John Webster talks about the weather (foggy, cold), then about the recently-formed Rifle Corps and the "expected invasions" (which never materialized).
Webster assures GW she needn't worry about the parcel she sent. He describes his dislike of travelling by train. Suggests GW find warmer accommodation & wrap up well.
"Tanty" may well be Grace Webster, as she is addressed as Tanty in a number of letters to her, or it may be a general name for an aunt. Tanty has paid a surprise visit to the Gillespies. Mr. Gillespie is away but wil return soon. The letter appears…
Grace Webster upbraids her sister Eliza for tricking her into being admitted to the Morningside lunatic asylum and demands to be freed. (The hospital records show she remained there until July 16, 1856, her second admission of five.) She laments the…
Discusses practical details of a work by GW. The reference to the sabbath indicates it was GW's edition of Lewis Bayly, The Practice of Piety, which devotes a chapter to this subject. Mentions several other people, including Mr Nasmyth (perhaps James…