June 27
I can certainly give you credit about being a good boy writing home but yet I dont get so many letters, but from you but what I get time to read them half a dozen times over. I have one before me dated May 18th in which you express a dislike to study & seem to think you never was intended fr a literary character - that it was " a dreadful bore,, reviewing studies etc. At which I was very much astonished & wish to know what it means I thought you had always been fond of what might be to me literary pursuits. Tho' I think you have never decipher'd your mind just right & you have not the faculty of fixing your mind so long on any one thing as Joseph can as you might if you had not atton'd yourself very much to your detriment in so much desultory reading always in which you tell about study being ? when reading your letters I happened to call to mind the way you lounged about the last time you were at home and the ridiculous figure you cut some of the times not half dress'd = The possibility that you might turn out to be a lazy man struck through my heart like a barb'd arrow and actually made the tears flow at the bare thought of it to have ones fondest hopes completely crush'd!!! But I am persuaded better things of of you and things that accompany salvation tho' I thus speak, I am apprehensive that you sometime tax your mind quite to hard and then again (perhaps as the natural consequence) indulge yourself to much you act to much from impulse or feeling and not enough from a sense of duty you must try to govern yourself better I almost know you read to much - what infinite obligations we are under to praise and bless God for his Goodness to you how ungrateful we must be not to be faithful in duty. (had a letter from her last night,
Lucy I suppose told you what they say about you and your school last winter. The Dudley girls have not call'd upon her and do not hardly speak to her at meeting have been not only impolite but rude to her tis plain that they have tried very much to injure you I dont know why - was your deportment such when you were there that they think that you were trifling with them? I am much deciev'd if that is your character still you might unwittingly gave them reason to think so. I should think you might have seen enough of human nature by this time to know that where there is a family of several at Marriageable daughters, there will be a great deal of Manouvering to catch a likely young fellow that happens to come in thier way and if they fail x x x look out you'll not always find all the virtue and excellence that were portray'd in the characters of females as you gave it to Joseph in a letter last winter. It is worth a great deal to any one to get a just climate of human nature we are very apt to view it better or worse than it really is. It seems as if you ought to be able to keep a good school but greatly suppose you did not last winter exactly and I am sure I dont know what you can do to earn any thing hardly next fall, but be faithful to your duty & observe carefully the indications of providence & God will direct you what to do I cant think of anything about here Mr. Harvey is going to keep the fall & winter school in Brownville Village. Ezra Barker is engag'd to keep the school in this district they have a kind of high school 3 months every fall in Royalton which I suppose is profitable to the teachers and very haply there are teachers enough there but if you think it would best I can write to Mr. Perkins about it. We have been trying to contrive a way to help you to some money if you cant find anything better for you to do you can come home and work there is always enough to do you know we have talked about & I think C. will be willing to let you have the old oxen and make what you can out of them perhaps you could sell them better than he could if you should be about here he will have to have another man part of the time he has sow'd 50 bushels of grain 6 of it on Almeda's the wheat looks pretty well but it has been very cold & dry