today & am very tired, & will have to bid you good night much as I would like to fill this, may you sleep sweetly & have pleasant dreams of home again good night. 
Wednesday afternoon, again I resume the pen, I wonder where you are today, I fear down about Vicksburg. Ross has just come & is telling us that one of the Ellis boys that went in the same company with Cary is dead, they have but a little over a hundred effective men, it looks hard to see how fast the soldiers are dying off, many of them who have never seen a battle field, I am constantly anxious about you, more than anyone thinks of.  I have had such singular feeling lately, when I read of the death of a soldier my thoughts turn instantly to you, I don't know whether it is ominous or not; this is real March day, this morning was a bright beautiful one, but it soon clouded up & has been spitting snow & is quite cold & disagreeable.  Ezra Plummer returned a few days ago & I suppose that he & Venise will be married soon, they do not intend to make a wedding.  Father is not well yet, he looks very pale, but he has good apetite & we think he will get along now if he does not expose himself.  I feel anxious to go to the office for I think there is certainly be a letter for me, you say in your last that you fear that you often write more than will interesting, never fear, although your letters are good long one, I always wish they were longer; you must try to get along as pleasantly as you can in your discussions.  I know just how it is, but you that we must look over what some people say & ascribe it to their ignorance.  O! how I wish that I could have been with you that evening that you were strolling around among the farms & vineyards, I dont wonder that it made you homesick, it made me feel so to read it, I will try to have our orchard improved as much as possible, Austin says that he don't like to go to digging up trees, & thought perhaps he had better wait 'til you came home.  I suppose you want the peach trees that are dying dug up; he is going
