Nothing to do today, and my feelings not the most agreable on account of the close of the vacation, so soon to happen. Spent the day in the house, Madame unwell all day. One circumstance very highly provoked me today, which was Mary’s taunting manner to Abby which made me so angry that I gave her a severe lecture even in Miss McKnight’s presence. It has been but seldom that I have assumed any authority over her of late but her manner was too insolent today to be borne, particularly since Abby has made some observations to me, which could not but make me feel she was unpleasantly situated here. Mary made battle and was sulky supposing this to be the beginning of the old courses but I afterwards treated her with so much equability that she came over to be quite easy and smooth again—such is the temper of woman.

In the evening Blunt was here again much to the annoyance of us all. Monsieur and John went to Mr. Goodacre’s lecture, Madame was sick and Miss McKnight went home in the afternoon so that his entertainment was to be provided by Mary, Johnson, Abby and myself out of what we best could obtain. This was poor enough and the man must have had a dreadfully dull time. He stayed however till after ten o’clock, pretending himself on important business with my 87father. He is the most monstrous puff about man that I have yet met with, declaring himself at one time engaged as junior counsel under Mr. Webster and about to argue a case in the Supreme Court—at another, made reporter in Mr. Wheaton’s1 absence and so on. I suspect the importance of his politics to be the same, or at least that he is but a tool.