Turist Hotel
KøbenhavnLondon, Aug. 25
Dear Honey:-
There will not be many more letters to be sent from over here. It makes the time seem short when Anne has only tomorrow here and goes next day to Southampton. I've made my plans all over again! This time, with the hope of getting to the Three Choirs Festival. Each year the choirs of Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester have a festival, at the cathedral for the year. They rotate. It's a great event. This year the dates come so that I can be there for two days.
See next sheet. - Then come back -
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See other sheet first. London, Aug. 27.
Somewhere, Honey dear, I have a letter started to you, but as I recall it said little and it isn't here! I'm in the lunch room we have frequented, in Trafalgar Square, quite alone! I saw Anne off an hour ago and I shall miss her sadly. We aren't really interested in the same things and she cares far mor about the welfare of her mortal frame in little ways, but yet we've hada first-rate summer together and I wish she could stay on. She'd like the cathedrals I hope to see, for she's a good Episcopalian. I hope she'll have a good voyage. Her trunk from Stockholm has made mighty close connections but the elderly Cook man assures us all is well, though it was sent down on a passenger, not a "goods" train to Southampton. She went early today to be sure it was all right.
Well - London is a great town. It's so huge and there is so much one wants to do - what is a week? I feel as if I made no impression on my desires at all. And there are things to buy, too. I have some handkerchiefs and I'm about to get some gloves - heavy only - and a raincoat. Mine will barely get me to the steamer - if that. But be it said that we arrived Sun. night and there have been four lovely sunny days and today is another, with a paper prophecy for several more! Wonderful! It makes a great difference. Maybe my raincoat will last.
I've looked at black lace scarfs and there is one set aside for me at Marshall & Suelgrove's, which I'm likely to buy for you. Anne & I both like it better than any other we've seen. I was disposed to buy you a real pretty Liberty one, colored, instead, but some how the glamour is gone from those - they are so everlastingly the same! But that sure is an elegant shop - it's new since 1922, you know. This scarf I have my eye on is Spanish - and doubtless much cheaper in Brussels, but when shall we be there? I think it will be pretty over light things, but if you dare wear it over dark ones, I'll discipline you! The net is varied in stitch and the pattern pretty, also it isn't big enough for Miss Hazard! Some of them are meant for her size only.
Note - my raincoat may be a dark red one. Be prepared! They are so much prettier. It's very evidently a red year here - maybe I can have anothr red dress. The shade is a lovely dark one, redder than henna, not quite a garnet.
Tuesday I went to Cambridge and had a wonderful time. Met Prof. Barcroft at the lab. and talked over my work for 3/4 of an hour - he thinks I ought to do another series by a different method - and it's just my own criticism all through the Harvard year. It was most interesting and valuable. The man in the U.S. who may be helpful in method is Anne Yates' successor at Bryn Mawr, an Englishman. That might take me to Phil. for a bit - which I could endure! Charlotte and Hazeltene are there. I would really like to do a decent job on this - say get ready during the year and plan a real series of exp. for Woods Hole in the summer.
Then I saw Prof. B- and a young pathologist operate for about 2 hours, one of the spleen experiments, of which I'll jot down the data so it will be down somewhere. Cat under urethane, anesthesia light of ether at crucial moments, but apparently urethane alone really enough. One of those perfect elderly dieners [?] to do the work on the edges. Tracheal and carotid canulas put in. Then the spleen was exposed and isolated, a big job, for there are lots of vessels going through the spleen to the stomach and elsewhere. They were all tied off and then cut and the organ left with its own arterial & venous vessels only. The vein empties into the portal. This was ligated ready to tie off and a cannula put in farther down toward the duodenum. Then a freeing of the artery made it possible to put on shielded electrodes so that the nerves along the artery going to the spleen might be stimulated. Then, with speed, a blood sample was taken (1) from the carotid, and fixed for counting, also smears made, (2) the same was done for the splenic blood after tieing [sic] off the portal & stimulating 1 min. (3) after 3 min. stim. (4) a control carotid sample. Post mortem on operation. The results are supposed to show what sort of blood is side-tracked in the spleen according to Barcroft's idea that the spleen is a reservoir for extra corpuscles. Very interesting to watch. Technic nearly up to the Porter standard of 1910.
Then I saw the town a bit and turned up, according to plan, for lunch with the Barcrofts. They live simply but nicely, are Irish and cheerful - Mrs. B- quite delightful. We had a most palatable lunch!
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Especially the apple tapioca pudding! There are two boys, the younger about 13, perhaps. They are silent until it appeared that I had been in an aeroplane, whereupon I took a quiz, rapid and searching, from this younger boy. It was fun - he was so bright. Then Prof. B- took me where I might buy a book or two, only I found little, and I made my train back to London. It was sad not to stay longer, but the going was well worth while and pleasant and friendly withal.
Next I got ready - but imperfectly - and Lenette Rogers appeared and took me out to a full-fledged party, for which my best clothes would have been suitable, at the nice Miss Munro's with whom Alma and Eva have been staying. She and her sister invited two brothers and wives, two other pairs, a[n] odd man and woman and possibly more to meet the 4 Americans. They live in an apartment and it was a sit-down supper in the parlor. Lots of sandwiches, with tea of course (passed with milk all in, but sugar added ad lib.) Then there was trifle (very pleasant) and 3 other desserts of which most ate at least two. All very good and conversation brisk & interesting. Then there was music, at least 5 or 6 people, and 3 of them up to Mrs. Evans, who sang well. All very informal - an English "home evening." Such nice folks they were - and so different, an elderly lady with wonderful white puffs, a sport of a young woman who had won a prize at golf, a mother of 5 children, &c - clothes from the up-to-the-minute of the golfer to absolutely awful raiment - yellow satin with dangling white lace and black fur - but all of the evening type. I wore my simple navy blue crepe! Such is life. But I had kept black shoes out at Stockholm though tempted to pack them in my trunk.
Well - we've spent time on those trunks, but I guess they're safe now, and we sure needed them in Stockholm. But Anne's did run a close shave. They told her the time would be less than it was, and Eng. red-tape about clearance &c is awful.
Wednesday we went to service at Westminster - or else that was Monday! I guess it was. Wednesday we shopped mostly and then went to a concert at Queen's Hall in the evening where we heard the London Pops, so to speak, a less formal run of the London Symphony now being in progress, with Sir Henry Wood as conductor, perhaps their best. There is one row of seats around the flor, then folks stand in all the middle. No tables there, but eating outside. Galleries with seats of varying price. We connected with Alma, &c. for this. Lovey music & pleasant time.
Yesterday, Thursday we did some errands - more trunk - and got out to Windsor. That surely is interesting. We were in the last crowd to go around the State apartments and it was most interesting to compare them with Stockholm. Of course they're grander in most ways, especially the value of the pictures, but yet the doors and floors aren't nearly as elegant as the lovely carved & inlaid things in Stockholm. The tapestries impressed me as much as anything and also the saying that the last time almost all the rooms were used was in 1909 - in other words the thing is spasmodic anyhow, but there's the long break of the War, not yet recovered from. There was one room where some smallish banquets are held, and that has been used rather often. Many people - one could not really see much. We went over to Eton a few minutes, though not into any buildings and then had some lunch in Christopher Wren's house, with rooms of fine proportions, mouldings, fireplaces, &c.
The National Portrait Gallery - to see the English nation. It's like biography in its charm, and there are all those scientific folks!
Today has gone to odds & ends - it's now eleven, almost and I'm sleepy. I've bought gloves, the red raincoat & your scarf. I hope you'll like it - it seems reasonably good to me. Oh, yes, I have another small token for you - it'll amuse you, I think. The things I have make little sense, I fear, except a few. But my raincoat is great! You ought to see the one I didn't buy at Burberry's - 13 guineas, double silk - "proofed." - There's a hot spell, but I'm cool enough to shiver a bit.
Plan to go from here to Gloucester Aug. 30 - to Hereford, Aug. 31, Sept. 1 - to Malvern Hills, Sept. 2-7, to Worcester (or to commute in from Malvern) for festival Sept. 7 & 8, to Winchester & Southampton Sept. 9. Isle of Wight given up for the festival.
Your letter about the birds most interesting. I'd love to see them. Much love.
Goodnight
Abby