RK-164

Chicago, Sunday Evening June 29^{th '56}

Dear Bob.

Your letter, which I only received yesterday morning about 10 o'clock, arrived too late to enable me to com ply with your request. I have made inquiries respecting The publications you mention, but [illegible] Byrd & Betts, Amy - have seen nothing of them. ^{Betts is not in town - I'll ask him when he comes.} My congratulations on your election, I reserve until my arrival at "The Grove". The papers I have had sought up and will bring them out with me; the Ether & ^(Herbarium) paper, I shall send out on Tuesday by the "Bus" driver; - the vials & "18 corks to each one", I shall also bring out on Friday. The Alcohol will be ready, to-morrow, at your com mand. I feel particularly dull and stupid; - and for the life of me cannot write two consecutive sentences on the same subject without pausing to think! - a miracle unparalleled in the annals of wonders; - I mean the idea of my "pausing to think". I can't write, Bob, that's the long & short of it. I am thoroughly homesick. I received a letter from Willie Welch, the other day, and his kind, wholesouled letter, breathing in every line his generous, noble heart quite unmanned me. To-day, I was sitting in our little office room by the dingy window, cogitating on the various possible employments of ^{the members of} a certain family not over twenty five miles from me, and when my eye happened to fall on a passage in Willie's letter, about "angel Girls and noble boys" &c, &c. Nothing concerning you - so you needn't say, "Oh fudge!" The ^{sound of the} bells with their monotomous clangour, came lazily stealing over heated roofs and between tall chimneys, and ^while from some one of the many

chambers windows which look into the court at the back of the office, two heavy, rugged voices, with little of music or harmony in them, but not wanting "in spirit and hearti ness - broke out in the good old air of Antioch. It was rather childish, - the action, I mean, - and probably it is still more so to tell it but, - something dropped on the paper before me which was not a rain-drop - yet might have been - Ah! hum. Yes - you were speaking about "Bug ology" I believe - Well! Mr Johnson at the Ill. Cent R.R. has a horned Frog for you, (that's as near a bug as I can come) which I should have brought out with me on Saturday had I come - But I'll bring it next Friday. Again - Bugs - I saw Capt. Webster the other day, and he is backing out of the society - "Come like shadows, so depart".

I understand Mr Ino. S. Wright is town. I have not seen him but should such be the case, I will advise you - to-morrow. But I'm a nid - nid - nodding over this letter. So good night! Old Lentiginosus. If I've anything further to say in the A.M and ain't ashamed to send this when I read it over, Why -

Good night, Bob Frank

Monday A.M.

Dear Bob. I am rather ashamed to send this letter but have not time to write another - I am going out now to get your Ether &c and have them ready for the 'Bus in the morn ing -

Good Bye Old Fel.

I may write again before com ing -

Sister Annies in town. Just come

Your BoLaurns

P.S. I pause to say you were not very correct in your directions about the Farmers containing your articles - Instead of the Wren ^Crane in December no. '54 I find an article on the Rattlesnake in the January no. but nothing of the Crane. In '55 I find an article on the wren in Novem ber - In '54 On the Cantharides in March and on the Rattlesnake in January - Now - I've got it all wrong - In '54 - November the red-legged locust. In '55 - January - Rattlesnake - March Cantharides. - and November - Wren - thats it

Good Bye -

I've got half a dozen copies of each -

I'm ashamed to correct the blunder I've made again. But it isn't all right "it" at all, for November - Wren - read May