Concord, Mass. Thoreau writes in his journal:
Friends are the ancient and honorable of the earth. The oldest men did not begin friendship. It is older than Hindostan and the Chinese Empire. How long has it been cultivated, and is still the staple article! It is a divine league struck forever. Warm, serene days only bring it out to the surface. There is a friendliness between the sun and the earth in pleasant weather; the gray content of the land is its color.
Scituate, Mass. Ellen Sewall writes in her diary:
A letter from dear Aunty [Prudence Ward] came [to]day. John has given up his school and is now journeying in New Hampshire for the benefit of his health. Poor fellow, I am sorry he cannot follow an occupation which he enjoys so much and in which he satisfied both parents and scholars. Henry is about purchasing a farm in Concord, the “Hallowell place” containing about thirty acres.
(transcript in The Thoreau Society Archives at the Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods; MS, private owner)
