NAWSA GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE Fuller, Berenice M. It is a great thing to keep occupied, you in a big way & I in a small one. I always say I am so glad I was taught to read & write! With best wishes for your health or for whatever you want most, & with sincere affections, Berenice Morrison. Fuller November 15th 1936 265 North Union Boulevard Saint Louis, Mo. My dear Miss Blackwell: A few days ago an article about you, written by Carmen Crocker came out in one of our papers. the sweet picture of you two, which however fails to do you justice. I read it with great interest, & have cut it out to lend to younger friends. It took me back to our girlhood days, when you & your splendid, valliant parents were working for suffrage for women, & I would sometimes look in upon you at the Woman’s Journal Office, or had the rare pleasure of visiting you in your home. It was a wonderful inspiration to me to come in contact with such fine spirits, & now that we are both old in years, but still active in mind, I want to tell you what a beautiful memory it is, & how the unselfishness & faith of those days has been like a torch to lighten the path & other ideals of beauty & truth. Always something ahead in which to fix the eye, one more goal for which to strive. You & your Mother typify so perfectly what Swedenborg calls Man's interior - "Through which the Divine & heavenly flower into the honest things pertaining to civil & moral life, into the just things in the life of man, & makes them spiritual, since man does things from the Divine, For the things honest & just pertaining to moral & civil life which a man does from that source are the essential effects of spiritual life." This is the spirit that spreads & radiates, bringing light into the dark corners of many minds that otherwise would never see the light or be guided by it. I was in Boston recently, but not long enough to get out to see you as I had hoped. Of course, you know that our Dear Albertine von Armin slipped quietly away? A very dear, intimate friend of mine. I shall miss seeing her, but our friendship goes on. No I am back in St. Louis, settling down for the winter, & busy writing an article for the Historical Society. March 29th 1942 265 North Union Boulevard Saint Louis, Missouri Dear Miss Blackwell: Your high serenity is an inspiration & I thank you for your kind remembrance. You & I have grown old together, we have weathered many tempests, & now for the fourth time we are passing through a war. It seems incredible that within the period of one life, so much of ruthless horror could take place! My poor friends in France & England. Calling for help, & now all of us engaged in relentless conflicts! I hope that you & I may live to see the end of the struggle, followed by a real peace. I enclose a verse, not very good, as yours are, but expressing my feelings at the time. Now to get away from the war to something agreeable, I want to tell you that I am happy to be enjoying a visit from Berenice. She came in from California a few weeks ago, & has been very busy taking a course of study in 1st Aid, Dietetics, & Child psychology. She has been working hard, & feels better prepared to deal with any new conditions or emergencies that may arise at her school. The classes will soon be over & then she will return, to her duties out there. She does not think the Pacific Coast is as dangerous at the east & hopes to be able to carry on the school without interruption Santa Barbara has no munition plants or camps & is probably as safe a place as anywhere. It has been lovely for me to have her & we have had a wonderful time together. I am expecting to remain At home again this summer, for while I hate the heat of St. Louis, I know it is best to put up with it, surrounded by whirling fans, than to have the fatigue of travel & hotel life. So I fear I shall not see you [soon?], a real disappointment to me. With affectionate wishes Berenice Morrison. Fuller 1942 No happy gifts for 1942. Sadness shadows the sun for me and you. The axe of war has struck our liberty, Our Eagle sat too long with folded wing, Again he soars in the empyrean To guard and guide our eaglets as they fly From land to land with keen and watchful eye. This year has opened like a poison weed Sprung from the hateful Nazi’s noxious seed. We’ll cut it down to burn in fiercest fire, To purge the earth of wickedness and ire. We stand upon the battlefront to fight For righteousness and peace. We pray for might. Berenice Morrison-Fuller. Written January 1st 1942 [*Berenice Fuller*] 264 North Union Boulevard Saint Louis, Mo. Dec. 7th 1937 My dear Miss Blackwell: Your beautiful quotations & Christmas greetings came today, but also the disturbing news of eye trouble. I thank you for the first, & am truly grieved about the latter. I wish I could share my good sight with you. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. My card went to you yesterday. Affectionately yours Berenice Morrison Fuller [*Berenice Morrison Fuller*] at least we women can say one thing. viz that we are not to blame for the perilous & unhappy state of things. It is a man made world! Let us try to think of & believe in a better time coming. Not only have faith but work to make it so. This you have always done. "Make the world better." A loving Easter greeting & best wishes from you affectionately Berenice Morrison Fuller 265 North Union Boulevard Saint Louis, Mo. Palm Sunday April 10th 1938 My dear Miss Blackwell: How kind of you to think of me. Even in affliction you do not forget your old friends! When I think of you I can truly say with Edwin Markham "Have such friends that with the thought of them your soul ascends." Would that I could share my good eyesight with you. I am sure that you could make better use of it than I, although I try to store material “from my eyebrows up”, I get great enjoyment out of it. When I saw you last autumn in Cambridge you told me you were rereading Walter Scott. I too have been enjoying some of the old classics, & at the moment am reading Balzac. In fact I am in the last of 14 vols. I like him better than ever. His vivid descriptions of times & places, his exquisite love of nature & his immortal characters, give him a secure & permanent place in literature. This is Palm Sunday. A few years ago Berenice & I spent Holy Week in Spain & I shall never forget the impressive services in the splendid Cathedral in Seville. It makes me shiver when I think of that war - torn country now! My French friends are very uneasy & despondant. Why do men desire to leap at each other’s throats? Candles for the altar, A prayer on Christmas Day, Forget-me-nots for the old year As, sighing, it slips away. A rainbow bridge will bring you To the portal of the new. Enter and claim the precious gifts It has in store for you. Much happiness; maybe some pain, And, best of all, sweet love you'll gain. Berenice Morrison. Fuller Christmas 1944 With love. Transcribed and reviewed by contributors participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.