The morning was clear and as the Clouds that remained from yesterday were passing away, they gave to the Atmosphere a damp, 281sultry heat which is very unpleasant having the true character of a dog day. The roads were also in a shocking condition as we rode over them to town, Robert Buchanan being with me. As he called upon my time considerably, I was forced to pass over my own business. The Appraisers returned me the Account of New’s Estate, about which measures must be taken as soon as possible. A client came but his application was a mere nibble. Rufus Davenport called with his Free Debt Rules, and I got rid of him as soon as possible.1 Collected the balance of Rent due on the commencement of this Quarter and made the Deposit in the Bank.

The remainder of the day was taken up in showing to Robert Buchanan, the Athenaeum Gallery and Library, in which last operation I saw more myself than I had ever done before. This made us late so that we got back to Quincy much after the usual hour. I was fatigued, so that we did not prosecute the Catalogue very zealously in the afternoon, though I did a little in the arrangement. Evening at home. Conversation with John after dinner.

The morning was bright and clear. I arose early this morning in order to fulfil my agreement with Robert Buchanan and my brother, which was to go down on a fishing excursion to Cohasset rocks.1 We started early in the little Carriage, and enjoyed our ride. The place I had never before seen. It is naked, and rocky, exposed to the action of the sea and the wind, much like Nahant, though not quite so much insulated. There is a beach here very similar to that and much longer. Having reached there, we went down to fish and very soon caught enough to make a considerable quantity. The sport for the first two hours was very good. It afterwards became less so until the latter hours of the day when it was nothing but nibbling.

The day was agreeable, but it is so long since I have had any kind of exposure to the Sun, that when we returned to the Hotel to dine, I found that I had got my face very thoroughly scorched, so much so as to be not a little painful. We found at the House,2 my Uncle, the Judge, and Mr. Gourgas, his future son in law, and we joined parties at dinner. The Hotel can scarcely be called first rate, so that it needed a tolerable appetite to get along. With this we were all gifted to a considerable degree. We returned home about sunset. On the whole my time for parties of this kind is a little gone by. The suffering is a 282severe counterbalance to the amusement. I was so fatigued as to wish Edmund Quincy away, when he called to pay a visit.