Peter Buell Porter letter to Henry Clay, 15 July 1828

Washington, July 15, 1828.

Dear Sir, Notwithstanding I have been overwhelmed with business in the office, ever since you left here, I would have written you sooner, but that, from the accounts which Mrs. Clay has given me, at different times, of your progress, I calculate that you will not reach Lexington sooner than this letter.

For the first ten days of my official labor, or, rather, reconnoissance, I found myself located in a field so entirely new and strange, that I could not move a single step without encountering some serious obstacle. I have now become familiarized to a small extent of ground, over which I move with tolerable ease, but my horizon is yet extremely circumscribed. I hope, however, to be able, by great assiduity, gradually to extend it.

I call, almost daily, on the President, who treats me with great kindness. His health and spirits have, I think, both improved since you left us.