a 
by assault on the 14th of October, 1781. This being the case, 
on the capture of the British army at Yorktown, which vir- 
tually ended the war, he applied himself to the study of law, 
at the same time retaining his rank in the army, declining to 
receive pay. 
The distinction of Alexander Hamilton among the founders 
of the government of the United States of America surpasses 
that of Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Jay, and Sherman; among 
these illustrious men, great contemporaries of his time, Hamil- 
ton surpassed as a gallant soldier, an eloquent orator, a per- 
suasive writer, a skillful financier, a successful administrator, 
and a political philosopher practical as well as wise, being 
worthy to be compared in political debate with Pitt, Burke, 
Fox, and Webster; in organization with Cavour and Bismarck, 
in Finance with Sully, Colbert, Robert Morris, and Gladstone. 
At length, Guizot, pointing to three portraits hung upon the 
walls of his library, said: “Hamilton, among those men, I 
consider my best friend, a man of profound intellect, one 
whose personality is a part of myself.” On the other hand, 
Jefferson has called him the Colossus of the Federalists, where- 
upon Spencer has said that he is the greatest man that the 
country has produced. 
Alexander Hamilton, you, Hamilton of Hamiltons, father 
of statesmanship, king of your time, one whose picture deco- 
rates the halls of the art galleries of the world! I can see 
your philosophical eyes penetrating the souls of men, devour- 
ing the contents of books, looking into the destiny of the 
future! Behold! before you, behind you, below and above you, 
just as the great Alexandre Dumas, pére, has been surrounded, 
so do I see you, see you with the country at your feet—sena- 
tors, lawyers, representatives, judges, all, awaiting your coun- 
sel, the advice of Publius! 
Biographical dictionaries and encyclopedia have the life of 
im; his son has written a life of him, Lodge and many others; 
James Kent has praised him highly, while Allibone, Talley- 
rand, Gouverneur Morris, Story, Webster, Daniel C. Gilman 
have written and delivered orations on him. Here we see that 
e has become an immortal American, one who laughed at 
plots, intrigues, and threats; he was a leader of leaders, one 
who really did the thinking of his time. Thus, as Lodge has 
said, he was pre-eminently a leader of leaders: “Fortunately, 
a good deal of the thinking of his time is now irrevocably 
ceeding [onstiontian, >, the administration, and the 
ol this country, while the n i 
aF eee ey immortals.” oe 
ome, dear reader, let us form an image of Hami i 
reel minds. Here he stands before us, a rival ion hee 
ing instinct with life, re Steady in gait, having a 
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