43

San Francisco Cal
April 17th 1852

My own dearest Sister
First let me
thank you for the daguerreotypes of yourself
and dear little Anna that I received
by the last steamer and then for your
long kind letter in which by the
way you say the daquerreotype are
presents from Mr Couper. oh! how I
wish he had sent me his also.
Why is it? I wonder that no one of
you - can have such flattered likenesses
- of yourselves taken as I can - Now
nearly every likeness I have ever had
taken of myself is twice as good looking
as I am. where as yours though
I have not one word to say against it
does not do you justice. I am truly
glad to hear you enjoyed yourself so
much in Savannah. now if I only
could have been with you. But I
am afraid you would have been
for passing me off as your elder
brother. and then Anna would have
had to call you "[Gootin??] Sister" (not Ma)
you [old??] people try to cut a swell sometimes -