RK-522

The Grove. Sunday morning. Aperil 11th/58

Dear Brother mine -

Yours of April 4th was received by yesterdays mail - I think when you wrote it you must have been in a hurry to go and see "Miss Bettie".

I had a letter from Charlie yesterday; He likes the looks of things "down there", has to work pretty hard; and misses many home comforts. But upon the whole is I think well pleased with things genrally -

Major has been very busy all the week, he work "night and day" and Sundays - He gets on nobly and tends to every thing himself - He has just been copying off a large order for Mrs Dr Johns -

We had quite a hard rain last night, and it is cloudy and dull to day -

Laurance is going to Chicago with a load tomorrow morning -

The Sanguinarias are coming out beautifully, and we have a good many other flowers, I arrange them in a large shell, they look nicely so.

We have some lovely Hyacinths out, but it has been so cold of late that they lack fragrance.

Flinty has been staying up at The Folly for the last few days he came home last night, He and Hal walked down and arrived her about eight oclock in the evening -

We have no girl yet except the one I wrote you about, but we get on very well with her.

The weather has been so cold that we have not had a chance to collect anything, since I last wrote.

The Robins begin to come about in large numbers; and the Meadow Larks sing sweetly every morning, it pays well to get up early to hear them -

Jack has been sick for the last day, and from the talk that is made one would suppose that "dear, darling, little Jacky wacky" was some pet child - even Father and Mother caress Jack - He is a cunning little fellow and you like him in spite of yourself, He insists upon being petted - He will come to you and whine and cry untill you take him up, then he bites and growls like fun -

Don't you visit any other young ladies but the Misses Randolph? - What sort of girls are they, can they talk well? are they original, do they know a great deal? - or are they "beautiful and accomplished? -

I have been reading "David Copperfield" over again, what an excellent thing it is, Dickens draws the most striking, and yet perfectly natural and lifelike characters of any writer I know.

The grass is getting very green, but our lawn is th

greenest and brightest one I ever saw, It shows distinctly a long way off.

Aunts Avis and Delia do more charity work than ever, they are always making "something for somebody"; and never have any "time" to work for themselves, or to be pleasant. They seem to take more pleasure in gossiping than ever. I scarcely ever go over there lately for that reason -

About what time do you expect to come home? We don't have time to play chess much nowadays.

I dont feel like writing an interesting letter, but trust this will be acceptable as it it -

I'll think of you as usual a seven oclock -

All send love - God bless you Sister Dalce -

[written in the margin, page torn] = her 4 too "ther =tion =tain in