ABSTRACT
One of the reasons she gave for leaving was her declining health. Years before, beset with conflict and a growing sense of boredom, she had left the “unhealthy” climate of China due to what seemed to be a serious heart condition that inexplicably disappeared while she was in Europe, on her way home to America. In New York she suffered from chronic bronchitis, undoubtedly brought on by the climate and the bad city air, and she thought it best to remove herself to healthier, more open spaces. What prompted her to flee to the cool Pacific north-west may have been the intolerable heat that periodically afflicted New York and the eastern seaboard. These excuses were not very convincing however; she probably moved because she became restless, settled in one place for too long. She enjoyed adventure and travel, but she had no desire to be perpetually on the move. A compromise that satisfied her was to live somewhere like Berlin or Paris for a period of several months, immersing herself in the culture, language, and history of these places.
