Boone University
Wuchang, China
Thursday, Jan. 21, '14Dearest Abby-Gail -
The war has cut us out of so many mails that I fear a month is not time enough to allow for your birthday letter, but perhaps it won't be very late. We feel much more remote with the Siberian and "Empress" mails both cut off. I am especially sorry to be late, because I didn't write you the Christmas letter I intended. When the Christmas mail went off I was feeling so wretched hat I simply couldn't write all the letters I wanted to.
Perhaps Elizabeth has told you that when summer comes I hope Katharine will have a little play-mate. I am very well now, but was pretty miserable all the time until Christmas. Of course I am happy. I think only children are forlorn critters, - saving your presence, - and it's worse here than at home. Everard is delighted, because he has a man's longing for a son.
It would be fun to spend a nice snowy February day in S. Hadley celebrating your birthday, now wouldn't it? Isn't it hard to realize that we are all middle-aged and some are fat?
I was a no-account lady living a quiet life all the fall. There's another baby coming in the summer and at first I was utterly miserable physically, glad as I am - - oh dear, I see I told you this the other day when I started this letter and was interrupted.
Well, to proceed with the tale of my days. Christmas was the usually happy, busy time it always is here. Of course we had Katharine to make our feast particularly interesting, - she's at such a fascinating age, - but quite apart from that was the delightful Christmas spirit that pervaded the whole Mission. I often think that to get the real flavor of Christmas one needs to be in a Christian community in the midst of heathendom.
New Year's was marked by sundry festivities and then Jan. 3 we awoke to a strangely silent house and discovered that all the servants had departed leaving us in the lurch. They had grown careless and when a silver spoon was lost we fined them all. This was their retaliation. I'm not wholly unused to housework as you know, but our whole scheme of life here presupposes a lot of hands and feet and I certainly had a strenuous time for some days. Our feelings were dreadfully hurt, because two fo the four had been with us some time and had been befriended by us in many ways. What made us most discouraged about the heathen Chinese and our ability to make "The Doctrine" real to them was that they tried every way to intimidate all applicants and prevent us from getting a new corps of servants. The idea was to humble our haughty spirits and make us take them back at their own terms. Of course we had no idea of entering upon such slavery, and at the end of a week we had some promising, tho' green servants and things have gone smoothly ever since.
Next came exams, and now we are busy with Commencement. In the mean time we've had our good friends the MacWillies have been [sic] staying with us while packing up & otherwise getting ready for their furlough.
I am anticipating the China New Year vacation, - it's one of the incest [?] features of life here, provided the weather is good.
I hope your break-down last summer has taught you not to work too hard.
I'm getting to be such a very domestic creature that I'd surprise you as much as myself, if you should visit me. I've trained two cooks lately and I've taught a boy to wait on table properly and iron nicely. I've coped pretty well with the rise of prices (butter $1.20 Mex. [?] a lb. and flour $5.00 Mex. [?] a sack) and I've actually made Katharine a winter coat. But what I'll ever do with two children I can't imagine. I already shrink from the long voyage home, tho' that's two and a half years hence.
I'm regretably out of touch with everything & everybody M.H.C. I had an impersonal Christmas card from Grace Mather. I wrote Evelyn a real Christmas letter and hoped for an answer ere this - it's a year and a half since I heard from her, except thro' other people who have been in Foochow. Tillie riled me in the summer. She's so absorbed in what she considers leaders of things in China that she literally has no time for old friends. Katharine Abby was staying with her and she didn't turn over her hand to have me meet her or bring her to return my call.
I get almost no American letters, except from the Millers and a rare one from Elizabeth, who writes cheerfully in the main.
I mean to write to Miss Smith ere long and in the meantime here's my dear love to you both and your mother. I'm sure you'll write when you can.
With all good wishes.
Ever your old Lucy Fish