CAMBRIDGE—^ JOURNEY IN BRAZIL 109 



tant misprint which spoils one of my most cherished 

 sentences — and the illustrations are much better 

 than we expected. When I remember, Sallie, the 

 readings with one foot on the fender last winter, the 

 doubts and questionings and anxieties in my mind, 

 and then the proof sheets last summer, dear Emma, 

 I feel profoundly grateful to be so safely through 

 and to have had such help and sympathy from you 

 both. How little we thought that your first tidings 

 of the finished book would be in Rome! What a 

 strange game of consequences this world is! I want 

 very much to send the book to Mother and you all, 

 but Charles Curtis says it would be frightfully expen- 

 sive. I'm going to see Fields about it today, and we 

 shall manage it if we can. Agassiz longs to have it in 

 Mother's hands; he says of his own dear mother, "If 

 she could only have seen the title page, only have 

 seen our two names together! " It is so different not to 

 have her in the world. How much Father is in my 

 mind at this time I cannot tell you. I, too, feel how 

 I should have enjoyed taking the book to him, show- 

 ing him all the comments upon it. He would have 

 been happy about it I know. Mother will say he knows 

 all about it, but I don't feel as if where he is now any 

 earthly success would touch him as nearly as it would 

 have done here. Nearest to the kind of sympathy I 

 should have had from him I got from the dear Aunts 

 at Chelsea. One of my greatest rewards has been to 

 see the pleasure and fresh child-like interest they feel 

 in it. It is so great a thing to be able to give enjoyment 

 to your very old friends. ... 



