426 Landscape Gardening 



little peaceful spot of summer moonlight, as a child snatching 

 a brief dream of peace between spasms of mortal agony. 

 As we returned at midnight across the river, Downing told 

 us more of the stranger lady, and of his early feals of swim- 

 ming from Newburgh to Fishkill; and so we drifted home- 

 ward upon the oily calm with talk, and song, and silence - 

 a brief, beautiful voyage upon the water, where the same 

 summer, while yet unfaded should see him embarked upon 

 a longer journey. In these last days he was the same gen- 

 erous, thoughtful, quiet, effective person I had always found 

 him. Friends peculiarly dear to him were in his house. 

 The Washington work was advancing finely: he was much 

 interested in his Newport plans, and we looked forward to 

 a gay meeting there in the later summer. The time for his 

 monthly trip to Washington arrived while I was still his 

 guest. "We shall meet in Newport," I said. "Yes," he an- 

 swered, "but you must stay and keep house with my wife 

 until I return." 



I was gone before he reached home again, but, with 

 many who wished to consult him about houses they were 

 building, and with many whom he honored and wished to 

 know, awaited his promised visit at Newport. 



Mr. Downing had intended to leave Newburgh with his 

 wife upon Tuesday, the 27th of July, when they would have 

 taken one of the large river steamers for New York. But 

 his business prevented his leaving upon that day, and it 

 was postponed to Wednesday, the 28th of July, on which 

 day only the two smaller boats, the "Henry Clay" and the 

 "Armenia" were running. Upon reaching the wharf, Mr. 

 and Mrs. Downing met her mother, Mrs. De Wint, with 

 her youngest son and daughter, and the lady who had been 

 pointed out as the heroine of a tragedy. But this morning 

 she was as sunny as the day, which was one of the loveliest 

 of summer. 



The two steamers were already in sight, coming down 

 the river, and there was a little discussion in the party as 

 to which they would take. But the "Henry Clay' was 

 the largest and reached the wharf first. Mr. Downing and 



