Vienna, November 11, 1861.
My Dearest Mother:
This is your birthday, and I cannot help writing a line to wish you joy and
many happy and healthy returns of it. I am delighted to hear such good accounts
of you and A—. I suppose by this time that you are established in town. I received
your letter, conjointly with the governor's, of October 12. We are far from
comfortable yet. We are at the hotel called the Archduke Charles, where we are
pretty well off, but the difficulty of finding apartments is something beyond
expression. We have finally decided upon a rather small one, just vacated by
the secretary of legation, Mr. Lippitt — a very intelligent man, a classmate of
Lowell and Story. He has been here eight years, and is married to a lady of the
place, daughter of a banker. He is very useful to me, and is quite sympathetic
with my political views. I have had two interviews with Count Rechberg, the
Minister of Foreign Affairs. He received me with great cordiality, and informed
me that my appointment had given very great pleasure to the emperor and the
government, and that I was very well known to them by reputation. I am to have
my formal audience of the emperor day after to-morrow; but I am already
accredited by delivering an official copy of my letter of credence to the
Minister of Foreign Affairs. I have made the acquaintance of several of my
colleagues. We dine with the English ambassador, Lord Bloomfield, to-morrow. He
was secretary of embassy at St. Petersburg twenty years ago, when I was
secretary of legation, and he received me like an old acquaintance. Lady
Bloomfield is very amiable and friendly, and very kind and helpful to Mary in
her puzzling commencements in official life. There is always much bother and
boredom at setting off. When we have once shaken down into the ruts we shall go
on well enough, no doubt. But our thoughts are ever at home. I never knew how
intensely anxious I was till now that I am so far away. I get the telegrams in
advance of the press through my bankers, and Mary always begins to weep and
wail before I open them. I do wish we could receive one good piece of news. But
I am not disheartened. I feel perfect confidence that the great result cannot
be but good and noble. As I am not an optimist by nature, and far from being
constitutionally hopeful, there is no harm in my expressing myself thus. We are
going through a fiery furnace, but we shall come forth purified. God bless you,
my dearest mother. My love to the governor and all, great and small.
Your affectionate
son,
J. L. M.
SOURCE: George William Curtis, editor, The
Correspondence of John Lothrop Motley in Two Volumes, Library Edition,
Volume 2, p. 209-11
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