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ultra description. Withal he is a character, talks pretty well,
and piques himself on studying people. In the talk I got an-
tagonizing with O Brien, who is, I believe, radically, inherently,
and inevitably my opposite. And I think both of us feel this.
He is a clever man, is O Brien. A man of more than Irish
assurance, of indomitable conceit. Radically a selfish man,
whose theory of life commences and ends with self-indulgence.
He never denies himself anything, if he have money or credit, and
always leaves a trail of debt behind him. He would highly resent
not being considered a honorable man; would, indeed, I have no
doubt pay off some of his debts with a flourish if he came into an inheri-
tance of money, but, to me, it s as clear as noon-day that his
creditors will be swindled. He let Seymour in for it, to the
amount of $50 or so, Seymour endorsing a note and having
to pay it! He got in arrears with Haney, the landlord of the
tavern where the Bees met and the club, generally, had to
pay it. All sorts of dunning letters used to come for him at
the Times Office, and creditors also. He owes bills at hotels
the Lord knows what and where he doesn t owe. He used to
get money in advance from Raymond, from the Harper s &c,
and use up his credit by doing so. They think him a clever,
facile, unreliable man which he is. He is very generally
disliked. He can t hold his tongue, and affects an offensive
candor in pronouncing on better men than himself. The bothers
and confidence of his manner generally carries him through, but
his enemies and he makes an unnecessary number of them
take out their revenge by quietly hating him, and acting on it.
I know no man who can be more offensive, if he choose. His
manner amounts to insult, in such cases. Withal he is
| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Nine: page forty-three |
| Description: | Regarding Fitz James O'Brien's financial habits. |
| Date: | 1857-12-28 |
| Subject: | Bohemians; Clapp, Henry, Jr.; Debt; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Haney, Jesse; O'Brien, Fitz James; Raymond, Henry J.; Seymour, Charles (Bailey) |
| Coverage (City/State): | [New York, New York] |
| Scan Date: | 2011-02-02 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Nine |
| Description: | Includes descriptions of boardinghouse living, a picnic at Hoboken with other New York artists and journalists, his drawing and writing work in New York, attending a lecture by Lola Montez, visits to James Parton and Fanny Fern and the Edwards family, a controversy over Fitz James O'Brien's story ''The Diamond Lens,'' artist Sol Eytinge's relationship with writer Allie Vernon, the suicide of writer Henry William Herbert, antics of the New York Bohemians, the interest of people living in his boarding house in spiritualism, a visit to his friend George Bolton's farm in Canada, a visit to Niagara Falls, and a scandal involving Harbormaster Willis Patten, who lives in his boarding house. |
| Subject: | Boardinghouses; Bohemians; Farms; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Publishers and publishing; Suicide; Travel; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, New York; Rochester, New York; Elmira, New York; Paris, Ontario, Canada |
| 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. |
