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A.M:ERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
QUARREL BET,VEEN STEPHEN F. AusTIN AND JosnuA PILCHER
1. PILCHER TO AUSTIN
St Louis 13 May 18li
Mr. STEPIIEN F Aus-rIN Sir This evening you called on me and remarked that you thought you had perceived a coolness in my conduct towards You during Your present visit to St Louis; at the same time observing that if your impression was correct, You ware intirely unable to account for it. I informed you that I was not disposed to enter into verbal explanations of my conduct; but as you have taken the liberty _o:f introducing the subject I consider it my right to and perhaps my duty' to renew it, which I will do in a manner not to bee forgotten, though it should leave you as much in the dark with respect to the cause as you professed to bee this evening. You sem'd to think it your duty to make those inqueries in consequence of • • • "' ·* • • [sic] a dutiful young man indeed! it is a pity you had not have reflected on these duties at an earlier period. among other conjec- tures too insignificant to mention, you concluded by observing that you ware bound to infer that my conduct grew out o:f a suspicious disposition but could not imagine of what I suspected you- Strange indeede, that you should suppose I suspected you of something and you not able to say what.- I immagine I understood you, but you being either afraid to insinuate the meaning or ashamed to expose your own vanity could not tell, but be ashur'd Sir you ware mis- taken. I never permit suspicions to go.vern me in my conduct l; nm always govern'd by existing facts,-so this conclusion is false but being the production of your own fertile immagina.tion will no doubt be receiv'cl and given as matter of fact as other conjetnres have been with which your brain seems always pregnat- : Had you have possessd comn sagacity you might have made this wonderful discovery some months ago but finding that you either would not or could not understand, and finding the necessa.ty of such a couse still increasing and that nothing but down right contempt would make You understand, I was redusd to the necessaty of adopt- ing a course of conduct even in my own room which I should neve~ rlo unless it was under the like imperious circumstances May 14th To enter into such an explanation a.s you would require would not only bee attended with difficulty but necessarily involve un- pleasant circumstances and the names of individuals for whom I entertain too high an opinion and for whose feeling I have too much
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