The emigrant aid journal of Minnesota. [volume] (Nininger City, Minn. Terr. [i.e. Minn.]) 1856-1858, 1858-03-31
4 Characteristic Letter.

The following quaint letter has fallen into our hands,
and for the amusement Of our readers We print 1t. The
envelope was superscribed For Patrick McGinnis,
Michigan State, County Wayne, Detroit, North Ameri-
ca, fornint Canada Here is the letter.
BALLYcoNNE1, County Connaught,
aear Sligo, June Is, 1857.
Dear Cousin McGinnis-I didn't sind ye a letthur
cause / have just removed from me former place Of liv-
ing. and l couldn't tell where a lct,hur would find ye.
But I now Wild pleasure take me pen in hand to inform
We Of the death Of your own living uncle Fitzpatrick,
who died very suddenly last night after a lingering i'll.
ness Of fits. The poor ould man was in violent convul-
sions during the entire period of his confinement, lay
ing perfectly quiet and s~pachelcss all the time talking
incorrently and crying for wathe.. couldn't inform
ye Of he death before this except l wrote to ye be the
last post, which wint of two days before he died, and
thin ydd have the postage to pay. | aren't able to tell
the rale cause Of his death, though l fear it was &C.
casioned by his eating too much rabbits stuffed wild pals
and gravy, or pals and gravy stuffed wid rabbits, or
something else I can't tell which. But be that as it
may, as soon as be breathed his last the doctors gave
over all hopes Of his recovery. And what is worse
than all. Patrick, the poor man was niver well ten days
at a time during his whole sickness AID confinement.
{ need not say anything about his age, for ye vsry we'll
know that September next he would have been forty
FIVE years old lacking twelve months, and if he'd lived
till that time he'd be just six months dead. His prop
erty now all falls to his next kin, 90 I expect it will be
divided betwi1t US, and we know bis estate was consid-
cradle, which was sold to pay bis debts, and be lost the
remainder in q Nurse race but it was the opinion Of
every one that he'd a wonfthe race If the horse he ran
against hadn't been too fast for him.
I never saw q man {apd the docthors all say SOY that
observed directiope'c or tuck medicine betther than he
did: He said he would as laiye take hitther as swate
it it only lad the same taste, and ippekak as whiskey
punch it~it would only put him in the same humor for
aghtinS; bot the poor ould soul will niver ate OF drink
any eM6re. And now We haven't a Twin relative in the
wide world, except myself. and your two cousins who
wSe murdered IN the last war. can't dwell on this
~moarnful subject any longer, aud shall sale the letthur
with black wax and put on it yer uncle's coat Of arms,
80 be careful and don't break the sale when ye open the
lesther, and don't open it till two OF three days after ye
rssave It, BY which time ye will be prepared for these
sorrowful tidings. Your onld swateheart sends her love
to you unbeknown to me. Whin ye go till the post
office az Cornslius O'Flynn for this lctther, aud if be
doesn't know it from the rest, tell him it Is the one
that spakes about the death cs your Uncle, and don,
Ia5 anything fot t,e lettker, for put u stamp on The
inside for feat it might he los, if I'd put it on the out.
side, dye mini. eFrom yer darlin cousin,
PACpINE UBRIEN.
Z. S.-TLe saison i, very backward on account o.
The sevair weather We ars having, aud Father Brady
says he never see such a cold summer before but once
aud that was in December, forty years ago. Dom
write to ne till ye resays this. +. ~.