" He
stooped slightly, and did not move with the grace or ease one would
have expected from so experienced a soldier, but he had "great
authority of manner," and was uniformly "courtly, witty and charming."
During one of those legal battles in which he had only one rival
(Hamilton) it was reported of him that "Burr conducted the trial with
the dignity and impartiality of an angel but with the rigour of a
devil!"
Gen. Prosper M. Wetmore, who adores his memory and can find
extenuation for anything and everything he did, writes this charming
tribute:
"Born, as it seemed, to adorn society; rich in knowledge;
brilliant and instructive in conversation; gifted with a
charm of manner that was almost irresistible; he was the
idol of all who came within the magic sphere of his
friendship and his social influence."
His enthusiastic historians fail to add that, though he does not seem
to have been at all handsome, he was always profoundly fascinating to
women. It is doubtful (in spite of his second marriage at seventy odd)
if he ever loved anyone very deeply after his wife Theodosia's death,
but it is very certain indeed that a great, great many loved him!
Richmond Hill was the scene of one exceedingly quaint incident during
the very first year that Burr and his young daughter lived in it.
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