The Despatches letters and newspapers came this morning. A telegram from Mr Seward was announced yesterday, but it proved to contain nothing. This is the third instance of a very useless expense of this kind. My time very much taken up in closing up my private accounts for the year, but a trial balance— And as usual, I succeeded only in approximating a correct result. Only in one instance during many years did I ever have it exactly at once. But the smallest error gives as much trouble as the largest. Had a visit from Mr Wheeler, an officer of the Kearsarge, who gave me his account of the battle. He commanded one of the eleven inch guns which decided the matter so quickly he affirmed that Fulham came with his boat and surrendered, asking leave to go and pick up the men of the sinking vessel. But that instead of returning he filled his boat and made off to the Deerhound, where they all remained, and cut the boat adrift. The feeling towards the Commander Winslow, and the first Officer, Thornton, continues much as before. Mr W. told me that the Niagara and the Sacramento had both came into the channel. So that the prospect of attacking the Kearsarge again is rather dim. The boasted confederate navy is now reduced to a single rather indifferent gunboat. The ladies and I dined with Mr and Mrs Wirans. These are people from Baltimore, who by virtue of an exceedingly lucrative contract to build a railway for the Russian government have accumulated a large fortune, and live on the a great scale of expense. Although they have been here even before our arrival, this is the first time of their making any advance to us. A large company of whom I made out only a Mrs Duncan, Mr Lewis, member of Mary lebone, Mr Whistler and Mr Moran. The dinner was all that money could make it. It only wanted the case, simplicity and quiet which pervaded that of yesterday. It lasted until half past eleven, when we had as much as we could do to get to Lady Palmerston’s reception. It was not very large, but I found a member of people that I knew. All in suspense about the issue of the struggle in the commons next week. I find that the expectations of the ministry of a majority, which beginning at seven had gradually risen to twenty five have now suddenly fallen to two. The interest among them will be absorbing until the thing is settled.62