CHAPTER XVIII. THE DEMOCRACY. ITH Hamilton fell the last hopes of the Federalist party. Burr's fatal shot had destroyed more than his great rival. It had cut the ground from under his own feet, and left Jefferson in undisputed possession of the field. From the day of the duel, Burr ceased to be a political leader, and his name was held in horror by the great majority of his countrymen. A coroner's jury returned a verdict of Murder, and the Vice-President had to fly and conceal himself until the first fury of the people had blown over. After a time, his friends seem to have obtained a promise that no criminal proceedings would be taken against him; but his position was gone, and he was in most respects a ruined man. Driven from his profession, overwhelmed with debts, abandoned by one faction, and denounced by the other, he appeared to have no choice but to sink into obscurity and be forgotten. It was under these circumstances, that his wonderful energy contrived a scheme of matchless daring, which only proved how true had been the instinct of Hamilton, when he warned his country against placing power in the hands of this reckless ad venturer. The United States had just acquired Louisiana by purchase from France, but the Spaniards still held extensive possessions to the West of the Mississippi, and the border-land was inhabited by a wild, unsettled population, not very strict in their allegiance to any power. After the death of Hamilton, Burr went to travel in the South-Western regions, descending the Ohio in a boat, and afterwards proceeding in the same manner to New Orleans-a voyage which, with stoppages by the way, took him sixtyseven days. He returned on horseback through the wilderness, halted at Natchez, Nashville, and other places, made himself well acquainted with the habits and feelings of the people of those parts, and, if he is not much belied, conceived the most magnificent project that ever dazzled the eyes or mingled with the dreams of ambition. He hoped that a war with Spain was at hand; but, whether it broke out or not, his design was to assemble a host of restless and adventurous spirits on the frontier, and to take the first opportunity that might offer to invade the Spanish dominions. The conquest of Texas, the ultimate subjugation of Mexico-all those plans of lawless aggrandizement, which have since bewildered and misled so many of his countrymen-were present to the mind of Burr. It is said that the throne of Montezuma was his object, and that he saw himself already at the head of a new empire, which was to absorb the valley of the Mississippi, and the Western States of the Union. It is certain that he laboured incessantly to collect money, stores, and adherents, and that he was making every preparation for a warlike expedition, when he was betrayed by one of his confederates, and arrested by order of the President. He was brought a prisoner to Richmond, and there tried on a charge of treason. He was attacked and defended with equal violence and passion, but the evidence failed to prove the charge, and the jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty. Burr's own account of the matter was, that the object of his proposed expedition was to settle lands on the frontier, and not to levy private war, or to separate the Western from the Atlantic States. He was accordingly acquitted; but the outcry raised against him made it prudent for him to leave America for some time, and he embarked under a feigned name for Europe. For several years, he led the life of a wandering exile-in England, in Sweden, in Germany, in France. Suspicion seems to have followed him wherever he went, and he was frequently reduced to extremities for want both of cash and credit. He retained his taste for intrigue, his talents, energy, and courage; but the ghost of Hamilton must often have crossed his path, and barred his way to the recovery of fame and fortune. It is related, that, when in Paris, he wrote to Talleyrand requesting an interview, and that the latter replied: "The Minister for Foreign Affairs will be happy to see the late Vice-President of the United States; but M. Talleyrand thinks it due to Colonel Burr to state, that he always has the miniature of General Hamilton hanging over his mantel-piece." At length, the exile returned home, and was allowed to spend the rest of his days unmolested; but his society was generally shunned, and he lived in poverty and seclusion. He was indebted for the few comforts of his last years, when old and stricken with paralysis, to the ministry of that charitable sex, which had never ceased to regard him with a romantic interest. He lingered on to the age of eighty, and then died in obscurity-his end forming a singular contrast to the brilliancy of his youth, and the stormy ambition of his manhood. Let us hope, that this prolonged period of existence was not granted him in vain; and that, in sickness and solitude, he learned to repent of the great crime, which robbed America of her foremost statesman, and stained his own soul with blood. Meanwhile, Jefferson had endeavoured to maintain his power by the same arts that had acquired it. His object was "to sink Federalism into an abyss, from which there shall be no resurrection," and to complete the revolution he had begun, by giving entire sovereignty to the populace. He chose indeed to govern-but to govern by submission to the democracy. From his Presidency dates that utter prostration of the intellect of America to vulgar ignorance and clamour, which has made the tenure of office in that country a reproach and degradation to the holders. Every dyke and barrier, which still remained to check the advancing flood, was |