New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-08-13
MRS. GURNRY,s LETTER.

1t il always gratifying to receive evidence OF the
successful achievement of any good purpose ana
the justification Of the motives which prompted the
attempt. On Friday last, we published what put
norris TO be letter from Mrs. John Henry Quincy,
and which comes to us in pamphlet form from
ENGLAND. where, we understand, it has already
bee nut in circulation. The genu neness OF THIS
letter we have no reason to doubt. but, "netner
o,nuine or not, we were assured, and indeed were
perfectly sure without any such assurance, that
This document was about to be put before the
American public, and if not first published IN
the columns of THE TRIBUNE, it would be In
those of one of our morning cOtemporaries.
The question with US was simply this: Shall this
extraordinary letter. so full of the most morbid
sentimenality and the most mischieyious immo-
morality, withal so ceverly put, come before the
American public, where its trae character shall be
thoroughly exposed and shorn thus of its power
of working harm or shall it be permitted to first
appear where it will be allowed to cater, without
protest. to prurient and licentious taste, and
to instill its subtle poison into the minds OF the
weak and the young The question was easily
but robbed of its power of corTupting the public
morality. The event has justified us. Two OF our
neighborp. into the hands of one or the other of
whom it would have fallen had it not
come to ours, have received it in a
characteristic manner. With one Of them, who
never said a serious thing and never did wise
one, it is the subject only of very sorry gibes-an
earnest of the way in which it would have treated
the letter could it have first got hold Of it. The
other while affecting to dlsbeeye as the way is,
" with hid chagrlD," that We had any other than
selfish motive in the publication, exposes its own
low impulses by a story the point of which is that
had the cup been offered to it it would have drained
it to the bottom without pretending not to like it
We hasten to tender to both our neighbors our
Acknowledgements for thus promptly justiiying our
sound Judgment The character fthis letter-and
whether it be Mrs. Gurney's or not, its power )f
mischief was the same-is established at the outset,
by first appearing in columns, and not left to a
hating decision, and subsequent discussion, by
appearing first in theirs.
As TO the authenticity of the letter as published
by us, we have testimony that seems to place it
beyond doubt In the first place, we have seen
and scanned Whist purports to be the original, in
Mrs Gurneys handwriting, and which pro
fessional dealer in autographs has compared with
updoubted letters from Mrs. G., and unhesltatiDgly
prouounces genuine Then We know that copy.
right was taken out for this letter in Philadelphia
on the 23d ult by Mr.. William Brotherhood, pub
Usher of that city who is now issuing it, We
printed from copy privately printed in England,
and the story that somebody in Philadelphia paid
Sl8 lor transcrbiDg a copy from manuscript
proves nothing to the purpose, as such copies have
been for come time in private circulation. The as
sertion that the letter was published in Phila-
dephia Sunday paper before we printed it is false.
We credit the rumor that Mrs. Quincy has be-
come sick of her wretched intrigue has discarded
her groom, and is living reputaby in the family
of an English clergyman in Paris. We presume it
is also true that she has written to England beg
gipg to be forgiven and received back by her rela-
tives The whole truth, when ascertained, will
prove the best possible antidote to the egotistc
sophistry of her letter.