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The purpose of the writer is to utilize a large number of original letters and documents, written by Alexander Hamilton and various members of his family as well as his contemporaries, and which in some measure throw light upon his private life and career as a soldier, lawyer, and states man. Most of these have never been published, and were left to me by my father, the late Philip Hamilton, who was his youngest son. I have no more ambitious purpose than to produce a simple narrative, for there are several important works that fully and formally describe his public services. The latest of these is Oliver's excellent book, which is a noble monument to the memory of Hamilton. If I have gone into detail very minutely it is because of the belief that the familiar side of his life will be of interest to a great many people who have hitherto been furnished only with unauthentic generalities.

A few of the letters already published by the late John C. Hamilton and Senator Lodge, or which appear in the Life of James McHenry, have been used, and some of these are little known.

It is a pleasure to express my obligation to Delos McCurdy, Esq., and H. D. Estabrook, Esq., of the New York Bar; to Worthington C. Ford, Esq., Librarian of the Massachusetts Historical Society; Wilberforce Eames, Esq., Librarian of the Lenox Library; Edward S. Holden, Esq., Librarian of the United States Military Academy; William H. Winters, Esq., Librarian of the New York Law Institute; to Richard Church, Esq., of Rochester, New York, and R. K. Bixby, Esq., of St. Louis, Missouri, as well as others, for kindly and valuable help.

Allan McLane Hamilton.

New York, June 1, 1910.