The rain poured in Torrents during the Night, and continued in a kind of drizzle throughout the day. I attended Meeting with my Father both in the morning and afternoon and heard Mr. Bowes Whitney preach two sermons in themselves tolerably sensible, but injured from the badness of his manner as well as from the unusual ugliness of himself.1 Personal appearance certainly does produce an effect very sensibly felt in delivery by a speaker. And as to manner, if Men really were only sensible of the difference in the effect of the same piece of composition when properly and when not properly read, they would turn again to their School rooms to try their hands.

Mr. Whitney dined with us, and so did Mr. Degrand who came out here in a Carriage from Boston and who spent the whole day here. This was not over agreeable to me as I do not feel desirous of a great deal of acquaintance with him in a familiar way and yet I do not care about so entirely shutting him out as to make it unpleasant 91to me to meet him at my Father’s, which I shall always be liable to in the future.2 His boldness is disagreeable and his general unpopularity here so great as to attach even to those who are with him. Mr. Brooks has expressed to his daughter a dislike so strong of him as to affect me materially as well in the feeling of restraint which it puts upon my Independence of action, as in the disagreeable situation it puts me into, regarding the Man. He remained here until nearly ten in the evening, talking of all sorts of things very unreservedly although in addressing himself to my Wife he received some rude rebuffs. I felt as if I ought not to check her although I did not know how to approve of it. I had no time for reading of any kind and little for Conversation with my Father.