What a loss of precious time--from May till September! Not that the time was really lost.

Even the interval on Union Place was crowded with lessons and experiences.

We had to visit the stores and be dressed from head to foot in American clothing; we had to learn the mysteries of the iron stove, the washboard, and the speaking-tube; we had to learn to trade with the fruit peddler through the window, and not to be afraid of the policeman; and, above all, we had to learn English.
The kind people who assisted us in these important matters form a group by themselves in the gallery of my friends.

If I had never seen them from those early days till now, I should still have remembered them with gratitude.

When I enumerate the long list of my American teachers, I must begin with those who came to us on Wall Street and taught us our first steps.