The enclosed note from Mrs Olmsted to Mrs Norton, written a fortnight since, came to me among some other papers while I was keeping my bed for a day or two with a slight illness and was overlooked until today. Will you please make this explanation to Mrs Norton and offer her my apologies.

Mrs Olmsted still remains in the remote parts of Staten Island—she might almost as well be in New Jersey or Bermuda. But I hope for a visit from her tomorrow, and even that next week I may have my whole family about me in my own Boarding house.

Godkin is well and much pleased with the private letters he gets assuring him of the great satisfaction which the Nation gives to the writers. I am sorry to say that the sales (to newsagents) continue to decrease steadily, and though the number of subscribers advances, it is not at a compensating rate. I can see that the double demand on G. as a writer and an editor recurring so frequently, is rather too much for him. What he needs is the certainty of having one or two editorial articles ready for each week, prepared by others without immediate suggestion from him, and which are certain to be up to the standard, so as to reduce his active immediate responsibility for leaders to one or two pages, which he could generally fill for the most part by his own pen. I fear, however, there is not a man in the country, (except yourself and Lowell), to whom he could trust in this respect with entire confidence and satisfaction.

We are looking with great interest for Lowell’s contribution. I was greatly and painfully impressed indeed, I may truly say, shocked, by what you told me of Lowell & his life. I have thought about it a great deal and I regard it as one of the strongest evidences of the crudeness and inefficiency of our [81] civilization—social organization—that I know of. I don’t know a man better fitted or more imperatively required to stand at the head—the leader of us—holding in his hand the connection of Art, Science and practical statesmanship as he does, better than any other man—master of us all in all and true leader. And we set him to doing the business of an unthrifty scapegrace vagabond, a mere specialist. It is a disgrace to us all, but especially to Harvard—his own country, of course.

I am so much pressed with the Park business that I cannot see clearly when I am to be able to avail myself of your kind invitation.