Wed. night.Dear Mamma:-
I have just been playing halma with Miss Jodie Holmes and got beaten. I haven't played before for ages, and she is a terror of a player. We like these two Holmes sisters very much - both old maids decidedly, but nice ones.
I am sending three more post cards in this for you to save. [no longer with the letter] The little brown one is pretty, I think. I wish they had better ones here. Thanks for the Phillips one; it is pretty. I had one yesterday from Gertrude who sent it from near Venice.
Yesterday we had a fine day - one of the best mountain days I ever saw. We got up at 5:45 and were ready to start at seven, but our man did not come until nearly 7:30. Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Buckingham went with us on the ten-mile drive to what they call the Chocorua Half-way house, though it isn't very far up the mountain. They stayed there while the three of us and Miss Buckingham climbed the mountain. There is a well defined path for two miles and a half or so up to what they call the Peak House. A horse goes up every day or so with supplies, but he must be a nimble beast, for it is very rocky and steep in places. You will see this Peak House on the card Miss Smith sent you. It is just at the base of the steep peak of the mountain that shows well on the brown card. The house is held down by great iron rods for the wind is tremendous there, although yesterday was calm and clear - just the sort for climbing. It took us about 3/4 of an hour to go to the top from the Peak House and it was work - steeper than Monadnock a good deal, but the bowlders [sic] were rougher and so there was no danger of slipping. The top isn't bigger than my little room in South Hadley, though there is a bigger place only fifteen or twenty feet lower. We could see about everything, I guess, for it was splendidly clear - Monadnock, Wachusett, the Uncanoonucks [sic], Agamenticus, a Cherry Mt. in Vermont, Mt. Washington and all the other White Mts. Lake Winnepesaukee [sic] and lots of small lakes, some over in Maine, although the Rangeley lakes were behind mountains. There were clouds enough to make nice shadows in places, and fortunately one was over us and kept off the sun as we did the last of the climbing. We found some real mountain plants on top in crevices, and near the Peak House a number of things - blueberries that were bigger than those at Pemaquid.
We ate our lunch near the Peak House and then came down - much faster than we went up. The driver went up too - part of the way with us, but he wasn't any help to anyone except Miss Buckingham. We could get on as well as she could, I think. We drove home around through Tamworth and by the Cleveland home, and got here about 6:30. But it was a splendid day. We are a little lame today, but not much. Shall be all right tomorrow, and have walked 2 1/2 miles or so just to limber up today. It has been cloudy today and looked like rain - hadn't really cleared tonight.
I guess it is time to go to bed now. We've had a fire in the fireplace nearly all day, and had tea this afternoon. It took me quite a while to look up my botany specimens because none of them except the golden-rods were in flower. I hope we shall find more on Whiteface. That is higher than Chocorua but hasn't that fine sharp peak at the end. It certainly is fun to go up. I don't know when we have had such a good time. Miss Smith never had a view just of that sort before, and she enjoyed it very much.
But I must go to bed.
With love to you,
Abby.