SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 
March 9, 1955. 
DearDr. Sehmitt: 
Your letters of both the 5th and 6th arrived together this 
morning. As soon as I read them I raced up to show them to Mr. Bryant. 
It really looks as though your chances are very good, doesnH it? 
so glad, rid you learn when the appointment would be made? I*m glad to 
know that Light is all right j he had me scared, because he never so 
much^ ck no wl edged the letter I wrote him. Fraser acknowledged the one 
to him so promptly and then sent me the copy of the one he wrote Mac- 
Farland. 
Your boxes have arrived and Mr. Bryant says they will be delivered 
today. I have told Mr. Kelly to see me before he unpacks anything. A 
number of packages have been arriving by mail over the last few days. 
This is a beautiful, bright day, but colder than we have 
had for a week or so. Spring is really here, though. The trees are 
budding or flowering and I have seen a number of crocuses. 
?/hen Mr. Bryant read your letter, he said, ^T/ell that looks 
like good news — or bad, depending on the way you look at it.” He does 
hate the idea of your leaving here. 
I®m glad to know that you have Hancock on your side. I didnH 
know whether you had mentioned the matter to him or not. 
I had a very gracious letter from Mrs. Brooks. I guess she 
didnH suspect that I wearied a little of the arrangement. Also had a 
letter from Ralph Bailey yesterday telling all the nice things she had 
said to him about Mrs. Schmitt and me. 
Mrs. Schmitt and I had a grand lunch at the Club and a nice 
confab. Ho, I have never been any nearer the inside of the Club than the 
lecture hall. I^m going to trj^r again to get Mrs. Schmitt to come down 
and go to lunch with me . and I won^t let her put it over on me next time. 
I^m sorrjr I didnH stop at Pacific Grove, but I really didnH 
have the time. I was almost obliged to spend as much time as I did in 
L.A. and I couldnH cut the Portland visit much shorter. Perhaps I’ll 
have plenty of opportunity yet to go to Pacific Grove. 
Miss Rathbun is glad that you got the fossil slab. I told her 
about it. She is still anxious for you to come home, and she asks me 
every day or so if I’ve heard anything more definite. I told her I had 
