[Letter] September 6,1896,Amherst [to F.H. Giddings]

September 6, 1896, Amherst.

Dear Friend:
        This is to
welcome you to our
shore and state, if
it is so that you
are about arriving.
We are in the
uprooting process.
Some things have
gone from the house
already, and more 
go soon. We are 
fitting up rooms
for our boys at
Amherst, and at the 
Worcester School of 
Technology. We are 
giving away things 
to reduce the stock; "
closing out regardless
of cost." We expect 
to ship our remaining 
car, lead to New York 
about Sept. 15th, and 
to bestow ourselves 
somewhere in a boarding 
house till they arrive. 
We were grateful to 
Mrs. Giddings for the 
very kind invitation 
to spend the days of 
settling at your house; 
but with our family 
that would be quite 
too numerous an 
advent into your 
quarters. Many thanks 
all the same. I 
rather expect to utilize 
my old room in 37th 
St. during the interim. 
I want to 
tell you that I read 
with not a little 
disgust and indignation
the review of your
book in the Annals by
Dr, Ward. It is not
that he disagrees with
you. Many a man
might do that in a
way that could help
the sale of the book, and
would increase rather
than diminish the
public estimate of it. The
review in the Post will
not hurt the book at all.
It spends its strength
on a very minor point
of disagreement. The whole
tone of Dr. Ward's article
is discreditable to him.
The obvious weakness
of his article lies in
recurring so often to
his own writings.
That gives away the
spirit in which his
criticism is made.
It lays him open
to a retort, if it
is best to make
one. Shall you do
it?
 I shall be glad
to see you, as I
hope soon to do.
Regards to Mrs. Giddings
and the family.

    Yours very truly,
        John B. Clark

I send this to Columbia University to be
mailed to you.