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Bombay,

Jan. 27th/95.

Dear Mr. Hecker,

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This mixture of stately beauty and simple happy lives, of great wealth and extreme poverty, out of which both high and low seem to extract so much contentment and so little care. The responsibilities of life as we call them, are adjusted here upon much simpler and I fancy happier basis. Of course my opinions are based upon very slight evidence and may be entirely wrong, but one can easily see that the masses here although much poorer are immensely happier than in our country. One logical reason therefor is because their necessities are so very much less. One sees in the interior thousands of families tramping along with all of their earthly possessions on their shoulders and heads, including children too young to walk. And these people are not beggars, but substantial workers walking often a hundred or more miles to some new field of work --- happy, cheerful and even gay, and above all things clean. It's tremendously interesting to study the simplicity of their food, clothing and customs --- and the complexity of their castes and religious practices.

Tomorrow evening I start for the Northwest, gradually working my way to Caloutts from which place I expect to sail for Japan --- probably via Colombo --- possibly direct via Singapore. All depends upon the weather and the steamers. My departure from Calcutts will occur be-tween March 15th and April 1st. And I should arrive in Japan between April 15th and May 1st. Yokohama will be my headquarters for mail and cablegrams. Kindly address as below,

Care of Hong Kong and Shanghai
Banking Corporation,
Yokohama,
Japan.

and please mark upon envelopes "To be held until called for." I trust this will find you all enjoying the same sort of excellent health as I am blessed with. With warmest regards,

Very sincerely yours,

C.L.F.

Long hand.

Transcription Notes:
unsure if asterisks should be included