Pulaski City Virginia 
July 11 – 93  
 
Dear Miss Lydia 
Your most welcome letter received and was real glad to hear from you   well I did not get off to come over last Saturday. It is terrible thing to get disappointed and feel all out of fix about it    the next time I say I am comeing. I am comeing        makes no difference what happens  

       I hope you had a nice time any way with young curly headed fellow   What is his name    I have forgotten now     he is very good looking is’t  he. Miss Laura Pratt  slited  Mr Mooris  again Sunday     this is several times she has done him that way. Oh I will just tell you the girls are good at such stuff as breaking boys hearts I imagine     I can hear you say yes.    How is it the poor boys has a hard time of it     

      Have you heard from Cousin Albert Harmon  yet. Of coarse you have thoug (as the little boy said). Albert is powerfully bad struck on you and He is not by his Selfe eather  for I can speak for my selfe I am in the same fix    You dont seem to know who I think is the Belle of Hylton     I can tell you with a very few words     if you will look on the back of this letter and see who it is addressed to

       you see her name     she is by far the Belle. I went up to Laura yesterday and she wanted to know (crossed out) how the people at Hylton was     she just done that to agravate me. she is good at that     I have a good joke on her I will tell you some time in her presence     I have told it several times and it gets the best of her     It is about foozing  her show last X mas 
well I must close by asking you to write soon 
your love friend Ell Bones