Rode to town this morning. At the Office in the morning and afternoon, reading at home on account of the unpleasant weather. It rained violently at night. I attended the Moot Court and heard the cause argued which I was to decide. Richardson and Withington were both confused by a first attempt.1 After we had adjourned, the former of the two and I talked at the Exchange. Returned home in a violent rain.

As I was getting up this morning I accidentally broke my washing basin and in endeavouring to save it, cut my thumb so badly as to disable me from writing to my father according to my arrangement. It was painful all day but in the morning I occupied myself in my regular reading at the Office and in the afternoon and evening at my room looking out the authorities for the cases just cited in a morning’s note to me by Richardson1 who was so much troubled that he omitted half of them.

I omitted yesterday noticing the receipt of two letters from my Mother, one of which should have come some days since. The latter was in tolerable spirits and rather pleasant. My time was principally taken up at the Office, and in the evening, I went to Dr. Welsh’s and passed the evening. George has fallen into a bad habit of talking in a prosy way.

Hand still troublesome. Morning at the Office, at Mrs. Frothingham’s and in Court. Abby has come to town for the remainder of the week. In Court all the afternoon listening to the Charge of the Judge to the Jury upon the trial of a man for his life, for cruelty and hard treatment of a sailor, he being a master of a vessel, and for ordering him to go up the rigging when he was not able to support himself whereby he fell into the Sea. It was an aggravated case of rough treatment but not sufficient, as I thought, to subject him to a capital punishment. I left the Court before the Judge had closed being obliged to go to Long Wharf to look after some things which belonged to me. My books which have at last arrived. In the evening I went with Abby to a party at Mrs. Coolidge’s. It is the first large one to which I have been. My acquaintance as yet is very limited. I knew only Miss Virginia Foster and Abby Quincy. Miss Marshall was there. Pretty but not so handsome as she is pronounced. Mrs. Eliot and Mrs. Rogers1 were there also. Returned at eleven o’clock.