哈蒙·布伦纳哈塞特的悲剧

托马斯·朱伊特著

大多数人都听说过伯尔的阴谋以及由此引发的叛国罪审判。但很少有人知道他的共同被告:哈蒙·布伦纳哈塞特。这个人在追随前副总统建立西部帝国的计划中损失的甚至比伯尔还大。哈蒙·布伦纳哈塞特的悲剧故事是一个富有、开明的贵族，他的天真导致了他的名誉、财富、家园、家庭，最终他的生命的丧失。这也是一部值得拍成肥皂剧或电视迷你剧的私情故事。哈蒙·布伦纳哈塞特是英王爱德华三世的直系后裔，1767年出生于英格兰汉普郡一个富裕的贵族家庭。(各种资料也引用了1764年和1765年。)在他出生的时候，这个家庭并不住在爱尔兰克里郡的“康威城堡”，而是住在英格兰。布伦纳哈塞特一家离开爱尔兰是为了躲避一群被称为“白人男孩”的革命农民对爱尔兰地主的暴力袭击。哈蒙在英国威斯敏斯特学校接受了非常全面的教育，在那里他表现出对古典研究和科学的兴趣。 He entered Trinity College in Dublin and graduated with distinguished honors. Blennerhassett then read law at the King's Inn Courts and was admitted to the bar in 1790.像当时大多数年轻贵族一样，哈蒙在完成学业后进行了一次盛大的欧洲之旅。回国后，他名义上开始了律师执业。但是，作为一大笔财产的继承人，他决不热心于招揽客户。他把时间花在培养自己对科学、音乐和古典文学的兴趣上。讽刺的是，他还涉足革命政治。不管哈蒙是否形成了自己的政治观点，还是天真地追随他人的言论，他都在1794年加入了联合爱尔兰人协会。这个团体受到托马斯·潘恩和法国大革命的启发，致力于结束英国对爱尔兰的控制。他一定有一些领导才能，也许是因为他的运气，因为他很快就成为了小组的秘书。同样，在那一年，他的家人把哈蒙送到法国去执行救援任务。恐怖统治正处于鼎盛时期，布伦纳哈塞特家族担心一位年轻的亲戚玛格丽特·阿格纽(Margaret Agnew)，她当时正在国外留学。 The twenty-seven year old Harmon fell immediately in love with his eighteen-year old niece, and to the shock and consternation of their family they married. The marriage was considered incestuous and immoral by the laws of both the Churches of England and Ireland. Margaret was disowned by the family and the couple was ostracized. If one is to believe the descriptions of Margaret Blennerhassett it is no wonder that Harmon was willing to risk the wrath of family, society and Church.

布伦纳哈塞特太太在各方面都是一位很有修养的女士。她的身材高挑而威严，身材匀称。她的五官十分美丽，上面覆盖着一层极其明亮的肤色。一种只有智慧才能赋予的强大优雅。棕色的头发，浓密而有光泽的头发，深蓝色的眼睛，迷人而优雅的举止，总是吸引着人们的注意，即使是在最显赫的圈子里……她的思想和她的身体一样有教养。她是一位颇有成就的意大利和法国学者，也是能想象得到的最优秀的读者之一。她尤其擅长莎士比亚的戏剧，她以一流演员的品味和精神排演这些戏剧。在历史和英国古典文学方面，她同样博览群书。她的丈夫和一些博学的客人在讨论文学中有争议的问题时，她经常叫她来解决。很少有女性能同时拥有如此多的成就和个人魅力。(约翰·s·阿伯特，1875年)

她还是一位才华横溢的诗人，远比她的丈夫更有野心和抱负。玛格丽特觉得哈蒙在默默无闻中浪费了他的才能，他应该走上更公开的舞台。她的野心会导致他们的灭亡。哈蒙的父亲于1796年去世，留给他爱尔兰土地的所有权和超过10万美元的财产。1797年爱尔兰起义惨败后，他早期的革命活动再次困扰着他。这导致了联合爱尔兰人协会的迫害和崩溃。被家人和社会对他婚姻的看法所伤害和激怒，又害怕被英国当局逮捕，布伦纳哈塞特和他年轻的新娘决定在美国开始新的生活。他以远低于面值的价格卖掉了自己的地产，以换取现金，在新大陆站稳脚跟。在离开之前，他买了一个大图书馆的经典和科学书籍，以及装备实验室进行实验的设备。这对夫妇来到纽约市，他们的财富和迷人的品质把他们吸引进了这座城市的精英圈。 They spent several months there making inquiries as to where they might settle. On advice from friends they decided to explore the Ohio River Valley. Traveling down the Ohio on a keelboat, they saw and fell in love with Backus Island, two miles south of present day Parkersburg, West Virginia. They purchased the upper end of the island and named their wilderness Eden "Isle de Beau Pre." Blennerhassett truly wished to make his New World haven an enlightened utopia for himself and his family. He began construction, which would take 2 ½ years, on what was to become the grandest building west of the Appalachians. While building was going on the family lived in an abandoned blockhouse on the island left over from the Indian Wars. The house and grounds cost an amazing, for the day, forty to fifty thousand dollars to construct. It was a strange mixture of elegant Palladian architecture, Irish country house comfort, with a look of Italianate Queen Anne villas of the nineteenth century. Having approximately 8,200 square feet of living space, the house must have been one of the largest in America. A contemporary, Dr. S.P. Hildreth describe the house as thus:

这座岛上的豪宅建造得既高雅又美观。为了增加它的实用性和富丽堂皇，在建造上不遗余力。它有一座主楼，长五十二英尺，宽三十英尺，两层楼高。门廊，长四十英尺，呈两翼状，突出在前面，与办公室相连，每个办公室有二十六英尺高，二十英尺深，与主楼相连，形成一个椭圆形的一半，整个正面有一百零四英尺高。左边的办公室是仆人的大厅，右边的办公室是图书馆、哲学仪器和书房。前面是一片几英亩的漂亮草坪，在岛头的树林中开辟了一个大开口，从那里可以看到几英里以上的河流，从那里可以看到正在下降的船只。漂亮的砾石小径，还有一条马车道，从房子通向柱子。通向房子的林荫道的右边，有一道美丽的山楂树篱，屋后是一个大约两英亩的花园，四周围着整齐的栅栏，园子里种着醋栗丛、桃子和其他各种各样的果树，看上去像墙上结的果子。

布伦纳哈塞特一家用金钱能买到的美国东部和英国最好的家具装饰了这座豪宅。这些东西都得翻山越岭运到俄亥俄河下游。精美的绘画、雕塑、东方地毯、雪花石膏灯和大理石钟装饰着房间。其中一个房间的镶板是纯黑胡桃木。花园和温室种植了各种外来作物。如前所述，布伦纳哈塞特不惜重金建立他的伊甸园。房子和里面的家具也告诉我们哈蒙·布伦纳哈塞特的为人;他的性格是怎样的，他生活中的乐趣是什么。1875年，约翰·s·c·阿博特(John S. C. Abbott)描写了这个人和他的住所。

就这样，在俄亥俄河的荒野中，神奇地出现了一座现代最优雅的大厦。所有的内部设备和外部环境都是最豪华的。布伦纳哈塞特先生的图书馆收藏了大量珍贵的书籍。他天生具有很高的才能，受过良好的大学教育，到国外旅行，并与当时最有教养的人交往，他很清楚如何利用这个图书馆为他不断的利益和不断的快乐。他在科学方面也很熟练，对化学研究和自然哲学的所有相关分支，如天文学、植物学、电学和电动力学都有浓厚的兴趣，他为自己的实验室广泛提供了艺术所能提供的最好的观察和实验仪器。他不断地做实验，在这些自然科学的奇妙分支中得出新的事实。除了这些科学成就外，他在古典文学方面也有造诣，据说他可以用希腊语原文背诵荷马的《伊利亚特》。在举止上，布伦纳哈塞特先生很有礼貌，温和而顺从。他的优点是和蔼可亲，而不是固执。他很容易被那些能识破他弱点的人所欺骗。 His benevolence was unbounded, and his sympathy with the sick and suffering very intense.

除了读书和科学爱好，布伦纳哈塞特夫妇还喜欢打猎。这个岛上有很多鹌鹑和其他小动物。这对夫妇还喜欢为当地贵族举办奢华的聚会。布伦纳哈塞特和他的妻子都是技艺高超的音乐家，他们会在这些晚会上演奏。就这样，在这个遥远的伊甸园里，布伦纳哈塞特一家建立了一个逃避外界反对的隐居处。看来，哈蒙·布伦纳哈塞特过着启蒙运动时期乡村乡绅的完美生活。但是，很快就会有一条蛇来到这个伊甸园。1805年春天，前副总统亚伦·伯尔拜访了布伦纳哈塞特一家。很可能是布伦纳哈塞特发财的消息传到了伯尔的耳中，伯尔当时正需要一位投资者来实现他建立一个西部帝国的计划。容易上当的布伦纳哈塞特被机智而有说服力的伯尔说服，参加了这个计划。玛格丽特完全被伯尔和他的计划迷住了。这是一个机会，她觉得，让她的丈夫发挥他所有的才能。布伦纳哈塞特的岛屿将成为大本营，他的钱将为探险队提供装备。他承包了15艘大型内河船，用来运送尚未集结的军队。其中一艘龙骨船有六十英尺长。这是布伦纳哈塞特家的私人交通工具。按照他的风格，房子布置得很优雅，甚至还有壁炉和玻璃窗。 Blennerhassett's money was also used to purchase arms, ammunition, provisions and whisky for a force of five hundred men. Burr was only able to recruit one hundred men, for rumors were flying throughout the country concerning his motives. Burr was betrayed by co-conspiritor, James Wilkerson, to President Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson issued a Presidential proclamation calling for "all residents of the United States to bring to punishment all persons engaged in such treasonable enterprises as Burr's expedition". Following the Proclamation, Governor Edward Tiffin of Ohio dispatched the state's militia to the Ohio River to block all traffic. The United States government also sent the Virginia militia to seize Blennerhassett and his island. Harmon escaped to Kentucky. Margaret was away in Marietta. When she returned home, she found the house had been ransacked and greatly damaged by the militia. Burr and Blennerhassett were apprehended and imprisoned in the Virginia State Penitentiary. Burr stood trial for high treason, but was acquitted when the five month trial fail to produce any concrete evidence. The conspiritors argued two main points. First, no act of treason had ever occurred. Since the definition of treason in the Constitution requires an overt act of war against the country and since no act of war was committed then no act of treason existed. Second, arguing that since Burr was not even present when the supposed act of treason took place, he clearly could not be guilty. Blennerhassett was released but his reputation and fortune were gone. Financing the expedition and his legal expenses had left him broke. Blennerhassett briefly returned to his island Eden, but could not afford to repair the damage that had been inflicted by the Virginia militia. The mansion burned in 1811. Harmon and Margaret tried to recoup their fortune in Mississippi on a small cotton plantation. But, the Embargo, and crop failures doomed this venture. Destitute, this once proud couple, was force to return to Ireland and live off the charity of relatives. Harmon Blennerhassett died a broken man in 1831. After her husband's death Margaret returned to the United States. She petitioned the government for compensation for the destruction of her house. She asked for her rights, not charity. Robert Emmet, of Ireland, and Henry Clay supported her cause. Congress decided to redress the grievance, but it was too late. Margaret Blennerhassett died indigent, at a home for the poor, in New York City in 1842. Archaeologists uncovered the foundation of the mansion in 1973. The state of West Virginia undertook an 18-year restoration of the mansion, which took almost one million dollars. The building was opened to the public in 1991 and about 50,000 people visit the island Eden each year. The body of Margaret Blennerhassett was exhumed in 1996 and returned to her home. Harmon's body lies in an unknown, unmarked grave on the Isle of Guernsey on the English Channel. Today, the Blennerhassetts have reach an almost cult status in the Ohio River Valley. Plays and pageants remember and honor this couple that defied convention and for one shining moment established Eden. 汤姆·朱伊特(Tom Jewett)目前是麦肯德里学院的助理教授。他是南伊利诺伊大学爱德华兹维尔分校的名誉教授。