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  My Dear good Friend,

My best thanks to you for yr kind p.c. of Oct 12th recd two days ago, from which I was pleased to gather that there was then no [torn away] for the worse with you. [torn away]d too to know that you find Hodgkinson's undershirt "just right fit & all"—& I know that he will be pleased to hear that you like them.

Along with your dear p.c. came good letters from J.W.W. H.L.T. & Thos B. Harned—the latter in acknowledgement of the copy of my "Notes I sent." J.W.W. also sent me The Long Islander.   I shall not write to J.W.W. by this mail as usual, as he will probably have sailed by the time this gets to you, perhaps by our Steamer the British Prince—associated with you through the visits of Herbert Gilchrist, J.W. Wallace & myself.

Last night I deliverd my Lecture on "My trip to America" & shewed all my pictures by the oxyhydrogen, lime light to a large hall full of working men, their sweethearts & their wives & succeeded in holding their interest for an hour & a half while I talked about my American experiences—you & your surroundings coming in for a good share of attention.

Yesterday afternoon I took   Fred Wild with me to our new Turkish Baths—of wh. I am a director—& this being his first "Turkish" experience it was as good as pantomime to see him, & better, to hear his uniquely & inimitably quaint & humorous remarks & criticisms all given in broad "Bowton" dialect—of the various operations & processes to which he was subjected at the hands of the shampooer. For example the scrubbing brush was "a cat let out of a bag and clawing at him." The wooden pillow had "the feathers the wrong way up": the tapping & pounding was "playing the piano on his ribs" &c &c. At the end he felt so invigorated that he wanted to know if there was anybody, about his own size & weight, who wanted to fight! He is a born humourist & a downright good fellow.   He afterwards came along & had tea with my wife & me & we were joined by R. K. Greenhalgh & spent a jolly two hours together.

I send you a copy of the Workman's Times—The paper for which "Nunquam" now writes, instead of the Sunday Chronicle He is a friend of yours, & you wd notice that "Walt Whitman Junr" is on the staff.

I also send you a copy of an amusing p.c. frm I c[torn away] in the Medical Journal Glo[tornaway]

The weather here continues very damp with a good deal of mist & clinging moisture. The sun has just gone down in a golden haze with rosy edged cloudlets.

Kindest regards to all & best heart love to yourself from yours affectionately John Johnston.
 

"The Michigan State Board of Health recently took Health officer Davis to task for failing to send in his weekly reports—His reply is said to have been facetious. He said:—There has not been enough sickness here in the last two or three years to do much good. The physicians find time to go to Milwaukee on excursions, serve as jurors, in justice courts, set around on dry goods boxes, beg tobacco, chew gum & (sic) swap lies. A few sporadic cases of measles have existed but they were treated & mostly by old women & no deaths occurred There was an undertaker in the village, but he is now in the State prison It is hoped & expected that when green truck gets around melons plenty & cucumbers in abundance that something may revive business If it does I will let you know."

J. J.