ome involved in war with Spain. In the city, also, were
adventurous individuals ready for any daring move upon Mexico, where,
according to credible reports, a revolution was imminent. The conquest
of Mexico was the day-dream of many an adventurer. In his memoir
advising Bonaparte to take and hold Louisiana as an impenetrable barrier
to Mexico, Pontalba had said with strong conviction: "It is the
surest means of destroying forever the bold schemes with which several
individuals in the United States never cease filling the newspapers, by
designating Louisiana as the highroad to the conquest of Mexico."

Into this web of intrigue walked the late Vice-President of the United
States, leisurely journeying through the Southwest in the summer of
1805.

Aaron Burr is one of the enigmas of American politics. Something of
the mystery and romance that shroud the evil-doings of certain Italian
despots of the age of the Renaissance envelops him. Despite the
researches of historians, the tangled web of Burr's conspiracy has never
been unraveled. It remains the most fascinating though, perhaps, the
least important episode in Jefferson's administration. Yet Burr himself
repays study, for his activities touch many sides of contemporary
society and illuminate many dark corners in American politics.

According to the principles of eugenics, Burr was well-born, and by
all the laws of this pseudo-science should have left an honorable name
behind him. His father was a Presbyterian clergyman, sound in the faith,
who presided over the infancy of the College of New Jersey; his maternal
grandfather was that massive divine, Jonathan Edwards. After graduating
at Princeton, Burr began to study law but threw aside his law books on
hearing the news of Lexington. He served with distinction under Arnold
before Quebec, under Washington in the battle of Long Island, and later
at Monmouth, and retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1779.
Before the close of the Revolution he had begun the practice of law in
New York, and had married the widow of a British army officer;
entering politics, he became in turn a member of the State Assembly,
Attorney-General, and United States Senator. But a mere enumeration
of such details does not tell the story of Burr's life and character.
Interwoven with the strands of his public career is a bewildering
succession of intrigues and adventures in which women have a conspicuous
part, for Burr was a fascinating man a