St Johns   May 12th 1865

     Dear Brother   W
	I have again taken my
[crossed out] [up] pen for the purpose of answering
you kind and welcome letter which
I received Some time ago   it found
me well and I hope this will find
you the Same well I am at home
[illegible]    Mother got three letters
from you and one from George yesterday
and Ma is agoing to answer [crossed out] [ing] them
to day I hope you will both come
home before long but I am afraid
we make to much [illegible] on
it    Mary and Ann Hammond
were here a week ago to day and
made avisit and I went home
with them and Staid all night
and the next forenoon it rained
but it Stoped in the afternoon
and Charlie got up the team [illegible]
[take?] us to town I found our folks

there or rather they found
us there and I came home
with them     Minerva went to
her place yesterday and it is
very lonesome here to day but you
and George think I had not ought
to be lonely So I shall not that
is if I can help it     we heard
last Sunday that John Brown was
dead but it has been contradicted since
but he is a prisoner   I have not heard
from Sarah in some time but I am
going to write to her this afternoon
and if she does not answer it I will
[send?] her up to the post office and write
her another I think that they are mean
any way. for they are So ill feeling
they cannot write to common folks
but may be the time will come
when other folks [illegible] some
body as well as them and then 
well I wont say what but they will
find out there is some body in the

      world besides them now I expect
if you were where you could you
would scold me for that (well I wish
you were where you could). Pa and
Ma both sit reading and the boys are
out of doors some where I dont know
where and the wind is blowing like
a young Hurrycane (a very young one
howeer) and it seems lonely enough
     well Ma has Stope reading and
    I guess I will Stop playing the folks
around here are all doing well especially
Mr Watson Rolfe and Ladie who still
keep up their quareling the talk
is now that he is going to give her five
hundred dollars to give him a bill
but I hope she will [illegible] him till
he has not a cent left I just as live
she would torment his life out of him
[illegible] dont you think I am ugly well
I know I be but I cant help it Ma is
going to write So I will stop for
this time write very soon I am as ever

[Written sideways on right side of Scan 3]

your loving and affectionate though rather [illegible] Sister Mary

[End]