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Letter from Walter Reed to Emilie B. Lawrence, July 25, 1875 | |
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 | continually were you present in my mind that I could not compose myself to slumber Nor did I much care to sleep, since what occupation could bring so much joy to my heart as communion with my sweet little Emilie! Ah! 'tis separation that teaches me the depth of my love! Surely I can say with the poet; "where e'er I roam, whatever lands to see, my heart un- trammelled fondly turns to thee; still to my Emilie turns with ceas [e] less pain, & drags, at each remove, a lengthening Chain"! I would have writ- |
 | letter could not possibly leave till Monday morning, and besides my mind would be fresher after a night's rest. Well, I must tell you about my trip from your classic little city to this giant metropolis- Nothing occurred to mar the pleas- ure of the journey to Boy- kins- It was rather warm & dusty, but Thornton was so communicative on various topics, that I quite forgot the heat- I reached Boykins in time to drop you a note & one, also, to Ma. I know you did not an- ticipate hearing from me so soon- You perceive, my darling, that occas ally I even surpass |
 | your expectations. Blessed is she who expecteth little, for she shall not be disappoin- ted- I told Thornton to be sure to deliver it to you as soon as he reached Murfreesboro- Did he do it? If he did not, woe be unto him when I next come! Nothing of interest occurred between Boykins & Portsmouth, & in a very [few] minutes after reaching the last named place, I was aboard the steamer & on my way to the Monumental City- There were quite a number on board & among them several young looking couples who, of course, attracted my attention- And here I must relate to you an |
 | which, at the time of its oc- currence, was painful to me- It was a few minutes after supper & we were nearing For- tress Monroe- I was on the forward part of the main deck & near me stood a young couple. The wind was blowing briskly & a sudden gust blew the lady's hat from the top of her head out into the waters of the broad Chesapeake! What a loss! What a calamity! As the hat floated away, I heard her husband upbraiding [her] quite severely |
 | for her carelessness in permitting the breeze to car- ry away her hat, and, I heard her, poor creature, making the best excuse she could for the accident! What think you of this, my darling? Does it not make your very soul sick? The loss of a bonnet sufficient cause for cross words! I do not now wonder that a woman re- gards matrimony as a perilous leap, since I find my sex such mis- erable fault-finders! When this model couple had left the deck, (the poor wife to hear still harsher words, perhaps,) I sat & mused for quite awhile- I was- glad, in one sense, that I |
 | had been the silent wit- ness of such a scene- I wanted it to sink deep into my memory & to make an impression which should forever remain- not that I ever have any fear that I shall follow in such footsteps! Heaven forbid! But because these things are instructive & useful to any man who contemplates matrimony, since "to be fore- warned is to be fore-armed"- I saw them again, on the following morning,- he seemed quite affectionate & she hap- py; but ah! think you, she had forgotten those cruel words? I trust she had, but I do not believe it. The remain [der] of my journey was |
 | devoid of any particular in- terest- I looked at the cen- tennial buildings, now un- der construction, very closely, for, you know, you & I expect to visit them one of these days. What an occassion that will be! I reached my hotel at 5.30, last evening- I expect to go to Governor's Island, this afternoon, in order to find out how I can get to Willett's Point- I find that the U.S. boat only runs on Wednesdays & Saturdays, & hence I must find out some other mode of conveyance- will write you to-morrow- Adieu! my darling, & be- |