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United States Senate Chamber,
Washington, Jany 4th 1878
Prst. M. H. Buckham,
Burlington, Vt
My dear Sir: I have not been quite well for some
days or I should have acknowledged your kind letter respecting
James. I trust you know that I fully appreciate your watchfulness.
It was in time to furnish a basis of further admonition and I hope
of improvement. I some thought of going back with James to get
a full idea of any bad associates and also to consider about a
change of place, but for the present I have abandoned that.
James says, "try me one month and then ask the President
whether my work and deportment is not all right or not".
He knows that I shall expect him to be punctual to every one
of his recitations; not to be absent from his room evenings;
not to attend any dance balls, and to treat the new Prof.
of Chemistry with every courtesy and without the exhibition
of leg-drills or any other coarse offence.
Indeed his visit here I fear was not so enjoyable

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as it might have been had less time been devoted to parental
use in lectures. James promises me all I can fairly ask
and I hope he will come nearer fulfilment than
he yet has done. He says he was really sick about two weeks.
I trust that you will not grow weary over your cares
nor discouraged by the abuse which some of the Press
appear glad to fling upon our University and College.
I have not seen Prof Collier since he came and
when I do I shall try to find out whether he inspires
any share of this abuse. It is strange that any Bur-
lington paper can find a profit in this line. I was
sorry to see the Rutland Herald following in the same
rut and so I wrote to Mr. Pettingill, the editor,
expressing my regret that he did not know personally
more of our Professors and the work they were
doing.
Very truly yours
Justin S. Morrill