is now the state of Illinois was ceded to us by the Kaskaskias, in 1803.

3. In July, 1804, a duel was fought by Aaron Burr, vice-president of the United States, with Alexander Hamilton, late secretary of the treasury, and a distinguished officer of the Revolutionary war, in which the latter was killed at the first fire. The duel took place on the New Jersey shore, opposite New York.

4. The death of Hamilton produced a very deep sensation in the United States. He was unquestionably one of the ablest men known in the history of our country. But, in accepting the challenge of Burr, who sought his life, he was misled by a false notion of honor; and, in an evil hour, consented to take a step which he was too proud to retrace. Few men have been more lamented.

5. Jefferson was re-elected, and again took the oath of president of the United States, March 4th, 1805. George Clinton, of New York, was chosen vice-president, This office the latter held by re-election till death, which happened in April, 1812.

6. The following anecdote will show the character of Vice-President Clinton. At the close of the Revolutionary war, a British officer, in New York, for no crime worthy of notice, was about to be tarred and feathered. With a drawn sword in his hand, Clinton rushed in among the mob, and, at the hazard of his own life, rescued the officer,

1. DURING the year 1805-the first of President Jefferson's second term—a war broke out between the United States and Trip'-o-li, which, more than almost any other historical event of that period, deserves a particular notice.

2. For many years the inhabitants of the northern states of Africa had been known as corsairs or pirates, and the United States, as well as other nations, had suffered greatly from their depredations. The Tripolitans, in particular, had been very troublesome. Many of our vessels had been boarded and plundered; and the crews, in some in stances, had been carried into a captivity worse, if possible, than death.

3. What duel was fought in 1804? Describe it. 4. What can you say of the death of Hamilton? 5. Who was re-elected president in 1805? Who was chosen vice-president? 6. Relate the anecdote of Clinton.

CHAP. CLII.-1. What war broke out in 1805? 2. What was the character of the Borthern states of Africa? The Tripolitans?

WAR WITH TRIPOLI.

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8. To protect our commerce, as well as to humble the pirates, an armed naval force, under Commodore

COMMODORE BAINBRIDGE.

Preble, had been sent out to the Mediwhterranean as early as 1803. In the same year the Philadelphia frigate, under Captain Bainbridge, had joined him, but, in chasing a piratical vessel, had run aground and surrendered, and the captain and his crew had been reduced to captivity.

4. After the surrender of the Philadelphia, the Tripolitans got the vessel afloat, and moored her in the harbor. While lying there, Decatur, then only a lieutenant under Commodore Preble, formed a plan to destroy her, to which, as it required but twenty men and a single officer, the commodore,

after some hesitation, consented. 5. To accomplish his purpose, Decatur sailed, under cover of the night, in a Tripolitan vessel he had captured, for the Philadelphia, taking with him an old pilot, who understood perfectly the Tripolitan language. On approaching the Philadelphia, they were hailed; upon which the pilot answered that he had lost his cable and anchor, and wished to fasten his vessel to the frigate till morning.

6. The request was refused, but they were permitted to remain near the Philadelphia till the Tripolitans could send ashore to ask permission of the admiral. As soon as the boat had put off, Decatur and his men leaped on board, and in a few minutes cleared the deck of fifty Tripolitans. They then set the frigate on fire, and returned in the light of it to their squadron.

7. The plan was as successful as it was daring. Not a man was lost, and only one injured. This individual was wounded in defending Decatur. The latter, in a struggle with a Tripolitan, had been disarmed, and was about to have his head smitten off with a sabre, when the seaman enched out his arm and received the blow, and thus saved him.

8. The destruction of the Philadelphia greatly enraged the Tripoli tans; and the Americans whom they held in captivity were treated with greater severity than before. The sufferings of Captain Bainbridge and his crew, and their companions in bondage, were represent

3. What of Commodore Preble? The Philadelphia? 4. What was Decatur's plan? 5, 6. Describe the execution of this design. 7. What of the man who was injured? S. What effect had this feat on the Tripolitans? What of Captain Bainbridge and his men?

ed, at home, as great beyond endurance, and the public sentiment was in favor of continuing the war.

9. At this juncture, General Eaton, who had been consul of the United States up the Mediterranean, and was at Egypt on his return homeward, heard of the situation of his countrymen at Tripoli. He

also fell in at this time with Hamet, the rightful heir to the throne of Tripoli. Jussuf, the third son or the reigning ba shaw, to gain the throne, bad just murdered his father and elder brother, and also

was much interested in the story of Hamet, as well as affected by the sufferings of his enslaved countrymen. The beys of Egypt, too, were in favor of Hamet. A league was therefore made between Eaton and Hamet, by virtue of which Hamet was to be restored to his throne, and the American captives were to be released from their bondage.

11. Having procured a small number of Americans and a few soldiers from Egypt, General Eaton and Hamet crossed the desert of Barca and took Derne, the capital of a large province of Tripoli. The cause of Hamet had, by this time, become so popular, and their force so strong, that they were about to attack Tripoli; upon which Jussuf was glad to make peace with the American consul, Mr. Lear.

12. This treaty, while it released the captive Americans, did not restore Hamet to his throne. The latter visited the United States, in 1805, to solicit some remuneration for the services he had rendered General Eaton, and for the losses he had sustained by the premature treaty of peace, as he deemed it, made by Mr. Lear; but Congress did not see fit to grant his request.

9. What of General Eaton? Who was Hamet? What had Jussuf just done? 10. Who were in favor of Hamet? What league was made? 11. What did Hamet and Eaton do? Why was Jussuf glad to make peace? 12. What of Hamet afterward? How did Congress treat Hamet's request?

BURR'S CONSPIRACY.

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CHAPTER CLIII.

JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION, CONTINUED.-Burr's Con

spiracy.

1. ONE of the most remarkable events of the year 1806 was the Conspiracy, as it is called, of the late Vice President, Aaron Burr. After the death of General Hamilton, he had retired te a small island in the Ohio River, about two hundred miles below Pittsburg, since called Blennerhasset's Island.

AARON BURR.

2. Here he had set on foot a project for forming an independent empire west of the Alleghany Mountains, of which he was to be the chief or emperor. New Orleans was to be the capital. The government of the United States, apprised of his plan, arrested him, brought him to Richmond, in Virginia, and put him on trial for treason; but he was released for want of proof against him.

3. Burr found, moreover, that, beside the danger of being taken and convicted before he could get his scheme fairly under way, the attachment of the Western States to the general government was stronger than he had before supposed, and that his cunning and intrigue would not avail him.

4. It had been Burr's purpose, in case of the failure of his main plan, to proceed, with such forces as he could raise, to Mexico, and establish an empire there. But this restless man died without accomplishing the objects to which his ambition had prompted him; and all the kingdoms which his imagination had reared descended to the grave with him.

5. In point of talent, Burr was certainly a remarkable man. It was his unbounded ambition and unrestrained selfishness that ruined him. Had he aimed, like Washington, at the general good of his country, rather than his own aggrandizement, his memory might as well have been associated with the latter as with that of Benedict Arnold.

CHAP. CLIII.-1. Where had Burr retired after the death of Hamilton? 2. What was his plan? What of his trial? 8. What did he find? 4 What had been his purpose? What became of all his schemes? 5. What was his character?

6. It was about this period that President Jefferson directed Lewis and Clarke to explore the Missouri River. With a company of fortyfive men, they proceeded to its source, and then descended down the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, and returned the same way-traversing a distance of some six or eight thousand miles of wilderness in little more than two years and four months. The results of this expedition were a large accession of knowledge in respect to the geography and natural history of our country. The party returned in the year 1806.

CHAPTER CLIV.

JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION, CONTINUED.-Troubles with Great Britain.-British Orders in Council.-Napo leon's Berlin Decree.

1. IN 1807, Great Britain and France being at war with each other, the controversy drew to one side or the other most of the European powers; and there were not a few who would gladly have involved the United States in the quarrel. As yet, however, the government was determined, if possible, to remain neutral.

2. One serious difficulty, indeed, had arisen. Great Britain, having at her command a powerful navy, claimed the right of taking her own native-born subjects wherever she could find them. In pursuance of her purpose, many vessels belonging to the United States had been searched, and many individuals on board of them were seized and retained as British subjects.

3. As it was not always easy to distinguish American from British subjects, this custom of impressment gave great offence to the Americans. Thousands of our seamen, it was said, were claimed by the British, and, in this way, forced into their service; and, as if to continue and aggravate, instead of trying to remove the grievance, Great Britain would not so much as attempt any measures of redress.

4. Worse than even this difficulty took place; for, by an Order in Council of the British government, issued May 16th, 1806, declaring all the ports and rivers, from the Elbe in Germany, to Brest in France, in a state of blockade, American vessels trading to any of these ports were liable to be seized and condemned.

5. This decree of Great Britain was followed, in November, by one

6. Describe the expedition of Lewis and Clarke. When did they return? CHAP. CLV.-1. What of Great Britain and France in 1807? 2. What did Great Britain claim? & What of the impressment of our seamen? 4. What worse difficulty existed?