Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1873-12-23
rnErwo WIVES OFAAROS BURR

dragging its slow length through the
New York courts, naturally recalls the
name and history OF the man who iig.
ured as the second husband ofthe woman
whose property now bids fair 10 be swal-
lowed up in the insantiate NAV OF the
legal profession. We do not, OF course,
propose 10 attempt any biography or
criticism Of one who has been so thor
oughly crucifed by the pens Of scrib.
blers Of high and low degree, as Aaron
Burr; but the very notoriety he has
gained lends a strong interest TO some
details Of his domestic life which are not
entirely familiar TO the majority OF
newspaper readers.
II was while commanding his regiment
in New Jersey during the early years OF
the Revolutionary war that Colonel Burr
made the acquaintance Of the lady who
afterwards became his first wife and the
mother Of that Incompatible daughter,
whose genius and fidelity have almost
redeemed her fathers fame. Mrs. The
dosia Provost was then the wife Of Col.
Provost of the British army, at that
time in the West Indies. She resided at
Paramus with her neither and sister
and her two sons-the latter sprightly
little fellows whose vivacity could not be
other than attractive 10 q man so pas
sionately fond Of bright children as
Burr was till the day Of his death. Mrs.
Provost was ten years older than the
young officer whom she captivated by
her rare grace and culture; but neither
the difference in age, nor the absence OF
beauty lessened her charms in his esti-
nation. Her family-the De Viennes-
was Of French or Swiss origin, and she
herself was the first woman educated in
accordance with the European standard
whom Burr had ever met. She was
thoroughly versed in the best literature
of the day, and undoubtedly did much
toward forming the taste and shaping
the intellectual development of an ad-
mirer who, above all other things in the
world, appreciated brains-particularly
when lodged in the female head. Her
manners are represented to have been
the perfection of elegance and refine
ment, and long after she had been mer-
cifully taken away from the evil to come,
Burr was accustomed to say that if his
own manners were in any respect supe
rior to those of men in general, it was
mainly owing to the insensible influence
of hers. Some unpublished letters from
her hand which we have seen, abund-
antly confirm thia estimate of her char
aeter-the penmanship is exquisitely
neat and clear, and the matter is no less
remarkable for its vigorous common
sense than for the admirable style in
which it is set forth.
We have said that Burr was an ad-
mirer of Mrs. Provost, but there is not
the slightest reason to suppose that lis
admiration ever went beyond the bounds
of strict propriety, or that her behavior
was in any respect unworthy the posi-
ton she occupied If she was con-
scious of the impression she had made
that consciousness never revealed itself
in word or act, and it is the most
wretched injustice to fasten upon her
reputation even shadow of the stain
which rests upon him whose brighter
fortunes she shared. But when, not
long after their first meeting, Colonel
Provost died, it is probable that this
mutual selfrestraint gradually began to
disappear, for we know that when Burr
resigned from the army in 1873, they
we're engaged to be married, the cere-
mony being delayed only by those pc
cuniary considerations which cannot be
overlooked even in the delirium of pas
sionate love. Both were poor, and let
it be remembered as slight atonement
for his many subsequent transgressions,
that Burr deliberately married for af-
young, handsome and brilliant, he had
come out of the war with splendid |
record for bravery and military skill; he
had begun the practice Of law under the
most fattering auspices; he was univer-
sally regarded as rising young man,
whose future could not fail to be glo-
rious, and with these recommendations
he might easily have wooed and won
Younger and lovelier bride, who would
have brought him the influence of her
family, as well as the more tangible
blessings of an ample fortune. 10 say
that Burr did not see the advantages
which might result from making what is
now termed g a good match, is to sup
pose him fool, which he certainly was
not. That he put aside these advantages
while perfectly comprehending their
weight, is at least an evidence that his
heart was not quite hard, his sel6shness
not quite as profound as his enemies
would have us believe.
Burr was admitted to the bar in Jan
uary, 1882, and on the 10th of July fol-
lowing he married Mrs. Prevost-she
then being thirtysix years old and he
twenty-six The pair took up their resi-
dence in Albany, where-June %, 1888
-Theodosia was born. AS far as we are
able to judge from tho scanty material
at our command, the union was, from
first TO last, a happy one. Welded to
the woman he loved, surrounded by the
purest and tenderest associations, with
no cause for anxiety, present and pros
pective, and with everything TO stimulate
bis ambition and crafty his wishes-the
ae4t twelve years were by far the best
and brightest Of Bprr's long and varied
career. How he must have Looked back
to those years from the gloomy stand
point of that period, when there could
hardly be found in the whole country
dozen persons who dared call themselves
his friends
Mrs. Burr died Of cancer ia the spring
Of l194-in time TO escape the abuse and
;gnominv which we're destined so soon to