Phil^a July 20^th

[note in another hand]

 

From Susan

about EAW—after his wound healed and S.T.W. had moved into new house

 

My dear Mother

                                    I sent you off a few days since a hurried letter telling you of Edwards progress in answer to your own letter begging for intelligence of him I hope you have received it and I felt very sorry indeed so long a time had elapsed since my the first intelligence concerning him had been given to you and yet every possible moment seemed to have been occupied over & over again. The weather had been much of the time excessively warm 90º & more every day once 96º & during that time Emma was in the country with the Bradfords I was too much rejoiced to have her there out of the close heat during one morning & kept her in ignorance of our plans until we were all settled in the new home had she been at home I should have made her write to you. I could not ask Ellen for she was devoted to Edward & wrote for him day & night in that hot close room without a murmur he having no use whatever of his right / hand indeed he was not allowed to move it she has been as lovely as she could be seemed only too glad to be near & minister to his wishes she often fell asleep over the writing & two days was obliged to keep her bed with diarrhea brought on by the heat they are now out of town spending two days at Old Oaks with the Bradfords before he leaves for home he will stop a short time in Providence to see you all & Ellen will go forward with the baggage and go on with preparations at home his promotion as Major arrived last Wednesday and it has made a change in his arrangements of course and it came just in the right time for he had received news the day before of the deaths of more of his men some he had valued very much and it depressed him dreadfully I felt afraid it might throw him back but Heaven seemed to send him this promotion as a balance to his trouble & it has made him quite cheerful again we all went out to the Bradfords to take tea last evening and by invitation left Edward & Ellen there Sam has gone to Atlantic City for a few days he has been quite sick for him this last week and the trip / will benefit him. Emma is away again with her friend Maria Fisher at their beautiful country place Alvathorpe Em says it is like an old English castle with towers & turrets that is as she imagines one to be from reading descriptions of them her personal knowledge of castles being limited she has visited there two or three times before this it is their summer residence. George has gone out this evening to see our old kind friend Mr Packard & you will be sorry to hear we have lost our kind good Mrs Packard she died a few days since and the remains were taken to her native place Springfield in two days after her son Frederic died he has been an invalid for some time but no doubt his mothers death hastened his own. it will be a very severe trial to Mr Packard and I am almost afraid he will sink under it being he has looked wretchedly for a long time he once said he felt afraid to think what he should be if his wife should be taken away from him poor man the shock has come to him & Heaven give him strength to bear it. she died of lingering consumption & has been delicate for many years. 

 

Lizzie Spooner writes me that young Samuel Guild is at the last stage of consumption & from what she said he is probably now dead. The Spooners are at Plymouth & Lizzie wrote me they should drive over soon & see Laura I have been writing to Laura today about Edward and I received a nice letter from Walter he was to write to you by the same mail or I would enclose his letter he is very well & writes cheerfully has had a visit from some old friends John Nichols of Kingston & Fred J. Williams of Brookline it cheered him very much he had a touch of jaundice but was well when he wrote. Give my kindest love to father and tell him I am glad to have the privilege of returning his son Edward to him healed of his wound it was a dreadful looking hand when he arrived & his own face you would not have recognized in the street I am sure so haggard & so sunburnt Now good night and with kindest love to sister Mary & her children to Minnie Edward & yourself believe me with kind love to Mary Ann

                                                                                   

Yr loving daughter

Susan.

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