ashington was one of the
sweetest men she ever knew.

[Illustration: OIL THE GEARING OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.]

John Adams succeeded Washington as President, and did not change his
politics to amount to much.

He made a good record as Congressman, but lost it as President largely
because of his egotism. He seemed to think that if he neglected to oil
the gearing of the solar system about so often, it would stop running.
We should learn from this to be humble even when we are in authority.
Adams and Jefferson were good friends during the Revolution, but
afterwards political differences estranged them till they returned to
private life. Adams was a poor judge of men, and offended several
members of the press who called on him to get his message in advance.

Our country was on the eve of a war with France, when Napoleon I. was
made Consul, and peace followed.

Adams's administration made the Federalists unpopular, owing to the
Alien and Sedition laws, and Jefferson was elected the successor of
Adams, Burr running as Vice-President with him. The election was so
close that it went to the House, however.

Jefferson, or the Sage of Monticello, was a good President, noted for
his simplicity. He married and brought his bride home to Monticello
prior to this. She had to come on horseback about one hundred miles,
and, as the house was unfinished and no servants there, they had to
sleep on the work-bench and eat what was left of the carpenter's lunch.

Jeffersonian simplicity was his strong point, and people who called at
the White House often found him sprinkling the floor of his office, or
trying to start a fire with kerosene.

Burr was Vice-President, and, noticing at once that the office did not
attract any attention to speak of, decided to challenge Mr. Alexander
Hamilton to fight a duel with him.

[Illustration: TRYING TO START A FIRE WITH KEROSENE.]

The affair took place at Weehawken, July 11, 1804. Hamilton fell at the
first fire, on the same spot where his eldest son had been killed in the
same way.

The artist has shown us how Burr and Hamilton should have fought, but,
alas! they were not progressive men and did not realize this till too
late. Another method would have been to use the bloodless method of the
French duel, or the newspaper customs adopted by the pugilists of 1893.
The time is approaching when mortal combat in America will be confined
to belligerent people under the influence of liquor. A newspaper