My leisure day was spent in bringing up the arrears of the week partly in my accounts, and partly in my Diary which is the voluminous at least in secondary matters. I have repeatedly thought of reforming it in this particular, but old habits will prevail. I had visits from several persons, among others Mr Forster who asked about the French matter, and expressed uneasiness about the presence of the distress. I admitted on my part the urgent nature of the case but I was still confident that the struggle would practically be over before long, and that we should then be able to open the ports. He said nothing, but I saw that he was incredulous. Quiet dinner at home alone for once. Afterwards I went with Mrs Adams and Henry to Lady Palmerston’s reception. A great crowd, in part caused by the presence of the Japanese commissioners. They are on the whole a better looking set than those who came to America. On going up to Lord Palmerston, I found him engaged in conversation with a gentleman whom I did not know. He broke off to speak to me thus, “I was talking with Mr Delane of d’Israeli’s remark the other night about the intrigue going on at Washington between the representatives of France and England. Now I know they have always acted in perfect concert. What do you say about it?” It was then the principal editor of the Times, who had wielded the power of that press so persistently against us. I instantly replied that I knew of no such intrigues excepting though Mr d’Israeli, but I was quite glad to learn that we were of such importance to the one or the other. I bowed and passed on. Delane was evidently sounding in order to guide his paper by ministerial policy. I have always attributed the obvious ill will to us visible in the Times, the Post and the Globe to the disposition of the premier. Without committing himself for the government to any one of them, it is quite notorious that he conciliates their good will by suffering them to conjecture his wishes. After a little more pushing in the crowd, we got away and reached home before midnight.99