that some one intent on bathing might also appear, and keep
him company. Getting on a bit of a floating raft we undressed
placing clothes on the edge of a large clumsy vessel beside. Our
swim over & pleasant enow, out we got, Celtic boy dressed
& left; we mounting from raft to the bank side leisurely prepare
to do the same. But ere long I discover that my pants are
not! Breeches have vanished! Then ensued much searching &
speculation, groping in the black recesses of the vessel below &
finally I get into the water again & grope by the ships side, think
ing that the breeks have fallen in. All in vain, much ob-
juration bestowed upon the Celtic boy, self-felecitation that my coat
(& its contents,) had not gone also. At length, half an hour
having passed thus, Waud is about to start to his room for a
pair of his own, when we are horribly startled by a howl
from immediately below us, in the dark abysm of the ship.
It was Davis! he had climbed aboard at the stern sailor-
like & had possessed himself of my breeks, awaiting the
discovery and all that ensued afterwards. / Waud crossed
to New York with me, we had an oyster stew in Broadway,
then each on our several ways to bed.
3. Friday. Work on wood, social sketch. Roberts
came about 1. Dined at Reade St, Shades, with Roberts,
Swinton & Waud, divers imbibitions afterwards. All to
| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Five: page twenty-nine |
| Description: | Describes an incident in which he and Alfred Waud went swimming, and Gunn's pants went missing. |
| Date: | 1852-09-02 |
| Subject: | Clothing and dress; Davis; Food; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Leisure; Roberts; Swinton, Alfred; Waud, Alfred |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, [New York]; [Brooklyn, New York] |
| Coverage (Street): | Broadway; Reade Street |
| Scan Date: | 2011-02-02 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Five |
| Description: | Includes descriptions of Gunn looking for drawing and writing work among New York publishers, witnessing a fire at a chocolate factory, attending a religious camp meeting, his friendship with Lotty Whytal, the 1852 presidential election, a visit to Niagara Falls in the winter, a visit to Toronto, Canada, and the Crystal Palace in New York. |
| Subject: | Gunn, Thomas Butler; Railroad; Publishers and publishing; Religion; Travel; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, New York; Niagara, New York; Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Note: | Thomas Butler Gunn was born February 15, 1826, in Banbury, England, and came to New York in 1849. During the Civil War he worked as a correspondent for the New York Tribune and the New York Evening Post. He returned to England in 1863, and died in Birmingham in April 1903. The collection includes twenty-one volumes of his diaries, including newspaper clippings, letters, photographs, sketches, and various other items inserted by Gunn. Diary entries date from July 7, 1849, to April 7, 1863, and include his experiences with the New York publishing and literary world, his descriptions of boarding houses, his travels throughout the United States, and his experiences traveling with the Federal army as a Civil War correspondent. |
| Publisher: | Missouri History Museum |
| Rights: | Copyright 2011 Missouri History Museum. |
| Source: | Page images, transcriptions, and metadata of the Thomas Butler Gunn diaries have been provided by the Missouri History Museum. |
