Viewing page 37 of 113
This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.
[[start page]] a discount of 5 percent. In Congress much excitement has been created by the trial of Sen. Bright. He wrote to Jef. Davis some time ago recommending a certain person who had a peculiar sort of firearm to sell. He was dismissed from his seat yesterday the two thirds vote decided by two. I was in the Senate on Tuesday & heard Mr Sumner & Willis of Virginia both discuss the subject. Bright seemed unabashed & confident that he should be able to retain his seat. There have been a series of abolition lectures in the Smithsonian building but unconnected with the Institution They have troubled Father greatly for by a law of the [[constitution?]] all political topics, sectarian religious views or subjects connected with bills before congress are prohibited in the Smithsonian lectures. A [[committee?]] of 100 of the most respectable gentleman in the city came to Father early in the season & requested the use of the room for a series of lectures for a [[underlined]] charitable purpose & showed him a list of persons whom they expected to invite among others Prof. Felton of Harvard. The list was afterward changed however & others substituted in their place. [[strikethrough]] He intended [[strikethrough]] Father was troubled by the [[underlined]] direct violation of the [[underlined]] rules of the Institution & wished to put a stop to the lectures but was advised [[end page]] [[start page]] by his friends to allow them to proceed as the [[strikethrough]] y [[strikethrough]] course was nearly completed & then exclude all lectures [[strikethrough]] expect [[\strikethrough]] for the future except those immediately imployed by the Institution. We have been daily expecting a forward movement of the troops but the state of the roads prevents. Another naval expedition under command of Gen Burnside has sailed for Cape Hatteras & a third for the Gulf. The latter [[who?]] deeply interested in Capt Farragut is an old friend of ours & Lieuts. Heisler & Harris the one on the Hartford the other on the Pensacola left our circle of friends two or three weeks ago. We [[strikethrough]] have [[strikethrough]] heard twice from Mr. Harris while his ship was at Fortress Monroe awaiting the other vessels of the fleet. She was fitted up in the Washington navy yard & great fears were entertained that she would be destroyed by the batteries on the Patomac. She passed them however uninjured with the exception of a splinter [[knawed?]] from her prow, by one of the rebel guns. The dense fog favored her escape. Col. Alexander is with us. He has been sick for more than two weeks & is greatly reduced in strength. He was in the battle of Mannassas & one of the bravest officers there. There was a brilliant party at the President Mansion last evening. The heads [[end page]]
