[The letter is in an envelope dated Sep 27, 1897. I don't know why the letter is dated after it was supposedly mailed. The envelope and the letter appear to be original to each other.]
My dear Susie-
The Doctor sends the check in this letter [no longer with the letter] and wants me to write a few lines to go with it. He has been quite busy lately. How are they all at home? We have not heard a word from Mary, but I suppose she has little time for writing while she is teaching. I hope she is not working too hard. The Doctor takes Miss Bucklin or some other girl off on his long drives. I do wish I enjoyed driving. Miss B. has been with him a number of times to Haddam Neck. The first time she went down some one asked if she were the Doctor's mother-in-law! Yesterday she came home highly amused. While the Doctor was calling on his patient Miss B. sat in the carriage. Another patient who lived across the way came out and asked Miss B. to go into her kitchen where it was warm. Miss B. said she would rather stay in the open air but the woman (a Swede) urged her to go in and see the view from her kitchen windows, so she finally went. The woman was talking about the Doctor and she said "I do lof heem. I call heem my tarling poy." We have had considerable sport over it. I begin to think there were more than eighteen girls on the list before I had anything to do with George, for about every trip he takes I hear of a new one. Some are young, some old, some married, some single, some widows; it seems to make very little difference to him. It is a fortunate thing that I am not jealous. George may go down to New Haven to attend the meeting of the American Board. There are to be a number of speakers he is anxious to hear. The week after there is to be a meeting of the New Haven Medical Society that he has been appointed delegate to by the members of this county. I hope nothing will happen to prevent his going to them. Probably some one will break a leg just as the train is about to shove out of the station and he will have to jump off and set it. People are very inconsiderate. By the way, had you heard of George Bell's engagement? His engagement was announced a short time ago. The young lady is a New York girl, a Miss Wilder, and she entered Holyoke this term. I must close now.
Yours affectionately -
IdaMiddle Haddam -
Oct. 10 - 1897.