
          Washington D.C.  Feby [February] 27th 1857.

Respected Sir,

Yours of the 16th inst I should have
answered sooner, but owing to the great confusion that
prevailed, and feeling evinced by individuals here in relation
to the Fern Book, I could not till now communicate
any thing intelligible to you touching that work.

On the same day I rec'd [received] your letter - I had one from 
Doctor Pickering, in which he is very candid and friendly
in his remarks regarding all that transpired between
you and him in relation to your labours on my
Book; my motive in asking the Doctor to call upon
you, was to bring about a state of things here at head
quarters, which no writing of mine to you could have
accomplished. I am very much pleased indeed to
learn by your letter and the Doctor, that you are
willing to go on and finish the translating of my specific
Characters into Latin, and permit the original
English ones to stand, which last arrangement is much
against my wish - as I know it is against yours - and
I may add - all propriety.

You may rest perfectly satisfied that I never for a
moment entertained the remotest idea that you wished
to claim for yourself any undue credit for the part 
you have taken in assisting me to prepare the Fern Book
for the press; and if I had, you may rest assured
that I would have been candid enough to have stated
the same to you without laying the matter before a third party

        