Letter, Kate Gleason to James Gleason
A letter from Kate Gleason to her brother, James Gleason. Kate asks Jim about returning his Cavalier costume. She tells him that he should be receiving a table cover from the family and some ties from her. She reports that business is good, even while other companies seem to be struggling, and that their father will write to him soon about a new machine. She describes a sleigh ride and speculates on the content of President Harrison’s inaugural address.
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William Gleason,
Manufacturer of Machinists Tools,
Office, Brown’s Race,
Rochester, N.Y., Feb’y 12th. 1889
Dear Jim,-
Your favor dated the 10th, is received and I am properly
impressed with the beauty of the directions on the envelope.
When you returned the suit to Kuhlman, I hope you did’nt put in
those black silk stockings I sent you for I bought that pair spec-
ially for you. If you returned them to Kuhlman, let me know and I
will take a trip over after them.
We are sending your satchel back
to-day and in it you will find the table cover as requested. It is
one of the slippery kind that is warranted to slide off the table
at the slightest provocation or no provocation so I have put in some
ornamental tacks and you can fasten it to the table with them if Miss
Mc’Allister does’nt catch you at it for she might have some objec-
tions to your driving tacks in her furniture. Of course I mean to
put the tacks in the side where they won’t show. Father is in-
tending to write to you to-day to explain his latest magnificent im-
provement in machine tools and to tell you that you are to come home
for the spring vacation. The business continues to be more than
we can look after and I am blessed if I know how we get it for every
body else in town is dull as a hoe and the price of pig iron has
gone away down which is a sign that business through the country is
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dull. We got an order for another gear planer from the Root Blower
Co. yesterday, a bigger one than they bought before and Luther of
Olean was in town and ordered a 24 ft. lathe with an extra head and
an extra carriage and a lot of other extras that will make the lathe
look like a menagerie and for which Father tucked on the price with
as much nerve as though he were a building contractor charging for
extras. We received another order from the Oil Well Supply Co. for
a taper attachment lathe. And that was’nt a bad business for one
day was it?
Saturday night I went to a very pleasant sleigh-ride, Con
rad was at it too and the biggest part of the rest of my German friends.
To-night the Euchre Club is to be at Martin’s and if I don’t win a
prize of some sort, I will tear my hair. To-morrow night I am in-
vited out to a dinner party and I am now going on very short rations
indeed as a sort of preparation.
There is no getting Andrew to go to
dancing school. Where do you suppose he gets his diffidence, Jim?
Not from you or me, that’s flat. I think he discounts Conrad on
bashfulness and there does’nt seem to be any sign of his getting over
it even as much as Conrad has. I had a letter from Emma this
morning, -still nothing said of coming home I am afraid she is safe
not to come home until April for she is having an extremely gorgeous
time. I hav’nt discovered that girl I was to cultivate yet and I
am beginning to think that the young lady in question will be an-
other of my unrealized dreams. Have you written Frank Nugent about
the yacht yet or would you like me to say something to him about it?
Lovingly Yours,
Kate.
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P.S. I put in a couple of neck-ties. One of them is the latest
spring style, the other is sort of cottony for shop work and such like
likewise some of Lovejoy’s candy. I met Irv. on my way up to the
bank for the enclosed $40 dft. He wants to know how you are getting
on and why you don’t write to him and some more information of the
same style. If you don’t have time to write him however, I guess
the country won’t go to ruin the way it would have gone if you had
not written the other letters I advised you about. Irv. is look-
ing very handsome and his clothes are very elegant.
As to ideas on Harrison’s inauguration speech, I hav’nt any and
as far as I can learn my ignorance is not singular. There has’nt
a reporter or a newspaper come out yet with anything stronger than
a guess at it. Most of them seem to think he will lay the southern-
ors out cold for intimidating the Negro vote and thus injuring the
Republican Party by the loss of so many votes it would otherwise re-
ceive in the southern states, likewise injuring the Negroes by tak-
ing away their rights. But I don’t see why he should dwell on that
time-worn theme and he will be sure to have “rats” and bloody shirt
hollered at him if he does. Hope you will be able to get out of
rhetoric all right. How’s your mathematics progressing this term.?