Henry Adams to Charles Francis Adams, Jr.
St. Leonards on Sea December 3, 1863
Things are going on politically here from complication to confusion. Not that our own affairs are essentially changed, though this last week has been more lively than usual, owing to the rebs having bought a Government war-steamer and sent her out of a Government dockyard to cruise against us. This was cleverly done but I doubt whether it was good policy, any more than the other measures they’ve adopted of late towards England, which are calculated to throw the Ministry a good deal onto our side. I fancy this performance will only strengthen Lord Russell’s hands, should he come before Parliament with his new neutrality bill.
But meanwhile the devil only knows what will happen on the Continent. Certain it is that there is already a violent pressure in the money market, which approaches a panic, and I should not be surprised if something were to blow up before long. People are uneasy enough, and with reason. . . .
