Friday evening [August 23, 1907]Dear Jennie,
I received your letter at Cricket's and we were going to write to you from there but Muriel said you owed her a letter and didn't feel sure you would want to hear from her so Cricket and I waited. Of course we had the best time. Mr. Strout was on his vacation so we didn't see him at all but got pretty well acquainted with Mrs. Strout who is just as nice as she can be and as much fun as Christine. Joseph is the dearest and is a very good looking boy. If only he were a little older! I suppose you would like to hear about all that we did so I will begin at the beginning and try not to forget anything. Peg said she never laughed as much in her life as she did this one week, and I don't believe I did either.
We got there Thursday at about six o'clock and Mrs. Strout had sent Cricket out on the pond so she wasn't there for a while. When she did come I sat in Mrs. Strout's room & she sent Cricket up stairs for her apron. When we saw each other we both yelled and then laughed for about five minutes. After that was over and we had calmed down her mother said she really did want her apron and when Christine went to get it she found Muriel in the closet. I never saw any one quite so surprised.
Next morning we went rowing on the pond - Greenwood Lake - which is the prettiest place & quite large too. I had been feeling bad when I started from home but thought I would be all right when I got there. However all the way up on the train I had kept feeling worse & worse and it was all I could do to keep around till Friday afternoon. Then I had to give up & go to bed and even to have a doctor, so I can't answer for what happened until Saturday afternoon. Then Christine took us through the seminary and about the village quite a bit.
While Mr. Strout is away there are no services in the Congregational church so we first did nothing all day, until late in the afternoon when we went to an open air Methodist meeting. After that we took a walk and by the time it was over and we had had supper 'twas time to go to bed.
On Monday we had a picnic in a pine grove on the opposite shore of the pond to the landing. We had a delicious lunch and after eating more than we could, we followed a path (?) through the woods till we got lost and after being found again tried another but failed to lose either ourselves or the path that time. And I mustn't forget to tell you about the pond lilies we got almost every time we went rowing. The edges of the pond were covered with them and I think there were literally thousands of them.
Tuesday we went farther off for a picnic, just Christine & Muriel and I. First a three mile drive to the railroad station in East Kingston, then six miles by train to Exeter, the quaintest old town and also the most aristocratic looking I have ever seen. From there a trolley ride of twelve miles and we were at Hampton Beach, on the Ocean. I had never seen the ocean before and it was all so different from what it is here that it seemed quite wonderful. We had lunch there and listened to a band concert at the Casino then went by trolley to Salisbury Beach, a few miles from there, the road being right along the shore all the way.
We had planned to walk to Great Pond Wednesday but it rained so we went fishing and to call on the "darlingest" little girl I ever saw instead. We played whist all evening Peg, Cricket, Muriel and I and laughed even more than we played.
Thursday morning it seemed as though we had been there a day instead of a week when we came away. Muriel didn't come home but stopped near Fall River to visit a cousin so I made the trip from Boston alone with my thoughts. You can't get much idea of what a good time I had from this letter but when I see you, I'll tell you lots more.
I'm so sorry your first "Prom" man refused. I haven't had a refusal any way though I'm no nearer a man than I should be if I had already asked a dozen.
Mrs. Walker gives a whist this afternoon and I must dress for it or I shall be late so good-bye for this time.
With much love,
Ruby.Please remember me to "Aunt Margaret" and Ella.