
          Address Philadelphia, May 26th


 To Dr. Torrey


 Sir,


 The package contains a few lichens
 for your son, which you will remember ordering, and also a
 parcel for Rev. I. F. [Issac Farwell] Holton; I have not that genetleman's address
 and must beg you as a favor to give it to him  or
 transmit it according to your convenience. I hope to be able to
 send you more lichens at a future time as I deem these by
 no means an equivalent. Neither you nor Mr. Holton fixed
 any time as to when these Cryptogamia were to be sent or [crossed out: illegible]
 you would have received them sooner


 I should have had great pleasure in
 writing to you on matters of science, but [crossed out: it] such is the state of the
 world, that it is my painful duty to introduce topics less pleasing.
 I have been informed by a friend of mine that you felt yourself
 insulted by my last letter about Drummond's mosses, and
 [crossed out: go] that [crossed out: illegible] [inserted: through] the influence of those feelings you have not answered
 my letter. When my friend told me [crossed out: of] this, and that
 I had lost your good opinion, I was not surprised, in fact I felt
 no emotion whatever. I will tell you if possible the causes
 that induced this apathy under such painful circumstances.


 James P James, of Philadelphia, told me
 that you had written to him, about myself, and after treating [inserted: me] with
 courtesy and kindness, [crossed out: illegible] for more than a year, then, for the
 first time referred to an unhappy mis-understanding that had
 occurred betwixt myself and the Curators of the Herbarium of the
 Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, assigning that as his
 reason for [crossed out:illegible] [above line: refusing] his friendly word with you. I have however written
 to him on his [crossed out: illegible] want of candour, and shown him that he
 has acted improperly in leading me to consider him a friend and speak
 of him as such to others, [crossed out: when he... illegible] thus inducing me to place
 myself in an unfavorable position with others who would be my friends, and
 who think proper to write to him, as reference. What James has said to
 you I do not know, but it is certian that if he mentioned my name in his

        