Rio Janeiro.                           

Brazil, S.A.                

October 27.86.

U.S.S. Juniata.

 

Dear Alice,

                        Your last letter I received, glad to hear from you, but sorry to have you under the weather. You speak of your parties & invitations but nothing of your French or music. About San Francisco just as we were leaving she Mrs B— & the wife of our Navigator came to me & asked me what I thought of the ship going to S.F. Didn't I want to go there & have her bring you out to meet me there. I said, of course, we would be there probably 20 months from then or sooner perhaps. She said—all right, she would look out for you. About coming out there, I never fancied the place myself, the fare is 30 to 40 dollars more than the fare to Europe, and / much more expensive when out there than the latter place. I certainly would prefer a trip to England than S.F. As I want to go over there when I get out of the Juniata I can't afford both. If we should get to S.F. for refitting & then go on through China and so on as first proposed it might be more satisfactory or suit you better to see San Francisco if everything seems all right than wait & take your chances of seeing Europe. I shall run over & see the folks, when clear of the J—, the time I go & time I can spend over there will have to depend on circumstances. This is as much as I can speak of now. I don't know how it may be with Mrs B— / a year from now. He may be away from the ship or he may not wear well, I am not so favorably impressed with them as I was. More anon.

 

Am glad you & Maude had a good time together. Herbert & Lawrence, Usher & Baker all wished to be remembered to you & Maude. We got in here all hungry and tired, all are enjoying sightseeing, and plenty of fresh grub, tropical fruits are plentiful just now. And markets cheap, but the officers spent so much money in New York that we have not fared very well. Sorry to hear Al. Sawyer is not so well.

 

Lawrence, D^r & self are going ashore to look at the diamonds in the stores tomorrow if weather is not too bad. One store there is filled with diamonds, another with other kinds of precious stones. / Lawrence thinks he can get a bargain in diamonds so we go with him for fun & to look on. It is a delightful place when the weather is good, not sickly. In Nov or December their summer weather sets in & by Jany or Feby the place is sickly so everybody who can goes to the mountains, ten miles back. My Junior Asst, and young D^r (Moritz and Ogden) are just busy in the steerage, a free fight, Herbert & all the cadets have rushed on deck by my door in their hurry & got on deck, leaving the steerage clear for the two, as if any thing happens all those who see it would be called on in case of a Court Martial. Moritz has knocked the D^r down & pounded him so well that all is quiet again.

 

We go next Monday 2^nd November to Monte Video reach there about 10^th December. I hope you will keep well. Suppose you are enjoying cool weather now, we will have a long summer if not  a very warm one, as the further we go south the cooler it gets. We will find our Cape de Verde mail there I hope (at M—V—) You have not said anything of Bob Woodbridge affair, or if anything else happened, or how it ended. I suppose it was all explained in the stray letters.

 

Lawrence is doing better than he was, Moritz also, Herbert is a first rate fellow, I am happy to say they dont any of them get drunk, &c, so I can put up with other matters if they only keep sober & not carry on as some of the line officers do.

 

You & Frank help George / in his sums whenever he seems to be stuck.

 

            Keep up your acquaintance with Corey, he seems to be a sensible sort of a fellow, as also that young man who lives near by the D^r opposite the Baptist Church, Allston, and Walker may not be such a bad fellow after all. What do you hear from Fanny Wilde, anything since the Woodbridge affair?

 

            I am reading Scott's novels over again when at sea. Moritz has them all. Then we have quite a library on board, at least the Capt has in his cabin, belonging to the ship. Have you ever fainted away since on the launch East river?

 

            Remember me to all whom I know, & who may enquire after me. A Merry Xmas & a Happy New Year when it comes.

 

Much love from Papa!

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