September 9, 1940 
Dear Dr* Sffihmitt: 
I have answered all the morning mail now (11:20) and can write 
you* I have just mailed on to you a long letter from Mrs* Morgan which 
she sent here for proper address* She enclosed it unsealed in a note 
to me and told me to read yours if I cared to, which I did. Doesn’t 
she describe their travels entertainingly? She wrote me an awfully 
nice letter, too. I certainly do like her* She’s worth half a dozen 
of your other gilt-edged friend! 
I didn’t know that the Hancocks had been in Washington again 
until I read Mrs. Morgan’s letter. They never came near the office 
or even called. I suppose there is no reason why they should have. 
Do you remember our having some correspondence with a Mr. 
Arthur Humes, who was working with Miss Behre at Grand Isle? He came 
in here this morning and asked to examine some parasitic nemerteans 
of the Portunidae. He will be here just today. He seems to be a 
nice young man. 
I had a nice time on my little vacation, though it was so 
cold and rainy that I nearly froze to death. New Jersey is the dampest 
place I ever got into anyway. The second week-end (Labor Day) I met 
Florence in New York on Saturday and stayed at her sister’s on Long 
Island for a couple of nights. We drove back on Labor Day. Betty 
had a wonderful time, and it was well worth the investment to see her 
pleasure in everything we did. She shows her appreciation spontan- 
eously that you always know when she is pleased. She came back on 
the train by herself the middle of the week, so I would have the second 
week-end free to spend in New York. 
We are having a lovely, quiet time in the office. I am not 
doing all the little odd jobs as fast as I wanted to. The mail each 
day takes such a lot of time. I often spend a lot of time looking up 
something for some one, so that it is noon before I can get to "my” 
work, I want to get the books and pamphlets all carded before Maloney 
gets back next week. It will shock him into another decline to see 
how high his desk is piled with books to be filed away.’ He’ll need 
to take a week off again immediately to "rest up H . Poor man; I hope 
he has been able to effect a transformation, but I have my doubts. 
I hope he gets himself some friends. I wonder how a person that age 
who hasn’t any friends goes about establishing a set of friends. I 
wouldn’t know, myself. 
I’m anxious to see your diary. I hear you are sleeping with 
the rats. I ^uess they aren’t inconvenienced! 
Mr. Kirk (Perry’s office) left, and I understand that after 
much parleying the men who were called away for military service were 
at last given furloughs. I guess it was done under protest, but some 
