My dear Higginson,—Your letter the other day from Ipswich gave me great pleasure....
It had never occurred to me that you were associated with Ipswich through your Appleton relatives. My association with the old town, whose charm has not wholly disappeared under the hard hoof of the invader, begins still earlier than yours, for the William Norton who landed there in 1636 was my direct ancestor; and a considerable part of his pretty love story seems to have been transacted there. I did not know the story until I came upon it by accident, imbedded in some of the volumes of the multifarious publications of our historical society. It amused me to find that John Norton, whose reputation is not for romance or for soft-heartedness, took an active interest in pleading his brother’s cause with Governor Winthrop, whose niece, Lucy Downing, had won the susceptible heart of W. N.
My summer was a very peaceful and pleasant one here in my old home till about six weeks ago, when I was struck down ... which has left me in a condition of extreme muscular feebleness, but has not diminished my interest in the world and its affairs. Happily my eyes are still good for reading, and I have fallen back, as always on similar occasions, on Shakespeare and Scott, but I have read one or two new books also, the best of which, and a book of highest quality, is the last volume of Morley’s essays.
But I began meaning only to thank you for your pleasant note and to send a cheer to you from my slower craft as your gallant three-master goes by it with all sails set....
Always cordially yours,
C. E. Norton.