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

Chapter XIII Pg 198

From William Paterson.

 

 

Morristown, 31St August, 1780.

 

 

My Dear Burr,

 

 

It Is Now Near The Midnight Hour, And Yet, Late As It Is, I Could Not

Acquit Myself To My Conscience If I Had Not Again Written You Before I

Left This Place, Which Will Be Early Tomorrow. My Life Is Quite In The

Militant Style--One Continued Scene Of Warfare. From This Place I Go

Down To The Supreme Court At Trenton, Which Will Be On Tuesday Next,

And The Tuesday After That I Shall Return Once More To Morristown, And

When I Shall Leave It Will Be Uncertain. I Rejoice When The Hour Of

Rest Comes Up, And Sicken At The Approach Of Day. Business Fairly

Bears Me Down. The Truth Is, That I Am Tired Of Writing, Tired Of

Reading, Tired Of Bustling In A Crowd, And, By Fits, Heartily Tired Of

Myself.

 

 

I Hope You Go On Gaining Strength, And That You Will In A Little While

Get The Better Of Your Disorder. The Mind And The Body Affect Each

Other Extremely. To A Person In Your State, Hilarity, Cheerfullness, A

Serene Flow Of Spirits, Are Better Than All The Drugs In A Doctor'S

Shop. Gentle Exercise Is Of Infinite Service. I Hope You Are Not

Wanting In Any Of These. If You Are, I Cannot Easily Pardon You,

Because They Are All Within Your Power.

 

 

Make My Compliments Acceptable To The Family At The Hermitage. I Have

A High Regard For Them, And Sincerely Wish Their Happiness. I Really

Pity And Admire Mrs. Prevost. Her Situation Demands A Tear; Her

Conduct And Demeanour The Warmest Applause. Tell Mrs. Prevost That She

Must Remember Me Among Her Friends; And That I Shall Be Happy To

Render Her All The Service In My Power.

 

 

Since I Have Been At This Place I Have Had A Letter From Mrs.

Paterson, Who Is Well. Our Little Girl, Who Was Indisposed When I Left

Home, Is Not Worse. I Flatter Myself I Shall Find Her Better When I

Return. Alas, That I Cannot Be More At Home. A Husband And A Parent

Have A Thousand Tendernesses That You Know Nothing Of. Adieu, My Dear

Burr; Live And Be Happy.

 

 

William Paterson.

Chapter XIII Pg 199

From Colonel Troup.

 

 

Morristown, October 23D, 1780.

 

 

My Dearest Friend,

 

 

I Want Words To Express The Pleasure I Feel At The Receipt Of Yours Of

The 22D, By The Boy Who Came For Your Horse. It Relieved Me From A

Burden Which Had Sunk My Spirits Lower Than I Recollect Them To Have

Been By Any Calamity I Have Met With During The War. My Imagination

Had Crowded My Mind With A Thousand Melancholy Reflections From The

Moment I Got Your Letter By Dr. Cutting, Who, Like A Modern Well-Bred

Gentleman, Left It At My Lodgings Only Three Days Ago. Some Evil

Genius Certainly Interrupts Our Correspondence. I Write Letters

Without Number, And Yet You Seldom Hear From Me, And When You Do, The

Letter Is As Old As If It Had Come From The Other Side Of The

Atlantic. It Is Exactly The Case With Yours.

 

 

Mr. Paterson Has Been More Unfortunate Than I. He Has Often Complained

Of Your Neglect, As He Thought It; But I Informed Him Of The Fate My

Letters Shared, And He Was Easy. However, He Desired Me Last Night To

Give You A Hint, That He Had Lately Written You Several Long Letters

Without Receiving An Answer To Either. He Is Now At Princeton,

Attending Court. I Shall Forward Your Letter That Accompanied Mine To

Him By A Safe Conveyance. Paterson Really Loves You With The Tenderest

Affection, And Can Scarcely Speak Of Your State Of Health Without

Shedding A Friendly Tear. As God Is My Judge, I Could Not Forbear

Shedding Several When I Read Yours By Dr. Cutting, Which Is The First

I Have Had From You In Near Five Weeks. I Was Afraid All Farther

Attempts To Recover Your Health, So As To Qualify You To Execute Our

Plan, Would Be Fruitless. In Short, I Thought You On The Brink Of

Eternity, Ready To Take Your Final Farewell Of This Wrangling World.

The Critical Situation Of Your Sister Increased My Distress, And

Extinguished Every Hope. How Much More Happy Should I Be If Your

Sister'S Health Took The Same Fortunate Turn. Your Ride To Litchfield

Must Be Doubly Agreeable, As It Will Tend To Establish Your Health And

Better Hers.

 

 

I Must Now Communicate To You A Disagreeable Piece Of News Respecting

Myself. It Shows How Rare It Is To Find A Man Of Real Disinterested

Benevolence. Sears And Broome, I Understand By Mr. Noel, Who Returned

From Philadelphia A Few Days Ago, Have Protested The Bill I Drew Upon

Them Last Summer. Colonel Palfrey Bought It, And Has It Returned To

Him, For What Reasons I Cannot Say Positively, But I Suspect They Are

Determined Not To Assist Me, Although They Were Lavish Of Their Offers

When They Supposed I Never Would Be Reduced To The Necessity Of

Accepting Them. Such Conduct Is Characteristic Of Excessive Meanness

Of Spirit, And I Confess I Am Deceived In My Opinion Of Them Most

Egregiously. True It Is, That Instances Of This Kind Of Behaviour

Often Occur In Our Intercourse With Mankind; But, From The Fortunes

These Men Have Made Since The War, And The Frequent Reports Of Their

Generosity, I Was Led To Imagine There Was Something More Than Mere

Idle Compliment And Ostentatious Parade In Their Offers. I Was

Deceived, And I Hope It Will Be The Last Time. This Affair Has Wounded

My Pride So Sensibly, That I Shall Be Extremely Cautious In Future. I

Must And Will Endeavour To Adopt Some Mode Of Drawing Supplies From My

Certificates, Which Will Be Three Years Old Next Spring, And Therefore

Ought To Be Taken Up By Congress By The Table Of Depreciation

Published By Congress To Regulate The Payment Of The Principal Of

Their Certificates, I Am Entitled To Three Hundred And Fifty Pounds,

At The Very Lowest Calculation, And This Sum In Specie.

 

 

When You Come Here You Must Exert All Your Abilities In Finance, To

Make Me No Longer Dependant Upon The Bounty Of Friends; Or Rather, I

Should Say, Your Bounty, For You Are The Only Person I Have Borrowed

Money Of. Till That Time, My Dear Friend, Can You Keep Me Above Water,

And Do Justice To Yourself? Will You Be Able To Extricate Me From The

Difficulties Attending This Bill? In Plain Terms, Can You Spare Me The

Amount Of It? My Reputation Suffers By Having The Bill Protested, And

I Must, In A Short Time, Send The Money To Colonel Palfrey, For I Am

Persuaded I Have No Farther Ground To Expect The Least Assistance From

Sears And Broome. Fail Not, By Any Means, To Write Me On This Subject

Before You Leave Paramus, And Be Careful How You Send The Letter.

 

 

There Is Nothing But Your Health And My Poverty That Retards My

Progress In Study. They Are Fruitful Sources Of Disquietude. When I

Lay Me Down To Sleep, They Often Prevent Me From Closing My Eyes. When

I Look Into A Book, They Present A Variety Of Melancholy Images To My

Imagination, And Unfit Me For Improvement In All Other Respects I Am

Situated To My Wishes: Paterson Treats Me As A Bosom Friend. He Has

Gone So Far As To Press Me In The Warmest Terms To Command His Purse.

How I Shall Be Able To Requite Your Friendship Is A Matter Beyond My

Penetration. I Declare, Before The Searcher Of All Hearts, That I

Consider Your Happiness And Welfare As Inseparable From My Own, And

That No Vicissitudes Of Fortune, However Prosperous Or Calamitous They

May Be, Will Ever Tear You From My Heart. Circumstanced As I Now Am,

Words Are The Only Proofs I Can Give You Of My Gratitude And

Affection. Time Will Prove Whether They Are The Cant Of Hypocrisy Or

The Language Of Esteem.

 

 

I Lent Your Horse To Mrs. Paterson About A Week Ago, To Carry Her To

Elizabethtown To See Her Brother, Who Was To Meet Her There From

New-York; And Disappointments In Not Seeing Him, From Day To Day, Have

Detained Her Much Longer Than Was Expected, And It Is Probable That

She Will Not Return Until Thursday Next; I Have Therefore Sent The Boy

Down To Elizabethtown, Or, More Properly, Shall Send Him In The

Morning, With Mr. Noel'S Horse, Which Will Answer Full As Well In The

Wagon. This Change Will Produce No Inconvenience At All, And Is Better

Than To Detain The Boy Till Mrs. Paterson Returns. She Was Exceedingly

Well When She Left Home, And So Was Her Little Girl, Which Is

Handsome, Good-Tempered, Fat, And Hearty. I Am Very Particular In

Presenting _Her_ Your Respects, And _She_ Is As Particular In

Inquiring About You.

 

 

Bring All The French Books You Can From Connecticut, Particularly

Chambaud'S Exercises, And All The Other Elementary Books You Have. I

Should Be Fond Of Having The Perusal Of Rousseau'S Social Compact, If

You Can Borrow It Of Mrs. Prevost For Me. I Am Quite Rusty In The

French, For I Have Neglected It Totally For Two Or Three Months. The

Business Of The Office Has Engrossed So Much Of My Attention, That I

Have Not Lately Read Any Other Book But Blackstone. I Am Still In The

Third Volume. I Digest Thoroughly As I Advance. I Have Unravelled All

The Difficulties Of The Practice, And Can Do Common Business With

Tolerable Dexterity.

 

 

The Horse Will Be Delivered To You Without A Saddle. Gales, A Young

Fellow Who Was Studying With Mr. Paterson, Requested Me To Lend It To

Him To Ride As Far As Newark Last August, And He Ran Off To New-York,

And I Never Could Get The Saddle Again. This Piece Of Villany I Could

Not Foresee, And It Surprised Almost As Much As Arnold'S. The Grass

Has Been Very Short, And I Fancy The Horse Will Be Leaner Than You

Expect. He Is A Most Excellent Saddle-Horse.

 

 

I Am Extremely Sorry To Hear Mrs. Prevost And Her Sister Are Unwell.

Remember Me To Them In The Most Friendly Manner. Give My Compliments

Also To Dr. Latimer, And All Friends In The Army Near You. Don'T

Forget Mrs. De Visme, The Children, Dom. Tetard, And The Family On The

Hill, Although I Hear They Are Strongly Prejudiced Against Me. Mrs.

Judith Watkins, As You Well Know, Has Spoken Maliciously. She Is Far

From Being Your Friend. Every Thing That Passed One Day At Dinner In

Confidence Respecting Our Reception At Her House, Has Been Told To Her

And Her Husband, With No Small Exaggerations, By Some Person Of The

Company. Governor Bill Livingston Related Some Particulars That

Astonished Me, And Added, That He And Mr. And Mrs. Watkins Thought It

Cruel In You To Put Such An Unfair Construction Upon Watkins'S

Behaviour To Us. All This Talk Is Beneath Our Notice. What I Said To

Bill Was Sufficient To Erase Any Unfavourable Impression From A Candid

Mind. If It Has Not Produced That Effect, Any Further Attempt To

Refute The Calumny Will Only Serve To Confirm It.

 

 

Mrs. P. Livingston Is Here, And Desires Her Respects To You. She Was

Glad To Hear Of The Prospect You Have Of Growing Hearty. She Is An

Amiable Woman, And Loves You. Your Friend,

 

 

Robert Troup.