The Sweetwater enterprise. (Sweetwater, Tenn.) 1869-187?, 1869-11-25
A CH1LD's LETTER.
llrrark Twainn Puzzled by One

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The most useful and interesting letters
we get here from home are from children
seven or eight years old. This is petri-
fed truth. Happily they have got moth
ing else to talk about but home, and
neighbors and family-things their bet
ters think unworthy of transmission thou
sands of miles. They write simple and
naturally, and without strain for effect.
They tell all they know and then stop.
They seldom dream in distractions or
homilies. Consequently their epistles are
brief; but, treating as they do of familiar
scenes and persons, always entertaining.
Now, therefore, if you would learnthe art
of letter-writing, let child teach you. |
have preserved letter from little girl
eight years of age-preserved it as Gu
riosity, because it was the only letter l
ever got from the States chat had any in
formation in it. 1t ran thus;
"Sr, Louis, l865.-Uncle Mark, if you
was here I could tell you about Moses in
the bulrushes again. l know it better
now, Mr.. Sowberry has got his leg broke
off horse. He was riding it on Sunday.
Margaret, that's the maid, Margaret has
taken all the spittoons ard slop buckets
and old jugs out of your room, because
she says she don't think You are coming
back any more, you have been gone too
long. Sissy McElroy's mother has got
another little baby. She has them all the
time. 1t has got little blue eyes like Mr.,
Swimley that boards there and looks just
like him. have got new doll; but
Johnny Anderson pulled one of the legs
out. Miss Duscnburry was here yester-
day; | gave her your picture, but she
don't want it. My cat has got more kit
tens-oh you can't think-twice as many
as Lolita Benden's. And there's one such
sweet little buff one with a short tail,
and named it for you.
All of thom's got names now-General
Grant, and Halleck, and Moses, and Mar
garet, and Deuteronomy, and Capt. Sem
mes, and Exodus, and Leviticus, and Hor-
ace Greeley-all named but one, and !
am saving it because the one | named for
you's been sick all the time since, and
recon it'll die. 1t appears to be mighty
rough on the short-tailed kitten for nam
ing it for me. wonder how the reserved
victim will stand it Il. Uncle Mark, ], Dc
! fsSSo-<f sITEaldy7ra lil4st sall..,.Yall''l''|
know ,-@hinks you are pretty, be-
I heard her say nothing could hurt you
good looks-nothing at all-she said, ever
if you were to have the smallpox ever Sc
bad, you would be just as good looking a.
you were before. And ma says she's eyel
so smart. Very.] So no more this time
because General Grant and Moses are
fighting. ANNIE.
The child treads on my toes in every
other sentence with perfect looseness, bu
in the simplicity Of her time of life sht
doesn't know it.
| consider that model letter--an emf
nently readable and entertaing letter, and
as said before, it contains more matter o
interest and real information than any let
ter ever received from the East. | haC
rather hear about cats at home and thei
truly remarkable names than listen to
lot of stuff about people | am not ac
quainted with, or read "The Evil Effect
of the Intoxicating Bowl" illustrated oil
the back with the picture of ragget
scalawag polting away right and left il
the midst of his family circle with a junl
bottle.