Saturday Eve. Jan. 12. 1844.My dear Mother,
I have had a rich feast indeed this afternoon having received so many letters from my dear friends at home, One from each. I was in the midst of composition writing, when Sarah Packard came to my room & told me that I had a bundle down in one of the spaceways. I went for it but no sooner had I got to my room than the dinner bell rang, and I had to leave them, but finding that I had no appetite for dinner, I asked to be excused from the table, so I began my letters, and did not leave them until I had read them all. You do not know how much good it has done me.
I have read them all twice, but Hattie's I have read many times. It looks very nice and so does Willie's. One says Mother has got a new bonnet and the other, that father has bought a new sleigh, news which I am glad to hear. I will try to write a letter to them on another page.
As to going to Amherst, I have very serious objections against it, and this is the reason of my writing you so soon.
There is a young lady, daughter of Rev. Mr Tyler here from Amherst. She appears to be a proud haughty young lady, and I do not think much of her. She does not condescend to speak only to some of the most dress, & flirting I think you would not wish me to cultivate her acquaintance. She is very much disliked here. I conclude she must be a daughter of
theyour friends.Miss Packard is very anxious to have me go home with her. She has promised me a visit to Leicester. I hope this letter will reach you before you write to Mr Tyler. But if Miss T. should give me an invitation to go, I think I could not accept. Therefore if I hear nothing from you, I shall go to Spencer. The expenses will be but a little more than it would to stay here. I think I need the journey too. I have studied very hard, perhaps too hard. At any rate I shall not study so much next term. The rest of this page is for you Mother and not for any one else. I must tell you that I have been very much troubled as cousin Ann Wheeler is - and also as I used to be at Norton. For the first I took herb teas until I was very much better, & I have also taken tansy tea for the other complaint, but it did me no good, & today I have commenced taking pills, according to the direction of my section teacher, and bitters also, which she says I must take them till I get well. It is quite a seige [sic] for me & the pills have made me feel quite sick this afternoon, but I feel better this evening. It happens to be the day for writing composition, so I have written a very short one. We have no recitations on saturdays [sic], but have to write compositions, & have several general exercises. I have not been obliged to be absent from any single recitation yet on account of my health. I hesitated some about taking the pills & thought that I should like your advice. A great many others have been troubled in the same way, & are taking the same medicine. Some have gone home, on this account. Miss Bailey, My section teacher says that the a [sic] change of air & a ride would do me more good than any thing, & she thinks I had better go home with Miss Packard. I mean to sleep a little more than I have done.
Miss Pond says she thinks the greatest fault of this school is that the young ladies are so tempted to go beyond their strength. We do not feel that we have any time to be sick, for if it is almost impossible to make any lost lessons, I do not think that I shall lose any.
I bet of you not to be concerned about me, for I am not concerned at all. I should not have written about it only I thought I should like to know what you thought about taking the pills. I do not know what they are made of. Notwithstanding all I am growing very fleshy. I shall hardly dare to come home you will all laugh at me so. I hope I shall lose some of my flesh next summer. How are you and father this winter. I hope you get some more time to go among the people than you used to. Does father's throat trouble him any? I thank you for the hood, & think it a very pretty one indeed. It fits exactly. I am sorry you took so much pains to send those flannels, so the winter is half gone, I do not think I need them. I have not suffered near as much from colds this winter as I usually do. If I should get a bad cold I will put them on. But they are rather large, & the winter has not thus far been as cold as I anticipated.
Sabbath afternoon. I have not been able to go to church although I feel much better than I did yesterday, & think I shall be well tomorrow, only I have got to keep on taking the bitters.
But I cannot write more from your aff. daughter
My dear George
I have not quite finished Mother's letter but will leave it for a few moments to write to you, & W. & H. I think your letter looked very nice! shem. [sic] I imagine you took some pains to have it look so. Did not you? My roommate Miss Driver has read one or two of your letters, & says she thinks you must be an old head, upon young shoulders. After reading all the letters which I received in the bundle, this afternoon said letter "came travelling along" through the mail from Baltimore! It is a good letter, & I know not whether to answer it or not. I think I shall not at present for want of time.
Sarah Packard & I, calculate to go to Leicester, and go into the Academy & take George Walker by surprise, get Mary to go in with us. I should like to catch him in a recitation. Cannot you imagine just how he will look, lifting his head up in the air, & grinning away like everything. I wish you was there two. Then I should see a double sight. From all that I can learn, I expect that Wiliston [sic] Academy is a good place. I think we will be neighbors next year, you there and I here! I am glad you are studying Algebra I am nearly through the eleventh section. The manner in which we study Grammar here is something of Miss Lyon's own manufacture. We take hard peices [sic] & analyse them, such as Pope's essay. We have to pick the sentences all to peices. [sic] I can not explain it to you. Every young lady has to study grammar here before she can complete the course even if she has studied it all her life time. It takes six weeks to study it for the middle class, & six for the senior. I have studied it the whole twelve weeks, so I shall not have to study it again before I graduate!!
Poor Alexis Ide, I was sorry to hear such news of him. How I think you should feel to be in such a situation as he is. Oh George, do you not see your danger? You have just passed the anniversary of your birth, and you know not that you will ever see another birth day. A year ago he was in as good health as you, but now he has the prospect of an endless eternity immediately before him. Why was he taken instead of you. I fear dear Brother, that if you do not seek the Savior now you never will. Every year your heart is growing harder in sin. I do not forget you in my morning & evening prayers. We are the children of many prayers, & may we not be one, unbroken family in heaven? The sound of a bell calls me, & I must bid you
Goodbye, fr. E.
Do write me very often, & tell me how you feel in regard to the interests of your never dying soul. Oh, flee from the wrath to come, is the request of a dear sister.
My dear Willie, & Hattie
I was surprised to see such
anice looking letters from you both. I could hardly beleive [sic] that you wrote them yourselves. I was sorry to hear that you had both been not very well. What did you burn you [sic] for Willie?I think it was most too bad to leave you at home all alone on thanksgiving. I suppose Persis was with you of course. Hattie must tell Elmira to write me another letter as soon as she gets to Abington. Be good children & do not get put out Hattie with Elisa Foster & do not forget Elisa.
I would write you a longer letter if I had time & was well, but it is time for me to go to rest as it is nine oclock. You must get George to read this to you as it is not written very plain.
Good night, from Elisa.
[George, Willie and Hattie were her siblings. George Lewis Harding was about 14 years old when this letter was written. William Greenough Harding was about 10 years old, and Harriet Bethiah Harding was about 8 years old. Alexis Wheaton Ide was a resident of Medway and was about 18 years old when this letter was written. This letter made it sound like he was very ill, but he didn't die until 1901.]