Edwards Ferry Oct 20 62
Dear sister, Yours of the 13th came to
hand last nigh t it seems that your leter
informing me of the death of Mr North wich
I have not received there is more risk
in sinding leters to me than there
is in mine to you as we may be
on the march an through the hury
they may get lost I received a line
from Mazzana the day that Hatie
was buried and also a transcript
with the verses to your Soldier Brother
I was shown them 4 weeks before by
a friend I wrote to you about them
but do not know wether you got
the leter or not I do not like to
loose any of your leters as they are
refreshing to one that is in my present
position so write often you speak of
rent I do not ask rent nor never
expected to there is a spoon holder
that I bought at action you can
have it if it will leave another one
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You write as though people must
be born on the dark of the moon
to enlist Now I do not wish to
be egotistical but must write a few
words conserning the reason why I enlisted
when I was a small boy my ears was
always open to listen to the tales
of ou about our four fathers that
faught for the independence of our country.
and I always had the greatest admyration
for them for they faught for liberty
the sweetest thing in creation I was led
to beleave that this was the freeist
and best Goverment on the face of
the earth a country where the people
of all nations took refuge from wrong
and gave to all men eaqual rigts and
privilages, such a Country I could not
help to love as it had always protect
me and I lived in fear of no one nor
envied none and when I saw ambitiois
tirants atemting to destroy the goverment
that those Heroes had formed for
my protection I see no other way
to who my respect and gratude
to my benifactors
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than to put forth what little strength
I had in defending what they had
so Nobly reared, and if I had not
done so I should not ben worthy of
enjoying the blesing they had confered
on me but had aught to be
redused to to the servitude that
the Aristocratic leader of the south
would wish to reduse all them that
live by the swet of their Brows
I was sory to hear the death of
Mr North for I rather liked him Lois found
a faithfull and kind husband where she
could engoy herself much beter than any
other place, for he[r] I have simpathy and
hope she will become reconsiled to
her loss but am afraid she will
never conqure her prid and therfor
she will always have trouble
I had a dream last night it is folish
for a man to tell a dream but to
you I will tell this, As I lay in
our little shelter about three feet high
and five feet wide be seven long
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musing over the past for I had just
read your leter I fell asleep I was
caryed in fansy back to black brook
and in my dream I thaught I was up
in the chamber of our house and as
I pased by the door of my room
it was ocupied by Lois and was fited
up to suit her tast no expenses had
ben spared the carpet was of figured velvet
of the most richest coulours and of the
they harmonised perfectly the sophy
and the chairs wher of rose wood and
richly carved and cusioned with down
evrything was in comparisin and
aranged as none but her could
arange them and I saw evrything vivid
and took particular notice of it all
and say that I never saw in all
my travels s[o] tastily furnished room
in my life She lay reclined
upon a lounge playing with a child wich
I supposed her to be the mother
and I thaught it was her intent
to rear it up as a model of perfection
as mothers had atempted to do befor her
she apeared to be satisfyid with herself
untill she turned and saw me by the
door when the thaught ocured to her
that she was enjoying the fruits
of others labour wile I was sleeping
upon the ground streched out as a hog
upon straw when I read her thoughts
I was sad for she was unhapy and wasting
simpathy upon me for I was hapy with
my lot for my health was good and
able to asist others that lay beside
me who had not stood the storm and
hard ship we had pased through