Augusta: John D. Imboden to Annie Lockett, September
7, 1870
Summary:
Imboden teases Annie about his encounters with young women in New York but then
tries to persuade her to consider more fully his offer of marriage. He also
mentions an upcoming meeting of the Board of Directors of his "land
company."
Sept. 7, 1870
257 Broadway New York
My dear Miss Annie,
Mails move more slowly between Lombardy Grove & this great City than
suits the wishes & feelings of one male you
wot of. Your sweet but most provoking letter of the 1st
inst. only reached me yesterday evening. I would
have replied to it last night but for an unexpected but very agreeable
interruption. An Old friend of mine from Orange in this State, a millionaire by
the way,
[page 2]
arrived here from New Port yesterday with his only
daughter, a charming young thing of sweet 16. Miss was bent on going to Boothe's
Theatre to see Jefferson play Rip Van Winkle. The father didn't want to go with
her as he is a widower & had in charge another young lady. So he called
at my office and asked me to call upon them at the 5 Avenue Hotel &
escort his daughter to the play, which I did & afterwards took supper
between 12 & 1 o'clock with the party. He honored me with this
invitation because of my age and discretion, and little Miss seemed satisfied.
So you
[page 3]
see that I find some compensation for your taunting
information of the ride with that handsome young fellow who live beyond the
Roanoke. (I wish he was on the other side of Jordan).
The ride must have been dreadfully fatiguing to the poor fellow as he had to
remain two or three days at Lombardy Grove to recuperate sufficiently to go
beyond the Roanoke. Now I should like to know who this owner of the elegant
Coupe is. His business I can very well guess, and I mean to break that up if
such a thing can be done fairly.
I dont believe you missed the Col. & me a
bit, the day we left you. I told you in my note from Buffalo how I was haunted
& bewitched, and you dont express a word of
sympathy, nor a single suggestion of how I am to be cured. Are you perfectly
sure that you have what most women possess a heart.
You must have had one at some period of your life, but I am afraid you have lost
or mislaid it. And if I thought I could recover it I would advertise for it in
the Metropolitan Journal of Boydton with a reward, under a flowing caption of
"Lost, Stolen or Mislaid." If you
[page 5]
had it back in your possession you
would have at least felt sorry for sufferings I "owned up" to. Well wait till I
see you again. There will be a most thorough search made for it, and if found I
shall claim its ownership by right of discovery.
I had made up my mind to write you a brief biographical sketch &
historical Memoir of myself, but I am not yet sure I would find in you a very
appreciative reader, and I should thus be greatly mortified to see so much
labour thrown away. With the designs
[page 6]
upon you which I have, perhaps
it best to let you act as all attacked people do, find out all you can yourself
about the enemy and then decide upon your measures of defence or surrender as
may seem most expedient. As I have always held, a man is a fool to try to win a
woman on paper. It gives her too long to think and make up her mind that she
"wont." Therefore I am not going to write rhapsodies of love to you, but I am coming to
see you, to sit by you, walk out with you, talk you incessantly, stay a week if
necessary and with your hand in mine make you
[page 7]
answer questions like
a witness in Court. You dont believe me yet, when I
tell you how deeply I fell in love with you. But you shall believe it. I will say to you very frankly why you have filled a void in my heart. It is not simply because you are a
beautiful girl, that joyous happy beauty that always charmed me. I know others
as beautiful. But I detected in you traits of character that I can love
& worship. I saw that towards those who had claims upon you, you were
all affection & gentleness. A sister & a daughter so loving as
you are in your own family, would make
[page 8]
Heaven of any man's home upon
whom you would lavish your overflowing affections. I should feel if once
completely master of your heart that you would be one of the dearest, truest,
sweetest, most loving little wives in the world. One of those rare wives
nowadays, to [deleted: which]
[added: whom] a weary husband would fly after a day
of work & harassment, as the one loving soul to sympathise with him, to receive his caresses & pettings, and
to make him feel that his home was of all places on
earth, the only refuge from care and trouble.
You may not know it, but I have discovered, that as a married woman you would
make home your world. Now such a woman ought to have
an appreciate husband, for if she is not loved
as dearly as she loves, her dreams of life are blasted. You have no middle ground to live upon in your future. You must be almost
supremely happy or you will be miserable in your wedded life. It is a high
responsibility to undertake to guarantee your happiness, but if you will learn
to love me I think I could safely promise you a very happy life. I am sure
[page 10]
that if my suit every prospers I shall be safe, for I am painfully
conscious that I have no ground to hope for your favor unless I win your heart. There are no external considerations in my case
to dazzle or flatter a fair young girl like you.
If you are ever mine it will be a love match. This conviction it is that excites my apprehensions so much, for no indications have you ever given me of any favor in your sight beyond friendly regard, except the promise you made me that you would try to think favorably of my suit. Are you trying?
I am so sorry Mrs Sharp will be away when I am again in Mecklenburg. My admiration for her had no small share in your winning my heart. She is as sweet & good as she can be, and you are her sister & like her in many traits.
My departure hence to Virginia is a little indefinite. I Cannot leave N. York till after I get together the Board of Directors
of our land Compy. And as some of them are out of
the city, and their return uncertain I have fixed no day for the meeting. I will
inform you when
[page 12]
I go back, & then when I can spare a week
to Mecklenburg. I hope it will be very soon.
Write to me at once, and please write me long letters. You dont know what a pleasure it is to get your letters. When you are my little "wifey" & come here with me I shall not be in such a hurry to go home, for home will be where you are. Tell me if you are keeping your promise to try. Will deliver your message to Col F. when I see him. Good bye. Affectionate messages to all.
Most truly & sincerely Yours
J.D. Imboden
