Morning at the Office as usual. Time occupied partly in reading the Edinburgh Review. This number has much strong writing in it, but not a great deal of that which is better than show, real substantial foundation. My time passed rapidly and I did not seem to do much, but our days are now so short that they do not admit of the performance of a great deal. I paid the long unsettled bill of my Carpenter Mr. Ayer who made my Book Cases, and felt very glad at being able to free myself from that debt.1 I had been in hope to make an Investment this Winter but instead of it find myself barely able to pay all my Debts. These were not large neither. But my disappointment at the failure of the Banks to pay Dividends, and my not yet obtaining any of my Fees for my professional Services have had some effect in producing this. I hope still not to let the Winter entirely pass without making some attempt to this effect.

In the afternoon, I read a part of Aeschines but being interrupted 96by Mr. Sparks and his Clerk for a little while I was unable to read as much as I had wished or to do all my task of translation. I this afternoon read what is called his beautiful passage upon the parental affections. It is good but now it would be trite. After tea I went down to hear Dr. Walter Channing deliver a Lecture upon Aqueducts and the modes of conveying water. It gave me a little information but not as much as I had trouble so that I was not quite paid. On my return I found Edmund Quincy at my House who sat and chatted for a little while quite pleasantly. He is disposed to be quite sociable and I am very well satisfied that he should be. I afterwards read Brumoy’s Analysis of the Choephorae and Plutarch’s Life of Demosthenes.2