"The history of the proposed pardon will have flown over Europe, and the impression of treachery to a friend—this more detestable, more odious crime than any infraction of the laws of the country, because essentially fraught with turpitude, will be blended with my name in the minds of men who may never seethisletter. And if all this injury could be inflicted by Mr. Jefferson withoutill will, merely from want of consideration, under the disturbing influence ofpassion and resentment against Colonel Burr, notwithstanding his mature age and the dignity of his station, it will amount to strong proof, at least, that I, in my humble sphere and with a more youthful imagination, may have become warmed with the beautiful prospect of the emancipation of an enslaved kingdom; a project which Mr. Jefferson himself approved of and connived at when planned, not by Colonel Burr, but by Miranda; and that I may have engaged in it without meaning any harm to the United States or their president.
"But since the measure of the pardon has proved abortive and ridiculous, and since the fact of his breach of the 'word of honour' can no longer be denied, their tone is changed. As usual, I am abused, not for the wrong I did, but for the wrong which has been committed upon me. They insinuate, among other things, that at Washington I hadobtained promisesfrom Mr. Jefferson, and hadagreedwith him, for a pardon; that I refused it at Richmond, in order to have a pretext for withholding testimony, on the ground that it would criminate myself, though it is well known that such promise, such agreement never took place; and that before the grand jury, during an examination of upward of two hours, I answered,without a single exception, every question that was asked me.
"When party spirit and passion go so far, it would be improper to remain silent; and should what I have said in my defence operate to the prejudice of Mr. Jefferson or wound his feelings, it is not my fault.
Footnotes:
1. In July, 1798, Generals Hamilton, Pinckney, and Knox were appointed major generals in the standing army raised that summer,nominally, for the purpose of repelling a French invasion, at a moment when France had not a ship of war on the ocean, and while British squadrons were hovering on her whole coast.
2. On the 10th of June, 1835, Dr. Hosack, the friend and physician of Colonel Burr, supposed that he could not continue but a few days, perhaps a few hours. Mr. Burr was so informed, and was then asked by M.L. Davis whether at any time he had contemplated a separation of the Union. His reply was—"No; I would as soon have thought of taking possession of the moon, and informing my friends that I intended to divide it among them." While making the reply his indignation seemed to be aroused.
The excitement produced by Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Eaton, and Mr. Wilkinson in relation to Burr's movements, exceeded any thing that can be well imagined. That grave and dignified body, the Senate of the United States, wereterrified, or they wereusedfor the purpose ofterrifyingthe good people of the country. On the 22d of January, 1807, Mr. Jefferson sent a message to Congress developing the treasonable designs of Burr and his associates. On the 26th, with the aid of General Wilkinson, a second message was transmitted on the same subject; and, byaccident, about the same time that this message of the president was received by the House of Representatives, that honourable body received a message from the Senate also, announcing that they had passed a "bill for suspending the writ of habeas corpus," and asking the concurrence of the house. This was carrying thefarcetoo far, and a motion was therefore made and adopted to reject the bill on itsfirst reading. Ayes 113; nays 19. Thus the bill was rejected.
During the years 1806 and 1807 Herman Blennerhassett kept a private journal, in which are recorded the principal incidents arising out of his connexion with Colonel Burr. Portions of it are interesting and amusing. The entries confirm in every particular the statements of Truxton, Bollman, and others, and repudiate the idea of treasonable designs. That journal, having been transmitted from England, is before me. From it a few brief extracts will be made. It appears that in December, 1805, Blennerhassett addressed a letter to Colonel Burr, expressing a wish to participate in any speculation in the western country that might present itself to Burr. A Spanish war was hourly anticipated, and Blennerhassett proposed to join Burr in any expedition that might be undertaken against the Spainish dominions.
In August, 1806, in consequence of this overture, Burr visited Blennerhassett at his house on the Ohio, and the next day rode with him to Marietta, and there they separated, Burr being on his way to Chilicothe. From Marietta to Blennerhassett's was about fifteen miles. Some time after Burr returned to Blennerhassett's. Burr said that an expulsion of the Spaniards from the American territory or an invasion of Mexico would be pleasing to the administration; if it could be accomplished without an open formal war, which would be avoided as long as possible, from parsimony on the one hand and the dread of France on the other.
Blennerhassett tendered his services to Burr generally. Blennerhassett states that General Jackson and others were to join, and that the general was in readiness to march whenever he should think himself authorized by the position of the government.
"The vivacity of Burr's wit, and the exercise of his proper talents, now (at Richmond) constantly solicited here, in private and public exhibition, while they display his powers and address at the levee and the bar, must engross more of his time than he can spare from the demands of other gratifications; while they display him to the eager eyes of the multitude, like a favourite gladiator, measuring over the arena of his fame with firm step and manly grace, the pledges of easy victory."
"August 17, 1807. This led me to praise a pamphlet,Agrestis, which Alston yesterday brought me, being two letters on Wilkinson's proceedings at New-Orleans, which, for its arrangement and strength, as well as for the imagery of the language, I observed would not be unworthy of a Curran; at the same time inquiring who was the author. Alston said that was not known. I then repeated the question to Colonel M'Kee, who said it was a friend of ours; at least, Mr. Alston was suspected. I mention this trifling occurrence for the sake of observing that Alston was now silent, thereby appropriating to himself the merit of the book, which hiswife, I have no doubt, might produce. To suppose Alston [1] the author would be preposterous."
"August 23, 1807. My revery was soon broken in upon by the appearance of Mr. Douglas with a stranger. I should rather have said by two apparitions; for it was now near nightfall, and Douglas no sooner appeared than he turned on his heel, saying, 'Colonel Duane, sir,' and ran down stairs. The surprise of this interruption the stranger, whom I had never before seen, did not suffer to endure long enough to allow me to invoke the angels and ministers of grace for my protection. I was already within the grasp of this Gabriel of the government. He seized my hand, and bade me dismiss my surprise, however natural it might be, on his appearance before me. I handed him a chair, and said 'I had lived long enough in this country to be surprised at nothing it could produce or exhibit, but yet desired to learn from what cause I had the favour of this visit.' 'Having heard Mr. Douglas observe,' said he, 'that you would be pleased to see me—' 'Sir, Mr. Douglas has made a mistake; he must have meant somebody else.' 'No matter,' continued he; 'having known and seen your present situation, I could not as a man, as an Irishman' (here he digressed to show me how he both was and was not an Irishman), 'I would not leave this town (Richmond) without warning you of the sacrifice now preparing to appease the government by your friends, of which you are destined to be the victim. You cannot desire any other key to my meaning than the course the defence has this week taken. But if you think the government will not cease to pursue that justice they possess the means of ensuring, and suspect, as you ought, the designs of those you have too long thought your friends, it might yet appear no better on my part than a nominal service to give you these cautions: I have therefore sought you, not to tender you words, but deeds. The only return on your part will be that care of yourself which will find a shield inmy honour' (here he very awkwardly struck his breast, and grinned a ghastly smile), 'and that confidence I cancommandin the government whose good faith is not misplaced in the zeal I have testified to serve it.' To this harangue he added violent protestations of his wishes to serve me, saying, that for that purpose he would put off his journey back to Philadelphia, which otherwise was irrevocably fixed for Wednesday, and would now, or at any time hereafter, go to Washington for me, wherenothing he should ask would be refused him. In thanking him for the frankness and zeal with which he cautioned me against my friends and a negligence of my safety, I assured him I was not afraid to meet the prosecution, as I expected I should before my arrival here, without counsel or friends; but, from present appearances, I was more curious than interested to learn what were those means the said government possessed of ensuring justice. Finding by his answer that he was now disposed to allure me into a confession of having written certain papers in the hands of the prosecutors, I told him, the warmth of his offers to serve me could not make me forget either his situation or my own with relation to the government; that I cared not what writings should be charged upon me; that I should admit none till fairly proved, which, if any such should ever appear, I would justify, if necessary, on the scaffold. He now summed up the objects of his mission, whatever produced it, with abuse of Burr, Tyler, and Smith,acknowledging that he had been served gratis by Burr in the most handsome manner; that the others were more concerned against the government than I was; but swearing that he believed, if I did not follow his advice, they would make a scapegoat sacrifice of me for their deliverance."
"August 25, 1807. I asked Alston, 'Would you wish to see my notes of what passed between Duane and me?' 'Yes,' said he, 'very much.' I then read to him the minutes I had taken on Sunday evening, with which he seemed highly pleased, and said they ought to be published. To this I told him I could not accede. * * * * * * I informed him that Duane had intimated that government had got possession of one of his letters to me. 'One of my letters,' cried he; 'I never wrote to you but two upon business of a private nature; and, by G—d, any other letter they can have of mine must be a forgery.' 'To be sure,' said I; 'or, at all events, from the favourable course things are now likely to take, such a letter could do no harm.' 'But what did the rascal,' continued he, 'state to be the purport of the letter?' 'Nothing more,' said I, 'than that you and myself were equally involved in all Colonel Burr's projects. He then abused Duane, and repeated his wish that my notes were published."
"September 13, 1807. I visited Burr this morning. He is as gay as usual, and as busy in speculations on reorganizing his projects for action as if he had never suffered the least interruption. He observed to Major Smith and me, that in six months our schemes could be all remounted; that we could now new model them in a better mould than formerly, having a better view of the ground and a more perfect knowledge of our men. We were silent. It should yet be granted, that if Burr possessed sensibility of the right sort, with one hundredth part of the energies for which, with many, he has obtained such ill-grounded credit, his first and last determination, with the morning and the night, should be the destruction of those enemies who have so long and so cruelly wreaked their malicious vengeance upon him."
"September 16, 1807. I was glad to find Burr had at last thought of asking us to dine with him, as I was rather curious again to see him shine in apartie quarrie, consisting of new characters. We therefore walked with him from court; Luther Martin, who lives with him, accompanying us. * * * * * The dinner was neat, and followed by three or four sorts of wine. Splendid poverty! During the chit-chat, after the cloth was removed, a letter was handed to Burr, next to whom I sat. I immediately smelt musk. Burr broke the seal, put the cover to his nose, and then handed it to me, saying—'This amounts to a disclosure!' I smelt the paper, and said, 'I think so.' The whole physiognomy of the man now assumed an alteration and vivacity that, to a stranger who had never seen him before, would have sunk full fifteen years of his age. 'This,' said he, 'reminds me of a detection once very neatly practised upon me at New-York. One day a lady stepped into my library while I was reading, came softly behind my chair, and giving me a slap on the cheek, said, "Come, tell me directly, what little French girl, pray, have you had here?" The abruptness of the question and surprise left me little room to doubt the discovery had been completely made. So I thought it best to confess the whole fact; upon which the inquisitress burst out into a loud laugh on the success of her artifice, which she was led to play off upon me from the mere circumstance of, having smelt musk in the room.' I have given this anecdote a place here only to convey an idea of that temperament and address which enables this character to uphold his ascendèncy over the sex. After some time Martin and Prevost withdrew, and we passed to the topics of our late adventures on the Mississippi, in which Burr said little, but declared he did not know of any reason to blame General Jackson, of Tennessee, for any thing he had done or omitted. But he declares he will not lose a day after the favourable issue at the Capitol (his acquittal), of which he has no doubt, to direct his entire attention to setting up his projects (which have only been suspended) on a better model, 'in which work,' he says, 'he has even here made some progress.'"
"September 20, 1807. I found Burr, just after a consultation with his counsel, secretly writhing under much irritation at the conduct of Judge Marshall, but affecting an air of contempt for his alleged inconsistencies, as Burr asserted he (the judge) did not, for the last two days, understand either the questions or himself; that he had wavered in his opinions before yesterday's adjournment, and should, in future, be put right bystrong language. I am afraid to sayabuse, though I think I could swear he used that word. I learned from Major Smith to-day a confirmation of what Colonel de Pestre had also mentioned to me, that Burr sets off immediately for England after his liberation to collect money for reorganizing his projects."
"September 22, 1807. I have seen a complete file of all the depositions made before the grand jury in Burr's possession. It must be confessed that few other men in his circumstances could have procured these documents out of the custody of offices filled by his inveterate enemies. Burr asserted to-day, in court, that he expected documents that would disqualify Eaton as a witness."
"September 26, 1807. Wilkinson, in his examination, confessed that he had altered the cipher letter, and sworn that there were no alterations."
"Of Dudley Woodbridge, [2] it must not be concealed from those who may have access to thesenotesthat, although he is reputed to have given a fair, candid, and to us an advantageous testimony,he has not yet told the whole truth, having suppressed my communication to him of our designs being unequivocally against Mexico, which I suppose he kept back because he embraced and embarked in the plan on the first mention of it to him, though he afterward receded from it upon his own reflections or counsel of others. Such is the address with which ingratitude and dishonesty are made to pass in the garb of integrity, like towcloth under fine muslin."
"October 8, 1807. I called on Burr this morning, when he at last mentioned to me, during a short tête-à-tête, that he was preparing to go to England; that the time was now auspicious for him, and he wished to know whether I could give him letters. I answered that I supposed, when he mentioned England, he meant London, as his business would probably be with people in office; that I knew none of the present ministry, nor did I believe I had a single acquaintance in London. He replied, that he meant to visit every part of the country, and would be glad to get letters to any one. I said I would think of it, that I might discover whether I had any friends there whom it would be an object worth his attention to know, and took leave. We can only conjecture his designs. For my part, I am disposed to suspect he has no serious intent of reviving any of his speculations in America, or even of returning from Europe if he can get there."
After Colonel Burr's return to the United States from Europe, he received several letters from Blennerhassett; in two of them he refers to a suit which he commenced against General Andrew Jackson, in Adams county, Mississippi territory, for a balance due Burr. In reply to an inquiry made on the subject under date of the 4th of October, 1812, he says, "I allude to an account between yourself and Andrew Jackson, in his own handwriting, on which appears a balance in your favour of $1726 62," &c. He then speaks of other papers, and adds, "As to the manner in which I obtained the papers, it happened to be discovered that the portmanteau you left with me, to be transmitted to Mr. Alston, which lay at my disposal in the house of Mr. Harding, near Natchez, was broken open by his servants. On this discovery I called for the portmanteau, found the lock torn off, and some papers tumbled and abused, which had seemingly been all opened. I observed and took out the above document. The rest, with a silk tent, await the disposition of your orders."
In another letter, in a paroxysm of passion, he threatens the publication of a book, which he says is to be entitled,
"A review of the projects and intrigues of Aaron Burr during the years 1805, 1806, and 1807, involving therein, as parties or privies, Thomas Jefferson, A. Gallatin, Dr. Eustis, Governor Alston, Daniel Clark, Generals Wilkinson, Dearborn, Harrison, Jackson, and Smith, and the late Spanish ambassador Yrujo, exhibiting original documents and correspondence hitherto unpublished. Compiled from the notes and private journal kept during the above period by Herman Blennerhassett, LLD."
It has been seen that General Wilkinsonalteredthe letter written in cipher by Colonel Burr, and then swore that the translation was a true copy of the original. This alteration was for the purpose of establishingtreasonabledesigns in Burr and his associates, to which fact the general had also sworn. But while he was thus urging the charge oftreasonat home, he had to give his Spanish employers a different account of the movements and object of Burr. Accordingly, after the trial at Richmond, General Wilkinson despatched Captain Walter Burling, his aid, to demand of the vice-king of Mexico the repayment of his expenditures and compensation for his services to Spain in defeating Burr's expedition against Mexico. The modesty of this demand, being only abouttwo hundred thousand dollars, is worthy of notice. The development of this fact places in a new point of view Mr. Jefferson's confidential friend (General Wilkinson)—that friend whom he recommended to Congress on the 22d of January, 1S07, as having acted "with thehonour of a soldier and the fidelity of a good citizen." The documents are presented without comment.
State of Louisiana, City of New-Orleans.
Before me, William Young Lewis, notary public in and for the city of New-Orleans, duly commissioned and sworn, this day personally appeared Richard Raynal Keene, Esq., attorney and counsellor at law of this city, who delivered to me, the said notary, and requested the same to be annexed to the current records of my office, the following documents,to wit:—
First. A certificate of the vice-queen of Mexico, dated at Madrid on the twenty-fourth day of January, eighteen hundred and sixteen.
Second. A letter from the said Richard R. Keene to the Reverend Dr. Mangan, dated at Madrid on the twenty-first day of July, eighteen hundred and twenty-one.
Third. The reply of the Reverend Dr. Mangan to the aforesaid letter, dated at Madrid on the twenty-third day of July, eighteen hundred and twenty-one.
All of which said documents I have accordingly annexed to my current register, there to remain and serve as the case may be, after having marked the samene varietur, to identify them with this act.
Done and passed at New-Orleans, this twenty-fourth day of December, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, in presence of William T. Lewis and Gustavus Harper, both of this city, witnesses, who have hereunto signed their names with said, and me the said notary. Signed, Richard R. Keene, William T. Lewis, Gustavus Harper.
W. Y. Lewis, Not. Pub.
Certificate of the Vice-queen.
"Whereas his excellency, the Marquis of Campo-Sagrado, minister of war, has been pleased to accede to the request of Richard Raynal Keene, colonel of the royal armies, addressed to him under date of the 12th instant, with the view of obtaining my declaration respecting the mission sent by the Anglo-American brigadier, James Wilkinson, to my late husband, Don Jose Yturrigaray, lieutenant-general of the royal armies in Mexico, during the period of his command as viceroy in that country; now, for the purpose required, I do declare and certify, that, having accompanied my said husband to Mexico, and stayed there with him during the time of his command as viceroy in that country, to wit, from the year 1802 to the year 1808, I recollect perfectly well the aforesaid mission, which was carried into effect by a person of the name of Burling; and although I cannot now undertake to relate all the details of that mission, nevertheless my memory enables me to state that, in substance, the exposition made by Keene to the minister of war, of the artifices and stratagems resorted to by Wilkinson on that occasion, through his confidential agent, is just and true. The interested views manifested by Wilkinsonin his reclamation of large sums of money for his alleged disbursementsin counteracting the hostile plans of the American vice-president, Burr, against Mexico, appeared to the viceroy to be no less incompatible with the rights of his majesty than they wereirreconcilable to the honour of an officer and patriotof a foreign state. The viceroy, therefore, did not give a single ducat to Burling, but took immediate steps for having him removed from the country.
This is what I declare, in compliance with the requisition of his excellency the minister of war. Madrid, January 24, 1816.
Madrid, July 21, 1821.
I send you an exposition of the vice-queen Donna Maria Ines Jauregui de Yturrigaray, of the 24th January, 1816, relative to the intrigue which the brigadier Wilkinson attempted to carry into effect in 1806 or 1807, through the agency of Mr. Burling, for the purpose of getting money from the vice-king of Mexico. The vice-queen told me, in the different conversations I had with her on this subject, that you enjoyed the full and entire confidence of her husband, and that he, besides speaking with you unreservedly about this affair, commissioned you to interpret the letter which Wilkinson sent him through Mr. Burling, the said letter having been written in English. The vice-king, had he not died suddenly, would have given me the same exposition which his widow gave me. It being then, in some sort, a matter of justice that you should give your declaration relative to the aforesaid exposition of the vice-queen, I therefore pray you to do so.
I will merely add that, in one of my conversations with the vice-king, he told me that, in the aforesaid letter, Wilkinson, in speaking of his service rendered in frustrating what he called the invasion of Mexico by the ex-vice-president, Mr. Burr, likened himself toLeonidas in the pass of Thermopylae. Be assured, reverend sir, of my profound respect.
Colonel in the service of H. C. M.
Rev. Dr. MANGAN,Rector of the Irish College in Salamanca.Madrid,July 23, 1821
I have carefully read the exposition you enclosed me in your esteemed favour of the 21st instant, of the former vice-queen of Mexico, La Senora Donna Maria Ines Jauregui de Yturrigaray, relative to the famous embassy of General Wilkinson to her husband Don Joseph de Yturrigaray, viceroy of Mexico.
As his excellency was pleased to make use of me as interpreter in the interview he granted Mr. Walter Burling, the bearer of a letter from the aforesaid General Wilkinson, and commissioned by him to manifest to the viceroy the importance of his embassy, I candidly confess that, to the best of my recollection, the exposition of the vice-queen is perfectly correct, for the object of the famous embassy of Mr. Burling was to display to the viceroythe great pecuniary sacrificesmade by General Wilkinson to frustrate the plan of invasion meditated by the ex-vice-president, Mr. Burr, against the kingdom of Mexico, and to solicit, in consideration of such important services, a pretty round sum ofat least two hundred thousand dollars.
I cannot help observing that the viceroy, Don Joseph de Yturrigaray, received this communication with due contempt and indignation, bidding me to tell Mr. Burling that General Wilkinson, in counteracting any treasonable plan of Mr. Burr, did no more than comply with his duty; that he (the viceroy) would take good care to defend the kingdom of Mexico against any attack or invasion, and that he did not think himself authorized to give one farthing to General Wilkinson in compensation for his pretended services. He concluded by ordering Mr. Burling to leave the city of Mexico, and had him safely escorted to the port of Vera Cruz, where he immediately embarked for the United States.
This is, believe me, the substance (as far as I can recollect) of the famous embassy of General Wilkinson to the viceroy of Mexico, Don Joseph de Yturrigaray, who certainly was not mistaken in the passage he mentioned to you of Leonidas, as I recollect well that General Wilkinson, after displaying in a pompous style the great difficulties he had to encounter to render Mr. Burr's plan fruitless, concluded by affirming—"I, like Leonidas, boldly threw myself in the pass," &c.
I return you the original exposition of the vice-queen, Donna MariaInes Jauregui de Yturrigaray, and remain yours,
PATRICK MANGAN, Rector of the Irish College of Salamanca.
RICHARD R. KEENE, Colonel in the service H. C. M.
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the originals annexed to my current register. In witness whereof I grant these presents, under my hand and seal, at New-Orleans, this 26th day of December, 1836.
WILLIAM Y. LEWIS, Not. Pub.
The following short extracts from the letters of Colonel Burr to his daughter, while he was imprisoned in Richmond, will serve to show the state of his mind under circumstances thus oppressive and mortifying.
"Richmond, March 27, 1807.
"My military escort having arrived at Fredericksburgh on our way to Washington, there met a special messenger, with orders to convey me to this place. Hither we came forthwith, and arrived last evening. It seems that here the business is to be tried and concluded. I am to be surrendered to the civil authority to-morrow, when the question of bail will be determined. In the mean time I remain at the Eagle tavern."
"April 26, 1807.
"Your letters of the 10th and those preceding seemed to indicate a sort of stupor; but now you rise into phrensy. Another ten days will, it is hoped, have brought you back to reason. It ought not, however, to be forgotten that the letter of the 15th was written under a paroxysm of the toothache.
"You have read to very little purpose if you have not remarked that such things happen in all democratic governments. Was there in Greece or Rome a man of virtue and independence, and supposed to possess great talents, who was not the object of vindictive and unrelenting persecution? Now, madame, I pray you to amuse yourself by collecting and collating all the instances to be found in ancient history, which you may connect together, if you please, in an essay, with reflections, comments, and applications. This I may hope to receive about the 22d of May. I promise myself great pleasure in the perusal, and I promise you great satisfaction and consolation in the composition."
"May 15, 1807.
"Respecting the approaching investigation, I can communicate nothing new. The grand jury is composed of twenty democrats and four federalists. Among the former is W. C. Nicholas, my vindictive and avowed personal enemy—the most so that could be found in this state (Virginia).
The most indefatigable industry is used by the agents of government, and they have money at command without stint. If I were possessed of the same means, I could not only foil the prosecutors, but render them ridiculous and infamous. The democratic papers teem with abuse against me and my counsel, and even against the chief justice. Nothing is left undone or unsaid which can tend to prejudice the public mind, and produce a conviction without evidence. The machinations of this description which were used against Moreau in France were treated in this country with indignation. They are practised against me in a still more impudent degree, not only with impunity, but with applause; and the authors and abettors suppose, with reason, that they are acquiring favour with the administration."
"June 3, 1807.
"Still waiting for Wilkinson, and no certain accounts of his approach. The grand jury, the witnesses, and the country grow impatient. It is an ungracious thing, and so deemed, after having for six months been branded as a traitor; after directing that Burr and his followers should be attacked, put to death, and their property seized; after all the violations of law and constitution which have been practised, that government should now say it has not proof!
"Busy, busy, busy from morning till night—from night till morning, yet there are daily amusing incidents; things at which you will laugh, also things at which you will pout and scold."
"June 18, 1807.
"On Saturday morning General Wilkinson, with ten or eleven witnesses from New Orleans, arrived in Richmond. Four bills were immediately delivered to the grand jury against Blennerhassett and Burr; one for treason and one for misdemeanour against each. The examination of the witnesses was immediately commenced. They had gone through thirty-two last evening. There are about forty-six. General Eaton has been already examined. He came out of the jury-room in such rage and agitation that he shed tears, and complained bitterly that he had been questioned as if he were a villain. How else could he have been questioned with any propriety?
"Poor Bollman is placed in a most awkward predicament. Some days ago Mr. Hay, the district attorney, in open court tendered him a pardon under the great seal and with the sign manual ofThomas Jefferson. Bollman refused to receive it. Hay urged it upon him. Bollman said that no man could force on him such a badge of infamy. Hay insisted that he was a pardoned man, whether he would or not; and this question will, probably, also come before the court in argument to-day or to-morrow."
"June 22, 1807.
On Friday Mr. Hay complained that Burr had so constantly occupied the court for the four weeks past with his extraordinary motions, that he (Mr. Hay) could not get an opportunity of making one on his part; he therefore gave notice that he should, at the first interval, move for leave to send to the grand jury interrogatories for their instruction, to be put to the witnesses, in order that thewhole truthmight come out.
"Burr said it was a thing without example, and which the court could not permit without his assent; but he thought there was reason in the proposal of Mr. Hay, and that he should cheerfully assent, with the condition only that he (Burr) should also send interrogatories, to be put to the same witnesses, the better to extract the'whole truth.'
"The court said that it certainly could not be permitted to Mr. Hay to send interrogatories, being against usage and reason; but as Mr. Burr had assented, there seemed to be no objection that both parties should send in interrogatories; and such permission was granted, whereupon Mr. Hay withdrew his motion."
"June 24, 1807.
"While we were engaged to-day in the argument of the question for an attachment against Wilkinson, the grand jury came into court with bills against Blennerhassett and myself for treason and misdemeanour. Two bills against each of us. These indictments for treason are founded on the following allegations: that Colonel Tyler, with twenty or thirty men, stopped at Blennerhassett's Island on their way down the Ohio; that though these men were not armed, and had no military array or organization, and though they did neither use force nor threaten it, yet, having set out with a view of taking temporary possession of New-Orleans on their way to Mexico, that such intent was treasonable, and therefore a war was levied on Blennerhassett's Island byconstruction; and that, though Colonel Burr was then at Frankfort on his way to Tennessee, yet, having advised the measure, he was,by construction of law, present at the island, and levied war there. In fact, the indictment charges that Aaron Burr was on that day present at the island, though not a man of the jury supposed this to be true.
"This idea ofconstructive waris, by this jury, carried far beyond the dictum advanced by Judge Chace in the case of Fries; for Chace laid down that the actual exertion of force, in a hostile or traitorous manner, was indispensable to establish treason. Yet the opinions of Chace in this case were complained of by the whole republican party, and condemned by all the lawyers of all parties in Philadelphia, as tending to introduce the odious and unconstitutional doctrine ofconstructive treason.
"Out of fifty witnesses who have been examined before the grand jury, it may be safely alleged that thirty at least have been perjured.
"I beg and expect it of you that you will conduct yourself as becomes my daughter, and that you manifest no signs of weakness or alarm."
June 30, 1807.
"Of myself you could expect to hear nothing new; yet something new and unexpected was moved yesterday. The counsel for the prosecution proposed to the court that Aaron Burr should be sent to the penitentiary for safe keeping, and stated that the governor and council had offered to provide me with an apartment in the third story of that building. This is extremely kind and obliging in the governor and his council. The distance, however, would render it so inconvenient to my counsel to visit me, that I should prefer to remain where I am; yet the rooms proposed are said to be airy and healthy."
July 3, 1807.
"I have three rooms in the third story of the penitentiary, making an extent of one hundred feet. My jailer is quite a polite and civil man—altogether unlike the idea one would form of a jailer. You would have laughed to have heard our compliments the first evening.
"Jailer. I hope, sir, it would not be disagreeable to you if I should lock this door after dark.
"Burr. By no means, sir; I should prefer it, to keep out intruders.
"Jailer. It is our custom, sir, to extinguish all lights at nine o'clock; I hope, sir, you will have no objection to conform to that.
"Burr. That, Sir, I am sorry to say, is impossible; for I never go to bed till twelve, and always burn two candles.
"Jailer. Very well, sir, just as you please. I should have been glad if it had been otherwise; but, as you please, sir.
"While I have been writing different servants have arrived with messages, notes, and inquiries, bringing oranges, lemons, pineapples, raspberries, apricots, cream, butter, ice, and some ordinary articles."
"July 6, 1807.
"My friends and acquaintance of both sexes are permitted to visit me without interruption, without inquiring their business, and without thepresence of a spy. It is well that I have an antechamber, or I should often be gênê with visitors.
"If you come I can give you a bedroom and parlour on this floor. The bedroom has three large closets, and it is a much more commodious one than you ever had in your life. Remember, no agitations, no complaints, no fears or anxieties on the road, or I renounce thee."
"July 24, 1807.
"I want an independent and discerning witness to my conduct and to that of the government. The scenes which have passed and those about to be transacted will exceed all reasonable credibility, and will hereafter be deemed fables, unless attested by very high authority.
"I repeat what has heretofore been written, that I should never invite any one, much less those so dear to me, to witness my disgrace. I may be immured in dungeons, chained, murdered in legal form, but I cannot be humiliated or disgraced. If absent, you will suffer great solicitude. In my presence you will feel none, whatever may be themaliceor thepowerof my enemies, and in both they abound."
"July 30, 1807.
"I am informed that some good-natured people here have provided you a house, and furnished it, a few steps from mytownhouse. I had also made a temporary provision for you in my townhouse, whither I shall remove on Sunday; but I will not, if I can possibly avoid it, move before your arrival, having a great desire toreceive you all in this mansion. Pray, therefore, drive directly out here. You may get admission at any time from four in the morning till ten at night. Write me by the mail from Petersburgh, that I may know of your approach."
[On this letter is endorsed, in Theodosia's handwriting, "Received on our approach to Richmond. How happy it made me!"]
The following was written after Theodosia had left Richmond and returned to South Carolina.
"Richmond, September 28, 1807.
"It is impossible to predict when this business may terminate, as the chief justice has gradually relaxed from former rules of evidence, and will now hear any thing, without regard to distance of time or place. Wilkinson has been examined, and had partly gone through the cross-examination when we closed on Saturday.He acknowledged, very modestly, that he had made certain alterations in the letter received from me, by erasures, &c., and then swore it to be a true copy.He has not yet acknowledged the substitution of names."
"October 9, 1807.
"Major Bruff, who was produced as a witness on my behalf, deposed that, in a conversation with Dearborn and Rodney, the attorney-general, in March last, he accused Wilkinson of several crimes, and gave the names of witnesses who would establish the charges. Those gentlemen replied that General Wilkinsonhadstood very low in the estimation of the President, but that his energetic conduct at New-Orleans had raised him in estimation; that he now stood very high, and that the president would support him; that if the government should now prosecute Wilkinson, or do any thing to impair his credit, Burr would escape, and that was just what the federalists and the enemies to the administration wished."
"October 23, 1807.
"After all, this is a sort of drawn battle. The chief justice gave his opinion on Tuesday. After declaring that there were no grounds of suspicion as to the treason, he directed that Burr and Blennerhassett should give bail in three thousand dollars for further trial in Ohio. This opinion was matter of regret and surprise to the friends of the chief justice, and of ridicule to his enemies—all believing that it was a sacrifice of principle to conciliateJack Cade. Mr. Hay immediately said that he should advise the government todesist from further prosecution. That he has actually so advised there is no doubt.
Footnotes:
1. At this period Blennerhassett was at war with both Colonel Burr and Alston, on the subject of their pecuniary transactions.
2. Former mercantile partner of Blennerhassett, and contractor for building Burr's boats on the Muskingum.
On the 7th of June, 1808, Colonel Burr sailed from New-York on board the British packet for England, via Halifax. The personal and political prejudices which the influence of power and the death of Hamilton had excited against him; rendered, as he conceived, a temporary absence from this country desirable; and, at the same time, believing that the political situation of Europe offered opportunities for accomplishing the object he had long contemplated, of emancipating the Spanish American colonies from the degrading tyranny of Spain, it was his design to solicit the aid of some European government in such an undertaking. With these views he embarked for England.
During his residence in Europe he regularly corresponded with his daughter, Mrs. Alston, and also kept a private diary; but probably from the apprehension that his papers were at all times subject to the supervision of the government police, his memoranda are in a great measure restricted to occurrences private and personal. An amusing volume [1]mightbe made of these daily records of his privations and personal adventures during his protracted and forced residence in Europe, but the limits of the present work compel us to pass hastily over this period of his life.
He arrived in Falmouth on the 15th, and in London on the 16th July; and on the same day, with characteristic promptitude, he presented his letters of introduction, and, among others, to John Reeves, Esq., then in the department of the secretary of state, through whom he seems to have hoped to gain access to the ministry.
During the next three months he made, through Mr. Reeves and others, various unsuccessful efforts to approach the government; but there were two obstacles in his way, both of which were insuperable. The Spaniards were then in the commencement of their noble resistance to the invasion of Napoleon, and the enthusiasm of the British nation in favour of the Spanish patriots, as well as the policy of the British government, were absolutely opposed to any scheme for separating the colonies from Spain. But, in addition to this obstacle, Colonel Burr, from the moment of his landing in England, was an object of suspicion and distrust to the government. The alien-bill was then in stern operation, and apprehensions were entertained of the emissaries of France; and it is not to be doubted that the same hostility which, as we shall see, openly displayed itself in the conduct of the United States' agents towards Colonel Burr in France, had been excited to misrepresent and anticipate him in his negotiations with the British government. After various interviews, that led to nothing, with Mr. Canning, Lord Mulgrave, and Lord Melville, on the 6th November, 1808, the following communication from A. Merry put an end to all hopes of assistance in his plans from the English ministry:—
Sunday morning, November 6.
Although I could not see Mr. Canning yesterday, from his being gone into the country, to stay till Tuesday morning, for the recovery of his health, I conversed with another person of nearly equal authority, who told me he was sure that what you proposed to me yesterday could never be consented to, pointing it out in every way to be impracticable. I beg you to excuse the haste in which I write, and believe me to be, dear sir,
Your most faithful humble servant,
In private life in England Colonel Burr received much attention, and from no one more thanJeremy Bentham, with whom he formed a warm and intimate friendship. In a letter to his daughter of the 8th September, 1808, he speaks of Mr. Bentham:—"I hasten to make you acquainted with Jeremy Bentham, author of a work entitled 'Principles of Morals and Legislation' (edited in French by Dumont), and of many other works of less labour and research. You will well recollect to have heard me place this man second to no one, ancient or modern, in profound thinking, in logical and analytic reasoning. On the 8th of August I received a letter from him, containing a most friendly invitation to come and pass some days with him at a farm (where he passes the summer) called Barrowgreen, near Gadstone, and twenty miles from London. I was not tardy in profiting of this invitation. He met me at the gate with the frankness and affection of an old friend. Mr. Bentham's countenance has all that character of intense thought which you would expect to find; but it is impossible to conceive a physiognomy more strongly marked with ingenuousness and philanthropy. I have passed twelve days there, and shall return to-morrow, to stay most probably till he returns to town. His house in the city, which I now occupy solely and exclusively—[N. B. Three servants in the house at my command]—is most beautifully situated on St. James's Park, with extensive gardens, and built and fitted up more to my taste than any one I ever saw. In his library I am now writing."
The friendship of Mr. Bentham was uniform and constant; and if it did not preserve his friend from severe pecuniary privations and distress in Colonel Burr's second residence in England, it was because the extent of these privations was industriously and ingeniously concealed from him. "The benevolent heart of J. B." (Burr remarks in his diary, when apprehending an arrest for debt) "shall never be pained by the exhibition of my distress." Bentham, long after Burr's return to the United States, continued to correspond with him.
With William Godwin Mr. Burr also formed an intimate and friendly acquaintance. In a visit to Edinburgh in the winter of 1809, he seems to have been treated with great distinction; and his diary is sprinkled with the names of visitors the most distinguished in rank, fashion, and letters of the Scottish metropolis. He writes to his daughter 12th February, 1809: "Among the literary men of Edinburgh I have met M'Kenzie, author of the Man of Feeling, and Scott, author of the Minstrel. I met both frequently, and from both received civilities and hospitality. M'Kenzie has twelve children—six daughters, all very interesting and handsome. He is remarkably sprightly in company, amiable, witty—might pass for forty-two, though certainly much older. Scott, with less softness than M'Kenzie, has still more animation; talks much, and very agreeably."
While in Edinburgh Colonel Burr was informed by Lord Justice Clarke that Lord Melville had mentioned in a letter that it would be necessary for Mr. Burr to return to London. The government began now to evince great distrust of him. He seems at one time, and before he had abandoned all hope of receiving assistance in his political schemes, to have resolved to resist the operation of the alien bill, by claiming the rights of a British subject. He probably suggested this singular claim at the instance of his friend Reeves. The ground he took was that, having been born a British subject, he had a right to reassume his allegiance at pleasure; or rather that it was indefeasible, and never could be parted with. The claim appears to have caused some sensation among the crown lawyers. It was certainly unfounded and injudiciously asserted. Lord Liverpool pronounced it monstrous; and it probably increased the suspicion and distrust already existing.
On the 4th April, 1809, the government took active measures against him. He writes in his journal of that day—"Having a confused presentiment that something was wrong, I packed up my papers and clothes with intent to go out and seek other lodgings. At one o'clock came in without knocking four coarse-looking men, who said they had a state warrant for seizing me and my papers, but refused to show the warrant. I was peremptory, and the warrant was produced, signed 'Liverpool,' but I was not permitted to read the whole. They took possession of my trunks, searched every part of the rooms for papers, threw all the loose articles into a sack, called a coach, and away we went to the alien office. Before going I wrote a note to Reeves, and on our arrival sent it in—waited one hour in the coach—very cold, but I refused to go in. Wrote in pencil to Reeves another note. He came out. We had a little conversation. He could not then explain, but said I must have patience. After half an hour more orders were that I must go with one of the messengers to his house. On this order I first went into the office to see Brooks, the under secretary, whom I knew [you may recollect the transaction in July, which must have fixed me in his memory]. He did not know me—none of them knew me—though every devil of them knew me as well as I know you. Seeing the measure was resolved on, and having inquired of the sort of restraint to which I was doomed, I wrote a note to Koe, which Brooks took to show to Lord Liverpool for his approbation to forward it—arrived at my prison, 31 Stafford Place, at four." In two days, however, he was released, and his papers returned unopened; but he was informed he must leave the kingdom. Some days afterward, as he still lingered, a message was conveyed to him:—"Lord Liverpool expects you to leave London to-morrow, and the kingdom in forty-eight hours." And on the 24th April, 1809, he sailed from Harwich in his B. M. packet Diana for Gottenburgh.
On leaving England Mr. Burr seems to have been undetermined as to his future movements. He was unwilling to renounce the projects which had carried him to Europe; and all hope of assistance from England being ended, he looked next for aid to Napoleon, whose policy, from the resistance of Spain and the preponderancy of the British navy, was now in favour of the independence of the Spanish American colonies. He finally resolved to wait in Sweden till he received advices from America, and then proceed to Paris to communicate with the emperor.
We must pass over his residence in Sweden, and his subsequent tour through Germany to Paris, during the whole of which period he kept a journal. He visited Hamburgh, Hanover, Saxe-Gotha, Weimar, and Frankfort; and, though travelling without letters or introduction, it appears from his itinerary that he was everywhere treated with distinction and attention. At Hamburg, where he arrived the 20th November, 1809, De Bourrienne, since known as the author of the Memoirs of Bonaparte, was the French minister. It will be amusing, perhaps, to compare the following extracts from De Bourrienne's work with a brief memorandum from Colonel Burr's diary, showing in what light they reciprocally regarded each other.
"At the height of his glory and power, Bonaparte was so suspicious that the veriest trifle sufficed to alarm him. I recollect that about the time the complaints were made respecting theMinerva(newspaper), Colonel Burr, formerly vice-president of the United States, who had recently arrived at Altona, was pointed out to me as a dangerous man, and I received orders to watch him very closely, and to arrest him on the slightest ground of suspicion if he should come to Hamburgh. Colonel Burr was one of those in favour of whom I ventured to disobey the orders I received from the restless police of Paris. As soon as the minister of the police heard of his arrival at Altona, he directed me to adopt towards him those violent measures which are equivalent to persecution. In answer to these instructions, I stated that Colonel Burr conducted himself at Altona with much prudence and propriety; that he kept but little company, and that he was scarcely spoken of. Far from regarding him as a man who required watching; having learned that he wished to go to Paris, I caused a passport to be procured for him, which he was to receive at Frankfort; and I never heard that this dangerous citizen had compromised the safety of the state in any way."Bourrienne's Memoirs of Napoleon,vol. iv., p. 108.
In his journal of November 24, Burr writes:—
"I learn that A. B. is announced in the Paris papers in a manner no way auspicious. Resolved to go direct to the French minister, to see if he had any orders to give or refuse me passports. Sent in my name, but did not get out of my carriage; after some minutes the servant returned, saying his excellency was then much engaged, but would be glad to see me at three. At three, to minister's; begged to call tomorrow at twelve. November 25. At twelve, the minister's; was at once received; he is the transcript of ourMari, [2] only fifteen years older, but marked with the same characters. His reception was courteous, but with a mixture of surprise and curiosity. At once offered me passports to any frontier town, but has no authority to do more. Passports to go to Paris must come from Paris, and to that end I must write. Advises that I direct reply to be transmitted to Mayence. Asked me to dine, at his country-house tomorrow."
At Mayence, however, he found no passport; and he was detained in suspense there and at Frankfort for a month, before permission could be obtained to go to Paris.
On the 16th February, 1810, he arrived in Paris.
He commenced here a long and most vexatious and wearisome course of attendance on the minister of foreign relations and other high officers of state, endeavouring in vain, by personal solicitations and memorials, to obtain an audience of the emperor and an answer to his propositions. He attended the levees of the Duc de Cadore, the Duc de Rovigo, Jerome Bonaparte, King of Westphalia; but uniformly failed in his efforts, and was turned off with unmeaning professions. He records in his diary, with gratitude, the friendly attentions of Volney, Denon, and the Duc de Bassano; but, with these exceptions, he seems to have been treated with great coolness, even by those to whom his hospitality had been freely tendered in America. He always suspected that the alienation and immutable discountenance of the emperor were to be ascribed to the representations ofTalleyrandand the representatives of the United States in France.
Several months neglect and inattention at length discouraged him, and he resolved to return home; but, on applying for a passport to the United States, he was informed by the police that he could not have a passport to go out of the empire. "Me voila [he writes in his journal], prisonier d'Etat! et presque sans sous." This event changed the course of his solicitations; and for the next year we find him, having abandoned all projects of ambition, limiting himself to solicitation for permission to go home, and without success. A memorial which he addressed to Napoleon sets forth in these manly terms the harshness and injustice of his treatment.
"While in Germany last winter I saw in theMoniteuran expression of your majesty's assent to the independence of the Spanish American colonies. Believing that I could be useful in the execution of that object, I hastened to Frankfort, and there addressed myself to your majesty's minister, Monsieur Hedouville, who, at my request, wrote to the minister of exterior relations, stating my views, and asking a passport if those views should be deemed worthy of your majesty's attention. A passport was transmitted to me. On the day of my arrival in Paris I announced myself to the Duc de Cadore, and on the day following had an audience, in which I explained, as fully as the time would admit, the nature of my projects and the means of execution. Further details were added in subsequent conversations had with one of the chiefs of that department. Afterward, at the request of the Duc de Cadore, they were reduced to writing, of which memoir one copy was delivered to the Duc de Cadore and another to the Duc de Rovigo, to be submitted to your majesty's perusal. After the lapse of some weeks, having received no reply, nor any intimation that my views accorded with those of your majesty, being here without occupation and without the means of support, I asked a passport to return to the United States, where not only the state of the country, but my personal concerns, demand my presence. This passport has been refused; for nearly four months I have in vain solicited. The only answer I receive is—'His majesty has not signified his assent.'
"After conduct so frank and loyal on my part, it is with reason that I am hurt and surprised at this refusal. Not only did the motives of my visit and my conduct since my residence in France deserve a different return; at all times I have deserved well of your majesty and of the French nation. My home in the United States has been always open to French citizens, and few of any note who have visited the United States have not experienced my hospitalities. At a period when the administration of the government of the United States was hostile to France and Frenchmen, they received from me efficient protection. These, sire, are my crimes against France!
"Presuming that a proceeding so distressing and unmerited—so contrary to the laws of hospitality, to the fame of your majesty's magnanimity and justice, and to that of the courtesy of the French nation, must be without your majesty's knowledge, and that, amid the mighty concerns which weigh on your majesty's mind, those of an individual so humble as myself may have escaped your notice, I venture to intrude into your presence, and to ask either a passport to return to the United States, or, if in fact your majesty, with the expectation of rendering me useful to you, should wish a further delay, that I may be informed of the period of that delay, that I may take measures accordingly for my subsistence."
This memorial passed without notice.
The following correspondence between Colonel Burr and Mr. JonathanRussell, then Chargé d'Affaires at Paris, and Mr. M'Rae, AmericanConsul at Paris, will show the conduct of representatives of theUnited States to an American citizen in want and in a foreign land.
Paris, October 25, 1810.
Mr. Burr presents respectful compliments. As a citizen of the United States, he requests of Mr. Russell an official certificate to that effect, and will have the honour of calling for the purpose at any hour which he may be pleased to name. The fact of Mr. Burr's citizenship being sufficiently known to Mr. Russell, it is presumed that other proof will be deemed unnecessary.
Paris, October 25, 1810.
In reply to Mr. Burr's note of this morning, Mr. Russell begs leave to inform him that the province of granting passports to citizens of the United States belongs to the consul, to whom all wishing for that protection must apply.
Paris, October 29, 1810.
Mr. Burr presents compliments. Having addressed himself to Mr. Russell for a certificate of citizenship, has been informed by him that the business of granting certificates was transferred to the consul. He therefore repeats the request to Mr. M'Rae. If a personal attendance be deemed necessary, Mr. Burr will wait on Mr. M'Rae for the purpose at any hour he may be pleased to appoint.
Paris, October 29, 1810.
Mr. M'Rae answers to Mr. Burr's note of this morning, that his knowledge of the circumstances under which Mr. Burr left the United States renders it his duty to decline giving Mr. Burr either a passport or a permis de séjour. If, however, the opinion Mr. M'Rae has formed and the determination he has adopted on this subject be erroneous, there is a remedy at hand.
Although the business of granting passports and permis de séjour generally is confided to the consul, the chargé des affaires unquestionably possesses full authority to grant protection in either of those forms to any person to whom it may be improperly denied by the consul.
Paris, November 1, 1810.
On receipt of Mr. Russell's note, Mr. Burr applied to the consul; a copy of his reply is herewith enclosed. It cannot be material to inquire what are the"circumstances"referred to by the consul, nor whether true or false. Mr. Burr is ignorant of any statute or instruction which authorizes a foreign minister or agent to inquire into any circumstances other than those which tend to establish the fact of citizen or not. If, however, Mr. Russell should be of a different opinion, Mr. Burr is ready to satisfy him that no circumstances exist which can, by any construction, in the slightest degree impair his rights as a citizen, and that the conclusions of the consul are founded in error, either in point of fact or of inference. Yet, conceiving that every citizen has a right to demand a certificate or passport, Mr. Burr is constrained to renew his application to Mr. Russell, to whom the consul has been pleased to refer the decision.
Paris, November 4, 1810.
Without subscribing to the opinion of Mr. M'Rae with regard to the appeal that lays from the erroneous decisions of the consul to the chargé d'affaires, Mr. Russell has no objection to judging the case which Mr. Burr has presented to him.
The man who evades the offended laws of his country, abandons, for the time, the right to their protection. This fugitive from justice, during his voluntary exile, has a claim to no other passport than one which shall enable him to surrender himself for trial for the offences with which he stands charged. Such a passport Mr. Russell will furnish to Mr. Burr, but no other.
In the winter of 1810 and 1811, being cut off from remittances from America, it appears from his journal that he suffered sad privations from the want of money.
In his diary of November 23, he writes—"Nothing from America, and really I shall starve. Borrowed three francs to-day. Four or five little debts keep me in constant alarm; all together, about two Louis."
December 1, 1810. "——- came in upon me this morning, just as I was out of bed, for twenty-seven livres. Paid him, which took literally my last sous. When at Denon's, thought I might as well go to St. Pelasgie; set off, but recollected I owed the woman who sits in the passage two sous for a segar, so turned about to pursue my way by Pont des Arts, which was within fifty paces; remembered I had not wherewith to pay the toll, being one sous; had to go all the way round by the Pont Royal, more than half a mile."
His journal for a year is filled with similar details, and would be a melancholy narration were it not that it exhibits him under every vicissitude, suspected and watched by the French government, misrepresented by the representatives of his own country, treated with almost universal coldness and neglect, cut off from all communication with America, without money, without occupation, and without any reasonable hope of a termination of his troubles, uniformly composed, firm, and cheerful. Not a discontented or fretful expression is to be found in his voluminous memoranda.
At length, in July, 1811, a ship being about sailing in ballast for America, with Napoleon's permission, Colonel Burr, through the influence of the Duc de Bassano, received permission to leave Paris. He arrived at Amsterdam on the 3d of August; and after a month's delay, apparently from the capricious tyranny of the French authorities, he sailed for America in the ship Vigilant on the 20th of September; and, escaping from the toils of one of the great belligerants, he fell into the power of the other, and was on the next day captured by an English frigate and carried into Yarmouth.
The Vigilant and the effects of her passengers were taken possession of by the government for trial in the admiralty; and as Burr had paid for passage to America, and was reduced very low in funds, he was obliged to remain in England. He continued in England from the 9th of October, 1811, till the 6th of March, 1812, when he sailed for America in the ship Aurora, and arrived in New-York, via Boston, on the 8th of June, 1812, just four years after his departure from America. During his second sojourn in England he enjoyed the society and friendship of Bentham and Godwin; but the latter could not alleviate his pecuniary distress, and the former was probably never fully aware of it. The diary contains a protracted record of privations, sometimes threatening absolute and hopeless want, but endured throughout with undisturbed and characteristic fortitude and gayety. He seems to have missed the attentions and society which he found on his first visit to London, and the following extract from his journal of 26th March, 1812, shows that he left England without feeling affection or regret.
"I shake the dust off my feet. Adieu, John Bull! Insula inhospitabilis, as you were truly called 1800 years ago."
Footnotes:
1. It is highly probable that portions of Colonel Burr's journal, with his correspondence while in Europe, may hereafter be published in a single volume, as a separate and distinct work.
2. Joseph Alston, son-in-law of Colonel Burr.