My dear Miss Turner:Your letter pleased me just about as much as any happy event that has happened in my life. For somehow I've had a queer little feeling way back in my sub-conscious that I had been rather much of a failure at Mt Holyoke and I am so very glad that you felt I was trying to do good work at any rate.
I think it very hard to work with a friend who likes to do the same thing, in the same way, and at the same time with you. I reckon I am queer but working with Claire made me feel discouraged with myself. That was because I was not so well prepared and when I wanted to study things out she had that knowing air and would always remark that she had done that dozens of time this place or that. I love Claire dearly and I feel disloyal because I do not like to work with her. Yet she is so enthusiastic over working with me that I cannot be honest and express my opinion on the subject - to her. She almost took a position down at the Hygienic Laboratory after she heard that I was down there and I was worried for I knew that once more I would have that dreadful despondent attitude. However they would not offer Claire enough money so she accepted another position in another branch of the government. I don't know much about this last opening except that it is not research work and Claire says she is to start a new laboratory, as a model for hospitals! I am glad that she will be in Washington.
I started work this last Monday in the Pharmacology Department of the Hygienic Laboratory. I am research assistant to Dr Carl Voegtlin. I don't know whether you know of him or not but he has done quite a little work in chemotherapy and on vitamines. [sic] Some of his experiments are written up in the Experimental Pharmacology Bulletins. He was born in Switzerland, educated in German universities, and has been affiliated with Harvard and Johns Hopkins. He is a good friend of Dr Howell's, too. Just now we are working on the effects of arsenicals and antimony compounds on a strain of "sleeping-sickness" bacteria by name "Tripanosome equiperdum." At present I am learning to make accurate counts with the same method that is used for blood cells. There is so much for me to learn and I find that I am most stupid and my technique - is poor beyond description. My only hope is that I will improve before Dr. Voegtlin is entirely disgusted. I forgot to say that we are experimenting with albino rats. I will write more about the details when I know more.
Sometimes I wish you would tell Miss Hahn how happy I am that I had such a splendid lecture course in organic chemistry. The very first hour of my new work was spent in reading about the chemical construction and constitution of the drugs. And they were trivalent and pentivalent substances with benzene rings and I could actually understand quite a bit of the literature!
These past few weeks have been so wonderfully clear and cool that I have longed for old South Hadley. I did not realize how much I would miss the campus and most especially my new friends that I made up there. I'd give a lot to be back and I hope that some day I will be able to pay you all a visit anyhow.
I know that you must be over worked now with the beginning of the year, but when things calm down and you have a breathing spell you will write me all the news, won't you? I want to hear what success you
willhave with cat hunting this year. Mrs Guppy wrote me that she expected to present her Billy to the laboratory.Miss Turner, I can't tell you how grateful I am for your letter of encouragement and advice. It means a lot to me - more than you would guess.
Give my love to Frances and to Mrs Turner, and yourself,
most sincerely, Helen Dyer