Broom Hall

Thursday, 24th February, 1848

So another fortnight is gone & it is time to write to you again & even yet we have not heard of your safe arrival. I trust however you by this time feel yourself quite an old inhabitant of the New World & that your eye & ear is almost accustomed to the many strange sights & sounds which surround you. I often try to fancy you to myself, but I am not very successful as I cannot picture the surrounding objects. I must thank you myself for your long & entertaining letter. I assure you I value it highly & I shall preserve it amongst some of my precious things For you see dear John, though when we are together we tease each other sometimes. I do love you from the bottom of my heart.

Since the last letter, Sarah has been suffering very much, this changeable weather, sometimes frosty, then damp & oppressive & back again to cold is very trying to her as you well know. Her head has been dreadful & Mr B ordered a blister to the back of her neck to relieve it. It was very painful & always makes her feel weak & ill, but I hope it will relieve her. In consequence we had a few small tea parties which were pleasant. We had one here, I think it went off well, though I missed your help. But the grand evening of all, was a bright idea of Miss H's viz a valentine evening 21 people were invited, & each person took a valentine.

The valentines were not written to those we might have selected but lots were drawn. Mine was to Miss Withington. Sarah made it, it was very tender from Ricardo. I enjoyed the evening on the whole, but there was so much personality, it at times was very unpleasant. Miss H & Sarah Helen thought there would be no fun unless there was satire & personal remarks. As she thought so she was rightly served for she had a very severe one from Mr Wood, in which S.H. was introduced too & she was told she would she would flirt with any handsome Mister. S.H. had 3 of her own, all of them accusing her of her flirting propensities. Minnie was not pleased with the one written to her husband as he was told he was hen pecked. Mine was a very impertinent one from Mr Solmons, I think almost as bad as any. We think he might have been told to make his dose pretty strong, as Miss H at present values every opportunity she can of spiting me, as that is her term. Poor Mr Heys was brought into several & severely handled. There was a clever but most unladylike one from Sarah Goodlad, in which she reviewed all the gentlemen who were present, as cast off lovers. Of course she had some fault to find with them all, & was not at all nice in her remarks. The Valentine was addressed to William Grundy & he was the only favored one. A very clever retort has been put into circulation, the author unknown. You will see from this there were not many compliments paid. We concluded the evening, by acting charades. I quite fancy we shall have another Aunt Harriette, things are running smoothly with her just now -

Our very dearest love to you & that you may return in safety is the almost constant prayer of
Your sincerely attached sister
Joanna
I wish you could make some money, it would be so useful.