The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-01-07

ment About nine o'clock, the light of little
cottage came in eight; to the door of which
Burr's summons brought an old lady, who
proved TO be It's only inhabitant-
''Is there hospitality here2" asked Burr
We are nearly dead with cold"
'Come in" was the old lady's prompt reply
"you are welcome to the best have"
In a few minutes he had bis halffrozen SER
want BY The side of blazing fire, and his horse
in the stable. While they were getting warm,
the hostess prepared supper, to which, in due
tune, they were invited. Restored, then, to the
use of his faculties, Burr looked about him, and
observed that, though everything in the room
was of an unpretending and inexpensive char.
acter, yet all was clean and nicely arranged.
The only ornamental object was plaster
bust standing upon q little shelf. De had cas-
ually noticed this on entering the room, and
l9osing now to ascertain which of the national
favorites it was whom the old lady had selected
TO adorn her abode, he was astonished to dis
cover that il bust of himself Twenty
years before, this would have been no unusual
circumstance but rare indeed was it then for
him to be reminded of his former condition.
More to amuse his servant than for any other
reason, he said, as the old lady was putting
awavsher dishes
what have you got that vile traitor hereP"
The woman paused in her work as he uttered
these words. Her manner changed In mo-
ment. Putting down some plates which she
had in her hand, she walked slowly up to the
fire, where he was sitting, and, standing before
him, said, with intense emphasis
Sir, / have taken you in tonight, and have
done the best | could for you; but if you say
another word against Aaron Burr, I'll put you
AMI your man out where you came from, quicker
than you came in"
de spologized, and, after a time, succeeded
in regaining her good will He did not tell her
who he was, nor could be recolect her. He
supposed that he must have known her in early
life, when, as the youngest colonel in the army,
and the protector of that country, be must have
been brilliant figure in the Imagination of q
country girl.
The Blood Of all the Montroses.
A scene occurred in the dining-room of the
house while he lay hel pless, which may as well
be related : ere. A gentleman called to engage
board, foun0 suitable rooms and said he would
take them. He came to dinner. Addressing
himself in embarrassed, hesitating manner to
the landlady he said he had Just heard of O
cir cumstsnce which would deprive him of the
pleasure he had anticipated in residing under
her roof He understood that Aaron Burr was
a boarder in the house, and he really could not
live in the same house with a man of that
character.
The blood of all the Montroses was mp in a
moment. She rose from her chair, and said,
with flashing eye, and subdued intensity of tone
You have been misinformed, sir. Colonel
Burr Is not boarder in this house. He is my
guest, sir, my honored guest Before any
boarder in this house is served, Colonel Burr is
served"
Then, turning to a servant who was waiting
at the table, she said, in the manner of Napo-
leon ordering a column to the attack:
Patrick, take away that persons plate and
pen the door !"
Patrick obeyed, and the "person" retired
without venturing any further observations.
This brave lady could not, of course, escape
sharing, to some extent, the odium that sur
rounded the name of the man whose last days
her wit and kindness cheered.
"What do you thiuk I've heard this morning,
Colonel7" said she to him on one occasion.
They say I'm your daughter"
"Well," said he, we don't care for that, do
WEI"
"Not bit !" was her reply. " But they say
something else, Colonel" she continued "they
say / was your mistress"
do they2" said he, 81 don't think we
care much for that either, do we?"
4" They nnnat soy what they choose, she
replied, the gallant soldiers daughter
"But," said he, taking her hand in both his,
and lifting it to his lips, his hands shaking with
paralysis. an tell you something they miqht
sew. that would be truel Let them saw this Of
you She gaze the old man a home aohen nObo-
dy else 1oauld!"
He uttered these words with an emphasis 30
tender and penetrating, that two of his relatives
who were present, one member of the bar,
and the other a Judge, could not refrain from
tears.
The Moral.
To Judge this man, to decide how far he YVES
unfortunate and how far guilty, how much we
ought to pity and how much we ought to blame
him, is a task beyond my powers And what
occasion is there for judging him, or for judg-
ing any one? We all know that his life wns
an unhappy failure. He failed to gain the
small honors at which he aimed; he failed TO
live life worthy of his opportunities; he failed
to achieve character worthy of his powers.
1t was great, great pity. And any one is to
be pltled who, IN thinking of it, has any other
feelings than those Of compassion-comp passion
for the man whose life was so much less a
blessing TO him than it might have been, and
compassion for the country which, after pro.
ducing 80 and excellent kind of man,
lost a great part of the good he might have
done her.
AS it was, he did the State some service,
though they know it not. By being the first TO
of our Constitution, by teaching the Democratic
party how to carry elections, by the invention
OF hhbusterlng. by giving the country and Gen
eral Jackson taste for Southwestern acuuisi.
ton, thus marshalling events the way that they
would CO. he at least accelerated the history Of
his country. In the wrong direction, you will
say true, but it was in the direction in which
the country was destined to go, and 20 as far
as the road led.
His duel with Hamilton had the effect final
ly, of rendering the practice of dueling entirely
odious in the Northern States. That was
benefit. In suffering the consequences of that
affair, he simply expiated the sins of his gen.
GRAFTON, and the expistion fell not uniustly
upon him. He ought to have known better,
and, knowing better, he had the fortitude to bear
the SCOTS of towards. He was, upon the whole,
/ am inclined to think, a better man than Ham
ilton; and it was well ordered, that, by being
the survivor, he should have the loOrSt of the
encounter.
1t is to be said. in praise of Burr, that in the
various offices held by him, he acquitted him.
self well. he was an indefatigable and useful
Senator; Vice President of ideal excellence.
If he had been elevated a step higher, his
Washingtonian habit of taking the best advice
before finally deciding upon an important
measure would have prevented his making
serious mistakes. He would have been a rood
President. Instead of plundering the Treasu-
~ of bis country, as Hamilton predicted, he
would have been more likely to spend twice
his income in supporting the "dignity" of the
Office, and to have passed from the White
House to the court of bankruptcy.
If his expedition had succeeded, it was in
him, think to have run a career in Spanish
America similar to that of Napoleon in Europe