Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1885-07-18
AARON BURR's LovELErTrRs.

/. "NN"ttSt0 W 1t8Ius llo Wu1 oIlU ~ W
worst men that ever lived. He hi
no scruples whatever about betrAyin
a woman, and he chose the loveliest j
the hnd for his victims. About ia
time of his dnel he had disgracelul IN
trigues with dozen or twenty Indie
ut once in New York, Albany, Ne'
Haven, Providence, Boston, Baltimors
and smaller towns between. Some q
these were kept up for years, but mos
OF the ladies had speedy SUCCESSORS.
speak OF them as 'ladies"-they wer
wives of brilliant lawyers or wealthy
merchants, or young daughters OF fash
! ionable old families There was ar
agony Of fear among these when th,
duel was fought, lest the guilty gallnnl
should fall and the terrible secret be
betrayed, and this fear deepened tc
CONSERVATION when no died at last
Many of the oldest families OF New
York, Pennsylvania and New England
trcmbled then. And well they might
1t had been rumored around that Burr
had never destroyed airy letters from
ladies. And this shows better than
anything else his lack OF any moral
sense whatsoever--for he refused TO pro.
tect those whom he had grievously in
lured, when they could have been pro
tected without moments thought
He used to boast that he had never
destroyed one letter And with devil
ish method he had folded them care
fully and filed them regularly in pack
ages, each lady's letters by themselves.
When Burr died at last Matthew l..
Davis, about his only friend, who be-
came his administrators, sen, for me. /
went over. There was nCfhing To adj
minister but the expressicas- OF tender
ness which the scoundrel had caioled
from respectable women and filed away.
There was the win which he had made
the day before his duel with Hamilton.
In that he said to his daughter, Theo-
dosia, his only legitimate child, then
at sea ''In blue truak in the attic
you will find something to anuse,
more to instruct, and still more to re-
greet" That blue trunk, which he thus
coolly .bequeathed TO his only child,
and that child lovely daughter, con-
tanned the carefully treasured love.let-
ters, from dozen women at n time,
proofs of her fathers depravityl Does
not that show that Burr was without
any moral sense whatever? t? Theodosia
was swallowed up bY the waves, and
never saw that blue trunk.
80 We opened the trunk, which Davis
had partly examined, and / shall never
forget my astonishment and disgVst at
what saw. 1t was nearly full OF let
ters from women, filed in Iachlges.
We looked at the individual letters.
Most OF them had originally been sign-
ed with initials only, or oltener with
out any name, or with some pet name,
but Burrs with malignity whose mo-
tive cannot yet understand, had writ
ten out each name in full. He seemed
resolved that others should share his
infamy. Some OF the names belonged
to the most honored families in the
land--to have revealed them would
have been to cause terrible anguish,
and in several cases the breaking up
Of families. l used to go over and
look at them when had a spare hour.
They were strictly guarded by Davis.
He was II queer man but he had a
high sense Of personal honor. Why,
Mordecal Nj. Noah offered Davis 500
900 for that blue trunk and its con-
tents, but, OF course, the offer was
spurned and the insult resented. Mat
thew Davis, too, had his eccentricities,
and one OF these queer notions in re-
gard to these captured love-lettcrs was
that they should be returned 70 the
writers. That seemed to me 20 inhict
needless pain, and i argued with him
about IL, but he said the writers would
be better satisfied il they had chance
to destroy them themselves. Some OF
them were old ladies then, mothers
and grandmothers, but Davis under
look the grim task 0. returning all the
packages Of letters by the hands o.
rusty friends. A good many he gave
back himself He give me one of
hese delicate packages to deliver when
was going to Providence one day, but
told him I would see him hanged
irst But | know that General Scott
lid accept one of these from Matthew
Davis, and returned it with his own
lands to lady high in society in Rich
nond lie told inc so. Ialways won
Tered whether she thanked him or not,
mt | forgot to ask him. But think oil
he moral nature OF "A man capable OF
leaving all those letters TO
lis own daughter as o legncyl Burr
vas quite n small man. Very graceful
n movement and courteous in delnean-
n. a small band and foot Not spir-
ted or dashing ut all, but his Inapner,
vas full OF repoee, and his voice was
oft and musical He would strike
me mt first as being slightly eheminate,
nut he was not so; he was a bold, strong,
apable man. In conversation, till tie
asst ten years OF his life, he was brill
ant. But TO return To the subject OF
lis wickedness toward women. When
10 was in England he WAS greatly as
isted and befriended bya learned Pro-
sssor of Oxford University, whose
ame I must not mention. In return
DR. this friendship Burr ruined his
rife. Six years aiterward, Burr OBJ
lined a position for this Professor in
New York College Tor obvious rea-
ons, and when they cline over to this
Ity, Burr also seduced their daughter,
lovely girl Of seventeen, whose conf
ence he had won wh.n she was lit
e girl during his vibit in England.
Il due time the Professor died, and
iurr became panfnless ourCast
hen this mother and daughter, in
cad OF spurning HIM took him and
him during his last Years,
y Keeping A boarding house down
,wn. This WIS ON The well-known
.eese place ON Broadway, just below
Vail Street. Here his food and very
ledicine were paid for by ae two
omen on whom he bud inflicted NOR
i injury fifteen years before. lie had
o sense of shame cigratltude. He
as almost universally hated during
is last years, and was really an object
pity. remember icing on mn All
any steamboat one night, and, seeing
crouching form,0niasck, ! went out,
nd there was Burr In the cold. /
'ked him why lie dill not 60 ili. He
nd he wits not very cold, but we went
together. There was Governor
cwis Morgan, whom ! salnted. Ino-
ced that they didn'tspeak, so ! seat
myself between them, Finally
urr rose and moved of. "Dont you
now Colonel Burr p asked, turning
Morgan. --.sYes, said he, Il know
Ie id reptileP
A Sweet subject.
Chamblin, the unmarried but gal
mt editor OF the Brownsville Demo
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