Mrs. Bennetta Bagley
		& son William D. Bagley

	Lansing, Febry 6, 1862
	    and Feb 9, 1863.
	Dear Father
	We received your
	    letter last night
	    and I was very
	   much pleased to
have a letter myself from
you. I have got the wood half
		          no
split. There has been ^ wood
brought since you left home
I will try to get the wood
this week if I can. The wood
pile is of Split wood is
larger than when you went
away. I have got a nice
      to speak
peice ^ it is on the 522nd page
of by Byrons Poems:
"On the day of the destruction
of Jerusalem by Titus."

Febry 7 1862

I am now going to school down
stairs in Miss gibsons room
the same one where I used
to go. I have had to get me
a new arithmetic. It was
robinsons primary and
arithmetic. The price of it is
15 cents. They have been
reclassifying the scholars
and next term they will
change geographies and I
shall have to get a new one.
My [skate? slate?] is not fisced yet
and I have not got it from
Mr h Hairingtons.
		Your affectionate Son
		   William D Bagley

Febry 7th 1862
My dear Husband:
		    I am glad you wrote
what you did to Willie, it was just
what was needed to make him deter-
mined to write. I don't know whether
he will have time to fill his half the
sheet before mailing this tonight, but
I shall leave it for him.
I am alone with him now, Matilda
being at Mrs Carr's. When I was there
yesterday afternoon, Mrs Carr was trying
to do her own work & take care of her
baby, as her girl was sick and had
gone home for a week or two.
They had not been able to obtain a-
nother & I told them that if Matilda
was willing they might have her; if
they could get no other, just to fill
the vacancy. When I got home, however
	           &
I told M. of it ^ she could not wait,
but must put off, post haste, to secure
the place, although it was dark, and

she hadj ust told me that she was
"half dead." She went to a spelling school
4 or 5 miles from town the night before,
(Mr Harrington took Lydia & his wife to
see one of the farmer's relatives & took
along a lot of the young folks of the
neighborhood) & increased a bad cold
she had before. She seemed to enjoy
her sleighride very much however &
said they had a "high old time."
Mr Carr said he would pay her a
dollar a week, while she was there.
I have been trying the skunk cabbage
in wine lately & think I have de-
rived some benefit from it. tho'
I suppose I shall not be able to tell
exactly what effect it has on me till
I leave it off.
I heard this noon that Mr Brace
was dying - perhaps dead by that time
- Willie has just come in & informed
me that he is dead. He had inflammation
on the lungs & pleurisy - had been sick but
a few days.Matilda has not received her likeness
yet. Laxton has lately written her an excellent
letter, telling her how pleased he was
                               has
with the course she ^ taken in regard to
that affair. But I must close in haste.
		Ever Your's
			Bennetta