The best that can be said of my life so far is that it
has been industrious, and the best that can be said of me is that I have
not pretended to what I was not.
"October 10. As soon as I had run through the computations roughly for
the comet, so as to make up my mind that by my own observations (which
were very wrong) the Perihelion was passed, and nothing more to be hoped
for from observations, I seized upon a pleasant day and went to the Cape
for an excursion. We went to Yarmouth, Sandwich, and Plymouth, enjoying
the novelty of the new car-route. It really seemed like railway
travelling on our own island, so much sand and so flat a country.
"The little towns, too, seemed quaint and odd, and the old gray cottages
looked as if they belonged to the last century, and were waked from a
long nap by the railway whistle.
"I thought Sandwich a beautiful, and Plymouth an interesting, town. I
would fain have gone off into some poetical quotation, such as 'The
breaking waves dashed high' or 'The Pilgrim fathers, where are they?'
but K., who had been there before, desired me not to be absurd, but to
step quietly on to the half-buried rock and quietly off. Younger sisters
know a deal, so I did as I was bidden to do, and it was just as well not
to make myself hoarse without an appreciative audience.
"I liked the picture by Sargent in Pilgrim Hall, but seeing Plymouth on
a mild, sunny day, with everything looking bright and pleasant, it was
difficult to conceive of the landing of the Pilgrims as an event, or
that the settling of such a charming spot required any heroism.
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