Boston, Feb 26th
My dear Mrs. Gibbons
Mother wanted
you to know how grateful
she was for your kind
loving letter, & how much
comfort it gave her, for as
she said, she could feel
that you only spoke of
what you knew.
She said you wrote just
what she had wanted to
hear from you. We were
all very grateful to you.
Mother sends much love
[left side]
to you and will write
herself, but does not feel
able to quite yet. She
has not felt as if she
could write even to
Aunt Sarah, until yesterday.
She gets her strength
slowly, but is now again
at her daily work for
the soldiers & Theodore's
regiment. She is strong
enough to walk about
twenty minutes every day,
& since all anxiety has
been over, she has been
able to sleep better, often
five to six hours, than she
[right side]
did for many weeks before.
We were saying the other day,
how little we thought, when
we thought of you, last year
on the 17th of December, how
near to that day, our day
of mourning would come, &
how soon. In our first
distress we conjured the dates
& thought the day was the
same.
Mother feels, as we all do, that
we have one comfort more
than those had who had to
mourn in the very beginning,
when they were not sure
that after all this suffering
they would win any result
worth the sacrifice, not
knowing as we can, that
nothing can now, prevent
emancipation. We have
the comfort of knowing
that Theodore knew that
too, felt sure of it.
I hope you all keep well
& happy. WIth kind remembrance
to all & much love
to the girls
Respectfully & affectionately
yours
Mary R Parkman
