Page:The Burr-Hamilton duel with correspondence.djvu/10



Sir:—I have maturely reflected on the subject of your letter of the 18th inst., and the more I have reflected the more I have become convinced that I could not without manifest impropriety make the avowal or disavowal which you seem to think necessary. The clause pointed out by Mr. Van Ness is in these terms: "I could detail to you a still more despicable opinion which Hamilton has expressed of Mr. Burr." To endeavor to discover the meaning of this declaration I was obliged to seek in the antecedent part of this letter for the opinion to which it referred as having been already disclosed. I found it in these words: "General Hamilton and Judge Kent have declared in substance that they looked upon Mr. Burr to be a dangerous man and one who ought not to be trusted with the reins of government."

The language of Doctor Cooper plainly implies that he considered this opinion of