and may be judged of by all. They shall at least be offered in a spirit which will not disgrace the cause of truth.

28

I propose, in a series of papers, to discuss the following interesting particulars: The utility of the UNION to your political prosperity; 27 the insufficiency of the present confederation to preserve that Union; the necessity of a government at least equally energetic with the one proposed, to the attainment of this object;29 the conformity of the proposed Constitution to the true principles of republican governmeni; its analogy to your own State Constitution; and lastly, the additional security, which its adoption will afford to the preservation of that species of government, to liberty, and to property.31

30

In the progress of this discussion, I shall endeavor to give a satisfactory answer to all the objections which shall have made their appearance, that may seem to have any claim to attention.

It may perhaps be thought superfluous to offer arguments to prove the utility of the Union, a point, no doubt, deeply engraved on the hearts of the great body of the people in every State, and one which, it may be imagined, has no adversaries. But the fact is, that we already hear it whispered in the private circles of those who oppose the new Constitution, that the thirteen States are of too great extent for any general system, and that we must, of necessity, resort to separate confederacies of distinct portions of the whole. This doctrine will, in all probability, be gradually propagated, till it has votaries enough to countenance its open avowal. For nothing can be more evident, to those who are able to take an enlarged view of the subject, than the alternative of an adoption of the Constitution or a dismemberment of the Union. It may, therefore, be essential to examine particularly the advantages of that Union, the certain evils, and the probable dangers, to which every State will be exposed from its dissolution. This shall accordingly be done.

PUBLIUS.

NOTES TO THE "FEDERALIST."

FOR a statement of the circumstances under which the "Federalist was written, and an estimate of its literary character, consult the sketch of Hamilton.

The papers composing the "Federalist were published in The Independent Journal and other New York papers in 1787 and 1788. As a rule, a new number appeared every three days. The first number was written by Hamilton in the cabin of a little vessel, as he was gliding down the Hudson. The essays were at first signed “A Citizen;" but the writers soon afterwards, following the fashion of the time, adopted the classical name of " Publius.”

Sickness prevented Jay from doing his full share of the work. He wrote only five numbers. The burden fell upon Hamilton and Madison, the former writing fifty-one and the latter twenty-nine. The authorship of a few of the papers has been disputed. As a general thing, each writer sent his article to the printer without submitting it to his colleagues.

The comparative literary excellence of the contributions of Hamilton and Madison has been made the subject of discussion. The literary merits of the two writers are so nearly equal that it is difficult to decide between them. Hamilton has, perhaps, greater force, and Madison greater elegance. To criticize Madison's style as "stiff, harsh, and obscure" is grossly unjust.

The "Federalist" has met with the highest commendations abroad as well as at home. Guizot said, "that in the application of the elementary principles of government to practical administration, it was the greatest work known to him." It is described in an early number of the Edinburgh Review as "a work little known in Europe, but which exhibits a profundity of research and an acuteness of understanding which would have done honor to the most illustrious statesmen of modern times." In his "Commentaries on American Law," Chancellor Kent says: "I know not of any work on the principles of free government that is to be compared in instruction and in intrinsic value to this small and unpretending volume of the Federalist; not even if we resort to Aristotle, Cicero, Macchiavelli, Montesquieu, Milton, Locke, or Burke." Jefferson pronounced it "the best commentary on the principles of government which was ever written."

NUMBER I.

1. This refers to the government under the Articles of Confederation of 1777. Consult the general survey of the Revolutionary period.

2. At first the essays of the "Federalist" were addressed to the people of New York, but afterwards to the people of the United States.

3. Corresponding to the importance of the subject, the style rises to a high degree of dignity.

4. Note the significance of the subjunctive. What would be the difference in meaning if the indicative were used?

5. Give a synonym for "election."

ing of which is not understood.

Pass over no word the exact mean

6. What is the meaning of "event"? Discriminate between event, occurrence, and incident, and note the precision of Hamilton's diction. 7. Explain" innovates upon."

8. Note the precision secured in this sentence, and throughout the "Federalist," by the use of the Latin element of our language.

9. Consult the etymology of these words, and point out their force. Why is "obstacles" better here than impediments, difficulties, or hinderances?

10. What is the difference between "emolument" and " Note Hamilton's comprehensive and discriminating thought. II. The exact meaning of "disingenuous"?

consequence"?

12. May "the honest errors of minds led astray by preconceived jealousies and fears" be "blameless" without being "respectable"? What is the meaning of "respectable" in this case?

13. In what "respect"?

14. Why is “antagonists" here better than opponents? Discriminate between adversary, enemy, opponent, and antagonist.

15. Synonym for "ill-judged."

16. Why is "absurd" better than irrational or foolish in this case? What is the force of preposterous?

17. Why is "candid" exactly the right word?

18. What is the difference between "angry" and "malignant" passions ?

19. Federalists and Anti-Federalists.

20. Note the manner in which the parallelism of structure has been preserved in this sentence. It is evident that Hamilton had been a careful student of rhetoric.

21. What is the difference between " energy" and "efficiency"?

22. Synonym of "jealousy" in this case.

23. Discriminate between "pretence” and “artifice.” Note Hamilton's

clear thought and careful diction.

24. What is the meaning of "illiberal" here?

25. To what does "their" refer?

26. Paraphrase this sentence so as to bring out the meaning more clearly.

27. Discussed in numbers 2-14.

28. Numbers 15-22.

29. Numbers 23-35.

30. Numbers 36-84.

31. The last two subjects were treated of in the last number in a very brief way, because they had been considered fully, though incidentally, in the progress of the work.

VII.

SELECTIONS FROM IRVING.

RIP VAN WINKLE.

A POSTHUMOUS WRITING OF DIEDRICH KNICKERBOCKER

By Woden, God of Saxons,

From whence comes Wensday, that is Wodensday,

Truth is a thing that ever I will keep

Unto thylke day in which I creep into

My sepulchre.

CARTWRIGHT.'

WHOEVER has made a voyage up the Hudson, must remember the Kaatskill mountains. They are a dismembered branch of the great Appalachian family, and are seen away to the west of the river, swelling up to a noble height, and lording it over the surrounding country. Every change of season, every change of weather, indeed every hour of the day, produces some change in the magical hues and shapes of these mountains; and they are regarded by all the good wives, far and near, as perfect barometers. When the weather is fair and settled, they are clothed in blue and purple, and print their bold outlines on the clear evening sky; but sometimes, when the rest of the landscape is cloudless, they will gather a hood of gray vapors about their summits, which, in the last rays of the setting sun, will glow and light up like a crown of glory.

At the foot of these fairy mountains, the voyager may have descried the light smoke curling up from a village, whose shingle roofs gleam among the trees, just where the blue tints of the upland melt away into the fresh green of the nearer landscape. It is a little village of great antiquity, having been founded by some of the Dutch colonists, in the early times of the province, just about the beginning of the government of the good Peter Stuyvesant3 (may he rest in peace!); and there were some of the houses of the original settlers standing within a few years, built of small yellow bricks brought from Holland, having latticed windows and gable fronts, surmounted with weathercocks.