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NICHOLS, Lois Mildred

1878 - 1966  (87 years)

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Lois Drennan to Barbara Byrne 1920

226 Ave du Roi Albert
Shanghai

Dear Barbara,

Of course xxxx Uncle Ryland and I were delighted with your letter - and your paper was wonderful. The pictures to say the least were not flattering.

I'm sure if you are lucky enough to have the purse returned to you -you will at once put it aside to spend in China.

I'm sure you would be very busy and interested here - when it is cooler I'm going to explore every street. But with the thermometer at nearly hundred every day I find it much pleasanter to do nothing.

Every night we take an auto ride for an hour or so and go through many Chinese villages - you ride for blocks among fine homes then you come to a cluster of Chinese houses - often with stone walls surrounding their and hundreds of men, women and children about. At present they seem to eat out door same at babes where just squatting on any convenient place, and of course eating with chopsticks. No one wears many clothes - many children none at all and some just a little pair of pants that have no seat in them -- cool and convenient too.

We pass hundreds of graves, some in huge mounds grassed over, which went little buck houses built around the casket, and still others with gowns unto wrapped about and often just the wooden casket sitting in a vegetable garden. They never disturb a grave but cultivate around it and seldom is the land used -- so in the first residence distance you see graves xxx no they are many.

The dresses you seen in the shops for the Chinese children are awfully cute. buy at colored coats and pants are such fancy xxx xxx hats that sit on the top of their heads. Of course these things are for the wealthier class.

The flowers here are lovely, many the same as at home -- you see many water lilies and wonderful lotus blossoms in pink and white. My gardener brings my flowers at present - those zinnias, snap dragon and French marigolds. Ferns are pretty here - I have two parts of macder felouis fers in the house - paid .90 xxx for them - that's about .55 our money - so you see they are cheap too. Later on I'm going to get some poinsettas - you see a great many here - they are just budding out now.

There's a Chinese school near here - the children go about 8 and are dismissed about 4 - they see m to do all the xxx things American children do - make plenty of noise and sing in a peculiar falsetto voice and occasionally I see them fighting when they greet their teacher in the street they make a most defexxx bow -- nearly touch the ground.


Well I must write to xxx too - maybe you have some fuschias ... -- I'll do my best to find one for you by the time you must be in school again - glad of course and she dying and fracturing head. Give my love to the rest of the family .

With Love,
Aunt Lois

Aug 17

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