[Roslyn—Thursday, 29 June 1871]
Today Thursday. We again visited Mr. Bryant’s place and went all over it. He evidently takes great joy in it. Coming back we found the company seated on the grass under the great waving trees, eating cherries. It was a perfect picture. Christine, the queen in her sailor hat seated on a chair, her lover on the grass nearby, Annie with her banjo, the old Colonel & Mrs Richardson looking on, two girls in bathing dresses in the top of the Cherry tree, Godwin & “J” lounging round--nothing could be more picturesque or delightful. All—so gay—so happy,—so French in its cast too. It is a great novelty for us.
Christine is a woman of genius, a queer wayward creature, full of charm, full of brusquerie, full of good heartedness, and much of what our poor old forsaken Shakers would call the natural woman.
Two little girls Lalagie and Henrieta Dixon are full of talent—the latter is as quick as thought in her speech—I think of dear Mabel with her still deep nature and I wonder at the “Infinite Variety” which custom cannot stall.
