December 12, 1910

From: May Gleasure, The Square, Listowel
To: Frank Gleasure

My dear Frank,

I received your most welcomed letter a short time ago and was very glad to hear from you. I also got those songs this morning they were lovely every one of them and I am very thankful for them Annie got your letter alright Tom Connor has settled down in Ireland to shoe making once more and is getting too much to do. you know he was splendid at shoemaking. He is not at his own house but he is friends with them all the same. I suppose you did not know that his father was writing to him while he was in England But he was afraid to come across Jim or John. Paddy went to see him when he came home they were always great friends last Wednesday Tom was in our Kitchen and Georgie knew that John and Jim were in the shop so he went and brought John in and we made them speak so he meet Jim later and he spoke to him they are all in all again. he is going to get one of those Cottages after Xmas he is at Jude Daughtons (mother-in-law) at present. You'd know him the minute you'd look at him only he got older looking some way I am sure it is unacount of his mustache he would not know me at all he said I got so big, it would be hard to say that you'd know me so if you saw me. We had a splendid coursing match in Listowel last Thursday & Friday our dogs done very well there one of them got second in one Stake and the other got third in another Stake they would have won the Stakes only they were grulled in there other courses. You might not understand coursing but I'll try to tell you, there is so many dogs in every Stake and these are coupled and each couple has to hunt a Hare and half of those dogs are the ones that won and then what dogs remain are couples again and so on until it comes to the two last dogs and whoever wins the last course has won the Stake Our dogs met two very bad dogs and had to work and kill the hare themselves single handed so they were tried then and had to go for there next course with their tongues hanging out We got about L8.10 eight pound ten out of it there was a comrade of ours won the big Stake he was belonging to Fitzell in Toherbane we had a great time at the Coursing we enjoyed it more than we did the races. We had an awful crowd of the Fitzell's from Toherbane stopping with us the first night we done great business because all the men that were intrestid in dogs came to our place unacount of us having the dogs I am sending you a little present and hope you will get in all right. It must be very hard for you sometimes on those freight trains especially when you have to work by night. Do you ever take a notion or think about coming to Ireland anymore I don't think I have any more to say at present so I will close Wishing you a Very Happy Xmas and a bright and Prosperous New Year Hoping you are well as we all are here at present Write soon agan I remain
Your loving sister Mai.