DIY History | Transcribe | World War I Diaries and Letters | Robert Morriss Browning correspondence to Mabel C. Williams, August-December, 1919 | 1919-12-21 Robert M. Browning to Dr. Mabel C. Williams Page 1

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Robert Morriss Browning correspondence to Mabel C. Williams, August-December, 1919

1919-12-21 Robert M. Browning to Dr. Mabel C. Williams Page 1

3rd Br. 50th Inf.
A.F. in G., Niedermendig
Dear Doctor Williams -
Your letter certainly was a most welcome one. It was good to hear so much about Homecoming and what all the bunch are doing, and I wish I could write a long letter about all the wonderful places I've seen. You'd like to know what I enjoyed most in Paris, Cologne, Berlin and Antwerp, I'm sure.
The trouble is I haven't been anywhere on sight-seeing trips. Coblenz I've visited three times. Once, the first Saturday after we came and on that occasion I spent most of my time in the very interesting little shops. I bought a whole bunch of lace very reasonably. I suspect it was part of the loot from Belgium but it was so beautiful I couldn't resist it, and I also got me a hand carved chess set and a cameo that is prettier than any I had seen or have seen since. Several of the officers in our brigade are getting diamonds but my plans do not contemplate any practical use for a diamond within the nex ten or fifteen years so I haven't yielded to the temptation to take advantage of the low prices. You know the mark is quoted by the Quartermaster at 46.19 to a dollar now, with a probability that our December pay will be on the basis of 50 to a dollar. when you consider wages as 8 or 10 marks a day - the one servant in the house where I live gets 18 M. a week - you can see that we Americans are bloated plutocrats. An excellent meal here in Niedermendig costs seven marks, a hair-cut costs 3 marks.
I have been considering, hazily, the question of getting out of the service and entering the University of Berlin. I believe I could get my degree cheaper than I could go to school one year at home. What do you think of that? Another half-formed scheme is to go home through the Orient, spending my savings of twenty-six years - the whole three Liberty Bonds - and

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3rd Br. 50th Inf. A.F. in G., Niedermendig Dear Doctor Williams - Your letter certainly was a most welcome one. It was good to hear so much about Homecoming and what all the bunch are doing, and I wish I could write a long letter about all the wonderful places I've seen. You'd like to know what I enjoyed most in Paris, Cologne, Berlin and Antwerp, I'm sure. The trouble is I haven't been anywhere on sight-seeing trips. Coblenz I've visited three times. Once, the first Saturday after we came and on that occasion I spent most of my time in the very interesting little shops. I bought a whole bunch of lace very reasonably. I suspect it was part of the loot from Belgium but it was so beautiful I couldn't resist it, and I also got me a hand carved chess set and a cameo that is prettier than any I had seen or have seen since. Several of the officers in our brigade are getting diamonds but my plans do not contemplate any practical use for a diamond within the nex ten or fifteen years so I haven't yielded to the temptation to take advantage of the low prices. You know the mark is quoted by the Quartermaster at 46.19 to a dollar now, with a probability that our December pay will be on the basis of 50 to a dollar. when you consider wages as 8 or 10 marks a day - the one servant in the house where I live gets 18 M. a week - you can see that we Americans are bloated plutocrats. An excellent meal here in Niedermendig costs seven marks, a hair-cut costs 3 marks. I have been considering, hazily, the question of getting out of the service and entering the University of Berlin. I believe I could get my degree cheaper than I could go to school one year at home. What do you think of that? Another half-formed scheme is to go home through the Orient, spending my savings of twenty-six years - the whole three Liberty Bonds - and