I received your letter with great pleasure and was much pleased to hear that your health was so good and that the country was healthy generally; but that dreadful disease which has scourged the northern part of our land has at length reached our shores: you mentioned the Cholera was in Plymouth and other places round about when you answer this please tell how many cases have occurred and the number of deaths and the names of the most distinguished for the [sic] are all of them expecting it and it is there principle topic in conversation: if it gets here the college duties I expect, will be suspended and the most of the boys will go away to some other place. Uncle James will go away also. I was very much astonished and affected when you stated brother James had relapsed to his former state since that is the case I have very little hopes of his getting entirely well though I wish he may recover.

I have a room-mate who is quite a pleasant young man generally; the reason I took a room-mate was because I expected the college would be full and I would therefore be obliged to take one so I thought it was better to have one of my own choosing but I now find that I might have had a room by myself if choose but I shall now continue with him all the session and it costs less, however it cost more than I expected it; I suppose it is because there is but one good store here and they knowing that students are obliged to have certain things ask their own price. I study tolerable hard and am among the best in the class though there some who sit up very late at night and have their books in their hands from morning untill night. I am in very good health. I would write more but it is so late being past ten and I am so sleepy that I must quit. Give my love to grandma and