Ree. .Rome Feb. 8 

 Ans.Ni'zza H 21 



St. Louis January 18 ,1869 



Dear Engelmamr; 



After a lon^ interval I reeeived again a letter from you fromn 

 Näples ^Q w t r täg^jvonct* S„£>0 (of Dec. 22); You seera to like it there 

 so much^that a longer stay does not surprise me,the more so as your 

 absence was kind enough to extemporize for you.. While you revel 1 in 

 all those glories, I spend one day like the other irc paltry cares 

 of the praxis, the collections, the household, the f arm etc. and find 

 only Substitutes for it in the circle of my family.. But 11 one thing 

 does not f ijf all ! w ! The past year was a very poor one for the doctors, 

 it was even healthier than l867,and the listing of deaths is by 1,300 

 smaller. . The collections are also poorer than normal; the merchants- 

 complain mw& (> than ever, and nobody pays.. Nobody trusts the financial' 

 weatherr; The radical economy was confirmed after the presidential! 

 election and is more visible than ever.. In miciUSummer threw States— 

 Secretary Count Rodmanrr 10 counties, who f se voices were repulsive to 

 hinr; out, and the legislature declares its applauseto the States - 

 traitor.. Senator Drake has conferred with the local "Democrats" 

 about the distribution of the Offices, and t to spite them, , nominated 

 the demoerat Carl Schurz as successor to Henderson- in the Senate- 

 Last weekf the noraination of this cunning? demagogue and carpetbagger,, 

 who has llüeä only 1| years in Missouri \ , passed in caucus,and this 

 week it will be confirmedc judicially. . These are golden tiraes for 

 political' adventurersrand cheaters of every kind..t There remains 

 in all seriousness the question, if it would not be better to not 

 partieipate at all in the farce of the so-called elections.. Lack 

 of enlightenment it is not; which permits these situations, because 

 the press has been free for years again..- but general demoralizatiorr,. 



