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Stanford. Feb. 26, '99.

My dear mother:

Your tardy letters was rec'd yesterday afternoon after I had given up - all hope of hearing from you. The excuses you give for not replying earlier are "incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial." It would take just fifteen minutes to dash off two small pages such as you have used, and you need not asser that you have not had a spare 15 min. since my letter was rec'd. Your neglect is willful, perverse, culpable and entirely inexcusible. I resolved at first not to write at all this week as a fitting punishment to you for your thoughtlessness, but a second thought urged me to write to you