Viewing page 114 of 154

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

[[underlined]] To Mother, November 4, 1925: [[/underlined]] First, I shall answer your question regarding Star Island. You can see three states from Shoals, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Those mountains way off on the horizon are not in Vermont, I'm quite sure and, of course, as you cannot see Cape Cod, it would be impossible to see any part of Connecticut. That headland that is just visible way down the coast, is at Gloucester, and the farthest point north that is visible is the lighthouse that stands on a reef about thirty odd miles up the Maine coast. If you recall, it is visible on a clear day and is directly over Smuttynose on the horizon. However, the highest peaks in the White Mountains in New Hampshire, including Mt.Washington, are over a hundred miles away, but are clearly seen on a good day. ...... I shall try to get hold of Celia Thaxter's letters sometime for I am crazy about the extracts you have sent me. She certainly did know how to get the most out of the Shoals.

[[underlined]] To Willie, in a letter whose date is lost: [[/underlined]] This morning while working, I suddenly began singing --

There's an island in the sea
Run by you and me;
There is where we learn to pray
And live in harmony --

-- and honestly, I could feel myself at Shoals again. That song is crude compared with Keats, but it can set my heart a'longin' for the dear old Island in the sea. And there are certain other lines that can almost miraculously take me back to Star Island again ------

The hour cometh and now is --

Now the day is over --

Abide with me, fast falls the eventide --

In the holy quiet of this hour, let us draw night unto Him who hearest prayer --

And now may the peace that passeth all understanding, the peace the world can neither give nor take away, be with you and abide in your hearts forevermore.

[[clipping]]
Star Island, 10 miles out to sea, off the coast of New Hampshire, among the Isles of Shoals, in this happy island. It was first discovered by John Smith and then for many years inhabited by fisher folk. At a later period, the Isles of Shoals became a fashionable summer resort; the home of Celia Thaxter, and a favorite haunt of literary men. Now for twenty years, Star Island has been the Mecca of Unitarians and Congregationalists.[[/end clipping]]

Transcription Notes:
changed peach to peace. I changed "Celia Theater" to "Celia Thaxter" near the bottom of the page.--thomasc