[Boston—Monday, 22 January 1866]
Monday Evening. Mrs Stowe and I sat till after midnight over the fire “Harrieting” as she says Mr Foote calls it, and as Mrs Howard says “hawking.” She told me about Fred Olmsted’s love for Emily Perkins (Edward Hale’s wife now) and how she found him preaching in his love-letters and found her miserable lest she did not love him well enough—then aunty stepped in and helped break the match and Emily was very soon married to Mr Hale and has never wondered since if she “loved enough” but has been perfectly happy ever since.
Then she talked of her boy—her dear dead boy who came to her in her dreams a few nights ago—of her disbelieve in the efficacy of following after spiritual communications saying much that was beautiful but eludes me now.
