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Vassar College.
Nov. 4. 1894
My dear Mamma, -
I am rather behind with my letter-writing. I have just been telling Clarence about how we went to Mrs. Platt's to dinner after church, and we did not get home till about three oclock- and then two girls came in to see us and stayed pretty long.
All the Sophomores are tired today. We had an essay due yesterday at six oclock, and they have given us no extra time to write it in, and we have so much to do all the time that we don't have spare time to use for essays. We were supposed to begin writing it four or five weeks ago, but a large part of the class did not begin till yesterday. Mary and Belle and I being among the number. We came up from breakfast and put ^out our engaged sign as soon as we had made our beds. We each settled ourselves in a different room and began to grind out an essay, and every once in a while one went around to see how the other two were getting along. We had to think out our subject and make our analysis, so that by lunchtime we had not accomplished much. We all spent about an hour and a half on our first two sentences: but after lunchtime, we had gotten beyond the start, and could go on more easily. We buckled down desperately and said not a word to each other till about five oclock, when I finished mine. Then we copied just as fast as we could, and I finished copying mine exactly at six oclock. Mary and Belle had to spend part of the evening copying theirs, they did not go down to dinner. When we handed them in, we did not know which was greater, our relief or our weariness. We have to go through this ordeal once every six weeks, just as we did last year. The subjects given us this time were not very good, Belle and I wrote on "The Dangers of Work"- Reflections of a Lazy Man," and we chose it, just as a good many other girls did, because we couldn't write on any of the others.
I have had a good deal of communication from Aunt Allie this week. Friday the box came, with the red jacket. It is quite flaring, and I don't like very well to wear a thing so conspicuous- still it is not so conspicuous here as it would be at home, for in this clean place they wear lighter colors than they do at home, and besides it doesn't matter so much what we wear here, for there are not many people who see us when we are out walking- So I think I shall make some use of the jacket. Besides that, Aunt Allie put in two lovely handkerchiefs, one pink silk crepe, with a fancy edge, and the other black chiffon with yellow lowers worked in it. They will be very pretty to wear pinned at my neck, the way the girls do. Then there was a Windsor tie to wear with shirt-waists—white with blue figures, and a red fan, and two photographs of Aunt Allie, taken in Pueblo. The photographer did not know how to manage the light, for he had it fall on her face so as to make her look rather ghostly, especially in one- That one is a miserable picture, and the other looks pretty well, but Aunt Allie has her neck low and her hair fixed up so that she looks like a young girl. It makes rather a pretty picture but not a good likeness. By mail yesterday she sent a picture of Uncle Henry, which is very good, looks just about the same as the one at home except that he is not smiling at all in this one. A letter came from Aunt Allie Friday telling about the things, etc. I am going to write to her right away.
The girls all had to get out their felt hats to wear into town today- We keep on all our summer things as long as possible. Around the grounds the girls still wear their summer hats, though they are beginning to bring out their "tams". Shirt-waists are still common, I wear mine occasionally- and with warm underclothes they are perfectly comfortable, here in this building, though I could not wear them late last year, when I had to run back and forth to Strong Hall. Yesterday five Juniors went down town and had their pictures taken, all sitting in a row and wearing shirt-waists and sailor hats.
I suppose Miss Sutliffe is at home by this time, and has told you how we are fixed here. Katharine's roommate ^Miss Cornell is a girl who is very nice in herself, but who went with a girl last year whose reputation is not enviable, a rude and forward girl, in a higher class. This year Miss Cornell does not go with this girl at all, and by means of Katharine, has a chance to go with some of the nicest girls in her class, and it is doing a very good thing for her, since she is really a very nice girl. Several girls in her class told me this, and said that Katharine was really doing missionary work for Miss Cornell. Katharine seems to be getting acquainted with the nicest girls, and is very well fixed.
Did I tell you that Ray has been asked to sing in the College Glee Club? It will be some work to attend the rehearsals, but still it is considered a very nice thing to be a member of the Glee Club. They will probably be invited down to New York to sing at the Alumnae Banquet there, and they have some other social privileges. Ray sings in the choir now, too.
Well, I cannot write longer tonight, for I am very sleepy and rather tired. I forgot to tell you that I have not had the headache any more since that time I wrote you about it, though I have taken cuts since then.
Lovingly Adelaide. [Claflin]
Nov. 4. 1894
My dear Mamma, -
I am rather behind with my letter-writing. I have just been telling Clarence about how we went to Mrs. Platt's to dinner after church, and we did not get home till about three oclock- and then two girls came in to see us and stayed pretty long.
All the Sophomores are tired today. We had an essay due yesterday at six oclock, and they have given us no extra time to write it in, and we have so much to do all the time that we don't have spare time to use for essays. We were supposed to begin writing it four or five weeks ago, but a large part of the class did not begin till yesterday. Mary and Belle and I being among the number. We came up from breakfast and put ^out our engaged sign as soon as we had made our beds. We each settled ourselves in a different room and began to grind out an essay, and every once in a while one went around to see how the other two were getting along. We had to think out our subject and make our analysis, so that by lunchtime we had not accomplished much. We all spent about an hour and a half on our first two sentences: but after lunchtime, we had gotten beyond the start, and could go on more easily. We buckled down desperately and said not a word to each other till about five oclock, when I finished mine. Then we copied just as fast as we could, and I finished copying mine exactly at six oclock. Mary and Belle had to spend part of the evening copying theirs, they did not go down to dinner. When we handed them in, we did not know which was greater, our relief or our weariness. We have to go through this ordeal once every six weeks, just as we did last year. The subjects given us this time were not very good, Belle and I wrote on "The Dangers of Work"- Reflections of a Lazy Man," and we chose it, just as a good many other girls did, because we couldn't write on any of the others.
I have had a good deal of communication from Aunt Allie this week. Friday the box came, with the red jacket. It is quite flaring, and I don't like very well to wear a thing so conspicuous- still it is not so conspicuous here as it would be at home, for in this clean place they wear lighter colors than they do at home, and besides it doesn't matter so much what we wear here, for there are not many people who see us when we are out walking- So I think I shall make some use of the jacket. Besides that, Aunt Allie put in two lovely handkerchiefs, one pink silk crepe, with a fancy edge, and the other black chiffon with yellow lowers worked in it. They will be very pretty to wear pinned at my neck, the way the girls do. Then there was a Windsor tie to wear with shirt-waists—white with blue figures, and a red fan, and two photographs of Aunt Allie, taken in Pueblo. The photographer did not know how to manage the light, for he had it fall on her face so as to make her look rather ghostly, especially in one- That one is a miserable picture, and the other looks pretty well, but Aunt Allie has her neck low and her hair fixed up so that she looks like a young girl. It makes rather a pretty picture but not a good likeness. By mail yesterday she sent a picture of Uncle Henry, which is very good, looks just about the same as the one at home except that he is not smiling at all in this one. A letter came from Aunt Allie Friday telling about the things, etc. I am going to write to her right away.
The girls all had to get out their felt hats to wear into town today- We keep on all our summer things as long as possible. Around the grounds the girls still wear their summer hats, though they are beginning to bring out their "tams". Shirt-waists are still common, I wear mine occasionally- and with warm underclothes they are perfectly comfortable, here in this building, though I could not wear them late last year, when I had to run back and forth to Strong Hall. Yesterday five Juniors went down town and had their pictures taken, all sitting in a row and wearing shirt-waists and sailor hats.
I suppose Miss Sutliffe is at home by this time, and has told you how we are fixed here. Katharine's roommate ^Miss Cornell is a girl who is very nice in herself, but who went with a girl last year whose reputation is not enviable, a rude and forward girl, in a higher class. This year Miss Cornell does not go with this girl at all, and by means of Katharine, has a chance to go with some of the nicest girls in her class, and it is doing a very good thing for her, since she is really a very nice girl. Several girls in her class told me this, and said that Katharine was really doing missionary work for Miss Cornell. Katharine seems to be getting acquainted with the nicest girls, and is very well fixed.
Did I tell you that Ray has been asked to sing in the College Glee Club? It will be some work to attend the rehearsals, but still it is considered a very nice thing to be a member of the Glee Club. They will probably be invited down to New York to sing at the Alumnae Banquet there, and they have some other social privileges. Ray sings in the choir now, too.
Well, I cannot write longer tonight, for I am very sleepy and rather tired. I forgot to tell you that I have not had the headache any more since that time I wrote you about it, though I have taken cuts since then.
Lovingly Adelaide. [Claflin]
