Diary of Annie Adams Fields

Sunday. Mission School in the afternoon.—L’s to tea. J. had a cold so sat by the fire and reread Miss Mitford’s letters to himself which gave him wondrous great delight. Coming home early I found Charles Sumner here, who talked interestingly until eleven. I thought he seemed lonely and...

Nov. 13. Mr. Tom Appleton burst in, in the morning to return a paper I had asked him to sign for the co-operative building committee,—he said he understood my lively note well enough but I did not undertake to tell him anything—however he had signed it, he said and taken a few shares. (after...

Nov. 21. The fifteenth passed, duly kept by us at home. Tonight we are to have a little party. Mr. Skinner is to talk of Bismarck, Napoleon etc. The weather is devine [sic], Charlotte Cushman played.

Nov. 24. There are some pictures by W.M. Hunt has on exhibition—few persons I believe deny the genius displayed in them, but all artists, save his pupils, wonder at the exhibition of such unfinished work. There is however a painting of his own baby boy endeavoring to catch a butterfly—it is...

Nov. 25 [sic]. Sunday. Last night Longfellow took tea here, after the brilliant Saturday Club where Sumner, Carl Schurz, Agassiz and all the old members, also Count Pourtales and others of Agassiz’s expedition now about to start in a few days, were present.

Thursday Nov. 30. Thanksgiving Day.

Friday. Went early to Mrs Putnam’s to inquire if I could help Georgia with her Sunday School Festival today. Mrs Putnam came directly down stairs and we sat together an hour. She went for the letters of her Willie written some in camp a few days before his death, some in the boyish years...

Monday Dec. 4. The cold is past for the present—a delicious warm rain has set in. Last night we went to Mrs Putnam’s for the last time, after our tea at L.’s. Georgie is looking very serious about their departure. Mrs Putnam has been looking over old letters and trying to leave everything...

Decr 6th Yesterday a terrible storm of wind. Chimneys blown down, carts overturned, trees broken—dust insufferable, cold fierce. Today the cold remains but it is quiet, and serene. We rose early for J. has gone to Portland to lecture. He never speaks without great appreciation and gratitude...

Dec. 6 [sic]. 1871. Last night went with Lizzie to see the dancer Morlacchi. G.S. Hillard sat just in front of us. We were all delighted with the grace and physical beauty of form. The play was “The French Spy”, the same in which Mad. Celeste rendered herself in former years agone. Morlacchi...

Friday. Dec. 8 went as usual to the Industrial School North St. in the afternoon. It was the day of the ball to the Russian Grand Duke. Lucy Larcom came into the school for the first time this year and I rode up with her in a street car in the driving snow and walked across the Common in the...

Saturday Mr. Longfellow came in town and went with us to hear 1200 school children sing a welcome to the Grand-Duke in our beautiful music-hall. It was a fine sight and Dr. Holmes’s hymn written for the occasion was noble and fitting. Just before the Grand-Duke came in, I saw a smile creep...

Sunday A.M. enjoyed the library—went to Sunday School in the afternoon carrying Mrs Caswell with me, who discoursed so charmingly about the Indians to the children that they sat so still a pin could be heard to fall—an unprecedented experience, for the school is usually a noisy one. After...

Monday Dec. 11. Dear Mrs Putnam and Georgie went to New York to sail for Europe. We went to the station with flowers. There we found a tearful little company of friends—the Greenes—Sohiers, Parkmans—Dr. Putnam’s children & dear Mabel.

Dear J. was seized with terrible ague and suffered all night—application one part Chloroform & 2 parts camphor gave him ease, with a hot oat-meal poultice added, chloric ether added to that & Chloral—but with all these he had a terrible night. Early Tuesday morning went to the dentist and...

Wednesday morning we went off to a meeting at 10 A.M at Mrs Brooks Mt. Vernon St. to discuss the best way of using several millions of dollars which have been left to the state for a university for the education of women. Mrs Stowe & Miss Beecher are both filled with alarm at the maidenly...

Thursday. Xmas near, and the house in Lincoln St. to be dedicated two days after, fills my mind & hands—added to all comes poor Miss Thompson MD. from Chicago begging for her burned up hospital there.

January 1st 1872. The last ten days have been filled with incident worthy to record, but everything looks years away already. Jamie went down to Bangor to lecture and was away two nights, a most unheard of thing for him. They were however the nights before Xmas so I put everything in order...

Jany 12. Bret Harte was here at breakfast. It is curious to see his feeling with regard to society. For purely literary society with its affectations and contempts he has no sympathy. He has at length chosen New York as his residence and among the Schuylers, Sherwoods and their friends he...

Saturday. January 13. Andrew D. White of Cornell University & wife & child came to lunch. He is full of pleasant kindly things with regard to Goldwin Smith. Calls him half a saint. He is devoted it seems to the welfare of the poor around him, sits up all night sometimes with their sick children,...

Thursday. Jan’y 18. Yesterday after Nellie Beal’s wedding we left for Concord where J. was to lecture in the evening. Mrs Emerson had long before invited us to pass the night there but a note from Ellen a few days previous told us that her father had been detained in Washington and would not...

At half past six the next morning I was aroused by the brushing out of the front entry and numerous noisy preparations for the coming day so we both awakened and J. told me still more of their talk of the night before how eager Emerson was to hear more and more of Tennyson and how strong and...

Saturday. Calls and business in the morning—a few calls received here in the P.M. Dolby Concert in the evening—with the four great oratorio singers whom we may never hear again! Such singing! Miss Wynne—Mme Patey—Mr. Cummings, Santley.

Sunday up to the school in the P.M.

Monday Jany 22. Tea at Louisa’s. Sainte Beuve comes slowly on. Read “Liza” today by Turganieff. He was in London last summer when Mme Viardot and her children were there. Viardot has almost utterly lost her voice. She sings two songs still beautifully but her method and feeling are so fine...