Louisa Wylie Boisen to Hermann B. Boisen, 11 April 1875

Scroll down to view additional scans of this letter. 
Full transcription (referenced excerpts are bolded):

Louisa W. Boisen, Bloomington, Indiana to Hermann B. Boisen, Terre Haute, Indiana 

Bloomington, Sabbath night [April 11-13, 1875]

My dearest Hermann:

            I wonder if you are writing to me tonight. I do hope that you are. I keep hoping that last week’s letter will come yet. I am sure there were many things in it that I wanted to know. I have been writing to Anna tonight and hope to send the letter tomorrow or day after. I would have written sooner, but have felt too anxious about Dory to write a decent letter, as you can testify. Now Ma is home and we hope he is getting well so I hope we won’t need to worry any more. He is not yet able to sit up. I cannot tell you how he has enjoyed those splendid oranges which you sent him, dear Hermann. How thoughtful and kind it was in you. I had been thinking whether there was anything which I could send for, for him. He was not able to eat anything for several days, but I thought we could get oranges here. When we sent up for them there were none at Rott’s and Brown got some poor little things at the P.O. and so yours were just in time. Dory was very much pleased. He says he never saw more beautiful ones or better ones. He ate two yesterday and two today. That is, he sucks them.

            Yesterday Pa found Fritz Renter and I suppose you will receive it tomorrow. I made three calls yesterday. Went to Lizzie Hunter’s, Mrs. Thompson’s, Dr. Dodds’s. Annie went with me. McNutt lectured at Chapel today. I suppose you are home from church by this time, dear Hermann, if you went. How I wish I could look in upon you. I do so often in imagination, but it would be much nicer to do so in reality. Now, my Hermann, my beloved, Good night. May your sleep be sweet and refreshing. I love you “more than tongue can tell.” No hyperbole.

            [three German words]

I have just finished my letter to Anna and I cannot go to sleep my dear one without writing at least a few lines to thank you for the dear letter received today. When I got it I felt almost afraid to open it, it seemed so thin. I thought it must be very short and perhaps you were sick. I was therefore agreeably disappointed when I found that, although not as long as my letters to you, it was far more interesting, and of pretty good length.

            Dory continues to improve. He sat up about five minutes today. We have not heard from Mag yet and we feel quite anxious to get a letter. You do not know, dear Hermann how glad I feel that there is some prospect of your coming down to see me. I am sure you cannot enjoy the thought of it half as much as I do. To think that in less than a week you may be lying here at my side! But I must not feel sure about it you say, so I will moderate my transports.

            I wish I had accomplished more during these four weeks of our separation but having sickness in the house and Ma being away, I have done very little. I find I shall be able to sew very little. I have such a pain in my side when I sit for any length of time that Ma says she will sew for me and I can do some things about the house. I expect it is a good thing for me to be obliged to exercise, otherwise I might stay in the house too much. Some of my sewing I will put out of the house. But I am at the end of this sheet and as it is late I will finish tomorrow. I am so glad you mentioned our reading the lessons together. I had been intending to ask you if you would not. I have just finished this eve’s reading. We need to ask counsel of God as Manoah and his wife did.

My dear, dear Hermann, Good night

Lou

Anton says such funny things sometimes. He said something to me the other day which I cannot write, but will keep till I see you. Poor Mag before Ma left asked her to take Anton and the baby if she should not recover, but I hope she will be spared to raise them to manhood. I shall always feel though, it seems to me, that Anton is partly ours.

[Monday night, April 12]

This afternoon I received your letter written last night. Thank you very much for it. We did not get a letter today but Mrs. Dunn got one from Bun and she and Miss Mary Maxwell came over to call on me and to let us hear from Mag. The letter was written Sabbath. Mag was much better but had been very sick for two or three days. Ma had just arrived that morning. They were still in the country. Old Mr. Mellette was better so that his recovery is hoped for. I suppose they will bring Mag in home as soon as she can be moved. I was very much agitated and distressed at first, but no harm came of it. I keep pretty well generally. I did have cramp in my foot and let from the knee down very badly one or two nights, and as Ma said she had had it at such times, tho later, I feared I was going to suffer from it every night. But I have not had it for nearly a week.

            I will try to send the book tomorrow but don’t be disappointed if it does not come. Pa does not get home till late and it was too late this evening when I got your letter to send over after it. And then it is often hard to get letters to the train even. And you know the book must go through the P.O. Dinner is not generally ready before 12 ½ and the train goes at 1 ¼, so that it makes a terrible hurry to get up in time, as the boys are not home till about dinner time. But if I can send it, you may be sure I will, and if not tomorrow, then next day.

            I suppose the Mrs. Harper you speak of was formerly Ida Husted. I knew her. She was for a short time in our Trigonometry class and was counted a Sophomore. She was quite smart I believe. I knew she lived in Terre Haute but I had forgotten her married name.

            I forgot to say that I would have paid the expressage on the Readers but I had no change and was in too great a hurry to get any. Pa told me to tell you that he would send you the $40 as soon as he could, but he had to give Ma money to go to Muncie, $20. And then has $65 which he feels obliged to pay for the College. He promised it and now is not able to get enough from the treasury by $65. He says he hopes to have it by the first of May but if you need it now, he will try to borrow it.

            I am so sorry to hear that Gertie is not well. I hope they will all feel better soon, but I fear Mrs. Byers will be completely worn out by the end of the session. Is it really true that Mr. Byers intends taking the bookstore?

            I am glad you like the new minister. Is he married, and what is his name?

            I believe I will enclose a little note in this to Mrs. Wilson, which I wish you would be sure to hand to Mr. W for her. I wrote to her in order to send some money which Pa owed Mr. W. for a map and at the same time I asked her to match some calico for me. I knew you wouldn’t know about it and Mrs. B always is so tired when she comes home and has so much to do that I thought I wouldn’t trouble her this time. I received the calico yesterday, but have had no letter from Mrs. W. so I will just send a little note of thanks and the postage through you.

            And now, my dearest Hermann, I will close this letter. Dear little Anton has been with me all day and he sends you six kisses. He is so sweet. He had me today “playing” that I was sick and he was the doctor. He would bring me the Ammonia and the Camphor to smell every two or three minutes. Last night when Aunt E and I were alone in the room with him, he got the Bible and read very solemnly out of it for awhile and then wanted us to kneel down. Indeed you may well believe that I look at him, and every morning before I rise, I take a long look at the cherubs.

            But it is late and I must close.

            With love exceeding and unspeakable

            Your wife Louise

Tuesday afternoon [April 13, 1875]

I sent a letter to you yesterday my dear Hermann, and yesterday I received one from you. I felt like writing immediately, but thought I had better give you a little rest. I had sent you a hasty letter on Saturday thinking you would get it either Saturday evening or Sabbath morning but as you did not mention having received it and did not say anything about Mag’s sickness, I think it could not have reached you.

            What a dear good letter yesterday’s was, dearest Hermann. I did not deserve such tenderness in return for my wretchedly despondent letter but you are always good to me. I do not always feel quite so blue and if I was with you I don’t believe I would be so at all. Of course I would think sometimes of the great uncertainty of the result, but the hardest thing for me now is this separation from you and the thought that even in the hour of extreme anguish you may not be able to be with me and that if I should die, I may not be permitted to see you again. But I shall try not to give up to such thoughts. Only I pray that I may be prepared for whatever may be before me. I have thus far been spared so much pain that other women suffer and I have so much around me to comfort me and make me happy that I ought not to complain of the one thing, my dear husband’s presence is wanting, since I know he loves me and thinks of me. For your sake, for your love, dear Hermann, I can bear the pain. If God in mercy spares my life and that of our child, I hope I may prove myself more worthy of your love and may be a wise and loving Mother.

            I had to laugh aloud at your account of the tearing of our Sunday breeches. I knew you would have to get another pair this spring, but I am sorry that you have to get another broadcloth pair. I think you will have to get a full spring suit. If you had only had that other pair cleaned you need not have worn the black ones and then the new suit could have been bought somewhat later. But it is no use lamenting what “might have been.” I don’t see how you could possibly decently have squeezed into Alford’s pants.

            Did Mr. Kilbourne’s bill only amount to $10 in all? I thought it would be at least $15, and at the most not over $17. It won’t matter about Harvey’s so much I suppose if you can pay him by the 17^th of May. He gave you 60 days and we bought March 17^th. I wish if you see him that you would speak to him about the mattress. It will be too bad if Ma does not get it and it will be his fault, for he said the one he had would fit and if this one don’t come it will through some mistake of his.

            I wish I could have seen the opening of Heinl’s establishment. My flowers are all looking very well. The Azaleas are almost out of bloom. The Fuchsia marginata which Heinl sent has quite a large bud on it. The Geranium Jean Sisley is in bloom. Thank him especially for the Master Christine which he sent, for my large one which seemed to be alive when you were here has since died. The weather has been so cold for some days that things have stopped growing out of doors, almost. The Wisteria has not a single green leaf on it yet. I begin to fear that it is not the Chinese but the American which is much later and not so beautiful. Our Japan quince is in bud. The crocuses seem nearly all to have died out. I had the cut leaved birch planted out in the shrubbery, but the other things were so small and tender that I thought it best to plant them in pots at first. The Magnolia looks well and the Acuba Japonica [evergreen shrub], the Asclepia [milkweed] is growing. But the Sweet Bay and Maidenhair do not look so well.

            Love to Mrs. Byers and all friends. I dreamed of Misses Reddick Bruce and Fanelle not long since. I believe I won’t enclose the note to Mrs. W. as I think I may hear from her today and it will be best for me to acknowledge her kindness directly. I dream of you every night I believe. Write to me as soon as you can. Your letters are my greatest delight in my separation from you. What are you going to do with Fritz Renter? But now, I must not write all morning. I will send the book if I get it in time. My dearest Hermann, write very soon a long letter to your loving wife,

Lou

Theophilus Adam Wylie Family Correspondence, 1806 - 1930, (bulk 1850 - 1930), Collection 2005.003.2849, Wylie House Museum, Indiana University, Bloomington.