so casually, the lady whose letter I am reading thus testifies to the high quality of the women of the Thoreau family:
"The women of the Thoreau family seem to me quite as remarkable as the men; and people who knew John Thoreau considered him even cleverer and more promising than Henry and greatly lamented his untimely death. Certainly both Helen, whom I never knew, and Sophia, whom I knew well, were exceptionally clever women. Sophia was extremely witty, a brilliant conversationalist, and her love of nature made her the most delightful of companions for a ramble through the woods and meadows.
"'Aunt Maria' was, at the time I knew her, a sweet, gentle old lady
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