Autographed Letter

Markings

Signed Signed, in pen and brown ink, fourth page, center left: Thomas S. Lloyd Signed, center right: Homer D. Martin

Inscriptions Inscribed, in pen and brown ink, page 1: With a sleepy | driver and a total | ignorence of the | region we were in | search of, the "Melon = " | "=choly Youth" and myself left Leeds [?] | with the exptectation | of reaching,, | Uncle Ory's; whose property forms the middle | distance of the above sketch. | When at last we did reach Uncle Ory's | I found that I has left my colors at Leeds [?], and that | I must return immediately and without my supper. | I had a letter of introduction to "Uncle from | his nephew with whome I had been boarding; think of | my embarassment when the old man asked me to read | it to him, as his eyesight was poor. | Imagine a very large dutch kitchen, containing | a very large dutch supper table, around which are | seated a very large number of country dutch of the | "Helder Barrick" order - and [illegible] me - a prefect stranger | to them - standing up in a corner of the room - reading | encomiums to them on myself. | After telling him what nice young men" we | were, I was mortified by being told that as the | Inscribed, page 2: principal old woman | was not home, and | not very well; he | could not day wither | or no we could stay. | Anyway, I left | Nakomis there | and returned with | the driver to Catskill. When I got back to Uncle's the | next day; the old woman had returned and Clint told | me she had concluded to keep us. We went to bed | praising and admiring the quaint old fashioned furniture | and comodiousness of the house; but not [underscored] liking [underscored] the | plan of going to bed at 8 oclock and passing through the | old folk's room to get to ours. | I noticed after we got to bed, that there was | lots of dutch going on in the other room, and I was | afraid that some impolite remarks of Nakomis had | ruined our cause - twas so. In the morning were | told that they couldn't keep us" the ostensible reason | being the lame arm of the chamber maid, but the | real reason being the poor opinion held of us by the | old folks; we are now staying with a very agreeable | family of [crossd out] civilized people; and our stay is | much more agreeable for the presence of two very pretty | girls Inscribed, page 3: Saturday, Clint and I rambled through the wild | passes of Katerskill [illegible], and found several grand | views. Our expedition was frought with danger and | excitement. Many times the pass was so narrow, and | the footing so insecure, that we were compelled to | hang to the butting cliffs with our teeth and | eyelids. And at one time being driven from a | sketch, which we were making of a beautiful cascade, | and seeking protection from the rain in a cavern | whose gloomy depths yawned protection near by | we narrowly escaped death; for while we were in the cave, | the former occupants of the cave - a pack of polar bears | and bengal tigers - returned, and we barely saved our | lives, and drove away the blood thirsty monsters by | throwing spit balls at them, which we were compelled | to make of our sketches, that will account for a | slim portfolia when we return. Inscribed, page 4: If you are perfectly satisified with the [illegible] study, I | wish you would send to me care of Mrs. H. Vedder Leeds [?] | a draft on the Catskill bank for fifteen dollars. | And if you do, I wish you would aprise me of the fact | by a letter to me care of Nelson Myer Saugerties. | I owe a small bill at a livery stable in Catskill, and | a doctor in Leeds; so if I can get a little money, I will | go back that way and pay them; if not I shall | have to go direct to the river from here, and take a | boat to Albany and go back to Catskill, making an | extra expense. In either case, will you be kind | enough to answer, and direct care of Nelson Myer | Every VEVE | Homer D. Martin | Thomas S. Lloyd | Quarry's Bank | Oct 17 1859

Marks Marked, blind stamp on lower right of second and fourth page (upsidedown): [shield with anchor in center] Marked, above anchor: S. R. Gray Marked, below shield: Albany.