Mary Rotch letter to Charity Rotch, New Bedford, 2nd mo 27th 1812

              B-274-4  
My dear Sister			New Bedford  2nd mo 27th  1812
	After anxiously looking from one mail to another for a 
letter from thee we are at length gratified by the receipt of thy
interesting communication from Steubenville- as to my dear brother
he has not yet written a line, tho  it appears that thou art ignorant
of his silence by the hope expressed in thine  that he keeps us
informed of his situation    we have made every allowance
that he could wish us to on the subject, knowing his engagements
must be very numerous and supposing that he could with
difficulty withdraw his attention from his pressing concerns to
give us any account of them _ still it would have afforded
inexpressible satisfaction to have received something from him.
	We feel much for his very lonely situation in the midst of
the wilderness surrounded by his flock & his shepherds but quite
destitute perhaps of any society that could afford him real
comfort   and much do we also feel for thee in thy separated
allotment   how very trying it must have been thus long to expect
in vain to meet the only object wh could in all that Country
deeply interest thy heart & affections   hadst thou been surrounded
with some other tender ties it might have alleviated tho  not
have removed thy anxiety especially when a long interval
occurred between his letters   I hope you have met ere this
to your great satisfactions & that thy pen will give us all
the particulars that we wish to know   how my dear brother s
health is etc etc   thine I doubt not has been in part retarded in
its improvement by having thy mind so little at ease   
	My last letter was directed care of M G Wheeling, Virginia, but as I now
find that frd Davis s family always add  on the Ohio  I imagine that letters
is still wandering in pursuit of thee   I hope it will at last find thee as
should be sorry, for it to go to the general post office there finally to
be opened by I know not whom   I don t recollect anything that it particularly