Scope and Contents

David Spence and William went to see Mr. Mather off; David said that Mr. Mather was homesick; Colo[nel] Gilpin called at the office; told him Matthew would be there; read to him part of her last letter, but he did not pay attention; Matthew is also rude too often; despite his deafness, he is the one who makes and keeps all their business acquaintances, not Matthew; wrote a long letter to Harriet; Cha[rle]s Van Ness called for T [tea]; he [CV] was very hot because of his wig; if he ever goes bald, he will only wear a wig in the winter; read Mr. Van Ness parts of her last 3 letters; thinks his [LV] resignation to his lot is truly Christian; is glad that she is enjoying her travels; would like her to pay a visit to Mr. and Mrs. Edw[ar]d Heath; if Mr. Torr invites her to visit at East-ham, she should go; encloses a not from Mrs. Sabine [not present]; read Mytton's letter to Harriet before he sent it to her; his trip to England seems to be making him dislike America; this will not be good for his future wife; thinks Mytton would like to have a highly educated congregation; thinks Mytton's tour is making him conceited and cynical; (13 August) bought peaches and an eggplant; Mr. and mrs. A[rthur] are at Albany, and her letter has been forwarded there; Matthew said that all is well at Cornwall; invited Dacid Spence for dinner; Tho[ma]s Addis Emmett died; encloses his obituary [not present]; will go to the funeral if he can; there is nothing new going on in the war except the siege of Charleston, South Carolina; the papers expect F[or]t Sumter to fall; has felt that the southern cause has been destroyed every since Vicksburg and Port Hudson surrendered; sees the Emancipation Proclamation as the only hindrance to peace and reunion; many southern officer think the way Matthew F. Maury does, but he doesn't think the troops think that way; the South is tired out; blockade running is becoming more and more dangerous; England wants separation to her own sake; Matthew F. and his friends think the South would be disgraced if she agreed to reunion; thinks it wuld be a disgrace for the North to agree to peace without reunion; separation would mean taxation to maintain standing armies and navies; the newspapers and politicians are making the situation worse by formenting ill will; thinks the New York Riots have weakened the Democratic party in the city; Mrs. Sabine's letter would make the letter too heavy, so he copies it; she was glad to hear that Tobin is well; (14 [Aug.]) hopes his letter to Fontaine will induce him to look for a job; plans o send a copy of the letter to James; T[homas] A[ddis] Emmet[t]'s funeral is tomorrow at 2:30; he plans to attend; has had a sore throat for many weeks, but now feels better; thought about going to see a doctor but did not; is hearing better todsay than he has for many months; Sarah visited Highwood today; Mrs. King look poorly according to Sarah; she told Sarah that Caroline [Duer] died of dropsy; Caroline went into a kind of stupor, but came out of it before she died, so she was able to say goodbye to everyone; Mr. Harriss, the clergyman,came and gave her communion; after that she dropped back into unconsciousness; everyone is glad tht it was a peaecful death, but they are all grieving. 14pp. ALS