Sept. 11th 1867Our own dear Stephen.
We are much cheered & delighted with your excellent letter it really savors of a senior, [?] we are much gratified at the probability of your taking, the position, or somewhere, near the position which you[r] acquirements ought to command, & if you adhere tenaciously to the resolutions which you said you had formed when you were at home I doubt not you will rise as much higher in your college rank, as you will in your own excellence of character, your stature & standing, both, require of necessity, that you put on the dignity & sobriety of a man, & abandon the frivolities of & exuberance of mirth peculiar to child
ren-hood, we rejoice with you in your, having, so good a room I think you will feel the advantage of it in not having to climb so many steps[.] It seems you are fortunate in getting a good boarding place, they of course have other boarders & you have a neat, tidy hostel & custard pies in the bargin [sic] as I suppose as that is farmers fare, impart. Is the distance greater than your fathers boarding house has been from his office?What is the sickness of the students of which you spoke? I trust you are not on the list of those who are ill, if you are you will please let us know it, you were so think when you left that I have been somewhat anxious for your welfare.
Sophs. are still sophs; notwithstanding the protestation of all wise people against their conduct, for my life I cannot see what comfort or fun people can take in making others miserable. I should think they were paying pretty dear for the whistle.
[handwriting change to father's]
Sept 12. Thursday morn.
Your cap goes by Express to-day. tell us when it arives [sic] at Amherst and if it came in good shape.
S.L.[handwriting change again]
Dear Stephen
It is Wednesday Eve., past 8 oclock - Mother & Auntie are seated by the centre table - father has gone out to do some writing for a man - & Stephie is away - far far away in the old Bay State - & some are sundered & scattered apart, I am happy to congratulate you on your bright prospects for the coming year - Lennie Titcomb & Treby Johnson left home yesterday & took the boat for Boston, They have gone up to enter Harvard College if they can pass examinations successfully - Len, says he expects to get home by Saturday. Mr. Titcomb went up with them & also Mary Johnson, bound for her seminary. I think you might have enjoyed your boat excursion very well in company with Mr. & Miss Abbott - &c
It was too bad, that you should have expected a letter from home last week & then be disappointed - I think we ought to have written - But we didn't think so much about writing before the regular time - as we had heard from you - & that made us feel easy, knowing that you were safely ensconced in your own snug & comfortable college room - I am glad you enjoy it so much, - How does Mother like it? - Little Dick seems as well as before he was sick, only he is thin of flesh. He travels well & eats well now - We all rode out to Mrs. Morrells in Manchester last eve, This is a bright & beautiful even. - but quite cool - we are expecting a frost very soon - which will destroy the beautiful flowers. It seems to me that you are fortunate to find so good a boarding place ready for you, in the house of a neat & thrifty farmers wife - who does not "Kick off her shoe heels" in walking about house - & you will be likely to get a good variety of fare[.]
You spoke of Prof. Tylers Sabbath morning sermon - & of the text - Mr. Bingham - preached to us from the same text - "In my Fathers house are many mansions". He was very interesting.
Your letter is delightfully interesting, you dear boy - give us another equally so -
[A second letter sheet enclosed in father's writing]
Dr Stephen. It is now a 1/4 to 12 P.M I am in the dining room alone and have been for a long time and am just through with our part of a hard job of making a contract for John B Shaw with a Boston man for building a house in Somerville Mass - but I take a moment to write a line to you and join with mother & aunt in saying how glad we all were in receiving such a letter as you last wrote, so full of [...] and good cheer, may they all hereafter keep up with this in this respect, and they probably will if you carry out the good resolutions I have heard you express as to your behavior towards the students and "the rest of man kind" and as to your studies - you will of course make the most of your time in relation to your studies and in this way I have no doubt you will improve your rank as you write your [...] to do - Now as to your base ball cap - I went into the post office this morning to see what the expense would be to send it by mail & found it would be 21 cts then I went into the express to see what it would be there, and Morton said he would put it through for nothing, so I concluded to take that chance - I intend to send it to-morrow, (for it is not quite mid night yet), and have it left at the express office in Amherst where you will be likely to find it the same day you get this - I did not order it to be sent to your room or you might be out when the Express man went there to have it, so I thought better to have it left at the Express office - thinking that that was near the post office - If this is not so, you may have some more trouble than I anticipated, still upon the whole it is better - I think that it should be left at the Express office - we did think of sending it by Mary Johnson but we finally concluded it would be as much trouble to get it from there as here -
Now take good care of your health. Do not expose yourself to night air any more than you are obliged to - keep as good hours as possible and be seen and have your regular and sufficient and reasonable, sleep, and rest - the clock has just struck 12 and I will quit having been 15 min writing so much so Good night -
Thursday morning Sept 12. What students if any board where you do? Did you get a letter forwarded from here & sent from Lewiston? Did it mean base ball? Did you get some newspapers last week? I sent two and should have written but I did not suppose you would be expecting a letter till we had received your first regular. I will send one or two papers this week to let you see how the radicals are knocked in the head though not entirely killed. I went to Parker's Head & back the next day after you left & had a very pleasant ride from Bath down to the Head & back in a top buggy - the day was fine - this is all I shall have time to write now - Adieu.
Aff. Father -
George left last Monday for Keene NH where he expects to sell [see?] NH & Vt that is the right. for those states. he said he has been to Springfield & all along the Connecticut from Keene to go that way again he meant to go to Amherst & see you - to see what going to College was, I suppose.