[Boston—Wednesday, 19 December 1866]
Wednesday Eve—the Dante nights at Longfellow’s revived. Company, Lowell, Norton, Baron Macky (I don’t know how his name is spelled, he is a Dutch baron of intelligence), J., L. & Ernest L.—just 6 all told. They had a good jolly time. Norton told such a good story about Count Lubersac, (French) who is here just now that we must not forget it. He (the Count) was talking with Mrs Norton and asking what kind of a person was Mrs Agassiz—“Charming” answered Mrs N—“a true help, ment for her husband. She even followed him to Brazil.” “Ah” responded the frenchman “she is jealous then of him.”!!!!
Rowse passed the early evening with us when Lissie and I went afterward to Mrs Emerson’s to pass the evening with Harriet Spofford to meet six people. We found quite a roomful—but they were mostly agreeable & all kindly.
Went Christmasing in the market in the afternoon.
Sat to Lissie many hours this week for hair and hands. The picture of “The Letters” approaching completion. She and Rowse talked methods of painting. Rowse thinks Reynolds used bad colors but his method was good. Lissie thinks the method bad, as older pictures than his remain unchanged.
It comes over me to put down here and now the fact that this year for the first time others perceive as well as myself that I have passed the freshness and lustre of youth—but I do not feel the change as I once thought I must—life is even sweeter than ever and richer though I can still remember the time when 30 years seemed the desirable limit of life—now it opens before me full of uncompleted labor, full of riches and plans—the wealth of love, the plans of eternity.
