229
his engaging himself to Miss Cruise of Detroit.
About every where with Helmsm ller. To the
other big hotels when hopes were in progress. Rambles
on my own hook along the coast, to the Hanging Rock,
Spouting Rock , Conrad s Cave &c, sometimes
strolling all alone over the smooth and hardened sand,
now clambering amid the rocks, and anon indulging in
luxurious and solitary bathing. Back generally to
3 o clock dinner, writing or looking at the promenaders
subsequently, and to the hops or miscellaneous loafing
at night. Introdued to no end of people. Cham-
pagne at dinner, and everything in good style. Brady
has been to Boston and returned, has seen Alf
Waud and says he expects me.
22. Saturday. By the little steamer Perry to
Providence which looked very bright and pretty in
the sunny afternoon. Thence by cars to Boston ar-
riving at 6, Alf and Mrs Waud meeting me at
the dep t. He well, as usual, she very fair and
plump. Through the torturous narrow streets to their
boarding house one to which they have just moved, leaving
their child out at nurse in Charlestown. This is
preparation for an intended journey west, to Kentucky
or Indiana, where she will sue for a divorce from
Brainard, upon obtaining which Waud will be mar-
ried to her. The project has been talked of for
the last two years. Waud came on to New York du-
ring my absence up the Hudson, to see Hart about
| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Eight: page two hundred and eighteen |
| Description: | Describes a visit to Alf Waud and Mary in Boston. |
| Date: | 1857-08-21 |
| Subject: | Brady, Matthew; Brainard; Cruise, Mary Pauline (Mapother); Divorce; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Hart; Helmsmuller; Jewell, Mary (Waud); Mapother, Dillon; Marriage; Travel; Waud, Alfred |
| Coverage (City/State): | Boston, [Massachusetts]; [Newport, Rhode Island] |
| 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. |
