Letters to a Friend 



mother home and its blessings. I hope to meet 

 Torrey, although I will push iceward as before, 

 but may get back in time. I will enjoy Agassiz, 

 and Tyndall even more. I'm sorry for poor 

 Stoddard. Tell him to come. 



I'll see Mrs. H., perhaps, this evening and 



deliver your message. 

 Farewell. 



New Sentinel Hotel, 

 Yosemite Valley, May 31, 1872. 



Yours announcing the Joaquin and the Dog- 

 getts and more is here. I care not when you 

 come, so that you come calm and timeful. I 

 will try to compel myself down to you in Au 

 gust, but these years and ages among snows 

 and rocks have made me far more unfit for the 

 usages of civilization than you appreciate. My 

 nerves' strings shrink at the prospect, even at 

 this distance. But if by diving to that slimy 

 town sea-bottom I can touch Huxley and Tyn 

 dall and mount again with you to calm months 

 in the Sierras, I will draw a long breath and 

 splash into your fearful muds. 

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