Letter to Harriet Stone Leslie, circa 1845-1850

In this undated letter, Mary writes to her mother while on a visit, perhaps to relatives. She includes a graphite sketch of a mother with two children, indicating that they are part of the Mason family. She says that the last time she was "here," the eldest child was the "little boy I drew" but has now grown big. She reports that "we are enjoying ourselves very much..." She discusses a hunting excursion on donkeys, and asks her mother not to worry about sending her paint box to her, as it is "too late in the year to sketch out of doors." Mary writes that a neighbor, Mrs. Allen, gave them some jam and loaned them books, of which Felicia Heman's poetry was meant for her. Mary's tone and handwriting suggest that she was a young teenager at the time of this letter.