Letter to Martha Schofield and Eliza H. Schofield

Home- 1st day noon- 2.9.[1873]
My dear Mart and Lizzie- I have felt that
I owed Mart a letter, for the pleasure that I had
in reading hers to Saint Lydia; and then
I do really owe Lizzie one- for hers of
just one month ago- so when the paper came
yesterday, and in it the cute little ventursome
absurd Arbutus, how can I forbear a chat today
between meetings, to thank you for it all?
Yes, absurd I say. What business had it to
come poknig out this time of year? Ours is better
behaved- not half so bold= safe still under cover
for many a long week. Dear little souls, where
did they come from? I wonder if Sallie Cole found
these in their woods- or if you two have visited our
favored hill-side by sand river- or perhaps Lizzie's
friend "Arbutus" has returned to Aiken, made her acquaintance,
and kept watch for the earliest opening flowers-
I read the newspaper with interest, of course-
and must thank Mark for another, which came a month
or more ago- [underlined:two] others- I drank up the school matters,
and all the town gossip with special relish. It was about
the same time that Lizzie wrote me of the Christmas tree,
and your holiday, and [leleme's] turkey, and the fire at
Ashley's- and Aunt Amy's chimney, [underlined:poor] Aunt Amy; wasn't
she thankful it didn't tumble on threw and kill them all in
their beds- and of the watch meeting [New Year] eve- all
so interesting- when a body knows just how things look,
and all about them, it is delightful to hear. I wonder if
you ever think how Aunt Mary & Aunt Jane and
Cousin [Chales?] must enjoy your letters, having seen
for themselves.

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To think that these eyes have never beheld that dear
m, Elizabeth's father, since our parting in Aiken depot.
Aunt Mary & Aunt Jane may have written of the evening
that [Richard] & Lydia & myself spent with them in the
holidays, at Cousin Sam's- It was very pleasant,
and I worked hard for the privilege- "Come early" said
Sallie, and so I started out before 5, to have a little bit of
afternoon, as well as evening. It was one of those unfortunate
times, in which this winter has been somewhat
rich, when the snow lay heaped, on each side the
car-tracks, and teams of 4 or 6 horses were needed-
so the cars were few, the people many in proportion
- Oh the waiting and the waiting! as one after another
passed, filled to overflowing. Then another corner, and
another, were tried with like results- and after some
half hour's delay, this child started off to walk, on icy
pavements, all the way to the desired goal. Some of the
squares were very lonely- but she got there- and the
supper wasn't eaten up, and everybody was so nice, and
you two just ought to have been there. Aunt Mary had on
her nice cap & [?]- and Aunt Jane the [black] alpaca we remember
- and they sat and talked about [underlined:everything], and read
us one of Mart's letters ( you see, [Richard] & [Lydia]. came in the evening)
and there of course we went over last Spring again-
I've been right homesick for Aiken half a dozen
times. As for Lydia, it would scarcely be too much to say,
that she would have welcomed a reasonable amount of
relaspe into unfavorable symptoms on my part. Yet
she would feel of course if she were absent, the same old
difficulties- too much care for Carrie, Sallie unmanageable

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, the kitchen going to destruction- She must
worry, you know. You want to hear all about them, dont you
Well, [Richard] is first rate- has his ways of opposing and
arguing- born with him- kind and helpful to every
one- social, and going to all sorts of [Meetings] & Committees.
the last news of him, sitting talking at Shepleys till 1/4 of
1 at night- nothing would delight him more than to have
company [underlined: every day]- but he spares his wife. He [underlined:did]
bring home Mattie Train a week or two ago- she was the
teacher of Charlotte, who waylaid us on our journey
down last winter. A concern about some orphans must be
laid before Richard, so the two teachers swooped down
upon us in the cars. Well, some little time after, she
brought up a dozen woolly-heads to our shelter- and now
a fortnight back, a dozen more. Lydia gave us quite a
story of her trip- the kindness she met with on the way-
all of which I presume she will detail to Mart in a letter
she has in view, knowing that both of you would feel
interest in the subject- The little ones safely housed
among the others, Martha Train attended to visiting and
shopping- and our sweet sister prefaced her description
with a sigh and an exclamation, "Well I am more glad
than ever that I am a friend!"- Yards upon yards of
trimming- and silk- and a switch at $18
for the Principal who was interested in the Doctor I believe
or [underlined:some] pantalooned article, and wanted to supplement
her knot the size of a walnut by this addition,
hoping thereby to become attractive- and lots of things
which sister was sure [underlined:ought] to be done without, at
salaries of 17 1/2 per month- and so, you see, she
thought with placidity of her own inexpensive ever- enduring
attire- and longed for the world to come and do
likewise. Remember the evening we talked about
the black bow she had found in Aiken streets?

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She has had a serene winter, with the [underlined: nicest] cook
and the best of chambermaids- but even with this best,
the corners were not clean, and a fraction of dust in
a corner is torture- in short, anything that isn't just
so. (She has never got over her mortification, that the
spickets in the bath-room were dim, the day of your
return from Aiken). Now that occasional worryings
for nothing, are merged into a worry for something,
I must begin to sympathize. The good cook is weak
enough to rejoin her husband- and is about to leave.
So much for the heads of the house- Sallie is
-as usual- [One] or two weeks she has been
sent to take daily lessons- a Miss Bligh who has
a faculty of managing incorrigibles, devotes two [hours]
to her, alone- and [underlined:may] work wonders- so far, not
much success- and I cant hoping that [Richard]
will be convinced that it wasn't all the fault of our
school, from [which] you remember he withdrew her, a
year ago- Richie is a good boy, now
entering business- kind & thoughtful, and a great
favorite with his Shepley cousins, as well as his sisters.
Carrie is delighted to have an aim in life- she
has been for a month assisting me at school- and
after the first nervous morning, where she couldn't
eat any breakfast, has, she says, enjoyed every minute
of the time. She is bright, well-read, and intelligent
naturally- whether she has the talent for imparting,
the power of keeping good order, and the management
to waste no time but keep everything moving on evenly,
will remain to be seen- I do not go to school now
until after ten- so she has the early classes entirely
under her own control. Thank thee, Mart, for
thy suggestion of the Public school- but this winter

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2/.
it seems scarcely probable that it will be acted
upon. Suppose I had built upon it, though, and
Mr Powell had remained- wouldn't I have been
disappointed . [underlined: I] manage boys! Ah
Mart, there was a covert poke in that-
I often wonder how Lizzie gets on
with her charge- now that Jennie Hayne is
absent it must be easier,- and last winter's
practice has made the way clearer for this-
Your meeting with the directors at the Town Hall-
how could we imagine it- Such a contrast
to [underlined: my] directors whom I met yesterday- in their
faultless broad brims & straight coats and plain
bonnets- not a suspicion of tobacco- clean linen
& daily baths made manifest in their freshness-
behavior perfect--- well, people say to me
sometimes "How can thee bear to be under a Committee?"
-Time was when I felt trammeled- and even
now I do occasionally- but where all responsibility
is assumed by them, they are often a real strength to
fall back upon. Do parents object to something? "Go
to the Committee." Do children query, "why is this?
why cant we do that?" "Ask the Committee"- And
they are truly considerate and faithful friends to
us- To be sure, they are [underlined:very] strict- and
their teachers have to be [underlined: just so]. I wear my chain
inside, to save their feelings- I avoid "places of diversion"
as the Query has it (do you ever go to Monthly [Meeting]?)- and to
my sorrow just now I have had to deny myself one
measure on their account- a visit to the academy
to hear the "Jubilee Lingers"- all the old

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plantation hymns- how I did long to hear
them- some that I had heard in Aiken, I found
on looking over the list. Every body is charmed-
the seats all taken, hundreds standing- one
night they took in $1900-- the largest
sum known at that house- it is
for a college I think at Nashville-
No Mart, no public school and no Aiken for me
this winter; and the dear little room must do without
me- I wonder if the sitting-room is just as cozy
as ever. I told Carrie the other day, I'd give any
thing if she had just been down one week, to see how we
would sit and talk around the fire in the twilight.
Aunt Amy comes in of course, and pops down on the
little chair- No Anna to nod in the corner-
At one time, I believed I should bear down upon
you for certain- and wrote to [Doctor] Price that I
was coming to him for advice- whether to go away,
or shut myself up in my room and be tropical.
Of course, writing had the effect to make me get
better, and when I really went, I was ashamed
at being so well- He was cheery, and comforted
me- "I dont think thee needs to go away"
good soul, he knew I wasn't so fond of going from home
as some people so he was merciful- but if he had
said yes, I should have felt you such a refuge-
My friend Martha, whom you know by her
letters, has now been a week in the Bermudas
if the ship bore her safely and she lived to get
there- Three months illness, neuralgia

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of the severest kind, and later internal troubles
and threatenings of a tumor, have worn her
down to skin & bone, and have made her a
wretched invalid- the only hope of a cure, a
genial climate and change of scene- Cant
you sail out some pleasant day from Charleston?
due east, you know, and only a thousand
miles. Little Mary has gone with her,
and a sister of Will's-
I ought to tell Lizzie what a nice little visit I
paid to [West] Chester, when I went to see [Doctor] Price.
Wrote him word that I would see him at the hotel.
What did he do but meet me in his sleigh at the Depot,
and take me home. Rachel was kind as she could be,
they kept me to dinner, sending me [crossed out: off] in the
sleigh to the Depot- I tell thee Lizzie, it was [underlined: very] kind
and so unexpected. What a dear old lady
Grandmother Price is- we had a nice talk- I
never saw her before, but remembered what you
had said of her, and was not disappointed. As
for [Doctor], blessed little man, he was busy busy,
but just as nice as ever and so comforting as I
said before, to tell me I was better. I had just
passed through two months of down hill--and it
was hard work- now I am going [underlined: up, up], so
happily- I didn't see Lizzie's father
in [West Chester] but how could I, for I only raced to the
Depot & back again, except the two hours I was in
[Doctor's] parlor & dining room. How pleasant to have

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the Conservatory opening out- the daintiest little
bouquet Rachel gathers for me- and I enjoyed seeing
her plants too- only the contrast with my own
was so great. In the fall, my school windows
seemed so bare, that I asked the children to
bring one or two plants each, what they could
spare- some of the specimens were but poor at
first, and I have nothing to be proud of - Two
or three bunches geraniums however, are always
out, and the sun does its very vest with these-
When is it warmer again, I shall buy two primulas
and something else bright, and let us have a little
bit of bloom to cheer us- Half a dozen hyacinths
are opening- but- things need care which they
dont get. I really havent time.
Three times a week I ride. Of course, the riding
school is the only available place this time of
year. When I think how twelve months ago I was
exploring your county on dear little pony; and now
find myself just going round & round a room, the
constrast is great. If I had known as much about
the art of riding as now, I should never have
felt the least fear of the little fellow- I never
did here the Park, though he would be pretty
lively sometimes- oh its mournful that I've
lost him. I did hope one day to be rich enough
to buy him back & keep him- and had just
written to his owner never to sell him without letting
me know, a little while before his death-

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3) Perhaps you've never seen a riding-school-
a good many people never have- so I'll tell you
my unhappy experiences- The frost & snows & rains
all made it unsuitable here to ride out of
doors in winter- and nothing was left but
to take lessons, for sake of the excercise.
That's the shape of the room-
[picture of on the ground floor- about 150
training area] foot long- 40 or 50 wide-
It is large enough any feeling of giddiness
as we go round & round- We have a dressing room
near, and put on our fixins- then go through the gate
into the riding ground, which is paved with tan- so if
one gets thrown it is soft- and no dust is raised in
the ride- on the platform from which the gate leads,
sit the visitors when there are any-often three or
four come together- others [?]- They see a
class, it may be 5 it may be a dozen, streaming
round one after another, perhaps on a walk- rather dull,
but as our Master says, the time to learn to sit, to hold
the reins, to keep the [inserted:horses] neck arched, and so forth & so forth-
Soon the command to trot- oh how tired it makes me- and
what a quantity of breath it takes. Then another walk-
Then a canter- a certain number of times round the
room is a mile- 15 I think- then we turn & go the
other way- "Miss Shinn has done that wrong-deliberately"
he said with cutting [emphasis?]- whereupon I did it wrong
again, and a third time- "well" said I, "how [underlined:must] I do
it?" whereupon he told me- "I have never been taught
that way" I pleaded. "No matter, you should have
known how to do it"- rather hard I thought. He's
as cross as a [underlined:bear]-often times- and scolds for

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the last failure- and what is so odd, tells me
often that I [underlined:dont try]. I'd heard that so many
times that I got out of patience, and so I said
at the last repetition of it- "It would be the
strangest thing for any one of my age to
come all the way out here to learn
to ride, and [underlined:not try]! Now if I were a child it
would be different!" This seemed to calm him
down a little- but he does say very cutting
things- "Whip your horse-hard! harder!! Why
dont you [underlined:whip] him, and not be playing there, like
a Dunce!" With it all, and my boiling
over sometimes, and my desire to say stinging things
back, (in which I dont indulge, let me assure you)
I have really the nicest kind of rides- on the whole.
His horses are well trained- he gives me easy
gentle ones- is learning that I get tired if I trot too
long, so he very kindly (for him) indulges me in a
canter instead- and always the lessons have the
most exhilarating, tonic effect- I wish you could
both share them with me. Lizzie would be perfectly
delighted. Mart would be dreadfully frightened
at first, for some of the horses stand up this way
[drawing of a horse rearing up with a rider on its back] and you're sure they'll go over backward on
you- and some go this way [picture of a horse bucking forward with a rider on it's back]
and you dont find it comfortable,
and some spend the time alternately on the forefeet and
the hind feet, when the Master walks along besides
with his hand on the rein, and tickles them vigorously
with the whip as they go round the room.
Many a sly cut he gives them as he is riding beside them-
and they watch him with the most knowing look as he

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comes near or goes away-
How much you will both enjoy Meg as the
Spring days draw near- and I should certainly go on
horse-back sometimes, if the old lady knows anything
about carrying ladies at all- I can fancy you
driving out to Cousin Issac's- often- do give my
love to all of them- Tell Cousin Issac that his
cousin Mahlon [Murn?] was here all night a week ago-
and Mary spent two weeks with us- she is a bright
good lovely girl- a great comfort to her father, and
a most faithful sister- they could hardly do
without her at home, but she needed change
and rest. Mahlon asked after the Aikenites,
and had more questions than I could answer
about the farming. I do hope [underlined:next] year
there wont be a drought to spoil the
strawberries. I wonder if you'll get them
from the garden as you did so often- oh
such luscious berries, full of sunshine-
I want two saucers of them now-
There is a gentleman here today from
Bogota in [South] America- he says they have
strawberries there all the year- how much
better to do without, and then let them
come with all their freshness- as we do-
So after all, I wont pine for them till the
right time- and will be satisfied with the

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abundance of apples (three barrels open now,
down stairs) and the occasional orange crops that
make their way to our streets- We have had
radishes every night all winter with very rare excepting
and I wish you could get the delicious crisp celery
that daily adorns the table- No I need not
grumble for strawberries.- But they are
already in our windows, and asparagus too-
and huge bunches of hot house grapes [underlined:only] a dollar
a pound, are distracting as one passes the confectioners
. Sister law the loveliest bunches of lilies
of the valley a week ago- [underlined:two dollars] a bunch.
She thought not!
I am glad Clem is getting on nicely- if
only the people will [underlined:pay]- but doubt they
have the credit system in Aiken? Very risky.
Do give my kind regards to him & Charley-
and tell Cousin Carrie that I often think of
her, how she used to stop sometimes and sit
with us- and say to Cousin Issac that
I'd very much like to see him again and
hope I will sometime either here or there-
Mart, if you were 2 1/2 [hours] off instead of all that
distance, wouldn't I drop in and make my own
remarks to you instead of scribbling away-which
always leaves so much unsaid, and often sends
away worthless words- Love to you both
and good Aunt Amy- I'd like some of her
best corn bread for breakfast, tell her-
Lovingly yours- Cousin R