Well the other day she sprung it on me and says do you remember what you promised me when I left you go down to french lick with them stews and I remembered all right but I says no what did I promise & she says you promised you would take me any wheres I want to go this summer & I says o yes I remember but things is going to be busy down to the place and I cant get a way for very long & where would you like to go to benton harbor or south haven or may be cedar lake or some wheres & we can stay a week. & she says I am not asking you where is it we are going because I know where it is & it aint to none of them places a round here & if your a good sport like your all ways clameing you will take me where I say. Then I says all right we will make it atlantic city or N.Y. city or niagara falls & we will stay 2 wks. and then she says if you will shut up your big mouth a min. I will tell you where is it where I want to go & then she sprung it on me & I would of dropt dead if it hadent of been a Sat. & things had to be looked after down to the place. Where do you think she says we was going no wheres but europe & 1st I looked her in the eye to see was she may be kiding but she wasent kiding and so I says you must be crazy & did she think I was a million air & how could I leave the place all summer when the new summer garden was just open & she begin to bello and says I cared more for my busness then for she and I was a cheap sport and she knowed I was dirty with money but what good did it do her and if I was going to brake my promise she would brake hern that she made when we was marred & would go back to milwaukee & stay there till she found some body that was not tight with there money & she knowed of a hunderd men that would be tickelld to death to be in my place & I knowed she was telling the truth because they is that many right here in Chi judgeing from the way they lamp her when her & I go out any wheres to gather. May be I was a sucker to marry a dutch girl & a girl as pretty as her but I done it & I aint sorry and if these willy boys gets to fresh a round her I will brake them in 2. Well if I had of wanted to be mean I could of turn her down & after she pretty near drownd the house out crying she would of been ok again but I figured a promise was a promise and if a mans ever going to do some thing for any body his wife should ought to get in on it 1st & it aint like I was broke & cant a ford it and we done a $1300.00 busness this last mo. and pretty near that good in may and Minnie knows it to.
Well shes went up to milwaukee to brake the news to mother & all them other dutch men and she left me orders to go down to 1 of the steam boat co. & see what kind of a trip can we make. You can bet I wont go no futher then I half to. I wisht you & Kate could go a long with us but I know a trip like this here is going to cost more then you can a ford & if it wasent for youre leaveing your busness I would take you a long as our guest & pay for it but I know you will say no & its busness before plesure. Any way we will keep you posted & may be bring back a present for you & Kate.
Well Ed. take good care of your self and go home nights.
Chgo. Ill. .
Dear bro. Ed. I guess I put 1 over & I wont half to be a way all summer but only a little over 3 wks. & I will be keeping my promise at that. I went downtown to a steam boat co. yest. and asked them what was the shortest trip they had to europe & back and they tells me I could go over to plymouth & England and that would take 6 days on the boat & I could start back the 1st day after I got there if I want to and get back here 2 wks. after I left here but they wouldent hardly be no sence in makeing a trip over there with out staying a wile so I & the man at the steam boat co. figured it out where we could spend 6 days getting over to England & then stay there a wk. & take in Ireland and see some of the places uncle Johnny use to tell us a bout & then come back on the boat to N.Y. city and then
