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"New York Feby 20th 1821
Dear Lawrence
I received a few days since your / letter advising me of some extraordinary appoint- / ments which had been made at that time by the / council and the newspaper a day or two after / added to the strange list. I have been too / much chagrined by these passing events to answer / your letter before this, and now I have no / thing to communicate but my regret that / another opportunity of building up the repub- / lican party in a manner creditable to the / state is / irretrievably lost. I have however / been so often disappointed in my hopes / that I now begin to meet these things with / philosophy and jog along with the tide with- / out suffering myself to be too much excited by / the impetuosity or violence of its current.
There are however affairs of the heart
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which I think I feel and brood over more / than most men. The slights of the world, / and the deceptions of those in whom I have / never placed much confidence may vex and dis-/quiet me, but they never occasion envious / uneasiness. But the deceptions of those in / whom I have placed all confidence – where / I have relied implicitly and with perfect faith, / - there inflict a deep and casting wound. Judge / Skinner I have felt a warm attachment for – I thought him a man of an excellent heart / - frank – honorable and sincere; and I am / loth (sic) to give up these strong and favorable / impressions. I cannot but believe that some / explanation can be given of the course pur- / sued at Albany, which is so variant from / what I had every reason to expect, and / which the dignity and prosperity of the state required.
But this is a painful subject, and / cannot be pursued to any profit. I should be glad to hear from you occasionally, if any /
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thing amusing occurs. As to Also of the political movements of our friend Van Buren, and how he accounts to General Root for his / present course of policy, in which the claims / of the General have been so well remembered.
Give my regards to Hunter / and {illegible word} and {illegible word} and believe me / Truly yours / Jno T Irving"
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“JTI” in red pencil in upper right corner. Postmark of “NEW YORK / FEB 20” to left of address; address, “John L. Lawrence Esqr. / Albany” in center of page; “JF 7 / 3.00” in pencil next to red seal; other scribbled letters and marks.
Other Names and Numbers
Other Numbers
Number Type
Former Number
Other Number
W 3436 a-b
Dimensions
Dimension Description
Overall
Height
9-3/4 in
Width
7-3/4 in
Dimension Notes
Display Dimensions: 9 3/4 x 7 3/4 in. (24.8 x 19.7 cm)
Condition
Notes
Remarks: a. Horizontal and vertical fold marks,two small tears on right side horizontal folds recto, small tear on upper left horizontal fold recto; forxing, surface dirt, some staining from seal on center left verso. Handwriting legible.
b. Horizontal and vertical fold marks, small tear on right side horizontal fold recto, large chipp and smaller piece missing from center middle right side rector from seal, impression of seal on center left side recto; forxing, surface dirt. Handwriting legible.
General Notes
Note Type
Curatorial Remarks
Note
Letter, on two separated pieces of paper, from John Treat Irving to John L. Lawrence Esqr., Albany; “Found in book: Homes of American Authors…Writers (1853) with inscription of “Mary Hunatt Cubbut from her most affectionate PA – 1852;” also “ Thomas Jewitt Hallowell, 1869” – this note appears in documentation about the books at Sunnyside.
This book has not been located as of April, 2013 but the letter was found in a box of various paper materials (articles, clippings, photographs, etc.) in the summer of 2012. This box had been previously located in the files of the Library in the basement at Bellwood Avenue and is now in the Archive/Library Room at the headquarters of HHV on Bedford Road.
