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

The Native Good Sense Of One Of

That Family, And More And More Disgusted With The Manner In Which It

Is Obscured And Perverted: Cursed Effects Of Fashionable Education! Of

Which Both Sexes Are The Advocates, And Yours Eminently The Victims.

If I Could Foresee That Theo. Would Become A _Mere_ Fashionable Woman,

With All The Attendant Frivolity And Vacuity Of Mind, Adorned With

Whatever Grace And Allurement, I Would Earnestly Pray God To Take Her

Forthwith Hence. But I Yet Hope, By Her, To Convince The World What

Neither Sex Appear To Believe--That Women Have Souls!

 

 

Most Affectionately Yours,

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XVII Pg 346

To Mrs. Burr.

 

 

Philadelphia, 15Th February, 1793.

 

 

I Received With Joy And Astonishment, On Entering The Senate This

Minute, Your Two Elegant And Affectionate Letters. The Mail Closes In

A Few Minutes, And Will Scarce Allow Me To Acknowledge Your Goodness.

The Roads And Ferries Have Been For Some Days Almost Impassable, So

That Till Now No Post Has Arrived Since Monday.

 

 

It Was A Knowledge Of Your Mind Which First Inspired Me With A Respect

For That Of Your Sex, And With Some Regret, I Confess, That The Ideas

Which You Have Often Heard Me Express In Favour Of Female Intellectual

Powers Are Founded On What I Have Imagined, More Than What I Have

Seen, Except In You. I Have Endeavoured To Trace The Causes Of This

_Rare_ Display Of Genius In Women, And Find Them In The Errors Of

Education, Of Prejudice, And Of Habit. I Admit That Men Are Equally,

Nay More, Much More To Blame Than Women. Boys And Girls Are Generally

Educated Much In The Same Way Till They Are Eight Or Nine Years Of

Age, And It Is Admitted That Girls Make At Least Equal Progress With

The Boys; Generally, Indeed, They Make Better. Why, Then, Has It Never

Been Thought Worth The Attempt To Discover, By Fair Experiment, The

Particular Age At Which The Male Superiority Becomes So Evident? But

This Is Not In Answer To Your Letter; Neither Is It Possible Now To

Answer It. Some Parts Of It I Shall Never Answer. Your Allusions To

Departed Angels I Think In Bad Taste.

 

 

I Do Not Like Theo.'S Indolence, Or The Apologies Which Are Made For

It. Have My Directions Been Pursued With Regard To Her Latin And

Geography?

 

 

Your Plan And Embellishment Of My Mode Of Life Are Fanciful, Are

Flattering, And Inviting. We Will Endeavour To Realize Some Of It.

Pray Continue To Write, If You Can Do It With Impunity. I Bless Sir

J., Who, With The Assistance Of Heaven, Has Thus Far Restored You.

 

 

In The Course Of This Scrawl I Have Been Several Times Called To Vote,

Which Must Apologize To You For Its Incoherence. Adieu.

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XVII Pg 347

To Mrs. Burr.

 

 

Philadelphia, 16Th February, 1793.

 

 

A Line Of Recollection Will, I Am Sure, Be More Acceptable Than

Silence. I Consider Myself As Largely In Your Debt, And Shall Of

Necessity Remain So.

 

 

You Have Heard Me Speak Of A Miss Woolstonecraft, Who Has Written

Something On The French Revolution; She Has Also Written A Book

Entitled "_Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman_." I Had Heard It Spoken

Of With A Coldness Little Calculated To Excite Attention; But As I

Read With Avidity And Prepossession Every Thing Written By A Lady, I

Made Haste To Procure It, And Spent The Last Night, Almost The Whole

Of It, In Reading It. Be Assured That Your Sex Has In _Her_ An Able

Advocate. It Is, In My Opinion, A Work Of Genius. She Has Successfully

Adopted The Style Of Rousseau'S Emilius; And Her Comment On That Work,

Especially What Relates To Female Education, Contains More Good Sense

Than All The Other Criticisms Upon Him Which I Have Seen Put Together.

I Promise Myself Much Pleasure In Reading It To You.

 

 

Is It Owing To Ignorance Or Prejudice That I Have Not Yet Met A Single

Person Who Had Discovered Or Would Allow The Merit Of This Work?

 

 

Three Mails Are In Arrear; That Of Tuesday Is The Last Which Has

Arrived. I Am Impatient To Know How Writing Agrees With You. Pray Let

Me Hear, From Day To Day, The Progress Of Your Cure. Most

Affectionately Yours,

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XVII Pg 348

To Mrs. Burr.

 

 

Philadelphia, 18Th February, 1793.

 

 

Just What I Apprehended, I Find, Has Taken Place. Three Sheets Were

Too Much For A First Attempt. It Will, I Fear, Discourage You, If Not

Disable You From More Moderate Experiments. Yet I Will Hope To Receive

By This Day'S Mail At Least One Line, Announcing Your Progressive

Recovery, Under Your Own Hand.

 

 

Be Assured That, After What You Have Written, I Shall Not Send For

Gurney. Deliver Him The Enclosed. I Hope It May Animate His Attention;

And Tell Him, If You Think Proper, That I Shall Be Much Dissatisfied

If Theo.'S Progress In Latin Be Not Very Considerable At My Return.

Geography Has, I Hope, Been Abandoned, For He Has No Talent At

Teaching It.

 

 

The Close Of A Session Being Always Crowded With Business, Keeps Me

Much Engaged. You Must Expect Short Letters--Mere Notes. Adieu.

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XVII Pg 349

To His Daughter Theodosia.

 

 

Philadelphia, 20Th February, 1793.

 

 

At Length, My Dear Theo., I Have Received Your Letter Of The 20Th Of

January--Written, You See, A Month Ago. But I Observe That It Was Not

Put Into The Postoffice Until The Day Before Yesterday. I Suppose

Frederick Or Bartow Had Carelessly Put It In Some Place Where It Had

Lain Forgotten. It Would Indeed Have Been A Pity That Such A Letter

Should Have Been Lost. There Is Something In The Style And Arrangement

Of The Words Which Would Have Done Honour To A Girl Of Sixteen.

 

 

All Three Of The Miss A.'S Will Visit New-York Next Summer, And Pass

Some Weeks There. I Hope To Be At Home In Ten Or Twelve Days From This

Time. Let Me Receive One Or Two More Letters From You, Even If You Are

Obliged To Neglect A Lesson To Find Time To Write Them.

 

 

Alexis [2] Often Bids Me To Send You Some Polite And Respectful

Message On His Part, Which I Have Heretofore Omitted. He Is A

Faithful, Good Boy. Upon Our Return Home He Hopes You Will Teach Him

To Read.

 

 

I Am, My Dear Theo.,

 

 

Your Affectionate Papa,

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XVII Pg 350

To His Daughter Theodosia.

 

 

Philadelphia, 24Th February, 1793

 

 

My Dear Theo.,

 

 

In Looking Over A List Made Yesterday (And Now Before Me), Of Letters

Of Consequence To Be Answered Immediately, I Find The Name Of T.B.

Burr. At The Time I Made The Memorandum I Did Not Advert To The

Compliment I Paid You By Putting Your Name In A List With Some Of The

Most Eminent Persons In The United States. So True Is It That Your

Letters Are Really Of Consequence To _Me_. I Now Allude To That Of The

19Th Instant, Covering A Fable And Riddle. If The Whole Performance

Was Your Own, Which I Am Inclined To Hope And Believe, It Indicates An

Improvement In Style, In Knowledge Of The French, And In Your

Handwriting. I Have Therefore Not Only Read It Several Times, But

Shown It To Several Persons With Pride And Pleasure.

 

 

I Confess Myself Unable To Solve Your Riddle, Unless The _Teeth_ Or

The _Alphabet_ (Generally Supposed To Be Twenty-Four In Each) Will

Give The Solution. But I Have Not Yet Had An Opportunity To Consult

Miss P. A. To-Morrow I Shall Call On Her For The Purpose, And Will Not

Fail To Inform You Of Her Conjectures On The Subject.

 

 

Your Affectionate Papa,

 

 

A. Burr,

Chapter XVII Pg 351

To His Daughter Theodosia.

 

 

Philadelphia, 16Th December, 1793.

 

 

I Have A Thousand Questions To Ask, My Dear Theo., But Nothing To

Communicate; And Thus I Fear It Will Be Throughout The Winter, For My

Time Is Consumed In The Dull Uniformity Of Study And Attendance In

Senate; But Every Hour Of _Your_ Day Is Interesting To _Me_. I Would

Give, What Would I Not Give To See Or Know Even Your Most Trifling

Actions And Amusements? This, However, Is More Than I Can Ask Or

Expect. But I Do Expect With Impatience