Your note of 9th October, arriving here while I was absent in the West, was accidently detained from me until last night. Thank you very much for offering me the World papers on the Exposition. I shall be very glad to have them. Please send them here and I will have them forwarded to me. I am to leave on a Southern tour tomorrow to be absent two or three weeks.

I was pretty well satisfied with the promise of general effects at Chicago; much remaining to be done in planting which is now in progress. The general comradship and fervor of the artists was delightful to witness & was delightful to fall into. If people generally get to understand that our contribution to the undertaking is that of the framing of the scheme, rather than the disposition of flower beds and other matters of gardening decoration—as to which those familiar with European exhibitions will be disappointed—it will be a great lift to the profession—will really give it a better standing than it has in Europe. I was exceedingly pleased to find how fully the architects recognized our service in this respect.

I did not get materially better during the three months that I remained in hospital at Hampstead, nor afterwards, while moving slowly northward. I think that now, since I returned from Chicago, I am better. In spite of my continued illness and the disappointment it brought me, I enjoyed my visit very much and saw a great deal that was instructive. One of the pleasantest incidents was a visit to the extensive country seat of the architect Waterhouse. He spoke of Richardson and in the discussion that followed took down your book to refer to some statement, and showed that he was perfectly familiar with it. To something I said about Blomfield’s book he replied “You must bear in mind that this Mr Blomfield is a very young man,” meaning evidently “You must not suppose that he represents any general sentiment of English architects.” You may not have seen Robinson’s reply to Bloomfield. I will send you a copy. Neither writer takes quite the right ground, Robinson being almost as heretical as Blomfield. I had a very pleasant day with Robinson at an old manorial seat of perhaps a thousand acres which he has bought & on which he is judiciously revising an old—very old—stone house with a terraced garden.

Sincerely Yours