Letter from Walter Reed to Laura Reed Blincoe, September 21, 1882 |
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Camp Washington, Md.
Septr 21st 1882
My dear Sis;
Your very welcome letter
came two days ago, & should have been
answered immediately. When I read the
names of eight of your children who
are living & remembered that you had
lost two, I could hardly believe it! The
mother of 10 children! Great Scott! Enough
for one woman, surely- I then tried to
calculate your age and put you down
as being not more than 41. Was that
about right? Did you know that you
wrote on my birth-day? I guess
that you had forgotten it? By the way,
Can you, Oh! Can you remember the
dates on which your flock were
each born? But, of course, not!
Yes, I was thirty-one years of age
on September 13th. I can't blame you
for not remembering it, for I like
to have forgotten it myself. I suppose
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that Nita, your eldest in the flesh, is
now 21, she having been born in
1861, if I am correct. Like the shy maidens
generally, I suppose she puts herself
down as about 17! How is that? And
this leads me to the subject of your letter-
To send you $50.00 now, my dear Sis, would
be beyond my power. I am just on the
'eve of being ordered West & am compelled
to save every dollar possible to take my
family there and make them comfortable.
Although my salary is a good one, I have
to spend $20 where you would only spend
one. But, of course, you know this- I have
just received a new uniform for which I
must pay, & Emily & the boy require a com-
plete outfit. The only time that I have
been able to save [help] anyone was last Christ-
mas, when I sent Tom a present of $50
as being the most needy of the family- Two
years ago, I loaned Kit all of my savings
amounting to about $450, none of which he
has been able to return. So you perceive that
I am not what the boys call "flush."
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I owe Pa at present $125 of a sum
of $200 which I was compelled to borrow
from him when suddenly ordered away
from Fort Ontario in February 1881.
Living in Washington has been more
expensive than [at] any place where I have
ever been stationed. So much for business.
I would not offer any advice further
had you not asked for it. First let me
say that Nita would have been much
more delicate than she is at present had
she been constantly kept as school- Fe-
male education, my dear Sister, makes
no provision for that wonderful change
than is going on in every girl's system
from the ages of 13 to 20. At the very
time when the growth of the brain is
so terribly stimulated by the study, there
are other organs that should mature
& that should be given the fullest op-
portunity to mature- I felt very sorry
when I read that Lallie was going to try
for so many medals! It's a triumph now |
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but ill-health & pain hereafter, [I wish I could talk to you on this subject-] No girl
should study at certain times of every month.
At such a time, the whole body including the
mind should be given entire rest. Physi-
cians know this & are beginning to preach
it. Send your girls to school, but don't
let them try to excel; that is, if they ever expect
to become mothers! You see that I speak
plainly to you, as I am sure that you
appreciate it. I would not worry any
more about Nita's education- Certainly
her health would not permit her to follow
teaching? Would it? Is that the object of her
continuing her studies? I write hurriedly,
my dear Sister, but my opinion of the present
system of educating girls, has been formed
after considerable reading & much thought.
Let me hear from you again soon --
Emily & boy join me in much love
to you & your family- Ever your fond & affectionate brother
Walter
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