Marine Hospital New Orleans La Dec 4^th/63

 

                        Dear Wife

                                    I will commence another letter to you to day but perhaps it will be three or four days before I finish it as it is to late for to morrows mail and it will be a week before an other goes North but I sent you a good long one by this mail also some two or three papers and a letter to Lilly so you will get something when the mail gets there I also sent Reynolds a letter with a ring in it and a paper or two so you see that I do not forget my friends at home but try when I am able to do my share of writing I sent Eliza a letter by the same mail. I try to spend when I am able pretty much all of my leisure time in writing to some one and I make it my business always to think of you first and if if I have not already a letter ready for the mail for you the first one that I write to is you

 

                        To day I recd three letters from you and one from Mr Reynolds he sent me a good one only it was short yours was all directed wrong you do not want to put on them the C^o and Regiment but simply Marine Hospital New Orleans in care of the Doctor as I wrote before. I was very glad to get them I can tell you for it had been some time since I had got one from you and although they brought me news of the sickness of the children yet I was glad to get them for by them I could hear from home. It grieved me to hear that the children were sick and that I could not be there to assist you in the care of them and to help you with your other work so that you need not work so hard and make yourself sick to. I want you to tell father when he is there that you want him to saw your wood for you he may as well do it as not as long as he is well and able for you have enough to do without sawing wood as long as he can do it for you just as well as not he probably does no other work or has none to do and a little work will not hurt him much you must be pretty well worn out by this time sitting up night & day 

 

Sunday Dec 6^th                       I have written one page and then quit but am a going to try and finish it now so that it will go in the mail to morrow as there is a vessel sails in the morning for the North

 

I had intend to go to church to day here in the city but last night the Steward came in and said the I must prepare the Ward for Inspection this morning so when morning came I put things in order and now at 2 oclock am a waiting for the Inspectors with out any prospect of their coming to day. So no Inspection and no church well so it is

 

            You said it rained all day when you was writing the first letter it has not rained any here to speak of in four or five weeks and it is not very cold the coldest weather that we have had here yet the thermometer was only down to 30 at 7 oclock in the morning and that only one morning while I presume that in Arcadia it has been down to zero we are having very nice weather here now the roses are in full bloom yet and there is some other flowers yet in bloom it does not look here like winter

 

            You wanted to know what kind of a bargain I made with Brenk about shingleing the house Well all the bargain there was made he was to shingle up the gutter of the wing and upright part so that it would not leak as for shingleing the whole wing there was nothing said about that and I did not get shingles enough to shingle it but he was to fix that spot leaked good and tight but I did not pay him for shingling the whole wing

 

            In regard to the question you asked me if I had found out who wrote that letter to the doctor about me yes I found out who wrote it I was satisfied at the time but could not prove it but in a couple of days there was a man came to me and told me all about it for he saw the letter when it was written When the doctor found out who wrote it he gave him a good talking and told him that the best thing that he could do was to just mind his own business and obey orders or it would be worse for him but / in a few days he got up another fuss and the doctor sent him away he said before he went away that he would like to get a chance he would cut my throat for me but it did not scare me a bit he was an Indianna man or the pretension of a man there was no man about him

 

            The Rural and Newark paper that you sent me I got them yesterday also a New York paper with Mr Heaths name on but it looked like your writing on the wrapper

 

            I am glad that Wes Drake got home all safe and also that he enjoys home if he did play off here in order to get his discharge from the army but if I do not come home until I play sick in order to get away I shall stay my time out for I have had sickness enough without making my self sick when I am not I have had as much again sickness since I have been here as Wes had and as for his side being paralyzed I guess that will be all right before he has been home long if he sets up for a doctor perhaps you can employ him cheap as he is a new beginner and will want calls at first in order to get started in the new business. The watch that he brought home for me is not worth much I let a man take it to clean it here and he broke two cogs out of the main wheel and I could not get him to fix it nor pay for it I calculate to give it to Frank when I come home

 

            You speak of Lillys being wors and such a ratling of her lungs I will send you a receipt for to fix her some medicine if she needs it or if any of you have a cold it will help you Mix together all of the medicine that I have written down on this piece of paper and shape them up and give to the children a half of a tea spoon full morning noon and night and for yourself take a tea spoon full three times a day you can get them at The Hortons if you go after them take the paper with you so that he will make no mistake / you need not be afraid of the medicine for it will not hurt any one more than to make them a little sick at their stomach if you should take more than I said but what I said is about the amount for a dose

 

            Tell Mr Reynolds that I think just as much of him as though he had not told you what to write and if I did not I should be a heathen after he has done so much for any body as he has for you I will write to him this week and answer his letter although I sent him one last week                       

 

My health is improving slowly I was talking with the doctor a few days since and he said that I should not probably leave here this winter at least to go to the Regiment

 

            I went and got my things last week and brought them here and when I opened my box I found that about all of them things that I was agoing to send you had been stolen out of the box two shirts one pair drawers two sheets one pillow case one towel and those gloves that I brought from home with me and a number of other things they left me nearly destitute so I cannot send them

 

            But I must stop for it is time that this was in the mail I will write again soon tell Lilly that I thank her for the stamp she sent me

 

            Write often to me as I directed with out the company and regiment on the envelope

 

Yours as Ever             L. V. Tucker

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