Metadata
Title
Frances M. A. Hale to [David E. Hale?]
Date
January 23, [?]
Medium
Manuscripts
Language
eng
Type
text
Collection
Sarah Josepha Hale Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia
Identifier
46-M-184
Rights
http://www.philaathenaeum.org/rights.html
Text
Many thanks, my dear brother, for your welcome letter,
and your kind gift, and may many bright and peaceful
New-Years dawn upon you - We had just received a letter, and a
similar present from Horatio, who is full of a project of building
a commodious mansion, some dozen days after leaving college-
I intend to contribute a shilling towards this object and I
would advise you to do the same.
I hardly know what you mean by a topographical corps,
although I have looked for the long word in my
dictionary - How do you like the prospect of war?
It will be quite an advantage for those hot headed Southerners
to have some fighting, in which they can spend their
superabundant fierceness, and let us, sedate Northerners
alone -
You do not seem to know that I am at present, not a
scholar, but a teacher in the Troy Female Seminary,
paying up, as fast as possible, the debt which I contracted
while a scholar - I am quite happy and the future is bright
before me - Sister is a scholar, and will be so, for some
time, I suppose -
I hope you will come home in August -
I shall go home during the vacation, and you might
come directly here and go on with us to Boston -
And then for the first time in many many years, our
whole family will be reunited, and then will come the
time, when we shall need Horatio's castle to contain us
all - By the by, you will be of age in February, and take
your station in the world as a man - I congratulate
you upon it. I shall expect a letter from you on the day
you are twenty-one, informing me, what side you have
taken in the political discussions, [etc.] - and I will answer
it on the twentieth of March, on which day I shall have
arrived at the wise age of seventeen - How quickly the
years pass away! -
The snow is nearly three feet deep, and the air is thick
with the flakes - Much as we have been wishing for
snow, we have already exclaimed "enough", and are wondering
when the end will come - We have had several
sleigh rides, this winter, a pleasure which I suppose
you do not enjoy - Pray, do not send another letter as short
as your last - You promised in one of your letters, to relate
to me your hairbreadth escapes, love-affairs [etc.] and
you have not fulfilled your promise -
My roommate or chum desires to be remembered, and wishes
for further acquaintance - So good bye
Yours affectionately
Frances M.A. Hale
My dear brother,
Two or three of the young ladies have [been]
in my rooms talking about the examination and my ideas,
[and?] so confused with thinking about it that I can think of nothing
else, it is now within three weeks of it and the young ladies talk
of nothing else -
At Christmas we had a week's vacation which was very
pleasantly spent as we had during it a quilting and concert and
a little ball at which five gentlemen were allowed to be
present and to talk and dance with the young ladies quite a
wonderful occurrence I can assure you; since then we have had
one sleigh-ride which was very pleasant though rather cold and now
we must settle down and never look [up?] from our books excepting
on Sundays.
I am very much obliged to you for the present you sent
to us, I think that I shall need it soon to furnish the house
which Horatio is going to build. Has he informed you of his wise
plan of building a house large enough to hold us all a few
weeks after he has graduated? When and how he is going to
build it I suppose he has not thought of yet these
minor considerations -
Your sister
Josepha
and your kind gift, and may many bright and peaceful
New-Years dawn upon you - We had just received a letter, and a
similar present from Horatio, who is full of a project of building
a commodious mansion, some dozen days after leaving college-
I intend to contribute a shilling towards this object and I
would advise you to do the same.
I hardly know what you mean by a topographical corps,
although I have looked for the long word in my
dictionary - How do you like the prospect of war?
It will be quite an advantage for those hot headed Southerners
to have some fighting, in which they can spend their
superabundant fierceness, and let us, sedate Northerners
alone -
You do not seem to know that I am at present, not a
scholar, but a teacher in the Troy Female Seminary,
paying up, as fast as possible, the debt which I contracted
while a scholar - I am quite happy and the future is bright
before me - Sister is a scholar, and will be so, for some
time, I suppose -
I hope you will come home in August -
I shall go home during the vacation, and you might
come directly here and go on with us to Boston -
And then for the first time in many many years, our
whole family will be reunited, and then will come the
time, when we shall need Horatio's castle to contain us
all - By the by, you will be of age in February, and take
your station in the world as a man - I congratulate
you upon it. I shall expect a letter from you on the day
you are twenty-one, informing me, what side you have
taken in the political discussions, [etc.] - and I will answer
it on the twentieth of March, on which day I shall have
arrived at the wise age of seventeen - How quickly the
years pass away! -
The snow is nearly three feet deep, and the air is thick
with the flakes - Much as we have been wishing for
snow, we have already exclaimed "enough", and are wondering
when the end will come - We have had several
sleigh rides, this winter, a pleasure which I suppose
you do not enjoy - Pray, do not send another letter as short
as your last - You promised in one of your letters, to relate
to me your hairbreadth escapes, love-affairs [etc.] and
you have not fulfilled your promise -
My roommate or chum desires to be remembered, and wishes
for further acquaintance - So good bye
Yours affectionately
Frances M.A. Hale
My dear brother,
Two or three of the young ladies have [been]
in my rooms talking about the examination and my ideas,
[and?] so confused with thinking about it that I can think of nothing
else, it is now within three weeks of it and the young ladies talk
of nothing else -
At Christmas we had a week's vacation which was very
pleasantly spent as we had during it a quilting and concert and
a little ball at which five gentlemen were allowed to be
present and to talk and dance with the young ladies quite a
wonderful occurrence I can assure you; since then we have had
one sleigh-ride which was very pleasant though rather cold and now
we must settle down and never look [up?] from our books excepting
on Sundays.
I am very much obliged to you for the present you sent
to us, I think that I shall need it soon to furnish the house
which Horatio is going to build. Has he informed you of his wise
plan of building a house large enough to hold us all a few
weeks after he has graduated? When and how he is going to
build it I suppose he has not thought of yet these
minor considerations -
Your sister
Josepha