Steventon Novr. 8th, 1772

Dear sister,

Your letter was indeed very welcome as I had long wished much to hear from you, indeed I have several times been going to write purposely to enquire after you all, but still put it off from time to time in hopes of seeing you and my brother Walter at Steventon, for we quite depended on your coming this year, as you disappointed us last. As to my travelling into Kent it is not to be thought of with such a young family as I have around me. My little boy is come home from nurse, and a fine stout little fellow he is, and can run anywhere, so now I have all four at home, and some time in January I expect a fifth, so you see it will not be in my power to take any journeys for one while: so I hope you will come indeed so soon as the bad winter weather is over. We are very glad you have such accounts from Jamaica, and that you are all pretty well; and hope my brother’s heel will not be bad again. Thank God we are all well in health; I begin to be very heavy and bundling as usual, I believe my sister Hancock will be so good as to come and nurse me again, for which I am sure I shall be much obliged to her, as it will be a bad time of the year for her to take so long a journey. Dr. Cooper and my sister with their boy and girl were all well when I heard from them last: they are quite settled at Bath. My brother and sister Perrot have both been ill, my brother is got pure well again, and my sister is better. I have nothing more to add at present but our kind love to my brother and yourself, to George, James and Philly, and that I am at all times,

yr. affectte. sister, C: Austen.