Morning occupied in copying a Lecture upon Practice in Law.1 A subject of which as yet I know nothing. I pursued the subject at the Office. Received a letter from my Mother2 which had a considerable effect upon my spirits for the remainder of the day. The family have evidently been in a state of high excitement about probable arrangements and I am much afraid that owing to the over earnestness 179of my mother upon some unpleasant subject, my father has spoken.3 I then had a conversation with George which did not contribute to improve what had already been shaken, inasmuch as it unfolded to me clearly all the errors of his mind which are likely to operate upon his fate. Afternoon at the Office reading Cruise. Drank tea at Mrs. Frothingham’s and went in the evening to a Ball at Mrs. B. Joy’s.4 Abby, Julia Gorham, and George went with me and we had a very agreeable evening. The party was quite crowded. George seemed to have enjoyed himself very much and as I thought was very much in the mood of forgetting Miss Abigail Adams altogether. If this could only continue. I reached my room precisely at midnight.

Morning at Mrs. Frothingham’s to see Abby. I felt very stupid in consequence of the dissipation of the night before, and did not get over it during the whole of the day. Afternoon at the Office. In the evening I went with Abby and George to Mrs. Gardner’s party. She is a daughter of Mr. Peabody of Salem and this ball was given to Mrs. Peabody, her brother’s lately married wife.1 It was tolerably pleasant and again twelve o’clock before I arrived safely at home.

I awoke very early in the morning quite sick in consequence of some irregularity in my diet of yesterday, and it was not until late in the day that I recovered. Morning was passed at Mrs. Frothingham’s with Abby and at one o’clock I took her up and we rode over to Winter Hill and dined with Mr. and Mrs. Everett. She is pregnant and going 180to Medford to be confined during his absence at Washington. We left them early and passed the evening at Medford.