BOSTON—I often wonder what it is which makes it so pleasant to be with certain people and such a chore to have to spend an evening with others! What makes us like certain things and dislike others in people? Admire certain traits in one person and be irritated almost beyond endurance by them in some one else? This question of our affection is a curious and fascinating study. Whatever the reasons may be however, Mrs. Scheider, Miss Lape, Miss Read and I always have a good time together and we simply sat and talked Friday night until an unconscionable hour.

Yesterday morning I wrapped some Christmas presents to send off by mail, read the papers with a certain sense of relief for however one may feel about the individuals involved, one can not help but be glad that calm has returned to one of our sister nations. If only acting together, the nations of the world could bring about peace or could even show that there was a genuine desire for peace, this Christmas season would be fraught with greater significance and more hope than has been ours for a long time. The statement from Buenos Aires this morning is a happy one. If only a similar one could come from all the other corners of the world!

After a little shopping, I took the one o'clock train to Boston and went to the hospital and dined and spent the evening with Franklin Junior, and John.

Everyone has been so very kind to Franklin, Junior, that his room looks to me as though he could start right in and do his Christmas shopping there! He is getting much worried about his work and I must say it is hard to be laid up in your last year at college, but then no time is a pleasant time to be ill, and all one can do is to deal with circumstances as they arise as best one can and one might as well learn it young as later on.

For the next few weeks, I wish I could be three people. One of them would be in Washington holding teas and luncheons and attending any number of official social and charitable occasions. The second one could sit at a desk eight hours a day and really do her work as it should be done with proper care and attention given to each communication. She could see the people who want to talk about serious things and perhaps even be of some little use in helping other people to work out their plans. The third person could be a wife, mother and a grandmother and she might almost wish she were two people part of the time. Oh well, somehow or other everything will get done but I am afraid nothing will be done very well!