I hope er [ere], this you have received my letter, which will give you more pleasure than you have known since you left your home with all its pleasures I have received your two last letters the first of which contained the beautifull [beautiful] Ring , you sent me, with which I am much pleased; you have not told me in any of your letters, how you are situated, or where you board, neither have you said, one word, about my Brother, Frank ; whether he has commeced [commenced] business and what his prospects are, or whether he has entered in to [into] a partnership, We have had so many distressing Occurrences since I wrote you last that I hardly know where to begin, in the first place, Maria Price , when returning from Mr. Bradford s, fell from her horse and broke her collar bone, I got her to Town the

same day and had it set, but she has been quite indisposed since, not long after that our dear friend, and good physition [physician] Dr. Erving , was taken [added: with] a bad cold and had one fever, but recovered from it, and by his anxiety to do good to others he exposed himself in such a way, t he relapsed, and is gone — the grief of all, who knew him, cannot be described, his beautifull [beautiful], [and and] amiable , wife, is in greater grief than we can imagine, there has been a great deal of sickness in the town and neighbourhood [neighborhood] this winter, and our family has not, escaped this; thank God our lives are spared; Of late we have had a peste [pest] in the creek that has swept up all our fences that was in its reach, there never has been any thing like it since we have lived here before Mr. Little is in great distress about it and thinks he has lost an hundred pannell [panel] of fence, he is very attentive good man, too good to the negroes, for he often lets them all go off and dose [does] the work himself, Lewis he cannot do any thing with he is, outlawed if the President had got to Nashville I should

have changed [unclear] for one of the other bags with a hope, that he might never come back, I can see no reason why such a villian [villain] should be kept on the place or ever in the country, my garden is coming on but poorly, the heavy rain has almost washed away those, [unclear: cacked bats ] , and other curiosities, that were made [unclear: then ] but they may all go. if I can only live to see you once more, Miss Martha is with me at present her health I think is something better than when you left home; I hope you will make yourself perfectly easy, on my account as I enjoy my usual health since I wrote you last, do not trouble yourself to look for a cordial, stand as I do not care for any without I could have had the one I saw; you complain of dull times but I think you appear to be as busy as ever, do not spend your time in writing long letters to me I am satisfied to know you are well, and do [added: not] write oftener, than affection, induces you

J W

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Mr. Joseph Woods New Orleans

[added: [unclear]][added: [unclear: Mrs ] W. 7 March
Recd [Received] 2nd April
answered 3rd Apl. [April]]