hateful it is, in truth! I believe no good or happiness can exist for or
in man apart from the affections, and among them have feelings have pro-
minence. He makes Selfishness, (in Theory) the centre of the Social System.
He has wit, and intellect, energy, fire & go aheadativeness. He has
discrimination of snobs, judges of em - ^|He thinks Shakspere slow. | He has spleen
and envy of men
with more money & less brains (I can sympathize with that, in truth!)
He was capable of seeing through the hollowness, the falsity & utter empti-
ness of Mrs K s life; vanitas vanitatem he knew, when I said it, as
we walked down Broadway together, that of all who visit Mrs K, there to
vent their dullness and get rid of otherwise indisposable time; there was no jot
of true liking and sincere feeling for her among them. Yet withal he builds
up a pretty little romance for himself. He is loved at least, and he
goes to his mistress. Well. It may be so!
22. Monday. Writing and drawing, Genin s caps &c. Afternoon out, to
Traveller Office, met Holbook, gave him sketch for poster for engraver; to Post Office,
and to Wall Street. Accounts of the Washington Street shindy in the papers, though
brief. To Castle Garden, matagrabolized walk, dull leaden rain-portending sky,
the face of the blessed Sun invisible all day. Scribbled all the evening.
23. Tuesday. Drawing awhile, Out at 12, to the Leader Office, found
Picton s visitor on Sunday there, others came in. Foster came in. Picton not
there. A strike had occurred among the printers of The Leader, and Tom
Frank who we found at the door below says there ll never be another Leader
come out of that doorway. Picton don t care a d_m; is taking chair at a
dinner in Brooklyn or Williamsburg. / To the Traveller Office, paper
with first Chapter of Ike Chivvles in London out, saw Holbrook. Traveller
is ^|a| [word crossed out] weekly paper. Back to dinner. To Strong s, leaving M S
of the Story of Adam Lux ; to Holmes; then sent M S of the original
Ike Chivvles story to the Albany Dutchman , per post. Dank walk back,
| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Two: page one hundred and eighty-six |
| Description: | Comments on Thomas Picton. |
| Date: | 1851-09-21 |
| Subject: | Drawing; Frank, Tom; Genin; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Holbrook; Holmes; Kidder, Rebecca (Morse); Picton, Thomas; Publishers and publishing; Strong, Thomas; Traveler.; Women; Writing |
| Coverage (City/State): | [New York, New York]; Brooklyn, [New York] |
| Coverage (Street): | Broadway; Wall Street; Washington Street |
| Scan Date: | 2011-02-07 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Two |
| Description: | Includes descriptions of Gunn's attempts to find drawing work among New York publishers, brief employment in an architectural office, visits to his soldier friend William Barth on Governors Island, boarding house living, drawing at actor Edwin Forrest's home at Fonthill Castle, and sailing and walking trips taken with friends. |
| Subject: | Boardinghouses; Books and reading; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Military; Publishers and publishing; Religion; Travel; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | 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. |
