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for them to manifest themselves to the Spiritual eye or the Spiritual sense of feeling, than to the spiritual [underline]ear[/underline] by which organ he was informed of every thing that he should do in this remarkable case of healing, and every act he should require of his invalid subject; but I cannot lay my hand now upon his [deleted]subject[/deleted] letter [deleted]now[/deleted] or I would explain some of his replies. He expresses himself differently from what [underline]I[/underline] should or could, and is evidently little, if at all acquainted with mediums, but as I am acquainted with very few myself, I know no one in whom I have more confidence than in him.
A letter from dear Jane to-day brings cheering news of the pecuniary affairs of my relatives & friends, and of the recovery of my Sister [Hannah?], who has been alarmingly ill; and Jane writes in good spirits, though her husband has gone to the [Istmus?], and she has not yet heard from him.
My brother John has had to suffer great anxiety from the failure of a son and nephew, and even the old homestead on the spot our dear Father built on the first house for us in the woods, was in danger of coming under the hammer, which I hardly think he could have long survived, but the young men have so arranged matters, that is hoped they will be able to relieve their endorsers, and that my brother's property will be saved for his use the little time he will last at least. Sister H. if she survives him, will probably go and lean on her excellent daughter Mary.
It is pleasant to think of thee as able to attend to the numerous cares of your family and yet I am always afraid they will prove
too severe upon thee; but I found life so irksome for want of some regular business and earthly responsibility, in my late home, that I should dread for thee an entire cessation from employment & care; it might prove worse than a little too much.
The day before yesterday brought me two long expected letters from M. W. [Mann?] and J. A. Leyyard, both cheerful ones tho dear Mary as well as Jane has had to part with a dear one her only son not quite 18 gone with a company to swell the army ranks; a serious thing to her when I last saw her, because she did not, like her husband see it a duty in him; but she now feels it a duty in her to let him follow the course of his own choice under a hopeful and improving change which has been wrought in him, and says that if he will only do his duty [underline]as he sees it[/underline], be brave, and truthful, and obedient, she will wait for him to see different duties before she urges him to perform them.
I told thee Mary's Mother had been very ill, and think thou know'st that one of my orphan Nieces, the single one [deleted[who[/deleted] has lived with her uncle John and Aunt Hannah a good deal. She is now her Aunt is convalescent gone back to school the had in hand, at Portville an adjoining town; and I think make the smile, by giving thee one of Mary's peculiarities in an extract from her letter.
"We are under immeasurable obligations to Maria; for I could not feel easy at all were it not for her care of my parents. x x x x x But I cannot say any thing, since I did not stay there myself. Perhaps it is just as important to Maria to teach school as to me to be married."
She thus blamed herself for not being with her only sister when ill and dying it would have been
