Nov. 7. Keene and Cele are sick in bed and coodent sing today in church. they have feerful headakes. docter Perry came in to see them.
Nov. 8. brite and fair. Keene and Cele and Georgie are all sick now and the docter says it is scarlet fever. they are all up in the front chamber and mother and aunt Sarah take care of them.
Nov. 9. clowdy but no rane. Annie is sick now and i cant go to school ennymore. i like that. so i am making a hen koop.
Nov. 10. Rany today. Beany he hollered over today to find out how Keene and Cele and Georgie and Annie are. i have got a soar throte but i aint going to tell ennyone about it.
Nov. 11. i had a headake all last nite. i bet i am going to have the fever. Frankie has got it now and mother is afrade the baby is coming down, she asked me how i felt and i said buly.
Nov. 12. old Missis Smith is helping take care of the house and gets the brekfasts and dinners and suppers. today docter Perry he came down stairs and i was setting in a chair and he said what is the matter with you, and i said nothing and he said let me look at your throte, and he made me open my mouth and he looked down in my gozzle and then he said you march upstairs into the hospitle and tell your mother that you are a new pacient and i went up and when mother saw me come in she said well i have been expecting you. then i went down to my room and got my niteshert and i thaught i aught to write this down becaus i might die. people do die of scarlet fever, i wonder if ennyone wood read it if i did die. ennyway father said once that a boy whitch was born to be hung never wood die in enny other way, so i gess i am all rite. ennyway i aint going to wright ennymore till i get well.
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Jan. 17. brite and fair. i dident die and every one of us got well. Annie had it the wirst and i had it the next wirst and Frankie and the baby want hardly sick any. today is the first time i have been out. Cele and Keene went out last Wensday but i coodent becaus i hadent got done peeling. after folks have the scarlet fever their skin dries up and peels of and if you get cold in the peeling you die every time. i had on my Hoppy Gad boots for the first time today. father brougt them up to show me when i was in bed. i was prety sick and dident know nothing for 2 or 3 days. mother says i was talking about the fellers i knew in Reading. we lived in Reading one year and so i thought i was there i gess and she says i talked of George and Wendal Evans and Puggy Fergerson and Totty Procter and Emma Wallis and Jonny Pike and Ed Harndin and Nelly Minot. i had a fite with Ed Harndin and licked him. when Willy died we came back to Exeter, and she said i talked about Willy to, and everything. we had some fun while we was sick. Cele used to tell stories and we made flyboxes and then when mother was out of the room we wood turn sumersets, and bimeby when we got so that we cood eat apples we used to have one apeace every day and we had to scrape them with a nife and eat the soft part, and when we were geting beter we were auful cross. i gess most every one wood be cross to lose thanksgiving and crismas two, and my berthday, and all the skating and snowbaling. ennyway i havent got to go to school this week.
Jan. 18, 186- buly snowbaling. i went out today a long time, mother told me not to plug snowballs, so i only throwed 2 or 3. i am hungry all the time.
Jan. 19. brite and fair. one of my hens died when i was sick and the rooster frose his comb. it is prety tuf on me.