old fellow has a vein of great gentleness and affectionateness in him & I notice the child nestles up to him always rather than to the mother--who is all the same a very kind, amiable, good mother. Then there are neighbours of another sort up at the "Centre"--Mr. Chadwick, &c., from New York, with whom I have pleasant chats daily when I trudge up to fetch my letters--now & then I get a delightful drive or go on a blackberrying party with the folks round--I expect Giddy over to-day & we shall remain here together for about a fortnight--then back to Round Hill--where I am to meet the Miss Chase whom you may remember taking tea with & liking--then on to Boston to see dear Bee--& then to New York, where we shall meet again at last, I hope ere long. Love to Mr. & Mrs. Whitman--I enjoy her letters. Also to Hattie & Jessie--who will hear from me by & bye. With love to you, dear Friend. Good-bye. A. GILCHRIST. LETTER XLI ANNE GILCHRIST TO WALT WHITMAN _Concord, Mass. Oct. 25th._ MY DEAREST FRIEND: The days are slipping away so pleasantly here that weeks are gone before I know it. The Concord folk are as friendly as they are intellectual, and there is really no end to the kindness received. We are rowed on the beautiful river every day that it is warm enough--a very winding river not much broader than your favourite creek--flowing sometimes through level meadows, sometimes round rocky promontories & steep wooded hills which, with their wonderful autumn tints, are like a gay flower border mirrored in the water. Never in my life have I enjoyed outdoor pleasures more--I hardly think, so much--enhanced as they are by the companionship of very lovable men and women. They lead an easy-going life here--seem to spend half their time floating about on the river--or meeting in the evening to talk & read aloud. Judge Hoar says it is a good place to live and die in, but a very bad place to make a living in. Beatrice spent one Sunday with us here. We walked to Hawthorne's old house in the morning, & in the afternoon to the "Old Manse" and to Sleepy Hollow, most beautiful of last resting places. Tuesday we go on to Boston for a week very loth to leave Concord--at least, I am!--but Giddy begins to long for city life again. And then to New York about the 5th Nov. Herby told you, no doubt, that I spent an hour or two with Emerson--and that he looked very beautiful--and talked in a friendly, pleasant manner. A long letter from my sister in England tells me Per. looks well and happy & is so proud of his little boy--and that Norah is really a perfect wife to him--affectionate, devoted, and the best of housewives. How glad I am Herby is painting you. I wonder if you like the landscape he is working on as well as you did "Timber Creek." Miss Hillard has undertaken the charge of a young lady's education, and is very much pleased with her task. She is in a delightful family who make her quite one with them--live in the best part of New