Washington, D.C., Jan. 26th, 1893.
Dear Mrs. Gouverneur:
Your last two letters have been received and I thank you heartily for them. As tokens of your continued friendly remembrance they are precious to me. I am much obliged for the privilege of reading the letter of Mrs. Vance [Mrs. Zebulon B. Vance], which is herewith returned. It is another of the many indications I have had of the subtle and wide spread circulation given to the Johnson-Speed calumny to which you refer. It seems to me that the poison is beyond the reach of any human antidote, and that I must look to God alone for shelter from it. Your generous and effective good offices in this matter, so deeply affecting my reputation and happiness, have filled my heart with an enduring gratitude.
Your unflagging solicitudes, too, for my poor waning life have much added to that debt of gratitude, great as it was and is. Let the good Lord be praised for ever and ever that spirits such as yours have been born into the world.
I am obliged to address you in this brief and unsatisfactory manner by the hand of another. After two years and a half of continued treatment I have as yet received no relief whatever, nor do the eminent physicians who have treated me afford me any encouragement for the future. While the world feasts, it is evident that my lot is and must be ashes for bread.
Hoping that you are drinking yourself freely from the fountain of happiness you open for others, I remain
Very sincerely your friend,
J. Holt.