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                                Richmond  

                        Sunday  28  June  1863

 

       I wrote you by my beloved wife

a few days ago and received your

letter of 24th a day or so after.

    I was charmed that you all,

children & all had so many things

to enjoy and to make your time pass

comfortably and agreeably.

     Since I resigned my clerkship,

which was about two days before

you wrote, I have been walking

about doing & seeing  into various

things preparatory to my leaving

here  and I find my feelings

of every sort improved.  Every

one  tells me that I am looking

very well and I certainly feel

very well altho' I am certainly

not so large as I was;  this

I find rather an improvement

to my comfort.  I suppose that

 

[P. 2]

my sedentary habits during the

forenoon did not exactly suit my

constitution.  The life that I am

going to undertake will be any thing

but sedentary.  Indeed I expect that

it will, for a month or two at least,

be rather laborious; but this I am

quite prepared for.  Whilst I always

enjoyed play, I believe that I could

always do as much work as

any one.  I shall have much

riding about to do in the beginning

and hope to get thro' that part of

my duty before the roads become

bad.          I am glad that you

got the bundle safe, and especially

that the shirts  suited Mr. Wilmer.

Present my kindest regards to him

and also especially to Miss Lizzie

whom I shall see again with

great pleasure.   I will try my

dear  wife to get the things which

you request; most of them I can

 

 

[P. 3]

certainly get.  I fear the blankets will

trouble me more than any thing else;

those that I have seen are so small.

    I do not know certainly about the

iron things, but I shall look.

   I have not heard a word from the

girls since Page's letter written on

their arrival at Ingleside.  I have

heard of them thro' others as well as thro'

you.   I shall hear I presume before

I leave here as I wrote to Lelia &

also sent a message thro' Mr. Custis

(to whom I wrote) to say that  I should

leave here soon & that if they wanted

any thing they must write at once.

    I hope to go up to you my

dearest wife, on friday next and

I hope to find you all well Give

my best love to Anne & Mary & tell

them how glad I am that I shall get

to the Rectory in time to see them

before their departure.   I fear that

I shall not be able to go to Lexington;

my time will be quite occupied at first

in organizing as mine is a new business ["new business" underlined]
 

 

[P. 4]

not only to me but to the whole corps

of quarter masters in the same service.

     Present me most kindly to all [underlined]

friends-Mrs. Semple &c &c.

     With my fondest love to Georgy &

Breck tell them that I shall bring

them a spelling book a piece, &

with many kisses for my darling

Lucy Page, tell her that grandpa

will bring her some candy.

    I went to see Lizzie Ewell the

other night but she was out and

I kept on my way to Col. Munford's

where I found that Col. M. & wife had

gone up to Botetourt to Mr. or Dr.

Copeland's.  I believe Mrs. M's brother or

uncle: the young ladies sent much love;

they are going to Hanover this week &

Lizzie Ewell with them.

    I am somewhat surprized at what you

tell me about the V's.  I knew that money

was the foundation stone deeply settled

but I thought there was a larger infer-

-structure of policy  ^than appears.    I have written

my paper out so goodbye 'til friday.

                                    Yr. R.S.

Mrs. Saunders         Remce. to servts