MANUSCRIPT: destroyed.

PUBLICATION: L (1894) 249-250; LL 251-252; L (1931) 232-233.

Two weeks have passed since the visit of the Norcross sisters, who are looking for a place to board. They had been orphaned by the death of their father in January, and did not have the means to keep up their former home. The description of the person identified as "L" applies most aptly to Edward Dickinson's youngest sister Elizabeth (Libbie), who remained throughout her life a somewhat redoubtable figure, described by ED in letter no. 473 as "the only male relative on the female side." She was still unmarried when this letter was written. (See letter no. 331.)