Rather cooler with frost to make ice. Very busy despatching arrears of letters which accumulate most rapidly. At noon I proceeded to execute an intention long delayed of giving to Claremont to pay visits to the Orleans princes. I suppose that this should have been done long ago, but my constitutional timidity in regard to strangers especially those of high rank always interposes barriers in my way. And my bad luck in the overture made to the Duc d’Aumale discouraged me more. I was not more fortunate today. For an evening at the place in company with my son we found the Prince de Joinville not at him; and the young Princes not yet returned from the continent. So I had my name inscribed for the Ex Queen Mother, and left cards for the others. Claremont is I believe Crown property, settled for the present on Leopold, as the husband of Princess Charlotte. But as he is now King of Belgium and does not want it, and as his second Wife was a daughter of Louis Philippe, the exiled family have the use of it. It does not show the high keeping of most of the fine places of this country. We drove from the Station at Esher about two miles and got back again in season for the next train back to town. Yet I did not get home much before six o’clock. Evening quiet at home. Read a little of the life of Major Hodson.