Page:Poems of Nature and Life.djvu/93

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THE RANDALL FAMILY 85

given her others, but she declined. I got home about dusk, and ate supper after seeing all my 'folks.' Mr. Randall called in the evening, and very kindly gave me a silver pencil-case, together with two boxes of leads. I went to bed, and next day woke up in — Boston.

" Tuesday, May IJ. This morning I studied till dinner time, excepting of course time for exercise. In the after- noon. Mother, Emily, Stanley and myself went to Mr. Randall's to spend the evening. I went some time before they did, and found him at home, and in a little while he took me up in his study. Here Mr. Randall showed me portraits of distinguished persons, and among them that of Raphael Sanzio the 'divine.' Pretty soon Emily and Stanley came in, and he showed us a great many curiosi- ties ; a great variety of coins and medals (one of the latter was a Whitefield medal, worth fifty dollars and almost unique, of copper), and a knife belonging to Samuel Adams, from whom Mr. Randall is lineally descended. He sent Emily and Stanley up in the observatory with the spy-glass, and, while they were gone, he gave me a beautiful portfolio, embossed and imported from England, with ' Gems ' on the cover, most splendidly done. He opened it, and I saw that the title was very appropriate, as it contained about a dozen charming pictures, some en- gravings, some etched, and one of his own. I was de- lighted with it, and of course thanked him in strong terms. Mrs. Willard and her son Robert, who is rather younger than I am, were also there ; so, pretty soon after Emily and Stanley came down from the observatory, we all went into the parlor. Here we conversed until supper, after which Mr. Randall and Mrs. Willard had quite a discus- sion with regard to the character of the ' Pilgrim Fathers.* The former thought them quite like other men. They

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