Preble County Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1857-1859, 1858-12-02
Dying Hours of As,FSn Burr.

In reply to the inquirt made in oul
columns few weeks agsk for more de
finate information respe 1Iing the reli,
gious views and experieI1o of Aaron
Burr, in the last hours d Ilis life, la
dy of great intelligence md worth, a
relative of the family AM dot Ogden E.
Edwards, who was BnFf last frie nd
writes to us Il letter from ith We make
few extracts. The sfad hcfe stated
are thrillingsin thejtsesz |sfest, and
they IRE sufficient TO 'sfaRip, as it de
serves, the great crime against society,
committed by the recent biography of
that bad man. Our Correspondent
writes
"My Ogden E. Ed
wards, who died in 1913, felt grateful
interest in Colonel Burr from the fact
of his having in his prosperous days
aided my grandfather, Timothy Ed
wards, in pecuniary difficulties. He
admired also the mind God had given
him, which, in all his degradations,
shone forth in the most brilliant and
fascinating variations. He spent a
week at my fathers after he was 20,
and my impression of him and all of he
said and did, Is very VIVID.
He was hater of all mankind. and a
trifler of all womankind, and viola ted
all the rites of hospitality in the license
of his behaviour Parton's book is
tissue of. lies, as far as family matters
are related, and oh how evil in its infu-
ence upon young men! My father
used to say that Burr's killing Hamil-
ton was the least OF all his crimes.
MIR. Edwards found that Burr was
continually annoyed when he lived in
Nassau street, by set of miserable be-
ings, who pretended to have claims up
on his charity. One morning there
were eighteen or twenty, each telling
the story Of his or her wrongs. The
larger part were women. He snatched
Il Shilling from under his pillow, and
threw it among them; saying, with one
of his withering looks, There, ye har-
pics, take the last cent have Mr..
L. then removed him to Richmond,
Staten Island, employed faithful Irish
nurse to attend him, and went down
every day to see him.
''One day as he approached the hotel,
the nurse met him near the door: say
ing, .Indade, sir, he's very bad; he
waats the priest.-Nr, Edwa.es sent
her for the Dutch ciergJ Jman, aud i'm !
mediately entered Colonel Burrs room.
He found him struggling with death,
and all lie could understand was, Call
the priest, call the priest The nurse
soon returned with a Catholic priest,
hut he did not enter the room. My
- added, with shudder, it was u
fearful scene, and I never wish to speak
of j, again Ny mother told me, three
months before her death. that Ogden
Edwards mentioned precisely the same
circumstances to her.
We would gladly that the grave
should hide all the ark catalogue. But
the life of Colonel Burr is study of no
mean interest aud Importance, and is it
not Of fearful import that the shoal up
on whi,h so gifted being was wrecked
should be discovered p
Such is the testimony that has now
been developed, and although it merely
lifts the curtain for a moment upon the
last hours of Burr, that moment is suf-
ficient to show us the dying sinner,
struggling with the great enemy, and
calling help from the religion he had in
his lifetime trampled under foot.