29.
Albany Jan’y 16^th 1831.
Dear L.
I will confess that my ambitious
hopes and desires sometimes, my feelings
of attachment to others, sometimes, my
feelings of indignation against wrong
sometimes have made me truant to the
kindly affections of domestic life yet I
must be allowed to say that all the
real happiness I ever do enjoy results
from the indulgence of those same affections
and at times when I yeild myself to
their influence all my friends their
fortunes their loves seem present to me
not one of those who love me has been
this dull and stormy Sunday absent from
my memory, not one is there of whom I
have not imagined to myself their ^condition^ their
comforts, privations joys and griefs. God grant
that I may never lose their affections,
and that I may never be unworthy of them.
F writes ^me^ that she has shown you
my letters, and of course as I write her
daily there is nothing of incident for me
to write you. That the illusion which I
labored under respecting the change from
my hurried life at Auburn to a seat
among the wise men of the nation has all
vanished you can readily conceive. Nevertheless
there is enough to interest me and I begin
to feel that I shall probably be no less happy

30.
in my new career than I have heretofore
been. You will naturally ^ask how do I^ like Albany
and the People and what do I see and hear.
how if it were Grandmother M. who should
ask all these questions I could readily give
an answer which though brief would be
entirely satisfactory, — as thus: — at breakfast
we have what is seldom found at a tavern
good coffee, with muffins, buckwheat cakes,
beefsteak, liver, mutton, chops, fresh codfish
and salt mackrel and ham — at two we
have dinner of turkeys, geese, roast beef,
veal alamode, broiled fish, roast chickens,
ducks, and guinea hens, with soup before,
pies & puddings, and a glass of wine after —
at tea beefs tongues, and dry toast, at supper
cold beef & c — I have a coal-grate in my
room, which is in the third story — a
good bed with linen sheets, a table, dressing
stand, bureau, and shelves for books. For
these comforts I pay six dollars per week —
and extra for fires — but this though it would
be very satisfactory to her would not answer
you — Well then as to the matter of company
there are here besides merchants &c regular
boarders the Lt. Govenor a man about sixty,
his daughter married with her husband &
babe, his daughter just coming out & three
little boys. though rich they seem plain
good people.

31.
We have Mr Senator A, a Regency man
who is always rather sullen when sober
but the cleverest fellow imaginable when
drunk, which does happen sometimes;
Mr Senator B. who is in the Senate about
half the time and the rest of the time
doing the bidding of the Regency.
Mr Senator C who is as stupid as an ass.
Mr. D. an AntiMason, intelligent & active
and very clever fellow.
Mr E. who is put forward to be a leading
man from the Regency.
Mr Roberts the Editor of the Craftsman
who is a very modest fellow laying contri-
butions for the support of "the handmaid."
Mr Myers, the Deputy Grand Scribe who
drinks wine with us but protests that he
would rather abandon his religion than
FreeMasonry. Mr Senator Allen who is a
morose but intelligent old man from
New York — these are my fellow lodgers.
Little I dream is to be derived in the way of
pleasure from the society of any but D
Henry Webb is one of the boarders, he is
conversant in fashionable society but takes
no part that is all parts in politics.
Mr Trumbull Carey of Batavia is a modest
unpretending but intelligent and amiable
man, his wife like unto him. I like am
much with them. He is rich but meek

32.
and so is she and I always feel as if
I did not afford them any grounds to
critisise my speech or question the pro-
priety of my manners. Of Mr & Mrs Tracy
who are fascinating to folks who have
feelings, and refinement I have written
most particularly to F.
Manchester blows the trumpet of my
praises to a heedless world. Legislation
and Court of Error business detains me
at the Capitol from 10 till 2. A mass
of unfinished law business lies before me.
I write many letters, and so find no
time unemployed. Mr Hopkins and
his family are fashionable people without
affectation and I may probably be some
considerably with them. I am thinking
all the time how if F. & you were
here we would make common cause
with Mrs Tracy and "break down the Junto."