lumnies which I had seen published. That in this
Hamilton had joined, and had even written some of the pieces against
him. That his attachment to me had been sincere, and was still
unchanged, although many little stories had been carried to him, and
he supposed to me also, which he despised; but that attachments must be
reciprocal, or cease to exist, and therefore he asked if any change
had taken place in mine towards him; that he had chosen to have this
conversation with myself directly, and not through any intermediate
agent. He reminded me of a letter written to him about the time of
counting the votes (say February, 1801), mentioning that his election
had left a chasm in my arrangements; that I had lost him from my list
in the administration, &c. He observed, he believed it would be for
the interest of the republican cause for him to retire; that a
disadvantageous schism would otherwise take place; but that were he to
retire, it would be said he shrunk from the public sentence, which he
never would do; that his enemies were using my name to destroy him,
and something was necessary from me to prevent and deprive them of that
weapon, some mark of favor from me which would declare to the world that
he retired with my confidence.

I answered by recapitulating to him what had been my conduct previous
to the election of 1800. That I had never interfered directly or
indirectly, with my friends or any others, to influence the election
either for him or myself; that I considered it as my duty to be merely
passive, except that in Virginia I had taken some measures to procure
for him the unanimous vote of that State, because I thought any failure
there might be imputed to me. That in the election now coming on, I was
observing the same conduct, held no councils with any body respecting
it, nor suffered any one to speak to me on the subject, believing it my
duty to leave myself to the free discussion of the public; that I do
not at this moment know, nor have ever heard, who were to be proposed
as candidates for the public choice, except so far as could be gathered
from the newspapers. That as to the attack excited against him in the
newspapers, I had noticed it but as the passing wind; that I had seen
complaints that Cheetham, employed in publishing the laws, should be
permitted to eat the public bread and abuse its second officer: that as
to this, the publishers of the laws were appointed by the Secretary of
State, without any