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

This City Are

Reserved Till We Meet.

 

 

Your Letter Of The 17Th, And One Without Date (I Suppose The 18Th),

Came In This Evening. They Contain More Wit And Sprightliness Than You

Ever Wrote In The Same Compass, And Have Amused Me Exceedingly. But

Why Do You Diminish Their Value By Carelessness? There Is An Omission

Of One Or More Words In Almost Every Sentence. At Least I Entreat You

To Read Over Your Letters Before You Seal Them: Some Clauses Are

Absolutely Unintelligible, Though In Several I Can Guess What Word You

Intended.

 

 

Why Are You Still In Town? I Am Very Much Dissatisfied With It; For

Mr. Strong Writes Me That The Fever Is In Partition-Street. I Beg You

To Go Off With A Good Parcel Of Books To Frederick'S.

 

 

I Told Madame Senat That I Should Want The Two Front Rooms In

Partition-Street, And The Very Small Room Which Adjoins The Smallest

Of The Front Rooms; And Surely She Will Have Room Enough Without It.

Try To Arrange This So; That Is, By Asking Her If She Cannot Spare

That Room (The Large Front). Mr. Strong Writes Me That She Is Taking

Possession Of It. In That Case My Papers Will Be Moved, Which Will Be

Very Disagreeable To Me.

 

 

I Fix The 24Th Of October For My Return; If Any Very Extraordinary

Thing Should Detain Me, You Shall Be Advised Of It Seasonably. Direct

To Me At The City Of Washington Until The 10Th Of October. Tell R.

Strong The Same. I Forgot To Write It To Him.

 

 

When, You Go On Any Party From Pelham, To Brown'S Mrs. Cox'S, &C.,

Your Studies May Be Intermitted. At Least As Much Of Them As May Be

Necessary. I Am Tired, And Half Sick; A Great Cold, For Which I Shall

Lie By Here Tomorrow.

 

 

Thine,

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XVII Pg 378

To Theodosia.

 

 

City Of Washington,

 

 

26Th September, 1795.

 

 

Since Tuesday Last I Have Been Here Much Against My Will; Arrested By

High Command; Performing Quarantine By Authority Not To Be Questioned

Or Controverted. In Plain English, I Am Sick. On Wednesday I Found One

Side Of My Face As Large As Your Uncle F.'S; Red Swollen Eyes; Ears

Buzzing And Almost Stopped; Throat So Closed As To Refuse A Passage To

Words Out Or Food In; And A Stupid Mazy-Headedness, Well Adapted To

The Brilliancy Of My Figure. Being The Guest Of My Friends Law And

Duncanson, I Receive From Them The Most Distressing Attentions, But

Especially From Miss Duncanson, A Well-Bred, Sprightly, And Agreeable

Woman. My Person Had Not, However, Till This Morning, Received Its

Last Embellishment. Alexis Came In At His Usual Hour, And Presenting

Himself At My Bedside, After Staring At Me For Half A Minute,

Exclaimed, With An Air Of Great Astonishment--_Diable!_ And Not A Word

More. _Qu'A-T-Il_, Alexis? To Which He Made Not A Word Of Reply, But

Fell To Drawing Up The Curtains; And Having Also Very Deliberately

Opened The Window-Shutters, He Returned Again To His Examination.

After Gazing For Some Time (Which I Found It Useless To Interrupt), He

_Diabled_ Two Or Three Times At Intervals Of Some Seconds, And Then

Pronounced That I Had _Ou La Petite Verole Ou La Rougeole_; And To

Convince Me, Brought A Glass. In Truth He Did Not _Diable_ Without

Reason, For My Whole Face, Neck, Hands, And Arms Are Most Bountifully

Covered With Something Like The Measles Or Rash. All These Pleasant

Appearances Seem To Be The Effects Of A Great Cold, Taken I Know Not

When Or How--

 

 

"_Nil Illi Larva Aut Tragicis Upus Esse Cothurnis._"

 

 

My Throat Is Something Better, Notwithstanding I Went Abroad

Yesterday.

 

 

Sunday, 27Th September.

 

 

I Am So Much Better To-Day, That, If The Weather Was Good, I Should

Prosecute My Journey If I Could Find The Means Of Getting On; But The

Rain, Which Is Continual And Very Heavy, Keeps Well And Sick Within

Doors.

 

 

It Is Now Ten Days Since I Have Heard From You; A Very Long Time,

Considering The Situation In Which You Was Left At The Date Of Your

Last: In A City Infected With A Mortal And Contagious Fever. I Hope,

Nay, I Persuade Myself That You Obeyed My Wishes By Escaping From It

To Pelham. The Next Mail Will Tell Me, And, I Trust, Relieve Me From

An Anxiety Which Pursues Me Day And Night.

 

 

Monday, 28Th September.

 

 

Your Letter Of The 21St, Written, I Suppose, At Dr. Brown'S, Is Just

Come In, And Relieves Me From A Weight Of Anxiety About Your Health. I

Am Sorry, However (Very Sorry), That You Are Not At Frederick'S, And

Am Not Absolutely Either Pleased Or Satisfied With The Change.

 

 

Of Attention And Tenderness You Will Receive Not Only Enough, But A

Great Deal Too Much; And An Indulgence To Every Inattention, Awkward

Habit, And Expression, Which May Lead You To Imagine Them To Be So

Many Ornaments: As To Your Language, I Shall Expect To Find It

Perfectly Infantine. As To Studies Or Lessons, I Do Not Know Which Of

Them You Allude To, As You Do Not Say What Books You Have Taken Up. If

Mr. Leshlie Is Your _Only_ Master, As I Suppose, Your Lesson Must Be

Larger Than Ever Heretofore. Your Translation Of The Comedy Into

French, If Not Finished, Must Go On; And If Finished, Something

Similar Must Be Taken Up. Some English Or French History Must Employ A

Little Of Every Day. I Hope You Will Ride On Horseback Daily If The

Weather Should Permit--Sam [6] Always With You. Visit Your Neighbours

B. B. As Often As You Please, Taking Very Great Care Not To Surfeit

The Family With Your Charming Company, Which May Happen Much Sooner

Than You Would Be Inclined To Believe.

 

 

You Ought To Be Out Of The Odyssey Before This Will Reach You,

Counting Only Two Hundred Lines A Day Since We Parted. You May Begin

The Iliad, If You Please. Since You Are At Uncle B.'S, I Will Not Now

Pretend To Inquire Into The Motives, Much Less To Censure. I Have No

Doubt But You Meant To Do The Best, And I Now Hope You Will Endeavour

To Make The Best _Of_ It, And Bad Enough That Will Be, With Respect To

All Improvement, If I Am Not Disappointed.

 

 

Pray Allot An Hour For Your Journal, And Never Let It Be A Day In

Arrear. I Shall Consider This As Occupying Usefully The Hour Which

Used To Be Hewlet'S Or Meance'S. At Any Rate, Let Me Not, On My

Return, Have Occasion To Apply To You The Motto,

 

 

"Strenua Me Exercet Inertia,"

 

 

Nor That Other Of

 

 

"Operose Nihil Agit."

 

 

But So Improve Your Time That You May With Pleasure Review And Commit

It To Journal.

 

 

----"Hoc Est, Vivere Bis, Vita Priori Frui."

 

 

And Let It, At No Very Distant Period, Be Said Of You,

 

 

"Tot, Tibi, Sunt, Ergo Dotes, Quot Sidera Coelo."

 

 

If You Should Never Deserve This, It Shall Not Be The Fault Of

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XVII Pg 379

To Theodosia In Philadelphia.

 

 

New-York, 8Th February, 1796.

 

 

What Will You Think Of The Taste Of New-York When I Shall Tell You

That Miss Broadhurst Is Not Very Generally Admired Here? Such Is The

Fact. I Have Contributed My Feeble Efforts To Correct This Opinion.

Mat'S [7] Child Will Not Be Christened Until You Shall Be Pleased To

Indicate The Time, Place, Manner, And Name.

 

 

I Have Promised Tom That He Shall Take Me To Philadelphia If There Be

Sleighing. The Poor Fellow Is Almost Crazy About It. He Is Importuning

All The Gods For Snow, But As Yet They Don'T Appear To Listen To Him.

 

 

Your Being In The Ballette Charms Me. If You Are To Practise On

Wednesday Evening, Do Not Stay Away For The Expectation Of Receiving

Me. If You Should Be At The Ballette, I Will Go Forthwith To See You.

Adieu, Chere Fille.

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XVII Pg 380

To Theodosia.

 

 

Philadelphia, 16Th January, 1797.

 

 

When I Write To You Oftener Than Your Turn, You Must Not Let It Be

Known, Or There Will Be Jealousy. Your Two Letters Of The 11Th And

13Th Have So Much Wit, Sprightliness, And Good Sense, That I Cannot

Delay To Tell You How Much They Pleased Me. Go On, And You Will Write

Better Than Cynthia Herself. To Aid Your Advances Towards Perfection,

I Shall Often Point Out Such Errors As Shall Appear To Me More

Particularly To Claim Your Attention.

 

 

At Present You Fail Most In Punctuation. A Very Little Thought Will

Teach Where The Sense Is Complete And A Full Period Is Proper. The

Lesser Pauses May Be Found By Reading Over Two Or Three Times What You

May Have Written. You Will Naturally Make Small Pauses Where The Sense

Shall Require It. In Spelling You Are Very Well. Always Write Your

Name With Great Care. Adieu.

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XVII Pg 381

To Theodosia.

 

 

Philadelphia, 23D January, 1797.

 

 

You Must Not "Puzzle All Day," My Dear Little Girl, At One Hard

Lesson. After Puzzling Faithfully One Hour, Apply To Your Arithmetic,

And Do Enough To Convince The Doctor That You Have Not Been Idle.

Neither Must You Be Discouraged By One Unlucky Day. The Doctor Is A

Very Reasonable Man, And Makes All Due Allowance For The Levities As

Well As For The Stupidity Of Children. I Think You Will Not Often

Challenge His Indulgence On Either Score.

 

 

And Do You Regret That You Are Not Also A Woman? That You Are Not

Numbered In That Galaxy Of Beauty Which Adorns An Assembly-Room?

Coquetting For Admiration And Attracting Flattery? No. I Answer With

Confidence. You Feel That You Are Maturing For Solid Friendship. The

Friends You Gain You Will Never Lose; And No One, I Think, Will Dare

To Insult Your Understanding By Such Compliments As Are Most

Graciously Received By Too Many Of Your Sex.

 

 

How Unpardonably