Hawthorne walked to Kirk Braddon, and the afternoon we spent on
Douglas Head. It is quite impossible to put into words that afternoon.
Such softness and splendor and freshness combined in the air; such a
clearest sunshine; such a deep blue sea and cloudless blue heaven;
such fragrance and such repose. We looked from our great height upon
all the beauty and grandeur, and in Mr. Hawthorne's face was a
reflection of the incredible loveliness and majesty of the scene. Una
was a lily, and Julian a magnolia. I think that for once, at least,
Mr. Hawthorne was satisfied with weather and circumstances. Towards
sunset the mountains of Cumberland were visible, for the first time
during our visit, on the horizon, which proved that even in England
the air was clear that day. A pale purple outline of waving hills lay
on the silvery sea, which, as it grew later, became opaline in hue. . . .
July 20.
. . . This morning, soon after ten, we summoned a boat, and were rowed
to St. Mary's Rock, which has a good beach on one side, and spent two
hours there. There was a delicious air and bright sunshine, and we
found innumerable pretty pearl shells among the pebbles; and Julian
bathed in the sea. Rosebud enjoyed it very much, and kept close to me
all the time. I asked her why she kept so near mamma, and she replied,
"Oh, dear mamma, I cannot help it." Once she put her little foot into
a pool, and I had to take off her sock and shoe to dry them in the
sun. Her snowy little foot and pink toes looked, on the rocks, like a
new kind of shell, and I told her I was afraid a gentleman who was
seeking shells on the other side of the island would come and take it
for a conch shell, and put it in his pocket for his little children.
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