Last Years. 369 



ceived and read with much interest the letters on copy- 

 right. Thanks ; they will come in play, but I think it 

 would hardly be best to republish them now. I am sur- 

 prised at the stupid perversity that some of your people 

 display. It is as bad as our open and shameless greed. 



37 Queen's Gardens, May 20, 1881. 



My dear Youmans : I am glad to get your letter 

 giving me an account of your continued improvement, 

 however slow. I was going to say that I hoped this seri- 

 ous illness will be a warning to you : always of two things to 

 choose the less dangerous, and not the more dangerous; 

 but I fear that all suggestions of the kind will be futile, for 

 it is not in you to be careful, 



I am glad, however, you resisted your brother's sug- 

 gestion to write some comment upon the last chapter sent. 

 He ought to know better than suggest to you to do any- 

 thing in the way of work. What you want is some one to 

 suggest the leaving it undone. 



New York, May 27 1881. 



My dear Spencer : As regards myself, I am only able 

 to say that, not being worse, I must be better than when I 

 last wTote. My shortness of breath and debility continue, 

 which makes the getting about painful, especially if there 

 is a staircase to be climbed. I, however, go out, and have 

 been to Mount Vernon. The jaunt was exhausting, but I 

 hope it will prove beneficial. While in the country my 

 brother gave me some letters which came during my illness, 

 when I was not in a condition to be disturbed by business. 



In one of those letters you explain that your coming 

 chapters will deal with the subject of the Militant and In- 

 dustrial Types of Government. I consider that the most 

 interesting and the most important part of your series of 

 papers; we cannot get enough of this kind of discussii n 

 for our magazine. There is no salvation for this continent 

 except in the acquirement of some proximately scientific 



