At Mrs Bansmans, Desmoines, April 16th /63  Dear Husband  You see that I am in Desmoines again, & will perhaps be surprised that I date at J.B. Bansmans, I don't think that you are personally acquainted & I know have a great antipathy for the editor of the Desmoines Times, so I will explain befor I turn my attention to things of more importance for fear you will think that I countenance treasonable institutions or have a disregard for you choice of friends; I met Mrs B. last fall at Mrs Reichenekers soon after I went there, she came to help Mrs R. with her sewing & spent the day & Mr B came up to dinner; you may be sure that I was prepared to dislike them both, more particularly, the editor from the fact that he was the proprietor & editor of "The Times". Mrs Reicheneker spoke so highly of Mrs B. & said that although he (Mr B) did edit such a sheet was a very fine man, but abolition sentiments & high patriotic feelings only made me the more determined to dislike them, but in spite of my prejudice & dislike for them they very unaccountably to me, seemed to be very much taken with me, & invited me frequently to their house, but I allways declined with the best grace I could without giving my reasons; Mrs Reich did a great deal of sewing on her machine in the & Mrs B. is just as handy & neat as she can be & Mrs R would send for her frequently to come up & help her when she was hurried with her work & J.B. generally came up to dinner & sometimes to supper, so that I was thrown into their society a good deal & the more I saw of them the better I liked them, & you will remember that I wrote
