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Pontresina, August 25, 1873. 

Dear Tom:

This is the first rainy day we have had since my arrival at Pontresina, and the first since the last of June, I believe,- although rain has fallen in showers on several occasions. And, take notice that a rainy day in the mountains, at this elevation (nearly 6000 ft.) is no joke - the hills are covered with clouds, the air is cold, and the whole landscape looks dreary. The Sun is needed to render this high region habitable.

Mary and the children are quite restored to their wonted measure of health - although John is not yet so strong as he used to be before he had his attack of typhoid fever; he has been elongating rapidly, too rapidly.

I received your letter yesterday. Am glad that your wife has gone to the sea-shore, and hope that she will be "stronged up" by the sea-air; a little change will do you no harm. In fact change of air is conducive to health, even although one changes from good to less good surroundings, sometimes. The Swiss physicians say that a residence of three weeks in any one locality is long enough to exhaust its sanific properties.

I must tell you that Mary is very much pleased with the tea-cups which I purchased under your auspices at Tyndales and she would like very much to have say half a dozen cups and saucers of the same sort to supply contemplated breakages. So will you try to get them and pack them up with the silver; it would be best, I suppose, to pack them in a separate box and place this box in a larger. (You will have to get a larger box made.) And I just think at this moment that an India-rubber pencil tip which I brought with me, (in fact I found a lead-pencil in Chestnut St. one day, with an india-rubber tip on it,) was very much admired. Please put a dozen of these tips in one of the tea-cups; and also the August and any subsequent No. of the