The Andrew Wylie Family Letters - Indiana University Bloomington

1847
Elizabeth Wylie to John H. Wylie, Richmond, Indiana Note: Liz writes interesting letters in a
fine hand but does not bother to punctuate. (See last paragraph of this letter and Sam’s P.S. in
his letter to Liz 12/17/1849)
Bloomington, Feb r 12 --1847
Dear John,
Well here is the year 47 with a lap full of joy or sorrow for both of us hope however the
former will preponderate & that the months that are to come will be more pregnant of enjoyment
to me at least than the one that has passed for a more despicable month as to weather & every
thing else connected with it, it has not been my evil fortune to endure for some years Was sorry
you had such a blue time of it Christmas & hope you spent a happy New Years day on those two
days every one expects to be happy & are disappointed if not Christmas was a dull day here
nothing going on at all I spent it in the kitchen cooking an extra good dinner & was tormented
beyond measure by the boys who must have fired off a thousand crackers at my back besides
explosions of other purile fire arms that always came when least expected so that I was jumping
& squealling all day & was heartily glad when night ended it. New Years evening Mary gave a
large party. It was rather pleasant & things went off pretty well, though some evil consequences
have followed since Some of the students put on the negro disguise and gave us a pretty long
chivereaux they were bold too, coming on the porch & thrusting their hands through a broken
pane for corn-bread their technical name for all kinds of sweet bread stayed an hour or more &
would not have left then had we not given them some cake the captain (Trimble) was a firstrate
mimic and acted his part so well that I was convinced he was a veritible negro until I happened to
see his white hand It was quite amusing their clamors for corn bread & complaints of being
slighted by not being invited Some of the Faculty recognised several of them & found out the rest
& would have charges brought in & a fuss made. they required them to make acknowl edgements
& promise never to be engaged in such a disgraceful scene again & Father reprimanded them
before the other students they all submitted with the exception of Trimble & Williams these two
being gentlemen of high blood would make no concessions or promises & declaired they would
do the like again under simi lar circumstances They left for Green Castle demanded an honora ble
dismissal from the Faculty failing in getting it the Philo mathean Society took up their cause
bestowed on them written encomiums & a condemnation of the proceedings of the Faculty which
was unanimous they left town like triumphant victors were escorted out a mile or two by a crowd
of students & townsfolks & a band of music the whole posse every once in a while cheering them
& hurrahing for G.C. indeed the excitement got so high & wild that they talked of mobbing us
though more than a month since it has not quite subsided yet The Faculty of course would not let
the resolutions of the Society pass without their disapprobation being expressed & they have not
yet decided what to do with them the affair is in statue quo I consider your last to me a very
uninteresting epistle after having been to the City & having seen my dear friend Amanda
[Ammen] I will not deny I was expect ing it with a good deal of impatience & curiosity thinking it
would be full of news & pro’s & con’s & instead it was a disser tation on the miseries of rather
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young physicians You did not so much as tell me who Miss Staunton married or if she did well &
then you complain of me for not giving you enough of news News is stuff I cannot manufacture
& we have a dearth of it here this winter tho I will detail a little bit here that I hope will surprise
you Madame Pering has applied for a divorce Buck Jacobs wrote of it to J McCalla, so there can
be no mistake about it. She had then gone over to Frankfort on that business accom panyed by
Greaves of Louisville & with whom she lived before she married P. What poor innocent Mr. P.
can have done I can’t imagin she gives no reason only says it would kill her to live with him J.
says if she gets a divorce it will be through the influence of powerful friends & potent money We
thought he almost forced her to accept him from what he was green enough to let fall himself &
some other expressions his mother made I never saw a man more elated than he after the match or
heard one boast so much of his wife think he must be quite crestfallen now don’t pity him one bit
had no business to go away there for a wife when there were so many of his former pupils &
admirers of a marriageable age here on the spot. As you are in correspondance with Mag & Sam
suppose I need say nothing of them got a letter from Sam written during the Holidays gave me a
description of the delightful way he was spending them & how reluctent he should be to resume
the Schoolmaster I do wish he could be persuaded to retain his present situation when he does
leave it it is pretty certain he will regret it when too late He is a miserable penman & has not yet
learned to spell every word in the English language two indespensible qualifycations in a
pedagogue so that I do not know how he possibly gets along in the enlightened diggings where he
is yet he says all his patrons express them selves satisfied with him & hope to retain him for life
Tom McCalla was down not long ago saw a Bear Grass lady who said Mr Wylie was quite a Lion
no, that was not it either quite a toast among the young ladies & favorite with the old I wish he
could secure good grazing ground all his life by marrying one of the former Got a letter from
Mag the other day was surprised to learn she was not going to school at all had the idea she was
making great progress in accomplishments & knowledge tried music 3 months & did not make
one inch could not learn in that time to play one poor little tune & her teacher told her she never
would make anything of a musician & had better give it up. she did so, & everything else
besides. Says she is improving & bringing out her social & benevolent powers & faculties attends
church twice through the day on Sabbath & to hear Mr Gurley at night also S.S. [Sunday School]
goes to all the sewing societies. & Kate [Irene] has been to several Public Balls & thinks she’ll
go to another to be given on the 22nd but will be mistaken in that calculation for while she was
off to a dance, Mag sat down & wrote to have a stop put to it using the usual arguments against
Balls Promiscuous company late hours danger to health from the change of a hot room to the open
air & the time spent in thinking about & preparing for them & the time lost in sleep lassitude &
head & sometimes heart aches afterward. I was provoked at Mag for saying anything about it for
I am a great advocate for dancing think it “im proves the motions” was very desirous K should
learn now she has the opportunity Was at a party last night at Dr Hamills where we had the very
refined, intellectual & improving plays lost my glove your honor & cross questions thought then
what a ridicu lous figure we cut so many grown up gentlemen & ladies engaged in childrens sports
& with as much glee apparently at least as they How much more graceful becoming & genteel it
would appear could we trip it on the light fantastic toe at our gatherings than to practise such silly
sports Have had a famous singing Master here this winter taught all the folks to sing by the
round notes I am such a poor singer at best that I did not think it worth my while to attend as it
would be impossible for me ever to become a delightful vocalist should I try ever so hard & I
scorn mediocra cy in all things After Mr Bartlett left some of his scholars thought it best to
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