"A rainy day---a rainy day--- and I do verily believe there is no sunshine in this world except what beams from my wife's eyes. . . . Happiness has no succession of events because it is all part of eternity; and we have been living in eternity, ever since we came to this old Manse. . . . . Externally, our Paradise has very much that aspect of a pleasant old domicile, on earth. The antique house (for it looks antique, though it was created by Providence expressly for our use, and at the precise time when we wanted it) stands behind a noble avenue of Balm of Gilead trees; and when we chance to observe a passing traveler, through the sunshine and the shadow of this long avenue, his figure appears too dim and remote to disturb out sense of blissful seclusion. . . . I wonder why Providence does not cause a clear, cold fountain to bubble up at our doorstep." . . . Diary, August 5, 1842 đź”·
. . . "In pleasant days, the chief event of the afternoon, and the happiest one of the day, is a walk with my wife. . . . Then comes the night, and I look back upon a day spent in what the world would call idleness. . . . For a few summer-weeks, it is good to live as if this world were Heaven. And so it is, and so it shall be; although, in a little while, a flitting shadow of earthly care and toil will mingle itself with our realities." Diary, August 13, 1842 đź”·
From "A New England Love Story" by LouAnn Gaeddert, The Dial Press, New York, 1980
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