Letter from Edward Waldo Emerson to Charles W. Fullerton

[ in pencil, son's letter enclosing RWE MS] Concord, Dec 8th 1898 Charles W. Fullerton, Esq. Dear Sir, In accordance with my promise I send you a leaf of my Father's writing, evidently a mere jotting-sheet that lay on his table, but characteristic. M. W. E. who is quoted here was Miss Mary Woody Emerson my Father's aunt, a remarkable character and influence on his early life. He has written a sketch of her in the volume

called Lectures & Biographical Sketches". She was a religious enthusiast with a fine mind, but uncomfortable to live with. In his poem "The Nun's Aspiration" he gives a metrical rendering of a portion of her diary including the quotation at the head of the sheet. The passage in brackets very likely is hers. On the other side of this leaf is evidently a rehearsal of the four lines called Fate in the "Quatrains" toward the end of my Father's poems. I remember my visit to Chicago and the occasions at the Institute with pleasure. Hoping that you are well, I am Sincerely yours, Edward W. Emerson