[crossed out] [September] 31 1863 
  October 
Dear Brother 
I will now endeavor to 
write you a few lines  
after So long I recieved 
your letter a week a go and 
I took a pain in my left 
eye that Same night 
and it Swelled up so 
by the next morning 
that I could not open 
it at all and in about 
three days it broke in 
the corner of my eye 
and it dont pain So bad 
but it is very Sore yet 
this is the first thing 
that I have tried to do 
Since and it is a poor do 
at that for I have to guess 
I had such a time last 
winter with my eyes I 
thought that I would 
get them cured up this 
Sumer but I failed in 
the [opperation?] I paid 20 
dollars to an eye doctor 
to cure them but it was 
no cure I got a letter 
from Will the day before 
I got yours he was at 
Chatanooga he was not in 
the fight there he got 
there after the battle 
was over you spoke about 
my not writing to your 
wife I had intended to 
write to her once a year 
ago but there was always 
Some thing in the way 
one thing is that my eyes 
 
    is Sore more or less 
all the time and writing 
is one of the worst things 
that I can do and I am a 
poor writer and a Slow 
one too but I intend to 
write one Some times or send 
it without writing one  
thats So well [illegible] my  
eyes is giving out and I 
must come to a close 
for I want to write to 
Will in a day or So any 
how I dont know anything 
new or interesting to write 
the connection is all with 
exception of Some of John  
Masons folks I heard some  
of them was Sick but  
I dont know which of them  
it was  
it commenced raining 
yesterday morning and 
it rained all day and  
was raining when I went 
to bed and this morning 
there was a good Slaying  
Snow it is now eleven 
oclock and the Snow has 
not melted any yet 
there was one Snow about 
a week a go about as deep 
as this one that is about 
two inches I forget whether 
I told you about the frost we 
had in August or not there 
was a frost on the night 
of the 22 of August that just 
swept every thing clean 
no more at present but rem 
ain yours as ever Elisabeth 
Ditto to Thomas J Davis