Viewing page 16 of 126

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

14

If this mysterious person should come and offer $35,000 for the whole place I think I would accept but I should not agree to take less. His time is short and he had better be stirring if he wants to live here. I have told Tom to be here at 7 oclock tomorrow to take my postal card notices of the sale to the post office as by that time I think I will be able to tell whether the day will be fine or not. - A number of people have been up here today looking about and it is apparent there is considerable interest in our prospective sale - John McEntee came up about 4 o'clock. He got back from his fishing trip on Wednesday he said, having had a very enjoyable time We talked over the sale, and he told me of Cantine having told him of the offer. He was not in favor of accepting $27,000 but thought if we had an offer of 30 000 we had better accept it, he thought however we would not have such an offer. I told him I would not counsel accepting less than $35.000. The sky is overcast tonight and I am anxious about the weather tomorrow.

Monday Sept. 16" 1889. I was up early this morning. It was foggy and doubtful but at 6 o'clock I thought I detected signs of clearing and went to work filling out the postal cards which had all been directed and at 7 o'clock I sent Tom down to the office with them. After breakfast I went down town and stopped to order 50 camp chairs sent up. At the office I found a postal card from Eastman from Nantucket. He had left N.Y on Friday and had been detained at Marthas Vineyard for four days by the storm, was coming to N.Y. tomorrow and would write to me. My auctioneer came at 1.30 and promptly at 2 people began to assemble among them several ladies. I presume there were in all about 50 people present. John McEntee was here early and I was glad to have him in case any question arose. The auctioneer began about 2.30 and sold lot No. 10 which was limited at $960 for $970 to Miss Elliott and evidently bought for Mr & Mrs. Gilliss. Next lot No. 2 was started at 960 and sold to F. M. Hapsadt for $1.000 He did not avail himself of the option of No. 3 at the same price but came to me after the sale and asked me if I would give him the refusal of No. 3 until tomorrow at $1000 which I did. The larger lots fronting the river limited at $2000 no one bid upon and all others failed to bring bids until No 6 limited at $800 was reached when it was taken by Marion Crosby for $800 and he also took No. 7 at the same price. No 8 failed to elicit a bid and the sale closed. Almost no one who had talked most and seemed most anxious to come up here put in an appearance, but as I predicted people whom we least expected were the purchasers. I am not discouraged. One property was not sacrificed and attention has been called to it. After the sale Capt Van K[[?]] offered me $2800 for four lots in the garden saying they would be built upon directly but I declined and told him we henceforth asked $1000 for each of those lots. I think he wanted them for P. Schoonmaker, Issac North, Frank D[[?]] and himself and I would like to have all of them as purchasers but their offer was too low. It took only about half an hour to sell the lots and the people dispersed. The weather was most favorable, pretty warm but a fine breeze and cool in the shade- I wrote immediately to Vaux and also to Lucy and tonight I am a little tired and glad the result is known. It is not as brilliant as it might have been but I think it has justified our estimate of the value of the property and I think we will begin to sell at private sale at good prices

Tuesday 17" There was a very heavy thunder shower towards morning and it has been foggy and rainy all forenoon. I was lucky to have had the sale yesterday instead of today. I went down town and found a letter from Geo. A. Story resigning his membership in the Artists Mutual Aid Society. So one by one they are dropping away since the last sale. Mankind is generally selfish and does not care to do much for others. I went to see John. He said that Capt. Van [[K?]] had made him the same offer he made me $2800 for four lots and told him to take a week to think of it but John told him there was no use making this offer, however he said he would counsel letting