.NDk5.NjY0
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via [steamer] Africa 4th St[reet] [New York, NY] – Monday night – 14 Sept[ember] [18]’63
Dear Ann – Since I wrote you for Saturday’s steamer none has arrived from your side; & so I have as yet nothing from you later than your letter via [steamer] Scotia, ter= =minating on the morning [underscored] of the 29th ult[im]o. [29 August] – We had no letters via [steamer] Adriatic [from Galway [Ireland]) from anybody at all, tho’ she sailed some days after the Scotia & arrived here at midnight on Saturday. – But surely tomorrow one of the Inmann line, or Bremen line, ought to arrive.
On Saturday I walked 5 1/2 miles, & yesterday about the same. Today I have walked upwards of 7 miles, -vizt. both down [town] & up [town], & after a good nap, prior to T[ea] (at 9 a.m.[p.m.]) I turned out & went to 31st St[reet] & back; & I am not behind hand in the matter of sleep either. –
On Sat[urday] afternoon, I rec[eive]d another letter from James at N[ew] O[rleans] [Louisiana] with [struck-through] giving a still better report of Louisa.
At night I copied both his letters, & now enclose you the copy, which will be specially interesting to Fontaine, as well as yourself, & may answer also for the edification of Mytton or Tobin. Perhaps it were better to send it to Tobin, & omit Mytton, as it is desirable to cultivate brotherly affection between James & Tobin.
William went off alone, via 9 1/2 train today & returned about 8, I suppose, whilst I was napping before T[ea]. He & Walker had spent most of the day in fishing; - & they caught 25 small fry in a salt water mill pond. Walker managed to bait the hook for himself but I do not think he could compass extracting the hook from the poor little fishes he caught. – W[illia]m says he is well, & that his arm is going on well; but that ligature has not come out yet, - Walker has been consulting the Doctor there, [Dunnington, Darien, Connecticut] who has seen the wound, & says it is doing well, but that several weeks (I think W[illia]m said 6 [underscored]) may yet elapse before it is entirely healed. – I hope the D[octo]r is mistaken -for various reasons - & one of these is, I hope this may not be a reason for Sarah & himself being so long the guests of Miss Dunning, or so long absent from 4th St[reet] – It is bad for Sarah to be so long there, & I do not think it necessary for Walker. “10 days” was the period first named for this Dunnington visit; but Sarah would be glad, I suppose, to extend it to 10 weeks! [underscored] – I am sure that my own plan was the best; that they should remain in or about Orange [New Jersey], (for the sake of being near D[octo]r Pearson as one rea=
quite
=son) until D[octo]r P[earson] dismissed his patient as ^ cured. – The best D[octo]r to consult as to a wound from amputation is unquestionably the one who performed the operation, [‘performed the operation’ underscored] as none but he can tell so well the position of the parts in the interior of the wound.
This ligature being still in (30 days, instead of 20, after the operation) is a feature I don’t like. – Perhaps I may pay a visit to D[octo]r Wilkes tomorrow morning, [‘tomorrow morning’ underscored] to ask him about it. – I may perhaps have
[Marginalia]
Sept[ember 9 70 74 1/2 10 61 69 11 59 1/2 70 12 59 1/2 75 1/2 13 68 1/2 70 14 64 71 15 65 1/2
Deaths week ending 12th 487 (much under the average) where of 249 5 & under & 54 chol[era] inft. 37 diarrhea 10 dip[h]th[eria]
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another motive for calling on D[octo[r W[ilkes] tomorrow – vizt. to ask him to call here & see David Spence, who returned here whilst I was napping before T[ea]. He complained of head-ache, & said he has felt unwell ever since he left here on Friday. I suggested it was something of the nature of Influenza, & I fancy he was damaged by that mis= =erable hour & a half of exposure foot of Barclay St[reet] on Wednesday night: but he says it is his Liver that is disordered. Any how I prescribed my grand panacea for head-ache, a warm [pedilar?] [=vium?] [pedilavium?] before going to bed; & all was arranged for it with Ann, & he was going off to bed, at about 1/2 past 9, when I turned out for my last walk; & it was agreed that he was not to rise in the morning as early as needful for me & W[illia]m for an 8 o’clock breakfast.
I enclose a letter I rec[eive]d from Mrs. Cox on Saturday, an account of
the dimensions & other particulars it contains respecting the Silk Stock
=ings she wants you to buy for her. – I do not understand what
she means by the “11 inches.” – If you do, then please get what
she wants. But if not, then wait for the chance of the letter yet
reaching me that she adverts so: - for this is the first one I
had from her for many weeks, I think. – You know her foot
is eminently small.
15th – I did not go to D[octo]r Wilkes this morn[in]g. – David has a D[octo]r of his own here whom he consults when he wants medical aid – one Dr. Van Kleeck, & he consulted him last night before he came to 4th St[reet]. – The D[octo]r ordered him to take 2 aperient pills that he gave him, one at night & the other in the morn[in]g, saying they operated mildly. The one he took last night operated very powerfully, so that he had to pay several visits to the W[ater] C[loset] after 4 a.m. until 8 a.m., & we agreed that that was enough, & that he ought not to take the other one today. As he was up, he thought he had best stay up, & so came down to prayers & breakfast at 1/2 past 8, but he had better have kept his bed for he still has the head ache, & has no appetite. He took bare- =ly a mouthful of bread & a cup of T[ea]. – At my advice he had gone back to his bed room, & was cultivating sleep on the top of the bed when I went to see him before I came down town. And I commissioned Mary & Ann to look after him. – Perhaps a good sleep is all that he needs.
I walked down [town] myself & filled a ba-asket with Peaches on the way, of which 15 are inside Matthew’s little bag. – I perspired so feely, from the exercise that (as yesterday) I put on another coat, & now have on 2 coats to day my inner garments, & prevent my being chilled. So you see I am taking good care of “No. 1.” - \ The [steamship] Hausa has arrived, but she brings us no letters. The [steamship] City of Manchester that arrived off Cape Race [Newfoundland] some days ago, ought to arrive today.
At the office I found a letter dictated by Miss Lippett as follows: “Providence [Rhode Island] 14 Sept[ember] – My dear Friend. You must not think I have been unmind =ful of your kindness in writing to me of Walker’s condition. But I have been so very ill myself, it has prevented the power of dictating an en= =quiry, tho’ he has been very often in my thoughts. If either you or Sarah will write me how he has been, & now is, since his return to 4th St[reet], I shall feel very much obliged. – I hope you still continue to have pleasant ac- =counts from your Sister, & hope she will not hasten her return form the
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enjoyment of so many & so [struck-through] kind friends. – You will pardon the brevity of my note, as I feel quite inadequate to dictate another line owning to weakness from my extreme illness. [‘extreme illness’ underscored] – My love to Walker & Sarah, & accept the assurance of the gratitude of your friend. L A L[ippett] –
From the tenour of this letter it would seem to me almost as if our worthy friend Miss L[ippett] might very soon be numbered with the dead! –
I at once wrote her a page & had it posted before 1/4 to 1, devoting about 1/3rd of it to you & 2/3rd to Walker. – I said I was very sorry she had been at the trouble even of dictating this letter, & sincerely hoped that my reply would find her much better. – I must send the original of Miss Lip= =pett’s letter to Walker. \ - I then wrote a note to Aunt E[lizabeth] for Matthew to take up this afternoon. I did not advert to $1 15, but told her how much gratified I had been yesterday with Ja[me]s clear articulation.
W[illia]m has an answer today form the Surgeon in chief at Gettysburg [Pennsylvania], saying they have no such name as “Edward R. Stamps” on their list of wounded prisoners. – He has no answer yet from Fort Delaware. - [Pea Patch Island, Delaware]
Today W[illia]m saw Mr. Adler here, who told him he has a letter from his brother the D[octo]r at N[ew] O[rleans] [Louisiana] – dated the 5th - & saying that Louisa was steadily improving. –
Mr. Ludlow & Sophy dined with us on Sunday & so helped us to consume some of the Peaches I had bo[ugh]t on Friday when I imagined that W[illia]m & S[arah] were to go to Dunnington on Saturday morning. \\ N[ota] B[ene]. There were still 6 of them left & in good preservation yesterday morn[in]g, when I wrapped up each separately in paper & then made a paper bundle of all 6, which (rather re= =luctantly) he carried with him for I had not time to go to market, & I thought these 6 were better than none. \\ On Sunday even[in]g when M [struck-through] he was sitting with them (Mr. L[udlow] & Sophy) at the Lafarge [House, New York, NY] Mr. L[udlow] was seized with a chill, [underscored] & went off to bed at once. – W[illia]m remained there some time afterwards, & when he left at night the subsequent stage of Fever was in full play.
Nevertheless Mr. L[udlow] & Sophy went yesterday to Staten Island [New York], according to his original intention to sojourn with Mr. Stephen K. Ludlow. And as there was a letter from Harriet to Sophy care of Maury Bro[ther]s yesterday, perhaps W[illia]m has gone down to S[taten] I[sland] this afternoon. But I don’t know that he had this intention. –
I walked home from church with the 3 older Miss Hadden’s on Sunday.
Yesterday evening when Matthew & I had had a talk after dinner on National affairs he went off to pay his respects to the Miss Haddens. In our talk after dinner, he said he thought it not unlikely that we may have Peace by the end of the year. He said it might come upon us suddenly like the Peace at Solferino. – I said that the one-man power, [‘one-man power’ underscored] essential to such a sudden result was altogether wanted in this country. – We spoke of Charleston [South Carolina], & I said I did not think it can be captured in other condition than as a mass of ruins -or speaking non figuratively, as a heap of ashes! - & that I consider= =ed that the effect of burning Charleston by shelling it, would not accelerate Peace, but the contrary. – He said that the violent Abolition =ists here were all hoping that Charleston might be burnt; & I said that that only went to strengthen my view of the case. – I said that counter -revolution at the South against [Confederate States President] Jeff[erson] Davis & Co[mpany] was the grand desideration to bring about Peace; & that such feelings at the North were calculated to prevent this counter-revolution at the South.
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I said, we may have several of revolted States back again into the Union even as early as next winter; but we can’t have Peace until [United States President] Lincoln’s term is out. – He said he felt very confident that the Democrats would not be able to elect the next Pres= =ident. – I said, very possibly not: - for the next President will I think be a man of super[i]or order – a high minded, & truly national [underscored] man - & not a partizan – a man who will be elected by moderate [underscored] men of both parties.
I don’t feel in a good vein for write this afternoon.
Gold has been on the decline nearly all the day. It opened this morning at 132 3/4 & closes about 131 1/4. – There is Charles =ton news this afternoon by a vessel thence at F[or]t Monroe, [Hampton, Virginia] & it states that firing from F[or]t Moultrie [Sullivan's Island, Charleston, South Carolina] has ceased & that a while flag was floating on that Fort on the 12th.
Yours affectionately R[utson] Maury
