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New York 27 Decr 1864 Mrs. F. M. Lewis care of Conway Whittle Esq Norfolk__Virginia My dear Mrs. Lewis I yesterday received yours of 24th inst, enclosing your draft of same date at 3 [?] favor of Maury Brothers upon Brown Shipley & Co for £20 sterling, payable in London & original & duplicate letters of advice thereof : - all in due order & in a proper business-like fashion; except that you did not instruct me how to apply the proceeds of their bill. But I suppose you wish me to send them to you forthwith, & in U. S. Legal Tender money. -- With the fall in Gold today, the highest price we could get for the bill was 233--i.e. 133 per cent premium on the nominal of $4 44/100 P £.__to give you the simplest mode of examining the calculation: Take £100 - at [?] = $444.44

then add___100 per cent = 444.45 30 " " = 133.33 3 " " = 13.33 __ _______ 233 $1035.55 And £20 being 1/5th of £100 is $207.11 from which deduct for 3 stamps .06 & it leaves the nett [sic] proceeds $207.05

There is no further expense save the postage of this letter to you. provided for by your own 34 stamps: - therefore I return you the $1 bill along with said nett [sic] proceeds of $ 207.05 making the sum total now enclosed $ 208.05 & consisting of 1 U.S. 3 years compound interest nont dated 15th Augt. '64__No. 65354 for $50.-- 3 ordinary U. S. legal tenders of $50 [?] No. 60631 No. 77840 No. 95299 150.-- series 3 2 2 & smaller greenbacks of $5. $2 & $1 ea= 8.-- & postage currency .05 $208.05 I would thank you to write to me in reply, as soon as convenient, even if it be but a few lines telling me that this letter & its contents have come safely to hand. I have not time to write you a chit chat letter today, but may do so before long. Our party at dinner yesterday went off very satisfactoriy, except that on account of the bad weather Mrs [?] was unable to come. We had a beautiful young lady (of 18), one of our Huguenot cousins from near Harper's Ferry, as one of the 18. yours sincerely Rutson Maury