Chapter V: Personal Letters--Social and Friendly (2)

That's a dear letter of yours, Lawrence. I thank you for it
and I appreciate it to the full.

_Acknowledgments_

(A)

My dear Mr. Spencer,

I am grateful to you for your comforting letter. Thank you for
your sympathy.

Sincerely yours,
Mary Cole Burroughs.
October 26, 1921.

(B)

My dear Mrs. Evans,

Let me thank you in behalf of myself and my family for your
sympathy. Do not measure our appreciation by the length of
time it has taken me to reply. We appreciated your letter
deeply.

Sincerely yours,
Mary Cole Burroughs.
October 26, 1921.

(C)

My dear Arthur,

I want to thank you for your sympathetic letter received in
our bereavement.

Sincerely yours,
Mary Cole Burroughs.
October 26, 1921.

(D)

Dear Mr. Treadwell,

Thank you very much for your sympathy. Your offer to be of
service to me at this time I greatly appreciate, but I shall
not need to trouble you, although it is comforting to know
that I may call on you.

I shall never forget your kindness.

Sincerely yours,
Mary Cole Burroughs.
October 24, 1921.

This is the note[8] that Thomas Bailey Aldrich wrote to his friend William H. Rideing upon receiving from the latter a note of condolence:

Dear Rideing:

I knew that you would be sorry for us. I did not need your
sympathetic note to tell me that. Our dear boy's death has
given to three hearts--his mother's, his brother's and mine--a
wound that will never heal. I cannot write about it. My wife
sends her warm remembrance with mine to you both.

Ever faithfully your friend,
T. B. Aldrich.

[8] From "Many Celebrities and a Few Others--A Bundle of Reminiscences," by William H. Rideing. Copyright, 1912, by Doubleday, Page & Co.

LETTERS OF CONGRATULATION

The letter of congratulation must be natural, not stilted, and must be sincere. In congratulating a new acquaintance on a marriage it is not necessary to send more than the visiting card with "heartiest congratulations." To a bride and groom together a telegram of congratulation may be sent on the day of the wedding, as soon as possible after the ceremony.

To a bride one does not send congratulations, but "the best of good wishes." The congratulations are for the groom.

The following letters will serve as examples for congratulatory letters for different occasions:

_On a birthday_

500 Park Avenue,
February 6, 1923.

My dear Mrs. Elliott,

Congratulations on your birthday! I hope that all your years
to come will be as happy and as helpful to others as those
past.

I am sending you a little gift as a token of appreciation for
your kindness to me, which I hope you will enjoy.

Most sincerely yours,
Katherine G. Evans.

_From a gentlemen to a young lady on her birthday_

500 Park Avenue,
April 13, 1922.

My dear Miss Judson,

May I send you my congratulations on this your birthday?

I am sending a little token of my best wishes for you for many
years to come.

Yours sincerely,
Richard Evans.

_On a wedding day anniversary_

500 Park Avenue,
June 1, 1923.

My dear Charlotte and George,

Please accept my heartiest good wishes on this, the fifteenth
anniversary of your marriage. May the years to come bring
every blessing to you both.

Sincerely yours,
Katherine Gerard Evans.

(B)

500 Park Avenue,
December 4, 1922.

My dear Mrs. Smith,

Congratulations on this the twentieth anniversary of your
wedding. Our heartiest wishes to you both from Mr. Evans and
me.

Yours very sincerely,
Katherine Gerard Evans.

_On the birth of a child_

788 East 46th St.,
August 11, 1923.

My dear Dorothy,

Congratulations upon the birth of your daughter. May the good
fairies shower upon her the gifts of goodness, wisdom, and
beauty.

Very sincerely yours,
Charlotte B. Trent.

_On a graduation_

500 Park Avenue,
June 30, 1923.

My dear John,

It is with great pleasure that I hear of your graduation this
year. It is a fine thing to have so successfully finished your
college course.

May I send my heartiest congratulations?

Sincerely yours,
Ruth Evans.

_On an engagement_

In writing to a girl or a man on the occasion of an engagement to be married there is no general rule if one knows the man or woman. One may write as one wishes.

If a stranger is to be received into the family, one writes a kindly letter.

28 Odell Avenue,
April 3, 1923.

My dear Haines,

Let me be among the first to congratulate you on your
engagement to Miss Bruce. I have not met her but I know that
to reach your high ideals she must indeed be a wonderful girl.
I hope I may soon have the pleasure of meeting her.

Sincerely yours,
Charles Lawson.

500 Park Avenue,
May 14, 1923.

My dear Miss Bruce,

My nephew has told me his great news. I am much pleased to
hear that you are soon to come into the family, because I know
that the girl of Edward's choice must be sweet and charming. I
hope that you will learn to love us for our own sake as well
as for Edward's.

Sincerely yours,
Katherine G. Evans.

500 Park Avenue,
September 18, 1923.

Dear Helen,

The announcement of your engagement to Robert Haines is a
delightful surprise. He is, as we all know, a splendid chap.

I am so happy that this great happiness has come to you. I
hope that I may hear all about it, and with best wishes to you
both, I am

Affectionately yours,
Ruth Evans.

On the subject of engagements, perhaps the following letter from Charles Lamb to Fanny Kelly, and her reply, will be of interest--though the unarduous and somewhat prosaic tone of Elia's proposal of marriage--beautifully expressed as it is--is hardly to be recommended as a model calculated to bring about the desired result!

Dear Miss Kelly:

We had the pleasure, _pain_ I might better call it, of seeing
you last night in the new play. It was a most consummate piece
of acting, but what a task for you to undergo! At a time when
your heart is sore from real sorrow it has given rise to a
train of thinking, which I cannot suppress.

Would to God you were released from this way of life; that
you could bring your mind to consent to take your lot with us,
and throw off forever the whole burden of your profession. I
neither expect nor wish you to take notice of this which I am
writing, in your present over occupied and hurried state--but
to think of it at your leisure. I have quite income enough, if
that were all, to justify for me making such a proposal, with
what I may call even a handsome provision for my survivor.
What you possess of your own would naturally be appropriated
to those, for whose sakes chiefly you have made so many hard
sacrifices. I am not so foolish as not to know that I am a
most unworthy match for such a one as you, but you have for
years been a principal object in my mind. In many a sweet
assumed character I have learned to love you, but simply as F.
M. Kelly I love you better than them all. Can you quit these
shadows of existence, and come and be a reality to us? Can you
leave off harassing yourself to please a thankless multitude,
who know nothing of you, and begin at last to live to yourself
and your friends?

As plainly and frankly as I have seen you give or refuse
assent in some feigned scene, so frankly do me the justice to
answer me. It is impossible I should feel injured or aggrieved
by your telling me at once, that the proposal does not suit
you. It is impossible that I should ever think of molesting
you with idle importunity and prosecution after your mind [is]
once firmly spoken--but happier, far happier, could I have
leave to hope a time might come, when our friends might be
your friends; our interests yours; our book knowledge, if in
that inconsiderable particular we have any like advantage,
might impart something to you, which you would every day have
it in your power ten thousand fold to repay by the added
cheerfulness and joy which you could not fail to bring as a
dowry into whatever family should have the honor and happiness
of receiving _you_, the most welcome accession that could be
made to it.

In haste, but with entire respect and deepest affection, I
subscribe myself

C. Lamb.

To this letter Miss Kelly replied:

Henrietta Street, July 20, 1819.

An early and deeply rooted attachment has fixed my heart on
one from whom no worldly prospect can well induce me to
withdraw it, but while I thus _frankly_ and decidedly decline
your proposal, believe me, I am not insensible to the high
honour which the preference of such a mind as yours confers
upon me--let me, however, hope that all thought upon this
subject will end with this letter, and that you will
henceforth encourage no other sentiment towards me than esteem
in my private character and a continuance of that approbation
of my humble talents which you have already expressed so much
and so often to my advantage and gratification.

Believe me I feel proud to acknowledge myself

Your obliged friend,
F. M. Kelly.
To C. Lamb, Esq.

LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION

Letters of introduction should not be given indiscriminately. If the giver of the letter feels that something of benefit may come to both of the persons concerned, then there is no doubt about the advisability of it. But a letter of introduction should not be given to get rid of the person who asks for it.

It is not good form to ask for one. If it is really necessary to have one and the friend to be requested knows that you need it, he will probably give you the letter unsolicited.

A letter of introduction should not be sealed by the person giving it. It is written in social form and placed in an unsealed envelope addressed to the person to whom the introduction is made. If the letter is a friendly letter, it is enclosed in an additional envelope by the person who requested the letter, sealed, and with his card on which appears his city address, sent to the person addressed. The person addressed, upon the receipt of the letter, calls within three days upon the person who is introduced.

It has been customary to deliver a business letter of introduction in person, but on consideration, it would seem that this is not the wisest course. The letters of introduction most in demand are those to very busy men--men of affairs. If one calls personally at the office of such a man, the chance of seeing him on the occasion of presenting the letter is slight. And, as has often been proved in practice, a telephone call to arrange an appointment seldom gets through. The best plan seems to be to mail the letter with a short note explaining the circumstances under which it was written.

Sometimes (more often in business) an introduction is made by a visiting card with "Introducing Mr. Halliday" written at the top. This method may be used with a person with whom we are not well acquainted. This introductory card is usually presented in person, but what has been said concerning the letter applies here also.

Matters of a personal or private nature should not appear in letters of introduction.

(A)

New York, N. Y.,
June 8, 1922.

Dear Dick,

The bearer of this note, Mr. Donald Ritchie of Boston, expects
to be in your town for six months or so. He is an old friend
of mine--in fact, I knew him at College--and I think you would
like him.

He is going to Black Rock in the interest of the Sedgwick
Cement Company. He knows nobody in Black Rock, and anything
you can do to make his stay pleasant, I shall greatly
appreciate.

Cordially yours,
John Hope.

(B)

Canajoharie, New York,
June 8, 1922.

My dear Mrs. Evans,

This will introduce to you Miss Caroline Wagner who is the
daughter of one of my oldest friends. She will be in New York
this winter to continue her music studies.

She is a girl of charming personality and has many
accomplishments. I am sure you will enjoy her company. She is
a stranger in New York and any courtesy you may extend to her
I shall be deeply grateful for.

Very sincerely yours,
Edna Hamilton Miller.

Mrs. John Evans
500 Park Avenue
New York, N. Y.

(C)

8 Beacon Street,
Boston, Mass.,
March 17, 1922.

My dear Brent,

The bearer, William Jones, is a young acquaintance of mine who
is going to live in Cleveland. If there is anything you can do
without too much trouble to yourself in recommending a place
to board, or assisting him to a situation, I shall be
grateful. He has good habits, and if he gets a foothold I am
sure he will make good.

Yours sincerely,
Robert T. Hill.

Another letter, already immortal as a literary gem, is Benjamin Franklin's "Model of a Letter of Recommendation of a Person You Are Unacquainted With":

Sir,

The bearer of this, who is going to America, presses me to
give him a letter of recommendation, though I know nothing of
him, not even his name. This may seem extraordinary, but I
assure you it is not uncommon here. Sometimes, indeed, one
unknown person brings another equally unknown, to recommend
him; and sometimes they recommend one another! As to this
gentleman, I must refer you to himself for his character and
merits, with which he is certainly better acquainted than I
can possibly be. I recommend him, however, to those
civilities, which every stranger, of whom one knows no harm,
has a right to; and I request you will do him all the good
offices, and show him all the favor, that, on further
acquaintance, you shall find him to deserve. I have the honor
to be, etc.

LETTERS OF THANKS

_For a wedding gift_

The letter of thanks for a wedding gift must be sent as soon as possible after the receipt of the gift. The bride herself must write it. When the wedding is hurried or when gifts arrive at the last moment, the bride is not required to acknowledge them until after the honeymoon. In all cases the gift is acknowledged both for herself and her husband-elect or husband.

(A)

898 East 53rd Street
May 5, 1922.

My dear Mrs. Elliott,

The bouillon spoons are exquisite. It was simply lovely of you
to send us such a beautiful gift. Leonard wishes to express
with me our deepest appreciation.

With all good wishes, I am

Sincerely yours,
Dorothy Evans Duncan.

(B)

898 East 53rd Street
May 8, 1922.

My dear Mrs. Callender,

This is the first opportunity I have had to thank you for your
wonderful gift. But, as you know, our arrangements were
changed at the last moment and many of our wedding gifts we
did not have time to open before going away. So we hope you
will forgive us for the delay.

We are now back in town established in our new home and I want
you to know how appropriate are those exquisite candlesticks.
Mr. Duncan and I are both deeply grateful for your thought
of us.

Yours most sincerely,
Dorothy Evans Duncan.

_For a Christmas gift_

134 Bolton Place
December 28, 1923.

My dear Alice,

Your handsome Christmas gift is something I have wanted for a
long time, but never could get for myself. The bag and its
beautiful fittings are much admired. I send my warmest thanks
for your thoughtfulness in selecting it.

Very sincerely yours,
Mary Scott.

_For a gift received by a girl from a man_

400 Ellsworth Place
April 14, 1922.

My dear Mr. Everett,

Thank you for your good wishes and for your lovely gift in
remembrance of my birthday. It is a charming book and one
which I am very anxious to read.

It was most kind of you to think of me.

Sincerely yours,
Katherine Judson.

_For a gift to a child_

798 East 38th Street,
December 31, 1923.

My dear Mr. Basset,

Your wonderful Christmas gift to Barbara came this morning.
She is wholly captivated with her beautiful doll and I am sure
would thank you for it if she could talk.

Let me thank you for your kindness in remembering her.

Cordially yours,
Dorothy Evans Brewster.

_For a gift to another_

49 Maxwell Avenue,
Bayview, Long Island,
July 15, 1923.

My dear Mr. Haines,

I appreciate very much the exquisite flowers which you so
kindly sent to Mrs. Evans. She is rapidly improving and will
soon be about again.

We send our warmest thanks.

Very sincerely yours,
John Evans.

_For favor shown to another_

500 Park Avenue,
November 25, 1922.

My dear Mrs. Howard,

You were very kind indeed in entertaining my cousin, Mrs.
Douglas, during her stay in your city. I am exceedingly
grateful and I hope to find some way of reciprocating.

Very sincerely yours,
Katherine G. Evans.

Following are actual letters of thanks written by distinguished persons. Here is one[9] from George Meredith to Lady Granby, acknowledging the receipt of a reproduction of a portrait by her of Lady Marjorie Manners:

Box Hill, Dorking,
Dec. 26, 1899.

Dear Lady Granby:

It is a noble gift, and bears the charms to make it a
constant pleasure with me. I could have wished for the full
face of your daughter, giving eyes and the wild sweep of hair,
as of a rivule issuing from under low eaves of the woods--so I
remember her. You have doubtless other sketches of a maid
predestined to be heroine. I could take her for one. All the
women and children are heaven's own, and human still, and
individual too. Behold me, your most grateful

George Meredith.

[9] From "Letters of George Meredith." Copyright, 1912, by Chas. Scribner's Sons. By permission of the publishers.

From Lord Alfred Tennyson to Walt Whitman:[10]

Farringford, Freshwater, Isle of Wight,
Jan'y 15th, 1887.

Dear old man:

I the elder old man have received your Article in the
_Critic_, and send you in return my thanks and New Year's
greeting on the wings of this east-wind, which, I trust, is
blowing softlier and warmlier on your good gray head than
here, where it is rocking the elms and ilexes of my Isle of
Wight garden.

Yours always,
Tennyson.

[10] This and the following four letters are from "With Walt Whitman in Camden," by Horace Traubel. Copyright, 1905, 1906, 1912, 1914, by Doubleday, Page & Co.

From Ellen Terry to Walt Whitman:

Grand Pacific Hotel, Chicago,
January 4th, '88.

Honored Sir--and Dear Poet:

I beg you to accept my appreciative thanks for your great
kindness in sending me by Mr. Stoker the little _big_ book of
poems--As a Strong Bird, etc., etc.

Since I am not personally known to you I conclude Mr. Stoker
"asked" for me--it was good of him--I know he loves you very
much.

God bless you, dear sir--believe me to be with much respect

Yours affectionately,
Ellen Terry.

From Moncure Conway to Walt Whitman:

Hardwicke Cottage, Wimbledon Common,
London, S. W., Sept. 10, '67.

My dear friend:

It gave me much pleasure to hear from you; now I am quite full
of gratitude for the photograph--a grand one--the present of
all others desirable to me. The copy suitable for an edition
here should we be able to reach to that I have and shall keep
carefully. When it is achieved it will probably be the result
and fruit of more reviewing and discussion. I shall keep my
eyes wide open; and the volume with O'C.'s introduction shall
come out just as it is: I am not sure but that it will in the
end have to be done at our own expense--which I believe would
be repaid. It is the kind of book that if it can once get out
here will sell. The English groan for something better than
the perpetual rechauffe of their literature. I have not been
in London for some little time and have not yet had time to
consult others about the matter. I shall be able to write you
more satisfactorily a little later. I hear that you have
written something in _The Galaxy_. Pray tell O'Connor I shall
look to him to send me such things. I can't take all American
magazines; but if you intend to write for _The Galaxy_
regularly I shall take that. With much friendship for you and
O'Connor and his wife, I am yours,

Moncure Conway.

From John Addington Symonds to Walt Whitman:

Clifton Hill House, Bristol,
July 12, 1877.

Dear Mr. Whitman:

I was away from England when your welcome volumes reached me,
and since my return (during the last six weeks) I have been
very ill with an attack of hemorrhage from the lung--brought
on while I was riding a pulling horse at a time when I was
weak from cold. This must account for my delay in writing to
thank you for them and to express the great pleasure which
your inscription in two of the volumes has given me.

I intend to put into my envelope a letter to you with some
verses from one of your great admirers in England. It is my
nephew--the second son of my sister. I gave him a copy of
_Leaves of Grass_ in 1874, and he knows a great portion of it
now by heart. Though still so young, he has developed a
considerable faculty for writing and is an enthusiastic
student of literature as well as a frank vigorous lively young
fellow. I thought you might like to see how some of the youth
of England is being drawn towards you.

Believe me always sincerely and affectionately yours.

J. A. Symonds.

From Edward Everett Hale to Dr. Lyman Abbott:[11]

Jan. 29, 1900, Roxbury,
Monday morning.

Dear Dr. Abbott:

I shall stay at home this morning--so I shall not see you.

All the same I want to thank you again for the four sermons:
and to say that I am sure they will work lasting good for the
congregation.

More than this. I think you ought to think that such an
opportunity to go from church to church and city to
city--gives you a certain opportunity and honour--which even
in Plymouth Pulpit a man does not have--and to congregations
such a turning over the new leaf means a great deal.

Did you ever deliver the Lectures on Preaching at New Haven?

With Love always,
Always yours,
E. E. Hale.

[11] From "Silhouettes of My Contemporaries," by Lyman Abbott. Copyright, 1921, by Doubleday, Page & Co.

From Friedrich Nietzsche to Karl Fuchs:[12]

Sils-Maria, Oberengadine, Switzerland,
June 30, 1888.

My dear Friend:

How strange! How strange! As soon as I was able to transfer
myself to a cooler clime (for in Turin the thermometer stood
at 31 day after day) I intended to write you a nice letter of
thanks. A pious intention, wasn't it? But who could have
guessed that I was not only going back to a cooler clime, but
into the _most ghastly_ weather, weather that threatened to
shatter my health! Winter and summer in senseless alternation;
twenty-six avalanches in the thaw; and now we have just had
eight days of rain with the sky almost always grey--this is
enough to account for my profound nervous exhaustion, together
with the return of my old ailments. I don't think I can ever
remember having had worse weather, and this in my Sils-Maria,
whither I always fly in order to escape bad weather. Is it to
be wondered at that even the parson here is acquiring the
habit of swearing? From time to time in conversation his
speech halts, and then he always swallows a curse. A few days
ago, just as he was coming out of the snow-covered church, he
thrashed his dog and exclaimed: "The confounded cur spoiled
the whole of my sermon!"...

Yours in gratitude and devotion,

Nietzsche.

[12] From "Selected Letters of Friedrich Nietzsche," edited by Oscar Levy. Copyright, 1921, by Doubleday, Page & Co.

In making a donation of L100,000 for branch libraries in the city of Glasgow, this is the letter[13] that Andrew Carnegie sent to the Lord Provost of the city council:

My dear Lord Provost:

It will give me pleasure to provide the needed L100,000 for
Branch Libraries, which are sure to prove of great advantage
to the masses of the people. It is just fifty years since my
parents with their little boys sailed from Broomielaw for New
York in the barque _Wiscassett_, 900 tons, and it is
delightful to be permitted to commemorate the event upon my
visit to you. Glasgow has done so much in municipal affairs to
educate other cities, and to help herself, that it is a
privilege to help her. Let Glasgow flourish! So say all of us
Scotsmen throughout the World.

Always yours,
Andrew Carnegie.

[13] From "Andrew Carnegie, the Man and His Work," by Bernard Alderson. Copyright, 1902, by Doubleday, Page & Co.

LETTERS BETWEEN FRIENDS

Dear Grace,

Your 'phone call surely caught me napping; but after an hour
or so of effort I did recall just how Sato mixed the shrimps
and carrots in the dish which you so much enjoyed.

First, catch your shrimp! When they have been cleaned and
prepared as for a salad, place on ice and _in_ ice, if
possible. Grate the carrots on the coarse side of the grater,
placing immediately on the salad plates, which of course have
already been garnished with lettuce leaves. Then add just a
fine sprinkling of chopped apples (I find this the best
substitute for alligator pears) and then the shrimps. Pour
over this the mayonnaise and serve at once.

I do not know what he called it and could not spell it if I
did, but you are at liberty to call it anything you like. At
all events, I am sure the crowd will agree it is a little
different, and I am glad to have been able to give the idea.

Cordially yours,
Ruth Wilson.

July 14, 1921

My dear Mrs. Sampson,

I am so glad to know that you have completely recovered from
your recent illness.

I trust you will soon be able to resume your wonted
activities. We all have missed you--at bridge and tennis
particularly.

Sincerely yours,
Mary E. Wells.
July 18, 1923

My dear Mr. Baines,

I have just heard of your success in getting your book
published. I have always had a great admiration for you and
your work, and I am sending this little note to assure you of
my regard, and to wish you still further successes.

Yours very sincerely,
Madeleine Strickland.
March 10, 1923

My dear Miss Gwynne,

I am very sorry that I was out when you called. I hope you
will come again soon for I do so much want to see you.

Sincerely yours,
Katherine G. Evans.
February 16, 1923

It may be of passing interest to read a letter or two from distinguished persons to their boyhood friends. Here is one[14] from the late John Burroughs:

Esopus, N. Y., June 1, 1883.

Dear Tom Brown:

I have been a-fishing or I should have answered your letter
before. I always go a-fishing about this time of year, after
speckled trout, and I always catch some, too. But dog-fighting
I have nothing to do with, unless it be to help some little
dog whip some saucy big cur. Game birds are all right in their
season, but I seldom hunt them. Yet this is about the best way
to study them.

You want to know how I felt as a boy. Very much as I do now,
only more so. I loved fishing, and tramping, and swimming more
than I do these late years. But I had not so tender a heart. I
was not so merciful to the birds and animals as I am now.

Much of what I have put in my books was gathered while a boy
on the farm. I am interested in what you tell me of your Band
of Mercy, and should like much to see you all, and all the
autographs in that pink covered book. Well, youth is the time
to cultivate habits of mercy, and all other good habits. The
bees will soon be storing their clover honey, and I trust you
boys and girls are laying away that which will by and by prove
choicest possessions.

Sincerely your friend,
John Burroughs.

[14] From "John Burroughs, Boy and Man," by Dr. Clara Barrus. Copyright, 1920, by Doubleday, Page & Co.

The following letter[15] was written when J. J. Hill--perhaps the greatest railroading genius America has ever produced--was twenty years of age. It is one of the few letters written by him at this time of his life that have been preserved:

Saint Paul, February 11, 1858.

Dear William:

Your epistle bearing date of seventeenth ult. came to hand on
good time and your fertile imagination can scarcely conceive
what an amount of pleasure I derived from it, as it was the
first epistle of William to James at St. Paul for a "long
back." My surprise at receiving your letter was only surpassed
by my surprise at not receiving one from you after you left
St. Paul, or sometime during the ensuing season. Still, a good
thing is never too late or "done too often." It gave me much
pleasure to hear that you were all well and enjoying
yourselves in the good and pious (as I learn) little town of
Rockwood. I did intend to go to Canada this winter, but it is
such a long winter trip I thought I should defer it until
summer, when I hope to be able to get away, as I intend to go
on the river this summer if all goes as well as I expect.
Capt. W. F. Davidson wrote me from Cincinnati about going with
him as first clerk on the side-wheel packet _Frank Steele_, a
new boat about the size of the _War Eagle_. The Captain is
Letter A, No. 1, and I think I shall go with him. If not, I
have two or three good offers for coming season on the levee,
besides my present berth, which is nevertheless very
comfortable.

I think it mighty strange that some (of my letters) have not
reached home as I wrote several times to my brother Alex. and
I never was more surprised in my life than when old Bass
handed me a letter of inquiry as to my whereabouts. But after
the boats stop running our mails are carried so irregularly
that whole bags of mail matter are often mislaid at way
stations for weeks and some finally lost or otherwise
destroyed. On the tenth of November last I was returning from
the Winslow House with Charley Coffin, Clerk of the _War
Eagle_, about eleven o'clock, and when we were coming down
Fourth Street passing one of those rum holes, two Irishmen,
red mouths, came out and, following us, asked us if we would
not go back and take a drink. Charley said "no," and we were
passing on when two more met us who, along with the other two,
insisted that they meant no harm and that we should go in and
drink. I told them that I did not drink and that, generally
speaking, I knew what I was about. We attempted to go on, but
they tried to have us go back, so I hauled off and planted
one, two in Paddie's grub grinder, and knocked him off the
sidewalk about eight feet. The remainder pitched in and
Charley got his arm cut open and I got a button hole cut
through my left side right below the ribs. The city police
came to the noise and arrested three of them on the spot and
the other next day and they turned out to be Chicago Star
Cleaners, a name given to midnight ruffians. I was not
compelled to keep my bed, but it was some two months before I
was quite recovered from the effects of the cut.

One day on the levee I was going aboard one of the boats and
slipped on the gang plank and sprained my knee, which laid me
up for about two weeks. About a week ago my pugnacious friend
who gave me his mark escaped from the penitentiary at
Stillwater, along with all the rest of the prisoners confined
at the time. I am sincerely very grateful to you for your
generous offer in your letter and fully appreciate your
kindness. But notwithstanding my bad luck I have still "a shot
in the locker," about $200, which will put me out of any
trouble until spring.

Our winter here has been very mild and open. We have scarcely
had any snow, but what was altogether unprecedented, rain
storms lasting three or four days in succession. Times have
been mighty dull here this winter and money scarce. Write to
me as soon as you receive this and give me a bird's eye view
of Rockwood and its inhabitants. Believe me

Yours sincerely,
J. J. Hill.
Send me some papers.

[15] From "The Life of James J. Hill," by Joseph Gilpin Pyle. Copyright, 1916, 1917, by Doubleday, Page & Co.