Hore Browse Trist to Nicholas P. Trist

Dear Brother

Time at present does not give me the means to make a long epistle, & Indeed if it was not on Fs account you should not hear from me for a week or so. I imagined that I told you all I knew respecting the university but as you say not, I must tell you the same tale over again. there is no prospect at least, very little of its going into operation in less than 20 months or two years, Mr Stack is now teaching mathematics himself and expexts to procure one of the best in this country, more properly speaking he hopes to [. . .] engage him to join him, his name I beleive is Nulty. I told you the terms for board and tuition, 50 $ for the latter and about 130 not including washing, candles, wood &c for the former If the university should be ready in our time you must come an be capt of the company they will have there I suppose you would stand a good chance of being elected. I am glad to hear you go on well with mathematics they are the fittest object for pursuit after all, I think you ought to study philosophy and belles letters. The two young ladies who copied your were Miss.... & .... I leave it to your power of divination to find out their names by those dots, the writing they copied was some you wrote in one of their books with Mead. all the family se porte bien and the old gentleman is recovering fast. [. . .] tomorrow is the day fixed on at length to act the play, and your loving brother will come forth a De courcy, in the mean time vale—

H. B Trist.
RC (DLC: NPT); addressed: “N.P. Trist West Point New York”; stamped; postmarked Charlottesville, 23 Oct.; endorsed by recipient: “Browse 22d october 1819.”

se porte bien: “is doing well.”