Aaron Burr

“ Sir, if Aaron Burr be innocent instead of resisting this motion, he ought to hail it with triumph and exultation. What is it that we propose to introduce? Not the rumors that are floating through the world, nor the bulk of the multitude, nor the speculations of newspapers, but the evidence of facts. We propose, that the whole evidence exculpatory as well as accusative, shall come before you; instead of exciting, this is the true mode of correcting, prejudices. The world, which it is said has been misled and influenced by falsehood, will now hear the truth. ”

“ The Ancient Iniquity in Washington smiles with thin lips and pronounces that all men and Aaron Burr are unambitious, unselfish, and peace-loving—but none the less, he looks askance at the serpent's windings. The friends of Burr are not the friends of Jefferson. There are Federalists—'tis said they increase in numbers—who do not wish the former ill; myself I am not of them. Colonel Burr desired that duel; he lay in wait for the affront which should be his opportunity; he murdered Hamilton. He risked his own life—very true, the majority of murderers do the same. ”

“ He allowed himself to be involved in a romantic episode with a lady named Celeste and wrote gaily to Theodosia: “If any male friend of yours should be dying of ennui, recommend to him to engage in a duel and a courtship at the same time. Prob. est.”
Burr’s objective at this time was a reunion with Theodosia, who had married Joseph Alston, a wealthy South Carolina planter. The Alstons, and their little son Aaron Burr Alston, had a home in Charleston. Before going there Burr spent a brief vacation at St. Simon’s Island, Georgia. ”

“ AARON BURR. TO THEODOSIA. Albany, February 13, 1800.
Your letter by this day's mail, dated the 13th, and postmarked the 12th, is one of those hasty and unsatisfactory scraps which neither improve you nor amuse me. I pray you never to write to me with the mere motive of getting rid of the task. These performances always lead me to fear that all other tasks are performed in the same manner; but adieu to tasks and reproaches. I will endure your haste or your silence without a murmur. One is not always in the bumour to write, and one always writes as much as the humour prompts. ”

“ When he died, only about a year later, she is said to have burst into a flood of tears—another tribute to the fascination which Aaron Burr exercised through all his checkered life.
It is difficult to come to any fixed opinion regarding the moral character of Aaron Burr. As a soldier he was brave to the point of recklessness. As a political leader he was almost the equal of Jefferson and quite superior to Hamilton. As a man of the world he was highly accomplished, polished in manner, charming in conversation. ”

“ Birth and parentage of Aaron Burr.—His infancy.—Early display of spirit and impudence.—Loss of his parents.—Runs away to go to sea.—His college life.—A visit to Connecticut.—His acquaintance with Adelaide King, and the fatal consequences.
The renowned Aaron Burr was a standing argument against the old saying, that "none but fools fall in love with women." This talented, heroic, and energetic man was an adorer of the fair sex. ”

“ Sir, neither the human heart nor the human understanding will bear a perversion so monstrous and absurd! So shocking to the soul! So revolting to reason! Let Aaron Burr then not shrink from the high destination which he has courted, and having already ruined Blennerhassett in fortune, character and happiness forever, let him not attempt to finish the tragedy by thrusting that ill-fated man between himself and punishment. ”

“ Then Burr, in his turn, broke out into vehement professions of everlasting regard—extolling her charms, and dwelt upon their peculiar attractions—kissed her bosom—her neck—her swelling hips, her belly, her thighs, and with maddened eagerness, tasted the fragrance of all her voluptuous beauties.
Passion swelled high in their young veins, and again the burning lover forced his way into the gate of Paradise.
They cling to each other, they sigh, they devour each other as the fiery rapture increases, and with the climax, lie lifeless in each other's arms! ”

“ Burr knew what was the subject of her thoughts, by the earnest, sad, and despairing manner in which she gazed upon him. He afterwards confessed that that was the most unhappy moment of his life.
To leave that beautiful young creature whose sweetness he had tasted till his enraptured sense could endure no more—that loving girl who adored him with her whole mind and heart—to leave her a victim to pangs which now would be more cruel than ever, rent his heart with anguish.
"I shall think of you when far away," said Burr, pressing her to his heart, and giving her one long ardent kiss. ”

“ I cannot help hoping the time is near. God is certainly fitting me for himself; and when I think it will be soon that I shall be called hence, the thought is transporting.
"Your dutiful and affectionate daughter,
"Esther Burr."
Such were the parents of Colonel Aaron Burr. Of the natural guardianship and protection of both he was deprived before he had reached the third year of his age. He was born on the 6th of February, 1756, in Newark, State of New-Jersey. His father died in August, 1757, and his mother the year following, leaving two children, Aaron, and his sister Sarah. ”

“ In the melee, Aaron Burr found himself standing near an open window, between Angelina and Miss Edwards. Both of these young ladies looked to him for protection, with fear and anxiety vividly depicted on their countenances.
The bull was plunging directly towards them. There was time to seize one of the young ladies, lift her up, and thrust her through the window. Burr must instantly decide which of them to save.
In this dilemma, our hero perceived that his chances with Miss Edwards was sacrificed for ever, if he gave Angelina Dudley the preference. ”

“ Yet another protracted argument arose over the proper bail for Aaron Burr. His counsel contended that he should give none at all. Now that the Colonel’s neck was safe it was no longer necessary for the Chief Justice to make every concession the defense requested. He insisted upon bail and ordered it set at $5,000. In spite of the defense’s contention that no one dared perform this favor for Colonel Burr because of public opinion two sureties at once presented themselves and, on September 8, Aaron Burr found himself a free man. ”

“ AARON BURR. [A] [Footnote A: The Life and Times of Aaron Burr. By J. PARTON. New York:
Mason, Brothers. 1857.]
The life of Aaron Burr is an admirable subject for a biographer. He belonged to a class of men, rare in America, who are remarkable, not so much for their talents or their achievements, as for their adventures and the vicissitudes of their fortunes. Europe has produced many such men and women: political intriguers; royal favorites; adroit courtiers; adventurers who carried their swords into every scene of danger ”

“ The young widow possessed warm and tender feelings: her husband had been taken sick before the honey-moon was in its wane, and for a whole year she had not even received a kiss from one of the opposite sex. Her feelings rose higher and higher, till the swelling tide had began to overwhelm her reason. Burr's arm was already around her waist, his lips had touched the sweetest and most beautiful bosom that ever fired the soul of man, when she suddenly became conscious of her awful position! ”

“ Burr removes to New York.—Major Andre and the wife of Benedict Arnold.—Marriage of Burr.—Death of Hamilton.—Blennerhassett island.—Mrs. Blennerhassett.—Arrest of Burr.—Trial and acquital.—Burr goes Abroad.—Death and burial of Aaron Burr.—Conclusion.
After Colonel Burr retired from the army, he married Mrs. Theodosia Prevost, widow of a British officer who died in the West Indies. The marriage took place in 1782.
When the British evacuated New York city, Burr took up his residence there, and practised as a lawyer. ”

“ The defiance of Aaron is so full, so frank, that it seems studied. Son-in-law Hamilton is not sure of its purpose, or what intrigue it may hide. Deeply impressed as to his own importance, the thought takes hold on him that Aaron’s attack is parcel of some deliberate design, held by folk who either hate him or envy him, or both, to lure him to the dueling ground and kill him out of the way. He draws a long breath at this, and sweats a little; for life is good and death not at all desired. He makes no effort at retort, but stomachs in silence those words which burn his soul like coals of fire. ”

“ He relates the adventures of an Ohio lad who was a relative of Aaron Burr and had implicit faith in that brilliant but unprincipled statesman. The story is remarkably well told and it is finely illustrated.—The San Francisco Chronicle.
Mr. Brooks in this volume presents to his readers a new field of interest and importance. No one incident in the history of our country, as a nation, is so full of the picturesque as the wild scheme of treason which stirred the soul of Aaron Burr to plot against the country he had struggled to establish. ”

“ Angel! blessed woman!" cried Burr. "Accuse not yourself! we have only been led away by our feelings. You are young and I am young. Is it strange? You lost your husband while you were in the day of life, and nature—yes, nature itself required relief. No one can ever know—"
"There! there!" cried she pointing upward—"there in yon high heaven, is One who knows!"
Burr stopped her mouth with kisses, and forced her to the floor, when the act was repeated, which so completely enkindled the fervent passions of the lovely widow, that she thought no more of any thing but Burr and his embraces. ”

“ TIMOTHY GREEN. FROM JOSEPH ALSTON TO THEODOSIA. Columbia, S. C., January 15, 1813.
Another mail, and still no letter! I hear, too, rumours of a gale off Cape Hatteras the beginning of the month! The state of my mind is dreadful. Let no man, wretched as he may be, presume to think himself beyond the reach of another blow. I shall count the hours till noon to-morrow. If I do not hear then, there will be no hope till Tuesday. To feelings like mine, what an interval! May God grant me one word from you to-morrow. Adieu. All that I have left of heart is yours. ”

“ Colonel Aaron Burr died at eighty after thirty years of the worst treatment ever meted out to a man against whom the bitterest enemies and the most brilliant legal talent could bring no charge that would stand in the eyes of the law. ”

“ Aaron was one day walking in an unfrequented spot, (for there were many wild and solitary places in those days,) when he saw approaching him a lady on horseback.
Without appearing impertinent, he took measures to ascertain whether it was a young or elderly rider. His stealthy glances soon convinced him that she was both young and lovely. She was not above the middle size, and of feminine proportions and features, yet there was a certain hauteur in her bearing which only rendered her more interesting.
As the rider drew near, Burr perceived that she was dressed in rich and fanciful style. ”

“ No doubt the pure life led by Burr, under the tutelage of the good and virtuous, contributed much to preserve his intellectual faculties in all their force, and as he was never led into any improper habits, he retained his vigor till he was old enough to go into society, and form attachments for such of the fair sex as pleased his taste.
From the best authority to which we have recourse, we believe that Burr never gratified the sexual passion till he was seventeen years of age.
There was, in the neighborhood of Bethlehem, Connecticut, a girl of eighteen years, named Adelaide King. ”

“ I must watch Jefferson, not trust him. His judgment is ever valet to his hatreds. He would call the most innocent act a crime, prove white black, for the privilege of making Aaron Burr an outlaw.”
CHAPTER XVIII—THE TREASON OF WILKINSON NOW begin days crowded on new faces and new scenes. Aaron ascends the Potomac, and crosses the mountains to Pittsburg. He buys a cabined flatboat and floats down to Marietta. They tell him of Blennerhassett, romantic, eccentric, living on an island below. ”

“ Aaron Burr fell,--like Lucifer, like a star from heaven,--and never can rise again in the esteem of his countrymen; no time can wipe away his disgrace. His is a blasted name, like that of Benedict Arnold. And here let me say, that great men, although they do not commit crimes, cannot escape the penalty of even defects and vices that some consider venial. No position however lofty, no services however great, no talents however brilliant, will enable a man to secure lasting popularity and influence when respect for his moral character is undermined ”

“ The other, bearing her mother’s name, lived on, as we shall see, to play a major role in the life of her father.
Letters of the elder Theodosia to her husband reveal an almost pathetic adulation. On at least one occasion Burr reacted with an impatience such as he seldom showed to anybody. Still, the marriage appears to have been on the whole a happy one, and it lasted twelve years until the death of Mrs. Burr in 1794.
Burr’s intellect, his political instinct, and his charm combined to speed him on his career. Casting his lot with the Jeffersonians, he was elected to the New York Assembly. ”

“ Aaron Burr, president of the College of New-Jersey, was married to a daughter of the renowned Mr. Jonathan Edwards, late of Northampton. She is a young lady of about twenty-one. Her person may be called agreeable; her natural genius seems to be sprightly, and, no doubt, is greatly improved by a very virtuous education. In short, she appears to be one every way qualified to make a man of sense and piety happy in the conjugal relation. As to the courtship or marriage, I shall not descend to particulars ”