iNTERPRISE,
 

By Mrs. Martha J.  Lamb.

Authoress of the History of the City of New York.
[Reprint b^ permission from the Ma^a^iiie of American History.}
 

The condition of affairs after the British army evacuated New York in
November, 1783, was depressing in the extreme — particulady for all those
whose sources of income had been destroyed by the disturbances of the
Revolution. There was plenty of work for mechanics and laborers, and
there was no lack of men who were ready and willing to work, but
employers were scarce. Pnvate purses and the public treasury were alike
empty. Even when employment was obtained, the pay was small and
uncertain.

It was a costly victory that had been won. Death had entered almost
every domestic circle during the war. Many homes were found a mere
pile of ashes, while the dwellings that remained standing were bruised and
dismantled ; gardens and grounds were covered with debris and a rank
growth of noxious weeds, and churches and public buildings bore the
terrible scars of their seven years' usage as riding schools and hospitals.
The want of money in this emergency was the severest of all embarrass¬
ments. The character of the city charter was not changed, and the new
Mayor, James Duane, was untiring in his efforts to restore property ; but
the removal and loss of records and securities occasioned the most painful
delays, and business of every kind—except litigation — revived slowly.

Toward the end of the first year the prospect was dimly brightened,
and with the winter Congress came and took its seat in the old city hall in
Wall Street.    By this time the genius of Hamilton had originated the first