Transcript: Stangroomletter18561218

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White Sulphur Springs, Napa 18th December 1856 My Dearest Mother At last we are married and, though not quite, tolerably settled for the present. To begin at the beginning: on Saturday the 6th instant at 8 a.m. we were joined together in the holy bonds of matrimony by the Right Revd. Bishop Kip, who is a friend of Emily's people in Albany and knew her there. We did it very quietly indeed at the house of a friend where she was staying. We had no bridesmaids or grooms and, to the horror of all those who delight in descriptions of the bride's dress, Em was dressed in a plain travelling dress without ornaments or nonsense of any kind. Her sister and brother-in-law, the Bishop's wife, 2 couples, friends of Mrs. Grant (the lady at whose house we were) and Wm. Booker, our acting consul, as my friend, were present [page torn away]

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some warm sulphur springs here which first made the place known and which have in addition to the beautiful scenery of the neighbourhood made it a very fashionable and (in the season) crowded place of resort. As the season has been over some time, there are only one or two men here besides the proprietor, his wife, and ourselves. It is a very large and comfortable hotel and they do everything in their power to make us comfortable and everything is very pleasant. We have very uncertain weather, but generally manage to get in a good walk every day, with a ride occasionally for variety. There is good shooting all around and I take my gun with me sometimes. Yesterday Emily went 8 or 9 miles with me and enjoyed the sport as much as I did if not more. She has adopted Charly's Chamouni style of dress, i.e., thick shoes (I firmly believe her to be the first American lady who ever wore thick shoes) and her dress tied up with a piece of rope about 9 inches from the ground, looking altogether like a "buy a broom girl" or a sensible woman. If you remember in one of my letters I [page torn away].