My Brother, Theodore RooseveltRobinson, Corinne Roosevelt
History
My Brother, Theodore Roosevelt
Robinson, Corinne Roosevelt
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
On our arrival in Liverpool we were greeted by the Bulloch uncles,
and from that time on the whole European trip was one of interest
and delight to the “grown people.” My older sister, though not quite
fifteen, was so unusually mature and intelligent that she shared their
enjoyment, but the journey was of rather mitigated pleasure to the
three “little ones,” who much preferred the nursery at 28th East 20th
Street, or their free summer activities in wood and field, to the
picture-galleries and museums, or even to the wonderful Swiss mountains
where they had to be so carefully guarded.
In the letters written faithfully to our beloved aunt, the note of
homesickness is always apparent.
Our principal delight was in what we used to call “exploring” when
we first arrived at a hotel, and in the occasional intercourse with
children of our own age, or, as in Teedie’s case, with some expert
along the line of his own interests, but the writing and receiving of
home letters stand out more strongly than almost any other memory of
this time, and amongst those most treasured by Teedie and myself were
the little missives written by our most intimate friend, Edith Kermit
Carow, a little girl who was to have, in later days, the most potent
influence of all over the life of Theodore Roosevelt. How little she
thought when she wrote to her friend “Conie” from Redbank, November
19, 1869, “I was much pleased at receiving your kind letter telling me
all about Teedie’s birthday,” that one day that very Teedie would be
President Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow the mistress of the
White House.
The old friendship of our parents for Mr. and Mrs. Carow, who lived
with Mr. Carow’s older sister, Mrs. Robert Kermit, in a large house
backing up against the 14th Street mansion of Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius
Van Schaack Roosevelt, was the natural factor in the relationship of
the younger generation, and little Edith Carow and little Corinne
Roosevelt were pledged friends from the time of their birth.
The “Teedie” of those days expressed always a homesick feeling when
“Edie’s” letters came. They seemed to fill him with a strong longing
for his native land!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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