F&M 6/V/2/12 1859
01 20 WR to Sisters Honolulu
Honolulu January 20, 1859
My Dear Sisters
On New Year day we recıd the mail of Nov 20th 41
days from New York, bringing us letters from Elly, Jenny, Father Krug, Beck
Reeves & Elizabeth Steinman, a very welcome & pleasant event to usher
in Anno dimino 1859.
It is custom here to keep open house on New Years day, and
receive gentlemen callers. We had
our table of fish salad, mixed by Wm Reynolds after a
German ladies recipe and quite a
success, cakes, iced punch rum & brandy particularly
compounded and much admired and ham sandwiches made by chopping the meat up
fine and dressing a la salad!
We had about 60 visitors from 11 a.m. until tea time.
I paid a few visits to neighbors having Onlinger (as the
Ancient Mariner) to drag me about in a little hand carriage, and came home
between times to help Rebecca. We
both I enjoyed the day
exceedingly and after tea when the visiting was ended, we sat down to take a
satisfactory reading of the letters, which we had only nibbled at before.
Yesterday the mail of Dec 6th arrived with
letters from Elly, John Krug & the Marshalls – also the Presidents
message 44 days from New York.
Jennyıs letter
communicated the intelligence of the precocious prosperity of the infant
Reynolds Landis for conversing in rhyme, and as a specimen his profane address
to ³Aunt Ele teedle tell go to Hell!²
I fear he must have picked up such epithets in his frequent visits to
the Naval asylum. What an amusing
little fellow he must be – I wish we could enjoy his company at times
– I made a request in a letter of some months back, that you would have
his daguerreotype taken in patent leather and send it out in a letter? Will you try and accomplish this if
practicable.
It would have been gratifying news if we could have learned
that Mr. Evans had found a farm in Chester Co. to suit him. I hope eventually he may settle East of
the Mountains and in time acceptable & pleasant neighborhood to repay them
all for their long Siberian Exile in Clarion.
We are glad that George prospers in his business & that
they remain in their home, and wish he may succeed so well as to put Western
thoughts out of his prospects. It
is sad the hard times did not catch him out there, a new settler. What is there in the atmosphere of
Baltimore to rid Hal of headaches?
I have no doubts of the greater healthiness of that part of
Baltimore. When George lives over
the whole of Philadelphia it is hilly and breezy whereas that slice of low land
sandwiched between Schuylkill & Delaware is hot, moist fevery &c
&c.
I wrote to Sam by last mail requesting him on receipt of any
funds from the Estate on my accıt without delay to transmit a check for the amt
to B. W. Field care of H. A. Peirce of Commercial Wharf Boston with directions
to him to forward the same to me, by Earliest offering. In case my letter to him did not come
to hand, will you please copy the above directions and send to Sam. I hope Mr. Evans will be able to sell
his stock of pig metal at good price on all accounts. An addition to our means will be very receptacle as our
expenses are very heavy and we shall not be able to get along at all, but that
I was so fortunateous to invest my spare cash at high rates.
My leg is doing well.
I ride on horseback every forenoon and walk ¼ of a mile or more
every P.M. with a slight use of the crutch -- about the house I can move
without a crutch or cane. The
large muscle is gradually coming into play, but is still stiff and enlarged and
I suppose some months will lapse ere I can kick freely and strongly with my
starboard leg. But I rejoice in my
present measure of locomotion and in my increase of flesh -- I now weigh 145
lbs moderately clothed 15 lbs more than 8 months at Lancaster with lager bear
& oysters & winter garments sufficed to bring about. And I never weighed so much at anytime
here in Honolulu -- at Kauai. My
heaviest was 146 under every advantage of exercise Nuf sed.
Rebeccas shawl is very much admired she went to an evening
company with Jennyıs sleeves on, and will ornament herself with the others on
Sunday & holidays. The postage
scales are very useful and just what I wanted & had tried to buy here in
vain.
With much love to all, and wishing you much good during the
year 1859.
Ever
affectionately
Your
brother
William
Miss E. Reynolds
and sisters
1829
Spruce Street
Philadelphia