Kindest regards, ever faithfully.
Miss Mary Boyle.
Gad's Hill, Higham by Rochester, Kent,
Saturday, Dec. 28th, 1861.
My dear Mary,
On Monday (as you know) I am away again, but I am not sorry to see land and a little rest before me; albeit, these are great experiences of the public heart.
The little Admiral has gone to visit America in the Orlando, supposed to be one of the foremost ships in the Service, and the best found, best manned, and best officered that ever sailed from England. He went away much gamer than any giant, attended by a chest in which he could easily have stowed himself and a wife and family of his own proportions.
Ever and always, your affectionate
Joe.