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

Mean To Give Them.

 

 

The Girls Must Give Me A History Of Their Time, From Rising To Night.

The Boys Any Thing Which Interests Them, And Which, Of Course, Will

Interest Me. Are There Any, Or Very Pressing Calls At The Office? The

Word Is Given To Mount. I Shall Have Time To Seal This And Overtake

Them. Kiss For Me Those Who Love Me.

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XIV Pg 249

From Mrs. Burr.

 

 

New-York, April, 1785.

 

 

Mrs. Wickham Just Called To Tell Me Of An Opportunity To Chester. How

Joyfully I Embrace It. I Had A Most Insupportable Impatience To

Communicate To You My Gratitude And Thanks For Your Last Visit. It Was

A Cordial To My Health And Spirits; A Balm To My Soul. My Mind Is

Flushed With Pleasing Hopes. Ten Thousand Tender Thoughts Rush To My

Pen; But The Bearer May Prove Faithless. I Will Suppress Them To A

Happier Moment, And Anticipate The Dear Indulgence.

 

 

The Family As You Left It. Thy Theodosia'S Health And Spirits Increase

Daily. Bartow'S Industry And Utility Are Striking To The Family And

Strangers. Johnstone Returned Yesterday. Your Letter Was As Eagerly

Read As Though I Had Not Seen You. Write When You Have Leisure; If It

Does Not Reach Me Immediately, It Will Serve To Divert Some Tedious

Moment In A Future Absence; Even When You Are At Home, Engrossed By

Business, I Frequently Find A Singular Pleasure In Perusing Those

Testimonies Of Affection.

 

 

I Find I Am Continually Speaking Of Myself. I Can Only Account For It

From My Aaron Having Persuaded Me 'Tis His Favourite Subject, And The

Extreme Desire I Have To Please Him Induces Me To Pursue It. I Take No

Walks But Up One Stairs And Down The Other. The Situation Of My House

Will Not Admit Of My Seeing Many Visitors. I Hope Some Arrangement

Will Be Accomplished By The Next Week.

 

 

A Packet From Sill. He Writes Like A Happy Man--Not The Happy Man Of A

Day, Or I Am Much Deceived In Him. She Is Certainly To Be Ranked Among

The Fortunate. I Wish She May Be Sensible Of Her Lot.

 

 

I Have Fixed The Time Of Seeing You. Till Saturday I Will Hope The

Best. I Cannot Extend My Calculations Beyond It; Four Days Of Your

Absence Is An Age To Come. My Compliments To Your Chum, And Who Else

You Please. _Pense Avec Tendresse De La Votre_.

 

 

Theodosia.

Chapter XIV Pg 250

To Mrs. Burr.

 

 

Chester, May 12, 1785.

 

 

Nothing Could Be More Welcome Than Your Affectionate Letters By Mr.

Wickham. They Met Me On Tuesday Evening, On Our Return From A Tour

Through The Mountains. I Was For Some Hours Transported Home, To

Partake Of That Domestic Tranquillity Which You So Feelingly Paint.

Continue To Write If Opportunity Presents. They Will Cheer Me In These

Rustic Regions. If Not, They Will Not Be Lost.

 

 

This Being A Rainy Day, We Have Kept Within Doors. Tomorrow, If Fair,

We Resume The Business Of Climbing Mountains, Which Will Probably Be

Our Employment Till About The Middle Of Next Week. After Which A Week

More (At Most) Will Finish The Controversy.

 

 

Pay Moore Nothing Till I Return, Unless You See Cause. Let Him

Rough-Cast, If He Is Confident Of Succeeding; But Tell Him I Will Not

Pay Him Till I Am Convinced It Will Bear Weather, And Last.

 

 

If The Sheriff Of Bergen (Dey) Calls For His Money, I Enclose A Note

With A Blank For The Name. You Must Speak To Either Malcom Or Lente

For Their Assistance, Unless You Can Think Of Something More

Convenient, Putting The Matter In Such Light As Your Address Shall

Think Proper. If For Any Reasons You Should Prefer To Make Use Of

Popham'S Name, Do It. The Person Whose Name Is Put In The Note Must

Endorse It, And The Note Be Dated. Let One Of The Boys Go Over To Mrs.

Baldwin For The Certificate Of The Balance Of The Account, Which, If

Obtained, A Deduction Must Be Made Accordingly. Perhaps, By Paying

Three Or Four Hundred Pounds, Mr. Morris Will Consent To Wait My

Return. Perhaps, At Your Instance, He Will Wait That Time Without Any

Payment. All Which Is Humbly Submitted. I Enclose Two Notes, That You

May Take Your Choice.

 

 

Mr. Watrous'S Business Respecting The Land Is Not Very Material. If It

Should Have Failed, You May Inform Him That I Have Long Since Filed A

Caveat Which Will Cover His Claim.

 

 

I Bear The Fatigues Of Our Business To Admiration. Have Great

Appetite, And Sleep Sound About Ten Hours A Night. I Am Already As

Black As A Shawanese. You Will Scarce Know Me If I Continue This

Business A Few Days Longer. Thank Our Dear Children For Their Kind

Letters. But They Are So Afraid Of Tiring Either Me Or Themselves (I

Suspect The Latter), That They Tell Me Few, Very Few, Of Those

Interesting Trifles Which I Want To Know.

 

 

Let T. Give Them Any New Steps He Pleases, But Not One Before The

Others. If Any One Is Behind Or Less Apt, More Pains Must Be Taken To

Keep Them On A Par. This I Give In Charge To You.

 

 

I Fear You Flatter Me With Respect To Your Health. You Seem A Little

Studied On That Score, Which Is Not Very Natural To You When Speaking

Truth. But, If It Is Not True, It Is Surely Your Own Fault. Go To Bed

Early, And Do Not Fatigue Your Self With Running About House. And Upon

No Account Any Long Walks, Of Which You Are So Fond, And For Which You

Are So Unfit. Simple Diet Will Suit You Best. Restrain All Gout For

Intemperance Till Some Future Time Not Very Distant.

 

 

I Do Not _Nor Can_ Promise Myself All You Promise Me With Respect To

The Children. I Have Been Too Much Mortified On That Subject To Remove

It At Once.

 

 

This Is The Last Expedition Of The Kind I Shall Ever Undertake; And

Ever Since I Have Been Here I Have Been Planning Ways To Extricate

Myself From It, But Am Defeated, And Shall Be Absolutely Detained

Prisoner Till The Business Is Concluded. Johnstone Can Give You An

Account Of My Quarters And Mode Of Life. You Haunt Me Daily More And

More. I Really Fear I Shall Do Little Justice To The Business Which

Brought Me Here.

 

 

The Children Must Pardon My Not Writing. I Have A Number Of

Memorandums Of Business To Make Out For Johnstone. Thank Them Again

For Their Letters, And Beg Them Not To Be So Churlish.

 

 

Let One Of The Boys Haunt Moore. But You Surely Can Do It Without

Letting Him Vex You, Even Supposing He Does Nothing. I Had Much Rather

That Should Be The Case Than That You Should Be One Minute Out Of

Humour With Him.

 

 

The Girls Must Go On With Tetard In His Own Way Till I Come, When I

Will Set All Right.

 

 

It Is Already Late. I Must Be Up At Sunrise. Bon Soir, Ma Chere Amie.

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XIV Pg 251

To Mrs. Burr

 

 

Chester, 19Th May, 2 O'Clock P. M., 1785.

 

 

We Have This Day Begun The Examination Of Witnesses, Which, Together

With The Arguments, Will Keep Us The Greater Part, And Probably The

Whole, Of Next Week. I Find Myself Gaining Strength Exceedingly Since

My Return From New-York, Though Perfectly Out Of Humour With The

Business, The Distance, And The Delay.

 

 

My Trip To New-York Has Quite Ruined Me For Business. I Cannot Confine

My Mind To It. I Am Literally Homesick, And Think Of Nothing Else. A

Witness Attending In Court Informs Me Of His Going To New-York As Soon

As His Testimony Is Finished. I Desert A Moment To Tell You That I Am

Wholly Yours.

 

 

 

6 O'Clock P. M., 19Th May.

 

 

Since I Wrote You At Two O'Clock Our Court Is Adjourned Till Nine

To-Morrow. We Go On Briskly And In Great Good Nature. If You Were Half

As Punctual Or As Fortunate (Which Shall I Call It?), I Should

Absolutely Fancy Myself Talking With You. It Would Be Some

Indemnification For The Distance And Vexation. Make Up In Thinking Of

Me, And Taking Care Of Yourself, What You Omit In Writing. Thine At

All Moments.

 

 

 

9 O'Clock At Night, 19Th May.

 

 

A Thousand Thanks For Your Dear Affectionate Letter Of Tuesday

Evening. I Was Just Sitting Pensively And Half Complaining Of Your

Remissness, When Your Letter Is Received And Dispels Every Gloomy

Thought. I Write This From The Impulse Of My Feelings, And In

Obedience To Your Injunctions, Having No Opportunity In View.

 

 

The Letters Of Our Dear Children Are A Feast. Every Part Of Them Is

Pleasing And Interesting. Le Jenne Is Not Expected To Be In New-York

For Some Weeks At Least. I Avoid The Subject. I Shudder At The Idea Of

Suffering Any Thing To Mar The Happiness I Promise Myself.

 

 

There Is No Possibility Of My Return Till The Middle Of Next Week. In

One Of My Letters I Put It To The Last Of Next Week, But We Have This

Day Made Unexpected Progress. If We Are Equally Fortunate And Equally

Good-Natured, We May Finish Wednesday Night; But This Is Conjecture,

And Perhaps My Impatience Makes Me Too Sanguine.

 

 

I Broke Off At The Bottom Of The Other Page To Pay Some Attention To

Those Who Deserve Much From Me (Our Dear Children). To Hear That They

Are Employed, That No Time Is Absolutely Wasted, Is The Most

Flattering Of Any Thing That Can Be Told Me Of Them. It Ensures Their

Affection, Or Is The Best Evidence Of It. It Ensures, In Its

Consequences, Every Thing I Am Ambitions Of In Them. Endeavour To

Preserve Regularity Of Hours; It Conduces Exceedingly To Industry.

 

 

I Have Just Heard Of A Mr. Brown Who Goes Down By Water. As I May Not

Have Another Opportunity, I Hazard It By Him. He Promises To Leave It

At Old Mr. Rutherford'S. Our Business Goes On Very Moderately This

Morning. Witnesses All Tardy. We Have Adjourned For Want Of Something

To Do. Melancholy And Vexatious. It Has Given Me A Headache. We Shall

Be Holden, I Fear, All Next Week. Adieu.

 

 

A. Burr.