My dear Nell;-I am glad you appreciate that you have shamefully neglected me and since you do I'll not scold at all which I consider very magnanimous of me. I only complained of lack of time for letter-writing because never since my Freshman days have letters been such a solace to me nor have I so enjoyed writing them. Your idea that I am continually writing is however erroneous with the exception of Abbie. I have written long and frequent letters to her partly because hers are so delightfully full of College and class spirit and ditto news and partly because she really seems to enjoy my letters very much. Sara (and it was a most remarkable feat for her) wrote me a long letter immediately after the fire which I am ashamed to say I have never answered though I've tried my best to squeeze it in.
I envy you your lazy Sundays. Lately I've taken to cutting the evening service because I felt that I just had to have some idle time before beginning another week's work. So I come home from young people's meeting and in true Holyoke fashion make me a cup of chocoate, then read or write all the evening with feet propped up on the stove. You know my fondness for elevating my feet.
I had a letter from Reddy the other day all enthusiasm for the Berkshire plan and yesterday I wrote to Elizabeth about it. Don't you think Mollie would join us? I'll write to Caroline about it soon and I'm sure she'll be in for it. I don't suppose May Woodbury or the other '97 girls can go just as we couldn't last year. But speaking privately that won't be any serious drawback to us. I shall miss Abbie tho' greatly. I wrote to Miss Hooker some time ago about it but she has never answered - get hold of her as soon as you can. And what does Miss Purington say? When is the College commencement? I'm not sure but I believe ours is the 24th. What a lark it will be if it only happens!
It makes my heart ache to think how different the new Mt Holyoke will be from the blessed old place we knew and loved so well. I get very impatient with these people who talk progress and improvement as though we wanted Mt Holyoke to be like Smith or Vassar or Wellesley. Verily '96 was more privileged than even we used to dream with all our conceit. And Herr Bates' discharge makes me furious.
I haven't an idea where the Family Robin is, - no one seems to know. It passed me the week before Thanksgiving - I sent it on to Mary. I fear that it is too large to ever be as great a success as it was in its early days or as the '96 bird promises to be.
Your letter and the pretty little book came Christmas morning - I had them for breakfast in fact when I got back from the early service. I was very glad to hear from you, - I had longed for a letter so long, and the book just suited me. For several years I've had it in my mind as one of the books I wanted to read and so was overjoyed to have one for my very own. I've read about half of it and like it quite as well as I expected to. Please C. Y. K. & H. [consider yourself kissed and hugged]
Have you been having a jolly vacation and did you have a nice Christmas? I had a lovely Christmas but the vacation is very hum-drum and prosy [?] - house-work and mending and "sick" without a solitary bit of dissipation and no festivity except the mild form of it called the Sunday School festival.
Do you remember the black silk skirt Mamma gave me for Easter? Christmas the waist to it came. It is very pretty and becoming with a green satin front under white lace. She also gave me a very magnificent petticoat. The boys gave me a Bible which I sadly needed, then Auntie gave me a beautiful Longfellow and Elizabeth A Crown of Wild Olive. Abbie sent a very bright letter and some relics of the fire. I had a whole stack of lovely Christmas letters and the usual supply of handkerchiefs, calendars and fancy novelties besides the following pictures for the parlor - one similar to the little one I gave you last year, a lovely carbon photograph framed of the Mater Dolorosa, a framed photograph of our dear Bishop Coxe who died last summer and a framed photograph of one of the angels in Raphael's Madonna of the Fish. Besides G. Hyde sent me a little photograph of the Transfiguration.
I am in doubt whether to send this to Middleborough or to Merrick. Which ever way I do it will probably be better had I done the other thing. I believe I'll risk Middleborough.
I feel very sentimental over the passing away of our own best-loved year '96 and I find it much easier to "sing forever over the Past" than cry "Hail, all hail to the New!" For in our minds '96 holds a unique place that no glad New Year can ever hope to fill no mater what good things it may bring us. I wish there were a '96 girl accessible that together we might hold a vigil over the death-bed of our dear old friend whose name we so proudly bear. But since that is impossible my thoughts fly back to 36D and you and so to you I have given one of the hours of the last day of the year in memory of the hours we spent together when '96 was young and glad and all our own.
May '97 prove propitious to us and grant us a "flohliches Auf Wiedersehen," [German: happy goodbye]
Your loving Lucy Fish.
20 West Fourth St.
Jamestown, New York.
Thursday, the last day of the ever-glorious year eighteen hundred and ninety-six.