ed at the sun, earth and sky;
vast meetings in Hyde Park proclaiming the indissoluble brotherhood of
man, even in the face of extinction.

We heard the Queen and her consort remained in Buckingham Palace to the
last, but this may be only romantic rumor. At all events, England is
gone now, after weathering a millennium of unsuccessful invasions. From
where I sit peacefully, bringing my history uptodate and jotting these
notes in my diary, I can see, faintly with the naked eye or quite
distinctly through a telescope, that emerald gem set in a silver sea.
The great cities are covered; the barren moors, the lovely lakes, the
gentle streams, the forbidding crags are all mantled in one grassy
sward. England is gone, and with it the world. What few men of
forethought who have taken to ships, what odd survivors there may be in
arctic wastes or on lofty Andean or Himalayan peaks, together with the
complement of the _Sisyphus_ and its accompanying escort are all that
survive of humanity. It is an awesome thought.

_Later_: Reading this over it seems almost as though I had been untrue
to my fundamental philosophy. The world has gone, vanished; but perhaps
it is for the best, afterall. We shall start again in a few days with a
clean slate, picking up from where we left off--for we have books and
tools and men of learning and intelligence--to start a new and better
world the moment the Grass retreats. I am heartened by the thought.

Below, Miss Francis and her coworkers are striving for the solution.
After the last experiment there can be no question as to the outcome. An
hour ago I would have written that it was deplorable this outcome
couldnt be achieved before the latest victory of the Grass. Now I begin
to believe it may be a lucky delay.

_November 4_: What meaning have dates now? We shall have to have a new
calendar--Before the Grass and After the Grass.

_November 5_: Moved by some incomprehensible morbidity I had a stainless
steel chest, complete with floats, made before embarkation in order to
place the manuscript and diary in it should the impossible happen. I
have it now on the deck beside me as a reminder never to give way to a
weak despair. F promises me it is a matter of days if not hours till we
can return to our native element.

_November 8_: Another test. Almost completely successful. F certain the
next one will do it. My emotions are exhausted.

_November 9_: I have completed my history of the Grass down to