Arose very late again today and found all the family at their occupations and even my mother up. My father looked blue. I went up and sat an hour with my mother and then went into the Office, wrote my Journal, and wrote one page of a letter to John. I have had four pages quietly with me for two or three weeks and have come to the determination for this time to give him a packet. There is much on which I wish to write to him, much of importance, and I shall merely in a few more words urge the importance of an answer, an explicit answer to my questions.1 I was employed in this way all the morning. My father and mother, after having been detained for a considerable time by company, went to Boston. George had gone in the morning. I, after dinner, was compelled to read to my Grandfather, Mr. Everett’s Oration at the anniversary of the Φ B K society.2 I was not much entertained by the first part, but the ten last pages contain the life of eloquence. It is a good work as it is calculated to give a spirit to the country which it ought to have, and will have sooner or later, and it is calculated to revive feelings which can too easily become dormant. The exertion was very considerable to read it to my Grandfather. I was on the whole, however repaid for the trouble.

I then spent the rest of the afternoon reading a novel which my mother obtained somewhere on the road; it is called “the inheritance.”3 I read with such rapidity that I finished the first and commenced the second in the course of the afternoon and evening. It is somewhat interesting. I shall speak more particularly of it when I have got through. The volumes are exceeding large, and I will not deny but at times they are a little heavy though the “tout ensemble” has much sprightliness. It rained all the afternoon and evening and I scarcely expected the family would return. They arrived however at a little after nine o’clock and we took supper together. My Uncle had been gone all day on business or amusement and returned very so-so. We 317managed to spend the Evening very agreably or at least moderately so. After, some conversation with George and my Father on the dinner at Mr. Blake’s4 at which he had been present today. We were not up late tonight and, what was more refreshing, George and I had but very little to say to each other upon going to bed so that I enjoyed a full night’s rest. XI.