CHAPTER II 



EARLY PLEASURE TOURS 



IN connection with the tours for the enjoyment of scenery 

 which young Frederick Olmsted made, generally with his 

 parents, it is perhaps interesting to record in detail one taken 

 in 1838, when he was sixteen. His father, Mr. John Olmsted, 

 kept an accurate diary, and in this we find noted: "Journey 

 to White Mountains," "in our double carriage," "self, wife, 

 Fredk. and John," Aug. 8-25, 1838. The itinerary reads: 



"Springfield, Mt. Holyoke, Northampton, Whateley, 

 Deerfield (old houses), Bloody Brook, Greenfield, Bernards- 

 town, Brattleboro, Putney Hills, Walpole, Bellows Falls, 

 Charleston, Claremont, Windsor, Hanover (view of river 

 from hill), Orford, Haverhill (N. H.), Newbury (Vt.), Oxbow 

 Narrows, Bath, Franconia Notch, Mt. Lafayette, Littleton, 

 Fabyan, Crawford Notch, Conway, Center Harbor, Lake 

 Winnipesaukee, Red Mt., Wolfboro, Rochester, Great Falls, 

 Dover, Portsmouth, Newburyport, Haverhill, Andover, 

 Lynn, Nahant, Boston." 



In Boston there is a note: "Navy Yard, Bunker Hill, 

 Mt. Auburn, Athenaeum," Aug. 22 "F. to Andover." 



Frederick's voyage to China before the mast in 1843 

 gave little opportunity for pleasure sightseeing, and while 

 lying in the ports of Canton and Hongkong, if we may judge 

 from the few notes he has left about this experience, he 

 was naturally most interested in the people and their strange 

 customs and their attitude towards "heathen" visitors. 



There are two of Frederick's letters relating to trips in 

 the summer of 1845. 



GLEN FALLS (N. Y.), Aug. 3, 1845. 



DEAR FATHER : or whoever is at home, if Father has gone to 

 Saratoga : 



I believe the only description of the country between here 

 and Burlington I have given you was in a pencil letter written 



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