215 ATLANTIC AVENUE
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.

DECEMBER 10, 1923.

ARVIA DEAR:

OF COURSE, YOUR AUNT LAURA UNDERSTANDS, AND FORGIVES YOU. AND I AM SO GLAD THAT NOW WHEN YOU THINK OF ME, YOU WON'T HAVE TO FEEL HURT AND UNHAPPY. AND I DO WANT YOU TO PROMISE ME THAT NEVER AGAIN WILL YOU FEEL ANY SENSE OF FEAR WHEN YOU WANT TO TELL ME ANYTHING; NOR THAT YOU WILL EVER MIND FRANKLY EXPLAINING TO ANYONE, WHEN SOMETHING HAS GOT BEYOND YOUR IMMEDIATE CONTROL. IT IS JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE SO FINE AND SENSITIVE, DEAR GIRL, THAT YOUR HEART BLED WITH UNHAPPINESS BECAUSE YOU HAD FAILED FOR A LITTLE WHILE YOUR OWN IDEAL OF WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANT TO BE. BUT ARVIA, WE ALL HAVE OUR MOMENTS OF FEAR THAT WE SHOULD HAVE DONE SO AND SO. NO ONE EVER LIVED WHO COULD BE ABSOLUTELY PERFECT; AND LIFE IS TRYING TO BE WHAT WE KNOW WE OUGHT TO BE; SO THAT WHEN YOU MAKE SOME LITTLE MISTAKE, YOU MUST NOT BREAK YOUR HEART THAT YOU HAVE DONE SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN'T RIGHT; BUT MUST FEEL THAT YOUR KNOWLEDGE THAT IT WAS NOT QUITE RIGHT IS JUST WHAT WILL HELP YOU TO HAVE THE STRENGTH TO OVERCOME, AND MAKE IT ALL RIGHT.

I KNOW JUST HOW YOU HAVE SUFFERED, BECAUSE I HAVE SUFFERED IN JUST THE SAME WAY; AND BECAUSE I HAVE HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCE I FEEL YOU WILL TRUST ME WHEN I SAY THAT NOTHING MAKES US HAPPIER THAN TO TRY NOT TO GRIEVE ABOUT WHAT HAS BEEN UNINTENTIONALLY DONE, OR OMITTED TO BE DONE, BUT TO TAKE HOLD OF OUR COURAGE, AND JUST MAKE A CLEAN BREAST OF IT, AND TRUST. SOMEHOW, THEN, WE FEEL SO HAPPY, AND SO FREE, AND NO LONGER A VICTIM OF THAT HAPPENING.

YOU ARE SO BIG AND BRAVE, DEAR ARVIA, AND EVERYBODY WILL JUST LOVE YOU THE MORE, WHEN YOU ARE YOUR OWN SWEET FRANK SELF. SO PLEASE JUST TELL AUNT LAURA THAT YOU LOVE HER, AND I WILL TELL HER ANYTHING ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR INTERESTING WORK THAT YOU WOULD LIKE HER TO KNOW. I SO WISH THAT I COULD SEE YOU AND BROTHER. IT SEEMS AS IF I LIVED SO VERY FAR AWAY.

WITH SO MUCH LOVE AND SO MANY THOUGHTS OF YOU ALL, AND CONSTANT MEMORIES OF YOUR BEAUTIFUL MOTHER,

AFFECTIONALTELY,

MAY 6, 1926.

DEAREST ARVIA:

LAST NIGHT WHEN I REACHED THIS BLESSED HOME AFTER A LONG DAY OF CONFERENCES, AND RESEARCH WORK AT THE LIBRARY IN PHILADELPHIA, I FOUND YOUR LOVING LETTER WITH ITS EXCITING NEWS: MY, BUT YOU MUST FEEL YOURSELF THE PRINCESS OF A REAL FAIRY-TALE! HOW VERY GLAD WE ARE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN REWARDED FOR YOUR COURAGE AND CONTROL THAT FRIGHTFUL NIGHT, AND I AM SURE THE NEW FROCKS WILL WIPE OUT THE UNPLEASANT MEMORY, AND BRING THE ATONEMENT THAT THE GOOD R.R. KNOWS IS YOUR DUE. I SAW KIND MR. M. THE OTHER DAY, AND HE ASKED SOLICITIOUSLY ABOUT YOU, AND THE YOUNG MAN WHO GALAVANTED UP WITH THE SEAT PRICKED UP HIS EARS WHEN HE HEARD ME SPEAK OF YOU. YOU CERTAINLY WILL ALWAYS BE LOOKED AFTER BY THAT OFFICE. I HAD GONE IN TWICE BEFORE TO THANK MR. M. BUT HE HAD BEEN AWAY. I UNDERSTOOD THAT SOME TEN CLAIM AGENTS HAD BEEN IN TOWN TO CHECK EVERY-BODY UP, AND MR. M. THOUGHT YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD FROM THE R.R. -- AS YOUR LETTER PROVES YOU HAD.

MOTHER AND I ARE BOTH MUCH TOUCHED BY YOUR SWEET CONCERN: WE ARE ALL SO HUMAN, AND THE TOUCH OF CONCERN AND AFFECTION IS SO GOOD TO HAVE. YOU WILL REJOICE THAT YOUR AUNT NELLIE IS MUCH BETTER, AND TO-DAY IS OUT IN THE DELICIOUS SUNSHINE, AND OUR NEWS IS THAT MY UNCLE WILL BE RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL NEXT WEEK, AND THEN COME ON DOWN. I AM SO PROUD THAT LIFE CONTINUALLY GIVES ME THE CHANCE TO HELP, BUT MY ONLY TROUBLE IS THAT ALL SUCH THINGS TAKE ME FROM THE OTHER WORK THAT SEEMS SO VITAL. HOW PLEASED WE ARE THAT YOU DO LIKE THE POEM. MISS PROCTOR WAS A WONDERFUL WOMAN: SHE WAS AN HEIRLOOM OF FRIENDSHIP TO ME FROM MY GRANDFATHER, AND ALTHOUGH MORE THAN 50 YEARS OLDER THAN I WAS, IN HER YOUNG BRILLIANT MIND, WAS TO ME PRECISELY THE SAME AGE, ONLY THAT SHE KNEW SO MUCH MORE: YOU SEE, MY DEAR, WE HAVE LOST SO HEAVILY OF OUR PRECIOUS FRIENDS: YOUR DARLING MOTHER WAS THE FIRST TO GO, THEN MY GREAT HUSBAND AND DOUGLAS, THEN MISS PROCTOR, AND OTHERS. SOMETIMES, I KNOW THEY ARE ALL STILL AROUND, AND HOW I WISH I COULD KEEP THIS SHRINE WHERE WE ALL WERE SO HAPPY. BUT IT IS NOW NOT THE BEST WAY TO SERVE.

MISS PROCTOR AND YOUR MOTHER LOVED EACH OTHER. THAT POEM HAS ALWAYS SE MED SO PRECISELY YOUR MOTHER, AS IT WAS MY HUSBAND'S PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE. IN FACT, HIS ESSAY ON MILLET, INSPIRED IT, AND WAS ALSO MISS PROCTOR'S ANSWER TO MR. MARKHAM'S MAN WITH THE HOE. MISS PROCTOR WAS ABOUT 88 WHEN SHE WROTE HERE AT THIS HOUSE. DR. GOULD WAS SO MUCH

-2-

PLEASED WITH IT, THAT HE HAD 10,000 OF THESE LITTLE
LEAFLETS MADE, AND USED TO SLIP THEM IN HIS LETTERS --
A CUSTOM, AMONG OTHERS THAT I LOVE TO KEEP UP. I AM
ENCLOSING SOME MORE, AND I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO
DISTRIBUTE THEM AS AN OUTGOING MESSAGE TO YOUR MATES.
IF YOU WANT ANY MORE LET ME KNOW -- I WILL GLADLY SEND
THEM, THOUGH I AM SORRY THAT THEY ARE A LITTLE WORN
WITH TIME. MISS PROCTOR WAS 92 WHEN SHE WROTE
THE POEM ON DR. GOULD ALSO ENCLOSED. SHE FINALLY
DIED IN HER NEW ENGLAND HILLS IN HER 95TH YEAR. SHE
STAYED ON WITH ME FOR TWO YEARS AFTER MY HUSBAND DIED,
AND WAS AN INESTIMABLE BLESSING! IT SEEMS TO ME
THAT SUCH A PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE IS THE MOST EXCITING
ONE ATTAINABLE: THAT IS WHY I THINK WHEN ONE GAINS
SUCH A VIEW-POINT, SO MUCH THAT USED TO SEEM ENTHRALLING
IS REVEALED IN ALL ITS REAL EMPTINESS. I AM SURE THAT
YOUR BEAUTIFUL MOTHER GOT FAR MORE EXCITEMENT OUT OF
UNSELFISHNESS THAN THOSE WHO WOULD NOT HEED DIS FROM
THEIR PLEASURES: DON'T YOU THINK SO?

HOW I WISH THAT I MIGHT SEE YOU IN THE MIDST OF
ALL THE COMMENCEMENT JOYS; WHAT A LOVELY TIME IT WILL
BE, AND I KNOW HOW MUCH YOU ARE THINKING OF YOUR DARLING
MOTHER. LET US BELIEVE THAT SHE IS VERY CLOSE -- I AM
SO SURE OF IT. DO YOU KNOW THAT NIGHT BEFORE YOU SO
FINELY DECIDED TO TELEPHONE YOUR UNCLE, IT SEEMED AS
IF SOME UNSEEN FORCE WAS INSISTING -- AH ME, HOW LITTLE
WE MAY KNOW; BUT, AT LEAST, WE MAY ALWAYS HEED THE HIGHEST
IMPULSE, AND YOU DID IN MEETING MY FEELINGS, AND I AM SO
GLAD YOU WERE REWARDED. I SHALL THINK OF YOU
CONSTANTLY THROUGH ALL MY OWN FRIGHTFULLY BUSY DAYS, AND
IF I DON'T WRITE BE ASSURED THAT YOU ARE EVER IN MIND, AND
THAT I ALWAYS WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING YOU MAY TELL ME. AND
AM SO DEEPLY INTERESTED. YOU WITH YOUR WHOLE LIFE
BECKONING CAN BRING ME SO MUCHN AGAIN OF WHAT YOURA
MOTHER AND I KNEW TOGETHER: WHAT DAY DO YOU HAVE THE
COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES? AND WHERE WILL YOU FIRST GO?
I AM SO HOPING THAT WE CAN ARRANGE FOR BOTH YOU AND
BROTHER TO COME DOWN. I KEEP THINKING OF WHAT A BEAUTIFUL
RESPONSIBILITY YOU HAVE WITH BROTHER -- I HAVE ALWAYS
FELT THAT HE WILL BE VERY TALENTED, AND A MAN, A BOY NEEDS
A MOTHER'S COMPREHENSION SO MUCH, MY DEAR.

HERE IS ANOTHER SUGGESTION ABOUT THOSE INTERESTED IN
HELPING ON ARTISTS: THERE IS A COLONY AT SARATOGA, IN
MEMORY OF KATRINA TRASK (MRS. SPENCER TRASK). HER ESTATE
YADDO HAS BEEN TURNED INTO SOME KIND OF AN ART CENTER FOR
YOUNG STUDENTS. PROBABLY YOUR TEACHER MIGHT KNOW: I UNDERSTAND THE EXPENSE IS NOMINAL.

-3-

AND NOW COMES THE VITAL PART OF MY LETTER, WHICH I HAVE DELAYED UNTIL THE END, BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN THINKING AND THINKING JUST WHAT IT IS BEST ABOUT THE REALLY LOVELY LITTLE COAT, WHICH WOULD MAKE SO MANY HAPPY. ALAS, FOR ALL YOUR SPLENDID ENDEAVOR IN MY BEHALF, IT JUST DOES NOT HAPPEN TO SUIT MY SHORT PLUMP PERSON. PERHAPS, IF IT WERE EASIER FOR ME TO GET SBEATN FITTED, I WOULD FIND IT HARDER TO RESIST GETTING NEW CLOTHES, WHICH EVERY WOMAN LOVES. IT WOULD BE JUST THE MOTHER'S DAUGHTER TO HAVE MADE THAT FLYING TRIP TO MORRISTOWN, ESPECIALLY FOR THE COAT. PLEASE 'FESS UP: NOW DID YOU? YOU MUST LET ME PAY MY DEBTS AS SURELY AS YOU PAID YOURS! YOUR DEAR MOTHER WOULD BE SO PROUD OF YOUR SWIFT SURE TASTE, AND DO NOT SUPPOSE THAT WE DID NOT CATCH ALL THE LITTLE AND BIG THINGS YOU DID THAT PROVE YOUR FINE INSTINCTS.

STILL I DON'T KNOW JUST WHAT TO SAY ABOUT THE COAT, WHICH ALSO CAME LAST NIGHT. MOTHER HAS ALSO TREDED IT ON, IT BECOMES HER BETTER, BUT SHE IS NOT HAPPY IN GRAY. DID YOU NOT SAY THAT YOU BOUGHT THAT CUTE BLACK HAT FROM ONE OF YOUR CLASS MATES? SURELY THIS COAT WOULD COME IN WELL FOR SPORTS FOR SOMEONE? DON'T YOU THINK I HAD BETTER SHIP IT BACK? IT HURTS ME BECAUSE IT WAS SO PERFECTLY DEAR OF YOU TO THINK OF IT, AND I AM SO GLAD YOU CARRIED IT THROUGH. I THINK WE MUST ALWAYS BE SURE TO PUSH THROUGH ANYTHING WE UNDERTAKE: DON'T YOU? I AM SO GLAD YOU DID NOT HAVE IT CLEANED, FOR IT REALLY NEEDS ONLY A LITTLE TOUCHING UP. I WOULD LIKE TO BUY IT FOR SOMEONE WHO WOULD BE MADE SO HAPPY WITH IT, BUT I AM NOT ABLE TO DO THAT, DEAR. AND, OF COURSE, I KNOW YOUR DESIRE WAS TO HEKP ME, SINCE I ADMIRED THAT COAT, WHICH WAS SIMILAR, IN THAT WINDOW. BUT YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE SO MUCH -- YOU KNOW HOW I PRIZE MY LOVELY NECKLACE. HELP ME TO PLAN WHAT WE SHALL DO ABOUT THE COAT; I AM SURE YOU COULD SELL IT AND HELP SOMEONE IN DOING THAT, AND HAVE THAT LITTLE MORE TOWARDS THE GREAT EXPENSES THAT LIFE DOES ENTAIL ON ATTRACTIVE YOUNG LADIES, AS WELL AS OTHER FOLK.

SURELY, YOU WON'T REFUSE THE STAMP AMENITY:

OUR LATEST HOUSE EXTRA!! MY UNCLE HAS SUDDENLY ELECTED TO BOLT THE HOSPITAL, AND COME DOWN TO US TOMORROW! SO I AM TO GO OVER AND PICK HIM UP AT NORTH PHILADELPHIA. HE IS COMING DOWN FROM MASSACHUSETTS ON ONE OF THOSE SPLENDID THROUGH TRAINS THAT GO OVER THE MAGNIFICENT NEW HELL GATE BRIDGE, AND SO AROUND NEW YORK, OR UNDER IT, I SHOULD SAY.

MUCH DEAR LOVE FROM MOTHER AND ME, AND MISSING YOU.

SEPTEMBER 19, 1926.

ARVIA DEAR:

WHAT MEANS THE ENVELOPING SILENCE? IS ALL
NOT WELL? OR HAVE YOU BEEN AT WORK, OR JUST TOO BUSY?
I THINK YOU REALLY OWE ME FOR A LETTER AND A CARD, AL-
THOUGH I NEVER KEEP A DEBIT AND CREDIT BOOK. HOWEVER,
DO LET ME KNOW HOW YOU ALL ARE -- JUST A LINE. DID
YOU HAVE A HAPPY SUMMER, AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING,
AND WHAT ARE THE RIPENING OR RIPENED PLANS. I SHALL --
WE SHALL BE INTERESTED TO KNOW ALL YOU WILL CARE TO TELL
ABOUT EVERYTHING, ESPECIALLY INCLUDING BROTHER, OF WHOM
I SO OFTEN THINK. DID YOU GET THE LITTLE CHEQUE I
SENT FOR YOUR COMMENCEMENT? I WANTED YOU TO HAVE SOME
LITTLE THING YOU REALLY WANTED, AND TO SEND FLOWERS,
WHEN YOU WOULD HAVE THEM FROM OTHERS, SEEMED SUCH A
SILLY WASTE.

THE SUMMER HAS GONE NOT AT ALL AS WE PLANNED. MY
UNCLE WAS VERY ILL EARLY, AND WE BROUGHT HIM RIGHT HERE
AND NOW AFTER FOUR MONTHS HE IS COMPLETELY REMADE, AND
HAS RETURNED TO HIS WORK. THEN AN OLD FRIENED FRIEND
RECOVERING FROM AN ILLNESS NEEDED A CHANGE, AND COULD
NOT AFFORD ONE, SO WE BROUGHT HER HERE, AND GOT HER
WELL AFTER NINE WEEKS. THEN PRECIOUS MOTHER CAUGHT
A SUDDEN ACUTE ATTACK OF BRONCHITIS AND LARYNGITIS FROM
THE GREAT HUMIDITY AND DAMPNESS AND FRIGHTFUL NOISES,
AND WAS VERY ILL FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS. I NURSED HER
NIGHT AND DAY, UNTIL IT SEEMED BEST ALL AROUND TO GET
A NURSE IN FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS, WHICH KEPT MOTHER FROM
WORRYING ABOUT ME, AND GOT ME IN SHAPE AGAIN TO TAKE THE
FULL RESPONSIBILITY. SHE IS NOW PRETTY WELL, BUT
TIRES EASILY, AND I WATCH HER LIKE A HAWK. THESE THINGS
AND THE FACT THAT A.C. WAS FLOODED BY SUCH A COMMON
CROWD THIS SUMMER, KEPT ME FROM FINDING OUT IF WE COULD
GET A VISIT FROM YOU. BUT NOW THAT PEACE AND BEAUTY
HAS SWEPT AGAIN OVER A.C., AND WE ARE IN WORKING ORDER,
OR WILL BE IN TWO WEEKS WHEN JOHN GETS BACK FROM HIS
VACATION, I HOPE THAT YOU MAY FEEL LIKE GETTING A WHIFF
OF THIS BRACING CLIMATE, AND A SIGHT OF US! I THOUGHT
IF YOU COULD WORK IT IN THIS AUTUMN THAT I COULD MEET
YOU ON A MORNING TRAIN AT NORTH PHILADELPHIA AND THEN
WE COULD SPEND THE DAY AT THE SESQUÍAT PHILADELPHIA,
AND COME ON DOWN HERE IN THE EVENING? THAT WOULD
PRACTICALLY COST IN RAILROAD FARES ONLY THE ROUND TRIP
TO A.C., AND INSTEAD OF TAKING THE DIRECT EXPRESS TO A.C.
YOU WOULD TAKE A PHILADELPHIA TRAIN, WHICH ACCEPTS THE
A.C. TICKET AS FAR AS NORTH PHILADELPHIA. THE BEST
TIME OF THE YEAR HERE IS IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER, AND

-2-

GUYON WOULD NO DOUBT BE DELIGHTED TO GIVE YOU SOME
FUN. HE AND HIS OLDER BROTHER (WHO WON A SCHOLARSHIP
AT THE UNIV. OF PENN., AND IS CONSIDERED BRILLIANT)
WERE COBBECOGUA LIFE GUARDS ON THE BEACH THIS SUMMER,
AND GUYON SEEMED TO BE ENJOYING THE AVAILABLE GENTILE
GIRLS EXCEEDINGLY.

MY OWN CONSECrated WORK GOT SADLY DELAYED THIS
SUMMER, BUT I AM SCRABBLING AHEAD AGAIN, AND WORKING
TILL TWILIGHT, WHEN I GO FOR A RUN ALONG THE STRAND.
I AM GOING TO TAKE MY AUTUMN VACATION, BY VISITING
THE GESQUI ON DIFFERENT DAYS, FOR NOW THAT IT IS IN
FULL WORKING ORDER, EVERYONE THINKS IT VERY FINE.

DR. REIK HAS BEEN IN THE BEAUTY SPOTS OF EUROPE
FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS TAKING MORE PICTURES -- I UNDER-
STAND FROM HIS LITTLE SECRETARY, WHO IS JUST NOW HELPING
ME BY DOING SOME TYPEWRITING FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS EACH
DAY. ( BUT I AM WRITING THIS MYSELF, OF COURSE.)

I HAVE ALSO BEEN BUSY ATTENDING TO DETAILS CONNECTED
WITH SOME NEW EDITIONS OF MY HUSBAND'S BOOKS -- AND OTHER
THINGS.

THIS IS NOT A VERY LIVELY LETTER, ALTHOUGH MY WORK
TO ME IS ABSOLUTELY EXCITING AND ENTHRALLING -- BUT IT IS
THE DOING IT, AND NOT THE TELLING, THAT IS LIVELY --EH?

NOW, DEAR GIRL, DON'T WAIT FOR THE TIME TO WRITE A
REAL LETTER, BUT JUST SEND ME A LITTLE LINE TELLING ME
A BIT, AND WHERE YOU ARE, ETC., AND HOW YOUR FRIEND HAS
COME OUT FROM HIS SUMMER TREATMENT -- AND ANYTHING ELSE?

GIVE OUR LOVE TO YOUR DEAR FATHER, AND REMEMBER US
TO YOUR AUNTS, AND GRANDMOTHER BIRGE, AND TAKE MUCH
LOVE AND INTEREST FOR YOURSELF, AND DEAR BROTHER.

AFFECTIONATELY YOURS,

Miss Brower To Be Married

F. D. Brower Announces Daughters' Engagement to R. R. Crosby Jr.

Mr. Farrand Dodd Brower, of Harri-
man, N. Y., has announced the engage-
ment of his daughter, Miss Arvia
Brower, to Mr. Robert Ralston Crosby
jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ralston
Crosby, of 149 East Seventy-third
Street.

Miss Brower has made her home
with her aunts, Mrs. Thomas William
Cauldwell and Mrs. Emlin Pleasants
Franklin, in Morristown, N. J. Miss
Brower attended St. Mary's School at
Garden City. Mr. Crosby was gradu-
ated from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology in 1925.

The wedding will take place in
January.

Saint Mary's School
Garden City, N.J.
Monday

Dearest Aunt Laura,

I am so very much ashamed of myself for not writing before. Your picture looks at me very reproachfully and I feel dreadfully about being such a poor correspondent lately. Even now I am in the

THE HOME BY THE SEA

OCTOBER 26, 1929

DEAREST ARVIA...

THESE LETTERS, REDOLENT WITH ALL THAT ONCE WAS, PERHAPS STILL IS; BUT, ANYWAY, BECAUSE OF THE PAST, SO INFINITELY PRECIOUS AND SACRED TO ME. AH, THANK YOU, MY DEAR, FROM A FULL HEART. HOW INFINITELY TOUCHING YOUR LOVELY MOTHER'S TENDER LEALTY THIS KEEPING OF THE SLIGHTEST SIGN OF OUR DEVOTION. SOME-DAY, FROM OUT OUR MUTUAL LETTERS, I HOPE TO DRAW A LITTLE CAMEO OF WHAT SHE WAS TO ME. MEANTIME, THESE LETTERS WILL HELP ME MUCH TO CATCH THE FRAGRANCE AND THE BEAUTY OF MY HUSBAND'S LAST YEARS. I TRUST IT WAS NOT TOO GREAT AN EFFORT TO HUNT THEM OUT, FOR WELL I KNOW THE BURDEN OF HUNTING IN STORAGE. WITH THE MODERN RAGE FOR BIOGRAPHIC WRITING, AND THE VARIOUS LETTERS FROM LITERARY PEOPLE THAT I HAVE INHERITED, OR HAVE MYSELF RECEIVED, I HAVE COME TO SHUDDER AT THE SIGHT OF AN UNFAMILIAR SUPERSCRIPTION, FEARING A REQUEST TO GO A-HUNTING!

I DO HOPE THAT THIS SENDING MEANS THAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO BUILD A NEST IN THE EAST, AND TARRY AMONG SO MA NY WHO MISS YOU TOO MUCH; WHEN YOU ARE SO FAR AWAY, DOES IT? AND HAVE YOU ALL HAD A HAPPY SUMMER. DEAR ME, LITTLE ARVIA WILL BEG ARVIA, IF I DO NOT SEE HER SOON. MOTHER IS VERY WELL, BUT TO KEEP HER SO, SHE MUST BE SPARED ANYTHING THAT CAUSES THE FATIGUE OF EXCITEMENT; SO THAT WE ARE VERY LIMITED ABOUT ANY ENTERTAINING. AND I HAVE BEEN OVERWHELMED WITH KEEPING UP WITH EVERYTHING. RECENTLY, I HAVE PUT THE HOUSE INTO THE EXCLUSIVE HANDS OF SOME OF THE LARGEST REAL ESTATE CONCERNS IN THE COUNTRY, AND I HOPE THEY WILL SUCCEED IN GETTING US FROM UNDER THIS BURDEN. IT HAS BEEN A FAIRLY INHIBITING LOAD. THEREAS, I GRIEVE FOR THE LOSSES TO SO MANY IN THE PRESENT STOCK TRAGEDY; PERHAPS, NOW MORE PEOPLE WILL BE WILLING TO INVEST IN REAL ESTATE, WHICH THROUGH ALL THE WILD SPECULATION HAS BEEN AT A COMPLETE STAND-STILL- AT LEAST, HERE.

YOUR OLD ADMIRER, GUION JORDAN, WAS A LIFE-GUARD FOR A TIME THIS SUMMER, AND ASKED ABOUT YOU, AND LOOKED VERY WISTFUL WHEN I TOLD HIM YOU WERE SECURELY MARRIED, ETC. ALL THE JORDAN BOYS SEEM TO CATCH ALL THE HONOR REWARDS, ETC.

HOW IS BROTHER? WILL WE EVER MEET? YES, AND YOUR "BOB", IS HE NOW BETTER? WHEN YOU CAN CATCH A MINUTE, I SHALL SO LIKE TO KNOW ALL ABOUT YOURSELVES. WITH EVER SO MUCH LOVE AND GRATITUDE,

which she used to love to wear. I don't know who gave it to her but I know she would want you to have it and I hope you will like to wear it sometimes. I had it cleaned for you but I am sorry to say the jeweler was unable to get all of the stain off of it.

I should love to see you. Aunt Louisa, if you come to New York. There are so many things I would like to talk over with you and it does seem such ages since I saw you last. I could meet you any Saturday after the fourth of January (when we return there) but sure if you don't mind meeting me at the station as we are chaperoned by a teacher until we are put in some are else's care. It does seem rather unnecessary when I have been going around New York alone for five years and will be nineteen next month but they have to be strict with so many girls here and can't breaks the rule even if this is my second year as a senior. You see I am just taking English and art

this year so I would have something to do until next year when I expect to stay in New York. I haven't definitely decided on what I am going to do then but am thinking it over and expect to decide on something soon.

If you don't come to New York I certainly would love to come and visit you and don't worry about giving me an exciting time. It would be enough of a treat to see you and that wonderful ocean again.

No write me again, Aunt Louisa dear. I'm afraid I am a very poor correspondent, especially here at school but I will do my best to answer your letters if you find time to drop me a line now and then.

With very much love and wishing you a happy Christmas,爱亲