[Boston—Saturday, 28 January 1871]
Saturday Jany 28. Paris has surrendered.
William Hunt & Thaxter dropped in to tea. Hunt is one of the most dramatic creatures who ever lived. I shall not soon forget his story of the southern student coming into his rooms at 4 o’clock in the morning at Harvard and finding a company of negroes leaning back in his chairs, smoking his cigars & drinking his sherry. With a grace Hunt could not sufficiently admire the young man walked through the rooms as if he did not see them, whereat they all crumbled away, nobody knew where, save his own man who as quick as thunder gathered the bottles under his coat & when his master did look round was furiously dusting the room with a feather duster. His mimicry of the whole scene was inimitable.
His delight too over the Cameron photographs. “Go ’way,” he said “getting into a corner with one of them as if it were a piece of cake and he 4 years old,” I don’t want anybody to see it till I have done with it”!! I gave him a second one to look at, No, no, said he, he may have that (pointing to Thaxter) and I’ll keep this”! It was so absurdly like a child & yet done with such real feeling that it was very comic. I thought poor Thaxter looked rather peaked.
It was the Saturday Club. Jamie induced Whittier to go.
See paper for a few words about C.C.
