Oyama     B.C     Canada

Jan 5^th 1919

     Dearest Mib

          I really can't understand about my letters never reaching you. Your gloves a year ago were taken out of their box & shown to every visitor. The velvet "coal [black] gloves" especially aroused great admiration! The books arrived in this fall & I am more than grateful for them. They did not send Buckroses but some perfectly inspiring ones-- Sonia is I think my favorite. The Sixth Sense being also frightfully interesting. I had never read anything by that author before. I read you Language Difficulty in Punch without knowing anything about your writing it! & it made me think of you and your Boys. I am anxiously waiting for your book to come out and I read every review I come across in case your title is changed. Whose name do you write under? But I shall see! By the way whose photo (out of a picture paper) did you send me. I can't think it is like anybody I know, tho the eyebrows might be yours, but this is the only likeness to anybody. Ought I to know the lady? Very interesting and more then an Anglo Indian Society lady.

I am glad you will now be going home in May & hope Em will too. You have been long enough out there. The Armistice Terms imply Peace, what a heavenly relief! & I think it was a great relief to dear little Whanky. My dear, I simply can't get used to it! I have not spoken of it till now because one can't speak of anything else then. If only one could have got home this autumn! It was a sort of reprieve to hear of her wonderful improvement -- & I went thro' Xmas praying and hoping she might be a wonderful cure. And then at the New Year one knew what had happened! And the most tragic and heartbreaking thing is that with her frail little body she sh^d [should] have earned & saved anything to leave anybody -- some how it hurts more than anything. Well I don't know if I'll make any effort to go home now. Mother speaks of Phil coming out to me, but I hate the idea of mother being left, but of course if you & Em are home it would be different -- however, I shan't urge or oppose it.

We are having rather a good winter so far -- the coldest being 22^o of frost. Much too cold for me but bearable till it goes below zero. That is over 32^o of frost. Bob has put a Dub and proper drainage into out little house, a great expense but it is untold help and comfort to me & I am resigning myself to live in these cold mountains.

Very much love and very many thanks for the books.
Your very affectionate,
Dorothea Allison

I am going to try my luck and address directly to you instead of as usual c/o Charlie. See if it reaches you any better.

Footnotes:

"... your Boys...": This is a reference to Milborough Mackay's servants.

Dorothea Allison Letters
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