Stanford Student Letters and Memoirs

[written] p. 30 25

[typed] Roble Hall Sunday [written] Nov '96

[typed] My dearest Nannie -

Can't for the life of me think what date this is but it is a week before this letter reaches you at most and five days at least, so I'll leave the mathematical computation to you, as "sich like" isn't in my college course.

Ther is but one fact of particular interest to relate this week that I can at present think of. Lat Wednesday, Mrs. Angel called and invited me to an informal little card party for Friday evening-- with apologies for my being the only student there; of course I was flattered & tickled to death and accepted with utmost pleasure. By Friday it occurred to me I had not earthly means of getting there, and Dr. Angel said two bachelor profs were the only ones going from the campus. But I was pretty sure Dr. and Mrs. Fairclough - the Latin professor - would be going, and as I knew them a little from Episcopal affairs I mustered courage to call and ask if I might go with them. Mrs. Fairclough 5 a chirping little English woman was too lovely for anything and said she knew I was a well bred girl for not going alone and would be very pleased to undertake my chaperonage! So much for your niece! I wore my crêpe waist & broadcloth skirt and did so enjoy the pretty home lighted by candelabra & an enormous great flickering fire in the hallway. Of course they had to go & play six-handed euchre which paralized me as I never played it in my life, and of course I found myself speechless for a second time at the second table with Prof. Smith, Prof. Marx, Prof. Kellog & Campbell & Dr. Fairclough the only girl as all the female partners had progresses. I was in misery & was thankful when at the second bell Dr. Fairclough, Prof. Campbell & I were victorious enough to move on to the head table where we found Dr. Angel, Miss Peet (Dr. Peet's pretty coquetish blue eyed daughter) & a Miss Roberts. Refreshments interrupted our victory there, when Prof. Allardice appeared & we ate delicous fried oysters & sandwiches, black coffee & cake together while having a very jolly time - he is the brilliant Edinburgh mathmatician you know, who is just as nice as he is peculiar. Soon we went home; and Dr. Fairclough is about the loveliest man I ever met (including, I think, Charles) he cheered up my terrified introduction to euchre in the most considerate way & was so thoughtful all evening.

The lights are going out and I have thought of a million things I wanted to say - so shall anyway - I began by not wanting my Sunday letter delayed by procrastination which Wordsworth considered a legitimate excuse but the lights are combining with the clock to present in my good intentions.

The sigma sigma senior & junior inter-fraternity is going to give a dance either the 11th or 18th and Mr. Abbot asked me for it which I accepted as all the girls are going and it is to be a pretty party.

I missed the chance of my life to do the polite by Mrs. Stanford last Saturday by my laziness - she was visiting the Hall & asked to see some of the rooms - Mrs. Clements told her she would show her mine and of course I had just gotten up and it was kicking its heels so that by the time I had thrown things in order Mrs. Stanford was driving off - served me just right, didn't it? I am rooming alone now as Miriam is going to come & go every day for the rest of the term. She has shown a wonderful insight into the depths of her sorrow by her cheerful sameness of dress and manner just a jolly & bright as before a fact in itself which makes you know every minute how keen & deep the experience was.

[written] 6

[typed] Sunday Morning - Jan. 23 - '97

My dearest Nannie -

There is just a few minutes before the Episcopal Sunday morning bus come and I will have time to begin my letter to my Nannie. After church I am to dine with Mrs. Gilman, Mrs. Cullin's sister in Palo Alto, and afterward Helen and I are going to call at the Anderson's in Menlo Park and then at Mrs. Stanfords. Mrs. Anderson has her paralyzed bedridden mother with her, also Prof. Anderson's mother and uncle. Prof. A. says she gets lonely with so many old people and far away in Menlo.

Oh' the Jordan birthday party was perfectly lovely. Dr. Jordan's 46th birthday. He did look so grand and handsome and for the first time actually appeared in a dress suit. He was a great big courtly gallant. Mrs. Jordan was very sweet and pretty in a becoming dark Washington gown with a good deal of crimson about it. Mrs. Stanford was there, Prof. & Mrs. Anderson, Dr. & Mrs. Brauner, Prof. & Mrs. Hudson, Prof, & Mrs. Murray, Prof & Mrs Smith, Prof. & Mrs. Lenox -the four bachelor profs--Mr. Allardice, Kellog, Campbell & Young. Mrs. Baker and few of the girls & boys - with some of the musical people to play, the Dully family particularly who have wonderful talent - two brothers play on the violin, accompanied by their sister. I felt wonderfully honored to have Dr. Stillman come up to me when I was talking with Prof. Allardice and one or two others and tell me Mrs. Stanford wished to speak with me. She was very lovely & gracious and was very appreciative of the call we made. In the middle of the evening Dr. Jordan ushered Mrs. Stanford into the dining room where there were three immense birthday cakes with forty-six candles ablaze around them. Edith managed the whole affair, and asked me to cut the icecream. Prof. Allardice escorted me home and ended an evening I shall never forget. One of the girls in the Hall had very seriously hurt her eye so I spent the rest of the night till almost three o'clock taking care of her, as her roommate was tired. The next night b was a screeching Pasmore invitation concert, and the evening after Mrs. Baker had the Zete boys & Prof. & Mrs. Hudson to dinner. In the evening we danced and made candy in Helen's chafing dish. Saturday morning there was a meeting of the executive committee of St. Agnes guild at Mrs. Faircloughs, and it was decided to have an informal meeting and tea for all the members there next Saturday. I have forgotten to say that the bus came for me yesterday when I was writing and that now it is Monday immediately after luncheon. After church Mrs. Gilman took me home and such a good dinner as we had! Just a roast beef dinner with best plum pudding I ever at. afterwards wine jelly, fruit, nuts etc - with claret that this Roble chicken greatly enjoyed. Mrs. Gilman has two splendid sons in their teens and soon to enter college - one is 6 4in. tall the other 6. 2+. The girl Mary is a healthy fourteen year old little beef eater. Mrs. Gilman's mother was also there. All are fine looking English people & Mrs. Gilman is lovely. Afterwards I met Helen in Palo Alto & we took a bus to Prof. Andersons. He has a lovely home just entering Menlo Park - a very large green house in the midst of a great field of oak trees and the most beautiful view of both ranges of hills. Mrs. Anderson could not leave her mother so we did not see her. But Prof. Anderson was so lovely. His mother helped him entertain us. She is a very old lady with a wonderfully sweet face & cultured voice and

[written] 9

[typed] Roble Hall Sunday - Jan.3-'97

My dearest Nannie -

Last evening I came back from a very pleasant New Year with the Mynicks and now that dear little Lolie has gone to take her bath, I will have time to write. She tells me she forgot to tell you about Christmas day. I don't know whether that included a little impromptu card party the night before or not. But I believe I told you about that in my last letter. At any rate Mrs. Baker who has lived at the Zet Psi fraternity house ever since her son entered asked us to take Christmas dinner with her together with the Haskel girls and their mother, Marylyn Main and Alice Colt. The things did taste so good and it was such a pretty dinner, afterward we danced--three of the boys were home, and the evening went in a twinkling. The Monday afterwards Theodora went to San Jose and I suppose has told you all about that. Thursday I put on my green skirt and waist and went to the city on the noon train, and spent a couple of hours shopping before I went out on Broadway to the Mynicks. I found at Sammuels a blue English serge suit - close fitting- double breasted, small sleeves, velvet collar & tailor finish all exactly what I wanted & made to wear shirt waists with too like this [sketch of a dress as described] all for 23.50 reduced from twenty-seven. I shall like it because it is different from the half-fitted jackets so common and like my last winter black serge. It is very stylish too & has quite a distinguished air I flatter myself. I also invested in four pairs of excellent stockings at Drane & Hueshil woods for a dollar and a black merino petticoat. And in a trice did all my little errands and went up to Mrs. Mynics by five-thirty. We had a very delicious turkey dinner, lighted candalabrae with red berries. Judge Mynick had asked Mr. Pomeroy to dine and is he all enthusiastic about Stanford where he taught law last year, we had a very congenial time. His father is of the law text book fame. In spite of an engagement he had to watch the old year out he stayed to help extole Prof. Anderson with me and before he knew it he stayed the evening too. After he went about eleven o'clock we went to a Presbyterian watch meeting and issued in the New Year singing hymns. The next day I didn't wake up till nearly two O'clock in the afternoon when Couisin Emma called me and then we went out to the Cliff House for a ride. The day was about the most perfect I ever saw in San Francisco so clear that we could see the Farolon Islands. That evening we met Miss Brewer and Mr. Wilcos at the theatre where we saw the Trauley Co. in "The Great Unknown" - a pretty little society comedy with Frank Worthing the most attractive player. The next day Mrs. Mynick went with me while I did some more odds & ends of shopping - getting my dress which I left to be refitted & which I found most satisfactory and then we had such a delicious little luncheon at the University Club. I came home on the four-thirty train finding Marylyn Main and also Prof. Allardice. He is the brilliant Edinburgh professor in Mathematics and exceedingly entertaining. At the Hall had the happiness of finding Mrs. Baker installed as mistress of the Hall. Dr. Jordan had told me that Mrs. Clements was going to go and then Mrs. Baker would be our temporary house-mother--most delightful news and the dear precious man took such pleasure in telling it. It is so good to see him walking past the hall again, when

[written] 13

[typed] March 2, '97 Tuesday afternoon

My dearest Nannie

Am ever and ever so sorry I have been so long about getting this letter off; but this Friday and Saturday have been so full I didn't have time - with an examination today in Art History.

I did not go tto San Jose to the Glee Club concert and party as Helen and I had an invitation from Prof. Allardice to an informal little evening at the bachelor professor's house. We felt ourselves so honored that we wouldn't have refused for worlds. Only a few of the girls were asked, with Dr. and Mrs. Fairclough and Mr. and Mrs. Hodges as chaperones. Prof. Allardice, Prof. Campbell, Prof. Kellog and Prof. Young are ther four bachelors and the evening was in honor of a brother bachelor from San Francisco and a Mr. Snow who has just joined the faculty in the botany department. It was about the loveliest time I ever had on the campus. At first we played cards - hearts - and later foot-ball with an empty egg in the dining room table to be blown from one goal to the other - the most laughable thing in the world to see the professors blowing in the excited intervals when they were not roaring with laughter. The guest Mr. Stadweller was a very finelooking young man with very polished manners. The house was delightful with its bohemian collections from all parts of the world and its great roaring fires. I tell you it takes a lot of men to entertain well.

Saturday Theodora wanted me to into the city with her so I did and such a good time as we had. Mr. Stadweller went down in the bus with me to the train and there I found Mr. Pitcher - Sigma Rho Eta who was very anxious that I go to the baseball game in the city played by Stanford and some northern players but of course I didn't care to. He made a very pleasant escort however as far as Burlingame where Theodora got on. We looked at spring tings till we were tired to death - and I took my organdies for Miss Strander to make the high necked waist and Theodora got here some peach alpaca for an everyday skirt which she also took to Miss S. We saw some very pretty plaid greens silk at .50 a yard that Theodora got for me fo a shirt waist; and we bothe of us got 8 yds of linen for skirts instead of duch skirts. The silk shirt and the skirt makes a lovely combination. We waited till the 6:30 train so as to have dinner at the Palace Grill - I never enjoyed anything so much - such a delisious steak and coffee! It made me realize what poor stuff we lived on here.

Theodora came back here with me and went Sunday afternoon. Sunday morning weAlice Colt and I went to church and there I so Helen Lathrop and Eidith Cullen with Mrs. Gilman. I went home with them for dinner and a plum pudding and Helen drove me back in the little dog cart in time to see Theodora before she went.

Helen and Edith are coming to stay Wednesday night with me. Possibly we will have an invitation initiations at Miriam's house next Friday night and I shall take my new shirt waist and skirt down to Miss Smead(Ithink) to make up.

The summer things are so pretty, such lovely plaid linen skirt waists and dresses and beautiful organdies but not one so pretty as mine.

Yesterday I had to study for this art history examination which passed off easily this morning - by way of letting you know what we have been doing I'll enclose the questions. So far I have not been able to get ahold of the desired Sequoia but still have hopes - I never can catch the editor. The rain has begun against but we cant complain after this beautiful winter. I am so sorry my Nannie has the ...(I can't spell it but you know what I mean. Helen Lathrop sent ever so much love to my sweet aunt.

Very loving Toodles

We have hopes of having the dining room in entire charge of a very excellent lady who will make it dainty and pretty beside furnishing good things to eat...at present it is very poor.

[written] April 10 '97 23

[typed] little man who when he is unbent proved very lively and interesting and above all a most jovial host. He of course has been everywhere with the Stanfords and was young Leland's tutor.

I caught a glimpse of Mrs. Myrick a day or two ago with a whole bevy of society girls - She was in her most tickled element especially as she had dear Prof. Allardice in tow too. She looked very pretty indeed and was very sweet - and airy. I went through some of the chemical labs and it was great fun to see Prof. Young display his chemicals to them.

The hall seems deserted as Helen Younger and number of the girls have gone to the city to shop. I am giving my bed a good sunning out of my window and think it is about time to take it is. Mrs. Rice just asked to show off the room to a friend - it is one of the show off rooms I find owing to its sunshine and pretty views. Don't forget to send the answer to the book puzzle - "cross eyed sons" is as far as I can get in it and I am sure I never read such a book. Thank you so much for clothing your

Bye bye your loving Rose

I would give worlds to go out into the hills with you it is such a bewitching day - the white oaks look like delicate maiden hair ferns.