George C. Sawyer., 04/20/1856-04/20/1856

ALS (dated 4/20/1856, with envelope) to Franklin B. Sanborn from George C. Sawyer. Reference to teaching Greek at the Phillips Academy in Exeter. Also mentions Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "Hiawatha." Reference to J.G. Hoyt: "...Mr. Hoyt, as perhaps you know, has received an (sic.) proposal to be one of the editors of a Republican paper, to be published at Cleveland during the coming Presidential campaign. The men who are undertaking to establish the paper are the leading Republicans, Seward (William Henry Seward (1801-72) senator), Giddings (Joshua Reed Giddings (1795-1864, congressman and abolitionist), etc....". Reference also to Theodore Parker whose lecture in Exeter "was well received and enjoyed by many who differ widely from his general views, and even from portions of the lecture itself. I wont (sic.) undertake to count how many men there are in this country who could have kept so variously constituted an audience attentive for two hours, and without notes. The heart of the country is moved, and still moving. Might there not be hope for Fremont (John Charles Fremont) as our next president, as the Republican candidate?..." Includes news of Edwin Morton who was apparently engaged to marry Gerrit Smith's daughter. Also addresses the popular interest in spiritualism: "...Have you seen anything at all of the phenomena of table tipping, rapping &c, miscalled spiritual communications? Or have you taken enough interest in a matter, which some persons, and I just at present of the number, feel called upon to come to some conclusion about, either of settled, satisfied (for the time being) ignorance or of a belief in its being caused by some such force little known as the Odylic force..."