My dear Grandpa,

Please accept very many thanks for your long kind letter. We were all deeply sorry to hear of your ill health. I do trust dear Grandpa you will soon be very much better. I am pleased to write we are all well except John & Lottie, they both have been very poorly, we had to call the Dr. in for them. John has a very severe cold. Lottie is suffering from neuralgia in her back & side.

Now dear grandpa, I shall as well as I know how give you the desired information as regards Lottie's palate. After receiving your letter I called on Dr. Moore & asked him the question, as to whether, or not, he thought Lottie's voice improved, his answer to me was "yes, decidedly improved." We & all our friends who have talked with Lottie since the operation think quite as favourably of the improvement in speech as does Dr. Moore. For a time the poor girl suffered very much from the cords leading to palate not being more flexible, but she seldom complains now unless suffering from a very severe cold. Dr. Goodwillie did not lead us to hope that she would ever speak as distinctly as we do, but he said we would notice more improvement after the elapse of two years than we do at present, "she has as it were, to learn the letters of the alphabet that owing to her impediment she had in the past only used imperfectly." Dr. Goodwillie at the time practiced dentistry & when Lottie asked him if he approved of the plate palates, replied that he sometimes made them but very much prefered [sic] performing the operation providing his patient had sufficient courage & soft flesh or proper material as he called to enable him to take sufficiently deep stitches, he expressed sorrow at not having the first chance at Lottie's throat. He said that Dr. Moore had done very well but he of course making a specialty of that particular complaint ought to do better. Lottie received a letter from Dr. Goodwillie a few weeks ago, he wrote very kindly enquiring how she was & if her friends thought her speech very much improved. I see by the heading of his letter that since we left New York he has started a private hospital & now keeps a staff of trained nurses.

Minnie wishes me to thank you very kindly for the presents that accompanied the letter. With our united kind love, believe me, my dear grandpa,

Your affectionate Granddaughter

Alice E. [Baker] Harbin

¹ See W3759 from Dr. John O. Baker inquiring about Lottie's speech.