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Tragic
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TT CENTURY ago on inn;
A ledge under the heights or Wm-
bawken, N. J., a Vice Prealdeut
of tin United 8tatea and a former Sec
retary of tbe Treaaury fared each tb
r In mortal combat, writes Warwick
Jamea Price, la the Sunday Magazine.
Soldiers of long and bonorabls records,
scholars and Jurlita of marked ability,
atateatnrn who bnd already held many
of the htghrat ottWa In the gift of
their country, Alexander Hamilton
and Aaron Hurr played out In the
peaceful beauty and freahneHS of that
onrly inttrnlug a tragedy which ha
made July 11, 1804, blatorlc for all
time.
Them are. few more picturesque or
romantic spoU In the. vicinity of New
York than la that of Kluga Wood a.
where these two men met Art baa
not luvadcd the woodland. Only a lit
tle clearing In tbo mldat of a network
of underbruab, surrounded by the very
trees through wblcb tbe dueling par
ties paaaed, Indicates tbt scene of the
encounter. Tbe atone on wblcb Ham
ilton Is said to bave rested bis bead.
arter receding the wound wblcb was
to prove mortal, baa been torn from Its
setting of earth and now bears upon
Its face a metal plate telling briefly of
tbe man's career and fate; but all elae
remains Just as It was on that fatal
mldaummer day a hundred years ago.
The story of tbe combat Is tragic In
Its brevity. Tbe little party of five
tbe principals, tbelr second, and the
7
POT WHERE HAMILTON FELL AND MONUMENT FORMERLY ON
SITE.
-surgeon was on tbe ground not long
after sunrise.- Tbe preliminaries were
soon arranged.
According to the best authorities
upon a disputed subject, Burr fired at
tbo word. At tbe report, Hamilton
started forward with a convulsive
movement, reeled. Involuntarily dis
charging his pistol Into tbe foliage
above him, and fell headlong. Burr,
with an expression of pain upon his
fak.
wj i .
1 t;?!,'V''
Hamilton's residence.
face, sprang toward him; but Van
Ness, bis second, seized him by tbe
-arm and hurried him down the bank
.and Into their boat
Hamilton, being lifted up, revived
for a moment, and gasped: "This la a
mortal wound, doctor!" Relapsing
again Into unconsciousness, be was
again revived by the fresh air of the
river. 'Tendleton knows," he said,
trying to turn toward bis second, "that
I did not Intend to fire at him." At 2
o'clock the afternoon following he bad
breathed bla last
Political and Professional Rival.
If "the code" Is to be directly
blamed for the duel, yet It Is to the
political situation of tbe day that one
must look for its explanation. In tbe
closing years of the eighteenth century
and the opening ones of the nineteenth
the foremost and ablest men In the
United States were not only In politics,
but they were "In' so whole-heartedly
that the warmest friendships and most
bitter enmities resulted. It was
period of the extremest feeling, of the
broadest possible misapprehension of
men's characters and motives, and
many duels resulted.
The constitution was on trial. Tbe
leaders of the Federalists, including
Hamilton, openly called It "a crazy
bulk," and spoke of Thomaa Jefferson
aa a "contemptible hypocrite." They
had no faith In the people, no confi
dence In republican institutions. A
constitutional monarchy was the one
and only way which they saw out of
the difficulties of the times. At the
bead of the Whigs, or Republican,
IOMMIMIimMIM4t
Story of a Mortal Combat
confident of the future and active la
tbelr present, stood Jefferson and Burr,
and If tbe former wss attacked be
cause of tbe political principle, the
bit er was even more bitterly assailed
on tbe ground that be utterly lucked
all principle, political and otherwise.
Hamilton and Hurr bad first crossed
swords at tbe bar. This wss early In
tbe 17Ws; but even then, and by to
means on account of their war records
alone, they were regarded as men of
the moat marked ability, and to all In
tents and purposes divided wtween
them the most Important law bualneaa
of New York State.
Mow Ilarr Waa Thwarted.
OppoM'd one to tbe other In their pro
femtloital practice aa well as In their
political conviction. In 1702 dlatrust
of Burr's methods and motives by tbe
then Kwretary of tbe Treasury be
gan to take more active and ouUpokea
form. In that year Aaron Burr, then a
member of tbe National Senate, was
spoken of In some quarters as a can
didate for the Governorship of New
York, and It became known that he
would accept the nomination.
That be was decisively defeated In
tbe convention Is ascribed directly to
Hamilton. Later In the same year
Burr's name began to figure In the talk
as to who should be the Vice Presi
dential candidate; but again Ham!!
ton's Influence was set to work against
him, and he received only one vote.
That Burr was not appointed to sue-
sSVf.
ceed Gouverneur Morris at the French
court In 1704, though hla name was
strongly urged upon President Wash
ington by such men as Monroe and
Madison, has always been ascribed to
Hamllton'a opposition, to which again
has been attributed Burr's defeat for
re-election to tbe Senate in 1707.
Tbe most marked Instance, however,
In this strikingly personal contest oc
curred In the Presidential campaign of
18004)1. Tbe candidates, Adams and
Plnckncy for the Federalists and Jef
ferson and Burr for the Whigs, were
at that time voted for separately, as if
all were nominees for the office of
President The electoral vote resulted
as follows: Jefferson, 73; Hurr, 73;
Adams, 65; Plnckney, 64. and Jay, 1;
and with a tie between Jefferson and
Burr the election was thrown Into the
House of Representatives. As was to
bave been expected, Hamllton'a Influ
ence was all against Burr be consid
ered Jefferson "as the lesser to be
feared of two evils" and after a dead
lock of two days Jefferson was named
President, with Burr Vice President
What Led to the Duel.
So for nearly twenty years Burr and
Hainlltou had been in engaged In a po
litical duel, and tbe latter through a
large part of that period bad been un
sparing in bis condemnation of bis op
ponent's character and actions, In at
least five Instances preventing his ad
vancement. Time and again Burr nad
been taunted with bis "tame submis
sion" under tne Hamilton Invectives;
but none of them bad done more than
widen the breach between the, two
e.
r yf
BOM BURR S HOUK.
men until toward the close of Bun's
term as Vice President Then there
came tardily into hla hands a letter
which had been written by a Dr.
Oharlea D. Cooper, in the neat of the
campaign of 1800, which, though In It
elf no adequate ground for a due'.,
furnished, many think, the cause
which led directly np to the fatal meet
ing of July 11. It read In part:
"Gen, Hamilton and Judge Kent
have declared, la substance, that the
look upon Mr. Burr aa a dangerous
man, and one who ought not to i
trusted with the reins of government
. . 1 could detail to yon a still
more despicable opinion which Gen.
Hamilton has expressed of Mr. Burr."
copy of this letter Burr sent to
BUST Or HAMILTON.
Hamilton by Van Ness, asking for a
"prompt and unqualified acknowledg
ment or denial of the use of any ex
pression which would warrant the as
sertion of Mr. Cooper." This Hamilton
declined to grant. In a reply which
was dignified, through rather long and
argumentative under the circum
stances. Burr took It to be an attempt
at evasion, and in a second note made
a more peremptory demand that "Mr.
Hamilton confine his attention to tbe
remark under dispute." To this Ham
ilton's only reply wss that tbe second
note from Burr must be withdrawn be
fore he could consider tbe matter fur
ther, and that falling this, "Mr. Burr
must pursue such course as he deems
proper." The steps that followed, Van
Na snd Pendleton acting for their
principal, are details of history.
Dnel Blighted IIU Life.
July 21, 1804, Burr was indicted for
murder, and from that moment till bis
death at Port Richmond, SUten Island,
thirty-two years later, the life of Burr
was one succession of -visionary
schemes, always romantic and some
times treasonable, all of them alternat
ing with disappointments and rebuffs
that would bave killed a man less san
guine and self-confident Tried on the
charge of murder, he was acquitted
largely through the brilliancy of bis
own defense. Twice brought to trial
later on charges of treason, he both
times fought bis own way to triumph
ant acquittals.
But be had lost the confidence of his
friends, and was no longer feared by
his enemies. He was not wlecomed In
this country, and waa Ignored or in
sulted abroad. When, at the age of 56,
he hung out a modest tin sign In the
city of New York and started life
anew, he was already near Its close.
The old house where his law office
then was Is still pointed out to the cu
rious; but even when at work within
Its walls Aaron Burr bad passed from
the public stage, and bis downfall may
be traced directly back to that fatal
duel of July 11, 1804.
- .
Manchuria n Brigands.
Much has been written regarding the
trouble that tho Russians have had
with tbe Uubnuses. These mysteri
ous people are not a distinct race or
semi-savage people, as It commonly
thought Tbey are only common, ev-ery-day
Chinese or Manchus who find
It more profitable and less arduous to
wander over the country, seizing
wealthy merchants for . ransom, rob
bing remote farms and villages, at
tacking travelers and looting carts on
the great highways, than It would be
to drive animals or till tbe soil. Their
suppression Is not easy, for the vast
stretches of wilderness which abound
In Manchuria offer secure retreat So
numerous are these banditti, and In
some districts so perfect Is their or
ganlzation, that they havo constructed
fortified encampments, and In large
bands not Infrequently attack Russian
stations.
Long Time Between Hatha.
An earnest man said to have de
scended from a man who once wore a
gorgeous "coat of many colors" in
Egypt had rented a house and was
about to sign the lease, when the real
estate agent remarked:
"Of course you "understand that
there Is no bathroom In the house."
"Dot makes me no difference," was
the reply. "Ve only vanta It for von
year."
No Comparison.
"I have had one suit in court ten
years," remarked the man with the
bulging brow.
"That's not a circumstance," replied
the young man with the open face.
"I've had the same suit in court with
fifteen different girls, one after tho
other. And it's getting mighty thread
bare," he added, with a pensive sigh.
Chicago Tribune. ,
New Branswtolc Aged Legislator.
Senator David Wark, of New Bruns
wick, N. S., 100 years old, has been
legislator for sixty-two years.
f Ml
THE MAN WHO FEELS.
lie man whe feels Is a bappltr wight
Tbao the maa whe Is cations sod cold.
For If be weeps In that gloom of sight.
II latifhs la the saBbesm's gold;
Asd if tbe tide of his life ran low.
It reaches the summits ef cheer:
tie knows the belghta, as the depths be
low,
And be tulles through a pitying tear.
And after It all, whea all Is done,
Tbe world baa most of the gladden
ing sun.
For the twilight lingers when dsy U
done.
And the sun's benediction Is dear.
Tbe man who feels U bsppler far
I say it again and again
Than eTcr ran be, or ever are,
Tbe pitilia sous of men;
For if lie nijehs) for his own gray woes,
Hn tijcha for another's too;
If the plant of pain in his boaom grows.
It ia covered by nyinpatbjr's dew.
And after It all, when all la aald,
StUI .lty sod love forever sra wed;
That the heart unfeeling la chill and
l.-ad
la true, and forever Is true.
The man who feels la s dear God's gift
To s oorrowfiil. travailing world;
I'.jf the hand that the burdena of life
uplift
la the fin of our peace unfurled.
We n-i i not the souls that are callous aa
Fate,
And el6h, and wedded to greed.
But the pitying tear for our fallen estate
We in-ed and we ever ahall need.
And after it all, when all la past
'Tin the deed of lovs that alone may
la lit.
And the rest ia chaff ia the winnow
ing blant.
In the tardea of life, a weed.
Alfred Waterhouae In Success.
t-e-ss
William q1 (Thrci&.
HE little, old-fashioned building
on tbe old-fashioned side of the
green, contained three little, old-
fashioned shops.
Of tbe three, one was vacant Be
fore the coming of the brick block on
the opiMsite side of the green. It had
been tbe postottiee, but upon con. pie
tiou of tbe new building, Uncle haul
te! that his dignity and prestige
liilht remain unimpaired, moved
acioxs. followed by the usual crowd
of loungers and most of the business.
Until then, also, the little, old-fashioned
building had always been proud
ly referred to as "the block;" now the
prefix, old, became necessary to dij-
tingulsu it from Its newer and more
pretentious rival.
Two little signs, banging chummllj
side by side above tbe doorways of
the other two little shops. Informed
those who cared to know that tbe oc
cupants were, respectively: "Van-it
Goodwin, Milliner," and "William Uu
durwood. Newsdealer and Stationer"
A short somewhat stout man of 40
odd years came across the green one
morning, and unlocking the door be
neath tbe sign of "William Under
wood," entered. Soon be emerged,
minus bis bat and coat and after
throwing back tbe heavy wooden
shutter covering tbe window, began
sweeping tbe board walk which ran
In front of the shop.
For this was William Underwood,
the proprietor. Not tbe William Un
derwood whose name the sign bore;
that was "Old Billy" Underwood. It
was "Young Billy" Underwood sweep
ing the walk; so christened by tbe vil
lagers for convenience In distinguish
ing him from his father when he en
tered the shop as assistant, twenty
five years before; and although his
father bad been dead these many
years, to theui he was "Young Billy"
still.
And although at the time of his
death the elder Underwood was con
sidered the richest man in the county
and William was his only heir, he con
tinued to keep the little shop, seem
ingly coutent to follow in the foot
steps of his sire.
As. if awakened by the noise and
bustle, tbe door of the adjoining shop
opened and a trim little woman ap
peared, broom in hand.
- In response to William's "Good
morning, Marcla," she nodded a cheery
good morning, and going to the oppo
site end of the walk, began to sweep
briskly.
As the sweeping progressed and
tbey neared each other, tbe conversa
tion was resumed.
'It's a lovely morning for so late In
the fall, William."
Yes; though it does feel a trifle
wlnterish."
Another silence, during which both
swept industriously. Then William
said:
Squire Martin tells me that Ruth
Is having a splendid time in New
York."
"I'm glad she married well off, and
was able to go there. I knew she'd
enjoy It" '
The sweeping was finished and for
a moment they lingered in front of
their doorways.
"I did not see you at the wedding."
"No, I did not go." Then profes
sional pride asserting Itself, she add
ed: "I made her wedding bonnet and
the hat she wore away."
Tbe day was "a trifle wlnterish," as
William had said, and Marcla hav
ing tidied up the shop, decided a fire
would be necessary to remove tbe
chill. She had some difficulty In get
ting It to burn, but succeeding finally,
came to the front and seated herself
by tbe window, her favorite corner.
Her thoughts weer still of the wed
ding, and she sighed softly, as she
gased out on the green. It was nearly
nineteen years since she left school to
assist her mother In the care of the
shop. Theirs was the only millinery
step In the Tillage then, and there
was plant of work for two pairs of
hands. When her mother was seised
with a shock, they moved Into the
rooms upstairs, that Marcla might
care for her and attend the wants of
the cuatomers as well.
Ten years ago she died and Marcla
was left alone. For a time she had
more than enough work to keep her
bnsy, and did not feel her lose so
keenly. But with the years had come
changes. With the removal of tbe
postofflce, tbe crowd which formerly
lounged In front ceased to congregate
there, and she mlsaed their nolay
presence. When the public hitching
rail beneath the tree outlived lta use
fulness and a new one became neces
sary, tbe town fathers decided upon
what tbey considered a more conven
ient location for It and tbe old one
was allowed to remain standing as If
to serve aa a reminder of days passed
and gone.
Then came tbe milliner from tbe
city. At first Marcla had treated her
advent with lofty disdain, which
changed to resentment as she saw
those for whom she bad made bonnets
since tbey were babies wearing the
creations of the rival establishment
and saw ber trade falling off in conse
quence. True, many still came to ber.
but they were tbe older ones, and at
times she suspected that even tbelr
patronage was due to friendship or
charity.
Her thoughts reverted to her neigh
tor. Long ago when tbey swept the
wslk together and lingered for a mo
ment's conversation afterward, she
bad sometimes thought and some
times dreamed, for William was band
some when be was young. Then gos
sip linked their names together.
8he sighed again. Together they
still swept the wslk each morning.
and since her mother's death she had
gotten Into the habit of preparing to
close at nlgbt when she heard him
making similar preparations.
The appearance of smoke in the
room brought her reverie to an abrupt
conclusion, and sent her hastening to
the stove. As she opened the door
the smoke burst forth In a cloud, and
quickly closing It she retreated to the
front and opened tbe shop door to per-
7a
TBI CONVERSATION WAS RESUMED.
mit of Its escape. At the doorway she
was met by William.
"I thought I smelled smoke," he be
gan; then as he saw the smoke: "Is
it a firer
"No, it is from the stove. It's the
first fire I've bad since last spring,
and I guess the chimney Is damp."
"There may be something wrong
with the stove. Shall I come In and
look at It? Perhaps I can fix It"
She looked at him in surprise. He
had never been ln6ide the shop In his
life to her knowledge.
"It's most gone, now," she replied.
doubtfully.
"Perhaps I had better come In and
look at It anyway. If the fault is in
tbe chimney, I will have It attended
to before cold weather sets In."
She stepped aside and allowed him
to enter. He first tried the damper in
tbe pipe, then knelt before the stove
and critically examined the grate.
"It seems all right" he said at
length, looking up to her as she stood
beside him.
At that moment the grocer's wag
on, driven by Joe Hasklns, came by
the old block. Joe was exceedingly
popular with tbe villag youth and
his wagon usually contained a num
ber of choice specimens. This morn
ing was no exception, and as the
wagon passed, sharp eyes peeped
through, the open door and spied Will
iam kneeling before Marcla.
"H'm, looks like he was proposln'
to her," was Joe's comment when his
attention was called to It
In the discnarge of his duties, Joe
visited nearly every house In the vil
lage, and he made the most of his op
portunity. By nightfall every one
knew that young Billy Underwood had
proposed to Marcla Goodwin.
- At about noon there began at the
old block a most remarkable revival
of business, which continued . to in
crease until the close of the day.'
It seemed as If every man In the
village, and a few women, found a
call at William's shop necessary, and
while many forgot the pretext on
which they came, each one did not
fail to tender their, congratulations.
With Marcla it was the same, ex
cept that her visitors were of femin
ine persuasion, and therefore more
persistent with inquiries Into detail,
All of which was met with denials
by both of them, first with surprise,
then indignation, and finally down
right anger. This last finally gave
way to sublime resignation,, and both
were heartily glad when the hour of
closing came.
As he Bat in school that afternoon.
to young Thomas Martin came a bril
liant idea. When school was over he
lost no time in communicating it to a
few intimates, with the result that
shortly after nightfall the aforesaid la
tJmates, led by Thomas, might havo
been discovered stealthily making;
their way toward the village from the
i vicinity of Squire Martin's barn,
William arose earlier than usual
next morning after a restless eight,
.and tea flag lis breakfast uulasUd.
started to the shop. As he neared it,
he discovered that Marcla was al
ready sweeping her portion of tho
walk, evidently intent on getting It
done before people ware astir gener
ally. She did not perceive his ap
proach until be stood beside her, then
looking up st him she said demurely:
Good morning, William."
Good morning. Yon are out early
this morning."
So are you," aha retorted, bluahiog
a rosy red.
At the point of Inquiring If her fire
burned properly, he checked himself
as he thought of the embarrassment
it would cause. He could think of
nothing lse to say, and after staring
at her stupidly for a moment unlock
ed his door and went Inside, reappear
ing broom In hand. ,
A mlik wagon drove by, the occu
pant of wblcb was known to them
both. With a "Good morning, friends,"
be pulled np his horse.
"Celebratin', I see," be observed, and
a grin overspread his face as he point
ed up to the front of the building.
Both looked In the direction indi
cated. . .
Tbe change the night had brought
was marvelous indeed. Entwining the
two little signs and Joining them lov
ingly together were garlanda of ever
greens and orange blossoms, while In
the center, suspended between them.
was what remained of Ruth Martin's
wedding bell True, the flowers were
a bit faded and tbe evergreen showed
evidence of hard usage, but tbe pur
pose for which they were intended
was, still easily dlacernable..
With a scream Marcla darted Into
ber shop and closed the door. Will
iam paused long enough to bestow a
scathing glance upon the milkman,
then stalked Into his own establish
ment Among William's early customers
was Judge Bradford, and as one of
his oldest friends, the Judge felt privi
leged to speak. .
I'm glad .you've done it William.
Nature never Intended us to live with
out mates In this world. You ought
to have done It years ago, but you
were always too modest She was a
handsome girl, and by ginger, she's
a good-looking woman." .
The previous day's rush of busi
ness, which bid fair to continue, was
effectually checked when It began
raining heavily early In the day, and
customers were few and far between.
To William the day was intolerably
long, and altogether a miserable one.
Tbe little shop next door bad remain
ed closed since the unfortunate episode
of the morning, and though a number
came, they turned away again, unable
to gain admittance. As the day wore
on he found himself growing more and ,
more anxious. Perhaps she was 111.
Once or twice he surreptitiously '
placed his ear to the partition, but he -
could hear nothing. .
He looked out at the old. hitching
rail, forlorn and deserted, and for the
first time the realization came to him
how lonely his life had become. !
He thought of the big house on the
hill, of which he was the only occu- .
pant Then he fell to wondering If
she was lonely, too. He recalled her
as she stood before him that morning.
The Judge was right; she was hand- ,.
some yet She was good as she was
beautiful, too; and the village had no
right to poke fun at her. They
wouldn't do it If she had some one to
protect her.
Next he did what for him was a
most unusual thing. Going to the rear
of the shop he gazed long and soberly
Into the mirror. He turned sadly, ,
away. It was too late now; his op
portunity had gone. ; 1 ; '
Usually he kept the shop open until
8 o'clock, but at 7 he decided to close
and go home. As he closed the shut
ter be looked anxiously at the adjoin
ing door. He looked up and, raising
his umbrella, started across the green.
Nearly across, he hesitated, stopped.
then turned and marched resolutely
back. Straight up to the little, old
fashioned building he went and on the
door over which hung the sign of
"Marcia Goodwin, Milliner," he gave
a ponderous knock. There was no re
ply, and he knocked louder and mora
boldly than before.
"Who Is there?" came from the In
side.
'It is I, William Underwood. Open
the door." ; ,
The door opened slightly. "What
do you want William?" '
Her voice seemed to tremble. ' Per
haps she had been crying. He pushed
the door open and stepped Inside.
'I want you," he answered, with
the assurance of a cavalier.'
When, as the result of an Interview
with his father, young Thomas Martin '
sidled into William's shop the . next
morning and stammered an apology
for the part he had taken In decorat
ing the block, he was mightily sur
prised to receive a generous handful
of candy, and to learn that it was of
no consequence whatever. '
Two weeks later Ruth Martin wrote
home that Mr. and Mrs. Underwood
were In New York making arrange
ments to spend the winter in Europe,'
The Housewife. .
; In tho Bahama Islands.
In the Bahama Islands the flamin
goes build their nests of mud so high
that the rising tide, will not flood the
A wise wife conceals norM front
her husband except ber own faults.