Dear Mr. McQuesten

I suppose you think by this time that I have quite dropped out of your list of correspondents, but somebody spoke of you last night, & I thought I might as well take this opportunity of answering your last letter where you are now, of course, is a question, & I am just wondering, whether you are lucky enough to be again not in the wild west. If you are, I congratulate you, for I have the greatest desire to go there, & see & live the life of the west for a time at least. At present, though, there seems no prospect of my doing more than wishing it, we shall wait & see what the future brings.

I suppose you had a very successful year at College last year, for I know you are a student born. We are all rather unsettled about the summary. We have had one constant stream of visitors for the last month or so, so now we feel we would like to change places & be the visitors ourselves, instead of the visitees!

I am going to Portland or rather Cape Elizabeth, near Portland, for 10 [?] on Tuesday. Everybody seems to think & need the salt water, & ought to take the opportunity of this invitation to get it. Later on I am going for a week to a lake in the St. Agathe district. Mina is very anxious to see Toronto & the Thousand Isles & wants me to go with her there by steamer. We may possibly do so in August, or the first of September, if my money holds out -- that must always be a consideration you see -- do you remember the "Great" & Only Literary Society of Erskine Church? It was quite a success last year. I mean to retire from any Committee work of it this next year. There are lots of others now -- Walter Barclay, who was the treasurer, do you remember? has been very ill all winter up in St. Agathe they think he has consumption, poor fellow!

I suppose you must have very often seen different Montrealers during the winter, & would probably hear any news that would be of interest to you.

My youngest brother, Tom, expects to be married in the Fall. It will be the first break in the family.

It seems funny to be writing to somebody when I don't know in what part of the country he is. I think I shall have to draw to a close, although I know this is a very unsatisfactory letter but I don't like talking to people "in the dark," as this feels.

Mother is always so interested in hearing about you, & of course, we fully expect that the first time you are in Montreal we shall receive a visit.

Hoping you are having such a summer, as you wished & with kind remembrances from all the family, I am,

Very sincerely yours

Gertrude Arnold

P.S. You should see Murray Williams with his little son. He simply worships him.¹

¹ Following is some correspondence of inquiry from a researcher. From: Darren Savage Sent: Sunday, October 07, 2012 12:36 PM To: andersmj@mcmaster.ca Subject: Gertrude Arnold via Calvin McQuestern

Hello Dr. Anderson,

I'm an editorial assistant working with Dr. Colin Hill out of the University of Toronto.

I am conducting some research on an early 20th C. Canadian author named 'Gertrude Arnold'. I've come across your meticulous research in the process and discovered that Mr. Calvin McQuesten received several letters (W7769, W7477, W7526, W7633) from a 'Gertrude Arnold' between 1904 and 1908.

The letters provide me with reason to believe that this Gertrude may in fact be same Ms. Arnold who published a book entitled 'Sister Anne, Sister Anne!' in 1919.

What information, if any, can you provide/direct me to about the Gertrude Arnold who wrote to Rev. Calvin McQuesten over a four year period? What was the nature of their relationship?

Thank you so much for your research and time!

Sincerely, Darren Savage

After some research at Whitehern Museum, this is our reply:

Dear Darren Savage: Thank you for your E-Mail about Gertrude Arnold. I am sorry to say that I cannot direct you to any other information than that which is in the letters. You might try Jones & Smith in Toronto as the first letter suggests that she may be working there. You could also try finding the minutes of the Literary Society that they both attended in Montreal, and, of course, you have her address in Montreal for further research. As you know Calvin was a journalist with the Toronto Times and the Montreal Gazette. The reference to "Valentines" suggests the possibility of a relationship between them, but we have only those four letters.

The Whitehern team has checked the library catalogue at Whitehern and Gertrude Arnold's book is not listed.

I will add your inquiry and any subsequent correspondence to a footnote to the earliest letter along with a reference to the other letters. This may bring a response from others searching the site. If you prefer that we not do this please let me know. Good Luck with your research. Sorry that we could not be of more help.

Sincerely, Dr. Mary J. Anderson

The four letters mentioned in this correspondence are: W7477, W7526, W7633, W7769.