September 29^th 1848
My dear Willie,
I received your letter last Tuesday
but have not been able to answer it until now.
I am very glad to hear that you progress so rapidly
in your studies and that you expect so soon to be able
to write your letters, yourself. That extraordinary blacking
that you tell me of, which does not come off when
you put water on it must be a wonderful invention.
It reminds me of a story I once heard of a dog, who
had been stolen. The man who stole him, fearing
that the dog might be recognized by some one
covered his hair in several places with some kind of
blacking, which of course changed his appearance entirely,
and made him look like another dog. One night
while the thief was asleep, the dog managed to
gnaw the rope which held him, and having made his

escape, ran home as fast as he could. But when
he arrived there, the family did not know him,
in fact he had been gone so long that they given up
expecting him to come back at all, much less his
coming back black instead of white. So they turned him
out of doors and would have nothing to do with him.
The poor dog was much grieved at this unkind
treatment and for some time did not know what
to do. At length the thought appeared to strike him, that
something was wrong about his color. How he found it
out I cannot imagine, for dogs are not in the habit
of using looking glasses, but at all events he started
off for a pond that lay near by, jumped in, and
swam about for some time in it. Fortunately this
happened before this patent blacking was invented
and so when he came out he was as white as
as he was at first. When he came to the house
a second time the family remembered him, and
saw that he was the same dog that they had
lost.
I fancy our Bruno would never have thought
of that. If he was stolen he would be
pretty sure not to come back, and I do not
believe that he knows now whether he is white
or black.

So they are fixing the old well over again. I hope
they will succeed better than they have before, but
I am afraid it will fill up again before long.
Will you tell Mother that she can get a fitter
at J. Stone's, 390 Broadway, in New York.
There are none to be had in Albany.
Remember me to Aunty and Cousin Frances, if you
go out to see them.
Affectionately, your brother
Frederick
Mr William H. Seward Jr
Auburn