Letter from Allard Belin Barnwell, Savannah, GA, to mother, Catherine Osborn Barnwell. Barnwell discusses his salary and expenses and describes a recent business trip where, to save time, he jumped off the train as he passed his destination rather than get off miles ahead at the depot stop. November 10, 1870.
Joseph Walker Barnwell, Gottingen, Germany, writes to brother, Allard Belin Barnwell. Barnwell talks of how being in Europe has made him more of an "American" rather than a "Southerner" and discusses weekly social activities with his compatriots. He mentions the near universal editorial contempt for a recent magazine article by Harriet Beecher Stowe concerning Lord Byron and hopes a similar "justice" will one day fall on "Uncle Tom's Cabin." He also derides the antics of anti-Catholic preacher, John Cumming, and describes the curious wedding custom of smashing crockery and dinnerware at the door of the bride-to-be.
Letter from Joseph Walker Barnwell, Gottingen, Germany, to sister, Esther Hutson Barnwell, commenting on the business-like characteristic of German marriages, his taking weekly tea with the "Fraulein" landlady to improve his German, and the frankness of Germans in regard to personal matters.
Letter from Joseph Walker Barnwell, Gottingen, Germany, to sister, Mary Elliott Barnwell, with details of his instruction in German, a description of local ice skaters and an amusing comparison between the Beaufort newspaper and the London Times.