Mount Holyoke College.
South Hadley, Mass.
April 27 - 1897.Dear family:-
Harvey used to say that what other people did or did not do made no difference with our duty, so I suppose I should write to you, though I have received no letter from you this week. Was Sunday too hot a day for you to go to church, or is your silence due to some other cause?
This is a busy week with me for besides my usual work I want to accomplish a good deal on my Bible essay, and there are two free concerts by Miss Villa White, also a lecture on Darwinism, and an appointment at the Observatory, and tonight '98 has a class supper which class spirit demands that I attend. Gertrude has her last year's roommate visiting her this week, and her presence limits our time for study somewhat.
Did you too receive a letter from Ida, asking if you would attend the wedding on the fifteenth or the seventeenth? It is just the time of examinations here. Tuesday would be an impossible day for me, but on Thursday I have only two recitations. I asked Miss Bradford, who gives the girls permission to leave town, about going. She thought I could if I could make arrangements with the two teachers about my exams. Miss Corwin was quite willing to let me make up the work afterwards, but Miss Cowles said that it was one of Mrs. Mead's rules that no girls should ask a teacher to give her a private exam so that she might go away, and furthermore she
shouldwould be so busy that week that she could not give me an exam anyway. However she would consult Mrs. Mead, which she did, and Mrs. Mead said that I might go since it was so important an affair as a family wedding. So I wrote to Ida that I could go on Thursday, though it will be very hard for me to go away and my exams will suffer thereby. I suppose you would like as much time as possible before all your brothers and sisters fall like an avalanche upon you. I should think that unless the reasons for an earlier wedding were very pressing they would wait until the very last of the month when Harvey and Dedie will be here. You are not surprised that they are coming? Take it calmly. Let us all write and have him find letters awaiting him at San Francisco.I see by the papers that our honored relative, Senator Holman, is dead. The only thing I have against him is that he hindered scientific investigations and progress by curtailing the appropriations for such purposes.
Wed. morning.
The class supper last night was a decided success. Lots of people seemed to be hungry. Our menu was salad, cabbage, lettuce or potato, ham, deviled eggs, potato chips, hot bisciuts [sic], olives pineapple cake and lemonade. They made about twenty-five dollars besides paying expenses. This is to help toward Junior Prom, the expenses of which will be something more than one hundred dollars. Where the rest is to come from is a question. Perhaps the Llamarada board will give a little of their riches toward making up the sum.
How does house cleaning come on? and has ploughing and planting begun? You will try to have a good garden planted this year will you not, and don't forget lettuce and tomatoes. Mr. Pomeroy has been getting out fruit trees at a great rate. He also has a new horse, to match his brown one. The pair work at the college every day, and Nell stands serenely in the barn or does errands.
The Seniors are to move into the Mary Brigham next Saturday. Miss Edson is in a great rush tying comforters, which are white cheesecloth, and making sheets and pillow cases and in getting supplies in general. They are going to have a house warming next week.
The new catalogues came out last night. Of course there are some changes in it. The pictures of all the new cottages are in it.
Goodby -
With love.
Susie.