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Browse Items (31 total)

  • Tags: humor

November 18, 1891

Mary Leslie Newton recounts her birthday gifts, including a cloak and a subscription to Harper's; she notes but rejects her aunt's suggestion that, at 17, she is old enough to begin putting her hair up. She recounts some humorous mishaps, including…


December 3, 1891

Mary Leslie Newton provides an account of recent events, including bad news about her sister Halley's vision, good news about her teeth, and a handwritten postscript regarding the type of envelope she is using.


December 5, 1891

Mary Leslie Newton writes a business letter to her father about a woman who has offered to trade them her farm for their house, and requests her father's response.


December 23, 1891

Mary Leslie Newton provides a humorous account of her forgetfulness, which caused her to miss a week of letters; she goes on to discuss further activity related to the potential sale of their house, as well as Christmas gifts and shopping.


December 24, 1891

Mary Leslie Newton provides an account of Christmas gifts given and received, as well as several local deaths due to illness. She signs her name Dorothy Q.


January 5, 1892

Mary Leslie Newton writes a humorous letter to her father, making up details to supplant the lack of news. She describes her own printing responsibilities, and asks if she might "set up as a boy" once her brother Don leaves home.


March 8, Undated

This undated letter describes the usual lack of news, housecleaning, and Mary Leslie Newton's ongoing issues with a couple of her teeth. A humorous postscript describes an interaction with her grandmother about her height.


January 21, 1892

A humorous letter — in an attempt to pad the length, Mary Leslie Newton uses as many polysyllabic words as possible, and includes nearly two full pages of postscripts. She describes postcards sent to relatives, her ongoing foot problem, a cat fight,…


February 16, 1892

Mary Leslie Newton describes a recent aurora, her attendance at Sunday school and some criticism of the sermon, and an interaction between the family cat Koko and a strange cat.


March 6, 1892

Mary Leslie Newton provides an ongoing account of the moving process, focusing particularly and humorously on the family's large number of books. She summarizes a letter received from an uncle, notes attendance at church, and mentions the pension…