If he had been in deed and in truth an angel of light, the effect could scarcely have been more divine. In 1807 President Jefferson retained Wirt to assist the government in the trial of Aaron Burr for treason. So great were the legal acuteness and the cloquence which he displayed on this occasion, that he at once took rank among the foremost pleaders at the bar. Seldom has any court heard a more touching description than his narrative. of Blennerhassett's falling into the toils of the wily Burr, whereby his home was ruined and his fortunes broken. III.-Burr and Blennerhassett. 1. Let us put the case between Burr and Blennerhassett. Let us compare the two men, and settle this question of precedence between them. It may save much troublesome ceremony hereafter. 2. Who Aaron Burr is, we have seen in part already. I will add that, beginning his operations in New York, he associates with him men whose wealth is to supply the necessary funds. Possessed of the mainspring, his personal labor contrives all the machinery. Pervading the continent from New York to New Orleans, he draws into his plan, by every allurement which he can contrive, men of all ranks and professions. To youthful ardor he presents danger and glory; to ambition, rank, and titles, and honors; to avarice, the mines of Mexico. To each person whom he addresses he presents the objects adapted to his taste. 3. His recruiting officers are appointed. Men are engaged thoughout the continent. Civil life is, indeed, quiet upon its surface, but in its bosom this man has contrived to deposit the materials which, with the slightest touch of his match, will produce an explosion to shake the continent. All this his restless ambition has contrived; and in the autumn of 1806 he goes forth, for the last time, to apply the match. On this occasion he meets with Blennerhassett. 4. Who is Blennerhassett? A native of Ireland, a man of letters, who fled from the storms of his own country to find quiet in ours. Possessing himself of a beautiful island in the Ohio, he rears upon it a palace, and decorates it with every romantic embellishment of fancy. A shrubbery, that Shenstone might have envied, blooms around him; music, which might have charmed Calypso and her nymphs, is his; an extensive library spreads its treasures before him; a philosophical apparatus offers to him all the 'secrets and mysteries of Nature; peace, tranquillity, and innocence. shed their mingled delights around him; and, to crown the enchantment of the scene, a wife, who is said to be lovely even beyond her sex, and graced with every accomplishment that can render it irresistible, had blessed him. with her love, and made him the father of her children. The evidence would convince you, sir, that this is only a faint picture of the real life. 5. In the midst of all this peace, this innocence, and this tranquillity, this feast of the mind, this pure banquet of the heart, the destroyer comes-he comes to turn this paradise into a hell. A stranger presents himself. It is Aaron Burr. Introduced to their civilities by the high rank which he had lately held in his country, he soon finds his way to their hearts by the dignity and elegance of his demeanor, the light and beauty of his conversation, and the seductive and fascinating powers of his address. Innocence is 6. The conquest was not a difficult one. ever simple and credulous; conscious of no designs itself, it suspects none in others; it wears no guards before its breast; every door, and portal, and avenue of the heart is thrown open, and all who choose it enter. Such was the state of Eden when the serpent entered its bowers. The prisoner, in a more engaging form, winding himself into the open and unpractised heart of the unfortunate Blennerhassett, found but little difficulty in changing the native character of that heart, and the objects of its affection. 7. By degrees he infuses into it the poison of his own ambition; he breathes into it the fire of his own courage; a daring and desperate thirst for glory; an ardor panting for all the storms, and bustle, and hurricane of life. In a short time the whole man is changed, and every object of his former delights relinquished. No more he enjoys the tranquil scene; it has become flat and insipid to his taste; his books are abandoned; his retort and crucible are thrown aside; his shrubbery blooms and breathes its fragrance upon the air in vain; he likes it not; his ear no longer drinks the rich melody of music; it longs for the trumpet's clangor and the cannon's roar. Even the prattle of his babes, once so sweet, no longer affects him; and the angel smile of his wife, which hitherto touched his bosom with ecstasy so unspeakable, is now unseen and unfelt. 8. Greater objects have taken possession of his soul-his imagination has been dazzled by visions of diadems, and stars, and garters, and titles of nobility; he has been taught to burn with restless emulation at the names of Cromwell, Cæsar, and Bonaparte. His enchanted island is destined soon to relapse into a desert; and in a few months we find the tender and beautiful partner of his bosom, whom he lately "permitted not the winds of summer to visit too roughly"—we find her shivering, at midnight, on the winter banks of the Ohio, and mingling her tears with the torrents that froze as they fell. 9. Yet this unfortunate man, thus deluded from his interest and his happiness-thus seduced from the paths of innocence and peace-thus confounded in the toils which were deliberately spread for him, and overwhelmed by the mastering spirit and genius of another-this man, thus ruined and undone, and made to play a subordinate part in this grand drama of guilt and treason—this man is to be called the principal offender; while he, by whom he was thus plunged and steeped in misery, is comparatively innocent-a mere accessory! Sir, neither the human heart, nor the human understanding, will bear a perversion so monstrous and absurd; so shocking to the soul; so revolting to reason. CHAPTER XXXVIII.-MISCELLANEOUS. Independence Bell,-July 4th, 1776. [When it was certain that the Declaration of American Independence would be adopted by the Congress, then in session in Philadelphia, July 4th, 1776, it was determined to announce the event by ringing the old State-House Bell, which bore the inscription, "Proclaim liberty throughout the land, to all the inhabitants thereof." The old bell-man posted his little grandson at the door of the hall, to await the instruction of the doorkeeper when to ring. At the word the young patriot rushed out, and, clapping his hands, shouted, Ring! RING! RING!"] 66 1. There was a tumult in the city, In the quaint old Quaker town, Where they whispered each to each, 2. As the bleak Atlantic currents Lash the wild Newfoundland shore, 3. "Will they do it?" "Dare they do it?" "Who is speaking?” "What's the news?" "What of Adams?" "What of Sherman ?" Oh, God grant they won't refuse!" "Make some way there!" "Let me nearer!" 4. So they beat against the portal, On the scene looked down and smiled: Shed his patriot blood in vain, 5. See! See! The dense crowd quivers 6. Hushed the people's swelling murmur, 66 List the boy's exultant cry! Ring!" he shouts, "RING! grandpa, Quickly at the given signal The old bell-man lifts his hand, 7. How they shouted! What rejoicing! How the old bell shook the air, |