have been and am still drudging in the hands of the printers, kept busily employed night and day. Besides my arrangements are to hurry back to the South where I have a sick family. A very few days will turn my feet in that direction.

son,

DR. J. MARION SIMS TO MRS. SIMS

[From "The Story of My Life,' by J. Marion Sims, M.D., LL.D., Edited by his H. Marion Sims, M.D. New York, D. Appleton and Company, 1894.]

PARIS, October 18, 1861 (Friday).

THIS 18th of October, 1861, has not by any means been the happiest day of my life, but, with perhaps three exceptions, the proudest. The first exception was the day, the 23d day of July, 1833, on which you gave me the rose-bud through the garden fence. We were then young and alone; there were none to approve or condemn. A few seemingly long years rolled tardily over and at last brought the second era, the happiest day, the 21st of December, 1836, on which you became my wife. Family and friends were there to yield assent. Many perfectly happy years passed rapidly, and, together we climbed up the hill of life until, almost at the top, came the first anniversary of the Woman's Hospital the 9th of February, 1856. You were not there, but New York was, and from that day your husband's American reputation was fixed, and your hopes were fulfilled, and your ambition gratified.

To-day Velpeau, Nélaton, Civiale, Ricord, Chassaignac, Follin, Huguier, Debout, Baron Larrey, Sir Joseph Olliffe, Campbell, Johnstone, and many others honored me with their presence at the Hôtel Voltaire, Quai Voltaire, No. 19. I had one of the most difficult operations I ever performed. The patient was a very bad one, short, fat, and nervous. Chloroform was administered by Dr. Johnstone. It acted very badly; the patient became slightly hysterical, and uncontrollable, and chloroform was for a while suspended. Some thought it dangerous to continue it; to stop it was to stop the operation. Velpeau strongly advised against continuing to give it, but Johnstone proceeded, and gave enough to produce quiet, and the operation was performed. It took about forty minutes.

It was one of the most difficult that could be. Everybody was delighted except me. I never had so many obstacles present at one time in any one case. I have had as bad patients, but then the operation was not so difficult; and I have had a few as difficult, but they were in docile patients; but here everything was wrong except my presence of mind and confidence. But all obstacles were so quietly and so thoroughly overcome that everybody congratulated me on encountering them. The triumph is complete, and you may feel secure as to the full and perfect recognition of my claims throughout all Europe. Not only now, but often while I sit in the midst of the decorated savants of this great city, my thoughts turn instinctively to the wife of my bosom, who, as the mother of my children, is a thousand times dearer to me than she was in the springtime of life, as the playmate of my childhood and the idol of my youth. To your gentle care and loving kindness and wise counsels I owe all that I am, and I feel that, with all my successes, all my triumphs, with the prospect of lasting fame, I am far, very far from being worthy of you; for when I have told you thousands of times that you were too good for me I have been in earnest. But while I feel a secret, unexpressed gratification at the extraordinary result of my visit here, which would not have been made but for your persistent entreaties, let us not forget the great Author of it all. I have done nothing, but have been led along, I know not how, and have followed blindly, confidingly, and patiently. Nothing has been done just as I would have had it, but all has turned out, or is turning out, better than I could have devised.

CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH TO QUEEN ANNE, A. D. 1616

[From "The Adventures and Discourses of Captain John Smith, sometime President of Virginia, and Admiral of New England,' Newly Ordered by John Ashton. London, Cassell and Company.]

To the most high and vertuous Princesse, Queene Anne of Great Britaine.

MOST ADMIRED QUEENE,

The love I beare my God, my King, and Countrie, hath so oft emboldened mee in the worst of extreme dangers, that now honestie doth constraine me to presume thus farre beyond my selfe, to present your Majestie this short discourse: if ingratitude be a deadly poyson to all honest vertues, I must bee guiltee of that crime, if I should omit any means to be thankfull. So it is,

That some ten yeeres agoe being in Virginia, and taken prisoner by the power of Powhatan their chiefe King, I received from this great Salvage exceeding great courtesie, especially from his sonne Nantaquas, the most manliest, comeliest, boldest spirit, I ever saw in a Salvage, and his sister Pocahontas, the King's most deare and wel-beloved daughter, being but a child of twelve or thirteene yeeres of age, whose compassionate pitiful heart, of my desperate estate, gave me much cause to respect her; I being the first Christian this proud King and his grim attendants ever saw: and thus inthralled in their barbarous power, I cannot say I felt the least occasion of want that was in the power of those my mortell foes to prevent, notwithstanding al their threats. After some six weeks fatting amongst those Salvage Courtiers, at the minute of my execution, she hazarded the beating out of her own brains to save mine, and not only that, but so prevailed with her father, that I was safely conducted to James Towne, where I found about eight and thirtie miserable poore and sicke creatures, to keepe possession of all those large territories of Virginia, such was the weaknesse of this poore Commonwealth, as had the Salvages not fed us, we directly had starved.

And this reliefe, most gracious Queene, was commonly brought us by this Lady Pocahontas. Notwithstanding all those passages when inconstant Fortune turned our peace to

Warre, this tender Virgin would stille not spare to dare to visit us, and by her our jarres have beene oft appeased, and our wants still supplyed. Were it the policie of her father thus to imploy her, or the ordinance of God thus to make her His instrument, or her extraordinary affection to our Nation, I know not; but of this I am sure; when her father with the utmost of his policie and power, sought to surprize mee, having but eighteene with mee, the darke night could not affright her from coming through the irkesome woods, and with watered eies gave me intelligence, with her best advice to escape his furie, which had hee knowne, hee had surely slaine her. James Towne with her wild traine she as freely frequented, as her father's habitation; and during the time of two or three yeeres, the next under God, was still the instrument to preserve this Colonie from death, famine, and utter confusion, which if in those times had once been dissolved, Virginia might have lien as it was at our first arrival to this day. Since then, this businesse having been turned and varied by many accidents from that I left it at: it is most certaine, after a long and troublesome warre after my departure, betwixt her father and our Colonie, all which time shee was not heard of, about two yeeres after, she herselfe was taken prisoner, being so detained neere two yeeres longer, the Colonie by that meanes was relieved, peace concluded, and at last, rejecting her barbarous condition, was married to an English Gentleman, with whom, at this present, she is in England; the first Christian ever of that Nation, the first Virginian ever spake English, or had a childe in marriage by an Englishman, a matter surely, if my meaning bee truly considered and well understood, worthy a Princes understanding.

Thus, most gracious Lady, I have related to your Majestie, what at your best leisure our approved Histories will account you at large, and done in the time of your Majesties life, and however this might bee presented you from a more worthy pen, it cannot be from a more honest heart, as yet I never begged anything of the State, or any, and it is my want of abilitie, and her exceeding desert, your birth, meanes, and authoritie, hir birth, vertue, want and simplicitie, doth make me so bold, humbly to beseech your Majestie to take this knowledge of her, though it is from one so unworthy to be

the reporter, as myselfe, her husbands estate not being able to make her fit to attend your Majestie: the most and least I can doe, is to tell you this, because none so oft hath tried it as myselfe, and the rather being of so great a spirit, how ever her stature; if she should not be well received, seeing this Kingdome may rightly have a Kingdome by her meanes; her present love to us and Christianitie, might turn to such scorne and furie, as to divert all this good to the worst of evill, where finding so great a Queene should doe her some honour more than she can imagine, for being so kinde to your servantes and subjects, would so ravish her with content, as endeare her dearest bloud to effect that, your Majestie and all the Kings honest subjects most earnestly desire: And so I humbly kisse your gracious hands.

HENRY TIMROD TO PAUL HAMILTON HAYNE ["The Poems of Henry Timrod,' by Paul Hamilton Hayne. E. J. Hale & Son, New York, 1873.]

COLUMBIA, S. C., March 30, 1866.

MY DEAR P.: Nothing has come to me for the past year which has given me such pleasure as your letter of the -inst. I am overjoyed to renew our correspondence.

Dear old fellow! heart and hand, body, soul, and spirit, I am still yours.

I have the right poet's inclination to plunge in medias res. You ask me to tell you my story for the last year. I can embody it all in a few words: beggary, starvation, death, bitter grief, utter want of hope! But let me be a little more particular, that you may learn where I stand. You know, I suppose, that the Sherman raid destroyed my business. Since that time I have been residing with my sister, Mrs. Goodwin. Both my sister and myself are completely impoverished. We have lived for a long period, and are still living, on the proceeds of the gradual sale of furniture and plate. We have-let me see! -yes, we have eaten two silver pitchers, one or two dozen. silver forks, several sofas, innumerable chairs, and a hugebedstead!!

Until December, I had no employment. Mr.

passed