Letters from Skye Read Free Page A

offered me a much-welcome break from studying. It even helped to soothe my throbbing head. I was in the hospital recently and still am not quite up to snuff.
    I’m not sure if my parents know how I feel about school.When I was starting college and mentioned I’d fancy studying American literature, my father actually laughed. Didn’t even look up from his newspaper. Just laughed and said, “Ridiculous.” He has a big walrus mustache, and when he laughs, he doesn’t make a sound. You only know because the tips of his mustache twitch. There he sat, sniffing, mustache twitching, saying things like “Ridiculous” and “No career in that.” “But I enjoy literature,” I protested. “Medicine. That’s what you need to study. You’ll thank me for it later. Nothing more rewarding.”
    I really did try to tell him then, Sue, honest I did. But it only bloomed into an argument, with my mother wringing her hands and imploring me to just “give it a try.” My father finally thumped his newspaper down and declared that he wasn’t paying for that nonsense and that, if I wanted to study something frivolous like literature, it wouldn’t be on his dime.
    So you see why I can’t talk to my parents. I need to just carry on. Finish college, finish medical school. Once I get a job, I can make my own decisions. Maybe.
    I should get back to my studying. I’m looking forward to the holidays as a time to rest up and recuperate before the term starts up again.
       Eyes swimming, vision blurring,
       David
    Isle of Skye
    5 January 1913
    Dear David,
    Happy New Year! It has been so cold, I can barely tear myself from my spot in front of the fire. When I finally did bundle myself and trudge to the post office, I found a letter from you waiting, and so it was well worth the trip.
    How was your holiday? We try to make it merry around here. I made my famous Christmas pudding and had the bonniest wee Christmas tree, strung with ropes of dried flowers. Boughs of evergreen lay across the mantelpiece and swung above the doorways. I was given a pair of mittens, a new kettle, and one of Robert W. Service’s books. Have you read his poetry? Simply marvellous stuff. If you enjoy reading my little verses, you should dip into his.
    What are some of your favourite books? Like any whose blood runs tartan, I adore W. S. Indeed, I don’t know that I could call myself an islander if I hadn’t read
The Lord of the Isles
. I think his novels are sometimes a bit too Gothic for my tastes, but his poetry really does a fine job of capturing Scotland in all of her changeable moods. I have a cheerful fondness for my battered copy of
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
, the first book I ever owned. My brothers and I would run Caucus-races down on the shingle while shouting the driest things we knew into the wind. And I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I’ve just read and quite enjoyed
Three Weeks
. You probably wouldn’t have guessed me for an Elinor Glyn sort of girl.
       Elspeth
    P.S. I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve been in hospital. I hope it’s nothing serious. You seem to do this with alarming frequency.
    Urbana, Illinois, U.S.A.
    February 1, 1913
    Dear Sue,
    My holidays were splendid! I was in Chicago with my parents. My sister, Evie, and her husband came up from Terre Haute and I met my new little niece, Florence, for the first time. She’s almost a year old now. Full of smiles and the most infectious giggles as she yanked on my suspenders. I bought her a doll in a silk dress, which she was obviously too young for, as all she did was chew on the doll’s hand and laugh at me. I’ll probably still be buying her dolls in silk dresses when she’s far too old for them, and she’ll likely still be laughing at me.
    I got a box camera for Christmas. Here’s a picture of me, so you can see your humble correspondent. Now you’ll have to respond likewise! Also, more handkerchiefs than I can ever hope to need, courtesy of my mother, a