The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-03-14
AARON BURR.
What Burr's Blue Trunk in the Attic Don.
IBrooklyn EaeleJ

Brooklyn Eagle.J
To the Editor: Is it true that Aaron Burr
wss scoundrel enough to hold intrigues with
the letters they sent to him, and uitimsteiy to
leave that correspondence as legacy to his
daughter? have never thought Burr an hon
like this, which was made In presence of seS.
eIal gentleman on Monday evening.
BERSHARDT.
Answer-The more Burr's character is
submitted to fair-play analysis the blscker
it appears. The particular charge referred
to by our correspondent has been substan-
tiated more than once. The late Thurlow
Weed, a man who did not ordinarily be-
tray the communicative spirit, upon being
interviewed some years before his death,
said:
"When knew him Burrl best he was
well advanced in years. He was one of the
worst men that ever lived. He had no
scruples whatever about betraying a
woman, and he chose the loveliest In the
land as his victims. About the time
of the duel with Hamilton he had dis
graceful intrigues with a dozen or twenty
ladies at once in New YORK. Albany, New
Haven, Providence, Boston, Baltimore
Richmond, and smaller towns between
tnem. Some of these were kept up for yea rs,
bat most of the ladies had speedy succ as
sOrs. speak of them az 'lsdiss'-Jney were
wives of brilliant lawyers. or wealthy
merchants, or the young daughters of the
fashionable old families. There was an
agony of fear among these when the duel was
fought, lest the guilty gallant should fall
and their terrible secrets be betrayed, aud
this fear deepened to CONSERVATION when
he died at last. Many of the oldest fam
lilies of New York, Pennsylvania, and New
England trembled then, and well they
might"
"What could they have feared there, so
many years after"
"Wby, you see, it has been rumored
around that Burr never destroyed any
letters from ladies. And this sho US better
than anything else his lack of any moral
those whom he had grievously injured,
when they could have been protected with
out moments thought"
Did he usually keep all these letters,
Mr.. Weed?"
"He did, probably every one. He used
to boast that he had never destroyed one.
And with devilish method he had folded
them all carefully, and filed them regularly
| in pack ages-each lady's letters by them
| selves. When Burr died, Mathew n. Davis,
about his only friend, who became his
| administrator, sent for rue. 1 went over.
There was nothing to administer on but the
expressions of tenderness which the
scoundrel had cajoled from respectable
women and filed away. There was the will
which be made the day before his duel with
| Hamilton. In il he said to his daughter,
| Theodosia, his only legitimate child, then
| at sea: In blue trunk in the attic you
will find something to amuse, more to In.
struct and still more to regret That blue
| trunk, which he thus beoueathed to his
only child, and that child lovely daugh'
| ri troa
| letlers-from a dozen women at q time
proofs OF her fathers deprsvlty. Does not
that show that Burr was without any moral
| sense whatever? Theodosis was swallowed
! up by the waves and never saw the blue
trunk. We opened that trunk, which
| Davis had partly examined, and sh all
| never forget my astonishment and disgust
at what saw. 1t was nearly full OF letters
from women, tied IN packages. We
| looked at the individual letters. Most OF
them had been originally signed With
initials onlv. or oftener without any mans,
or with some pet name; but Burr, with a
malignity whose motive 1 cannot yet u1-
derstsnd, had written out each name In
| full. He seemed resolved that others
| should share his infamy. Some of the
names belonged to the most honored fani-
lies ID the land To have revealed them
| would have been to cause terrible anguish,
and 10 several cases probably the breaking
up OF families" -,
| mot very many. used to go over and
4 look AZ them when had spare time. They
were strictly guarded by DAVIS. He was Q
| queer man, bat he had Q high sense OF per
| sonal honor. Why, Mordecat n. N3ah
offered DAVIS $4,000 for that blue trunk
| and its contents, but. of course, the offer
was spurnsd and the insult resented"