Transcription
Sunday evening Oct 28 (43
I begin my letter dear Alex under all the quietening / effects of a cold in the head, eyes, nose all sympathising / most [mettingly?]; but this is not the only indication that winter / is coming upon us, but the absence of the cottagers who left/ this after crossed out? [^ noon] with Bina Wells, is a much more disagreeable / symptom of the same approach. The train of babies, nurses, / and baggage George took down on Thursday, and returning to / spend Saturday with us, went off [^ with] Madame to day. Tomorrow / we lose the dear little pet Fanny, whom we think the smart= / = est little child about, as Georgy has had a fever lately, she [^ Fanny] / will leave him for two or three days more, but our summer / establishment as you you see is breaking up, and we are / becoming reduced to the close corps of the winter’s garrison. The / Phil Hamilton’s and Juliette McLane are expected this week to / make us a nice visit, that we [^ may] become accustomed by degrees to / our reduced family _ It was a great relief to get our last letters / from you telling us that You were really safe in Madrid, we rec’d / them on Thursday last one for Angel + one for Pa, I was somewhat / afraid that the horrid disease might in some way attack You en / route, + was inexpressibly relieved to hear of You at the Opera, + / now You are alone in that big house with a great deal of work to / to do + no great strength, + if you are sick who is to take care / of You now, no Mrs Livingston, or any body else that I know / of; that little plan of mine of going Spain is the one, if / I could only carry it out. Alas there is no such good luck in / store for me, _ The Spanish Music which I only received a / day or two before we went to Hyde Park is very sweet and pretty / there is a little whining melancholy about the style that / is very attractive to me, I play over the waltzes, and expect / Rebecca will hum over the songs, that “[Quatrelo] song with / a sweet voice must be most bewitching, We are still reading / and talking “Puseyism”, Mr Anthon has made a compilation / from the addresses of the twelve English bishops who are opposed / to it, which gives You a very agreable idea of their sense + liber / -ality, You know Pa went to the Convention from there, together / with Minturn + Constant, but they had no chance to speak /
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For as you will see by the papers, the bishop and clergy carried / things entirely their own way, + the majority of the clergy / being in favour of the bishop’s course They outvoted the lay / members/ The bishop insists upon these two great points, that / no clergy man can appeal to the people against any of his de = / =cisions, and that in the ordination service only the laity / are addressed, when the question is put “does anyone know / any reason why this person may not be ordained”. Dear mother / has just been dosing me a little, so that i had better to go to / bed, wrap up my head, etc. It is such a comfort to have her home / I was sick two or three days this last week, before she came / home from Claverack, + I thought often of You _ She was / wanting to take an interest in every ache + pain, to think / of all sorts of comforting things, since she has come I have / known the difference. The Western arrive yesterday morn’g / with dates of the 23rd [^ att.] Liverpool, tomorrow’s mail will show if / there are more letters for us. She brings no news. I think from / your account of Madrid, it must be now in the most dread - / ful condition, the poor Spaniards! Good night. 9th This morn’g / a nice long letter was brought to me from You dated 9th of / last month, giving us Your first meeting with Mrs. Calderon / Mr. Irving’s leaving you, etc. You have now had a month’s ex - / -perience of solitary housekeeping, + I should think it pretty / comfortable to have such an establishment, horses, carriages, / at your own disposal. The diary style of Your last letter is / very satisfactory + agreable. I thought Mme. Calderon’s “Mexico” / very entertaining + well written. Is it true that M’me Albuquerque has made a trip to Paris + back again alone this summer? / Of course we saw Angelico when we were at Hyde Park, I was / disappointed in General’s [Lear’s] pace we had just come from / the Langdon’s. The house + roomes struck me as fine, but Mrs. Lowndes as the most interesting and sweetest thing of all / her figure so slender, + face so sorrowfully sweet. Mrs. Living - / -ston begged me to stay the night, while the rest of the party / should go on and dine at John Swift’s, we then pro[-fessed?] / the girls should go up with us in the yacht to which they / acceded, inthe morning we stopped and found Angelica / + Miss Cutting all ready but the wind blew too fresh, we drove / to Rhinebeck in [?Mrs?] Laight’s carriage, to take the steam /
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=boat to Redhook, the young ladies intending to follow us, but . that was the last we saw of them. Angelico does not look so well / as she did, Papa is still out of health, a nervous complaint / Julia Boggs was there after a fortnight’s visit went down / They like her very much of course bye bye I feel tired, all / have retired, Pa is still on [Alison]. He goes to Bridgeport / on Wednesday. Friday 13th since my last entry I have been off / on a grand frolic to town, the James Kings’ (Highwood) gave a / morning fête in honor of their new daughter in law, Kit King, / as Julia Boggs used to call her to which all the world invit - / -ed, Bowdoin came up + took me down, although he did not/ go himself, Aunt Fan + Uncle gave me a seat in their carriage / The day was as perfect as our finest weather can be, not a breath / but from the South, + not a cloud, police officers as you approached / and the woods already filled with carriages, a fine band, the / young people dancing, a fine dinner, the old eating, made / every one happy. Mr. + Mrs. Longfellow, Mr. + Mrs. Sam Ward, / Horsely Palmer, were among the notables Juliette McLane / went with Aunt, George + Eliza. We came away at sunset / after a dance on the green, with Charles King, John King, Mr. / Colden + others of the date. Some ended off with the Italian / Opera Lucia, which they say is pretty good. I was too tired. ___
Cinti Damoreau is in this country, Castellan is giving concerts / so that we shall have some good music this winter. Bow + / I came up Yesterday afternoon found Ma + [Geccy?] very well, / and Mr. Downing here from Newburgh, he made / one of the large boats land him, + this moring we sent him over / to White Plains. He is very peasant + has taste enough to enjoy / Music, I played Lucia + some of my little Spanish waltzes / which are very sweet, You must say every thing to Mme. Albuquer - / =que for her kindness in thinking of sending me one.
We have just come in from a walk to the Irvings to invite / Ames to dine with us, but he is gone, we saw Mrs. Romeyn / and one or two of the girls, had a pleasant walk and are / seated in our nice bright parlour. [Geccy/Yeccy?] with her work, Bow / at the piano, in the midst of the scene a sound of wheels is / heard, Bow is for rushing off, I detain him with difficulty / when Henry Sheldon + Mr Bor[--?]-l walk in, we chat / agreably for a long time during which poor Ma is unable /
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To get out of the pantry. I send this to town by Bowdoin / who says he must go after dinner; walk to the rail road / and rush in that way. There is to be a Yacht race to / come iff tomorrow, the “Dream” and “Minna” to race down to / John Stevins and Amboy, dine there + joined by the “Gin / Crack” Stevin’s new yacht, race home again in order / to secure their dinner, they start early tomorrow. Aunt / Fan and Uncle after leaving us at Hyde Park went on /
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Their travels, + got as far as Niagra, they were delighted / with the country, the comfort, + t he people, and express / their surprise that foreign travellers talk of a comb / hung up in a canal boat, and omit all the important / items. They are going to remain in the Country all / winter and we expect to have many a merry meeting / Ma is quite well, has made lately a nice visit to / Claverack, Uncle William behaves better, Fan about the / same, Aunt Julia is the main stay. Uncle Phil /
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[CROSSED ON PAGE 1]
Rebecca are delighted with your letters. Bow is waiting / for my letters to start so I must send a bushel of love / + close they say William Cruger is engaged to a sister / of Sally Wall, they have no money but must fine some / buried treasures __ Ma is too delighted to think that you / are well ever yours - Molly
[ADDRESS]
Mr. Alexander Hamilton
Secretary of the Legation of the U.S.
Madrid
Care of
John Miller
US despatch Agent
13 Henriette Str.
Covent Garden
London
[REVERSE OF ADDRESS]
From Molly
October 13th 1843
Rec’d Nov 7th
M - Received Oct 30th
[POSTMARK - red ink, circle]
G
[SOOC30?]
1843Transcriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
English
