Thoreau's letters to this Worcester friend were of unusual length and details in matters of advice and soul-nutriment. They seem sometimes nebulous and mystic in ideality; again, they are replete with strong thought and practical suggestion. The sturdiness of tone often recalls the "Ice-water tonic" on a sultry day, in which Alcott once imaged the influence of Thoreau.
Every friend of Thoreau, in earlier or in later life, felt the elevating influence of his masterly mind, his rare vision of nature, his poetic conception of nature's laws and growths, his brave independence of living, and his unswerving adherence to the inner truth and spiritual ideal. Whether incited to deeper thoughts and less regard for the trivialities of life, inspired to a new understanding of the beauties and messages of birds and flowers, or nerved to requisite courage and self-reliance to meet the perplexities and depressions of daily life, each friend could repeat with Emerson,—
"The fountains of my hidden life
Are through thy friendship fair."
