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

In 1806-7 Great Excitement Was Produced, In Consequence Of Colonel

Burr Writing In Cipher To General Wilkinson, In This Particular He

Seems To Have Had Peculiar Notions. However Innocent His

Correspondence, He Was, Apparently, Desirous At All Times Of Casting

Around It A Veil Of Mystery. The Same Trait Was Conspicuous In His

Political Movements And Intercourse. This Has Been One Of The Weak

Points In Colonel Burr'S Character. He Was Considered A Mysterious

Man; And What Was Not Understood By The Vulgar, Was Pronounced Selfish

Or Ambitious Intrigue. Even His Best Friends Were, Often Dissatisfied

With Him On This Account. Acting Upon This Principle Of Mystery At

Every Period Of His Life, He Has Corresponded With One Or More

Individuals In Cipher. While Yet A Student In College, The Letters

Between His Sister And Himself Are Frequently Written In Cipher. So,

Also, Much Of His Correspondence With His Most Intimate Friend,

Matthias Ogden, And With Others In 1774 And 1775, Is In Cipher. Many

Of These Letters, Thus Written, Are Now In Existence. To Those,

Therefore, Acquainted With The Character And Peculiarities Of Colonel

Burr, The Fact Of His Writing A Letter In Cipher Would Not Be

Considered As Any Thing Extraordinary; Because It Was A Habit Which He

Had Adopted And Pursued For More Than Thirty Years Preceding The

Period When This Excitement Was Thus Produced.

Before Burr Left Princeton, And While Lie Was Indulging Himself In

Pleasures And Amusements, He Accidentally Visited A Billiard-Table. He

Engaged In Play, And, Although He Had Never Before Seen The Game, He

Was Successful, And Won About Half A Joe. On Returning Home With His

Gains, He Reflected On The Incident With Great Mortification, And

Determined Never Again To Play; Which Determination He Adhered To

Through Life. Colonel Burr Not Only Abstained From Playing At

Billiards, But With Equal Pertinacity He Refused To Play At Any Game

For The Purpose Of Acquiring Money.

Although He Had Been Somewhat Tranquillized By His Conversation With

Dr. Witherspoon On The Subject Of The Awakening In College In 1772,

Yet He Was Not Entirely At Ease. In Consequence Of Which He Came To A

Resolution Not To Enter Upon The Concerns Of Life Until This Point Was

More Satisfactorily Settled In His Own Mind. He Concluded, Therefore,

To Visit And Consult The Rev. Joseph Bellamy, A Venerable And Devoted

Friend Of His Late Father, And To Whom He Was Known By Reputation.

Joseph Bellamy, D.D., Was An Eminent Preacher And Theological Writer

Of Connecticut, And Intimate Friend Of Colonel Burr'S Relative, The

Famous Jonathan Edwards, With Whose Particular Opinion He Fully

Agreed. He Was Celebrated In His Days, Before The Establishment Of

Theological Seminaries, As An Instructor Of Young Men Preparing For

The Ministry. The Late Governor Wolcott Used To Speak Of Him With The

Highest Respect For His Talent And Moderation. He Died In 1790.

In The Autumn Of 1773, Burr Visited Him At Bethlehem, In Connecticut,

And Was Received By His Aged Friend In A Most Kind And Affectionate

Manner. His Advice, And The Use Of His Library, Were Promptly

Tendered. Burr Commenced A Course Of Reading On Religious Topics, And

Was Thus Occupied From Sixteen To Eighteen Hours A Day. His Habits

Were Those Of Great Abstinence, And A Recluse. His Conversations With

The Reverend Divine Were Encouraged And Indulged In With Freedom, And

His Inquiries Answered. Here He Remained Until The Spring Of 1774,

When, To Use His Own Language, He "Came To The Conclusion That The

Road To Heaven Was Open To All Alike." He, However, From That Time

Forward, Avoided Most Studiously All Disputation On The Subject Of

Religion.

An Impression Has Been Created That Colonel Burr Was Placed By His

Guardian Under Dr. Bellamy, For The Purpose Of Studying Divinity. This

Is An Error. His Visit To The Rev. Dr. Was Not The Result Of A

Conference Or Communication With Any Person Whatever; But The Volition

Of His Own Mind, And For The Purpose Already Stated. In Fact, After

Burr Entered College, His Studies And His Future Pursuits In Life

Appear To Have Been Left Entirely Under His Own Control. Whether This

Arose From Indolence On The Part Of His Guardian, Or From Pertinacity

In Young Burr, Is Uncertain; Perhaps A Little Of Both, United With The

Great Confidence Which His Uncle Reposed In His Judgment And Talents.

In The Spring Of 1774, While He Yet Resided At Dr. Bellamy'S, He

Contemplated Studying Law; But Was Undecided Whether He Should Read

With Pierpont Edwards, Or With His Brother-In-Law, Tappan Reeve, And

Upon This Subject He Wrote His Guardian, Who Replies, In A Letter

Dated

"Stockbridge, February 11Th, 1774.

"Whether You Study Law With Mr. Reeve Or Your Uncle Pierpont Is A

Matter Of Indifference With Me. I Would Have You Act Your Pleasure

Therein. I Shall Write To Your Uncle Upon It, But Yet Treat It As A

Matter Of Doubt. Your Board I Shall Settle With Dr. Bellamy Myself. I

Will Send You Cash To Pay For Your Horse Very Soon. You May Expect It

In The Forepart Of March. If I Had Known Of This Want Of Yours Sooner,

I Would Have Paid It Before This.

"Your Affectionate Uncle,

"Timothy Edwards"

In May, 1774, He Left The Rev. Mr. Bellamy'S, And Went To The House Of

His Brother-In-Law, Tappan Reeve, Where His Time Was Occupied In

Reading, Principally History; But Especially Those Portions Of It

Which Related To Wars, And Battles, And Sieges, Which Tended To

Inflame His Natural Military Ardour. The Absorbing Topics Of Taxation

And The Rights Of The People Were Agitating The Then British Colonies

From One Extreme To The Other. These Subjects, Therefore, Could Not

Pass Unnoticed By A Youth Of The Inquiring Mind And Ardent Feelings Of

Burr. Constitutional Law, And The Relative Rights Of The Crown And The

Colonists, Were Examined With All The Acumen Which He Possessed, And

He Became A Whig From Reflection And Conviction, As Well As From

Feeling.

At This Period, Burr'S Most Intimate And Confidential Correspondent

Was Matthias Ogden, Of New-Jersey, Subsequently Colonel Ogden, A

Gallant And Distinguished Revolutionary Officer. He Writes To Burr,

Dated

"Elizabethtown, August 9Th, 1774.

"Dear Aaron,

"I Received Yours By Mr. Beach, Dated Sunday. I Am Not A Little

Pleased That You Have The Doctor (Bellamy) So Completely Under Your

Thumb. Last Saturday I Went A Crabbing. Being In Want Of A Thole-Pin,

I Substituted A Large Jackknife In Its Stead, With The Blade Open And

Sticking Up. It Answered The Purpose Of Rowing Very Well; But It Seems

That Was Not The Only Purpose It Had To Answer; For, After We Had Been

Some Time On The Flats, Running On The Mud, As The Devil Would Have

It, In Getting Into The Boat I Threw My Leg Directly Across The Edge

Of The Knife, Which Left A Decent Mark Of Nearly Four Inches Long, And

More Than One Inch Deep. It Was Then Up Anchor And Away. Our First

Port Was Dayton'S Ferry, Where Dr. Bennet Happened To Be, But Without

His Apparatus For Sewing, To The No Small Disadvantage Of Me, Who Was

To Undergo The Operation. Mrs. Dayton, However, Furnished Him With A

Large Darning-Needle, Which, As Soon As I Felt Going Through My Skin,

I Thought Was More Like A Gimlet Boring Into Me; But, With The Help Of

A Glass Of Wine, I Grinned And Bore It, Until He Took A Few Stitches

In The Wound. So Much For Crabbing.

"I Was At New-York About A Fortnight Since, On My Way To Jamaica, Long

Island. The Object Of This Journey You Understand. I Stayed At Mr.

Willett'S Three Days, And Then Went To Colonel Morris'S, And Spent Two

Days There Very Agreeably. Nothing Occurred Worth Relating, Unless It

Be Some Transactions Of The Greatest Fool I Ever Knew.

"Mr. Elliot, Collector Of New-York, Mr. And Mrs. Delancey And

Daughter, Dined There On Sunday. Witherspoon [1] Was Led In With A

Large Bag Tied To His Hair, That Reached Down To The Waistband Of His

Breeches, And A Brass Locket Hanging From His Neck Below His Stomach.

He Was Turned Round And Round By Each Of The Company: Was Asked Where

He Got That Very Neat Bag, And The Valuable Locket? He Readily

Answered, They Were A Present From Lady Kitty, Who Was Violently In

Love With Him, And He Expected To Marry Her In A Short Time. He Is So

Credulous That Any Child Might Impose On Him. I Told Him That I Came

From Lord Stirling'S, And That He Might Write By Me To Lady Kitty.

Accordingly, He Wrote A Long Letter And Gave Me, Which I Opened There,

And, By Desire Of Colonel Morris, Answered It, When I Got To New-York,

In Lady Kitty'S Name, Informing Him That He Must Tell Mr. Morris To

Provide Himself With Another Tutor, As She Intended Marrying Him

Without Fail The First Of September, Which I Suppose He Will As

Sincerely Believe As He Does His Existence.

"Yours Affectionately,

"Matt. Ogden."

To Matthias Ogden.

Litchfield, August 17Th, 1774.

Dear Matt.,

Before I Proceed Any Further, Let Me Tell You That, A Few Days Ago, A

Mob Of Several Hundred Persons Gathered At Barrington, And Tore Down

The House Of A Man Who Was Suspected Of Being Unfriendly To The

Liberties Of The People; Broke Up The Court, Then Sitting At That

Place, &C. As Many Of The Rioters Belonged To This Colony, And The

Superior Court Was Then Sitting At This Place, The Sheriff Was

Immediately Despatched To Apprehend The Ringleaders. He Returned

Yesterday With Eight Prisoners, Who Were Taken _Without Resistance_.

But This Minute There Is Entering The Town On Horseback, With Great

Regularity, About Fifty Men, Armed Each With A White Club; And I

Observe Others Continually Dropping In. I Shall Here Leave A Blank, To

Give You (Perhaps In Heroics) A Few Sketches Of My Unexampled Valour,

Should They Proceed To Hostilities; And, Should They Not, I Can Then

Tell You What I Would Have Done.

The Abovementioned _Sneaks All Gave Bonds For Their Appearance_, To

Stand A Trial At The Next Court For Committing A Riot.

Yours Affectionately,

A. Burr.