Viewing page 325 of 978

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

Hotel Des Indes
La Haye

June 30,1902

My dear Colonel:-

Owing to excitement, blockades, etc., in London last week, the mails have been badly delayed.

This morning, however, matters of transportation seem working and your three valued letters of the 11th, 13th and 14th came to me in a bunch. For them all, including the letter of credit, I thank you much.

The constant charm of the first seven weeks of my wanderings have received a shocking check!

As per my recent letter Mr. Whistler's attack of illness while en route here, was very severe. His case has I fear become hopeless. This is the ninth day and he is now very low. His heart is extremely bad, his stomach fearfully weak and his lungs badly effected. The doctor (a great comfort and skillful physician) still encourages us to hope for Mr. W.'s recovery but I, at last, see no evidence upon which to build up hope, unless it be the superb fight the sick one himself is making. We sent to London recently for another sister-in-law of his, Mrs. Whibley, a splendid woman, and she along with her sister Miss Philip, and myself do the nursing -- one of us three always being with him. We also have a most capable body servant of his, a french woman, and an old German courier. So all that can be done is receiving attention.

The days although fine as far as weather goes, drag wearily onward and the contrast with those of the earlier weeks is most marked.

Mr. W. is brave as a lion and true to West Point principles:- he dreads not the gaunt figure with cross bones and skill lurking in the great trees of the Plein fronting our hotel.

Still, he is wonderfully superstitious and draws most weird mental pictures of little mutual events which happened that time when I visited him in Paris just prior to Mrs. Whistler's death, and those of the last seven weeks spent so much together in London.