India, on the way to Madras, March 29, 1921. Dearest Margaret, Yesterday we went ashore at Colombo and found your cable at, the consulate. I .U delighted to know that the event fe safely over , and that the much-desired boy has arrived. Your telegram watl of necessity brief, but I hope that there are no reservations in the little word BwellH, and that you and the baby and the children are all well and happy. As I expect to aail from Oolombo for Freemantle about the eleventh, I can hardly expect any letters written after the event. ' I do hope that you sufferred little, and that the discomforts titerward were not severe, and that the baby is big and fat and entirely eatisfaotory. we mt try from the begginningl, to avoid dietary errors3 80 a8 to avoid any develomental handicaps from that source* Doubtless you received my cable of yesterday congratulating you and incidentally letting you know that I had received the message in Colombo. I should have tried to write to you, but we took no room in the hotel for the hours we were there,.and I wa6 not alone a minute. I am writing to Mother about Fathers death. in January. I presume you have a letter of particulars which I can answer on my return tn Brisbane. Father rounded out v a life of four-score years in a most remarkable wayhconsidering his siknesses. I wonder what Mother intends to do. I suppose she will first visit around and get thoroughly rested after the years of caring for an invalid and the special strain of the last illneaa. Your good Utter of liarch 2nd was at the consulate in Colombo, Also the letters from Gertrude and Ruth. I am glad that the robe cro;, in the Botanic $ardene is 60 large this year. I am glee pleased to note that Ruth is becoming proficient in the difficult f,ea$ of ivriting backwards. Tell them both that I liked their letters very much, and hope they are hkiving a very good time. I can understand that Peggy is haviiq her time filled with dentistry and school ;+nd can h&rdl;r be expected to wribe. And so tLe Elkingtons arc off on their 1011~ trip at last. I can im@.n* the excitement, and I can also imagine yoti takin& care of the chickens intermittently, unless they disposed of them finally. It ie encouraging to know that Dr. Burne.1 made a favorable impression on you. I cannot help won&ring whether he has the vision to do big tlzings. It will be very disappointing if we cannot develop a few real good health men `out of the staff of the Hookworm Campaign. It is a relief to know that Dr. Lambr fi w&e to sail for Raboul on Llaroh pth, as there were 80 many things that Light have interfered with the plans. I am not sorry that I miesed the #nd of the Road, and I am glad that it was BU(3C438#3fUl. I wonder if you met the man who brought it over an& who ~~tf3 to,- several times about it. -;2- By this tilae you :-!zve doubtless comi;leteG the reform oi" 1;;:~ Women's College a;?d are lookin; fan new fields to coaquer. I shall be interested to hear how the conservatives took to your plan, whatever it was. I am glad that the annual report seemed to be in fair shape and i@t with your a?,nroval. I &id even aoro e, :Lj. to lkllOW that it ; s Oil its WUy at last. Ian% it nice that Mrs. Palmer is doing well. She is of' a type t?rdt I should expect %n tiic~~x would brood a great deal after a misfortune, but I may be wrong. We arrived off 4 olombo abo>Jt eleven o'clock on the eve:ling of !kirch27 0 With the help of the beautiful moonlight and tile shore lizhta, the pilot took ~1s inside the breakwater,where we were moored to buoys at the end of a ion; row OS vessels. Colombo does not posses8 docks, strange a8 it may seem, and everything has to be carried on lighters. We were waked up in the small hours of the morning to show our passports, and we were up again at six to get ready to go nahore. We lverd taken ashor- i;: a rowboat, and had to go a loilg distance between long -%ws of atemers decorated in honor of the Japanese Crow% Prince. While tne oarsmen were moving our boat along toward the pier we could see the Japanese war bhips that had anchored outside the breakwater tild c,>uld hear the gun8 booming salutes. The pier was all decorated with palms and plants and'carpeted with rug8> and uncomfortable-loking people were hurrying hither and thither in frock JMEN coat8 and top hats. Some wore frock coats and helmete, and it was suggested Qat the XX?4 top hats were too fww to go round and that they would be worn in relaysl- but this was merely surmise. I could not &et Dr. Heiser interested in standing about to see the Crown Prince ride by, and so I missed him. Dr. iacocks, who has charge of the Board's work in Ceylon> found us at Cook's when we were getting our tickets for India. He is a pleasing type of southerner with characteristic accent. In Colombo the traveler is besieged with small trader8, who would seize and drag him into thir shops if they could. A8 it Ibs one would like to look at there ware8, but they make it 80 unpleasant that you hardly dare show the slightest interest. You should have Been them go after the Japane:.e satilors when they csme a8hore in their natty white uniform8. I 8aw a native eeize one embarrassed officer by the hand and pull him over to hia shop. The Indian8 `look 80 wretched and miserable, and they base their appeal for money largely on exciting pity. The rickshaw men are eombre and unlike the grinning Chinese cooly of Singapore. We took the train at 7:30 for India. We had a good sleeper and dining 08r in Ceylon. At 5130 A& we were routed out and given tea, and about an hour later we took the ferry for India. The train we are now in will be our home until we reach bladras to-morrow morning. We had breakfast in a little railway restaurant , where we had a six-course table-dthote w bE&$&&&#. while a punkah was being agitated over ue by a rope that paseed through the wall. We have passd many sand dunes and are now among some rice fields. Lot8 ,of love to you , my dear, brave Sweetheart,