Letter - Ethelwyn Wetherald to Frank Page, 20 May 1932

A letter from Ethelwyn Wetherald to Mr. Page, 20 May 1932. The letter reads: "It was a pleasure to get your card at Mothers' Day, & I shall try to deserve your compliment. Did you know that Mazo de la Roche (Winner of the ten thousand dollar prize, offered by the Atlantic Magazine for her novel "Jalna") has adopted recently a boy of five & a girl of two years. She is in England this summer but her house in Toronto. I wish every unmarried or childless woman could follow her example & make this world a happier place. It was most kind of you to send me such a good description of Homer Watson and his work. Of course I had known him by reputation but that was enough to give your appreciation great interest. How you & dear Elsie must have enjoyed your visit with him last Wednesday Mr. & Mrs. Louis Blake Duff called for me & took me with them to visit Walter McRaye who lives at Grimsby & whose fame as a reader and entertainer is known not only on this continent, but in England where he gave recitals with Pauline Johnson. He has a wonderful voice - with great range & richness of tone. He is an enthusiast over poetry & read to us poems of Roberts, Bliss Carmen, Wilson MacDonald, Edwin Markham & many many others. He has wonderful collections of treasures, rare books, pictures, autographs of a host of noted people. There was a picture & autograph of the recently assassinated President of France with his five sons - splendid young fellows, four of them killed in the war. Mr. McRaye has a lovely little fruit farm - plums, cherries, peaches and apples - three acres of bloom. I should think he is in his fifties, though he has that clear English complexion that never looks jaded. Your third favor is the poem on Spring, which I read with pleasure. My favorite stanzas are the third and fifth, but all the verses give the worshipful feeling of a walk in the spring woods. Yes, I think "Here seek the joy of a - new found birth" is preferable to the other line. Of course the prevailing influence of the woods in peace. You remember Emerson interpreting the woods as saying to a man fresh from a political meeting "why so hot, my little sir"? But in Spring every new leaf & flower rejoices. Mr. John Garvin was here last Sunday, & we called on the Duffs in their lovely place at St. John's. Forty years ago Mrs. Duff (then Georgina Somerville) attended his school when he taught in Welland - & he slapped her hands for misbehavior! Well, he didn't slap them this time; far otherwise. Do let me know when you are next in Pelham. We want you & Elsie & Ellen here for a good visit. My love to them. Sincerely Ethelwyn Wetherald