No one realizes, better than I do, the truth of the old adage: "Procrastination is the thief of time." This letter was to have been written for the C. C. C. nearly one year ago and it is not because I have received no "daily reminder" that it has not materialized before this, but my delay may be explained by the familiar excuse, "lack of time," and may also be illustrated by the above saying.

William has told you much about us; and I will add that we are occupied with various interests most of the time. We are both connected with the Methodist Church in our town, which is in reality, -- a Community Church, -- and stands on the corner nearly opposite our home. William sings with the men on special occasions and is a member of the Men's Club and other organizations of the Church. The writer is especially interested in the Missionary work of our Societies and we are, of course, in sympathy with improvement affairs and general betterment. We are members of our local New England Society which holds very interesting meetings, and there is also a very fine Country Club here with tennis, golf and bowling advantages. With home keeping, outside interests and occasional trips to the city for me, we keep quite occupied.

Doris is now speaking for herself in this volume; we miss her presence in the home very greatly; but keep in touch with her all the time. She is a regular and explicit correspondent and this is a joy to her parents and to her grandmother, who is with us.

Last summer, "we three Selphs" boarded our faithful old car one beautiful morning in July and started from Mt. Tabor¹, where we summer, for Tioga County. If I were to go into details of the trip, I should occupy much space; but during our two weeks' stay in Pennsylvania, we made very many calls and visits and were dined and treated royally by the Cousins, one and all. We always visit the farm, -- "Uncle Allen's farm," where William was born and spent his early boyhood days, and "Aunt Mary Ann" has become a familiar name to Doris and to me. The beautiful views up the valley and glen, I always delight in feasting my eyes upon, and they are equal to many which are much further distant. In fact, I think I appreciate

Once, I visited Aunt Phoebe's farm in the autumn when the foliage was gorgeous and I have never forgotten. And the view from Cousin Ann Owlett's farm is very fine. I might write on indefinitely and describe many more pictures which have painted themselves in my memory.

This past year, we had the opportunity to add largely to this mental picture gallery, for we have just returned from Washington where we, or rather I, have been getting acquainted with Cousin Jennie Bosard, Mary and her husband, Florence, and Austin. We have been travelling [sic] about the city together for several days, trying to "see everything." Perhaps some of the Cousins will not object if I tell about a few of the "sights"; for it is very difficult for me to write a letter just now and not talk "Washington."

Last Thursday, we arrived at the fine Union Station in the late afternoon and went directly to Cousin Jennie's house. In the evening, Mary and her husband took us out for our first glimpse of the Capitol, -- our Capitol It is a wonderful sight! Standing on an elevation, majestically proportioned, dignified and commanding, and lighted by many searchlights thrown upon it, it shines forth out of the darkness like a marble palace. its dome, towering high, may be seen for miles around. Later, we visited the interior of the Capitol; here, we saw the historical paintings, and statutory hall and sat in both Houses of Congress while in session. This is a most interesting place to visit; here is transacted the affairs of our nation for weal or woe. There came to us, a new realization of the great responsibility which rests upon those who represent us there, and our responsibility in choosing such representatives wisely.

It is practically impossible to describe the beautiful library of Congress, located opposite the Capitol, and built of New Hampshire and Maryland granite. Here we saw the Copyright Office, a reading room for the blind, wonderful rare books, pictures and statuary. The beautiful Italian marble staircase, the great reading room with its dome encrusted with white and gold flowers, the mural paintings and mosaic picture of Minerva are well worth a journey of many miles. Many quotations are lettered in gold on pillars and walls and like the following illustration are well worth remembering:

"They are never alone that are accompanied by noble thoughts."

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"Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know, are a substantial world, both pure and good."

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A few weeks ago the original writings of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were placed in the Library in beautiful cases; and were glad to view these important documents of our country, now located permanently and fittingly.

Of course, we made a pilgrimage to Mount Vernon where we could picture our first President, returned from the turmoil of war and public life, standing on the piazza looking across the peaceful Potomac. This is a beautiful home and you would enjoy seeing the many relics. The key to the Bastille, presented by Lafayette; Washington's dress sword, the harpsichord of Nellie Custis and many other things. It is here that Washington died; and we looked into his room and into that of Martha Washington, -- away upstairs, -- chosen by her because from the little window she could see her husband's burial place. We stood before their tomb where were the wreaths reverently laid by General Joffre and King Albert of Belgium; and we wished that all Americans might have the opportunity to visit our American shrines. In Alexandria, we sat in Washington's pew in Christ Church.

More than sixty thousand soldiers have been laid to rest in Arlington Cemetery², and an impressive sight is the row after row of simple, white stones which mark their graves. Here lie many of our boys brought from France and here also is the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, just outside the beautiful, dignified, marble Amphitheater which seats five thousand people out-of-doors. From this point, there is a fine view of the Washington Monument, which towers more than five hundred feet above the city and may be seen from every point in Washington. One never loses sight of it.

The Bureau of Printing and Engraving turns out our Liberty Bonds³, postage stamps and paper currency and we saw several of the processes.

Then we visited the Green, Blue and East rooms of the White House and looked also at the new painting of Mrs. Coolidge, which is very lovely. In the gardens, hyacinths, daffodils and tulips were blooming, robins were gaily hopping about, indifferent to their notable surroundings, and as we looked upon the green lawns at the rear of the house, we could see, -- in imagination, -- the children in Washington following the time-honored custom of egg-rolling on Easter Monday.

The National Museums are interesting; and the men Cousins would hie at once to see the exhibit of African animals collected by Roosevelt⁴ and the models of steam engines, boats, and relics of the World War; while their wives would look interestedly at the gowns worn by the Presidential wives and at the collections of samplers, old laces and china.

I almost forgot the Pan-American Building. You would all be delighted could you step into the entrance which is a facsimile of the one found in a South American home,- with its fountain in the centre, surrounded by palms and other Southern trees, and birds fluttering around. The Hall of the Americas is most beautiful; and the adjoining smaller room, with its long table surrounded by chairs significantly united with red, white and blue rope, is the monthly meeting place of representatives of twenty-one republics.

The Lincoln Memorial is beautifully situated in Potomac Park. The enormous seated figure of Lincoln there is said to be one of the best statues of him ever made. The simple beauty of this memorial cannot fail to leave an indelible impression on all who see it.

On Sunday afternoon, our Cousins took us to see the National Soldier's Home, Rock Creek Park which Roosevelt loved and enjoyed so well, and the last resting place of Woodrow Wilson; from this high point, there is a wonderful bird's eye view of the City.

Now, I am going to give a recipe to the Cousins who have said at various times that they are tired of winter and want to see spring come. On Sunday, -- the Springtime came to Washington in all its glory!. Buds burst open, flowers bloomed and most gorgeous of all, -- hundreds of cherry trees from Japan which surround the Potomac basin

And, -- we saw our President, -- Calvin Coolidge. And, we hope when we again visit Washington, -- perhaps next year, -- we will still find him in the same capacity, Chief Executive of our Nation.

Well, we finally awoke to the fact that our visit to Washington was over for this year, and we boarded the train for our homeward trip.

The next morning, when I looked out of my window, I discovered that spring was on its way to Maplewood too; for I beheld my long row of golden daffodils all blooming in our garden; -- my wealth of gold, -- I call them. We are now "settling down" to daily tasks with many new scenes and pleasures to think of.

You are undoubtedly saying that I have taken more than my share of space in this book, but you see, I am making up for lost time and this letter is a year in length.

It comes to you with best wishes for "Health, Hope, and Happiness" to you all from an "in-law."