A Letter Written on Feb 3, 1876

Providence, R.I.
Thurs. Eve. Feb. 3d '76

Dear Ria,

It made me feel so very lonesome last week, to think of your not receiving any letter from me, and especially when your note came, Sunday noon, that I have taken the matter in hand in good season this week determined that it shall reach you on Sat, although there is nothing in it worth the reading.

As I have been confined to the house, with the exception of a few walks to Upper Canada, and as callers have been "Rarae Aves," whatever of news I have to communicate is either entierly [sic] domestic, consisting of the bills of fare for the various meals, which have been a little extra for the past three weeks, owing to the preperations [sic] made in the culinary department for the entertainment of our expected but never arriving guests, Mrs. Moses Angell and Mrs Bradford and her little girls. This was the fourth day appointed for their spending the afternoon, and the forenoon was a little worse than most sweeping days, when Lo! just as the rooms were all in order "Grandpa" Mose [sic] drives up and comes in to announce that his Father was found insensible, out of doors, the night before last, and they feared paralysis or something of that kind and therefore the visit must be indefinitely postponed. It was a great disappointment to Mother, and to comfort herself or for some other reason she went, (where else could a woman go?) to the Boston Store, of the percheses [sic] made some one else must give an account. After the shoping [sic] she and Carrie visited the collection of paintings and relics held in the Fletcher Building. of which papers have been sent you giving an account. They were much pleased with everything they saw, but of course were tired out.

Tuesday evening I was again confined at home by the storm, but hear that it was a very excellent meeting, Mr. Sampson taking charge, if my sickness has been the means of interesting him in the meetings it has been of more service than my health could have been. Have you heard of the addition to our strength? A real live Methodist brother has taken Mr. Brey's place as the Bass of the dye shop, and as you can imagine is a great help, or least we hope that he will be,

I suppose that our gale yesterday extended to S.H. at any rate we account for the absence of your ordinary Thurs. day by supposing that it blew out of its course or something else happened to it. I was very grateful for your note in Mother's letter, it explained the not-mentioning of several items, and I won't trouble myself in future thinking you did not see them. I couldn't make out whether you were sarcastic or too innocent, in fact almost "natural," if you are very anxious to know, whether the correspondence is to wait till I leave for the hous South, you may ask the letter girl, merely volunteering the remark that, George thinks I shall have to work smarter in the future than in the past to pay for postage stamps already used.

I hope you will bring that Amnesty composition home with you, it must have been a great deal of work to look up the subject if you embraced the whole. Cousin Aurelia has a copy of Cheering Words in which I read the poems you wrote of.

With much love
Allie.

Fri. morning. It has been snowing all night & still it comes so that George has to go in town in the omnibus, and Mother says she was too lazy to get up to add the usual postscript to this. So Good bye again. A. H. W.