Diary of Charles Francis Adams, volume 2
1828-05-31
Letter to my mother after which went to the Office but not to do much. Heard that Mr. Emerson had been taken alarmingly ill at Concord on Monday last. I have always thought he would not live very long although he may survive this.1 Rainy and disagreeable all day. Afternoon at home copying Executive Record and then went to Medford with Chardon Brooks. It poured the whole way. Found the family at M. much as usual. Had some conversation with Abby of rather a serious nature and reflected much upon her observations.
Violently deranged, Edward Bliss Emerson had to be taken to the asylum in Charlestown. He soon recovered his sanity, but his physical health, undermined by tuberculosis, was permanently broken (Ralph L. Rusk, The Life of Ralph Waldo Emerson, N.Y., 1949, p. 127).