.NDI1.NTgy
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Via Europa[underlined] 4th St. New York 10 May ‘63 Sunday night Dear Ann
That letter which Mytton was to write by the pilot, [underlined] has never come; & it would not surprise me if, with such weather as on Wednesday, the pilot has had no chance of leaving the ship.
Yesterday, having next to nothing to do at the office except to hunt for the “10”c[underlined], which has not yet been discovered, - I turned to & wrote 4 pages to Har -riet, which were mostly filled with matters relating to your embarkation. – I left the office soon after 4, & sauntered, [underlined] rather than walked home, which I reached before 5 – tired & heated, with the sudden rise of temperature. – Going into the garden, I saw that some one had been digging diligently all over the parts that required it, & was at a loss to find who had been so industriously employed. – I had imagined it had been Wm; but afterwards, much to my surprise, found it was Sarah! – No seeds nor [Mordovia?] vine have yet been planted; neither have any of the plants been removed; but I hope that by some means or other, all will be accomplished this week. – Passing Mr. Meads door today, I observed that all 3 of his new shade[underlined] trees (that are to furnish shade at some future day) are alive & putting forth buds. - & thought of poor Mrs. Meade ([?] afternoon I think)
Sarah sold me yesterday morning that Mr. & Mrs. Gardner, from Ferry Hill, had come home in consequence of the extreme illness of Mrs. Stephen Gardner, who came here some time ago for medical advice, & had become so ill that she was not expected to live from day to day; - think she was at the Grammercy Park Hotel; & they were staying there too. –
to-day
Just as we were ending our dinner ^ Mrs. Richards called & spent a few moments with Sarah, to tell her that Mrs. Stephen Gardner died last night!
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She had died of some complaint of the heart[underlined]; but it was some other[underlined] internal disorder she had come here for – something no wase connected with the heart derangement – but what,[underlined] Sarah dos not know.
Sarah is intending to go off on Tuesday to pass the day at “Dunnington” & to return here at night.
William & Walker came home to dinner yesterday, just as we were about to sit down without them, a little before 6. – I found the interval of rest, of nearly an hour, before dinner genial & pleasant, & I enjoyed the meal all the more for it. – They also dined with us today: so that Walker is passing 2 nights with us; & I wish he could make up his mind to remain her altogether; but now that summer is come suddenly upon us, it seems too late to expect any such change in his plans.
Last night I took a 3 miles walk after T, which made 7 miles for the day, & I fell all the better for it, having had a fine long nap before T. –
At breakfast this morning there was “an [underlined] [Am?]” (a fresh ham?) on the table, & all of us partook of it.
At dinner today we had a piece of roast beef & a dish of Asparagus: - the latter was the first I have seen (on the table[underlined]) this season, & it seemed to give general satisfaction – there was also a cold rice pudding, or a tepid one, & we 4 at it all up.
Besides my letter yesterday to Harriet, I wrote a page to Mrs. Paul S. Carrington, enclosing to her a blank envelope stamped & addressed to myself. I told her that her Mother was anxious to hear of her, as she was, without intelligence since they left home – up to 22nd April, when her mother & Mr. Cox were both well, & still at home. – I told her all the rules & regulations for flag of truce
[Marginalia]
In case of need – David Spence’s address is “care of James Whitworth & Co. – 4 Rumford Place Liverpool.
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letters, & recommended her to consult her friends in Richmond for further instructions on the subject, thus offering myself as the medium of communication by this channel, between her & her mother. –
I enclosed 10c with this letter under cover to Gen[era]l Dix, & said to him I hoped it was in all respects within his rules & regulations; & that Mr. & Mrs. Cox are loyal Sugar planters in the Bayou Lafourch[e], Louisiana, & had been intimate friends of mine for 20 & 30 years, & that Mrs. Carrington was[crossed out] is Mrs. Cox’s only child.
I had a two-fold object in this: 1st to serve the respective parties, & 2nd to relieve you & Nan from any trouble in this matter; - & further, to save time & give the earlier relief to Mrs. Cox’s anxiety.
It remains to be seen how my experiment will succeed. If it don’t, I shall have lost nothing except 16c & in little time. But I thought I was serving Mrs. Cox better by this course than by spending hours in writing a long letter to her on matters of no real importance to her.
Last night, before I went to bed, I wrote a long letter to David Spence, in reply to one of 25th ulto. I had from him on Wednesday via Australasian, in which he had enclosed a letter for me to forward to Mr. Mus, & had said he would be pleased to hear from me if convenient.
I was in good time at St. Tho[ma]s. today; & Sarah & I
his
had the pew to ourselves. – Dr. Morgan & Drs[crossed out] ^ Assist -ant officiated. – The Dr. read 2 notices – 1st a pastoral letter from B[isho]p. [Palter?] recommending that
next
Monday Tuesday & Wednesday ^ which are “Roga -tion Days,” should on the present occasion be observed as a private[underlined] fast, by each person individually, with prayer & humiliation, in con -nexion with the state of the country: - the 2nd notice was that next Sunday an annual collection will be made to provide for the Bishop’s Salary.
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I think there was no special prayer for persons gone to sea to day.[underlined] Sarah & I sat with Matthew during the Communion Service. – Mrs. [Berbe?] – assisted by the Sexton to & fro – went to the railing of the channel to receive the communion, in the ordinary way, like all the rest of us, but it seemed an arduous undertaking.
On coming home Ja[me]s opened the door for us. He had awaited our return to deliver a verbal invitation from his mother to Sarah & me, to drink T in Irving Place to -morrow or Tuesday, to meet Mrs. H. D. Gilpin, & I said we would go. – I did not then know of Sarah’s plan for spending Tuesday at Dunnington. When Matthew called after the afternoon service, I told him of that plan, & suggested an invitation also to Wm, as he is under obligations, I consider, to Mrs. H. D. G. for attentions to him many years ago. But he[underlined] would not thank me for this suggesting.
Before our return from morning service, a letter was left for me as follows; - “N. York 10 May – Dear Sir, “ I have a letter for your sister from Mrs. Pollard. Owing “to my being sick at the St. Nicholas Hotel I am unable “to deliver it in person. Please call & see me – very “truly yours – John. R. Macmurdo.” When dinner was nearly over, I handed this note round for perusal & then proposed to Wm that at such time as would be most convenient to him today, he should ac- -company me on a visit to this sick gentleman. Wm initially seems disinclined, but seeing, I sup -pose, no way of retreat, he assented to my reasonable request, & named between 4 & 5 this afternoon. I told him ^ that with Mr. Macmurdo sick & me so deaf, an inter[underlined] -preter[underliend] was essentially necessary. – When I woke upp from my afternoon nap, on Matthew coming in, I saw nothing of Wm & Walker, & presumed they had gone out. It was nearly 6 when Matthew left; & as I had had insufficient exercise & it was too late then to go to the St. N_ Hotel before T, I took a walk, down 4th St. to 2nd Avenue, along it to 14, up 14th, & home by the 4th avenue & Bowery. – I was struck in
[Marginalia]
11th The “tea-fight” is appointed for Tuesday.
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(5)
this walk with the absence, in [Albion?] Place, & 2nd Avenue, of the desolating or devastating effects that we suffer from in our part of 4th St., from proximity to Broadway. –
When I got back it was 1/2 past 6, & I told Ann to bring in the T apparatus; & Sarah soon joined, me. – I asked her whether Wm & Walker were still out: when she told me they had never been out at al, after they had done smoking their pipes in the garden, but had returned to their own rooms & gone to sleep in their beds, & had not waked up until the hour was long past that had been appointed by Wm. to accompany me to the St. Nicholas.
It was past 7 when we had done T, & we at once started; & whilst we walked I gave Wm. a sketch of Mr. Macmurdo’s antecedents, beginning with “Pickett, Pollard & Johnson,” the Miss Picketts as belles in the days when his (Wm’s.) father first visited Rich- -mond. – I named J. R. Macmurdo’s kind exertions, both with his time & money, to help poor Geo. Pollard after his attempt to destroy himself. – I omitted the gossip on the occasion of Mrs. Macmurdo’s 2nd marriage, & the damage to J. R. Macmurdo’s character from his transactions when Superintendent of the Mint at N.O. with the Canal Bank; but spoke of his business career who[crossed out] previously, when a partner with A. S. Addi -son & Co. who were ruined by Eyre Evans & Co’s. cruelty & selfishness in refusing their bills - &c. &c. I felt it was now a time for the exercise of Charity, & I , knew that such was my motion in now going to see the sick gentleman.
As we entered the hall, or office, at the Hotel, Wm. called my attention to 2 large trunks marked Parker[underlined] – Washington (or Georgetown) D.C. - & before we left the Hotel he ascertained that they belonged as he supposed to “Tom’s Wife’s” family, who are intending, some of them, to go to England shortly.
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but he also learnt that the party have not yet arrived here. – (See the marginal note)
I sent up a card with Mr. Rutson Maury & Mrs.
on it
William Maury ^ , & we were soon ushered up many flights of stairs, to a small[underlined] bed room, having [2 beds][underlined] in it; - on one of which, outside of the bed clothes, lay the sick gentleman at full length, half dressed, & his face & chin bound round with a napkin. He looked much aged & emaciated since I last saw him, 7 years ago, & his hair was of much the same hue as my own. – He was evidently pleased with my call. The young lad who stands in the double relation to him of stepson & nephew, is now grown into a man – but a [mere shrimp][underlined] of a man - & was with him. I asked as to his wife. He said that she had remained in N.O., & that it was at her instigation he had left, in order to recruit his health & strength which were well mighy? worn out
he
by remaining too long in N.O., & the ^ is bound for England with this object – but not immediately.
Besides his general debility, he is suffering much from a boil under his chin. They arrived in a steamer from N.O. last eveng., & the boil had broken out during the latter part of the passage, & was so painful as to deprive him entirely of sleep for 2 nights before they landed. – I recommended his paying a visit to the Sharon Springs, or some of the other Sulphur [underlined] Springs in this State. – He is the bearer of a letter & parcel from Mrs. Pollard to Miss Virga. Adams, & from what Mrs. P_ had said to him, he seemed, I thought to anticipate an invi- tation to shift his quarters from the St. N. Hotel to Degraw St. Brooklyn, whither the letter is addressed;
[Marginalia – Left side]
11th Tom’s wife & her mother called on Sarah this morning. They are to sail from Boston on the
13th
[Marginalia – Right side]
via Europa (this steamer) & one of Mrs Parker’s Sons goes with them. they will stop at the Adelphi, & hope that you will call & see them.
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it
& I suppose his stepson will take ^ there or to Mr. Adams office to-morrow. – I am sure that such a change would be very desirable for his own sake. – The room he is now in was very close, heated & wanting for ventilation. – The thought had passed through my mind of offering him quarters in 4th St, but I did not [intimate?] anything of the kind, & merely made him a general[underlined] offer of my services in case of need. He has not the slightest claims on me but I felt very sorry for him in his present for- -lorn plight. – With this feeling, after I had spent nearly an hour with him, I went to see Mr. & Mrs. Duncan Kennedy, & intend to call to- -morrow on Mr. Whitlock with the same object.
It was 9 p.m., & so, later than I liked for a call
came
on the old folks in 16th. – Mrs. Kennedy was at [‘was at’ crossed out] down stairs at once, & it was not long before Mr. K joined us. – It seemed to me that they fully re= -memberd those portions of the “antecedents” that I purposely omitted in my preliminary talk with
- for Mrs. K_ & her husband each told me that
he did not know[underlined] Mr. Macmurdo; - & so he decli= -ned acting on my suggestion that he should take the part of Good Samaritan, & go & call on Mr. M at the St. N_ Hotel. – Before I left them Mrs. Kennedy desired me to give her kind love to you. –
On reading Mrs. K[crossed out] Pollard’s letter to you, since I got home, I find that she wishes Mrs. Kennedy to read it, & so I must try & see Mr. K – again tomor- =row, at Gilpin’s room, or get Sarah to take it to Mrs. K_ tomorrow. –
It was just after 10 when i got home, & now it is very much later, & I must retire to bed. –
11th May – Walker waked me up this morning, & tho’ it was only 10 minutes past 6 when I came down stairs, I found that both he & Wm. had breakfasted & gone down town. – I was in no hurry to do so myself; & when I was seated at
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my leisure, reading the Times in the dining room, Ann came to tell me there was a gentleman in the front parlour wanting to see me. – It was [Mr. Kennedy][underlined] who had called to say that he & Mrs. K_ had mis[underlined]
the
=taken [underlined] ^ name[underlined] they thought I had said the name of the gentleman was Murdock[underlined], where as they knew (as I had supposed) Mr. Macmurdo [‘ac’ underlined] very well [‘very well’ underlined]; & he would be glad to go & see him today, & had called to tell me this, & to ask me the best time to call. I said “now,[underlined] as you are going down town.” – I was much pleased with this result, & pleased too to put Mrs. Pollard’s letter (after I had read it to him) into his hand to read to his wife, & to be returned to me at the office tomorrow – Since then I have seen him at the Reading Room, & learnt that he called & saw both the gentleman, Mr McM & stepson
It was whilst I was in the yard smoking, & before I came in, that Tom’s wife & mother in law called. Their visit was a very short one, & they had left ere I came in.
I walked slowly down Broadway armed with an
off
umbrella to keep ^ the sun [‘keep...sun’ underlined] when crossing crossing[underlined] the streets, &walking across the Park – Calling at the Post Office, I found in our box a very pleasant letter for me from Harriet, which I now enclose.
William has had his hair clipped close as the Creoles do in the summer time at N.O., & has had his mus =tachios removed at the same time; & despite of what Harriet says, or what the Miss Bold’s may[underlined] say I am thinking of following his example shortly in both[underlined] particulars - & parting with whiskers & beard as well as mustachio - It is too hot today to hunt for that 10c – Part of my time at the office to day has been taken up by a friendly call from Mr. Pantin. – part in writing a note to Mr. Whitlock on [?] of Mr. [Murdo?], but the major portion in reading over what I wrote you last night, & writing this last page.
Gold is cheaper again today & is fluctuating between 48 & 49 -\ I have a most polite reply from Mr. Whitlock saying he will gladly go & see Mr. Macmurdo this evening.
