Westmoreland Terrace

Aug 21— 1862

I was truly obliged my dear friend for your last kind and interesting letter—It gave us great pleasure to receive it and it was so kind and good of you to give us so clear and graphic an account of your present hopes and feelings respecting the great cause so dear to all of us—

Since then your will probably have received a paper from me from which you would see that we have lost our beloved and venerable father—I am quite sure you will have felt tenderly for our dear sister. Full of years, and beloved by all our revered parent sank gently away on the evening of the 9^th inst.

and this day weak (the 14th) we laid his remains in their last resting place—He had been confined to his bed for nearly the last two and a half years but not only were his faculties wonderfully preserved But till quite recently he liked to hear of all that was going on. It has been a great privilege to have him with us so long—for he was always most tender and affectionate and so wise and judicious in his every thought and counsel—He seemed too be to be sitting all this time as at the portal of the heavenly world so we could see by his beaming smile and radiant countenance that his spirt was communing with his Saviour and holding sweet intercourse with Him—and the sweetness of this intercourse was like a rich odour for the refreshment of those around him—As Late as on the day of if his death we had his last expressive smile at mid-day—By 8 in the evening we gathered round him—There was happily no pain and a flickering pulse & heaving breath

It was a Saturday night—& before mid-night—the week of toil had gently ended, & his freed spirit had entered on its eternal Sabbath—How can we mourn my dear friend?—God has given him the victory—and deprived death of its sting & graciously made him "more than conquerer—His vacant, place looks very empty and he is, & will, be missed intensely and exceedingly—but then it was beautiful for his sun to set without one cloud—& often not one single painful remembrance to be connected with his dear dear memory—

To our beloved Sister he was all that a Father could be—& she all that daughter

could be to a loving parent—Though feeling her loss exceedingly I am thankful to say she is tolerable in health. My dearest [illegible] has not been strong of late and was much upset—He & I are intending to go by sea to Aberdeen this day after tomorrow & I hope is will do him good—Dear M^r & M^rs Foster were present at the close & have been as a brother & sister to us—Sickness and death have been busy in our ranks—Over the previous week we lost our brother in law Th^os Dumphrey of Auckworth—a man equally loved & honoured and equally ready for the great change—But how different is our sorrow from this of the bloody battlefields! We have given up the thought of visiting Canada. I should not wish to do so in the present distracted state of the once "United States"—The state of things amongst you is tremendous—It is indeed like the days of old—a crushing of the Egyptians who have oppressed you—Even yet, how far is the coloured man from receiving his God given dues—I rejoice however that is is not you who are fighting for your own rights—They are like the fighters [illegible] "Every man against his fellows."

with our united Love, Ever truly & affectionately ys, & with