To Bertha from Alice “Sally” –
(Date is approximate)
…coming but it certainly is nice think of so many of them going in. Oh! Yes, Francis Birch goes in from Maryland and Mason, I suppose, will make up a _____ appointment. In fort, he may be William’s first alternative. Your know that they were working for the same appointment. Well, about November the it of a senator discovered that all his men were at the academy already and he had no appointments this year. William promptly tackled another man and got the principal without competition and the senator says that about ten minutes after he mailed W.F. his papers, in came another mail and flooded him with pleas for the thing. But William has it.
Did I tell you that at Christmas, I saw Charles Palmer of Western ’20 who is a plebe? He was on sick leave and I felt quite tickled when he singled me out a big dance to talk to (he wasn’t dancing) because we hardly knew each other at school and I didn’t suppose he would recognize me.
Oh, yes! While I’m talking about boys, I may as well mention that the other day I was taking a walk ‘round the campus and I saw Isabelle Crank and a man sitting under the Odd Tree, (a tree near the summer house) well, I didn’t desire to worry Crank so soon after Odd _____ to be seen near the Odd Tree, so I stalked off across the grass for East Hall and so when the man left Crank came and told me that he was an illustrator and that when I passed, he had made me many compliments including that I had more poise than any girls he’d seen in the college. That is what friend Sally gets for pulling in her chin and holding her head up when there is a man in sight. I’ll try it this summer. Wasn’t that a nice compliment? (I think I have been spelling “compliment” as if it were the object of an intransitive verb but it doesn’t make much difference. I don’t know which is which and hope you don’t think this one is correct.)
It now becomes necessary to read my letter over and see what I haven’t said. Not having said anything I will proceed, although there is nothing to say but having written over an ounce already. I can’t waste postage by not writing a full 2 ounces.
The “bunch” gave Hades a birthday party in the University Women’s Club rooms at G.W. and Gwen and I were the only absentees. The cake was not full of cotton this time but the presents were as queer as ever. Poor Hades, it surely is a nuisance to be an April fool baby.
Alice Hersey went to Camp Devon for her Easter and enjoyed herself muchly. Said it was so long since she’d seen a waiter that she hardly knew how to behave at the mess. Thank goodness! Bessy _____ we in training but I’ll probably disgrace the family someway or other. Virginia is still progressing and still fixes the corner table with her glossy eye. I can fairly see what would happen if she were called, “Virgin-i-a.” Dr. Ayres has taken a great liking for me and button-holes me in the _____ frequently for long conversations and then, he winds up with, “How is Miss Bertha now?” I haven’t met Mrs. B nor Virgin-i-a so far.
Jenny Joues is very homesick and unhappy and calls down blessings (?) on France and all things French but especially the heating apparatus, she was recovering from _____ when she wrote and evidently had a grouch and her best friend had just left for the Riviera and Gwen wanted to go too long enough to warm her toes. In fact, she agrees with Papa upon the climate of France.
Miss Bowen is alright but not as strong as she was before her operation at Christmas time.
Miss Powel says I’m going to make 93 in English this time but I expect to flunk in everything else, that is. I’m worried about History and Dr. Arnold has gotten my record all tied up. (Told me I made 88 and turned in 80) and I fear I haven’t made A in math and maybe not even B and I think my Bible grade will be C instead of B and my daily work in Latin has gone all to pieces and my written work has taken a sudden and annoying flight up to D and what the average is I don’t know and I don’t believe Dr. Lipscomb does. Dr. Zdonowiz is a blessed old dear and I’m jealous of the Red Cross nurse that he is going to marry. He says he’ll put me in French III next year no matter what happens and if I want to take an exam on the IIB work (and he is sure I’ll pass) he’ll give me credit for it on my degree. And Dr. Lipscomb is a pill. He wants a poem, and evidently intends to have it. And it must be a literal translation of one of his plegéd old odes and it can’t be in free verse, nor even blank verse. Wow, isn’t he awful? Large chance he stands of getting such an article from me. Wow! Wow! Wow!
Oh! Yes, I am writing a description of character by conversation now for Miss Powell and I have chosen for my topic Mrs. Buttler discussing Mrs. Black. I have sketched Mrs. Buttler in a way which convulses my friends and which is, I think, true to life and I have long since found out that if I can once get Miss Powel giggling over one of my papers that is sure to be an A forthcoming. The result is that a person reading my paper would suppose I hadn’t a grain of sense or was imitating ______ word. I please her very much with my first narrative. It was the story of my efforts to yet Marcus post the conductor on the train and the buying of a thicket for him when we left. The cork came out so hard that I took a second look and changed bottles, but, as I say, if I die, you’ll know I’ve _____ my sore first.
East Hall is a fairly sensible hall but we have some awfully stupid people here and Celeste Sanford is me. The other night, we had fire drill and we all know we’d have it (the other halls had it the night before but our house. President went over an told them that we had our windows all down an our transoms shut and were sitting up in bed waiting for them so they let East go until next night) and I got out my coat and put on my nightgown but left my shoes on and the windows down and talked to the girl until it came off, but that stupid old Celeste, in spite of knowing that we would have it, she says she knew it, put away her bath rope and didn’t have a towel out (laundry just made up) and went to bed at 9 o’clock and she _____ minutes late to the drill. Poor old Celeste, she is so funny, but she is nice. Well, the next thing on the program is gym, so I’ll go and finish this letter when I come back.
Well, that is over. We did a maypole dance and had a hygiene lecture and no more gym for the rest of this week.
Well, I like Charles but I have a feeling I shouldn’t like him if I knew him as much as I do not knowing him.
Now, Beefy, don’t you think that if you had a nice long-legged candidate from Nigeria (I still start to say “freshman”) and he had a pass on the Southern railway (which, being son of the chief accountant of the _____, he has) that he ought to come and see you? I do. I’d forgive him if he had to rake up sixteen dollars to get down here but I really think he might come as it is. Don’t you? Well, I’ve got to take this letter down to Miss Laura and have it weighed. I fear that it is over two ounces but I’m not going to write a third ounce “no how no way.”
Lots of love and please don’t lose my beautiful book.
Sally
Oh! I’ll have to buy a new packet of envelopes to mail November 2nd.