297
THE AUSTIN PAPERS
Jones is selling goods fast and at a very high price My love to all the family Your affectionate Son
M. AUSTIN BRYAN N B I have heard that I have a fine sister that I have never seen MAB P. S. I could remain here and perhaps make enough to buy my clothes and pay my board and have some considerable time to study if you think I had better remain and apply myself to the study of the Spanish write me if not what shall I lo? Your Son MAB
AUSTIN TO HENRY AUSTIN 1
DEAR HENRY-Mr Ware is not in the city-he is some where in the state of Mississippi- I will leave your letter for him with Mr A. Hodge presi- dent of the Orleans Bank- There is great enthusiasm in favor of Texas in this city, and all over the U. S.-a thousand fold more than I had any idea of- The universal opinion seems to be that, we ought to declare Inde- pendence immediately-it will give us the aid of men of capital and high. standing and character who wish for a more extensive field, than a mere party war in Texas-My own feelings and impulses inclined me to this course long ago and especially when I l~ft San Felipe- What I said to the provisional Govt. on the 3.0th. November and 2d December indicates my feelings plain enough- It was unfortunate that I came on by water- I should have arrived sooner by land, and I could not have gone to the lower country, where the \varm and even violent feelings of some of my friends did at that time to a certain extent prcipitate me into party feel- ings 2 -a thing I have always tryed to avoid- I am now acting and in future shall act on my own impulses, for I have generally found them to be correct-/ go for Independence for I have no doubt we shall get aid, as much as we need and perhaps more-and what is of equal importance-the information from Mexico up lo late in De- cember says thab the Federal party has united with Santa Anna against us, owing to what has already been said and done in Texas in favor of Inde- pendence so that our present position under the constitution of 1824, does us no good with the Federalists, and is doing us harm in this country, by keeping away the kind of men we most need- were I in the convention I would urge an immediate declaration of Independence-unless there should be some news from the interior that changed the face of things-and even then, it would require very strong .reasons to prevent me from the course I 1 From a book of copies in file of August 27, 1829. See Henry Austin to Austin, December 15, 1835. . 'See Austin's letters of December 22 and 25, 1835.
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