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Leland Stanford Junior University, Oct. 17th, 1897

Dear Mabel :-

I was very much pleased to receive your nice letter and a good likeness
of you in the same envelope a short time ago.

Yes, I remember I made an agreement with you about your photos, but I
have been thinking that you would have no use for it if I returned it, and it
would give me pleasure to keep it, so I thought I would ask you if I could not.
I will forward it however if you request it.

We have been having beautiful weather this past week--quite warm in the
sun at noon day and nice and cool every night.

The co-eds (as they call the girls) are still wearing their shirt waists,
and the boys their summer togs.

Of course foot-ball is all the go now. Our team in goes training tomorrow
for the great game with our rival on Thanksgiving.

We have a very large freshman class this year, 421 entered at the beginning
of the year. There are over 1100 students here all together.

We had a Jewish Rabbi from San Francisco speak to us in the chapel this
morning. He said some very good things. The idea of his sermon was that there
was too great a breach betweeen the ideal and the life we led. We would hear
great and good sermons and go right away and live as we had been living before.
Our ideal should be liveable and we should live it.

I go out riding almost every afternoon on my wheel. Sometimes up into
the foothills, sometimes towards the bay. I enjoy it very much; in fact, I
don't know now how I ever got along without a bicycle all of my freshman year.

I am getting along very nicely in my work, am slowly but surely making up my
back work, and will be a happy boy when it is all out of the way.

I must close now with much love to you and Aunt Hattie and all the rest.

Your affectionate cousin,

Walter.