harassed by the noise and worry of the world, with only now and then the faint, far-away whistle of the locomotive to recall its wearying turmoil !

To be sure, there was the river with its constant steam navigation, but a steamer, unlike a railway train, which is an enemy to tranquillity, and a destroyer of romance, enhances the one and promotes the other, and, notwithstanding our knowledge to the contrary, seems to be possessed of æsthetic rather than commercial value. Always an object of beauty, it is something to be admired as well as utilized. At least, there was no limit to the admiration excited by the endless procession of them that passed our little world, serving as links to the great world outside, yet not in the least creating a sense of restlessness, or marring our pleasant tranquillity. Attractive as were these huge birds of passage by daylight, they were still more so at night, when, with their many-colored lights flashing brilliant jets into the placid depths, they would mysteriously project themselves within the watery basin lying in front of the town, the similiarity of which to a lake being caused by a sharp curve in the river below, which concealed its course from view. The effect was then far more magical than real. It was as if a bit of wonderland had suddenly opened out before our eyes. Even the tows, with their long array of coal-barges, proved objects of interest, as they plodded slowly by with a labored breathing that was almost human, and a wheezing that seemed to have become chronic.

As for the river itself, our opinions were undergoing a radical change. Certain impressions of it, as it swept past the "Queen City" in a turgid flow, had engendered a degree of skepticism as to the appropriateness of its well-known cognomen, which, upon a more intimate acquaintance, had entirely disappeared. Yet, the "River of Many Characters' would seem to be a more fitting sobriquet; for probably no other stream presents so many and such contrasting phases. Had we not, within the short space of two weeks, seen it from a turbulent flood, that, as it rolled from bank to bank, swept all before it, subside to the stillness and clearness of a lake, making a mirror of itself, in which the landscape might look and smile at its pictured loveliness? What visions of beauty, of grace, and of softness it held! Then, indeed, it more than established its claim to La Belle Rivière. But what was gained in beauty was lost

in utility; for the low stage of water that makes such loveliness possible precludes the frequent transit of the steamers, and to the commercial mind at least, a muddy river at "full banks,”’ plowed by steamers throwing up amber cascades, would be a sight far more enjoyable.

But what spot is so charming that its attractions cannot be enhanced by historical associations? The near proximity of Blennerhasset's Island, and the fact that the neighborhood was the theatre of scenes long since passed into history, gave to our surroundings an interest which mere beauty could not impart. The Ohio River and some of its tributaries will always be identified with that episode in our American history in which Aaron Burr so conspicuously figures. Inspired by these associations, we were not slow to refresh our memories in regard to those stirring events. Under our vine-draped porch, with its outlook upon the river, we read whatever could throw light upon the subject. Again we followed the career of that strange man from the time when, flushed with ambitious plans, he proceeded to carry them into execution, to that fatal night when, finding that all was lost, he ordered the hole to be cut in his boat, through which, under cover of the darkness, the chests of ammunition, which were to play an important rôle in the expedition, were sunk in the waters of the Mississippi. Soon after, he was fleeing alone and forsaken through the wilds of Alabama, hunted as a felon by the officers of a government which had once bestowed upon him the next to the highest gift in its keeping. What a significant contrast! But the story is too well known to dwell upon. It is one, however, that will grow in interest with the advancement of time, not only because of the magnitude of the scheme undertaken, but the mystery which seems ever destined to surround it.

Even more closely is the Ohio River associated with the fate of the unfortunate Blennerhassets. To its protection Blennerhasset entrusted himself, when, after taking a precipitate leave of his island in the dead of night, he managed to elude his would-be captors, and fled, a fugitive from justice, until he succeeded in making the appointed rendezvous with Burr. Upon its swift current also, swollen by ice and angry floods, Mrs. Blennerhasset not long after embarked with her two children, and having safely performed the long and perilous voyage in the cold of midwinter, and with

family, those of the youngest son, also deceased, are said to reside.

The "Blennerhasset Papers," a voluminous book, reads with the interest of a romance, albeit one with a bad ending. And indeed what a pitiless fate it was that followed each member of this family! Beginning life with such fair prospects, how quickly were they overtaken by that strange adversity that pursued them to the bitter end: father and mother dying in want; the two oldest sons, mere wrecks of manhood, perishing miserably, and even the faithful black servant, who for years clung to the family with touching

career. Mrs. Blennerhasset early gave evidence of being possessed to a marked degree of that fortitude which she ever afterward so royally displayed, a possession which one may almost be justified in regarding as a calamity, since it seems to be predetermined that upon those thus endowed the ills of life shall fall most heavily.

To what extent Mr. Blennerhasset was implicated in the real scheme of Aaron Burr, how far his sympathies were enlisted beyond that sorry subterfuge of the Washita enterprise, or whether his ambition rose above the glittering bauble of the Bastrop lands, will ever be matter of conjecture.

was as welcome to my

eyes as the evening star to the mariner after the agitations of a storm." That the object of this devotion was in all respects worthy of the homage paid to her, is evinced by the still further comments upon the letter which follow. "There I soon saw how industriously my beloved continued to practice the only fraud her pure soul is capable of conceiving -that of endeavoring to hide from me all she feels for me and has suffered for our dear boys." Nor are the protestations of affection for her husband scarcely less ardent on the part of Mrs. Blennerhasset.

It

is impossible not to feel the liveliest sympathy for people who are dominated by such senti

ments.

Another characteristic of Mr. Blennerhasset stands out with marked prominence, and that was the marvelous forbearance displayed by him toward the author of all his misfortunes. Although Aaron Burr was responsible for his ruin, the loss of home, wealth, and much that had heretofore constituted his happiness, yet, under all his suffering, deprived of personal liberty, his honor assailed, and a blighted future before him, not one word of complaint toward the

"arch deceiver" escapes

his lips. No; we mistake. In his last interview with Burr, after a long and patient waiting, in which he had received no indemnity for the losses sustained at his hands, and his just claims had been met with a studied neglect, which finally culminated in a sneer, then the trodden worm turns, the patient spirit can no longer brook such treatment, and much to our relief the victim at last speaks his mind. Having determined upon what he calls his "ultimatum" with Burr, he resolves "to burst the cobweb duplicity of all his evasions" with him upon money matters, and in return is treated "not as a faithful associate, ruined by my past connection with him, but rather as an importunate creditor, invading his leisure or his purse with a questionable account." In this interview, in which Blennerhasset speaks some plain truths, Burr seems for once to have lost his self-control, and unmasked his real character, which calls out from his unfortunate dupe the following "ultimatum" on his part in regard to his destroyer: "Such a diminution of that suavity of address with which he

had already too often diverted me from my purpose, now exhibited him a heartless swindler in the last swoon of his disorder." We breathe more easily after this, and are conscious of an ardent wish that such a

discovery had been made long before. It might have saved the misguided victim a blighted life, and spared us so heavy a drain upon our sympathies.

We eagerly gathered whatever personal reminiscences could be obtained in the neighborhood concerning the island in its palmy days, and the remarkable events with which it is associated. Our genial host well remembered hearing his father speak of the efforts made to induce him, then a young man, to join with other of his associates, who were to embark their for

ABNORMAL GROWTH.

tunes in this enterprise of Aaron Burr. Meeting Mr. Blennerhasset in Belpré one day, he was invited by him to go over to his island home, as he wished to confer with him upon a matter of importance. Accordingly, a few days after, the young man directed his skiff across the river, and landing at the island, presented himself at the imposing mansion, greatly wondering what could be the momentous conference which the master of it had solicited. Nor was his curiosity at all diminished when he found himself being conducted by his host, with an air of secrecy, up three flights of

stairs to a small room at the top of the building, his imagination assuming a new phase at each succeeding flight, until, by the time they had reached their destination, it had worked him into a state of actual trepidation. There the plan of the expedition was revealed to him, and every inducement urged to prevail upon him to join it. Upon a young man of a romantic or ambitious habit of mind these inducements, partaking so largely of the couleur de rose, must have made no slight impression; yet, to his credit, the result of the few days' deliberation granted him was, that instead of intrusting his fortunes to the probable uncertainties of the expedition, he chose to remain at home, where he afterward founded a large family, his posterity scattered up and down the Ohio River, constituting some of the best citizens of that part of the country.

One octogenarian of the neighborhood, who as a lad had lived a few miles up the Kanawha River, retained a vivid recollection of the fact that, during the autumn preceding the embarkation of the expedition, the slaves of Blennerhasset (the island belongs to the State of Virginia) were engaged in transporting corn from the island in a flat-boat to a mill farther up the river. The frequency with which they passed his father's house, and the large amount of grain transported, at last aroused the curiosity of the family, which, as other suspicious events began to be noised abroad, grew into a conviction, afterward proved to be correct, that this grain was to form part of the provisions which Burr was having prepared for his cherished expedition. He also related that, passing down the river in a skiff in company with his father the day following the flight of Blennerhasset, they met a party of young men, among whom was an older brother of the lad's, returning from the island in a boat, whither they had gone in the capacity of militia for the purpose of capturing Blennerhasset. To an inquiry from the father as to whether they had succeeded in catching "little Blanney," as he was frequently called, answer was shouted back that he had escaped them, "run like a whitehead sometime during the night." This same old man drew for us, with trembling hand, from personal recollection, the plan of the island mansion, and the relative position of the buildings connected with it. Only a few survive whose memory goes back to that interesting period, and those few dwell upon it