Transcription
Nevis, Oct 10th 1843. Tuesday
Dear Alex, your nicest, very best letters announcing your happy / return to Madrid, arrived on Friday last, one to papa + me to / me, never were letters more welcome, I am quite surprised at / the rapidity - with which you have gained strength to be able / to start directly off to the Opera, was proof positive that the / ride had not been too much [^ for you] In the morning of the day in which / we got this charming news, we, that is Fanny, Bina Wells, Edward / Laight + myself had walked over to the cottage, + there heard / that the Steamer had arrived, that Mr. Irving was at Versailles / with Sarah, both too happy _ many of the members of the family / have no doubt given you an account of our Hyde Park ex - / cursion, it certainly was very successful, the kindness we re - / ceived + the beauty of the places quite equaled all our / expectations, John Swift, was as drole + original as usual. / Hamilton Wilkes, is a perfect man + a capital sailor, Laight / very gentlemanly + kind, voila les messieurs, les dames. / much more of some bodies than me we expected + we certainly / have every reason to like them, Annie Wilkes has grown no / doubt since you were there, at any rate she is larger than / her mother, a very nice girl, but unfortunately formed _ he / is talking of Uncle Ludlow’s house for the winter, having / Aunt Fan + Uncle Tom with us added very much to our party / but particularly to Ma’s enjoyment who I think had / a very pleasant time, she was entirely relieved as to your / health before she started, the first good news of your recovery came through a letter of Mrs. Ledyards to Fanny, after that / Papa got your new + sent us word all shout them. He was not / able to go with us unfortunately on account of business _
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Tuesday Oct 17th. A week as you see by the dates dear Alex has / passed since I wrote the first page + in the mean time / Mary has written by the Cunard Steamer + John Bryant has / sailed in the Liverpool packet yesterday; strongly inclined / for Madrid [^ for] the winter, we sent some notes by him _ he has / taken Richards back with him, We hope that he will / join Mr. Irving in Paris + he with you this winter, Mary / gave you an account of James King, [?] I suppose it / was pronounced perfectly successful, + [^ one] of the distingue’s / present was [Mrs?] S. Ward, your old west point friend / married to the pretty Miss Grimes _ it has excited a good / deal of talk, + people generally think that he seems a great / risk with such a mama but he is desperately in love / que voulez vous” _ one afternoon last week, the young ladies / of the cottage drove over with Hector, who was as shy / as you discribe him, we went over to asked him to dine / the next day, but he had gone, I am sorry is so happens / though I doubt much whether we should have been able / to have got him to talk to so many women _ Bow left / us [two girls] on Sunday afternoon at the little church on his way to / the boat, to leave New York on Monday, to be present at / Miss Winthrop’s marriage this day evening; the groom you know / is Dr. Warren _ uncle to the sweet Ellen who is to be present + whom he says he [^ Bow] means to play the agreeable Aunt Fan / + Uncle Ludlow, had driven up to dine with us, just from / their church, where they had been detained very long by / a [^ very] young clergyman lecturing them upon their duty to the / Bishop it was so strong + [made] Mr. Morris was so impatient / under it, that he got up + left the church _ this gives you a slight / idea of the excitement upon this subject
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Yesterday Monday we passed very quietly + very busily / in the afternoon Mary + I started for one walk, to the / post office, just as we were going down [Stimetz’s] hill / who should we se coming up in Mrs Constants carriage but / Master G.L.S. talking + laughing of course, he got out + / joined us, we had a very pleasant evening hearing all / about every body + every thing, he has now got a new / project in his head of a ferry from New York to New / Brighton which of course he thinks will be a great matter / the Eureka is to be finished this week + they hope to / put her on the route on Monday next, they all feel very / good about that business, the old Mutual is doing well / now; George left us this morning with one of the horses, / which he means to change if possible, Do you see [dear-??] / we are at our old tricks again, the only fault of this little / horse was that he would stop some times + stand g-[wax seal] / still, what [^ all] the plans will end in for making money which / these gents talk over I do not know, they are still in the bud / + time can alone develop them, I must leave you for a while / as it has grown so grey that I can hardly see __ _ We have / just said good night to Mr. + Mrs. Minturn who came over at / sun down + drank tea they are both as pleasant people as / you can find, she is very entertaining + quite clever + he bright / + interested as can be, Ma + Pa leave for town tomorrow / moring, Molly + I are going to stop at Yonkers _ Aunt Fan / is going to take Grandma up to Claverack, in the nest / chester, which is to stop for them at their dock, tomorrow / evening. We mean to console Uncle Ludlow for a day or so _ / The two Georges expect to run a race with the [Minna?] tomorrow _ they start / for Mr. Stevens Amboy he joins them with the [Limerack?] + they all take / a sail, + dine afterwards with him _ can you believe it, the collector /
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Offered Geroge the other day 15.00. Dollars for the Dream, her reputation is up / you see, he asks 2.000 + then says he would build another with improve - / ments, I shall hate to part with her she is filled with agreeable / associations, I cannot imagine however that there is much probability / at that price, We see by the papers that Bul[were?] is to be sent to Spain / I should not think he could fill up the void made by Mr. Aston’s / absence, We hope a good deal from Mrs. Calderon, from you she / is certainly intelligent + we found her amiable + disposed to be agreeable / but [helas?] where is Mrs. Scott + her sweet little conquetish /
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Ways, I fear this winter you will miss many of your last years / acquaintances, + if new ones do not come to take their places, you will / feel the change _ but if John hets to your he will be a great addition _ / pray try to induce him to take up the pencil, by setting him the / example _ I do not hear of you ever sketching I trust you do not mean / to let such a good opportunity pass, for en riching our little stock of / your drawings _ I forgot to mention, that Mrs Smith has bought a place / on Long Island for our cousin Alex, he is charmed of course he goes to / it in the Spring _ it has always been the height of his wishes _ the country
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Remember us all to Mr. Irving when he returns, Sarah / seems to think he is very much altered + the poor / little niece long for his return, pray take good care of / yourself _ let the experience of the past teach you / + please remember that the climate of Madrid is / not the same as you have always been accustomed / to, our family young + old [wax seal] all well _ I hope in / the next letters you will b-[wax seal] to say you have almost / reached that point _ Good night _ Molly is asleep in the / chair __. Yours forever _ Angelica
[ADDRESS]
From Angel
October 10h 1843
–––––––––––––––
Mr. Alexander Hamilton
Secretary of the Legation of the U.S.
Madrid
Care of
John Miller
U.S. despatch Agent
13 Henrietta St.
Covent Garden
LondonTranscriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
English
