Dear Miss Faithfull, Your letter was of great interest to me indeed. I find it quite refreshing to recall Rd Ston and his house & church, and very pleasing, helpful and restful to know of the fit end of life which God has given him. My short stay with him made a very deep & happy impression upon me. A ____, cheerful, unwordly yet widely sympathetic man - whom we seemed to come to know in a day or two - and his household life has often come back to me in thought. Nowhere have I seen family worship a alternative & impressive as at Brenchley. I need not say how happy for both his union with your sister seemed to me. Their one-ness of mind & spirit was beautiful. One morning when I was there there was in a letter to him a ___ for gift ( to ___some one) & the manner in which he said to her -& they said together - 'Thank God!' has often come to my mind as a happy example of faith in the great Giver. The old [sewarts?] too of the house interested me too. And then the lowest founding direct and well thought. __________ [likely that two sides are missing]
life is very well, has had one of her bad headaches for many months, which we are the most thankful for that she is looking forward - well, I suppose you can guess the rest. What you wrote about Gerald Balfour gives us much concern, Miss B had written so assuringly. We are glad to hear of Mr Sam Chittender. I suppose Rd Arthur is quite well again. I hope so. Strangely the very day before I got your letter I heard one of Sir Moniers very interesting lectures & at the end asked him how you were: He answered (I see) as if mean Miss Faithfull née Edin_. So when I saw your hand I guessed it to be from there. We have had a very quiet winter & now it is snowing hard again when we fancied spring had come. With much love from us both, sincerely J Robertson.
[written diagonally in top left hand corner]
My kindest remembrances to Mr C & the Hoddesdon household.
Paper has, 'Whittinghame Manse, Prestonkirk' printed on it in black ink.
Dr James Robertson, a Scotsman, was Minister of Whittingham & Chairman of the General assembly of the Chair of Scotland.