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Show A STILVXUE ROMANCE. RECALLED tJV THE FINDING OF A PICTURE. Waa Thla Theorti-la llarrf tllitatarr of rorlr.lt In North Carolina lllvaa m Claw In liar ralo alor of m Tragic IlUanpsaranra. (Special Utter) A portrait, believed to be that of Thaodosla Ilurr Alston, the Ill-fated daughter of the more Ill-fated Aaron Ilurr, haa come to light lu Elizabeth City, N. C, and with the portrait have emerged some details that may rend the veil of grewsome mystery which haa slws)t enveloped the culminating tragedy In her life. The atory of her father's career Is one of tha most picturesque In American Amer-ican annals, and she contributes to It one of Its most picturesque episodes. Shrewd, crafty, pollthrd and witty, this son of a New Jersey clergyman had deftly and sinuously msde his way upward, up-ward, adroitly availing himself of the foibles of men and the frailties of women, until, In 1 8 SO, he received a tie vote with Jefferson In the electoral college for president of the United States, It was this daughter who formed the heart romance of hla life. Her Indomitable In-domitable fidelity waa henceforth all tbat linked him to the world of man. She had had a Joyful welcome Into thla world, the beautiful girl who was to have so terrible an exit from It. Evsry (lep of her education had been 1 - uipu TllEODOSIA BURR ALSTON. FROM A PORTRAIT, thoughtfully superintended by a father who was always kind If not alwaya wise. He resolved that ahe ahould grow up supreme among all the women of the land, "If I could foresee," be wroto to his wife In the dsys of her Infancy, "that Tbeo would become a mere fashionable woman, with all the attendant frivolity and vacuity of mind, adorned with wbntever grace and allurement,! would earnestly pray Clod to take her forthwith forth-with hence. Hut I yet bops, by ber. to convince the world what neither aex appeara to believe that women have souls!" So she grew up a well educated, well mannered, brilliant, witty and moat estimable es-timable young lady The cares of her. At fourteen her mother had died and ahe had become the sole sharer of her father'a home, the mistress of his household, the friend and companion of hla mind. Then, In 1800, came the aeparatlon. Hut It came In Ita least poignant form. She was wooed and married by a young gentleman of South Carolina, who waa every way worthy of her. Hla name waa Joseph Alston. It Is true that South Carolina waa then a twenty daya' Journey from New York, That waa the moat serious drawback to the marriage for both father fa-ther and daughter. Hut Theodosla made long and frequent visits to the home of ber childhood. She wrote back letters full of exuberant rapture about the scenery around New York, the society within It, and. above all, ibout the renewed dellghta of her fa-Iher'a fa-Iher'a companionship. Sometimes Mr. Alston accompanied her on these visits, loiter another traveling companion com-panion waa added, Thla waa Master Aaron Ilurr Alston. He was Theodosla'a only child. Next lo Theodoala he grew to be the dear-lit dear-lit object on earth to flrandpa Ilurr. That gentleman waa never weary of the lad'a company when he waa at Richmond Hill, nor could ho ever bear inough of his childish exploits and say-Ings say-Ings when he was at home. Early In ISOf. ho turned his faco toward to-ward the great west, which was then a lew country He went down the Ohio tlver In a flatboat. A few mllea below Marietta he came In sight of an Island, lalm, secure, romantic, which took Ita same of Illennerbastet from the eccentric eccen-tric Irish gentleman who owned It and made It his home. Iiurr stopped here, made tbo acquaintance of Mr. Illenner-easset, Illenner-easset, andtook notes of the military tapabllltles of his home As he pro-reeded pro-reeded on his Journey, first down the Ohio, then the Mississippi, he carefully lurvejed the acener all the way down to Now Orleans. Huge projects were revolving In tils head, which were encouraged en-couraged by the cordial greetlnga he tecelved In Louisiana. The government at Washington, be thought, Is Imbecile. Louisiana ls dis-iffected. dis-iffected. Aciuts the border the Span-lards Span-lards are unquiet What of an empire In MoxIcoT Whot If the western Hates, ultimately falling nway from the union, ahould cast their lot with bis, making New Orleans the capital of a new nation, of which he would be dictator! He matures his plana carefully and warily. He seduces Mr. Illennerhasset with visions of wealth, power and tit nlar grandeur. Mr. Illennerhaaiet'a Island home Is to be the base of supplies sup-plies for a contemplated expedition Other men of wealth, energy or position posi-tion were Interested In the schema Prominent among these were his own 1aZ , "' hM hu ,Ub1- To achieve SErV"1 "" for her, her ffi. 1. ""' fcr J' " "u"' J-l' J-l' object alv'V bote Ml I'rwl'lent Jcfler- . i 'or ,",", llrae hli hr,a z"7 """clows of Hurra project. In ?0tlon dated Oct. "T. 180C, pub- Mi L. " " "a w,,r,",J 00'1 taniV e Project immediately col- .. . In "" ""Weeding Juno Ilurr ",",r,r'1 IH trial for treason took fit. Wrulnla It waa Impossible l'V' "y overt art agalntt him. U?tr decided to forfeit his ball, and he fd to Kngland k,'.".r "" )e,r of IIe " look ""'V r""rn Sailing under an at-"M at-"M name he arrived Incognito In ;....! . At """ rlht moment he f J it "n ,0 W" ,a nwPPr 4 the effect that Aaron Ilurr bad re-ikl; re-ikl; l0 "' cl,)r' nl " resumed Un Practice of law In Nassau street -. .!.0n,r wl,h " Mi l0 the strlck-JI.Il strlck-JI.Il r "nd Juhl. Thst was for !?' reunion. Hut Theodosla'a bua-"7 bua-"7 now governor of the state J V""1 ' nillUU. The war of 1812 W" Moken out He could not leave M Post Finally. It was decided she "Olid ronie by tea. She embarked ?.T'r M 18,: l Cbarlestown on nll schooner named the Patriot T lairiot was never seen nor heard .t , . i " '", '" ln presumed l" ine was lost off Cape Hatteras In ataiomi which broke out a couple of !.f"r ,h' Ml1"1' To Aaron Ilurr. "' la New York for the vessel Hat sever came, cruel stories were re-parted re-parted thst the Patriot had been cap-lured cap-lured by plratea, and that all on board tSlfT hue. ...I a . ei rallri)ered with the exception cf Theodosla, who waa carried on ahora "U. "No," said Ilurr. decisively, ! U desd Were she alive alt the prisons In the world cuuld not keep her fiom her father" And now for our promised atory of the portrait' Some '" "to the tale Dr. W. 0. Pool, a well known physician at Pasquotank county. North Carolina, waa spending the summer at Nag's Head. This Is a trlng place on the North Carolina coait, situated on the "Hanks," a narrow nar-row strip of land lying between Alba marie sound and tha Atlantic ocean. The dtnlicnt of the "Ilsnks" are primitive prim-itive folk and at one lime the land thereabout was In'esled by pirates. It hippeocd that Dr Pool was called In to lee a destitute old woman named lira. Mann. All her surroundings were wretched, but on the wall hung a blind, some oil pslntlng out of all keeping with Its environments Dr Pool's daughter, who Is now Mrs John P. Orermsn, of Kllzabeth City. N. C, wife of the postmaster of that town, frequently fre-quently accompanied her father on er-rinds er-rinds of mercy to the poor old Invalid. Doth she and her father expressed a desire to purchase the portrait but the patient would not hear of It. She said It had been given to her by her first lusband, a man named Tilled, and she vjlued It for his sake. The old lady git well. On day .an appaarad at the Nits Head Hotel to pay her resoecta to tl doctor and his family. They were aitorrshed to aee her wearing a hand-aome'sllk hand-aome'sllk dress of an antique pattern. It ws( an evening dress, cut short In the waist, ami only reached down halt way between the old lady's shoe topa and her kneea, She had come to tell the doltor that, aa ahe had no money, she ho,cd he would accept the portrait In psynent of his services. The doctor and bb daughter were overjoyed, cs-peclally cs-peclally when ahe related the circumstances circum-stances under which It had come Intu hr possession. She had no head for dates, but she remembered that one calm winter's day during the time of our list war wllh Kngland her first huibsnd (Tilled) and some of his associates, asso-ciates, lounging on the bearb at Nag's lleid, worn surprised to see a smart vessel under full sail making for the shore. The men watched her with Interest, supposing she would tack. Instead, she sslled straight ahead, and In a little while waa beached. The men got Into oni of their boata and rowed up lo ber, They found that all the ranvaa of the strange vessel waa spread and that ber tiller waa lashed Climbing aboard, tay descended Into the cabin Here a table waa spread wllh a hair finished mesl. The berths were unmade A number of silk clrc.trs were siattertd KHOM Till: NORTH CAROLINA 'aintino hi:lh:vi:i) to ub thkodosia huhr alston. over the floor. Every Indication pointed to the fad that the persons on 'wild I"1 hurriedly left the vossel In the mldit or a meal. On the wall of the cabin hung the portrait which felt to hr husband, together with one of tho silk dresses, as bis share of tho Uoi1-ure Uoi1-ure trove. Such Is the story which I obtained tho other day from the lips of Mrs Overman, to whom the portrait had do-srendsd. do-srendsd. I had hoard aonio rumors of he facts, and, being In Kllzabeth City, called at Mrs. Overman's residence for confirmation. She went over the particulars par-ticulars ahovo given, and showed mo the portrait. Thla la painted ou wood. j "out eighteen by twenty Inches In site, and la Incased In what was nnee a gill frame, tho gliding having been worn away by age. It represents a woman of about 30 irara of age, wllh well shsped features, piercing black eyes, brown hair, slightly tinged wllh suborn, and an olive complexion. The hair Is done up muth In the modern tyle. high on the hesd, with mm in bark and fritted In front. When the portrait was first presented present-ed to him Dr Pool naturally recalled the atory of Theodosla Ilurr. and at the first opportunity compared the portrait with a well authenticated engraving of Theodosla. Kveryhody who haa ever made the comparison declared that the likeness Is striking, and while It cannot can-not lie proven, of course, that this Is w likeness of Theodosla Ilurr. tho circumstantial circum-stantial evidence la almost conclusive. Not long ago a lady who la connected with the Ilurr family came all the way from one of the western cltlea to Elisabeth Elis-abeth City to see this famous portrait and went away pretty well convinced that she hat) looked upon the portrait of ber lost relative. Does It not seem as If the story were Hue that the Patriot waa attacked by plratea who murdered Ha crew and oaa-aengera oaa-aengera and carried off all the booty they could conveniently dispose of, ind then sent the boat adrift? If the atory he true, la It all IrueT Waa Theodoila also murdered or carried off, aa lcgeuii avers, to a fate worse than death! |
