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36 tion to meddle with the government or disturb the tranquillity of the United States; that he had neither issued, nor signed, nor promised any commission to any one for any purpose; that he did not own any kind of military stores, and that nobody else did by his authority; that his views had been fully explained to several officers of the government and were approved by them; that he believed his purposes were well understood by the administration, and that they were such as every man of honor and every good citizen must approve. “Considering the high station you now fill in our national councils,” the letter concluded, “I have thought these explanations proper, as well to counteract the chimerical tales which malevolent persons have so industriously circulated, as to satisfy you that you have not espoused the cause of a man in any way unfriendly to the laws or the interests of the country.”

Clay did not know the man he was dealing with. He knew only that Burr had been Vice-President of the United States; that he was a prominent Republican; that the Federalists hated him; that the stories told about his schemes were almost too adventurous to be true. Burr's letter seemed to be straightforward, such as an innocent man would write. If the administration, at the head of which stood Jefferson himself, knew and approved of Burr's plans, they could not but be honorable. This is what Clay believed, and so he defended Burr faithfully and conscientiously. Nothing could