Transcription
CATALOG NUMBER HF 3043 D
OBJECT NAME Letter
DATE July 2, 1835
AUTHOR Eliza Storrs (Whitesboro)
RECIPIENT Emma Nicholas (NYC)
MEDIUM Paper, ink
PEOPLE Emma with Ann Nicholas (not Matilda?), Henry Randolph Storrs,
Mrs. Walcott and Helen, Uncle and Aunt White, William Wetmore, Mary Anne, Eliza Sill, Mr. Comstock, Mary
PLACES Whitesboro, Providence, “far west”, Detroit, Chicago,
EVENTS Storrs in Whitesboro for a few weeks, Uncle and Aunt White to “far
west”, Walcotts to Providence, change to standing for singing and sitting for praying in church, Eliza Sill engaged to Mr. Comstock, teeth extracted
44th
Addressed to Miss Emma Nicholas
Care of Judge Hoffman
New York
Postmarked July 3 Whitestown
Whitesborough July 2d 1835
My dear Emma
I have delayed writing to you / until after I had seen my friends here and regained my / usual composure; for although you perhaps could hardly / imagine that merely visiting this monstrous village could / cause any excitement, it is true that I have been very much / occupied since my arrival and I have written to no one / but Papa. Our journey ws delightful, we arrived here / Saturday morning, and much to our disappointment / found that Mrs. Walcott and Helen had left for Providence & / Uncle and Aunt White were on their way to the “far West” / They will probably go to Detroit and I should not be / astonished if they went to Chicago. I regret so much that / they are gone, and especially that Helen is not here that I / do not like to think of it. I had anticipated, and how I / should have enjoyed much pleasure in Helen’s society; but “what can’t be cured, must be endured,” and I consider / this disappointment is the bitter drop in my cup of / pleasure and if I taste no other I cannot & will not / complain.
I found Whitesborough just as I left it with / the exception of a few alterations in its external /
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Appearance, the most important of which are a railing / and trees around the green and a new church. And there / is one new custom here. In church they have adopted / the Episcopal form of rising while singing and sitting / during prayers. This has amazed me more than any thing / else and pleased me too for I prefer it to the other form / but I do not understand why the alteration should be / made, it is not only the case in the Presbyterian church / but is practised [sic] in the Baptist & other denominations & / at least so I have been told.
The first person I saw was / William Wetmore, he stepped on the boat at the lower / bridge, I was really quite glad to see him again. Mary / Anne is very well, I have seen her twice & delivered / your message, she said she would write soon, and as / is generally the case had no reason to offer as an / apology for her silence. I have given your love to / half a dozen persons. I did not remember who you / mentioned in particular, I distributed it according to / my judgement [sic], and hope and think I have selected / those you would have chosen yourself. I have only / heard one report about you, and that is, that you are / engaged to some [^one] in New York. I contradicted this & / presume my conduct will meet with your approbation. / Eliza Sill is engaged to Mr Comstock. I like him / very much indeed, he is ot an Adonis, but is quite / as handsome as I should wish a gentleman to be, his / eyes are fine; his talents are good, and I should think / he possesses much refinement & delicacy of feeling & I am /
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Sure that is preferable to faultless [partners?]. They will / not be married very soon, as he is not admitted yet I / believe he is studying in Mr Baker’s office. He is very / much attached to Eliza and I am delighted that there is / a prospect of a pleasant home for her. I asked Eliza if / he possessed any of the most important qualification / riches, but she had not been so unsentimental as to / think of such a things and was perfectly ignorant on / that subject. I think it will be a love match. It is / refreshing to find one, for I have began to think that / everyone had bowed to Mammon and by so doing / had “robbed life of its beauty, its glory and its power”.
Do you think I have had / courage to have have [sic] three teeth extracted? I can [page torn] / hardly believe it myself, but I have the evidence of / my sense to convince me that this is indeed true / The wonderful operation was performed yesterday, I / am obliged to remain in the house today, and my head / feels as if every nerve had been shaken. It is most / barbarous business I do think, my convictions of the / expediency and my dread of that unbearable pain / the toothache, compelled me to submit against my / inclination to the momentary anguish of extraction.
When you know that this is is [sic] the / best paper I can find, and the pen I use has been / soaking (to use an elegant word) in the inkstand for a / week you will not be astonished at the careless and / unlady like appearance of this letter, this is all the / apology I can offer.
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Will you not write very soon and tell / me how you are and where you are, if you do not / write soon I am afraid I shall not receive your / letter and I wish very much to hear from you. When / you see Mary give my love to her, and tell [^her] nothing / would give me more pleasure than a letter from her / I enjoy myself very much here. You know I did / not anticipate the most delightful time ever was imagined.
BOTTOM PAGE 4
I don’t know certainly when we shall return but / probably in the course of a week or two. I did feel / most dolefully when I left, and shall be glad to / return. Give my love to your Mother.
Your
Affectionate
Eliza
Have you drank tea with Papa?Transcriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
English
