219.
that she hasn t written unkindly &c. In fact the letter
is a polite intimation of If you want me as Mrs
Leslie, come up to the scratch, and don t stand shilly-
shally. I want to know how we stand! To which
Leslie, after two hours cogitation, wrote an answer begin-
Ning Esteemed Friend, professing profound respect for
her, saying the obligations &c were all on his side &c,
telling her circumstances had occurred to prevent his visit,
and in fine civilly implying that he preferred respecting
her in any or every other capacity than that of Mrs Leslie.
Now the girl is good and amiable, but I don t think
there ll be any heart-breaking ensue. In fact her delicate
physique and youthful appearance (she s over 20) com-
bined with her simplicit of aspect and demeanour have quietly
sold folks a little. Her mother, too, is a very up-to-snuff
old lady. I know she set Miss Cornelia on Leslie. She d
tell her to go into the front parlor after him nodding and
beckoning! Leslie says the other girl whose portrait
he s got, and whom he wrote an idiotic letter to, will
have $30,000!! There s half the key to his conduct.
It wasn t Dick Bolton who called, two weeks back,
only a young fellow from Montreal who knew him.
The Jewells are in the country, somewhere.
18. Saturday. Trying to write. Got a letter, from
Hannah the which I was beginning to ache for. Down
town in the afternoon, to Spruce Street and elsewhere.
To Bellew s at night.
19. Sunday. In doors all day. Extremely weary
| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Eight: page two hundred and eight |
| Description: | Regarding the end of the courtship between Nina Brooks and William Leslie. |
| Date: | 1857-07-17 |
| Subject: | Bennett, Hannah; Bolton, Richard; Brooks, Mrs.; Brooks, Nina; Farr, Bella; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Leslie, William; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | [New York, New York] |
| Coverage (Street): | Spruce Street |
| Scan Date: | 2011-02-02 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Eight |
| Description: | Includes descriptions of the process of publishing his book, ''The Physiology of New-York Boarding Houses;'' his poor mental state upon returning to New York from England; meeting Walt Whitman; visits with Fanny Fern, James Parton, and Harriet Jacobs' daughter Louisa who is living with them; a visit to the Catskill Mountains with the Edwards family; moving into the boarding house at 132 Bleecker Street; working on the publication ''European'' with Colonel Hugh Forbes; the death of publisher William Levison and his daughter Ellen in his boarding house; visiting the scene of the murder of a dentist to get a sketch of the suspect; visiting Newport, Rhode Island, on assignment to sketch for Frank Leslie; and the death of his brother-in-law, Joseph Greatbatch. |
| Subject: | Boardinghouses; Bohemians; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Journalism; Medical care; Mental illness; Publishers and publishing; Travel; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, New York; Newport, Rhode Island |
| 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. |
