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 politician 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 family.  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 coolheaded, 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 by the avowed adventurer would be closed to him.  Moreover, 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 corpse.  But desperate for money, crushed to the earth, his hatred for Hamilton cursing and raging afresh, the only conspicuous 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 unnoticed by the horrified spectators in front.

On June 18th 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, expressed 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 accusation 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 precise or definite opinion which I may be charged with having declared of any gentleman.  More 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 I can only regret the circumstance and must