Letter, James Arlington Bennet to Willard Richards, 24 October 1842
Source Note
, Letter, , New Utrecht, Kings Co., NY, to , , Hancock Co., IL, 24 Oct. 1842; handwriting of ; four pages; Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, 1821–1854, CHL. Includes address, postal notation, postal stamp, and docket.
he has given no consideration for them he will therefore I presume not undertake to claim them, besides my giving them to him was mainly a delicate way of preselling them to the so as to give him the honor of being the donor, believing him to be at the time a real good Mormon, which all his letters indicate, and of course this was to “draw the wool over my Eyes”. What a Cunning Small Man he is!
By letting your people know that these books are for the benefit of the they will readily sell. I pity poor , for I think him a real good honest fellow.
confessed to me that is a real good man, that William is in reality “a damd” off hand and Clever fellow & he laughed much at his Setting a trap in getting Joseph [Smith, Jr.] to attempt to Kiss — In fact from all I could learn from his private Convers[a]tion he in reality has nothing against Joseph so that had he not been shipped from the you would still be a very good people. I have written to & stating that if the Case of Joseph Should come to a trial that I should appear both as Counsel & evidence for the defense & that I have it in my power to destroy s evidence
I have sent an Article to the Herald for the Cause within in the only way that would give it any f◊◊◊— that is, disclaiming all interest in Mormon Affairs— [p. [3]]