October 1868 - Letter to Richard Terry junior in Tasmania from his sister Elizabeth who was in service near Market Harborough.

Transcription kindly contributed by Gwennith May Smith (1929-2010), great-granddaughter of Richard Terry, through her daughter Virginia Ling

Rev. W Law
Marston Rectory
Nr Mkt Harborough
Oct 10th 1868

dear brother and sister

i now take the plesure of writeing a few lines to you it is a long time since i receved your letter but you must forgive me for neglecting writeing to you for so long i hope this will find you all well as it leaves me thank for it i hope you will not serve me as i have you and wate so long before you ancere this letter but i know you had heard from dear mother so that made me not in so much hurried to write

i went home this summer for a fortnight i had not been for ten years so it was quite a trate for me and ( ) because my intended went with me it is the first time that he as been home with me we have been together for 8 years so dont you think we are wateing long enough to think what we are going to do & you need not ( ) me for it for i dont altogether old with such long courtship but as we are living together it make all the dieferrence as it not think of being married this year now as the times are bad i have been hear 13th years now in my place i came when the famely were all little and now they are all gronen up and the elds son is just married so that made me a good girl for staying at my place for long but i dont think it is al together a good plan althow i have don it for you don't lived no one else noys but im not sourry that i have stayed hear for they have allways been very kind to me so i felt i could not loose them -

dear brother i sopose you really mourn dear mothers letter about poor fannys death you cant think what a blow it was to me for i was the nearest to them at the time and her husband came for me. There is five little children left without any mother in the world but as it is gods will we must not murmer at what he see fit to the father is very kind to the children and does what he can for them but it is not like having a mother they live 8 miles from me so i can go and see them som times and i do what i can to help them, you see mother is so far away so she cant do much for them and mother is now in London she is there to service our sister ann she as not had a little for six years and she is expecting one now i hope she may have good luck and get them all rite She as had seven and only two living i hope this may live it may be a discomfort to her in her old age

dear mother is looking very old age this summer she as not been able to do much as she as had some thing the matter with her arm, so she has not been able to use it but i am glad to say it is better now but not well - she can not get it behind her all the others are quite well

i hope you have had better luck with your farm this last year than you had when you rote to us before it as been summer here at the early part of it and we had no rain for a long time but it as been a good harvest and pepol

This letter ends here.