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Westfield Nov. 22 1851 Westfield Nov. 23d / 51

  Dear brother and Sisters,
                    As Thanksgiving is near at hand, the special time for family gathering I have been thinking this evening that I should like very much to step in and see you, and as to do so by my 'bodily presence' seems to be impracticable if not impossible, I must content myself with sending instead this silent yet speaking, 'winged messenger; to say how do you do? How is little Charlie. Does he dress in pants yet? I do'nt approve at all of his picking up six bushels of potatoes it is not the kind of exercise suited to his age, if you suffer him to travel over the farm with you and help, praising him for so doing -  thereby stimulating him to exertion though he may grow up healthy enough and quite useful to you  you will cause him to be a stunted clumsy, thickset, boorish youth,

[left side] I am under no serious apprehension that Charlie will be abused or overworked, now or hereafter but quiet gentleness as well as activity are desirable so that I mean part in spirit and part in earnest. [top and right side] I send you some seeds of the Cucumber tree which grows large with very broad leaves leaving a large handsome blossom in spring and in early autumn a fruit the size and shape of a small cucumber thickly filled with these bright red seeds giving the tree a fine appearance two large trees are on the green in front of the Academy native to the soil. In Zanesville the streets are shaded with them and the 'Tree of Heaven' a tree much like the Sumac only very large & lofty.