Letter to friend Alex in Australia,
from Busby, Scotland, 17th Sept 1861_4 pages
This
letter has been transcribed using Google voice typing (apologies for any
inaccuracies or grammatical oddities).
I have
inserted some extra paragraph breaks for ease of reading, and the numbers at
the start of lines show the start of a new page, e.g. p.2).
Scans of the original letter are
included below the text.
Busby, September 17/61
Dear Alexr,
In closing my last letter to you I
held out a promise that, next time, I would give you an account of my
experiences in and about London. Now it is so long past that, I am sorry to say
it, I have no interest at all in thinking of it, and so would rather stand
absolved from the self-imposed duty. One rather, too, that I have so little
pleasure in - looking back on the treatment I received at home and the success
I met with there. It cost me a few hard pounds, at a time above all others when
I could ill spare them. I always find my reminiscences so overshadowed by
regrets, that I know the effort, even if made, could not be happy or fruitful
of happiness.
I hope dear Alex I am forgiven. Now
to more pleasing themes.
Since I wrote I have accomplished
the greatest work of my life. I have brought to pass the long and anxious to
dream of six years of waiting and wearying, of loving, of hoping, of fearing,
of saddening, of working, of praying. It has come to pass and I am happy. All
of my hopes and expectations (and you can guess how high and great mine have
been) have been far, far more than realised.
We were married by Mr Sprout, W.P.
minister in Alexandria, on Wednesday Augt 21st. We left
immediately after for Bowling, got a steamer for Glasgow and waited there our
first night together.
On Thursday we left for Millport
and after a very rough passage got safely into comfortable lodgings for the
night. It was our first visit to the Cumbraes so that we spent an interesting
day there on Friday, leaving at night for the “Auld Toon o’ Ayr”. This was
another taste of a gale in the (firth?) which considerably relieved
most of the passengers of their last eighteenpence worth of “refreshments”. Of
course I had been too often (?) to sea in company with Cringle Vanderdecken The
Dog Fiend +c to feel at all out of my element, nevertheless I had not
sufficient confidence in the seamanship of our Captain to enable me quite to
overcome a certain nervousness as we neared Ayr Head.
p.2) Contrary to my expectations we
got in without mishap further than a good drenching of spray and rain. Contrary
to my expectations I say, still, I admit, it would have been a shabby trick to
have sent us away to look for feds, not to speak in bitterness of board and
washing, on the “open” sea at that time of night; nor would the “blue”ness of
the lookout have been at all relieved by anything on the deck of the “Lady
Kelburn” had it been ever so “fresh” or ever so “free”.--
We walked out, on Saturday morning,
to Alloway Kirk and Burns’ Monument, and spent two or three hours going over
the hallowed ground about the “banks and braes o’ bonnie Doon”. We left Ayr at
5 P.M. + arrived in Busby by the 9 P.M. bus from Glasford Street.
We had been expected home by 6 or 7
o’clock. Tea had been prepared and so, as “nae man can tether” Tea any more
than Time or Tide, they had to fall on and welcome us home beforehand.
You may imagine what we had to
endure in the “Field Seat” in Carmunnock on Sunday; however, now that they have
seen us for the fourth time, I must say they seem to accept the state of
affairs very pleasantly. I think I told you where we live; our house is exactly
opposite the late Hugh Wilson's. So my dear friend whenever you come to Busby
you can walk to the door without asking a question.
Now that I have got this length, I
find that I have, in my selfish haste to meet your Congratulations, so far
forgot my ordinary, and most proper, way of beginning my letters to you, as to
have entirely engrossed the first two pages with my own affairs, without once thanking
you for your last favors, the newsletter for May and two papers since. I hope
you are still enjoying good health, good books and good companionship, even,
require the frame to be properly braced and exercised before they can yield of
the abundance of their good things. I hope your business is prosperous and your
debtors few and far between.
I saw your father last night
p.3) + he was telling me that by
your last letter to him, all things were going well with you. I hope that Jack
and William are likely to improve their prospects soon.
Trade here is falling off at
present. The block printing has revived for a month or two but the orders are
all in a hurry, and two setts of men have been put on, to have them put out in
proper time. Of course this reduces the chances of gain to your father and
those, who like him, can claim longer connection with the place. The rest of the field has been on
five days a week for the last six weeks, all but the engravers. Now we are the
same as the others with very flat prospects for a while to come.
You will have heard that James Hall
has left, thro’ some difference with Mr Wakefield and his partner. He has not
yet got a situation so far as I know, but he refuses to resign his captaincy in
the Volunteer Corps, I supposed to spite the power that “would be” commissioned
in his room. This is not very dignified in him, and is hurting the cause he
pretends to serve. He was presented with a handsome epergue by the civilians,
and a timepiece by the volunteers, in the works - but I think I told you this
in my last, so that I need not recount further.
We have been engaged at odd hours,
for 2 or 3 weeks competing for the honour of representing our company in a
battalion match coming off at Hanging Shaw(s) on the 5th of October. Five from
each company are to shoot for three prizes. The first a silver mounted
Whitworth rifle, presented by Lieutenant Col. Dreghorn, and valued at £30- You
may be sure the shooting was very keen and close, although, it proved latterly,
as sometimes happens on such occasions, to be rather below our best efforts. I
had the honour of standing with another at
p.4) the highest figure. The names
are Robt Gillies (machine printer from Leven) 35 points. W Moodie 35. James
Hart 34. John Moodie 34. R. Otterson tapper (?)
33. Now that we have been declared, every available minute is precious to
us so that we may acquit ourselves honourably in the friendly contest.
A grand sham fight is appointed to
come off in a fortnight at Pollock House (Sir John Maxwell's). Lanarkshire,
Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, Stirlingshire and Dumbartonshire are about to turn out
their grey battalions in the grim array of war without suffering, it is to be
hoped, any of its deplorable consequences. I am not sure whether I shall go or
not. I am afraid to lose that day's practice at the target, Saturday being,
unless when idle through the week, the only time one can get the good of the
powder and lead.
The Batt. was taken down at
Dreghorn’s expense to see the channel fleet a while ago. You see the spirit is
not dying out of Scotland yet.
Now, dear Alex I must come to a
conclusion and Mary sends her love with mine as a parting gift with this
present. I must see after the photographs now.
The honey-moon expires tonight and
from what I have tasted already, and see growing, of the fruits of the garden,
I can recommend you to ‘pluck ere it withers’ the fullest, the fairest, the
sweetest apple on the tree of this life of God's giving to man. I remain your
sincere friend
W Moodie
PS Give my best wishes to Jack and
William. John wishes to be remembered to you and them, too. WM
Scans of the original letter (click on the image below for a larger file):
p.1
p.2
p.3
p.4
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