Balt. Jan 1st 1856
Dear Sister E.
Two months have nearly passed away since I heard from
you. I feel quite uneasy about you. Is any thing the matter. I
thought the reason why you did not write might possibly be that
you and Mr. Smith were coming on, but Winter having come upon us
so heavily, I relinquish all hope of seeing any of you before the
Spring. The New Year finds us in the enjoyment of our usual health,
surrounded with many blessings for which I feel unfeignedly thankful.
The past year has been the darkest and most sorrowful of my
life—every day the void occasioned by the loss of my beloved seems
to enlarge and press more heavily upon me, and at this season when
all around me has been gay and cheerful, I have withdrawn as it
were within myself and communed with departed joys, until my poor
heart has ached with its burden of grief. Yet I anticipate a joyful
reunion in a better world. The God whom he loved and served
has promised to be the Friend, the Guide, the God of the Widow
and the Father of the Fatherless, and on his faithful word I do
and will rely. He has supported and kept me thus far, and I feel
willing still to put my trust in him and to commit all my ways
and Interests to his care and keeping. E. R. is very well, and is
now at school. She grows very fast and becomes more and more like
her dear father. She has that same cheerful amiable affectionate
disposition and it is my daily prayer that she may resemble him
in those moral and christian virtues which so beautifully adorned
his character and life. Pa seems to be about as usual. The rest
are well. The weather is clear and cold. The health of our City
is good. I hope you will let me hear from you very soon. Ma & the
girls send their love. Our love to all.
yr affectionate Sister
Eliza P. Hamilton
Mrs. M. G. Hamilton to Mrs. D. G. Smith)
