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45

bridge together very soon. And then I thought about this great river that I was sitting beside -- how it was winding away to the sea. There is always romance in the rivers and the ocean I think. Cakes of ice would float by now and then, conspicuously white on the gray of the vast expanse of water. I thought that they stand out from their surroundings because they are different just as some people stand out from the sea of humanity because they are different too. And then I thought of how Hendrick Hudson, three hundred and sixteen years ago, sailed up that river and landed at the very spot where I was sitting.

[[clipping, hand printed]]

"Here, where the Half Moon,
Ended her cruise of adventure,
Through fields of Indian corn.
A kill made its way to the river.
Called by the Dutch - the fuyck.
A stream abounding in beaver.
Here sprang up Beaversfuyck.
A post for trade with the Indians.
Thus in the wilderness
Was sown the seed of our city."

[[/clipping]]

And I could not help but think of how changed that spot had become, where Hendrick first landed in the land of the Iroquois. Then it was beautiful, as Nature had made it. The high hills bordering the river were blanketed in virgin forest that ran in some places to the water's edge. There was no bridge of steel, no roaring trains, or steamboats, or roundhouses to blot out the beauty of the place. I rebelled at the scene as it now is until I told myself that the beauty of the river has not been destroyed. There are hundreds of scenes along its banks yet, that are beautiful. The bridges and trains and roundhouses are necessary now. We must ccept them, I suppose, and when we want to enjoy the beauty of an unspoiled wilderness, we still can get to one. But old Hendrick would never recognize Albany now -- or rather, Beaversfuyck. But it will be the world's most wonderful place at 6:27 a.m. on June the 27th, 1925.

[[underlined]] To Willie, March 10, 1925: [[/underlined]] Basil Nikiforoff looks very young to have such grown-up daughters. Mrs. N. was also there and her English is just broken enough to be delightful. She is dark and very Russian-looking, being, in fact, a very handsome woman. We went to church to the organ recital and after the recital, there was a social hour. I enjoyed it all very much and was able to feel just a trifle at home there, which meant a lot. I took Tania home at 10 o'clock. It certainly was nice to go out with a girl again. Tania is very young -- about 17 I guess -- but she is very interesting. (Note on 1/7/73) There appears to be a slight inconsistency here, with Tania "grown up" at the start but "very young" at the finish!