RK-029

540 [in pencil]

Albany, October 18^th 1854

Dear Robert,

Yours of 10th August now lies before me. It has waited quite a while for an answer but "better late than never."

I do not consider it any credit to be a good speller; but it is generally considered a great disgrace to be a poor one. No person can be pardoned for spelling incorrectly; for if they are in doubt about the spelling of a word they have only to refer to the dictionary and ascertain the correct mode of spelling. A little practice in this way will soon enable one to write without misspelling any words. Every person no matter how good they are in this branch is liable to err. Different authors give different modes of spelling or very often letters are misplaced, or left out entirely, through mere inadvertence in the writer. But enough of this spelling matter. "Too much of a good thing spoils it all." I have enjoyed myself right well this summer. Picnics and boatrides have been [written along left side of letter] You may direct Care of James Van Nanree, or State Normal School.

plenty of blackberries; and there were several parties before I came away. I suppose now Father has got me down here to school he means I shall be kept straight. I shall have to study pretty hard but when my lessons are learned catch me if they can. I'm not going to be shut up in the house every evening next winter not by a jug full. I cannot go as I did last winter it is true but I'll have some sport or my name's not Maria Ransom. I wish I had some of your nice fruit. I have not tasted a particle of fruit since I came here except such as I bought with pocket-money and some apples and peaches which were given me Sunday. I should think it would be fine sport to sit under a tree and shoot the birds as they came to you. I should think the hunter could not have much pride who would do this. It shows a greedy disposition to kill for the sake of seeing how many birds you can deprive of life. I always thought that it was the skill with which the bird was shot [illegible] and not the number of birds which marked a good hunter. So you are going still farther into the "killing business" , and are to

become a killer of men. Well I don't know but this would be about as profitable as the other, but please don't send me any fruits. I always had a sort of indescribable horror of a physician; ever since Dr. Growbridge told mother to cut my hair off. Has not Charley received a letter from me since I came here! Tell him a letter would be very acceptable indeed. It gives me ten times as much pleasure now to receive a letter than it used. After I have read the last line I go back and read it over again and try to make it longer. but letters do not grow; and they will obstinately retain their briefness. I do not know that I can blame my correspondants much after all for I am in such a hurry always when I write that I slight my letters altogether too much. I do not believe I shall ever get reconciled to Albany. It is always all up hill and down, and at school we have to go up and down two or three flights of stairs to each recitation which is very tiresome indeed. The house where I board is situated on the summit of the hill just above

the capitol. The school is one or two blocks below the capitol. There are a large number of scholars. The teachers are the best ones that I have ever seen before in a school. They have a different teacher for each class of studies and each one of these are exceedingly well qualified to fill the station which they occupy. The professor Mr. Woodworth is one of the best of men jovial and good-natured. The scholars think a great deal of him. They require very correct recitations and you are obliged to understand your studies thoroughly before you can "pass" as we call it into a higher class. There are four classes. The senior, subsenior, junior and subjunior. I am in subsenior class. They will not allow any one to enter the senior class on the first term. One week from tomorrow there will be about half a dozen compositions read. These are selected from compositions written by all the members of the school. They say it is a great honor to have a composition read but very few ever write well enough to obtain it. A great many graduate from the school who have never had a composition read. I fear I shall be one of the latter class as I am very poor at composition writing. Maria.