p.

It is a favour that you can hear
from William, we have not heard a
word from our William in about
four months, and we feel it to be
a great privation, and he poor child
feels it quite as much I dare say
for he used to complain if we let
more than a week pass without
writings - but I feel that our trials
are very light thus far, when com-
pared with the sorrow and desolation
than is brought upon so many fam-
ilies by this cruel war - I sometimes
get discouraged and think that the
rebels will overwhelm us, but wiser
people say we [underline]shall triumph[/underline] sooner
or later - and peace will be restored.
There is a great deel of sewing and
knitting done here for the soliders par-
ticularly for the Hospitals. [Eliser?]
has done considerable, and all the
girls are knitting stockings.
Brother Jonathan's son Benm. has
lately come from the west to enlist
he expected to go with the seventh
Battery that left last week, but

[in left margin:]

We have not opened the butter, but dare say it is very nice, and the price
J. says is perfectly satisfactory - it is a mercy to us that it is low, but I
am sorry on Thy account -

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concluded to wait until the next
week - Elisa Freeborn has also come
from the west to spend the winter -
hereaway - she says that R. Wallace
is living with her neice Delia Hall.
That the house that they built is
given up to C. [Henrey?] a relative
of Ruth's husband who had a
mortgage on it, and he gives R.
so much a year, a small amount
however and I do not see how she
manages to live upon it - I
believe I wrote Thee that sister
Elisabeth had been sick, she is
subject to attacks similar to
what father used to have I sup-
pose it is Epilepsy - but they
say she is better between the attacks
than she has been for a long time.
I have not seen her since Y. Meeting.
E. Meader reached home last
seventh day - she says she improved
in health while she was absent - she
attended Baltimore Y. M. and saw