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Dear Mother & Brothers and Sisters Bowd Coll. Brunswick May 29th 1845
Don't be frightened at the formidable appearance of this letter, though 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 idle I had been on the review. I received my term bill, it was $11,01 and sent four letters to Eliab 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 possessions, drawn together by every method of finance, and the reliance for meeting the bills to be brought against me when I came back. Some $35,00 to $60,00 dollars. Few would go to Boston expecting to spend less than that there in a vacation. I brought back more that I carried!!!!! I had neither Valise nor travelling bag and so many were going away to be gone only a few days that I could not well get one. 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 ship building but it has an old fashioned look about it. It has I suppose many rich men, and an abundance of good old fashioned fine residences, 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 "parvenu's" cockneys, with their truly Yankee and anti true republican reverence for outside show and the semblance of apparent splendor and comfort while 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 running on the line in opposition, both start every where at the same time, both are 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, A.M. an hour earlier than the usual time. I walked the streets, or read the newspaper in a reading room till about 9 oclock 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 while 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 staid there to Dinner, and Slept? with him while I was there and took some 7 or 8 meals there while I was in Boston.
Friday & Saturday I loafed about and looked at the 'Lions' such as I could find. I visited the Statehouse, enrolled my respectable name in its register and paid $.08 for being gulled with a 'guide book.' I went over to Charleston and visited the Monument and Navy Yard. The monument is certainly the best thing I ever saw, such simple, majestic, classic beauty, as it towers above 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 Views.