Author: Alger, Horatio, 1832-1899.
Title: [Letter from Horatio Alger to his friend Edward Bigelow. Letter from Edward to Alger and Letter from Edward to his "dear Sister."]
Format: 10 p. ; 20-25 cm.
Other Name: Hineline, Elise E.
Horatio Alger Collection.
Location: PS 1029 .A3 Z483 1853a (Special Collections)
Project Direction: Samuel T. Huang
Transcribed and encoded by: Stephen M. Hohe
Optically scanned by Mark A. Williams
Horatio Alger Digital Repository Project, Northern llinois University Libraries
DeKalb, IL
17-April-2000
Sunday Forenoon April 17th
My Dear Sister,
I received your letter by last nights
mail, and I thought I would answer it today as
you wanted me to. I don't Know as I can write a very
long letter but I will see how long I can write ones
for. I guess Emily will send a billet in this and she
will write all the news. I go to school now
and I have first rate times. I study Latin and French.
Adelaide does not study Worcester's History so I thought I
would study it. I study besides them three lessons,
Ancient Geography, Greenleaf Arithmetic, Algebra, and I
study in the first class in grammar. They
do not have compositions this term, and I am
glad of it, but they may them forelong.
Dow sends me the Waverly because
I sent a piece for it, and I am going to begin
----- Page Break -----
another piece today to write to it, it will
be a translation, for I won't try to write any
thing else for it. There are two pieces in the
Waverly this week April 23d that are declined.
One of them was to "Fannie" the other to
"Annie Ellen", but I don't know who they are
by. I go up to Mr. Algers now almost
as often as I used to. Horatio writes
to me every week and I answer them,
one of them was six pages long, and all the
others were three or four. He wants me to
come down there about the first of May he
has asked a great many times in his letters
and I don't know but what I may go. in his
letters he most always write some poetry
some funny and other different kinds, I will write you
some of it on the next page. He has written
a great many pieces lately. One of them was inscribed
to me. There is one in N.Y. Illustrated News last
week. "Geraldine" one in the Petersen's Magazine "Welcome to May"
and another "The Vacant Chair", they send him the magazine
----- Page Break -----
for nothing. He has written one and they are
going to print it in "History of my Native Village".
I am going to write him today, I was sick
week before last so that I could not go school.
Father went up to Worcester to a court about something
I don't Know what it was, and he said he did not get through
till about time for the cars to start, so that
he did not have time to go early to the Dr's office
but he may go up next Tuesday. Here is some of Horatio's
poetry.
"Oh come with me to Chelsea
And listen to the lay
The merry birds are caroling
To welcome in the May
The air is vocal with their songs
The quiet stream below
Entranced by their minstrelsy
Almost forgets to flow."
----------
But the evening shadows fall
And the twilights sober fall
Rests upon me as I write
Scarce I heed the rapid flight
Of the swiftly fleeting hours
While memory bears me back
O'er the bright and sunny track
----- Page Break -----
Lined on either side with flowers
Where in pleasant days gone by
Hand in hand walked thou and I
Hours alas too quickly flown
I am left all alone!"
----------
I guess I have written about enough for this time
and I want you to write me just as quick as you can and,
when you come home I will let you see H letters, so
good bye!
Your Brother Edward
(P.S.) I will write as often as you, and as long.