Handwritten letter from Dr. George R. Starkey in Washington, D.C. to his daughter, Gertrude Starkey Pitcairn. Starkey hopes this will be the last season that he is away from his home and family, though he knows their situation is not as bad as some- he has a patient with advanced consumption who rarely gets to see her husband and two children. Starkey has just returned from Church, which was enjoyable, apart from the discourse. He is grateful for the opportunity to collectively acknowledge the entire dependence they all have on the Lord to raise them up out of their human tendencies towards evil and falsity. He believes that by attending worship services, people gain spiritual force to do good in the same way that Jesus did when he went up into the mountains and returned to perform miracles. Starkey tells Gertrude that, either by nature or inheritance, her faculties work slowly. She does not seem able to accomplish as much work as others with the same amount of effort, and her mother is concerned that her capabilities are “rather waning than being developed” due to lack of use. As Gertrude expressed in a previous letter that she wishes to be as useful as possible, Starkey recommends the method used by horse trainers: short but intense daily training. He thinks if she can listen to her mother with the “docility of a child” and focus one hour each day on accomplishing as much as she can, she will make progress in remedying her peculiar deficiency in the amount of work she completes. He expects to be home on the first Sunday of next month, and he invites Gertrude to “join the company at the Lord’s table,” that is, to have her name proposed for membership and be received on communion day. She should not feel pressured to take this step if it would “do the least violence to [her] feelings,” and Starkey encourages her to talk freely with Mr. Pendleton about any doubts she might have. Names mentioned: Mr. Pendelton (William F. Pendleton?) Places mentioned: Brooklyn