Box 163 -
So. Hadley. Mass.
Sept. 19, 1902.Dear Mama -
Have passed in Algebra. Saw Miss Greene & she said I could take up the freshman work. I was looking over the bulletin boards in the College post-office & saw the notice that all freshmen must send their certificates of vaccination to Dr. Parry through the post-office before Monday night. What shall I do? Write quick. If I do not hear from you sooner, & they speak to me about it, I will tell them I have written home & must wait for a reply.
Although you directed my letter to box 163 - it was sent over to the College Post Office. I have been requested to rent a P.O. Box at the college P.O. That costs 75c. Perhaps I can get one with another girl. Do you think I had better?
Can you make me a soiled clothes bag of cretonne about 30 inches long & 30 wide, with a puckering string at the top - or 3 inches from the top.
I have a roommate. I am not well impressed with her. She wants to monopolize everything. Sometimes I feel homesick. Exams were fearfully hard. They pretty nearly did me up. Have just taken a dose of cr. tr. will take more soon. It agrees with me excellently. Do you think the internal use of sulphur advisable? Have been to 3 recitations to-day. I don't think College has many attractions for me. I wish some one of you could come up for a few days. I feel worried & don't know what more to take. Gym. suits are for sale second hand - I shall try to get books secon hand - I wish I had my room to myself - Miss Crook is a girl from Amherst & seems to think a great deal of the Amherst "fellas." She means men or boys of course. She is slangy as can be & seems to have anything she wants. She put up some photos about 2 doz. on the wall with pins & Mrs. Barrett objects. She has pretty nearly covered the bureau with her things & has taken possession of a little table for her writing materials. Of course she probably would not object to having me use these places but I don't feel inclined to do so. She has just been vaccinated (Monday I believe).
There is another girl here at Mrs. Barrett's from Mont something in New Jersey. She is lovely. Her mother is with her. I will write to Lillie & to Mrs. Bangs again. Every little while I get to feeling homesick. I never knew before what it was to feel so. I have plenty to eat & plenty of bed clothes. I can't keep my waists clean at all this is such miserable weather. Some girls seem to have plenty of money & others seem to be ordinary girls. You see a similar assortment to what you see at High School. Am going to take Greek. I never saw so many things to look after - Books, lessons, exams, letters, notices, meetings & everything else. They say Sunday is a busy day, and the Juniors all go calling on Freshmen the 1st Sunday in the year. It just seems as if I could not stand it to have to rely on my own judgement - If you come up bring up Myer's Eastern Nations & Greece. It is a red covered book up in my bookcase. Books can be rented & some ocan be bought second hand. I want to buy mine if I can. I want to mark my own books as suits me & do anything else with them I pelase. I hope you don't care if I write with pencil. It seems awfully hard to write to you, I do so want to talk to you all.
They have Episcopal service at Chapel & we are expected to know all the Old Hundreds - Holy, holy, holies & Glory to God in the highests, & of course sitting in the front at present it is rather uncomfortable at present. I hope you will forgive me if I forget you, but I am going to try to for if I don't I shall be everlastingly homesick. If I could bawl it out, I suppose I should feel better, but I feel that having a roommate I am in constant danger of having that rapturous consolation disturbed. You see my roommate is so uncongenial that I do not feel less homesick. She only serves to aggravate the malady.
Love to all. Goodbye.
Effie.