Last evening we had the melancholy intelligence of the death of our dear sister Pierce. (Col. John Pierce’s widow) she with her nephew & niece Mr. & Mrs. Pendleton set out the latter part of June to visit Green Pendleton. They reached Cincinnati the 2nd of July, she bore the journey very well, wrote a long & cheerful letter to Mrs. Muirson, the next day was attacked with cholera murbus, which terminated in a dysentry, & she died on the 10th, had her reason to the last, & died full of faith & hope.... Mr. Kirk spent a day with us, I suppose Mary has written that he made a strong impression upon the whole school, in six or seven instances it appeared as if the feeling would be permanent—but like the wayside hearers they do not appear to have root within, & are again laughing & playing with the thoughtless & gay.... S. PIERCE LITCHFIELD, Sep. 21 1835. DEAR JOHN. ... Are there any little girls who want to learn the French language, in or near Hartford—I want to procure Mrs. Gimbrede a few boarders, it is an excellent place for young ladies from eight to fourteen, she loves young girls, takes great pains with their manners, & it is the only way to learn to speak French well to live in a French family. I fear Mrs. G— will leave us this fall if she does not get boarders, & I do not know as we should be able to let your house if she leaves it.... S. PIERCE. LITCHFIELD. Jan. 13. 1842. MY DEAR EMMA You must not expect that your old aunt will be able to write to you very often, as her bodily weakness is great, & her eyes very poor. I was glad to see your last letter written so handsomely & without any mistakes in the spelling. I hope you will be careful to acquire a good style, & a handsome mode of writing letters & notes, as they show a womans education on more occasions than almost any thing else she is called to perform. I suppose Mary had troops of gentlemen on N. Year, the gentlemen made calls here, which was quite a new thing, but there are so few of them, they did not take up much of our time.