[Some paragraph breaks added for ease of reading.]Wooster May 23rd 1881
Dear Mother:
Your card came duly and passed my letter. I was waiting to hear from you thinking I had written last. I am sorry you are feeling so badly and do hope you will improve when the season gets more settled. I believe this Cleveland Doctor could help you though I have rather fizzled out on it. I cannot keep up all his directions and clean house and do Spring Sewing it is impossible and he advised me just to give it up till I could attend to myself. In the mean time I can diet and observe the most important things. I believe I will be the better for it.
I am feeling rather better than when I wrote though I had terrible nemalgia last night and this forenoon better this afternoon. I am having a sewing girl this week and I did work in such misery this forenoon, but and together we made a pair of pants for Willie. The childs [sic] was absolutely in rags. He has them on this evening. She is to be here all week and I hope to get the girls pretty well rigged for the summer. So I need not be worried all the time with the sewing.
We are about done house cleaning though things are not all put to rights. We cleaned the kitchen on Saturday and left the floor bare. It seems so cool and clean. Our yard looks real pretty - we are having it mowed with the lawn mower - Willie made a nice walk to the gate and Mr Wilhelson had a load of tar put on it, and the fence whitewashed. We have the North room down stairs papered and furnished for a spare room. It is real nice.
Did I tell you I sent my light silk to Staten Island to be colored navy blue and it came home all in holes? I took that piece of buff ponges [?] that Julia gave me and with what could be used of the silk had a real handsome suit made for Janet. I will have to get Mary one[.] We are fixing over some old things this week. My delight! I got my lawn in Urbana - [...] 15 cts a yard for it. I will send you a sample - and can likely get it for you if you cannot.
I had a letter from Lily since I wrote to you explaining the mystery[.] So the bubble has burst after all. Well I am glad of it, if she got out honorably. I do not believe she would have been happy with Mr Eckles and it is well she found it out in time[.] Now the next thing is the Missionary question. She wants to go with Rob[.] It seems he has about concluded to go alone, and I think it is best so. Now if Lily has her heart set on going with him I do not know but it would be best for both. Just leave the marrying part in the Lord's hands[.] If I were going to a mission field I believe I would rather go single[.] The mother of children is such a perplexity and trial. Then having Rob to go with is different from going alone. The only question is your need of her - and yet as she says if she has to teach she cannot be with you any more than if she were in China. Still if you were in special need of her she could leave her teaching. She asks my advice and I am at a loss to know what to say to her.
Evening - I will have to close hurriedly as I am a sewing fever - so tired. We are making a light dress for Mary to-day. Give lots of love to Ellen and Auntie. I will write to them if I survive this week. I am to go to Mrs Underwoods to a missionary tea to-morrow evening - to Mrs Boals to a concert the next evening. O dear! - I have hunted the house over for those lawn scraps and cannot find them. I have no recollection of them and think I must have left them somewhere last summer - I am sorry.
It is black with pin stripes of white about as far apart as the lines on this paper. Good by until soon with much love in haste
Jennie.
A sample of Mary's dress. [no longer with the letter]