Memoirs Of Aaron Burr, Volume 1 by Matthew L. Davis (read any book .TXT) 📕

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.

From 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.

In 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:--

To 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