My precious little Willie,
Before this
letter reaches you, they will
have told you of the great
sorrow that has come upon
us. I write to you from
this little town where we
are stopping to let you know
how peacefully and happily
your dear Father died. He
suffered no pain, my darling,
but lay calmly in Mother’s
arms, and the last look on his
dear face was of love and
happiness. This is very sad
for you my poor little Willie,
but you must not grieve too
much. Remember that dear
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Father is happy now, that
he has gone to another world
where no pain or sorrow can
ever come to him again. Go
to see you little sister and
talk with her about your
dear Father. Remember how
kind and noble he was, and
pry to your Heavenly Father
to teach you how to be like
him: to make you such a
comfort to your Mother, and
such a man as he would
wish his little son to be.
We will be at home now
before long. We are taking
dear Father to Philadelphia,
where we shall lay him to
rest at Laurel Hill. Mother
sends her best love to her little
Willie and wants him to
know, that her great hope in
life now is to see him grow
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up to be something like his
good and noble Father. for
his sake you must be good,
my darling, good and pure
as he was.
Good-bye my dear little
Brother. Be ready to meet
Mother before long and to be
a comfort to her.
Your devoted Sister
Mother is not sick–Your
Aunt Sarah is traveling with
us, and we hope to meet
Uncle Edward to-day.
Mary Virginia Ellet Cabell, 1839-1930, to her brother William, on the death of their father Charles Ellet, Jr., 1810-1862, who was mortally wounded commanding the “Queen of the West” in the battle for Memphis.
MSS 276