I wrote my portion of the Executive Record and read a portion of Maltebrun before breakfast. Studied law earnestly during the morning1 and wrote to Abby. No letters yet from her. Genl. Wool called to see me and delivered a message from her which made me quite comfortable. I do love this girl as I think a woman ought to be loved. Sincerely, fervently and yet with purity and respect. I can think of her in no other light. Other women have acted upon me by a voluptuous manner, to which I am unfortunately peculiarly susceptible, but I have never known one who has produced any respect before. I have seen so much of their bad shades of character that I had doubted whether any could create a different effect on me than this single one. But the very simplicity of Abby’s character is what has struck 119me most. It is a strong contrast to my previous experience of art. Enough.

I read for nearly an hour in Campbell’s Philosophy of Rhetoric which does not strike me so far as a peculiarly powerful work. There is more jingle of metaphysical titles in the work than is necessary for a book where simplicity of idea should be the object. Evening, Cards. On the whole this is a well spent day.