"Be not too confident, dear father," said Theodosia, her eyes filling with tears; "have you not noticed that from the day when you stepped down from the VicePresident's chair, that the hand of Fate has been against you?"

"This time it will be different," said Burr. "They have no case."

66

Father," cried Theodosia, throwing her arms about his neck, you know how much I love you! I reverence you and, may God forgive me, it would take but little more to make me worship you; but, despite all this, I fear, I fear."

Burr disengaged himself from her embrace and fixed those marvellous eyes upon her. "Theodosia," said he, in calm, even tones, "if you can be firm I should. be glad to have you stay here with me. If, during the trial, your face is calm and untroubled to look upon, it will give me aid and comfort; but if you cannot be firm and resolute and a credit to my system of instruction, it were better for you to return home and await the result there."

So this little Spartan woman wiped the tears from her eyes, steeled her heart, and never by look or action betrayed her inward thoughts or feelings until the verdict was recorded. Then, with a glad cry, she broke the steel bars that had bound her heart and fell in a swoon upon the floor of the court room.

Kate Embleton, like Theodosia, was in court every day during the long and tedious trial. Little Gamp had been committed to her charge and many times during each day did Burr's eyes turn to look upon the face of his beloved grandson; but those whose minds were evil and whose tongues were scandal-scarred, did not lose this good opportunity to secretly express their opinion that it was the face of the pretty woman and not that of the child that attracted the great conspirator's attention.

While William Wirt was likening Aaron Burr to the serpent that entered the garden of Eden and tempted our Mother Eve, Blennerhassett, the subject of the panegyric, was making entries in his journal and writing letters to friends in direct contradiction to the position assumed by his counsel. His hopes of gaining honor, fame, and fabulous wealth were gone; but he had not given up the hope of getting back, with interest, the money he had invested in the enterprise. Of course, if he had not met Burr, the drunken Ohio militia would never have pillaged his house and set it on fire. But he often afterwards thought, with a shudder, if he had never seen Burr, that his house, his family, and he himself might have been victims of the great flood that came several years later, washing away in its ruthless waste every building from the island.

On the evening of the day when the verdict was rendered, a complimentary dinner was given by Burr to his counsel and some close personal friends who were in Richmond. Felicitations were in order and many were the toasts that were drunk in commemoration of the signal victory won by the accused. Burr and some of his friends retired at a late hour, but at the suggestion of Luther Martin, who was a devotee of the dinner table, and particularly of the wine bottles that graced it, the conviviality was kept up far into the morning hours. Anecdote after anecdote about Burr followed each other in rapid succession. His family, his childhood, his education, his military exploits, his legal successes, his political career, and his social reputation furnished abundant food for comment.

"I heard a story once," said one of the guests, "about an incident that took place at a murder trial. I have always wondered whether it were true or not, but have had a delicacy about asking the Colonel directly.

"I know what you mean," said Martin. "Burr told me about it. Yes, it was actually true."