Scope and Contents

Walker went to Orange this afternoon; ate some of the grapes Mr. Gardney gave them at dinner; invited Mr. and Miss Van Ness to dinner tomorrow; took some of the grapes to Matthew's family; the Van Nesses accepted the invitation to dinner; Matthew's servant Ann is going to leave his family]; several announcements in the paper have led him to believe that St. Tho[ma]s [their church] will not be sold in the near future; (11 October) Mr. and Miss Van Ness enjoyed dinner; Sarah is writing a letter to Nan to be sent by way of Bermuda; wrote to thank Mr. Gardner for the grapes; (12 October) worked more on the day book and their ledger; Walker saw Dr. Pierson yesterday; plans to invite the doctor to dinner once she has returned; he took out the last ligature from Walker's wound, and the wound has been doing fine since then; Walker went to Spuytendevil[?] this afternoon; bought some very strong cement [glue] for himself and Matthew; Mr. Gardney called while he [RM] was napping, so they did not get to talk; will try to see the gardener tomorrow and get him to put plants from the garden into pots; Matthew thnis they should sell the goldthey have in the bank; is not sure what he thiks they should do with it; (13 October) mailed Sarah's letter to Nan; the gardener will come this afternoonl they have $46,500 in the bank; and they aren't sure what to do with it, since the money is depreciating in value everyday; Matthew suggesting investing in petroleum, but he does not want to; they have a little more than £6000 in the Bank of Liverpool; still think that Fontaine's decision to go to the C[onfederate] S[tates of] A[merica] in search of employment was a bad one; Walker says the wound is still doing well; would like her to visit Mrs. Edw[ar]d Heath; a dispatch from Harrisburg, [Pa.] states that the Democrats won the state; is not sure it is true. 16 p. ALS