It has been snowing with a perfect fury for four hours & a half. During the past hour the customary Sunday noon crowds of people have been thinning out; & now, although I have six streets & a big pleasure-square in sight, there are not 15 people in view. The snow is falling so densely that it makes the trees in the square look spectral. But it just occurs to me that this will not surprise you as much as it does us—for you are likely to have the duplicate of this storm—& repeated, too, maybe.

I’ve got the airs for my music box selected at last, thanks to goodness,—been 5 months at it. If I ever get the thing home I’ll give you some musical chords which you will say are the softest & sweetest you ever heard. The sounds are more suggestive of the violin or a combination of violins, (softly played) than anything else. I had never seen a box of the sort before. It is to play 10 tunes & cost $400. It is small in size,—comparatively speaking,—but it has virtues of large dimensions.

Sam Moffett has been with us a week or more & has won the esteem, admiration & affection of the tribe. He has become a manly boy in the past few months, & is a thoroughly good boy, and high-minded. He has a spirit large spirit, with nothing mean or low or paltry in it. He has a capacious mind; & to his great & varied accumulation of knowledge he has added wisdom—& that is rare for a lad of 18. He will remain here some months & board & lodge & study German in the family of Clara’s almost divine German Baroness.

Livy & I want to thank Charley heartily for his care of Livy’s affairs. We think the idea of investing in 4% government bonds is a particularly good one. Livy is going to write him herself.

We are packing. Our plan is to leave for Paris next Thursday at 6. 40 AM, arriving at Strasburg at 5. 30 PM & going on to Paris the next day. We were in a good deal of a sweat about the plague for some time, & it still promises to sweep the whole world this year, but our physician says one need have no present fear about it.

We send a power of love to you all—& thank goodness it doesn’t have to go through the custom house. They would charge duty on it, & break it all to pieces into the bargain.