Transcription
CATALOG NUMBER HF 3043 A
OBJECT NAME Letter
DATE February 16, 1835
AUTHOR Eliza Storrs (New York)
RECIPIENT Emma Nicholas (Hamilton)
MEDIUM Paper, ink
PEOPLE Mama Storrs, Seth Spencer Whitman, Mary Rhinelander, Mary
Stevens, Cornelia Livingston, Washington Irving, Phil Rhinelander Jr., another Mary Rhinelander, Jenny Renwick, Miss Gibbs from Hell Gate. Messrs Irving, Schermerhorn, Paulding, Renwick and Henry (Lemuel Storrs?), Henry Randolph Storrs, Helen Curtenius, Mrs. Beekman, Mr. Raymond, Charlotte Huntington, Mr. Young, Charles Tracy, Eliza and Augustus M, Mrs. Masters, Mr. Eldridge
PLACES New York City, Hell Gate, Hamilton, Mrs. Beekman’s, London,
Vermont, Litchfield, Europe, Bloomfield, Stevens’ home
EVENTS vegetarian?, “romp” at Stevens home with many of above, W
Irving to travel to Europe, Mr. Raymond married, Charlotte Huntington very ill, drawing class, Henry Randolph Storrs returns from truncated trip to VT, Charles Tracy visit,
Addressed to Miss Emma Nicholas
Care of Professor S.S. Whitman
Hamilton
Madison County
N.Y.
Postmarked Feb 17, New York
New York Feb 16th 1835
I received your welcome letter my / dear Emma last Saturday at the dinner table, but previous / to giving it to me me Papa made me eat a piece of meat, it was / with much difficulty I forced it down, + I am sure nothing / but a letter from you could have induced me to make the / effort. He told me if I did not I should not have the letter / until evening and I could not wait so long. The very idea / of a visit from you is delightful, nothing could give me more / pleasure, you must come whether Mr. Whitman does or / does not, you can find opportunities I am sure; and do not / wait until April, come as soon as you can if it is next week / and if you will come immediately to our house you will / find it open to receive you. Oh I should be so happy to / have you in my room, to talk with you, and walk with you, / I am sorry you are not well, I know New York air will / restore you to health. You will not disappoint me, will you? / I shall certainly look for you, certainly expect you. Mama / says tell Emma we shall be delighted to see her as /
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Soon as she can come. You would enjoy our little parties / or rather romps for I am sorry to say that we are rather / noisy sometimes. Last Wednesday evening I was at / Mary Steven’s where were Cornelia Livingston (who is the / belle she being very handsome; much more so that any / of the rest), Mary Rhinelander, another Mary Rhinelander, Jenny Renwick and Miss Gibbs from Hell Gate. Messrs Irving / Rhinelander, Schermerhorn, Paulding, Renwick and Henry. / Phil was very lively he is improving very much this / winter. I had a long talk with Mary before the gentleman [sic] / came, we talked about you, so you see you may always / know that if you are not with us in person you are / spoken of and wished for. Phil told me he had written / to you and put in all the subjects I gave him. I told / he must conduct himself with all due propriety as I wrote / to you every thing he did and said. I was almost / provoked with him at one time, for notwithstanding / all my entreaties which were as eloquent as I could / make them, I could not induce him to comply with / a request I made. What this request was you would / like to know I suppose, but the story is too long to / write I will tell you when I see you, I will only say / now that I wished him to get a note from Mr. Irving, but / he was so teasing (to use the word in a singular way) that / he would not do this for me. Mary was in fine spirits, / she and Cornelia L carried on a regular flirtation with / Mr. Irving the whole evening, which succeeded in obtaining /
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The most attention I don’t know. This Mr. I is an odd / creature really, and I hope you will come down before he / goes to Europe for I should like you to see him. You do / not know how pleasant these little parties are, I hope / you may know by experience, you must not disappoint / me for I shall set my hear upon a visit from you although / you warned me again it.
I am disappointed about / going to drawing school this morning, the weather is as / disagreeable as it can be. As you like to know every thing / I am doing and intend doing I will tell you that I am / going to a party to-morrow evening at Mrs. Beekman’s / where I presume will be the bride Mrs. Van Rensselaer / I do not anticipate very much pleasure upon this / occasion but I should not be surprised if I do [?enjoy page torn] / myself for this is generally the case when I do not / anticipate much enjoyment.
Eliza and Augustus M / were here last Friday evening. Mrs Masters is much / better. Eliza would not tell me who sent her Christmas / presents, although I am confident she knows. Mr. / Weston returned from England Saturday; and today Mr. / Eldridge (do you remember him?) leaves for London / It is so common to go to Europe now, that it seems no / more than going to Utica, indeed it is quite vulgar / to be rich and travel in Europe, [too?] vulgarities however / which I must say almost any one would be willing / to put up with. Papa returned very unexpectedly from /
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Vermont after an absence of four days, he found the / travelling [sic] so intolerable that he only went as far as / Litchfield, Helen Cartenius thinks of coming to New York /to make a visit soon, perhaps she will come next month, / I think it would be pleasant for you to come down at / the same time. I have made an arrangement [^now] for you, you see /
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Have you heard that Mr Raymond is married! Who the / fair maid that has won his heart I do not know. Some / lady in Bloomfield I suppose. Do you remember Charlotte Huntington who married Mr Young, a cousin of mine, she / is very ill, the doctor fears that her disease is consumption / She is a lovely woman, I hope she may recover but it is / very doubtful. Charles Tracy was here Saturday evening /
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I must bring this to a close with the request / that you will answer it soon, and make up / your mind to put yourself in the mail [crossed out] instead / of your letters.
Your ever affectionate
ElizaTranscriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
English
