Letter to Mary Gunn

Scope and content:

Written from Lexington, Virginia. Letter regards commencement at the VMI and a speech by the governor of Virginia.

Language:

English

Other descriptive data:

Lexington, VA
July 8th, 1848

Dear Sister Mary,
Having a few spare moments I will improve them by commencing a letter to you and if I get it begun I know that I shall finish it some time or other.

You are at school I suppose taking in learning in junks as big as my fist and then to settle it go home and trot little May on your knee. Wa'll there is nothing like improvement "go it while you are young", if I could live over my life again I would study and no mistake. Oliver is well or was last Sunday he was down here and as fine as a new band boy, it would make you laugh and no mistake to see him try to drink buttermilk. The people here use that as "the drink" as much as we do water, if you should drop into where he is about noon, you would find him seated on a stump with what is call a "corn dogger" in his hand that is made of indian meal wet up with water and baked in the ashes and is his other hand a gourd of buttermilk that is as thick as ice cream, on this he is growing fat, it is enough to make any one grin their eye teeth out, to see what a pretty face he makes as he devours this tempting feast. He looks as though he would have "snake and mild" that father used to tell of before it.

I suppose that you are all well. It is healthy here I have not heard of half a dozen deaths since I have been round here. The farmers have all finished harvest and never was better weather but it has rained now two days and looks as though it meant to keep it up.

Last Tuesday was the fourth of July. I left out school and went into town. It was commencement day at the Virginia Military Institute and the Governor of the State was there to sign the diplomas attended by the State Brass Band. The cadets marched from the Institute which is about half of a mile from the town preceded by the band which consisted of about a dozen old rusty looking fellows that blew a soul stirring march with fury enough to wake the dead and make live ones hold their ears. The cadets were about 90 in number dressed in gray coats with skirts about as wide as my hand an 8 inches long and white pants, they are a good looking company and after going through with their evolutions they marched into the meeting house then the cadets made several speeches in praise of war of the institute telling what her sons had done on the plains of Mexico and with what pride the people ought to cherish it. After they were all through, Gov. Smith was introduced. He was received with much applause and with many bows commenced. He was just about as venerable looking a man as Uncle Gersham Finn. He said "that he was happy to be called upon to give advice to young men like them just entering upon life and the first thing that he wished them to do was to hope for a bright day for tomorrow. The next thing that he advised them to do was to get married no young man could be any thing till he was married. He never heard of a smart man that was a bachelor, (never heard of John Randolph) never knew of a quarrel to take place between a man and a woman but the man was to blame. He had lived a long life and was capable of giving advice to young men as a father to his children. There was two books that he would recommend to all young men The first was the Bible, the next Shakespeare, all young men should read and profit by both" and so he went on in a regular stirring speech praising the ladies then telling the young men they must not try to win them by flattery for they were rational beings and despised flattery. He went into the praise of Va, he said that while other states were progressing in dollars Va was progressing in the mind, and so he went on in a soul stirring amid cheers that were deafening. This was my first sight of a real Gov. and it did not give me a very good opinion of the race.

My knife is just about as good as a tool one would be. Tell father if he will send by Orve Platt to Litchfield and get one of the Holleys pen knives I will pay him for his trouble, get on about the size of this if he can. If he can find more of Holleys send me a good hard one of somebodies that is sharp to begin with and I will send him another dollar as soon as I receive it.

I have got some flower seeds and will send them one of these days, my school is half out and then I don't know what I shall do, whether I shall come home or stay, or There is no news stirring here not so much as a weeding, it is too hot even for that. Give my love to all and write soon, have you heard anything of Julia yet and where is she, I expect a letter from home at the office if it is there I will put a mark on the outside of this to let you know it is rec'd.

I have not got a letter from Mrs. Garnett yet if she has written send no word.
From your brother,
Giles Gunn

Subjects:

Commencement ceremonies
Virginia Military Institute—Cadet life—1840-1849
Correspondence

Access and use