Describes a walk and a talk with John Watson. Transcription: friends (!) were all English or Irish, he [John Watson] replied to the asker, that they didn't pry into a man ?s private doings. He considered that he had a right to commit murder if he liked. Upon my observing that, in that case, society had a right to hang him, he assented. If I (a pleasant way of putting it) kept a mistress &c &c &c it was none of his business. We had no right to interfere with one another out of immediate business relations. There was [Frank] Bellew, now, ? he had always liked Bellew, looked upon him (Watson) t
Describes a walk and a talk with John Watson. Transcription: friends (!) were all English or Irish, he [John Watson] replied to the asker, that they didn't pry into a man ?s private doings. He considered that he had a right to commit murder if he liked. Upon my observing that, in that case, society had a right to hang him, he assented. If I (a pleasant way of putting it) kept a mistress &c &c &c it was none of his business. We had no right to interfere with one another out of immediate business relations. There was [Frank] Bellew, now, ? he had always liked Bellew, looked upon him (Watson) the meaning of a certain affair. (Some little robbery forgery perhaps!) He had told Bellew he didn't acknowledge his right to ask that question &c. What were people down upon him for ? they couldn't prove anything ? let them do so, if they could. Then he denounced Shelton MacKenzie, who had written slightingly of his writings in Harpers. How things got about! he had told nobody but [Thomas] Powell (!) and another in confidence of his being 'on' Harpers'. Then he enumerated various productions of his, stories, poems &c, which I recognized as appearing in recent numbers, some of merit. (The man has intellect of a rather higher order than I had supposed.) He only wrote for money, should abandon it when the necessity was passed. He was here, only temporarity ? intended going up in the interior of state, where he had land, a mortgage ? something or other. The Harper's had been liberal to him. He had done engraving for them, Title: Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries: Volume 10, page 191, April 20, 1859 . 20 April 1859. Gunn, Thomas Butler, 1826-1903
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