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9 him, with the possesion of a tranquil, contented & joyful heart poor Thaddy too, is in bad health, from the chills, he & Pa, must visit St Andrews' & hunt & fish till they are stout & hearty I long to hear from them Mother has sole charge of the school & gets along finely, her health very good, how thankful I am she writes in a cheerful, trustful spirit that I am most rejoiced to see We went over the river & spent the afternoon & evening there I felt too badly to write if I were at home, so we staid there till after 8 o'clock, they were all very agreeable & kind Byrd was over Betty sewed my coat & John's cloak bless her Byrd played sweet tunes that reminded me of "auld lang syne" we all, with the little boys had singing "Uncle Ned" "Lucy Neal" &c Dr Pleasants called in, (alias Dr Dunderhesd) Betty had "made pretense" of his entrance, just a few moments before, by imitating his rap at the door a Mrs Fabien & McGrew also came in we left them there I have just re read Mother's letter, & my eyes feel so badly that Ill go to bed November 30th Friday A week old is my Journal & I already feel some interest in reviewing its first pages, if it were only aged a week of years, how much more interest wd it bear in my eyes a week of years! what a lapse in a man's lifetime, what a fraction of our ephemeral life & what a different thing is the retrospection of seven years flown by, from the anticipation of seven that may come I drank a little burnt brandy & sugar last night & fear I must take some more tonight, for the borborygme' are playing at hide & go seek in my intestinal canal no letter today Mother's precious one of yesterday made me on the qui vive for more "of the same sort" I remained at home till 10 1/2 o' clock, then going to the college & finding Wright lecturing, didn't attend that hour called on Mrs Bayless, found the Dr's mother there haven't seen her for nearly two years little Meggy just con valescent again, had relapsed since I last saw her called on Dr Drake for a few minutes, found him better, but yet too unwell to lecture twice a day lectured in afternoon Mr McGuffey was quite ill,
10 from an attack similar to mine of yesterday only much more se vere I was very sorry to see him indisposed Dr Bayless lectured on the ligaments of the vertebral column an interesting lecture This being Friday, was speaking afternoon my duties were lighter then after tea, Betty walked over with me to Mrs Sloo's, she stopped at the office with me a few moments John was just kindling a fire we staid at Mrs Sloo's till 8 o'clock, then left, meeting Willie at the Ferry boat, on the Ky side, we heard the band from the Barracks playing beautifully, the Tattoo I have written begun a letter to Mother, & will follow John to bed Decembe 1st Saturday Dies memorabilis a day of vexation in household affairs our store smoked oh how it smoked, and smokes, it began after we'd eaten our breakfast, the wind being to the north & blowing down the pipe, in spite of the cap I deluged it with water, but cd scarcely put it out It would [re????] & smoke, oh how dirty & fuliginous did our room become, & how vexed & unphilosophical did I [??] heard Dr D. lecture on the treat ment of acute peritonitis, in morning a fine lecture, & Dr Bayless a fine one on the ligaments of the thorax dined at Mrs McGuffey's Mr McG. in his room today called in at Dental College awhile to see John at work, went to my room & the stove was bad, wss worse lost all patience & returned to Dental Col. to consult with John found him gouging in Legh Page's mouth we came to our room, & cleaned out the stove pipe & tried every expedient, but it wd smoke, we went to Mrs McGuffey's to tea, I called at [M???] Lib. after [??] for Dr D. for Nuttall's ornith, not there John & I attended Derbey's [a???] of books, as more comfortable than our cheerless room He bot several valuable works very [???], Cooper's Surg, Dict 2.75 Gross. Path. anat. Smith's Minor Surgery .65 Robinson on teeth .65, Deucacher on corus 35, [????] on Blood & Urine .75 &c, & I bot Evanson & Maunsell on Children 80c I went to bed as soon as returned sans fire & sans calories
11 December 2nd Sunday No fire this morning, & the window frozen with sleet, what a time for Floridian blood, the wind continues to blow the wrong way in the stove pipe I laid a bed till 8 1/2 o'clock then mustered courage & dressed left John still snoozing & went over the river Betty & Sophy were just going to Sabbath school, but I dissuaaded them on ground that twas too late & so sloppy from the thawing sleet; very cold & dis agreeable day I went to church with them, first drinking some coffee poured out by Sweet Betty's hands Mr P. preached on confirmation I was troubled by thinking of the vexation of a smoking stove In afternoon we went to the Barracks heard Mr Rooker from Louisville, preach a very impressive sermon from John III 3 "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God" solemn theme He brot me up, through a bundle for Benton Harrison, a sweet little letter from Miss Mary I returned over this side of the river at nearly dark found John in at Mrs Sloo's, & all the family with Miss Byrd around a cheerful fire John had on his accidentally fashionable shirt collar, & it was up we took tea at Mr McGuffey's Mrs McG up again Jno sat with him whilst I went to ch. with Mrs McG., Miss Campbell & Miss Bell, Dr D. &c; heard Mr Rooker again returned Jno & I came to our room, after pleasant conversation at Mr McG's, I went to bed in the cold December 3rd Monday Tis 6 minutes past 12 The witching hour of night so I am laconic we got up in the cold stove not drawing yet Jno ate here, sans coffee, I breakfasted at Mr McGuffey's; From breakfast time till almost 12 was walking from place to place in search of Vol I Nuttall's ornithology; Dr Warder on whom I called greeted me kindly & cordially knew my parents called on them in Florence, knew me as a lttle fellow Mr Buchanan also knew & spoke of them, had Nuttall, but had lost his library key called on Mr Anthony, cor 6th & Western [Race], on Mr Jos. Clarke on [????] beyond the canal on Mr Carley on Butler St & here & there to all the Bookstores & Mechanic's library &c my heels are sore from it got the work at last tried to get some one to fix my stove but failed from lack of time I wish to get Lewis Rader to do it Mr Rooker & Dr Lewis dined at Mrs Page's today the former a talented, energetic & uncouth kind, of man,
12 the latter his adorer & shadow a candidate for orders I returned to my room, & a joy the wind has changed & the stove draws have written on the Index no letter for either of us today I must finish my letter to Mother tomorrow oh may I not hear from home, from her & all, at the same time; I must retire I am weary & sleepy Mr Page handed me $3.00 yesterday December 4th Tuesday Io triumphe hooray! We feel so nice this evening here's our stove in a new sitooation, the topographical re lations of things are altered, the calorificated air, laden with fuliginous exhalations, which has lately been emerging from the door of our cast iron "Lamb Egg", now ascends decently & soberly, the pipe, which goes straight thro' the top of our apartment Lewis Rader, the hybrid descendant of Ethiops tawny race who thus has bettered the state of our household comfort, has also stretched upon the floor, the carpet which once was honored by the same relation to Dr Drake's studio a great comfort Mr McGuffey's kindness in giving it is deeply felt I walked up (down) street with Jno after breakfast & engaged Rader to do this work studied till 11 Found a letter from Miss Mary at Mr McG's office, a sweet one is coming up in 2 weeks none from home; was homesick & bluish during lecture this morning Called on Mrs Bayless a few minutes, heard end of Dr D's lecture on acute gastritis; Dr B's [d?] on ligaments of carpus, hand & [pele?s] gave Betty, Miss Marys letter; recd one from her to Eddy to send by Mr Rooker in morning Have been writing an Index on letter to my dear Mother am very sleepy I will to bed 'tis 11 o'clock December 5th Wednesday Half past eleven time to be in bed have written on my usual task, the Index, written on a letter to Mother & begun one to Miss Mary, to go with one Betty is to write tonight John is sewing on a button on an old vest & I thinking about going to bed; Have been thinking today much about going to Columbus to live have been excited with thinking {??] I feel as if I ought to be there Father's health is bad, Mother [lab??]
13 much I could do much towards assisting them; they wish me there one of my highest duties is to cherish, aid & protect them in their declining years; John & I will practice medicine in partnership there, and I will come back in the Fall or ensuing Spring for Betty, we will all keep house together I cannot feel perfectly sat isfied with the prospect of being so far off from my parents, and progresseing so slowly as I shall a poor penniless M. D. The only disagreeable thing connected with this determination to go to Ga, is the announcing it to my guardian friend Dr Drake he will disapprove of my course in swinging out my shingle here, thus undetermined, but some disagreeable things must turn up now & then this will soon be over I and John have been talking it all over tonight I carried a letter for Miss Mary & one for Eddy Crawford from Betty, to Mr Rooker this morning, as he was departing on the [Tashean], but there a conclave of Rev. D D's Dr Brooke Dr Aydelotte, Mr R Mr Gallgher & Dr Lewis, (the shadow of Mr Rooker) carried my coat to Rader's wife to have it mended no letter from home today bot some crackers & a towel after tea & some lamp oil, & called in at Mr Goforth's awhile, quite a posse of daughters there Had a patient (No 2) since supper some one rapped, & in came a tailor who lives round the corner a dyspeptic told me many ailings I listened & examined him I told him to call tomorrow night December 6th Thursday 'Tis half past eleven again, & I quite dull & sleepy I wish I had The Index done I wd feel like "[????] cum disputate" dear me what ludicro comico farcico singing has just greeted our ears some groggy fellow went by, singing wiih impulsive energy & earnestness "I'm a beauty I'm a beauty I'm a beauty ee ee ee fare thee well" a drunken strike at "Isle of Beauty", I presume Betty & Sophy called at my office door this morn ing Soph going down to Louisville I was studying & thot a patient wanted me walked to Mrs Sloo's with them & saw Byrdie then to the boat where we waited an hour It did'nt get off till 12