Thursday, October 29, 1914

Dear Mother,

Caroline is somewhat improved since my last letter. She can now sit up in bed, and will take a little toast with milk if she is prevailed upon to do so. I have been seeing to it--insisting--that she gets some nourishment, though she sometimes rails at me, and says things to me I never would have believed her capable of. The doctor says that it is her nervous condition, and that I must not dwell on it. But I have difficulty believing that I will ever be able to look upon her the same way again.

No, we did not tell Mrs. Rapp about the overdose of laudanum, believing that it would only upset her. If you write to her, please do not mention it. Let us keep the knowledge of what happened between you and me. I believe that when Caroline is improved in health it will be a consolation to her that no one knows what she undertook to do while she was ill.

Little Lavinia is getting on nicely with Nurse. She is a strong and healthy babe; for this I thank the Lord with all my heart. She was over eight pounds at birth and has gained two more in the past few weeks. Her mother still refuses to hold her, though she will consent to have her in her room for a little while in the mornings with the Nurse, and does not openly seem to despise her as she did not long ago. We must hope and pray that she soon comes to feel all that is proper for a mother to feel towards her child.

Continue to keep us in your prayers. I know that we are benefiting from them each and every day. The Lord will not abandon us in our time of trouble, of that I am confident. No, just now is not the best time for a visit, but in the spring when Caroline is well, God willing, we will send Louis to fetch you, if you are able to come to us then.

Yours with love,

Henry