MEMORIALS 
 
 WILLIAM SMITH SHAW 
 
 JOSEPH B. FELT 
 
 Nee sitri sed toti gen:tum se credere mundo LTJCAN. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY S. K. WHIFFLE & CO., 
 
 100 Washington Street. 
 
 1852. 
 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Parentage Childhood Entrance into College Events while 
 there Becomes Secretary to President Adams Corres- 
 pondence. 5 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Politics Separation from the Union Navy Southey 
 Count Rumford Insurrection in Pennsylvania Purposes 
 of France Illuminati Belsham Community of Property 
 Penelon. 39 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Mount Vernon Equality of Talents Nullification of French 
 Treaties celebrated Mrs. Morton's Works De la Harpe 
 abjures Illuminatism Yellow Fever in Philadelphia and 
 New York Assassination of the French Ministers Slavery 
 Right of Search. 58 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Restoration of the Jesuits Envoys to France Death of 
 Washington Disposition of his Estate Portfolio Bona- 
 parteCause of the French Revolution Statue for Wash- 
 ington Mungo Park Reasons for an Army City of 
 Washington. 76 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Mrs. Washington French Success Eulogies on Washing- 
 ton Bankrupt Law Davila Regent of Portugal 
 Kotzebue Duel Army Dr. Parr Sir William Jones 
 Canvass for Votes Congratulation of the First Congress in 
 " the Federal City." 98 
 
iv CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Changes in Europe French Affairs Anonymous Letter- 
 Dying Counsel The Federal City as it was Fears of the 
 Constitution Burr and Jefferson Parental Advice Dis- 
 trict of Columbia Crisis Portfolio Weld's History. 118 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Neutral Rights Admiralty Law Literary Journals Polit- 
 ical Parties Jefferson and Burr Duel Popularity Fickle 
 Study of Law Introductory Letters Floridas Presi- 
 dent Adams's Remarks Yellow Fever College. 134 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Samuel Adams against Paine's "Age of Reason" Naviga- 
 tion of the Mississippi Marshall's Washington American 
 Literature Austin's Letters Invasion of England History 
 of Foreign Affairs Proposal of Bonaparte to Louis XVI., 
 that he abdicate Gillie's Remark on President Adams 
 Irish Rebellion Abbe de Lille Southey Coleridge 
 French Preparations Invitation. . 163 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Liverpool Athenaeum Royal Standard Congressional Pro- 
 priety Louisiana Admission to the Bar Use of Tobacco 
 Hamilton's Death Fugitive Slave Political Operation 
 An Account of Hannah Adams, by herself Anthology So- 
 ciety Dr, Waterhouse's Botanical Lectures Tunisian Em- 
 bassyGun Boats. 181 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Review Anthology Closed doors of Congress Thermomet- 
 rical Female Asylum Catastrophe of Leyden Reading 
 Room in Boston Guinea Ships Ballston Water Fear of 
 Political Opponents Rees's Cyclopedia Rhetorical Lectures 
 London British Museum Choice of a Wife Gleaner 
 Select Speeches Progress of the Reading Room Order for 
 the purchase of Books in Europe History of New England. 208 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Regulations Meteors Memento of Friendship Condolence 
 Burr's Conspiracy Webster's Dictionary Griesbach 
 Political Suspicion Fouche Catholics of Italy Encour- 
 aging Prospect of the Athenaeum Burr's Trial Currency 
 Criticism Decrees Division of the Union Factions. 234 
 
CONTENTS. v 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Episcopacy Liverpool Athenaeum Pomare, King of Otaheiti 
 Embargo French in Spain Canandaigua Toasts Tal- 
 leyrand's Memoir Law Books French and Italian Vol- 
 umes Reading- Room in New York Spirit of '76 History 
 of Printing Kendall's Travels Redwood Library Con- 
 stitution of the United States Midnight Study. 255 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Resources of the United States Ogilvie's Orations Stimu- 
 lus Portrait Lewis and Clarke's Expedition Cheeves 
 Slave European Books Missions Introductions Me- 
 ridian Mathematical Prodigy Chronic Complaints Ma- 
 ternal Advice Monument for Washington History of 
 Georgia Cunningham Correspondence Libeda Natural 
 History Seal Death of Buckminster Remarks on S. 
 Adams, J. Otis and J. Hancock Mitchell's Account of 
 Fishes Lights for the Enemy Athenaeums in Philadelphia 
 and Portland. 279 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Governesses American Speeches Linnsean Society Pitkin's 
 Statistics Cyclopaedia North American Review Coins 
 Institution for Deaf and Dumb Curiosities Prejudice 
 against the North Lexington, Ky. Belsham Expedition 
 for the Niger Greek Newspaper Artiguenave Minutes 
 of John Adams's Life Invitation of Campbell Imputations 
 of Plagiarism Perkins's Tractors "Webster's Publications 
 ^Preference to Foreign Books Sea Serpent Portrait by Stu- 
 artBeneficence Close of Life. 303 
 
MEMORIALS 
 
 WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Parentage Childhood Entrance into College Events while 
 there Becomes Secretary to President Adams Correspond- 
 ence. 
 
 PROSPEROUS life is the great attraction of earth. 
 It is fair to the eye and pleasant to the soul. But, 
 like all temporal loans from the bounty of Provi- 
 dence, it has an end. Whether it close amid clouds 
 or the full-orbed light of faith, is a problem, which 
 the experience of every living person must soon 
 solve. However strong and dear the ties between 
 relatives and friends, they have never ceased to be 
 severed in the progress of time. Whatever be the 
 character or condition of our whole race, they all 
 "await alike the inevitable hour." Many of those, 
 with whom we have been thus united, have passed 
 away to the scenes of immortality. We often think 
 on them in their disembodied state. We wish, that, 
 ere we close our probationary course, something 
 more permanent than the fading traditions of 
 2 
 
1 
 
 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 memory alone, may survive them and preserve their 
 names from oblivion. 
 
 This inclination is an inseparable element of our 
 nature. Like every other of our endowments, it 
 may be properly indulged. When so employed, it 
 is often the spring of recollections, sympathies and 
 applications, which, however shaded with sadness, 
 afford us refined and improving satisfaction. 
 
 Such a bias exhibits itself in various forms and 
 directions. Hence, the simple stone, the " storied 
 urn," the "animated bust," and ihe trophied tomb 
 have long been lettered with annals of the dead. 
 Hence the publication of literary remains, left by 
 the departed. An adventure of this kind, meets 
 with diversity of reception. Strangers to the de- 
 ceased, for whom it is made, are not expected to 
 regard it with any special interest. Others, differ- 
 ently related to them, welcome it, as a benevolent 
 memento, and give it a share of their perusal, 
 thoughts and conversation. Thus likely to fare in 
 a community of circles, each having its centre of 
 attachment, and its divergences of preference, the 
 subsequent offering is presented. May they who 
 meet the work with favor, derive from its pages, 
 impressions and influences, both pleasant and bene- 
 ficial. 
 
 The parents of WILLIAM SMITH SHAW were John 
 and Elizabeth Shaw. His father was son of the 
 Rev. John Shaw, of Bridgewater, and was settled 
 in the ministry at Haverhill, Massachusetts ; pos- 
 sessed good intellectual powers, and was eminent 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 7 
 
 for his classical taste and acquirements ; for his be- 
 neficence and piety. His mother was daughter of 
 the Rev. William Smith, of Weymouth ; was de- 
 servedly ranked among the superior of her sex, for 
 talents, attainments, usefulness and character. 
 
 Blessed with such parents, he was born August 
 12, 1778. Trained up to youth under their care 
 and tuition, he was amid constant induences, which 
 deeply impressed his mind with noble views and 
 purposes. He very early discovered a strong attach- 
 ment for books. Able to read before he could dis- 
 tinctly articulate the name of them, nothing afforded 
 him greater pleasure, than some little volume, suited 
 to his comprehension. Even while engaged in the 
 labor of learning to spell, he would often repeat the 
 words, " My book and heart shall never part," and 
 his countenance denoted the deep sincerity of his 
 speech. 
 
 Of the many perils, seen and unseen, from which 
 the hand of Providence delivers childhood, was 
 one which liked to have suddenly terminated his 
 life, August, 1786. Skipping across the yard of 
 his father's residence, and fearless of danger, his 
 neck is caught in a low clothes-line, and it nearly 
 suffocates him. His wind-pipe is much injured, 
 his spine greatly wrenched, and he seems almost 
 lifeless for twelve hours. The occurence brings a 
 cloud over the whole family circle, but a minute or 
 or two after he left them amid the light of joy and 
 hope. 
 
 Not naturally robust, and constitutionally subject 
 to rheumatic attacks, he was occasionally called, in 
 
8 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 his boyhood, to lay aside his studies and endure the 
 trials of sickness. 
 
 Relative to this and his early bias for historical 
 incidents, his mother writes to her sister Cranch, 
 at Quincy, February 6, 1787, " William has had 
 such a cough, I kept him in the house eight or ten 
 days, but that he dislikes very much. He sits by 
 me and says, ' Please give my love to aunt and 
 cousin, and tell them we have not caught Capt. 
 Shays L yet. 7 " 
 
 Among the early counsels of relatives, who cared 
 for his highest welfare, were those of his grand- 
 father Shaw. 2 This divine writes him a letter, Au- 
 gust 4, 1790, which he kept as a precious remem- 
 brancer. As one cleared mostly from worldly influ- 
 ences, and sustained chiefly by religious consolations, 
 he impresses on his grandson the importance of ac- 
 quiring thorough knowledge, of associating with 
 none but virtuous companions in college, of sub- 
 mission to the regulations of its officers, of sustain- 
 ing a Christian character, and of daily prayer for 
 influences of the Holy Spirit, as the best aid to 
 successful study and the performance of every obli- 
 gation. 
 
 In addition to his ill health, one of his ancles is 
 greatly injured. This occurs April, 1791, while he 
 is playing in his father's yard, by catching his foot 
 in the cavity where a post had stood. It gives him 
 a lameness, which accompanied him through life. 
 
 1 He headed the insurgents of Massachusetts at this time. 
 
 2 He died April 29, 1791, at. 82. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 9 
 
 In another letter of Mrs. Shaw to her sister Mary, 
 November 15, 1791, we have the ensuing anecdote. 
 " William was very inquisitive to know, if I were 
 not. going to make pies for thanksgiving. I replied, 
 How can I, since your poor leg is so painful? He 
 answered, Why, mamma, should not I be thankful, 
 that they are not both so.' It was a lesson to me, 
 and I said, I hoped he was sincere." 
 
 While thus considerate of affliction, he is referred 
 to in the subsequent extracts from the same corres- 
 pondence, February 5, 1792. " I despair of his 
 leg's ever being in proper shape. I hope some way 
 may be found out for him to be useful in life. I 
 pray that he may be good, and then I shall be satis- 
 fied, and think all my care and anxiety amply recom- 
 pensed." These are sentiments, which only the 
 best of mothers can realize. Piety and usefulness, 
 in this erring world, are among the highest essen- 
 tials of character, which any parents can wish for 
 their children. 
 
 March 29. " Next week completes a year, since 
 my son met with his misfortune. I have bathed 
 his foot once or twice a day ever since. He has 
 had a very painful winter ; " been " stiff in his 
 neck, and all his limbs ; so it was with great diffi- 
 culty that he could move out of his chair. His 
 whole system is debilitated. He thinks he should 
 be a most unhappy creature, if it were not for his 
 eyes. He takes pleasure in studying, and we have 
 been surprised to see what a lesson he would get, 
 though starting with pain, as if a needle was run- 
 ning through him every few minutes. I once had 
 2* 
 
10 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 a prospect of thinking he would be a comfort to us 
 all, more especially to his sisters ; but now, poor 
 child, he must want the means of affording that 
 protection, which I know his affectionate heart 
 would be glad to afford. Perhaps no one ever had 
 a greater dread of being useless, or seeing a person 
 so, than myself; yet this is, I fear, to be the condi- 
 tion, in a great measure, of my only son, my first- 
 born. He is really, my sister, a fine, dutiful 
 child." 
 
 May 27. " I desire to be thankful that my dear 
 William Smith's health is better. I commit him to 
 your sisterly care for a time. I have charged him 
 to give you as little trouble as possible. I know 
 he will want to walk and drive about as fast as if 
 nothing was the matter. I wish you would learn 
 him to move with moderation. I dare say he will 
 be obedient to you in every thing. He has taken 
 a great deal of mercury. I hope he will never be 
 obliged to take more. I have given it to him with 
 fear and trembling." After a delightful visit of sev- 
 eral weeks, in which his health was much improved, 
 he returned to the home of intelligence, love and 
 harmony. 
 
 1793, May 3. " Poor William longs for the salt 
 water air and the agreeable rides he had at Q,uincy. 
 Poor, dear, limping boy, how many inconveniences 
 must thou suffer! Faith, hope and grace kindly 
 step in to my aid, repel the rising sigh and wipe the 
 falling tear." 
 
 With all the emotions of hope and fear, which 
 fill the hearts of worthy parents, when their chil- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. ]1 
 
 dren are on the point of important changes in their 
 course of preparation for adult life, the writer ex- 
 presses her thoughts. 
 
 1794, July 13. '' This will be a week of anxiety 
 both to Mr. Shaw x and to me. For though scholars 
 may be ever so well fitted, yet they may be so in- 
 timidated at the time of examination, as to make 
 but a poor figure. Mr. Shaw's fears are not for 
 William Smith or William Austin, so much as for 
 cousin John. They are now going through this 
 die, the first they ever cast for themselves. May 
 they succeed, and Heaven guard and preserve 
 them." Speaking of a room-mate, his mother pro- 
 ceeds, " William would be very unhappy, if he did 
 not live with one of a kind, studious temper. I 
 know his future conduct and happiness depend 
 much upon what many might think of little impor- 
 tance ; but I view every thing of consequence, 
 which may influence and give a stamp to his future 
 life, and what can do it more than an intimate com- 
 panion." 
 
 Having entered Cambridge college, he, of course, 
 had the accustomed care and anxiety of obtaining 
 a room there, which would be most free from the an- 
 noyances, which a freshman is too apt to receive from 
 disorderly students, and most suited for his comfort 
 in study. It seems, that, on this occasion, he ap- 
 plied to a discreet young man, Jonathan French, 2 
 of Andover. This person writes to him, July 25, 
 
 1 He not only fitted his son for college, but others, some of whom 
 have been eminent. 
 
 2 Now in the ministry at Northampton, N. H. 
 
12 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 1794, "I saw Mr. Stone, 1 the tutor, on Wednesday, 
 who informed me you had obtained a room, but that 
 as there were but seven to be disposed of, the gov- 
 ernment, in their wisdom, had thought fit to put 
 four in a room." However necessary this provision 
 was, it would be deemed too close a stowage for 
 sprigs of literature in our day, when their collegiate 
 accommodations are so much improved. While 
 engaged in the first quarter's studies of his class, 
 wherein proper ambition begins to experience the 
 test of its talents and the hopes and fears as to its 
 success, he is often the subject of parental thought, 
 conversation and prayer. 
 
 A letter from his mother, September 1, furnishes 
 the following extracts. " I need not recommend to 
 you the necessity of diligence and application to 
 your studies. I think you know the importance of 
 it, especially for you, who are to provide a main- 
 tenance for yourself in the professional way. No 
 one ever made a figure in life without it ; the 
 riches, the beauties of science are deep, and must 
 be sought for. You used to love to come and sit 
 with me after study, and now I hope you will em- 
 ploy some of your moments in writing to your 
 mother with confidence in her affection for you. 
 Write a little every day. It will be very pleasing 
 to me, and then you can have something always 
 ready to send me. It will teach you to methodize 
 and collect your thoughts." Precious is such advice 
 to absent children. It is impressed on their minds, 
 
 1 Rev. Micah Stone, was settled at Brookfield, where he still re- 
 sides. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 13 
 
 is consolation for their trials of distance from home, 
 is pleasant to their recollections, encouraging to 
 their best efforts and generally influential for good, 
 on their subsequent motives and life. The duty, 
 which prompts, and the success which often follows 
 it, may well secure its continuance. 
 
 The same parent continues her wise counsel. In 
 setting before him the example of a worthy person, 1 
 she made the subsequent remark. " It is worth the 
 while to be kind, wise and virtuous, if it were only 
 to receive the sincere tribute offered to real merit. 
 A good man has always higher and nobler motives 
 for action. The esteem of the world must be only 
 a secondary motive, and allowed its proper influence 
 upon our conduct." This is sound advice, sanc- 
 tioned by the experience of its disciples, and com- 
 manded by the teachings of inspiration. It cannot 
 be too much inculcated on the young, who are to 
 find, that no other basis of character can render them 
 permanently beneficial to community, and afford 
 them inward peace amid the smiles and frowns of 
 life. 
 
 Soon, the subject of this memoir is called to 
 mourn the sudden decease of his father, which oc- 
 curred September 29, to whom his affections cleaved 
 with much strength. To one of his deep, filial 
 sensibility, such a trial must have been severe. 
 Deprived of his principal dependence, in the removal 
 of a parent, whose generous sympathies for the 
 
 1 William Crunch, who had practiced law in Haverhill. He 
 boarded in his uncle Shaw's family, and was about to establish 
 himself at the South. He soon went thither, and has long been 
 known as Judge of the Circuit Court in the District of Columbia. 
 
14 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 needy, left little of his salary to meet the expendi- 
 ture of the son's education, he could not but have 
 had his fears redoubled lest his literary course must 
 be forsaken. Dark, at times, is the prospect of all 
 students, who are apparently left with no resource 
 but their own struggles. However such necessity 
 may lead to the development of unrealized energies, 
 and often tend to the formation of estimable char- 
 acter, still, ere its beneficial results are learned, it is 
 a heavy burden on the spirits and exertions of its 
 subjects. Each heart, thus situated, knows its own 
 sorrows. Help for it, at such a period, is like the 
 bright sun emerging from dark and stormy clouds. 
 Thus deprived of fatherly watchfulness, Mr. Shaw 
 was doubly the object of his mother's solicitude. 
 
 October 29. Her words are, " I think about you 
 hourly, and bear you upon my mind at the throne 
 of grace. I wish for no blessing myself so much as 
 for you and your dear sisters. I think I should 
 scarcely have a wish to continue in this vale of tears, 
 were it not for the hope of being useful to my chil- 
 dren and more qualified, by suffering, for higher de- 
 grees of perfection in a better world. My son, you 
 are bound by every tie upon earth, to conduct wisely. 
 Pray earnestly, that you may be kept from tempta- 
 tion and delivered from evil. Let conscience de- 
 termine. That will be your judge and advocate at 
 the court of Heaven, where no further appeal can 
 be made. God grant that it may never condemn 
 you." Advice, so disinterested, so requisite amid 
 youthful perils, so applicable to our spiritual neces- 
 sities at all times, in every condition and pursuit, 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 15 
 
 was highly appreciated by him, as most sacred. 
 Concerning his deportment at Cambridge, a matter 
 of great importance to parents, whose children are 
 away from their immediate supervision, she observes, 
 " I feel unspeakable pleasure in finding your con- 
 duct approved." 
 
 November 13. As indicative of the mode in 
 which he acquired knowledge, his mother's letter 
 says, " By the pleasure you take in being instructed, 
 I hope you will be qualified and enabled to instruct 
 others." In reference to such as had become inter- 
 ested in his welfare, she remarks, " Though your 
 earthly parent is taken from you, yet you have a 
 Heavenly Parent, who is able to supply all your 
 wants, and who has raised you up many friends. If 
 yon behave well, I hope they will be continued to 
 you, and you be a blessing to them." For the kind- 
 ness of such benefactors, his heart always beat with 
 the warmest gratitude. According to the benevo- 
 lent disposition and action, for which he was re- 
 markable, we have the words of the same faithful 
 mentor to him. 
 
 December 3. Referring to the bereaved flock of 
 her departed husband, her language is, " If I can 
 in any way serve this people, I shall consider it both 
 a duty and a pleasure. I have had the happiness of 
 living among them, loving and beloved. Let us 
 endeavor to do good, trusting in the Lord, and 
 'verily thou shall be fed.' This is the promise of 
 Him who never fails. Let us cherish the idea, and 
 while it consoles, may it animate us in every worthy 
 pursuit." For all, as well as for him, such precepts 
 
16 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 should not be like tracks in the sand, but as imper- 
 ishable inscriptions on the tablets of the heart. 
 
 1795, March 31. Another epistle from the same 
 hand remarks to him : " I am glad it is not your 
 disposition to be ostentatious of your knowledge, or 
 to give your opinion unasked. It would have given 
 your father and me pain to have seen you bold or 
 conceited. An attentive, modest, respectful manner 
 of behavior is ever pleasing, especially in those of 
 your age." Thus speaking of his deportment, it 
 reverts to his studies, " Your father thought it es- 
 sential that you should have a good understanding 
 of the classics, as a foundation upon which you 
 must build all your other learning. I know you 
 feel too much respect for his memory, not to follow 
 his advice, as far as you are able. Committing our 
 thoughts to paper makes us more attentive, more 
 close observers. Every thing which obliges us to 
 think, meditate, and reflect, must be of service. 
 Still, there is a time for all things. I would not 
 only have } ou read, but be very judicious in the 
 choice of your authors, that you may select and lay 
 up treasures in your mind, which may be brought 
 forth at your pleasure and never be subject to 
 decay." Invaluable were such repeated precepts for 
 a youth launched on a perilous voyage in search of 
 knowledge, from affections ever warm, from a mind 
 ever abundant in pure and elevated thought. 
 
 June 29. From studies we turn to fashion in 
 dress. As an indication, that collegians continued 
 the custom of wearing " small clothes," his mother 
 says, that she will send him a pair of black ones. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 17 
 
 While on this topic, she often mentioned to him 
 the importance of persevering in habits of cleanli- 
 ness and neatness in attire, as productive of some 
 influence on the character of the mind, as well as 
 of repute with the world. 
 
 To guard him against too much dependence on 
 present good standing, so as to neglect the means 
 for its continuance in future, she observes, 
 
 August 17. " There has been many a modest, vir- 
 tuous freshman, who has become a very licentious 
 senior. I mention this, my son, that they whose 
 characters now stand fair, may be always watching 
 over themselves, examining impartially their own 
 conduct, that their mothers' hearts may not have 
 cause for heaviness, nor they blast the pleasing ex- 
 pectations, which their early, amiable deportment 
 had raised." 
 
 1796, July 3. On the occasion of his having 
 passed through nearly one-half of the collegiate 
 ordeal, she thus writes to him. "You say that two 
 years have almost elapsed since you have resided afi 
 the seat of the muses. I hope, upon a retrospect, 
 you will find that you have advanced many degrees 
 in the scale of literature, and are so filling up your 
 time in performing the various duties of a scholar,, 
 that when you come into life, you may be a useful 
 and valuable member of society. Diligence and 
 perseverance should be your motto, and that of 
 every youth who wisely covets the best gifts. But) 
 however justifiable the acquisition of knowledge 
 may be, yet there is danger of crowding the mind, 
 which instead of promoting hinders its growth. 
 3 
 
18 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 There is an analogy between the body and mind. 
 By repletion, the energies of the former are cramped f 
 so with those of the latter/ 7 
 
 July 27. Among the letters of Mr. Shaw, who 
 was in Haverhill, is one from Richard Sullivan L 
 of Boston. It speaks of several subjects, then 
 receiving much public attention. Of these were 
 the book, called " The Man of Feeling ; " the ab- 
 sorbing topic of politics j the progress of the theatre 
 in the metropolis, and Mrs. Williamson as its prin- 
 cipal star. 
 
 September 5. Having returned to Cambridge, 
 maternal counsels still communed with him. They 
 follow : " I watch your words and conduct, not 
 with the severe eyes of a critic, but with the tender, 
 affectionate solicitude of a mother, concerned for 
 your present and future well-being ; who is not only 
 desirous of your deserving, but also retaining a good 
 name, which the wisest of men has pronounced 
 fr better than precious ointment.' It is a herald 
 which will be of great service. It will insure you 
 a kind reception wherever Providence may lead 
 you, especially among the worthy. We should not 
 only do good deeds, my son, but by our prudent, 
 open conduct, evince to all, that we are actuated by 
 good principles and aim at good ends. I am always 
 alarmed when I hear any one say, that he cares not 
 for the opinion of the world. We are all too de- 
 pendent on our fellow-creatures, for the necessaries 
 and comforts of life, to say this with impunity. It 
 
 Still living, in Boston, of the legal profession. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 19 
 
 is true, we ought not to regard the opinion of the 
 world, when it comes in competition with our duty; 
 but that is seldom the case. Individuals oftener 
 err, than the whole community. In general, the 
 world is a competent judge of character. There- 
 fore, the common voice ought to be regarded with 
 particular attention. He who cares not for a good 
 name, seldom deserves it, and soon becomes odious 
 to society." 
 
 Sept 30. On the subject of politics, Mr. John Vose 1 
 thus addresses him : "It is now a time for Federal- 
 ists to exert themselves, Washington being about 
 to retire from public life, though not from the heart 
 of the good citizen." 
 
 November 27. With regard to a letter, just re- 
 ceived from Mr. Shaw, his mother answered it as 
 follows. " I am sorry to hear of the sickness at 
 college. I do not wonder that you were struck 
 with a deep sense of the uncertainty of life, when 
 you saw so many of your companions suddenly 
 snatched from you by the unrelenting hand of 
 death. We must not forget, that ' dying friends 
 are angels, sent on errands full of love.' It is for 
 us to improve every providence to some good moral 
 purpose." 
 
 December 1. His elder friend, Vose, again re- 
 marks in a letter to him, " Our political hemisphere 
 is at present unclouded. True, Mr. Adet 2 has tried 
 
 1 Preceptor of Atkinson Academy, N, H., died April 3, 1840, 
 set. 73. 
 
 8 Minister from the French Republic, suspected, as his predecessor 
 Genet, was, of stepping aside from his proper duties, to influence 
 Americans. He resigned here, November 15, 1796. 
 
20 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 to condense the vapor for a storm. May it blow off 
 with him." 
 
 1797, January 10. His mother, in writing to 
 him about a plan which Mr. White l and he proposed 
 but did not execute, for traveling through a large 
 part of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, ob- 
 serves, " It is in the common affairs of life, that 
 we discover our natural tempers, and by our man- 
 agement of these, persons judge how we shall con- 
 duct in affairs of greater importance. However 
 small and trifling things may appear at first view, 
 yet whatever tends to form a habit, ought to be re- 
 garded as of the utmost consequence." From the 
 same communication, he appears to have begun a 
 school at Weymouth. We quote its language on 
 this subject : u The business, in which you are now 
 engaged, will show you the necessity of order, not 
 I hope, by the want of it, but by its beneficial in- 
 fluences. I hope, my son, you have endeavored to 
 be exact as to your time, and to discharge with 
 fidelity the important office of teaching youth. It 
 should be your first object to gain their love and 
 respect, by showing them that you are seeking their 
 good ; then you can more easily refine their man- 
 ners and improve their minds. They who teach 
 others, should be particularly cautious, in every re- 
 spect, as to their own behavior. Let me entreat 
 you, my son, to set a double guard over yourself, 
 at this period of life, and beware of those sins, 
 which more easily beset youth. Ten thousand 
 
 1 Judge Daniel White, of Salem, in the class before Mr. Shaw. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. $1 
 
 snares, gilded with novelty, await you. May Heav- 
 en preserve you from natural, but more especially 
 from every moral evil. The first can only injure 
 the body, but the latter destroys the soul." With 
 regard to the amusement of card-playing, which 
 was on the increase in the community, the same 
 watchful parent expressed herself: " How few can 
 say, I have gone no further I have a complete 
 command over myself my reason is never over- 
 come I have never spent my parents' interest by 
 gaming I have never played for drink I have 
 never felt my passions irritated, nor have been pn> 
 voked to utter profane oaths? How few, my son, 
 can say this with truth ? How much oftener than 
 otherwise, has many an innocent, inexperienced 
 youth, who thought nothing of turning a few pieces 
 of paper, been drawn in by some veterans of mis- 
 chief, and plunged into a labyrinth of misery ? 
 From small beginnings, our greatest evils often 
 arise. Therefore, as you value the peace of a fond 
 mother, your own interest, usefulness arid happiness, 
 and the approbation of your God, avoid every thing 
 which may tend to form an improper habit ; flee 
 from it as a pestilence, a destruction, that will assur- 
 edly waste." 
 
 February 6. In reference to the benevolence, 
 which his aunt 1 showed him while in his first 
 experiment of instruction, his mother says, "I hope 
 you evince your gratitude to her by a most careful 
 attention to her counsel. The law of kindness 
 dwells upon her lips." With respect to his com- 
 
 1 The wife of President John Adams. 
 3* 
 
22 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 pensation for such employment ; " The coldness of 
 the weather and the badness of the traveling must 
 have made your earnings very hardly gained. I 
 hope it will teach you how to use it prudently. It 
 is a proverb, that they who earn money, know how 
 to spend it wisely. It is the first of your earning, 
 and that will attach to it a peculiar value." Rela- 
 tive to his expenditures ; " Exact accounts, receipts 
 and prudence, is a duty highly incumbent on you." 
 
 March 24. Concerning some disorderly students, 
 the same hand sends the timely advice : " When 
 we know and are apprised of danger, it is wise in 
 us to keep a strong sentinel to double our guard. 
 The time is fast approaching, when some of your 
 society are to bid a farewell to the university, while 
 many of them conduct, as if they meant to bid a 
 perpetual farewell to reason, good sense, virtue, de- 
 corum, and every species of propriety. I hope, my 
 dear son, you will not join with a multitude to do evil. 
 Do nothing which in your retired moments con- 
 science cannot approve, or with which you would be 
 ashamed to have your best friends acquainted." 
 
 September 24. Respecting a remark, which Mr. 
 Shaw made to his mother, that collegians too much 
 neglected their personal appearance and the civili- 
 ties of refined manners among themselves, her reply 
 is, "If the observation is just, I think the better part 
 of the students should immediately begin a reform- 
 ation. They should be polite, cautious how they 
 injure each other's feelings, be neat in their cham- 
 bers, and properly respectful to every one. Thus 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 23 
 
 benevolence and virtue will be ripened into a con- 
 firmed habit." 
 
 1798, January 2. Among the correspondents and 
 classmates of Mr. Shaw was Arthur M. Walter, of 
 Boston. The latter describes some of the leading 
 topics as to European politics. He states, that news 
 had just come of the probability that our Envoy, 
 Mr. Pirickney, would be "obliged to quit France. 
 Bonaparte is to command an army to be called the 
 army of England, destined to act against that 
 country. The French have issued a proclamation 
 wherein they express their confidence of success. 
 I am in no fear of the conquest of Britain. In that 
 Island men and manners, laws and liberty, are pow- 
 erful interests." 
 
 January 15. Mr. Shaw, in his reply to this friend, 
 mentions that he had received a package containing 
 Phocion, Gifford, and Erskine's speeches on the 
 trial of Williams for publishing Paine's " Age of 
 Reason," and many of Porcupine's papers. He 
 observes, " I am sorry that you did not read them 
 before you sent them to me. You would not have 
 been less pleased with Peter's genuine humor, than 
 with the independence, sound judgment, and elo- 
 quent style of Gifford. Mr. E., I suspect, is a much 
 better Christian than a politician. G. opposes facts 
 to declamation, and proofs to bare assertion. E. 
 has said, that " religion was not exposed to any de- 
 gree of danger from the French revolution and its 
 principles which its votaries proclaimed." In an- 
 swer to this, G. says, "You are wholly ignorant of 
 the proceedings, which have passed an France, riot 
 
24 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 only on many political, but on all religious topics, 
 for you reason like a man who has just awaked 
 from a seven years' sleep." 
 
 Porcupine 1 is shooting his quills as usual. He is 
 very severe against Russel, tells him that he believes 
 he gained his knowledge of the law of nations from 
 Adet's Political Blunderbuss. Poor man, says he, 
 " If you know no more of the laws of God than 
 you do of the law of nations, I am afraid you are 
 in a desperate way." Referring to the conduct of 
 France, he says, " The follies and vices of the 
 French have succeeded one another so closely, I 
 should think it would even puzzle the recording 
 angel to write them down." In answer to some 
 observations of Walter on honors, as usually con- 
 ferred, he said, " Give me no other greatness than 
 that of the soul, no other riches than those of the 
 mind." 
 
 January 20. In reply, Walter touched on the 
 severity with which Porcupine had attacked Ben- 
 jamin Franklin, for being too much under French 
 influence. He relates that he had lately visited 
 Newport, R. I. " One thing struck me very dis- 
 agreeably. As I entered the town, I perceived a 
 tree, fenced round with painted rails, and ' Tree of 
 Equality' inscribed upon the fence." His objection 
 to it was its aping of the French, who were in gen- 
 eral, then trying to level all distinctions in the most 
 unrighteous mode. 
 
 January 23. Mr. Shaw answers and mentions his 
 
 1 William Cobbctt. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 25 
 
 interest in a work on the French revolution by a 
 lady, 1 and translated by Gifford, as a production of 
 much talent and merit. 
 
 January 29. Walter sends back that he recently 
 had a letter from Peter Porcupine, who said that his 
 work was taken by nearly three thousand subscri- 
 bers. He says "Fauchet's 2 pamphlet exciles no 
 alarm and creates no distrust. Pickering's masterly 
 letter, 3 though written before, is a complete answer 
 to it. The general supposition is, that our Com- 
 missioners (in Paris) will not accomplish their ob- 
 jects. If so, I trust every patriot will rally round 
 our rights and defend our constitution with courage 
 and success/' 
 
 April 21. He states, that there is in the Boston 
 post-office, a pamphlet for Shaw, entitled " What 
 is our situation and what our prospects ? By an 
 American." 
 
 June 24. The latter thus expresses himself, 
 " Yes, Walter, I am more and more convinced, that 
 there are secret societies established, disseminating 
 themselves over the world, whose object is to abol- 
 ish all religion and government. Some time since, 
 a most respectable gentleman abroad, wrote home, 
 that there was a society in Germany, Prussia, and 
 France who called themselves Theophilanthropists. 
 
 1 Helen Maria Williams published on this subject in 1791 and 
 1794. 
 
 2 Joseph Fauchct, ex-minister from France to the United States. 
 His pamphlet, dated September 2, 1797, is on the relations of the 
 former nation to the latter. 
 
 3 Reply in 1797 to a piece, published by the Spanish Minister to 
 our Government. 
 
20 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 They preach up a theological and political mixture 
 of deism, morality and anti-Christianity. The so- 
 ciety is under the special protection of the French 
 Directory. Lepaux is one of its founders. He is 
 a bitter enemy to Christianity, against which he has 
 written many dissertations. Dupont, father of the 
 late rejected Consul, is coming to America, with an 
 intention to establish one of these societies in this 
 country. The letter alluded to, was written before 
 Dr. Robertson's book was published. I have left 
 with Buckminster, 1 for your perusal, the life of 
 Charles Fox. I read it last week. It is well worth 
 your attention. You will find likewise with him, 
 D'lvernois's Reflections on the System of the 
 French Government." 
 
 June 27. Walter, writing to him of Buckmin- 
 ster, then in Cambridge college, says, "There is 
 something in his manner and disposition which irre- 
 sistibly attracts, and something in his intelligence 
 and way of communication, which captivates and 
 conquers." 
 
 July 20. Shaw addresses Walter : The French 
 will be disappointed in perceiving that the passive- 
 ness of Americans is now waking from its lethargy. 
 Washington's appearance at the head of our armies 
 must ( electrify every bosom' in his country's cause. 
 Under his banners, 'though perils should abound 
 as thick as thought could make them, and appear 
 in forms more horrid,' who can contend otherwise 
 than valiantly? " 
 
 Joseph S. Buckminster. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 27 
 
 Relative to his having been chosen as the private 
 secretary to President John Adams, Mr. Shaw's 
 mother had, previously to this time, sent him advice 
 fitted to such a trust. Her words were, " It was 
 the counsel of an experienced father, when his son 
 was going to travel in Spain and Italy, to keep his 
 countenance open, but his thoughts close. And 
 you, my dear son, in the department you are pre- 
 paring for, will find silence, secrecy and circum- 
 spection, even to preciseness, in yonr conversation, 
 absolutely necessary. Compliance with the injunc- 
 tion, * Be swift to hear and slow to speak,' will 
 save you from shame and a thousand heart-aches. 
 As you enter into life, yon will be more and more 
 convinced of this melancholy truth, that artful dis- 
 guises, specious shows of friendship, falsehood and 
 deceit are prevalent in every circle." 
 
 July 25. Being at duincy, Shaw receives a letter 
 from Buckminster at Waltham, about Commence- 
 ment affairs. "Channing's 1 oration was received 
 with great applause. It was characterized with 
 that nervous expression, which has ever stamped 
 his writings. His delivery was admirable." " Kirk- 
 land's 2 oration before the Phi Beta Kappa was solid, 
 political, spirited and ingenious. It is printed." 
 
 August 9. Walter communicates his views on the 
 subject of not receiving a degree, at Harvard, be- 
 cause he declined to perform the part assigned to 
 him. He also states, that he regrets the subject has 
 gotten into the newspapers ; that he shall study in 
 
 1 William E. Channing. 
 
 2 John T. Kirkland, subsequently Pres. of Harvard University. 
 
28 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 New York till May, then be examined for a degree, 
 and in the fall, embark for Europe. Speaking of 
 the purpose which France had declared, to invade 
 England, he remarks, " There is a God in heaven 
 who will never suffer the garden of the Hesperides 
 to become an extensive sand waste. If proud 
 France wishes to ( make cowards of us all,' we 
 will oppose Adams to Talleyrand and Washington 
 to Bonaparte." In reference to performances at 
 Commencement, he observes, Channing's " Present 
 Age " was excellent, though unpolished. He drew 
 his pictures of France, Germany, Spain, England 
 and America, like a young Apelles. He expected to 
 have had a school at Portland, but he has received 
 no answer to his letter. He said that he should go 
 to Newport soon, and continue his studies till an op- 
 portunity should offer for the exertion of his abili- 
 ties. God bless him. Longfellow l is in an office 
 at Portland, very happy. He wishes you would 
 write to him. Buckminster is at Waltham this va- 
 cation. He has written me once. He tells me of 
 the beauty of Mr. Lyman's situation, of the pas- 
 tures, cataracts, fish-ponds, besides the sister deities 
 of the place. He is a lovely fellow, and I wish him 
 well with all my heart. Story's 2 "Reason " was 
 beautiful poetry. It is publishing in this town. 
 Spalding's 3 Conference is justly esteemed one of 
 the best performances. Kirkland's oration is mas- 
 
 1 Stephen Longfellow, of the legal profession in Portland, Me., 
 died August 6, 1849, a>t. 73. 
 
 2 Late Judge Joseph Story. 
 
 3 Physician at Chelmsford, and then of Amherst, N. H. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 29 
 
 terly." Leaving these concerns, he mentions sick- 
 ness in Boston. "The yellow fever is in the town. 
 Two or three or more die every day. The people 
 are moving out as fast as possible." 
 
 1798, August 31. A correspondent of Mr. Shaw 
 mentions to him an item of dress, and, at the same 
 time, a political badge. This was the black cock- 
 ade, as expressive of favor for federal principles and 
 the English, while the tri-colored was so for demo* 
 cratic policy and the French. 
 
 September 2. His mother says to her sister 
 Cranch, " I hope my son will do well. May he be 
 properly sensible of the price put into his hands. 
 I hope he is attentive to his uncle's business, and 
 remembers, that his time is now not his own, but 
 another's." 
 
 Sept. 3. Shaw informs Walter, that the reason of 
 his suspended correspondence were the calls of his 
 new office. He mentions several political subjects 
 as follows: Talleyrand had inquired of Mr. Gerry 1 
 who were the persons designated by W, X, Y and 
 Z a Thomas Paine edited a paper in France. 
 
 Sept. 9. Walter replies, " Gerry and Talleyrand's 
 correspondence seem to occupy the reflections of the 
 public mind. Our government was certainly wise 
 in publishing the dispatches. Pinckney and Mar- 
 shall are safe ; 3 they have produced excellent effects 
 in America, and you inform me they have spread 
 like wild-fire in Europe. Deluded Frenchmen are 
 
 1 Elbridge Gerry, afterwards Governor of Massachusetts. 
 5 French writers, said to have been Hottinger, M. Bellamy, and 
 M. Hauteval. 3 Dispatches. 
 
 4 
 
30 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 prevented from perusing them by the artful intrigues 
 of the Directory. I trust they will soon open their 
 eyes and exert their energies in procuring liberty 
 by the downfall of the present despotism and the 
 erection of a happy constitution. Our business is 
 with ourselves. If we can keep from the arts of 
 this foe, I care not for her arms. I do not see 
 any thing remarkable in the intercepted letters of 
 Priestly." Concerning the yellow fever, " Boston 
 is a little infected with this most dreadful disorder, 
 but it declines in number and virulence, while our 
 accounts from Philadelphia are dreaful." 
 
 September 24. An epistle from his mother, speaks 
 of her afflictive discipline, especially in relation to 
 the recent decease of her daughter. 1 It adds, 
 " The road of life is devious, dangerous, thorny 
 and rugged. You may depend on this as a certain 
 truth, my son, that nothing but religion, the bright 
 prospect of a better world, a conscience void of 
 offence toward God and man, can support us and 
 cheer the gloomy vale. With such a protection, 
 we may be wounded, but not dismayed ; we may 
 be shaken, but not overthrown." 
 
 October 7. He sends a communication to Walter. 
 Some of its contents follow. " Why did you not 
 come to see nae the afternoon after you went to 
 Squantum ? I had placed the English papers on 
 the middle of the table and a chair by the side of 
 it for you, expecting every moment to see you en- 
 ter. Demourier, in his pamphlet, thinks there must 
 
 1 Elizabeth Quincy Shaw, born May 26, 1780, died September 4, 
 1798. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 31 
 
 be a universal peace or a general war in Europe 
 very soon. We have no more reason to expect 
 permanent peace, than I have that I should be 
 obeyed were I to command the rain, which now 
 most violently beats in at my windows, to cease, 
 and the wind, which now seems as if it would blow 
 down every thing around me, c to gently kiss the 
 trees and make no noise.' The conduct of the 
 French Directory exemplifies the maxim of Plu- 
 tarch, * Add power to passion, and there is no wild 
 beast so savage as man.' Mr. Humphreys informed 
 me, that half of the people in France would re- 
 joice to have Bonaparte for their king. The ladies 
 of Paris have likenesses of the late King and Q,ueen 
 stamped on their fans so that they are not visible 
 unless placed in a particular position to the light." 
 
 He receives a letter, mailed 10th, from William 
 E. Channing, at Newport, R. I. It expresses the 
 sentiments of its author, in the eloquent style for 
 which he was noted. Speaking of his friendly in- 
 tercourse with Mr. Shaw, while in college, it re- 
 marks, " I still remember your social fire in winter, 
 how we collected round it for social converse ; our 
 walks by moonlight, how we strolled over the com- 
 mon or took the solitary road to the Judge's. The 
 memory of these days will ever be fresh within 
 me." It turns to another quarter. " There is a 
 beach about a mile from the town. Here I go once 
 a day. I never saw such grandeur as the wild 
 scenery of nature here presents. The towering 
 and craggy rocks, the roar of the waves, the foam 
 with which they dash on the shore, and the bound- 
 
32 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 less ocean before you, all contribute to inspire with 
 awe and rapture." It takes a different theme. " I 
 arn on the point of changing my mode of life. 1 A 
 field has opened for exertion. I trust that my bur- 
 dens will be no heavier than I can bear, and as I 
 wipe the sweat from my brow, I shall be cheered 
 when I think that the struggles which I make, are 
 the struggles of honest industry." It proceeds. 
 "I suppose you know the profession which I mean 
 to follow. Yes, Shaw, I shall be a minister, a 
 shepherd of the flock of Jesus. My hold on life is 
 feeble, I look forward to a better country. While 
 I am journeying toward it myself, I wish to lead 
 others the same way. I know, Shaw, that you 
 revere religion. I wish that, in your political 
 career, you would sometimes look beyond the 
 strifes, crimes and intrigues of nations, to the har- 
 mony and blessedness of Christian piety in another 
 state. We shall take different courses in life, but 
 we shall meet in the grave. We shall bow before 
 the same tribunal, and, I trust, shall rejoice forever 
 in the same heaven. You will think that I have 
 grown quite ministerial j but, believe me, I cherished 
 the same sentiments in college, as I now do. In 
 my view, religion is but another name for happi- 
 ness. I am most cheerful, when I am most reli- 
 gious," 
 
 October 18. Another communication from the 
 same hand. " I wish to write you a few lines in 
 behalf of my friend Wainwright. You know his 
 
 * Teaching school at Richmond, Va. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 33 
 
 merits. He has this day arrived at Newport, and 
 communicated to me his determination to enter the 
 navy. Should a midshipman's berth become va- 
 cant, could you not represent him as a person wor- 
 thy of that post. It appears to me that he will one 
 day rise to a command in the navy. He is all 
 resolution, all soul, all head. To-morrow I set sail 
 for Virginia. Ah Shaw ! the parting tear will 
 flow." 
 
 October 30. A letter from John Vose. It reverts 
 to the decease of Mr. Shaw's sister, previously men- 
 tioned. " Never was a person more truly lamented 
 than your dear departed sister. Ten thousand 
 silent tears bedew her memory." It speaks of 
 military preparation. "Gov. Gilman has lately 
 ridden the circuit of the State to review the several 
 regiments. His presence has reanimated expiring 
 discipline. Should France land an army on our 
 territory, they would find that dreary forests and 
 snow-topped mountains are not the only barriers to 
 oppose their conquest." It refers to pecuniary af- 
 fairs. "A scarcity of cash still prevails in this 
 part of the country. This has originated thou- 
 sands of lawsuits." 
 
 Walter to Shaw, October 24. " I am going 
 to hear the Chronicle printer tried for sedition." 
 November 3. " I know not how to express the 
 indignation I feel respecting Logan's embassy. It 
 is an unjustifiable attack on the constituted au- 
 thorities of our country. What if we do wish for 
 peace, must it be purchased at the expense of honor." 
 
34 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 The writer had begun to compose a Romance, 
 entitled, " The Castle of Madiap." 
 
 As an instance of the civilities shown the head 
 of the general government, when they held their 
 sessions in Philadelphia, the following is given. 
 November 21. " Mr, Dallas 1 presents his compliments 
 to the private Secretary of the President. The Gov- 
 ernor arid militia officers propose to pay a respectful 
 visit to the President, to welcome him to the seat of 
 government on Tuesday next ; and Mr. Dallas is 
 requested to obtain information at what hour it will 
 be convenient to receive the compliment." 
 
 Nov. 26. Walter's letter from the city of New 
 York states, that he had entered Columbia college, 
 to be there a few months, for a degree. 
 
 Nov. 28. William E. Channing writes from 
 Richmond, Va. "Yours of October 15, reached 
 me November 15. I thank you from my heart for 
 your kind attention. And you have lost a sister t 
 \ will not direct you to the source of consolation. 
 You have found it already. You have applied the 
 healing balm of religion to your wounds, and 
 blessed the heavenly Physcian, whose bleeding body 
 was nailed to the cross to procure you such relief. 
 You may see from my letter the warmth, with 
 which I have embraced the Christian cause. 
 Would to God that I could resign every worldly 
 prospect, and bend my whole soul to improvement 
 in religion and the diffusion of the truths of th,e 
 gospel. It cuts me to the heart to see the con- 
 
 1 Alexander James Dallas, Secretary of the State of Pennsylva- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 35 
 
 tempt with which the name and the worship of the 
 11 Majesty of heaven " are treated by the generality 
 of mankind. Do we not offer a new cup of gall 
 to our crucified Saviour ! Are we not as inhuman 
 as the Jews? Do we not plat, like them, a crown 
 of thorns for the head of the Redeemer. They 
 despised him, and were ashamed to acknowledge 
 him." The communication then replies to some 
 remarks of Mr. Shaw on the absorbing subject of 
 French policy. It then proceeds. *' I rejoice with 
 you, my friend, at the Victory of Nelson. Old 
 England, forever ! " He mentions the significa- 
 tion, in which the term Jacobin, was generally re- 
 ceived, "as synonomous with a dishonest, immoral, 
 factious and disorganizing man." It discusses the 
 alien and sedition bills, and the dread lest the 
 country should be brought to crouch at the feet of 
 France. 
 
 December 12. Shaw, in Philadelphia, to Walter. 
 Speaking of his journey to this city : " I found 
 that, all the way, in Massachusetts, great prejudices 
 had been excited against the land tax." He 
 mentions a letter from Joel Barlow, in Paris, to 
 Baldwin, the brother-in-law of his wife, as being 
 too much for the subserviency of our country to 
 France. He adds, " Mr. Barlow, I am told, has 
 published a new edition of his Vision of Columbus, 
 and has expunged every line and word respecting 
 his God and his religion. All this, you see, is the 
 effect of French philosophy." 
 
 December 19. Walter states that William Austin, 
 their classmate, had consulted with his father in 
 
36 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Boston about going as schoolmaster and chaplain on 
 board the Constitution. He went in her. 
 
 December 21. Shaw to William E. Channing in 
 Richmond. " Yours respecting Wainwright, I re- 
 ceived a little before I left duincy. I have spoken to 
 the Secretary of the Navy respecting him, and feel 
 certain that he may obtain his wish. Dr. Logan is 
 chosen, by a large majority, representative to the Le- 
 gislature of this State. The day he took his seat, it so 
 happened that there was a new carpet placed on the 
 floor of the house. The Aurora, the morning after, 
 said that the Legislature of Pennsylvania, pleased 
 with Logan's late conduct, and wishing every pos- 
 sible attention should be paid to him, had ordered a 
 new carpet to be placed on the floor. What will 
 the French Directory say to this, that Logan returns 
 home and is honored with a seat in the Legislature ! 
 His interference is no new thing. Charles Fox 
 sent a Mr. Adair, as his representative, in '92 or '93, 
 with his cipher to St. Petersburgh, there to frus- 
 trate the objects, for which the minister from the 
 crown was authorized to treat. He succeeded in 
 his design. But this principle will never do. It is 
 subversive of all good order and government. By 
 the Eastern mail of this day we have had right 
 glorious news, which seems to gladden every heart. 
 A vessel arrived at Newburyport, fifty-six days from 
 Hamburgh, brings accounts of the total defeat of 
 Bonaparte and the destruction of his transports. I 
 enclose you the paper containing the information. 
 The Aurora is carried on with more inveteracy and 
 ill-humor than ever. It is conducted by one Duane, 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 37 
 
 an Englishman. He was author of a scandalous 
 letter to General Washington, while President, 
 signed Jasper Dwight. Extracts from it were pub- 
 lished in the Centinel. They have lately repub- 
 lished from a Virginia paper some letters, addressed 
 to General Marshall, signed Curtius. Do you know 
 the author ? Some one sent the President an ex- 
 cellent pamphlet on the sedition and alien bills, 
 published at Richmond. I think you must have read 
 it. Do you know the writer ? The more I think 
 of these bills, the more I am convinced of their 
 propriety and necessity. Indeed, I cannot conceive 
 of a government's existing long without laws to 
 prevent the licentiousness of the press. 7 ' 
 
 Dec. 22. Shaw to Walter : " Congress, as yet, 
 have done little or nothing. Harper's resolution to 
 publish the alien and sedition bills, excited some 
 warmth. Gallatin rose to speak, as I went into the 
 House, for the first time, but I could scarcely under- 
 stand a word he uttered. What, said I to myself, 
 can there be in the Legislature of my country an 
 individual, whose pronunciation is so broken as not 
 to be understood ? 
 
 " You must have heard that there are a number 
 of Indians in the city. On Monday they came to 
 see the President, being five large, tall, and as good 
 looking men as I ever saw. Had Buffon and the 
 Abbe Raynal been present, they would have blushed 
 for their assertion, that man was belittled in Amer- 
 ica. Some of their sentences forcibly struck me. 
 They were these, { Brother, although we are in 
 your house, and sheltered from the cold winds, still 
 
38 WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 
 
 we are in the eye of God. From his sight we 
 never can hide ourselves. He is here in this room 
 and hears what we say to you. We may deceive 
 you, but cannot deceive him. Although we are not 
 of the same color with you, brothers, still our hearts 
 are as white as yours.' 
 
 " Phocion was written by Mr. Smith, 1 our minis- 
 ter in Portugal." 
 
 December 23. Mrs. Adams, at Q,uincy, writes to 
 Mr. Shaw. Relative to our national affairs, she ob- 
 serves : " t say of America, as Gibbon did of Eng- 
 land in the year '92, ' If she, with experience of her 
 own happiness and the knowledge of French perfidy 
 and French calamities, should be seduced to eat the 
 apple of security, she would indeed deserve to be 
 driven from the paradise which she enjoys.' We 
 shall preserve our dignity without craving assistance 
 from the potentates of the old world. The answer 
 of the House will have a happy effect upon the 
 union and politics of the States. It looks as if 
 French influence was sunk very low. It will also 
 have an influence in Europe. I most sincerely 
 wish, that our party bickerings and personal resent- 
 ments would yield to the great and momentous na- 
 tional interests." 
 
 1 William Loughton Smith, of South Carolina. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Politics Separation from the Union Navy Southey Count 
 Rumford Insurrection in Pennsylvania Purposes of France 
 Illuminati Belsham Community of Property Fenelon. 
 
 1799, January 10. A letter from Mr. Shaw's 
 mother. " You are now, my son, embarked on the 
 wide ocean of life. Your passage cannot be pleasant 
 nor useful, unless reason be your card and the Chris- 
 tian religion your pole star. This will insure you 
 contentment through the rugged, devious voyage, 
 and safely land you on a happier shore. 57 
 
 A long communication is received the 14th, from 
 Channing. He laments the success of the French 
 against the allies, and ably considers the question of 
 a standing army. His own opinion is, that they 
 had better be disbanded and reliance be placed upon 
 the militia, if need required. 
 
 From the same, received 23d. " Did you but 
 know the exquisite happiness which the handwrit- 
 ing of a friend affords me, now that I am so far 
 from home, without one companion of my youth 
 to cheer my social or share my gloomy hours, I am 
 sure, that you would snatch a few moments from 
 sleep or the round of amusements, to scribble me a 
 
40 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 letter. You seem anxious to know how I am situ- 
 ated. Very happily, I assure you ; as happily as I 
 could be at such a distance from Newport. I have 
 but ten scholars. I finish school before dinner, and 
 all the rest of the day I spend as I choose. I am 
 treated with every attention I can desire. I have a 
 retired room for my study, a lovely plain to walk 
 in ; and you know, that under these circumstances, 
 I cannot be miserable. I often look towards the 
 North with a sigh, and think of the scenes I have 
 left behind me. Society becomes more and more 
 insipid. I am tired of the fashionable nonsense, 
 which dins my ear in every circle. I am driven to 
 my book and pen for relief and pleasure." Chan- 
 ning then enters on an eloquent argument as to the 
 best method of improving the condition of our race. 
 He dwells much on the idea of a community of 
 property. At the close, he inquires, " Can we ben- 
 efit the world? I am willing to sacrifice temporal 
 interest and my brightest prospects " for such 
 an object. With regard to the writers of some 
 productions, he states : " The author of Curtius 
 is James Thompson, of Petersburg!!, Va. The 
 author of the pamphlet on the alien and sedition 
 laws, is Mr. Evans, a senator or representative in 
 Congress." 
 
 On the subject which has been continually be- 
 fore the public, when the political pulse has beat 
 feverishly, Channing writes, 24th, " You will see 
 the spirit of the Virginia Legislature. There is no 
 doubt that a separation from the Union is intended. 
 Giles is very active and influential," 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 41 
 
 Jan. 29. Shaw to Walter. " The long wished for 
 dispatches are come. I hope this country will be 
 wisely instructed by the fatal experience of every 
 Republic in Europe, and listen to none of the over- 
 tures for peace, made by the French Directory. 
 
 " O Buckingham ! beware of yonder dog. 
 Look ;. when he fawns, he bites ; and when he bites, 
 His venom tooth will rankle to the death." 
 
 Jan. 31. As a matter of interest, particularly to the 
 medical profession, Dr. Thomas Welsh, of Boston, 
 writes to Mr. Shaw : " I have sent by Dr. Bartlett 
 the translation of the French dissertation on the 
 late fever. Nancrede, you know, was the trans- 
 lator, but he does not think that he could undertake 
 to print it ; and has therefore handed it to me, that 
 it may be forwarded to the gentleman who com- 
 posed the original, that he may make such use 
 of it as he may think proper. Mr. Brown, who 
 keeps one of the public reading schools in this 
 town, has lately written on the disease a sort of 
 compilation, and I think it probable has made some 
 use of this, as I understand Nancrede let him in- 
 spect it." 
 
 February 2. A reply of Mrs. Adams (at Q,uincy) 
 to a description, which Mr. Shaw had given, of the 
 proceedings at " the ball." In this she observed, 
 as to the manners of those who attended, " I 
 always despised the appellation, woman's man. To 
 be a gallant, a man must have a little of the fop." 
 She humorously remarked, as to the President's 
 omission of franking a letter to her, " Though the 
 President and I am one in the eye of the law 
 5 
 
42 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 and the gospel, I believe Congress would question 
 both of the authorities, and debate a month, if the 
 question were put, Does the privilege of the Presi- 
 dent extend to his lady, and are letters to her and 
 from her free of postage ? " 
 
 Feb. 7. Walter's letter from New York. " I trust 
 America is now fully acquainted with the designs 
 of France, and will resent her threats with the spirit 
 of freemen. England is putting forth the strong 
 and hardy buds of national energy. I the other 
 European powers will but assist her in the glorious 
 work, the clay-built fabric of French despotism 
 will fall to the ground. At the same time, I admire 
 the firmness and decision of our Executive, and his 
 clemency in saying, that he is ready to enter on ne- 
 gotiation as soon as the French are willing to send 
 an envoy to this country." 
 
 From Samuel B. Malcolm, of New York. "I 
 had expected by this time, that the recommendation 
 of the Secretary of the Navy would, if not wholly 
 acquiesced in, at least have been agitated in the 
 House. Convinced that ships are the natural, the 
 most efficacious, and the least expensive defence of 
 our country, I listen to every suggestion for its in- 
 crease with satisfaction, though the army is no less 
 an object of my devotion. The establishment of 
 the latter is slow. The necessity of an effective 
 force seems urgent, from the late measures of Vir- 
 ginia and Kentucky. All there is not well. The 
 period of Northern and Southern separation will 
 probably come. Still the evil day, I trust, is dis- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 43 
 
 tant. The recall of our envoys to France, I rejoice 
 to see accomplished." 
 
 Feb. 26. From W. E. Channing. " I am now to- 
 tally immersed in literature. I have settled a course 
 of reading for three years. I hope at the end of that 
 time to have knowledge enough to enter on the 
 world." He then gives a list of authors and adds, 
 " Tell me what books must be added and what re- 
 trenched. What merit has Robertson's North 
 America ? Is he, like the sun, more majestic at 
 his setting ? What does Fenno's paper mean by 
 talking so much about united Irishmen ? Is there 
 any serious apprehension of danger from them? 
 You have probably heard that Giles has declared 
 that he wishes a separation (of Virginia) from the 
 Union." 
 
 March 7. Shaw in Philadelphia to Walter in 
 New York. " I regret extremely that the major- 
 ity against the repeal of the alien and sedition bills 
 was so small as it was, three only. There is a class 
 of men in this country possessing some public con- 
 sequence, but entirely destitute of any moral princi- 
 ple, whose whole lives are spent in the prostitution 
 of their talents to the perversion of their reason, 
 whose unceasing endeavors are to mislead the public 
 mind, to obstruct public business, and thus embarrass 
 the operations of government. I have been led to 
 these observations by the late conduct of the Vir- 
 ginians. They appear to bid defiance to all laws, 
 human and divine. Some of them do not hesitate 
 to avow, that they wish a separation of their State 
 from the Union. The new loan was filled sooner 
 
44 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 than any one expected. Almost fifteen millions 
 were subscribed as soon as gentlemen could write 
 their names. The scrip was sold yesterday at twen- 
 ty-five per cent, advance. 1 thank you for sending 
 me Joan d'Arc. I don't recollect when I have read 
 a book, with which I have been more pleased. Do 
 you know that Southey wrote his poem in the short 
 space of six weeks, and published it in twelve 
 books ; that he afterwards revised and published it 
 in ten, as we now have it ; that he has lately pub- 
 lished a new edition, in which he has left out the 
 whole of the eighth book, containing the Vision of 
 the Maid, and which I thought discovered as much 
 true genius as any of the ten ? Southey did not 
 write the second book, in which the Palace of Am- 
 bition is so admirably described. It was the pro- 
 duction of his intimate friend, Coleridge. In this 
 work, Southey has written as if he plucked his 
 quill from an angel's wing.' 7 
 
 March 8. Shaw to W. E. Channing. "Letters from 
 our ministers in Europe mention the poor king of 
 Sardinia's abdicating his throne, fleeing from Turin, 
 his continental residence, to the island of Sardinia ; 
 Spain's granting leave to France to march an army 
 through her territory to invade Portugal. ' The Sec- 
 retary of the Navy has not yet received any official 
 accounts of Truxton's victory, but there is not any 
 doubt of its truth. I flatter myself, that the world 
 will soon know, that American heart of oak, under 
 the management of American sailors, will constitute 
 that firm bulwark of our national independence, 
 which will bid them defiance." 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 45 
 
 March 9. A letter from Mrs. Adams at duincy. On 
 a topic, then much discussed, her language follows: 
 " I am not pleased with a set of people, who profess 
 to be federalists just as long as the measures of the 
 government promote their interests ; but lose all 
 confidence and exclaim against them, whenever 
 their views are opposed. The President will not 
 be advised. He will act of his own head. He is 
 determined to support Gerry in opposition to all his 
 friends. He must tread back the steps he has taken, 
 for the Senate will never advise and consent to the 
 nomination of Mr. Murray.' Then comes the new 
 nomination. The Seriate advised to that in order 
 to defeat the measure, for Mr. Ellsworth is out of 
 health, and Patrick Henry so old, that he will not go. 
 But are not the Senate pointed out by the consti- 
 tution as advisers of the President ? Yes. Are 
 there any others whom he is obliged to consult? 
 No. * But Washington always did.' Was not he 
 censured for being led by Hamilton ? But why 
 was not the Secretary of State consulted ? Ay, 
 there's the rub. Such has been the zeal with- 
 out knowledge of some of our hot-heads. They 
 are, however, cooling down. Some person asked 
 Judge Davis, 1 when the news first arrived, what he 
 thought of the measure. * Wait a fortnight,' said 
 he, 'and then I will tell you. I have not forgotten 
 the British Treaty yet.' " 
 
 March 11. Prom Walter. " My sister has written 
 
 1 John Davis, late Judge of the United States District Court in 
 Massachusetts, who died January 14, 1847, within eleven days of 
 being eighty-six years old. 
 
 5* 
 
46 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 me that Count Rumford and his daughter are com- 
 ing to Boston this spring, and are agoing to reside 
 near Cambridge, as he desired my father to procure 
 him a house. This will be gratifying to his country- 
 men. He has benefited the world essentially by 
 his chemical processes with regard to fire, and de- 
 serves to be considered as one of the very few, who 
 delight in doing good." 
 
 March 22. S. Ewing in Philadelphia to Shaw at 
 Q,uincy. " The insurrection in the northern counties 
 of this State (Pennsylvania) will, I presume, vanish 
 in a few days. The agents in the business have trans- 
 gressed or misunderstood their powers, and the prin- 
 cipals have become alarmed. They are not pre- 
 pared to go great lengths. Let it be as it may, we, 
 1 the soldiers,' are prepared cheerfully to defend the 
 Constitution. We are ordered to hold ourselves in 
 readiness, at a moment's warning, to march, and 
 when that moment comes, we shall march with 
 pleasure." 
 
 March 29. From Walter in New York. "Gallatin, 
 as you say, is a very ingenious man. He almost 
 1 makes the worse appear the better cause.' Sam- 
 uel Dexter used to remark, that Gallatin was one of 
 the first men in his own country. The insurrection 
 in Pennsylvania, from all accounts, appears to be 
 formidable and increasing. Things are advancing 
 to a crisis in Europe. England still presents a bold 
 front to the revolutionary storm. Pitt is unshaken. 
 The spirit of the father reigns in the son." 
 
 April. Shaw at Q,uincy to Walter. He observes 
 of the insurgents in Pennsylvania, " They said, 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 47 
 
 that the law authorizing the direct tax was illegal. 
 They believed, that, if resisting it, they should be 
 supported by the State of Yirginia, and even by 
 General Washington himself." 
 
 April 7. Shaw to W. E. Channing, in Richmond, 
 Va. " Of the Pennsylvania insurgents, no great is 
 to be feared. A few companies of militia, marching 
 to the spot, it is thought, will disperse them imme- 
 diately and without difficulty. The insurgents are 
 principally Germans, very ignorant and most unac- 
 countably deluded. They have among them a 
 German priest, who has not been in this country 
 but a few months, is a disciple of Weishaupt, and 
 has done much mischief. They said that the law 
 authorizing the direct tax was illegal, because it 
 was not signed by Thomas Jefferson, the Vice Pres- 
 ident, but one Theodore Sedgwick, whom they did 
 not know. They absolutely agreed to dispatch a 
 courier to General Washington, to know whether it 
 was legal or not. A report circulated among them, 
 and was generally believed, that John Adams had 
 married his eldest son to the king of England's 
 daughter, and that he was soon to return to this 
 country and a monarchy was to be established." 
 
 April 2 1. From Abner Rogers 1 at Cambridge. Re- 
 plying to Mr. Shaw's letter, which mentioned the 
 privileges he left in Philadelphia and the hardness of 
 traveling thence, he remarked, " I have often heard 
 that the remembrance of pleasure so far absorbs the 
 mind, that it is not susceptible of painful impres- 
 
 1 Born at Hampstead, N. H. : H. C. 1800 : practiced law : died 
 18H. 
 
48 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 sions. But a fellow in a horse-pond, will soon be 
 sensible of his situation. If that were not the case, 
 a person once happy, might be always so." 
 
 April 22. From S. Ewing in Philadelphia. " The 
 greatest part of the prisoners have arrived from 
 Northampton. It is probable that they will be tried 
 next week. Mr. Lewis is employed for Fries and 
 Eberhard ; Dallas, Ingersoll and my brother for the 
 remainder." 
 
 April 26. Shaw at duincy to Walter in New 
 York. Criticising on several works which they had 
 read, he remarks, " You do not seem so pleased with 
 the Pursuits of Literature, as I expected. It is true, 
 that the author is unpardonably vain. Still, I can- 
 not help being gratified with the energy of his style, 
 the dignity and boldness of his sentiments. His 
 periods are nervous and flowing, as any author I 
 ever read, not excepting Burke. I will apply to 
 himself, what he has said of Boileau, 'There is 
 in this book such an ardent zeal for propriety in 
 sentiment and in expression, such a sense of the 
 dignity of human nature, when undebased ; such a 
 hatred of hypocrisy, such a love of purity, such an 
 abhorrence of all profaneness and indecency and 
 even indelicacy, that I am not able to name a man, 
 whose work, at the present time, may be read with 
 more advantage.' " From literature he proceeds to 
 politics : " I am happy in having it in my power to 
 congratulate you on the quelling of the Pennsylva- 
 nia insurrection, without armed opposition and loss 
 of blood. France has asked leave of Spain to 
 march through her territory. She will probably 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 49 
 
 comply. French principles and influences are deeply 
 rooted in her soil. Should a French army be thus 
 permitted, they will pillage everything they can lay 
 their hands on, though, by the way, it cannot be of 
 much value." He mentions religious topics. "I 
 send you a most charming address of Bishop Watson 
 to the diocese of Landaff. I do admire this man. 
 There appears so much goodness, so much candor 
 arid modesty in all his writings, that one cannot 
 but love him." 
 
 May. From William E. Channing. "You appear, 
 Shaw, to be absorbed in politics. You are at the 
 fountain-head of information. Political institutions 
 are only valuable as they improve and moralize hu- 
 man nature. Wealth and power are subordinate 
 considerations, and are far from constituting the real 
 greatness of a State. I blush for mankind when I 
 see interest the only tie which binds them to their 
 country ; when I see the social compact improved 
 for no purpose but the accumulation of riches ; and 
 the prosperity of a nation decided by the successful 
 avarice of its members. I wish to see patriotism 
 exalted into a moral principle, and not a branch of 
 avarice. I wish to see governments established and 
 administered with the view of enlightening the 
 mind and dignifying the heart. 
 
 " You wish to know what I think of France. I 
 think her cause desperate indeed. I cannot con- 
 ceive how a government founded on corruption, 
 unsupported by the attachment of its subjects, un- 
 able to pay armies, shaken by internal convulsions, 
 surrounded by rebellious allies, and attacked, as 
 
50 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Prance soon must be, by the united forces of Europe, 
 can maintain its ground and withstand such formi- 
 dable and consolidated opposition. These consider- 
 ations have led me to suppose, in spite of the Sec- 
 retary's report, that she (France) was sincere in her 
 pacific professions to Mr. Gerry. Do not misunder- 
 stand me. I do not say that France has given up 
 her views on this country. I do not say that she is 
 less active in her intrigues. I know better. What 
 I mean is this, that France rested her hopes of suc- 
 cess on the party she had formed in our own bosom, 
 that she never calculated upon the spirit which 
 burst forth on the publication of the dispatches, that 
 her critical situation rendered a war with us impol- 
 itic, and that, of course, it was her interest to heal 
 the breach with us and wait for a more favorable 
 opportunity to accomplish her designs. Pickering 
 tells us that France wished to delude us by the 
 semblance of a negotiation, and palsy our exertions. 
 No doubt she wished us to repose in the lap of con- 
 fidence till, having 'sharked up the fry of Europe, 7 
 she should have leisure to devour us also. But 
 how, in fact, was this to be done ? She had evi- 
 dently been too sudden in claiming tribute from 
 America. She saw that, in spite of her opiates, 
 the eagle's eye was vigilant, and c the national pulse 
 beat high ' for war ; she saw unexpected energies 
 of patriotism bursting forth, and measures of de- 
 fence adopted, notwithstanding her tampering with 
 our envoy ; she had no navy to force us to compli- 
 ance. Thus situated, I ask, what was she to do ? 
 Was it not her interest to quiet our jealousies by 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 51 
 
 forming a treaty with us, and delay to another and 
 more promising period her schemes of bondage ? I 
 am not for enlarging our standing army. It is the 
 engine which has beat down the walls of liberty in 
 all ages. I think every farthing thrown away, 
 which is not expended on our navy. There is not 
 the shadow of a probability that France will attempt 
 an invasion. The seas are our tender part, and I 
 hope soon to behold an American navy which will 
 place us out of danger of an invasion from any 
 foreign power, which will render our flag more re- 
 spected than it has hitherto been, and raise us above 
 dependence on any European nation for protection 
 of our commerce. I am opposed to standing ar- 
 mies on account of their moral effects. The activ- 
 ity of war will leave the soldier no time to corrupt 
 himself. But an army in time of peace, is the hot- 
 bed of vice." 
 
 May 12. Shaw in duiucy to W. E. Channing in 
 Richmond, Va. "I have read your letters over and 
 over again, and I should not deserve to live were I 
 not delighted with the beautiful enthusiasm, and 
 benevolent wishes, breathed in every word. Is not 
 your theory incompatible with the experience of 
 ages ? A community of property, of all things, 
 always seemed to me to be the most impracticable, 
 especially so in the present demoralized state of the 
 world, when men seem to be willing to sacrifice 
 their God, their country, and their own souls, to 
 their own private and present interests. Is not 
 money by far the most powerful motive to action ? 
 'Gold is omnipotent below.' Bring such a world 
 
52 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 together in a community of property, how long 
 would it continue? You would have, if you allow 
 the expression, a continual war of all against all. 
 
 " How do you proceed in your course of history? 
 Belsham has continued the History of England from 
 the Revolution under William and Mary. He ap- 
 pears, I think, to be rather prejudiced against the 
 ministry. I am now reading Davila's History of the 
 Civil Wars in France. This is peculiarly interesting 
 at the present time. One cannot but see a most 
 striking similarity of conduct in the leaders of the 
 factions in that day, and in those of the late revolu- 
 tion of Prance. Sully's Memoirs I am advised to 
 read immediately after this. These two books will 
 make up for the deficiency, in part, of which you 
 complained in Hume, 'that he did not throw light 
 enough on the rest of Europe.' I am happy to 
 have it in my power to congratulate you on the 
 quelling of the Pennsylvanian insurrection without 
 loss of blood. 
 
 " How was the late federal fast observed at Rich- 
 mond ? There were many excellent political ser- 
 mons preached in this State on that day. Dr. Morse 
 has published a sermon, in which he asserts that he 
 has indubitable proof, that there are societies of the 
 Illuminati established in this country. These soci- 
 eties have become so numerous in Great Britain, 
 that the king ordered the secretary, Mr. Duridas, to 
 collect the documents respecting them and send 
 them to the House of Commons. Here they were 
 icferred to a secret committee, whose report I en- 
 close with this. There were the greatest exertions 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 53 
 
 this year, by the jacobins, that ever have been 
 made, in order to leave out Governor Sumner and 
 bring in Heath, to change the federal senators and 
 representatives; but they have succeeded but poorly. 
 Sumner has a large majority. The Chronicle of 
 Boston is sold to Mr. James White, the bookseller, 
 and has become a very federal paper. John Rus- 
 sell's Gazette, commercial and political, is now, 
 I think, the best paper on our continent." 
 
 May 15. Samuel A. Otis 1 in Philadelphia to Shaw, 
 " I fear we shall see troublesome times ere long. 
 The French power increases, and their malignity 
 towards us is boiling. The Fast was observed here 
 with more sobriety than they generally keep Sun- 
 day. This, however, is not saying much. The 
 Quakers, for the most part, had their shops open. 
 They are resolved to go to heaven in their own 
 way, I cannot subscribe without repeating my 
 wish that the President had taken a country-house 
 in this vicinity. Remarks show a dislike of his 
 retirement from Philadelphia." 
 
 May 17. Walter at Cambridge to Shaw. " I have 
 been lately reading Belsham's Essays. He is an en- 
 ergetic and solid writer. His independent spirit 
 leads him, I think, to dogmatism. He wrote about 
 the commencement of the French revolution, and 
 rather sanguine in its favor. I hope, by this time, 
 that a person of his judgment has discovered that 
 the hot-bed of such revolution will ripen the night- 
 
 1 Samuel Allyne Otis, Secretary of tlie United States Senate^ 
 died April 22, 1814, jet. 73. 
 
 6 
 
54 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 shade of tyranny. His Essays on Christianity are 
 liberal in the extreme." 
 
 Shaw to William E. Charming. " I can most 
 cordially join you in rejoicing for the success of 
 the federalists, in their late election, in Virginia. 
 This promises much in our favor. The probability 
 is, I believe, that more than two-thirds of the next 
 Congress will be firm, federal men. This will be 
 more than the most sanguine could expect. In a 
 government like ours, to believe there will be a per- 
 fect coincidence of sentiment in all for its support, 
 would be a truly Utopian idea. Every country has 
 many men who call themselves patriots, but are so 
 merely from selfish motives, who, with Horace, are 
 eternally crying, 'dulce et decorum est pro patria 
 mori,' merely to obtain some office under its admin- 
 istration." 
 
 May 21. From Thomas B. Adams, who was about 
 taking up his residence in Philadelphia, and was on 
 an excursion to Washington. Of this place he 
 gave a humorous account, which shows us what it 
 was then. " A city growing in the midst of woods. 
 What admiration must it not excite on reading of 
 the stately capitol, the magnificent Presidential pal- 
 ace, the commodious Blodget hotel, placed equi-dis- 
 tant from each other, though scarcely visible by 
 reason of distance. Here, in the language of geog- 
 raphers, is a fine champaign country, well stored with 
 wood, abounding in various sorts of grain ; a ma- 
 jestic river, navigable, full of fish and wild fowl ; 
 and other natural advantages, too numerous to men- 
 tion. The situation of the ground, on which the 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 55 
 
 city is to stand, is very pleasant. From different 
 positions you are presented with a very fine pros- 
 pect, uniting landscape and water scenery, and from 
 almost every point a view of Alexandria mingles / 
 with and diversifies the whole. The capitol is in 
 very considerable' forwardness ; I mean one wing of 
 the building, and might be finished in a few months. 
 The President's house is not quite so forward, and, 
 as to the rest, they are yet on the ground. During 
 my stay at Annapolis, I received great hospitality 
 from the first characters of the place. What a fine 
 thing it is to have a father, when his merits are thus 
 visited on the child." 
 
 Shaw at duincy to Walter in New York. 
 " The speech of Pitt, on union with Ireland, has 
 demonstrated to me, that there is not a subject, even 
 casually presented to him, in which he is not able 
 to appear conspicuous. His conduct, during the 
 present war, indicates as if he had looked, with a 
 prophetic eye, into the 'seeds of time,' and knew 
 which would produce good and which evil fruit. 
 He has men continually at their posts, with instru- 
 ments to cultivate the one and destroy the other. 
 Of the numerous sermons which were preached at 
 the late fast, and have been published, Dr. Morse's is 
 the most interesting. It contains facts, which ought 
 to alarm and arouse every American, who feels an in- 
 terest in the government and religion of his country. 
 He says, that he has in his possession, an official, 
 authenticated list of names, ages, places of nativity, 
 professions, etc., of the officers and members of a so- 
 ciety of Illuminati in Virginia. This association con- 
 
56 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 sists of one hundred members, principally from St, 
 Domingo. It has a deputy residing at the mother 
 society in France, for the purpose of giving informa- 
 tion. It was instituted in 1786. He states, that he 
 has evidence of a similar institution in New York, 
 out of which have sprung fourteen others, scattered 
 over the United States. These societies have be- 
 come not less alarming in America than in Europe. 
 Before you receive this, you will have heard that 
 Fries has been found guilty of treason. All ac- 
 counts from Philadelphia indicate that he has had 
 an indulgent trial." In reference to a community 
 of property, as discussed by one of his friends, Mr. 
 Shaw remarked: "It seems to me impracticable, 
 especially in the present demoralized state of the 
 world. Is not selfish interest by far the most pow- 
 erful motive of action? Give me gold enough, and 
 I believe that I could have power over the greater 
 part of mankind. Bring them together and make 
 their property a common stock, and how long would 
 their union exist ? You would soon have Hobbs's 
 state of nature, perpetual hostility, all against all, 
 till each had his own restored to him." 
 
 May 28. Shaw, to the same friend, concerning 
 the authors they had recently perused. " Southey's 
 Miscellaneous Poems I have read and read with ad- 
 miration. The beautiful simplicity of the dialogues, 
 the rural happiness there described, really charmed 
 me. His epithets are not taken from Gray but 
 Shakespeare. Mallet du Paris's History of the De- 
 struction of Switzerland, unfolds a tale, "the light- 
 est word of which would harrow up your soul." 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 57 
 
 Every American ought to read it and be convinced, 
 that fell spirits reign in France. Nancrede has sold 
 many thousands of them. It is in vain to surmise 
 who is the author of the Pursuits of Literature. 
 Matthias and Milus, and a thousand others have 
 been named, but no one with certainty. Miss Han- 
 nah Adams, authoress of the View of Religion, etc. 
 has published a Summary History of New England. 
 The advertisement, which you saw in the paper, 
 respecting Count Tilly and Miss Bingham, I have 
 seen and heard repeatedly. This Miss Bingham is 
 the daughter of the Senator, the same family with 
 whom Johnson was connected." 
 
 From William E. Channing. " I can remember 
 the day, when I gloried in the moments of rapture, 
 when I loved to shroud myself in the gloom of 
 melancholy. You may remember them too. But 
 I have grown wiser, as I have grown older. I now 
 wish to do good in the world. i I love a divine,' 
 says the good Fenelon, 'who preaches to save 
 men's souls and not to show himself S I perfectly 
 agree with Fenelon, and to make such a divine as 
 he loves, I must throw away those ridiculous exta- 
 cies, which have their origin in vanity, and form 
 myself to habits of piety and benevolence. One 
 reason why I dislike the rapture and depression of 
 spirit, which we used to encourage at college, is 
 probably this, I find none to share them with me. 
 Virtue does not consist in feeling, but in acting from 
 a sense of duty. I thank you for the observations, 
 which you made in your last letter on my specula- 
 tions upon society." 
 6* 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Iklount Vernon Equality of Talents Nullification of French Trea- 
 ties celebrated Mrs. Morton's Works De la Harpe abjures 
 Illuminatism Yellow Fever in Philadelphia and New York 
 Assassination of the French Ministers Slavery Right of Search. 
 
 1799, June 1. Richard Peters, Jr., of Philadel- 
 phia, to Shaw at duincy. " That the spirit of op- 
 position to our government, which manifests itself 
 by such dangerous effects in Northampton, should 
 so soon be crushed and the leader of it brought 
 to know the just rigor of the offended law, must 
 afford to every friend of this country the highest 
 gratification. But, unfortunately, ignorant and de- 
 luded as the men are to whom the only arguments 
 which bring conviction home to their minds of the 
 greatness of their crime are corporal punishments, 
 it follows, that when the law has spent its force, 
 they will again return to the gloomy paths of dis- 
 content and sink into their original turpitude. In- 
 deed the suspension of the punishment they deserve, 
 has blown into a flame the not entirely extinguished 
 embers of sedition, and they yet refuse to reverence 
 their best of parents, the best of governments. It 
 has been by some persons made a subject of wonder, 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 59 
 
 that this State should have been twice the seat of 
 that parricide insurrection. To me it appears the 
 natural consequence of our present situation. The 
 Constitution of the United States, founded on the 
 broad basis of reason, and erected with an almost 
 divine justice through all its parts, the policy of the 
 Executive government, flowing from the just con- 
 viction, that the measures she pursues are the only 
 ones, which can ever save a tottering state from 
 sharing in the miseries of Europe, require only to 
 be understood, to obtain respect. But without edu- 
 cation, without some improvement by learning the 
 natural powers of man, this the majority of our 
 people cannot do. It is well known that the foster- 
 ing hand of our State government has not yet been 
 extended to the improvement of our youth in learn- 
 ing, and hence they are a prey to the arts of those 
 designing men who thus gnaw the vitals of society. 
 The thick cloud which has so long hung over the 
 political hemisphere of Europe, threatening to burst 
 in destructive torrents and sweep in one general del- 
 uge the happiness of the greater part of mankind, 
 seems now to be passing off, and some rays of hope 
 shoot forth. I am now at Belmont, my father's 
 country retirement, pursuing my studies in the 
 law." 
 
 
 
 June 2. William E. Channing in Richmond to 
 Shaw at Q,uincy. " I assure you I was struck with 
 the sublime precepts of Christianity, when I began 
 the study of the Bible. I was struck, too, with ob- 
 serving how far I had deviated from them. I found 
 that I had not a pure, a humble, a pious or a char- 
 
60 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 itable heart. I saw how Christian chanty differed 
 from what I used to call benevolence. Everything 
 was new to me. I thank you for your books. I 
 beg you to write early." 
 
 June 8. Thomas B. Adams in Philadelphia to 
 Shaw at Q,uincy. Speaking of a recent excursion 
 to the South : " I was accompanied in my visit to 
 Mount Vernon by Mr. and Mrs. Johnson and Thomas. 
 We passed two nights there very happily, and re- 
 ceived from the General and Mrs. Washington a 
 most cordial welcome. Owing to the excessive 
 heat of the weather, I could not make the usual 
 tour, with which the General often favors his guests, 
 that is, some eight or ten miles walking about his 
 grounds. I am by no means confident, that the 
 prospects from the heights of Q,uincy would suffer 
 by a comparison with those of Mount Vernon." 
 
 June 16. From Shaw at duincy to Walter in 
 New York. " The many favorable elections 
 throughout the United States which have lately 
 taken place, should gladden the heart of every 
 one, who takes any interest in his country's 
 welfare. With so extensive a territory as ours, 
 it would be but an Utopian idea, to suppose that 
 all of its population would be of one heart in 
 the support of government. ^ There always have 
 been, and always will be, in every nation, ambitious, 
 artful and disappointed men to delude, and others, 
 weak enough to be deluded. They treat the Ad- 
 ministration as the Caffrarians of Africa do their 
 god ; worship him when the weather is fair, but be 
 very angry with him, if the weather be unpropi- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 61 
 
 tions. It is thought that General Heath would not 
 have had so many votes for Governor, in Massachu- 
 setts, had not his memoirs been made the subject 
 of several strictures in the newspapers, which were 
 excessively severe. 
 
 " Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot, 
 That it do singe yourself." We may outrun 
 By violent swiftness, that which we run at, 
 And lose by overrunning." 
 
 On Wednesday I went in company with the 
 President to attend the funeral of our late Governor 
 S umner. I never saw before such a concourse of 
 people. I have riot time to give you a particular 
 account of the funeral. I will enclose a description 
 of it in a newspaper. 
 
 " He was mild and gentle, and the elements so mixed in him 
 That nature might stand up and say to all the world, this was a 
 man." 
 
 June 16. Thomas B. Adams in Philadelphia to 
 Shaw at duincy. " I have thought for some time 
 past that politics are but a remote branch of my 
 trade (law), and though I am not indifferent on any 
 subject particularly interesting to the public, I feel 
 but little respecting generality of political news and 
 unascertained reports. The news from Europe of 
 late has roused me in a degree, because it is of a 
 complexion rather different from my expectation. 
 I did think that the French armies would not meet 
 with an effectual check from the Imperial troops. 
 I rejoice to find the fact otherwise. It is much to 
 be wished, that this reverse of fortune on the 
 French side may be followed up by others of equal 
 magnitude ; for my opinion coincides with yours, 
 
62 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 that what has already happened, will do little to- 
 wards humbling the great nation, considering that 
 arts, and not arms, are the chief weapons of war, 
 which they wage against the present establishments 
 of the world." 
 
 June 27. From S. Ewing, in the same city. 
 Among several authors he had recently perused, 
 " Southey's Poems are charming. Let Godwin talk 
 of the power of education. Let him in his enthu- 
 siasm pronounce all men equal at their birth. Let 
 him say that Shakespeare might have been Hum- 
 phrey Marshall, and Marshall, Shakespeare. I shall 
 not believe it. The Almighty does not leave every 
 thing to chance and education. He affixes the seal 
 of genius on some more than others. He endues 
 them with a heavenly spark, which, however smoth- 
 ered by the barbarity of a savage world, and the 
 tyranny of despotism, will burst into a flame that 
 will be felt." 
 
 July 23. From T. B. Adams to Shaw at duincy. 
 " People here are very angry at the Bostonians for 
 impeding commercial intercourse with them in con- 
 sequence of the rumors of the yellow fever, as 
 prevalent in this city. Coming in the stage this 
 morning, I heard some Quakers complain of its 
 being a hasty and illiberal measure. I judge not 
 between you." 
 
 This month. From Shaw to William E. Chan- 
 ning in Richmond, Va. " If to do were as easy as 
 to know what were good to do, chapels had been 
 churches, and poor men's cottages, princes' palaces, 
 and I should long since have written to you, the 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 63 
 
 neglect of which has not been owing to a want of 
 inclination, but absolute necessity. I spend my 
 time here, much to my advantage, and, of course, 
 much more to my enjoyment, than in Philadelphia. 
 Here my chief company are books. The society 
 of these is delightful to me. They are persons of 
 all countries and of all ages, distinguished in war, 
 in council and in letters ; easy to live with, always 
 at my command. They come at my call, and return 
 when I desire them. They are never out of hu- 
 mor, and they answer all my questions with readi- 
 ness. Some present, in review before me, the events 
 of the past. Others reveal the secrets of nature. 
 These teach me how to live, and those how to die. 
 This beautiful account of my books is quoted from 
 Petrarch. The Fourth of July was celebrated 
 throughout Massachusetts, this year, with uncom- 
 mon enthusiasm. 
 
 "No one can be more pleased with Southey, as a 
 poet, than I am, and I generally consented to your 
 observations ; but I would ask you, whether you ap- 
 prove of his making so conspicuous a figure of Joan 
 d'Arc ? Don't you think, too, in his miscellaneous 
 poetry, he talks excessively about the religion of 
 nature, preferring it to revelation ? An instance, 
 
 ' Let others go to the house of prayer, 
 But he to the woodland strays.' 
 
 Mrs. Morton has published lately a poem, which 
 she calls the Virtues of Society, founded on the 
 story of Harriet Auckland, and intended to have 
 made one of the books of her Beacon Hill. It is 
 very handsomely dedicated to Mrs. Adams." 
 
64 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 July 29. T. B. Adams, at Rock Hall, German- 
 town, to Shaw. " Among other pursuits, I am 
 attempting to renew my acquaintance with school 
 and college books. I learnt, like other lads, just as 
 much Latin and Greek as I was bound to, and no 
 more. We have few classic scholars in this coun- 
 try, and their number will not increase, until the 
 capacities of boys in our grammar schools and col- 
 leges are better discriminated, and our masters, 
 tutors, preceptors, professors, and presidents become 
 scholars themselves in the dead languages." 
 
 August 2. Shaw at Gluincy, to Walter in New 
 York. " The seventeenth 1 of July was celebrated 
 in New England, though not so generally, yet with 
 the same glow of patriotism, as the fourth. At 
 Boston it was celebrated with considerable parade, 
 suggested and conducted entirely by the young 
 men. Unfortunate for them, it happened to be 
 Commencement day. They met however at seven 
 o'clock in the morning in the old brick church, 
 where T. Paine 2 delivered an oration to a very 
 crowded audience, which is a superior production. 
 Here you are not only pleased with ' fulmine 
 Demosthenis,' but also with ' suavitate Ciceronis.' ' 
 
 Aug. William E. Channing to Shaw. " I have 
 lately read Wolstoncraft's Posthumous Works. The 
 letters towards the end of the first volume are the 
 
 1 Operation of the law of the United States, declaring " the 
 treaties heretofore concluded with France no longer obligatory on 
 them." 
 
 2 Thomas Paine, who afterwards had his name changed to Robert 
 Treat Paine, being that of his father, in 1803, because he disliked 
 to have it the same as that of the infidel. On this occasion he 
 remarked, " Now I have a Christian name." 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 65 
 
 best I ever read. They are superior to Sterne's. I 
 have lately read Rousseau's Eloisa. He is the only 
 French writer I have ever read, who knows the 
 way to the heart. I would recommend to you a 
 novel, 'Caleb Williams,' by Godwin. What a mel- 
 ancholy reflection is it, that the writers I have now 
 mentioned were all deists. Blest with the powers 
 of intellect and fancy, they have not been able to 
 discern the traces of a God in his holy Scriptures, 
 and have trodden under foot the only treasure 
 which deserved pursuit. The pride of human na- 
 ture has been the source of their error. They 
 could not * become as little children.' They could 
 not bear the yoke of Christ, and imbibe the meek 
 and humble spirit of his religion." 
 
 Aug. 16. T. B. Adams in Philadelphia to Shaw 
 at Q,uincy. " Your last letter mentioned that you 
 had just finished Davila's History. Did you ever 
 read the discourses on this author, written in 1789 
 and 1790, which some writers of that day, who 
 were displeased with the political doctrines incul- 
 cated by them, used to call long-winded, tedious 
 sermons in favor of monarchy and aristocracy ? 
 I well remember the time, when the public were 
 taught and persuaded to conceive a horror and 
 disgust against the respectable author of those 
 harmless papers. Faction existed then, as now, but 
 it had not then been organized. The inflammatory 
 materials were concealed beneath the cinders ; but 
 the breath of party animosity, aided by the strong 
 gale of French Revolution, could alone kindle the 
 flame, which shortly after burst forth with unequal 
 7 
 
66 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 violence in all quarters of the globe. The election- 
 eering campaign goes on briskly here. We shall 
 have a curious publication on the subject of Mr. 
 Kean's character and qualifications, in a few days, if 
 the committee appointed to draft it comply with 
 this duty in the course of the week. Some inter- 
 esting sketches and anecdotes respecting a few of 
 his friends are likewise promised. Old tories serve 
 to fill the foremost ranks of each side. Tench 
 Coxe and Levi Hollingworth may be balanced 
 against each other. There will be very warm 
 work at the time of election, you may depend." 
 
 Aug. 20. Walter in Boston to Shaw. " I have 
 the Virtues of Society for you ; but shall reserve it 
 till you take it yourself. Mrs. Morton's 1 Ouabi was 
 better than her Beacon Hill, and this superior to her 
 Virtues of Society. She was made by nature to 
 tune the pastoral pipe and call the flocks together. 
 To such scenes she would be best suited. I doubt 
 whether Arcadia would have supplied many more 
 beautiful shepherdesses. When she leaves Shen- 
 stone to commune with Homer, she falters in her 
 pace. I hear that new discoveries are making with 
 respect to the Illuminati. De la Harpe, one of 
 their number, whom Barruel, I think, mentions, 
 was thrown into prison, in the time of Robespierre, 
 and his dungeon was near one occupied by the 
 Bishop of Bruix. They had opportunities of con- 
 versing together. The Bishop so completely showed 
 him the error of his ways, that he has abjured his 
 
 1 Wife to Perez Morton, Attorney General, who died in 1837. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 67 
 
 former conduct and written a work of great merit 
 and dignity, in which he points out the villany of 
 his associates and the existence of their diabolical 
 plots. This is what I hear. Whether it be really 
 true, I cannot decide. The confession of one of 
 the order would remove doubts from many minds 
 as to its existence. From Burke's figures, we may 
 suppose that he picked flowerets with Apollo on 
 Parnassus, and saw the lightning and the storm 
 from ' summa apex Olympi,' under the shield of 
 Minerva. He is indeed excellent as a man, a 
 statesman, an orator, and a Christian." 
 
 Aug. 23. T. B. Adams at Rock Hall to Shaw at 
 Q,uincy. As to yellow fever in Philadelphia, " The 
 deadly pestilence has burst forth again with ten- 
 fold violence, and every part of the city is more or 
 less infected. The inhabitants are flying in every 
 direction, arid not a room is left unoccupied at Ger- 
 mantown. The banks and other public offices are 
 soon expected. New York, we understand, is 
 equally afflicted and alarmed. Another mournful 
 autumn menaces on all sides, and yet the weather 
 seems favorable, in a high degree, to health in the 
 country. 
 
 " Barlow is deep in the mysteries of modern 
 philosophy. Poets, in general, do not succeed as 
 politicians. They are worshipers of ideal images, 
 dealers in fiction, builders of air castles, and master 
 workmen only in the edifices of Parnassus's summit. 
 These things belong not to the science of govern- 
 ment. In France, indeed, under the mockery of 
 republicanism, the Cheniers and Beaumarchaises 
 
68 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 have debased their muses to the vile purpose of 
 blasphemy and atheism. There, poets may be legis- 
 lators, for the republic exists only in imagination." 
 
 Aug. 26. Shaw to William E. Channing in 
 Richmond. Speaking of his enjoyment of coun- 
 try scenes, he remarked, " One of the Henrys of 
 England, while surrounded with glory, could not 
 refrain from exclaiming, ' Methinks it were a happy 
 life to be no better than a lowly swain.' Some- 
 times I walk, sometimes I ride, and sometimes I go 
 a gunning. Robins are very plenty. O cruel 
 wretch ! methinks I hear you exclaim ; how can 
 you amuse yourself in killing those little innocents, 
 that never did or ever can do any harm ? I answer. 
 I kill them because God, at the creation, made 
 Adam lord over them. We read that he had power 
 over the beasts of the field and fowls of the air. I 
 take it the right is hereditary. I know of nothing 
 which opposes me, but humanity. In her court, I 
 tremble at the verdict. You know that I am a 
 zealous advocate in her favor, when I have not my 
 gun in my hand ; and in my speculative hours, per- 
 fectly coinciding with the sentiment of Shenstone, 
 that 'one should not destroy an insect, nor quarrel 
 with a dog, without reason sufficient to vindicate 
 one through all the courts of morality. 7 However, I 
 comfort myself, as the Pharisee did of old, with the 
 consciousness, that I am not so great a sinner as 
 many of my acquaintances have been. Walter has 
 obtained his degree at New York, and returned to 
 Boston." 
 
 Sept. " You have no doubt seen Barbackxy's 
 
WILL AM SMITH SHAW. 69 
 
 letter, stating that the assassination of the French 
 ministers at Rastadt, was committed by the order of 
 the Directory themselves. The base deed, con- 
 nected with their consequent conduct, completes 
 the grand climax of their treachery and wicked- 
 ness. I wonder if the annals of any country of 
 any age can produce, in the space of seven years, 
 so many crimes, and of so black a die, as France 
 has the last seven ? In one short summer, we saw 
 her monarchy, her nobility, her law, her church, 
 her revenue, her navy, her commerce, her arts, her 
 manufactures, in short, her every thing that was 
 good and great, leveled with the dust. We have 
 seen one of the most beautiful and fertile countries 
 of Europe, polluted with human blood. The exist- 
 ence of the present government in France cannot, 
 I think, remain long. Factions are again multi- 
 plied, societies are revived, and the press has be- 
 come free. What the consequence of all this is to 
 be, I cannot presume to know. Still, I cannot help 
 suspecting, that monarchy will be established there, 
 whenever it shall be agreed which party shall have 
 the honor of its restoration. Bonlay (de la Meuthe), 
 one of the council of five hundred, has lately pub- 
 lished a pamphlet, in which he gives you a view of 
 the causes of the English revolution by Cromwell, 
 and of its failure. The object of this work seems 
 to be to show, France the necessity of restoring a 
 limited monarchy. This Bonlay is at the head of 
 the popular party in France, and his pamphlet has 
 been sold by tens of thousands." 
 
 Sept. 3. Walter in Boston to Shaw at duincy. 
 7* 
 
70 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 "I have been reading Burke's appeal to the old 
 whigs. There is so much dignity in the man, so 
 much of the oak and so little of the osier, I cannot 
 but admire him. Monday, I went into the office. 
 Blackstorie, to all the perspicuity of a law character, 
 has added the coloring of the orator. I think he 
 used to write poetry, and very good too. Law will 
 not admit much embellishment. It is a Gothic 
 temple, which looks with contempt on fantastic 
 flowers and Corinthian gew-gaws. Perhaps I shall 
 get along tolerably well. The road is beaten, and 
 at least I can follow the track." 
 
 Probably Sept. From Wm. E. Channing in 
 Richmond. " There is one object which always 
 depresses me. It is slavery. This circumstance 
 would prevent me from ever settling in Virginia. 
 Language cannot express my detestation of it. 
 Master and slave ! Nature never made such a dis- 
 tinction, or established such a relation. Man, when 
 forced to substitute the will of another for his own, 
 ceases to be a moral agent ; his title to the name of 
 a man is extinguished ; he becomes a mere machine 
 in the hand of his oppressor. Should you desire it, 
 I will give you some idea of the situation and char- 
 acter of the negroes in Virginia. It is a subject so 
 degrading to humanity, that I cannot dwell on it 
 with pleasure. I should be obliged to show you 
 every vice, heightened by every meanness, and 
 added to every misery. The influence of slavery 
 on the whites, is almost as fatal as it is on the 
 blacks themselves. You speak of Godwin as a 
 great rascal. I would thank you for a more partic- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 71 
 
 ular account of his character. The jacobins here 
 almost idolize him, particularly the young philoso- 
 phers of the day. I should like to show them 
 their apostle in his true light. It seems that you 
 cannot love Mrs. Wolstoncraft. I do not mean to 
 fight with you about her. Her principles respect- 
 ing marriage, would prove fatal to society, if they 
 were reduced to practice. These I cannot recom- 
 mend. But on other subjects her sentiments are 
 noble. She possessed a masculine mind ; but, in 
 her letters, you may discover a heart as soft and 
 feeling as was ever placed in the breast of a woman. 
 I read much in the papers about Kotzebue. Is he 
 greater than Schiller ? I was charmed with a few 
 extracts from his * Italian Father,' which I met 
 with a little while ago. Tell me something about 
 him. It is not from congeniality of soul, I confess; 
 but I love to know the history, the eccentricities, 
 and even the misfortunes of genius." 
 
 Sept. 8. From T. B. Adams, at Germantown, Pa. 
 " I have been very little from the spot of my re- 
 treat, except to Frankford, where I last week 
 attended court, and took the oath as a practitioner 
 therein. I hope that the money which a license to 
 practice costs, may pay good interest, but the pros- 
 pect is barren. I have to attend another court this 
 week, in the case of a debtor who intends to avail 
 himself of the cheating insolvent law of this State, 
 passed last year, and under which the most flagrant 
 frauds and perjuries are committed. The mortality 
 in Philadelphia increases slowly. For many days 
 the average was about twenty, and has never 
 
72 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 reached thirty-one. Rainy weather has prevailed, 
 and we hope checked the disease in a degree. 
 Several useful men have fallen within a short time. 
 If you can obtain for me copies of the pieces writ- 
 ten by Mr. Paine, I will thank you. I think highly 
 of his poetic talents, and wish he might meet as 
 much encouragement as his genius merits. A pro- 
 fessional poet cannot live here by his trade, and un- 
 luckily he is seldom fit for any other." 
 
 Sept. 9. From J. S. Buckminster at Cambridge. 
 " I write you now in behalf of Bean, one of our 
 class, whom you probably know. He wishes to 
 procure a chaplain's commission in one of the sev- 
 enty-fours now building. He desired me to inquire 
 of you what steps he must take to secure his object. 
 I have been to see Walter in Boston, and found him 
 drying up his brains over Blackstone's Commenta- 
 ries. Now for politics. They necessarily accom- 
 pany a letter to you. Rejoice with me in McDon- 
 ald's defeat, in the discovery of Directorial villany 
 in the assassination of the Deputies, in the success 
 of Sir Sidney Smith, etc. Pray for the British fleet, 
 for a better state of the nation, and for the abolish- 
 ment of anarchy. Explain, if possible, Captain 
 Truxton's resignation." 
 
 Sept. 26. Walter in Boston to Shaw at Q,uincy. 
 " Allston delivered a fine poem on Genius, exhibi- 
 tion day. I was not there, but they say that it 
 was clear originality, clothed in the most luxuriant 
 versification. There is a subscription for it, but he 
 has not determined as to its publication. John S. J. 
 Gardiner, the minister, intends publishing a maga- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 73 
 
 zine, not openly, but really in the dark. There 
 was a subscription paper for it, but I did not see it. 
 I have no doubt it will be excellent, edited by such 
 a classical scholar. I have been reading Mrs. Wol- 
 stoncraft. I will not excuse the person who thus 
 tramples on the bands which hold society together. 
 Her platonic affection is all folly. It is the com- 
 pletest voluptuousness possible. When we consider 
 how she cohabited with Imlay, and then Godwin, 
 taking their names, without being married to either 
 of them, we can allow her very little credit for her 
 love of chastity, order, and independence, and her 
 wishes for the rights of women. In Russell's Ga- 
 zette of to-day, is a valuable document, in which 
 the Court of Admiralty in England have deter- 
 mined, that belligerent powers have a right to search 
 neutral vessels for enemies and contraband goods, 
 whatever may be the instructions of their com- 
 manders, or however protected by convoy. This is 
 in direct contradiction to the orders of the President, 
 who has, I think, authorized our armed ships to re- 
 sist all such search. I return you Hamilton's report. 
 I have read the first volume of his Federalist, and 
 have been well pleased. There is much of the 
 statesman and orator displayed in that excellent 
 work. It is a very handsome defence of the Con- 
 stitution of the United States, and shows that he 
 has studied politics to advantage in the great vol- 
 umes of history, and the Commentaries of Locke, 
 Puffendorf and Grotius." 
 
 Sept. 29. Shaw to Walter. "We are obliged to 
 set out to-morrow for the South very unexpectedly. 
 
74 ME MORTALS OF 
 
 This sudden journey will deprive me of much an- 
 ticipated pleasure in seeing you and Buckminster at 
 Quincy. Why were you not at the Exhibition ? 
 I heard much of Allston's poem before I received 
 your letter. Brigadier General Wilkinson, whose 
 station is at the Natches, was present, and much de- 
 lighted with the poem. Bisset I shall leave with 
 Mr. Greenleaf for you. You may lend it to Saw- 
 yer and then Buckminster. You will take care of 
 it, so that it may be returned to me in the Spring, 
 safe and sound. You will find it interesting and 
 instructive. It is somewhat in the manner of Bos- 
 well's Life of Johnson. It contains a judicious se- 
 lection of anecdotes and beautiful extracts from the 
 works of an excellent man. A principal object of 
 it is, to show that Burke was consistent through 
 life. This, I think, is clearly done. He was never 
 one of the many who oppose a system to-day, which 
 they supported yesterday. He was invariably true 
 and constantly just. The decision of the British 
 Admiralty Court does not clash with the President's 
 instructions. These were given to our public armed 
 ships, (not private ones,) immediately after the Brit- 
 ish Captain Loring, formerly a tory on Jamaica 
 Plains, went on board of the Baltimore, a public 
 armed vessel, Captain Phillips, and impressed a 
 number of her men. On this occasion, the Presi- 
 dent ordered, that no such procedure be allowed by 
 American commanders ; that if able to repel force, 
 to do it, but if not, to surrender their ships with 
 the crews. Great changes, I agree with you, are 
 taking place in Europe. France will be humbled 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 75 
 
 in the dust. Her philosophy has addressed the na- 
 tions of Europe, as sleep did Pal in urns. Like him, 
 some of them listened and slept the sleep of death. 
 But others of them are vigilant and active, and she 
 must fall before their combined power. 
 
 " Do you know that attempts are making in Eu- 
 rope to restore the Society of the Jesuits ? It is a 
 fact. An Abbe Broglis and an Italian Count are at 
 the head of the project. They are likewise en- 
 couraged by the Emperor of Russia. He favors 
 one of their associations, established at Mohillo. 
 What can be his object, is hard to tell." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Restoration of the Jesuits Envoys to France Death of Washing- 
 ton Disposition of his Estate Portfolio Bonaparte Cause of 
 the French Revolution Statue for Washington Mungo Park 
 Reasons for an Array City of Washington. 
 
 1799. Oct. 3. Walter in Boston to Shaw at Trenton, 1 
 N. J. " I went to Russell and got Canning's speech. 
 I like it much ; but it has little of Chatham, and still 
 less of Burke. He talks well on the miseries of the 
 conquered countries, and displays a picture, sketched 
 by the pencil of truth, which is really interesting. 
 His style of eloquence is forcible, but harsh arid 
 rugged. He is, however, excellent as a young man, 
 and will, no doubt, be an ornament to the House. 
 Samuel Dexter thinks highly of him. 
 
 " The re-establishment of the Jesuits is indeed 
 extraordinary. I don't want the existence of this 
 Society. It is, in principle, as bad as the Illuminati. 
 You know that Russell, in his Modern Europe, 
 says, it was evident from their books and papers, 
 that they intended the destruction of all (Protestant) 
 institutions. I have been reading Wieland's Oberon, 
 
 1 The Executive authorities of the United States appear to have 
 convened here because of the yellow fever at Philadelphia. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 77 
 
 translated by Southey. The tale is extremely inter- 
 esting, and the descriptions most luxuriant." 
 
 Oct. 23. T. B. Adams, at Gerrnaritown, Penn., to 
 Shaw at Trenton, N. J. " I have been anxious, for 
 some days, on account of reports, which have been 
 circulated with great zeal and industry, of a serious 
 misunderstanding in the cabinet at Trenton. The 
 story is, that the Secretary of State opposed, with 
 all his influence, the departure of the envoys for 
 France ; that his opposition was seconded by a de- 
 claration of the British Minister, that a fresh attempt 
 at negotiation by our government, would be con- 
 sidered by the Coalesced Powers, as an act of hos- 
 tility against them, since they had come to a resolu- 
 tion to force a declaration from every neutral Power, 
 for or against them ; that the President is said to 
 have replied with characteristic energy to this com- 
 munication ; that the Secretary persevered in his 
 disaffection, which produced a warm explanation, 
 in the course of which the President declared he 
 would resign, rather than submit to be influenced 
 by the menaces of any other Power on earth, as to 
 the subject of our external connections, or inter- 
 course ; and that the envoys, of course, are to go 
 Since the triumph of jacobinism in this State, ther v 
 is a manifest scheme set on foot, of irritating the 
 public mind against Great Britain. I see the drift 
 of it in part, but I should wish to know what fresh 
 provocation has excited .the animosity, which thus 
 discovers itself. McKean, Governor of the State, 
 Jefferson, President of the United States, is the 
 next object of that party." 
 8 
 
78 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Oct. 31. Walter in Boston to Shaw at Trenton, 
 N. J. " We yesterday celebrated your uncle's birth 
 with every demonstration of joy. Governor Gill 
 reviewed the troops on the Common. He gave a 
 dinner to all the officers. I don't know whether I 
 told you of Count Rumford's daughter being here. 
 Her father is to come next Spring. He is much 
 esteemed in London as a character of singular in- 
 dustry and minute philosophical accuracy, joined 
 with great benevolence. He is attending entirely 
 to his new Institution, which seems to be very suc- 
 cessful. We are in anxious expectation of news 
 from Europe. Things of great pith are in the 
 wind. We do not like the conduct of the English 
 towards many of our vessels. It is infamous and 
 unjustifiable. 
 
 " Our envoys are to sail from Newport soon. We 
 are anxious to know how they will be received at 
 the Court of St. Cloud. I admire the discourses of 
 Davila. They are rich in political truths." 
 
 Nov. 1. Samuel Ewing in Philadelphia to Shaw. 
 " How pleasing to return after a long absence to 
 your home, the scene of former joys ; to return to 
 it in peace and safety, while your ears are no more 
 stunned by the solemn and incessant rattling of the 
 hearse, nor your sensibility wounded by the groans 
 of your dying neighbors ! " 
 
 Nov. 3. William E. Channing in Richmond, Va., 
 to Shaw in Trenton. " I want to talk with you a 
 moment on the political world. If I mistake not, 
 the present period is the most eventful and impor- 
 tant which has offered itself to our view during 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 79 
 
 the Revolution in France. In Europe the fate of 
 nations is suspended in the balance, and America, 
 though so remote from the scene of blood and con- 
 fusion, is most deeply interested in the decision of 
 the contest. The eyes of all parties are now fixed 
 on the President. What can he do ? The federal- 
 ists, in all parts of the country, seem opposed to a 
 renewal of negotiation with France. The jacobins 
 are more clamorous than ever about his supineness 
 in forming a solid peace with that government. 
 One paper says that the Envoys will not proceed 
 to Europe. Another says that they are on the point 
 of embarking. I hardly know what to think ; but 
 I rely implicitly on the firmness and independence 
 of the President. I consider him as elevated above 
 the clamors of faction, and superior to the narrow 
 views of party. He is placed in that peculiar situ- 
 ation, that no measure he can adopt will be popular. 
 The only object he can propose to himself is the 
 good of his country, and I doubt not he will pursue 
 it with undeviating perseverance. I have ever con- 
 sidered it the interest of America to be at peace 
 with all nations. I lay it down as a principle, that 
 by war we can gain nothing, and are sure of losing 
 something. I think federalism has reached its 
 highest point in Virginia, and unless federalists 
 awake, it must decline. How is our prospect from 
 abroad ? I have sometimes thought it probable, 
 that the kings of Europe, after restoring Louis, 
 would form a coalition to exterminate republicanism. 
 They must establish monarchy every where, or else 
 they cannot keep it any where." 
 
 
80 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Nov. 4. Shaw to Walter in Boston. " I thank 
 you for your accurate account of Wieland's Oberon. 
 It is as curious a fact as the history of literature 
 presents, that a nation, known as the Germans have 
 been for productions of a phlegmatic cast, should, 
 all at once, astonish the world by works of fancy 
 and feeling. 
 
 " I expect to go to Philadelphia to-morrow or 
 next day, whence you shall hear from me soon." 
 
 Nov. 18. Walter to Shaw in Philadelphia. " I 
 have received a letter from you, inclosing the Pres- 
 ident's speech. It is here considered as very mode- 
 rate, unwilling to hurt any party, desirous to pass 
 over the injuries committed on our commerce by 
 the privateers of Great Britain, and disposed to con- 
 ciliate the good opinion of every Power. 
 
 " I hope we shall continue to support our charac- 
 ter with firmness. I would not stop a single stitch 
 in the making of a sail, or relax any portion of 
 strength, that drives the spike into the side of a 
 vessel. We are only secure in power. We know 
 not what events may take place in Europe. Let 
 us grow in strength, and meet with boldness any 
 emergency. Perhaps Europe is as critically situ- 
 ated now as ever. Our envoys may find in France 
 rulers and principles they did not expect, and diffi- 
 culties they did not imagine." 
 
 Nov. 21. Joseph Story at Marblehead to Shaw. 
 " Mr. Sewali has obligingly offered to convey this 
 to you, and I readily accept the opportunity of 
 apologizing for an unintentional neglect. You 
 were so kind, on commencement day, as to give 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 81 
 
 me an invitation to dine with you at Quincy the 
 next day, and with sensibility of the favor, I ac- 
 cepted it. But unfortunately for me, my health, 
 which previously had been very precarious, was so 
 much injured by the exhilarations of that time, that 
 I was incapable, on the next day, even of attending 
 the meeting of the P. B. K. Your unexpected de- 
 parture for Philadelphia, was the reason of my not 
 offering this apology in person. Accept my warm 
 wishes for your welfare, and believe, that I shall be 
 happy to see you, 
 
 ' Where'er I roam, whatever realm to see." 
 
 Nov. 22. Shaw in Philadelphia to Walter in Bos- 
 ton. "I thank you for inclosing me (William E.) 
 Channing's letter and Madam Genlis's Tales of the 
 Castle, which I borrowed of John Pickering while 
 at college, and which afforded me pleasure and in- 
 struction. 
 
 " You must have read Bisset's Life of Burke long 
 before this. There is one anecdote which I do not 
 recollect in it, as follows. Burke approved the rev- 
 olution in Poland. He admired it, because ' every 
 thing was kept in its place and order, but in that 
 place and order every thing was bettered.' The 
 Poles have struck off medals of the late unfor- 
 tunate Poniatowski ; his Majesty sent one to Mr. 
 Burke, with a letter in his own hand-writing, as a 
 token of his respect for Burke's talents and patri- 
 otism. 
 
 11 1 want you to purchase for me the Speculator, 
 the object of which is German literature. They 
 8* 
 
82 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 seem to bring forward, in Boston, no other play* 
 than German this winter." 
 
 From Walter. " I have lately read Kotzebue's 
 play of Pizarro. There are sentiments in it which 
 would not dishonor Shakespeare. Buckminster has 
 read your Burke, and is much pleased with it. 
 
 " We have been sixty days without news from 
 Europe. Every coming wave may waft to our 
 shores something highly momentous, perhaps deci- 
 sive of the fate of Europe. 
 
 "I have always had an idea, that the interior of 
 Africa is worth investigation. The African Society 
 in London have gone far towards this highly lauda- 
 ble design. I doubt whether distant colonies would 
 be of much advantage to the United States." 
 
 December 1. William E. Ohanning to Shaw in 
 Philadelphia. " I have been reading Southey for 
 these two hours, and my feelings have been so 
 much agitated, that I am quite exhausted. I have 
 thought, of late, that my tears were dried up. But 
 Southey, like Moses, touched the rock with the 
 rod of his genius, and the streams gushed forth as 
 he struck. He is an interesting poet ; and this is 
 the greatest encomium which can be passed on 
 a writer who addresses himself to the fancy and 
 heart. 
 
 " I am now studying divinity harder than ever. 
 Thanks to the God who made me, I have chosen 
 the only profession which could make me happy. 
 By studying the Scriptures themselves, I am trying 
 to discover the will of God, and the uncorrupted 
 doctrines which our Saviour taught. I once called 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 83 
 
 myself a Christian. Till lately I knew not the 
 meaning of the word. I entreat you, Shaw, not to 
 absorb yourself so much in political pursuits as to 
 lose sight of the most important of all your con- 
 cerns. Are you willing to receive salvation not as 
 due to your own merits, but as a free and unde- 
 served gift of God through Jesus Christ ? { Whoso- 
 ever shall not humble himself as this little child, 
 shall not enter the kingdom of God.' 
 
 11 1 think England, at present, more formidable to 
 this country than France. Her depredations on 
 our commerce, according to the papers, are greater 
 than ever. Poor France ! I do not wholly despair 
 of her. I hope that no government will be estab- 
 lished there, which is not founded on the only 
 basis of rightful authority, the consent of the 
 people." 
 
 Dec. 2. Wm. Smith, merchant of Boston, to Shaw. 
 " I congratulate you on your return to your winter 
 quarters in the city. Some of our politicians have 
 been very uneasy at the departure of the envoys. 
 In their opinion and in the opinion of their Oracle, 
 it was highly improper, lest it irritate the combined 
 Powers against us. But in the opinion of all 
 rational Americans, the departure of the envoys is 
 highly proper and well timed. The election of 
 McKean is an unfortunate event for the Union, and 
 more particularly for Pennsylvania. The last 
 arrivals from Europe bring accounts of many bloody 
 battles. Before this, I presume, the Speaker and 
 Clerk are elected, and the President has made his 
 
84 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 communications. We are all anxious to know the 
 contents of the budget." 
 
 From Walter in Boston. "In Hamburgh they 
 are publishing a Geography of America, by a Ger- 
 man literary character. 1 The budget reached 
 Pennsylvania, when I heard about it. Thus you 
 see, they think something of us, poor, miserable 
 beings ! I wish very much for Burke to Bedford. 
 Wakefield, who wrote an answer to it, says, that 
 throughout the whole there are marks of won- 
 derful genius and extraordinary learning, and that 
 his observations on the French's converting leaden 
 coffins into bullets for their soldiers are exceedingly 
 eloquent. What an elegant thing must his life be, 
 as promised by Dr. Lawrence, who was his execu- 
 tor and had charge of all his papers." 
 
 Dec. 4. From Artemas Sawyer 2 in Boston. 
 11 Our 'change politicians are waiting with silent 
 anxiety for the sentiments of the President. They 
 expect he will come forward in a decided tone, re- 
 specting the late depredations of the English, and 
 also the late envoys to France. Both are subjects 
 of much speculation here. The latter, in particu- 
 lar, has excited many observations among all parties, 
 and many illiberal reflections upon the President for 
 his appointment of them. Now is the time, when 
 every citizen of America should strive to support 
 the dignity of our government." 
 
 Dec. 8. Shaw to Walter, a law student in Mr. 
 
 1 Ebeling. 
 
 2 A classmate of Mr. Shaw. Settled in Chilicothe, Ohio, as a 
 Lawyer, and died 1815. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 85 
 
 Dexter's office, Boston. u Several things have 
 occurred which have lost their attraction, because I 
 could not write to you about them in season. Last 
 Monday the Federal Government assembled in this 
 city. The members were uncommonly punctual, 
 and both Houses formed a quorum the same day. 
 Massachusetts is honored by having a Speaker cho- 
 sen from her Representatives. Mr. Sedgwick will 
 preside with ability, and, no doubt, will honor his 
 constituents. The speech of the President you will 
 see, before my letter reaches you. Still I send you 
 one, as printed by the House. It is impossible, at 
 present, to ascertain the number of federalists in 
 the present Congress. I suspect, that, however they 
 may have a decided majority, they will not be so 
 many as our sarigiune expectations would lead us 
 to believe. Ever since the adoption of the consti- 
 tution, most of the laws which have been enacted, 
 have passed by small majorities. Perhaps this is 
 likely to be so. The session, I think, will be one 
 of much interest. I have lately perused the Trav- 
 els of the Duke Liancourt, through the United 
 States in 1795-7. It contains many curious anec- 
 dotes, and is as accurate as we have reason to expect 
 from a foreigner. Dr. Priestly has lately published 
 1 Letters to the inhabitants of Northumberland and 
 its neighborhood,' which may be considered as polit- 
 ical and rather curious than otherwise. The main 
 object of the pamphlet appears to be a vindication of 
 the author against the aspersions of Peter Porcu- 
 pine." 
 
 Dec. 18. T. B. Johnson of Georgetown, Va. to 
 
86 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Shaw in Philadelphia. "It is with the deepest sor- 
 row, I announce to you the the irremediable loss 
 sustained by this country in the death of General 
 Washington. He departed this life about eleven 
 o'clock last Saturday evening. On the preceding 
 night he was attacked with a violent inflammatory 
 affection in the throat, which, in less than four and 
 twenty hours, terminated his existence." 
 
 Dec., latter part. Shaw to Walter in Boston. 
 11 For a few days past I have been much interested 
 in attending a trial in the Supreme Court. It was 
 Dr. Rush vs. Gobbet, for many libellous publications 
 against him in 1797. The case has been delayed 
 till the present time. Very able counsel was em- 
 ployed by both parties. The jury brought in dam- 
 ages for the plaintiff, for five thousand dollars. 
 
 "For the death of Washington, every countenance 
 is sad; a general gloom will be cast over our coun- 
 try. The Senate and House have agreed to wear 
 mourning for the rest of the session. General Lee, 
 from Virginia, is appointed by the House to deliver 
 an eulogium on Thursday next. The Senate wait 
 on the President to-morrow, with an excellent ad- 
 dress for the occasion, drawn up by Mr. Dexter. 
 All the churches, to-day, were hung in black ; were 
 very much crowded, most of the worshipers had 
 badges of mourning, and many were dressed in 
 black. Congress contemplate to have a monument 
 erected to Washington in the federal city." 
 
 The General Government having, on the 2d, 
 passed resolves of condolence with Mrs. Washing- 
 ton, for the recent decease of her husband, and of 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 87 
 
 a wish, that she would consent to the interment of 
 his remains in the capital, such documents were 
 transmitted to her by Mr. Shaw. Her answer, 
 through him, to President Adams, follows : 
 
 "Mount Vernon, December 31, 1799. 
 
 " Sir, While I feel with keenest anguish the late 
 dispensation of Divine Providence, I cannot be in- 
 sensible to the mournful tributes of respect and ven- 
 eration, which are paid to the memory of rny dear 
 deceased husband ; and, as his best services, and 
 most anxious wishes, were always devoted to the 
 welfare and happiness of his country, to know that 
 they were truly appreciated and gratefully remem- 
 bered, affords no inconsiderable consolation. 
 
 "Taught by the great example, which I have so 
 long had before me, never to oppose my private 
 wishes to the public will, I must consent to the re- 
 quest made by Congress, which you have had the 
 goodness to transmit to me ; and, in doing this, I 
 need not, I cannot say, what a sacrifice of individ- 
 ual feeling I make to a sense of public duty. 
 
 " With grateful acknowledgments, and unfeigned 
 thanks for the personal respect, and evidences of 
 condolence expressed by Congress, and yourself, 
 " I remain very respectfully, Sir, 
 
 " Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 " MARTHA WASHINGTON.." 
 
 1800, Jan. 2. From Walter. "We have, indeed, 
 to lament the death of Washington. His memory 
 is blessed and immortal. Many epithets of applause 
 
88 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 bestowed on him have been extravagant. He 
 would neither desire nor approve them. 
 
 " I rejoice that Porcupine has at last met his due. 
 He has too long trampled on the customs of decen- 
 cy, the beauties of delicacy, and the laws of our 
 country. I rejoice that he is legally punished by 
 the government, which he has openly insulted and 
 vilified. 
 
 "General Lee will give you, no doubt, a very fine 
 oration, for I am told he is a complete rhetorician. 
 I shall expect a copy, for which you may expect a 
 copy of Paine'sat Nevvburyport, or of Minot's here. 
 We had intended to have asked Ames, but we had 
 no idea of going to Dedham, and giving the inhab- 
 itants a triumph in saying, that we were indebted 
 to them for an orator. At Cambridge, on the 22d 
 of February, they intend to celebrate him (Wash- 
 ington) by a poem from Allston, and an oration from 
 Watson, of Marblehead, with prayers and observa- 
 tions from Willardand Tappan. Indeed, the people 
 of America are determined to pay him every possi- 
 ble respect, which is justly his due. The Legisla- 
 tures of Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky pre- 
 sent a front too hostile to be played with. They 
 propagate doctrines, which are to be resisted, not 
 by reason, but by force." 
 
 Jan. 5. Shaw in Philadelphia to Walter in Boston. 
 " I enclose Porcupine's paper of this day. It con- 
 tains Harper's speech on Griswold's motion, respect- 
 ing interference, etc. I think it has considerable 
 merit. Logan does not seem to like it very well, 
 that Congress should take any notice of his conduct. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 89 
 
 Like others of his party, he has published an address 
 to vindicate his conduct. I supposed, before this 
 time, Congress would have been loaded with peti- 
 tions for repealing the alien and sedition bills. But 
 I don't know that a single one has been laid before 
 them. The more I consider those bills, the more 
 am I convinced of their propriety and necessity. 
 How can a government like ours, exist long without 
 some restraint on the licentiousness of the press ? " 
 About Jan. 15. Shaw in Philadelphia to W. E. 
 Channing in Richmond, Va. " A journey to Mount 
 Vernon has prevented me from having the pleasure 
 of writing to you till the present date. Tuesday 
 was a week since I returned. The object of my 
 journey, and the badness of the roads, made it very 
 unpleasant. I found Mrs. Washington, as you may 
 well suppose, very much afflicted. We all, as lov- 
 ers of our country and of virtue, deeply lament the 
 loss of the General; but she, loving her country and 
 virtue, equally with us, was connected with him by 
 far stronger endearments. He was her husband, 
 the partner of her joys and the soother of her sor- 
 rows. The General has kept a journal, containing 
 a minute detail of every circumstance in his public 
 life for many years. These will undoubtedly con- 
 tain sketches of the American Revolution. The 
 public prints are inaccurate, as they are in many 
 other things which they say of him, when they 
 assert, that he has left a professed history. His 
 journal, with all his papers, his library, containing 
 about fifteen hundred volumes, Mount Vernon, with 
 four hundred acres of land, he has left to his nephew, 
 9 
 
90 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Judge Bushrod Washington. He has left a thou- 
 sand pounds to a literary institution at Alexandria, 
 and his fifty Potomac shares to a similar institution 
 to be founded at the Federal city. All his negroes 
 are to be made free after Mrs. Washington's decease. 
 
 " The reverse in favor of the French armies is 
 very different from what we all hoped. The for- 
 tune of war seems everywhere to have turned 
 against the Allied Powers. The want of success, 
 however, will not seem so surprising, when we con- 
 sider the jealousies and rivalries which must subsist 
 among them. No event was ever the object of 
 more speculation than the French Revolution. But 
 speculations of this sort have proved as visionary 
 as they have been numerous." 
 
 Jan. 16. Shaw to Walter in Boston. "I send 
 you the prospectus, and the first number of the 
 Portfolio, edited by Joseph Dennie, in Philadelphia. 
 The work, I believe, will be conducted with ability. 
 I wish you to obtain subscribers for him in Boston. 
 Collect the advance money and send it on. The 
 series of letters, giving an account of a tour through 
 Silesia, is from the pen of J. Q,. Adams. It will 
 be extended, and contain much curious anecdote 
 and interesting information. The translation of 
 Juvenal's Thirteenth Satire, is by the same hand. 
 Its beauties are conspicuous to all eyes. Large con- 
 tributions from the same pen will be occasionally 
 furnished. Supposing that you would like to take 
 the Portfolio, I have ordered it to be forwarded to 
 you, and advanced the price. If you consent, you 
 can repay me. I feel a deep interest in the success 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 91 
 
 of this periodical, not only as a friend to the propri- 
 etors, but also as an American. I ardently wish 
 to live in those days, when my country, by her 
 munificence to learned men, by a true estimation of 
 their productions, and by the cultivation of the fine 
 arts, shall rescue herself from the imputation under 
 which she now very justly lies ; when America, 
 from the number of her illustrious citizens and her 
 literary fame, may be called the eye of the world, 
 as the ancient city of Athens was the eye of 
 Greece. 
 
 " The convention between us and France is still 
 before the Senate. It is quite problematical how 
 it will be decided. I do believe, that the conse- 
 quences of rejecting it, would be unfavorable to the 
 country. Soon after the convention appeared in 
 England, Mr. King called on Lord Grenville, and 
 had a long conversation about its merits. The lat- 
 ter told the former, that he perceived nothing in it, 
 which ran counter to the treaty between them and 
 us. As to the legislature of Pennsylvania, since 
 the firm and noble conduct of the majority in the 
 Senate, attempts have been made to abolish so 
 necessary a branch. A proposition has been intro- 
 duced into the House to exclude all English deci- 
 sions from their courts of law. This measure is evi- 
 dently designed as a thrust at the profession of law- 
 yers." 
 
 Jan. 25. Thomas White of Philadelphia to Shaw 
 in the same city. " Mighty effects have been at- 
 tributed to the frequent use of the word, Citoyen, 
 as though it had set all Europe in confusion. No. 
 
92 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 If you look into the causes of that Revolution, you 
 will trace it to the general depravity which had 
 pervaded all ranks of people in that devoted coun- 
 try. We behold in it the effects of the indefatigable 
 labor of philosophers for a long time past. They, 
 at length, succeeded in giving loose to the passions 
 of men, so that they could be restrained neither by 
 reason nor law. We perceive the justice of God 
 in making such promoters of anarchy, the first vic- 
 tims of its fury. The term, Citoyen, in holding 
 out to men the fascinations of equal rank, no doubt 
 contributed to advance the Revolutionary mania, 
 but we must look to deeper causes for its origin." 
 
 Jan. 29. Walter in Boston to Shaw in Philadel- 
 phia. " You have before this heard of the wonder- 
 ful Revolution in France. Wonderful it is indeed, 
 that after so many struggles for the shadow of lib- 
 erty, they have now lost even this poor consolation. 
 The democrats here are much incensed against 
 Bonaparte. They consider him as the destroyer of 
 liberty, the violator of the constitution, and a new 
 Cromwell or Caesar. But we hardly know what 
 will be the issue. We anxiously look for peace, 
 and regard it as a favorable circumstance, that our 
 envoys must have arrived there soon after the 
 mighty change. But I do not think that peace is 
 the orbit of motion for Bonaparte. I have read 
 Priestley, but I see nothing very extraordinary. I 
 wish he would confine himself to chemistry. In 
 this country, he might have lived with comfort. 
 On his farm in Northumberland, he might have ex- 
 tended the boundaries of science. Roscoe, I hear, 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 93 
 
 is to write the life of Leo X. He was to have be- 
 gun some time since, but the troubles in Europe 
 prevented him from getting the papers from Italy, 
 which Lord Hervey and other noblemen had agreed 
 to use their influence to procure. Mungo Park's 
 Travels in Africa have excited much curiosity. Our 
 legislature have agreed to erect a statue to Wash- 
 ington on the lower floor of the new state-house. 
 It will be magnificent. We are debating what to 
 do with the old state-house. It seems to be in- 
 tended, that it shall be pulled down and the space 
 left open for a square." 
 
 Feb. 11. Shaw in Philadelphia to Wm. E. Chan- 
 ning in Richmond, Va. " In your last letter you 
 ask, of what use is our standing army, or will it be, 
 except to consume in idleness, what the hand of 
 industry has raised ? The question has a retrospec- 
 tive view, and involves another still more important. 
 It is this, whether, at the time provision was made 
 for raising the army, the situation of this country 
 did not warrant Congress in having it done. What 
 was then the situation of our country ? ' The 
 Revolutionary harpies of France, like ravenous 
 birds of prey, fluttered over our heads.' I need not 
 repeat to you, the base indignities which our min- 
 isters received, the refusal to acknowledge the 
 sovereignty of the United States, the unwarranted 
 demands made of us, the insults which our flag 
 received on the ocean. Had not America risen up 
 and proved to France that we were not the passive 
 sheep which they thought us to be, and that we 
 were determined to live free or die, we should not 
 9* 
 
94 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 have had the least shadow of any pretensions to 
 honor or independence. What effect had the de- 
 cided policy of our government on that of France? 
 The door was immediately opened for peace. This 
 .change of conduct on her part, can be attributed 
 to no other cause than our system of defence, of 
 which the army was a part. Were the army dis- 
 banded, the arguments for such a step would go 
 for subverting our whole system of defence. 
 
 "This situation, in the present convulsed state of 
 the world, would be no enviable one. May we not 
 suspect, that France waves the olive branch, to 
 cause the disbanding of our army and laying up of 
 our ships, so that she may, with greater ease, invade 
 our country and subjugate its inhabitants? Still 
 the question remains, of what use is our army or 
 can it be ? It prevents, in my opinion, a much 
 greater one's being raised and much more expensive 
 resources being called forth. It has shown, and 
 will continue to show France, our determination to 
 resist her encroachments. She would never have 
 been deterred from hostilities against this country 
 by an army on paper. If there be danger, say you, 
 can any reliance be placed on this army ? My par- 
 tiality for my own countrymen would compel me, 
 had I no other motive, to answer in the affirmative. 
 They are American citizens, for no others are 
 allowed to be enlisted ; and although, in general, 
 they have little or no property, they are attached to 
 their country by strong ties. Here are entombed 
 the bones of their ancestors. Here are their wives, 
 their children, their fire-sides. I see no cause to 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 95 
 
 suspect their patriotism and fidelity. Democrats 
 object to the army, not because they think it an 
 impolitic measure, but because it is a measure by 
 the misrepresentation of which weak men may be 
 deluded. They think it will be employed by the 
 government to execute their just laws ; to quell 
 insurrections, excited by artful statements. This, 
 you may depend, is one grand cause for the unpop- 
 ularity of the army. 
 
 No man e'er felt the halter draw, 
 With good opinion of the law.' 
 
 " You say, that the people of Virginia think their 
 liberties endangered by this army. Would they 
 think so, had they not been told it by designing 
 demagogues ? Is it possible that seven or eight 
 millions of people can be thus imperiled from a 
 force of twelve thousand men ? Are not the liber- 
 erties of the President, Senate and House of Rep- 
 resentatives equally endangered ? Every commis- 
 sion issued by the President, is virtually with the 
 same terms, as were expressed by one of the most 
 humane and wisest of the Roman Emperors. 
 1 Take this sword,' said Trajan, when he presented 
 it as the badge of office to Saburanus, whom he 
 had appointed prasfect of the Pretorian guards, 
 ' remember it is your duty to use it for my defence, 
 while I rule well ; if I govern ill, your duty to your 
 country, beyond your duty to me, will oblige you, 
 as a good citizen and an honest man, to use it for 
 my destruction.'" 
 
 Feb. 14. Shaw in Philadelphia to Walter in 
 Boston. "Curious to know everything written, 
 
96 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 respecting a man whose character I venerate, and 
 whose writings have afforded me so much instruc- 
 tion and entertainment as Burke's, I have been in- 
 duced to read a third life of him, by Charles McCor- 
 mick. The author is a violent anti-ministerialist, 
 and pours out the most unjust invectives against 
 many traits in Burke's character, particularly in 
 the latter part of his life. Still, his work exhibits 
 talent and affords amusement. He relates the fol- 
 lowing anecdote. Some unknown person sent him 
 these lines, 
 
 1 Oft have we wondered, that on Irish ground 
 No pois'nous reptile has e'er yet been found, 
 Reveal' d the secret stands of nature's work, 
 She saved her venom to create a Burke.' 
 
 It happened, that Burke was shaving when he re- 
 ceived this epigram. He was so irritated, that he 
 ran into the street with the lather on his face, and 
 was not able to complete the operation till two 
 hours after. Mungo Park's Travels in Africa are to 
 be reprinted in this city. I wish you would send 
 out to London by the first vessel and engage there, 
 on my account, two periodicals, the Anti-Jacobin 
 and British Mercury. The latter is in French and 
 English. It is conducted entirely by Mallet du 
 Pan. We are all very impatient here to see Ames's 
 oration. 1 The expectations are very high, I trust 
 we shall be highly gratified. Noah Webster has 
 published ten letters in answer to Priestley's last 
 pamphlets." 
 
 Feb. 19. T. B. Johnson in Georgetown, Va., to 
 
 1 On the death of Washington. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 97 
 
 Shaw in Philadelphia. " Yesterday I heard from 
 our mutual friend, Walter, who, if I may judge 
 from the spirit of his letter, appears to retain his 
 proverbial vivacity and good humor. You had, it 
 seems, informed him of your journey to Mount Ver- 
 non, and of the renewal of our acquaintance. I am 
 inclined to think, that you were not pleased with 
 the Federal city. This does not surprise me. The 
 customs and manners of the people, southward of 
 Pennsylvania, differ materially from those of New 
 England. Few travelers from that direction can 
 be induced to tarry long with us. Still our claim, 
 in regard to climate, is allowed. This spot has 
 nothing to boast of, except beauty of situation and 
 temperature of air. It will, however, in process of 
 time, (perhaps not far distant,) be ranked among 
 our most respectable cities. Its advancement, so 
 soon as confidence shall be established, which will 
 be on removing the seat of government hither, 
 must be rapid. You will, in all probability, on 
 your arrival, have occasion to regret the loss of in- 
 tercourse with your friends of Philadelphia. I will 
 do what I can to render your situation pleasant." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Mrs. Washington French. Success Eulogies on Washington 
 Bankrupt Law Davila Regent of Portugal Kotzebue Duel 
 Army Dr. Parr Sir William Jones Canvass for Votes- 
 Congratulation of the First Congress in " the Federal City." 
 
 1800, Feb. 25. Prom Mr. Shaw's mother, in At- 
 kinson, N. H., to him. " Yesterday we assembled 
 to express our sorrow at the departure of Human- 
 ity's Friend, Columbia's Patriot arid Father. After 
 all that has been poured forth by the orator and the 
 eulogist, I presume that a simple detail of facts, and 
 a faithful narrative of his useful life, will be the 
 highest eulogium. We should rob this great man 
 of a most valuable wreath, if we did not follow 
 him into domestic life, and, among an assemblage 
 of virtues, distinguish the exact economy, the nice 
 order, the regular conduct, which marked his daily 
 course. I have been told that, in all his multiplicity 
 of affairs, he was but three days behind his business 
 when he died. It may be truly said of Washing- 
 ton, that he went but 'little slower than the sun.' 
 While we review the lives of those illustrious ac- 
 tors who have dignified our nature, and meditate on 
 those traits which are estimable, may habits of vir- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 99 
 
 tue be formed in us, and bring forth fruit, some fifty, 
 some an hundred fold. Your late journey to Mount 
 Vernon must have been attended with sad feelings, 
 peculiar to your errand. The conduct of Mrs. 
 Washington, as to the tomb, showed the deep afflic- 
 tion of her heart. Her answer to the President's 
 letter, of which you had the honor to be the bearer, 
 is an expression of female excellence, and shows, 
 that though grief may oppress, yet it does not sink 
 the mind. The assurance of your dear aunt, that 
 you are free from vice, that no habit has polluted 
 and debased your mind, is inexpressibly grateful to 
 my soul. God be praised, that at an age when un- 
 balanced passions have their greatest sway, and 
 temptations appear in their most fascinating garb, 
 you are preserved from their contaminating influ- 
 ence. Useful life, progressive virtue, should be 
 your motto. Riches and honors are but secondary 
 considerations to such attainments. 
 
 " With trembling solicitude, I perceive the time 
 fast approaching, when you will need to choose a 
 profession for your support in life. It is an impor- 
 tant affair. If you have selected one, I wish that 
 you would direct your studies to that point. It is 
 best for all to have some goal, to which they may 
 devote their chief energies. Otherwise, they will 
 gain no prize. I hope that, in your present style 
 of living, you will contract no habits, as to food, 
 dress, etc., which yon may not easily lay aside with- 
 out mortification and regret. By prudence in your 
 affairs, you may obtain a situation, which will con- 
 tinue to afford you bread in due season. Thus pur- 
 
100 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 suing the paths of rectitude, you will have a fond 
 mother's blessing, and secure to her a source of the 
 highest happiness." 
 
 Feb. 27. Shaw in Philadelphia to Walter in Bos- 
 ton. " I enclose you a newspaper of Virginia, 
 edited by one Lyon, to show the violence of party 
 spirit there. Did you know that Virginia, during 
 the Revolution, passed an act authorizing the pay- 
 ment of money into its treasury, which was due 
 from individuals of this country to creditors in 
 Great Britain? May not this account for all their 
 opposition to the English treaty, and for the preva- 
 lence of certain principles in that State ? " 
 
 Artemas Sawyer in Boston to Shaw in Philadel- 
 phia. " What will you say now of Europe? What 
 an important change has taken place in France. 
 Bonaparte, whom his enemies hoped and friends 
 feared, was butchered by the Arabs, drowned in the 
 Red sea, or led in fetters to the Tower of London, 
 has passed the Rubicon, and become the chief of a 
 mighty empire. This event must produce an alter- 
 ation in the affairs of other nations. France has 
 attained such an ascendency, that a single discord- 
 ant note, struck in her own territories, will vibrate 
 through Europe. 
 
 " The fever of politics has, for a few weeks, in 
 some degree subsided. The fact is, that the spirit 
 of parties is regulated, for the most part, by the 
 contentions in Congress, where, as to the House, 
 there has been less acrimony than for some years 
 past. As for literature, we have a literary magazine 
 published here, called the Columbian Pho3nix, edited 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHA^V. lf)f 
 
 by a blind man. The first number has been issued. 
 The next may have more animation through the 
 aid of Antony Pasquin." 
 
 March 3. Shaw in Philadelphia to Wm. E. Chan- 
 ning in Richmond. " Of the many eulogies and ora- 
 tions, which have been occasioned by the death of 
 Washington, I have selected a few of the most merit, 
 and inclose them for your perusal and acceptance. 
 Consider the obligation not on your part in my pre- 
 senting, but on mine in your receiving them. On 
 Saturday, the 22d of February, the citizens of Phil- 
 adelphia, like Achilles and his brave companions, 
 over the tomb of Patroclus, exerted themselves in 
 what manner they should, to excel each other in 
 manifesting their regret for the death of Washing- 
 ton, their love for his virtues, veneration for his wis- 
 dom, and gratitude for his services. Of the four 
 orations, delivered in this city, I heard but one, by 
 Major Jackson, which is truly classical and merito- 
 rious, and which I send you. The simple story of 
 Washington's life is his best eulogy." 
 
 March 4. Walter in Boston to Shaw in Phila- 
 delphia. " We wander over old scenes, and regret 
 the absence of friends who made us happy. The 
 young oaks are stripped of their branches, before 
 they are old. We are robbed of our friends, just as 
 we begin to feel their value and excellence. Many 
 of our hopes are disappointed before they are real- 
 ized. Philosophy would tell us, that we must re- 
 press our gladness, and never expect good, but eviL 
 I do not like this flinty doctrine. In winter we 
 may properly anticipate the zephyrs of spring, the 
 10 
 
MEMORIALS OF 
 
 fruits of summer, and the harvests of autumn. 
 Come, then, ye ministers of happiness, bring roses 
 and balmy winds, make the prospect pleasant and 
 the reality blessed. 
 
 " The exhibition for Washington at Cambridge 
 was handsome. Allston was thrilling and delightful, 
 full of thoughts, fancy, and words of inspiration. 
 I should have thought that he had lived on Helicon 
 water and Apollo's food. Dr. Tappan exceeded his 
 common excellence. He spoke eloquently, as a 
 venerable seer of religion. Allston will not suffer 
 his to be published, and my acquaintance with him 
 is not sufficient to procure a copy. 
 
 " As to the negotiations of the French with our 
 envoys, I believe Bonaparte would like to take this 
 country under his kind keeping, and, bear-like, hug 
 us to death. Sieyes is also an old fox. Reynard 
 disliked the grapes, because he could not get them." 
 
 March 5. " I send you two eulogies of whose 
 merits you may judge. I am absolutely tired of 
 the business, and almost of the subject. Washing- 
 ton deserves the best of eulogists, but the puny 
 scribblers of the day rather debase than exalt his 
 fair fame. We all admire Truxton's conduct, but 
 not the style of his communication. I wish mod- 
 esty and bravery were more frequently united in 
 great characters. Strong, I believe, will be elected 
 on the whole, but legislative interference l is much 
 disliked and openly reprobated." 
 
 March 11. " I am far from being indifferent to the 
 
 1 Choice of Governor by the Legislature. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 103 
 
 conduct of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Hope and 
 fear are both alive ; but I sometimes dread the 
 effects of that spirit of opposition, which is so evi- 
 dent in their councils, and which appears to increase 
 instead of diminishing. They are important States. 
 There must be something < rotten in Denmark,' 
 which deliberately and publicly disannuls acts of 
 the sovereignty of the United States. France could 
 not wish for a better theatre to act her revolutionary 
 tragedy upon than these two States. Lyon's papers 
 evince the luxuriousness of that soil for the produc- 
 tion of poisonous weeds. We have long been with- 
 out news from Europe, but earnestly expect good 
 intelligence soon. The new constitution, which 
 the Dictator is forming, excites our highest curi- 
 osity." 
 
 March 17. Shaw in Philadelphia to Walter in 
 Boston. " No doubt France would be pleased to 
 take our country under their bear-like protection. 
 So would every nation of Europe. They all look 
 at us with an eye of jealousy. Whatever treaties 
 we have made with them, will be observed no 
 longer than they comport with their interest. I 
 have spent my time here, this winter, very agreea- 
 bly. We have all the grades of intellect, and all 
 the variation of our species. I dislike and avoid 
 large parties. I do not remember from whom Mr. 
 Pickering quoted his expression about the tiger. 
 The first I recollect to have seen applied in this 
 way, was by Mr. John Q,. Adams, in a series of 
 papers which he published in the Centinel, un- 
 der the signature of Columbus. I hope that before 
 
104 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 this time, you have spoken to Nichols for the peri- 
 odical publications, which I mentioned in a former 
 letter. I have read the second number of the Rush 
 Light. 1 It is written with great talent, but is full 
 of calumny against one of the best men in the 
 world. I send you a very pretty effusion in imita- 
 tion of Ossian, by Mr. Linn, our minister. I have 
 been able to make a complete collection of Burke's 
 pamphlets, this winter, which I prize more than 
 their weight in gold." 
 
 March 26. Dr. Thomas Welsh of Boston to Mr, 
 Shaw in Philadelphia. " I received a line yesterday 
 from John Russell, as follows. Mr. Russell, at the 
 earnest desire of the first and most respectable char- 
 acters in Boston, has it in contemplation to publish, 
 in one or two handsome octavo volumes, the Politi- 
 cal Discourses on Davila, and, in fact, he has pledged 
 himself to the public in that form ; but he is fear- 
 ful, from the manner in which they were originally 
 published and since republished, that errors may 
 have crept into them. He has also understood, 
 that the author 2 has yet numbers, which have never 
 appeared. He, therefore, at the same time that he 
 respectfully solicits the author's indulgence of the 
 numbers not printed, requests to be directed in 
 what manner the press can be corrected in both in- 
 stances, so that the execution may be worthy of its 
 author, both as it respects the correctness of those 
 parts which appeared in Mr. Fen no's paper, and also 
 that portion of the work, which may not have ap- 
 peared in print." 
 
 1 By Porcupine against Dr. Rush. 8 President John Adams. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 105 
 
 Mr. Shaw replied, April 1, that there would be 
 a compliance with Mr. Russell's proposition. 
 
 April 10. Shaw to Walter. "The Bankrupt bill 
 has now become a law. It is thought that this law 
 will prevent private frauds in the secretion of prop- 
 erty, check the rage for speculation, and add to our 
 national character in pecuniary concerns. An at- 
 tempt has been made every Congress, since 1789, 
 for such an enactment, though ineffectual till the 
 present. It did once pass the House, but failed in 
 the Senate. Such a law is supposed to have been 
 one means of raising Great Britain to her great 
 maritime power and pre-eminent political station in 
 the world." 
 
 William Smith, merchant of Boston, to Shaw in 
 Philadelphia. "Our envoys (to France) have been 
 unfortunate in the delays they have met with in 
 their passage, but it has given time for a new con- 
 stitution to become organized. The correspondence 
 with the British, in this time, will not, I presume, 
 be unfavorable to their mission. The papers will 
 announce to you the state of the elections the week 
 past. It was very different in this town from 
 what I expected. Every exertion was made by the 
 jacobins. Many honest federalists voted on their 
 side from various causes. It is not yet certain, that 
 Mr. Gerry will be elected. The returns from many 
 towns, in which Mr. Strong has a majority, are 
 not yet received. It was urged at the Green Dragon 
 in favor of Mr. G. that he was a friend of the Pres- 
 ident, and his appointment to Prance was a proof 
 that the President had a high opinion of him. Mr. 
 10* 
 
106 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Gill, I presume, is elected Lt. Governor. It is very 
 uncertain whether he will live many days." 
 
 April 15. Shaw to Walter in Boston. " I am 
 happy to hear that Gillies intends to continue his 
 History of Greece. Although he appears to be no 
 great researcher into politics, let Mathias say what 
 he will, I do believe it to be the most accurate his- 
 tory of Greece in the English language. I have 
 seen ' The Shade of Alexander Pope ' by Mathias. 
 I think it worthy of the author of the Pursuits of 
 Literature. This is saying much, for I have read 
 few productions equal to this work. The poem 
 was occasioned by the residence of Grattan, ex-rep- 
 resentative for the city of Dublin, at Twickenham 
 in Nov. 1798. There is much classical criticism in 
 this last, as in the former production from the same 
 pen. They are reprinting it in this city. I had 
 just finished, before I began this letter, the third 
 .part of the intercepted letters from the French army 
 in Egypt, sent to the President from London. In 
 ,a letter from Kleber, now commander in chief, we 
 learn the forlorn situation in which Bonaparte left 
 them. 
 
 " Since I wrote you last, I have seen Calender's 
 * Prospect before us.' It is calculated rather to in- 
 jure the party, for which he is a pretended advocate, 
 than to lessen the federal interest." 
 
 April 17. Walter to Shaw in Philadelphia. "I 
 believe the Bankrupt law gives very general satis- 
 faction. 
 
 " Bonaparte has ordered the standards of the Re- 
 public to be hung in black in honor of Washington. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 107 
 
 It is said by the papers, that Erskine and Fox pro- 
 nounced very eloquent eulogiums on Washington 
 in the House of Commons. 
 
 " I saw Allston yesterday. He is very well, and 
 was going to Hingham. He informed me, that 
 Wm. (E. Channing) was tired of living in Virginia, 
 and intended soon to return. I also saw Buckmin- 
 ster, who inquired about you." 
 
 April 20. Wm. Smith in Boston to Shaw in Phil- 
 adelphia. " Our late elections have turned out more 
 favorable than was expected. The choice of Mr. 
 Strong is almost certain. 
 
 "The influenza, which has visited your city this 
 winter, has reached Boston." 
 
 April 22. Of this date is the copy of a curious 
 communication, preserved by Mr. Shaw, from the 
 Prince Regent of Portugal, addressed to the United 
 States. After giving a long list of his titles, the 
 language of the Prince follows. "The good cor- 
 respondence and perfect harmony, which happily 
 subsist between me and you, persuade me, that it 
 will be very grateful to you to learn, that God has 
 this day given me another daughter, by the happy 
 delivery of the most serene Princess, Dona Carlota, 
 my dear and beloved spouse. This event, as fortu- 
 nate as it is agreeable, I lose no time in communi- 
 cating to you, under the persuasion, that you will 
 not fail to join with me in its celebration with that 
 affectionate sincerity and candor, which corresponds 
 with the very singular esteem and regard, in which 
 I hold you. United States of America, may our 
 Lord have you under his holy keeping." 
 
108 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 April 24. Walter in Boston to Shaw in Philadel- 
 phia. " Nothing from Chanmng. His virtues and 
 talents will be honorably rewarded. 
 
 " The army of Egypt, according to your account, 
 must be in a dreadful situation. Indeed, they must 
 inevitably perish, unless Bonaparte finds some 
 method to extricate them. 
 
 a ls it true, that Bushrod Washington intends put- 
 ting the General's papers into some literary hand ? 
 If so, who is to be the biographer? It is said here, 
 that Dr. Morse applied to the Judge. I much doubt 
 the report." 
 
 May 10. Shaw to Walter. " I never wish to 
 read another play of Kotzebue. The morals of 
 them all have a pernicious tendency. We find, in- 
 deed, many excellent sentiments. Vice is adminis- 
 tered with a mixture of apparent good, in order to 
 make it more lovely. Like the gilded pill, they 
 may and do conceal the fatal poison. His most 
 conspicuous characters are vicious, and most obscure, 
 virtuous. 
 
 " I doubt whether Dr. Morse applied to Judge 
 Washington for the General's papers. Whoever 
 has the use of them must reside at Mount Vernon. 
 The Judge has determined that they shall not be 
 removed thence. He intends to have a place built 
 for them. 
 
 " I attended the Circuit Court at the trial of 
 Cooper, who endeavored to prove, that the Presi- 
 dent had imposed a standing army on the country. 
 His trial makes an octavo volume of more than three 
 hundred pages. Among the tales, which the insur- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. ]Q9 
 
 gents of Northampton County, etc. believed, was 
 that Washington encouraged their opposition to the 
 tax act. To this effect, a letter was forged with 
 his name and circulated among them* 
 
 "A duel was fought in this city a few days since, 
 by two members of Congress. The combatants 
 were Messrs. Bayard and Champlin. The former 
 challenged the latter, for certain epithets, applied to 
 him in a speech. Bayard was slightly wounded in 
 the knee. Champlin was considerably wounded in 
 the cheek." 
 
 May. Letter from T, B. Johnson in Washington 
 to Shaw in Philadelphia. " My mother received a 
 letter from Mrs. Adams the other day, in which she 
 mentions the determination of the President to visit 
 this city. You, of course, will attend him. In a 
 political point of view, I think this step very proper. 
 You well know the prejudices of the States. Noth- 
 ing can so effectually obviate the consequences of 
 these prejudices, as the journey proposed. People 
 will be pleased and gratified. It will give a spur to 
 the exertions of the friends to the Federal city." 
 
 May 20. Wrn. Smith in Boston to Shaw in Phil- 
 adelphia. " Your favor of the 8th inst., I did not 
 receive until yesterday, on my return from New 
 York. I have found the attention of every one 
 turned to the removal of Mr. Pickering, and the 
 disbanding of the army. Except to a few, I have 
 found it a pleasant topic. It is the general opinion, 
 that the wheels of government should move with 
 ease, and, if there is any obstruction, it should be 
 removed. The dismission of the army has met 
 
110 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 with almost a general satisfaction. The progress of 
 our negotiation with France, and the present situa- 
 tion of Europe is such, as to remove all fear of any 
 attack from that quarter. With a well regulated 
 militia and a respectable naval force, we may feel 
 ourselves safe. 
 
 11 1 presume you are now setting out on a tour 
 with the President, to the Federal city." 
 
 May 24. From Silas Dinsmore, 1 then in Phila- 
 delphia, to Shaw there. " You have already been 
 informed, that I have a claim against the United 
 States, for expenditures in the Indian Department. 
 The amount of my bill is the whole emolument for 
 almost five years' hard service, and the only fund of 
 my future prospects. I solicit your assistance, so 
 far as it may be proper." 
 
 May. Walter in Boston to Shaw in Washington. 
 " Our whole town is gone or going to meet and 
 escort Governor Strong from Cambridge. We have 
 our heads full of the coming election of President 
 and Electors. We are sorry to find the balance of 
 opinion throughout the Union so nearly equal. 
 
 " I hear that many fiery friends of college have 
 cooled down to be stony sons of the world. 
 
 ."I saw Buckminster yesterday. I believe that 
 he is disappointed in not having the first oration at 
 commencement. His good sense, however, will 
 tell him that such things are forgotten in the course 
 of a year, and that they have little effect in acceler- 
 ating a man's progress in virtue and science. 
 
 1 Graduated from D. C., 1791, and had been Preceptor of Atkin- 
 son Academy in N. H. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. HI 
 
 "Nichols has a large collection of rare books. I 
 had a long literary conversation there the other day 
 with John S. J. Gardiner. He tells me that Ros- 
 coe r s Lorenzo is an elegant work, particularly the 
 history of Literature under the Medici. He told me, 
 that he himself was a pupil of Dr. Parr in England, 
 and that the account of the Pursuits of Literature 
 concerning him are just ; that the Doctor is really 
 a man of extensive erudition, but of no prudence 
 whatever, and, that it is owing to his folly in politi- 
 cal matters, that he has never been elevated to high 
 dignity in the church. He first conceived a great 
 love for literature from Sir William Jones, who was 
 his school-mate. Jones had some defect in his eye- 
 sight, that he could not well read at school, and used 
 to make Parr read to him. By habit and conversa- 
 tion with Jones, he cherished a love for science. 
 Mr. Gardiner is of opinion, that Sir William Jones 
 was one of the very first scholars, that England 
 has ever produced. 
 
 " Mr. Dexter will accept the secretaryship of war. 
 Of course, I am to leave his office." 
 
 July 17. Thomas White in Philadelphia to Shaw 
 in duincy. "The political world remains much as 
 it was, except what has arisen from the capture of 
 our vessels by the English. This confirms the idea 
 that their government is offended at ours for accom- 
 modating their differences with the French Repub- 
 lic. Such conduct is so obviously opposed to the 
 true interests of Britain, I hope it will not be con- 
 tinued. She must well know, that if this country 
 departs from the neutral position she has taken, it 
 
112 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 must be for their own security, and not by the 
 command of a superior power. 
 
 July 20. John Russell in Boston to Shaw at 
 Gtuincy. "Presuming that the President may 
 have a few leisure hours, while at Quincy, I 
 request you would have the goodness to solicit 
 his review of the numbers of Davila, as it is 
 probable there may have accrued some inaccu- 
 racies in the printing of them. The arrangement 
 of the divisions, as originally published, I think 
 may be altered to advantage. Perhaps the Pres- 
 ident may see fit to omit something, or to enlarge 
 on the subject. It would be of essential service 
 to me, could the President be prevailed on to allow 
 the use of his name as the author ; but this 
 is respectfully submitted to his discretion. The 
 subscribers, as far as I have learnt, are not so nu- 
 merous as I could wish. Still I am persuaded the 
 work will sell, at least sufficiently to clear the ex- 
 pense, which, in these days of political absurdity, 
 will be doing pretty well. Should the President 
 not be in possession of a volume of Fenno's 
 Gazettes, containing Davila, 1 I can supply him 
 with one." 
 
 Aug. 8. T. B. Adams in Philadelphia to Shaw at 
 duincy. " The Supreme Court are waiting for 
 Judge Chase, who is said to be too much engaged 
 in electioneering, to be able to attend. He is the 
 
 1 John Russell, Aug. 23, -wrote to Mr. Shaw, that he sent him a 
 volume of the U. S. Gazette, that the President might examine 
 three or four numbers at a time (of Davila) then to be cut from 
 the binding and sent to him (Russell). 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 113 
 
 only man in Maryland, perhaps, able to cope with 
 Mercer at what they call a canvass. This is always 
 held in different parts of the State of Maryland, and 
 generally in the Southern States, as I am told, when 
 there is known to be a great concourse of people, 
 as at a horse-race, a cock-fight, or a Methodist quar- 
 terly-meeting. Here the candidates for political 
 honors or preferment, assemble with their partisans. 
 They mount the rostrum, made of an empty barrel 
 or hogshead, harangue the sovereign people, and 
 praise themselves at the expense of their adversa- 
 ries' character and pretensions. Such was the mode 
 lately pursued at Annapolis, Elk Ridge and else- 
 where. Col. Mercer, a jacobin, is a fluent speaker. 
 He is a candidate for the Assembly. Mr. Key, an 
 eminent orator, is also a candidate for the same 
 body ; but in a different district. These gentlemen 
 met on the same ground at Annapolis, and canvassed 
 for votes." 
 
 August 17. Richard Peters, Jr., of Philadel- 
 phia, being at Belmont, to Shaw at duincy. 
 " Were will, power, you should long since have re- 
 ceived a letter. But from the urgent necessity lam 
 the slave of, by the duty I feel to fit myself to 
 enter the bar, dignus honore, I have been hitherto 
 prevented. 
 
 " Bonaparte is Bonaparte still. 'The child of 
 fortune and of Mars,' he is not yet deserted by his 
 parents. I suppose a general peace will be the next 
 thing. Then French principles will have an un- 
 restrained range. I wish that some 'Peter the her- 
 mit ' would start up and preach a crusade against 
 II 
 
114 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the French. I believe that I would put on the ar- 
 mor of the faith and march. You dislike them so 
 much, I should soon see Godfrey of Bouillon revived 
 in yourself." 
 
 Sept. 23. T. B. Adams in Philadelphia to Shaw 
 at Q,uincy. " I enclose you the Aurora of this 
 morning. I observe that the pieces under the sig- 
 nature of Decius, are ascribed to H. G. Otis. I 
 have read some of the numbers, and have no doubt 
 the author is rightly designated." 
 
 Sept. 29. " The Constitutionalist is written against 
 the Defence and Discourses on Davila. It has attained 
 No. 6, in the paper of this morning. Its author is 
 Thomas Cooper, late of Manchester, Great Britain, 
 now of Philadelphia. What do you think of our 
 poetical warfare here ? S. Ewing, your friend and 
 correspondent, is ' Laureat to his honor.' He 
 wrote Seneca in Wayne's paper. The Governor is 
 dreadfully goaded by the combined labors of Par- 
 nassus. He threatens to make them desist. What 
 a pity he has no gag-law in his favor." 
 
 Oct. 28. Walter in Boston to Shaw in Washing- 
 ton. "Mr. Otis has publicly declined being a can- 
 didate at the ensuing election. The federalists have 
 fixed upon Josiah duincy, Esq. The jacobins are 
 making every exertion for Dr. Eustis. There is no 
 doubt, in my mind, but the Doctor will be chosen. 
 In to-day's paper he has denied having ever been the 
 reviler of Washington, arid the author of some let- 
 ters, addressed to the Revolutionary army, advising 
 them to turn their arms against their country. He 
 will be supported by all the jacobins, all the mode- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. U5 
 
 rates, and all the men who have suffered by British 
 spoliations. 
 
 " We have a new set of theatrical personages. 
 We know nothing as to their merits. At any rate, 
 I shall give them very little of my company. Let 
 us strengthen our virtue and increase our knowl- 
 edge. He who improves best his time, is the wisest 
 philosopher." 
 
 Nov. 8. Shaw in Washington to Walter in Bos- 
 ton. " What shall I say to you of accommodations 
 and buildings. At present, I can only write, that 
 being one of the first occupants of the President's 
 house, and among the first inhabitants of the new 
 city, on the removal of the seat of government, 
 which, no doubt, will be an interesting event in the 
 annals of our country, these things draw from my 
 heart the aspiration, that Heaven's choicest blessing 
 may rest on this city, so that it may indeed be a 
 capital worthy of the name of Washington." 
 
 Nov. 15. John Russell in Boston to Shaw in 
 Washington. " I take the liberty of soliciting your 
 friendship in the early transmission of the speech, 
 the answer, official papers, and generally whatever 
 may be deemed by you of importance, and particu- 
 larly what may relate to the negotiations with 
 France. The present distance of Congress from 
 this place, and the important state of the public 
 mind at present, will render every thing that may 
 transpire there of great interest. To be the first in 
 promulgating such matters here, will give our Ga- 
 zette a reputation, which will increase its circulation 
 and usefulness. 
 
116 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 " The Boston frigate has this moment arrived 
 with a prize of twenty-six guns and three hundred 
 men, which she was obliged to engage for three 
 hours before capture. The Boston has lost three 
 or four men, killed. Among them, was a Mr, 
 Young, purser of the ship. He graduated at Cam- 
 bridge two or three years since. He was a native 
 of Bridge water, and very deserving." 
 
 As a congratulation to the first Congress, con- 
 vened in Washington November 22, the subsequent 
 paper possesses an interest, which may well require 
 its being preserved among this collection. It was 
 handed to Mr. Shaw for the Bodies it addressed, 
 
 " To the President, Senate, and House of Repre- 
 sentatives of the United States : 
 
 11 We, the inhabitants of the District of Columbia, 
 respectfully congratulate you on your first assem- 
 blage at the permanent seat of government, and 
 desire we may be permitted to express to you the 
 pleasing emotions which that interesting event has 
 excited in our minds. We wish the temporary in- 
 conveniences and privations to which you may be 
 exposed during the present session could have been 
 more completely obviated ; and at the same time 
 we rely on your indulgence duly to estimate the 
 exertions which have been made, and which we 
 shall continue to make, to promote your comfort. 
 When we consider the various advantages of cli- 
 mate, soil and navigation, attached to the position 
 which has been wisely selected for the permanent 
 seat of the American Government, we feel the 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 117 
 
 strongest assurances, that in a very short period 
 every object of reasonable desire may be enjoyed 
 here. On this occasion we are naturally led to the 
 dear remembrance and contemplation of the virtues 
 of the departed Father of his Country, whose name 
 this rising city bears, and whose presence is only 
 wanting to consummate the felicities of this auspi- 
 cious day. May his surviving countrymen forever 
 venerate the example of his life, as pure as it was 
 splendid, and may this city be as lasting as his 
 fame. Truly sensible of the many inestimable bless- 
 ings, civil and religious, which we may enjoy, we 
 embrace this opportunity of expressing our grateful 
 acknowledgments to the instruments who, under an 
 all-wise and gracious Providence, have been chosen 
 for the administration of the legislative and execu- 
 tive functions of our excellent constitution, and 
 duly appreciating our happy condition, we shall, 
 with zeal and fidelity, assist and support our faithful 
 rulers in the proper discharge of their important 
 trusts. We implore the Supreme Ruler of the uni- 
 verse to preside over and guide your deliberations 
 in this august temple. That justice and wisdom 
 may distinguish your legislation upon the great in- 
 terests committed to your care, and that you may, 
 individually, experience the pleasure arising from a 
 conscientious discharge of the duties of your impor- 
 tant stations, and enjoy every blessing in the gift of 
 Heaven, is our earnest prayer. 
 
 "In behalf of the Committee, 
 
 " LEONARD HARBAUGH. 
 
 "AMOS Al/EXANDER." 
 11* 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 '^Changes in Europe French Affairs Anonymous Letter Dying 
 Counsel The Federal City as it was Fears of the Constitution 
 Burr and Jefferson Parental Advice District of Columbia 
 Crisis Portfolio Weld's History. 
 
 1800, Nov. 23. J. S. Buckminster in Boston to 
 Shaw in Washington. " Since commencement I 
 have resided at Waltham, instructor of two of Mr. 
 Lyman's children. He has now removed to Boston, 
 to pass the winter. Here I daily see our old friend, 
 Walter. He is one of those few to whom, upon 
 meeting after a long absence we can heartily give 
 the convulsive shake of the hand. Here, with Saw- 
 yer, we renew our old Socratic conversations. In 
 these, you know, the warmest dispute is but the 
 strongest bond of union, and a burst of wit or satire, 
 far from being a damper, is the very spirit of the 
 conversation. 
 
 " Since I wrote you last, events in the political 
 world have been exceedingly momentous. We 
 have seen a vast, but ill-cemented confederacy, 
 dissolved. We have seen the omnipotent power of 
 genius concentrating the resources, and reanimating 
 the enthusiasm of a nation, which, twelve months 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 119 
 
 since, we thought reduced to mere dust in the bal- 
 ance. We have seen another great empire exhausted, 
 and gasping under the pressure of a most oppressive 
 war, while her subsidizing ally is still robust and 
 vigorous in her gold and silver sinews, notwith- 
 standing the wounds of war, and the emaciating 
 power of famine. Great men, in many countries, 
 have fallen, one after the other, from lofty stations 
 in society, like the successive ruin of massy col- 
 umns in the remaining temples of antiquity. 
 
 11 From the aspect of some late elections, it might 
 be concluded that the contagion of jacobinism has 
 penetrated into the bones and marrow of our 
 country. 
 
 " Write me some description of your situation. 
 Weld, in his Travels through North America, says 
 the President's house in Washington is the hand- 
 somest building in the country." 
 
 Nov. 24. Shaw in Washington to Walter in Bos- 
 ton. " I have lately seen some of the French Ga- 
 zettes, which afforded me more amusement than 
 instruction. They represent the French people, in 
 warm terms, as being very happy under their present 
 government. That they are so, I am not disposed 
 to dispute. Since the usurpation of Bonaparte, 
 their situation is certainly much ameliorated ; the 
 arts and sciences are, in some measure, revived. I 
 believe that they are in a better situation than they 
 have been since the Revolution. But I cannot be- 
 lieve, that the present system of government there 
 will be permanent. A foreigner, like Bonaparte, 
 among a people to whom foreigners are particularly 
 
120 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 obnoxious, whose fundamental principle of rule is, 
 sic volo, sicjubeo; stat pro ratione voluntas, can- 
 not, I think, long retain his present ascendency. 
 Should he be removed from the theatre of action, 
 what would become of the permanency of their 
 constitution. Like all which preceded it, in the 
 language of their philosophy, it would soon be con- 
 signed to 'an eternal sleep.' 
 
 "I never heard it suggested, till in the late Boston 
 papers, that Dr. Eustis was ever suspected as the 
 author of the anonymous letter. 1 It has always 
 been attributed to General Armstrong, of New 
 York. He is now chosen Senator in the place of 
 Mr. Lawrence, resigned. I would send you Aristi- 
 des in answer to General Hamilton's letter, but I 
 see it reprinted in the Bostqp papers." 
 
 Dec. 2. T. B. Adams in Philadelphia to Shaw in 
 Washington. " The other debates excited some 
 unpleasant reflections in my bosom. I feel dissat- 
 isfied, that the Legislature of the Union should 
 spend days and weeks in debating on the subject of 
 that nature, which cannot but revive painful thoughts 
 in the minds of the surviving friends and relatives 
 of Washington, and reflect neither honor nor credit 
 on themselves. I am in principle opposed to any- 
 thing like a monument, or mausoleum, or statue, 
 commemorative of the life and services of that 
 good man ; not from any wish to detract from the 
 merit of them, but because I think every device I 
 have ever seen falls short of such a design." 
 
 1 Encouraging the soldiers of the Revolution to resist our gov- 
 ernment. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 121 
 
 Dec. 8. Walter in Boston to Shaw. " Since my 
 last, what a melancholy scene have I witnessed ! 
 My ever-honored father has been called to join the 
 hosts of heaven. He died on Friday, the 5th of 
 December, of an inflammation of the lungs and the 
 pleurisy. His disorder was first occasioned by a 
 severe cold. He was confined to his chamber about 
 ten days, during which period he exhibited most 
 perfect resignation and fortitude. I assure you, that 
 his conduct in his dying hours, his perfect reliance 
 on the God of his fathers and of a blessed Redeemer, 
 has confirmed my belief in the Christian religion. 
 The day before his death, he took the holy sacra- 
 ment with all his children, then blessed us all, gave 
 us the most salutary counsels and the most comfort- 
 able doctrines. He was perfectly rational to his 
 last moments, and, not ten minutes before he died, 
 he uttered these consoling words, c I go to meet the 
 Bridegroom with my lamp trimmed,' and then, 
 closed his eyes with his own hands, and fell asleep 
 in Jesus." 
 
 Dec. 9. Charles Chauncey in Philadelphia to 
 Shaw in Washington. " I am gratified by your 
 reflections on the French. To me, it is an obvious 
 opinion, that the excellence of government is 
 founded in its adaptation to the state of the society 
 it rules. There is little that savors of permanency 
 in the present character of the French. It is not 
 irrational to suppose, that the present quiescence in 
 France proceeds rather from extreme lassitude, con- 
 sequent on successive revolutions, than from any 
 attachment to stable principles. Their constitution 
 
122 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 is founded upon no recognized state of moral habit 
 in the people, and the government is manifestly de- 
 pendent for its continuance on the ascendency of a 
 single individual. 
 
 " I have just returned from an excursion to Pitts- 
 burgh. As to the western parts of Pennsylvania, I 
 can only briefly observe, that there is an obvious 
 variation in the moral and intellectual situation of 
 the people there, from that of the people in New 
 England. But in every quarter I visited, I had the 
 satisfaction of meeting some few men, true to the 
 cause of good government, sound morals and sober 
 faith." 
 
 Dec. 11. Shaw in Washington to Walter in Bos- 
 ton. " Compared with the two very pleasant win- 
 ters which I spent in Philadelphia, I fear this will 
 be rather unpleasant. There was pure enjoyment 
 in abundance of books and a few choice friends. 
 Here the reverse. I am acquainted with one pleas- 
 ant family. But they live so far off, if I go to 
 spend an evening with them, it is ten chances to 
 one, that on my return home I lose my way in the 
 woods, or stumble over piles of bricks, or fall into 
 some new cellar. The respectable inhabitants, gen- 
 erally speaking, are so immersed in speculation on 
 houses and lots of land, you can derive little improve- 
 ment or happiness from their society. Without 
 books or friends, I feel very much as the great and 
 good Dr. Clarke said he did, when he buried his 
 wife, ' As if his soul had separated from him.' 
 
 " Early in life, I was carefully taught by my ever 
 dear and honored parents, the shortness and uncer- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 123 
 
 tainty of life, and the vanity of all human enjoy- 
 ments, and the consequent importance of improving 
 well the little time, which would be allotted to me 
 in this transitory world. Next to the approbation 
 of my own conscience and that of my God, I desire 
 the esteem of worthy friends. 
 
 11 1 enjoy equally with you the firm and patriotic 
 conduct of the Senate of Pennsylvania. By their 
 decision, they have won lasting honor. The House 
 at last acceded to the proposition of the Senate, 
 which, I have reason to believe, was in consequence 
 of expresses from jacobins in Congress, on the sup- 
 position that Jefferson and Burr would receive a 
 majority of the votes in South Carolina. By the 
 unfavorable news which we have received from this 
 State, I look upon the election as decided in favor 
 of Jefferson and Burr." 
 
 As a specimen of the general fear which pervaded 
 the federal party, that all would be lost, as to our 
 national prosperity, if they failed to have the ascen- 
 dency in Congress, we give the subsequent extract. 
 It is in a letter from Russell and Cutler of Boston 
 to Shaw in Washington. Dec. 11. "If South Car- 
 olina be faithless enough to drop Mr. Adams, there 
 is cause to suspect, that the constitution is of short 
 life, and we are fitted for the open and avowed 
 attacks of foreign and domestic faction." 
 
 Dec. 15. Walter in Boston to Shaw in Washing- 
 ton. " I send you your Washington and Ander- 
 son's Correspondence. The work is not what I 
 expected. Only one perfect letter from General 
 
124 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Washington occurs in the whole book. This, you 
 perceive, is a great bore on the American people." 
 
 Dec. 16. " Rev. John Lathrop of Boston to 
 Shaw in Washington. " Yours of Nov. 19, accom- 
 panying the prospectus of the Royal Institution of 
 Great Britain, and a letter from Count Rumford, to 
 be laid before the Academy of Arts and Sciences, 
 came as directed, and I thank you for your atten- 
 tion. We have been and are still very anxious to 
 hear a favorable account of the election of President 
 and Vice President. When I say we, I have respect 
 to the steady, old federalists, who were the friends 
 of the Revolution in those trying days, and who 
 now wish to preserve the rights and liberties of our 
 country. We have people among us, who hope 
 Mr. Jefferson will be our next President, and others, 
 who hope Mr. Pinckney will be chosen. But I flat- 
 ter myself with an opinion, that a majority of the 
 wise and good hope and pray the votes will be for 
 the man who now presides, and whose administra- 
 tion has been attended with singular blessings." 
 
 Dec. 19. Walter in Boston to Shaw in Washing- 
 ton. " I cannot discover sufficient reasons for pre- 
 ferring Burr to Jefferson. I believe that the polit- 
 ical chemistry of the latter, as President, would 
 contain acids and alkalies for absurd experiments, 
 but that he would act with the prudence, which 
 arises from fear, and with the caution, which is 
 characteristic of a man of speculation. As for Burr, 
 he has intriguing qualities of a wonderful nature. 
 He is desperately wicked, and possesses great abili- 
 ties. I believe he would stop at nothing to ac- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 125 
 
 complish his purposes. Unless the federalists unite 
 their energies, I shall tremble for the institutions of 
 revered liberty. I rejoice at the honorable conduct 
 of General Pinckney." 
 
 Dec. 27. Charles Chauncey, in Philadelphia, di- 
 rected to Shaw in Washington. " What do 1 say 
 of the late election ? I cannot foresee the future 
 destinies of my country, but it is my serious opinion 
 that she has every evil thing to fear, from the mis- 
 rule of unprincipled men. We have demonstrated, 
 that a people with much information, and strongly 
 fortified against error by ancient and virtuous habit, 
 are unfit to govern themselves. In the infancy of 
 our policy, we have mocked at the monitions of our 
 sagest men. The government of Pennsylvania; 
 goes on in the manner to be expected from the 
 character of its first magistrate. A proposition has 
 been introduced into the House of Representatives, 
 to exclude all English decisions from our courts of 
 law. This measure is designed as a stab at our pro- 
 fession, but there is more of malice than of wisdom 
 in the design. It was expected by some of the 
 federal men here, that the unwarrantable demeanor 
 of our Governor would make enemies, in all quar- 
 ters, to himself and hfs cause. But, in my western 
 excursion, I convinced myself that the effect has 
 been widely different. Democracy has progressed, 
 since McKean's elevation, with rapid strides. There 
 is no reliance on the people as a sovereign. They 
 are whimsical and arbitrary." 
 
 Dec. 31. From Mr. Shaw's mother. " The die 
 is cast. Jefferson is announced the President. I 
 12 
 
126 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 will not despond. I trust that the patriot will stand 
 unmoved by calumny, unsubdued by malice, uncon- 
 quered by the arts of insidious friends ; that his 
 bow will abide in strength, and his integrity preserve 
 him, supported by the mighty God of Jacob. 
 
 " You, my dear son, must feel particularly affected 
 by this event, and, with me, anticipate with regret 
 the time when you must leave the best of friends 
 and benefactors. Though bereaved, at a most crit- 
 ical time, of your earthly parent, you have shared 
 largely in the beneficence of that Being, who is a 
 father to the orphan and clothes even the lily of the 
 field. Ever since you have quitted your collegiate 
 life, you have been in a situation to increase your 
 knowledge; happy in being surrounded by an as- 
 semblage of virtues, fitted to elevate your motives, 
 form your morals and improve your manners. It 
 affords me the most heartfelt pleasure, that I have 
 reason to think, that you have not misspent so pre- 
 cious a season. But neither you nor I can wholly 
 divest ourselves of anxiety, respecting the course of 
 life you must soon pursue. I hope you will form 
 your measures with prudence. Let them be the 
 result of advice and premeditation. In whatever 
 situation you may be, or whatever profession you 
 may choose, may you study to act your part, as one 
 who is responsible, and must render an account." 
 
 1801, Jan. 5. Shaw in Washington to Walter in 
 Boston. " One of the bills before Congress con- 
 cerns the District of Columbia. This, as reported, 
 excites much clamor among the inhabitants. You 
 can have no idea of the clashing interests and dis- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 127 
 
 cord, which prevail among them. Those of the 
 eastern part are anxious and active to have the pub- 
 lic buildings erected among them, so that population 
 may increase there ; those of Georgetown are alike 
 engaged for the improvements of the other extrem- 
 ity ; while those of the centre are equally hostile 
 to both of these projects. These three different 
 interests are powerful, and arrayed against each 
 other. You cannot wonder, therefore, that the city 
 has made no greater progress. In short, they seem 
 to be in a condition, like that called by Hobbes, a 
 * state of nature, the war of every man against 
 every man.' The bill for a mausoleum to Wash- 
 ington has passed the House. They have appropri- 
 ated two hundred thousand dollars for the object. 
 I confess I do not like the idea of a mausoleum. 
 Such a thing has not been heard of in modern 
 times. It has no resemblance in this country. It 
 appears to me not so proper as an equestrian statue, 
 or a marble monument. Travelers who may look 
 on it, will say as Anaxagoras did, when he viewed 
 the pile raised by Artemisia, in honor of her hus- 
 band, Mausoleus, whence the name is derived, 
 1 How much money changed into stones! ' 
 
 "I send with this a pamphlet of William Gifford. 
 As a satirical performance, it has much merit. It 
 will afford you pleasure. I will try for a Spanish 
 Telemachus, but it is not likely that I shall suc- 
 ceed. There is nothing of the kind in this Dis- 
 trict." 
 
 Jan. 6. T. B. Adams in Philadelphia to Shaw in 
 Washington. " I presume the President will re- 
 
128 MEMORIALS Off 
 
 ceive by this mail, the prospectus and first num- 
 ber of the Portfolio. There is much original and 
 valuable matter in it, which I sincerely hope may 
 flourish." 
 
 Jan. 10. William H. Sumner at Roxbury to 
 Shaw in Washington. "By Mr. T. B. Adams's 
 politeness, Mr. Forbes and myself got a passage in 
 an extra stage to Baltimore. The company of Mr. 
 Adams from thence to Philadelphia much conduced 
 to the pleasure of my journey. He is an excellent 
 traveling companion. His anecdotes amuse, his 
 politeness pleases, and his intelligence interests and 
 entertains you. 
 
 11 1 once knew a rich man, who feed a lawyer for 
 his advice, which was given, and was the advice of 
 an honest man; but it did not suit the inclination 
 of the client. The next time, he feed a lawyer 
 who advised him to act as he wished, and 
 thus gratified his vicious inclination. Such appears 
 to be the situation of our country. Our Presi- 
 dent has administered the government with too 
 much honesty. The corrupt propensities of the 
 people have not been satisfied. They must now 
 have a President, who will aim to gratify their 
 wishes more than to secure their best good. When 
 Socrates was dead, the people mourned for him and 
 his accusers were condemned. The President is 
 now honored by his enemies, and many of his 
 opposers regret their success. 
 
 " What are we to expect from the next adminis- 
 tration, is a general question. You will perceive 
 by the Centinel, that its supporters are solicitous for 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 129 
 
 the election of Burr. One reason which prevails 
 with honest federalists is, that the government is 
 failing, and our political affairs are approaching a 
 crisis, and that Burr is the most decisive and will 
 hasten it on. The appointment of Mr. Jay is a 
 high consolation to the friends of government, not 
 only for the strength he will give our independent 
 judiciary, but also that it keeps him in view of the 
 public eye." 
 
 Jan. 12. George W. Kirkland 1 in Washington to 
 Mr. Shaw. " I have mentioned that a Lieuten- 
 ancy in one of the regiments of infantry, would 
 be most acceptable to me, were I indulged with a 
 choice. In any event, an appointment in the mili- 
 tary school would involve a kind of duty, to which 
 I should attend with diligence and pleasure. I 
 arrived here on the 22d of June last, where I have 
 been waiting in suspense. To calculate the 
 remains of my scanty purse, would not require an 
 elaborate display of arithmetical talents. Since the 
 first of December, I have, in conformity to the 
 order of General Wilkinson, and from the daily 
 expectation of an appointment, superintended the 
 recruiting service in this city. I am well aware 
 that my individual wishes are not to be gratified, 
 unless they are compatible with the interest of my 
 country, nor would I make myself of too much 
 importance. Colonel Smith sent recommendatory 
 letters, that I should be retained in service and not 
 superseded, as early as the 31st of May." 
 
 1 Brother to President John T. Kirkland, and son of the mis- 
 sionary. 
 
 12* 
 
130 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 January. Shaw in Washington to Walter in Bos- 
 ton. " The judiciary bill has passed the House by 
 a majority of eight. It has been considerably 
 altered, perhaps for the better. If you recollect, 
 last session, there were two bills presented to the 
 Bouse. The present, as it has passed, is more 
 agreeable with the first. It contemplates the abol- 
 ishment of the present Circuit Courts only; the 
 District Courts still to remain Courts of Admiralty, 
 etc., as they were. The United States are to be 
 ^divided into Districts, and these Districts classed 
 into six Circuits, and each Circuit to have three 
 judges. Additional District -Courts are, also, to be 
 established in the Districts of New Jersey, Mary- 
 land, Virginia and North Carolina. There is no 
 doubt but a majority of the Senate will agree 
 >to its becoming a law. This will be a great 
 thing. 
 
 " For the three last days, the House have been 
 occupied on the question whether the sedition law 
 shall be renewed or not. This occasioned a very 
 interesting and animated debate, and as great a dis- 
 iplay of eloquence as they have had for some time. 
 Mr. Bayard made a long and elegant speech, which 
 he concluded by the most clear and satisfactory 
 defence of common law, that I have ever heard. 
 Mr. Gallatin answered him. Mr. Otis, with his 
 usual ability, replied to Mr. Gallatin. The ques- 
 tion was taken on Friday. Forty-eight were for, 
 and forty-eight against. The Speaker decided it 
 in the affirmative. This was on the first reading of 
 the bill. Two or three of the democratic members 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 131 
 
 have since arrived, and there is great reason to fear 
 that it will not be carried on the second reading. I 
 wish the law, with some alterations, to be perma- 
 nent. To establish a government, founded on 
 public opinion, and then allow this opinion to be 
 misled and corrupted by the lowest miscreants of 
 society, who have talents to invent falsehood, is 
 not my system. No. Government should be re- 
 spected, character should not be wrongly attacked 
 with impunity. 
 
 11 A bill has been reported to the House for the 
 government of the District, similar to the system 
 proposed by ' Epaminondas,' which, I think, is a 
 tolerably good one. I hope it will pass. It is abso- 
 lutely necessary, that Congress should assume im- 
 mediate jurisdiction over the District. At present, 
 it shows very little of law, order, or even civilized 
 life. An energetic government will add to its 
 respectability, establish a degree of harmony among 
 the citizens, if any thing can, and thus promote its 
 advancement. 
 
 " I was pleased with Anderson's long letter, and 
 think it contains much useful information. Sir 
 John Sinclair has published a number of letters, 
 which he received from General Washington, in a 
 rich and beautiful style. He has had fac similes of 
 them engraved. They are on agricultural subjects. 
 
 " Before you receive this, the Portfolio must have 
 reached Boston. I hope and trust you are pleased 
 with it, and will exert yourself to obtain subscribers. 
 It will be an excellent literary production ; will de- 
 serve and receive encouragement. I have obtained 
 
132 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 nearly fifty subscribers in this city, and collected 
 the money in advance. Many gentlemen of Con- 
 gress have honorably interested themselves in its 
 circulation. Dickins is a young man of consider- 
 able taste, respectable family, and pure principles. 
 I have passed many delightful hours in his shop." 
 
 January 13. Thomas B. Adams in Philadelphia 
 to Shaw. " Your pamphlets are very seasonable 
 and acceptable. The detail of Congressional pro- 
 ceedings, with which you have furnished me, is by 
 far the most satisfactory of any I have seen. The 
 judiciary bill is one of the first magnitude, and 
 must be passed this session, if the federal gentle- 
 men have any anxiety for the public good. Able 
 lawyers enough are to be found, and who will 
 eagerly accept the office of elevation to the Bench 
 under an improved system ; but the arduous service, 
 imposed by the present establishment, is a discour- 
 agement not easily overcome. I hope Mr. Ingersoll 
 will be allowed till February to make up his mind. 
 He will then be at Washington in person, and can 
 be consulted as to his determination. He will 
 accept the office of Associate Judge, if the new law 
 be passed. It is reported that Mr. Jay has declined, 
 but I know not on what authority. 
 
 " The Portfolio goes on swimmingly. Several 
 active and influential gentlemen have entered so 
 largely into the plan of promoting its success, that 
 subscribers multiply with rapidity. I read Dennie 
 some of your observations, and he discovered a 
 grateful sense of your zeal and activity in furthering 
 his views. The large contribution from the pen of 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 133 
 
 J. d. A., in the last number, has been very favor- 
 ably received. Juvenal's Thirteenth Satire appears 
 in a neat arid elegant attire." 
 
 Jan. 16. Shaw in Washington to J. S. Bnckmin- 
 ster in Boston. " What shall I say to you of the 
 metropolis of the United States ? ' Cities shall 
 grow where forests late have stood,' which might 
 be paraphrased, This is a city growing in the midst 
 of woods. The habits, manners and customs of the 
 people here, are very different from those of New 
 England. Some of the planters have fortune, tal- 
 ents and principle ; but the far greater number of 
 the inhabitants are poor, unprincipled and intem- 
 perate. 
 
 " Since you wrote me, the revolution among the 
 French presents us a different aspect. From the 
 extreme of liberty and equality, they have gone to 
 the extreme of despotism. All of a sudden, the 
 hero, whom the world had destined to die in Egypt, 
 reappears in France to wield the sceptre. How 
 long he will thus continue is very problematical. 
 
 " Mr. Weld did not continue long in this country. 
 He collected his information from persons of little 
 intelligence, and returned to England, with pre- 
 tended disgust for our institutions and character, to 
 publish a book. This is written with some talent, 
 but every page is a libel on our country." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Neutral Rights Admiralty Law Literary Journals Political 
 Parties Jefferson and Burr Duel -^Popularity Fickle Study 
 of Law Introductory Letters * Floridas President Adams's 
 Remarks Yellow Fever^ College. 
 
 1801, Ian. 20. Prom Walter in Boston. "The 
 last news from Europe is singular and important. 
 Singular, because Russia was the ally and apparent 
 friend of Great Britain ; now, she is the determined 
 enemy. Important, because the great question of 
 neutral rights is to be determined by serious war. 
 The Northern Powers have long seen with jealousy, 
 that the English have been triumphant on the 
 ocean. With their united forces and the navies of 
 France, Holland and Spain, they will endeavor to 
 enforce their opinions. As an American, I think 
 the present law of nations is unfavorable to our ex- 
 tensive commerce, unprotected as it is by a respect- 
 able navy. But the present national law is more 
 equitable, and better founded on the nature and con- 
 stitution of individual and civil man, than the one 
 that is advocated by the Northern Powers. As to 
 the event, I have little doubt that the English, by 
 their great preponderancy on the ocean, will soon 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 135 
 
 break to pieces the apparently formidable coalition. 
 All the leagued powers are brave and determined, 
 but the English are superior in experience, and 
 equal in numbers. 
 
 " I like Gifford on Pindar. There is in the pres- 
 ent age, a spirit of egotism, which obscures the 
 brightness of the best productions. It is so with 
 the present pamphlet ; was the case with the Pur- 
 suits of Literature, and other productions of the 
 last year. I have lately seen a magazine edited by 
 Bisset. It contains a life of Pitt, and another of 
 Fox. They are very handsomely delineated, I pre- 
 sume by Bisset himself. He has published a sec- 
 ond enlarged edition of Burke's life, with original 
 letters and a more full account of his early life." 
 
 Jan. 21. T. B. Adams in Philadelphia to Shaw 
 in Washington. " The exertions which you have 
 made for the diffusion of Dennie's paper, are grate- 
 fully acknowledged by him. He will attend to 
 your suggestions, and supply his subscribers with 
 punctuality. 
 
 " I have just met with a small work, purporting 
 to be a translation from the Italian, called 'Romans 
 in Greece.' It was sent to Dickins by Nancrede 
 from Boston. It is worth your reading, if you 
 never saw it. I shall send you one. The object 
 of it seems to be to point out the affinity and strik- 
 ing resemblance of the scenes, which are acting in 
 our day, to those of remote antiquity, and the par- 
 allel between the conduct of the Romans in Greece, 
 and the French in Italy, Holland, Germany, Egypt ; 
 in short, wheresoever their armies have successfully 
 
136 . MEMORIALS OF 
 
 penetrated. It is drawn with precision and 
 ability. 
 
 " Samuel Harrison Smith has, I find, taken up his 
 Congressional observatory in the upper gallery, by 
 being brushed off from the lower floor. He is very 
 provoking to the honorable Speaker. I could not 
 help laughing at the keen satire he vented on one 
 occasion, when he said that, for his part, he did not 
 profess to understand the Speaker always, when he 
 heard distinctly all he uttered." 
 
 Jan. 29. J. Wagner to Shaw. " Enclosed are 
 extracts of Mr. King's Letters to the Secretary of 
 State, respecting General Miranda's 1 project. I 
 have carefully searched for, and do not find, any 
 letter from the latter to the President." 
 
 Jan. 29. T. B. Adams in Philadelphia to Shaw 
 in Washington. " I enclose you another set of the 
 Portfolio for distribution. The Journal of the Sile- 
 sian Tour is considered here as the most interesting 
 of all the contents. No. 5, is a beautiful and classi- 
 cal letter from the same hand. Our lawyers are 
 gone off to-day for the city. Mr. Tngersoll will give 
 in his resignation. I hope Mr. William Tilghman 
 will be his successor. Lieut. Parker, of the Navy, 
 is going to-morrow, and I give him a line for you." 
 
 Jan. 30. Prom Richard Peters, Jr., in Philadel- 
 phia. " Let not my long silence argue a want of 
 love for you. I have been projecting and am now 
 preparing a work for the press. Start not. It is 
 but a collection of law tracts. There is no method, 
 say the best writers, so beneficial in impressing a 
 
 1 To revolutionize the South American provinces. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. . 137 
 
 subject on the mind as writing on it. I wish to 
 study and obtain an intimate acquaintance with 
 admiralty law. I intend, therefore, to collect and 
 write upon that subject. Many have been the 
 changes in our political hemisphere since I saw my 
 friend. Calculation has closed her book on her poli- 
 ticians, and a torpor prevails universally. The 
 publication of the Portfolio must give you, as a 
 literary man, much pleasure. Dennie has resumed 
 his preaching garb, and wears it with grace. You 
 may promise yourself a dish of entertainment of 
 various kinds, even seven days, for the number of 
 correspondents are great. The Gazette, United 
 States, has another edition of ancient and tried 
 principles, and throughout the Union there appears 
 a general resurrection of literature and political 
 truths. You will rejoice at this. You will join me 
 in the wish, that the sun of reform, which now only 
 appears above the edge of the horizon, shedding a 
 few rays through a troubled and cloudy atmosphere 
 on our thirsty land, may proceed to its meridian 
 splendor." 
 
 Jan. 30. From Charles Chauncey, jr. " I thank 
 you for your frank, spirited and ingenious com- 
 munication. The hurly-burly of politics, and the 
 strange and astonishing disorder of things in our 
 country, is sufficient to sicken at the first glance of 
 the subject. What shall we not say, when the peo- 
 ple are so cheated as to exchange rulers of excel- 
 lence for others far inferior? Shall we not conclude 
 that our government is a baseless fabric ? Efforts 
 are making to revive the drooping character of our 
 13 
 
138 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 literary journals. The Portfolio, it is hoped, will 
 be respectable. The New England Palladium, 
 under the direction of Mr. Button, and the Gazette 
 of the United States, conducted by my friend Mr. 
 Bronson, promise to be effectual in the cause of 
 sound principles." 
 
 Feb. 4. Rev. John Lathrop of Boston to Shaw 
 in Washington. "Yours of the 28th December, I 
 had the pleasure to receive, for which I beg you to 
 accept my thanks. I feel with you the mortifica- 
 tion, which the most valuable part of the people in 
 the United States feel, in the decision of the impor- 
 tant election. Sincerely do I join in the pious re- 
 quest, c that the all good God will still continue to 
 shower down his blessings, as the dew of heaven, 
 on our beloved country.' There is certainly no 
 man on earth, for whom I feel a higher esteem, than 
 I do for President Adams. I am proud that the 
 New England States gave him every vote. He will 
 retire with dignity. At his tranquil abode, he will 
 be esteemed as the friend of religion, of rational lib- 
 erty, of good government, and of man. 1 send you 
 a copy of my Century Discourse." 
 
 Feb. 8. From Dr. Cotton Tufts at Weymouth. 
 " The issue of the late election is far from being 
 pleasant, even to the jacobins amongst us. It seems 
 to be anticipated here, that Burr will obtain the vote 
 in the House of Representatives ; but at this dis~ 
 tance from the seat of government, we can form 
 but a slender conjecture. Time, however, must 
 determine this, as well as the future administration 
 of government, whether it will be such as has been 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 139 
 
 predicted or not. Submission becomes here the 
 most necessary virtue." 
 
 Feb. 15. Russell & Cutler of Boston to Shaw in 
 Washington. "As it is probable, that in closing 
 the present session of Congress, there will be some 
 matters of high importance decided, some appoint- 
 ments, and, we hope some farewell address from 
 our beloved Chief, we request, as a particular mark 
 of your friendship, to furnish us with them at as 
 early a period as your convenience will allow. Of 
 incidents we have but one to relate, which occurred 
 at our theatre on Friday evening, at the represent- 
 ation of the ' Lock and Key.' In it one of the 
 actors, in the person of a British tar, sings a song in 
 praise of British seamen, with an allusion to the 
 capture of a French frigate by the Arethusa. 
 This song, though possessing little merit, and in no 
 way noticed by the federal part of the audience, 
 excited indignant feelings in the hearts of the 
 jacobins present, and they accordingly hissed it, but 
 were soon overruled. On the next evening the 
 same play was re-acted, and an immense number 
 collected. The hissing, as before, commenced, but 
 was not suppressed without great disturbance and 
 many black eyes and purple noses." 
 
 Feb. 15. From T. B. Adams in Philadelphia. 
 " We have heard of the proceedings in the Repre- 
 sentative chamber as far as the twenty-second bal- 
 lot. We have admired that firmness which puts 
 the issue of the choice upon strength of nerves 
 rather than numbers. I have but little expectation 
 that the thing will go through as it began. Some- 
 
140 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 body will go over to the majority, but it is hard to 
 say, or even conjecture, who this will be. The 
 Aurora threatens to seize on the public arms, and 
 force down the man of the people upon us. 
 
 "The desperation of the jacobins is almost in- 
 describable, and I know not how soon it may show 
 itself in acts of tumult and violence. Yesterday 
 I was walking in Chestnut street, in the middle of 
 the afternoon, and passed three men, of whom I 
 took no notice at the time. Before I was beyond 
 hearing distance, one of them, in a loud voice, said, 
 'That cockade will be very little longer in fashion ; 
 it wont last but a few days more; might as well 
 be laid by.' I shall continue to wear the cockade 
 so long as I have a head to wear a hat, if agreeable 
 to myself." 
 
 Feb. 23. Shaw to Walter in Boston. " The 
 election of President occupied the House six days 
 and one night. The choice lay between Jefferson 
 and Burr. 
 
 "On Friday there was more warmth and more 
 confusion in the House, than I ever recollect to 
 have perceived there. It was occasioned by a res- 
 olution to censure the Speaker for turning Smith 
 out of the Representatives' apartment. Smith is a 
 democratic printer and editor of a paper in this 
 city. He had been admitted to take minutes of the 
 proceedings. In one of his papers he misstated 
 something the Speaker said in his chair. The lat- 
 ter took occasion to rectify the error. This Smith 
 resented, and published in his next paper a violent 
 phillipic against the Speaker, who, therefore, forbid 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 141 
 
 him to appear there again. After the resolution 
 was debated some time, the previous question was 
 moved. Then Livingston rose and began to discuss 
 the main subject. The Speaker told him he was 
 not in order. He replied that he was, and then said, 
 'I appeal to the House ; I will see if they will sup- 
 port you in every thing.' The majority of the 
 members supported the Speaker, much to their 
 honor. The sedition bill is not continued. This 
 I regret. I send you a tract, written by a German,' 
 which contrasts the French and American revolu- 
 tions. The author seems to have more accurate 
 ideas of the principles on which our revolution 
 was conducted, than ninety-nine out of a hundred 
 among our own countrymen. I send you, also, 
 ' Thoughts on the Increasing Wealth of the United 
 States,' by Blodget. Duane is in the city. The 
 democratic members of the House have given him 
 a dinner. To-rnorrow they give one to Mr. Jeffer- 
 son." 
 
 Feb. 25. A joint committee of the Houses in 
 Congress request information from Mr. Shaw rela- 
 tive to the furniture of the President's house, so 
 that whatever is needed may be supplied with the 
 least inconvenience to Jefferson's family. 
 
 February. Shaw in Washington to his aunt 
 Adams. " I had the pleasure to receive your very 
 kind letter of the 14th of February, for which I 
 pray you to receive my honest thanks. I should 
 not have neglected answering it till this late date, 
 had I not been uncommonly occupied in business. 
 Soon after you left us, the election was decided in 
 13* 
 
142 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 favor of Mr. Jefferson for President. A majority of 
 none of the New England States were finally in his 
 favor. For the legislators of our country to be 
 obliged to vote either for Jefferson or Burr, was not 
 unlike a man in the chamber of a house on fire ; if 
 he ran down stairs he would probably be burnt, if 
 he jumped from the window he would be in dan- 
 ger of breaking his limbs. When Stewart an- 
 nounced Mr. Jefferson's election in his paper, he 
 placed at the head of the paragraph, the eagle 
 reversed, with the motto 'E pluria uno.' I asked 
 him what he meant by it. His answer was, 
 
 The Eagle's flight 
 Is out of sight.' 
 
 " Gentlemen here speak confidently of the per- 
 sons who are to fill the executive departments. 
 Samuel Smith gives it out under his own signature, 
 that Madison will be Secretary of State, and Gal- 
 latin his secretary ; Dearborn, Secretary of War ; 
 and Levi Lincoln, Attorney General. He also 
 stated to Mr. Stoddart, the Secretary of the Navy, 
 that this office had been offered to him, and that 
 Mr. Jefferson remarked, if he could not have minis- 
 ters respectable for talents and reputation, he would 
 not accept the office, for which he was chosen. 
 
 " The President has made the appointments under 
 the new judiciary act, which are already announced 
 in the papers. The selection is highly approved." 
 
 March 20. Shaw in Quincy to William Wells in 
 England. "Your letter of the 15th November from 
 Liverpool, I did not receive till the last of Febru- 
 ary. I had often thought of you in the many cold 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 143 
 
 storms, which we have had this season, and had anx- 
 iously wished to hear of your arrival long before 
 the welcome guest arrived. Though its course has 
 been long and devious, it found a joyful reception 
 in the bosom of your friend. I rejoiced much to 
 hear, that the remorseless deep had not closed o'er 
 the head of my much lov'd Lycidas.' Write me 
 long and frequent letters. Inform me about the 
 particulars of your journey, the politics and litera- 
 ture of England. Among the events of our coun- 
 try is a fatal duel, fought by Mr. Rutledge and Dr. 
 Senter. The latter was charged with improper 
 familiarity with the wife of the former. This was 
 the subject of much conversation in Newport. It 
 was chiefly occasioned by the visits of Senter, in 
 disguise, to the family of Rutledge in Weathersfield, 
 Connecticut, to which place they had come from 
 the South. Last summer, Senter went to Europe 
 as an attendant physician to a lady in ill health, and 
 returned to Charleston, S. C. some time in January. 
 Rutledge was there and heard that Senter had gone 
 to his house, a few miles from the city. He hast- 
 ened thither, and seeing him in the hall, discharged 
 a pistol at him and shot away one of his fingers. 
 Senter escaped and returned to Charleston. The 
 next day Rutledge followed, found and challenged 
 him. They fought in the neighborhood of Savan- 
 nah. Senter was disabled by being wounded in 
 the legs, which was succeeded by the lock-jaw and 
 his speedy death. 
 
 "Congress will probably adjourn on the 18th or 
 19th of April. During the present session, they 
 
144 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 have mostly attended to alterations of the Consti- 
 tution as to the election of President and Vice Pres- 
 ident, measures relative to the acquisition of the 
 Louisiana Territory, etc. Before you sailed you 
 must have known the determination of the demo- 
 crats to renounce Burr for their candidate as Vice 
 President, at the next election, because, they assert, 
 that at the last election, he intrigued with the fed- 
 eralists to supplant Jefferson, and to be chosen Pres- 
 ident himself. They have accordingly elected 
 Governor Clinton of New York to supply Burr's 
 place. 
 
 "Adieu my dear Wells. 
 
 ' Think on thy friend when thou haply seest 
 Some rare note, worthy object of thy travel.' " 
 
 April 1. It appears, that on this day Mr. Shaw 
 entered the office of William Sullivan of Boston, to 
 pursue the study of law. While in the discharge 
 of his duties as secretary to President Adams, he 
 made himself extensively acquainted with the char- 
 acter of public men, as well as with the literature 
 of the times. Such improvement enabled him to 
 enter with advantage on his new course. Though 
 turned by the political wheel from an eligible station 
 to another more private, the change by no means 
 abated his zeal for the public good, or discouraged 
 his efforts of preparation for his chosen profession. 
 
 April 5. From T. B. Adams in Philadelphia. 
 " The letter, which is published in the Commercial 
 Gazette, is from the Washington Federalist. I had 
 read it with great satisfaction, in manuscript. I 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 145 
 
 hope to grasp the hand l that wrote it, in a few 
 months. He will find it attended with inconven- 
 ience to recommence at the bar. When he does it, 
 the good people, perhaps, will some time or other 
 choose him a Representative. It is not pleasant to 
 depend on popular election for public employment. 
 
 " The plan you have adopted for yourself, I think 
 judicious. I wish you much success. While you 
 are reading law, there may occur some vacancy, 
 into which you may step from the office of your 
 patron. But upon this you cannot calculate. It 
 matters little, however, whether there be few or 
 many lawyers, in the same place, for business will 
 always be done by a few. I am not much in the 
 habit of expressing the anxiety, which sometimes 
 perplexes my mind, on the subject of my own pro- 
 fessional success. Two or three years must pass 
 before I can reasonably expect that my business 
 will afford me competent support. Very consolatory, 
 upon my word. But of this, somewhat too much. 
 
 " I send you the Farmer's Boy. We are to pass 
 sentence, this evening, on a new historical play, 
 written by Charles Ingersoll. It is called ' Edwy 
 and Elgiva.' The story, you will remember, is to 
 be found in the first volume of Hume. The cast 
 of characters you have enclosed, and, on Monday, 
 you shall hear the result. All the town are informed 
 who wrote the piece, and it now stands upon its 
 deliverance under less favorable circumstances, than 
 if the author had been invisible." 
 
 April 11. From Mr. Shaw's mother. "I suppose 
 this will find you in your new department, and I 
 J John Quincy Adams. 
 
146 MEMORIALS OP 
 
 hope, pleased with your situation, with new duties to 
 perform, both as they respect yourself and others. 
 There are some duties, which ought to be the result 
 of fixed principles, and others, which are local, and 
 may depend on circumstances. Fidelity and pru- 
 dence, industry and discretion, with obliging man- 
 ners, are some of the essentials in life, and seldom 
 fail of gaining the confidence, love and esteem of 
 our fellow-travelers, who, with us, are embarked as 
 upon a rough and dangerous sea. I anticipated all 
 your feelings the day on which you said that you 
 were to leave Quincy, and -your dear uncle and 
 aunt's protection, which has long been spread over 
 you. The time you are stepping into life, calls for 
 circumspection. It is an era in our nation's affairs, 
 portentous of important events." 
 
 April 27. From T. B. Adams. "As a general 
 memento, the best time to study law is while you 
 are in the office of another person. After you have 
 one of your own, your attention and time will be 
 chiefly occupied in attendance on courts. It was 
 not until I had considerable experience, that I could 
 look upon a client in any other light than an intru- 
 der into my office, and nothing but his fee could 
 persuade me to the contrary. Jo. Dennie says, that 
 he used to lock his office door to keep clients out. 
 This is no violence to the truth in his case, as I 
 can readily conceive." 
 
 April 30. From T. B. Johnson in Washington. 
 " This place, after the rising of Congress, and the 
 festivity observed in honor of Mr. Jefferson had 
 subsided, sunk into a calm. In this condition it has 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 147 
 
 remained undisturbed by any of the violent pro- 
 ceedings, which were expected to agitate the coun- 
 try, and, in the end, bring on a premature dissolu- 
 tion of the government. Whether this state of 
 things will remain any length of time, is somewhat 
 problematical. Certain it is, that less precipitancy 
 and much more caution have been observed than 
 Mr. Jefferson's opponents were inclined to think 
 could, consistently with the character of his princi- 
 ples and the publicity of his declarations, be sup- 
 ported by him in a line of conduct, marked out for 
 his guidance. Whatever may have been the mo- 
 tives which have led to it, the propriety of the 
 step cannot be disputed. Respite from the expected 
 evil is to be acknowledged with gratitude." 
 
 May 10. From T. B. Adams. "The trial of 
 persons, indicted for an assault on William Duane, 
 was lately decided in the Mayor's court. Some 
 were fined $120, with costs of prosecution, and 
 others less. You may remember the provocation, 
 which was the cause of this chastisement, inflicted 
 by the members of several volunteer troops, who 
 had served against the Northampton insurgents. It 
 was the refusal of Duane to give up the author of 
 certain paragraphs, which had been printed in the 
 Aurora, charging those troops with improper con- 
 duct during their expedition. 
 
 " Our Governor went, last Sabbath, to one of the 
 Quaker meetings in this place. No particular atten- 
 tion was paid to him, except making room for him 
 and suite to sit down. The Spirit moved an elderly 
 sisler to unburden herself of a few thoughts. She 
 
148 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 made the attempt, though without attracting much 
 notice or attention from the Governor, until she 
 happened rather awkwardly and mal-apropos to say, 
 1 We will not have this man to reign over us.' At 
 this time he roused and became suddenly a patient 
 listener to the sequel, which, contrary to his appre- 
 hension, did not enlarge on that text. The applica- 
 tion, however, did not escape many of the congre- 
 gation, though far from being intended by the 
 speaker." 
 
 June 22. " It falls to my lot to do things so re- 
 pugnant to my feelings, that I know not what 
 apology to offer for complying; in opposition to 
 them, with the absurd custom of the times, which 
 often imposes a necessity of thus betraying my 
 judgment. What answer can be given to a man 
 who, after living for a few months under the same 
 roof with you, though in no particular habits of in- 
 timacy, shall accost you thus : Mr. Adams, have 
 you any commands for Boston ? Are you going 
 thither ? Yes. I know not that I have any par- 
 ticular commands. Will you give me some letters 
 to your friends? I will. This is the substance of 
 a dialogue, which passed between Mr. T. C. and 
 myself last evening. You know what a kind of 
 reputation he had in this place at one time ; but, in 
 justice to him, I must say, that I think a great deal 
 of artificial, malignant censure was cast upon him. 
 This is the third instance wherein I have intro- 
 duced people to my friends by solicitation. I have 
 this morning a letter from my brother. 1 More than 
 
 >J. Q. AdamsT" 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 149 
 
 half of the three last numbers of the Portfolio, are 
 compiled from his communications. You may 
 know his mark by one of the letters which make 
 the word, Columbus, being at the bottom of each 
 poetical effusion." 
 
 Sept. 2. From Mr. Shaw's mother to him. " It 
 has been my lot, my dear son, to have a great deal 
 of sickness in my family, from early life. You, as 
 well as your sisters, have suffered greatly, and 
 severely felt the yoke in your youth. As God has 
 blessed you, of late, with a comfortable measure of 
 health, I hope that you will not be unmindful of 
 the favor, but improve your spared life to his honor 
 by preserving a " conscience void of offence," 
 and employing your time and talents to the most 
 useful purposes. I daily supplicate the Most High, 
 that he would spare to my declining years, my yet 
 two remaining props ; for I feel, if they were taken 
 away, I must soon fall. Your friend Buckminster 
 kept Sabbath with us here a fortnight since. We 
 were much gratified with his visit. His counte- 
 nance is a fine expression of his intelligence and 
 worth. Happy the parents of three such promis- 
 ing children ; for his two sisters do not suffer in 
 comparison with him. Lucy Maria has all the ' je 
 ne sai quoi,' united with excellent talents ; and 
 Eliza has more than a common share of excellences. 
 Your cousin, Lemuel Shaw, 1 is studying law in 
 Boston. He is a superior young man. I wish you 
 would cultivate an acquaintance with him." 
 
 Sept. 20. From T. B. Adams in Philadelphia. 
 
 1 The present Chief Justice of Massachusetts. 
 
 14 
 
150 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 " Since my return, I have been more occupied with 
 my profession, than I had been for a long time 
 before. My ambition does not aspire to anything 
 out of the pale of bar-promotion ; but it is, by no 
 means, an easy task to attain eminence in this 
 sphere. The number of competitors, added to the 
 difficult and laborious duties in the exercise of 
 our profession, make it a perfect lottery as to suc- 
 cess and profit. Every opportunity I get, of hold- 
 ing forth at the bar, invigorates zeal ; but I have 
 not yet vanquished the terrors and palpitations 
 incident to inexperienced speakers." 
 
 Dec. 20. William Cranch in Washington to Mr. 
 Shaw in Boston. "I see B. Russell has begun to pub- 
 lish the pieces, which appeared in the Federalist 1 
 under the signature of ' a friend of the Constitution.' 
 They are written by one of our first law charac- 
 ters. He may, also, if he chooses, re-print the 
 pieces which are now coming out in the same pa- 
 per, under the signature of 'Lucius Junius Brutus,' 
 as a supplement to the other. They are not from 
 the same pen, but it is necessary that the people 
 should see the grounds on which rests the inde- 
 pendence of the judiciary, and the necessity of 
 supporting that department in the contest which 
 is now about to be commenced. You will have 
 learned by the papers, that, at the last Supreme 
 Court, a rule was laid on the Secretary of State to 
 show cause why a mandamus should not issue, 
 commanding him to deliver the commissions of 
 justice of peace to Wm. Marbury, Dennis Ramsay 
 Wm. Harper and Robert T. Hoe, which were signed 
 
 ] A paper published in Washington. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 151 
 
 and sealed under the former administration. I find 
 there is a determination to repeal the last judiciary 
 act, and to withhold the appropriation for salaries 
 for the judges." 
 
 1802, March 18. From John Newman in Philadel- 
 phia. " Since I left Washington, which was on the 
 2d January, I have entered upon the law under Mr. 
 Rawle. The sun of federalism will soon rise again. 
 The people are beginning to suspect those, who 
 have so long deceived them. In this State McKean, 
 Dallas and Leib have already lost much of their 
 influence. Discord is in their camp. The selfish 
 principle which connected them in opposition, loses 
 its power in their scrambling for supremacy among 
 themselves. I hope the leaven of jacobinism in 
 the Eastern States will not contaminate the whole 
 mass. In the event of a dissolution of the Union, 
 you will have a great accession of population, if 
 the revolutionary mania should not too deeply infect 
 you. It is said that the French General, who is to 
 command the Floridas, is already appointed. If 
 this long apprehended cession should take place, we 
 need not long expect ' peace and safety,' or even 
 safety in peace." 
 
 Among the documents preserved by Mr. Shaw, 
 and indicative of his strong love for literature 
 and science and his deep interest in the promotion 
 of them, which he ever manifested, is a subscrip- 
 tion paper dated March 25, 1802, for $20,000, as 
 the foundation for a Professorship of Natural History 
 at Harvard College. It contains the names of the 
 
152 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 donors, and their individual contributions to so 
 worthy an object. 
 
 May 4. From T. B. Adams. "I have lately 
 returned from attending the Quarter Sessions in 
 Delaware county. I took part in a criminal cause 
 for perjury. Mr. Joseph Hemphill, a member of 
 Congress in our delegation, whose argument on 
 the judiciary bill this session obtained so much 
 applause, has hitherto resided in the county of 
 Delaware, and frequented the courts in this vicinity. 
 He is a plain young man, both in dress and man- 
 ners. Though he is usually considered as of the 
 Society of the Friends, he is in reality of the 
 Church of England. I saw and conversed with 
 him often, and am much gratified by his acquaint- 
 ance. He purposes coming very shortly to estab- 
 lish himself in the city. Sam. Ewing, who is 
 now leaning on my window, sends his best regards 
 to yon. Did you notice, some time ago, a satire on 
 some toasts, which were drank at a feast given 
 by R. Peale, in the Skeleton of the Mammoth ? 
 Ewing wrote it at my instance, and it had a good 
 effect. 77 
 
 June 13. From the same in Philadelphia. " I 
 received your short note, accompanying the ora- 
 tion delivered by my brother 1 before the Charitable 
 Fire Association, and thank you for your prompt- 
 ness in forwarding it to me. I am yet to hear from 
 you in reply to some of my inquiries. You have 
 certainly lost that kakoethes scribendi, which was 
 wont to beset you so easily. I remember to have 
 predicted your recovery from the disorder at no 
 1 J. Q. Adams. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 153 
 
 very remote period. The newspapers will have 
 informed you that a work entitled, The History of 
 the Administration of John Adams, and an account 
 of the suppression of the same by Colonel Burr, are 
 now selling in New York and in this city. The 
 author was so well aware of the nothingness of 
 his compilation, merely from democratic jour- 
 nals, that he became the willing instrument of 
 Colonel Burr, who hired him to suppress it ; 
 but falling out with his employer, he then had 
 it printed. There are hundreds of libellous ex- 
 pressions and passages throughout j but what is a 
 little singular is, that Colonel Hamilton and Gen- 
 eral Pinckney are both extolled in character and 
 person. Their biography is taken from federal 
 prints, and interlarded, here and there, with an abu- 
 sive and scandalous anecdote. The utmost malig- 
 nity and scurrillity of the writer is directed at John 
 Adams ; but there is no word of it, that will be 
 credited by a single candid person. The news- 
 paper of last night says, that the noted John Wood, 
 author, etc. has absconded. We have just entered 
 upon summer weather here. Apprehensions of the 
 yellow fever are stronger here this year than ever, 
 on account of the troops in the West Indies. 
 Yesterday, I delivered Mr. William Lee two of 
 young Charles Jared Ingersoll's tragedy, one for 
 you and one for my mother. It gives me pleasure 
 to hear that you are so eligibly situated in Boston. 
 Dennie lives out near the bettering-house, which 
 you know is close by the hospital, at his printer's 
 residence, and we seldom see him." 
 14* 
 
154 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 June 28. " I will send you { the history ' by the 
 first opportunity, perhaps by water. Colonel Burr 
 never contracted to pay $1,000 for its suppression. 
 He may have offered to give something, which 
 never was paid. But the rivalship of Clinton must 
 have come out at all events. The narrative was 
 only a sort of warming-pan to the history. I am 
 pleased to hear that J. Q,. A. was the cause of the 
 failure of the Statue to Washington, by substitu- 
 ting marble for bronze. I do not believe he intend- 
 ed to defeat the plan by his suggestion, but I am 
 the better pleased on that account. I am entirely 
 dissatisfied with the mode of such attempts to 
 honor the memory of Washington." 
 
 Aug. 8. Richard Peters, Jr., in Philadelphia, to 
 Shaw in Boston. "Your progress in the law, I 
 hope, is rapid. By this time you have passed the 
 most rugged parts of the course. Our friend 1 has 
 no doubt informed you of our political discomfiture. 
 Gloomy as the picture of Pennsylvania now is, I 
 fear its shades will become still darker. I observe 
 the dismissal of Mr. Otis. 2 His political opponents 
 were too sharp for their own power, to suffer his 
 continuance. 
 
 11 You must observe, with regret, the change in 
 Dennie. I have long defended him, but I can do it 
 no more. His last Portfolio praises Hamilton at the 
 expense of the great Washington." 
 
 August. From John Adams, late President, on 
 "Remarks in the National Intelligencer of Aug. 4, 
 1802." " It has been often said, and as often de- 
 nied, that there are men in this country attached to 
 1 T. B. Adams. 2 Samuel A. Otis. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 155 
 
 democracy, simple democracy to a government in 
 every State, of a single assembly of Representatives, 
 without a Senate and without a Governor ; to a gov- 
 ernment of the nation in a Congress of Delegates 
 in one House, without a Senate and without a Presi- 
 dent. The charge is supported by the declarations 
 of numbers from Shays's rebellion and the votes of 
 county conventions, down to the letter to Mazzei, 
 to the efforts in the House of Representatives to set 
 aside the treaty with England, and many other 
 actions and declarations of individuals to this day. 
 Whether the writer of the remarks is capable of 
 comprehending it or not, there is a distinction be- 
 tween an attachment to monarchy, and an opinion 
 that it will, in some nations and at certain periods, 
 prevail ; and that no human wisdom or virtue in 
 existence can prevent it. Cato was never suspected 
 of any attachment to monarchy. His death was a 
 full proof of two points. 1. That he detested and 
 dreaded monarchy more than death. 2. That he 
 was fully convinced, that monarchy in the person 
 of Caesar, could not be prevented in Rome. Men's 
 opinions are not always conformable to their wishes. 
 Some have understandings as well as affections. 
 
 " Abstract opinions in favor of monarchy or de- 
 mocracy may exist without injury to the state. 
 Plato and Aristotle declare freely in their writings 
 a veneration for kingly government. Yet, in the 
 most democratical governments of Greece, they 
 were not persecuted. An end will be put to all 
 liberty of thought as well as speech, if Duane, Cal- 
 lender, Lyon, Cooper, Cheetham, Wood, in short, all 
 
156 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the dogs of the mob are to be let loose upon every 
 man who dares to speculate upon principles or sys- 
 tems of government. The change of the last ad- 
 ministration was in a very small degree affected by 
 any sentiment that there were men in the govern- 
 ment whose views were subversive of republican- 
 ism ; because the very men, who endeavored to 
 propagate such a sentiment, did not believe them- 
 selves, and were riot credited by others. Many of 
 these men were known to be more inclined to mo- 
 narchical opinions, than those whom they accused. 
 Many of these men were known to have often de- 
 clared their opinions, that the Constitution of the 
 United States was defective, because it had not an 
 hereditary President and an hereditary Senate. 
 Others had been known to declare that no form of 
 government was worth any thing, but that of king, 
 lords and commons. Some had even said that we 
 ought to have a monarchy in this country in the 
 person of one of the princes of England. This 
 kind of speeches and opinions has been oftener 
 uttered by those who are called republicans, and 
 are now possessed of power in the States, than by 
 federalists. The change of administration in this 
 country was effected by the federalists themselves ; 
 not by any change in favor of republicanism in the 
 people, nor by any opinion that the new President 
 was more of a republican than the former one. But 
 this is a subject that may be developed hereafter. 
 
 " Are our court gazettes then prepared to say that 
 1 liberty has vanished from France ' ; that the first 
 consul is an usurper ; that ' the French nation have 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 157 
 
 submitted every political right to the mercy of the 
 sword ' ; that ' the republic is subverted and mon- 
 archy has returned ' ? This language is as remote 
 from any tendency to preserve the friendship be- 
 tween this country and France, as it is from the 
 truth. The government of France is at least as 
 republican now, as it ever has been since the death 
 of the king, or since the subversion of the monarchy, 
 or indeed since the meeting of the Assembly of 
 Notables in 1786. It answers the ends of govern- 
 ment in preserving personal liberty, private property, 
 and the peace, order, tranquillity and happiness of 
 society, better than any republican constitution that 
 nation ever has enjoyed, and as well as any it will 
 probably ever have. This mighty transformation 
 has been effected without violence or contention, 
 by the voice of the people, by the general sense, 
 and the public opinion. The people of France are 
 weary of blood, disgusted with murder, and indig- 
 nant at rapine. They have seen and felt, and are 
 at length convinced with an unanimity that is very 
 remarkable, that democracy, without control, would 
 depopulate and desolate France. They have stop- 
 ped in their career of enthusiasm and delirium, and 
 are restored in some measure to their right minds. 
 " What connection there is between the returning 
 reason of the French people and the publication of 
 these letters, it is not easy to imagine. These let- 
 ters are calculated, in every sentence and every 
 word of them, to preserve the Constitution of the 
 United States from deviating into monarchy on one 
 hand, and democracy on the other. If the balance 
 
158 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 of our government was destroyed and the weight all 
 placed in the democratical scale, nothing is more 
 certain than that all the confusions and horrors of 
 France, for fifteen or sixteen years past, must be 
 our lot, and nothing could relieve us from them but 
 a civil war, or a victorious army ; unless the people 
 should suddenly recover their reason and restore the 
 equilibrium of the government. These letters were 
 written twelve years ago, from an apprehension that 
 the contagion of a French delirium might seize the 
 passions of the American people, and excite them to 
 destroy their present constitution, annihilate the 
 President's office, the Senate of the United States, 
 the Governors and Senates of the individual States, 
 and the independent judiciaries in all of them. 
 
 " The publication of these letters is another affair. 
 They had been long forgotten, and would probably 
 have never been again read or seen by the writer, 
 had he not been informed, that last winter certain 
 persons in Boston were handing them about, show- 
 ing sentences or half sentences, and misrepresent- 
 ing them, not only in democratical clubs, but to 
 lawyers and judges during their terms. This inform- 
 ation alone occasioned some old letter books to be 
 searched, and these copies to be published. They 
 contain no sentiments which the writer ever con- 
 cealed. He held them in 1776, when his letter to 
 Mr. Wythe was published. He held them openly 
 and publicly in 1779, when in the Convention 
 which formed the Constitution of the State of Mas- 
 sachusetts. They run through the three volumes 
 of his Defence of the Constitution of the United 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 159 
 
 States, and have been frankly professed and avowed, 
 in public and private, on all occasions for six and 
 twenty years. A greater falsehood cannot be com- 
 mitted to writing, than is contained in these words : 
 { Hitherto they have courted the obscurity of a rigid 
 concealment.' " 
 
 Sept. 13. From T. B. Adams in Philadelphia. 
 "Accept my hearty thanks for the favorable account 
 your letter contains, of my mother's convalescence. 
 It is indeed grateful intelligence, and serves to con- 
 sole me under the painful prospect of being forced 
 to flee from this infected city. You will see that 
 the board of health, or rather board of pesti- 
 lence, have at last come out, after being threatened 
 by Duane, that he would report, if they did not. 
 They confirm all our fears respecting the prevalence 
 of the (yellow) fever here." 
 
 Some items from Mr. Shaw's diary. 
 
 Oct. 3. " In the evening at Mr. Emerson's. 1 
 Conversed on books and politics. Mr. E. is very 
 sanguine that there will be a great alteration favor- 
 able to federalism in the next Congress. I wish it 
 may be so, but I doubt it strongly." 
 
 Oct. 4. "Dined with Dwight, Walter, Wells, Sum- 
 ner and Chapman. After dinner, we held an anima- 
 ted discussion about the division, which took place 
 among the federalists. Dwight is a young man, 
 who has just completed his professional studies as a 
 lawyer, with Mr. Ames of Dedham. He is talented, 
 and endowed with many attractive qualities." 
 
 Oct. 6. u Mr. Q,uincy has gone to pass a few weeks 
 on his farm, during the continuance of the yellow 
 
 1 Rev. Wm. Emerson, of First Church in Boston. 
 
160 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 fever in town. It has prevailed considerably where 
 he resides. Walter sets out to-morrow on a tour 
 to the southward, preparatory to a voyage for 
 Europe. He has letters which will introduce him to 
 gentlemen of respectability, and thus render his jour- 
 ney pleasant and improving. Ever since our sopho- 
 more year in college, we have been connected by the 
 strongest ties of friendship. Excepting Wells, I 
 could part with every young man in town, and feel 
 less solitary, than I shall now by the absence of 
 Walter." 
 
 Oct. 8. " Spent the forenoon principally with 
 Channing, who came from Cambridge to see me. 
 We called on Salisbury, who has lately returned 
 from a visit to Europe." 
 
 Oct. 17. " Miss Gray told me, that she had been 
 in company with Gideon Granger, Post Master Gen- 
 eral, who has been on a visit to Boston; who 
 expresses an opinion, that the New England States 
 will never become republicanized till they have a 
 college instituted with republican instructors ; and 
 who complains bitterly, that our papers abuse Jeffer- 
 son and the present administration." 
 
 Nov. 1. " This day the Representatives for Con- 
 gress are to be chosen throughout the State. Dr. 
 Eustis and Mr. J. Q,. Adams are the candidates. I 
 went to the meeting about 10 o'clock, and continued 
 there all the morning. There was a great crowd 
 at the Hall, and much confusion. It was almost 
 impossible to put in a vote. The poll closed at 
 two. It was found that there were 1,496 for Mr. 
 Adams, and 1,430 for Dr. Eustis. This small 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 161 
 
 majority in Boston, is indicative that the Doctor's 
 election is secured. In the evening, much depressed 
 at the result of to-day's voting." 
 
 Oct. 13. Walter in Philadelphia to Shaw in Bos- 
 ton. " Here I am at last, in the real capital of our 
 country. It is always difficult for a stranger to 
 express his sensations of any place, because first 
 impressions are not always to be trusted. The 
 charms of novelty must finally give place to sober 
 knowledge of experience, and the dictates of calm 
 investigation must be resigned to a cool judgment, 
 arising from extensive surveys of comparative 
 excellence." 
 
 Oct. 30. " I wrote you one or two days ago from 
 Baltimore, which is a fine city. Its commercial 
 confidence and credit have been very much injured 
 by numerous bankruptcies. Mr. Harper 1 had gone 
 to Annapolis, so that I had not the pleasure of see- 
 ing that highly federal character. I traveled with 
 Captain Preble. He is an agreeable man. Tom 
 Paine has arrived. I believe he came in a vessel to 
 Baltimore." 
 
 Dec. 22. From Walter in Liverpool. " I have 
 the pleasure of informing you of my safe arrival 
 here after a passage of twenty-six days. Liverpool 
 is a place for the slave-trade. It is dirty, smoky 
 and disagreeable. At 9 o'clock this morning I was 
 writing by candle light. Yesterday I was at the 
 Athenaeum, a handsome room for the reading of 
 newspapers and magazines, with a good library. 
 The genteel part of the inhabitants frequent the 
 
 1 Robert Goodloe Harper. 
 15 
 
162 WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 
 
 library and read, for books are not allowed to be 
 taken away. If I stay in town a few days, I shall 
 see Roscoe. I have a letter to a very intimate 
 friend of his. He is a plain, grave looking man, 
 silent in company, and rich. He does not now 
 practice law, though that is his regular profession. 
 Chapman desires to be affectionately remembered. 
 He. is a worthy friend." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Samuel Adams against Paine's " Age of Reason "Navigation of 
 the Mississippi Marshall's Washington American Literature 
 Austin's Letters Invasion of England History of Foreign Af- 
 fairsProposal of Bonaparte to Louis XVI., that he abdicate 
 Gillie's Remark on President Adams Irish Rebellion Abbe de 
 Lille Southey Coleridge French Preparations Invitation. 
 
 1803, Feb. 4. Shaw in Boston to Walter in 
 London. " Our friend Channing is now at New- 
 port, where he has resided for the last six weeks. 
 Immediately after your departure he preached three 
 Sabbaths in Brattle street church, to crowded 
 audiences and to the delight of every one. Both 
 churches have invited him to settle with them, and 
 each were zealous that he should accept their invi- 
 tation. He has negatived the call of Brattle street. 
 He will probably comply with the desire of Federal 
 street. This parish have offered twenty-five dollars 
 a Sabbath, his house and wood, which is equal to 
 the salary of any clergyman in town, and superior 
 to that of most. He has, I think, judged wisely in not 
 undertaking the entire charge of so large a congrega- 
 tion as Brattle street. Such a situation would be too 
 great a tax on his physical powers; would allow him 
 little opportunity for the studies essential for excel- 
 lence in his profession. Profound learning adds 
 
164 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 dignity and lustre to every character and calling 
 with which it is connected. I have often thought, 
 that a pastor has more stimulating motives to acquire 
 knowledge than any other. He has little commerce 
 with the world except to instruct and edify. His 
 Sabbath labors give him an opportunity to bring all 
 his intellectual acquirements into frequent application 
 and immediate usefulness. Thus he is enabled not 
 merely to please his hearers, but to enlighten them 
 in their most important interests; to enforce on 
 their minds and hearts the truths of the sacred 
 oracles, and the necessity of devotedness to the 
 Supreme, as the great end of their being. 
 
 " Tom Paine, soon after his arrival, excited much 
 displeasure against himself, by the publication of 
 his letters. His party soon discovered that he was 
 doing them great injury, and induced him to lay 
 aside his pen. The Aurora left out all which he 
 said in his third letter about religion. We had not 
 heard of him for some time till last night's mail 
 brought us S. Smith's paper with a letter from 
 Samuel Adams and Paine's answer. Mr. Adams 
 allows Paine merit for his service in our Revolution, 
 but severely reprimands him for writing his " Age 
 of Reason." I send you, with the papers and 
 pamphlets, three of Mr. Adams's orations. Please 
 to hand one to Dana with my best wishes." 
 
 Feb. 20. "As to the secrecy of Congress, we 
 generally suppose that the breach of the treaty by 
 Spain, in the occlusion of the port of New Orleans, 
 has been the subject before them. The resolution 
 of Mr. Griswold and four others, respecting the 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 165 
 
 navigation of the Mississippi, obstructed by the late 
 regulations at New Orleans, was suspended by the 
 motion of Randolph. The violation of the treaty 
 is peculiarly oppressive to the inhabitants of Ohio, 
 Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi territory. 
 Kentucky has already sent a memorial to Congress. 
 So essential is the injury done to this people, that 
 unless the obstruction is immediately removed, it 
 has been suggested, that nothing can prevent them 
 from recourse to arms. Their commercial and 
 agricultural prosperity entirely depends on the free 
 navigation of the Mississippi. It is the only 
 channel of communication which the immense and 
 fertile country of the West has with the sea. It 
 absolutely needs New Orleans, as the depot for the 
 surplus of its productions." 
 
 Feb. 27. " We have just received from Wash- 
 ington a letter from the Spanish minister to the 
 Secretary of State, in which he gives the informa- 
 tion, l that his king has provided, that the deposit 
 should continue at New Orleans, until the two gov- 
 ernments shall come to an agreement about another 
 equivalent place.' " 
 
 March 2. "Channing has given up his regency 
 at Cambridge, and resides altogether in Boston. At 
 present, he is in the family of young Stephen Hig- 
 ginson. His health is much better than when you 
 saw him last. He will probably be settled in 
 Federal street in about a month. I pray God that 
 his health may be perfectly restored to him. I am 
 confident that nothing but the want of such a 
 blessing will prevent him from being supereminently 
 15* 
 
166 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 useful in his profession. To this, his attach- 
 ment increases as he advances in its duties ; of 
 which, some would say, his ideas were even enthu- 
 siastic. We both know the wisdom of his head 
 and the goodness of his heart." 
 
 March 4. From C. P. Wayne in Philadelphia. 
 " By this day's mail I was favored with your letter 
 of the 25th ult., containing the names of seventy-two 
 of the most respectable gentlemen of Boston and 
 vicinity. I tender you my thanks for your polite 
 and disinterested assistance, in conjunction with 
 Colonel May. 1 The work 2 has been attended with 
 great expense. I expected that the printing of it 
 would have been begun on Tuesday last, but, from 
 a variety of circumstances, it will be delayed a little 
 while. It will go on with as much expedition as 
 the nature of it will allow after it is commenced j 
 but it depends on the number to be printed, 
 whether a volume will appear once a month, or in 
 two or three months j and until the returns of sub- 
 scribers are made from all quarters, nothing explicit 
 can be said on this point. Besides the four or five 
 volumes octavo, there will be an Atlas of from twenty 
 to thirty engravings, a plan of the different engage- 
 ments in the Revolution; but no charge will be made 
 for these, independent of the price for the volumes. 
 A handsome portrait of the General, from Stewart's 
 by Edwin, will be in the first volume. The work 
 will commence with a concise account of the coloni- 
 zation of the country and its history up to the birth 
 of the General, continued with his birth, early life 
 
 1 Joseph May. 2 Life of Washington by Marshall. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 167 
 
 and gallant behavior in the old Indian war, with 
 the events of this contest ; the measures which led 
 to the Revolution and an ample relation of the war 
 which succeeded, with an authentic biography of 
 the General to the period of his demise. Judge 
 Washington informed me, that this work would be 
 composed from eleven trunks of public and three of 
 private papers, left by the General. Any further 
 assistance you may be pleased to bestow, will add 
 to the favor already conferred." 
 
 April 1. From Walter in London to William E. 
 Channing in Boston. " Do you think I love not 
 your moral preaching ? To me it is very pleasant, 
 because it confirms my notions of right, and always 
 sets me in the path of true happiness. I know of 
 no reading more delightful than the inspirations of 
 holy men, who seem to have caught the doctrines 
 of eternal truth from reflecting on the perfections of 
 the High and Holy One. I have lately been read- 
 ing Smith's Moral Sentiments, in admiration of 
 which I perfectly concur with my excellent friend, 
 Wells. Truth is the object of my most serious 
 researches. The Deity is surrounded with it, as 
 with an holy, undefiled essence ; and whenever I 
 can meet with it, I make it my study and my con- 
 templation. 
 
 11 1 am glad that you and Shaw are making 
 excursions into literature. I would I were with you, 
 to participate the labor and the pleasure. I want my 
 country to do something in this cause. It is high 
 time that the young Hercules, who has strangled 
 the serpents, should go forth in the plenitude of 
 
168 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 muscular force, and perform the mighty labors 
 assigned to him. American literature ought to bud, 
 it ought to promise future fruits of Hesperian luxu- 
 riance." 
 
 April 20. From Shaw to Walter. " Gilbert and 
 Dean publish in this town, every Saturday evening, 
 a literary, religious paper. They have had consid- 
 erable encouragement. Mrs. Murray and Mrs. Raw- 
 son are the principal writers. Our classmate, Story, 
 has become more engaged in politics, than even be- 
 fore you left for Europe. We have a new bank. 
 It is called the Boston Bank. They have taken the 
 building in which Messrs. Lowell and Otis had their 
 Qffices, and where the Union Bank was formerly 
 kept. The elections seem to favor the position, 
 that federalism is gaining ground. Neither history 
 nor our own experience justify us in the belief, 
 that the people give their votes on principles, drawn 
 from reason and reflection, to any system of policy. 
 Nothing is more fallacious than the whole business 
 of politics." 
 
 May 4. From various papers in Mr. Shaw's hands 
 it appears, that prior to this date and afterwards, 
 extensive exertions were made through the United 
 States, to obtain subscriptions of one dollar a person 
 for the erection of a monument to Washington. 
 The movement of Congress, on the same subject, 
 had been ineffectual. A considerable sum, on the 
 popular plan, was laid out for bank-stock in the 
 name of Bushrod Washington and associates, as 
 trustees for the concern. Much spirit, in which 
 Mr. Shaw partook largely, was exhibited in Boston 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 169 
 
 to advance the enterprise. The general agent was 
 Samuel Blodget. 
 
 June 11. Shaw to Walter in London. " I was 
 delighted to see in your letter the honest expression 
 of attachment to your country. This, as you will 
 find, absence will increase. Whatever celebrity 
 our countrymen may have acquired for the rougher 
 virtues, I agree with you, that she is deficient in 
 literature and science. So she will continue till 
 these pursuits are more liberally encouraged. I be- 
 lieve that this is not owing to any physical defect 
 in Americans. We have many men among us, who 
 would not suffer, if compared in point of genius, 
 with the most renowned men of Greece and Rome, 
 of France and England. Erudition must first be- 
 come the object of ambition with our countrymen 
 before they will attain to eminence. It was near 
 six hundred years after the foundation of Rome, 
 before she produced any celebrated poets. Then 
 such authors were in low repute. Cato censured 
 the Consul, Marcus Nobilior, for taking with him 
 the poet Ennius, into his province of Etolia. Still 
 there must have been geniuses, at that very period, 
 in Rome, equal to those of the noted poets in 
 Greece. 
 
 " I send you a poem, called " Boston," by Win- 
 throp Sargent, who was author of several effusions 
 under the signature of Amyntas, which appeared in 
 our papers. Our friend Channing was ordained 
 over the Federal street church, the first of June. 
 Dr. Tappan preached an excellent sermon on the 
 
170 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 occasion. Our classmate, Tucker-man, gave the 
 right hand of fellowship very acceptably." 
 
 June 15. From Walter. " Allston the other day 
 dined with young Peters at Mr. Trumbull's. I sup- 
 posed, on hearing the name, that it was the person 
 of whom you had often spoken to me in Boston* 
 Allston and myself intend calling on him next 
 week. He does not stay here long, but goes to 
 Paris in two or three weeks. Austin goes on with 
 his letters. They will not, however, be published 
 before next November, as he told me. I read one 
 of the letters the other evening. Dana and Allston 
 liked it. You will wait to form an opinion for 
 yourself." 
 
 June 23. Letter from the mother of Shaw. 
 Speaking of a lawyer at Haverhill, she says, that 
 "he regretted not having accustomed himself to 
 public speaking at his first entrance into his busi- 
 ness. By the errors and excellences of others, the 
 young should learn wisdom. It must be a happy 
 circumstance to have your beloved friend for your 
 pastor. I hope his precepts will have a deep im- 
 pression on your heart. It is lovely, my son, to be 
 good from education and habit, but there is some- 
 thing still more excellent, and that is, to be good 
 from a conviction of duty to God and ourselves. 
 Favorable gales have hitherto attended your course. 
 To Heaven I will still look, that you may be guided 
 to duty and usefulness." 
 
 July 11. From Walter in London. "Political 
 affairs are in statu quo. Bonaparte is making the 
 tour of his dominions, surveying the fortresses and 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 171 
 
 forming his encampments. There is no doubt 
 entertained here, that he will attempt an invasion j 
 but the making of gun-boats and frigates is very 
 slow in France, though the subscriptions are numer- 
 ous. However, their actual force is formidable. In 
 this city hand-bills are stuck up in various public 
 places, calling on the people to be prepared, deter- 
 mined and brave. One piece is signed Publicola, 
 and is well written, reciting a variety of reasons 
 why the English should be patriotic and brave, and 
 calling to their minds the deeds of the Henries and 
 Edwards. Whenever the subject of invasion is dis- 
 cussed in the House of Commons, the gallery doors 
 are always closed, in order to prevent any informa- 
 tion from being conveyed to the enemy. Various 
 gentlemen in the House, particularly Mr. Wyndham 
 and Col. Crawford, think and declare an invasion is 
 practicable, and that the danger is great. These 
 honorable Senators have awakened the public mind 
 to a high sense of the serious situation of the coun- 
 try, and the ministry have taken all possible precau- 
 tions to guard against any attempt. The Secretary 
 of War is preparing a bill, by which every English- 
 man will be obliged to perform certain military 
 duties in his town or county, so that the nation will 
 be completely a vast army, independently of more 
 than 300,000 men, who are either regulars, or to be 
 a perfectly organized militia. Such are the affairs 
 of this kingdom, the great bulwark against the 
 gigantic, unmeasured ambition of France. I wish 
 them every honor and every success in the trying 
 time of the present, and in the emergency of the 
 
]72 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 future struggle. Austin dined with Erving and 
 others on the Fourth of July. I believe it was a 
 democratic party." 
 
 July. Shaw to Waiter. " I coincide with you 
 you, that the history of our Revolution has not been 
 properly executed. The authors are partial. They 
 have their favorites, and have made them the heroes 
 of their story, to the disparagement of truth. The 
 Revolution, so described, is no more that, achieved 
 by our statesmen and heroes, than the mangled 
 phantom, which 2Eneas met in his descent to Aver- 
 nus, resembled the faultless figure of Deiphobus. 
 
 " I feel, equally with yourself, the obligation im- 
 posed upon us to make all possible exertions to pro- 
 mote the benevolent design of our creation, by ren- 
 dering ourselves useful to our fellow men. I con- 
 fess that this is the only certain proof we can give 
 of our gratitude to God for the mercies and talents 
 with which he has been pleased to intrust us. 
 
 "In writing history, I think no better directions 
 can be adopted, than that which Cicero prescribes 
 ' Primam esse historiae legem ne quid falsi dicere 
 audeat.' There is one branch of our Revolution, 
 equally useful with any other, the history of which, 
 I believe, no one has ever attempted. I mean the 
 management of our foreign affairs during that period. 
 This would be an ample field, respecting which 
 the most of our countrymen know but very little. 
 They scarcely know the deeds of those who went 
 abroad, hazarded their liberty and lives, and per- 
 formed laborious services, as much conducive to the 
 success of our arms, as those of warriors at home. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 173 
 
 While the latter have been eulogized by our histo- 
 rians, the former have not had their exertions fairly 
 represented. Circumstances make the difference, 
 but withhold the justice. 
 
 " You remark, * Literature is dear, and common 
 nature is cheap.' A knowledge of the former, how- 
 ever, is more easily obtained, than that of the latter. 
 We meet with thousands profound in literature, who 
 have imperfect views of human nature. This im- 
 portant study will no doubt form one grand object 
 of your pursuit while in Europe. Shakespeare was 
 an adept in this science. His investigations cannot 
 be read without being realized. They are clothed 
 with circumstances arid embodied by fact and 
 experience. 
 
 " In whatever country of Europe you travel, you 
 will probably find the state of society much lower 
 than in our country. A mind, benevolent like 
 yours, will naturally search for the cause of such 
 difference. Please to examine this subject, and 
 send me the result." 
 
 July 26. From Walter. "Among the singular 
 political events of the present day, has been the 
 proposal to the royal family of France to abdicate, 
 by a written instrument, their hereditary right as 
 the relations of Louis XVI. The proposal was 
 Bonaparte's. But Louis XVIII., though promised 
 the most splendid establishment, and I believe the 
 crown of Poland, indignantly refused the proposal 
 in a written answer, and the rest of the family to 
 the number of eight or ten. This proves that Bona- 
 parte feels that he has no right to his present station, 
 16 
 
174 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 and that he wishes to prop a frail system by the 
 abdicated right of the real owner of the crown. 
 Last night I was in the House of Commons. 
 60,000 were granted to the Prince of Orange, and 
 an annuity of 16,000 in consequence of the ser- 
 vices of that illustrious house at the Revolution of 
 1688, their uniform friendship to Great Britain, and 
 their present establishment, which is not equal to 
 the support of their dignity, and in consequence of 
 benefits which accrued to Great Britain from their 
 name and situation during the late war. The Amer- 
 ican Commissioners have received upwards of 
 230,000 for losses by British capture. This is 
 the first installment. They will receive another 
 like sum in one year, and another in two years. 
 This is a good answer to the revilers of the British 
 treaty, who have contended that the Americans 
 would never recover any of their property. I dined 
 with Dr. Gillies at Sir William Pepperell's, the 
 other day. I had much conversation with him of 
 a political and literary nature, which I shall one day 
 detail to you. He characterized Mr. Adams, the 
 late President, by saying ' he knew him in Eng- 
 land, and he was a clever, sensible man.' " 
 
 July 30. " We have dreadful accounts of a rebel- 
 lion in Ireland. A week ago the rioters poured into 
 Dublin to the number of 4,000. They assembled 
 in the principal streets, and demanded a watchword 
 from every person. They tore the Lord Chief Jus- 
 tice, Lord Kil warden, and his nephews from his 
 coach, as he was returning from the country, and 
 stabbed and murdered them with pikes. They fought 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 175 
 
 desperately with the King's troops, had a number 
 killed and about 200 wounded. The royal troops 
 lost 50 or 60. Thirty thousand pikes have been dis- 
 covered, and 10,000 suits of armor. Lord Cornwallis 
 goes to Ireland invested with full power. The habeas 
 corpus has been suspended, and martial law pro- 
 claimed in that country. Sheridan has completely 
 turned his back on the old opposition, arid is now a 
 supporter of the ministry. He declared his deter- 
 mination publicly, the other evening, to give his 
 assistance to gentlemen who were continually 
 assailed by Mr. Windham and others without the 
 least cause. He is tired of opposition, and wants a 
 place." 
 
 Aug. 18. "You know the Abbe de Lille. The 
 English booksellers have just published a fine poem 
 by him, called Le Macheur et la Pitie, illustrated 
 with literary and political anecdotes of the French 
 Revolution. When it was first published in France 
 the government ordered a great number of offensive 
 passages to be struck out. This was complied 
 with. But the work is published here in French, 
 complete as written by the author. The glowing 
 and tender author of L'homme des Champs could 
 not write otherwise than with delicacy and feeling. 
 The subject leads him to delineate some of the 
 miseries and horrors of the French Revolution, and 
 his views of the private distress are heart-rending 
 and full of most exquisite feeling. Southey has 
 translated the old romance of Amadis de Gaul. 
 He has given it a good prose version and annexed a 
 preface. I wish that he had employed his poetical 
 
176 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 talents on something worthy of his genius, and not 
 have wasted his time on an old romance. He is a 
 gentleman of a melancholy turn of mind, delight- 
 ing but little in the gayeties of life. His situation 
 as a secretary to the Chancellor of the Irish Ex- 
 chequer, gives him a good salary and enables him 
 to live independent of the world. Southey's friend 
 Coleridge is quite different in his disposition. He 
 is lively, full of fun, noise arid merriment. He 
 likes literature and pleasant conversation, and is full 
 of anecdote and stories. Nothing to him is more 
 pleasant than an hour's talk with a friend. He 
 lives in the county of Cumberland, far from London, 
 and delights in his books. The proprietors of a 
 daily newspaper wished to make him editor, and 
 offered him a very handsome establishment, but he 
 declined. He has distinguished himself by a good 
 answer to Godwin's Political Justice, notwithstand- 
 ing he is a democrat in his general principles. I 
 have heard that his answer is one of the best 
 which that work has received. Monroe has 
 been introduced at Court as Ambassador from the 
 United States. Peter Porcupine says he shall keep 
 an eye on him, and watch his motions." 
 
 Aug. 21. "On the Foutrh of July, Ambassador 
 Livingston gave a dinner. After it a toast was given, 
 1 Democratic arithmetic, addition and multiplication, 
 without division.' He lives in Paris in great style. 
 We hear that he goes home in the spring. Perhaps 
 he has a notion of being Vice President, which 
 would give umbrage to the Clintonians. Cobbett 
 has had a fighting with one Heriot, editor of the 
 
"WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 177 
 
 True Briton, because H. had said that C. deserved 
 the gibbet or the gallows for some political publica- 
 tion. I know not which gained the victory. But 
 Heriot says that one Dickens assisted Cobbett in the 
 affair. The political plot thickens. Russia joins 
 England, and the French forces are to be active." 
 
 Aug. 23. " The situation of Europe grows daily 
 more interesting, and you need not be surprised if a 
 general Continental war should recommence. Rus- 
 sia becomes more open in her determinations, and 
 the English now expect direct and immediate co- 
 operation from that quarter. There is little doubt, 
 that a Russian fleet will join the English, and from 
 Russian influence the other Northern Powers may 
 act against France. The French are agitating an 
 expedition, and the Prince of Conde will be the 
 head and the celebrated Dumanier is to have a prin- 
 cipal command. 
 
 " Bonaparte goes on with his preparations in 
 France and Holland. The latter has ordered to be 
 built immediately 100 gun-boats and 250 flat- 
 bottom boats for the invasion of England. The 
 French invading army consists of 200,000 men. 
 The English, in two months, will be fully adequate 
 to repel such a tremendous force. The time of 
 attack is said to be fixed in the latter end of Octo- 
 ber or beginning of November, when the weather 
 is cloudy, rainy and tempestuous, and the nights are 
 dark and long. But the opinion of most people is 
 that the invasion will not be attempted. Some 
 wish that it might take place in order to try the 
 experiment, and have the protracted menace forever 
 16* 
 
178 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 decided. Amidst all the bustle of politics and war, 
 your friend enjoys his usual health, loves his books 
 and thinks of his friends. He sometimes antici- 
 pates the pleasure of meeting you on the Long 
 wharf, as he steps from ship-board, and of future 
 mutual exertions of head and heart, in which he 
 expects beneficial results and pleasant sensations." 
 
 In this letter Walter says, " I hear that the prac- 
 tice of smoking segars is becoming unfashionable." 
 This fashion of smoking was excessive, according to 
 the letters of literary correspondents of that period. 
 It seemed to have been erroneously and injuriously 
 considered a mark of gentility, and a desirable stim- 
 ulant to genius in conversation and composition of 
 poetry and prose. 
 
 Sept. 19. J. S. Buckminster's poetical invitation 
 to Shaw in Boston to visit Waltham at the Lyman 
 country seat, where he was. An extract follows : 
 
 " Come, and with loitering steps the walk we'll rove 
 And chat discursive on the themes we love; 
 Recall with memory sweet, those scenes of yore, 
 Which oft in Harvard's walls we've acted o'er, 
 "Where first we learnt in friendship to unite, 
 And link'd the chain, unbroken yet and bright, 
 Where judgment ripened, where attachment grew, 
 And where we learnt to love whom best we knew. 
 Here art with wealth conspires the grounds to grace 
 And traces lovlier lines on nature's face. 
 Enter and gaze where living graces lurk 
 And waste an hour with nature's fairer work." 
 
 Oct. 17. From Walter in London. " I am daily 
 expecting Wells to make up for the loss of Allston, 
 who sails this week to Rotterdam. We have noth- 
 ing new in the political world, except the accounts 
 of the French preparations and determinations to 
 invade the country, and of the contrary efforts on 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 179 
 
 the part of the English. The latter really expect 
 the attempt will be made, and seem to have no 
 doubt that it will be defeated. I think, from a 
 careful examination of what I have heard and seen 
 on each side, that the French will be entirely de- 
 stroyed or made prisoners. They have to elude or 
 to fight the English navy, which is very numerous 
 on their coasts ; then the English gun-boats arid 
 vessels, which are stationed on this coast, and are a 
 very respectable force ; then the English forts and 
 batteries on this shore ; and then an English army 
 of 100,000 men, who can be assembled in a day or 
 two from the time of the news being heard that 
 the French have sailed." 
 
 Nov. 11. From J. Wagner in Washington to 
 Shaw in Boston. This communication was accom- 
 panied with two certificates from James Madison, 
 Secretary of State, that Benjamin Wells, sailed for 
 England, and Arthur Maynard Walter in London, 
 were citizens of the United States. Such precau- 
 tion was requisite to prevent their being captured by 
 the belligerents of Europe. The letter says: "I 
 have just received your favor of the 2d, and enclose 
 the certificates you request. I shall with pleasure 
 furnish you with the pamphlets. I shall add to 
 them a pamphlet containing a topographical ac- 
 count of Louisiana, compiled by me from official 
 and other correct documents. I expect the printing 
 of it will be completed by Monday next. It is an 
 official performance, and will be laid before Con- 
 gress as soon as it is printed. You surprise me by 
 the bulk of your collection. I shall be happy to 
 
180 WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 
 
 contribute to increase it by any additions you may 
 direct or my taste may suggest as worthy of your 
 attention." This shows the advancement which 
 Mr. Shaw had made in his collection of pamphlets 
 and books, which subsequently formed a valuable 
 part of the Boston Athenaeum. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Liverpool Athenseum Royal Standard Congressional Propriety 
 Louisiana Admission to the Bar Use of Tobacco Hamilton's 
 Death. Fugitive Slave Political Operation An Account of Han- 
 nah Adams, by herself Anthology Society Dr. Waterhouse's 
 Botanical Lectures Tunisian Embassy Gun Boats. 
 
 1803, November 15. Benjamin Wells in Liver- 
 pool to Shaw in Boston. " After a passage of 
 thirty-two days, I arn in peace and safety here. 
 But you had nearly for the last time, pressed the 
 hand .and looked mildly into the face of your friend. 
 There never has scarcely been known a more tem- 
 pestuous time upon this coast. Shipwrecks have 
 been uncommonly frequent during the period we 
 were weathering Cape Clear. I believe the John 
 Adams is the only vessel which has come into port 
 sound, though she carried away two of her sails. 
 I visited the Athenaeum, having a public news-room 
 on the lower floor, and a large library and reading- 
 room on the second. It has been instituted about 
 ten years. Dr. Currie and Mr. Roscoe were the 
 original advocates of this institution. Roscoe 
 spends much of his time in reading, and probably 
 wrote much of his Lorenzo here. He has now in 
 the press his Pope Leo, which, if as full of intellec- 
 
182 MEMORIALS OP 
 
 tual blaze as his Lorenzo, will afford still more 
 warmth and light to the dark and long unopened 
 caves, which held the mouldering fragments of 
 Roman sentiment and the early products of Italian 
 genius. Cooper is not thought much of in Eng- 
 land. There is Kemble and Cooke, the latter of 
 whom, I understand, is not so temperate as his wel- 
 fare requires. Cooper talks of coming to Boston, 
 and trying to take the management of the theatre. 
 
 " The determination of the First Consul to invade 
 the kingdom is as } et unatternpted, but strongly and 
 universally believed. The face of the kingdom is 
 set in fortitude and strength, though the features of 
 Ireland are destroying, in some measure, the interest- 
 ing uniformity. In Ireland there is still a rancor- 
 ous spirit of rebellion passing over the land. This 
 place is unquestionably fixed on by Bonaparte as 
 the vulnerable point. The French ships are pre- 
 pared to carry a large number of troops to Ireland. 
 England and Scotland, however, are wonderful in 
 their military arrangements. Some assert that if 
 the First Consul should not invade Britain, that 
 there may be an invasion of France. The King has 
 given orders and made arrangements to leave Wind- 
 sor in one moment's warning, and hoist the royal 
 standard with his own old hand at London, in case 
 of invasion." 
 
 December 8. From R. K. Randolph in Prince 
 Edward, Va. That Mr. Shaw was still collecting 
 books afar off, as well as near, appears from the 
 following extract. " In this remote situation from 
 the capital, perhaps it will not be in my power to 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 183 
 
 be serviceable to you, as you may expect, and as I 
 could wish. But, as far as possible, I will comply 
 with your request. Whenever I visit Richmond, 
 which will be two or three times a year, I will in- 
 quire for all such works as are worth preservation.' 7 
 The letter proceeds : " If it could be possible, 
 nothing could give me more pleasure than to see all 
 my friends from New England in this wilderness 
 of ignorance and democracy. Virginian-like, I am 
 ambitious of nothing but freedom. Here I am, as 
 free as the air that whistles through my forest." 
 
 Dec. 23. From John Q,. Adams in Washington. 
 " I received yesterday your favor of the 13th inst., 
 inclosing a strip from the Centinel, for the history 
 of which I am much obliged to you. I had already 
 seen it and have written a long letter to Mr. Hall, 
 containing my observations upon it, which I pre- 
 sume he will communicate either in tenor or sub- 
 stance to you. I do not impute either the writing 
 or the publication of those remarks to a disposition 
 unfriendly to me in Mr. Russell or his correspondent ; 
 but to their strong feelings relative to the subjects 
 upon which they disapproved my conduct, and to 
 their being misinformed concerning it. Both sub- 
 jects had been decided before the Centinel contain- 
 ing the animadversions arrived here. 
 
 " The letter from Messrs. Russell and Cutler, which 
 you enclosed, contains a request which I most sin- 
 cerely wish it were in my power to comply with. 
 But independent of the impropriety there would be in 
 my expressing opinions upon subjects under the con- 
 sideration of Congress, before their decision, partic- 
 
184 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 ularly when it must necessarily involve a judgment 
 of different opinions entertained by others, I really 
 cannot command the necessary time. I regret very 
 much that the federal newspapers not only neglect 
 but misrepresent so much of what is doing here ; 
 but it appears to me impossible that the same person 
 should at once perform the part of an industrious 
 actor, and a faithful historian of the scene. 
 
 " As often, however, as I can find an hour to de- 
 vote to this purpose, I will write you a summary of 
 subjects which are in agitation, arid you will com- 
 municate to them such parts of them as you shall 
 think expedient. It will relate altogether to facts. 
 Those gentlemen will readily conceive that as this 
 is the place where it is my duty to avow, without 
 disguise or concealment, my opinions upon public 
 measures and interests, and as I cannot even per- 
 form that duty without giving offence, at times, to 
 those whom I am most desirous to satisfy, I may 
 without improper timidity feel unwilling to express 
 such offensive opinions, where no duty requires that 
 I should. 
 
 " If I were to undertake an elaborate justification 
 of those opinions which I am here called upon to 
 make public, it would require much more than all 
 my time to perform the task. And after all, I should 
 not always succeed. I believe that the proposal 
 made me by those gentlemen was with a view very 
 friendly to me, and I feel obliged to them for it. I 
 therefore regret the more, that I am unable to 
 accede to it in its full extent. I will thank you to 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 185 
 
 mention this to them. I will answer their letter 
 shortly." 
 
 Dec. 24. From the same. " I have particular rea- 
 sons for requesting you to inform me who the mem- 
 ber of Congress was, from whom Mr. Russell re- 
 ceived the letter he showed you, containing remarks 
 on my conduct with points of admiration, and the- 
 quotation from Virgil. The knowledge of his name 
 will, in every probability, enable me to make such 
 explanations to him as will be entirely satisfactory 
 to him and to me. As Mr. Russell showed you the 
 letter, and afterwards published its substance, there 
 could be no obligation upon you, for secreting the 
 name. I have this day written to him to ask the 
 name of his correspondent, and expect he will give 
 it me ; but at any rate I wish to know it, and will 
 thank you to answer this letter as soon as possible. 
 
 " Congress have agreed not to adjourn over the 
 Christmas holidays, as was proposed. They are to 
 do as much business next week as any other. There 
 are now two very important bills in different stages of 
 preparation, one for introducing our revenue system 
 into Louisiana, and the other for making a form of 
 government for Louisiana. The former has passed 
 the House of Representatives with little or no oppo- 
 sition ; the latter is at once in the hands of two 
 committees ; one from the House, and one from the 
 Senate. They will probably both be considerably 
 debated before their final passage." 
 
 1804, Feb. 23. From Walter in London. The 
 King has a renewal of his derangement. He is not 
 able to do official business. A regency will be 
 17 
 
186 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 probably appointed. This may operate to drive the 
 ministry from their seats. The invasion is consid- 
 ered as nearly abandoned. The Powers of Europe 
 are quite still. I am going through a course of 
 history, and have nearly finished Mitford's Greece, 
 which has good matter and a bad manner. I read 
 my Greek, and generally go through a book of the 
 Odyssey in two or three lessons, with the help of 
 the Latin. This increases and confirms my knowl- 
 edge of these languages. I attend to what trans- 
 pires in the city and world, and make my notes of 
 characters and events." 
 
 March 19. From John Q,. Adams in Washington. 
 " We are in the midst of a discussion on a bill to 
 remove the temporary seat of government to Balti- 
 more. The history of this is not a little curious ; 
 but I must reserve an account of it for a future 
 occasion. While I write, the yeas and nays are 
 taken on this bill's passing to the third reading. 
 Yeas 9. Nays 19." 
 
 April. Mr. Shaw was admitted an attorney at the 
 Court of Common Pleas in Suffolk County. Una- 
 ble, like all his race, to give a sure interpretation of 
 the signs of the future, he experienced, on this 
 occasion, the mingled emotions of hope and fear, as 
 to the success of his adopted profession. Partici- 
 pating in the political zeal which prevailed through 
 the country, arid which had been nourished by his 
 immediate intercourse with prominent statesmen, he 
 was chosen, this year, secretary of the federal cen- 
 tral committee for Massachusetts. This trust was 
 conferred on him for several successive years. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 187 
 
 April 23. Prom Mr. Shaw's mother. " The ex- 
 pense of smoking tobacco, though considerable, is 
 scarcely to be compared with its injury to the mind 
 and body. It generally creates an unnatural thirst, 
 the baneful influence of which, young people should 
 avoid as among the worst of evils. I confess to 
 you, my dear son, that whenever I see young men 
 addicted to such a habit, I tremble for the conse- 
 quences. We cannot always make good our words, 
 while slaves of habit, * Thus far will we go, and no 
 farther.' Evils encroach on our freedom often im- 
 perceptibly. Do not think this a mother's whim. 
 It is the result of close observation." 
 
 Aug. 2. " I hear you have been confined with a 
 rheumatic fever. I fear that you are too presuming, 
 and think because others expose themselves to damp 
 and wet weather, you can do the same. But your 
 constitution received an injury, by the wound in 
 your ancle which, early in life, weakened your 
 whole frame. It must be carefully dealt with, if 
 you would enjoy any degree of health. What is 
 your business and its prospects ? The man of real 
 integrity seldom fails of obtaining the public confi- 
 dence, which brings him employment and main- 
 tenance. Patience, perseverance and economy, with 
 this virtue, are essential to the success of every 
 profession, but especially so of the law. 
 
 " General Hamilton's death forms an absorbing 
 topic of public conversation. However great his 
 military and literary character, yet { as a fool dieth, 
 so did he.' He who had given full proof of courage 
 in his country's service, should have given an 
 
188 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 example against duelling; and not placed his life in 
 the hands of a man, actuated by the passions of 
 malice and revenge." 
 
 1805, Jan. 17. In a letter from J. Q,. Adams to 
 Mr. Shaw, he mentioned an interesting case about 
 a slave, 1 claimed by Mr. Moore, a Senator in Con- 
 gress from Virginia. It appears that the slave had 
 fled from him several years before, and was at the 
 date of the letter in Boston. Then the constitution 
 was so construed here, that such fugitives were taken 
 and sent back to their masters by a warrant from 
 any justice of the peace. The master of the slave 
 wished to have him sent in a vessel to Norfolk or 
 Richmond. 
 
 Jan. 22. Mr. Shaw having written to Samuel A. 
 Otis, in Washington, for pamphlets to enlarge his 
 collection, the latter wrote him as follows : " Of 
 late, Congress are become economical about printing, 
 and the House of Representatives allow but one 
 copy to each member." This is quite a contrast to 
 similar appropriations since. 
 
 April. As secretary of the federal central com- 
 mittee, Mr. Shaw sent the following circular to lead- 
 ing men of several places. This gives some prom- 
 inent features of the vigilance which his party used 
 to regain their strength. It proceeds: " The suc- 
 cess which has attended our late efforts, is a pledge 
 and encouragement to a continuance of them. We 
 therefore ask your attention and communication to 
 
 'He was about thirty years of age, absconded in 1792, went by 
 the name of James Grigsby, in Boston, where he was a barber by 
 trade. Attempts had been made to recover him, but ineffectually. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 189 
 
 the federalists, in the different towns, of the following 
 ideas. For the purpose of securing an ascendency 
 in the House of Representatives the last year, the 
 jacobins adopted a plan which nearly effected their 
 purpose. They multiplied the number of Repre- 
 sentatives to almost their extreme point in all towns, 
 in which they had a decided majority. They 
 allowed no such town to be without a representative, 
 and they directed their partizans, in all towns un- 
 questionably federal, to avail themselves of topics, 
 economical, local, or in other respects popular, to 
 prevent them from exercising their constitutional 
 privilege. The singular success which attended 
 this plan, and the consequent federal weakness 
 which the last year's House of Representatives ex- 
 hibited, was one and no inconsiderable cause of the 
 disgrace which the State suffered in the autumn, 
 and of the dangers which it has this spring scarcely 
 escaped. As an evidence of the greatness of their 
 success by this plan, we state, that out of one hun- 
 dred towns, which neglected to send representatives 
 the last year, eighty-five were unquestionably fede- 
 ral. In addition to which, the increase in the num- 
 ber of representatives in the great federal towns 
 bore no proportion to the increase in the great dem- 
 ocratic towns. The whole of this plan, it is, per- 
 haps, unworthy the federalists to copy ; but a part, 
 it is certainly their duty not to neglect. For this 
 purpose, we recommend, 1. That the federalists in 
 all the towns be apprised of the preceding facts, and 
 that in those undoubtedly federal, they be urged not 
 to fail to send a representative, and to neglect no 
 17* 
 
190 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 exertion to secure the most suitable candidate and 
 his election. 2. That the great federal towns be 
 invited and pressed to send as many representatives 
 as they conveniently can, without giving offence to 
 their own party. In making up their opinions 
 upon this point, they ought particularly to be cau- 
 tioned against mistaking the interested outcries of 
 their opponents for the evidence of the real dissatis- 
 faction of their friends. 
 
 " To aid you in the above object, we inclose you 
 -3i list of all the towns in your county which have, 
 according to the best information we can obtain, a 
 decided federal majority, and request that, without 
 delay, you would communicate these hints to lead- 
 ing federalists in each, respectively, and urge them, 
 according to the light and opportunities local circum- 
 stances may afford." 
 
 About this time Mr. Shaw writes to one of his 
 friends as follows : " Knowing the interest which 
 you are pleased to take in the 'Anthology,' and your 
 acquaintance with several gentlemen of the law in 
 New York, I am induced to solicit your aid in ob- 
 taining reviews of publications in your State, and in 
 other respects for our work." He was thus engaged 
 with others to render the publication useful, and 
 also to keep it alive through pecuniary patronage. 
 
 July 28. Mr. Shaw received a letter from C. P. 
 Wayne, Philadelphia, who desired him to deliver 
 ithe volumes, containing Marshall's Life of Wash- 
 ington, to President John Adams. 
 
 Aug. 28. Miss Hannah Adams, in Wrentham, 
 writes Mr. Shaw the following account of herself. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 191 
 
 However this is extended, it is valuable for its biog- 
 raphical facts of a worthy author, and therefore de- 
 serves to be preserved in print. 
 
 " Your kindness to me, and the candor and 
 benevolence which distinguish your character, has 
 encouraged me to address you with the most per- 
 fect confidence ; and I should have complied with 
 your request immediately after my return from town, 
 but a very feeble state of health has obliged me to 
 lay aside my pen ; and I came to this place in order 
 to consult Dr. Mann, who is one of my kindest 
 friends. My health is now on the mending hand ; 
 and without apologizing for my egotism, I will en- 
 deavor to be as minute as possible. 
 
 11 1 was originally of a feeble constitution, educa- 
 ted in a very retired situation, and averse to society 
 in general. The first strong propensity of my soul, 
 which I can recollect, was an ardent curiosity, 
 which induced me to seek my enjoyment from 
 reading. In my youthful days I was passionately 
 fond of poetry and novels ; and as my time passed in 
 seclusion from the world, I perused a great variety 
 of these kinds of books, which gave me romantic 
 and false ideas of life, and heightened my dislike to 
 common society. 
 
 " In order to turn my attention to a different kind 
 of reading, and indulge my curiosity by exploring 
 the sentiments of the various religious denominations, 
 I began to write my View of Religions, in the form in 
 which it now appears, in the year 1778. As I had not 
 at that time any intention of publishing it, I made it 
 at first only an occasional amusement. But my 
 
192 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 inability to support myself in any other way induced 
 me, in 1784, to put it to press. The printer was 
 artful enough to dupe my father in making the 
 bargain, and all the compensation I was able to 
 obtain was only fifty books ; and it was with great 
 difficulty I procured those books bound, after the 
 printer had the whole benefit of receiving the 
 money from the subscribers, who numbered be- 
 tween four and five hundred. He had, besides, 
 printed a large edition, and distributed them so 
 widely, that it was with difficulty I procured a sale 
 for "my books at one dollar and twenty-five cents 
 per volume. 
 
 " Compiling this work required my entering into 
 a large field of reading ; and, as I am naturally timid, 
 and constitutionally wanting in firmness and decision, 
 examining so many various and contradictory sys- 
 tems had such an effect on my feelings as to destroy 
 my health by bringing on a train of the most painful 
 nervous complaints, to which I have ever been sub- 
 ject, and I was at this time reduced so low that 
 my life was despaired of. At length, after a period 
 of the most exquisite sufferings, I began to recover 
 in 1786, and took the precaution to secure my copy- 
 right, agreeably to the law which had been passed 
 in Massachusetts in 1783. Soon after, I received a 
 letter from the printer, informing me, that 'he had 
 sold the greatest part of the first edition ; was about 
 to reprint it ; and wished to know if I had any 
 thing to add.' I felt indignant at his insulting pro- 
 posal, and immediately returned this laconic an- 
 swer. ' I have secured the copy-right to my publi- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 193 
 
 cation, and therefore take the liberty to forbid you 
 to reprint it upon your peril.' He considered this 
 as a vain threat, and said, as I was informed, that 
 he should not pay any regard to what I said ; for 
 admitting that I had secured a copy-right, I was not 
 able to republish the book myself. After this I 
 engaged a gentleman of my acquaintance to call 
 upon him, and assure him that though I was desti- 
 tute of the means of defending myself, I had friends 
 who would protect me from such injurious treat" 
 ment. This intelligence induced him finally to 
 relinquish his design. 
 
 "The information that the first edition of my 
 work was sold, gave me the first idea of reprinting 
 it for my own benefit. But my being entirely des- 
 titute of pecuniary resources, my retired situation, 
 ignorance of the world, feeble state of health, in- 
 capacity of conducting business myself, and want of 
 friends who were able and willing to assist me, ren- 
 dered it extremely difficult. Even the few friends I 
 then had, in general supposed the disadvantages in 
 my situation so great, that they wounded my feel- 
 ings by depressing my hopes and discouraging my 
 exertions. 
 
 "While my mind was thus involved in perplexity, 
 I had the misfortune to lose a beloved sister, who 
 was dearer to me than life. My attachment to her 
 equalled the high descriptions of friendship in poetry 
 and novels. Her death seemed to deprive me of the 
 better half of my existence, and the world appeared 
 a desert, in which I was left almost alone, without 
 health and without property. My father's circum- 
 
MEMORIALS OF 
 
 stances were very low, and I had not any relation 
 or friend on earth from whom I might reasonably 
 expect to derive assistance. 
 
 " Yet it was, perhaps, a happy circumstance for 
 ine, after the great and recent loss I had sustained, that 
 poverty impelled me to exert myself to the utmost 
 to extricate myself from my difficulties ; I might 
 otherwise have been in more danger of sinking un- 
 der the weight of affliction, in this darkest period of 
 my existence. In the year 1790, I sent a petition 
 to Congress, (which Mr. Ames presented at my re- 
 quest,) for a general law to be passed which would 
 secure to authors the exclusive right of their publi- 
 cations, and after making the addition of an hun* 
 dred pages to my View of Religions, sent letters to 
 a number of printers requesting them to inform me 
 on what terms they would undertake the publication. 
 Though all my letters were nearly the same, and 
 consisted only of a few plain categorical questions, 
 their answers were various, ambiguous, generally 
 lengthy, and to me, in some particulars, wholly un- 
 intelligible. Mr. Polsom, who appeared to be more 
 generous and decided than the others, offered me an 
 hundred books for an edition of a thousand copies. 
 As I had riot any person to assist me, when I came 
 to town in order to conclude a bargain with him 
 on these terms, a female friend of mine was so 
 kind as to introduce me to the Rev. Mr. Freeman, 
 and I shall ever remember his goodness to me 
 with the most lively gratitude ; for the first time in 
 rny life, I found a friend and benefactor who under- 
 stood business, and who, from the most disinterested 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 195 
 
 motives, was ready to give me assistance. He re- 
 lieved my mind from a weight of care, by taking 
 the trouble of transacting my business with the 
 printer, and I soon found the benefit of his patron- 
 age in procuring a large number of subscribers. He 
 then agreed with Mr. Folsom to print an edition of 
 1,000 copies, on favorable terms, and receive his pay 
 from the subscribers ; and also agreed with the book- 
 binders to take books for their trouble. After the 
 settlements were made, a handsome compensation 
 remained for me. The compilation was published, 
 and the copy-right secured, in 1791. The books 
 were sold to subscribers for one dollar and seventy- 
 five cents a copy, and had a more rapid circulation 
 than any of my after publications. The emolument I 
 derived placed me in a comfortable situation, ena- 
 bled me to discharge the debts I had contracted dur- 
 ing mine and my sister's illness, and to put out a 
 small sum upon interest. 
 
 "What the terms were I have now forgot, and 
 have not my papers by me, else I would have been 
 more particular. Encouraged and animated by 
 this success, in 1793 I engaged in writing the 
 Summary History of New England, which was 
 originally intended for the use of schools. The 
 materials for this work lay scattered in many large 
 volumes and manuscripts, which I took indefati- 
 gable pains to collect and condense. If there had 
 been only one History of New England then ex- 
 tant, which had been brought down to the period to 
 which mine extended, my labor would have been 
 comparatively small. I was obliged to collect and 
 
196 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 condense a great part of the work from large and 
 detached histories of the several States, and connect 
 them together wholly without a guide ; and as there 
 was not any authentic history of Rhode Island, ex- 
 cept Calender's, I spent some time in Providence in 
 examining the records in the secretary's office. 
 When at length I had completed a great part of the 
 compilation, I had the misfortune to almost entirely 
 lose the use of my eyes, and the medicines which I 
 used for several months appeared rather to increase, 
 than to mitigate the disorder. I was wholly de- 
 prived of the pleasure and advantage of reading 
 and writing, and suffered extremely from the gloomy 
 apprehension of being totally blind. At length I 
 applied to Dr. Jeffries ; and by following his pre- 
 scriptions for about two years, I partially recovered 
 my sight. In 1799 my history was published ; but 
 as I was obliged to employ an amanuensis to tran- 
 scribe for me the account of the American war, 
 that part, in particular, was much less condensed 
 than I had intended. The work was printed at 
 Dedham, by Herman Mann and a half brother of 
 mine, who was then partner with him and now fol- 
 lows the seas. The apprehension that the weakness 
 of my eyes would prevent rny ever completing the 
 compilation, had induced me to drop the subscrip- 
 tion which was set on foot before they began to 
 fail, and I was hence obliged to publish the work at 
 my own expense. The printers were both in very 
 low circumstances, and required immediate pay- 
 ment before I could dispose of my books. My 
 father was not able to give me the same assistance 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 197 
 
 in helping me sell them as he did when I published 
 the second edition of my View of Religions. I 
 was obliged to borrow a considerable sum of money 
 to defray the expenses of the work, which, as the 
 paper was very good and the pages greatly overrun 
 what I intended, were large. These circumstances 
 hindered my realizing the emolument I expected 
 from the work. 
 
 " The next publication I engaged in was the 
 third edition of my View of Religions, in which I 
 made the edition of 110 pages, part of which was 
 the introduction, which gives an account of the 
 state of the world when Christ appeared. Mr. 
 Freeman made a bargain with Manning & Loring, 
 that for an edition of 2,000 copies they should allow 
 me five hundred dollars. The work was printed in 
 1801, and the payments which were annually made 
 relieved me from the embarrassments into which I 
 was involved by publishing the History of New 
 England at my own expense. I now determined to 
 wait till the greatest part of that edition was sold, 
 and then abridge it for the use of schools. 
 
 " In the mean time, as I supposed a compilation 
 which would give a concise view of the Evidences 
 of the Christian Religion might be useful to young 
 people, I engaged in this design. But as my father, 
 from his advanced age and increasing infirmities, 
 was more and more unable to assist me in borrow- 
 ing books, I found a great difficulty in procuring 
 suitable materials for this work ; a large part of 
 which, (as well as of the additions to the third edi- 
 tion of my View of Religions,) was collected from- 
 18 
 
198 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 booksellers' stores, where I made extracts from such 
 writings as I found it impossible to purchase or bor- 
 row, and which were necessary in this compilation. 
 After I had completed the work, I found the print- 
 ers and booksellers, in general, unwilling to publish 
 it at their risk, because they supposed the subject 
 would be unpopular. At length, Mr. John West 
 offered to undertake it, provided he might receive 
 the money from the subscribers, and the whole 
 edition remain in his hands till he was reimbursed ; 
 and he would then divide the remainder of the 
 edition, which was to consist of a thousand copies, 
 with me. He however candidly told me that 'he 
 did not think what he offered would afford me the 
 profit I ought to make, though he could not afford 
 to give me any more.' After Mr. Freeman had ap- 
 plied to a number of printers and booksellers, who 
 all refused to undertake the work at their own risk, 
 as the publishing my History of New England had 
 made me too timid and cautious to print it at my 
 own expense, he advised me to accede to Mr. West's 
 terms, and the compilation was printed in 1804. 
 Mr. West sold five hundred and twenty-five books 
 to reimburse himself. Afterwards, in making the 
 division, two hundred and thirty-seven books in 
 sheets remained for my compensation." 
 
 Miss Adams proceeds to describe her intention of 
 abridging her History of New England arid of her 
 disappointment in learning that a similar work had 
 been undertaken by Rev. Dr. Morse and Rev. Mr. 
 Parish. 
 
 " When I began to transcribe my abridgment 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 199 
 
 for the press, I intended to re per use all the most 
 valuable publications on the subject which I. had 
 consulted when I wrote my Summary History; but 
 I had not proceeded far, when my eyes, which 
 have never recovered the injury they then received, 
 failed to such a degree, as to render it impossible 
 for me to pay that attention to the correctness of 
 the work which I should otherwise have done. 
 However, I trust I shall find that candor with 
 which my publications have hitherto been received, 
 which to my inexpressible satisfaction, has far 
 exceeded my most sanguine expectations. 
 
 " Since the age and infirmities of my father have 
 prevented his assisting me, as he formerly did, in 
 selling and exchanging my books, I have been ne- 
 cessitated to exert myself in doing business, which 
 is out of the female line. And as I am sensible my 
 manners are remarkably awkward, this conscious- 
 ness, joined with my ignorance of the established 
 rules of propriety, has made me tremblingly appre- 
 hensive of exposing myself to ridicule. These feel- 
 ings are, however, much less painful than they have 
 formerly been. In order to reconcile myself to my 
 fate, I have considered, that what is morally right, 
 and necessary to be done in the situation in which 
 Providence has placed me, cannot be in itself im- 
 proper ; and though my acting upon this principle 
 may have exposed me to ridicule, if I can have the 
 approbation of my own heart, and the esteem of a 
 few friends whose good opinion / most highly 
 prize, I can rise superior to the ridicule, or censure 
 of the world in general. 
 
200 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 " In the life of Mrs. Charlotte Smith, it is observed 
 that, ' The penalties and discouragements attending 
 the profession of an author fall upon women with a 
 double weight ; to the curiosity of the idle and 
 the envy of the malicious their sex affords a pecu- 
 liar excitement. Arraigned not merely as writers, 
 but as women, their characters, their conduct, even 
 their personal endowments become the objects of 
 severe inquisition ; from the common allowances 
 claimed by the species, literary women appear to be 
 exempted ; in detecting their errors, and exposing 
 their foibles, malignant ingenuity is active and un- 
 wearied. Vain would be the hope to shield them- 
 selves from detraction, by the severest prudence, or 
 the most entire seclusion ; wanton malice in the 
 failure of facts, amply supplies materials for defama- 
 tion, while from the anguish of wounded delicacy 
 the gratification of demons seems to be extracted. 7 
 
 " Though I have been too insignificant, and have 
 been treated with too much candor to wholly real- 
 ize the truth of all the above remarks ; yet from my 
 poverty, retired situation, ignorance of the world, 
 and incapacity for conducting business, I have fully 
 experienced the disadvantages and discouragements 
 which attend my sex when engaged in literary pur- 
 suits. Notwithstanding all the exertions I have 
 made since I began to write for the press, almost 
 all the little property I have consists in books, 
 which I find it difficult to dispose of to advantage. 
 This circumstance has made me wish, if possible, 
 to establish a circulating library, as I could, by 
 exchanging the books I have now on hand, set 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 201 
 
 up a small store and the weakness of my eyes, 
 since I wrote my Summary History of New Eng- 
 land, has retarded all my literary pursuits. I also 
 labor under various other disadvantages, which I 
 feel myself unable to enumerate or describe. 
 
 " I have, however, the greatest cause to adore the 
 goodness of divine Providence in rendering my situ- 
 ation in life much more comfortable than, gloomy as 
 my prospects once were, I had any reason to have 
 anticipated. And I feel truly grateful to those 
 literary gentlemen who have patronized my com- 
 pilations. 
 
 "I must be allowed to consider myself under 
 great obligations to you, sir, in particular; since I 
 am sensible, that by your kindness to me you gratify 
 the benevolent feelings of your heart, I derive 
 pleasure by indulging my grateful sentiments. 
 That heaven may reward and bless you, is the 
 ardent wish of 
 
 " Your much obliged friend, 
 
 " HANNAH ADAMS," 
 
 Though the subsequent account given by Hannah 
 Adams of herself, was written in 1808, yet the 
 compiler has thought that unity of idea as to her 
 early life, requires it to be placed in immediate suc- 
 cession to the preceding. 
 
 11 1 was born in the year 1755. From my infancy 
 I had an infirm constitution, in particular an extreme 
 weakness and irritability in my nervous system. 
 My mother was an excellent woman, but as she 
 possessed great tenderness and sensibility, I was 
 18* 
 
202 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 educated in all the habits of debilitating softness ; 
 besides, my father's circumstances at that time were 
 very different from what they are at present, and it 
 was not then supposed that I should ever be reduced 
 to the necessity of making much exertions for a 
 support. Partly from want of health, and an early 
 singularity of taste, I never took any pleasure in 
 childish amusements, and was averse to, and sought 
 to avoid company. However, my life was not devoid 
 of pleasure ; that ardent curiosity, which appears to 
 me to have been the first strong propensity of my 
 soul, induced me to seek my enjoyment from read- 
 ing, which I was left to select for myself before my 
 judgment was sufficiently informed to make a proper 
 choice. 
 
 " The death of my mother was the first capital 
 misfortune of my life. I lost that indulgent parent 
 when about ten years old, an age in which daugh- 
 ters have the greatest need of maternal direction 
 and assistance. A few years after, my father failed 
 in trade, and I found myself reduced to poverty, 
 with a constitution and early habits which rendered 
 me ill calculated to support myself by my own ex- 
 ertions. However, as my health was too feeble for 
 ine to engage in any laborious employment, I had 
 considerable leisure to attend to reading. Poetry 
 arid novels were my favorite books, and the latter 
 kind of reading engrossed too much of my time and 
 attention. I had a strong desire to learn the rudi- 
 ments of Latin, Greek, geography and logic, which 
 was unexpectedly gratified by some gentlemen who 
 came to board at my father's. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 203 
 
 " About this time I had reached my eighteenth 
 yea, and perhaps few females at that age had 
 perused more books; but my reading was desultory, 
 and ill chosen ; and much of it tended rather to in- 
 crease that sensibility which opens new avenues of 
 suffering, than to improve the understanding and 
 strengthen the mind. I had lived exceedingly re- 
 tired, and had no opportunities of being acquainted 
 with the world. And perhaps no person was ever 
 less calculated, from early habits, to gain a living 
 by their own exertions, or from a radical want of 
 health and firmness of mind, was formed to feel 
 more sensibly the difficulties of a poor and depend- 
 ent situation." 
 
 Oct. 3. A report is made and accepted by the 
 Anthology Society for the regulation of their pro- 
 ceedings as a literary association. It was prepared 
 by three of their members, A. M. Walter, William S. 
 Shaw, and J. S. Buckminster. Such an association 
 had already been formed more than a year, and had 
 conducted "The Monthly Anthology and Boston 
 Review," published by Monroe & Francis, as the 
 successor of " The Monthly Anthology 1 or Maga- 
 zine of Polite Literature," edited by Sylvanus Per-se, 
 whose real name was Phineas Adams. Its officers, 
 now elected, are John Sylvester John Gardiner, 
 President ; Wm. Emerson, Vice President ; Arthur 
 Maynard Walter, Secretary; William Smith Shaw, 
 Treasurer; and Samuel Cooper Thacher, Editor. 
 
 Oct. 14. A letter from Joshua Belcher, in Bos- 
 ton, stated that he had become the proprietor of 
 
 1 The first number of this work appeared in November, 1803. 
 
204 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the Boston Weekly Magazine, published by Gilbert 
 &, Dean, and requested Mr. Shaw to encourage the 
 periodical by contributions to its pages. 
 
 Oct. 23. "At a meeting of the Anthology So- 
 ciety, at Mr. Gardiner's in Franklin Place, it was 
 voted, on motion of Mr. Emerson, seconded by Mr. 
 Shaw, that a Library of periodical publications be 
 instituted for the use of the Society." Several 
 members, of whom is Mr. Shaw, make donations 
 towards such an object. Thus commenced the nu- 
 cleus of the Boston Athenaeum. 
 
 Oct. 30. From Dr. Waterhouse at Cambridge. 
 " Dr. Waterhouse acknowledges himself gratified in 
 finding that any part of his communications have 
 met the approbation of the editors of the Monthly 
 Anthology. The scientific part of the essays, enti- 
 tled The Botanist, are transcripts of parts of a course 
 of lectures, began about eighteen years ago, with a 
 view of introducing and establishing natural history, 
 especially botany, in the University at Cambridge. 
 Occurrences and local circumstances compelled him 
 to drop botany, for a time, to make room for the 
 history of that science and of botanical gardens. 
 He hopes, however, to join on and continue the thread 
 of the discussion from Numbers 2, 3, 4, and 5, but 
 his quotidianical lectures prevent it for the present. 
 Dr. W. dares not accept the invitation to review any 
 work whatever ; for besides a thorough knowledge 
 of the subject, a reviewer must possess a rare 
 assemblage of extraordinary qualifications ; among 
 which may be mentioned that of thinking down all 
 his prejudices, and being able, with the clear con- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 205 
 
 science of a juror, to give a verdict agreeably to 
 that golden rule of Shakspeare, 
 
 ' Nothing extenuate, 
 Nor set down aught in malice.' " 
 
 Oct. 31. Mr. Shaw is chosen by the Anthology 
 Society, to write a retrospect of political and his- 
 torical works, daring six months, for their peri- 
 odical. 
 
 Nov. 1. Among his papers is an interesting 
 sketch of the character of Dr. James Currie, under 
 this date. 
 
 Nov. 3. A communication from Josiah Gluincy 
 in New York, relative to paying the expenses of 
 Professor Peck, of Harvard College, while in 
 Europe. 
 
 Nov. 4. A letter from Caleb P. Wayne in Phil- 
 adelphia concerning collections for the Anthology 
 Reading Room. "It will afford me much pleasure 
 to aid you in your pursuits, and I will most cheer- 
 fully use my endeavors to procure the pamphlets 
 you are anxious to obtain." 
 
 Nov. 21. The Anthology Society appoint Mr. 
 Shaw to write the number, called The Remarker, 
 for their work. 
 
 Dec. 25. As he was still active in the collecting 
 of tracts, Josiah Q,uincy writes him from Washing- 
 ton, D. C. " I retain duplicates here, with one of 
 which I mean to feed your hobby" 
 
 Dec. 27. From John Q,. Adams in Washington 
 to Mr. Shaw in Boston. "I have to thank you for 
 the receipt of your letter of the 14th inst. and for 
 
206 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the last number of the Anthology, which came at the 
 same time. I am much pleased with the spirit of 
 this publication, which appears to improve as it ad- 
 vances, and which I hope you will not suffer to flag. 
 You observe that a regular contribution from me 
 would be useful to the success of the work. The 
 state of my health, and the real pressure of occupa- 
 tions which I have upon me, forbids my under- 
 taking to furnish a constant portion of composition 
 for every month. I hope to prove my good will to 
 the association and the establishment by some occa- 
 sional assistance from time to time. I am even 
 now reading with particular attention the Life of 
 Washington, with a view to the promise I have 
 made respecting it ; and although its accomplishment 
 may be delayed until the work itself shall be out 
 complete, I shall probably make up in point of quan- 
 tity for the lapse of time. I shall always be glad 
 to furnish you with pamphlets or papers which may 
 be useful to you, approving much the additional 
 eight pages you propose to give in future and the 
 objects to which they will be devoted. But I ques- 
 tion whether you will have space enough to give 
 the Congressional debates on interesting subjects, 
 unless it be in a very concise abridgment of them. 
 
 " You know we have a Tunisian embassy here, 
 and there are also deputations from eight or ten 
 Indian tribes on visits to the seat of government. 
 The Africans and Americans sometimes meet, and 
 are objects of mutual curiosity to each other. One 
 of the committees of the House of Representatives 
 on the President's message, have reported to build 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 207 
 
 fifty gun-boats and six seventy-four gun-ships. The 
 gun-boats I presume will pass ; but I fear the 
 seventy-four's will sink in the passage." 
 
 Mr. Shaw reads a Review of the Life of Dr. John- 
 son, President of Columbia College, N. Y., before 
 the Anthology Society, which they accept for pub- 
 lication. 
 
 1806, Jan. 2. From William Cranch in Washing- 
 ton. " I received a letter from you some time ago, 
 with two numbers of the Anthology, for which I 
 thank you. I have delayed answering it, in the 
 hope that I should be able to promise you a review 
 of the work you mention j but having been engaged 
 in court every day since the receipt of your letter, 
 and expecting to continue so engaged until the 
 middle of April, I arn afraid I shall not be able to 
 comply with your request soon enough to answer 
 your purpose." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Review Anthology Closed doors of Congress Thermometrical 
 Female Asylum Catastrophe of Ley den Reading Room in Bos- 
 tonGuinea Ships Ballston Water Fear of Political Oppo- 
 nents Ree's Cyclopedia Rhetorical Lectures London British 
 Museum Choice of a Wife Gleaner Select Speeches Progress 
 of the Reading Room Order for the purchase of Books in Europe 
 History of New England. 
 
 1806, Jan. 3. A letter from Miss Hannah Adams 
 at Medford. An extract from it shows her accustom- 
 ed modesty as a writer. " In compliance with your 
 request, I have carefully perused the History of 
 North and South America; but I find myself so de- 
 ficient in the task of reviewing, that I dare not sup- 
 pose what I have written can be of any use j and 
 I feel mortified that I must disappoint your expecta- 
 tion in this respect." 
 
 Jan. 6. A letter from Robert Smith in Charles- 
 ton. " After a pleasing though somewhat fatiguing 
 journey, I have arrived at this place. I have 
 now to request the favor of your obtaining the 
 numbers of the Anthology, issued subsequent to . 
 July, and sending them to me by the first safe con- 
 veyance. Remember me affectionately to such of 
 my Massachusetts friends as inquire for me. Be 
 assured, I often reccollect with pleasure the delight- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 209 
 
 ful hours I spent with them ; scarcely realize they 
 are passed, and sigh that they can no more return. 
 Tell Mrs. C. that a barrel of potatoes arrived from 
 my plantation too late to go in the last vessel to 
 Boston. But I will take advantage of the next." 
 
 Jan. 12. Prom Josiah Q,uincy in Washington 
 to Shaw in Boston. " I look impatiently for letters 
 from you, touching local news and interests. Men 
 who write me, think nothing valuable that has 
 relation to any thing else than the great affairs of 
 the nation. Now I love a little plain matter of 
 fact about the common affairs of the town, and the 
 little alterations which gradually take place in our 
 friendly circles and neighborhood. I am always 
 willing that you should get up on your hobby, 
 and ride down half the letter on pamphlets and 
 Anthologies, but only save the remainder for my 
 special accommodation, for a detail of minute 
 events. As to what we are doing here, the papers 
 will inform you as much as I can and ought. To- 
 day is the sixth of our successive closed-door 
 sessions. Events and scenes of no small import 
 agitate and divide Congress. I have seen in the 
 publication of letters, from other members of Con- 
 gress, how essential it is to maintain even an over 
 scrupulous anxiety upon this point. You must 
 restrain your curiosity, being assured that time will 
 produce you an ample gratification." 
 
 Jan. 22. From Nicholas G. Dufief in Philadel- 
 phia. "More honor than I merit has been done 
 me in the review of my book. Please to present 
 for me, my best thanks to the editors j inform them 
 19 
 
210 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 that I will use every exertion to render the second 
 edition, which I am preparing for the press, more 
 worthy of their notice. I have collected two works 
 for the Library of the Anthology : Carr's Northern 
 Summer and the Philadelphia Greek edition of 
 Xenophon. Should the editors think them deserv- 
 ing attention, I shall be much obliged to them for 
 their favorable mention, as it may be of service to 
 the publishers." 
 
 Jan. 27. From John Q,. Adams in Washington. 
 11 1 have this morning received your favor of the 
 7th, and thank you for it ; I should be glad to 
 thank you more frequently than I have an opportu- 
 nity to do for such favors. I cannot promise to 
 write you often at much length, but I shall send 
 you, as often as I can, documents which may be of 
 use to you ; and you will attribute to my continual 
 occupations, from which I cannot now at least take 
 upon myself to claim an exemption, that I do not 
 write you with more prolixity. 
 
 " I enclose you the answers to the queries of Mr. 
 Thacher which you sent me some time since, and 
 which I have obtained from Mr. Thurston, one of 
 the senators from the State of Kentucky, a gentle- 
 man of the profession, in whose information on this 
 subject I think the fullest reliance may be placed. 
 
 "You will infer from the documents which I 
 have sent, for you, that we are very busy upon 
 affairs of a public nature, and from the frequency of 
 our closed-door deliberations you will see that mat- 
 ter for secret debate is not wanting. I suppose you 
 will see in the newspapers the controversy which 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 211 
 
 has arisen between our Executive and the Spanish 
 Minister. I have, however, not seen the publication 
 myself. Mr. S. H. Smith does not think proper to 
 give it to his readers. 
 
 " I shall send you immediately after the close of 
 this month, my thermometrical register, in such 
 a comparative view, that if you have kept a similar 
 record at Boston, you can show in one view a par- 
 allel between the temperature of the two climates 
 at the same times; and it will make a good monthly 
 page for the Anthology." 
 
 March 6. As a member of the Anthology Society, 
 Mr. Shaw receives a communication, relative to a 
 sermon preached by Mr. Emerson before the Boston 
 Female Asylum. It disapproves of the opinion ex- 
 pressed by the preacher concerning those who were 
 unfriendly to the institution. The writer of it 
 says : " I know several persons whose judgment 
 cannot be impeached, whose liberality was never 
 called in question, and whose general deportment 
 appears to be governed by the principles of the reli- 
 gion of Jesus, who have their doubts of the ulti- 
 mate benefit of this establishment, who have there- 
 fore not patronized it ; but, on good grounds, as they 
 have thought, have slightly opposed it." This pas- 
 sage is presented as a historical item of the Asylum 
 which has been prospered and now accommodates 
 its inmates with buildings and grounds of con- 
 venience and pleasantness. 
 
 March 13. Prom President John Adams in 
 Q,uincy. " The catastrophe of Leyden is to me a 
 most affecting event ; a beautiful city where I resided 
 
212 , MEMORIALS OP 
 
 with my children many months, and where I at- 
 tended divine service on Sundays in the venerable 
 temple where Mr. Robinson and his congregation 
 worshiped for a dozen years before their pilgrimage 
 to Plymouth. This very ancient and revered edi- 
 fice is now, probably, a mass of ruins. The Uni- 
 versity of Leyden, with all its renown, is another 
 confused heap. I am not ashamed to be known to 
 the public as a lover of Leyden." 
 
 In the spring of this year, Mr. Shaw enters on 
 the duties of clerk of the United States district 
 court. He received this appointment from the Hon. 
 John Davis, then and long afterwards judge of the 
 same court. He did this with the expectation, that 
 he should not only have increased means to supply 
 his personal wants ; but especially to aid others and 
 promote his strong wish for the advancement of 
 literature and science. 
 
 May 2. At a meeting of the Anthology Society, 
 they consider the question as to the establishment 
 of a reading-room in Boston. " Some conversation 
 had formerly taken place on this subject, in which 
 Mr. Shaw was principally active j he now brought 
 it forward for more general discussion." After re- 
 marks by the members, Mr. Shaw's motion for a 
 committee to consider and report on the matter, was 
 adopted. Referring to this subject, the Hon. Josiah 
 duincy remarked l as follows : " The tact of Wil- 
 liam Smith Shaw first discerned a way of escape 
 from their difficulties. Having formed the opinion 
 
 1 In his Address of April 27, 1847, at the laying of the corner- 
 stone of the new edifice for the Athenaeum. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 213 
 
 that, by asking from the community only a small 
 pecuniary advance, and by promising a quick return 
 in pleasure and information, what a love of letters 
 might not effect, a love of novelty and amusement 
 might obtain, he proposed, and, on his motion and 
 active urgency, the associated scholars were per- 
 suaded to attempt establishing a reading-room, to be 
 called, after the name of their Society, 'The An- 
 thology Reading-Room.' " 
 
 May 6. The committee meet at Rev. Mr. Gardi- 
 ner's. The chairman, Mr. Shaw, read a prospectus, 
 which they accepted with some alterations. In the 
 afternoon it was adopted by the Society. It was 
 immediately printed and circulated. The caption 
 of it and a sentence or two follow : 
 
 11 Proposal for the Establishing of a Reading- 
 Room in Boston, to be called The Anthology Read- 
 ing-Room. The editors of the Anthology, in pre- 
 senting the following proposal for the establishment 
 of a public reading-room, in this town, by sub- 
 scription, to be called The Anthology Reading- 
 Room^ flatter themselves, that a project which may 
 be made so auxiliary to literature, and so useful to 
 the public, will receive ample patronage from the 
 liberal gentlemen of Boston. The projected plan 
 will not only afford the subscribers an agreeable place 
 of resort, but opportunities of literary intercourse, 
 and the pleasure of perusing the principal European 
 and American periodical publications, at an expense 
 not exceeding that of a single daily paper." The 
 room was to be opened from nine o'clock in the 
 19* 
 
214 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 morning till nine in the evening. Each subscriber 
 was to pay ten dollars a year. 
 
 June 9. From Joseph S. Buckminster in Liver- 
 pool. " My happiness in this place would be as 
 great as any stranger could enjoy, if I could only 
 dismiss for a time the recollection of Boston and 
 the friends whom I left there. England, with all 
 her learning, luxury and arts, has riot yet furnished 
 me with any pleasure equivalent to that which I re- 
 linquished when I broke away from the circle of 
 beloved acquaintances in Boston, who were bound 
 to me by all the enthusiasm of literature, by habits 
 of daily intimacy, by similarity of pursuits and of 
 age, and by the still finer ties of that holy affection, 
 on which Cicero has written that golden treatise, 
 and I believe I may also add, by the bonds of Chris- 
 tian charity and love. I promised you some literary 
 intelligence as soon as I could find any in this focus 
 of Guinea ships." He then proceeds to give an ac- 
 count of literary societies in that city. He was an- 
 ticipating an interview with Roscoe, the noted 
 author. He was informed that Southey wrote the 
 Review of Malthus on Population. He closes : 
 " Give my love to those whom I love. I will trust 
 your knowledge of my partialities. Do not forget 
 to write me particularly; nothing can be uninterest- 
 ing. Trifles light as air about any of my friends, 
 if wafted across the Atlantic, will be to me more 
 precious than all the Pythagorean sentences, and 
 will be devoured with more eagerness than the 
 news of the battle of Trafalgar." 
 
 June 23. From Theodore Sedgwick, Jr., in 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 215 
 
 Albany. After speaking of a literary criticism, 
 which he communicated for the Anthology, he closes 
 in the language, " When I was in Boston, you gave 
 me no reason to hope that I should see you here in 
 the course of the summer. Such an event, how- 
 ever, would give me unfeigned pleasure. As an 
 inducement for such a jaunt, I have nothing more 
 to offer you than Ballston water, pure air, a blue 
 sky and a welcome friend." 
 
 July 10. From a letter of John Q,. Adams to Mr. 
 Shaw, the eloquent lectures of the former, as pro- 
 fessor of rhetoric in Harvard College, were to com- 
 mence at two o'clock of the next day. 
 
 July 14. By a letter from a State committee of 
 the federal party to Mr. Shaw, as their secretary, 
 it appears that they really feared, that their political 
 opponents intended, if successful in their purpose, 
 to interpret and apply the constitution so that they 
 might get " the property of the rich " arid control 
 " the existing rights of the citizens." Then both 
 of these parties had not sufficiently tried each other 
 to be free from the apprehension, that each, if having 
 the dominancy, would ruin the liberties of our re- 
 public. Time has shown that both might have 
 been trusted. 
 
 July 16. A letter from Munroe & Francis to Mr. 
 Shaw, states their opinion, as publishers of the An- 
 thology, that this periodical must cease unless it has 
 more subscribers ; it has only 440, while the Liter- 
 ary Messenger has 600, and the Portfolio 1,500. 
 
 July 22. Among the papers of Mr. Shaw is a 
 protest of Boston gentlemen, who were subscribers 
 
216 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 to the American edition of Ree's Cyclopaedia, pub- 
 lished in Philadelphia. It complains that the editors 
 have omitted some passages, contrary to their ex- 
 pressed purpose. It particularly refers to the char- 
 acter of Abernethy, as not being fully given as to 
 his religious sentiments. It states that a similar 
 remonstrance had been made by subscribers of Sa- 
 lem and vicinity. One of its closing passages is 
 as follows : " We sincerely regret that any reason 
 has been given for a remonstrance of this nature ; 
 being reluctant at creating any ernbarassrnent to the 
 enterprising editors, to whom we wish all merited 
 success in their arduous and expensive undertaking. 
 But the subject of our complaint involves consider- 
 ations too interesting to be regarded with indiffer- 
 ence, and we are persuaded that we ought not to 
 repress our discontent or dissemble our disaffection." 
 
 July 25. William Meredith of Philadelphia to 
 Mr. Shaw. " Accept my thanks for the copy of 
 Mr. Adams's Inaugural Discourse. I have read it 
 with great satisfaction and pleasure. It has strength- 
 ened the respect which I have ever entertained for 
 that gentleman since I first had an opportunity of 
 being acquainted with his distinguished merit." 
 The discourse here mentioned, was spoken when 
 John Q,. Adams was installed the first Boylston Pro- 
 fessor of Rhetoric and Oratory in Harvard College. 
 
 July 28. From Samuel C. Thacher in London. 
 " I am unwilling to suffer an opportunity to 
 escape without making myself your creditor for 
 a letter. I doubted when I left you whether it 
 were possible to equal expectations so extravagant 
 as mine were j but great as they were, London, I 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 217 
 
 confess, surpasses them. Not that there is a great 
 deal of splendor immediately visible. I even think 
 that Mount Vernon in Boston at first sight, impresses 
 a stranger with an idea of greater magnificence, 
 than any part of London of equal extent. But it is 
 the prodigious variety of objects collected on one 
 spot, from every quarter of the earth, that fills me 
 with astonishment. Every sense is incessantly 
 active, and as you pass Fleet street, where you 
 remember the Doctor says is seen the full tide of 
 human existence, you know what is meant by the 
 toil of admiration. We both agree, however, that 
 there is no single object to be compared in sublimity 
 to St. Paul's. Its vastness is at first lost in the per- 
 fection of its proportions, notwithstanding it towers 
 far above every thing near it and spreads itself over 
 a surprising extent. I am not architect enough to 
 tell you where are its defects, or what are the par- 
 ticular beauties from which the general effect results. 
 It is a common objection, that its interior is too 
 naked and destitute of decoration. I suspect, how- 
 ever, this to be an objection of one who judges by 
 rule, more than by feeling. It is true, when you 
 first enter the building, the eye finds nothing to re- 
 pose on, and the light admitted is so dim and mel- 
 ancholy, that you scarcely see its boundaries, and 
 seem walking under a canopy of almost immeas- 
 urable extent. As you enter, you take off your hat 
 instinctively, and the echo of your footsteps from 
 the marble pavement as you proceed is dull and 
 solemn. One must indeed be heavy of head and 
 cold of heart to enter St. Paul's for the first time 
 
218 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 with only common emotions. Jt seems to me, how- 
 ever, that much of this effect would be lost, if there 
 were anything on which the attention could repose ; 
 it might perhaps better bear criticism ; but feeling 
 is elder than criticism and above it. I had rather 
 be deluded by imagination than frozen by taste. 
 
 "I have had the privilege of seeing several men 
 of literature ; such as Mr. Belsham, Dr. Rees, Mr. 
 Tooke, the Aikin family, &c. Scarcely any man 
 is so great as he appears to be on paper, and with 
 several of the gentlemen I was at first disappointed. 
 I was not induced to think, however, that their rep- 
 utation was undeserved ; and they indeed appear to 
 culminate the longer they are viewed. I lately met 
 a Mr. Duhurst, a gentlemen apparently of very ex- 
 tensive learning, who gave me some information you 
 may value. Porson, it seems, has fallen into incur- 
 able indolence, and no hope is entertained of his 
 proceeding farther with Euripides. There is, it 
 seems, a manuscript of the Odyssey in the British 
 Museum, which has never been collated, and which 
 appears to contain some important scholia. Of these 
 Wolfe in his last edition of Homer calls on Porson 
 to give an edition ; but without effect. He tells 
 me also that it is not expected that Heyne will ever 
 publish his Odyssey, from the persecution he has 
 experienced from Wolfe and his followers. So 
 much for the learned world. I am sorry your com- 
 mission by the Galen has not yet arrived ; but I am 
 not without hope, that it may yet arrive before we 
 depart for the Continent. Remember us at the 
 club. Tell Mr. Gardiner, that his former master, 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 219 
 
 Mr. Beloe, the translator of Herodotus, has been re- 
 cently dismissed from his office of curator of the 
 British Museum. Remember me particularly and 
 cordially to Dana, and take for yourself, my dear 
 Shaw, an assurance of my sincere affection." 
 
 Aug. 24. From Mr. Shaw's mother to him. 
 "There is nothing in this world, which lies nearer to 
 my heart, or more deeply affects my mind, than the 
 welfare of my two children, both here and here- 
 after. You judged rightly when you remarked, 
 that you believed I should rejoice at your late 
 appointment to office. For this unexpected favor 
 you should be grateful to Him who has said, 'I 
 will be a God to you and to your children.' The 
 prayers offered and the blessings implored by your 
 pious ancestors, may now be answered, in part, as 
 to your success. Whoever sustains such promo- 
 tion, is a servant of the people and responsible for 
 its being equitably applied. Bad as the world is, 
 it never requires the sacrifice of truth, justice and 
 magnanimity for the attainment of its applause, but 
 renders the practice of these virtues essential to 
 secure its smile and support. But the approbation 
 of others and emoluments of business are not all 
 which constitute the enjoyment of social life. 
 You will need a friend, to sympathize with you in 
 the trials of your temporal course and rejoice with 
 you in your happiness. Whenever your income 
 allows, make no delay. Your lot has fallen among 
 some of the loveliest of women. You must have 
 imbibed a high idea of female excellence. Be cir- 
 cumspect. Let economy, industry, amiableness, 
 
220 MEMORIALS OP 
 
 intelligence and virtue, be among the higher requi- 
 sites, while beauty and fortune are but secondary 
 objects. Believe me, my son, when I say, that 
 there is no condition in life which may be so pro- 
 ductive of genuine happiness, as that which our 
 Lord instituted and sanctioned by his presence. 
 Let your fancy be approved by sound judgment. 
 Then you may find blessings twisted with your 
 bonds. As I seldom say anything upon political 
 affairs, you may think my letters very uninteresting. 
 But when we consider the fatal effects of party 
 virulence in the recent affair of Selfridge and Austin, 
 we are shocked. We cannot be too much on our 
 guard against political slander, malice and revenge. 
 It is no evidence of a good cause, when such pas- 
 sions prevail." 
 
 Oct. 13. From Richard Peters, Jr., of Philadel- 
 phia. " At the request of my friend, Doctor Chap- 
 man, I some days since forwarded to you a number 
 of his proposals for printing a work, in which I am 
 persuaded you will take great interest, as its merits 
 will fully reward its patrons. The work to which 
 I allude is entitled. ' Select Speeches,' etc. The 
 first efforts of a man of singular literary attainments 
 should be encouraged by all who love the cause of 
 learning and talents, but when this effort is directed 
 to so useful a purpose as this of our friend Chap- 
 man, the incitement to reward it, is much increased. 
 It will be in your power to obtain a very extensive 
 addition to the Doctor's list of subscribers, and his 
 thanks will be sincerely tendered to you." 
 
 Oct. 25. Benjamin Vaughan at Hallowell to 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 221 
 
 Stephen Higginson. " Mr. Shaw having applied 
 to my son for the loan of some books to be put 
 into a reading-room, and the benevolence of both 
 your characters inducing me to believe that you 
 are acquainted with that gentleman ; I take the 
 liberty to give you the following information. All 
 our duplicates and triplicates are already lent, and 
 in this retired situation, we find it convenient to re- 
 tain the remainder. When in London, in 1785, we 
 lent several hundred books to the London library 
 on Ludgate Hill. We have received a part of them, 
 and the rest continue there." 
 
 Oct. 30. The Anthology Society transfer their 
 library and the control of their room to five trustees. 
 The names of these were, William Emerson, John 
 T. Kirkland, Peter O. Thacher, William S. Shaw 
 and Arthur M. Walter. Among their designated 
 duties was to " obtain subscriptions, donations and 
 deposits." So indefatigable was Mr. Shaw in the 
 continued performance of such onerous service, that 
 he was generally called " Athenaeum Shaw." 
 
 Nov. 8. Rev. John Eliot notifies Mr. Shaw that 
 he is elected a member of the Massachusetts His- 
 torical Society. 
 
 Nov. 19. Mrs. Murray, whose husband was a 
 clergyman, writes to Mr. Shaw and other conductors 
 of the Anthology, that she wishes their work to 
 notice a publication of hers, called the Gleaner. 
 
 Dec. 1. Mr. Shaw's letter to Joseph S. Buck- 
 minster. "I know you will be delighted to hear 
 of the progress we have made in the reading-room 
 and library, which has much surpassed the expecta- 
 20 
 
222 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 tion of even the most sanguine of us. We have 
 one hundred and sixty subscribers, at ten dollars a 
 year, consisting of the most respectable gentlemen 
 in Boston, with the probability of having two hun- 
 dred subscribers, at least, the moment the rooms 
 are opened. We have taken rooms in Congress 
 street, in what are called Joy's Buildings, which 
 we shall occupy till the spring, when we expect to 
 be able to procure more commodious rooms. We 
 have had nearly a thousand volumes of valuable 
 books presented to us, and one hundred and sixty 
 dollars in cash. The institution is a very popular 
 one, and there is a strong inclination discovered to 
 patronize it on a very extensive plan ; and I have 
 very little doubt, that in a few years we shall see a 
 library in our beloved Boston inferior to none in 
 America. If we do not, it will be owing altogether 
 to a want of exertion on the part of our literary 
 men, whose duty it is to awake from their stupid 
 lethargy, and to rescue our country from the scorn 
 arid derision which now lie so heavily upon her. 
 
 "We propose that the whole property of the 
 institution shall be vested in a number of trustees, 
 not exceeding eleven, seven of whom to be chosen 
 from the Anthology Society, the remaining four to 
 be gentlemen out of the Society ; the trustees so 
 chosen to have the sole and exclusive management 
 of the institution. Dr. Kirkland, Mr. Emerson, 
 Peter O. Thacher, Walter and myself, are chosen from 
 the Anthology Society, and we intend to choose 
 your honor to be one the moment you come home. 
 Chief Justice Parsons, Mr. John Lowell, and Mr. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 223 
 
 Freeman we have also chosen, none of whom 
 have yet made known their acceptance but Mr. 
 Parsons, who very readily complied with our request, 
 much to the joy of us all. As soon as the trustees 
 can be called together, they are to choose a Pres- 
 ident, Vice President, Recording and Corresponding 
 Secretaries, Treasurer, &tc. &.c. Mr. Parsons is to 
 be chosen President, Walter will probably be cho- 
 sen Corresponding Secretary, and your humble ser- 
 vant, Recorder. 
 
 "In drawing up the regulations, we have fol- 
 lowed very closely the laws of the Athenaeum of 
 Liverpool, for which I am greatly indebted to your 
 kindness in transmitting immediately on your arri- 
 val at Liverpool. It is an admirable institution, and 
 we intend to make ours as much like that as the 
 different circumstances of the two countries will 
 admit. I pray you to make it an object to collect 
 as much information as will be in your power re- 
 specting all literary societies, catalogues of their 
 libraries, their laws, &c. &c. They will be pleas- 
 ant to have in our reading-room, at least, and thus 
 may be made useful in America, to stimulate our 
 countrymen to some important mental exertions. I 
 wish you could be prevailed upon to avail yourself 
 of the advantages your residence in London this 
 winter will afford you, to collect information rela- 
 tive to the literature of England, its colleges, schools, 
 scientific institutions, literary men, &c. &ic., and 
 publish a series of papers in our dearly cherished 
 * Anthology ' on the present state of English liter- 
 ature, which I am very certain would be novel, 
 
224 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 interesting, and useful to the people of this country. 
 Write a series of letters from England to us in 
 America, as Laharpe wrote from Paris to the 
 Emperor Paul the First, of Russia. He was 
 engaged in a correspondence with the emperor for 
 five years, which, since Laharpe's death, have been 
 published in four volumes. He sent to the young 
 prince all the literary and political news of Paris, 
 and judged of men and books with all the freedom 
 which a literary correspondence admits. The work 
 is wonderfully interesting. It will be read by men 
 of letters and men of fashion. The first will find 
 much correct criticism ; the second, pleasant anec- 
 dote, and all variety, which you know is always 
 charming. 
 
 11 1 inclose to you with this a bill of exchange, 
 payable to you, and drawn upon Samuel Williams, 
 Esq., for six hundred dollars, five hundred of 
 which are to be expended in procuring books for 
 the reading-room, and to be sent out as early in the 
 spring as possible. The intention of the trustees 
 is to appropriate the money arising from subscrip- 
 tions as follows : After the necessary expenses of 
 the institution are paid, the first object will be to 
 provide for the rooms all the celebrated gazettes 
 published in any part of the United States; the 
 most interesting literary and political pamphlets 
 in Europe and America ; magazines, reviews, and 
 scientific journals in the English and French lan- 
 guages ; London and Paris newspapers ; Steele's 
 Army and Navy List, Naval Chronicle, London 
 and Paris booksellers' catalogues, Parliamentary 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 225 
 
 debates, bibliographical works, voyages, travels and 
 valuable maps and charts. The gazettes and pam- 
 phlets of our own country we can, of course, pro- 
 cure without troubling you ; but we wish you to 
 take such measures as will ensure to us the early 
 transmission of all interesting pamphlets published 
 in England on important subjects, the average 
 amount for the year not to exceed three dollars per 
 month ; that is, we are willing to appropriate thirty- 
 six dollars a year of our funds for English pam- 
 phlets, including booksellers' catalogues. If your 
 friends, Mr. Samuel and Francis Williams, could 
 be persuaded to undertake this commission after 
 you leave England, they would be the best men in 
 the world for this purpose. At any rate, we can 
 depend on your selecting some person of judgment 
 in whom we may confide, for the punctual discharge 
 of this part of our engagement to supply the room 
 with English pamphlets. 
 
 " English magazines, reviews, &c. These pub- 
 lications we have thought it most expedient to pro- 
 cure, for the present at least, through the agency of 
 Mr. William Skinner, an English gentleman con- 
 nected with a house in London, whose card I 
 inclose to you, and would wish you to call 
 upon them and converse with them on the objects 
 of the institution, and urge upon them the neces- 
 sity of most punctual communication. I inclose to 
 you a list of all the publications we have ordered 
 from England, with a request that you would order 
 any others you should think proper. We wish par- 
 ticularly for Dr. Aikin's new magazine, the Athe- 
 20* 
 
226 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 nseum, Arthur Aikin's Annual Review, to be sent 
 out in numbers, beginning with the first number of 
 the fifth volume, and indeed for all the distinguished 
 periodical journals in England. If you think, there- 
 fore, that we have not ordered a sufficient number, 
 you are at perfect liberty to make any additions you 
 please. You will observe, that we have only sent 
 for three newspapers, the Morning Chronicle, the 
 Courier, and Bell's Weekly Messenger, which are 
 as many as we thought our funds would allow of 
 at present. If you think we ought to have one 
 more, you may direct it to be sent to us. To col- 
 lect valuable maps and charts is one of the prime 
 objects of the institution, and ought to be immedi- 
 ately attended to. You will therefore appropriate 
 a part of the money sent you with this (say, per- 
 haps, one hundred dollars) to the purchasing of two 
 or three good atlases of standard reputation. 
 
 "After having furnished the room with newspa- 
 pers, magazines, maps and charts, &c. &,c., as above 
 mentioned, the second object of the trustees will 
 be to supply the library with the most valuable 
 encyclopaedias of the arts and sciences in the 
 French and English languages, with standard dic- 
 tionaries of the learned and modern languages j also 
 dictionaries, critical, biographical, &c., and books 
 of general reference, useful to the merchant and 
 scholar. We have already procured the American 
 edition of Rees's Encyclopedia, as far as it has been, 
 published. We have also had presented to us a 
 superb edition of Dr. Aikin's Johnson's Dictionary, 
 in four large octavo volumes, by my friend Joseph 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 227 
 
 Tilden. Books printed on the continent we can 
 probably purchase cheaper by sending to Paris and 
 Holland, than you could be able to procure them in 
 London. I should not, therefore, advise you to 
 purchase books of this kind; but of this you will 
 be a much better judge than myself. I merely 
 mention it by way of suggestion, leaving it en- 
 tirely to your discretion. Some of the money, I 
 should think, ought to be appropriated to purchase 
 standard works upon commerce and books of use- 
 ful reference to the merchants, as most of our sub- 
 scribers are of this class. Mr. Samuel Williams 
 could recommend to you some books of this kind. 
 There is a work on this subject reviewed in the 
 sixteenth number of the Edinburgh Review, enti- 
 tled, I believe, Macpherson's ' Annals of Com- 
 merce,' which I should think we ought to have. 
 You ought to send us out, also, some miscellaneous 
 books, useful to the loungers, such, perhaps, as a 
 complete edition of the English classics, such as 
 the Spectator, Guardian, &c., with Drake's Essays 
 on these periodical writers, &c. &c. The books 
 you purchase must be all good editions, printed on 
 good paper, and well bound ; but take care not to 
 be too extravagant. 
 
 " I have thus, my dear Buckminster, detailed to you 
 the objects to which we conceive the income of our 
 institution ought for the present to be appropriated, 
 and, with this information, send the five hundred 
 dollars to you to procure such books for the institution 
 as your judgment shall dictate, with an entire con- 
 fidence that the money will be appropriated in such 
 
228 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 a manner as will advance the interests and extend 
 the patronage of the establishment, which I am 
 very sensible you have much at heart. All the 
 newspapers and literary publications, which we 
 procure through the kindness of Mr. Skinner, we 
 expect to pay for here, and have made our arrange- 
 ments accordingly. 
 
 " You must be very sensible, that the success of 
 an institution like ours will depend very much on 
 the punctuality and despatch with which we receive 
 our foreign newspapers, pamphlets, new books and 
 periodical publications. I cannot urge upon you, 
 therefore, too strongly the necessity of adopting 
 such measures, before you embark for this country, 
 as will best secure to us these great objects. I 
 would beg leave to suggest to you the expediency 
 of selecting a confidential bookseller in London ; 
 promise that we will purchase all our books of 
 him; let him supply us with all our newspapers, 
 magazines, &.C., in short, every thing we shall 
 want from England ; tell him that our institution 
 promises to be a permanent one, that we shall 
 probably send to England from one thousand to 
 fifteen hundred dollars per year, to be expended in 
 books. With such inducements, I should think 
 some one might be persuaded to make considerable 
 exertion to comply with our requisitions. If you 
 should adopt any plan of this kind, you must give 
 information to Skinner's house, in London. 
 
 " I send you one hundred dollars, on my own 
 account, with which I wish you to procure for 
 me the best edition of Shakspeare's Plays, with 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 229 
 
 all the prefaces, notes, commentaries, &ic. &c., 
 which I suppose to be Reed's; Dr. Aikin's edition 
 of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary, in four volumes, octa- 
 vo, both to be well bound in calf; Dibdin's Biblio- 
 graphical works ; and if these should not amount 
 to one hundred dollars, any other books you may 
 please to procure for me. Alas ! I have no more 
 time to write at present. Remember me most affec- 
 tionately to Mr. Thacher. Consult him about the 
 reading-room." 
 
 Dec. 13. William S. Shaw to J. S. Buckminster. 
 " I wrote to you by the Galen a long letter, and 
 inclosed to you a bill of exchange drawn upon 
 Samuel Williams, Esquire, for six hundred dollars, 
 which letter I presume you have received. It 
 ought to be a considerable object, I should think, 
 in the purchase of books for our library, to procure 
 such valuable works as are least common in this 
 town and most difficult to be procured in this coun- 
 try. The publications relative to the literary fund 
 in England I have never seen in this country, and, 
 if they have any merit, I think you had best pro- 
 cure them Rare books relative to the 
 
 history of this country, or the West India Islands, 
 &c. &c., ought to be obtained. The publications of 
 literary associations of eminence in Great Britain 
 we ought to procure. Perhaps such letters might 
 be addressed to the societies as would induce them 
 to present copies of their publications to our insti- 
 tution; but of this you are the better judge. I 
 send you, inclosed with this, ten copies of our 
 prospectus, that you may distribute them in a man- 
 
230 MEMORIALS OP 
 
 ner most likely to promote the great objects of our 
 institution. In my last, I suggested to you the 
 expediency of selecting some bookseller in London 
 who would undertake to supply us with every 
 thing we wanted, and who would be responsible 
 for the punctual and early transmission of all our 
 newspapers arid literary publications. This is a 
 very great object, and the prosperity and advance- 
 ment of the institution depend very much on the 
 success of our exertions in this particular. I would 
 further suggest, whether it would not be possible to 
 make some arrangements with the Athenseum and 
 Lyceum in Liverpool, that would operate bene- 
 ficially to our establishment. The librarians of 
 those institutions might possibly be induced to send 
 us some of the numerous publications which they 
 receive. I have frequently seen, in this town, at 
 our printing offices, English newspapers, with the 
 name of 'Athenaeum' stamped upon them, and 
 which, I have understood, came from that institu- 
 tion. These institutions must receive a number of 
 newspapers, magazines, &tc. &LC., and often dupli- 
 cates, which they do not care to preserve, and 
 would be willing to send to us at a very low price ; 
 also political pamphlets. 
 
 " I think you might also advance the interests of 
 our establishment by conversing with the Ameri- 
 cans, particularly the Bostonians, in England, on 
 the utility and the pleasure which will probably be 
 afforded by an institution on our plan. In my exer- 
 tions here, I have generally succeeded beyond my 
 most sanguine expectations in obtaining subscrip- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 231 
 
 tions, and donations in books as well as money. 
 The plan is a very popular one, and almost every 
 one is desirous of doing something to promote its 
 objects. If you choose to exercise the influence 
 which I know you must possess over your American 
 acquaintances in England, and I think it is your 
 duty to do it, I have no doubt but that you might 
 obtain some very valuable donations to the library. 
 I should advise you to give one of our pamphlets 
 to every generous American, with some observation 
 which may induce him to make some exertion to 
 promote the interests of the establishment. 
 
 " There are many Englishmen, such as Sir John 
 Sinclair, &LC., who are pleased to take a very lively 
 interest in every thing relating to American affairs, 
 and who, I have no doubt, would be very much 
 delighted in promoting the objects of our establish- 
 ment. These gentlemen might be very useful in 
 influencing the learned societies to make donations 
 of their publications. I should also think it very 
 proper to establish a correspondence with some 
 learned men in England, to whom we might be 
 permitted to write in behalf of the institution, and 
 who might be the means of our procuring rare, 
 valuable works, out of print, which we could not 
 otherwise obtain. Mr. Benjamin Vanghan, here, 
 has recommended us to his brother William, and 
 has promised to give us letters to him. In my for- 
 mer letter, I requested you to procure some books 
 of reputation for the merchants. In addition, I 
 would suggest to you the propriety of purchasing 
 Oddy's l European Commerce,' reviewed in the 
 
232 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Monthly Review for August last. I send you, with 
 this, a second bill of exchange, drawn upon Samuel 
 Williams, Esq., for six hundred dollars ; five hun- 
 dred to be laid out in books for the reading-room, 
 as I wrote in my former letter, and one hundred 
 
 on my own account 
 
 " The gentlemen of the Anthology Society desire 
 to be particularly remembered to you and our friend 
 Thacher. We meet now in Congress street, under 
 the same roof with the reading-room ; and Cooper, 
 who is to keep the library, provides for us. Our 
 subscribers gradually increase, and the publication 
 seems to be rising in reputation. The booksellers 
 and printers begin to think us of some consequence, 
 and send us most of their publications. We fre- 
 quently, and with much sincerity, wish our good 
 friends in Europe pleasure and improvement from 
 their travels. We often regret we have not been 
 favored with some communications for the Anthol- 
 ogy, but anticipate with pleasure the time when 
 they will come en masse. Mr. Thacher must not 
 fail to fulfil his promise, and we expect a whole 
 budget in the spring. Phillips, in London, has sent 
 us an answer to the letter which we wrote to him 
 last spring, thanking us for the numbers of the 
 Anthology which we sent him, speaking in a very 
 flattering manner of the publication, and saying 
 that he should be very happy to interchange with 
 us ; but he has as yet sent us none of his numbers. 
 If it is not too much trouble, I wish either you or 
 Thacher would call upon him, and converse with 
 him on the subject. I should think it would be 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 233 
 
 worth while to make the same attempt of an inter- 
 change with other periodical publications in Lon- 
 don. I also wish that one of you would cause the 
 plan of our institution to be published in the 
 Monthly Magazine, and perhaps some other publi- 
 cations, with such observations as you may think 
 proper. Professors M'Kean and Willard are on 
 nomination for members of our Society. You have 
 already heard of Dr. Kirkland's being a member; 
 we find him very pleasant as a sociable man. We 
 have now completed our third volume, and we 
 flatter ourselves that the last is very much the best. 
 We commence the new year with a firm determin- 
 ation to persevere ; and we flatter ourselves that, 
 with our own exertions, and with such foreign aid 
 as we may procure, we shall be able to make the 
 publication still more valuable." 
 
 Dec. 27. Miss Hannah Adams writes and thanks 
 Mr. Shaw for his suggestions relative to the ques- 
 tion between her and Dr. Morse about their Histo- 
 ries of New England. After requesting his assist- 
 ance in several particulars, she closes, " I have 
 already been so much indebted to your kindness,, 
 that I will not apologize for the trouble I give 
 you." 
 
 21 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Regulations Meteors Memento of Friendship Condolence 
 Burr's Conspiracy Webster's Dictionary Griesbach Political 
 Suspicion Fouche Catholics of Italy Encouraging Prospect of 
 the Athenaeum Burr's Trial Currency Criticism Decrees- 
 Division of the Union Factions. 
 
 1807, January 1. As secretary of the trustees of 
 the Anthology Reading-Room and Library, Mr. 
 Shaw issues their printed rules, with a list of period- 
 ical publications which had been ordered. The pre- 
 face of the document states, that they had obtained 
 more than 160 subscribers; had over 1,000 volumes 
 of valuable works in the Institution, which were in 
 Joy's Buildings in Congress street, until they could 
 get better accommodations. He says, that their 
 design is to make such a collection the basis of an 
 establishment in Boston, "similar to the Athenaeum 
 and Lyceum of Liverpool in Great Britain." The 
 circular closes by inviting gentlemen disposed to 
 become subscribers, to leave notice thereof at the 
 reading-room, or at Mr. Shaw's office in Scollay's 
 Buildings. Here was the hopeful germ of the 
 Boston Athenasum, for whose interests Mr. Shaw 
 tasked his energies and liberally spent his time and 
 money. With respect to this fact, his biographer, 
 the Hon. Josiah Q,uincy, makes the subsequent ob- 
 servation. "He was also the first to suggest, and 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 235 
 
 was principally active in the making that library 
 public, and connecting it with a public reading- 
 room, which was the direct and earliest efficient 
 step towards the establishment of the Boston 
 Athenaeum." 
 
 Jan. 2. Benjamin Silliman at Yale College writes 
 respecting the residuums of two meteors. "I send 
 you by this mail a sheet, which I presume will not 
 be unacceptable to you. I will send you, when 
 we get it ready, a revised account for your Anthol- 
 ogy, and a specimen of the stone by the first proper 
 conveyance. The account which is now transmit- 
 ted was drawn up in some haste, and it is very pos- 
 sible that new facts may come to light. Since we 
 wrote, another stone, which was heard to fall on 
 Tathoway Hill, and for which we searched in vain, 
 has been discovered and weighs thirty-six and a half 
 pounds. We have a fair prospect of obtaining it 
 for our cabinet." 
 
 The substance of this meteoric body was found 
 to be iron. It being supposed to be the first speci- 
 men of the kind discovered and examined in the 
 United States, it excited the attention of scientific 
 men as an extraordinary event for our country. 
 
 Jan. 14. The subsequent lines are a touching 
 expression of friendship. "The brothers of your 
 deceased friend, A. M. Walter, ask your acceptance 
 of his gold watch as a mark of his esteem and as a 
 continual proof of the friendship which subsisted 
 between you. They also carry into effect his wish 
 of October 4, 1802, as expressed in his letter on 
 going to Europe, thus : * If the Supreme Being 
 
236 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 should take me from among the children of men, I 
 request that my Tully should be presented to Wil- 
 liam S. Shaw, for I love him.' You, therefore, 
 have this also, with their united wishes for your 
 future welfare." 
 
 Feb. 5. From John Q,. Adams in Washington. 
 " I received some days since your favor of the 19th 
 January, and thank you for the information it con- 
 tains, and for the trouble you have taken in my 
 individual concerns. I should have been happy to 
 hear frequently from you, but I have been sensible 
 that the multiplicity of your usual occupations and 
 the extraordinary call upon your time and attention 
 by the illness and decease of your excellent and la- 
 mented friend Walter, were amply sufficient to jus- 
 tify your silence. I have continued to enclose to 
 you all the public documents ; though having also 
 sent a copy of them to my father, I may sometimes 
 have sent a double set to him and none to you. 
 This may be easily rectified by yourself, on exam- 
 ining the papers received at Q,uincy." He remarks, 
 that he concludes to resume his residence in Boston, 
 which began in 1790. " I have observed by the 
 Boston papers that the reading-room has been opened, 
 and I hope that the subscribers, and you who have 
 taken so much interest in the establishment, have 
 found it as useful and satisfactory as you have an- 
 ticipated. 
 
 "Mr. Burr and his conspiracy have made so 
 much noise, and filled all the newspapers through- 
 out the Union to such an extent, that I imagine I 
 can tell you nothing new concerning it. His ac- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 237 
 
 complices. Bollman and Swartwont, are imprisoned 
 here upon a charge of treason. But it appears that 
 they cannot be tried here, and there is a great doubt 
 whether they can be convicted of treason anywhere. 
 
 " There is an application before Congress from 
 the corporation of the Chesapeake and Delaware 
 canal company, requesting that a quantity of the 
 public lands (about two hundred thousand acres) be 
 appropriated to purchase shares for the public in that 
 company. Mr. Bayard has just closed an eloquent 
 speech in favor of the measure. Mr. Giles has just 
 risen in answer to him. I doubt whether the meas- 
 ure will or ought to pass. The supreme court are 
 in session. We have passed a bill in Senate to add 
 a seventh circuit, consisting of the three Western 
 States, to the courts of the United States, and for 
 the appointment of an additional judge of the 
 supreme court. It is now before the House of 
 Representatives." 
 
 Feb. 10. Prom Josiah Q-uiricy in Congress. "I 
 condole with you, my friend, in your loss. It is a 
 public one. Such men as your Walter 1 was, are 
 rare at any period of society and in any country. 
 His morals, his learning, his good heart and sound 
 head, are assemblages seldom made by nature ; and 
 less common is it to find them progressing by such 
 temperate and regular course toward maturity at 
 such an early age as we witnessed in him. I know 
 not whether these reflections will offer any consola- 
 tion to your mind. But the qualities of our friends 
 
 1 Arthur Maynard Walter died in Boston, January 2d, 1807, in 
 his 26th year. 
 
 21* 
 
238 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 are precious sources of delight, although they 
 quicken our sense of bereavement." 
 
 Feb. 14. From the Rev. J. S. J. Gardiner. " I 
 return you Mr. Sargent's 1 manuscript with many 
 thanks. I have received much pleasure from its 
 perusal, and am happy to find a young man of 
 genius turning his attention to ancient literature. 
 The versification is remarkably smooth and pleas- 
 ing." The Latin poetry, here referred to, was pub- 
 lished in the Monthly Anthology of March, 1807. 
 
 Feb. 16. By a letter with regard to Mr. Shaw's 
 requesting John Lowell to furnish another of his 
 " Letters from Europe " for the Monthly Anthology, 
 it appears that the latter gentleman was the author 
 of these intelligent and interesting communications. 
 
 Feb. 22. From J. S. Buckminster in London. 
 " O, my dear friend. My heart is full of anguish. 
 Walter dead ! When I left you all to come to 
 Europe, the parting was painful in the extreme, but 
 continually relieved by the belief, that I should see 
 you all again. I suspect the last letter he ever 
 wrote was addressed to me. Alas ! I cannot read it 
 without tears. My dear Shaw, I wish I was with 
 you, to give vent to my sorrow. I look to the 
 great promises and expectations which the gospel 
 holds out." The letter proceeds to an account of 
 books, which Mr. Buckminster purchased abroad 
 for the Boston Athena3um. 
 
 Feb. 25. In a circular to Mr. Shaw, relative to 
 his purpose of publishing his great Dictionary, 
 Noah Webster describes the occasion of such an 
 
 1 Lucius M. Sargent. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 239 
 
 undertaking. " When I first contemplated the pub- 
 lication of an English Dictionary, my design was 
 chiefly limited to the correction of a few palpable 
 errors in orthography and definition, and the inser- 
 tion of a great number of legitimate words and sig- 
 nifications, not found in any British work of the 
 kind. Being led gradually and almost insensibly, 
 to investigate the origin of our own language, I was 
 surprised to discover that this field of inquiry had 
 never been explored with due attention and suc- 
 cess." This discovery led him to do what he could 
 to supply such a deficiency. On such an enterprise 
 he had been sedulously employed eight or ten years. 
 But the expense of books and a numerous family, 
 exceeding his income, he has been induced to ask 
 for assistance in the prosecution of his Dictionary 
 to a completion, either by encouraging the sale of 
 his school books or by pecuniary contributions. 
 However that was a dark season for the American 
 lexicographer, he was sustained in his trials and 
 enabled to finish the volumes, which will ever re- 
 flect honor on his genius, learning, fortitude, indus- 
 try and philanthropy, as well as on the country of 
 his birth and education. 
 
 March 10. "In giving a list of volumes which 
 he had bought on account of the Boston Athenaeum, 
 Mr. Buckminster, in London, makes the following 
 remarks. "Tell my theological friends that the 
 second volume of Griesbach has appeared, and I 
 have taken care that the Duke of Grafton be re- 
 minded, that he had the goodness to present a large 
 paper copy of the first volume to the University at 
 
240 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Cambridge. I hope they will receive the second in 
 the course of the summer. I shall have a notice of 
 your institution inserted in the Athenaeum, but it 
 will not excite any interest, reading-rooms and pub- 
 lic libraries being so common in every part of Great 
 Britain and Ireland." 
 
 March 25. Partaking largely of the zeal, which 
 a great portion of the federal party manifested at 
 this period, Mr. Shaw was actively engaged for the 
 promotion of their purpose. As the secretary of 
 the central committee, he came into possession of 
 various papers, which show the efforts then made 
 to break down the power of the democrats, whom 
 their political opponents dreaded as entertaining 
 designs for the subversion of our national liberties. 
 A similar suspicion was also entertained by the 
 former as well as by the latter party. Ever since, a 
 like suspicion has been entertained 'of each other, 
 by the principal political parties of our country, 
 though gradually diminished as they have success- 
 ively come into power and have shown themselves 
 indisposed to destroy (he constitution, though 
 occasionally charged with violating some of its 
 implied principles. 
 
 March 26. From Samuel C. Thacher in London. 
 He speaks of his promise to write on the literature 
 of France : " I rejoice once more to breathe the air 
 of a country, in which my thoughts are no longer 
 in chains, and I can write without fear that my let- 
 ter may be first submitted to the criticism of Fouche, 
 a merciless censor. You must content yourself, 
 however, with only a few rambling and hasty 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 241 
 
 observations, and I shall claim the privileges of a 
 letter-writer and traveler as an apology for errors or 
 negligence." Then follow his interesting remarks 
 on the subject, which were printed in the Anthology. 
 
 April 3. From J. S. Buckminster in London. 
 After giving an account of books he had purchased 
 for the Boston Athenaeum, he observes : " We must, 
 at least for some time, think of popularity ; and I 
 know of no method so likely to procure it, as to 
 keep our rooms furnished with abundance of maga- 
 zines, pamphlets and new books. This I am satis- 
 fied should be, at present, our primary object, and 
 our second, to lay slowly and secretly the founda- 
 tion of a permanent library of books, difficult to be 
 procured in America." 
 
 April 7. The Corporation of the Boston Athe- 
 naeum, having been so constituted by an act of the 
 Legislature, the preceding February 13, hold their 
 first session at the office of Mr. Shaw. Here a 
 committee are chosen to prepare "a memoir in be- 
 half" of the Institution. This able document was 
 written by John T. Kirklaod, and accepted the 21st 
 of the same month. The author of this document, 
 John Lowell and Mr. Shaw were appointed to cir- 
 culate it and obtain subscriptions. On the 8th of 
 May, they signed a letter to accompany it wherever 
 left or sent. The memoir was signed by Theophi- 
 lus Parsons as president, and Mr. Shaw as secre- 
 tary. As usual, the latter was active and successful 
 in obtaining subscribers. 
 
 May 4. As one of the letters from Europe, on 
 Italy, and published in the Anthology, described 
 
242 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the corruptions of the Catholics there, in dark lines, 
 it appears to have occasioned the passing of expla- 
 nations between the author, Mr. Shaw and Bishop 
 Cheverus. A letter from the last follows. 
 
 " No man is more averse to controversy than I 
 am myself, and I would really be sorry to find in 
 your monthly publication nothing but a bunch of 
 controversial thorns and nettles, instead of a fragrant 
 nosegay of literary flowers, which the title promises 
 and the contents generally afford. I think, how- 
 ever, I must say a few words about your note, but 
 I do not request you should publish them. They 
 are only addressed to you and to the American 
 traveler, at whose request you published the reflec- 
 tions contained in your note. 
 
 " To know the doctrine of our church, the books 
 which she approves must be quoted. I know that 
 the British Encyclopaedia and many other works 
 pass condemnation against us. But I appeal from 
 their judgment to your own candor, if you will but 
 examine my witnesses. Two of them I take the 
 liberty to send. Examine and cross-examine them, 
 if you have leisure and patience. 
 
 " I did not boast of our moderation here ; this 
 certainly would be ridiculous. I acknowledged 
 with gratitude the liberality we have experienced 
 in Boston. I spoke of Maryland, where certainly 
 Lord Baltimore and his Roman Catholic friends had 
 the authority in their hands. 
 
 " I sincerely believe whatever our church has de- 
 cided as an article of faith; how far this extends, 
 Bossuet's exposition will inform you. As a Catholic, 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 243 
 
 I am not obliged either to believe or to defend any 
 thing farther. 
 
 " I beg of you, sir, and of the American traveler, 
 to receive my thanks for the very polite, though in 
 regard to myself, very undeserved, manner in which 
 you speak of my venerable colleague and myself." 
 
 May 5. Mr. Shaw having made collections to 
 defray charges of Joseph S. Buckminster, while in 
 Europe for his health, accompanied by Samuel C. 
 Thacher, pays them over to Theodore Lyman. 
 
 May 13. William S. Shaw to J. S. Buckminster. 
 " From the pamphlets which I send to you with 
 this, of which you have several for distribution as 
 you think proper, you will see that the trustees of 
 the Anthology Read ing-Room and Library have 
 obtained an act of incorporation by the name of * The 
 Proprietors of the Boston Athenseum.' I doubt very 
 much whether there ever has been an institution in 
 this country, which has made such rapid advances 
 as ours ; and I can now congratulate you on the 
 prospect of having a library in this town, which 
 you always seemed to believe was only a delusion 
 of my idle brain, on a liberal plan, highly honor- 
 able to the munificence of our citizens, and which 
 will assist and facilitate the researches of the learned 
 and gratify the curiosity of strangers. This, with 
 me, I can assure you, is no ordinary subject of con- 
 gratulation. Depend upon it, that the establishment 
 of the Athenseum, the rooms of which are to be 
 always accessible at all hours of the day, is one of 
 the greatest strides toward intellectual advancement 
 that this country has ever witnessed. We have 
 
244 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 every reason to believe that the hundred and fifty 
 shares will be taken up, which, at three hundred 
 dollars a share, will give us forty-five thousand dol- 
 lars. We already have fifty shares subscribed for, 
 and there are about thirty gentlemen beside, who 
 have promised to subscribe. We shall not trouble 
 ourselves for life-subscribers till the permanent 
 shares are taken up, which I undertake to say will 
 be the case in the course of three weeks, at least, 
 and perhaps in less time. 
 
 " You did very right to send us the Oxford Re- 
 view, though I do not think much of the numbers 
 I have read. As our funds are very much in- 
 creased, we can now afford to take all the English 
 literary magazines of any eminence, and you are at 
 liberty to add any to the list you please. What 
 merit has the Panorama, a new publication I see 
 advertised? We are perfectly satisfied with the ar- 
 rangements made in London with Jenner, for the 
 periodical publications. They come out as regularly 
 as we could expect to receive them from London ; 
 but we wish that there might be some arrangement 
 in Liverpool, so that no vessel should sail for Boston 
 without some papers for us. Could you not make 
 some agreement with the Athenasurn, Lyceum, or 
 Union Society, to send out some papers, different 
 from those we already have, at half-price? You 
 must not send us out any books on credit. Re- 
 member me, with all possible affection, to dear 
 Thacher." 
 
 May 25. Prom John Tabb, in Norfolk, Va. 
 " That I should not have sent you before this, the 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 245 
 
 pamphlet written by Mr. Evans, under the signature 
 of Tacitus, has proceeded from my particular situa- 
 tion since I had the pleasure of seeing you last sum- 
 mer in Boston, and not from any forgetfulness of 
 you. I have been much tried at the termination of 
 your Northern elections in general, especially in 
 New York, where men of the greatest talents and 
 character have been outvoted." 
 
 June 6. From J. S. Buckminster in London. 
 " I cannot forbear my advice about your proposed 
 edifice. Do not build any unless you can raise 
 money enough to erect an elegant, classical build- 
 ing, entirely of stone, or with a stone facade, which 
 shall reflect lasting credit on the taste and munifi- 
 cence of the founders. Before you build, I hope 
 you will obtain from England and the continent, 
 drawings, plans and views of several structures of 
 the kind proposed. Loammi Baldwin, who I under- 
 stand has just arrived, would send from Paris, if not 
 from London, plans worthy of your attention. I 
 will venture to speak to him upon the subject." 
 He regretted that Webster's Dictionary, and Mar- 
 shall's Life of Washington, had not been reviewed 
 in the Anthology. He suggested that an invitation 
 be extended to Mr. Holmes, the American Annalist, 
 to review the latter work. 
 
 June 16. J. Tabb of Norfolk closes another letter 
 with the passage, " Burr's trial affords us much 
 conversation in Virginia. The arrival of General 
 Wilkinson, a few days since, is expected to afford 
 the prosecutors of the former, sufficient evidence to 
 22 
 
246 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 convict him of treason. But I do not think so 
 myself." 
 
 June 17. J. S. Buckminster writes from Liver- 
 pool, that on his visit to Scotland he found that the 
 Panoplist, published in Boston, " was well known 
 to all the Kirk " of that kingdom. 
 
 June 18. The committee for circulating the Me- 
 moir for the Athenaeum, report to the directors at 
 the office of Mr. Shaw, that they had obtained one 
 hundred and fifty subscribers at $300 each, making 
 a total of $ 45,000, the amount purposed to be raised. 
 
 July 17. The proprietors of the Athenaeum, con- 
 vened at the hall of the Massachusetts Bank, vote 
 to expend $25,000 of their funds in the purchase of 
 land and the erection of a building. In this ad- 
 vance, Mr. Shaw was much gratified. But a change 
 in public affairs brought him equal disappointment, 
 though not unduly disheartened. The next August 
 22, the trustees, in view of national difficulties, 
 vote that it is inexpedient to increase the number 
 of proprietors, and October 2, that the purpose for 
 building be suspended. 
 
 August 4. A letter from S. Blodgett in Wash- 
 ington to a friend of Mr. Shaw, with whom it was 
 left for a particular object, affords a few noticeable 
 facts. It speaks of Mr. Tracy, member of Con- 
 gress, as having died, and being the first of that body 
 who had been buried there. It mentions, that con- 
 tributions are being made to have a monument 
 placed over his remains. It refers to the executive 
 officers of the general government as having given 
 much attention, since " the affair of the Chesapeake," 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 247 
 
 to Fulton's torpedos, for blowing up the British 
 frigates in case of war. 
 
 August. From James Martin, Jr., at Chapel Hill. 
 A reason for which it is given, is to show the 
 difficulty of sending money from that section of 
 our country. " Inclosed is the amount of the An- 
 thology for the present year. It was probably ex- 
 pected that this would have been done before now, 
 but the difficulty of obtaining a currency that would 
 be negotiable in Boston has been the cause. Indeed 
 the present is transmitted as an experiment. The 
 bills you will perceive are on the private bank of 
 Cape Fear, our State having no public one." 
 
 Oct. 9. From Lucas George, Professor of Greek 
 and Belles Lettres in St. Mary's College. " Although 
 unacquainted, I take the liberty of addressing you. 
 You have, in a former number of your useful work, 
 been pleased to speak of me in terms highly grate- 
 ful to my feelings. I allude to your critique on 
 Davis's American Travels, a production in which I 
 appear to some disadvantage. I have been traduced 
 and abused in the Edinburgh Review, and although 
 I had nothing to do with the Travels of Mr. Davis, 
 yet I had the misfortune of being blended with him 
 in their uridiscriminating censure. You, on the 
 contrary, had the generosity to elucidate my char- 
 acter in a more candid manner ; a proof at once of 
 your justice and of your honor; honor, which is 
 but a mere phantom with many, but has a real 
 existence in generous minds." 
 
 Oct. 17. From John Q,. Adams in New York, on 
 his way to Washington. This we notice, as contain- 
 
248 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 ing an account of his passage in a packet from Provi- 
 dence to New York in five days. It was pleasant 
 weather, but accompanied with calm and head 
 winds. The contrast between that passage and one 
 now made in a steamer, is great. 
 
 Oct. 27. An extract follows from a letter of P. 
 A. Vanderkemp at Olden Barneveld. He sent other 
 communications of learned criticisms for the An- 
 thology. " As I have not, for a long while, troubled 
 your repose with a single line, I hope you will 
 make my apology for this new intrusion, while you 
 contribute so often to spread a joyful beam on the 
 evening of my solitary days, in my deep retreat in 
 these western woods." 
 
 Oct. 27. From D. N. Chapman in Philadelphia. 
 " A week or two ago, I directed my bookseller to 
 send you a copy of the Select Speeches for the An- 
 thology Club. The remaining volumes are now in 
 press. They will contain speeches of some hon- 
 esty, and certainly not of less merit. They will 
 embrace the whole of Burke's, some I suspect that 
 are unknown in this country, many of Lord Chat- 
 ham's and his cotemporaries, and a very large num- 
 ber of Irish eloquence. Indeed 1 do believe, that I 
 shall not omit any one speech of real value. There 
 is, however, a speech of the younger Littleton, on 
 the Canada bill, which has hitherto eluded my 
 search. Dennie, who is now at my elbow, tells rne 
 that he thinks it is in the library of your college. 
 Will you do me the favor to ascertain the fact ? " 
 
 Nov. 7. From John Q,. Adams in Washington. 
 " We had yesterday one of the severest snow storms 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 249 
 
 that I ever witnessed at this place. The snow fell 
 from nine inches to a foot deep, with the wind all 
 the time at the northwest. It begins already to dis- 
 appear ; this day being perfectly clear. Little busi- 
 ness has yet been done, but we have several impor- 
 tant propositions made. Among them is one for an 
 amendment to the constitution to make judicial 
 offices tenable for a term of years, and judges 
 removable by address of the two Houses." 
 
 Dec. 18. From the same. " I am much obliged 
 to you for your attention to my personal affairs. 
 Dr. Bullus, the messenger sent in the Revenge, ar- 
 rived here yesterday, we understand, with dispatches 
 from Mr. Armstrong. Their substance has not yet 
 been communicated to Congress ; but the rumor is, 
 that it contains notification, that the French decree 
 of November, 1806, will henceforth be rigorously 
 executed against us, as well as others. We learn 
 that the English have issued their counterpart. Be- 
 tween the two, our prospect is not bright." 
 
 Dec. 19. From R. H. Gardiner, in Gardiner, Me. 
 " Your friends here desire me to tell you, that they 
 are glad the Anthology shines so much of late in 
 the poetical department. I have nearly completed 
 a review of Belknap's History of New Hampshire, 
 which I shall forward by the first private opportu- 
 nity. I have not yet heard what was the success 
 of Mr. Ogilvie's oration on the Athenaeum, nor how 
 your institution goes on in its new building." 
 
 Dec. 19. From E. J. Kendall at Northampton, who 
 was on his travels in America, which he afterwards 
 had published. " I have long promised myself the 
 22* 
 
250 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 pleasure of writing to you, but have delayed it, in 
 order to send you a communication for the Anthol- 
 ogy, and which is still unprepared. Allow me to 
 beg, that I may hear from you as soon as may be, 
 by a letter addressed to me at Burlington, on Lake 
 Champlain, Vermont. Do me the kindness to pre- 
 sent my respects to Col. and Mr. Samuel Welles, 
 and the other gentlemen with whom I had the grat- 
 ification of an acquaintance in Boston. You have 
 probably heard, that I have forfeited my word with 
 you, in regard to the Dighton Rock. Be so good 
 as to mention to Judge Davis, that I did myself the 
 honor of writing to him by the post, from Maine." 
 
 Dec. 23. From Rev. Joshua Spaulding at Eliza- 
 bethtown, N. J. "I am at this place getting a pub- 
 lication of the Divine Theory. On my way, I 
 called at your office in order to obtain a certificate 
 of copy-right ; but you were not that day at home. 
 I therefore have to request that you would enter 
 in your office, the enclosed title-page of the work, 
 and make me out a certificate, and enclose it to me 
 at this place, by the mail. I will call upon you and 
 pay the fee when I return home, which I expect to 
 do in a few weeks. The work is nearly completed, 
 excepting the first half-sheet, in which the certifi- 
 cate must be inserted." 
 
 1808, January 1. From Thomas Wiley, New 
 York. " We have printed and published a History 
 of Hugh Peters, written by Dr. Peters." He hopes 
 that the Anthology will give it a favorable notice. 
 
 Jan. 25. From Wm. H. Sumner in Philadelphia 
 on a journey. " We are in a strange situation here 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 251 
 
 as far as relates to politics. The mail arrives from 
 Boston in the morning, and the whole town is agi- 
 tated by some facts and a thousand reports. This 
 agitation is soon quieted by the apprehension that 
 the Southern mail, which arrives at noon, will 
 bring something worse. We are, as it respects 
 political information, in the same situation that the 
 Pennsylvanians think they shall be in, in case of 
 an attempt to divide the Union, the seat of the 
 war. As it respects the proceedings at the seat of 
 government, however, there is a division of senti- 
 ment. As it respects those at the Eastward, there 
 seems to be no division. The federalists here have 
 adopted the democratic sentiment, that it is the 
 wish of the Eastern States to divide the Union, and 
 they were filled with dismay and apprehension 
 when the Palladium and Repertory arrived shroud- 
 ed in black. They think here and when I say 
 they, I do not mean every and any sort of a federal- 
 ist who may be included by that comprehensive 
 word but such men as Charles W. Hare, Mr. Rawle, 
 Bronson, editor of the Gazette United States, and 
 Jackson of the Register, who are not suspected here 
 of moderation even, as well as all the merchants I 
 meet with, that the publications in the newspapers 
 at the Eastward, the resigning of the collectors, the 
 sailing of ships in defiance of the law, and the reso- 
 lutions passed in those solemn town meetings, which 
 are opened with a prayer, indicate something more 
 than a wish to change the public sentiment. They 
 say they do not care how far the opposition is car- 
 ried, provided the federalists will come out with an 
 
252 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 express resolution to support the Union of the 
 States, and they think there would be a favorable 
 change of sentiment in Pennsylvania, if our legis- 
 lature should pass a resolution of this kind; but 
 now the universal apprehension of a dissolution of 
 the Union intimidates their hearts and paralyzes all 
 their efforts. They want to gain the ascendency 
 in this State before any attempt to effect this is 
 made, so that, in case it should take place, they 
 may join the 'Northern Kingdom.'" 
 
 Jan. 26. From the same writer. " Fine sleighing 
 here to-day. You will see in the Monitor a garbled 
 account of the proceedings in Congress on Thursday 
 and Friday, and of the cool and determined attack 
 of three of the Royal Cousins to fight Mr. Q,uincy 
 down. I have seen a gentleman from Washington 
 who was there. He says that he had prejudices 
 against Mr. Q,uincy before j but on this occasion he 
 behaved nobly, and gained in the opinion of all in 
 the gallery, a complete triumph. Randolph was 
 there and ready to support duincy, but it was not 
 necessary. Q,uincy declared he would not fight 
 them as they wished, but he advised them to keep 
 their hands off of him. He kept himself cool, and 
 in his last speech of three quarters of an hour ridi- 
 culed all their attempts to put him down. Lyon 
 rose to call them to order, and in the course of his 
 remarks, G. W. Campbell said to him ' Sir, you 
 have no spirit.' Lyon shook his fist at him and 
 said, ' I have enough for yon, sir.' " 
 
 March 25. From John Q,. Adams in Washing- 
 ton. " I have long noticed the characters of the 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 253 
 
 factions which were excited among all the ancient 
 nations in their relations with the Romans. It has 
 been particularly remarked by Montesquieu, and its 
 application to our own affairs is no new thing in 
 my mind. Modern history is full of the same 
 phenomenon. The English and French factions in 
 Holland, were among the earliest occasions for my 
 observations on living men. The hats and the caps 
 of Sweden mark the same factions in human char- 
 acter. But there, as well as in Holland, the spirit 
 of faction was envenomed by the distribution of 
 money by both parties among the principal leaders. 
 I hope nothing of this sort has occurred or will 
 occur with us. We are at the fourth day of read- 
 ing dispatches, with a message from the President 
 containing all the documents of negotiation with 
 France and with England for several years. Mr. Ross 
 is gone ; but Mr. Erskine remains here, and Mr. Pinck- 
 ney has lately been re-appointed to England." 
 
 March 29. From Mr. Vanderkemp at Trenton, 
 N. Y. He gave an account of a Society in which 
 he was concerned, for promoting Scriptural knowl- 
 edge. He stated, that they had offered premiums 
 for the best dissertations on several subjects. One 
 of these was, " What are the principal causes of the 
 increasing fanaticism, enthusiasm and infidelity 
 within the Middle and Eastern States." Mr. Van- 
 derkemp remarked on the recent maratime decree 
 of Judge Davis, and forwarded some extracts from 
 a Dutch ordinance for his consideration. 
 
 March 31. From John Q,. Adams. Speaking 
 of a letter addressed to Mr. Otis, Mr. Adams thus 
 
254 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 expresses himself: "I will thank you to give the 
 enclosed manuscript to Oliver & Munroe, to be pub- 
 lished immediately. If they do not choose to print 
 it you may get any other printer to do it when you 
 please. It is not meant for electioneering, but for 
 self-defence ; and to give the public my views of 
 public affairs. The printers will give perhaps a 
 few copies for the manuscript. I want only half a 
 dozen. One of which I will thank you to present 
 in my name to Mr. H. G. Otis, one to Governor 
 Sullivan, and one to my father. The three others 
 I will thank you to send to me as soon as possible, 
 that they may reach this place before the adjourn- 
 ment of Congress. When I say that you may give 
 it to the printers, I ought to add, that there must be 
 no copy-right, and above all no puffing preface." 
 
 April 9. Prom Miss Hannah Adams at Dedham. 
 " I hope you have received my Summary History 
 of New England, and Truth and Excellence of the 
 Christian Religion, which I sent for the Athenaeum. 
 When I come to Boston I intend to procure one of 
 my Views of Religions and my Abridgments for 
 the same purpose. I hope before this time you 
 have been reimbursed for the money you advanced 
 towards printing my Abridgment. I find by the 
 Evangelical Magazine, my Abridgment has been 
 printed in England. I have made considerable 
 progress in my History of the Jews this winter, 
 but at present am much out of health. If you 
 would have the goodness to favor me with a line, 
 you will add to the many favors you have con- 
 ferred upon me." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Episcopacy Liverpool Athenaeum * Pomare, King of Otaheiti - 
 Embargo French in Spain Canandaigua Toasts Talleyrand's 
 Memoir Law Books French and Italian Volumes Reading- 
 Room in New York Spirit of '76 History of Printing Ken- 
 dall's Travels Redwood Library Constitution of the United 
 States Midnight Study. 
 
 April 20. From Charles King in New York. 
 Having agreed to give a description of the Harrow 
 school, he promises that it shall be done after he 
 has heard from his former tutor in that institution. 
 " Mr. Otis and party arrived here on Friday last, 
 and have rendered our city very gay, though we 
 have to regret, that the shortness of their intended 
 residence among us, will only tend to illumine with- 
 out warming its inhabitants. I am happy to find 
 that you are at least a little better in politics than 
 last year, and though your Governor has failed, his 
 Lieutenant and Senate are of consequence. We 
 are very sanguine here with regard to our election, 
 which comes on shortly, with how much reason, I 
 know not." 
 
 April 23. From John Q,. Adams in Washington. 
 " I have received your two letters of last week, with 
 a dozen copies of my letter to Mr. Otis, and Mr. 
 Gardiner's Fast sermon. 1 thank you most cor- 
 dially for the promptitude with which you executed 
 
256 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the charge of publication. I find the federal news- 
 papers of Boston, which began with a system of 
 silence about my letter, have at last found their 
 tongues. Of the use which their opponents make 
 of this paper, I cannot be surprised. But if there 
 be such a person as a candid and impartial federalist, 
 (and I trust the great majority of them are such,) I 
 ask him to say who is justly chargeable with my 
 publication, and all its effects, whatever they 
 may be. I had no party purpose, no electioneering 
 views. But an attack so violent, and at such a 
 time, and in such a manner, was a strong call upon 
 me for notice. Yet 1 have most truly said that this 
 alone, I would have overlooked. My motives were 
 altogether of a public nature." 
 
 May 18. Rev. Samuel Miller, in New York, to 
 Rev. Mr. Eliot of Boston, and deposited with Mr. 
 Shaw. " In that letter I spoke of my interview 
 with Mr. J. Q,. Adams, who brought me a letter 
 from you. He is a charming man. I wish much 
 to enjoy the honor and pleasure of a more intimate 
 acquaintance with him. Every succeeding session 
 of Congress, and every increase of my knowledge 
 of him, places him higher in my esteem. I hope 
 you will never let him pass through New York 
 without bringing me a letter from you. The An- 
 thology for March I have just seen. The letter, to 
 which the editors allude, I should have no doubt, 
 without your information, came from Dr. Hobart. 
 He is absolutely animated by a zeal on the subject 
 of episcopacy, which may with propriety be called 
 fanatical. The reviewers are severe ; but if they 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 257 
 
 saw the whole ground as we see it, in this city, 
 standing in the midst of the combatants, they would 
 think themselves rather to have erred on the side of 
 gentleness. I feel myself much flattered by the 
 original review, and by the respectful manner in 
 which I am treated in this note of the editors." 
 
 June 3. From the editors of the Medical Journal, 
 of New York. They express their views of the 
 duty which devolves on the conductors of periodi- 
 cal publications, as to care in using and crediting 
 each other's articles. 
 
 August. Mr. Shaw, during this month, accompa- 
 nied the Rev. Joseph S. Buckminster on a journey 
 to Kennebec, particularly for the health of the 
 latter,, 
 
 August 18. Edward Little, of Newburyport, states 
 that he is concerned in editing Ashe's Travels, from 
 the London edition ; but that his copy has lost a few 
 pages, and he should be much obliged to Mr. Shaw 
 for another volume, so as to supply the deficiency. 
 
 Oct. 11. From N. Lawrence, in Boston, to Rev. 
 William Shepherd at Gateacre, near Liverpool. " It 
 is the intention of this letter to introduce to you, 
 Mr. Shaw of this city, a gentleman to whom the 
 town of Boston is indebted for the establishment 
 of an institution, having the same object in view, 
 as that which has reflected so much credit upon 
 Liverpool. 
 
 " Owing to the unremitting exertions of Mr. 
 
 Shaw, the Boston Athenaeum, though in its infancy,. 
 
 already possesses a library which would, both for 
 
 its size and selection, do credit to a much older 
 
 23 
 
258 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 establishment ; and the constant additions it is re- 
 ceiving, promise to place it in a very high rank 
 among the literary institutions of America. 
 
 " The proprietors of the Boston Athenseum have a 
 very considerable fund ; part of which they propose 
 to apply to the erection of a building for the recep- 
 tion of their books and newspapers. As the active 
 patron of the establishment, Mr. Shaw is anxious 
 for a correspondence with one of the leading sup- 
 porters of the parent institution, and lam confident 
 that you will feel pleasure in answering any inqui- 
 ries he may propose with regard to the minor regu- 
 lations of our Athenaeum, and to point out to him 
 the best means for securing a regular and early sup- 
 ply of English publications. Mr. Shaw instructs 
 me to say, that on his part he shall be happy to com- 
 municate any literary information relative to Amer- 
 ica, which may be interesting to you. 
 
 " During the federal administration, Mr. Shaw 
 held the situation of private secretary to the Presi- 
 dent of the United States." 
 
 Oct. 13. From Paul Allen in Providence, R. I. 
 " Observing in the last number of the Panoplist, a 
 letter purporting to be from the pen of Pomare, 
 King of Otaheiti, I was induced to believe that the 
 handwriting of that person might be a present ac- 
 ceptable to the proprietors of the Athenaeum. Mr. 
 Gushing, a gentleman of respectable character in 
 this town, and the person to whom the letter from 
 Pomare was addressed, favored me with the enclosed 
 specimen of Pomare's handwriting. It was an in- 
 vitation to Mr. Gushing to come on shore for the 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 259 
 
 purpose of receiving, as a present from His Majesty, 
 the breast-plate of feathers \yhich he wore on im- 
 portant occasions, and which he declared he would 
 not part with to any other person for the price of 
 ten roast hogs, that being the standard of estimation 
 in that country," 
 
 Nov. 1. A letter from Parker Cleaveland in Bruns- 
 wick, Me. It is about the recent establishment of 
 a reading-room there, and the newspapers to be taken 
 by its members. 
 
 Nov. 8. From J. Wagner of Baltimore. "Mr. 
 Q,uincy was obliging enough to send me your favor 
 of the 25th ult., as he passed through. I have or- 
 dered the North American to be sent to your address. 
 Your flattering opinion of this publication is proba- 
 bly produced more by the abilities which others 
 transfuse into it, than by any effort I am capable of 
 making. In truth, the drudgery of a new estab- 
 lishment, and the minutiae which the novelty of the 
 thing and the want of the best assistance have 
 forced upon me, do not leave me much time for 
 study. Such as it is, I shall be happy to exchange 
 with you for the Anthology, whose repute stands 
 upon a much better foundation. We are not much 
 of authors in Baltimore, and therefore very few 
 pamphlets make their appearance. That the ex- 
 change may not be unequal, let us alternate, that 
 you may have justice. I will begin by sending you 
 Mr. Custis's pamphlet upon sheep." 
 
 Nov. 13. From Francis Blake of Worcester. "I 
 am about publishing a pamphlet containing part of 
 the arguments on the embargo question decided at 
 
260 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Salem, together with the judgment of the Court." 
 Judge Davis had consented for him to have a copy. 
 He was informed by his brother of Boston, that Mr. 
 Pickering of Salern had intended to report it, but 
 had relinquished the design. He desired Mr. Shaw 
 to forward him a transcript. " The subject will 
 lose its interest, unless it is soon brought before the 
 public." 
 
 Dec. 5. From a gentleman in Cadiz. " The mis- 
 taken policy of Bonaparte in pouring his legions 
 into Spain, and attempting to seat his brother on the 
 throne, roused the people from the lethargy in 
 which they had slumbered. It is impossible to con- 
 ceive, without being on the spot, of the enthusiasm 
 which animates every class. The detention of 
 Ferdinand kindled the flame that was just ready to 
 burst forth. At the same moment, the people of 
 the most distant provinces, without any previous 
 concert, rose up in arms. Since that period, they 
 have been successful in every action." The writer 
 remarked, that there were strong hopes that the 
 Spaniards would successfully resist the attempts of 
 Bonaparte. But experience proved the contrary. 
 
 Dec. 23. Introduction of Ogilvie, by Go. Kem- 
 ble of New York, to Mr. Shaw. " By the present 
 I have the pleasure of introducing to your acquaint- 
 ance, the celebrated Mr. Ogilvie, whose great talents 
 and acquirements entitle him to the esteem of every 
 lover of polite literature. I do not pretend to apol- 
 ogize for taking this liberty, for should you receive 
 but one-half the enjoyment in his company, which 
 I am sure you will, you will return me thanks a 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 261 
 
 thousand fold. Mr. Ogilvie proposes to deliver 
 some orations in Boston ; your assistance may be 
 of use to him ; by rendering it, you will extremely 
 oblige me." 
 
 Dec. 25. From William H. Surnner in Washing- 
 ton. " I have risen this morning with an intention of 
 visiting Mount Vernon with Wells. While waiting 
 for the carriage, I seize the moment to inform you 
 of one fact, which has more the appearance of a 
 continuation arid enforcement of the present system 
 of measures, than any which has preceded it, 
 although no further evidence was necessary to con- 
 vince any one here. A committee of the House 
 agreed last night to report a bill authorizing the 
 President to receive fifty thousand volunteers, to 
 appoint five major generals, etc. They are deter- 
 mined to enforce the embargo at the point of the 
 bayonet. The grand debate begins to-morrow on 
 Giles's bill. I think duincy will be great, from 
 former specimens." 
 
 1809, January 19. From Rev. Henry Channing 
 at Canandaigua. " I am now pleasantly situated 
 with my little family. The distance from the few 
 connections remaining of my name, is the only con- 
 sideration which is unpleasant. There are, indeed, 
 some circumstances in every situation not entirely 
 consonant to our wishes. This is a mixed state. 
 Infinite wisdom and goodness cannot err. Heaven 
 fixes the bounds of our habitation, which we cannot 
 pass. 
 
 " In this place, there is a great variety of charac- 
 ter. There are several very respectable men of 
 23* 
 
MEMORIALS OF 
 
 your profession. There are also other men of infor- 
 mation. The village is small, consisting of about 
 one hundred houses ; the town is twelve miles by 
 six. The state of religion is by no means prom- 
 ising. I have been pained to find how readily people 
 from New England part with even the forms of re- 
 ligion, when removed to other States. I have a 
 small congregation, who hear me with attention and 
 ireat me very affectionately. 
 
 "The state of our country excites my most seri- 
 ous apprehensions. The debates in Congress are 
 often distinguished by the worst of passions, and 
 .are calculated to excite the worst passions. Biting 
 sarcasms and severe personalities, in my view, dis- 
 grace the chamber of a national legislature." 
 
 Jan. 24. Of this date are various toasts, given at 
 a festival in honor of the Spanish patriots, by citi- 
 zens of Boston, and preserved by Mr. Shaw. As 
 indicative of sentiments, entertained by the federal 
 party on political matters, a few of the toasts are 
 selected. 
 
 11 Our own Country. May it not prove too wide 
 for union ; too sordid for patriotism ; nor too 
 democratic for liberty." 
 
 " The Patriotic Legislature of Massachusetts. 
 In this time of peril, may they think 'nothing done 
 while any thing remains undone,' to preserve the 
 constitution and liberties of our country." 
 
 " The Constitution of the United States ; as now 
 practiced upon : 
 
 1 A dream of what thou wast ! a garish flag, 
 To be the aim of every dangerous shot. 
 A sign of dignity ! a breath ! a bubble ! ' " 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 263 
 
 Jan. 29. E. Bacon in Washington, to Mr. Shaw 
 about Congressional documents. "The general ob- 
 ject which you have in view in your collections for 
 the Athenosum, is certainly both useful to the public 
 and honorable to yourself. I will endeavor to fur- 
 nish you with all I can obtain." 
 
 March 6. From William P. Farrand of Philadel- 
 phia. "I am desirous that you should have my 
 Bacon noticed in the Anthology, at some length, and 
 my premium editions also. I have put a great deal 
 of extra expense on these publications. I informed 
 you of one of the editors, that you might speak 
 more confidently of the work." 
 
 March 9. At this time, Mr. Shaw was active in 
 procuring an annuity for Miss Hannah Adams. A 
 correspondent writes to him, that he is ready to be- 
 come a life subscriber in such beneficence. 
 
 April 8. From William Plummer, of Epping, 
 N. H. " As we are both engaged in making a col- 
 lection of State papers, it has occurred to me that 
 we may, with very little trouble, mutually assist 
 each other, particularly in the collection of the jour- 
 nals and proceedings of the legislatures of Massa- 
 chusetts and New Hampshire." A plan is accord- 
 ingly proposed. 
 
 June 15. From G. J. E. Smissart in New York. 
 " In the Monthly Anthology for April of this year, 
 I find such an extensive extract of the Memoir of 
 Talleyrand, " Sur les relationes commerciales des 
 Etats Unis avec PAngleterre," &c., which appears 
 to have been reprinted in London in the French lan- 
 guage, that it makes me suppose that one or more 
 
2G4 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 copies of that interesting document may have been 
 received in Boston by the editors of the above named 
 periodical work. I was well acquainted with that 
 memoir, having before I left Europe received a 
 copy of it as a present, from the hand of the author. 
 I lost it at the time of my shipwreck when coming 
 to this country, and I am so desirous to replace that 
 loss, that I take the liberty of addressing myself to 
 you, requesting that I may be informed whether I 
 can possibly obtain a copy of it in French, or if 
 not, in English^ no matter at what price ; and when 
 I judge your kind disposition to be such as will- 
 ingly to be of service, where and whenever it is in 
 your power, I think I feel authorized to ask of you 
 this favor; the more so, as it gives me pleasure to 
 find an opportunity at which I may express my 
 readiness to be of service to you, whenever occasion 
 may call for it." 
 
 June 15. From J. E. Hall of Baltimore. " Hav- 
 ing observed your solicitude to collect articles of 
 literary information, I take the liberty of sending a 
 copy of the Preface to a work which I wrote some 
 time ago. Many extracts have been published in 
 the octavo volumes of the Portfolio, by my friend 
 Mr. Dennie, from which you may collect an opinion 
 of the work. As I cannot publish it without the 
 aid of a subscription, I Jiave little expectation of 
 seeing it in print in this country. Still, however, I 
 may derive some advantage from your assistance in 
 Boston. If your publisher is in that way of busi- 
 ness, you will have the goodness to give him one 
 of the papers ; when the book is published, he will 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 265 
 
 be allowed as many sets as he has subscribers, at a 
 deduction of twenty per cent. 
 
 " You may also announce that John E. Hale, Esq., 
 Attorney at Law, of Baltimore, has finished and 
 will speedily publish a translation of the ' Praxis 
 Suprernae Curias Admiralitatis Francisci Clerke, etc. 
 Editio duinta emendata, 1798.' It is a book in 
 great estimation among lawyers ; in fact it is the 
 only one on the subject ; the third edition bears 
 date, 1722. Clerke was a Proctor in the court of 
 Arches during the reign of Elizabeth. I shall add 
 notes on our own practice, as derived from rules of 
 court or acts of Congress." 
 
 About July. Mr. Shaw to Henry Higginson. 
 " Several weeks previously to my receiving your 
 letter of the 30th March, 1809, in which you so 
 kindly volunteered your services to the Athenasum, 
 at the request of Mr. Tyng I had done myself the 
 honor to write a long letter, giving you a minutely 
 detailed account of the progress of the institution, 
 the objects it embraced, and the grounds on which 
 our hopes were founded of its success. After the 
 receipt of your letters of 30th March, 7th April, and 
 19th June, I felt much emboldened by your good- 
 ness, and ventured to write you two letters more on 
 the same subject. These, as they were written at 
 a period when the intercourse between the two 
 countries was encumbered by too much regulation, 
 and as you have never done me the honor to ac- 
 knowledge the receipt of them, I fear have miscar- 
 ried. Two of them, I think, were sent by the way 
 of New York. In addition to the very particular 
 
266 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 account which I gave you of the state of the insti* 
 tution at that period, I most gratefully acknowl- 
 edged my high sense of your goodness in the proffer 
 of your services, arid of which I most gladly availed 
 myself. I have now, my dear sir, to repeat and re* 
 new my most sincere and grateful acknowledgments 
 for your continued attention in sending the newspa- 
 pers and magazines with so much punctuality and 
 dispatch ; of the perplexity and trouble of which, 
 perhaps no man living can have a more perfect per- 
 suasion than myself. The conviction which you 
 must and ought to possess, of having by your good- 
 ness and exertions, greatly contributed towards 
 advancing the interest and prosperity of a literary 
 institution in the dear town of Boston, and which 
 promises great good to our country, may perhaps be 
 some remuneration for your services ; nothing short 
 of this, I am persuaded, can be. 
 
 11 The institution I flatter myself is gradually and 
 most certainly gaining patrons and friends. Many 
 have realized its pleasures and advantages, and 
 would not part with them, as they have often told 
 me, for three times the amount which they have 
 paid. We are constantly receiving donations from 
 our friends, at home and abroad ; and whenever it 
 rnay be deemed expedient, I have no doubt, with 
 proper exertion, the funds of the institution may be 
 greatly increased by additional sums from the pres- 
 ent proprietors, and a grant obtained from the legis- 
 lature, which, when it gave us our act of incorpora- 
 tion, gave to its members equal rights and privileges 
 with the proprietors. These you may well suppose 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 267 
 
 I consider very great, and afford a powerful and 
 rightful claim on the legislature for some remunera- 
 tion and patronage. I do myself the honor to send, 
 by the Galen, the only sheets of the catalogue 
 which we have yet published. I hope, in a few 
 weeks, to send you a complete copy. When you 
 consider that it is only three years since the institu- 
 tion was organized, and that in value and number 
 of books there are in the country but two libraries 
 superior to ours, I hope you will not be disappointed 
 in the progress we have made. In addition to the 
 books included in the catalogue, we have nearly six 
 thousand volumes belonging to John Q,. Adams, 
 which, when he left this country for St. Peters- 
 burgh, he kindly deposited in the institution, and 
 the greater part of which will probably remain as 
 long as we may wish for them. 
 
 " But after every possible exertion which can be 
 made here, in the present state of science and litera- 
 ture in our country, the prosperity and success of an 
 institution like the Athenaeum very much depend 
 on the facility and punctuality with which we pro- 
 cure the foreign political and literary journals, and 
 especially the English. These I consider it very 
 important to obtain, with the greatest possible dis- 
 patch, as they are most calculated to attract popular 
 attention, and as the number of the annual subscri- 
 bers depends in a great degree on the variety, the 
 novelty and regularity with which we are able to 
 furnish the rooms with this species of amusement. 
 I therefore wish to intrude still further on your 
 goodness, and ask the favor of you to adopt such a 
 
268 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 plan as will with the greatest degree of certainty 
 insure the reception of the publications from Eng- 
 land earlier, if possible, and certainly as early as 
 any one in America. In effecting this great object, 
 I wish to ask the favor of you to make the neces- 
 sary arrangements, without any regard whatever to 
 the expense ; for expense is really out of the ques- 
 tion, when compared with the good to be obtained. 
 I wish that you would send as freely by vessels 
 bound to other ports, as well as those to the port of 
 Boston, especially if you should think we might 
 receive the publications by this conveyance one 
 single day sooner than by a direct opportunity. 
 Perhaps it might be well never to send more than 
 one file of papers and a few magazines and reviews 
 by one vessel. Perhaps Mr. James Carter, at Liv- 
 erpool, and who has kindly offered his services, may 
 be useful in aiding us to execute the project. But 
 after all, I confide the whole to your exertions, with 
 a firm persuasion, from past experience of your 
 goodness, that every thing will be done, consistent 
 with your numerous and more pressing avocations, 
 calculated to promote this most desirable object. 
 
 " The Edinburgh, London and Quarterly Re- 
 views, my friend Mr. Rice sends to the Athenaeum. 
 If there be any journals of high merit which we 
 do not take, I will thank you to add them to the 
 list. The Universal Magazine is poor stuff, and if 
 you please you may stop it after the present volume 
 (14th) is completed. We have never taken any 
 magazine from Edinburgh, and I wish you to send 
 me the Edinburgh Monthly Magazine, five numbers 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 269 
 
 only of which have been published ; all of which 
 may be sent out. Also the Critical Review, the 
 Repertory of Arts, and any others you may think 
 proper. I also enclose a memorandum of a few 
 magazines which are wanting to complete the vol- 
 umes. I wish you to consider the whole business 
 relative to English newspapers and magazines per- 
 fectly and exclusively under your control ; and if it 
 should so happen, that under this unqualified power 
 any mistakes might be committed, I could easily 
 give you information long before any serious pecu- 
 niary loss could accrue to the institution. 
 
 " I sent to you by Mr. S. Welles, who embarked 
 for Liverpool in the Sally Ann, a first, bill of ex- 
 change, at thirty days' sight, drawn upon Messrs. 
 Richard Butler & Co. for 127 6 8, which I pre- 
 sume ydti have received, and the bill accepted. I 
 now do myself the honor to enclose the second, 
 which I wish you to pass to the credit of the Athe- 
 naeum ; and as soon as it may be convenient, to 
 transmit to me your account. There will probably 
 be a small balance in our favor, which you will of 
 course keep in your hands. 
 
 " I also wish to ask the favor of you to send out, 
 as soon as possible after publication, some of the 
 most interesting pamphlets, particularly every one 
 on any subject in which this country in any degree 
 may be interested." 
 
 Prom the same to the same, near the preceding: 
 
 date. " In compliance with your kind offer, my 
 
 good friend, to render any services in your power,. 
 
 during your residence in Europe, to the Athenaeum,. 
 
 24 
 
270 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 for which I most sincerely thank you, I now do 
 myself the honor to enclose an order for a few 
 books, which I hope you will be successful in pro- 
 curing. Those ordered from England have all 
 been lately published, and of course you will find 
 no difficulty in purchasing ; some of them are pam- 
 phlets, and the value of many of the others to the 
 institution depend on our receiving them by the 
 earliest opportunity. I therefore wish you, if pos- 
 sible, to procure them and send them to me in a 
 package from Liverpool by the first vessel which 
 sails after your arrival at London. The books 
 ordered from Italy are of rarer value, more difficult 
 to be procured, and which of course you will attend 
 to as your leisure permits. If you succeed in the 
 execution of this order, you may have the pleasure 
 of congratulating yourself in being instrumental in 
 introducing highly valuable books into your coun- 
 try, of which probably, at the present time, there 
 does not exist a single copy. In addition to this 
 order, I wish you to procure me every book you 
 can find in Italy relative to America, excepting 
 Castiglioni's Travels, which we have j for it is a 
 great object with me to procure every book, in 
 every language, that was ever written respecting 
 our own country. 
 
 ({ You will observe that I have ordered but a few 
 books from Paris. You will remember that I sent 
 out, by Mr. John Gray, an order to the amount of 
 twenty-three hundred dollars, which order has been 
 executed, and for which I have paid. The books I 
 probably shall receive by the Sally, which was to 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 271 
 
 sail from Bourdeaux some time in October, in which 
 vessel Mr. Armstrong is most certainly to come 
 home, and under whose protection the books are to 
 be. You will see Mr. Wilder, who can give you 
 information relative to Treuttel & Wirtz, our book- 
 sellers in Paris, who will probably have a list of 
 every book sent out. This you may consider as a 
 part of our catalogue. If there should have been 
 any highly distinguished work of merit published, 
 scientific or literary, since that order was executed, 
 I should thank you to send me a few of the most 
 meritorious. I wish you most particularly to make 
 some certain arrangements with Mr. Wilder, by 
 which we may most surely and promptly receive 
 the French papers and literary journals. I wish 
 also to ask the favor of you to collect some of the 
 best literary discourses addressed to learned soci- 
 eties, &c. &c., with which Paris abounds. I want 
 these not only for the Athenaeum, but in order to 
 translate parts of the best of them for the Anthology. 
 
 " You will observe that I have ordered Hum- 
 boldt's Travels in South America. Ail the works 
 of this author I am very desirous of procuring by 
 the earliest opportunity. In France, as in Italy, I 
 give you the power to procure for me every book 
 you can find relative to America, which you may 
 learn from our catalogue we do not already possess. 
 
 " What do you think of collecting for us some of 
 the most celebrated medals in Paris, all you send to 
 be in bronze ? Sawyer tells me that you may pro- 
 cure a complete series illustrating the principal 
 events of Bonaparte's public life, for thirty dollars. 
 
272 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 I should like also to procure some struck off in 
 honor of the principal literary men of France ; but 
 for this object I should not dare to authorize you to 
 pay more than fifty dollars, at farthest. By the 
 way, Ralph Read has returned home, and says he 
 sent for the Athenaeum a considerable collection of 
 medallions, addressed to your care ; but as I have 
 never received them, he has written to Washington 
 to inquire respecting them. If you can give us any 
 information, I will thank you. 
 
 " In every country where you go, my friend, 
 send us booksellers' prices and catalogues of the 
 latest date. These are of immense advantage in 
 aiding us to select a library. They designate the 
 place where books are to be found, and the price for 
 which they may be procured. Short bibliograph- 
 ical sketches are given of the editors, style of bind- 
 ing, &c., which enable us to make our orders with 
 a great degree of certainty, and scarcely with the 
 possibility of their being mistaken." 
 
 Sept. 23. William Cunningham, Jr., at Fitch- 
 burg, vvrites to Ex-President John Adams. " Three 
 days of this week, I was absent on a journey to 
 Boston. I passed some hours at the Athenaeum, 
 and at the office of its founder, with even more sat- 
 isfaction than I had anticipated. An enterprise of 
 so much utility, originating in the foresight and 
 public spirit of Mr. Shaw, and seconded by his 
 urbanity, industry and exactness, cannot fail of 
 reaching a point, that will give him an immortality 
 of renown." 
 
 Nov. 6. John Pintard, of New York, to Mr. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 273 
 
 Shaw. " We are attempting a reading-room as an 
 appendage to our Historical Society, to afford the 
 means of collecting more extensively the gazettes 
 and ephemeral productions of the United States. 
 Time only can prove the success of the enterprise. 
 Appearances are, however, flattering." He proposes 
 an exchange of publications. " We are scarcely 
 yet in embryo, but I do not despair that the utility 
 of the society will awaken and attract the notice 
 and patronage of our fellow citizens. We have 
 more phlegm to encounter than you have. But it 
 is characteristic of our city to proceed heavily in 
 every thing that relates to taste and science." It is 
 accompanied with a printed address of the New 
 York Historical Society. 
 
 1810, March 3. From James Ogilvie, at Newport, 
 R. I. " It will, I am sure, afford you peculiar plea- 
 sure to be informed that an institution, analogous 
 to the Boston Athenseum, (although on a smaller 
 scale,) is about to be established in Providence. A 
 considerable sum of money has been already sub- 
 scribed, and an act of incorporation obtained. Will 
 you have the goodness to communicate to Mr. Paul 
 Allen of Providence, by letter, a succinct account 
 of the plan of the Athenaeum, the arrangements of 
 your reading-room, and any other information which 
 you may conceive to be necessary or useful ? " 
 
 March 5. From Daniel Howell, of Providence, 
 R. I. He observes that it is in contemplation to 
 establish an Athenseum there, and wishes for infor- 
 mation as to the like establishment in Boston. 
 
 March 6. From Edward S. Livermore in Wash- 
 24* 
 
274 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 ington. " The inclosed paper is said to be doing 
 much good in Virginia, as, under the mask of de- 
 mocracy, it carries good federal stuff where a federal 
 paper could not find admission. I wish some of 
 your rich, patriotic persons would afford it a little 
 aid. The Senate insist upon their amendment to 
 Macon's bill, and have chosen conferees. The ques- 
 tion is now discussing upon a concurrence with the 
 Senate. The editor of the ' Spirit x of '76 ' is in 
 heart a federalist.'' 
 
 March 7. From B. D. Perkins of New York. 
 He states, that the strictures on the works of Noah 
 Webster, under the signature of " Steady Habits," 
 were from his pen. He evidently appeared preju- 
 diced against Webster, and therefore not disposed 
 to allow him the merit which he actually possessed. 
 
 March 14. From Isaiah Thomas of Worcester. 
 " As you have expressed an interest in the History 
 of Printing, it is my wish you should see it as far 
 as it is printed, before it undergoes the inspection 
 of any other person. I send you a copy for perusal, 
 and request you would favor me with your candid 
 opinion respecting it, before you communicate that 
 opinion to another. The work will make two 
 volumes of nearly five hundred pages each. The 
 Catalogue of Books printed in America before the 
 Revolution, should I proceed with it, must be a 
 separate volume. I often feel discouraged and in- 
 competent to the task I have undertaken, and not 
 seldom, have an inclination to lay it aside." 
 
 1 In a letter dated at Washington, of April 22d, Josiah Quincy 
 recommends this print to be subscribed for by the Boston Athe- 
 na3um. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 275 
 
 March 15. From Augustus E. Kendall in New 
 York. He states that an edition of his Travels in 
 North America, had been published there contrary 
 to his wishes. He says of the publication that it 
 is incomplete, for lack of the drawings in his pos- 
 session. " These Travels will appear in England 
 in their complete form. Then, and not till then, 
 will they be properly amenable to a literary tribunal. 
 I confidently flatter myself with experiencing from 
 you all that will be suggested by your sense of 
 courtesy." 
 
 March 24. From Walter Channing, Newport, R. I. 
 As arrangements had been made for the revival of 
 the Redwood Library, he desires the aid of Mr. 
 Shaw for carrying them into effect. 
 
 April 11. From John Pickering, Salem. "This 
 day we had the first meeting of the proprietors of 
 the Athenseum, and appointed a committee for the 
 purpose of devising regulations for the Corporation. 
 The committee have requested me to ask you for a 
 copy of the Regulations for your Athenaeum, which 
 
 I shall be glad to receive to-day." 
 
 April 12. From Mr. Woodward, in Michigan. 
 
 II Mr. Woodward has the honor to present his re- 
 spects to the editors of the * Monthly Anthology 
 and Boston Review,' and to acknowledge the re- 
 ception, by mail, of the fourth number of the sixth 
 volume, being that for April, 1809, and containing 
 a criticism on the { Considerations respecting the 
 Executive Government of the United States.' At 
 this distance from the theatre where the review 
 appeared, the attention of the editors in transmitting 
 
276 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 it, has been alike polite and acceptable ; and nothing 
 can be more just than their idea that anarchy accel- 
 erates the moment of individual usurpation. Per- 
 haps the annexation of four constitutional counsel- 
 lors to the executive of the United States, without 
 the concurrence of two of whom the President 
 cannot act, and who can themselves, in no case, act 
 without the concurrence of the President, might, if 
 attempted, be productive of greater intrigue and 
 dissension, than the system of a single elective 
 magistrate, without any counsellors designated by 
 the constitution for personal consultation. It is at 
 least very certain that any changes of a constitution 
 of government, other than those which are impe- 
 riously necessary, are generally attended with much 
 practical evil, in exchange for a little abstract good. 
 By impairing the habits of veneration and obedi- 
 ence, they relax all the bands of society, and ter- 
 minate in the prostration of civil order. No other 
 people could have borne, with safety, so many 
 successive advances in the science of republican 
 government as have been made in America; and, 
 perhaps, the Americans themselves cannot bear 
 further experiments. 
 
 " The construction of the American Republic, 
 however, transcends so greatly every thing of which 
 the previous history of the human race presents an 
 example, both requires and produces such public 
 intelligence and virtue, and is at once so unique 
 and so sublime, that every suggestion which may 
 have a tendency to cement, or even to decorate the 
 structure, may be worthy of a transient attention , 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 277 
 
 and perhaps, in an empire so extensive as the United 
 States, a participation of the different quarters in 
 the executive power, may tend to preserve and 
 to fortify a union so precious to America and to 
 mankind." 
 
 May 10. From* John Vaughan, in Philadelphia. 
 " I have sent a book for your Library, published 
 under the direction of the Unitarian Society here. 
 The principles of that persuasion being little un- 
 derstood here, where, till lately, no such society 
 existed." 
 
 June 2. Prom Mr. Shaw's mother, in Atkinson. 
 " Your good aunt Adams has made us a most agree- 
 able visit. I wish you could have accompanied 
 her. She says that you are very unwell, that you 
 are pressed with business, which requires you to sit 
 up late at night. I have been long of the opinion 
 that midnight oil never enriched the mind or the 
 purse. But, in its consequences, it impoverishes 
 both, by destroying the health on which they de- 
 pend for the increase of their respective gains. 
 Morning is the time for the efficient performance of 
 our various callings. Come here and recruit. All 
 shall be done to render you happy. I thank you 
 for the excellent lectures of Mr. Adams, which you 
 were so kind as to send me." 
 
 July 12. John T. Kirkland, at Clinton, county of 
 Oneida, N. Y. While on a journey, he wrote, as 
 his words are, " lest possibly some dependence 
 should be placed on my predictions or promises 
 uttered the last time we met, in favor of furnishing 
 the other part of the Review of the dictionaries, 
 
278 WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 
 
 etc., for the Anthology of July. Or, if this should 
 not be the case, and my habit of disappointing 
 has cured the expectation of my friends, yet it 
 becomes debtors and delinquents, debtors espe- 
 cially, to be civil, and when they fail to send prin- 
 cipal or interest, to be ready with a letter of excuse. 
 The political heat among the people here seems 
 to be passing off in the evaporation created by the 
 toil of haying. The federalists think that they 
 lost the election by the loss of that of Massachusetts, 
 the inconceivable slanders propagated respecting the 
 candidate for the governor's chair, and the unhappy 
 circumstance of the cause of federalism being iden- 
 tified with that of Mr. Jackson, etc." 
 
CHAPTER XIII, 
 
 Resources of the United States Ogilvie's Orations Stimulus 
 Portrait Lewis and Clarke's Expedition Cheeves Slave 
 European Books Missions Introductions Meridian Mathe- 
 matical Prodigy Chronic Complaints Maternal Advice Mon- 
 ument for Washington History of Georgia Cunningham 
 Correspondence Libeda Natural History Seal Death of 
 Buckminster Remarks on S. Adams, J. Otis and J. Hancock 
 Mitchell's Account of Fishes Lights for the Enemy Athenae- 
 ums in Philadelphia and Portland. 
 
 July 18. From Samuel Ewing of Philadelphia. 
 " My friend, Robert Hare, (late Professor of Chem- 
 istry,) has just published a pamphlet on the power 
 and resources of the United States. He has not 
 given his name to the public. Whatever may be 
 the opinion generally adopted of the merits of this 
 production, the perusal of it will satisfy you, that 
 it is written by a man who thinks for himself and 
 borrows little from others." 
 
 July 26. From James Ogilvie at Portsmouth. 
 "I seize, my dear sir, the earliest opportunity to in- 
 form you that the oration I propose to deliver on 
 the Athenasum is finished. It occupies about fifty 
 pages, and will require from an hour and fifteen to 
 an hour and twenty minutes in the delivery. I 
 have devoted twelve days to the composition of it, 
 with assiduity and ardor. The subject is so rich 
 
280 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 and diversified, that the principal difficulty I have 
 encountered, has been in the judicious choice and 
 striking disposition of the materials which perse- 
 vering reflection has supplied. I have never at- 
 tempted to prepare myself for any rhetorical exhi- 
 bition with a deeper interest, or with so genuine 
 and unflagging an enthusiasm. The oration is un- 
 questionably the best I am able to write, and unless 
 my elocution is enfeebled by one of those unac- 
 countable and most afflicting visitations of morbid 
 depression to which I am unhappily liable, will pro- 
 duce a more powerful impression than any effusion 
 of this sort I have ever pronounced. 
 
 " I did not even attempt to reflect, much less to 
 commit my reflections to paper upon this subject, 
 until I began to feel an entire renovation of physi- 
 cal and intellectual energy. The abrupt disuse of 
 a stimulus (confessedly the most potent, which the 
 the materia medica can furnish) incapacitated me 
 for several weeks for intense thinking or energetic 
 exertion. At this time, although my health is lan- 
 guid, the tone of my nerve, the activity and vigor 
 of my faculties, are perfectly restored. 
 
 " Some considerable time will probably elapse 
 before I can revisit Boston. The interval will be 
 devoted almost exclusively to the revision and en- 
 largement of the oration I have previously delivered, 
 and to the composition of others on subjects far 
 more interesting. I have already printed a second 
 oration on duelling, in which I have endeavored to 
 deduce from the admitted and fundamental princi- 
 ples of religion and morality a conclusive answer 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 281 
 
 to every plausible argument that has been urged 
 in vindication of this most barbarous and hateful 
 custom. 
 
 11 It is not improbable, that previous to my de- 
 parture from this place and during my visit to Salem, 
 I may deliver the principal part of my oration on the 
 Atheneum, under the designation of a discourse on 
 the l Utility of Public Libraries,' in order that I 
 may be better prepared to pronounce the oration in 
 Boston with effect. Have the gpodness to present 
 my kind regards to Mr. Buckminster, and to accept 
 assurance of my sincere esteem." 
 
 August 15. From William Crafts of Charleston, 
 S. C. " I enclose you the oration delivered by Mr. 
 Cheeves, attorney general of the State and candidate 
 for a seat in the next Congress. He stands at the 
 head of the democrats in this country, and is re- 
 garded as the dernier resort of their desponding 
 forces. He has raised himself to his present station 
 entirely by his own exertions, having been wholly 
 unassisted by education in his younger years." 
 
 October. From Mr. Shaw's mother. " I shall be 
 in town on Monday to attend Mr. Stuart. I feel 
 an anxiety respecting the price. Your affection for 
 me may exceed the bounds of your circumstances. 
 Mr. Stuart was very polite, appeared sensible and 
 entertaining. I have no ambition but that it 
 [portrait] should be expressive of my benevolence 
 to creation and my affection for rny dear children. 
 These are sentiments which ever glow in my bosom 
 and I hope illumine my countenance. But I felt, 
 so disagreeably to sit down to be looked at, and to 
 25 
 
282 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 look up to a stranger's face, that I fear little of my 
 true lineaments will be seen." 
 
 Oct. 25. Committed to Mr. Shaw, apparently for 
 information, is a letter from Nicholas Biddle of Phil- 
 adelphia to Col. George Gibbs, the mineralogist, of 
 Boston. " The busiest man in this part of the 
 country is myself. About five or six months ago, I 
 consented very reluctantly to write the history of 
 Lewis and Clarke's expedition to the Pacific. The 
 work will be executed jointly by Doctor Barton 
 arid myself. As the chief labor falls on myself, I 
 have been occupied most unremittingly with vol- 
 umes of manuscript journals and Indian names of 
 immeasurable length, till I am almost as dull and 
 wild as the veriest savage on the Missouri. I begin 
 to see the end of my journey ; but the prospect is 
 still distant, and I am almost frighted at what even 
 now remains of the composition, correction and 
 publication of two octavo volumes. My part, how- 
 ever, will be finished before the maps, etc. will be 
 completed, though I am unable to say when the 
 whole will be published. This occupation of au- 
 thor, added to my usual profession, has received a 
 still further increase ; for my discerning fellow-citi- 
 zens have lately made me a legislator, so that I shall 
 pass the greater part of the winter at Lancaster, en- 
 gaged in taking care of the commonwealth, and 
 quarreling with the Germans about turnpike roads 
 and other grave matters. On the subject of legisla- 
 ting, by the way, I should like some information." 
 He then proceeds to inquire about our militia and 
 schools. He adds, " While I was in Virginia, I saw 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 283 
 
 Mr. Munroe, who is calmly sitting down to the cul- 
 tivation of tobacco, near Charlottesville. His estate 
 is very good, but had been out of order during his 
 absence. However, he has received another hand- 
 some estate, left to him by an uncle." 
 
 Nov. 4. Mr. Shaw is chosen a Fellow of the 
 American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 
 
 Nov. 5. John Lathrop, Jr., writes to Mr. Shaw 
 to assist and encourage his plan to procure "an ap- 
 paratus for experiments in a course of lectures on 
 natural philosophy " in Boston. 
 
 Nov. 10. From Hugh McCall of Savannah, Ga. 
 " I send you the Life of General James Jackson of 
 Georgia." He mentions that the planters on the 
 sea coast had lost three-fourths of their crops by a 
 gale in September. He desires that a female slave, 
 who had left his family when he was on a visit to 
 Boston, might be restored to them. 
 
 Nov. 13. William S. Shaw to Rev. Thaddeus M. 
 Harris. " In order to lessen your labor and facili- 
 tate your inquiries as much as possible, relative to 
 books on America, for the Boston Athenaeum, I have 
 taken the trouble to look over Lackington's cata- 
 logue for 1808-9, and Priestly's for 1810, and now 
 do myself the honor to transmit to you a list of 
 every book which I could find, with the numbers 
 affixed in the respective catalogues, relative to this 
 great object ; one copy of each book I hope you 
 will be able to procure. The same books are some- 
 times repeated in the same catalogue, and may be 
 often found in both, but I chose to copy them as 
 they were found in the catalogues, so that out of 
 
284 MEMORIALS OP 
 
 the whole you might select the best copy of each. 
 You need not trouble yourself about procuring any 
 to be bound, but send them bound or in boards, as 
 you may find them ; although where you have a 
 choice, I should much prefer the latter. I mean 
 this only as to works on America. If any portion 
 of Humboldt's work respecting South America be 
 translated, will you please to send it to me by the 
 first opportunity. I do not wish you should feel 
 yourself in the least restricted by any orders. I 
 send this with its inclosures merely to assist your 
 inquiries, but I wish you to collect for the Athena3um 
 every book, tract, &c., relative to this country, 
 which you may meet with, which we do not 
 already possess. I send you by the Galen, copies 
 of our catalogue to Mr. Higginson, and to William 
 Scollay and R. Priestley, our bookseller in London. 
 Will you give information of such books as he sent 
 out last, relative to America, which are not in the 
 catalogue. As I passed over the catologues in search 
 for books on America, I have occasionally marked a 
 few books on different subjects, which I will thank 
 you to procure for me. I also enclose an additional 
 list of books on grammar and on the origin and 
 progress of language and letters. 
 
 " I hope, my dear sir, you will excuse me for tres- 
 passing so far on your goodness, as to ask for your 
 exertions during your residence in England in favor 
 of this dear infant institution, in recommending its 
 interests to the attention and patronage of the men 
 of learning and affluence in the blessed Island of 
 Great Britain. I have great doubts whether it be 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 285 
 
 possible at this period to collect a great valuable 
 library for this country without considerable contri- 
 bution from the learned treasures of both France 
 and England. 
 
 " The subject of Indian missions has for a long 
 time been in England an interesting topic of dis- 
 cussion, and I should feel myself under great obli- 
 gation, if you would make a collection for the 
 Athenaeum of the most interesting tracts on the 
 subject. Many of them have been reviewed in the 
 Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews." 
 
 Nov. 19. From S. Goodenow in Albany, N. Y. 
 " I have given some gentlemen letters of introduc- 
 tion to you. My reasons for it are, the advantage 
 your acquaintance will be to them and the hope of 
 bringing them to be acquainted with and advocates 
 for institutions like the Athenaeum. Public opinion 
 and wishes look towards such a thing here already, 
 and a few years will introduce it on a smaller scale, 
 at least, if nothing more. In New York, it is taking 
 root in good season and good soil. Salem also 
 has followed your example, I learn, I believe, as 
 Kendall in his Travels has observed, respecting the 
 Boston Athenaeum, we may consider you as the 
 father of the whole progeny, which is to spring 
 up." 
 
 Dec. 15. From Charles Sigourney of Hartford, 
 Conn. "I beg the favor of you to introduce my 
 friend, Mr. Tisdale, to the delights of the institution 
 at the head of which you are placed, and which is 
 so liberally open to respectable strangers. Mr. Tis- 
 dale's claims to your attention consist in his being 
 25* 
 
286 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 a man of talents in his profession, in the opinion 
 of Col. Trumbull, which is that of a miniature painter 
 and designer, and a man of merit in other respects. 
 I am persuaded that an acquaintance will be mutu- 
 ally agreeable, and I hope you will find him like 
 Goldsmith's Sir Joshua, 
 
 ' Born to improve us in every part, 
 His pencil our faces, his manners our heart/ " 
 
 1811, January 1. Jedidiah Morse, of Charlestown, 
 addresses a circular to Mr. Shaw for aid in obtaining 
 corrections and facts for his new edition of the 
 American Universal Geography. 
 
 Jan. 17. Among several letters of Nathaniel 
 Bowditch is one of this date. The correspondence 
 relates to his strictures on the memorial and papers of 
 William Lambert, laid before Congress, " relative to 
 the establishment of a first meridian in and for the 
 United States." 
 
 Feb. 11. A letter from Josiah Quincy in Wash- 
 ington, expressing his earnest and repeated wish 
 that the plan, proposed in Boston the year before, 
 for the maintenance and education of Zerah Colburn, 
 might be carried into effect. There were several 
 communications on the same subject. The leading 
 motive with the writers was, to save the child from 
 the probable ruin of being exhibited as a mathe- 
 matical prodigy. A contract accompanies them, in 
 which Mr. Shaw is one of five trustees of a fund, 
 to be collected by subscription for such an object. 
 But it seems that the father of the boy delayed at 
 first to comply with the terms, so that when he 
 consented, the enterprise was relinquished through 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 287 
 
 dissatisfaction with his course. Still another at- 
 tempt of the kind was made in Exeter, N. H. In 
 relation to it, Hosea Hildreth, professor of mathe- 
 matics, addressed a letter to Mr. Shaw, under date 
 of June 19, 1811. He stated, that Mr. Colburn 
 would soon embark for Europe with his son, unless 
 suitable provision could be made to render it unne- 
 cessary. As well known, the embarkation took 
 place. This parent, after years of trial, died abroad, 
 and the son ' returned in 1824, to his native State, 
 and became a preacher of the Methodist order. 
 The mind of the latter, which, for several of his 
 earliest years, promised astonishing mathematical 
 development, disappointed him and the public both 
 here and in England. The most encouraging pre- 
 cocity, in this instance, has resulted in no greater 
 excellence, than common talent perseveringly culti- 
 vated. 
 
 March 3. From Mr. Shaw's mother. "I heard 
 that you were sick with the rheumatism. If it is 
 only in your limbs, to keep warm and promote cir- 
 culation by flannel, is the best I can advise. I re- 
 member reading Cadogan's Treatise on Chronic Dis- 
 orders. He considered rheumatism as arising from 
 three causes, sudden colds, intemperance, peevish- 
 ness or anxiety of mind. When I first saw the 
 book, I was just recovering from a long confinement 
 by a rheumatic fever. I seized the book with de- 
 light, hoping I should find some catholicon to free 
 
 1 He published a memoir of himself in 1833. He became pro- 
 fessor of the Latin, Greek, French and Spanish languages and of 
 English classical literature, in the Norwich University, Vt., in 1835. 
 He died March 2, 1840, in his thirty-fifth year. 
 
288 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 me from all pain. But how vexed was I to see the 
 two latter causes specified. As I read on, however, 
 the author explained intemperance on a large scale, 
 as excess in labor, eating, drinking, sleeping and 
 watching. I forget whether he mentioned smoking. 
 But I think he could not have omitted this habit, 
 which so enfeebles the system. I suppose, there- 
 fore, that Cadogan would tell us to avoid the occa- 
 sions of taking cold, never eat late at night, be care- 
 ful in all our regimen ; to cultivate true magnanimity 
 of soul, be patient, resigned and cheerful under all 
 the vicissitudes of life. When you read this, I 
 perceive you look up with a smile and say, 'Dear 
 mother, all this I have done from my youth up.' 
 It is my comfort to believe you have. Still it is 
 the excellence of virtues, that they may be contin- 
 ually increasing. It should, my son, be your reli- 
 gious inquiry, * What lack I yet ? ' 
 
 " By the newspaper, I see that Mr. John Q,. Adams 
 has had a unanimous vote for the office of Chief 
 Justice. I am pleased, because he will do honor to 
 any trust. It looks as though the public knew his 
 worth, and were convinced, as I have long been, of 
 his integrity. I have heard much of a late letter 
 of his published in the Patriot. I wish that I could 
 see it thus printed." 
 
 March 7. From Edward J. Cole of Baltimore. 
 "Presuming on our former friendly intercourse, 
 while you resided in Philadelphia and I read law 
 with Mr. Hopkinson, I take the liberty to trouble 
 you with the enclosed prospectus. Perhaps you 
 can advise me as to the best mode of disposing of 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 289 
 
 a part of the edition for the supply of your town 
 and neighborhood, and if you have leisure, I should 
 be still more indebted to you for the information, 
 or (should you not have leisure) for your advice as 
 to the best source of obtaining the information I 
 want for the work respecting Massachusetts, such 
 as the universities ; ancient and other societies ; 
 libraries, when founded ; remarkable buildings and 
 bridges, when erected ; turnpike roads ; banks ; 
 insurance offices ; remarkable events which have 
 occurred in the State, etc. 
 
 " I have heard from time to time much concern- 
 ing the flourishing state of the Athenaeum, and it 
 gives me pleasure to find that all respect and ac- 
 knowledgments are directed to you as the founder. 
 I have long contemplated forwarding a number of 
 books which might be acceptable, and will very 
 soon put my intentions into execution." 
 
 May 23. A circular is sent to persons, chosen 
 trustees of a fund to be raised for erecting a monu- 
 ment to Washington, in Massachusetts. Mr. Shaw 
 was much interested in this enterprise, and was one 
 of the original trustees. 
 
 June 30. From Hugh McCall, Savannah, Georgia. 
 " I have had no letter from you since I left Boston. 
 I have forwarded such literary matter, relative to 
 Georgia, as you wished. If not valuable, you had 
 the will for the deed. Knowing your low appre- 
 ciation of Georgia literature, I commenced, soon 
 after my return home, writing a history of the 
 State. The work is now ready for the press, and 
 will come forth in September. It will commence 
 
290 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 with the first settlement and come down to 1774, 
 embracing a period of forty years, in one volume of 
 three hundred and fifty to four hundred pages. You 
 will think it strange, no doubt, that I should under- 
 take to write a book. Without jesting, I shall feel 
 great diffidence in handing the productions of my 
 pen for the examination and criticism of the world." 
 
 July 13. From William Cunningham, Jr. of 
 Fitchburg. " In a conversation we had in Febru- 
 ary of 1810, concerning a correspondence between 
 Mr. Adams and myself, you expressed some solici- 
 tude, that his letters might not be used to his dis- 
 advantage. On the 18th of last April, I addressed 
 him a letter, in which I mentioned three forms, in 
 one of which the letter would be disposed of, after 
 two months from its date, should it be answered. 
 I have received no answer. It may be that the 
 letter did not reach Mr. Adams, and it is possible 
 that an answer may have miscarried. The doubt 
 which hangs on these two points has determined 
 me to acquaint you, that I am now transcribing the 
 letter of April 18th for the press." He then pro- 
 ceeds to express himself strongly against Mr. Adams's 
 strictures on Hamilton, and speaks of these, as com- 
 municated to him, as the cause of the preceding 
 publication. But Mr. Cunningham evidently mis- 
 took the result of the pamphlet he issued. This 
 should be an admonition for all who are tempted to 
 expose the opinions of their correspondents who 
 trust in their friendship. 
 
 Sept. 12. A letter from Col. Paul Revere of 
 Boston, with pieces of copper coin, which were 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 291 
 
 obtained by Capt. Nathaniel Haraden in 1804, from 
 the ruins of a once splendid city, called Libeda, 
 about seventy miles from Tripoli. 
 
 Sept. 13. From Hugh McCall, Savannah, Ga. 
 " This letter will be accompanied with my pro- 
 posals for publishing a History of Georgia, contain- 
 ed in the first sheet, which has just come from the 
 press, and is sent to you as a specimen of the paper 
 and type. If you should feel disposed to patronize 
 the production of my pen, be pleased to exhibit the 
 proposals in some place most likely to procure sub- 
 scribers, and make known to me the result on the 
 first of November, as the books will be ready for 
 delivery early in that month. Six hundred copies 
 are already subscribed for, and I have only made 
 arrangements for one thousand. I presume my 
 feelings on this occasion are similar to those of a 
 diffident orator, who is on the eve of delivering his 
 first speech before an enlightened audience." 
 
 Nov. 6. From William Hunter and others of 
 Newport, a committee of the Redwood Library. 
 They state that this institution had been recently 
 revived, that they were empowered to obtain funds 
 for its increase, and they desire the co-operation of 
 Mr. Shaw for this object. 
 
 1812, January. Mr. Shaw to Obadiah Rich. "It 
 is with no ordinary pleasure that I transmit to you 
 the enclosed votes, passed at a meeting of the 
 Trustees of the Boston Athenaeum, on the first 
 Monday of January, 1812. In thus complying 
 with this duty, I should do injustice to the feelings 
 of my heart, were I not to confess to you my many 
 
292 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 delightful anticipations, that this institution, which 
 I most dearly cherish arid love, will be increasingly 
 useful and prosperous ; and this too, in part, because 
 you have considered it as worthy of your exertion. 
 Permit me to express my fervent wish, that the 
 contemplated Cabinet of Natural History, under 
 your patronage and direction, may receive a liberal 
 endowment." 
 
 The year, so commenced, being the first of the 
 war with Great Britain, was one of great discourage- 
 ment, as to the Athenaeum. Of six established 
 meetings for its trustees, but one had a quorum for 
 the transaction of its business. At this critical 
 juncture, Mr. Shaw redoubled his diligence, and 
 necessarily took on himself almost the entire super- 
 intendence of the institution. 
 
 April 11. Among Mr. Shaw's papers is an in- 
 genious letter from the late John Davis, judge of 
 Massachusetts District Court, to Rev. Joseph S. 
 Buckminster, on the subject of a seal for the Boston 
 Athenaeum. It was accompanied with a drawing 
 and motto of the seal. 
 
 April 30. From Rev. James Abercrombie of Phil- 
 adelphia. " I cannot suffer my son-in-law and 
 daughter to visit Boston, without giving them an 
 introduction to you. Your polite attentions are 
 essentially necessary to the comfort and happiness 
 of all strangers who visit Boston and its vicinity. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Andrews belong to the class of in- 
 quisitive travelers, and will therefore wish to see 
 the Athenaeum and all the wonderful notions of 
 your town." The writer, indulging his vein of 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 293 
 
 humor, proceeds. " In the late eruption of Mount 
 uEtna, a petrified foot was thrown out, which, to 
 the inexpressible astonishment and rapturous delight 
 of the antiquarians of Europe, is ascertained, by 
 certain corns and other excrescences, to be the foot 
 of Empedocles. I indulge ' high blown hopes ' of 
 obtaining one of the said corns, through the interest 
 of an arch antiquary, who has enjoyed the high 
 privilege and felicity of seeing, feeling and smelling 
 the foot. I shall give you the earliest intelligence 
 of the corn's arrival, that you may start, prima luce, 
 in the expedition to see, feel and smell it also. I 
 fear nothing short of such an object will ever in- 
 duce you to visit Philadelphia." 
 
 June 16. A communication from Dr. J. Gorham, 
 giving the details of a post mortem examination of 
 Rev. Joseph S. Buckminster. 
 
 August 25. From Mr. Shaw's mother. " You 
 know that I am a sincere mourner, when the good 
 and the intelligent are taken from the earth. Such 
 was your beloved friend, the youthful and worthy 
 Buckminster. With you I condole, as an individ- 
 ual ; with his church, who are bereaved of a dis- 
 tinguished luminary ; and with his two amiable 
 sisters, who have thus sustained a loss additional 
 to that of their much-loved mother and father. 
 Friend after friend, my dear son, is severed from 
 your heart. May you meditate thereon, and learn 
 to consider your own frailty." 
 
 Nov. 3. As an original member of the American 
 Antiquarian Society, Mr. Shaw is notified of their 
 first meeting. 
 
 26 
 
294 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 1813, Jan. 19. From Josiah Q,uincy at Wash- 
 ington. He desired that his remarks in Congress, 
 which had been replied to hy Mr. Clay, and mis- 
 represented by various editors, might be printed 
 in a pamphlet in Boston, under the care of Mr. 
 Shaw. 
 
 Jan. 26. Prom a young man in New York. " In 
 an hour when I might have looked around in vain 
 for a single smile of encouragement or favor ; when 
 I seemed to stand alone in the world, and knew not 
 which way to turn for aid, you affectionately took 
 me by the hand, and proffered me, unsolicited, your 
 friendship, and poured into my sonl the balm of joy. 
 How trifling are the returns which I can make you, 
 in comparison with what I have received." 
 
 June 5. Extracts from John Adams's letter to 
 William Tudor, and preserved by Mr. Shaw, follow. 
 "You 'never profoundly admired Mr. H.' I have 
 suggested some hints in his favor. You l never 
 profoundly admired Mr. S. A.' I have promised 
 you an apology for him. You may think it a weak 
 one j for I have no talent, at panegyric or apology. 
 1 There are all sorts of men in the world.' This 
 observation, you may say, is self-evident and futile ; 
 yet Mr. Locke thought it not unworthy of him to 
 make it ; and if we reflect upon it, there is more 
 meaning in it than meets the eye at the first 
 blush. You say Mr. S. A. l had too much sternness 
 and pious bigotry.' A man in his situation and 
 circumstances must possess a large fund of stern- 
 ness of stuff, or he will soon be annihilated. His 
 piety ought not to be objected to him or any other 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 295 
 
 man. His bigotry, if he had any, was a fault ; but 
 he certainly had not more than governor Hutchin- 
 son and secretary Oliver, who I know, from per- 
 sonal conversations, were as stanch Trinitarians and 
 Calvinists as he was, and treated all Arians and 
 Arminians with more contempt and scorn, than he 
 ever did. Mr. Adams lived and conversed freely 
 with all sectarians in philosophy and divinity. He 
 never imposed his creed on any one, nor endeavored 
 to make proselytes to his religious opinions. He 
 was as far from sentencing any man to perdition 
 who differed from him, as Mr. Holley, Dr. Kirkland, 
 or Dr. Freeman. If he was a Calvinist, a Calvinist 
 he had been educated, and so had been all his 
 ancestors for two hundred years. He had been 
 from his childhood too much devoted to politics to 
 be a profound student in metaphysics and theology, 
 or to make extensive researches or deep investiga- 
 tions into such subjects. Nor had any other man 
 attempted it in this nation in that age, if any one 
 has attempted it since. Mr. Adams was an original. 
 jSui generis, sui juris. The variety of human 
 characters is infinite. Nature seems to delight in 
 showing the inexhaustibility of her resources. 
 There never were two men alike, from the first 
 man to the last, any more than two pebbles or two 
 peas. 
 
 " Mr. Adams was born and tempered a wedge of 
 steel, to split the knot of lignum vitse which tied 
 North America to Great Britain. Blunderheaded as 
 were the British ministry, they had sagacity enough 
 to discriminate from all others, for inexorable ven- 
 
296 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 geance, the two men the most to be dreaded by 
 them, Samuel Adams and John Hancock ; and had 
 not James Otis been then dead, or worse than dead, 
 his name would have been at the head of THE 
 TRIUMVIRATE. 
 
 " James Otis, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock, 
 were the three most essential characters j and Great 
 Britain knew it, though America does not. Great 
 and important and excellent characters, aroused and 
 excited by these, arose in Pennsylvania, Virginia, 
 New York, South Carolina, and in all the other 
 States; but these three were the first movers, the 
 most constant, steady, persevering springs, agents, 
 and most disinterested sufferers and firmest pillars 
 of the whole Revolution. 
 
 " I shall not attempt even to draw the outlines of 
 the biography of Mr. Samuel Adams. Who can 
 attempt it ? 
 
 " But if I had time, eyes and fingers at my com- 
 mand, where should T find documents and memo- 
 rials ? Without the character of Samuel Adams, 
 the true history of the American Revolution can 
 never be written. For fifty years his pen, his 
 tongue, his activity were constantly exerted for his 
 country, without fee or reward. During all that 
 time he was an almost incessant writer. But where 
 are his writings ? Who can collect them ? And if 
 collected, who will ever read them? The letters 
 he wrote and received, where are they ? I have 
 seen him at Mrs. Yard's in Philadelphia, when he 
 was about to leave Congress, cut up with his 
 scissors whole bundles of letters, into atoms that 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 297 
 
 could never be reunited, and throw them out at the 
 window, to be scattered by the winds. This was 
 in summer, when he had no fire. In winter he 
 threw whole handfuls into the fire. As we were 
 on terms of perfect intimacy, I have joked him, 
 perhaps rudely, upon his anxious caution. His 
 answer was, c Whatever becomes of me, my friends 
 shall never suffer by my negligence.' 
 
 " This may be thought a less significant anecdote 
 than another. Mr. Adams left the letters he had 
 received and preserved, in possession of his widow. 
 This lady, as was natural, lent them to a confiden- 
 tial friend of her husband, Mr. Avery, who then 
 was and had been Secretary of the Commonwealth 
 under the administrations of Mr. Adams and Mr. 
 Hancock. Mr. Avery informed me that ' he had 
 them, and that they were a complete history of the 
 Revolution.' I will not say into whose hands they 
 fell after Mr. Avery's death, and I cannot say where 
 they are now. But I have heard that a gentleman 
 in Charlestown, Mr. Austin, undertook to write the 
 Life of Mr. Adams ; but finding his papers had 
 been so garbled that the truth could not be dis- 
 covered, he abandoned his design. Never will 
 those letters which secretary Avery possessed ever 
 be brought together again, nor will they ever be 
 found. So much for Mr. Adams, at present, Now 
 for Mr. Otis. 
 
 " I write no biographies or biographical sketches. 
 
 I give only hints. James Otis was descended from 
 
 our most ancient families. His education was the 
 
 best his country afforded. He was bred to the bar 
 
 26* 
 
298 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 under Mr. Gridley, the greatest lawyer and the 
 greatest classic scholar I ever knew at any bar. 
 His application was incessant and indefatigable. 
 Justice Richard Dana has often told me, that the 
 apartment in which Otis studied, when a pupil and 
 a clerk of Mr. Gridley, was near his house ; that he 
 had watched him from day to day, and that he had 
 never known a student in law so punctual, so steady, 
 so constant arid persevering. Accordingly, as soon 
 as he was admitted to the bar, he became a con- 
 spicuous figure. And among whom ? Gridley, 
 Pratt, Trowbridge, and he was much admired, and 
 as much celebrated as any of them. His generous, 
 manly, noble character as a private gentleman, his 
 uncommon attainments in literature, especially in 
 the law, and his nervous, commanding eloquence at 
 the bar, were every where spoken of. The govern- 
 ment soon discerned his superiority, and commis- 
 sioned him Advocate General. He married a lady 
 who in that day was esteemed a fortune. From 
 1755 to 1758, I heard my master, Colonel James 
 Putnam of Worcester, who was a critical judge, 
 and Mr. Trowbridge, the then attorney general, 
 and his lady, constantly speaking of Otis as the 
 greatest, the most learned, the most manly and the 
 most honest young man of his age. All this was 
 before I had ever seen Mr. Otis. I never saw him 
 till late in the autumn of 1758, nor Mr. Samuel 
 Adams till after that year. 
 
 " To sum up, in a few words. The two young 
 men whom I have known to enter the stage of life 
 with the most luminous, unclouded prospects and 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 299 
 
 the best founded hopes, were James Otis and John 
 Hancock. They were both essential to the Revo- 
 lution, and both fell sacrifices to it. 
 
 " Mr. Otis, from 1760 to 1770, had correspon- 
 dences in this province, in New England, in the 
 middle and southern Colonies, in England, in Scot- 
 land. What is become of these letters and an- 
 swers ? Mr. Otis, soon after my earliest acquaintance 
 with him, lent me a summary of Greek Prosody 
 of his own collection and composition ; a work of 
 profound learning and great labor. I had it six 
 months in my possession before I returned it. Since 
 my return from Europe, I asked his daughter 
 whether she had found that work among her father's 
 manuscripts ? She answered me with a counte- 
 nance of wo, that you may more easily imagine 
 than I can describe, that she ' had not a line from 
 her father's pen ! ' That ' he had spent much time 
 and taken great pains to collect together all his 
 letters and other papers, and in one of his unhappy 
 moments committed them all to the flames.' I 
 have used her own expressions. 
 
 "Such has been the fate of the memorials of 
 Mr. James Otis and Mr. Samuel Adams. It was not 
 without reason, then, that I wrote to Mr. Niles of 
 Baltimore, that the true history of the American 
 Revolution is lost forever. I could write volumes 
 of other proofs of the same truth, before, during, 
 and since the Revolution. But, cui bono ? They 
 would be read by very few, and by very few of 
 those few would be credited." 
 
 July 19. From Nathaniel Lord, 3d, of Ipswich. 
 
300 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 His proposal for "a new edition of the Alphabetical 
 Catalogue of Graduates at Harvard University." 
 
 August 24. Prom John Adams of Quincy. 
 " Judge Vanderkemp needs no recommendation to 
 you. If your health and official duties will admit 
 of your coming with him, you know that you both 
 will be received with open arms. If I have not 
 been in a delusion for more than thirty years, he is 
 a salt mountain, i. e., of the salt of the earth. I 
 have said to him, that my only fear is, that you 
 Bostonians will kill him with kindness, as the Paris- 
 ians did Voltaire." 
 
 Oct. 2*6. Mr. Shaw has notice of his being elected 
 an honorary member of the New York Historical 
 Society. 
 
 Dec. 13. From Jonathan Russell at Meridon. 
 He speaks of his correspondence with J. Q,. Adams, 
 and of sending to Mr. Shaw the letter from Mr. 
 Adams mentioned under date of November 7, in the 
 last year. 
 
 1814, January 1. From Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell 
 of New York. " I beg you to place in the Boston 
 Athenaeum, my commencement of the description 
 and classification of the fishes of New York. The 
 Boston market has long been celebrated for its ani- 
 mals of the same class. It would gratify me ex- 
 ceedingly to know distinctly what they are. With 
 the hope of gaining this information, I herewith 
 send you a bunch of those caught in this vicinity. 
 It consists of about seventy sorts, fifty-four of 
 which are good for human food. Fifty have been 
 described by myself from fresh specimens, and forty 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 301 
 
 of them are unknown to the systematic compilers 
 of Europe. A few copies only have been printed, 
 at my expense, for distribution to the worthy. Ad- 
 ditional specimens are almost daily coming to hand. 
 Should I authorize a new edition, there are many 
 additions ready to be made to it. In the course of 
 the current year, I hope to render it as correct and 
 complete as possible. Will you, or some zoologist 
 of Massachusetts, go through the finny tribes of 
 your waters, as I have done and continue to do 
 here ? " 
 
 Jan. 8. Prom Henry Channing, of New London, 
 Conn. " The statement given in the Gazette of 
 this city, respecting lights exhibited near the en- 
 trance of this harbor, on the heights, as signals to 
 the enemy, on Monday night, December 12th, when 
 the report prevailed, that our squadron would put 
 to sea before morning, is correct. Com. Decatur, in 
 his communication to the navy department, says 
 twenty. He told me, that his officers calculated 
 forty or fifty, but that he wished to be far within 
 bounds in the number given." Mr. Channing re- 
 marked, that federalist as well as democratic presses 
 should denounce such treason. 
 
 Feb. 19. Prom Samuel Ewing of Philadelphia. 
 " We have just associated together to establish an 
 athenaeum or reading-room in our city. I have been 
 appointed one of the managers. It is our wish to 
 be guided by the experience of those who have 
 gone before us. I do not know of any one, to 
 whom we could apply with better hopes than your- 
 self. I am sure there is no one who feels more zeal 
 
302 WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 
 
 in the cause of letters than yourself. I have pre- 
 sumed on our former intimacy to address myself to 
 you, for such information as may enable us to carry 
 our object into execution." 
 
 Feb. 27. From A. W. Atherton of Portland. 
 " We are contemplating to establish in this town 
 an institution like your Boston Athenaeum. Know- 
 ing your zeal and willingness to contribute to the 
 general dissemination of useful knowledge, I may 
 venture, without an apology, to request your answer 
 to the following questions." These relate to con- 
 cerns, which readily present themselves to the mind 
 in connection with the subject. 
 
 March. In the report of a committee for exam- 
 ining the library of the Athenaeum, they say, that 
 "to the exertions of the librarian, (Mr. Shaw,) are 
 in a great measure, owing the great value and flour- 
 ishing state of the institution." 
 
 March 29. From William Tudor, Jr., London. 
 He remarks on the death of William Scollay of 
 Boston, in the East Indies. " He is a loss not only 
 to his family, but to his country, for he possessed 
 talents that would have, sooner or later, distin- 
 guished him." 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Governesses American Speeches Linngean Society Pitkin's Sta- 
 tisticsCyclopaedia North. American Review Coins Institu- 
 tion for Deaf and Dumb Curiosities Prejudice against the 
 North Lexington, Ky. Belsham Expedition for the Niger 
 Greek Newspaper Artiguenave Minutes of John Adams's- 
 Life Invitation of Campbell Imputations of Plagiarism Per- 
 kins's Tractors Webster's Publications Preference to Foreign 
 Books Sea Serpent Portrait by Stuart Beneficence Close of 
 Life. 
 
 1814, May 1. From B. P. Barrett, dated in Wash- 
 ington. He vindicates himself, as an officer, against 
 the charge of cowardice at Ormstown, October 26, 
 1813. 
 
 May 27. From George Jefferys in Boston. He 
 desired a loan to supply his necessities. He had 
 been in this country near four years. He had a son 
 with him. He states, "My eldest son is now out 
 of his time, and clerk in one of the first merchants 7 
 houses in London, Messrs. Cook, Prince &, Co. My 
 two eldest daughters are superintending the educa- 
 tion of children. The one with a branch of the 
 Duke of Argyle's family and the other in the Earl 
 of Kingston's, where they have been four years. 
 During that time, they have assisted my son. After 
 Christmas, the time they receive their income, they 
 will make me a remittance of a few hundred 
 dollars." 
 
304 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 August 4. From the same person. " Accept my 
 grateful acknowledgments for the favor of employ- 
 ing me, and for a recent instance of your kindness, 
 which has rendered me very essential service." 
 
 Sept. 12. From John B. Bowen of Philadelphia. 
 " Mr. S. C. Carpenter, of this city, is about publish- 
 ing an edition of American Speeches of the Bar 
 and Senate, and not having the pleasure of your 
 acquaintance, he requested me to write to you to 
 beg the favor of you to send him any rare and cu- 
 rious speeches that you may be in possession of, 
 and that may come within the scope of his work. 
 He wishes particularly to procure the speeches of 
 Mr. Adams and Mr. Q,uincy on the trial of Preston 
 in 1770, and if you have any speeches of Mr. Gris- 
 wold of Connecticut, he will thank you for them. 
 Mr. Carpenter was formerly editor of the Charles- 
 ton Courier, and of a Review published there, 
 and of many other literary works published in the 
 United States." 
 
 Sept. 14. From John Brazer in Dorchester. As 
 he had been invited, through Mr. Shaw, to become 
 the tutor of the children of " His Excellency, Mr. 
 Chenquion," he desires explanation of the duties 
 expected of him. 
 
 Dec. 26. A printed circular from Rev. J. T. Kirk- 
 land is addressed to Mr. Shaw. It relates to pub- 
 lishing a periodical, afterwards called the North 
 American Review. Of this work, which began to 
 be issued the next year, Mr. Shaw was an eminent 
 supporter and promoter. 
 
 The Lirmasan Society, which lasted several 
 
WILLIA.M SMITH SHAW. 305 
 
 years, and imparted a stimulus to the study and col- 
 lections of natural history, commenced its active 
 operations as soon as this year. They elected Mr. 
 Shaw for their vice president. He contributed 
 bountifully towards the purchasing of their costly 
 specimens of the animal kingdom. They finally 
 gave their collections to Harvard College, so that 
 they might still aid to advance the same object. 
 
 1815, Feb. 25. Among the papers of Mr. Shaw, is 
 one which contains a proposal for steps to be taken 
 towards the purchase of land and the erection of a 
 fire-proof building to contain the libraries, etc. of 
 the Agricultural Society, the American Academy of 
 Arts and Sciences, Boston Athenaeum, Massachu- 
 setts Historical Society, and the Linnean Society. 
 
 March 20. From Timothy Pitkin at Farming- 
 ton, Conn. " The return of peace was thought a 
 favorable time for the publication of the statistical 
 work, which I mentioned to you in Boston last 
 summer, and for the publication of which, I now 
 enclose you one of my proposals. I shall be happy 
 to receive any suggestions you may think proper to 
 make, in furtherance of the objects contemplated, 
 or others connected with them." This useful work 
 was published. 
 
 May 1. Mr. Shaw contributes towards the Asylum 
 for Indigent Boys, which he continued for several 
 years. 
 
 Oct. 2. Samuel F. Bradford, of Philadelphia,, 
 sends Mr. Shaw a circular. This stated, that owing 
 to severe losses, he was obliged, at the commence- 
 ment of the year, to suspend the publication of Rees's- 
 27 
 
306 MEMORIALS OP 
 
 Cyclopaedia ; that some of the back volumes were 
 burnt by the British at Frenchtown j that the 
 second part of the twenty-fifth volume would be 
 issued from the press about the first of November; 
 and that each half volume, which was fixed, eleven 
 years before, at three dollars, would be raised to 
 four dollars. 
 
 Oct. 6. From John W. Stark at Calcutta. He 
 introduces, by letter, Dr. N. Wallich, superintendent 
 of the botanical garden in Bengal, to Mr. Shaw, as 
 secretary of the Linnoean Society. He remarks of 
 the Doctor, " who is desirous of extending the ben- 
 efits of the garden to our country, as he will him- 
 self write you. I am taking some plants, etc. from 
 him for you, which I hope to have the pleasure of 
 presenting in a few months." 
 
 ' Oct. 9. The Doctor's letter contains the following 
 extracts. " I have made up a small box of living 
 plants and a parcel of seeds. My situation renders 
 it incumbent on me to request that you will do me 
 the honor to offer my humble services to the Lin- 
 naean Society of Boston. The happy conclusion 
 of the war, and the consequent communications be- 
 tween this country and America, will afford me 
 ample opportunities of presenting to your Society 
 rich East India plants. Any additions to the collec- 
 tions of this garden, which your Society may please 
 to send, will be received with gratitude." 
 
 Oct. 12. From John Lowell at Roxbury. After 
 stating that he had declined to accept his election, 
 as a member of the Linnaean Society, he proceeds : 
 "I hope this refusal will not be construed into an 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 307 
 
 indifference for your Society. Never had any insti- 
 tution in our country so entirely my good wishes. 
 I hailed it as the means of promoting natural 
 science, which has been too much neglected. I 
 am ready to co-operate in measures for its success." 
 He then suggests the course, which he judged best 
 for such an object. 
 
 Nov. 14. Prom John Cooke of Albany. " I have 
 taken the liberty to inform you, that I intend to ap- 
 ply, at the next session of Congress, by petitions, 
 for a remission of the postage on newspapers and 
 pamphlets, to all literary institutions, which may 
 have a room connected therewith for the reception 
 of such publications, in the same manner as printers 
 of papers have. I have spoken to several members 
 of Congress on the subject. They are of the opin- 
 ion that the request is reasonable, and think there 
 can be no objection to its being granted. To further 
 the object, I beg you to use your influence with 
 some of the members from your quarter." 
 
 Dec. 7. Among the applications to Mr. Shaw, as 
 clerk of the district court, for copy-rights, was one 
 of singular style, from Erastus Brown of Stock- 
 bridge. It ran thus : " I wish to secure to myself 
 the copy-right of a book, which I claim as author 
 and proprietor, by the following title, viz., The 
 Trial of Cain, the first murderer, in poetry, by rule 
 of court, in which a Predestinarian, a Universalist 
 and an Armenian argue as attorneys at the bar ; 
 the two former as the prisoner's counsel, the latter 
 as attorney general ; succeeded by hymns and spir- 
 itual songs, the measures of which are adapted to 
 
308 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 some very pleasing and harmonious tunes, calculated 
 for the entertainment of youth and other serious- 
 minded persons. Composed by Erastus Brown. 
 ' Prove all things, and hold fast that which is good.' 
 St. Paul." 
 
 1816, April 25. From Jonathan Goodhue of 
 New York. " Happening to mention to John G. 
 Bogert, Esq., of this city, the exertions you were 
 making in collecting a cabinet of coins, and the 
 promise I had made you of rendering you any 
 services which might be in my power, he was so 
 obliging as to say that he should offer you with 
 pleasure any such coins as he possessed in duplicate, 
 and he will accordingly lay them aside to hand to 
 me, when I shall be gratified in forwarding them 
 to you. 
 
 " Mr. Bogert is a gentleman of taste and science, 
 and has possessed himself of a collection of rare 
 and valuable coins, probably far more extensive 
 than any other in this country. I have ventured 
 to assure him that you will take pleasure in return- 
 ing the favors he shall bestow, as far as may be in 
 your power ; and as I doubt not the acquaintance 
 will lead to reciprocal services, and be mutually 
 agreeable, so I have been induced to offer him this 
 introduction and to recommend him to your atten- 
 tion and friendship." 
 
 Aug. 6. From N. Rickman, Isle of France. 
 After mentioning that he sends him two baskets of 
 beautiful coral plants, he closes, "I embrace this 
 occasion to renew our former acquaintance, and to 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 309 
 
 thank you sincerely for your civilities when I was 
 in Boston." 
 
 Aug. 26. Prom Garritt Storm in New York. " I 
 have herewith the pleasure to enclose to you speci- 
 mens of the notes used here as a substitute for 
 small change. I delivered your letter to Mr. Lyman 
 of Northampton, where I staid one day, and received 
 from him every civility I could expect." 
 
 Aug. 31. From Charles Sigourney of Hartford. 
 <{ I have the pleasure of introducing to your ac- 
 quaintance Mr. Laurent Clerc, recently from France, 
 and one of the instructors from the Abbe Sicard's 
 school for the deaf and dumb, being himself deaf 
 and dumb. Mr. C. goes to Boston, accompanied 
 by the Rev. Mr. Gallaudet and Dr. Cogswell, on 
 business relating to the contemplated institution for 
 educating the deaf and dumb, in this place, and 
 with which you will be made acquainted. You 
 will find Mr. C., in particular, a very interesting 
 acquaintance, and exhibiting, in himself, a striking 
 illustration of the practicability and importance of 
 his system of instruction. The gentlemen will all 
 be gratified with an introduction to the Athenaeum, 
 which you will have the goodness to give them. 
 And if you will interest yourself in promoting the 
 successful issue of their mission, you will aid the 
 cause of humanity, and confer a personal obligation 
 on the gentlemen who, in this State, have been the 
 promoters of the benevolent charity they are de- 
 sirous of carrying into effect." 
 
 Nov. 5. James Hamilton, from Philadelphia, ac- 
 companies a letter with a medal of Lord Wellington, 
 27* 
 
310 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 called " The Record of British Valor," for Mr. 
 Shaw. 
 
 1817, January 1. From Thomas Cook in Edgar- 
 town. " For your cabinet of curiosities, I have 
 sent you the tail and sword of a sword-fish, which 
 was caught on Nantucket Shoals." 
 
 Jan. 27. From Thomas Clement at Dorchester. 
 During his last visit to Europe, he collected various 
 mineral and other curiosities, which he sends to 
 Mr. Shaw. Among them were specimens of zinc. 
 He states that the only manufactory of it for roofs, 
 ships and kitchen utensils, was at Liege. As well 
 known, this article has since been discovered in our 
 country, manufactured for different uses, and exten- 
 sively used. Another present was a " croix d' 
 honeur," taken from a French officer, killed at the 
 battle of Waterloo, and purchased of the peasant 
 who inhabits the house of " la belle alliance." 
 
 Feb. 6. From William H. Simmer in Washing- 
 ton. " So strong is the Western interest here, that 
 till lately I have thought that Mr. Clay would be 
 Secretary of State. He has been offered the War 
 department twice, and has declined that. ('Tis 
 said this department has also been offered to Mr. 
 Lowndes.) This shows that Mr. Clay either looks 
 to a higher place in the administration, or that he 
 does not incline to become a member of the cabinet 
 with Mr. Adams, who will most probably have the 
 chair of state. The fact is, that there is here, the 
 most extreme jealousy, or else hatred, of any thing 
 that is Northern. They think our notions are too 
 local and our conduct always selfish, and these 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 311 
 
 passions do not discover themselves as applicable to 
 federalists only, but to the whole country and 
 people." 
 
 Feb. 9. From C. Savage in Lexington, Ky. He 
 states, that an Athenaeum was forming there, and 
 he desires the advice of Mr. Shaw as to the man- 
 agement of such an institution. For a comparison, 
 either present or future, of Lexington with what it 
 was when Mr. Savage wrote, the following ex- 
 tract is given. " It has about an eighth of the 
 population of Boston. Its houses are brick, gener- 
 ally well built. The streets are commonly paved, 
 with trees on one or both sides of the principal ones. 
 It has five houses for public worship, a college, not 
 yet in operation, a theatre, court house, jail, and a 
 large number of smart shops. There are allowed 
 to be one hundred and twenty private coaches be- 
 longing to Lexington." 
 
 Feb. 18. A letter from Charles Folsom, on board 
 the United States ship Washington, in Gibraltar Bay. 
 It is accompanied with a box containing specimens 
 in natural history for the Linnsean Society. He re- 
 marks : " This is the third time I have troubled you 
 in this way ; but I have done so, presuming on 
 your well known disposition to aid all endeavors, 
 however small, to advance the cause of science in 
 our country. What I am able to contribute to this 
 end is certainly very inconsiderable j but ' non sunt 
 contemnenda quasi parva, sine quibus constare 
 magna non possunt.' " Of the valuable collection 
 a few will be named. Shells from the Bay of 
 Naples, procured of Neapolitan fishermen ; speci- 
 
312 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 mens of the rock of Gibraltar and of spar from the 
 celebrated St. Michael's cave ; lava collected on the 
 summit of Vesuvius and Mount JCtna ; pieces of 
 marble purchased of a man " who lives by going to 
 Pompeii, Pozzuoli, Baiae, etc., collecting beautiful 
 fragments among the ruins and working them into 
 snuff boxes and ornaments for sale. Skeleton of a 
 young ostrich, presented to the commodore by the 
 Bey of Tripoli. He died of cold and indigestion. 
 I dissected him and found his stomach completely 
 filled by a large ball of closely matted rope yarns, 
 which he had always devoured with avidity. They 
 were unchanged except in color, which was green, 
 and the mass was surrounded by stones and nails. 
 Balls, apparently of grass, picked up on the shore 
 of Baiae before Nero's baths; they seem as if 
 formed by the motion of the waves or by insects. 
 Shells picked up on the shore of Carthage, and a 
 specimen of the cement of the ruined walls taken 
 from what is supposed to have been the Byrsa, or, 
 by some, the Temple of JEsculapius. A phial with 
 two lizards caught in Pompeii, and a few insects 
 caught in the ruins of Cartharge." Such memen- 
 toes of classic localities must have been received by 
 Mr. Shaw with no ordinary emotions of pleasure. 
 
 March 5. From Charles Lean in London, as a 
 specimen of the practice of sending abroad for our 
 musical instruments. " The chief purport of the 
 present is to apprise you that I have inspected the 
 piano forte destined for your friend, Mr. Ritchie, and 
 pronounce it a superb instrument in every sense." 
 He states, that he saw IVEr. Belsham a few days 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 313 
 
 before, who was much gratified that his belief had 
 " stanch friends in Boston." 
 
 March 11. Samuel L- Mitchell, in behalf of the 
 New York Historical Society, addressed Mr. Shaw 
 for aid " toward the formation of a Zoological Mu- 
 seum " there. 
 
 April 5. From W. Waterman at Senegal. He 
 describes a recent expedition, fitted out by the 
 British government for the Niger. The company 
 " started from the banks of the Rio Nunez in Feb- 
 ruary. They proceeded about one hundred and 
 fifty miles, when a chief of the country stopped 
 them about four months. Seeing no prospect of 
 being able to proceed, Capt. Campbell determined 
 to regain the Rio Nunez, to save from pillage and 
 total loss such articles of value as remained. Major 
 Peddie and Capt. McRea died before they began, 
 their march. Capt. Campbell and a Mons. Comer, 
 a French naturalist, who was with them, died after 
 their return. They were all buried near each 
 other." 
 
 June 2. From John E. Hall in Philadelphia. " If 
 you can find in your collection a copy of Anthony 
 Benezet's letter to the king of Prussia, I will thank 
 you for a short account of it. Ogilvie talks of a 
 second edition ; but I think he had better imitate 
 carpenters, who find it easier to rebuild an awkward 
 edifice than to mend it." 
 
 June 13. From Leslie Combs at Lexington. He 
 states that an Athenaeum is just opened there, and 
 desires Mr. Shaw to forward the books which he 
 
314 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 had offered, if such an institution should be com- 
 menced in that town. 
 
 June 18. From G. W. Stuart, in Baltimore. " I 
 send you a Greek newspaper brought from Trieste, 
 from Sloan, the author of Travels in Italy, when 
 he returned from that country. I thought this 
 might be a curiosity to some of your Greek scholars 
 and learned quidnuncs who frequent the Athenaeum. 
 I hope Mr. Sloan's book is as much admired by you 
 in Boston as it is by his townsmen, and indeed as it 
 is by every body. There are most certainly strong 
 features of originality in his book, which will not 
 only keep it alive, but, if my partiality does not 
 mislead me, will also give it currency in Europe." 
 
 July 11. From the same. "I had the pleasure 
 to write you a few days ago by Dr. Hayden of this 
 place, to whom I gave in charge for you a specimen 
 of the marble intended for the columns of the Rep- 
 resentatives' Hall in Washington. I am induced 
 to write you again for the purpose of introducing 
 to your acquaintance Mr. Artiguenave, of the theatre 
 Francois, and a pupil of Talma, who proposes to 
 exhibit in Boston as he has already done in New 
 York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. He has very 
 rare talents for declamation, combined with most 
 improving instruction in the art of elocution. I can 
 only say, that I so highly esteem the qualifications 
 of Mr. Artiguenave, and hope to derive so much 
 advantage from him in improving my knowledge of 
 French, as well as of elocution, that I have engaged 
 him to return to Baltimore in October, for the pur- 
 pose of establishing a course of lectures on the 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 315 
 
 subjects connected with his professional pursuits. 
 In the mean time he proposes to make an experiment 
 in Boston of such exhibitions, principally of dra- 
 matic declamation, as have proved profitable to him 
 in other places." 
 
 July 12. From Bledsoe and Farnham, at Frank- 
 fort, Ky. "We take the liberty of requesting you 
 to send on to this place your very valuable Review. 
 We are the editors of a public gazette called the 
 Commonwealth. We should be happy to exchange, 
 and allow you the difference in price. But our 
 object, at this time, in soliciting so valuable an 
 acquisition to literary stock, is for the use of a pub- 
 lic reading-room, or miniature Atheneeum, just estab- 
 lished in this place, under our superintendence, for 
 which we are desirous to procure your magazine." 
 
 From John H. Farnham, one of the above firm. 
 " As I arn a native of Massachusetts, and feel no 
 ordinary interest in the literature and reputation of 
 my parent State, it will give me much pleasure to 
 aid the circulation of your Review in this State, 
 which the annual convention of the legislature in 
 this town will afford a good opportunity of doing, 
 Your interest and zeal in the republic of letters 
 must be my excuse for intruding on your numerous 
 avocations. Society is improving rapidly here. I 
 hope to be the humble instrument in Kentucky of 
 effecting, on a small scale, what you have so nobly 
 undertaken and performed in the metropolis of New 
 England. The election of Mr. Holley to the pres- 
 idency of Transylvania University, is now pending 
 before the board of trustees in Lexington. They 
 
316 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 have postponed a decision until they hear more 
 explicitly his religious creed. The Presbyterians 
 and Baptists, at present, frown on the nomination ; 
 but the enlightened men, of both parties, are zealous 
 for his election. Mr. Pope has requested me to 
 write to Boston for a particular account of Mr. H.'s 
 creed, but I presume this has been done before 
 now." 
 
 July 21. From Theodorus Bailey, New York. 
 He requests that exertions might be made to en- 
 courage a work introduced as follows : " Baron 
 Lescallier, known to the literary world by various 
 works which long since entitled him to a seat in 
 the Institute of Prance, etc., has employed his 
 leisure hours for a considerable number of years 
 since his return from the East Indies, in translating 
 several instructive, interesting and moral tales, from 
 the Persian into the French and English languages, 
 to which are added notes, critical and explanatory, 
 on the manners, customs, religion, and other cir- 
 cumstances of the oriental nations. The title of 
 the first of these works, now publishing, is the 
 Enchanted Throne, containing thirty-two tales, 
 which are meant as a body of instruction to a 
 sovereign, for the good and wise government of his 
 dominions." 
 
 Aug. 21. From Joseph Delaplaine in Philadel- 
 phia. " I had the honor of writing to you yester- 
 day, on the subject of the portrait of the venerable 
 Mr. Adams which is in your possession. 
 
 " I am happy to see a disposition, on your part, to 
 encourage the arts. It is really gratifying to reflect 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 317 
 
 on the manner in which you so handsomely and 
 promptly consented to Mr. Lloyd that I should have 
 the portrait on loan for the purpose of causing an 
 engraving to be executed from it for my national 
 work, the Repository of the Lives and Portraits of 
 distinguished Americans. It is true that I have 
 had granted to me every request which I have made 
 from others to aid me in my heavy and expensive 
 undertaking ; and of course, I calculated that one 
 who is known for his liberality would scarcely 
 refuse me the portrait of a distinguished character, 
 and which is so important in my present work. 
 
 " I need scarcely mention how essential it is that 
 my engravings should be executed from original 
 pictures. 
 
 " I pledge to you my honor that the moment my 
 engraver has done with the portrait, it shall be 
 returned with the utmost care and safety. May I 
 beg you to cause it to be put in a case, or box, 
 safely, and shipped by a vessel from Boston for 
 Philadelphia, as soon as your convenience will per- 
 mit ; and may I beg the honor of you to furnish to 
 me for the Repository, a sketch or memoir of Mr. 
 Adams's life. It may be embraced in about twenty- 
 five or thirty, or even more pages of the Repository 
 size. 
 
 " Some time ago, at my request, Mr. Adams sent 
 to me the following facts of his life, which I think 
 proper to give you,, as, in the event of your kindness 
 to undertake it, you may receive some assistance 
 from them. 
 
 " I could certainly draw the memoir of Mr. Adams; 
 28 
 
318 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 myself, but I am very certain if I am honored with 
 it from your pen, it will be much better executed 
 than I possibly could do it. In your hands I know 
 it will be safe. When the engraving is executed, 
 I will with great pleasure send you several impres- 
 sions for your kind acceptance, and also a copy of 
 the Repository. 
 
 " ' I was born October 19, 1735, in duincy, then 
 the North Parish in Braintree. My father was John 
 Adams, born in the same parish. My great-grand- 
 father was Joseph Adams, Sen., and my great-great- 
 grandfather was Henry Adams, who came from 
 England. These all lived, died, and were buried 
 in this parish, as their gravestones in the Congrega- 
 tional church-yard distinctly show to this day. My 
 mother was Susanna Boylston, a daughter of Peter 
 Boylston of Brookline. I was educated partly at 
 the public grammar-school, and partly at a private 
 academy under Mr. Joseph Marsh, both in this 
 parish. In 1751, I entered Harvard College in 
 Cambridge. In 1755, took my degree of bachelor 
 of arts, and immediately undertook the care of the 
 public grammar-school in Worcester, where I lived 
 in the family and studied law in the office of James 
 Putnam, till 1758, when I took my second degree 
 at college, and the oath of an attorney in Boston. 
 In 1761, 1 was admitted a barrister at law in Boston 
 in the superior court of judicature of the Province 
 of Massachusetts Bay. In 1764, I married Abigail 
 Smith, a daughter of the Rev. William Smith of 
 Wey mouth. In 1767, my son John duincy Adams 
 was born in this parish. In 1770, I was a repre- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 319 
 
 sentative of the town of Boston in the legislature 
 of the Province. From 1774 to 1778, I was a 
 member of Congress. In 1778, I was sent to 
 France as a minister plenipotentiary. In 1779, I 
 was a member of the Convention for forming the 
 Constitution of Massachusetts, and in the same year 
 sent to Europe, a second time, to treat of peace and 
 commerce with Great Britain. In 1782, I signed 
 the treaty with the States General of the United 
 Provinces, and on the thirtieth of November, the 
 same year, the preliminaries, and on the third of 
 September, 1783, the definitive treaty of peace with 
 Great Britain. In 1785, I was sent as minister to 
 St. James, and remained there till 1788. In 1789, 
 I was Vice President, and continued in that office 
 till 1797, when I was chosen President. In 1801, 
 I was no longer President. 
 
 " ' For some years I was President of the Amer- 
 ican Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of the 
 Society for Promoting Agriculture in Massachusetts. 
 
 " The late Governor Samuel Adams was not my 
 brother. He was no nearer related to me than a 
 second cousin. We had the same great-grandfather. 
 John was my father, Joseph, Jr. was my grand- 
 father, the oldest son of Joseph Adams, Sen. my 
 great-grandfather. Governor Adams was the son of 
 Samuel Adams of Boston, the grandson of John 
 Adams of Boston, and the great-grandson of Joseph 
 Adams, Sen. of this parish, now called Quincy, 
 who was the common ancestor of us both. 
 
 " ' In 1745, when Louisburg was conquered, I 
 took a decided part against France arid Great 
 Britain. 
 
320 MEMOKIALS OF 
 
 " < In 1755, I took a decided part against France 
 and Great Britain too. 
 
 " * In 1760 and 1761, upon the first appearance 
 of the design of Great Britain to deprive us of our 
 liberties by asserting the sovereign authority of 
 Parliament over us, I took a decided part against 
 her.' 
 
 " I requested Mr. Morse to paint for me a copy 
 of Hancock's portrait for my gallery, which he did, 
 and I have it ; but I shall request Mr. Lloyd to have 
 the goodness, and in this request I beg leave to ask 
 your influence and attention also, to obtain the 
 original portraits of Samuel Adams and Hancock j 
 and may I beg, at the same time, that you will have 
 the goodness to send them in the same case with 
 that of Mr. John Adams." 
 
 Nov. 10. From H. Brevoort, Jr., in New York 
 city. "In a letter lately received from my friend, 
 Mr. Washington Irving, he observes that Mr. Thomas 
 Campbell, (author of the Pleasures of Hope, etc.) 
 might be allured by assurances of success, to visit 
 the United States. He has for several years past 
 delivered annually a course of twelve lectures upon 
 belles lettres and poetry, at the British Institution, 
 before one of the most enlightened audiences in 
 Europe. The best critics in Great Britain have 
 prounced them to be compositions worthy of Camp- 
 bell's genius. I heard him deliver one of them on 
 the comparative merits of the ancient and modern 
 drama, in which was given a character of Shak- 
 speare. So far as my judgment goes, I think it was 
 one of the most pure and masterly pieces of criti- 
 cism that I have ever listened to. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 321 
 
 " The whole of the lectures are written out, 
 and Campbell's mode of delivering them, or rather 
 reading them, is distinct and impressive, without 
 aiming at the graces of elocution. I have consulted 
 with our leading men of taste, and am glad to find 
 them united in a decided assurance of Campbell's 
 success in New York. I have received the same 
 assurances from persons of a similar character in 
 Philadelphia ; and the main object of this letter is 
 to ask the favor from you of obtaining, so far as 
 you possibly can, the opinion of the literati of 
 Boston on this subject. 
 
 " Suppose, for example, the price of attendance 
 to be fixed at ten dollars for each person, are you 
 not of opinion that he might at least obtain a pro- 
 portion of ten or twelve thousand dollars in Boston, 
 and the total sum obtained throughout the principal 
 cities of the Union ? 
 
 " Should I receive sufficient encouragement for 
 his enterprise, I would advise him to reach the 
 United States by the first day of October, 1818. 
 It is too late for this season. 
 
 " Besides the honor which the success of Camp- 
 bell would reflect upon the liberal spirit of our 
 citizens, I am persuaded the delivery of his lectures 
 would produce the happiest effects upon our litera- 
 ture, by giving an impulse and a direction to the 
 vagrant taste of the public. Campbell is known to 
 be a fine classical scholar, and never hurries any of 
 his compositions before the public without infusing 
 into them the full inspiration of his genius. 
 
 " We owe him a debt of gratitude for having laid 
 28* 
 
322 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the scene of one of the most classical poems of the 
 age in the United States ; he is also nearly connect- 
 ed to us by the ties of kindred, and his brother 
 resides at Richmond, Va., at this moment. 
 
 " The subjects and scope of his lectures will be 
 adapted to persons of every description. He is the 
 apostle of no literary sect ; his doctrines are derived 
 from Roman and Grecian sources, unadulterated by 
 the fashions of the age in which he lives. 
 
 11 We shall have the direct road to fame pointed 
 out to us, by one who has triumphantly trodden its 
 paths, and by one whose name has already been, 
 consecrated to literary immortality. But it is 
 useless to flourish my trumpet as the herald of 
 Campbell. 
 
 " Should he be satisfied with our reception, I 
 trust some one of our colleges will tempt him by an 
 offer of a chair, to remain among us. 
 
 11 Pray favor me with your answer and your 
 advice. I assure you I have nothing more at heart 
 than to promote the independence of a man whom 
 I love and admire." 
 
 This year, Mr. Shaw receives a communication 
 from Noah Webster at Amherst. It contains a long 
 critique on Lindley Murray's Grammar. It shows, 
 that the latter had made large use of Webster's 
 Grammar, but had given him little credit. At its 
 close, the author makes various remarks as to what 
 had been so taken. He says, " They are the fruits 
 of my labor. On what principles can any compiler 
 avail himself of my labors to give popularity to his 
 compilation, without acknowledging the obligation. 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 323 
 
 The laws of Great Britain do not, indeed, protect 
 my property in that country ; but where are the 
 laws of honor, of justice, of civility, and even of 
 magnanimity, which disdains to seek reputation 
 from borrowed merit." 
 
 Mr. Webster gives a specimen of similar treat- 
 ment before. " In the year 1802, I collected with 
 considerable labor and expense, and published a brief 
 history of the banking institutions then existing in 
 the United States.. This was soon republished by 
 one Mr. Humphrey, a printer in Philadelphia, and 
 from his work, the editor of Rees's Encyclopaedia, 
 without knowing the author, transferred the history 
 into that work. On being informed of the fact, 
 Mr. Bradford expressed his regret at what had hap- 
 pened, and suggested that justice might perhaps be 
 done to me in a subsequent edition." 
 
 With regard to the aid which Murray had derived 
 from his Grammar, Mr. Webster introduces a Mr. 
 Perkins. When this person, " the inventor or son 
 of the inventor of the metallic points or tractors, 
 was in England, diffusing the benefits of the in- 
 vention, in cases of disease, he very politely sent 
 me a present of a pair of his points, accompanied 
 with a book in praise of their healing virtues. My 
 family have sometimes used them to pick the kernel 
 from nut-shells. Their real value is not known ; 
 but considering the price at which they were sold 
 to others, the present was not to be despised. At 
 any rate, it was received as a mark of respect. 
 After Mr. Perkins changed the form of his dress, 
 married a connection of Lindley Murray, and entered 
 
324 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 into business with the family of my much respected 
 friend, the late Isaac Collins, his deportment towards 
 me was visibly altered, although nothing had taken 
 place between us to warrant a change. It was no- 
 ticed by my friends, that he often spoke very disre- 
 spectfully of me and my publications. About this 
 time there appeared in a periodical publication in 
 Boston some very bitter invectives against me and 
 my writings." These and other circumstances led 
 Mr. Webster to conclude, that Mr. Perkins thus at- 
 tacked him, either personally or by some accessory. 
 At this time, the latter and his partner, Mr. Collins, 
 had the first American edition of Murray's Grammar 
 in the press. Mr. Webster then refers to his philo- 
 sophical and practical Grammar as having met with 
 but little success. He proceeds : 
 
 " At the close of the Revolution, I completed 
 these volumes, which were intended to aid the 
 youth of this country in their education. For some 
 years, rny plan appeared to be, in a good degree, 
 successful, and to meet the views of my fellow cit- 
 izens. But for some years past, great efforts have 
 been made to defeat the object, by introducing 
 British books into our schools. This change, how- 
 ever, seems not to be so much the effect of any 
 change in the patriotic dispositions of our citizens 
 in general, as of the efforts of booksellers, and of 
 that reverence, which men of erudition feel for the 
 literary character of our parent country. This rev- 
 erence, * major e longinquo reverentia,' however 
 justifiable to a certain extent, is carried to a degree 
 that discourages literary exertions in this country, 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 325 
 
 and proves a great national calamity. At present 
 it keeps this country completely in leading strings." 
 
 Mr. Webster continues : " No sooner had my 
 Grammatical Institutes made their appearance, than 
 a host of compilers began to imitate my example." 
 He then mentions the great sale of his American 
 Spelling-book, and not only of its being used gene- 
 rally in the United States and in the British domin- 
 ions in America, but also, as report says, in some 
 parts of England He proceeds : " My old Grammar, 
 containing substantially the principles found in 
 Lowth and Murray, I suppressed from principle, in 
 opposition to my interest and the solicitations of 
 booksellers. I was educated in Lowth, but having, 
 by my own researches, discovered that some of the 
 received principles are false, I could not conscien- 
 tiously continue knowingly to be instrumental in 
 propagating error. I have more recently compiled 
 a Dictionary for the counting-house, with an 
 abridgment of it for common schools, which, in 
 spite of opposition, is gaining ground. 
 
 "My Elements of Useful Knowledge, in four 
 volumes, two of which are especially intended to 
 give our youth a correct, though brief view of the 
 settlement, history, and description of their own 
 country, have a limited circulation. The experi- 
 ment, made by these works, evinces remarkably 
 the predilection, which the people of this country 
 have for a knowledge of Greece, Rome, and Great 
 Britain, in preference to that of their own country. 
 
 " By a Jong and laborious course of investigation, 
 I have endeavored to discover the origin and primary 
 
826 MEMORIALS OP 
 
 signification of words, the various structure of lan- 
 guage, and the connection between the various lan- 
 guages of the world. The result has satisfied my 
 expectations. I have reasonable ground to believe 
 that my labors will throw < much light on the sub- 
 ject.' From these researches, it appears beyond a 
 doubt, that the best Dictionaries of the Hebrew, 
 Greek, Latin, arid English languages are susceptible 
 of great improvements. Could I hope that my life 
 and strength would be sufficiently prolonged, I 
 should attempt a revision of them all. But there 
 is no rational ground for such a hope,, It is believed, 
 however, that my analysis, which is nearly com- 
 pleted, will enable others to perform, with compara- 
 tively small labor, what I must leave unaccomplished. 
 This work requires a large portion of life, and an 
 expense of twenty-five or thirty thousand dollars. 
 No aid can be afforded me, except in pecuniary 
 means ; and the small resources derived from the 
 sale of my publications, have not always borne me 
 above the inquietudes which disqualify a man for 
 tranquil study. If these resources, however, can be 
 enjoyed in future, my means may be sufficient. 
 Under all my discouragements, I have great cause 
 of gratitude to that Being, who has hitherto sus- 
 tained me. I claim nothing from men but justice ; 
 and my confidence in the righteous government of 
 the Supreme Being, leads me to believe, that in the 
 course of events, justice will be done me." 
 
 Thus far we have been able to accompany Mr. 
 Shaw, by the aid of correspondence, as a sort of 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 327 
 
 journal, giving a view of the times to which the 
 attention of himself and friends were immediately 
 drawn. But from this point to his decease, scarcely 
 any such literary materials have come to the hands 
 of the compiler. Consequently an unavoidable 
 blank is occasioned, which he is unable to supply. 
 While the deficiency is regretted, discouragement 
 should not utterly prevent our endeavor to proceed 
 by such guides as yet remain. 
 
 Referring to the institution in which Mr. Shaw 
 was deeply interested, as it was in 1815 and 1816, 
 the author, 1 who has ably presented its progress to 
 the public, remarks as follows. " During the two 
 preceding years and the next following, the history 
 of the Athenaeum was not marked by any important 
 measures of the trustees. The aspect of the times 
 during the war with Great Britain, was gloomy and 
 discouraging, and no present prospect of increasing 
 the funds of the institution appeared. At this 
 period, while men's minds were absorbed by that 
 war and its consequences, the efficiency of the 
 Athenaeum and its very existence, seem to have 
 been, in a manner, identified with Mr. Shaw. He 
 held the offices both of secretary and librarian, 
 and occupied himself almost exclusively, in col- 
 lecting rare books, pamphlets, coins, and interesting 
 relics of antiquity, and, by purchase or solicitation, 
 bringing them under its roof." 
 
 1818, Jan. 20. Such was the ill health of Mr. 
 Shaw, and his consequent inability to do all which 
 he wished, as librarian of the Athenaeum, he coin- 
 
 * Hon. Josiah. Quincy's History of the Boston Athenaeum. 
 
328 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 cided with the adoption of an article for supplying 
 him with an assistant. Still he perseveringly man- 
 ifested " zeal and diligence " for the advancement 
 of its prosperity. " He continued unwearied in 
 obtaining and adding to its stores, with little ap- 
 parent solicitude that what was bought with his 
 own funds should be discriminated from what was 
 derived from the bounty of others. He was the 
 last to desire to appropriate to himself other men's 
 benefactions ; but, through habit, his happiness 
 becoming inseparably united with the Athenaeum, 
 his only thought was for its success." With such 
 relations to the institution, Mr. Shaw was requested 
 several times in the course of the year, by the 
 trustees, to have a separation of his collections 
 from those under their official care. But while he 
 considered their request as proper, he did not so feel 
 the necessity of it as to comply. Therefore, "they 
 thought it better to acquiesce, than to do any thing 
 which should separate the most efficient founder 
 and best patron of the institution from it, in point 
 either of feeling or exertion." 
 
 Jan. 29. As an officer of the Linnaean Society, 
 Mr. Shaw received a letter of this date, from the 
 Royal Society in London, acknowledging their 
 reception of a report concerning the sea serpent, 
 discovered near Cape Ann. 
 
 1819, June 10. John Adams of Q,uincy, addresses 
 the subsequent note to Mr. Shaw. " I thank you 
 kindly for sending me the Centinel containing the 
 pieces upon Neutrality, signed * Marcellus,' which I 
 have long been seeking without success. I hope 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 329 
 
 you will be able to lend it to me long enough to 
 get such papers copied. I hope you have not 
 forsaken us. The time seems very long since we 
 had the pleasure of seeing you. Here the sight of 
 you is always grateful to your friend and Uncle." 
 
 June and September. In the North American 
 Review of these months, John Pickering, the dis- 
 tinguished linguist, published Wyttenback's Obser- 
 vations on Classical Education, which was after- 
 wards republished by the translator, with valuable 
 additions. This, as the learned eulogist [ of Pick- 
 ering remarks, " was printed at the expense of that 
 kind-hearted patron of letters, the late William S. 
 Shaw, who deserves a grateful remembrance in this 
 metropolis." 
 
 Mr. Shaw continued to be elected Secretary and 
 Librarian of the Athenaeum till January 23, 1823, 
 when he retained only the former office, and this 
 for one year longer. 
 
 1824, February. At a meeting of the Proprietors 
 of the Athenseum, they passed the following: 
 " Voted, as a tribute of gratitude to William Smith 
 Shaw, our first Secretary and Librarian, for his 
 early, zealous and successful services, by which the 
 growth and prosperity of this institution have been 
 greatly promoted, that the President be authorized 
 to request Mr. Shaw to sit for his portrait, and to 
 cause the same to be placed in the reading-room ; 
 and that a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars 
 be appropriated to defray the expense of the same." 
 
 1 Hon. Daniel A. White, who delivered the Eulogy before the 
 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, October 28, 1846. 
 
 29 
 
330 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 The portrait was done by Stuart 3 and is preserved 
 among the paintings of the Athenaeum. 
 
 1826, April 5. As a pledge of his continued wish 
 for the welfare of the Athenaeum, Mr. Shaw, among 
 other subscribers, gives it the sum of three hundred 
 dollars. This he did but a few weeks prior to his 
 decease. It was as a parting adieu, and a seal of 
 his strong affection to the object, for whose begin- 
 ning, advancement and prosperity, he had tasked his 
 energies, and generously devoted a large share of 
 his property, exertions and life. 
 
 In connection with this parting farewell, we may 
 revert to other pecuniary concerns, which hold a 
 similar relation. For the period of years in which 
 Mr. Shaw was actively connected with the Boston 
 Athenaeum, he made no charge for his official ser- 
 vices to promote its interests. Probably no other 
 man, of fit taste, tact and perseverance, could have 
 been found, who would consent to exert himself 
 for it, as he did, while in its infancy, and afterwards, 
 when encumbered with discouraging difficulties, 
 without any compensation. 
 
 As additional to what Mr. Shaw gave in common 
 with other donors to the Athenaeum, at its outset 
 and in its continuance, besides the many volumes 
 and other presents for it, which he obtained by per- 
 sonal application, or were forwarded to him, as its 
 Secretary and Librarian, there were other items of 
 property, for its use, which he held distinctly as his 
 own private possessions. These were constantly 
 beneficial in rendering the institution more known, 
 and thus drawing to it liberal contributors. Among 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 331 
 
 them were his valuable coins, and, particularly, his 
 large and rich collection of tracts. Such and simi- 
 lar property, from his papers and other credible 
 authority, was worth not less than ten thousand 
 dollars. Believing, that when he connected these 
 appendages with the AthenEeum, he intended that 
 they should remain there, and knowing that his 
 fame was closely interwoven with its prosperity, 
 his heirs conveyed them to its Trustees. In this 
 manner, they who were left to settle his affairs, 
 carried out his former purpose, so that his name is 
 more agreeably associated with the institution, and 
 holds a higher grade among the list of its pecuniary 
 benefactors. 
 
 On a review of the preceding correspondence and 
 other correlative matters, facts meet us as the basis 
 of some remarks, in conclusion, relative to the 
 subject of such memorials. Prom the earliest- de- 
 velopment of his physical constitution, he was far 
 from being robust and able to combat with severi- 
 ties of climate and exertion. He was more like 
 the sensitive plant than the young oak, which 
 gathers strength from the battling elements. The 
 frosts of winter, and sudden changes of heat and 
 cold, visited him with dangerous coughs. His de- 
 sire to be as active as his sturdiest playmates, led 
 him to put forth strength at the cost of confinement 
 to the house. The harsh look, word and rebuff, 
 deeply wounded his feelings and discouraged his 
 best endeavors. Well for one of such a tempera- 
 ment, that he was more than ordinarily blest with 
 
332 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 parental sympathy, care, counsel and instruction. 
 To protection like this he could flee in the days of 
 his boyhood, as an unfailing asylum from the rough- 
 ness of the little world in which he moved, Of 
 the prevalent diseases, to which his childhood was 
 subject, were rheumatic and febrile complaints. 
 These accompanied him through life, and, several 
 times, appeared to be more than his natural power 
 could sustain. They occasioned his endurance of 
 suffering, far greater in degree, than usually falls to 
 the lot of mankind. 
 
 Concerning the intellectual qualifications of Mr. 
 Shaw, collectively considered, they ranked above 
 those of the common order. Endowed with a dis- 
 criminating taste for the fine arts, he did much, in 
 co-operation with others, to raise them from their 
 low repute and give them a prominence in our me- 
 tropolis and country. Favored with a strong and 
 retentive memory, accompanied with an ardent de- 
 sire and continual application for the stores of 
 knowledge, he made such progress, that few of his 
 age had acquired more extensive acquaintance with 
 books and their authors. Thus was he eminently 
 fitted to guide the searcher in various departments 
 of literature and science. It is true, that such was 
 his repugnance to pretensions without merit, in 
 any sphere of intelligence, that he instinctively 
 shrunk from the empiric in letters, who would 
 browbeat others to show off his own assumed supe- 
 riority. With such he neither expected nor sought 
 to find favor. But with all, who met him in the 
 spirit of kindness, to exercise kindred feelings, and 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 333 
 
 interchange friendly thoughts, he rose above the 
 beaten track, and sustained a high rank among the 
 literati around him. 
 
 Relative to the moral traits of Mr. Shaw, his 
 early training had a wise and constant reference to 
 them. The daily injunction upon him from the 
 lips of his parents, accompanied with their oft- 
 repeated prayer, that Divine aid would give it effi- 
 cacy, was, that as among the chief obligations of 
 life, he should overcome selfishness, and scatter the 
 blessings of benevolence wherever he sojourned and 
 wherever he dwelt. Such labor was not in vain. 
 We have full warrant to believe and assert, that 
 while his mind entertained noble motives and con- 
 clusions, and his heart cherished tender charities and 
 kind purposes, his actions responded to various and 
 multiplied calls of beneficence. To the relatives 
 and friends, who needed his assistance, he was gen- 
 erous in his gifts. To many others, struggling with 
 adversity, he extended timely relief. To public 
 institutions of different descriptions, he was a ready 
 and constant contributor. When solicitations were 
 to be made for their necessities and advancement, 
 he was frequently and successfully engaged in so 
 unwelcome a service. Through his other walks of 
 society, he exhibited a similar principle. One of 
 the interesting cases, in which he so acted his part, 
 we have from the pen of the Hon. Josiah Quincy. 
 "In this connection, should not be omitted the more 
 than fraternal kindness, which through life he ex- 
 tended to that estimable and meritorious authoress, 
 Hannah Adams, by assisting her with books, pro- 
 29* 
 
334 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 curing for her friends, obtaining subscriptions for 
 her works, and afterwards, when age and infirmities 
 had visited her, obtaining an annuity for her sup- 
 port, superintending all her concerns, and contribu- 
 ting in every way to her comfort. His attention 
 and kindness were the frequent topics of that lady's 
 acknowledgments, accompanied by intense expres- 
 sions of gratitude." In such manifestations of his 
 prevalent disposition, he made no display. He did 
 not encumber them with intimated conditions, which 
 destroyed respect for the sincerity of his deeds. 
 The good he did, was like the vital air, which is 
 silent, though effectual to sustain and rejoice, but it 
 exacts no ostentatious and slavish returns. 
 
 Having attended to these considerations, we are 
 called to notice the end of him, to whom they per- 
 sonally refer. Worn down by protracted complaints, 
 he died suddenly, in Boston, April 25, 1826, in the 
 forty-eighth year of his age. The eloquent histo- 
 rian of the Athenaeum remarks, that he was thus 
 taken from his earthly career, " after a life of labor 
 -and usefulness, devoted to the advancement of let- 
 ters ; entitling him to the character of a faithful 
 friend, a most worthy citizen, and a zealous and dis- 
 interested public benefactor." 
 
 Thus far, we have followed the design of this 
 work. The probation, which has allowed us so 
 to do, hurries to a close. With all its haste and 
 absorption, in the busy concerns of earth, it is not 
 without its admonitions. As it is constantly called 
 to notice its cessation in persons of every age, con- 
 
WILLIAM SMITH SHAW. 335 
 
 dition, and character, it bids us consider many of 
 the names on these pages, and says in reference to 
 them, 
 
 " Time was, like th.ee, they life possest, 
 And time shall be, that thou shalt rest." 
 
 Our ears should hear and our hearts should feel 
 such counsel. It should prompt us to redeem the 
 life, divinely continued to us, so that its fleeting 
 days may bear tidings to the record of heaven, that 
 we are increasingly swayed by the motives of our 
 holy religion, and are thus enabled to calm the 
 rising fears of our latter end. 
 
 "Death's but a path, that must be trod, 
 If man would ever pass to God." 
 
INDEX 
 
 TO THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS CONTAINED IN THIS VOLUME. 
 
 When several pages, referring to the same thing, are denoted by tens or hundreds, 
 these figures will be expressed but once, except when intervened by words. 
 
 Abstinence from stimulus, 280 
 Accounts, exact, 22 
 Actors of (he stage, 182 
 Administration of John Adams, 153,4 
 Admiralty law, 137; court, 265 
 Advantages of a minister to improve 
 
 164 
 African society, 82: exploration, 82 
 
 93,313 
 Agricultural subjects, 131 ; Society 
 
 Alien and sedition bills, 35, 7, 43, 89 
 
 130,1,41 
 
 Allied Powers, 77, 9, 83, 90, 134, 5 
 American Academy, 124,319; geni 
 us, deficient in literature and sci- 
 ence, 169; literature, 91, 137, 8; 
 resolution, 26 ; Antiquarian Soci- 
 ety, 293 ; speeches, 304 
 Annuity to the Prince of Orange, 
 
 174; for H. Adams, 263 * 
 Answer of Webster to Priestly, 96 
 Anthology, 190, 203, 6-13, 5, 21, 3, 
 32, 8, 41, 7-50, 6, 63, 75, 315 ; So- 
 ciety, 203-5, 7, 11, 3, 22, 32, 48; 
 Reading- Room, 213, 4, 21 , 34, 6, 43 
 Appeal to the House, 141 
 Ashe's Travels, 257 
 Assassination of French ministers, 6'J 
 Asylum for indigent boys, 305 
 Athenaeum in Liverpool, 161, 2, 223 ; 
 in Boston, 204, 13 ; Providence, 
 273; Salem, 275; Philadelphia, 
 301 ; Portland, 302 ; Lexington, 
 Ky., 311, 3, 4 ; Frankfort, Ky., 
 3 15 
 Attachment to books, 7 
 
 Attorney, admission as, 186 
 Authors' experience, 190-201, 239, 
 
 322-6 
 Autobiography of H. Adams, 190- 
 
 203. 
 
 Bacon's Works, 263 
 
 Balance of political opinion, 110 
 
 Bank, new, 168; of Cape Fear, 247 
 
 Banking institutions, 323 
 
 Bankrupt bill, 105, 6 
 
 Bankruptcies, 161 
 
 Beacon Hill, 63, 6 
 
 Belligerent powers, right of search, 
 
 73,4 
 
 Beneficence, 57, 333. 4 
 Benevolent action, 15 
 Bibliographical, 272 
 Biographical, 294-9 
 Book-making, often troublesome and 
 
 profitless, 190-201, 322-6 
 Boston Athenaeum, 204, 34,5,40, 1, 
 
 3, 5, 63, 5, 72, 83-5, 9, 91, 2, 302, 
 
 9, 27-9, 30, 4 
 Boston protest, 215, 6 
 Boston Review, 275 
 Boston Weekly Magazine, 204 
 Botanical, lectures, 204, 306 
 Botanist, 204 
 British books introduced, 324, 5 
 
 Caffrarian god, 60 
 
 Uanal Company of Delaware, 237 
 
 Canandaigua, description of, 261, 2 
 
 Canvass, political, 113 
 iCapture of American vessels, 111 
 ICard playing, 21 
 
INDEX. 
 
 337 
 
 Carpet, new, turned to political ac- Cunningham correspondence, 290 
 count, 36 
 
 Castiglioni's Travels, 270 
 
 Catalogue of Harvard graduates, 300 Deaf and dumb, charity, 309 
 " 
 
 Catastrophe at Ley den, 211, 
 
 Catholic corruptions, assumed tolera- 
 tion, 24 1,2 
 
 Certificates for protection, 179 
 
 Character, 331-4 
 
 Charitable Fire Association, 152 
 
 Chesapeake affair, 246 
 
 Childhood, incidents of, 7-10 
 
 Choice of a profession, 99 ; of a wife, 
 219, 20 
 
 Christian piety, 32 ; death, 121 
 
 Christmas holidays, 185 
 
 Christianity, 59, 60 
 
 Citoyen, 91, 2 
 
 Civilities to the President, 34 
 
 Civil war, 165 
 
 Classical mementoes, 310, 1 ; educa- 
 tion, 329 
 
 Classics, knowledge of, 16 ; deficiency 
 in them, 64 
 
 Clerk of U. S. Court, 212 
 
 Clients, 146 
 
 Close thoughts and open countenance, 
 
 Daughter of Count Rumford, 46 
 
 Coalition in Europe, 77, 9, 83, 90, Donations, 330, 1 
 
 Death of friends and relatives, 13, 9, 
 30, 3, 4, 121. 93, 202, 36, 8, 93, 
 302; of Washington, 86, 187 
 
 Deceit of the world, 27 
 
 Decisions of England, 91, 125 
 
 Defence of the Constitution, 158, 9 
 
 Deists, 65 
 
 Delaware Canal Company, 237 
 
 Delusion, political, 47 
 
 Democrats, 92, 5, 125, 41 
 
 Democracy, 155, 8 
 
 Departure from life, 334 
 
 Dependence on others, 18 
 
 Dictionary of Webster, 238, 9, 326 
 
 Dighton Rock, 250 
 
 Direct tax, 47 
 
 Discourses on Davila, 65, 78, 104, 5 
 
 District of Columbia, bill for it makes 
 excitement, 126 ; its condition, 127, 
 31 
 
 Divine, exemplary, 57 
 
 Divine theory, 250 
 
 Divinity, 82 
 
 Domestic life of Washington, 98 
 
 118, 34,5 
 Cockade, 29, 140 
 Coins, from Libeda, 290, 1, 308 
 College, entrance, 11; study, 12; 
 
 sickness, 19 
 Colonies, 82 
 Commencement, 28 
 
 Dress, 16, 29 
 
 Dueling, 109, 43, 87, 8, 220, 80 
 
 Early instruction, 122, 3 
 Earnings, first, 22 
 Economy of Congress, 188 
 Electioneering, 188, 9, 190 
 
 Commercial intercourse restricted, 62 Elements of knowledge, 325 
 
 Commissioners to France, 25, 79 
 Commonwealth Gazette, 315 
 Community of property, 40, 51 , 6 
 Composition, 16 
 
 Congratulation of Congress, 116, 7 
 Congress congratulated by the peo- 
 ple of Washington ; the first Con- 
 gress there, 116, 7 ; 85,6, 8, 206, 
 
 Embargo, question, 259, 61 
 
 England, invasion of, 23, 8 
 
 English concerns, 23, 8, 9, 38, 42, 6, 
 69, 72, 7, 8, 80, 3, 4, 100, 5, 11, 25, 
 71,4,7-9,82,5,6,249,53 
 
 English decisions, 91, 125 
 
 Entrance on life, 146 
 
 Envoys to France, 77-80, 3, 4, 102, 5 
 
 1.1 _j J- _r /"*!._ *: :.. irw 
 
 9, 10, 46, 52 ; first member of,| Evidences of Christianity, 197 
 buried there, 246; attempt to put Eulogies on Washington, 88, 98, 101, 
 Quincy down, 252 2, 7. 
 
 Congressional documents, 263 Episcopacy, 256 
 
 Conscious rectitude, proof against^ European affairs, 46, 59, 61,74,80, 
 
 ridicule, 199 
 Conspiracy, 236, 7, 45 
 Constitution of the U. States, 157, 8 
 Convention with France, 91 
 Conversation, 27 
 Copy-rights, 250, 307 
 Coral plants, 308 
 Courts, admiralty, 73; circuit, 130 
 
 2} supreme, 150,237 
 Criticism, well received, 132 
 Croix d' honeur, 310 
 
 2, 93, 100, 10 
 Exchange of publications, 263 
 Excitement, political, less than feared, 
 
 146,7 
 
 Excursions, literary, 167 
 Executive of United States, 42, 142, 
 
 275,6 
 Expedition of Miranda, 136 ; of Lewis 
 
 and Clarke, 282 
 [Expenditures, 22 
 lExtacies, 57 
 
338 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Factions, 253 
 
 Fanaticism, 253 
 
 Fasts, 52, 3 
 
 Fear of political opponents, 216 
 
 Federal city, 54, 5, 109, 10 
 
 Federalism, 151,68 
 
 Federalists, 54, 73, 9, 105, 25, 89, 251 
 
 311 
 
 Female Asylum, objected to, 211 
 Fishes of New York. 300, 1 
 Flat-bottom boats, 177 
 Floridas, cession of, 151 
 Foreign embassies, history of, 172 
 Fowling, 68 
 Franking letters, 41 
 Fraud, 192 
 French affairs, 23-6, 8, 9, 30, 1, 3, 5 
 
 Holland, 177 
 
 Honors, 24, 110, 221, 83, 93, 300, 5 
 
 Hope, 101,2 
 
 Humorous fiction, 293 
 
 Ignorance of the people, 58, 9 
 Illuminati, 25, 6, 52, 5, 6, 66, 7, 76 
 
 jaugural discourse of J. Q,. Adams. 
 
 216 
 Indian department, 110 5 deputies, 
 
 206 
 
 Indians in Philadelphia, 37 
 Infidelity, 35, 164 
 Influenza, 107 
 Insolvent law, 71, 105,6 
 Instruction, manner of, 20, 1 
 Insurrections, 8, 46-8, 52, 6, 8, 9, 
 
 6. 8, 9, 41-4, 8, 50-3, 61, 9,74, 7-9, | 108, 9 
 
 83. 90-4, 100, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 1, 3 'Introductions, 148, 257, 60, 85, 92 
 
 5,9,21,33,56-8,70, 1,3, 5, 7, 8,'lnvasion of England, 171,7-9, 182,6 
 
 9, 82, 6, 240, 9, 53, 60 
 French decrees, 249 
 French revolution, 23, 5, 65, 79, 90 
 
 Friendly converse, 118; admonition 
 
 167 ; aid, 294, 303, 4 
 Friends, benevolent, 126 ; separation 
 
 101,46,60 
 
 Friendship, 214, 35-7 
 Frigate Boston, victorious, 116 
 Frigates captured, 44, 116 
 Fugitive slave, 188 
 Fulton's torpedo, 247 
 
 Gambling, 21 
 
 Genius not equal in all, 62 
 
 Geography of America, 84 ; of Morse 
 
 286 
 
 Georgia, history of, 289, 90, 1 
 Gleaner, 221 " 
 Good name, 18, 9, 146 
 Goodness of the heart, 170 
 Grammar of Murray indebted to thai 
 
 of Webster, 322-5 
 Gratitude for prosperity, 219 
 Greek newspapers, 314 
 Green Dragon house, 105 
 Griesbach's works, 239 
 Guinea ships, 214 
 Gun-boats, 177, 9, 207 
 
 Habits, formation of. 20, 187 
 Hall of Representatives in Washing- 
 ton, 314 
 Harrow School, 255 
 
 Invitations, 178, 215, 300, 28, 9 
 Ireland, rebellions, 174, 5, 82 
 Irishmen, united, 43 
 
 Jacobin, meaning, 35 
 
 Jacobinism, 151 
 
 Jacobins, 71, 9, 114, 9, 40, 53, 89 
 
 Jesuits, revival of, 75, 6 
 
 Jews, history of, 254 
 
 Journal, papers, etc. of Washington, 
 
 89, 108 
 
 Joy's Buildings, 222, 34 
 Judicial, 150, 1, 2, 8, 237, 45, 9, 65, 
 
 88 
 
 Judiciary act, 142 
 July seventeenth celebrated, 64 
 
 Land tax, 35 
 
 Law, study and practice of, etc. 70, 
 
 1, 2, 84, 5, 125, 44-6, 50, 2-4, 62 
 Lawyer's experience as to speaking-, 
 
 Leaden coffins run to bullets, 84 
 League of European Powers, 77, 9, 
 
 83,90, 134,5 
 Lectures of J. Q,. Adams, 215; of 
 
 others, 283, 320-2 
 Letters, one from Mrs. Washington, 
 
 87 ; of Austin, 170 ; from England, 
 
 224; from Europe, 238; Pomare, 
 
 258; Benezet, 313 
 Lexington, Ky., as it was, 311 
 Liberty Tree, 24 
 Life of Washington, 166, 7, 90, 245 ; 
 
 of Jackson, 283 
 
 Harvard College, professorship of Linnaean Society, 304-7, 11 . 28 
 
 natural history, 151 ; political, 160 
 Heights of Quincy, 60 
 Historical bias, 8 
 History of Hugh Peters, 250 ; of the 
 
 Revolution, 299 
 
 Literary Messenger, 215 ; men appear 
 greater at a distance, 218 ; institu- 
 tion proposed to contain various 
 libraries, 305 ; honors, 300, 5 
 
 Literature, 12, 6, 8, 23-6, 9, 35, 44, 8, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 339 
 
 52, 3, 6, 7, 62-7, 70-4, 6, 81, 2, 4 
 5, 9, 90-3, 6. 100, 2, 4,6,8, 11, 2 
 23, 4, 7, 31-3, 5-8, 41 , 3, 5, 9, 50-4 
 9, 61, 2, 4, 6-9, 73, 4, 6, 8, 9, 80-3 
 6,8, 190-201,3-51, 4, 7-61, 4-94 
 8, 9, 301 , 2, 4-6, 15-7, 20-6, 9, 30 
 
 Loan U.S. 43, 4 ; to an individual 
 303 
 
 Lock and key, 139 
 
 London views, 217 
 
 Loss of relatives, 13, 9, 30, 3. 4, 121, 
 93, 202; of friends, 236, 8, 93, 302 
 
 Louisiana, acquisition of, 144, 85 
 
 Love of country, 169 
 
 Lyceum of Liverpool, 234 
 
 Mammoth skeleton, 152 
 
 Manners, kind, 22 
 
 Marcellus on neutrality, 328 
 
 Maritime decree, 253 
 
 Married life, 220 
 
 Marshall's Life of Washington, 245 
 
 Maternal affection, 14, 219; advice. 
 
 277 
 Mausoleum proposed for Washington. 
 
 Medals, 271 ; one of Wellington 
 
 309, 10 
 Memoir of Talleyrand, 263, 4 ; of J. 
 
 Adams, 317-20 
 
 Meridian of the United States, 286 
 Meteors, 235 
 Military, 39, 51, 93, 4, 108-10, 29 ; 
 
 261 
 
 Miniature painting, 286 
 Ministry, settlement of, 163-6, 9, 70 
 Monarchy, 155-9 
 Money, scarce, 33 ; paper, 309 
 Monument for Washington, 86, 93, 
 
 120, 54, 68, 9; in Massachusetts. 
 
 289 
 
 Moral sentiments, 167 
 Mount Vernon, 217 
 Mourning for Washington, 86-8, 106, 7 
 
 Natural history, professorship, 151 ; 
 
 cabinet, 292, 308-12 
 Naval force, 42, 4,51,80 
 Neatness, 17 
 
 Neutral Powers, 77; rights, 134 
 Neutrality of ihe United States, 111,2 
 New England, history of, 197, 8, 233, 
 
 54 
 
 New scenes, 161 
 
 North American, 259 ; Review, 304 
 Northern Kingdom, 252 
 Novels, 63, 6,202,21 
 Nullification, 103 
 
 Ogilvie's oration, 249 
 
 Opinion of the world, 18. 9 
 
 Orders for books, 224-32, 44, 65-72. 
 
 83-5 
 
 Ostrich skeleton, 312 
 Oxford Review, 244 
 
 Pamphlets, collection of. 179, 82, 8, 
 
 205 
 
 Panoplist, 246 
 Parentage, 6, 7 
 Parental happiness, 100 
 Parties suspicious of each other's 
 
 purposes, 240 
 Party bitterness, 100 ; 40, 220, 52, 6, 
 
 Passage from Providence to New 
 York, 248 
 
 Pennsylvania, nullification, 103 
 
 Periodicals, using each other's arti- 
 cles, 257 
 
 Persian Tales, 316 
 
 Piano forte, sent for to London, 312 
 
 Pleasure in hearing from friends, 214 
 
 Poem on Boston, 169 
 
 Poetry, Latin, 238 
 
 Poland, 81 
 
 Political, 19, 23-6, 8. 9, 30-3, 5, 9, 
 40-^54-, 60, 5. 9, 72-6, 7-85, 8-96- 
 100, 2-7, 9-48. 50-G8, 70-7, 83-6, 
 8, 9, 209, 15, 20, 37, 40, 5, 9, 50-6, 
 62,74,8,81,94,9,300. 10, 1 
 
 Politics, nought more fallacious, 168 
 
 Popular favor, 145 
 
 Portfolio, 90, 131,2,49.215,64 
 
 Port of New Orleans, 164, 5 
 
 Portraits, 281 ; of J. Adams, etc. 316, 
 7, 20, 9, 30 
 
 Portugal, 107 
 
 Post mortem examination, 293 
 
 Postage on newspapers, 307 
 
 Precocity of genius, 286, 7 
 
 Prejudices between the Northern and 
 Southern States, 109 
 
 President's house in Washington, 
 115, 9 
 
 Prince Regent of Portugal, letter on 
 the birth of a daughter, 107 
 
 Printing, history of, 274 
 
 Prisoners, insurgents, 48 
 
 Private Secretary to the President of 
 the United States, 27 
 
 Promotion, military, 129 
 
 Propensity to write, 152 
 
 Property, community of, 40, 51, 6 ; 
 of Washington, 89, 90 
 
 Proposal for Campbell, the poet, to 
 lecture in the United States, 320-2 
 
 Prospect before us, 106 
 
 Prospectus for the Anthology Read- 
 ing-Room, 213 
 
340 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Prosperity, 170 
 
 Public confidence, 187; applause 
 219; libraries, 281 
 
 Quaker meeting, 147, 8 
 Question as to Histories of New Eng- 
 land, 233 
 Quotation applied, 148 
 
 Reading-Room at Brunswick, 259 
 
 in New York, 273 
 Redwood Library, 275, 91 
 Rees's Cyclopedia, protest against it 
 
 216, 26, 305, 23 
 Regency in England, 185, 6 
 Religion, abolition of, 25: is happi- 
 ness, 32, 4, 9 
 Religious experience and advice, 83 5 
 
 principle essential to merit, 13, 4, 8 ; 
 
 to support under trials, 30, 59, 60 
 
 121-3, 46 
 Reminiscences of Sir William Jones 
 
 and Dr. Parr, 1 1 1 
 Repertory of Arts, 269 
 Reply of S. Adams to Paine, 164 
 Report, singular, 47 
 Republic of America, 276 
 Residence of the U S. President, 53 
 Resources of United States, 279 
 Revenue system, 185 
 Review of studies , 64 ; of Alalthus, 214 
 Reviewer, 204, 7. 8 
 Reviews, 190, 203, 315; Edinburgh, 
 
 London, Quarterly, Critical, 268, 9 
 Reviler of Washington, 1 14, 20 
 Revolution in England, 69 
 Revolution, history of, 172 
 Revolutions contrasted, 141 
 Riot, 139 
 Room-mate, 11, 2 
 Royal Institution, 124; standard, 182: 
 
 Society, 328 
 Rule of history, 172 
 Rush-Light, 104 
 Russia, 177 
 
 St. Paul's, 217, 8 
 
 Salary of a minister, 163 
 
 Salem protest, 216 
 
 Sardinia, 44 
 
 School-keeping, 20, 2. 32, 40 
 
 Scientific. 12, 41, 6, 124, 51, 204, 35, 
 
 86,7,300,5 
 Scriptural knowledge, promotion of. 
 
 Search, right of, 73, 4 
 Sea serpent, 328 
 
 Seat of government, temporary, 186 
 Secession from the Union, 40, 2, 3. 
 88, 103, 51, 251, 2 
 
 Secrecy of Congress, 164; as to a 
 
 letter. 185 
 
 Secret societies, 25, 6 
 Secretary of War, 111 
 Sedition bill, 141 
 Sedition, trial for, 33, 88, 9 
 Select speeches, 220, 48 
 Self-interest, 49 
 Senate of Pennsylvania, attempt for 
 
 its abolishment, 91 
 Seventy-four gun-ships, 207 
 Shipwrecks, 181 
 Sickness at the College, 19; family. 
 
 etc., 149, 87, 287, 8 
 Signal lights for the enemy, 301 
 Silesian t<>ur, 136 
 Slavery, 70 
 Slaves, freed by Washington, 90, 188. 
 
 283 
 
 Slave-trade of Liverpool, 161 
 Sleighing in Philadelphia, 252 
 Smoking, 178, 87, 288 
 Snow-storm in Washingtoa, 248, 9 
 Society in Washington, 122, 6; at 
 
 home and abroad, 173 
 South America of Humboldt, 284 
 Spain, 44, 8; invaded by the French, 
 
 260 
 
 Spanish affairs, 164,5,211 
 Spelling-Book of Webster, 325 
 Standing army, 39, 51, 93, 4, 108-10 
 State House, 93 
 Statistics of Piikin, 305 
 Statue to Washington, 93, 120 
 Stimulus, powerful, 2fcO 
 Struggles of adversity, 14 
 Student, duties of, 12", 6, 7 
 Students, disorderly, 22 
 Study, fondness for, 9; hours. 277 
 Studies, 186 
 
 Subscriptions for Washington's Mon- 
 ument, 168, 9 
 Sword-fish, tail, 310 
 
 Pales of the Castle, 81 
 
 Taxes, 35, 47 
 
 Thankfulness, 9 
 
 Theatre in Boston, etc. 18, 115,39, 82 
 
 Thermometrical Register, 211 
 
 Toasts in a mammoth skeleton, 152, 
 
 76, 262 
 
 Toleration, 242 
 Tories, 66, 74 
 Traveling companion, 128 
 Travels of Liancourt, 85 ; in North 
 
 America, 119,33; of Davis, 247; 
 
 of Kendall, 285; in Italy, 314 
 Treason, 237, 45 
 Treaty with England, 100 
 Tree of equality, 24 
 
INDEX. 
 
 341 
 
 Trials, judicial, 33, 48, 56, 71, 88, 
 
 108, 47, 52, 304 
 
 Trials of authors, 191-201, 39, 322-6 
 Truth and excellence of the Christian 
 
 religion, 254 
 Tunisian embassy, 206 
 Tutorship, 304 
 
 Visits, to Quincy, 10; to Washing- 
 ton, 54, 5, 109 : to Mount Vernon, 
 60, 87, 97, 9. 
 
 Volunteers, 261 
 
 Voting in Boston, 160, 1 
 
 Unitarianism, 277, 312, 3, 5, 6 
 
 United States disregarded, 73, 4, 93 ; 
 acts disannulled, 103; ind 
 from England, 174, 275, 6, 9 
 
 Universal Magazine, 268 
 
 Usefulness, 10, 3, 99, 172 
 
 Victories, of Nelson, 35 ; of Truxton, 
 
 Views of Religions, 254 
 
 Vindication, 303 
 
 Virginia, creditors in England, 100; 
 
 nullification, 103 
 Virtues of society, 63, 6 
 Vision of Columbus, 35 
 
 W, X, Y, Z, French writers, 29 
 Warlike concerns, 174, 5-9 
 Washington city, 54, 5, 97, 122, 33 
 Watchfulness against corruption, 17 
 ndemnity Webster's Dictionary, 238, 9, 45 
 Whigs, 70 
 Woman's man, 41 
 Works of Kotzebue, 108 
 Writing on a subject makes it best 
 understood, 136, 7 
 
 Yellow fever in Boston, etc. 29, 30, 
 
 41,62,7,71,6,8, 153,9,60 
 Youthful modesty, 16 
 
 Zinc, specimens of, 310 
 
 Zoological Museum in New York, 313 
 
 INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS. 
 
 The remark, under Index of Subjects, as to tens or hundreds, which show the 
 pages, will be observed here. 
 
 Abercrombie, James, 292 
 
 Adams, Joseph, Sen., 319 
 
 Andrews, Mr. and Mrs., 
 
 Abernethy, John, 216 
 
 Joseph, Jr., 319 
 
 292 
 
 Achilles. 101 
 
 Phineas, 203 
 
 Argyle, Duke of, 303 
 
 Adair, James, 36 
 
 Samuel, 319 
 
 Aristotle, 155 
 
 Adams, Abigail, 21, 38, 
 
 Samuel, 164, 294-9, 
 
 Armstrong, John, 120, 
 
 41, 5,' 63, 109 ; 41, 
 
 319, 20 
 
 249, 71 
 
 277 
 
 Thomas B., 54, 60, 
 
 Artemisia, 127 
 
 Hannah, 57, 190- 
 
 1,2,4,5,7,71,7, 
 
 Artignenave, 314 
 
 203, 8, 33, 54, 63, 
 
 112, 3, 20, 7, 8, 
 
 Ashe, Thomas, 257 
 
 333 
 
 35, 6, 9, 44, 6-9, 
 
 Atherton, A. W.,302 
 
 Henry, 318 
 
 50, 2, 3, 4, 9 
 
 Austin, Charles, 220 
 
 John, 318, 9 
 
 Adet, Mr., 19, 24 
 
 Mr., 297 
 
 John, 28, 47, 87, 104, 
 
 ^Eneas, 172 
 
 William, 11,35,170, 
 
 12,38, 144,51,3, 
 
 Aiken, Arthur, 226 
 
 2 
 
 4,74,90, 211,72, 
 
 Family, 218 
 
 Averv, John, 297 
 
 90, 4, 300, 4, 16, 
 
 John, 225, 6, 9 
 
 
 7, 20, 8 
 
 Alexander, Amos, 117 
 
 Bacon, E,, 263 
 
 John a, 90, 103, 33, 
 
 Allen, Paul, 258, 73 
 
 Bailey, Theodorus, 316 
 
 45, 8, 52, 4, 60, 
 
 Allston, Washington, 72, 
 
 Baldwin, Abraham, 35 
 
 4, 83, 6. 8, 205 
 
 4, 88, 102, 7, 70, 8 
 
 Loammi, 245 
 
 10, 5, 6, 36, 47, 8. 
 52, 3, 5, 67, 277, 
 88, 300, 10, 8 
 
 Ames, Fisher, 88, 96, 194 
 Anaxagoras, 127 
 Anderson, James, 123, 31 
 
 Baltimore, Lord, 242 
 Barbackxy, 68 
 Barlow, Joel, 35, 67 
 
 30 
 
342 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Barrett, B. P., 303 Burr. Aaron. 123, 4. 9. 
 
 Collins, Isaac, 324 
 
 Barruel, Augustus, 66 
 
 38, 40, 2, 4, 5, 53, 4, 
 
 Columbus, 103 
 
 Barllett, Josiah, 41 
 
 236,45 
 
 Combs, Leslie, 313 
 
 Barton, Benjamin S., 282 Butler, Richard, 269 
 
 Comer, Mr., 313, 
 
 Bayard, James A.. 109, 
 
 Cook, Mr , 303 
 
 30,237 
 
 Caesar, 92 
 
 Thomas, 3 10 
 
 Bean, Horatio, 72 
 
 Callender, James T., 106, 
 
 Cooke, George F., 182 
 
 Beaumarchaises, 67 
 
 55 
 
 John, 307 
 
 Belcher, Joshua, 203 
 Belknap, Jeremy, 249 
 
 John, 196 
 Campbell, Capt., 313 
 
 Conde, Prince of, 177 
 Cooper, Thomas, 108, 
 
 Bell, Mr., 226 
 
 G W.,252 
 
 14,55 
 
 Bellamy, Mr., 29 
 
 Thomas, 320-2 
 
 Thomas A., 182 
 
 Beloe, William, 219 
 
 Canning, George, 76 
 
 Cornwallis, Lord, 175 
 
 Belsham, Thomas, 53, Carpenter, S. C., 304 
 
 Cox, Tench, 66 
 
 218,312 
 
 Carr, John, 210 
 
 Crafts, William, 281 
 
 William, 52 
 
 Carter, James, 268 
 
 Cranch, Mary ,8-1 1,29 
 
 Benezet, Anthony, 313 
 
 Biddle, Nicholas, 282 
 
 Castiglioni, 270 
 Cato, 155, 69 
 
 William, 13, 150, 
 207 
 
 >Bingham, Maria, 57 
 
 Champlin, Christopher, 
 
 Crawford, Col, 171 
 
 Bissett, Robert, 74, 81, 
 
 109 
 
 Cromwell, Oliver, 92 
 
 135 
 
 Channing, Henry, 261. 
 
 Cunningham, William, 
 
 Blackstone, Wm., 70, 2 
 
 301 
 
 Jr., 272, 90 
 
 Blake, Francis, 259 
 
 Mrs., 209 
 
 Currie, James, 181,205 
 
 Bledsoe, Mr., 315 
 
 Walter, 275 
 
 Curtius, 37, 40 
 
 ; Blodget, Samuel, 141,69, 
 
 William E, 27,31, 
 
 Gushing, Mr., 258 
 
 246 
 
 2, 4-7, 9, 40, 3, 4, 
 
 Custis, Geo. W. P. 259 
 
 'Bogert, John G., 308 
 
 7, 9, 51, 4, 7, 9, 62,'Cutler, James, 139, 83 
 
 Boileau, Despreaux, 48 
 
 4,5,8,70,8,81,2, 
 
 Bollman, Mr., 237 
 
 9, 93, 101, 7, 8, Dallas, Alexander, 34, 
 
 Bonaparte, 23, 8, 31,6, 
 
 160,3,5,7,9 48,151 
 
 92, 100, 2, 6, 8, 13, 9, 
 
 Chapman, D. N., 159 ; 62;Dana, Richard, 298 
 
 20,33,70,3,7,260,71 
 
 220, 48 
 
 Richard H., 164, 70, 
 
 Borilay de la Meuthe, 69 
 
 Chase, Samuel, 112 
 
 219 
 
 Boswell, James, 74 
 
 Chatham, Lord, 248 
 
 Davilla, Henry C., 52, 
 
 Bowditch, Nathaniel, 286 
 
 Chauncey, Charles, 121, 
 
 65,78, 104. 12, 4 
 
 Bowen, John B.,304 
 
 5,37 
 
 Davis, John, '45, 212, 50, 
 
 Boylston, Peter, 318 
 
 Cheetham, James, 155 
 
 3, 60, 92 
 
 Susanna, 318 
 
 Cheeves, Langdon, 281 
 
 John, 247 
 
 Bradford, Samuel F., 
 
 Cheniers, 67 
 
 Dean, Thomas, 168, 204 
 
 305, 23 
 
 Cheverus, Bishop, 242 
 
 Dearborn, Henry, 142 
 
 Brazer, John, 304 
 
 Chenquion, Mr., 304 
 
 Decatur, Stephen, 301 
 
 Brevoort, H., Jr., 320 
 
 Cicero, 172, 214 
 
 Deiphobus, 172 
 
 Broglis, Abbe, 75 
 Bronson, Mr., 138, 251 
 
 Clarke, Dr., 122 
 Clarke, William, 282 
 
 Delaplaine, Joseph, 316 
 De Lille, Abbe, 175 
 
 Brown, Erastus, 307, 8 
 
 Clay, Henry, 294, 310 Demouri'r, Mr., 30 
 
 Samuel, 41 
 
 Cieaveland, Parker, 259 
 
 Dennie, Joseph, 90, 132, 
 
 Bruix, Bishop of, 66 
 
 Clement, Thomas, 310 
 
 5,7,146,53,4,248,64 
 
 JJuckminster, Eliza, 149 
 
 Clerc, Laurent, 309 
 
 Dexter, Samuel, 46, 76, 
 
 Joseph S., 26-8, 72, 
 
 Clerke, Francis, 265 
 
 85, 6,111 
 
 4, 82, 107, 10, 8, 
 
 Clinton, George, 144, 54 
 
 Dibdin, Thomas F., 229 
 
 33,49,78,203,14, 
 
 Cobbet, William, 23, 4, 
 
 Dickens, Mr., 177 
 
 '21, 7, 9, 38,239, 
 
 86, 8, 176, 7 
 
 Dickins, Mr., 132,5 
 
 41,3.5,6,81,92,3 
 
 Codogan, Dr., 287 
 
 Dinsmore, Silas, 1 10 
 
 Lucy M., 149 
 
 Cogswell, Dr., 309 
 
 D'lvernois, 26 
 
 'Buffon, George, etc., 37 
 
 Colburn, Mr., 287 
 
 Drake, Nathan, 227 
 
 Bullus, Dr.,249 
 
 Zerah,286,7 
 
 Duane, William, 36, 141, 
 
 Burke, Edmund, 48, 67, 
 
 Cole, Edward, J., 288 
 
 7, 55, 9 
 
 70,4,6,81,4,96,104, 
 
 Coleridge, Samuel T., Dufief, Nicholas G., 209 
 
 35,248 
 
 44, 176 IDuhurst, Mr., 218 
 
INDEX. 
 
 343 
 
 Dumanier, General, 177 
 Dundas, Henry, 52 
 Dupont, Mr., 26 
 Dutton, Warren, 138 
 Dwight, Edmund, 159 
 Jasper, (fictitious) 37 
 
 Eberhard, 48 
 Edwin, 166 
 
 Edwy and Elgiva, 145 
 Eliot, John, 22 1,56 
 Ellsworth, Oliver, 45 
 Emerson, William, 159, 
 
 203,4, 11,21,2 
 Ennius, 169 
 Erskine, Thomas, 23, 107 
 
 Mr., 253 
 
 Ervine, Mr., 172 
 Euripides, 218 
 Eustis, William, 114,20 
 
 60 
 
 Evans, Thomas, 40, 245 
 Ewing, Samuel, 46, 8, 62, 
 
 78,114,52,279,301 
 
 Farnham, John H., 315 
 Farrand, William P. ; 26 
 Fauchet, Joseph, may be 
 the same as Fouche 
 
 25 
 
 Fenelon, Francis, 57 
 Fenno, John, 43, 104, 12 
 Folsom, Charles, 311 
 John W., 194,5 
 Forbes, Mr., 128 
 Fouche, Joseph, 240 
 Fox, Charles, 26, 36, 107 
 
 35 
 
 Francis, David, 203, 15 
 Franklin, Benjamin, 24 
 Freeman, James, 194, 8 
 
 222, 3, 95 
 
 French, Jonathan, 11 
 Fries, Mr., 48, 56 
 Fulton, Robert, 247 
 
 Gallatin, Albert, 37, 46 
 
 130 
 Gallaudet, Thomas H. 
 
 30 1 J 
 
 Gardiner, John S. J. 72 
 111,203,4, 13, 8 
 38,55 
 R. H., 249 
 Genlis, Madame, 81 
 Gennet, Mr., 19 
 George, Lucas, 247 
 Gerry, Elbridge, 29, 45 
 50, 105 
 
 Gibbon, Edward, 38 
 
 ibbs. George, 282 
 Clifford, John, 23 
 
 William, 127, 35 
 Gilbert, Samuel, 168, 
 jiles, William B., 43, 
 
 237,61 
 
 Gill, Moses, 78, 106 
 Gillies, John, 106, 74 
 Gilman, John T., 33 
 Godfrey of Bouillon, 114 
 Godwin, William, 62, 5, 
 
 70, 3. 176 
 
 jroldsmith, Oliver, 286 
 Goodenow, S., 285 
 Goodhue, Jonathan, 308 
 Gorham, John, 293 
 
 rafton, Duke of, 239 
 jJranger, Gideon, 160 
 3ratlan, Henry, 106 
 Gray, John, 270 
 Sally, 160 
 Thomas, 56 
 Sreenleaf, Mr., 74 
 Grenville, Lord, 91 
 Gridley, Jeremy, 298 
 Gnesbach, John J., 239 
 Grigsby, James, 188 
 Gnswold, Roger, 88, 164, 
 
 304 
 Grotius, Hugo, 73 
 
 Hall, John E., 264, 5, 313 
 
 Samuel, 183 
 Hamilton, Alexander, 45 
 73, 153, 4, 87, 290 
 
 James, 309 
 Hancock, John, 294, 6 
 
 7, 9, 320 
 
 Harbaugh, Leonard, 111 
 Hare, Charles W., 251 
 
 Robert, 279 
 Harpe, De la, 66, 224 
 Harper, Robert G., 37 
 88, 161 
 
 William, 150 
 Harraden, Nathaniel, 291 
 Harris, Thaddeus M. 283 
 Hauteval, Mr., 29 
 Hayden, Dr., 314 
 Heath, William, 53, 61 
 Hemphill, Joseph, 152 
 Henry, Patrick, 45 
 Heroditus, 219 
 Heriot, Mr., 176, 7 
 Hervey, Lord, 93 
 Heyne, Christian G.,218 
 Higginson, Henry, 265 
 84 
 
 Higginson, Stephen, 165, 
 
 221 
 
 Hildreth, Hosea, 287 
 Hobart, John H., 256 
 204 Hobbes, Thomas, 56, 127 
 Holley, Horace, 295, 
 
 315, 6 
 
 Hollingworth, Levi, 66 
 Holmes, Abiel, 245 
 Homer, 66, 218 
 Hopkinson, Mr., 288 
 Houinger, Mr, 29 
 Howell, Daniel, 273 
 Humboldt, Alexander, 
 
 271,84 
 
 Hume, David, 52, 145 
 Humphrey, Mr., 323 
 Humphreys, David, 31 
 Hunter, William, 291 
 Hutchinson,Thomas, 295 
 
 lloe, Robert T., 150 
 
 Imlay, 73 
 
 Ingersoll, Charles J., 48, 
 
 132, 6, 45, 53 
 Irving, Washington, 320 
 
 Jackson James, 283 
 Mr., 25 1,78 
 William, 101 
 
 Jay, John, 129, 32 
 
 Jefferson, Thomas, 47, 
 77, 123,4,5,40, 1, 2, 
 4, 6, 7, 160 
 
 Jefferys, George, 303 
 
 Jeffries, John, 196 
 
 Joan d'Arc, 44, 63 
 
 Johnson, Mr., 57 
 
 Mr. and Mrs., 60 
 Samuel, 74, 226, 9 
 Thomas B., 60, 85, 
 
 96, 109, 46 
 WilliamS, 207 
 
 Jones, William, 111 
 
 Joy, John, 222, 34 
 
 Kemble, Charles, 182 
 
 Go., 260 
 
 Kendall, Edward Augus- 
 tus, 249, 75, 85 
 Key, Philip B., 113 
 Kilwarden, Lord, 174 
 King, Charles, 255 
 
 Rufus, 91, 136 
 Kingston, Earl of, 303 
 Ktrkland, Geo. W., 129 
 
 John T., 27, 8, 129, 
 
344 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Kleber, 1. B., 106 
 Kotzebue, Augustus, 71, 
 82, 108 
 
 Lackington, Mr., 283 
 Lambert, William, 286 
 Lathrop, John, 124, 38 
 
 John, Jr., 283 
 Lawrence, Dr., 84 
 
 John, 120 
 
 N., 257 
 
 Lean, Charles, 312 
 Lee, Henry, 86, 8 
 
 William, 153 
 Leib, Michael, 151 
 Leo X., 93 
 Lepaux, Mr., 26 
 Lescallier, Baron, 316 
 Lewis, Meriwether, 282 
 
 William, 48 
 Liancourt, Duke, 85 
 Lincoln, Levi, 142 
 Linn, John B., 104 
 Little, Edward, 257 
 Littleton, George, 248 
 Livermore, Edward S. 
 
 273 
 Livingston, Edward, 141 
 
 Robert R., 176 
 Lloyd, Mr., 317,20 
 Locke, John, 73, 294 
 Logan, George, 33, 6, 88 
 Longfellow, Stephen, 28 
 Lord, Nathaniel, 299 
 Loring James, 197 
 
 John, 74 
 Louis XVI., 79, 173 
 
 XVI1L, 173 
 Lowell, John, 168, 222 
 
 38,41, 306 
 
 Lowndes, William, 310 
 Lowth, Robert, 325 
 Lyman, Mr., 309 
 
 Theodore, 28, 118 
 
 243 
 
 Lyon, Matthew, 100, 3 
 55, 252 
 
 McCall, Hugh, 283, 9, 9 
 McCormick, Charles, 96 
 McDonald, 72 
 McKean, Joseph, 233 
 Thomas, 66, 77, 8 
 
 125,51 
 
 McPherson, 227 
 McRea, Capt., 313 
 Macon, Nathaniel, 274 
 Madison, James, J42, 79 
 Malcom, Samuel B., 42 
 
 Mallet du Pan, James, 
 
 Paine, Thomas, 64 
 
 56,96 
 
 Tom. 64, 164 
 
 Malthus, T. R., 214 
 
 Parish, Elijah, 198 
 
 Vlann, Herman, 196 
 
 Park, Mungo, 93, 6 
 
 James, 191 
 
 Parker, Lieut., 136 
 
 banning, William, 197 
 
 J arr, Samuel, 111 
 
 Marbury, William, 150 
 
 Parsons/Theophilus, 222 , 
 
 Marcus, Nobilior, 169 
 
 3,41 
 
 Marsh, Joseph, 318 
 
 3 asquin, Antony, 101 
 
 Marshall, General, 37 
 
 Patroclus, 101 
 
 Humphrey, 62 
 
 Peale, R., 152 
 
 John, 29, 166, 90, 245 
 
 Peabody, Elizabeth, see 
 
 Martin, James, Jr., 247 
 
 Shaw 
 
 Mathias, 57, 106 
 
 Peck, William D., 205 
 
 Mausolus, 127 
 
 Peddie, Major, 313 
 
 May, Joseph, 166 
 Mazzei, Philip, 155 
 
 Pepperell, William, 174 
 Perkins, B. D., 274 
 
 Mercer, John, 113 
 
 Mr., 323, 4 
 
 Meredith, William, 216 
 
 Peter, the hermit, 113 
 
 Miller, Samuel, 256 
 
 Peters, Hugh, 250 
 
 Milus, 57 
 
 Richard, Jr., 58, 113, 
 
 Minot, George R., 88 
 
 36, 54, 70 
 
 Miranda, Francisco de, 
 
 Samuel, 250 
 
 136 
 
 Phillips, Isaac, 74 
 
 Mitchell, Samuel L.,300, 
 
 Mr., 232 
 
 13 
 
 Phocion, 23, 38 
 
 Mitford, William, 186 
 
 Pickering, John, 81,260, 
 
 Monroe, James, 176, 2B3 
 
 75, 329 
 
 Montesquieu, 253 
 Moore, Andrew, 188 
 
 Timothy, 25, 50, 
 103, 9 
 
 Morse, Jedediah, 52, 5, 
 
 Pinckney, Charles C., 
 
 108, 98, 233, 86 
 
 124, 5, 53 
 
 Samuel, F. B., 320 
 
 Thomas, 23 
 
 Morton, Sarah W., 63, 6 
 
 William, 253 
 
 Moses, 82 
 
 Pintard, John, 272 
 
 Munroe, Edmund, 203, 
 
 Pitkin, Timothy, 305 
 
 15,54 
 
 Pitt, William, 46, 55, 135 
 
 Murray, Judith, 168, 221 
 
 Pizarro, 82 
 
 Lindley,322, 3 
 
 Plato, 155 
 
 William V., 45 
 
 Plummer, William, 263 
 
 Nancrede, Joseph, 41, 57, 
 
 Plutarch's maxim, 31 
 
 135 
 
 Pomare, King of Ota- 
 
 Nelson, Horatio, 35 
 
 heiti, 258 
 
 Newman, John, 151 
 
 Poniatowski, 81 
 
 Nichols, Francis, 104, 11 
 
 Pope, Alexander, 106 
 
 Niles, Hezekiah, 299 
 
 Mr., 316 
 
 
 Porcupine, Peter, 85, 8 
 
 Oddy, J. Jepson, 231 
 
 Person, Richard, 218 
 
 Ogilvie, James, 249, 60 
 1,73,9,313 
 
 Pratt, Benjamin, 298 
 Preble, Edward, 161 
 
 Oliver, Andrew, 254 
 
 Preston, Thomas, 304 
 
 Otis, Harrison G., 114 
 
 Priestley, Joseph, 85,92,6 
 
 30, 68, 253-5 
 
 Mr., 283 
 
 James, 296-9 
 Sam'lA.,53, 154,88 
 Ouabi, 66 
 
 Prince, Mr., 303 
 Prince of Orange, 174 
 Puflendorf, Samuel de, 
 
 
 73 
 
 Paine, Robert T , 64, 72 
 
 Putnam, James, 298, 318 
 
 88 
 
 
INDEX. 
 
 345 
 
 Quincy, Josiah, 114. 59 
 205,9,34,7,52,9,61, 
 74, 286, 94, 304, 27, 33 
 
 Ramsay, Dennis, 150 
 Randolph, John, 165,252 
 
 R. K., 182 
 
 Rawle, William, 151, 251 
 Rawson, Susannah, 168 
 Raynal, Abbe, 37 
 Read, Ralph, 272 
 Reed, Isaac. 229 
 Rees, Abraham, 218, 26, 
 
 305, 23 
 
 Revere, Paul, 290 
 Reynolds, Joshua, 286 
 Rice, Mr., 268 
 Rich, Obadiah, 291 
 Rickman. N., 308 
 Ritchie, William, 312 
 Robertson, William, 26 
 
 43 
 
 Robinson, John, 212 
 Rogers, Abner, 47 
 Roscoe, William, 92, 
 
 111,62,81,214 
 Ross, Mr., 253 
 Rousseau, John B., 65 
 Rush, Benjamin, 86, 104 
 Russell, Benjamin, 150, 
 
 John, 53, 76, 104, 5, 
 
 12, 5, 39, 83 
 Jonathan, 24, 300 
 William, 76 
 Rutledge, Mr., 143 
 
 Salisbury, Josiah. 160 
 
 Sargent. Lucius M.,238 
 Winthrop, 169 
 
 Savage,C.,311 
 
 Sawyer, Artemas,74,84, 
 100, 18,271 
 
 Schiller, Frederic, 71 
 
 Scollay, William, 234 
 William, 284, 302 
 
 Sedgwick, Theodore. 47, 
 
 85 
 Theodore, Jr., 214 
 
 Selfridge, Thomas O., 
 220 
 
 Senter, Dr., 143 
 
 Sewall, Mr., 80 
 
 Shakespeare, William, 
 56, 62, 82, 173, 205, 28 
 
 Shaw, Elizabeth, who 
 subsequently marr 
 the Rev. Stephen Pea- 
 body of Atkinson, 
 
 59, 
 
 H., 6, 8-23, 9, 30, 9 
 
 Tappan, David, 88, 102, 
 
 ,61, 
 
 98, 125, 45, 9, 70, 87 
 
 69 
 
 7,33 
 
 219,77,81,7,93 
 
 Telemachus, 127 
 
 
 Shaw, John, 6, 11, 13 
 
 Thacher, Peter O., 221, 2 
 
 
 
 John, 6, 8 
 
 Samuel C., 203, 16, 
 
 ,252 
 
 John, 11 
 
 29, 32, 40, 3 
 
 
 Lemuel, 149 
 
 Thomas, Isaiah, 274 
 
 ,251 
 
 Shays, Daniel, 8, 155 
 
 Thompson, Benj., Count 
 
 168 
 
 Shenstone, William, 66 
 
 Rumford, 46, 78, 
 
 
 Shepherd, William, 257 
 
 124 
 
 
 Sheridan, Kichard, 175 
 
 James. 40 
 
 
 Sicard, Abbe, 309 
 
 Thurston, Buckner, one 
 
 ,26, 
 
 Sieyes, 102 
 
 authority calls him 
 
 
 Sigourney, Charles, 285 
 
 Thruston, 210 
 
 
 309 
 
 Tilden, Joseph, 226, 7 
 
 B6 
 
 Silliman, Benjamin, 235 
 
 Tilgham, William, 136 
 
 
 Sinclair, John, 131,231 
 
 Tilly, Count, 57 
 
 
 Skinner, William, 225, 8 
 
 Tisdale, Mr., 285 
 
 
 Sloan, James, 314 
 
 Tooke, John H.,218 
 
 2 
 
 Smissart, G J. E. f 263 
 
 Tracy, Uriah, 246 
 
 26, 
 
 Smith, Abigail, 318 
 
 Trajan, 95 
 
 
 Charlotte, 200 
 
 Treuttel, 271 
 
 
 Robert, 208 
 
 Trowbridge, Edmund, 
 
 
 Samuel H., 136, 40 
 
 298 
 
 92, 
 
 2,64,211 
 
 Trumbull, John, 170,286 
 
 
 Sidney, 72 
 
 Truxton, Thomas, 44, 72, 
 
 
 William,?, 318 
 
 102 
 
 55 
 
 William, 83, 105, 7, 9 
 
 Tuckerman, Joseph, 170 
 
 104 
 
 William S., 129 
 
 Tudor, William, 294 
 
 150, 
 
 William L., 38 
 
 William, Jr., 302 
 
 
 Socrates, 128 
 
 Tufts, Cotton, 138 
 
 4,5, 
 
 Southey, Robert, 44, 56, 
 
 Tyng, Dudley A., 265 
 
 
 62,3,77,82,175,214 
 
 
 
 
 Spaulding, Joshua, 250 
 Matthias, 28 
 
 Vanderkemp, F. A., 253 
 Judge, 300 
 
 
 Stark, John W., 306 
 Sterne, Laurence, 65 
 
 Vaughan, Benjamin, 220, 
 31 
 
 
 
 Stoddart, Benjamin, 142 
 
 John, 277 
 
 238 
 
 Stewart, Mr., 142 
 
 William, 231 
 
 
 Stone, Micah, 12 
 Storm, Garritt, 309 
 
 Virgil, 185 
 Voltaire, M. Francis A. 
 
 ,84, 
 
 Story, Joseph, 28, 80, 168 
 
 de, 300 
 
 
 Strong, Caleb, 102, 5, 7, 
 
 Vose, John, 19, 33 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 4 
 
 Stuart, Gilbert, 166, 281, 
 
 Wagner, J., 136, 79, 259 
 
 )2 
 
 330 
 
 Wamwright, Mr.,32,3,6 
 
 ,47, 
 
 G. W., 314 
 
 Wakefield, Gilbert, 84 
 
 
 Sullivan, James, 254 
 
 Wallich, N., 306 
 
 14 
 
 Richard, 18 
 
 Walter, Arthur M., 23-7, 
 
 O., 
 
 William, 144 
 
 9, 30-5, 7, 41-5, 6, 8, 
 
 
 Sully, Maximilian, 52 
 
 53, 5, 60. 4, 6, 8, 9, 
 
 
 Sumner, Increase, 53, 61 
 
 72, 3, 6, 8, 80, 1, 2, 4, 
 
 
 William H., 128, 59, 
 
 6-8,90,2,5,7, 100,1, 
 
 am, 
 
 250,61,310, 11 
 
 3,5,6,8,10,4,5,8,9, 
 
 5,28 
 
 Swartwout, 237 
 
 21-4, 6, 30, 4, 40, 59, 
 
 who 
 
 
 60, 1, 3, 7-70,2,3,8, 
 
 ried 
 
 Tabb, John, 244, 5 
 
 85, 203, 21-3, 35, 6-8 
 
 r'ea- 
 
 Talleyrand, 28, 9 
 
 Washington, Bushrod, 
 
 , N- 
 
 Talma, Francis J., 314 
 
 90, 108, 67, 8 
 
346 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Washington, George, 19, 
 26,8,37,45.7,60; 
 death, 86-90, 3, 8, 
 101,6-8,14,20.3, 
 7, 31, 54, 66, 90, 
 206 
 Martha, 60, 87, 9, 
 
 90,9 
 Waterhouse, Benjamin, 
 
 204 
 
 Waterman, W.,313 
 Watson, Benjamin M., 88 
 
 Richard, 49 
 Wayne, Caleb P., 114 
 
 66, 90, 205 
 Webster, Noah, 96, 238 
 
 45, 74, 322-6 
 Weishaupt, 47 
 Weld, Isaac, 119,33 
 
 Welles, Arnold, 250 (Williams, Helen M., 25 
 
 Samuel, 250, 69 Mr., 23 
 
 Wellington, Lord, 309 Samuel, 224, 5, 7, 9, 
 
 Wells, Benjamin, 142, 4, 32 
 
 59, 60, 79. 81, 261 Windham, Wm., 171, 5 
 Welsh, Thomas, 41, 104jWirlz, Mr , 271 
 West, John, 198 Wolf, Frederic A., 218 
 
 White, Daniel A.,20,329 Wolstoncrait, Mary, 64, 
 
 James, 53 
 
 Thomas, 91, 111 
 Wieland, Christopher M., 
 
 76, 80 
 
 Wilder, Mr., 271 
 Wiley, Thomas, 250 
 Wilkinson, James, 74, 
 
 1 U 29, 245 
 Willard, Joseph, 88 
 
 Sidney, 233 
 Williams, Francis, 225 
 
 71,3 
 
 Wood, John, 153, 5 
 Woodward, Mr., 275 
 Wythe, George, 158 
 Wyttenbach, 329 
 
 Xenophen, 210 
 
 Yard, Mrs., 296 
 Young, Mr., 116 
 
 CORRECTIONS. 
 
 Page 20, supply A. between Daniel and White ; p. 56, for du Paris read du Pan; 
 p. 85, for Priestly read Priestley ; p. 142, for William read Benjamin Wells ; p. 
 176, for Foutrh read Fourth ; p. 203, line 2, for yea read year ; pp. 21)8 and 216, for 
 Ree's read Rees's ; p. 249, for E. J. before Kendall read E. A. ; p. 265, for Hale 
 read Hall ; and p. 275, for Augustus E. read Edward A. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
 on the date to which renewed. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 TSWar'65VB 
 
 
 or-^-O I D 
 
 
 4_. m 
 
 
 ,. ^ - TN 
 
 
 AUG 2 1983 
 
 
 B rr MR MlGl'J * 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 L.I) JlA-60m-4,'64 
 (E4555slO)476B 
 
 General Library 
 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley 
 
YB 2(584 
 
 M123731 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY