Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/482

 476 BURR BURRHUS ing spring he resigned his commission. Burr belonged to the Lee and Gates faction, and affected to despise the military talents of Washington. In 1782 he was admitted to the bar at Albany, and in July of the same year he married Mrs. Prevost, the widow of a Brit- ish officer who had died in the West Indies. In 1783 he entered upon the practice of his profession in the city of New York. He was elected to the state legislature in 1784, ap- pointed attorney general of New York in 1789, and chosen United States senator in 1791. While in the senate he was recommended for the mission to France, but Washington refused to appoint him. He left the senate in 1797, and the following year was returned to the state legislature. He was active in the presi- dential canvass of 1800, and to his efforts may be attributed the success of the republicans in New York, upon the action of which state the result in the Union depended. On account of the prominence he thus obtained, the friends of Mr. Jefferson brought him forward for the vice-presidency. An equal number of votes having been cast for Jefferson and Burr in the electoral college, the election of a president devolved upon the house of representatives, most of the federal members voting for Burr. Jefferson was elected president, after a contest of several days, and, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution at that time, Burr became vice president. His conduct in permitting himself to be used by his political opponents in order to defeat the candidate of his party, and whom he himself had supported, dissolved his connection with the republicans, and destroyed his political influence. The federalists nominated him for governor of New York in 1804. Some of the leading men of that party refused to support him, and he was defeated. The contest was bitter, and led to a duel between Burr and Alexander Hamilton, July 11, 1804, in which the latter was killed. Burr was disfranchised by the laws of New York for having fought a duel, and was in- dicted for murder in New Jersey. His term as vice president closed March 4, 1805, and in April he set out upon a journey through the western country. What were his real schemes is uncertain ; probably they were not definite- ly formed in his own mind ; but they seem to have included the formation of a new govern- ment in the south on the borders of, and per- haps partly within, the United States. He purchased 400,000 acres on the Red river, and gave his adherents to understand that the Spanish dominions were to be conquered. His proceedings excited alarm, and on Nov. 27, 1806, President Jefferson issued a proclama- tion against him. While endeavoring to make his way to the coast, he was arrested in Ala- bama, Feb. 19, 1807, and brought to Rich- mond, Va., for trial upon an indictment for high treason. The trial began March 27, and lasted until Sept. 7. No overt act of treason could be proved, and the jury brought in the verdict, "Aaron Burr is not proved to be guilty under the indictment by any evidence submitted to us." He was accordingly set at liberty, and in 1808 went to Europe, hoping to obtain means to effect his designs, which had now taken the form of an attempt upon Mex- ico. He was disappointed, and after living abroad for some years, a part of the time in great poverty, he returned to America in 1812, and resumed the practice of his profession in New York, but never regained his position at the bar. In his 78th year he married Madame Jumel, a wealthy widow, but was soon divorced, and died neglected three years afterward. In person Burr was below the medium stat- ure; his manners and appearance were very attractive, but his principles were loose and his habits licentious. He was an adroit law- yer and effective speaker. He had but one legitimate child, Theodosia, the wife of Gov. Allston of South Carolina, who was lost at sea in January, 1813. See "Life of Aaron Burr," by Samuel L. Knapp (New York, 1835) ; "Memoirs, with Selections from his Corre- spondence" (2 vols., 1837-'8), and "Private Journal " during his residence abroad, with selections from his correspondence (2 vols., 1838), both edited by Matthew L. Davis ; and "Life and Times of Aaron Burr," by James Parton (1858). BI'RRAHPOOR, or Bnrhanpnr, a town of Brit- ish India, presidency of Madras, in the North- ern Circars, 10 m. 8. W. of Ganjam ; pop. esti- mated at 20,000. Situated a few miles from the W. shore of the bay of Bengal, in a culti- vated plain shut in by lofty hills and abound- ing in perennial springs, it is a favorite resort for the government officials of Ganjam during the unhealthy months of the wet season. The weather from October to February is clear, cool, and healthy, the thermometer ranging from 50 to 75. In April and May fevers and rheumatism prevail ; in June the S. W. mon- soon commences, and is succeeded by the N. E. in September. The soil of the vicinity of the town is dry and sandy. The streets re- semble those of most Indian towns, being nar- row, dirty, and lined with badly built mud houses. There are a few brick buildings, many Hindoo temples, and well stocked ba- zaars. Sugar and sugar candy are manufac- tured in large quantities, and silk and cotton are produced to some extent. Bt'RRAMPOOTER. See BEAHMAPOOTBA. lil lililll S, or Bairns, Afranins, a Roman com- mander, died A. D. 63. He acquired great popularity, and Claudius, at the suggestion of Agrippina, appointed him in 52 sole prefect of the pratorians, which enabled him after the death of that emperor to promote Nero's eleva- tion to the throne. With Seneca he succeeded for some time in restraining the excesses of Nero, opposed the murderous designs of Agrip- pina, and subsequently refused to become Nero's accomplice in her assassination and in that of Octavia. Nero is generally believed to have had