Writings by Susan Dickinson


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  Society
Mrs. Hitchcock was strongly in favor of early hours so
that we all felt like intruders if we lingered long after ten o
clock; although on these occasions our gentle host seemed to
ignore his hygienic p?s still greeting his guests with
charming cordiality ignoring the late mad hour!
Mrs. Hitchcock impressed her sweet vivacious nature upon
every one - her smiles were revelations not masques - Her dainty
caps trimmed in pink were according to the fashion of the day quite large and
half concealing her soft curls, lent a softer deeper color to her own
pink cheeks and heightened her impression of youthfulness
In her appearance quite unbelievable to a modern present
day woman who would flee a cap as she would her first
wrinkle and mount any device instead in the mode of
puff or cushion - She was mentally alert on every topic of the
day; drawing and painting with natural ease and freedom in an
untrained way, beside closely following every pursuit of her distinguish-
ed husband. She was a woman not only sweet but stimulating
earnestly energizing life and its meaning yet undaunted by
its possibilities - I must speak of an amusing little episode in a
lecture course of the Pres as characteristic of his chivalric devotion
to her - He was lecturing on the now so well known bird-track
of the Conn valley - These lectures were in a bare but decent hall
in the third story of Sweetser's block (now Jackson and Cutler's)
a cheerless place lighted with whale oil lamps & furnished forth with
wooden benches of racking discomfort - As the fascinating
lecturer stretched out his enormous maps and stated his theories
of these monster petrifactions, a little gasp of unbelief ran
through the audience - The Pres. smiled saying "if you doubt
this ask my wife about it; for she loves the truth better than
she loves me". (Dress of the time) For many years the dress
that satisfied feminine taste and vanity among us was of the
simplest and would oddly adorn the pages of the Bon-Ton
Journal de Modes or Harpers' Bazaar - Soft merino dresses of


H bMS Am 1118.95, Box 9


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Writings by Susan Dickinson Main Page
Image reproduced by permission of the Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Not to be reproduced in whole or in part without permission.
Transcription and commentary copyright 1998 by Martha Nell Smith,
Laura Elyn Lauth, and Lara Vetter, all rights reserved
Maintained by Rebecca Mooney  <rnmooney@umd.edu>
Last updated on January 25, 2008

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