33 Edward Livingston Youmans. 



up, and it led to a conversation respecting the contro- 

 versy. He said that there was but one opinion about 

 the matter, namely, that Moulton had committed himself 

 grossly. He said that there was quite a " chorus " of ex- 

 pressions of " wonder " that he should have made such a 

 blunder. Sylvester said that the unanimity of the verdict 

 was just as though Moulton had compromised himself 

 among a number of mathematicians by a serious error in 

 mathematics. 



That this should be felt in his own university and in his 

 own college, in spite of the esprit de corps, is remarkable, 

 and more than I should have thought possible. It relieves 

 me greatly. 



Youmans's visit to England in the summer of 1875 

 did not recruit his strength so much as had been 

 hoped ; that great fund of vitality had been drawn 

 upon too lavishly. He returned to New York in 

 November. 



37 QUEEN'S GARDENS, BAYSWATER, W. LONDON, November 29, 1873. 



MY DEAR YOUMANS: I have been often thinking of you 

 since you left, in consequence of the very bad weather we 

 have had, fearing that you must have been dreadfully tossed 

 on the Atlantic, and perhaps so disgusted as to repent of 

 your resolution to repeat your visits. 



The new edition of Bain has reached me. I think it 

 greatly improved, and, though he takes to the doctrine of 

 evolution in rather a gingerly way, still he has made a great 

 step for one brought up under the regime of pure em- 

 piricism. The book is admirable from a natural history 

 point of view. 



Some things of interest have occurred since you left. 

 The Professor of Philosophy at Copenhagen sends me a 

 work on Modern English Philosophy, of which a large part 



