My dear Mother,

Today is Monday & we have had a protracted meeting here, some considerable excitement & few conversions. Yesterday was the most important day in my life a day on which I publickly [sic] gave myself to God, yes my dear Mother I am now a member of Christs Church on earth. There were five others beside myself joined the church Misses Laurane & Martha Hunter Miss Gould Miss Pettingill & Miss Hawley. The meeting commenced on Friday & left off to day though there will be prayer meetings &c continued daily. The celebrated Mr. Birge has been here & the influences of the spirit have followed him. Oh if you could imagine my feelings when for the first time I partook of the symbols of a saviours broken body & shed blood, I cannot describe them. Think of the first time when you warm with the influences of the Holy Ghost knelt down to the Communion table & there partook of his body & blood. There are quite a number of conversions here & we are expecting more.

Mr. Greenleaf leaves tomorrow or Wednesday for the East & will be the bearer of this. You can send things by him. I am going to have the Dr. prescribe a remedy for your Rheumatism. I have finished the first work on Anatomy & have commenced on the 2^nd & progressed 200 pages. I have read since I have been in B. 5000 pages in different works. I have not studyed [sic] any since the meetings began but shall commence again tomorow [sic]. I read 15 pages in anatomy a day & 20 or more in some other work. Give my best love to Mr. Chase & family tell him to tell the Sunday school that I have been converted & joined the Church & to give my love to them & hope soon to hear of their conversion. Give my love to Sis Mary & Louisa & husbands & all the little ones. O Mother pray for me & you too my dear sisters that I may be strengthened in my Christian career that I may be an ornament to the Church & not a disgrace. I wish the prayers of all my dear friends. Give love to all of them. Write by Mr. Greenleaf & send the things I wrote for. It is now dark & I must close for the present. I must go now to tea.

Ed [Edward Lerned]

[Following added by Dr. Calvin McQuesten:]

Dear Mother,

I recieved [sic] your letter also one from Brother S. and from Brothers letter I learnt from that the reason why Mr. Dustin did not send the money was that I did not bind myself to support Ed. till he was 21 yrs old for the use of it.¹ If Mr. Dustin is still willing to send me the money if I will sign such an obligation as he wishes me to I want you to get Mr. Dustin to write the instrument he wishes me to sign and send it on and if it is such an one as would be consistent for me to accept of I will sign it and send it back. I feel willing to do anything for Ed. that I can and I think his friends ought to do what they can not to impoverish themselves. The obligation I sent was as you said in your letter Mr. Dustin requested and if there was anything not correct I think you made the mistake. I knew Mr. D. had once rejected my offer but I understood you he had altered his mind and was willing to accept of my proposal. You may talk with him and if you do any thing more do it so that there will be no misunderstanding. If you do any thing more about this you or the Maj. or some of your friends must take all the trouble upon yourselves. I shall not ask my Brother to go to Hopkinton again. The note that I sent may remain with him till I hear from you. Mr. Dustin need not [?] the instrument so that I should be obliged to board and cloth [sic] Ed for the sum of sixty Dollars a year any longer than the money remains in my hands that when [?] calls for the payment of the note and the note is paid then the obligation shall be of no effect. Tis midnight and I must retire.

C. McQuesten [Dr. Calvin McQuesten]

¹ Dr. Calvin McQuesten had agreed to take in his wife Margarette's half-brother Edward and supervise the boy's education. After a few years, the arrangements went horribly awry, resulting in a lawsuit. For details and links, see W0144, W0824, W-MCP4-6.233.

² To learn more about Margarette Barker Lerned [McQuesten] please see W0609.