Blackwell Family Alice Stone Blackwell Kitty Barry, 1909Telephone 1791 Haymarket Office of The Woman's Journal No. 3 Park Street, Room Resson Street, Room 1918. Boston, Mass., May 17 1909 Dear Kitty: We are feeling quite puffed up because the librarian of the Boston Public Library & the librarian of the Athenaeum library have united in recommending Governor Draper to appoint Charles as State librarian - $3500 a year to begin, & a gradual advance to $5000; 30 assistants to direct, & 150,000 volumes to take care of. The Governor sent for Charles & had a long talk with him, "in frames." Yours affectionately, Alice Stone Blackwell. Papa thinks the Notch land will be a splendid property 10 years hence, if Alfred can carry it till then; but he (Papa) says it will take a lot of money to develop it.& is thought to be likely to offer him the place. He has not done so yet. Charles is doubtful about accepting it. The office is not supposed to be "in politics," theoretically & the old librarian who has lately died had held it many years; but if the Democrats ever elect a Governor, Charles might be turned out. Also there would be heavier work & responsibility than in his present place. Anna utterly scorns our august legislators, & says to Charles, "You don't want to go up there, they took along little Antoinette on a pillow. Papa says the children were looking very well, only that two of them were Telephone 1294 Haymarket Office of The Woman's Journal [No. 3 Park Street, Room 160] 8 Beacon St., Room 1029. Boston, Mass., 190- among all those Micks!" Little Mabel is dead. She got pneumonia on top of the other things, & it was too much for the poor little thing. She was a dear little girl. We are all very sorry for her poor mother. Papa & Mrs. Barrows went to the funeral this afternoon. Mabel's drinking father came, too. Christine walked with him, but did not take his arm; she took Papa's gap. The Pigeon Cove house is not taken yet. I was mistaken on that point. Papa made a flying visit to N.J. last week, had a long talk with Aunt Eey who has a cold & is coughing. He also called on Ethel & Alfred took him up to see the Notch land.And the sisters told Papa that they would never forget his kindness in coming. Phebe Stone Beerman has a little granddaughter at Coy's Hill, so Emma's visit is put off. I think the child must have arrived a little earlier than she was expected. She is the daughter of Phebe's daughter Leila, who married Mr. Arnold. Mother & child are both reported to be doing well. Is Laura back yet? I am uncomfortable to think of you with double work on your hands. Annie Gibraine is taking a fortnight's vacation & having an operation at the hospital for her nose, where a polypus suspected ; & Mrs. Thomas is looking for someone to fill the En route to Geneva, N.Y., May 21, 1909 Dear Kitty: The train joggles so that I am not sure if you will be able to read it. (Now we are stopping at a station). I am loaded up with facts about Aunt B., which I am to unload upon the youthful minds of the students. May it do them good! I wish it might inspire them with her pluck & perseverance but that is rare. Mrs. Miller Sadie or Christine was with us where you and Aunt B. were here. It seems to be practically settled that Howard will go to Pigion? leave for July & the last part of June. Yr aff. cousin, Alice. It seems there is a swift train that will not take 2 hours.write me that the enlarged photograph looks very well. Yesterday Uncle George's Emma, Anna, Charles & Lovinia went to Weilmark, & Frances Millette to Gardner. They expect to stay at the Great Desert Serpent? four or five days, & supervise the planting of the garden. The Governor asked Charles if he would consider the State Librarianship at $3000 a year (I was mistaken in thinking it was $3500), with a and winding rivers and some rolling land. And all the trees are in a delightful mist of young green leaves. I think I wrote you possible increase to $5000. Charles is thinking it over. Papa went up to Manchester, N.H., the other day, to take part in a debate on the tariff. Somebody had dropped out, & he was called on to fill the place. He had a fine time, & his speech got more applause than any of the others. But that is almost always the case. He certainly is a born orator. that Christine has lost her little Isabel. It is too bad. She is taking a week off, & Sadie is helping us out. I forget whetherNannie has written to Aunt Emily, expressing great joy in getting back to M.V. I hope Laura has returned. I didn't like to think of your being left with only Esther, through doubtless it was the best arrangement until Laura was feeling better. I am gliding (or rather bumping) along between Syracuse & Geneva, through beautiful rich country. I wish you could see the blooming apple trees, & the white & yellow flowers in the fields. A hilly country for me, but this has its own loveliness. And it is not perfectly flat; there are dear little valleys, Dorchester, Mass. June 10, 1909 Dear Kitty: The sketch of Aunt B. which we are publishing in the this week's Woman's Journal has turned out to be longer than expected, but I think that will be forgiven on account of the interest of the story. She has certainly had a most remarkable life. I hope there are no bad mistakes in the article. We have always been in the habit of saying that when she began to practice in N.Y. she had to buy a house because no respectable boarding house would take in a women doctor; but I found in the "Previous Work" that she took rooms on University Place. So I wrote to Aunt Emily asking how this was, & the letter that I enclose was in answer. Papa had a large picture made from the photo, for the Woman's Journal; but it proved very bad. The mouth did not come out well at all, & all the pleasant expression was lost. The engraver tried to improve leaves and three years of it kills a tree. Luckily they are not so fond of maple leaves, & our big maple has suffered comparatively little. Your aff. cousin, Alice Stone Blackwellit, but without success. He told Papa if he would be satisfied with a picture the size of the photo, he could make him an exact reproduction of that; so he has made a small one, and it comes out much better. He asked Papa if it were a picture of him! I should think the little frill around the neck would show that it is a lady. But there must be quite a family likeness. I hope there are no bad mistakes in the account. I am going to send you 50 copies, and you can have more if you want them. I should think it would be well to have someone who "knows the ropes" in journalism "place" a copy with each of the principal London newspapers, so that they may be prepared with material for a good obituary where the end comes. The Times lately asked Mrs. Fawcett to furnish them with material for an obituary of Mrs. Home, to be held in reserve; and she sent to us for it. Here the daily papers keep on hand in advance an obituary of every aged and distinguished person, so that they may not have to compile it in a hurry when he or she departs. Papa wants me to ask you to ask Aunt B. if she cannot add some things to this account. He says people's memories of old times often remain clear after their a happy match. The country is looking lovely now, & the leafage is wonderfully full & luxuriant. The boughs meet across Bantwell Ave., as you go up the [hll] hill. But the beautiful elms in the front of our house are booked for death. This is the third year recurring that the elm-tree beetles have eaten up theirrecollections of more recent events have grown dim. From what you have written me, I judge that Aunt B. no longer talks at all; but I did not feel it necessary to rub that into him, so I told him I would mention the matter to you. Aunt B's personality was [s] so strong that Papa & Uncle G. seem unable to realize that it is now in abeyance. You do not need to send any answer; he will probably forget about it. I have not heard from Emma since she & Uncle G. went out to Pigeon Cove to celebrate Howard's & Helen's wedding day with them. Probably I shall get a letter before sending this off. Did I tell you that I had a talk with Esther Barrows & she with her father, & he has promised to bury the hatchet as far as the Rogers family are concerned? I am very glad. The small feud was an absurd little tempest in a teapot, but it made things uncomfortable. Ada Watson had married her landlord, a man by the name of Tyack. I do hope it will prove Dorchester, Mass. June 17, 1909. Dear Kitty: This is Bunker Hill day, & firecrackers are snapping in the distance, & bells ringing, like a minor 4th of July. But here on our hill top, shut off from the world by the green trees, we are having a fairly quiet time. The weather is warm & lovely. Aunt Emily, who arrived yesterday, has been sitting out on the piazza most of the morning, while we chatted over family affairs, & watched the motor boats, big & little, glide up one after another toward the mouth of the Nepouset River. The garden is full of red & yellow roses, & pansies, & fleurs-de-lys, and other pleasant things. (Ethel Robinson & her family went to Chilmark yesterday, & they have nice weather for settling in.) Mrs. Gray and her kittens were rolling on the grass by the piazza, & two squirrels chasing each other [*& afterwards kept locked doors between her & Grace. And Aunt Ely says that when she Grace went to Northampton to Tom's sister to take the Emmanuel treatment, they had her examined first by the woman doctor of an insane asylum, who said it was a clear case of "circular insanity," i.e. the kind that follows a sort of circle, with occasionally recurring crises and mild intervals between. It is a melancholy look out. Reynold was in lately, & says Lizzie is in a very nervous state, more so than he has ever known her; seems to be afraid of everything. We hope Chilmark will help her. Dr. Huntington has had one examination, & no stone found in his [kind] kidney. They are going to examine again & more thoroughly. Your affectionate cousin, Alice Stone Blackwell.*]June 17, 1909 in the white lilac tree. Papa had found it hard to make up his mind whether to go to Seattle or not, but has finally decided to do so. He hates to leave his business. But he hankers to visit California, which he has never seen, & thinks of coming home that way. He has given up the idea of coming home by way of the Isthmus of [Pas] Panama, which was one of his first plans. so we shall probably start June 24, & be gone till toward the end of July; but any letters sent to Dorchester will be forwarded. Aunt Emily thinks you must have had a very hard time ( we sat on the piazza where Aunt B. used to walk, & we looked off toward England), & we are especially sorry that Laura should have given out. Aunt Emily fully agrees that you ought to get a second maid. Pray do. She can fetch & carry, & save you lots of steps, even though you have to do most of the actual nursing. Howard dropped in at the office day before yesterday, & tried to coax Papa & me out to Pigeon Cove, but gave up his project when he found we expected Aunt Emily. He said Helen had been feeling better for a day or two, & had got almost a whole night's sleep. He also says the railroad journey from Boston to Pigeon Cove is a pretty one, with glimpses of water along the way. Emma says it is a remarkably nice house for a little one, & has ingenious cupboard & closets everywhere, in all sorts of places. There are two bookshelves, one full of Dickens, the other mostly of Mrs. Stowe. Howard says he can hardly supply Helen with reading [*matter fast enough. She goes right through things. Aunt Emily has heard from Nannie that during Aunt Nettie's recent visit to Boston Grace fell out with Robina, whom she has long disliked, & scared Robina so that she fled from the house.*]