Mary Robertson Walsh James From the beginning of his life, Henry was his mother's favorite; Mary James called her second son the "angel of the house." The letters she wrote express her concern for his physical distance from the family, as well as her pride in her literary child's accomplishments. The following is an excerpt from a letter Mary James wrote upon Henry's return to Cambridge from London in 1875. Harry has come home to us very much improved in health and looks. When he came in upon us from his voyage in a loose rough English suit, very much burnt and browned by the sea, he looked like a robust young Briton. He seemed well pleased to be at home at least as yet, and I trust he will feel more and more for himself, what I daily feel for him, that it is much better to live near his family and with his own countrymen, than to lead the recluse life he so strongly tended to live abroad.