_July 13th._
Lunched at the Lays'. They had a party for Prince Christian of Hesse
and his wife, and Mr. and Mrs. Roger's mother and father. The Blüchers
were to have been there, but old Count Blücher chose this morning to
drop dead off his horse. He must have been a charming old man. Most of
his life he spent trying to evade his German taxes. He had an island
off the coast of England, on which he kept a great many kangaroos.
Perhaps he thought they added a touch of British atmosphere to his
estate. He wished to know if he couldn't come to America and live there
about a week, in order to become an American citizen, as he found his
island didn't get him out of paying his German taxes, but when told
it would take even longer than a week to become an American citizen,
he gave up that idea. He was much interested in America but said he
thought it must be dangerous to have so many buffaloes around. And,
when he heard of the lynchings our peace-loving citizens occasionally
like to indulge in, he suggested we let our wild Indians out to subdue
the lynchers. "That would soon put a stop to such riots," said the old
gentleman.