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Title: Stewart, Frances to Beaufort, Louisa, 1861
ID4769
CollectionRevisiting Our Forest Home, The immigrant letters of Frances Stewart [J. L. Aoki]
Filestewart/51
Year1861
SenderStewart, Frances
Sender Genderfemale
Sender Occupationhousewife
Sender Religionunknown
OriginDouro Township, Newcsatle District, Upper Canada
DestinationIreland
RecipientBeaufort, Louisa
Recipient Genderfemale
Relationshipfriends
Source
Archive
Doc. No.
Date
Partial Date
Doc. Type
Logunknown
Word Count366
Genreanecdote
Note
Transcript1861: August 6
To Louisa Beaufort, Ireland

Tuesday Night 12 oclock

6 Aug't 1861

My dearest Louisa

Though so late I must add a few lines to tell you a little incident which
took place lately. Kate who is passionately fond of flowers & gardening
took me one evening last month to a nursery near Peterboro to see the
varieties of Roses & Peonies &c all in bloom. So we walked and wandered
about to our hearts content & examined all the Fuschias & other plants in
the houses & were just coming away when the old gardener said, Oh Mrs.
Brown, come here & I will give you a nice flower that smells delightful. So
he took us to a little bushy shrub & plucked off some dark colored flowers
which certainly did smell "delightful" & I saw it was the old Pimento or
allspice tree you used to have at Collon & I had never seen one since those
dear old days. So I said I had not seen one of them for 50 years nearly!! & that I saw it in Ireland. And were you ever in Ireland? said he. I said yes, I had been. Did you ever know a place called Dundalk, said he? Oh yes,
said I, did you ever hear of a place called Collon for it was there I last saw the Allspice shrub. Well now, said the old money, sure, thats where I lived! & served my time in Lord Oriel's gardens under one John Rourke! Did
you ever hear of Lord Oriel? Oh yes, said I, I once knew him & have often
been in his gardens & have seen Rourke too. So the poor old man seemed
quite astonished that I had seen or heard of "John Rourke" and no doubt
I do remember him well & you may suppose how many old recollections
came to my mind from the poor old Allspice tree & old Rourke. But I
must go to bed. It has struck One & I am nearly blind. My pen is bad & my
hand painful from rheumatism but my heart love with you dear Louisa.
Your affect' old F. Stewart