Franklin County: James Johnston to Edward McPherson,
March 21, 1859
Summary:
James Johnston remembers Edward McPherson's parents and talks of the value of
friendships. Johnston also compliments McPherson's pamphlets and advises him on
the importance of constituents.
March 21st 1859
Dear Ned,
I would have answered your letter of the 8th instant immediately, but for a bad cold and sore throat, which made me somewhat depressed in spirits, and afforded me a reasonable excuse for laziness, and indulgence in my propensity towards somnolency. "Blessed be the man, who wanted sleep for it covers me all over like a blanket" says Sancho, and so say I, for really the pleasant part of my life is passed in that state of oblivion. If I had only a pair of round, white arms about my neck to assist my [unclear: dreams] in taking a pleasant direction, it would be a great gratification. Circumstances forbid [deleted: at last] this pleasure to me, but not to you. Let me recommend the prescription of dewy lips, and white arms to you. They will lift your depression of spirits, and will fill that void in your domestic affections, which has been made by the onward march of time, and the inevitable decrees of the fates.
I remember your father and mother, for I had the pleasure of an introduction to Both. You and your father resembled one another, while there was a likeness between your mother and your brother William. I sympathize with you in the loss of your parents. I have no doubt that you were a pet of your mother, for I remember the anxiety she manifested when you were lying sick in Harrisburg. There is nothing in this world equal in affection and fidelity to a good mother. Our fathers discard us; [illeg.] betray and desert us; our brothers and sisters abuse and cheat us; our children prove bad and ungrateful, and yet thro' all the vicissitude of life a good mother clings to us with all the tenacity of a loving woman and all the fidelity of a bold, brave man. The loss of mothers can not be well supplied and [added: yet] perhaps, it could be better for young persons, if they were separated from their mothers at an early age, and would never see them until permanently established in life.
So far from forgetting you am I that I cherish your remembrace with feelings of
admiration and kindness. I do not wish to forget or alienate friends like you,
for in passing thro' this world I begin
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more and more deeply the necessities of love and friendship. They support us
under adversity, and save us from the evil influences of the world. Many of my
old friends are dead, and I am not inclined to forget the few, who remain. I
believe that there is sympathy between you and me, and I am more inclined to
cultivate it than to allow it to fall into nothing. I am not doing any thing of much importance, and have not for some
time. I tried thro' a friend to get a situation in
the Cincinnatti, or St. Louis press, but he tried
in vain, for all situations are filled. I am not very anxious to leave Penna, but I owe some money, and I am
excessively anxious to pay my debts. I will help upon the farm during the Spring
& Summer, and in the fall will, perhaps, try my hand at teaching a
school. This will be a new business to me, and I detest the idea of it, but necessitas non habet legem. I mention these things,
because you inquire what I am doing. I am doing no harm, and am doing no good.
My existence for some time past has been that of indifference and nonchalance.
My vessel is high & dry in a sand-bank, & I lack the levers to
put her afloat.
I received your pamphlets, and read them with pleasure. The one [deleted: one] on Individual liberty [deleted: was] very good. It [deleted: was] is well written and displays more erudition than I thought you possessed. I trust you will continue your literary labours, for I sincerely believe that you are able to attain to some eminence in the Republic of Letters. I congratulate you on your election to Congress, and trust you will be able to maintain you position thro a long course of years. Your habits will protect you against the [unclear: temptations] of the Capital, and your political knowledge can not fail to gain you an enviable notoriety. Attend closely to your own constituents, and never mind devoting yourself to the whole Union.
I am very fond of travelling and would like to see you; but I assure you that the res pecunia totally forbids me to pay any kind of visits. Pardon me for not answering your letter the instant it was received, as I ought to have done, & believe me
Your Sincere Friend
James Johnston
