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I thank you, My Dear Son, for your good long letter. I can excuse and fully forgive your vexation at not hearing from home so long tho I could hardly believe it was so long as you say. About its being so "small and meagre" just consider what I can have to make a letter of or with some of the time I lack for paper or ink. All of the time I have in one spot go thro the same round of care & duty hardly go out of the house once a month see no company and not even a passerby since the bridge was carried away by the freshet besides all these circumstances compound the amount of words I write thick and fine you know not to say ideas and perhaps you wont have so much reason to crow after all however I'll freely allow you to crow some. We ought to and mean to write as often as you will but tis hardly reasonable to suppose we could write as much and have it worth reading for you have every advantage . Your uncle J.L. in his letter to me says that he just thought he would contribute a trifle to assist you to Pocket money supposing your calls might be more and your chances for getting less. than the rest of the family then says

 Known unto you are all thier wants and wishes and also your wants & wishes so I enclose it to you. He says tell Charles to make one master effort  and "bow him self with all his might,, and see if he cant strain out one letter ha! ha!
 I wish in your correspondence with Joseph you could get at his real feelings in regard to his health, prospects and intentions for the future and advise  him in regard to his everyday deportment company etc. they dont write to me as much as they ought to, they are not half as good as you about it & you have done no more than your duty I don't know as much of their every doings and feelings hardly as I do of yours  I want to know all the joys & sorrows, wants & wishes of all my children. Your counsel may be of inestimable benefit to Eliab likewise dont be sparing of it. my pen and especially my ink are bad enough but that is not the worst I am afraid I cant make out to get enough of it to finish my letter.
  O how much reason I have to be thankful and how I pity Mrs Brown Poor Edwin pray for him and reprove him whether he will hear or forbear

upside down at top you did not answer half the questions in my last letter meagre as it was