Vienna,
December 1, 1861.
My Darling Little
Mary: I am only writing you a note to say that we three are all well,
but, as you may suppose, most unhappy. The prospect that our ports are to be
blockaded by the English fleets, and no communications possible perhaps for
years, fills us with gloom. . . . We
have just received intelligence that the English crown lawyers have decided
that the arrest of Mason and Slidell was illegal and an insult to England, and
that the government has decided to demand their liberation, together with an
apology to them and compensation. This intelligence is only telegraphic, and
may be exaggerated. If it prove genuine it is simply a declaration of war. From
America our latest dates are a telegram, dated November 15, announcing the
arrival of Mason and Slidell at Fortress Monroe. If that, too, be correct, it
shows that the government had no intention of releasing them, and of course
cannot do so when summoned by England. Our next letters and newspapers should
arrive to-morrow or next day, with dates to the 20th.
With regard to the war, we have only the rumored, but not
authentic, intelligence that 15,000 men had been landed by the fleet at
Beaufort. Now I must thank you for your nice, long, interesting letter of
November 9-11. I cannot tell you how much we all depend upon your letters. You
are our only regular correspondent and mainstay. You cannot write too much, or
give us too many details. Everything you tell us about persons is deeply
interesting.
Your affectionate
Papagei.1
_______________
1
"Parrot," a familiar signature to his daughters.
SOURCE: George William Curtis, editor, The
Correspondence of John Lothrop Motley in Two Volumes, Library Edition,
Volume 2, p. 220-1
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