Boston, January 21st, 1852.
My Dear Mann:
— It seems an age since I have seen you and long since I have had a word about
you. There was a saying about “icicles in breeches” reported of some member of
the House, and of course we knew it was aut Mann aut Diabolus who
originated it. Was there never any report of your remarks upon that occasion?
if there was pray send it to me.
I have little to say to you that will be new or interesting.
Of matters personal — first and foremost, my babies are well and beautiful and
good; I hope yours are ditto. These little banyan branches of ours that are
taking root in the earth keep us tied to it, and keep us young also. My wife is
well; we are passing the winter at South Boston; and between Blind and Idiots
and my chicks, the time flies rapidly away.
I have luckily secured Dr. Seguin, formerly the life and
soul of the French school for idiots. . . .
As to politics, I know little of them. Alley1 was
in here just now and asked me what I thought of the present position of the
Free-soil party; I replied that in my opinion it was so much diluted that
it would not keep; that the most active Dalgetties had got comfortably placed
in office, and did not trouble themselves much about Free-soil; that at the
State House, among the Coalitionists, the first article of the creed was
preservation and continuation of the Coalition as a means of retaining power —
and that the 39th or 339th was Free-soil — just enough to satisfy outside
impracticables like myself: in a word we were sold. He laughed and said
— “You are more than half right.”
Alley is shrewd and honest, I think. Boutwell goes in for
Davis's place [in the Senate] and will have to fight with Rantoul for it.
I told I. T. Stevenson the other day that there was one man
whom the Lord intended to lift up to the State House and into the Gubernatorial
Chair, in his own good time, and that was you. He replied he did not doubt the
intention, but that you had been doing everything in your power to defeat it.
With kind regards to Mrs. M—.
Ever yours,
S. G. Howe.
_______________
1 John B. Alley of Lynn, afterwards Congressman.
SOURCE: Laura E. Richards, Editor, Letters and
Journals of Samuel Gridley Howe, Volume 2, p. 361-3
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