Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family

Title

Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family

Creator

Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958

Identifier

WWP23030

Date

1919 April 4

Description

Letter from Jon Bouman to his family.

Source

Gift of William C. and Evelina Suhler

Subject

Correspondence
Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920)

Contributor

Rachel Dark
Denise Montgomery
Austin Shifflett

Language

English

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

13 Place de la Bourse
Paris April 4, 1919
Dearest;

     I have waited writing until I heard the safe receipt of my cheque which came last night and I would have sat down and replied at once, had I not had an appointment with Lady Muriel Paget, who kept me talking in her room at the Hotel Lutetia until nearly one in the morning - no cause for jealousy dear, although she did wear an exquisite blue confection with stamped gold patterns! She had just come back from Bohemia where she had been organizing relief, and as fate has brought me in rather close contact with the Czechoslovaks, her experiences interested me. You would have been delighted with some native embroideries she showed me, munching lumps of sugar the while out of a wooden box.

     I must at once confess my unbounded admiration for your explanations about the new home - pros and cons carefully marshalled, its almost too perfect!! Dousslers D.C.T., had he seen your letter, would have again testified to your extreme competency in dealing with business affairs! Well, I hope it will be a success, although it is more than I wanted to pay; but as you say there was no choice, it was undoubtedly the best thing to do. From your map I know the whereabouts of the road, although I don't know the other side of the Archway Road very well. I will sign the document as soon as it gets here.

     Berry arrived here yesterday, mighty glad to get back especially as his wife is to undergo an operation, dating back to her confinement 10 years ago. However, it is not supposed to be serious. So we have had long confabs. together about the situation in Holland. He came via London, and after all he wasn't so much quicker than I was, coming to Paris. He tells me Amsterdam is quite empty of newspapermen - Bram is in London Feibelman in Vienna, Renwick in Berlin and Maloney and Stockwell in Copenhagen. Josten also in Berlin. Young Maloney is the lonesome bird in Amsterdam and he sends about one message a week. Time was they sent 5000 words a day! You may have read Harold Begbie's story of an interview with the Kaiser in the Daily Chronicle. I have incontrovertible evidence that it is invented from beginning to end! Some enterprise! I shouldn't have though a man like Begbie would do such a thing.

     After the Czechoslovaks, I went among the Jugoslaves as you can see by enclosed programme. It was a very crowded function, and the singing was very fine, after which I joined a distinguished party at tea.

     A young Dutch-American officer whom Rooseboom and I know had a birthday the other day, and as we had done him some good turns, he insisted on giving us a dinner. He was 40. We got the only free table at a very crowded restaurant and found ourselves next to another birthday party - another American and he was also 40 that day! Wasn't that odd? Of course they were perfect strangers and we only discovered the coincidence through overhearing scraps of conversation. Afterwards there were mutual congratulations and raisings of glasses, and we parted the best of friends.

     The weather is keeping very cold here and I have read recently of snow in London. We have however had some sunshine lately, which is to the good. I hope you are all keeping very fit. When the Easter holidays come, do let me have a postcard picture of the bobbed-hair babes. I smiled to myself when "bushy eyebrow Berry" recalled his visit to the house at the Hague. Poor Mrs. Wilkie must feel pretty lonely now, I guess.

     You will laugh when I tell you that lately I have given way to the vice of reading in bed! But I swear I only do it because there is an electric lamp overhead against the wall. I have borrowed a few books from Frank, where I still occasionally spend a short Sunday evening. It is the funniest thing to hear Frank talk to his wife with vous. No Frenchman ever would; of course they always use the second person singular tu. I rallied him about it and he replied that he found vous easier, as the conjugation of verbs tied him up so! How I laughed! He is as quiet and friendly as ever, and I like him very well, also his wife.

     Well, dear, I hope to hear from you again soon. My first act every morning is to search the letter box. Your letters written on Sunday generally get here Wednesday morning. Your last, being Tuesday April 1, got here Thurs. evening.

                                                    With all my love, and hugs to the babes,
                                                      Thine, 
                                                        Jack.


Conférence de la Paix
Matinée Serbo-Grecque
Du 30 Mars 1919
Organisée par le
Comité de Propagande balkinique
au
Cercle Français de la Presse Etrangère

Programme

Première Partie

Allocution de M. Maginot,
Député de la Meuse, ancien Ministre.

Conférence de M. le Professeur RA Reiss,
de l'Univerité de Lausanne,
sur les atrocités Austro-Bulgares commises dans les Balkans.

Projections

Allocution de M. Pachitch,
Président de la Délégation SCS à la Conférence de la Paix,
Ancien Président du Conseil des Ministres de Serbie.

Hymne Serbe
Par le choeur des Ètudiants yogo-slaves

Allocution de M. Venizelos,
Président du Conseil des Ministres de Grèce.

Hymne Grec
par M. Alexandre Scouffi.

Deuxième Partie

Concert

Avec le concours de:
Mme. E. Anemo-Yanni,
des Concerts classique de Monte-Carlo.

Mlle. Nicole Anckier,
1er Prix du Conservatoire, Harpe.

Mlle. Sonia Lewinson,
1er Prix du Conservatoir, Violoncelle.

MA Anemo-Yanni,
Concertiste.

MA Scouffi,
Baryton.

M. Paul Dony,
1er Prix du Conservatoire, violoniste.

Mlle. Jane Lava,
de l'Opéra.

Mlle. Valsamachi.
Récitation.

M. Philippe Jurgensen,
Alto 1er Prix du Conservatoire.

M. Mïloie Miloïevitch,
Professeur au Conservatoire de Belgrade.

M. Miyate Miyatovitch,
Ténor.

MJ Jumas,
2er Violon de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire.


Choer des Étudiants Yougo-Slaves a Paris

1. a) Je pense à toi ..........Svoboda.
b) Airs populares serbes ....Binitchki.
M. Miyatovitch, accompagné par Mlle. Anckier.

2. a) La vielle Légende ............ Anemo-Yanni.
b) Scène pastorale grecque .......Anemo-Yanni.
Par l'Auteur.

3. a) L'Hirondelle (V. Ilitch) ....................Christich.
b) La Lettre (E. Rostand) ..............Miloïevitch.
c) Chanson triste (Vassitch) ..............Manoylovitch.
Mlle. Laval. Au piano, M. Miloïevitch.

4. Scenes villageoises (quator et piano)  Miloievitch.
Mlle. Lewinson, MM. Paul Dony, Jumas,
Jurgenson. Au piano, l"Auteur.

5. a) Oh! Fleur si belle! (Mode phrygian). Mélodies populaires
b) Des éclairs brillent à l'Orient (Mode hypodorien). grecques.

6. a) Le vieux Dimos (Gero Dimos) .. Mélodies populaires
b) Le gai Muletier (L'Agoïatis) .. grecques.
MA Scouffi.               Mario Vervoglio.

7. Ce que la Grèce dit .... Jules Bois.
Mlle. Valsamachi.

8. Suites de Mélodies populaires serbes de Macédoine.
Choeur sous la direction de M. Miloïevitch.

9. La Marseillaise.
Mme. E. Anemo-Yanni.
_____________

Au Piano d'accompagnement, MJ Marimian



Piano Gaveau

Original Format

Letter

To

Bouman Family

Files

http://resources.presidentwilson.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1919-04-04.pdf

Citation

Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958, “Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family,” 1919 April 4, WWP23030, Jon Anthony Bouman Collection, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.