Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
Jan. 13, 1900.My dear Susie,
I am delightfully situated at this moment. Outside the snow is falling, causing bright anticipations of sleighing; from the room below comes the hum of voices, those of my mother and sister and the gentleman who I hope will be our pastor before many weeks have passed; and near me before the coal fire lies Jabez Moses deeply engaged in arranging his toilet[.]
Your last letter was delightful. A twelve page letter is a treat, for such letters do not come very often . And I am afraid that I am degenerating as a correspondent. I do not write nearly as long letters as I used to, and I often neglect my friends.
Lately we have had hosts of company and the next two or three weeks bid fair to be like the last. A week ago today my uncle and aunt from Peekskill were here to dinner.
Tuesday we had a dinner party of seven people, today Mr. Wood is here; next Wednesday we expect to give a supper in honor of Mortimer Mekeel and his wife, about eleven guests probably; Saturday we are planning a dinner party of twelve or fourteen. So you see we are discharging our social obligations as rapidly as possible. When the turkeys give out we shall have to stop, or continue on chicken, which ought to be good enough for anyone. How I wish you were to be here next Wednesday evening! I should feel as if I could do anything in the way of entertaining if only I had your help. Phebe and I have been puzzling our brains about war [?] of entertaining. Nearly all our guests belong to the card playing set, and many of them are dancers. Such people are hard to get along with when you want to make them have an especially good time and cannot give them these diversions. Phebe and I have been talking to Mr. Wood this afternoon on the subjects of dancing, card-playing and theatre-going. His views coincide almost exactly with yours, if I understand yours rightly. He thinks the theatre is harmless if you go to see a good play, indeed he thinks it is helpful. He does not think cards are very wicked, but thinks one would better not play, and he disapproves entirely of round dances.
Tuesday, Jan. 16.
Sunday afternoon my letter was interrupted by the necessity of getting Mr. Wood's supper and going to church. Now when I begin again I find that my tablet paper is exhausted. Do please excuse the change of stationery.
Yesterday I went to New York and travelled from one end of the city to the other all day looking for one of the twenty game combination boards which are becoming so popular, and finally gave it up and had to buy a plain "carroms" board. The holiday demand exhausted the supply, I suppose.
This morning I spent making cake. This afternoon I expected a call from Josie Kear and Edna Gregory, but they have not put in an appearance. The weather is rather damp.
Do you like romances in real life? My heart is aching for my little cousin lately. Have not told you of his extreme jealousy of his brother and how carefully I was obliged to walk between them? And of how he did not go to his brother's wedding? All this sounds as if he were a cranky little fellow, but when I came to know the truth I could have forgiven him any number of cranks. I am told that from childhood he and the girl whom his brother married had been inseparable and that both boys courted her and the elder won her. Since I heard this I can understand much that has seemed very odd to me in his conduct. It seems odd, does it not, that so young a man should have had such an experience! I wish I didn't think so much of the boy, for his troubles hurt me too much.
Do you remember Mr. Willis Paine? He has set his heart on having a "Village Improvement Society." So he has written to Miss Edna Gregory, one of our neighbors, and enclosed twenty five dollars as a beginning of our fund, and requests that Miss Gregory, Josie Kear and I endeavor to persuade the citizens of Yorktown to organize such a society. Next Tuesday afternoon we shall begin our canvas of the town. I am wondering what luck we shall have. The family have had much sport over it. They picture us shovelling snow and earth, carrying paint pots and painting fences, or sitting on the hotel piazza supervising and directing a gang of men who are building sidewalk. Niles has proposed that the Society buy a fire-engine, and Phebe Anna says she supposes Jo, Edna and I will run it.
Thursday afternoon.
This letter is a sort of journal, isn't it? Josie and Edna came Tuesday afternoon, and we talked "village improvement" and demolished a goodly quantity of Niles' chocolate almonds.
Last night we had our supper party in honor of Mortimer and Irene. There were just twelve guests and they seemed to have a good time. We have indefinitely postponed the dinner which we had planned for Saturday. Tomorrow I am going to Katonah to do some shopping. Saturday evening we expect a cousin, David Franklin Lane, a nice lad of twenty. He will spend Sunday with us. Monday Phebe Anna and I are invited to dinner at Conklins' to meet the Lees, in honor of the birthday of Mr. Randolph Lee who is Mrs. Conklins' nephew. We have received directions to bring Niles with us, but I don't know whether he can go. We shall go anyway. Tuesday is the day when we canvas for Village Improvement. Wednesday Miss Gregory, Irene and I will probably go to the city to see "The Little Minister." You see I am having a thoroughly good time, but I worry some for fear that I am nothing but a "cumberer of the earth." I don't seem to be doing anybody any good, or to be of use in any way.
This morning I began to worry for fear I was forgetting serious things and letting all the pleasant times give me too much pleasure. I have always been such a sober-sides and have always been digging so at something, that
thatthe year of pleasure and freedom from care seems sometimes wicked. But this morning I came across a nice text. "Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee." This relieved my mind.And now my epistle must draw to a close. Please don't think that I have delayed so long in writing because I wanted to do so.
Yours lovingly,
Gertrude.