Letter from
John Osborne
Guion to his cousin,
Theodore
Kingsbury
, March 13, 1846 (Includes Description of the Boarding House)
Guion, John Osborne
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Chapel
Hill
March 13 / 46
Cousin Theodore
,
I suppose by this time that you have given out all hopes of receiving a letter
from me this session; but you will see by this that you have not been forgotten,
and I hope that it may not be treated with silence. Though we are seperated so
as not to be able to convers face to face, yet we can correspond by letter; and
since there has been a mutual neglect in writing this session; I hope there may
also be a mutual improvement. For as Cicero says,
"to destroy the intercourse of absent friends, is to strip life of all
its social joys." I believe this to be true; for nothing affords me
more pleasure than to receive a letter from a friend, & remember that
we are more than mere friends. You may say that my actions differs much from my
opinions: still what I have said is no less true.
Since I left home I have been well with the exception of bad colds together with
soar throat which gave me some trouble. I had a very bad cough, which disturbed
my rest at night. I room in the
village, at
Mrs
Lewis's.
whom I find to be a very fine old Lady. She has quite a pretty
daughter, which
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makes it so much the more pleasant, for you know
what a gallant I am. I have no room mate, and I believe it is preferable not to
have one, at least to running the risk of getting a bad room-mate. This may
serve to makes us more cautious when we come to choose a sharer, not merely of
your room for four years, but for life and more than the room.
Three more fellows besides myself, are keeping batchelors hall and I am much
pleased with it, and shall continue doing so at least this session. The famous
"Lord
Chesterfield
" waits on us, which
makes the thing more a propor, to use one of his favourite expressions. There
are a large number of students who board themselves, which makes the boarding
houses less profitable. If I roomed in college, I should not do it for the
inconveniences of having your meals prepared in your rooms are too great, but as
it is I have nothing to do but to see to the smoke-house for our meals are
served up in a seperate apartment from the rooms.
I often think of you and wish you were here with me, and hope that we shall be in
college together at least one year. This is contrary to your belief, but I say
to you banish such a thought from your mind and remember that, "Labor
vinit omnia." & I have not the least doubt of your joining
college in June. Your stay in
Fayetteville was so short that I suppose you
had no
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time to form any opinion of the place. Mrs
is no doubt pleased with her new home and "Old
Man." I presume
sister has not returned and when she does Cousin
Mary Ann will come up with her. I should like
to see her. If she is pleased with
Fayette it is more
than I expect. she wants to get home. And I do not see how she can be pleased
having left home so soon after the death of her mother, and having always been
at home, it is almost impossible for her to be satisfied, and considering her
disposition. [unrecovered] believe that she is hard to please, I
have nothing [unrecovered] judge from more than what I have
heard of [unrecovered] her, poor girl I am sorry for her; the
words [unrecovered] favourite old song are really true, that
"there [unrecovered] no place like home." And
when anyone is to be deprived of home and the nearest and dearest to them, it is
heartrending. When you write to her give my love to her. The mumps have been
going the rounds in college, though I have escaped, and the "Tyler
Grippe." also, some cases of the mumps have been very bad. but the
majority of the cases have been slight.
The Young Ladies I hope are well (I cannot close my letter without saying
something about them). though some are absent. I have often wished myself at
neighbour
Shaws, dancing with
the young Lady who pleased
Ford. so much. Miss
Tucker I suppose is as beautiful as ever. I do not know but that I may
comply with the letter of
Mary's which you saw. there is no telling. Her charms are almost
irresistible. So you had better become acquainted with your "perhaps to
be" relation. But the
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Young Ladies of
Raleigh are such frightful objects to you that you can hardly be
persuaded to approach them. Tell
Mary I have been expecting to receive a present from her, in the way
of "goodies." but fear that I shall never receive it. And also
tell that I have been awaiting an answer to my last letter. and
very impatiently. I think you all have forgotten how to write. for I have only
received one letter this session
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but I am not
surprised. When you see
Haywood
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present my respects to him and tell him that I
should be glad to hear from him. Give my love to all the family and when you
write remember me to your family & particularly to
Delia. Write to me soon, and do'nt
suffer the session to pass by without answering my letter. Tell
Bernard &
Julius. that I should like to have them
here to go out shooting for me. since I am keeping batchelors hall. I could live
very cheap. I could send them out. hunting. & now the fishing season is
approaching. they could also supply me with fish. But never mind. they may wait
on me this summer. bringing water &c. with all wishes for your welfare
& advancement
I remain Your Cousin.
J. O. G.