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Dear Mother & Brothers and Sisters Bourd Coll. Brunswick May 29th 1845

Don't be pigheaded at the formidable appearance of this letter, thought I confess that it might be a fit subject of apprehension if you consider yourselves destined to read all that I most maliciously propose to 'inflict' upon you in this letter. I almost tremble at myself, whether at your sufferings in reading it though, or at mine in writing it. Could be different to decide. I have just returned from Boston, got back here yesterday, Wednesday May 27. I had a very comfortable time of it: was gone six days, and propose to myself as employment for this rainy day to inflict upon you a full record of all my adventures in this excursion.

To begin a little back. Wednesday May 21st, as you know, was our term examination, that morning I received a paper from you, and the next day sent one in return! I passed the Examination pretty comfortably. In the Mathematics, trigonometry, very well and in Latin & French pretty well considering how well I had been on the review. I received my term bill, it was $11,01 and sent four letters to Eliah by Edwin Lee Brown. With much hesitation I finally concluded to go to 'Bosting' and on Thursday May 22nd I started and walked down to Bath, 9 miles before noon. Money $15,00 and a few coppers. It was the sum of my possession, born together by every method of finance, and the chance for meeting the bills to be bought against me when I came back home $35,00 to $60,00 dollars. How would you go to Boston expecting to spend less than that there in a vacation. I brought back more that I carried!!!!! I had neither ((unclear)) nor travelling bag and so many were going away to be gone only a few days that I could not well get me. So I rolled up a shirt and a few collars and put into Pewtons Trunk and started. I arrived at Bath about noon and I spent the afternoon in loafing about, and examining the place which I had never before seen. I should have called upon Susan Carpenter, now Mrs. Sewall, who lives there, if I had known where she lived. Abby Carpenter is also there now teaching school I believe as P.G. Clark told me.

Bath is a place of some business, considerable (shiphandling?) but it has an old fashioned look about it. It has I suppose many rich men, and an abundance of good old fashioned fine residence, and good looking folks, but somehow it has something of a 'Sleepy Hollow' look about it, that is compared with some of our nowadays mushroom cities, and (unclear) cockneys, with their truly Yankee and anti true republican reverence for outside show and the semblance of apparent (unclear) and splendour and comfort which they would not even recognise the genuine if by any strange chance they should happen to see it.

My dinner and Supper and Breakfast cost me $,10! Steamboat started at 6P.M. Steamboat fare is $1,00 there are two boat evening on the line in opposition, both start every where at the same time, both were very fast boats so called, and there is quite a disposition to see which is the fastest, as well as which will get the most passengers to carry. We got into Boston about 4 o'clock, till an hour earlier than the usual time. I walked the streets, and the ((unclear)) in a reading room till about 9 o, clock and then found my way to Union St. No 64, inquired of a certain freckled faced fellow if Mr. Humphrey Steven's' was there. Then presented my card and claimed cousinship. The fellow appeared glad enough to see me, and of course insisted upon my stopping with him which I remained in town. He did not appear to have much more to say than I had, which was as you may imagine rather inconvenient matter of conversation that is to me with my negative capacities for talking upon 'nothing at all,' as some practice. However I stood there to Dinner, and ((unclear)) him while I was there and took some 7 or 8 ((unclear)) there while I was in Boston.

Friday & Saturday I loafed about and looked at the 'Lions' such as I could find. I visited the hot house, enrolled my respect name in its register and paid $.08 for being gulled with a 'guide look.' I went over to Charleston and visited the moment and Mary Ford. The monument is certainly the best thing I ever saw, such simple, majestic, classic beauty, as it towers about the cities which lie before it. I saw (Monadnock?) Mountain from the top. Everyone who goes up pays, 12 1/2 to help finishing off the ground , paid as well as, 6 1/4 for a book of verses.