Letter from Frances Miller Seward to Lazette Miller Worden, November 7, 1843

  • Posted on: 15 October 2018
  • By: admin
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Letter from Frances Miller Seward to Lazette Miller Worden, November 7, 1843
x

transcriber

Transcriber:spp:maf

student editor

Transcriber:spp:smc

Distributor:Seward Family Digital Archive

Institution:University of Rochester

Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections

Date:1843-11-07

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Letter from Frances Miller Seward to Lazette Miller Worden, November 7, 1843

action: sent

sender: Frances Seward
Birth: 1805-09-24  Death: 1865-06-21

location:
x

receiver: Lazette Worden
Birth: 1803-11-01  Death: 1875-10-03

location: Canandaigua, NY

transcription: maf 

revision: tap 2018-07-17

<>
Page 1

Tuesday evening – Nov 7th
My dear Sister,
My little pet
Unknown
has closed his sleepy
eyes upon the sofa. Fred
Birth: 1830-07-08 Death: 1915-04-25
is poring over a sum
in Algebra, while Henry
Birth: 1801-05-16 Death: 1872-10-10
is with the Whigs who
are at this time making no moderate efforts
to evince their joy at having carried the county
and District – I have just received a note
from Henry saying such is the case – Your good
long letter came Sunday – Willie
Birth: 1839-06-18 Death: 1920-04-29
insisted that
I should read the whole of it to him and when
I stopped at the conclusion of each paragraph
would insist upon knowing if that was
all – poor little boy – it is astounding to see
how his mirthfulness triumphs over his suffering
from his eyes – to day he has with difficulty
opened up one eye while the other is entirely closed
and yet he is full of sport and glee – his
merry shout can be heard in all parts of
the house – he was nearly overpowered by the fun
which he derived from making his father
search all about the room for his hat which
he had hidden – has related the circumstances
to me two or three times – His eyes are much
worse to day in consequence of a fall he had
yesterday – his right eye which is the most
inflamed struck the corner of a chair cutting
a gash of an inch long at the outward

[top Margin]
How is Wordens'
Birth: 1797-03-06 Death: 1856-02-16
side– What did Dr Rosecrans
Birth: 1797-12-15 Death: 1852-07-04
say
was the termination of a chronic abcess and what
did Dr Matthews
Birth: 1809-07-07 Death: 1867-11-23
say–

[left Margin]
Love to Frances
Birth: 1826-12-12 Death: 1909-08-24
– What do you propose wearing
this Winter for an outward garment
I hope you have the velvet hat
I wear mine as it is with new
ribbons–
Mrs Alvah Worden
Canandaigua
AUBURN
NOV
8
N.Y.
x

Stamp

Type: postmark
Page 2

corner and so bruising the eye lid that is was
very badly swollen this morning – As yet
there is no improvement in his eyes– for four
or five days I gave him no medicine, Pa
Birth: 1772-04-11 Death: 1851-11-13

being very confident that buckwheat was
the chief cause of the inflammation – during
that time he ate none – but it made no change
I have now commenced with the calcareum again
I do not know of what attenuation mine is
but judge that it is high from the quantity
which Dr Robinson
Birth: 1804-02-04 Death: 1889-07-28
has always prescribed, not
less than 7 or 8 globules for Willie and 20 or
25 for myself – I commenced with one which
had no apparent effect – the next night which
was last night I gave two in solution and to
night have given the same - The ball of his
eye and sometimes both is more inflamed than
at least has continued inflamed longer than
heretofore - a day or two ago there was so
much inflammation about his eye and redness
half way down his cheek, with much heat, that
I gave him aconite – it had a favorable
effect in equalizing the circulation – I shall
now make a thorough trial of the calcareum and
if that fails try the morphine wash – Although
I think Willie derived a temporary benefit from
so scarification, as he did from leeching, I hesitate
to resort to it again – I feared much last
winter that it would injure the eye so
frequently repeated – I have many fears about
his right eye, when free from inflammation, he sees with
Page 3

it very imperfectly – Pa went to Syracuse, Sunday
to sit for a cabinet portrait, for H. Baldwin
Birth: 1797-02-04 Death: 1863-08-22

I have forgotten the artist's name but believe he is an
Englishman – to day he came home to vote and returned
in the next train of cars. Dr read a letter of Henry’s
in yesterday’s Journal addressed to John C. Clark
Birth: 1793-01-14 Death: 1852-10-25
- You
must know the Whighs here have for some time have been
dissatisfied that Henry did not take a more decided
stand in favor of Clay
Birth: 1777-04-12 Death: 1852-06-29
– talked of him being an abolitionist
&c &c – finally which he was at the West last week
they came to a conclusion not to permit him to address
any more meetings on that account – some of
his personal friends urged him to make a splash
so much in favor of Clay as to leave no doubt
of his preference – he preferred taking his own course
and just at this time when they were accusing him
of defection, he has informed them that last August
he recommended to the State Committee the appointment
of delegates by district Conventions and that those
delegates “should be instructed to vote for Henry Clay
which recommendation they have all been acting
upon without knowing from whom it emanated –
I think it is a most beautiful refutation of the
suspicions they have chosen to indulge – I suppose
there are still some as incorrigible as Bronson
Birth: 1789-11-17 Death: 1863-09-03
who
refused to vote for Maynard
Birth: 1786-01-08 Death: 1850-03-24
because he was a “tool
of Seward’s” – I wonder if he will not think now
the the State Central Committee’s are “tools” also –
How dreary this weather is – I have not seen Clara
Birth: 1793-05-01 Death: 1862-09-05

since Sunday – Abbey
Birth: 1822 Death: 1895-09-16
has gone there to night – how
I do wish she lived nearer – Jane Perry
Birth: 1810 Death: 1877-01-07
has
Page 4

a daughter
Birth: 1843-10-26
– nothing heard from John Dill
Birth: 1804 Death: 1866
yet –
Debby
x

 

was here yesterday – Caroline Richardson
Birth: 1826 Death: 1855-09-03
is
very ill – has a billious fever – Dr. Robinson I
am told fears that she is in a decline – is not
this a singular termination of billious fever –
Bowen
Birth: 1808-02-25 Death: 1886-09-29
says homeopathy has had its run in New York
people are now recalling their old physicians – I
have never believed it would supersede the alopathic
practice – there is too little of “pomp and show” about
it to please the mass of people – ever since the

[bottom Margin]
days of Naaman the Syrian a great proportion of
Mankind have preferred to do “some great thing”
to effect the cure of disease – the seekers of novelty who
have resorted to homeopathy will undoubtedly fall away
while I have still faith to believe that many moderate
sensible conscientious persons (including you and I) will
adhere to that method – I have never told you
all the absurd things Massin
Unknown
said to me and have

[right Margin]
not room now, but among others he said
you told him that I had never been well since I
dispensed with Beckwith’s
Birth: 1785-07-31 Death: 1870-05-08
pills and applied Homeopathy