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New Albion March 20th 1856

My dear cousin,

I hope you will be glad to hear that I have survived the ordeal of a three month's school this awful unparalled winter. I have come out unscathed, a little older, somewhat wiser, and on the whole quite satisfied with my success. You must know that of my twenty pupils about one fourth were noted "hard cases" having left the public school just in time to save themselves from expulsion

My friends shook their heads rather dubiously when I announced my intention of teaching the school, and all predicted trouble. This of course only made me the more determined to try - which I did.

I am at present making myself generally useless to my friends, and visiting a little occasionally. I have but just relinquished the idea of going to Wisconsin this spring.

The directors of a school at Elk Horn, the county seat of Walworth Co. engaged Mrs Plumb (an intimate friend of mine) and her sister, to teach, and as the sister could not go, I was to take her place. But owing to the irregularity of trains of the railroads the letter containing the final proposals did not reach us until sometime after they wished me to comence teaching.

Last edit 7 months ago by The Grove National Historic Landmark
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I am reading "India, China, & Japan" by Bayaset Layse, and my dreams are enviously interspersed with mosques, minarets, domes, [illegible] carts, sahibs salaams & all the most interesting charactistics of "grorgeous [illegible]". You see, I have not got to the Celestials yet. I was a very warm actruism of N. Taylor until I found that it was quite fashionable that he was a lion of the first (I cant think for appropriate term supply it yourself.) in great Gotham, and since I made this discovery I have kept my[illegible letter] enthusiasm to myself. I still presist however in thinking that he has written some very fine poetry.

I have read "Hiawatha", and think it very fine. Do you write poetry much? Or do you belong to that class who repudiate such nonsense? A few weeks ago, while I was teaching a gentleman & a teacher, called on me at my boarding place, and thinking to interest him, I showed him some new books, one a scrapbook I had just got from the [illegible] which I thought rather nice, and the other a large & copiously illustrated work on Natural History. He turned the latter volume over carefully examined several engravings particularly, to which I had called his attention, then deliberately laying it down said with a very pompous frankness (if you can imagine such a combination of manners) "I tell you plainly Miss Kennicott I feel above such things."

Poor fellow! Heaven help you! I came near saying when he had concluded, I do truly comiserate those people who feel above studying Nature in any place.

You will pardon my prosy wanderings. I hope there is so little of importance or interest to anyone and least of all to a stranger transpiring in the sphere of my observation that I am of necessity [illegible] I will

Last edit 7 months ago by The Grove National Historic Landmark
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besides, to speak truth, I must acknowledge that is rather natural to me - this spinning of long yarns.

Shall I tell you of a christmas gift I recieved? Of course you are dying to know. Well - listen - three timid black-eyed flying squirrels! I put them in a show-case window at brother John's where they were a nine days' wonder to the little folks of the vicinity who used to visit them in daily installments. If it were not quite too much out of season I would tell you what other gifts the good patron of good children (like you & I,) brought me at that same blessed Anniversary - for instance a copy of poems of one of my cherished authors elegantly bound & illustrated. But au revoir to that subject.

Lucius is still in Virginia. How long he will remain I cant say We expect to hear from him soon on that point. Did you see Will when he was in Chicago? If so you are probably advised of his welfare, and I shall only say of the rest of us what I ought to have said at first - "We are all well and hope these few lines will find you enjoying the same blessin'." Dont you think that is a very elegant sentence? I am glad it is stereotyped so that we can have any number of editions of it.

Tomorrow, Providences permittin' I am going to Randolph for a week or so. The white structure on the hill though of no par-ticular interest to an ordinary observer is very Mecca. I go there every year and standing in the old familiar halls which echo to shouts of merry students, the strange faces disappear and in their stead rise up the forms of half forgotten friends with others well remembered whose presence filled the rooms with sunshine and whose places can never again be filled.

Last edit 7 months ago by The Grove National Historic Landmark
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Father says "Ann if you expect to go with me tomorow you will have to be up a little earlier than usual so you had better go to bed soon.

So good night - pleasant dreams and be sure that you never write me another such a cross letter as your last - if you do i'll - i'll why i'll be pouty for awhile and then relent and forgive you eventually just as I do now.

Maybe now you dont believe there is any foundation for this charge. Well if you are sceptical I can produce proof - some other time, but for the present

Good bye

Yours affectionably so long as you are not cross - Annie Kennicott

Robert W. Kennicott M.D.

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