[Letterhead: Post Quartermaster’s Office,

                                                                                                Nashville, Tenn.,]

                                                                                                            January 26^th    [186] 4

 

My dear brother,

                                    To Mr Peeble’s calling on me and delivering your letter of Novr 24^th (!), you can credit the speedy reply to your cheerful & very satisfactory letter of 20^th inst., which with mother’s letter reached me yesterday.—The tone of your letter is the best I have had since I left home & I am very grateful to God for the happy circumstances causing it.—Business good,—health ditto,—wife well excepting, tooth ache,—and an easy time generally.—I know, you are not a whit happier to see my babies, than they are to see you. Sarah kept complaining, that you did not write to her,—your visit has explained everything O.K., I have no doubt.—Don’t know about consenting to let them pay you a visit for a few weeks;—my objection is, to taking Sis from her studies, which she has but just resumed. I am anxious to have her apply herself with some earnestness to them & a break of any length of time, will put her back too much again.—Vacation time however will be the proper time for visiting.—

 

I am thankful to Brazee for his compliment,/it keeps me back and short of funds.—To push, pull & shove others out of the way,—to make money honest—if you can, but make it,—is the motto of every body, and who cares, so long as they are not found out in their rascalaties?—I am often tempted to step out of the path of honesty & do like others,—but have thus far kept my integrity. I dare not say, that I shall always do it;—

Government is doing me, in common with others in my position, great injustice & I do not feel, that I am obliged to let my family get in a position to want, because of it.—Oh, I am so sick of the injustice I am forced to undergo & see others fare like it!—As to my worth & integrity being appreciated to benefit me, is an illusion, that does not even haunt me any more much less, cause me to hope for anything better, than I have got.—“By order of Maj. Gl. U.S. Grant”, I am detailed to the Q. M. Dept. & for duty at Capt. Isom’s;—how are you, Col. Wiles?—I beat him handsomely on that, sure enough.—

 

Mother’s letter to me, is as usual,—you know, what that means. I am unusually well pleased with her accustomed love epistles.—

 

The weather here is perfectly delightful,—pleasant as in the month of May.—I think, I can pretty/well understand, why “the brothers” dont agree as well as usual.—Lewis got tired of his “benevolent” freak of sharing with Uncle W^m the profits of the business, as he is not able to work much & “is more in the way as than anything else”—it dont pay, you know”.

 

Augustus keeps himself there by mere force, I know, judging from the past, they dont agree, whatever may appear on the surface;—but it is none of my business & furthermore, I don’t care a straw about it.—You have partly answered the question put in my last to you, regarding the enquiry made by “friends”, concerning me.—Return my sincere thanks to Jonathan Weldon, Esqr. for his enquiry and—damn the umbrella business! If you dont cease of mentioning that (to him) “refreshing” incident—I’ll do something desperate to you to pay it off,—see, if I dont.—

 

Much love to Lona;—I trust the tooth ache has stopped & she is enjoying health now.—

 

Ever Your affectionate brother

                                                Edward.

 

Send me a 1/4’s worth of good Cigars,—they sell here four “apologies” of the weed here for that, that you would be ashamed to offer to your customers at any price.—

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