Memoirs Of Aaron Burr, Volume 1, Matthew L. Davis [book club suggestions .txt] 📗

Looked Her In The Face. "Colonel," Said She, "You

Do Not Recollect Me."

 

 

"I Do Not, Madam," Was The Reply.

Chapter XII Pg 172

"It Is Miss K., Sir."

       

 

"What!" Said He, "Miss K. _Yet_!"

 

 

The Lady, Somewhat Piqued, Reiterated, "Yes, Sir, Miss K. _Yet_!"

 

 

Feeling The Delicacy Of His Situation, And The Unfortunate Error He

Had Committed, He Gently Took Her Hand, And Emphatically Remarked,

"Well, Madam, Then I Venture To Assert _That It Is Not The Fault Of My

Sex_."

 

 

On Burr'S Being Appointed, In 1777, A Lieutenant-Colonel In The Army,

He Joined His Regiment, Then Stationed At Ramapoa, In New-Jersey. At

Paramus, Not Far Distant, Resided Mrs. Prevost, The Wife Of Colonel

Prevost, Of The British Army. She Was An Accomplished And Intelligent

Lady. Her Husband Was With His Regiment In The West Indies, Where He

Died Early In The Revolutionary War. She Had A Sister Residing With

Her. It Was Her Son, The Hon. John B. Prevost, Who In 1802 Was

Recorder Of The City Of New-York, And Subsequently District Judge Of

The United States Court For The District Of Louisiana. The House Of

Mrs. Prevost Was The Resort Of The Most Accomplished Officers In The

American Army When They Were In The Vicinity Of It. She Was Highly

Respected By Her Neighbours, And Visited By The Most Genteel People Of

The Surrounding Country. Her Situation Was One Of Great Delicacy And

Constant Apprehension.

 

 

The Wife Of A British Officer, And Connected With The Adherents Of The

Crown, Naturally Became An Object Of Political Suspicion,

Notwithstanding Great Circumspection On Her Part. Under Such

Circumstances, A Strong Sympathy Was Excited In Her Behalf. Yet There

Were Those Among The Whigs Who Were Inclined To Enforce The Laws Of

The State Against Her, Whereby She Would Be Compelled To Withdraw

Within The Lines Of The Enemy. In This Family Colonel Burr Became

Intimate In 1777, And In 1782 Married The Widow Prevost. 

Chapter XII (James Monroe To Mrs. Prevost) Pg 173

Philadelphia, November 8Th, 1778.

 

 

A Young Lady Who Either Is, Or Pretends To Be, In Love, Is, You Know,

My Dear Mrs. Prevost, The Most Unreasonable Creature In Existence. If

She Looks A Smile Or A Frown, Which Does Not Immediately Give Or

Deprive You Of Happiness (At Least To Appearance), Your Company Soon

Becomes Very Insipid. Each Feature Has Its Beauty, And Each Attitude

The Graces, Or You Have No Judgment.

 

 

But If You Are So Stupidly

Insensible Of Her Charms As To Deprive Your Tongue And Eyes Of Every

Expression Of Admiration, And Not Only To Be Silent Respecting Her,

But Devote Them To An Absent Object, She Cannot Receive A Higher

Insult; Nor Would She, If Not Restrained By Politeness, Refrain From

Open Resentment.

 

 

Upon This Principle I Think I Stand Excused For Not Writing From B.

Ridge. I Proposed It, However; And, After Meeting With Opposition In

-----, To Obtain Her Point, She Promised To Visit The Little

"Hermitage," [2] And Make My Excuse Herself. I Took Occasion To Turn

The Conversation To A Different Object, And Plead For Permission To Go

To France. I Gave Up In One Instance, And She Certainly Ought In The

Other. But Writing A Letter And Going To France Are Very Different,

You Will Perhaps Say. She Objected To It, And All The Arguments Which

A Fond, Delicate, Unmarried Lady Could Use, She Did Not Fail To

Produce Against It. I Plead The Advantage I Should Derive From It. The

Personal Improvement, The Connexions I Should Make. I Told Her She Was

Not The Only One On Whom Fortune Did Not Smile In Every Instance. I

Produced Examples From Her Own Acquaintance, And Represented Their

Situation In Terms Which Sensibly Affected Both Herself And Lady

C----. I Painted A Lady Full Of Affection, Of Tenderness, And

Sensibility, Separated From Her Husband, For A Series Of Time, By The

Cruelty Of The War--Her Uncertainty Respecting His Health; The Pain

And Anxiety Which Must Naturally Arise From It. I Represented, In The

Most Pathetic Terms, The Disquietudes Which, From The Nature Of Her

Connexion, Might Possibly Intrude On Her Domestic Retreat. I Then

Raised To Her View Fortitude Under Distress; Cheerfullness, Life, And

Gayety, In The Midst Of Affliction.

 

 

I Hope You Will Forgive Me, My Dear Little Friend, If I Produced You

To Give Life To The Image. The Instance, She Owned, Was Applicable.

She Felt For You From Her Heart, And She Has A Heart Capable Of

Feeling. She Wished Not A Misfortune Similar To Yours; But, If I Was

Resolved To Make It So, She Would Strive To Imitate Your Example. I

Have Now Permission To Go Where I Please, But You Must Not Forget Her.

She And Lady C---- Promise To Come To The Hermitage To Spend A Week Or

Two. Encourage Her, And Represent The Advantage I Shall Gain From

Travel. But Why Should I Desire You To Do What I Know Your Own Heart

Will Dictate? For A Heart So Capable Of Friendship Feels Its Own Pain

Alleviated By Alleviating That Of Another.

 

 

But Do Not Suppose That My Attention Is Only Taken Up With My Own

Affairs. I Am Too Much Attached Ever To Forget The Hermitage. Mrs.

Duvall, I Hope, Is Recovering; And Kitty'S Indisposition Is That Of My

Nearest Relation. Mrs. De Visme Has Delicate Nerves. Tell Me Her

Children Are Well, And I Know She Has A Flow Of Spirits, For Her

Health Depends Entirely On Theirs.

 

 

I Was Unfortunate In Not Being Able To Meet With The Governor. He Was

Neither At Elizabethtown, B. Ridge, Princeton, Nor Trenton.

 

 

I Have

Consulted With Several Members Of Congress On The Occasion. They Own

The Injustice, But Cannot Interfere. The Laws Of Each State Must

Govern Itself. They Cannot Conceive The Possibility Of Its Taking

Place. General Lee Says It Must Not Take Place; And If He Was An

Absolute Monarch, He Would Issue An Order To Prevent It.

 

 

I Am Introduced To The Gentleman I Wished By General Lee In A Very

Particular Manner. I Cannot Determine With Certainty What I Shall Do

Till My Arrival In Virginia.

 

 

Make My Compliments To Mrs. And Miss De Visme, And Believe Me, With

The Sincerest Friendship,

 

 

Yours,

 

 

James Monroe

Chapter XII Pg 174

Mr. Peter De Visme, The Brother Of Mrs. Prevost, Was Captured At Sea,

And Made Prisoner Of War. As She Was Personally Acquainted With

General Washington, She Solicited His Influence To Promote His

Exchange, To Which The General Replied:--

                            

 

Headquarters, Middlebrook, 19Th May, 1779.

 

 

Madam,

 

 

It Is Much To Be Regretted That The Pleasure Of Obeying The First

Emotions In Favour Of Misfortune Is Not Always In Our Power. I Should

Be Happy Could I Consider Myself At Liberty To Comply With Your

Request In The Case Of Your Brother, Mr. Peter De Visme. But, As I

Have Heretofore Taken No Direction In The Disposal Of Marine

Prisoners, I Cannot, With Propriety, Interfere On The Present

Occasion, However Great The Satisfaction I Should Feel In Obliging

Where You Are Interested. Your Good Sense Will Perceive This, And Find

A Sufficient Excuse In The Delicacy Of My Situation.

 

 

I Have The Honour To Be, Madam,

 

 

Your Obedient Servant,

 

 

George Washington.

Chapter XII Pg 175

From William Patterson.

 

 

Morristown, 29Th September, 1779.

 

 

Dear Burr,

 

 

About Four Weeks Ago I Received A Letter From You Of The 8Th Of

August, And, A Week After, Another Of The 23D. They Came By The Way Of

Moorestown, From Which To Rariton, Where I Reside. The Conveyance Is

Easy And Safe. I Cannot Point Out Any Mode Of Sending Your Letters

Better Than That Which You Have Adopted.

 

 

I Was Pleased Extremely To Hear From You, And, Indeed, Was Quite

Disappointed In Not Hearing From You Sooner. I Was For A Time In

Expectation That You Would Return Into Jersey, As The Scene Of

Military Operations Was Directed To Your Part Of The World, And Would

Unavoidably Drive You From Your Study And Repose. Military Operations

Are So Fluctuating And Uncertain As To Render It Exceedingly Difficult

To Fix Upon A Retreat Which May Not Be Broken In Upon In The Course Of

A Campaign. New-Haven Bid Fair To Be The Seat Of Calmness And

Serenity, Of Course Well Suited For A Studious And Contemplative Mind,

And Therefore Made Choice Of As The Place Of Your Abode. New-Haven,

However, Partook Of The Common Calamity; And, In The Evolution Of

Human Events, From A Place Of Safety And Repose, Was Turned Into A

Place Of Confusion And War.

 

 

You Are Not Contented, My Dear Burr, And Why Are You Not? You Sigh For

New-Jersey, And Why Do You Not Return? It Is True We Are Continually

Broken In Upon By The Sons Of Tumult And War. Our Situation Is Such

That The One Army Or The Other Is Almost Constantly With Us, And Yet

We Rub Along With Tolerable Order, Spirit, And Content. Oh! That The

Days Of Peace Would Once More Return, That We Might Follow What

Business, Partake Of What Amusements, And Think And Live As We Please.

As To Myself, I Am, My Dear Burr, One Of The Happiest Of Men. The

Office I Hold Calls Me Too Frequently, And Detains Me Too Long, From

Home, Otherwise I Should Enjoy Happiness As Full And High As This

World Can Afford. It Is, As You Express It, "Serene, Rural, And

Sentimental;" And Such, One Day, You Will _Feel_.

 

 

"You See No Company--You Partake Of No Amusements--You Are Always

Grave." Such, Too, Has Been The Life That I Have Lived For Months And

Years. I Cannot Say That It Is An Unpleasing One. I Avoided Company;

Indeed, I Do So Still, Unless It Be The Company Of Chosen Friends. I

Have Been Ever Fond Of My Fireside And Study--Ever Fond Of Calling Up

Some Absent Friend, And Of Living Over, In Idea, Past Times