Transcription
CATALOG NUMBER HF 3039 A
OBJECT NAME Letter
DATE August 7, 1834
AUTHOR Mary (Rhinelander)
RECIPIENT Emma Nicholas Maloney
MEDIUM Paper, ink
PEOPLE Mr. Pauling, Phil Rhinelander Jr., bride, Mr. Edgar, Ogden Whitma,
Matilda Nicholas Whitman, Ann Hoffman Nicholas, Aunt Mary
PLACES Boston, Bridge Street,
EVENTS “marriage in the South”, Mary & Phil Rhinelander to travel to
Boston soon,
Addressed to:
Miss Emma Nicholas
Hamilton
New York
1st
*Original spelling retained throughout work, content appears exactly as written.
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New York August 7th 1834
I do not write this letter dearest Emma / to convince you that I have not forgotten you, for I did / not think you would be so unkind as to suspect / of such unfeeling & ungrateful conduct but simply / in hopes that by answering yours (not promptly I / allow) I should induce you to keep up a regular/ correspondence. If you had pursued any longer that / false & [erroneous] conviction that a letter from you / would give me no satisfaction I am afraid I should not have received that letter which did in / deed without the slightest flattery give me the great - / est joy & which being an unexpected intruder (as you / term it) [after] did more pleasure than any other / letter I could then have received for you must / allow Miss Emma that you have excersised my / patience pretty well. But I suppose I must clear / up the mystery about my not receiving your letter / if written later you must know Emma that /
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When [unrecovered] you accuse me of having nearly last my / heart in one greater i am closely besieged in anoth - / er for you must know that next Tuesday I / loewe the city with Mr. Paulding & Master Philip / for a long journey. We leave here for Boston / but I cannot tell what places may not be hon - / ored by our presence.; out of the direct line / the Uncle & Nephew as you call them as cons - / tant & kind visitors at our lonesome August E - / establishment, for before August we never heard the / word lonesome mentioned but Emma if you were / only here I should be willing to give up my jaunt / & pass a [days] August here. I suppose you / have heard of the marriage at the South. They all / attended it from Bridge Street & have now returned / & brought the bride with them, Mr. Edgar does not / look so gloomy, he has learned to smile since / he has been married, but I suppose he was / in love in the winter & Emma you & I / know from experience that love is [inserted: an] awful com - / panion when they person to who we give it / does not return our affections. After this long / dissertation on love I think it is going to / extremes to begin to talk about anger but /
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I should like to know cousin Emma why / you did not think it right or consistent / to mention the names of your mother or / sister in your letter. I am sure nothing / could have interested me more than a / line about the welfare of my little second / cousin Master Ogden and with what / pleasure would I have received the sligh/test [note] or message from Matilda whom / I have not seen for so many long years / Perhaps she has forgotten her little torment / but I can assure her that I will never for / get her though I am afraid if I should / see her I should be tempted to call her / Mrs Whitman / Oh Emma I have grown as / giddy & light headed since your departure / as I was before you came as I have no / longer my dear cousin to be my example / Phil sends you his best best love, but / I think he ought to follow the good ex - / ample of [inserted: his] sister & send you his love in / a letter but I suppose he likes sending / it by proxy. Emma excuse your giddy / cousin every thing that she has said /
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That could possibly give you the least [resistance] & receive / this as an answer, simply to your letter and not as / expressing in the least possible degree the feelings of / my heart for what [gives ladies] of [poems], paper, or ink / my dearest Emma could be able to give you a just / idea of the feelings I bear towards you; words cannot / express Emma our love much less the cold formality of / writing. If I loved before with common love what / must that love be changed to, strengthened by our inter - / course [last winter] Believe me I never knew ‘till we / parted how sincerely I loved you. But perhaps you will / think this all affectation & flatters & [undershot shrilling / than] [unrecovered] to write more would be not only useless but / would [unrecovered words ] your feelings _ Aunt Mary / sends you her best love & her best respects to your Mother.
Adieu Emma __ yours ever Mary
[END OF PAGE 4]
[ADDRESS]
Miss Emma Nicholas /
Hamilton /
New York /
1st/
[END OF LETTER]Transcriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
English
