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Letter from A. R. Wallace to his wife Annie from Washington DC, 29 Jan 1887, re her letter about snow in England and damage to garden; Hampden (John Hampden of the Flat Earth Society) not a threat as few American papers would print anything by him; flattery becoming "quite painful", quotes remarks by dinner host, Mr Nordhoff, Washington representative of "New York Herald", describes dinner in detail including settings (guests names in gold on rose leaves), dining etiquette; J A Allen, father of Grant Allen staying nearby with his family; magnificence of Washington, street layout and houses; details of city's tram system; approval of American methods of warming houses and trains; superiority of American railway system; details of hotel room including heater and gas lamp; amazing experiences of spiritualist General Lippitt, materialisations and slate-writing; seances attended; visit to millionaire spiritualist Senator Stanford and his wife, Stanford to spend 20 million dollars to found a university in memory of his son; sending press cuttings on weather and on Garibaldi; no lectures recently but two arranged in Canada in March; has sent an article to Harris and written reviews for some American papers. Stamped envelope addressed to her at Frith Hill, Godalming and postmarked on the front Washington 29 Jan 1887and on the back New York 30 Jan 1887 and Godalming 11 Feb 1887. Place: Washington DC USA |
