Your kind favor at hand, I am very grateful for your dear words of cheer and instruction, how I do wish that matters were so you could come here this winter—perhaps you can yet, I am doing the best I can— I feel like stopping right here and asking myself, have I done the very best I could?—perhaps not—if not, then I must do better.

I must tell you about the colored family, I took them up for mesmeric poisoning, or conjuring (as they term it) the very night after I first visited them, the thought came cameAs Written:came to me while I was writing to you I treated them each day until Monday I called to see them, the woman opened the door to let me in saying she was much better, the little girl that was in bed Friday with a belief of fever and chills was at school, and the husband was better, last Friday (just one week from the time I first went there) I called again, the woman told me all the pain and soreness in her stomach and bowels was gone, the swelling in her feed going down, and she was feeling strong and had been out for a little walk, she will be confined in a few weeks she says "the Lord must have sent me to her" she is beginning to feel like herself and now has good hopes that she will get through her approaching time all right— I certainly was grateful in knowing that I had been able to relieve her from the clutches of a demon.— Have you found any of the students yet who can come here? what do you think of Mrs. Whiting and Miss Bartlett I heard they were looking for a place to locate in Boston— I will do all I can to introduce them into practice, the worst of it all is that the people will employ an M.D. until all their money is gone and their cases hopllss hopeless and they have got such a chronic hold of their old beliefs that they would rather part with their eye tett teeth than give them up, so about all we will get for some time will be these old chronic cases.—

I have been treating Mrs. Smith's servant girl for five weeks, they all tell me that it is wonderful how much I have helped HattieEditorial Note: Hattie was likely Harriet Briscoe, a servant in the household of Eldridge J. Smith and Melinda H. Smith in Washington, D.C., I called there last week and told them I thought she might be able to get along without me now, Mrs. S. asked how much I was going to change for what I had done, I told her to give what she pleased, then she asked what would I call there twice a week for another month for, I told her one dollarEditorial Note: $1 in 1881 is the equivalent of $25.78 in 2017. a week, then what would I call once a week for I told her fifty centsEditorial Note: .50 in 1881 is the equivalent of $12.89 in 2017. so she wants me to continue to call once a week, so far she has given me one car-ticket, I don't know what to think of them, they keep a very few boarders, either they are very poor or most wretchedly mean, which it is I have not taken the trouble find out.— Your letters come to me like manna in the wilderness—you are so kind and thoughtful in the midst of all your labors to think of me so often and write such helpful letters I hope that I may ever be faithful in the discharge of each and every duty that may be assigned me.—