Letter from M. Carey Thomas to Mary Elizabeth Garrett, September 26, 1890

Dearest Mary, If you had Gǣno loveGǥ on account of haste in my letter asking for a cheque you shall have two Gǣdearest MarysGǥ which seems to me a fair exchange. There are some odds and ends. Send Julia the pages by 2nd numbering 1, 2, 3, 4. Your cable has just come regarding the medical school; and, strangely enough, registered Last May 29th a miserable school document-- the one in which you undertake to pay extra expenses etc has just come to hand. Where it has been hiding the the 13 days of June and all the summer I cannot imagine, yet the post caught it today. It gives me little thrills of horror to look at it. Do you know I have been thinking this Summer that when love and affection and confidence are such rare things-- at least I have loved now half my life, and I think I know that it is certainly rare for me to care as much for people. There are no clocks, and if put in at all they ought to be electric if not too expensive. I will find out, but unless you cable to the contrary we will beg or borrow a clock for the study room and wait to decide about it till you come. If we had them at all they should be rather small and round and framed in wood of rooms. There are no numbers or names of rooms on doors and my idea would be to have small brass plates to match lock etc. of the door (screwed on so that they could be changed) with either Greek or English letters and name of subject. [diagram of potential door plate] I think white porcelain plates would spoil the effect and as there now only remain few details I think they had better be in keeping. The casts have come but is the case of GǣFlorence MarblesGǥ for the school? We cannot swear them out without knowing. Then Dr. Hurd. She wishes two rooms by Charles and Catherine and is very particular. The only ones she has found are $30 a month without furniture, fire and light. She expects to remain 3 years where she first locales herself. Now our contract says Gǣoffice in neighborhood of schoolGǥ. I propose to tell Dr. Hurd we will pay toward her rooms exactly what such an office (one) would cost but the difference is to find out. Simpler would be to pay her a fixed sum say $300 or $350 a year and let her manage. It seems agreeable but a room on ground floor without light and furniture would cost surely $20 a month. Now about these points I wish to cable at once by following code of which I will keep a copy-- Thomas Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania Electric (if you wish them before you return, if you agree to arrangement I propose say nothing.) GǣMarblesGǥ (if Florence marbles are for school, if not nothing) GǣBrassGǥ (if plates are to be so, if not nothing and we will leave them till you come) Then mention sum you are willing to give towards Dr. Hurds fashionable office. We have had your writing desks brought in and I think we had better wait for bookcases in literary because if one has fussed so much over a thing one gets to have very fixed ideas as to what is nice and I am afraid you would not like our bookcases. Your Inspruck note and cheque for 51 has just come having been forwarded by a mistake instead of returned to you. I will tear up the cheque and you can cancel it. The number is E31422. There, it is torn up. About the casts I do not know simply because I am afraid I canG��t be in Baltimore long enough the hanging and Mamie never does things of that kind, and I do not wish to leave it to Bessie. Here is a rather nice letter from her. And one from Dr. Stevenson. What a woman she is. She evidently thinks I did not see her letter and is throwing sand. Also one from Dr. Shoring just received which will show you we have begun again. Tear it up. He crossed on our steamer and we had a miserable time trying to avoid being made conspicuous. I had to pretend to be much more seasick than I really was and never moved from my chair. Otherwise my engagement to him would have been all over Philadelphia. It was bad enough to have all Cornell and Ithaca and the University circles believe that I instead of Helen McGill was engaged to President White. Harry was spoken to about it over and over again in the Adirondacks. And my students in New York state almost wept with rage and indignation at hearing their denials disbelieved. GraceG��s and ZoeG��s babies are both to be born in November and Mary Snowden is to be married the 15th of October and Father is surely going to take Nell and Helen abroad next summer and there is a lot more news but I must not stop. Almost never yet been willing to let myself care. It has been in spite of willing. That seems a little Quixotic, and I fancy it has been not entirely the reverse with you. I wish to be sensible in every way this year and turning my back on all old things perhaps I shall begin, not by loving you very much, for that began long ago, but by saying so oftener. That is one way to get satisfaction out of a friendship is it not? At all events we must try first one thing and then another for it is a problem why anything so nice should be so uncomfortable. Solve me that, dear Oedipus. Yours lovingly, Minnie C. Th.