Transcription:
Martinez Feb. 18th 1888. Prof. Butler, My dear old friend steadfast true. I am delighted to see that with steady heart
hand you can still seek find the friends who love you. No sloth, no rust. Still pegging away at Greek by the thousand pages
getting from side to side of the continents seas with the gazing ardor enthusiasm of Youth Happy man. Ever deep in the blessedness
of action, so ever Young; the light of Youth the light of age the light of all the years between blending together into one
serene glow, like the sunshine of a summer day becoming more beautiful more divine as the evening draws near. And Mrs Butler
is in far better health than in? years and all the children are well and the boys regard frozen mercury as a warning that
they must seek a colder climate