Sunday, Nov 22, 1885 A grey day with a little snow in the afternoon. Tom has been leveling off my dear Mothers flower garden and now that is a thing of the past as she wished. If we should sell the place I shall be glad that I had it done and not strangers. I wrote a long letter to Lucy mostly about the new interest awakened in the sale of the place and sent her the letter Sara wrote me about it. Sade and I talked it over in all its aspects and discussed what we would do were it to take place. Our ideas are entirely in accord. To thoroughly put my place in order as it is and not to spend any money building except perhaps to take away the wood house and put a building there with a room above and for the stairway to my studio. In the evening as my father sat by the fire I came in and he said very sadly "I feel that I am soon to go away from this pleasant fireside where I have sat so many years." I answered "it is by no means sure and if you do my first care will be to see that you have as pleasant an one". Then I told him how much wiser it would be to sell if we could, how entirely independent it would make us and how it would brighten and renew all our lives. That no one could be more attached to our home than I am, but that it had outgrown our needs and became a burden. That I had thought of all these natural and proper regrets and weighed all these things well. He saw he had no doubt of the wisdom of it and was sure it was the best thing to do. I told him my only fear was that we would not be able to sell it, but he said he felt Sam would buy it. I feel very sorry for him and said all I could to assure him of our affection and care for him and he said he never doubted that a moment. I cant help thinking of the change and trying to arrange for it although there is nothing but this second hand report to cause me too [sic]. I shall not be so confident of it as I was last spring, for I felt sure we were going to sell. Still from all I hear the breach between Sam and the Major keeps widening and Mrs. Cornells attitude of hostility towards them is quite different from what I had imagined. I supposed she would be grieved to have her daughter leave but it seems she will not entertain the idea of their staying. Well I shall go on with my work and try to live as we have lived and be prepared to have this prospect fail, as it easily may.
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