Transcribe Steele, M. R. Letter to Ward, Henry A. (1883-05-02)

the irregular, cup like sponge-[illegible] upon the top of the glassy cables. Your specimen showed only the cable, the several strands somewhat twisted, and adorned with several round, light brown knobs, which, as some suppose, are parasites. Please give me your opinion on this point. You afterward wrote me that you had seen only a few perfect specimens abroad. I saw one, with other "glass "sponges," in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural History. The crowning sponge was slightly brown, as if not thoroughly cleaned. I should like to see these creatures dry, but not cleaned. The largest variety, & the most interesting one, of shells & corals, that I ever saw, was in a private house near Marlborough, Mass. Many of the specimens were