Vassar College Digital Library

Elwell, Marion F. — to family, March 4, 1904

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Date
4 Mar 1904
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vassar:54126,Folder 67.7; VCL_Letters_Elwell-Marion-F_1904-03-04_067_007_001
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1 item
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: VCL_Letters_Elwell-Marion-F_1904-03-04_067_007_001_001
March 4
1904

Dear People:

I have been just terribly busy lately, but have had lots of fun too. One of the girls had a birthday party the other night. Our table got devil’s food cake and ice cream to celebrate, for she hadn’t had a birthday for eight years. She had a grand box from home

 


: VCL_Letters_Elwell-Marion-F_1904-03-04_067_007_001_002
and had a party Sunday night which was lots of fun. The hall play was last Saturday. The play was Monsieur Beaucare and Esta Saville was the leading man. She comes from Newton. She spoke broken English and acted simply finely. Every body was wild about her. The next day she was unanimously elected our class marshall to marshall the seniors

 


: VCL_Letters_Elwell-Marion-F_1904-03-04_067_007_001_003
On Commencement day, for she took her honors so well, and wasn’t a bit self conscious, or conceited about it, as many girls who had minor parts were. The Sunday after the play she had to march out of chapel from where she sits which is way up front and everybody in the chapel was watching her, but she

 


: VCL_Letters_Elwell-Marion-F_1904-03-04_067_007_001_004
was as unconscious as if she hadn’t been in the play at all. Our class [crossed out: are] is terribly proud of her. In both of the hall plays this year, a Sophomore has had the leading part. We went to the play in the afternoon and so in the evening while the Juniors had gone to the play, we Sophomores in Lathrop had stunts.

 


: VCL_Letters_Elwell-Marion-F_1904-03-04_067_007_001_005
There are three tables of Sophomores in Lathrop, and each table got up a stunt. One table all dressed up as different kinds of animals, and then they performed all kinds of stunts. One girl was a monkey and was perfectly killing, another was the Italian hand-organ man. Then the other table had a cute stunt. One girl came in dressed

 


: VCL_Letters_Elwell-Marion-F_1904-03-04_067_007_001_006
as a travelling woman. She made a most elaborate speech about her travels and the dolls she had collected. [Then] the dolls (girls of course dressed up) were brought in one at a time. There was a Japanese Doll, one from Germany, France, Switzerland, a southern colored [mamy?] & c. Then the woman wound them up and they all sang

 


: VCL_Letters_Elwell-Marion-F_1904-03-04_067_007_001_007
songs in various languages. One doll was a boy doll and he couldn’t sing so when he was wound he jumped just like a jumping jack. The whole stunt was simply perfect. Then our table had the last act, and we all dressed in white [duke] suits, borrowed maid’s aprons, put a white bow on our hair like the maids wear and served lemonade and macaroons. We

 


: VCL_Letters_Elwell-Marion-F_1904-03-04_067_007_001_008
all had chafing dish trays and marched in a line all around the parlor singing a song that one of the girls made up. It was a grind on the college food. We had lots of fun. After it was all over Margaret Mann, (she is our president) and I went around and opened all the Juniors beds. It was lots of fun to see all the

 


: VCL_Letters_Elwell-Marion-F_1904-03-04_067_007_001_009
rooms. Some were awfully pretty, but most of them looked like sin, for the beds, if made at all, were literally covered with things. Of course that isn’t the way the rooms look always, only that night, every body had dressed in a hurry to go to the play, for they dressed in Washington’s birthday costumes for dinner and then had to change after dinner

 


: VCL_Letters_Elwell-Marion-F_1904-03-04_067_007_001_010
for the play. I’ve just written an invitation to a Freshman to go to the masquerade ball. It is a week from Saturday, Grand-daughters and the current Topic’s club to-gether. I think it will be lots of fun. Must stop[,]

With love,

Marion

P.S. I’ll bring home sweaters & c, and I have the mileage. It has 8 miles on it. That will be enough won’t it?

 


: VCL_Letters_Elwell-Marion-F_1904-03-04_067_007_001_011
AMHERST, MASS.

MRS. L. H. ELWELL.