Washington Jan 13^th – 1850
My dear Sister,
I will take it for granted that
you are at home again though your letter does not
say exactly when you are going – A letter from
Clarence says they expected you Thursday –
I have heard nothing else from home since
you went away – Mr Sackett wrote that Aunt
Clara was coming stay with Grandpa–
I am glad to hear it – you will then have
no excuse for not coming here – Henry Chesebro
and John Sibley came Thursday morning, I
have tried in vain to persuade Henry to take
his meals with us – I am sorry we had no
bed to offer him – I have not seen John Sibley
yet – a cold has prevented his visiting –
The young people went Friday morning to the
Presidents and last evening to Mrs Carrolls
Mrs Carroll has been very polite to Frances –
Mr Webster his son Fletcher and Edward
Curtis dined with us Tuesday – Mr Webster
is exceedingly grave – seldom smiles – I
talked with him some time before dinner and

[top Margin] The children

x

Frances Seward

Birth: 1844-12-09  Death: 1866-10-29 

William Seward

Birth: 1839-06-18  Death: 1920-04-29 

both send love to Aunty – Love to
Aunt Clara – Clara Miller

x

Clara Bacon

Birth: 1827-12-03 Death: 1911-07-07

& Mrs Miller

x

Zeviah Miller

Birth: 1795-03-06 Death: 1868-05-13Certainty: Probable

who
I hope is much better – Your own sister –

was exceedingly interested in his conversation
which impresses you with the belief that
he never speaks without thinking more than
other people generally do He does not seem
happy to me – this may be a fancy –
A fearful responsibility rests upon the possession
of such great abilities – Fletcher is Gentlemanly
but no way remarkable – It seems you saw
Edward Curtis and told him who I was
last Winter – I never saw a person more
metamorphosed by any piece of information –
Although I have met him often for the last
20 years it never entered my mind that
he did not know that I was Fanny Miller –
I always waited for him to recall the ac-
quaintance – For the first time he met me
with a smile which reminded me of the
handsome boy we knew at Windsor — I remember
then he was very kind to us little girls and
we were so often at his fathers that we must
have tested his good nature – We had a
pleasant talk about Windsor – how much
it made me wish to go there once more –
Among other things he told me that Mr
Tastet, Nicholas Tastet is actually in this
city – an auctioneer – many times as I have
read the sign Tastet & company I have been

tempted to enter the store and enquire if it was
actually Nicholas Tastet – I am going to send
for him to come and see me – How sorry I am
his wife is gone – Edward Curtis is as devoted
to Daniel Webster as Boswell was to Johnson –
I trust without his servility – He did not
seem willing that any one should lose an
observation of the great man and almost
every thing he said or did had some ref-
erence to Mr Webster – Curtis is keeping
house here in a very small way he says –
I have considerable curiosity to see his wife
again – Yesterday John A. King and Ward
dined with us – Although our table can
be made to accommodate only four guests
it is likely to be filled very frequently –
I wish Henry were as well pleased to entertain
his friends in some other way – When guests
are formally invited considerable preparation is
necessary at & it is a troublesome way of
entertaining – and far from economical – but it
is childish to complain of things which cannot
be remedied – When you come here as I hope
you will you must be prepared for many dis-
comforts – there are many things about my house
far from agreeable to me – I think sometimes
Frances does not enjoy her visit much – I
find an unresigned spirit sometimes creeping
over me but I dare not indulge it –
Mary is an excellent cook but does not keep

a tidy kitchen – I avoid it as much as possible
except that once or twice every week I reach
corners and closets that we may avoid
a calamity like Mrs Ford’s – Our waiter
though very intelligent is not neat and
occasions me much trouble – still I have ^no^ en-
encouragement for thinking I could improve
by changing – Our washing and ironing are poorly
done – I reconcile myself to all this by thinking
it is but for a season and yet I do not know
how to leave the house in such hands for three
or four months – sufficient for the day is the
evil thereof – With all this you will find
much to amuse and interest you at Washington
Henry would be unhappy if he thought me
discontented and I do not intend to be –
This soiled spot on my paper was occasioned
by the children upsetting a basin of choc-
olate near me the oil has mixed
with the ink and refuses to disappear
They are rather at loss for amusement
particularly Sundays you cannot tell how
much we all miss our grounds at home
I have another letter from Augustus making
three in the last three weeks – dear boy
he is kind to write so often – He says the
Spring navigation of the Arkansas has just
opened – nothing about coming home – This letter
was mailed the 24 of Dec – 20 days ago –
it makes him seem much nearer –