by Ellen Clapsaddle
The following is the full text of a letter written in Boston 17 March 1865 by Samuel Gray Liscom.
Friday Morn 17th March 1865
To : Lemuel Liscom Hinsdale, New Hampshire
Dear Father,
This is a very rainy morning indeed, or it was when I got up. Then the wind blew and the rain beat against the windows of my room. But now it is very pleasant. The sun shines out beautifully. It is now eleven o’clock. One half hour ago it rained and now it is pleasant. The most of the week has been stormy. Yesterday afternoon the sun came out hot indeed for this time of the year. My health is very good, very good indeed. I am getting fat and lazy. I weigh one hundred and eighty seven lbs. and three quarters of a pound. To day is St. Patrick’s Day four o’clock in the morning. The man what is bigger than the fourth of July ever was. It’s a great day here for the Paddies. They hire Bands of Music to play for them. I have seen two or….bands pass by my window where I now am writing in Uncle Levi’s shop. They, the Paddies, have assembled on the Common in great agony to celebrate the said day. I shall go out after dinner to the Common to see them go at it. When they passed by this morning the rain was pouring down in good shape. They were all dressed the best they could. I could not help laugh to see them slap along through the mud. They come out in good shape after all. That is they were all trimmed with badges. I have been to dinner and while at dinner I saw the Mikes go it. They formed a long procession for there are a great many of them. The bands played and they run along like a flock of sheep Bogtrot style just like a real Paddy.
This is a very pleasant afternoon also. I am still boarding at Mrs Bragdon’s and instead of paying five dollars a week I have to pay five and a half now. I have gone into another room with two other fellows. It is not a very good room for the price I pay with two others. They pay the same. I cannot pay this week’s Board for I have only 10 cents and that I got for three postage stamps. I got rid of the last money I had last week. It has been 10 days since I had any money. This morning I got 10 cents the way I speak of. My pen is so poor that I will try this old one. It is very coarse that I do not write much with it now and wont now. So you can see that I am in need of money. I shall want another twenty five dollars. I have got to do something before long – if I don’t I shall get broken for I must have money to live here so I have travelled around the last or the past week in search of work…a plenty of chances I have found for 3,4,5 dollars per week. I can’t go that. I must pay my way and some besides or Boston will be no place for me. Business is very dull now…gold is falling very fast and that makes business very dull indeed. If business comes up again I shall find a plenty of chances to work…it will be three or four weeks before business will come up again. My school or my time is out in about 2 weeks. By that time I am hoping to have something to do. The news is still good. The rebs must be tired of war. There was an account in the paper that there were 1,200 prisoners that would not be exchanged. They swore that they would not go to the Confederate States again. I feel sorry for Esty poor man… he has had bad luck. I should like to run that good old saw once more. I had pretty good luck sawing only when I bent the saw. Who have you got to run the saw the other half of the time. I must close. Goodbye.
Lucius Gray Liscom.
I shall want the money by next Wednesday… then I shall have to pay eleven dollars for Board… then 5½ more 1 week from that time..that’s the way the money goes. I got a new pipe the other day… the last money I had went for that. It is worth 12 dollars… that is what the man asked for it. I did not want to trade only to know the price of such nice pipes. The bowl is meerchaum, a cherry stem, the mouthpiece is black ivory. The way we traded was like this. I bought a cigar and he saw that I had as he thought considerable money in my wallet. He wanted to trade. I told him I had money. I had quite a number of the School Bank Bills. He saw those. He said I had money. I told him I had none – not enough to buy the pipe and I did not want it. Then he said he would give me the pipe for what money I had. Well I had 145 cents. I hung off, told him I didn’t want it so he then put in a nice stem etc etc. He looked at the money counted it and when he found there was only 145 cents he swore like a pirate. He demanded the pipe. I told him he might as well demand the forts in the harbour. I said good morning to him and left him, so now I have a nice pipe. I have smoked it two or three times but 150 cents per pound of tobacco is too much. I bought 10 cents worth, a piece 2 inches square. I have used ¼ of it. Now goodbye till I write again.
Lucius Gray Liscom.
Lucius (1843 – 1922) was 21 when he wrote this letter to his father.
Despite landlordism, hunger, disease, coffin ships and prejudice the Irish spirit and good humour came to the fore. The ‘land of the free’ gave them a chance to show their true worth and they took it.
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