Christmas Day, 1913
Bridgewater, N.S
Dear Mother: -
As I didn’t have chance to write you last night owing to our Christmas Tree here at the Home, I will talk a part of this Christmas morning to answer your kind interesting received a few days ago. Before I forget it allow me to thank you for the dollar therein enclosed, which was spent rather extravagantly in adding to the numerous presents of our children. We had a beautiful tree just loaded with presents last night for all hands, the orphenes included. I received two small and one large box of cigars, a fine pair of bedroom slippers, a handsome sweater, a most delicious cake and two pairs of stockings. Bonnie receiving a ‘lovely’ bead purse with $2 in it from Minnie, also a string of the newest kind of beads (?), & fancy aprons and 10 handkerchiefs, $5 in gold from the Ladies Gild at Mahone Bay, a set of folding clothes hangers in leather initialed case, a ‘lovely’ ebony set of hair brush and comb, laced doilie, Ladies Home Journal, silver coin purse and chain, water wear picture, china, photos etc. Marion received no less than 4 dolls, 2 of them especially large and beautiful, a pair of fine shoes, gold pins, ball, horse and perhaps some other things that I don’t think of now. Herman got a sled, a cornet, a box of blocks, a whistle, a candy horse, a big ball, a woolly cap, a stuffed cat etc. Carolus received a sled, a pistol and caps, a box of nigger ten pins, an automobile,
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a woolly cap, a stuffed dog, a candy home, a rubber ball. Besides there there were candies, oranges, nuts etc galore. The children of the Home were also will remembered with many wise and useful gifts and with much candy and confectioning and fruits. I am sure they got a great deal more than the average family of children around this part of Nova Scotia. “Minnie” is with us. She came from St. John Tuesday, stayed over night at New Germany, and came down yesterday morning. She seems quite happy that she is back again in Nova Scotia. She is helping to stuff and roast the chickens this morning. She is looking quite well despite the fact that she says that she has had malaria almost the whole time she was away. Yesterday we had a wild storm with heavy wind and rain and snow. It was the most desperate storm we have had this fall and I was out in almost the whole of it. I had a funeral down at Rose Bay. I left here at about half past nine in the morning and it was nearly 7 o’clock in the evening when I got back. The distance both ways, was 36 miles. It has been a long time since I had a more disagreeable trip but I don’t feel as tired over it as I expected I would. To-day it is not raining but is dull and not very cold. The ground is bare some for patches of snow here and there, and I think it will be dull all day. But as we are not going out anywhere, it is just as well. We will have our feast in peace and quietness directly. Tuesday afternoon I took Mr. Weihnacht with me and we went off about 2 miles from here for a little rabbit hunt. It proved the best shooting I have had
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this season. I shot four rabbits and Mr. Weihnacht one. I shot another and knocked it over but when I went to pick it up, it suddenly recovered sufficiently to scramble off into the bushes and get out of sight. I also shot at a weasel but missed it. The rabbits we got were very large and fat and almost as white as snow which is the colour they assume here in the winter season. I want to go out for another hunt one day next week. Last Sunday I preached in the Rose Bay parish. That was another rainy day and I preached only once, the other churches not being after. It was Monday noon before I got back home. Next Sunday I will preach at Mahone Bay. I am also to take charge of their Christmas service on New Year’s Eve. The Rose Bay people are having theirs to-night and have asked Pastor Feltuly to take charge. I think they are considering the master of giving him a call. We were sorry to hear that Herbet’s are afflicted with scarlet fever. I hope they are getting better and that there will be no serious results from it. It is bad enough for the youngsters as it is to be quarantined over Christmas. I am sorry poor grandmother continues as she is. I remember her daily in my prayers. Your letter was missent to Bridgewater, N.C. Perhaps after this you had better put “Canada” after “Nova Scotia”. The letter was written plainly enough on the envelope. But I must close. Writing you all the blessings of the happy Christmas season, I am with love from us all,
Most Sincerely Yours,
[signed] Carroll H. Little
