.NTA3.Njcy
[1]
via [steamer] Arabia 4th St[reet] [New York, NY] 26 Sept[ember] 1863 Sat[urday] night
Dear Ann
I walked both ways today, & with a supplementary walk since T[ea], have md [struck-through] made out fully 7 miles. –
At the office, which I left at 4 p.m., I did not work very hard, but was not idle. – I got our Tin-box from the Bank (handing the “Cer= =berus” as our Father used to call the porter at the Botanic Garden [‘Botanic Garden’ underscored] – a written order in favor of the Bearer – i.e. myself) and was thus duly armed with all the papers to confront Mr. Labau [Nicholas Bergasse La Bau], whenever he should call. –
I then set to work upon a letter to James for today’s St[eame]r, & gave him 2 pages & enclosed Fontaine’s letter of 2 Sept[ember] to the L[iver]pool [England] Courier. – I told him that you had informed me of Fontaine’s destination, & that I felt much displeased thereat, & chiefly at his dishonourable breach of parole. – I told him all about R[obert] L. Taylor & Duncan Sherman & Co[mpany], & suggested his at once writing a suitable letter to Mr. Taylor, acknowledging his kindness & liberality: - & finally I gave the leading particulars connected with the death of Capt[ain] Maude & Tom Addison, & your movements actual & projected.
I got in (chiefly thro’ the agency of John Russell as collector) $24,000 for Cotton sold, and (through him) lodged it in the B[ank] of Commerce, where we now have over $39,000 lying idle, besides $3000 in the B[ank] of N[ew] York. – What we are to do with this mon =ey, I don’t know. – Prior its temporary employment in remitting Hodgson Mather & Co[mpany] £4,570 [underscored] at 146 3/4 in anticipation of collections for the Cotton we sold for them on 18th inst[ant], [18 September] I told Matthew that I thought our best plan would be simply to buy Sterling to replace the £4,000 we had unfortunately sold at 142. – Today with Gold at 139, the price of Sterling has been 154 for Bankers Bills. –
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When I had made the aforesaid Bank deposits, & mailed the letter to James, I quietly sat down & fortified myself with 2 Soda biscuits, & had resumed my work, in making some calculations as to breadstuffs, wh [struck-through] to fill up time until Mr. Labau [La Bau] should call. – At last he came at about 1/4 past 2; & my interview with him was courteous & gentlemanly, & frank, both on his part & mine. – I had all my papers arranged as
instruments
systematically as D[octo]r Parml[e]y has his ^ whilst the patient is seated beside him in the arm-chair.
to him
1st I shewed ^ copy of my letter to him of 10 July (that Walker left at No. 5 Bowling Green [Staten Island, NY] announcing the rec[eip]t of Mr. Leech’s Power of Attorney: - 2nd my letter of 31 July to D[octo]r Bartlett asking his aid in finding Mr. La Bau. – 3rd the D[octo]r’s reply to 4th Aug[us]t (from what proved to be his death-[underscored] bed;) 5th Mr. Leech’s letter of 8 May approving of our sale of the Mortgage at a discount of $110, & promising the Power; 5th Mr. Leech’s Power & the letter of 25 June (I think) accompanying it, (which was rec[eive]d the evening of 9th July.) – 6th the Bond & Mortgage. –
He said he did not any longer doubt our hav- =ing duly notified him of the receipt of the Power, & towards the close of our talk he said he was free to confess that had he been on the spot to have rec[eive]d our note of 10th July, he would have at once paid us the $1600, without one word of objection for he was not aware then [underscored] of the retched condition & location of the property, - & it was evident to me, that it was only after Dr. Bartlett’s death that he had examined it & discovered the said mistake he had made.
I sympathised with him on this mistake, & said his letter was so perfectly clear, that I
[Marginalia – left side of page]
As I suggested to Mr. Labau [La Bau], the probability is that our 10 July letter to
[Marginalia – right side of page] [continuation from right side marginalia] him was sent after him whilst he was travelling about, & that he thus missed receiving it – as so often occurs in such cases.
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felt as if I had been present when he & his
property
agents were inspecting the ^. – It was plain I said that whilst he had kindly intended to aid Dr. Bartlett, or his heir, he had in fact only been aid =ing the Mortgagees. [underscored] But still I said that we ought to look at this as a business [underscored] transaction as between himself & us as representing Mr. Leech; -that he[underscored] had been no [w[o]rse?] endamaged by the delay. Mr. Leech being the only sufferer by it in the loss of 5 mo[nth]s interest (26 April to 26 Sept[ember]) upon the $1600; - that as to the subsequent discovery of the nature of the property, it might be likened to Maury Bro[ther]s now buying a quantity of ^ Cotton, & before we had disposed of it learning that Charleston [South Carolina] was captured, [Confederate President] Jeff[erson] Davis dead, [Confederate] Gen[era]l [Robert E.] Lee committed suicide, etc: and whole concern broken up! – He observed that it was not a correct simile; inasmuch as he [underscored] was not to have gained[underscored] anything had the property been found such as he supposed. – I said that was true; but his position was similar to that of an endorser [underscored], or of one who lent money to enable others to profit by it. – I said not a word to wound his amour proper; & yet I fancy I conducted the case in Mr. Leech’s defence about as skillfully as Mr. O’Connor or Mr. Wetmore could have done. – I told him that we could not take upon ourselves to absolve him for his engage- =ment, but that I had to-day forwarded a copy of his letter to us, to Mr. Leech. – I said nothing -neither did he – as to our accepting a less sum than $1600, tho’ I think it will end in that; for he told me that he had an ap=
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-pointment on Monday, at noon, at No. 5 Bowling Green, [‘No....Green’ underscored] with builders etc. who are looking after this Bartlett property for him & are then to lay before him certain estimates as to repairs etc:, and that after that interview -say about 1 o’clock on Monday, he will call again & see us. – So far, then, all looks well, I think, for Matthew & him then coming to a settlement, & an [struck-through] a simultaneous interchange of Money & papers: for I am sure that, both for Mr. Leech’s sake & our own, we ought not to let Mr. La Bau slip out of our hand; and I also have strong hopes & expectations that Mr. La Bau will on Monday make us such an offer as, under all the circumstances, we should be fully justified in accepting. – Any how I have done my [underscored] part - & done it well [underscored] & thoroughly [underescored]; -& on the whole I am glad that the prelimin =ary interview devolved on me rather than on Matthew, because it saves him time & trou- =ble, & because he never would have had the patience to go thro; with the whole case as minutely [underscored] & completely as I have done today.
It was not so much to edify you [underscored], as Matthew [underscored], that I have now put down all this in writing. –
Mr. La Bau said I was right in supposing that he was spending his time at watering places & travelling about, during the hot weather from 10 July to the time of D[octo]r Bartlett’s death. And it is plain also that No. 5 Bowing Green is still his place of business in town.
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On walking home to dinner, as I passed long W[illia]m St[reet], I filled my 2 baskets with Peaches & Pears, & had also 5 of the latter in my amiable pockets: & on depositing these in the house I took off an uncom =fortable pair of boots & put on my slippers, & then went to Mr. Dean’s in Broadway for a 30¢ sponge -cake. On my return I washed face & paws & wrote a little note, preparatory to the return of Sarah & Walker from Dunnington [Darien, Connecticut] asking Cha[rle]s Van ness to dine with us tomorrow, on the plea of meeting them & seeing W[illia]m again before he goes to St. Louis [Missouri]. – At last, at 1/4 to 6 (in lieu of 5) all 3 presented themselves, & then I went to No. 19 G[rea]t Jones St[reet] & left said note. – Walker looks as well & rosy as I ever saw him; & Sarah looks well too, but I can judge better of her, after seeing her tomorrow by daylight. –
I had ordered dinner somewhat after the pat =tern of the “fatted calf.” – The remains of a cold leg of lamb were hashed up nicely, & there was a large sirloin beef steak broiled & full supply of baked oysters, followed by an abundance of Peaches & Pears, & the Dean sponge cake – all of which seemed to give satisfac- -tion; & David [Spence] again (by my orders) had his [hot?] Port-wine negas, besides a glass previously [un...?]- [-...d?] with water. –
Sarah, unbidden by me, but with my full appro =bation , ordered Ann after dinner to fix in the grates in both parlours. Ann first carefully removed all the soot & dirt that had fallen down the chimn[e]ys since they were swept, & there was a huge mass of it. We soon had a cheer= =ful fire blazing in the front parlour, which David seemed greatly to enjoy: tho’ Sarah’s motive
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as she said, was Walker’s welfare, as they have had fires daily at Dunnington for some time past. – And I will confess that I had by far the sounder & more comfortable nap after dinner owing to the warmth of the fire.
I have ordered breakfast at 8 for tomorrow, & it is now high time for me to retire, as all the rest have done hours ago.
I was amused at a visit I had one day this week from the Collector of donations for the Ragged Schools – He apologised for the short interval since his last application by saying that the schools are now at (or in) a Crisis [underscored] (in their pecuniary affaires he meant) & I might have said in reply that I never knew them to be otherwise situated: - but I con= =tented myself by giving him $2, & putting down my name in his book (a new [underscored] one) opposite to it together with the date. –
I always admire the man’s assiduity & patience.
Sunday night 27 Sept[ember] – The family move= =ments this morning were later than I wished. It was past 8 when I rose, & it devolved on me to wake all the rest; so it was 9 before we sat down to breakfast, I being down the first & making T[ea] etc. before any of the others appeared. But at last they all come down in a volley.
I should observe, however, that Walker’s arm (which I have not yet seen uncovered) has to be dressed daily by Sarah, & she does this before breakfast. On my cross questioning him this evening, he says it is still discharging from 2 places, some distance apart: & that it is not yet painless, tho’ the aching is, he says, vastly diminishing.
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his breakfast
Directly after W[illia]m had finished ^ , according to appointment, he went down to Whitehall to meet Sophy Field at the Staten Isl[an]d boat, & take her to Trinity Church, & then bring her up to dinner (N[ota] B[ene] They are to leave on Tuesday for St. Louis.)
Walker, at a later hour, went to Trinity too; & David to S[ain]t. [Bartholomews?], & Sarah & I to S[ain]t. Tho[ma]s – where we had Dr. Morgan. He gave out some long notice; but I have not had the oppor
Sarah
=tunity of asking her [struck-through] ^ what it was about.
It has been a magnificent day & night, not a cloud to be seen, wind N[orth] W[est] & a pleasant breeze. \ The church was fuller than for a long time past; tho’ a number of the regular attend- =dants are still in the country. The body of the church was well filled, but not the galleries. Sarah had a number of greetings; but I saw nothing more of her until dinner time, as on coming out of church, I at once crossed the St[reet] & walked at my utmost speed up the 5th Ave[nue] to 40th St[reet]. For want of shade, most of the way, I made myself very warm. I got back in
my
good time; for as I reached Palmer’s corner on ^ return, I met Mr. V[an] Ness coming to take his dinner with us: - in anticipation of which I had told Mary, just before I went to church, to add a leaf to the table. – With so many more mouths to consume the viands, I had ordered yesterday a rump of Beef, & a Rice pudding: & I went up stairs before dinner to get some preserves – some Peaches (mark =ed by you “re-covered”) because Mr. V[an] N[ess] you say is partial to the same.
We had Lima Beans, sweet Potatoes & Irish
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dittos, a long with the Beef. When I helped Walker to Beef, I cut it upon the plate before handing it to him, & hid did not object to my doing so.
Everybody seemed t enjoy the dinner, & Mr. V[an] Ness I thought the most of all; & Sophy next. The abundance of Pears & Peaches experienced a consumption proportionate to the supply,
After dinner the top of the Piano was raised (to make the more noise.) Sophy performed & sang; & other joined in the chorusses.
By & bye they all dispersed save David & I. Mr. V[an] Ness going to his own church; & Sarah & W[illia]m going off with Sophy to S[taten] I[sland], or to the S[taten] I[sland] boat only- I dont know which; for that is the last I have seen of them; as they had not returned when David, Walker & I had finished T[ea] at 8 a.m. – Mr. V[an] Ness expects his Sister here tomorrow even[in]g. – I took a much longer nap than I expected, tho’ not longer, I suppose, than was good for me. It was all but 6 when I woke up, & then I turned out & took a brisk walk until 7. – After T[ea] I turned out again at 10 minutes to 8 & walked & walked, as hard as I could, in the bright moonlight, & in an hour & 12 minutes I reached 80th St[reet]; & it took me just the same time to return. I have thus performed nearer 16 than 15 [’16 than 15’ double underscored] miles walking today, & feel all the better for it – somewhat tired of course, & a little foot sore, as I walked after church the first 4 miles in tight [underscored] shoes, & the roomy ones I used after are not smooth to the soles of my feet. When I got back at 25 min
10
=utes past ^ all but the serv[an]ts had gone to bed. The Therm[omete]r at sunrise was 49 [degrees] but it reached 65 [degrees] in the day.
[Marginalia] We have had 2 fires burning all day! It is not all but 12 & I am off to bed.
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(9) 28 Sept[ember] – To-day being your birth
day – tho’ we had no feast for the oc
=casion – indeed nothing beyond the “common doings” of Monday (cold beef, some baked oysters, a fresh sponge- cake & plenty of pears & peaches) – we had a glass of Port wine all round (in most instances a “bumper”) & the sentiment proposed by me was, “Miss “Maury’s good health - & a happy re= “=turn to N[ew] York.” – I hope it was a beautiful bright for you , whether at L[iver]pool][England] or elsewhere, & that it has found you well & happy, & hopeful in all re= spects, here & hereafter. –
Last even[in]g W[illia]m & Sarah went over with Sophy to S[taten] Isl[an]d; & finding Mr. Ludlow in waiting for her at the landing, they returned in the same boat, & got back to 4th St[reet] at 8 1/2 p.m.
And today Mr. Ludlow & Sophy came over & took up their quarters at the Lafarge [House, New York, NY] prepara =tory to one of those very early flittings in the morning, which I have always held in utter abomination. [‘utter abomination’ underscored] to be in time for the 7 a.m. express train on the Erie R[ail] R[oad] -, they are to start, W[illia]m from this house & the other two from the Lafarge, at 6! They are profes= =sedly to “take it easy” [‘take it easy’ underscored] – all stuff & non =sense; for the 2 juniors will of course start tired [‘start tired’ underscored] (like Aunt Elizabeth) to begin with. –
We were all down to breakfast this morn[in]g
[Marginalia]
Sept[ember] Min[imum] Max[imum]
23 50 61 1/2 24 52 1/2 66 25 56 1/2 61 26 51 60 27 49 65 28 53 66 29 54
Mortality week ending Sept[ember] 26th 447 5 & less 212 Cholera Inft 29 Diarrhea 26
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before Sarah, who appeared after we had had prayers. – W[illia]m has been busy all day making his preparations for the journey, & I suppose that he & Sofl [struck-through] Sarah have been assisting Sophy with here. – It devolved on Mr. Ludlow to get the “through tickets,” which I saw him exhibiting this evening. – When Matthew & I, after riding up to =gether in a R[ail] R[oad] car, reached 4th St[reet], I found the dinner table set out for 8, Mr. Ludlow & Sophy being in the front parlour; but Mr. L[udlow] did not stay, as he said he had already [underscored] dined at his customary [underscored] hour, & had some business to attend to at the Hotel. But he returned after we had dined some time, & I persuaded him to drink a glass of sherry (with a piece of sponge cake) in honour of your birdy-day –
(11 1/2 p.m. Sarah, whom I supposed to have been in bed an hour ago, has just come down stairs & gone up again, after telling me that she has just finished packing up for William! [‘packing...William’ underscored] I did not exclaim, as I felt, “What nonsense! ‘W[illia]m is not one-handed like Walker.” – I do
all
not remember in ^ my journeyings having ever packed up by proxy. – However, the packing, she says, is all completed; & I hope W[illia]m will be up in good time for this abominably early start. – Sarah took this opportunity to say: “We met with Dr. Wilkes today, & he told “us that Mrs. King has latterly been quite [underscored] un= “=well, but is a good deal better today. –
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“She calls it a cold, but he thinks it more “of the nature of an intermittent fever: - & “a number of otthe [struck-through] other members of the King “family have had colds. The Dr. also said, “that it having him recommended to Mr. Ban “=croft Davis not to live near the sea (all tom-foolery I think) “he has sold his “house in town & is intending to live on the “No[rth?] River, somewhere about Poughkeepsie [New York] – “where the climate resembles that of the “So[uth] of France !!!” [‘where...France’ underscored] (whereupon I said “just “about as much as the climate of Switzerland [underscored] “does!)
I enclose you a pleasant letter from Har= =riet of 23rd inst[ant] [23 September], because (chiefly) of the commission it contains for you, to buy Scissors for Corney. – It came seasonably today, to shew to the travellers bound for St. Louis before they set out. And as my dispatch to you will exceed the 1/2 oz., I also enclose a wee note from Aunt E[lizabeth] today returning your letters end[in]g 8 & 12 inst[ant] [8 & 12 September] (the last news, as yet, that I have from you) – likewise my last letters from Miss Lippett & Mrs. Cox. – (provided they dont make the letter exceed 1 oz.)
It is time I should be having another letter from James – 11 Sept[ember] being the date of his last And I presume that this week will bring another d[ra]ft of Rutson’s for the monthly $250. –
Walker went down town today & was at the office before I got there at 11. I asked him to
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to sit to work to prosecute certain enquires at the Br[itish] Consulate, as requested by old Mr. J[oh]n Davis of Phila[delphia] (Geo[rge] Y’s brother] – but finding he was in- =tending to go about with W[illia]m to aid him in his various purchases etc. etc. I told him to defer the Davis matter until tomorrow; & after 11 I saw no more of either of them until 6 p.m. when M[atthew] & I came here to dinner. –
I walked down [town] at a brisk pace this morning, & felt neither stiff in any of my joints, nor foot sore; & since T[ea] (& a nap before T[ea]) have walked 2 miles. On my telling M[atthew] of my 15 or 16 miles’ performances yes= =terday, he said that he too was afoot for more than 5 hours yesterday, walking about on mountain tops.
It has been a busy day with him, chiefly from our having sold out today in one line, all of our
468 bales -5¢
Cotton ^ at 78¢ - 4¢ ^ beyond its value last week: for the L[iver]pool market on 14 & 15th being in a blaze, this market has caught the infection at last, & we have now succeeded in obtaining 3¢ above the limits.
This, in money, [underscored] is by far the heaviest sale we ever have made – amounting to $165 to $168,000! – But our nett comm[ission] is only$1,650 to $1,680 – i.e. 1% only
M[atthew] has contracted for the Sterling, as we may want it, £24,000 in all. (thro’, or with, Wotherspoon & Co[mpany] c 154.
Today Gold closes at 141. –
The difference in the price of Sterling since we made that unfortunate sale amounts to $2,700: & this is equivalent to more than our comm[ission] upon today’s sales of Cotton, & a good deal of what we had sold previously. – But I have not made any remarks on this head to Matthew. He is pleased at today’s sale; & I am too.
We have been very unlucky in the management
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of our own financial matters, & mainly be= =cause Matthew has either acted directly contrary to my advice, or without consulting me at all. – He has been swayed by his Republican, partisan notions of a speedy sur= =render [‘speedy surrender’ underscored] of the South. –
If I know myself (?) I am not cursed with the “auri sacra fames;” [The accursed greed for gold] – but still Success is, of course, pleasant to me, & blunders are un= =pleasant. [‘unpleasant’ underscored] – It would, however, be very wrong to repine when our pecuniary affairs afford, on the contrary, such abundant cause for thank =fulness – especially to persons of an advanced years. –
Now that all the Cotton is sold at last, it seems to me likely that we shall have in a short time nothing to do, & this at a time when we shall be ready, all of us, - Matthew myself, Walker & John – to attend to far more
to look after
business than was possible ^ during the heat of summer, the Cornwall [New York] rustication & Walker’s disability & my endless writing produced by that disability. But this too ought not to be
(if it should prove to be the fact)
a subject of complaint ^ , when there is so strong a call for gratitude in Walker’s recovery & in the good health of Matthew & myself.
I set to work to-day resolutely upon Day Book entries & completed one page through, but extend =ing no farther than 8th Aug[ust] [underscored] – I am vexed, as I proceed in this task, at finding so much slovenliness, laziness, & want of method [‘slovenliness...method’ underscored] in
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in Walker’s entries in the Books since I resigned my post as book-keeper. It gives me an infinity of trouble to try & get matters straight, but I shall persist until I have [brought?] up the lee-way; & even then I shall be in no hurry to let him resume his charge of the Books –
We must contrive, if we can, to give him more work out of doors, & less – much less – at the desk.
Mr. La Bau called today, soon after 1; but it was only because he had said he would do so, for he told me that the persons who had ap= =pointed to meet him at 5 Bowling-green today, had failed to do so, & he said he would call again after he had seen them. – This was just as well, because Matthew was so much occu= =pied, that he had not then read (as he has since done) what I had written on the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th pages of this letter; & thus was not prepared to talk or treat with Mr. La Bau. –
Mr. Barter, the Vault-builder, called today & had to wait some time before Matthew (who was more than 1/2 an hour later than usual) had reached the office. – He brought 2 very large brass keys of the Vault, one for Matthew to keep & the other for us, & ours will be placed in my Fathers “Sanctum” in my room, & the other is in our tin-box at Bank. He had further to say that Granite is now so very expensive -fully 50% above its usual cost – that he
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recommended our waiting until it returns to it ordinary price, & thus postponing the erection of an fence around the 2 Lots; & as the boundaries are well defined as they stand, we assented to this postponement.
As I walked down town this morning I saw at a wholesale & retail furniture store on Broadway between Maiden Lane & Liberty St[reet] numbers of baskets of “Morris Whites;” [‘Morris Whites’ underscored] but did not ask the price.
When Sarah made her unexpected incursion down stairs after finishing packing up for W[illia]m, I asked the purport of Dr. Morgan’s long notice yesterday, & she said it was all about the Sunday School, but did not state any particulars.
29th W[illia]m left at 6 a.m. I have letters of 21st from Ja[me]s & Rutson – Louisa well & going about the house, & in the garden, but still very weak.
Y[our]s affectionately R[utson] Maury
