[Boston—Tuesday, 17 October 1865]
Oct. 17. Jamie dined with Mr Bartol to meet Forceythe Willson, Dr Hedge & Whipple. Lissie presided—dinner simple but too simple in that it was too short for the gathering, that is people come together to talk and when all the dinner is put on the table at once they are at first busied in satisfying their hunger and afterward there are no knick knackings to linger over and expand into conversation.
I was immensely amused with the picture J. gave me of Willson handing Lissie into dinner, he in solemn movement and cloth shoes she not knowing what to make of the man and stepping forward slowly as if wondering what he could do next.
Dr Hedge was particularly gracious and friendly as he could afford to be if he has seen “The Radical” this week which contains the portion of Weiss’s bombastic article which was omitted from the “Atlantic.” By the way, Jamie has never told any one that Nichols cut that article without showing him how he was going to do it but Jamie was too busy to consider the matter then and told Nichols to do the best he could so it was not his fault and J. is quite right to keep the fact to himself.
Whipple was brilliant in talk as usual but he talks much for the sake of talking and is frequently inaccurate. However it is occasionally a real pleasure to listen to him.
As for Mr Bartol he is not fitted for a host. While the hungry mouths were waiting to be fed with the carving knife poised in air he stopped to read a letter from his wife relating to Dr Wayland. Indeed he listens too little and talks too much somewhat nosily too, respecting “our parish.”
We are reading Hawthorne’s journal together. Wonderful observation.
Mr Tom Appleton passed last evening with us and talked profusely and most interestingly. Much about the climate, saying we were Stoics by nature here and it was no praise to us if our philosopher Emerson found the doctrines of Epictetus his own, he could not help it. Mrs Kemble lately had been telling the English gentlemen of the self devotion to patriotism shown by our young men and saying that could never be in England, I could have said to her Mrs Kemble, all very well, no doubt, but it was in the climate in a measure!
Described a day in Stratford, and his enthousiasm became contagious in the telling when he climbed up on the tomb to see close the mask of the bust. It is from the face, I know it.
Then followed much talk of Spiritualism and the seven circles. He regrets that Mr Longfellow “will not take hold of it as he says and prove it to the bottom,” as if that could ever be!
Speaking of Willson (F.) he said, I look upon him as a domestic nightmare.
