Washington, D.C. Dec. 5, 1879
My dear Sir:
Your favor of the 4th inst and
the enclosures have been received.
The suggestion of the party once a
graduate of the Vt. University only shows
another instance of causeless fickleness
and proves that he openly transfers to
Dartmouth what he withdrew from the
Vt. U. --his allegiance-- long ago. You have lost nothing
and it remains to be seen whether the
President of Dartmouth has gained
anything. I suspect it was a lean
response to alms-asking.

The coolness of the President of Dart-
mouth is a marvel to me. How he
could accept the proposition seriously
and not know it was a grandiose
way of evading importunate begging
for aid passes my comprehension.
He might with hardly less im-
pudence have asked you to get
a divorce from your wife, with
a promise that he would love
and cherish her thereafter in
some New Hampshire [ecumenical]
way.
We are not rich in Vermont
but we are not the slaves of debts
and far too proud to permit

our best Educational institution
be used as a patch to hide
sores elsewhere.
Very sincerely yours
Justin S. Morrill
Prest. M. H. Buckham,
Burlington,
Vt.