antly and quietly, Capt Hull read the Declaration of Independence and did it well too; Palmer's oration pleased me very much, you will be likely to see a copy of his speech in the Register, the was a perfect throng there, every family brought its own dinner, there was about 25 eat when I did, you know Robinsons are gone; the girl and John and I keeping house, so we cooked a lot of good things as Lairds and Reichenekers and Ankenys and two or three other families ate together, so I assure you we had a nice dinner and a real sociable time, and as I remarked before getting your letter in the morning raised my spirits wonderfully.  After dinner as is usual we all gathered round the stand to listen to the toasts and responses, one of them was responded to by Col J. A. Williamson, which pleased me very much, more so because I had heard his loyalty called in question, I know his wife to be an avowed secessionist, and all her relatives are too, Turk's wife of this city is a Cousin of Mrs W's, I suppose you have heard of him though the columns of the Register.  I have always noticed that a wife is apt to entertain the same sentiments that her husband does, on this account I regret that Mrs W expresses the sentiments she does as it causes one to doubt slightly the honesty of the Col, which I would not willingly do, and if he expressed his honest convictions yesterday as he professed to do and which we have no just right to doubt for we have no right to call in question the motives of men if their actions are right; he is "all right" as they say, on the question of carrying on the war.  I don't know whether I wrote you or not about Capt
