Romancoke
Aug 29th /70
My dear Mildred
Your letter of congratulation was recd in due time & you must accept my sincere thanks for it.
Since I recd it I have been to see the young person who was the cause there of & had a delightful visit. All the family was particularly kind & exhibited their kindness with so much tact & consideration that it was doubly appreciated. The young person herself was all that I could hope for in my strongest imagination & I am as happy as the day is long. But one deep regret mars all this brightness & that is that I hav’nt a million or two (thousands would not be declined) to-day at her feet & make her mine at once. Still we have a full understanding as to our prospects & I presume it will all work well in due time. Last Tuesday I went to R-d & met George on his return from “Oak lands”. Came down here Sunday evening & accompanied him to Balt Monday Evening where I remained until Wed Evening. Saw there “that bird” Jeanni Yeatman Cousin Minnie & your own PTY.“ We went on in the boat with Col & Mrs Herbert1 & child Cousin Rebecca Tabb Maud Perrin Lloyd Prosser & little Rebecca Tabb2 & had a very pleasant trip. Saw Smith Lee in Balt who is a bird & no doubt I expect to leave here in about a week. Stop of course at Rocklands for a day or two & then come on to see you all. So get the “suite” in the loft in order borrow some furniture if none on hand. Get out your black berry preserves & prepare yourself to be generally agreable. I saw your letter to Miss Lottie. did you credit my dear. “If you are going to the Johnson’s go early” metaphor for “don’t put it off too long”. I have just returned from our C. H. to day where I officiated for the first time in my new office viz. as supervisor of the County. You did not know that your Henry was holding an office of trust & governing his native country. You may yet have a Chatam or a Pitt for a brother who knows I was up sat evening & spent the night with Cousin Jim at Pampatike who is all alone his spouse & chicks having left him for the upper country. We went over to church in Hanover & dined at Ingleside where we saw all your cousins & enjoyed very much their good dinner & bright faces. I suppose Tabb & Rob will be with you soon. Tell the Judge to take care of himself & not to overexert his strength. I wrote to the Mim a while ago but no answer yet. I hope Pa will return all right. My best love to him & tell him I got his letter & read his to his new daughter also. I agree with him entirely.
Love to Agnes & thank her for her letter. Take care of yourself & look out for me for I am a coming.
Rob
Source: Photocopy of original letter, Lee Family Papers, Mss1 L51 g, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond
Transcribed by Katie Hall, 2018 July 19
1. James Rawling Herbert (1833-1884), a Marylander who fought for the CSA. Buried in Baltimore. His wife was Elizabeth Alexander Herbert (1849-1895).
2. Dr. John Prosser Tabb (1822-1884), who married Rebecca Lloyd Tabb (1824-1872); they had four children, including Evelina Matilda Prosser “Maud” Tabb (1843-1925) and John Lloyd Tabb (1851-1922) and John Prosser Tabb (1854-1927). Rebecca’s parents were John Lloyd (1775-1854) and Anne Hariotte Lee (1799-1863).
