.NDU0.NjE5
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5 Hanover St. – 11th June [18]63 – 3 p. m. Thursday –
Dear Ann As you used to say during our long correspondence in [18]61/2 – “No sooner do I send off one letter to you than I begin upon another.”
Matthew has just left the office for the day, & we were having a little talk previously, upon various topics, & among the rest, about S[ain]t. Th[oma]s [church, New York City] [underscored] He ob= =served that Mr. Cha[rle]s Towne, who lives on Staten Island in the summer, at the house of his ne=
with him
=phew Mr. Ferdinand Stagg, (who jointly ^ signed the opposing vault-owners Petition) had not yet call =ed here, as Mr. S[tagg] had led him to expect. This led me to remark that I am altogether opposed to our taking our stand upon the ground of copartnership in the real Estate, or in other words demanding a price proportion= ate to that obtained for the entire site, because it would put it in the power of the other party to maintain that we had all the while been animated by dirty, pecuniary [underscored] considerations, instead of the higher principles that we professed; - and yet I believe that as a matter of right [underscored] we are justly & fairly, as well (I suppose) as legally [underscored] entitled to compensation upon this pro-rata principle.
Matthew, however, does not coincide with my view, which would be to be content with their paying us the cost ($200) of one [underscored] of the lots at Greenwood, & the cost of re-in=
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=interment, provided they will keep the Church open for public worship until 1st May [18]64.
He said he was opposed to – what he called – “such Quixotism;” for that the other party were bent upon screwing us [underscored] all they can. – I said I thought so too, & had all along looked on them as a sett of low, mean, dirty fellows; but that that was no reason why we [underscored] should place ourselves in the position of dirty fellows too. – He said it merely like bargaining over a lot of Cotton & I replied that I did not think it ought [underscored] to be so, on our [underscored] part at least. – He said that if the various opposing vault-owners should unite in demanding compensation as suggested by Dr. Van Rensselaer, together with keeping the Church open until 1st May [18]64 he thought the Vestry would at once gladly close with us on these terms.
12 June – Friday 4.10 p.m. – This was the hour at
ing
which I left the office yesterday, & on reach ^ the Post Office I found a 64c letter from [Matthew] Fontaine [Maury] – as described in my letter to him of this date, copy whereof is enclosed to you. – Walker, contrary to my wishes & expectations in= =stead of coming home to dine first, remained down town to “dive” [underscored] for a dinner somewhere, & then came home with the letters via Africa. – [‘letters via Africa’ underscored] I read the contents of Fontaine’s envelope (so far as addressed to myself) before we sat down to dinner, which was not ready
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by 1/2 past 5 as I had expected; for that ‘confirmation” at the R[oman] C[atholic] Church, to which both Mary & Ann had gone, instead of taking place in the forenoon, [‘fore’ underscored] was for some cause or other delayed until 2 or 3 p. m., & Mary had to buy a piece of beef & do other marketing, I think, after leaving the Church – But the delay as it turned out was of no importance \ Your little note of 26th May from Sedgwick to Mytton served as “pilot-bal[l]oon” to the long [underscored] letter of 28/29th to myself, which Walker brought up after I had fallen asleep before T[ea]. – I handed Sarah the notes you enclosed for her & for Mrs. Greene, & finding
was
there ^ also one for “Aunt Elizabeth,” I hied off with it to Irving Place before I had read more than 1/2 a dozen lines of your letter to me. – When I got to Irving Place Aunt Elizabeth was finishing the reading aloud (for the edification of Mr. & Mrs. Gilpin & James) Nan’s letter to you & Mrs. Pollard’s to me; and as I had promised to let Mrs. Kennedy read the letter, I started off with it to 16th St.; & as it was then 1/2 past 9 when I reach= =ed the Kennedy’s door, I intended merely leaving it with the servant to hand to them; but she “pressed” me so hard to come in, that I did so. Mrs. K[ennedy] came down stairs instantly, & Mr. K[ennedy] very soon after her. – And I was very sorry when she told me that they had learnt that their son at N[ew] O[rleans] had been ordered to leave & go into Dixie, where he knows nobody! & with his wife’s sister living in the same family, & lying sick, at the point of death!! It seemed a very hard & cruel case !! – indeed so hard & cruel that I said I must suppose that an appeal to head quar= ters would procure a respite, at least. – I then, as useful to them under the circumstances, related the plan I had adopted in writing by flag of truce to Mrs. Carrington & its entire & speedy success – And when I was leaving them, Mrs. K[ennedy] told me that they had
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not [underscored] received this intelligence by any letter from their Son [underscored] – it had come to them from Ms. Pollard.
I said that I thought Mrs. Pollard too much disposed to put everything in its worst [underscored] light as to Federal pro =ceedings, & that as they had had no letter on the subject from their Son, I thought it a favorable sign.
When I got home the 2 W’s [William & Walker] had gone to bed, and as I perused each sheet of your letter I handed it to Sarah remarking that I had rather have paid 5/- postage then you should have taxed your eyes with writing so small & on such thin paper. –
(At home – Friday night) The 2 W’s [William & Walker] read your letter this morn[in]g & Matthew too. By my request Matthew [struck-through] Walker gave it to M[atthew] to read before I came down to the office.
It is dreadful to read such accounts of poor Mary Wake- =field’s torments. It made Sarah feel sad as well as me. – I remarked to her that I am strongly impressed with the idea that the disorder is greatly aggravated, instead of being relieved, by her taking so much as 4 or 5 glasses of wine each 24 hours. Surely it must only excite [underscored] instead of soothing [underscored] her nervous system, which thus becomes like an overcharged electric battery; [‘over....battery’ underscored] & as it seems to me, these paroxism’s of tic are the natural result. [‘natural result’ underscored] If you should fall in with some eminent physicians who make Neuralgia & other nervous disorders their especial study, please ask them about it. – I should think that strong, sweet Ale – Burton Stingo, for example, would be better for her. – Ale is narcotic; - Wine the opposite.
I am sorry to hear from you the confirmation of the report about Lewis & the Japan. – I approve of your plan of avoiding, as far as you can, all discussion about our War = altho’ I did not myself act on that plan in [18]61/2.
I am very glad with the improved report you gave of your eyes. – Sedgwick is the best place for you un= =til they are well. – If you should go to Barrock, I would like you to fall in with Mr. & Mrs. Caruthers, who live only a little way over the border, & I am sure would be very glad to see you. – They are on intimate terms with the James’. – If you go to Buxton, put up at the Old Hall. –
Sarah re[ceive]d today a letter of 11May from Nan, [’11...Nan’ underscored] & she is
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(5) making a copy of it to send to you. – It came to her postmarked “[Napan?] 8 June” & was rec[eive]d by her this afternoon, just before dinner, being addressed to 365 4th St. - || At dinner today, W[illia]m rose from his chair, & said to me, “You must not be surprised if we have “company this even[in]g. Those 2 young ladies from Staten “Isl[an]d are coming, unless they should be prevented by “rain.” – I thought that if you had been at home you would have been consulted before the invitation was given. But I said nothing, tho’ I thought that I ought to have been consulted too. – After dinner I took Nan’s letter to Sa =rah to read, & then a newspaper, & fell asleep, near the win =dow in Mr. Hutchison’s chair. – It was near 8 when I was waked up, I suppose, by uproarious laughter; & rather turnin g my face, I saw by the twilight, that the 2 ladies were in the room with Sarah, W[illia]m & Walker. I reflected a few moments & then got up & shook hands with the visitors saying “These, I suppose are the renowned ladies of Staten Island.” who [struck-through] I am glad to see you.” – I then resumed by seat un- -til we had T[ea], when I offered my arm to one of them, & con =ducted her to the T[ea] table – Soon after we had sat down, Cha[rle]s Van Ness came in, & joined us, I making room for him beside me. – They seemed to feel very much at home, & not at all troubled with mauvaise honte, [bashfulness] as English girls would have been – There was singing at the Piano after T[ea] in which all joined except the 2 old bachelors. I gave Cha[rle]s Van Ness your letter to me via Africa to read, as the best amusement or entertainment I could offer to him, & to prevent his feeling like a fish out of water, whilst I amused myself with reading the Express. After a while the choral singing became so boisterous, that I said they had best shut down both windows lest the watchman should come in & they did so. – Presently – after 9 or so – Ann spread the table in the dining room – with some iced cream, fresh strawberries, & preserves, & when the cream was being carried round by Walker, I went & got 1/2 a doz[en] wine glasses & the decanters of Port & Sherry – At about 10 3/4 the ladies went up to
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(6) Sarah’s room, & soon reappeared cloaked & bonnetted, & the 2 W’s [William and Walker] went off with them to escort them home, & Mr. V[an] Ness retired too. – I did not understand where they were going to spend the night, until Sarah & I were left alone, when she told me that they had quit S[taten] Island a week or so ago, & had been staying at the St Germains Hotel preparatory to spending the summer in Connecti= =cut, I think, W[est] Chester, or somewhere thereabouts. She ask =ed how I like them, I replied, “They seem to me full of spirits.” – I made no other comments, & did not enquire when they had been invited, or by whom.
I suppose it was one of Walker’s impromptu proceed= =ing. – Whoever did it, did wrong in not consulting me first, as they would you. But I think it best, for the sake of harmony, to keep this opinion to myself [‘keep..myself’ underscored] -& it would be better too not to take notice of this affair in your letters to me. – With these young ladies absent & Mr. E. S. Munn now married, Staten Island must have lost much of its attractions to Walker, I suppose.
W[illia]m seems quite uncertain now as to the time for his visit to “Jody.” – Matthew yesterday told me he has abandoned all idea of visiting St. Anthony’s Falls, [Minneapolis Minnesota] & is not projecting at present any other excursion instead.
I have been writing a page this even[in]g to Mrs. Greene to enclose your letter to her. –
Mrs. King told me on Sunday that Mrs. W. P. Wright sailed for L[iver]pool via China, on the 3rd inst. [3 June] to pay a visit to her mother.
You certainly ought to have yourself booked for a passage homeward in Oct[ober] – If you have not done this -do it at once, [‘do..once’ underscored] & enlist Mr. E. H. Hodgson into your service | - No notice yet for any of us as to Income tax. yours affectionately R[uston] Maury
13th A nice pleasant response this morn[in]g to my second [underscored] letter to Miss V[irgini]a Draper.
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5 Hanover St. N[ew] York 12 June 1863 –
Dear Fontaine [Matthew Fontaine Maury]
The Glasgow which left L[iver]pool 27th ulto [27 May] arrived yesterday & as I passed by the Post Office at 4 1/4 p. m. on my way to dinner, I received your letter of 25/26 ulto., [25/26 May] enclosing one directed to Louisa, care of Mess[ieu]rs James Maury & Co. [‘Co.’ underscored] (a firm that has ceased to exist [‘ceased to exist’ underscored] for about 2 years.[‘about 2 years’ underscored] one for
William, and one from[struck-through] for Walker, and a letter of 27th from Mytton to me, & a little note from your Aunt to him dated Sedgwick 26th –
The letter for Louisa goes to N[ew] O[rlean]s by a st[eame]r tomorrow, & those to W[illia]m & Walker were handed to them last evening.
On the 6th May a few hours after the Persia had gone to sea, I rec[eive]d a letter from you via Australasian, dated on or before the 25 April, the day the A[ustralasian] left L[iver]pool].
As that letter [?] [presented?][only?] your plans [underscored] if they can be called such) for the [?], I [?] in my first letter to your Aunt [Ann]; & I have not written to you since, because I have been kept so constantly occu= =pied in writing to her & by other employment.
It is your business to kill [underscored] time, & mine to economise [underscored] it as much as I can, because I have all the while more demands upon it than I can meet, even when I [strict?] myself in sleep & bodily exercise. – Some of these days you will, I hope, also recog =nise the value of time, - and you, certainly do not now. [‘do..now’ underscored]
When you write upon two sides [‘two sides’ underscored] of then [underscored] paper, & then make a press copy of what you write,
save & trouble
you will ^ much time ^ to the reader by adopting 2 precautions: 1st. on turning to the second page write between the lines on the first page instead of writing upon [underscored] the same lines; & 2nd dry [underscored] your letter by the fire or otherwise immediately after copying it. – Your handwriting is legible enough except when rendered otherwise, as in the case of your letter now
[Marginalia] Walker resumed his regular abode, in 4th St. soon after your Aunt (Ann) & Mytton left. Sarah lately spent 5 days with Miss Dunning. On the 27th inst [27 June] & I am to go spend couple of night with the Drapers at Hastings.
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before me, for want of these precautions. –
I am very glad that you & George Bold went to meet
& to him
your Aunt & Mytton, and feel much obliged to you ^ (as she did) for the aid you gave her in effecting the land =ing etc. at that late hour at night.
I am sorry to hear of your having been laid up since then, but hope & expect that your indisposition, -whatever it was – was of short duration.
By some means or other I presume you have learnt that Walker has parted company with Mr. Bigland & returned to his post at No. 5 Hanover St. –
Yesterday he dined down town to await the delivery in the evening of the letter via Africa, & so brought me lsat evening, soon after I had ready yours of 25/26th a very long letter of 28/29th from you Aunt at Sedgwick - [underscored] which is just the spot for he after the injury to her eye on board the Persia. –
I have an idea that one of these days, before your Aunt retraces her steps to N[ew] York, you will be having Tobin to beat up your quarters at 12 Bloom St.: for he seems bent upon coming home this year, & I should think that instead of embarking in an Am[erica]n [underscored] ship for N[ew] York, he would select some Br[itsh] [underscored] ship bound for L[iver]pool [underscored] or London [undescored] as soon as he is [aware?] of the risk of capture. [underscored]
My latest letter from Rutson ( after 31 days silence!) is 23 May; & I may not hear again from him for another month when he will have to advise me of another monthly d[ra]ft of $250 for the support of himself and Ja[me]s. – James had been still more chary in the use of his pen. – His last letter to me was in March! [underscored]
Old Mr. Bond is here, & is to sail tomorrow for L[iver]pool in the sailing ship “Albert Gallatin.” – He brings the latest news of J[ame]s and Rutson, & would be glad to see you, I think. –
All well here & at St. Louis. Y[ou]rs affectionately R[utson] Maury]
[Marginalia] I yesterday provided to your Aunt (via Qubec st[eame]r of 13rd inst [13 June]) a letter of 2nd May
[underscored] from Nan. [underscored]
