24 [August]
Received a letter yesterday from Lewis he hopes to soon get home & accepts thankfully the Commission of Assistant Surgeon in the State Forces, and in reply to Arthur’s wish to go out to Virginia if in no other way as a private, says he had better not, for it is the life of a Hound, and now unless they enlist for the War, recieve no pay and have to support themselves. We hired a carriage the other afternoon and paid some visits. We paid $3 and fortunately got through 8 in the upper part of the Town, Miss Nowels, Miss Mazike, Mrs Hayne, Mrs Taber, Mrs Alice Heyward, Mrs Trenholm, Miss Turnbull, Miss Mitchel.—We shall after a while have to get it again.
Lotty is learning to draw this summer and seems to like it better than Music. – Ella & herself have a nice set of friends.—
There has been quite a flare up in Mrs Wilkinses’ family, the poor things do so want a ruling principle, every one does as he or she pleases, and they all are self indulgent, and indolent, in short badly brought up. Gov. has got himself into a miserable trouble, quareled with his father in law, his wife, an adopted child and has a large and increasing family. She, Adela, is one of the self indulgent ones, and must go to Greenville every summer, leave him to annoy his Mother & sisters.
His little daughter died at Grahamville, little Eliza, from neglect. Adela was ill at the time. He rules at his Mother’s, is rude to his Sisters and induces Martin to be so, too, they all had a war talk and are now better friends. In my family, the Morises, they often quareled , but they always made up. The Wilkins’s are very rigid people and can’t forget they have through the ill management of Berkley Wilkins & Gov brought into non intercourse with the Taber concern & the T. Lowndes. I think people ought never to quarrel with any one.