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BO S TON :
PUBLISHED BY JOSEPH DOW E.

1836 .

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The ' Letters' in this little book have
Ent e red accordin g to a c t of Congress, in the year 1836. by

been promiscuously thrown together, in

JOSEPH DOWE,

the hope that they may Le useful as a

in th e Clerk's Office of the Di stric t Court of Massacl111•etts

kind of guide to that class of chi ldren
who so reluctantly set themse lves about
writing a lette r.

Believing this aver-

sion may ge11erally be overcome by fur- .
nishing them with some materials, those
have been selected which are dai ly occurring in their own experience-thereMl NOT PRATT- PR I KT ER.

by teaching t hem that if they have any

idea.s there will be no difficulty in ex-

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pressing them so as to make an easy,

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varied and sprightly letter.
Th e re are doubtless many inaccura-

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W R J T E H.

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cies in the Little Writer, Lut when we
consider the rather difficult task of finding mate rials for a vari e ty of letters
'vhich will interest and improve those
for whom they are intended, we hope
all reasonable indulgence will be allowed.

\IV

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8

Jlfay 6th, 183 -.
D e ar .F re d,- l haste n lo t e ll yo u of a new
a rrangement made r es pec tin g me . At a family mee ting where th e re were, as usual, many
act ing a nd act iv e mem be rs , it was un an imously voted 1hat l s hould leave hom e to atten d the
· Academy in N-. Now as .I have a decided
av e rsion to go ing, and only do so becaus e parental obed ie nce de mand s it , I address this
short not e to yo u, ask in g the favo r of a correspond e nce be twe e n us? J wi s h to e nt e r into a
contract with you and your s ist e r , to write to
me just as we talk toge1 her and to let th e le tters foll ow in qu ick succession. I s hall go
next wee k .
My lov e to Calla .
Yours in h as te,
HENRY D.

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.lfoy [ Jlh' J !13--.
I assure you, dear H e nry, that as the si s ter
or your former schoolmate and plrly-fellow
:Fred e ri ck, I shall es teem it a pl eas ure to
co mply with your request t.o write, and if
my letters are not as frequent as you des ire,
yo u must not attribute it to my wanting an inc linati on, nor because I find littl e to say to
you. J\'ly tim e is variou sly apportioned, so
that I have only now nr11.l then odd intervals
that I can steal fr om other duties to write let··
tcrs to my friends. I nm thi s very moment
call ed to sit to the pian o.-! wi s h you cou ld
hear me play an animating waltz, or si ng a
merry song. Ilut tho se you will need more to
hea r when you get away and first feel the indescri lrnhlc and nons e ns ical malady, termed
• hnm r .~ick11e ss . ' Yet, Henry, I can not but ho pe
that yon will he exe mpted from thi s disease .
1t seems strange that a boy whose attention is
always di ve rted by cha nge and nove lties, s hould
pass them by to s it moping in a co rner, thinking what a plea san t home he has left, and what
a dreary one he has found .

WRITF.R .

7

Do not indulge such faucies; make friends
by good conduct and learn to loo k to yours c lj~
not others, for ha ppin ess.
Frederick has just gone out to string a kite .
He hegged me to te ll you h e would writ e next
week when you h ad fairly got to N-. Remember me to your brother, sister Sophia &c .
Truly,
ANNETTE ·

FREDERICK

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Jl1ay 13th, 183-.

MJ dear Cous in,-! have been teasing fath e r all this week to let me go to school with
yo u . l have been re peatedly told by the family
when I have done a wrong action, that as a
prmishincnl l shall be sent from home to school.
I think I s hould not dread it now , provided, I
llut then I
mi g ht j o in yo u and Tom D.
suppose if I were se nt from hom e it would be
to some old fashioned master who would ke ep
me und er his eye all the time.
I sho uld like to h ear from you .- [ sen d you
so me books and a newspaper. I have many
things to tell y ou, but my Grammar lesson is

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J. I TT T. E

not lea rn ed and th e clock is jnsl strikin g e ig ht
- Y 0 11 co 1111l ry h oys are probabl y in b e d a nd
as lee p . l wi f' h I we re, but T ha ve n o ex cuse
to one r fo r a bud rec itation in th e morning but
n eg lectin g to stu<l y the day be fore. ·write
m e ~1Jo n. - Good b ye .
FRE.DEHI C IC .

Jlf: NRY 'l'IJ

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Jlfrry 2 1st, I 8~J-.
U ca r J\Tother ,-As T was loo kin g in my
trnnk fo r my j ac k -kni fe this a ft e rno o n, what
"hould I ~cc but that littl e packa ge at the bottom o f all my clot h es, dir ec te d to m e? I
th oug ht before I opene<l it I h a d a ni ce lot of
cak e and c andy, but you know what it was b eforr. 1 te ll yo u . Tom Rays a Dibl e is always a
l\l uth e r' s g ifi ; and he went on a nd told me a story that. mad e m e c ry . H c sa id that t hirt ee n yea rs
ago a pour hoy wm1t out in a low capac it y with
a ca ptai n 0 11 hoard on e of th e steamboa ts
on L a k e C h a mpl ai n.
Th e poo r b oy was
surrounded with bad company . They tri e<l

9

to make him sin with th e m , and the 011ly
thing which pr eve nted him, was reading a Bibl e w hi ch his mother pl ace d among hi s few artic les of clothing. H e th o ught of h e r wh o
gave him th e good book, and re ad it for h e r
sa k e. Hy and by, th e Captain love d him for
his goo<l conduct an<l p ro mot e d him, and now
h e commands a steambo a t himself. If I s hould
trave l that way, I mean to find the man and
go in hi s boat.
I lik e my new hom e very much. Tom is
fr e tful ab out ea tin g bre a d and milk fur hi s supper; but I n eve r s peak aga inst it , because you
told me to e at and find n o fau lt.
Dear l\'Iother, I wish Sophia would s e nd me
some of th e n e w story books. I h ad a letter
yesterday from Fred e rick ;-it seems a s if I
were at hom e when I read what you write me
about it.
V\Te went into the Sunday School yesterday.
It is a small sc h ool--e very thing looks litt le to
me h e re . We liv e in a cottage, go to a little
school house, and a littl e church, and Tom is
!oohin g ove r m f should e r and bids me add, 'and
we fee l a little homesick .'

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Pl ease send me th at b all oft wine I left , and
th ose old prints whi c h h ang in my b ed room.
1Yrit c me some good long le tt e rs. 1 wi sh I
co uld write s uch , but I am n ot much use d to
th e bu sin ess, so yo u mn st excuse all that is
wanting in yo ur anect ionate so n ,

H1rnnv .

TO .JAME S 'V Jl, i\ I OT , t-: XE'l'F.fl .

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.V.--, Ju ne 21 th, 1 8~ -.
1Vi ll yo u be kind e noug h , broth e r James, to
tell me wh o s up erint e nds your spe lling class?
I a ~ k th e qu c~ t i on in so be r ea rn es t, for I was
gr ieved at th e s ad mi s tnk es rind li lund cr s with
which yo ur letter to me abounded. L e t me
enumerat e two or thr ee words ;-th e rc wns sor''!.I in th e firs t line spell e<l wit h on e r, and p olite.
with an r. wanting in th e secollll; @nd what was
ev e n worse than all th e r es t, wh e n yo u mea nt
to a sk me to write y on , yo u spc ll r cl it rig ht.
You see I have tak e n y ou lit e rally, and am
det e rmin e d to set yo n rif'ld. A brot he r has no
nee d to a sk an ap ology, o r beg a n exc use fo r
correcting a brother's faults , and I have only

I. I

to ask yo u to amend nnd pay particular alt c n -·
ti on to learnin g to spell.
As an exe rcise lo improv e yo u , I imp ose it.
o n y ou to write lo me once a wee k , and do not
hurry ove r th e page, but make yo ur peri ods
wh ere th ey s hou ld be, a nd your min or stops in
th eir pl aces. Practice is th e on ly thin g that
can improv e you in letter-writ in g. Yo u will
th ank me some futur e J ay for my pl a inn cs~.
I am going t o C. to morrow .- I am h e arti ly
tir ed of a vacat ion . 1\' he n I look fo rwa rd , I
sec so mu c h to learn before I ca n be a m:rn in
mh1d that I wi s h I co uld almost cease to g row
;n lio1(1J till I h ave a cquir ed more kn ow ledg e .
You arc wi ld and s po rtiv e now-a ll thi s is we ll
e no ug h ; but do re me mb e r that th ere is a tim e
to stnd y as well as pl ay. Yo u mn y t hink me
seve re, but [ h ave hcr, n a boy lik e yo u , and am
now so rr y that I bcha ve1l so rud ely . '
\Ve ha ve but littl e news - old Tray, yo ur fnvo ril.c dn g, was ki ll ed ycs terd~ y--Lon g li fe to
c nts and chi c ke ns in futur e-- lt is pl e as nnt to
liv o in peac e eve n if one is a d umb a11i111al.
Moth e r will sec yo u n ex t wce k . -\ Vrite me uy
he r, but I r e pe at it, lea rn to s pell now or you
neve r will.-Your l<ind advi se r,
S. \ V.

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HE NRY TO HI S MOTHER,

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N--, June 2nd, 183-.
i\Iy dear 1\folher, -Jt is no drudgery for me
to write a letter now . Forme r.ly you know
how much coaxing and teasing I ne eded before
I would write to broth e r John , but since I have
heen from home there is not a single thing I
do so cheerfUlly as to sit down and an s we r
your kind epistles lo me. To be sure my le tt ers ar e not so fini shed n or half a s lon g as
ynurs, but th e n you alway s e ncourage me to
t ell thing s in my own way , a nd so I do not feel
ns if yo u would eve r lau g h at my poo r attempts.
There is n great deal he re to inter est me.
"\V e have a great many hoys t o pl ay with , and
wh e n we sit around our long dinn e r tabl e, you
would he obliged to look a good whil e before
yo u would find yo ur ' littl e Henry' in the crowd.
'Ye hav e capital fun. After suppe r we play
hall a11d exe rc ise o urse lves ju st l!S we choose.
Some boys swing , but it mak es 111c so diz zy I
shall not ntlempt it ngain. Jim Snow put me
in the swing yeste rd ay, and then pushed me
violently back and forth, telling me to 'hold on
strong,' but I became so dizzy that I fell 0111

in a few minutes. It was fortunate that I did
n ot ge t kill ed o utri g ht ; as it wa s, I o nly hurt
my h ead a I itt le. D o 11 ot fee l an x io us about
me , dear moth e r , l sliall 11 cve r atl c rnpt to do
again, what I oug ht to know bette r than undertake .
lVIy cough has e ntirely go ne. I never go
out in tlt e evening ,-but l ri se in th e mornin g
with the lark. I look forward to yonr promi sed
vi sit with much pleasure . In th e intervnl [
hope to s uccee d in my studi es and be what
you said I mu st., ' always a gootl boy. '
Your affectionate son ,
I-I. D .

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f'R ED l': nr c: K TO HENRY.

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J 8:J-.

D e ar JI c nry ,- [ am impnt.i e11t for my vacation, for th e n I h uve th e promi se o l go ing t0
see you. What a deli g htl"ul tim e we s hall hav e .
1 me an t.o tak e a sail on th e beautifi.il poml yo u
wrote me about; besides I shall go b erry in g,
und egg hunting, till l am tir ed.
1 hav e bee n practising gy mnas tick s htc ly.
Yon would lau gh to see h ow high l cn n climb .

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WR I TE R.

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rend e red nry nimble hy le rrrning to exe rcise nil my limbs; and in ste ad of' li tt le puny
:Fr ed,' I s h a ll soo n compare with ' .Fre deri c k the
Great.' Ilut mother f'ays it is no matter what
1ry titl e is, if [ urn only' g reat ns I am goo d .'
I have lot s of thin gs to tell yo u, but cn nn ot
s top to say a ny m ore in this letter.
vVrite
soo n, and believe me as ever ,
F. H_
Rm

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S--, 183-.
Yo ur lctt e r was so amusing , my cle ar boy ,
!lint I cannot le t nn h our pa ss be fore I answer
it. Yo ur de sc ripti on of the lit.ti e ark in which
you flo at in yo ur journey was ve ry humorous; so a lso was you r reject ion of yo ur fam ous dinn e r.
Those chickens mu st h ave
b ee n ve ry d ea r a cq 11 ainlances or yo ur r e fi1 sal
l o ta st e th e m would not have bee n h e nrd .
Quite a tra g ic sce n e you mu st hav e had in
w itn essing th e des tru ct ion of the fea th e re d race
whi c h you had reared from peeping chicke ns to
mother h e ns, and from littl e goslings to lordl y

g anders! Yet who but yo u ever thou g ht or
lam e ntin g over th ei r d ea th wh e n they sa w
th e m ni cely se r ved upon the table .
I have ju st b ee n clown by th e se n-s h ore g ath e rin g s ome sh e ll s to mnke a cou pl e of vases
for your moth e r . The tide b ec ame rath e r unce re monious, a nd in c reased so fa st !lint I was
obliged to run fr om a da rlin g sh e ll which I
wi s he d to obta in.
It is n eedl ess for me to t e ll you h ow much
Fre <l w is h es to sec you. I 13aw him look in g in
our A lm nnnc to day ve ry busy , co un ting fas t sa id I , 'wh at are yo u <l oing , Fred ?' He repli('d , 'I nm counting th e wee k s befo re Henry will come.' Now I think it is exceedin g ly
gratify ing to ha ve friend s retain s u c h kind reme mbran ces as to w is h us with them .-T h ope
you are n ot a s anx io us to co me as h e is th at
you s hou ld , for thi s wi s hin g away prec ious time
seems to be mi s us in g th e greate s t gift in the
worl<l.
I h ave n othin g int eresti ng or n e w to te ll yo u
-we li ve ju st as wh e n yo u were here- eac h
of us has eno ug h to do a nd so we an~ n eve r unhappy, unl ess perc h a nc e we happen to do wrong.

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H o w is Sam? T ell him to h ave a watc hful
eye o\·c r hi s lam e font. J\Irs P. is h e lo w wailin g lo sr:c m e, so ] will 011 ly ad<l th at I.hi s le tt e r is hut a s li g ht acknow ledg m e nt of th e r eceipt o f yo ur s, um! a b e tt e r answe r may be expecte d soo n , fr om
Your fri e nd ,
SormA .

L - - , .fl ugnst 7th, 183- .
J\Ty dea r sch oo lfc ll o w ,- .1 am safely arrived
at my o wn li o111 c . I wanl. t o t e ll yo u ho w troubl ed I wa s to get he re, for J kn ow it will b!'
m ost amus in g to yo u . Yo u r ecoll ecl wh e n I
go t in fir e s ta ge at yo ur door it was so crowded
th at lh c 1lrir c r want ed m e to s it outs ide . The
r easo n o f my re fu s in g t.o d o so w as beca use a
h ot s un a lway s muk es my h e ad ache , if J am
lo ng ex pose d t. o it. I did not ex pla in thi s to
tir e passe ng e rs -if l ha d, I mi g ht h ave fared
h e lt e r ; for a n old lad y wh o s at n ex t to m e k e pt
as king me every mil e I we nt, if I could not
's it a little far th er and n ot crowd h e r so mu c h ?'
Thi s I tri ed to d o, but yo u know Henry how
l di slike snuff and tobac co: well , in trying to

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oli lrge th e o ld lady [ on ly came n cn r c r a 11 o ld
man who k e pt s pittin g toba cco juice ull over m e.
Th e rid e g r ew d re adfu lly un co mfo rl.abl c. Th e
air of th e coac h w as imrrcg nat e d wilh all so rt :::
of smell s, a nd I began to fo c i sic k al my stomac h. Fe aring that it might in crease, I r eso lv ed
to g e t on with t h e driver. Thi s I d id as soo n
as w e go t t o the fir st s toppin g pla ce . Th e
wind b le w more and a cool e r breeze ca 111 e 0 11 ,
so th at 1 found an agr eeable exchan g'). ] found
we !r ad qui l e a n intellig e nt driv e r , w h o t.o ld me
th e n a me of eve ry li ttl e hill and va le a s h e
dro ve a long, a ll of which amu se d m e very
m uc h.
\ V ithin five m il es of h ome we s topp ed at a
tave rn wh e re a littl e colo r e d boy m e t u s , gri nning at 0 11r arrival. I lo o ked at him atlenlivc ly
a nd found it was our T o m who n ;;c<l to draw
Netty a bout in h e r wagon ln ~ t summer . J gave
him a nin e -pe nce for 'a11 ld ac qu a int ance' sa k e,
and hi s ch ee rful co unt e n ance s pok e hi s thank s
be tt e r than word s . I love to g i vc t o grat e fu l
people. 1V r ite m e soo n h ow yo u get al o ng ,
and if th e vacation dof' s no t see m ted ion!;l . 1
2

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!.ITTLE

ucgin to think l shall want to see our whitewashed academy soon.
Yours truly,
SAMUEi. D.

TO FltEDEl\ICK.

N - - , .flugnst 9th , 18."l-.

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Dear Ji'red,-I belicvq it is true that the most
industrious people arc the happiest. I have
been longing · for a vacation that I might. have
nothing to do. It has come, and oh dear, I
have yawned my se lf almost to de ath . After
the first pl easure of meeting my parents and
brothers and sisters is over, l begin to feel the
nee d of more excitement titan home affords.
Thuy tell me I want e mployment.
I have walked up and clown our du sty street
till I am tired . Dick and Jam es passed through
here yesterday-I was gathering some flowers
by the road-side , and wh o should hnlloo at me
but the unmannerly Dick. He had just been
'squabbling,' as he call ed it, with Jam es, and
tore his jacket. Is it not strange that boys cannot act more like gentlemen? \Vhen I see
boys behave like him I always think they ought

II' It I TB It.

19

to suffer for it as they generally do-for 'those
who bruise always get bruised,' says the proverb.
I shall go to w·- - tomorrow. My sister
is there at school. Do you ever go a fishing ?
It looks lilrnly to rain and I am going down to
the bridge to throw over my line. l wish you
were with me. If you find fault with this letter,
remember it comes from the country and a sin ,
cere heart. As such accept it , from
Yours sincerely,
H . D.

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A MO'l'HER TO HER SON •

S--, Sept. 9th, 183M y dear Son ,-1 am glad to hear that you
have so far recovered your health as to be able
to walk and ride . My anxi ety about yo u has
been constant, and began to incre ase because I
had not heard directly from you for som e days.
1 must beg of you to always write me wh ene ver an opportunity offers. You have no conception of a mother 's anxiety about her only son .
Not only am I desirous fo1· your healih and bodily activity, but , my dear Ilenry, it is my ear -

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IV 11 l T F. R.

LITTLB

nc ~ l desi re that yon may improve the advnnlagcs whic h you now receive, so that you may
one <lay be a usefol citizen and an orname nt
to soc iety.
l think c hil<lr en would never do wrong did
th ey rea li ze the pain it occasion s not only to
th e mse lv es but to th eir parents. Dr Frankl in
us ed to say when he had done a good action,
' th e sm il e of hi s employer was hi R reward . '
I ho pe yo u rend, in connection with stud y ing.
It. is in exc usabl e to li ve in ignorance nowadays.
l would not desire you to be a me re bookworm
- play al seasonab le times, but do not le t a
fo ndn ess for <liver sion s up ersede st ri ct alten·
I.i o n to f'tlllly. I eou l<l write you volum es, my
dea r c hild , upon the right improvement of your
tim e, but let me refer you to you r own conscit11c1· as a suitab le test for all yo ur actio ns.
Ellie has .1u st finish ed dressing a <loll . ·we
arc to ha vc a Fair tomorrow fo r the benefit of
o ur Sunday school library . James D . has just
return ed . Timothy e nters college next August
-his mother is very ill. Be careful of your
Jw alth, and alwayA remember the happiness

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your ·good conduct confers on your devoted
mother,
L. D.

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JV--, Sept. llth, 183Dear l\'Joth e r,-1 am beco ming quit e a farm·
er. You to ld me to a lways make myself useful when I cou ld , so for exercise as well as
use, I ha ve driven the cows from th eir pasture
every night for a month past.
I want to t e ll you an occurrence which t ook
place yeste rd ay . You perhaps know th at clover is frequ e ntly sow n along with gra in; so
th at, wh e n the grain is cut, a field covered
with thi s plant re mains. It is ri ch food fo r the
cows, and old Brind le ate so voraciously ycstcr<lay that it was with difficulty I could ge t
he r home. ·when she got in th e yard sh e laid
down pe rfectly exhausted. The milkman said
liting in clovei· was a dangerous thing to cows
and boys.
I think I shall never comp lain any mo re of
my s imple food so long as it is wholesome. I
am glad w e have no candy nnd cake shops
2•

AJeJC

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h e re; for a lth o ugh I love th e laRte of them as
w e ll a s an y hod y, yet I n ever fe lt h a lf as well
wh e n I ale th e m as J do n ow wh e n l can not
ge t tl1 e rn .
I am mu c h ob li ged to Sarah f'or the bo ok s.
ri se ear ly and e uj oy the fr es hn ess of th e
h eautif'u l mo rning s. I always ha ve a good appet it e for my brea kfas t, and when the men go
lo th e ir labor , I go t o my boo k s .
I forg ot to t <l ll you that I hav e a littl e gard e n -Yo u w ould laugh to see th e flow e rs in it .
l so11·c rl j11 st. s uc h sec d g a s Tllrs G. ga ve me .
Th e y ha ,·e ~ prun g up and blosso me d, and what
d o yo u think th ey a r c? S1u?flo1cers , and Jfoll.'f/10ck.i ! Nobody can say but I hav e a s howy
gar d e n .
I am going to mill after dinner with JVIoses
in the wagon, but l must g e t my Latin l e sson
fir s t ; s o d ea r moth e r I can write n o more this
I i111 e .
Your aOcctionale so n ,
HE N RY.

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night. S is l e r E ll en was marri e d to Mr B .
Thi s was th e r easo n of' m y n ot r e turning , as
you d o ubtl ess ex pect e d I s honld y <> s tcrdii y.
I can g iv e yo n nn idea of th e sce 11 e - c,·c 1T
l am p in the h ouse wa s light ed, eve ry room
thrown open , and in .th e hall wc h ad a lar ge
s upp er tabl e lo adell with dainti es . The tabl e
was ornamented with fl o wers. A li e r nil , E ll e n
said , n othing loo k ed so pr e tt y a s natm e's pr o du ct ions . The mini s ter j oke d h e r , aml s aid s h <l
wa s a rar e plnnl-all th e company laug h e d , and
to t e ll th e ~n li e r truth , a w e dding is a j ny f'ul
occas ion, H e nry, provid e d, it did not SC' pa ru lc
broth e rs and s is ters. I sha ll bring yo n a lnr ~c
sli ce oi' we dding cake and t e ll you th e re s t
wh c u I sec y ou .

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I wish y ou would giv e my c ompliments t. o
our go od T e ach e r, and t e ll him I sha ll be bac:k
early in th e week . Res e rv e my old se at for
me. I hav e a gr e at d ea l to te ll you wh en I
see you . Unt il then, go o d-bye.
S. V .

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W--, Srpt. 23d, 183-

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Dcar Henry, -VVe had a fine time h e re last

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IV--, .;Vvv . llllt, J83 .. -

My d e ar Edward,- ·whi le you are eujoy in g

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th e pl e as ant warmth and h eat of summe r , I nm
pin c hed by th e c hill y air of a fr osty mornin g in
N ove mbe r. I am pl eased to find y our attachment to en rl y fri ends re ma in s unbroken. I
always fo uud that the farth e r I went from hom e,
the n eare r it was to my h eart.
Y our opportunities fo r travellin g mu st afford
yo u a succession of novelties which we hom e
hodic.9 kn ow but littl e about. And y et yo u say
yo u are neve r so rry to hear that you are going
fr om one pl easant port to anoth e r! It a ppe ars
to me eve ry wh e re I stopped I s hould want to
ge t ncq11nint cd with th e geog ra phy of th e country , as well as with th e c ha ra ct er of it s inhabitant s.
Yo u wish I could ~rav e l with yo u. I should
mak e but a ridi cul ous figure who am so ignorant of my own country , to set ab out visiting
for eig n ones. J\Jothe r says, I should n eve r fo r·
g et th at I li ve in America, and e nde a vor to inform myse lf particularly of its early hi story,
and as tim e run s rapidly, wh en I ge t farth er
advnnccd J s hall visit the prin cipal wond ers of
our own land. · You have bee n a tra ve ll e r by
birth-do tell me to what country you belong?

IV It I 'J' E H .

25

Vo u ca n say yo u were bo rn in J\ me ri ca, passed yo ur chil dhood in E ng larnl , st udi ed in Ge r··
m an y, an d a re now in It a ly. vVhat will be add ed
t o th e a bove description 1 k now not - I wis h I.
might add , an d return ed to his fri e nd s in A mer-·
ica, wh ere he made his n ativ e vill age his home .
Yo ur mind must be ex pand ed, iftra ve lling
among a va ri ety of peo ple a nd sce nery ever
pro du ces this e ffect. Yo u li ve in th e world ,
while I yo ur hum ble corr es ponde nt dw ell i11 a
g rove. T he Ji ll i~ inh abi ta nts abo ut me sin g
grat r. ful hy mn s to P rovid ence, an d the vo ice ol"
n ature see ms the vo ice oftha nks-so if I a m
n ot imp rove d by go ing ove r a wid e ran ge in
cre ati on, I have re ason at least for gratitude
and conte ntm ent in my qui et home.
T th a nk yo u s in ce re ly for yo ur favo rs accom-·
pany ing th e lette r. Th e ora nges are c!fdi cio11 s
-1 hav e just ca rri ed so me to a sic k n e ig hbo r.
D o exc use my unint e restin g returns for yo ur
sprightly letters . R ecoll ect that I am ce nt e red in on e spot , and have not a va ri ety of s ubjects like yo u to catc h my attention.
Moth er bids me g ive y ou her lov e a nd th e
quaint adage , ' be a g ood boy and improve .'

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Th al a He r all yo ur travels are ~ver we may
meet in lo ve is th e ea rnes t wish of your fri end,

P. l'.
TO ED WAR D AT IIOME 1 SICK.

Jlf- - , D ec. 18th, 183-

My cl ea r ] ~ dwanl,-If you shou Id be unable
to read this letter I know so me kind fri e nd will
do it for yo u ; and should your fever run high,
J tru st a few words may refresh yo ur sp irits ;
or shou ld yo u b e c hille d with an ague, that the
proof of a sc hool fe llow's attachment would
h ave no te ndency to increase th e coldn ess.
You arc in a far more e nviable state than many
poo r fe ll ows.
Only think of Sam Chase.
H o is tak e n with a violent inflammation of the
throat, and th e poor fe llow has n o one but some
of us schoolboys to cheer him ; while yo u have
a good mot her and lo ving s isters, watching all
you r wants.
Do not gel low spirited. Yo u will recover
much soon e r prov id ed you keep a cheerful
f1ame of mind, and this after all is very much
a l people's comm and , if they choose to make it

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I have harl a ni ce littl e grate put in our room
since you lefl- wc can crack nuts, and tell
stories, an d fee l all th e better for hav in g been
separate d wh e n yo u re turn . ' Vhat do you
think I have attempted to do since I ha ve been
a lone ? Having always a t as te for ' Ma'am
Goose's Melodics,' l have set about writin g
poetry-no-not poetry , but rhym es ! I se nd
th e m to you, for I well kn ow th ey cann ot but
make you smi le if yo u a re ever so sick. I will
not fat ig ue you to hear or read a long let te r ,
but co nc lud e by g iving yo u my h ea rty wishes
for your s pee dy res torati on and r et urn to yo ur
lone ly c hum ,
H . D.

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SOP llJ A TO llENfil'.

N--, De c. 2nth, J 83Dear Rrother , -I nm obliged to write a
French Translation for my composition this
week. I have just read it to Mother, and s he
ins ist.ed on my writing it to yo u.- Now for it.
'A raven one day promised a cock th at he
would show him a number of things which · he
was sure no other bird possessed. The cock
. went with him some way, anci in the hole oi an

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old 11·a ll , h e cxhibite <l his hoard s. There wer e
hon es and :sto nes, bits of wood and h orn , leat her a nd ra gs , a nd a thou s and ot he r thin gs.
' ,,- II , sa id th e cock, , and now te ll m e what
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i ~ t he use of all th ese thin gs; can yo u eat t 1e1~.
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· e raven.
cat them? ' sa id I.h e cock. ' No,' sa id the raven.
' Th e n ,, c ri e d the cock, 'what a foo l you are
to s pe nd you r tirn e in layi ng up so much tra sh .'
Vici you n eve r see idl e boys , H en ry, th at
fill ed th e ir head s with n onse nse in ste a d o.fuseful
lrn owlcdge, who we re n o wiser than this silly
bird ? I wi s h yo u would tran >latc some fables
and se nd th e m to me.
..
I think yo u g reat ly impro ve in le tt c r-wntmg,
and le t me tli vul ge a profound sec ret t? yo u,
•. ti ie 1.
·
'l'l 1 c 1·e ca n be n o harm 111 tc lldear 1u10
in g yo u , sinc e so me ot he r o~e " ·ill if I do not.
You mu st know at the end o! you r prese nt _term
you arc to co me h ome, and a ft e r spe n<lm g a
few weeks yo u will h e put und e r t he cme of
o11r fat h e r's bclorcll Jr icll(l to b e fitted for collcg()? Yo u know to whom I refer. I ~v iH not
t el l yo u any more, for you will b e sufhc1e ntly
<JUe sti oned on I.h e s ubj ect at so me future day .

I am teasing father to le t me accompany him
fo r yo u. I hav e d ecorate d yo ur I it.t ie bed room in
anti c ipati on of you r return . R e me mb e r me to
yo ur c hum and te ll him I a m trnly g lad to h ea r
of hi s re covery. The bell te lls me dinner is
r eady. Yo u will not probably h ea r from me
till you see me. Brin g all yo ur books home
with yo u.
Truly,

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IJfJslon, .ll pril 20th, JS:j_
I h ave ju st la id down a book , dear Henry,
up on the 'gove rnm e nt of' th e temp e r' - As you
are rather excitab le I h ave thought it rnay not
be a miss to se nd it to yo u. I be li eve I h ave
a lways bee n und e r a sa d mi stake wh en I ha ve
im ag in ed that ot he rs made my way cloudy,
and that when the path wa s a ll su ns hin e , I
owed th e pleasan t li g ht to myself I beg in to
think n ow, that we can gi ld e ve ry scene by
ca lmly meeti ng th e trials and vex ations which
li e in our path , and as m_v goo d mini ste r s ay s ,
by the di scip lin e of life , we cn n be puri fied a nd
fitted fol' hig he r perfection than thi s s tat e of
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our being allows. Jt would be well, Henry ,
for you to ponder a little upon this book.
lam happy lo find you in such good 1'pirits;
-am glad that you have so good a taste as to
reli sh the rational cn.ioyments which now open
befo re yo u. How foolishly people judge of
real happiness in this world . Again and again,
they have been told in what it li es, but yet
they are never willing to believe it. I will tell
you an anecdote jusl in point. Little Effie
has been teasing all the morning for an
orall~<' . Th ey arc so ur, and entirely uns uited
to her pr c~e nt statc;--yct to convince her that
I rcallv know what is bes t for h e r, I hav e given her. one. You rnay think me a silly motlier,
but I think it is best sometim es to convince
even cl11ldrcn that by fo llo wing their own co11rse
they can make th emselves very unh ap py. She
is now crying because the orange hurt her!
I s not this like th e co ndu ct of older children,
save the things whi ch they arc bent on obtaining are of a d!O'ercnt kind, but eventually cause
th e m to weep and sigh because experience
teaches them what they would not belic1·e
though another told them .

WRJTJ::!L

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I hope you show a corresponding gratitude
for all the favors done yo u by the worthy
family with whom you r es ide, and in re turn
benefit them in eve ry way that present s itself.
Make my kindest regards to them, and believe
me your affectionate sister,
ANN .

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B--, Jlfay 2d, 1sa-

Like the child who ate the orange in an imprope r time , I began to wipe my eyes because
your last le tt e r was no longcr--yet from its
contents; , I learned to overcome the vexation
it would otherwise have occasioned me, and so
have made it profitable . Dr E. (you sec I
quote him every where, ) s ays that a long Jetter unless exceedingly varied, is frequ e ntly
tedi ous; and as min e cannot be very i<prig htly,
I will lay down his maxim as n standard truth.
You will rejoice with me, dear sister, when
I tell you that I am happie r every day I live . .
Study, which was once such a drudgery , under so delightful a teacher as I now enjoy, has

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h Pr:ome 011 e of my c hi e f sour ces Qf pl eas ur e- I l1av c ;1111 use rn e nt s i11 th ose ve ry thin gs wlii c h
o nce I s lwuld hav e s purned at , as be i11g cla sse d und e r I.h e na me .
Yes te rd ay a bout noo n, I was ag reeably surpri se d- th e sta ge stopped at our doo r and a
tall ge ntl e ma n ali g hted, wh om Dr E . introdu cr.d as hi s broth e r fr om th e South . I hav e not
]earn ed th e nam e of th e city wh e re he resid es,
. hut I beli eve he o wn s a pl ant ati on a nd kee ps a
g reat many slaves; ye t I cann ot think he is
c ru e l to th e m, as 1 ha,·e fr c'lu c 11tl y r end th at
so me maste rs ar c, (i ,r I heard him s pe'l k of a
pri c~ t wh o preac hes t. o the m , aud wh e n he
we nt into th e lihrnry he turn ed to a lit.ti c book
o f Sc riptur e N atural Hi story, and told Ur E.
th at SO lll C of th e 11 cg roes wh o li ve d With him
s tudi ed it fo r th eir S und ay lesso n--so I cann ot
b elieve th at all a re ke pt s o ig norant as some
r e prese nt. H o w ma ny maste rs rese mbl e th is
ge ntl e man , howe \·e r , I cann ot say .
Th e un expected a pp ear a nce of thi s pe rso nage will kee p D r E. at home to mor ro w--so I
sha ll not visit th e littl e sick boy, I told you
ab out this we ek . T omorrow eve ning we are

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WR! TER.

to ha ve n lec tur e befor e our Lyce um--! s up pose I sh all g o, and th e n I will write you about
it. I have a call to go into the parl or-I shall
take thi s t o th e offi ce thi s afte rno on , and h a ve
only time to bid you good morning.
H. D.

Oak Hill , July, - Do not stare too lon g at my address, dear est
sister-I ha \' e a pass ion for pretty nam es- it is
pl easant to asso cia te a de li g htful pl ace with a
s weet n a me . Y ou will wond e r th e n th at I
hav e n ot sel ecte d a be tt e r-but what will carry me bac k soone r in imagin ation (years hence, )
to these maj estic oaks und e r whose sh ades I
have conversed with me n wh o li ve d ce nturi es
ag o? vV he re I have sat too a nd mu sed till
th e ge niu s of in s pirati on has aid ed me to pour
forth so me meltin g strain a in fu g itive ve rse !a sch ool boy 's hobby, y ou kn ow, if he chan ces
to have a ny imag inat io n.
But this is not what I took up my pe n t o
t ell yo u-it was, that I last eve nin g rece i" ed
a lette r fr om Frank a n<l Ned . Fath e r's
is forthcoming-he has just returned from n
g•

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jo urney, and begge d th e m to say for him that
.h e int e nd ed t o sc n1l me •1ui t c n pac ka ge n e xt
ll'C e k . Il.a 1·e you h ea rd th e 11 ews? H o w
s hou ld yo n lik e 1\ lrs A. for a slc11-111olhc1· ? Poor
old i\ lr s Be ll o ll's will di s lik e to r e li11q11i s h her
pm• t, bul l a 111 ~ I rnn g ly s 11 s pi c io us th a t. another
:\11tu11111 111 ay 11 wk e a c han ge " ·ith h e r .
I e n d ose y o u t.h c Loys' le tt e rs -they are
C'n ti rc ly c harnctcrisl ic of th e m. Th e goo d
gC' 11ll c 111an of wh o m I s poke in my l.a s t ~ e tl ~ r
t o yo u , ha " !e ll 11 s-- I a cco mpani ed hrlll 111 l11 s
ll'nll< s, fi , hin g r·xc 11r!" io ns, &c . J\ s a proof of
hi s J,,,·c fill' 111 e, he kit m e a 8ih·e r- n1 o unl e d
r id in g s li c k. Y(>ll rn ay in fe r that olcl R oan a111l
1 arc g oo d fri e nd s by thi s tim e-for h e ha s not
turn e d 111 0 off hi s bac k, s in ce [ fir s t rod e him.
Ur E. hum orou s ly s nys , ' ho rses, lik e mos t m e n ,
r c q11ire a lo ng a cq11ai11t ci nc c, b efo r e th ey arc
r ea dy to bcst o11· faror s.' I se nd Effi e a 11·hi s tl e
- 'ti s a n o isy pl ay thin g, n ot adnpted to a g irl,
IJul I ca n find nothin g else at o ur 'varie ty
s t o re .' H e 111mnh c r you hav e a broth e r wh o
ca nn ot g ain a ccc"s lo a C ity sh o p, o r yo u
I• >•> s hould recc in.! so 111et hing fr o m
1-Ir. 1.;n y,

-------------

J·: Jt.

J•:ll\VARJl TO ll EN l\I".

. \ 'i·11• l"i1 rk, .f1111c :1n11i.

D ea r Broth e r, -Yo ur lei.f e r c ame ju s t a s
wa:s h aY i11 g a fin e tim e in m ak in g m o la sses
candy. Mrs B e ll o ws g ave u s the u s e of th e
kitch e n las t ni g ht anrl a q11art o f mol asses to
use if we wo uld bo il it till it bc c a111 e goo d c an dy . Sh e s aid it wou ld be goo d ro r our co ug h
-wh e n we t nld th e Dr . of it h e la ugh e d, and
t o ld !I f' h e had a b e tter presc rip t io n . H e too k
us to I.h e cl ose t , a nrl s howed n s tli:1t g re at bottl e lalic ll c d , ' Tirrf'.fu rc o f' r: hul 1a rli 1'
Yo u nee d no t think T c11xy yo u y o ur pl e a sant ho me - I. hav e o ne :i s goo d, and do not
study m11 c h o ut o r sc hoo l e ith e r-Do n ' t yo u
think .fllgrum hard? I lik e U eog raphy o r lli sto ry be lt. e r. T hey t e ll me t he re aso n is , beca use I do n 't np 1ol.r myse lf' t o it.
Sam S. ha s r du m cLl fr o m hi s trav e ls . U c
has gro\\'11 a g re at d e al tall e r , hi s hair is dark e r ,
all(! hi s co mpl e xion ve ry s all ow . I asked him
what h o had see n ' h e s h ow ed m e so me curious
sto n es that h e had coll ecte d, to ld th e ir nam c·s
( not one of whi c h l r e m e mb e r) aml it appeared to m e he divid e d th c 111 into falllilics , as he
· nrra11g c d th e m according lo their s izes, co lors,

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LI TT L E

nn d shap es.
have but littl e knowl e <lge of
mine rals, and as he prese nt ed me with a n umbe r I se nd th e m to you, thinking th ey may b e
valuabl e.
Fathe r has coll e cted 'lu ite a lib ra ry; our
littl e room is t o be co nv e rt ed into a boolrcase.
Th e house is to be th oro ug hly re paired thi s
f! Urnm e r , and nnnt Patty said las t night to fathe r in my hearing , ' I ho pe s he will be good t o
th e c hildre n .' I rath er think-you may guess
th e r es t-w e are lo board with }\Ir 'f. whil e
th e pa intin g and white washing bu s iness goes
on . Frank is sober ag a ju<lge, wa iting for me
to fini 3h that he may write his le tter to you .
Excuse my errors-perhaps l s hall write b etter soon , for all my co mpo!itions in future are
to be lette rs to my brother H e nry.
Youn; affec tionately,
EnwARD .

FllA "" CI S TO H E:l' llY .

N . York, July 3d, 183Dear H e nry, -Y o11 know we u sed to call
yo u th e .111odernlor, when th e ch ildre n made
such a noise that you said you could not think.

f wis h you we re he re now.

37

N crl has crot into
a froli c in t he wron g tirn c. - l will te ll )~Ou how
I a m s itu a te d , whil e l am w rit i11 g. L it.ti c E lle n a nd T o m a rc build in g ca rd-h ouses on th e
same la ul c whe re I am seate d , a nd N e d is ove rthrowin g eve ry one before th ey ar c fi nishe d-Sam is ro llin g mnrhl es and dr ca rlfully vexe d
s• tr airrht
.'
because he ca n not mak e th e m '<TO
t"'>
b
'
and to co mpl e te th e wh o lc,thc c la tter ofto 11 i.: ues
be twee n th e m nil , so unds as I s hould think
th ey cl.id wh e n in Old Testam ent times th ey
spoke In a ll kind s or la ng uages . ]~11t r will
not e ntire ly fill my lett e r with complaints; I
wante d t o sec yo u last wcc k--we had n.11 exhibiti on at our sc hool, a nd l comm e nced the
int roducto ry exe rc ises uy a 'p oe m ' wh ic h was
ori g in al ! Yo u will douutlC'ss laug h , uut it cos t
mG a good dea l of lauo r and we nt off ve ry we ll .
As I. read it myse lf, wh e re th e lin es did n ot jin gl e JU St n g ht , I put on a littl e more speed (as
th ey say on th e rail-road ) till I c ame to a better
place . I. hea rd o ne o ld Indy say, whe n I sat
down-' it so und ed ju s t like my Jilli e gra nU so n's.' I th oug ht to mys e lf, 1 hop e yo u won 't
acc use me of stealing fr om a ny body, for it

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took me long enough to compose it , let it sound
as it may.
I am going ne:-tt week to U nc le Jerry's-I
Jc now but little of a country life , but think I may
lik e it from your desc ription. There is an
Acn<lemy th ere, and [ ~hall atteml it with hi s
boys while I stay. My n ext lette r wi ll be
from that town . "Vrite me often-I like tho se
leaves from your .Journal-send some more.
Ne<l is urging me to go with him, nn<l mi
I nrn rather of 'an ob li ging disposition,' according to Aunt Patty ' s account, [ will close
this letter and go.
I am, <lenr brother, yours, with affection,
FRANK.

.iV ew York, Jlfarcli 7th, 183Dear Anna,-l'l'ly trunk is packed, and the
decree has gone forth that I mu st again leave
home and tak e up a quiet resid e nce in the retired, gloomy village of N . and all this is done,
that I may be pre pared to enter college a year
from n ext August. I am writing as if you
knew all the partic~lars; such as my old teach-

e r has Jell the city , a nd in his parting adri ce
to my fath e r respecting me he said, 'why don 't
you comm it your son for a year or more to the
care of the Rev. Dr. E. ?' Now father has pondered th ese words, and th e motion has bee n
seconded by all my aunts, un cles , and cousins
for aught I know, and Mr. or Dr. E. has been
writt e n to and accepted the prec ious trn st
(being induc ed to do so, in consideration of
quite a brnw .~ already reccivc<l, ) and tomorrow
morning I shall take the steam-boat, le aye N cw
Yo rk for Provid ence, and thence by the Rnilrond cars l am to be convey ed to the aforemention ed cloister. I have sai<l all arrainst th e
proposal that I dared to--havc pr~mised to
st udy well here, to play Jess, and fret less, bul.
J do believe a ll these thin g s have only be en as
so many reas ons why I shou ld go . B ut you
know the old maxim 'when one cannot do as
he woul<l , he must do as he can;' so I
am determin ed to keep up a good heart a nd
not shed a t ear at parting, if they cry and l1is:i
me ever so much. There is one thing however, I wish you to do, Anna; and that is, 'Jet
. me have some of your enlivening letters every

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we e k, fo r you ar c in th e mid st of pl e asant
things in Hoston, whil e I s hall he yo ur irnmur ed
Lr•Jth c r li stenin g only lo the g rave remarks of
a co nn try clergyman. I have g ot a plentiful
nllow ;111 cc li1r s p e 11di11 ~~ mon ey , (su bj ect howev(' r to I >r E. 's ins pec tion lim o it goes,) and as
th e re will be no n ee d of cash in th e place wh e re
I am goi ng , I beg you to let me mak e frequ e nt
item s in my book of, 'Paid for sister Anna '~
le tt er 10 cents .' A s soon as I arrive at my
ne w ho me, ] will write yo u ag ain, pe rh a ps by
Saturday. Dinah has ju st po pp ed in he r head
antl say s, 'somebody wa11ls lo sec you , massa,
lic lo w.' l\ly h ead is complet ely turn ed, oh
dc11r- we ll it wil l be se ttl ed in r111ietn css soo n, I
imagine , in the old village wh e re I am going.
As us u al,
IJ. D.

Jl for ch 2 1.sl , 183-.

D ear es t Annn ,- I am at rn y n ew home, and
<Jlliefl y sc al ed a t a writing des k to g iv e you the
parliculnrs about it, ns I promi sed in my last
lett e r. Know th e n, that I arrived he re day
befo r e yesterday, und er the esco rt of our 11111-

WRl'J'f.R .

lurtl friend J\I r H., to wh ose s afe keeping J was
consigned lo be landed at th e Hev. Dr E.'s door.
This dr eo.ded hour arrived about 4 o'c lock P. M .
Dr E. him se lf an s wered to th e lou<l knock
which ]\fr n. gave, and appea red before me
not as th e lean, tall gentl e man, whom J expect ed
to see, but a corpul e nt, farmer- like personage,
with a face foll of good humor, which soon betrayed itself in worcb as lie patt ed me on the
shou lder and inquired of me, ' if I were fond of
fishing?' How h e came to ask the que stion, I
cannot tell; I.hough aunt Sa ll y always insisted
on it , that an y body might know 111c to be a
curious f ellow by my c ounte nance-hut this co uld
not hav e bee n Dr E.'s method of"judging, for I
never folt more lik e a grave philosopher, th an
when I first e nt ered his ho use-all wa8 so
strang e, so s till , s o unlike New Yo rk. Pretty
soon the ven e rabl e lad y , th e Pastor's bette r half
app eared--she is a matron of grave deportm e nt ,
well educated, who has be en trained in what
father calls the 'old sc hool; ' this l gath e red
immediately from some antique ceremonies, and
complimentary things which s he said. Soon after appeared the daught e rs. I wish you could
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s!'e them , A nnn-th ey a r e goo <l yo 11n g la dl es ,
j11 s t s u c h as you would r es pec t- I s uspect t oo
! hey a re e xce ll ent h o n 'icw ives; for I alway s
h ea r th e m stP.pp ing about ve ry ea rl y in th e
m orning, a n<l o ne of th e m give s a t ap o n my
door full a n h o ur ea rli e r th a n did D inah a l
hom e. I ll'a s rath e r tartly thi s morning at
breakfa st ;-fo r some h ow o r oth er I th o ught
n b o,ut hom e last ni g ht a 11d did n ot ge t to s le ep
ns early a s u s ual; so this mornin g [ was awak e n e d by th e kn oc k , but ye t Ce ll a s lee p aft e r it ,
an<l di<l n o t lind 111 y way <lo\Hl s tairs till th e
wh o le family h ad brna k fas te<l. I made my apo logy; hut Dr E. sa id that o ur d ays were t wo
h o urs lo nge r than th ose in c iti es, referrin g to
their earl y ri s in g , I suppose.
l\ly stud ies are not ye t arrau ge d--the w h o le
of tl11 s week was g ive n m e t o ge t acquainte<l
with th e t hin gs about me. I du n ot !mow
wheth er l o s ay on th e wh o le t hr y s trik e m e
ngre ea bl_v or ot h c rwi se ;-t h ey 111:0 ucw and
strange. I tr11 st th ey ma y 0 11 e <lay loo k p leasnnt lo me. Tomorrow , I s h u ll att en d th e Su nda y sc h oo l , a nd re ad some book whi c h is pro mise d me from th e library. No le tt e rs are a llow -

ed t o be writt e n on the sauba th and n nthinrr
d o n e wh ic h is cnlc1ilat c' d to int<'r,fere with th~
duti es appropriate t o th e day. I s hall trr t o
obs e rv e all that Dr E. r e 'l u ir es- hu l shoiil;J h e
say _' yo u mu s t n ot think of h o m e , Hrn1y,' I nm
afraid I s hould find it bard to say at ni g ht, 'I
have d on e as you t u lcf me, Sir.'
lt is t.irn e I c lose this IE'tlcr. I am afraid
s hall re nd e r myself" t e dinus; - hut y on know
tl h as a lw ays b ee n m y h a bit to Li e 111i1111t c in
litrl e thing s. I lrtt 3t I n ee d n nt a~. k ~nu t n n11sw e r t hi s th e day it reuclH's you, for, yo u must
know how we lco me a le tt f:' r will be !'rum A nna to

!

HENllY.

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n.

Boston, .Jlfardi 25th, Je3- .
Yes, -d e nr Brother, - 1 kn ow by ex pe ri e nt'.P.
h ow pl cn~ nnt it is to receive writt e n co 1n1111111i c::itions f'i om t h ose we l11 v0, wh e n personal intervi ews are infre qu e nt. I a m g lnd yo u writ"
to m e so ofte n, so frankl y n nrl m i1111te ly-ncv" r
apo log ize in doing thi s t o a s i ~ t<"' or nnr d ear
friend, wh o r ea ll y fee ls a t ender so lic itt;d c for
you. It is th e peculiar e xcellence of your lei -

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LJ 'J'T I., E

t c rs. - lt wa s very natural that you should feel
n sort nf home s ickness wh e n you first entered
111>0 11 your ne w Jif"c. Of all c hanges, the transition from a beloved home , to a place where
ther e ar e non e arounu us to whom we are attaeheu, or as you s ay, who 'care for us,' is I th ink the
m ost unplea sant. But le t m e tell you , dear
brother, this foeling is of short 1luration. Young
h earts take impre ssions early, and I am c e rtain
you will not long he indiffere nt, and never unhappy wh ile under t he prote ct ing win g of so
good a man as your new teacher. Our hom e
w e can both attest has b ee n, in th e words of the
song, 'sweet' to us; for there, nothing but kindly affec t ions were ever awakened. But , H e nry,
~ince our dear mother's death, a chan g e has
come ove r it. Our fath e r must necessari ly engage in the world, and of course mix mu c h with
it-thi s give s him l ittle time to devote to his children . Mrs B e llows is a good housekeeper , but
the innuence s you rece ive from her are not lik e
t hose you will gain from the family where you
are now placed. You w ill rea lize the truth of
what I tell you at a future day, if not now .
There are a few lessons which I would impre~s

d ee pl y on your mind. The y are th ese;-lo
mak e y o ur self ac ce ptabl e i11 y our n e w h omo,
confo rm to the rcg 11/alio ns nJ !he f amily. l was ~or­
ry y o u did n e t ri s e th a t rn o rning c nrl y e n o ugh
to brea kfa s t with th e m. Tl1i s mu s t h e to till'lll
mi int e rest tng portion of th e da y , for I be li ev e
Dr .E. a lways read s in t li t" Bible aft e r thi s nH•:il ,
and e xplain s u po n th e rnhj e ct ve r y sc 11~ih l _1 ·.
T· rem e mb e r s o me ol· hi s j11 s t rc mn rks 11ttn c d
man y ye ar s ngo . Th e c ir c 11111 ,- tnn cc o f" your
abs e r. CC.. \rn s trifling, I ackn o wle dg e , JHOYicl ed,
it be n o t r e pe at e d ngain - but should y ou per·
mil yo11r;; clf"to i11d11l ge in mon11"11g drea111 s, it will
soon mat e rial ly affe ct th e g ood o rd e r o f th e
fami ly; it is surprisi ng h o w lilllc things d e rang e
the g r e at plan and di ~ turb th e pea ce of a fiunil y .
Do not thPn r e pe at th e s ame - it ""ill S 01Jll be ·
com e a fi xe d h:iliit. 1\11 nliH ' r th ing! w •s h yo u
tn do ; - i> c pkn ~ • ' ll a11cl scP k pk :1c:in c i11 t hP>'< '
c n tli o•:. tliin.,.
s that ar e a bo11 t .yo n. Tl11 ,r e ar
c
.
sa nd i11t Pre:, li11g and u sc t'11l cmpln y 111 e 11!,; 111
whi c h ot he rs e ng age, whi :·h yo u c an li l,( lill'n hy
your pers onal a id, or J.y showing that you fo1 ·l int e r~ :;;t e d in t h e pe r formance of th•!rJJ uy others .
Thia should not le nd you to be needl essly in4•

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qui siti1· e about thin gs which do not co nc ern
y ou ;-you have be e n ta ug ht in your o wn home
that th ere is a kind of sy mpathy which binds us
to o ne an oth e r, eqt1all y remote from inqui sitiv en ess an<l inuiffe ren ce. It is a disp os iti on to be
r eady ' fo r e very good word a nd wor k .'
I hope yo u will become interested rn th e
S unday sc hoo l ; do not fee l that you a re too
old to lea rn-it is n s ill y notion of so me boys
that the y are too large t o atte nd . I would ask
such , if th ey ha ve learn e d all that c a n b e taught
th e m ? I would in du e time h ave yo u becom e
n t e ac he r, nnd le t me te ll yo u th e best pupil is
nlwny~ the best ins tr11cl er.
I attribute a great
dea l of th o s ucce ss in thi s und ertaking , t o
thi s 1·cry cause-thos e th at are taught in the
s c hoo l, will becom e t eac hers in tim e.
A<i a noth e r amu se me nt, l would have yo u
cultirnt e yo ur decided taste for drawin g . Jt is
n u se ful exe rci se, a nd you enjoy it to o well to
need it e nforced upon you. Study whntever
Dr E. thinks best for you.
Wh en we place
ourselves und e r a gu id e let us foll ow him.
Boys are too apt to be di ctator ial, and only
wi!!h to pursue what th e ir o wn inclination die-

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tntes. Make yo urself nn exce pti on to this rul e.
I intend to rid e out and sec you this s ummer, nnd if Dr E. t hinks well of it , perhaps wc
will take a littl e excursio n in th ose parts of
th e country whi c h yo u hnve neve r visited. I
nm calle-d from writing, and will c lose this lett er by telling you, I s hall depen d upon a full
acco unt of how y ou pass your time once a wee k .
Your affectionate sister,
ANNA.

13--, .flpril hl, 133 - .
D eur siste1·, -Sometimes I used t.o sit down
and h av in g dipp ed my pe n in th e ink, it would
dry, be for e I co uld think of a beg inning to a
Je tt e r. Now I have so many subj ects th at I
only s top t o think which J had bett e r introdu ce first. This 'du ll villnge' is, after all, not
quite so bad as I thought it would be. I find
myself al ready conte nted, and as y e t have not
s uffe red fo r want of society or amusement~.
Dut I s upp ose I h ad better ha ve a syste m in
telling you eve nt s as they occur, o r else r sh all, ·
as th e old proverb says, ' begin in the middle,
and leave off at both ends.' I rem e mber yon

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l.ITTLF.
W 1l l T J: R .

ou c e told me yo m pen ga ll oped very fa st, but yet
you r th oug hts we nt be for e it ; s 11 c lt is tlt e case
with 111 c now. I will beg in ho we ver up on tlt e
grave, and go o n gradually to th e liv e ly subj ec ts.
l att e nd ed th e Sunday School , and althou gh
I le lt awkward wh e n l first we nt in, yet D r E.
(who de livered a littl e addre ss th at m o rnin g )
beckon ed the su pe rint endaut to s e at me , a nd r
wa ~ s oo n inte rested in the recitations of the
c la ss. O ne bo y particularly ple ased me, he
h acl so c le ar an id ea o f th e s ubj e ct about whi ch
th ey we re talkin g. Th ey had be e n re q uire d
t o clraw a c h ro nol og ic al lin e, and mark up on it
th e prin c ipa l eve nts whi c h ha ve ta ke n pl ace in
the co ur se o f S cripture History. At first, I
<lid not un dersta nd th e use of it , but l soon saw
that it had two uses , if no 111 ore ; - it he lpe d ll3
tr.> ga in 111 "rr. c orrec t idea;; or th e distan ces bet w,. c 11 the e rc nts, a 11 d to rc mC' rn he r t he m.
Th e boy s had e a ch of tltc·rn dra wn a lin e a;1 d
mark e d u po n it. the prin c ipal events whi c h had
happ e ned s inc e th e cr eati on of th e world , an d
not eonfi uing th e mselves to th e Bible, th ey had
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which had happ e n e d , ancl in se rt ed th o tim e
when it occu rred , upon thi s lin e. O ne boy
had pi e ces of pa pe r paste d t oge th e r mo re th a n
a yard in le ngth, I sh ould think, where he had
inserte d a g rea t many remarkabl e events in a
very ne at manner, and ti e d the r oll with a pi e ce
of blue tas te , and gave it to the te ac he r. The
teac he r show e d it to the class , and prai se d the
exec uti on of it. Some of th e oth ers looked
mortifi e d, th ei rs were so blotted and soiled;
and on e poor fe ll ow mad e an excuse that he
defaced hi s so badly that he thr e w it in the fire !
The te acher was very mild in hi s reproval, but
th e boy fe lt as hame d, a nd is going to try another
thi s we e k. I like d th e plan so well that he
gave mo permiss ion to <lo the same. I ha ve
tak e n grea t care of mine, and it is just finish e d and loo ks pretty well. If th e teacher a pproves it , l will se nd it to you. I send yo u
some n otes from my journal below.
' Mon d ay, I went with Dr E. to make some
parish calls in th o aft e rn oo n . We rode abo ut
two mil es , and th en stop ped where th e re
was a sick boy apparent ly not long for this

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world. H e 1rns n~ ry pal e, but. sm il ed when we
c11tcrc1l, and rai se d l1i s h ead from th e be d , nnd
13:i t upri g ht s upp ort ed by pill ows , h e was so
we ak . He was in a lower ro o m-it s ee med
strange to me lo he ~ick b elow, hut all in this
t01n1, I be li eve, hav e bedrooms leading ont of
their sitlin~ parl ors . Thc ro om looked very
n eat , nnd c lose by th e bed tli e re was a little tahlc c ove red with a wl1ite napkin , wh e re stood
phial s of me dicin e and so me l ittl e palntnblc
thin gs whi c h kind friend s had se nt him. 1 lis
m ot.l; e r sa t hy him with a sorrowful co11ntenancc,
y ct at tim es s h e S<' " "'c d c heerful in conversation , nnd told Dr E. s he fe lt re s ig ned to God 's
will, what e 1·cr it might be . But the littl e sufferer n otwith s tanding all his pnin , seemed very
happ.1;. H e talked li,lrn an ag e d C hris tian . I
w ond ere d how he could npp ea r so; for it appeared to me I s hould fe el ve ry unhappy were [
sn ~ i r.'.;. Ur 8. praye d with him , and he s ee me d so e ng:i gr. d in what he sa id , th at I fix ed
my eyes .;n i1im a ll the ti• nc . H e app e ared so.
c h ee rful th a t I wi s he d l cou ld say something to
him, but I did not think of any thing that would
be proper ut thut time-so when we came out

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51

I shook hand s with him, and bad e him 'goo d
by e,' wh ere upon h e sa id to me, 'com e again
with Dr E. if you lik e.' I intend to d o so.
Th e n e xt call we m ad e, was up o n an old lady
of more than se venty - s h e wa s suffe rin g with
th e rh e umati s m , and had not left h er room for
s ix month s . A littl e g rand c hild s at. bes id e h e r,
reading 'Pilg rim 's Progr c~s .' The cliiltl and
grandm oth e r both looked p le ase d wh e n we e nte re d. Dr E. has a very e h cediil mann e r , a11d
s:iy .s a great many goo d thin g s. I heg an to
think all his peo pl e wcrn C hri s tian s, but ju s t a s
we turn ed a narrow lan e, a lit t le half stan·cd,
tatt e re d boy ran into nn old house , ;rnd prese nt ly old Dobbin stopp e d , a s if he kn e w we we re
to ca ll he re. I thou g ht to myse lf, I will sit in
th e c haise , but Dr E. sa id I hnrl bett e r go in
and see how dilTei·ent ly peo ple liv e d . Jt was a
dr ead fu I c<rntrn st to th e oth e r famili es. A woman d oth e d in rngs sat in one co rn e r, and n
man lay on the be d, and I th o ught from the
pe rfum e in the room that a temperance paper had
n e ve r bee n h a nd e d to the s e peo pl e to sigl1.
Th e m a n was asl ec; p, and they did not wa ke
him . Dr E . tried to make th e woman promi s e

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lo se nd her children lo the school next Sunday, nnd 11pon hi s promi sing to dr ess th e m in
~u itnbJe garments, sh e sa id th ey might go.
I
di~lik e d th e woman , bec au se she did not appear
more grateful for hi s kincl11css ; but I said nothing. Aft e r thi s ' re slo pped and talk ed with
two or three of hi s parishione rs, who were
pl oug hing near th e road, nnd finally drove
home , where I believe I first realized what a
hl essecl thing it is to live among civilized and
Christian peop le.
Tu esday, I s pe nt quite differ e ntl y . The early
part of eve ry day is nearly alike, for that I deYole to s tudy; but if I choose, every afternoon is
my own, or rather l u se it us my good te ach e r
wish es me to employ it. Two or three ladies
called upon Mrs E. that <lay t<l\vards nightth ey rode on 11 orse back. Thi s made me ask
Dr E. if I might not saddle hi s old Roan and
ride a little way . I did not t e ll him that I was
unaccustomed to guiding a horse , but I wi shed I had-for if you will be lieve me , the horse
<lid not appear to lik e his new rid er, and hardly
had I spurred him into a trot, befo re I found
myse lf dismnunted . I looked about me, and a!!

no one saw me, I picked my se lf up, ca ug ht up
with th e imp olite animal wh o had Jell me behind, and regained my seat; whereupon he un ceremoniously threw me into a mud-puddle ,
from which I escaped unhurt, but looking so ridi c ulous that I led my nettlesome anirnal hom e,
where th ey all laughed me into goodhumor
and made me promise not lo undertake th e
busines::i of riding, until I should be train e d to
keep my seat upon the hack of the animal. I
think I shall be cured of undertaking mor e
than I can get along with , in futnre.
\Vednesday, I took a stroll to so me di stant hill K
which I see from my window, and fo r want of a
companion, I diverted myse lf with culling all
the wild flowers I could g e l, and classing th e m
in a botani cal mann e r, I presented the young
ladies with a bouquet from their native hills .
As I was returning, I ov e rtook a boy who had
been for his cows-he w11s whistling and by a
lively tune cheating tim e of its tediou s ness
as he walked along his acc ustomed pnlh . I
hailed him and found he lived not far distant, for he inquired of me with ll \'Cl')' arch
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LITTLE

lonk 'if I liked to ride horseback'? I s upp ose
ho snw Ille \\'hen I fo ll off.
Thursday aft e rnoon, we had a' soci ety me eting ' here - I was 1kputised to read to them ;
thr ee hooks we re up on the table, and it was
voted that I shou ld rend ' Jle coll ectio ns of a
JI nusek ecper.' It is an nm using thing, and I
e njoyed it as much as a"ny of them.
Friday it mined , and l saw no one save ' our
own foll<s.' Today is Saturday, and my paper
tells me that it is fortunate foT you that my
journal i ~ c los ed.
As eve r, yours trn ly,
H.D.

SA~!

l.E\\'JS TO

f ' IlANC I S-

183- .
Dear Frank,-! told you I would write you
as I proceeded on my journey. Yes terday \nJ
had a lin e day. lt was Commenc e ment in C.
and you ~ha ll hal'c my irnrcrfoc.t description
of it.
It is a great occasion, nn<l every body see111ccl to foe ! it such-for looking under my window as soon as I arose in the morning, I saw
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tl1n materials for making tents, booths , &c ,
wh il e bustle and noi ~ e . fun and frolic s eemed to
salute my cars on all ~ideR. Early in the day,
g litt ering equ ip agf: s filled with the fashionable
world began to alight at the church-door. Here
they procured seatR in prime season, th.at th:y
might. enjoy th e intellectual treat wl11ch the
graduating class h ad in sto re fo r them. I too
to ok the hint, and plnced my self in such a s ituation as wou ld be conve nient for me lo go ont.
shou ld the exerc ises prove tedious. This, contrary to my expect.at ions, was not the case. The
speeches were good, 1111d compa rin g th e m with
those which we hearu last winter at our 'd ebating
clu b,' I am sure the latter appeared very insipid.
But, thought I, it would he strange if after years
of application and training the students cou ld
not be interesting a few hours!
I began to fee l th e ' keP.n dP.ma nds of appetite '
about noon, and pushed out of the churc h in
se arch of a gingcr-brectd ca rt, This was not a
difficult thing to find, for on every side there
were candy-merch ants, ale merchants, show mer- ·
chants, negro fiddlers, organ players &c. &c.1 spent iny ninepence and lost my seal in the ch11rch!

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Abo11t two o'clock there was such an outpourin g as I seldom have witnessed-all ages ,
ranks, and fashions were among the multitude.
I narrowly escaped with life and sound limbs ,
and found my way back to father at the hotel ,
':ho was anxiously looking for me, not having
see n me since morning. He smiled when l
as ked him if he would leave town today, for
after all J wish myself back again at home.
V ou shall hear the rest when I return. I nm a
poor letter-writer, and will bid you 'good morning.'
S. L.

1;· RANCIS TO HENRY.

N - - , 18:3-.
Vear H e nry,-Will you send me all your
apparatus for drawing ? I believ e the taste for
that art, has descended to us as a family inheritance, for Ned has sent me a beautiful horse
which he drew upon the inside of his letter. I
have sent him word to send me a h ie roglyphic
letter and to draw old Ronn (that pattern of
kindn ess) for I have a notion that his counte-

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nanc e must be ex pr ess ive of th e qualities for
which tw o of rny broth ers este em him . I believ e it is not a fancy of n1y ow n that du rnb animals var y in th e expression of th e ir faces, as
their natur es are more or less fe rociou s.
You will laugh hearl.ily nt Tom's first attempts. Some of the a nim a ls wa nt an eye , so me
a mouth, and some a leg. Th ese distortion s
give a ludicrous appearance to his efforts, and
he humo ro usly says, h e is only fitt e d for a ho.•pital painle.1',
This is harve st-time with us-th ere is to be
a gre at husking in our barn tomorrow eve ning ;
the y all seem to anticipate much fun and fr olic
on th e occasion. Is this the wny to express
gratitude? l suppose however it is, because th e
picture of that virtue wh e n personified, alwn ys
wears a smilin g countenance. The defin ition
that I gave to th e word in my Inst composition
was,' su nsh ine of th e heart. '
N ed is " ·holl y given lo the study of bugs,
bees , and all sorts of insects -my time is well
apportioned, and so I arn never in a hurry-who
is it says, 'do one thing al a time, and yo1.1 will
find time to do nil you wish'? Many such
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sayings furnish me with subjects for composition. Have the goodness to send your
old port folio to me, and you will oblige your
brother,
FRANK.

IIEN!IY TO JllS FA'l'IIF.R.

n---, 183-Dear Father,--No letters are more welcome
to me than yours. Frank and Ned make me
laugh , but you so mildly caution me against
thn Yory things which I scarcdy knew endangered me, that I can hardly refrain from shedding tears of gratitude that I hrn·e such a parent. Be assured that I will endeavor to profit
by all which you recommend.
I had not calculated to enter College for a
y ear to come, nor did I suppose that I was prepared. Yon rnny suppose then that I WRS not
n little riurprised when I found that I was a
condidatn for admission. It is not to me however, father, that you arc to award the meed of
praise, but rather to my exr,ellent teacher. He
has aided me whenever I was desponding-he
lws lightened all my burdens, and made the

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path of improvement so diversified that while I
have walked in it, I have progressed almost
beyond what I could have thought I should.
To him and his worthy family I owe more
than my simple thanks. They shall have the
pleasure of seeing me, should [live, their patron
and benefactor to my latest day. But I will
stop--young people sometimes promise too
much, and then forget it.
I am delighted with your proposal. Ned had
better go, if Dr E. will take him.
I perfectly approve of your determination
to give us a new mother. We will love and
obey her-that is all that is required of us.
Have you heard from Frank? if so, please
write again soon.--Can you send me n remittance of a few dollars soon? If you say the
word, I should admire to spend my next vacation in New York at our old mansion; but I
leave it entirely to you, while I remain as ever
II.
your son,

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LITTLF;

l
W It IT E .H.

C--, S eplembe,. 41/i. 1!!3 - .
D ear Sis te r,-! use d to think it a fin e thin g to
g e t into co llege and have a whole trib e of assoc iates about my age all around me. N ow I
bC'g in to think it is quite a vexa tious thing.
Dur in i our first te rm I am told it is customary
to troubl e us with impertinent visits nnd if pos·
sibl e to piny tricks upon us . I was e ntirely ignorant of the ext ent to which th ese thin gs are
carri ed, but Dr E. said the best way to ov e rcom e th e foo lish conduct of s uc h t orm e ntors, "·a,. to he alw ays pl easant a nd good humored, and to maintain a kind oi" natural di g nity
whi c h showed m e to be e ntirely ah o \·e s uch
foll y .- ! ha ve a pl easant bonrdin g pla ce, but
it is not like th e hom e I hav e IP.fl. All was ~ o
qui e t and o rderly th e re, that I some ho w fee l
r es tl ess now wh e n we are in co mm ot io n-B ut
I <1 111 confid e nt , to know much of th e wo rld we
rn11 ,; t min gle with it--only , ns my teac her
sn ys , ' don"t let it pollute you .' N ed has finally s te pp ed into my s hoes and is in N . I hopll
he will ma ke be tt er' tracks ' than did hi s broth e r H e nry-If I mi stake not, it will be •t hard
matter to discipline his mind, for it iA fore,•er

CH

rnnnincr at random.-M y studies are quite easy .
]\'Iy ch71m thinks th e m hard, but he has not advanced so far us I have .
Do enlive n me often with your lett e rs.
There is not much in a strange place you
know, in which one feels interested. Give
Neddy some of your good.counsels as you used
to your brotlie r,
HENRY .

JiED TO FRANK .

S ept. 251/i, 183Dear Frank ,-1 am homesick. I can n either
have my ' own way or say,' in any thing. . I
wanted to go a fishing with another ~oy tl11s
morning , but th ey told me it would n11n hard
and I must stay at hom e ; last night to o I wanted to rid"e Old Roan aft e r the cows, and they
said he would throw me off; I nm told continually 'you are so unlike your brother. ' Thinks
I to my ~e lf, 'all bird s are not alike .'
It is all a dull life in the country, I nm inclined to believe, though Henry did praise it so.
Yet I will do !hem the justice to say they are

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11ni fo r1nl y kind and polite to me an d g ive m e
e nong h to cnt a nd drink, ye t I cnn not do just
n~ l hn\·e a mind to , unl ess I want to do wh at
the goo d people think is ri g ht.
I ha ve th e promi se of a rid e next Monday
·- have got ncquainted with two boys, one is
nnmed L e wi s Rogers and the other Sim eo n
Treadwell-they go to the Acad e my and ar e
liv e ly, j ov ia l fellows. I can play ball and practi se Gym nasti cs with them every Wednesday
afte rn oo n.
"Ve have fine times then-I beli eve I sh nll neVfH' learn to fi x my attention
11pon my books . D r E. tell s m e anecdotes
.q uite in point. I will give yo u his last.
' A par ty -0 f ge ntlemen were one day pl easnntly talking of th e ir success in preaching-o ne o f them said, 'Gentlem e n, I once converted
a mr111 witl1 my eyes.' He was l'!H]Uestc d to
exp lain , wh e n he said ' a strnggle r once e nt e r·
e d my c hurc h and loo king at me thought I was
s ta ring him full in th e fac e. To avoid o bser ·
vation he moved fr om door to door , but to no
purpose. A t las t he resolved to s tare me out
o f countenance ; his attention was thus fixed
J.Jpon wh at was said, and his sentiments and

W UIT EJI.

63

co11d 11c t afler that day und(lrw c nl a c ompl et e
cha nge.'
When he fiuished te lling it to m e, I loo ked
a t him as he ex pl a in ed my lesson , thinkin g
pe rh a ps after thi s I too shall c hang e.
T e ll Sam and Tom to writ e t o me. You
will b ea r from me again soon-I feel bett er
for writing a lre ady-Good by e.
J<:JJWAHU .

FRANCIS

'l'O

EDW 1\ lU ) ,

.ilf-- , .S,pt. :JOlh
Ca11 any thin ;; he more pl easant th a11 an un expected visit from one we lo ve ? I h ad just returned fr om a ra mbl e in the woods last eve nin g
wh e n Sam Dawso n, our o ld s c hoo l-fo ll o w yo u
know, met me in the grave l walk . He to ld me
he was passi ng th e ni g ht at th e hotel ju st abov e
us, and thou g ht he wou ld give me a ca ll. H e
says too he will take this package to you. I
co uld n ot le i it go without a lin e telling you
how much I lo\·e to hea r from yo u and rep e atin g
the r eq u es t th at yo u may write ortc n. \ Vhcn
<lid yo u h ear from H e nry? Fat her lcrt hc 1c
l a~ t week, on. his way to New Yo r k.
We Ji ay e

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a fin e scho ol here . Uncle J erry ' s boys are
very polite, and I foel not only contented but
happy already. You know Mrs B. used to say
' hnppiness dep e nded on hoys' good conduct.'
Self praise, however, being nn article which one
should use sparing ly, I will only add that want
ol' time, and nut materials, renders this letter
exceeding ly short. Jn haste, yours truly,
FRANK.

JIENRY 'l'O EDWAr.D .

C--.

It requires but little stretch of the imagination,
dear Neddy, to pince myself in your situation .
'l'lrnt sweet little room in which I have so often
sat and looked upon Mount Morris, while my
thoughts have been busy in solving a difficult
problem from Euclid ;-that table so well arranged for study;-that easy seat, which good
l\Irs E. provided with arms titted for cand les to
be inserted to read by night with comfort;that litt le book rack, where the student can
~afe l y place books or papers;-that writing desk, .
and more than all the rest, th at lo ved and loving

fam ily,u11cler whose roof' you nee d not s in unless
you will, so carefolly is eve ry te mptation lo do
wrong removed. Yes, dear brother, I can tran sport myself' to these scenes, till my hea rt
almost sickens nt the thought, that I nm removed from th e m.
Now let us go into JJr E . 's study-we will
suppose you perplexed at some thin g, and in
you r heart wish ing yourse lf any where hut in
that spot. You inquire,' Prny tell me sir, how
this can be performed, or ex plain that thing to
me?' The calm, easy and winning mann e rs of
your guide, makes you forget yo ur peevishness,
-difli cu ltics are mad e easy, and you wish your
perpl ex in g que>tion even extended further, so
delight!Ul is it to listen to th e lu cid explanations
which arc g iven.- You go back lo your room,
and the sun is shining pl e asantly , and your
whole nature seems chang cd,-every thing is
light and in harmony within lo the scene without. All this has been effect.eel by a kind friend!
I have thought upon this sometimes and wond e red we were ever' out of te mper,' as it is ca ll ed .
Dear Neddy,whenever yu11 feel 'out of tune,'
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think in th e begi1111i11g how unh a ppy yo u are
ab out to mak e yo urse lf!
J recei ved a lett e r fr om s is te r A nna last n ight.
V o yo u writ e to h e r ? Yo u mu s t n ot wai t for
he r to an s wer- sh e has 111 a ny ca res a nd a si ck
cl 1i ld now t o a ll c nd. A le tt e r from y ou may
ca use he r to smi le i11 he r s add est hours, and in
a ny way that we c an a ll e viate a d ear s iste r's
so rr o ws, o r bri g hte n he r j oys, as broth e rs, we
s hould be pro mpt in pro vid ing , Y ou are th e
o nly rea ll y ' funn y ' lll cm be r of o ur fami ly , a nd
if y ou wi sh to ma ke rn e hap py, let me re ad a
lett e r fr om yo u t Ir e firs t le is ure mome nt s yo u
h ave wh e11 yo n fee l in g ood hum or with e ve ry
Trn ly
HEN RY.
body.

\\' HIT F. R .

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ro om , the lig ht pa mphl ets s ho uld flnll e r , and
Y QLI wo uld ll'i s h me wh e re, ulas, I am!
T o te ll
th.e truth, l wa nt un occ as ion to manifes t r ea l
joy -thin gs pn ss by s tran ge nnmns he re- a
boy's m irt h is cu ll ed madn ess- a littl e g ai e ty ,
idl e ness; anrJ a litt le sar cas m, s in . Thi s kee ps me
in quit e a n e quab le fr a me , a nd J ju st w ro te this
to t e ll yon what I wou lu do today co u ld I see
vou . B ut I mu st nw ay . lVIy pr ese nt cmploy~ient is c has ing butt e rfli es. D on' t answ e r me
with a du ll pros in g lett e r. L e t it be s ome thin g
simila r t o
N v. u's .

AN N A 'J' O llF. N ll 'l'.

l:hW A ll D T O l'H.A.:'\C ! !i .

H- - , Oct 12th, 183- .
It is y our birthd :iy , F rank , and T wis h yo u
mu c h joy. )f l co uld ga i11 a ccess t ~ you r st t;dy,
T wo uld make sad work- w ha t co nf'u s ion I co uld
c reate in yo ur ro om. Th ose old musty boo ks
nn yo ur she lves wo uld be sa dly d isco mp ose clt he )itt) e f OChet FQ)Um es oho u)d s kip abo ut the

B - - , No t•. I st , 183 - .
Methinks, dea r broth e r, my hea d rese mbl es
a di so rd e red cl ose t. } ou h a ve see n one wlH'n
th e draw e rs " ·e re full, beca use e ve ry arti c le
was disa rran ged, but whi c h wo uld have cl osed
compl e te ly , had things bee n 'put to r ig ht s,' ns
we s ay . I would fain g iv e yo u an in ve nt o ry of
the thou g hts whi c h rus h in thick c onfusion
abou t me, but must cont e nt myself to select

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WRITER .

from the ill arrang e ment , what will mainly interest you.
.

'Ve hnd a little 'party o f juv e nil es , ' Inst el'euing. It was Belle's turn to reciprocate s~me
of the kinkness shown to h er, and there was a
fi.ne littl e group who danc e d to the merry music she tnade upon the piano. Jn the midst
of this delightlul employment who should enter
but Ned! Dr E. was coming lo the city and
brought him without giving him time to anti c ipate but one ni g ht, the pl e a s ur e which awaited
him! The m erry la11 g h of th e wh ole company
was what particular ly please d me, as he cut the
mos t fantastic mov e ments with his feet, to express hi s Joy.
They have brought me le tt e rs of father 's
marriage. It to ok place two we e ks ago, and
he desired me to say to you that he depends
upon your spending your next vacation in the
city. What say you, lo acting as teacher
to Tom and some few childre n whom we
know? It will afford you employment, and
tl~nt after a~l Henry, is th e great secret of happmess. It. 1s a cure for almost every ill. I am
afraid that Ned 's rudeness is annoying to the

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g ood fami ly where lie is placed. 'Vhy is it a
boy nee d t o be told nga in and ngain, that tc) be
boi s tero us and rou g h is :t sur e way to mak e
one 's s elf' una cce pt<1bl c? I s hall tu kc hilll to
th e Menagerie, Museum, 8,-c. tomorrow .
wi :; h if y ou can possi bl y spare time yo u would
pass un eve ning with us while h e is he re . I
have a s ummons be low, and cnn only ndcl,
Yo ur alfoc tionute s is te r,
A NN A.

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B oston, Nov. f!lh, 18 3- .
D e ar Frank, -T am nlw ays ge tting myse lf into
tr ouble by my o wn care less ness . Yesterday
m orning my :;i ste r took me to s ee a co ll ect ion
of wild beas ts . I for go t hut thnt they we re
ta me, a nd ve nturin g too near th e li on, and to t e ll
th e wh o le truth, ns I wn s pla y ing with a ti ger
I fe lt th e 8harp te e th of so mething makin g sad
Wt>rk with my Jell arm. J\nna w11s ve ry mu c h
fri g ht ene d, hut I wns not afraid of' any sPrious
lrnrm ·- today my arm is in a sling, and T nm
writin g to te ll you a spec imen of my careless
conduct. L e t it warn you if you are e1•er placed
in a s imilar situation.

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LITTJ.E

W ll IT E R.

Boston is a beautiful place . It is filled lik e
all c iti es with houses, churches, schools, and
amusem ents. I think I should be perfectly
happ y cou ld I always liv e h ere. As I was goin g lo th e menag e ri e yeslerdny, I met two littl e
boys who my sister said were blind. They were
walking for exerc ise, and although the streets
were narrow and crooked where they were trave llin g, yet I was told they found th e ir way without any diffi c ulty. Thi::i leads me to hope that,
with th e hC'lp of goo<l sig ht, I shall be able to
find my way alone quite soo n.
l h ave vi sited the A sy lum for Indigent Boys,
s in ce I cam e here. It is a pleasant sight to
sec so many poor children fed, cl oth ed and
in struct ed, through th e benevol e nce of kind people. I be gin lo wish I had mon ey, that l mig ht
do good with it-for I see a great many ragg ed,
mi se rabl e looki ng childr e n e ve ry day passing
under our winrlows. I am told th ey are most of
them children of vi c i o uspnr e nt ~ , who, having no
emp loyment, suffer th e m to grow up in want anci
wr P. tchedn ess. But th ere am g reat exert.ions
mak in g lo re claim snch-they arc pi cked up in
th eir wan<lering~ by gentlem en who devote

themselves to such n charitable work, and sent
to a Sunday school, and sometimes to a school
eve ry dn y. In this way, hundr eds ar e saved
from begg in g and degradation. I hav e many
anecdotes to t ell vo u when we meet.
This letter is badly written, and this place is
poorly describ ed in it, but I mu st say, my arm
pains me every hour mor P. anu more, and this
mu st be my excuse for not lon ge r entertaining
you . Yo ur unfortunate brothe r, EDWA RD ·

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EFF IE TO llF. NRY,

Tuesday morning.
Denr unclc ,-Moth e r is ve ry bu sy , and says
I mu st writ e to you for her. It see ms to me a
hard matter lo write a letter all alone, for I ne ver
did th e thing befor e . Mot h er says I mu st write
just as I would talk to yo u, nnd I must ask yo n
to se nd me sornQ rules for writing n good le tt e r.
l h ave oft en wond ere d how peo pl e c ould write
letters so quick as they do, for 1 think it mu st
r equ ire a good deal of practice lo write we ll;
but I should bn as hamed to be n you ng lady
and not alle t.o writ e a note--so I beg you,
dear un cle, to put me in a ri ght way, and I will
try to follow it .

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o r in the higher wnlks of the learn e d sc iences,
always to communicate with their fri e nds! And
with what delight such co rrespond e nce is read
even by us , th e ir distant and unknown successors! This leads me to ask the presen t favor
of you, thou g h in our humble walk our l ett e rs
may n eve r be circulated beyond our own vision,
yet I am sensib le that my eyes will ther eby be
refreshed, my s pirits cheered, my social fee li ngs
improved, and my bunch of goose-feathers expended ! If these are sufficient inducem e nts
you will answer me to the above question, and
be ready to go on with your acceptance
of the correspondence between you and your
friend,
M. L .

u:rnrn TIEQUES r1NG A CORRF.:SPONDENcr..

'.\ly clPar fri end,-As we are n ow sepnrnted
fr om eac h other 's soci ety can we not re li eve
ourselves in part fro111 t.he uneasiness whi ch
such an event occas ions, by a rnulual interch:111ge of thought s and eve nt s desc rib ed in .a n
occasional llll er ~ You can th e reby inform rne
what is going on where you are, and l c an te ll
you nil the events worlhy of re co rd h ere . It
will not take much time to write such letters,
for we can al"·a)'S find opportunity to do things
which gire us ple asure.
Th e re is a slriking in stnnce or th e truth
of this last remnrk in th e liv e .s o f our m os t
indu st riou s and e1ni1ic·nt m e n and fema les
whose biographies have been h11nded down
to us ; \'iz. th ey found time, wh ether in battl e , in commerce, in the fashionable world,

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haYe made a great many attempts to write
to you, but ha ve been nsharned to let you ~ee
tl11 • IN lc rs. I co uld s ay a great deal more but
will l ~· t this go , as rny first attempt.
ErF1E D .

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REPLY TO TUE FORMER .

My very cl ea r girl,-Could you doubt that
your proposal would be acceptab le? I trust
our fri e ndship n erd.snot the props of assurances
of this nature. Have we not lived and acted as
one? Have we not always told each other our
secret joys and sorrows? 1\'lany and many a
time have I been tempted to write the.first letter

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WRIT.ER.

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ro yo u , hut when l thou g ht of your mnny care~ ,
!;tudi cs nnd engagements, I !r ave caused my pe n
to add re3s an oth e r p c: rso n, whil e my thoughts
we re with you.
Jl c re I am a s tnrn ge r-eYcry face is n ew to
nH' , c1·ery eye is turn e d to,rnrd me with a n indiffe rent s tnr c , r111d o f nll thin g s I drend, it is,
livin g ig norant o f th e characte rs of those abou t
m e. Tinr e will bring ab o ut nn a c quaintnnc e of
n plcnsnnl natur e, I dnubt n nt.-b 11t let rue once
more assure yo u ll w emanations fl ow in g fr om
yn 11r h"a rt , tran scri lH• d eve n as did th e a ncie nt
E;ryptinn s in hi c rngl_vphics, yet co1TJ in g from
yn rr , I 8ho 11ld fi11d lim e and pl eas ur e in d ec iph e ring. I s hall d e pe nd upon an ep is tl e n ex t
wc e k.-Th c n I s hall liv e at /ip 111c. thro11gh your
friendly me dium , w hil e I am a n hundr e d mil es
fr o m th e be loved !'pol whe re ce nt re a ll 'my
cherished h opes.'
As ever , yours s inc e rely ,
A. J\'I.

TO A BOr AT SC HO OL ,

Dear 1-Ienry,-Th;ink fo rt11n e I hav(' :rn indefatigabl e pen , nnd an unlimit e d s hcf't olpnper,
and whnt is bett e r than all th e res t, an incliria!ion
to s tay al hom e and t e ll yo 11 about a bull thnt wns
g iv e n s is ter Ell e n 's birthrig lrt . About 7 o'clock,
W c dnC' s day eve nin g, n f'11ll lilo orlcd A fi·ic;in n cgro fiddl e r appea re d in th e pn rl (lr, ll'ith ,·io lin in
hand rea rl y tn st rik e hi s rnr; rry l11 11c. Th e e le rncnls without w ere in g r<'nl comnro li nn - th ere
was wind , h a il nnd rnin , but wit h in was 'n1r111 1h,
brilliu11 cy and dancing . l led clnw11 tir e first
one, o r rather I s ho uld say o pe ned th e bail with.
Ka te -oh m ercy, what drnH..: c rs ' How j Jove
proprie ty o f' condud in forna lcs . All th e \\'orld
ca me befo re 9 o 'c loclc-t linl is, all ll' e i11 vited,
whi c h you kn ow is a n un co 1n111 on occu rr ence.
vVc had a gra nd tr eat ; ices and le monades,
cairn and ple11ty o f good tirin g s , th e very r e ciln l
of which wo uld mak e you r nppct it e ,·o raci o us
nnd u11g ove rn ab lc. I partook fr cC' ly, a nd awoke
ne xt morning with an aching hea d and n di sor<l e re d sto m ach, whi c h lrasj11 s t begun to be its e lf
ugain- so dearly did l pny fo r a ni g ht's e ntertilin ·
rnent . And ye t 1 ha,•e no t spok e n 0f th e wo rst 9f

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:tll -- my eyes. They we re injured ve ry se riou sly liy th e brilli ancy or th e sce ne, and I have bedewe d my handker chi ef with many dro ps eve r
sin ce. I suppos e th ey may in one se nse, be called tea rs of r ep en tance.
l cannot say that I a m so rry th e occas ion is
ove r. lt makes great co nfos ion ' to hav e a
g reat compan y, ma'a m,' was the oft qu ote d expression of every se rvant in the k itc hen , and I
full y agre ed with th em .
Y este rd ay aft ern oon l went down t o th e crn tt on fac tory . What a world of labor th ey do
th e re ! Tom orr ow I sh all t ~ k e a stroll ove r
S weetbri ar hill , and ca II on th e old woman who
lives bes id e it , of whom peopl e t ell s uch st.ran ge
stories. When e ver y ou h a ve an y thing of a
se ri ous, comi cal, or ri dicul ous n at ur e , pray
communicate to your abse nt sc hool-fo ll ow,
J. l\I. R.

TO A Flln: :-<u T ll E JlAY ..\l" Tf.ll TllA."iKSli l \" l ."if'.

D e ar T om,--If th ere is a ny cust•> tn whi ch
l fee l s incerel y th ankful to o ur l'nri ta ni cal
fo refath e r 's for intro du ci ng, a nd our pio us 111od·

e ms fo r pe rp etuatin g, it is th at j oy ful dny of
Thanksg ivin g . Yes te rd ay th e whol e tribe of
my g ra ndm oth e r's fa mil y fo und th eir way lo h er
hos pitabl e tabl e. My subj ect I kn ow is not a
very exhil arating one. Th e narrati on of pa st
enj oy ments is tedi ous , and a Thank sg ivin g
dinn er is not c alcul ate d to qui ck en th e int ellect .
· But t o te ll th e truth , T om, we had a gl ori ous tim e ! G randm oth er said it made he r fe el
quite yo un g rt gain t o se e u s so me rry. 1Ve all
told a story at th e t ab le , a nd wh at do y ou think
l r elated ? nlth ough I kn e w an hundred better
on es, yet I could n ot think of th e m at th e time ,
and so I t old that on e of B ill R obbin5 a nd the
barbe.rry bushes! My . fath e r said if I hnd left
out th e ' says he ' and ' says I , ' I should have
su cceeded bette r. Our dinn e r lasted , or rn th er
we sat at th e table till n earl y suns et. I ne ver
enjoyed u day better, ye t I do not th ink it was
beca use I at e such a variety, but becau se we
at e it so chet1ficlly. It see ms to me a cru st with
a ple asant count e·n nnce, is prefer abl e t o a rich
re past with dissatisfac tion .
Cold, chilly December has froz e n all my en-

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crgics. J wish I could mi g rate with the bird s;
and I s upp ose you wi ll add, 'yo u would find yo ur
wa y bac k earlier than th ey , if you could, '-a nrl
rn I think, for alier a ll , do as you wi ll 11 0 11: eve ry
hotly s ay" in alicr li fo , 'my early ho me \Hts
dear t o me.' Co rn e and see mens "o oll n" you
can , and I will try to di vcrt you with some new
puz zles.
As ever yo ms,
S. L .

T, - - , Jlfriy 25th, J B3·--.
D ear .Fred erick , - I am eve ry day reJOJcrng
at th e beautiful dress in which love ly S pring
has app e ar e d. A lready the li ttle rohins are
si11gi11g ea rly at my wiudow s, and the fr ogs arc
pee ping wh e n I bid good ni g ht to every thing
about me. I think ~uch beautiful w e ather and
"uc h a de li ghtful c han ge in the w hol e fac e of
natu re makes me foc i h::.ppi e r than 1 did in the
storllly dr ea ry days of wint e r. I was te llin g
John so thi s morning, and he r e pli e d th a t if I
had not- bee n so cold and felt the storms , I
shou ld n ot hav e th ought any thin g about thi s
agreca hl e c hange , for he says that he ing a ccusto med to a ny de li ghtfu l thin g for n long tim e

m ak es ·us frequ e ntly inse ns ible to the great
worth of it.
Our Sunday sc hool comm e nced for th e s ummer seaso n th e first o f" thi s month. l'lly moth e r
and s iste rs think it would b e we ll for you and I
t o cnmmcnce a co rr es pond e nc e, all!l write from
r e me mbran ce what is said and done for the
s umm e r in th e sc hool. I hn.v c not a very r e t e ntiv e mmnory , yet I rlo think this may h elp
it. l can alw ays r e me mb e r th e nncrdolr.•, hut
Soph ia says I fo rg e t th e moml co nv eye d in
the m. If y ou will an s we r me with an account
of what you are d oin g in your c lass , [ think we
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t o 1·n<tl{e
ot11· letters more inte rmay con.t nve
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I mu st leave my lf'ttrr now, for I ~cc th e
me n arc going to plouµ;hin f( and I s hall t ease
th e m to le t me ride old D ol>l>in. I did so ycsterclay, and th ey all praised me becau se I made
such strai g ht furrows. In haste ,
H. L.

G - -, Mrry :'3 0th, 1B3-.

Dear Henry ,-You are a bett e r lett e r writer
than I , and so I do not think you will take mneh

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interest in my clum sy manner of expressing my
th oug ht s on pape r. Y et as practice is sa id to
e ns ure success in this departme nt [am resolved
to try.
Today is Monday, and I claret.I not omit wri. ting nny lo ng er les t I should forget about onr
co nversati on in th e S unday school yesterday.
I will tell you about it as nearly as I can recollect . The subject was Repentance. Our teacher sai d he fea red we did not und ers tand the
true meaning of the wort.I ; for h e had often
h ea rd boys promise not t o do a wrong thing
a nd eve n sh ed tea rs because th ey had done it,
and ye t they would do the same again. \Vh e n
th ey did so, he said it was not genuine re pentance. r thou g ht of Dick's playi ng truant the
second time , and ~av e it in my turn as an example th at h e was not sin ce re although he promise<I so foir and cried so heartily about it. The
t eac he r th en told us the following s tory which
J th o ug ht ve ry inte resting-but l shall n ot
do him justi ce if I at tempt to give it in his
words.
A farmer tran splanted with his ow n hands
some beautiful and ch oice fruit tre es. He look -

ed forward to th eir.fir.YI frui ts with great satisfacti on , becau se h e diu no·t know exac tl y how it
woulu taste and look . ·J [i s n e xt ne ig hb or had
a son who was a lrnd boy, nnd he e nti ced th e
son oftl1 e farm e r to rob th e tre es be fo re the f'rni t
was rip e. But when th e farm e r saw what th ey
had done h e was very sorry , a nd exclaim ed •s urely som e bad boy has done thi s .' The fa rm e r' s
so n was all th e ti111 e gr iev in g a ft er he h ad rob·
bed th e tr ees, and he t old hi s co mpani o n he lu11l
nn 71cw:e of mind; he co uld nnl. bear to look a t
hi s fat.h e r-but th e bad boy call ed hi in a fo ol,
and told him his fat her wo uld neve r h ear of it.
' Co nceal it from him, and be o n your guard ,'
said he. But th e farmer's so n could n ot be
cheerful-there was an imvl"lrd sli n{; that fr e tt ed
him . One day, soo n aller , the fiumcr c;i. mc in ,
and di slrilrntcd some fine fruit amo ng his children-they took it and were d e lighte d-but the
littl e robb e r hid hi s fac e a nd we pt. Hi s father
inquired why he s hed tears ? what had ha ppened?
The boy answered like t he prodi g al
me ntio ned in Luk e, th at he 'was 11 ol worthy to
be call ed hi s so n .' He confessed his bad deed,
and besoug ht his fath e r lo c hasti se him tlrnt he
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might receive what he felt conscious of deserving , and be no longer his own tormentor. But
his father held out his hand and pressed him
to hi~ heart, and said , 'I freely forgive you, my
child .' He prayed with him that God might
forgive him, and that he might never do any
action to conceal again. 'Then,' said the farmer, 'J shall not grieve for the fruit.' Ever
after this, he did nothing that he wisheci to hide
from his parents, and thus he showed a true repentance.
l lik ed the story very much, but have not
told you half 1he conv e rsation we had upon it.
I hope I learned one good lesson from it, and
that is , to be carefu l not to comm it such deeds
ns will cause me to be so conscie nce-s mitten .
The best rule , Henry, is to 'think before we
speak, and co nsider before we do.'
I am anxious to rece ive your next le tter .
Shall you go to E. thi s EUmme r, or remain at
home? I hope th e latter, for I know the clatter
of your ton g ue keeps the whole house in fine
spmts . That I may be enlivened by it soon,
is the sincere wish of your distant correspon:
dent,
F. G .

L - - , June J 0th, 183-.
Why is it, dear li'red, that you continually
teas e me about my noisy me mber, the tongue?
I assure you if I send you a more si le nt pe r- ·
sonage from th e wing of a goose, it is because
th e fates have decreed that while the present
heat prevails I shall be in bondage. To tell
the sober truth, my eyes and head are affected
this season-the former being often dim, and
· the latter uncommonly stupid. Y ct I so manage as to go to my daily recitations, and my
Sunday school of course . I am g lad you are so
interested in your class-I know this to he the
case because you relat e d th e story so admirably
in yo ur last, for I think with Mr. G. we nee d
not h ave very keen eye-sight, to detect wh e ther
or not a person is interested in wlu1t he is
writing.
While you wero conversing upon the doctrine of R e pentance we were pursuing our regular routine in the Old T estam e nt. Our subj ect was the power of evil to turn every
thing good into a wrong c hann el. This was
illustrated in the case of David and Saul. \Vhen
the latter was king of Israel it seems at one

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time he became very melancholy , a nd all hi s
pl easant dr eams were turn ed to sadn ess . His
servan ts, a n xious t o re li eve him , propose d to
him that so rn e o ne s hould be se lected wh o cou ld
play the sweetest u pon the harp , knowing that
music co uld so metimes so entrance the so ul
as to make it forg e t its sadness. And Saul
co nse nted . David, th e son of J esse, was th e
ch ose n player. His great s kill in u sin g th e inst rum e11t may be g alh c rcil from th e acco unt
g ive n of its effects. '\Vh c ne ve r th e he art of
the kin G was hea vy nncl full of sadn ess , David
came before him a nd took the harp nnd pl aye <l
with hi s ha nd . Th e n Saul we pt, a nd hi s h eart
was relieved.' A fl e r this Sau l promoted David
t o be hi s a rmor-b earer.
But to s how us how insecure is human friends hip , we r ead that after thi s, Saul became very
wicked, and th e fe ar of God de parted from him,
so that when th e same David who had comforted him playe d befo re him o n th e harp , he thr e w
t11 e jave lin which he held· in hi s hand at him,
in te nding to kill him_! Thi s he att e mpt ed twi ce ,
wh e n JJavid fl ed from him and le ft him to his
un gove rn ed malice. J onathan ( D av id 's friend ,)

inquire d of h im, where is now th e power of your
mu sic? And David answ e red , 'the music of
my h ar p is the sa me , but the heart of th e kin g
is chang ed! At first his heart was heavy a nd
sad.....,-now it is evil.' So it app eared that wlrnt
would r emove heaviness would not di s plac e ev il.
These s tories are ve ry e ntertaining and in stru cti ve to me, Fred.-I wish you woul d re nd
th em-I find n sheet o f pap e r is hardl y suffici e nt
to t ell yo u half I inte nd ed , when I beg an-I
think we s hall soo n be book-makers if we con tinu e so full of thought. I read somew he re the
other day, that th e author of an elaborate tr eati se began it on a single sheet of paper, not knowin11 wh e re he should find a second-ye t he cove r~d over two hundred! I cann ot be laconic
if I would-But if my r eaders should be wea ry
of my book I hope Fred er ic will not be tir ed llf
my long Jett er, when I tell him that half I would
say is unexpressed .
As eve r ,
H 1rnnv.

G - -, .fone 30th 183- .
·who was ever '·wearied,' Henry, in reading
a long epistle from a dear fri e nd? Of nil apol-

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LITTL E

og ies, ne ver say anoth e r word to me ab out th e
leng th of yo ur le tt ers. I am de ligh te d with
your O ld T estam e nt s to ri es. The tn;th is, I
n eve r r ead mu ch S ac red Hi story, and wh en I
hav e s tudie d th e Bibl e I hav e a lways been
am ong th e Evang e li s ts . Our las t s ubj ect was
sugges ted by th e death of on e of our numb er
wh o s tood for emos t in th e s ch ool. It was ' the
R es urr ection of th e dead .' I had n eve r th oug ht
mu ch up on th e subj ect, a nd th e refore on ly heard
what the o pinions of oth e rs w m e. I was an inte nse liste ne r , fo r I r ea lly fe lt a nxious about
ri g ht ide<1s ofa fntm c• lire . I h ave hi the rto loo ke d up on d r. a th as a so rt of dr e ad ed ' Kin g of
t e rrors,' aud hav e ne ve r thou g ht of mu c h beyo nd it. But our teac h e r r e pr ese ntc~cl it in a
wh olly diffe re nt li g ht. Ile s pok e of th e c han ge
t o whi ch it. introduc ed u s- how pure a nd i11noc e nt be in gs were fr ee d fr om all pain and earthly t roubl es , a nd s at o ut upon a progress to ward
pe rfe cti on ;-he s aid t oo th at th ey increa sed in
knowl e dge, so that it was a continual sati s facti on; besides, th e great and g ood be in gs who
were aiding them and advancing th e ir own improvement , was t o th e m a never fa iling Romeo

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or pl eas ur e .. 1 beg in lo think of heave n now
diffe re ntly fr o m wh a t I did . I on ce ro ad a
story ho ok whi c h s po ke o r ii. as fill e d wirh s il ve r and go ld , wh e re c hildre n had all sn rt s o f'
pl ay thin gs &c . I s upp ose thi s was w ritt e n to
ma ke it attrac tiv e to littl e c hildr e n - but it n ppea rs lo me il"lh ey had said, as o ur t eac he r did,
th at we we re co ntinu a ll y e mpl oye d in acquirin g
more and m ore k no wl edge, and e nj oy in g th e in ter co urse of lh e pu re a nd ho ly wh om we h a rl
kn ow n o n ea rth, I s houlc.I hav e lon ge d th e mor <::
to reac h th e place . I usec.I to think it a
state of res t , and I ne ve r co uld conc e iv e of
ha ppin ess in co ntinua l res t. O ur t ea c he r s ::iid
th e 'r est ' which th e hibl e s po ke of me ant an
ex e mpti o n fr om this 1n1rld 's e vil s--hut that r111-.
ployment was th e main s pring of heav e nl y c 11j oy ment--beca use th is impli e d e ffo rt s to wa rd improve me nt a nd pe rfoc li on.
l be li e ve s uc h a vie w of a futur e stat e wi ll
mako me u bette r boy. It will m odera te my
love fur e ve ry thing b ut th m;_e pl e as u;·cs whi c h
are innoc e nt and ri g ht.
I am bu sy a s a bee, and lrnppy as a kin g .
San1 a nd T o m ha ve just. re turn.e el from hunl in g ,

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and are now dr ess in g two littl e birds which
th ey killed . How cruel! Th ey are teasing
me because I tell th em I will not taste of th e m
because th ey took the h ar ml ess little creatures'
lives . I wish people had more tende·r · h ear ts.
The mail is closing, and I mu s t away and drop
thi s in the box.
Truly ,
F R EDERICK.
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L - - , July Jsl, 183-.
Dear Frcd,-I am gratifi e d to find myself'so
acce ptable a st ory tell e r-but r e rn embc r they
arc but poor descriptions of my teac h er's happy
mnnner of illustration. If I r ecoll ec t in my
last le tt e r I was speak in g of the insec urity of
earthly fri e nd s hips. The n ex t Sabbath we ·
had the opposite side of the case, and 'David
and J o nathan ' were qu o ted as a proof of th e
strength of attachment betwee n two companions wh ose intimacy is founded upon sincere
love.
One day Sa ul was conversing with Jonathan
hi s son in a friendly ma nn e r. And his father'
inquired of him wJ1y he would not dissolve the

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strict uni on which s ub sis t ed betwee n h irn and
Dnvid th e son of Jesse'? .Jonathan rep li ed,
'My father, h ow can I b e separated from him
and my own so ul-I cannot overcome my love.'
And th e king his father said, 'what do yoo lind
so excell e nt and great in the s h e ph e rd boy of
Bethl e he m, that yo u should thus give him all
your h ear t. fs it hi s dark visage, or his mu s ic,
or hi s streng th , that makes the bond so strong.'
And hi s so n r ep li ed , Oh my father, yo u ne ed not
b e a ngry-it is not his c o unt enance, hi s music
or his h eroic deeds that I love-[ scarcely kn e>w
why or what it is, but thi s I do know, my love
to wa rd him is as is that t o my ow n sou l. It was
compounded or s u c h a nii11gl e d collection of
ami a bl e qualities that he could not tell whi c h
predominated.
But Sa ul wa o angry, and told him that David
would t a k e th e kingdom from him and rule
ov e r I srael hims e lf? But instead of awake ning
Jon at han's jealousy, his co unt e nan ce brightened, and h e answ ered his father, 'Le t him
rul e ~l s it n o t the same, which of us governs
Irsael ?' ·whe n.the king heard this, he grew
furious, and se ize d his spear that he might kill

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him.

For he kn e w nothing of love, nor had he
Jonathan th e n .le ft. him and would
neith e r cat nor drink at his feas t, becau se he
indulged such bitt e rness against his fri e nd David . . Thi~ is to me a beautif'ul in sta nce of disinterested love . We a ll dw e lt upon it during
th e exe rcis e, and I asked myself had I. a fri end
for whom I would sacrifice my des ir es of adYancement in futur e lifo ? It is well that such
a sacrifice is not re quired, for I am sadly afraid
as much as I admir e such attac hme nt , that [
shpu ld not be a .Jonathan.
1.Vly gardnn looks finely-Lut I find plenty of
weeds are ready lo shoot up if I neg lect th e m
but a short time. Th ey tell me th e e arthy soil
resernb les that of the rnind-liuth mu s t bo cultivate d or th ey will not produ ce th e fin es t plants.
I ha ve a spade, a h oe and a rak e, and as I
have but two h ands I find I have one s pare implement, wh ich yo u may us e when you vi sit
me. lVe hav e just had a nice littl e shower,
and I must go lo my weeding.
Good bye ,
HENRY.
ii fri e nd.

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G, -- .August 4th, 183- .
Dear Henry,-My class in the Sunday school
has late ly bee n exercised up o n this su bj ectviz: •the motives whi c h nctuate us in th e pe rformance of certain good actions .' '11/ c always
have a parable or a passage from scripture
which fo rms th e ground work of our conversation. Last Sabbath we took the beautiful
parable of 'the Good Samari tan.' I had perhaps read the story an hundred tim es in a
care less way, but had never thou g ht any more
of it . I am afraid my familiarity with the Bi ble has not been of service to me ; becnuse I
find I have the word s in my · mouth, but no
meaning attached to them in my heart. .For
example, an e xplanati on of th e al>ove parable
gave me an e ntire n e w light and interes t in it.
Did you ever hear or read mu ch about the
country where the scene was laid ? Our
teacher told us that the road from Jerusal em
to J ericho is th e most gloomy and dangerous
of any in Palestine ; -so mu c h ,;o that even
the dark shadows in which every thing li es
buried seemed to tempt the robber and murderer to carry on their wicked designs. How

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thi s harmonizes with every part of the touchin g s to ry! I s uppose our Savior se le c ted this
very s pot on purpose to mak e it in pe rfec t acco rd ance with th e tran sacti on . O nly imag in e
I.h e sce ne, Hen ry ! P lace yourse lf in one of
these gloo my solitudes , s urr o und ed by an
arm ed ba nd, and at th e sound of eve ry fo otstep
and th e sta mp of eve ry ho of yo u would s ta rt,
lest yo u were to be seiz ed by a robber. Jn
su c h a slate, you can think of th e poor man's
fo rl o rn co nditi on . Herc the u11fo eling act of
th e Priest and Lev it e passing him by s trik es
one with horror, while the compassion of the
good Sama ritan app ea rs doub ly virtuous fr om
th e purity of th e 111otive which led to the performance of his kindn ess ! He ris k ed a similar
fate for himse lf in resc uin g an oth er. This was
undoubt ed ly tru e compassion.
W e th e n conversed a long time upon the
moti ves which infiuenced us to action . I beli e ve , H e nry, th ey a re not so pure, as we have
b een a pt to consider them. When I look into
myse lf, I find that fea r has often influ e uce d me;
for instance, if I had a poor recitation, I. feared
my instructor's fr own more than th e reproach of

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my own conscience , for doing wrong in neglectincr to st ud y. I re me mb e red too th e man y,
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man y tim es, whe n I ha d r el 1evc <l a begg ar s
wants ju st fr om th e selfis h motive of g ~ llin g
rid of him. I used to carry cold food to Goody
Gi dde ns beca u se T o m and J h nd a good piny
in her ki tch e n! I s upp ose nil th ose were se lf'..
ish mo t ives, and I ought to do good because I
love to do it. J f we nil <lid so, how man y Samaritan s we sh ould firul - - o r rath e r , if th e re
we re no ro hh e rs, nor perso n s dis posed to wi c k ~
edness, we s hou ld have no poor people by th e
wa vs ide on whom to bestow o ur compass ion!
But I o ug ht to s top·--1 alw ays g ive yo u refl ection s wh.ic h you kn ow he ll e r tha n T, yet so mehow or oth er my th oug ht g will c ree p o ut, nn<l
in whatever I am int e rested I a m dis pose d to
impa rt it to others. I hope I <lo thi s fr om a
good motive.

J ohn is riding up th e yard upon a full gallo p.
It is hard to t ell whic h is th e most anti c and
full o f capers- th e old horse or himse lf. H e
is ha lloo ing for me, and I mu st conclud e my
lett er and run to him . 'Vri te soo n and t ell a ll.
FRED .

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L - - , .!.lttg·Hst 25th, 183- .
Dear Fred,-Yo u improv e so rapidly in you r
sty le of writing that I find f mu st look about
myself or I shall be in th e back ground. I
shou ld think from pnpil you would soon adva nce to teacher, and from bei11g a learner you
would impart only to others of what yo u nlrcady know. Yet I will not rally you upon
improving, for I do know it is a dreadful thing
to remain stationary or even yet up on the retrograde, which on e is apt to do, unless he goes
forward. I look upon a vo l1m ta rily ignorant
person with pity , for every one ca n learn · now
who has a mind to do so. You must know that
I have und ertaken to enlighten 1'om otw .m-vant
boy ! He had never bee n tau.,ht his A B C
till he came into our family-I ha ve adva~ced
him to easy reading within three months, and
tho poor fo ll ow is so grateful that h e is r eally
too officio us in his ende avors to rep ay me.
II e brings my shoes to me and carries th em
away to return th em with an extra polish. He
is to enter the Sunday school this fa ll , and is so
an xious to learn that he often ' wakes up .the
sun,' that he may be at his books. This grati-

tu de more th_nn c ompen sates mo for all my
trouble. I think my motives in this thin g good.
If we on ly en li g hten one of th e ign orant of our
race, we shall dese rve th e n ame of B enefactors. I _think an interest in acquainting ser·vants with th e ir duties wou ld load th em to pe rfo rm th em with much more alacrity. ' Ve
neglect th e moral wants of thi s cl ass of beings
too much . Torn is now und er a shady tree
te ac hin g his littl e sister her lett ers-she is as
doc il e as a la mb, and looks up on her brother
as quite a wonder. If knowl 1Jdgo s pre ads
eve ry where as w ith you and I, Fred, I think
. the dark port.ions of the earth will soo n be e ~ ­
lighten e d. But I am in ter rupt ed-my Virgil
stares me in th e face and bids me study or l
shall lose my rep utation for good rec itatio ns.
Yo u rs in haste,
If.

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P. S. I wa R sick last Sabbath and did not
go to th e Sabbath school.
G--, Sept. 20th, 183-.
My dear H enry,-1 begin to think people
can be very servi ce able to each other by an oc-

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casional hint about doing good. In conformity
with your method of inst ructing Torn, I have
taken it into my head th at I can do some good
t hat way. Yo u would he amused to hear how
resolutely I sat about it, and how I go t.ciefe ated
in the beginning. Do you remernbc r a poor
dissipated man , wh om we called 'old .Jethro '
that you saw wh en you were with us last foll '?
Well, he has a dozen children or less, who are
as ignorant and vicious as unt ame d colts-they
are, like most people of I his desc ription, contented to live in vice and follow th e ir father's footsteps. Th ese were the raw materials which I
undertook first to civilize and afterwards to clirisrianize-for l holJ we can n ever succeed in the
last attempt, until we have accomplished the
.fir$t.
.

J will give you a brief account of my first visit
to this fi.rn1ily. ft was a sunny afternoon when
I made my en trance into th eir miserable hutth e du st and litter of the room folly indicated
the neatness of th e mistress of the house. Snm,
Jim and Ben were playing and fighting alternately, and no entreaties of the mother could
make them desist from one or the other. In

a few moments I heard a kind of sleepy groan, ·
and directing my eye t o the place whence the
noise came, I saw stretched upon the old coverlid rny mother gave them, the other head of the
family. Having sketched th e pm·ents, you will
draw your own ideas of the children, but th e re
is no dang e r of your imagination's exceeding
the picture of filth a nd moral pollution which
e ncrusted them. An<l will you believe it, when
I tell you that they are now clean, desirous of
learning, and even anxious to do all th e favors
they can for me in their way? I am quite a
teacher to them, and for all the trouble, I receive an ample compensation in the reward of
well-doing.
I hop e you do not intend to discontinue an account of our Sunday school questions.
If I
have been tedious to you, I am conscious it has
improved myself: You will hear again from
me by the return of your brother.
With much affection,
FREDERICK.
L - - , 183-.
You need not fear, dear Fred, that I shall fail
lo communicate to you as fast as I progress in
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99

LITTLE

WRITER.

my literary course. I get many serviceable hints
from the returns you make to me, so that were
it only for selfish motives, I shou ld be induced
to write .
\<Ve have had an addition to our Sunday
school of ten or twelve scholars. They are
divided among the classes ; ours received two
of th em. Th ey are rough, uneducated boys,
and very ignorant of all kinds ofnsif"l knowledge;
hut I should think th e m instructed in much that
is not useful. I have heard a remark somewhere like thi s, viz. that 'the dom P.s tic training
o f a child may he known by his l..iehavior in
church and in the Sunday school.' Judging
by this rule, I should think Jethro's l..ioys and
these had been companions.
Whether our
teacher had heard of mv
success
in teacl;inu0
Tom or not, I do not know, hut h e has given
me th e charge of th ese two boys, afte r I have
recited lo him and h ea rd his explanations.
I cannot but think it is quite a responsibility
to give two uncultivated fellows their first rudim ents in what belongs to the attainment of their ·
moral and spiritual culture. I only t ell them
plain things, such as th ey cannot misunderstand,

for I have often read of people who were convinced in mature years of the false statements
made lo them wh en th ey were young . l know
it must be difficult to free I.he mind from such
erroneous vi e ws; for to this day the recollection
of some frightful stories nurse Detty told me,
will intrude upon me in the dark, although my
reason tells me how foolish and untrue th ey
were.
I am happy in very different pursuits from
those which formerly inter est ed me. To be
sure gam es at ball, or battledoo r , have not lost
their charm ; but I mean, I do not care lo play so
much as formerly. I gen e rally find quite as
much enjoyment in sitting und er the shade of
our old oak tree al the foot of the hill, leaching
the 'young ideas' of those who congregate there
to receive in struction from no Jes~ a personage
than your humble servant,
HENRY D.
P. S. I break off abruptly because the pnpils
are coming.

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• Success attend you, and a blessing on your
teaching,' was the spontaneous feeling which

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LITTLE

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wo nlJ have been cxprcsscJ in word~, had any
one be e n prese nt wh e n r r eaJ your la s t lett e r.
\Ve all hav e diffe re nt duti es to per f or m, because we all li ve in diffe rent s tations in this life.
Ilnt I cannot think any are mad e to be idl e.
I hav e bee n trying to pe rs uad e Sam and John
all the mornin g to ab a ndon a fooli s h proj ect
th ey ha ve in th e ir he ad s , but I cannot Rucc eed.
I beli e ve if [wished to c ure s tubb o rnn ess, if I
could show them a pict ur e of th e ms e lv es in another, th ey would become more lenie nt. But
we all love our own way, and I s upp ose I have
as many faults as th7, - of a differ e nt kind, I
hope, how eve r .
But to the suhject of my lett er. 1Ve have
for an e xe rc ise this week, •th e punishm e nt which
guilt produces.' I have ta k en th e s tron g case
me ntion ed in S c riptur e of Ca in 's killing his
broth e r Abel. I r emember to have re ad a s triking account entitled •C ain 's Complaint,' which
ju st ly d e mon strat es how c rim e will d a rk e n and
sadd e n every pro spect in nature. I will g ive
it to you jus t as I e xtracted it, and if it fills n
long letter, my apology is, it is another'iil composition .

'W hen Cain lived in the land of Nod, on
the cast of E de n, he sat one day und e r a tre e
and su pp orted his head with his h a nd an d s ighe d. H is wife h ad go ne o ut to loo k for him ,
and Garri e d h e r infant E noch in h er arms .
"Vhe n sh e found him, she list e ne d under the
tree to hi s s igh s .
An d sh e said , VVhy this lame ntrition , Cai n?
H e ra ised his head a nd rep lie d , Ah is it yo u ,
Zillah ? Behold, my puni s h ment is greater
th nn I can bea r. Th e n h e co ve re d hi s eyes
with hi s h a nd, and s ank on th e g ro und . His
wi fe said, Th e Lord is m e rciful, and of g r eat
co mpassio n . But Cn in tr e mbl ed a nd s aid,
' Vhy s houlcl yo ur t ongue be a th orn to pi e rce
my h eart ? S he th e n re mind e d him o f a ri ch
h :uv est they had ju st g ath ere d , and said, is not
Go d liberal? Ah no ! s aid Cain, it is to yon,
rind your E no c h, n ot me? I only di scover in
his good ness, h ow far I was fr om him 1rh e n I
--slew Abe ll llut Zillah interru pte d him , Do
you not cu ltiva te yo ur fi e lds, Cnin, and so w
yo ur see d ? rind th e morning li g ht shin es up o n
yo u a s it s hon e in ]!:den , and the dew glist e ns
o n th e flow e rs and th e grass?
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l.ITTJ,E

WR ITF.R.

'A h Zillah , my poor wife,' replied Cain, •I see
in the twilight of mornin g, on ly I.he bleedincr
head o;' Abe l, and the d e w- drop ha ngs on eve r;
blade lik e a tear , and on e"e ry flow er lik e a
drnp of blo od 1 'Vhe n th e s un rise s, I see tho
shadow of A be l be hind m e, and th e re comes n
sti ll s mall voice fr om every thing , speak in g,
Thou ha st slain thy broth e r!'
' I think , H enry, this is o ne o f the most vivid
de s criptions of guilt I o ver read. It is we ll to
rend suc h sto ri es to boys who think J i~ htl y of
c rim e; it mn y se r vo lo res train th e m fr om th e
i n d1 1lgc nce o r vi olent pass ion.
J leave it for you, H e nry, to draw th e pi cturn
o f inno ce nce , t o put in co ntrast with th e appallin g o ne I have se nt.
If yo u ha ve any interes tin g books, I wish
you would send th em. I have ex hau s ted all
rny stock . J mu ~t conclud e this le tter for of
late I have be e n rem iss to ev e ry one b~t yo11,
and today I am de te rmin e d to make amends
for past fau Its.
Truly yours,

FREDERICK.

<(

103

L - - , 183-.
Dear Fre d ,-It has bee n so me tim e sinc e I
hav e g iven you an y of thos e inte rest ing sto ri es
from th e O ld Te stam e nt in whi c h yo u so mu c h
delight ed. You say, you wish me to call yo ur
att e nti on t o so me of th e m ost bea utiful. Now
yo ur tast e is d ecide dl y bett e r than min e, so
wheneve r yo u do not think as I do, I desire
you would te ll me frankly . I ha ve bee n re nd in g one h owever this mnrniug, whi c h strik es
m e as pec uliarl y beautiful .
' In th e ln11d or Is rael, al the foot o f th e
b ea utiful Mount Tabor, li ved a widow nam ed
Hannah, with he r o nl y daught e r who wn8 co ile d Sa lamith. Th ey we re cxcee di11gly poo r,
yet th e ir pove rty did not preve nt th e m from
be ing c hce rrul and se re11 e-a11 cl th e ir d ays
passed smoot hl y, and I.he ir night s were tranq11il. Tlann a h had in struct ed he r dau g ht e r lo
li ve pi ous ly, and s he had olll'n shown he r ho w
th e love of God brin gs th e plants out of the
ea rth , and s prinkl es th e de w on th e m, a nd permits th e s un to shin e o n a ll thing;;, and how man
is fill e d with more bl ess ings than he can numbe r. And whenev e r the mot her talked thu s , the

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w n IT En.

cl1il <I perceiv0d her mother wept. And ~he sa id
I
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mot 1er, why do yo n weep.' Th e n the mother
nnsw e r e d with a srniling fa ce,' Oh, my c hild,
God's goodness is too great for us to und er-

of fl FJ ath came , and th ey both soared to that mor e
beautiful world abov e.'
Can any thing be conceived more touching
than thi s simple story? It ~eerns as if o n e familiarized to such sce';ies of natur e and s u c h a
life of innocence, could not but be h appy. I
am now go ing to wa lk in the field be low t h e
brook. I h e gin to take more int e rest in th e
appearance of the flowers a nd the sp ringing o f
th e plants. Which is your favorite, among
tho se classed as the wild?
I think th e s we e te st piece of poetry I eve r
read was upon a little m od est freld flowN !
You will laugh at my opinion, but r eme mb er
my r eading h as b ee n rath e r c ircums c rib e d .
'Vhen you hav e no be tter div e rsi on than wri tin g, J hope you will reso rt to that fo r th e e dific a tion of your abse nt friend,
HENRY .

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-

sta nd. '

'J'hu~ th ey li ved happily, b ec ause th ey Jiv ed
goo d li ves . An<l th e ir garden brou g ht forth
an nb11ndance of fruit; and th ey sent il to th e
s.ic k and th e needy, who had n o ne, and always
fell h ow good it was to give !

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Hut there came a pestil e nce, and Hannah
was V<:! ry ~ic k , nn<l h er d a ug ht er "·as filled with
g ri e f' and a11gui s l1. Then th e motli e r saw th at
s h e mu st di e , nnd sh e ~aid with a s milin rr co unt:>
t e na nce, .and a lo w voice , ' Belo ve d child, my
lm;t h o ur rs at hand . Co nfid e s till in o m Gori.
He will cause it l o b e well with yo u. ' S he
co uld speak 110 more , for h e r s tr e ngt h departed .
Th e n h er daughter prayed, 'O h, kind Fat h e r,
s uffe r my belo ved m ot h er t o remain with meh ow ca n I .l ive al o ne ?'
An a11gel bo re the pray e r o f i1111 occ nce t u the
stars ; - and th e morning s un :-trosc, and Salarnith caressed he r dca ~l moll1cr , and the nn" c l

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LIT T L E

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RODERT TO .JAMES .

Dear James,-Tiiere is nothing I dislike
m ore th a n being pent up like a ho use-dog wl1i c h
people are obliged to look after les t he should
nm away. l have a great desire for an activf.l

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106
life and being a man of the world . Henry has
been telling me of the pl eas ure he receives from
his books. I am not constitut e d like him, for I
would any time rather look up on a gplendid
binding, than what he• calls the ' interesting
contents.'
I have the promise of going the other side
of the river tomorrow. They tell me there is
a variety store there filled with drums, fifes
and all sorts of curious things. But I suppose it won't do for me to buy any thing
that makes a noise, for Grandmother is so se nsitive to sounds that Sophy has not tried her
liarn1011icon since she came. I wonder that music is so disagreeable to her. I can account for
it only in this way. The windows of th e old
mansion-hou se arc just loose enough to admit
the wind, and you would suppose an lEolian
harp was suspend ed somewhere about every
casement. This may have given h er a distaste
to sou nds-but you know I am ap t to draw
strange conc lusions about things.
There is only one li ving thing who appears
as lively here as I fee l, that is th e Canary who
sings outside my window in his cage. I have

W Jl IT E Jl.

111

107

a great disposition to free him from his confinement, hut J suppose you will say neither he
nor I would know how to prize ou r fre edom
if we enjoyed it.
I beg of you to write me all about thin gs at
N - -. I want to h ear what liv1'.11g people are
doing, although I nm placed where if they did
not eat, drink and sleep I shou ld doubt wh eth e r
th ey were tenants of earth. I fo lt rather uneasy just at this time, and seeing the pen and
ink near me, I concluded just to te ll you of it.
' Troubl eso me correspondents are those who
arc always complain ing '-if this be true,
cannot say good bye too quick.
Yours &c,
llonEnT.
Jlf--, 183Employment, my dear boy, is my recipe to
cure people of discontent with themselves and
the world. Did you ever h ear a person say
this was ' a miserable world,' and this person
a nd that one, were intol erable companions,
whose hands and head were occupied with any
thing useful ? I am ashamed of you, for making yourself so unhappy. Do you suppose
true enjoyment consists in riding , drumming,

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LI 'l' TL J::

WR I 'l' J:: H.

lively c0mpnnions and a whol e roun<l of excil·
ing amu semen ts? Why, 1 hav e
·w n boy r1
who had all the se at their commnnd, who ,:· ~re
h ea rtily sick of them, and craved something
more 1mbstantial to feast their minds upon.
Cultivate some resources within yourself'.
Improve your tim e in r eading hi s tory; study
common thing s, s u c h ns tho se wit.hin your eye's
range-for let me tell you, from that window
where your Canary sits and s ings, yo u can see
enough to kee p you employed much longer
than you will s lay.
If no ise and actire spo rt s are di sag r eeab le
to those about you, you ne ed not forget how
many quiet enjoyments are within your reach.
Endeavor to make yo urse lf ag reeable to the
family-it is a use f'ul lesson for one to lea rn to
conform to every variety of character as well
us condition.
lf I had time I woulu give you many directions to make yourself u.~eful ; for to he looked upon any where as a compound of folly and
oddity, is not a des irable thing, and 1 nm mu ch
afraid this will be th e case, unl ess you do someJ .u.n :s.
thing be sides complain.
Yo urs ,

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