A Letter written on Oct 9, 1926

[Some paragraph marks added for ease of reading]

Tientsin, China,
Oct. 9. 1926.

Dear Abby;-

I have thought of you often since I came to Tientsin for I have been seeing and doing so much here that you would enjoy. We finally were able to come through Korea as we first planned. We stopped two days at Taikyu with Nan Bruen's parents and had a delightful visit. They are very unusual people and would grace any place and station and they are giving their lives so sweetly and gladly for those wretched people. They have a hospital and a lepers' sanitarium in connection with the mission, and are curing the lepers who are not too far advanced. I met the Dr. at the head of it and one of his colleagues and they seemed fine men and on their job.

We were in Seoul three days with the Koons family. That is quite a city. The Severance hospital is doing a fine work, Dr. Ludlow, head surgeon is, I judge, a big man, and withal a nice one. A Korean, Dr. Li (probably not correctly spelled) had just returned from study in America, and Dr. Ludlow was most enthusiastic about him. Said there were few more promising surgeons. He had made this foreign study possible for him, apparently, hoping he would devote himself to Severance hospital, but he said he had not made him promise to stay. He wanted him to do it voluntarily if at all. We had a fine visit with Jessie Willis Brockman. She has a nice husband in charge of all the Y.M.C.A. work in Korea, and two nice daughters.

Our journey from Seoul to Mukden was not comfortable and pleasant, but from there on the cars were dirty and uncomfortable. However, we were not held up neither did we have any unpleasant experiences, so we were thankful. We are making our headquarters with Marion McGown Evans. She has a nice home and a lovely family of children to which will be added another presently. Yesterday she gave a reception for us to all the American College women in Tientsin. There were about forty present and I understand that was not nearly all of them.

But I started out to tell you about Dr. Ting and I must pass over other things for the present. Day before yesterday afternoon she came for us in her car and took us to her hospital. It is the immaculate place I have found in the East. She has a sunny, pleasant waiting room with comfortable chairs &c. She has been there at the hospital four years and in that time has spent $10,0000 (Mexican) on repairs. The government and the police used to pay something for toward the expenses, but now apparently they have nothing to pay. She says it is nearly self-supporting now, although many of the patients pay very little. Anyway Dr. Ting seems to have no end of wealthy friends who give her money when she asks for it. One of the things she has done is to put in bath rooms. She has also put in a heating system and big sky lights in the main corrider [sic] so that instead of a dark, damp passage, it is light and sunny. She has places for thirty patients, some private rooms, and some wards. She has a t.b. ward, and an eye ward. A new maternity ward has been opened in memory of her father who died last summer. She has developed a nurses training course, beginning with some flood refugees but continuing because there was such demand for the training she gave. Her operating room looked very complete and correct to my uneducated mind.

Some of her consultation rooms are not in use in the afternoon so in one of them we found a small kindergarten and in another a primary school. She said the room might as well be kept busy. In one of the courts in a crib was the most forlorn big of humanity, about two years old with a face ten years old at least. It was an illegitimate child picked up by her when only a few days old. She told a wealthy acquaintance that if she would take care of the child the first year while it needed a nurse all the time she would then take it over. The poor baby had one sickness after another and did not grow, but she has taken it now and is caring for it. Recently she has acquired a very attractive house in the Italian Concession which she uses for wealthy maternity cases. Such women did not like to go to the hospital and there was no place in town. She has room for only three or four at a time but it is full most of the time. In this house she has rooms for herself to which she can escape when she is tired or needs rest. The house is very beautifully furnished and here she gave a grand Chinese dinner to us and the Chinese Mt. Holyoke girls (Soo Yuin Ting, now Mrs. Yin, Von Ling Lee, now Mrs Kwan, and Grace Liang.)

In the French concession she has a clinic three mornings in the week. She explained that she went out early in the morning because it was good for these women to get up early in the morning instead of lazing in bed. Her latest venture is that of starting a high class tea room for the upper class Chinese people. She explained that she was not running it and did not want her name attached to it. She has interested some other Chinese women of leisure in it for, she explained they needed to have something to do to keep their minds off from themselves. She is interested in a girl who wants to study medicine in the U.S. Her parents are old fashioned and want her to marry, but she is bent on being a doctor. Dr. Ting wants her to go to Mount Holyoke for a year and then to U. of M. She is applying for scholarships and if she gets them Dr. T. will pay her expenses to America. And so I could go on. There is no end of the things she is doing. I understand she is a little difficult to work with, somewhat domineering, but things do not move fast enough for her in the Orient, and she herself does the work of several persons. She certainly is a General, and a wonderful woman. I am glad to find how very loyal she is to Mount Holyoke. You and Miss Macomb she speaks of with especial affection.

The Chinese girls here are lonely and we are having a wonderful time with them. We had tea, with other friends, at the Liang mansion on Thursday, and last night we and the Evanses were invited there to a "family Chinese dinner." It is a lovely family, cultured and travelled about whom more anon. Soo Yuin has just moved to Tientsin and is staying with Dr. Ting until she finds a house. She has a bouncing big boy of 10 months or so to whom she is devoted. Von Ling married a young architect and they are evidently on easy street. They have a new house in building which we saw the other day, and it is really very imposing. The ceiling and walls of the dining room are being decorated by men who used to be employed at the Imperial palace, and it is quite stunning, with dragons and all sorts of symbols. There are three children, the eldest 5 years and the youngest about a year and a half. Von Ling does not look very strong but is very attractive. We dine with her tomorrow night. I like Chinese food and can manage a meal with chopsticks!

We spent one night with Carolyn Sewall and saw the Amer. Board Compound and had a ride on the river in a sampan. Her work is in the country, travelling about and she is a dear. I could write on and on but "there are others." I think Miss Macomb and Miss Smith might like to see this. Grace Liang spoke with great affection of Miss Macomb. We are having a wonderful time, and things seem to be working out for us to see what we want to in China.

Love from Miss Greene and yours truly -
F. P.