St Johns Clinton Co Mich. 65
		                April 24
        My Beloved Woodruff
			           I have taken
the pen to write afew lines to you.
your letter of the 11th or 13th came
to hand on the 22 and was joyfuly
received but tears came to my eyes
before I had read but afew lines Oh
                         not
my dear Son do ^ suppose for a mom
ent that we have forgotten you no
I cannot for get my dear good boys
I know you must feel very lonely
and to think that your best friends
are neglectful of you when you
are so far from home and among stra
ngers if I had had a pair of
wings and could have used them
I should have visited you before
sleeping Saturday night I have felt
like weeping when every time
that I have thought of you and
that is very often since I got
your last letter I seems strange 

[Written sideways on left side of Scan 1]

with much love from you loving and [anxious?] Mother
			                            N L Mattoon to G W Mattoon

[End]

of all the letters I have writen
that you should not have recei
ved any of them since the first
one that I wrote after you left
home I do hope that this may
reach you I wrote to George last
week I told him when he wrote
to you again to tell you that
we had writen to you but there
must be something wrong about
the mail those blankets you ware
so kind as send to us are safely 
arived and we thank you for
them I presume before this long
though you have heard of our 
great loss as a nation thare seems
to be a general time of mourning
by all but the copperheads there
are some about here that say open
ly that they are glad that Lincoln
is dead I feel such indignation
against them that I could see them
[lynched] every one of them I would like

[Written sideways on left side of Scan 2]

to write more but have not time to night if you get this and let me
      know it you [will receive?] a long one next time

[End]