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

Of

Sentimental Pleasure. Fancy Steps In To My Aid, Colours The Picture,

And Makes It Delightful Indeed. You Are In The Very Frame Of Mind I

Wish You To Be; May It Continue.

 

 

I Cannot Tell You What Has Become Of Mrs. Prevost'S Affairs. About Two

Months Ago I Received A Very Polite Letter From Her. She Was

Apprehensive That The Commissioners Would Proceed. It Seems They

Threatened To Go On. I Wrote Them On The Subject, But I Have Not Heard

The Event. I Am At This Place, On My Way To A Superior Court In

Bergen. If Possible, I Shall Wait On The Good Gentlewoman. At Bergen I

Shall Inquire Into The State Of The Matter. It Will, Indeed, Turn Up

Of Course. You Shall Soon Hear From Me Again. Adieu. May Health And

Happiness Await You

 

 

William Paterson.

 

 

 

 

 

The Precarious And Unsettled State Of Colonel Burr'S Health, In The

Autumn Of 1779 And The Beginning Of 1780, Was Such That He Was Unable

To Adopt And Adhere To Any Regular System Of Study. Among His Most

Intimate Personal Friends Was Colonel Robert Troup. He, Too, Had

Determined To Retire From Public Service, And Was Anxious To Study In

The Same Office With Burr. His Letters Cast Much Light On Their

Pursuits At The Time They Were Written.

Chapter XII Pg 176

From Colonel Troup.

 

 

Philadelphia, 16Th January, 1780.

 

 

My Dear Friend,

 

 

Watkins Was Kind Enough To Deliver Me Yours Of The 8Th Of December,

Written, I Presume, At Paramus. I Almost Envy You The Happiness You

Have Enjoyed. From The First Moment Of My Acquaintance With Mrs.

Prevost And Her Sister, I Conceived An Admiration For Them Both, Which

Is Much Increased By The Opinion You Entertain Of Them. How, Then, Am

I Flattered By Their Polite Manner Of Mentioning My Name. To Whom Am I

Indebted But To You, My Friend, For This Unmerited Favour? Surely

These Ladies Saw Nothing In Me At Governor Livingston'S Which Was

Worthy Of Remembrance, Unless A Terrible Noise, Which Some People Call

Laughter, Could Be Worth Remembering. With The Best Intention,

Therefore, To Serve Me, You Have Done Me An Injury, Aaron. I Shall Be

Afraid To See Our Favourites In The Spring, Because I Shall Fall

Infinitely Short Of Their Ideas Of Cleverness. Pray, Do You Recollect

The Opinion Which Judge Candour Solemnly Pronounced Upon Us Both, In A

Court Of Reason Held At The Indian King? Why, Then, Will You Expose My

Weakness By Ascribing To Me Imaginary Excellences? If You Persist In

Such Cruel Conduct, Sir, I Will Make You Feel The Weight Of My

Resentment, By Publishing To The World The Purity Of My Esteem For

Your Public And Private Character.

 

 

I Am Happy To Find Our Plan Of Studying Together Appears More And More

Rational To You. It Really Does To Me, And I Hope We Shall Follow It.

Since You Left Philadelphia, Some Circumstances Have Turned Up Which

Render My Office So Disagreeable To Me That I Am Determined To Resign.

_Vous Pouvez Compter Sur Moi_. Besides The Disgust I Have Taken, I Am

Led To It By Ambition, Which Has A Small Share Of Influence Over Me As

Well As You.

 

 

But I Am Desirous Of A Change In Our Plan, Which I Request You To

Think Of Seriously. I Am Inclined To Believe It Would Be Best For Us

To Study The Law With Mr. Stockton, At Princeton. This, I Know, Will

Surprise You; But Your Surprise Will Be Lessened When You Hear My

Reasons.

 

 

The Practice Of Connecticut Differs So Materially From The Practice Of

New-York And New-Jersey, That We Should Lose Time By Being With Mr.

Osmer. For, After Being Eighteen Months Or Two Years With Him, It

Would Be Necessary To Continue Nearly The Same Time In Another Office,

To Get A Competent Knowledge Of The Practice. This Is A Matter Of

Consequence, Especially As It Is My Object To Qualify Myself For

Practice As Soon As Possible.

 

 

I Have The Highest Opinion Of Mr. Osmer, And, Did I Intend To Follow

The Law In Connecticut, There Is No Man I Would Sooner Study With. I

Believe He Would Ground Us Well In The Knowledge Of The Dead-Letter Of

The Law; But I Wish To Have The Practice And The Theory Accompanying

Each Other. Mr. Stockton Has Been Polite Enough To Make Me An Offer,

And Has Promised To Spare No Pains To Instruct Me. He Would Be Glad To

Instruct You Likewise; For I Have Heard Him Express Himself Of You In

The Most Friendly Manner. I Propose To Lodge At Some Substantial

Farmer'S House, About A Mile From The Main Road, And Have Made A

Solemn League And Covenant With My Own Mind To Seclude Myself From The

Pleasures Of The World. This I Know I Can Do. And Have You Not As Much

Philosophy As I Have?

 

 

It Is True, Mr. Stockton Has Unmarried Daughters, And There Is A

Number Of Genteel Families In And Near Princeton. But Why Should We

Connect Ourselves With Any Of Them, So As To Interrupt Our Studies?

They Will Be Entitled To A Civil Bow From Us Whenever We Meet Them;

And, If They Expect More, They Will Be Disappointed. Indeed, L Shall

Take Care To Inform Them Of My Intentions, And If They Afterwards

Complain Of My Want Of Politeness In Not Visiting Them, It Will Give

Me Little Uneasiness.

 

 

I Entreat You, My Dearest And Best Friend, To Reflect On This Matter,

And Favour Me With Your Answer Without A Moment'S Loss Of Time. My

Happiness, And My Improvement In The Law, Depend Entirely Upon

Pursuing My Studies With You. The Change I Now Propose Is Conformable

To The Sentiments And Wishes Of All My Friends, Particularly Of

Chancellor Livingston, Who Is Certainly A Judge.

 

 

I Forgot To Mention That Mr. Stockton Is Universally Allowed To Be One

Of The Best Speakers We Ever Had In This Part Of The Continent, And It

Will Therefore Be In His Power To Teach Us The Eloquence Of The Bar,

Which May Be Considered As A Capital Advantage.

 

 

I Have Communicated My Sentiments On This Subject More Fully To Our

Mutual Friend, Colonel Wadsworth, Who Will Deliver You This Letter,

Than I Have To You In Writing. He Will Explain Them To You, And, I Am

Sure, Will Give You His Own With The Utmost Candour And Sincerity. I

Have Left Several Messages At The House Dr. ----- Lodges When He Is In

Town; But Cannot Get An Answer, And See Little Prospect Of Getting

Your Money Unless You Write Him A Dunning Letter. I Shall Leave One

For Him To-Morrow, And Will Endeavour To Have The Affair Settled This

Week.

 

 

I Write This At My Lodgings, Where I Have Not A Single Newspaper.

Colonel Wadsworth Will Leave Town In The Course Of An Hour; And, If I

Can Find Time, I Will Go To The Office And Collect All I Can Find.

There Have Been None, However, Since You Left Town, Which Are Worth

Reading. Wadsworth Will Tell You All The News I Have, Which Is, That

Old Roger Sherman Is Metamorphosed, By Some Strange Magical Power,

Into _A Very Honest Man_.

 

 

God Bless You, And May Dom. Tetard Soon Have The Pleasure Of Drinking

A Glass Of Wine With Us Both, In His House At Kingsbridge. I Mean,

After The British Gentry Have Left It. I Should Have Written To You

Before, But I Have Been Waiting These Three Weeks Past For Colonel

Wadsworth To Leave Philadelphia. He Will Inform You Of The Cursed

Slavish Life I Lead At The Treasury Office. I Am Obliged To Attend It

Even On Saturday Nights, Which Places Me Below The Level Of A Negro In

Point Of Liberty. Pray Present My Best Respects To Tetard, And Assure

Him Of My Wishes To Serve Him At All Times, And On All Occasions.

 

 

Yours,

 

 

Robert Troup.

Chapter XII Pg 177

From Colonel Troup.

 

 

Philadelphia, February 14Th, 1780.

 

 

My Dear Burr,

 

 

I Have Resigned My Office, And Am Now Preparing To Leave Philadelphia

To Go To Princeton, Agreeable To The Plan In My Letter By Colonel

Wadsworth. This Week I Expect To Finish A Little Private Business I

Have On Hand, And, By The Latter End Of The Next, To Be Settled In A

Regular Course Of Study With Mr. Stockton. What Think You Of This

Alteration In The Plan We Settled? Can You Leave Mr. Osmer Without

Injury? I Assure You, The Only Motive I Have To Prefer Stockton Is A

Desire To Qualify Myself For Practice As Soon As Possible. All My

Friends Are Against My Studying In Connecticut, For The Reason

Mentioned In My Last; And They All Recommend Stockton To Me. I Am

Therefore Determined To Study With Him.

 

 

I Am Very Much Afraid That Princeton Will Be Disagreeable To You On

Many Accounts, And Particularly On Account Of The Number Of

Acquaintances You Have In And Near It. This Is A Misfortune, To Be

Sure; But Do As I Shall, _Neglect Them All_; It Is Matter Of Perfect

Indifference To Me Whether I Affront Them Or Not. My Object Is To

Study With The Closest Attention. I Must Do It. I Have No Other

Resource.

 

 

Permit Me To Declare, Like A Sincere Friend, That My Happiness Is So

Intimately Connected With Yours, That I Shall Be Chagrined To An

Extreme If You Find It Inconvenient To Join Me. We Could Be Useful To

Each Other. Besides Facilitating Each Other'S Progress In The Law, We

Could Improve Ourselves In Writing And Speaking. In One Word--I Am

Confident I Should Acquire As Much Knowledge In Three Years With You

As In Six Years Without You. I Never Was More Serious. Come,

Therefore, Immediately, And Bring Mr. Tetard With You To Perfect Us In

The French Language, Which I Have Paid Little Attention To Since I

Wrote You, And Indeed Since You Left Me.

 

 

Pray Why Have You Neglected To Answer My Letter By Colonel Wadsworth?

I Suspect Something Extraordinary Is The Matter With You. Or Are You

So Angry As Not To Think I Merit An Answer? Whatever Your Reason Was,

Let Me Request You To Favour Me With An Answer To This By The First

Opportunity. If It Is Sent Under Cover To Mr. Stockton, It Will

Perhaps Reach Me Sooner.

 

 

It Is Reported, And Pretty General Believed, That Sir Henry Clinton,

With The Fleet That Came From New-York About Six Weeks Ago, Has

Touched At Georgia; Taken Prevost'S Troops With Him, And Gone Either

To St. Augustine Or The Havannah. This Is Very Important News, If

True; But It Seems To Wait Confirmation.

 

 

Your Unalterable Friend,

 

 

Robert Troup.

Chapter XII Pg 178