Memoirs Of Aaron Burr, Volume 1, Matthew L. Davis [book club suggestions .txt] 📗
- Author: Matthew L. Davis
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The Preceding Correspondence Contains In Itself A Tolerable History Of
Colonel Burr'S Situation And Employment From The Summer Of 1779 Until
The Autumn Of 1780. After Retiring From The Army, He Suffered Most
Severely From Ill Health--That Ill Health Was, In A Great Degree,
Produced By The Fatigues And Exposure On The 27Th And 28Th Of June,
1779, At The Battle Of Monmouth. His Constitution Was Feeble, And Had
Been Shattered By His Unparalleled Vigilance In The Winter Of 1778-79,
While Commanding The Advanced Post In Westchester. But The Battle Of
Monmouth Seemed To Have Given It The Finishing Stroke.
The Letters Of Judge Paterson And Colonel Troup Afford The Best
Evidence Of His Ill Health, And Of Their Affectionate Devotion To Him
As Friends. They Are Given At Some Length, Because They Present Rare
And Extraordinary Examples Of Fidelity In Friendship. Both These
Gentlemen Preceded Colonel Burr To The Tomb. Both Continued To
Respect, To Esteem, And To Love Him, To Their Last Hour. Their
Character Requires No Panegyric. Colonel Troup Lived Until The Year
1832. In Manhood, For More Than Half A Century, He Venerated Colonel
Burr For His Genius, His Talents, His Chivalry, His Intrepidity Of
Character, His Disinterestedness, His Generosity. He Deplored His
Weaknesses, And Abhorred His Vices. But When He Viewed The Whole Man,
From Youth To More Than Threescore And Ten Years, He Loved And
Respected Him. Both These Distinguished Citizens, As Politicians, Were
Opposed To Colonel Burr From The Year 1788 Until The Close Of Their
Lives.
In The Autumn Of 1780, Colonel Burr Commenced The Study Of Law With
Judge Paterson, Who Resided At That Time On The Rariton, About Twenty
Miles From Brunswick, In New-Jersey. Here He Remained Till The Spring
Of 1781. The Judge Was A Man Governed By Fixed And Settled Rules. In
The Application Of These Rules Colonel Burr Found That His Study Of
The Law Would Require Much More Time To Prepare Him For An Examination
Than He Was Willing To Devote. He Concluded That There Must Be A
Shorter Mode To Get At The Mechanical Or Practical Part; And, Having
Determined To Make The Experiment, He Left The Office Of Judge
Paterson.
Chapter XIII Pg 201From New-Jersey, In The Spring Of 1781, He Removed To Haverstraw, Then
In Orange County, State Of New-York. Residing At This Place Was Thomas
Smith, Esq., Formerly Of The City Of New-York, And Brother To William
Smith, The King'S Attorney-General. Thomas Smith Had A Good Law
Library, Which Had Been Removed From The City Into The Highlands For
Safety. With Smith, Colonel Burr Made An Arrangement To Study On A
Plan Of His Own. By The Contract, For A Specified Sum To Be Paid,
Smith Was To Devote Certain Portions Of His Time To Burr. At These
Interviews, He Was To Answer Such Questions As Burr Propounded. The
Answers Were Taken Down In Writing, And Formed The Basis Of Additional
Interrogatories; While, At The Same Time, They Aided In Directing His
Attention To Those Legal Points Or Authorities Which Were Necessary
For Him To Examine Or Read. During The Time He Remained At Haverstraw,
He Studied From Sixteen To Twenty Hours A Day.
In The Summer Of 1780, Major Andre, Of The British Army, Was In
Correspondence With Mrs. Arnold (The Wife Of General Arnold), Under A
Pretext Of Supplying Her, From The City Of New-York, With Millinery
And Other Trifling Articles Of Dress. On The 23D Of September, 1780,
Major Andre Was Captured, And The Treason Of The General Discovered.
When This News Reached West Point, Mrs. Arnold Became, Apparently,
Almost Frantic. Her Situation Excited The Sympathy Of Some Of The Most
Distinguished Officers In The American Army. Mrs. Arnold, Having
Obtained From General Washington A Passport, And Permission To Join
Her Husband In The City Of New-York, Left West Point, And On Her Way
Stopped At The House Of Mrs. Prevost, In Paramus, Where She Stayed One
Night. On Her Arrival At Paramus The Frantic Scenes Of West Point Were
Renewed, And Continued So Long As Strangers Were Present. Mrs. Prevost
Was Known As The Wife Of A British Officer, And Connected With The
Royalists. In Her, Therefore, Mrs. Arnold Could Confide.
As Soon As They Were Left Alone Mrs. Arnold Became Tranquillized, And
Assured Mrs. Prevost That She Was Heartily Sick Of The Theatrics She
Was Exhibiting. She Stated That She Had Corresponded With The British
Commander--That She Was Disgusted With The American Cause And Those
Who Had The Management Of Public Affairs--And That, Through Great
Persuasion And Unceasing Perseverance, She Had Ultimately Brought The
General Into An Arrangement To Surrender West Point To The British.
Mrs. Arnold Was A Gay, Accomplished, Artful, And Extravagant Woman.
There Is No Doubt, Therefore, That, For The Purpose Of Acquiring The
Means Of Gratifying An Inordinate Vanity, She Contributed Greatly To
The Utter Ruin Of Her Husband, And Thus Doomed To Everlasting Infamy
And Disgrace All The Fame He Had Acquired As A Gallant Soldier At The
Sacrifice Of His Blood. Mrs. Prevost Subsequently Became The Wife Of
Colonel Burr, And Repeated To Him These Confessions Of Mrs. Arnold.
The Preceding Statement Is Confirmed By The Following Anecdote. Mrs.
Arnold Was The Daughter Of Chief-Justice Shippen, Of Pennsylvania. She
Was Personally Acquainted With Major Andre, And, It Is Believed,
Corresponded With Him Previous To Her Marriage.
Chapter XIII Pg 202In The Year 1779-80,
Colonel Robert Morris Resided At Springatsbury, In The Vicinity Of
Philadelphia, Adjoining Bush Hill. Some Time Previous To Arnold'S
Taking Command Of West Point, He Was An Applicant For The Post. On A
Particular Occasion Mrs. Arnold Was Dining At The House Of Colonel
Morris. After Dinner, A Friend Of The Family Came In, And
Congratulated Mrs. Arnold On A Report That Her Husband Was Appointed
To A Different, But More Honourable Command. The Information Affected
Her So Much As To Produce Hysteric Fits. Efforts Were Made To Convince
Her That The General Had Been Selected For A Preferable Station. These
Explanations, However, To The Astonishment Of All Present, Produced No
Effect. But, After The Treason Of Arnold Was Discovered, The Family Of
Colonel Morris Entertained No Doubt That Mrs. Arnold Was Privy To, If
Not The Negotiator For, A Surrender Of West Point To The British, Even
Before The General Had Charge Of The Post.
In The Autumn Of 1781 Colonel Burr Left Haverstraw And Went To Albany,
With A Determination To Make An Effort To Be Admitted To The Bar. He
Continued His Studies With The Most Untiring Industry. He Had His Own
Apartments And His Own Library, Sleeping, When He Did Sleep, In A
Blanket On The Floor.
Colonel Burr'S Liberality In Pecuniary Matters Had Tended To Impair
His Private Fortune. No Man Possessed A More Benevolent Heart. The
Following Letter Presents One Case Out Of Many Which Might Be
Enumerated, Evincing His Generosity, And The Delicate Manner In Which
He Could Confer A Favour. Major Alden Had Become Embarrassed In His
Circumstances, And Was Greatly At A Loss For A Profession, At The
Approaching Close Of The War, By Which He Might Acquire A Decent
Support. These Reflections Rendered Him Gloomy And Desponding. At
Length He Unbosomed Himself To Colonel Burr, Who Thus Replies To His
Letter:--
Chapter XIII Pg 203To Major R. Alden.
Rariton, February 15Th, 1781.
Dear Sir,
If It Will Solace Your Woes To Know There Is A Heart That Feels Them
As Its Own, That Heart Is Mine. The Thwarts Of Delicacy, Which You
Would Exclude From The Catalogues Of Distress, Are Certainly The
Keenest Humanity Can Feel. I Know Their Force. I Have Felt Them In All
Their Pungency.
A Want Of Uniformity In The Mode And Object Of My Pursuit Has Been
Long My Misfortune, And Has, I Fear, Been Yours. There Is A
Persevering Firmness That Will Conquer Embarrassment, And, Aided With
The Secret Smile Of An Approving Conscience, Cannot Fail To Put Us
Above The Power Of Adversity. Thus "We Shall Shun Misfortunes, Or
Shall Learn To Bear Them."
I Have Ever Found The Moment Of Indecision To Be The Moment Of
Completest Anguish. When Our Resolutions Are Taken With Determined
Firmness, They Engross The Mind And Close The Void Of Misery. Yes, My
Friend, Save The Pang Of Sympathy, I Am Happy. These Are My Halcyon
Days. Let Us Taste Them Together. We Shall Mutually Heighten Their
Relish. Let Us Rescue Some Moments Of Rational Enjoyment From The
Wreck Of Impetuous Time. Friendship Shall Smooth The Rugged Path Of
Science, And Virtue Cheer The Way.
If Law Is Your Object, This Situation Is Favourable To The Pursuit.
You Shall Have Access To The Library And Office, Without The Customary
Expense. Your _Ostensible Reason_ For Coming Here Shall Be To Pursue
Your Studies With Me, Under My Friend Mr. Paterson. The Two Boys [2] I
Wish You To Instruct Are Of The Sweetest Tempers And The Softest
Hearts. A Frown Is The Severest Punishment They Ever Need. Four Hours
A Day Will, I Think, Be Fully Sufficient For Their Instruction. There
Are Hours Enough Left For Study--As Many As Any One Can Improve To
Advantage; And These Four Will Be Fully Made Up To You By The
Assistance You Will Derive From Such Of Us As Have Already Made Some
Small Progress.
If It Is Possible, We Live Together. At Any Rate, You Shall Live Near
Me; We Shall At Least Meet Every Day, Or Oftener, If We Please.
Nothing Will Interrupt Us. We Will Regulate Our Own Amusements And
Pursuits. Here Are No Expensive Diversions Of Any Kind. Your Salary
Shall Be A Genteel Maintenance In Such A Situation. You Shall Have
Sixty Pounds, New-York Currency, Which Is More Than I Expend Here. You
Will Find It Impossible To Spend A Farthing Except Board And Clothing.
If, From This Short Sketch, You Think The Situation Adapted To Your
Views, Of Which I Feel A Pleasing Assurance, Acquaint Me Immediately,
That I May Prepare For Your Reception.
I Purpose Bringing The Boys Here The Beginning Of April. Be Here By
That Time, If Possible. Get Mr. Thaddeus Burr To Enclose Your Letter
To Loudon
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