No. 68

Chas. in 1883 with Snow Angel

Stewart King c/o

John C. Davant, Attorney

501 Cleveland St.

Clearwater Florida

December 17, 1939

Dear Stewart,

Another letter from Charles about the birth of his third daughter and forth child. So that makes his children, in order: Henry (we called him Boy Henry), Mary, Frances or Fannie, and Cornelia.

Dec 10, 1883

Dear M-, A baby girl. Named her Cornelia. Esther doing fine. Doc arrived before hard snow and could not pass back through it, so extra help was in the house, and it was needed. Dragged in a Christmas tree in for decorations just before her pains started but was able to retrieve doctor. Stockings hung, even one for the Doc, who will mail this when he records birth in town, so now just waiting for rest and new year. -- Yours, Chas.

Your mother said, “What he needed was sleep. He never got much of that, and it was his own fault that he never managed to set things up just so until the last moment, but then it was too late for his lack of planning.”

I imagined the little family around the fireplace with the infant baby at Christmas to be a holy scene.

With the physician there to assist, maybe even with the wings of an angel. I imagined that Charles got his rest.

I kept all these things hidden until now but want to let you know that I knew that you, too, child, wanted a tender scene at home.

How we would behaved differently had a physician like the one who visited Charles, or a shepherd, an infant, or, pray if only we could have made room for baby Jesus then or now, and had any of these types of messengers stop in for a visit, to lead us to bed, to take away our books that keep us in suspense, and have a stay-over, on our bare floors, or on any of the orientals...Oh how differently would our atmosphere had been. How we quiet down when the snow lands and covers us. What little I could do then and what little I can do now, short-sighted as I am, and now I must imagine and wait for our Lord.

I know you had no interest in waiting, and I wanted to tell you, Stewart, that I admire that now. I do, but there is nothing I can do about it but end this and I will wrap it up. Will you put it in your stocking? Blast-it! On to the next letter.

--Miss Minnie

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