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Thursday January 21st 1864

Darling Mother,

Your long looked for letter was received a day or two

ago, the very first line I have received from you since the letter

before Xmas telling me I might come to R[ichmond] & you will nkow how glad

I was to get it, when I tell you I was sick when I wrote to you last & have

been ever since, but am now getting well again. All that week I had high

fever & one of my bad coughs, bu twould not go to bed, because I was expect-

ing the Dr. to come for me every day, & when he did come on Saturday I was

too sick to go with him. Sunday I was aobliged to go to bed & send for Dr. Skelton

he has been attending me ever since, was here yesterday, said he would see me once more

and then he thought he could let me go. I was in bed ten days, which you know is a long

time for me, but yesterday & today I have been sitting up most of the day. I had a fever

threatening Dr. S. says of typhoid fever, I am inclined to think I had the fever itself, I

don't think just a threatening would have made me so weak, & pulled me down so much

but I think I shall soon pick up now daer Mother you must not be uneasy about

me I have had no fever now for four or five days & my cough has almost left me, &

I sleep better and have a beter appetite than I had before I was sick. I have not

been well since Carrie's death, the shock was so great, & then it made me unwell too soon &

it has been coming more & more until last time I was only well two weeks. I think I shall

be better after this spell than I have been for a long time, I feel as if I shall. Dr. S

certainly gave me a good clearly out, then doses of blue mass, the last one touched my

gums too right smartly. I am so glad I was not at Blenheim, I am sure if I had

been I should have had a long spell of hte fever. Don't you think the poor Dr. has

been unfortunate, they have had so much of the fever & now have 7 of the

servants down at once with the measles, & that is almost all they have. Mattie

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has had it too, & was very sick with it but is now recovering. Cousin Annie was

mistake about Norvell's being so sick, she was looking very badly all Xmas week

and they thought was threatened with the fever, but she has not been ill & they

think now is getting the measles. Then old Mrs. Bullock (Mrs Hobson's Mother)

has been very ill for the last ten days, dying of old age, they are expecting

her death every day. If I was well enough to help to nurse I should wish I was

up there, but I am not, & as the Dr. says, I must be very careful not to exert my-

self too soon or I will bring back my fever it is very well I am not there.

I should be very restless at being away from school so long, but that the children

have been in such a condition I could not have done much if I had been well, some of

the other girls have been back sicne Xmas on account of the measles. I have written to Pa

once since Xmas, but have not been well enough to write to either of the girls & have no

paper with me, so I won't be able to write to them 'till I go back to Blenheim so

please if you write to them tell them why I have not written. I hope I shall be able to go back to Blen

next week. I am glad [Lute?] had such a pleasant visit. You don't know how very kind

they have all been to me here. I have been here [?] will be four weeks tomorrow. Fannie has been sick

herself too for the last week. & Sallie is not so well, this is her sick week from child, & Miss Maria

& the Capt seem t obe the only ones who have any constitutions. Did [Lute?] get Minnie's cotton

for stockings if she did tell her to send me some of it & I will knit it for her, tho I have

never found time to finish those you began for me last summer. I have not written

to Minnie yet about her dresses, my conscience reproaches me, but it seemed so [bright?]

I thought I would see if it could not be [?] cheaper in P[rince] E[dward] and since then

I could not write. The key to my watch is worn out so entirely that I can't wind it at all.

I send it to you in thisletter, please ask Uncle Fred to see if he can get me one at

Charlotte C.H. & if he can't and thinks it can be gotten by this one please send it to Frank

and ask him ot get it for me, Frank has many of mine, if UncleFred gets it write me

word what is the price & Ma please get me 2 day corset rings if you can get them

either bone or metal, I would ratehr have the metal & either send them to me

if you have a chance or keep them for me.

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I am so tired Mother

darling I can scarcely

make a mark so I

must stop, though I

don't feel as if I had

said any thing I wanted

to say. You must not

be uneasy about me

I ham getting well fast.

Love to all

Your loving daughter

Hattie.

I send you this

letter rec'd this

evening from dear

Hattie. She does

not give me her

direction to Mr.

Harris's so I shall

have to write to her

at Doct Hobson's.

I expect she will

be there by the last

of this week. One

of my letters to her

must have miscarried.

I shall feel anxious

about her till I hear

that she is entirely

well.