Vassar College Digital Library

Stem, Sarah M.| to family, Oct. 4, 1868:

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Date
October 4, 1868
Abstract
VC 1872
Creator
Transcript file(s)
Details
Identifier
vassar:25009,,,VCL_Letters_Stem_Sarah-M_1872_001,Box 73
Extent
1 item
Type
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: VCLLettersStemSarahM1872001001
Vassar College N.Y.
Oct. 4th, 1868.
My Dear Sister,
What a grand
lonely time you must
have had, keeping house
at Gibraltar three days,
all alone! why I couldn't
have been hired to and
never saw "Dickey" either, now,
that was too bad, no wonder
you were lonely!
It was too bed that
Will Moorhead, John Butler fee, fee,
unconsciously deprived you of
the pleasure of their company.
It was a great deprivation, and
you have my most sincere sym-
pathy in your affliction!

 


: VCLLettersStemSarahM1872001002
I thought that I had told you
all about our rooms. It must
have been Aunty.
Well, Miss Lyman
would not let Sallie Camp
room with me, because Sallie
Ripley had drawn the other half
of my room, and of course she
could not move her, but be-
tween you and I, I don't know
but it is just as well as it is,
for Sallie Ripley is a lovely
girl. Sallie Camp rooms with
a Miss Gamsey from Saratoga,
and Miss Clark from Sronton,
Ohio, both very good-hearted
girls, and all that sort of thing,
but not very nice. Libbie Hub-
bard and Kittle Reben room
up on the fourth floor to-
gether, just because Miss
Lyman put them together.

 


: VCLLettersStemSarahM1872001003
Eva Gross rooms on the same
floor with me, only four or
five doors off. She has a dou-
ble room all to herself, and only
one other person, a senior, in
the parlor, isn't that funny?
I don't really know any-
thing about the girls examina-
tions, only that Lib. and Kittle
both passed better than Sallie
did, and I didn't see Eva's
paper at all.
Hattle Downs isn't
engaged to a cousin of Eva's at
all. he is only a friend; isn't
that ridiculous, I thought
that she said a cousin. Hattle
is from Birmingham, Conn.
I didn't see very much
of Arthur, after we left Buffalo,
but since you ask me, I don't
like him much, I don't know

 


: VCLLettersStemSarahM1872001004
why, but I think that he is just
a little mite, or rather
a good big mite conceited. I sup-
pose that that is a sufficient rea-
son for my unaccountable
He did not say that he got off
just to be with the girls, but
he said that he was going to wait
in Po'keepsle for the next train
and stop at a friend of his, (a
college friend) "He would not
get in there until eleven o'clock
and then had a several miles
to ride before he got there, and as
he was not very well acquainted
with them, he didn't exactly
know whether he ought to go
there so late or not"! rather
doubtful, don't you think so?
I forgot to say that the reason
that Eva took such a fancy
to Kittle at first was because

 


: VCLLettersStemSarahM1872001005
she had heard so much about
her through Orvie, but I guess
that she does not think any
more of her now, than she does
of the rest of us. She is in our
room quite a good deal, I like
her very much.
I have heard of that
Miss Kittle Tilden and heard
too that she was perfectly lovely,
who does she visit in Sandusky.
Bessie Storer rooms right
next door to me. I haven't seen
a great deal of her yet. I was
up to her room the other night
for a little while. She has had
a lame foot since she came
back, a good deal.
Do you believe, the other

 


: VCLLettersStemSarahM1872001006
night Sallie Ripley was going to bed
early, and she went to get her
night-gown out from under
the pillow, and out jumped
a little mouse! She was so
frightened and we both screamed
around there a little while,
when Sallie declared that she
wouldn't go to bed before I did.
So I went to get my night-
gown, and feeling something
cold, I dropped it, when
out popped another little
mouse! Well do you know we
were so frightened, we were afraid
to go to bed for fear little mice
would jump out, but we went
and got a trap, and set it and
after peeping under all the
covers, and feeling every little
elevation, we thought that
we would venture to get in.

 


: VCLLettersStemSarahM1872001007
In the night I heard a sort of
a little distressed noise, thinks
I, ha, ha, Mr. mousey, and sure
enough the next morning there
he was in flesh, and blood!
But last night was
the most absurd, after the
light was out, I took it into
my head that I wanted to
let that beautiful moon-
light into the room and as
I did not know that there
was a pitcher full of water
sitting on the window, why
of course when I opened the
blind there was a slight
crash! Sallie Ripley said
she heard a smash and
the next thing she knew, she
saw me come rushing over
to the bed with a chair-full
of clothes, she did not know

 


: VCLLettersStemSarahM1872001008
whether I was going to put them
on the bed or not, but it looked
very much like it, but really
it was horrid, for there we had
to get up and light the gas,
wipe all that water up, pick
up the pieces of broken pitcher,
fee, fee, and I can tell you we
had a nice time rushing around
in the water with our bare feet.
The next morning the girls below
us, wanted to know what in
the world all that noise
was in our room. (Answer to letter 2nd)
O! The other day while
we were sitting by the window
studying, there was four young
ladies from "the city" rode around
the college, on horse-back, just
like the wind, with those horrid
old stove-pipe riding hats. you
don't know how funny they

 


: VCLLettersStemSarahM1872001009
looked with their hair sticking
right out straight behind, and
those great tall hats on top
of them; it was perfectly ridicu-
lous.
There is a young lady here
from New York, Miss Beech or
Beach, who has a horse of her
own here and she rides whenever
she pleases. Isn't that elegant? Her
father is immensely wealthy, and
owns a summer residence up here
near Po'keepsie. This Miss Beech has
her room furnished with green
furniture, like that over
at Gibraltar you know, at least
I have heard so though I haven't
seen it. She is the fairest person
I ever saw almost, and her hair

 


: VCLLettersStemSarahM1872001010
is almost perfectly white, which
she wears frizzed over the top
of her head in the funniest
manner, but she is perfectly
lovely, well I don't know what
I am telling you anything about
her for, for I don't know her, but
I will tell you about a young
lady, from Brooklyn, whom I
do know. I don't know whether
you know it or not, but one
day before I came here at all,
I was reading over the catalogue,
and came to the name Blanche
Wilder! I exclaimed to Jessie,
O! isn't that a lovely name, she
must be perfectly lovely if she
only corresponds to her name,
and of course I was going to get
acquainted with her right away,
well when I came here last
year, I found that she was

 


: VCLLettersStemSarahM1872001011
not here, and was dreadfully
disappointed, well, what do you
think she is here this year! and
she rooms just two doors from
me, and sits next to me at table!
Isn't that splendid? She is perfectly
lovely, but she doesn't look a
bit as I expected she would. She
is dark rather than light, that
is she has dark brown hair & black
eyes, but she is rather fair. She
is so sweet, but isn't it funny?
I had forgotten all about it,
until I heard some one say
that Blanche Wilder was back
this year.
There was something
else that I wanted to write,
but I can't for the life of me
think what it was. I suppose
that I will remember as soon
as I seal my letter up. Now

 


: VCLLettersStemSarahM1872001012
Allie, this letter is as long as
both of yours, for I have writ-
ten it so close. I have marked
where the answer to the second
letter comes in, so you must
answer this real soon, for I
shall expect your letter.
Good-night, for I have to go and put my clothes out.
Your loving sister,
Sallle.