
I received your beautiful gift yesterday afternoon just in time for Xmas, and I
cannot express how much it pleases me. Kennedy brought it in to
the Herald office for me and I was very sorry to be out at the time, for I have not
seen him for some months, having been in Europe most of the Autumn. The book is a
noble one—a form
worthy of its contents, and to me, as to many, it will be an inestimable treasure. I
think the friendly touches your hands have given it bestow an influence, real though
impalpable, which may make itself felt more strongly than might be imagined by most
men.
It is interesting and instructive to me to watch the development of our dear
country on the prophetic lines that your "Democratic Vistas" indicate. Evolutionary
processes are rapid at certain stages, and bit by bit one may detect, if his eyes be
clear, the realization
and the budding promises of realization—and in this sense even the black
clouds are welcome for the sake of the clearer skies that follow.
If you do any reading now a days you will find Edward Bellamy's "Looking Backward" a noble work, and delightful as well. It has made a profound impression and will do much towards realizing a grander future for our land.
I enclose a photograph of myself with wishes that the New Year may be kind to you.