Letter, Kate Gleason to James Gleason
A letter from Kate Gleason to her brother, James Gleason. Kate asks Jim if his Cavalier costume has arrived. She reports on sales and new orders at the family’s tool shop. She tells him about their mother’s social schedule and reports in detail on an opera she attended with their brother, Andrew.
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William Gleason,
Manufacturer of Machinists Tools,
Office, Brown’s Race,
Rochester, N.Y., Febr’y 5th. 1889
Dear Jim,-
I’m beginning to be anxious about that suit. Don’t you
know that they charge by the day or have you perhaps sent it home with
the others that Leo hired? What sort of a fit was it? It occur=
red to me that we were rather foolish to hire a suit in that way when
it might be as big as all out door’s for you. I picked out one
that looked about your size but you can’t go much by that.
Business doe’sn show any sign of slacking up yet and I hope it
won’t and then next fall we will have a boom and get rich. Michel’s
shipped the boreing mill to Ide yesterday, just about a month and a
half behind time. I’m trying to get his receipt for keeping people
quiet. We are building some tools for Sargeant and Greenleaf and
the way Mr. Sargeant comes down here and keeps his bright eye on us
is wearing my life slowly away. He was down the day after he placed
the order to see how the castings had come out and they were’nt even
in the sand yet.
Mother is all better. She probably worked too hard
getting ready for her party. Anyway she is feeling festive now for
she is having a new gown made to wear to the Land League ball to-mor-
row night and she tells me it is quite stunning. I’ll not go to
the ball, can have a good deal more fun at the gymnasium. You ought
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to see me do the travelling rings now.
Andrew took me to see Duff’s
Opera Co. in the “Queen’s Mate” Saturday night. It was acted well
and the stage setting was fine. The ballet was the best thing even
seen in Rochester. The Amazon’s March, last scene last act, was the
loveliest thing I ever saw. The girls were clad from head to toe
in glittering silver from which looked out their freshly painted
faces. The silver was so bright, it really made my eyes blink. The
marching was superb and the music was witching. Altogether it was
like Fairyland. I have gone into particulars for Conrad sat next
me and he instructed me to send you full particulars. There was one
of the actors who looked so much like you that until he spoke we
could’nt be sure that you had not taken that way of surprising us.
Gertrude Crane has written me that we are very much alike. You
and I, I mean. That is one of the most flattering things that can
possibly be said about you and you want to remember it. It will
come handy some time to cheer your hours of gloom when you have been
indulging in mince pie or a late supper.
Lovingly,
Kate.