their hair was arranged in such a lovely way, all just
alike, that it must have taken hours to do each head. The fashions
that are worn here are not in the least like those of Dinwiddie,
though Miss Willy made my black brocade exactly like one in a
fashion plate that came directly from Paris, but I know that you
aren't as much interested in this as Lucy and Jenny would be. The
dear girls are both well, and Lucy is carried away with her
stepchildren. She says she doesn't see why every woman doesn't
marry a widower. Isn't that exactly like Lucy? She is always so
funny. If only one of you were here with me, I should enjoy every
minute, but after I'd sat there for a while in the midst of all
those strangers, I began to feel a little lonely, so I came
upstairs to write you this letter. New York is a fascinating place
to visit, but I am glad I live in Dinwiddie where everybody knows
me.

And now, my dearest boy, I must tell you how perfectly overjoyed I
was to get your last letter, and to know that you are so delighted
with Oxford. I think of you every minute, and I pray for you the
last thing at night before I get into bed. Try to keep well and
strong, and if you get a cold, be sure not to let it run on till it
turns to a hacking cough. Remember that Doctor Fraser always used
to say that every cough, no matter how slight, is dangerous. I hope
you aren't studying too hard or overdoing athletics. It is so easy
to tax one's strength too much when one gets excited. I am sure I
don't know what to think of the English students being
"standoffish" with Americans. It seems very foolish of them not to
be nice and friendly, especially to Virginians, who were really
English in the beginning. But I am glad that you don't mind, and
that you would rather be a countryman of George Washington than a
countryman of George the Third. Of course England is the greatest
country in the world--you remember your grandfather always said
that--and we owe it everything that we have, but I think it very
silly of English people to be stiff and ill-mannered.

I hope you still read your Bible, darling, and that you find time
to go to church once every Sunday. Even if it seems a waste of time
to you, it would have pleased your grandfather, and for his sake I
hope you will go whe