Cloudy and variable day. Morning spent at home in the usual routine of answering letters. At three I went with my assistant Secretary, Mr Moran, to assist at the ceremony of uncovering the Statue of Prince Albert, which has been set up in the Horticultural gardens at Kensington. As my son and daughter went with Lady Lyell as spectators, I called and took Sir Charles to go with me to join the procession. We all assembled under the Western drove of the old Exhibition building, which looked bald and bare enough denuded of all it contents of last year. Gradually all the various dignitaries assembled including the corps Diplomatique and the Ministry. Lastly came the Prince and Princess of Wales, the other children of the Queen, and the cambridge family. We were then arranged to march in procession. First we ascended into a structure facing the statue backs to the other door of the building. There was a large crowd of spectators, a great proportion remain, whose dresses gave a pretty effect to the scene. The Statue itself is good in one position, and not good in another. The view from the first is better than that from the side. But the entire ceremony seemed as objectless as was that of last year of the distribution of the awards. It doubtless had much to do with the pecuniary advantage accruing to the gardens from the sale of tickets to visitors. As we formed in two lines for the Prince and his suite to pass to the carriages, he greeted me among others and shook hands. We got home at about six o’clock, happy to have escaped the rain. The children who were more delayed at the door did not return till an hour later. I had time only to take off my uniform and assume a dinner dress, to go to Sir Thomas and Lady Cochran’s. I knew very few of the guests. Lord and Lady Loraine, Lord and Lady Manners, Lord Eversley and his daughter, Lady Dorothy Neville, and Mr Delane, the editor of the Times. Sir Thomas is an old naval officer now retired from service, and appears to be a man of fortune. The lady is a second wife, and seems not particularly interesting. I did not know Mr Delane until my daughter pointed387 him out to me after dinner. Neither did I then seek to recognize him on the strength of my meeting him once long since at Lord Palmerston’s. My term of service is now running to an end, and I am becoming more and more indifferent to acquaintance with any more people. From here we went to Lady Derby’s reception, which was crowded as ever. It is not easily explained how these should be always called heavy and dull, whilst those of Lady Palmerston are considered attractive. I see little real difference between them. The most marked one is in the faces which indicate opposite party organizations. We got away soon after midnight.