Letter, Kate Gleason to James Gleason

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William Gleason,
Manufacturer of Machinists Tools,
Office, Brown’s Race,

Rochester, N.Y., October 25th. 1888
Dear Jim,-
I have just returned from a four days’ drumming trip down
in Ohio and in the course of my travels I took an order for a large
planer and saw the Cincinnati Centennial Exposition. You see
Father has been out of town so much lately that I thought it would
be well for him to stay at home and get the run of the business while
I went after this order. I communicated this idea of my own to
Emma and on the strength of a chicken supper Sunday evening and our
persuasive eloquence after it, he let me start early Monday morning.
I met Mr. Arthur Curtis on the train. He had taken an early
start for the Cleveland convention of the Delta U’s so that he could
stop off for a day with a friend in Buffalo. I asked him not to
tell you about my little trip for fear I would’nt get the order in
which case I would rather you remained in dense ignorance. You see
I had a good many quakings of my valiant spirit. The customer’s name
was Rudolph Schneble    That sounded as if he might be a Dutchman
and if he were an old Dutchman the chances were he would not like
to have a fascinating young woman like me after his order for machine
tools and might put me out at the end of a shot gun. But for-
tunately for me Mr. Schneble is young, only 23, he has until lately
attended a Jesuit college, is not used to girls so I managed to make
a ‘crush’ on him quite early in the morning. After I secured his
order I travelled around Dayton to call on all the firms I had ever

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heard of there and in every case I was treated with ‘the most dis-
tinguished consideration’  I had invitations to go for drives
around the city and to the show in the evening but I did’nt accept
them. Yesterday morning I went to Cincinnati with Mr. Schneble
but at the depot Mr. Davis of Ladge, Davis & Co. came to meet him
and I departed for the hotel. I could well afford—

Friday morning
I am sorry you will lose the brilliant thought
which was just unfolding above but was nipped in
the bud for now it is the next day and I can’t
remember what I was going to say. The exposition
was worth going to see. I admired a power of mchy.,
pictures, implements of war, defunct Indians &c, tested all the
different samples of beer (you know Cincinnati is celebrated
for its beer) and floated on the canal in a Venetian
Gondola. Called on a lot of people in Cincinnati; Lodge,
Davis & Co. used me brown, took an hour and a half to show
me everything in their works. I would’nt take their business
for a gift. They cater to a mighty cheap trade
and even in the style they do their work, I can’t see where
there’s any money in it. This morning there was a man from
Brown & Sharpe’s in here who hired Prof. Albert Smith when he
first left college. He said the usual thing of Prof. Smith, – that he
was is the most perfect gentleman he has ever met. Wish you could
cultivate Prof. Smith, Jim and see whether there is any getting
at the secret of his charm. If you can find out whether
he belongs to any denomination of Christianity, let me know.
Lovingly, Kate.