You will of course feel some anxiety to know the movements here since your departure & the fate that awaits our friends. The rush for office upon the new secretaries has been so overwhelming that they have scarcely had leisure to look into the applications. The old Genl. himself says that by some accident or mistake you had taken off the Executive Journal & therefore he had been dilatory in presenting his nominations. He could not know what offices he had to fill on that acct. Some of the Senators amuse themselves at such remarks & some of his friends would be rejoiced, if he could not exhibit himself to the public as often as he does. The impression seems to be gaining ground that he is less suited to the office than his friends expected or than the democrats represented. I saw Clayton on yesterday & he took pains to pay a very high compliment to your admn. and to you personally. Tho. he differed upon many questions, yet it had been honestly & fairly conducted & with great ability. That he had known you long in private & public life, he gave you great credit for integrity & ability & for honorable & upright purposes in public & private. I think your popularity is greater at this time than any former period of your life.

I understand the Judge on Thursday with a good deal of form & ceremony, called in the assistants & their clerks, one at a time & introduced them, then took him to the Third story, where the Auditor at my request had them assembled & introduced him to each one. He got through rather awkwardly, as much so as I should have done under similar circumstances. The clerks had for two or three days been frightened at the idea of Ewing coming in & they looked bright & cheerful when I spoke favorably of him, as the best of the Whigs except Whittelsey. He, as well as Clayton, spoke in the strongest terms agt. proscription & invited me to a conference with a relation to the officers. He was determined to retain the good officers, Whig or democrat. Before however we had said much, he was so much pressed by Mr C, that we had to break it off, & he has not invited a renewall of it. They will however be compelled to yield to the importunity of their friends tho. perhaps with more discretion & judgment than in 1841. I have seen none of the others of the Secretaries. You will see that Loyal & Bigger have been re-nominated. Doct. Shelby was to day nominated in the place of Cheatham, & Allen A. Hall appointed in the place of Graham, so I suppose Genl Barrow will be overslaughed. Gentry is hanging on yet it is said for office as well as Barrow. The offer of the P O Dep was probably designed to give him character at home so as to run him for Governor. Rumor has been busy about my 1 & 3' assistants & the 6th Auditor.

Rumor says that Jno C Clark is to succeed Hobbie & Jno S Skinner in the place of Marron. Clayton of Ga son of the Judge succeeds McCalla. The successors of Medill, Young, Burke, Laughlin, Gillet have not yet been designated. Warren, the leader of the Mormons in the last Iowa elections succeeds W. J. Brown. They have done so little yet, that their friends are leaving in bad temper. Evans is in bad temper & declined giving recomendations because he had no influence, & that the Cabinet had not been organized as the Whigs had a right to expect & he will be horibly gauled by the doceur of Commissioner to settle Mexican Claims. The friends of Webster, Clay & Taylor will be seperated and as hostile as the barn burners & old hunkers.

Judge Clayton takes the house & furniture of Mr. B except his carriage & horses which were offered him at $500. The Judge offered me $400 this morning for my horses and at dinner again sent down & offered $450. I declined tho. I believe I will sell if he offers $500. Knox has not recd an offer of more than $175 for yours. He thinks he cannot get more than $200. If I sell he had better take it than pay the expenses of sending them out. Our carriages were to have been shipped to day from Baltimore. I had them boxed here & paid $30. each to Haslip.

I intended to have been off on the evening of the 15th but my wife was not well enough to travel & is still in bed. Thinks she will be able to start tomorrow but I do not think she will be in three or four days. Marcy is still here. His furniture is advertised for the 22nd, mine for the 20th. Mr B will leave about the 1st of Apl. & I fear is a good deal hurt at the dropping of Piolet, attributes it to Cameron. There are some bad stories in circulation about R. J. W.’s connection with speculators which Iam sure must be untrue. Judge M. has been to Virginia & Toucey left without taking leave of any of us. Perhaps he thought we should have called.

A great effort has been made to supersede Mr. R, & put in new men who would be agreeable to the Northern & Southern democracy. Burke & young Tucker of Va (son of the Judge) have been much talked but I think it has all failed & I fear an opposition press will be established. There is no hope of compromise, unless it can be done through Forney & Wm F R, but W. F. R. will not be acceptable to the Calhoun men tho. regarded as a decided friend of Woodbury & taken extreme grounds in behalf of the South. We all acquired much character & the good feeling of the Whigs by our liberality toward the new comers. They too feel it & speak in strong terms of it. Should I remain any time I will write you fully every thing that occurs.

Please make my respects to Mrs. P. & tell her that her popularity with the Whigs would make me doubt her democracy, if I did not know her so well.