ed recesses of his spirit:--

"There have been times when I have sat down and stared into myself with
horror; when I have felt as if sitting in the ruins of my nature. I have
caught myself up again and again, realizing where I was drifting. I have
let a fiend loose within me, and I have turned upon it at times with a
disgust so bitter and a terror so over-mastering that the mildness which
has resulted has made me feel indifferent and even amiable to mine
enemies. Whether this intimate knowledge of myself will save me, God
knows; but when some maddening provocation comes, after reaction has run
its course, I rage more hotly than ever, and only a sense of personal
dignity keeps me from using my fists. I am two-thirds passion, and I am
afraid that in the end it will consume me. I live so intensely, in my
best and my worst! I would give all I possess for your moderation and
balance."

"No, you would not," said Washington. "War is the breath of your
nostrils, and peace would kill you. Not that the poise I have acquired
brings me much peace in these days."

Hamilton, who had spoken dejectedly, but with the deep relief which
every mortal feels in a moment of open and safe confession, sprang to
his feet, and stood on the hearth rug, his eyes sparkling with humour.
"Confess, sir," he cried gaily. "You do not like Jefferson any better
than I do. Fancy him opposite to you day after day, stinging you with
honeyed shafts and opposing you with obstacle after obstacle, while
leering with hypocrisy. Put yourself in my place for an instant, and
blame me if you can."

"Oh," said Washington, with a deep growl of disgust, "o-h-h!" But he
would not discuss his Secretary of State, even with Hamilton.

XXVII

The bombardment from Freneau's _Gazette_ opened at once. It began with a
general assault upon the Administration, denouncing every prominent
member in turn as a monarchist or an aristocrat, and every measure as
subversive of the liberties of the country. Vice-President Adams
received a heavy broadside, his "Discourses on Davila," with their
animadversions upon the French Revolution in particular and Democracy in
general, being regarded as a heinous offence against the spirit of his
country, and detrimental to the political morals of the American youth.
But although the _Gazette_ kept up its pretence of being an
anti-Administration organ, publishing in the interests of a deluded
people, it soon settled down to abuse of Hamilton.