Albany, April 1872

 

Albany April 1872

My dear Mother

Time in his daily round has again brought to me a few leisure moments for communicating with you and gladly do I improve the opportunity he offers.

Of all the moments spent here, the happiest are the ones spent in reading and answering your letters. “Blessed be letters,” I have said this very often before, but never as I say it now. They have always afforded a pleasure “refined and true” but have never before been absolutely essential to my happiness…

I expected one from the children this afternoon as you said they were going to write this week, but in this I was doomed to meet with disappointment as I very often am and it seems to me  as if I can not stand another week as I must go right home, and yet I know I shall hear from you Tuesday and I am very foolish to feel so over such a little thing.

By the time I should get home my letter would be here and I should feel as I did when I came home from the Institute like coming back again. We are having beautiful weather and I am enjoying myself very much. I can hardly realize (as Alma says) that  I have been here so long. How quickly the hours of life pass away and we hardly know that they are going. Time is very precious and gives us…

We are going to have examinations next week in geography and Arithmetic and I have been drawing maps and studying rules and explanations all day and if I don’t pass out of this geography class, I will not draw any maps anyway. I might better spend it in writing poetry, do not you think so?

By the way, did you like yours and do you think it fit for publication if so please send me the address of the Companion (I think it is Allen and Co., Augusta, Maine), but have nearly forgotten and I will send them to the paper and let them publish them if they will.

Enclosed you will find some written on the death of little Augie Bander? They are not very  good and I  had forgotten about them till Carrie found them in a book and read them and pronounced them good, so I concluded to send them to you. What did you do with Mrs. Kelso’s? I did not know whether you wanted to give them to her or not. Did you find yours?… 

[The gist of the next part is that Carrie wanted her to go walking with her and a friend.]

I declined having other and more important work to do. They waited for Miss Lynde a long time and then concluded that she was not coming and went out alone. They had been gone but a few moments when Belle, who had been detained by company she said, made her appearance. She was very much disappointed and insisted upon my going out with her to find them. I excused myself as well as I could, and persuaded Mrs. Wright to let Freddie accompany her to the Geological rooms, telling her to come back and wait until they came in if they were not there.

In a few minutes she came in and waited about an hour, when the wanderers returned and they all went out again for another walk. Carrie has invited us to go with them to Bridgeman’s church tomorrow. I do not think very seriously of accepting this invitation though I may conclude to do so.

You need not warn me to guard my secrets. I have no confidante, but my mother, and experience has taught me that I can trust her perfectly in all things and and her (my mother) lessons with some aid from experience has also taught me that she is almost the only one whom I can trust.

Carrie gets indignant sometimes because I will not go out every time she happens to feel like it. I believe her brother has advised her not to [ask] me anymore and she informed me that she had concluded to take his advice. A very wise conclusion and one which will afford me a great deal of pleasure if she only “sticks to it.” I went out with her three times in one day and then she wanted me to go again in the evening.

I suppose school will soon commence in the Village. Tell me the teacher’s name as soon as you know. I am interested to know if Beek takes it.

Do you ever hear from Mr. Lindseley any more? Where is Maria? Did she finish high school? I hear Mr. Van Auken has sold his place at last. What is W. Ayres going…

 

Dear friend Mary,

How are Mrs West’s children and ours? Has Dora got over his cold yet? I will close this letter and try and write a few lines to Maria. Tell Ida and Lon if they do not write, they’ll wish they had. When I write to them again as the letter will be so long they will never be able to read it. Tell Eldred I think he might favor me with a letter once in a while. He and Lon are home and have plenty of time for writing.

With best love to all. I remain

Ever yours aff. [affectionately]

Edith

Note: Maria, Lon, Ida, and Dora were Edith (Emma’s) siblings. Dora was apparently the nickname for Henry Ladore.

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