Department of Botany The Botanical Gazette 



December 29, 189 9. 



My dear Dean«* -f^fe/- <$ IaM^ m^fttl^^^ 



The charging little hook which you Bent came a few days -^f d &tltey-. 

 before Christmas, and in accordance with your note on the corner was / 

 kept unopened until Christmas day. It is a delightful little story ar 

 has already been much enjoyed by the family as well as myself. Your 

 letter which accompanied it was greatly appreciated. I was delighted 

 to hear from you again and to know how you were getting along. I 

 should have responded to it earlier hut for various distracting events. 



Among them was an unfortunate accident which befell my 

 sister-in-law on Christmas eve . ^She and her three children have been 

 living with us since we came to Chicago .) " On Sunday night some friends 

 who were visiting with us were to he taken to the Second Presbyterian 

 Church to hear the Christmas music. As they were calling at a distance 

 of half a mile or more I was sent over to take them down by the cable CJU-^ 

 while Mrs. Davidson and my wife went down on the Illinois central 

 Railroad. Their train was delayed by break down and on alighting at 

 Twenty-second Street they were hurrying to the church where we were to 

 meet. A narrow atrip of ice on the side walk was unnoticed and 

 Mrs. Davidson fell in such a way s to break both bones on the right 

 leg a short distance above the shoe top. Some men who were passing 

 '•ssisted her into a neighborly house and Mrs. Barnes then came for me. 

 The gentleman who was visiting us was a physician and he at once 

 pronounced the trouble a break. We were only a few blocks from St. 

 Luke's Hospital and telephoned at once for an ambulance , took Mrs. 

 Davidson there, had the leg, set/J and next day, Christmas, ^ brought 

 her home. TIaturally this interrupted the Christmas festivities con- 

 siderably and it was not until the afternoon that we distributed our 



