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Diary of Charles Francis Adams, 1864

Saturday 3d.

3 December 1864

Monday 5th

5 December 1864
4 December 1864
158
Sunday 4th
Ealing
CFA AM

Rather a gloomy sky, but it did not rain. Attended service at the Congregational Chapel. The services apparently somewhat adapted to late losses by dark in the parish. From the symptoms of personal emotion in the preacher I inferred that he might himself have been afflicted. The subject of his sermon was the death of Christ as opening the light of a future state to dying Christians. The attendance was not numerous, and the interior rather more repulsive than before. My usual walk. Towards evening down to London by invitation to dine with Baron Brunnow. Mrs Adams from her sensitiveness about not speaking French would not go, and Mary also declined. The company consisted of the Diplomatic corps—towit M. Madame and Miss Musurus with two sons, M and Madame Wachtmeister, and Baron Beck Freïs, a new person, a Minister from Maximilian in Mexico, Court Faber, Count Wimpsen, and one or two more whom I did not know. Nineteen at able. The most truly elegant dinner I have seen in London. Much smaller in quantity, but each article exquisite in its kind. I sat between Madam Brunnow and Mademoiselle. By no means attractive, especially with my difficulty in calling up my French. We all left the table together, which I like. Afterwards, Madame Brunnow had a little game of lottery with cards, distributing to the lucky trifling trinkets, like boxes and penholders &ca159 A great diversion to amuse grave diplomats. I never saw the thing before, but strange as it was I won two of the trifles out of the five in one game. Baron Brunnow took the occasion of my leaving to say very kind and flattering things with regard to his estimate of my service here, which I was rather surprised at, as he has always heretofore confined himself to courteous and formal civilities. I got back to Ealing by half past eleven.

Cite web page as:

Charles Francis Adams, Sr., [date of entry], diary, in Charles Francis Adams, Sr.: The Civil War Diaries (Unverified Transcriptions). Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 2015. http://www.masshist.org/publications/cfa-civil-war/view?id=DCA64d339