THE AUSTIN PAPERS, 227 precisely where; until I fortunately met our friend William Bates in Lexington ten or twelve days ago, who for the first time informed me that you had returned to the mines; I had always previous to this information been impressed with a belief that you had gone on to the Eastward as you wrote me-and of course I knew not where a letter would have found you-This my dear friend is the reason you have not often heard from me; and not (as you may have supposed) that our former intimacy ·and friendship are forgotten by me-no Stephen true friendshjp with me is of a more lasting duration, and cannot thus easily be forgotten, though we have been for a long time separated by the distance of some hundred Miles, and scarcely heard of each other; and though it may be that fate has decreed that we shall never again see each other, yet still you my friend shall live bright in my recollection, neither time nor distance shall ever efface from my mind the thoughts of that friend, with whom I have spent so many agreeable hours, whose kind attention to me while in a strange country has been unequaled; think not that these are the effusions of a mind that is disposed to flatter, far be it from me to sport with your feelings by attempting to flatter yo.u; a grateful recollection of past occurrences has drawn from me this candid dec- laration of the high esteem in which I hold you I might here have closed my letter which was commenced prin cipally with a view of :renewing that friendly correspondence which heretofore existed between us but before I conclude I will give you the politicks of the day about Lexington-We a.re divided_into to • parties, the Federal and Republican or in other words the peace party and the war Party-ever since the declaration of wi:i,r (and I believe long before)-the_Federal party have violently opposed the measures of the Government, with what view I am at a loss to ~ow, unless they expect by their great opposition to render the present administration unpopular at a time when our. armies have met with so many defeats to the north; there by expecting to put our leading Characters out of office, that they may come into power themselves, and in order to effect this object I believe there are some characters base enough to sacrafice our Republican institutions an[d] upon the ruins thereof erect a government, the Spirit and genius of which I think would be more congenial to a foreign Clime-I would not wish to be understood as believing that there are many in this quarter who would go thus far, but there a.re a· number {whose motives I cant help thinking are pure and innocent) who have united them- selves to that party, the principal Leaders of which would go to any lengths in order to put down the Republicans-our Election which closed yesterday will go to shew the strength of the two parties in Fayette. John Pope who had disgrMed himself by his oppositi,on 't<> the wa:r, came forwar4 as a candidate to represent the people of·
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