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and kissed me and sad as I felt for her and the bitter changes one selfish, unwise man has brought about I did not hesitate one moment in my estimate of him and my wish never to meet him again. It has been a trial to Sara but she was most kind to Gertrude and cried at the dinner table when she spoke of her and her constrained visit. Mrs Edward Tompkins and her daughter Mrs. [[?]] called this afternoon having heard Gertrude was here. Sara took my father out for a short ride to Rondout and up to Kingston. A note from Calvert is undecided as to when he can come up. I think I will go out to Shokan tomorrow if the morning promises a fine day to look about and see if I can find anything near there. I paid Tom our hired man four hundred dollars today.  

Tuesday October 13" 1885. The weather looked very threatening this morning and it began to rain early and has rained hard nearly all day and is still raining. I had Tom make a fire in the hall stove which is two days earlier than last year. I wrote a long letter to Mary about Gertrudes visit, I also wrote to Miss Nesmith. A telegram came from Calvert this evening saying he would join me next Saturday and I wrote him this evening what I intended to do. I shall hardly go to Shokan now until Thursday. Sara had a letter from Mary Gifford from Pokeepsie and a present from her of a crocheted skirt. I wrote last evening to the superintendent of the House of Refuge that we did not think it advisable to let Katy Burns come home just yet. I cut this item from this evenings Freeman. 
      
[[newspaper clipping]] William King, who was found on a dock suffering with delirum tremens and taken to the city alms house, died yesterday. [[/newspaper clipping]]

I knew Billy King as a bright little boy the son of King who kept the house where Roggens hotel is now and also a hotel at Kingston Point The last time I saw him he was a wretched drunkard and begged money from me. Poor wretched man, I was glad to hear he was at rest. I remember he came here once and my mother pointed him out to Maurice and said "that is what you will come to." He had a sister Delia who was one of my youthful fancies. I do not know what has become of his family or whether any of them are living. 

Wednesday 14"

Seven years ago tonight my dear Gertrude died. I have been thinking and living over that sad time and recalling every incident. How fast the years go by. It all seems as fresh in my mind as the events of yesterday and it colors every thing to me with the strange, lonely feeling that fell upon me that night and makes me wonder that I have borne it as well as I have. But life is very different since then and its hopefulness and elasticity seems gone. I look back ward now for courage and solace and not in the future as I once did. Sara had a letter from Lucy tonight in which she speaks of Gertrudes death and of the beauty of that autumn which remains in the memory. But oh! what can I say or think that I have not said and thought a thousand times and never come any nearer any thing like expressing what lies so heavy in my heart. I had Tom pick the winter pears today and I gathered all the grapes and packed away a box full wrapped in papers to try to keep them. We never had so many and so fine ones. It rained violently again about noon but has been clear and warm since. 

Thursday 15" I went out to Shokan by the 7.50 train and got back before noon having spent a couple of hours there. Walked up to Wideners and arranged with him to take Calvert and me to board and then tried to walk up along the brook where I used to sketch, but it was so overgrown and so changed that I could not recognize a single spot, the freshets had so torn the place up. I could not go far on account of the high water but I felt a sense of disappointment as