[Boston—Thursday, 29 May 1873]

Thursday May 29. Went round to Mrs Putnam’s in the morning where was Mabel and her baby—a lovely fat, calm, fair, healthy baby which Mrs Putnam takes to her heart in a most touching way. He is just like my own children she says, and she holds him to her breast and runs up and down stairs with him as if she were young once more. The grandchild of her dearest friend, her brother’s first wife is to her peculiarly raised. Mabel had just received a gift from Katy Collins through Miss Norton so we walked up together as far as their present abiding place.

The Nortons came home with the Emersons day before yesterday. Emerson came to pass an hour with J.T.F. before going to Concord. His son Edward had come down to meet him and was full of excitement over the reception his father was to receive and of wh. he was altogether ignorant. He was overjoyed to be on the old ground again and comes back to value the old friends even more than ever. He must have been pleased by the joy testified in Concord but we have only the newspaper account of that. He has been fêted more than ever in England and Ellen was rather worn out by the ovations but her general health is much improved. The Nortons who returned in the same steamer tell me Miss Emerson was fêted for her own sake & was his rival! Her “American Manners” became all the rage in that world of novelty. One night a gentleman sitting next her at dinner introduced the word “aesthetic”—she said she did not understand what he meant by that word!

On the voyage Emerson was devoted to his daughter and full of fun in all his talk with her. He would tuck her up in blanket shawls and go up and down, hither and yon, to make her comfortable—then he would laugh at her for being such an exacting young lady and would be very ironical about the manner in wh. she would allow him to wait on her—“and yet,” he said turning to the Nortons, “Ellen is the torch of religion at home.”

In the afternoon we went to Brookline to tea with Colonel William Greene and his wife. The Colonel made us a French salad and talked of the International Working-Men Assn., army days, drank claret, took cigarettes and a bit of cake. Mrs Greene in a white dress with her fine manners received us and talked in her pleasant curious manner. I think she should be as much distinguished for her fine curiosity of mind as she formerly was for her beauty. The night was sweet with summer odors as we returned.


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