I will read
it, and if I have anything to say about it, will speak as frankly
as above.
I shall be in this place--Groveland, Mass.--about three weeks;
after that in Worcester a short while.
Very truly yours,
DAVID A. WASSON.
Groveland, Mass., June 18, 1862.
Mr. Burroughs,--
My Dear Sir,--
I am sorry to have detained your MS. so long, but part of the time
I have been away, and during the other portion of it, the fatigue
that I must undergo was all that my strength would bear.
I read your essay carefully in a few days after receiving it and
laid it aside for a second perusal. Now I despair of finding time
for such a second reading as I designed, and so must write you at
once my impressions after a single reading.
The inference concerning your mind that I draw from your essay
enhances the interest I previously felt in you. All that you tell
me of yourself has the same effect. You certainly have high, very
high, mental power; and the patience and persistency that you must
have shown hitherto assures me that you will in future be equal to
the demands of your intellect. As to publishing what you have now
written, you must judge. The main question, is whether you will
be discouraged by failure of your book. If not, publish, if you
like; and then, if the public ignores your thought, gather up your
strength again and write so that they cannot ignore you.
Pages:
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182