Northumberland         Oct 26 1863

 

Dear Frank

            It is indeed with sincere pleasure I now take up my pen to write my sunday letter and reply to your last welcome missive welcome indeed and joyfull to with heartfelt grattitude Dear Frank I make this first attempt to express the deep joy I have felt since receiving your last Dear Frank the one thing so much desired by me has at last been accomplished That is your conversion and since I have wherewith to be joyfull I have onely one word of counsel to add that is be faithfull for unto those who are faithfull through life he has said I will give a crown in death Dear Frank how much I would love to meet you this holy sabbath evening and hear the same sweet/story from your lipp lips you told me on paper last week I do indeed wish you could join us at home and go to class and prayers with me some times our class proves a happy meeting for I have seen and felt more of the true force of the spirital spirit there than at any of the other meetings the leader of our class is a devout one a christian indeed and truth and one who is not afraid to stand up for jesus and to declare himself on the lords side church prosperity seems to be in a decline the bible class has been broken up the converts prayer meeting and other li little and pleasant assemblages at the church we have a very good pastor a very [?] man in discourse. Frank I guess I will have to lay my pen aside for this evening as I made a late begining and Mother wishes me to retire with her she does not like to go alone so for tonight Dear Frank I will bid you adieu and Gods blessings accompn be with you/

 

dear Frank this beautifull su teusday morning I take up my pen to finish I will finish in a very few lines for we are so very buisy now we have Boarders and are buisy doing house w and we have just finished biling Apple butter We had quite a contract and I am very glad it is done we boiled 10 Gallons for the Harrisburg Autumn so now Frank I have to told you what your were at before and what we have to do yet so I must beg you to excuse me for the present and will endeaver to make up the length of my letter in the future or I will send you a part of a one wich I comenced before but culd not get time to finish

 

                                                                                                            prayer of Agnes

                                                                        God Bless and protect you is the 

 

Write soon and come home soon as possible be on the loock out for a pair of woolen stockens I may send them this week or perhaps next To Yours very affectionally Agnes/

 

Continued

Dear Frank finding space short on the other sheet I concluded to as I had a little more leisure time to write than I thought I would and as it seems to have been so long since I you heard from me and hopeing this may reach you I will not hasten it to a close

 

One of our company soldiers who reenlisted came home and spent his money to no good purpose went back and was there about 2 weeks and a few days when he fell sick and died and leaves a family of four children and wife in great poverty There is a great many persons dying cheifly Middle aged weomm Ladies Mother was saying this morning it seems as though the weoman were dieing of at home about as fast as/as men were killed in the army and so it seems F Frank I had forgoten to tell you what a pleasant visit I had last week I croosed montur ridge on saturday after noon and staid with my friend Elen Boyce untill sunday evening when I came home there I found my cousin Arther grey waiting to see me on Monday morning early I started with him to danville to danville to visit our relatives there he was not aquainted with any of them so he wanted me to go with him and introduce him we had a gay time When you come home dear Frank I want you to go with me to pay dear Ellen an other visit I promiced her another visit in the fall but I did not mention who I wanted to bring along Ellen said come and bring your beau so you know I have the privlege of bringing who ever I please and I of course it is natural I should chose you first and I promice you a pleasant time O Frank they are such good hearted Old Fashioned inocent people you could not help likeing them. but I find time and space alike getting shorter and I guess I might as well wind up my nonsence for I sur supose if this is as fortinate as the rest some one else will have the privlege of reading this instead of the one it is entended for if you get this please leave me know in the next one you write No more from your devoted and loveing A F V

 

                                                                                    Northumberland

Dear Frank

            With the truest of pleasure I seat my self pen in hand to scribble a few more lines to you in awnswer to your last kind and most wellcome letter I am glad and happy to hear of your being so well and that you were having such a good rest I hope at times may continue so awhile longer it is allways with a sence of releif that I hear of a calm in the movements of the army it is allways with a feeling of dread I hear of orders for marching when think of how many privations the soldiers have to endure and how much fatigue and suffering is experienced by them it is dreadfull but quite enough of this and as I have not much time wherein to write and not much space to write on At present our family I am happy to say are still in the enjoyment of the very best of health and thankfull for so great a bl blessing/

Frank I supose you will be quite str surprised on receiveing two letters at one time from me and more so if you get hold read the other one first I will explain my self yesterday I went to mail a letter for you wich the post master toock on him self to say was ve over weight and wich story I did not choose to believe so I polittely asked him to hand the letter back for if I had to pay a sixpence for a letter I would have the worth of it I went and wheighed the letter at another place and found he had told me a falsehood Frank I am not mercenary or possessive but will not allow any one at all to impose on me if it is in small matters I try to deal honestly with every one and I want to be dealt honestly by do you blame me for my it Mother said I ought not pay any attention to a matter so tr trivial as that it would make me loock small harted and miserly I said before I would [?] not be tempered if it was in small/matters There is no news of any importance with wich I can make an letter interesting so I will tell you how spend some of my time in the day time hard at work and in the evening if it be pleasant I go up street with the girls and spend an hour or so or more frequently I sit under the door and indulge in moonlight reveries or pleasant thoughts wich are society of their selves and in wich one absent Friend of mine is often associated have an idea who it is I oft times wonder if his thoughts wander as far in search of his friend as mine do in of him last evening I spent with Kate M and Sally Wench I had a very pleasant evening of it and for them it seemed to be more agreeable yet for two certain young gentlemen who seem to enjoy their society very much were there also Mr Jordan Durst is paying attentions to Kate and it seemes so funny to me as he is a mere boy and about or almost two years younger than Kate/

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