Fine day although the easterly wind and gathering clouds portend a storm. I went to the Office where all my disposable time was taken up by Mr. Walsh and Deacon Spear who paid me visits. Nothing material with either.

I gained a walk today and finished the Oedipus Coloneus, being the second of the tragedies of Sophocles. It is a less active and impassioned piece than the former, but excels in lyric poetry and fine sentiment. The character of Antigone is superior to any female sketch I remember in Antiquity and that of Theseus is noble and well sustained. The death of Oedipus is a high poetical conception given in a masterly narrative. How this piece could have acted I do not know but as a dramatic poem it must have been the delight of the Athenians.

Mr. Walsh dined with me and spent much of the afternoon. He seems better content now he is fixed, although evidently wishing for something more. Evening at home, Ferguson, a very laboured style.