A Letter Written on Oct 11, 1903

[Some paragraph marks added for ease of reading.]

Templeton, Mass.
Oct. 11, 1903.

Dear Lucy:-

To start with I will tell you something nice. I have seen Mr. Hodgedon. He was around visiting school Friday and came into two of my classes. Every time that any of the teachers said "Miss Baker" he would jump and crane his neck all around.

Linnie, Helen, and I went down to Bessie's yesterday afternoon. Helen is staying down at Linnie's as Helen's mother & Mrs. Bartlett have gone on that excursion to Albany & New York etc. Nothing happened to us going down except that we ran down Poor Farm Hill as tight as we could go it. It was two [sic] wet to go nutting or to stay out-doors so we went into the barn. We climbed up on to the hay and had a fine time. Finally we went over on the other side and Linnie climbed up on a beam and jumped and then Bessie got out on the beam and I guess she wouldn't have jumped at tall [sic] if her mother hadn't wanted her to come into the house for a minute.

When she came back Helen, Linnie and I were all sitting on the beam swinging our feet. Bessie had some apples which she tossed up to us and then she climbed up herself. Well then Helen was afraid to jump & finally she climbed down. Then the rest of us jumped and Linnie and I got down first and hid in the mangers of the horse stalls and the girls hunted two different times for us and at last when they were in the house we climbed on to hay and hunted for some apples and found one just as the girls came in again. They didn't find us and went in and this time we went to after them.

Then we all came out again and played hide and go seek. Once Linnie thought that you would hide in the pig pen (there wasn't but one pig in it) and she was all nicely settled when the pig started in her direction. He had to go around a corner before he reached her and he came around that corner on full gallop. Linnie gave one of her unearthly yells and leaped over that pig-pen in a hurry. Did you ever here [sic] of such doings of a grave and dignified SENIOR? When we started home it was raining quite hard and there was only one umbrella for the three of us so we got considerably wet. Linnie, Helen, and I are all quite lame to-day. I think I shall write a theme about this.

X X X X X X X X X With love, X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X Mary X X X X X X X X X X X X X
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