page [91] 20 Aug 1901 (seq. 93)

91
Magnolia, Mass.
1901
Aug. 20

Foggy morning, heavy rain in the night, clear
and rather warm afternoon, no wind to speak of.

M. went to Cambridge this morning by the
10.18 train to see her parents. The Doctor is not
quite up to the mark. She returned here at
7.45 reporting that he is but so so.

I spent the morning in the house, writing
as it was damp and foggy without.

This afternoon I went down to the beach to
see the aquatic sports got up by the boarders.
The scene was a very beautiful one. The
tide was high and yachts and small boats
were riding on the deep blue water. At least
three hundred people were assembled on the
beach. They sat on the sand, stood, or sat in
carriages. I sat on the bank at the rear
and overlooked everything. A raft with a
spring board is anchored some distance from
the shore and this was the starting point for
most of the events. The only boys I knew
were the two sons of Mr. John Allyn and
they captured several prizes. One of them
swam under water 128 feet, winning by 3 ft.
over the second. That I considered the best
performance. I don't know how many seconds
he was under. There was fancy diving,
dashes of various distances, tub race, blind-folded
race, hurdle race, &c, &c, besides two dashes
on the beach. There was as usual, too much
waiting between events.

Plant World will print my "Advice to Beginners in Botany."