A new batch of American newspapers rather delayed me from my work, so that I was kept closely afterwards until dark. On the whole my letters and the news had not been as cheering as usual, though there was nothing positively otherwise. On the other hand things are improving here. The manifestation made at Exeter Hall last night is reported as one of the most extraordinary ever made in London, and proves pretty conclusively the spirit of the middle classes here as well as elsewhere. It will not change the temper of the higher classes, but it will do something to moderate the manifestation of it. Were the movements equally favouring at home I should hope to escape all further risk of difficulty here. As it is we are at the mercy of the wind, always however trusting that Divine providence will continue to educe ultimate good from apparent present evil. Evening walk in company with my son Brooks, who talks with more of reflection than he studies. I went on with Orley Farm.282