Edward L. Pierce, Memoir and letters of Charles Sumner: volume 1

I visited Colonel Thayer, and presented the letter I had to him. He received me very kindly, showed me the rooms of his house, which were very neatly furnished, and also his library, and presented me with a map of West Point. I left him for a little while, and visited the ruins of Fort Putnam,— that impregnable fortress. There are a number of the old cells still remaining, and also loop-holes for the musketry. It is to my eye the strongest of any of the fortresses I have visited. On my return, Colonel Thayer conducted me around, showed me the library and the drawing-room, and then invited me home to drink tea. This I accepted. We talked about Arnold and about fortifications, and particularly those round Boston. He explained to me the meaning of defilading. About seven, I left him in order to view the parade, and then immediately to take the boat for New York, which was expected shortly to arrive. The parade was the finest military show, without exception, I ever beheld. The extreme nicety and regularity of the movements was astonishing. Every hand moved at the same moment, and every arm made the same angle.

Here the preserved sheets of the journal end. There were probably others which were mislaid. It is only known further that at New York he visited, at his father's request, the grave of Major Job Sumner, in St. Paul's Churchyard, and wrote a description and drew a sketch of the memorial stone.

The notes of this excursion on foot show how simple were Sumner's tastes and mode of living in his early life. He enjoyed the primitive fare of the farm-house and of the obscure inn. He made no complaint of his food or of the hardships of a traveller on foot.

He observed every thing as he went,—farms, fences, crops, style of buildings, landscapes, canals, and trade. But his journal was the fullest and his interest the greatest when he visited places which were associated with events, whether purely local or connected with Indian hostilities, the Revolutionary period, or the earlier wars of France and England. He sought these with enthusiasm, carefully studied their topography, and recalled, in connection with them, all that tradition and history had narrated. One sees even in these early adventures the same ardor with which, nine years later, he trod scenes memorable in the world's history.

His perseverance was also thus early tested. His companions, wearied with the toils of a journey on foot, left him, one after the other; but he adhered to his original plan until it was fully accomplished. Here, too, was developed a characteristic