Vassar College, Jan. 26. 1896.
My dear I*ou,—
As it is your birthday tomorrow* I am going to write to you
this week. Out of your teens.1 How old you are getting! I did not use to
want to grow older. I used to want to stay a child, but now I would
rather grow, so as to be of some use.
Ed. asked me this week when the next birthday in the family
was, so that he might celebrate it by writing, and when I read it, some-
how I never thought of yours at all, but said to myself, "Well, there's no
hurry about that. He'll have to wait till Feb. 26." So it is my fault that
you don't get a birthday letter from him.
We are all thinking about exams, now, - they come this week-
I have two tomorrow, and one each day following - finishing up Friday
afternoon. I*ots of girls are studying for them today: I am glad I feel
free to take Sunday for a rest, instead of feeling as if I ought to study
seven days in the week.
I came near making myself unable to take exams, this week, by
a little escapade la the gymnasium Friday afternoon. Gertrude Smith
and I were working at a piece of apparatus without a padded mat under
us - which we are supposed never to do- I was hanging by my hands
-fewo-with my feet out behind me aad two or three feet above the ground
when I lost my grip aad fell on the hard wood floor, my nose receiving
most of my weight, against the floor. Everybody who saw me fall thought
Jan. 20, 1896 - 26
I was killed aad came running up, but I sat up instantly and told them
there was nothing the matter with me* My nose bled a little and
swelled a great deal, and the gym. teacher was afraid it was broken,
but the doctor said it was not. They made me hold water to it, as hot
as I could stand, for more than half an hour, to reduce the swelling and
prevent it from turning black and blue. This remedy was very effectual,
in fact too effectual, for the water which I held to my forehead was so hot
as to produce two blisters there. My nose is all right now - it has
stopped hurting. The gym. teacher, before she attended to me, turned
around to the other girls and said, "Now this will be a warning to all of
you never to do this without a mat."
Last night the officers of the Christian Association were nomi-
nated. A committee of twelve were appointed by the Executive Board to
name five people for President, and there were to be reduced to two by
the Association - For the other officers two girls apiece were selected by
the committee. I was one of the five chosen by the committee, but not one
of the two selected from them by the Association. I am greatly relieved,
for there is more work and responsibility to the position of President of
the Christian Association than to any other position in college. Especially
while the Windsor is part of the college. The two girls who are candi-
dates are Mary Dunning and Jessie Thain- I hope Mary will get it, for she
Jan. 26. 1396 -3
is a lovely girl, aad has a great deal to her. She rooms next door to me.
Ray 1s one of the two candidates for Vice-president- I rather
think she will get it, for the other girl is not especially suited for that
position. That is all the officers who are chosen from our class- The
elections take place in about a week.
I have been doing some work for Professor Moulton on the
Hektograph- You know that is the thing with which one sheet of writing
is copied off on to & lot of other sheets, it is always written in violet-
colored ink- The ink is very hard to write with, for it is sticky and does
pan
not £low easily, but the hektcgraph is easy to work. It is just a plato of
very stiff gelatine stuff, which has had the writing taken off on it, and
then you just take the clean sheets of paper and lay them on straight and
take them right off again. I am going to do it between exams, as much
as I can spare time.
Some day this week I will send you "Seebohm's Era of the Pro-
testant revolution"- for you will need it for history of the Reformation -
It is a very useful book.
The weather has been rainy for the last few days, so that the
skating has been spoiled. I hope it will freeze again soon- Last week some
of the girls, led by Prof. Wentworth and Prof. French, played "shinny" on
the ice, every day- It was lots of fun to watch them, but we had hard work
Jan. 20, 1896 - 26
to keep out of their way sometimes- Miss Epler asked me to go
skating for a half an hour before breakfast the other morning- so that
we had to get up in the dark, but when we got up we found it was raining-
Iwas rather glad. That was very sad about Mr. Harris* little girl.
I think it was mean not to let him see her.
Give my love to the girls at college. Love to all the family toe.
Your loving sister Adelaide. (over)
Just as I was addressing the envelope, I heard somebody in the corridor
say "there is a fire down in Ray Schauffler's room" I had just come up
about five minutes before, leaving her on her bed, sol wondered what
she could !iave been doing- She had got up to write a letter, and after
she lit the gas she threw the match in the wastebasket. The wastebasket
biased up and she took it up and carried it into her bedroom where there
were two loose rugs, and covered it, and then put water on and called the
girl next door to help her, and so they easily put it out without spoiling
anything else- The maid who was watching the corridor discovered it
immediately on account of the smoke, which filled the corridor- I guess
Ray will get something else to throw her matches in-