[North Conway—Monday, 29 June 1874]
Monday June 29. Left Conway very early in the first glory of the day while the drops still hung on the trees. The weather was excessively warm and we were thankful to leave the hot place. The Thermometer stood at o100 at Ossipee. Soon, however, the east wind began to blow as we came towards the sea—at Portsmouth we found the trees waving in the delicious sea-breeze. Here we dined & walked about the place. I wanted some roses for Celia. Hearing of a Mrs Goodall who sold them I went to her house. I was invited into a charming parlor, perfectly simple but with such good books and pictures that I could not fail to be interested but just as I had finished inspecting the pictures & had taken a book, an invalid lady with lovely auburn hair and sweet tender eyes, graceful, delicate, slender came in from drive and sank into an arm chair. She was not the mistress of the house evidently, yet she was quite at home there for she gently undertook to interest me in talk, (which was not at all difficult as I was interested before hand in her) until the roses should appear. It was not long before the young girl appeared with a magnificent array of hot house and garden roses, at least it did not seem long to me, though when I returned to “J.” at the Rockingham House I found together with what he considered my long absence and the gathering clouds, his spirits were none of the best for crossing to Appledore in the twilight.
I was rather determined to go, I laughed at the clouds, & when the carriage came at 7 P.M. jumped in with alacrity—but indeed the clouds were thick and lightning and thunder made the west dark and fearful. However, “J” was unhappy enough but we had gone too far to retract, we had scarcely left the harbor when the winds and waves began to beat our boat. “J” lay flat on the floor of the cabin. It was a bad time enough but a short one as she made the light punctually. We found Celia and a party of friends on the pier to welcome us and after a comfortable tea and a peep into her gay and illuminated parlor we were ready to forget the horrors we had known.
