pemnbinvtinagehilyapenaiid 
&T. 54.) TO R. W. CHURCH. 533 
the new things, and laying out a set for you of all you 
could wis But since spring opened, my college 
work has ide so pressing that all else has been in- 
terrupted, perhaps will be in abeyance till near mid- 
summer. 
I must not fail to tell you that our good friend Dr. 
Torrey sailed yesterday for California! via the Isth- 
mus, to return three or four months hence, perhaps 
overland. 
He is a much trusted officer of government, as assayer 
of the United States assay office at New York, and 
the secretary of the treasury, knowing that he needs 
some respite and change, has arranged this trip for 
him, upon business of the department, by no means of 
an onerous character. 
He has long wished to set eyes upon California, 
and I am glad he has such a pleasant opportunity of 
doing so. 
10 R. W. CHURCH. 
May 1, 1865. 
I have long wished to communicate with you, but 
it is long since I have written any but pressing let- 
ters; a large and ever-increasing scientific correspond- 
ence and various business matters absorbing all my 
leisure and powers, as the times and events also ab- 
sorb our thoughts. You can imagine how deeply we 
have felt, rejoiced, and suffered during the last month 
or so. 
Well, “treason has done its worst,” and rebellion, 
as an organized power, is essentially brought to an 
end. Slavery is done away, and we have now the 
task of establishing a new and better order of things 
at the South, of replacing barbarous by civilized and 
