Women's Christian College
Cathedral P.O.
MadrasR.M.S. Oronsay,
Nearing Port Said,
July 31, 1934.Dear Miss Turner,
It was awfully nice to get your letter at the boat. I had a feeling no one in Woods Hole knew it & I was sorry, but Miss Stokey, too, managed to get hold of it. D. Elizabeth brought an awfully nice note from Dr. Clapp. Both Dr. Clapp & Mildred Moses spoke of your hearing nice things of my work from Howard & I'm vain enough to be pining to hear what they were! But if they shouldn't be passed on I can exist!
It has been mostly a good trip. The Atlantic was kind, North Sea horrid. There were three perfectly glorious days at Blaavand on the west coast of Jutland, a most heavenly place right on a gentle bit of sea, with heather moors for miles all around. It was more of a holiday than I've had at any time on my furlough, swimming & tramping and a very jolly time with a most charming Danish family with 6 youngsters & 2 extra cousins. Johannes Larsen was there & I now have his New Haven address. It will be 40-42 Lake Place. He lands in N.Y. on Sept. 10th on the Scandinavian-American boat Frederick VIII & I think it would cheer him to have a greeting. He's an awfully interesting lad, to be 20 on Sept. 11th. I told him about your invitation for a week-end & he looked interested. He's very keen on art as well as the theatre, & ballet, & John Galsworthy!
The trip from Copenhagen to Naples was adventurous. I was very sick between Gedser & Warnemünde, and again from the train on arrival in Rome. But the 3rd class top bunk from Berlin to München was fun & the ride through the Astrian Tyrol & Brenner pass was perfectly glorious. There were soldiers everywhere but it was peaceful. All the English papers had been snapped up in Copenhagen for news of the Dollfuss incident & results & in Germany none were to be had. I finally got the European edition of the N.Y. Herald at Bolyano (?), & it told a very different story of the world's attitude to Germany from what the German papers had.
I left Naples Sunday afternoon. This boat has only Australian & Italian passengers as far as I can see. They say the Italians grow sugar-cane in North Australia but I take any information handed out by my Australian table-mates with considerable reserve since I heard one of them argue that Mt. Everest was a volcano & another that Stromboli was Mt. Sinai! There are 32 British orphans, aged about 8-10, half boys & half girls, being shipped to Australia to be trained for farm labor. They seem tolerably happy, but it does seem a heathen proceeding - part of the emigration scheme.
I'm taking my temperature every morning to see if I get any kick-up when we reach the heat! Alas, I can't get my metabolism as Martin did. I want to get some navigation officer to get the records of air temperature but they seem to leave the 3rd class well to themselves. It was very hot the first few hours out from Naples but I've had a coat on all today & used two heavy blankets last night. We reach Port Said tomorrow morning & I'll get a topee [?] again. Port Said is such fun to poke around in. Then the heat will begin. The big dipper & pole star are getting lower & lower. In Denmark they were right on top of us. The southern cross should come soon.
I can't remember the date when you were to leave Woods Hole. I hope the fish behaved well & that you will have a good holiday. Please give my love to any of my friends there - Dr. Clapp, Miss Stokey, the Moses, Louise Boyden, Charlotte, & warm regards to Dr. Redfield if you see him.
Much love to you,
from
Eleanor.