A few days later Burr wrote Theodosia again: “My friends and acquaintances of both sexes are permitted to visit me without interruption, without inquiring their business, and without the presence of a spy. It is well that I have an ante-chamber, or I should often be gené with visitors.” Alluding to the possibility of Theodosia joining him in Richmond, he added: “If you come I can give you a bedroom and parlor on this floor. The bedroom has three large closets, and it is a much more commodious one than you ever had in your life.” Once more he admonished her to observe the stoical role he expected her to play: “Remember, no agitations, no complaints, no fears or anxieties on the road, or I renounce thee.” Among Richmond’s smart society it became the fashion to prepare dainty dishes for the distinguished and charming prisoner now suffering persecution at the hands of the irascible tyrant in the White House. The Colonel was overwhelmed with wine jelly, a favorite Richmond sweet. Lemons, pineapples, and other rare and exotic fruits were showered upon him. Admirers brought him fresh butter; and to preserve it in the torrid heat of a Richmond summer, an icebox was installed and generously stocked by the owners of icehouses. In short, his friends did all they could during the weeks he was behind the bars to relieve the ennui of his confinement and to supply him with all the luxuries his fastidious nature craved. The ladies were foremost in their attentions. This was in contrast to the behavior of some of the men. In a letter to a friend, Washington Irving reported that it had almost been considered culpable to evince toward Burr the least sympathy or support. He had, he said, seen many a “hollow-hearted caitiff,” who basked in the sunshine of Burr’s bounty when he was in power, and who now skulked from his side and mingled among the most glamorous of his enemies. But this, heaven be praised, was not the attitude of the ladies. “The ladies alone,” observed Irving, “have felt, or at least had candor and independence sufficient to express these feelings which do honor to humanity. They have been uniform in their expressions of compassion for his misfortunes, and a hope of his acquittal; not a lady, I believe, in Richmond, whatever may be her husband’s sentiments on this subject, who would not rejoice on seeing Col. Burr at liberty. It may be said that Col. Burr has ever been a favorite with the sex; but I am not inclined to account for it in so illiberal a manner; it results from that merciful, that heavy disposition, implanted in the female bosom, which ever inclines in favor of the accused and the unfortunate.” Irving might have observed that the actions of some of the ladies, whose husbands were in some manner connected with the trial, could well have caused those husbands embarrassment. It was fortunate for them that Richmond viewed the personal entanglements with a tolerance that has seldom been granted in other criminal cases.