March 2 Monday – At the Princess Hotel in Hamilton, Bermuda Sam added a PS to his Feb. 29 letter to daughter Clara: “P.S. Monday Eve. Your letter has arrived, with its gratifying news. The Oswego incident is worth a dozen word-compliments.”
Sam also replied to the Feb. 28 from Margaret Blackmer at The Misses Tewksbury’s School, Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y.
Dear Margaret:
I saw the ship coming in at 8 this morning, & very soon afterward the purser sent your letter to me, & I was glad to get it.
I will see that Mr. Ashcroft does not forget to send your mother the picture of you & me & the donkey. He gave one to Miss Lyon, & it was so good that I took it away from her. I shall be so glad to have the picture of you which your mother is saving for me.
I met Maude at the dock this morning, & gave her your message. She was all alone; Reginald had gone off somewhere. We made a trip to Spanish Point with Maude & Reginald the other day; Miss Lyon, Miss Wallace and Mr. Benjamin walked, & Irene & I rode in the cart. Irene is 12 years old, & lives in West 75th street.
There isn’t any coasting here, but no matter, it is nicely hot & sunny and comfortable.
Don’t forget that I am to see you at Easter, dear. I shall be here 2 or 3 weeks yet, I suppose. With lots of love, … [MTP; MTAq 113-15]. Note: Maude was the donkey and Reginald the black boy who accompanied the pair on their cart rides during Sam’s last visit in January.
Sam also wrote to daughter Jean in Greenwich, Conn.
Jean dear, there is nothing to report except that we are all comfortable & Mr. Rogers is improving, day by day. We do not know how long we shall stay, but it will be beyond the 10th, anyway. (The 10th is sailing-day 8 days hence.) It has been rainy, but we have lovely summer weather now, & the effect upon Mr. Rogers and Miss Lyon is fine.
The roads are good, & we drive a deal; when we are not driving we still live out-doors in the sun & gather health.
The hotels are full—& more than full. The cottages are full also. The weekly steamer brought 255 people this morning, & they are around skirmishing for shelter.
There’s plenty of company in this hotel, & of an excellent sort, & there’s a dance twice a week. We are not suffering for a lack of pleasant social life. / With lots of love & kisses /Father [MTP].
Dear Mrs. Coe:
Sam also wrote to Mai H. Coe (Mrs. William Robertson Coe) about her father, H.H. Rogers.
Your father is ever so much better, & I think he improves daily. This is exactly the place for him, & I hope to get him to remain clear into April.
He has been pining for the expected picture of the baby, & when he saw the steamer come gliding past the windows at 8.30 this morning his anxiety rose to boiling point, which is 212 at sea-level.
The letters will not be delivered until 5 this afternoon, & he is waiting as patiently as he can. I do hope you haven’t forgotten to send the picture / With love [MTP].
Sam also wrote to Emilie R. Rogers (Mrs. H.H. Rogers).
Dear Mrs. Rogers: / He is getting along splendidly! This was the very place for him. He enjoys himself & is as quarrelsome as a cat.
But he will get a backset if Benjamin goes home. Benjamin is the brightest man in these regions, & the best company! Bright? He is much more than that, he is brilliant. He keeps the crowd intensely alive. / With love & all good wishes, … [MTHHR 644-5].
Isabel Lyon’s journal: Cards we have in the evening now up in the King’s room; the King and Mr. Rogers abuse each other with an earnestness entirely deceptive to the uninitiated, but it is blessedness to us.
This afternoon the King and I went up to the Victoria Lodge just opposite the public gardens, to call on the Misses Ladd and Miss Shibley and to hear the band play. Such a lot of people arrived. It is desparing to have to meet strangers by introduction, but to meet them because of a bond of sudden sympathy, that is good and natural. It’s the way marriage ought to be: a natural beautiful meeting without the legal or ecclesiastical bondage that so often makes conditions fester under it. Elizabeth Wallace has promised that she will not introduce another human soul to me [MTP: IVL TS 31].