"The Crowd came from M.P."

Far from the madding crowd is a mistake on a honeymoon.... Solitude! Wherever you are, if you're on a honeymoon, you'll get quite as much solitude as is good for you every twenty-four hours. Constant change and distraction -- that's what wants arranging for. Solitude will arrange itself.

ARNOLD BENNETT, The Honeymoon

The Nora Diary, Day 30

Pleasant and very warm.
The crowd came from M.P.
Fourteen in all, also (shorthand... I think the initials of the nephew &baby niece))
Sat on the piazza and then
went in wading. After
dinner stayed around the
piazza. Took some snaps.
The fog came in during
the P.M. The crowd left
about 6. Had supper be-
fore they went. Fireplace
fire and popped corn. Also,
roasted sausages over
the open fire. Ruth stayed all
night. Spent the evening
telling our fortunes. Claude
and Adeline expected back,
but didn't show up.


This photograph is famous in our family, we always marveled at the crowded honeymoon with the tender, newly married couple. I recognize all but four in this Birch Knoll Cottage piazza stairs snap. When I read the diary and learned that Freda was present that evening I looked closer at the Waltham/Cambridge photographs, searching for an unknown face in both locations. I found one and solved for myself the nagging mystery. Grama never found Freda again, but I know what she looked like and that is comforting to me. She's sitting in a dark sweater behind Nora & Gordon. I can link them visually once more, for many to see.

For the Record,
This day came in cool and sunny. The leaves are unfolding and there is lots of rain predicted for the coming days. I hope it arrives soon.

T got home earlier than expected and got a good night's sleep. Her train had mechanical troubles this morning, but luckily before she boarded, so we went to a locate subway station and she got in before an interview she had to conduct.

I reached 200,000 views today, something totally mind blowing to me!