Chilly with clouds. I attended with Mrs Adams and Mary at St George’s Church, Harrow Square. The usual services, together with a sermon appropriate to the occasion of the death of Prince Consort. The preacher was more animate than usual but not a whit less common place. He spoke more of the loss as affecting the Queen than of the character of the man himself. He gave no characteristic sketch, nothing which would not equally have applied to hundreds of respectable people. Albert was more than that. He had mind far above the level of princes. There is a prevailing sense of this in England which makes the mourning more real than it has been any time since the death of the princess Charlotte. On coming home we found the news from America, but it brought nothing worthy of remark. Next Sunday we shall know more. Mr Weed dined with me and Mr Parkes came in the evening. Mr Lawson, Mr Senior, Sir John Hardynge and Sir Gore Ouseley called in the afternoon. The tone now is rather that there will be no war. This great excitement has been gotten up in order to lift the Ministry out of a ditch. Lord Palmerston will thus tide over the next session. Very dangerous meddling with edge tools. The people here are now all lashed up into hostility, so that if we get over this, it will only be to fall into the next trap. I know not whether to wish for a settlement or not.