1834, Chapter One Summary

Burr returns to his office accompanied by two creditors who are dismissed without payment. He is cheerful, chipper, with news that he and his wife will go separate ways for a time until he pays her back her horses and carriage. He and Charlie attend the theater that evening where they run into William Leggett. A discussion of dueling arises, and Leggett presses his advantage by forcing Burr to given an accounting of his duel with Alexander Hamilton. Burr claims to have been unable to hit a barn door with any accuracy. He says that the only reason he won the duel is due to his calm. "Mr. Leggitt, the principal difference between my friend Hamilton and me was that at the crucial moment, his hand shook and mine never does." Page 109, 1834, Chapter One. After the theater the Colonel manages to...