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42 from personal memories in The Independent, July 25, 1895, says;—"Mrs. Thoreau was in many respects a very remarkable woman, the most prolific and I think the most interesting talker I ever met. Her fund of anecdote and reminiscence was amazing and unfailing; her command of the formidable female weapon of sarcastic rejoinder entirely worthy of the object of her special and enthusiastic admiration, Wendell Phillips." Among the letters loaned for this volume is one from Mr. Ricketson to Miss Sophia Thoreau after her mother's death. Among words of honor and friendship are these;—"Your mother was a woman of unusual vivacity, as well as of rare intellectual power; and in her youth, I doubt not, was not only handsome but the life of her companions. I could recognize in her dramatic talent the origin of your brother Henry's fine gift for conversation; and in the quiet manner of your dear father his repose of mind:—combined, the strong contrasts of your parents produced Henry's character, one of the truest and noblest of our times."

In emphasis of Mrs. Thoreau's vivacity and loquacity, one must not fail to record as well her dainty, refined tastes, shown in her home and her gracious attentions to her guests and friends. A Concord lady, who has enjoyed her hospitality, has told me of the fine taste displayed in the