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Memoirs of Stephen Burroughs: A New and Revised Edition; With an Appendix, Containing Authentic Facts Respecting the Latter Part of His Life
Excerpt from Memoirs of Stephen Burroughs: A New and Revised Edition; With an Appendix, Containing Authentic Facts Respecting the Latter Part of His Life
Dear Sir,
The uninterrupted attention of your politeness to my welfare, since my arrival in this country, is a sufficient inducement for me to attend to any request which you shall barely intimate. You mentioned yesterday, whilst I was enjoying the agreeable society of your family, that a relation of my adventures would be highly gratifying at some convenient time, when opportunity would serve. you say, that what had some to your knowledge previous to any acquaintance with me, but more especially what has occurred since my residence in this place, has filled you wish an almost irresistible anxiety to be made acquainted with the more minute circumstances of a life which has been filled with so many curious anecdotes and unheard of occurrences. I fear the relation will poorly answer your expectations. My life, it is true, has been one continued course of tumult, revolution and vexation; and such as it is, I will give to you in detail, (in this method, rather than verbally, it being more convenient to peruse it at your leisure, than to listen to the dull tale of egotisms which I must make use of in a verbal relation.) When you become tired with reading, you will be under no necessity of holding the book in your hand from the feelings of delicacy, but can lay it by leisure. This liberty you could not so conveniently take with a dull relater of a more dull narrative.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Dear Sir,
The uninterrupted attention of your politeness to my welfare, since my arrival in this country, is a sufficient inducement for me to attend to any request which you shall barely intimate. You mentioned yesterday, whilst I was enjoying the agreeable society of your family, that a relation of my adventures would be highly gratifying at some convenient time, when opportunity would serve. you say, that what had some to your knowledge previous to any acquaintance with me, but more especially what has occurred since my residence in this place, has filled you wish an almost irresistible anxiety to be made acquainted with the more minute circumstances of a life which has been filled with so many curious anecdotes and unheard of occurrences. I fear the relation will poorly answer your expectations. My life, it is true, has been one continued course of tumult, revolution and vexation; and such as it is, I will give to you in detail, (in this method, rather than verbally, it being more convenient to peruse it at your leisure, than to listen to the dull tale of egotisms which I must make use of in a verbal relation.) When you become tired with reading, you will be under no necessity of holding the book in your hand from the feelings of delicacy, but can lay it by leisure. This liberty you could not so conveniently take with a dull relater of a more dull narrative.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
454 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1850
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 21, 2021
For a young man who was more mischievous than malevolent, Stephen Burroughs suffered the heavy hand of the law in Revolutionary era America. His punishments exceeded his crimes, but he did himself no favors in not just doing his time. He did, however, gain some wise insights into life.
My favorite quotes of his are:
On enjoyment:
"The present and future are the only times for enjoyment. The present blessings we have in our power, and consequently, can partake of every joy they grant: the future we possess by anticipation; and it is thought by many, that the foretaste of pleasure by anticipation, is greater than the participation."
On happiness:
"Did we act as philosophers, we should turn our attention from those objects which a length of experience has taught us are futile in our pursuit of happiness; and place our thoughts upon such subjects as are calculated by nature to grant us that enjoyment which we are ever seeking after. All this may be found in friendship; and the greatest friendship is formed in the intimate connection of matrimony."
On convenience and community (which speaks to me in the time of COVID)
"When we make our convenience a rule to infringe upon our neighbor's privileges, we shall not fail to rob him of his prosperity, health, and life, when our convenience shall call for such a transaction."
My favorite quotes of his are:
On enjoyment:
"The present and future are the only times for enjoyment. The present blessings we have in our power, and consequently, can partake of every joy they grant: the future we possess by anticipation; and it is thought by many, that the foretaste of pleasure by anticipation, is greater than the participation."
On happiness:
"Did we act as philosophers, we should turn our attention from those objects which a length of experience has taught us are futile in our pursuit of happiness; and place our thoughts upon such subjects as are calculated by nature to grant us that enjoyment which we are ever seeking after. All this may be found in friendship; and the greatest friendship is formed in the intimate connection of matrimony."
On convenience and community (which speaks to me in the time of COVID)
"When we make our convenience a rule to infringe upon our neighbor's privileges, we shall not fail to rob him of his prosperity, health, and life, when our convenience shall call for such a transaction."
July 14, 2021
America's first celebrated rogue, a man who's responsible more than anyone for changing the connotation of the word "fame." (It used to be the opposite of infamy; now it means notoriety of all sorts.)
Burroughs impersonated a minister, seduced his parishioners' wives, counterfeited money, and broke out of prison so many times that his eighteenth-century contemporaries though he had magical powers. Among his ironic admirers is Robert Frost, who called him a "naive hypocrite."
Skip the long passages on morality and self-justification, and you have yourself a ripping good tale of early New England. Someday, when I'm bored and have sufficient money, I just may put out an edited version. Maybe then, someone will write the screenplay. Sex, lies, and tricorn hats. What's there not to like?
Burroughs impersonated a minister, seduced his parishioners' wives, counterfeited money, and broke out of prison so many times that his eighteenth-century contemporaries though he had magical powers. Among his ironic admirers is Robert Frost, who called him a "naive hypocrite."
Skip the long passages on morality and self-justification, and you have yourself a ripping good tale of early New England. Someday, when I'm bored and have sufficient money, I just may put out an edited version. Maybe then, someone will write the screenplay. Sex, lies, and tricorn hats. What's there not to like?
October 14, 2012
Words can hardly convey the pure condensed Americanness of this manic picaresque, although "Ben Franklin meets Huck Finn" might begin to do the trick. Join the memoirist as he impersonates the clergy, breaks out of several jails, assumes false identities, and becomes the occasion for an outpouring of popular myth. (By the end of the narrative, Burroughs has not only become a kind of trickster figure anchoring countless tall tales; aspiring young criminals have actually started posing as him.) The appendix informs us that he ended up teaching school and quite possibly counterfeiting money in Canada. An epic by an outlaw.
March 14, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. Written in the late 1700's and published in the 1800's, it is not an easy read, but once you get used to the vocabulary and phrasing, the story is very interesting. It is that much more enjoyable to anyone familiar with central Massachusetts and parts of Long Island where many of Mr. Burroughs escapades took place and where he interacted with known historical townspeople.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews