REMINISCENCES OF A SCOUNDREL.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3044, 29 March 1881, Page 4

REMINISCENCES OF A SCOUNDREL.

A New York reporter who liEifl 1 recently ] interviewed Mr Thurlow Weed speeded in getting from the oldest of Aitfsnean journalists some vory interesting xaots about Aaron Burr, who killed Alexandra' Hamilton. Burr is one of the darkest and fiercest figures of modern history, and all j the circumstances connected with the fatal duel which deprived America of one of her noblest statesmen have imparted a very romantic interest to his fame. Like many other adventurers, Burr was much loved by women, and, according to Mr Thurlow Weed, he kept all the love letters written to him, and carefully filed them under the names of the writers. This was harmless enough so long as Burr was alive, but when he died all these letters were found intact and carefully preserved in a large trunk. It seems evident Burr purposely refrained from destroying these letters in order to give pain to their writers after his death ; for in all cases where letters either had no signature or bore initials only, Burr had carefully written out the names in full. The story throws a fresh light upon the graceless nature of the man who practically murdered Hamilton and dreamed of foundj ing a Mexican Empire. But the disagreable eccentricity of Burr's action in thus preserving the letters was quite surpassed by that of his executor, Matthew Davis, who took upon himself the loveless task of returning all these letters of thirty and forty years before to such of their writers as were still alive. According to Mr Thurlow Weed, he actually did return hundreds of letters with his own hand, and on one occasion requested Mr Thurlow Weed to restore a package to a lady in Providence, then a grandmother, but Mr Weed declined to discharge so unpleasant a service.—Daily News.