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

Necessary That I Should Also Peruse Them With An Eye Of

Criticism. The Following Are The Only Mispelled Words. You Write

_Acurate_ For _Accurate_; _Laudnam_ For _Laudanum_; _Intirely_ For

_Entirely_; This Last Word, Indeed, Is Spelled Both Ways, But Entirely

Is The Most Usual And The Most Proper.

 

 

Continue To Use All These Words In Your Next Letter, That I May See

That You Know The True Spelling. And Tell Me What Is Laudanum? Where

And How Made? And What Are Its Effects?

 

 

"It Was What She Had Long Wished For, And Was At A Loss How To Procure

_It_."

 

 

Don'T You See That This Sentence Would Have Been Perfect And Much More

Elegant Without The Last _It_? Mr. Leshlie Will Explain To You Why.

By-The-By, I Took The Liberty To Erase The Redundant _It_ Before I

Showed The Letter.

 

 

I Am Extremely Impatient For Your Farther Account Of Mamma'S Health.

The Necessity Of Laudanum Twice A Day Is A Very Disagreeable And

Alarming Circumstance. Your Letter Was Written A Week Ago, Since Which

I Have No Account. I Am Just Going To The Senate Chamber, Where I Hope

To Meet A Journal And Letter. Affectionately,

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XVII Pg 358

To His Daughter Theodosia.

 

 

Philadelphia, 8Th January, 1794

 

 

Your Two Letters Of Friday And Saturday Came Together By Yesterday'S

Mail, Which Did Not Arrive Till Near Sunset. Your Letter Of Friday Was

Not Put Into The Postoffice Until Saturday Afternoon. You Might Have

As Well Kept It In Your Own Hands Till Monday Eleven O'Clock. Since

The Receipt Of These Letters I Have Been Three Times To Doctor Rush To

Consult Him About A Drink For Your Mamma; But Not Having Had The Good

Fortune To Find Him, Have Written To Him On The Subject. I Shall

Undoubtedly Procure An Answer In The Course Of This Day, And Will

Forward It By To-Morrow'S Post.

 

 

I Beg, Miss Prissy, That You Will Be Pleased To Name A Single

"_Unsuccessful Effort_" Which You Have Made To Please Me. As To The

Letters And Journals Which You _Did_ Write, Surely You Have Reason

Abundant To Believe That They Gave Me Pleasure; And How The Deuse I Am

To Be Pleased With Those You _Did Not_ Write, And How An Omission To

Write Can Be Called An "_Effort_," Remains For Your Ingenuity To

Disclose.

 

 

You Improve Much In Journalizing. Your Last Is Far More Sprightly Than

Any Of The Preceding. Fifty-Six Lines Sola Was, I Admit, _An Effort_

Worthy Of Yourself, And Which I Hope Will Be Often Repeated. But Pray,

When You Have Got Up To Two Hundred Lines A Lesson, Why Do You Go Back

Again To One Hundred And Twenty, And One Hundred And Twenty-Five? You

Should Strive Never To Diminish; But I Suppose That _Vis Inertia_,

Which Is Often So Troublesome To You, Does Some Times Preponderate. So

It Is Now And Then Even With Your

 

 

A. Burr.

 

 

Learn The Difference Between _Then_ And _Than_. You Will Soonest

Perceive It By Translating Them Into Latin.

 

 

Let Me See How Handsomely You Can Subscribe Your Name To Your Next

Letter, About This Size,

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XVII Pg 359

To His Daughter Theodosia.

 

 

Philadelphia, 10Th Of January, 1794.

 

 

I Fear That You Will Imagine That I Have Been Inattentive To Your Last

Request About Dr. Rush; But The Truth Is, I Can Get Nothing

Satisfactory Out Of Him. He Enumerates Over To Me All The Articles

Which Have Been Repeatedly Tried, And Some Of Which Did Never Agree

With Your Mamma. He Is, However, Particularly Desirous That She Should

Again Try Milk--A Spoonful Only At A Time: Another Attempt, He Thinks,

Should Be Made With Porter, In Some Shape Or Other. Sweet Oil,

Molasses, And Milk, In Equal Proportions, He Has Known To Agree With

Stomachs Which Had Rejected Every Thing Else. Yet He Says, And With

Show Of Reason, That These Things Depend So Much On The Taste, The

Habits Of Life, The Peculiarity Of Constitution, That She And Her

Attending Physician Can Be The Best, If Not The Only Advisers. It

Gives Me Very Great Pleasure To Learn That She Is Now Better. I Shall

Write You Again On Sunday, Having Always Much To Say To You

 

 

Adieu.

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XVII Pg 360

To Theodosia.

 

 

Philadelphia, 13Th January, 1794.

 

 

Your Letter Of The 9Th, My Dear Theo., Was A Most Agreeable Surprise

To Me. I Had Not Dared Even To Hope For One Until To-Morrow. In One

Instance, At Least, An Attempt To Please Me Has Not Been

"Unsuccessful." You See I Do Not Forget That Piece Of Impudence.

 

 

Doctor Rush Says That He Cannot Conceive Animal Food To Be

Particularly Necessary; Nourishment Is The Great Object. He Approves

Much Of The Milk Punch And Chocolate. The Stomach Must On No Account

Be Offended. The Intermission Of The Pills For A Few Days (Not However

For A Whole Week) He Thinks Not Amiss To Aid In Determining Its

Effects. The Quantity May Yet Be Increased Without Danger, But The

Present Dose Is In His Opinion Sufficient; But After Some Days

Continual Use, A Small Increase Might Be Useful.

 

 

I Was Yesterday Thronged With Company From Eight In The Morning Till

Eleven At Night. The Greek Signature, Though A Little Mistaken, Was

Not Lost Upon Me. I Have A Letter From Mr. Leshlie, Which Pays You

Many Compliments. He Has Also Ventured To Promise That You Will Every

Day Get A Lesson In Terence By Yourself. You Know How Grateful This

Will Be To

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XVII Pg 361

To Theodosia.

 

 

Philadelphia, 14Th January, 1794.

 

 

I Really Think, My Dear Theo., That You Will Be Very Soon Beyond All

Verbal Criticism, And That My Whole Attention Will Be Presently

Directed To The Improvement Of Your Style. Your Letter Of The 9Th Is

Remarkably Correct In Point Of Spelling. That Word Rec_Ie_Ved Still

Escapes Your Attention. Try Again. The Words _Wold_ And _Shold_ Are

Mere Carelessness; Necess_E_Ry Instead Of Necess_A_Ry, Belongs, I

Suspect To The Same Class.

 

 

"Dr. B. Called Here, But Did Not Speak Of His Having Rec_Ie_Ved A

Letter From You, But Desired," &C.

 

 

When I Copied The Foregoing, I Intended To Have Shown You How To

Improve It; But, Upon Second Thought, Determine To Leave It To

Yourself. Do Me The Favour To _Endorse_ It On, Or _Subjoin_ It To,

Your Next Letter, Corrected And Varied According To The Best Of Your

Skill.

 

 

"Ma Begs You Will Omit The Thoughts Of Leaving Congress," &C.; "Omit"

Is Improperly Used Here. You Mean "_Abandon, Relinquish, Renounce_, Or

_Abjure_ The Thoughts," &C. Your Mamma, Mr. Leshlie, Or Your

Dictionary (Johnson'S Folio), Will Teach You The Force Of This

Observation. The Last Of These Words Would Have Been Too Strong For

The Occasion. You Have Used With _Propriety_ The Words "Encomium" And

"Adopted." I Hope You May Have Frequent Occasion For The Former, With

The Like Application.

 

 

"Cannot Be Committed To Paper," Is Well Expressed.

 

 

A. Burr.

 

Chapter XVII Pg 362

To Theodosia.

 

 

Philadelphia, 16Th January, 1794.

 

 

I Hope The Mercury, If Tried, Will Be Used With The Most Vigilant

Caution And The Most Attentive Observation Of Its First Effects. I Am

Extremely Anxious And Apprehensive About The Event Of Such An

Experiment.

 

 

I Fear, My Dear Little Girl, That My Letter Of The 13Th Imposed Too

Much Upon You; If So, Dispense With What You May Find Too Troublesome.

You Perceive By This License The Entire Confidence Which I Place In

Your Discretion.

 

 

Your Journal Still Advances Towards Perfection. But The Letter Which

Accompanied It Is, I Remark With Regret, Rather A Falling Off. I Have

Received None More Carelessly Written, Or With More Numerous Omissions

Of Words. I Am Sensible That Many Apologies Are At Hand; But You,

Perhaps, Would Not Be Sensible That Any Were Necessary, If I Should

Omit To Remind You.

 

 

On Sunday Se'Nnight (I Think The 26Th) I Shall, Unless Baffled Or

Delayed By Ice Or Weather, Be With You At Richmond Hill. I Will Not

Bid You Adieu Till The Friday Preceding. In The Interim, We Shall

Often In This Way Converse.

 

 

I Continue The Practice Of Scoring Words For Our Mutual Improvement.

The Use, As Applicable To You, Was Indicated In A Former Letter.

 

 

I Am Sure You Will Be Charmed With The Greek Language Above All

Others. Adieu.

 

 

A. Burr.

Chapter XVII Pg 363