Transcription:
I wish you were here. You would find queer things. We have queer trees, queer flowers, queer streams, queer weather, queer
customs, queer people with queer names, one man is called Lake, another Jay, Eagle, Raven, Sterling, Bird, Mr Jay married
Miss Raven a few weeks ago, One day at the table we were speaking about names and Mr Trout said that Rose was a fine name,
and I said that Muir was better than Trout or Jay or Rose, or Eagle because that though a Jay or Eagle was a fine bird, and
a Trout a good fish a rose a fine flower, a Scottish Muir or Moor had fine birds, and fine fishes in its streams, and fine
wild roses together with almost every other excellence, but above all the bonnie bloomin heather , we may well be proud of
our name - Another story One Sunday I returned form meeting before the rest and was in the house alone reading one of the
messengers mother sent, when a little bird flew into the house and the cat caught it. I chased the cat out of the house, and
through the house till I caught her, to save the birds life, but she would not let it go, and I choked her and choked her
to make her let it go until I choked her to death thought I did not mean to, and they both lay dead upon the floor. I waited
to see if she would not receive back one of her nine lives, but to my grief I found that I had taken them all, so I buried
her beside some cucumber vines in the garden. When the rest came home I told what had occurred, and Charly Jay who is if full
of wit jo- as the pond was of cold water one night said Now John is always scolding us abut killing spiders and flies but
when poor kitty poor puss for weeks afterwards to make me laugh.