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brown hair worn protruding out rather pretentiously, bright-
ish eyes and a high color, (which may be natural.) She
looked infinitely better, thus by lamplight than when pro-
menading Broadway, when she always dresses very loud,
and to my thinking appears haggard. She was gaily at-
tired now, having on a brown satin dress, with more than
one ring on her fingers. Her frock was cut rather low
in front. She talked with much animation, her voice
possessing a that slight Americienne drawl, which always impresses
me
as affected, or spoilt-childish. The evening was a great suc-
cess. Parton looked pale, and wore gorgeous slippers. She
called him Jem or Jemmy , he addressing her as Fanny.
There was considerable rallying on the suddenness of the match,
she taking occasion to intimate that it must not be considered
as affecting his bachelor friendships. We partook of milk punch
and every body talked. Fanny s daughter is a tall grown
girl, nearly as high as her mother. She said nothing, standing
listening. After an hour or so we came away, rather
gleesomely, Haney convinced the match wasn t so bad, after
all, and talking laudation of matrimony. Returning to
basement found Sol as wont knocked and melancholic
partly on account of a sick brother, partly his own look-out
in life. Out with him for oysters.
I ve my theory how Parton s marriage came about.
10. Thursday. In doors all day, till evening, when
round to Abbotts and got $3. Called on Banks. He
is patching up a peace with O Brien, and now lauds him
| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Seven: page one hundred and ninety-five |
| Description: | Describes his first visit to James Parton and Fanny Fern after their marriage. |
| Date: | 1856-01-09 |
| Subject: | Abbott; Banks, A.F.; Clothing and dress; Eldredge, Grace (Thomson); Eytinge, Solomon; Fern, Fanny; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Haney, Jesse; Marriage; O'Brien, Fitz James; Parton, James; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | [New York, New York] |
| Coverage (Street): | Broadway |
| Scan Date: | 2011-02-02 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Seven |
| Description: | Includes an account of his family history and descriptions of his visits with family and friends in England, witnessing a procession for Louis Napoleon in London, traveling in Paris with his brothers Charley and Edwin, his friend Harry Price's mental illness, his journey across the Atlantic to New York on the ship Washington, the marriage of Fanny Fern and James Parton, meetings of the Ornithoryncus Club in New York, and Alfred Waud's elopement with Mary Brainard. |
| Subject: | Bohemians; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Marriage; Mental illness; Publishers and publishing; Travel; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | London, England; Paris, France; New York, New York |
| Note: | Thomas Butler Gunn was born February 15, 1826, in Banbury, England, and came to New York in 1849. During the Civil War he worked as a correspondent for the New York Tribune and the New York Evening Post. He returned to England in 1863, and died in Birmingham in April 1903. The collection includes twenty-one volumes of his diaries, including newspaper clippings, letters, photographs, sketches, and various other items inserted by Gunn. Diary entries date from July 7, 1849, to April 7, 1863, and include his experiences with the New York publishing and literary world, his descriptions of boarding houses, his travels throughout the United States, and his experiences traveling with the Federal army as a Civil War correspondent. |
| Publisher: | Missouri History Museum |
| Rights: | Copyright 2011 Missouri History Museum. |
| Source: | Page images, transcriptions, and metadata of the Thomas Butler Gunn diaries have been provided by the Missouri History Museum. |
