Tuesday, July 21st, 1795

My Dearest, Theodosia,

                                                  On closer inspection of your previous letter, I noticed a comma in the middle of the opening phrase, causing me to wonder whether or not it was intentional. By adding a comma, the meaning of you opening phrase has changed entirely, which begs the question, did you mean it? Did you intentionally add a comma, or was it simply a slip of the quill you did not notice prior to sending the letter? I am curious as to what your intention was with this.

I am glad you enjoyed the poem. If it did bring a tear to your eye, then I can assure that was not supposed to happen, unless it was a happy tear, of course, then it was intentional. Knowing you will treasure the poem for the rest of your life put a huge smile on my face, I hope you cherish it much like I do with your letters.

My dear Theo, I must confess that when we started these letters, I did not think we would correspond for as long as we have, I thought Father would change his mind and we could continue to talk in person rather than through letters. However, that did not turn out to be the case and Father's grudge continues to grow with no sign of stopping. I am glad we have these letters, though some day, as you said, we will finally be able to express our feelings in person.

Love always,

Philip Hamilton.

~~~

My Dearest, Philip,

                                         Before I sent my previous letter, I debated whether or not to include the comma or scrap the letter and start again. It was my belief that the comma would come across as too forward seeing as we have only been communicating for a little while, and we are only children. However, in the end, I opted to include it, feeling as though it was better to jump straight in rather than hang around and wait for something to happen.

The poem will remain with me always. I have made sure it is on my person no matter where I go, even as I sleep. Father does not know of its existence and I intend to keep it that way, I know that if he were to find out, the poem would be destroyed. I do not think I would be able to cope were that to take place.

You and I had the same belief about our Father's when we started these letters. Both of us believed it would have passed by now, but of course, that is not the case. It does not matter to me how long we are apart. They cannot keep us away from each other forever, Philip.

Love always,

Theodosia Burr.

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Notes;

This confirms that Burr did intentionally use a comma in her last letter to Hamilton, confirming that she knew what she was doing the moment the letter was written. It is also important to mention that Hamilton also uses a comma in his letter to Burr, though whether he did this because she did is not confirmed.

We have also noticed a change in the ending of their letters. Both participants have ended their letters with the phrase 'love always' rather than the 'yours' they had been using since their correspondence began. This suggests to us that they were beginning to understand their relationship in a bigger way.