Transcription:
4 and awkward and unsatisfactory in the art . Nature is always so superior to art that pictures are usually the most satisfactory
the more we forget the real beauty in Nature or are ignorant of it I hope to make a winter picture in oils before the snows
go away and I have one or two other little oil pieces in my mind but whether I can accomplish all I plan in that direction
time alone can disclose Your telling of fruits and flowers and green leaves and grasses at this season but shows us all so
plainly how very far distant we are 01090 1 Phillips Wis. Dec. 19 /82. My dear good sisters, Maggie Sarah, your
nice long letters were a very comfort to me I am overjoyed at the thought of your being where you are it must be so pleasant
for you all And to think of the possibility of our having John and Louie with us next year some time is just delightful May
nothing hinder their coming. is a most earnest wish Yes I will write to John very soon. I have written very few letters for
a long