you are," and she said, "give her my kind regards, and tell her how glad I was to see you." Well, at last with many hand-shakes and all talking at once, we parted, and I met Gibson at the station, and we returned to Boston yesterday, October 25th. I am now writing to you on Sunday from the Hotel Brunswick. Last evening Dick was out when we arrived, with Evelyn at a concert, for which I had tickets, but I was too tired to go; this morning we went to hear Dr. P. Brooks, the great preacher who everyone was raving about last spring in London, (or was it _last_ year?) his church is like a great _temple_, or public hall, and cost [pound symbol]180,000. Mr. Winthrop gave us his pew, so we were well placed, and as he is _very_ rapid and not very loud, the strain to hear his discourse would have been very great if we had not been near. "In such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh." Christ comes to us in many ways, and through the long ages of the Old Testament and Christian dispensations he has been continually _shewing_ Himself,--all great events and promises have partial fulfilments,--little _milleniums_ have taken pace, and heavenly Jerusalems have been raised in many a church, in many a gathering of God's people,--all foreshadowing the _Great Event_ which, will bring God to man. Then he went on about a _King Idea_, the ruling object in every profession, in every life; how the _best_ of _that_ idea,--justice in a lawyer, holiness in a clergyman, and so on,--was brought home and revealed at times with great power. The reformations and revivals in the world are the _coming_ in this sense. He spoke of _unconscious_ love and devotion: that many a person thinks because they cannot always _feel_ Christ present and cannot consciously recognize that they act for _Him_ in their daily life, that they do not love or serve Him; they have given _themselves_ to Him, but it seems as if He was forgotten while their daily work and employments _press Him out_. All the time, as with earthly love and care, the _heart_ is full of Him, and every now and then strong religious exercises or unusual events excite the mind; He _comes_ to it in full power, and then they recognize their Lord. Some of the sermon struck me as too _abstract_, but it was very suggestive; the music, too, was beautiful. He is a large stout man with fine well-cut features and beautiful expression. Coming out we met John and E--- and the Pickerings, who had been elsewhere. I think they are both tired of America, at least E--- is, and John wants to get to his work! I am not tired of Americans, but I could not _live_ in this country; the system political is to me odious, much of the social system ditto; and the society is so disunited, so patchy, so apparently without bonds of union or common interests, the life they lead so dull and without the charms of society at home, and yet there are many as nice and clever and good as we can find anywhere. I dare say the