Letter from Charles Sumner to William Henry Seward, July 24, 1858
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Letter from Charles Sumner to William Henry Seward, July 24, 1858
transcriber
Transcriber:spp:msr
student editorTranscriber:spp:mec
Distributor:Seward Family Digital Archive
Institution:University of Rochester
Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections
Date:1858-07-24
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Letter from Charles Sumner to William Henry Seward, July 24, 1858
action: sent
sender: Charles Sumner
Birth: 1811-01-06
Death: 1874-03-11
location: Paris, France
receiver: William Seward
Birth: 1801-05-16
Death: 1872-10-10
location: UnknownUnknown
transcription: msr
revision: crb 2017-04-26
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Page
1
Paris- 24th July ‘58
Hotel X Rue de la Paix
My dear Seward,
Since I wrote you
my case has shown a
new feature, which has
added to my troubles.
It has struck upon my
chest in a manner
which seems entirely
unprecedented. But my
physician
diagnosis, has ascertained
[top Margin] Govr Raymond
Page
2
that the whole spinal
cord is in a morbid
state of instability & sensi-
bility, generated by the
original concern; & to
this he attributes my
relapse at Washington, &
this recent visitation. That
must be counteracted.
It came upon me in
the night with a force
which made me think
fire pleasant, & clung
Page
3
to me till the afternoon
of the next day at 6 o’clock
when my physician
arrived. During all this
time ^from 4 o’clock in the morning^ I sat upright
in a chair propped by
cushions, without seeing
a human being except
the Servts
ment has commenced to
meet this;-pills of
bella donna twice a day, &
the warm bath an hour &
a half. How it will
all end I know not. I
owe these torments to my
Page
4
excellent constitution, for
without this long ago I
should have sunk where
natural pains
anxities would not have
reached me, & the wicked
would have ceased from
troubling.
My Dr. says that I am
patient, docile & most sub-
missive to pain. I believe this
is true. But I cannot
bear the heartlessness & fake-
ness of men.
Ever yours & Mrs Seward’s
Charles Sumner
Paris- 24th July ‘58
Hotel X Rue de la Paix
My dear Seward,
Since I wrote you
my case has shown a
new feature, which has
added to my troubles.
It has struck upon my
chest in a manner
which seems entirely
unprecedented. But my
physician
Birth: 1817-04-08 Death: 1894-04-02
, by a furtherdiagnosis, has ascertained
[top Margin] Govr Raymond
Birth: 1820-01-24 Death: 1869-06-18Certainty: Possible
has just left
me.
that the whole spinal
cord is in a morbid
state of instability & sensi-
bility, generated by the
original concern; & to
this he attributes my
relapse at Washington, &
this recent visitation. That
must be counteracted.
It came upon me in
the night with a force
which made me think
fire pleasant, & clung
to me till the afternoon
of the next day at 6 o’clock
when my physician
arrived. During all this
time ^from 4 o’clock in the morning^ I sat upright
in a chair propped by
cushions, without seeing
a human being except
the Servts
. A new
treat-
ment has commenced to
meet this;-pills of
bella donna twice a day, &
the warm bath an hour &
a half. How it will
all end I know not. I
owe these torments to my
excellent constitution, for
without this long ago I
should have sunk where
natural pains
anxities would not have
reached me, & the wicked
would have ceased from
troubling.
My Dr. says that I am
patient, docile & most sub-
missive to pain. I believe this
is true. But I cannot
bear the heartlessness & fake-
ness of men.
Ever yours & Mrs Seward’s
Birth: 1805-09-24 Death: 1865-06-21
—Charles Sumner