This day was altogether broken up by attendance at a Drawing room. As it was the first occasion of the appearance of the Princess of Wales the attendance was prodigious. All the rooms were filled when we passed in by the private entrie, and the reception room which is ordinarily thin was crowded. The corps Diplomatique very largely present. The great exception Mr Moreira and all his suite. The Princess acquitted herself very well, with gravity, and dignity and grace. She looked less pretty than at the evening reception, but still her features are delicate and noble. There were to assist her the Princess of Hesse, and Princess Mary, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge the Prince of Orange and one or two more. The doors opened at twenty minutes after two. The procession kept passing until near five, with all its peculiar display of finery, when the royal party gave clear signs of fatigue. In the mean time every body in the corps had dropped off excepting Madame Brunnow, Madame Bunstorff, and my ladies, suddenly the doors were closed for a time and chairs were brought in for the ladies receiving. This gave a good excuse for leaving. As we drove home we passed the queue of carriages to Let down which was still a mile long. Nothing is more fatiguing and unprofitable than this court attendance. On this occasion I observed only one thing among the Corps; and this the general expression of disgust with the manners of the Court, and most especially with these of Lord Russell. Certainly he is very maladroit, and nobody has great cause of complaint at his rudeness than I, but in the present condition of my country I must endure without complaining, so long as it remains to me to be of any use here. The news from America is dubious today. The armies on the Rapahannock are sharply engaged, and God only knows the result, at least on this side of the Atlantic. Here the tendencies cropped out at once, and the hopes of a reverse to us were not concealed. On getting home I was glad to exchange my masquerade into plain clothes, as well as to pursue my customary avocations. Quiet evening at home. By assiduous labor I succeeded in bringing up the arrears of this Diary. Called to see Mr and Mrs G R Russell.369