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D. College
October 17th/57
Dear Pa,
I have been looking for a letter from you all this week and felt assured that I would get one by today’s mail, but looked the office, and found that none came. But I suppose that you have been rubbing up and preparing for the wedding. And in that case I suppose you are excusable, for writing letters would be a small business compared to a wedding. such as I would suppose you at the rock house.
My reason for addressing you this note, in part, is to leg you know that I am in want of some more money. I suppose you will think, I am a little lavish in spending money, and in fact, I did not think myself when I came here, that I would need any more money until Christmas. But some things are little more
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expensive here than I was aware of. I have joined the Eumenean Society, and the initiation fee (which is one of the Secrets of the Society) is more that I expected. It is a much greater secret than the Sons of Temperance, for no one can know what is to pay until he joins. I have paid my college expenses, including room rent $4.00 servant hire $1.00 contingent fund, $2.00 & we have also supplied ourselves with wood enough to do us until after Christmas, lest that, when the roads get bad, it might be higher. These which I have mentioned together with some other little necessaries have consumed the most of my money, so that I will not have enough left to defray my Society expenses. If you can send me about ten dollars, you will confer a great-favor on me, and I will refund it when I return home.
I think by being economical, that will be sufficient for me until Christmas.
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I have still had a good health until yesterday. I had something like a chill, and afterwards fever nearly all day. Mr. Maxwell took me down to his house in the evening,. & he and his lady made me remain there all night, and gave me teas and medicine, so that by this morning I felt better, and now I feel well enough. They are certainly very kind people. A great many of the students here have had the same disease (which is called the broken boned fever) but all got well in two or three days.
I declined the idea of going to the wedding, for besides losing time from college, it would have been a great deal of trouble to go so far. But I s’pose they got along finely without me, although it would have given me great pleasure, could I have conveniently have attended. But I wish them just as “much joy” as if I had been there.
When you write, please give me all the details of the wedding.
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I am also anxious to know how you are getting along in the Division of the S. of T. and whether you gained your point in the question for debate when I left, in reference to meeting once in two weeks. If you have not sent me the cord, which I wrote to you for in my other letter, you need not do it at present, as I have learned more about them since, & find that they are very dry on the subject, for they have not had a meeting since I came up here to my knowledge. Please excuse this hasty and unconnected letter.
I remain yours affectionately,
W.W. Robinson
P.S. If it suits our convenience to send me the money, please do it at the earliest opportunity as I may think it has been misplaced.
W.W.R.
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Original
From: DC0123s (View Finding Aid)
Cite as:
Robinson, W.W. Letter to Father. 17 October 1857. DC0123s. William Wallace Robinson Letters. Davidson College Archives, Davidson College, NC. Available: https://davidsonarchivesandspecialcollections.org/archives/digital-collections/william-w-robinson-letter-oct-1857/.
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