Tell me what to do. The lawyer always wants money, and I have none now. My uncle gave me some or told him he would give him later, but you know my uncle promised to give it to him right away, if he himself had money, but he poor fellow is in debt yet on account of his business that he had.... I cry every day and pray to God he should help me.
I also went with one young fellow to have a good time and earned $2 and what is that? For that I bought stockings and what I needed and the $2. were gone. I am now the same as you are, everything tires me. I would rather not see myself.
Let me know my dear what I must buy for you for Christmas or else I might buy something what you do not like.
[Note by parole officer: Esther herself translated this ... passage as follows: “I was in town for a good time and I see the young man with the $2.” She then explained: “I don’t mean that as it sounds; it means that before in New York I met a young man when I was getting off the car. I lost the heel from my shoe and slipped and this young man picked me up and gave me $2. which I dropped out of my pocket-book.” Then translates: “I was in town and I spent $2. for stockings and other things which I needed.” Explained: “I havn’t meant that I got $2. from the man the way you have taken it up.”]
My dearest friend: I received your letter with happiness. I read letter about five times and I going to read it again. I laugh so much. You wrote, I were only fooling them. Ha, dear I think you know me already, how I know to fix things up. I want to make them jealous, Ha, ha. I go to laugh so much, so much. If you want to marry one of the officers, you know what they are, they are ever the other [army] men. They can’t marry only a poor girl. If they want to marry they got to have a girl with lots of money 20,000 Kronen, and they got to put the money down for guarantee. If happens something to your sweetheart officer, then you get the money back. Do you understand me, Sunday School? But dear we havn’t got the mens yet, we have to wait for them. If we going to get mens like that, cause we not rich. What your boys says? Did you give them the letter to read. Ha. ha we fooled them. All right, my sweetheart, we going to go always together. You have a right just scold him enough, Italian T. Such a Italians! He didn’t have to say that he meet us on the street. Listen friend, if my uncle ask you if that T. is my sweetheart, then tell him the truth. Otherwise he wouldn’t help me out. He could be very mad. Tell that these are merely some acquaintance. Don’t forget. Friend come to me, I am not allowed to go to see you. You come over and we going to have good time together. Here its lots of nice young men. Listen dear, my lady ask me if I’m going to school and where I’m going when I go out and I told her that I go to visit girls which I knows from school, but I’m going to moving pictures and I have three nice young mens, that’s always so, ha? They said, say kid, how much do you want, one dollar? Then when he feels like to have something—and want to go some place, then I tell him $1.00 that is too cheap. I have no time, maybe next time, so I fool the boys there.
To us usually come one man with eggs. He brings me eggs Wednesday, in the afternoon and Saturday. Always when he comes we kiss each other, but he isn’t rich; that’s nothing for us but when you can get a kiss from a man, its nice, isn’t it? Ha, ha. I have always a good time with him. I wish you can be here with me, then you see what fun we can have ... Sunday School.
Dear Friend: Just now I was at the P. O. and I get letter from you, so I am very happy again. Dear Friend, would you think that T. has a factory? You think if he is such a rich man he would not write like that. His handwriting is like when a cat scratches. T. he don’t write to me, so I don’t write to him either. So I wrote him today and I told him he would go to see you. Dear, we was in newspapers. My lawyer, he put us in and [it said] there we was innocent, that we forgot to pay it. Ha, ha, so we are innocent, don’t you think so. That was nice newspaper. I got to laugh so much at that. I were laughing so much that I got stomach ache from it. So T. when he comes to see you, tell him enough and tell him about cheap watch what you have and pocket-book they say we took.... And don’t forget to bring me my sweethearts picture and then I am going to put in—and I am going to show that picture to my lady to make her jealous. Don’t forget to get receipt from the ring what I put in the pawn shop. Friend, I want you to pay for the ring. I like you should pay if you can do it for me. I going to send it to you but your sister should not know anything about it. Don’t tell her nor my uncle either. You know what I should get from him. T. is nice, isn’t he? I wrote to the lawyer and he answered me such a nice letter and he isn’t married yet; he is only young yet. Maybe I going to make love to him. Ha, ha, friend, I got new sweetheart again. Ha, that egg man I don’t like him no more. I don’t kiss him any more because he is only egg man. I want something better, don’t you think, friend?... I go home to see uncle and to see the lawyer. I must see him how he looks.
January 1915. My dearest friend: Your letter and present I received. I was so happy that we are so good friends always. My dear, how do you like that present what I sent you. You want to know something new. Today I am twenty years old, my birthday. When you going to have your birthday, dear,—I have big trouble about your dress; I didn’t know what to do I should help you out with it. You know that time I put different name, now I couldn’t remember what kind name I put and after while I remember I put a name Reich. So they answer I should send first $4.40 so tomorrow I go to city. So dear I helping you out much as I can.... I send you receipt from that dress you should believe how much I paid. So darling right away tomorrow I take $4. from my lady’s pocket bag and when you send me $4 I going to put them back....
Dear Friend: ... I going to have a trial this month or start of next month, so don’t say anything about the hat, only about the stockings and about the belt. You must go through to see that you know how to speak in the court. Let your sister speak. I don’t want to work for servant always. That going to cost $125. I have two lawyers; one ask $78, so if you come out would you pay half of it or don’t you want to be with me on the trial? So let me know darling, I got to work too, but so much I take time to write to you. I am always so happy when I get letter from you. I got to go, for my letters to get them; to us don’t come no letter-carrier; I got to go on the post-office. I usually go on the evening and no one think of me and you forgotten me too because you got fellow and you don’t want me to know something about it. I have one too in Philadelphia. My lady told me she would not have taken me out from the Institution but she saw I was innocent; so she took, me. Here is nice blond man....
Dear Friend: Just today I opened letter which made me very happy. I always can hardly wait till I can fool them. Dear Friend tell me what I can do. I just received letter from my lawyer that I have to go to N. Y. and he send me bill for $100. When I receive that I din’t know where I am; I thought I faint when I saw the bill. Listen dear tell me where I can get the money. On 30th I have to have it. They going to start the trial. My lawyer he told it going to be bad, that we got to say the truth, but don’t say anything about the pocket-book and the little things.... But only the money, what I do about it. My uncle said he hadn’t any and no one to borrow from. I can’t fool any Jew, Ha, ha. I’m all broke down. I am afraid when the day come when I come between those young mens [lawyers] how I going to stand there, I wouldn’t have no money to pay, so I think the day come to take my life. Now answer me what you going to do. I going to wait for your letter. Address, Franz Joseph, C. K. o. f. Wein, Kaiser Palace.