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Commonwealth Hotel
Dec. 23, 1877

My dear Alice,

I am rather dismayed at the sight of this large sheet, for it seems impossible for me to fill it to day.  And my letter must be written this very day, for I shall be in a perfect whirl tomorrow.

Dear, our friend William O. has come and brought me the very last news from you all.  I am indeed glad that you have secured such pleasant  rooms as he and Ida tell me of[[strikethrough]] f [[/strikethrough]].  It is better than I feared in that respect. You would have needed too much fortitude to stay in Madison all winter "with your house left unto you desolate". it

[[written vertically in side and top margins]]
from my dear Phoebe! Alice, I cannot tell you how pure and good she looks.  Now that she is like [[Missours?]] people.  She is so delightfully human that it seems to me she cannot be going to [[learn?]] no. Yet there is a look of [[underlined]] apartness [[/underlined]] about her always, and her cough fills us with anxiety  She is ^[[so]] brave and serene that I wonder at her. I wish you could see her.  

I visited last week also the invalid who has so long suffered from cerebro-spinal meningitis.  She could really enjoy seeing me - a thing I hardly ventured to hope . . But I came home, as you will readily imagine, quite tired out and the day  
[[/written vertically in side and top margins]]

Transcription Notes:
An additional portion of the letter is written vertically in the side and top margins of the main portion of the page. Reviewed - I think it is "Hotel" rather an "Postal" & I managed to solve some of the [[?]]. -@siobhanleachman