Year: 1874

[From the. New York Evening Post.1

 THE DUEL.

 A Reminiscence of Seventy Years Ago.

 On Saturday the 14th of July, 1904, this city witnessed the most solemn and impressive funeral pageant which had, up to that time, appeared in it's streets. Four years previously the mock funeral of Washington had been celebrated with all the pomp of which the age was capable, but that was merely civic demonstration of respect and sorrow. When Hamilton was buried the populace beheld the corpse of the dead, and saw in his funeral the result of terrible crime. It was not only the death of an exalted and almost idol1zed leader, but his death by mur- der, that gave such deep and unutter- able thrill to the heart of the public. The history of this tragedy is so reference is sufficient to revive it's power. It will be remembered that the cause of the duel, as alleged by

 

 upon him by Hamilton in conversation with General Cooper and others several years previously. This, however, was but pretext for settling along account There was a constitutional antagonism between these two gifted men, but though their mutual antipathy had been of long standing, it's bloody termina- tion was little expected. Only four years previously they had served as united counsel, having been associated in one of the most important murder cases which had ever occurred in this city. This was the trial of Levi Weeks for the murder of Gulielma Sands, and was commonly called "the Manhattan We'll murder" .s

 Miss Sands was the daughter of a British officer and lived with her uncle. She was engaged to be married to the prisoner. One night she accompanied him in sleigh drive, so it was alleged, and never returned. When Weeks was interrogated concerning her he denied that she accompanied him, and al- though it was proved that she left her room to go with him no one saw them depart together. A week afterwards, as some boys were playing on the Com mons (the locality being near Spring street) they discovered corpse in one of the wells belonging to the Manhat- tan Company. The alarm was given, and the body was found to be that of the missing girl. An intense excite ment followed, and Weeks was indicted and tried for the crime. He had in- fuentlal friends, who were determined to employ the best legal talent. Burr was then forty-fve years old, and had won reputation as an adroit and tenacious attorney, and an expert in the use of all kinds of legal strategy. He was also recognized as the leader of the northern republicans -afact which soon afterwards placed him in nomination for the Presidency. Hamilton was a year younger, and enjoyed distinction | as statesman, man of unsurpassed eloquence and the leading federalist of New York. Two such noted lawyers, and especially such political opponents, had never previously been associated in criminal practice and indeed this was the first murder of importance which had occurred since the Revolu- tion. The case lasted three days, and the prisoner was acquitted but many considered him guilty, and no one had been found on whom circumstances fastened the deed so powerfully. The trial took place March 31, 1900, in Fed eral Hall, which occupied the site on which the Treasury now stands, and the judge was Chancellor Lansing, who subsequently, perished in so mysteri- ous a manner. Indeed, the whole affair was series of tragedies. In ad- dition to the hard fate of Miss Sands, was that of the counsel for the defence. One of these killed the other, and then became a fugitive, while the judge either committed suicide or died by | violence or accident. He disappeared | in manner which has never been ex- l plained. Some assert that he hanged himself in the garret of the City Hotel, and that his friends buried the body secretly while others say that he left the hotel for the Albany steamboat, which then lay at the foot of Cedar street, and that he fell into the slip and was drowned. It IS to be remembered that at the very time when Hamilton was thus associated with Burr he was, in his private correspondence, writing bitter things against him. He was deeply convinced that Burr was dan gerous man to society and to the country.

 To return to the duel. After the murder trial Burr and Hamilton never were found in harmony, and indeed they ceased to be even on speaking terms. They were antagonistic leaders of political opinion, and the division ot parties was then often accompanied by the most bitter personal hostility. Burr had four years previously been defeated in the Presidential canvass, and though this defeat grew out of division in the republican party, yet the federalists, among whom Hamilton was so infuen- tial, bore part in it. Burr no doubt ascribed his ill-success to Hamilton's unconcealed opposition, and was de. termined to infict the highest punish. ment in his power-death by the pistol even if he perished in the attempt At the time the duel took place Burr was 8 widower,- and his only child Theodosia, had been for some years married to Joseph Aston, Governor ot South Carolina. Hence he stood almost alone in the world. On the other hand Hamilton was the head of 6 large family, which depended solely upon his earnings. Both men were in embar rassed circumstances, and, though hold | ing large amounts of real estate, they were deeply in debt. Hamilton had