Pacific Mail Co.
Managing Agents
United States Shipping Board
S. S. President TaftMid-Pacific
January 21, '24
Dearest Abby -
I suppose I am just scratched off your list of friends and I don't blame you a bit, for I can put myself in your place and know how indignant I'd feel. What troubles me is that I fear you can not put yourself in my place, and thus realize how it happened that I neglected all my friends so shockingly while I was in the old U.S.A. So I am going to give you a résumé of the seven months we were [in] the States, altho' I rather despair of making my busy-ness seem real to you, for unmarried folk smply can't appreciate how a husband and children encroach upon one's leisure.
I brought over a great quantity of things to sell, partly the output of the industrial work I have been managing these last few years and partly on my own as a nest-egg for the children's education. The showing & selling of my wares plus the necessary correspondence and bookkeeping constituted a great drain upon my time.
Most of the time I had a great deal of housework to do and worse than that a great deal of laundry work and of course just mending for a family of four takes a good deal of time.
We landed in Seattle May 28. We spent three delightful days there. One day we were Mollie Bayley's guests and had the bestest time with her & her family. We also paused in Chicago for three days with China friends and then went to Everard's parents in Scarsdale for five weeks. One of those weeks E- spent at his class re-union at Princeton. The children & I went down for one long, thrilling, broiling day. Another of those weeks I was out at Gambien, Ohio attending a Church Conference and speaking on China.
July 12 we left Scarsdale, stopped three days in Elizabeth, N.J. with kin of E-s & then went to Bay Head, N.J. to spend four weeks at the cottage of his oldest sister.
That is the family [sic] were there four weeks. I spent nearly half the time on a trip down to Norfolk where I had a real rest with my brother and his family with some lovely days at Virginia Beach and a memorable trip to Yorktown.
We left Bay Head the middle of August, paused again at Elizabeth and then divided forces. E- went down to East Gloucester to see his brother & I took the children up to Lake George for another real rest with a China friend.
Sept. 1 found us united again in Jamestown. We stayed a week with my brother & then found a tiny apartment for light housekeeping. The children went to school and so did E- for he found some manual training courses and some in teaching Enlish to foreigners that just met his needs.
If I had been busy before, I was doubly so now! I spoke from one to three times every week and had from one to three invitations every day. We were out of town for nearly every week-end and once the children & I went to Elmira for ten days. Everard was sick a lot. I simply galloped thro- the days in a breathless fashion. Later in the fall there was also shopping as I had to lay in a new supply of many household things as well as clothes.
It was a grievous disappointment to me not to be able to get to New England at all. I had so counted on it for so many years. Indeed I kept hoping right up to Christmas that in some way it might be managed. If E- hadn't been sick so much, I could have managed or if he hadn't been obliged to make a trip at Thanksgiving to see his parents once more - however - it couldn't be done, so that's that.
I hate to appear so careless of you and your invitation & friendship, but I hated to make it seem final by writing "No can do." As long as I hadn't written there seemed more hope. And then E- was in bed for a week and then Elizabeth came for a little visit and then came Christmas and the last grand scramble to get off.
I was sorry not to do anything for Christmas this year, but before Christmas my Chinese things had all been sold or given away and my money all allocated for supplies to take back with us, except for the tidy sum I put into Liberty Bonds for the little girls.
I saw something of dear Nan Pomeroy at Bay Head and it was lovely to have several days with Elizabeth - who seems well & happy.
We came west this time via the Grand Canyon and found it all that people say it is. Niagara, the Gorges of the Yang-tse and the Grand Canyon - the three surpassing wonders that I have seen on this terrestrial ball.
We had a week-end at Los Angeles - a new and interesting experience and several last days at San Francisco marked espcially by a trip to the redwood country.
I had an attack of three-day flu after coming aboard due no doubt to reaction after so many months of too rapid a pace. I recovered in time to do justice to poetic, enchanted Honolulu.
Please give my love to Miss Smith. I have every intention of writing to her too some where on this journey which is only about half over in point of time at least.
This will be a tardy birthday letter, but still fairly on time if we make good mail connections in Yokohama. At all events I love you a lot and hope to see a great deal of you when I am next in America.
Ever fondly yours
Lucy