ALBANY, N.Y.—What a blessing it is not to hear the telephone ring! It often seems to me that Mrs. Scheider and I are virtually slaves to the telephone. Convenient as it may be, I can only say that three days in which I have made two telephone calls and answered calls twice, seem to have given me time for endless physical and mental activity. When I think of the times Mrs. Scheider and I sit down to work and never get more than half way through a sentence without the telephone ringing, I can hardly express my satisfaction at spending hours on end without hearing that insistent little bell.

There was no telephone on the "Potomac" the week end in early July that I went down from Richmond with my husband, but other things were on my mind. Saturdays I do not have to write a diary, but Sundays it must be filed and before I left my husband, who always looks on the bright side of things said: "Oh, it will be quite easy to file it in Williamsburg." I agreed that it would, but Mrs. Scheider was not with us and it is all of sixteen years since I took a business course and learned the approved touch system on the typewriter, Never since then have I had time enough to do more than an occassional bit of typing for myself, with the result that I put my little portable on the desk in my statetoom that Saturday night. At eleven o'clock I started in, thinking that I would at least get part of the first copy finished. All went well for mistakes did not make so much difference as I was going to correct it afterward, but at that it was after twelve before I got to bed. Knowing that we had to land at ten o'clock at Jamestown, I got up bright and arly and from seven to nine I labored to get a copy with few enough mistakes so I felt the telegraph operator would be able to read it.

Moral, when you learn a thing, try to use it sufficiently often not to forget it!

We saw the ruins in Jamestown, which they are working over and attended services at Bruton Parish Church. At the end of the services everyone was very kind and polite, but we were hurrying off to Carters Grove for lunch and I was casting around as to who would take charge and see that my piece was filed. As usual the Secret Service came to the rescue and found the proper person. We got off but really it isn't all beer and skittles when you are seemingly a care free lady of leisure and still in the background have something you must do!