Letter from Sullivan's Island, July 5, 1853 — page 4 (Mrs. Aiken's parties, Dr. Hayne, Willie Lowndes, Dr. Hyatt's sermon, Mr. Petigru)
Book 1, Page 257 ·1853–1853
Transcription
not much dancing as the weather is too warm, but the gentlemen invite the ladies to walk in [embossed paper seal] the piazza, so there is a continual stream of promenaders or rather two streams, then they sit down & talk & go into the refreshment room, where there is iced tea, orgeat, & wines of different kinds iced deliciously — Ices &c, about eleven o’C a supper of Paté, chicken salad, ices of different kinds are put upon the table, & folks come in as they like — It is really delightful I have been to 2 of them & there are two more, I should like to attend the rest if practicable — It will depend upon the mood my spouse is in — Dr. Hayne & myself are great friends, he takes me to drive in his new buggy, & Willie Lowndes is also quite a beau of mine he spent all yesterday morning with me, & was so funny, being Sunday of course I did not feel well enough to drive in the hot sun to hear Dr. Hyatt preach. He had lunch about 1 o’C and in the course of time he went down to Mr. Petig[ru’s]
AI Notes
Fourth scan of the July 1853 Sullivan’s Island letter. Continues description of Mrs. Aiken’s parties — promenading on the piazza, iced tea, orgeat, and wines of different kinds, an eleven-o’clock supper of pâté and chicken salad with ices. Dr. Hayne and the writer are great friends and he takes her driving in his new buggy; Willie Lowndes is also quite a beau and spent all Sunday morning with her. She was too unwell from the hot sun to drive in to hear Dr. Hyatt preach. After lunch about one o’clock, Willie went down to Mr. Petigru’s [continues on next page: to dine with Mrs. King].
Letter continues on the next scan.
Mr. Petigru is James Louis Petigru (1789-1863), the leading Charleston lawyer of his generation and the city’s most prominent Unionist — best remembered for telling a secessionist in December 1860 that “South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum.”