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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: May 19, 1895
Text: Vassar College, f/ay 19. My dear Mother,— 1895. I hope you are having as beautiful weather as we, it has been cool, just cool enough to be pleasant, all the week- very good weather for studying, and I hope we will continue to have it cool for two or three weeks, for that reason, because we have a good deal of studying before us- The last two weeks are always filled with "extra work" such as reading up about things, and doing all sorts of things out of the ordinary - which is harder...
Show moreVassar College, f/ay 19. My dear Mother,— 1895. I hope you are having as beautiful weather as we, it has been cool, just cool enough to be pleasant, all the week- very good weather for studying, and I hope we will continue to have it cool for two or three weeks, for that reason, because we have a good deal of studying before us- The last two weeks are always filled with "extra work" such as reading up about things, and doing all sorts of things out of the ordinary - which is harder than the usual routine. Tomorrow we finish up our lab- oratory work in chemistry, and have review and written lessons the rest of the time. We are having writtenlessons In almost everything. Miss Macurdy told us to learn the names and subjects of Plato's thirty-six dialogues, for next lesson,- a sample of the craay things she has us do. This morning Dr. Huns tone of Brooklyn preached. We have only one more church service in the chapel here, beside the Baccalaureate sermon. I suppose you will have Children's Day the Sunday before I get home. By the way, we have had some more discussion this week about how we shall get home. The Nickel Plate and the B and O are both anxious to have us travel on their lines - The Nickel Plate offer a ticket for about nine dollars, with a stop-over at Niagara Falls- A number of the Western girls are going that way and going to stop at the Falls. X could not find out the particulars about thisticket yesterday because the girl who knows about it was not at home when I went to ask her. To take the B and O we would go to New York first, and from there we would take the B and O and the fare from New York to Cleveland would be about nine dollars. This goes by way of Washington, and allows a stop-over at Washington, for the day, leaving there in the evening. This, you see, gives a chance to see the "capitol of the Nation", though it is round-about. But it would cost less, or at any rate not more, than the regular fare on the New York Central, counting in the cost of being at Washington during the day. The girl who is advertizing for this way, will get the circulars and time tables in a few days, so that we will know more about it. I don't knowwhether or not you could find out about these ways at home, but I should think you could. Fares must be getting cheaper, for the Nickel Plate gives fare from New York to Chicago for thirteen dollars. Maude Warner went home yesterday- She lias been sick a great deal this year, and so thought she might as well go now. She will have to make up all her examinations the first part of next year. You know she is the girl who lives in Cincinnati. Yesterday we did an extravagant thing. We went to see "Buffalo Bill", who is in town. We were talking about him at the table at lunch yesterday and some of the girls were describing the glories of his exhibi- tion to Miss Macurdy. She listened with a great deal of contempt at first. She has nevereven been to a circus in her life, her taste running chiefly to Latin and Greek plays and Boston lectures. But she really became interested in Buffalo Bill's career, and said she really believed she would like to go. I think she was most induced by the fact that Buffalo Bill is the brother of Mrs. Irvine, the President of Wellesley College. Still she was not sure whether it was proper to go. But she agreed with us that she would go and take us if Mrs. Kendrick thought it was proper. So we went. We all enjoyed it very much. I have always heard that Buffalo Bill was worth seeing, and so it was, but, like the circus, I think I should not care to see It more than once. I think Buffalo Bill's was better than the circus. Ray told Miss Macurdy that all the best peoplein Chicago went to see Buffalo Bill, but this did not do much to raise it in Miss Macurdy's estima- tion, for her knowledge of Chicago people was limited, she said, to what she had learned from a Boston friend of hers. This lady told her about meeting a wealthy Chicago man, and the only sentence of his conversation which she reported was this: ' Then up I gits and jumps on my horse." But that was enough for Miss Macurdy. Since then she has looked on Chicago people with abhorrence. Miss Macurdy amuses us so much some- times- I used to read jokes about Boston people in the newspapers, and thought them all very much exaggerated, of course. But Miss Macurdy certainly goes far ahead of anything I ever read about Boston intellectuality. The great event of this week wasour Tree celebration. The Sophomore class chose a tree and put on it their class crest in bronze, with appropriate ceremonies, and then when they are Seniors, they bury their class records beneath this tree. We dressed up last night as darkies, and such a sight as we were! We wore the gayest striped underskirts we had, and the oldest and brightest waists. Belle wore my dressing sack - that tight flannel one, but as she is much thinner than I, there was room for two sofa pillows - We also wore red and orange sashes. £ made use of that big hat of Aunt Allie's, trimmed with red and blue ribbons and yellow and purple flowers of Ray's. We blacked our faces and hands in great style and ran out through the corridors, spied only by our next-door neighbors - The Freshmen cameout to bother us - and also some Juniors - because we are supposed to have our fun with no other classmen around. The Freshmen were waiting outside the gymnasium, where we were assembled, ready to march to our tree. They grew quite impatient waiting for us, for every once in a while they clapped and told us to hurry up. At last we silently departed out of the back door, leaving the Freshmen in front. But they soon came after us, and in the midst of our program joined hands and ran around us in a circle. But after this they subsided - especially since Ray yelled to them to make their circle into an eclipse. At the tree we all gathered close around and the President of our class "called the meetin' to order", and said that the "minutes ofde last ten meetin's would be omitted." This raised a shout, because in our last class-meeting some one remarked that all our minutes had to be read and approved before our Senior year - and they have almost always been omitted, in fact I have only had to read them once since I have been Secretary. So some one moved that we spend a few minutes reading back minutes, and I read all the minutes for the last ten meetings or so. Then Ray made the Tree Oration, which I need not describe, as it is printed on the programme, though when she gave it, she added several more jokes- Jessie Thain made a short "Chain Oration" putting the chain which held the bronze crest, around the tree. These orations were interspersed with singing - Nancy McClellandalways makes up some songs for us to sing on every occasion - Then we went two by two, singing, to the gymnasium, where we were entertained by a "minstrel show" - The colored orchestra - Ray and fifteen or twenty other girls dressed as colored men - sat up on the platform, and enlivened the proceedings with occasional jokes and conundrums. Then there were "living pictures" - The Heavenly Twins - were the largest and the smallest girls in the class. "Two little girls in blue" were two of the tallest girls in the class, dressed in hideous shades of blue which would not harmonize. A "prima donna" also made her appearance, rigged out in stunning finery - and sang Home, Sweet Home, with all the affectation and languishing that could be put into it, and the tune only near enough to be recog-
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: May 12, 1895
Text: Vassar College. May IZ./95 bfy dear Father,— We have jumped back into winter lor a day today. We are ell glad to pat oa oar winter dresses, though it has been very hot indeed for a weak or two. It poured hard last night aad this morning- It woke me up emrly end I got up and pat down all the windows, lor the rain waa pouring In making thlnga wet. Now evarything looks fresh aad green, and we are very glad to have a cooling off. It has beea rather uncomfort- able to play basketball in such hot...
Show moreVassar College. May IZ./95 bfy dear Father,— We have jumped back into winter lor a day today. We are ell glad to pat oa oar winter dresses, though it has been very hot indeed for a weak or two. It poured hard last night aad this morning- It woke me up emrly end I got up and pat down all the windows, lor the rain waa pouring In making thlnga wet. Now evarything looks fresh aad green, and we are very glad to have a cooling off. It has beea rather uncomfort- able to play basketball in such hot weather, for we can not wear hats. It seems so strange to playbasketball with violets, lots of them- growing in the grass beaeath our feet. It seems too bad to step oa them. I wish I could send you some violets la a flying machine! (or come ia a flying start machine myself). Fear weeks from Wedaesdny I expect to some home, though steam cars do not supply such rapid traaslt as the flying machine. By the way, do you know the prices on the Pennsylvania Railroad? You know wa have never beea that way aad Ray and X think It would be nice to come home that way this time. She is going directly home this year, without visiting any of her relatlvea in the East. If we went home by the Pennsylvania Line,Ray's brother Frits would meet us la New York aad go acroas the city arith us. Of course wa could go alone, but as he Is there, he will want to see Ray of course. I thought perhaps you could find out about prices more easily thaa 1 can, and then If it does not cost very much more we will come the Pennsylvania way. U may cost less for all I know. I shall have to settle it before long, because we have to hand in our "travelling lists", telling when and by what road we are going home, more than two weeks before I shall start. Then about ten days before X start I have to buy my ticket. I hope you and mamma will go to Zanesville when they have the Republican convention there. It will be such a good chance. It is not often that there are reduced rates to Zanesville, is it? It would seem a pity not to take advantage of them. This week we handed in our electives for next year. I had quite a time deciding on mine, for there were so many things I wanted to take. I consulted with Miss &/fecurdy a little, but I don't like to consult with teachers much, about studies, for then you always feel more or less bound to take their advice, and perhaps you won't want to. It looks queer to go and ask somebody's advice and then act right contrary to it. I have elected three hours of Creek, three of Latin, three of History, three of Biology, two of Art History and one of Astronomy. I did intend to take shorter course German next year and the Latin the year after, butbut I found I could arrange my work for other semesters better by talcing the Latin next year, as it lasts only half a year. I could have left off the Astronomy and had only fourteen hours, which would have been quite a little easier, but I want to know something about astronomy, and this one hour course is descriptive astronomy, for those who wish to have a general knowledge of it, without going into detail and having mathematics In it. You see I have given up mathematics. Before I came to college mathematics was my favorite study, but college mathematics do not attract me. I have had a much easier time the latter part of this year than I had the first part. We can really spend Friday or Saturday afternoons in some- tiling beside study now. Today is Belle's birthday, so we celebrated a little yesterday by buying some Icecream and strawberries, that is, Ray and Carrie and I together, as a surprise for her. This was a great splurge, for we never bought any Icecream before. The taste of strawberries is the first we have had this year, and the last we will have till the day before Commencement. For the college never serves strawberries except on Class Day, when most of the students are gone home and there are a great many visitors here. Today we had oranges for dessert for Sunday dinner, instead of our usual springtime dessert of peanuts and maple sugar. We havesuch nice aspara- gus here, nicer then we get at home. That is the best thing that comes in the spring, I think. From what I read In the last paper you sent, I think the Sunday School Convention will be very interesting. I would like to be there. I don't know whether I like that Idea of the procession of children who are to build the I just found out the ether day that the chemistry professor whom I hmre, used to live in Cleveland. It was in 1879 that he went away. He knows Prof. Morley very vrell, and probably he knows Mr. E. R. Taylor, for he used to live on Harlmess Ave. His name is Mr. Moulton and he is very nice indeed. When I get Iiome I am going to ask Mr. Taylor if he knows him. Tour loving daughter Adelaide. jClaflinj
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: December 30, 1894
Text: Vassar College. Dec. 30, 1894. My dear Father,— Well, I have been to New York aad back. By Wednesday, when the Margaret Louisa Home sent word that they could not accomodate us, I gave up going, but about nine odoek Thursday night we got word that we could stay at a boarding house oa West 44th St. which one ol the girls knew about. So we rushed around and got ready, aad started off oa the 8:46 train Friday morning - six of us. We wanted to go to the'Messiah" Saturday evening, so of...
Show moreVassar College. Dec. 30, 1894. My dear Father,— Well, I have been to New York aad back. By Wednesday, when the Margaret Louisa Home sent word that they could not accomodate us, I gave up going, but about nine odoek Thursday night we got word that we could stay at a boarding house oa West 44th St. which one ol the girls knew about. So we rushed around and got ready, aad started off oa the 8:46 train Friday morning - six of us. We wanted to go to the'Messiah" Saturday evening, so of course we would have to stay till Monday. But we couldnot get tickets for that time; every one was sold. Just by the skin of our teeth we got tickets for Friday afternoon- the only other time it was to be given. It was fortunate that we went to buy the tickets as soon as we got to New York- Ellen Hailey did not want to stay till Monday, so as we did not f have to stay oa account of the "Messiah", she aad I came back on the six oclock train Saturday evening. Some of the money that we would have spent for two days more board, we used to buy some things that we have been wanting, as we had such a good chance to get things in New York. After I got back I found mamma's letter telling me to be sure to stay over Sunday- I am well satisfied myself with doing the way I did, but if I had known you were so anxious to have me stay over Sunday I would have stayed. Your letter with the money in itcame Wednesday noon, and though I thought then that I would not need it, I was very glad the next day to have it. It was so nice of you to allow me to go, and I had a fine time. We enjoyed everything so much, even the poor food at the boarding house, and the man with the blue necktie who tried four or five cups of coffee every meal before he got one that suited him. The boarding house keeper was a nice little woman who did all she could for us. And so did "Robinson" the elevator man, a colored man, who ran errands for us. We felt quite "swell" to have colored waiters waiting on us in the dining room too. We slept three in a room, which made our board cheaper, though not so cheap as at the Margaret Louisa. We went to our board- ing house just before lunchFriday, so Saturday Ellen and I took our lunch at Macy's, (where we happened to be) for 19 cents and so we had to pay for board for only a day. At first she thought we were at her house for lunch and so was going to charge us for a day and a half. We took our baggage and went to the Metropolitan Museum for the afternoon. Of course I remembered very well-seeing; the things I a year ago saw there last Christmas vacation^and they seemed like old friends. There is a fine model there now of the Notre Dame Cathedral, which a year ago they were just putting in las* Christmas when I was there. The Messiah was certainly worth the $1.50 we paid to hear it, though we were provoked when we paid it. All the tickets at the box office were sold, but some individual had bought a lot and was stand- ing on the steps selling them for more than they cost. We didnot like to patronize him when he was doing such a mean trick, but we did want to hear the Messiah. Our seats were in the balcony, quite good ones. The tiers are so steep that we were ever so far above the floor. It was in Carnegie Hall, a very fine building - well arranged and beautiful. Walter Damrosch, you know, is the Director of the Oratorio Society, and Lillian Nordica was the soprano soloist. Then there was the Symphony Orchestra. Oh it was all so fine, and will be unforgettable. The audience all stood up while they sang the Hallelujah Chorus. I wanted to go to Mr. Smith's church, and so did one of the other girls who heard him here at college two years ago, and has wanted to hear him again ever since. We thought we would go to the prayer meeting Friday night, but we found that they have prayer-meeting on Wednesday night. But Willie is not coming home till tomorrow night, so she was to go to his church this morning- I just got acquainted with Willie lately, and she is a very nice girl, from Memphis, where Ellen Hailey came from too. Willie is a Senior. I felt quite independent going around New York with Ellen (for we went alone a good deal). Ellen Is a little bit of a thing and seems like a child, and doesn't know a great deal about New York. But it is a very easy place to find your way in. and you never lose your bearings, on account of the streets having numbers. I suppose. We took different streetcars, as much as we could, so as to try all kinds and see different streets. When we went to the Metropolitan we rode all the way in the Fifth Avenue stage, and saw all the fine residences. Vanderbilt's for instance, and the fine hotels and clubhouses. The hotels and club housesare the finest buildings in New York, aren't they? Ellen and I came home alone on the six oclock train. The depot was not far from our boarding house. We got to Po'keepsie about half- past eight - the train was a half hour late— We were gone long enough to have quite a little change, and new experiences, and feel as if we had had quite a trip. Everybody here had a sleigh ride Friday afternoon- there was a great deal of snow, freshly fallen. The last few days have been very cold indeed, though it was partly on account of the wind. Poor Ellen thought she would freeae while we were on the streets in New York. Having lived in Memphis she is not quite so used to such weather as I am. It is a little warmer now though. Are you still having spring weather? Your loving daughter Adelaide. £laflin,
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: June 2, 1895
Text: Vassar College. June 2. 1895. My deer sister,- I hope you are not having the kind of weather we are- I think it has been about 96° for the last few days. We had had cool weather for so long that we quite forgot what hot days were like- But now they have come and will probably stay with us during our examinations this week* We console ourselves with the hope that the teachers will lay to the hot weather say lack of intelligence on our examination papers- which wouldotherwise be too glaring to...
Show moreVassar College. June 2. 1895. My deer sister,- I hope you are not having the kind of weather we are- I think it has been about 96° for the last few days. We had had cool weather for so long that we quite forgot what hot days were like- But now they have come and will probably stay with us during our examinations this week* We console ourselves with the hope that the teachers will lay to the hot weather say lack of intelligence on our examination papers- which wouldotherwise be too glaring to be excusable- I have Latia tomorrow morning, one course in Greek Tuesday morning, another Tues- day afternoon, English Wedaesday morning. Chemistry Thursday morning aad Art History Thursday afternoon- Thea I am through- We have been doing what reviewing we could in the last two weeks: la the last three weeks X have had fifteen written lessons- aa average of one a day but they have not come that way- they have usually happened so that we have had two or three the same day- For each of these we have had to review from oae fourth to one-half the semester's work in a subject. I had a letter from mammafrom Zanesville, which I expect to answer, but did not get at ia time for it to reach Zanesville before she would leave- So she will be disappointed- I am so glad she weat to Zanesville, though I am afraid she is not staying long enough to get a rest. It is too bad papa was disappointed about going- when he needs the change too. Ray and I have bought our tickets home; we have not thought much about whether we will stop at Niagara Falls, for we have not had a chance to inquire into the particulars- and we have ao Idea about the route the Nickel Plate takes, since we have not seen a time-table.It seems to me that the girls who live nearest here are the craaiest to get home at vacation times- Some of them think that it is terrible for me to stay here almost a week after my last exam, when I have not been home since September. But I thought I would like to see what a college Commencement was like, and I will not have many chances. The girls say it is so much fun after the last examination- days of bliss- Kate Dunham says her sister Mary is coming Saturday, and after Commencement they are going to Boston for a week- Kate says she is beginning to wish she was going home this week- Ray has declared right alongthat after my last exam. I would suddenly pack up and go home, and not stand it till after Commencements but when I have said I am going to stay, 1 am going to. Of course I can not realise that I have had my last recitation for this years much less can I realise that my exams, begin tomorrow. But these next four days must go somehow. As I look back on the year it seems to have gone very quickly after all- My coming away in September is as distinct in my mind as though it happened yesterday - in fact some of the things that have happenedsince seem much farther away. The time has gone so much fester the latter half of the year, too- X can't deny that the first semester did drag, for it was such a never ending grind- But it is so delightful that at the end of a year we think mostly of the nice things and let them drown out the hard thlngs- We gave up the day yesterday to everything but study - The first Saturday this year which I have spent without studying at all. The Seniors had all their things for raising money— In the morning was the Senior Auction, when they offer forsale their furniture that they cannot carry home with them, mostly chairs, desks and tables. The chairs usually from 75 cents to a dollar, and desks from $4 to $9- Carrie and Ray and I together bought a pair of portieres of very good quality for $3.50. Of course we can use them for the two remaining years and then sell them for about the same price we paid. We also bought four very nice window shades for $1.50. That is all we shall buy, I think. I forgot to say in my last letter that X received by mail a piece of belt ribbon, which I suppose came from youas the printing looked like yours. Thank you very much - X have beea wearing it this week with my gold buckle. My red gingham will continue to be in service as long as this weather lasts. I am so glad X have it. Poor thing - it certainly is seeing its last days- Xa the afternoon yesterday the Seniors gave shows - admission This is the only time of the year when there Is an admission price to anything- bat the Seniors In this way help to pay some of their expenses- which amount to no small sum. I think If some outsiders had seen Katharine Reiley —the most clever and prominent of the seniors - dressed up as a negro in the minstrel show - singing negro songs and telling conundrums etc; they would scarcely believe she is the same girl who as President of the Students' Association made an address on Founder's Day* and who conducts the meetings of the Students' Association with such dignity and propriety, and who is to be one of the speakers on Commence- ment Day. In the evening we had some excitement net furnished by the seniors - the final match game in basket ball between'97 and '98- They were to have played in the morning, but concluded that the broiling sun might be the best tKfaig in the world for them, shining down on their bare heads - when they were exercising so violently- The game was the most exciting one we have had. '97 has always beat '98 before this, but last night '97 had to have five substitutes, so that although they worked hard, v98 beat them 13 to 12. Some of the girls in each of the classes were out as spectators - and cheered continually - '95 cheers for *97 and '96 for '98 - The girls made up all sorts of yells and rhymes - and 1imagine we sounded something like the audience at a baseball game - Only we were all students and not an outside audience. I should like so much to transplant Sunrise Hill to Cleveland for a few days - It is Just covered all over with daisies- more daisies than I ever saw before. Everything is so lovely outdoors now that it seems wicked to stay in the house. I was walking around today with Dora Roberts, one of the girls at our table.- whose parents are missionaries in Burmah- She is going to Clifton Springs Sanitarium this summer, to wait on the table - She cares more about getting her summerboard and lodging pro- vided, than in saving money - though she will get ten dollars a month- Three or four of the girls here were there last summer waiting on the table. They only have to work six hours a day. The waitresses are all students. Normal School girls, etc., so that it is not an unpleasant situa- tion. Dora is a little thing* but she has about as much "push and go" in her as I ever saw in a girl. Perhaps I wrote you about her making a wool dress during Easter vacation, which fits her like a glove and looks beautifully- She is an awfully nice girl- Lovingly your sister Adelaide. (Claflinj A week from Thursday morning.*
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: December 2, 1894
Text: assar College. J an. 2. 886. My dear Mother, — Vacation has come and gone so quickly that It hardly seems as if we had had any, except that I feel rested and less hurried- 1 wrote part of a letter to you the other day, but I was interrupted, and did not have a chance to finish it. Bay went down to Brooklyn, as she expected, aad had a fine time. Her brother Frits was there too. He is in Scrlbner's book- store in New York. Her brother Harry is in Asheville, N.C. where he has to stay till...
Show moreassar College. J an. 2. 886. My dear Mother, — Vacation has come and gone so quickly that It hardly seems as if we had had any, except that I feel rested and less hurried- 1 wrote part of a letter to you the other day, but I was interrupted, and did not have a chance to finish it. Bay went down to Brooklyn, as she expected, aad had a fine time. Her brother Frits was there too. He is in Scrlbner's book- store in New York. Her brother Harry is in Asheville, N.C. where he has to stay till spring- O X forgot that I hadn't told you- Ray has a new little sister. She was born early last Sunday morning. Ray Is soglad it is a girl, for most of her family aad relatives are boys. Ray went to the great football game in New York on Saturday- with some of her cousins. They always take her around in New York. A good many of the girls went down to the game Saturday, who did not go away for Thanksgiving- About half the girls were here Thanks- giving Day. We did have a grand dinner. It was at three oclock, and we assembled in the corridor a few minutes before three, and marched into the dining room two by two, singing "America". Dr. Taylor and his family ate in the dining room with us- Mrs. Kendrlck and some of the Faculty were in their usual places at the Faculty table, at the next table was Dr. Taylor and his family and some more of the Faculty- at the next were some more of the Faculty and Missood- the librarian- with five or six of the Faculty babies- Miss Wood is very fond of babies, and takes care of the Faculty babies a good deal of the time, especially of Dr. Taylor *s- I should say children for they are three years old or so. They call Dr. Taylor's baby, Dick, and the girls say that it is short for "the Dictator." The children are all very fond of Miss Wood, and no wonder, for she is lovely- For the Thanksgiving dinner we arranged our own tables, and decorated them. We were at a small table, only seven of us, and I was at the head. We were at the table about two hours and a half. I would send you my menu, if it were not too large to go in any envelope I have. We had all the regulation Thanksgiving things, of course, and besides, lobster salad, creamed oysters. Roast young pig, (which I never ate anywhere else, but which is good), rice croquettes, pine-apple sherbet, chicken salad, strawberry tartlets, Nesselrode pudding (which is like icecream with all kinds of fruit and citron and raisins chopped up in it.) Charlotte russe, and fruit and nuts and so on. I tried to manage the thing "systematically and scientifically" so that I was not uncomfortable. I barely tasted of the common things, and so was able to enjoy the desserts, I took some of everything but potato and celery. Belle went home lor the vacation, so Mary and X were left in possession of our "suite", and we enjoyed it ever so much. We did not get much done, for we were fated to be interrupted* Girls came in and stayed for hours, I suppose because they thought that was all right in vacation. But we would rather have spent those hours outdoors. We did have fun on Saturday especially. We looked all through the Catacombs (i.e. the cellar)for another bookcase. We had collected too many books for our old accomodations- We found a better looking one than either of those we had, so we brought it up, and changed the books- Then we changed the books in the other two and rearranged them. W e changed around all the furniture in Mary's bedroom too, and that took a long time for the bedrooms being small and square, the bed takes up a large part of the room, and it is almost Impossible to make it fit more than one way- Then we washed the dishes that were dirty or dusty, (we really do not dust every day) and washed and ironed the doilies and teatable cover. The teatable cover is an old one of Mary's and while I was ironing it Z tore the hemstitching half way along one side.We ought to have spent all this time in studying, but we so enjoyed the change of occupa- tion that we did one thing after another. Down in the catacombs we found a little table with a drawer in it, and we looked upon that as a gold mine, and brought it up to pat in my bedroom. It is one of the kind they used to use here, and is about the only one left, I guess. It Is about like the one Clarence keeps up in his room. I have put a blotter on the top, and use it for writing when there is company out here in the parlor. We are going to change bedrooms in February, thea Ray will take mine and I will have hers- There will be one nice thing about hers, if it is a corridor room, it has a wardrobe in the room. Now I have my wardrobe out in the corridor, and the most inconvenient part of it is that I have no place for my shoes, for I want them in my room. Jf anybody wants to make me a Christmas present, tell them to make a shoebag, then I can hang it on the back of my door, and next semester have it inside the door of my wardrobe. You ought not to give me any Christmas presents, though, for I have so many nice things, and so many privileges. I wish I could give you each a real nice Christmas gift, but I am beginning to fear that I shall not be able to make any at all. Please tell I*ou to send me a catalogue of the Woman's College or else a list of the books she needs to use next semester,so that I can send them home at Christmas by Katharine Dunham, if I have any of them. We are going to read Horace's Satires and Epistles next semester, and I think she is too, isn't she? Lots ol the girls who stayed here got boxes from home, so that Mary and I happened to be invited to three two spreads and a candy pull in one evening, Wednesday. We went to them all, too. One of them was Katharine Dunham's- Her aunt in Lockport sent her another box- She makes the nicest boxes of things that I ever have seen- the loveliest angel cake Just exactly like Edie's, and fruit cake and cookies and canned things- Dr. Taylor was not feeling well all day Thanksgiving, and is still out of sorts- He could not be at the reception which he always in the evening givesAand Mrs. Taylor received alone. After the icecream and cake were served they all played "Going to Jerusalem". Prof. Van Ihgen and his three sons 4e- played too, and Prof. Van Ingen beat. He is the Professor of Art - a funny Dutchman, who has been here the longest- I believe, of the professors. I am glad you met Dr. Taylor and liked him-as I do. Lovingly, Adelaide. jClafUn,
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: February 24, 1895
Text: Vassar College. Feb. 24. 1895. My dear Father,— The time has come around for me to write you another birthday letter, and say that I am sorry not to have anything more sub- stantial to offer. And if I could give you a birthday kiss, it would be much more satisfactory than sending it in a letter. This morning Bishop Leonard, of Cleveland, preached for us- in the Episcopal service. I don't remember whether I ever saw him in Cleveland, for I did not remember his face. I liked him quite well...
Show moreVassar College. Feb. 24. 1895. My dear Father,— The time has come around for me to write you another birthday letter, and say that I am sorry not to have anything more sub- stantial to offer. And if I could give you a birthday kiss, it would be much more satisfactory than sending it in a letter. This morning Bishop Leonard, of Cleveland, preached for us- in the Episcopal service. I don't remember whether I ever saw him in Cleveland, for I did not remember his face. I liked him quite well. You know last Sunday we had a Cleveland minister, too, Dr. Upham.This afternoon Rev. Mr. McCarthy, for twenty-seven years a missionary in China, is going to speak for us- This is in addition to the usual services, for in the evening we have our usual Bible Lecture by Dr. Pattison, and an address on Tenement House Reform by Mr. Richard Watson Gilder. Thursday evening was the regular missionary meeting of the Y.W.C.A. at which Ray, as chairman of the Missionary Committee, presided- and Carrie Hardin spoke about life in Syria, which of course she knows about very well. She knows a good deal of Arabic, though she has forgotten some of it, and it is fun to hear her recite Arabic- Yesterday afternoon Ray and I went to a reception given by Gertrude Bronson for her sister Victoria, and a friend of Victoria's, Miss DeWitt.Victoria was here only two days, but It was interesting for her, I guess- And she was enjoying it very much. She seems a good deal older than she did In the summer. Friday was quite an exciting day- after lessons were over. We have always had Washington's birthday for a holiday before, but this year the Faculty concluded that we might just as well have our lessons as usual, and not break into our work with a holiday- So all the usual decorations of flags and colonial relics the girls replaced by decorations which indicated mourning for a lost patriotism. The Senior tables down the center of the dining room are always deco- rated, and the seniors are always dressed up in some particular way and march together into the dining room, first, while the rest of us stand by in the corridor and watch them, So this year theSeniors adorned their tables all with black cheesecloth, even tying bows on the vinegar bottles and salt cellars etc. Then the Seniors instead of being dressed in colonial costumes, suddenly appeared, all in black, some of them Puritans, some of them nuns and some monks, with long flowing robes and cowls on their heads and candles in their hand. All these sombre figures singing a mournful dirge produced rather a startling effect. During dinner we were quite hilarious, and while we were waiting for dessert the Seniors all yelled "What's the matter with Washington's birthday? " and the response, "Going, going, gone!" and "What's the matter with the Faculty? " "We dont know.' Over at Strong Hall, they sang Star-Spangled Banner, America, Marching thro' Georgia, and so on, during dinner. In the dining room a committee had posted big printed posters - a "Declaration of Patriotism", modelled on the "Declaration of Indepen- dencewhich contained sentences like this: "We believe that students are endowed with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the celebration of national holidays." A statue of Geo. W. in the front hall was wrapped up in a portiere and a sign on it "Positively Engaged"— the sign wh. the girls always put out on their doors when they are very busy and cannot be seen. Of course this was done by some girl. Friday evening we all went over to the gym. in colonial costume and had some fun- Some Southern girls were dressed as darkies and danced the darky dances, one of them dressed as a boy did the "breakdown". This was especially enjoyed by the lecturer Prof. H. Morse Stephens, who was there. He lectured twice on Saturday on the French Revolution, on which he is the authority now. Wecould not go to his lectures for Belle had a friend here from home and we had spent the day entertaining her. to We took her over^the laundry, and were shown all through it - the first time I had been there - to go through it all. We saw how our clothes were washed and rinsed and dried and ironed and sorted - a good deal of it done by machinery- The people here are all very glad to show off their machinery- One day when we were in the Catacombs the man there showed us the engine which pumped all the water - 90 gallons per minute it pumps, fr. fourteen wells beyond Strong Hall, There is another engine beside it for use if that one gets out of order. Give my love to all - and keep lots for yourself - Though this is a birthday letter, still of course it is for all the family to read- as usual— Lovingly Your daughter Adelaide. (Claflin)
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: [Nov. 1893]
Text: (About Nov. 8, 1893, Wednesday P. M. Dear Bess,-— Your letter came yesterday, and I have just gotten one from Edie- We are getting started at our work now, and it seems to me that our extra fc time will be very little indeed. The recitations are a whole hour long, and they say that we are expected to spend two hours pre- paring for each lesson. We have Latin, Greek, English (that is rhetoric) and Hygiene and Mathematics, but we dont have them all every day, so that we have three recitations a...
Show more(About Nov. 8, 1893, Wednesday P. M. Dear Bess,-— Your letter came yesterday, and I have just gotten one from Edie- We are getting started at our work now, and it seems to me that our extra fc time will be very little indeed. The recitations are a whole hour long, and they say that we are expected to spend two hours pre- paring for each lesson. We have Latin, Greek, English (that is rhetoric) and Hygiene and Mathematics, but we dont have them all every day, so that we have three recitations a day- But we have just found out that for the first half of this year we will have Solid Geometry, and we did have it twice in High School. We supposed it would be very different here, but there are only about eight or nine propositions (ask Lou what that means) that we haven't had, so our teacher said that we might just as well take an examination in it, and then we would have just so much extra time for something else- Ray would take music and German instead, and I would probably take some advance study- and be so much ahead- We have a lovely teacher for Latin, Miss Franklin- Our Greek teacher (I think she is Miss McCurdy but I am not sure) is very nice too, but she expects us to know an awful lot, and she pronounces some vowels differently from what we have been used to so that we can hardly understand her. Our English teacher, Miss Nettleton, seemed like a terror the first day, but I think Nov. 8, 1893(?) - 2 that when I get used to her I shall like her. Our mathematics teacher Miss Richardson, is very nice indeed, but perhaps we will not have her (if we take the examination). I am renting and buying second-hand all the books that I can - but Ray and I together bought a Harper's Latin Lexicon, which, of course will last us forever. Since we have begun our work we have not had time for anything else. So that we have not finished fixing our room and I have not finished what was to be done to my clothes. I tore my brown dress yesterday on a trunk, and it took me an hour and a half to dam it this morning. We have not had time to make any formal calls yet. When we do it will take a goodwhile- The other night we were over whelmed with them - had thirteen in three-quarters of an hour- They were people who had been told to hunt us up, but it included three or four apiece that such people brought with them, for instance Abby Vaillant thought she had to hunt me up, so she came and brought five strange and stunning girls with her. Some of them were very pleasant and some weren't. A Miss Vender Burgh from New York had been told about Ray and came to see us, and she is the snobbiest one we have met yet. I have seen all the Cleveland girls who are here- We are pretty well acquainted (that is I think we will be) with a girl named Hermione Stork who has three aunts in Cleveland whom I met at the Adelbert reception- Our rooms looks pretty well- I am glad the walls are not white, they are a sort of a pinkish brown. The embroidered yellow tray cloth just about fits my bureau. We have a good sized closet apiece. There is more than enough room in it for all my things, and there is a large shelf in it. I did not leave anything in my trunks. My silk waists are in a large pasteboard box, and the silk skirts are in my bottom drawer- We have to make a large and small laundry bag apiece- Table napkins, towels, stockings and handkerchiefs will be counted two as a piece, for washing- Dresses and fancy things are charged for according to the time it takes to iron them, at the rate of forty cents an hour- But I have not worn any of my thin dresses yet. V There is an orchard oa the grounds where we can get all the apples we can eat. I am not used to such luxury- We bring some in to our rooms too- But tell mamma I won't eat too many of them- I haven't time to write any more now- Give my love to all the family, and to Etta and Mrs- Henderson and the Wheelers- I hope the old lady ia better- Have Miss Clara and Miss Ella come back yet from the Fair? X hope you will have a new tooth grow in- Couldn't any of the family pull your other one? With much love- Address Vassar College Adelaide - Poughkeepsie N.Y- (Adelaide Claflin, '97,
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: March 31, 1895
Text: Vassar College. March 24. 1895. My dear Mother,— Vacation is here, and so nice it is. It is so quiet and restful. Ray went Thursday morning and was to get to Turnpike, Saturday morning. That is three miles from Asheville- They were to spend Friday night at Asheville. Belle went Friday afternoon- She was working on her special topic in Greek up to the last minute so that we packed her satchel and sewed on her shoebuttons for her and she had just time to catch the train. Her mother has been...
Show moreVassar College. March 24. 1895. My dear Mother,— Vacation is here, and so nice it is. It is so quiet and restful. Ray went Thursday morning and was to get to Turnpike, Saturday morning. That is three miles from Asheville- They were to spend Friday night at Asheville. Belle went Friday afternoon- She was working on her special topic in Greek up to the last minute so that we packed her satchel and sewed on her shoebuttons for her and she had just time to catch the train. Her mother has been sick since before Thanksgiving, a good deal of the time in bed. Carrie has stayed here as she thought she would, and I am veryglad to have her company. Ellen Hailey is staying in Belle's room, which is pleas ante r than living over at one of the cottages where she is the only college girl. Carrie is going to have her sister in Rye Seminary, up here to spend two or three days at Easter - since she is not going to see her during our vacation. Carrie's aunt in Boston invited her to come there alone, and also her aunt in Brooklyn, but she thought she would rather stay here, so she declined their invitations. It has been perfect weather the last few days- the sun so bright and warm. But there are still patches of snow in the shadow- it is so slow to disappear here. If the weather keeps beautiful, it will add a good deal to our pleasure. Yesterday afternoon we went over to the gym. to play battle-ball. I forget whether I have told you about ourathletics. There are two new games, battle-ball, and basketball, which have been introduced here just lately, which the girls are much interested in, and talk about a good deal - The games are played by teams of eleven, and three or four teams of each game have been formed in each class. I am on a team in each. If we just played by ourselves, that would not be so exciting, but the fun comes in in having match games between the different teams, and usually in dif- ferent classes- On such occasions a number of the members of each class get together to watch and cheer each good move made by their class team, and it is lots of fun to watch match games. Basket ball is rougher than battle-ball, and tires you more. Some girls like one game better, some the other, but I think -me- battle ballis a little more popular. When spring comes and the ground can be fixed, we are going to play golf- You know that is an English game. I have joined the golf club that has been formed, but it will be some little time before we can play it. As many can play in that as want to. Last week all the athletic teams and clubs were formed into an Athletic Association, which will oversee all the games and attend to the grounds - and keep them in order. The girls have been so anxious for spring to come that they thought they could hasten it by wearing shirtwaists, and a few have appeared here and there for some time. So Dr. Thelberg talked to us the other night after chapel, altogether, and informed us that the hour- season for shirtwaists has not yet arrived, nor the season for low shoes either.Also that we should wear rubbers until the middle of May. She gave us some more advice too, and told us that she wanted to see us all go away from college with pure healthy souls In pure healthy bodies. A good many girls are making themselves shirtwaists this vacation. A number have asked me to join them in it, but I declined. I prefer to make my clothes at home with my slater and a sewing machine—both great helps I Three girls here are each making themselves a wool spring dress. They have established themselves in one room, and rented a sewing machine and sewing table and flatiron- They ripped up old waists to get a pattern, and are getting along in fine style. They work pretty test. One of them, Dora Roberts, makes most all of her clothes. There are lots of girls here who make all or nearly all, oftheir clothes. They make me feel like an ignoramus. I must learn a lot more about sewing this summer. I am glad drapery is not coming into style after all. The new skirts are all made perfectly plain, though flaring and four or five yards wide. Carrie has just had her spring dress made- They put crinoline or ever haircloth in the skirts part way up the front and all the way up the beck. Sleeves will certainly have to be smaller next year, for it is impossible for them to be bigger than they are now- and they stand out with crinoline too. I do hope you can get a new sewing-machine - I should be so glad to say goodbye to that other poor rickety thing. Edie has sewed on it enough to wear it out three or four times. I believe my challi is wearing out at last, for ittears so easily- I have made three or four tears in it lately. When Is Lou's vacation, and how much does she have? Gertrude Bronson did not go home after all, for I saw her tonight. Katharine is here, too, and we have sat at the same table several times. The Strong Hall girls have to come over here for their meals in vacation. I was going to ask you to send back some books by her, some books that we have to use for English. I think I had better ask you to send them by express if you will, for it would be cheaper than buying them. I can not find any girls who have them to rent, for they have not had to use them before this year. They are the works of Milton, Dryden, and Pope, and the Essays of Addison, Swift, and Samuel Johnson. I am not sure how many of those youhave, but I shall have to buy the ones you haven't, unless you want to borrow them. Perhaps you will need them at home, but if you don't, and if you can spare them, I would like to have you send them, and I will bring them back in June. If you do send them you might send a corset cover along with them. Is Etta well again, and has she had her party? I have not heard at all how Clarence gets along with his kindergarten. Does he like it, and does he like to play- with the other children? Have the Wheelers any one to board with them yet? I should think they would have a good deal more leisure time than they used to. Give my love to them and the rest of the neighbors— With love to all the family — As ever Adelaide (Claflin)
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: December 9, 1894
Text: <p>Vassar College. Dec. 9, 1894. My dear Mother, — It ls a chilly, dark day today - as it has been most of the week. It has been pretty cold - I got out my comforter this week- I have had a nice time reading this afternoon. I suppose I might have written letters, but when I don't have time to write them during the week, I don't like to spend all my leisure time, on Sunday, In doing it. I have not written more than four or five letters outside the family, since...
Show more<p>Vassar College. Dec. 9, 1894. My dear Mother, — It ls a chilly, dark day today - as it has been most of the week. It has been pretty cold - I got out my comforter this week- I have had a nice time reading this afternoon. I suppose I might have written letters, but when I don't have time to write them during the week, I don't like to spend all my leisure time, on Sunday, In doing it. I have not written more than four or five letters outside the family, since I have been here. I am going to write some during the Christmas vacation. I read in the Observer this morning that Dr. Elbridge Mix of Worcester, had accepted a</p> call to Cleveland. Is it the Second Church that has called him? So the poor old lady Wheeler is gone. When I said good-bye to her in the fall I did not think that I should see her there on her bed again. How the rest of the family must miss her, for they almost lived for her. Have you heard lately how Mrs. Sheldon is? Did I tell you that Ray's brother Harry is going to spend the winter in Asheville, North Carolina? He went there two or three weeks ago- Perhaps Mrs. Bingham will meet him. What Is Miss Lottie going to do all the winter? I have had a very nice time this week- I did not flunk in History, and I went down town with Ray on Friday and had lunch at Smith's - the chief restaurant- Friday was Philaiethean Day - Phil, for short.So the afternoon was a holiday - by which we were relieved from one recitation. A good many girls had to spend the afternoon fixing the parlors for the evening- Whenever any thing goes on in the parlors, girls do the fixing. They go around and borrow everything they need, from the girls1 rooms- For instance a girl comes into our room in the afternoon and says, "What will you lend us for Phil.? We say, "Anything you see." Then the girl looks around and decides to take our couch, six pillows, our lamp, or our tea table. In the evening there was an address by Mr. John Fox, Jr. or rather a story - which he wrote and which has been published. Afterward came the Promenade Concert - you know this was one of the two times when young men are invited. So we promenaded up and down the second corridor - I had one promenade with a friendof Julia Gardner's, and one with her mother, and one with Miss Gouldy, whom Katharine Dunham invited. Tou remember she is the lady whom Edie met at Mrs. Dunham's, and who came up this year to college with Miss Sutliffe. She Is lovely, I think. The Promenades lasted till quarter to twelve, when the young men were politely dismissed by a Good night song from the Glee Club. I did not stay down all the evening, but came up to my room before ten. Of course there was a supper served In the dining room, on little tables, so we could not have dinner in there. A notice was put on the bulletin board, that from three to five in the afternoon the students might go to Room B, (one of the recitation rooms) and find a lunch which they could take to their rooms. A little after three Belle and I wentdown, each armed with a plate, and Mary followed with a pitcher. When we got into Room B we saw a big wooden bo* on the floor, filled with pieces of brown bread, another with white bread. We went to each and took four or five pieces, then some pieces of ham from a platter, and some butterballs from another platter - all with our fingers - then the cook brought in a breadboard covered with one big flat cake - we each cut off a piece to suit ourselves - then there was another big wooden box filled with bananas, over which Mrs. Van Sickle, the stewardess, stood guard. She gave the girls a lecture about not taking more than their share, then Belle went up to her to get ours, and said Four, please - Mrs* Van Sickle looked suspicious and said, "Have you three roommates ? We had quite a sumptuous meal after all, which we spread on ourtable with a newspaper for a tablecloth. We toasted the bread over our drop-light, and made some chocolate to drink- The other night Miss Clapp, the housekeeper, met me on the stairs and showed me a plate which she had In her hand. It was a white plate ornamented with parts of postage stamps - the head of Geo. W. in the middle of the plate and all around the edge - then the little strip in the shape of a horseshoe which says on it "U.S. postage" and ends in the 2, were arranged in intricate circles. One of the maids had made it and Miss Clapp was very proud of it. Then Miss Clapp told me all about her housekeeping, and how many maids she hired, and how long they had been here and how they managed the work, and all the work that was done here in the summer, in the way of housecleaning. The gymnasium opened the first of this week- I go onMondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. There will be skating before Christmas, I think. I have just come now from the Bible Lecture. Dr. Patterson is very interesting and nice - a fatherly old gentleman. He is telling us now about Old Testament history, and the discovery of the mummies of the Pharaohs, etc- which Miss Amelia B. Edwards told us about when she lectured in Cleveland. My health is very good, I have not had a cold since I have been here. I don't feel so tired as I did a few weeks ago, because I have not been quite so rushed. We get along beautifully with Mary and Belle. They are awfully nice girls, especially Mary- Mary is very quiet and unassuming about her accomplishments, so you discover them slowly. But she is awfully bright, and draws and writes so well. When she is hard up for money she writes a story and has it pub- lished, gettingfive or ten dollars for it, though of course she hasn't time to do this often, for she works very hard over what she writes. Last year she had the Vassar correspondence of the "New York World". She is an unusually sensible girl. Give my love to the neighbors and to Sadie Adams and Dot Kendrick and Bessie Metlin. How Is the Kendrickvs house getting along? I am glad Lou. likes college so much. I am so glad to hear all she has to tell about it. I wish she would send me a catalogue. Lovingly Adelaide. ^Claflin,
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: November 12, 1893
Text: Vassar College. Nov. 12, 1893. My dear Papa, - I think I have gone the rounds of the family now, so that it is time to begin at the top again. I didn't tell what happened the week before last, I guess, because I didn't have time to finish my letter last Sunday. So I shall have to begin way back at the Sophomore joke, or rather, lack of a joke. That was at Hallowe'en, when it is customary for the Sophs to play a joke on the Freshmen, and the Juniors one on the Seniors. When we...
Show moreVassar College. Nov. 12, 1893. My dear Papa, - I think I have gone the rounds of the family now, so that it is time to begin at the top again. I didn't tell what happened the week before last, I guess, because I didn't have time to finish my letter last Sunday. So I shall have to begin way back at the Sophomore joke, or rather, lack of a joke. That was at Hallowe'en, when it is customary for the Sophs to play a joke on the Freshmen, and the Juniors one on the Seniors. When we woke up Hallowe'en morning we found a similar tack on all the Freshmen doors, and thinking that the Sophs intended to hang something on them during dinner or chapel, we all carefully removed them, and kept watch all the time. So they didn't have a chance to do what they intended to, and they were awfully mad. So they had to resort to the plan of printing some "Hints to the Freshmen", and got Mrs. Kendrick's permission to put it on the official bulletin board. Of course this wasn't much of a joke, since it depended on the Faculty, as no one is allowed to remove anything from the official bulletin board. The "Hints" were quite funny though. It was advice to us as to how we should behave, etc. written as if for small children, for instance, that it was not proper for us to walk in the Senior corridor, or to invite the teachers to come and see us. But the Sophs were extremely quiet the next day. They didn't crow any over their "joke". There are three Nov. 12, 1893 - 2 Sophs at our table, one of whom lives in Cincinnati. Her name is Maud Warner, and she lives in Walnut Hills, and goes to the church that Mr. Simpson had until he became President ofMarietta College. You know Mrs. Holway went there too. She says her mother knew Mrs. Holway. Maud is an awfully jolly girl. She is always making jokes. She is such a good doctor that the girls call her Dr. Warner, and when they are sick, but not sick enough for the real doctor, they always send for her. The real doctor, Dr. Thelberg, is awfully lazy. She has two Freshmen classes in Hygiene once a week, and has a half an hour a day for office!^ hours, and has hardly anything else to do, except to draw her salary. She doesn't take the trouble to go and see girls unless it is absolutely necessary, so they always have to go and see her. Last night about ten oclock a girl over here had a sort of nervous spasm, and when they sent for the doctor, she said she couldn't come because she had just taken a hot bath and gone to bed, and she would catch cold if she got up again just after taking a bath. So they got Mrs. Flett, the nurse. Poor Mrs. Flett always has to do the doctor's work for her, like that- But they say that if any one is very sick, the doctor wakes upand takes splendid care of her. Last Sunday a girl who belongs to the Friends' Church in Poughkeepsie invited Rachel and me to go there with her. So we want. I think these Friends are rather modern, for it wasn't so different from other churches as I have heard about. There were only three or four old ladies who had the Quaker dress and bonnet, and the men did not sit on one side and the women on another. It was conducted more like prayer meeting than church, they had several prayers from people in the audience, and a sermon by the minister, but no collection. There was about five minutes' silence between each thing. Toward the end, a girl proposed a hymn, and then we saw that a few of the young people had Gospel Hymns No.5. There were only about three young ladies and a boy who sang, of course without any instrument to accom- pany them. They say the older ones dont like it a bit, to have singing. The tune they sang was a lickity split one too. I never heard it before. I think it is mean of the young ones to want to sing when theolder people disapprove of it. I think if they want to be just like other churches, they ought to go to them, and not spoil the Quaker service. We are not going to spend our time any more, though, in going to Quaker churches, when we only have the chance to go to town to church once a month. I'd rather go to a Pres. or Congregational one. They say, that from the census they took of us here, they found that there are more Presbyterians here than anything else, Episcopalians come next, and then Baptists. I went to an Art Lecture Tuesday night. Prof. Van Ingen, the teacher of art here, is going to give them once a week, I believe. He has stereopticon views o£ famous paintings, and he tells the name and artist of each one, and describes it a little. He is Dutch, and a little hard to understand. Friday night there was a lecture on the Municipal Govern-ment of London, which they said was very interesting. I did not go,because Ray and I had previously promisedto go to a spread. Of course we had a good time there. We had sardines on crackers, cheese, apples, grapes and "fudges." Fudges is a kind of candy, made 2 glasses of sugar l/4 cake of chocolate one glass of milk and a little butter. This boils over a little gas stove, until it hardens in water. Then you pour it on a piece of paper and let it harden, and it is good. Make Lou try it and see- that is, if she has any "leisure time". I am so glad McKinley was elected. I saw it on the bulletin board at noon the next day. I could tell what girls came from Ohio, when I heard them talking about it. But McKinley seems to be very popular all over the country. For girls from all over were rejoicing over his election. Poughkeepsie went Republican. How is the Republican Club getting along ? I mean the one in the Eighteenth Ward. I suppose you had a big celebration over the Republican victory. Are you very busy at the shop now? With love to all the family and lots for yourself. Your loving daughter Adelaide Claflin.
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: [December 1893]
Text: The pond is larger than Wade Park Pond, and they keep it nicely cleaned off, and flood it every night, and there are only a few girls there at once. I have my skates with me. The ones at home that you think are mine, are perhaps the ones that Aunt Allie gave us- Of course you will be glad to have Edie at home today. You must have missed her- But I suppose the change was good for her, though I don't believe she got much rest, because of her teeth- I would have written to her again if I...
Show moreThe pond is larger than Wade Park Pond, and they keep it nicely cleaned off, and flood it every night, and there are only a few girls there at once. I have my skates with me. The ones at home that you think are mine, are perhaps the ones that Aunt Allie gave us- Of course you will be glad to have Edie at home today. You must have missed her- But I suppose the change was good for her, though I don't believe she got much rest, because of her teeth- I would have written to her again if I had known she was goin^ to be at Zanesville longer- Of course X am glad, if Uncle Charles cares to read my letters, to have him do so. I have the pleasure of thinking, during vacation of an essay - our first long one, that has to be written just after we get back- also of algebra, that we shall begin immediately, and the girls always hate it, and I know I shall too, for X don't like the teacher a bit, except out of class- Now I always used to love geometry and algebra, but I have hatedgeometry this year, and have felt more uncomfortable in that class than in any other. Miss Richardson ought not to be teach- ing* She loses her temper so. She lost it at our last recitation, on Wednesday, and that, too, at the first mistake that was made, when there had been several beautiful recitations made before that. At first she said the class could go home and study their lesson, but as soon as she had said that ahe-it occurred to her that they might go and do something else, so she said, "No, you may stay here and learn it." Since she has told us a great many times not to bring our books to class, some one very meekly asked her if we could go and get our books. She saw she had made another mistake so she said, "Young ladies, you may write the rest of the hour." and so we had to write out some propositions to hand in. Then she gave us a long lecture, and told us, as she often has, that-w*.ours is her worst class (she has five classes in geometry, three days a week, and nothing else) She says that the reason why we don't do well,as a class, is because we don't take an hour's exercise just before coming to class. Just as though we could take an hour's exercise just before every recitation- Miss Richardson scowls like everything and stamps her feet, and on two occasions last year she threw a ruler and chalk at a girl. I think the class would do well enough under a good teacher, I can tell by the way I get along myself, and X have done my best for her and have studied ever so much harder than I did on the same work at High School. Miss Richardson is so smooth and polite out of class that nobody can tell whether or not she likes them- I do wish we didn't have to have her for algebra- Well, they want me to come down stairs now, so goodnight, and a merry, happy Christmas to you all. Lovingly AdelaideClaflin, I forgot to tell about the doll show- that came off Friday evening- They were dolls dressed by any of the girls who wanted to do it, and are to be sent to the College Settlement in New York city, and given one to poor children. They charged an admission of^postage stamp, or two cents- The dolls were all dressed prettily, and some of them elaborately, for instance with drawn work in their dresses- The dresses were of all imaginable kinds, a great many of them white,of course. There were more than a hundred dolls, I think- It them seemed to me that some ofAwere dressed too daintily, considering their destinations, but perhaps it is just as well to let the children own something really pretty, for once- I did not take one to dress because I thought I shouldn't havettime, but I helped three girls dress theirs, so I think I might as well take one myself next year. 223 South Second ave. Mt. Vernon N.Y.
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: February 21, 1897
Text: Vassar College. Poughkeepsie, N.Y. ,Feb. 21, 1897, My own dear Father,— My regular family letter will be addressed to you this week, in order to wish you a very happy birthday Friday, and many returns of them, and I wish I could drop in to help celebrate. I suppose you will all have a holiday tomorrow and celebrate Washington's birthday. As for us, you know we have no holiday. We are going to have more or less celebration duringthe day, however, and the usual Martha Washington Ball in...
Show moreVassar College. Poughkeepsie, N.Y. ,Feb. 21, 1897, My own dear Father,— My regular family letter will be addressed to you this week, in order to wish you a very happy birthday Friday, and many returns of them, and I wish I could drop in to help celebrate. I suppose you will all have a holiday tomorrow and celebrate Washington's birthday. As for us, you know we have no holiday. We are going to have more or less celebration duringthe day, however, and the usual Martha Washington Ball in the evening. So you see that with regular lessons and extra celebrations too, it will be further than ever from being a holiday. I shall not go to the Ball in the evening. A committee has devised some means of protesting to the Faculty against our being deprived of the holiday, but those I shall be better able to describe next week. There has been something going on every ctrerning this week—- (and consequently a rising early on my part every morning.). It began with Monday, when it was my turn to take chargeof the meeting of Civitas — a small club which interests itself in matters of current interest. I took the Fabian Society for my subject, and spent three hours of Monday in reading it up. I am glad my turn is past; it won't come around again before I am graduated. Tuesday evening our class celebrated the anniversary of our Trig. Ceremonies, which we had in Sophomore year. We had a sort of burlesque of part of the Trig Ceremonies: and then we sat around and sang a few minutes, after refreshing ourselves with lemonade and pop- corn. Friday evening a Mr. Williamsof the Philadelphia Press, lec- tured on "The First Presidential Campaign and the Last." I amused myself with Latin Prose, instead of going to the Lecture, but everybody who went said it was very interesting. Next Friday evening, by the way. Professor Warren of Adelbert College is going to lecture to us on "Victor Hugo as a Poet of the Household". There have been a great lot of Alumnae up here yesterday and today; partly on account of their having a vacation for Washington's birthday, and partly on account of a meeting of the "Vassar College Historical Association"- This organizationhas just been started; its members are the Alumnae who have had elective courses in History in college. The Seniors who have History were invited to go to the meet- ings yesterday, so I went in for a little while. There were a good many '95 girls, and several of the Class of '90, among whom was Miss Delia Prentiss of Cleveland. I have often heard Miss Adams speak of her. I met her after church today in the Senior Parlor. She played the piano for us there. She is very musical. Last night I was invited over to Prexy's for supper. The Senior Class has been invited there on Saturday nights in batches of about twenty each. Last night was the last batch; there were sixteen there. W e had a very nice time, indeed. Such a good supper, with oysters on the half-shell, sweetbread patties (which were delicious) squabs (or something like that - small bird) on toast, lobster salad, and ice. There were three small tables in corners, with three or four girls at each, and a larger table in the center, with seven girls at it. Or. Patttson of Rochester Theological Seminary, who used to be our Bible Lecturer, but who is here today to preach for us, was there last night. He sat atour table at first, and Prexy at another table, and Mrs. Taylor at still another one. And then these three progressed from one table to another for different courses, so that we each had each of them at our tables. After the supper we all went into the large sitting room where there was a fine wood fire. The house is beautiful; it is in selsniel style, and there is woodwork wainscoting reaching up high on the walls. Everything is beautifully arranged and finished off. Prexy showed us his study; his rare and interesting books - The incoherency of this letter is due to the fact that there arenumbers of people sitting around, all talking at once. I think I had better not try to write any more now. I forwarded you my semester bill last week--- my last one— The "medical attendance" is for the time that I sprained my ankle. I want to thank Bess for writing me two letters in one week. She is very good about writing. It is needless to say that I enjoyed Edie's and Lou's and Mamma's letters too. Love to all, from your loving daughter Adelaide. (Claflin, February 21. 1897.
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: November 22, 1896
Text: Vassar College. Nov. ZZ. 1896. My dear Mother,—- As Ed remarked In one of his letters, I address most of my letters to you, so that you won't have to wait around all day for them to be opened. I appreciate so much reading Ed's letters home. I am very much obliged to you for sending them. Here it is Thanksgiving week already — it is simply alarming, how fast my last year is going by. It seems scarcely two days from one Sunday to the next.I had fully expected to spend Thanksgiving...
Show moreVassar College. Nov. ZZ. 1896. My dear Mother,—- As Ed remarked In one of his letters, I address most of my letters to you, so that you won't have to wait around all day for them to be opened. I appreciate so much reading Ed's letters home. I am very much obliged to you for sending them. Here it is Thanksgiving week already — it is simply alarming, how fast my last year is going by. It seems scarcely two days from one Sunday to the next.I had fully expected to spend Thanksgiving vacation here, but now I am thinking that perhaps I shall go down to New York. For Marion Lockhart came up to college yesterday, and this afternoon she invited me to spend Thanksgiving at her house- She lives in Mount Vernon - the same place where Hortense Lewis lives, you know. There are other places where I would prefer to spend a day if I had my choice, but I am thinking that it would be convenient to go down there for Thanks- giving Day and spend the night, and then go in to New York the next morn- ing and spend the day with Ed- So I shall write to Ed about it, and perhaps decide to go down.It is rather late now to do much communication on the subject. Winifred is down in Brooklyn now - where she went Thursday, partly on her own account and partly to see her mother and sister- Her sister has just had an operation, and is getting along very nicely- Of course Winifred has been very anxious to see her. If I go down to New York, I shall try to see her mother and sister. Every one who knows them speaks of them so highly that I have been anxious to meet them. This sister is younger than Winifred, but she has been a great invalid for several years - and is just like the story-book invalids - so very sweet and attractive to everybody.Ray came back from Brooklyn Monday morning— My roommates are like "ships that pass in the night" and speak each other in passing "- Ray is better - her rest in Brooklyn did her a great deal of good. There is nothing like having relatives well-off and convenient. I am glad Winifred has them too. Yesterday the New York and Brooklyn Vassar Students' Aid Society had their annual meeting here. That is I think it was the general V.S. Aid Society, but the delegates were mostly from New York and Brooklyn. I was asked to help receive them, and go to their meeting and the tea afterward— all this on account of my having had that scholarship. There were about a half a dozen girls helping - all of whom had had scholarships, (but of course there are a great many more scholar-ship girls too)- As it was raining when they came, and there were only a few minutes before luncheon, we did not show them around the buildings, but simply talked to them in the parlor till it was time for luncheon. It was very interesting to meet these Alumnae. I looked around at them till I picked out one that I thought looked nice, and then went up and spoke to her, and I found her so pleasant that I talked with her till luncheon time- She was Mrs. Rossiter, of Brooklyn. She graduated in the Class of *80, so that she was here while both Miss Fannie and Miss Mary Adams were, but she did not seem to remember who they were. She reminded me very much of Miss Mary Adams both in her looks and in her conversation, but a little more quiet. I would like to know her. Mrs. Backus, the wife of the President of Packer Institute, Y\ presided at the meeting in the afternoon. Miss Wylie introduced me to her- I have heard a great deal about her from Winifred- The most distinguished guests seemed to be Mr. and Mrs. Babbott- Mrs. Peat* Babbott is the daughter of Mr. Pratt of Pratt Institute, who isworth millions- They hope that Mr. Babbott will leave some money to the college some day. Mrs. Babbott - with whom Mrs. Rossiter came - was also of the class of '80. The Society held a business meeting In the afternoon, and after that a more general meeting, to which we went. Mrs. Backus presided very graciously. Dr. Taylor made the first speech, all about scholarships and helping stu- dents by loan and gift and so on - He thinks girls should not go in debt too heavily for their college education, and after they have borrowed up to a certain point, the college should then make gifts to them, not loans.He said that last year sixty two girls received help from the college either as loan or gift - mostly gift. About a hundred girls before enter- ing college, ask aid for their Freshman year- each year- but the college very rarely gives money till the sophomore year, when it has had time to see what a girl is like. I was very much interested in all that Dr. Taylor said, and I wish I had time to tell you the rest of it. Miss Wagar has the Cleveland scholarship this year- she is the sister of a girl who graduated here in '94. This morning Bishop Doane of Albany preached. He had such a funny way of wiggling his nose to throw his glasses off, instead of putting up his hand and taking them off. Please excuse the admixture of red ink in the first part of this letter. I have lost my fountain pen, and I am using a tin one that I used to have for red ink. Love to all. Adelaide.
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: November 25, 1894
Text: assar College. Nov. 25. [1894, My dear Mamma,— I have had such a nice time this afternoon reading. It is so nice to have a chance to read once in a while though the chances are few and far between. We do appreciate our Sundays here, they are like a little breathing-spell, and they go only too fast. This morning Dr. Thos. McLeod of Brooklyn, preached for us, and we liked him very much. This evening Dr. Greer, of St. Bartholomew's church, in Brooklyn, is going to talk to us on "Work...
Show moreassar College. Nov. 25. [1894, My dear Mamma,— I have had such a nice time this afternoon reading. It is so nice to have a chance to read once in a while though the chances are few and far between. We do appreciate our Sundays here, they are like a little breathing-spell, and they go only too fast. This morning Dr. Thos. McLeod of Brooklyn, preached for us, and we liked him very much. This evening Dr. Greer, of St. Bartholomew's church, in Brooklyn, is going to talk to us on "Work for the Poor in New York City - Dr. Taylor spoke of him and his work very highly. Every Sunday evening we have Bible Lectures, by Dr. Patterson of Rochester - They areon the History of the Bible, its growth, translations, etc. and are very interesting. I take notes on them, so I will have them all in a notebook convenient for future reference. It is a dark, chilly day today, and it has been trying to snow but has not succeeded very well. The snow that came a few weeks ago entirely disappeared, but it looks as if the ground would be covered again pretty soon. Tell Lou that I have neither Millers Latin Prose Composition nor Tighe's Development of Roman Constitution. They don't use them here at all, so I could not get one from her. Dr. Taylor came home last night. Yfe walked in to Phil. Hall where they were having a hall play, and the girls clapped him like everything - lor a welcome. Did you all go to the reception atProf. Olney's, and meet him? Did he stay at Mrs. Adams's while he was in Cleveland? The hall play was pretty good, but it was very long, so I came home when it was about half over. They had some good jokes on the programmes, grinds, X mean. One of them was about Prof. Wentworth, a new Prof, of English, whom we have for Rhetoric. He went down town one day not long ago, and asked a clerk in the drygoods store for some muslin- The clerk asked him what kind he wanted* and he said he didn't know,* He didn't know whether he wanted it wide or narrow, or thick or thin, or dotted or plain, but at any rate he wanted it for sheets. One day last week Prof. Ely did not make her appearance in her class in Higher Mathematics, the first hour. Theywaited a few minutes, then some of them went to find her. They hunted everywhere, in her room, the library, reading-room, and finally found her - in the dining room, still calmly eating her breakfast- She had forgotten that she had a class- We have her for Trigonometry, and she is better than a picnic. She says such funny things, in such a funny, matter-of-fact way- Several times she has spent the whole hour in just reading the roll-call, and talking to us about taking care of our health- She talks to us about everything under the sun, but her favorite topic is colds. She says that too many girls have colds, and that most all of them could be prevented if we would never wear slippers, nor low-necked short-sleeved dresses - which areher abomination. She said "HI should put on a low-necked dress In the evening, after wearing a high- necked dress all day, I should catch my death," I am sure I don't know what preserves you. And a girl who wears thin slippers around In these corridors has not sense enough to succeed in mathematics. I wouldn't allow a girl who wore slippers to be in my Elective Mathe- matics class." We just sit and laugh and enjoy everything she says. She tells us too, not to study too hard, and not to think we have to do all the examples every day, and not to feel badly if-we-other people are \ smarter than we, for, she said, "if we wanted nobody to be smarter than we, every body would have to come down to our level, and what about those inferior to us? We would have to go down to their level, till everybody in the worldwould be reduced to the level of idiots J We ought to be glad thai somebody else can do things that we cant.*" I am so glad 1 was fortunate enough to have Prof. Ely, for half the class have a new teacher, Miss Gentry, whom they do not like, and who makes them work like everything. They have just changed the curriculum somewhat - putting Trigonometry In with the Algebra of the Freshman year. I will pot in n piece cut from a paper, telling about the changes- I wrote to Mrs. Sheldon, yesterday morning, after reading your letter. I did not know ahe was so seriously HI- I am so sorry to hear it. Abbie Vaillant is up here visiting- She came Friday and is going back tomorrow morning. She greeted me very cordially indeed, and asked me to call in andsee her before ahe went. I have been looking forward to the Thanksgiving vacation. It begins at 11:20 oa Wednesday, and lasts till Saturday night. Ray is going down to Brooklyn, and perhaps Belle Is going home, then Mary and I will be left here together. Even if we do a good deal of work, it will be a rest, aad a change from the ordinary routine. And we shall enjoy it. Mary and Belle are both going home at Christmas, and Ray will either go home, or to some ol her relatives, so I shall be alone here at Christmas. Ray has not decided yet whether she will go home, or rather, her father has not. She will go if her father thinks she can afford it. Please give my love to the neighbors, aad to the girls I know. I have not written to anybody, hardly- Lovingly- Adelaide. ^Claflin,
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: December 23, 1894
Text: Vassar College. Dec. 23. 1894. My dear Mother, — Vacation is really here, and I am enjoying it ever so much. It is so quiet and restful. Almost all of the girls who went, did so by Friday noon. The girls take their vacations from the very minute^ Recitations ended at 11:20 on Friday, and inside of five minutes one or two hundred girls were off for the 11:52 train. Most of the girls who went north or west managed to get off on the 11:16 train. Some girls went as far as Louisville, others to...
Show moreVassar College. Dec. 23. 1894. My dear Mother, — Vacation is really here, and I am enjoying it ever so much. It is so quiet and restful. Almost all of the girls who went, did so by Friday noon. The girls take their vacations from the very minute^ Recitations ended at 11:20 on Friday, and inside of five minutes one or two hundred girls were off for the 11:52 train. Most of the girls who went north or west managed to get off on the 11:16 train. Some girls went as far as Louisville, others to Kansas, aad one girl even went to Colorado Springs. This is a day of fast traveling- I suppose you have seenlorado Springs. This is a day of fast traveling- I suppose you have seen Katharine already- I sent by her some photo- graphs of the college buildings, which I thought you might like to see. It was all I had time to get, and I am sorry I could not make something for each of you. But I hope you will have a good Christmas anyway. Of course I would like awfully to be with you-but I will see you all in June. I sent your picture as you asked me to, so that you can send me another one. Ray said she would probably be over to see you Wednesday- she can ride on the crosstown railway, can't she? That will make it very con- venient to go from our house to hers. Tell Katharine Dunham that I remembered her leaving her palm in her room, so I got one of the girls over at Strong to take it to her own roomand take care of it. I have four plants to take care of for girls - two of them geraniums. out I am enthusiastic now about going to New York. When I foundA how little it would cost I thought it would be all right, but I did not want to spend fifteen dollars. Ellen and I have talked about going and staying three days and two nights, at the same time that the other girls go, who are going to stay a week. What makes me want to go the most is that if we do, we will go to hear "the Messiah". We will pro- bably have trip tickets to New York, which will cost a dollar each way, then I understand that it costs only forty cents for us "hi to stay over night in the Margaret Louisa Home, two in a room. There is a restaurant in connection with it, breakfasts and suppers or luncheons dinners 30^. Then counting in carfare and extras would not make the whole very large after all. Tickets to the "Messiah" are a dollar. If I should find I was spending too much I could come back sooner. The other girls applied at the Home for next Thursday, so Ellen and I wrote for appli- cation blanks for that time, as of course we need not use them if we decide, before the time, not to go. So now, unless I hear to the contrary from you before Thursday, I think I shall go then. If I don't get any money before Thursday I can use the five dollars that papa sent me, though I did lay that aside for the expenses at the beginning of next semester- But after all if money is very scarce I want you to telegraph me not to go- in time so that I can send word to N.Y. Wednesday.This has been a perfectly beautiful day - cold and still. We walked into town to church.- just the weather for walking- This afternoon, too, I rode in to the vesper service at half past four. I go down town oftener since the electric cars are running- It takes just about the same time now that it does to go down town at home. It is too bad that the cars go down Main Street, for we see the worst of the city. Or rather it is too bad that Main Street is such a bad street, for though it has all the stores where we have to do our shopping, it has ail the saloons, and this afternoon I saw a drunken man fall across the street from me, and taken away by two policemen. We have to go over to Strong Hall for all our meals, as they are putting a new floor in the dining-room here. All the chairs and tables arepiled in a row along the corridor. It is rather nice to go over there, even if it is more trouble, because the dining room is much prettier, and some things are cooked better over there. The coffee is so much better that I am afraid I shall take it too often. There is a poor little FKeshman here this vacation, who has gotten homesick and melancholy this year, more than any girl I ever saw. Her name is Edith Jones, and she sits at our table. Friday afternoon she went down town and back three times, just to keep herself occupied* She doesn't know at all how to make herself happy or contented with any circumstances, poor little thing! She ■ * has been a great friend all her life with "Little Lord Fauntleroy"— Vivian Burnett, Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett's son. U they were not aged eighteen and nineteen respectively, andoung for their ages, people would say they were engaged. Vivian spent Thanksgiving vacation here, and is going to be here for the last week of Christmas vacation. He is a Freshman at Harvard. During the Thanks giving vacation he sat at the guest table and of course all the college had a good look at him. He is rather good looking, and they say not at all conceited. Edith has been working all day today on a Vassar pillow for a Christmas present for him. She studies every Sunday. Gertrude Smith and Marion Schibsby (don't be afraid of that name) Marion is a Dane by birth) are going to have a Christmas tree in Marion's room, and invite Ellen and two other girls and me to come to it tomorrow evening. I will write about it afterwards. They are going to trim it up.I must say that "pride goeth before destruction" for the very day after I wrote to you that I had not had a cold, I caught one, sleeping in a girl's room (to keep her company because her room mate was gone) and she had too much ventilation for me, because I woke up In the morning to find myself freezing and with a cold started. I have used up some of my cough-pills for that, so when Ray comes back she had better bring some more. Merry Christmas to All. Family Neighbors and Friends, and God bless you every one. Lovingly Adelaide. (Claflin,
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: February 7, 1897
Text: Vassar College. Poughkeepsie. N.Y. (Feb. 7, 1897, My dear Father,-— Mamma*s letter came Friday, telling of your sad Journey this week. Dear papa, it was a hard week for you, and it was hard for Uncle Henry to come home from Toronto and start right off again to Albion. I hope you have not been having such severe weather as you were a while ago; it is much milder here: in fact it has been raining all day today and yesterday, which has spoiled the skating.It has been dark and foggy today. I was...
Show moreVassar College. Poughkeepsie. N.Y. (Feb. 7, 1897, My dear Father,-— Mamma*s letter came Friday, telling of your sad Journey this week. Dear papa, it was a hard week for you, and it was hard for Uncle Henry to come home from Toronto and start right off again to Albion. I hope you have not been having such severe weather as you were a while ago; it is much milder here: in fact it has been raining all day today and yesterday, which has spoiled the skating.It has been dark and foggy today. I was out for a short walk this after- noon and we went into water up to the tops of our rubbers for a good deal of the way. We are really into our work for the new semester now- We are plunged into work in no time. I had some trouble with my Electives, because my History and Biology were scheduled to meet at the same hour. I decided to let the Biology go, as the regular professor of Biology is not here, aad the History professor is, of course, a good deal finer than the Biology assistant. I have not had Biology since last June, so that I had not a course to drop, as it would be if I had droppedhistory. Our history is going to be the most interesting history course I have had, I think. It is a brief study of the Constitution of the United States, first, and then a study of the history of American political parties. Bess and I intended to learn the Constitution last summer; I wish now that I had done it, for it would be very convenient for me now, and I am afraid I can't spend the time now. We have to tell how many Congressmen there are from our state, and what is the ratio of representation, and who our senators are, and what are the powers of the President and of Congress and all such interesting things. We had to look up some things in the EleventhCensus report, and in the Senate Journal etc. I have only two hours of Greek this semester, instead of three, but I think it will be more interesting for we are reading Aeschylus' Agamemnon. Instead of the Biology which I had to drop, I elected a course in Theory of Art, which has a reputation of being very fine, and a one-hour course in Latin Prose, to recall my Latin to me. There was not any good three-hour course that I could begin now, so had to fill up with these two, I have kept on with my English and my German, both of which I find very interesting. When I come home next summer I want to talkGerman with Bess, and any body else in the family who is willing— I know she will be; for she wanted to last summer. Yesterday I went to a tea in the room of Fraulein Herholz, my German teacher, who Is a motherly German woman. She had invited the girls in the Senior class who take German of her, and —- I ought to have put them first — President and Mrm. Taylor and a few members of the Faculty* She had a friend from Germany there, who can speak only a few words of English. The girls who have had German for a number of years could converse with her without anytrouble. The rest of us stood back and listened, or listened to Dr. Taylor talking in English. "VVe had a lecture Friday night by Prof. James of Harvard, on "Psychology and Relaxation". He is noted for mixing his psychology very decidedly with every-day life and language — even slang. His lecture was a plea for taking life more quietly and calmly, and not wasting nervous energy unnecessarily all the time, as Americans are said to do. He said that college girls wore themselves out by trying to wear a "bright and interested expression" all the time, and should cultivate more than they do, the "stolid expression and codfish eye" of their European sisters.I mailed home yesterday the pictures which Mr. Capen took of our room, which I shall be glad to keep in my possession. It was very kind of him to give W inifred and me copies of them. Dr. Grace Kimball, was the chaperone, while he took them, so he took a picture of her. That is she sitting in the rocking-chair in the corner of our room. Ray is standing by her desk, and Winifred on the other side of Dr. K. I am standing in my bedroom door. The other door, right by it, leads into Winifred's bedroom. It is too bad that Ray's eye Is spoiled, but I think It is a pretty good picture of Winifred. The pictures make our room look so much bigger than it is: X suppose because Mr. Capan pushed the furniture all over towards theopposite wall. The plaster cast of Hermes on the bookcase shows off finely; that belongs to Winifred. One picture shows a desk in the foreground at the left: that is mine, which I bought from Katharine Durham. The light showing through the portiere is my bedroom window, which opens to the corridor. That is a picture of Ray's mother hanging over her desk, and a rattlesnake skin hanging beside the desk. Carrie asked me to come to her home in Summit, N.J. for a few days of the Easter vacation; I have not given her a definite answer, as I had expected not to spend any more money in travelling, and I would not mind staying here. Give my love to all the friends, and of course I send lots to the family- Lovingly your daughter, Adelaide. (C laflin, Feb. 7, 1897.
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: April 19, 1896
Text: Vassar College, April 19. 1896. My dear Lou,-- "On the nineteenth of April in *75, Hardly a man is now alive"--- (The date Just reminded me of that). I hope you are not having it so warm In Cleveland as it is here: - especially as we had It so cool in the Easter vacation we notice the change more. For we have jumped from winter to the middle of summer without any spring. A week ago I took off my winter dress and winter cape, and put on all my summer clothes — a moresudden change...
Show moreVassar College, April 19. 1896. My dear Lou,-- "On the nineteenth of April in *75, Hardly a man is now alive"--- (The date Just reminded me of that). I hope you are not having it so warm In Cleveland as it is here: - especially as we had It so cool in the Easter vacation we notice the change more. For we have jumped from winter to the middle of summer without any spring. A week ago I took off my winter dress and winter cape, and put on all my summer clothes — a moresudden change than I ever made before, but it was unbearably hot otherwise. I now have on my white dress and no more under it than I wear in August. There were not two days In which a spring Jacket could be worn — at first because it was too cold and then because it was too hot, so that I found it much easier than usual to dispense with that luxury. I suppose we may expect cooler weather pretty soon-— at least I hope so, for 90° in the shade is not particularly inspiring to studying. I was glad yesterday that I was not one of those who were play- ing basketball, we are having match games in that now, every Saturday till Field Day, which is oa the ninth of May. These matchgames are about the most exciting things that occur during the year. We all want our own class to beat and get the championship. Our class were the champions last year, so we are doubly anxious to keep the honor for this year. I think Kd would very much enjoy watching one, but they don't allow men to be present—-except the professors who wish to come. Our team beat yesterday the team of '98. Carrie Abbott is Captain of the team of '99. Ruth Mears is on the team too. So many things are happening now, and will be till Commencement, It is very inconvenient that at the same time we should be given special topics in everything, which take a great deal of extratime. Tutoring four or five hours a week of :ourse takes time too, but I shall be through with that about the first of May. This coming week will be very full. In the first place we are going to draw for rooms for next year tomorrow, and that always causes a great deal of excitement. For of course you have no idea whether you are going to get a very good room or a very poor one. Since I am going to be in a parlor with Ray and Winifred, we stand a great deal better chance for a good room than if we were going to take singles, for very fe^ girls want parlors, and nearly all the class are going in for singles. Some day this week President Taylor is coming home; we don't know till the time comes, just when the steamer willarrive. But when he gets here, we are going to give him some big kind of a celebration -there is a committee of Faculty and students in charge of it.—I have even heard rumors of a half-holiday. We shall be so glad to see Prexy again. I went through his house yesterday afternoon - The frame- work is all up and the roof on and the chimneys finished, and now they are at work putting the bricks up on the outside. They are about half way up now. I had an idea thaA in the brick houses I have seen built at home, they built up the outside brick wall before they made the frame- work inside. Is that so? Next Saturday evening in the chapel there is to be an open debate between three member? of "Qui Vive", the Senior Debating Society, and three members of our "T. and M.M Ray is to be the leader on our side. We have not all of our best debaters on, for some of the best ones withdrew their names when they were nominated. The subject is come- thing about the foreign policy of the present administration, but I do not know just how It is worded. I think the Seniors will beat us, for I think they debate better than they play basketball. Our next regular meeting of T. and M. is going to be very interesting. Instead of a regular debate we are going to have a Republi- can National Convention, and nominate a President and Vice-president of the United States. Gertrude Smith is at the head of it, and she together with the other five girls who would otherwisedebate, will run the thing nominating and make the-artwMjr speeches. It is impossible, or rather Impracticable to let the girls represent the state that they really come from, for so large a majority come from New York State, and ao many States are repre- sented by only one girl. So the corridors have been divided among differ- ent states in such a way that fourteen states will be represented, (wirich will be easier than forty-five) aad each state will have a delegation in proportion to its number of representatives in Ceng res*. Then all the Republicans who have been talked of for the Presidency will be nomi- nated by their State delegations, Morton by New York, Reed by Elaine, McKinley by Ohio, etc.1 am \ery sorry that L shall not have the pleasure of supporting McKinley, but I have to be from Pennsylvania and I suppose will be expected to support Senator Quay. Then we will have the ballots taken — at first informal ones, and then formal, just as the convention does- It will be lots o£ fun, I think. This too, will be a sort of prelimi- nary to the campaign which we will carry on next year. For the Presi- dential campaign comes once, of course, during every girls1 course, and is celebrated with a great deal of enthusiasm, and voting booths are arranged and the whole college votes— I am glad ouiswiU come during our Senior year, for we will be "in it" match more than if we were Freshmen.Yesterday 1 sent to Miss Adams the new number of the "Vassar Miscel- lany"— which is the first one under the new board,— I mean the girls in our class are now at the head of the board of editors, and so, according to the usual custom, the contributions for that number are only from the Junior and Freshmen classes. It is an unusually good number, I think. The minister this morning was from Auburn Theological Seminary, and he had not much life to him. hi fact I thought his ser- mon was quite dry. I hope they are not all like that there. His name is Dr. Darling, or Dowling. I did not exactly understand which. Thursday night at the missionary meeting we hadone of the Secretaries of the Student Volunteer Movement, Mr. Pitkin, who was extremely interesting and earnest. We had one of the other Secretaries last year, and another one the year before, but I liked this one the best of the three, by far. He is going out to China in the fall. I am so glad Edle is going away, if it is only to Portsmouth, (and I don't know just where that is) - for even that little change will do her good- I suppose. She simply must go away for a change and rest this summer. JLater. I have just come back from prayermeeting and liked Dr. Dowling very much better in that. After prayermeeting I stopped in at Miss Leach's and hadlovely talk with her. She told me that before Prof. Fuller was appointed at the Women's College, Pres. Thwing asked her to come and be at the head of the Women's College and teach the Greek. But she did not know much about him or the college and thought it was rather an uncertain thing to chance from here where she is sure of her position. She also told me something that will be of interest to yon if you do not already know it. Miss Perry met Mr. Lee while she was travelling in Europe with Miss Salmon, and at that time Mr. Lee was engaged to some one else. I do not know what became of the other person. I hope Mrs. Handerson and her family are faring better than at last reports. And that Clarence will get overhis whooping cough easily— There are two cases of measles here- Love to all the girls at college and love to all the family. Your sister Adelaide. tClaflin,
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: November 5, 1893
Text: Vassar College. Nov. 5, 1893. My dear Mother, — I have just used up all my writing paper, so I am forced to resort to my tablet. It is almost time for the half past nine bell, so my letter can not be long. Just as I was gcftig to write It a while ago, a girl who rooms near us, came In and stayed till now. We had just taken down our "Engaged" sign. These "engaged" signs are a great institution. Whenever you don't want to be disturbed, piece of just pin a^paper on the...
Show moreVassar College. Nov. 5, 1893. My dear Mother, — I have just used up all my writing paper, so I am forced to resort to my tablet. It is almost time for the half past nine bell, so my letter can not be long. Just as I was gcftig to write It a while ago, a girl who rooms near us, came In and stayed till now. We had just taken down our "Engaged" sign. These "engaged" signs are a great institution. Whenever you don't want to be disturbed, piece of just pin a^paper on the outside of your door, with a great big ENGAGED on it, and It is considered the height of rudeness to knock, under such circumstances, and If any one does knock, you are not supposed to answer. Some people just write "engaged" with a pencil on the back of a visiting card, and so, if it is rather dark, you don't notice it, or you think it is merely the visiting card which every one has pasted outside their door. We were calling last Saturday night, and went to see Miss Richardson, our Geometry teacher. She had this kind of a sign on her Ray door, and didn't notice it, and knocked. (It was in a dark "alley way".) Miss R. opened the door, and looked inquiringly, first at the "engaged" and then at us. We begged her pardon about ten times and retreated, and we have not eoneee tried to call on her since, though that was our third attempt. She is always engaged. Every body found out about our doing that, right away, and made lots of fun of us- The Sophomores said Nov. 5, 1893 -2 they were going to have in their "Trig, ceremonies" when they make fun of the Freshmen. They say some girls did that same thing last year. I suppose, now that Ed will vote, that Gov. McKinley will surely be elected. I am anxious to hear whether he is- I shall have to give up a letter now, since I only have a few minutes more to get undressed and put my light out, so I will write the rest of this letter tomorrow afternoon, and please excuse this- Your loving Adelaide. (Adelaide Claflin, <97,
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: February 18, 1894
Text: Vassar College. Oct. 21. (1894, Feb. 18, 1894. My dear Mamma,- I will try to write my letter now just after tea, and before Bible Lecture. The hour of the Bible Lecture is changed from nine in the morning to seven in the evening, because the majority of the students thought that they would prefer it then - So Dr. Taylor said he was perfectly willing to try it, and then if it does not work as well, we have to change back. The way it is now there is no chapel service on Sunday, but the Bible...
Show moreVassar College. Oct. 21. (1894, Feb. 18, 1894. My dear Mamma,- I will try to write my letter now just after tea, and before Bible Lecture. The hour of the Bible Lecture is changed from nine in the morning to seven in the evening, because the majority of the students thought that they would prefer it then - So Dr. Taylor said he was perfectly willing to try it, and then if it does not work as well, we have to change back. The way it is now there is no chapel service on Sunday, but the Bible Lecture instead, and the regular Sunday eveningprayer meeting immediately after. I am afraid I shall be sleepy, but perhaps I won't be. It leaves us more time in the morning- Dr. Parker of Chicago, preached this morning- Friday evening there was a lecture by Prof. Stoddart of the University of the City of New York, on "Some Aspects of Shakspere's Maturity as Shown in the Tempest". He is quite an entertaining speaker, and his lecture was very interesting, though most of it did not bear very directly on the subject. He teas somewhat humorous. He illustrated his definition of humor: "Humor is a harmless divergence from the normal." We had an essay due yesterday for Miss Nettleton. We had had ten days' notice of it, but I had not had time to think of it. So I had to think up my subject yesterday morning (we were to choose our own subjects) and spend a good part of the day in writing it, I took a little rest at noon and darned a pair of stockings; thenI finished it and got it copied about half past five- I had begun about ten- I do wish I did not write essays so slowly- I heard a girl say she wrote hers in an hour in the morning- Another girl had her uncle come to visit her, before she had written hers, so she went into her room and wrote her essay off as fast as she could, right on her Essay paper. Ray wrote one yesterday morning and did not like it, so after lunch she wrote another, and did not like that, so at half past three she thought of another subject still, and wrote on that. The last one she concluded to keep and finished copying it in time to come down to dinner late. Last night the "Trig ceremonies" came off. It is given by the Sophomore class, you know, to celebrate the end of the Mathematics that is required. They usually have lots of jokes, especially on the Faculty. There were very few personal jokes last night, and no mean ones.They represented the class as sailing in the ship "Hall and Knight" (our textbook in Algebra) to the land of Trig, which surrenders. It was done in imitation of Columbus' voyage, and was carried out quite cleverly. It is usually customary for the Freshman class to go with some distinguishing mark, without letting the Sophs find it out beforehand. We all wore a green pasteboard interrogation pt. pinned on our backs, which meant "Where is the point to the Halloween joke you tried to play on us? " We all marched in together, and the Sophomores did not find out about it beforehand. Thursday is a whole holiday, though I suppose we shall spend some of it in studying- In the evening the Washington's Birthday Party will come. The weather this week has been very changeable, very cold until yesterday when it rained hard. Thursday morning it was 12° below zero. I had accidentally left my window open pretty wide, and some water that I had left in my washbowl was frozen in a solid dry cake, andthe water in my pitcher was almost entirely frozen, so was Ray's- And not only did our stylographic ink freeze but our common ink - too. Still the bottles did not crack, so we just let it thaw, and I guess it did not hurt it. I woke up about five times in the night, and when I felt of my nose, it felt like a piece of ice. I suppose we should not have had any trouble if our windows had not been open so much. But all this was only a "harmless divergence from the normal. Lovingly Adelaide. cClaflin}
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: April 13, 1896
Text: Vassar College. April 13. 1896. My dear Mother, — I mm writing this time on Monday morning before break- fast, because last evening, which I intended to spend in writing, I spent over at the W indsor. You know the Sunday evening prayer-meetings over there are led by some girl from the Junior or Senior Class here, who takes along two other girls to take part and help the meeting along. So last night X was asked to go along. The Sunday Evening prayer- meetings over there are very small, because...
Show moreVassar College. April 13. 1896. My dear Mother, — I mm writing this time on Monday morning before break- fast, because last evening, which I intended to spend in writing, I spent over at the W indsor. You know the Sunday evening prayer-meetings over there are led by some girl from the Junior or Senior Class here, who takes along two other girls to take part and help the meeting along. So last night X was asked to go along. The Sunday Evening prayer- meetings over there are very small, because, to begin with, there are only fifty girls left over there now, and then since they areso near town, a good many of them go to church in the evening, and then, too, a smaller proportion to the whole number stay there than here, anyway. The Freshmen over there are quite a problem not only to the Christian Association, but also to the Self-government Committee. You see, without any upper-classmen to influence them, they are Just like boarding- school girls, who try to break all the rules they can and make all the noise they can. And that won't do under Self-government. The Students1 Association expects to have a time with them next year when they get over to the main building. For these reasons it is very unfortunate for the college to have to have girls over at the Windsor. They say that one hundred and seventy girls have already paid... {Adelaide Claflin,
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: March 8, 1896
Text: Vassar College. March 8* 1896. My dear Mother,— I have put off writing today, till nearly bedtime, for 1 have been reading aloud this afternoon and evening to Winifred and Gertrude. You know Winifred has been In Brooklyn for a week, resting, and Just got back here Friday night. When she works too hard, she gets pains in her head and has to stop studying. Ray went down to Brooklyn yesterday; her brother Charlie was there and telegraphed for her to come dowa. She will come back tomorrow morning...
Show moreVassar College. March 8* 1896. My dear Mother,— I have put off writing today, till nearly bedtime, for 1 have been reading aloud this afternoon and evening to Winifred and Gertrude. You know Winifred has been In Brooklyn for a week, resting, and Just got back here Friday night. When she works too hard, she gets pains in her head and has to stop studying. Ray went down to Brooklyn yesterday; her brother Charlie was there and telegraphed for her to come dowa. She will come back tomorrow morning-She has been down to Brooklyn quite often this year. Mr.Capen came here Friday night aad stayed till Saturday noon. Tomorrow is Ray's birthday, and Mr. Capen's mother has sent her a box of things to eat. It is now reposing down in Ray's bedroom, for she made us promise not to open it, till she got back. We are afraid there Is something In it that will spoil, but we have to wait in patience till tomorrow. It will be a welcome relief to have a little of something different to eat, for the food has been rather limited and monotonous lately. I don't blame the girls who are well-off for going to Smith's to dinner frequently. Ray will be only twenty tomorrow.It seems as If she ought to be two or three years older. Gertrude, Winifred, Cariie and I chipped in together and bought her a pair of silver embroidery scissors for a dollar and a half. We went to all the jewelry stores in town; the stock at some consisted of one pair, at others of two, and finally at the place where we made our purchase, we found three pairs, and the pair that we bought waa the only one in town that we liked. Kate Dunham and I have written to the Margaret Louisa to reserve ^ rooms for April 3. That is Good Friday. Kate wants to stay till the following Tuesday evening. I have not decided whether to stay so long, but of course I can simply take the train and comehome whenever I feel like it. We have to engage the rooms so far ahead, for last week they wrote that they had no vacancies tUl after March 21, but we do not have to tell till we get there how long we are going to stay. The time that we spend there will be the last part of vacation, which lasts from March 27 to April 8. You see we will be in New York on Easter Sunday. Ed. does not yet know when his vacation Is going to be, but I could not wait any longer for him to find out. Ray is going to spend her Easter vacation partly with her grand- mother, in Springfield, and partly with the Capens in Jamaica Plain. Carrie did intend to go down to New York with me, but her mother has written her that themoney is getting reduced, and that she must be aa economical as possible, so she will stay here all the vacation. Friday evening we were to have had a lecture by Prof. Wheeler of Cornell, on "Athenian Sepulchral Monuments and Epitaphs", but at dinner time came word that Prof. Wheeler had the measles, and there- fore could not come. Miss Leach had arranged a reception for him, to which she had invited all the faculty, and for which she had provided ice-cream. She had her party all the same, so as not to waste the ice- cream. I have been working so hard on special topics. They always take just about three times as much time as the teacher allows. We have to have one in Biology ready for today. We each havea certain subject to look up, and then when we come to class, Miss 0*Grady calls on certain girls to deliver theirs. And each girl has to go up on the platform and give it just as if she were the teacher, without looking at her notes, and doing experiments or drawing pictures on the blackboard to ilUistrate. No one knows beforehand who is to be called on. My sub- ject is seeds of plants: how they are protected and preserved, and how they are scattered and carried through the air, and how different seeds are adapted to different surroundings- It is an extremely interesting subject. We have been having a number of special topics in history. We are working on one this week too. I have to look through twelve volumes, and take down allthe things which either prove or disprove that the wars between England and France during the Eighteenth Centaury were due to the expansion of England in America and India. I feel like Samuel Weller, when he said, "But whether it*s worth while go in* through so much to learn so little, is a matter o•taste". We are all impatient to have next week come, for a week from tonight the Honors will be announced. We cant guess so well about this class - who will get them - as we could about the class last year. Prudence Sherwin is coming here to visit Kate Dunham and Irene Easter Lawrence, just beforeAvacation.- in about two weeks. Kate says her Aunt Belle has not decided whether to come home in time to see Kate graduate, or to stay over all summer. But she will probably stay over, as Kat&'a Uncle Cal sailed the other day. Lovingly Adelaide. jClaflin j
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: Feb. 11, 1894
Text: Vassar College. Feb. 11, 1894. My dear Mamma,— It begins to seem like March now, the wind blew so last night. But there is bright sunshine. It was so cold last week that the water froze in our pitchers for several nights - I heard Fraulein Neef say one morning that it was 4° below zero. Monday morning I studied in my room for an hour or so after break- fast, and then, just as I was going to a recitation I noticed that ink was leaking from my bottle of stylographic ink that I had just bought....
Show moreVassar College. Feb. 11, 1894. My dear Mamma,— It begins to seem like March now, the wind blew so last night. But there is bright sunshine. It was so cold last week that the water froze in our pitchers for several nights - I heard Fraulein Neef say one morning that it was 4° below zero. Monday morning I studied in my room for an hour or so after break- fast, and then, just as I was going to a recitation I noticed that ink was leaking from my bottle of stylographic ink that I had just bought. When I picked up the bottle I noticed that it was all broken, and the bottom stayed behind. The ink had frozen into a solid cake, and was just thawing. We let it melt in my washbowl and then dipped it into Ray's empty bottle. I tried common ink in my fountain pen, and after I had used it a week or two, it got sticky and would not write. So I use stylographic ink now. I don't see how Ed gets along if he uses common ink in his fountain pen. This morning an Episcopalian minister from Buffalo preached. A girl who is acquainted with the prayer book invited me to sit with her, so that it was pleasanter for me than it has been before when the Episcopalian service has been used. But still I much prefer the Presbyterian style. There was a meeting of the Students' Association Friday night. to discusschanging the time of Bible Lecture. The majority voted in favor of asking the Faculty to have it at quarter of seven in the evening, instead of nine in the morning- It would then take the place of chapel service. I should not like it so well myself, for I am usually sleepy when I listen to a^ci*lecture in the evening. The Faculty will decide about it at their meeting on Monday. There was also a communication from Bryn Mawr read, at the meeting of the Students'. You know Vassar invited Smith to debate us with them# but Smith's Faculty would not allow It, because they said it would take too much of the students' time and attention, and besides, the President of Smith does not believe in having women appear in public. The Faculty there decided the question without even speeking to the students about it, so that they knew nothing of it. Then Vassar sent the challenge to Bryn Mawr, which accepted, and preparations have been going onfor a month or more. And now Bryn Mawr has just sent a letter saying that they wish to withdraw, because they did not know it was going to be public and formal, they say- They thought it was since just between student and student, and thatAthey understand it is between college and college, they do not want to do it, because they are not used to debating. So I suppose Vassar has to give up the idea, for I think they will not ask Wellesley, there is too much rivalry between the two- I think it is too bed that they are not more friendly. I must write a letter now to Maude Warner- She has been in Brooklyn for two weeks now, because the doctor said she had to have a rest. H she does not get better she cant come back to college. I know another girl whose home is near here, who has been home two or three times to rest a week or two- Two or three girls have had to go home for good, on account of their health. One of the girls at our table got a box yesterday, and invited all of our table in to help her eat the contents - a cake, oranges, and a little honey- Some girls get a box every two orthree weeks - with cookies, crackers, canned fruit, etc. One girl got two barrels of apples in the fall, and several other girls got one barrel. When I first came I thought the table fare here was very good, but I am getting rather tired of its sameness myself. Since I was at Hort Lewis's where they had porterhouse steak and things to match, every day. I can understand how girls can think the fare is not good, which a good many of them do think- But do not imagine I am getting stuck up. 1 manage to enjoy my food, and live and grow fat on it. But things have to be so much better, away from home, to taste as good as very simple pldin things do at home. I am looking forward to our own home- cooked food next summer. Lovingly Adelaide C. (laflin,[sketch of room] Here Is a view of the prettiest part of our room - looking from my desk in the corner opp. the bookcase. The hanging on the door opening into the corridor is Ray's black velvet and gold. Our silk scarf is on the table, and on the lower part of the table are our plates and work- baskets and a pile of papers. On the right hand side of the table is a wooden book rest containing 8 or 10 books. The lower shelf of the bookcase is our dishes. The biggest book on our bookcase is our Latin dictionary, the next two arethe Greek diction- ary and Shakspere. The photographs stuck in a little bamboo hanging at the left, are Ray's. That is our couch beneath. The door at the right opens into my bedroom, and you can see my bed, my closet door and my bed slippers and piece of carpet.
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: December 1, 1895
Text: Vassar College. December 1. 1895. My dear Bess,— How it makes the time seem to fly, to write December 1. 2 We girls were just talking this morning about our Junior year being so far gone, and the end of our college course begins to seem near now.—and then we will be thrust upon "the cold, cold world"! But we are enjoying the present while we may- With this week Thanksgiving vacation has come and gone. The girls feel the need of Thanksgiving vacation, I think, for there is a long...
Show moreVassar College. December 1. 1895. My dear Bess,— How it makes the time seem to fly, to write December 1. 2 We girls were just talking this morning about our Junior year being so far gone, and the end of our college course begins to seem near now.—and then we will be thrust upon "the cold, cold world"! But we are enjoying the present while we may- With this week Thanksgiving vacation has come and gone. The girls feel the need of Thanksgiving vacation, I think, for there is a long stretch of work before it, without any interruptions. I feel sorry for Lou, having only one day vacation- I think the Women's Collegeis very stingy with their vacations. They might just as well do the way they do here: keep us good-tempered by giving us a good deal of vacation, and then get more work out of us while we are working. The girls took the bad weather with them and brought it back. For a week before the vacation It just poured, and then it stopped all of a sudden, and we had just perfect weather during all the vacation - rather warm and the sun shining very brightly all the time. Now it is cloudy again, and colder- We have not had the cold weather and snow that seems to have prevailed in most of the country. Our Thanksgiving Dinner was a sumptuous feast, as is usual on that occasion we had piles and piles of things, and very good things, too. The menu was very pretty - printed on rice paper which for sixty years was in the possession of the bank with which Mr. Vassarwas connected. It used to be used for bank-notes, but it was presented at this time by the bank officials- You will see mine in my Memorabilia some day. About three hundred girls were here: as usual we all ate in the dining room of the Main Building- Mrs. Kendrick was at her own place at the head of the first table; when Dr. Taylor is here, he eats Thanksgiving dinner with us and occupies that place. His son Dick, and Elisabeth Thelberg and baby Moulton were all there, and made that fact known once in a while by yelling- Dick Taylor is a very lively little boy, about five yrs. old now. He is so fond of Miss Wood, (the Librarian) who is taking care of Dr. Taylor's children while he is away. He calls Miss Wood "Gran". -She has grey hair, but does not look old- I think Dr. Taylor is very fortunate to be able to leave Dick in Miss Wood's care- I don't think any oneelse could manage him- They have started, now, the foundation to Dr. Taylor's house, and "the work is now to be pushed forward rapidly". The house is going to have a very broad front, much wider than it Is deep- This next Friday is "Phil," and Ed is coming up. I am getting his programme made out - Kate Dunham is going to have one promenade with him. There are ten in all, and I am going to have him myself for the first and last, and then apportion him to my friends for the rest. He says he can stay over for Saturday morning. Kate Dunham's aunt la Lockport seat her a box the other day- She seat her three lest year - awfully nice ones. This one had a great deal In it, - more than Kate could manage considering it was vacation and so not so many of her friends were here to help her eat it up, and then there was the Thanksgivingdinner besides. So Kate gave Carrie and me some to bring home, for which we were very much obliged - She gave us a little pint Jar of canned strawberry too, which is elegant. We eat it with toast at bed time. You know we make toast very easily, over the chimney of the lamp. Wednesday afternoon I went Into the swimming tank with Gertrude Smith and two or three other girls- We played around, and floated, and we tried to teach Gertrude to swim a little. We did not stay in but a half an hour, because it is not so invigorating to stay In the swimming tank as it Is to be in the waters of lake Erie. We are very much disappointed to learn that Miss Battantlne, the Gym. Director, is not going to teach us to swim, because she has not time any more. She says she canH possibly do It. We can make up groups. If we want to, and gotogether and teach ourselves. I have been quite busy this vacation - among other things I have fixed my Memorabilia, and darned my stockings, and washed and ironed my embroidery collar - Carrie has finished a dress-waist which she had on hand- She has made a whole winter dress all by hand - most of it during the summer. She has not been where there was a sewing- machine, you see- Ray is trimming a bat for Carrie now- The hat Carrie had last year Kay bought from her, and fixed it up for her own hat. You would have enjoyed being over at the Gym. Friday night - we were invited to come over - in fancy dress, if we pleased - to spend the evening there. A good many girls wore fancy dress - and many of them were better we usually see on fancy-dress occasions. Two girls, who are naturally pretty, sweetgirls, were fixed up as tramps, certainly no tramps ever looked more disreputable. Faust, Mephistopheles and Margariata were very good, too. One girl was Padarewski, and she really looked and acted so much like him that the girls all clapped when she entered. While we were ail sitting around on the floor, listening to a ghost-story which one of the Seniors was telling, Mrs. Van Sickle was cooking a kettleful of oyster stew over the fire in the big fire-place. When it was done, all the girls who were dressed as men had to serve the soup, or raw oysters, and pickles and crackers, to the rest. Then Mrs. Van Sickle threw popcorn balls all over the room, and we had to try to catch them. Still another eatable was provided, in the shape of a wedding cake,with a thimble (not a ring) inside. The one who got the thimble was to cue of the college songs. Miss Johnson, one of the teachers, got the thimble, but as she refused to give a solo, we all sang "Bryn Mawr may be more clever '- Just as we were coining home, we heard the girls cheering for Mrs. Kendrick. 'What's the matter with Mrs. Kendrick? " "She's all right!" "Who's all right? " "Mrs. Kendrick!" And so she is. Mrs. Kendrick conducted a short service in the chapel on Thanksgiving morning- She read us the President's Proclamation there. There was no service here this morning, but I did not go to town this time. Prof. Leach led the prayer-meeting tonight. We like to have her lead. Well, I must go to bed now and have a good sleep, for work tomorrow- I have been sleeping in Ray's bed during vacation. Except one night when Carrie slept up in my bed with me— Love to all from your sister Adelaide. (Claflin}
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: January 30, 1897
Text: Vassar College. Poughkeepsie, N.Y. January 30f 1897. My dear Mother,— Exams, are over, and a new semester is about to begin. I am so glad to begin all over again, and not have back work and special topics piled up over me. I am going to try to keep my work right up to date the rest of the year. I had to cram more than usual for my exams, this time; the kind of subject makes so much difference with the exam, and all my things needed reviewing. We had our Ethics exam, the first thing Monday...
Show moreVassar College. Poughkeepsie, N.Y. January 30f 1897. My dear Mother,— Exams, are over, and a new semester is about to begin. I am so glad to begin all over again, and not have back work and special topics piled up over me. I am going to try to keep my work right up to date the rest of the year. I had to cram more than usual for my exams, this time; the kind of subject makes so much difference with the exam, and all my things needed reviewing. We had our Ethics exam, the first thing Monday morning, and we were all glad to have that off our minds early, for there is so much memorizing in it, that it took up a great deal of room in our brains. After the ethics exam, is over, every year, it is customary for the class to give some yells to Prex - as a sort of fare- well to him as a teacher. So when we leftthe gym - where we had our exam, and came out into the hall we lined up in two rows, by the lockers, leaving room enough for Prexy to walk out between the rows. But when he appeared, he looked rather embarrassed, and instead of running the gauntlet be bowed and remained standing where he was- W e gave first "Rah, rah, rah.' Rah, rah, rah.1 the customary yell of^V-A-S-S-A-R,- Prexy!" Then we recited in concert four favorite maxims of philosophers we have studied - maxims which we have had again and again in class and had joked about with Prexy. The first was Jeremy Bentham's - "The quantity of pleasure being equal, push-bin is as good as poetry." Then Aristotle's "We become good by doing good" and John Stuart Mill's "Better be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied"- We ended with the one which we thought most appro- priate to the examination season and our state of mind - the famous saying of the sceptics: "We affirm nothing,- no, not even that we affirm nothing." Prex had laughed at us in class because we remembered these epigrams always, even when we could not remember another thing about the philosophy to which they belonged.When we paused from our yelling, Prex said he hoped that our papers - which he had under his arm - would be as eloquent: then we yelled our other old yell, "Goodbye, Prex, Goodbye Prex, Vassar, Vassar, Vassar's Rex"— which we used when he started for Europe last year. We are quite sorry to be through with Ethics; we had quite Jovial times with Prexy sometimes- He told us such a good Joke in class the last week - He had heard it given by Thomas Wentworth Hlgginson at a Vassar Alumnae Reunion in Boston recently. Mr. Hlgginson said that Emerson used to describe the typical college student as "a meek young man, who lived in a library". Mr. Higginson said that a good many people thought this description no longer applied, but, for his part, he thought it still held true, for when he watched the Harvard men strut across the campus, he was sure they looked as though they had already inherited the earth.1 Perhaps you will wonder what connection this has with Ethics; it comes under the head of Practical Morality- Prex was giving us a lecture about our attitude and duties, as college graduates, toward the rest of the world. He told us, on the one hand, notto be so stupid that people would say they "never would have guessed that we had seen the inside of a college" and on the other hand not to answer to the description of the Harvard men above-referred-to; but whatever we did, if it was only washing dishes, we ought to do it the better for having been through college. On Monday, in addition to ethics, I had an exam, in English,- which was not so hard as Z had expected. Tuesday I had no exam, so I spent the day on my special topic in History- Wednesday we had Greek, which was easy for a Greek one, though I did less than two questions out of the five. Our history, on the contrary, was harder than we had expected- Most people were through with their exams, by Thursday, but I still had German - for Friday morxdag. Ray and Winifred and Gertrude Smith and Carrie all went down to Brooklyn or New York, Friday morning right after breakfast. Gertrude is back now, but the rest will not be here till tomorrow night. So I have had the rooms all to myself - in quiet. It seemed very queer not to have studying to do on Friday afternoon and Saturday, but I found plenty to do, with Vassar ion work and mending- The sleevewas half torn out of my nightgown, so I spent some time patching that, and also in hemming up the binding and facing of my red fern dress. Edie asked about ideas for a Eton waist. Most of the new ones here have some kind of a littleAjacket effect, either all the way around or else just in front, like this and the back perfectly plain, and broad belts or girdles. I have also had the pleasure of reading a large part of "Senti- mental Tommy"—a thing which I have been anxious to do for some time. There was no church here this morning, and I did not go to town either, but stayed at home and read- Prof. Burton finished his course of Bible lectures last Sunday, and the man who was to have given us a course we of four or five now, cannot come, so^will have none for a few Sundays. It has been very cold here for about two weeks - as it seems to have been all over the country - We are glad to get around the regis- ters all the time. I keep thinking of you without a furnace. Give my love to the neighbors and friends, and lots to the family- JLovingly your daughter Adelaide. (Claflin, Some dresses have rows of braid around instead of the girdle- If that would be easier, I would like it just as well.
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: January 21, 1894
Text: Vassar College. Jan. 21, 1894. My dear Mamma, — Several unusual and pleasant things have happened this week. First of all, as we were at dinner Friday night a card was brought in to Ray and she jumped up and rushed from the room like a streak of lightning. We found that her father had come. I let her talk with him while we finished dinner then I went and found them in the little reception room. I was £o gladto see him. It was almost like seeing one of my own family. We talked together until...
Show moreVassar College. Jan. 21, 1894. My dear Mamma, — Several unusual and pleasant things have happened this week. First of all, as we were at dinner Friday night a card was brought in to Ray and she jumped up and rushed from the room like a streak of lightning. We found that her father had come. I let her talk with him while we finished dinner then I went and found them in the little reception room. I was £o gladto see him. It was almost like seeing one of my own family. We talked together until Chapel, then went over to chapel and sat in the gallery. We had to come out before it was over so that Dr. Schauffler could catch the car for his train. So you see he was here a half an hour only. That was very little, but it was a great deal better than nothing. He was on an eastern trip and stopped unexpectedly. There was a fine concert here Friday night, a piano recital by Josef Slivinski, a Pole. Some people think he plays almost as well as Padarewski. It was a fine classical programme, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt etc. and they say it was the finest concert that they have had here for years. I took Miss Macurdy, our Greek teacher.ou see, there being no gentlemen here, the girls have to act in that capacity, both with other girls and with teachers. This concert was the "swellest" public entertainment they have had this year, so the girls were more dressed up than usual, and Ray Is afraid that her father will have rather a strange idea of how the girls dress here, for he would not realise that they dress very plainly all the rest of the week except Friday night, and that they were more dressed on that night than usual for Friday night even. Monday afternoon. I left this letter to go and read to Maud Warner who has been sick for a week. She was no nice to us when we first came and took such good care of Raywhen she had the poison ivy, that we have been glad to do all we could for her, although that was not much beside attend- ing to her meals and reading to her. There has been very good skating for the last week. I went out Thursday, for the first time this winter, because before that I never had time when it was good, or else it was never good when I had time. I went out again Saturday afternoon, and learned a little more, and now I intend to go whenever there is a chance, so that I can learn to do it well. Blanche Campbell went with me Saturday. She has just begun to learn, too, so we each took a long piece of lath and went out on the lath pond, because the rink was being flooded. Holding the -s4*k-horizontally in our hands helps to steady us. While we were going around that way President Taylor came skatingalong and asked me what I was doing. (which was extremely evident) "Oh, 1 said, "I was Just learning how."A "Learning how to do what? " he said. And I said "Learning how to hold a stick straight." Then he stood and watched me sit down suddenly. He skates a great deal, and Mrs. Taylor is out quite often too. Several members of the Faculty skate, and Miss Richardson, our Mathematics teacher, is the best and most graceful skater here. Miss Richardson has been so nice since Christmas vacation that it repents me of what I said about her before that. I guess she needed the rest. We have examinations every day next week in the morning- They are only two hours long- Thursday evening was the time for the monthly missionary meeting, and they had for the subject "The Life of Dr. Schauffler - Ray's grandfather. It was very interesting- and was told by some Seniors- Yesterday afternoon Raytalked at the meeting of the Volunteer Band. The appointed leader was sick, so they asked Ray to read some of her sister's letters- from Persia- I had told them before that she would some time. So she read three or four that she happened to have (for she sends most of them on to relatives) and told what was in the rest. I think the girls were very much interested. There were fewer girls there than usual - only about twenty. We were told in English Friday to analyze yesterday's sermon for tomorrow's lesson. That is to go to church Sunday and listen care- fully to the sermon and think of its analysis, and then write it out today. They have done that here for several years but it struck us as a rather questionable proceeding, something like studying on Sun- day. What do you think of it? We are going to ask Miss Nettleton about it tonight. I just found out yesterday from a sophomore that we have toave a book of logarithms for algebra next semester. I know we have one at home that I believe no one is using, so that I wish you would send it some time when It is convenient - we have not yet been told to get it. Papa's letter containing some money came this morning, and please tell him I am very much obliged. I am going to enclose a profile which one of the girls cut out while she sat and looked at me. See if you can recognize it. I have not gotten many letters since Christmas. I owe nearly everybody one. Ray heard last week that her brother W ill in Syria is engaged to be married to a young lady who has been living there - an American. You know his wife died two years ago, when he had been married only a year, leaving a little boy- Ray's sister saw a good deal of the young Jan. 21* 1894 - 5 lady when she was in Syria and thought her very lovely-Give my love to the neighbors and friends, and keep lots for your- self, mother dear- Your loving daughter Adelaide. ^Cleflinj
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: October 28, 1894
Text: Vassar College. Oct. 28, 1894. My dear Mother,- Well, I have had a piece of home this week,* in seeing Ed. and now that the family have started at traveling, perhaps they will keep it up, so that I shall see something of home again before June. I was very glad you wrote to me beforehand about Ed's coming, so that I was not away somewhere when he got here, and also so that I could arrange about my studying. It did seem so good to see him, even though it wasonly for an hour and a half. I...
Show moreVassar College. Oct. 28, 1894. My dear Mother,- Well, I have had a piece of home this week,* in seeing Ed. and now that the family have started at traveling, perhaps they will keep it up, so that I shall see something of home again before June. I was very glad you wrote to me beforehand about Ed's coming, so that I was not away somewhere when he got here, and also so that I could arrange about my studying. It did seem so good to see him, even though it wasonly for an hour and a half. I took him around the immediate grounds, but I was sorry that he could not stay long enough to go up to the top of one of the hills back of the college, where he could get a good view of the grounds and buildings and the country round, all at once. But I guess he saw enough to get an idea of what I talk about. I want to know whether he caught the train down to New York, the electric car started five minutes before the time it ought to have, so that he just missed it. It was so nice for him to have a chance to go down and see New York city too - as well as to come to Schenectady.Here it is nearly four oclock, and all I have done this afternoon is to x write one letter. The time goes like lightning here, especially on Sunday. We had Dr. Stone of Hartford, preach for us this morning. Tonight after Dr. Patterson's Bible Lecture, Miss Sybil Carter, who has worked among the Indians, is going to speak to us about that work. Dr. Patterson is very interesting, at least his lecture last Sunday, his first one, was- He told us about the growth and preserva- tion of the Bible. Our History work for this last week was on the Founding and Rise of the Christian Church, and was especially interest- ing- We will have agood deal more about the History of the Church in our History work. We had a very good concert Friday night. I will put in the program. The great event socially this week wss the Opening of the Senior Parlor. The Seniors have a Parlor for their class, where they can go at any time, and make themselves at home. They can meet there for their class affairs, and they often have music, those in their class who can play or sing often do it- Every year the Senior class furnishes the Parlor to suit itself, and then has an Opening, to which the Sophomore Class is invited- The Faculty are invited later, and everybody else goes when she getsa chance. We were invited there from half past four till six yesterday afternoon. Miss McCauley, one of the girls who visited Gertrude Bronson in the summer, took me. We all marched in in a row, each Senior with her Sophomore, and looked around, coming out another door. The Senior Class Glee Club they served lemon and coffee ice, and cake- The Parlor was enlarged in the summer, to twice its former size, and is very pretty indeed, more "dainty" than it was last year, and it shows more originality in the furnishing. It is customary for our class to make a present to the Senior Class for their Parlor, so we gave them a little clock. One more thing happened yesterday, and that was a spread, which Katharine Dunham gave, to which we were invited. Her aunt is still in Lockport, so they fixed up a box and sent it to Katharine. There was some delicious angel-cake just like Edie's, and some other kinds of cake and cookies, a lot of Niagara grapes, and some candy. Lillian Bayliss and Jean Ranney and two or three other girls were there. Ray and Belle and I went, but Mary had to go to a ghost-party, soKatharine gave us a plateful of good things to bring home to her. Katharine intended to bring her cups and plates at Christmas, so she came over and borrowed ours for this occasion, and I made some chocolate for her too, because she did not know how to make It, though she intended to learn at Christmas. I am so glad to get your picture at last. I don't think it looks quite so much like you as the proof did, but still I like it pretty well. You said in your last letter that Aunt Allie had sent me her picture, but X have not seen anything of it. There is something queer about photographs reachingme, I think. How long ago did Aunt Allie send hers? Ed gave me the under clothing all right. I will send the ether home by Katharine D. at Christrnas- X am taking great comfort out of my wrappers. I especially need them this semester, for while I have this room I have my ward- robe out in the hall, and have to put on my wrapper to go out and get a dress, whenever I want to put on something different from what X took off the night before. I have worn my new challi on several occasions already. My supply of clothes is plenty large, and everything was in such good order that I have had almost no mending at all to do. Lovingly Adelaide. (Claflin,
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: December 22, 1894
Text: Vassar College. Dec. 22. 1894. My dear Mamma, - Your letter came day before yesterday, and I have been thinking about it since. It was very nice of you to plan a little trip for me, but I am afraid you ought not to spare the money. I thought at first that I would not go at all, because I would much rather have you spend the money for something you want. But perhaps I ought to take tie opportunity of seeing a little of New York while I have a chance. The girls here often stay at the Margaret...
Show moreVassar College. Dec. 22. 1894. My dear Mamma, - Your letter came day before yesterday, and I have been thinking about it since. It was very nice of you to plan a little trip for me, but I am afraid you ought not to spare the money. I thought at first that I would not go at all, because I would much rather have you spend the money for something you want. But perhaps I ought to take tie opportunity of seeing a little of New York while I have a chance. The girls here often stay at the Margaret Louisa Home, and four or five of them are going down there this vacation to stay a week, girls whom I know.Then Ellen Hailey, whom I like the best of any of the girls left, was asked to go along with them, but she did not want to stay so long, so she Is willing to go with me at the same time the other girls go, but for us to come back after two or three days. So you see 1 can manage it all right about going* But I should be very happy here and have a very good time, and not be lonesome. So If you cant spare the money easily, please don't send it, and If you can be prevailed upon to spend it for yourself, please do it. The girls are all gone who are going, and there are about fifty of us left, X guess, some of whom will be away for a few days at one time or another. Doc. 22. 1894-2 I would write mure but I want this to go on the nine oclock mail* Is Mrs. Collins in New York, and what is her address? lovingly Adelaide jClaflin, \
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: January 20, 1896
Text: Vassar College. Jan. 20. 1896. My dear Mother,-— I sit down at the close of this day to write to you, and wish of rest is very welcome. Closing up the term's work is no easy task - especially when we have two or three special topics to do. I have spent more than twelve hours during the past week working on my special topic in Greek, and I am not near through. I think Miss Leach expectedus to spend five or six hours on it, but we always find that on special topics we have to spend about...
Show moreVassar College. Jan. 20. 1896. My dear Mother,-— I sit down at the close of this day to write to you, and wish of rest is very welcome. Closing up the term's work is no easy task - especially when we have two or three special topics to do. I have spent more than twelve hours during the past week working on my special topic in Greek, and I am not near through. I think Miss Leach expectedus to spend five or six hours on it, but we always find that on special topics we have to spend about three times as much labor as the teacher expects. I also have a special topic in Latin to do, which I have not yet touched - that and my Greek topic must both be finished by the end of this week, in addition to getting the usual lessons of the week- You know our exam- inations are the week after this - beginning a week from tomorrow. I have six to take and they extend through four days. This time my subjects are the kind that need "cramming"-, especially History, Art History, Astron- omy and Biology - so you may be sure I will be thankful when a week from Thursday evening comes- Today we have had the privilege of three fine services- This manning Dr. Samuel Elliott of Brooklyn, preached. He is a Unitarian, but he didn't seem to have very Unitarian views. He spoke about Christ and quoted his life and teachings in apparently the same spirit that an orthodox minister would. I thought his sermon was very good, and I liked him personally very much because he was so earnest and enthusiastic and so anxious to help people. This after Dr. Thomson, a New York physician, son of the Dr. Thomson who was amissionary to Syria and wrote "Land and the Book"- spoke to us about the Armenian question, to show how such cruelties could be perpetrated in this enlightened age. His talk was not very much about recent affairs, but chiefly historical, - a sketch of the Mohammedans from their earliest history and their subsequent history, showing how all through they have been characterised by blood- thirstiness, how it has been born and bred and drilled into them, all through their history, to think that it is the greatest virtue to kill Christians. It was taught repeatedly by Mohammad himself in the Koran as well as in his own life,and it has been zealously lived up to by all his followers. Dr. Thomson said that one day in Arabia he was going along a street with an Englishman, when some Mohammedan boys followed them shouting something. The Englishman thought the boys were saluting them and felt very much flattered, till Dr. Thomson, who understands Arabic very well, Informed him that they were saying this: "How sweet, how sweet it is to cut the throats of Christians, how sweet." That was many years ago. Dr. Thomson was educated as a physician in order to be a missionary physician In Syria, but Just as he was on the point of going, someterrible massacres broke out In Syria, and his father wrote to him that they might have to flee at any hour, and that he had better stay in New York- He was very much disappointed, as he had been born and brought up In Syria and did not know a soul in New York. Dr. Thomson said that England, disappointed In her hopes of the cooperation of European powers In behalf of the Armenians, was just about to go ahead and do something with only the United States to back her, when "like a bombshell came the President's message about the Vene- zuelan Commission," which diverted the attention of England to a war scare and withdrew the backing and sympathy of the United States for England. Our next T. and M. debate Is on the question 1'Should England interfere In behalf of the Armenians? " This comes next Saturday. Prof. Ix>uis Dyer, formerly of Oxford, England, but now of Cornell, has been lecturing to us this week on Greek subjects. Friday night his talk was on the "Religion of Athena". This was not so Interest- ing as his lectures on Saturday. Saturday morning he read a metrical translation of his own of Euripides' Medea, -ft-Just girls who take Greek could go to this, so of course it was In a smaller room. Prof. Dyer's voice is much better suited to a small room- it is low andbeautifully modulated - one of the most beautiful readers he is, that I ever heard. We had Greek texts of the Medea to follow, so that we could see how well he translated it, especially in bringing the figures of speech over into the English- We all enjoyed it so much. Miss Franklin, one of the Latin teachers, who sat next to me, remarked that she had not been so happy for years.1 Saturday afternoon Prof. Dyer gave personal reminiscences of Dr. Jowett, Master of Baliol College, Oxford- but I could not spare the time from my special topic to go to this. Every one said it was very interesting. After the lecture Friday night, Prof. Leach gave the Greek girls a reception in the Seniorparlor, to meet Prof. Dyer. I think he is what you would call a "charming conversationalist." He talked so easily and pleasantly, and told interesting stories, for instance about the children Harvard of Prof. James - who teaches Psychology at Oxford One of Prof. James1 little boys, when he came home from the circus, was asked by his grand- mother what he saw there. He replied, "I saw a lion, and a giraffe, and a rhinoceros, but no conscious personality." Saturday night our table had a 'Waffle supper"- the first one we girls have been to since we have been in college. Immediately after chapel we went over to Mrs. Eidel*s - wholives in one of the cottages near here, and there we had a supper of waffles, chocolate, chocolate cake, and buttered toast. After we had all the waffles we wanted, we played "It"- whlch 1s the most fun of any game I know- Dr. Blair and Miss Epler were the ones who did not know the joke- Then we had short toasts, Miss Epler acting as toast-mistress, and all of us responding to a toast, in about two sentences. We walked to the cottage and back through "the pines a dark and lonesome path- safe enough on account of our numbers, but rather spooky. I have not time now to tell in detail about our "dissection". Monday afternoon we had a"clinic", with Dr. Blair as the instructor, and a little mouse, which Carrie had caught in her mousetrap the night before, as the victim. It was in my room, where Ray and Carrie and two or three other girls had gathered, and here we watched Dr. Blair dissect the poor mouse, just for the sake of seeing how the organs of the mouse were put together. It was purely voluntary. Carrie asked Dr. Blair to do it for us. None of the girls showed any signs of the proverbial "faint- ness" except Ray, who began to feel queer and left the room very abruptly. After she came back she tried to be very brave and insisted on pinning down the rat's skin and holding its tail out of the way, or anything else necessary.W e teased her about it very much. I got the handkerchiefs all right the other day. I find I have one of Edith's, which I will send back next week after it is washed. I just received Lou's postal about the Horace notes. I forgot all about them, and was sorry she did not remind me sooner. I hope it will not be too late cow. I will send them by the next mail. And I think I will put in with them, the napkins which I brought in September - now that I have the new ones. You wrote about the death of Mrs. Prentiss. Papa wrote me in November about the death of Mrs. Prentiss on Russell Ave. Do you mean this time Mrs. Perry Prentiss? You have all been so good about writing since Christmas. I have just revelled in letters. Love to all, Adelaide. jClaflin,
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Creator: Mansfield, Adelaide (Claflin)
Date: October 22, 1893
Text: Vassar College. Oct. 22, 1893. My dear Lou, -- It was a good while ago that you wrote to me, but your turn for an answer has come at last. In church this morning I wished that I were sitting beside you listening to-Dr. Mears- None of the sermons I have heard so far, (except-frr~President Taylor's) have been nearly so good as his. But I enjoy Dr. Vincent's Bible Lectures. We had a concert Friday night - a violin and piano recital. I would have enjoyed it more if I had not been so...
Show moreVassar College. Oct. 22, 1893. My dear Lou, -- It was a good while ago that you wrote to me, but your turn for an answer has come at last. In church this morning I wished that I were sitting beside you listening to-Dr. Mears- None of the sermons I have heard so far, (except-frr~President Taylor's) have been nearly so good as his. But I enjoy Dr. Vincent's Bible Lectures. We had a concert Friday night - a violin and piano recital. I would have enjoyed it more if I had not been so sleepy. All the lectures and concerts are free to all the college. Yesterday Ray's brother Harry sent her some good things to eat. He tutored a boy this summer, and the boy's mother seemed to take a fancy to him, and has sent him several nice presents. This week she sent him a lot of good things to eat, and it was some of these that he sent to Ray.-- two cans of sardines, a can of boneless turkey, a jar of olives, and some raspberry jam. There is a little grocery store in the main building where we can get soda crackers to eat these things with. Tomorrow night we are going to invite a half dozen girls in for a little while during the evening, to help us eat them up-. I didnot expect to have a spread quite so soon. We are in rather an embarrassing position too, for neither Ray nor I have a single dish here. Oct. 72, 1893 - 2 But we can use pieces of paper and hatpins, and a tin soap dish of Ray's. They had Senior Parlor Opening yesterday afternoon. This is a small parlor which is given up to the Seniors every year. They furnish it just as they want to, and then have an "opening". It is very pretty, and has some very nice things in it. There is a famous oil-painting in it now, which a gentleman in New York, the father of one of the Seniors, lent to them for this year. The girls take away their own ornaments from it at the end of the year. Only the Sophomores are invited to the opening. The next event will be the party given by the Sophomores to the Freshmen, in two or three weeks. Each Soph, will escort a Freshman. I have already been invited by a very nice girl. I should like to hear how High School is getting along- How does Miss Beaumont get along without Mr. Muckly to do chores for her. Does Miss Beaumont still have a girl put the clock back every morning with the window stick? And is Mr. Lothmann just as cranky, Dr. Zeliqzon just as solemn, and Mr. Weimer just as jolly as ever? What is the name of that smart boy that moved away — the one you thought would be Vale- dictorian? Do you have to study hard? Do you like Virgil? Our Latin - we are reading Livy - is pretty hard. Ray's Latin teacher is ever so much stricter than mine. So I suppose she will learn more than I. But my teacher is nicer. Your loving sister Adelaide. Adelaide Claflin, '97,
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