Letter from Mary Elizabeth Garrett to M. Carey Thomas, March 21, 1891

Dearest Minnie, Poor little Dolly, midnighter secret for 8 months so bravely! It must indeed have revived all the memories about your mother. Do you know that even after all these seven and a half years I never can hear of anyoneGÇÖs being thrown from a carriage without the whole history of MammaGÇÖs accident and what followed repeating itself before my eyes, but I can go on talking and listening too as if the most ordinary topic had been mentioned. At first it made me deadly faint and I have since then twice nearly fallen even now it does this sometimes, but I have often made myself speak of such things so as to try to conquer it. I do hope Halstead was right and that the wound took only 2 days to heal. Her note is very sweet and I do not wonder that you are fond of her. Well, I shall really go home this week. I have been here so long that I can hardly realize that I am not going to stay in indefinitely, bringing this lazy, monotonous fashion. The journey I think will be much less tiring than the one coming, as I am going back with Mr. Mayer and his nieces in his car, and then besides I am very much better. I am sure you will think me looking so, but I am still far from being as well as I should like. I engaged definitely, I think I told you, the cabin for May 9th, as I concluded that May 2nd was too early and looked too much like running away. I do not think there is much doubt that I shall go, unless something unexpected turns up, but I wish very much I could find some sufficiently satisfactory person to take with me, as it is often decidedly uncomfortable to be alone in traveling and it certainly does cut one off from a great many things or at least makes them difficult where they would be easy. Let me know by return mail which night you would rather stay with me, excluding Saturday because I would be too tired to make the most of our talk. As I told you, my appointments with the dentist begin on Wednesday morning so that I shall have to leave in Tuesday. DonGÇÖt you go back to B.M. that same day? I do hope Miss SampsonGÇÖs family will let her use her fellowship. Is she not the very handsome girl? As you probably know through Mamie, my eyes were really very troublesome for some days and I was decidedly worried fearing a repetition of my experience some time ago, but they are nearly all right again, only feeling tired. This broke up reading and writing too, almost entirely, so that I have an accumulation of unread books. If I go to London, you must give me the names of the libraries you use. Are your plans for the summer getting into shape at all? It has become so entirely a matter of course that you should go abroad that I cannot see you in my mindGÇÖs eye here. You must not plan, as you talked of doing, of staying late in Baltimore. I am afraid that now that you are feeling so well, you will be inclined to take liberties with yourself. I was so delighted to hear that you are feeling so well, for I was afraid you would be almost worn out by this time. StedmanGÇÖs lectures as reported read like unmitigated trash and I was not surprised to hear that they seemed so to you. Hoping that you have forgiven me. Lovingly yours, Mary E.G.