[sideways text] Copy of A letter written to A W Babbitt Esqr Jan 21st 1850 [end of sideways text] Cambridgeport Mass Jan 21st 1850 Dear Sir Yours of Jan 16th has just come to hand and I must Confess that I am much surprised at its contents and do not understand it. and I feel think it needs some wisdom to answer such letters in a right & proper manner lest misun- derstanding arise of an unpleasant nature between men who are endeavoring to bring to pass the same object. It ...

instead of finding rest I fo[u]nd a vary large nuber of lying before me some 25 ^[many]^ letters from vari[ou]s parts of the world among them was one from Dr Bernhisel & one from yourself. I also had rec[eiv]ed among othr thgs an Epistle from the valley & Letters from the presidency ^in the valley^ requiring certain things [of] ^me^ my hads which required me to correspod with the Ch[ur]ches which I have to do by lettr writing as I have No other way of Communi cation ...

have writtenthe Dr ^Berhisel^ Since my return Home. I Haven got recieved a letter from him to day by the same mail that Brought yours. As to ^the^ accusations against me in the phrasologey of wanton Neglect in not writing you is an accusation that I shall not recieve for I am not guilty, in in that sense of the word and I think friends ought to study each othrs Circumstnces sufficiently at least to lay a fondatiun for reasonable excuses whae their is any seeming neglect towards us before we ac◊ee them to strongly ...

from Him of any kind, and that mostly cncing [concerning] a [poer] of Attorny to collet some mo[ne]y for some powers in Iowey. Yet notw◊hst◊d◊ all this I have not for a momet suffered the spirit of prejudice or Jealousy to take root in my heart agaist him as though He was neglecting me or was not interestaed in my welfare or prosperity, or equally ingaged in the same Common cause with myself, and I have not felt in the least [to] [imparte] it to any other cause ownly that He ...