heart of every American, in everlasting testimony against that period, of which it presents so terrible yet faithful a portrait.

A great handle was made of this letter to produce a rupture between the writer and General Washington. Besides the interpolated sentence, and the mutilated hue which the translations through Italian and French into English, gave the whole paragraph, a mistranslation of a single word entirely perverted its meaning, and made it a pliant text of copious misrepresentations of the author. The word forms' in the first sentence, was rendered form, so as to make Mr. Jefferson express hostility to the present frame or organization of government. Whereas the forms' there meant, were the levees, birth-days, the pompous cavalcade to the capitol on the meeting of Congress, the formal speech from the throne, the procession of Congress to re-echo the speech in an answer, &c. &c. Of all these, it is true, the writer of that letter was an avowed, an implacable enemy, and intended, on that occasion, to express his unqualified reprehension. Now General Washington perfectly understood what was meant by these forms, as they had been frequent subjects of conversation between him and Mr. Jefferson. On these occasions he always joined in condemning them, explained the circumstances by which the aristocrats had inveigled him into them, and afterwards took measures to prevent their repetition. When the term of his second election arrived, he called the heads of departments together, observed that a proper occasion was now offered, of revising the ceremonies established, and desired them, by consulting together, to agree on such changes as they should think pro.

per. Hamilton concurred with Mr. Jefferson at once, that there was too much ceremony for the character of our government, and particularly, that the parade of the installation at New-York ought not to be copied; that the President should desire the Chief Justice to attend him at his chambers, and administer the oath of office to him in the presence of the higher officers of the government. Randolph and Knox differed from them; the latter vehemently. As the opinions of the Cabinet were divided, and no positive decision given, no change was made.

The phrase 'Samsons in the field,' it was always said, was intended to include Gen. Washington under the general charge of apostacy. But himself never so understood it. He knew that it was meant for the officers of the Cincinnati generally, and that, from what had

passed between him and Mr. Jefferson at the commencement of the institution, it was not intended to include him. So far from his having called the author to an account, as has been gravely published, for these expressions in the letter to Mazzei, there never pas sed a word, written or verbal, directly or indirectly, between them on the subject; and their last parting, which was at the inauguration of Mr. Adams in '97, was warmly affectionate. General Washington never would have incurred such a degradation as to have appropriated to himself the imputation in that letter on the 'Samsons in combat."*

Unwearied stratagems were used to alienate the President from his late Secretary of State. The latter was represented as industriously engaged in promoting the opposition to the government. But if there was any one thing for which he was remarkable, it was his singular forbearance in this respect. It is an extraordinary fact in Mr. Jefferson's life, that he never wrote a paragraph for the newspapers. The only channel of communication which he employed, for making known his sentiments abroad, was that of private correspondence; and he always restrained it to those on whose fidelity he could sacredly rely against a public divulgation. It would be difficult to assign a motive for his singular caution on this head, unless it were an immeasurable desire for tranquillity. Every public inducement would certainly have constrained him to a different course; for he had declared, that were it left to himself to decide, whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, he should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.' Much as he idolized the freedom of the press, as the only safeguard of the public liberty, and preservative against human error, he never appropriated to his own use any portion of its efficacy; not even for the purposes of self-defence, against the unparalleled torrent of obloquy with which he was assailed for thirty years. This curious fact, which would not have been credited by the past generation, appears in many of his letters, and particularly in one to General Washington, written at this period.

"I have formerly mentioned to you, that from a very early period of my life, I had laid it down as a rule of conduct never to write a word for the public papers. From this, I have never departed in a

* Letter to Martin Van Buren, 1824.

single instance; and on a late occasion, [the British treaty,] when all the world seemed to be writing, besides a rigid adherence to my own rule, I can say with truth, that not a line for the press was ever communicated to me, by any other, except a single petition referred for my correction; which I did not correct, however, though the contrary, as I have heard, was said in a public place, by one person through error, through malice by another. I learn that this last has thought it worth his while to try to sow tares between you and me, by representing me as still engaged in the bustle of politics, and in turbulence and intrigue against the government. I never believed for a moment that this could make any impression on you, or that your knowledge of me would not overweigh the slander of an intriguer, dirtily employed in sifting the conversations of my table, where alone he could hear of me; and seeking to atone for his sins against you by sins against another, who had never done him any other injury than that of declining his confidences. Political conversations I really dislike, and therefore avoid where I can without affectation. But when urged by others, I have never conceived that having been in public life requires me to belie my sentiments, or even to conceal them. When I am led by conversation to express them, I do it with the same independence here, which I have practised every where, and which is inseparable from my nature."

Early in the year 1795, the two great parties of the nation became firmly arrayed against each other, on the question of providing a successor to General Washington. The withdrawal from the scene of competition, of the only man in the United States who united the choice of all parties, created the first occasion of a disputed election to the Presidency. Mr. Adams was taken up by the monarchical federalists, and by the aristocratical party generally, who, by the patronage of the government, by the duperies which they practised, and the 'terrorism with which they surrounded themselves,' drove all the moderate federalists, and many honest republicans into their ranks. Mr. Jefferson was undividedly designated as the republican candidate. His name was brought forward without concert or approbation on his part, and, indeed, in opposition to his express wishes. In answer to a letter from Mr. Madison, on the subject, in April, '95, he communicated his dispositions frankly and decidedly. After expressing the first wish of his heart, which was to see his correspondent himself at the head of the government, as the fittest person in the United States for that office, he says: "For as to myself, the subject had been thoroughly weighed and decided on, and my retirement from office had been meant from all office, high or low, without exception. I can say, too, with truth,

that the subject had not been presented to my mind by any vanity of my own. I know myself and my fellow citizens too well to have ever thought of it. But the idea was forced upon me by continual insinuations in the public papers, while I was in office. As all these came from a hostile quarter, I knew that their object was to poison the public mind as to my motives, when they were not able to charge me with facts. But the idea being once presented to me, my own quiet required that I should face it and examine it. I did so thoroughly, and had no difficulty to see that every reason which had determined me to retire from the office I then held, operated more strongly against that which was insinuated to be my object. I decided then on those general grounds which could alone he present to my mind at that time, that is to say, reputation, tranquillity, labor; for as to public duty, it could not be a topic of consideration in my case. If these general considerations were sufficient to ground a firm resolution never to permit myself to think of the office, or be thought of for it, the special ones, which have supervened on my retirement, still more insuperably bar the door to

it.

My health is entirely broken down within the last eight months; my age requires that I should place my affairs in a clear state: these are sound if taken care of, but capable of considerable dangers if longer neglected; and above all things, the delights I feel in the society of my family, and in the agricultural pursuits in which I am so eagerly engaged. The little spice of ambition which I had in my younger days, has long since evaporated, and I set still less store by a posthumous than present name. In stating to you the heads of reasons which have produced my determination, I do not mean an opening for future discussion, or that I may be reasoned out of it. The question is for ever closed with me; my sole object is to avail myself of the first opening ever given me from a friendly quarter (and I could not with decency do it before) of preventing any division or loss of votes, which might be fatal to the republican interest."

'There can be no doubt that these were the real sentiments of Mr. Jefferson. Writing to a bosom friend, with whom he was in habits of unlimited trust and counsel, he could have no possible motive to dissemble, but every rational one to avoid it. They were too analogous, also, to the whole tenor of his previous declarations, and to all his attachments to philosophy, agriculture and domestic retirement, not to preclude.every suspicion of their sincerity.

The contest was conducted with great asperity. In fierceness and turbulence of character, in the temper and dispositions of the respective parties, and in the principles which were put in issue, the contest so strongly resembled those, of which the present generation

have been frequent eye-witnesses and actors, as to render a description unnecessary. The issue is well known. The struggle of the people against the party in power, and who have abused that power to the strengthening of their own hands, is always an unequal one; and was lost, on the present occasion, by the transcendent popularity of the existing incumbent, which was dexterously made a stalking horse by the 'monocrats' for carrying their candidate into the succession. The majority, however, was too inconsiderable to make it a triumph. On counting the electoral votes in February, 1797, it appeared there were seventy-one for Mr. Adams, and sixty-eight for Mr. Jefferson. But the difference was still less between the real vote, which was 70 to 69; for. one of the Pennsylvania* electors was excluded, in consequence of some informality, and one who was not an elector, was admitted. Had the same rigor of construction been observed, in other cases of irregularity, the result of the election, in all probability, would have been reversed. The validity of the Vermont election was a subject of long and reasonable doubt, on the ground of informality. But Mr. Jefferson would not permit his friends to raise a question on it before the House. In a letter to Mr. Madison, dated January 16, 1797, about a month before the electoral votes were counted, he wrote: "I observe doubts are still expressed as to the validity of the Vermont election. Surely, in so great a case, substance, and not form, should prevail. I cannot suppose that the Vermont constitution has been strict in requiring particular forms of expressing the legislative will. As far as my disclaimer may have any effect, I pray you to declare it on every occasion, foreseen or not foreseen by me, in favor of the choice of the people substantially expressed, and to prevent the phenomenon of a pseudo-President at so early a day."

A similar instance of magnanimity towards his competitor, was manifested by Mr. Jefferson on another occasion during the election. At one time, it was pretty generally conjectured, that the vote would be equally divided between the opposing candidates; in which event the election would have devolved on the House of Representatives, which was likewise believed to be about equally divided.

The States of Pennsylvania, North-Carolina, South-Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee, voted for Mr. Jefferson. The New-England States, with N. York, N. Jersey and Delaware, voted for Mr. Adams. Maryland gave seven votes for Mr. Adams, and four for Mr. Jefferson.