conversation of these men contributed to the rapid maturing of Hamilton's mind. His recreation he found with the young women of the family, and their conversation was not always political. Sarah Livingston, beautiful, sweet, and clever, was pensively in love; but Kitty and Susan were not, and they were handsome and dashing. They were sufficiently older than Alexander to inspire him with the belief that he was in love with each in turn ; and if he was constant to either, it was to Kitty, who was the ALEXANDER HAMILTON "3 first to reveal to him the fascination of her sex. But they did not interrupt the course of his studies ; and in the dawn, when he repaired to the Burial Yard Lot to think out his difficult task for the day, not a living face haunted the tombstones. And when winter came and he walked the vast black forests alone, the snow crunching under his feet, the blood racing in his body, a gun on his shoulder, lest he meet a panther, or skated till midnight under the stars, a crystal moon illuminating the dark woods on the river's edge, the frozen tide glittering the flattering homage of earth, he felt so alive and happy, so tingling and young and primeval, that had his fellow-inhabitants flown to the stars he would not have missed them. Until that northern winter embraced and hardened him, quickening mind and soul and body, crowding the future with realized dreams, he never had dared to imagine that life could be so fair and beautiful a thing. On stormy winter nights, when he roasted chestnuts or popped corn in the great fireplace of Liberty Hall, under the tuition of all the Livingston girls, Sarah, Susan, Kitty, and Judith, he felt very sociable indeed ; and if his ears, sometimes, were soundly boxed, he looked so penitent and meek that he was contritely rewarded with the kiss he had snatched. The girls regarded him as a cross between a sweet and charming boy to be spoiled — one night, when he had a toothache, they all sat up with him — and a phenomenon of nature of which they stood a trifle in awe. But the last was when he was not present and they fell to discuss- ing him. And with them, as with all women, he wore, because to the gay vivacity and polished manners of his Gallic inheritance he added the rugged sincerity of the best of Britons ; and in the silences of his heart he was too sen- sible of the inferiority of the sex, out of which, first and last, he derived so much pleasure, not to be tender and considerate of it always. Before the year of 1773 was out Mr. Barber pronounced him ready for college, and, his choice being Princeton, he 124 THK CONQUEROR I ^H 1 ■■; 1 •i p ^^^^^^^H 1 presented himself to Dr. VVitherspoon and demanded a special course which would permit him to finish several years sooner than if he graduated from class to class. He knew his capacity for conquering mental tasks, and having his own way to make in the world, had no mind to waste years and the substance of his relatives at college. Dr. VVitherspoon, who had long been deej^ly interested in him, examined him privately and pronounced him e(|ual to the heavy burden he had imposed upon himself, but feared that the board of trustees would not consent to so original a plan. They would not. Hamilton, nothing daunted, applied to King's College, and found no opposition there. He entered as a private student, attached to no particular class, and with the aid of a tutor began his customary annihilation of time. Besides entering upon a course of logic, ethics, mathematics, history, chronology, rhetoric, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, all the modern languages, and Belles Lettres, he found time to attend Dr. Clossy's lectures n anatomy, with his friend Stevens, who was studying medicine as a profession. King's was a fine building facing the North River and surrounded by spacious grounds shaded by old sycamores and elms. There were many secluded corners for thought and study. A more favourite resort of Alexander's was Batteau Street, under whose great elms he formed the habit of strolling and muttering his lessons, to the concern of the passer-by. In his hours of leisure he rollicked with Stevens and his new friends, Nicolas Fish and Robert Troup. The last, a strong and splendid specimen of the young American collegian, had assumed at once the rela- tion of big brother to the small West Indian, but was not long discovering that Hamilton could take care of himself ; was flown at indeed by two agile fists upon one occasion, when protectiveness, in Alexander's measirement, rose to interference. But they formed a deep ?nd lifelong friendship, and Troup, who was clever and alert, without brilliancy, soon learned to understand Hamilton, and was not long recognizing potentialities of usefulness to the American cause in his genius. ALEXANDER HAMILTON 135 It was Troup who took him for his first sail up the Hud- son, and except for the men who managed the boat, they went alone Troup was a good listener, and for a time Hamilton cnattored gaily as the boat sped up the river, jingling rhymes on the great palisades, which looked like the walls of some Brobdingnagian fortress, and upon the gurgeous masses of October colouring swarming over the perpendicular heights of Jersey and the slopes and bluffs of New York. It was a morning, and a piece of nature, to make the quicksilver in Hamilton race. The arch was blue, the tide was bluer, the smell of salt was in the keen and frosty air. Two boats with full white sails flew up the river. On either bank the primeval forest had burst in a night into scarlet and gold, pale yellow and crimson, bronze, pink, the flaming hues of the Tropics, and the delicate tints of hot-house roses. Hamilton had never seen such a riot of colour in the West Indies, They passed in pene- trable thickets close to the water's edge, ravines, cliffs, irregular terraces on the hillside, gorges, solitary heights, all flaunting their charms like a vast booth which has but a day in which to sell its wares. They sped past the beautiful peninsula, then the lawns of Philipse Manor. Hamilton stepped suddenly to the bow of the boat and stood silent for a long while. The stately but narrow end of the Hudson was behind ; before him rolled a wide and ever widening majestic flood, curving among its hills and palisades, through the glory of its setting and the soft mists of distance, until the far moun- tains it clove trembled like a mirage. The eye of Hamil- ton's mind followed it farther and farther yet. It seemed to him that it cut the world in two. The sea he had had with him always, but it had been the great chasm between himself and life, and he had often hated it. This mighty river, haughty and calm in spite of the primeval savagery of its course, beat upon the gates of his soul, beat them down, filled him with a sense of grandeur which made him tremble. He had a vision of the vastness and magnificence of the New World, of the great lonely mountains in the North, with their countless lakes hidden in the immensity m6 THE CONQUEROR if of a trackless forest, of other mountain ranges equally wild and lonely, cutting the monotony of plains and prairies, and valleys full of every delight. All that Hamilton had read or heard of the immense area beyond or surrounding the few cities and hamlets of the American colonies, flew to coherence, and he had a sudden appreciation of the stu- pendousness of this new untravellcd world, understood that with its climate, fertility, and beauty, its large nucleus of civilization, its destiny must be as great as Europe's, nor much dissimilar, no matter what the variance of detail. The noblest river in the world seemed to lift its voice like a prophet, and the time came — after his visit to Boston — when Hamilton listened to it with a thrill of impatient pride and white-hot patriotism. But to-day he felt only the grandeur of life as he never had felt it before, felt his soul merge into this mighty unborn soul of a nation sleep- ing in the infinity, which the blue flood beneath him spoke of, almost imaged ; with no premonition that his was the destiny to quicken that soul to its birth. While on the ship, Alexander had written to his father, asking for news of him and telling of the change in his own fortunes. James Hamilton had replied at once, grate- fully, but with melancholy ; by this time he knew himself to be a failure, although he was now a planter in a small way. Alexander's letter, full of the hope and indomitable spirit of youth, interested as keenly as it saddened him. He recalled his own high courage and expectant youth, and wondered if this boy had stronger mettle than his own equipment. Then he remembered Rachael Levine and hoped. He lived to see hope fulfilled beyond any achievement of his imagination, although the correspond- ence, brisk for a time, gradually subsided. From Hugh Knox and Mrs. Mitchell Alexander heard constantly, and it ' needless to state that his aunt kept him in linen which WC.3 the envy of his friends. His beruffled shirts and lace stocks were marvels, and if he was an exquisite in dress all his life, it certainly was not due to after-thought. Mean- while, he lodged with the family of Hercules Mulligan, and rsrsn ALEXANDER HAMILTON 127 wrote dogfjcrel for their amusement in the evening. Troup relates that Hamilton presented him with a manuscript of fugitive poetry, written at this period. Mercifully, Troup lost it. Hamilton has been peculiarly fortunate in this respect. He lies more serenely in his grave than most great men. When he was not studying, or joking, or rhyming, durinii; those two short years of college life, he read : Cudworth's " Intellectual System," Hobbes's " Dialogues," Bacon's "Essays," Plutarch's "Morals," Cicero's " De Officiis." Montaigne's " PZssays," Rousseau's " Emile," Demosthenes's "Orations," Aristotle's "Politics," Ralt's "Dictionary of Trade," and the "Lex Mercatoria." He accomplished his mental feats by the — to him — simple practice of keeping one thing before his mind at p time, then relegating it uncompromisingly to the back- ground ; where, howt ■ ' •. it was safe in the folds of his memory. What wot'd ! , ve sprained most minds merely stimulated his, and never aJected his spirits nor his health, highly as nature had strung his nerves. He was putting five years college work into two, but the effect was an expansion and strengthening of the forces in his brain ; they never weakened for an instant. XIV In the spring of 1774 Hamilton visited Boston during a short holiday. His glimpse of this city had been so brief that it had impressed his mind but as a thing of roofs and trees, a fantastic woodland amphitheatre, in whose depths men of large and solemn mien added daily to the sum of human discomfort. He returned to see the important city of Boston, but with no overwhelming desire to come in closer contact with its forbidding inhabitants. He quickly forgot the city in what those stern sour men had to tell him. For to them he owed that revelation of the tragic justice of the American cause which enabled him to begin with the pen his part in the Revolution, forcing the crisis, taking rank as a noHtiral philosopher when but a youth of seventeen ; instead of bolting from his books to tm^-mmam^-^i 138 THE CONQUEROR the battlefield at the first welcome call to arms. Up to this time he had adhered to his resolution to let nothing impede the progress of his education, to live strictly in the hour until the time came to leave the college for the world. Therefore, although he had heard the question of Colonies versus Crown argued week after week at Liberty Hall, and at the many New York houses where he dined of a Sunday with his friends, Stevens, Troup, and Fish, he had persist- ently refused to study the matter : there were older heads to settle it and there was only one age for a man's educa- tion. Moreover, he had grown up with a deep reverence for the British Constitution, and his strong aristocratic prejudices inclined him to all the aloofness of the true conservative. So while the patriots and royalists of King's were debating, ofttimes concluding in sequestered nooks, Hamilton remained "The young West Indian," an aUen who cared for naught but book-learning, walking abstract- edly under the great green shade of Batteau Street while ' Liberty Boys were shouting, and British soldiers swag- gered with a sharp eye for aggression. This period of philosophic repose in the midst of electric fire darting from every point in turn and sometimes from all points at once, endured from the October of his arrival to its decent burial in Boston shortly after his seventeenth birthday. Boston was sober and depressed, stonily awaiting the vengeance of the crown for her dramatic defiance in the matter of tea. Even in that rumbling interval, Hamilton learned, the Committee of Correspondence, which had directed the momentous act, had been unexcited and method- ical, restraining the Mohawks day after day, hoping until the last moment that the Collector of Customs would clear the ships and send the tea whence it came. Hamilton heard the wrongs of the colonies discussed without any of the excitement or pyrotechnical brilliancy to which he had become accustomed. New York was not only the hot-bed of Toryism, but even such ardent Republicans as William Livingston, George Clinton, and John Jay were aristocrats, holding themselves fastidiously aloof from the rank and file that marched and veiled under the name of Sons of ALEXANDER HAMILTON 129 Liberty. To Hamilton the conflict had been spectacular rather than real, until he met and moved with these sombre, undemonstrative, superficially unpleasing men of Boston ; then, almost in a flash, he realized that the colonies were struggling, not to be relieved of this tax or that, but for a principle ; realized that three millions of people, a respect- able majority honourable, industrious, and educated, were being treated like incapables, apprehensive of violence if they dared to protest for their rights under the British Constitution. Hamilton also learned that Boston was the conspicuous head and centre of resistance to the crown, that she had led the colonies in aggressiveness since the first Stamp Act of 1765 had shocked them from passive sub- jects into dangerous critics. He had letters which admitted him to clubs and homes, and he discussed but one subject during his visit. There were no velvet coats and lace ruffles here, except in the small group which formed the Governor's court. The men wore dun-coloured garments, and the women were not much livelier. It was, perhaps, as well that he did not see John Hancock, that ornamental head-piece of patriotic New England, or the harmony of the impression might have been disturbed ; but, as it was, every time he saw these men together, whether sitting unde- monstratively in Faneuil Hall while one of their number spoke, or in church, or in groups on Boston Common, it was as if he saw men of iron, not of flesh and blood. Every word they uttered seemed to have been weighed first, and it was impossible to consider such men giving their time and thought, making ready to offer up their lives, to any cause which should not merit the attention of all men. Although Hamilton met many of them, they made no indi- vidual impression on him ; he saw them only as a mighty brain, capable of solving a mighty question, and of a stern and bitter courage. H ' returned to New York filled with an intense indigna- tion against the country which he had believed too ancient and too firm in her highest principles to make a colossal mistake, and a hot sympathy for the colonists which was not long resolving itself into as burnin ■ a patriotism as any I30 THE CONQUEROR ,i iii in the land. It was not in him to do anything by halves ; it is doubtful if he ever realized the half-hearted tendency of the greater part of mankind. He studied the question from the first Stamp Act to the Tea Party. The day he was convinced, he ceased to be a West Indian. The time was not yet come to draw the sword in behalf of the country for which he conceived a romantic passion, which satisfied other wants of his soul, but he began at once on a course of reading which should be of use to her when she was free to avail herself of patriotic thinkers. He also joined the debating club of the college. His abrupt advent into this body, with his fiery eloquence and remarkable logic, was electrical. In a day he became the leader of the patriot students. There were many royalists in King's, and the president, Dr. Myles Cooper, was a famous old Tory. He looked upon this influential addition to the wrong side with deep disfavour, and when he discovered that the most caustic writer of Holt's Whig newspaper, who had carved him to the quick and broken his controversial lances again and again, was none other than his youngest and most revolutionary pupil, his wrath knew no bounds. With the news of the order to close the port of Boston, the wave of indignation in the colonies rose so high that even the infatuated clergy wriggled. Philadelphia went so far as to toll her muffled bells for a day, and as for New York, then as now, the nerve-knot of the country, she exploded. The Sons of Liberty, who had reorganized after the final attempt of England to force tea on t^^ colonies, paraded all day and most of the night, but as yet, more orderly than the masses, who stormed tL ,, the streets with lighted torches, shrieking and yellin . ; burning the king and his ministers in effigy. The substantial citizens also felt that the time was come to prepare for the climax toward which their fortunes were hastening. That spiteful fist would be at their own skulls next, beyond a doubt. The result of a long and hot debate in the Exchange between the Sons of Liberty and the more conservative patriots was an agreement to call a Congress of the Colonies. The contest over the election of delegates ALEXANDER HAMILTON 131 was so bitter, however, the Committee of the Assembly which was largely ministerial, claiming the right to nomi- nation, that It was determined to submit the question to the people at large. XV In the early morning Hamilton still sauntered beneath the college trees or those of Batteau Street, pondering on his studies, and abstracting himself from the resting city but m the evenings and during half the night he inhaled the hot breath of rebellion ; and the flaring torches, the set angry faces, the constant shouting, the frightened pallor of the wonien at the windows of the great houses on the line of march, the constant brawls with British soldiers, stormed the curb he had put on his im^ xtient spirit. He realized that the colonies were not yet prepared to fight, and he had no thought of domg anything rash, but it was his propen- sity to do a thing at once if it were to be done at all, and this last mdignity should result in something except talk He was present at the meeting in the Exchange and listened carefully to all that was said, feeling that he could add to that whirlwind of ideas, but forbearing on account of his youth His mind, by now, was so mature that he reminded himself, with some difficulty, that he was but seventeen He was as lively and as happy as ever, but that was tem- peramental and would endure through all things; mentally he had no youth in him, had had little since the day he began to ask questions. The meeting in the Fields — at which it was hoped to effect a choice of delegates by the people at large — was called for the 6th of July, and a great multitude assembled. Alexander McDougall, the first patriot to have suffered im- prisonment at the hands of the Tyrant, presided, and cele- brated speakers harangued. It was here that Hamilton's impatience got rid of its curb. He heard much that was good, more that was bad, little that was new : and he found the radicals illogical and the conservatives timid. Nicolas I'ish and Robert Troup pushed their way through the 132 THE CONQUEROR 1* crowd to where Hamilton stood, his uplifted face express- ing his thoughts so plainly to those who knew him that these friends determined to force him to the platform. At first he protested; and in truth, the idea, shaping con- cretely, filled his very legs with terror; but the young men's insistence, added to his own surging ideas, con- quered, and he found himself on the platform facing a boundless expanse cf three-cornered hats. Beneath were the men who represented the flower as well as the weeds of the city, all dominated by the master passion of the civilized world. There was little shade in the Fields and the day was hot. It was a crowded, uncomfortable, humid mass whose attention he was about to demand, and their minds were already weary of many words, their calves of the ruthless mosquito. They stared at Hamilton in amaze- ment, for his slender little figure and fair curling hair, tied loosely with a ribbon, made him look a mere boy, while his proud high-bred face, the fine green broadcloth of his fash- ionably cut garments, the delicate lawn of his shirt and the profusion of lace with which it was trimmed, particu- larly about his exquisite hands, gave him far more the appearance of a court favourite than a champion of liberty. Some smiled, others grunted, but all remained to listen, for the attempt was novel, and he was beautiful to look upon. For a moment Hamilton felt as if the lower end of his heart had grown wings, and he began falteringly and in an almost inaudible voice. Pride hastened to his relief, how- ever, and his daily debates in college had given him assur- ance and address. He recovered his poise, and as ideas swam from his brain on the tide of a natural eloquence, he forgot all but the great principle which possessed him in common with that jam of weary men, the determination to inspire them to renewed courage and greater activity. He rehearsed their wrongs, emphasized their inalienable rights under the British Constitution — from which the ministerial party and a foolish sovereign had practically divorced them. He insisted that the time had come in their history to revert to the fiatnra/ rights of man — upon which all civil rights were founded — since they were no longer permitted to ALEXANDER HAMILTON 133 lead the Uyes of self-respecting citizens, pursuing the hap- piness which was the first instinct of the human intelH- gence ; they had been reduced almost to the level of their own slaves, who soon would cease to respect them He paused so abruptly that the crowd held its breath Then his ringing thnlhng voice sounded the first note nf the Revolution. "It is war! " he cried. "It is war It is the battlefield or slavery ! " ^'^ ' " h.^^^K -^^/T^ """Y l^^'^^ S^^^^^^ the startling words had subsided, he spoke briefly of their immense natural advantages, in the event of war. the inability of England to gain any permanent advantage, and finally of the vast resources of the country, and its phenomenal future when the "waves of rebellion, sparkling with fire had washed back to the shores of England the wrecks of her power her wealth, and her glory." power, His manner was as fiery and impetuous as his discourse was clear logical, and original. The great crowd was elec^ rom the LTh,"' '1 \^^1^ °^ "^^^"^"^ ^^^^ ^ho^down from the hot blue sky to illuminate the doubting recesses of their understandings. They murmured repea^tedlv " I? IS a collegian." "a collegian." and they thundered the r applause when he finished. """crea ineir Troup and Fish bore him off in triumph to Fraunces' exuUa'nt.'' '' ^'''^'"' ^'°^"'^ '^'"^ immediately. hot?but bumbirbr-^hf ^'^ °^'' P^'fi^f^t' J°°king like an infuriated bumblebee he cried. "I know he heard your speech A^ '° Wh J'''"r ?f ofy.ntage. It was a g^reat sp'eech. Alec. What a pity Hugh Knox, Mr. Lytton? and Benny ShtZ'srV'''' '° i'^'' J'" ^"^^ them' about itTJ night, for St. Croix ought to burn a bonfire for a week stra^ht tn^.h'^'^r ^''^ " ^'^''^ ^" it that whirled you straight to these shores -as opportune for this country as you re gomg to be a p-^me factor in getting rid of these r.fZ:i "onTriT?-^ private 'room.'soI cin t:?k was you " ^"^ ^"^ ™^ "P j"'t now. thinking I 134 THE CONQUEROR Fish leaned across the tab'e a-id lockjd penetratingly at Hamilton, who was flushed and nervous. The young New Yorker had a chubby face, almost feminized by a soft parted fringe, but his features were strong, and his eyes preternaturally serious. " You've committed yourself, Hamilton," he said. " That was no college play. Whether you fight or not doesn't so much matter, but you must give us your pen and your speech. I'm no idle purveyor of compliments, but you are extraordinary, and there isn't a man living can do for the cause with his pen what you can do. Write pamphlets, and they'll be published without an hour's delay." " Ah, I see ! ' cried Hamilton, gaily. " I was a bit be- wildered. You think my new patriotism needs nursing. ' After all, he is a West Indian, born British, brought up under Danish rule, which is Uke being coddled by one's grandmother. He sympathizes with us, his mind is de- lighted with a new subject for analysis and discourse, but patriotism — that is impossible.* Is it not true } " " You have read my thought," said Fish, with some con- fusion. "And you have a great deal to occupy your mind. I never have known anyone whose brain worked at so many things at once. I am selfish enough to want you to give a good bit of it to us." " I never was one to make fierce demonstrations," said Alexander ; " but fill up another bumper — the first has calmed my nerves, which were like to jump through my skin — and stand up, and I'll drink you a pledge." The three other young men sprang to their feet, and stood with their glasses raised, their eyes anxiously fixed on young Hamilton. They had believed him to be prepar- ing himself for a great career in letters, and knowing his tenacity and astonishing powers of concentration, had doubted the possibility of interesting him permanently in politics. They all had brains and experience enough — it was a hot quick time — to recognize his genius, and to conceive the inestimable benefit it could confer upon the colonial cause. Moreover, they loved him and wanted to see him famous as quickly as possible. ALEXANDER HAMILTON 135 " Stand up on the table," cried Troup. " It is where you belong; and you're the biggest man in New York, to-day." As Hamilton, although self-confident, was mod- est, Troup put down his bumper, seized the hero in his big arms and swung him to the middle of the table. Then the three, raising their glasses again, stood in a semi- circle. Hamilton threw back his head and raised his own glass. His hand trembled, and his lips moved for a moment without speaking, after his habit when excited. " The pledge ! The pledge ! " cried Fish. ♦' We want it." " It is this," said Hamilton. " I pledge myself, body and soul and brain, to the most sacred cause of the Ameri- can colonies. I vow to it all my best energies for the rest of my life. I swear to fight for it with my sword ; then when the enemy is driven out, and all the brain in the country needed to reconstruct these tattered colonies and unify them into one great state, or group of allied states, which shall take a respectable place among nations, to give her all that I have learned, all that my brain is cap- able of learning and conceiving. I believe that I have certain abilities, and I solemnly swear to devote them wholly to my country. And I further swear that never, not in a single instance, will I permit my personal ambi- tions to conflict with what must be the lifelong demands of this country." He spoke slowly and with great solemnity. The hands of the three young men shook, as they gulped down a little of the wine. Hamilton rarely was serious in manner; even when discussing literature, politics, or any of the great questions before the world, his humour and wit were in constant play, a natural gift permitting this while de- tracting nothing from the weight of his opinions. But his words and his manner were so solemn to-day that they impressed his hearers profoundly, and they all had a vague presentiment of what the unborn Country would owe to that pledge. "You'll keep that, Alexander," said Fish. " Perhaps it 136 THE CONQUEROR were better for you had you not made it so strong. I burn with patriotism, but I'd not have you sacrificed — " "I've made my vows," cried Hamilton, gaily, "and I'll not have you mention the fact again that I'm not an American born. Here's not only to liberty, but to a united people under the firmest national constitution ever conceived by man." "Amen," said Troup, "but that's looking well ahead. Hard as it will be to get England out, it will be harder still to make New York and New England love each other ; and when it comes to hitching Massachusetts and Virginia about each other's necks, I vow my imagination won't budge." " It will come," said Hamilton, " because in no other way can they continue to exist, much less become one of the nations of the earth. This war is but an interlude, no matter how long it may take. Then will come the true warfare of this country — the Great Battle of Ideas, and our real history will begin while it is raging, while we are experimenting ; and there will be few greater chapters in any country. I shall take part in that battle ; how, it is too soon to know, except that for union I shall never cease to strive until it is a fact. But it has grown cooler. Let us ride up to the village of Harlem and have supper under the trees." # XVI It was not long after this that he wrote the pamphlets in reply to the tracts assailing the Congress and aimed par- ti^cularly at setting the farmers against the merchants. These tracts were by two of the ablest men on the Tory side, and were clever, subtle, and insinuating. Hamilton's pamphlets were entitled, " A Full Vindication of the Meas- ures of Congress from the Calumnies of Their Enemies," and "The Farmer Refuted; or a More Comprehensive and Impartial View of the Disputes between Great Britain and the Colonies, Intended as a Further Vindication of the Congress." It is not possible to quote these pamphlets, ALEXANDER HAMILTON 137 and they can be found in his "Works," but they were remarkable not only for their unanswerable logic, their comprehensive arraignment of Britain, their close discus- sion of the rights of the colonists under the British Con- stitution, their philosophical definition of " natural rights," and their reminder that war was inevitable, but for their anticipation of the future resources of the country, particu- larly in regard to cotton and manufactures, and for the prophecies regarding the treatment of the colonies by Europe. The style was clear, concise, and bold, and with a finish which alone would have suggested a pen pointed by long use. These pamphlets, which created a profound sensation, were attributed to WilHam Livingston and John Jay, two of the ablest men on the patriot side. That side was pro- foundly grateful, for they put heart into the timid, decided the wavering, and left the Tory writers without a leg to stand on. Nothing so brilliant had been contributed to the cause. It was not long before the public had the author's name. Troup had been present at the writing of the pamphlets, and he called on Dr. Cooper, one day, and announced the authorship with considerable gusto. "I'll not believe it," exclaimed the president, angrily; " Mr. Jay wrote those pamphlets, and none other. A mere boy like that — it's absurd. Why do you bring me such a story, sir? I don't like this Hamilton, he's too forward and independent — but I have no desire to hear more ill of him." "He wrote them, sir. Mulligan, in whose house he lives^ and I, can prove it. He's the finest brain in this country, and I mean you shall know it." He left Dr. Cooper foaming, and went to spread the news elsewhere. The effect of his revelation was imme- diate distinction for Hamilton. He was discussed every- where as a prodigy of intellect ; messages reached him from every colony. " Sears," said Willets, one of the leaders of the Liberty party, " was a warm man, but with little reflec- tion ; McDougall was strong-minded ; and Jay, appearing 138 THE CONQUEROR ■f .1 to fall in with the measures of Sears, tempered and con- trolled them ; but Hamilton, after these great writings, became our oracle." Congress met in May, 1775, and word having come that Chatham's conciliation bill had been rejected, and that Britain was about to send an army to suppress the Amer- ican rebellion, this body assumed sovereign prerogatives. They began at once to organize an army; Washington was elected Commander-in-chief, and they ordered that five thousand men be raised to protect New York, as the point most exposed. The royal troops were expelled, and the city placed in command of General Charles Lee, an English soldier of fortune, who had fought in many lands and brought to the raw army an experience which might have been of inestimable service, had he been high-minded, or even well balanced. As it was, he very nearly sacrificed the cause to his jealousy of Washington and to his insane vanity. Hamilton, meanwhile, published his two pamphlets on the Quebec Bill, and took part in a number of public debates. At one of these, as he rose to speak, a stranger remarked, "What brings that lad here.? The poor boy will disgrace himself." But the merchants, who were present in force, listened intently to all he had to say on the non-importation agreement, and admitted the force of his arguments toward its removal, now that war practically had been declared. One of the most interesting of the phenomena in the career of Hamilton was the entire absence of struggle for an early hearing. People recog- nized his genius the moment they came in contact with it, and older men saw only the extraordinary and mature brain, their judgement quite unaffected by the boyish face and figure. Those who would not admit his great gifts were few, for except in the instances where he incurred jealous hate, he won everybody he met by his charming manner and an entire absence of conceit. He was con- scious of his powers, but took them as a matter of course, and thought only of what he would do with them, having no leisure to dwell on their quality. In consequence, he already ALEXANDER HAMILTON »39 had a large following of unhesitating admirers, many of them men twice his age, and was accepted as the leading political philosopher of the country. Dr. Cooper sent for him after his third pamphlet. He, too, was a patriot in his way, and although he bristled whenever Hamilton's name was mentioned, he had come in contact with too many minds not to recognize ability of any sort ; he knew that Hamilton would be invaluable to the Royalist cause. " Ask your own price, sir," he said, after suggesting the higher service to which he could devote his pen. " You will find us more liberal — " But Hamilton had bolted. It is impossible to knock down one's venerable president, and his temper was still an active member in the family of his faculties. To the numerous other offers he received from the Tory side he made no reply, beyond inserting an additional sting into his pen when writing for Holt' s/ouma/. In the press he was referred to, now, as " The Vindicator of Congress," and it was generally conceded that he had done more to hasten matters to a climrx, by preparing and whetting the public mind, than anyone else in America. There is no doubt that the swiftness and suddenness of Hamilton's conversion, his abrupt descent from a back- ground of study and alien indifference, gave him a clearer and more comprehensive view of the wrongs and needs of the colonists than they possessed themselves. They had been muttering ever since the passage of the first stamp tax, threatening, permitting- themselves to be placated, hoping, despairing, hoping again. Hamilton, from the first moment he grasped the subject, saw that there was no hope in ministerial England, no hope in anything but war. Moreo ; his courage, naturally of the finest temper, and an audacity which no one had ever discouraged, leapt out from that far background of the West Indies into an arena where the natives moved in an atmosphere whose damps of doubt and discouragement had corroded them for years. Even among men whose courage and inde- pendence were of the first quality, Hamilton's passionate energy, fearlessness of thought, and audacity of expression, I40 THE CONQUEROR made hin remarkable at once ; and th. > drew a lonR brc. h o relief when he uncompromisingly published what they had lon soon itt^acted the attention uf General Gr-ene a superior man . ,d ar. accompl.shc! officer. He took an espec.a. fancy tu Hamilton, and great as was their dispar- ity m years, the^ were close friend until the General's death It was ( reene wh<> first attracted Washington's was able to render the older man, whose servi, s ; nd talents have even yet not bee^^ properly rec. ^nized by h.s country, exceptional service. The company ex.Tcised m the churchyard of S George s chapel, earl/ uithe morn- ing, for in spite ot tr. : swarms of recruits clad i- every variety of uniform, deserted Iv uses, and daily flights of ti e timid into Jersey, earthworks and fortifications .ollese went on as usual. ^ It was not long before the " Hearts o^ opportunity to disdii^uish themselves. committee ordered them to remove the c: at the Battery. In the harbour was the 1 Asia, which immediately sent off a boat to proceeding. A large number of armed S"^ the little corps to the Battery, and .. veral lost lu heads and fired at the boat. There was an immedirVe broadsiae irom the Asm. Three of the militia re wounded and one fell dead by Hamilton's side. "It i child's lav to a hurricane." he though^ " I doubt if a man couldh^ I better training for the bail .dd. ' They removed he - ns Oak had an le prov tKiai iion -inc-f' itish ship, -quire i: > this ituens had r deci" tO h'. mem ahca den ana v\ 'I an tn: haraiv ^tht stanr a fir th ALEXANDER HAMILTON ,4, The result of this .ittack was -mother explosion of New York s nerves. The Sons of 1 i>erty made it unsafe for a Torv o venture abroad. Thev marched through the i^treH s. utniK vengeance, burn g ir ^rfigy. and making atari iui; demon ntrations before the handsome houses of ccrtam loy.ilists, Suci lenly, about ten o'clock at night they w. re itiimated I a desii • t( offer up Dr. Cooper! anri the conr^red :< m] swarmed down .ward King's. Ham- '■ 'tu 'j 'P ^ ■"'^^ *° ^ walking in the grounds \-iu n the Ida n hare of torches and th. approaching tide of .s und. ra^d * .m of the invasi' They ran like . but r-ached the ico only a mo- b, w' :h knew the. it must be sud- tor s. than :." whispered Hamilton. " I'll ai;u it won .ke Dr. Cooper long to under- hrough the uack door — and may the devil ay with him. ' moment ! " he cried, " I've sometning to say, and I m- u have another chance, war is sn lose upon us " ^ Tis young Hamilton," cried .^ ,6 m the crowd. ^\ oil, make us a speech ; we're a !ad to hear you, but ve 11 not go home without old c Don't think a am- .n never remembered what n se he talked ♦ at nig t. Fortunately words always .^^ with a rush. Id he tould mix up politics, wrongs, the clergy, and pa- riotism, in so picturesque a jumble that an excited crowd ■ould not miss his usual concise logic. " Do you suppose he|s gone > " he whispered, pausing to take breath. " Go on, go on," said Troup, nervously, " I hear some- ^ ^t thf British were lyinr^n Mpir Z ^""T *^^"^y thousand disregard of tffe' f^ain^ p rhaps^ rdV'tt ^"^-1. ^^^^ of August. But thev w^r^ «,o^ % . ^"^ torrid sun officerld. and nothing^rh7stor/?fH''"''^,^J''iP""^^ and and stubborn ignorance of fh.T ^ '"'"'^"^^ ^^^ rawness had not then S Wa?hlt^^^^^^^ Hamilton friends that the Chief w^fv' -l ^^ ^""^"^ ^'■°'" common he had seen when insnecti^jrl ""?, ^'^^^^ted by what before. Greene seS . L^^ the Brooklyn troops the day had been inThaVgrof the Vr^o^i^t^ '^ ^^"'^y^ -^J gc oi .nt tJrooklyn contingent, knowing ALEXANDER HAMILTON MS every inch of the ground, was suddenly ill. Putnam was in command, and the Chief was justified in his doubt of him, for nothing in the mistakes of the Revolution exceeded his carelessness and his errors of judgement during the battle of Long Island. There were still two days of chafing inactivity, except in the matter of strengthening fortifications, then, beginnir- with dawn of the 28th, Hamilton had his baptism of fij in one of the bloodiest battle-fields of the Revolution. The Americans were outgeneralled and outnumbered. Their attention was distracted by land and water, while a British detachment, ten thousand strong, crept over 'ie ridge of hills by night, and tV rough the Bedford Pass, overpowering the guards before their approach was suspected. At da v. n they poured down upon the American troops, surprising them, not in one direction, but in flank, in rear, and in front. The green woods sw.-rmed with redcoats, and the Hessians acted with a brutality demoralizing to raw troops. Hamil- ton's little company behaved well, and he was in the thick of the fight all day. The dead were in heaps, the beauti- i ul green slopes were red, there was not a hope of victorv, out he exulted that the colonies were fighting at last, and that he was acting ; he had grown very tired of talking. He was driven from his position finally, and lost his baggage and a field-piece, but did not take refuge within the redoubts until nightfall. There, in addition to fatigue, hunger, a bed on the wet ground, and the atmosphere of hideous depression which pressed low upon the new revolutionists, he learned that Troup had been taken pris- oner. Then he discovered the depths to which a mercurial nature could descend. He had been fiercely alive all day ; the roar of the battle, the plunging horses, the quickening stench of the powder, that obsession by the devil of bat* ks which makes the tenderest kill hot and fast, all had made him feel something more than himself, much as he had felt in the hurricane when he had fancied himself on high among the Berserkers of the storm. In his present collapse he felt as if he were in a hole underground, Washington arrived on the scene next morning, and for 146 THE CONQUEROR i forty-eight hours he barely left the saddle, encouraging the wretched men and exercising an unceasing vigilanc?^For t«^o long da3-s they were inactive in the rain^ The Chief having assured himself that the British aimed tn rTKfi-' command of the river, determined upon thTretreat whfch Sn r/ 'T/ ')' r^^"" '""^^^^y ac'hievemeS Tn hiltory On the night of the 29th. under cover of a heavy foT the fea of embarking nine thousand men, with a^l the ammunition and field-pieces of the army. ' and f el nl them across the East River with muffled o^rs. was accom plished within earshot of the enemy. WashiZon rodl" IZVT^V L^^'"^^"'' superintending and fncourat! ing. finally taking his stand at the head uf the ferrv sS He stood there until the last man had embarked a7foS-?n the morning. The last man was Hamilton. His was one riJ. . 'f^'T''''' r^ '^^ '^^ «"e. detailed to coXer the retreat, to a tract fice to itself if necessary. His oosition was on the Heights, just outside the intrenchments .t h" pomt closest to the enemy. For nine hours L hardly ^^^^^^^^ his ear straining for the first indication that the rS heard the soft splashing of bare feet in the m„ri t? ?^ was so thick th/t he co?ld se'LthTng! no even the b'at^^f ions of retreating Americans; the foms of h s own m^n were vague and gray of outline. He never had faiTcie^^n isolation so complete, but his nerves stood the stdn when they began to mutter he reminded himself of Mr Cru^er's store and St Croix. There was a false summons and fftJ urning his back upon his post with a fee^go' profound rehef, he was obliged to return and endure it for two hourt to WasLgton .0 s^hifJ^^cS h^?|atd tl '"""«'' On the 15th of the folding month ^teV m„.l, correspondence with Congress, discussion knd"tinTS was determined to abandon New York nL ^a-.^' I the army on the Heights of hSL Kami Sin^ls "bterlv d.sapp„,nted ; he wanted to defend the city, and si had ll^^J ALEXANDER HAMILTON M7 of the generals, but they were overruled, and the march began on a blazing Sunday morning. It was not only the army that marched, but all the inhabitants of the town who had not escaped to the Jersey shore. The retreat was under the command of General Putnam, and guided through all the intricacies of those thirteen winding miles by his aide- de-camp, Aaron Burr. The last man in the procession was Alexander Hamilton. "So, you're covering again, Alexander," said Fish, as he passed him on his way to his own regiment, — the New York, of which he was brigade-major. "You can't com- plain that your adopted country doesn't make use of you By the way, Troup is in the Jersey prison-ship, safe and sound." "Can't we exchange him.>" asked Hamilton, eagerly, "Do you think General Washington would listen to us.?" " If we have a victory. I shouldn't care to approach him at present. God ! This is an awful beginning. The whole army is ready to dig its own grave. The only per- son of the lot who has any heart, in him to-day is little Burr. He's like to burst with importance because he leads and we follow. He's a brave little chap, but such a ban- tam one must laugh. Well, I hate to leave you here, the very last man to be made a target of. You won't be rash ?" he added anxiously. " No, granny," said Hamilton, whose gaiety had revived as he heard of Troup's safety. " And I'd not exchange my position for any." " Good-by." Handshakes in those days were solemn. Fish feared that he never should see Hamilton again, and his fear was close to being realized. It was a long, hot, dusty, miserable march ; some lay down by the wayside and died. Hamilton had been bred in the heat of the Tropics, but he had ridden always, and to-day he was obliged to trudge the thirteen miles on foot. He had managed to procure horses for his guns and cais- sons, but none for himself and his officers. 148 ^HE CONQUEROR It was on the Hoagland farm at the junction of the Kingsbridge and Bloomingdale roads that a serious skirmish occurred and Hamilton and his men stood the brunt of it Ihe tired column was almost through the pass, when a detachment of British light infantry suddenly appeared on the right. Fortunately the cannon had not entered the pass, and were ready for action. Hamilton opened fire at once There was a sharp engagement, but the British were finally driven off. Then the defenders of the column rnade good their own retreat, for they knew that by now the redcoats were swarming over the island. Toward night a cold wind and rain swept in from the ocean When Ihe little army finally reached Harlem Heights they were obliged to sleep on the wet ground without so much as a tent to cover them, then arise at dawn and dig trenches. But by night they were men again, they had ceased to be dogged machines : the battle • u^ .^"^ Heights had been fought and won. The Brit- ish had begun the battle in the wrong place and at the wrong time, and all the natural advantages of that land of precipices, forests, gorges, wooded hills, and many ravines were with the Americans. Again Hamilton worked in the thick of the fight durmg the four hours it lasted, but like everybody else he went to sleep happy. XVIII He rose at dawn the next morning, and rousing his men. set them at work throwing up redoubts. He was standing some distance from them, watching the sun rise over the great valley they had been forced to abandon, with its woods and beautiful homes, now the quarters of British officers, when every nerve in his body became intensely aware that some one was standing behind him. He knew that It was a man of power before he whirled round and saw Washington. rj^u ^^^^P'^^in Hamilton.?" said the Chief, holding TJ:" ^^"t . :G-ieral Greene spoke to me, w^eks ago^ about you, but I have been in no mood until to^iay for ALEXANDER HAMILTON 149 amenities. I know of your part in the retreat from Long Island, and I noticed you as you passed me on the ferry stairs. What a lad you are ! I am very proud of you." " I had asked for no reward, sir," cried Hamilton, with a smile so radiant that Washington's set f- caught a momentary reflection from it, and he moved p nearer, " but I feel as if you had pinned an order 01 .: :oat " "I have heard a great deal more about you,' iaid Wash- mgton, " and I want to know you. Will you come up and have breakfast with me ? " " Ohyycs, I will;' said Hamilton, with such seriousness that they both laughed. Hamilton's personal pride was too great to permit him to feel deeply flattered by the at- tentions of any one, but the halo about Washington's head was already in process of formation; he stood aloft, whether successful or defeated, a strong, lonely, splendid figure, and he had fired Hamilton's imagination long since. At that time he was ready to worship the great Chief with aU a boy's high enthusiasm, and although he came to know him too well to worship, he loved him, save at intervals, always. As for Washington, he loved Hamilton then and there, and it is doubtful if he ever loved any one else so well. When they were alone he called him " my boy," an endearment he never gave another. On that September morning they breakfasted together, and talked for hours, beginning a friendship which was to be of the deepest consequences to the country they both were striving to deliver. During the following month Hamilton had much leisure, and he spent it in the library of the Morris house, which Its owner, a royalist, had abandoned on the approach of the American troops, fleeing too hurriedly to take his books. The house was now General Washington's headquarters, and he invited Hamilton to make what use of the library he pleased. It was a cool room, and he found there many of the books he had noted down for future study. He also wrote out a synopsis of a political and commercial history of Great Britain. As the proclivities and furnishing of a mmd hke Hamilton's cannot fail to interest the students of ISO THE CONQUEROR mankind, a digression may be pardoned in favour of this list of books he made for future study, and of the notes scattered throughout his pay book : Miw'*'!)- "'^*°7 o^ New York; Leonidas; View of the Universe- M.Ilots History of France ; Memoirs of the House of Brande Jbureh ' Review of the Characters of the Principal Nations of EuroperSew of Eurone: Historv nf Pmce a • u,Vt„„. _f I- i;-uiupc, i\cview nuJ?KTj'"-fL^"'' Germany have a balance against England -they fur- nish her with large quantities of linen. ^ Trade with Franc" greatly against England. ... The trade with 'iy"an?i"e?=.°^^"^'^"'- " ' " A lar|e b^ance in f^^o^o? N^r^ . Pos lethwaite supposes the quantity of cash necessary to Sirv on the arculation ma state one third of the rents to the lan3 prSStSre o? Z ?£,atbn.^ '-''''' P^^'^"^* °^ ^^^ '^-^- S« theSesrS:.°h' The par betvveen land and labour is twice the quantity of land whose product will maintain the labourer. In France one acre and a haTf will neroHiving" "" '^°^'^°' ^'"^' ^"'"^ *° *»>« difference in^Ee'mln! Aristotle% Politics, chap. 6, definition of money, &c. The proportion of gold and silver, as settled by Sir Isaac Newton's Tl,r «li« f ^'*^' '" ^'u ^'T' supposes six millions of people in England. The ratio of increase has been found by a variety of observationslo be that 100,000 people augment annually, ^ne year with another to 1 Mr Kerseboom, agreeing with Dr. Halley, makes 1 . mmber of oeoole thirty-five times the number of births in a year. ^ ^ Extracts from Demosthenes' Orations. V ! ilippic. " As a general marches at the head of his trooDs so outrht wise politicians, if I .Tare use the expression, to march Tt'?; head of affairs; insomuch that they ought not to wait M^ «/«/, know wha* pToduTth^e^^tl'"'" ''' —which they have Uk^n'^Si^h??* ALEXANDER HAMILTON iSI ., '!>^^,f" ^"»<='' 'I'™? it win be said. Ah, Athenians - war, war. Itself will discover to you his weak sides, if you will seek them." Sublimely simple. Vide Long. C. i6. Are the limits of the several states and the acts on which they are founded ascertained, and are our ministers provided with them? What intelligence has been given to Congress by our ministers of the designs, owefs in E *^^ ^" ^^'^"^^ interests and views of the difTerent The government established (by Lycurgus) remained in vigour about five hundred years, till a thirst of empire tempted the Spartans to enter- tain foreign troops, and introduce Persian gold to maintain them ; then ceeded °^ Lycurgus fell at once, and avarice and luxury suc- R„!;!!„^^"^t^ "^^ f '^"- P"!"*=*' ^°.^ '''^"* * g"""* ^'ay »n civilizing the Romans, f he chief engine he employed for this purpose was relilion, which could alone have sufficient empire over the minds of a barb^ous and warlike people to engage them to cultivate the arts of peace. Dr. Halley s Table of Observations exhibiting the probabilities of life ; containing an account of the whole number of people of Breslau capital of Silesia, and the number of those of eveiy ^e, from one to a "^il'if'^- J"^"** ^°"°** ^^^ t^ble with comments by A. H ) When the native money is worth more than the par in foreien. ex- change IS high ; when worth less, it is low. ** ' Portugal trade — Spanish trade — Artificers — Money — Exchange — Par of exchange — Balance of trade — Manufactures — Foundry — i^ ~ . ~ ?." ~ N*^** Po'*«»' — Council of trade — Fishery Money coined m England from the reign of Queen Elizabeth K„ ?uri: ^""^^ '* n°* ''e advisable to let all taxes, even those imposed by the States, be collected bv persons of Congressional appointment: and would It not be advisable to pay the coulctors so much per cent on the sums collected? *^ Hamilton was nineteen at this time, and while there are many instances of mental precocity in the history of man- kind, It is doubtful if there is a parallel case of so great a ran^e of intellectual curiosity, or such versatiUty combined with pursuit of knowledge as distinct from information. But the above notes are chiefly significant as showing that long before he could have dreamed of directing the finances of the United States, while he was wild with delight at the prospect of miUtary excitement and glory, a part of his mind was imperiously attracted to the questions which were to become identified in American history with his name. Washington often came in and sat for an hour with him • and although they talked mihtary science and future cam' 152 THE CONQUEROR paigns invariably, — for Washington was a man of little reading and his thoughts moved in a constant procession to one tune,— this was perhaps the happiest period of their intercourse The Chief demanded nothing, and his young friend was free to give or not, as he chose. In that interval nothing gave Hamilton such pleasure as to see Washington come into the cool library, his face softening. '•You have a streak of light in you that never goes out " said the man of many burdens once. "When I catch 'a spark of it, I am cheered for the rest of the day. When I am close to it for a time. I can feel the iron lid on my spirits lifting as If It were on a bubbling pot. I believe you are something more than human." During the first of these conversations Hamilton sug- gested the advisabiUty of keeping up the spirits of the raw troops by drawmg the enemy in separate detach- ments into constant skirmisher, a plan in which the Ameri- cans were sure to have every advantage ; and this policy Coun^t""" ""*" Washington fell back into Westchester The American troops under Washington numbered about nineteen thousand men, in one-third of whom the Chief felt somethmg like confidence. Many were grumbling at the prospect of a winter in the discomforts of camp life • others were rejoicing that their time of service drew to a ti? « V uTM"^"^- Nevertheless, he determined to give the British battle on the shore of the Bronx River, where they were camped with the intention of cutting him off from the rest of the country. ^A°u^ ^'.T'^'r^^'^ °®" ^^'^^ Plains on the morning beh nS t'^ 1?^ ^^'""^r- u^°^' ^^ '^^ Americans werl behind the breastworks they had thrown up, and the British were upon the hills below, on the opposite side of emin/n°"''- i?'i 'nl ^n^erican side of the stream was an of the ^^fr'f ^^^"^^°"'« Hi"' and on the evening of the 27th Colonel Haslet was stationed on this height with sixteen hundred men. in order to prevent the enfi lading of the right wing of the army. ^ Early the nert morning McDougall was ordered to reinforce Haslet with ALEXANDER HAMILTON 153 a small corps and two pieces of artillery under Hamilton and to assume general command. ' At ten o'clock the British army began its march toward the vUlage, but before they reached it. Howe determined that Chatterton s Hill should be the first point of attack and four thousand troops under Leslie moved off to dis^ lodge the formidable looking force on the height. Haniilton placed his two guns in battery on a rocky ledee about halfway down the hill, and bearing directly upon that part of the Bron.x which the British were approach- mg. He was screened from the enemy by a small grove of trees. The Hessians, who were in the lead, refused to wade the swollen stream, and the onslaught was checked that a bridge might hastily be thrown together for their accommodation. Hamilton waited a half-hour, then poured out his fire. The bridge was struck, the workmen killed, the Hessians fell back in a panic. Leslie appealed to the loyalty of the British, forded the river at another point and rushed up the hill with bayonets fixed, resolved to capture the guns. But the guns flashed with extraordinary rapidity. Both the British and the watching Americans were amazed. There were no tin canisters and grape-shot in the American army, even the round shot were exhausted Loading cannon with musket balls was a slow process ; but Hamilton was never without resource. He stood the cannon on erid, filled his three-cornered hat with the balls, and loaded as rapidly as had he leaped a century. His guns mowed down the British in such numbers that Leslie fell back, and joining the Hessian grenadiers and infantry who had now crossed the stream, charged up the south- western declivity of the hill and endeavoured to turn McDougall's right flank. McDougall's advance opposed them hotly, while slowly retreating toward the crown of the eminence. The British cavalry attacked the American militia on the extreme right, and the raw troops fled igno- miniously. McDougall, with only six hundred men and Hamilton s two guns, sustained an unequal conflict for an hour, twice repulsing the British light infantry and cavalry But the attack on his flank compelled him to give way and J 54 THE CONQUEROR retreat toward the intrenchments. Under cover of a heavy rainstorm and of troops despatched in haste, he retreated w good order - . ; his wounded and artillery, leaving the victors in possession of a few inconsiderable breastworks Fort Washington was betrayed, and fell on the i6th of November. Then began that miserable retreat of the Amenc n army through the Jerseys, with the British some- times m full pursuit, sometimes merely camping on the trail of the hapless revolutionists. For Washington's force was now reduced to thirty-five hundred, and they were ragged half fed, and wretched in mind and body. Many had no shoes, and in one regiment there was not a pair of trou- sers. They left the moment their leave expired, and re- cruits were drummed up with great difficulty. Washington was obliged to write eight times to General Lee, who was at North Castle with a considerable force, before he was able to hope for relief in that quarter. Hamilton had a horse at times, at others not. But his vitality was proof against even those endless days and nights of marching and countermarching, through forests and swamps, in the worst of late autumn and winter weather ; and he kept up the spirits of his little regiment, now reduced from bullets, exposure, and the expiration of service to thirty men. Nevertheless, he held the British in check at the Raritan River while the Americans destroyed the bridge, and when Washington, after having crossed the Delaware, determined to recross it on Christmas night and storm Trenton, he was one of the first to be chosen with what remained of his men and guns. As they crossed the Delaware that bitter night, the snow sbnging and bhnding, the river choked with blocks of ice, Hamilton for the first time thought on St. Croix with a pang of envy. But it was the night for their purpose, and all the world knows the result. The victory was followed on the 3d of January by the capture of Princeton ; and here Hamilton's active military career came to an end for the present. WeU do I recollect the day [-.vrote a contemporary] when Hamilton's company marched into Princeton. It was a ^efof discipSne At ALEXANDER HAMILTO^ 155 their head was a !)ov, and I wondered at his out but what was my surprise, when, strucit with his slight figure, he was pointed out to me as that Hamilton of whom we had heoraso much. I noticed [a veteran officer said many years aft r] a youth, a mere stripling, small, slender, almost delicate in frame, marching beside a piece of artillery, with a cocked hat pulled down o%er his eyes, ap- parently lost in thought ; with his hand resting on a cannon, and every now and again patting it as if it were a favourite horse or a pet play- tning. r r J BOOK III THE LITTLE LION Hamilton s body succumbed to the climax of Trenton and Princeton upon months of hardship and exposure, and he was m hospital for a week with a rheumatic fever But 1 roup whose exchange had been effected, was with him most of the time, and his convalescence was made agree- able by many charming women. He was not the only brilliant young man in the army, for Troup, Fish, Burr Marshall, were within a few months or, at most, a year or two of his age, and there were many others ; men had ma- tured early m that hot period before the Revolution, when small boys talked politics, and even the women thought of little else ; but Hamilton, through no fault of his, had inspired his friends with the belief that he was something higher cnan human, and f ey never tired of sounding his praises. Moreover, Washington had not hesitated to say what he thought of him, and the mere fact that he- had won the affection of that austere Chieftain was enough to give him celebrity. At all events, he was a dazzling figure and pretty women soothed many a weary hour. As for 1 roup who was unpleasantly anatomical, he had a fresh story for every day of the horrors of the prison cattle-ship Menfor, where half the prisoners had died of filth, starva- tion, and fever, from putrid water and brutal treatment But never was there a more impatient invalid than Hamilton. He was astonished and disgusted that his body should defy his mind, ana at the first moment possi- ble he was up and about his duties with the army at Morristown. Troup was ordered to join the army uhder dates m the North. -^ Morristown was a natural fortress, a large fertile valley protected by precipitous hills and forests, yet with defiles '59 f ido THE CONQUEROR known to the Americans, through which they could retreat xf necessary. It was within striking distance of New Brunswick and Amboy, in which towns Washington kept the British cooped up for months, not permitting t'l-m to cut a stick of forest wood without fighting for it. ' Here was seen," to quote Hamilton, "the spectacle of a power- ful army straitened within narrow limits by the phantom of a military force, and never permitted to transgress those limits with impunity; in which skill supplied the place of means, and disposition was the substitute for an army. Congress had invested Washington with such extraor- dinary powers after the brilliant exploit at Trenton that m Europe he was called "The Dicator of America" Therein lay the sole cause of the ultimate victory of the Revolutionists, and had the States been more generous and less jealous of delegating powers to Congress, he would nave dnven out the British in short order. Mrs. \yashington had joined her General — she kept an eye on him — at Freeman's Tavern, which had been con- verted into comfortable headquarters, and he was happv m his military family : Colonel Harrison, indefatigable and garless, affectionately known as " Old Secretary " Tench Tilgr.man of Maryland, young, accomplished, cheerful de- voted to Washington and serving without pay, for his 'for- tune was considerable ; Richard Kidder Meade, sprightly enthusiastic, always willing to slave ; and John Fitzgerald — all in an attitude of perpetual adoration. But he lacked a secretary of the requisite ability, and as soon as he heard ot Hamilton s return to camp he sent for him. Hamilton was feeling almost well, and he walked rapidly across the village green to headquarters, delighted at the prospect of seeing Washington again. He had acquired a military air and walked more erectly than ever, for he ;vas somewhat sensitive of his juvenile appearance. He found Washington in a front room on the second floor The General wore his usual blue and buff, and looked less harassed and worn than when he had last seen him He rose and shook hands warmly with Hamilton, who thanked THE LITTLE LION i6t him again for the messages he had received while in hospital. " I would have had you brought here if there had been any place to make you comfortable ; and I am going to ask you to come and live with me now— as my aide and sec- retary." Hamilton sprang to his feet impetuously. " Oh, sir ! " he exclaimed, " I don't want to leave the regular line of promotion ! I don't want to leave my men. I'm much attached to them. And I'll not deny my ambition, sir ; I want opportunities to distinguish myself. I've already refused two generals. This war will last for years. There is no reason in the world why I should not be a general in three." " No," said Washington, " there is none ; tfeer« is every possibility of your becoming one of the most brilliant fig- ures on the revolutionary battle-fields. I admit that, and I understand your ambition. Nevertheless, I think I can prove to you that there is another way in which you can serve your country better. I know your uncompromising sense of duty and your high patriotism, and I am sure you 'vill accept my invitation when I prove to you that while there are hundreds to fight valorously, even brilliantly, there is scarcely a man I can get to write my letters who can do more than punctuate properly or turn a sentence neatly. You must know the inexpressible value of a brill- iant accomplished versatile secretary, with a brain capa- ble of grasping every question that arises — and you can imagine how many of that sort have come my way. I have been driven nearly distracted, dictating, explaining, revis- ing — when I have so much else to think of. Besides the constant correspondence with the Congress and the States, something else is always turning up — to-day it is the ex- change of prisoners, a most important and delicate matter. Were you my secretary, you would also be my brain : a word would be sufficient. I could trust you so implicitly that if matters pressed I could confidently sign my name to whatever you wrote without reading it over. There is no one else living of whom I can say that. You are the 4< i6a THE CONQUEROR most useful young man in America, and if you will give vour great brain to this country from this time on, she will ] : far more grateful to you than if you merely continued to fight, splendidly as you have done that. And / need you — I have no words to tell you how much." "Sir," said Hamilton, deeply touched, "no human being could withstand such an appeal, and your words of praise arc glory enough. I will come as soon as you say, and do the best I can." "Come at once. The British persist in treating us as rebels. It is for you, with your inspired pen, to force and coax them to regard us with the respect an educated think- ing people — not a horde of ignorant rebels, as they im- agine—deserve. If you do that, you will do a greater service to your country than if you rose to be first in military rank. Here are some notes. When you have finished, write to Congress and ask for the rank of Lieu- tenant-Colonel ; and move up here to-day, if possible. I cannot tell you how happy I shall be to have you a mem- ber of my family." Washington had won his point. A shrewd judge of men, he had calculated upon Hamilton succumbing to an appeal to his sense of patriotic duty — the strongest pas- sion in his passionate nature. Much as he loved Hamil- ton, he had no hesitation in using him, and our petted young hero was to learn what work meant for the first time in his life. He wrote most of the day, often half the night ; but although he chafed angrily at the confinement, beat many a tattoo on the floor with his heels, and went for a hard ride more than once that he might keep his temper, the result was that mass of correspondence, signed " George Washington," which raised the commander of the American forces so high in the estimation of Europe, add- ing to his military renown the splendour of a profound and luminous intellect. There was, also, some correspondence with the Congress regarding the disposition of his artillery men. He insisted upon definite provision for them, and they were permitted to enlist in the Continental Army, They loved him, and THE LITTLE LION 163 the final parting on March i8th, with cannon as well as men ! made him ill for half a day. Otherwise his life at Headquarters was very pleasant. Tilghman and Meade became two of the most congenial friends he ever made. The tavern was comfortable, and he had a room to himself for a time. The dining room reunions were agreeable in spite of their formality. Be- sides the amiable military family, and the most motherly of women, who knit him stockings and kept his wardrobe in order, there were frequent visitors. The Livingston girls were spending the winter with their aunt, Lady Sterling, and, with their beautiful cousin, the Lady Kitty Alexander, often drove over to a five o'clock dinner or the more informal supper. The Boudinots and Morgans, the generals in camp at Morristown and their wives, and the more distinguished officers, were frequently dined at Headquarters. Washington sat halfway in the table's length, with Mrs. Washington opposite. Hamilton was placed at the head of the table on the day of his arrival, a seat he retained while a member of the family. The Chief encouraged him to talk, and it must be confessed that he talked from the time he sat down till the meal finished. His ideas were always on the rush, and talking was merely thinking aloud. As he expressed himself with wit and elegance, and on subjects which interested them all pro- foundly, illuminating everything he touched, old men and young would lean forward and listen with re'-pect to the wisdom of a young man who was yet an infant in the eyes of the law. How he escaped being insufferably spoiled can only be explained by the ceaseless activity of his brain, and the fact that the essence of which pri^s are made was not in him. That he was utterlv without commonplace conceit is indisputable, for he was the idol of the family. Harnson christened him " The Little Lion." a name his friends used for their aptest designation as long as he lived, and assumed a paternal relation which finished only with the older mans death. Ti^e Lady-in-chief made such a pet of him that he was referred to in the irreverent Tory press as " Mrs Washington's Tom-cat." MM 164 THE CONQUEROR "Alexander," said Kitty Livingston to him, one day, " have a care. You are too fortunate. The jealous eods will smite you." But Hamilton, thinking of those terrible months in the previous year, of mental anxiety and physical hardship, when, in bitter weather, he had often gone hungry and insufficiently clothed, and of his present arduous duties, concluded there was a fine balance in his affairs which doubtless would placate the gods. II In May and July there were illustrious additions to Wash- mgton's family, —John Laurens and Lafayette. Both be- came the intimate friends of Hamilton, the former one of the few passionate attachments of his life. Although Hamilton was by no means indifferent to the affection he inspired in nine-tenths of the people he met, he did not himself love easily. He was too analytical, he saw people too precisely as they were, and his acquaintance with human nature had made him too cynical to permit the flood gates of his affections to open except under uncommon stress. He dreaded disappointment. For Troup, Fish. Stevens, Meade, and Tilghman he had a deep affection and served their interests ardently; for Washington a contradictory budget of emotions, which were sometimes to be headed "respectful affection," at others "irritated resentment," now and again a moment of adoration. While he could not pay sufficient tribute to Washington's magnanimity and generosity, he had by now seen him in too many tem- pers, had been ground too fine in his greedy machine, to think on him always with unqualified enthusiasm. Lafay- ette, brilliant, volatile, accomplished, bubbling with enthu- siasm for the cause of Liberty, and his own age within a few months, he liked sincerely and always. There was no end to the favours he did him, and Lafayette loved no one better in his long and various career. Women, Hamilton fancied sharply and forgot quickly. But Laurens, the "young Bayard of the Revolution," fresh WKm i THE LITTLE LION »65 from the colleges and courts of Europe, a man so hand- some that, we are told, people experienced a certain shock when he entered the room, courtly, accomplished to the highest degree, of flawless character, with a mind as noble and elevated as it was intellectual, and burning with the most elevated patriotism, — he took Hamilton by storm, capturing judgement as well as heart, and loving him as ardently in return. Like Hamilton, Laurens was of Huguenot descent ; he was born in South Carolina, of a distinguished family. Against the expressed wish of his father he had returned to America, made his way to Headquarters and offered his services to Washington, who immediately attached him to his military household. The unhappiest of men, praying for death on every battle-field, he lived long enough to dis- tinguish himself by a bravery so reckless, by such startling heroic feats, that he was, beyond all question, the popular young hero of the Revolution. He worshipped Washington as one might worship a demi-god, and risked his life for him on two occasions. But Hamilton was the friend of his life ; the bond between them was romantic and chivalrous. Each burned to prove the strength of his affection, to sacrifice himself for the other. Laurens slaved at Wash- ington's less important correspondence, and Hamilton's turn came later. The age has passed for such friendships ; but at that time, when young men were nurtured on great ideas, when they 'vere sacrificing themselves in a sacred cause, and had seen next to nothing of the frivolities of life, they were understandable enough. Hamilton was obliged to share his room with both the young men, and they slept on three little cots in a small space. When the nights were insufferably hot they would go out and lie on the grass and talk until they were in a condition to sleep anywhere. Hamilton would forecast the next movement of the enemy ; Laurens and Lafayette would tell all they knew about military science in Europe ; and then they would discuss the future of the liberated country and the great ideals which must govern her. And when men can be idealistic while fighting the Jersey i66 THE CONQUEROR mosquito it must be admitted that they are of the stuff to serve their country well. ^ " Hut all this delightful intercourse was i rerrupted in August. Washmgton gave battle to the British at B andy wme was defeated, and i. the following month surpHsed It at Germantown. and was defeated again. Nevertheless he had astonished the enemy with his^trength and cou ! age so soon after a lisastr-us battle. To hold Philadel- phia was impossible, however, and the British established themselves in the Capital of the colonies nkinras usual no attempt t.. foli„w up their victories ^' ' laJ^ofwSl'^rK ^"J?. ^^'"Po'-ary quarters near the vil- lage of Whitemarsh. His own were in a baronial hall at the head of a beautiful valley. Old trees shaded the before' the doT "'th' ^^^ "^'^^ ^"^^^^^ ^" ^ '-"^1' at thi north ""*"" ^^'^ encamped on the hills «iJ*'^'^.r'^i.'^l*.^^"^^'"°"S^ the centre of the man- La ^ J. u "'^ throughout was of extreme elegance and much to the taste of the vounger members of the family particularly of Hamilton, who spent the greater part of his leisure in the library. But his enjoynfen? of this uncommon luxury was brief j^ymcni oi Washington must have reinforcements or his next en- gagemen might be his last. There was but one source Z?J^'^^ ^^u'°"'^ ^^^'^'^ ^ considerable supply and that was from the army of Gates in the North. fiSt Gates ^f'BuZl'n" "^'V'^ "■^^'''■y °^ ^^'^'^S^ ^"d the capture of Burgoyne and was suspected to be in the thick of an daPrn r° ^^'^'^.^^yf^^ir^Ston and have himself nrc^ o? hi viV^^' ^"^ °^ '^9 "°rthern and eastern States! in^ton'c "" '^'''■' '^"^^^^^ ^"^ b""ia"t. while Wash! mgton s surer processes were little appreciated. There- fore to get troops from him would be little less difficult than to get them from Lord Howe, short o a pSe command, and this prerogative Washington d d not tWnk It politic to use. He called a coundl of war. and when it THE LI'H'LE LION 167 was over he went to his private oflfice and sent for Alex- ander Hamilton. He looked haggard, as if from sleepless nights, and for a moment after Hamilton entered the room, although he waved his hand at a chair, he stared at him without speak- ing. Hamilton divined what was coming — he attended all councils of war — and sat forward eagerly. The pros- pect of a holiday from clerical work would alone have filled him with youth, and he knew how great a service he might be able to render the cowering Republic. " Hamilton," said Washington, finally, "you are as much in my secret thoughts as I am myself. If I attempted to deceive you, you would divine what I withheld. It is a relief to speak frankly to you. I dare not demand these troops from Gates, because there is more than a possibility he would defy me, and that the Congress and a large part of the army would sustain him. He has given sufficient evi- dence of his temper in sending me no official notice of the battle of Saratoga. But unless I am to meet with over- whelming disaster here, I must have reinforcements. It may be possible to extract these by diplomacy, and I have selected you for the mission, because I feel sure that you will not forget the issues at stake for a moment, because you never lose your head, and because you will neither be overawed by Gates's immediate splendour, nor will you have any young desire to assert the authority which I give you as a last resort. There is another point : If you find that Gates purposes to employ his troops on some expedition, by the prosecution of which the common cause will be more benefited than by their being sent down to reinforce this army, you must suspend your consideration for me. God knows I am tender of my reputation, and I have no wish to be disgraced, but we are or should be fighting for a common cause and principle, and should have little thought of individual glory. However, I do not believe in the disinterestedness of Gates, nor in his efficiency on a large scale. But I leave everything in your hands." Hamilton stood up, his chest rising, and stared at his Chief. '• Sir," he said, after a moment, " do you appreciate that MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No 2^ 1.0 I.I lie 2.8 m 1^ 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 ^ APPLIED IIWIG F Jr STm '653 East Mam Slreel y^ Rochester. New Yorl* 1460^ USA '-^ (716) -82 - OMO - Ptione ^S (716) 288 - 5989 - Fax i68 THE CONQUEROR you are placing your good name and your future in my hands ? For a moment he realized that he was not vet of age. ^ " You are the only being to whom I can confide them, and who can save this terrible situation." " And you have the magnanimity to say that if Gates has a chance of other victories to let him go unhindered ?" He had one of his moments of adoration and self-abnega- tion for this man, whose particular virtues, so little called upon in ordinary affairs, gave him so lonely a place amono- men. ^ ^ " Washington jerked his head. There was nothing more to say Hamilton's head dropped for a moment, as if he felt the weight of an iron helmet, and his lips moved rapidly. "^ fi, 'It M^ ^,°^'f,^^"?.y°"'" P^'^y^''^ ^^^" your lips work like that .'■ asked Washington, crossly. Hamilton threw back his head with a gay laugh His eyes were sparkling, his nostrils dilating; his whole bear- 'ng was imperious and triumphant. " Never mind that. 1 11 undertake this mission gladly, sir. and I think I'll not fail. My old friend Troup is his aide. He will advise me of many things. I'll bring you back those regiments, sir. ^^^^^- u'" .^^°ther a thing can always be managed." Ihe ight m Hamilton's face was reflected on Washinff- ton s. You are my good genius." he said shortly. " Take care of yourself. You will have to ride hard, for there is no time to lose, but be careful not to take cold. I shall give you orders in writing. Come back as soon as you can. I believe I am not lacking in courage, but I always nave most when you are close by." *• '^^r\},^ ^ ^""^ somewhere representing Hamilton set- ting forth on this mission. He is mounted on a handsome white horse and wears a long green cloak, one end thrown oyer a shoulder. His three-cornered hat is pulled low over nis eyes. In the rear is an orderly. He started on the 30th of October, riding hard through the torn desolate country, toward Newburg on the Hudson He was three days making the distance, although he THE LITTLE LION 169 snatched but a few hours' rest at night, and but a few moments for each meal. From Newburg he crossed to Fishkill and, acting on his general instructions, ordered Putnam to despatch southward three brigades ; and on his own account despatched seven hundred Jersey militia on the same expedition. He then started hot and hard for Albany, a dangerous as well as exhausting journey, for neither savage tribes nor redcoats could be far in the distance. His mental anxiety by now wore as severely as the physical strain. None knew better than he that his talents were not for diplomacy. He was too impatient, too imperious, too direct for its sinuous methods. On the other hand, he had a theory that a first-rate mind could, for a given time, be bent in any direction the will commanded, and he had acquired an admirable command of his temper. But the responsibility was terrific, and he was half ill when he reached Albany. He presented himself at General Gates's headquarters at once. Gates, like Lee, was a soldier of fortune ; and low-born, vain, weak, and insanely ambitious. He had been advised of Hamilton's coming, and had no intention of giving Washington an opportunity to rival his own achievements and reestablish himself with the army and the Congress. He received Hamilton surrounded by several of his mili- tary family; and for the first time our fortunate hero encountered in high places active enmity and dislike. He had incurred widespread jealousy on occount of his influ- ence over Washington, and for the important part he was playing in national affairs. To the enemies of the Com- mander-in-chief he represented that exalted personage, and was particularly obnoxious. Never was a youth in a more difficult position. " I cannot expose the finest arsenal in America." said Gates, pompously, "to the possibility of destruction. Sir Henry Clinton may return at any minute. Nor could I enterprise against Ticonderoga were my army depleted. Nor can I leave the New England States open to the ravages and the depredations of the enemy." 170 THE CONQUEROR These statements made no impression on Hamilton, and he argued brilhantly and convincingly for his object, but Gates was mflexible. He would send one ^rigade and no more. Hamilton retired, uneasy and dejectea. Gates had an air ot omnipotence, and his officers had not concealed thur scorn. He hesitated to use his authority, for a bold defi- ance on the part of Gates might mean the downfall of Washington, perhaps of the American cause. That Wash- ington was practically the American army. Hamilton firmly believed. If he fell, it was more than likely that the whole tottenng structure would crumble. u^ri^f ''^^^?'^ inclined him not to press Gates too far. f had been able to order seventy-seven hundred troops trom Fishkill, which was more than Washington had ex- pected, although by no means so many as he needed. He therefo-. wrote to the Chief at length, sent for Troup, and threw nimself on the bed ; he was well-nigh worn out Troup was already in search of him, and met the mes- senger Big and bronzed, bursting with spirits, he seemed to electrify the very air of the room he burst into without ceremony Hamilton sat up and poured out his troubles. « T u ," "^^ ^"^ ^^^'^y ^°^ posts of danger." said Troup. I believe you to be walking over a powder-mine here. I am not m their confidence, for they know what I think of Washmgton but I believe there is a cabal on foot, and that Gates may be in open rebellion any minute. But he's a coward and a bully. Treat him as such. Press your point and get your troops. He is but the tool of a taction, and I doubt if they could make him act when it came to the point. He wants to make another grand coup before strikmg. Look well into what regiment he gives you. Which are you to have >" " General Patterson's." " I thought as much. It is the weakest of the three now here, consists of but about six hundred rank and file fit for duty, rhere are two hundred militia with it, whose time of service is so near expiring that they will have dissolved ere you reach Headquarters." THE LITTLE LION 171 Hamilton had sprung to his feet in a fury. He forgot his pains, and let his temper fly with satisfaction in the exercise. "If that is the case," he cried, when he had finished his anathema of Gates, " I'll have the men ; " and he dashed at his writing materials. But he threw his pen aside in a moment. "I'll wait till to-morrow for this. I must be master of myself. Tell me of Saratoga. You distinguished yourself mightily, and no one was more glad than I." Troup talked while Hamilton rested. That evening he took him to call at the Schuyler mansion, high on the hill. Philip Schuyler was the great feudal lord of the North. He had served the colonial cause in many ways, and at the outbreak of the Revolution had been one of its hopes and props. But brilliant as his exploits had been, the intrigues of Gates, after the fall of Ticonderoga, had been successful, and he was deprived of the army of the North before the battle of Saratoga. The day of exoneration came, but at present he was living quietly at home, without bitterness. A man of the most exalted character, he drew added strength from adversity, to be placed at the service of the country the moment it was demanded. Mrs. Schuyler, herself a great-granddaughter of the first patroon, Killian Van Rensselaer, was a woman of strong character, an embodied type of all the virtues of the Dutch pioneer housewife. She had a lively and turbulent family of daughters, however, and did not pretend to manage them. The spirit of our age is feeble and bourgeois when com- pared with the independence and romantic temper of the stormy days of this Republic's birth. Liberty was in the air; there was no talk but of freedom and execration of tyrants; young officers had the run of every house, and Clarissa Harlowe was the model for romantic young "females." Angelica Schuyler, shortly before the battle of Saratoga, had run off with John Barker Church, a young Englishman of distinguished connections, at present mas- querading under the name of Carter ; a presumably fatal duel ha\ang driven him from England. Subsequently, 172 THE CONQUEROR both Peggy and Cornelia Schuyler climbed out of windows and eloped in a chaise and four, although there was not an obstacle worth mentioning to union with the youths of their choice. It will shock many good mothers of the present day to learn that all these marriages were not fashion When Hamilton was introduced to the famous white hall of the Schuyler mansion on the h, '. CorneHa i^riT^Ti\''^^J'^^ ^" ^"^"* f^"^y: Elizabeth, by far the best behaved, was the hope of Mrs. Shuvler's well-regulated soul and one of the belles of the Revolution Hamilton was enchanted with her, although his mind was too weighted for love. Her spirits were%s high as his own, and they talked and laughed until ;: idnighf as gaily as were Gates's army marching south. But nlmilton was a philosopher; nothing could be done before the morrow he might as well be happy and forget. He had met many? S?/ A? ^^^^'"PJ'f ed American women by this, and Lady ,W ^ ^^Ti^\ ^"^ ^'"y ^"^ S"«^" Livingston were brill- iant. He had also met Angelica Churc ; ,, or Mrs. Carter, as she was called, one of the cleverest and most high-spirited women of her time. It had crossed his mind thit had she been free, he might have made a bold dash for so fascinating a creature, but it seemed to him to-night that on the wholl he preferred her sister. " Betsey » Schuyler had been given every advantage of education, accomplishment, and constant intercourse with the best society in the land. She had Skill and tact m the management of guests, and without being by any means a woman of brilliant parts, understood t..e questions of the day; her brain was informed with shrewd com >non sense. Hamilton concluded that she was quite clever enough, and was delighted with her beauty her charm of manner, and style. Her little figure was graceful and dip^mguished, her complexion the honey and claret that artists extol, and she had a pair of big black T,t ^r^^'ch were alternately roguish, modest, tender, sym- pathetic; there were times when they were very Hvelv and even suggested a temper. She was bright without attempting to be witty, but that she was deeply apprecia- "HE LITTLE LION 173 tive of wit Hamilton had soothing cause to know. And he had learned from the admiring Troup that she was as intrepid as she was wholly and daintily feminine. Alto- gether, Hamilton's fate was sealed when he bent over her hand that night, although he was far from suspecting it, so heavily did duty press the moment he was alone in his rooms. On the following morning he asked for an interview with General Schuyler and several other military men whom he knew to be friendly to Washington, and they confirmed the advice of Troup. In the afternoon he wrote to Gates a letter that was peremptory, although dignified and cir- cumspect, demanding the addition of a superior brigade. He expressed his indignation in no measured terms, and in more guarded phrases his opinion of the flimsiness of the victorious General's arguments. Gates sent the troops at once, and despatched a volume of explanation to Wash- ington. Hamilton set out immediately for New Windsor, Troup bearing him company the greater part of the way, for he was feeling very ill. But he forgot his ailments when he arrived. To his fury he discovered that not a regiment had gone south. Two of the brigades, which had received no pay for eight months, had mutinied, and he was obliged to ask Governor Clinton to borrow 1^5000, with which to pay them off. He had the satisfaction of despatching them, wrote a peremptory letter to Putnam, who had other plans brewing, another to \uiates, asking for further reinforce- ments, then went to bed in Governor Clinton's house with fever and rheumatism. But he wrote to Washington, apprising him of a scL^me among the officers of the north- ern department to recover the city of New York, and denouncing Putman in the most emphatic terms. Two days later he recovered sufficiently to proceed to Fishkill, where he wrested troops from Putnam, and ascertained that heavy British reinforcements had gont from that neighbourhood to Howe. He wrote at once to Washing- ton, advising him of his peril, and endeavoured to push on ; but his delicate frame would stand no more, and on the 174 THE CONQUEROR i5-n \y'^''^ ;o bed in Mr. Kennedy's house in Peek- skill, with so violent an attack of rheumatism that to his bitter disgust he was obliged to resign himself to weeks of inactivity But he had the satisfaction to receive a letter from Washington approving all that he had done. And Srgot it '^""^^ *^^ situation, and Washington never III Hamilton rejoined the army at Valley Forge arl soon recovered his health and spirits'. It was well that t' Ss revived, for no one else during that terrible winte, .id lav claim to any. The Headquarters were in a sn..a valle/ that look^H ;^.^ ^^"' ^^^V' ^''^ ^"°^ ^^^ black with trees that looked like iron. The troops were starving and freez- mg and dying a mile away, muttering and cursine but belie..ng m Washington. On a hill beyonS the%ass tion h^ \Ti '^^ rr'- ^^"'•^"^ chafed at the nac- tion , he would have had a battle a day. As the winter Zfn°"f '^ V''""^^ succumbed to the depressing rnfkence H.^^rf ''f monotony and dread of the"^ future, and only Hamilton knew to what depths of anxiety Washington could descend. But despair had no parti HamSs U nersisterftlv ^ ""' ^^'')* 'V^^ ^."'"^"' ^"^ announced it persistently He assumed the mission of keeping the not 1?A,-.^ if K ^^^5"^&t°"' even when Hamilton was not at his desk he made every excuse to demand his ore sencein the private office; and Hamilton in Ws prayers humorously thanked his Almighty for the gift of a^cheer- ful disposition. It maybe imagined what a relief it was when he and Laurens. Meade.^r Tilghman raced elch other up the icy gorge to Lafayette's, where they were often jolhei the night through than even a cheerful disposition would warrant. Hamilton, although he had not riudi of a voice, learned one camp-song, "The Drum." and this he sang with such rollicking abandon that it fetched an explosive sigh of relief from the gloomiest breast THE LirrLE LION 175 There were other duties from which Hamilton fled to the house on the hill for solace. Valley Forge harboured a heterogeneous collection of foreigners, whose enthusiasm had impelled them to offer swords and influence to the American cause: Steuben, Du Portail, De Noailles, Cus- tine, Fleury, Du Plessis, the three brothers Armand, Ternant, Pulaski, and Kosciusko. They had a thousand wants, a thousand grievances, and as Washington would not be bothered by them, their daily recourse was Hamil- ton, whom they adored. To him they could lament in voluble French ; he knew the exact consolation to adminis- ter to each, and when it was advisable he laid their afflic- tions before Washington or the Congress. They bored him not a little, but he sympathized with them in their Cimi lerian exile, and it was necessary to keep them in the country for the sake of the moral effect. But he congratu- lated himself on his capacity for work. " I used to wish that a hurricane would come and blow Cruger's store to Hell," he said one day to Laurens, "but I cannot be sufficiently thankful for that experience now. It made me as methodical as a machine, gave my brain a system without which I never could cope with this mass of work. I have this past week dried the tears of seven Frenchmen, persuaded Steuben that he is not Europe, nor yet General Washington, and without too much offend- ing him, V 1,, - voluminous letter to Gates calculated to make h: hat a contemptible and traitorous ass he is, yet gi , rim no chance to run, blubbering, with it to the Co;if ress, and official letters ad nauseiim. I wish to God I were out of it all, and about to ride into battle at the head of a company of my own." " And how many widows have you consoled ? " asked Laurens. He was huddled in his cot, trying to keep warm. " None," said Hamilton, with some gloom. " I haven't spoken to a woman for three weeks." It was a standing joke at Headquarters that Washington always sent Hamilton to console the widows. This he did with such sympathy and tact, such address and energy, that his friends had occasionally been forced to extricate him 176 THE CONQUEROR from complications. But it was an accomplishment in which he excelled as long as he lived. » r V"^ S.u'^^ "*"•'" "^''^'' '^^ y^" so," pursued Laurens. And as there is no one to take your place, you really should not -:3h it. Washington may be the Irmy, but you are Washington's brain, and of quite as much impor- tance. You should never forget " " Come out and coast. That will warm your blood " interrupted Hamilton. His own sense of duty was not to be surpassed, but he had rebellious moods, when preaching suggested fisticuffs. pxcai.ning Outside they met a messenger from Lafayette, beeeinff them to repair to his quarters at once. There they found him entertaming a party of charming women from a neigh- bouring estate ; and a half-hour later the dignity and fash- ion of Washington's family might have been seen coasting down a steep hill with three Philadelphian exiles, who were as accomplished in many ways as they were .atisfyinff to look upon. / & " It was one of those days when a swift freeze has come with a ram-storm Hamilton had stood at the window of the office for an hour, early in the day, biting the end of his quill, and watching the water change to ice as it struck the naked trees, casing every branch until, when the sun came out. the valley was surrounded by a diamond forest the most radiant and dazzUng of winter sights. The suii was still out, its light flashed back from a million facets Sf ?[°".? '""f hard and white, the keen cold air awoke the blood and the three young men forgot their grum- blings, and blessed the sex which has alleviated man'! bur- dens so oft and well. IV In June the military ardours of this distinguished youne tTTv?^''^'"^ '^*^^ P°^"' ^^ temporary exhaustion The British evacuated Philadelphia on the i8th, and pro- ceeded up the Delaware in New Jersey. Captain Allan McLane had, as early as May 25th. reported to Washin<-ton THE LITTLE LION «77 the enemy's intention to change their quarters for New York, and Washington's desire was to crush them by a decisive blow. At a council of war, however, it was de- cided merely to hang upon the skirts of the retreating army and avoid an engagement. Lee was aggressive, almost insulting, in counselling inaction. Washington, much embarrassed, but hesitating U. ignore the decisions of the council, followed the enemy by a circuitous route, until he reached the neighbourhood of Princeton. The British were in and about AUentown. Washington called another council of war, and urged the propriety of forc- ing an engagement before the enemy could reach the Heights of Monmouth. Again Lee overruled, being sus- tained by the less competent generals, who were in the ma- jority. As soon as the council broke up, Hamilton sought out General Greene and led him aside. Greene was white and dejected, but Hamilton's face was hot, and his eyes were flashing. " I believe that Lee is in the pay of the British or the Conway Cabal," he exclaimed. " I've always believed him ready at any minute to turn traitor. It's a pity he wasn't left to rot in prison. Washington must fight. His honour is at stake. If he lets the British walk off while we sit and whistle, his influence with the army will be gone, Europe will have no more of him, the Conway Cabal will have the excuse it's been watching at keyholes for, and Gates will be Commander-in-chief to-morrow. Will you come with me and persuade him to fight .^ " "Yes," said Greene. "And I believe he will. You are like a sudden cold wind on an August day. Come on." They walked rapidly toward Washington's tent. He was sitting on his camp-stool, but rose as they approached. "Gentlemen," he said, "I anticipate the object of your visit. You wish me to fight." " Yes ! " exclaimed Hamilton. " As much as you wish it yourself. Why should you regard the councils of the traitorous and the timorous, who, for aught you know, may be in the pay of the Cabal ? If the British retreat unmolested, the American army is disgraced. If Con- 178 THE CONQUEROR gress undertake to manage it, the whole cause will be lost and the British will be stronger far than when we took ud arms — " ^ " Enough," said Washington. " We fight." He ordered a detachment of one thousand men, unu-r General Wayne, to join the troops nearest the enemy. La- fayette was given the command of all the advance troops — Lee sulkily retiring in his favour — which amounted to about four thousand. Hamilton was ordered to accompany him and reconnoitre, carry messages between the divisions, and keep Washington informed of the movements of the enemy. There was but a chance that he would be able to tight, but the part assigned to him was not the least danger- ous and important at Washington's disposal. The Chief moved forward with the main body of the army to Cran- Clinton had no desire to fight, being encumbered with a tram of baggage-wagons and bathorses, which with his troops made a Une on the highroad twelve miles long It being evident that the Americans intended to give battle he encamped in a strong position near Monmouth Court- house, protected on nearly all sides by woods and marshes. His line extended on the right about a mile and a half beyond the Court-house, and on the left, along the road toward Allentown, for about three miles. This disposition compelled Washington to increase the advance corps, and he ordered Lee to join Lafayette with two brigades. As senior officer, Lee assumed command of the whole division, under orders to make the first attack Both Lafayette and Hamilton were annoyed and appre- hensive at this arrangement. " Washington is the shrewd- est of men in his estimates until it is a matter of personal menace, said Hamilton, "and then he is as trusting as a country wench with a plausible villain. I thought we had dehvered him from this scoundrel, and now he has delib- erately placed his fortunes in his hands again. Mark you Lee will serve us some trick before the battle is over " ' Hamilton had been galloping back and forth night and day between Lafayette's division and Headquarters THE LITTLE LION 179 wherever they happened to be, and reconnoitring con- stantly. The weather was intensely hot, the -^oil so sandy that his horse often floundered. He had not had a full night's sleep since Washington announced his decision to give battle, and he v\ ould have been worn out, had he not been too absorbed and anxious to retain any consciousness of his body. Early on the morning of the 28th, a for- ward movement bemg observed on the part of the enemy, Washington immediately put the army in motion and sent word to Lee to press forward and attack. Lee looked uglier and dirtier than usual, and the very seat of his breeches scowled as he rode forward leisurely. In a few moments he halted, word having been brought hi* that the main body of the British was advancing. " If we could but court-martit 1 him on the spot," groaned Lafayette, whose delicate boyish face was crumpled with anxiety. " He meditates treason ! " exclaimed Hamilton. " It is writ all over him." Having ascertained that the rumour was false, Lee con- sented to move on again, and the division entered the forest, their advance covered from the British on the plains be- yond. For a time Lee manoeuvred so cleverly that Hamil- ton and Lafayette permitted themselves to hope. Under cover of the forest he formed a portion of his line ' ^r action, and with Wayne, Hamilton, and others, rode . ward to reconnoitre. Concluding that the column of V British deploying on the right was only a covering party of two thousand, he manoeuvred to cut them oft from the main army. Wayne was detached w . seven uundred men to attack the covermg party in the ic r. Lee, with a stronger force, was to gain its front by a road to the left. Small detachments were concealed in the woods. At nine o'clock, the Queen's dragoons being observed upon an ciin- nence near the wood, Lee ordered his light-horse to decoy them to the point where Wayne was posted. The dragoons appeared to fall into the trap, but upon being attacked from the wood, galloped off toward the main column. Wayne started in pursuit ; his artillerj' was raking them, and »*-ir'Mi i8o THE CONQUEROR he had ordered a charge at the point of the bayonet, when, to his amazement, he received an order from Lee to make but a feint of attack and pursuit. He had no choice but to obey, brilliant as might be the victory wrested from him. Lee, meanwhile, dawdled about, although his troops were on one foot with impatience. Suddenly Sir Henry Clinton, learning that the Ameri- cans were marching in force on both his flanks, with the design of capturing his baggage, changed the front of his army by facing about in order to attack Wayne with such deadly fire that the enemy on his flanks would be obliged to fly to the succour of that small detachment. Lafayette immediately saw the opportunity for victory in the rear of the enemy, and rode up to Lee asking permission to make the attempt. Lee swung his loose head about and scowled at the ardent young Frenchman. " Sir," he replied witheringly, "you do not know British soldiers. We cannot stand against them. We certainly shall be driven back at first. We must be cautious." •' It may be so. General," replied Lafayette, who would have given much to see that head rolling on the sands; " but British soldiers have been beaten, and they may be again. At any rate, I am disposed to make the trial." Lee shrugged his shoulders, but as Lafayette sat im- movable, his clear hazel eyes interrogating and astonished, he reluctantly gave the Marquis the order to wheel his column to the right and attack the enemy's left. He simultaneously weakened Wayne's detachment and went off to reconnoitre. He afterward claimed that he saw what looked to be the approach of the entire army, and he ordered his right to fall back. The brigades of Scott and Maxwell on the left were already moving forward and approaching the right of the Royal forces, when they received an order from Lee to reenter the wood. At the same time an order was sent to Lafayette to fall back to the Court-house. With a face as flaming as his unpow- dered head, he obeyed. Upon reaching the Court-house he learned that a general retreat bad begun on the right, THE LITTLE LION i8i under the immediate command of Lee. He had no choice but to follow. Hamilton, hardly crediting that his worst fears were realized in this unwarranted retreat, galloped over to Lee and urged that possession be taken of a neighbouring hill that commanded the plain on which the enemy were ad- vancing. But Lee protested violently that the Americans had not a chance against that solid phalanx, and Hamilton, now convinced that he meditated the disgrace of the Ameri- can arms, galloped with all speed in search of Washington. The retreat, by this, was a panic. The troops fled like an army of terrified rabbits, with that reversion to the simplicity of their dumb ancestors which induces the sus- picion that all the manly virtues are artificial. In times of panic man seems to exchange his soul for a tail. These wretches trampled each other into the shifting sand, and crowded many more into the morass. The heat was ter- rific. They ran with their tongues hanging out, and many dropped dead. Washington heard of the retreat before Hamilton found him. He was pushing on to Lee's relief when a country- man brought him word of the disgraceful rout. Washing- ton refused to credit the report and spurred forward. Halfway between the meeting-house and the morass he met the head of the first retreating column. He com- manded it to halt at once, before the panic be communi- cated to the main army; then made for Lee. Lee saw him coming and braced himself for the shock. But it was a greater man than Lee who could stand the shock of Washington's temper. He was fearfully roused. The noble gravity of his face had disappeared. It was con- vulsed with rage. "Sir," he thundered, "I desire to know what is the reason of this.^ Whence arises this confusion and dis- order .? " " Sir — " stammered Lee, " sir — " He braced himself, and added impudently : " I thought it best not to beard the enemy in such a situation. It was contrary to my opinion — " I82 THE CONQUEROR a " Yoiir opinion ! " And then the Chief undammed torrent of profanity Washingtonian in its grandeur. He wheeled and galloped to the rallying of the troops. At this moment Hamilton rode up. He had ridden through the engagement without a hat. It seemed to him that he could hear the bubbling of his brain, that the very air blazed, and that the end of all things had come. That day of Monmouth ever remained in his memory as the most awful and hopeless of his life. An ordinary defeat was nothing. But the American arms branded with cow- ardice, Washington ignobly deposed, inefficient command- ers floundering for a few months before the Americans were become the laughing-stock of Europe, — the whole vision was so hideous, and the day so hopeless in the light of those cowardly hordes, that he galloped through the rain of British bullets, praying for death ; he had lost all sense of separate existence from the shattered American cause. He did not perceive that Washington had reached the column, and resolved to make one more appeal to Lee, he rode up to that withered culprit and exclaimed passion- ately : — " I will stay with you, my dear General, and die with you ! Let us all die here, rather than retreat ! " Lee made no reply. His brain felt as if a hot blast had swept it. "At least send a detachment to the succour of the artillery," said Hamilton, with quick suspicion. And Lee ordered Colonel Livingston to advance. At the same moment some one told Hamilton that Washington was in the rear, rallying the troops. He spurred his horse and found that the General had rallied the regiments of Ramsay and Stewart, after a rebuke under which they still trembled, and was ordering Oswald to hasten his cannon to the eminence which his aide had suggested to Lee. Hamilton himself was in time to intercept two retreating brigades. He succeeded in rally- ing them, formed them along a fence at hand, and ordered them to charge at the point of the bayonet. He placed himself at their head, and they made a brilliant dash upon THE LITTLE LION 183 the enemy. But his part was soon over. His horse was shot under him, and as he struck the ground he was over- come by the shock and the heat, and immediately carried from the field. But the retreat was suspended, order re- stored, and although the battle raged all day, the British gamed no advantage. The troops wcxe so demoralized b^ the torrid heat that at sunset both Commanders were ooliged to cease hostiUties; and Was'.ington, who had been m the saddle since daybreak, threw himself under a tree to sleep, confident of a victory on the morrow. "I had a feeling as if my very soul were exploding," said Hamilton to Laurens, as they bathed their heads in a stream in the woods, with the bodies of dead and living huddled on every side of them. " I had a hideous vision of Washington and the rest of us in a huge battle picture, in which a redcoat stood on every squirming vari- ety of continental uniform, while a screeching eagle flew off with the Declaration of Independence. But after all, there is something magnificent in so absolutely identify- ing yourself wi^h a cause that you go down to its depths of agony and fly to its heights of exaltation. I was mad to die when the day — and with it the whole Cause — seemed lost. Patriotism surely is the master passion. Nothing else can annihilate the ego." Laurens, who had performed prodigies of valour, sighed heavily. " I felt as you did while the engagement lasted," he replied. " But I went into the battle with exultation, for death this time seemed inevitable. And the only result is a headache. What humiliation ! " •;You are morbid, my dear," said Hamilton, tenderly. " You cannot persuade me that at the age of twenty-five naught remains but death — no matter what mistakes one may have made. There is always the public career — for which you are eminently fitted. I would begin life over again twenty times if necessary." " Yes, because you happen to be a man of genius. I am merely a man of parts. There are many such. Not only IS my life ruined, but every day I despair anew of ever attaining that high ideal of character I have set for M Sif 184 THE CONQUEROR myself. I want nothing short of perfection," he said pas- sionately . " Could I attain that, I should be content to live, no matter how wretched. But I fall daily. My pas- sions control me, my hatreds, my impulses of the moment. When a man's very soul aches for a purity which it is in man to attain if ho will, and when he is daily reminded that he is but a whimperer at the feet of the statue, the world is no place for him." " Laurens," said Hamilton, warmly, " you refine on the refinements of sensibility. You havo brooded until you no longer are normal and capable of logic. Compare your life with that of most men, and hope. You are but twenty-five, and you have won a deathless glory, by a valour and brilliancy on these battlefields that no one else has approached. Your brain and accomplishments are such that the country looks to you as one of its future guides. Your character is that of a Bayard. It is your passions alone, my dear, which save you from being a prig. Passion is the furnace that makes greatness possi- ble. If, when the mental energies are resting, it darts out tongues of flame that strike in .ne wrong place, I do not believe that the Almighty, who made us, counts them as sins. They are natural outlets, and we should burst with- out them. If one of those tongues of flame was the cause of your undoing, God knows you have paid in kind. As a rule no one is the worse, while most are better. A certain degree of perfection we can attain, but absolute perfection — go into a wilderness like Mohammed and fast. There is no other way, and even then you merely would have visions; you would not be yourself." Laurens laughed. "It is not easy to be morbid when you are by. Acquit me for the rest of the night. And it is time we slept. There will be hot work to-morrow. How grandly the Chief rallied ! There is a man ! " "He was in a blazing temper," remarked Hamilton. " Lee and Ramsay and Stewart were like to have died of fright. I wish to God he'd strung the first to a gibbet ! "^ They sought out Washington and lay down beside him. The American army slept as though its soul had with- THE LITTLE LION i8s drawn to another realm where repose is undisturbed. Not so the British army. Sir Henry Clinton did not share Washington's serene confidence in the morrow. He with- drew his weary army in the night, and was miles away when the dawn broke. Once Washington awoke, raised himself on his elbow, and listened intently. But he could hear nothing but the deep breathing of his weary army. The stars were brilliant. He glanced about his immediate vicinity with a flicker of amusement and pleasure in his eyes. The young men of his household were crowded close aoout him; he had nearly planted his elbow on Hamilton's profile. Laurens, Tilghman, Meade, even Lafayette, were there, and they barely had left him room to turn over. He knew that these worshipping young enthusiasts were all ready and eager to die for him, and that in spite of his rigid formality they were quite aware of his weak spot, and did not hesitate to manifest their affection. For a moment the loneliest man on earth felt as warmly companioned as if he were raising a family of rollicking boys ; then he gently lifted Hamilton out of the way, and slept again. He was bitterly disappointed next morning ; but to pursue the enemy in that frightful heat, over a sandy country without water, and with his men but half refreshed, was out of the question. The rest of the year was uneventful, except for the court-martialling of Lee and his duel with Laurens, who challenged him for his defamation of Washington. Then came the eventful winter of 1779-80, when the army went into quarters at Morristown, Washington and his military family taking possession of a large house belor ^ine: t'^ the Widow Ford. ^ " Alexander ! " cried a musical but imperious voice. Hamilton was walking in the depths of the wood, thinking out his financial policy for the immediate relief of the coun- try. He started and faced about. Kitty Livingston sat on her horse, a charming picture in the icy brilliance of the i86 THE CONQUEROR i wood. He ran toward her, ripped off her glove, kissed her hand, replaced the glove, then drew back and saluted. •' You are a saucy boy," said Miss Livingston, " and I've a mind to box your ears. I've brought you up very badly ; but upon my word, if you were a few years older, I believe I'd marry you and keep you in order, something no other woman will ever be able to do. But I've a piece of news for you — my dear little brother. Betsey Schuyler is here." Alexander, much to his annoyance, blushed vividly. " And how can you know that I have ever even seen Miss Schuyler > " he asked, rather sulkily. " S/ie told me all about it, my dear. And I inferred from the young lady's manner that she lived but to renew the experience. She is down at Surgeon-General Coch- raine's. Mrs. Cochraine is her aunt. Seriously, I want you to be a good little beau, and keep her here as long as possible. She is a great addition to our society ; for she is not only one of the belles of the country, accomplished and experienced, but she has an amazing fine character, and I am anxious to know her better. You are still too young to marry, mon etifant, but you are so precocious and Miss Schuyler is so charming — if you will marry at your absurd age, you could not do better ; for you'll get fine parents as well as a wife, and I've never known a youth more in need of an entire family." Hamilton laughed. " If I accumulate any more parents," he said, " I shall share the fate of the cat. This morning Colonel Harrison — one of my fathers — almost undressed me to See if my flannels wen; thick enough, Mrs. Washing- ton gave me a fearful scolding because I went out without a muffler, and even the General is always darting edged glances at the soles of my boots. Yesterday, Laurens, who is two-thirds English, tried to force an umbrella into my hand, but at that I rebelled. If I marry, it will be for the pleasure of taking care of someone else." He escorted Miss Livingston out to the highroad, and returned to Headquarters, his imagination dancing. He had by no means forgotten Miss Schuyler. That merry roguish high-bred face had shone above many dark horizons, THE LITTLE LION 187 illuminated many bitter winter nights at Valley Forge. He was excited at the prospect of seeing her again, and hastened to arrange a dinner, to which she must be bidden. The young men did as they chose about entertaining, sure of Washington's approval. •' Ah, I know Miss Schuyler well," exclaimed Tilghman, when Hamilton remarked that they should immediately show some attention to the daughter of so illustrious a man as General Schuyler. " I've fetched and carried for her — ill fact I once had the honour to be despatched by her mamma to buy her a pair of stays. I fell at her little feet immediately. She has the most lively dark good-natured eyes I ever saw — Good God, Hamilton, are you going to run me through ? " Hamilton for the moment was so convulsed with jealous rage that his very fingers curved, and he controlled them from his friend's throat with an effort. Tilghman's words brought him to his senses, and he laughed heartily, " I was as jealous as Othello, if you'll have the truth, and just why, I vow I don't know, for I met this young lady only once, and that a year ago. I was much attracted, but it's not possible I'm in love with her." " It's love, my dear boy," said Tilghman, gravely. " Go and ask Steuben if I am not right. Laurens and I will arrange the dinner. You attend to your case immediately." Hamilton, much concerned, repaired to the house of Baron Steuben. This old courtier and rake was physician in ordinary to all the young men 'n their numerous cardiacal complications. Hamilton found him in his little study, smoking a huge meerschaum. His weather-beaten face grinned with delight at the appearance of his favourite, but he shook his head solemnly at the revelation. " I fear this time you are shot, my dear little Hamilton," he said, with much concern. '• Have you told me all ? " " All that I can think of." Hamilton was sitting for- ward on the edge of the chair in considerable dejection. He had not expected this intrication, had hoped the Baron would puff it away. " Has she a neat waist .' " i88 THE CONQUEROR surprise, that her waist If I.V ! i Hamilton admitted, with some was exceptional. " And her eyes ?— I have heard of them — benevolent, yet sparkling; —and a daughter of the Schuylers. Ham- ilton, believe me, there are worse things than love." " But I have affairs of the utmost moment on hand at present. I'm revolving a whole financial system, and the correspondence grows heavier every day. I've no time for love." " My boy," said the former aide to the great Frederick, with emphasis, "when you can work in the sun, why cling to the cold corner of a public hearth ? Your brain will spin the faster for the fire underneath. You will write great words and be happy besides. Think of that. What a combination ! Mein Gott ! You will be terribly in love, my son, but your balance is so extraordinary that your brain will work on just the same. Otherwise I would not d're give such council, for without you General Washington would give up, and your poor old Steuben would not have money for tobacco. Give me just one half-sovereign," he added coaxingly. Hamilton examined the big tobacco pouch and found it two-thirds full. " Not a penny," he said gaily. " The day after to-morrow I will buy you some myself, but I know where that last sovereign went to." Hamilton took care of the old spendthrift's money, and not only then but as long as he lived. " The Secretary of the Treasury is my banker," said Steuben, years after. " My Hamilton takes care of my money when he cannot take care of his own." Hamilton retired in some perturbation, and the result of much thinking was that he spent an unconscionable time over his toilet on the evening of the dinner. In his ner- vousness he tore one of his lace ruffles. Laurens attempted to mend it, and the rent waxed. Hamilton was forced to knock at Mrs. Washington's door and ask her to repair the injury. She was already dressed, in a black lutestring, her hair flat and natural. She looked approvingly at Hamilton, who, not excepting Laurens, was always the THE LITTLE LION 189 most faultlessly dressed member of the family. To-night he wore dark green velvet, fitting closely and exquisitely cut, white silk stockings, and a profusion of delicate lace. His hair was worn in a queue and powdered. It was not till some years later that he conformed to the prevailing fashion and wore a wig. Mrs. Washington mended the lace, retied the bow of his queue, kissed him and told him to forget the cares of war and correspondence, and enjoy himself. Hamilton retired, much comforted. It was an 'mposing family which, a half-hour later, awaited the guests in the drawing-room. Washington was in black velvet and silk stockings, his best white wig spreading in two symmetrical wings. It was a cold grave figure always, and threw an air of solemnity over every scene it loomed upon, which only Hamilton's lively wit could dispel. Laurens wore plum-coloured velvet and much lace, a magnificent court costume. His own figure was no less majestic than Washington's, but his brown eyes and full mouth were almost invariably smiling, despite the canker. He wore a very close wig. Tilghman was in blue, the other men in more sober dress. Lafayette some time since had departed for France, Hamilton having suggested that the introduction of a French military force of six or seven thousand troops would have a powerful effect upon the American army and people. Lady Sterling arrived with Lady Kitty — the bride of Colonel William Duer since July — her undistinguished homeliness enhancing the smart appearance of her daugh- ter, who was one of the beauties of the time. Lady Kitty had a long oval face, correct haughty little features, and a general air of extreme high breeding. Her powdered hair was in a tower, and she had the tiniest waist and stood upon the highest heels of all the belles. She wore white satin over an immense hoop, a flounce of Spanish lace and a rope of pearls. Kitty Livingston wore yellow which outshone the light of the candles. Susan Boudinot and the other girls were dressed more simply. Mr. Bou- dinot's eyes were as keen and as kind as ever, his nose 'Ttl 190 THE CONQUEROR i h!s chin ^°"^^^' ^"^ ^^^ ^^^^ "*"** accumulating beneath The Cochraines and Miss Elizabeth Schuyler were the last to arrive. The northern belle's wardrobe had been an object of much concern to the young ladies now cut off from New York shops, and lamenting the demoralized condition of those in Philadelphia. In Albany all things were still possible Miss Schuyler wore a pink brocade of the richest and most delicate quality, and a bertha of Brussels lace The pointed bodice and large paniers made her waist look almost as small as Kitty Duer's. and her feet were the tiniest in the world. She turned them in and walked with a slight shuffle. Hamilton had never seen a motion so adorable. Her hair was rolled out from her face on both sides as well as above, and so thickly powdered ^rll KM^^u' ^""u^^:^ ^' ^^^^^ ^^ General Wkshington's coat, while her cheeks and lips were like red wine on pale amber She blushed as Hamilton bowed before her and offered his arm. and then she felt his heart thump. As for Hamilton, he gave himself up for lost the moment she entered the room, and with the admission, his feelings con- centrated with their usual fiery impetuosity. As it was lllrTJ" M- ^" 7'le?'they rushed to his eyes and camped there, to Miss Schuyler's combined discomfort and delight J or once Hamilton was content to listen, and Miss Schuyler was not loath to entertain thi- handsome young itt.A r^""? ^" ^^f "^""'^^ ^^« t^- ^g' and whi had haunted her dreams for a year. She had read Milton. Shenstone.anQ Dodsworth. " The Search after Happiness.'' by Hannah More, the works of Madame de Genlis, the ' Essay on Man," and Shakespeare's lighter plays Her learning was not oppressive, merely sufficient to give dis- tinction to her mind, and Hamilton was enchanted once more; but he found her most interesting when relating persona anecdotes of encounters with savage warriors in that dark northern land where she had been born and bred of hideous massacres of which her neighbours had been the victims, of adventurous journeys she had taken with her father, of painted chieftains they had been forced to THE LITTLE LION 191 entertain. She talked with great spirit and no waste of words, and it was evident that she was both sensible and heroic. Hamilton ate little and forgot that he was in a company of twenty people. He was recalled by an abraded shin. He turned with a jump and encountered Meade's agon< ized face thrust across Susan Livingston, who sat between them. " For God's sake, Hamilton, come forth and talk," said Meade, in a hoarse whisper. " There hasn't been a word said above a mutter for three-quarters of an hour. Tilghman gave out long ago. Unless you come to the rescue we'll all be moaning in each other's arms in three minutes." Hamilton glanced about the table. Washington, looking like himself on a monument, was making not a pretence to entertain poor Lady Sterling, who was almost sniffling. Lord Sterling, having gratified, an hour since, Mrs. Wash- ington's polite interest in his health, was stifling yawn after yawn, and his chubby little visage was oblong and crimson. Tilghman, looking guilty and uncomfortable, — it was his duty to relieve Hamilton at the table, — was flirting with Miss Boudinot. Lady Kitty and Baron Steuben always managed to entertain each other. Lau- rens and Kitty Livingston were sitting back and staring at each other as they had stared many times before. The others were gazing at their plates or at Hamilton. It was, indeed, a Headquarters dinner at the worst. It has been remarked that Hamilton had a strong .sense of duty. He felt himself unable, even with the most charming girl on the continent beside him, to resist the appeal of all those miserable eyes, and launched forth at once upon the possibilities of Lafayette returning with an army. Everybody responded, and he had many subjects of common mterest to discourse brilliantly upon until the long meal finished. Even Washington gave him a grateful glance, and the others reattacked their excellent food with a lost relish, now that the awful silence and sense of personal failure were dispelled by their 'bright particular star," as the letters of the day 193 THE CONQUEROR from Morristown and the vicinity cleped our hero. But with Miss Schuyler he had no further word that night, and he retired with the conviction that there were times when there was no satisfaction whatever in doing one's duty. VI But a few nights later there was a subscription ball in the commissary storehouse, and Hamilton danced with Miss Schuyler no less than ten times, to the merciless amusement of the family. The ball, the first of any size since the war began, was a fine affair, and had been organized by Tilghman, Meade, and several of the French- men; they were determined upon one gay season, at least. The walls were covered with flags and holly ; the women wore their most gorgeous brocades ; feathers and jewels were on becoming white wigs or on the towers of powdered hair. All the foreigners were in full regi- mentals, Steuben, in particular, being half covered with gold lace and orders; the music and supper were admirable. Even Washington looked less careworn than usual, and as he stood apart with Lord Sterling, General Knox, and General Greene, he shed no perceptible chill. Miss Schuyler wore white, with a twist of black velvet in her powdered hair and another about her throat, and would have been the belle of the party had Hamilton permitted other atten- tions. But she gave him all the dances he demanded, and although her bright manner did not lapse toward senti- ment for a moment, he went home so elated that he sat scribbling poetry until Laurens pelted him with pillows and extinguished the candle. The next day there was a sleighing party to Lord Ster- ling's, and he drove Miss Schuyler, her aunt, and the wife of General Knox through the white and crystal and blue of a magnificent winter day. Mrs. Cochraine made no secret of her pride in her niece's capture of Washington's celebrated favourite, and assured him of a hearty welcome at her house if he felt disposed to call. He promptly estab- lished the habit of calling every evening. il 1 • THE LITTLE LION 193 But although he was seriously and passionately in love, and quite sure that Miss Schuvler loved him in return, he hesitated for the first time in his life before precipitating a desired consummation. That he had no money did not worr^ him in the least, for he knew himself capable of earnmg any amount, and that the Republic, when free, would bristle with opportunities for ycung men of parts. But he was in honour bound to tell her of the irregularity of his birth. And in what manner would she regard a possible husband with whose children she never could discuss their father's parents? She was twenty-two, a small woman-of-the-world, not a romantic young miss in- capable of reason. And the Schuylers .' The proudest famil 'n America ! Would they take him on what he had made u. himself, on the promise of his future, or would their family pride prove stronger than their common sense? He had moments of frantic doubt and depression, but for- tunately there was no time for protracted periods of lover's misery. Washington demanded him constantly for con- sultation upon the best possible method of putting anima- tion into the Congress and extracting money for the wretched troops. He frequently accompanied the General, as at Valley Forge, in his visits to the encampment on the mountain, where the emaciated tattered wretches were hutting with all possible speed against the severity of another winter. The snow was already on the ground, an " every prospect of a repetition of the horrors of Valley Forge. The mere sight of Washington put heart into them, and Hamilton's lively sallies rarely failed to elicit a smile in return. It so happened that for a fortnight the correspondence with Congress, the States, the Generab, and the British, ir: regard to the exchange of prisoners, was so heavy, the consultations with Washington so frequent, that Hamilton saw nothing of Miss Schuyler, and had little time for the mdulgence of pangs. When he emerged, however, his mind was the freer to seek a solution of the problem which had tormented him, and he quickly found it. He determined to write the truth to Miss Schuyler, and so save the em- 194 THE CONQUEROR barrassment he had dreaded for both. To think was to act. He related the facts of his birth and of his ancestry in the briefest possible manner, adding a description of his mother which would leave no question of the place she held in his esteem. He then stated, with the emphasis of which he was master, that he distractedly awaited his dis- missal, or Miss Schuyler's permission to declare what he had so awkwardly concealed. He sent the letter by an orderly, and attacked his corre- spondence with a desire to put gunpowder on his quill. But Miss Schuyler was a tender-hearted creature and had no intention that he should suffer. She scrawled him a hasty summons to come to her at once, and bade the orderly ride as for his life. Hamilton, hearing a horse coming up the turnpike at runaway pace, glanced out of the window to see what neck was in danger, then flung his quill to the floor and bolted. He was out of the house before the orderly had dismounted, and secured possession of the note. When he had returned to his office, which was in a log extension at the back of the building, he locked the door and read what he could of Miss Schuyler's illegible chirography. That it was a command to wait upon her at once he managed to decipher, but no more at the moment ; and feeling as if the heavens had opened, he despatched a hasty note, telling her that he could not '"iave his work before night, when he would hasten with the pent-up assurances of a love which had been his tor- ment and delight for many weeks. And then he answered a summons to Washington's office, and discussed a letter to the Congress as if there were no such person in the world as Elizabeth Schuyler, as indeed for the hour there was not, nor for the rest of the afternoon. But at eight o'clock he presented himself at the Coch- raine quarters, and Miss Schuyler was alone in the drawing- room. It was some time before they arrived at the question which had weighed so heavily on Hamilton's mind. When, however, they came down to conversation, Miss Schuyler remarked : — " I am sure that it will make no difference with my dear THE LITTLE LION 195 father, who is the most just and sensible of men. I had never thought of your parentage at all. I should have said you had leapt down from the abode of the gods, for you are much too remarkable to have been merely born But if he should object — why, we'll run away." Her eyes danced at the prospect, and Hamilton, who had vowed that nothing should induce him to enter a family where he was not welcome, was by now so hopelessly in love that he was ready to order the chaise and four at once He remained until Mrs. Cochraine sent him home, then walked up the hill toward Headquarters, keeping to the road by mstmct, for he was deep in a reverie on the happi- ness of the past hours. His dreams were cruelly shattered by the pressure of a bayonet against his breast. "What.?" he demanded. "Oh, the countersign." He racked his memory. It had fled, terrified, from his brain under the rush of that evening's emotions. "I can't remember it," he said haughtily; "but you know who I am. Let me pass." The sentry stood like a fate. " This is ridiculous ! " cried Hamilton, angrily, then the absurdity of the situation overcame him, and he laughed. Once more he searched his brain for the countersign, which he remembered having given to little Ford just after dinner. Mrs. Ford and her son retained two rooms in the housej and Hamilton frequently gave the youngster the word' that he might play in the village after dark. Suddenly he saw him approaching. He darted down the road, secured the password, and returned in triumph to the sentry. "Sir," exclaimed the soldier, in dismay, "is this quite regular ? Will you give me your word, sir, that it is all right.? .. cJ \T *^^* "° ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ *° yo"'" said Hamilton. bhoulder your musket." And there the incident ended, so far as the soldier was concerned, but young Ford carried the story to Headquarters, and it was long before Hamilton heard the last of it. There was no sleep in him that night. He went to his office and laboured for hours over a verse which should rg6 THE CONQUEROR adequately express the love consuming him, and then he awoke Laurens and talked into that sympathetic ear until it was time to break the ice and freshen himself for work. His work that day was of a vastly different character from the impassioned trifle of the night before. He ob- tained exemption from other duty, and ordered lunch- eon and dinner brought to his office. One of the most remarkable examples of Hamilton's mature genius at this age of twenty-three is his long and elaborate letter to Robert Morris on the financial condition of the country, written during the earliest period of his lovo for Elizabeth Schuyler. As passionate and impatient as he was tender, alive in every part of his nature to the joy of a real affec- tion and to the prospect of a lasting hacpiness, he yet was able for twelve hours at a time to shut his impending bride in the remotest cupboard of his mind, nor heed her sighs. But there was an older love than Elizabeth Schuyler : a ragged poverty-stricken creature by this, cowering before dangers within and without, raving mad at times, imbecile at others, filling her shattered body with patent nostrums, yet throughout her long course of futilities and absurdities making a desperate attempt to shade the battered lamp of liberty from the fatal draught. Her name was the United States of America, and never was there a more satiric misnomer. If the States chose to obey the requisitions of the Congress, they obeyed them ; but as a rule they did not. There was no power in the land to enforce obedi- ence ; and they hated each other. As the Congress had demonstrated its inefficiency to the most inactive in public affairs, the contempt of the States is hardly to be wondered at. It is not too much to say that troops were recruited by Washington's influence alone, and kept from mutiny by his immortal magnetism. The finances of the Revolution were in such a desperate condition that Sir Henry Clinton built his hopes of success — now he had discovered that no victory gave him a permanent advantage — upon the dis- solution of the American army, possibly an internal war. With depreciated bills in circulation amounting to one hundred and sixty millions of dollars, a public debt of THE LITTLE LION 197 nearly forty millions in foreign and domestic loans, the Congress had, in March, ordered a new emission of bills ; the result had been a season of crazy speculation and the expiring gasp of public credit. In addition to an unpaid army, assurances had been given to the French minister that not less than twenty-five thousand men should be ready for the next campaign ; and how to force the States to recruit them, and how to pay them when in the field, was the present question between Headquarters and Congress. From the time that Hamilton's mind had turned to finance, m his nineteenth year, he had devoted the greater part of his leisure to the study and thought of it. Books on the subject were few in those days ; the science of politi- cal economy wa , unborn, so far as Hamilton was concerned for Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations," published in 1776,' had not made its way to America. He assimilated all the data there was to be found, then poured it into the crucible of his creative faculty, and gradually evolved the great scheme of finance which is the locomotive of the United States to-day. During many long winter evenings he had talked his ideas over with Washington, and it was with the Chief's full approval that he finally went to work on the letter embodying his scheme for the immediate relief of the country. It was addressed to Robert Morris, the Fmancier of the Revolution. The first part of the letter was an essay on inflated and depreciated currency, applied personally, the argument based on the three following points : There having been no money in the country. Congress had been unable to avoid the issuance of paper money. The only way to obtain and retire this immense amount of depreciated paper money was to obtain real money. Real money could be obtained in one way only, — by a foreign loan. He then elaborately disposed of the proposed insane methods of applying this projected loan which were agitat- ing the Congress. But he was an architect and builder as well as an iconoclast, and having shown the futility of every financial idea ever conceived by Congress, he proceeded to the remedy. His scheme, then as ever, was a National 198 THE CONQUEROR Bank to be called The Bank of the United States; the capital to be a foreign loan of two millions sterling. This letter, even in its details, in the knowledge of human nature it betrays, and in its scheme to combine public and private capital that the wealthy men of the coun- try should, in their own interests, be compelled to support the government, reads like an easy example in arithmetic to-day ; but a hundred and twenty years ago it was so bold and advanced that Morris dared to adopt several of its suggestions in part only, and founded the bank of Penn- sylvania on the greater plan, by way of experiment. No one but Hamilton could carry out his own theories. Hamilton, who often had odd little attacks of modesty, signed the letter, James Montague; address, Morristown. He read it to Washington before posting. The Chief, whose men were aching, sighed heavily *u " M?" ^^" P*^^ ^ ^^^ crumbs out of it," he said. " But they will not make a law of it in toto; the millennium is 11° If f °"^u ^"' ^ ^^ S^^^^ ^^^"^ °"^ ^^ea we should be thanktul, it being a long and weary time since they have experienced that phenomenon. If it does not, I doubt if these men fight another battle. I wonder if posterity will ever realize the indifference of their three million ancestors to the war which gave them their independence — if we accomplish that end. I ask for soldiers and am treated much as if I had asked for my neighbour's wife. I ask tor money to keep them from starving and freezing and am made to feel like an importunate beggar." •j^u^^.,* ^^"^'^ ^^^^ ^"S*^ Knox not so long since," said Hamilton, m his lightest tone; for Washington was on the verge of one of his attacks of infuriated depression, which were picturesque but wearing. " He undertakes to piay the prophet, and he is an uncommon clever man, sir • he says that you were created for the express purpose of delivering America, to do it single-handed, if necessary, and that my proud destiny is to be your biographer. The first 1 indorse, so does every thinking man in the country. But for the second— alas! I am not equal to a post of such exalted honour." ^ THE LITTLE LION 199 Washington smiled. " No one knows better than your old Chief that your destiny is no such ha'penny affair as that. But at least you wouldn't make an ass of me. God knows what is in store for me at the hands of scribblers " "You lend yourself fatally well to marble and stone, sir," said Hamilton, mischievously. "J fear your biog- raphers will conceive themselves writing at the feet of a New World Sphinx, and that its frozen granite loneliness will petrify their image of you." " I like the prospect ! I am unhappily conscious of my power to chill an assemblage, but the cold formality of my manner is a safeguard, as you know. My nature is one of extremes ; if I did not encase myself, I should be ramming every man's absurd opinions down his throat, and letting my cursed temper fly at each of the provocations which constantly beset me. I have not the happy gift of com- promise ; but I am not unhuman, and I like not the prospect of going down to posterity a wooden figurehead upon some emblematic battle-ship. Perhaps, my boy, you, who best know me, will be moved by charity to be my biographer after all." o t- > " I'll make it the business of my old age, sir ; I pledge you my word, and no one loves you better nor can do you such justice as I. When my work in the National Family is done, then shall I retire with my literary love, an old and pleasant love ; and what higher subject for my pen ? " He spoke in a tone of badinage, for he was bent on screwing up Washington's spirits, but he made his prom- ise in good faith, nevertheless, and Washington looked at him with deep affection. '• My mind is certainly easier," he said, in a tone that was almost light. " Go now and post your letter, and give your evening to Miss Schuyler. Present my compliments to her." " I became engaged to her last night, sir." " Ah ! had you forgotten to tell me .? " " No, sir ; I have but just remembered it." Washington laughed heartily. " Mind you never tell her that," he said. " Women love the lie that saves their 200 THE CONQUEROR pride, but never an unflattering truth. You have learned your lesson young, — to put a tempting face aside when duty demands every faculty; it is a lesson which takes most men longest to K irn. I could tell you some amus- ing stories of rough and tumbles in my mind between the divine image of the hour and some affair of highest moment. But to a brain like yours all things are possible." He rose, and took Hamilton's hand and shook it warmly, " God bless you," he said. " Your future unrolls to my vision, brilliant and happy. I deeply wish that it may be so." ' VII The letter from General Schuyler, giving his consent to the engagement, has not been preserved ; but some time after he had occasion to write Hamihon a business letter, in which the following passage occurs : — You cannot, my dear sir, be more happy at the connexion you have made with my family than I am. Until the child of a parent has made a judicious choice, his heart is in continual anxiety ; but this anxiety was removed on the moment I discovered it was on you she had placed her affections. I am pleased with every instance of delicacy in those who are so dear to me : and I think I read your soul on the occasion you mention. I shall therefore only entreat you to consider me as one who wishes in every way to promote your happiness. General Schuyler was ordered by Congress to Morris- town to confer with Washington. He took a house, sent for his family, and remained until late in the summer. The closest friendship was formed between Schuyler and Hamilton, which, with common political interests and deep- emng sympathy, increased from year to year. The good fairies of Nevis who had attended Hamilton's birth never did better for him than when they gave him Elizabeth Schuyler for wife and Philip Schuyler for father and friend. And they had blasted the very roots of the chief impediment to success, for he triumphed steadily and without effort over what has poisoned the lives of many men ; and triumphed in spite of the fact that the truth THE LITTLE LION 30I was vaguely known always, and kept in the quiver of his enemies. As Hamilton was absent from Headquarters but seldom dunng General Schuyler's sojourn, the lovers met almost every evening, and occasionally Washington, who pos- sessed certain sympathies based on long experience, would give Hamilton a morning free, and suggest a ride through the woods. Never were two people happier nor more mherently suited. Hamilton's instinct had guided him safely past more brilliant women to one who willingly would fold herself round his energetic individuality of many parts, fitting into every division and crevice. She was receptive, sympathetic, adaptive, with sufficient intel- ligence to appreciate the superlative brain of the man whom she never ceased to worship and to regard as a being of unmortal clay. A brilliant ambitious wife in the same house with Hamilton might have written a pic- turesque diary, but the domestic instrument would have twanged with discords. Hamilton was unselfish, and could not do enough for those he loved ; but he was used to the first place, to the unquestioned yielding of it to his young high-mightiness by his clever aspiring friends, by the army of his common acquaintance, and in many ways by Wash- ington himself. Had he married Angelica Schuyler, that independent, high-spirited, lively, adorable woman, prob- abl> they would have boxed each other's ears at the end of a week. Hamilton made the dash on Staten Island with Lord Sterling, and i;i March went with General St. Clair and Colonel Carrington to negotiate with the British commis- sioners for the exchange of prisoners ; before the battle of Springfield he was sent out to reconnoitre. Otherwise his days were taken up bombarding the Congress with letters representing the necessity of drafting troops to meet the coming emergencies. He and Miss Betsey Schuyler had a very pretty plan which was nothing less than that they should go to Europe on their wedding tour, Congress to find his presence nec- essary at the Court of France. The suggestion originated 303 THE CONQUEROR with Laurens, who had been asked to go as secretary to Pranklm. He had no wish to go, and knowing Hamilton's ardent desire to visit Europe and growing impatience with his work had recommended his name to the Congress. General Schuyler would have procured a leave of ab- sence for his impending son-in-law, and sent the young couple to Europe with his blessing and a heavy wallet, but Hami ton would as soon have forged a man's name as travelled at his expense. He hoped that the Congress would send him. He was keenly aUve to the value of studying Europe at first hand before he was called upon to help m the modelling of the new Republic, and the vis- ion of wandering in historic lands with his bride kept him awake at night. Moreover, he was desperately tired of his life at Headquarters. When the expedition to Staten Island was in question, he asked Washington, through Lafayette, to give him the command of a battalion which happened to be without a field-officer. Washington re- fused, partly from those motives of policy to which he ever showed an almost niggling adherence, but more because he could not spare his most useful aide. Ham- ilton who was bursting for action of any sort, retired to his detested little office in angry disappointment. But he was a philosopher. He adjusted himself to the Inevi- table, and dismissed the matter from his mind, after reg- istering a vow that he would take advantage of the first excuse which might offer to resign his position. The Schuylers returned to Albany. The French fleet arrived, and hovered well beyond the range of British guns having no desire to risk an engagement until reinforced! Its Admiral Count Rochambeau, having a grievance, Ham- ilton advised a personal conference. ^xr"^^ ?^??^ suggest that he meet us halfway — say at Wethersfield, near Hartford," he added. "That would save us something in travelling expenses." Washington sighed heavily. " We are worse off than you think, he said. "I might scrape together money enough for half the journey, but no more. Lafavette and nis aide must go with us — to say nothing of the escort THE LITTLE LION ao3 Think of the innkeepers' bills, for ourselves and horses. What to do I confess I do not know, for I should confer with this Frenchman at once," " Go we must, sir," said Hamilton, decidedly, "if we have to take up a collection — why not? If an object cannot be accomplished one way, try another." He stood up and emptied the contents of his pockets on the table. " Only five hundred beggarly continentals," he said ruefully "However, who knows what treasures may line more careful pockets than mine > I know they will come forth as spontaneously. Have I your permission to try, sir ? " Washington nodded, and Hamilton ran downstairs pressed Meade into service, and together they made the round of the officers' quarters. He returned at the end of an hour and threw a huge bundle of paper on the table "Only eight thousand dollars, sir," he said. "It's the best that any man could do. But I think it may carry us through." -^ •' " It will have to," said Washington. " Remind me, my dear boy, if you see me eating too much. I have such an appetite ! " They set out on their journey a week later, having com- municated with Rochambeau, who agreed to meet them at Wethersfield. All went well, for the wretched inns were not exorbitant, until they reached Hartford. They arrived late in the afternoon, weary and ravenous. After a bath and a glimpse -A luxurious beds, they marched to the dining room and sat down to a sumptuous repast, whose hke had greeted neither nostril nor palate for many a day The wines were mellow, the tobacco green, the conver- sation gay until midnight. Hamilton sang "The Drum," and many another song rang among the rafters. Wash- ington retired first, bidding the youngsters enjoy them- selves. The young men arose at their accustomed hour next morning, with appetites renewed, but waited in vain ^r their Chief. Hamilton finally knocked at his door. There was no response, and a servant told him that the General had gone out nearly an hour before. He went in search, bidding Lafayette and M' Henry remain behind. i, !. ^1 -III 304 THE CONQUEROR As he had anticipated, he found Washington in a secluded nook, engaged in prayer. He waited a few moments, then coughed respectfully. Washington immeJiately rose, his harassed face showing little relief. "Is anything wrong, sir.?" asked Hamilton, anxiously. " Alas ! " said the General, " I wonder that you, too, are not driven to prayer, to intercede for help in this distressing predicament. Think of that extravagant repast we con- sumed last night. God help me, but I was so famished I never gave a thought to consequences. Unquestionably, the breakfast will be on a like scale. A/id we have but eight thoHSiXud dolla's with ivhich to pay the bill !'' " It is true ! I never gave the matter a thought — I am cursedly extravagant. And we must get home ! I suppose we shall have to fast all the way. Well, we've fasted before, and the memory of last night's dinner may sustain us — " " But this man's bill! How are we to meet it ? " " Shall I speak to him, sir } Tell him unreservedly our predicament — that these wretched eight thousand dollars are all we have in the world ? Perhaps he is a good pa- triot, and will call the account square." " Do," said Washington, " and come here and tell me what he <-ays. I am too mortified to show my face. I shall not enter the house again." Hamilton walked slowly to the house, little caring for his errand. He returned on a dead run. " We are saved, sir ! " he cried, almost in Washington's arms. " Go.xrnor Trumbull has sent word to all the hostle- ries that we are to be his guests while we are in the state of Connecticut ! " Washington said his prayers again, and ate two chickens for breakfast. On the return from this conference, when approaching the house of General Benedict Arnold, opposite West Point, where they were invited for breakfast, Washington suddenly decided to accompany Lafayette, who wished to mspw^t some earthworks. " You need not come," he said to Hamilton and M' Henry. THE LITTLE LION 305 "I know that you are both in love with Mrs. Arnold. Go on. We will join you r «ntly." The young men were ^iceted with effusion by the pretty hostess, with absent reserve by her husband. Mrs. Arnold left the room to order that the breakfast be delayed. While she was absent, a note was brought to Arnold. He opened it, turned green, and rising hastily, announced that his presence was demanded at West Point and left the room. The sound of a smothered scream and fall came from above. A moment later the aides heard the sound of galloping hoofs. Their suspicions aroused, they ran outside. A messen- ger, with a despatch from Colonel Jameson, awaited Wash- ington's arrival. Hamilton tore open the paper. It contained the news that a British spy had been captured within the lines. In an instant Hamilton and M'Henry were on their horses and off in pursuit of the fugitive. That Arnold was a traitor and had fled to the British war- ship. Vulture, hovering in Haverstraw Bay, a slower wit than Hamilton's would have assumed. The terrified scoun- drel was too quick for them. He h?d ridden over a preci- pice to the shore below, and under protection of a flag of truce was far down the river when his pursuers sighted Kim. They returned with all speed. I shall not repeat the oft-told tale of Andre's capture, trial, and death. Nowhere has it been so well told as by Hamilton himself, in a letter to Laurens, printed at the time and universally read. It is only necessary here to allude to his share in that unhappiest episode of the war. When Washington reached the house his aide was engaged in consoling Mrs. Arnold, who was shrieking and raving, weeping and fainting ; imposing on Hamilton a task varied and puzzling, even to one of his schooling. But she was very young, very charming, and in a tragic plight. Wash- ington himself wiped away a tear, and for a moment forgot the barely averted consequences of her husband's treason, while ne assisted Hamilton in assuaging a grief so bitter and so appealing. As soon as was possible he sent her through the British lines. ao6 THE CONQUEROR But Hamilton quickly forgot Mrs. Arnold in his sym- pathy and admiration for the unfortunate Andrei. He conceived a quick and poignant friendship for the brilliant accomplished young Englishman, with the dreamy soft face of a girl, and a mettle which had brought him to destruc- tion. Hamilton did all he could to save him, short of sug- gesting to Andre to ask Sir Henry Clinton to offer Arnold in exchange. He enlisted the sympathy of the officers at West Point in the prisoner's behalf, gave up his leisure to diverting Andre's mind, and persuaded Washington to delay the execution and send an indirect suggestion to Clinton to offer the exchange himself. When all hope was over, he personally begged Washington to heed An- dre's request for a soldier's death, and not condemn such a man to the gibbet. Washington gladly would have saved his interesting prisoner's life, and felt deeply for him, but again those motives of policy prevailed, and Andr^ was executed like a common malefactor. i i i vni Washington was in temporary quarters — a cramped and wretched tavern — at Liberty Pole, New Jersey. The inac- tion being oppressive, Hamilton concentrated his thoughts on the condition and needs of the country. I am sorry that the same spirit of indifference to public affairs pre- vails, [he wrote to Sears]. It is necessary we should rouse and be-^in to do our business in earnest, or we shall play a losing game. We must have a government with more power. We must have a tax in kind We must have a foreign loan. We must have a bank on the true principles of a bank We must have an administration distinct from Congress, and in t: ■ hands of single men under their orders. We must, above all thin?s. have an army for the war. . . . We are told here there is to be a Congress of the neutral powers at the Hague for nrieditatrng of peace. God scd it may be true. We want it; but if the idea goes abroad, ten to one if we do not fancy the thing done, and fall into a profound sleep till the cannon of the enemy waken us next campaign. This is our national character. Hamilton, the High Priest of Energv, had long since declared war against the genius of the American people, THE LITTLE LION 307 who believed in God and the art of leisure. Hamilton believed in God and a cabinet of zealous ministers. He was already a thorn in the side of estimable but hesitant patriots, and in times to come his unremitting and remorse- less energy was to be a subject of reproach by associates and enemies alike. Even Jefferson, that idol of the pres- ent as of the past democracy, had timidly declared against separation in 1774, while Hamilton, a boy of seventeen, had been the first to suggest the resort to arms, and inces- sant in his endeavours until the great result was accom- plished. He had countless other schemes, and he knew that eventually he would succeed in driving the American people before the point of his quill. That his task would be long and arduous did not daunt him for a moment. By this time he knew every want of the country, and was de- termined upon the reorganization of the government. The energy which is one of the distinguishing characteristics of the American nation to-day was generated by Hamil- ton, might, indeed, be said to be the persistence and diffu- sion of his ego. For the matter of that, all that is greatest in this American evolution of a century was typified in Hamilton. Not only his formidable energy, but his un- qualified honour and integrity, his unquenchable optimism, his extraordinary nimbleness of mind and readiness of resource, his gay good-nature, high spirits, and buoyancy, his light philosophy effervescing above unsounded depths, his inability to see when he was beaten, his remorseless industry, his hard common sense, combined with a versatile cleverness which makes for shallowness in another race, his careless generosity, his aptitude for detail and impa- tience of it, his reckless bravery in war and intrepidity in peace, even his highly strung nerves, excitability, and obliging readiness at all times for a fight, raise him high above history as the genius of the American race. The reverse side of the national character we owe to the greatest of his rivals ; as will be seen hereafter. During the sojourn at Liberty Pole, Washington and he sat through many nights discussing the imperative need of the reorganization of the government, and the best ^1 208 THE CONQUEROR methods by which it could be accomplished. The result was Hamilton's letter to James Duane, an important mem- ber of the Congress. This letter, no doubt the most remarkable of its kind ever written, and as interesting to-day as when Hamilton conceived it, is far too long to be quoted. It began with an exhaustive analysis of the reasons for the failure of Congress to cope with a situation which was becom- ing more threatening every hour, and urged the exam- ple of the Grecian republics and the Swiss cantons against the attempted confederation of the States without a strong centralized government. Lacking a common tie of suffi- cient strength, the States would inevitably drift toward independent sovereignty; and they had given signal proof in the matter of raising troops, contributing money, and in their everlasting disputes about boundary lines, as to the absolute lack of any common public spirit. His rem- edy, in brief, was a convention of the States for the pur- pose of creating a Federal Constitution, the distributing of the powers of government into separate departments, with Presidents of War, Marine, and Trade, a secretary of For- eign Affairs, and a Financier, defining their prerogatives ; the States to have no privileges beyond an internal police for the protection of the property and the rights of individ- uals, and to raise money by internal taxes ; the army to be recruited on a permanent estabhshment. In addition, there was an elaborate system of taxation, by which the country could be supported in all its emergencies. His favourite plan of a National Bank was elaborated in minute detail, the immediate necessity for a foreign loan dwelt upon with sharp reproof, and examples given of the re- cruiting of armies in European states. Out of a multitude of suggestions a few were adopted within a short time, but the great central suggestion, the calling of a convention for the purpose of creating a Fed- eral Constitution, was to be hammered at for many weary years before jealous States and unconfident patriots could be persuaded to a measure so monarchical and so bold. But the letter is on record, and nothing more logical, far- THE LITTLE LION 209 sighted, and comprehensive ever was written. It contained the foundation-stones upon which this government of the United States stands to-day. Congress put on its spec- tacles and read it with many grur s, magnanimously ex- pressing admiration for a youth v ho had fe?n lopsly grappled with questions which addled old< - bt ains ; but its audacious suggestions of a government g ea^cr than Congress, and of a bank which would add to thv.;' irju'"'.'!.'' were not taken seriously for a moment. Hamilton also found time to write a good many love letters. Here is one of them : — I would not have you imagine, Miss, that I write you so often to gratify your wishes or please your vanity ; but merely to indulge myself, and to comply with that restless propensity of my mind which will not be happy unless I am doing something in which you are concerned. This may seem a very idle disposition in a philosopher and a soldier, but I can plead illustrious examples in my justification. Achilles liked to have sacrificed Greece and his glory to a female captive, and Anthony lost a world for a woman. I am very sorry times are so changed as to oblige me to go to antiquity for my apology, but I confess, to the dis- grace of the present time, that I have not been able to find as many who are as far gone as myself in the laudable Zeal of the fair sex. I suspect, however, if others knew the charm of my sweetheart as I do, I could have a great number of competitors. I wish I could give you an idea of her. You can have no conception of how sweet a girl she is. It is only in my heart that her image is truly drawn. She has a lovely form and still more lovely mind. She is all goodness, the gentlest, the dearest, the tenderest of her sex. Ah, Betsey, how I love her ! His reiterated demand for a foreign loan, and the send- ing of a special envoy to obtain it, at last wrung a reluctant consent from Congress. Lafayette was his politic sugges- tion, and Congress would have indorsed it, but that ad- venturous young hero had not come to America to return and beg money on his own doorstep. There was a prospect of fighting in the immediate future, and he was determined to add to his renown. The choice then lay between Ham- ilton and Laurens, who had received the thanks of Congress for his distinguished services in the field, and whose father had been a president of that body. Lafayette and all the Frenchmen were anxious that the mission be given to Hamilton. The former went to Philadelphia and talked I I il i 2IO THE CONQUEROR to half the Congress. He offered Hamilton private letters which would introduce him to the best society of Europe • addmg, "I intend giving you the key of the cabinet, as well as of the societies which influence them " \.}f''^^T\ ^7 ^^i' n""^; ^^^ ^^S^' t« ^«- His father, who had started for Holland as Minister Plenipotentiary had been captured by the British and confined in the Tower of London; the foreign mission would give him an opportunity to attempt his liberation. Moreover, life was very dull at present, and he knew himself to be possessed of diplomatic talents. But he was also aware of Hamilton's ardent desire to visit Europe, all that it would mean to that insatiate mind his weariness of his present position. Washington would give his consent to the temporary absence of Hamilton, for the Prench money was the vital necessity of the Republic's lite, and he knew that his indomitable aide would not re- turn without It. Therefore Laurens wrote to Hamilton who was in Albany awaiting his wedding-day. that he should resign in his favour, and congratulated him on so brilliant and distinguished a honeymoon. The struggle in Hamilton's mind was brief. The pros- pect of saihng with his bride on a Ion- and delightful journey that could not fail to bring him highest htnour r^tT^ ?•' ?^°°u ^^"'^- Moreover, in the previous month VVashington had again refused his request for an independent command. It took him but a short time to relinquish this cherished dream when he thought of the unhappy plight of Mr. Laurens, and remembered the deep anxiety of the son, often expressed. He wrote to Laurens withdrawing m the most decisive terms. Laurens was not to be outdone. He loved his father, but he loved Hamil- ton more. He pressed the appointment upon his friend, protesting that the affairs of the elder Laurens would be quite as safe m his hands. Hamilton prevailed, and Con- gress, having waited amiably while the two martial youths sail until February, and as soon as the matter was decided obtained leave of absence and repaired in all haste to Albany to be present at Hamilton's wedding '' THE LITTLE LION 211 IX The wedding of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler was the most notable private event of the Revo- li'tion. The immense social and political consequence of tiie Schuylers, and the romantic " me of the young aide, of whom the greatest things possible were expected, brought the aristocracy of New York and the Jersies to Albany despite the inclement winter weather. The large house of the Schuylers gave a prolonged hospitality to the women, and the men lodged in the patriarchal little town. But although Hamilton was glad to see the Livingstons, Ster- lings, and Boudinots again, the greater number of the guests interested him far less than a small group of weather-beaten soldiers, of which this occasion was the happy cause of reunion. Troup was there, full of youth and honours. He had received the thanks of Congress for his services at Saratoga, and been appointed secretary of the Board of War. Recently he had resigned from the army, and was completing his law studies. Nicolas Fish came with Lafayette, whose light artillery he commanded. He was known as a brave and gallant soldier, and so excel- lent a disciplinarian that he had won the approval and con- fidence of Washington. He still parted his little fringe in the middle, and his face was as chubby as ever, his eyes as solemn. Lafayette, who had brought a box full of clothes that had dazzled Paris, embraced Hamilton with tears, but they were soon deep in conjectures of the next campaign. Laurens, looking Hke a king in exile, wrung many hearts. Hamilton's brother aides, unfortunately, were the more closely bound by his absence, but they had de- spatched him with their blessing and much chaffing. The hall of the Schuyler mansion was about twenty feet square and panelled in white. It was decorated with holly, and for three nights before the wedding illuminated by hun- dreds of wax randlpR. while the j^oung people danced till three in the morning. The Schuyler house, long accus- tomed to entertaining, had never been gayer, and no one was more content than the chatelaine. Although she had 212 TH/: CONQUEROR I 'fii Ml Mi I ' been reasonably sure of Elizabeth, there was no telling at what moment the ma.den might yield to the romantic mf nia of the time, and chmb out of her window at night while .hTm ''V'rV^'"'""^ ^^•^^^ Now all danger was pa t and Mrs. Schuyler moved, large, placid, and still haadsome among her guests, beaming so affectionately whenever The met Mrs. Carter's flashing eyes that Peggy and Cornelia renewed their vows to elope ihen the hour and the men arnved. General Schuyler, once more on the crest of public Srtiorin'i'^'^' f "^t.""^ ^'^™' ^"^ h^' '-^' breathed satisfaction and relief. He was t: tall man of military appearance, powerful, muscular, slender ; but as his nose was large and fleshy, and he wore a ragged-lookiig wf| s"ome""if wls'7'^^^^°"'^' '^ ^^"^^ "°^ b*^ callediard^ Ty^ flashed Ind "pieteT"''"^"^^' '°^^^^^^' ^^^ ^'^ ^^^^ As for Hamilton and Miss Schuyler, who had a trunk full of charming new gowns, they were as happy as two chH m.n^ 1 I 'u u^t*^'^'^'"^-''°°"^'i»f'-o"t of the splendid mantel which he housewives had spent much time in^admir ^t .1 ,"^^ '"'^"^ *^^ ^h*t^ ^hich became her best made with a long pointed bodice and paniers.and lace that had been worn by the wife of the first patroon She had risen to the dignity of a wig. and her mass of black ha'r IZ^r'f ."^^'•^il^l^ly tight under the spreading white ZZ TV^"^^''^ ^^' ^^" ^^« attached. nLXn wore a black velvet coat, as befitting his impending state Its lining and the short trousers we?e of whfte satin, nfs S ^^ ?',r'\'" ^^^^ ''^^' ^^' feet in pumps with a wT ^".f ''^' ''^ ^'.T""' '^ L^f^y^"^- He. too wore fJJ.t~A f ""'f' "^'^^ ^ queue. -but he go rid of it SamS ^^T.l^' ''''T7' f^'- ^' b^^t^d his head fee? s?x Hk hH ,'" '"^^^^^^his full height, about five reet six. His bride was perhaps three inches shorter The world vowed that never had^ there been so prettv a couple, nor one so well matched in every way. Bo?h were Scot'The nt^h^ "^ "^ m'' '"^ '^' °"^ ^' '^'^ ^-^ fresh as a Scot, the other a golden gipsy, the one all fire and energy, THE LITTLE LION 213 the other docile and tender, but with sufficient spirit and intelligence. It is seldom that the world so generously gives its blessing, but it might have withheld it, for all that Hamilton and his bride would have cared. Hamilton's honeymoon was brief. There was a mass of correspondence awaiting him, and no place for a bride in the humble Dutch house at New Windsor where Washing- ton had gone into winter quarters. But the distance was not great, and he could hope for flying leaves of absence. Washington was not unsympathetic to lovers ; he had been known to unbend and advise his aidt s when complications threatened or a siege seemed hopeless ; and he had given Hamilton the longest leave possible. Nevertheless, the bridegroom set forth, one harsh January morning, on his long journey, over roads a foot deep in snow, and through solitary winter forests, with anything but an impassioned desire to see General Washington again. Had he been returning to the command of a corps, with a prospect of stirring events as soon as the snow melted, he would have spurred his horse with high satisfaction, even though he left a bride behind him ; but to return to a drudgery which he hated the more for having escaped it for three enchanted weeks, made his spirit turn its back to the horse's head. He resolved anew to resign if an opportunity offered. Four years of that particular sort of devotion to the pa- triot cause were enough. He wished to demonstrate his patriotism in other ways. He had accomplished the pri- mary object for which Washington had pressed him into service, and he believed that the war was nearing its finish ; there was nothing he could now do at Headquarters which the other aides could not do as well, and he wanted mili- tary excitement and renown while their possibilities existed. ii^ n 1 The first task awaiting him upon his arrival at Head- quarters was to draw up a letter of instruction for Laurens, a task which required minute care ; for on its suggestions, as much as on Laurens's brilliant talents, depended the mm i 214 THE CONQUEROR strength of a mission whose failure might mean that of the American arms Laurens had requested the letter, and told Hamilton that he should be guided by it. He did not anticipate a royal condition of mind which would promnt him practically to carry off the French money-bags under the kings astonished nose, and he knew Hamilton's com- mand of c^ery argument connected with the painful sub- ject of financial needs. Hamilton drew up a lucid and comprehensive letter, in nine parts, which Laurens could study at his leisure on the frigate. Alliance; then attacked his accumulated duties. They left him little leisure to remember he was a bridegroom, although he occasionally directed his gaze toward the North with some longin/ His freedom approached, however, and it was swift and unexpected. It came on the r6th of February. His office was in his bedroom. He had just completed a letter containing instructions of an important nature for the commissary ana started m search of Tilghman. whose duty it was to see It safely delivered. On the stairs he passed Wash- ington, whose brow was heavy. The General, with that brevity which was an indication of his passionate temper fighting against a self-control which he must have knocked ^wCa. ^'^^^ satisfaction at times, ejaculated that he wished o speaK with him at once. Hamilton replied that tLZ ■ '''^£ "P"*" 5™ immediately, and hastened to liighmans office, wondermg what had occurred to stir the depths of his Chief. He was but a moment with Tilghman but on the stairs he met Lafayette, who was in seS of him upon a matter of business. It is possible that Hamil- ton should not have permitted himself to be detained, but at all events he did, for perhaps two minutes. Suddenly he became conscious that Washington was standing at the there l''r'T' if "t"°S^^r^"^ '' ^^ ^^^ awaifed hfm there, he abruptly broke off his conversation with Lafay- thunZ '■^" "P^^'-d- Washington looked as if about to thunder anathema upon the human race. He had been faTiJdfgnky^ dawn,- and his passions fairly flew at this I THE LITTLE LION 215 " Colonel Hamilton ! " he exclaimed, " You have kept me waiting at the head of the stairs these ten minutes. I must tell you, sir, you treat me with disrespect." Hamilton's eyes blazed and his head went back, but his quick brain leapt to the long-desired opportunity. He replied as calmly as if his heart were not thumping, " I am not conscious of it, sir, but since j i have thought it necessary to tell me so, we part." " Very well, sir ! " replied Washington, • if it be your choice ! " He turned his back and strode to his office. Hamilton went to his room with a light heart, feeling as if the pigeon-holes were marching out of his brain. The breach was Washington's ; he himself had answered with dignity, and could leave with a clear conscience. He had not kept Washington waiting above four min- utes, and he did not feel that an apology was necessary "Oh," he thought aloud, "I feel as if I had grown wings." He would return to his bride for a few weeks, then apply once more for a command. There was a knock, and Tilghman entered. The young men looked at each other in silence for a moment ; Tilgh- man with an almost comical anxiety, Hamilton with alert defiance. " Well ? " demanded Hamilton. " I come from the Chief — ambassador extraordinary. Look out of the window, or I shall not have courage to go on. He's put the devil to bed and is monstrous sorry this misunderstanding has occurred — " " Misunderstanding ? " snorted Hamilton. "You know my love of euphony, Hamilton. Pray let me finish. I'd rather be Laurens on my way to beg. What is a king to a lion.> But seriously, my dear, the Chief is desperately sorry this has occurred. He has deputed me to assure you of his great confidence in your abilities, integrity, and usefulness, and of his desire, in a candid conversation, to heal a difference which could not have happened but in a moment of passion. Do go and see him at once, and then we shall ail sleep in peace to-night." Bui Hamilton shook his head decidedly. " ifou know 3l6 THE CONQUEROR how tired I am of all this," he said, " and that I can be as useful and far more agreeably active in the field. If I consent to this interview, I am lost. I have never doubted the Chief's affection for me, but he is also the most astute of men, and knows my weakness. If, arguments having failed, he puts his arm about my shoulders and says, ' My boy, do not desert me,' I shall melt, and vow that neither bride nor glory could beckon me from him. So listen attentively, mon ami, and deliver my answer as follows : 1st. I have taken my resolve in a manner not to be re- voked. 2d. As a conversation could serve no other pur- pose than to produce explanations, mutually disagreeable, though I certainly will not refuse an interview if he desires it, yet I should be happy if he would permit me to decline it. 3d. That, though determined to leave the family, the same principles which have kept me so long in it will continue to direct my conduct toward him when out of it. 4th, That I do not wish to distress him or the public business by quitting him before he can derive other assistance by the return of some of the gentlemen who are absent. Sth. And that in the meantime it depends on him to let our behaviour to each other be the same as if nothing had happened." Tilghman heaved a deep sigh. " Then you really mean to go .? " he said. " Heartless wretch ! Have you no mercy on us } Headquarters will be a tomb, with Washington re- posing on top. Think of the long and solemn breakfas' ^ the funereal dinners, the brief but awful suppers. W?.,h- ington will never open his mouth again, and I never had the courage to speak first. If ever you deign to visit us, you will find that we have lost the power of speech. I re- peat that you have no heart in your body." Hamilton laughed. " If you did not know that I love you, you would not sit there and revile me. No family has ever been happier than ours. In four years there ha's not been a quarrel until to-day. I can assure you that my heart will ache when the time comes to leave you, but I really had got to the end of my tether. I have long felt as if I could not go on another day." THE LITTLE LION 217 " Tis grinding, monotonous work," admitted Tilghman, " and we've all wondered how you have stood it as long as thir — every bit of you was made for action. Well, I'll takj your message to the Chief." Washington consented to waive the explanation and sent Hamilton another message, thanking him for consenting to remain until Harrison and Meade returned. XI Little Mrs. Hamilton was delighted with the course affairs had taken, and pleaded for resignation from the army. But to this Hamilton would not hearken. Anxious as he was for the war to finish, that he might begin upon the foundations of home and fortune, he had no intention of deserting a cause to which he had pledged himself, and in which there still was a chance for him to achieve dis- tinction. So far, his ambitions were wholly military. If the profound thought he had given to the present and future needs of the Republic was not wholly impersonal ; if he took for granted that he had a part to play when the Revolution finished, it was little more than a dream at present. His very temperament was martial, the energy and impetuosity of his nature were in their element on the battlefield, and he would rather have been a great general than the elder Pitt. But although there is no reason to doubt that he would have bee ne a great general, had cir- cumstance favoured his pet ambition, yet Washington was a better judge of the usefulness of his several abilities than he was himself. Not only had that reader of men made up his mind that a brain like his favourite's should not be wasted on the battlefield, — left there, perhaps, while dolts escaped, for Hamilton had no appreciation of fear or dan- ger, — but he saw in him the future statesman, fertile, crea- tive, executive, commanding ; and he could have no better training than at a desk in his office. Phenomenally preco- cious, even mature, as Hamilton's brain had been when they met that morning on the Heights of Harlem, these four years had given it a structural growth which it would 3l8 'I i P a: THE CONQUEROR not have acquired in camp life, and to which few men of forty were entitled. Of this fact Hamilton was apprecia- tive, and he was too philosophical to harbour regrets ; but that period was over now, and he wanted to fight. On April 27th he wrote to Washington, asking for em- ployment during the approaching campaign, suggesting the command of a light corps, and modestly but decidedly stating his claims. Washington was greatly embarrassed. Every arbitrary appointment caused a ferment in the army, where jealousies were hotter than martial ardours. Washington was politic above all things, but to refuse Hamilton a request after their quarrel and parting was the last thing he wished to do. He felt that he had no choice, however, and wrote at once, elaborating his reasons for refusal, ending as follows:— ^ My principal concern rises from an apprehension that you will impute my refusal of your request to other motives than those I have expressed, but I beg you to be assured I am only influenced by the reasons I have mentioned. Hamilton knew him too well to misunderstand him, but he was deeply disappointed. He retired into the library behind the drawing-room of the Schuyler mansion, and wrote another and a more elaborate letter to Robert Morris. He began with a reiteration of the impotence of Congress, its loss of the confidence of this country and of Europe, the necessity for an executive ministry, and stated that the time Wci. past to indulge in hopes of foreign aid. The States must depend upon themselves, and their only hope lay in a National Bank. There had been some diffidence in his previous letter. There was none in this, and he had a greater mastery of the subject. In something like thirty pages of close writing, he lays down every law, extensive and minute, for the building of a National Bank, and not the most remarkable thing about this letter is the psy- chological knowledge it betrays of the American people. Having despatched it, he wrote again to Washington, demonstrating that his case was dissimilar from those the Chief had quoted. He disposed of each case in II THE LITTLE LION 219 turn, and his presentation of his own claims was equally unanswerable. Washington, who was too wise to enter into a controversy with Hamilton's pen, did not reply to the letter, but made up his mind to r^o what he could for him, although still determined there should be no disaffec- tion in the army of his making. Meanwhile Hamilton received letters from Lafayette, begging him to hasten South and share his exile ; from Washington, asking advice ; and from members of the fam- ily, reminding him of their affection and regret. Tilgh- man's is characteristic : — Headquarters, 27th April. My Dear Hamilton: Between me and thee there is a gulf, or I should not have been thus long without seeing you. My faith is strong, but not strong enough to attempt walking on the waters. You must not suppose from my dealing so much in Scripture phrase that I am either drunk with religion or with wine, thougli had I been inclined to the latter I might have found a jolly companion in my lord, who came here yesterday. We have not a word of news. ... I must go over and see you soon, for I am not yet weaned from you, nor do I desire to be. I will not present so cold words as compliments to Mrs. Hamilton. She has an equal share of the best wishes of Your most aflfectionate TiLGHMAN. The following was from Laurens : — I am indebted to you, my dear Hamilton, for two letters : the first from Albany, as masterly a piece of cynicism as ever was penned ; the other from Philadelphia, dated the second March ; in both you mention a design of retiring, which makes me extremely unhappy. I would not wish to have you for a moment withdraw from the public service ; at the same time my friendship for you, and knowledge of your value to the United States, makes me most ardently desire that you should fill only the first offices of the Republic. I was flattered with an account of your being elected a delegate from New York, and am much mortified not to hear it confirmed by yourself. I must confess to you that at the present stage of the war, I should prefer your going into Congress, and from thence becoming a minister plenipotentiary for peace, to your remaining in the army, where the dull system of seniority, and the tab- leau, would prevent you from having the important commands to which you are entitled ; but, at any rate, I will not have you renounce your rank unless you entered the career above mentioned. Your private affairs cannot require such immediate and cloS)e attention. You speak like a paterfamilias surrounded with a numerous progeny. aao I THE CONQUEROR li frnm R^ f Si "^- ^^""^ ^^ ^'^^ ^" appreciative letter from Robert Morns, thanking him for his suggestions and assuring h.m of their acceptability. He promises a bank on Hamilton s plan, although with far less capital; still It may afterward be increased to any extent The northern land was full of amenities, the" river gay with pleasure barges. The French gardens about The hchuyler mansion were romantic for saunterings with the loveliest of brides ; the seats beneath the great trees com^ manded the wild heights opposite. Forty of the finest horses in the country were in General Schuyler's stables and many carriages. There was a constant stream of dh- tmguished guests. But Hamilton, who could dally pleas- urably for a short time, had no real affinity for any hing but work There being no immediate prospect of figiting^ nanerfr'.ll Tn 'r '^' "^'"f ^ '-^"^ '^^San that series f papers called rhc Contincntalist, which wer.. read as atten- tive y as if peace had come. They examined the defects of the existing league of states, their jealousies, which operated against the formation of a Fediral government then proceeded to enumerate the powers with which such a government should lie clothed. Hamilton did not wait with any particular grace, but even the desired command came to him after a reasonable perioS nan edTir:; tST"'"- ^' Washington's request he accom Mf t ^r ^l^^r,^"'' *° ^°"^^^ ^^ith Rochambeau. Al- though the Chief did not allude to Hamilton's last letter their intercourse on this journey was as natural and inti- mate as ever; and Washington did not conceal his pleasu e m the society of this the most captivating and endearing of his manv voune friends. After the conference was over mfnTn t°"f '■"^"["^^J« Albany for a brief visit, then deter^ mmed to force VVashington to show his hand. He joined the Sm.?T ^T^:^^"^ «-"t ^he Chief his coZSion th^ t^?- 'l''^ '''m '^'^^P'-^ss haste, and the assurance that the General would endeavoM- to give him a command nearly such as he could desire ., .ne present circumstance of the army. Hamilton had accomplished his object He . ...1— . ...„ .^.w.wiooiuii aau quartered with General Lincoln. THE LITTLE LION 231 When Washington arrived at Dobbs Ferry and went into temporary quarters, he gave a large dinner to the French officers, and invited Hamilton to preside. His gractful manners and witty speeches provoi I look to you as your Islanders flee to^a tone house in a hurricane. You are an alien, with no damned state roots to pull up, your courage is unhu : aan or un- Ameri can and you are the one man of genius ., the country Madison IS ueroic to a fault, a roaring Rerserker, but we wni h .T5^f ?' r '""s^te^^Pe'- him; and meanwhile we will both defer to the peculiar qualitv of vour mettle " Madison, who had not a grain of hu.nou'r, replied gravely hs nch southern brogue seeming to roll his words doJn from a height : " I have a modest hope in the address pre pared for the citizens of Rhode Island, more in H tmi to^'s really magnificent letter to th^ Go"— .or ^r^.,. _". ^ more forcible - nay, beguiling -than his argum 'A in" that THE LITTLI LION '35 letter in favour oi a general f,'overr. mcnt inci ()endent of state machinery, and Iv elaborau- appeal to that irritating little commonwealth to >nsent lo the levying oi the impost by C .tigress, ij -cess try to the :iisin • 'i the ni >neyjs. I fear ! am not a hero, lor I conless t i ^le. I fear the worst. But at all events T am di rermi; .d lo plac- on re. ord that I left no stone unturned t ■ save this miserable co ntry." "You will g») dov n to j >sterity sn i^rcai man 'adison it you are never pWen the rhnncf to he one " -^eplieu the umou ^ we ad c linasit ,)lay t; lid H.i ..ill. father of Amirican words bi.t in .k(:f despair waste my tim I f( ■• t to listen ' > us, ut I s all t. th 'ha on 'is not in ihat is not in mat! ■c th else at R .r ngres' dly th. i bui wver. ap. its lief des . I of thj Copfederati in and vo ute to the leral easury ii means, by . .syslv i ul ^^enc' tinental aurhorit If the land and iunbeic, co'dc taxed spec'fic.Jly on la ■" m i. n ole ri .oul; lot have con e to lue Island is too fossi iized at we change the principle nake the States contrib- an equal proportion to their taxation imposed under con- orer States, irrespective of eli' ved, and the wealthier jt!u ho js, the whole regulated by atinental legislati= I think hat even Rhode"lsland mi, It be placated. It n ..y be that this is not agreeable to t.c -n ir of tiie times, r.ut I shall make the attempt — " "(' isidering t re is • . spirit /« the times, we might as c. ir. r,-n its skull with genius by means of a vanu i >u think too well of human n-'ture, my ;pL'rt n 'hing. ' hat } j be not disappointeti, .specially ! r .1 reve e." .i\ 10 exaite. >' m of human nature, but if I did not I mk more i fully of it than you do, I should yield up that enthusiasm without which I can accomplish nothin; You have every gift, but you will end as a dilet- tante 1) ause your ideal is always in the mud; and it is wt boy in the "I 236 THE CONQUEROR 1^ only now and again that you think it worth while to pick it up and give it a bath." " Right, right," murmured Morris, good-naturedly. " Would that I had your unquenchable belief in the worth while. Allied to your abilities it will make the new world over and upset the wicked plans of the old. Analyst and disbeliever in man's right to his exaggerated opinion of him- self, how do you keep enthusiasm abreast with knowledge of human kind ? Tell me, Hamilton, how do you do it.' " " I fear 'tis the essence of which I am made. My en- ergies will have outlet or tear me to pieces. When there is work to do, my nostrils quiver like a war-horse's at the first roar and smoke — " " Your modesty does you infinite honour ; the truth is, you have the holy fire of patriotism in an abnormal degree. I have it, but I still am normal. I have made sacrifices and shall make more, but my ego curls its lip. Yours never does. That is the difference between you and most of us. Hundreds of us are doggedly determined to go through to the bitter end, sacrifice money, youth and health ; but you alone are happy. That is why we love you and are glad to follow your lead. But, I repeat, how can you labour with such undying enthusiasm for the good of hu- man kind when you know what they amount to ? " " Some are worth working for, that is one point ; I don't share your opinion of general abasement, for the facts war- rant no such opinion. And the battle of ideas, the fight for certain stirring and race-making principles, — that is the greatest game that mortals can play. And to play it, we must have mortals for puppets. To create a new govern- ment, a new race, to found what may become the greatest nation on the earth, — what more stupendous destiny.' Even if one were forgotten, it would be worth doing, so tremendous would be the exercise of the faculties, so colos- sal the difficulties. I would have a few men do it all ; I have no faith in the uneducated. The little brain, half opened by a village schoolmaster, is pestilential; but in the few with sufficient power over the many. — from whom will be evolved more and more to rank with the first THE LITTLE LION 237 few, — in those I have faith, and am proud to work with them." "Good. I'd not have a monarchy, but I'd have the next thing to it, with a muzzle on the rabble. Perhaps I, too, have faith in a few, — in yourself and George Washing- ton ; and in Madison, our own Gibraltar. But the pig- headed, selfish, swinish — well, g on with your present plans. 'Tis to hear those we met to-night, not to analyze each other. Tell us all, that we may not only hope, but work with you." "The army first. If retirement on half pay is impos- sible, then full pay for, say six years, — and the arrears, — paid upon the disbanding of the army. Washington, by the exercise of the greatest moral force, but one, that has appeared in this world, has averted a civil war — I am per- suaded that horror is averted, and I assume that the coun- try does not care eternally to disgrace itself by letting its deliverers, who have suffered ;>11 that an army can suf- fer, return to their ruined homes without the few dollars necessary for another start in life. I have resigned my claim to arrears of pay, that my argument may not be weakened. Then a peace establishment. Fancy leaving our frontiers to the mercy of state militia! I shall urge that the general government have exclusive power over the sword, to establish certain corps of infantry, artillery, cavalry, dra- goons, and engineers, a general system of land fortifica- tions, establishment of arsenals and magazines, erection of founderies and manufactories for arms of ports and mari- time fortifications — with many detail,, with which I will not bore you. I shall urge the necessity of strengthening the Federal government through the influence of officers deriving their appointment directly from Congress — always, always, the necessity of strengthening the central govern- ment, of centralizing power, and of putting the States where they belong. It is federation or anarchy. Then — moder- ate funds permanently pledged for the security of lenders. I have preached that since I have dared to preach at all, and that is the only solution of our present distress, for we'll never get another foreign loan — " 238 THE CONQUEROR " We've accepted your wisdom, but we can't apply it," interposed Morris. " Our only hope lies in your national government — but go on." "A moment," said Madison. "This, in regard to the peace establishment: Do we apply a war congress to a state of peace, I fear we shall too clearly define its limits. The States may refuse obedience, and then the poor in- valided body will fall into greater disrepute than ever." " I have thought of that," replied Hamilton, "and if the worst comes to the worst, I have a radical plan to propose, — that Congress publish frankly its imperfections to the country — imperfections which make it impossible to con- duct the public affairs with honour to itself or advantage to the United States ; that it ask the States to appoint a convention, with full powers to revise the Confederation, and to adopt and propose all necessary alterations all to be approved or rejected, in the last instance, by the legis- latures of the several States. That would be the first step toward a national government. With that, all things would be possible, — the payment of oi : foreign loan, of our army, duties on foreign goods, which is a source of revenue to which they are incredibly blind ; the establishment of a firm government, under which all will prosper that are willing to work, of a National Bank, of a peace army — " " Of Utopia ! " exclaimed Morris. " Hamilton, you are the least visionary man in this country, but you are God knows how many years ahead of your times. If we are ever on two legs again, you will put us there ; but your golden locks will thin in the process, and that rosy boyish face we love will be lined with the seams of the true statesman. Only you could contemplate imbuing these fossilized and commonplace intellects, composing our Con- gress of the Confederation — mark the ring of it! — with a belief in its own impotency and worth lessness. You are not mortal. I always said it. When Duane gave me your letter to read, I remarked : ' He withdrew to heaven, and wrote that letter on the knee of the Almighty ; never on earth could he have found the courage and the optimism.' No, Hamilton, I would embrace you, did my wooden leg THE LHTLE LION 239 permit me to escape your wrath, but I can give you no encouragement. You will fail here — gloriously, but you will fail. Mark my words, the army will go home cursing, and scratch the ground to feed its women. The States will have no peace establishment to threaten their sover- eign rights, we will pay nobody, and become more and more poverty-stricken and contemptible in our own eyes, and in the eyes of Europe ; we will do nothing that is wise and everything that is foolish — " " And then, when the country is sick unto death," inter- rupted Hamilton, " it will awake to the wisdom of the dras- tic remedy and cohere into a nation." "Query," said Madison, "would it not be patriotic to push things from bad to worse as quickly as possible ? It might be a case of justifiable Jesuitism." " And it might lead to anarchy and the jaws ot Europe," said Hamilton. " It is never safe to go beyond a certain point in the management of human affairs. What turn the passions of the people may take can never be foretold, nor that element of the unknown, which is always under the invisible cap and close on one's neels. God knows I have not much patience in n^\ nature, and I do not believe that most of my schemes are :o far in advance of even this country's development ; but certain lessons must be instilled by slow persistence. I have no faith in rushing people at the point of the bayonet in times of peace." " I think you are right there," said Morris. " But mark my words, you'll propagate ideas here, and the result in time will be the birth of a nation — no doubt of that ; but you must rest content to live on hope for the present. I was a fettered limb in this body too long. I know its inertia." He knew whereof he spoke. Hamilton won little but additional reputation, much admiration, half resentful, and many enemies. The '^^~>v went home urpaid; the peace establishment consist "J eighty men; little or nothing was done to relieve ; o ational debt or to carry on the business of governmeu. Even his proposition to admit the public to the galleries of Congress, in the hope of in- 240 THE CONQUEROR teresting it in go-ernmental affairs, only drew upon him the sneer that ho Cduld go out on the balcony and make his speeches if he feared his eloquence was wasted. He was accused of writing the Newburg address inciting the officers to civil war, because it was particularly well written, and of hurrying Congress to Trenton, when threatened by a mutinous regiment. But he worked on undaunted, leav- ing his indelible mark ; for he taught the States that their future prosperity and happiness lay in giving up to the Union some part of the imposts that might be levied on foreign commodities, and incidentally the idea of a double government ; he proposed a definite system of funding the debts on continental securities, which gradually rooted in the common sense of the American people, and he in- veighed with a bitter incisiveness, which was tempered by neither humour nor gaiety, agahisr the traitorous faction in the pay of France. He dissuaded Robert Morris from resigning, and introduced a resolution in eulogy of Wash- ington's management of his officers in the most critical hour of the Union's history. But his immediate accom- plishment was small and discouraging, although his fore- sight may have anticipated what George Ticknor Curtis wrote many years later: — The ideas of a statesman like Hamilton, earnestly bent on tiie dis- covery and inculcation of truth, do not pass awav. Wiser than those by whom he was surrounded, with a deeper knowledge of the science of government than most of them, and constantly enunciating principles which extended far beyond the temporizing policy of the hour, the smiles of his opponents only prove to posterity how far he was in advance of them. The following extract from a letter of James M'Henry, Lafayette's former aide, and a member of the Congress, is interesting as a commentary on the difficulties of our hero's position while a member of that body. Dear Hamilton : The homilies you delivered in Congress are still remembered with pleasure. The impressions they made are in favour of your integrity ; and no one but believes you a man of honour and of republican principles. Were you ten years older and twenty thousand pounds richer, there is no doubt but that you might obtain the suffrages THE LITTLE LION 241 of Congress for the highest office in their gift. You are supposed to possess various knowledge, useful, substantial, and ornamental. Your very grave and your cautious, your men who measure others by the stand- ard of their own creeping politics, think you sometimes intemperate, but seldom visonary : and that were you to pursue your object with as much cold perseverance as you do with ardour and argument, you would become irresistible. In a word, if you could submit to spend a whole life in dis- secting a fly you would be, in their opinion, one of the greatest men in the world. Bold designs ; measures calculated for their rapid execution : a wisdom that would convince from its own weight : a project that would surprise the people into greater happiness, without giving them an oppor- tunity to view it and reject it, are not adapted to a council composed of discordant elements, or a people who have thirteen heads, each of which pay superstitious adorations to inferior divinities. Adieu, my dear friend, and in the days of your happiness drop a line to your M" Henry. At the end of 1783 Hamilton was convinced that he was of no further immediate use to the country, and refused a reelection to the Congress, despite entreaty and expostu- lation, returning to the happiness of his domestic life and to his neglected law-books. The British having evacuated New York, he moved his family there and entered imme- diately upon the practice of his profession. BOOK IV "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" INCLUDING THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES It was the autumn of 1786. New York had risen from her charred and battered ruins. There were cows on her meadows, a lake with wooded shores as merely traditional, groves, gardens, orchards, fields, and swamps; but her business houses and public buildings were ambitious once more, her spires more lofty and enduring, her new dwelling- houses, whether somewcat crowded in Wall Street and Broadway, or on the terraces of less busy streets, or along the river fronts and facing a wild and lovely prospect, were square, substantial, and usually very large. And every street was an avenue of ancient trees. Mrs. John Jay, with her experience of foreign courts, her great beauty, and the prestige of her distinguished husband, was the leader of society, holding weekly receptions, and the first to receive the many distinguished strangers. Although society was not quite as gay as it became three years later, under a more settled government and hopeful outlook, still there was quiet entertaining by the Hamiltons, who lived at 58 Wall Street, the Duers, Watts, Livingstons, Clintons, Duanes, Jays, Roosevelts, Van Cortlandts, and other rep- resentatives of old New Yc.rk families, now returned to their own. Congress was come to New York and estab- lished in the City Hall in Wall Street. It had given the final impetus to the city, struggling under the burden of rums and debt left by the British ; and society sauntered . -th every afternoon in all the glory of velvet and ruflfles, 1 ree-cornered hats recklessly laced, brocades, hoopskirts, and Rohan hats, to promenade past the building where the moribund body was holding its last .sessions. The drive was down the Broadway into the shades of the Battery, with the magnificent prospect of bay and wooded shores 245 946 THE CONQUEROR beyond. Politics, always epidemic among men and women alike, had recently been animated by Hamilton's coup at Annapolis, and the prospect of a general convention of the States to consider the reorganization of a government which had reduced the Confederation to a condition fear- fully close to anarchy, the country to ruin, and brought upon the thirteen sovereign independent impotent and warring States the contempt of Europe and the threat of its greed. A group of men, standing on a corner of Wall Street and the Broadway, were laughing heartily : a watch was drag- ging off to jail two citizens who had fallen upon each other with the venom of political antithesis ; the one, a Nationalist, having called Heaven to witness that Hamilton was a demi-god, begotten to save the wretched country, the other vociferating that Hamilton was the devil who would trick the country into a monarchy, create a vast standing army, which would proclaim him king and stand upon the heads of a people that had fought and died for freedom, while the tyrant exercised his abominable functions. The men in the group were Governor Clinton, Hamil- ton's bitterest opponent, but sufficiently amused at the incident; William Livingston, Governor of New Jersey, now with but a few hairs on the top of his head and a few at the base, his nose more penetrating, his eye more dis- approving, than ever ; James Duane, Mayor of New York ; John Jay, the most faultless character in the Confedera- tion, honoured and unloved, his cold eyes ever burning with an exalted fire ; and John Marshall of Virginia, munching an apple, his attire in shabby contrast to the fashionable New Yorkers, the black mane on his splendid head unpowdered and tossing in the ocean breeze. "I like your Hamilton," he announced, "and I've come to the conclusion that I think with him on all matters. He's done more to educate the people up to a rational form of government during the last seven years than all the rest of us put together. He's shone upon them like a fixed star Other comets have come and gone, whirling them forward to destruction, but they have always been ^S"^ "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 247 forced to turn and look at him again and again, and he has always shone in the same place." " Sir," exclaimed Clinton, who was flushed with rage, " arc you aware that I am present, and that I entirely dis- approve of Mr. Hamilton's attempt to reduce the States to a condition of ignominious subserviency to an ambitious and tyrannical central power ? " " I had heard of you, sir," replied Marshall, meekly, " and I am glad to have the opportunity to ask you what j'oitr remedy is for the existing state of things ? You will admit that there must be a remedy, and quickly. If not a common government with a Constitution empowering it to regulate trade, imposts, reduce the debt, enter into treaties with foreign powers which will not be sneered at, adminis- ter upon a thousand details which I will not enumerate, and raise the country from its slough of contempt, then what .•' As the personage who has taken the most decided stand against the enlightened and patriotic efforts of Mr. Hamilton, I appeal to you for a counter suggestion as magnificent as his. I am prepared, sir, to listen with all humility." Clinton, whose selfish fear of his own downfall with that of State supremacy was so well known that a smile wrinkled across the polite group of gentlemen surrounding him, deep- ened his colour to purple under this assault, and stam- mered : " Sir, have I not myself proposed an enlargement of the powers of Congress, in order tu counteract the damnable policy of Britain? Did not your Hamilton harangue that crowd I sanctioned till he got nearly all he asked for } " " But he knew better than to ask for too much, in the conditions," replied Marshall, suavely. May I suggest that you have not answered my humble and earnest questions?" " I answer no questions that I hold to be impertinent and unimportant ! " said Clinton, pompously, and with a dignified attempt to recover his poise. He swept his hat from his head ; the New Yorkers were as punctilious ; Mar- shall lifted his battered lid from the wild mass beneath, 348 THE CONQUEROR and the popular Governor sauntered down the street, saluted deferentially by Nationalists and followers alike. When he had occasion to sweep his gorgeous hat to his knees, the ladies courtesied to the ground, their d: peries taking up the entire pavement, and His Excellciicy was obliged to encounter the carria^jcs in the street. "If Clin on were sure of figuring as powerfully in a national government as he does in the state of New York, he would withdraw his opposition," said Livingston, con- temptuously. "He has been Governor for nine years. New York is his throne. He is a king among the com- mon people, who will elect him indefinitely. Were it not for Hamilton, he would be New York, and the awful pos- sibilities lying hidden in the kernel of change haunt his dreams at night. You embarrassed him in a manner that rejoiced my heart, Mr. Marshall. I beg you will do me the honour to dine with me to-night. I beg to assure you that your fame is as known to me as were I a Vir- ginian." " I'll accept the invitation with pleasure," replied Mar- shall, whose manners were all that his attire was not. " I shall be glad to talk with you on many subjects. To-mor- row I shall paj' my respects to Mr. Hamilton. His has been a trying but not a thankless task. He has addressed himself to the right class of men all over the country, win- ning them to his sound and enlightened views, giving them courage, consolidating them against the self-interested advocates of State sovereignty. That he has so often neglected a legal practice which must bring him a large income, as well as sufficient personal glory, out of a sincere pity for and patriotic interest in this afflicted country, gives New York deep cause for congratulation that she was in such close communication with that Island of his youth. I wish that fate had steered him to Virginia." " Surely you have enough as it is," said Duane, laugh- ing: "Washington, yourself, Patrick Henry, Jefferson, Madison, Randolph. Spare us Hamilton. We shall need him badly enough. The Clinton faction is very strong. That the Hamilton embraces the best spirits of the com- l« S»Si| "ALEXANi)ER THE GREAT" 449 munity means that it is in the minority, and needs the unremitting exercise of his genius to counteract the disad- vantage in numbers." "I think that what I admire most in Hamilton," re- marked a newcomer, i small dark man of vivid personal- ity, "arc his methods of manipulation. He picks out his own men, Duer, Troup, Malcolm, has them sent to the legi.«lature, where they blindly and indefatigably obey his behest and gain the consent of that body to the conven- tion at Annapolis, then see that he is elected as principal delegate. He goes to Annapoli. ostensibly to attend a commercial convention : while its insufficient numbers are drowsing, he springs upon them an eloquent proposal for a national convention for reforming the Union, and forces it through before they know what they are about. Cer- tainly Mr. Hamilton is a mm of genius." " Do I understand. Mr. Burr," said Jay, from his glacial height, "that you arc impugning the purity of Mr. Hamil- ton's motives } " " No, sir," replied Burr, whom an archangel could not have rebuked. " In the present condition of things all methods are justifiable. Hamilt is great hvX adaptable. I respect him for that qu.tiity above all others, tor h is nc 1** "1 Lis diott, fall i do your uixber.' On b. persuade quite the most . nperious character ii natural instinct i> to come out and sa} into line behind me and stop twaddling . thinking ; be kind enough not to deiaj' the other hand, he is forced to be diplor. where hi. would command, to move slowly instead of charg- ing at the point of the bayonet. So, although I have no sympathy with his pronounced monarchical inclinations, I respect his acquired methods of getting what he ^ ants." " What do you mean by pronounced monan ' ;cal incli- nations.'" snorted Governor Livingston, who could not endure Burr. Burr gave his peculiar sardonic laugh. " Will you deny it, sir.?" " Deny it.? I certainly am in Mr. Hamilton's conficit:u:»' to no such extent, and I chJlenge you to indicate one se; 250 THE CONQUEROR tence in his published writings which points to such a conclusion." " Ah, he is too clever for that ; but his very walk, his whole personality expresses it, to say nothing of the fact that he never thinks of denying his admiration of the British Constitution. And did he not defend the Tories after the evacuation, when no other lawyer would touch them.? I admired his courage, but it was sufficient evi- dence of the catholicity of his sentiments." " Mr. Hamilton defended the abstract principle of right against wrong in defending the wretched Tories against the persecutions of an unmagnanimous public sentiment," said Jay, witheringly. " I should advise you, young gen- tleman, to become a disciple of Mr. Hamilton. I can recommend no course which would prove so beneficial." And he turned on his heel. He had hit Burr. The jealousy born in Albany had thriven with much sustenance since. Hamilton was by far the most prominent figure at the New York bar, and was hastening to its leadership. Burr was conspicuous for legal ability, but never would be first while Hamilton was m the race. Moreover, although Hamilton had not then reached that dizzy height from which a few years later he looked down upon a gaping world, he was the leader of a growing and important party, intelligently fol- lowed and worshipped by the most eminent men in the Confederation, many of them old enough to be his father ; and he was the theme of every drawing-room, of every coffee-house group and conclave. His constant pamphlets on the subject nearest to all men's hearts, his eloquent speeches on the same theme upon every possible occasion, and the extraordinary brilliance of his legal victories gave people no time to think of other men. When he entered a drawing-room general conversation ceased, and the com- pany revolved about him so long as he remained. When he spoke, all the world went to hear. For an ambitious young man to be told to attach himself to the train of this conquering hero was more than poor Burr could stand, and he replied angrily : — "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 251 "I have the privilege of being true to my own convic- tions, I suppose. They are not Mr. Hamilton's and never will be. I do not impugn the purity of his motives, but I have no desire to see George Washington king, nor Hamil- ton, neither. I wish you good day, sirs," and he strode up Broadway to the Fields with dignity in every inch of him. " This constant talk of Hamilton's monarchical principles makes my gorge rise," said Livingston. " Did he not fight as hard as he was permitted, to drive monarchy out of the country .? Was he not the first to sound the call to arms } " " Hamilton's exact attitude on that question is not clearly understood," replied Duane, soothingly, for the heat of Livingston's republicanism had never abated. "I fancy it is something like this : So far no constitution has worked so well as the British. Montesquieu knew whereof he praised. The number of men in this country equal to the great problem of self-government are in a pitiful minority. The anarchic conditions of the States, the dis- grace which they have brought upon us, their inefficiencv to cope with any problem, the contemptible depths of human nature which they have revealed to the thinking members of the community — all these causes inspire Hamilton, incomparably the gieatest brain in the country, with a dread of leaving any power whatever in their hands. He believes firmly in the few of tried brain and patriotism. I very much doubt if he has considered the subject of actual monarchy for a moment, for he is no dreamer, and he knows that even his followers have been Republicans too long. But that he will fight for the strongest sort of national government, with the least possible power vested in the States — oh, no doubt of that." " Our people are hopeless, I fear," said Livingston, with a sigh. " This period of independency seems to have de- moralized them when it should have brought out their best elements. Well, Mr. Marshall, what say you } You have been modestly silent, and we have been rudely voluble when so distinguished a guest should have had all the floor." 252 THE CONQUEROR A':. " I have been deeply entertained," replied Marshall, with a grin. " My visit to New York is by no means wasted, I envy Mr. Hamilton ; but let him look out for Mr. Burr. There are just five feet seven inches of jealous hate in that well-balanced exterior, and its methods would be sinuous, I fancy, but no less deadly. But Hamilton has had many escapes. What was that atrocious story I heard of a duel- ling cabal ? When the rolling stone of gossip reaches Vir- ginia from New York, it has gathered more moss than you would think." " It would be difficult to exaggerate that story," snorted Livingston. " Hamilton defended his course in regard to the Tories in two pamphlets, signed ' Phocion.' They were answered by a Mr. Ledyard, who signed himself ' Mentor,' and was a conspicuous advocate of the damna- ble spirit of revenge possessing this country. It is a bold man indeed who enters into a conflict of the pen with Hamilton, and ' Mentor ' was left without a leg to stand on. Forthwith, a club of Ledyard's friends and sympa- thizers, enraged by defeat, and fearing the growing ascen- dency of Hamilton over men's minds, deliberately agreed to challenge him in turn until he was silenced forever. This atrocious project would undoubtedly have been car- ried out, had not Ledyard himself repudiated it with horror. Can you show me a greater instance of the depravity of human nature, sir ? " " We are in a ferment of bitter passions," said Marshall, sadly, " and I fear they will be worse before they are better. I only hope that Hamilton will not be swept into their cur- rent, for upon his keeping his balance depends the future greatness of this country. I am at your service, sir, for I will confess my two legs are tired." IX As the three men turned into Broadway they saluted a man who was entering Wall Street. It was Hamil- ton, hastening home to. his family after the day's work. He had lost his boyish slenderncss ; his figure V ad broad- ■■l ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 253 ened and filled out sufficiently to add to his presence while destroying nothing of its symmetry or agile grace, and it was dressed with the same care. His face was as gay and animated as ever, responded with the old mobility to every passing thought, but its lines and con- tours showed the hard work and severe thought of the last four years. When he was taking a brief holiday with his friends, or tumbling about the floor with his little brood, he felt as much a boy as ever, but no one appreciated more fully than Iw? the terrible rCvSponsibility of his position in the Confederation. His abilities, combined with his patriot- ism, had forced him to the head of the Nationalist Party, for whose existence he was in greatest measure responsi- ble ; and he hardly dared to think of his personal ambitions, nor could he hesitate to neglect his lucrative practice when- ever the crying needs of the country demanded it. He had also given much time to the creating and organization of the Bank of New York. But Burr was not far wrong when he accu.sed him of impatience. His bearing was more imperious, his eye flashed more intolerantly, tjian ever. To impute to him monarchical ambitions was but the fling of a smarting jealousy, but it is quite true that he felt he knew what was best for the country, and would have iiked to regulate its affairs without further hindrance. His house, beyond the dip of Wall Street and within sight of the bay, was of red brick, and as unbeautif ul archi- tecturally as other New York houses which had risen at ran- dom from the ruins. But within, it was very charming. The long drawing-room was furnished with mahogany, and rose- coloured brocade, with spindle-legged tables and many bibe.- lots sent by Angelica Church, now living in London The library was filling with valuable books, and the panelled whiteness of the dining room glittered with silver and glass, which in quantity or value was not exceeded m the home of any young couple in America ; the world had outdone itself at the most interesting wedding of the Revolution. Betsey's sitting room was behind the drawing-room, and there Hamilton found her counting the moments until his return. She had lost nothing of her siimness, and except «54 THE CONQUEROR on dress occasions wore her mass of soft black hair twisted in a lou j " But I am told that she comes of a respectable Rhode Island family named Bowen," observed General Schuyler, who was not romantic. " That she was wayward and ran off with Colonel Croix, of whose other wife there is no proof, but that none of these fancy stories are true.' ^^ "Then wherein lies her claim to the name of Capet i' demanded Morris. " 'Twould be nothing remarkable were she a daughter of Louis V., and I'm told she signs her name Eliza Capet Croix." " I don't know," said Schuyler, meekly. " Tis easy enough to assume a name, if you have it not. I am told that Lady Sterling is assured of her respectability. She certainly shines upon us like a star at this moment. I did not know that women had such hair." " Is this what we came here to discuss ? " asked a voice, dropped to the register of profound contempt. They turned about with a laugh and faced Madison's ascetic countenance, pale with disgust. "We have the most im- portant work to do for which men ever met together, and we stand at the window and talk scandal about a silly woman and her hair." %Jt "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" •6 1 " You did not, my dear James." said Morris, light y ; •'and thereby you have missed the truly divine stimulus for the day's work. Don't you realize, my friend, that no mattei how hard a man may labour, some woman is always 1 the background of his mind ? She is the one reward of ""'"'Tknow nothing of the sort." replied Madison, con- temptuouslv. " I can flatter myself that I at least ani independent of what appears to men like you to be the only motive for living." "Right, my boy. but great as you are, you don t know what vou might have been." The door opened, and Hamilton entered the room his hands full of papers, his face as gay and eager as if he were about to read to his audience a poem or a lively tale. Perhaps one secret of his ascendency over those who knew him best was that he never appeared to take himsel seriously, even when his whole being radiated power and imperious determination. When he descended to the depths of seriousness and his individuality was most over- whelming, his unsleeping sense of humour saved him from a hint of the demagogue. . . "While my wife was finishing. I heard you gossiping from the window above," he said, "but I had by far the best view. The lilac bushes — " " Do vou know her > " asked Morris, eagerly. " Alas I do not. It is incalculable months since I have had time to look so long at a woman. What is the matter. Madison ? " . , , ,. .v ^ " I am nauseated. I had thought that you — Here even General Schuyler laughed, and Hamilton ^^si't dritnUTg'n to talk, but was quickly on his feet and shaking his papers over the table. To him, also, the council table was the most famihar article of furniture in his world, but he was usually addressmg those it stood for. and he was too ardent a speaker, even when without the incentive of debate to keep to his chain " I know what you are wondering, he said. wo. it is MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 I.I 1.25 2.8 3.2 1^ I. I 1^ 1.4 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 ^ .APPLIED ItVMGE Inc ^^ 1653 East Mam Street ^.S Roctiester. Ne« rork 14609 USA .as (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone ^= (716) 288 - 5989 - Fox 362 THE CONQUEROR not the British Constitution. What I have done so dis- tempered as to impress people with the belief that I am blind to the spirit of this country, I am at a loss to conjecture 1 he British Constitution is the best form which the world has yet produced ; in the words of Necker, it is the only government 'which unites public strength with individual security Nevertheless, no one is more fully convinced than I that none but a republican government can be attempted in this country, or would be adapted to our situation Therefore, I propose to look to the British Con- stitution for nothing but those elements of stability and permanency which a republican system requires, and which may he incorporated into it without changing its character istic principles. There never has been, and there never will be, anything m my acts or principles inconsistent with the spint of republican liberty. Whatever my private pre- dilections. It would be impossible for me, understanding the people of this country as I do, to fail to recognize the authority of that people as the source of all political power Therefore you will find many departures from the British Constitution in the rough draft I am about to read. I have neither the patience nor the temper to dogmatize upon abstract theories of liberty, and our success will lie in adapting to our particular needs such principles of gov- ernment as have been tried and not found wz^nting, our failure in visionary experiments. The best and wisest effort we can make will be a sufficient experiment, for whose result we must all *remble. "It is going to be difficult to persuade this Convention to unite upon any constitution very much stronger than the one Dr. Franklin will propose, or to accomplish its ratification afterward. Nevertheless, I have prepared a draft of the strongest constitution short of monarchy which It IS possible to conceive, and which I shall propose to the Convention for reasons I will explain after I have read it to you. Do you care to listen > " "Hurry up!" exclaimed Morris. The audience leaned forward. Madison shook his head all through the read- ing ; Morris jerked his with emphatic approval "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 263 The radical points in which Hamilton's constitution dif- fered from that under which we live, was in the demand for a President, to be elected by property holders, and who should hold office during good behaviour; senators pos- sessing certain property qualifications and elected on the same principle; and governors of States appointed and removable by the President. Practically the author of the dual government, he believed emphatically in subserving the lesser to the greater, although endowing the States with sufficient power for self-protection. The Executive was to be held personally responsible for official miscon- duct, both he and the senators subject to impeachment and to removal from office. The whole scheme was wrought out with the mathematical complexity and precision char- acteristic of Hamilton's mind. " Would that it were possible," exclaimed Morris, when Hamilton had finished. " But as well expect the Almighty to drive the quill. You will weaken your influence, Hamilton, and to no efifect." " Ah, but I have calculated upon two distinct points, and I believe I shall achieve them. I have not the most dis- tant hope that this paper will be acceptable to five men in the Convention, — three, perhaps, would round the number, — Washington, yourself, myself. Nevertheless, I shall introduce it and speak in its favour with all the passion of which I am master, for these reasons : I believe in it ; its energy is bound to give a tone that might be lacking otherwise ; and — this is the principal point — there must be something to work back from. If I alarm with the mere chance of so perilous a menace to their democratic ideals, they will go to work in earnest at something in order to defeat me, and they will not go back so far in the line of vigour as if I had suggested a more moderate plan ; for, mark my words, they would infallibly incline to weaker measures than any firm government which should first be proposed. In the management of men one of the most important things to bear in mind is their proneness to work forward from the weak, and backward from the strong. On the quality of the strength depends its magnetism over 364 THE CONQUEROR i I the weak. All reformers are ridiculed or outlawed, and their measures are never wholly successful ; but they awaken mer . minds to something of approximate worth, and to a c jsire for a divorce from the old order of things. So while I expect to be called a monarchist, I hope to instil subtly the idea of the absolute necessity of a strong gov- ernment, and implant in their minds a distrust of one too weak." "Good," said Morris. "And it is always a delight to see your revelation of yourself in a new light. I perceive that to your other accomplishments you add the cunning of the fox." ^ " You are right to call it an accomplishment," retorted Hamilton. " We cannot go through life successfully with the bare gifts of the Almighty, generous though He may have been. If I find that I have need of cunning, or bru- tality,— than which nothing is farther from my nature,— or even nagging, I do not hesitate to borrow and use them." " Let us call this sagacity," said Troup. " Tis a prettier word. Or the canniness of the Scot. But there is one thing I fear," he added anxiously. " You may injure your chances of future preferment. Your ambition will be thought too vaulting, particularly for so young a man, and, besides, you may be thought a menace to the common- wealth." " That is a point to be considered, Hamilton," said General Schuyler. " I have an end to gain, sir, and I mean to gain it. Moreover, this is no time to be considering private inter- ests. If this be not the day for patriotism to stifle every personal ambition, then there is little hope for human nature. I believe the result of this paper will be a constitution of respectable strength, and I shall use all the influence I wield to make the people accept it. So, if you worry, consider if the later effort will not outweigh the first." '• Hamilton," said Madison, solemnly, "you are a greater man even than I thought you. You have given me a most welcome hint, and I shall take upon myself to engineer "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 265 the recession from your constitution. I shall study its effect with the closest attention and be guided accordingly. I am heart and soul in this matter, and would give my life to it if necessary. I never should have thought of any- thing so astute," he added, with some envy, " but perhaps if I had, no one else would be so peculiarly fitted as myself to work upon its manifold suggestions. I hope I do not strike you as conceited," he said, looking around anxiously, " but I feel that it is in me to render efficient service in the present crisis." Before Morris could launch his ready fling, Hamilton hastened to assure Madison of his belief that no man liv- ing could render services so great. He underrated neither Madison's great abilities nor the danger of rankling arrows in that sensitive and not too courageous spirit. They then discussed a general plan of campaign and the best methods of managing certain members of the Convention. Morris was the first to rise. "Adieu," he said. "I go to ruminate upon our Cap- tain's diplomacy, and to pursue the ankle of Mrs. Croix. Be sure that the one will not interfere with the other, but will mutually stimulate." The other gentlemen adjourned to the dining room. IV The story of the Convention has been told so often that only the merest outline is necessary here ; those who have not before this read at least one of the numberless reports, would be the last to wish its multigenerous details. To the students of history there is nothing new to tell, as may be the case with less exploited incidents of Hamilton's career. Someone has said that it was an assemblage of hostile camps, and it certainl) was the scene of intense and bitter struggles, of a heterogeneous mass blindly striving to co- here, whilst a thousand sectional interests tugged at the more familiar of the dual ideal ; of compromise after com- promise; of a fear pervading at least one-half that the 266 THE CONQUEROR liberties of republicanism were menaced by every enerorehV pelled to truckle to meaner sentiments lest they get nothing • of the picked men of the Confederacy, honourable loyfl' able, and enlightened, animated in the first and last ns S by a pure and common desire for the highest welfare of the country, driven to war upon one another by the strength of their c nflicting opinions ; ending - among the tSv nine out oi the sixty-one delegates who signed fheConstS tion - ma feeling as closely resembling general satisfaction as individual disappointments would permi" '^*''^^"''°" At hrst so turbulent were the conditions that Frantlin st^irdti^tt ^•T'\''"^ ""^^ hSsdf afjsT'and' sug- ,sted that the meetings be opened with prayer. After with ?hfr'?"J* *^" submission of his mild c^omprom se with the Confederation, he sat and watched the Dain4d sun behind Washington's chair, pensively wonderLSTf the artist had intended to convey the idea of a rise or" fe tin/ Hamilton presented his draft at the right moment and the .rtled impression it made quite satisfied him partfcularW ceiv^d Sr/',^ '' ?"' ^^'""'"^^ '' ^he WhTwa re^ ceived with the closest attention. Nothing could alter his l{??u ^T-^'^'T' ^"^ ^^^" ^'^ bitterest enemies Srelv left their chairs while he spoke. The small figure s^fuH of dignity and magnetizing power that it excfuded every D ercin'f ^'^"^ '^^'' ^^^^°"' '^^ "^-^^ive head wl^h^ piercing force in every line of its features, the dark eves blazing and flashing with a fire that never had been sJen urlraTd th'e 4^7' T"'?' '^'^^^' ^^^ ^^^^^"1 -P^^ ges- tures, and the passionate eloquence which never in it- mn^t K'?"''^"^l"^"""^ "^^"^^"ts failed to be since'; and logical, made him for the hour the glory of frS and enemy a,ike, although the reaction w^as correspondingly thlTnV P°." '^'l °''^'^°" b^ «P°ke for six houfs wi hfut tion d H '"i^'r" ^^ I '"""^P^^S '^^^^: ^"d what the Conven Tfinshed wlirth'^^^K'' '''''''' "^ government beLre ne nnished with them, they never would learn elsewhere Although he made but this one speech, he talked consTantT" to the groups surrounding him wherever he moved To "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 267 his original scheme he had too much tact to make further allusion ; but his general opinions, ardently propounded, his emphatic reiteration of the demoralized country's need for a national government, and of the tyrannies inherent in unbridled democracies, wedged in many a chink. Never- theless, he was disgusted and disheartened when he left for New York, at the end of May. The Convention was chaos, but he could accomplish nothing more than what he hoped he might have done ; the matter was now best in the hands of Madison and Gouvemeur Morris, and his practice could no longer be neglected. But although he returned to a mass of work, — for he handled most of the great cases of the time, — he managed to mingle daily with the crowd at Fraunces' and the coffee- houses, in order to gauge the public sentiment regarding the proposed change of government, and to see the leading men constantly. On the whole, he wrote to Washington, he found that both in the Jerseys and in New York there was " an astonishing revolution for the bette' n the minds of the people." Washington replied from the depths of his disgust : — ... In a word I almost despair of seeing a favourable issue to the proceedings of the Convention, and do, therefore, repent having any agency in the business. The men who oppose a strong and energetic government are, in my opinion, narrow -mmded politicians, or are under the influence of local views. The apprehension expressed by them that the people will not accede to the form proposed, is the ostensible, not the r(?a/ cause of the opposition ; but admitting that the present sentiment is as they prognosticate, the question ought nevertheless to be, is it, or is it not, the best form? If the former, recommend it, and it will assuredly obtain, maugre opposition. I am sorry you went away ; I wish you were back. To Washington, who presided over that difficult assem- blage with a superhuman dignity, to Hamilton who breathed his strong soul into it, to Madison who manipulated it, to Gouvemeur Morris, whose sarcastic eloquent tongue brought it to reason a'^^ain and again, and whose accomplished pen gave the Constitution its literary form, bel ng the highest honours of the Convention ; although the services rendered by Roger Sherman, Rufus King, James Wilson, R. R. Liv- 368 THE CONQUEROR I f. i ingston, and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney entitle them to tar more than polite mention. When Hamilton signed the Coustitution, on the I7th of beptember, it was by no means strong enough to suit him but as It was mcomparably better than the Articles of Con' federation, which had carried the country to the edge of anarchy and ruin, and was regarded by a formidable num- ber of people and their leaders as so strong as to be a menace to the liberties of the American citizen, he could with consiste' ^y and ardour exert himself to secure its rati- hcation J^.. ■ all, it was built of his stones, chipped and pared thoi chey might be ; had he not gone to the Con- vention, the result might have been a constitution for which his pen would have refused to plead. Manhattan Island, Kings and Westchester counties had long since accepted his doctrines, and they stood behind him m unbroken ranks; but the northern counties and cities of New York, including Albany, were still under the autocratic sway of Clinton. Hamilton's colleagues, Yates and Lansing, had resigned their seats in the Great Con- vention. Among the signatures to the Constitution his name stood alone for New York, and the fact was ominous ot his lonely and precarious position. But difficuiti-is were ever his stimulant, and this was not the hour to rind him lacking in resource. "The Constitution terrifies by its length . .. , a frigidity, and above all by its novelty," he said and Madison, who met by appointment in his library • Ciiu- ton, m this State, has persuaded his followers that it is so many iron hoops in which they would groan and struggle for the rest ot their lives. To defeat him and this plrni- cious idea, we must discuss the Constitution publicly, in the most lucid and entertaining manner possible, lay every fear and so familiarize the people with its merits, and with the inseparable relation of its adoption to their personal inter- ests, that by the time the elections for the State Convention take place, they will be sufficiently educated to give us the majority. And as there is so much doubt, even among members of the Convention, as to the mode of enactin- the "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 269 Constitution, we must solve that problem as quickly as possible. My purpose is to publish a series of essays in the newspapers, signed, if you agree with me, Publius, and reaching eighty or ninety in number, which shall expound and popularize the Constitution of the United States ; and if you will give me your inestimable help, I am sure we shall accomplish our purpose." " If you need my help, I will give it to you to the best of my ability, sir," said Jay, "but I do not pretend to compete with your absolute mastery of the complex science of gov- ernment, and I fear that my weaker pen may somewhat counteract the vigour of yours ; but, I repeat, I will do my best with the time at my disposal." Hamilton laughed. " You know how anxious I am to injure our chances of success," he said. "I hope all things from your pen." Jay bowed formally, and Hamilton turned to Madison. " I know you must feel that you have done your share for the present," he said, " and there is hard work awaiting you in your State Convention, but the subject is at your finger tips; it hardly can be too much trouble." " I am not very well," said Madison, peevishly, " but I realize the necessity, — and that the papers should be read as extensively in Virginia as here. I will write a few, and more if I can." But, as it came to pass, Madison wrote but fourteen sepa- rate papers of the eighty-five, although he collaborated with Hamilton on three others, and Jay wrote five only. The remaining sixty-three, therefore, oi *^^? essays, col- lected during and after their publication under the title of "The Federalist," which not only did so much to enlighten and educate the public mind and weaken the influence of such men as Clinton, but which still stand as the ablest ex- position of the science of government, and as the parent of American constitutional law, were the work of Hamilton. " It is the fortunate situation of our country," said Hamilton, a few months later, at Poughkeepsie, " that the minds of the people are exceedingly enlightened and re- fined." Certainly these papers are a great tribute to the 270 THE CONQUEROR general mtelligence of the American race of a century and more ago. Selfish, petty, and lacking in political know edge they may have been, but it is evident fhat their men tal /^«. was h,gh. that their minds had not been vulgarTzed by trash and sensationalism. Hamilton's sole bait was a lucid and engagmg style, which would not puzzle he com monest mtelhgence, which he hoped might instruct without weighjng heavily on the capacit'y of hfs h 2"' read^^^^^^^ That he was;^ addressing the general voter, as well as the men of a higher grade as yet unconvinced, there can be no doubt, for as New York State was still seven temhs Clin tooian, conversion of a large portion of this scowling ele- ZdZtlTT'V'' '^' ^^tjfi^-tion of the Constitution stvll ^tn ^ll K"'^^'^" T".^^ ^"^t^'-^ ^"d unimaginative style to collaborate with him; while his own style for purity, distinction, and profundity combined wkh simplic- ity, has never been excelled simpiic- Betsey was ailing, and her doors closed to society • the children romped on the third floor or on the &terv Hamilton wrote chiefly at night, his pracdce ocSi"ying the best of the hours of day, but he wa. sensible of hf calm of his home and of its incentive to literary compost tion; It never occurred to him to open his office Ke evening. Betsey, the while she knitted socks listened patiently to her brilliant husband's luminous discussrns backwa"" and"ir""r"i''-''^ '""^ ^°"^^ ^^^ rSted Dackward-and hi6 profound mterpretation of its prin- ciples and provisions. If she worried over these condnS cZn^^'^'^A f.^" "^^^^ "° ^^S"' ^^' Hamilton was racTne fn'thrfirs" heaT Afte'' H^^"^"^ ^" ''''■ Linton wo^ Ledslafure th?H. -^ desperate struggle in the State Legislature the Hamiltonians succeeded in passino- rp^nli, tions ordering a State Convention to be elected for the purpose of considering the Constitution; bTthe resJlt in April proved the unabated power and indust y of Ston ~bossef''''Tcfrtwith-T'?r' '' ^^" ^^'^'^ P^^ low/rc Tu n ^'^°-*h '■ds of the men selected were his fol- lowers. The Convention was called for the 17th of June and It was rumoured that the Clintonians intended immed? "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 371 ately to move an adjournment until the following year. Ac- cording to an act of Congress the ratification of only nine States was necessary to the adoption of the Constitution. The others could come into the Union later if they chose, and there was a disposition in several States to watch the experiment before committing themselves. Hamilton, who knew that such a policy, if pursued by the more important States, would result in civil war, was determined that New York should not behave in a manner which would ruin her ill the present and disgrace her in history, and wrote on with increasing vigour, hoping to influence the minds of the oppositionists elected to the Convention as well as the people at large. Even he had never written anything which had attracted so wide admiring and acrimonious attention. The papers were read in all the cities of the Confederation, and in such hamlets as boasted a mail-bag. When they reached England and France they were almost as keenly discussed. That they steadily made converts, Hamilton had cause to know, for his correspondence was overwhelming. Troup and General Schuyler attended to the greater part of it ; but only himself could answer the frequent letters from leaders in the different states demand- ing advice. He thought himself fortunate in segregating five hours of the twenty-four for sleep. The excitement throughout the country was intense, and it is safe to say that nowhere and for months did conversation wander from the subject of politics and the new Constitutio for more than ten minutes at a time. In New York T amil- ton was the subject of constant and vicious attack, the Clintonians sparing no effort to discredit him with the masses. New York City was nicknamed Hamiltonopolis and jingled in scurrilous rhymes. In the midst of it all were two diversions : the fourth of his children, and a letter which he discovered before General Schuyler or Troup had sorted his mail. As the entire Schuyler family were now in his house, and his new son was piercingly discontented with his lot, he took refuge in his chambers in Garden Street, until Betsey was able to restore peace and happiness to his home. The postman had orders to bring his mail- journey through the letters. He found the spring sweetness coincidentally with a large square, flowingly superscribed. He glanced at the clock. His devoted assistants would not arrive for half an hour. He broke the seal. It was signed Eliza Capet Croix, and ran as follows : — Mv Dear Sir : Do you care anything forthe opinion of my humble sex. I wonder ? The humblest of your wondering admirers is driven beyond the bounds of femmine modesty, sir, to tell you that what you do not write she no longer cares to read. I was the first to detect— I claim that honour — such letters by Publius as were not by vour hand, and while I would not disparage efforts so conscientious, they seem to me like dawn to sunrise. Is this idle flattery.' Ah, sir ! I too am greatly flattered. I do not want for admirers. Nor can I hope to know — to know — so great and busy a man. But my restless vanity, sir. compels me to force myself upon your notice. I should die if I p.xssed another day unknown to the man who gives me the greatest pleasures of mv u irTu u ^ ^'■.^'■y ''."^ >'°" ^""^'^ ^^^ P""ted that can be found, and half the booksellers m the country searching for the lost copies of the Lontinentalist — I should die, I say, if you were longer ignorant that I have the intelligence, the ambition, and the erudition to admire vou above all men, iving or dead. For that is my pride, sir. Perchance I was born for politics ; at all events you have made them mv passion, and 1 spend my days converting Clintonians to your cause." Do not scorn rnv_ efforts. It is not every day that a woman turns a man's thoughts fronri love to patriotism ; I have heard that 'tis oftenest the dear''sir^'' ^°"'" *™^' ^"*^ ^^^^^ *° subscribe myself, my Your humble and obd't servant Eliza Capet Croix. The absence of superfluous capitals and of underscoring in this letter, alone would have arrested his attention, for even men of a less severe education than himself were hberal in these resources, and women were prodigal. The directness and precision were also remarkable, and he recalled that she was but nineteen. The flattery touched him, no doubt, for he was very human; and despite the brevity of his leisure, he read the note twice, and devoted a moment to conjecture. " She is cleverer, even, than Lady Kitty, or Susan and idle in the wake of so much intelligence — and beauty. Not to answer this were unpardonable — I cannot allow the lady to die." He wrote her a brief note of graceful acknowledgement, which caused Mrs. Croix to shed tears of exultation and vexation. He acknowledged her but breathed no fervid desire for another letter. It is not to be expectc' that maturest nineteen can realize that, although a busy man will find time to see a womi- ^ ft be worth his while, the temptations to a romantic ■ . pondence are not overwhelming. Hamilton tore up the letter and thi ^ ^ it into the waste basket. Its perfume, delicate but imperious, intruded upon his brief. He dived into the basket as he heard Troup's familiar whistle, and thrust the pieces into a breast pocket. In a moment he remembered that Betsey's head would be pillowed upon that pocket at five in the afternoon, and he hastily extracted the mutilated letter, and applied a match to it, consigning women to perdition. Troup sniffed as he entered the room. " Violets and burnt paper," remarked he. " 'Tis a com- bination I have noticed before. I wonder will some astute perfumer ever seize the idea.' It would have its guilty appeal for our sex — "chance for t'other ; though I'm no cynic like you and M is." '• Shut up," s^id Ha.iiilton, "and get to work if you love me, for I've no time to write to St. Croix, much less waste five ?"ronds or lay woman." Ti.^ afternoon he wasted half an hour in search of a bunch of redolent violets to carry home to his wife. He pinned three on his coat. V When the 17th of June approached, Hamilton, John Jay, Chancellor Livingston, and James Duane, started on horse for Poughkeepsie, not daring, with Clinton on the spot, and the menace of an immediate adjournment, to trust to 274 THE CONQUEROR I ! the winds of the Hudson. General Schuyler had promised to leave even a day sooner from the North, and the majority of Federal delegates had gone by packet-boat, or horse, in good season. The old post road between New York and Albany was, for the greater part of the way, but a rough belt through a virgin forest. Occasionally a farmer had cleared a few acres, the lawns of a manor house were open to the sun, the road was varied by the majesty of Hudson and palisade for a brief while, or by the precipitous walls of mountains, so thickly wooded that even the wind barely fluttered their sombre depths. Man was a moving arsenal in those long and lonely journeys, for the bear and the panther were breeding undisturbed. But the month was hot, and those forest depths were very cool; the scenery was often as magnificent as primeval, and a generous hospitality at many a board dispelled, for an interval, the political anxiety of Hamilton and his companions. Hamilton, despite a mind trained to the subordination of private interests to public duty, 1, new that it was the crisis of his own destiny toward which he was hastening. He had bound up his personal ambitions with the principles of the Federalist part^ — so called since the publication in book form of the Pubhus essays ; for not only was he largely responsible for those principles, but his mind was too well regulated to consider the alternative of a compromise with a possibly victorious party which he detested. Perhaps his ambition was too vaulting to adapt itself to a restricted field when his imagination had played for years with the big ninepins of history ; at all events, it was inseparably bound up with nationalism in the boldest sense achievable, and with methods which days and nights of severe thought had convinced him were for the greatest good of the American people. Union meant Washington in the su- preme command, himself with the reins of government in both hands. The financial, the foreign, the domestic policy of a harmonious federation were as familiar to his mind as they are to us to-day. Only he could achieve them, and only New York could give him those reins of power. "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 275 It is true that he had but to move his furniture over to Philadelphia to be welcomed to citizenship with acclama- tion by that ambitious town ; but not only was his pride bound up in the conquest of New York from Clintonism to Federalism, but New York left out of the Union, divid- ing as she did New England from the South and North, of the highest commercial importance by virtue of her central position and her harbour, meant civil war at no remote period, disunion, and the undoing of the most careful and strenuous labours of the nation's statesmen. That New York should be forced into the Union at once Hamilton was determined upon, if he had to resort to a coup which might or might not meet with the approval of the rest of the country. Nevertheless, he looked forward to the next few weeks with the deepest anxiety. An accident, an ill- ness, and the cause was lost, for he made no mistake in estimating himself as the sole force which could bear Clin- ton and his magnificent organization to the ground. Ham- ilton was no party manipulator. He relied upon his individual exertions, abetted by those of his lieutenants, — the most high-minded and the ablest men in the country, — to force his ideas upon the masses by their own mo- mentum and weight. Indeed, so individual did he make the management of the Federalist party, that years later, when the " Republican " leaders determined upon its over- throw, they aimed all their artillery at him alone : if he fell the party must collapse on top of him ; did he retain the confidence of the people, he would magnetize their obedi- ence, no matter what rifts there might be in his ranks. He had established a horse-express between Virginia and Poughkeepsie, and between New Hampshire and the little capital. Eight States having ratified, the signature of New Hampshire, the next in order, would mean union and a trial of the Constitution, a prospect which could not fail to influence the thinking men of the anti-Federal party ; but it was from the ratification of Virginia that he hoped the greatest good. This State occupied much the same position in the South that New York did in the North, geographically, commercially, historically, and in 276 THE CONQUEROR the importance of her public men. And she was as bit- terly opposed to union, to what a narrow provincialism held to be the humiliation of the States. Patrick Henrv her most powerful and eloquent leader, not through the selfish pohcy of a Clinton, but in the limitations of a too narrow genius, was haranguing with all his recuperated might against the sinister menace to the liberties of a peo- ple who had freed themselves of one despotism so dearlv and even Randolph, with characteristic hesitancy when ap- proaching a point, was deficient in enthusiasm, although he intimated that he should vote for the unconditional adoption of the Constitution he had refused to sign He and Marshall were Madison's only assistants of importance against the formidable opponent of union, and it was well understood among leaders that Jefferson, who was then American minister in France, gave the Constitution but a grudging and inconsistent approval, and would prefer that It failed, were not amendments tacked on which practically would nullify Its energies. But although Hamilton had such lieutenants as John Jay. Philip Schuyler. Duane, and Robert Livingston, Madison had the inestimable though silent backmg of Washington. The great Chief had months since, forcibly expressed his sentiments in a public letter ; and that colossal figure, the more potent that it was invisible and mute, guided as many wills as Madison's strenuous exertions and unanswerable dispassionate logic But Washington, although sufficiently revered by New Vorkers, was not their very own, as was he the Virginians' • was by no means so impinging and insistent as his ex- cellency Governor Clinton, he whose powerful will and personality, aided by an enterprise and wisdom that were not always misguided, for eleven years had compelled their grateful submission. It was difficult to convince New Yorkers that such a man was wholly wrong in his patriot- ism, particularly when their own interests seemed bound so hrmly to his. It was this dominant, dauntless, resource- ful, political nabob that Hamilton knew he must conquer single-handed, if he conquered him at all; for his lieuten- ants, able as they were, could only second and abet him • "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 277 they had none of his fertility of resource. As he rode through the forest he rehearsed every scheme of counter- play and every method that made for conquest which his fertile brain had conceived. He would exercise every argument likely to appeal to the decent instincts of those ambit'ous of ranking as first-class citizens, as well as to the congenital selfishness of man, which could illuminate the d?rker recesses of their Clintonized understandings, and effect their legitimate conversion ; then, if these higher methods failed, coercion. " What imperious method are you devising, Hamilton .' " asked Livingston. " Your lips are set ; your eyes are almost black. I've seen you like that in court, but never in good company before. You look as if considering a challenge to mortal combat." Hamilton's brow cleared, and he laughed with that mer- curial lightness which did more to preserve the balance of what otherwise would have been an overweighted mind than any other quality it possessed. " Well, am I not to fight a duel .=* " he asked. " Would that I could call Clinton out and settle the question as easily as that. I disapprove of duelling, but so critical a moment as this would justify anything short of trickery. We'll leave that to Clinton ; but although there is no vast difference between my political and my private conscience, there are recourses which are as fair in political as in mar- tial warfare, and I should be found ingenuous and inca- pable did I fail to make use of them." " Well, you love a fight," said Jay, without experiencing the humour of his rem.ark. " I believe you would rather fight than sit down in good company at any time, and you are notoriously convivial. But easy conquest would de- moralize you. If I do not mistake, you have the greatest battle of your career, past or present, immediately ahead of you — and it means so much to all of us — I fear — I fear — " " I will listen to no fears," cried Hamilton, who at all events had no mind to be tormented by any but his own. " Are we not alive } Are we not in health ? Are not our 278 THK CONQUEROR intellectual powers at their ripest point of development ? Can Clinton, Melancthon Smith, Yates, Lansing, Jones, make a better showing ? " "We are nineteen against forty-six," said Jay, with con- ceivable gloom. "True. But there is no reason why we should not shortly be forty-six against nineteen." "We certainly are Right against the most unstatesman- like Selfishness the world has ever seen," observed Duane. "Would that experience justified us in thinking well enough of the human race to gather courage from that fact," replied Hamilton. " It is to the self-interest of the majority we shall have to appeal. Convince them that there is neither career nor prosperity for them in an iso- lated State, and we may drag them up to a height which is safer than their mire, simply because it is better, or better because it is safer. This is a time to practice patriotism, but not to waste time talking about it." " Your remarks savour of cynicism," replied Jay, " but I fear there is much truth in them. It is only in the millennium, I suppose, that we shall have the anthinkable happiness of seeing on all sides of us an absolute conform- ity to our ideals." In spite of the close, if somewhat formal, friendship be- tween Jay and Hamilton, the latter was often momentarily depressed by the resemblance of this flawless character to, and its aigid contra.sts from, his dead friend Laurens. Jay was all that Laurens had passionately wished to be, and apparently without effort; for nature had not balanced him with a redeeming vice, consequently with no power to inspire hate or love. Had he been a degree greater, a trifle more ambitious, or had circumstances isolated him in politics, he would have been an even lonelier and loftier figure than Washington, for our Chief had one or two redeeming humanities; as it was, he stood to a few as a character so perfect that they marvelled, while they de- plored his lack of personal influence. But his intellect is in the rank which stands just beneath that of the men of genius revealed by history, and he hangs like a silver "ALEX-vNDER THE GREAT" 279 star of the tropics upon the sometimes dubious fields of our ancestral heavens. Nevertheless, he frequently in- spired Hamilton with so poignant a longing for Laurens that our impetuous hero was tempted to wish for an ex- change of fates. " In the millennium we will all tell the truth and hate each other," answered Hamilton. "And we either shall aP be fools, or those irritants will be extinct ; in any case we shall be happy, particularly if we have someone to hate." "Ah, now you jest," said Duane, ; iling. "For you are logical or nothing. I'o/t may be happy when on the warpath, but the rest of us are not. And you are the last man to be happy in a millenniu - b/ yourself." They all laughed at this sally, for Hamilton was seldom silent. He answered lightly : — " Someone to fight. Someone to love. Three warm friends. Three hot enemies. A sufficiency of delicate food and wine. A West Indian swimming-bath. Some- one to talk to. Someone to make love to. War. Poli- tics. Books. Song. Children. Woman. A religion. There you have the essence of uhe millenn'am, embroider it as you may." "And scenery," added Jay, devoutly. The road for the last quarter of an hour had led up a steep hill, above which other hills piled without an open- ing ; and below lay the Hudson. As they paused upon the bare cone of the elevation, the river looked like a chain of Adirondack lakes, >• ith dense and upright forests rising tier beyond tier until lost in the blue haze of the Catskills. The mountains lookt J as if they had pushed out from the mainland down to the water's edge to cross and meet each other. So close were the opposite crags that the travellers could see a deer leap through the brush, red of his coat flashing through the gloomy depths, i jw sped two packet-boats in a stiff breeze. " Friends or enemies ? " queried Livingston. " T wish I were with them, for I must confess the pleasures of horse travel for seventy-five miles must be the climax of a daily 28o THE CONQUEROR t .It it l\ If habit to be fully appreciated. It is all very well for Ham- ilton, who is on a horse twice every day ; but as I a.Tv ten years older and proportionately stiffer, I shall leave patriot- ism to the rest of you for a day ■■ two after our arrival." Hamilton did not answer. He had become conscious of the delicate yet piercing scent of violets. Wild violets had no perfume, and it was long past their season. He glanced eagerly around, but witho'.t realizing what prompted a quick stirring of his pulses. There was but one tree on the crag, and he stood against it. Al.uost mechanically his glance sought its recesses, and his hand reached for- ward to something white. It was a small handkerchief of cambric and lace. The other men were staring at the scenery. He hastily glanced at the initials in the corner of the scented trifle, and wondered that he should so easily decipher a tangled E. C. C. But he marvelled, neverthe- less, and thrust the handkerchief into his pocket. They reached Poughkeepsie late in the afternoon. Main Street, which was the interruption of the post road, and East Street, which terminated the Dutchess turnpike, were gaily decorated with flags and greens, the windows and pavements crowded with people whose faces reflected the nervous excitement with which the whole country throbbed. The capital for ten years, the original village had spread over the hills into a rambling town of many avenues, straight and twisted, and there were pretentious houses and a cer- tain amount of business. Hamilton and his party were stared at with deep curiosity, but not cheered, for the town was almost wholly Clintcnian. The Governor had his official residence on the Dutchess turnpike, a short dis- tance from town ; and this was his court. Nevertheless, it was proudly conscious of the dignity incumbent upon it 'as the legislative centre of the State, and no matter what the suspense or the issue, had no mind to make the violent demonstrations of other towns. Nearly every town of the North, including Albany, had burned Hamilton in effigy, albeit with battered noses, for he had his followers every- where ; but here he was met with a refreshing coolness, for which the others of his party, at least, were thankful. "ALEXANDER THE GREAT 281 They went first to Van Kleek's tavern, on the Upper Landing Road, not far from the Court-house, to secure the rooms they had engaged; but finding an invitation awaiting them from Henry Livingston to make use of his house during the Convention, repaired with unmixed sat- isfaction to the large estate on the other side of the town. The host was absent, but his cousin had been requested to do the honours to as many as he would ask to share a peaceful retreat from the daily scene of strife. " And it has the advantage of an assured privacy," said Hamilton. " For here we can hold conference nightly with no fear of eavesdropping. Moreover, to get a bath at Van Kleek's is as easy as making love to Clinton." General Schuyler joined them an hour later. He had been in town all day, and had held several conferences with the depressed Federalists, who, between a minority which made them almost ridiculous, and uncomfortable lodgings, were deep in gloomy forebodings. As soon as they heard of their Captain's arrival they swarmed down to the Livingston mansion. Hamilton harangued them cheerfully in the drawing-room, drank with them, in his host's excellent wine, to the success of their righteous cause ; and they retired, buoyant, confirmed in their almost idolatrous beliei in the man who was responsible for all the ideas they possessed. VI Although Hamilton and Clnton had no liking for ^ach other, they were far irom being the furious principals in one of those political hatreds which the times were about to engender, — an intellectual cataclysm which Hamilton was to experience in all its blackness, of which he was to be the most conspicuous victim. He had by no means plumbed his depths as yet. So far he had met with few disappoir tments, few stumbling blocks, never a dead wall. Life had smiled upon him as if magnetized. At home he found perfect peace, abroad augmenting ranks of followers, sufficient work to use up his nervous energies, and the 282 THE CONQUEROR If stimulant of enmity and opposition tiiat he loved. It was long since he had given way to rage, although he flew into a temper occasionally. He told himself he was become a philosopher, and was far from suspecting the terrible passions which the future was to undam. His mother, with dying insight, had divined the depth and fury of a nature which was all light on the surface, and in its upper half a bewildering but harmonious intermingling of strength, energy, tenderness, indomitability, generosity, and intense emotionalism : a stratum so large and so generously en- dowed that no one else, least of all himself, had s- -pected that primeval inheritance which might blaze to ashes one of the most nicely balanced judgements ever bestowed on a mortal, should his enemies combine and beat his own great strength to the dust. But when Hamilton and Clinton approached the Court- house from opposite directions, on the morning of the 17th, they did not cross the street to avoid meeting, although they bowed with extreme formality and measured each other with a keen and speculative regard. Clinton was now forty-nine years old, his autocratic will, love of power, and knowledge of men, in their contemptuous maturity. He was a large man, with the military bearing of the born and finished martinet, a long hard nose, and an irritated eye. The irritation kindled as it met Hamil- ton's, which was sparkling with the eager determination of a youth which, although desirable in itself, was become a presumption when pitted against those eighteen additional distinguished years of the Governor of New York. That there was a twinkle of amusement in the Federalist's eye was also to his discredit. " The young fop," fumed Clinton, as he brushed a fleck of mud from his own magnificent costume of black ducapc, "he is the enfant gdt^ of politics, and I shall settle him here once for all. It will be a public benefaction." The Court-house, which stood halfway up the hill, on the corner of Main and East streets, and was surrounded by the shade of many maples, was a two-story building of rough stones welded together by a ruder cement. The "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" »83 roof sloped, and above was a belfry. The Convention was held in the upper story, which was unbroken by par- tition ; and with the windows open upon what looked to be a virgin forest, so many were the ancient trees re- maining in the little town, the singing of birds, the shrilling of crickets, the murmur of the leaves in an almost con- stant breeze, the old Court-house of Poughkeepsie was by no means a disagreeable gathering-place. Moreover, it was as picturesque within as it was arcadian without ; for the fine alert-looking men, with their powdered hair in queues, their elaborately cut clothes of many colours, made for the most part of the corded silk named ducape, their lawn and ruffles, made up the details of a charming picture, which was far from appealing to them, but which gives us a distinct pleasure in the retrospect. Governor Clinton was elected the President of the Con- vention. On the right of the central table sat his forty- five henchmen, with Melancthon Smith, one of the most astute and brilliant debaters of the time, well to the front. Opposite sat Hamilton, surrounded by General Schuyler, Jay, Duane, and Robert Livingston, the rest of his small following close to the windows, but very alert, their gaze never ranging far from their leader. Beyond the bar crowded the invited guests, many of them women in all the finery of the time. If the anti-Federalists had entertained the idea of an immediate and indefinite adjournment, they appear to have abandoned it without waste of time ; perhaps because long and tedious journeys in midsummer were not to be played with ; perhaps because they were sure of their strength ; possibly because Clinton was so strongly in favour of arranging Hamilton's destinies once for all. Certainly at the outset the prospects of the Federalists were almost ludicrous. The anti-Federalists were two- thirds against one-third, fortified against argument, uncom- promisingly opposed to union at the expense of State sovereignty, clever and thinking men, most of them, de- voted to Clinton, and admirably led by an orator who acknowledged no rival but Hamilton. The latter set his 284 THE CONQUEROR sank, but only in the mere test to of lips more than once, and his heart leap a moment later with delight strength. Clinton's first move was to attempt a vote at once upon the Constitution as a whole, but he was beaten by Hamil- ton and many in his own ranks, who were in favour of the fair play of free debate. The Governor was forced to permit the Convention to go into a Committee of the Whole, which would argue the Constitution section by section! Hamilton had gained a great point, and he soon revealed the use he purposed to make of it. It is doubtful if his own followers had anticipated that he would speak almost daily for three weeks, receiving and repelling the brunt of every argument ; and certainly Clinton had looked for no such feat. The contest opened on the Clintonian side, with the argument that an amended Confederation was all that was necessary for the purposes of a more general welfare. The plan advanced was that Congress should be given the power to compel by force the payment of the requisitions \vhich the States so often ignored. Hamilton demolished this proposition with one of his most scornful outbursts. Coerce the States ! [he cried] . Never was a madder project devised ! Do you imagine that the result of the failure of one State to comply would be confined to that State alone ? Are you so willing to hazarcf a civil ' T ? Consider the refusal of Massachusetts, the attempt at compulsion L. Congress. What a series of pictures does this conjure up? A powerful State procuring immediate assistance from other States, par- iicularly from some delinquent ! A complying State at war with a non- complying State ! Congress marching the troops of one State into the bosom of another ! This State collecting auxiliaries and forming per- haps a majority against its Federal head ! And can any reasonable man be well disposed toward a government which makes war and car- nage the only means of supporting itself? -a government that can e.xis onlv by the sword ? And what sort of a State would it be which would suffer itself to be used as the instrument of coercing another ? Iv,' V '} ^^°^'^^^ standing army, then, must enforce the requisitions or the Federal treasury will be left without supplies, and the government wi hout support. . There is but one cure for such an evil - to en- able the national aws to operate on individuals like the laws of the a!' . ^°^^t^ "^'-' "■'^ Confederation as the basi." of a new system, and to trust the sword and the purse to a single assembly organized "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 185 upon principles so defective, giving it the full powers of taxation and the national forces, would result in what — Despotism ! To avoid the very issue which appears to be held in such abject terror, a totally dif- ferent government from anything into which the old Confederation can be twisted, or fitted out with wings and gables, must be established with proper powers and proper checks and balances. His words created a palpable uneasiness. The outburst was the more effective for following and preceding close passionless and pointed reasoning, a trenchant review of other republics ancient and modern, and an elaborate argu- ment in favour of the representation prescribed by the new Constitution. Hamilton was not only the most brilliant, resourceful, and unanswerable orator of his time, but he was gifted with :in almost diabolical power over the emotions of men, which he did not hesitate to use. At this momentous assembly he kept them in exercise; when he chose, he made his audience weep ; and the Clintonians weakened daily. Had not many years of trouble and anxiety made their emotions peculiarly susceptible, Hamilton would have attempted their agitation more sparingly ; and had he been theatrical and rhetorical in his methods, he would have lost his con- trol of them long before the end of the session. But he rarely indulged m a trope or a flight, never in bathos nor in bursts of ill-balanced appeal. Nothing ever was drier than the subjects he elucidated day after day for three weeks : for he took the Constitution to pieces bit by bit, and compelled them to listen to an analysis which, if propounded by another, would have bored them to distrac- tion, vitally interested as they were. But he not only so illuminated the cold pages of the Constitution that while they listened they were willing to swear it was more beau- tiful than the Bible, but the torrent of his eloquence, never confusing, so sharp was every feature of the Constitution to his own mind, the magic of his personality, and his intense humanity in treating the driest sections of the document, so bewitched his audience that, even when he talked for six hours without pausing on the subject of taxation, perhaps the baldest topic which the human un- a86 THE CONQUEROR s derstanding is obliged to consider, there was not a sign of impatience in the ranks of the enemy. He by no means harrowed them daily ; he was far too astute for that. There were days tojjether when he merely charmed them, and they sat with a warm unconscious smile while he demolished bit by bit one of Melancthon Smith's clever arguments, in a manner so courteous that even his victim could only shrug his shoulders, although he cursed him roundly afterward. Then, when his audience least e.xpected an assault, he would treat them to a burst of scorn that made them hitch their chairs and glance un- easily at each other, or to a picture of future misery which reduced them to pulp. Clinton was infuriated. Even he *n leaned for- ward, forgetting his own selfish ambitions when Ham- ilton's thrilling voice poured forth a rapid appeal to the passions of his hearers ; but he quickly resumed the perpendicular, and set his lips to imprison a scarlet com- ment. He saw that his men were weakening, and as much to the luminous expounding of the Constitution, to the logic of the orator, as to a truly satanic eloquence and charm. He held long private sessions at his mansion on the turnpike, where he was assisted by much mate- rial argument. But even Melancthon Smith, who distin- guished himself in almost daily debate, acknowledged more than once that Hamilton had convinced him ; and others asserted, with depression, that their minds, which they had supposed to be their own, — or Clinton's, — seemed to be in a process of remaking. After all, for the most part, th^y were sincere and ear- nest ; and although it is difficult for us of the present day to comprehend that enlightened men ever could have been so mad as to believe that the country would prosper without union, that a mere State should have been thought to be of greater importance than a Nation, or that a democratic constitution, which permits us to coddle anarchists in our midst, and the lower orders to menace the liberties of the upper, was ever an object of terror to men of bitter re- publican ideals, yet the historic facts confront us, and we "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 287 wonder, when reading the astonishing arguments of that long and hard-fought contest, if Hamilton's constitution, had it passed the Great Convention, would not have rati- fied with a no more determined opposition. Melancthon Smith was one of the brigh^^est and most conspicuous men of his time, but his name is forgotten to-day- He was sincere ; he was, in his way, patriotic ; he was a clever and eloquent orator. Moreover, he was generous and manly enough to admit himself beaten, as the sequel will show. To insure greatness, must the •,Mft of long foreknowledge be added to brilliant parts and an honest character.' If this be the essential, no wonder Melancthon Smith is forgotten. We have him asserting that in a country where a portion of the peop''^ live more than twelve hundred miles from the centre, body cannot legislate for the whole. He apprehends e abolition of the State constitutions by a species of under- mining, predicts their immediate dwindling into insignifi- cance before the comprehensive and dangerous power vested in Congress. He believes that all rich men are vicious and intemperate, and sees nothing but despotism and disaster in the Federal Constitution. But, like most of the speakers of that day, he was trenchant and unadorned, so that his speeches are as easy reading as they riiust have been agreeable to hear. It is a curious fact t- t the best speakers of to-day re- semble our forefathers in this respect of trenchant sim- plicity. Mediocrity for half a century has ranted on the stump, and given foreigners a false impression of Ameri- can oratory. Those who indulge in what may be called the open-air metaphor, so intoxicating is our climate, may find consolation in this flight of Mr. Gilbert Living- ston, who had not their excuse; for the Court-house of Poughkeepsie was hot and crowded. He is declaiming against the senatorial aristocrats lurking in the proposed Constitution. "What," he cries, "what will be their situation in a Federal town.' Hallowed ground! ]\c.h ing so unclean as State laws to enter there, sur wUi-ieu as they will be by an impenetrable wall of adam 't and a88 THE CONQUEROR gold, the wealth of the whole country flowing into it ' " " What? What WALL?" cried a Federal. ''A wall of gold, of adamant, which will flow in from all parts of the continent." The joyous roar of our ancestors comes down to us. Hamilton's speech, in which he as effectually disposed of every argument against the Senate as Roger Sherman had done in the Great Convention, is too long to be quoted; but it is as well to give the precise words in which he defines the vital difference between republics and democracies. It has been observed by an honourable gentleman [he said] that a pure democracy, if it were practicable, would be the most perfect gov- ernment. Experience has proved that no position in politics is more false than this. The ancient democracies, in which the people them- selves deliberated, never possessed one feature of good government. Their very character was tyranny ; their figure deformity. When they assembled, the field of debate presented an ungovernable mob, not only mcapable of deliberation, but prepared for every enormity. In these assemblies the enemies of the people brought forward their plans of ambition systematically. They were opposed by their enemies of another party; and it became a matter of contingency, whether the people subjected themselves to be led blindly by one tyrant or another. Again he says, in reply to Melancthon Smith : — It is a harsh doctrine that men grow wicked as they improve and enlighten their minds. Experience has by no means justified us in the supposition that there is more virtue in one class of men than in another. Look through the rich and the poor of this community, the learned and the Ignorant — Where does virtue predominate ? The difference indeed consists not in the quantity, but kind of vices which are incident to various classes ; and here the advantage of character belongs to the wealthy. Their vices are probably more favourable to the prosperity of the State than those of the indigent; and partake' less of mor^ depravity. More than once Hamilton left his seat and went up to the belfry to strain his eyes down the Albany post road or over the Dutchess turnpike, and every afternoon he rode for miles to the east or the south, hoping to meet an express messenger with a letter from Madison, or with the good tidings that New Hampshire had ratified. Madison wrote "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 289 every few days, sometimes hopefully, sometimes in gloom, especially if he were not feeling well. Each letter was from ten to twelve days old, and it seemed to Hamilton sometimes that he should burst with impatience and anxi- ety. On the 24th of June, as he was standing in the belfry while Chancellor Livingston rained his sarcasms, he thought he saw an object moving rapidly down the white ribbon which cut the forest from the East. In five min- utes he was on his horse and the Dutchess turnpike. The object proved to be the messenger from Rufus King, and the letter which Hamilton opened then and there con- tained the news of the adoption of the Constitution by New Hampshire. There was now a Nation, and nine States would bt, gov- erned by the new laws, whether New York, Virginia, North Carolina, and Rhode Island sulked unprotected in the out- skirts, or gracefully entered the league before dragged in or driven. It was a glittering and two-edged weapon for Hamilton, and he flashed it in the faces of the anti-Feder- alists until they were well-nigh blinded. Nevertheless, he did not for a moment underrate Clinton's great strength, and he longed desperately for good news from Virginia, believing that the entrance of that important State into the Union would have more influence upon the opposition than all the arts of which he was master. VII And through it all Hamilton was sensible that someone was working for him, and was not long attributing the influ- ence to its proper source. Mysterious hints were dropped of political reunions in a house on a thickly wooded hill, a quarter of a mile behind the Governor's, the fortunate guests to which enchanted abode being sworn to secrecy. That it was the nightly resort of Clintonians was an open secret, but that Federalism was being intelligently inter- preted, albeit with deepest subtlety, was guessed by few of the visitors themselves, and Hamilton divined rather 290 THE CONQUEROR than heard it. If converts were not actually made, they were at least undergoing a process of education which would make them the more susceptible to Hamilton's final effort. Even before he caught a glimpse of radiant hair among the maples, when riding one day along the lane at the foot of the hill, he suspected that Mrs. Croix had preceded the Convention with the deliberate intention of giving him the precious assistance of a woman with a talent for politics and a genius for men. He was touched, interested, intrigued, but he resisted the temptation to pre- cipi.ate himself into the eddies of her magnetism. Croix was in England, but even before his departure, which among men was regarded as final, she had achieved a repu- tation as a lady of erratic impulse and imperioi i habit. That she was also the most brilliant and fascinating woman in America, as well as the most beautiful, were facts as publicly established. Hamilton had resisted the tempta- tion to meet her, the temptation receiving no help from indifference on the part of the lady; he had answered more than one note of admirable deftness. But he had no intention of being drawn into an intrigue which would be public gossip in a day and ruin the happiness of his wife. To expect a man of Hamilton's order of genius to keep faith v/ith one woman for a lifetime would be as reasonable as to look for such genius without the tran- scendent passions which are its furnace ; but he was far from being a man who sought adventure. Under certain conditions his horizon abruptly contracted, and life was dual and isolated; but when the opportunity had passed he dismissed its memory with contrite philosophy, and was so charming to Betsey that he persuaded himself, as her. that he wished never to behold the face of another woman. Nor did he — overwhelming temptation being absent : he was the most driven man in the United States, with no time to run about after women, had such been his proclivity ; and his romantic temperament, having found high satisfaction in his courtship and marriage with one of the most bewitching and notable girls in America, was smothered under a mountain of work and domestic bliss. "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 29T So, although well aware that his will must perish at times in the blaze of his passions, he was iron against the tempta- tion that held itself sufficiently aloof. To an extreme point he was master of himself. He knew that it would be no whirlwind and forgetting with this mysterious woman, who had set the town talking, and yet whose social talents were so remarkable that she managed women as deftly as she did men, and was a welcome guest in many of the most exclusive houses in New York; the men were careful to do none of their gossiping at home, and the women, although they criticised, and vowed themselves scandal- ized, succumbed to her royal command of homage and her air of proud invincibility. That she loved him, he had reason to know, and although he regarded it as a young woman's romantic passion for a public man focussing the attention of the country, and whom, from pressure of affairs, it was almost impossible to meet, still the passion existed, and, considering her beauty and talents, was too likely to communicate itself to the object, were he rash enough to create the opportunity. Hamilton's morals were the morals of his day, — a day when aristocrats were libertines, receiving as little censure from soci- ety as from their own consciences. His Scotch founda- tions had religious shoots in their grassy crevices, but religion in a great mind like Hamilton's is an emotional incident, one of severrj nassions which act independently of each other. He avoided temptation, not because he desired to shun a torment of conscience or an accounting with his Almighty, — to Whom he was devoted, — but be- cause he was satisfied with the woman he had married and would have sacrificed his ambitions rather than deliberately cause her unhappiness. Had she been jealous and elo- quent, it is more than probable that his haughty intoler- ance of restraint would have driven him to assert the pleasure of his will, but she was only amused at his occa- sional divagations, and had no thought of looking for meanings which might terrify her. He was quite con- scious of his good fortune and too well balanced to risk its loso. So Mrs. Croix might be driven to rest her hopes 292 THE CONQUEROR L on a trick of chance or a coup de thi&tre. But she was a very clever woman ; and she was not unlike Hamilton in a quite phenomenal precocity, and in the torrential nature of her passions. Having a considerable knowledge of women and some of Mrs. Croi.x, he inferred that sooner or later she would cease to conceal the light of her endeavour. Nevertheless, he was taken aback to receive one day a parcel, which, in the seclusion of his room, he found to contain a dainty scented handkerchief, the counterpart of the one hidden in the tree by the post road. " Can she have put it there on purpose } " he thought. " Did she take for granted that I would pause to admire the scenery, and that I would recognize the perfume of her violets .-• Gad ! she's deeper than I thought if that be true. The wider the berth, the better ! " He gave no sign, and, as he had expected, a note ar- rived in due course. It ran : — The Maples, 8th July — 4 in the morning. Dear Sir : I fear I am a woman of little purpose, for I intended to flit here like a swallow and as noiselessly flit again, accomplishing a political trifle for you meanwhile, of which you never should be the wiser. But alas ! I am tormented by the idea that you never will know, that in this great crisis of your career, you think me indifferent when I understand so well your terrible anxieties, your need for stupen- dous exertion, and all that this convention means to this great country and to yourself; and heart and soul and brain, at the risk of my popu- larity, — that I love, sir, — and of a social position grudgingly acquired me, but which I demand by right of an inheritance of which the world knows less than of my elevation by Colonel Croix, — at the risk of all, I am here and working for you. Perhaps I love power. Perhaps this country with its strange unimaginable future. Perhaps I merely love politics, which you have glorified — perhaps — well, when we do meet, sir, you will avoid me no longer. Do you find me lacking in pride ? Reflect how another woman would have pursued you with love-letters, persecuted you. I have exercised a restraint that has left its mark, not only out of pride for myself, but out of a deep understanding of your multitude of anxieties and interests ; nor should I dare to think of you at all were I not so sure of my power to help you — now and always. Think, sir. of what such a partnership — of which the world should never be cognizant — would mean. I purpose to have a salon, and it shall be largely composed of your enemies. Not a secret but that shall yield to AI.EXANDER THE GREAT" 293 me. not a conspiracy but that you shall be able to forestall in time. I believe that I was born devoted to your interests. Heart and soul I shall be devoted to them as long as 1 live, and whether I am permitted to know you or not. I could ruin you if I chose. I feel that I have the power within me even for that. But (iod forbid ! I should have gone mad first. But ask yourself, sir, if I could not be of vital assistance to your career, did we work in common. And ask yourself other things — and truthfully. £ q q P. S. In a meeting held here last night the two generals poured vials of their own molten iron into the veins of the rank and file, belted them tofjether in a solid bunch, vowed that you were a dealer in the black arts and reducing them to knaves and fools. Their words sank, no doubt of that. But I uprooted them, and blew them away. For I pro- fessed to be seized with an uncontrollable fit of laughter at the nonsense of forty-seven men — tliefiirwer of the State — terrified of a bare third, and of a man but just in his thirties. I rapidly recounted your failures in your first Congress, dwelling on them, harping on them ; and then I stood up like a Chorus, and proclaimed the victories of C's career. C, who had scowled when I went off into hysterics, almost knelt over my hand at parting ; and the rest departed secure in your fancied destiny, their waxen brains ready for your clever fingers. At least you will ac- knowledge the receipt of this, sir ? Conceive my anxiety till I know it has not rallen into the wrong hands ! A messenger brought the note directly after breakfast, and Hamilton hastily retreated with it to the privacy of his room. His horse awaited him, but he read the epistle no less than four times. Once he moved uneasily, and once he put his hand to his neck as if he felt a silken halter. He smiled, but his face flushed deeply. Her bait, her veiled threat, affected him little. But all that was un- said pulled him like a powerful magnet. He struggled for fully twenty minutes with the temptation to ride to that {)aradise on the hill as fast as his horse would carry him. But although he usually got into mischief when absent from Betsey, contradictorily he was fonder of his wife when she was remote ; moreover, her helplessness appealed to him, and he rejected the idea of deliberate disloyalty, even while his pulses hammered and the spirit of romance within him moved turbulently in its long sleep. He glanced out of the window. Beyond the tree-tops gleamed the river ; above were the hills, with their woods and grassy intervals. It was an exquisite country, green and pri- '-WW 294 THE CONQUEROR 'h meval ; a moderate summer, the air warm but electric. The nights were magnificent. Hamilton dieamed for a time, then burned the letter in a fit of angry impatience. "I have nothing better to do!" he thought. "Good God ! " An answer was imperative. He took a long ride first, however, then scrawled a few hasty lines, as if he had found just a moment in which to read her letter, but thanking her warmly for her interest and information; ending with a somewhat conscience-stricken hope for the instructive de- light of her personal acquaintance when he should find the leisure to be alive once more. So rested the matter for a time. vni That afternoon the very memory of Eliza Croix fled before a mounted messenger, who came tearing into town with word of Virginia's ratification, of the great excitement in the cities of Richmond, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York, the processions in honour of this important conquest. There were tales also of fray and bloodshed, in which the Federals had retained the field; but, on the whole, the country seemed wild with delight. But although this news did not produce the visible effect upon the opposition for which Hamilton had hoped, the anti-Federalist leaders were as fearful of hurrying the mat- ter to the final vote as the Constitutionalists. Clinton stood like a rock, but he feared defections at the last moment, was conscious that his dominance over the minds of the men who had come to the Convention believing implicitly in his doctrine that union was unnecessary, concurring in his abhorrence of the new Constitution, was snapping daily, as Hamilton's arguments and acute logic fermented in their clarifying brains. Many began to avoid their chief. They talked in knots by themselves. They walked the forest roads alone for hours, deep in thought. It was evident that Hamilton had liberated their understandings from one autocrat, whether he had brought them under his own despotic will or not. "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 295 There was no speaking, and little or no business for sev- eral days. A few more amendments would be suggested, then an adjournment. It was like the lull of the hurricane, when nervous people sit in the very centre of the storm, awaiting the terrors of its final assault. Hamilton had much leisure for several days, but he was too deeply anxious to give more than a passing thought to Mrs. Croix, although he was grateful for the help he knew she was rendering him. " If we were Turks," he thought once, " she would be an invaluable member of a harem. She never could fill my domestic needs, which are capa- cious ; most certainly I should never, at any time, have chosen her for the mother of my children ; but as an intel- lectual and political partner, as a confidante and counsellor, she would appeal to me very keenly. I talk to Betsey, dear child, because I must talk, because I have an egotisti- cal craving for response, but I must bore her very often, and I am not conscious of ever having received a sugges- tion from her — however, God knows I am grateful for her sympathy. As the children grow older I shall have less and less of her ; already I appreciate the difference. She will always have the core of my soul and the fealty of my heart, but it is rather a pity that man should be given so many sides with their corresponding demands, if no one woman is to be found able to respond to all. As for this remarkable creature, I could imagine myself in a state of mad infatuation, and seeking her constantly for the delight of mental companionship besides; but the highest and best, if I have them — oh, no! Perhaps the Turks are wiser than we, after all, for their wives suffer only from jealousy, while — most men being Turks on one plan or another — the women of the more advanced races suffer from humiliation, and are wounded in their deepest senti- ments. All of which goes to prove, that the longer I delay a meeting with this high-priestess the better. In a day or two he was hard at work again fighting the last desperate battle. The oppositionists had brought forward a new form of conditional ratification, with a bill of rights prefixed, and amendments subjoined. This, it 396 THE CONQUEROR would seem, was their proudest achievement, and, in a long and adroit speech, Melancthon Smith announced it as their final decision. That was at midday. Hamilton rose at once, and in one of the most brilliant and compre- hensive speeches he had yet made, demonstrated the absurd- ity of conditional ratification, or the power of Congress to indorse it. It was a close, legal, and constitutional argu- ment, and with the retorts of the anti-Federalists occupied t'vo days, during which Hamilton stood most of the time, alert, resourceful, master of every point of the vast sub- ject, to which he gave an almost embarrassing simplicity. On the third day occurred his first signal triumph and the confounding of Clinton : Melancthon Smith stood up and admitted that Hamilton had convinced him of the impos- sibility of conditional ratification. Lansing immediately offered as a substitute for the motion withdrawn, another, by which the State ratify but reserve to itself the right to secede after a certain number of years, unless the amend- ments proposed should previously be submitted to a general convention. Adjournment followed, and Hamilton and his leaders held a long consultation at the Livingston mansion, as a result of which he wrote that night to Madison, now in New York, asking his advice as to the sort of ratification proposed by the enemy. It was a course he by no means approved, but it seemed the less of two evils ; for if, by hook or crook, the Constitution could be forced through, the good government which would ensue was bound to break up the party of the opposition. He had a trump, but he hesitated to resort to a coercion so high-handed and arbitrary. His supposed monarchical aspirations were hurled at him daily, and he must proceed with the utmost caution, lest his future usefulr.ess be impaired at the out- set. Madison replied at once that such a proposition could not be considered, for only unconditional ratification was con- stitutional ; but before his letter arrived Hamilton and Smith had had another hot debate, at the end of which the anti-Federalist leader declared himself wholly beaten, "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 497 and announced his intention to vote for the unconditional acceptance of the Constitution. But although there was consternation in the ranks of the anti-Federalists at this momentous defection, Clinton stood like an old lion at bay, with his other leaders behind him, his wavering ranks still coherent under his practised manip- ulation. For several days more the battle raged, and on the night before what promised to be the day of the final vote, Hamilton received a note from Mrs. Croix. July 24. Dear Sir : The case is more desperate than you think. The weakening caused by the defection of the great Lieutenant has been counteracted in large measure by the General. His personal influence is enormous, his future like yours is at stake ; he is desperate. It all rests with you. Make your great and final effort to-morrow. It is a wonderful responsibility, sir— the whole future of this country dependent upon what flows from your brain a few hours hence, but as you have won other great victories by efforts almost unprecedented, so you will win this. I am not so presumptuous as to write this to inspire you, merely to assure you of a gravity, which, after so long and energetic a contest, you might be disposed to underrate. Hamilton was very grateful for this note, and answered it more warmly than had been his habit. His friends were deep in gloomy prognostications, for it was impossible to delay twenty-four hours longer. He had made converts, but not enough to secur? a majority; and his followers did not conceive that even he could put forth an effort more convincing or more splendid than many of his previous achievements. In consequence, his susceptible nature had experienced a chill, for he was Gallic enough to compass greater things under the stimulus of encourage- ment and prospective success ; but this unquestioning belief in him by a woman for whose mind he was beginning to experience a profound admiration, sent his quicksilver up to a point where he felt capable of all things. She had scored one point for herself. He felt that it would be unpardonable longer to accept such favours as she showered upon him unsought, and make no acknowledg- ment beyond a civil note : he expressed his desire to call upon her when they were both in New York once more. 398 THE CONQUEROR " But not here in Arcadia ! " he thought. " 1*11 call for- mally a' her lodgings and take Troup or Morris with me. Morris will doubtless abduct her, and that will be the end of it." IX On the following day every shop was closed in Pough- keepsie. The men, even many of the women, stood for hours in the streets, talking little, their eyes seldom wander- ing from the Court-house, many of them crowding close to the walls, that they might catch a ringing phrase now and again. By this time they all knew Hamilton's voice, and they confessed to a preference for his lucid precision. In front of the Court-house, under a tree, an express messenger sat beside his horse, saddled for a wild dash to New York with the tidings. The excitement seemed the more intense for the heat of the day, which half suppressed it, and all longed for the snap of the tension. Within the upper room of the Court-house the very air vibrated. Clinton, who alv/ays grunted at intervals, and blew his nose stentoriously when fervescent, was unusually aggressive. Beyond the bar men and women stood ; there was no room for chairs, nor for ha.f tVat desired admittance. In the very front stood the only woman whose superb physique carried her through that trying day without smell- ing-salts or a friendly shoulder. She was a woman with the eyes of an angel, disdainful of men, the mouth of in satiety, the hair and skin of a Lorelei, and a patrician profile. Her figure was long, slender, and voluptuous. Every man within the bar offered her his chair, but she refused to sit while other women stood ; and few were the regrets at the more ample display of her loveliness. Hamilton and Lansing debated with a lively exchange of acrimonious wit. Smith spoke in behalf of the Con- stitution. Then Hamilton rose for what all felt was to be a grand final effort, and even his friends experienced an almost intolerable excitement. On the other side men trembled visibly with apprehension, not so much in fear of the result as of the assault upon their nervo - systems. "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 399 They hardly could have felt worse if en their way to exe- cution, but not a man left his seat ; the fascination was too strong to induce even a desire to avoid it. Hamilton began dispassionately enough. He went over the whole Constitution rapidly, yet in so emphatic a manner as to accomplish the intelligent subservience of his audience. Then, with the unexaggerated eloquence of which he was so consummate a master, he pictured the beauty, the hap- piness, the wealth of the United States under the new Constitution ; of the peace and prosperity of half a million homes ; of the uninterrupted industry of her great cities, their ramifications to countless hamlets; of the good-will and honour of Europe ; of a vast international trade ; of a restored credit at home and abroad, which should lift the heavy clouds from the future of every ambitious man in the Republic ; of a peace between the States which would tend to the elevation of the American character, as the bitter, petty, warring, and perpetual jealousies had incon- testably lowered it; of, for the beginning of their ex- periment, at least eight years of harmony under George Vv . ohington. He spoke for two hours in the glowing terms of a prophecy and an optimism so alluring, that load after load seemed to roll irom the burdened minds opposite, although Clinton snorted as if about to thrust down his head and paw the earth. When Hamilton had made his hearers thoroughly drunk with dreams of an ecstatic future, he advanced upon them suddenly, and, without a word of warning transition, poured upon them so terrible a picture of the consequences of their refusal to enter the Union, that for the first few moments they were ready to leap upon him and wrench him apart. The assault was terrific, and he plunged on remorselessly. He sketched the miseries of the past eleven years, the poverty, the dangers, the dis- honour, and then by the mqst precise and logical deduction presented a future which, by the commonest natural and social laws, must, without the protection of a high and central power, be the hideous finish. The twilight came ; the evening breeze was rustling through the trees and ' 300 THE CONQUEROR across the sultry room. As Hamilton had cal.ulated, the moment came when he had his grip on the ^ ery roots of the enemy's nerves. Chests were rising, 'landkerchiels appearing. Women fainted. Clinton blew his nose with such terrific force that the messenger below scrambled to his feet. Hamilton waited during a breathless moment, then charged down upon them. "Now listen, gentlemen," he said. "No one so much as I wishes that this Constitution be ratified to the honour of the State of New York ; but upon this I have deter- mined : that the enlightened and patriotic minority shall not suffer for the selfishness and obstinacy of the majority. I therefore announce to you plainly, gentlemen, that if you do not ratify this Constitution, with no further talk of impossible amendments and conditions, that Manhattan Island, Westchester, and Kings counties shall secede from the State of New York and form a State by themselves, leaving the rest of your State without a seaport, too con- temptible to make treaties, with only a small and possibly rebellious militia to protect her northern boundaries from the certain rapacity of Great Britain, with the scorn and dislike of the Union, and with no hope of assistance from the Federal Government, whjch is assured, remember, no matter what her straits. That is all." It was enough. He had won the day. The Constitution was ratified without further parley. X Hamilton reenteicd New York to the blaze of bonfires, the salute of cannon, and the deafening shouts of a multi- tude that escorted him to his doorway. Betsey was so proud of him she hardly could speak for a day, and his library was flooded with letters of congratulation from all parts of the Union. For several days he shut himself up with his family and a few friends, for he needed the rest ; and the relaxation was paradisal. He played marbles and spun tops with his oldest boys, and dressed and undressed Angelica's doll as often as his imperious daughter com- "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 301 manded. Troup and Fish, now the dignified Adjutant- General of State, with his bang grown long and his hair brushed back, spent hours with him in the heavy shades of the garden, or tormenting a monkey on the other side of the fence. Madison came at once to wrangle with him over the temporary seat of government, and demanded the spare bedroom, protesting he had too much to say to waste time travelling back and forth. He was a welcome guest ; and he, too, sat on the floor and dressed Angelica's doll. The city was en fit c, and little business was transacted except at the public houses. Bands of citizens awoke Hamilton from his sleep, shouting for " Alexander the Great." Anti-Federalists got so drunk that they embraced the Federalists, and sang on Hamilton's doorstep. The hero retreated to the back room on the top floor. The climiux came on the 5th of August, in the great proces- sion, with which, after the fashion of other triumphant cities, New York was to demonstrate in honour of the vic- tory of the Constitution. Hut, unlike its predecessors, this procession was as much in honour of one man as of the triumph of a great principle. To have persuaded New York, at that time, that Hamilton had not written the Constitution, and secured its ratification in the eleven States of the Union by his unaided efforts, would have been a dissipation of energy in August which even Clinton would not have at- tempted. To them Hamilton was the Constitution, Feder- alism, the genius of the new United States. And he was their very own. " Virginia has her Madison," they reiter- ated, "Massachusetts her Adamses — and may she keep them and be damned ; other States may think they have produced a giant, and those that do not can fall back on Washington ; but Hamilton is ours, wa adore him, we are so proud of him we are like to burst, and we can never ex- press our gratitude, try as we may ; so we'll show him an honour that no other State has thought of showing to any particular man." And of the sixth of New York's thirty thousand inhab- itants that turned out on that blazing August day and 302 THE CONQUEROR 'I marched for hours, that all the eager city might see, at least two-thirds bore a banner emblazoned with Hamilton's portrait or name, held on high. The procession was ac- companied by a military escort; and every profession, every trade, was represented. A large proportion of the men who marched were gentlemen. Nicolas Fish was on the staff of the grand marshal, with six of his friends. Robert Troup and two other prominent lawyers bore, on a cushion, the new Constitution, magnificently engrossed. Nicolas Cruger, Hamilton's old employer, again a resident of New York, led the farmers, driving a plough drawn by three yoke of oxen. Baron Polnitz displayed the wonders of the newly perfected threshing-machine. John Watts, a man who had grown gray in the highest offices of New York, before and since the Revolution, guided a harrow, drawn by horses and oxen. The president, regents, professors, and students of Columbia College, all in academic dress, were followed by the Chamber of Commerce and the members of the bar. The many societies, led by the Cincinnati, followed, each bearing an appropriate banner. And in the very centre of that pageant, gorgeous in colour and costume, from the green of the foresters to the white of the florists, wus the great Federal ship, with HAMILTON, HAMILTON. HAMILTON, HAMIL- TON, emblazoned on every side of it. In the memory of the youngest present there was to be but one other proces- sion in New York so imposing, and that, too, was in hon- our of Hamilton. He stood on a balcony in the Broadway, with his family, Madison, Baron Steuben, and the Schuylers, bowing con- stantly to the salutes and cht^^rs. Nicolas Cruger looked up and grinned. Fish winked decorously, and Troup at- tempted a salaam, and nearly dropped the Constitution. But Hamilton's mind served him a trick for a moment; the vivid procession, with his face and name fluttering above five thousand heads, the compact mass of spectators, proud and humble, that crowded the pavements and waved their handkerchiefs toward him, the patriotically decorated windows filled with eager, often beautiful, faces. "ALEXANDER THE GREAT 303 disappeared, and he stood in front of Cruger's store on Bay Street, with his hands in his linen pockets, gazing out over a blinding glare of water, passionately wishing for the war- hip which never came, to deliver him from his Island j). i-(in and carry him to the gates of the real world beyond. He had b;*'in an ambitious boy, but nothing in his imagin- i!ifi;s had projected him to the dizzy eminence on which he . tood to-aay. He was recalled by the salute of the Fed- eral siiip's thirteen guns to the president of the Congress and its members, who stood on the fort in the Battery. After all, perhaps it was the proudest and the happiest day of his career, for the depths in his nature still slum- bered, the triumph was without alloy ; and he knew that there were other heights to scale, and that he should scale them. It was the magnificent and spontaneous tribute of an intelligent people to an enlightened patriotism, to years of severe and unselfish thought ; and hardly an enemy i^rudged him his deserts. The wild feeling of exultant triumph which surged behind his smiling face receded be- fore the rising swell of the profoundest gratitude he had ever known. The day finished with a great banquet at Mr. Bayard's country-seat, near Grand Street, where tables were spread for si.x thousand persons, in a pavilion surmounted by an image of Fame, and decorated with the colours of the nations that had formed treaties with the United States. Later, there was a grand display of fireworks. XI On the following day Hamilton went to Albany to march at the head of a Federal procession with General Schuyler, then returned to " Hamiltonopolis " and such legal work as he was permitted to accomplish ; for not only were leaders consulting him on every possible question from the coming elections to the proper seat for the new gov- ernment, and his duties as a member of Congress press- ing, but Edward Stevens, now established as a doctor in Philadelphia, paid him a visit of a week, and thtjy talked i 9(1 304 THE CONQUEROR the night through of St. Croix and old times. One of the pleasantest results of these years of supremacy was the unqualified delight of his Island friends. Hugh Knox was so proud of him, and of himself and the debt which Ham- ilton acknowledged, that he wrote (^xplosive reams describ- ing the breathless interest of St. Croix in his career, and of the distinguished gatherings at the Governor's when he arrived with one of their lost citizen's infrequent epistles. Mrs. Mitchell, poor soul, wrote pathetically that she would no longer regret his loss could she love him less. Hamilton wrote to her as often as he could find the time, and Betsey selected a present for her several times a year. Gratitude is the privilege of a great soul, and Hamilton had a full measure o : it. Even his father and brother wrote occasion- ally, respectfully, if with no great warmth ; and if their congratulations were usually accompanied by the experi- mental sigh of poverty, Hamilton was glad to respond, for at this period he was making a good deal of money. His promised bow to Mrs. Croix he deferred from day to day, pleading to himself the pressure of work, which was submerging; but while he reproached himself for ingratitude, he knew that he dreaded the meeting : the (;ld spirit of adventure within him, long quiescent, tapped alluringly on the doors of his prudence. That she did not write again, even to congratulate him as other friends had done, but added to his discomfort, for he knew that her pride was now in arms, and that she must be deeply wounded. He heard of her constantly, and at the proces- sion in his honour he had seen her, leaning on the arm of General Knox, a dazzling, but angelic vision in blue and white, at which even the bakers, wig-makers, foresters, tanners, and printers had turned to stare. One of the latter had leaped down from the moving platform on which he was printing a poem of occasion by William Duer, and begged her on his knee to deign to receive a copy. She held weekly receptions, which were attended by two-thirds of the leading men in town, and Hamilton's intimate friends discoursed of her constantly. Croix was supposed to have been seized with a passion for travelling in savage "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 305 jungles, and it was the general belief that his death would be announced as soon as the lady should find it convenient to go into mourning. It was plain to the charitable that he had left her with plenty of money, for she dressed like the princess she looked, and her entertainments lacked 10 material attraction. The gossip was more furious than ever, but the most assiduous scandal-monger could connect 110 u)ie man with her name, nor trace her income to other than its reputed source. More than once Hamilton had passed her coach, and she had bowed gravely, with neither challenge nor reproach in her sweet haughty eyes. After these quick passings Hamilton usually gave her a few moments of intense thought. He marvelled at her curious intimate knowledge of him, not only of the less known epi- sodes of his career, but of more than one of his mental l)rocesses. It is true, she might have led Troup or Fish into gossip and analysis, but her sympathy counted heavily. She drew him by many strings, and some- times the response thrilled him unbearably. He felt like a man who stood outside the gates of Paradise, bolting them fast. Still, he could quite forget her in his work ; and it is probable that but for chance he never would have met her, that one of the g'^^atest disasters in history would have been averted. Betsey, who had not been \\^ for some time, went to the northern forests of her old home to strive for "spring" and colour. She took the children with her, and Hamil- ton, who hated to live alone, filled his deserted rooms with Troup, Fish, and Baron Steuben, whose claims he had been pressing upon Congress for years, practically supporting iiim meanwhile. The old soldier felt keenly the ingrati- tude of the country he had served, but in time it made him ample compensation ; meanwhile the devotion of a few friends, and the lionizing of society, helped him to bear his lot with considerable fortitude. He spent hours in the nursery of the little Hamiltons, and was frequently seen in the Broadway with one in his arms and the other three attached to his person. All the talk was of Washington and the first administration, X 3o6 THE CONQUEROR Hamilton having carried his point in Congress that New York should be the temporary seat of government ; there was jealousy and wrangling over this, as over most other matters invriving state pride, but Hamilton believed that should the prize fall to Philadelphia, she would not relin- quish it as lightly as New York, which geographically was the more unfit for a permanent gathering, and that the inconvenience to which most of the members, in those days of difficult travel over a vast area, would be subjected, would force them the sooner to agree upon a central and commonly agreeable locality, — one, moreover, which would not meet with the violent opposition of New York. Madi- son, who had been in favour of Philadelphia, finally ac- knowledged Hamilton's sagacity and gave him his influence and vote. That point settled, all eyes were turned to Mount Ver- non. The masses took for granted that Washington would respond to every call of duty the public chose to make, and it was inconceivable that anyone else should fill the first term of that great executive experiment. The universal confidence in Washington and belief that he was to guide the Constitution over the more critical of its shoals, had operated more than any other factor in the ratification of that adventurous instrument. It was a point upon which Hamilton had harped continually. That a whole country should turn, as a matter of course, to a man whom they revered for his virtues rather than for any brill- iant parts he may have effectually hidden within his cold and silent exterior, their harmonious choice unbroken by an argument against the safety and dignity of the country in the hands of such a man, certainly is a manifest of the same elevation of tone that we infer from the great popu- larity of the writings of Hamilton and the deference to such men as Jay and Philip Schuyler. But although they had all the faults of human nature, our forefathers, and were often selfish and jealous to a degree that imperilled the country, at least they had the excuse, not only of being mere mortals, but of living in an era of such changes, uncertainty, and doubt, that public and private interests i f ALEXANDER THE GREAT 307 seemed hopelessly tangled. They were not debased by political corruption until Jefferson took them in hand, and sowed the bountiful crop which has fattened so vast and so curious a variation upon the original American. The Federal leaders by no means shared the confidence of the people in Washington's response to their call, and they were deeply uneasy. They knew that he had been bombarded with letters for a year, urging upon him the acceptance of the great oflfice which would surely be offered him, and that he had replied cautiously to each that he could not share their opinion of his indispensability, that he had earned the repose he loved after a lifetime spent in the service of his country, and had no desire to return to public life. Hamilton, at least, knew the motive that lay behind his evasion ; without ambition, he was very jealous of his faine. That fame now was not only one of the most resplendent in history, but as unassailable as it was isolated. He feared the untried field in which he might fail. One evening, late in September, as Hamilton and his temporary household were entering the dining room, Gouverneur Morris drove down Wall Street in his usual reckless fashion, scattering dogs and children, and pulling his nervous sweating horses almost to their haunches, as he reached Hamilton's door. As he entered the house, however, and received the enthusiastic welcome to which he was accustomed, his bearing was as unrufRed as if he had walked down from Morrisania reading a breviary. " I grow desperately lonely and bored out on my ances- tral domain, and long for the glare and glitter, the intrigues and women, of Europe — our educated ones are so virtuous, and the others write such shockingly ungram- matical notes," he announced, as he took his seat at the board. " Educated virtue is beneficial for the country, but we will all admit that politics are our only excitement, and my blood dances when I think of Europe. However, I did not come tearing through the woods on a hot night to lament the virtue of the American woman. I've written to Washington, and he won't listen to me. We all know 3o8 THE CONQUEROR how many others have written, including Lafayette, I hear. And we all know what the consequences will be if — say John or Sam Adams, Hancock, or Clinton should be our first president. I long for Paris, but I cannot leave the country while she is threatened with as grave a peril as any that has beset her. Would that he had a grain of ambition — of anything that a performer upon the various chords of human nature could impress. I suppose if he were not so desperately perfect, we should not be in the quandary we are, but he would be far easier to manage. As I awoke from my siesta just two hours ago, my brain was illumi- nated by the idea that one man alone could persuade him ; and that was Alexander Hamilton. He likes us, but he loves you. If he has a weak spot, it has yearned over you since you were our infant prodigy in uniform, with your curls in your eyes. You must take him in hand." "I have mentioned it to him, when writing of other things." " He is only too glad of the excuse to evade a mere mention. You must write to him as peremptorily as only you dare to write to that majestic presence. Don't mince it. Don't be too respectful — I was, because he is the one being I am afraid of. So are all the others. Besides, you have the most powerful and pointed pen in this country. We have spoiled you until you are afraid of no one — if you ever were. And you know him as no one else does ; vou will approach him from precisely the right sides. Your duty is clear, and the danger is appalling. Besides, I want to go to Europe. Promise me that you will write to-night. | "Very well," said Hamilton, laughing. "I promise." And, in truth, his mind had opened at once to the certainty that the time was come for him to make the final effort to insure Washington's acceptance. He had felt, during the last weeks, as if burrowing in the very heart of a moun- tain of work ; but his skin chilled as he contemplated the opening of the new government without Washington in the presidential Chair. Two hours after dinner Morris escorted him to the library and shut him in, then went, with his other friends. "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 309 to Fraunces' :avern, and the house was quiet. Hamilton's thoughts arranged themselves rapidly, and before midnight he had finished his letter. F"ortunately it has been pre- served, for it is of as vital an interest as anything he ever wrote, not only because it was the determining factor in Washington's acceptance of an office toward which he looked with reluctance and dread, but because of its consum ite sagacity and of its peremptory tone, which no man uJt Hamilton would have dared to assume to Washington. It ran : — New York, September, 1788. ... I should be deeply pained, my dear sir, if your scruples in re- gard to a certain station should be matured into a resolution to decline it ; though I am neither surprised at their existence, nor can I but agree in ()I)inion. that the caution you observe in deferring an ultimate determina- tion, is prudent. I have, however, reflected maturely on the subject. and have come to a conclusion (in which I feel no hesitation), that every public and personal consideration will demand from you an ac- i|uiescence in what will certainly be the unanimous wish of your country. Tiie absolute retreat which you meditated at the close of the late war was natural, and proper. Had the Government produced by the Revo- lution gone on in a tolerable train, it would have been most advisable to have persisted in that retreat. But I am clearly of opinion that the crisis which brought you again into public view, left you no alternative Init to comply: and I am equally clear in the np-ninn ty.~\ ^-r.^ ^.v^ k. that act pledged to take a pa'rt in the execution of the Government. "\ Pill not less convinced, that the impression of this necessity of your tilling the station in question is so universal, that you run no risk of any uncandid imputation by submitting to it. But even if this were not the case, a regard to your own reputation, as well as to the public good, c ..Is upon you in the strongest manner, to run that risk. It cannot be considered as a compliment to say, that on your accep- tance of the office of President, the success of the new Government, in Its commencement, may materially depend. Your agency and influence will be not less important in preserving it from the future attacks of its enemies, than they have been in recommending it, in the first instance, to the adoption of the people. Independent of all considerations drawn trom this source, the point of light in which you stand at home and abroad will make an infinite difference in the respectability with which the Government will begin its operations, in the alternative of your being or not being at the head of it. 1 forbear to urge considerations which mi«ht have a more personal application. What I have said will suffice foi the inferences I mean to draw. First. In a m^^.tter so essential to the well being of society, as the SSI axfi 3IO THE CONQUEROR m prosperity of a newly instituted government, a citizen of so much conse- quence as yourself to its success, has no option but to lend his services if called for. Permit me to say it would be inglorious, in such a situa- tion, not to hazard the glory, however great, wh ;h he might have pre- viously acquired. Secondly. Your signature to the proposed system pledges your judge- ment for its being such an one as. upon the whole, was worthy of the public approbation. If it should miscarry (as men commonly decide from success, or the want of it), the blame will, in all probability, be 'aid on the system itself ; and the framers of it will have to encounter the disrepute of havinp; brought about a revolution -n government, without substituting anything that was worthy of the effort. They pulled down one Utopia, it will be said, to build up another. This view of the sub- ject, if I mistake not, my dear sir, will suggest to your mind greater haz- ard to that fame, which must be and ought to be dear to vou. in refusing your future aid to the system, than in affording it. I will only add, that in my estimate of the matter, that aid is indispensable. 1 have taken the liberty to express these sentiments, and to lay before you ir.y vievv of the subject. I doubt not the considerations mentioned have fully occurred to vou. and I trust they will finally produce in your mind the same result which e.xists in mine. I flatter myself the frank- ness with which I have delivered myself will not be displeasing to you. It has been prompted by motives which you could not disapprove. I remain, my dear sir. With the sincerest respect and regard, Your obedient and huir.ble servant, A. Hamilton. XII Hamilton folded and sealed the letter, then determined to take it to the ^^st-oflfice himself. The night was hot and his head wa^ chrobbing : he had worked, dined, wined, talked, and written, since eight in the morning, with no interval for fresh air or exercise. He was not tired, but very nervous, and after he had disposed of his letter, he set off for a stroll along the river front, and walked for two miles up the quiet road on the east side, Hstening to the lap of the water, and pausing to watch the superb effect of the moonlight on the bright ripples and on the wooded heights of Long Island. The little village of Brooklyn twinkled here and there for a time, then lay like a sombre shadow in the silences of her forest. As he returned, there was not a light anywhere, except now and again at a masthead, "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 311 for it was very late. The clock in Trinity steeple struck one as he reentered the town. He moved through the nar- row dark and crooked streets with a lagging step, although he had walked briskly for the past hour. There seemed to be no sleep in him, and the idea of his quiet room was an irritation. "That woman is on my nerves," he thought. "I've written a letter to-night that may bridge this country over another crisis, and I should be sleeping the sleep of the self- sufficient statesman, or at least excogitating upon weighty matters; and for the last hour I've given no thought to anything but an unknown woman, who has electrified my im- agination and my passions. Is there, perhaps, more safety in meeting her and laying the ghost ? Imagina'^ion plays us such damnable tricks. She may have a raucous voice, or too sharp a wit ; or she may love another by this. I'll ask Nick to take me there to-morrow." The drawing-room windows of the dwellings were but a few feet above the ground, and many of them abutted on the pavement. The narrow street was almost dark, in spite of the moonlight, but Hamilton saw that some one sat at a lower window but a few feet ahead of him. It was a woman, for her arrr. hv.ng over the sill. There was nothing to ar- rest his attention in the circumstance, beyond the vague beauty of the arm and hand, for on these dog nights many sat at their windows until the chill of early morning ; but he suddenly remembered that he was in Pearl Street. For a moment he meditated retreat ; with no enthusiasm, how- ever. He shrugged his shoulders and walked on, but his breath was short. As he approached he could see that she was watching him, although her face was almost invis- ible. He paused beneath the window, half in defiance, his eyes striving to pierce the heavy shade of the room. The hand closed abruptly about the lower part of his face. It trembled, but there was as much determination as warmth in the finger tips ; and he seemed to have been transported suddenly to a field of violets. m •I? 3>2 THE CONQUEROR XIII " Nick," said Hamilton, a few evenings later as they were peeling walnuts, " This is the night on which Mrs. Croix receives, is it not ? Do you attend ? I will go with you. The lady has kindly been at pains to let me know that I shall not be unwelcome." Troup pushed back his plate abruptly, and Baron Steuben burst into a panegyric. Fish replied that he had not in- tended to go, but should cnange his mind for the sake of the sensation he must create with such a lion in tow. He left the table shortly after, to dress, followed by Steuben, who announced his intention to make one of the party. The host and Troup were left alone. " What is the matter ? " asked Hamilton, smiling. " I see you disapprove of something. Surely you have not lost your heart — " "Nonsense," exclaimed Troup, roughly, "but I have always hoped you would never meet her." " Have you .' " " If you want to know the truth she has pumped me dry about you. She did it so adroitly that it was seme time before I discovered what she was up to. At first I won- dered if she were a spy, and I changed my first mind to avoid her, determined to get to the bottom of her motives. I soon made up my mind that she was in love with you, and then I began to tremble, for she is not only a very witch of fascination, but she has about forty times more power of loving, or whatever she chooses to call it, than most women, and every mental attraction and fastidious refinement, besides. There is not a good woman in the country that could hold her own against her. I have no wish to slander her, and have never discussed her before ; but my instincts are strong enough to teach me that a woman whose whole exterior being is a promise, will be driven by the springs of that promise to redeem her pledges. And the talk of you banishes all that regal calm from her face and lets the rest loose. I suppose I am a fool to tell you this, but I've been haunted by the idea "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 3'3 from the first that if you know this woman, disaster will come of it. I do not mean any old woman's presentiment, hut from what I know of her nature and yours. You do asto' ihingly few erratic things for a genius, but in certain conditions you are unbridled, and my only hope has been that the lightning in >ou would strike at random without doing much harm — to you, at all events. But this volcano has a brain in it, and great, force of charac^^er. She will either consume you, ruining your career, or if you attempt to leave her she will find some way to ruin you still. God knows I'm no moralist, but I am jealous for your genius and your future. This has been a long speech. I hope you'll forgive it." Hamilton had turned pale, and he hacked at the mahog- any with the point of his knife. He made no attempt to laugh off Troup's attack. Troup watched him until he turned pale himself. " You have met her," he said abruptly. Hamilton rose and pushed back his chair. " I promise you one thing," he said: "that if I happen to lose my nethermost to Mrs. Croix, the world shall never be the wiser. That I explicitly promise you. I dislike extremely the position in which I put the lady by these words, but you will admit that they mean nothing, that I am but striv- ing to allay your fears — which I know to be genuine. She will probably flout me. I shall probably detest her conversation. But should the contrary happen, should she be what you suspect, and should a part of my nature which has never been completely accommodated, annihilate a re- sistance of many months, at least you have my assurance that worse shall not happen." Troup groaned. " You have so many sides to satisfy ! Would that you could have your truly phenomenal versa- tility of mind with a sweet simplicity of character. But we are not in the millennium. And as you have not the cus- tomary failings of genius, — ingratitude, morbidity, a dis- position to prevaricate, a lack of common-sense, selfishness, and irresponsibility, — it is easy for us to forgive you the one inevitable weakness. Come to me if you get into 3»4 THE CONQUEROR ! I II trouble. She'd have no mercy at my hands. I'd wring her neck." Many people were at their country-seats, but politics kept a number of men in town, and for this politic"l and wholly masculine scxlon of Mrs. Croi.x, Gouverneur Morris drove down from Morrisania, Robert Livingston from Clermont ; Governor Clinton had made it convenient to remain a day lon^^er in New York. Dr. Franklin had been a guest of my lady for the past two days. They were all. with the e.xception of Clinton, in the drawing-room, when Hamilton, Steuben and Fish arrived ; and several of the Crugers, Colonel Duer, General Kno.x, Mayor Duane, Melancthon Smith, Mr. Watts, Yates, Lansing, and a half- dozen lesser lights. Mrs. Croix sat in the middle of the room, and her chair being somewhat higher and more elab- orate than its companions, suggested a throne : Madame de L tael set the fashion in many affectations which were not long travelling to America. In the house, Mrs. Croi.x discarded the hoopskirt, r.nd the classic folds of her soft muslin gown revealed a flgure as superb in contour as it was majestic in carriage. Her glittering hair was in a tower, and the long oval of her face gave to this monstrous head-dress an air of proportion. Her brows and lashes were black, her eyes the deepest violet that ever man had sung, childlike when widely opened, but infinitely various with a drooping lash. The nose was small and aquiline, fine and firm, the nostril thin and haughty. The curves of her mouth included a short upper lip, a full under one, and a bend at the corners. There was a deep cleft in the chin. Technically her hair was auburn ; when the sun flooded it her admirers vowed they counted twenty shades of red, yellow, sorrel, russet, and gold. Even under the soft rays of the candles it was crisp with light and colour. The dazzling skin and soft contours hid a jaw that denoted both strength and appetite, and her sweet gracious manner gave little indication ot her imperious will, independent mind, and arrogant intellect. She looked to be twenty- eight, but was reputed to have been born in 1769. For women so endowed years have little meaning. They are ALEXANDER THE (JREAT" 3«5 born with what millions of their sex never acquire, a few with the aid of time and experience only. Nnlure had fondly and diabolically equipped her to conquer ':he world, to be one of its successes ; and so she was to the last of her ninety-six years. Her subsequent career was as brill- iant in Europe as it had been, and was to be again, in America. In Paris, Lafayette was her sponsor, and she counted princes, cardinals, and nobles among her conquests, and died in the abundance of wealth and honours. If her sins found her out, they surprised her in secret only. To the world she gave no sign, and carried an unbroken spirit and an unbowed head into a vault which looks as if not even the trump of Judgement Day could force its marble doors to open and its secrets to come forth. But those doors closed behind her seventy-seven years later, when the greatest of her victims had been dust half a century, and many olhc- "re long since forgotten. To-night, in her glorious tri ' > ant womanhood she had no thought of vaults in the cold hillside of Trinity, and when Hamilton entered the room, she rose and courtesied deeply. Then, as he bent over her hand : " At last ! Is it you .' " she exclaimed softly. " Has this honour indeed come to my house .' I have waited a lifetime, sir, and I took pains to assure you long since of a welcome." " Do not remind me of those wretched wasted months," replied Hamilton, gallantly, and Dr. Franklin nodded with a{)proval. " Be sure, madam, that I shall risk no re- proaches in the future." She passed him on in the fashion of royalty, and was equally gracious to Steuben and Fish, although she did not courtesy. The company, which had been scattered in groups, the deepest about the throne of the hostess, imme- diately converged and made Hamilton their common centre. Would Washington accept ? Surely he must know. Would he choose to be addressed as " His Serene Highness," " His High Mightiness," or merely as " Excellency " .' Would so haughty an aristocrat lend himself agreeably to the com- mon forms of Republicanism, even if he had refused a crown, and had been the most jealous guardian of the lib- ; i •gnpp r-mmm-mmi 3i6 THE CONQUEROR erties of the American people ? An aristocrat is an aristo- crat, and doubtless he would observe all the rigid formalities of court life. Most of those present heartily hoped that he would. They, too, were jealous of their liberties, but had no yearning toward a republican simplicity, which, to their minds, savoured of plebianism. Socially they still were royalists, whatever their politics, and many a coat of arms was yet in its frame. " Of course Washington will be our first President," re- plied Hamilton, who was prepared to go to Mount Vernon, if necessary. " I have had no communication from him on the subject, but he would obey the command of public duty if he were on his death-bed. His reluctance is natural, for his life has been a hard one in the field, and his tastes are those of a country gentleman, — tastes which he has recently been permitted to indulge to the full for the first time. Moreover, he is so modest that it is difficult to make him understand that no other man is to be thought of for these first difficult years. When he does, there is no more question of his acceptance than there was of his assum- ing the command of the army. As for titles they come about as a matter of course, and it is quite positive that Washington, although a Republican, will never become a Democrat. He is a grandee and will continue to live like one, and the man who presumes to take a liberty with him is lost." Mrs. Croix, quite forgotten, leaned back in her chair, a smile succeeding the puzzled annoyance of her eyes. In this house her words were the jewels for which this courtly company scrambled, but Hamilton had not been met abroad for weeks, and from him there was always something to learn ; whereas from even the most brilliant of women she shrugged her shoulders ; and her eyes, as they dwelt on Hamilton, gradually filled with an expression of idola- trous pride. The new delight of self-effacement was one of the keenest she had known. \xrl^^ bombardment continued. The Vice-President i* Whom should Hamilton support.? Adams.? Hancock.? Was It true that there was a schism in the Federal party ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 317 that might give the anti-Federalists, with Clinton at their head, a chance for the Vice-Presidency at least? Who would be Washington's advisers besides himself ? Would the President have a cabinet ? Would Congress sanction it ? Whom should he want as confreres, and whom in the Senate to further his plans ? Whom did he favour as Sena- tors and Representatives from New York ? Could this rage for amendments be stopped ? What was to be the fate of the circular letter ? Was all danger of a new Constitutional Convention well over ? What about the future site of the Capital — would the North get it, or the South ? All these, the raging questions of the day, it took Hamil- ton the greater part of the evening to answer or parry, but he deftly altered his orbit until he stood beside Mrs. Croix. the company before her shrine. He had encountered her eyes, but although he knew the supreme surrender of women in the first stages of passion, he also understood the vanities and weaknesses of human nature too well not to apprehend a chill of the affections under too prolonged a mortification. Clinton entered at midnight ; and after almost bending his gouty knee to the hostess, whom he had never seen in such softened yet dazzling beauty, he measured Hamilton for a moment, then laughed and held out his hand. " You are a wonderful fighter," he said, " and you beat me squarely. We'll meet in open combat again and again, no doubt of it, and I hope we will, for you rouse all my mettle ; but I like you, sir, I like you. I can't help it." Hamilton, at that time of his life the most placable of men, had shaken his hand heartily. "And I so esteem and admire you, sir," he answered warmly, " that I would I could convert you, for your doctrines are bound to plunge this country into civil war sooner or later. The Constitu- tion has given the States just four times more power than is safe in their hands ; but if we could establish a tradition at this early stage of the country's history that it was the duty of the States always to consider the Union first and themselves as grateful assistants to a hard-working and paternal central power, we might do much to counteract 3i8 THE CONQUEROR an evil which, if coddled, is bound to result in a trial of strength." " That is the first time I ever heard you croak, except in a public speech where you had a point to gain," said Livingston. " Do you mean that ? " " What of it > " asked Clinton. " Under Mr. Hamilton's constitution — for if it be not quite so monarchical as the one he wanted, it has been saddled upon the United States through his agency more than through any other influence or group of influences — I say, that under Mr. Hamilton's constitution all individualism is lost. We are to be but the component parts of a great machine which will grind us as it lists. Had we remained thirteen independent and sovereign States, with a tribunal for what little common legislation might be necessary, then we might have built up a great and a unique nation ; but under what is little better than an absolute monarchy all but a small group of men are bound to live and die nonentities." •' But think of the excited competition for a place in that group," said Hamilton, laughing. The disappointed Gov- ernor's propositions were not worthy of serious argument. " I do not think it is as bad as that, your Excellency/' said Dr. Franklin, mildly. " I should have favoured a some- what loose Confederation, as you know, but the changes and the development of this country will be so great that there will be plenty of room for individualism ; indeed, it could not be suppressed. And after a careful study of this instrument that you are to live under — my own time is so short that my only r61e now is that of t* >)rophet I fail to see anything of essential danger t the American people. I may say that the Federalist" would have reassured me on 1 still doubted. I read them again the other week. The proof is there, I think, that the Constitution, if rigidly mterpreted and lived up to, must prove a beneficent if stern parent to those who dwell under it." Clinton shrugged his shoulders. " I would I could share your optimism," h^. said. " What a picture have we ! The most venerable statesman in the country finding some hope jerties of s of " The oint, had I "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 3»9 for individual liberty in this Constitution ; the youngest, an optimist by nature and habit, sanguine by youth and temperament, trembling for the powers it may confer upon a people too democratically inclined. This is true, sir — is it not ? " "Yes," said Hamilton. "Democracy is a poison, just as Republicanism is the ideal of all self-respecting men. I would do all I could to vitalize the one and nullify the other. The spirit of democracy exists already, no doubt of it. If we could suppress it in time, we should also sup- press the aspirations of encouraged plebianism, — a danger- ous factor in any republic. It means the mixing of ignoble blood with good, a gradual lowering of ideals until a gen- eral level of sordidness, individualism in its most selfish and self-seeking form, and political corruption, are the inevit- able results. You, your Excellency, are an autocrat. It is odd that your ^ -inciples should coincide so closely with the despotism of democracy." " Oh, I can't argue with you ! " exclaimed Clinton, im- patiently. " No one can. That is the reason you beat us when we clearly were in the right. What says Madam ? She is our oracle." " If she would but bring him under her foot ! " he said to Yates. " She is heart and soul with us. I augur well that he is here at last." " It is long since our fairy queen has spoken," Franklin was saying ; gallant to all women, he was prostrate before this one. " Her genius directs her to the most hidden kernels." " What do you wish ?" she asked lightly. " A prophecy ? I am no Cassandra. UnHke Dr. Franklin, I am too selfish to care what may happen when I am dead. At this dace we are assured of two elements in government : unselfish patriotism and common-sense. There never has been a nobler nor a more keenly intelligent group of men in pub- lic life than General Washington will be able to command as assistants in forming a government. And should our Governor lead his own party to victory, ' she added, turn- ing to Clinton with so brilliant a smile that it dissipated a gathering scowl, " it would be quite the same. The deter- 320 THE CONQUEROR mined struggle of the weaker party for the rights which only supremacy can insure them is often misconstrued as selfishness ; and power leads their higher qualities as well as their caution and conservatism to victory. I am a phi- losopher. I disapproved the Constitution, and loved the idea of thirteen little sovereignties ; but I bow to the In- evitable and am prepared to love the Constitution. The country has too much to accomplish, too much to recover from, to -vaote time arguing what might have been ; it is sure to settle down into as complacent a philosophy as my own, and adjust itself to its new and roomy crinoline." "Crinoline is the word," growled Clinton, who accepted her choice of words as a subtle thrust at Hamilton. " It is rigid. Wherever you move it will move with you and bound your horizon." "Oh, well, you know," said Hamilton, who was tired of the conversation, " like a crinoline it can always be broken." XIV Washington was President of the United States. He had come over grandly from the Jersey shore in a magnifi- cent barge manned by twelve oarsmen in white uniform, escorted by other barges but a shade less imposing. A week later he had taken the oath of office on the new Broad Street gallery of Federal Hall, amidst the breathless silence of thousands, surrounded by the dignitaries of state and three personal friends, Hamilton, Steuben, and Knox. The anti-Federalists were crushed, no longer of dignity as a party, although with ample resources for obstruction and annoyance. The country, after an interval of rejoicing, had settled down to another period of hope and anxiety. And Hamilton had incurred the dislike of Adams and the hostility of the Livingstons. He had thought it best to scatter the votes for the Vice-President, lest there be the slightest risk of Washington's defeat ; and Adams who thought quite as much of himself as he did of George Washington, and had expected to be elected with little less than unanimity, instead of by a bare thirty-four votes, "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 321 never forgave Hamilton the humiliation. " I have seen the utmost delicacy used toward others," he wrote to a friend, " but my feelings have never been regarded." He knew that Hamilton believed him to have been in sympathy with the Conway Cabal, — a suspicion of which he never cleared himself, — and attributed to the Federal leader the motive of wishing to belittle his political significance, lest he should endeavour to use his power as President of the Senate to hamper and annoy the Administration. Perhaps he was right. Far be it from anyone to attempt a journey through the utmost recesses of Hamilton's mind. He was frank by nature and habit, but he had resolved that the United States government should succeed, and had no mind to put weapons into the hands of Washington's rivals. He believed in Adams's general integrity, patriotism, and Federalism, however, and brought him to power in his own fashion. He achieved his objects with little or no thought of personal consequences ; and although this has been characterized as one of the great political mistakes of his career, it must be remembered that it was a time for nervousness and exaggerated fears. Washington had ene- mies ; no other man was believed, by the men who did the thinking for the country, to be able to hold the United States together until they were past their shoals, and the method of election was precarious : each elector casting two votes without specification, the higher office falling to the candidate who received the larger number of votes. The Livingstons had desired a seat in the Senate of the new Congress for one of their powerful family, and Ham- ilton had given the prize to Rufus King. No gift could have been more justly bestowed ; but the Livingstons felt themselves flouted, their great services to the country un- rewarded. Their open hostility roused all the haughty arrogance of Hamilton's nature, and he made no effort to placate them. When the great office of Chief Justice of the United States was given to John Jay, instead of to Robert Livingston, they attributed the discrimination to Hamiltc-''s influence over Washington ; and the time came when this strong and hostile faction lent themselves to the 322 THE CONQUEROR scheming of oae nf the subtlest politicians that has ever lived. The contest for the prizes of the two Houses had been hot and bitter, and Hamilton had never been more active. As a result, the Federalists controlled the Senate, and they had elected four of the six Representatives. Philip Schuy- ler had drawn the short term in the Senate, and the antag- onism of the Livingstons to Hamilton enabled Burr to displace him two years later. The signal mistakes of Ham- ilton's political career were in his party management. One of the greatest leaders in history, cool and wise, and of a consummate judgement in all matters of pure statesman- ship, he was too hot-headed and impetuous, too obstinate when his fighting blood was up, for the skilful manipulation of politics. But so long as the Federal party endured, no other leader was contemplated : his integrity was spotless, his motives unquestioned, his patriotism and stupendous abilities the glory of his party ; by sheer force of genius he carried everything before him, whether his methods were approved by the more conservative Federalists or not. Madison, who mildly desired an office, possibly in the Cabinet, he despatched South to get himself elected to Con- gress, for he must have pov.^erful friends in that body to support the great measures he had in contemplation ; and that not unambitious statesman, after a hot fight with Pat- rick Henry, was obliged to content himself with a seat in the House. Before he went to Virginia he and Hamilton had talked for long and pleasant hours over the Federal leader's future schemes. In all things he was in accord with his Captain, and had warmly promised his support. It was some weeks before Hamilton had a private inter- view with Washington, although he had dined at his house, entertained him, and been present at several in- formal consultations on such minor questions as the etiquette of the Administration. But delicacy held him from embarrassing Washington in a familiar interview until he had been invited formally to a position in the contemplated cabinet. He knew that Washington wished him to be Secretary of the Treasury, but he also knew "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 323 that that most cautious and conscientious of men would not trust to his own judgement in so grave a matter, nor take any step without weeks of anxious thought. The more deeply were Washington's affections or desires en- gaged, the more cautious would he be. He was not a man of genius, therefore fell into none of the pitfalls of that terrible gift; he was great by virtue of his superhuman moral strength — and it is safe to say that in public life he never experienced a temptation — by a wisdom that no mental heat ever unbalanced, by an unrivalled instinct for the best and most useful in human beings, and by a public conscience to which he would have unhesitatingly sacri- ficed himself and all he loved, were it a question of the nation's good. But Hamilton knew whom he would con- sult, and devoted himself to his legal work withv. at a qualm for the future. As he had anticipated, Washington wrote to Robert Morris for advice, and the reply of that eminent financier, that " Hamilton was the one man in the United States competent to cope with the extreme difficulties of that office," pleasantly ended the indecision of the Presi- dent, and he communicated with Hamilton at once. Hamilton answered by letter, for Washington was wedded to the formalities, but he followed it with a request for a private interview ; and after the lapse of eight years Washington and Hamilton met once more for a purely personal colloquy. Washington was occupying temporarily the house of Walter Franklin, on the corner of Cherry Street and Frank- lin Square, a country residence at which society grumbled, for all the world lived between the present site of the City Hall and Battery Park. Hamilton rode up on horseback, and was shown into the library, which overlooked a pleasant garden. The President, in the brown suit of home manu- facture which he had worn at the inauguration, as grace- ful and erect as ever, although with a more elderly visage than in the days of war, entered immediately, closed the door carefully, then took both Hamilton's hands in his enormous grasp. The austere dignity of his face relaxed perceptibly. 334 THE CONQUEROR " Oh ! " he said. " I am glad to see you ! " " It is not a return to old times, alas ! " said Hamilton, gaily ; " for what we all had to do then was a bagatelle to this, and you have made the supreme sacrifice of your life." Washington seated himself in an arm-chair, motioning Hamilton to one opposite. " I wrote Knox," he said, " that I felt as if setting out to my own execution ; and I swear to you, Hamilton, that if it had not been for you I doubt if my courage would not have failed me at the last moment. I had a moment of nervous dread this morning before I opened your letter, but I believed that you would not fail me. It is a colossal enterprise we are embarked upon, this constructing of a great nation for all time. God knows I am not equal to it, and although I shall always reserve to myself the final judgement, I expect a few of you to think for me — you, in particular. Then with the Almighty's help we may succeed, but I can assure you that it has cost me many wakeful nights — and cold sweats." He spoke with his usual slow impressiveness, but he smiled as he watched Hamilton's flashing eyes and dilating nostrils. " You look but little older," he added. " Not that you still look a stripling, controlling your temper with both hands while I worked you half to death ; but you have the everlasting youth of genius, I suppose, and you look to me able to cope with anything." Hamilton laughed. " I am far older in many things, sir. I fear I often seemed ungrateful. I have blessed you many times, since, for the discipline and the invaluable knowledge I gained in those years." " Ah ! " exclaimed Washington. " Ah ! I am very glad to hear you say that. It is like your generosity, and I have had many anxious moments, wondering if theie might not still be a grudge. But not only were your peculiar gifts indispensable to this country, but, I will confess, now that it is over, I mortally dreaded that you would lose your life. You and Laurens were the most reckless devils I ever saw in the field. Poor Laurens ! I felt a deep affection for him, and his death was one of the bitterest blows of the war. If he were here now, and Lafayette, how many "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 325 pleasant hours I should look forward to ; but I have you, and God knows I am grateful. Lafayette, I am afraid, has undertaken too great a business for his capacity, which is admirable ; but he is not strong enough to be a leader of men." " I wish he were here, and well out of it." " I have not sufficiently thanked you for the letter you wrote me last September. It was what I had earnestly hoped for. My position was most distressing. It was impossible for me not only to ask the advice of anyone, but the temper of the public mind regarding myself. To assume that I must be desired — but I need not explain to you, who know me better than anybody living, the extreme delicacy of my position, and the torments of my mind. Your letter explained everything, told me all I wished to know, made my duty clear — painfully clear. You divined what I needed and expressed yourself in your usual frank and manly way, without the least hesitation or fear. I take this occasion to assure you again of my deep apprecia- tion." " Oh, sir," said Hamilton, who was always affected unbearably by Washington's rare moments of deep feeling, " I was merely the selected instrument to give you what you most needed at the moment ; nothing more. This was your destiny ; you would be here in any case. It is my pride, my reward of many years of thought and work, that I am able to be of service to your administration, and con- spicuous enough to permit you to call me to your side. Be sure that all that I have or am is yours, and that I shall never fail you." " If I did not believe that, I should indeed be deep in gloomy forebodings. Jay will officiate as Secretary of State for the present ; Knox, as Secretary at War. I con- template inviting Randolph to act as Attorney-General, and Jefferson as permanent Secretary of State, if he will accept ; thus dividing the appointments between the North and the South. What do you think of the wisdom of appointing Mr. Jefferson ? He is a man of great abilities, and his long residence abroad should make him a valuable 336 THE CONQUEROR Secretary of State, his conspicuous services acceptable to both sections of the country. It is the selection over which I have hesitated longest, for it is a deep and subtle nature, a kind I have no love of dealing with, but so far as I know it is not a devious one, and his talents command my respect." " I am unable to advise you, sir, for he is not personally known to me," said Hamilton, who was not long wishing that he had had a previous and extensive knowledge of Thomas Jefferson. " Madison thinks well of him — is a close personal fiiend. He has rendered great services to the State of Virginia, his experience is wide, and he pos- sesses a brilliant and facile pen — I can think of no one better fitted for the position. His record for personal bravery is not untarnished, but perhaps that will insure peace in the Cabinet." Washington laughed. " Jefferson would slide under the table if you assaulted him," he said. " It is you only that I fear, as it is you only upon whom I thoroughly rely, and not for advice in your own department alone, but in all. I think it would perhaps be better not to hold collective meetings of the Cabinet, but to receive each of you alone. It is as well the others do not knc^ Lhat your knowledge and judgement are my chief reliance." XV Hamilton, on his way home, stopped in at the chambers of Troup. " Bob," he said, " you are to wind up my law business. I am to be Secretary of the Treasury." Troup half rose with an exclamation of impatience. "Good heavens!" he exclaimed. "Have you not an introductory line in your nature ? It has been bad enough to have been anticipating this, without having it go straight through one like a cannon-ball. Of course it is no use to reason with you — I gave that up just after I had assumed that you were a small boy whom it was the duty of a big collegian to protect, and you nearly demolished my not too "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 3*7 handsome visage with your astonishing fists for contradict- ing you. But I am sorry. Remain at the bar, and you have an immediate prospect of wealth, not too many ene- mies, and the highest honours. Five years from now, and you would lead not only the bar of New York but of the whole country. Jay may be the first Chief Justice, but you would be the second — " " Nothing would induce me to be Chief Justice. I should be bored to death. Can you fancy me sitting eternally and solemnly in the middle of a bench, listening to long-winded lawyers.^ While I live I shall have action — " " Well, you will have action enough in this position ; it will burn you out twenty years before your time. And it will be the end of what peace and happiness a born fighter could ever hope to possess ; for you will raise up enemies and critics on every side, you will be hounded, you will be the victim of cabals, your good name will be assailed — " " Answer this : do you know of anyone who could fill this office as advantageously to the country as I .^ " " No," said Troup, unwillingly. " I do not." Hamilton was standing by the table. He laid his hand on a volume of Coke, expanding and contracting it slowly. It was perhaps the most beautiful hand in America, and almost as famous as its owner. But as Troup gazed at it he saw only its superhuman suggestion of strength. " The future of this country lies there," said Hamilton, " I know, and you know, that my greatest gift is statesman- ship ; my widest, truest knowledge is in the department of finance ; moreover, that nothing has so keen and enduring a fascination for me. I could no more refuse this invita- tion of Washington's than I could clog the wheels of my mind to inaction. It is like a magnet to steel. If I were sure of personal consequences the most disastrous, I should accept, and without hesitation. For what else was the peculiar quality of my brain given me.-* To what other end have I studied this great question since I was a boy of nineteen — wild as I was to fight and win the honours of the field ? Was ever a man's destiny clearer, or his duty ? " "I have no more to say," said Troup, "but I regret 328 THF CON(^)UEROR it all tho same. Have you heard from Morris Gouver- neur? " "Oh. yes, I had a long screed, in almost y words, spiced with his own part'culur i.-iipertineiice. ■.Vill you* wind up my law business ? " "Oh, oi course," said Troup. The new Con^Tes.s, made up, though it was, of many ot the ablest men in th' country, had inherited the iilaton methods of the old. and did no pas- an ac! stiblishing the Treasury Department until ''it 2d of Septt djer. Hamilton's appointmr-t to this most iir.ponan^ |h, folio at t e dispo.sal of trie President w i.s 1. ked upon as a matter of course. It :eatcd lit 'c discu on. but >o i tep ci feehng of security, nat even uefoie tht eadi ug of us I mou^ Report business; had revived to some -xt ,nt. f his Report upon the public credit was den.mdel .f hHi at once, but it was n.n imtil the recess of Con res-^ t,^ -e CO' Id work uninterruf^tedly upon it; for tha- xxiv fl' - dermg in its cl aos ot inherited difficukies, . ned' i. ■ new Secretary tor advice on almost ev ry p, blen, thus. beset it. I cannot do better here I. .an t quote ! mm th-i monograph on . iamilton by Henrv Cabot i Ige. w. o puts with idmirable succinctness a series of fat . inij rtant to the knowledge of every American : — In the course , a year he was asked i < .cpori. ,nd iid report iti tull (tetail.s, upon tl.(_- raising, ni.magenient. md collectiwn of the ■ e- nue, uicluding a sc!u-m.- for revenue cutt . as to the estimat. J income and expenditure ; as to the tempoi ,• regulation of the ch^uti ; th< ejrii '!( n of c coasting .t a heau i .imtgesteii -tatistics as to the j: rchase ■ mil n system nnii Rap- W.fiQ ': !f»ers, besides a .Uicial v ^em. her cum .cv : as to navigation law* trade, ar -i ,t thorough consider.i'UL tted .1 ' puhi it witii a scht as to the pust-oifice. for which he d West Point: (.ii the great |uestioi of managing them ; and upon all e idly and eflectively the secretar drawing up as a voluntary sugg. , „ ^....^ , ,. ,, but in addition to all this mult: ;icitv of btisines 'there wen matters like the temporary regul.ith of the currens ■ . .equirin- v tory settlement. .Money had to be und lor the i; ^mediate a'^d mg wants of tlv, new government bt e any system had been or . ad tx adopted, aiid the only resources w o the emi v treasury and brnke" ccUilui tiic .u comederacy. By o. ingenio- 'Expedient or another, sometimes L ledging his own creuit. Ifamil ,. got together what \LF.XANDLR THE GREAT" 3^9 was lOsolutelv needful, and without a murmur conquered thost petty ttimbles when he was elalwratin^ and de\ising a far-reaching policy Tlirn the wl.ole financi.i machine of the Treasury Department, and a svsicm of accounting, u iianded instant attention. These intricate iH -blen.s Wire solved at o >ce, the machine constructed, and the sj>tem lit nccounts devised and at int., )pcratic)n ; and so well were these (liffii lit tasks )erformtd mat thi , still subsist, developing and growing with the nail n. but at bottom the original arrangements of Hamilton. Ihes, compi ned qut-^Mons. answered so rapidly and yet so accurately ,11 the first Uv^ks < f coi usi; ' incident to the establishment of j new '<>vern"icnT. show .i fani liar and preparation, as well as a reai .less mil •• most unusual kind. 1 'hij. v^vvildering work, he w.^s . •-' bru.^' i.omprehensi\ c, and v. c iiiri - ground plan before 'dit tate pn^cr which m.i lic^ lass! corner-stone. • cm! t has risen, wa )ii »«.■?> Yori had t ,; commanded lo the Membe were entertaining. Cienei close to Hamilton, and his — Mrs. Stephen Van F society. The Vice-P at Richmond Hill, ana sion as he could find, moved to the McComb i the largest in town, with Yet while Hamilton was engaged in volving the great financial policy, at nute. and after the recess in January ^gress in his first report on pul ic 1 era in American history, and by which the great structure of the securely laid. icanwhile, nad hlossonied to he. full. ,1 renovated, and with all the elegance to Many had been let, by the less ambitious, s of Cong jss from other States, and all 1 Schuyler occupied a house laughters Cornelia and Peggy lac r — were lively members of t had taken' the great house I Kno.x as imposing a man- gton, after a few months, n lower Broadway, one of ption room of superb pro- portions. Here Mrs. VVasuiugton, standing on a dais, usu- ally assisted by Mrs. Adams and Mrs. Hamilton, received, with the rigid formality of foreign courts, all who dared to attend her levees. She had discarded the simplicity of (.■ampair:nMig days, and attired herself with a magnificence which v. ;.r, emulated by her " Court." It was yet too soon to break from tradition, and the Washi igtons conducted them- selves in accordance with their strong aristocratic proclivities. Nor did it occur to anyone, even the most ardent Republican, that dignity and splendour were inconsistent with a iree and enlightened Republic, until Jefferson began his steady and successful system of plebeianizing the country. ^Iff 330 THE CONQUEROR hi m Washington's levees were frigid ; but I have not observed any special warmth at the White House upon public occa- sions in my own time. The President, after the company had assembled, entered in full official costume : black velvet and satin, diamond knee-buckles, his hair in a bag and tied with ribbons. He carried a military hat under his arm, and wore a dress sword in a green shagreen scabbard. He made a tour of the room, addressing each guest in turn, all being ranged according to their rank. At his wife's levees he attended as a private individual and mingled more freely with the guests; but his presence always lowered every voice in the room, and women trembled with anxiety lest he should not engage them in conversation, while dread- ing that he might. The unparalleled dignity, the icy reserve of his personality, had always affected the temperature of the gatherings he honoured; but at this time, when to the height of a colossal and unique reputation was added the first incumbency of an office, bestowed by a unanimous sentiment, which was to raise the United States to the plane of the great nations of Europe, he was instinctively regarded as superhuman, rather as a human embodiment of the Power beyond space. He was deeply sensitive to the depressing effect he produced, and not a little bored by the open- mouthed curiosity he excited. A youngster, having run after him for quite a block, one day, panting from his ex- ertions, Washington wheeled about suddenly, and made a bow so profound and satirical that his pursuer fled with a yell of terror. The President was very fond of the theatre, and invited a party once a week to accompany him to John Street He entertained at table constantly, and dined out formally and intimately. Congress, he attended in great state. He had brought to New York six white horses of the finest Vir- gmian breed, and a magnificent cream-coloured coach, orna- mented with cupids and festoons. For state occasions the horses were covered over night with a white paste, and pol- ished next morning until they shone like silver. The hoofs were painted black. When Washington drove through the city on his way to Congress, attended by postilions and out- "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 33» riders, it is little wonder that he had a royal progress through proud and satisfied throngs. The Adamses, who had counselled all the usages of for- eign courts, but had been outvoted by Hamilton and Jay, entertained but little less than the President ; and so did the Schuylers, Livingstons, Jays, and half the town. The Hamiltons, of necessity, entertained far more simply; but Betsey received every Wednesday evening, when her rooms were a crush of fashion and politics, eager for a glimpse of Hamilton and to do court to her popular self. They gave at least one dinner a week, but Betsey as a rule went out with her parents, for her husband was too busy for society. The world saw little of Hamilton at this time, and Betsey but little more. He worked in his library or office for four- teen hours of the day, while the country teemed with con- jectures of his coming Report. A disposition to speculate upon it was already manifest, and more than one friend en- deavoured to gain a hint of its contents. Not even Madi- son, to whom he had talked more freely than to anyone, kn w aught of the details of that momentous Report, what recommendations he actually should make to Congress; for none knew better than he that a hint derived from him which should lead to profitable speculation would tar- lush his good name irretrievably. Careless in much else, on the subject of his private and public integrity he was rigid ; he would not have yielded a point to retain the af- fection of the best and most valued of his friends. Fastid- ious by nature on the question of his honour, he knew, also, that other accusations, even when verified, mattered little in the long run ; a man's actual position in life and in his- tory was determined by the weight of his brain and the spotlessness of his public character. He worked in secret, with no help from anyone; nor could blandishments ex- tract a hint of his purpose. Against the rock of his integ- rity passion availed nothing. As for Betsey, between her .throwing children, the delicacy which had followed the birth of her last child, and her heavy social duties, she would have had little time to assist him had he confided even in her: Moreover, to keep up a dignified position upon |>35CX) wMt. 33* THE CONQUEROR a year cost her clever little Dutch head much anxious thought. It is true that some money had been put aside from the income of her husband's large practice, but he was the most careless and generous of men, always refus- ing the fees of people poorer than himself, and with no talent for personal, great as was his mastery of political, economy. If General Schuyler often came to the rescue his son-in-law never knew it. Hamilton had a vague idea that Betsey could manage somehow, and was far too ab- sorbed to give the matter a thought. Betsey, it would seem, had her own little reputation, for it was about this time that M'Henry finished a letter to Hamilton, as follows : — Pray present me to Mrs. Hamilton. I have learned from a friend of yours that she has, as far a.s the comparison will ho)d, as much merit as your treasurer as you have as treasurer of the wealth of the United States. XVI Congress reassembled, and on the 2d of January Ham- ilton sent in his Report on Public Credit. By this time excitement and anxiety, to say nothing of cupidity, were risen to fever pitch. All realized that they we.c weV ia the midst of a national crisis, for the country was bank- rupt, and her foreign and domestic debts footed up to quite eighty millions of dollars — a stupendous sum in the infancy of a nation, when there was little specie in the country, and an incalculable amount of worthless paper, with long arrears of interest besides. If Hamilton could cope with this great question, and if Congress, with its determ^.ed anti-government party, would support him, the Union and its long-suffering patriots would enter upon a season of prosperity and happiness. If the one were in- adequate to meet the situation, or the other failed in its national duty, the consequences must be deeper wretched- ness and disaster than anything they yet had rlured. The confidence in Hamilton was very widespre. rj, ; -r not only were his great abilities fully recognized, bi. h . gen- eral opinions on the subject had long been knov.'n, and approved by all but the politicians on the wrong side. ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 3S3 The confidence had been manifested in a manner Mttle to his liking : speculators had scoured the country, buying up government securities at the rate of a few shillings on the pound, taking advantage of needy holders, who dwelt, many of them, in districts too remote from the centre of action to know what the Government was about. And even before this " signal instance of moral turpitude," the fact that so many old soldiers who had gone ' le with no other pay than government securities, to be .langed for specie at the pleasure of a government whicn nobody had trusted, had sold out for a small sum, was one of the agi- tating themes of the country; and opinion was divided upon the right of the assignees to r .'.ect the full amount which thi new government mJght be prepared to pay, while the moral rights of the worti-' and original holder were ignored. It was understood, however, that Hamilton had given no more searching thought to any subject than to this. The public was not admitted to the galleries of Congress in those days., but a great crowd packed Wall and Broad streets while the Report was reading and until some hint of its contents filtered through the guarded doors. Hamilton himself was at home with his family, enjoying a day of rest. It is one of the most curious incidents in his career, as well as one of the highest tributes to his power over men, that Congress, after mature deliberation, decided that it would be safer to receive his Report in writing than in the form of a personal address from a man who played so dangerously upon the nerve-board of the human nature. There hardly could be any hidden witchery in a long paper dealing with so unemotional a subject as finance ; but no man could foresee what might be the effect of the Secre- tary's voice and enthusiasm, — which was perilously com- municable, — his inevitable bursts of spontar ;ous eloquence. But Hamilton had a pen which served him well, when he was forced to substitute it for the charm of his personal- ity. It was so pointed, simple, and powerful, it classified with such clarity, it expressed his convictions so unmistak- ably, and conveyed his subtle appeals to human passions so ii 334 THE CONQUEROR obediently, that it rarely failed to quiver like an arrow in the brain to which it was directed. And this particular report was vitalized by the author's overwhelming sense of the great crisis with which he was dealing. Reading it to-day, a hundred and eleven years after it was written, and close to the top of a twelve-story building, which is a symbol of the industry and progress for which he more than any man who has ever dedicated his talents to the United States is responsible, it is so fresh and convincing, so earnest, so insistent, so courteously peremptory, that the great century which lies between us and that empire-making paper lapses from the memory, and one is in that anxious time, in the very study cf the yet more anxious statesman ; who, on a tropical island that most of his countrymen never will see, came into being with the seed of an unimagined nation in his brain. To condense Hamilton is much like attempting to in- crease the density of a stone, or to reduce the alphabet to a tabloid. I therefore shall make no effort to add another failure to the several abstracts of this Report. The heads of his propositions are sufficient. The Report is accessible to all who find the subject interesting. The main points were these : The exploding of the discrimination fallacy ; the assumption of the State debts by the Government ; the funding of the entire amount of the public debt, foreign, domestic, and State; three new loans, one to the entire amount of the debt, another of $10,000,000, a third of $12,000,000; the prompt payment of the arrears and cur- rent interest of the foreign loan on the original terms of the contract ; the segregating of the post-office revenue, amounting to about a million doUacs, for a sinking fund, that the creation of a debt should always be accompanied by the means of extinguishment ; increased duties on for- eign commodities, that the government might be able to pay the interest on her new debts and meet her current expenses ; and more than one admonition for prompt action, as the credit of the nation was reaching a lower level daily, besides sinking more hopelessly into debt through arrears of interest. The indebtedness he divided "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 335 as follows: The foreign debt, $10,070,307, with arrears of interest amounting to $1,640,071,062. The liquidated domestic debt, $27,383,917,074, with arrears of interest amounting to $13,030,168,020. The unliquidated part he estimated at $2,000,000, and the aggregate debt of the State at $25,000,000 ; making a total of nearly $80,000,000. He also hinted at his long-cherished scheme of a National Bank, and a possible excise law, and gave con- siderable space to the miserable condition of landed prop- erty and the methods by which it might be restored to its due value. XVII The talk in the drawing-room of Mrs. Croix that night was of little else but the Secretary's Report. Mrs. Croix, so said gossip, had concluded that this was the proper time for the demise of her recalcitrant officer, and had re- tired to weeds and a semi-seclusion while Mrs. Washington pondered upon the propriety of receiving her. Her court cared little for the facts, and vowed that she never had looked so fair or so proud ; Hamilton, that she shone with the splendour of a crystal star on the black velvet skies of the Tropics. She wore, this evening, a few yards of black gauze which left bare a crescent of her shining neck and the lower arms. Her bright hair was arranged in a mass of ringlets, after a fashion obtaining in Europe, and surmounted by a small turban of gauze fastened with a diamond sun. Many of the men who visited her habit- ually called her Lady Betty, for she was one of those women who invite a certain playful familiarity while re- pelling intimacy. Hamilton called her, as the fancy moved him. Egeria, Boadicea, or Lady Godiva. Clinton came in fuming. " It is not possible," he cried, "that the Congress can be so mad as to be hoodwinked by this deep political scheme for concentrating the lib- erties of the United States under the executive heel. ' To cement more closely the union of the States and to add to their security against foreign attack!' Forsooth! This 336 THE CONQUEROR assumption plan is nothing more nor less than another of his dastardly schemes to squeeze out of the poor States what little liberty he left them under the Constitution. He could not obtain at Philadelphia all he wished for, but now that Washington has given him both reins, he laughs in our faces. I regret that I ever offered him my hand," "Then our party in Congress will fight him on political grounds.'" asked Mrs. Croix. " You may put it that way if you choose. It certainly will not be blinded by his speciousncss and aid him in his subtle monarchism. ' Contribute in an eminent degree to an orderly, stable, and satisfactory arrangement of the Nation's finances ! ' ' Several reasons which render it probable that the situation of the State creditors will be worse than that of the creditors of the Union, if there be not a national assumption of the State debts ! ' And then his plan of debit and credit, with 'little doubt that bal- ances would appear in favour of all the States against the United States!' My blood has boiled since I read that paper. I have feared apoplexy. He is clever, that West Indian, — do they grow many such.? — but he did not select a country composed entirely of fools to machi- nate in." "My dearest Governor," whispered Mrs. Croix, "calm yourself, pray. Only you can cope with Mr. Hamilton. You must be the colossal spirit without the walls of Con- gress to whom all will look for guidance. If you become ill, the cause is lost." Clinton composed himself promptly, and asked Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, which section of the Report he expected to attack first. There were no Federalists present. Gerry shrugged his shoulders and shot a narrow glance of contempt at the Governor. " Give me time, your Ex- cellency, pray. Mr. Hamilton's paper has the thought of a decade in it. It merits at least a week of thought on our part. I never could agree with him in all things, but in "ome I am at one with him ; and I acknowledge myself deeply in his debt, insomuch as he has taught me, among "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 337 thousands of others, to 'think continentally.' I certainly agree with him that to pay to present holders the full value of their certificates, without discrimination, is a matter of constitutional law, a violation of which would be a menace to the new government. I shall support him on that point at the risk of being ar . ; of speculation." Stone, of Maryland, was str> up and down, but a degree less agitated than the Go /e jr of New York. "The man is cleverer than all the rest of us put to- gether ! " he exclaimed. " Let us not forget that for an instant. A gi eater thought than this of assumption has never been devised by man. If it be carried into execu- tion, — which God forbid, — it will prove a wall of adamant to the Federal government, impregnable to any attempt on its fabric or operations." " Oh, is it so bad as that ? " asked Gerry. " Every fort falls if the siege be sufficiently prolonged. I apprehend no such disaster, and I confess I see much promise in at least two of Mr. Hamilton's schemes. After all, the re- demption of the country is what we must look to first." " You are a trimmer. Cannot you see that if the whole revenue of the States be taken into the power of Congress, it will prove a band to draw us so close together as not to leave the smallest interstice for separation ? " " But do you meditate separation ? " asked Mrs. Croix. " Surely that would be as great a crime as Mr. Hamilton's monarchical manoeuvres — if it be true he practises such." " He is bold enough about them," snorted Clinton. " I do the man justice to recognize his insolent frankness." "Those I cannot say I have observed," said Gerry. "Nor do I think that we meditate separation. We are struggling out of one pit. It would be folly to dig a ileeper. And Massachusetts has a great debt, with de- creasing revenue for interest and redemption. I am not sure that assumption would not be to her advantage. She stood the brunt of the war. It is but fair that she should have rehef now, even at the expense of other States whose debt IS insignificant ; and she is able to take care of her- self against the Federal government — " i '\ 338 THE CONQUEROR " The brunt of the war ! " exclaimed the Attorney-Gen- eral of the Cabinet, who, with the Speaker of the House, had just entered, and who had controlled himself with difficulty for several seconds. " I beg to assure you, sir, that Virginia may claim that honour. Her glorious patri- otism, her contributions in men and money — they exceeded those of any State in the Union, sir." Gerry laughed. " I have no means of comparison by which patriotism may be measured, Mr. Randolph," he said. " But we can produce figureS; if necessary, to prove our title to supremacy in the other matters you mention. As you have reduced your debt, however, by an almost total repudiation of your paper money — " " How about Mr. Madison .' " asked Mrs. Croix, hur- riedly. " He is your fellow-statesman, Mr. Randolph, but h** is Mr. Hamilton's devoted friend and follower. Vir- ginia may be sadly divided." " My fears have decreased on that point," said Ran- dolph, drily. " Mr. Madison's loyalty toward his State increases daily." " So does his ambition," observed Muhlenberg. " If I am not mistaken, he has begun to chafe at Hamilton's arrangement of his destinies — and a nature like that is not without deep and sullen jealousies. To be a leader of leaders requires a sleepless art ; to lead the masses is play by comparison. Hamilton is a magician, but he is arro- gant and impatient With all his art and control of men's minds, he will lose a follower now and again, and not the least important would be — will be — Madison." " Have you proof } " asked Clinton, eagerly. " He would be 01" incomparable value in our ranks. By the way, Aaron Burr is working to the front. He is a bom politi- cian, if I am not mistaken, and is in a rapid process of education. I feel sure . \t I have attached him to our cause by appointing him Attorney-General of the State. He should make an invaluaOle party man." " He will be attached to no cause," said Gerry. " He is, as you say, a politician. There is not a germ of the statesman in him ; nor of the honest man, either, unless I "ALEXANDER THE GREAT 339 am deeply mistaken. He is the only man of note in the country who has not one patriotic act to his credit. He fought, but so did every adventurous youth in the country ; and had there been anything more to his interest to do at the time, the Revolution could have taken care of itself. But during all our trying desperate years since — did he g() once to Congress > Did he interest himself in the Con- stitution, either at Philadelphia or Poughkeepsie } What record did he make in the State Legislature during his one term of infrequent attendance.? While other men, notably Hamilton, of whom he betrays an absurd jealousy,' have been neglecting their private interests in the public cause, he has been distinguishing himself as a femalist, and thinking of nothing else but making money at the bar! I admit his brilliancy, his intrepidity, and the exquisite quality of his address, but I don't believe that an honest man who comes into contact with him instinctively trusts him." "Oh, let us not indulge in such bitter personalities," cried Mrs. Croix, who took no interest at that time in the temporary husband of her old age. " Surely this coming legislation should compel every faculty. What of the other debts.? — of funding.? Or, if it is still too soon to talk of these matters with equilibrium," she added hastily, as Clinton turned purple again, "pray tell me that the great question of deciding upon a site for the Capital is nearing a solution. It has been such a source of bitter agitation. I wish it were settled." " The House may or may not pass this bill for ten years in Philadelphia, and the banks of the Potomac thereafter," growled the Senator from North Carolina. " The Federal- ists have the majority, and they are determined to keep the seat of government in the North, as they are deter- mined to have their monarchical will in everything. Madi- son hopes for some fortuitous coincidence, but I o ess I hardly know what he means." Gerry laughed. " When Madison takes to verbiage." he said, '■ 1 should resort to a plummet and line." "Sir!" cried Randolph, limping toward the door in 340 THE CONQUEROR angry haste. " Mr. Madison is one of the loftiest states- men in the country ! " " Has been. Centrifugal forces are in motion." " How everybody in politics does hate everybody else ! " said Mrs. Croix, with a patient sigh. XVIII The next morning Mrs. Croix sent a peremptory sum- mons to Hamilton. Although at work upon his " Addi- tional Estimates," he responded at once. The lady was combing her emotional rriane in the sunshine before the mirror of her boudoir when he arrived, and the maid had been dismissed. " Well, Egeria," he said, smiling down upon this dazzling vision, " what is it ? What warning of tremendous im- port have you to deliver, that you rout a busy Secretary from his work at eleven in the morning .' I dared not loiter, lest your capricious majesty refuse me your door upon my next evening of leisure — " " It is not I who am capricious ! " cried Mrs. Croix. She pouted charmingly. " Indeed, sir, I never am quite sure of you. You are all ardour to-day, and indifference to-mor- row. For work I am always put aside, and against your family demands I do not exist." " My dear Boadicea," said Hamilton, drily, " I am a mere creature of routine. I met you after my habits of work and domesticity were well established. You are the fairest thing on earth, and there are times when you con- sume it, but circumstances isolate you. Believe me, I am a victim of those circumstances, not of caprice." " My dear Hamilton," replied Mrs. Croix, quite as drily, " you have all the caprice of a woman combined with all the lordly superiority of the male. I well know that al- though I bewitch you, I can do so at your pleasure only. You are abominably your own master, both in your strength and your weakness. But there is no one like you on earth, so I submit. And I work and burrow for you, and you will not even accept my precious offerings." "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 34* " I will not have you playing the rAle of spy, if that is what you mean. I do not like this idea of confessing my enemies when they think themselves safe in your house. I prefer to fight in the open, and they reveal themselves to me sooner or later. What should I think of myself and you if I permitted you to act as a treacherous go-between." '• You will not permit me to help you ! And I could do much ! I could tell you so much now that would put you on your guard. I could help you immeasurably. I could be your fate. But you care for nothing but my beauty ! " And she dropped dismally into her pocket-handkerchief. Hamilton was not one of those men who dread a woman's tears. He had dried too many. His immediate and practical consolation but appeared to deepen her grief, however, and he was obliged to resort to eloquence. "Where do I find such hours of mental companionship as here ? " he demanded. " I say nothing of art and liter- ature ; do I not discuss with you the weightiest affairs of State — everything, in fact, vpon which my honour does not compel silence ? Never have I thought of asking the ad- vice, the opinion, of a woman before. You are my Egeria, and I am deeply grateful for you. If at times I remember nothing but your beauty, would you have it otherwise .' I flatter myself that you would not. Have you really any- thing to reproach me for, because I will not hear of your ti mmitting an act which I would not commit myself .> I suppose it is hopeless to talk of honour to the cleverest of women, but you must accept this dictum whether you under- st ,nd it i)r not : I will listen to none of the confidences of yuir trusting anti-Federalists. Why cannot you come out h nestly and declare your true politics > You could do far more good, and I leave you no excuse to perpetrate this lie." " I will not," sobbed his Eger-a, obstinately. " I may be able to be of service to you, even if you will not let me warn you of Madison's treachery." She had scored her point, and Hamilton sprane to his teet, his face as white as her petticoats. "Madison's treachery ! " he exclaimed. " It is true he comes near me 34a THK CONQUKROR but seldom this Congress. I had attributed his 'oldness to temperament. Can it be? So many force would operate. There is much jealousy and ambition in him 1 can never lead my party. Is he capable of u. scrtiriR that he might lead another.' One expects that sort ..f thing of a Burr; but Madison— I have thought him of an almost dazzling whiteness at times — then I have had light mng glimpses of meaner depths. He is easily influenced Virgmia opposes me so bitterly ! Will he dare to continue to defy her ? Can he continue to rise if she combines against him .' Oh, God ! If he only had more iron in his soul ! " It was characteristic of him that he had forgotten his audience. He was thinking aloud, his thoughts leaping from pomt to point as they sprang into the brilliant atmos- phere of his mind ; or using its rapid divining rod. Ho threw back his head. " I'll not believe it till I have ■ oof • " he exclaimed defiantly. " Why, I should feel as it one of the foundations of the earth had given way. Madison — we have been like brothers. I have confided deeply in hmi. There is little in that Report of yesterday that I have not discussed with him a hundred times — nothing but the ways and means, which I dared confi^'o to no one! He has always been in favour of assumption, of paying the whole debt. It is understood that he is to support me in Congress. I'll hear no more. Dry your tears. You have accomplished your object with a w(. man's wit. I believe you did but shed those tear? to enhance your love- liness, my Lady Godiva." XIX The immediate consequences of Hamilton's Report were a rise of fifty per cent in the securities of the bankrupt Confederation, and a bitter warfare in Congress. All were agreed upon the propriety of paying the foreign loan, but the battle raged about every other point in turn. One of the legacies of the old Congress was the principle of lepudiatmg what it was not convenient to redeem, and the pohticians of the country had insensibly fallen into the "ALEXANDER I'HF, GREAT" 343 habit of --'ssuming that they sh( ild start clear with he new j^ovcrnment, and relegate t k miestic debt to the imbo which held so many other resources best forgotten. They were far from admitting the i\ 1 measure of their iiiheri- tance, however, and opened the cattle with a loud dei mnce- ment of the greedy speculator who had dcirauded the impoverished soldier, to whose needs they had he#sn indifferent hitherto. Most ot this feeling concentrated in the opposition, but many Federalists were so divided upon the question of discrimination that for a time ihe other great questions contained in the Report fell back. T'eeling became so bitter that those who supported the as.signees were accused of speculation, and personalities were hot and blistering. Many of the strongest men, however, ranged with Hamilton, and were in sight of victory, when Madison, who had hoped to see the question settle itself in favour of the original holders without his open suitport, came out with a double bomb ; the first symptom of his opposition to the Federal party, and an unconstitutional proposition that the holders by assign- ment hould iCC'^ive the highest market-price yet reached b\ *^hc certifica< , by which they would reap no incon- .': ..:-i':1e p Mii. . nd that the balance of the sum due, '\ >rc tnun one-half, should be distributed among [■■[..■' holders. For a time the reputation for state- i' ■hich Madison had Wv>n was clouded, for his adrnis.>;Oii of the claims of t!.. j'-.sif^nees nullified any argu- ment he could advance in * 'vci..; of the original holders. But he had his limitations. There was nothing of the business man in his coff, position. One of the most notable and usefi attributes Ci Hampton's versatile brain was excluded 'iom his, beyond its comprehension. His propo- sition was rejected by thirty-six votes to thirteen. Then the hostile camps faced each other on the ques- tions of the domestic debt and assumption. In regard to tiie former, con on decency finally prevailed, but the other threatened to dis'' pt the Union, for the Eastern States threw out more th .; one hint of secession did the measure fail. Madison, wilhout further subterfuge, came forth at the m: i 344 THE CONQUEROR the head of his State as the leader of the anti-assumption- ists. He offered no explanation to his former chief and none was demanded. For a time Hamilton was bitterly disgusted and wounded. He shrugged his shoulders, fin- ally, and accepted his new enemy with philosophy, though by no means with amiability and forgiveness ; but he had seen too much of the selfishness and meanness of human nature to remain pained or astonished at any defection. When June came, however, he was deeply uneasy. On March 29th the resolutions providing for the foreign debt and for paying in full the principal of the domestic debt to the present holders passed withoi'V a division. So did the resolution in favour of paying the arrears of interest in like manner with the principal of the domestic debt. But the resolution in favour of assumption was recommitted. The next day the friends of assumption had the other resolutions also recommitted, and the furious battle raged again. Finally, on June 2d, a bill was passed by the House, which left the question of assumption to be settled by a future test of strength. The anti-assumptionists were triumphant, for they be- lieved the idea would gain in unpopularity. But they reckoned without Hamilton. XX Jefferson had arrived on March 21st, and entered at once upon his duties as Secretary of State. He disapproved of the assumption measure, but was so absorbed in the perplexing details of his new office, in correspondence, and in frequent conferences with the President on the sub- ject of foreign affairs, that he gave the matter little con- secutive thought. Moreover, he was dined every day for weeks, all the distinguished New Yorkers, from Hamilton down, vying with each other in attentions to a man whose state record was so enlightened, and whose foreign so brilliant, despite one or two humiliating failures. He rented a small cottage in Maiden Lane, and looked with deep disapproval upon the aristocratic dissipations of New "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 345 York, the frigid stateliness of Washington's " Court." The French Revolution and the snub of the British king had developed his natural democratism into a controlling pas- sion, and he would have preferred to find in even the large cities of the new country the homely bourgeois Ufe of his highest ideals. No one accused him of inconsistency in externals. With his shaggy sandy hair, his great red face, covered with freckles, his long loose figure, clad in red French breeches a size too small, a threadbare brown coat, soiled Hnen and hose, and enormous hands and feet, he must have astounded the courtly city of New York, and it is certain that he set Washington's teeth on edge. It is no wonder that when this vision rises upon the democratic horizon of to-day, he is hailed as a greater man than Washington or Hamilton. Shortly after the final recommitment of the resolution in favour of assumption, the FederaUst leader met this engag- ing figure almost in front of Washington's door, and a plan which had dawned in his mind a day or two before matured on the instant. He had no dislike for Jefferson at the time, and respected his intellect and diplomatic talents, without reference to differences of opinion. Jeffer- son grinned as Hamilton approached, and offered his great paw amiably. He did not like his brother secretary's clothes, and his hitherto averted understanding was gradu- ally moving toward the displeasing fact that Hamilton was the Administration ; but he had had little time for reflection, and he succumbed temporarily to a fascination which few Hamilton approached him frankly. "Will you walk up and down with me a few moments ? " he asked. " I have intended to call upon you. You have returned at a most opportune time. Do you realize, sir, that the whole busi- ness of this nation is at a deadlock ? There is nothing in this talk of the North seceding, but so great is the appre- hension that the energies of the country ?re paralyzed, and man thinks of anything but the possible failure of the no Government. I am convinced that assumption is not only necessary to permanent union, to the solution of the finan- i! 346 THE CONQUEROR cial problem, but to the prosperity of the States themselves." He then proceeded to convince Jefferson, who listened attentively, wondering, with a sigh, how any man could pour out his thoughts so rapidly and so well. " Will you turn this over in your mind, and let me see you again in u day or two?" asked Hamilton, as he finished his argu- ment. "Let me reiterate that there is no time to lose. The Government is at a standstill in all matters concern- ing the establishment of the country on a sound financial basis, until this subordinate matter is settled." " You alarm and deeply interest me," said Jefferson. "I certainly will give the matter my attention. Will you dine with me to-morrow > We can then discuss this mat- ter at leisure. I will ask one or two others." The next day, at Mr. Jefferson's epicureous board, Ham- ilton played his trump. Having again wrought havoc with his host's imagination, but by no means trusting to the permanence of any emotion, he proposed a bargain: if Jefferson would use his influence with the Virginians and other Southern anti-assumptionists in Congress, he and Robert Morris would engage to persuade obstinate North- erners to concede the Capital city to the South. Hamilton made no sacrifice of conviction in offering this proposition. There was no reason why the Government should not sit as conveniently on the banks of the Potomac as elsewhere, and if he did not carry the Union through this new crisis, no one else would. All his great schemes depended upon his bringing the hostile States to reason, and with his usual high-handed impatience he carried his object in his own way. Jefferson saw much virtue in this arrangement. The plan was an almost immediate success. White and Lee of Virginia were induced to change their votes, and assump- tion with some modifications passed into a law. The Gov- ernment, afler a ten years' sojourn in Philadelphia, would abide permanently upon the Potomac. ALEXANDER THf, GREAT' XXI 34f Mrs. Hamilton, albeit she had not a care m the world, sighed heavily. She was standing before ner mirror, arrayed in a triumph of art recently selected by Mrs. Church, in London. On her head was an immense puff of yellow gauze, whose satin foundation had a double wing in large plaits. The dress was of yellow satin, flowing over a white satin petticoat, and embellished about the neck with a large Italian gauze handkerchief^ striped with white. Her hair was in ringlets and unpowdered. She was a very plate of fashion, but her brow was puckered. "What is it?" asked her husband, entering from his room. " You are a vision of loveliness, my dear Eliza. Is there a rose too few, or a hoop awry ? ' ' " No, sir, I am well enough pleased with myself. I am worrying lest General Washington ask me to dance It will be bad enough to go r it with Mr. Adams, who snaps at me every time I venture a remark, but he at iea^ is not a giant, and I do not feel like a dwarf. When the President leads me out — that is to say, when he did lead me out at the Inauguration ball, I was lik< to expire of mortification. T felt like a little polar cub trotting out to sea with a monster iceberg. And he never opened his lips to distract my mind, just solemnly marched me up and down, as if I had done something naughty and were being exhibited. I saw Kitty Livingston giggle behind her fan, and Kitty Duer drew herself up to her full height, which is quite five feet six, and looked down upon me with a cruel amusement. Women are so nasty to each other. Thank heaven I have a new gown for to-night — anyhow ! " Hamilton laughed heartily ; she always amused him, she was half his wife, half the oldest of his children. " And you are fresher far than any of them ; let that console you," he said, arranging her necklace. " I am sure both the President and the Vice-President will take you out ; they hardly would have the bad taste not to. And you look very sweet, hanging on to Washington's hand. Don't im- 348 THE CONQUEROR agine for a moment that you look ridiculous. Fancy, if you had to walk through life with either of them." Betsey shuddered and smoothed her brow. " It would be a walk with the dear general," she said. " I dare not dwell upon what it would be with }\i. Adams — or any- one else ! You are amaiiing smart, yourself, to-night." "This new costume depressed me for a moment, for it is very like one Laurens used to wear upon state occa- sions, but I had not the courage to wear the light blue with the large gilt buttons, and the pudding cravat Morris iaconsiderately sent me ; not with Jefferson's agonized eye to encounter. The poor man suffers cruelly at our extrava- gance and elegance." " He is an old fright," quoth Betsey, " and I'd not dance with him, not if he went on his knees." She looked her husband over with great pride. He wore a coat of plum-coloired velvet a double-breasted Marseilles vest, white satin breeches, white silk stockings, and pumps. There were full ruffles of lace on his breast and wrists. A man of to-day has to be singularly gifted by nature to shine triumphant above his ugly and uniform garb, whereas many a woman wins a reputation for beauty by a combination of taste with the infinite range modern fashion accords her. In the days of which we write, a man hardly could help looking his best, and while far more decorative than his descendant, was equally useful. And as all dressed in varying degrees of the same fashion, none seemed effeminate. As for Hamilton, his head never looked more massive, his glance more commanding, than when he was in full regalia ; nor he more ready for a fight. All women know the psychological effect of being superla- tively well dressed. In the days of our male ancestors' external vanities it is quite possible that they, too, felt un- conquerable when panoplied in their best. The ball that night was at Richmond Hill, the beautiful home of the Vice President and his wife, Abigail Adams, one of the wisest, wittiest, and most agreeable women of her time. This historic mansion, afterward the home of Aaron Burr during his successful years, was a country "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 349 estate where Varick Street now crosses Charlton in the heart of the city. It stood on an eminence overlooking the Hudson, surrounded by a park and commanding a view of the wild Jersey shore Ci.posite. The Adamses were ambitious people and entertained constantly, with little less formality than the President. The early hours of their receptions, indeed, were chilling, and many went late, after dancing was begun or the company had scat- tered to the card-tables. The Vice-President and his wife stood at the head of the long drawing-room and said good evening, and no more, as the women courtesied to the j^round, or the t^n bowed as deeply as th^iir varying years would permit. The guests then stood about for quite an hour and talked in undertones ; later, perhaps, the host and hostess mingled with them and ct^averscd. But al- though Mrs. Adams was vistly popular, her distinguished husband was less so ; he was not always to be counted upon in the matter of temper. This grim old Puritan, of an integrity which makes him one of the giants of our early history, despite the last hours of his administration when he was beating about in the vortex of his passions, and always honest in his convictions, right or wrong, had not been gifted by nature with a pleasing address, al- though he could attach people to him when he chose. He was irascible and violent, the victim of a passionate jealous nature, without the saving graces of humour and liveliness of temperament. But his sturdy upright figure was very imposing ; his brow, which appeared to end with the tip of his nose, so bold was the curve, would have been benevolent but for the youthful snapping eyes. His indomitability and his capacity for hatred were expressed in the curves of his mouth. He was always well dressed, tor although a farmer by birth, he was a.> pronounced an aristocrat in his tastes as Washington or Hamilton. At this time, although he liked neither of them, he was the staunch supporter of the Government. He believed in Federalism and the Constitution, insignificant as he found his rewards under both, and he was an ally of inestimable value. 350 THE CONQUEROR •? When the Hamiltons entered his drawing-room to-night they found many people of note already there, although the minuet had not begun. The President, his graceful six feet in all the magnificence of black velvet and white satin, his queue in a black silk bag, stood beside his lady, who was as brave as himself in a gown of violet brocade over an immense hoop. Poor dame, she would far rather have been at Mount Vernon in homespun, for -'1 this pomp and circumstance bored and isolated her. She hedged herself about with the etiquette which her exalted position demanded, and froze the social aspirant of insufficient pre- tensions, but her traditions and her propensities were ever at war ; she was a woman above all things, and an extremely simple one. John Jay, now Chief Justice of the United States, was there, as ever the most simply attired personage in the Union. His beautiful wife, however, beaming and gra- cious, but no less rigid than " Lady Washington," in her social statutes, looked like a bird of paradise beside a graven image, so gorgeous was her raiment. Baron Steu- ben was in the regalia of war and a breastplate of orders. Kitty Livingston, now Mrs. Matthew Ridley, had also received a fine new gown of Mrs. Church's selection, for the two women still were friends, despite the rupture of their families. Lady Kitty Duer, so soon to know poverty and humiliation, was in a gown of celestial blue over a white satin petticoat, her lofty head surmounted by an immense gauze turban. General and Mrs. Knox, fat, amiable, and always popular, although sadly inflated by their new social importance, were mountains of finery. Mrs. Ralph Izard, Mrs. Jay's rival in beauty, and Mrs. Adams's in wit, painted by Gainsborough and Copley, wore a white gown of enviable simplicity, and a string of large pearls in her hair, another about her graceful throat. Mrs. Schuyler, stout and careworn, from the trials of excitable and eloping daughters, clung to the kind arm of her au- stere and silent husband. Fisher Ames, with his narrow consumptive figure and his flashing ardent eyes, his elo- quent tongue chilled by this funereal assemblage, had "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 35* retreated to an alcove with Rufus King, where they whis- pered politics. Burr, the target of many fine eyes, was always loyal to his wife in public ; she was a charming and highly respected woman, ten years his senior. Burr fascinated women, and adorned his belt with their scalps ; but had it not been for this vanity, which led him to scat- ter hints of infinite devilment and conquest, it is not likely that he would have been branded, in that era of gal- lantry, a devirginator and a rake. AH that history is con- cerned with is his utter lack of patriotism and honesty, and the unscrupulous selfishness, from which, after all, he suffered more than any man. His dishonesties and his treasonable attempts were failures, but he left a bitter legacy in his mastery of the arts of political corruption, and in a glittering personality which, with his misfortunes, has begodded him with the shallow and ignorant, who know the traditions of history and none of its facts. He was a poor creature, with all his gifts, for his life was a failure, his old age one of the loneliest and bitterest in history ; and from no cause that facts or tradition give us but the blind selfishness which blunted a good understand- ing to stupidity. Selfishness in ; ublic life is a crime against one's highest ambitions. Mrs. Hamilton kept a firm hold on her husband's arm, and her glance shot apprehensively from Washington to the Vice-President. 1 he latter could not dance at present ; the former looked as if petrified, rooted in the floor. Bet- sey had a clever little head, and shr devised a scheme at once. She was the third lady in the laiid, and although many years younger than Mrs. Adams, had entertained from her cradle. No one else immediately following the entrance of her husband and herself, she did not move on after her courtesy, but drew Mrs. Adams into conversation, and the good lady by this time was glad of a friendly word. "You will he detained here for an hour yet," said Bet- sey, swtN^tlv. "C;in I help you.' Shaii I start the minuet? Dear Mr. Adams will be too tired to daace to-night. Shall I choose a partner and begin } " 35* THE CONQUEROR " For the love of heaven, do," whispered Mrs. Adams Take out Colonel Burr. He matches you in height, and dances like a courtier." Other people entered at the moment, and Retsey whis- pered hurriedly to Hamilton : "Go — quickly — and fetch Colonel Burr. I breathe freely for the first time since the clock struck six, but who knows what may happen ? " Hamilton obediently started in quest of Burr. But alas Ames and King darted at him from their hiding-place behmd a curtain, and he disappeared from his wife's despairing vision. Ten minutes later he became aware of the familiar strains of the minuet, and guiltily glanced forth. Betsey, her face composed to stony resignation lest she disgrace herself with tears, was solemnly treading the measure with the solemnest man on earth, clutching at his hand, which was on a level with her turban. A turn of her head and she encountered her husband's contrite eye. Before hers he retreated to the alcove, nor did he show himself in the ball-room again until it was time to take his wife to their coach. He escaped from the room by a window, and after half the evening in the library with a group of anxious Federal- ist^ — for It was but a night or two after his dinner with Jefferson, — he retired to a small room at the right of the main hall for a short conference with the Chief Justice He was alone after a few moments, and was standing before the half-drawn tapestrv, watching the guests prome- nading in the hall, when Kitty Livingston passed on the arm of Burr. Their eyes met, and she cut him. His spirits dropped at once, and he was indulging in remi- niscences tinged with melancholy, for he had loved her as one of the faithful chums of his youth, niching her with Troup, Fish, and other enthusiastic friends of that time when to his surprise she entered abruptly, and drew thj tapestry behind her. "You wicked varlet!" she exclaimed. "What did you sow all this dissension for. and deprive me of my best friends .' " Then she kissed him impulsively. " I shall always love you, though. You were the dearest little chap "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 353 that ever was — and that is why I am going to tell you some- thing to-night, although I may never speak to you again. Aaron Burr is burrowing between my family and the Clin- ton faction. He hopes to make a strong combination, de- feat General Schuyler at the next election, and have himself elected senator in his place. Why, why did you alienate us? We are nine in public life — did you forget that.!* — and what was Ruf us King to you or to the country compared with our combined strength ? Why should John be preferred to Robert } You are as high-handed and arrogant as Luci- fer himself ; and generally you win, but not always. Burr has seen his first chance for political preferment, and .seized it with a cunning which I almost admire. He has persuaded both the Livingstons and the Clintons that here is their chance to pull you down, and he is only too willing to be the instrument — the wretched little mole ! I shall hate myseli to-morrow for telling you this, for God knows I am loyal to my people, but I have watched you go up — up — up. I should feel like your mother would if I saw^ you in the dust. I am afraid it is too late to do anything now. These two hostile parlies will not let slip this chance. But get Burr under your foot when you can, and keep him there. He is morbid with jealousy and will live to pull you down." " My dear girl," exclaimed Hamilton, who was holding her hand between both his own, " do not let your imagina- tion run away with you. I am very well with Burr, and he is jealous by fits and starts only. Why in the name of heaven should he be jealous? He has never given a thought to the welfare of the country, and I have devoted myself to the subject since boyhood. If I reap the reward — and God knows the future is precarious enough — why should he grudge me a power for which he has never striven ? I know him to be ambitious, and I believe him to be unscrupulous, and for that reason I have been glad that he has hitherto kept out of politics ; for he would be of no service to the country, would not hesitate to sacrifice it to his own ends — unless I am a poor student of char- acter. But as to personal enmity against me, or jealousy 2A 354 THE CONQUEROR because I occupy a position he has never sought, — and he is a year older than I, remember, — I find that hard to believe, as well as this other ; he is not powerful enough to unite two such factions. " He has a tongue as persuasive from its cunning as yours is in its impetuosity, and he has convinced greater men than himself of his usefulness. Believe me, Alex- ander, I speak of what I know, not of what I suspect. Accept the fact, if you will not be warned. You always underrate your enemies. Your confidence in your own jjcnius — a confidence which so much has occurred to war- rant — blinds you to the power of others. Remember the old adage : Pride goeth before a fall — although I despise the humble myself ; the world owes nothing to them. But I have often trembled for the time when your high- handed methods and your scorn of inferior beings would knock the very foundations from under your feet. Now, I will say no more, and we pirt for ever. Perhaps if you had not worn that colour tonight, I should not have be- trayed my family — heaven knows ! We women are com- pounded of so many contradictory motives. Thank your heaven that you men are not half so complex." "My dear friend," said Hamilton, drily, "you women are not half so complex as men. You may lay claim to a fair share because your intelligence is above the average, but that is the point — complexity is a matter of intelli- gence, and as men are, as a rule, far more intelligent than women, with far more densely furnished brains — " But here she boxed his ears and left the room. She returned in a moment. " You have not thanked me I " she exclaimed. " I deserve to be thanked." Hamilton put his arm about her and kissed her affection- ately. " From the bottom of my heart," he said. " I deeply appreciate the impulse— and the sacrifice." " But you won't heed," she said, with a sigh. " Good-by. Alexander ! I think Betsey is looking for you." "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 355 XXII Hamilton for many months was far too busy with the reports he sent to Congress in rapid succession, above all with the one concerning the establishment of a National Bank, to be presented at the opening of the next Session, and with the routine of business connected with his depart- ment, to interfere in politics. He warned General Schuy- ler, however, and hoped that the scandal connected with the State lands, in which Burr was deeply implicated, would argue for the statesman in his contest with a mere politician. But Burr, in common with the other commis- sioners, was acquitted, although no satisfactory explanation of their astounding transactions was given, and General Schuyler lost the election as much through personal unpopularity as through the industry of Burr and the determined efforts of the Livingstons. Schuyler, the tenderest of men in his friendships, was as austere in his public manner as in his virtues, and inflexible in demanding the respect due to his rank and position. Of a broad intelligence, and a statesman of respectable stat- ure, he knew little of the business of politics and cared less. He took his defeat with philosophy, regretting it more for the animosity toward his son-in-law it betokened than because it removed him temporarily from public life, and returned with his family to Albany. Hamilton was an- noyed and disgusted, and resolved to keep his eye on Burr in the future. While he himself was in power the United States should have no set-backs that he could prevent, and if Burr realized his reading of his character he should man- age to balk his ambitions if they threatened the progress of the country. Kitty Livingston he did not see again for many months, for her father died on July 25th, Hamilton heard of William Livingston's death with deep regret, for Liberty Hall was among the brightest of his memories; but events and emotions were crowding in his life as they never had crowded before, and he had little time for reminiscence. Congress adjourned on the 12th of August to meet in MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 I.I 1.25 2.8 1^ 1^ 13-2 tii 3.6 40 1.4 II 2.5 2.2 1 2.0 1.8 1.6 ^ APPLIED IIVHGE Inc ^^ 165 J East Moi,! Street r^ Rochester, Ne« York U609 US', i^g (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone ^B (716) 288 - 5989 - Fax 356 THE CONQUEROR I Philadelphia in December. New York followed Washing- ton to the ferry stairs upon the day of his departure, weep- ing not only for that great man's loss, but for the glory that went with him. "That vile Philadelphia," as Angelica Church, in a letter to Betsey of consolatory lament, charac- terized the city where Independence was born, was to be the capital of the Nation once more. New York to console herself with her commerce and the superior cleanliness of her streets. Those who could, followed the " Court," and those who could not, travelled the weary distance over the corduroy roads through the forests, and over swamps and rivers, as often as circumstances would permit. Of the former was Mrs. Croix, whose particular court protested it must have the solace of her presence in a city to which few went willingly. Clinton heaped her with reproaches, but she argued sweetly that he was outvoted, and that she should ever go where duty called. " She felt politics to be her mission," and in truth she enjoyed its intrigues, the double game she played, with all her feminine soul. Ham- ilton would not help himself in her valuable storehouse, but it pleased her to know that she held dangerous secrets in her hands, could confound many an unwary politician. And she had her methods, as we have seen, of springing upon Hamilton many a useful bit of knowledge, and of as- sisting him in ways unsuspected of any. She established herself in lodgings in Chestnut Street, not unlike those in which she had spent so many happy hours for two years past, inasmuch as they were situated or the first floor and communicated with a little garden. Hei removal was looked upon as quite natural, and so admirably did she deport herself that even Mrs. Washmgton received her in time. . , -J Philadelphia was a larger city than New York, with wide ill-kept streets, good pavements, and many fine houses and public buildings. Chestnut Street was the great thorough- fare, shopping district, and promenade. It was a city renowned for social activity and " crucifying expenses." Naturally its press was as jubilant over the revival of its ancient splendour as that of disappointed New York was "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 357 scurrilous and vindictive. When the latter was not cari- caturing Robert Morris, staggering off with the Adminis- tration on its back, or " Miss Assumption and her bastard brats," its anti-Federal part was abusing Hamilton as the arch-fiend who had sold the country, and applying to him every adjective of vituperation that fury and coarseness could suggest. There were poems, taunts, jibes, and squibs, printed as rapidly as the press and ingenuity could turn them out. If our ancestors were capable of appreci- ating the literary excellence of their pamphleteers, as many of those who have replaced them to-day could not, it must be admitted that we do not rage and hate so violently. The most hysteric effusions of our yellow press, or the caustic utterances of our reputable newspapers, are tame indeed before the daily cyclones of a time when every- body who did not love his political neighbour hated him with a deadly virulence of which we know little to-day. We may be improved, merely commercialized, or more diffuse in our interests. In those days every man was a politician first and himself after. The violence of party feeling engendered once more by the debates over Hamilton's Report spread over the country like a prairie fire, and raged until, in the North at least, it was met by the back fire of increasing prosperity. As the summer waned farmers and merchants beheld the prices of public securities going up, heard that in Holland the foreign loan had gone above par, and that two hundred and seventy-eight thousand dollars of the domestic debt had been purchased and cancelled at a cost of one hundred and fifty thousand, saw trade reviving, felt their own burdens lighten with the banishment of the State debt. To sing the praises of the Assumption Bill was but a natural sequence, and from thence to a constant panegyric of Hamilton. The anti-Federalist press was drowned in the North by the jubilance of the Federal and its increasing recruits, but in the South everything connected with the Government in general and Hamilton in particular was unholy, and the language in which the sentiment was expressed was un- holier. 358 THE CONQUEROR Meanwhile, Hamilton was established in a little house in Philadelphia, at work upon his second Report on the Pub- lic Credit, and elaborating his argument in favour f a National Bank. Betsey had been more fortunate ti.an many in getting her house in order within a reasonable time, for others were camping in two rooms while the car- penters hammered over the rest of the neglected mansions. Washington arrived in November and took possession of the stately home of Robert Morris, although he grumbled that the stables would hold but twelve horses. It was a splendid mansion, however, and filled not only with the fine collections of the rich merchant, but with many beau- tiful works of art that the President brought from Mount Vernon. Congress opened on the 6th of December. If Hamilton had given only an occasional half-amused, half-irritated attention to the journalistic and pamphlet warfare in which .je had been the target, he now found a domestic engagement confronting him which commanded his attentions and roused all the fighting Scotch blood in his composition. Jefferson had done much and distress- ful thinking during the summer recess. In the leisure of his extensive, not to say magnificent, Virginia estates, and while entertaining the neighbouring aristocracy, he had moved slowly to the conclusion that he approved of noth- ing in the Administration, and that Hamilton was a danger to the Nation and a colossus in his path. Assumption he held to be a measure of the very devil, and fumed when- ever he reflected upon his part in its accomplishment. " I was made to hold a candle ! " he would explain apologeti- cally. " He hoodwinked me, made a fool of me." For a statesman of forty-seven, and one of the most dis- tinguished and successful men in the country, the literary author of The Declaration of Independence, the father of many beneficent and popular laws in his own State, a minister to foreign courts and one of the deepest and subt- lest students of human nature of his century, to find him- self fooled and played with by a young man of thirty-three relegated by him to a second place in the Cabinet and coun- try, means — meant in those days, at least— hate of the "ALEXANDER THE GREAT 359 most remorseless quality. Jefferson was like a volcano with bowels of fire and a crater which spilled over in the night. He smouldered and rumbled, a natural timidity pre- venting the splendour of fireworks. But he was deadly. He and Madison met often during these holidays, and an object of their growing confidence was James Monroe, the new Senator from Virginia. Monroe was a fighter, and hatred of Hamilton was his rehgion. Moreover, he disap- proved with violence of every measure of the new govern- ment, and everybody connected with it, from Washington down, Jefferson excepted ; Randolph he held to be a trim- mer, and overlooked the fact that although he himself had opposed the Constitution with all his words, he was one of the first to take office under it. Jefferson needed but this younger man's incentive to disapprove more profoundly not only assumption, but Hamilton's design to establish a National Bank. That was the most criminal evidence of an ultimate dash for a throne which the Secretary of the Treasury, whose place in the Cabinet should have been second to his own, but who was the very head and front of the Administration, had yet betrayed. And as for the triumphal progress of Washington through the States in the previous autumn, and again before leaving for Mount Vernon upon the close of the last Congress, a king could have done no more. The new Republic was tottering on its rotten foundations, and Jefferson and his able lieuten- ants vowed themselves to the rescue. Madison was the anti-government leader in the House, Monroe would abet him in the Senate, and Jefferson would undertake the fight in the Cabinet. It cannot be said that he liked the prospect, for he read his fellow-beings too well to mistake the mettle of Hamilton. He was a peaceable soul, except when in his study with pen in hand, but stem this monarch- ical tide he would, and bury Hamilton under the dam. "We are three to one," he said reassuringly to his coadjutors. "He is brilliant. I do not deny it. But against a triple power — " " He is worth any three men I ever knew," said Madison, drearily. " We shall have to work harder than he will." 36o THE CONQUEROR Jefferson lifted his pen, and squinted thoughtfully at its point. Monroe, who was the youngest of the trio, laughed aloud. And these were the forces of which Hamilton felt the shock shortly after the convening of Congress. XXIII On the 13th of December Hamilton sent to the House of Representatives his second Report on Public Credit — no longer a nomen of bitter sarcasm — and the Report in favour of a National Bank. Congress was once more on edge. Since his first Great Report, it ha;, consid- ered and wrangled over his successive Reports on State Debits and Credits, West Point, Public Lands, Estimates, and Renewal of Certificates ; and it had lived through the hot summer on the prospect of the excitement which the bold and creative Secretary would surely provide. Even his enemies loved Hamilton in their way, for life was torpid when he rested on his b.hours. The anti-Federalists, had they needed an additional incentive for the coming battle, a condition to rouse all their strength and mettle, found it in the rapidly increas- ing prosperity of the country, which had raised Hamilton to a height of popularity from which it would be an historic triumph to drag him down. He was, indeed, almost at the zenith of a reputation which few men have achieved. From end to end of the Union his name was on every lip, sometimes coupled with a hiss, but oftener with every expression ot honour and admiration that the language could furnish. Even in the South he had his followers, aid in the North and East it was hardly worth a man's nose to abuse him. He was a magician, who could make the fortunes of any man quick enough to seize his oppor- tunities, and the saviour of the natioiu-l honour and for- tunes. His fame obscured that of W?shington, and abroad he was by far the most interesting and significant figure in the young country. No wonder the anti-Federalists trembled for the future, and with all the vigour of hard- ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 361 ened muscles fought his scheme for allying the moneyed classes with the Government. Hamilton made no secret of his design so closely to attach the wealthy men of the country to the central Government that they must stand or fall with it, coming to its rescue in every crisis ; and time has vindicated his far-sighted policy. But when the National Bank was in the prehminary stages of its journey, certain of its hosts in Congress saw but another horrid menace to the liberties of the people, another step toward the final establishment of a monarchy after the British pattern. The old arguments of subservi- ence to British institutions in the matter of funding, and other successful pets of the Secretary, were dragged forth and wrangled over, in connection with this new and doubly pernicious measure of a National Bank. Hamilton recommended that a number of subscribers should be incorporated into a bank, to be known as the Bank of the United States ; the capital to be ten million dollars ; the number of shares twenty-five thousand ; the par value of each share four hundred dollars; the Government to become a subscriber to the amount of two millions, and to require in return a loan of an equal sum, payable in ten yearly instalments of two hundred thousand dollars each. The rest of the capital stock would be open to the public, to be paid for, one-quarter in gold and silver, and three- quarters in the six or three per cent certificates of the national debt. The lite of the b -^k was to end in 181 1. As an inducement for prompt subscriptions a pledge would be given that for twent;' years ^o come Congress would incorporate no other. It is odd reading for us, with a bank in every street, not only those old diatribes in Congress against banko of all sorts, but Hamilton's elaborate arguments in favour of banks in general, the benefits and conveniences they confer upon individuals as well as nations. But in those days there were but three banks in the Union, and each had been established against • iolent opposition, Hamilton, in particular, having carried the Bank of New York through by unremitting personal effort. The average man pre- 362 THE CONQUEROR ! ferred his stocking. Representatives from backwoods dis- tricts were used to such circulating mediums as military warrants, guard certificates, horses, cattle, cow-bells, land, and whiskey. They looked askance at a bank as a sort of whirlpool into which wealth would disappear, and bolt out at the bottom into the pockets of a few individuals who understood what was beyond the average intellect. But by far the most disquieting objection brought forward against this plan of the Secretary's was its alleged uncon- stitutionality. Monroe, although a new man, and speaking seldom ex- erted a systematic opposition in the Senate, and Madison m the House, argued, with lucidity and persistence, that the Constitution had no power to grant a charter to any such institution as the Secretary proposed. Others argued that the success of this new scheme would infringe upon the rights of the States, a..d still others thundered the everlasting accusations of monarchical design. Neverthe- less, the bill for granting the required charter passed both Houses by a handsome majority. The able Federalists had contemptuously dissected the arguments against it with greater skill than even Madison could command; and confidence in Hamilton, by this time, practically was a religion. The bill was sent to Washington to sign or veto, and the anti-Federalists, disconcerted and alarmed by their signal defeat in Congress, rested their final hope on Jefferson. The President, according to law, had but ten days in which to sign or veto a bill : if he hesitated but a moment beyond the constitutional limit, the bill became a law with- out his signature. It may safely be said that these ten days were the most miserable of Washington's life so far, although they were but the forerunner of many to come. By this time the Cabinet had acquired the habit of assembling for conference about a council table in the President's house. Washington sat at the head of the table, with Hamilton on his left, and Jefferson on his right. Knox, who would have frowned upon the Almighty had he contradicted Hamilton, sat beside his Captain. Randolph "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 363 sat opposite, his principles with Jefferson, but his intellect so given to hair-splitting, that in critical moments this passion to weigh every side of a proposition in turn fre- quently resulted in the wrench of a concession by Hamilton, while Jefferson fumed. As time went on, Washington fell into the habit of extending his long arms upon the table in front of him, and clasping his imposing hands in the manner of a rampart. Jefferson began a tentative showing of his colours while the bill was fighting its stormy way through Congress, and Hamilton was a brief while perceiving his drift and appreciating his implacable enmity. The first time that Jefferson encountered the lightning in Hamilton's eye, the quivering of his nostril, as he half rose from his chair under the sudden recognition of what he was to expect, his legs slid forward limply, and he turned his head toward the door. Washington suppressed a smile, but it was long before he smiled again. Hamilton would have no hints and innuendoes ; he forced his enemy to show his hand. But although he wrung from Jefferson his opposition to the Bank and tc every scheme the Secretary of the Treasury had proposed, he could not drag him into the open. Jef- ferson was deprecating, politely determined to serve the country in his own way, lost in admiration of this opponent's intellect, but forced to ■- ■*■ ' is mistakes — the mistakes of a too ardent mind. ' bitter and caustic the sar- casms that leaped froi.. ' .ilton's tongue, the more suave he grew, for placidity wat his only weapon of self-pres- ervation ; a war of woras with Hamilton, and he would be made ridiculous in the presence of his colleagues and Washington. Occasionally the volcano flared through his pale eyes, and betrayed such hate and resentment that Washington elevated his hands an inch. The President sat like a stoic, with a tornado on one side of him and a growling Vesuvius on the other, and exhibited an impar- tiality, in spite of the fact that Jefferson daily betrayed his hostility to the Administration, which revealed but another of his superhuman attributes. But there is a psychological manifestation of mental bias, no matter what the control, 364 THE CONQUEROR and some men arc sensitive enough to feel it. Jefferson was quite aware that Washington lowd Hamilton and be- lieved in him thoroughly, and he felt the concealed desire to side openly with the Secretary to whom, practically, had been given the reins of government. Washington, rather than show open favouritism, even to Hamilton, to whom he felt the profoundest gratitude, would have resigned his high office; but the desire was in his head, and Jefferson felt it. The campaign open, he kept up a nagging siege upon Washington's convictions in favour of his aggres- sive Secretary's measures, finding constant excuses to be alone with the President. Hamilton, on the other hand, dismissed the subject when left alone with Wash- ington, unless responding to a demand. He frequently remained to the midday meal with the family, and was as gay and lively as if Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe were in the hmbo to which he gladly would have consigned them. His nature was mercurial in one, at least, of its essences, and a sudden let-down, followed by congenial company, restored his equilibrium at once. But Washing- ton watched the development of the blackness and violence of his deeper passions with uneasiness and regret, finally with alarm. ^ Hamilton, in truth, was roused to his dregs. The sneak- ing retreat of Madison from his standard and affections, the rancorous enmity of Monroe, with whom he had fought side by side and been well with whenever they had been thrown together in the bitter winters of inaction; the slow, cool, determined, deadly opposition of Jefferson, whom he recognized as a giant in intellect and despised as a man with that hot contempt for the foe who will not strip and fight in the open, which whips a passionate nature to the point of fury, had converted Hamilton into a colossus of hate which, as Madison had intimated, far surpassed the best endeavours of the powerful trio. He hated harder, for he had more to hate with, — stronger and deeper passions, ampler resources in his intellect, and an energy of tempera- ment which Jefferson and Madison, recruited by Monroe, could not outweigh. He saw that he was in for the battle ■ALKXANDER THE GREAT" 365 of his life, and that its finish might be deferred for years ; for he made no such mistake as to underrate the strength and resources of this triple enemy ; he knew that it would last until one or the other were worn out. Hamilton had no thought of defeat ; he never contemplated it for a moment; his faith in himself and in the wi:dom of his measures was absolute ; what he looked forward to with the deepest irritation was the persistent opposition, the clogging of his wheels of progress, the constant personal attacks which might weaken him with the country before his multitudinous objects should be accomplished. He suggested resource after resource to his faithful and brill- iant disciples in Congress, and he determined to force Jefferson to leave the Cabinet. " If he only would take himself out of that room with a defiant admission that he intended to head the opposite party and fight me to the death ! " he exclaimed to Mrs. Croix, one day. "What right has he to sit there at Washington's hand, a member of his Cabinet, ostensibly in its first pla^e, and at war with every measure of the Administration.? He cannot oppose me without involv- ing the President, under whom he holds office, and if he had a grain of decent feeling he would resign rather than occupy such an anomalous position." " He intends to force you to resign." " You don't mean to say that he is coming here ? " asked Hamilton, in disgust. " Who next .' " " Mr. Jefferson succumbed quite three weeks ago," said Mrs. Croix, gaily. " He amuses me, and I am instilling the conviction that no human being can force you to do anything you don't want to do, and that the sooner he retreats gracefully the better." Hamilton shrugged his shoulders and made no answer. He had ceased remonstrance long since. If it pleased her to think she was fighting the battbs he was forced to fight with undiminished vigour himself, he should be the last to interfere with her amusement. She was a born intrigante, and would have been miserable freckling her complexion in the open sunlight. He was too grateful to 366 THE CONQUEROR .nv ff I ^? ° "'■' ^ 'i"^'"'*^'' °'- to condemn her for any of her violations of masculine standards. It was to her he poured out his wrath, after an encounter with Jefferson which had roused him too vidousTy ?or reacdon at Washington's board or at his own. His wife he soared in every way. Not only was her delicate heafth taxed to the utmost with .social duties which could not be avSded the management of her household affairs ^nd an aboS '^^U^aV'^ZT^I ^'^'''^ ^^'""y- ^^' he >;ould have cot trolled himsef had he burst, before he would have terrified her with a ghmpse of passions of whose existence she had not a suspiuon. To her and his family he was ever the most amiable and indulgent of men, givin.^ them ever^ spare moment he could command, and^as delghSd IH schoolboy with a holiday, when he could spend fn hour in the nursery, an evening with his wife or t^L o , u through the woods with^his boys He took all ' ^^J^ in his son Philip, directed his' sLiefL StabitsTnd'wa: as pleased with every evidence of his progress as Sad he HTr^nfr 'J^^"^ V^^ '" ^ ^«^t o^f tS and feathers He coddled and petted the entire family, particularh hfs "^li^Z^'^'^T'-' ^"' ''-' ^^^-^ 'i-. an'd^^n^w loved him. It was in her secluded presence he^ stormed sponsefrom other and not dissimilar dee^Hfs wife was' necessary to him in many wavs his F^pW^ in^L Although he would have^sacrfficed th! ks^to t^e^fi^^^^^^ it come to an issue, he would have felt as f one-half of him had oeen cruelly divorced. Few women understand th^ dual nature m men, and few are the men who do not to^ge'nTs tdTn Ha'mnl " ^'°" "'^ "^^''^ ^ '-""-n of Etellect WhTn •?i,'^^' ^t "f*"""^^ ^^ the versatility 01 nis intellect. When with one he locked the other in the "ALEXANDER THE G'EAT' 367 recesses of his mind as successfully as when at college he had accomplished herculean feats of mental accumulatioT by keeping but one thing before his thought at a time. What he wanted he would have, so long as his family were in no way affected ; and had it nut been for Mrs. Croix at this time, it might have been worse for Betsey. She cooled his feveis ; her counsel was always sound. And her rooms and herself were beautiful. She had her way of banishing the world by drawing her soft blue curtains and lighting: her many candles. Had she been a fool, Hamilton would have tired of her in a month ; as it vas, he often thought of her as the most confidential and dispensing of his friends, and no more. During the preceding two years of their acquaintance there had been many quarrels, caused by furious bursts of temper on the part of the lady, when Hamilton forgot her for a month or more. There were times when she was the solitary woman of Earth, and others when she might have reigned on Mars. He was very busy, and he had count- less interests to absorb time and thought. He never pre- tended to more than a romantic passion for her, and deep as was her own infatuation, it was sometimes close to hate ; for she was a woman whose vanity was as strong as her passions. At this time, however, he felt a frequent need of her, and she made the most of the opportunity. XXIV Meanwhile, Washington, deeply disturbed by the argu- ments in the press and Congress against the cons^ li ton- ality of the National Bank, had privately asked foi the written opinions of Jefferson and Randolph, and for a form of veto from Madison. They were so promptly forthcoming that they might have been biding demand. Washington read them carefully, then, too worried and impatient for formalities, carried them himself to* Hamil- ton's house. " For God's sake read them at once and tell me what they amount to," he said, throwing the bundle of papers 368 THE CONQUEROR on the table. " Of course you must prepare me an answer m wntmg, but I want your opinion at once. I will wait " Long years after, when Betsey was an old woman, some- one asked her if she remembered any incidents in connec- tion with the establishment of the great Bank. She replied Yes, I remember it all distinctly. One dr.y Generai Washington called at the house, looking terribly worried He shut himself up in the study with my husband for hours, and they talked nearly all the time. When he went away he looked much more cheerful. That night mv husband did not go to bed at all, but sat up writing; and the next day we had a Bank." Hamilton's answer, both verbally and in a more elabo- rate form was so able and sound a refutation of every point advanced by the enemy, that Washington hesitated no longer, and signed the bill during the last moments remain- mg to him. Years later, when the same question was raised again. Chief Justice Marshall, the most brilliant ornament, by common consent, the Supreme Court of the United States has had, admitted that he could add nothing to Hamilton's argument. It must, also, have convinced Madison ; for while President of the United States, and his opportunity for displaying the consistencies of his intellect unrivalled he signed the charter of the Second National Bank. Monroe, whose party was in power, and able to de- feat any obnoxious measure of the Federalists, advocated the second Bank as heartily as he had cursed the first His defence of his conduct was a mixture of insolent frankness and verbiage. He said : <' As to the constitutional objec- tion, it formed no serious obstacle. In voting against the Bank m the first instance, I was governed essentially by pohcy The construction I gave to the Constitution I con- sidered a strict one. In the latter instance it was more liberal but according to my judgement, justified by its powers. If anyone can tell what he meant, doubtless his own shade would be grateful. Hamilton's second Report on the Public Credit had been buffeteri about quite as mercilessly as the Report in favour of a bank. The customs oflficers had, during the past year ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 369 collected $1,900,000, which sufficed to pay two-thirds of the annual expenses of the Government. There was still a deficit of $826,000, and to meet future contingencies of a similar nature, the Secretary of the Treasury urged the passage of an Excise Bill. Even his enemies admired his courage, for no measure could be more unpopular, raise more widespread wrath. It was regarded as a deliberate attempt to deprive man of his most cherished vice ; and every argument was brought forth in opposition, from the historic relation of whiskey to health and happiness, to the menace of adopting another British measure. The bill passed ; but it was a different matter to enforce it, as many an excise officer reflected, uncheerfully, whilst riding a rail. On the 28th of January Hamilton sent in his Report in favour of the establishment of a mint, with details so minute that he left the framers of the necessary bill little excuse for delay ; but it had the same adventurous and agitated experience of its predeces- sors, and only limped through, in an amended form, after the wildest outburst of democratic fanaticism which any of the measures of Hamilton had induced. The proposi- tion to stamp the coins with the head of the President was conclusive of an immediate design to place a crown upon the head of Washington. Doubtless the leaders of the Federal party, under the able tuition of their despot, had their titles ready, their mine laid. Jefferson, in the Cabi- net, protested with such solemn persistence against so dan- gerous a precedent, and Hamilton perforated him with such arrows of ridicule, that Washington exploded with wrath, and demanded to know if neither never intended to yield a point to the other. During this session of Congress, Hamilton also sent in Reports on Trade with India and China, and on the Dutch Loan. He was fortunate in being able to forget his ene- mies for days and even weeks at a time, when his existence was so purely impersonal that every capacity of his mind, save the working, slept soundly. By now, he had his de- partment in perfect running order ; and his successors have accepted his legacy, with its infinitude of detail, its unvary- 370 THE CONQUEROR jng practicality, with gratitude and trifling alterations. When Jefferson disposed himself in the Chair of State, in 1 80 1, he appointed Albert Gallatin — the ablest financier, after Hamilton, the country has produced — Secretary of the Treasury, and begged him to sweep the department clean of the corruption amidst which Hamilton had sat and spun his devilish schemes. Gallatin, after a thorough and conscientious search for political microbes, informed his Chief that in no respect could the department be improved, that there was not a trace of crime, past or present. Jefferson was disconcerted ; but, as a matter of fact, his administrations were passed complacently amidst Hamilton legacies and institutions. Jefferson's hour had come. He could undo all that he had denounced in his rival as mo- narchical, aristocratical, pernicious to the life of Democ- racy. But the administrations of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, ran from first to last on those Federal wheels which are still in use, protected within and without by Federal institutions. But their architect was sent to his grave soon after the rise of his arch-enemy to power, was beyond humiliation or party triumph ; it would be folly to war with a spirit, and greater not to let well enough alone. But that is a far cry. Meanwhile the Bank was being rushed through, and its establishment was anticipated with the keenest interest, and followed by a season of crazy speculation, dissatisfaction, and vituperation. But this Hamilton had expected, and he used his pen constantly to point out the criminal folly and inevitable consequences of speculation. XXV Congress adjourned while the excitement was at its height. Washington went to Mount Vernon, the Cabinet scattered, and there was an interval of peace. Philadel- phia in summer was always unhealthy, and liable to an outbreak of fever at any moment. Hamilton sent his family to the Schuyler estate at Saratoga. Mrs. Croix had gone as early as May to the New England coast ; for even "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 371 her magnificent constitution had felt the strain of that exciting session, and Philadelphia was not too invigorating in winter. Hamilton remained alone in his home, glad of the abundant leisure which the empty city afforded to catch up with the arrears of his work, to design methods for financial relief against the time to apply them, end to prepare his Report on Manufactures, a paper destined to become as celebrated and almost as widespread in if^ influ- ence as the great Report on Public Credit. It required days and nights of thinking, research, correspondence, comparison, and writing ; and how in the midst of all this mass of business, this keen anxiety regarding the whirlwind of speculation — which was involving some of the leading men in the country, and threatening the young Government with a new disaster ; how, while sitting up half the night with his finger on the public pulse, waiting for the right moment to apply his remedies, he managed to entangle himself in a personal difficulty, would be an inscrutable mystery, weie any man but Alexander Hamilton in ques- tion. I shall not enter into the details of the Reynolds affair. No intrigue was ever less interesting. Nor should I make even a passing allusion to it, were it not for its political ultimates. A couple of blackmailers laid a trap for the Secretary of the Treasury, and he walked into it, as the wisest of men have done before and since, when the woman has been sufficiently attractive at the right moment. This woman was common and sordid, but she was young and handsome, and her affectation of violent attachment, if ungrammatical, was plausible enough to convince any man accustomed to easy conquest ; and the most astute of men, provided his passions be strong enough, can be fooled by any woman at once designing and seductive. Ardent sus- ceptibility was in the very essence of Hamilton, with Scot- land and France in his blood, the West Indies the mould of his youthful being, and the stormy inheritance of his parents. But although Hamilton might succumb to a woman of Mrs. Reynold's type, she could not hold him. After liber- 372 THE CONQUEROR ally relieving the alleged pecuniary distress of this charmer, and weary of her society, he did his best to get rid of her. She protested. So did he. It was then that he was made aware of the plot. The woman's husband appeared, and announced that only a thousand dollars would heal his wounded honour, and that if 't were not immediately forth- coming, he would write to Mrs. Hamilton. Hamilton was furious. His first impulse was to tell the man to do his worst, for anything in the nature of coercion stripped him for the fray at once. But an houi- of reflec- tion cooled his blood. No one was to blame but himself. If he had permitted himself to be made a fool of, it was but just that he should take the consequences, and not cruelly wound the woman he loved the better for his vaga- ries. Moreover, such a scandal would seriously affect the high office he filled, might indeed force him to resignation ; not only thwarting his great ambitions, but depriving the country of services which no other man had the ability or the will to render. And a few mouients forecast of the triumph of his enemies, not only over himself but possibly over his party, in case of h'.s downfall, was ' efficient in itself to force him to terms. Few are the momentous occasions in which men are governed by a single motive. Hamilton's ambitions were welded into the future happiness and glory of the country he had so ardently adopted. And if love of power was his ruling passion, it certainly was directed to the loftiest of ends. To desire to create a nation out of the resources of a vast understanding, controlled by wisdom and honour, is an ambition which should be dignified with a higher name. Small and purely personal ambitions were unknown to Hamilton, his gifts were given him for the elevation of the human race; but he would rather have reigned in hell than have sunk to insignificance on earth. As he remarked once to Kitty Livingston, the complexity of man so far exceeds that of the average woman, com- plexity being purely a matter of brain and having no roots whatever in sex, that it were a waste of valuable time to analyze its ramifications, and the crossings and entangle- ments of its threads. Hamilton paid the money, yielded "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 373 further to the extent of several hundred dollars, then the people disappeared, and he hoped that he had heard the last of them. Fortunately his habits were methodical, the re- sult of his mercantile training on St. Croix, and he pre- served the corre.spondence. XXVI Hamilton looked forward to the next Congressional term with no delusions. He polished his armoMr until it was fit to blind his adversaries, tested the temper of every weapon, sharpened every blade, arranged them for im- mediate availment. In spite of the absorbing and dis- concerting interests of the summer, he had followed in thought the mental processes of his enemies, kept a sharp eye out for their new methods o* aggression. Themselves had had no more intimate knowledge of their astonishment, humiliation, and impotent fury at the successive victories of the invulnerable Secretary of the Treasury, than had Hamilton himself. He knew that they had confidently hoped to beat him by their combined strength ana unre- mitting industry, and by the growing power of their party, before the finish of the preceding term. The Federalists no longer had their former majority in Congress upon all questions, for many of the men who, under that title, had been devoted adherents of the Constitution, were become alarmed at the constant talk of the monarchical tendencies of the Government, of the centralizing aristocratic measures of the Secretary of the Treasury, at the " unrcpublican " formalities and elegance of Washington's " Court," at his triumphal progresses through the country, and at the enormous one-man power as exhibited in the person of Hamilton. Upon these minds Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe had worked with unremitting subtlety. It was not so much that the early Federalists wished to see Hamilton dragged from his lofty position, for they ad- mired him, and were willing to acknowledge his services to the country ; but that the idea grew within them that he must be properly checked, lest they suddenly find them- 374 THE CONQUEROR selves subjects again. They realized that they had been running to him for advice upon every matter, great and insignificant, since the new Congress began its sittings, and that they had adopted the greater part of his counsels without question ; they believed that Hamilton was becom- ing the Congress as he already was the Administration ; and overlooked the xact that legislative authority as against executive had no such powerful supporter as the Secretary of the Treasury. But it was not an era when men reasoned as exhaustively as they might have done. They were terrified by bogies, and the blood rarely was out of their heads. " Monarchism must be checked," and Hamilton for some months past had watched the rapid welding of the old anti-Federalists and the timid Federalists into what was shortly to be known, for a time, as the Republican party. That Jefferson had been at work all summer, as during the previous term, with his subtle, insinuating and convincing pen, he well knew, and for what the examples of such men as Jefferson and Madison counted — taking their stand on the high ground of stemming the menace to personal liber- ties. The RepubUcan party was to be stronger far than the old anti-Federal, for it was to be a direct and constant appeal to the controlling passion of man, vanity; and Hamilton be- lieved that did it obtain the reins of power too early in the history of the Nation, confusion, if not anarchy, would result : not only was it too soon to try new experiments, diametrically opposed to those now in operation, but, under the tutelage of Jefferson, the party was in favour of vesting more power in the masses Hamilton had no belief in entrusting power to any rrin or body of men that had not brains, education, and a developed reasoning capacity. He was a Republican but not a Democrat. He recognized, long before the rival party saw their mistake in n 3menclature, that this Jefferson school marked the de- generacy of republicanism into democracy. Knowing how absurd and unfounded was all the hysterical talk about monarchism, and that time would vindicate the first Administration and its party as Republican in its very essence, he watched with deep, and often with impersonal, i "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 375 uneasiness the growth of a party which would denational- ize the government, scatter its forces, and interpret the Constitution in a fashion not intended by the most pro- testing of its framers. Hamilton had in an extraordinary degree the faculty which Spencer calls representativeness ; but there were some things he could not foresee, and one was that when the Republicans insinuated themselves to power they would rest on their laurels, let play the inherent conservatisn. of man, and gladly accept the goods the Federal party had provided them. The three men who wrote and harangued and intrigued against Hamilton for years, were to govern as had they been the humblest of Hamiltonians. But this their great antagonist was in unblest ignorance of, for he, too, reasoned in the heat and height and thick of the fray ; and he made himself ready to dispute every inch of the ground, checkmate every move, force Jefferson into retirement, and invigorate and encourage his own ranks. The majority in both Houses was still Federal, if dimirxished, and he determined that it should remain so. As early as October his watching eye caught the first flash in the sunlight of a new blade in the enemies' ar- moury. One Freneau had come to town. He had some reputation as a writer of squibs and verses, and Hamilton knew him to be a political hireling utterly without prin- ciple. When, therefore, he heard incidentally that this man had lately been in correspondence and conference with the Virginian junta, and particularly that he had been "persuaded by his old friend Madison to settle in Philadelphia," had received an appointment as translat- ing clerk in the Department of State, and purposed to start a newspaper called the National Gazette in opposi- tion to Fenno's Administration organ. The United States Gazette, he knew what he was to expect. Fenno's paper was devoted to the Administration, and to the Secretary of the Treasury in particular ; it was the medium tnrough which Hamilton addressed most of his messages to the people. Naturally it was of little use to his enemies ; and that Jefferson and his aides had realized the value of an 376 THE CONQUEROR organ of attack, he divined very quickly. He stated his suspicions to Washington immediately upon the President's arrival, and warned him to expect personal assault and abuse. " There is now every evidence of a strong and admirably organized cabal," he added. " And to pull us down they will not stop at abuse of even you, if failure haunts them. I shall get the most of it, perhaps all. I hope so, for I am used to it." He laughed, and quite as light-heartedly as ever; but Washington looked at him with uneasiness. "You are a terrible fighter, Hamilton," he said. "I have never seen or dreamed of your equal. Why not merely oppose to them a massive resistance.!* Why be continually on the warpath ? They give you a tentative scratch, and you reply with a blow under the jaw, from which they nse with a sullener determination to ruin you, than ever. When you are alone with your pen and the needs of the country, you might have the wisdom of a thousand years in your brain, and I doubt if at such times yeu remember your name; you are one of the greatest, wisest coolest statesmen of any age ; but the moment you come forth to the open, you are not so much a political leader as a warlike Scot at the head of his clan, and readier by far to make a dash into the neighbouring fastness than to wait for an attack. Are you and Jefferson going to fight straight through this session ? — 'or if you are, I shall no longer yearn so much for the repose of Mount Vernon as for the silences of the tomb." Washington spoke lightly, as he often did when they were alone, and he had returned from Virginia refreshed ; but Hamilton answered contritely : — "We both behaved abominably last year, and it was shocking that you should bear the brunt of it. I'll do my best to control myself in the Cabinet — although that man rouses all the devil in me; but not to fight at the head of my party. Oh! Can the leopard change his spots ? I fear I shall die with my back against the wall, sir, and my boots on." "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 377 " I haven't the slightest doubt of it. But be careful of giving too free and constant a play to your passions and your capacity for rancour, or your character will deterio- rate. Tell me," he added abruptly, narrowing his eyes and fixing Hamilton with a prolonged scrutiny, "do you not feel its effects already > " By this time the early, half-unwilling, half-magnetized affection which the boy in Hamilton had yielded to his Chief had given place to a consistent admiration for the exalted character, the wisdom, justice, and self-control of the President of the Unl.ed States, and to a devoted attach- ment. The bond between the two men grew closer every day, and only the end of all things severed it. Hamilton, therefore, replied as frankly as if Washington had asked his opinion on the temper of the country, instead of prob- ing the sacred recesses of his spirit : — "There have been times when I have sat down and stared into myself with horror; when I have felt as if sitting in the ruins of my nature. I have caught myself up again and again, realizing where I was drifting. I have let a fiend loose within me, and I have turned upon it at times with a disgust so bitter and a terror so over- mastering that the mildness which has resulted has made me feel indifferent and even amiable to mine enemies. Whether this intimate knowledge of myself will save me, God knows ; but when some maddening provocation comes, after reaction has run its course, I rage more hotly than ever, and only a sense of personal dignity keeps me from using my fists. I am two-thirds passion, and I am afraid that in the end it will consume me. I live so intensely, in my best and my worst ! I would give all I possess for your moderation and balance." " No, you would not," said Washington. " War is the breath of your nostrils, and peace would kill you. Not that the poise I have acquired brings me much peace in these days." Hamilton, who had spoken dejectedly, but with the deep relief which ever)' mortal feels in a moment of open and safe confession, sprang to his feet, and stood on the hearth 378 THE CONQUEROR rug, his eyes sparkling with humour. " Confess, sir," he cried gaily. " You do not like Jefferson any better than I do. Fancy him opposite to you day after day, stinging you with honeyed shafts and opposing you with obstacle after obstacle, while leering with hypocrisy. Put yourself in my place for an instant, and blame me if you can." "Oh," said Washington, with a deep growl of disgust, " o-h-h ! " But he would not discuss his Secretary of State, even with Hamilton. XXVII The bombardment from Freneau's Gazette opened at once. It began with a general assault upon the Adminis- tration, denouncing every prominent member in turn as a monarchist or an aristocrat, and every measure as sub- versive of the liberties of the country. Vice-President Adams received a heavy broadside, his " Discourses on Davila," with their animadversions upon the French Revo- lution in particular and Democracy in general, being re- garded as a heinous offence against the spirit of his country, and detrimental to the political morals of the American youth. But although the Gazette kept up its pretence of being an anti-Administration organ, publishing in the interests of a deluded people, it soon settled down to abuse of Hamilton. That a large number of the articles wore from Jefferson's damning pen few of the Republican leader's friends denied with any warmth, and the natural deductions of history would have settled the question, had not Freneau himself confessed the truth in his old age. What Jefferson did not write, he or Madison inspired, and Freneau had a lively pen of his own. They had promising material in General St. Clair's recent and disastrous defeat by the Indians, which, by a triumph of literary ingenuity, was ascribed to the ease and abundance with which the Secretary of the Trer . try had caused money to circulate. But a far stronger weapon for their malignant use was the ruinous speculation which had maddened the country since the opening of the "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 379 Bank of the United States. It was not enough that the Bank was a monarchical institution, a machine for the cor- ruption of the Government, a club of grasping and moneyed aristocrats, but it had been purposely designed for the bene- fit of the few — the "corrupt squadron," namely, the Sec- retary and his friends — at the expense of the many. The subsequent failure for $3,000,000 of one of these friends, William Duer, gave them no pause, for his ruin precipitated a panic, and but added distinction to his patron's villany. For a time Hamilton held his peace. He had enough to do, steering the financial bark through the agitated waters of speculation, without wasting time on personal recrimina- tion. Even when, before the failure, he was accused of being in secret partnership with Duer, he did not pause for vindication, but exerted himself to alleviate the general dis- tress. He initiated the practice, followed by Secretaries of the Treasury at the present moment, of buying Government loan certificates in different financial centres throughout the country, thus easing the money market, raising the price of the certificates, and strengthening the public credit. He used the sinking-fund for this purpose. There was comparative peace in the Cabinet, an armed truce being, perhaps, a more accurate description of an uneasy psychological condition. Hamilton had made up his mind not only to spare Washington further annoyance, if possible, but to maintain a dignity which he was keenly conscious of having relinquished in the past. The two antagonists greeted each other politely when they met for the first time in the Council Chamber, although they had crossed the street several times previously to avoid meet- ing ; and if Jefferson discoursed unctiously and at length, whenever the opportunity offered, upon the lamentable consequences of a lamentable measure, and indulged in melancholy prognostications of a general ruin, in which the Government would disappear and be forgotten, Hamilton replied for a time with but an occasional sarcasm, and a change of subject. One day, however, a long-desired opportunity presented itself, and he did not neglect it. He was well aware that Jefferson had complained to Vir- 3»o THE CONQUEROR ginia that he had been made to hold a candle to the wily Secretary of the Treasury in the matter of assumption, in other words, that his guileless understanding, absorbed in matters of State, had been duped into a bargain of which Virginia did not approve, despite the concession to the Potomac. About two months after Congress opened, Washington, as his Cabinet seated itself, was detained in his room with a slight indisposition, but sent word that he would appear presently. For a time, Randolph and Knox talked fe- verishly about the Indian troubles, while Hamilton looked over some notes, and Jefferson watched his antagonist covertly, as if anticipating a sudden spring across the table. Hamilton was not in a good humour. He was accustomed to abuse in Congress, and that it was again in full tide con- cerned him little, for he was sure of ultimate victories in both Houses; and words which were powerless to result in a defeat for himself, or his party, he treated with the scorn which impotence deserved. But it was another matter to have his private character assailed day after day in the press, to watch a subtle pen insinuate into the public mind that a woman imperilled her reputation in receiving him, and that he was speculating in secret with the reckless friend whom he had warned over and over, and begged to desist. Freneau sent him three copies of the Gazette daily, lest he miss something, and he had that morning left Betsey in tears. Fen no was fighting the Secretary's battles val- iantly ; but there was only one pen in America which could cope with Jefferson's, and that was Hamilton's own. But aside from his accumulating cares, it was a strife to which he did not care to descend. To-day, however, he needed but a match, and Jefferson, who experienced a fearful fascination in provoking him, applied it. " I hear that Duer is on the verge of failure," he re- marked sadly. " Yes," said Hamilton ; " he is." "I hold it to be a great misfortune that he has been connected with the Administration in any way." " His connection was quite distinct from your depart- " ALEXANDER THE (JREAT' 3«i ment. I alone was responsible for his appointment as my assistant. There is no necessity for you to shed any hypo- critical tears." "What concerns the honour of the Administration naturally concerns the Secretary of State." "There is no question of honour. If Duer fails, he will fail honourably, and the Administration, with which he is no longer connected, will in no way be involved." "Of those facts of course I am sure, but I fear the reflections in the press." " Keep your own pen worthily employed, and the Ad- ministration will take care of itself." "I do not uii Tstand you, sir," said Jefferson, with great dignity. " I am quite ready to be explicit. Keep your pen out of Freneau's blackguard sheet, while you are sitting at Washington's right hand, at all events — " Jefferson had elevated both hands. " I call Heaven to witness," he cried, "this black aspersion upon my char- acter is, has been, entirely a production of the imagination of my enemies. I have never written nor inspired a line in Mr. Freneau's paper." Hamilton laughed and returned to his notes. " You do not believe me, sir.? " demanded Jefferson, the blood boiling slowly to his large face. " No," said Hamilton ; " I do not." Jefferson brought his mighty fist down upon the table with a bang. " Sir ! " he exclaimed, his husky voice un- pleasantly strained, " I have stood enough from you. Are you aware that you have called me a liar, sir.? I have suffered at your hands since the day I set foot in this country. I 'eft the peace and retirement that I love, to come forth in response to a demand upon my duty, a demand I have ever heeded, and what has been my reward > The very first act I was tricked into committing was a crime against my country — " "Were you in your dotage, sir.? " thundered Hamilton, springing to his feet, and bringing his own hand down with such violence that the lead in his cuff dented his 382 THE CONQUEROR wrist. " Was your understanding enfeebled with age, that you could not comprehend the exhaustive explanation I made of the crisis in this country's affairs? Did I not give you twenty-four hours in which to think it over? What were you doing — muddling your brains with French wines ? — that you could not reason clearly when relieved of my baleful fascination? Were you not protected on the following day by two men, who were more your friends than mine ? I proposed a straightforward bargain, which you understood as well then as you do now. You realized to the full what the interests of the country demanded, and in a rare moment of disinterested patriotism you agreed to a compromise in which you saw no detriment to yourself. What you did not anticipate was the irritation of your particular State, and the annoyance to your vanity of permitting a younger man to have his way. Now let me hear no more of this holding a candle, and the tricking of an open mind by a wily one, unless you are willing to acknowledge that your brain was too weak to grasp a simple proposition ; in which case you had better resign from public office." " I know that is what you are trying to force me to do," gasped Jefferson, almost speechless between rage and physical fear; for Hamilton's eyes were flashing, his body curved as if he meditated immediate personal violence. " But I'll noi do it, sir, any more than I or anyone else will be deluded by the speciousness of your language. You are an upstart. You have no State affinities, you despise them for a very good reason — you come from God knows where — I do not even know the name of the place. You are playing a gc; ne. You care nothing for the country you were not born in. Unless you can be king, you would treat it as your toy." "For your absurd personalities I care nothing," said Hamilton, reseating himself. "They are but the ebulli- tions of an impotence that would ruin and cannot. But take heed what you write, for in injuring the Secretary of the Treasury you injure the prosperity of the country ; and if you push me too far, I'll expose you and make you "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 383 infamous. Here comes the President, For God's sake bottle your spite for the present." The two men did not exchange a remark during the rest of the sitting, but Jefferson boiled slowly and steadily ; Hamilton's words had raised whelts under which he would writhe for some time to come. When the Cabinet ad- journed he remained, and followed Washington into the library, under cover of a chat about seeds and bulbs, a topic of absorbing interest to both. When their legs were extended before the fire, Jefferson said, as abruptly as if the idea had but just presented itself • — " Mr. President, we are both Virginians, and had cut our wisdom teeth — not that for a moment I class myself with you, sir — while young Hamilton was still in diapers." " Children do not wear diapers in the West Indies," in- terrupted Washington, in his gravest accents. "I spent some months on the Island of Barbadoes, in the year sev- enteen hundred and fifty-one." " Was he born in the West Indies ? I had never heard. But, if I may continue, I have therefore summoned up my courage to speak to you on a subject close to my heart — for no 'subject can be so close as the welfare of a country to which we have devoted our lives." He paused a moment, prepared with an answer, did the President haughtily warn him not to transgress the bounds of etiquette ; but Washington was staring at the fire, appar- ently recalling the scenery of the Tropics. Jefferson continued : " In the length and breadth of this Union there is not a man, not even the most ardent Repub- lican, who has not implicit faith in the flawless quality of your patriotism and in your personal wisdom ; but, and possibly unknown to you, sir, the extreme and high-handed measures, coupled with the haughty personal arrogance, of our Secretary of the Treasury, has inspired a widespread belief, which is permeating even his personal friends, that he entertains subtle and insidious monarchical designs, IS plotting to convert our little Republic into a kingdom. Personally, I do not believe this — " " I should hope not. You have always seemed to me to i 384 THE CONQUEROR be a man of singular wisdom and good sense. Therefore I feel sure that you are as heartily sick of all this absurd talk about monarchism as I am. There is not a word of truth in Mr. Hamilton's 'monarchical designs ; it is impossible that you should not know this as well as I do. You must also be as well aware that he has rendered ser- vices to this country which will be felt as long as it remains united It is doubtful if anyone else could have rendered these same services, for, to my knowledge at least, we have no man in the country who combines financial genius with an unexampled boldness and audacity. He has t.nphat- ically been the man for the hour, abruptly transferred from his remote birthplace, it has seemed to me, bv a special intervention of Providence; free of all local prejudices, which have been, and will continue to be, the curse of this country, and with a mettle unacted upon by years of doubt and hesitation. I do no other man in public life an injus- tice in my warm admiration of Mr. Hamilton's genius and absolute disinterestedness. Each has his place, and is doing his part bravely and according to his lights, many of them rendering historic services which Mr. Hamilton's will not overshadow. His are equally indisputable. This unfortu- nate result of estabUshing a National Bank was doubtless inevitable, and will quickly disappear. That the Bank is a monarchical device, you, of all men, are too wise to believe for a moment. Leave that for such sensational scoundrels as the editors of this new Gazette and of other papers. I regret that there is a personal antipathy between you and Mr. Hamilton, but I have not the least doubt that you believe in his integrity as firmly as I do." Jefferson was scowling heavily. " I am not so sure that I do, sir," he said ; inconsistent often in his calmest tern- pers,' passion dissipated his power of consecutive thought. "When Mr. Hamilton and I were on friendly terms — be- fore he took to annoying me with a daily exhibition of per- sonal rancour, from which I have been entirely free— -he has often at my own table avowed his auuiiialiuu of tuc British Constitution, deprecated the weakness of our own admirable instrument, tacitly admitted his regret that we "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 38s are a republic and not a kingdom. I have his very words in my diary. He is committed out of his own mouth. I not only believe but know him to be a lover of absolute monarchy, and that he has no faith that this country can continue to exist in its present shape. It is for that reason I hold him to be a traitor to the country with which he is merely amusing himself." " Sir," said Washington, turning to Jefferson an immobile face, in which the eyes were beginning to glitter, " is a man to be judged by his private fancies or by his public acts ? I know nothing of Mr. Hamilton's secret desires. Neither, I fancy, do you. We do know that he has resigned a brill- iant and profitable practice at the bar to guide this un- fortunate country out of ba ikruptcy and dishonour into prosperity and every promise of a great and honourable future. Pray let the matter rest there for the present. If Mr. Hamilton be really a liar and a charlatan, rest assured he will betray himself before any great harm is done. Every man is his own worst enemy. I was deeply interested in what you were saying when we entered this room. Where did you say you purchased those lily bulbs ? My garden is sadly behind yours, I fear. I certainly shall enter upon an amiable rivalry with you next summer." And Jefferson knew better than to persist. XXVIII On January 28th Hamilton sent to Congress his Report on Manufactures, and how anybody survived the fray which ensued can only be explained by the cast-iron mus'- cles forged in the ancestral arena. Hamilton had no abstract or personal theories regarding tariff, and would have been the first to denounce the criminal selfishness which distinguishes Protection to-day. The situation was peculiar, and required the application of strictly business methods to a threatening and immediate emergency. Great Britain was oppressing the country commercially by every method her council could devise. Defensive legislation was imperative. Moreover, if the country was to compete with 2C 386 THE CONQUEROR the nations of the world and grow in independent wealth, particularly if it would provide internal resources against another war, it must manufacture extensively, and its manu- factures must be protected. Such, in brief, was the argu- ment of one of the ablest State papers in any country, for whose exhaustive details, the result of two years of study and comparison, of research into the commercial conditions ot every State m Europe, there is no space here. The bat- tle was purely political, for the measure was popular with the country from the first. It was opposed by the planters, with Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe in the lead Thev argued that the measure would burden the people at large • that the country was too remunerative not to be able to take care of itself ; that progress should be natural and not artincial ; that the measure was unconstitutional ; above all IV Jl "".^^^ ^ffy ^^ *°^^' that no proposition had yet been advanced by the monarchical Secretary of the Treasury so "paternal," so conclusive of his ultimate designs. "To let the thirteen States, bound together in a great indissoluble union, concur in erecting one grea^ svs- tem, superior to the control of transatlantic force and influ- ence and able to dictate the connection between the old and the new world," was but another subtle device to con- solidate the States for sudden and utter subversion when Hamilton had screwed the last point into his crown. That m the Twentieth Century the United States would be an object of uneasiness daily approaching to terror in the eyes of Great Britain and Europe, as a result of this Report, even Hamilton himself did not foresee, much less the planters • nor that it would carry through the War of i8 12 without financial distress. Above all, did no one anticipate that the three Virginians, in their successive incumbencies of n nnhf-'; ?^^ Chair would pursue the policy of protection in unhestatmg obedience to the voice of the people The .Jl '? P^"" ^^'' ^f P"*'* ^^^ ^^^ S""^^' manufacturing inter- ests of Paterson, New Jersey, which celebrated their cen- tennial a few years ago. Paterson was Hamilton's personal selection, and it still throbs with something of his own energy Meanwhile he was being elected an honorary member of "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 387 colleges and societies of arts and letters, and persecuted by portrait painters and sculptors. Every honour, public and private, was thrust upon him, and each new victory was attended by a public banquet and a burst of popular applause. He was apparently invulnerable, confounding his opponents and enemies without effort. Never had there been such a conquering hero; even the Virginian trio began to wonder uneasily if he were but mortal, if he were not under some mighty and invisible protection. As for the Federalists, they waxed in enthusiasm and devotion His career was at its zenith. No man in the United States was — nor has been since — so loved and so hated, both in public and in private life. Even Washington's career had not been more triumphant, and hardly so remarkable ■ for he was an American born, had always had a larger meas- ure of popula. approval, and never had discovered the faculty of raising such bitter and powerful enemies. Nor had he won an extraordinary reputation until he was long past Hamilton's present age. Certainly he had never ex- hibited such unhuman precocity. But although Hamilton had, by this time, extancy to suffice any man, and was hunted to his very lair by society he had no thought of resting on his labours. He by no means regarded himself as a demi-god, nor the country as able to take care of itself. He prepared, and sent to Con- gress m rapid succession, his Reports on Estimates for Receipts and Expenditures for 1791-92, on Loans, on Duties, on Spirits, on Additional Supplies for 1792, on Re- mission of Duties, and on the Public Debt. Nor did his labours for the year confine itself to reports. On August 4th, his patience with the scurrilities of Fre- neau's Gazette came to an end, and he published in Fenno's journal the first of a series of papers that Jefferson, in the hush of Monticello, read with the sensations of those fore- fathers who sat on a pan of live coals for the amusement of Indian warriors. Hamilton was thorough or nothino- He had held himself in as long as could be expected of any mortal less perfected in his self-government than George Washington; but when, finally, he was not on^- 388 THE CONQUEROR stung to fury by the constant and systematic calumnies of Jefferson's slanting art, but fearful for the permanence of his measures, in the gradual unsettling of the public mind, he took off his coat; and Jefferson knew that the first engagement of the final battle had begun in earnest, that the finish would be the retirement of one or other from the Cabinet. Hamilton began by mathematically demonstrating that Freneau was the tool of Jefferson, imported and suborned for the purpose of depressing the national authority, and exposed the absurdity of the denials of both. When he had finished dealing with this proposition, its day for being a subject of animated debate was over. He then laid be- fore the public certain facts in the career of Jefferson with which they were unacquainted : that he had first discoun- tenanced the adoption of the Constitution, and then advised the ratification of nine of the States and the refusal of four until amendments were secured, — a proceeding which in- fallibly would have led to civil war ; that he had advocated the transfer of the debt due to France to a company of Hollanders in these words : " If there is a danger of the public debt not being punctual, I submit whether it may not be better, that the discontents which would then arise should be transferred from a court of whose good-will we have so much need to the breasts of a private company" — an obviously dishonourable suggestion, particularly as the company in view was a set of speculators. It was natural enough, however, in a man whose kink for repudiation in 6-.ieral led him to promulgate the theory that one genera- tion cannot bind another for the payment of a debt. Ham- ilton, having disposed of Jefferson's attempts, under the signature of Aristides, to wriggle out of both these accusa- tions, discoursed upon the disloyal fact that the Secretary of State was the declared opponent of every important measure which had been devised by the Government, and proceeded to lash him for his hypocrisy in sitting daily at the right hand of the President while privately slandering him ; of exercising all the arts of an intriguing mind, ripened by a long course of European diplomacy, to undermine an "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 389 Administration whose solidity was the only guaranty for the continued prosperity and honour of the country Hamil ton reminded the people, with a pen too pointed to fail of conviction of the increase of wealth and happiness which nad easued every measure opposed by the Secretary of State and drew a warning picture of what must result were these measures reversed by a party without any con- victions beyond the determination to compass the downfaH of he party m power. He bade them choose, and passed on to a refutation of the several accusations hurled ^at he Administration, and at himself in particular He wrote sometimes with temperance and self-restraint, a others with stinging contempt and scorn. Jefferson re phed with elaborate denials, solemn protests of dis^nter- at hfjh f ' ^lt "''""'"' accusations. Hamilton was back at him before the print was dry, and the battle raged with such unseemly violence, that Washington wrote an indig- nant letter to each, demanding that they put aside the! personal rancours and act toge.her for the common good of the country The replies of the two men were charac- teristic. Hamilton wrote a frank and manly letter, barely alluding to Jefferson, and asserting that honour and poky exacted his charges and refutations. He would make no promise to discontinue his papers, for he had no indention of laying down his pen until Jefferson was routed from the ontroversial field, and the public satisfied of theTuth Jefferson s letter was pious and sad. It breathed a fervent disinterestedness, and provided as many poisoned arrows for his nva as its ample space permitted. "^ It was a guinea s"e TubHmr ^^ ^^" °^ '''' '''' ^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^"— tinf."*-n?"'^^ *^^* ^T"^^' °^ '792 Hamilton had little time or personal explosions except in brief. The Presi- dential elections approached, and the greater part of Ms time was given to party management and counsel. Wash- ington s renommation and election were assured. The only obstacle encountered had been Washington himself but his yearning for peace had again retired before d^ty 'The parties were arrayed in a desperate struggle for the Vice- 390 THE CONQUEROR V- Treasurv 3 , j?, """I'Potent Secretary of the om"dVEf.,;;i; """'"^'^ °' "- »°"W hi^e been to Hamilfnn hJrncli? • ^ ^ resourcefulness second only forhe^ad ^r^^? '.•" ^^'^y "^^"^gement far superior^ unaided effo?t^s\TdTh;'rthro7'hlfc ^^^^^ T ing, he woSrlatie Tbefore him""^ -"^ .'--ipulat: There is no possibe doubt that if H..^[,,^"u^ P"'P- into a country at war wXitselVw .k°" ^^"^ happened cal proclivities, he would have seked the °"^ '"''."^'''^^- one of the vvi^P«f an^ i!- j ! f ^^ ^"^ ^^^^^ and made de.pot?t„Ththarotsr„rhir °' •"= -'^"'^ rtis opponents saw only the desnnt fnr f,-^^ u j "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 39, large measure of excuse for their conduct, especially as thev ful If the first three, at least, ever admitted to themselves or each otner that they hated Hamilton, and were determined for purely persona reasons to pull him down. Every man in the right, his opponent, or even he who differs from thk r 11'^^ '\ '^^ :^'T^- "T^^ Virginian t k, had by ulflf ^'^^"''' ^^^^^^ themselves into the belief tha^ Hamilton was a menace to the permanence of the Union and that It was their pious duty to relegate him to the f\nfh?v^^^Pr^'"-"u^\ "^^^^ *" Public life he wou?d Tn! falhbly mterfere with their contemplated twenty-four veaTs Chair Trust may have been by the way. They wer^e all men with a consciousness of public bene^fits to theiTcredk and some disinterested patriotism. If their ienoble side k constantly in evidence in their dealings wkrHan^lton it Sishe"?r"esi?"r t^' '"°' '' '''''' °f -^ -ost Sn! had no nfhJr H'r.J^°T^ ^^' ^ "^^^^ imitationist- failed .. ^- H^"^ ^^l^ ^^'" t^^ ^^«e' they would have failed as miserably as Burr, despite their talents for the pubhc IS not a ool. But that their faults were ignobfe tended to'denTT"'"' '^-'^^ biographers have nevf r p e! tended to deny In many instances no apology is attemoted On the other hand, the most exhavstive rSfh Zont he records of friends and enemies has failed to brinLtf lignt any evidence of mean and contemptible traSf n ttTtere ft" "-'.T" ^^^^ ^'' ^^"^^^' ^is mistakes but InS l^^ mistakes and faults of passion in every ence ofVh^'^^^r"' "e'"'^' ^"P^^^^ ^^ ^he extremes' vY^ ilwavs n tL r^^^'"'' ^^'' ^"^ ^"^^^^' ^^°^«' but fighting always m the open ; m great crises unhesitatingly sacrific- kfen hi^dT' '""^'t °^ ^^'''^' t° the p^Hic good iwen his detractors — those who count in letters — have admitted that his nature and his methods were too high' handed for grovelling and deceit, that the mettle of his the'^rrit'o'f rr^P^"^'; -J^^^^^^^ -d Madtn'had a fiX; h,l V "^JfS^^^,"^ comparison; Monroe was a fighter, but cowardly and spiteful. In point of mettle 39a THE CONQUEROR alone. Adams and Clinton were Hamilton's most worthy opponents. -^ Burr had not shown his hand as yet. He was at war with Clinton himself, and an active and coruscating mem- ber of the Senate. But Hamilton, by this, knew him thor- oughly He read his lack of public spirit in every successive act ot his life, recognized an ambition which would not hesitate to sacrifice his best friend and the country he was using, and a subtlety and cunning which would, with his lack of principle and property, make him the most danger- ous man in America should he contrive to grasp the reins of powjr Therefore he checkmated his every move, care- less of whether he made another powerful enemy or not Hamilton attempted no delusions with himself He knew that he hated Jefferson with a violence which threat- ened at times to submerge all the good in him, horrified hjm when he sat down and looked into himself. On the other hand, he knew himself to be justified in thwarting and humiliating him, for the present policy of the country must be preserved at any cost. But he was too clear and practised an analyst to fail to separate his public from his personal rancour He would drive Jefferson from public office for the public good, but he would experience the keenest personal pleasure in so doing. Such was Hamil- ton. Could a gemus like his be allied in one ego with a character hke Washington's, we should have a being for which the world has never dared to hope in its most Bibli- cal moments. But genius must ever be imperfect. Life IS not long enough nor slow enough for both brain and character to grow side by side to superhuman proportions. XXIX The following political year was a lively one for Hamilton, perhaps the liveliest of his career. As it approached, those interes 'J in pub-'c affairs had many subjects for constant and excited discussion : the possible Vice-President, whose election was to determine the future status of the Secretary ot Stale, and cement or weaken the centralized powers of "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 393 the Administration; the battle in ' two Gazettes, with the laurels to Hamilton, beyond all controversy, and humilia- tion for Jefferson and Madison ; the growing strength of the " Republican " party under Madison's open and Jeffer- son's literary leadership ; the probable policy of the Ad- mmistration toward the French Revolution, with Jefferson hot with rank Democracy, and Hamilton hotter with con- tempt for the ferocity of the Revolutionists ; the next move of the Virginians did Hamilton win the Vice-Presidency for the Administration party ; and the various policies of the Secretary of the Treasury and their results. At coffee- houses, at public and private receptions, and in Mrs. Croix's drawing-room, hardly another subject was broached. " A fool could understand politics in these days," said Iktsey, one evening in December, with a sigh. " Not a word does one hear of clothes, gossip, husbands, or babies Mrs. Wasliington told me the day after she returned that she had deliberately thought of nothing but butter and patchwork during the entire recess, that her poor brain might be able to stand the strain of the win* -. Shall you have to work harder than ever } " "I do not know," replied Hamilton, and at that moment he did not. He was correcting a French exercise of his son s, and feeling domestic and happy. Jefferson and he had made no pretence at formal amiability this season • they did not speak at all, but communicated on paper when the busmess of their respective departments required an interchange of opinion. He had vanquished his enemy in print, made him ridiculous in the eyes of all who read the Gazettes. Moreover, Washington, disturbed during the sum- mer by the constant nagging of Jefferson and his agents, respecting the " monarchical schemes " and " corrupt prac- tices of the Secretary of the Treasury, had formulated the accusations and sent them to Hamilton for refutation Ihe vindication, written without passion, as cold, clear consistent, ..nd logical, as if dealing with an abstract propo- sition, had convinced, and finally, all to whom it was shown • with the exception of Je^erson, who had no intention of being convinced. 394 THE CONQUEROR it Hamilton was conscious that there was no vulnerable point in his public armour. Of his private he was not so sure; Reynolds was in jail, for attempting, in company with one Clingman, to suborn a witness to commit perjury, and had appealed to him for aid. He had ignored him, determined to submit to no further blackmail, be the con- sequences what they might. But he was the last man to anticipate trouble, and on the whole he was in the best of humours as the Christmas holidays approached, with his boys home from their school on Staten Island, his little girl growing lovelier and more accomphshed, and his wife always charming and pretty ; in their rare hours of unin- terrupted companionship, piquant and diverting. He had gone out with her constantly since Congress assembled, and had enjoyed the recreations of society after his summer of hard work and angry passions. Everywhere he had a triumphal progress; men and women jostled each other about him, eager for a word, a smile, making him talk at length, whether he would or not. The confidence in him was stronger than ever, but his enemies were the most powerful, collectively and individually, that had ever arrayed against a public man : Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, with the South behind them ; the Livingstons and the Clinton fac- tion in New York; Burr, with his smiling subterranean industry ; the growing menace of the Republican party. Pamphlets were circulating in the States warning voters against all who supported the Secretary of the Treasury. It was one man against odds of appalling strength and resource; for by common consent both of friends and enemies Hamilton was the Federal party. Did he fall, it must go ; all blows were aimed at him alone. Could any one man stand forever an impregnable fortress before such a battery > Many vowed that he would, for " he was more than human," but others, as firm in their admiration, shrugged their shoulders. The enemy were infuriated at the loss of the Vice-Presidency, for again Hamilton had been vindicated and Adams reelected. What would be their next move .' Betsey knew that her husband had enemies, but the fact ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 395 gave her little concern; she believed Hamilton to be a match for the allied iorres of darkness. She noticed when his hair was unpowdercd that it was turning gray and had quite lost its boyish brightness ; here and there work and care had drawn a line. But he was handsomer, if anythin^^ and of the scars on his spirit she knew nothing. In th'Ii peace and pleasant distractions of his home his mercurial spirits leaped high above his anxieties and enmities, and he was as gay and happy, as interested in the manifold small interests of his family, as were he a private man of fortune without an ambition, an enemy, or a care. When mo.st absorbed or irritated he never victimized his household by moods or tempers, not only because they were at his mercy but because his nature spontaneously gave as it received ' his friends had his best always, his enemies the very worst of which his intense passionate nature was capable Nat- urally his family adored him and studied his happiness. Betsey continued her somewhat rambling remarks " The only variety is the French Revolution." " By the way, Washington has had a distressing letter from Madame Lafayette. She begs him to receive her boy— George Washington — and keep him until the t-ouble is oyer. 'I he Chief lears that in the present temper of the public his reception of Lafayette's son would be given an embarrassing significance, and yet it is impossible to refuse such a request, — with Lafayette in an Austrian dungeon, his wife m daily danger of prison or guillotine, and this boy, his only son, with no one but a tutor to protect him I offered at once to receive the child into my family— sub- ject, of course, to your approval. Should you object ? It would add to yaair cares — " " I have no cares, sir. I shall be delighted ; and he can talk French with the children." " I shall send him to Staten Island with Philip and Alex Washington will make him a liberal allowance for school and clothing. I confess I am anxious to receive him, more than anxious to show that my old friendship is undimin- ished. I fear to open cver>^ packet from Europe, lest I hear of Lafayette's death. Fortunately, Morris was able 396 THE CONQUEROR *• I to render some assistance to Madame Lafayette. Morris is a source of sufficient worry himself, for he is much too independent and bold for a foreign envoy in the thick of mob rule, mad with blood." " I hate to think of old friends in trouble," said Betsey, removing a tear. "Poor Kitty Duer! I had another letter from her to-day. It is pitiful to think of her and the poor little children, with nothing but what Lady Sterling, who has so little, and Lady Mary can give them. Is there no way of getting Colonel Duer out of Debtor's prison ? " " I've moved heaven and earth, but certain of his credi- tors are inexorable. Still, I hope to have him out and on his feet before long. You are not to worry about other people this evening, for I am particularly happy. Philip is really remarkable, and I believe that Angelica is going to turn out a musical genius. What a delight it is to have one person in the world to whom one can brag about one's offspring without apology." " Why, of course they are the most remarkable children in the world — all five of them," said Betsey, placidly. Edward Stevens came in and threw himself on the sofa. " What a relief to come into this scene of domestic tran- quillity, after the row outside ! " he exclaimed. " All the world is in the streets; that is to say, all the daft American world that sympathizes with that bloody horror in France. The news that the allied'armies have been beaten and the Duke of Brunswick was in full retreat when the packets sailed, has apparently driven them frantic with joy. They are yelling ' ^a ira,' bonfires are flaring everywhere, and bells rmging. All of the men are drunk, and some of the women. And yet the statesman who must grapple with this portentous problem is gossiping with his wife, and looking as if he had not a care in the world. Thank Heaven!" "I can do nothing to-night," said Hamilton, smiling. " I have had too much experience as a practical philosopher not to be happy while I can." "You have the gift of eternal youth. What shall you do m this French matter, Alexander the Great > All the 'ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 397 world is waiting to know. I should worry about you if I had time in this reeking town, where it is a wonder any man has health in him. Oh, for the cane-fie' '.« of St. Croix ! But tell me, what is the policy to be - - su Ic*: neu- trality.' Of course the President will agi -e with )ou- but fancy Jefferson, on his other side, burning wi: h approv. 1 for the very excesses of the Revolution, sin; • cl iv n-pily democracy exultant. And of course he is burrowing in the dark to increase his Republican party and inspire it with his fanatical enthusiasm for those inhuman wretches in France. I believe he would plunge us into a war to- morrow." " No, he is an unwarlike creature. He would like to trim, keep this country from being actually bespattered with blood, but coax the Administration to give the Revo- lutionists money and moral sui)port. He will do nothing of the sort, however. The policy of this remote country is absolute, uncompromising, neutrality. Let Europe keep her hands off this continent, and we will let her have her own way across the water. The United States is the nucleus of a great nation that will spread indefinitely, and any further Europeanizing of our continent would be a menace which we can best avoid by observing from the beginning a strictly defensive policy. To weaken it by an aggressive inroad into European politics would be the folly of schoolboys not fit to conduct a nation. We must have the Floridas and Louisiana as soon as possible. I have been urging the matter upon Washington's attention for three years. Spain is a constant source of annoyance, and the sooner we get her off the continent the better — and before Great Britain sends her. We need the Missis- sippi for navigation and must possess the territories that are the key to it. How idiotic, therefore, to antagonize any old-world power! " "You arc long-headed!" exclaimed Stevens. "Good heavens ! Listen to that ! The very lungs of Philadelphia are bellowing. Our people must be mad to see in this hideous French Revolution any resemblance to their own dignified and orderly struggle for freedom." 398 11 THE CONQUEROR " It is so easy to drive men mad," said Hamilton con temptuously. " Particularly when they are in constan reade';"a; ^SCtT^tT '''''''' ^^ P^-^ -" Pl- eader as subtle and venomous as Thomas Jefferson — Thomas, as he signed a letter to VVashingtoi "he other day. You may amagine the disgust of the Chief." ivirs. mmilton. I have not uttered a word for iust t^wentj^-five mmutes. Alexander, go and brew a beake^r of XXX The next morning Hamilton was sitting in his office i%\:.li':it:{^^^^^^^^ i?-- ^ ^- M^hi^nb^tn^d^ ro7}^. rave^t b^l^f oTr3^.^^ t^d^ I'gf h"e urned mto a muddy lane and splashed hims'w S^his waist that he might avoid meeting me." ' His first impulse was to excuse himself, on the plea of andKn^H"^'"'""^ ^^^^^'-^^ but curiosity trtump'ed i u,'°¥ ^'^ P^S^ t° admit the men. ^ ' Muhlenberg was again Speaker of the House- VenahlP was a Representative from VirHnia Hrr^nf ^^"^ble friendly with either, butTodd^rw^en^Ty'l^ss:^^^^^ fhlnl'T^'^'^ r'^^^y ^' ^hey entered t^oiay, and e^: changed a frigid bow with Monroe. The Senator from lnlZ:7ntr:nt^^^^^^^^^ '^'J f.?^ othets.'st^ethed"" long legs in front of him, and folded his arms defiantlv Ho^i•^ ^"^ T """^^ ^ greyhound, his preference for S ah ni^rrtVann^^^^^^ ''' ^^'^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^ Pointed tS There was a moment of extreme awkwardness M„M.„ berg and Venable hitched their ch Jrs aboui Monroe grmned spas,nodically, and rubbed his nose wTth hifupTe? gun-powder at once. ' scented 4=.= 4 II 'ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 399 " I am to be the spokesman in this delicate matter, I believe," said Muhlenberg, who looked red and miserable, " and I will, with your permission, proceed to my unpleas- ant task with as 1* tie delay as possible." "Pray do," replied Hamilton. "The daily a^iaults of my enemies for several years have endowed me with a for- titude which doubtless will carry me through this interview in a creditable manner." " I assure you, sir, that I do not come as an enemy, but as a friend. It is owing to my appeal that the matter was not laid directly before the President." " The President ? " Hamilton half rose, then seated him- self again. His eyes were glittering dangerously. Muh- lenberg blundered on, his own gaze roving. The Federal term of endearment for Hamilton, "The Little Lion," clanged suddenly in his mind, a warning bell. " I regret to say that we have discovered an improper connection between yourself and one Reynolds." He pro- duced a bundle of letters and handed them to Hamilton. " These are not in your handwriting, sir, but I am informed that you wrote them." Hamilton glanced at them hastily, and ♦■he angry blood raced through his arteries. " These letters were written by me," he said. " I dis- guised my handwriting for purposes of my own. What is the meaning of this unwarrantable intrusion into a man's private affairs } Explain yourself at once." " That is what we have come for, sir. Unfortunately we cannot regard it as a private affair, but one which concerns the whole nation." " The whole nation ! " thundered Hamilton. " What has the nation to do with an affair of this sort } Why cannot you tell the truth and say that you gloat in having dis- covered this wretched affair, — a common enough episode in the lives of all of you, — in having another tid-bit for Freneau > Why did you not take it to him at once ? What do you mean by coming here personally to take me to task ? " " I think there is some misapprehension, sir," said 40O THE CONQUEROR i I III, l:! p m !l Muhlenberg "It would be quite impossible for any one present to have misconducted himself in the manner oJn^ZZ^' ^^'^ """'' ^".? Muhlenberg sat with his mouth open for a moment, as if to reinhale the air which was escaping too quickly for calm speech. Then he set his shoulders and braced himself to meet the Secretary's eye Hamilton was staring at him. with no trace of passion?n his ace. His eyes looked like steel; his whob Lee had hardened into a mask. He had realized in a flash that he brain" %Tf'''^i ^ ""''} ^"^ ^^^^^ '^^ ^S Vo- hi! brain Explam," he said. "I am listening " been arr^e^sted'ti^rp^' "'"\?'' ^^'""^ Clingman. who has Deen arrested with Reynolds, was a clerk in mv emolov You will also recall that when he applied to me To °et hrm out, I, in company with Colonel Burr. waiteTon y^ou and asked your assistance. You .said that you wodd^do fLtf n- ^°"«'^t^"> but we did not hear from you Tulu ^^'"S"^^n refunded the money, or certificates which they had improperly obtained from the Treasurv While Z"'%r^^'"^"'^"^ ^' ^^' discharged to-daT t^ns wi^h ri"'' ^^' P?'^^"^ ^ ^^d ^^^^^^1 ^onversa: tions with Chngman. and he frequently dropped hints to the effect that Reynolds had it^ in his power matert a ly to injure the Secretary of the Treasury^ as he knew of several very improper transactions of hS. At first T as'to^LSrJhTt R ''"m ''^5 '"^ "^- ^^ --^ - f- fL 2 f r 3^y"olds had it in his power to hane the Secretary of the Treasury, that the latter was deeol? .Hv'''"'A-" ^P^„^"'^tion with Duer. and hadTrequen^Y snlcuTa'te '™-.^^y"°^dV.-ean- money with wS tJ speculate, then I conceived it my duty to take some «;orf ^d Mrve"„ahr%^ "-""nLtel wVh MrMon'e and Mr. Venable. They went at once to call on Reynolds serted that he was kept in prison by your connivance, as ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 401 you feared him ; and promised to put us in possession of the entire facts this morning. When we returned at the hour appointed, he had absconded, having received his dis- charge. We then went to his house and saw his wife, who asserted, after some circumlocution, that you had been concerned in speculations with her husband, that at your request she had burnt most of the letters you had written to herself and her husband, and that all were in a dis- guised hand — like these few which she had preserved. You will admit that it is a very serious charge, sir, and that we should have been justified in going directly to the President. But we thought that in case there might be an explanation — " "Oh, there is an explanation," said Hamilton, with a sneer. "You shall have it at my pleasure. I see that these notes implicate me to the extent of eleven hundred dollars. Strange, that a rapacious Secretary of the Treas- ury, handling millions, and speculating wildly with a friend of large resources, should have descended to such small play as this. More especially strange that he should have deliberately placed himself in the power of such a rascal as this Reynolds — who seems to impress every one he meets with his blackguardism — and communicated with him freely on paper; you will have observed that I acknowledged these notes without hesitation. What a clumsy knave you must think me. I resent the imputa- tion. Perhaps you have noticed that in one of these notes I state that on my honour I cannot accommodate him with the three hundred dollars he demands, because it is quite out of my power to furnish it. Odd, that a thieving Secre- tary, engaged in riotous speculation, could not lay his hand on three hundred dol'.ars, especially if it were neces- sary to close this rascal's mouth. I doubt, gentlemen, if you will be able to convince the country that I am a fool. Ne' ertheless, I recognize that this accusation must be met by controverting proof ; and if you will do me the honour to call at my house to-night at nine o'clock, I shall, in the presence of the Comptroller of the Treasury, furnish these proofs." 2D I III 402 THE CONQUEROR He rose, and the others pushed back their chairs and departed hastily. Muhlenberg's red face wore a look of relief, but Monroe scowled. Neither had failed to be im- pressed by the Secretary's manner, and the Speaker of the House, ashamed of his part in the business, would gladly have listened to an immediate vindication Hamilton sat motionless for some moments, the blood returning to his face, for he was seething with fury and "The hounds!" he said aloud, then again and again. He was alone, and he never had conquered his youthful habit of muttering to himself. "I can see Monroe leap- ing, not walking, to the jail, the moment he learned of a chance to incriminate me. The heels at the end of those long legs must have beaten the powder from his queue i^tM-' vf ■.V^'' '^ ^*^ ''•^P^^' "^ *°"g as he remains in public life - - if he succeeds. He resigns a large income, reduces his family almost to poverty, works himself half to death, rescues the country from contempt, launches it upon the sea of prosperity; and his public rewards are more than counterbalanced by the persecutions of his enemies. I have been on the defensive from the moment I entered public life. Scarcely a week but I have been obliged to parry some poisoned arrow or pluck it out and cauterize. The dreams of my youth ! They never soared so high as my present attainment, but neither did they in- clude this constant struggle with the vilest manifestations of which the human nature is capable." He brought his fist down on the table. " I am a match for all of them " he exclaimed. " But their arrows rankle, for I am human 1 hey have poisoned every hour of victory " He caught up his hat and went out into the air. The solace of Mrs^ Croix in his blacker moods occurred to him; and he walked down Chestnut Street as rapidly as he could JTJ^ • '^^^ Wtmg his hat now and again to cool his head in the frosty air. It was a brilliant winter's day; drifts of snow hid the dead animals and the garbage in the streets; and all the world was out for Christmas shopping As It was one of the seasons for display, everybody was "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 403 in his best. The women wore bright-coloured taffetas or velvets over hoops flattened before and behind musk melon bonnets or towering hats. They whisked thek gowns about, that their satin petticoats be\ot overlooked The men wore the cocked hat. heavily laced an 'a long coat, usually of light-coloured clclh^ vvith a Z ut.ve cape, the silver buttons engraved with initials o crest. Their small clothes were very short, but he.vv stnped stockings protected their legs ."^ on their feet were ulv leaded ''fJl-'''''^^ ^-^q^^^ite care, his cuffs care- o 7v i .K ^'' appearance interested him little to-day. For the moment, however, he forgot his Drivate anno>-ance m the portent on every' side of Wm ^ew of o.k.H ^^ ^^'''' ^'^'' ^"^ ^"^^^^d the shops. They b ocked the pavements, even the street, talking excited^ of the news of the day before. Fulh' half fhe tK sported the tri-coloured Cockade, the air\iSed w^h ' Citf itn, Citess. or rang with a volley of " Ca ira ! Ca ira ' " thoSt ''"The 'r T'1- • " '* " '^' n-t nightm&."he tiought The Cabinet is qmet at present— Jefferson mortified and beaten, is coaxing back his courage for a final spring. When the time comes to determine our quivered. He might rebel at poisoned arrows but he revelled m the fight that involved the triumph of a His mind was abstracted, the blood was still in his brain as he entered Mrs. Croix's drawing-room. For a moment he had a confused idea that he had blundered intoTshop The chairs, the sofas, the floor, were covered withl-a?" ments and stuffs of every hue. Hats and bonnets were perched on every point. Never had he seen so muchTo ' geous raiment m one space before. There were brocades if mSt"'whi^";r"^^' '''''' '^^i'^^^' ^-«' -d^rta^ ment Mr= r ^^ "^^^ '^^""^ ^^^^^ ^'"^ ^^ bewilder- Her h.?? '; r'"" ^^'^^ '"""'"S ^" ^^°"^ her bedroom, off hor fJ fl T"/u^ '^"^^^^' ^^' ^'''''^S sacque half off. her face flushed, her eyes sparkling. She looked half 404 THE CONQUEROR 1 Iff if i i 3 It ifi wanton, half like a giddy girl darting about among hei first trunks. "Hamilton!" she cried. "Hamilton!" She flew a1 him much as his children did when excited. " Look Look ! Look ! Is this not magnificent ? This is tht happiest day of my life ! " " Indeed .•• Are you about to set up a shop ? " " A shop ? I am about to deck myself once more in the raiment that I love. Have I not drooped in weeds lonj; enough, sir } I am going to be beautiful again ! I an going to wear all those lovely things — all! all! And ] am going to Lady Washington's to-morrow night. Mrs Knox will take me. But I vow I do not care half so much for that as for my beautiful things. They arrived by th( London packet yesterday, but have only now been de livered. I ordered them long since, and hardly could con trol my impatience till they came. I am so happy ! I fee like a bird that has been plucked for years." Hamilton looked at her in amazement, and despair More than once he had caught a glimpse of the frivoloui side of her nature, but that it could spread and contro her he never had imagined. Her intelligence, her passions her inherited and accumulated wisdom, were crowded intc some submerged cell. There was nothing in her at th( present moment for him, and he turned on his heel with out a word and left the house. She rapped sharply on th( window as he passed, but he did not look up. He wa; filled with that unreasoning anger peculiar to man wher woman for once has failed to respond. He consigned hei and her clothes to the devil, and looked at his watch. I was ten minutes to one. His dinner hour was tw( o'clock. He would go home to his wife, where he shoulc have gone in the first place. She never had failed him or if she had he could not recall the occasion. Her little dark face rose before him, innocent and adorable. He could not tell her of the cause of his annoyance, — it sud denly occurred to him that the less of that matter confidec to Mrs. Croix the better, — but then he never worried he: with his troubles. He would merely go and bask in hei it "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 405 presence for an hour, confess to a headache, and receive her sweet ministrrtions. 'coeive .Jl^J K^^ff '^ "f- °''u, ^?"'^' ^"^' '■^"'^^ed of his coat and hat by the waiting black, ran up the stair, he thought he heard a soft babble of voices. Knowing that his wife wouW, If he desired it dismiss at once any company she might have, he knocked confidently at her door^and entered For a moment he felt inclined to rub his eyes and wondered if he were the victim of delirium. The bed was covered with bandboxes, the sofa with new frocks Betsey was sitting before the mirror, trying on a cap, and her sisters, Peggy and Cornelia, were clapping their h^nds Angehca was perched on the back of a chair, her eves vvice their natural size. Hamilton attempted nstantTe! treat bu Betsey saw his reflection in the mirror. Comltre, tafote.'' "^'^^ ^ '""'''''^ ^"'^ P^— h/iT'^>^%^'' ^'^^ sisters-in-law, whose expected visit s^velv "^W th t?°?"' '"" I'^'Z^'^ ^"^ ^'''''^ him effu- sively. With the desire in his heart to rend the Universe eageT'Tce * '""''' '°'''^''^ ^""^ "'"""'^ ^^"'^ ^"'° ^'' ^^^^ « Vf'^/'Plf''^ ^^1 ^T^"^? '° '"^"y *h^"gs ! " she exclaimed. sixteen -A'ndt'h-^'^' ^'' T^ ^P"^^""^" ^he looked ^xteen. And this cap is the most bewitching of all You^c_ame just at the right moment; it is , ■itetingular: She thrust a letter from Mrs. Church into his hand, and he read where his wife pointed. "Someone who oves you will tell you if it is becoming or not." And on the fol! mvTroK- ::p^"^y-fy Brother for me. I calf him //L; / >7''^- ^\^'' °^ P"^^- A"d tell him. // esf riiomme le plus atmable du monder chin^' ''rt'Y/Tif^'" f'^ Hamilton, pinching his wife's sweet." ^ ^°" '^^'^^'^ ^°°^^^ h^'f so Betsey cooed with delight. Hamilton, having done his h tt re'd""^' .^"' '° '"'^'•^ '" S°°d o'-de^' ^hen he met h s little daughter's eyes. They had dismissed the wonderful \r 406 THE CONQUEROR i ^r ir cap and were fixed on him with an expression that gave him a sudden thrill. It was not the first time he had seen in Angelica so strong a resemblance to his mother that he half believed some fragment of Rachael Levine had come back to him. Her eyes were dark, but she had a mane of redriish fair hair, and a skin as white as porcelain, a long sensitive nose, and a full mobile mouth. She had none of his mother's vitality and dash, however. She was delicate and rather shrinking, and he knew that Rachael at her age must have been a marvel of mental and physical energy. It was only occasionally, when he turned sud- denly and caught Angelica staring at him, that he experi- enced the odd sensation of meeting his mother's eyes, informed, moreover, with an expression of penetrating comprehension — an expression he recalled without effort. The child idolized him. She sat outside his study while he wrote, crawling in between the " -s of anyone who opened the door, to sit at his feet ; or he dismissed her, in another part of the room until he left it. She watched for his daily returns, and usually greeted him from the banister post. Amiable, intelligent, pretty, affectionate, and already putting forth the tender leaves of a great gift, her father though*- her quite perfect, and they had long conversations whenever he was at leisure in his home. She demanded a gr«r,t deal of petting, and he was always ready to humour her, the more as she was the only girl, and the one quiet member of his little family — although she had been known to use her fists upon occasion. Her prettiness and intelligence delighted him, her affection was one of the deepest pleasures of his life, and he was thankful for the return to him of his mother's beautiful and singular features. To-day the resemblance was so striking that he contracted his eyelids. Angelica straight- ened herself, gave a spring, and alighted on his chest. " Take me downstairs and talk to me," she commanded. " 'Tis nearly an hour to dinner." Hamilton swung her to his shoulder, and went down- stairs. On the way he laughed out loud. The past half- hour tossed itself into the foreground of his mind, clad in "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 407 the skirts of high comedy. Tragedy fled. The burden in his breast went with it. Far be it from him to d.^rish a grudge against the sex that so often reduced the trials of public life to insignificance. Women were delicious irre- sponsible beings ; man was an ingrate to take their short- comings seriously. " Why do you laugh .? " asked his daughter, who.se arm nearl)' strangled him. " You were very angry when you came into mamma's room." "Indeed.?" said Hamilton, nettled. "Was J not smil- ing? " " Yes, sir ; but you often smile when you would like to run the carving-knife into somebody." They had reached the library. Hamilton sat the child on the edge of his table and took a chair closely facing her. "What do you mean, you little witch.?" he demanded. " I am always happy when I am at home." " Almost always. Sometimes you are very angry, and sometimes you are sad. Why do you pretend.? Why don't you tell us .? " " Well," said Hamilton, with some confusion. " I love you all very much, you see, and you do make me happy — why should I worry you .' " "I should feel better if you told me — right out. It gives me a pain here." She laid her hand to her head, and Hamilton stared at her in deepening perplexity. Another child — anything feminine, at least — would have indicated her heart as the citadel of sorrow. "Why there.?" he asked. "Do you mean a pain .? " " Yes, a pain, but not so bad as when I am in Albany or Saratoga and you are here. Then I worry all the time." " Do you mean that you are ever unhappy .? " " I am unhappy whenever you are, or I am afraid that you are. I know that you are very big and the cleverest man in the world, and that I am too little to do you any good, and I don't know why I worry when I am away." i- , 4o8 THE CONQUEROR f t! I ii I Hut, my dear child, what in Heaven's name do you mean ? Have you ever spoken to your mother of this? " Angelica shook her head. Her eyes grew larger and wiser. "No; I should only worry Betsey, and she is always happy. She is not clever like you and me " Hamilton rose abruptly and walked to the window When he had composed his features he returned. " You must not criticise your mother in that way, my dear She is a very clever little woman, indeed." Angelica nodded. "If she were clever, you would not say ' little.' Nobody says that you are a very clever little inan. When I'm big, I'll not be called little, either. I love our dear Queen Bess, but I'm all yours. Why were you so angry to-day .? " ^ " I couldn't possibly tell you," replied her father, turn- ing cold. " You must not ask too many questions ; but I am very g.-atefui for your sympathy. You are my dear little girl, and you make me love you more and more, daily. ' " And will you tell me whenever you are not feeling like what you are making the rest believe .? " "If it will make you any happier, I will whisper it into your pmk little ear. But I think I should be a very bad father to make you unhappy." " I told you, sir, that I am more unhappy when I imag- me things. It is just like a kni^e," and again she pointed to her head. Hamilton turned pale. "You are too young to have headaches, he said. " Perhaps you have been studying too hard. I am so ambitious for my children; but the boys have taken to books as they have to kites and fisti- cuffs. I should have remembered that girls " His memory gave up the stories of his mother's precocity But this child, who was so startlingly like t u dead woman was far less fitted to carry such burdens. So sensitive an intelligence in so frail a body might suddenly flame too high and fa 1 to ashes. He resolved to place her in classes of other little girls at once, and to keep her in the fields as much as possible. None knew better than he how close H "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 409 the highly strung unresting brain could press to madness. He had acquired a superhuman control over his. If this girl's brain had come out of his own, it must be closely watched. She had not inherited his high light spirits, but the melancholy which had lain at the foundations of his mother's nature ; she would require the most persistent guarding. He took her face between his hands and kissed it many times. " Very well," he said, " we will have our little secrets. I will tell you when I am disturbed, and you will sit close beside me with your doll until I feel better. Hut remem- ber, I expect as much confidence in return. You will never have a care nor a terror nor an r.inoyance that you will not confide it to me directly." She nodded. " I'm always telling you things to myself. And I won't cry any more in the night, when I think you have felt badly and could not tell anyone. It will all go away if you talk to me about it," she added confidently. Hamilton swung her to his shoulder again and started for the dining room. "The child is uncanny," he thought. "Can there be anything in that old theory that tormented and erring souls come back to make their last expiation in children } That means early death!" He dismissed the thought promptly. XXXI After dinner he called on Oliver VVolcott, the Comp- troller, one of his closest friends, and related the scene of the morning, adding the explanation. Wolcott was a Puritan, and did not approve of the martial digressions of his friends. But in this case the offence was so much less than the accusation that he listened with frequent ejaculations of content. He agreed at once to call at Hamilton's house at eight o'clock, look over the papers, and read them aloud when the trio arrived. "And may the devil damn them," he added. "It will be one of the keenest pleasures of my life to confound 4IO THE CONQUEROR them. The unpatriotic villains ! They know that in dis- gracing you they would discredit the United States, and m their hearts they know^hat your measures are the only vvheels for this country to run on ; but to their party spite they would sacrifice everything. I'll be there." And when the men called that night at nine o'clock, he read them the correspondence from beginning to end — Reynold r letters, and those of the woman. More than once Muhlenberg begged him to desist, but he was merci- less. When he had finished, Hamilton explained that he had disguised his handwriting lest the man forge or make other use of it. The three rose as soon as the ordeal was over. " It is no use for me to attempt to express my regret or my humiliation," said Muhlenberg. " I shall be ashamed of this as long as I live." " I feel like an ass and a spy," exclaimed Venable " I heartily beg your pardon, sir." " Your mistake /as justifiable. Are you satisfied > " " More than satisfied." Hamilton turned to Monroe. " I made a mistake," said the " I beg your pardon." " And I shall hear no more of this } " He received the solemn promise of each, then let them go. But he locked the letters carefully in their drawer again. ^^ " Are you going to keep those things .? " asked Wolcott. It must have made you sick to listen to them." "It did. Perhaps I shall keep them for penance, per- haps because I do not trust Monroe." Senator from Virginia. XXXII Hamilton was not long kept in ignorance of the next tac- tics of his enemies. They made their deadliest assault soon alter Christmas. Immediately upon the assembling of Con- gress it was suggested that the Secretary of the Treasury be asked to furnish a plan for reducing the public debt "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 4n Madison arose and fired the first gun. What Congress wanted was not a plan, but a statement of the national finances. The Federalists replied that the information would come in due course, and that the House was in duty bound to ask the Secretary to furnish a scheme. The Re- publicans, led by Madison, protested that already too much power had been invested in the Secretary of the Treasury, that it had exceeded constitutional limits. Moreover, he overwhelmed them with volumes, deliberately calculated to confuse their understandings. One Giles, who did the dirty work of the party, announced that the Secretary was not fit to make plans, and added the numerous and familiar denunciations. But the Republicans were outvoted, and the suggestions were called for. Hamilton furnished them immediately. His plan to reduce the debt was met by so strenuous an opposition from the Republicans that it was defeated, and by the party which had been most persistent in their detestation of the obnoxious burden. Rather than add to the laurels of Hamilton, they would shoulder it with equanimity. But this defeat was but an incident. The Secretary of the Treasury, as the result of a series of resolutions, was bidden to lay before Congress an account of the moneys borrowed at Antwerp and Amsterdam ; the President to furnish a statement of the loans made by his authority, their terms, what use had been made of them, how large was the balance ; the chiefs of departments to make a return of the persons employed and their salaries. Hamilton, by this time, was fully alive to the fact that he was about to be subjected to fresh persecution, and the agility of his enemies could not keep pace with his. He furnished the House with an itemized list — which it took the Committee days to plod through — of his book- keepers, clerks, porters, and charwomen, and the varying emoluments they had received since the Department was organized, three years and a half before. He further informed them that the net yield of the foreign loan was eighteen millions six hundred and seventy-eight thousand florins, that the loans were six in number, that three bore five per cent interest, two four and a half, and one four per cent. 412 THE CONQUEROR ll ■( ■ ■ I, i ■ ; ■it' i| 1 fJi The enemy was disconcerted but not discouraged. Five fresh resolutions were moved almost immediately. Impar- tial historians have agreed that Jefferson suggested these shameful resolutions, and that Madison drew them up. Giles brought them forward. In a vociferous speech he asserted that no man could understand the Secretary's report, that his methods and processes were clothed in a suspicious obscurity. It was his painful duty to move the adoption of the following resolutions : That copies of the papers authorizing the foreign loans should be made ; that the names of the persons to whom and by whom the French debt had been paid be sent to Congress ; that a statement of the balances between the United States and the Bank be made; that an account of the sinking-fund be ren- dered, how much money had come into it and where from, how much had been used for the purchase of the debt and where the rest was deposited. The fifth demanded an ac- count of the unexpended revenue at the close of the pre- ceding year. Giles charged that a serious discrepancy existed between the report of the Secretary and the books of the Bank — not less than a million and a half. It had been the purpose of Jefferson and Madison to bring for- ward the resolutions with an air of comparative innocence. But the vanity of Giles carried him away, and his speech mf ormed Congress, and very shortly the country, that the honesty of the Secretary of the Treasury had been im- peached, and that he was called upon to vindicate himself. In crises Hamilton never lost his temper. The greater the provocation, as the greater the danger, the colder and more impersonal he became. Nor was it in his direct impatient nature to seek to delay an evil moment any more than it was to protect himself behind what the American of to-day calls " bluff." In this, the severest trial of his public career, he did not hesitate a moment for irritation or protest. He called upon his Department to assist him, and with them he worked day and night, gathering, arrang- ing, elaborating all the information demanded by Congress. When he was not directing his subordinates, he was shut up in his librarj' preparing his statements and replies. His ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 413 meals were taken to him ; his family did not see him for weeks, except as he passed them on his way to or from the front door. He sent in report after report to Congress with a celerity that shattered his health, but kept his enemies on the jump, and worked them half to death. The mass of manuscript he sent would have furnished a modest book- store, and the subjects and accounts with which he was so familiar drove Madison and others, too opposed to finance to master the maze of it, close upon the borders of frenzy. It had been their uncommunicated policy to carry the mat- ter over to the next session, but Hamilton was determined to have done with them by adjournment. And in the midst of this tremendous pressure arrived George Washington Lafayette. It was on the first Saturday of his retirement into the deep obscurity of his library, with orders that no one knock under penalty of driving him from the house, that Hamil- ton, opening the door suddenly with intent to make a dash for his office, nearly fell over Angelica. She was standing just in front of the door, and her face was haggard. " How long have you been here ? " demanded her father. " Three hours, sir." " Three ! Have you stood all that time } " Angelica nodded. She was determined not to cry, but she was wise enough not to tax the muscles of her throat. Hamilton hesitated. If *' e child fidgeted, she would distract his attention, gr A^ere his powers of concen- tration ; but another sei- : , of her eyes decided him. "Very well," he said o in, but mind you imagine that you are a mouse, or ^ou will have to leave." When he returned, she was sitting in a low chair by his desk, almost rigid. She had neither doll nor book. " This will never do," he thought. "What on earth shall I do with the child ?" His eye fell upon the chaos of his nanuscript. He gathered it up and threw it on the sofa. "There," he said, "arrange that according to the numbers, and come here every five minutes for more." And Angelica spent two hours of every day in the library, useful and happy. 414 THE CONQUEROR One day Hamilton was obliged to attend a Cabinet meeting, and to spend several hours at his office just after. Returning home in the early winter dusk, he saw two small white faces pressed against the hall window. One of them was Angelica's, the other he had never seen. As he entered, his daughter fell upon him. " This is George Washington Lafayette," she announced breathlessly. " He came to-day, and he doesn't speak any English, and he won't go near Betsey or anyone but me, and he won't eat, and I know he's miserable and wretched, only he won't cry. His tutor's ill at the Inn." The little Frenchman had retired to the drawing-room. Angelica darted after him and dragged him forward into the light. He was small for his age, but his features had the bold curious outline of his father's. He carried him- self with dignity, but it was plain that he was terrified and unhappy. Hamilton gave him a warm embrace, and asked him several questions in French. The boy brightened at once, answered rapidly and intelligently, and took firm possession of his new friend's hand. " I am more happy now," he announced. " I don't like the other people here, except this little girl, because they do not speak French, but you are a Frenchman, and I shall love you, as my father said I should — long ago ! I will stay with you day and night." " Oh, you will > " exclaimed Hamilton. " I am going to send you to school with my boys." " Oh, not yet, sir ! not yet ! " cried the boy, shrilly. " I have seen so many strangers on that dreadful ship, and in France — we hid here, there — moving all the time. I wish to live with you and be your little boy." " And so you shall, but I am uncommonly busy." "He is a ve.y quiet little boy," interposed Angelica, who was three years his junior. " He would not move if he sat in your room, and I will take him for a walk every day. He will die if he has to sit in a room by himself all day." "I shall sleep with you, sir, I hope.?" asked young Lafayette, eagerly. " I have thought all day of the dark of to-night. I have seen such terrible things, sir ! " "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 415 " Good Heaven ! " thought Hamilton, " is it not enough to be dry nurse to a nation ? " But he could not refuse, and during the few hours he snatched for sleep he was half strangled. By day the boy sat quietly in a corner of the library, and studied the text-books his guardian bought him. Betsey did all she could to win him, but he had no faith in people who could not speak his language. Angelica, like all of Hamilton's children, knew something of French, and he liked her and accepted her motherly atten- tions ; but Hamilton he adored. The moment his absorbed friend made for the front door he was after him, and Ham- ilton let him run at his heels, lest he get neither air nor exercise. He had no time at present to take him to call on his august godfather, and, in truth, he dreaded the pros- pect. Washington knew nothing of children, and his di- minutive namesake would probably be terrified into spasms. xxxni The three long and exhaustive reports, accounting hon- ourably for every penny entrusted to the Secretary of the Treasury, and justifying every payment, measure, and in- vestment, had gone to the Congress. Nine days later Giles brought forward nine resolutions of censure against the Secretary of the Treasury. But by this time Congress had made up its mind, and many of the Republicans were disgusted and humiliated. The Federalists were trium- phant, and amused themselves with Giles, drawing him on, to confound him with ridicule and proof of the absurdity of his charges. Madison, desperate, lost his head and the respect of many of his colleagues, by asserting hysterically that the House was impotent to change the truth of the accusations, and that in the tribunal of public opinion the Secretary would be condemned. But Hamilton was tri- umphantly vindicated by Congress and the Nation at large. His house was in a state of siege for weeks from people of all parts of the country, come to congratulate him ; his desk obliterated by letters he had no time to read. The Fcderaia were jubilant. Their pride in Hamilton was so 4i6 THE CONQUEROR }i P? i 1 ^ proclamation from above would not have dis- turbed their faith, and they were merciless to the discom- fited enemy. In truth, the Virginian trio and their close adheren s were mortified md confounded. In their hearts lu^ i^i u °* ^""^'^^f Hamilton guilty of dishonesty, but they had been confident that his affairs were in chaos, that large sums must have escaped, not conceiving that any mortal could at the same time create gigantic schemes, and be as methodical as a department clerk in every detai of his great office. ^ Although Hamilton had commanded his brain to dwell exclusively upon the vindication and its means, the deeps below were bitter and hot. When the work was over, and exhausted m body and mind he went about his duties mechanically or attempted to find distraction in his family, he felt as if the abundant humanity in him were curdled : and he longed for a war. that he might go out and kil somebody. It was small compensation that the Virdn- Ti^ ""if u^'% grinding their teeth, and shivering under daily shafts of humiliation and ridicule. So terrible was k L th!? ^ A'^^f n *^t '""" °^ ^'^ contempt for human c'irnVof Msto'lSt '''' °""^^^'' '''' ' ^™^' ^"^ ^ hJl'^J'u^ solace during this trial had been Washington- he had been too busy and too frozen for Mrs. Croix But that c osest of his friends, although forced by his high office to a position of stern neutraHty. did all he couldin a"d"rt2d""A"" "^""^°;; «^h- -altereS'affelrion and regard. As soon as the vindication was complete tnriT '-H ^'^^1°^ «"^^*^^"^ ^'^ daily walk wkh an hour in Hamilton's library. But if his visits were a pleas- ure to h s Secretary, they were wretchedness unleavened aHerto .X 7'"^' ?' ''^ 'r "y- 'T^^ President never tailed to ask for Angehca and George Washington Lafa yette ; and upon their prompt but unwHling advent he vvould fo'^^l^T^r^r '-^^'^^ ^"^^' "h^^^ they remaned for perhaps half an hour in awe-stricken misery. Thev had orders to show no distress, and they behaved adnifrably ; "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 417 but although young Lafayette was rapidly learning Eng- lish, the fact did not lessen his fear of this enormous man, who spoke so kindly, and looked as if he could have silenced the Terror with the awful majesty of his presence. Angelica, being an independent little American, was less overwhelmed, but she was often on the verge of hysterics. It was the short session of Congress, and in March, George, with scalding but dignified tears, accompanied his godfather to Mount Vernon, whence he wrote Hamilton a daily letter of lament, until habit tempered his awe ; from that point he passed with Gallic bounds into an ardent affection for the great man, who, if of an unearthly dignity, was always kind, and, when relieved of the cares of State, uniformly genial. The respite in Philadelphia was brief. In April came the first news of the beheading of the French king; and the same tardy packets brought word that France was at war with England and Spain. Hamilton sent the news, express haste, to Washington, and dismissed every con- sideration from his brain but the terrible crisis forced upon the United States, and the proper measures to save her from shipwreck. In the early stages of the French Revolution he had predicted the developments with such accuracy to Henry Walter Livingston that the new Secretary of Legation, upon his arrival in Paris, told Gouverneur Morris — United States minister since 1792 — that to his astonishment he found nothing to surprise him. Therefore the prophet had long been determined upon the policy the United States should pursue when this crisis shot out of the eastern horizon ; he had now but to formulate it in such a manner that every point could be grasped at once by the Cabinet, and acted upon. When Washington arrived in Philadel phia and summoned his advisers, Hamilton presented twelve questions for discussion, the most pressing of which were : Shall a proclamation issue for the purpose of preventing interferences of the citizens of the United States in the war between France and Great Britain, etc. ? Shall it contain a declaration of neutrality? Shall a minister from this Republic of France be received? 3E 4i8 THE CONQUEROR Jefferson was m a far less enviable position than Hamil- ton. He neither wished for war, nor dared he machinate for It ; but with all his democratic soul he loved the cause which was convulsing the world from its ferocious centre m France. Had Jefferson come of stout yeoman stock. Ike John Adams, or of a long line of patrician ancestors, like Hamilton, and, to a lesser degree, like Washington, he might, judging from certain of his tastes, and his love of power, have become, or been, as aristocratic in habit and spirit as were most men of his wealth, position, and impor- tance m the young country. But the two extremes met in his blood. The plebeianism of his father showed itself in the ungainly shell, in the indifference to personal cleanli- ness, and in the mongrel spirit which drove him to acts of physical cowardice for which his apologists blush But his mother had belonged to the aristocracy of Virginia, and this knowledge induced a sullen resentment that he should be so unlike her kind, so different in appearance from the courtly men of his State. Little was wanting to accelerate his natural desire to level his country to a plane upon which with his gifts he easily could loom as a being of superior mould; but when a British sovereign publicly turned his back upon him, and the English court, delighted with its cue, treated him with an unbearable insolence, nothing more was needed to start the torrent of his hate against all who stood for aristocracy. Democracy rampant on all sides of him, during his sojourn in France, found in him not only an ardent sympathizer, but a passionate advocate. He quite overlooked the fact that he failed to persuade the country of his enthusiasm to accord the United States fair commercial treatment: it embodied and demonstrated his ideal of liberty, equality, fraternity, and he was its most devoted friend, unresting until he had insinuated his own admiration into the minds of his followers in America, and made Jacobinism a party issue. To turn his back upon France, therefore, to help her neither in money nor moral support, was a policy he had no intention to pursu.j, could he avoid it; but knowing his weakness m the Cabinet, he suggested an extra session of "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 4,9 Congress. It would then be an easy matter to throw the responsibility upon his followers in both Houses, while he stood to the country as working consistently and harmoni- ously in his great office. But Hamilton, who understood him thoroughly, would listen to no proposition which would involve weeks of delay, inflame further the public mind, and give Jefferson an opportunity to make political capital. Moreover, he would have no such confession of weakness go out from the Administration. He prevailed, and in that first meet- ing Jefferson was forced to consent also to the immediate issue of a proclamation to the people. He argued with such fervour, however, against the use of the word "neutrality," declaring that the Executive had no constitu- tional authority so far to commit the people, that Wash- ington, to humour him, omitted the word, while declaring authoritatively for the substance. It was also agreed that Genet, the new Minister from France, sent by the Revolu- tionists to succeed M. Ternant, should be received. The first meeting closed tranquilly, for both Hamilton and Jefferson had tacitly admitted that it was no time for personal recrimination. But the Cabinet met daily, and other subjects, notably Hamilton's contention that their treaties made with a proper French government no longer existed, came up for elabo- rate discussion; Hamilton had an exhaustive report pre- pared on each of them. The two Secretaries, who hated each other as two men hardly have hated before or since, and who realized that they had met for their final engage- ment in official life, soon dismissed any pretence at con- cord, and wrangled habitually — with cutting sarcasm or crushing force on Hamilton's part, with mild but deadly venom on Jefferson's; until he too was maddened by a jagged dart which momentarily routed his tender regard for his person. Jefferson wrenched one victory from the Cabinet despite Hamilton's determined opposition : Genet's reception should be absolute. But on all other important points the Secretary of the Treasury scored, and stone by stone built up the great policy of neutrality which prevailed 420 THE CONQUEROR if until the year 1898 ; impressed into the Government the " Doctrine " — he had formulated it in " The Federalist " — which was to immortalize the name of a man who created nothing. Hamilton, with all the energy and obstinacy of his nature, was resolved that the United States should not have so much as a set-back for the sake of a country whose excesses filled him with horror, much less run the risk of being sucked into the whirlpool of Europe ; and he watched every move Jefferson made, lest his secret sympathies commit the country. When, after a triumphal procession through miles of thoughtless enthusiasts, who remembered only the services oi France, forgot that their friends had been confined entirely to the royalty and aristocracy that the mob was murdering, and were intoxicated by the ex- treme democracy of the famous Secretary of State, Genet arrived in Philadelphia, inflated and bumptious, his brain half crazed by the nervous excitement of the past two years, and was received with frigid politeness by Washing- ton, Hamilton was not long discovering that Jefferson was 'in secret sympathy and intercourse with this dangerous fire- brand. The news had preceded and followed the new minister that he had been distributing blank commissions to all who would fit out privateers to prey upon British commerce, opening headquarters for the enlistment of American sailors into the French ser\'ice, and constituting French consuls courts of admiralty for the trial and con- demnation of prizes brought in by French privateers. As soon as he arrived in Philadelphia he demanded of Hamilton the arrears of the French debt, which the Secre- tary had refused to pay until there was a stable govern- ment in France to receive it. Hamilton laughed, locked the doors of the Treasury, and put the key in his pocket. To Genet's excited volubility and pertinacity he paid as little attention as to Jefferson's arguments. Moreover, he reversed all Citizen Genet's performances in the South ; and in course of time, even the captured British ships, to the wrath and disgust of Jefferson, were returned to their owners. Freneau's Gazette supported the Secretary of State with "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 431 the desperation of an expiring cause; in this great final battle, were Jefferson driven from the Cabinet, his faithful organ must scrurry to th2 limbo of its kind. It assailed the Administration for ingratitude and meanness, then turned its attention almost exclusively to the Secretary of the Treasury. It accused him of abstracting the moneys due to France, of plundering the industrious farmer with the p:xcise Law, destroying the morals of the people by Custom House duties; resurrected the old discrimination cry and asserted vehemently that he, and he alone, had robbed the poor soldiers. It raked every accusation, past and present, from its pigeon holes. Jefferson, on the other hand, was held up as a model of the disinterested statesman, combining virtues before which those falsely attributed to Washington paled and expired ; and as the only man fit to fill the Executive Chair. Genet accepted all this as gospel, fortunately, perhaps, for the country ; for his own excesses and impudence, his final threat to appeal from the President to the people, ruined him with the cool- ing heads of the Republican party, and finally lost him even the support oi Jefferson. Meanwhile, after stormy meetings of the Cabinet, Ham- ilton, in the peace of his library, with Angelica sorting his pages, — until she went to the North, — had written a series of papers defending the proclamation. They were so able and convincing, so demonstrable of the treasonable efforts of the enemy to undermine the influence of the Administra- tion, so cool and so brilliant an exposition of the rights and powers of the Executive, that on July 7th Jefferson wrote to Madison : " For God's sake, my dear sir, take up your pen. Select the most striking heresies, and .. him to pieces in the face of the public." Madison hastened to obey his chief in a series of papers which tickled the literary nerve, but failed to convince. That the laurels were to Hamilton was another bitter pill which Jefferson was forced to swallow. Nevertheless, Hamilton, despite his victories, felt anytning but amiable! He was so exhauote J that he was on the verge of a collapse, and triumphs were drab under the daily harassment of 4" THE CONQUEROK Jefferson, Genet, and Freneau. Mutters came to a climax one day in August, shortly before the outbreak of yellow fever. ^ XXXIV Hamilton laid down a copy of Freneau '.« G%r.et:r, whose editorial columns were devoted, as usu ^ to ^)c suadine the people of the United States that the wtrc miserable and that they owed their misery to the'hecrf iry of the Treasury. It also contained a shameful i: >au'' upon the President. As he lifted another paper fi.m the pile on his library table, his eyes fell on the following acidre > to himself: — O votary of despotism ! O abettor of Carthaginian faith ! Bh.-h ' Can j-ou for a moment suppose that the hearts of the yeoman, of America are becoming chilled and insensible to the feelings of insu ted humanity like your own ? Can you think that gratitude, the most en- dearing disposition of the human heart, is to ^ argued away by vour dry sophistry ? Do you suppose the people of the Onited States pru- dently thumb over Vattel and Pufendorf to ascertain the sum and sub- stance of their obligations to their generous brethren, the French ' No ! no ! Each inJividu^ will lay his hand on his heart and find the amount there. He wil find that manly glrv, both of gratitude and ove, which animated his breast when assisted by this geferous %ople despoUsmt"'^ ""^^ ^"^^ *"'* ^''^'''"^ off the yoke of Britfsh Ivi^Q Aurora he was denounced as the foe of Fran e and the fnend of Great Britrin and Spain, the high priest of tyranny, the bitterest euemy of the immortal French trio, Liberte, Egalit^, Fraternity ; the subtle and Machia- vellian adviser of Washington, who, relieved of this per- nicious influence, would acknowledge the debts of gratitude and follow the wul of the American people .u " ^^^^'^Fi !"^^ • " ^^ thought, flinging the entire pile into the waste-basket. " Or are they merely so eager for power and our ruin that they are indifferent to the fact that the Administration, and the foundations upon which it stands never has needed the support of the people more than now ? Can only the party in power afford to be patriotic ? What a spectacle is this, that I, an alien born, am wearing out "ALEXANDER 4E GRI AT' 423 my life and sac nficing m) cha cter, to :-.a\ a from lenr^elvc s a people who pant for my ruin . Has rht gar ■ en worth the candle > Debt, my family crowded n o a house not half lar, e enough to hold them, my health almost gone, my reputation in spite of repeated vindications, .nd rmincd by daily assaiHt— for tht foob of the ^oMd I elieve whnt they are told, arrd I cam n coi -i*romi -iiy di luty i replving to sue a attacks .= thes abo. til, a rck. nin^ anc coiistant disgust for lift an*, human 4tur gar e worth the candl ' Had I cmain a^ she ild ha.e oiven my taini! abi dance >y ^ only the kind and quantity ot one. js that kh n\ is only politics that rousi the ht lisi. depthr n th^ j(iuverneur Morris by the mob. vltogett r, he may be excused for forgetting that he was still the ost dazzling figure in America, in the full tide of ictual surcess, and an object of terrified hatred to a [ow-r ul rh ho could reach their zenith over his politic c =e ai.a by no other means whatever. mg tn this time that it ever the -ly bi predomui the leisur England the Uni Excise he avinj. -. Stateb aw were St ii. ^ ;; anty mmistration of ver the whole i . vorse plight penty forgotten 1, and leave my 'ported, by my .c of e picture; over nelming at ed he lad lost for In addition to the were demanding all constant fforts to 424 THE CONQUEROR I He picked up his hat, and went forth reluctantly to a Cabinet meeting. It was early, and he saw Washington for a few moments alone in the library. The President was in a no more cheerful or amiable frame of mind than himself. His responsibilities in this terrible crisis wore on his spirits and temper ; and the daily fear that his Secre- taries would come to blows, — for Jetferson was in the worst humour of the quintette, — to say nothing of the assaults of the press, made him openly regret the hour he was per- suaded into the Executive Chair. But his entire absence of party spirit, despite his secret sympathy with every measure of Hamilton's, his attitude of stem neutrality, never emerged more triumphantly from any trial of his public career ; nor did he ever exhibit the magnanimity of his character more strikingly than in his undisturbed affec- tion for Hamilton, while daily twitted with being the tool of his " scheming and ambitious Secretary." Hamilton saw a copy of Freneau's Gazette in the waste- basket, but by common consent they ignored the subjects which would be unavoidable in a few moments, and spoke of the stifling heat, of the unhealthy state of Philadelphia, the menace of the San Domingo refugees pouring into the city, of the piles of putrid coffee and hides on the wharves at the foot of Mulberry Street, and of the car- casses of rotting hogs and horses which lay everywhere. " Thank Heaven, we can get our women and children out of it," said the President. " And unless we can finish this business in another week, I shall take the Government to the country. I suppose we are entitled to escape with our lives, if they leave us nothing else." They entered the Council Chamber and found the others in their accustomed seats. Jefferson's brow was corrugated, his weak and mincing mouth pressed out of shape. He had just finished reading the last of Hamilton's "No Jacobin " papers, published that morning, in which Genet's abominable breaches of decorum, violation of treaties, and deliberate insults to the Executive — and through him to the American people — had been set forth in sg clear pointed and dispassionate a manner, that no thinking "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 4»5 Republican who read could fail to be convinced of the falseness of his position in supporting this impudent and ridiculous Frenchman. Furthermore, the Secretary of State had been forced, through the exigencies c his posi- tion, to sign despatch after despatch, letter after letter, in violation of his private sympathies. He was feeling not only as angry as a cornered bull, but extremely v irtuous. He hated what he firmly believed to be the cold and selfish policy of the Administration, as he hated every other policy It had executed ; and the knowledge that he had sacrificed his personal feehngs to save his country from discord made him feel a far better man than the Secretary of the Treasury, who had a diabolical talent for getting his own way. He had some reason to be pleased with his conduct, and with his share in contributing to a seric. of measures which later on won for the Cabinet at that crucial period the encomiums of history ; and when time had abated the fevers, Hamilton would have been the first to acknowledge that Jefferson not only was the brake which the Adminis- tration needed at that time, but that, owing to his popularity with the French and the masses of the United States, he reduced the danger of a popular uprising. As Hamilton took his seat this morning, however, the blood was in his head, and he and Jefferson exchanged a glance of sullen hate which made Washington exte :d his long arms at once. All went well until the Presiden. with a premonitory sigh, introduced the dynamic name, Genet Hamilton forgot his debility, and was all mind, alert and energetic. Jefferson, who had come to hate Genet as an intolerable nuisance, would have been the first at another moment to counsel the demand for recall which he knew was now inevitable, but he was in too bad a humour to-day to concur in any measure agreeable to Hamilton. The latter had replied promptly to Washington's remark that the time had come to take definite action with regard to the light-headed Frenchman, who continued to fit out and despatch privateers, and was convulsing the country " Pray send him home, bag and baggage, ^ir. He is not 4a6 THE CONQUEROR I''' if'- »i entitled to the dignity or consideration of the usual for- malities. Moreover, he is the trigger of the United States so long as he remains at liberty in it. I estimate that there is a new Jacobin club formed daily. At any moment he may do something which will drive these fools, under their red caps and cockades, mad with admiration." Jefferson brought his brows down to the root of his nose. "'Fools' is not the word for an honest enthusiasm for liberty, sir. I regret the present excitement — its manifes- tations at this moment — as much as anyone — " " Indeed ? I am amazed. Who, then, is responsible for them } " " Not I, sir." " Oh, let us have no more hypocrisy, at all events," said Hamilton, contemptuously. He had his wrath under con- trol, but he suddenly determined to force the climax. " If you had employed your secret pen to I /."iter purpose, or not employed it at all, there would not be a Jacobin club in the country; this ridiculous Frenchman, unencouraged by your private sympathy, by your assurances of my inability to withhold the residue of the debt, would have calmed down long since. I accuse you here, deliberately and publicly, instead of writing private letters to the public, both because I have not your commanding talent for patient and devious ways, and because I wish you to declare, unequivocally, whether or not you purpose to continue this poUcy of ob- struction. Time presses. We must act at once with regard to this Frenchman. Reserve subterfuge for some more opportune time, and let us know what you intend to do." Jefferson looked with appeal at Washington, who usually interposed when his Secretaries arrived at personalities. But Washington, although his face was as immobile as stone, was so sick with anger and disgust over the whole situation, at what appeared to be the loss of the popular faith in himself, and the ridicule and abuse which had filled the columns of Freneau's paper that morning, that it was a relief to him to hear Hamilton explode. " I repudiate every word you have said, sir," growled Jefferson. " More I will not say. As to Citizen Genet, "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 437 with whom I have never had a word of private inter- course — " Here, even Washington lifted his head, and Hamilton laughed outright. Jefferson continued, deter- mined upon martyrdom rather than rouse the terrible pas- sions opposite : " As to Citizen Genet, if the Cabinet agree that it is best he leave this country, I shall demand that his recall be requested in the regular manner, in accord- ance with every principle of international courtesy. He may be imprudent, intoxicated with the glorious wine of liberty, but he is a Frenchman, a distinguished citizen of the great country that came so nobly to our rescue, and I protest against the base ingratitude which would fling insults in the teeth of an unfortunate people." Hamilton threw back his head impatiently , and drummed with his fingers on the table. "The primary motive of France for the assistance she gave us was, obviously, to enfeeble a hated and powerful rival. A second motive was to extend her relations of commerce in the new world, and to acquire additional security for her possessions there, by forming a connection with this coun ry when detached from Great Britain. To ascribe to her any other motives, to suppose that she was actuated by friendship toward us, is to be ignorant of the springs of action which invariably regulate the cabinets of princes. A despotic court aid a popular revolution through sympathy with its principles ! For the matter of that, if you insist upon American states- men being sentimental fools, the class that assisted us has been murdered by the rabble, which I refuse to recognize as France. And if it be your object to reduce this coun- try to a similar position that you may climb over maddened brains to power — " " Hear ! " roared Jefferson, juF*'}- indignant. " I ? Never a man loved peace as I do. I\ ' re has been hell since you have forced me into daily ( on . ct, when, God knows, I perish with desire for the pe*. i of my homely life in Virginia. Power ! I scorn it, sir. I leave that to restless upstarts like yourself — " He stopped, choking. Hamilton laughed contemptu- ously. 4*8 THE CONQUEROR You are at work with your pen day and night, strength- ening your misnamed party, and preparing the way by which you can lift yourself to a position where you can undo all that the party you hate, because it is composed of gentlemen, has accomplished for the honour and prosperity of your country. You are perfectly well aware that Genet was sent here to stir up a civil war, and embroil us with Europe at the same time, and you have secretly sympa- thized with and encouraged him. I cannot make up my mmd whether you are a villain, or merely the victim of a sublimated and paradoxical imagination. But in either case, I wish to be placed on record as asserting that you are the worst enemy the United States is curbed with to-day. This was too much for Jefferson, who had convinced him- self that he was a high-minded and self-sacrificing states- man, stooping to devious ways for the common good He forgot his physical fear, and shouted, pounding the table with his fist : — " How dare you, sir ? How dare you } It is you who are ruining, corrupting, and dishonouring this unhappy country, with your Banks, your devilish methods to cement the aristocracy, your abominable Excise Law " " Oh, but you have counteracted that so effectively ' I was coming to that point. I conceived a measure by which to meet an imperative financial demand, and you, by your agents, by your secret machinations, have been the author of insurrection after insurrection, of the most flagrant breaches of the laws of your country. You have cost innumerable men, engaged in the pursuit of plain duty their self-respect, and in several cases their lives. Another hideous problem is approaching — one, I am persuaded, that can be solved by arms and bloodshed alone ; and to your pen to your deliberate unsettling of men's minds, to the hatred you have inspired for the lawful government of this country, to you, and to you alone — " " It's a lie ! a lie ! " shouted Jefferson. " You are speak- ing to an honourable man, sir ! one who occupies a position m this country both by birth and breeding that you would "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 429 give your soul — you adventurer ! — to possess. Go back to your Islands! You have no place here among men of honourable birth. It's monstrous that this country should be ruled by a foreign bastard — ! " For a moment, every one present had a confused idea that a tornado was in the room. Then two doors were wrenched open, Jefferson fled down the street, with Ran- dolph, bearing his hat, in pursuit ; Knox was holding Hamilton firmly in his arms ; and Washington, who had risen some moments since, and stood staring in grim dis- gust, awaiting the end, was divided between a desire to laugh, and to give way to a burst of fury himself. Hamilton had made no attempt to struggle when Knox caught him, but he now withdrew from the relaxing arms, and the Secretary of War left the room hastily. Hamilton, to Washington's astonishment, flung himself into a chair, and dropped his head on his arms. In a moment, he began to sob convulsively. A malignant fever was breeding in his depressed system ; the blood still surged in his head. He had a despairing sense that his character was in ruins ; he was humiliated to his depths; he despised himself so bitterly that he forgot the existence of Jefferson. The humour and anger died out of Washington. He went forward hastily and locked the door. Then he stooped over Hamilton, and pressed him closely in his arms. " My dear boy ! " he said huskily. " My dear boy ! " XXXV That was the last of Hamilton's battles in the Cabinet. Jefferson resigned ; although, in order that the Administra- tion might, until the crisis was past, preserve an unbroken front to the country, he reluctantly consented to withhold his resignation until the assembling of Congress. He retired to Monticello, however ; and apologized to the Sec- retary of the Treasury. Hamilton, almost immediately, was taken down with yellow fever, which broke out suddenly and raged with a 43© THE CONQUEROR fearful violence. To the ordinary odours of carcasses and garbage, were added those of vinegar, tar, nitre, garlic and gunpowder. Every disinfectant America had ever heard of was given a trial, and every man who possessed a shot-gun fired it all day and all night. The bells tolled incessantly. The din and the smells were hideous, the death carts rattled from dawn till dawn; many were left unburied m their houses for a week ; hundreds died daily • and the city confessed itself helpless, although it cleaned the streets. Hamilton had a very light attack, but Dr Stevens dropped in frequently to see him; he privately thought him of more importance than all Philadelphia Lying there and thinking of many things, too grateful for the rest to chafe at the imprisonment, and striving for peace with himself, Hamilton one day conceived the idea of immersing yellow-fever patients in ice-water. Microbes were undiscovered, but Hamilton, perhaps with a flashing glimpse of the truth, reasoned that if cold weather invari- ably routed the disease, a freezing of the infected blood should produce the same result He succeeded in convinc- ing Stevens, with the issue that when the scourge was over, the young West Indian doctor had so many cures to his credit, where all othe. ph>-:*icians had failed, that the City Council presented him with a silver tankard, grate- fully inscribed, and filled with golden coins. Hamilton's fecund brain, scattering its creations, made more than one reputation. Meanwhile, he awoke one day to find Mrs. Croix sitting beside his bed. She had left town in June, and usually did not return until late in September. She wore a white frock and a blue sash, and looked like an angel about to do penance. " I hf fe come back to take care of the sick, including yourself, she announced, " I was bom to be a nurse, and I felt that my place was here. I have come to see you first, and I shall call daily, but otherwise I am in Dr Stevens s hands." Hamilton stared at her. He was not surprised, for she was kind hearted in her erratic imperious fashion, and "ALEXANDER THE GREAT 431 much beloved by the poor ; nor was she afraid of anything under heaven. But she was the last person he had wished to see ; she was for his triumphant hours, or his furi- ous, not for helpless invalidism. He had longed consist- ently for his wife, and written to her by every packet-boat, lest she suspect his illness and return to the plague- stricken city. He was filled with a sudden resentment that any other woman should presume to fill her chair. To forget her under overwhelming provocation he had reconciled to his conscience with little diflficulty, for his extenuations were many, and puritanism had not yet invaded the national character; but to permit another woman to ministrate to him when ill, he felt to be an un- pardonable breach of his Eliza's rights, and his loyalty rebelled. So, although he treated Mrs. Croix with polite- ness while she remained, he gave orders to Dr. Stevens to keep her away upon any pretext he chose. " I am too nervous to be bothered with women," he added; and Stevens obeyed without comment. Hamilton's convalescence was cheered by two facts: the revival of his spirits and equilibrium, and frequent assurances from his wife that for the first time in five years she was entirely well. She wrote that she had regained all her old colour, " spring," vivacity, and plumpness, and felt quite ten years younger. Hamilton was delighted ; for her courage had so far exceeded her strength that he had often feared a collapse. Although she detested the sight of a pen, she was so elated with her recovered health that she wrote to him weekly. Suddenly, and without explana- tion, the letters stopped. Still, he was quite unprepared for what was to follow, and on the first of October, his health improved by a short sojourn in the country, he went to the wharf to meet the packet-boat which invariably brought his family ; his pockets full of sweets, and not a misgiving in his mind. As he stood on the wharf, watching the boat towed slowly to dock, his four oldest children suddenly appeared, waving their hats and shouting like young Indians. James, who was as broad as he was long, and was wedged firmly mm ■M 43* THE CONQUEROR between Angelica and Philip lest he turn over, swelled a chorus which excited much amusement among by-standers. To Hamilton's surprise his wife did not occupy her usual place behind that enthusiastic group, but as the boat touched the pier, and all four precipitated themselves upon him at once, — the three oldest about his neck, and James upon his pockets, — he forgot her for the moment in the delight of seeing and embracing his children after three months of separation. He emerged from that wild greeting, dishev- elled and breathless, only to disappear once more within six long arms and a circle of sunburned faces. Hamilton received from his children an almost frantic aiTection; indeed, few people merely liked him ; it was either hate or a love which far transcended the bounds of such affection as the verage mortal commands. The passion he in- spirea n his children cost one his life, another her rea- son, and left its indelible mark on a third ; but for what they gave, they received an overflowing measure in return; no man was ever more passionately attached to his brood, nor took a greater delight in its society. Suddenly, through the web of Angelica's flying locks, he saw that his wife had appeared on deck and was about to land. He disentangled himself hastily and went forward to greet her. In a flash he noted that she was prettier than ever, and that she was affected by something far more extraordinary than an increase of health. She threw back her head, and her black eyes flashed with anger as he approached with the assurance of thirteen years of connu- bial ownership ; but she greeted him politely and took his arm. No explanation was possible there, and he escorted her and the children to the coach as quickly as possible. Philip, Angelica, and Alexander were sensible at once of the chasm yawning between the seats ; they redoubled their attentions to their father, and regarded their mother with reproving and defiant eyes. Poor Betsey, conscious that she was entirely in the right, felt bitter and humili- ated, and sought to find comfort in the indifference of James, who was engaged with a cornucopia and blind to the infelicity of his parents. "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 431 When they reached the house, Hamilton dismissed the children and opened the door of his library. " Will you come in ? " he said peremptorily. Mrs. Hamilton entered, and sat down on a high-backed chair. She was very small, her little pigeon toes were several inches above the floor ; but no judge on his bench ever looked so stern and so inexorable. " Now," said Hamilton, who was cold from head to foot, for he had an awful misgiving, " let us have an explana- tion at once. This is our first serious misunderstanding, and you well know that I shall be in misery until it is over — " " I have not the least intention of keeping you in sus- pense," interrupted Betsey, sarcastically. "I am too thankful that you did not happen to come to Saratoga when / was prostrated with misery. I have gone through everything, — every stage of wretchedness that the human heart is capable of, — but now, thank Heaven, I am filled with only a just indignation. Read that ! " She produced a letter froni her reticule and flipped it at him. Even before he opened it he recognized the familiar handwriting, the profuse capitals, of Mrs. Reynolds. For- tunately, he made no comment, for the contents were utterly different from his quick anticipation. It contained a minute and circumstantial account of his visits during the past year to Mrs. Croix, with many other details, which, by spying and bribing, no doubt, she had managed to gather. Failing one revenge, the woman had resorted to another, and fearing that it might be lost among the abundant and surfeiting lies of the public press, she had aimed at what he held most dear. The letter was so minute arj circumstantial that it would have convinced almost an) woman. There was but one thing for Hamilton to do, and he lied with his unsurpassable eloquence. When he paused tenta- tively, his wife remarked : — " Alexander, you are a very great man, but you are a wretchedly poor liar. As Mr. Washington would say, your sincerity is one of the most valuable of your gifts, 2F I mm 434 THE CONQUEROR and without it you could not convince a child. As if this were not enough, only yesterday, on the boat, I over- heard two of your intimate friends discussing this intrigue as a matter of course. There was not a word of censure or criticism ; they were merely wondering when you would add to your enemies ; for as this woman was desperately in love with you, she was bound to hate you as violently when you tired of her. I think men are horrors!" she burst out passionately. " When, unable to bear this terrible affliction any longer, and unwilling to worry my poor mother, I took that letter and my grief to my father — what do you suppose he said ? After he had tried to convince me that the story was a base fabrication, and that an anonymous communication should be destroyed unread — as if any woman living would not read an anonymous letter ! — he said, crossly, that women did not understand men and never made allowances for them ; and he went on to make as many excuses for you as if he were defending himself ; and then wound up by saying that he did not believe a word of it, and that the letter was written by someone you had flouted. But it seemed to me in those awful days that I was awake for the first time, that for the first time I under- stood you — and your horrid sex, in general — I do ! I do ! " She looked so adorable with her flashing eyes, the hot colour in her cheek, and the new personality she exhibited, that Hamilton would have foregone a triumph over his enemies to kiss her. But he dared not make a false move, and he was terribly perplexed. "I can only reiterate," he said, "that this letter is a lie from beginning to end. It is written by a woman, who, with her husband, has blackmailed me and jeopardized my reputation. I treated them as they deserved, and this is their next move. As for Mrs. Croix, I repeat, she is a most estimable person, whose brilliant wit and talent for politics draw all public men about her. There is hardly one among them who might lot be victimized by a similar attack. I doubt if I have called half as often as many others. As for the friends whom you heard discussing my visits — you know the love of the human mind for scaudal. Please be "ALEXANDER THE GREAT 435 reasonable. You have made me the most wretched man on earth. I shall be unfit for public duty or anything else if you continue to treat mu in this brutal manner. I hardly know you. No woman was ever more loved by her husband or received more devotion." Betsey almost relented, he looked so miserable. But she replied firmly : " There is one condition I have a right to make If you agree to it, I will consider if I can bring myself to beheve your denial and vour protestations It is that ycu never enter Mrs. Croi.x's house again, nor see her wilhngly. Hamilton knew what the promise would mean, but his mmd worked with the rapidity of lightning' jn great crises and never erred. He replied promptly : "I will see her once, and once only — to give her a decent reason for not calling again — that I understand I am compromising her good name, or something of the sort. I have accepted too much hospitalit\- at her hands to drop her brusquely, without a word of explanation " "You can write her a letter. You can merely .send pohte excuses when she invites you. You are very busy You have every excuse. Gradually, she will think no more about you —if it be true that she is nothing to you. You have your choice, sir ! Either your promise, or I return by the next packet to Albany." ^ But Hamilton, always considerate of women, and despis- ing the weakness and brutality which permits a man to slink out of an amour, would not retreat, and J^ctsey finally settled herself in her chair, and said, with unmis- takable determination : — "Very well, go now. I shall not move from this room — this chair — until you return." Hamilton caught his hat and left the house. Although he was possessed by the one absorbing desire to win back his wife, who had never been so dear as to-day, when for the first time she had placed him at arm's length and given him a thorough fright, still his brain, accustomed to see all sides of every question at once, and far into the future spoke plainly of the hour when he would regret the loss mS^SOm mm 43« THE CONQUEROR of Mrs. Croix. He might forget her for weeks at a tin. but he always reawakened to a sense of her being wuh a glowing impression that the world was more alive and fair. The secret romance had uccn very dear and pleasant. The end was come, however, and he was eager to [viss it. His eye was attracted to a chemist's window, and enter- ing the shop hastily, he purchased a bottle of smelling salts. The act reminded him of Mrs. Mitchell, and that he had not heard from her for several months. He resolved to write thnt night, and permitted his mind to wander to the greon Island which was almost lost among his memories. The respite was brief, however. To his relief he found Mrs. Croix in her intellectual habit. The lady, who was reading in the door of her boudoir above the garden steps, exclaimed, without formal greeting : — " I am transported, sir. Such descriptions never were written before. Listen ! " Hamilton, who hated descriptions of scener\ at any time, and was in his most direct and imperative temper, stood the infliction but a moment, then asked her attention. She closed the book over her finger and smiled charmingly. " Forgive me for boring you," she said graciously. " But you know my passion for letters; and if truth must be told, I am a little piqued. I have not laid eyes on you for a fortnight. Not but that I am used to your lapses of memory by this time," she added, with a sigh. Hamilton went straight to the point. He told her the exact reason for the necessary breach, omitting nothing but the episode of Mrs. Reynolds ; one cause of reproach was as much as a man could be expected to furnish an angry woman. For Mrs. Croix was very angry. At first she had pressed her hand against her heart as if about to faint, and Hamilton had hastily extracted the salts ; but the next moment she was on her feet, towering and expanding like an avenging queen about to order in her slaves with scimitars and chargers. " Do you mean," she cried, " that I am flouted, flung aside like an old cravat .■' I ? With half the men in Amer- "ALEXANDER THK GREAT' 437 ica in love with me ? Good God, sir ! I have known from the beginning that you would tire, but I thought to be on the watch and save my pride. How dare you come Jike this? Why could you not give me warning? It is an outrage. I would rather you had killed me." " I am sorry I have blundered," said Hamilton, humbly. " But how in Heaven's name can a man know h. w a woman will take anything? I had such respect for your great in- telligence that I thought it due you to treat you as I would a man — " "A man?" exclaimed Mrs. Croix. "Treat me like a man! Of all the supremely silly things I ever heard one of your sex say, that is the silliest. I am not a man, and you know it." Hamilton hastened to assure her that she was deliberately averting her intelligence from his true meaning. "You have never doubted my sincerity for a moment," he added. " You surely know what it will cost me never to see you again. There is but one cause under heaven ^nat coulJ have brought me to you with this decision You r, v believe in my regret — to use a plain word — when .(-j. reflect upon all that you have been to me. He was desperately afraid that her anger would diss ici'-a in tears, and he be placed in a position from which he not sure of emerging with a clear conscience, — and he dared take home nothmg less. But Mrs. Croix, however she might feel on the morrow, was too outraged in her pride and vanity to be susceptible either to grief or the passion of love. She stormed up and down the room in increasing fury, her eyes flashing blue lightning, her strong hands smashing whatever costly offering they encountered. "Wives! Wives! Wives!" she screamed. "The little fools ! What are wives for but to keep house and bring up babies? They are a class apart. I have suffered enough from their impertinent interference. Am I not a woman apart? Will you assert that tliere is a 'wife' in America who can hold her own with me for a moment in anything ? Was I not created to reveal t^o men — and only the ablest, for I waste no time on fools — the very am ■■HlHHMIilflli 438 THE CONQUEROR sublimation of my sex — a companionship they will find in no silly little fool, stupid with domesticity ? Am I to sub- mit, then, to be baulked by a sex I despise — and in the greatest passion that ever possessed a woman?" She stopped and laughed, bringing her lashes together and movmg forward her beautiful lips. " What a fool I am ! " she said. " You will come back wiien the humour seizes you. I had forgot that your family returned to-day. You are in your most domestic mood — and I have been inflicted with that before. But there will come an hour when neither your wife nor any other mortal power will keep you away from me. Is it not true ?" Hamilton had turned pale ; his ready imagination had responded with a presentiment of many desperate strug- gles. He rose, and took her hand forcibly. " No," he said. " I shall not return. Believe me, that is the hardest sentence I have ever pronounced upon myself. And forgive me if I have been rude and incon- siderate. It was the result of the desire to have the agony over as quickly as possible. I should have found the antici- pation unbearable, and I do not believe it would have been more soothing to you. There is no reason why your pride should be wounded, for this is not the result, of satiety on my part, but of an imperative necessity. Shake hands with me." She wrenched her hand free and, seizing a vase, flung it into a mirror. Hamilton retreated. XXXVI He had been gone just thirty-five minutes. Betsey re- ceived him with stern approval and announced that she had implicit faith in his promise to avoid Mrs. Croix in the future. But it was quite evident that his punishment was unfinished, and with due humility and some humour he bided her pleasure. Between the two women he had a lively month. Mrs. Croix wrote him a letter a day. At first it was evident that she had taken herself in hand, that her pen was guided by her marvellous intelligence. She apolo- "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 439 gized charmingly for her exhibition of temper, and for any reflection she might have made upon the most estimable of women, who (with a sigh) had the happiness to be the wife of Alexander Hamilton. She ignored his ultimatum and asked him to come at once, and talk the matter over calmly. Hamilton replied with the graceful playfulness of which he was master, but left no doubt of his continuitv of purpose. After the interchange of several letters of this complexion, in whif'h Mrs. Croix was quite conscious of revealing the ample resources of : er wit, spirit, and tact, she broke down and went through every circumstance of a despairing woman fighting to recover the supreme happiness of her life. At times she was humble, she prostrated herself at his feet. Again she raved with all the violence of her nature. Her pride, and it was very great, was submerged under the terrible agony of her heart. Even passion was forgotten, and she was sincere for the moment when she vowed that she had no wish beyond his mere presence. Hamilton was horribly distressed. He would rather she had turned upon him at once with all her tigerish capacity for hate. But he had given his word to his wife, and that was the end of it. He answered every letter, but his gal- lantry and kindness were pitch and oil, and it was with profound relief that he watched the gradual stiffening of her pride, the dull resentment, even although he knew it meant that an enemy, subtle, resourceful, and venomous, was in the process of making. In her final letter she gave him warning — and a last opportunity. But of this he took no notice. Meanwhile, Betsey had led him a dance. Naturally bright, but heretofore too sheltered and happy, too undisturbed in her trust, she had done little thinking, httle analysis, felt nothing but amusement for the half-comprehended vagaries of men. But jealousy and suffering give a woman, in a week, a fill of knowledge and cunning that will serve her a lifetime. Betsey developed both coquetry and subtlety. She knew that if she obtained command of the situation now, she should hold it to the end, and she was determined that this crisis should result in a close and permanent union. 440 THE CONQUEROR If she finally believed his denial, she was much too shrewd to give him the satisfaction of regaining his former mastery of her mind ; but she ceased to speak of it. Meanwhile, he was devoting his energies to winning her again, and he had never found life so interesting. She radiated a new be- witchment, and he had always thought her the most r^.dor- able woman on the planet. He divined a good many of her mental processes; but if he was a trifle amused, he was deeply respectful. She was sufficiently uncertain in this new character to torment him unbearably, and when she occasionally betrayed that she was interested and fasci- nated, he was transported. When she finally succumbed, he was more in love than he had ever been in his life. XXXVII The next seven years of Hamilton's life must be reviewed vvi.y rapidly. Interesting as they might be made, space diminishes, and after all they were but the precursor of the last great battle of the giants. In the spring of 1794 the Virginian ring rallied for their final assault in Congress. Their spokesman this time was a worthless man, named Fraunces, and he brought forth a charge against the Secretary of the Treasury of unfaith- fulness in office. Hamilton promptly demanded another investigation. The result may be found in the following letters from eminent Federals in Virginia. The first is from Colonel Carrington, dated Richmond, July 9th. I do not write this 'etter as rongratulatory upon the final issue of the Inquiry into th.- Titatury Department, as I never conceived you exposed to receive iniury thereirom. I write to express my most sincere wishes that you will not suffer the iiliberality with which you have been treated to deprive the public of your services, at least until the storm which hangs over us, and is to be dreaded, not less from our own follies and vices than the malignance and intrigues of foreigners, blows over. It is true you have been abused, but it has been and still is, the fate of him who was supposed out of the reach of all slander. It is indeed the lot, in some degree, of every man amongst us who has the sense or fortitude to speak and act rationally, and such men must continue so to speak and act if we arc saved from anarchy. "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 441 On July 20th, Thomas Corbin ploring the political conditions Thomas Jefferson, in which these occur : — wrote to Hamilton de- in Virginia created by passages significant Calumny and misrepresentation are the only weapons made use of by the faction of Virginia. By a dexterous management of these they have brought into popular disrepute, and even into popular odium, some of the wisest and best characters in the United States. War is wag^d by this faction against every candidate who possesses the union of requisites. Independent fortune, independent principles, talents, and integrity are denounced as badges of aristocracy ; but if you add to these good manners and a decent appearance, his political death is decreed without the benefit of a hearing. In short, with a few exceptions everything that appertains to the character of a gentleman is ostracized. That yourself and Mr. Jay should be no favorites in Virginia, is not to be wondered at. But all those whose good opinion IS worth your acceptance entertain for you both the same veneration and esteem, and hear the aspersions of your enemies with the same indignation that I do ; who, after the closest examination, and the purest conviction can conscientiously subscribe myself etc. In the autumn the whiskey disturbances in western Penn- sylvania assumed such serious proportions that Hamilton insisted upon recourse to arms. With his usual precision he had calculated the numbers of the insurgents, and the amount of troops necessary to overwhelm them. Wash- ington issued requisitions for fifteen thousand men, and set out with the troops, his first intention being to com- mand in person. Hamilton accompanied him, and upon the President's return to Philadelphia, assumed the general superintendence of the army, whose commander, Henry Lee, was one of his devoted adherents. Many motives have been ascribed to Hamilton for this exceptional pro- ceeding, and Washington was bitterly assailed for "not being able to move without his favourite Secretary at his elbow," and for giving additional conspicuousness to a man whose power already was a " menace to Republican liberties." Randolph, then the nominal Secretary of State, but quite aware that while Hamilton remained in the Cabi- net he was but a figurehead, was so wroth, that later, in his futile "Vindication," following what practically was his expulsion from the Cabinet, he animadverted bitterly upon 442 THE CONQUEROR a favour which no one but Hamilton would have presumed to ask. Fauchet, the successor of Genet, in the intercepted letter to his governm€»t, which brought about the fall of Randolph, convicting hwa ci corruption and treachery has this to say : — The army marched ; the President made known that he was goine to command it : Hamilton, as I have understood, requested to ftillow him : the President dared not reftise him. It does not require- much penetration to divine the object of this journey. In the President it was wise, it might also be his dutv. But in Mr.'Hamilton i» was a con- sequence of the profound policy wliich directs all his steps ; a measure dictated by a perfect knowledge of the human heart. Was it not inter- esting tor him, for his party, tottering under the weight of events with- out and accusations within, to proclaim an intimacy more perfect than ever with the President, whose very name is a sufficient shield against the most formidable attacks ? Now, what more evident mark could the President give ol his intimacy than by sulTering Mr. Hamilton, whose narne. even, is understood in the west as that of a public enemy to go and place himself it the head of the army which went, if I may use the expression, to cause his system to triumph against the opposition of the people ? The presence of Mr. Hamilton with the army must attach it more tnan ever to his party. There were depths in Hamilton's mind which no wise mortal will ever attempt to plumb. It is safe to say he did nothing without one eye on a far-reaching policy ; and aside from the pleasure of being in the saddle once more, riding over the wild Alleghaaies in keen October weather, after four years of the stenches and climatic miseries of Philadel- phia, aside from his fear of Governor Mifflin's treachery and his lack of implicit confidence in Lee's judgement, it is quite likely that he had some underlying motive relative to the advantage of his party, which had been weakened by the incessant assaults upon himself. By going with the army he not only demonstrated the perfect confidence reposed m him by Washington, and fis determination that his laws should be enforced, but he gave emphasis to his belief that the resistance to the Excise Law had been deliberately mstigated by the Republicans under the leadership of his avowed enemies. In this connection the following extract from Fauchet's letter is highly interesting, intimate as he was with the Republican leaders. IS^ "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 443 Such therefore were the parts of the public grievance, upon which the western people mos^ insisted. Now, these complaints were sys- tematizing by the conve. lions of influential men, who retired into those wild countries, and who from principle, or from a series of par- ticular heart-burnings, animated discontents already too near to effer- vescence. At last the local explosion is effected. The western people calculated on being supported by some distinguished characters in the east, and even imagined they had in the bosom of the government some abettors, who might share in their grievance or their principles. The rioters, sobered by the organized force and its formidable numbers, surrendered without bloodshed. In January of the following year Hamilton resigned from the Cabinet. The pressing need of his services was over, and he had many reasons for retiring from office : his health was seriously impaired, he had a growing family of boys to educate ; he expected his father by every ship trom the Windward Islands, to spend his last years in the home to which his sou had so often invited him ; Mrs. Mitchell was now a widow and almost penniless ; and his disgust of office was so uncompromising that no considera- tion short of an imperative public duty would have induced him to continue. But his principal reason, as he wrote to Mrs. Church, was that he wished to indulge his domestic happiness more freely. Washington let him go with the less reluctance because he promised immediate response to any demand the President might make upon him. He went with his wife, Angelica, and the younger children to Albany and the Saratoga estate, where he remained until the first of June, endeavouring to regain his health in the forest and on the river. Young Lafayette lived with him until his return to France, in 1798. Upon Hamilton's return to New York he immediately engaged in practice, which he supplemented by coaching students ; but he continued to be Washington's chief adviser, and tiie correspondence was continuous upon every problem which confronted the harassed President. Indeed, when one reads its bulk, one wonders if the Cabi- net did anything but e,\ecute Hamilton's suggestions. Randolph kicked his heels in impotent wrath, and his successor's correspondence with Hamilton was almost as 444 THE CONQUEROR voluminous as Washington's. So was Wolcott's, who hardly cancelled a bond without his former chief's advice • William Smith, the auditor-general, was scarcely less in- sistent for orders. Hamilton wrote at length to all of them, as well as to the numerous members of Congress who wanted advice, or an interpretation of some Constitu- tional provision hitherto on the shelf. What time he had for his practice and students would remain a mystery, were It not for the manifest price he paid in the vigours of all but will and brain. During the summer of 1794 Talleyrand visited the United States. He brought a package from Mrs. Church to Mrs. Hamilton, and a cordial letter from the same im- portant source to the statesman whom he ranked higher than any man of his time. " He improves upon acquaint- ance, wrote Mrs. Church to her sister ; " I regret that you do not speak French." But her sister's husband spoke t rench better than any man in An., rica, and after the resiff- nation from the Cabinet, Talleyrand spent most of his time m the little red brick house at 26 Broadway, where Hamil- ton was working to recover his lost position at the bar. I have seen the eighth wonder of the world," wrote the Frenchman, one morning, after a ramble in the small hours which had taken him past the light in Hamilton's study! I have seen the man who has made the fortune of a nation, toiling all night to supply his family with bread " The men found great delight in each other's society. Hamilton was the most accomplished and versatile man in America, the most brilliant of conversationists, the most genial of companions, and hospitable of hosts. Talleyrand epitomized Europe to him ; and the French statesman had met no one m his crowded life who knew it better. If he gave to Hamilton the concentrated essence of all that ardent brain had read and dreamed of, of all that fate had decreed he never should see in the mass, Talleyrand placed on record his tribute to Hamilton's unmortal powers of divination, and loved and regretted him to the close of his life. Different as the men were in character, they had two "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 445 points in common, — a passionate patriotism, and the mem- ory of high ideals. Public life had disposed of Talley- rand's ideals, and Hamilton, after an education in the weakness and wickedness of human nature which left nothing to be desired, woul'^ have been equally destitute, had it not been for his temperamental gaiety and buoyant philosophy. There were times when these deserted him, and he brooded in rayless depths, but his Celtic inheri- tance and the vastness of his intellect saved him from despair until the end. Talleyrand was by no means an uncheerf ul soul ; but his genius, remarkable as it was, flowed between narrower lines, and was unwatered by that humanity which was Hamilton's in such volume. Both men had that faculty of seeing things exactly as they are, which the shallow call cynicism ; and those lost con- versations appeal to the imagination of the searcher after truth. Jay's treaty was the most formidable question with which Hamilton was called upon to deal before the retire- ment of Washington to private life, and it gave him little less trouble than if he had remained in the Cabinet. It had been his idea to send a special envoy to England to remonstrate with the British Government for her abomi- nable oppressions and accumulating outrages, decide if possible upon a treaty with her which would soothe the excitement in the United States, — as wild in the spring of 1794 as the Jacobin fever, — and avert war. It was the desire of Washington and the eminent Federalists that this mission be undertaken by Hamilton, for he had an especial faculty for getting what he wanted : how- ever obstinate he might be, his diplomacy was of the first order when he chose to use it. But he believed that, having suggested the mission, he could not with propriety accept it, and that his services could be given more effec- tively in the Cabinet. Moreover, the violent opposition which the proposal immediately raised among the Repub- licans, notably Randolph and Monroe, — the latter so far transcending etiquette as to write to Washington, denounc- ing his Secretary of the Treasury, — made it probable that M 446 THE CONQUEROR his enemies would defeat his confirmation in the Senate He suggested the name of Chief Justice Jay; and after the usual bitter preliminaries, that exalted but not very forcible personage sailed for England in the latter part of April fnr^tc f^/°*'^''°"s were very slow, for Britain still felt for us a deep and sullen resentment, nourished by our Ih^JZ f^^""''^"^^- I" January, however, news came that he treaty was concluded; and Hamilton, supposing that the matter was settled, resigned from the Cabinet It has been asserted that when he read this famous instru- ment, he characterized it as "an old woman's treaty." and It IS very probable that he did. Nevertheless, wheJ after LTl^l P^''f^^ '^'r^^ '^^ ^^''^'^' Jt was launched upon the country, and. systematically manipulated by the practised arts of Jacobinism, carried the United States flZT *\the verge of civil war. Hamilton accepted the treaty as the best obtainable, and infinitely preferable to further troubles He took up his pen. having previous y been stoned while attempting to speak in its defence, and m a series of papers signed "Catullus." wrote as even he had not done since the days of "The Federalist." Then- effect was felt at once; and as they continued to issue and Hamilton s sway over the public mind, his genius for moulding opinion, became with each more manifest Teffer son, terrified and furious, wrote to Madison : — Hamilton is really a Colossus to the anti-Republican partv Withont BBV^^ £ri-jf7„.-£ -SrH meet h m FnrCrT'" [°Tl''^ '^^'^ '' "° °"^ but vourself can meet mm. ... hor Gods sake take up vour nen and mv.. ^ f„„^o mental reply to "Curtius" and "CamiUus." ^ ^ ""'*^" But Madison had had enough of pen encounter with Ham- list " Burr h J 5"'' ^Tlf.^'' ^"P"^ ''''^ "^"^"ton is lost. Burr had said ; and Madison agreed with him and entered the ists no more. The excitement g^adua^ sub h.^ ^A l'^' "^^^^ scars behind it, but one. more Hami ton had saved his party, and perhaps the Union. "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 447 In connection with the much disputed authorship of the Farewell Address I will merely quote a statement, hereto- fore unpublished, made by Mrs. Hamilton, in the year 1840. Desiring that mv children shall be fully acquainted with the sen-ices rendered by their father to our country, and the assistance rendered by him to General Washington during his administrations, for the one great object, the independence and stability of the government of the United States, there is one thing in addition to the numerous proofs which I leave them, and which 1 feel myself in duty bound to state : which is that a short time previous to General Washington's retiring from the Presidency, in the year 1796, General Hamilton suggested to him the idea of delivering a farewell address to the people on his withdrawal from public life, with which idea General Washington was well pleased, and in his answer to General Hamilton's suggestion, gave him the heads of the subject on which he would wish to remark, with a request that Mr. Hamilton would prepare a draft for him. Mr. Hamilton did so, and the address was written principally at such times as his office was seldom frequented by his clients and visitors, and during the absence of his students to avoid interruption ; at which times he was in the habit of call- ing me to sit with him, that he might read to me as he wrote, in order, as he said, to discover how it sounded upon the ear. and making the re- mark, " My dear Eliza, you must be to me what old Moli^re's nurse was to him." The whole or nearly all the "address" was read to me by him, as he wrote it, and the greater part if not all was written in my presence. The original was forwarded to General Washington, who approved of it with the exception of one paragraph ; of, I think, from four to five lines, which, if I mistake not, was on the subject of the public schools ; which was stricken out. It was afterward returned to Mr. iHamilton who made the desired alteration, and was afterward delivered to General Washington, .ind published in that form, and has sinre been known as " General Washington's Farewell Address. " Shortly after the publication of the address, my husband and myself were walking in Broadway when an old soldier accosted him with the request of him to purchase General Washington's farewell address, which he did, and turning to me said, " That man does not know he has asked me to purchase my own work." The whole circumstances are at this moment so perfectly in my mind that I can call to mind his bringing General Washington's letter to me, who returned the addre.ss, and remarked on the only alteration which he (General Washington) had requested to be made. New York, Aug. 7th, 1840. - . ,„ Elizabeth Hamilton. James A. Washington. Ja. R. Macdonald. In 1797 Hamilton was forced by treachery and the malignancy of Jacobinism into the most painful and morti- ■M m^tm 448 THE CONQUEROR >i fllfe !;, i^ 1 1 w 1 (I fying act of his public career. He had been hailed by certain enthusiastic Federalists as the legitimate successor of Washington. It was a noble ambition, and there is no doubt that Hamilton would have cherished it, had he been less of a philosopher, less in the habit of regarding a desire for the impossible as a waste of time. Not on'y W'jre older men in the direct line of promotion, but he knew that as the author of the Excise Law he was hated by one section of the Commonwealth, and that as the parent of the manufacturing interest, to say nothing of the Assumption measure, he had incurred the antagonism of the entire South. Lest these causes for disqualification be obscured by the brilliancy of his reputation, Jefferson's unresting and rami- fying art had indelibly impressed the public mind with the monarchical-aristocratical tendencies and designs of the former Secretary of the Treasury, and of his hatred for a beloved cause overseas. Hamilton had given an absolute negative to every suggestion to use his name ; but one at least had found its way into print, and so terrified the eneniy that they determined upon one more powerful blow at his good name. Monroe had a fresh cause for hatred in his humiliating recall from France, which he ascribed to the influence of Hamilton. No doubt the trio were well satisfied for a time with their carefully considered scheme. The pamphlet published in 1797, called " The History of the United States for 1796," and edited by a disreputable man named Callender, was the concentrated essence of Jacobin- ical fury and vindictiveness against Alexander Hamilton. It surpassed any attack yet made on hjm, while cleverly pretending to be an arraignment of the entire Federalist party ; shrieking so loudly at times against Washington, Adams, and Jay, that the casual reader would overlook the sole purport of the pamphlet. " It is ungenerous to triumph over the ruins of declining fame," magnanimously finished its attack upon Washington. " Upon this account not a word more shall be said ! " It omitted a recital of the two Congressional attacks upon Hamilton's financial integrity, as to refrain from all mention of the vitjdications would have been impossible ; but "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 449 it raked up c i^rything else for which it had space, sought to prove him a liar by his defence of the Jay treaty in the Camillus papers, and made him insult Washington in language so un-Hamiltonian that to-day it excites pity for the desperation of the Virginians. When it finally arrived at the pith and marrow of the assault, however, it was with quite an innocent air. This was a carefully con- cocted version of the Reynolds affair. Callender had obtained possession of the papers which Monroe, Muhlen- berg, and Venable had prepared to submit to the Presi- dent, before hearing Hamilton's explanation. He asserted that this explanation was a lie, and that the Secretary of the Treasury had not only speculated with the public funds, but that he had made thirty thousand pounds by the purchase of army certificates. It was also alleged that Hamilton order* d his name withdrawn as a Presidential candidate, in consequence of a threat that otherwise these same papers would be published. It is a curious instance of the fatuity of contempo- raries, that Hamilton's enemies reckoned upon a sullen silence, in the face of damning assault, from the greatest fighter of his time. Indubitably, they argued that he would think it best to pass the matter over ; no man could be expected to give to the public the full explanation. But they reckoned with an insufficient knowledge of this host, as they had done many a time before. Hamilton had no desire to hold office again, but he was still the great leader of a great party, as determined as ever that at no cost should there be a stain on his public honour. He consulted with his closest friends, among them his wife. As the sin was now five years old — and the woman a derelict — Mrs. Hamilton found it easier to forgive than an unconfessed liaison with the most remarkable woman of her time. Although she anticipated the mortification of the exposure quite as keenly as her husband, she cherished his good name no less tenderly, and without heiiitation counselled him to give the facts to the public. This he did in a pamphlet which expounded the workings of the "Jacobin Scandal Club," told the unpleasant story 2G MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No 2l 1.0 I.I 1^ Hi III 2.8 IIIIM m ■ 40 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ /APPLIED IM/1GE In c ^^ '65J East »av Street ~.JS Rochester, New Yofk 14609 USA '■^^ (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone a^ (716) 288 - 5989 - Fa, 4SO THE CONQUEROR without reserve, and went relentlessly into the details of the part pjayed in it by Monroe, Muhlenberg, and Venable He forced affidavits from those bewildered gentlemen the entire correspondence was published, and the pamphlet Itself was a masterpiece of biting sarcasm and convincinff statement It made a tremendous sensation, but even his enemies admired his courage. The question of his financial probity was settled for all time, although the missile, fail- ing in one direction, quivered in the horrified brains of many puritanical voters. Mrs. Reynolds, now living with Clingman, made no denial, and it is doubtful if even she would have echoed the one animadversion of the discom- fited enemy —that Hamilton had given the name of a mistress to the public. It is a weak and dangerous senti- mentahsm which would protect a woman of commerce against the good name of any man. The financial settle- ment makes her a party in a contract, nothing more, and acquits the payer of all further responsibility. She has no good name to protect ; she has asked for nothing but monev • she IS a public character, whom to shield would be a thank- less task When this Reynolds woman added the abomina- tion of blackmail to her trade, and further attempted the ruin of the man who had shown her nothing but generositv and consideration, it need hardly be added that Hamilton would have been a sentimental fool to have hesitated on any ground but detestation of a public scandal. He never traced the betrayal of a secret which all con- cerned had promised to keep inviolate, but he had his suspicions. Mrs. Croix now Jiving in a large house on the Bowling Green, was the animated and resourceful centre of Jacobinism She wore a red cap to the theatre and a tricoloured cockade on the street. Her salon was the head- quarters of the Republican leaders, and many a plot was hatched m her inspiring presence. The Virginian Junta were far too clever to put themselves in the power of a drunkard hke Callender, but they were constantly in col- lusion with Mrs. Croix. They knew that she feared noth- ing under heaven, and that she had devoted herself to Hamilton s rum. Callender drew upon her for virus when- "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 451 ever his own supply ran down, and would have hailed the Reynolds concoction, even had it gone to him naked and begging. Hamilton saw the shadow of a fair hand through- out the entire pamphlet, and, indeed, could have traced many an envenomed shaft, since 1793, to a source which once had threatened to cloy him with its sweetness. Meanwhile John Adams had been elected President of the United States, and Thomas Jefferson, Vice-President. Hamilton had made no secret of the fact that he should prefer to see Thomas Pinckney succeed Washington, for he contemplated the possibility of Adams in the Executive Chair, with distrust and uneasiness. In spite of that emi- nent statesman's intrepidity, integrity, and loyal Federalism, he was, in Hamilton's opinion, too suspicious, jealous of influence, and hot headed, to be a safe leader in approach- ing storms. With Pinckney as a brilliant and popular figure-head, Hamilton well knew that his own hand would remain on the helm. With the irascible old gentle- man from Massachusetts in the Chair, his continued pre- dominance was by no means certain. Washington once said of Hamilton that he undoubtedly was ambitious, but that his ambition was of that laudable kind which prompts a man to excel in whatever he takes in hand ; adding that his judgement was intuitively great. The truth was that Hamilton regarded the United States as his child. He had made her wealthy and respected, he foresaw a future importance for her equal to that of any state in Europe. " I anticipate," he wrote to Rufus King, " that this country will, ere long, assume an attitude correspondent with its great destinies — majestic, efficient, and operative of great things. A noble career lies before it." The first of the " Imperial- ists," he had striven for years to awaken the Government to the importance of obtaining possession of Louisiana and the Floridas, and he also had his eye on South America. Naturally, he wanted no interruption; the moment the security of the country was threatened, he was as alert and anxious as if his nursery were menaced with an Indian invasion. Without conceit or vanity no man ever was more conscious of his great powers ; moreover, no American had 45 » THE CONQUEROR made such sacrifices as he. Washington and almost all the leading men possessed independent fortunes. Har '. ton had manifested his ability from the first to equal he income of the wealthiest, did he give his unbroken ser- vices to the pursuit of his profession. But he had lived for years upon a pittance, frequently driven to borrow small sums from his friends, that he might devote his energies entirely to his country. And no man ever gave more generously or with less thought of reward ;- although he would have been the last to deny his enjoyment of power For a bom leader of men to care little whether he had a few trusted friends or an army at his back, would merely indicate a weak spot in his brain. It was quite natural, therefore, that he thought upon John Adams's idiosyncrasies with considerable disquiet Nevertheless, with ihe high priest of Jacobinism in the field, his first object was to secure the office for the Federahst party. The race was too close for serious con- sideration of any other ultimate. He counselled every FederaUst to cast his vote for Adams and Pinckney ; better a tie with the victory to Adams, than Thomas Jefferson at the head of the Nation. Of course there was a hope that Pinckney might carry the South. But the Adams enthu- siasts dreaded this very issue, and threw away their votes for the Vice-Presidency. Pinckney's followers in the South pursued the same policy. The consequence was that Adams won by three votes only. Again his pride was bruised, and again he attributed his mortification to Hamilton. If he had disliked him before, his dislike in a constant state of irrita- tion through the ascendency and fame of the younger man, he hated him now with a bitterness which formed a danger- ous link between himself and the Republican leaders The time came when he was ready to humiliate his country and ruin his own chance of reelection, to dethrone his rival from another proud eminence and check his upward course Another source of bitterness was Hamilton's continued lead- ership of the Federalist party, when himself, as President was entitled to that distinction. But that party was Hamil- ton s ; he had created, developed it, been its Captain through "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 453 all its triumphant course. Even had he been content to resign his commission, — which he did not contemplate for a moment, — the great majority of the Federalists would have forced it into his hand again. Adams declared war. Hamilton, always ready for a fight, when no immediate act of statesmanship was involved, took up the gauntlet. Adams might resist his influence, but the Cabinet was his, and so were some of the most influential members of Congress, including Theodore Sedgwick of Massachusetts, the presi- dent pro tem. of the Senate. It was some time before Adams realized the full extent of this influence ; but when he did discover that his Secretary of State, Timothy Pickering, his Secretary of the Treasury, Oliver Wolcott, and his Secretary of War, James M' Henry, were in the habit of consulting Hamilton upon every possible question before giving the President their valuable opinions, and that upon one occasion, at least, a letter of Hamilton's had been incor- porated by the Secretary of War into a Presidential Message, he was like to die of apoplexy. He wrote, in his wrath : — Hamilton is commander-in-chief of the Senate, of the House of Representatives, of the heads of departments, of General Washington, and last, and least, if you will, of the President of the United States ! But the President's advisers were free to seek advice without the Cabinet if they chose, and Washington had encouraged them to go to Hamilton. Hamilton was at liberty to give it, and Adams could find no evidence that he had counselled rebellion against himself ; nor that he had used his great influence for any purpose but the honour of the country. And never had the country needed his services more. When Adams, grim and obstinate, stepped forward as head of the Nation, he found himself confronted with the menace of France. In retaliation for Genet's disgrace, the Revolution- ists had demanded the recall of Gouverneur Morris, whose barely disguised contempt, and protection of more than one royalist, had brought him perilously near to the guillotine. Burr had desired the vacant mission, and his pretensions were urged by Monroe and Madison. Washington recog- 454 THE CONQUEROR nized this as a device of the Opposition to embarrass him, and he had the lowest opinion of Burr's rectitude and integ- rity. Pressure and wrath produced no effect, but he offered to appoint Monroe. It might be wise to send a Jacobin, and the President hoped that ambition would preserve this one from compromising the country. He made the mis- take of not weighing Monroe's mental capacity more studi- ously. The least said of the wild gallop into diplomacy of our fifth President the better. He was recalled, and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney sent in his place. The French, who had found Monroe entirely to their taste, refused to receive the distinguished lawyer and soldier. To escape indignity he was forced to retire to Holland. The new Repujlic violated i.>,r treaties with increasing insolence, and Bona- parte was thundering on his triumphant course. France was mocking the world, and in no humour to listen to the indignant protects of a young and distant nation. To dis- member her by fanning the spirit of Jacobinism, and, at the ripe moment, — when internal warfare had sufficient]) weak- ened her, — reduce her to a French colony, was a plot of which Hamilton, Rufus King, then minister to England, and other astute statesmen more than suspected her. But although Hamilton abhorred France and was outraged at her attitude, the spirit of moderation which had regu- lated all his acts in public life suffered no fluctuation, and he immediately counselled the sending of a commission to make a final attempt before recourse to arms. War, if inevitable, but peace with honour if possible ; it was not fair to disturb the prosperity of the young country except as a last resort. For cnce he and Adams were agreed. Hamilton suggested Jefferson or Madison as a sop to the Revolutionists, with two Federalists to keep him in order. But the President would h^ve his own commissioners or none. He despatched Marshall and Gerry and ordered C. C. Pinckney to join them. Talleyrand refused them official reception, and sent to them, in secret, nameless minions — known officially, later on, as X. Y. Z. who made shameful proposals, largely consisting of inordinate demand for tribute. Marshall and Pinckney threw up the "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 455 commission in disgust. The Opposition in Congress de- manded the correspondence; and Adams, with his grimmest smile, sent it to the Senate. It was a terrible blow to the Jacobins, not only the manner in which France had preju- diced her interests in this country; some 'of the disclosures were extremely painful to ponder upon. " Perhaps," one of the backstairs ambassadors had remarked, " you believe that, in returning and exposing to your countrymen the unreasonableness of the demands of this Government, you will unite them in resistance to those demands. You are mistaken. You ought to know that the diplomatic skill of France, and the means she possesses in your country, are sufficient to enable her, with the French party in America, to throw the blame, which will attend the rupture, on the Federalists, as you term yourselves, but the British party, as France terms you ; and you may assure yourselves this will be done." Jefferson retired to weep alone. Several of the faction resigned from Congress. Hamilton pub- lished his pamphlets, "The Stand," "France," and "The Answer," and the whole country burst into a roar of ven- geance, echoing Pinckney's parting shot : " Millions for de- fence, not a cent for tribute ! " " Hail Columbia " was composed, and inflamed the popular excitement. Federalist clubs paraded, wearing a black cockade, and one street riot followed another. Brock hoist Livingston had his nose pulled, and killed his man. With the exc ->tion of the ex- treme Jacobins, who never swerved from their devotion to France and the principles she had promulgated with the guillotine, the country was for war to a man, and the Presi- dent inundated with letters and memorials of encourage- ment. The immediate result was the augmentation of the Federalist party, and the decline of Jacobinism. For a long while past, Hamilton had been urging naval and military preparations. A bold front, he thought, would be more effective than diplomacy ; and the sequel proved his wisdom. When the crisis ;ame a bill for a Pro- visional Army was passed at once, another for the increase of the Navy, and liberal appropriations were made. The proposed alliance with Great Britain, Hamilton effectually 456 THE CONQUEROR 'I opposed for he was almost as exasperated with England as with France ; in her fear that the French party in the United States would triumph and declare war upon her she had renewed her depredations upon our commerce. ' tho V ? r"* ^'l^^ Washington would serve again, and the Nation turned naturally to Hamilton as its General- Trn^'iim u' ''"^ J"^"'f^f ly been born to extricate them from difficulties. E>en the Presidential faction put their pride in their pockets, and agreed that he was the one man m the country of matchless resource and military genius; hey passed over the veterans of the war without control versy. But there was one man who never put his pride in his pocke , and that was John Adams. Rather than pre- sent to Alexander Hamilton another opportunity for dis- tinction and power, he would himself cull fresh laurels for ?nlf Washington ; the supply of his old rival was now so abundant that new ones would add nothing. Hamilton already had written to Washington as peremptorily as only h^ dared urging that he must come forth once more and Thi f" n ^''*^^'°"u Washington replied that he would as thf n^- ^^'^ '^ '^' 'T^' °^ ^'' ancestors, but admitted the obligation, and asked Hamilton would he serve with mm . Hamilton answered that he would on condition that fnrth.rf'r"'^"^ .*° ^™^^^f' he would make no urther sacrifice for an inconsiderable reward. When Washington, therefore, received Adams's invitation, he made anDoinf •!!,?'' "'^"f''^"^' "P"'^ ^^"^^ S^^^" ^he power to wTn^. his generals next m rank. Adams, meanwhile. S^n.." Tl^i i°l^'' ^"'^^'■' b^^ «^"t his name to the Senate, and it had been confirmed as a matter of course .nHlinf-'^^.K'^^' ^'"^^^^Z' ^"* P^^'^^^ted in his condition! and sent in the names of Alexander Hamilton for Inspecl tor-General, with the rank of Major-General, C. C. Pinck- ney and Knox for Major-Generals and a list of Brigadiers t'o L sin'r-'^'^r^" ^^^"^' ^"'"^'^g' ^-"t the'^name w u- . *^tl ^^"^ ^^^>' '''^'^ confirmed in the order in which Washington had written them ; but when they came back jealousy and temper mastered him, and he committed the intemperate act which tolled the death-knell of the Federal- "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 457 ist party : he ordered the commissions made out with Hamil- ton's name thud on the list. Knox and Pinckney, he de- clared, were entitled to precedence ; and so the order should stand or not at all. He had not anticipated an outcry, and when it arose, angry and determined, he was startled but unshaken. The leading men in Congress waited upon him ; he received a new deluge of letters, and the most pointed of them was from John Jay. Hamilton alone held his peace. He saw the terrible mistake Adams had made, and dreaded the result. He wrote to Washington that he should be governed entirely by his wishes, that he should not embarrass him in any manner, and that it never should be said of himself that his ambition or interest had stood in the way of the public welfare. But when Adams stood with his head down, like an angry bull, and it was plain to be seen that his astonishing attitude was prompted by personal hatred alone, when the Cabinet and all the eminent men in the Nation, with the exception of the Republican leaders, faced him with an equally determined front, there was noth- ing for Hamilton to do but to stand his ground ; and he stood it. Washington put an end to the unfortunate controversy. He gave Adams his choice between submission or the selection of another General-in-chief. Adams submitted, but Hamilton had in him " f^r emy no less malignant than Thomas Jefferson hi. ~ .dams had roused the deep implacability of Ham: jcure. All hope of even an armed truce for party adva...age between the two great Federalists was over. Hamiltoii had one cause for resent- ment which alone would have made him ardently desire retaliation : General Knox, who had loved him devotedly for twenty years, was bitterly alienated, and the breach was never healed. Hamilton made his headquarters in New York, where he could, after a fashion, attend to his law practice, — he was now the leading counsel at the bar, — but he entered upon his new duties with all his old spirit and passionate energy. Although France might be discomfited by the readiness and resource of the United States, the imposing front erected by a universal indignation, there were reasons 4S8 THE CONQUEROR gratitude. ^ satisfied justice and of Never had Hamilton's conspicuous talent fnr ^.fn-i unlimited capacity for wnrt o-«„;. <: ^^ °^*^''' nothing ; planning' f^l^'^^rn"/^ c^^T^tacr organizing a commissariat department drafting h?ilc f ' Congress, advising M'Henrv unnn I',f ? ^'"^ .^'''' puzzled that unfinishedSeLan^ "ere b7t a^Tew o^ h' exercises demanded of the orffani^r^nf .n T °^ *''*^ material. The leHshtion nnnn ,^" ?™y f^-om raw command an army ™ aggression as wS.n^ ^/ P'^P^f* '" "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 459 American hemisphere in one great society of common interests and common principles against the corruption, the vices, the new theories of Europe." was an alluring prospect to a man who had given the broadest possible interpretation to the Constitution, and whose every con- ception had borne the stamp of an imperialistic boldness and amplitude. But these last of his dreams ended in national humilia- tion This time he had sacrificed his private interests, his vital forces, for worse than nothing. One enemy worked his own ruin, and Louisiana was to add to the laurels of Jerierson. Talleyrand, astonished and irritated by these warlike preparations and the enthusiasm of the infant country, wisely determined to withdraw with grace while there was yet time. He sent a circuitous hint to President Adams that an envoy from the United States would be received with proper respect. For months Adams had been tor- mented with the vision o' Hamilton borne on the shoulders of a triumphant army straight to the Presidential chair. His Cabinet were bitterly and uncompromisingly for war: Hamilton had with difficulty restrained them in the past Adams, without giving them an inkling of his intention! sent to the Senate the name of William Vans Murray mmister resident at The Hague, tc confirm as envoy extraordinary to France. ^ For a moment the country was stupefied, so firm and uncompromising had been the President's attitude hitherto 1 hen It arose m wrath, and his popularity was gone for ever As for the Federalist party, it divided into two hostile fac- tions, and neither had ever faced the Republicans more bitterly. A third of the party supported the President- the rest were for defeating him in the Senate, and humiliating him in every possible way, as he had humi'-ated the country by kissing the contemptuous hand of trance the moment it was half extended. Hamilton was furious. He had been in mighty tempers in his hfe, but this undignified and mortifying act of the President strained his statesmanship to the utmost It 460 THE CONQUEROR stood the strain, however ; he warned the Federalist leaders that the step taken was beyond recall and known to all the world. There was nothing to do but to support the Presi- dent. He still had an opportunity for revenge while openly protecting the honour of the Nation. Did Murray, a man of insufficient calibre and prestige, go alone, he must fail ; Adams would be disgraced ; war inevitable, with glory, and greater glory, for himself. But when circumstances com- manded his statesmanship, he ceased to be an individual ; personal resentments slumbered. He insisted that Murray be but one of .1 commission, and Adams, now cooled and as disquieted as that indomitable spirit could be, saw the wisdom of the advice; Oliver Ellsworth and General Davie, conspicuous and influential men, were despatched. Once more Hamilton had saved his party from immediate wreck ; but the strength which it had gathered during the war fever was dissipated by the hostile camps into which it was divided, and by the matchless opportunity which, in its brief period of numerical strength, it had given to Thomas Jefferson. The Federalist party had ruled the country by virtue of the preponderance of intellect and educated talents in its ranks, and the masterly leadership of Alexander Hamilton. The Republican party numbered few men of first-rate talents, but the upper grade of the Federalist was set thick with distinguished patriots, all of them leaders, but all deferring without question to the genius of their Captain. For years the harmonious workings of their system, allied to the aggregate ability of their personnel, and the watch- ful eye and resourceful mind of Hamilton, the silent but sympathetic figure of Washington in the background, had enabled them to win every hard-fought battle in spite of the often superior numbers of the Opposition. That Jef- ferson was able in the face of this victorious and discour- aging army to form a great party out of the rag-tag and bobtail element, animating his policy of decentralization into a virile and indelible Americanism, proved him to be a man of genius. History shows us few men so contemp- tible in character, so low in tone ; and no man has given "ALEXANDER THE GREAT' 461 his biographers so diflficult a task. But those who despise him most, who oppose the most determined front to the ultimates of his worli, must acknowledgtj that formational quality in his often dubious intellect which ranks him a man of genius. His party was threatened with disorganization when the shameful conduct of the France he adored united the country in a demand for vengeance, and in admiration for the uncompromising attitude of the Govtinment. Not until the Federalists, carried away by the rapid recruiting to their ranks, passed the Alien and Sedition laws, did Jef- ferson find ammunition for his next campaign. As one reads those Resolutions to-day, one wonders at the indiscre- tion of men who had kept the blood out of their heads dur- ing so many precarious years. Three-quarters of a century later the Chinese Exclusion Act became a law with in- significant protest; the mistake of the Federalists lay in ignoring the fears and raging jealousies of their time. If Hamilton realized at once that Jefferson would be quick to seize upon their apparent unconstitutionality and convert it into political capital, he seems to have stood alone, although his protests resulted in the modification of both bills. 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. In their modified form they were sufficiently menacing to democratic ideals, and Jefferson could have asked for nothing better. He immediately drafted his famous Ken- tucky Resolutions, and the obedient Madison did a like service for Virginia. The Resolutions of Madison, although containing all the seeds of nullification and secession, are tame indeed compared with the performance of a man who, enveloped in the friendly mists of anonymity, was as aggressive and valiant as Hamilton on the warpath. These Resolutions protested against the unconstitutionality of the Federal Government in exiling foreigners, and curb- ing the liberty of the press, in arrogating to itself the 462 THE CONQUEROR rights of the States and assuming the prerogatives of an absolute monarchy. If Jefferson did not advise nullification. .Pi riT^'*.'''" ^-^^^t °^ '^^'' inalienable rights, and coun! selled them to resist the centralizing tendency of the Fed- eral Government before it was too late. Even in the somewhat modified form in which these Resolutions passed the Kentucky legislature, and although rejected by the States to which they were despatched, they created a sensation and accomplished their primary object. The war excitement had threatened to shove the Alien and Sedition laws beyond the range of the public observation. tTv i^H "'''/.k"V''4^?^ Resolutions roused the coun- try and sent the Republicans scamperi-g back to their watchful shepherd. It is one of the master-strokes of political history, and Jefferson culled the fruits and suf- conUin^S'th '?^ °^!^"?- "^^^^ '^^^^ ^^i«t°"<^ Resolutions contimed the fecundating germs of the Civil War. is bv the way. ' Such wa.s the situation on the eve of i8oo, the eve of a great prrdes^'''"' ^""^ °^ *^^ ^^""^^ ^^'"^^'^ °^ *^^ ^"^ It was in December of this year of 1799 that Hamilton bent under the most crushing blow thaV life had dealt mm. He was standing on the street talking to Sedgwick 7^^11I^T''a^^ -Sr""' ^^'^^^ ^y' ^^ying th^t Washing! hrni.r^ ^^"^^ 7^^ ^K^^^ ^^^ crowded, but Hamilton broke down and wept bitterly. "America has lost her saviour," he said ; " I, a father/' l\K BOOK V THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS AND THE END MJ rM The sunlight moved along the table and danced on Hamilton's papers, flecking them and slanting into his eyes He went to the window to draw rhe shade, and stood laughing, forgetting the grave anxieties which ani- mated his pen this morning. In the garden without, his son Alexander and young Philip Schuyler, his wife's orphan nephew, who lived with him, were pounding each other vigorously, while Philip, Angelica, Thcodosia Burr, and Gouverneur Morris sat on the fence and applauded. "What a blessed provision for letting off steam," he thought, with some envy. " I woi Id I had Burr in front of my fists this moment. I suppose he is nothing but the dupe of Jefferson, but he is a terrible menace, all the same." The girls saw him, and leaping from the fence ran to the house, followed more leisurely by Morris. " You are loitering," exclaimed Angelica, triumphantly, as she entered the room without ceremony, followed by Theodosia. "And when you loiter you belong to me." She had grown tall, and was extremely thin and nervous, moving incessantly. But her face, whether stormy, dreamy, or animated with the pleasure of the moment, was very beautiful. Theodosia Burr was a handsome intellectual girl, with a massive repose; and the two were much in harmony. "If I snatch a moment to breathe," Hamilton was beginning, when he suddenly caught two right hands and spread them open. " What on earth does this mean ? " he demanded. The little paws of the two most fastidious girls he knew were dyed with ink. Both blushed vividly, but Angelica flung back her head with her father's own action. 2 a 465 466 THE CONQUEROR " We are writing a novel," she said. *' You are doing wha.: ? " gasped Hamilton. "Yes, sir. All the girls in New York are. Why shouldn't we .'' I guess we inherit brains enough." " All the girls in New York a^-e writing novels ! " ex- claimed Hamilton. " Is this the next result of Jacobinism and unbridled liberty, the next development of the new Americanism as expounded by Thomas Jefferson ? Good God ! What next .? " "You have the prophetic eye," said Morris, who was seated on the edge of the table, grinning sardonically. (He was bald now, and looked more wicked than ever.) "What of woman in the future.'" " She has given me sufficient occupation in the present," repUed Hamilton, drily. " Heaven preserve me from the terrors of anticipation." " Well, finish your novel. If you confine your pens to those subjects of which you know nothing, you will enjoy yourselves ; and happiness should be sought in all legitimate channels. But as a favour to me, keep your hands clean." The girls retired with some hauteur, and Morris said impatiently : — " I thought I had left that sort of thing behind me in France, where Madame de Stael drove me mad. I return to find all the prettiest women running to lectures on sub- jects which they never can understand, and scarifying the men's nerves with pedantic allusions. I always believed that our women were the brightest on the planet, but that they should ever have the bad taste to become intellectual — well, I have known but one woman who could do it successfully, and that is Mrs. Croix. What has she to do with this sudden activity of Burr's ? Is he handling French money.'" " Are you convinced that she is a French spy .' " " I believe it so firmly that her sudden departure would reconcile me to the Alien law. Where has Burr found the money for this campaign ? He is bankrupt ; he hasn't a friend among the leaders ; I don't believe the Manhattan Bank, for all that he is the father of it, will let THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 467 him handle a cent, and Jefferson distrusts and despises him. Still, it is just possible that Jefferson is using him, knowing that the result of the Presidential election will turn on New York, and that after himself Burr is the best politician in the country. I doubt if he would trust him with a cent of his own money, but he may have an under- standing with the Aspasia of Bowling Green. Certainly she must have the full confidence of France by this time, and she is the cleverest Jacobin in the country." " I wish that da-k system could be extirpated, root and branch," said Hamilton. " I have been too occupied these past two years to watch her, or Burr either, for that matter. Organizing an army, and working for your bread in spare moments, gives your enemies a clear field for operations. I have had enough to do, watching Adams. Burr has stolen a march that certainly does credit 10 his cunning. That is the most marvellous faculty I know. He is barely on speaking terms with a leader — Jefferson, Clinton, the Livingstons, all turned their backs upon him long since, as a man neither to be trusted nor used. The fraud by which he obtained the charter of the Manhattan Bank has alien- ated so many of his followers that his entire ticket was beaten at the last elections. Now he will have himself returned for the Assembly from Orange, he is manipulating tf.se lower orders of New York as if they were so much wax, using their secrets, wiping the babies' noses, and hanging upon the words of every carpenter who wants to talk ; and has actually got Clinton — who has treated him like a dog for years — to let him use his name as a possible candidate for the Legislature. Doubtless he may thank Mrs. Croix for that conquest. But his whole work is marvellous, and I suppose it would be well if we had a man on our side who would stoop to the same dirty work. I should as soon invite a strumpet to my house. But I am fearful for the result. With this Legislature we should be safe. But Burr has converted hundreds, if not thousands, to a party for which he cares as much as he does for the Federal. If he succeeds, and the next Legislature is Republican, Jeffer- son will be the third President of the United States — and 468 THE CONQUEROR ll then, God knows what. Not immediate disunion, possibly, for Jefferson is cunning enough to mislead France for his own purposes ; nor can he fail to see that Jacobinism is on the wane — but a vast harvest of democracy, of disintegra- tion, and denationalization, which will work the same dis- aster in the end. If Burr could be taught that he is being made a tool of, he might desist, for he would work for no party without hope of reward. He may ruin us and gain nothing." " It is a great pity we have not a few less statesmen in our party and a few more politicians. When we began life, only great services were needed ; and the Opposition, being engaged in the same battle of ideas, fought us with a merely inferior variety of our own weapons. But the great- est of our work is over, and the day of the politician has dawned. Unfortunately, the party of this damned lag-bel- lied Virginian has the monopoly. Burr is the natural result and the proudest sample of the French Revolution and its spawn. But your personal influence is tremendous. Who can say how many infuscated minds you will illumine when it comes to speech-making. Don't set your brow in gloom." '• I have not the slightest intention of despairing. The deep and never ceasing methods of the Jacobin Scandal Club have weakened my influence with the masses, how- ever ; no doubt of that. Its policy is to iterate and reiter- ate, pay no attention to denials, but drop the same poison dailv until denial is forgotten and men's minds are so ac- customed to the detraction, belittling, or accusation, that they accept it as they accept the facts of existence. Jef- ferson has pursued this policy with my ."eputation for ten years. During the last eight he has been ably abetted by Mrs. Croix, his other personal agents, and those of France. Now they have enlisted Burr, and there is no better man for their work in the country." " They know that if you go, the party follows. That is their policy, and may they spend the long evening of time in Hell. But I believe you will be more than a match for them yet ; although this is by far the most serious move the enemy has made." THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 469 " I wish to Heaven I had persisted in the Great Conven- tion until I carried my point in regard co having the electors chosen by the pet >le in districts. Then I should snap my fingers at Burr in this campaign, for he is an indifferent speaker, and poUtical manipulation would count for very little. With C. C. Pinckney in the chair for eight years, I should fee' that the country was planted on reasonably sure foundations. It must be Adams and Pinckney, of course, but with proper liarmony Pinckney will carry the day. Rather Jefferson in the chair than Adams — an open army that we can fight with a united front, than a Federal dividing the ranks, and forcing us to uphold him for the honour of the party — to say nothing of being responsible for him." "Jefferson is the less of several evils — Burr, for in- stance." " Oh, Burr ! " exclaimed Hamilton. " I should be in my dotage if Burr became President of the United States. Personally, I have nothing against him, and he is one of the most agreeable and accompHshed of men. Theodosia half lives here. Perhaps no man ever hated another as I hate Jefferson, nor had such cause. He has embittered my life and ruined my health ; he has made me feel like a lost soul more than once. But better Jefferson a thousand times than Burr. God knows I hate democracy and fear it, but Jefferson is timid and cautious, and has some prin- ciples and patriotism ; moreover, a desire for fame. 3urr has neither patriotism nor a principle, nor the least regard for his good name. He is bankrupt, profligate — he has been living in the greatest extravagance at Richmond Hill, and his makings at the bar, ahhough large, are far exceeded by his expenses ; there is always a story afloat about some dark transaction of his, and never disproved : he challenged Church for talking openly about the story that the Holland Land Company had, for legislative services rendered, can- celled a bond against him for twenty thousand dollars ; but the world doubts Burr's bluster as it doubts his word. At present he is in a desperate way because Alexander Baring, in behalf of a friend, L L Augustine, is pressing for pay- 470 THE CONQUEROR II i ment on a bond given to secure the price of land bought by Burr and Greenlcaf, and he has been offering worthless land claims in settlement, and resorting to every artifice to avert a crisis. Baring wanted me to take the case, but of course I wouldn't touch it. I sent him to Rinnan. The man is literally at the end of his tether. It is a coup or extinction — failure means flight or debtor's prison. Further- more, he is a conspirator by nature, and there is no man in the country with such extravagant tastes, who is so unscru- pulous as to the means of gratifying them. He is half mad for power and wealth. The reins of state in his hands, and he would stop at nothing which might give him control of the United States Treasury. To be President of the United States would mean nothing to him except as a highway to empire, to unlimited power and plunder. We have been threatened with many disasters since we began our career, but wi*h no such menace as Burr. But unless I die between now and eighteen hundred and one. Burr will lose the great game, although he may give victory to the Republican party." " I am not surprised at your estimate and revelations," said Moiris, "for I have heard much the same from others since my return. It was this certainty that he is bankrupt that led me to believe he was handling French money in this election — and he is flinging it right and left in a manner that must gratify his aspiring soul. Considering his lack of fortune and family influence, he has done wonders in the way of elevating himself. This makes it the more remarkable that with his great cleverness he should not have done better — " " He is not clever ; that is the point. He is cunning. His is wholly the brain of the conspirator. Were he clever, he would, like Thomas Jefferson, fool himself and the world into the belief that he is honest. Intellect and statemanship he holds in contempt. He would elevate himself by the Catiline system, by the simple method of proclaiming himself emperor, and appropriating the moneybags of the country. There is not one act of statesmanship to his credit. To him alone, of all promt- ^SU^erif THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 471 nent Americans, the country is indebted for nothing. The other night at a dinner, by the way, he toasted first the French Revolution, then Bonaparte. It is more than possible that you are right, for France, whether Directory or Consulate, is not likely to change her policy regarding this country. Nothing would please either Talleyrand or Bona- parte better than to inflame us into a civil war, then swoop clown upon us, under the pretence of coming to the rescue. Burr would be just the man to play into their hands, although with no such intention. Jefferson la quite clever enough to foil them, if he found that more to his interest. Well, neither is elected yet. Let us hope for the best. Go and ask An- i^elica to play for you. I have letters to write to leaders all over the State." II Burr was the author of municipal corruption in New York, the noble grandsire of Tammany Hall. While Hamilton was too absorbed to watch him, he had divided Nev/ York, now a city of sixty thousand inhabitants, into districts and sections. Under his systematic management the name of every resident was enrolled, and his politics ascertained. Then Burr and his committees or sub- committees laid siege to the individual. Insignificant men were given place, and young fire-eaters, furious with Adams, were swept in. Hundreds of doubtful men were dined and wined at Richmond Hill, flattered, fascinated, conquered. Burr knew the private history, the income, of every man he purposed t;o convert, and made dexterous use of his infor- mation. He terrified some with his knowledge, fawned upon others, exempted the stingy from contributions pro- vided he would work, and the lazy from work provided he would pay. It is even asserted that he blackmailed the women who had trusted him on paper, and forced them to wring votes from their men. He drafted a catalogue of names for the electoral Legislature, calculated to impose the hesitant, who were not permitted to observe that he smarted and snarled under many a kick. Strong names 472 THE CONQUEROR were essential if the Republicans were to wrest New York from the Federals after twelve years of unbroken rule, but strong men had long since ceased to have aught to do with Burr ; although Jefferson, as Hamilton suspected, had recently extended his politic paw. But in spite of snubs, curt dismissals, and reiterated intimations that his exer- tions were wasting, Burr did at last, by dint of flattery, working upon the weak points of the men he thoroughly understood, convincing them that victory lay in his hands and no other, — some of them that he was working in har- mony with Jefferson, — induce Clinton, Brockholst Living- ston, General Gates, — each representing a different faction, — and nine other men of little less importance, to compose the city ticket. All manner of Republicans were pleased, and many discontented Federalists. Burr, knowing that his own election in New York was hopeless, was a candidate for the Assembly in the obscure county of Orange; and the Legislature which would elect the next President was threatened with a Republican majority, which alarmed the Federalist party from one end of the Union to the other. Hamilton had never been more alert. The moment he was awake to the danger his mind closed to every other demand upon it, and he flung himself into the thick of the fight. He would have none of Burr's methods, but he spoke daily, upon every least occasion, and was r dy to consult at all hours with the distracted leaders of his party. Morris, Troup, Fish, and otuer Federalists, accustomed to handling the masses, also spoke repeatedly. But Adams had given the party a terrible blow, scattering many of its voters far and wide. They felt that the country had been humiliated, that it was unsafe in the hands of a man who was too obstinate to be advised, and too jealous to control his personal hatreds for the good of the Union ; the portent f ' tyraniiy in the Alien and Sedition laws had terrified many, and the promises of the Republicans were very al'uring. The prospect of a greater equality, of a universal t. i beianis .1, turned the heads of the shopkeepers, mechanics, id labouring men, who had voted hitherto with the Federal- ist party through admiration of its leaders and their great ' sig^^. THE LAST BAITLK OF TIIK CI ANTS 473 achievements. In vain Hamilton reminded tiicm of all they owed to the Federalists : the Constitution, the prosperity, the peace. He was in the ironical position of defending John Adams. They had made up their minds before they went to hear him speak, and they went becau.se to hear him was a pleasure they never missed. Upon one occa- sion a man rushed from the room, crying, *' Let me out ! Let me out! That man will make me believe anything." Frequently Hamilton and Burr spoke on the same platform, and they were so polite to each other that the audience opened their mouths and wondered at the curious ways of the aristocracy. It was a period of great e.xcitement. Men knocked each other down daily, no.scs were pulled, a favourite insult of our ancestors, — and more than one'duel was fought in the woods of VVeehawken. The elections began early on the 29th of April and finished at sun.set on May 2d. Hamilton and Burr constantly addressed large assemblages. On the first day Hamilton rode up to the poll in his district to vote, and was immediately surrounded by a vociferating crowd. Scurrilous handbills were thrust in his face, and his terri- fied horse reared before a hundred threatening fists. A big carter forced his way to its side and begged Hamilton to leave, assuring him there was danger of personal vio- lence, and that the men were particularly incensed at his aristocratic manner of approaching the polls. "Thank you," said Hamilton, "but I have as good a right to vote as any man, and I shall do it in the mode most agreeable to myself." " Very well, General," said the carter. " I differ with you in politics, but I'll stick by you as long as there is a drop of blood in my body." Hamilton turned to him with that illumination of feature which was not the least of his gifts, then to the mob with the same smile, and lifted his hat above a profound bow. " I never turned my back upon my enemy," he said, " I certainly shall not flee from those who have always been my friends." The crowd burst into an electrified roar. " Three cheers tm. I 474 rni: conqueror for General Hamilton ! " cried the carter, promptly, and they responded as one man. Then they lifted him from his horse and bore him on their shoulders to the poll. He deposited his ballot, and after addressing them to the sound of incessant cheering, was permitted to ride away. The incident both amused and disgusted him, but he needed no further illustrations of the instability of the common mind. The Repulicans won. On the night of the 2d it was known that the Federalists had lost the city by a Republican majority of four hundred and ninety votes. A few weeks before, when uncertainties were thickest, Hamilton had written to William Smith, who was departing for Con.stantinople : " . . . You sec I am in a humour to laugh. What can we do better in this best of all possible worlds ? Should you ever be shut up in the seven towers, or get the plague, if you are a true philosopher you will consider this only as a laughing matter." He laughed — though not with the gaiety of his youth — as he walked home to-night through the drunken yelling c-owds of William Street, more than one fist thrust in his face. His son Philip was with him, and his cousin, Robert Hamilton of Grange, who had come over two years before to enlist under the command of the American relative of whom his family were vastly proud. A berth had been found for him in the navy, as better suited to his talents, and he spent his leisure at 26 Broadway. Both the younger men looked crestfallen and an.xious. Philip, who resembled his father .so closely that Morris called him "his heir indubitate," looked, at the moment, the older of the two. Ill health had routed the robu.st appear- ance of Hamilton's early maturity, and his slender form, which had lost none of its activity or command, his thin face, mobile, piercing, fiery, as ever, made him appear many years younger than his age. " Why do yoi; laugh, sir .' " asked Philip, as they turned mto Wall Street, " I feel as if the end of the world had come." " That is the time to laugh, my dear bov. When vou see the world you have educated scampering off through THE LAST BATTLE OF THE (ILANTS 475 space, the retreat led by the greatest rascal in the country, your humour, if you have any. is bound to respond. More- over, there is ilways something humorous in one's down- fall, and a certain relief. The worst is over." " But, Cousin Alexander," said Robert Hamilton, " surely this is not ultimate defeat for you } You will not give up the fight after the first engagement — you ! " " Oh, no ! not I ! " cried Hamilton. " I shall fight on until I have made Thomas Jefferson President of the United States. Should I not laugh } VVa's any man ever in so ironical a situation before .' I shall move heaven and America to put Pinckney the chair, and I shall fail ; and to save the United States i, m Burr I shall turn over the country I have made to my bitterest enemy." " That would not be my way of doing, sir," said Robert. "I'd fight the rival chieftain to his death. Perhaps this Burr is not so real a Catiline as you think him. Nobody has a good word for him, but I mean he may not have the courage for so dangerous an act as usurpation." "Courage is just the one estimable if misdirected quality possessed by Burr, and, whetted by his desperate plight, no length would daunt him. A year or two ago he hinted to me that I had thrown away my opportunities. Pressed, he admitted tiiat I was a fool not to have changed the government when I could. When I reminded him that I could only have done such a thing by turning traitor, he replied, ' Les grands Smes se soucient peu des petits moraux.' It was not worth while to reason with a man who had neither little morals nor great ones, so I merely replied that from the genius and situation of the country the thing was impracticable ; and he answered, ' That de- pends on the estimate wc form of the human passions, and of the means of influencing them.' Burr would neither regard a scheme of usurpation as visionary, — he is san- guine and visionary to a degree that will be his ruin, — nor be restrained by any reluctance to occupy an infamous place in history." They had reached his doorstep in the Broadway, The house was lighted. Through the open windows of the 476 THE CONQUEROR l) drawing-room poured a musical torrent. Angelica, al- though but sixteen, shook life and soul from the cold keys of the piano, and was already ambitious to win fame as a composer. To-night she was playing extemporaneously, and Hamilton caught his breath. In the music was the thunder of the hurricane he so often had described to his children, the piercing rattle of the giant castinets, the roar and crash of artillery, the screaming of the trees, the furious rush of the rain. Robert Hamilton thought it was a battle- piece, but involuntarily he lifted his hat. As the wonder- ful music finished with the distant roar of the storm's last revolutions, Hamilton turned to his cousin with the cynicism gone from his face and his eyes sparkling with pride and happiness. " What do I care for Burr ? " he exclaim, d. " Or for Jefferson ? Has any man ever had a home, a family, like mine .' Let them do their worst. Beyond that door they cannot go." "Burr can put a bullet into you, sir," said Robert Hamilton, soberly. "And he is just the m-in to do it. Jefferson is too great a coward. For God's sake be warned in time." Hamilton laughed and ran up the stoop. His wife was in the drawing-ro'>m with Angelica, who was white and excited after the fever of composition. Mrs. Hamilton, too, was pale, for she had heard the news. But mettle had been bred in her, and her spirits never dropped before public misfortune. She had altered little in the last seven years. In spite of her seven children her figure was as slim as in her girlhood, her hah was as black, her skin re- tained its old union of amber and claret. The lingering girlishness in her face had departed after a memorable occasion, but her prettiness had gained in intellect and character; piquant and roguish, at times, as it still was. It was seven years since she had applied her clever brain to politics and public affairs generally — finance excepting — and with such unwearied persistence that Hamilton had never had another excuse to seek companionship elsewhere. Moreover, she had returned to her former care of his THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 477 papers, she encouraged him to read to her whatever he wrote, and was necessary to him in all ways. She loved him to the point of idolatry, but she kept her eye on him, nevertheless, and he wandered no more. When he could not accompany her to Saratoga in summer, she sent the children with one of her sisters, and remained with him, no matter what the temperature, or the age of a baby. But she made herself so charming that if he suspected the surveillance he was indifferent, and grateful for her com- panionship and the intelligent quahty of her sympathy. Elizabeth Hamilton never was a brilliant woman, but she became a remarkably strong-minded and sensible one. Femininely she was always adorable. Although relieved of the heavier social duties since the resignation from the Cabinet, Hamilton's fame and the popularity of both forced them into a prominent position in New York society. They entertained constantly at dinner, and during the past seven years many distinguished men besides Talleyrand had sat at their hospitable board: Louis Philippe d'Orleans,— supported for several years by Gouverneur Morris, — the Due de Montpensier, the Duke of Kent, John Singleton Copley, subsequently so eminent as jurist and statesman, Kosciusko, Count Niemcewicz, the novelist, poet, dramatist, and historian, were but a few. All travellers of distinction brought letters to Hamilton, for, not excepting Washington, he was to Europeans the most prosilient of Americans. If there had been little decrease of hard work during these years there had been social and domestic pleasures, and Hamilton could live in the one or the other with equal thoroughness. He was very proud of his wife's youthful appearance, and to-night he reproached her for losing so many hours of rest. ''Could anyone sleep in this racket.?" she demanded, lightly. " You must be worn out. Come into the dining room and have supper." And they all enjoyed their excellent meal of hot oysters, and dismissed politics until the morrow. m ill Ml \\\ 478 THE CONQUEROR Hi III But if Hamilton consigned politics to oblivion at mid- night and slept for the few hours demanded by outraged nature, he plunged from the crystal of his bath into their reekmg blackness early in the morning. He had laughed the night before, but he was in the worst of ten-fpcrs as he shut his study door behind him. F^or the first time in his life he was on a battle-ground with no sen- sation of joy in the coming fight. The business was too ugly and the prospect was almost certain defeat. Were the first battle lost, he knew that a sharper cncra " " I intend to print it. I had every intention of scatter- ing it broadcast, but I have yielded to the dissuasions of men whose opinions I am bound to respect, and it will go only to them and to the second-class leaders as yet uncon- vinced. To their entreaties that I would not sign my name I have not listened, because such a work, if anonymous, vvould be both cowardly and futile. The point is to let those for whom it is intended know that a person in au- thority IS talking ; and anonymous performances are legiti- mate only when published and unmistakable, when given in that form as a concession to the fashion of the age " Troup groaned. "And if it falls into the enemy's hands .' ' ^ " In that case, what a hideous opportunity it would en- close, were it unsigned." " Oh, sign it ! " said Troup, wildly. He set his heel on the manuscript, and looked tentatively at Hamilton. He knew the meaning cf the expression he encountered, and removed his heel. It was months since he had seen the gay sparkle in Hamilton's eyes, humour and sweetness curving his mouth. When Hamx..3n's mouth was not as hard as iron, it relaxed to cynicism or contempt. He was I'm" i y U ill ■J ■ •: 488 THE CONQUEROR m so thin that the prominence of the long line from ear to chm and of the high hard nose, with its almost rigid nostrils, would have made him look more old Roman coin than man, had it not been for eyes like molten steel " Politics and ambition ! " thought Troup. " What might not the world be without them ? " "Let us change the subject," he said. "I hear that Mrs. Croi.x makes a convert an hour from Federalism to Democracy. That is the estimate. And a small and select band know that she Joes it in the hope of hastening your rum. I must say, Hamilton, that as far as women are concerned, you are punished far beyond your deserts There is hardly a man in public life who has not done as much, or worse, but the world is remarkably uninterested and the press finds any other news more thrilling. The Reynolds woman is probably responsible for many remorse- ful twinges in the breasts of eminent patriots, but your name alone is given to the public. As for Mrs. Croix I don t suppose that any mere mortal has ever resisted her but if any other man has regretted it, history is silent! What do you suppose is the reason ? " Hamilton would not discuss Mrs. Croix, but he had long since ceased to waste breath in denial. He made no reply. "Do you know my theory ? " said Troup, turning upon him suddenly. " It is this. You are so greatly endowed that more is expected of you than of other men. You were fashioned to make history ; to give birth, not for your own personal good, but for the highest good of a nation, to the greatest achievement of which the uuman mind is capable. Therefore, when you trip and stumble like any fool among us, when you act like a mere mortal with ao gigantic will and intellect to lift him to the heights and keep him there, some power in the unseen universe is infuriated, and you pay the price with compound interest. It will be the same with that thing on the floor. If you could be sure that it would never fall into the hands of a Jacobin, even then it would be a mistake to print it, for it is mainly prompted by hatred, and as such is unworthy of you. But if it finds THK LAST BAITLE OF THK (ilANl-S 489 its way to the public, yoMr runishment will be even in excess of your fault. For G'-d's sake think it over." Hamilton made no reply, and in a moment Troup rose. " Very well," he said, " have your own way and be happy. I'll stand by you if the citadel falls." Hamilton's eyes softened, and he shook Troup's hands heartily. But as soon as he was alone, he sent the manu- script to the printer. M. L. Davis, the authentic biographer of Burr, tells this interesting anecdote concerning the Adams pamphlet: — Colonel Burr ascertained the contents of this pamphlet, and that it was in the press. The immediate publication, he knew, must dis- tract the Federal party, and thus promote the Republican cause in those States where the elections had not taken place. Arrangements were accordingly made for a copy as .soon as the printing of it was completed ; and when obtained. John Swartwout. Robert Swartwout, and Matthew L. Davis, by appointment met Colonel Burr at his house. The pam- phlet was read, and extracts made for the press. They were immediately published. Whei HainiStun read the voluminous extracts in the* marked copies of the Democratic papers which he found on the table in his chambers in Garden Street, his first sensation was relief ; subterranean methods were little to his liking. He was deeply uneasy, however, when he re- flected upon the inevitable consequences to his party, and wondered that his imagination for once had failed him. Everyone who has written with sufficient power to incite antagonism, knows the apprehensive effect of extracts lifted maliciously from a carefully wrought whole. Ham- ilton felt like a criminal until he plunged into the day's work, when he had no time for an accounting with his conscience. He was in court all day, and after the five o'clock dinner at home, returned to his office and worked on an important brief until eight. Then he paid a short call on a client, and was returning home through Pearl Street, when he saw Troup bearing down upon hlni. This old comrade's face was haggard and set, and his eyes were n If 1. be ■) 1 ■ '1 I' . ■ ■It?! n il 490 'IHK (X)NQLKROR m almost wild. Hamilton smiled grimly. That expression hud .stamped the Federal visage since morning. Troup reached Hamilton in three strides, and seizing hun by the arm, pointed to the upper story of Fraunces' Uavern. "Alec," he said hoarsely, "do you remember the vow you made in that room twenty-five years ago' You have kept it until to-day. There is not an instance in your previous career where you have sacrificed the coun- try to yourself. No man in history ever made greater sac- rifices, and no man has had a greater reward in the love and loyalty of the best men in a nation. And now, to grat- ify the worst of your passions, you have betrayed your country into the hands of the basest politicians in it. Moreover, all your enemies could not drag you down, and no man in history has ever been assailed by greater pha- lanxes than you have been. It took you — yourself — to \vork your own ruin, to pull your party down on top of you and send the country we have all worked so hard for to the devil. I love you better than anyone on earth, and I'll stick to you till the bitter end, but I'd have this say if you never spoke to me again." Hamilton dropped his eyes from the light in the familiar room of Traunces' Tavern, but the abyss he seemed to see at his feet was not the one yawning before his friend's excited imagination. He did not answer for a moment and then he almost took away what was left of Troup's breath. ^ "You are quite right," he said. "And what I have most to be thankful for in life, is that I have never at- tracted that refuse of mankind who fawn and flatter • or have dismissed them in short order," he added, with 'his usual regard for facts. " Come and breakfast with me to- morrow. Good night." He walked home quickly, told the servant at the door that he was not to be disturbed, and locked himself in his study. He lit one candle, then threw himself into his re- voh'ing chair, and thought until the lines in his face deep- ened to the bone, and only his eyes looked alive. He wasted no further regrets on the political consequences of I'HE LAST KA'rn.K OK THK GIANTS 491 his act. What was done, was done. Nor did he antici- pate any such wholesale disaster as had distracter' the Federalists since the morning issues. He knew 'i:; torce of habit and the tenacity of men's minds. His oluiwers would be aghast, harshly critical for a day, th n make every excuse that ingenuity could suggest, unit Ir. ^i'- defence, and follow his lead with redoubled loyality. His foresight had long since leaped to the end of this conflict, for the Democratic hordes had been augmenting for years ; his own party was hopelessly divided and undermined by systematic slander. To fight was second nature, no mat- ter how hopeless the battle ; but in those moments of almost terrifying prescience so common to him, he realized the inevitableness of the end, as history does to-day. His i i 492 THE CONQUEROR of his nature; he had scarred them and warped them and destroyed their self-respect. Had these raging paTsions been fed with other vitalities ? Had they ravagf d his sou n r""'^ ^l' ^'"^°"^ • ^^« that his punishment, - an mstance of the inexorable law of give and take > He recalled the white heat of patriotism with which he had written the revolutionary papers of his boyhood, the numberless pamphlets which had finally roused t/e State to meet in convention and give the wretched country a Consti° H^ ? .^'''^^'■"T^"'' "P' Federalisr; which hadspurred mm to the great creative acts that must immortalize hfrn T'J-. ^^ contrasted that patriotic fire with the soirk m which he had written the Adams pamphlet TheTre wood^''"Fv'"\r'^ '^" precipitation vvas gall and worm wood. Even the spirit in which he had first attacked Jefferson in print was righteous indignation by compart Had he hated his soul to cinders } Had the bitterne« ?eaV'bitte7\^h''"'^'^ ^'^ ^"^^"^^^^^ ^- ^^^-^ fdeals wh nh ' u^fl *^'°"Sh ^"^ th^°"gh the lofty Ideals which once had been the larger part of himself? t^.'? f \!?f ' "V^''" ^""^" t° the bottom of the^ t n that frightful nethermost region of his. for his cvnica" ofT h-T?' ""'";^"'' t"°' ^^^ i" its grave > He though Tk I u/^ u ^^^'^^ °^ self-government, a most the perfectSn that Washington had attained, ~ one of the most nal sionate men that had ever lived. Did that great^W effain r ns wth" hi" ''"> '^f'''^^' ^^"'^ ' "^ thLgit of Lau possibTe Would'h^ t'P"'' '^"' self-conquest seemed im- possible. Would he have conquered, had he lived > What wtfd the" Tf ^i!"^'"" ^^'"''' "^^^ they present to-n^ht Would they hate him. or would their love be proof agSnst th^r. \ ^,^^^"?^"t } He passionately wished Jhey^were there, whether they came to revile or console Isolated to^M oS^t";.*^^ '''' '' '' ^^-^ '- - ^- tte spe"!iveTv"buWnr ''" '"'"'^ ^"' '""''y ^^^"Ity bent intro- hS S't.f ^^'^.^o^e moments past his consciousness had vibrated mechanically to an external influence. It THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GLANTS 493 flew open suddenly, as he realized that someone was watching him, and he wheeled his chair opposite the dusk in the lower end c' the room. For a moment i* seemed to him that every function in him ceased and wa. envel- oped in ice A face rested lightly on the farther end of the long table, the fair hair floating on either side of it the eyes fixed upon him with an expression that flashed him back to St. Croix and the last weeks of his mother's lite. He fancied in that moment that he could even dis- cern the earthen hue of the skin. When he realized that It was Angelica, he was hardly less startled, but he found his voice. " When did you return ? " he asked, in as calm a tone as he could command. " And why did you hide in here ? " "I came down with Grandpa, who made up his mind in a minute. And I came in here to be sure to have a little talk with you alone. I was going to surprise you as soon as you ht the candle, and then your face frightened me It is worse now." Her voice was hardly audible, and she did not move Hamilton went down and lifted her to her .^t et, then sup- ported her to a chair opposite his own. He made no search for an excuse, for he would not have dared to offer It to this girl, whose spiritual recesses he suddenly deter- mined to probe. Between her and the dead woman there was a similarity that was something more than superficially atavistic. His practical brain refused to speculate even upon the doctrine of metempsychosis. He was like his ..mother in many ways. That unique and powerful person- ality had stamped his brain cells when he was wholly hers He recalled that his own soul had echoed faintly with memories in his youth. What wonder that he had given this mhentance to the most sensitively constituted of his children, whose musical genius, the least sane of all gifts, put her m touch with the greater mysteries of the Uni- verse .? That nebulous memories moved like ghosts in her soul he did not doubt, nor that at such moments she was tormented with vague maternal pangs. He con- quered his first impulse to confess himself to her; doubt- 1 ;ii/ 494 THE CONQUEROR he. She was staring at il less she needed more help than him in mingled terror and agony. " Why do you suffer so when I suffer ? " he asked gently • then bluntly, "do you yearn over me as if I were your child, and in peril } " " Yes," she answered, without betraying any surprise • " that is it. I have a terrible feeling of responsibility and helplessness, of understanding and knowing nothing. I feel sometimes as if I had done you a great wrong, for which I suffer when you are in trouble, and I am no more use to you than John or little Eliza. If you would tell me If you would let me share it with you. You remember I begged as a child. You have made believe to tell me secrets many times, but you have told me nothing My imagination has nearly shattered me." " Do you wish to know .? " he asked. " Are you strong enough to see me as I see myself to-night ? I warn you it will be a glimpse into Hell." "I don't care what it is," she answered, "so long as it IS the reality, and you let me know you as I do underneath my blindness and ignorance." Then he told her. He talked to her as he would have talked to the dead had she risen, although without losing his sense of her identity for a moment, or the conscious- ness of the danger of the experiment. He showed her what few mortals have seen, a naked soul with its scars Its stains, and its ravages from flame and convulsion. He need not have apprehended a disastrous result. She was compounded of his essences, and her age was that inde- terminate mixture of everlasting youth and anticipated wis- dom which IS the glory and the curse of genius. She listened intently, the expression of torment displaced by normal if profound sympathy. He had begun with the passions inspired by Jefferson ; he finished with the cli- max of deterioration in the revenge he had taken on Adams, and the abyss of despair into which it had plunged him. He drew a long breath of relief, and regarded his httle judge with some defiance. She nodded. " I feel old and wise," she said, " and at the same time THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 495 much younger, because I no longer shrink from a load on my mind I cannot understand. And you — it has all gone." She darted at the candle and held it to his face. " You look twenty years younger than when you sat there and thought. I believed you were dying of old age." " I feel better," he admitted. *' But nothing can oblit- erate the scars. And although I shall always be young at intervals, remember that I have crowded three lifetimes into one, and that I must pay the penalty spiritually and physically, although mentally I believe I shall hold my own until the end." He leaned forward on a sudden im- pulse and took both her hands. " I make you a vow," he said, "and I have never broken even a promise — or only one," he added, remembering Troup's accusation. " I will drive the bitterness out of myself and I will hate no more. My public acis shall be unaccompanied by per- sonal bitterness henceforth. Not a vengeance that I have accomplished has been worth the hideous experience of to-night, and so long as I live I shall have no cause to repeat it." " If you ever broke that vow," said Angelica, " I should either die or go crazy, for you would sink and never rise again." VI As Hamilton had anticipated, the Jacobin press shouted and laughed itself hoarse, vowed that it never could have concocted so effective a bit of campaign literature, and that the ursine roars of Adams could be heard from Dan to Beersheba. Burr, as yet undetected, almost danced as he walked. The windows were filled with parodies of the pamphlet, entitled, " The Last Speech and Dying Words of Alexander Hamilton," " Hamilton's Last Letter and His Amc rous Vindication," " A Free Examination of the Morals, Political and Literary Characters of John Adams and Alexander Hamilton." One cartoon displayed the sinking ship Administration, with the Federal rats scuttling out of her, and Hamilton standing alone on the deck; 1 ]' \ ! ! ■■ i W 1 .-J ?iii J >i 7 f 4 '1 • 1 J ' 1 IP ili 496 THE CONQUEROR another, " The Little Lion " sitting, dejected and forlorn, outside the barred gates of " Hamiltonopolis." The deep] silent laughter of Jefferson shook the continent. The Federalist leaders were furious and aghast. But they recovered, and when the time came, every Federalist delegate to the Electoral College, with one exception, voted precisely as Hamilton had counselled. South Car- olina deserted Pinckney because he would not desert Adams, but she would have pursued that policy had the pamphlet never been written; and whether it af- fected the defeat of the Federalists in Pennsylvania and other States is doubtful. The publication in August of Adams's letter to Tench Coxe, written in 1792, when he was bitterly disappointed at Washington's refusal to send him as minister to England, and asserting that the appoint- ment of Pinckney was due to British influence, thus cast- ing opprobrium upon the integrity of Washington, had done as much as Hamilton's pamphlet, if not more, to damn him finally with the Federalists. Hamilton's chief punishment for his thunderbolt was in his conscience, and his leadership of his party was not questioned for a moment. He expected a paternal rebuke from General Schuyler, but that old warrior, severe always with the delinquencies of his own children, had found few faults in his favourite son-in-law ; and he took a greater pride in his career than he had taken in his own. Now that gout and failing sight had forced him from public life, he found his chief enjoyment in Hamilton's society. General Schuy- ler survived the death of several of his children and of his wife, but Hamilton's death killed him. Assuredly, life dealt generously with our hero in the matter of fathers, despite or because of an early oversight. James Hamilton had never made the long and dangerous journey to the North, and he had died on St. Vincent, in 1799, but what filial regret his son might have dutifully experienced was swept away on the current of the overwhelming grief for Washington. And as for mothers, charming elder sisters, and big brothers, eager to fight his battles, no man was ever so blest. THE LAST BATTLE OF THE (HANTS 497 In December Hamilton received the following letter from William Vans Murray : — Paris, Oct. gth, 1800. Dkak Sir : I was extremely flattered by the confidence which your letter by Mr. Colbert proved you have in my disposition to follow your wishes. A letter from you is no affair of ceremony. It is an obliga- tion on any man who flatters himself with the hope of your personal esteem. Mr. Colbert gave it to me yesterday. I immediately, in par- ticular, addressed a letter to Bonaparte, and made use of your name which I was sure would be pleasing to him. To-day I dined with him.' The Secretary of State assured me that he received it kindly, and I can hope something good from him. If any come it will be your work I never before spoke or wrote to Bonaparte on any affair other than i)ublic business. It will be very pleasing to you if we succeed, that your silent agency works good to the unhappy and meritorious at such a distance. 1 know nothing better belonging to reputation. Poor Adams ! General Davie arrived by the next ship, bringing with him a convention concluded with France on the 30th of October. He also brought a letter to Hamilton from one of the commission, with a copy of the document and a journal of the proceedings of the negotiators. The writer was Oliver Ellsworth, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Adams might occupy the chair of State, but to the Federals Hamilton was President in all but name. Sedgwick and Gouverneur Morris, now a member of the Senate, not knowing of the communication, wrote immediately to Hamilton, acquainting him with the con- tents of the treaty. It contains no stipulation for .satisfaction of the injuries we have received [Sedgwick wrote in wrath] . It makes the treaty of '78 a subject for future negotiation. It engages that we shall return, in the condition they now are, all our captures. It makes neutral bottoms a protection to their cargoes, and it contains a stipulation directly in violation of the 2Sth article of our treaty with Great Britain. Such are the blessed effects of our mission! These are the ripened fruits of this independent Administration! Our friends in the Senate are not enough recovered from their astonishment to begin to reflect on the course they shall pursue. This treaty was a fai more deadly weapon in Hamil- ton's hands than the entire arsenal he had manipulated in 2K :|i :i i'if: '^ i ,r |!l M 498 THE CONQUEROR 1 i! I. I: his pamphlet, for campaign literature is often pickled and retired with the salt of its readers. But did this mission fail, did Adams lose his only chance of justification for sending the commission at all, did the Senate refuse to ratify, and war break out, or honourable terms of peace be left to the next President, then Adams's Administration must be stamped in history as a failure, and he himself re- tire from office covered with ignominy. But had Hamilton not recovered his balance and trimmed to their old steady duty the wicks of those lamps whose brilliance had dimmed in a stormy hour, his statesmanship would have controlled him in such a crisis as this. He knew that the rejection of the treaty would shatter the Federal party and cause national schisms and discords ; that, if left over to a Jacobin administration, the result would be still worse for the United States. It was a poor thing, but no doubt the best that could have been extracted from triumphant France; nor was it as bad in some respects as the irri- tated Senate would have it. Such as it was, it must be ratified, peace placed to the credit of the Federalists, and the act of the man they had made President justified. Hamilton was obliged to write a great many letters on the subject, for the Federalists found it a bitter pill to swallow ; but he prevailed and they swallowed it. Meanwhile, the Electoral College had met. Adams had received sixty-five votes, Pinckney sixty-four, Jefferson and Burr seventy-three each. That threw the decision upon the House of Representatives, for Burr refused to recognize the will of the people, and withdraw in favour of the man whom the Democratic hemisphere of American politics had unani- mously elected. Burr had already lost caste with the party by his attempts to secure more votes than the leaders were willing to give him, and had alarmed Jefferson into strenu- ous and diplomatic effort, the while he piously folded his visible hands or discoursed upon the bones of the mam- moth. When Burr, therefore, permitted the election to go to the House, he was flung out of the Democratic party neck and crop, and Jefferson treated him like a dog until he killed Hamilton, when he gave a banquet in bis honour. THE LAST BATTLE OF THE CLANTS 499 Burr's only chance for election lay with the Federalists, who would rather havt seen horns and a tail in the Execu- tive Chair than Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton had antici- pated their hesitation and disposition to bargain with Burr, and he bombarded them with letters from the moment the Klectoral College announced the result, until the House decided the question on the 1 7th of February. He analyzed Burr for the benefit of the anxious members until the dark and poisonous little man must have haunted their dreams at night. Whether they approached Burr or not will never be known ; but they were finally convinced that to bargain with a man as unfigurable as water would be throwing away time which had far better be employed in extracting pledges from Jefferson. One of Hamilton's letters to Gouverneur Morris, who wielded much influence in the House, is typical of many. • • • Another subject. Jefferson or Burrf The former beyond a doubt. The latter in my judgement has no principle, public or pri- vate ; could be bound by no agreement ; will listen to no monitor but his ambition ; and for this purpose will use the worst portion of the community as a ladder to climb to permanent power, and an instrument to crush the better part. He is bankrupt beyond redemption, except by the resources that grow out of war and disorder ; or by a sale to a for- eign power, or by great peculation. War with Great Britain would be the immediate instrument. He is sanguine enough to hope everything, daring enough to attempt everything, wicked enough to scruple nothing. Fr -1 the elevation of such a man may heaven preserve th' ountry. Let our situation be improved to obtain from Jefferstjn assurances on certain points : the maintenance of the present system, especially on the cardinal articles of public credit — a navy, neutrality. Make any discreet use you may think tit of this letter. He was deeply alarmed at the tendency of the excited House, which sat in continuous session from the nth to the 17th, members sleeping on the floor and sick men brought thither on cots, one with his wife in attendance. The South was threatening civil war, and Burr's subsequent career justified his alarm and his warnings ; but in spite of his great influence he won his case with his followers by a very small margin. They were under no delusions regard- ing the character of Burr, their letters to Hamilton abound % ■i \A .' J :i ' ?• 1 500 THE CONQUEROR in strictures almost as severe as his own, but their argument was that he was the less of two evils, that every move he made could be sharply watched. It is quite true that he would have had Federalists and Democrats in both Houses to frustrate him ; but it does not seem to have occurred to the former that impeachment would have been inevitable, and Jefferson President but a year or two later than the will of the people decreed. But it was a time of terrible excitement, and for the matter of that their brains must have been a trifle clouded by the unvarying excitement of their lives. Bayard of Delaware, with whom Hamilton had fought over point by point, winning one or more with each letter, changed his vote on the last ballot from Burr to a blank. Hamilton's friends knew that Burr would kill him sooner or later, for the ambitious man had lost his one chance of the great office ; but Hamilton chose to see only the humour of the present he had made Thomas Jefferson. That sensible politician had tacitly ag-oed to the terms sug- gested by the Federalists, when they • ited the possibility of accepting him, and Hamilton knew that he was far too clever to break his word at once. What Hamilton hoped for was what came to pass : Jefferson found the machinery of his new possession more to his taste than he could have imagined while sitting out in the cold, and he let it alone. s VII Hamilton was now free to devote himself to the practice of law, with but an occasional interruption. It hardly need be stated that he kept a sharp eye on Jefferson, but for the sake of the country he supported him when he could do so consistently with his principles. More than once the Presi- dent found in him an invaluable ally; and as often, per- haps, he writhed as on a hot gridiron. Hamilton came forth in the pamphlet upon extreme occasions only, but he was still the first political philosopher and writer of his time, and the Federalists would have demanded his pen upon these occasions had he been disposed to retire it. Although out of the active field of politics, he kept the best of the de- THE I,AST BATTLE OF THE CI/ NTS 501 moralized Federalists together, warning them constantly that the day might come when they would be called upon to reorganize a disintegrated union, and responding t. the denriands of his followers in Congress for advice. In local politics he continued to make himself felt in spite of the fattening ranks of Democracy. His most powerful instru- ment was the Neiu York Evi'ning Post, which he founded for the purpose of keeping the Federalist cause alive, and holding ♦^he enemy in check. He selected an able man as editor, William Coleman of Massachusetts, but he directed the policy of the paper, dictating many of the editorials in the late hours of night. This journal took its position at once as the most respectable and brilliant in the country. He also founded the Society for the Manumission of Slaves, securing as honorary member the name of Lafa- yette — now a nobleman at large once more. But all these duties weighed lightly. For the first time in his life he felt himself at liberty to devote himself almost wholly to his practice, and it was not long before he was making fif- teen thousand dollars a year. It was an immense income to make in that time, and he could have doubled it had he been less erratic in the matter of fees. Upon one occasion he was sent eight thousand dollars for winning a suit, and returned seven. He invariably placed his own valuation upon a case, and frequently refused large fees that would have been paid with gratitude. If a case interested him and the man who asked his services were poorer than him- self, he would accept nothing. If he were convinced that a man was in the wrong, he would not take his case at any price. He was delighted to be able to shower benefits upon his little family, and he would have ceased to be Alexander Hamilton had he been content to occupy a second place at the bar, or in any other pursuit which engaged his faculties ; but for money itself, he had only contempt. Perhaps that is the reason why he is so out of tune with the present day, and unknown to the average American. Washington, after the retirement of John Jay, had offered Hamilton the office of Chief Justice of the United States; iF';i I: ■ ■!!• : -I ',1 ft i • :,i 5oa THE CONQUEROR I.I' but Hamilton felt that the bar was more suited to his activities than the bench, and declined the gift. His legal career was as brilliant and successful as his political, but although none is more familiar to ambitious lawyers, and his position as the highest authority on constitutional law has never been rivalled, his achievements of greater value to the Nation have reduced it in history to the position of an incident. There is little space left, and somewhat of his personal life still to tell, but no story of Hamilton would be complete without at least a glimpse of this particular shuttle in the tireless loom of his brain. Such glimpses have by no one been so sharply given as by his great con- temporary, Chancellor Kent. He never made any argument in court [Kent relates] without display- ing his habits of thinking, resorting at once to some well-founded prin- ciple of law. and drawing his deductions logically from his premises. Law was always treated by him as a science, founded on established principles. ... He rose at once to tlie loftiest heights of profes- sional eminence, by his profound penetration, his power of analysis, the comprehensive grasp and strength of liis understanding, and the firmness, frankness and integrity of his character. . . . His manners were affable, gentle and kind ; and he appeared to be frank, liberal and courteous in all his professional intercourse. [Referring to a particular case the Chancellor continues.] Hamilton by means of his fine melodious voice, and dignified deportment, his reasoning powers and persuasive address, soared far above all competition. His preeminence was at once and universally conceded. . . . Hamilton returned to private life and to the practice of the law in "93. He was cordially welcomed and cheered on his return, by his fellow citizens. Hetween this year and 1798, he took his station as the leading counsel at the bar. He was employed in every important and every co.-nmercial case. He was a very great favourite with the merchants of New York and he most justly deserved to be, for he had shown himself to be ono of the most enlightened, intrepid and persevering friends to the commercial prosperity of this country. In- surance questions, both upon the law and fact, constituted a large portion of the litigated business in the courts, and much of the intense study and discussion at the bar. Hamilton had an overwhelming share of this busi- ness. . . . His mighty mind would at times bear do\"n all opposition by its comprehensive grasp and the strength of his reaf , ig powers. He taught us all how to probe deeply into the hidden recct.ses of tiie science, and to follow up principles to their far distant sources. He ransacked cases and precedents to their very foundations ; and we learned from him to carry our inquiries into the commercial codes of the nations of the European continent ; and in a special manner to illustrate the law of THE LAST BAITLK OK THK (HANTS 503 insurance by the secure jucl^eniinf of llinerigon and the luminous com- mentaries of Vaiin. . . . My judicial station in 1798 brought Hamilton before me in a new relation. ... 1 \va.s called to listen with lively in- terest and high admiration to the rapid exercise of his reasoning powers, the intensity and sagacity with wliich he i)ursued his investigations, his piercing criticisms, his masterly analysis, and the energy and fervour of his appeals to tlie judgement and conscience of the trilnmal which he addressed. [In regard to the celebrated ca.se of Croswcll vs. the People, in the course of wiiicli Haitiilton reversed the law of libel, de- claring the liritish interpretation to be inconsistent with the genius of the American people, Kent remarks.] I h.ive ahv.iys considered Cleneral Hamilton's argument in tliis cause as the greatest forensic effort he ever made. He had come prepared to discuss the points of law with a perfect mastery of the subject. He believed that the rights and lii)erties of the people were essentiallv concerned. . . . There was an unusual solemnity and earnestness on his part in this discussion. He was at times highly impassioned and patlietic. His whole soul was enlisted in the cause, and in contending for tlie rights o*^ ;•■«' Jury and .i free Press, he considered that he was establishing the su.est refuge against oppression. ... He never before in my hearing made any effort in which he commanded higher reverence for his principles, nor equal admiratinii of the power and pathos of his eloquence. . . . 1 have very little doubt that if (leneral Hamilton had lived twenty years longer, he would have rivalled Socrates or Hacon, or any other of the sages of ancient or modern times, in researches after truth and in benevolence to mankind. The active and profound statesman, the learned and elo- quent lawyer, would probably have disappeared in a great degree before the character of the sage and philosopher, instructing mankind by his wisdom, and elevating the country by his example. [Ambrose Spencer, Attorney General of the State, — afterward Chief Justice, — who did not love him, having received the benefit of Hamil- ton's scathing sarcasm more than once, has this to say.] Alexander Hamilton was the greatest man this country ever produced. I knew him well. I was in situations to observe and study him. He argued cases before me while 1 sat as judge on the bench. Webster has done the sami.. In power of reasoning, Hamilton was the equal of Webster ; and more than this can be .said of no man. In creative power. Hamilton was infinitely Webster's superior, and in this respect he was endowed as God endows the most gifted of our race. If we call Shakspeare a genius or creator, because he evoked plays and character from the great chaos of thought, Hamilton merits the same appellation ; for it was he, more than any other man, who thought out the Constitution of the United States and the details of the Governinent of the Union ; and out of the chaos that existed after the Revolution, raised a fabric, every part of which is instinct with his thought. I can truly .say that hundreds of politicians and statesmen of the day get both the web and woof of their thoughts from Hamilton's brains. He. more than any man, did the thinking of the time. 1 f : ; i j 1 I m m ^\ ,1 504 THE CONQUEROR His fooling was as inimitable as his use of passion and logic, and on one occasion he treated Gouverneur Morris, who was his opposing counsel, to such a prolonged attack of raillery that his momentary rival sat with the perspira- tion pouring from his brow, and was acid for some time after. During his earlier years of practice, while listen- ing to Chancellor Livingston summing up a case in which eloquence was made to disguise the poverty of the cause. Hamilton scribbled on the margin of his brief : " Recipe for obtaining good title for ejectment : two or three void patents, several ex parte surveys, one or two acts of usur- pation acquiesced in for the time but afterwards proved such. Mix well with half a dozen scriptural allusions, some ghosts, fames, elves, hobgoblins, and a quantum suff. of eloquence. Hamilton also originated the practice of preparing " Points," now in general use VIII Hamilton, after the conclusion of the great libel case in the spring of 1804, returned from Albany to New York to receive honours almost as great, if less vociferous, than those which had hailed him after the momentous Conven- tion of 1788. Banquets were given in his honour, the bar extolled him, and the large body of his personal friends were triumphant at this new proof of his fecundity and his power over the minds of men. They were deeply disturbed on another point, however, and several days after his arrival Troup rode out to The Grange, Hamilton's country-seat to remonstrate. ^ ' Hamilton, several years since, had bought a large tract of wooded land on Hariem Heights and built him \ house on the ridge. It commanded a view of the city, the Hud- son and the Sound. The house was spacious and strong built to withstand the winds of the Atlantic, and to sheltf; commodiously not only his family, but his many guests The garden and the woods were the one hobby of his life and with his own hands he had planted thirteen gum trees to commemorate the thirteen original Stales of the Union THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 505 Fortunately his deepest sorrow was not associated with this estate; Philip had fallen before the house was finished. This brilliant youth, who had left Columbia with flying honours, had brooded over the constant attacks upon his father, — still the Colossus in the path of the Democrats, to be destroyed before they could feel secure in their new possessions, — until he had deliberately insulted the most recent offender, received his challenge, and been shot to death close to the spot where Hamilton was to fall a few years later. That was in the autumn of 1 801. Hamilton's strong brain and buoyant temperament had delivered him from the intolerable suffering of that heaviest of his afflic- tions, and the severe and unremitting work of his life gave him little time to brood. If he rarely lost consciousness of his bereavement, the sharpness passed, and he was even grateful at times that his son, whose gifts would have urged him into public life, was spared the crucifying rewards of patriotism. As Troup rode up the avenue and glanced from right to left into the heavy shades of the forest, with its boulders and ravines, its streams and mosses and ferns, then to the brilliant mass of colour at the end of the avenue, out of which rose the stately house, he sighed heavily. " May the devil get the lot of them ! " he said. It was Saturday, and he found Hamilton on his back under a tree, the last number of the Moniteur close to his hand, his wife and Angelica looking down upon him from a rustic seat. Both the women were in mourning, and Betsey's piquant charming face was aging; her sister Peggy and her mother had followed her son. Hamilton had never recovered his health, and he paid for the prolonged strains upon his delicate system with a languor to which at times he was forced to yield. To-day, although he greeted the welcome visitor gaily, he did not rise, and Troup sat down on the ground with his back to the tree. As he looked very solemn, Mrs. Hamilton and Angelica inferred they were not wanted, and retired. " Well > " said Hamilton, laughing. " What is it >. What have I done now } " II ! I I Si ■ \ 5o6 THE CONQUEROR Put another nail into your coffin, we are all afraid. The story of the paper you read before the Federalist Conference in Albany is common talk ; and if Burr is defeated it will be owing to your influence, whether you hold yourself aloof from this election or not. Why do you jeopardize your Iife?^ I d rather give him his plum and choke him with " What .? " cried Hamilton, erect and alert. " Permit th"Jfh^ m'°T ^^Tc' °^ ^"^ ^'''^- 0° yo" '■ealize even .h. n^'"" ""^^'i ?^lf ^'^ ^^'^^"- °^ secession, that even the Democrats of the North are disgusted and alarmed at the influence and arrogance of Virginia ? Burr has a certain prestige in New England on account of his father and Jonathan Edwards, and his agents have been promot- ing discussion of this ancestry for some time past. Do the Federahsts of New York endorse him, this prestige will have received its fine finish; and New Engenders hrie winked his vices out of sight because Jefferson's leatment of him makes him almost virtuous in their eyes. The mo men he is Governor he will foment the unrest of N^w England until it secedes, and then, being the first officer of It'Tir^T''' "' ^'^ ^°^*^' ^^ ""» ^^^™ - higher office Bon. .*""! '" sovereignty. He fancies himself another Bonaparte, he who is utterly devoid of even that desire tor fame, and that magnificence, which would make the Corsican a great man without his genius. That he is in communication with his idol, I happen to know, for he has been seen in secret conversation with fresh Jacobin spies Now is the time to crush Burr once for all. Jefferson has mtngued the Livingstons and Clinton away from him again the party he patched together out of hating factions is in a state of mcohesion. If the Federals — " "That is just it," interrupted Troup; "the man is des pcrate. So are his followers, his ' little band.' Thev were sick and gasping after Burr's failure to receive one vote in he Republican caucus for even the Vice-Presidency and they know that the Louisiana Purchase has made j;ffer son invincible with the Democrats -or the RepubUcans as Jefferson still persists in calling them. They know that THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 507 Burr's chance for the Presidency has gone for ever. So rJ • u '' *^,M ' ?"^y ^°P^- Secession and empire or not, their hope, hke his, is in the spoils of office; they are lean and desperate. If you balk them — " " What a spectacle is this ! " cried Hamilton, gaily. He threw himself back on the grass, and clasped his hands behind his head. "Troup, of all men, reproaching me tor keeping a vow he once was ready to annihilate me for having broken. That offence was insignificant to the hisTesi ns"^'"^ permitting our CatiUne to accomplish "^^ }. ^?}i^ ^^^^^ with you. I should be the last to counsel indifference; no, not if your life were the forfeit. But I never believed in Burr's talent for conspiracy. He IS too sanguine and visionary. He desires power, office and emolument — rewards for his henchmen before they desert him; but I believe he'd go -or get -no farther, and the country is strong enough to stand a quack or two; while, if we lose you — " "You will live to see every prophecy I have made in regard CO Burr fulfilled. I will not, because so long as I am llive he shall not even attempt to split the Union, to whose ac comphshment and maintenance I pledged every faculty and my last vital spark. Sanguine and visionary he may be. r.",^ .'" l-"" u^'^'T^ ^""^ ^"•^^' ^""^ there is a condition ready to his hand at the present moment. Jefferson is bad enough, Heaven knows. T ■ ^ has retained our machin- fll'f } f.'^^'^times fancy : , hear the crumbling of nrL K^*'°'''' *^^ demor .: ^ and the disintegrating process began even sooner t. r expected. He is appeal- nf,>!Si cf "^«=^"?st passion 01 mankind, vanity; and the United States, which we tried to make the ideal Republic, IS galloping toward the most mischievous of all establish- wif ?'• ^f/"°^''^cy; Every cowherd hopes to be President. Pnli hJ!, / J'^'^T"^ °i ^^^"i^ation, pray, if the educated, enlightened broad-minded, are not to rule.? Is man per- mitted to advance progress, embellish his undei standing, for his own selfish benefit, or for the benefit of mankind? And how can his superiority avail his fellows unless he il h ri |i 5o8 THE CONQUEROR !^^T t be permitted to occupy the high offices of responsibility? God knows, he is not happy in his power ; he is, indeed, a sacrifice to the mass. But so it was intended. He is the only sufferer, and mankind is happier." "Jefferson and Burr both have a consummate know- ledge of the limited understanding; they know how to tickle it with painted straws and bait it with lies. Bona- parte is not a greater autocrat than Jefferson, but our tyrant fools the world with his dirty old clothes and his familiarities. But I am not to be diverted. I want to keep you for my old age. I believe that you have done your part. It has been a magnificent part ; there is no greater in history. Your friends are satisfied. So should you be. I want you to give up politics before it is too late. I fear more than one evil, and it has kept me awake many nights. Burr is not the only one who wishes you under ground. His 'little band' is composed of men who are worse than himself without one of his talents. Any one of them is capable of stabbing you in the dark. The Virginia Junta know that the Federalist party will exist as long as you do, and that some external menace might cohere and augment it again under your leadership. At every Federalist banquet last Fourth you were toasted as the greatest man in America ; and I know this undiminished enthusiasm — as well as the influence of the Evening Post — alarms them deeply. They are neither great enough nor bad enough to murder you, nor even to employ some- one to do it ; but more than one needy rascal knows that he has only to call you out and kill you according to the code, to be rewarded with an office as soon as decency permits. There is another menace. I suppose you have heard that Mrs. Croix married a Frenchman named Stephen Jumel while you were in Albany.'" " Yes! " e.xclaimed Hamilton, with interest; "who is he.'" " A Parisian diamond merchant and banker, a personal friend of Bonaparte. The belief is that he came over here as a special emissary of the Consulate. Of course he brought a letter to that other illustrious agent, and to the amazement of everybody he married her. They must THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 509 handle thousands of French money between them. France would be something more than glad to hear of your elimi- nation from this complicated American problem ; par- ticularly, if you demonstrate your power by crushing this last hope of Burr's. I doubt if Burr would call you out with no stronger motive than a desire for personal revenge He IS no fool, and he knows that if he kills you, he had better put a bullet through his own brain at once. He is a sanguine man, but not so sanguine as not to know that It he compassed your death, he would be hounded into exile. But he is m a more desperate way financially than ever. He can borrow no more, and his debtors are clam- ouring. If he is defeated in this election, and the Jumels are sharp enough to take advantage of his fury and despair, — I think she has been watching her chance for years ; and the talk is, she is anxious, for her own reasons to get nd of Burr, besides, — I believe that a large enough sum would tempt Burr to call you out — " " He certainly is hard up," interrupted Hamilton, " for he rang my front door bell at five o'clock this morning, and when I let him in he went on like a madman and begged me to let him have several thousands, or Richmond Hill would be sold over his head." " And you gave them to him, I suppose ? How much have you lent him altogether.? I know from Washington Morton that Burr borrowed six hundred dollars of vou through him." ^ " I lent him the six hundred, partly because his desper- ate plight appeals to me — I believe him to be the unhap- piest wretch in America — and more because I don't want Kurope laughing at the spectacle of a Vice-President of the United States in Debtor's prison. Of course I can't lend him this last sum myself, but I have promised to raise It for him. " Well, I argue with you no more about throwing away money Did you Hsten to what I said about Madame Jumel.' " With the deepest interest. It was most ingenious, and does honour to your imagination." ! m +1 5IO THE CONQUEROR Troup, with an angry exclamation, sprang to his feet. Hamilton deftly caught him by the ankle and his great form sprawled on the grass. He arose in wrath. " You are no older th: one of your own young ones ! " he began ; then recovered, and resumed his seat. " This is the latest story I have heard of you," he continued : " Some man from New England came here recently with a letter to you. When he returned to his rural home he was asked if he had seen the great man. ' I don't know about the great,' he replied ; ' but he was as playful as a kitten.' " Hamilton laughed heartily. " Well, let me frolic while I may," he said. " I shall die by Burr's hand, no doubt of that. Whether he kills me for revenge or money, that is my destiny, and I have known it for years. And it does not matter in the least, my dear Bob. I have not three years of life left in me." IX Burr was defeated by a majority of seven thousand votes ; and New England, which had hoped, with the help of a man who was at war with all the powerful families of New York, — Schuylers, Livingstons, and Clintons at the head of them, — to break down the oligarchy of which it had been jealous for nearly a century, deserted the politi- cian promptly. Incidentally, Hamilton had quenched its best hope of secession, for the elected Governor of New York, Judge Lewis, was a member of the Livingston fam- ily. Burr was in a desperate plight. Debtor's prison and disgrace yawned before him ; his only followers left were a handful of disappointed politicians, and these deserted him daily. But although his hatred of Hamilton, by now, was a foaming beast within him, he was wary and cool- headed, and history knows no better than he did that if he killed the man who was still the most brilliant figure in America, as well as the idol of the best men in it, cunning, and skill, and mastery of every political art would avail him nothing in the future ; every avenue but that frequented THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 5" by the rvo^'cd adventurer would be closed to him. More- over, he must have known that Hamilton's life was almost over, that in a very few years he could intrigue undisturbed. Nor could he have felt a keen interest in presenting to Jefferson so welcome a gift as his own political -^orpse. But, desperate for money, crushed to the earth, his hatred for Hamilton cursing and raging afresh, the only conspic- uous enemy who might be bought with gold of the man who was still a bristling rampart in the path of successful Jacobinism, he was in a situation to fall an easy victim to greater plotters than himself. His act, did he challenge Hamilton, would be ascribed to revenge, and the towering figures in the background of the tragedy would pass un- noticed by the horrified spectators in front. On June i8th William Van Ness, Burr's intimate friend, waited upon Hamilton with a studiously impertinent note, demanding an acknowledgment or denial of the essence of certain newspaper paragraphs, which stated that the leader of the Federalists had, upon various occasions, ex- pressed his low opinion of the New York politician, and in no measured terms. Hamilton replied, pointing out the impossibility of either acknowledging or denying an accu- sation so vague, and analyzed at length the weakness of Burr's position in endeavouring to pick a quarrel out of such raw material. He said, in conclusion : — I stand ready to avow or disavow promptly and explicitly any pre- cise or definite opinion which I may be charged with having declared of any gentleman. Afore than this cannot fitly be expected from me ; and especially, it cannot reasonably be expected that I shall enter into an explanation upon a basis so vague as that which you have adopted. I trust on more reflection you will see the matter in the .same light with me. If not 1 can only regret the circumstance and must abide the consequences. Hamilton foresaw the inevitable end, and commenced putting his affairs in order at once ; but, for both personal and abstract reasons, holding the practice of duelling in abhorrence, he was determined to give Burr any chance to retreat, consistent with his own self-respect. Burr replied in a manner both venomous and insulting, and Hamilton !' ' ' if M 5" THE CONQUEROR called upon Colonel Pendleton, General Greene's aide dur- ing the Revolution, and asked him to act as his second On the 23d he received a note from Van Ness, inquiring when and where it would be most convenient for him to receive a communication, and the correspondence there- after was conducted by the seconds. It was Sunday, and Hamilton was at The Grange, when the note from Van Ness arrived. He was swingfng Tn ? hami.:Gck and he put the missive in his pocket, shrugged his shoulders, and lifted himself on his elbow. His entire family, with the exception of his wife and Angelica, were shouting m the woods. The baby, a sturdy youngster of two named for the brother who had died shortly before his birth emerged in a state of fury. He had eightv-two years of vitality in him, and he roared like a young bull. Hamilton s children inherited the tough fibre and the Ion- ^,n- ^ a\ t'^^ Schuylers. Of the seven who sui^ived Mm all lived to old age, and several were close to being cente- narians. ° «-v.»ilc Angelica was busy in her aviary, close by. She was nou twenty, and one of the most beautiful girls in the country, but successive deaths had kept her in seclusion • and the world m which her parents were such familiar figures was to remember nothing of her but her tragedy. Betsey, still as slim as her daughter, ran from the house at the familiar roar, and Gouverneur Morris came dashing through the woods with a half-dozen guests, self-invited for dinner. It was an animated day, and Hamilton was the life of the company. He had no time for thought until night. His wife retired early, with a headache; the boys had subsided even earlier. At ten o'clock Angelica went to the piano, and Hamilton threw himself into a long chair """., c^ f.^'u^''^ ^""^ "^'^^P^^ ^'^ '^^"ds behind his head So, he thought, "the end has come. My work is over I suppose. Personally. I am of no account. All I would have demanded, by way of reward for services faithfully executed, was the health to make a decent liv- mg and ten or fifteen years of peaceful and uninterrupted intimacy with my family. For fame, or public honours, THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GLANTS 513 or brilliant successes of any sort, I have ceased to care Nothing would tempt me to touch the reins of public life again unless in the event of a revolution. I believe I have crushed that possibility with this election ; other- wise, I doubt if my knell would have sounded. On the bare possibility that such is not the case, and that my usefulness may not be neutralized by public doubt of my courage, I must accept this challenge, whether or not I have sufficient moral courage to refuse it. I believe I have ; but that is neither here nor there, and I shall fall Should I survive, the sole reason would be danger ahead For the last two years I have felt myself moving steadily deathward. By this abrupt exit I but anticipate the inevi- table a year or two, and doubtless it seems to the destiny that controls my affairs as the, swiftest way to dispose of Burr, and awaken the country to the other dangers that menace it. To the last I am but a tool. No man was ever so httle his own master, so thrust upon a planet for the accomplishment of public and impersonal ends alone I have been permitted a certain amount of domestic felicity as my strength was best conserved thereby, my mind free to concentrate upon public duties. I was endowed with the gift of fascination, that men should follow me without question, and this country be served with immediate effec- tiveness. I have received deep and profound satisfaction trom both these concessions, but it would not matter in the least if I had not. They were inevitable with the equip- ment for the part I had to play. I have had an astonish- mg and conquering career against the mightiest obstacles, and I may, as a further concession, be permitted an endur- ing place in history ; but that, also, is by the way. I con- quered, not to gratify my love of power and to win immortal fame, but that I might accomplish the part for which I was whirled here from an almost inaccessible island fifteen hundred miles away — to play my part in the creation of this American empire. It has been a great part, creatively the greatest part. The proof that no native-born American could have played it lies in the fact that he did not. The greatest of her men have abetted me ; not one has sought 2L lii ! i I! !»; if SM THE CONQUEROR to push me aside and do my work. My only enemies have been those who would pull my structure down; the most ambitious and individual men in the Union, of the higher sort, are my willing followers. To win them I never plotted, nor did I ever seek to dazzle and blind them. Part of my equipment was the power to convince them without effort of my superior usefulness ; there was no time to lose. I am nothing but a genius, encased in such human form as would best serve its purpose ; an atom of the vast crea- tive Being beyond the Universe, loaned for an infinitesimal part of time to the excrescence calling itself The United States of North America, on the dot called Earth. Now the part is played, and I am to be withdrawn. That my human heart is torn with insupportable anguish, matters not at all. I leave that behind." Hamilton had been bred in the orthodox religion of his time, and its picturesqueness, including its ultimates of heaven and hell, had taken firm hold of his ardent imagi- nation. Ikit in his cosmic moments the formulations of this planet played no part. " I have not even a mother-country," he thought. " I am a parent, not a child. My patriotism has been that of a tigress for her young, not of a man for his fatherland. God knows I am willing, and always have been, to die for this country, which is so much my own, but why — why — need I have been made so human > Could I not have understood men as well.? Could I not have performed my various part without loving my wife and children, my friends, with the deepest tenderness and passion of which the human heart is capable ? Then I would go without a pang, for I am tired, and death would be a relief. But, since all humanity was forced into me, why should not I, now that I have faithfully done my part, be permitted a few years of happiness by my hearthstone .' " He raised his hands as if to shut out the cold high stars. He had had few bitter moments since the night, four years before, when he had deliberately exorcised bitterness and hate ; and that mellowness had come to him which came to his great rivals in their old age. But to-night he let THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GLINTS 5,5 the deeps rise. He ached with human wants, and he was bidden to work out his last act of service to the country for whose sole use he had been sent to Earth. He dropped his hands and stared at the worlds above " Must I go on ? " he thought. " Is that it .' Does other work await me elsewhere ? Has the Almighty detached from himself a few creative egos, who go from world to world and do their part ; removed the day their usefulness is oyer, that they shall not dissipate their energy, nor live until men regard with slighting wonder the work of the useless old creature in their midst, withdraw from it their first reverence > I go in the fulness of my maturity and the high tide of respect and affection ; I go in the dramatic manner of my advent, and my work will be a sacred thing • — even my enemies will not dare to pull it down until such time as they are calm enough to see it as it is ; and then the desire will have passed. Doubtless all things are best and right. . . . Maturity > I feel as old as time and as vounc as laughter." •' ° He .sat up suddenly and bent his head. Millions of tiny bells were ringing thrc-h the forest. So low, so golden so remote they soundct], that they might have hung in the stars above or in the deeps of the earth. He listened so intently for a moment that life seemed suspended, and he saw neither the cool dark forest nor the silver ripple of the Hudson, but a torn and desolate land, and a gravestone at his feet. Then he passed his hand over his forehead with a long breath, and went softly into the drawing-room. Angehca sat at the piano, with her head thrown back her long fair hair hanging to the floor. Her dark eyes were blank, but her fingers shook from the keys the ni,,sic of a Tropic night. It was a music that Hamilton not sent a thought after since the day he landed in America thirty-one years ago. It had come to her, with other memories, by direct inheritance. He went to the dining room hastily and pcured out a glass of wine. When he returned, Angelica, as h< ex- pected, was half lying ;n a chair, white and limp. " Drink this," he said, in the bright peremptory manner r 5i6 THE CONQUEROR to which his children were accustome'i. " I think you arc not strong enough yet to indulge in composition. You have grown too fast, and creation needs a great deal of physical vigour. Now run to bed, and forget that you can play a note." Angelica sipped the wine obedientlv. sxvA bade him good night. As she toiled up the stairs s'lc m: yed for the physical strength that would permit her to b f im jted lor ihe honuur of on a bottle of smc " Pray go on 1 u w this visit > " Madame Ju el ro nd «!wept room twice. Cant be.irythi blood?" thr It Ha ton. n equally dists j^uished ^ ^g. 'r p and down the long : in that tale of royal in that other tale of She had pa sed with her . ick to hii; fa •' g one of the bookcases. "Classics, ci ucs, classics ! " she exc aimed, in a voice which grew stc Jier as she proceeded. " That was the only taste we d;d not s .re. Don Quixote in Spanish, Dar-; and Alficri in Italian; and all the German brutes. Ah! Voltaire '^ouss ! What superb editions! No H ■ 4 5i8 THE CONQUEROR one can bind but the French. And the dear old Moniteur — all bound for posterity, which will never look at it " She returned and stood before him, and she was quite composed. 4"»»-c wn'l^hfr ^Z ^t" y.°"'r ^"^^ '^'^' "*h^^ ^hen you die, it n 1?J ^ ^ u*^ °^ "^y ^^P"*y- I t^" yo" because of me^' ""'" ^°"'' '^'' ^^''^'y ^^"^"^ht shall be t\^\S''''tr ^^f'^'^'^-ioujours! Why are you doing this? he asked curiously. "You no longer love me and your hate should have worn out long since " I m.^nin^ ""^1^.^*^ T' 'Vy '°^e has ceased for a second. I married Jumel for these jewels, for the courts of Europe cannot take from me again. But I would fly with you to-morrow, and live with you in a hole under ground.^ I came to make no such proposal, however; I know that you would sacrifice even your family to your honour, and everything else in life to them. For years I waited hon ing that you would suddenly come back to me. hating yo^u and injuring you in every way my Jacobinism could devise but ready to wipe your shoes with my hair the moment you appeared. Now the hard work of your life STven You look forward to years of happiness with your family on this beautiful estate, while I am married to a silly old Frenchman - who, however, has brought me my final means of revenge. I know you well. You would rather be altve aTh T w" u ^""^ ^'T^^ y^"'" "^^- ^^"' y^" shall go And I would pray, if that were my habit, that into thfse last days you may condense all the agonies of parring frtheleXrionryt^s.^'.'^^^ ^^'^^ ^"^ ^^^^ ^^-"^' .nffii''lr^"°'^' ^ ^^^^ ^'^l^'^y regretted that you should suffer for my passions. And, if it is any satisfaction to you I go unwilhngly, and the parting will be very bitter " She drew a sharp breath, and flung her head about ;• One canno triumph over you ! " she ?ried. " Why was I such a fool as to come here to-night.? My imagination would have served me better." ^ imagination THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 519 •'Is it French money ? " asked Hamilton. sumra;H ,-L\i^^°"^ T- ^f P°"sible. We handle immense sunis and Its disposal is left to our discretion. This will be distasteful neither to France nor Virginia. - 1 suppose I may have Louisiana, if I want it! -but I am r 'man's agent in this matter." >• 1 ^°" ^^^'- ^°^^^ ™^?" «he asked Hamilton turned away his head. " Yes," he said. "Ymf .r^^![ f 1°"^^ shivering breath. "Ah!" she said, sil ?n von ^5f^^/^f °^ oi yourself. You have no pas- kwels into th^ ^^'' Z^"^- ^' y°" ^^^' I ^°"ld fling these jewels into the river, and live with you until vou died in ZS.-^r '""y '^^^ ^' ^ monster,Tyriike bi" yo^u^shall die knowing that your wife does not love you as Hamilton leaned forward and dried her tears. "Say pafto'fleniur "'' ^'^ ^^^'^ '^^ audacity was ever J " Yes," he said grimly, " I forgive you. You and Bona- M' IS 520 THE CONQUEROR hSon T^^^ magnificent products of the French Revo- lution. I am sorry you are not more of a philosopher but so far as I alone am concerned, I regret nothing ''' '' Uh, men! she exclaimed, with scorn. «'Thev are always philosophers when they are no longer i? love with a woman. But you will give me your last con scious moment.?" ^ ^^^' "No," he said deliberately, " I shall not." bhe sprang to her feet. "You willi Thank vn„ f«, saying that, though ! I was about to grovelaTUr feet Take me to my coach ! What a fool I las to come here'" She seized her pelisse, and wound it about her as she ran down the hall. Hamilton followed, insisting that she gite him time to awaken a servant. But she would not hf ed to L^r^v'^r'^ ^"'° ^^' ^°^^^' ^"d called to the driver to gallop his horses, unless he wished to lose his nlace on the morrow. Hamilton stood on the porch IstenLrto the wild flight down the rough hill through the ofest fnd h.T^' T^'""^!^' '° '°"S as he could hear anytMng "TK 'l"^h^ suddenly and entered the house. ^"y'"'°^' 1 he high farce of tragedy," he thoueht '« PrnhaKUr , m„squ,^^v,i„ settle on Bu^r'^'nose as°hf fes. and myfe The challenge was delivered on Wednesdav Ham{if«« refused to withdraw his services from h fdienST h^ w^ltlnLd^r^H^^"^^' ^"' ^^'y mh, a fot^2^t"ate, busv w?th fh. *^^ "'^?*'"^- ^^^" Hamilton was noi ?h!^. u ^ important interests confided to him bv his dients he arranged his own affairs, and drew u^a doci! Te s ated ff ^h";.'" •''^- T"^ °^ ^^^ death"'in whTch ?5 ill u ' J^^ ^^d criticised Burr freely for Vears but added that he bore him no ill-will, that hisVppoSn had were eme^^iT'T '• ^^'y.' '^^' ^^^ impresE o? Bu„ were entertained with sincerity, and had been uttered with SeSl^^^He rn'P'^'^"!;^^' ^PP^^^^^ '' him^etf com mendable. He announced his intention to throw away his THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 5,, with public prefudice i/thls paXulai " """ " ""f™"/ her and «ai;,H h "' '''""' "»' ^^e was, insulted first conditioSvvSs as strL-n^^ visible divergence from •unions vvas as striking as, no doubt, it was natural. 522 THE CONQUFROR As the grandson of Jonathan Edw ards, the son of the Rev erend Aaron Burr, and reared bv relatives of that same morbid, hideous, unhuman schjoi of early New England theology It only needed a wayward nature in addition to bram and spirit to send him flying on his own tangent as soon as he was old enough to think. After that his con- genital selfishness did the rest. For a time he climbed the hill of prizes very steadily, taking, once in a way, a flight swift as an arrow : in addition to great ability at the bar' and a cunning which rose to the dignity of a talent, he was handsome, magnetic, well-bred, and polished, studied women with the precision of a vivisectionist, assumed emotions and impulses he could not feel with such dexterity that even men yielded to his fascination until they plumbed him • had m fact many of the fleeting kindly instincts to which every mortal is subject who is made of flesh and blood, or comes of a stock that has been bred to certain ideals Every wretch has a modicum of good in him, and in spite of the preponderance of evil in Burr, had he been born under kindly Southern skies with a gold spoon in his mouth If, when ambitions developed, he had had but to stretch out his hand to pluck ihe prizes of life, instead of exercis- mg the basest talents of his brain to overreach more fortu- nate men, why it is possible that his nature might not have hardened into a glacier: its visible third dazzling and sym- metrical, its deadly bulk skulking below the surface of the waters which divided the two parts of him from his vic- tims; might have died in the chaste reciusion of an an- cestra four-poster, beneficiaries at his side. But that immalleable mind lacked the strong fibre of logic and fore- sight— which IS all that moral force amounts to — that lifts a man triumphant above his worst temptations: and he paid the bitter and hideous penalty in a poverty, lone- mes.s, and living death that would have moved the theo- logians of his blood to the uneasy suspicion that punishment IS ot this earth, a logical sequence of foolish and short- sighted acts. Both men and women are allowed a great latitude in this world; they have little to complain of. It is only when the brain fails in its part, or the c>-ar. THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 523 fhlVfi' .^'^^"t^/y undermined by lying and dishonour, that the inevitable sequence is some act which arouses the indignation of society or jerks down the iron fist of the law )^H^nn'■^•^^'^'^" '^°p"' ^' '^'^ ^''^ f^^ Waitings: thv with tL r" P'°r u^,' ^"i ^^""^^^' ^^°^" his sympa- thy with the Conway Cabal to his desperate old age/there Wh'.r W' °f, I'J^^kguardism that he did nft touch Whether Madame Jumel spoke the truth or not to Hamil- ton on that night of their last interview, it was entirely in keeping with his hfe and character that he should kill for On the Fourth of July, the Society of the Cincinnati gave Its annual dinner. This society, then the most dis tmguished in the Union, and membered by men who hTd fought m the War of Independence, had, ipon the death of Washington, their first President, elected Hamilton to the vacant office. He presided at this banquet, and never t Prt'^"^ "u' ?^^ ^^PP'^^- Not only did that pecul- lai exaltation which precedes certain death possess him fini rr ff ^'u- ""^".^^ "'^"^^ ^'^d ^'•ai" in a like condi! rZU^^ • Ph'^?S0Phy ^hich had been born in him and dPrAn^ imagination through life, had shrugged its shoul- ders and accepted the inevitable. Hamilton knew that his death warrant had been signed above, and he no longer experienced a regret, although he had often felt depressed and l^r^V ^"•^•f ^^^^'^ *° ^° *° *he courts of Sbany f^^tT ^u- ^^"^-^y ^^^^"^ him. He had lost interest in his body ; his spint. ever, by far. the strongest and the dominant part of him. seemed already struggling for its triumoh' '?h^'"' '"1?'"''^ ^f, '' approached ?ts La ^TX 7^'? '^ ""'^/l^^ ^" ^" "fe so selfish as death: n? .Iw^'S « ^^ -fS" "^^'^h genius breeds or is bred out nen nitlh ."?T''*°" ^''^^ "^^""^ completely than immi- nent death isolates most men. The while he gave everv TnT^effa^re TJ' T'f 1° P.'^""'"^ ^^e futufe coS fh.J!l u *"'! ^^^'1^' he felt as if he had already bade hem farewell, and wondered when and how he should meet I 524 THE CONQUEROR At this gathering he was so gay and sportive that he in- fected the great company, and it was the most hilarious ban- quet in the society's history. The old warriors sighed, and wondered at his eternal youth. When he sprang upon the table and sang his old camp-song, " The Drum," he looked the boy they remembered at Valley Forge and Morristown. There was only one member of the company who was un- electrified by the gay abandon of the evening, and his sombre appearance was so marked in contrast that it was widely commented on afterward. Burr frequently leaned forward and stared at Hamilton in amazement. As the hilarity waxed, his taciturnity deepened, and he finally with- drew. ^ The secret was well kept. Few knew of the projected meeting, and none suspected it, although Burr's pistol practice aroused some curiosity. He had been a princi- pal in a number of duels, and killed no one. But he was known to have more than one bitter score to pay, for this last campaign had exceeded every other in heat and fury. So many duels had studded it, and so many more impended, that the thinking men of the community were roused to a deep disapproval of the custom. The excitement and hor- ror over the sacrifice of Hamilton, full-blew this sentiment. On Saturday, Hamilton gave a dinner at the Grange, and a guest was one of Washington's first aides. Colonel Trumbull. As he was leaving, Hamilton took him aside and said, with an emphasis which impressed Trumbull even at the moment : " You are going to Boston. You will see the principal men there. Tell them from me, as my re- quest, for God's sake to cease these conversations and threatings about a separation of the Union. It must hang together as long as it can be made to. If this Union were to be broken, it would break my heart." The following day preceded the duel. Hamilton at- tended an entertainment given by Oliver Wolcott, whose fortunes he had made, raising the capital of a business that could be presided over by no one so well as a former Secretary of the Treasury. It was a large reception, and he met many of his old friends. Lady Kitty Duer, wid- THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 525 owed, but pleasantly circumstanced, was there, and Kitty Livingston, once more bearing her old name in a second marnage. Bitter as the feeling between her house and Hamilton still was, she had declared long since that she would not cut him again; and although they never met in private they often retired to a secluded corner at gather- ings and talked for an hour. His first reason for attend- '^/a 'l^^^Pt'on was to shake her hand as they parted Madame Jumel was there, paling the loveliness of even the young daughters of Mrs. Jay and Lady Kitty Duer Those who did not mob about Hamilton surrounded her. and although her cheek was without colour, she looked serene and scornful. Tr^f'^'" -f-u- TJ^^Pt^on Hamilton spent an hour with 1 roup. This oldest of his friends, and Angelica, were the only people whose suspicion he feared. Troup was quite capable of wnnging Burr's neck, and his daughter of taking sonie other desperate measure. But it was long now since he had given Angelica reason for anxiety, and she had ceased to watch him ; and to-day, Troup, whom he had avoided hi herto, was treated to such a flow of spirits In ill ?? .°S^^ suspected nothing, but allowed himself to hope that Hamilton's health was mending. Hamilton fZ.T Tk ^°'^ ^\' '^^"^ '°"g^^ 'h^" "«"al at part" mg, although he longed to embrace him That night, in the late seclusion of his library, Hamilton wrote two letters to his wife, in one of which he recom mended Mrs Mitchell to her care; then the JollowingTo Sedgwick, still a close friend, and probably the most influ- ential man in New England : — New York. July loth, 1804. Mv Dear Sir : I have received two letters from you since we May''" have had "o^iandl *'' ''*n* ""''' i'^'"^ '""^ tJ°nty-fourth;f „„^L • r 1. °" "^"'^ ^°^ ^^"^^ *"ne a long letter to vou. exolain- ng my view of the course and tendency of our politics and mJXen are'fharoUnrt'^'^'r'"^*-- ^"' "^yP^-^eZrSXgt\ range, that, owmg to much avocation, some indifferent health and a Gr'!fnist!f''r^°\P'^?"' '^' '^"^^ '^ ^^i" consTderaSy short of being finished. I write this now to satisfy you that want of rerard for you has not been the cause of my silence. ^ 'i, . 526 THE CONQUEROR I will here express but one sentin.ent, which is, that of our EMPIRE will be a clear sacrifice of great positive out any counterbalancing good ; administering no disease, which is democracv ; the poison of which, will only be the more concentrated in each part, and more virulent. King is on his way to Boston where y see him, and hear from himself his sentiments. God DISMEMBERMENT advantages, with- relief to our real by a subdivision, consequently the ou may chance to bless you. A. H. As he folded and sealed the letter he suddenly realized that the act was the final touch to the order of his earthly affairs, and he lifted his hand as though to see if it were still alive. " To-morrow night ! " he thought. " Well, now that the hour has come, I go willingly enough. I have been permitted to live my life; why should I murmur .> There has been sufficient crowded into my forty-seven years to ^over a century. I have been permitted to pla* a great t in history, to patch together a nation out of broken i.mbs and inform it with a brain. It is right that I should regard myself in this final hour as a statesman and nothing more, and that I should go without protest, now that I have no more to do. I can only be deeply and profoundly thankful that out of three millions of Amer- icans I was selected, that I have conquered in spite of all obstacles, and remained until I have nothing more to give It IS entirely right and fitting that I should die as I have lived, m the service of this country. Only a sacrifice can bring these distracted States to reason and eliminate the man most dangerous to their peace. If I have been chosen for this great part, I should be unworthy indeed if I rebelled." XI Hamilton crossed the river to Weehawken at seven the next morning. He was accompanied by Pendleton, and his surgeon, Dr. Hosack. It was already very hot. The river and the woods of the Jersey palisades were dim under a sultry blue haze. There was a swell on the river, and Pendleton was very sick. Hfmilton held his head with some humour, then pointed out the great beauty of THE LAST BATFLE OF THE GIANTS 5»7 distract the the Hudson and its high rugged banks, to unhappy second's mind. "The majesty of this river," he said, "its suggestion of a vast wild country almost unknown to the older dv^Hza tions, and yet peopled with the unembodied spirits of a new and mighty race, quicked my unborn patriot mun^ consciously nourished it until its delivery in Boston '' It would have curdled mine," said Pendleton. " "Who knows -If you had been of a bilious temperament the face of our history might wear a pug nose^nd a weak Hamilton laughed. "It never could have done that whi e Washington's profile was stamped on the p'opuh fancy. But lesser causes than seasickness have^ deter- f^l f f .•?'" T ^^'■^'''- ^^'■h^P^ to my immunity I owe the fact that I am not a book-worm on St. Croix If I had even once felt as you did just now, my dear Pendleton I should never have set sail for America " ^^^^^eton, "Thank God!" said Pendleton. They were beachtnfr A moment later he and Hamilton had climbed to the ledge where Burr and Vam Ness awaited them. It was the co?e of a hick grove, secluded from the opposite shore and from the high summit of the great palisade. Hamilton and Burr nodded pleasantly. The men were dressed in the silken finery of their time, and loXd like a pleasuring quartette in that green and lovely spot Through leafy windows they saw the blue Hudson the The'L^i ";^"°r-ho"«e«. the young city, on the Island, it asidT ^ ^^ '°'^ ^"^ Hamilton, but he commanded Pendleton had the choice of position and was to give the word. He h . brought with him John Church's^lto s flight of Churcu to America. Since then, they had been used in his duel with Burr and by Philip Hamilton. him ff h " V, ,T^ °^ J^^ P^'*°^' *° Hamilton, and asked him if he should set the hair-spring "No not this time," said Hamilton. Pendleton gave the word. Burr raised his arm, deliber- I 5»8 THE CONQUEROR 'j.^ ■fl ately took aim, and fired. Hamilton lifted himself me- chanically to the tips of his feet, turned sideways, and fell on his face. His pistol went off, and Pendleton's eye mvoluntanly followed the direction of the ball, which sev- ered a leaf in its flight. Often afterward he spoke of the impression the cloven leaf made on him, a second of dis- traction at which he caught eagerly before he bent over Hamilton. Hosack scrambled up the bank, and Burr covered with an umbrella by Van Ness, hastily withdrew Hamilton was half sitting, encircled by Pendleton's arm when the surgeon reached the spot. His face was gray. He muttered "This is a mortal wound," then lost con- sciousness. Hosack ascertained, after a slight examina- tion, that the ball was in a vital part, and for a few moments he thought that Hamilton was dead ; he did not breathe, nor was any motion of heart or pulse perceptible. With Pendleton's assistance, Hosack carried him down the bank and placed him in the barge. William Bayard had offered his house m case of disaster, and the boat was pro- pelled over to the foot of Grand Street as rapidly as pos- sible. Before reaching the shore the surgeon succeeded m reviving Hamilton, who suddenly opened his eyes. My vision IS indistinct," he said. In a moment it grew stronger, and his eye fell on the case of pistols. His own was lying on the top. '• Take care of that pistol." he said. ti, Vt%"? ?^'^^^ ^""^ ^^'" ^o^'^e^- Tendleton knows that I did not intend to fire at him." He closed his eyes, and said nothing further except to enquire the state of his pulse, and to remark that his lower extremities had lost all teelmg. As the boat reached the pier, he directed that his wife and children be sent for at once, and that hope be given them. Bayard was standing on the shore in a state of violent agitation. It was in these pleasant grounds of ?Jf .u 4^ ^'f.^* ^^"."1"^* ^""^ b^^" g'ven to Hamilton after the Federalists had celebrated their leader's victory at Poughkeepsie, and he had been his friend and supporter during the sixteen years th.t had followed. Hamilton was placed in bed on the lower floor of Ba- yard s house ; and, in spite of the laudanum that was liber- THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 5,9 but his wife could not be ken? f rnn, h' ^°°"iJ«^«<«"e time, ing of the duel, but she saw thaTh^""- 5^^ ^""^ "°»h- T^e tr "^^^^^^^^ ilton's eyes were cloLd Wh ^"^^'^ ^'^"^^^ '"• "a'"- dren we?e biside hSbed TaIJ"^ T' '°'^ '^^^ ^^'^ ^^il. In those moments he forgot e^^^^^^ '' °"^^- partmg^ Finally, he lifThis Tea'vy e/elid" The'cW °' Closed his Ve;r;did"n\r?p:„Tem^^^^^^^ ^^ oTtSys faints ^^"^^^^ ^^ iSlTrort'hVrm^r^i anI&y^o"rpti:io'n"^ \" i^^^ ^--d itself, little group. He onS m'c ^"«^??f ^^^ not stood in that hesaiJkn^elirie:^^^^^^^ gray^and shrunken, her lyes fufrVtstSmeS ^n^d^ " Yes '^sai&iU^''"T.'^ ^''■" '^^ ^'^^^ him. or counselTubS."- "' "'' *°° ^^^^-^^^'^ ^° console the l^rdl'untifLr'Sli- .'"^^ ^^^ ' " ^he reiterated ilton was insensiWe for ?h. ""^^^ '" ^ "^"'"b'^- "am- ments which "wti iidJ^ orthI'° '^' P^>'^^^^^ *°^- watched her changed Lcewith.n ''"u'' ^^^^"' ^"^ mercifuUv his S ^ ? ^" apprehension, which. laudanum^^o formuhte knl°H '°"^;;!f ^ ^y P^'" ^"^ foot-board with s^hf^Veethif the 'h''^^""^^^ ?"PuP^^ *^^ expanded with horror onTv In?! ^"^ '^°°''' ^^^ ^^es cracked above her neck ^tk ^u ^'^'^^.''^^ ^« ^^ ^ ^hip laughed alo^ul and"rtouT'oT tt room"'^"^' -^^^^ the moment, was in the throet)tTxS.ciSrnT'^^^^^^^^ 530 THE CONQUEROR J^ and was spared this final agony in his harsh and untimely death. Angelica was hurried from the house to a privi.- asylum. She lived to be seventy-eight, but she never re- covered her reason. Meanwhile, the grounds ..ithout were crowded with the friends of the dying man,— many of them old soldiers,— who stood through the night awaiting the end. Busi- ness in New York was entirely suspended. The popu- lace had arisen in fury at the first announcement on the bulletin boards, and Burr was in hiding lest he be torn to pieces. Hamilton slept little, and talked to his wife whenever he succeeded in calming her. Her mental sufferings nearly deprived her of health and reason ; but she lived a half a century longer, attaining the great age of ninety-seven. It was a sheltered and placid old age. warm with much devotion ; her mind remained firm until the end. Dili the time come when she thought of Hamilton as one of the buried children of her youth .' Troup, Fish, Wolcott, Gouverneur Morris, Rums King, Bayard, Matthew Clarkson, some twenty of Hamilton's old friends, were admitted to the death room for a moment. He could not speak, but he smiled faintly. Then his eyes wandered to the space behind them. He fancied he saw the shadowy forms of the many friends who had preceded him : Laurens, Tilghman, Harrison, Greene, Andre, Ster- ling, Duane, Duer, Steuben, — Washington. They looked at him as affectionately as the living, but without tears or the rigid features of extremest grief. It is a terrible expres- sion to see on the faces of men long intimate with life, and Hamilton closed his eyes, withdrawing his last glance from Morris and Troup. Of whom did Hamilton think in those final moments > Not of Eliza Croix, we may be sure. Her hold had been too superficial. Perhaps not even of Elizabeth Schuyler, although he had loved her long and deeply. What more probable than that his last hour was filled with a profound consciousness of the isolation in which his soul had passed its mortal tarrying ? Surrounded, worshipped, counting more THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 53, intimate friends sincerely loved than an V m,» /u • gay, convivial, tooactive for molJi^ K ."'^" °^ ^^^ ^'"^e, mortal could ^ve? have stoL ^^ ^T^^ '.'^ '"t'-««Pection. no ilton. Whether or not h. T- ""'"^ ^'^"^' ^^^" ^^^■ commonplace beinff is aware of 7h,f ^' }^ ^^^ '""s* separate'cxistencetn hisbr^n and l ikl^tot'' H '^^ ''' on earth; and those who think realtl-ilinlK-?? °^' ' ^^° with another Hamilton «,;.i. I mability to mingle sounded depths m^hJif u' u^"".'"'^^ ^'^»«' his un- end with more composure ^^''' ""^ "^^" ^^ '"^t ^s He died at two o'clock in the afternoon. XII fromHtrn^ffcrTniinu^^^^^ his spirit. His features hVHr1[-'' '^' """'y '"^P'^^^ ^'th repos^thebafcce,^^^^^ balls as he lav in hk rSI ^'"?, ^^'■*'"^'^ Wintered eye- House of HaX.i CVt'dir:ct'and''\''r ^^ '^^ — through the fortunate InHf ^^ ""broken descent centuries^- from the G^e^t^ir'.^' ^".^ "'"^^"^^ ^^ ^he donian," foun^r of a JylJv 0?"^ ^^T "T^e Mace- from the first of the R„cc; ^ Roman Emperors, and history grea sp rits^had " 'Iir'''.'^?- "TJ^roughout that hewed the founStions If - »^ ^*™^ '° '^'"^• What long-withSrawn creator, K^S°'^' ^"^ disappeared ally begotfen brlinT Sfd ^^h'se ^eTmaV'" ^^P^'^"" whose very granite tombs were duTreturn tn% .S'^PJ'"' their immortal energies were in,^ i. j *° ^^"^^ when a nation in .r^bnlT Z^rrttTi The"' ^'°"' '^ ^mo,t unl,„n,an gift f„. i„,piri„g c::^^,^^'^^ 53« THE CONQUEROR the moment he first showed his boyish face to the mul- titude ; for triumphing to his many goals as if jagged ramparts had been grass under his feet. He had been the brain of the American army in his boyhood ; he had con- ceived an empire in his young twenties; he had poured his genius into a sickly infant, and set it, a young giant, on its legs, when he was long under twoscore. Almost all things had come to him by intuition, for he had lived in advance of much knowledge. He communicated these thoughts to Troup, who left the room with him, his head bent, his arms hanging listlessly. " He might have come in some less human form," added Morris, bitterly, " This is the worst time of my life. I am not ashamed to say I've cried my eyes out." " I have cried my heart out," said Troup. The funeral took place from the house of John Church, in Robinson Street, near the upper Park. Express messen- gers had dashed out from New York the moment Hamilton breathed his last, and every city tolled its bells as it re- ceived the news. People flocked into the streets, weeping and indignant to the point of fury. Washington's death had been followed by sadness and grief, but was unac- companied by anger, and a loud desire for vengeance. Moreover, Hamilton was still a young man. Few knew of his feeble health ; and that dauntless resourceful figure dwelt in the high light of the public imagination, ever ready to deliver the young country in its many times of peril. His death was lamented as a national calamity. On the day of the f vtneral. New York was black. Every place of business was closed. The world was in the win- dows, on the housetops, on the pavements of the streets through which the cortege was to pass : Robinson, Beek- man, Peal, and Broadway to Trinity Church. Those who were to walk in the funeral procession waited, the Sixth Regiment, with the colours and music of the several corps, paraded, in Robinson Street, until the standard of the Cincin- nati, shrouded in crepe, was waved before the open door of Mr. Church's house. The regiment immediately halted and rested on its reversed arms, until the bier had been carried THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 53, The Military Corps oi ii.— Cler^ of all Denominations The Body of Hamilton The General's Horse The Family Physicians mourata?) ' ^ "x" """w" « la. (in d«p Miliiia'o/Jcera of satef^ " '^""'S" •'''""» £^^<'cS^^^'^^^' -P««v. Bank, ^S,t!'^'' "-"-". -<• SW..., „, c„,„„,bi. The different Societies On I T" " ^'"'^' "^""^^ ^'''^ P-*^-^ 0' Bu. and s^urwl^^^^^^^^^^^ sword. His boots charger, caparisoned Inrn'oirinS^^ar^ ?^ '"^ ^'"^y servants, dressed in whUe Sf .7^k ^^"^ ^^ ^^° ^^^ack black. '^"■^^' ^heir turbans trimmed with arms^'thTtfnTplayrg '.rLe De.tf}' ^^ ^^^^ ^^^"'ng ute guns from the Artfllerv in^S P^r^ '" S^"''" '"in- British and French wSps i„,h^^^,^ \"s^ered by the the solemn music, its still mTrt f i ^^^rbour. But for tolling of muffled bells and the hi?" f^<^°'"Paniment. the there was no sound U„wo„^^^n? '"^1^ °^ "^^"^ ^^^t- either controlled theinse^es or werelo" ^^''"""^^ ^^^^^ way to superficial emotion When thl . '"'P'-^.^s^d to give long march reached Trinity ^^^^S^^^^^^ 534 THE CONQUEROR two columns, extending from the gate to the corners of Wall Street, and the bier was deposited before the entrance. Morris, rurrounded by Hamilton's boys, stood over it, and delivered the most impassioned address which had ever leapt from that brilliant but erratic mind. It was brief, both because he hardly was able to control himself, and because he feared to incite the people to violence, but it was pro- foundly moving. " He never lost sight of your interests ! " he reiterated ; " I declare to you before that God in whose presence we are now so especially assembled, that in his most private and confidential conversations, his sole subject of discussion was your freedom and happiness. Although he was compelled to abandon public life, never for a mo- ment did he abandon the public service. He never lost sight of your interests. For himself he feared nothing ; but he feared that bad men might, by false professions, acquire your confidence and abuse it to your ruin. He was ambitious only of glory, but he was deeply solicitous for you ■' The troops formed an extensive hollow square in the churchyard, and terminated the solemnities with three volleys over the coffin in its grave. The immense throng, white, still aghast, and unreconciled, dispersed. The bells tolled until sundown. The city and the people wore mourn- ing for a month, the bar for six weeks. In due time the leading men of the parish decided upon the monument which should mark to future generations the cold and narrow home of him who had been so warm in life, loving as few men had loved, exulted in the wide greatness of the emphre he had created. It bears this inscription : — THE LAST BATTLE OF THE GIANTS 535 TO THE MEMORY OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON THE CORPORATION OF TRINITY HAVE ERECTED THB MONUMENT IN TESTIMONY OF THEIR RESPECT FOR THE PATRIOT OF INCORRUPTIBLE INTEGRITY THE SOLDIER OF APPROVED VALOUR THE STATESMAN OF CONSUMMATE WISDOM WHOSE TALENTS AND VIRTUES WILL BE ADMIRED BY GRATEFUL POSTERITY WNG AFTER THIS MARBLE SHALL HAVE MOULDERED TO DUST HE DIED JULY I2TH 1804, AGED 47 •■•*li,«r:-i»tf NOTES Page xi. Page 3. "Nevis" is pronounced Nee vis. negrohamlet^nlnSSS SSl'^'SabiS «|"^°« ^o-d-y but a descendants of slaves beSne to H^m l^on- "^' ^1°'"^ ^ '^""^t, the government records of Levine , .ncLfT * • fcBliion, and m the probable that S^pj^ing Su o?s 1Ste??ht'^°'"^ ^' ''*'"^ ^° '"^ and although he no douS mSn^H .k the name was misspelled, possible ^at he did not STuDon "^^ ^^^^' '° ^'' ^^">- '' « therefore, used the .ethodrwifirtSer^fs ^!^S^J^^ tol^SA'of t^%"aTd" hS ^'e^ElilS T^/.^^^l'^" "-"* Robert Pollock), a^o were m^rSH ii^^ (eldes^ daughter of Sir Grange beloniTed totZc^.^^^-.t^''^ ^1^°- ^^e Hamiltons of HamJton We fouSde?^Sl « ^T^^ °J V''" ^^^^ ^'''"-^ of was Walter de HamuJon I ^L ^f Q^r^'^l''' ^^^ fourteenth century, the common LSsSTtheDukl J'/ S'^'^u '^^ ^^"^^^^on, who w« 5J7 538 THE CONQUEROR Memoirs of Several Branches of the Family," bv John Anderson, Edin- burgh, 1825, a copy of which is to be found in the British Museum. In the latter work, against the name of James Hamilton, is the following statement : A proprietor in the West Indies, and father of Alexander Hamilton, the celebrated statesman and patriot in the United States of America, who fell, greatly regretted, in a duel with a Mr. Burr. Page 35. There is still so widespread misconception of the term " Creole," that it is necessary, even at this late date, to reiterate that it was not invented as a euphemism for coloured blood. In the United States Creoles are Southerners of French or Spanish extraction ; in the V.'est Indies any person born on one of the islands is a Creole, even if he be an undiluted Dane. Page 49. This deed of trust was entered in Vol. X, No. i. page 180, of the Common Records of St. Christopher, on the fifth day of May, 1756. eight months before the birth of Alexander Hamilton. Page 60. This dialect, or rather this curious mispronunciation of words, and inability to make use of certain letters and more than one or two personal pronouns, is gathered from old books on the islands, for the coloured people of the present generation in the Caribbees, even those of the lower class, now speak, save for their singsong inflection, much like any one else. But in those days there was no education for the blacks, and they spoke the barbarous lingo I ave transcribed without embellishment. Page 65. Dr. Hamilton died in June, 1764. Page 68. A piece of eight, then the principal coin in the Danish West Indies, was worth sixty-four cents. Page 69. Hugh Knox married and left two children, Ann Knox, who married James 1 ow<;rs, and John Knox, who, I think, became a clergyman on St. Thomas. Page 79. The lower story of this fine building, built by Mr. Mitchell, is in a state of entire preservation, and is now one of the largest stores in Christianstaed. Page 87. The private burying-ground of the Lyttons was on the Grange estate, owned, at the time of Kachael's death, by Chamberiain Robert Tuite. Page 88. Two candlesticks of this fashion have been preser\'ed in Frederiksted, and are said to have been used by Hamilton while there. Page 91. I am convinced that Hugh Knox baptized Hamilton, and have had the old records of St. Croix, deposited in the archives of Copenhagen, thoroughly searched. But they are in so dilapidated a condition that fine might as profitably appeal to the recording angel. In 1782 the French destroyed the church registers of Nevis, but it is hardiv likely thai Rachael Levine had Hamilton baptized. The islanders were indifferent to baptism under the most amiable conditions, NOTES 539 woufd have attached great importance to this cerTmony ^^ '^"^'' StiilS w?re ehh:j^fi?sro?Te'cind7ours' ^?tlSt*°" ^^'^^^ between them which subsequtSlTrnZu^tlSJ^ resemblance the gossip that they were bothers w^s Sue ^oSSia'^i fal'noTahl" to discover that Mrs. Stevens was « daughter of Inhn ,L m "°L^^'^ SLt ?'^ °^'" '^"^'^"^ ™«»'' -Ka"e°bel;'5oTdy'^eT^^^^^^ g^-^Stop^tr^^^U^sn^^^^^ K?d?n^;tr^:^i£^.^!^,^^^ wi^^o^-TdoX! Page 131. "The Fields " was the old name for the City Hall Park Page 133. I have inferred that the speech Hamilton made nn fhi= eS^.V^'f ^ spontaneous outburst of^he same thZht wh'cV he elaborated a few weeks later in his history-makine DanTO& Whil I o^'^^ki''*^" ^'^^'■^ '^ ^P^*^^ °"'y fo'" Hamilton's share in these battles I am obliged to assume that the reader knows his RevoiutLna?y histor^.* Page 165. Nothing can be told here of Laurens's orivate hUtnrv »«. yond the statements tjat his too sensitive minThelfhim reSoSiUe' for the accidental death of a youneer brother and thnJ ^L ),^!fP ■ ^ a woman in England whom \e iSd kft ar^hr'afftS joi^ S'S^ posible haste, t^e fighting forces in America, and whom he Aever sa v a§a.n If this meets the eye of his femily and thev care to^mst me with the necessary papers, I shall be glad to write a iffe^f Laurel neSf ^Ulhe SatTe S^ ottijil'I!;^ '"^ «" ^'^^ "'^'""^"'^ wj;^-pr:^^rs c:^:Svr;s::^^2/s^^^ wants of these states. He had cicariy discerned the pnicSfiUvo? forming a confederated government and adapting k trthSiSliar a no lil"i ^rr^^-^'-^^.d exigencies. He hadSvrSught outfor EsSf a polit.u-1 system, for in advance of the conceptions of his mXm whiVte ^* ''^^^ ''^ ''■*'''' '•'^'^ '" '-^ premature grave, the brsk on Hhich this government was consolidated : on which^to the pr^s^n dSv 540 THE CONQUEROR it has been administered ; and on which, alone, it can safely rest in that future which seems to stretch out its unending glories Sfore us " — George Ticknor Clrtis. S^u^J°^' '^^^^ l'^"^'' ^'■o™ Hamilton to Elizabeth Schuyler from be^S^tt iLTv^el SVar.T/6;^?£i2ft trfan^^^^^ huTrii;'H'°?Kl'*S^?f''''^«*°P'« '^^^^^'"Pt «"d dfsl^e Thfcharle of wLiu ? f '^^1 Hamilton poisoned the Chief's mind against hg^ °s whol V unfounded. Washington made up his own minf abouVmei and there is no evidence that the two young men met exceot in the rnost (asual manner before this spring of 1782^ Of couree h^fix^ssibll that a diligent reading of obscure co^rrespondence St briie to H^h? ^J^^'"^"^'^'^^'''^,' ''"» '^^ "«"er '^^ot worth tleyZitiSime Matthew Davis, the only responsible biographer of BurrfS two yS^^ inainerent to facts and has no senous pos t on as a bioeraoher • hut possessing a picturesque and entertaining style, he h«^n widdv read, and his estimate of Burr accepted by the ignorant ^ Page 233. Madison was born in 1751, Morris in 1752. nfhJl^^yi^^' ''^ '2°^ 'i'^^P*^'" '"'S'^t be written about Hamilton's leStSn ^n\^r'^'^^'''«'r,!"'"^' • • • »>« laboured hard to preyen? legislation in contravention of the treaty of peace; he corrected ctoss theoretical blunder in a proposed system o/regulating eSns^nd l^Zl/"^ *t°"«'' °°J altogether successfully to elSSiS?? ?e"irio^ numi^ iJl^onT'^l? "? preventing the disfranchisement of a S number of persons for having been interested, often unwillindv in prmeenng ventures ; he stavld some absurd la^s propoLd SnSing the proposed qualifications of candidates for office ; in the matter oftox? ation he substituted for the old method of an arbitrary oSisSs ment, with al its gross risks of error and partialit^The princiSe of al^wmg the individual to return under oath his tlSble p?oSy he laboured hard to promote public education by staSory reSions • rMIH '"LTf °^^'? Z^ *° P'^*=^ * book in the^handof eve^ AmeriSn child, and he evolved a system which ser\'ed as the model of tSi^ rwSK?/°-^i''."'" ^y '^' '?"P«"^ d«"^« of ?8o8 ; hThad mich to th^r »V .^^*'^*'°°Ji°"**™°g the relations of debtor and Sor ohlLd t^^*^'""^ '^ f^'^''" ^^^ ^ho'e f'^'^e of society ; "e S fiSf I, °u^J^ °°.'"*'^ attention to the department of cSminal k^ ZZ^."c^:ir^JZ'^S'''^Jr'' t "^^^^''S '^' Jong and piriS stniggie conoerning the 'New Hampshire Grants,' the recion now con- st.tutin| the Stote of Vermont: his efforts in this marterdSefly averted war ancf brought the first new state into the UnionT ^ — Morse's "Life of Hamilton," Vol. I. NOTES 541 Page 265. The dassic narrative of the Constitutional Convention is bv George Ticknor Curtis, and there have been few more fascinating chronicles of any subject. Of the condensed narratives the most coherent and vivid is in Roosevelt's '* Life of Gouverneur Morris." Page 268. Hamilton also invited Gouverneur Morris to collaborate, but that erratic gentleman was otherwise engaged. Page 269. I take this apportionment from a copy of " The Feder- alist " presented by Hamilton to his nephew Philip Church, and kindly lent to me by Mr. Richard Church. In this copy one of Hamilton^ sons, at his father's dictation, wrote the initial of the writer or writers after each essay. To Jay are allotted Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 54. To Madison, l?> j.^ 37. 38. 39» 40. 41, 42, 43» 44» 45. 46, 47. 48. To Hamilton and Madison jomdy : /j, 19, 20. The rest to Hamilton. Page 271. "7'»« "» his nature. The most Impetuoas. gener- «nnn r ' ''l^ ^^^^cr ^f "len, he was the last person t^turn hif b" ck upon those who had befriended and supportedhim in his n^erarious youth. Had he been capable of such meanness, he would' noT^have h m IfJ^T^f r^ '^^ ^' "'".'" '^' ~"°»'->' •"^'^y «f whom had lov^ him devotedly for a quarter of a century. Nor was there any mS for such a performance. One is not at all surprised to find tLTSr, Mitchell was among the last of his eartlih thoughts ; but were the?e ruij-sLsr^^afe^s;!."^ ''-' -^^"- --^'-' ♦'^^ in«i-5 :^^^v¥^^^^'<^^^ s?e ^4^iS; sent him about his business and resumed the name of her second hus- band. Burr had appropriated sixteen thousand dollars wUhThkh she had entrusted him, and, as she told people still living, his^harmin? manner were entirely superficial, he Vas cross and exacting at horn" Nevertheless she did not hesitate to make use of him 2 Seas on During the bread riots in Italy her carriage was hemmed in^ne day and her richly attired self threatened by the?urious popullce. When it became evident that her terrified coachman could mSL no headway she arose to her majestic height, and. sweeping out one hand with her haughtiest gesture, said in a loud and commanding tone "M^e wav make way! for the widow of the Vice-President of the United sS'^ The crowd fell back properly awed. Madame Jumel clainS to W the famous diamond necklace, but for the truth of this clairTl cannot tnltr ^''%"'^^'"'>- had many personal relics of NapoleoJ Jonfided would have had no time to do any work. Moreover, few ealize his personali y or the contemporaneous description of him. Tha? n the Boston Museum of Fine Arts is the best. That in the City Hall New \ork, IS one ot the best, and the copy of it in the Treasury Deuarr ment, Washington, is better. Severed others are charS noS S- .°^\ •'*' , '^'^'••■■^town Headquarters, New Jersey, anT the one ffivi/ "'Tr "■"'•' ^'T^'\ ""^ '" *he possession of Mr. FhZ t\A%- ^i'^ u"^ "? ,'he Chamber of Commerce is a TrumbuU bS looks like a tat boy with thin legs. It is to be hoped th ;r? will be no NOTES 543 Had Hamilton looked like it he further photographing of that libel, would have ac • >niplished nothing. ^fn'^^k^ V^- i'^' ^^^ '''fu°^ ""'•' Ufayette to the United States was of no historical moment I have taken the liberty of bringing him over at my own pleasure. Otherwise I should have been obliged merely to mention h.s advent in the course of the rapid seven jW sumiWy which comes later. •' •"•■«i/ Page 430. That Hamilton conceived the ice-water cure for yellow fever is well known to doctors. /ci.uw Page 435- Mr. Richard Church kindly brought me an old bundle of etters from Mrs. Church to Mrs. Hamilton. Except for the faded ink hey might been written yesterday, so lively, natural, and modern were they. It was impossible to realize that the writer was dust long since. Indeed, in all the matter, pu!)lished and unpublished, that 1 have read for this book. I find no excuse for the inverted absurdities and stilted SS T r " '^ '^°"S*'^ necessary to create a hundred-year-old Page 441- This letter of Thomas Corbin disposes of the as.seveia- u°"' ?//.f*^^^^"" ^ biographers that the leader of the Democrats dre.ssed himself like a genileman until he became President. His untidiness wxs probably congemtal to begin with, and in any case would have been a policy from the first, of that deep and subtle mind. Page 448. A clause had been inserted in Article II of the Consti- tution which would permit Hamilton, although an alien born, to be a President of the Umted States. Page 45 1. It was Mr. James Q. Howard in a letter to the New York .$•//«. May 1901 who called attention to the fact that Hamilton was the first of the " Imperialists," or " Expansionists." Page 458. I wrote to Colonel Mills, Commander of West Point, to ask him if any of Hamilton's codes were still in use. The librarian of the pos , Dr. Edward S. Holden, replied, among other things, as fol- lows : " • • . As circumstances have changed, the details of Tiis codes have changed, and the pnnciples which guided him have been readapted to new conditions as they have arisen . The best praise that can be gfven him IS. then, that he thoroughly understood the basic principles under- lying mihury affairs, and that with superb genius he applied them to th« exigencies of his time with that philosophical and at the same time practical talent which was his special endowment." Page 469. I made a copy from the original of a letter from Alex- ander Banng (afterward Lord Ashburton) to his counsel, D. J. Rinnan, containing full details of this transaction. One of the significant point^ about th? contemptuous opinions of Burr's dishonesty which one comes upon coiLstantly in the correspondence of this penod, is that no one aaims to have made its discovery, or to think comment worth while. It evidently became established at an early date. But brilliancy and MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART lANSI and ISO TEST CHART h4o. 2) 1.0 I.I 1.25 8^ 1^ IIIIM ■ 4.0 1.4 [2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 ^ APPLIED IN/HGE Inc ^^ 1653 East Mam Street r^ Rochester. Nev« York 14609 USA ^= (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone ^= (716) 288 - 5989 - Fax 544 THE CONQUEROR dexterity saved him at the bar, and he won many a case for those who despised him most. Page 471. Tammany Hall was highly respectable in the beginning of its career. I have here used the term in the fi^rative sense ; it is in truth an epigram into which all political abomination is concentrated. Page 474. For correspondence of Hamilton with his Scotch rela- tives, and with Secretary of the Navy regarding Robert Hamilton, see Vol. VI, Hamilton's Works. Page 496. From the Register of Burials i n St. George's Cathedral. Burials in 1799, Con. Tune 3d. Tames Hamilton — Father of General Hamilton in America killed by Col. Baird. Note: The Rev. I. Guilding was the Rector of the Parish at this time, and the entry was made by hira in the above form. E. A. TURPIN. I certify that the above entry is a true and correct copy from the Register of Burials in the Cathedral Church of St. George, m the town of Kingston, in the island of St. Vincent, West Indies, by me, E. A. TURPiN, Rector of St. George and St. Andrew, and Archdeacon of St. Vincent, this 13th day of May, 1901. Page 501. Hamilton never would own a slave. Page 509. The story of Burr's awakening Hamilton in the early morning to borrow of him, is related in " The History of the Republic." Mrs. Hamilton herself is the authority for the other loan. The story was told her by Washington Morton, her brother-in-law, who arranged it. Burr, for once, being ashamed to go openly to Hamilton. He repaid this sum after Hamilton's death. Page 516. The oft-told tale of Hamilton and Burr meeting at the house of Madame Jumel on the night before the challenge. I have, after careful investigation, utterly repudiated. In the first place, the lady had been married but two months, and to a Frenchman at that. He was a rich man and had undoubtedly married her for love, moreover was devoted to her as long as he lived. It is not at all likely that he was permitting Hamilton to call one night and Burr the next — so the story runs. In the second place. Hamilton, whatever may have been his adventures in the past, was in no condition for gallivanting at this period, as I think I NOTES 545 These pistols are now in the possession of Mr. Richard have demonstrated. Dr. Hosack, in the paper he prepared for the Post on the day following Hamilton's death, asserted that owing to the patient's feeble condition he had been unable to give the usual medicines. At the same time Hamilton had been v.orking from fourteen to fifteen hours a day. The conclusions are obvious. Moreover, General Hamil- ton, now eighty-seven, and in perfect possession of all his faculties, has told me that he fi-equently accompanied his grandmother, Hamilton's widow, to call on Madame Jumel. In the small town of New Yorl: no such sensational meeting could have been kept a secret for long. Madame Jumel lived in the dty at the time, by the way, her husband not buying the house on the Heights until 1815. But that she was at the bottom of the matter I should not have had the slightest doubt, even were it not an accepted feet by both Hamil- ton's present femily and hers, and I arrived at my conclusions, as the story of all concerned, and of the history of the times, developed. Page 522. Burr kept these letters until he died, at the age of 80, and left them to Matthew Davis, who destroyed those whose writers were dead, and returned the others to certain ancient and highly respected dames. Page 527. Church. Page 531. Hamilton's strong likeness to the Caesars is best seen in the marbles of him, notably the one executed by Ceracchi. The painted likenesses of him either do no' resemble him at all or are so full of his vivacity, mischievous humour, and indomitable youth that they are wholly himself. From '• Statistical Account of Scotland,"' Vol. V, page 450, Edinburgh : " The most remarkable person connected with the parish (Stevenston in Ayrshire) was the late General Alexander Hamilton of the family of Grange, though America was the field in which he distinguished him- self. He was excelled by none as a general, orator, financier, lawyer. In the words of one who knew him, he was 'the mentor of Washing- ton, the framer of the present constitution of America, a man of strict honour and integrity ; equally esteemed in public and in private life.' " The above came to my hand after the book went to press, and I pub- lish it to emphasize the fact that the Scotch Hamiltons eagerly claimed the kinship of Hamilton, quite indifferent to the irregularity of his birth. Hamilton's children were born and named as follows : Philip, Janu- ary 22, 1782 ; Angelica. September 25, 1784; Alexander, May 16, 1786 i James Alexander, April 14, 1788 ; John Church, August 22, 1792 ; William Stephen, August 4, 1797; EHza, November 20, 1799; Philip, June 7, 1802. 2N . XKNOVVLEDGMENTS It is a pleasure to acknowledge my indebtedness to the following people who have helped me with family papers, books and political pamphlets long out of print, their knowledge of the unwritten history of the United States, unpublished anecdotes of Hamilton, and general sugges- tions : Mr. James Q. Howard of the Library of Congress ; Dr. Allan McLane Hamilton; General A. Hamilton; Colonel J. C. L. Hamilton ; Mr. Richard Church ; Mr. Roger Foster ; Mr. H. W. Parker of the Mechanics' Insti- tute Free Library of New York ; Dr. Richard B. Coutant, and Mr. Philip Schuyler; and to the following residents of the British and Danish West Indies : On St. Christopher Mrs. Spencer Wigley The Hon. Frank Haven, U.S. Consul The Rev. William Evered The Rev. George Yoe Mr. E. P. Latouche, Registrar and Provost Marshal On Nevis The Hon. C. C. Greaves The Rev. W. Cowley The Rev. Mr. Shephard Mr. G. V. Mercier On St. Croix The Rev. W. C. Watson Also — The West Indian works of Dr. Taylor, a i Lightbourne's Annuals. 546 •n. ^ywW^ »' \ 3286 0656'^ Vol m ^ Wmm