Burr

“ You are not contented, my dear Burr, and why are you not? You sigh for New-Jersey, and why do you not return? It is true we are continually broken in upon by the sons of tumult and war. Our situation is such that the one army or the other is almost constantly with us, and yet we rub along with tolerable order, spirit, and content. Oh! that the days of peace would once more return, that we might follow what business, partake of what amusements, and think and live as we please. As to myself, I am, my dear Burr, one of the happiest of men. ”

“ From the time that Burr entered the building, the nuns had fixed their eyes upon him with that eager and intense gaze, common to young ladies who have been immuned in their season of love, and sedulously prevented from seeing man.
To them there is an overwhelming attraction in the masculine countenance, in the tones, bearing, and in every peculiarity of the proscribed sex. These girls feasted their eyes with the handsome young soldier, as if they would gladly devour him, like so many wolves, if they could obtain permission to do. ”

“ 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. ”

“ He then lifted her into the window of his chamber.
During the removal of the beautiful girl to his chamber, Burr's passion was enkindled to the last degree. Lifting her about in his arms, and thus becoming cognizant of the rounded plumpness of her form, the full and protuberant posteriors, the voluminous thighs, and the fleshy calf, he felt a trembling eagerness to deposite her on his couch, and a dread of interruption, not from any fear of consequences, but because he could not think with any patience of losing the prize so opportunely placed within his reach. ”

“ When 323 Burr chose, neither man nor woman could resist him. He chose now and Ellis, by habit and by nature silent, told of his life and of his thoughts. It was a new tale to Burr, these dream products of a strong man, and of solitude; and so, listening, he forgot his own trouble. The hard look that had formed over his face in the three years past vanished, leaving him again the natural, fascinating man who had first taken the drawing-room of the rare old Jumel mansion by storm. ”

“ 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! ”

“ Young Burr gallantly replied that he was thankful to the accident which had revealed to him so much beauty and innocence, adding, as he saw the Lady Superior turn an anxious eye upon the listening and gratified nuns: "I mean, madam, the beauty of innocence—that beauty which virtue and devotion never fail to confer upon the 'human face divine,' whether it belongs to your sex or to ours." ”

“ Whenever I think of the first three or four years of Burr's married life, the same surging pride rushes through my veins as when I watched him, from the grand-stand of cheering people that November day long ago, scramble out from beneath the pile of some dozen human beings and start out on that record run of his. ”

“ On this occasion Burr was a guest at the Hermitage for eight days. Of the second visit the Colonel wrote in glowing terms to Theodosia: “For a week I have been lounging at the house of General Jackson, once a lawyer, after a judge, now a planter; a man of intelligence, and one of those prompt, frank ardent souls whom I love to meet.” ”

“ MY DEAR BURR, If you remember, some months since, you and I mutually engaged to correspond by letter. I told you then that you were not to expect any thing either entertaining, or in any degree worth the trouble of perusing. What can a reasonable being expect from an inhabitant of such an obscure, remote, and dead place as Sheffield, to amuse, instruct, or even to merit the attention of a young, gay, enterprising, martial genius? I know you will expect nothing, and I dare pledge my honour, therefore, that you will not, either now or in future, in this respect, be disappointed. ”

“ Burr was one of those men, willing to play with any charming woman the game of those navigators who give to simple natives glass beads and feathers in return for gold and diamonds; to accept from a woman her heart’s blood in return for such odds, ends, and clippings as he could afford her from the serious ambitions of life. ”

“ We are not, however, apologizing for the faults of Aaron Burr; we shall only aim to give him his due; and we shall also do justice to the charms of woman, when we remember that Burr was neither a fool nor a poet.
He was no dreamer, who invested the fair sex with the bright creations of a vivid fancy, but a man of sound, cool, and accurate judgment, keen discrimination, and one who possessed great knowledge of human nature. As a lawyer he was pre-eminent, and as a statesman he had no superior. ”

“ Burr burst forth into shouts of laughter, which quite astonished Adelaide.
"My own sweet seraph!" cried he, "there's not a girl in the room who can compare with yourself, and you have neither black eyes, red cheeks, nor a slim—ah! yes, you have a small waist undoubtedly, but otherwise you are full; with the most enchanting bust that nature ever fashioned." ”

“ The much-worried philosopher begged Burr to excuse him for a couple of hours, and hurriedly started on his vexatious quest, accompanied by the phlegmatic gardener. Complying good-naturedly with a proposal of Dominick and little Harman, and convoyed by those devoted children, Burr explored orchards, fields and stockyard, and won the extravagant praises of the black people by visiting their quarters and greeting every one, from Scipio to the youngest pickaninny, with a cheerful word and a smile. ”

“ His excitement grew greater as he pored over them; he found that he could account, with their aid, for all that old Burr had told him. Old Burr's "lives" were not, of course, his; yet neither were they fictions. They—their incidents, at least—were actualities. They were woven from the lives of those upon Corvet's list! Alan felt his skin prickling and the blood beating fast in his temples. How could Burr have known these incidents? Who could he be to know them all? To what man, but one, could all of them be known? Was old Burr . . . Benjamin Corvet? ”

“ The other smiled, and said:
"He goes into New Hampshire once in a while."
"Are there many pretty girls in New Hampshire?" inquired Burr.
"Yes, sir; many a fair neck and bosom, with fair hair, and rounded forms—a plenty of them, sir."
"You say the wife is beautiful?"
"Beautiful, sir, but disatisfied. Having yielded up her liberty to the prayers and entreaties of a man who seemed to love her to madness, it is natural that she should feel unhappy when he has proved, by his conduct, that he was governed by a mere whim of the moment." ”

“ As soon as Burr left her to take his place in the ring, Adelaide blushed deeply, cast down her eyes, and sighed. It was evident that the honor of being chosen by Burr was wholly unexpected by the young beauty, while the ardor with which he embraced her, testified to the peculiar admiration with which she had inspired him. ”

“ When the climax arrived, the belly and thighs of the youth were bathed with what seemed to be burning lava, so ardent was this amorous maid, so hot was her blood after two years of hopeless repining at her virgin state.
Burr then regained his feet, when the nun sprang up and threw herself upon his breast, clutching him like a cat, so fearful was she of losing the author of her sweet transports. Burr then rained kisses on her mouth, neck, and bosom.
"Oh!" said she, "my heart! Oh! my soul! Oh! my God! to think what I lose by remaining in this cursed convent! Oh! my dearest, most blessed man! ”

“ The warm-hearted girl sighed heavily, there was a choking sensation in her throat, and her large dark eyes were rolled up in her head with such a softness in their expression, that Burr must have been more or less than man, not to have desired a more intimate acquaintance with her. ”

“ The eclat which Burr, yet a beardless boy, had acquired by his adventurous march under Arnold to Canada, through our northeastern wilds, then a trackless desert; his gallant bearing at Quebec and Monalouth; his efficient services in the retreat of our army from Long Island and New-York; and his difficult and delicate command on the lines of Westchester, followed him to private life, gathered around him hosts of admirers and friends among our early patriots, particularly the youthful portion of them, and no doubt essentially aided him in making his successful professional debut. ”

“ Her countenance glowed with feeling, and her lovely bosom rose and fell while Burr talked, and darted into her eyes the tremendous magnetic influence which shot from his own whenever he chose to launch his lightnings at the female heart.
In the midst of their discourse, the sleeping Nancy awoke, sat up on end, glared wildly about her, and perceiving that Mrs. Keating had company, lighted a candle, and staggered off to bed in an upper chamber. ”

“ 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. ”

“ She had supposed that young Burr would, at least prefer the wealthiest people in the village, where all were below him in social position. But the fact was, that Burr could perceive little difference between villagers, save in beauty and intelligence. Those who possessed the largest farms, were sometimes the most deficient in those qualifications.
The plays continued till three o'clock in the morning, and often did Burr lead Adelaide into the centre of the ring, and inhale the sweetness of her virgin charms, though he sometimes choose others for the sake of appearances. ”

“ Burr listened attentively, and the stirring discourse of the reverend gentleman appears to have made some impression upon his feelings. The singing which followed was very animated, and being one of those lively tunes common among the Methodists, was to Burr a rarity.
Among those who sang was a young lady, who sat not far from our hero, and her voice could be distinguished from those of the other singers, being peculiarly pure, rich and melodious. Her hair was black as the raven's wing, while her blue eyes were large, and fringed with long dark lashes. ”

“ The doctor went down to the cellar with a light in one hand, and a pistol in the other, which gave Burr ample time to say to the lady of the house which he entered, and whom he found still up and engaged in sewing.
"Don't be alarmed, madam. I am an American officer, pursued by three virulent tories, who have sworn to take my life, as I officiated at the tarring and feathering of one of their number."
The lady at once banished her fears, and replied:
"Then, sir, you shall be protected as far as it can be done. We are no friends to the British here. ”

“ At the same time, the reverend doctor glanced at Angelina, who had sunk down upon a rock, and at her horse, who was enjoying the largest liberty among the long grass and wild flowers.
"This is Miss Brown," said Burr, quickly; "she has experienced a fright: her horse ran away with her—"
"Indeed!" cried the doctor, innocently. "He seems quiet enough now. Are you not afraid to trust him alone?" ”

“ This is, I think, the property of Major Burr, left on the house-top this morning, when he so kindly relinquished the telescope for a silly foreigner, who had not the good manners to thank him a he descended. That silly foreigner has punished herself by sitting in another place at table, and thus denying herself those pleasing attentions, from a brave and noble-minded young officer, which she has justly forfeited by her conduct towards him. ”

“ MY DEAR BURR, It is now near the midnight hour, and yet, late as it is, I could not acquit myself to my conscience if I had not again written you before I left this place, which will be early tomorrow. My life is quite in the militant style—one continued scene of warfare. From this place I go down to the Supreme Court at Trenton, which will be on Tuesday next, and the Tuesday after that I shall return once more to Morristown, and when I shall leave it will be uncertain. I rejoice when the hour of rest comes up, and sicken at the approach of day. Business fairly bears me down. ”