Mother
bought a sealskin muff to match her coat, and a lovely Russian sable scarf
and muff me in Geneva; also a pattern dress of blue chambray, hand-embroidered.
I had it made at home.
We went to Lausanne and Bern and on to Paris where
we spent three days before going to England. We had no trouble when crossing
the channel where many people get seasick. We did a lot of sightseeing
in London where we spent a week in a downtown hotel. Lucy and her father
spent most of their time in the Tate, the National Gallery, and the British
Museum. Lucy Norvell's desire to become an artist was developed on this
trip. She was very studious and in later years studied in New York and
Paris and became a semi-professional artist.
Mr. Shaw, Sank's Member of Parliament friend, was
at his country estate or we might have attended a session of parliament.
We were in London at the time in September when the Jewish New Year is
celebrated. We went to the Ghetto. It was the last day. We left our cab
and walked several blocks to see the lights, tables full of food, people
eating, singing, and dancing in the streets.
As stated before, we had reservations on a ship
sailing from Liverpool to Boston, so a visit to Mr. Shaw was on our way.
My memory fails me here as to the name of the village near the Shaw estate
and the name of the steamer to Boston. We sailed in time for Lucy to get
to Mary Institute the middle of September. The fox hunting season started
the end of September. When Mr. Shaw learned that Sank, Lucy, and I were
experienced riders he urged us to remain for a hunt. Alas, we had to go
home!
The steamer stopped at Queenstown, Ireland, where
we got a glimpse of the Emerald Isle, but not long enough for us to land.
The trip was foggy and cold and would have been rather boring to me but
for some Oxford and Cambridge boys who played association football. They
had been invited to the United States to learn about American football.
They were athletes and played games such as tug-of-war and shuffleboard
all the way across. They asked me and some Boston girls to play in a shuffleboard
tournament. I won and they gave me a Scotch dirk, a small replica of what
Highlanders stick in their belts. It was about five inches long and set
with Scotch stones.
The beautiful silk rug I had bought in Constantinople
was rolled up in a shawl strap with my steamer rug. When the customs officer
said, "What's in here - rugs?" I said "Yes sir," and
it passed through. How glad I was to get home!
Thus ended a very remarkable trip, the richer by the memories Claude and
I enjoy reviewing while in our eighties. In succeeding chapters I will
have a great deal to tell about the lifelong friends I made on that trip
and was blessed with for many years.
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