Judge Black, General Anderson of Tennessee, Mr. Brenner, and Mr. Van Dyke dined with me yesterday, and we had a merry time of it, laughing, among other things, over our crushing defeat. It is so great that it is almost absurd.
We will present a record of success at the meeting of Congress which has rarely been equalled. We have hitherto succeeded in all our undertakings.
Poor bleeding Kansas is quiet, and is behaving herself in an orderly manner; but her wrongs have melted the hearts of the sympathetic Pennsylvanians, or rather Philadelphians. In the interior of the State the tariff was the damaging question, and in defeating Jones, the iron interest have prostrated a man who could render them more service than all the Republican Representatives from Pennsylvania. He will be a loss to the whole country in the House of Representatives.
I have heard nothing of the good and excellent Robert since you left us. He is a man among a thousand. I wish I could say so much for his brother.
It is growing late and I must retire. I sleep much better now, but not near so well as at the Soldiers’ Home.
May 13th, 1859.
I send you an oration received from Hon. William Porcher Miles,[[55]] and franked by him to yourself. A precious recognition!......
I wrote a long letter to Mrs. Roosevelt, ten days ago, and left it on my table open. It marvellously disappeared, and I had neither courage nor time to copy it from memory. I know not what has become of it, but it contains nothing which might not be published in the New York Herald. My respect and admiration for Mrs. Roosevelt, to be sure, appear in the letter; but this is well known and does me honor. It is possible that in clearing my own table I may have by mistake torn this letter up with other manuscripts; but I can not believe it.
I have but little news. Mr. Magraw came to us on Saturday last and still remains, much to my gratification. We get along very comfortably and quietly. Miss Hetty is very busy. Washington, they say, is extremely dull. I called yesterday at Mr. Thompson’s, just before dinner. The lady was not at home. She had gone to a travelling circus and show in company with Mrs. Gwin, her sister and Miss Lucy. I made no remark to Mr. Thompson on receiving the information, except that you would certainly have been of the party had you been in Washington.
I met Mrs. Conrad and her daughters on the street the other day and walked with them some distance. She does not appear to have seen much of Lord Lyons. I think he keeps himself very much to himself. Count Sartiges has been here several times. I shall miss him more than I would any of the foreign ministers.