CHAPTER VII I THE CHALLENGE T was not until the twentieth of June that a reply was received by Colonel Burr from General Hamilton. It had been delivered at Colonel Burr's law office, but he had been too busy with his clients to do more than open it and ascertain that it was an answer to his communication of the eighteenth. He sent a messenger to Judge Van Ness's office requesting him to call on him that evening at Richmond Hill. Eight o'clock found the two gentlemen seated once more in Burr's library. The General's reply was long. Burr read it over to himself, and then read it aloud to Van Ness. He was an eager and attentive listener. "Special pleading," said Van Ness, with a low chuckle. "He apparently is not willing to file a direct answer, or enter a demurrer, but rather insinuates that he is disposed to deny the jurisdiction of the court. But the point of his letter, like the sting of a scorpion, is in the end of it. Did you notice, Colonel Burr, that he virtually says that if you are not satisfied with this rambling, and, to me, very unsatisfactory communication, that he is prepared to abide the consequences. I never imagined he was capable of rising to quite so high a level as that, and even now I think it is more braggadocio on paper than anything else. Do you think he will fight, Colonel? 66 66 If I challenge him, he will have to,” replied Burr. him and he finds some sneaking way of avoiding a meeting, I will cowhide him, if you don't." “Calm yourself, Van Ness," said Burr, courteously. "I shall count upon your good offices as my second, but I do not think you will be called upon to take the place of the principal, although I know of no one to whom I would sooner confide the care of my honor were I unable to defend it myself." The two men clasped hands; then Burr continued: "I will think the General's letter over this evening, and will answer it to-morrow. Will you kindly see that it is delivered, Van Ness?" 66 Certainly," replied the latter, "there is no service that you can ask of me, Colonel, that I will not gladly render, even to taking your place as principal in this affair." As he said this both men smiled, but there was a great difference in those smiles. One was savage in its nature, while the other had a grave tinge of sadness. When Burr was alone, he sat down and read Hamilton's letter through again. His reply was short but to the point. On the twenty-second of June, General Hamilton called upon his friend, Nathaniel Pendleton, who, like Van Ness, was a judge. The interview took place in Judge Pendleton's private office. General Hamilton was evidently much excited and disturbed by something that had taken place, and his friend looked inquiringly at him as he noticed these marks of unusual excitement. "What has happened, General?" he inquired, after Hamilton had sat for five minutes without opening the expected conversation. The General took several papers from his pocket, neatly folded, and marked "1,” “2,” 3." 66 66 Read those, if you please, Judge," said he, “in the order in which they are numbered." While Pendleton was reading, Hamilton arose from his chair and, walking to a window at the farther end of the office, looked out upon the busy scene, for the Judge's office was upon a much frequented thoroughfare. "Well, General," said Pendleton, as he finished reading Burr's second letter, “what is to be the up-shot of this?" Hamilton walked slowly towards the speaker and resumed his chair. "When Mr. Van Ness brought Colonel Burr's last letter, I told him that I thought Burr's first letter was rude and offensive, and that it was not possible for me to give it any answer other than that Mr. Burr must take such steps as he might think proper." 66 What did Van Ness say to that?" inquired Pendleton. “Well,” replied the General, " he didn't seem quite satisfied to take my answer back to Colonel Burr. He requested me to take time to deliberate and then return an answer when I might possibly entertain a different opinion, and said that he would call on me to receive it." General Hamilton continued, "I told Mr. Van Ness that I did not perceive it possible for me to give any other answer than that I mentioned, unless Mr. Burr would take back his letter and write me one which would admit of a different reply. Keep those letters, Judge, and here is another which I have written and which I authorize you to deliver to Mr. Van Ness in case he calls upon you. I am going to my country house this afternoon, and may not be back to the city for several days. I know I can count upon your best and most friendly services in this matter." "Certainly," replied Judge Pendleton, "I regret the occurrence, but the situation must be faced with dignity and with a due regard for your well-established reputation." General Hamilton left the office, apparently of the opinion that an affair of honor could be settled by a brace of lawyers as though it were a mere legal squabble. Van Ness was anxious to have the matter culminate at the earliest possible moment. He knew General Hamilton's peculiarities as a lawyer, and felt sure that he would resort to every possible scheme to defer making a definite reply, trusting that the lapse of time and the excess of verbiage bestowed by him upon the question would eventually so cover up and befog the main points at issue, that it would consume much time to arrive at the real heart of the discussion; so, in a fever of impatience, he despatched a letter to General Hamilton. Van Ness having learned accidentally that General Hamilton had visited Judge Pendleton, presumably in relation to the dispute between himself and Colonel Burr, took occasion to call upon Pendleton and received from him a letter, it being the one that General Hamilton had left with Judge Pendleton at his interview with the latter. On the twenty-sixth of June, Judge Van Ness received a communication from Judge Pendleton. A conference took place that day between Judge Van Ness and Colonel Burr, as a result of which the former sent what was considered to be the closing letter of the correspondence to Judge Pendleton. After mature reflection, however, Colonel Burr decided to accompany the challenge with a further communication relating to certain points which, in his opinion, had not been fully covered in Judge Van Ness's last letter; so, when the challenge was presented to Judge Pendleton by Judge Van Ness, the latter handed him a communication written by him after a long interview with Colonel Burr in the library at Richmond Hill. At the time that Judge Van Ness called upon Judge Pendleton with the challenge, the latter, in behalf of General Hamilton, requested time for a reply, urging as a reason that General Hamilton was anxious to close up certain legal cases with which he was connected; that the session of the court would soon close, and that he trusted Colonel Burr would be willing to consent to the postponement under the circumstances. Van Ness communicated with Burr, and the latter willingly consented to allowing the time requested. On Friday, the sixth of July, the circuit being closed, Mr. Pendleton informed Mr. Van Ness that General Hamilton would be ready at any time after the Sunday following. On Monday, the ninth, preliminaries were arranged by the seconds, and the time of the meeting fixed for seven o'clock on the morning of Wednesday, July eleventh, the place selected being Weehawken Heights, about three miles above Hoboken on the Jersey side of the Hudson River, a famous resort for duellists. On Monday evening, Judge Van Ness called upon Colonel Burr and gave him a full account of his interview with Judge Pendleton. Burr listened attentively and during the recital made notes covering the details of the arrangements which had been concluded between the seconds. "I hope, Colonel Burr," said Van Ness, "that you are satisfied with the way I have conducted the somewhat lengthy and, to a marked degree, vexatious negotiations. It was always hard for me to deal with a man who is not willing to come to the point. I dislike verbiage and delay, but I knew from the first that in dealing with Hamilton we should have to contend with both." "My good friend," replied Burr, "your services have been of inestimable value to me, and I cannot find words to assure you how much I appreciate them. There |