Primary tabs
Transcript: Stangroomletter18560618 [Page 1] Nevada, 18th June 1856 My Dear Charly As I told you in my last, I have engaged to remain here doing nothing, until we hear from England whether I am wanted any more or not. So I have at least 3 months before me. Lane is leaving for San Francisco, the amusements of that place being more congenial to his tastes. As for myself, I prefer the quiet of this place to San Francisco, besides being near Emily. We have left our house and yesterday sold by auction carriage, horses, furniture, and everything we had. I have moved to this house where I have a very nice room and board with Mr. and Mrs. Young. They are a very nice young couple, she plays [illegible] and sings very well. Her brother and another young married couple live with us and make up a very pleasant party. Mrs. Young is an intimate friend of Em's and has a favourite idea of making a match between her and her brother, who is a very agreeable and intelligent man, a lawyer and newspaper editor. I think, however, she begins to see [Page 2] which way the cat jumps and will have to give up her pet project. Having nowhere to keep him, I sold my bear on leaving the house. I had got him so tame as to lead him about by his chain, but had one or two fights with him. So it is perhaps as well to have got rid of him before I got hurt. I am sorry to leave our house, but it would be very lonely to stay there all alone. I expect to be very comfortable here and to be able to pass the time very agreeably. Mrs. Young is very agreeable, is always willing to sing for us and generally has the nicest people in town about her. They are American Catholics, but of course one of my liberal principles does not mind that. Last Sunday I rode over to see Em at Pass Valley, where she is staying and went with the ladies to hear high mass and confirmation. It was a great farce without the redeeming feature of beauty. We nearly got suffocated with the crowd and heat. Thermometer 104ᵒ in the shade, 130ᵒ in sun and very glad to get out of it. [Page torn away] I had a long [Page 3] letter from Aunt [Nan?] and Jessie lately. They were all well and happy. I also had today letters from Aunty Bessy, Alice, and Fanny. They seem to be anxiously expecting dividends. I am very sorry they should be disappointed. You talk in your last of having your eyes cured as well as Matthew. What is the matter with them? I never heard of it. I am sorry your Prussian friend has left, as you seem to regret him. Since my last letter, I stayed 5 or 6 days at San Francisco to see the end of the excitement. I saw the 2 men hung, but the excitement is far from ended yet. The government party (gamblers and scoundrels) are trying to resist and are getting stronger every day, but I do not think they will be able to do anything, though being mostly desperate men they may cause some bloodshed. Since my return we have had 4 men shot here, 2 by an acquaintance of mine in self defence. Coming back, we stayed at Benicia (30 miles up the bay). From there we (Lane, I, and Booker the attaché) rode over to Napa and the sulphur springs. We had a beautiful ride 45 miles through a splendid valley. One the way we saw a camp meeting – clergymen stay a week at a spot, camp out and [page torn away] [Page 4] "pot a biling" and making a tremendous noise. People crowd from 20 miles round to see the fun and make a regular picnic of it. We rode back the next day and came straight back here where I have stayed since with the exception of sundry rides and drives. Yesterday Lane, the German dr.'s wife and myself went for a drive and had a pleasant day. We had a good deal of climbing and I felt real palpitations for the first time so bad as to have to stop often. Tell Papa I have only just received your 2 letters of March and April. The Railway, now open, is not doing well because it leads to nowhere. If it continues, I should consider it a good investment, but not without. I will look round about securities and write to him. Tell him he may reckon on my being out here several years to look after any investment he may like to make here, as I don’t mean to leave this country for good without being tolerably well off, and fortunes are not made in a year or two and very often not at all. You must not think this [page torn away] short as I really think [page torn away] for writing [page torn away] [Page 5] when the thermometer is over 100ᵒ. You have no idea how lazy the last few degrees make one. With lots of love to Papa, Mama, Grandmama, Mat, and Lucy, Believe me Your affectionate brother M. L. Stangroom