_Dearest wife._
I have nothing to say except that a hen has vouchsafed to lay two eggs
in our barn, and I have directed that one shall be left as a nest egg;
so that you can have a fresh dropt egg every morning for breakfast,
after your return.
Una has considerably improved our table; and I like this new cook much
better than poor Ann.
Do not mind what Una says about staying away longer, but come whenever
you like; though I think you have hardly been away long enough to want
to see us again.
Thine
N. H.