_Salem_, July 1st, 1848
Ownest, How long is it since I heard from thee--and what an eternity
since thou didst go away! It seems at least as long as the whole time
that we have been married. My heart calls for thee, very loudly, and
thou comest not. And I want to hear our children's voices;--it would
be pleasant, even, to see little Tornado in one of her tantrums. She
is a noble child. Kiss her and Bundlebreech for me, and talk to them
about me, lest I be entirely forgotten.
If this had been a pleasant day, I should probably have gone to New
York on Custom-House business; but it being thick and dismal, I shall
give up the expedition, although it would have been a very favorable
opportunity. I should have been back here on Wednesday morning; and as
one of the intervening days is Sunday, and another the Fourth of
July, only a single day of attendance at my office would have been
lost. Best of all, it would have cost nothing.
Dora has a great deal of work to do; but she neglects nothing
appertaining to my comfort. Aunty 'Ouisa has favored me with one cup
of coffee, since thou wentest away, and with an occasional doughnut;
but I think thy lectures on diet and regimen have produced a
considerable effect.
Dearest, is thy absence so nearly over that we can now see light
glimmering at the end of it? Is it half over? If not, I really do not
see how I am to bear it. A month of non-existence is the utmost
limit----
I am continually interrupted as I write, this being pay-day, and a
very busy time. I don't know exactly what will be the amount of our
fees; but I should think it would be about as good a month as the
last. Thirty-five dollars, however, have already been drawn for our
quarter's rent. If thou wantest any more money, as probably thou dost,
write me how much, and I will send it. How much must I reserve to pay
Rebecca's wages? Any surplus, I intend to apply in lessening Millet's
bill.
Here comes somebody else.
Ownest wife,
I am the best, and truest, and lovingest husband that ever was,
because thy goodness makes me so.
Mrs. Sophia A. Hawthorne,
West Newton, Mass.