Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-06-19
THE RIVA AIS.
A Story of the Times of Aaron Burr and
Alexander Hamilton.
BY JERE CLEMENS.
CHAPTER w.

Shall sorrow nSnt, VI SheIe'
Through wears or moons the inner
weight to bear,
which colder hearts endure till they
are laid
BY age in earth; her days and pleas
ures were
Brief, but delightful, such as had not
Long with her destiny; but she sleeps
By the sea-shore, whereon she loved
to dwell"
The failure Of the assault on quebec
made the retreat Of the American
forces inevitable. Arnold, hoping
against hope, delayed the movement
TO the latest moment Of safety. Spring
was approaching and with it power
full army for the relief Of the garrison
He could wait no longer. At Montreal
he halted to rest and recruit his men,
Here Aaron Burr determined to return
Immediately to the field Of active service
at home, and here he formed the ac-
ouaintance Of a lady, who, by one OF
those mysterious dispensations which
we first wonder at, and then dismiss
from our minds as incomprehensioie'
became the innocent cause OF every
calamity that saddened his after llfe'
At this time she was on visit 10 her
relatives in Canada The breaking out
Of the Revolution had found her there
and the hostile disposition OF the IN
dams had hitherto prevented her from
attempting to return. Learning tnat
Major Burr, at the head OF some ols-
charged soldiers, was about leaving
Montreal for New York, she eagerly
ayailed herself Of this opportunity to
return to her home. Thus began an
intimacy which brought many sorrows
to one, and terminated in the madness
of the other. Just eighteen years OF
age. beautiful as Helen when she first
listened to the whispered tale OF Meme
laus; enriched by many accomplish
ments, and possessed Of an intellect 10
which the term genius most appro-
priately applies, 1t would have oeen
natural enough for the young soldier
to have surrendered heart and nina
TO the lovely being under his charge'
That ne did not, may be attributed
partly to the absence Of that inexph-
cable sympathy that all of US nave
. felt and none of us are able 10 de-
scribe: and partly to the fact that his
country had just entered upon a war
of uncertain duration and equally un-
certain results. The next year, or the
next month, according to the chances
y hfYfo vi
conduct him to a felon's doom. Al
such a time his thoughts were upon
bloody fields, not bridal raptures; upon
iron chains not rosy fetters. The
hoarse drum and the piercing fife ech-
oed in his ears; not the sott lute or
the melting Tyre. The spells of beauty
were counteracted by the incantations
of patriotism, and the dangerous asso-
citation awakened no emotion stronger
than friendship. Not so with her.
Young, ardent, full of hope and health
and fervent passion, she raised the
fiery goblet to her lips and drained II
to the dregs. Adelaide Clifton loved
loved as they love for whom the wide
earth has no enjoyment that does not
center in the worshiped idol That
miserable compound of animal appe-
tite. mental weakness, and childlsh
vanity, so often misnamed love, came
not near the clear mind and strong
heart OF the gifted girl. She loved
Aaron Burr, not because he told her
she was beautiful, not because he had
pleased her vanity, and excited kind
hNr cran
logies of her many perfections; but
because he was eminently endowed
with those high qualities which make
their way to the heart through the
brain, and win esteem before they ask
a more tender regard. To mind ma
tured beyond his years, he added the
chivalrous bearing, the manly self-re-
lance the exquisite polish, and the
habitual Difference for the fairer SEX
of a knight of the olden time. To be
intimately associated with such man,
and to become, on their rough journey,
the recipient Of these delicate atten-
tions that so plainly distinguish the
man and the gentleman from the brute
or the fop, was a trial beyond her
strength, and she discovered, almost
without knowing how, that her heart
had gone out from her keeping. Yet
her sense Of maiden delicacy was so
strong, and her secret was so careful
ly guarded, that he, with all his tact,
with all his precocious knowledge OF
human nature, never suspected her OF
cherishing a feeling that might become
dangerous to her peace. Still less did
he imagine that in few brief months
his name would be associated with
hers in a tale of calumny that has
come down to the present day, and is
still occasionally reproduced by good
natured newspaper editors, from a
commendable desire to crafty the
public appetite for scandal. Conscious
of having said nothing, and done moth
ing that a courteous gentleman ought
to have left unsaid or undone, he could
not see the necessity of dropping the
acquaintance of an intelligent friend
because she happened to be also
beautiful woman. Accordingly, upon
the termination of their journey, he
continued to visit her almost daily,
and thus gave color to the accusations
that in a short time blackened her
character, and attached a dishonorable
brand to his own good name.
On his arrival in New York, Major
Burr repaired to the headquarters Of
the commander in chief, where he had
been previously informed a staff ap-
pointment awaited him. His good con-
duct on the march through the will
derness, and the dauntless courage he
had subsequently manifested under the
walls of Quebec, had not escaped the
attention of that illustrious man, and
the young soldier was promptly re-
warded by the tender of a situation in
the generals own military family.
Thus far the success or failure of our
hero had depended upon himself alone.
Thus far he had encountered none but