Viewing page 503 of 978

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

He comes from a distinguished Dutch family and is a marvel of courtesy and gentility. 

I thought I had [[strikethrough]] I [[/strikethrough]] met a few Whistler enthusiasts but Van Gravesande surpasses all. They were friends and had worked and travelled together - Van G. places Whistler equal with Rembrandt and Frans Hals - He saw the Paris Exhibition and ranks it as one of the greatest one-man shows ever held. By degrees, I am meeting other competent judges who feel so strongly in the same direction that the trouble taken seems worth while. 

Your two good letters of July 18th reached me just before I left London and would have been answered earlier but for the fact of the rapid travelling I have been doing lately, and the rush just before my sailing. I don't feel that I have wasted a single hour this summer and yet many things planned are still undone. 

(omit)
Thank you for your full letter concerning the Smedley matter and for your kindness in having met with Messrs, Buhl, Whitney, & Campbell. The affair is most unfortunate in many ways and will doubtless take months to unravel. I feel that Smedley should not be allowed to go unpunished. Too much compromising in such cases excuses crime and makes it attractive to others.

Your other letter of the 18th about Will McMillan is sad in the extreme. I understand how wretchedly you all feel at the State Bank meeting and realize what a frightful sacrifice Will is making is his slavery to drink. I do hope he can be saved. And I fancy the only way is through the influences of his nearest friends. If they can't help him then poor Will is helpless. It is shocking to think of. With all good wishes to you and yours -
Charles L Freer
(omit)