One of Miss Larcom’s greatest pleasures was the visits she was able to make to her congenial friends. Not being tied by family cares, it was possible for her to accept some of the many invitations she constantly received from those who loved her. Her presence in a household was like a peaceful influence, for she had the delightful gift of being an agreeable guest. Always sympathetic, never intruding into the privacy of family matters, reticent about her troubles, and eager to impart her joys, with a fund of humor always at hand, she made a charming companion; and her visit was always remembered as an event in the year. There are many homes that have had the privilege of entertaining her, and receiving something from the close contact with her personality. One of her hostesses, Mrs. James Guild, of Roxbury, in whose house she used to enjoy hours of Plato study, and where the last few years of her life she found rest, says, “In passing the library, I often looked through the portières, to behold the presence in the room,--the white, peaceful face, that seemed to wear a halo. She would have three or four books at once on her knee, and look up smiling to ask, ‘Am I not greedy? I don’t know which of these to read first! I do love books, but not better than friends; when you are at leisure, I am ready to sit with you.’” TO MRS. S. I. SPALDING. WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS., October 10, 1887. ... I came here, through Lake George and Saratoga, last Friday. I am visiting at President Carter’s, my old friend, who has a charming family and home. The town itself is most beautiful, and I have been driving about among the Berkshire Hills, finding them no less enjoyable for what I have seen of the Adirondacks. President Carter is at present away on business. A case of possible hazing is one of the most trying--the facts are so hard to get at. The spirit of this college is entirely opposed to such things. He is also a corporate member of the American Board. I do not sympathize with the turn affairs have taken. It looks to me like a long step backward. It cannot be that a disputed theological point is to settle the world’s salvation. And the inquisitorial spirit tends so entirely to bitterness and harsh judgment; it proves itself foreign to the spirit of Christ. May God reveal himself to these benighted theologians! TO J. G. WHITTIER. BEVERLY, MASS., April 24, 1888. MY DEAR FRIEND,--Yesterday I returned to Beverly, having done something quite uncommon, for me,--taken a trip to the Jerseys. I went on urgent invitation from old pupils and school-friends at Wheaton Seminary, who gave a breakfast at Hotel Brunswick, New York. I met a good many people I was glad to see, and made most of my visit at Mr. Ward’s, of the “Independent.” His sister, who keeps house for him, at Newark, is a former pupil of mine.