My dear Nell,The '96 Robin came to me yesterday and is even now on its way toward our perfidious member M. A. S. Elizabeth writes that the Family Bird is in Jessie's clutches. After three months' education at Granville, I suppose it will now be laid up in the hospital an equal length of time. If it is, however, I shall try to put the ΣΘΔ plan in operation & see if we can make that work. And how did meek little Caroline get cheek enough to remove Abbie's squelch? - I am glad Abbie forwarded another to Gertrude.
How I envy you & Abbie your opportunities of seeing each other and other people. I am looking forward to a great visit with Martha Snell when she gets back. She expects to be at the College Wednesday, returning to Amherst, I believe, Thursday p.m. and was to be yesterday & the day before. I hope you & she may run across each other. She comes home the last of the week.
I am all in a muddle about the summer but shall trust to my eager longing for you all to take me to whatever you do. And anyway the mere planning is fun these hum-drum winter days when one does little but get up, teach school & go to bed. I do want to go to Maine "dretful" but it is so very far from here and would cost such a lot to get there. Whatever we do I want hills, I can't stand a flat country. I certainly should expect to be drowned if I ventured into a sail-boat unless some very experienced old salt was running it & wouldn't that cost a lot?
It must have been fun to see Mollie even though it did disappoint you not to get home. I'd like a breezy talk with Mollie myself.
I suppose you received my New Year's letter. I am writing this so that you may have no excuse for not writing & because I felt a triple lonesome for 36D this evening, not because I had anything in particular to say.
I send you a copy of our High School paper partly because you may be interested in looking it over but especially on account of the article in it by your townswoman. Miss Dickinson, you know is Gertrude Robinson's Wellesley chum. The editors asked her for something about her European trip. Now Miss Dickinson is fat & lazy but withal good-natured, so she acquiesced but couldn't bring herself to do it, so at the last moment palmed this thing off on the poor editors who had nothing to do but take it in spite of its having no connection with Jamestown, for the statement that she was with Miss D. is only a pleasant fiction, she being merely the sister of Miss D.'s chum!
Good night and good luck to you.
Your loving Lucy B.
Sunday, January 9, 1898