Sunday Aug 19^th
My dear Augustus,
I received your letter Thursday
but having a very busy week have not been able to answer
it earlier — The meeting of the Episcopal Convention
at this place made it necessary for all the Church
people to take one two or three additional persons
into their families — we had five — this, with
the indifferent help I have in the kitchen, was
of course no small increase to my cares — The
Commencement in the Seminary also came last
week so one day we entertained a Presbyterian Clergyman
Our guests were Dr Whitehouse of Rochester, his
little son e, Mr and Mrs Fish, and Mr Bacon
Mrs Fish is a sister of Mary Seward's — her husband
an Episcopal clergyman is settled at Watertown
Jefferson county — Mr Bacon was a lay member of
the Convention from Waterloo — Beside these we
had considerable transient company

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Next week your Grandpa

x

Elijah Miller

Birth: 1772-04-11 Death: 1851-11-13

goes in
company with Capt. Chase

x

George Chase

Birth: 1785-04-07 Death: 1853-01-01

and Mr Underwood

x

Amos Underwood

Birth: 1791-12-22 Death: 1846-06-23Certainty: Possible

to Boston

x

Boston, MA

& Nantucket

x

Nantucket, MA

he will see you he thinks when he returns which I
suppose will be in about 2 weeks —
Your affectionate Mother

There was preaching in the church Tuesday evening, Wednesday
morning and evening — The Convention adjourned Thursday
night — Friday morning the last of our guests departed
Since that time I have had an attack of nervous
headache which has lasted until this time — We have
now a cold long rain which I fear will make your
tents more uncomfortable than any of the previous
showers — I shall be glad to hear that you are once
again safely under shelter. You regret my dear
son that you have so little taste for reading — A
taste for reading like a taste for any thing else
will increase and improve by cultivation —
Whenever you have leisure make a point of reading
so long a time every day in some book which will
give you useful knowledge you will soon find that
that which at first is a task will become an agreeable
occupation and your own inclination will prompt
you to prolong the time you first assigned
for the duty — Many young persons have a fondness
for reading which if not checked or properly directed
would impair rather than benefit them, as such

persons almost invariably prefer works of the imagination
and light reading which weaken rather than
strengthen the mental powers — You need not
lament that you are one of these — Your
desire for the attainment of knowledge is sufficient
with proper cultivation to make you a very
useful man therefore you must not neglect
to cultivate it — As you grow older you will
find your taste for reading a source of pleasure
which will afford inexhaustible satisfaction. I am
not surprised that while you are pursuing your studies
you feel little inclination to read — this is the experience
of most young people — for the future my child during
vacations select some proper book or allow me to select
it for you and and read at least one hour every day
I do not fear to promise you that you will find at the
termination of your vacation your fondness for reading
will have materially increased — Fred's vacation terminates
tomorrow — I have not been able to persuade him to spend as much
of it in the open air as he ought — he suffers greatly
with toothache and I fear will never acquire much

physical strength until he can be persuaded to leave books
alone for a season — I hear nothing yet from Clarence
or Florida in any way — Willie continues well — is
pleased with the idea of going to Canandaigua —
I have not seen Aunt Clara since Wednesday — they are
all well — You are mistaken in thinking your letters
uninteresting — they are interesting and very good — Do not
neglect your writing or allow yourself to get in

Augustus H. Seward
At the Military Academy
West Point
AUBURN N.Y.
AUG 26

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the habit of writing carelessly