Transcription
United States Legation
Madrid March 10h 1843
M’day Morning.
My Dear papa
From your silence since your visit to Washington / I imagine that you have been busily occupied; contrary to your / expectation expressed in your letter before leaving New York, / in which you told me that you would fill up your intervals / of leisure by giving me an account of political movements. / As I hope you are employed for your benefit as well as that / of the public, I submit with good patience to this deprivations. /
I have thought of you with much satisfaction as aiding to / the utmost of your power Cost Johnson’s efforts for the assumption / of State debts, and I am looking with much interest for the / report of the Committee. The Memorial of the Holders of Stock / in England to Mr. Everett has been published: It appears to / me moderate and fair enough: How it will be received / at home is another question __
Mr. Irving’s health begins to be affected very / considerably by this herpetic disorder which has calended / itself over the greater part of his body: He insisted at / first upon treating it himself, and went through a course / of Sulphur baths; a violent remedy under which he /
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Did not appear to improve: I then called in without consulting / him the Physician of the English Embassy who has been here / several years and was highly recommended by Mr. Aston; As / He seemed very much inclined towards the Baths the Dr again / tried for several days, and the disorder seemed to be checked: / Two days since however he complained of Chill; and had a slight / fever subsequently, whereupon the Baths were discontinued _ The fever / has continued in a slight degree since then; his bowels are disordered / and his whole system evidently deranged: Upon consulting with / the Dr. yesterday + this morning, We have determined to take the / advice of A Spanish Physician of reputation who will visit him this / Evening: _ He has been somewhat fretful for a few days, and worries / himself, which I try to prevent as much as possible, by reading / Scott’s novels, several hours during the day __
Altho I do not permit myself to be alarmed at his / situation _ for the disease itself is not of so much importance, as the / condition to which, by being protracted, it may reduce him _ I feel / of course the responsibility under which I am acting.
Mr. Irvings situation has previnted [sic] him from making / any exertion the last three weeks, and I have consequently been / obliged to make in his stead visits of ceremony to the Regents. To / day, however, I am to represent him in a matter of more / importance _ We have despatches from home on a subject of /
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Delicacy and importance, which does not admit of delay; and an / interview has been asked of the Secretary of State, in my behalf he who / had appointed two o’clock today at the Department for our con: / :ference. It concerns the Island of Cuba, and and is to be treated, / under instructions, with great care and delicacy _ I have carefully / examined the papers, but feel nevertheless as you may suppose / considerably “exercised” at making my first step in diplomacy in / a matter of so much consequence _ It is of course at Mr. Irving’s / request that this step is taken, and he was kind enough to say by / way of encouragement that I understood the subject as well as he / did _ In fact no other course was left, since poor Uncle Geoffrey / will probably [^ be] confined to his bed for some time yet, while this / question admitted of no delay, and on the other hand could not / be trusted to a written communication: _
You must be careful not to let this be known / in any way; for the Gov’t are acting with promptness and secrecy / and do not probably wish that even the fact of trouble in that / quarter should reach prematurely the ear of the public.
Friday Ev’g 10 PM. I have just finished a long despatch giving an account / of the conference today which seemed to [^ be] satisfactory to my old gouty friend the / Secretary of State _ We parted on the best terms; and the two Govt’s shook / hand, and said all manner of pleasant things a bout their determination / to stand by each other _
Mr. Irving is rather better: there was a consultation / in the afternoon at which it was determined to bleed him and between 9 + 10 / ounces were taken from his arm about an hour ago; since then he feels / relieved: _ the learned men say he has taken cold while under the influence /
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Of the baths from which the fever and irritation has arisen _ He is certainly / reduced, and signed the Despatch with difficulty _ Good night, I’m / quite tired with my day’s work and late hours last night at a party / at the British Embassy: your affec son A.H.
Monday Ev’g March 15h Uncle Geoffrey is improving, the disorder / which began to strike in was relieved by the bleeding: He is much / reduced however and weak, and his patience so far exhausted that his / spirits are quite low: I read to him a great deal and do my utmost to / cheer him / not always with success _ Brevoort is quite unwell too, + / confined to his bed for two days, and some of the servants are in the / same predicament, so that on the whole, we are a disabled Legation. / I have on my hands all the correspondence, official and semi - official / all the applications for officers (which in consequence of Mr. Irvings suc: / cess in in a previous case promise to be numerous) and visits to the / State Department, where I am on the best possible terms with the old / gouty Count: _ Within a few days another iron on the fire; in an / informal arrangement [^ with the object] to remove some of the restrictions on the Trade of / the U.S. with the peninsula, which is falling off fast at the present. I / have furnished a ‘Halisteal?] statement, which has produced a demand / for further information and an intimation of a desire that we should / share with John Bull [^ in providing] an important article of consumption _ /
We have this morning papers to the 11th Feby. by the / Duchesse D’Orleans, no letters _ I am grieved at the Oregon Bill, and / that such a measure should originate with that branch of the / Legislature, which was concerned with the Executive, in making the / convention; this plainly irritated _ Sir Robert Peel said a few days / since in the House that Lim’s motion + Benton’s speech should not / be taken as the evidence if the feeling of the Senate. It appears he was /
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Mistaken, at least as to the necessity _ the French Papers are pleased with / this new prospect of a difficulty between the two Countries, and in England / the news is received in silence _ Two excellent articles have appeared lately / in [Galignaire?], signed ‘An American’ on the strong red line, and the unratified / treaty of 1823 in reference to the slave Trade _ at first they were attributed / to Mr. Irving but they are now given justly to Mr. Walsh:
The Herald has a short article on the [Kamschatka?] alluding / to others in the Courier _ I hope the pamphlet will be sent to me as soon / as it appears by way of Havre.
I am very curious to learn about your visit to Washington / and what you have succeeded in affecting _ The Herald, _ the European papers / copy its articles, speaks of the failure of Cost Johnson’s project; while I have / looked [thro?] the proceedings in Congress and cannot even find a report of / the Special Committee on the subject.
There is a good deal of interest expressed in the papers of / [page torn, unrecovered] -n England + France in relation to the present condition of Cuba and the / Spaniards make a great oratory against what they call the weakness of their / Gov’t and its subjection to England _ As by the last arrival, it appeared / that vessels of war were fitting out at New York + elsewhere, they decided [^ said] the / vessels were intended for Tangiers: I suspect if any where they are / intended to go to the West Indies:
I suppose you are all collected at Nevis again before this / time, and I hope you all continue in good health _ In a little more than / a week I expect to hear from you by the Packet of the 1st March:
It seems by the report of the first three or four days of Mac: / Kenzie’s trial that Mr. Duer is too strong for the Judge Advocate: I am / well pleased that the Court would not admit Counsel in behalf of / the relatives of Spencer: It would have been an unusual course + / unnecessary for the attainment of Justice, besides savouring of persecution /
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The newspapers from home make me quite unhappy: They present such / a picture of confusion and irregularities of all kinds _ I have to con: / :sole myself with the reflection that things always appear worse at a / distance and are felt more keenly on this side [sic] the water _ It is a / great relief however that the late COngress has passed away _ They have / been done no credit to themselves or the Country.
What are your private thoughts as to the lottery of ‘44? Having been / among the pullers at the Metropolis, I expect you will give me a full / insight into the political game _ talking of Washington; I found in looking / over a collection of treaties this morning your signature to a treaty with / the Brazils in 1829. That’s some time ago: Is it not?
Good night: Kiss Mama + the Girls for me a thousand times and / tell them to write to me about every body and every thing near you
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[ADDRESS]
Posted 24 March
Frm. Liverpool
James. A. Hamilton Esq.
Nevis
Dobbs Ferry
Westchester Co.
New York
US
[POSTMARK] New York Apr 20
[REVERSE OF ADDRESS]
There is nothing which is not highly interesting / at this distance.
Your affec. Son
Alex: Hamilton
JA Hamilton Esq
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P. S. Don’t allow Mr. Irving’s or Brevoort’s friends to hear any reports of his illness which / may alarm them; as in fact there is nothing cause for apprehension in regard to either. A. H.Transcriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
English
