Diary of Annie Adams Fields

April 7th Sunday at home after 8 days in New York. The weather changed at length from winters cold to the warmer winds of March and the softness of April. We were very gay and happy, saw many kind friends and among our pleasures stands out in relief a delightful afternoon at Staten Island where...

April. 10th We were right glad to get home, but there was not much cessation of excitement, for Sunday we received ourselves and Tuesday J. was obliged to return to N.Y. again on business.

Thursday April 11th Jamie returned this morning—well but much fatigued.

Sunday heard J.F. Clarke, whose sister Sarah is visiting us, preach, in the afternoon went to the School-ship where Mr Clarke spoke again admirably to the boys as well as Judge Russell, Prof. Rogers, Gov. Bullock.

Julian spent Sunday Eveg here and Mrs Hawthorne & Rose came to breakfast Monday morning. They are going to leave soon for Europe.

April 16. 1867. Feeling weak, tired, altogether of no use and miserable from pure fatigue I came upon these words of Dante and the day assumes a new value even for me.

Wednesday. J. went to the last regular Dante supper at Mr Longfellow’s. We passed the evening at home talking garden. He carried the first copy of the Inferno.

Thursday. Lovely weather. Miss Clarke and I went all over Mr Appleton’s house which is quite a marvel of beautiful arrangements & possessions especially the Japan things which he says are a new sensation—an entirely new nerve is tickled, we learn to see how superior in some respects are...

Sunday April 21st Mr Longfellow & Mr Greene dined with us last Thursday and Miss Putnam & Miss Sohier & Charlie Lowell came to tea. J.F. Clarke came in the evening. It was truly a delightful day.

Monday. I have omitted the last week to record one matter which perhaps may be curious in the future to remember—sad and strange.

Monday April 29th The day opened exquisitely serene with that still beauty of summer which spring mornings will put on some times by way of promising what is to be by and by, afterwards the east winds come up with mist and chill and we remember with a shudder that the New England spring is not...

Tuesday. Mrs Hawthorne leaves this afternoon. I think she will feel rested by her visit. She wears ineffable sweetness and peace about her and is rare as mountain air and more unique than a precious Indian shell. Such unmingled unmeasured love and worship as she gives her friends is wondrous to...

May 1st Wind south but raining fast; how the poor little victims with [sic] have their first ardors of sentiment quenched by these waters of spring when they sally out in paper wreaths today.

May 7th The days have been filled to the brim with various and rich experiences & I only have failed in power to make the most of them but a feeling of profound gratitude comes over me as I recall one by one the hours of exquisite happiness I have with spirits born for high thoughts and often...

Wednesday May 8th Jamie ill with headache & cold, all day raining hard. Una Hawthorne passed last night here and told me the particulars of her engagement. This morning in spite of the bad weather Mr Tait a young artist and friend of T.B. Read came to breakfast. J. was not well enough to be up...

Here it is May 18th before I could take up the pen again—ten days of company, lectures, theaters, conversation—all interesting, all I suppose good, (I believe so since I cannot do otherwise) and much troublesome house-keeping from incompetent and quarrelsome servants. I shall try to weather...

Sunday May 19. Wonderful day! Went early in the morning to Roxbury to hear Robert Collyer preach, dined with mother and went again in the afternoon. In the morning his text was from Job “Why is light given to a man whose way is hid” in the afternoon Nehemiah “It is reported among the...

Monday May 20th Jamie went to New York. The rain began soon after and with snatches of intervening sunshine has lasted until today Wednesday 22d when the white cherry blossoms came from Aunt’s beautiful tree through the drops. The wind is east; there has been no seed planting yet—but the...

Sunday May 26—have been reading Emile par J.J. Rousseau. Surely, Le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle. It seems to me one of the books we have lived past and left justly to the swiftly cumulative chest which sprinkles the volumes in the Athenæum Library. There is a kind of dishonesty in the book...

Saturday June 1st Twilight organ concert in the Music Hall arranged in compliment to us by Dr Upham. How exquisite it was! The light of day slowly died away leaving us sitting there in silence while the figure of Beethoven appeared standing like one of us yet invested with something of the...

Sunday. Servants gone—(I did not think it best to keep either of them during the summer as they were not trust-worthy) so we are living al fresco with “a little maid” until time for departure. Very much occupied with affairs. Jamie in especial, mine are of less primary importance.

Monday. Weather summer like. Lissie gives up my portrait; blotches over the face which she had made very sweet & leaves it. I feel so grieved for her in these failures and fear she will never accomplish much in art. She can not only discern the best in execution but sometimes in inspired moments...

Tuesday. Dismantled the dear old dining room for work—even packed and made ready for an early start

Wednesday at 9 o’clock. We have breakfasted, said last words and are off. Good-bye has been said to poor Lissie too who did not say much in return. Alas! her heart seemed full of bitterness because the season is over, her work unfinished and we departing feeling she had failed to achieve what...

Thursday June 6th Birthday. Jamie brought me from the woods the finest mass of wild violets I ever saw as well as other flowers—but the violets were a sight indeed.