Letter from Dinah Mulock Craik to Benjamin Mulock, 6 September not before 1865

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            <title> Letter from <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#DMC">Dinah Mulock Craik</persName>
               to <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MulockBen">Benjamin Mulock</persName>, from
                  <date when="--09-06">September 6</date><date notBefore="1865" precision="low"
                  >before 1865</date>. </title>
            <author ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#DMC">Dinah Mulock Craik</author>
            <editor ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#BourrierKaren">Karen Bourrier</editor>
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            <sponsor>University of Calgary</sponsor>
            <principal>Karen Bourrier</principal>
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               <head> Letter from <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#DMC">Dinah Mulock
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                     Mulock</persName>, <date when="--09-06">September 6</date><date
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               and deletions are retained, except for words which are hyphenated at the end of a
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            <opener>
               <dateline>
                  <placeName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#PmalderCottage">Pmalder</placeName>
                  <date when="--09-06">September 6</date>
               </dateline>
               <salute> My dearest <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MulockBen">Ben -
                  </persName></salute>
            </opener>
            <p>I have today rec<hi rend="superscript">d</hi> yours from <placeName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Balaklava">Balaklava</placeName> – I am so sorry about
               your not finding a letter – I wrote my first the last week in July – to make sure –
               addressed as you desired. <orgName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#AWC">AWC</orgName> (F
               division) <placeName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Balaklava">Balaklava</placeName> – And
                  N<hi rend="superscript">o</hi> 2 was posted by <persName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#LovellMinna">Minna</persName> – last week – as soon as I
               had your first – All your three have come within one week so maybe you have had mine.
               Anyhow I write again today &amp; will send the Lloyds regularly from this time – now
               that I know they will find you. Oh <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MulockBen"
                  >Ben</persName> - <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MulockBen">Ben</persName> how
               strange it feels to think of you really out there in the fighting – I can hardly
               believe it – &amp; am afraid to think of it – save that the whole tone of your
               letters is so thoroughly comfortable &amp; gives such infinite happiness to Sister
               &amp; to those few whom you call “your all” – you can’t think how delighted everybody
               is. – And you are so good to write so much – you are everything one’s heart could
               desire – my letters are nothing to yours now. – but you must not mind – writing has
               been such an effort – I have been so thoroughly “down” - &amp; so ill – However with
               such good hopes for you – &amp; such pride &amp; trust verified in you – nothing
               seems a trouble or a pain – And I am getting really well now – &amp; please God shall
               live &amp; enjoy life many a year. – Your letters are so vivid – you can’t think what
               a picture they give – Cottagers here get bits of them - &amp; are so pleased –
               especially <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#PatonAllanPark">Allan</persName> – &amp;
                  <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#UncleJohn">Uncle John</persName> – who drinks
               your health after dinner with great gusto – You certainly will come home a hero –
               with great glory on your shoulders – Oh, <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MulockBen"
                  >Ben</persName> – often &amp; often I think of</p>
            <p>this time last year at <placeName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Prittlewell"
                  >Prittlewell</placeName> among the blackberries – How strange has all been to you
               &amp; me – but all for good – as we begin to see – All is settled for us far better
               than we could have settled for ourselves. – Sometimes I feel my heart brimming over
               with thankfulness – &amp; wonder that we were ever fearful or unthankful at all. –
               Here walked in <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#UncleJohn">Uncle John</persName> –
               looked at me &amp; observed pathetically as he drank his wine – “Here’s success to
                  <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MulockBen">Ben</persName>!” – And <persName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Weirie">Weirie</persName> adds – “Give my love to him” - –
               Poor <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Weirie">Weirie</persName> – who has had her
               trouble in the very hardest way – &amp; borne it so cheerily – &amp; bravely. – There
               isn’t anything like suffering for making folks good – &amp; really happy – in the
               true way at last. – I’m quite sure of it. – <placeName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#CamdenTown">Camden Town</placeName> news are nothing
               different – <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Bessy">Bessy</persName> goes home next
               week &amp; the <orgName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Jameses">James</orgName> go for a
               week to <placeName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Brighton">Brighton</placeName> – <persName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#LovellMinna">Minna</persName> is very well – going to
                  <placeName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Lynover">Lynover</placeName> for music lessons!
               – but I have not heard from her since she wrote to you – in which no doubt she said
               all that was to be said. I send your last on to her today – &amp; she has now the wee
               note before you sailed to <placeName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Balaklava"
                  >Balaklava</placeName> – <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MrsJames">Mrs
                  James</persName> forwarded me this one – &amp; desired her special love – &amp;
               writes in the greatest delight about your letter – Certainly if your all is few in
               numbers it’s by in quantity – &amp; rare in quality. – I am going to <placeName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Belfast">Belfast</placeName> for a week next Thursday –
               &amp; then back here – They don’t want me to leave the wee Cottage just yet – &amp;
               they are <mod type="subst"><del rend="overwrite">t</del><add place="inline"
                  >s</add></mod>o truly kind &amp; I am so content. – In spite of any things
               contrary – quite content. – The river &amp; the hills are </p>
            <p>glorious. – Such a walk as <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Weirie"
                  >Weirie</persName> &amp; <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#UncleJohn">Uncle
                  John</persName> &amp; I had up the hillside this morning – &amp; we were talking
               of my <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MulockBen">Ben</persName> – <persName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Weirie">Weirie</persName> &amp; I - &amp; little I thought
               there would be another letter waiting me at home. – I am very rich indeed in comforts
               &amp; blessings – God only knows how thankful I am whenever I think of <rs
                  type="person" ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MulockBen">my dearest boy</rs>. – The
                  <orgName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#AWC">AWC</orgName> – sent me the 2<hi
                  rend="superscript">nd</hi> month’s pay last week all right. – Did <persName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#LovellMinna">Minna</persName> tell you – how the poor
                  <orgName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Hawley">Hawleys</orgName> have been in great
               trouble – entirely ruined – had to fly from arrest – found themselves at <placeName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Boulogne">Boulogne</placeName> with <measure
                  type="currency">£5</measure>! – And there they live – all the family – &amp;
               another baby coming at <rs type="event" ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Christmas"><choice>
                     <abbr>Xmas</abbr>
                     <expan>Christmas</expan>
                  </choice></rs>. – Poor souls! – The <orgName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Dobell"
                  >Dobells</orgName> have been full of sickness &amp; trouble – how strange are the
               ups &amp; downs of life – Last year everybody seemed jolly but <persName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MulockBen">Ben</persName> &amp; me – &amp; now – we are
               safe &amp; content with what seems the tide’s turning – &amp; hopeful for our future
               – while everybody else seems in trouble. – We cannot be too thankful – can we? – I
               know you’ll have lots of hardships – &amp; I shall have many an anxious day – but
               you’ll write regularly if ever so little – &amp; we will trust in God – as we have
               need – remembering all He has helped us through – Now goodbye – for I write in haste
               – on the only paper I’ve got. – but it troubled me so you had not found a letter from
               Sister after your journey of sea weeks – <persName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#PatonAllanPark">Allan</persName> will sort this – &amp;
               get a Lloyd <add>&amp; some other paper</add>, if he can in <placeName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Greenock">Greenock</placeName> – I sent now last Saturday
               – After now you’ll get them regularly – so inquire for them – I will write you a real
               long letter as soon as ever I can. – doing it by bits - which is better – Yours done
               in that way are so very real &amp; nice. – </p>
            <p>I think I may cover this page too. – I copied out your long letter – bits of it – for
                  <orgName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Chambers">Chambers</orgName> – but it came back –
               out of their line I suppose. – <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#JollyEmily">Emily
                  Jolly</persName>’s tale is out in <title
                  corresp="CraikSiteIndex.xml#HouseholdWords">Household Words</title> – so very nice
               – <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#DickensCharles">Dickens</persName> quite
               enthusiastic on the subject – She is certainly a genius. – <persName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#PatonAllanPark">Allan</persName>’s novel he reads out
               daily – I told you how fine it was. – I think I like &amp; respect <persName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#PatonAllanPark">Allan</persName> more than ever this time
               – it is such a sterling character – manly &amp; heroic though in the quietest way -
               without a bit of sentimentality so penny too! – The comical side of life is always
               the one uppermost in this house – they get through everything and are “jolly” over it
               too. – Truly a joke greases the wheels of existence in the roughest ways. – We have
               incessant music – which is quite in your line – <persName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#UncleJohn">Uncle John</persName> gives extempore overtures
               – symphonies – quite à la <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MulockBen">Ben</persName>
               – And there is great planning as to the wonderful concerts to be arranged when – his
               two years over – <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MulockBen">Ben</persName> comes
               over here to be shown the Clyde – &amp; enlighten the Cottagers with his concertina.
               – What a capital presenter <unclear>Coulertina</unclear> must have made! – how you
               would have missed it – hadn’t <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#LovellMinna"
                  >Minna</persName> made you take it. – Now by the bye I must end – for I have a
               line to write to the Ancient Men when I enclose your letter – &amp; it’s all but
               dinner-time. – Ah my <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MulockBen">Ben</persName> –
               this is such a stupid letter – but it’s truly a case of the bottle too full to pour
               out – these September days mind me so of <placeName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#Prittlewell">Prittlewell</placeName> times – &amp; then I
               feel so thankful &amp; so proud of my three letters – &amp; so content about my
                  <persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MulockBen">Ben</persName> – Excuse any folly -
               for the sake of Sister’s love. – And God bless &amp; take care of my own <persName
                  ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#MulockBen">Ben</persName> – </p>
            <closer>
               <salute/>
               <lb/>
               <lb/>
               <signed><persName ref="CraikSiteIndex.xml#DMC">DMulock</persName> – <persName/>
               </signed>
               <lb/>
            </closer>
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               <p/>
            </postscript>
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Letter from Dinah Mulock Craik to Benjamin Mulock, from September 6 before 1865. Dinah Mulock Craik Karen Bourrier Dinah Mulock Craik: A Digital Archive University of Calgary Karen Bourrier Transcription July 2020 by Kiana Wong Proofing of transcription August 2020 by Sonia Jarmula TEI encoding July 2020 by Kiana Wong Proofing of TEI encoding August 2020 by Sonia Jarmula First digital edition in TEI, date: July 2020. P5. Dinah Mulock Craik: A Digital Archive Calgary, Alberta, Canada 2020

Reproduced by courtesy of the University of California at Los Angeles .

Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Dinah Mulock Craik: A Digital Archive University of California at Los Angeles Charles E. Young Research Library Mulock Family Papers 846 Letter from Dinah Mulock Craik to Benjamin Mulock, September 6 before 1865 Box 1, Folder 8

Our aim in this edition has been to transcribe the content of the letters as accurately as possible without reproducing the physical appearance of the manuscript. Craik’s spelling, punctuation, underlining, superscripts, abbreviations, additions and deletions are retained, except for words which are hyphenated at the end of a line, which we have silently emended. Where Craik uses a non-standard spelling, we have encoded both her spelling and the standard Oxford English Dictionary spelling to facilitate searching. The long s is not encoded.

Pmalder September 6 My dearest Ben -

I have today recd yours from Balaklava – I am so sorry about your not finding a letter – I wrote my first the last week in July – to make sure – addressed as you desired. AWC (F division) Balaklava – And No 2 was posted by Minna – last week – as soon as I had your first – All your three have come within one week so maybe you have had mine. Anyhow I write again today & will send the Lloyds regularly from this time – now that I know they will find you. Oh Ben - Ben how strange it feels to think of you really out there in the fighting – I can hardly believe it – & am afraid to think of it – save that the whole tone of your letters is so thoroughly comfortable & gives such infinite happiness to Sister & to those few whom you call “your all” – you can’t think how delighted everybody is. – And you are so good to write so much – you are everything one’s heart could desire – my letters are nothing to yours now. – but you must not mind – writing has been such an effort – I have been so thoroughly “down” - & so ill – However with such good hopes for you – & such pride & trust verified in you – nothing seems a trouble or a pain – And I am getting really well now – & please God shall live & enjoy life many a year. – Your letters are so vivid – you can’t think what a picture they give – Cottagers here get bits of them - & are so pleased – especially Allan – & Uncle John – who drinks your health after dinner with great gusto – You certainly will come home a hero – with great glory on your shoulders – Oh, Ben – often & often I think of

this time last year at Prittlewell among the blackberries – How strange has all been to you & me – but all for good – as we begin to see – All is settled for us far better than we could have settled for ourselves. – Sometimes I feel my heart brimming over with thankfulness – & wonder that we were ever fearful or unthankful at all. – Here walked in Uncle John – looked at me & observed pathetically as he drank his wine – “Here’s success to Ben!” – And Weirie adds – “Give my love to him” - – Poor Weirie – who has had her trouble in the very hardest way – & borne it so cheerily – & bravely. – There isn’t anything like suffering for making folks good – & really happy – in the true way at last. – I’m quite sure of it. – Camden Town news are nothing different – Bessy goes home next week & the James go for a week to BrightonMinna is very well – going to Lynover for music lessons! – but I have not heard from her since she wrote to you – in which no doubt she said all that was to be said. I send your last on to her today – & she has now the wee note before you sailed to BalaklavaMrs James forwarded me this one – & desired her special love – & writes in the greatest delight about your letter – Certainly if your all is few in numbers it’s by in quantity – & rare in quality. – I am going to Belfast for a week next Thursday – & then back here – They don’t want me to leave the wee Cottage just yet – & they are t s o truly kind & I am so content. – In spite of any things contrary – quite content. – The river & the hills are

glorious. – Such a walk as Weirie & Uncle John & I had up the hillside this morning – & we were talking of my BenWeirie & I - & little I thought there would be another letter waiting me at home. – I am very rich indeed in comforts & blessings – God only knows how thankful I am whenever I think of my dearest boy. – The AWC – sent me the 2nd month’s pay last week all right. – Did Minna tell you – how the poor Hawleys have been in great trouble – entirely ruined – had to fly from arrest – found themselves at Boulogne with £5! – And there they live – all the family – & another baby coming at Xmas Christmas . – Poor souls! – The Dobells have been full of sickness & trouble – how strange are the ups & downs of life – Last year everybody seemed jolly but Ben & me – & now – we are safe & content with what seems the tide’s turning – & hopeful for our future – while everybody else seems in trouble. – We cannot be too thankful – can we? – I know you’ll have lots of hardships – & I shall have many an anxious day – but you’ll write regularly if ever so little – & we will trust in God – as we have need – remembering all He has helped us through – Now goodbye – for I write in haste – on the only paper I’ve got. – but it troubled me so you had not found a letter from Sister after your journey of sea weeks – Allan will sort this – & get a Lloyd & some other paper, if he can in Greenock – I sent now last Saturday – After now you’ll get them regularly – so inquire for them – I will write you a real long letter as soon as ever I can. – doing it by bits - which is better – Yours done in that way are so very real & nice. –

I think I may cover this page too. – I copied out your long letter – bits of it – for Chambers – but it came back – out of their line I suppose. – Emily Jolly’s tale is out in Household Words – so very nice – Dickens quite enthusiastic on the subject – She is certainly a genius. – Allan’s novel he reads out daily – I told you how fine it was. – I think I like & respect Allan more than ever this time – it is such a sterling character – manly & heroic though in the quietest way - without a bit of sentimentality so penny too! – The comical side of life is always the one uppermost in this house – they get through everything and are “jolly” over it too. – Truly a joke greases the wheels of existence in the roughest ways. – We have incessant music – which is quite in your line – Uncle John gives extempore overtures – symphonies – quite à la Ben – And there is great planning as to the wonderful concerts to be arranged when – his two years over – Ben comes over here to be shown the Clyde – & enlighten the Cottagers with his concertina. – What a capital presenter Coulertina must have made! – how you would have missed it – hadn’t Minna made you take it. – Now by the bye I must end – for I have a line to write to the Ancient Men when I enclose your letter – & it’s all but dinner-time. – Ah my Ben – this is such a stupid letter – but it’s truly a case of the bottle too full to pour out – these September days mind me so of Prittlewell times – & then I feel so thankful & so proud of my three letters – & so content about my Ben – Excuse any folly - for the sake of Sister’s love. – And God bless & take care of my own Ben

DMulock

Toolbox

Themes:

Letter from Dinah Mulock Craik to Benjamin Mulock, from September 6 before 1865. Dinah Mulock Craik Karen Bourrier Dinah Mulock Craik: A Digital Archive University of Calgary Karen Bourrier Transcription July 2020 by Kiana Wong Proofing of transcription August 2020 by Sonia Jarmula TEI encoding July 2020 by Kiana Wong Proofing of TEI encoding August 2020 by Sonia Jarmula First digital edition in TEI, date: July 2020. P5. Dinah Mulock Craik: A Digital Archive Calgary, Alberta, Canada 2020

Reproduced by courtesy of the University of California at Los Angeles .

Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Dinah Mulock Craik: A Digital Archive University of California at Los Angeles Charles E. Young Research Library Mulock Family Papers 846 Letter from Dinah Mulock Craik to Benjamin Mulock, September 6 before 1865 Box 1, Folder 8

Our aim in this edition has been to transcribe the content of the letters as accurately as possible without reproducing the physical appearance of the manuscript. Craik’s spelling, punctuation, underlining, superscripts, abbreviations, additions and deletions are retained, except for words which are hyphenated at the end of a line, which we have silently emended. Where Craik uses a non-standard spelling, we have encoded both her spelling and the standard Oxford English Dictionary spelling to facilitate searching. The long s is not encoded.

Pmalder September 6 My dearest Ben -

I have today recd yours from Balaklava – I am so sorry about your not finding a letter – I wrote my first the last week in July – to make sure – addressed as you desired. AWC (F division) Balaklava – And No 2 was posted by Minna – last week – as soon as I had your first – All your three have come within one week so maybe you have had mine. Anyhow I write again today & will send the Lloyds regularly from this time – now that I know they will find you. Oh Ben - Ben how strange it feels to think of you really out there in the fighting – I can hardly believe it – & am afraid to think of it – save that the whole tone of your letters is so thoroughly comfortable & gives such infinite happiness to Sister & to those few whom you call “your all” – you can’t think how delighted everybody is. – And you are so good to write so much – you are everything one’s heart could desire – my letters are nothing to yours now. – but you must not mind – writing has been such an effort – I have been so thoroughly “down” - & so ill – However with such good hopes for you – & such pride & trust verified in you – nothing seems a trouble or a pain – And I am getting really well now – & please God shall live & enjoy life many a year. – Your letters are so vivid – you can’t think what a picture they give – Cottagers here get bits of them - & are so pleased – especially Allan – & Uncle John – who drinks your health after dinner with great gusto – You certainly will come home a hero – with great glory on your shoulders – Oh, Ben – often & often I think of

this time last year at Prittlewell among the blackberries – How strange has all been to you & me – but all for good – as we begin to see – All is settled for us far better than we could have settled for ourselves. – Sometimes I feel my heart brimming over with thankfulness – & wonder that we were ever fearful or unthankful at all. – Here walked in Uncle John – looked at me & observed pathetically as he drank his wine – “Here’s success to Ben!” – And Weirie adds – “Give my love to him” - – Poor Weirie – who has had her trouble in the very hardest way – & borne it so cheerily – & bravely. – There isn’t anything like suffering for making folks good – & really happy – in the true way at last. – I’m quite sure of it. – Camden Town news are nothing different – Bessy goes home next week & the James go for a week to BrightonMinna is very well – going to Lynover for music lessons! – but I have not heard from her since she wrote to you – in which no doubt she said all that was to be said. I send your last on to her today – & she has now the wee note before you sailed to BalaklavaMrs James forwarded me this one – & desired her special love – & writes in the greatest delight about your letter – Certainly if your all is few in numbers it’s by in quantity – & rare in quality. – I am going to Belfast for a week next Thursday – & then back here – They don’t want me to leave the wee Cottage just yet – & they are t s o truly kind & I am so content. – In spite of any things contrary – quite content. – The river & the hills are

glorious. – Such a walk as Weirie & Uncle John & I had up the hillside this morning – & we were talking of my BenWeirie & I - & little I thought there would be another letter waiting me at home. – I am very rich indeed in comforts & blessings – God only knows how thankful I am whenever I think of my dearest boy. – The AWC – sent me the 2nd month’s pay last week all right. – Did Minna tell you – how the poor Hawleys have been in great trouble – entirely ruined – had to fly from arrest – found themselves at Boulogne with £5! – And there they live – all the family – & another baby coming at Xmas Christmas . – Poor souls! – The Dobells have been full of sickness & trouble – how strange are the ups & downs of life – Last year everybody seemed jolly but Ben & me – & now – we are safe & content with what seems the tide’s turning – & hopeful for our future – while everybody else seems in trouble. – We cannot be too thankful – can we? – I know you’ll have lots of hardships – & I shall have many an anxious day – but you’ll write regularly if ever so little – & we will trust in God – as we have need – remembering all He has helped us through – Now goodbye – for I write in haste – on the only paper I’ve got. – but it troubled me so you had not found a letter from Sister after your journey of sea weeks – Allan will sort this – & get a Lloyd & some other paper, if he can in Greenock – I sent now last Saturday – After now you’ll get them regularly – so inquire for them – I will write you a real long letter as soon as ever I can. – doing it by bits - which is better – Yours done in that way are so very real & nice. –

I think I may cover this page too. – I copied out your long letter – bits of it – for Chambers – but it came back – out of their line I suppose. – Emily Jolly’s tale is out in Household Words – so very nice – Dickens quite enthusiastic on the subject – She is certainly a genius. – Allan’s novel he reads out daily – I told you how fine it was. – I think I like & respect Allan more than ever this time – it is such a sterling character – manly & heroic though in the quietest way - without a bit of sentimentality so penny too! – The comical side of life is always the one uppermost in this house – they get through everything and are “jolly” over it too. – Truly a joke greases the wheels of existence in the roughest ways. – We have incessant music – which is quite in your line – Uncle John gives extempore overtures – symphonies – quite à la Ben – And there is great planning as to the wonderful concerts to be arranged when – his two years over – Ben comes over here to be shown the Clyde – & enlighten the Cottagers with his concertina. – What a capital presenter Coulertina must have made! – how you would have missed it – hadn’t Minna made you take it. – Now by the bye I must end – for I have a line to write to the Ancient Men when I enclose your letter – & it’s all but dinner-time. – Ah my Ben – this is such a stupid letter – but it’s truly a case of the bottle too full to pour out – these September days mind me so of Prittlewell times – & then I feel so thankful & so proud of my three letters – & so content about my Ben – Excuse any folly - for the sake of Sister’s love. – And God bless & take care of my own Ben

DMulock