Transcription:
William Hathaway forbes married Edith Emerson forbes W. Cameron forbis 1872 614 Sears Building, Boston, muse, My dear
Mr. Muir: I have only just received your note and its contents, thank you very much. The bulbs and seeds are at Mr. Forbes
office, and I have ordered them sent to my gardener to take care of until the ground thaws - at present it is covered with
snow and ice and frozen so that it rather looks like the beginning of winter. I have been passing a few weeks in Florida with
Mr. Forbes he is troubled with a cough and it does him good to go there, though that cannot be said of many who go for that
-they wait until they are too ill. I can imagine the Yo Semite in its winter grandeur being as interesting as in its summer
beauty. Of late we hear much of the beauty and grandeur of the geysers of the Yellowstone river, and that our government is
going to secure the finest part of it. I wish it might do so of all the finest of our scenery, for we are not a sufficiently
poetical people to revere such beauty and wonder as we ought. But food and clothing for families must be provided, and the
doing that develops much that is manly and fine in character, and self reliant. We must wait a while for the highest and finest
culture, when I am in the south and when I think of parts of the West I saw, it seems a quite herculean task to bring our
whole country out of the barbaric. Mr. Emerson is well this winter. He is getting old now and I fancy will not go beyond
his earlier efforts in what he does, but he is always kind and gentle. His daughter, my son's wife, is in Europe with my son
and their four children. Three are boys and I hope will show the worth of their descent when they grow up. I sent your note
and one of those sprays to Mr. Emerson. He is always interested in you. Remember me to Mr. and Mrs. Leidig when you see
them. Yours very truly, S. S. Forbes I found Prof. Gray had specimens of the flowers you gave me.