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St. Louis MO. Nov. 11

Dear Nathan,

Your letter has just come. And as you know I have nothing to do, I will answer it immediately. I never have been & never expect to be so much hurried as to neglect a very near & dear correspondent. And let me ask you in the first place, not to write me again when you have the blues underlined, till I am a little stronger in the nerves than I am now. You have no business to have the blues. What good will it do you? (Preaching & practicing are two things, aint they Nate? Well they is.) Only think of it. You make yourself miserable & contribute not a little to make Sarah & Mr Fuller so & perhaps others, because one underlined minister does not preach to suit you, where he assures you that he believes just as you do. all underlined. Aint that sensible? underlined. Look at it now in the light of good common sense. How I console you dont I? Hellen says she knows how to pity you, for she could no enjoy her meetings at Dayton. I love refinements & elevation of sentiment as much as I can love anything (you must know that); but that love I mean shall never disgust me with the wicked, coarse, base, low, vulgar world. Fastidiousness does not necessarily belong to refinement, yea it is in my mind a species of vulgarity. Now havent I said it? Oh, what a comforter! Are you a little touched? But look at it coolly. Refinement is a noble & desirable virtue; but from refinement there are roads that lead both ways, one to coarsness, the other to fastidiousness; which is preferable I will not undertake to say. But I know both are wrong. I dont question your refinement. I know you are one of the most refined men I have ever seen, I mean truly, nobly refined. But I have candidly queried with myself whether you have added to your faith that degree of Christian charity that is desirable ("But the greatest of these is charity" underlined.) But I know you have much

[vertical writing follows] I have just been studying the almanac to see when your winter time closes, for I am awfuly impatient for the time to come. I find if you have no vacation, it will unclear out the 4th of Feb. Raymond is to have no vacation, why must you? Push it through, by day light. If you have any sympathy for a poor way fairing unclear push it through. If you would like to unclear the unclear of our suffering push it through. Helen says if you only know how long our days are when she & I love lobe to just have alone, you would push it through.