Allabach correspondence

My Lessons are not easy of course because I am now in a University where students are supposed to be men and women with the capacities of such. My Chaucer, German, and English are easy, but take time. English prose and History have worried me some and the History to be able to recite it will require much study and some ability. The drawing, except that it requires six hours a week, is no task. I spend nineteen hours a week in the class room and have five studies which take from two to three hours to prepare each lesson, all requiring about ten hours of my time each day. After while, there will be some out side topics but as I go on I presume it will be easier for me to get the substance of what I study in a shorter time. I have a topic in Chaucer but it need not be ready till Christmas.

I have not received any money but suppose it is coming. I supposed you would understand from one of my letters that I always need enough to pay board bill in advance and my washing for each week. My washing was 15 cents two weeks and 20 cents one week in the last three. When I want my own money I'll write for it, but I don't want to write for the other. Mr. Fessler comes over at a certain time, posted on the bulletin about a week or two before hand, and it is usually the first of the month.

Tell Papa please that before Thanksgiving I want $10.00 to be charged to my account. We have been invited to spend Thanksgiving with Elsie Shelley, a bright English girl who lives about three miles from San Jose. I shall do what Christmas shopping I intend to do then. I shall be glad to go; it will be a pleasant change.

Professor Anderson spoke of the valuable help that a good dictionary was to a student and he thinks each of us ought to have one. The Revised International Webster is the one he recommends but ten dollars is what they cost here and I suppose as much as home, though most every thing in the book line costs more. What money can be spent on me outside of actual necessities must be in books. But don't think I'm in need from all this.

Two quite interesting things have happened here this week. Last Sunday, quite unexpectedly to the girls the Misstress, Miss Leach left. She said the work was too much, but she was rather fussy and did more than she had to. There had been some trouble between her and the matron and the matron was discharged but did not leave till this week. If course the most that we know is that they are gone but there is more to it. Mrs. Richardson, mother of one of the Professors is here now.

The next on Wednesday came an invitation from the Young Men to reception at Eucina Hall. All the girls were pleased and some were overjoyed because they knew that the boys were practising so as to have music for dancing. When this became generally known all the girls were a little displeased with the idea and some of the mature ones thought that aside from our not being well enough acquainted and it being more proper that the girls give the first dance and that some of the young men were known not to be of the best character, that it was a little soon for us to be giving dances and it would go in the papers and look as though we were in a hurry for such things. The girls had a meeting and voted to send a note to Mr. Fessler (master) that the young ladies preferred not to dance at this early date and on the slight acquaintance, or some such word. The boys were howling mad and sent a note over Friday afternoon saying that owing to circumstances over which they had no control they could not receive us. The sequel is this, that last evening some of the young men whom I believe to be nice because of the girls whose friends they are here in the Hall, called and they said we were perfectly right in what we did and that many were opposed to postponing the reception but could not carry it. Some eight or ten girls were not in favor of our note but they are not the ones who will be allowed to rule us.

The girls has quite a gay time last evening but owing to our callers, these are the first who have asked for us though they asked for their friends also, we did not take much part in the fun.

We have a gorgeous boquet of chrysanthemums, geraniums, etc. on our table, also a glass with four fine red roses in which the garderner gave us.

Well my hand is tired and don't forget that I want some money before Thanksgiving.

Lovingly, Lucy

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Roble Hall, November 7, 1891

Dear Helen:

I am rather tired this evening but when you know that I have been walking perhaps five miles without resting you'll not be surprised. We, that is seven girls, visited the Timothy Hopkins place this afternoon. It is near Menlo and we consider Menlo nearly two miles from here. The carriage gate which leads into the grounds has on either side of it smaller gates and over each of these is the name "Sherwood Hall".

Near the gate is a pretty little cottage which corresponds to an English lodge. The broad avenue is bordered with trees and leads to the house grounds, for all these estates have acres and acres of land in fruit or apparently in no use besides the grounds that are beautified and belong to the house. At the end of the drive and the entrance to the lawn stood on each side of the road large iron blocks higher than my head and on top of each was a sleeping lion. These were painted dull green and overgrown with pretty vines which added much to the effect.

Standing here you view the large lawn with its hedges and drives, tall, ivy covered oaks, and palms, through which is seen the large silent looking house painted a dull green. The house is unpretentious, but large and has such wide porches. Its grand figures on the front entrance steps, vines clambering around railing and palms on the porch give it that interesting southern and Californian air which is pleasing to us because of its novelty. The grounds are finely laid out and posess some charming features but all is in a rather unkept state and grass has to be tended constantly here to look like anything and owing to the dry atmosphere there is at all times, much rubbish of dry leaves of flowers and trees to keep raked up.