The day was clear but a high wind. The remarkable part of this season appears to me to have been almost constant gales. Almost from any point of the compass it seems as if there could be no calm. This may account for the little of heat we have experienced.

I went down to the Office and was occupied there until near noon when I returned to take my children and niece Mary Louisa down to the depot of the railroad where I found my Mother and the rest of the family had already arrived. She looked fatigued. They went off in good style and will I hope have a fortunate passage.

I returned home and from thence to the Office. My time must now begin to be distributed. I commenced reading the fifth and sixth books of Herodotus today before dinner, and amused myself after it with the first volume of the Secret correspondence of the reign of Louis 15 and 16 in France, quite an interesting work.1 In the evening as yet we have nothing to do, but I devoted an hour afterwards to filling up Arrears of Diary.