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12 In New York City January 1867 Friday 11 January 1867 To New York, and thought about America for a long time. I feel that in respect of business they are very good at organizing everything. Many things are neatly done and simple, such as the baggage check and express-­ system, the general character of their railroad carriages, their hotels, etc., but they completely lack the gift of executing these ideas to the smallest detail for comfort and convenience. I think of the design of their water closets in most of the hotels. For Ameri­ can ideas these are practical, well laid out, and praiseworthy. But the way they are usually constructed outside the hotels, without doors or in the open air, or with corridors and landings around, they are most unpleasant. After arrival visit with Mrs. Dutilh. Saturday 12 January 1867 Some visits downtown. Diner club.Went to a gambling house or ‘hell.’ Quite close to Fifth Avenue, fashionably furnished and with a nice supper, drinks and cigars for everyone standing ready, and free of charge. Of course it is then customary to play a little bit, and usually the bank will win enough to make good the cost of the supper. There were few people around so I wasn’t very content with having gone there. Faro and roulette tables. I have forgotten to note down the opinions of General Grant, when I visited him in his office, about General Schofield. He claimed that the radicals do not want the amendment to pass as they think that only in this way they can win the people over to their views and carry them with them. He also thought that once the amendment was passed, Congress would use its right as laid down in one of the paragraphs, to cancel—by a ²⁄³ vote—the ineligibility of most who were to In New York City 121 be locked out under the amendment. In this respect he assumed that the radicals would go further than the conservatives. While the latter would not want to include most of the returning South­ erners in this measure, the first named would probably want to push this through. (NB I see that I have made notes of this already before, but the greater precision of this note here be my excuse). Sunday 13 January 1867 Sunday, went to three churches, Grace Church and two others on Fifth Ave­ nue between 10th and 12th Street. My curiosity was aroused by an article by some author in one of the latest issues of the Atlantic Monthly. He raved about the splendor and luxury prevailing there, but the reality disappointed me. Everything is indeed well appointed, and the benches are made of mahogany, but I failed to notice the ‘subdued splendor’ of the author of the article. In one of the churches the green wreaths and garlands were hanging all around, having been put up before Christmas and staying up as decoration of the building until Easter.1 Dinner at Mr. J. Kearny Warren, son-­ in-­ law of Dr. Ludlow. The company was formed by his wife, a Mr. Talboys, and two young girls, Nelly Prince and Hattie Travers. They move in the circle of Mr. Jerome, the new millionaire who sets all New York talking because of his liberality with money. Vanderbilt and Belmont also belong to this set. Nowadays this is the most fashionable coterie of New York, and everything they do is markedly ‘fast.’ Mr. Warren and his family also merit that name: loud laughing and much talking, feeble pleasantries, often improper, such as the teasing of the girls with amants etc.Taken all together they are fast indeed , even vulgar. I walked back after dinner with Mr.Talboys, and he told me that his wife was in Europe for a whole year, and when I consoled him with this he said that he didn’t really care that much. Even when she was home, they had no real home life, had to accompany her to parties etc. Now he was a free man and preferred to go to those parties as a bachelor. Tonight he seemed to have an appointment too, something that he surely was not going to write about in his next letter to his wife.2 Visit with the Kopses. Story by Mrs. John Kops about the poverty of the South­ erners. A grandson of Bishop de Hone from South Carolina was driving a [street] car here and a certain Mr...

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