Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family

Title

Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family

Creator

Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958

Identifier

WWP23115

Date

1922 February 10

Description

Letter from Jon Bouman to his family.

Source

Gift of William C. and Evelina Suhler

Subject

Correspondence
Hague, Netherlands

Contributor

Rachel Dark
Denise Montgomery

Language

English

Requires

PROOFREADING

Provenance

Evelina Suhler is the granddaughter of Jon Anthony Bouman and inherited the family collection of his letters from the years of World War I. She and her husband gave the letters to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum in 2013.

Text

Hotel Twee Steden
The Hague Feb. 10/22

Dearest,

Letters now take only 1 day; it seems. It is quite a surprise to find they come so quickly, as after all they should; only it’s the old memory of weeks and weeks sometimes.

I think I forgot to mention in my last letter the tobogganing was in full force down that snowed(?) slope at Scheveningen as I think we saw it once before; it was a jolly sight, with the powdered snow like dust rising to the young sportsmen’s (and girls’) faces. The frost is still holding; they are skating now on the ornamental waters in the Hague Wood, and boys with trays of “Chocola-de!” shout themselves hoarse. Beautiful sunshine all day long, ending in a perfect golden glow at setting time.

I wrote Aunt L. the other day telling her I was coming to see her when the court business is over. Every day I meet old acquaintances; I went to see Rendorp at the F.O. and old Van Oss asked me to lunch the other day at the Café Royal ( next to the Hotel des Indes now) A most excellent lunch for fl. 2_ or s3/4d. I wish I could get one half as good in the city for the money. Piek put me up for a month at the Club, so I browsed for an hour or two there last night among the books – it is a joy to find all the latest works by all prominent authors there in the original, in 4 languages, just to pick up and glance through. One could never buy and own them all in a private capacity!

Mrs. Wilkie is not back. I saw her old assistant, that Belgian, you remember, who still works for her. He told me her father had died recently and of course she went over to London. She was expected back at the end of the week.

Mr. Collins, so MacKenzie wrote me, was “going on well”. He said that my work was “of the high class that distinguished frequenters of the Old Dr. Butler’s Head.” He is welcome to that miserable cook shop!

Mrs. Read told me that business was in a very bad way in her line too, but of course they had had a “boom” before so that perhaps it’s only natural there should be a reaction.

I am often thinking, since I know now that it is also so cold in England, how you must be suffering, poor soul. I hope you have the oilstove in bedroom, and with hot bottle and bedsokjes and the two babes beside you, that ought to keep you warm. I sleep with our open window at night, as early in the morning the radiator starts humming and never leaves off till midnight. So I get up in a nicely warmed room, which certainly a comfort. It would appeal to Lewis Bacon, too! What a joke about the Grundys; they seem to be turning their home into a hospital ward!

I am getting my new pipe cured with brandy which one can get here of course in a very small quantity which was all I wanted. Mr. Wolf told me his brother & sister in law were still keeping their “pension”on the Mauritskade but I haven’t passed that way, and so haven’t seen Pietje nor the dog Rudy; nor the V. Kooten person. Pomona is still going as usual.

I have already got some “pongo” but hush, hush, no more of that at present. Wait till I come home. I hope the old folks in N/C are reasonably well; you didn’t mention them in your letter. Also glad Rose has been able to come again to help although this weather may not be favourable to her complaint.

I am still very well as this leaves me. The work keeps me fairly busy all day; moreover there was a big speech in parliament last night by Minister van Karnebeek about the Washington conference, so I sent a couple of messages about it.

Much love to you all; I am just getting this off because this is the last week-end mail.

Thine,
Jack.

Original Format

Letter

To

Bouman Family

Files

http://resources.presidentwilson.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1922-02-10.pdf

Citation

Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958, “Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family,” 1922 February 10, WWP23115, Jon Anthony Bouman Collection, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.