Hale, Susan

English

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University of Rhode IslandDigitalCommons@URISusan Hale Collection 1842-1934 Special Collections1904Atkinson, CarolineSusan HaleFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/susan_hale_collectionThis Correspondence is brought to you for free and open access by the Special Collections at DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted forinclusion in Susan Hale Collection 1842-1934 by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contactdigitalcommons@etal.uri.edu.Recommended CitationHale, Susan, "Atkinson, Caroline" (1904). Susan Hale Collection 1842-1934. Paper 35.http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/susan_hale_collection/35http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/susan_hale_collection/35Miss Caroline P. Atkinson "Susan's Roost," Malvern, Feb. 23, 1904. Dear Carla, It's a lovely morning just like our perfect June weather. · The sun is elan ting in at my open wind.ow, (but not on me), along with a little soft breeze. Below is the farm, the (separate) kit-chen, a thicket of Bouganvillia an1 Poinsettia in blossom against the hill covered with great trees, beyond, the lazy sea far, far be-low. The earth is bright red here, the grass bright green, all manner of animals are strolling round or going through a gate in an old tumbledown whitewashed wall. Such a scheme of colour in the bright sunshine. The soft prattling voices of the Darks come up to me here, cocks crowing, doves cooing, little birds chirrup-ing, all soun1s harmonious. I've got my hair dry (after my bath in a big half-calabash tub) and. put up, and my clean white wrapper with a white tie, an1 cherry-coloured. ribbon (six cents a yard at Ferneker's) and now I am ready for ten o'clock breakfast, and will write this till they come and tell me to go over to the main house. # # # # # # # hen you are really settled in your house, that can be Headquarters for Youth and Joy, and I will keep a Dowager's for aged Decrepit Persons. # # # # # the House # To iss Caroline P. Atkinson Dear Carla, Port Antonio, Good Friday, 1904. This is no letter, but I want to tell you something quite won-derful. Last night I arrived here about 10 p.m. on board the Delta . I had been literally "on deck" evei since sunrise after sleeping on board, sailing along the lovely shore, and talking talking with int-eresting people. In the open air (an awning), no hat, the waves sparkling, ship rolling a good deal. (My eyes are burning totiay) . ell, I went to bed here tireti-er than any dog, but sort of wide awake with a cup of tea at four and. half a cup aoffee at ? p.m. The bed was luscious, but I coulrln't fall asleep . I began to hear the Piano (below) touched with a gentle hand, but a rnaster 's,--such lovely music as if the person was trying to lull somebotiy to sleep. Perhaps it was me! You must know that Piano last year was the curse of my life here . Some people incessantly alternateti Nearer my Gawti to Thee with Lee Ra.meaux. I used to long to take tlown a hat!Chet in my nightgown anti split it open, and my first thought on learning about the hurricane was that the Piano was no tioubt at the bottomr of the Caribbean. I guess it is, anti this is another. But now, I soon be~an to think, "That is nobotly in the world. but Robert Atkinson." Anti sure enough it was. Their steamer didn't come in till mid-night, so they couldn't go out, and he was whiling the time away, anti soothing Mrs. A. as they waiteti, with such rapturous lulling music ! Do tell him that incidentally he put me to sleep in the most tielicious fashion. (This morning the Office Clerk told me it was Mr. Atkinson playing) . So I just misseti seeing them,--but I was in such a condition of fatigue it would have been no good.. It must have boreti them to hang round for their steamer. First thing I learned this morning was that the Dewey hati come in anti gone out at midni ght . May I have better luck next Friday! --when I am tak-ing the atson for Philadelphia. They say the Samson leaves to-night, I want this to go in it. The voyage yesterday was like sailing along the top of Africa in Billy ielti's "Gitana", anti even more beautiful, but the ship! filthy beyond expression. It is a coasting steamer taking merchan-dise to "out-porte". The ship 's officers are all Henglish, gentle-man born, wild for intercourse with a lady. At every town, we stoppeti and unloaded barrels of American flour and took on bags of sugar anti puncheons of rum. The tieck was the whole of the stern and very clean with comfortable seats. You hati to get to it by a ladtier, and you should see me ascending and descending with the alertness of an elderly monkey. It was necessary to land at the bottom in a sluggish River of oil all Peacock tints, and as my trav-elling govm is long it wa s awkward. I sevted cross-eti tch the en-tire day. At sunset we stayed an hour at Annota Bay, and everyone went ashore but me. The scene was lovely, the "Blue Peak" Mte. over against me. Sunset behind, full moon rising before. When they came back they brought me (all of them) great bunches of wild "hyacinth", a very pretty flower. Friends of mine came out in t:tle boat to greet me at several places,--exciting but fatiguing, but I shall get a good. rest here. Yours, Susan. ... ' .. ' .. I. To lli sa C. P . Atkinson and Miss ~ . E. Will i ams . Cannes, Jeudi, April lJ, Battle of ~ xi~on l ·JU5 ain't i t? My dear Girly-girls ; I am bustin' to write JvU ever s i nce I ot Carla's letter, it is here, sous main depuis hier, it makes me f eel as if you muct be still revellinc in Camden far away from your naur -dens11 as L~a Hn.le calla them . In f a ct perhaps at this moment you are in the close enbrace of Farber at Hampton . .'' /,1 ;:1 I must tell you of a little circus J eannie a d I have been hav-i ng, {"t'feeden of course) . She sot a caterpillar up 1er sleeve i n Al -giers which poisoned her 1hole arm and drove her nearly wild . Do c-tor Thomson thinks it's the hairs of the beast, the Beast was thr own out , but the hairs remained and she was done up in Pond's •'xtr a ct f or a week . 0 e day ~at Hamman Rhira wher€ al so ~e were) she put on f or the first time the same waist--meme j eu , more fire in her arm . She tore off ~he 1aist like the shirt of Ne~sus) and was about t o t hrow it away, when Polly saved i t and gave it to me , ue cau s e my brown taffeta had bust out under the ar m, and this ras brown. They had had washed , the sleeve linincs, and I took ~e pre caution to cut t hem (linings) out entirely , the waist f~tted me fairly well, and I set t o work to alter it . - - - /,1/ 1," -- That was a month aeo , and I am still scratchin~ myself . my arm has been a fiery furnace, and the I pet on, red spots like bltes, went all over ~ me, even to my calve~ Yesterday I save away the niehtgo n I ~as wearing a t the time, ( thoush it has of course been washed since) because on wearing i t again I found myself itching aeain. Ain't that 1 teresting . The ticks of Jamaica are mild comp~red to this Chenille Algerienne . But what a waste of paper to tell you about this! We had a ni ce 4 weeks at Hamman 'Hira, our first taste of 1arJ1th, for the whol e wi nter ,-- Printem s as right there, just 11 e your des cription of Camde. . In fact it has followed us since; as this Cannes is a bit l ater than top of Africa . All Aleeria as a burst of 1istaria. Railway statio s hung with lt and growing up into a Fig tree and f at old ladies sitting under it knitting . ) . And here we come upon it agaln,- - all over Cannes . Then a wil d week at Uustapha, all my old friends bur st loose exc~~t those who are dead or gone elsewhere . ~t~e Kirsch lives at Bad N aim . She has sold out, and her marl i s mort , but a worthy successor Mme Sollenchose or something, gathered ua in, all the s ame . ~rs . P rklns delighted with everythL "' , climate, villas, my f rie de who wer e very ice to her. Some pleasa1t ptiople in the Ho-t el , E.n.gllsh U~1itariansl nice man and his wife . re carae off, one Sat urday; had the usual fiendish ero s sine, ~6 hours in a smelly shi p, but the food \7Us excellent . I had a r.1an on board who was very in-t eresting . I an !"''oinc to travel in India wi t h him ·hen I get round to it . He i s a General in the Enc:;lish Ar my , j ust retired, named, oh what was he n:t:ncd, I'll asa: Evelyn, was with Gordon in Lgypt, in the Boer ;iar , 5 years in India, jus t bac:{ now wl th a charmine youne wi fe , - - from there . The interestin3 thine about hio is, he ' s a Mo-hammedan, or nays he is, - - and quoted in Arabic, lovely prayers that sounded like thls: "~?ollah mwn mun .hndji akwak Akwak hadji wollah mWJ n.u.>J" and meant "All ah i"' :;ood , and t he world is e.-::cellcnt 11 or words t o that t:.ffcct. _:y Theodore Davis is more thr .... l hal f I usselrnan (I am J J. i l l ~ ... I 1 not now refer rinc to his various wives ) so hat wl th tbem and our Second Reis who was always bumping his head on de ck sayins his prayers, I am in a f air way to become one . I told my ex- general I was a devoted Sun worshipper , and he sai d , "You are then a Parsee; but why not rather worship the r-aster of the u1 'i" Don't be alarmed , -dears, I shall keep right on sinGill5 Nearer my Gawd to thee down at 'l1llm7 Dell wi th Carla a t the Piano . Tfien· -e -c c ~ se es and apen n:aay ... £5 Hotei Terrainus (2nd time) which .lr . Per~tins and I consider the beat ln the world . The Concierge an everybody u~ re are de~oted to us no , and t hey ;;.)ot 1uo off to C nne in the 11 Berl J.apide 11 train de Luxe which is al l ~ita, ( xtra .r ce) . Our Lit on tis o cae1on were arm- chairs ip. n snall n.lon ontuininc a S a lsL I:'lan n his brl.d , aru?&r.QAtl.Y- ~d j t t h t m-i ntt e ,- --!"! .. ---~1tt-:t:l2,. .itt--,.__ _e .ev.ul,d . s _e 1-y-·--oor~&!-+t>-\Uj~~v;t... . e rocked and [) ped like the Fl er to Buff al , hawcing a thrQ .5h en-chantinc fru t orchards, oliv fieldc , jud trees i n blossom, by plashin~ pla·es, old chateaux plunging in nd out of tunnels with shrieks . A ~ inbow ras coing on Gl l tho t l e whic ( ur train twisted so) ·us so8etimeo a cuche sooetime a droi t, in front, be-hind. le d1 d "in the dinl car 11 ; --as 1 t hap ened, same table wl th our love a, the Spaniard , he saru..; lit le sorl£::S , and pressed his heart fro time to time, innlly--order d Cham~a ne bout, and treated us all rou1d . :!ra. P. somewhat aat niahed , ut she sipped a little to th sant-e of t he ir . Gar co pilled a up all over my cray sllk (Ait11n) travelling skirt, ad kn tin th narro pas-sage scrubbing t ith warm w ter, while th salad , o t i, wine bottles gather on each side of him waiti to pass t he train wobbli e, plates slidderlng, ~ istles shriek ns , a w ld scene. Pa-per warns me to leave you, dears, Your levine Sus n. 1 .. 1 To Mise Caroline P. Atkinson Dear Carla, Dry Harbor, Dec. 6, 1905. I have had the most delicious swim in the Caribbean today (at 7 a.m., sun just up over the thicket). It is not invigorating, you know, like my 1ive in the Pond in late October, but soft, lus-cious, languid, little lazy waves plashing on the fine coral sand beach. The shore is about as far off as the Library from my house, but Alick generally drives me down and back on account of the steep hill, and wet bathing clothes to be brought bac~. I was think~ng all the time of your letter and that I would answer it and so I will, but meantime I have dried my hair and had breakfast at 9t o'clock. # # # # # # # Now I must give you some account of my circumstances. I am in a delightful long low Jamaica house with jalousies instead of windows, all on the ground floor except the servants' quarters be-low. My room is about the size of the Doghouse, but it opens on the Big Salon, or 11 settin-room11 , and I live all over the house, and chiefly out-doors, so it don't signify, although as a matter of fact, I have no more wardrobe accommodation than in ·my cabin on the Nile last year. Everything is still in my trunk, which serves also to sit on when I am putting on my stockings and shoes, except that behind the trunk are six pegs on the wall, with all my gowns on them. My looking-glass is just the size of this piece of pa-per. I tip it up when I sit dovm, and tip it down when I stand up, and thus manage to get partial views of my person as far down as the waist-line. This don't signify, as I never see anybody, or rather nobody ever sees me; live in white wrappers and shirt-waists and my early Victorian skirt. I love it, so unmolested. Stran~e to say I am alone with Miss Smith in the house, (except darks), for my hostess is ill and in bed in another house 1ovm be-low us, a few steps. Miss Smith is a worthy sort of Useful Cousin. I am possessed to call her Briggs and did say "Miss Briggs" one day; since when I can't break myself of regarding her privately as Br i ggs . It is real CoUntry, with green fields and woods all about, sloping dovm to the lovely Caribbean. These woods seem much like our woods, full of trees, but the trees are of no sort we have deal-ings with. They are fustic, and Guineas, and logwood trees, and many others. The air is full of the smell of Pimento, for they ar.e just gathering the crop, which is very lucrative. Yesterday we drove up to see Bridgewater, a lovely old deserted house they own, and there they had just gathered and dried the pimento, and put it in the spare bed-room, which it filled up from floor to ceil-ing, instead of bein~ in a small tin box, as with us. (Same as All-spice, I believe). It's just like midsummer, but our loveliest breeziest summer days, with no chill in the breeze, bright sunshine and soft shadows. I have great dealings with a small black cat, I write letters, tin -ker my clothes, read the Sun, yarn with Briggs about t he fallen fortunes of Dry Harbour, which "we" own the whole of. I have, in fact, read the House of Mirth, but it almost killed me, so tragic. I put off finishing it a whole week (after her aunt died), but last Sunday, Briggs went to church, eo I retired to my Bedside and read straight to t he End with copious tears . It is finely written, but what Rotten men poor Lily fell foul of. I don't think I shall read any more while I'm in Jamaica. I'm in great hopes of losing flesh, for there's nothing much to eat. Fruit is good; limes, mangos, mandarins, excellent oranges. Loving Susan. 

Atkinson, Caroline

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Atkinson, Caroline

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