Letter #57 to son Alex in Australia
Busby, 23rd. July, 1861
My Dear Son,
I have received your's enclosing a draft for £5. You apologize for being so
long about it; but quite unnecessarily. I am pleased and proud of it. I pay always sixpence and 1d for a stamp. I will advise you how I get on with the Union Bank. I see Jack & William are
not on the highway to fortune yet, but | trust they will soon scent out the
path. They keep their health and spirits and I suppose they are pretty happy
considering the rude way of accomodation. No doubt they will soon be better
situated. I am glad to hear of Mr.& Mrs. King getting over their anxieties and
troubles.
I still continue at Busby. I am promised a table at Muir & Brown's as soon as they get throng.
Annie Russell is still in a cap warehouse at 15/- per day and Alex is with
the spirit merchant. Auntie moves about. I saw Joe Docherty lately. The designing is very slack and Joe wishes to
leave it on account of his health. He has begun to buy remnant and goods in
piece of a cheap kind and intends to take a shop in one of the principal
streets to follow it out. He has one child; James has three children. Joe
intends to have dealings with you yet. Mrs. Murdoch (Betty Bisset) died some
time ago at Maryhill, but I think I forgot to mention it. Annie Justice was buried yesterday. She
had a child last year to a mechanic in Busby and slight inflammation followed exposure, caused the inflammation
to return. Mary Justice has been poorly this long time, but the doctor says she
will get better. It is certain now that James Hall leaves Busby. A paper has
been round for a testimonial for him; I cheerfully put down a shilling. It is believed the cause of James being
put away was owing to his asking a rise in wages and spreading a report that
Andrew had written that he would get £1OOO a year in America. It appears Wm. A. Hall will stop. A Mr. MacAdam
comes as manager.
The event of great interest
at present is the war in America. President Lincoln 400,000,000 of Dollars and 400,000
of men. What a sacrifice of money and a sacrifice of life a few hot headed
fools are causing. Distress and want are likely to reach our shores in
consequence; mills on half time and a great many idle people in Glasgow and in
all our manufacturing towns no doubt. And should the war continue and our
supply of cotton be considerably curtailed, there is no guessing the amount of
misery that must ensue. The Manchester cotton association are looking to Egypt
and the East Indies for a supply; and driblets from many quarters.
Our home politics possess
little interest and I send a paper every week. Lord John Russell is to be
created a Peer and a Knight of the Garter. It appears, from what he said the
other night, that should Napoleon annex Sardinia (the Island) to France, he is
ready to go to war to prevent it.
The news from America today
indicate a resolution on the part of the Northern States to prosecute the war
immediately, and vigorously.
You have got chief of the Dicks
for the present time and I have no doubt but your intelligence and experience
with assiduity and integrity will make you a comfortable gentleman in a few
years. And I cherish the hope you will all be above the lot of working men in a few
years and perchance the lowest may bound uppermost. Sagacity to choose the path
and perseverance to pursue it are the requisites to success. I have been writing some of
the traditions of our Dicks for you and I will also give traditions of the Robertsons.
James Murdoch has written wishing Mrs. Muir and
family to go out. I suspect they will give their assent. He intends them to
keep his store.
Wishing you all health, wealth and wit to guide it,
I remain, your affectionate
Father,
Alex'r Dick.
Names & Notes on Letter #57
Mary, Annie & Alex Russell
Joe Docherty
James Docherty
Betty Murdoch (Bisset)
Annie Justice
Mary Justice
James Hall
Andrew Hall
Wm. A. Hall
President Lincoln
Lord John Russell
James Murdoch
Mrs. Muir & Family
- transcription and
Names/Notes by Ian A Scales, c.1989 (note- the ‘original’ transcription was in printed format on
paper, and has been re-formatted using OCR – so may have some inaccuracies
which have escaped my editing – C. S-P)
Scans of the original letter (click
on the image below for a larger version; note
the order of the pages p.4-1, then p.2-3):
p.4,1
p.2,3
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