Gallipolis, June 7, 1860Dear Daughter
I cannot write you as favorable news as I had hoped to been able to do by this time. Your Mother is still very unwell, her left breast is gathering, it is swelled very much and of course very painful besdies she has chills every other day and fever. Yesterday the chill lasted nearly an hour, but the fever was not so high as it had been sometimes before, the chills had been very slight until yesterday, the Dr could not tell whether the pain in the breast caused them or whether it was a regular chill and fever, but the one yesterday convinced him it was the latter, he gave her six of Cooks pills last evening, and again six more this morning still there is no operation yet -
half past one P.M. - we think she will feel better after the medicine has operated freely, the Dr is anxious for the pills to act I suppose that he may have time to give quinine to stop the chill tomorrow, when she has a fever it makes her breast much more painful, I should think her breast must break or be fit to lance soon for it is swelled very much, but we have somehing to be thankful for with all her suffering and pain, she is not nervous, if she had that terrible nervousness I do not know what would become of her, the baby is not so well as he should be, having to feed him altogether does not agree with him, it makes him very cross and fretful at times, the rest of the family are well, I sent you twenty dollars a week ago which I suppose will answer your present wants. Perhaps Maddie will write a little before it is time to mail this, my love to you, Father.
It is nearly time for this to go to the P.O. Samantha is quite unwell to day and, Maddie has got her hands full, your Mother feels a little better, the medicine has operated though not so freely as I could wish, but I hope it has not done yet, I would like to begin to give her another kind of medicine that the Dr brought with him - quinine and other stuff - but I hardly know whether it is best or not untill [sic] the other has operated more, do you ever hear from Mrs Nelly Cooley, her friends say that they never get a letter from her nor hear anything about her, we will try and send you a few lines the next mail, I have not time to write more now, so good bye for the present,
Father