Rose at seven. Found Alice better than I expected considering the hurry
and fatigue of yesterday, though thin and weak she has much of her old
features, not so deaf as I expected; sits a good deal, often smiling. An
American breakfast; coffee, beef steaks, eggs, tart and cakes like
crumpet, made from buck wheat. The house not large but comfortable; a
very large new barn with shippen, stable and granary and a good stock of
hay. Had agreed for the same with a neighbour on the following terms, to
make the hay and have one half. The house pleasantly situated on the
slope of a hill on a good road; nearly 80 acres 30 chains on each side
of the road; a good spring of water near the house; seven cows, two
horses, pigs, geese and poultry and guinea-hens. The breakfast consists
of coffee, bread and butter, eggs, beef or mutton with buck wheat cakes
resembling crumpets also blackberry pies and potatoes; nearly the same
at dinner, and again at supper with tea. Make their own sugar from the
maple; a hole is bored into the trees; a chip placed below to guide the
sap into a tub; this is done with about a hundred trees at the beginning
of April; a fire place is made in the woods and the pans are hung over
by means of long wooden hooks, and the sap is boiled down into sugar, a
supply for the year. They make their own candles and soap, the latter
from the wood ashes. Went to see many people who appear very comfortably
settled. Noah surprised the family by consenting to go with us.