[Letter: date unknown]

              Page 1
My Dear Edward:/

Your last came duly/
 to hand and found us as usual in good/
 health and spirits. I look for another to-day/
 in reply to mine mailed to you two/
 days ago, I have no doubt but that it/
 will come certain sure; perhaps you did not get it till yesterday morning/
 whereas I had hoped you would get/
 it Saturday ev'ning--it was in the B./
 post office at that time I expect.  So/
 hereafter my dear it might be well to/
 inquire sometimes of an ev'ning when the/
 whole of Sunday is to intervene that/
 is if you feel particularly anxious/
 and annoyed. So you have fallen/
 to dreaming again about preaching and/
 the like. What shall I say about/
 it? I scarcely know how or where to/
 begin. This thing I cannot understand/
 how you can study and canvass too./
 Then where would you go to study?/
  The two you may be able to do at one/
 time but I fear your health will/
 give way under the heavy burden./
 Now it may be that your mission/
 is to preach Heaven forbid that I/
 should put a feather in your way/
 or attempt to dissuade you for one/
 moment, but this I will say there is/
 a great deal of work to be done by lay-/
 men akin to preaching but which some/
 of them probably think they can only ac-/