Dear Mary:I was very glad to get your letter, and you are a dear old comforter. I am sure you are ever so much more of a comforter than I ever was. Helen didn't say anything about her German when she wrote, as she only wrote a little note to let me know she had returned to College. Isn't she able to go on with that course? I have had one tutoring lesson in my German. Miss Fitz is the tutor, but she isn't so bad, as her name by any means. She corrects the German prose books and is an assistant in the music department as well. She plays the organ for the Chapel exercises, as Mr. Hammond doesn't come up from Holyoke till nine o'clock. How very nice it is to have such nice relatives, who sympathise with me as you people do!
What a fine time Lena must be having. Clara Ridgway thought she must be enjoying going around to the big cities. I wonder how she liked "The Shepherd King." I wish you would tell her to write to me and Floss too. You know I wrote to them a good while ago. It was before I went home in December. And do you know it is only five weeks from next Tuesday and I shall be home again I hope. Helen hadn't any more than returned before she was counting the weeks before she could go home again. While she was home, sick the Misses Loveland came out here and they came to our room to get the key to Helen's room. I wasn't in but Inez gave them the key. I wished I had been here. They left a nice, pretty sofa pillow for Helen. They wanted to see Helen's room, and see where she is.
Last evening I went to the freshmen prayer meeting with Belle Godshalk. We meet every Saturday evening in the parlor of one of the Halls. The freshmen go to Porter. I guess there were about forty-five or fifty there. The subject was "What we have gained from the week of prayer." Most of the girls took part and it was a very interesting meeting. This morning a Rev. Newton Hall from Yale preached. He wore a senior gown, so he looked quite like an episcopal preacher, but I suppose he hasn't graduated from Yale yet. The sermon was fine.
Next week we bell-girls expect to have all we can do, for the Junior Promm. [sic] comes next Wednesay evening. Tuesday evening is the Glee club concert. This is a concert by the glee club of this College, to entertain the men you see, if they happen to arrive so early. They say they have fine decorations for the promm. [sic] but I can tell you more about that later. Just now the girls are very much troubled because Miss Woolley says they can't have open-house as they have had before. At Promm. [sic] time they have been allowed to take their men to their rooms and have teas for them. You see it would be very disagreeable for all the girls to entertain in the parlors. There would be just a jam, and the girls are not allowed to take long walks with their men without a chaperon [sic], as last year the village people talked and so Miss Woolley had to make that rule. So the poor girls feel very much put out for they don't see how they can entertain their men at all, but the executive committee of the Student League are going to Miss Woolley to-morrow to see if they can't prevail on her to let them have open-house as usual, for they think they have good arguments in favor of it.
I have just been to the door to usher in two men, and one of them is Clara Newell's promm. [sic] man, and she was rather supprised [sic] to have him come so early. She didn't expect him till Tuesday, and about a half hour ago another girl's promm. [sic] man arrived but she wasn't in, so he asked for another girl. It is lots of fun to see behind the scenes, for a good many times when one girl is out they will ask for another, and the girls are sweetly unconscious that they are not the first choice. Then it is interesting on the other hand to see how the girls take it when I give them the cards. Some times they act very much bored, perhaps it is all put on, but when they go down to the parlor they look very much pleased to see their visitors. Such are the privileges of a bell-girl, so if you don't receive another letter from me this week, you may know that my hands are full opening the door for young men. I was very much interested to hear about your music. You may be sure you never bore me when you write about it, for I am very much interested in what you are doing. Inez just saw the envelope to your last letter and she said how pretty the writing was. Whenever you hear all the particulars about "Charlie and Tilly", I shall want to have a full account. I don't wonder Mamma was disappointed[.] I guess I will close now with love from your Carrie