The Diaries of Ralph Leland Goodrich, 1859-1867

August 1, 1859

Mild day. The showers today has made the air much cooler & much more agreeable. Read 90 pages in law today. Had a discussion with Johnson on Faith which called out much sarcasm & less argument. Did some copying at the [law] office. Nothing new or strange today occurred. Feel miserable & very unimaginative. There was a grand sunset. The dark clouds beyond & the paler ones overhead were tinted with deeper & lighter shades of purple. A light bluish smoke hung over & around the hills making them seem far away out in the distance.

August 2, 1859

I have been unwell today – very sleepy and dull – and have not accomplished scarcely anything. The weather is more than moderately warm & has been tempered by showers. Attended County Court all the forenoon. Wright [1] & Hancock [2] argued. Wright is a modern Buyfuy, but not half so original, nor of the same style, but strictly the opposite.

Called to Aunt Lucy Fiddis’ in the morning. There was a long dark & narrow inky cloud stretched across the heavens before the sun just before it set. Below the cloud there was a line of light that looked like molten iron in the furnace, so lurid red, so bright, which far away seemed rolling up from depths beyond the hills purple & dark, tipped with amber & gold long unfathomable, & fathomless clouds. Went after the cows. Evening, read & wrote.

August 3, 1859

A poor old man stayed here last night. He was sick, poor, & friendless. Commenced to cut oats. Read some law. Afternoon, house full of company. Morning, came to [law] office to see if I would not go to Ithaca with the fireman. Refused. Said I could be their speaker. [Willoughby] Babcock wanted me to go [but] hadn’t the money. Received a letter from [cousin] Lucy Fiddis [containing] a history of James Griffing’s trials to go through college. It was not enough to discourage a man who had not the real go ahead spirit in him. Disputed with Col. [Nathaniel Davis] on some law points. Austin examined me & said I could pass. If I could get along as well at examination day, I would not care. I have been thinking some on phrenology. I find that I am sadly deficient in well formed & respectful “bumps” – in short, that I have an ugly and low-shaped head, that there is nor can be anything in it. Whether phrenology is true, or that which I feel within me to & think, in determination when right that will never shake or cringe, is untrue, let the future bear witness. Mark, one year born this day, D. V.  I am in the land of the living. Whether I have improved or failed, may God help me to improve.

August 4, 1859

Rainy day. Went to the office and read one hundred pages. Read in an infidel paper that man can never love that which he fears. He must hate, therefore he must hate God. Went to Aunt Lucy Fiddis’ to dinner. Evening, read some.

August 5, 1859

It was an uncertain looking day. Doubting whether to rain or shine. Carried over butter & eggs to Owego. [Nathaniel] Davis went to Ithaca yesterday & did not feel well today. A crazy man went through the streets preaching, or rather calling loudly, “Come, come to Christ.” It was said that this man had sworn against Bill Crator [3] & falsely. Crator himself says that all who swore against him are crazy or have been to State Prison. Austin & I went over the [Susquehanna] River to see Georgia Archibald. [She was] at home this time. Her little sister [4] is a smart child, precocious with wild beautiful eyes. Georgia is a pleasant girl but not to my taste. She is not acute enough nor has she enough of womanly vigor. Nevertheless, she will make an amiable lady. She is rather good looking but the shape of her face I do not like. She promised to come over. I promised to go after her. Came home. Told Austin to tell Johnson I had fallen in the river & went immediately home. Rode over & brought Georgia here. Gurd Horton here in the evening [calling on my sister Mary]. Rather dull time of it. If a person chooses, he can be agreeable in any kind of company in the company will do their part to endeavor to cultivate the faculty of sociability.

August 6, 1859

Went to the [law] office. Studied a little. Austin came over with me. In the afternoon we had the dullest of dull times. Georgia Archibald was here. She laughed most awfully at my nose. We intended to go & take a ride. I got hitched up & saddled a horse, and in ten minutes we should have been off, but Georgia’s folks drove up for her & our fun was knocked effectually in the head. Austin said he told that I had fallen in the river the day before [like I asked him to], but after supper, [Willoughby] Babcock found out the real facts & told him [he knew] so. When Austin said that he had fallen in love or the river, which was the same thing. Georgia does not like Austin very well.

August 7, 1859

Went to [Presbyterian] church today. Hear [James] Rankine. Rather dull [sermon]. George Stratton [5] here in the afternoon a short time. Went to hear Tom Nichols [preach] in the afternoon. Wrote a letter to J. Belknap. Don’t feel like doing anything. Got an English Grammar down today. I thought a little of trying to improve my English & I find that I have immense room for improvement. In the evening, read & wrote. Saw John Goodrich. [6] He extols his machine for pitching off hay. It is decidedly a labor-saving machine.

August 8, 1859

Went to Aunt Lucy Fiddis’ in the morning. Wrote & studied in the [law] office. Johnson had his whiskey out which was a cause for blackguarding him. Afternoon, worked in the oats. Feel very tired. Truesdell [7] told a story of a preacher in Pennsylvania who was a confirmed miser who made his children ply the fiddle, bones & tambourine & dance & then whip them to make them pray. Angelo McCallum [8] here in the morning to say that Typo [9] had been at their hens. Evening, finished the 3d volume on Evidence.

August 9, 1859

It was a rather cold morning. The fog hung on very long. Took some eggs to Owego. Read law all day. Blondin [10] has made lately some awful & fearful acrobatic feats over the Niagara [River]. It makes me tremble to read about him. A clock tinker here to dinner & [attempted to] fix the clock. Didn’t [fix it]. Another [tinker came] here in the evening. He thought he knew about as much concerning clocks as I did – probably.  Most probably such clock tinkers are in partnership. The first intends to fail & the second comes along to make worse what the first has nearly destroyed. Idem est humanitas. [11]  

The weather was very warm in the afternoon. I feel the effects of hard work yesterday. Jim Tinkham [12] came down the railroad at noon with a bag like a mini net to catch insects – daylight ones. While I write this evening, a katydid is singing its sharp & ragged song, and the beetle is humming its dreary notes. Studying law in the evening.

August 10, 1859

Went to town quite early. A fellow by the name of Clark, lately married, died in the Ahwaga [House] [13] with the delirium tremens. Arindle got back in the [law] office. Johnson was sharper today than usual. Went up to Aunt Lucy Fiddis’ before coming home. In afternoon, saw Washington Gladden [14] & [his] brother. Wash will make a smart fellow. He has an active, a fine & powerful mind.

Solomon Washington ["Wash"] Gladden
"...will make a smart fellow. He has an active, a fine & powerful mind" -- RLG

It was intensely warm this afternoon. Commenced reading Tristram Shandy. [15]  There are some bright strokes of wit & beautiful sentiment. Blackguarding as usual today.  

Who wrote, “O consistency, thou art a jewel?” The smoke from the burning fallows on the hills and distant peaks has settled in the valley & around the summits of the hills. The sun went down lurid red & darkness quickly followed.

August 11, 1859

Went to the [law] office [and] studied some. In evening, had a spat with the girls. Could old maids & married women keep their clams shut, it should be better. Home is not home to me – only what the name of mother makes it. There is no other tie.

August 12, 1859

Rainy day. Read a letter from [cousin] Lucy Fiddis. Did not study much. Read a story of a pistol in the bowl of a pipe which shot an arrow like a combine needle poisoned. [It] killed instantly almost without leaving a wound.

August 13, 1859

I was miffed pretty much all day caused by the girls. In the [law] office, did not read much. Col. [Nathaniel] Davis invited me to the wedding of his daughter. [16] After dinner, Austin & Johnson & myself went down to the [Susquehanna] River where they were rafting. The boss said he would take us as far as the Wyoming Valley for nothing, but we [would have to] pay for our board. We talked it up & dwelt in imagination on the rare fun we would have, but my folks knocked it all into a cocked hat. [17] They looked at it as the consecenation of the idlest folly. Saw George Stratton toward evening. Exercised in his gymnasium.  [My cousin] James Fiddis was here in the evening. Read a little Tristram Shandy. Joe thought if we went down the river, we would make sketches & take notes by the way & sometimes publish them. Daniel Griffing [18] & Samuel Griffing’s folks here in the afternoon.

August 14, 1859

Sunday. A very warm & pleasant day. Went to the Congregational church. [Moses Coit] Tyler [19] preached. In time, maybe he will make a minister that will do a great deal of good. But at present, he is too scholastic to teach the masses. He will please then, that’s all. He derides & anathematizes other faiths and other forms [of religion] too much, taking for granted that his faith and creed is the very best and the only one that is correct. Such a minister, however well he may please those of his own beliefs, will never be a popular minister. They have very fine singing – one of the best choirs in town.

Moses Coit Tyler
"...is too scholastic to teach the masses [and] will never be a popular minister" -- RLG

Read in Tristram [Shandy]. Went to the school house to hear Tom Nichols [preach]. Tonight I sat on the hennery & watched the moon rising from its oriental bed. The night was still & calm. The murmurings of the swollen stream faintly to my ear. The katydid & cricket & beetle alternately creaked out their song. Copied a piece of my rhyme to send [for publication].

August 15, 1859

Helped drive the calves down to the back meadow. Saw Chauncey Hill – rather wild. He said he had been fighting but it turned out that he had been drunk and fallen. Johnson thinks that if his eldest sister had had a good education, she would have been a second Charlotte Bronte. [20] What folly. He has a high opinion of everything that is Johnsonian. Austin does not think of going west. Read today a short article on [Alfred, Lord] Tennyson. Said that his latter works were maudlin – not so vigorous as his earliest [works] and are wholly girlish. I heard today a story of killing a Pole Cat. It was beaten until it was thought every spark of life was out & then sunk in water & stones piled around it. But strangest of all truths, it came to life and in two hours was out & off. Nothing going on in the [law] office today. Dull weather and dull business. There is a beautiful evening – so cool and light. Below the house there is a brick kiln [21] & the merry song of the workmen rolls up on the evening breeze. There is a dark line of clouds around the southern horizon from which flash the heat lightning. Read Tristram [Shandy this] evening.

August 16, 1859

We had another of those delightful halcyon days, but I do not feel able to enjoy any natural beauty. I was sick. Went to the [law] office but did not do much at law. A circus [arrived] in Owego today which attracted many loafers & vagabonds. George Worthington [22] came to the [law] office & said that Dr. Jackson [23] had come to town & wished to see me in the evening. [Nathaniel] Davis and [Willoughby] Babcock are two pretty good characters to study. Davis’s look of blank astonishment when anything happens which surprises him is sometimes laughable. Babcock’s short & quick, “Stop! I shan’t have it” – considering the man – is not as forcible as the words would show. In the evening, I went to Worthington’s [and] saw Dr. Jackson. He is a scholar & a gentleman. He converses fluently & gracefully. He handles an abstruse subject well. He searches to the core. George Worthington is always agreeable. Mrs. [Lydia O.] Worthington is a matronly lady of good sense. This evening is the first time that I ever saw [James] Rankine smoke.

August 17, 1859

Drove cows. Went down to Lee Goodrich’s. Ran from the Comer home on a fast trot. Bought a pair of shoes of Cachy for 14 cents. Went up to Aunt Lucy Fiddis’. [While there,] saw Mrs. Gere – a boarder. [She is] an agreeable woman but soft in some points. Attachment laid in the circus. Came home about half past 10 & prepared for the wedding at Col. [Nathaniel] Davis’s. Mary [Davis] was married to Samuel Brown. About 50 were there, nearly all strangers to me. I managed to get along as well as possible. Had a fine dinner. I got there rather late – they had nearly pronounced them man & wife. Studied in the afternoon some. Johnson showed off his ill-breeding finely. Very publicly he said, “I don’t know enough to open my mouth.” There was an agent of an Encyclopedia in the [law] office. It was cheap & I wanted to get it but the folks thought otherwise. The agent had a peculiar accent, though sweet & agreeable. I mistook his race & called him German. He said he was a full-blooded Saxon from Kent, England.  

In the evening, went to a Panorama of various scenes in California, New York, New Hampshire, Africa, Brazil, on the Rhine [River], Italy, Crimea, India, Turkey, & China. Italy presented a bright picture of vegetation & radiant heavens. Rocks rising on rocks, hills on hills, as we ascend the Apennines’ — spotted with wild forests & the more tender shrubbery, the ever blue sky above. The Rhine [River] presented a contrast. Its scenery [was] wild & grand, dotted with feudal castles of the far past, perched on the summit of some almost impregnable peak overhanging some rock where rolls the limped river beneath. Their architecture is of the medieval – massive & somber – mixed with the pure Gothic. The scenery of Heidelberg was magnificent. The old seems as if inhabited by its ancient sires. The ascent of Mont Blanc seems perilous in the extreme. The glaciers of ice interlined throughout the range look like so many mountain torrents. The deep fissures [appear] terrible. The highest point is gained over a dome of ice which is cut so as to form steps. Many have slipped into the fissures hundreds of feet below. The Sauvenier art is the most dazzling. Got home about half past 11. [My sister] Mary [had] gone to Pipe Creek to a picnic with Gurd Horton.

August 18, 1859

Started for Newfield [Tompkins County, New York] with [my sisters] Augusta & Sarah [24] [and nephew] Johnny [Griffing]. Stopped for dinner at Gridley’s [in Candor]. Saw Russell [Gridley]. [25] There must be a deficiency of brains running through the family for he is not over acute. He tied a horse to a post by the bridle instead of the halter, and then pulled the bridle off which was tied to the post. Oh! The look of balked incomprehensiveness. It was laughable indeed. Went through Spencer. From this pace the country seems to rise gradually till it gets to the culminating point where the water divides [on a ridge] & runs in opposite directions about five miles from Uncle William Stratton’s [26] [home]. The road lies between ranges of hills rising almost perpendicularly & very high. Occasionally I took to the road & turned pedestrian to enjoy the fragrance of a cigar. Pretty early we arrived at Uncle William [Stratton’s]. [27] [We found] Uncle Aner [Goodrich [28]] & his wife there. Evening, walked out & smoked with [cousin] Edwin Stratton. [29] A Miss Raymond [30] & a little girl from Ithaca by the name of Carrie Stansbury [31] [were visiting the Stratton’s too]. Very tired [from traveling] – the distance is 28 miles. The horse was tired going out.

August 19, 1859

Went with [cousin] Edwin Stratton after breakfast to the falls nearby. It was stormy a little. He ensconced me in country apparel to protect [me] from the storm & water of the falls. We took a pail along to gather some berries, but got instead a pail of mineral water. This spring of mineral water is a short distance up the falls & smells strongly of hydrosulphuric acid gas. They have given them the name of “Glen Falls.” They are beautiful & picturesque, and very irregular, & for this latter quality they are in my mind a falls that should deserve a better acquaintance & more notoriety. From the base to the top, the falls rises gradually in glides, presenting a rolling face cut into deep ridges, & square and lofty caverns. The distance is probably over one-quarter of a mile. The rocks on either side rise to the height of 100 feet in some places but generally less. To get above in some places, we have to climb the side & pass between the main side on a ledge which has been moved so as to make a kind of doorway. This rock we called Jupiter’s Throne. Below it is a similar one which we called his footstool. The rock is cut fantastically by the action of the rain & the water. Beautiful flagstone could be got out in great abundance & with considerable ease. We climbed [to] the highest [point] & waved our handkerchiefs to the dwindled looking ladies below. The rock at the base is firm but as we go up it becomes loose & shells in thin pieces. It has been washed out so much in places that the rock presents almost a cavern. There is a dull murmur of the stream which heightens the solitude. Hummingbirds fly unceasingly. Tall hemlocks grow on the edge of a cliff towering far above. There is a place washed in the rock very much like the foot of a man nearly 10 feet in length. In the afternoon, Augusta, Sarah & myself went to [cousin] Nancy Van Kirk’s [32] [home] about 4 miles away. [Cousin] Lucy [Stratton [33]] wanted to go [with us] but couldn’t. She cried & was disappointed much. We talked about Lucy and called her a smart & good girl. Nancy’s husband [Andrew] is a pleasant man and a hard worker.

August 20, 1859

At [cousin] Nancy [Van Kirk’s] in forenoon. Went with [Andrew J.] Van Kirk over his place. Went through a pleasant room. Afternoon, [cousins] Edwin & Lucy [Stratton] and Carrie Stansbury came to go to Enfield Falls. Ed and I rode together & the girls [rode separately]. We stopped in Newfield Village & got some segars. The road to the falls is very bad in some places – over hills a great part of the way. The distance was about four miles. It lay in a pleasant country. The road that goes down the hill to the hotel is steep & serpentine. We stopped at the hotel & registered our names. I wrote, “min & family”, “Lucy’s & children.” We walked to the falls a distance of several rods before we came to the opening. The [falls] at the spring are about 20 feet wide flanked with high rock. The walk in some places is cut out of the rock. The stream is spanned with a bridge beneath which is a foaming pool called, “the Devil’s Punch Bowl.” This is a grand place. To reach the bottom of the falls, we pass down a rickety pair of stairs some 15 feet high & from thence down regular stone ledges & over ravines spanned with poles & plank. We pass down stone steps into a large chamber called the parlor, nearly square, the rocks rising nearly 200 feet perpendicularly. The falls are magnificent, being to the top 120 feet, and to the top of the sides 250 feet. At the base of the falls there is a salt spring having been reached by blasting out the side of the rock. Gigantic hemlocks grew in the ravine & on the top of the hill. These falls are an attractive feature. Many visitors go there. Innumerable picnic parties [are held here]. I noticed on the books at the hotel two [visitors] from Owego – Joseph Berry & Samuel Dean.  

After leaving the falls, we started for Ithaca which we reached just before sundown. We went to the falls west of Ithaca & passed through the paper mill & up a high hill. We crossed a small bridge which was wet with foam of the stream which comes through the tunnel. We mounted a little higher & looked beneath on the falls far below. They are magnificent, being larger than Enfield Falls. We passed through the tunnel, being about 100 feet, & reached the top of the falls. The view was grand. We came then into the village, the girls to do some trading while Ed & I got some lager, and candy & peanuts for the girls. We started for home, it being quite dark [before we got underway]. We were regaled by Carrie’s musings behind us for some time. At last [cousin] Lucy gave up driving & got in with me, and Ed got in with [my sister] Sarah. We reached home about eleven, regaled ourselves with a refreshing bumper of whiskey nog & a light supper, & then off to bed.

August 21, 1859

Went to church in Newfield with Uncle William [Stratton], [my sister] Sarah, & [cousins] Ed & Lucy in the two horse spring wagon. Uncle William, in the morning, told Ed that, “I want to impress upon your will that you must always be up to the time in all things or you will never be a man.” Almost the first thing I heard Aunt Alice say when I got in asking her if I could help her out of the wagon, she said, “No, I can roll out like a pumpkin.”  

After church, [we] bid [cousin] Nancy [Van Kirk] & her husband goodbye. Afternoon, went with [cousin] Edwin over the farm. He is an intelligent fellow and will do well in the world. Free and easy, his temper is mild and never ruffled. We went to a swing. Old folks gone to a funeral. Helped make some ice cream with [cousin] Lucy [Stratton]. Ed & I in the cellar turning it [while we] drank wine & cherry whiskey. Felt it considerably. Helped milk [the cows]. Lucy out in the yard with my hat on. Ed and I rolled on the ground [laughing].  

Evening, took another horse & started to make a call. Stopped at a tavern & drunk twice of ale. Lucy did not want us to go. Folks not at home. Came back & had quite a sociable chat with [cousin] Lucy. When we went to bed, Ed and I went into the girls room and took their night gowns. Lucy put them on for us & night caps & went locking arms through the back chambers downstairs where [my sister] Augusta & the old folks were. We frightened them some. I told afterwards that Aunt Alice did not want to laugh because it was Sunday night & she waited until morning.

August 22, 1859

Got up early & went to the falls nearby with [sister] Sarah and [cousins] Ed and Lucy in the two horse wagon. Had a pleasant time. Started for home about 10. Treated to wine before going. In the morning, after coming from the falls, Ed & I made some whiskey nog. [Cousin] Lucy [Stratton] is a good girl and will make a good wife for anybody. She has a fine mind and is a good housekeeper. I will see & know more about her. I like her. Bid them all an affectionate farewell and left. Came to Spencer & down to Nichols’ nursery. Came to Giles’ [34] to dinner. Started from there about 3.  Stopped a few minutes at Gridley’s [in Candor]. Came home about 7.  Evening, read the papers. About tired out. Saw that my piece was accepted [for publication in the newspaper]. Pleased.  [Cousin] Ed Stratton wants me to write on the trip & the good time we had; perhaps I will sometime.

August 23, 1859

Went to the [law] office. Could not study much, felt tired out. [Cousin] Anna [Fiddis] & Mrs. [Adaline] Gere [35] (Aunt Lucy Fiddis’s boarder) were here in the afternoon. Came home about five. At tea, someone made a noise in the throat & all began to titter. I said, “What was that? The water running down the pump?” which created great disgust and merriment.  

Evening, Sarah Young [36] (that was Sarah Pitcher) here & Lee [Goodrich too]. Wrote in my diary. Got the dysentery & feel very feeble. Read today that [Edward] Bulwer[-Lytton] only studied & wrote 3 hours a day, & this closely. Never study too hard nor too long, he says, but have stated times of certain length & then go in.

August 24, 1859

Rainy day. Went to the [law] office to study but was too unwell to do anything. Quite a talk with Col. [Nathaniel Davis] on being examined [for the bar] and where to practice [law].  His ideas do not agree with mine. Came home & brought my book. Studied in the afternoon. Sarah P. Young still [visiting] here. Got the cholera morbus [37] quite bad. [My sisters] Sarah & Mary got a letter from Stella Reed [38] saying she was coming up. I am thinking almost every minute of my visit to Newfield & my thoughts turn instinctively almost to [cousin] Lucy [Stratton]. In fact, I like her. In thinking, I perceive many fine traits of character in her such as you seldom meet with. She has no ornamental education but what she has is solid, and what is a good recommendation, she is agreeable to me.

August 25, 1859

Stopped smoking today. Pretty hard. Still feel miserable. My piece has not been put in the [Owego] Gazette for some reason.

August 26, 1859

Looked in the morning as if we would have a bad day. It was dark. Went to the [law] office. Went up to Aunt Lucy Fiddis’ at noon. [My cousin] Lucy [Fiddis] was at home. She had changed a great deal. She looked blacker and thinner than ever she did. This desire for tobacco was stronger today than it was yesterday. Why, I do not know. Spencer, a lawyer from New York City, was in the [law] office. He is rich. The way he got [his money was by practicing] in the police courts. [He] is in league with the police and when they get a man, they recommend Spencer to him. Had another discussion with Austin. He is acute but mean. He is no gentleman. Evening spent reading Tristram Shandy. I haven’t got life enough to do anything.

August 27, 1859

My birthday. Rose about half past five this morning. The morning was pleasant & refreshing, but a little cloudy through the day. Picnic today down in Catlin’s woods. Did not want to go. Went up to Aunt Lucy Fiddis’ to supper. Had an awful time talking. George Stratton came over here, and Jim [Mersereau], Lucy [Fiddis], Anna [Fiddis] & Austin raised perfect “Ned.” [39] George Stratton staid all night. Told him about [my] visit to Newfield. He says that [his sister] Lucy Stratton reads a good deal – history considerably.

August 28, 1859

Sunday. Went to church. Awful sleepy. Afternoon, went up in the lot. Went down to the school house to meeting with [sister] Mary & Dunham girl. Tom [Nichols] had a good sermon – “Christ the same yesterday, the same today, the same forever.” He said all things were changing man’s affection & love.

August 29, 1859

Troubled with the toothache. [James] Rankine came to the [law] office & left a pamphlet with me to read on [the subject of] confirmation. [Nathaniel] Davis & [Willoughby] Babcock seem to doubt that I can get admitted [to the bar] if I go to Ithaca this fall. But they are sure as regards Austin. I will show them.

August 30, 1859

Chilly morning. Went to the [law] office rather early [and] studied. Nothing very unusual transpired today. Called at [Aunt] Fiddis’ in the morning. Went over [to Owego] with a man who had been to see Rice. He went to see George Stratton [but] did not. In [law] office all the afternoon. Austin is very mean a great deal of the time, decidedly so. Evening, read and wrote. See here, I have resolved to study now as I never have done before. [My sister] Augusta and [her son] Johnny have gone to Mrs. Griffing’s. [40]

August 31, 1859

Went to Aunt Lucy [Fiddis]’s and Mrs. Tennent’s. [41] [Nathaniel] Davis talked considerably about Lyman Truman. Took a pig into the house [which was] nearly dead [but is now] doing finely. Afternoon rained. Felt tired studying. Evening, the clouds are drifting toward the east leaving the setting sun bare. The sky was golden & purple at the edge of the horizon & as the eye ascended toward the zenith there was a softer & a deeper blue. To the right and the left were yellow & purple clouds. Got some papers of George Stratton containing letters of B. Taylor. Sat up till about half past nine & went to bed. [Willoughby] Babcock and [Nathaniel] Davis think a good deal of Austin. They admire him. If they knew him, probably they would think differently.

The Ralph Goodrich Collection is the property of the Arkansas History Commission.