Letter 43 Thursday Eve. May 15th, 1919
My dear Frances,
I am quite excited tonight as my orders came this noon and I leave tomorrow morning for England. Haven't seen the orders myself, so I do not know the route, but I believe Paris, Le Havre, South Hampton. Miss Brennan will go with me as far as London enroute to her parent's in Ireland whom she has not seem for seven years. Haven't made my plans. May spend all my time prowling around London. My request for a leave to Italy went in for Miss Sutter and self. Perhaps they are changing all Italian leaves to Gt. Britain-or more likely made a mistake at Tours (GHQ) as several requests to Gt. Britain went in with ours. Anyway, it has come out all right as I should not have enjoyed going to Italy alone and Miss Sutter with the other thirty nurses left last night.
Have packed everything today as I hope to find sailing orders awaiting the hospital when I return. It is rumored we sail June 20th. I hoe it is true.
Your boy of candy arrived yesterday-a delightful surprise and much enjoyed by several. Have also received two letters from Margaret and from Alice since I wrote. The Kodak pictures are splendid, especially of mother. But mother, haven't you a few more gray hairs than a year ago? I don't Alice in her suit, she should wear a tight-fitting jacket. Am taking them to England with me.
Misses LeGros and Bryant (Base 26 nurses) left Tuesday. They hope to do the British Isles. The other two nurses have returned from visits to their old homes in Wales and Scotland. It is more expensive traveling in England as we have to go First Class and pay one-half fare while in France we pay only one-fourth fare on the railroads. Don't know what they charge for the channel trip.
The last week has been delightful, the days actually hot.
We gave a dinner Tuesday night fro the girls who left on Wednesday. Beef loaf, fresh asparagus tips, fruit salad, potatoes au gratin, olives, radishes, ice cream, and cake.
Expect you will be home when this reaches you. Glad your work was so much lighter this spring so you could get in tennis or some other recreation. A tennis court was completed yesterday for the nurses in front of our barracks and the girls have been using it today.
Have been to a minstrel show this evening-very good. I fancy these doughboy shows will travel through the states and draw big houses. Most of them are better than we used to see at the Orpheum.
No, Margaret, I saw no Boche airplanes hovering over us. We often had and still do Allied planes over us.
The nurses must have had a great reception in Mpls.
Well, I must crawl in. The next will be from England.
Affectionately, Jane