leaders from the great interests of the country. The state of the finances, too, was most alarming; and several members of the legislature were engaged in transactions, which laid them open to the charge of pecuniary dishonesty. Indignant at some of the abuses that happened to fall within his knowledge, Hamilton wrote a set of essays under the name of Publius, which seem to have scattered dismay through the ranks of the intriguers, and to have roused the people to a sense of the risk incurred by the corruption of their representatives.

"The station of a member of Congress," he says, in the course of these essays, "is the most illustrious and important of any I am able to conceive. He is to be regarded not only as a legislator, but as a founder of an empire. A man of virtue and ability, dignified with such a trust, would rejoice that fortune had given him birth at a time, and placed him in circumstances, so favourable for promoting human happiness. He would esteem it not more the duty, than the privilege and ornament of his office, to do good to all mankind. From this commanding eminence, he would look down with contempt upon every mean or interested pursuit.

"To form useful alliances abroad, to establish a

wise government at home, to improve the internal

resources and finances of the generous objects of his care.

nation, would be the He would not allow

his attention to be diverted from these, to intrigue for personal connexions to confirm his own influence, nor would he be able to reconcile it, either to the delicacy of his honour, or to the dignity of his pride, to confound in the same person the representative of the commonwealth, and the little member of a trading company. Anxious for the permanent power and prosperity of the State, he would labour to perpetuate the union and harmony of the several parts. He would not meanly court a temporary importance, by patronizing the narrow views of local interest, or by encouraging dissensions either among the people or in Congress. In council or debate, he would discover the candour of a statesman, zealous for truth, and the integrity of a patriot, studious of the public welfare; not the cavilling petulance of an attorney, contending for the triumph of an opinion, nor the perverse duplicity of a partisan, devoted to the service of a cabal. Despising the affectation of superior wisdom, he would prove the extent of his capacity by foreseeing evils, and contriving expedients to prevent or remedy them. He would not expose the weak sides of the States, to

find an opportunity of displaying his own discernment by magnifying the follies and mistakes of others. In his transactions with individuals, whether with foreigners or countrymen, his conduct would be guided by the sincerity of a man and the politeness of a gentleman; not by the temporizing flexibility of a courtier, nor the fawning complaisance of a sycophant."

So high was the conception, which Hamilton had formed of the duties and character of a senator! And so far below it had the reality already fallen!

It is not possible, however, within the limits of the present work, to describe all the services which Hamilton rendered to the American cause, during the period of his residence in the military family of his chief. Throughout the campaigns of 1779 and 1780, in which Washington acted principally on the defensive, the general and his aide-de-camp were in constant, daily, familiar communication with each other, and labouring incessantly together for the promotion of the common interest. Passing over the details of these campaigns, there is one incident, the saddest and most tragical of the war, which, from the part Hamilton took in it, requires a brief notice here, and will form the subject of a separate chapter.

CHAPTER IV.

MAJOR ANDRÉ.

HE city of New York being in the hands of

THE

the English, it was a prime object with Washington to secure the Highlands of the Hudson; and, with this view, the important position of West Point had been strongly fortified. A rocky promontory here commands the river, which is little more than a quarter of a mile in width, as it turns aside from its course before that natural obstruction. The enemy was as anxious to gain the post as the Americans were to defend it, for upon its possession would probably depend the safety of the country beyond the event of, at least, one campaign, and, as some thought, the ultimate fortune of the war.

It was in the summer of 1780, that Washington, yielding to the solicitations of Benedict Arnold, confided to his valour and loyalty this momentous. charge. No braver soldier had drawn a sword in

the cause of independence; and his daring exploits, in the early part of the struggle, had extorted the admiration of friends and foes. There can be little doubt, that it was chiefly to him and Schuyler that Gates was indebted for his victory at Saratoga. Yet his services had not met with the gratitude they deserved; and he had the mortification of seeing his claims passed over, and the representations of Washington, in his behalf, neglected by Congress. Unable to emulate or understand the patient magnanimity of his chief, he seems to have cherished angry and bitter feelings, which were yet to ripen into schemes of violence and revenge. Moreover, he had indulged in habits of luxury and extravagance, which involved him in pecuniary embarrassments, destroyed his sense of honourable independence, and exposed him to fatal temptations. While in command at Philadelphia, he had lived in the most expensive style, engaged in questionable speculations, and incurred debts to a large amount. The envy and ill-will he provoked by his ostentation, found a vent in all sorts of charges against him. He had lately married Miss Margaret Shippen, a beautiful young lady, whose family was suspected of hostility to the American cause; and this was enough to give rise