Page:Ballinger Price--Fortune of the Indies.djvu/128

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THE FORTUNE OF THE INDIES
July 21. Comes in foggy, breeze setting in S. E. Mr. Bolliver came unexpectedly before lunch. He had a box of guava jelly for the aunts and a book called "Admirals All" for me, which looks frightfully interesting. The guava jelly is queer but nice, having little clear sections in the midst of the rest of it, which is thick and sticky but very good. Eighty years ago to-day the Fortune was off the Horn and great-grandfather didn't know exactly how she was going to behave, because it was her first voyage. Everything was freezing up. He hadn't even reefed a sail till then, but on July 21 he reefed the topsls. This afternoon the fog went out and Mr. Bolliver got a victoria somewhere or other and took the aunts driving. I sat on the little seat—rather bumpy and backwards. We drove as near Bluff Point as you can get by the road and then out by Leander Road and the Arch Pike, which was nice, and further than I generally get to by walking. The surf was not much, but the sea was rather nice and choppy and the wind freshening. It blew Aunt Ellen's parasol right inside out which was too bad, but there really wasn't enough sun for her to be carrying it anyway. Mr. Bolliver is staying all night. I put a big bunch of minionette in his room because he said he liked it. I don't see why it would have been so impossible for me to go on the Delphian. There are lots of useful things I could have done, such as peeling potatoes or making up people's bunks. Even Mr. Bolliver laughed when I said I thought I might have.