Polyanthus
Friday May 7th Was in the garden to work a short
time transplanted some pinks but worked on
Olivers clothes most of the time. Mr Brown &
Oliver rode to Mr Copelands and got me a polyanthus
and to the furnace in the afternoon to Canton
and Sharon. Mrs S Ames returned from Boston to
night & Helen with her Helens face is very
swollen has not been to school for a week
With her middle son Oliver home from Brown, Evelina had a great deal of mending to tend to. She might have preferred to be in her flower garden, but she only had a short window in which to repair her son’s shirts, hose, and coats. Oliver, meanwhile, rode out with his college roommate, Mr. Brown. They roamed from Easton to Canton and Sharon and in the process picked up a polyanthus, or primrose, for Evelina. They got the latter from a Mr. Copeland, who was perhaps Josiah Copeland, an elderly resident of Easton who lived with his wife and unmarried daughter.
George Witherell continued to be ill in the other part of the house, but he wasn’t the only family member who was ailing. Helen Angier Ames had to come home from boarding school because of a swollen face. Perhaps she had an infection – an abcess of some sort – or perhaps she was having an allergic reaction to an insect bite or other allergen. Whatever was ailing her, she hadn’t attended class for a week, and her mother had to fetch her home.
evelinaames 