NEW YORK, Thursday—My brother lunched with us yesterday in the country and brought me the first few chapters of a new book which he is writing on his Alaskan experiences. These experiences began immediately after he left college, so he saw Alaska in what might be called her most picturesque days. He fell in love with this part of the country, which he still considers a land of promise for the young and adventurous.

Whether you wish to follow in his footsteps or not, if the book continues to be as interesting as these first chapters indicate, I think you will all enjoy the vivid pictures of the development of this northwestern corner of our country.

A ride in the afternoon, a short time to work, and then Miss Thompson and I drove up to dine with Mrs. George Huntington at Barrytown, New York. The evening was spent listening to the radio, mostly the Herald Tribune Forum. At one point I was a little sorry for Mrs. Ogden Reid, because her forum reminded me so much of the Democratic National Convention with a chairman valiantly trying to keep order. Of course, we switched over to Philadelphia to listen to the President's speech, though I had read it before I left Washington yesterday. Then we tuned back to the Forum till it was a little past 11:00 o'clock. I hope that everyone throughout the nation spent their evening in exactly the same way. I felt it was profitable.

The closing days of the New York World's Fair must make everyone feel that the opportunity to see much of interest will soon be over. My mother-in-law left for New York City yesterday with the firm intention of spending two days at the Fair.

When I went over to get some homespun cloth from our neighbor, Mrs. Nelly Johannesen, who spends her spare time weaving, I found her in a great state of excitement. She does not often leave home. Two school teachers board with her, she runs a little restaurant, has a gas station and is busy from morning till night. She fills the spare moment with her weaving.

There is really not much time to gad, but today Mrs. Johannesen rose early, for a friend was taking her to see the New York World's Fair before it closes. In her enthusiatic way, she said to me: "I am going to lock up and I won't be home until 11:00 o'clock. I'm going to see all I can." The zest for living is in her voice and face. Life has been none too easy but life has never downed the spirit of this woman who still wants to see as much as she possibly can and who, I hope, will enjoy every minute of her short holiday.

We drove down to New York City in time for a series of engagements. However, none of them are fraught with the spirit of adventure for us.