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Alice Cora Kennicott Collection
N0.___ Smithsonian Institution,
Washington D.C., Jan 28th 1863.
Dear Little Daughter
It was good in you to
write to me when, I know, it must
be fatiguing -- I can appreciate your
difficulty in making the effort to
write when you are not well -- The
feeling of lassitude and despondency re-
sulting from your bad health causes
you without the amount of mental
energy necessary to make writing
pleasant -- Never theless whenever
you feel that writing would be an
agreeable effort, even though it be an
effort, - I think it might be well
for you to write letters to me and
others and you know how glad I am
to receive them. Bur dont write
to me when you dislike to do so --
I have just been re reading yours
of Jan 21st&Fathers of 23 [?] - the
latest I've read -- I've been rushing
about at a tremendous rate for
a couple of days -- and have scarcely
had time to eat - though much of
the time was devoted to other things
[side of page] Did I tell you of the nice New Years present Prof Baird got for you but which
Im rushing to send by express with Mothers things? its a fine photographic copy
of a celebrated series of German paintings illustrating
the German fairy tale of the "Seven Ravens and the
devoted [?] sister"