Monday night
My Dear Henry, After sealing and sending a letter to you this morning I have
employed the remainder of the day in taking care of my little Fred. Sarah
having gone with Augustus up to aunty’s to see cousin Fan, with his new
suit of clothes and his pocket full of almonds,while we were at tea Mr
Willard came here and he and Pa have been talking loud and long about
the revival. I thought from what I could gather of the conversation that
there was not the utmost unanimity of opinion on the subject. Clary &
I left them talking and started to go over to Serenes where we were to meet
Lazette, crossing the walk we met Maria and Debby going to our house
but they insisted upon our not returning and they went on to Dr Pitney’s
Lazette and Emily joined us before we arrived at our place of destination
found Serene sitting up very prim in the parlour with her mother and
Blanchard expecting a Dr Briggs to call on them. Frank Hamilton came
and then Dr Briggs whom the Fosgates considers very smart. I should
think quite an insipid young man. There were just enough part
of them being strangers to make this evening dull enough. Serene could
not talk about Finney because Frank was there. I talked a little
while with Lazette about you and was glad when the bell rang for
nine to make a move to come home. Serene says you will insist upon
calling the Bartow’s cousins of hers though they are no way related. we
did not go quite over the tops of our boots in the mud. Blanch
came home with us, we left Lazette there, Worden came in just as we
left. When we came home found that Maria and Debby had called
on their return from Pitney’s, a prayer meeting at Dr Pitney’s tomorrow
afternoon. Teusday night. A cold unpleasant day. Clary has been to Church this evening.
Cummings preached which I presume he will continue to do as through Passion Week. is it not
shameful, -very few people there. Dr Rudd ill. Hugh did not come for Clary, as she
was afraid he would. Clary went up to George Woods this afternoon did not hear any
thing new, for a remarkable occurrence. This morning I invited Edward to send

Nathan Osborne to see me if he could find him he has not been yet. I have concluded not
to have any thing done with the trees until you come home. I have come to this wise
resolution because I chanced to read an article in the paper to day respecting pruning
of course like Grandma think it must be all true because it was in the paper.
The amount of the thing is there appears to be a great diversity of opinion about
pruning trees and I thought this as probably correct as any other. The
article in question says that this month is altogether too early to prune
trees, that they should not be pruned until the leaves are out and the
sap circulates freely when the wound heals more quickly, which appears
to be an object as promoting the healthiness of the tree. So that thing is
disposed of. Nathan will know whether there is any thing else that requires
immediate attention as he has always had the care of the garden since
the comm
encement of its being. My eyes are too weak to allow me to
write much I have taxed them rather too much for a few evenings.
I have just completed the 1st volume of Moore’s Byron -Edward endeavoured to day to get the 2nd but was unsuccessful. Wednesday night. This
morning Pa went to Montezuma and before dinner Harvey Miller from f
Ulysses came to see him on business about the Hoyts who you know succeeded
in ruining him and Milton. Nathan came about now and we talked
about the garden a long time, he went over to see what it was necessary
to do at present. when he went over where the potatoes were planted to
see the trees he discovered that a large hole had been dug and 15 fine
large currant bushes, some barberrys &gooseberry bushes some lilac’s and
one large grape vine and [ had ] been put in and partially covered. they
were all alive except the grape vine which was quite dead. Nathan says
they must from appearance have been put there last fall and he suspects
Hudson [ , ] who at that time had a garden of his own. he says he can tell
the precise spot they were taken from as he set them out with his own hands
and wishes me to go over to the garden which I intend doing tomorrow
it has rained all this afternoon. I shall have them all replaced, but
I cannot imagine who is the author of this mischief. can you throw any

light on this subject. I know that Hudson is intolerably lazy and careless but
I never dreamed of his being dishonest, which I think this would be. Clary has
gone to Church again this evening. Pa has returned and I left him and Harvey discuss-
ing the Hoyts. I feel vexed about our shrubbery and fearful we may discover more
depredations. Grandma who you know has the most happy faculty at consolation
says this is but the beginning of trouble. Peter who talks most of his time about
Antimasonick meetings wishes me to tell you that he has bet five dollars with
Eldridge that Garrow will not be elected supervisor. It may have some inter-
est for you I am sure it has none for me. Peter is any thing to any body. I
wonder he continues of one mind long enough to bet at all. Three days ago
he said Hudson was the most honourable Englishman he ever knew. I did not
let him know that I was at all dissatisfied with Hudson’s work. to night he
appears quite firm in the belief that Hudson had purloined the shrubs.
Thursday night Dear Henry, I have just received your letter of sunday saying you
are ill. I to be with ^you^ & know that you are more sick than you ackno[ wledge ]
yourself to be. most impossible for me to wait three days to have my
fears dispelled . I am sick myself heart and head, with the hypo
headache. there has been a thunder shower. I went over this morning
garden. Hudson has made sad work. he has only left me one row of currant bushes
standing and these the very poorest we had in the garden. he has dug up
every thing of the shrub kind currants, barberries and lilac’s on the south side
and set out (for what I cannot imagine) grape vines in the place of them
in the middle and on the east side he has dug up currants and gooseberries
some places he has filled the places with gooseberry slips, the black and white
currants are all gone. I do not know what do to do. Nathan says many of those
which are thrown aside will not answer to put back again as they
are dead by exposure some that be buried remain alive. I think he must have intend
ed these for his own use, nearby one whole strawberry bed is robbed of its roots.
I shall go over again when it gets a little warmer I took cold to day standing so
long in the damp ground. Did you give him any directions to make these alterations?
He did not prune the grape vines as he should have done in the fall and Nathan says
it cannot be done now without injuring them. I am afraid you will be tired of all
these complaints. Tomorrow is Good Friday and I hope to feel well enough to go to
Church. Mrs Rudd and Frank Cummings called here this afternoon. I did not
see them. Grandma could not treat him as cordially as she used to do in
days of yore. I suppose the call was entirely for her. I do hope he will
not preach tomorrow. It was strange n indeed that Marcia could leave her
children to go among strangers I think rather unnatural, but Marcia is
strange about many things. she says I do not love my husband as well as she
does I know that he is satisfied with my love and that he loves me too well to ask
such a sacrafise of my maternal feelings. There is not a particle of sympathy
between Marcia & myself we do not think or feel alike about any thing, notwithstanding
I think she is not destitute of gooness goodness of heart which is more than Frank Tuthill
Will allow. I dont believe one word of Fuller’s prediction, and
know I shall always be your own Frances.

William H. Seward
Albany.
AUBURN N.Y. APR 2
hFrances A. Seward
1 April 1831