Phil^a June 2^d

 

My dear Mother          I have just written to Edward to Ellen & to Mrs Howe answering her very kind letter of invitation to visit her this summer early she wished me to make it that I might enjoy the freshness of her garden & of Brookline beauty but altho she has urged me very much & said she should ask no one else until I had arranged my visit I was forced to write her a refusal decidedly For our plans & measures have changed considerably since my last letter to you & this must account to you for not having had a letter from me in the interim first of all we sold the home over our own heads George being asked what he would take for it named a price he thought would be too high for the gentlemans purse & covering the price he originally paid for the house & the repairs & alterations since to his great surprise he was taken up almost immediately after which we were obliged to look about us for a house at once as possession here was to / be given on the first of July after finding a house the weather came on so very warm our winter carpets were intolerable absolutely sickening and Hamilton Wild was staying with us too I took advantage of a short excursion into the country he made to put straw mats down in every place we had them for and were comfortable for a month to come for our heat has really commenced & I have rejoiced every day over my change. our movements now are all tending to the new house plaisterers are at work and paint & new paper is to go on and the furnaces & range looked to & arrangements for the carpenter to attend to all [?] & render us the most occupied house here at present & our weather is truly at times such as to make one wish to remain quite still instead of moving about selecting papers paint &c &c then too we find there is no small amount to be done here getting affairs in train to move. I have received your letter dear mother & find by it that father is now in Providence I am / sorry it is a matter of health with him but I am sure rest & entire freedom from care is what he requires & Brookline now is no place for him I wrote to Ellen asking tidings of Edward & your letter followed my request so soon it seemed almost an answer from Providence we had not heard a word from him for so long that I felt I could wait no longer and we have a Brookline man sick here in the hospital M^c Causland is his name a brother of Brackett the livery stable keepers wife and he is wounded in the arm a bad fracture I have been to see him several times at his ward my friend Mrs Gillespie (Lizzie Duane) is visiting at the principal hospital here & when her day comes we Lillie Bache & I go to assist her in getting up wine whey possets &c &c At the "Luxury Room" we take things ourselves I heard of M^c Causland in this way & he told me he was close by Edward at Williamsburgh battle & a hard fought battle it was too & E. had examined his wound & said his arm would not have to come off & sent him to be cared for / We are glad to be able to minister to a Brookline man among so many strangers he is side by side with a rebel from North Carolina a young fellow wounded in the same battle shot through the right lung they are good friends & M^cCausland shares the bananas & oranges & jelly we take with him it appears he is only waiting to be well enough to take the oath of allegiance on our side. Since commencing this dear Mother the interruptions have been innumerable and I have written it by persistence however I shall be able to report progress of Edward J.C. who appeared quite suddenly upon us Tuesday afternoon he was passing through for Richmond & has promised us a longer visit on his way back he said he should write home that night reporting progress that and I intended finishing this that night but was entirely unable & having dinner company of four yesterday & tea I have not been able to close this until now early this morning I shall write again soon it was wise in father to defer coming here now on account of the heat as Edward said for it would debilitate him shockingly the autumn is far pleasanter E looked very well & seemed in excellent spirits I now with best love to Mary & all believe me Yr own Susan

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