_Sept. 30, '82, 4.30 A.M._--I am down in Camden county, New Jersey, at
the farmhouse of the Staffords--have been looking a long while at
the comet--have in my time seen longer-tail'd ones, but never one so
pronounc'd in cometary character, and so spectral-fierce--so like some
great, pale, living monster of the air or sea. The atmosphere and sky,
an hour or so before sunrise, so cool, still, translucent, give the
whole apparition to great advantage. It is low in the east. The head
shows about as big as an ordinary good-sized saucer--is a perfectly
round and defined disk--the tail some sixty or seventy feet--not a
stripe, but quite broad, and gradually expanding. Impress'd with the
silent, inexplicably emotional sight, I linger and look till all begins
to weaken in the break of day.
_October 2_.--The third day of mellow, delicious, sunshiny weather. I
am writing this in the recesses of the old woods, my seat on a big pine
log, my back against a tree. Am down here a few days for a change, to
bask in the Autumn sun, to idle lusciously and simply, and to eat hearty
meals, especially my breakfast. Warm mid-days--the other hours of
the twenty-four delightfully fresh and mild--cool evenings, and early
mornings perfect. The scent of the woods, and the peculiar aroma of a
great yet unreap'd maize-field near by--the white butterflies in every
direction by day--the golden-rod, the wild asters, and sunflowers--the
song of the katydid all night.
Every day in Cooper's Woods, enjoying simple existence and the passing
hours--taking short walks--exercising arms and chest with the saplings,
or my voice with army songs or recitations. A perfect week for weather;
seven continuous days bright and dry and cool and sunny. The nights
splendid, with full moon--about 10 the grandest of star-shows up in the
east and south, Jupiter, Saturn, Capella, Aldebaran, and great Orion.
Am feeling pretty well--am outdoors most of the time, absorbing the days
and nights all I can.