Lebanon
     Sunday Eve     Aug 25 1861

        Dear friend Ed
		         Your welcome letter
was received and I will now try and
answer it.. I have written pretty much all
the news in Bill's letter but perhaps he will
not let you read it and so will have to write
the same thing over again.. I was glad to hear
that you had got well again and I hope that
you may not be sick again.. We are all
well and so is your folks I believe.. Diantha
was up to Mr [Burches?] to day and we had a good
time. we went over and [see?] Diantha Russell
her and Manny was there all alone Mrs
Russell & [Mr?] Russell had gone [illegible] to Mr [Hollock?]
             girls
and they ^ was keeping house while they was gone
Manny was writing a letter to you when we
went there, we did not stay only a little while
and then we went back to Mr Burches [Tom?]
and Albert are a good deal better to day but 

perhaps they will not be long so, but I hope
that they may get well for it seems lonesome
to have any of our friends sick and does not
seem right.. I let [illegible] read your letter so 
she read what you told me to tell her. She
says she thinks you might write to her first
, that you have written five or six letters to [Oc?]
		               any
and have not written her ^ .. I think if you
would see her now that you would write to her for
she has altered a good deal since she has been
sick as has also Albert He is looking for a letter 
from you, I do not know whether he has answered
your last letter or not but.. I guess he has or
he would not be looking for a letter.. I am
afraid that they will not be well enough
to go up to Dwights Friday night to the party
They are going to have a party for us all
down here there and I persume that we will
have a good time.. I wish you would be there
dont you.. I,ll bet you do now, We had
a first rate time here that night [illegible] says
that he had a grand time that night and
I thought he did. he appeared to enjoy himself

pretty well any way.. I heard some
one say that there was going to be a dance
[over?] to the Rapids in a few day.. It seems
that they are more for dancing than they
are for the war.. There has been two or three
Recruiting Officers there, but they could not
get any. there was no one that had courage
enough to enlist.. but I think that thay
would spend their time much more Profitable
in enlisting for the war than they will dan-
-cing. Jim Dickerman has enlisted and gone
to [illegible] in Ely's company ..They left St Johns
for Grand Rapids last Thursday Jim
left home without bidding any one good
bye.. but he thinks he will come home some
time in Sept. but the troops are all to leave
for Washington this week, and I am afraid
that he will not come home at all, [illegible]
was down in the woods when he went away &
your Mother went down after her yesterday
I wish that Jim could be along with you boys
but he cant and so whats the use of talking
I dont know as there is anything more to write

[Written upside down on top of Scan 4]

My pen is poor mi ink is [frail?]
mi love to you [etc etc etc?]

[End]

but I will have to write a little on this
side so as to write as much as you did
[Oc's?] school is out Wednesday and she says
she is going home as soon as her school is out
and she is not coming back untill next
summer, then perhaps you will come back too
so I guess this dispatch is later than [illegible]
she is well and appears to enjoy herself
well and so does Henry.  Give my love to
all the boys and I want you should send
me your miniature if you can  I think that
you look a great deal different from what you 
did when you went there, compared with your
other picture you [illegible] the difference I
am sorry that you have grown so for I hope that
the rest of the boys are not [altered?] so much
	I remain truly your friend
			           Mary