A lovely day. I wrote a little and more to my satisfaction. At the House, which did not sit long. The Committee were called for reports on private bills, which was of no use whatever. So at a quarter before three we adjourned. A lawyer called me out to consult with me about the claim of Mr Fredericks of Quincy on the Treasury. He begged me to go to see the secretary of the Treasury of the President, and try to stop the fraud which was in progress. I agreed to go, and accordingly on my way home, stopped and found the President on the front steps to the Mansion. I obtained a conference and stated the case from the paper given to me. The President listened, promised to make an enquiry, but doubted whether a remedy was within the power of the government. He talked incidentally of the frauds that escaped all suspension both in the Departments and in Congress. And once he made an allusion to the conduct of Mr Floyd, as if the subject was painful, and he immediately turned the subject. Home—Mr Palfrey dined with us agreeably to a standing invitation. Evening engaged on my labor without much satisfaction.55