September 13, 1851

Sept 13  Mrs Stevens & self sat down quietly to

sewing this morning but it was so warm that

we could not do much  There is quite a

change in the weather this morning.  Had

quite a heavy tempest this afternoon.

Carried our work into the other part of

the house this evening.  Mrs S Ames & Helen

passed the afternoon there

No matter how still Evelina and her guest, Mrs. Stevens, sat this morning, they found themselves enervated by the extreme heat.  They tried to sew but “could not do much,” heavy as the extra cloth must have felt on their laps as they hemmed or mended. Surely they wore their lightest cotton dresses (which were likely to have been somewhat plainer than the morning attire suggested in the illustration above from Godey’s Lady’s Magazine) and probably eschewed wearing caps indoors. Even in their coolest attire, however, they still would have “glowed,” as the old saying goes. Horses sweat, men perspire, women glow.

An afternoon rainstorm – “two showers before sunsett” noted Old Oliver in his daily jounal  – helped clear the air and by evening, Evelina and Mrs. Stevens had joined Sarah Ames Witherell in the other part of the house.  Did Old Oliver sit with them, or was he over in the office with Oakes and Oliver Jr.?  Assuming that Oakes spent the day in Boston on the usual shovel business, did he get caught in the downpour on his way home?