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 stretch of work before it, without
any interruptions. I feel sorry for Lou, having only one day vacation-
I think the Women's College Is 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, aad 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 occasioa- 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
Dec. I j 1895 - 2
Tds in the possession of the bank with which Mr. Vassar was connected,
tfc 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 one else 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.
Deo. 1, 1895 - 3
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 Thanksgiving dinner 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. Tou 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 l^ake 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 go together 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 - Cartie has finished a dress-waist which she had
on hand- She has made a whole winter dress all by hand - most of it
Dei. i, 1895 - 4
during the summer. She has not been where there was a sewing-
machine, you see- ilay 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, sweet girls, were fixed up as tramps,
certainly ao tramps ever looked more disreputable. Faust,
Mephistopheles and Margariat 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
Dec. I j 1895 - 2
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
Mav/r may be more clever '-
Just as we were coining home, we heard the girls cheering for
Mrs. Kendrick. 'that's the matter with Mrs. Kendrick? " "She's all
right!" "Who's all right? " "Mrs. Kendrick.1"
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. jClaflin}