My dear Friend

     Your kind letter of 17" reached me several days ago but I have been too unwell since its receipt to write. I have had a ten or 12 days' attack of pretty severe fever, almost entirely depriving me of the improvement I had made since my arrival this day a month ago. The fever was brought on I think by a ride of five miles in the heat of a very hot day. It was cool & cloudy when I started, but the sun & the reflections from the sand, the dust &c made it very oppressive in returning. I hope to mend again now however & shall probably spend the winter here. I am delighted to hear of your improvement and I think to confirm it & above all for the benefit of your cough you had better come here & winter it too. Board can be obtained by a little looking out beforehand or as most other visitors to the place do, you can keep house. If the judge [i.e., Turner Reavis] cannot leave home and you cannot get an escort I can send a very fine young man for you, wounded in the hand at Richmond. He has nothing particular to do, & would like

the trip very well he says. What say you -- will you not come?
     Do not have any hesitation in telling me whenever you need Caesar's services. He has been an excellent and attentive servant and I do not see how I should have got along without him or one like him, but it so happens that I can get a very good servant from one of the Coast refugees so that if Caesar is needed at home do not scruple to tell me. If you do not need him I shall be very willing to keep him at such a hire as you may propose, or (in case of his being willing to come to me) I would buy him from you if you are willing to part with him. I hope however you will come on & spend the winter here, and then he can wait on you also for what he does for me does not take a tenth of his time.
     I am glad you got a place to put Mary at and hope that your brother's wife will discipline her a little more than the Wheelocks did. The Judge probably told you that I had authorised him to sell them all except Milly whenever he thought there was a favourable time for doing so, as I did not want to trouble you & him any more with them.

I rec'd the pamphlets you sent & am obliged to you and Mit for your trouble in hunting them up. May I ask you to take another bit of trouble, which is to look over a little book on the shelves in my old room marked Records, and see the names of the persons to whom my grandmother Anderson's three sisters were married. One was a Hammond I believe. They all married in S.C. or Geo, and I think the names are given in that book.
     I regret that Mr. Wheelock should have acted so indirectly in going away. No one I suppose would have offered any obstacle. Poor man. I pity him. I hope Providence will send some faithful man to Gainesville to preach, if only occasionally. I should be sorry to see all that we have done there thrown away.
     But I must close Tell Miss Lucy I got her message about the handsome major and "Mrs. W." Gossip from Gainesville, which I pick up at times in odd ways, had not failed to inform me of his attentions -- but I have happened to hear also that he did not confine himself to that hill, but was frequently to be met with at our end of the town -- to wit at the cream coloured cottage, where he also seemed to find great attraction --

     Good bye, Best regards to the Judge, Mrs. [illeg] Miss Lucy & nannie, as well as Master Miller -- also to the Doctor & wife & Miss Callie -- and to Mit when you write. I am sorry you sent Mit to Tuskaloosa, as I would rather you had brought her here. Let me know when you will be ready to come & I will send for you.

Faithfully Your Friend
L.H. Anderson

Caesar is well and sends his respects. He seems to find Aiken a dull place.