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

Chapter XII Pg 189

From Colonel Troup.

 

 

On The Rariton, 21St August, 1780.

 

 

My Dear Burr,

 

 

The Account I Have Given Of My Situation Is Far From A Fiction. You

Will Find It A Pleasing Reality When You Come Here, Which I Suppose

You Will Postpone Till You See Me, As I Have No Doubt At Present That

The Second Division Of The French Fleet Has Arrived, With A

Re-Enforcement Of 4000 Troops. This Event Will Render It Necessary For

Me To Be Ready To Move At A Moment'S Warning; And, Presuming There

Will Be No Delay In Commencing Our Operations, I Think, In The Course

Of A Fortnight, Or Three Weeks At Most, I Shall Be At Paramus.

 

 

Will Your Health Permit You To Join The Army? I Fear Not. Fatigue And

Bad Weather May Ruin It. I Confess I Am Much Disappointed In My

Opinion Of The Mineral Waters. From Your Letters, I Conclude The Stock

Of Health You Have Gained Since I Left You Is Scarcely Perceptible.

Something Else Must Be Tried. Life Is Precious, And Demands Every

Exertion And Sacrifice To Preserve It. Mr. Paterson And I Have Often

Spoken Together On This Subject, And We Both Agree That A Ride To The

Southward Next Winter, And A Trip To The West Indies In The Spring,

Would Be Of Infinite Service To You. This Might Be Done With Ease In

Five Or Six Months.

 

 

Mrs. Paterson Is Perfectly Recovered, And Her Little Girl Grows

Finely, And Promises To Be Handsome. Mrs. Paterson Often Asks About

You, And Seems Anxious To Have You Among Us. When You Come, Remember

To Bring With You The Book You Took With You On Our Way To Paramus. I

Believe It Is An Essay On Health. Mrs. Paterson Wants It, The Idea You

Gave Me Of Her Is Just. She Is Easy, Polite, Sensible, And Friendly.

Paterson Is Rather Deficient In The Graces, But He Possesses Every

Virtue That Enters Into The Composition Of An Amiable Character.

 

 

I Can Hardly Go Out Anywhere Without Being Asked A Number Of Questions

About You. You Seem To Be Universally Known And Esteemed. Mr. Morris'S

Family Are Exceedingly Particular In Their Inquiries Concerning Your

Health. It Would Be Easier For You To Conceive, Than For Me To Tell

You, How Much They Like You. They Insist Upon Our Paying Them A Visit

As Soon As You Are Settled Here, Which I Have Promised, On Your Part

As Well As My Own.

 

 

Let Me Entreat You To Avoid Engaging Any Of Your French Books In

Connecticut, Especially Chambaud'S Exercises, To Any Person Whatever.

I, And Perhaps You, Will Stand In Need Of Them All.

 

 

I Am Greatly Indebted To The Good Family For Their Favourable

Sentiments, Which, As I Said Once Before, Must Proceed More From

Affection To You Than What They Find Meritorious In Me. I Am Certain,

However, That Their Esteem For Me Cannot Exceed Mine For Them, And

This You Will Be Kind Enough To Hint To Them When You Present My

Respectful Compliments. Assure Dom. Tetard Of My Friendship For Him,

And Fixed Determination To Use All Endeavours To Metamorphose Him Into

A Crassus After The War Is Ended. Adieu

 

 

Robert Troup.

Footnote Pg 190

 

 

 

1. Late President Of The United States.

Footnote Pg 191

 

 

2. The Residence Of Mrs. Prevost.

Footnote Pg 192

 

 

3. Continental Paper Dollars--Equal In Value To _Sixty For One Silver

Dollar_.

Footnote Pg 193

 

 

4. Judge Tappan Reeve, Whose Lady Was The Sister Of Colonel Burr.

Footnote Pg 194

 

 

5. The Sister Of Mrs. Prevost

Footnote Pg 195

 

 

6. Deputy Quartermaster-General; Subsequently Commissary For The

French Army, And Treasurer Of The State Of Connecticut.

Footnote Pg 196

 

 

7. Printer To The King In The City Of New-York.

Chapter XIII Pg 197

 

 

 

From William Paterson.

 

 

Morristown, 27Th August, 1780.

 

 

My Dear Burr,

 

 

I Was Not At Rariton When The Doctor, Who Was The Bearer Of Your

Letter, Passed That Way. It Would Have Given Me Pleasure To Have Shown

Him Every Mark Of Attention And Esteem In My Power.

 

 

I Dare Say You Count It An Age Since I Have Written You; And, Indeed,

I Must Confess That The Time Has Been Long. Your Good-Nature, However,

Will Induce You To Forgive Me, Although I Cannot Expect It From Your

Justice. I Hope The Water You Drink Will Prove Medicinal, And Soon

Restore You To Health; Although I Am More Disposed To Think That It

Will Take Time, And Be Effected Gradually. Persons Indisposed (I Speak

From Experience) Are Generally Impatient To Become Well, And That Very

Impatience Has A Natural Tendency To Prevent It. Do Not Be Restless,

My Dear Burr; Nor Think That, Because You Do Not Get Well In A Month,

Or In A Season, You Will Not Get Well At All. The Heat Of This Summer

Has Been Intense, Nor Is It As Yet Much Abated. Perhaps That Too May

Have Had Some Effect Upon You. The Hale And Hearty Could Scarcely Bear

Up Under It. May Health Soon Visit You, My Good Friend.

 

 

Mrs. Paterson Is Well. Our Little Pledge, A Girl, Burr, [1] Has Been

Much Indisposed, But Is At Present On The Mending Hand. I Am From Home

As Usual. My Official Duty Obliges Me To Be So. I Grow Quite Uneasy

Under It, And I Find Ease And Retirement Necessary For The Sake Of My

Constitution, Which Has Been Somewhat Broken In Upon By Unceasing

Attention To Business. The Business Has Been Too Much For Me. I Have

Always Been Fond Of Solitude, And, As It Were, Of _Stealing_ Along

Through Life. I Am Now Sufficiently Fond Of Domestic Life. I Have

Every Reason To Be So. Indeed, I Know No Happiness But At Home. Such

One Day Will Be Your Situation.

 

 

My Compliments To The Family At The Hermitage. I Shall Write You

Before I Leave This Place.

 

 

Yours, &C.

 

 

William Paterson.