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

The Wolf? But This Is Not

All, Unfortunate Citizens Of Charleston; Your Disposition Has Been

Even Still More Outraged Than Your Climate. Your Mildness, Humanity,

And Benevolence, Are No More; Cruelty, Barbarity, A Sanguinary Love Of

Torture, Are Now Your Distinguishing Characteristics; The Scream, The

Yell Of The Miserable, Unresisting African, Bleeding Under The Scourge

Of Relentless Power, Affords Music To Your Ears! Ah! From What

Unfriendly Cause Does This Arise? Has The God Of Heaven, In Anger,

Here Changed The Order Of Nature? In Every Other Region, Without

Exception, In A Similar Degree Of Latitude, The Same Sun Which Ripens

The Tamarind And The Anana, Ameliorates The Temper, And Disposes It To

Gentleness And Kindness. In India And Other Countries Not Very

Different In Climate From The Southern Parts Of The United States, The

Inhabitants Are Distinguished For A Softness And Inoffensiveness Of

Manners, Degenerating Almost To Effeminacy; It Is Here Then, Only,

That We Are Exempt From The General Influence Of Climate: Here Only

That, In Spite Of It, We Are Cruel And Ferocious! Poor Carolina!

 

 

"The State Of Society, Too, Is Equally Inviting. The Men And Women

Associate Very Little; The Former Employ Themselves Either In The

Business Of Life, Or In Hunting Horse-Racing, And Gaming; While The

Latter Meet In Large Parties, Composed Entirely Of Themselves, To Sip

Tea And Look Prim!" Would A Stranger Who Had Been Among Us, Who Had

Witnessed The Polished State Of Our Society, The Elegance Of Our

Parties, The Case And Sociability Of Manners Which Prevail There, The

Constant And Agreeable Intercourse Between The Sexes, The

Accomplishments Of Our Ladies, That Proud And Elevated Spirit Among

The Men Which Would Feel "A Stain Like A Wound," Believe The Account

You Have Written Meant As A Picture Of South Carolina? Would He

Believe, Still Further, That It Was Drawn By An American? No. He Would

Suppose It The Production Of Some Jaundiced Foreigner, Who Had Never

Visited Us, And Who Set Down Every Thing Out Of His Own Country As

Rude And Gothic. Now I Recollect Morse Gives A Description Something

Like This Of _North_ Carolina; And I Suspect Your "Friends" Stole

Their Account, With A Little Exaggeration, From Him, But Mistook The

State. I Have Now Replied To The Fable Of Your "Dear Friends" In A

_Veritable_ Style; But, Setting Aside Rhapsody, If You Have Time To

Read It, I Will Give You A Proper And Impartial Account Of Our Country

In A Few Words. Possibly It May Serve To Amuse You, If Still Confined

By Your Ankle.

 

 

For About Sixty Or Seventy Miles From The Seacoast, The Land Is,

Perhaps, More Uninterruptedly Level Than Any Equal Tract Of Territory

In The United States; From That Distance It Gradually Becomes More

Hilly, Till, As You Advance Into The Interior, You Become Entangled In

That Chain Of Mountains Which, Rising In The Back Parts Of

Pennsylvania, Runs Through That State, Touches A Corner Of Maryland,

And, Extending Through North Carolina, South Carolina, And Georgia,

Forms A Line Between The Atlantic And Transatlantic States. In Upper

Carolina It Is As Healthy As Anywhere On The Continent. The People Are

Robust, Active, And Have A Colour As Fine As Those Of Rhode Island. In

The Low Country, It Is True, We Are Visited By "The Fevers And Agues"

You Mention, But It Is Only At A Particular Season, And Near The Banks

Of The Rivers. In This We Are By No Means Singular; Those Who Reside

On The Borders Of The Lakes, The Connecticut, The Delaware, And The

Potomac, Are Equally Exposed. On The Seacoast We Again Find Health;

Charleston, Till Within A Few Years Past, Was Remarkably Healthy.

Since '93 It Has Been Afflicted, At Different Times, During The

Summer, With An Epidemic, Which Has Certainly Proved Extremely Fatal;

But Ought It To Be Called An "Annual Visitant" Here Any More Than At

Boston, New-York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, &C., All Of Which Places

Have Been Equally, And Some Of Them More, Afflicted By It?

 

 

With Regard To Our Manners; If There Is Any State Which Has A Claim To

Superior Refinement, It Is Certainly South Carolina. Generally

Speaking, We Are Divided Into But Two Classes, Very Rich And Very

Poor; Which, If No Advantage In A Political View, Is Undoubtedly

Favourable To A Polished State Of Society. Our Gentlemen Having Large

Fortunes, And Being Very Little Disposed By The Climate To The

Drudgery Of Business Or Professions, Have Full Leisure For The

Attainment Of Polite Literature, And What Are Usually Called

Accomplishments; You Therefore Meet With Few Of Them Who Are Not

Tolerably Well Informed, Agreeable Companions, And Completely Well

Bred. The Possession Of Slaves Renders Them Proud, Impatient Of

Restraint, And Gives Them A Haughtiness Of Manner Which, To Those

Unaccustomed To Them, Is Disagreeable; But We Find Among Them A High

Sense Of Honour, A Delicacy Of Sentiment, And A Liberality Of Mind,

Which We Look For In Vain In The More Commercial Citizens Of The

Northern States. The Genius Of The Carolinian, Like The Inhabitants Of

All Southern Countries, Is Quick, Lively, And Acute; In Steadiness And

Perseverance He Is Naturally Inferior To The Native Of The North; But

This Defect Of Climate Is Often Overcome By His Ambition Or Necessity;

And, Whenever This Happens, He Seldom Fails To Distinguish Himself. In

His Temper He Is Gay And Fond Of Company, Open, Generous, And

Unsuspicious; Easily Irritated, And Quick To Resent Even The

Appearance Of Insult; But His Passion, Like The Fire Of The Flint, Is

Lighted Up And Extinguished In The Same Moment. I Do Not Mention His

Hospitality And Kindness To Strangers, For They Are So Common They Are

No Longer Esteemed Virtues; Like Common Honesty, They Are Noticed Only

When Not Possessed. Nor Is It For The Elegance Of Their Manners Only

That The South Carolinians Are Distinguished; Sound Morality Is

Equally Conspicuous Among Them. Gaming, So Far From Being A

Fashionable Vice, Is Confined Entirely To The Lower Class Of People;

Among Gentlemen It Is Deemed Disgraceful. Many Of Them, It Is True,

Are Fond Of The Turf; But They Pursue The Sports Of It Merely As An

Amusement And Recreation, Not A Business. As To Hunting, The Country

Gentlemen Occasionally Engage In It, But Surely There Is Nothing

Criminal In This! From My Education And Other Pursuits I Have Seldom

Participated In It Myself; But I Consider It, Above All Exercises, The

Most Manly And Healthful.

 

 

But Come, Let Us Dismiss The Gentlemen And Their Amusements, And Take

Up The Female Part Of The Community.

 

 

The Ladies Of Carolina, I Confess, Are Not Generally As Handsome As

Those Of The Northern States; They Want That Bloom Which, In The

Opinion Of Some, Is So Indispensable An Ingredient In Beauty; But

Their Paleness Gives Them An Appearance Of Delicacy And Languor Which

Is Highly Interesting. Their Education Is Perhaps More Attended To

Than Anywhere Else In The United States; Many Of Them Are Well

Informed, All Of Them Accomplished. For It Would Be Far More

Unpardonable In A Girl To Enter A Room Or Go Through A Congo

Ungracefully, Than To Be Ignorant Of The Most Common Event In History

Or The First Principles Of Arithmetic. They Are Perfectly Easy And

Agreeable In Their Manners, And Remarkably Fond Of Company; No

Charleston Belle Ever Felt "Ennui" In Her Life. In The Richness Of

Their Dress And The Splendour Of Their Equipages They Are Unrivalled.

From Their Early Introduction Into Company, And Their Constant And

Unreserved Intercourse With The Other Sex, They Generally Marry Young;

And If Their Husbands Want Only Companions For The Theatre Or The

Concert-Room, Or Some One To Talk Over The Scandal Of The Day With

When At Home, They Make Tolerable Wives. As We Have Now Brought Them

To The "Ne Plus Ultra" Of Human Happiness, Marriage, We Will Leave

Them There, And So Finish Our Description.

 

 

The Reason Of Your Not Hearing From Me So Long After Your Return To

New-York Was This: Not Knowing Till You Wrote Me From Ballston How My

Letters Would Be Received, I Was Really Afraid To Venture Writing.

 

 

You Ask How Miss P. Walks? If It Is Your Object, As You Say, From

Knowing Bow You Stand With Her In Point Of Forces, To Preserve Better

What You Have Won, Receive A General Lesson. "Continue In Every

Respect Exactly As You Are, And You Please Me Most."

 

 

You Wish Me To Acquire French. I Already Understand Something Of It,

And, With A Little Practice, Would Soon Speak It. I Promise You,

Therefore, If You Become My Instructress, In Less Than Two Months

After Our Marriage To Converse With You Entirely In That Language. I

Fix The Period _After_ Our Marriage, For I Cannot Think Of Being

Corrected In The Mistakes I May Make By Any Other Person Than My Wife.

Suppose, Till Then, You Return To Your Latin, And Prepare To Use That

Tongue With Me, Since You Are Averse To One Understood By All The

Canaille. Adieu. I Have Literally Given You A Folio Volume.

 

 

Yours, My Dear Theodosia,

 

 

Jos. Alston.

Chapter XVIII Pg 413

P. S. The Arrangement You Speak Of Proposing In Your Letter For An

Interview Has Determined Me. I Shall There Fore Sail Certainly In A

Few Days. Winds Be Propitious!

 

 

Miss Burr.

 

 

 

In April, 1799, The Federal Party Were Triumphant In The State Of

New-York. The City Was Entitled To Thirteen Members Of Assembly. They

Were Federalists, And Were Elected By An Average Majority Of 944; The

Whole Number Of Votes Being About 6000. Colonel Burr During This Year

Was Not In Public Life, But He Was Not An Idle Spectator Of Passing

Events. The Year Following A President Of The United States Was To Be

Elected. It Was Now Certain, That Unless The Vote Of The State Of

New-York Could Be Obtained For Mr. Jefferson, He Could Not Be Elected.

It Was Equally Certain, That Unless The City Could Be Carried By The

Democratic Party, The State Would Remain In The Bands Of The

Federalists.

 

 

During The Winter Of 1799 And The Spring Of 1800, Colonel Burr

Commenced A System Of Party Organization For The Approaching Contest.

The Presidential Electors Were At That Time Chosen By The Legislature,

Meeting In Joint Ballot. His First Object Was To Secure Such A

Committee Of Nomination For The City And County Of New-York As, In The

Selection Of Candidates For The Assembly, Would Be Influenced By His

Recommendation. His Opinion, Often Expressed To His Confidential

Friends During The Winter Of 1800, Was, That Without A Most Powerful

Ticket There Was No Prospect Of Success; With Such A Ticket And Proper

Exertions It Could Be Elected. He Entertained No Doubt (And The Result

Proved That He Was Correct), That On The City And County Of New-York

Were Suspended The Destinies Of The Country, Whether For Good Or

Whether For Ill. These Views And These Opinions Were Presented And

Enforced By Him For Days, And Weeks, And Months Previous To The

Election Upon All The Young And Ardent Politicians Of The City With

Whom He Had Any Intercourse. The Effect Of Which Was, That When The

Crisis Arrived, Every Member Of The Party Seemed To Feel The Great

Responsibility Which Rested Upon Him.

 

 

The Next Object With Colonel Burr Was To Inculcate Harmony In The

Party And Concert In Action. It Was Known That A Most Unconquerable

Jealousy Existed Between The Clinton And Livingston Families And The

Adherents Of Those Factions. The Clintons And Their Supporters Were

Anti-Federalists. The Livingstons Were Not Less Distinguished As

Federalists, Until Some Time After The Organization Of The General

Government Under The New Constitution. Colonel Burr Enforced, In Mild

And Persuasive Terms, The Necessity Of Sacrificing All Prejudices And

Partialities; Of Surrendering All Personal And Ambitious

Considerations; Of Standing Shoulder To Shoulder, And Uniting In One

Great Effort To Rescue The Country From Misrule. By The Most Unceasing

Perseverance He Succeeded In Both These Objects.