[New York—Thursday, 20 March 1873]
Thursday, March 20. To the Johnson gallery where Allston’s portrait of himself and Spalatro as the bloody hand by the same painter hold a high place. Here also is Church’s Niagara and a beautiful Kensett and a fine Gifford; a beautiful Couture, a noble Zamaçois (the two confessors, full of his old satire) Gérome’s Death of Caesar and Story’s Cleopatra, but there seemed to us to be more poor pictures than there should be in so fine a collection and more poor pictures in proportion than there were 12 years ago.
To Stewarts for clothes &c. afterward, to see Judith Beal at her school poor child who seemed most pleased to see us, to Mrs Botta’s where we found Mrs Ames nobly handsome even in age and grayhairs and Mrs Botta hospitable as ever trying to bring us in for a lunch party on Saturday, sweet and tender self renouncing, but worn in the unrequiting service of too much hospitality, then home to the hotel for lunch & rest preparatory to going to the theatre in the evening. Mr. Henry Blackburn called, an Englishman interested in the illustration of books. Introduced by Miss Cushman.
The rain was pouring & the wind blowing but we sought an omnibus and went to the theatre Wallack’s to see Sothern as David Garrick, a most finished performance. John Gilbert almost shared the laurels with Sothern. We enjoyed the play in that absorbing fashion which comes occasionally with such delightful and perfect theatrical surroundings. “J” sent in cards (to Mr. Sothern) compliments of J.T.F. to Mr. Garrick; (to Mr. Gilbert) compliments of J.T.F. to Mr. Ingot.
