Year: 1873

The revival of the celebrated Ju


mel will case, which for years has


been dragging its slow lcngth thro


tho New York courts, naturally


recalls the name and history Of the


man who figured as the SECOND


husband of the woman whose prop


erty now bids fair to be swallowed


up in the insatiate nav Of tho lc


gal profession. We do not, o


course, propose to attempt any bi


ography or criticism of one who


has been so thoroughly crucilied


by the pens of scribblers of high


and low degree, as Aaron Burr


but the very notoriety he has gain


cd lends n strong interest TO some


details of his domestic life which


are not entirely familiar to the ma


iority of newspaper readers.


1t was while commanding his


regiment in New Jersey during the


early years of the revolutionary


war, that Col. Burr made the nc.


quaintance of the lady who after


wards became his first wife and the


mother of that Incompatible daugh,


ter, whose genius and fidelity have


almost redeemed nsr fathers feme


Mrs. Theodosia Provost was then


the wife of Colonel Provost, of the


British army, at that time in the


West Indies. She resided at Para


mus, with her mother and sister
and two sons-the latter sprightly
little fellows, whose vivacity could
not be other than attractive to q
man SO passionatcly fond of bright
children rs Burr was till tho 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 lesscncd her charms in
his estimation. Her family-the
De Vienncs-was of French or
Swiss origin, and she herself was
the first woman educated in acCor-
dance with the European standard
whom Burr had over met. She
was thoroughly vorscd in the best
literature of the day, and undoubt-
odly did much toward forming the
taste and shaping the intellectual
development of an admirer who,
above all other things in the world
appreciated brains - particularly
when lodged in female head. Hor
are represented to have
been the perfection Of elegance and
refinement, and long after she had
been mercifully taken away from
the evil TO come, Burr was aCcus-
toned to say that if his own man
nors were in any respect superior
to those of men in general, it was
owing to the insonsible in
fluence of hers. Somo unpublished
letters from her hand which have
been seon, abundantly confirm this
estimate of her characteristic pen
manship is exquisitoly neat and
clear, and tho matter is no less re-
markable for its vigorous common
sense than for the admirable style
IN which it is sot forth.


We have said that Burr was an
admirer of Mrs. Provost, but there
is not the slightest reason to sup
pose that his admiration ever went
beyond the bounds of strict pro-
priety, or that her behavior was in
my respect unworthy the position
sho occupied. If she was conscious
IF the impression she had made,
that consciousness never revealed
tself in word or act-and if is the
most wrctched injustice to fasten
upon herreputation even o 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 self res
traint gradually began to disappear;
for we know that when Burr resign
I'd from the army in 1879, they
were engaged to be married-the
ceremony being delayed only by
those pecuniary considerations
which cannot be overlooked even
in the delirium of passionate love.
Both were poor, and let it be re-
as q slight atonement
for his many subsequent transgres-
,ions, that Burr deliberately mar
ried for affection and not for money.
He was young, handsome and bril-
liant; he had como out of the war
with splendid record for bravery
and military skill he had begun
he practice vi law under the most
auspices; he was univer-
sally regarded rs q rising man
whose future could not fail to be
glorious and with these recommen-
dations ho might easily have wooed
and won a younger and lovlier
bride, who would have brought him
the influence of her family as well
as the more tangible blessingsof an
ample fortune. To say that Burr
did not see the advantages which
might result from making what is
now termed "a good match" is to
suppose him fool-which he GER
tainly was not. That he put aside
these advantages while prcfectly
comprehending their weight, is at
least an evidence that his heart was
not quite as hard, his sclfishness not
quite as profound as his enemies
would have us believe.


Burr was admitted to the bar,
January 10, 1882, and on the 2Rd
of July following, he married Mrs.
Prevost-she then being thirty-six
years old and he twenty-six. The
pair took up their residence in Al
bany, where-June %, 17S3-Theo-
dosia was born. As far as we are
able to judge from the scanty ma
terial at our command, the union
Ivas from frat tn last n hapDy one.