Mifs [sic] Mary Jane Baker
My dear young Lady,

I am very happy to meet you on this very joyous occasion. I afsure ¹ you it affords me no ordinary pleasure to see your happy youthful face among so many happy faces by which I find myself surrounded this evening. I am also pleased that I can make use of that Post office to send you a friendly epistle to afsure you that I do earnestly desire your present improvement and happinefs [sic] and your future and everlasting welfare.

Permit me, dear Lady, with earnest desire to benefit you to addrefs [sic] to you a few words of grave counsel. It is your happinefs to have parents who greatly love you--You have them, I am sure, I hope you will be always kind, respectful and obedient to them--[rem'b'ring?] very thankfully the instructions they give you and endeavour in every way to prove yourself worthy of being the Pastor's daughter. You have a Bible. I hope you read it with care and pray that God would enable you to understand it and practice its holy precepts--That Holy Book tells you that you are a sinner, and also the joyous tidings that "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners":--and that when on earth he said suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, of such is the kingdom of heaven." Now such language not only shows the condescension and compafsion [sic] of Jesus Christ, but also his great love for children, and this should encourage them to go to Jesus Christ, and seek to find to forgive them all their sins for Christ's sake: and how willingly should they do this when He has declared "I love them that love me, and they that seek me early shall find me."

My dear Mifs Baker, how happy should I be to know that you believed, loved and served Jesus Christ because this would make your life happy and useful, and this you should deeply seek to be, and your departure from life, which I hope is far distant, but life is uncertain bear this in mind always, very triumphant.

Now I am sufficiently acquainted with your parents, to say though they appreciate very deeply the respectful kindnefs [sic] shown them this evening by the many kind friends who have formed this party for their benefit, it would make them yet more thankful to find that their dear little Mary was a sincere believer in Christ because they would then feel that their death would not be terrible--that "the last enemy" could only separate them for a short time--that they should soon be together again in heaven--that they would never part from each other again, and should be always happy in the presence of God, and of Jesus Christ the saviour, and be companions with Holy angels and with the good people of every age and nation--should sin no more and consequently sorrow no more--die no more--Will not this be blifs [sic] indeed? Yet this is no more than what your Bible promises to all who love God, and believe in Jesus Christ whom he had sent. That you, dear Mifs Baker, may be of that happy number and all who are beloved of you, an all who are present with us this evening to participate, in the earnest prayer of,

Yours very affectionately

[Aligius?][sp?]

¹ The writer uses the now archaic "fs" construction for the "ss" sound.