Name/Title
Letter - John James Audubon to Children and Friends, 25 January 1841Entry/Object ID
JJA.1938.529Description
This is a 18-page typed version of a letter written by John James Audubon.
"New York
Jany. 25th. (Tuesday) , 1841
My dear children and friends,
Your previous letter of the 3rd. inst. we received a few days ago, and were indeed right glad to see that our beloved Eliza's having writ was assured with a few lines, showing as we all hope a better state of health, as these very few lines have been the only ones received from her since your arrival at the Havanna. It is quite clear that up to that date you have not received a finer letter of my own, although as well as John Bachman says we have written enough to give you full employment in the reading line. I am sorry, very sorry indeed for all this, because in my earliest letters I asked of you to write to us by every opportunity, to any part of the States and had you done so we mush have had many more letters from you than we can receive by a different course. Now we have only the opportunity arising from vessels directly bound from this to the Havannas, and these I am sorry to say are few and far between. I must here tell Victor that it will not do for him to put off writing his letters to us, until the vessel by which he writes is under way. We all exceedingly regret that you should have remained in the infernal city so long, instead of starting at once for the beauties of the interior of an island so far famed for all that is most congenial to ardent spirits. You say, however, that you are going in a few days to some place about 17 miles from Mataigas. Why not have gone to the very interior of the island, in one of the ________ _________, and by the promise of a dry atmosphere still better suited to the state of health of our Eliza? I would have done so at once, for I feel assurred that the beauties of nature in these high altitudes would have been preferable to all of you in every point of view. Here we all go on much as usual. Johny has 4 full length (small) pictures to paint, and has one of them partially finished, which I think is highly creditable to him. The names of the parties are the family of the Indians, and he will get $400.00 for them. He has begun a picture of his 'old dad' that promises wonders, and if well finished will be lithographed forthwith! I am sorry that you have not met with ready sales for the pictures, but heartily glad that you have no ______ to the little work, and I wish you to avoid everything of the sort in the Island of Cuba. About a week ago, Mr. Bowen got on his high horse, and went so far as to write me that he would give up the work! Telling us long stories about his losses, ect. ect. and complaining bitterly that every number of John's drawings contained more work than the last. Chevalier I do believe sent me copy on the July list. I never did. and I consequence of all this I wrote a letter to Bowen with the will and wills of Mama and Johny, in which I told him that we were ready to accept his resignation and asking him to appoint a day for settlement and actual payment of the balance! Bowen was at breakfast with us the very next morning but one. We received him as usual extremely kindly, he showed us the colored proofs he had brought along, and I refused them at once determined as I was that we were to have our way over him once and forever. He stared not a little, but on his hearing me tell him that in case he should give up his engagement, that I would send Johny to England that very day for the purpose of bringing over 50 workmen as good as himself, he mellowed down as an apple does in Autumn and as he left us the same day, did promise us never to complain again, and _________ as a particular favor that I would burn his letter, which however, I told him I would retain for the "Sake of Auld Lang Syne", and I hope we will have no further trouble with him for a good while! The fact was simply this, that he had taken upon himself to cut up our little Drawings at such a rate, that I was determined to check him, and I have done so effectually. Chevalier is perfectly delighted, and so are we all. He has furnished Chevalier with back Nos. up to 9 inclusive but it will be something like 2 months before he comes up to No. 24. But we must be patient. We have made pretty fair collections with the members of Congress and you will not be surprised when I tell you that since my return from Boston I have actually written and sent off upward of one hundred letters! We are still without an agent in Charleston, and God knows when we will have one. Not a work from Mr. Grienthan or Mr. Gordon has been received, and therefore no money. We will have to pay about $160.00 in cash for the binding of the volumes for New Orleans, and may have to wait 6 months for a return. Do not, I pray you, accept of any more such subscriptions. We can have plenty of subscribers near and around us who will receive the work on Nos. as professed to be delivered and paid for. We delivered yesterday the last sets up to 24 in hand to Captain Brittan who paid me $24. I have forwarded all the numbers wanted for every party except at Charleston where we scarcely know what subscribers we have, although John Bachman is trying his utmost to bring matters around in that city. You, my dear Victor, would feel perfectly amazed were you here to see the numerous errors in your entries on our books. All of which John & I have corrected and settled. This I can easily account for by the anxiety you felt for Eliza, but I assure you that it has perplexed us not a little. We have forwarded all Nos. to England and written to everybody there. No news from the Phillips of late. Not a word from Pruissia and I will write to Mr. Poisstett on the July list as I have no faith in the Consul here, who has never called upon us. By the way, Mr. Poisstett wrote to me to ask me to deliver Lectures on ornithology before the "National History Institution: in that city which I very politely declined. Our total of subscribers exceed 1100 and we can have as many more as we can wish provided we can supply the demand and there is the cash! No. 25 will be out in 10 days, and No. 26 not until the first of Novbr. on A/c of the labour in finishing the back Nos. up to 24, but we will make it all up in the long days of summer. I finished yesterday morning a good drawing of 2 Beavers the size of life, and I am going to paint a picture of them for Baldwin (Bowen?) to lithograph as one of the series of 6 which he has begun with the Pheasants. The latter is about 2/3 done and lacks_________ on the stone. We paid him last week abut 1200$ for work done on the back Nos. to No. 9 I greatly regret that you should send W. C. D. Cuthbertson cigars at our own expense. He is fast assuming the pompous with us all. (This is entre nous of course.) We paid Havell $500.00 about 10 days ago and will not settle with him until you return to us although his balance agrees very nearly with ours. In his a/c you had forgotten in some of your entries to carry out L275 Sterling for which we have his own receipt. This of course, is an item! He is now in New Jersey, perhaps with Ed. Harris, about to purchase a farm for his only son. Bowen told us that Havell had had the best and easiest of times while he was doing our work in London. So much for the humbug of this World! Of late, the editor of the New World has published about 25,000 copies of the wood cut (copper) of the wild turkey, and a portion of the history of that bird, and again he has (gratis)published our perspectus daily in the Evening Signal. There is a running rumor in town that the Mercantile Library will at last buy a copy of the Large work. Nous verrons? Doctor Bartlet has been very ill for nearly 2 months, and says that he regrets his not having one with you. Of course since, the "album" has not been quite so good as formerly. I saw him several times within 10 days and i think he will recover, although he has been indeed very low. All well at N. Berthoud's , at the Halls, and at every body's that we know, which indeed is preciously little in this city. Will it do you good to know that Ward the bird stuffer and thief died at the Alms House of Boston of actual drunkenness? About 10 days ago, I forwarded our a/c against Belle of Charleston,sworn to, and duly so, before the judge of the Circuit Court of this city and sent it under cover to Mr. Poistett to be forwarded by him to John Bachman who wrote to us that Mr. Patrick would settle at once? ___________ Butler King of Georgia to whom I have written several times _______ has answered to me. We have had what is called "an open Winter" here. Rains in torrents. Short lapses of sharp cold. Some sun, and rain again. i is now quite mild and raining freely! I always guessed that your expenses in Cuba would prove very great, and you must try to reduce them, by bringing back a great number of good sketches that you can turn to account on your return to us. We do not know yet, if we will remain at 86 White Street this year, but will know and will inform you as soon as our first quarter is paid, which will be on the 1st of February, of course. Prints are actually "looking up" but all the papers are up against it. An immense quantity of housed, lots, etc. has been sold at last at auction, and yet there is an appearance of better times which I hope will reach us soon wherever we may be! Along with this we send you (in a parcel directed to the same care) Nos. 20 to 24 inclusive for you to look at, and for you to bring back to us. I hope these will reach you wherever you may be when this reaches you. Along in the same parcel I send you all the papers of the day, so that you may have some greater insight of what is going on in this part of the business world. I scarcely know anything more for me to say, and as new thoughts may occur, I will leave this to the last moment. And now a new thought has occurred to me! It is this. As it may be that you have not received any one of our letters to you, I think it proper to give you an idea again of what I did during my journey to Boston and _______ by which you will see that I was both fortunate and well treated. The amount of money which I sent him was something like $1800 and I received at Boston alone 105 additional subscriptions, 4 at Lowel, 19 at Worcester, 5 at Springfield and about 12 at Hartford. I was away precisely one month to a day, and I did call that a very fair turn out!! The "Yankees" as our Eastern people are called, are in my opinion as good a set of folks as any in the World, and I love them the more I know them. My pen which ought to be a steel one is, I fear, only 'cast iron' and I doubt somewhat if you will be able ever to make out the run of my ideas? However, as we ourselves do receive letters past belief in the hand writting of Mr. Wintes, I hope for the best, and will trust to your keen young eyes for the result. The Hall family are all going to England in April, May, etc. We have seen a great deal of them of late, and Johny and I were there 2 evenings ago. By the way of news, let me tell you that old Robt. Bachouse of Hampstead, England, wrote to me to deliver letters in America! and besides sent us a fine young guest of the name of Burgess with letters patent by way of introduction. We like him very much. He is a gentleman through-out, but with all as ____________ as Mother Eve was before she plucked the cursed apple from the cursed apple tree! He wishes to become a spinner of thread in America, and perhaps might succeed if he was provided with double leaves, the precious pieces around you, and of which I wish and hope you may send us a barrel full by way of variety! But alas! His double sovereigns are, I can say, hardly as valuable as five penny pieces, and yet how many men of the like nature have made their way clear in our country? Why thousands and more! I think that now my thread is pretty nearly at an end, and I hope that dearest mamma and John may have some thoughts which have not occurred to me. I will now close with my blessing to your Trio, and merely ask by way of a conclusion, whether my "orange stick" is still growing or not? Why does not my sweetheart write a very long letter to us? It seems to me as if you all were on the run to the very moment of the departure of each vessel from the Havannah to the United States. God bless you all.
Your friend and Father,
John J. Audubon
My beloved children you father has written all that can be said I believe almost, but he has forgotten to urge the painting of the pictures you have orders for, and which I trust you will neglect or forget, and the time will soon come for you to leave Havannah and return home to us, a period I am always looking forward to. My sister and the young ones were here today, last night Master Gordon had a party of 12. My own dear little ones grow fast and I am kept altering their clothes constantly, the little Queen, as I call her, gained 2 pounds last month, and their height is in proportion, and I hear there are two frocks coming for Lulu from Charleston which will not surprise me if they just fit Harriet. Mrs. Hall sent us a nice pork pie and the news of a daughter born yesterday, all as well as can be expected. Madame Trudeau comes every day with her daughter, Mrs. Gaylusae to sit for her picture which I think will be first rate, and sister today mentioned some one who wanted tow_____ I am very sorry you are at such a non-comfortable place, I have wished to send you many things, but the agents say it is almost impossible; do let me know if so or not. And now farewell dear friends, and come home soon.
Believe me your most affect. mother
LA
I cannot close now I think of it without saying that Mr. O. W. C. is the very last man to whom I would give anything. For all our kindness we get nothing but wine at the highest price not fit to drink and of which we are ashamed! For the Trio, as Papa says, I write, but after all that Papa has said, I feel that I am ashore before I can make the first tack to windward for an offing, the sails fill, but no steerage way is to be had and I make leeway back to where I started from. I had a letter from Charleston about 4 days since. All well, and in good spirits except Mr. B. who was laboring under one of his fits of indigestion. I have my hands too full now, but I fear it will be a short run, and then another long spell of nothing to paint, but I intend to shine at the April exhibition, or "go down". I wish we could have gone to the country and been free from the care, excitement and sorrow of this bustling world; where we could have learned to say "happy the man whose only care a few paternal acres", but our family is born to separations, and our affectionate dispositions are almost as much sorrow as pleasure to us. Our friends are North and South, East and West, and the new ones we make, leave us or we them, not a day, but on inquiry for some one, "He's gone out of town sir, and won't be back". It is the answer I have to give to those who ask for you all; and when you come back Papa will be gone to Boston, or Albany or Richmond. An eternal separation of some of us, but I turn from so dismal a subject and hope for better luck. Don't send unless you promised!! cigars to W. D. C. He's a "cow doctor", and "rides a horse at least 40 hands high", and the horse grows taler every day, and poor Mrs. C. lives at Staten Island and has a whole cow brought for her at a time, so as to have 750 lbs. of roast, and baked, and salted and "cow heel", morning, noon, and night. How clearly my sweet Mamma saw through that man, and said "he would hav killed me long ago". I do not often indulge in gossip but a man who lays himself so open is fair game. We have to pay Bowen about $1500.00 in a week or two, and I fear we shall be pretty nearly "high & dry" if we cannot make close collections throughout. The Southern agents are dreadfully "long-winded" at Washington, Richmond, etc. What sort of arrangement did you make about the journal we have in the evening? It is good for nothing and we want to stop it. The DeRham's and Moores do not see anything of us scarcely. "Collection
L. S. Tyler CollectionMade/Created
Date made
1841 - 1841Notes
Date: January 25, 1841Lexicon
Search Terms
* Communication Artifacts, Correspondence, Letters, New York (N.Y.), New YorkDimensions
Height
10-3/4 inWidth
8-3/8 in