﻿214 PICTORIAL MISCELLANY. 



When the war broke out, he immediately buckled on his sword , 

 he had argued, England would not hear, and now the appeal is to 

 the sword. He commanded a company of artillery in the battle o-f 

 Long Island, the Raritan, at Trenton and Princeton, and then he 

 was appointed aid to Washington. It is evidence of his high moral 

 worth that he was thus selected by the father of his country as 

 one of his staff, and made subsequently a bosom friend and counsel- 

 lor. He was a man of the purest morality, and governed by the 

 loftiest principles of honor. At the close of the war he went into 

 the practice of law in the city of New York, and took an active part 

 in the formation of the constitution and organization of the federal 

 government. 



Party politics raged at this time with great violence, and a resort 

 was often had to deadly weapons to settle such disputes ; it is a sin- 

 gular circumstance, as connected with his own end, that his eldest 

 son about this time should be killed in a duel ; he fell at Hoboken, 

 and his murderer, overwhelmed with remorse, soon followed him to 

 the grave. 



Aaron Burr was one of the leading spirits of that day ; a man 

 marked by as great meanness of soul as Hamilton by magnanimity. 

 Jealous, vindictive and vile, he envied the greatness and fame of 

 Hamilton, and resolved to destroy him. Hamilton had prevented 

 his receiving the support of the federal party, as it was called, as a 

 candidate for the office of governor of the State of New York. 

 Burr sent him a challenge, and Hamilton, trained in the military 

 school rather than that of Christ, had not the courage to refuse 

 it ; they met at Wehawken. It was a beautiful morning ; Hamil- 

 ton rose early ; his family were still sleeping. He went to the cham- 

 ber where his little children were sleeping in the peace of inno- 

 cency, kissed each of them, stepped softly out of his house, crossed 

 the Hudson in a boat, met Burr ; they took their places the word 

 was given they fired, and Hamilton fell, mortally wounded. He 

 was carried home to his heart-stricken family, a corpse ; he fell a 

 victim to what is called, most falsely, " a code of honor." 



