White's resignation brought letters of admiration and affection from a great many former students and associates. The tone of respect in letters from those who seriously opposed his choice of successor reveals the impress of White's character upon his contemporaries. The candor shown by C. K. Adams, Burr, Fiske, Eugene Frayer and James F. Gluck testify to their confidence in White's sense of honesty. A report from Thurston on October 26 detailed his plan for a thorough reorganization of the engineering school. Wharton Barker and Jonas Mills Bundy were among those who urged White to accept the nomination for New York Governor, but he was determined to try to improve his health and turn his attention to historical study. Burr assured White of his desire to assist him in research and in rewriting his historical studies already completed. Among the correspondents are Herbert B. Adams, James Hall, Thomas Hughes, Mrs. Cyrus Taggart Mills, and Homer B. Sprague. There are a number of letters arranging for White's sitting for a portrait by Daniel Huntington, and on the third of October he and Mrs. White sailed on the Servia for Liverpool.