Sunday Oct 11, 1903 Dearest people, Well, last night I had a very gay time. On the spur of the moment Rudge got up a performance, sort of parody on Dante's Inferno. The scene was laid in Inferno, the character being Dante (Danny) Hazel Straight - perfectly fine! Vergil [sic] [-] Peg Shipp Wordsworth [-] Linda Holloway Beatrice [(Beaschreechee)][-] Esther Eaton Mephistophales, Beelzebub, Mammon, Diabolus - Betty Hopson Miss Wiley —— Rudge Miss Buck — Esther Miss Richarson (Wicked One) Rudge. Well, Dante had gotten lost you see in one of the fifth story towers of Main, had encountered there a large and dreadful centipede, and had at last encountered Virgil after long wandering. Virgil in order to save Dante had to lead him through Inferno (the abode of the faculty of Vassar college). Well, I can't describe it all to you, but some of the girls at this college are too clever to live, that's all I've got to say. I'm so lost in a lot of unusually interesting girls this year that I don't know which way to turn. The twins Katherine and Barbara are by the way daughters of a professor at Andover, and Fanny Bell's father is a judge in Brooklyn. Wordsworth was too good to be true in the play and Betty was a dream of a devil with a tail, little red horns, and a pitch fork, all of which I manufactured for her. I had a laurel wreath on my head, my hair fixed so as to fall just around my neck, and a toga made of a sheet—most effective I assure you. A strange creature from California has entered as a freshman this year. She is about twenty seven or eight years old I should say, rather pretty and very sweet looking. As soon as she arrived she announced to the reception committee that she was engaged to an ex proffessor[professor] at Harvard, now a judge in California. "You see" she said, "it's nice to be a bride, but I couldn't bear to be an ignorant bride, so I came here for a year." This created quite the sensation as well as others of her actions. She wears the most extraordinary, elaborate, and expensive clothes, lace collars etc, and coming to college a little early, she decided to go down and see New York, never having been there before. She was told of the Martha Washington Hotel, a small one where women go alone, but oh no! She said she wanted to see the real thing in New York, so off she goes and puts up at the Waldorf. Astoria for a week. The queer people you do meet in this place! To night I am perfectly happy. I was tired and headachy this morning, didn't want to go to the chapel but went. Came home, ate some dinner and went to bed. Got up at half past four, took a hot bath, went off to five o' clock tea at Rudge's. After supper Polly and I went to call on Miss [Marrie], and had a holy circus. I always have such a jolly time with her. Her sister, a young physician is visiting her and I am crazy about her — but let me stop in time. The ten oclock bell is just ringing and I must go to bed. Slews of love, your little Peg. About Classmates Plays - Strange Freshman 12, POUGHKEEPSIE OCT 12 9 30 AM 1903 N.Y. Miss May Louise Shipp 1010 North Delaware Street Indianapolis Indiana INDIANAPOLIS OCT 13 1230PM 1903