Lancaster, October the 1st, 1865.

 

            Dear friend!

 

            A few lines, at least, I must try to throw on the paper, in haste, (as, indeed, I have very few leisure hours left me for correspondence with either relation, or friends,) in reply to your kind letter, dated from the 12^th of June, '65. Among other things, in that letter, you wrote: "As Wm. Orlando intends writing to you soon, I will not write much this time". Now, since that date, nearly four months have elapsed,—and as yet, I have received no letter from him. This is the very reason I did not answer your letter sooner, and therefore, I hope, you will kindly excuse me. I waited from day to day, from week to week, and even from month to month, in expectation of receiving a letter from his hand—but all in vain. It was my intention to reply to both letters at once. Sorely disappointed in my hope and expectation, I thought that either his letter to me (if he wrote any) must have miscarried, or, still worse, that he, since his election and appointment as post-master, has become too proud to remember an old friend. But, perhaps, I may wrong him, without a just cause. I am inclined, rather to excuse and forgive him—for, since he has so many offices, and must attend to so great an amount of business,—"has to tend the Mail all week, and on Sunday, has to tend the Fe Male, too", it is no wonder at all, that he should have no time left to think of, much less to write to, the "Old Dutch" Fellow, or the "Old Everywhere and Nowhere". Ha! Ha!! Ha!!!

 

            A fortnight before (September the 17^th, the 14^th Sunday after Trinity), at three o'clock in the afternoon, we experienced a strange phenomenon here. It must have been a shock of / an earthquake. I was sitting at the time in a chair, which was rocked like a cradle. There was a strange, hollow noise or sound to be heard also. Another shock took place about eleven o'clock in the night. It was felt throughout the whole city and in several parts of the county. But strange to say, it seems to have been confined to the city and county of Lancaster, as nothing relative to it was to be seen in any of the newspapers, except those of Lancaster county. Strange, indeed!

 

            Instead of writing anything about politics, I herewith send you a copy of a speech of Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, our worthy representative in Congress, lately held in the court house of this place, which I had to translate into the German language, and the perusal of which, I trust, will be interesting to you. The translation of this speech was no child's play, I assure you. It required a great deal of attention, so much the more, as there were many nonsensical mistakes in the English printed copy, from which I had to translate, so that, I believe, it is easier to be understood in the German translation, than it is in the original English. As, however, I had no time to read the proof myself, except the latter part, many errors have crept into the print; nevertheless, they are, for the most part, only typographical errors, which I have marked in your copy, as you will see.

 

            But I must haste to conclude. Please, dear Sir, to present our best respects to all the members of your family. I remain, very respectfully,

                                                                                                Your old friend,

                                                                                                            Charles Kretschmar.

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