.MTI3NA.MTAxNzk4

Nov. 9th, 1845, Turner Me. Dear Mother, I was much gratified last night by receiving a excellent letter from Home, you & Lucy. You can hardly imagine the good it does one to receive letters from home, when one is so far off, in a strange land, though perhaps I hardly ought to say among strangers; for I have got acquainted here considerable, more than I am apt to. I have certainly succeeded very well here, so far; at least I have, I think likely, about the greatest High School, ever taught here in Turner, and certainly none ever got along more smoothly. It would amaze a common teacher to see my school, I reckon The school house contains two rooms, and the school being so very large we have taken a couple of planks out of the partition & the scholars sit in either room part, indiscriminately. Besides every one has full liberty to do as they please & go as they please. No one asks leave to pass from one seat or one room to another, or out doors, or or any where or any thing else. Every one does as themselves please in every thing; and of course, being in two different rooms, & so many of them, they have every opportunity, the materials too must of course be discordant, among so many from all sorts of districts & all sorts of families, there are of course all sorts of romping girls & bad boys, boys perhaps who never behaved well before in their lives, certainly not in school. And yet it is a good school, in every respect, every one well disposed and doing their best apparently; all perfectly united. All agreed to like their Teacher, & one another, and improve their time.