Chapter 5: May 1896 Summary

Henry's hand begins to ail him. As more friends and distant relatives visit him from the States, he considers his father's constant wandering. Henry remembers a time in Boulogne, walking with his father, when the older man stopped to observe a female swimmer under the pretense of gazing into the horizon. Henry was shocked that his father continued staring, without regard for his presence.

In his consideration of England's locales, Henry finds a deep appreciation for Rye. Henry also thinks of his friend, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., and how that man would speak of different subjects whether he might be in the company of Henry or brother William. While Holmes told William about his adventures in the Civil War, he and Henry found more common ground in discussing Minny Temple, a cousin of the James brothers.

Ms. Temple, orphaned at an...