Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1880-11-02
AARON BURR AND JOHN RAM
DOLPH.

oolohel Burr who had been Vice-Presi-
dent of America, and probably wonIa
nave been the next President but for
MS unfortunate duel with General Ham
,''oh' came over to England, and was
known to me by Mr.. Randolph of vir.
gina, with whom l was VERY intimate
ne requested | wonld introduce him to
Mr. drattan, whom be was excess;velv
anxious to see. Colonel Burr was not a
man OF very prepossessing appearance:
tough-leatured, and neither dressy nor
polished; but well-informed, sensible
man. and though not a particularly
agreeable yet an instructive Communion
feople in general form extravagant anti
clpatlons regarding eminentpersons. The
Idea ofa great orator and an Irish chief
carried with it, naturally enough, CORES.
popdlng notions of physical elepanos
v'gor and dignity. Such was Colonel
burr's mistake, believe, about Mr..
"fa''an, and took care not to undeceive
HIM. we went to my friends house
VINO was to leave London next dav
announced that Colonel Burr, from Am.
erloa' Mr. Randolph and myself wished
10 pay our respects, and the servant in
formed us that his master would rece;vo
US IN short time, but was at that NM
ment much occupied on business Of CON.
sequence. Burr's expectations were Al,
Oh The alert! Randolph, also, was apxi.
GUS 10 DC presented to the great GRAFT
tan, and both impatient for the entrance
OF this Demosthenes. At length the
noor opened, and in hoped small, bent
hgHre' meager, yellow, and ordinary.
one slipper and one shoe; his breecbes,
Knees loose; his cravat hanging down:
his shirt and coat sleeves tucked mn
nigh, and an old hat upon his head
This apparition saluted the strappers
very courteously, asked, without apv in.
production, how long they had been in
England, and Immediately proceeded to
make inquiries about tho late General
washington and the Revolutionary War.
NV companions looked at each other:
their replies were costive, and they
seemed quite impatient to see Mr.. GRAFT.
tan' l could scarcely contain myself.
but determined to let my eccentric conn.
tryman take his course, who appeared
quite delighted to see his visitors, and
was the most inqusitive person in the
world. Randolph was by far the talIest
and most dignifed looking man of the
two, grey-hared, and well-dressed: Graf.
tan, therefore, took him for the Vice
President, and addressed him according
~ Randolph at length begged to know
II they could shortly have the honor of
seeing Mr.. Grattan. Upon which onr
host, not doubling that they knew him.
conceived it must be his son James for
which they inquired, and said be beliey-
ed he had that moment wandered ont
somewhere to amuse himself. This com.
pletely disconnected the Americans. and
they were about to make their bow and
their exit, when thought it high time
to explain. And taking Colonel Burr
and Mr.. Randolph respectively by the
hand, introduced them to the Right Hon
orable Henry Grattan. never saw peo-
pie stare so, or so much embarrassed!
Grattan himself, perceiving the cause,
heartily joined in the merriment. He
pulled down his shirt sleeves, pulled ND
his stockings, and in his own irresistible
way apologized for the oatre figure he
cut, assuring them that he had totally
overlooked it, in his anxiety not to keep
them waiting; that he was returning to
{ Ireland the next morning, and had been
bus;ly packing up his books and papers,
in a closet full of dust and cobwebsl
This incident rendered the interview
more interesting. The Americans were
charmed with their reception, and after
protracted VISIT retired highly graft
fed, while Grattan returned again to
his books and his cobwebs.