[27]
CHAPTER IV.
The letter to Angelina.—The sick neighbor.—Pursuit of pleasure under difficulties.—Burr's ready wit and powers of invention.
When Burr retire to his chamber on that Sunday night, he could not help reflecting on the events of the day, and particularly upon his conduct towards Angelina. What must she think of his neglect to save her from imminent danger, from his desire to protect another? Had he not shown her plainly that he had forgotten her, and, worst of all, would she not suppose that he despised her for the bold step that she had taken, in conferring her partiality for a young man, which she felt before he had spoken to her.
"She shall not think that at any rate," said Burr, and before retiring to bed, he sat down, and wrote her a long letter.
He protested that, in the hurry and confusion of the moment, he had mistaken the young lady whom he had saved for Angelina, and that the former was an individual towards whom he was entirely indifferent, while for Angelina herself, he entertained the most fervent love, the most entire devotion.
"Without you," he added, "I shall be entirely miserable; without you, most beautiful of women, I live in a barren desert, joyless and desolate. Meet me, if you care for my happiness, for my life itself, on the very spot where I first encountered you. I promise to be prudent. Only let me hear again from your divine lips that I am not an object of indifference to you. I need not name the day, for I shall be there every day after three o'clock till you come."
Burr put this letter in the post-office, and waited four days for an answer, visiting the place of assignation every afternoon.
No answer came, and he waited in vain in the pleasant dell where they first met. In the mean time, his attempts on Miss Edwards were continued. She was deeply grateful for his noble conduct at the church, and called him the preserver of her life; but they were closely watched by Mrs. Reeve, and the time drew near when the fair visitor must return to New York.
Having been so cruly baffled in the affair of Angelina, Burr felt that he must expedite matters with Miss Edwards. It was too much to be disappointed in both instances.
