Washington Feb 16th
My dear Sister,
I have your letter of the
12^th to day – I did not think you were
alone all this time or I should have
written again before – I am glad your teeth
have ceased to trouble you – I am much
better than I was last week – went to Church
again yesterday – Friday evening Mrs Anna
Stephens the authoress came to see us with
Mr Dainese our Consul to Turkey or Vice
Consul I believe – He is a foreigner but
of what nation I am unable to say –
Mr Pike the correspondent of the Tribune
also dropped in to tea – we had quite
an agreeable evening – Mrs Stephens has
been two years in Europe of which she
seems to have visited every part at precisely
the most agreeable time – She seemed well
pleased with herself and the rest of the
world – Henry talked with her while
I was entertained by the gentlemen –
Mr Pike you will know by his letters

[left Margin] The children are
as busy as
busy can be
all the
time

has a great deal of ability – he is from
Maine – Mr Dainese speaks English
very well and is well informed –
Charles Sumner dined with us that day
he was feeling quite badly because
Giddings & Stanly had both disgraced
themselves & the Legislative Hall – I
suppose you read that interesting debate –
I would not have been as much
surprised has Mrs Stanly been engaged
in it as I was to see that Stanly
could descend so low – I do wish
you were here now – I suppose this debate
upon intervention will be the most interesting
of any thing this session – it comes
up again next week but I think
may be still further deferred – Henry will
speak on that subject – If Aunt Clara
decides not to come why cannot you
come immediately – I received a letter
from Aunty Bowen saying she could
not come this winter – I was rather
glad as I think she would find it
dull staying alone with me – I do not

like to interrupt the studies of the children
they are getting along so nicely – Green
went to New York Saturday – he is to return
to day or rather was, for the day has
gone now – Tomorrow our dinner comes
off – the guests are to be – Mr Mildmay
the English gentleman, Mr Dainese, Messrs
Davis, Jones & Sumner of the Senate
a grandson of J- s namesake of
John Q. Adams – Mr Pike & some 5 or 6 members
of the House of Representatives – making 12
in all – I have had some difficulty in
getting waiters as Mrs Gwin's party
comes off the same evening also Mrs Hall's
and other dinners – I will finish my
letter tomorrow – the children are so boisterous
that I can write no more now –
Wednesday – I found no time to write yesterday
and when Charles Sumner left at 1/2 past
nine I went with the children to the
nursery and read them to sleep after
which I went to bed myself very
weary and coughed half the night –
I feel proportionably bad this morning

I succeeded in obtaining good
Unknown so the
dinner went off well – I went into the
room with John Davis – Mr Mildmay
sat on my left – Henry had Mr Barbour
of Virginia (a former member of Congress
& a very gentlemanly man) on his right
& Mr Danaise on his left – Mr Danese
Dainese (I cannot spell this name right
without thinking, it is pronounced so
differently – Da,na,sy) is a native of Turkey
making the tour of the U. States – came
over in the vessel with Kossuth – Mr
Jones of Tenessee (the nominee both North &
South for the Vice Presidency) is quite an
agreeable man maugre his being a slave
holder which I suppose he is – T. Y. Howe
was here and for once very meek – I
went to the table because Henry so much
wishes it & because the guests were most
of them persons I wanted to see – The
party was a mixture of Free soil & slave
holders – Young Adams is ra–ther conceited
You will see Kossuth's letter to the President
read in the Senate yesterday – thereby hangs
a tale – Green has come back – thereby
hangs another – Miss Hulbert ^the name of the lady^ to whom
Mr Schoolcraft was said to be affiance – I made
a mistake in writing it Porter – & I suppose an
awkward attempt to correct it –

[right Margin] Charles Sumner is not "a boy" or
very "young" as the Baltimore Sun intonates
he is about 40 –