Letter from Charles Sumner to Frances Miller Seward, May 31, 1859
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Letter from Charles Sumner to Frances Miller Seward, May 31, 1859
transcriber
Transcriber:spp:mec
student editorTranscriber:spp:msr
Distributor:Seward Family Digital Archive
Institution:University of Rochester
Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections
Date:1859-05-31
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Letter from Charles Sumner to Frances Miller Seward, May 31, 1859
action: sent
sender: Charles Sumner
Birth: 1811-01-06
Death: 1874-03-11
location: Paris, France
receiver: Frances Seward
Birth: 1805-09-24
Death: 1865-06-21
location: UnknownUnknown
transcription: mec
revision: crb 2017-04-26
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Page
1
Paris – 31st May – '59 –
Only a few days ago dear Mrs
Seward, on reaching Paris I
found your letter of last February,
which had been kept from
me in some unaccountable
way. It came in season to
make me believe that you
had not entirely forgotten me.
I hear that your husband
on this side of the water; but
where I know not, nor, indeed,
am I sure that he is here.
Every day I have expected a
little word from him that
would tell me where he
is.
Page
2
I am just from Italy, which
I have enjoyed much—with
the solitary drawback that I
was not able to keep on my
legs enough to see all that
I wanted to see. It was
in March after more
than three months of daily
cupping & repose in a most
quiet provincial town, that
I started for Italy—stopping
at Genoa, Florence, Naples,
& Rome (how interesting I
found this all!)—then to
Genoa again, & close to
Page
3
the edge of war to Turin.
At Turin I saw the Count
de Cavour, the statesman
who is now organizing this
great contest for Independence.
I also saw many persons of
the society of the place. The
Lords—old & young—mar-
chinesses, countesses & the
like—were all engaged in
scraping lint for the wounded
soldiers. In their courage
& confidence they seemed like
Roman matrons in a great
crisis of the Republic. They
did not doubt the result,
Page
4
& seemed to think victory already
within their grasp.
But on reaching Paris I am
in a different political at-
mosphere. The leaders of in-
telligence here detest the Euro-
pean & do not think that
any thing decent or good can
come from him.
I feel happy at last in
the prospect of being well. Here
where I suffered so much, where
I never took a step without an
ache, a smart or a thorn,
I now walk naturally & un-
consciously, but my physic-
ians find
that the enemy is
not yet entirely exterminated.
Best regards to all your family Ever yours,
Charles Sumner
Paris – 31st May – '59 –
Only a few days ago dear Mrs
Seward, on reaching Paris I
found your letter of last February,
which had been kept from
me in some unaccountable
way. It came in season to
make me believe that you
had not entirely forgotten me.
I hear that your husband
Birth: 1801-05-16 Death: 1872-10-10
ison this side of the water; but
where I know not, nor, indeed,
am I sure that he is here.
Every day I have expected a
little word from him that
would tell me where he
is.
I am just from Italy, which
I have enjoyed much—with
the solitary drawback that I
was not able to keep on my
legs enough to see all that
I wanted to see. It was
in March after more
than three months of daily
cupping & repose in a most
quiet provincial town, that
I started for Italy—stopping
at Genoa, Florence, Naples,
& Rome (how interesting I
found this all!)—then to
Genoa again, & close to
the edge of war to Turin.
At Turin I saw the Count
de Cavour, the statesman
who is now organizing this
great contest for Independence.
I also saw many persons of
the society of the place. The
Lords—old & young—mar-
chinesses, countesses & the
like—were all engaged in
scraping lint for the wounded
soldiers. In their courage
& confidence they seemed like
Roman matrons in a great
crisis of the Republic. They
did not doubt the result,
& seemed to think victory already
within their grasp.
But on reaching Paris I am
in a different political at-
mosphere. The leaders of in-
telligence here detest the Euro-
pean & do not think that
any thing decent or good can
come from him.
I feel happy at last in
the prospect of being well. Here
where I suffered so much, where
I never took a step without an
ache, a smart or a thorn,
I now walk naturally & un-
consciously, but my physic-
ians
Birth: 1801
Death: 1867
Birth: 1791-03-09
Death: 1863-10-07
Birth: 1817-04-08
Death: 1894-04-02
not yet entirely exterminated.
Best regards to all your family
Birth: 1844-12-09
Death: 1866-10-29
Birth: 1830-07-08
Death: 1915-04-25
Birth: 1826-10-01
Death: 1876-09-11
Birth: 1839-06-18
Death: 1920-04-29
Charles Sumner