YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY Gift of
Winthrop E, Dwight

LIFE
IN A NEW ENGLAND TOWN:
1787, 1788.

DIARY

OF

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
"While a Student in the Office of Theophilus Parsons
AT NeWBUBTPOKT.

BOSTON:
LITTLE, BEOWN, AND COMPANY.
1903.

BHitibersitg liresa:
John Wilson and Son, Cambkidge, U. S. A.

The photogravure prefixed to this volnme is from a
portrait of J. Q. Adams, painted in London by J. S. Copley,
in the spring of 1796, and sent by the artist in the early part
of the following year as a present to John Adams and his
wife. The original, belonging to C. F. Adams, is now (1903)
on deposit in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The fac
simile of Mr. Adams's signature is from a letter written a
little more than a year after the portrait was painted.
Extracts from the diary which follows were read at the
stated meeting of the Massachusetts Historical Society in
November, 1902, and excited much interest. It was after
ward printed in the Proceedings of the Society; and it is
now reprinted by their permission for wider circulation.

oJuhyn <=/uxynxjLf '^'re^oiTij,

On the Slst of October, 1901, the First Congregational
Church of Newburyport, Massachusetts, observed its one
hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary,. and, also, the one hun
dredth anniversary of the dedication of its meeting-house.-'
The pastor of the Society, the Rev. Samuel C. Beane, D.D.,
invited me to take part in the ceremonies of the day on the
ground that my grandfather, John Quincy Adams, " was for
a few years in his youth an interested and active member of "
the Society ; and, while such, " he was in a great measure
instrumental in obtaining the settlement of Rev. John An
drews, his young Old Colony friend, as minister [of the
Church, in which] his family is still represented." Not feel
ing at liberty to decline an invitation thus extended, it occurred
to me I could best improve the occasion by communicating to
those gathered extracts from the diary John Quincy Adams
kept during a portion of the period of his residence at New
buryport, — a student in the office of Theophilus Parsons, who,
nineteen years later, succeeded Francis Dana as Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. The diary in question
is contained in two small octavo volumes, bound in calf, bought
in Paris, and entitled " Ephemeris." It is the record of a
young law student's daily life, and, as such, was kept with
more or less detail ; but, unfortunately, it is not continuous,
covering the whole of one year only (1787) and a portion of
the year following. The first detailed entry relating to the
* A report of the speeches and proceedings on this occasion has since been
published by order of the Society. In it are included about three printed pages
of the following diary of J. Q. Adams. Celebration of the One Hundredth Anni
versary of the Meeting House of the First Eeligious Society in Newburyport,
October 31, 1901. Hewburyport, 1902, pp. 61.

6 MAEY OF JOHN QTJINCT ADAMS.
Newburyport experience is of August 9, 1787 ; the last of
October 14, 1788. Mr. Adams's health then broke down,
as the result probably of too severe application ; for, in almost
every entry immediately preceding his illness, he complains
bitterly of insomnia, lying awake at times whole nights,
and at other times getting sleep only through the use of
opiates. Though I found in this record much which greatly inter
ested me, no use whatever was made of it by my father in
his publication entitled " Memoirs of J. Q. Adams " ; for it
contains little of, so-called, historical value. It nevertheless
gives a curious and graphic picture of social, every-day
existence in a small Massachusetts seaport during the closing
years of the eighteenth century. Ics maturity of tone is
perhaps its most noticeable feature ; but, iu reading it, it
is well to bear constantly in mind that not only was the writer
an exceptional character, but his experience had been so very
unusual as to be even yet almost, if indeed uot altogether,
unique. Born and brought up as a boy in an eighteenth-
century Massachusetts country town, in the midst of our
revolutionary troubles, he accompanied his father to Europe,
still lacking five months of his eleventh birthday, wlien, one
February morning, the two took boat .from the beach at
Braintree, for the frigate " Boston," lying in the offing. Sent
to school near Paris, he there became proficient in French.
On this point we get an amusing as well as suggestive glimpse
of him from the diary of John Adams, kept during the return
from his first mission to France in 1779. At this time J. Q.
Adams was not quite twelve years old. He had been in
Prance some fourteen months, and was returning home with
his father on the French frigate " Sensible," in company with
La. Luzerne, the commissioner from Louis XVI. to the Con
gress, and M. Marbois, the secretary of the commission.
Writing when three days at sea, under date of Sunday, the
20th June, John Adams says: "The Chevalier de la Luzerne
and M. Marbois are in raptures with my son. Tiiey get him
to teach them the language. I found this morning the Am
bassador seated on the cushion in our state-room, M. Marbois
iu his cot, at his left hand, and my son stretched out in his,
at his right. The Ambassador reading out loud, in Black
stone's Discourse at his entrance on his Professorship of the

DIAET OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 7
Common Law at the University, and my son correcting the
pronunciation of every word aud syllable and letter. The
Ambassador said he was astonished at my son's knowledge ;
that he was a master of his own language, like a professor.
M. Marbois said. Your son teaches us more than you ; he has
point de grdce, point d'eloges. He shows us no mercy, and
makes us no compliments. We must have Mr. John."
Getting safely back to America and the Braintree envi
ronment early in August, 1779, about three months later
John Adams again embarked for Europe, and again on the
" Sensible " ; this time accompanied by two of his sons, John
Quincy and Charles, the latter only nine years old. They
returned to France by way of Spain, and J. Q. Adams now
remained six years in Europe; during which time, besides
being at school and college, he associated in confidential
capacities with men of distinction much older than himself,
in Holland, Russia and France. He saw also a good deal of
both Franklin and Jeiferson, especially the latter, for whom
he entertained a strong boyish admiration. At fourteen he
was a student in the University of Leyden, of which institu
tion he always afterwards spoke with deep affection. More
than fifty years later, referring to this period, he wrote:
" There is a character of romantic wildness about the memory
of my travels in Europe from 1778 to 1785, which gives to it
a tinge as if it was the recollection of something in another
world. Life was new, everything was surprising, everything
carried with it a deep interest. It is almost surprising to me
now that I escaped from the fascination of Europe's attrac
tions. . . . My return home from Auteuil, leaving my father
when he was going upon his mission to England, decided the
fate and fortunes of my after-life. It was my own choice,
and the most judicious choice I ever made. My short dis
cipline of fifteen months at Harvard University was the intro
duction to all the prosperity that has ever befallen me, and
perhaps saved me from early ruin"; and afterwards (1840)
when philosophizing in his diary, in extremely despondent
mood, over his own life and the results thereof, he wrote
again, it was to " Harvard College, Leyden University, seven
years of youthful travel and the blessing of heaven " that he
attributed whatever of useful it had been given to him to
accomplish.

8 DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Graduating at Harvard, in 1787, the volumes of diary cover
ing student life at Newburyport open immediately thereafter.
From one of these volumes I made a number of extracts for
use at the Newburyport church anniversary of Slst Octo
ber ; but these extracts proved far too voluminous to find a
place in the printed report of what then occurred. Another
portion I subsequently communicated to the Massachusetts
Historical Society at its November meeting, 1902. I then put
the two volumes covering the Newburyport period in the hands
of Mr. C. C. Smith, the editor of the Society, with permission
to make such use of their eontents as he saw fit. It was the
daily record of a young man just out of college. Having
passed the period between eleven and eighteen in a curiously
diversified and roving life in the Europe of Louis XVL, Cath
erine II. and George IIL, he had then been suddenly trans
ferred at his own volition to America, where at twenty he had
graduated at Harvard. The salient features of his college days,
as recorded in this diary, have already found their way into
print.i The record of subsequent law-student life at New
buryport was thought by Mr. Smith to be of sufficient interest
to justify reproduction in full in the volumes of Proceedings of
the Historical Society. This publication resulted.
It is merely necessary to add that, between 1787 and 1790,
Newburyport, a substantial seaport of some five thousand in
habitants, was largely engaged in commerce. As a commu
nity, it was made up of people — men and women — of the old
New England type. While distinctly provincial, the place had
not yet become suburban ; it had an individuality. Socially,
no less than commercially and financially, it was a local centre.
The period was critical. The country had emerged from the
revolutionary troubles only a few years before, and was still in
the formative stage. The land was poor, and those dwelling in
it were burdened by taxation. Hence the spirit of unrest was
great ; crude theories of money, government, and the rights of
man were in the air, and it yet remained to be seen whether
the people of Anglo-Saxon descent in America were to prove
equal to the occasion and develop into a nationality, or
whether, victims of a morbid jealousy of all centralized au
thority, they were to sink into a state of chronic anarchy.
1 North American Review, vol. cxiv. pp. 110-147. Harvard College, 1786-
1787. Henry Adams, Historical Essays, pp. 80-121.

DIABY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, 9
Shays's Rebellion had broken out in Massachusetts only a few
months before this diary opens ; the Convention which framed
the Federal Constitution was then sitting at Philadelphia;
John Hancock was Govemor of I\Iassachusetts ; but not for
two years yet was Washington chosen President. In Europe,
France was on the eve of the Revolution, and, on May 5, 1789,
the States General met at VersaUles ; on the 14th of July fol
lowing the Bastille was stormed ; WiUiam Pitt was then Prime
Minister of Great Britain ; the trial of Warren Hastings was in
progress ; Frederick the Great had been only a twelvemonth
dead ; and the future Emperor of the French was hanging
about Paris, an impecunious Lieutenant of Artillery, vainly
seeking financial relief for his father from a bankrupt and
sinking government. So far as the writer of the diary himself
was concerned, his father had, in 1787, been eight years in
Europe, and his mother and sister three years. In 1785 they
Lad passed over from France to England, and since then John
Adams had represented the Federation near the Court of St.
James. During the period covered by his son's residence at
Newburyport he returned to America to assume the duties of
Vice-President in the first administration of Washington.
Finally, at the time covered by this diary, Boston, not yet a
city, numbered some eighteen thousand inhabitants, and Cam
bridge a little over two thousand. The town of Quincy had
not yet been incorporated, but was still the North Precinct of
Braintree, the birthplace of the writer of the diary. It num
bered a population a little short of three thousand.
While some insignificant portions of the diary have been
omitted either because the events recorded were too trivial or
commonplace to merit publication, or because they related to
matters of student life and intercourse now of interest to no
one, the record is noticeably devoid of anything of a scan
dalous or prurient nature, or of allusions which the most sen
sitive of descendants would seek to suppress. In these respects
it is throughout thoroughly healthy, as well as creditable to
the writer.^ C F A
1 Acknowledgment is here due to Miss J. C. Watts (EadclifEe, 1897) for
assistance in the preparation of the notes. Thoroughly trained and indefati
gable in research, she has succeeded in throwing a flood of light on people and
events which had passed wholly out of living memory.

DIARY.
August 9th, 1787.1
I breakfasted this morning with Mr. Andrews,^ and after breakfast
called upon Jack Forbes ; * in their company I passed my time away
1 Two entries of an earlier date are of interest in connection with J. Q. Adams's
life in Newburyport : —
Sunday, June 10, 1787 : " . . . Dined at Mr. Dana's, in company with Mr.
Parsons of Newbury -Port ; a man of great wit, as well as of sound judgment
and deep learning."
June 23, 1787 : " Mr. Cranch and Dr. Tufts came from Boston this afternoon
— the doctor informs me that Mr. Parsons has agreed to receive me; and conse
quently I expect to go in August or September to Newbury-Port."
Francis Dana was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts
in 1785; Chief Justice in 1791. As Secretary of Legation, he had sailed from
America with John Adams and his son in 1779 ; and when subsequently appointed
to a mission at St. Petersburg, he took J. Q. Adams, a lad of fourteen, with
him as his private secretary. See J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. i. pp. 10, 12.
March 10, 1787, J. Q. Adaras wrote in his diary : " Soon after prayers I
heard with equal grief and surprise that Judge Dana was seized with an apo
plectic and paraletic fit, on Thursday in the forenoon : that his life was for some
time despaired of, and that he is still in a very dangerous situation. To me he
has been a second father, and his instructions, though too much neglected at
the time when he gave them, have since been more attended to ; and have at
least check'd some of my failings, and were calculated to reform them entirely.
I have therefore reason to revere him in a peculiar manner : but a man of his
talents and virtues, filling one of the most important offices in the State, is
precious to the whole Commonwealth ; and should his disease prove fatal, hia
loss will not be easily repaired.
" llth. ... in the evening I went down to Judge Dana's, but did not see him :
the president [WiUard] was there, stiflT as ever. Mr. Dana had a, second attack
last night; but not so violent as the first : they have some hopes and many fears
with respect to his recovery."
As respects Theophilus Parsons, compare the characterization by Daniel
Webster m 1804, iu F. Webster, Private Correspondence of Daniel Webster,
vol. i. p. 183.
Dr. Cotton Tufts, an erudite and public-spirited physician of Weymouth, was
at this time in his fifty-seventh year. He had married Lucy Quincy, sister of
Mrs. Elizabeth Q. Smith, maternal aunt of Mrs. Abigail Adams. When absent as
minister to England, John Adams left his business affairs iu the care of Dr.

2 John Andrews (H. C. 1786), a native of Hingham, then (1787) a student of
Divinity at Cambridge; later pastor of the First Parish Church of Newbury
port for over forty years ; died August 17, 1845. See the histories of Newbury
port. 2 John Murray Forbes, classmate of J. Q. Adams. See infra, p. 58 note. "

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 11
till near eleven o'clock. I then mounted, and after stopping a few
minutes at Medford,^ I proceeded, and at about two, arrived at the tavern
in Wilmington ; where I found my two brothers ^ who were returning
from HaverhiU, both of them much pleased with their tour. Between
four and five we parted, they went towards Cambridge and I came on to
Haverhill, where I arrived, at about eight in the evening. . . .
llth. This forenoon, I took a ride with Mr. Shaw,^ to see my
classmate Welch,* who lives about four miles from hence. After I
return'd, I called in, at Mr. Bartlett's,' where I found Mr. and Mrs.
Tufts. Under date of June 2, 1786, he wrote to him : " A year will soon he
about, and what are we to do then with John t What lawyer shall we desire to
take him, in town or country? and what sum must be given with him'? and
what will his board and clothing cost? and where shall we get money to pay aU
these expenses ¦? Sliall I come home and take all my boys into my own ofiice ?
I was once thought to have a tolerable knack at making lawyers, and now could
save a large sum by it."
See John Adams, Works, vol. ix. pp. 548, 549, 556. See also Appleton,
Cyclopaedia of American Biography ; J. Thacher, American Medical Biography,
vol. ii. pp. 149-152; Letters of Mrs. Abigail Adams (1848), pp. 26, 51, 125;
J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. viii. p. 385; vol. xi. p. 378.
Eichard Cranch, of Braintree, was the husband of the elder sister of Mrs.
Abigail Adams. Born (1726) in Devon, England, he came to Massachusetts in
1746, was a Eepresentative from Braintree to the State Legislature in 1779, re
ceived the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Harvard in 1780, and was
now (1787) a judge of the Court of Common Pleas for SuSolk County; he
died October 16, 1811. W. T. Davis, History of the Judiciary of Massachusetts,
p. 216; Letters of Mrs. Abigail Adams (1848), pp. xxviii, 125; John Adams,
Works ; Fleet's Almanack for 1787 ; C. F. Adams, Three Episodes of Massachu
setts History, p. 904.
1 Dr. Tufts was born in Jledford, and his relatives still lived there.
2 Charles Adams (H. C. 1789), second son of John Adams, bom 1770; subse
quently a lawyer in New York City ; died there in 1800. Thomas Boylston
Adams (H. C. 1790), born 1772; married Ann Harrod, of HaverhiU; Eepresenta
tive from Quincy to the State Legislature, 1805-1806 ; was chosen a member of
Governor Gerry's Council in May, 1811; was Chief Justice of the Court of
Common Pleas for the Southern Circuit, which included Norfolk, Plymouth,
Bristol, and Barnstable counties, 1811-1819; died iu 1832. Both were at this
time students at Harvard, the one a Junior and the other a Sophomore; they
had been visiting Mrs. Shaw, their maternal aunt, at Haverhill.
3 Eev. John Shaw (H. C. 1772), son of the Rev. John Shaw, of Bridgewater;
ordained in 1777; settled at Haverhill; died in 1794. Mrs. Shaw was Miss
Elizabeth Smith, sister of Mrs. Abigail Adams, — a cultured and charming
woman. J. Q. Adams was prepared for Harvard College in the house of Mr.
and Mrs. Shaw, and alwa3'8 regarded her with affectionate veneration, as "one
of the earliest and kindest friends and guardians of my childhood." See N. E.
Hist, and Gen. Eeg., vol. xlviii. pp. 179-181; J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. xii.
p. 275; Hurd, Hist, of E.s.sex County, p. 2005.
* Francis Welch, born May 31, 1766, at Plaistow, N. H. ; June 3, 1789, ordained
pastor of the West Parish in Amesbury ; died December 15, 1793. Hurd, Hist.
of Essex County, p. 1516.
* Probably Bailey Bartlett ; see infra, p. 17 note.

12 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Dalton,^ with their two eldest daughters, and Miss Hazen. They all
dined at Mr. White's," and in the afternoon all returned to Mr.
Dalton's seat at Newtown. The eldest daughter is very much as she
was two years ago, blooming as a rose, aud, they say, in a fair way
to be married. The younger has grown since I last saw her, and
appears to better advantage. Miss Hazen appears to have altered but
very little since the time when I lived here with her : she is indeed
now two years older, and must necessarily possess more prudence and
steadiness ; but her manners are still the same. I passed the evening
with White " and returned home just before nine.
12 th. Mr. Tappan * from Newbury preach'd here the whole day.
1 Tristram Dalton, classmate of John Adams at Harvard, a wealthy and
cultured merchant at Newburyport, active in political life. He had been a
Eepresentative and Senator in the State Legislature, and Speaker of the House ;
later, in 1789, he was the first United States Senator from Massachusetts. The
younger Miss Dalton married Leonard White August 21, 1794. In addition to a
fine town house (which is still standing on State Street in Newburyport, the
headquarters of the Dalton Club) Tristram Dalton possessed this summer home
in Newtown, now West Newbury. It was beautifully situated in tlie midst of
some two hundred acres, about four miles from Newburyport, on the road to
Haverhill, at the summit ot Pipe Stave Hill, whence, a traveller of that day
writes, eighteen church steeples were in view. See J. J. Currier, " Ould New
bury," pp. 339-346, 475-483. The view of the Merrimack from Pipe Stave HiU,
a view of his town house, and a portrait of Tristram Dalton himself are repro
duced there. See also E. F. Stone, Sketch of Tristram Dalton.
^ John White, father of Leonard White (classmate of J. Q. Adams), was one
of the wealthiest merchants in Haverhill, and dwelt in a "large three-story man
sion " on Water Street, "one of the most imposing and costly dwellings in the
region," with a terraced front yard with trellised fence and a deep garden in the
rear with boxwood bordered walks. See Chase, Hist, of Haverhill, p. 451.
' Leonard White, classmate of J. Q. Adams, was prepared for college by the
Eev. John Shaw in company with J. Q. Adams and William Cranch. J. Q. Adams
writes in his diary, June 8, 1787 : " Leonard White of Haverhill was twenty the
3d of last month. I lived at Haverhill some time, and, as he chums with my cousin,
I was acquainted with hira before I came to the University, and have been very
intimate with him since ; his natural abilities, without being very great, are such
as will enable him to go through life with honour, and his disposition is amiable.
His virtues are numerous, but among them all modesty is the most conspicuous.
I never knew any other person so intiraately as I am acquainted with him, with
out having perceived in him some sparks of vanity ; but I believe he never
experienced the feeling. A remarkable neatness of person is likewise one of his
characteristics, and is the more extraordinary because he has so few imitators
here. He has so much candor that I never heard him speak ill of any one of
his classmates, and very seldom of any one ; his defects are only trivial foibles,
and he will certainly be an useful member of society." Leonard White served
on the Haverhill school committee and as town clerk and treasurer ; was in the
Legislature in 1809; a member of Congress, 1811-1813; cashier of the Merri
mack Bank for a quarter of a century. He died in October, 1849, in his eighty-
third year. See Hurd, Hist, of Essex County, pp. 2002, 2011, 2012.
* Eev. David Tappan (H. C. 1771), born in Manchester April 21, 1752 j a

DIABY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 13
Both his sermons were doctrinal, but very ingenious. This gentleman
is much celebrated in this part of the country, for his abilities, both
natural and acquired. I was much pleased with the little conversation
I had with him in the course of the day ; but his public speaking is far
from being graceful. Elocution indeed has not till very lately been
considered as claiming a right to much attention in the education of
youth ; and consequently there are but very few preachers who had
finished their education before the last war that make any flgure at all
as speakers ; and even those who are acknowledged to be men of great
genius and learning are with respect to the deHvery far inferior to
many modern preachers who have not half their talents.
13th. I intended to have gone this day to Newbury-Port, but the
weather was so excessively warm, that I determined this morning to
omit going till to-morrow. I paid a visit to Judge Sargeant ^ in the
forenoon and spent a couple of hours there ; conversed upon political
subjects. Saw Mr. Thaxter a few minutes. After dinner I went with
Mr. and Mrs. Shaw to see my classmate Eaton ; ^ but he was not at
home. On our return we stop'd at Parson Adams's,' but neither was
he to be found, so that we then came home, and I passed the evening
with my uncle.
14th. It was so warm again this day that I did not set out from
Haverhill till between three and four in the afternoon. On the road I
classmate of Dr. John B. Swett, of Newburyport, at Harvard ; settled over the
Second Church in West Newbury April 18, 1774 ; appointed Hollis Professor of
Divinity at Harvard in 1792 ; died August 27, 1803. See Cofiin, Hist, of New
bury, pp. 371, etc.
1 Nathaniel Peaslee Sargeant (H. C. 1750), a Justice of the Supreme Court
of Massachusetts (1775-1790), its Chief Justice (1790-1791). See Hurd, Hist.
of Essex County, p. 2003 ; J. Adams, Works, vol. ix. p. 390.
2 Peter Eaton was born in the West Parish of Haverhill March 15, 1765; was
a pupil at PhiUips Andover Academy ; studied for the ministry under his pastor,
Dr. Phineas Adams ; was settled over the church at Boxford for fifty-five years
(1789-1845). March 24, 1787, J. Q. Adams wrote: "I have not the pleasure of
an intimate acquaintance with him, but all those who have speak well of him.
As a speaker he is distinguished, and as a scholar respectable ; his public exer
cises have been in general equal if not superior to any in the class since I
belonged to it; but he is very modest and diffident, so that he has not brought
himself so much into notice as several others in the class, who without his abili
ties have a much greater share of confidence." See W. B. Sprague, Annals of
the American Pulpit, vol. viii. pp. 222-226; Chase, Hist, of Haverhill, p. 630;
Hurd, Hist of Essex Connty, p. 2012.
' Eev. Phineas Adams (H. C. 1762), a classmate of Judge Dana at Harvard,
bom in Eowley March 14, 1742; an acceptable pastor to the somewhat discord
ant West Parish of Haverhill from 1771 until his death in 1801. The parish had
secured the dismissal of one pastor for heresy and made three unsuccessful
attempts to flll the pulpit before Mr. Adams went there ; after his death it
remained for twenty-fire years without a settled pastor. Chase, Hist, of Haver
hiU, pp. 567-570.

14 DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
met at different times Mr. Tappan, Stedman, and Thompson,^ and Tom
Hooper. I arrived at Mr. Tufts's in Newbury-Port, just before sun
set. I did not enter the town with the most favorable impressions.
About three weeks hence I am to become an inhabitant of the place.
Without friends or connections, I am to stand on my own ground, and
am in all probability to live here three years ; whether agreeably or
not time only must discover ; but the presages within my breast are
not such as I should wish realized.
15th. In the forenoon I went to see Mr. Parsons,^ and inform'd
1 WiUiam Stedman (H. C. 1784) and Thomas W. Thompson (H. C. 1786)
were students in the law office of Theophilus Parsons.
William Stedman, born in Cambridge, opened his law office in Lancaster;
died in 1831. When J. Q. Adams was a member of the national Senate, William
Stedman was in the House of Eepresentatives (1803-1810), and lodged with
J. Q. Adams's colleague, Timothy Pickering. It is probable that their relations
were not tlien altogether cordial, as, a few weeks after his arrival, J. Q. Adams
heard from his cousin, William Shaw, that William Stedman was the writer
of a letter to the " Centinel " criticising very severely his attitude to the Louisiana
question, etc., and ending with this summary of J. Q. Adams's course thus far,
"Quis talia fando
Temperet a lachrymis."
See the " Centinel " for December 10, 1803 ; Memoirs, vol. i. p. 291.
Thomas W. Thompson, son of Deacon Thomas Thompson, of Newbury; born
March 15, 1766; prepared for college at Dummer Academy; graduated from
Harvard in 1786; was apparently the most popular man in his class ("The
class are rather disappointed by the absence o£ their favorite Thomson, who is
80 unwell as prevented him from appearing this day," diary of J. Q. Adams,
Commencement Day, July 19, 1786) ; served as aid to General Lincoln during
Shays's Eebellion; now (1787) a law student in Mr. Parsons's office. He was a
tutor at Harvard 1789-1791 ; resumed his law studies with Mr. Parsons; began
the practice of law in Salisbury, N. H., in 1794 ; postmaster at Salisbury ; solici
tor of the county in 1802; a member of Congress in 1805; represented Salisbury
in the General Court in 1807 and 1808; was chosen State treasurer in 1809;
removed to Concord ; represented Concord in the Legislature for four years from
1811, being Speaker of the House the last two years ; was elected United States
Senator for three years in 1814 ; and was again a meraber of the State Legisla
ture. He was a trustee of Dartmouth College 1801-1821 ; he died October,
1821. Daniel Webster began his law studies in Mr. Thompson's office. See J.
Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. viii. p. 118 ; also F. Webster, Private Correspondence
of Daniel Webster, vol. i. pp. 188-190, for a letter by Mr. Thompson written in
1804, the letter of a busy, active, kindly man ; C. H. BeU, Bench and Bar of
New Hampshire, pp. 688, 689 ; " Harvard College, 1786-1787," in H. Adams,
Historical Essays, p. 112.
" Theophilus Parsons, later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Massachu
setts, a son of the Eev. Moses Parsons, was born in the neighboring parish of
Byfield (the old parsonage is still standing) ; educated at Dummer Academy and
Harvard College (1769). Then (1787) a man of thirty-seven, with some thirteen
years' experience at the bar, several young men of promise had gone forth from
his office in the low house that still stands on State Street; — the most note
worthy, perhaps, was Eufus King, at this time (1787) a member of the Constitu
tional Convention at Philadelphia.

DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 15
hun that I should probably attend at his office in about three weeks.
Stedman and Thomson are there now, but the former of these will
leave the office by the latter end of next month. My classmate
Putnam 1 has applied for admission, and intends, I am told, to enter the
office in November. Two at once would be full sufficient, but if there
are half a dozen it cannot be helped. I went, accompanied by Stedman,
and paid a visit to Miss Jones, the young lady who was at Mr. Wiggles-
worth's ^ when Bridge' and I boarded there last winter. She looks
very unwell, and they fear she is in a consumption. Dined at Mr.
Tufts's, aud soon after dinner I went to see my friend and classmate
Little.* I found Thomson there, but he soon after proceeded on his
1 Samuel Putnam, of Danvers, then an immature youth of twenty, later a
Justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts for twenty-eight years. See
Appleton's Cyclopsedia of American Biography, etc.
2 Edward Wigglesworth (H. C. 1749), HoUis Professor of Divinity, 1765-1791.
His daughter Margaret, the Miss Wigglesworth mentioned below, born December
28, 1766, married Eev. John Andrews September 8, 1789, and lived thereafter
in Newburyport. ' J. Q. Adams and his classmate James Bridge boarded at Professor Wiggles-
worth's during an eight weeks' vacation due to lack of fuel at the University.
See Henry Adams, Historical Essays, pp. 93, 94. On pages 80-122 of Mr.
Adams's volume, in an essay entitled " Harvard College 1786-1787," free quota
tions are made from the diary of J. Q. Adams for that period. See infra, p. 148.'
* Moses Little, born in Newbury July 4, 1766 ; died in Salem October 13,
1811. J. Q. Adams wrote, under date of May 9, 1787, " Great application, joined
to very good natural abilities, place him in the first line in the class as a scholar ;
he has been attentive to all those parts of science which are pursued here, and in
all he has made considerable proficiency. As a speaker he is inferior to several,
but his composition is perhaps rather too flowery ; to a large share of ambition
he unites great modesty, and he has the peculiar talent of being favour'd by the
govemment of the College without losing his popularity with his classmates.
His disposition must of course be amiable; he seldom contradicts the opinions of
any one, yet when he is obliged to declare his own sentiments, he can show that
he thinks for himself; but notwithstanding all his good qualities he is some
times censured, and such is the instability of all populaces that a small trifle
might induce two-thirds of the class to deny the iraprovements and the abilities
even of this person." Compare the characterization in James Thacher, Ameri
can Medical Biography, vol. i. p. 358. Moses Little was then a medical student
under Dr. J. B. Swett, of Newburyport. Later he was a well-known surgeon in
Salem, and Uved in the house opposite the Essex Institute. He, and afterward
his children, died of consumption ; fearing this result, he prepared this inscription,
wbich was placed on his tombstone, —
Phthisis insatiabilis,
Patrem Matremque
Devorasti.
Parce, O ! Parce,
Liberis.
He was the son of Richard Little, a shoemaker, seaman, and farmer, who was
living in 1787 on Newbury Green. G. T. Little, The Descendants of George
Little, pp. 37, 94.

16 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
way to Wenham. We had several smart showers in the course of the
afternoon. Just before dark I return'd to Mr. Tufts's at the Port. In
the evening, between nme and ten, we had a very heavy shower, with a
violent gust of wind.
16th. I went again this forenoon to see Miss Jones, and ofi'ered to
call in the afternoon and take a letter for Miss Wigglesworth ; but
' when we set out I entirely forgot my promise, and did not recollect it
till I had got some way out of town. Mr. Thaxter arrived in town
this morning, and dined at Mr. Tufts's. In the forenoon I engaged a
place where I am to board ; which is at a Mrs. Leathers's.^ It is not
80 convenient as I should wish ; but I must put up with it for a time,
and when I get here I shall be able to look out for myself. Soon
after dinner, I set off in company with Mr. Thaxter ; stopp'd a few
minutes at Mr. Dalton, where I found a large company from town, and
arrived at Haverhill at about sunset.
17th. At home all the forenoon, reading Tom Jones,^ one of the
best novels in the language. The scenes are not only such as may
have taken place, but they are similar to such as almost every per
son may have witnessed. This book cannot lead a person to form too
favorable an opinion of human nature ; but neither will it give a false
one. Pass'd the afternoon and part of the evening at Mr. White's. The
papers of this day give an account of a violent hurricane, which did
a vast deal of injury in the towns of Framingham, Sudbury, Marl
borough and some others in the County of Worcester, on Wednesday
in the afternoon. It was not perceived in these parts of the country,
where there were only two or three heavy showers of rain in the
course of that day.
18th. This forenoon I took a ride with White to see our classmate
Eaton. We spent about an hour with him and return'd before dinner.
Dined at Mr. White's and the afternoon went to see his pearl ash
works : ' the sight of these, and the account of all the process in
making pot and pearl ash, was pleasing because it was new. Leonard
complains very much of the stagnation of business; and indeed com
merce, as well as the other professions, offers but a miserable prospect
to young persons. It is however to be hoped that the scene will
brighten within a few years ; and when we have nothing more sub
stantial to support us, we must place our dependence upon hope.
When I return'd home, I found Mr. Shaw gone to Newbury, where
he is to preach to-morrow for Mr. Kimball.
1 Mrs. Leathers lived on State Street, a block below Mr. Parsons's oflice.
' Fielding's novel, " Tom Jones," was published in 1749.
' This was an early industry in Haverhill, dating from 1759. It furnished an
article of export to England, Ireland, etc. Chase, Hist, of HaverhiU, pp. 338, 452.

DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 17
19th. Mr. Kimball^ preach'd a couple of practical discourses, the
subjects of which I liked better than those of Mr. Tappan, last Sunday :
his manner of treating his subjects, though good, was not, I think, equal
to that of the other gentleman. After meeting I convers'd with him,
chiefly upon political topics. He has a most tremendous frown and
appears upon so short an acquaintance to be possess'd rather of a
peevish difficult temper ; which I judge not from his conversation but
his countenance ; and I am inform'd that this opinioa is not erro
neous. It was almost sunset when Mr. Shaw came home. Leonard
White pass'd part of the evening here, and I took a walk with him
down upon the banks of the river. The weather very fair, but looks
as if it would not continue so long.
20th. I had some thoughts of leaving Haverhill this morning, but
it rain'd all the forenoon ; and, as I am not in any particular haste
and my friends here are still willing I should remain with them, I
determined to defer my departure a day or two longer. I staid at
home the whole day. Mr. Thaxter ¦' spent the evening with us. He
finally declared that he intended, if no unforeseen event should take
place, to be married before next December; and I am heartily glad
of it.
21st. Hazy weather again all the forenoon. I went and pass'd
an hour with my friend White before dinner. Spent the afternoon
with Mr. Thaxter at his offlce. Mr. Dodge was there, a great part
of the time. We conversed npon various subjects. Mr. Thaxter,
wliose feelings are very warm, express'd his sentiments quite openly
with respect to a gentleman whose political conduct has been of late
somewhat suspicious. I drank tea at Mr. B. Bartlett's.' Parson
1 Rev. True Kimball (H. C. 1778), born iu Plaistow, N. H., January 28, 1757 ;
settled over the church in West Newbury from November, 1782, to April,
1797 ; died July 17, 1816, at Hampstead, N. H. See Coffin, Hist, of Newbury,
p. 370. 2 John Thaxter (H. C. 1774), cousin of Mrs. Abigail Adams, son of Colonel
John Thaxter, of Hingham, and grandson of Colonel John Quincy; boru
July, 1755 ; died July, 1791. At the outbreak of the Eevolutionary troubles he
was studying law in the office of John Adams ; was tutor to J. Q. Adams for
several years, and accompanied the father and son, as private secretary to the
former, on his second mission to Europe in 1779 ; returned to America in 1783
as the bearer of the Treaty of Peace with Great Britain. In 1787 he was
practising law in HaverhiU. He married Elizabeth Duncan, daughter of James
Duncan, a merchant in Haverhill. See J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. i. p. 7 ; Chase,
Hist of Haverhill, pp. 451, 628 ; Familiar Letters of John and Abigail Adams,
pp. 24, 27, 85, 367 ; John Adams, Works, vol. vii. p. 589 ; etc.
" Bailey Bartlett, a friend of John Adaras, was a fellow-boarder with him and
with Samuel Adams at Philadelphia when the Declaration of Independence was
adopted. He was a Representative in the Legislature 1781-1784 ; a member of the
State Senate in 1789, and ofthe Convention which ratified the Constitution of the
United States ; a Eepresentative to Congress in 1797 and 1799. For forty years,
3

18 DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Smith 1 with his lady, Captain Willis ^ and his wife were there, and
Mr. and Mrs. Lee from Cambridge. It was the first time I had ever
been in company with Mr. Lee : he has, I am told, much more show
than solidity. He does good, however, with his fortune ; and this is
meritorious, though the motives by which he is actuated may not be
the most noble and generous. Return'd home at about seven o'clock,
and received an invitation from Judge Sargeant, which wUl detain me
here one day more.
22d. Dined at Judge Sargeant's, with Mr. and Mrs. Shaw. Mr.
Porter " and his lady are there upon a visit from Rye ; with a child
about six weeks old, which forsooth immediately after dinner must be
produced, and was handed about from one to another ; and very
shrewd discoveries were made of its .resemblance to all the family by
turns, whereas in fact it did resemble nothing but chaos. How much
is the merciful author of nature to be adored for implanting in the
heart of man a passion stronger than the power of reason, which
affords delight to the parent at the sight of his offspring, even at a
time when to every other person it must be disgusting. Yet it
appears to me that parents would do wisely in keeping their children
out of sight, at least untill they are a year old, for I cannot see what
satisfaction, either sensual or intellectual, can be derived from seeing
a misshapen, bawling, slobbering infant, unless to persons particularly
interested. We drank tea likewise at the Judge's, and return'd home
between seven and eight in the evening. Leonard White came up to
give me a letter for his chum.
23d. I left Haverhill this morning at about nine o'clock ; and at
twelve arrived at the tavern in Wilmington, where I dined. At about
two I again set off and got to Cambridge a Httle hefore six. I came
beginning with 1789, with an intermission of a few months when Elbridge Gerry
was Governor, he held the office of sheriff in Essex County ; in 1828 he cast an
electoral vote for J. Q. Adams as President. See Hurd, Hist, of Essex County,
pp. 2009, 2010 ; G. W. Cliase, Hist, of Haverhill, pp. 618-620.
1 Eev. Hezekiah Smith, born on Long Island, N. Y., April 21, 1737; gradu
ated from Princeton iu 1762; ordained as an Evangelist in Charleston, S. C. ;
gathered a Baptist church in Haverhill; remained its pastor for nearly forty
years, until his death in 1805. In 1797 he received the degree of D.D. from
Brown University, of whicli he had been an earnest supporter. Mrs. B. Bartlett
was a daughter of John White, who with others of his connection were the earli
est adherents of Mr. Smith. See Chase, Hist, of Haverhill, pp. 584-587, 635;
Hurd, Hist, of Essex County, pp. 1994-1996.
^ Captain Benjamin Willis, born in Boston January 10, 1743, married Mary BaU
in 1765; a shipmaster of Charlestown ; was taken prisoner by the British on the
sea ; when released he found his f amUy had taken refuge iu Haverhill ; he fol
lowed them thither, and continued his interest in shipping. See Chase, Hist, of
Haverhill, pp. 451, 452 ; Wy man's Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, p. 1036.
' Mrs. Porter was Judge Sargeant's daughter.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 19
through Mystic ^ and called at Mrs. Tufts's, to see my friend Freeman,''
but he was gone to Boston. When I got to Cambridge I found great
alterations had taken place since I left College, Mr. Reed ' and Mr.
Burr* have resigned, and likewise the librarian.^ Mr. Webber^ and
Mr. Ware were chosen as Tutors, but Mr. Ware decliued accepting as
he has an unanimous call to settle at Hingham,' and will probably
soon be ordain'd. Mr. Abbot ' has since that been chosen, and Mr. I.
1 Mystic, i. e. Medford, the home town of the Tufts family. Mrs. Tufts was
probably the widow of Dr. Simon Tufts (brother of Dr. Cotton Tufts), who died
December 31, 1786. Usher, Hist, of Medford, p. 563.
2 J. Q. Adams's classmate, Nathaniel Freeman. See infra, p. 26 note.
» Nathan Eead (H. C. 1781), a tutor from 1783 to 1787; studied medicine; an
apothecary at Salem ; an inventor; 1796 established the Salem Iron Foundry for
the manufacture of anchors, chain cables, etc. ; elected a Eepresentative to Con
gress in 1801 ; removed to Belfast, Me., in 1807 ; was one of the leading citizens
of the town ; one of the founders of Belfast Academy, and for forty years one of
its trustees ; Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas ; Fellow of the Ameri
can Academy of Arts and Sciences ; died in January, 1849. October 27, 1786, J. Q.
Adams wrote : " Mr. Read came here [Quincy] in the afternoon, to spend a day.
Though he cannot entirely lay aside the tutor, but retains a little of the collegi
ate stiffness, yet he endeavours to be affable, and is very sociable. These people
when distant from their seat of empire, and divested of their power which gives
them such an advantageous idea of their own superiority, are much more agree
able than they are when their dignity puts them at such an awful diatance from
tlieir pupils. Mr. Read conversed much upon several subjects and with a great
deal of complaisance ; but with most ease and pleasure upon subjects which form
part of the studies at the university." See "Harvard College, 1786-1787," in H.
Adams, Historical Essays, pp. 106, 107, for J. Q. Adams's earlier opinion of Read.
See J. WiUiamson, Hist, of Belfast, pp. 550-552 ; David Eead, Natlian Eead : his
Inventions, etc., a pamphlet of 200 pages ; J. L. Chamberlain, Universities and
their Sons, vol. iv. p. 422.
1 Eev. Jonathan Burr (H. C. 1784), tutor from 1786 to 1787, ordained at Sand
wich April 18, 1787 ; he was a pastor there for thirty years ; died in Sandwich
in 1842. He was chiefly Instrumental in the establishment of the academy
at Sandwich. Freeman, Hist, of Cape Cod, vol. i. p. 645 ; vol. ii. pp. 134, 137,
139, 144.
s Hon. James Winthrop (H. C. 1769), Ubrarian from 1772 to 1787. Bom in
Cambridge April 3, 1752, a son of Professor John Winthrop, a classmate of The
ophilus Parsons ; he died September 26, 1821. He was one of the founders
of the Massachusetts Historical Society. See Proceedings, vol. i. p. 338, for his
portrait ; 2 Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. x. pp. 77-80 for memoir ; etc. See infra, p. 24.
6 Samuel Webber (H. C. 1784), later President of Harvard CoUege (1806-
1810). 1 Rev. Henry Ware (H. C. 1786), pastor at Hingham 1787-1805, HoUis Profes
sor of Divinity at Harvard 1805-1840. He had been a student of theology at
Cambridge for the past two years; and during his first months in college
J. Q. Adams roomed with hira. See Sprague, Annals of the Araerican Pulpit,
vol. viii. pp. 199-207. H. Adams, Historical Essays, p. 86. See entry iu this
diary of October 24.
8 John Abbot (H. C. 1784), tutor 1787-1792. Born at Andover April 8, 1759 ;
he was Professor of Ancient Languages and Classical Literature at Bowdoin

20 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Smith 1 was elected librarian, but has not yet accepted. I passed
the evening at several chambers among my old acquaintance, Phillips,
Clarke, Lincoln and my classmate Packard; ^ the only one now iu town.
Indeed it seemed extraordinary to walk through the college yard and
the town finding scholars everywhere, yet without seeing one of those
with whom I was the most closely connected. It made me quite dull.
24th. I lodg'd last night with Lincoln, the Senior, whose chum was
out of town. Breakfasted this morning with Mr. Andrews, who
returned from Hingham last evening. I visited Mr. James and Doc
tor Jennison ; both were very polite.' The doctor informs me that
several material alterations are about to take place with respect to
the plan of studies pursued here. Doddridge* is to be put entirely
College 1802-1816 ; Librarian there 1802-1824, and Treasurer 1816-1829 ; he died
at Andover July 2, 1843. Gen. Catalogue of Bowdoin College. He was a
cousin of J. Q. Adams's classmate, Abiel Abbot. Gen. Register of the Abbot
Family. 1 Rev. Isaac Smith (H. C. 1767), a scholarly man, fond of a quiet life, a kins
man of Abigail Adams, son of a Boston merchant; bom May 18, 1749; tutor at
Harvard in 1774 ; left for Europe on the outbreak of the war; became pastor of a
smaU congregation at Sidmouth on the coast of Devonshire ; returned to Amer
ica in 1784 ; librarian at Harvard 1787-1 791 ; prepared the first printed catalogue of
the Harvard College Library ; was preceptor at Dummer Academy, Byfield, 1791-
1809; lastly chaplain of the Almshouse in Boston; died September 8, 1829, aged
eighty years ; was never married. N. Cleaveland, The First Century of Dum
mer Academy, pp. 34-39; Journal and Letters of Samuel Curwen, pp. 69-71, 73,
106, 189-205, 465 ; Christian Examiner, vol. xUi. pp. 337-339.
2 " Hezekiah Packard, of Newtown, Middlesex Co., was twenty -four the 6th of
last December. He has a good share of original wit ; but his genius is not uncom
mon : his improvements are greater than those of the students in general, but
not such as to place him in the first rank of scholars. As a speaker he is too
much addicted to a monotony, whatever his declamations are. His disposition is
good, and his moral character is unirapeachable." J. Q. Adaras, diary. May 22,
1787. Packard's father was a farmer in Bridgewater, Mass. He was born
December 6, 1761 ; a soldier during the Revolution, a boy of fourteen he was in
the battle of Harlem Heights ; had an unfortunate hospital experience ; cultivated
his farm ; and finally, in the spring of 1782, decided to prepare for college. In
1787 Hezekiah Packard taught the Grammar School in Cambridge and had a
room in the college. He was a tutor in mathematics for four years from 1789;
was pastor of the church in Chelmsford from October, ] 793, to July 29, 1802 ; a pas
tor at Wiscasset, Me., from 1802 to 1830 ; pastor at Middlesex Village of Chelms
ford, Mass., from 1830 to 1836 ; for seventeen years a trustee of Bowdoin College
and for ten years Vice-President ; he died April 25, 1849, at Salem. See Memoir
of Eev. Hezekiah Packard, D.D. ; chiefly autobiographical (1850), 68 pp.; J. Q.
Adams, Memoirs, vol. viii. p. 406 ; Memories of S. Willard, vol. i. p. 226.
8 Eleazar James (H. C. 1778) was a tutor from 1781 to 1789. Timothy Lin-
daU Jennison (H. C. 1782), born July 15, 1761, at Douglas; tutor 1785-1788; re
ceived the honorary degree of M.D. in 1824 ; died in Cambridge October 19, 1845.
" Harvard College, 1786-1787" in H. Adams, Historical Essays, pp. 106, 118.
* Philip Doddridge, Course of Lectures on Pneumatology, Ethics, and Divin
ity, 2 vols., 1763 (2d ed., 1776). When J. Q. Adams was in college, all Juniors

DIAEY OP JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 21
into the hands of the theological professor, which is its proper place ;
and some attention to history is to be called forth by the recitations
on Saturday mornings. The mathematics will be taught in better
order than they have been heretofore ; and indeed it always appear'd
absurd to me, that Sophomores should study Euclid, and learn common
arithmetic after they commence Juniors. Henceforth arithmetic, with
some little practical geometry, surveying, trigonometry, &c., are to be
taught them before they begin upon Euclid, — all the changes which
the doctor mentioned will, I think, be for the better. Dined with
Mr. Andrews and passed the afternoon at college. Just as I was
going into prayers, I was stopped by a couple of French officers from
on board the fleet now lying in Boston Harbour.^ They desired to
see the colleges. I waited on them into the library, the museum and
the philosophy chamber. After they had satisfled their curiosity, they
set out for Boston, and I for Braintree. It was between six and seven
o'clock before I got away ; at about nine I arrived at Braintree, where
I found all my friends well.
25th. In the forenoon I went to Weymouth, to return Dr. Tufts's
horse. Dined at the doctor's aud pass'd the afternoon there ; walk'd
leisurely home, and arrived at about sunset. This morning Mrs.
Cranch and her son^ went to Boston. My cousin intends to read
law with Mr. Dawes,' and will enter his office next Monday. Very
damp sultry weather.
26th. I did not attend meeting this day. Employ'd myself chiefly
and Seniors were obUged to attend a series of lectures on divinity and were exam
ined " on assigned portions of the theological part of Doddridge's Lectures."
See Josiah Quincy, Hist, of Harvard University, vol. ii. pp. 259, 260.
1 August 23, 1787, there arrived in Boston harbor a French squadron of seven
sail under the command of the Marquis de SenneviUe, who had brought to Amer
ica, in 1778, the treaty with France. It remained tiU September 28. See the
" Centinel." 2 " William Cranch, of Braintree, was seventeen the 17th of last July. The ties
of blood, strengthened by those of the sincerest friendship, unite me to him in the
nearest manner. Our sentiraents upon most subjects are so perfectly similar, that
I could not praise his, without being conscious of expressing a tacit applause of
my own. His manners I can however pronounce amiable; his spirit, nobly inde
pendent; his judgment sound, and his imagination lively. His thirst for useful
knowledge and his fondness for study is not surpassed by that of any individual
in the class : happy were it for me, if with a perfect coincidence with his opin
ions in general, 1 could unite the same talents and the sarae accomplishments."
Diary of J. Q. Adams, March 19, 1787. William Cranch was a classmate of J. Q.
Adaras at Harvard. He was appointed by John Adams a Judge of the Circuit
Court of the District of Columbia, and was later its Chief Justice. See Appleton,
Cyclopedia of American Biography.
' Thomas Dawes (H. C. 1777), bom in Boston in 1758, studied law under John
LoweU ; 1792-1802 a Justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts ; 1802-1822
Judge of the Municipal Court in the town of Boston. W. T. Davis, Hist, of
the Judiciary of Massachusetts, p. ISS.

22 DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
in reading and writing. Mr. Weld^ preach'd for Mr. Wibird,'' and
dined here. Miss Street and one of Capt'n Beale's sons, with Mr.
J. Warren ' dined with us likewise ; in the evening Mrs. Cranch and
Dr. Tufts return'd from Boston. My uncle Smith has been for some
time very ill of a complication of disorders. The doctor thinks he
is at present better than he has been, but that the symptoms are yet
dangerous. Up late in consequence of an afternoon nap; read some
poetry and some prose, in a cursory manner.
27th. I employ'd myself in the forenoon with making some neces
sary preparations before my final departure for Newbury-Port. In the
afternoon I accompanied the ladies to Mrs. Quincy's.^ Miss Nancy
has been very ill, and is much thinner than when I saw her last.
She is, however, recovering. Pass'd an agreeable afternoon, and
return'd home just after dark.
28th. Rode out in the morning with Mrs. Cranch.^ It rain'd hard
all the afternoon — chilly north-east wind. The fruits of the earth
are at this time extremely backward, on account of the little heat
and the great rains that have prevailed this summer. The productions
of our lands require frequent, rather than plentiful rains, and great
heat, as the summers are so short.
' Eev. Ezra Weld (Yale College, 1759), pastor in the neighboring South Pre
cinct of Braintree from November 17, 1762, to August 17, 1807 ; born in Pomfret,
Conn., June 13, 1736; died at Braintree January 16, 1816 ; brother-in-law of Dr.
Micajah Sawyer of Newburyport. Hurd, Hist, of Norfolk County, p. 113; Hurd,
Hist, of Essex County, p. 1744.
2 Eev. Anthony Wibird (H. C. 1747), pastor of the North Precinct of Brain
tree, later (after 1792) known as Quincy, for forty-five years, from 1755 to 1800;
born at Portsmouth February 14, 1728-29; died at Quincy June 4, 1800. In
1759 John Adams describes him as having a great knowledge of human nature,
but as being steeped in a " dronish effeminacy " ; and, on Fast-day, 1775, Mrs.
Abigail Adams drove to Dedham because she " could not bear to hear our inani
mate old bachelor." J. Q. Adams wrote, April 15, 1787: "Went to meeting in
the forenoon and heard Mr. Wibird preach. The most pleasing part of his per
formances is his reading the Psalms : I never heard any person read poetry with
so much propriety, and energy. He appears inspired at those times, though
never in his own discourses. I did not go in the afternoon." John Adams,
Works, vol. ii. pp. 60, 72, 197 ; Letters of Mrs. AbigaU Adams (1848), p. 48 ; C. F.
Adams, Three Episodes of Massachusetts History, pp. 641-643, 762, 841.
3 Probably Joseph Warren (H. C. 1786), son of General Joseph Warren, bom
August 10, 1768 ; died April 2, 1790 ; an officer at the Castle. Frothingham,
Life and Times of Joseph Warren, p. 545.
* Mrs. Ann Quincy, widow of Josiah Quincy (1709-1784), grandmother of
Josiah Quincy, President of Harvard University. " Nancy " married the Eev.
Asa Packard, of Marlborough, a brother of J. Q. Adams's classmate, Hezekiah
Packard, and died February, 1844, at the advanced age of eighty. Edmund
Quincy, Life of Josiah Quincy, p. 56. See infra, p. 28.
' Mrs. Mary Smith Cranch, aunt of J. Q. Adams, wife of Richard Cranch,
mother of Judge William Cranch.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 23
29th. Rain'd in the fore part of the day, but cleared up in the
afternoon. I went with my gun down upon the marshes ; but had no
sport. Game laws are said to be directly opposed to the liberties of
the subject : I am well persuaded that they may be carried too far,
and that they really are in most parts of Europe. But it is equally
certain that where there are none, there never is any game ; so that
the difference between the country where laws of this kind exist and
that where they are unknown must be that in the former very few
individuals will enjoy the privilege of hunting and eating venison, and
in the latter this privilege will be enjoy'd by nobody.
30th. Staid at home the whole day. Doctor Tufts was here in the
morning, on his road to- Boston, and in the evening on his return. I
took a nap in the afternoon and had a strange dream. I cannot con
ceive where my imagination ransack'd the ideas which prevailed at
that time in my mind. This part of the action of the human soul is
yet to be accounted for, and perhaps has not been scrutinized with
so much accuracy as it might have been. In the evening I read
about one half of Mr. Jefferson's Notes ' upon Virginia and was very
much pleased with them ; there is a great deal of learning shown with
out ostentation, and a spirit of philosophy equally instructive and
entertaining. Slst. A very warm day. Rambling all the morning. I met a couple
of French officers, gunning on my uncle's farm. Tn the afternoon I
went with the ladies, to see my Grand-mamma ; ^ return'd at about
dusk ; and closed the last day which I propose to spend in Braintree
for some time. Saturday, September 1st, 1787.
Between nine and ten o'clock this morning I departed from Braintree
with Mrs. Cranch ; we got to Mr. Foster's at about twelve. I went to
Mr. Dawes's office, where I found Cranch and Forbes ; dined with
the former at Mr. Foster's. Stroll'd about town all the afternoon, and
just before sunset I took a walk to Cambridge; where I arrived at
about eight o'clock.
2d. Attended meeting all day. Mr. Hilliard' preach'd; much in
the old way. The meeting house, however, did not look as it was wont.
The same deficiency I found there that I had perceived in the colleges
1 The first English edition of Jefferson's "Notes" was Paris, 1782; the first
American edition, Philadelphia, 1788.
2 Susanna Boylston Adams, daughter of Peter Boylston, of Brookline, bom
March 5, 1699; died AprU 17, 1797. A. N. Adams, Adams Hist.
' Eev. Timothy HUliard (H. C. 1764), pastor of the First Church in Cambridge
from October 27, 1783, until his death. May 9, 1790. Born at Kensington, N. H.,
February 28, 1747; tutor at Harvard 1768-1771; pastor at Barnstable 1771-1788.
Paige, Hist, of Cambridge, p. 298.

24 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
and everywhere in this town. All my classmates gone. I dined
at Mr. Wigglesworth's with Packard. Peggy appears as amiable
as ever. I pass'd the evening with my brothers, and lodg'd with
Tom. 3d. I pass'd about an hour, before dinner, with Mr. Winthrop, the
late librarian. He is much of a politician ; his opinion with respect
to the situation of the country is always favorable. Dined with Mr.
Andrews. Lincoln,^ the Senior, was there ; a young lad of good abilities,
and of great application. In the afternoon I met a couple of French
officers in the College yard, who wish'd to see the library and museum ;
but the butler was not to be found, and they were obliged to defer
the gratification of their curiosity to some future opportunity. In the
evening I sat about an hour in my brothers' chamber. A number of
Juniors were collected in a chamber near there, and were enjoying
all the pleasures of conviviality ; it brought to my mind the frequent
scenes of a similar nature, at which I was present, a short time ago.
An involuntary sigh arose in my breast ; I left the chamber to put a
stop to melancholy recollection, and went to the butler's room ; I
found Mr. Stedman and Mr. Andrews with him, and pass'd the
remainder of the evening very agreeably. Stedman ^ and Harris '
exerted their talents at telling stories, and diverted us very much ;
between nine and ten, I retired with Mr. Andrews and lodg'd with
him. 4th. After breakfast I return'd to College, and on the way stopp'd
at the President's. He was not at home, but Mrs. Willard desired me
to take a letter for Sophy,^ who is now on a visit at Newbury-Port.
At about ten o'clock I went with a number of scholars in the stage
carriage for Boston ; just as we were going off we met Cranch who
had walk'd up from Boston, expecting there would be a meeting of the
* B K this forenoon, but as it is deferr'd till to-morrow, he return'd
with us. I attended Court, but there were no causes of any great
1 Abner Lincoln, born July 17, 1766, in Hingham ; married Hannah, daughter
of General Benjamin Lincoln; was preceptor of Derby Academy 1790-1805;
died June 10, 1826. Hist, of Hingham, vol. i. part ii. pp. 129, 138 ; vol. ii.
p. 481.2 Stedman, the law student with Theophilus Parsons ; see supra, p. 14 note.
5 Harris ; see infra., p. 26 note.
* Sophia Willard married Francis Dana, Jr., August 4, 1802. Paige, Hist, of
Cambridge, p. 692 ; H. Adams, Historical Essays, pp. 102-104, for J. Q. Adams's
opinion of President Willard. " Cranch and myself dined at the President's.
Mrs. Willard is as different in her manners frora the President as can be ; they
form quite a contrast. Mrs. W. is easy and unaffected, and appears not to be
made for cerimony. He is stiff and formal, attached to every custom and
trifling form as much as to what is of consequence; however, he was quite
sociable; much more so indeed than I should have expected." J. Q. Adams,
September 10, 1786.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 25
importance argued. Dined with Mr. Dawes, in company with Mr.
Gardiner,^ who was once au orator on the 4th of July. He is an
original character, but shows much more wit in his private conversa
tion than in his public performances. I had eugaged a place in the
stage to go to Newbury-Port to-raorrow, and I found some difficulty to
disengage myself; however another person applied in the afternoon,
and I retain'd my place for Friday. Pass'd the evening at Mr.
Smith's, wkh Mr. and Mrs. Otis and Dr. Welch ^ and his lady; lodg'd
with my cousin at Mr. Foster's.
Sth. Took an early breakfast, and walk'd with Cranch to Cam
bridge ; we got to Packard's chamber, just after nine o'clock. There
was a meeting of the ^ B K. The president ' and vice-president * being
both absent, Mr. Andrews presided for the meeting ; a number of new
regulations were introduced ; the resignation of the president was read
and accepted. Just before twelve, the officers for the ensuing year
were ballotted. Mr. Ware,* (who arrived just before the choice) was
1 John Gardiner, the Bostonian who served as junior counsel in one of the
celebrated " John Wilkes " cases in England, delivered the oration at Boston on
July 4, 1785. See J. S. Loring, The Hundred Boston Orators, pp. 168-172;
Appleton, Cyclopaedia of American Biography.
^ Presumably Deacon Isaac Smith of the Brattle Square Church in Boston;
Sarauel AUeyne Otis ( H. C. 1759), brother of .Tames Otis, father of Harrison
Gray Otis, one time speaker of the House of Delegates of Massachusetts, Secre
tary of the United States Senate, etc. : Mary, his second wife, daughter of Deacon
Smith. This same group, including Dr. Welsh, is mentioned in the diary Sep
tember 26 and October 14, 1786. Thomas Welsh, M.D. (H. C. 1772), born at
Charlestown June 1, 1752; married Abigail Kent, daughter of a sea-captain of
Charlestown, niece of Deacon Smith ; was an army surgeon at Lexington and
Bunker HiU ; March 5, 1783, delivered the last of the series of orations at the " Old
Brick Church " on the site of Cornhill-square to commemorate the Boston Mas
sacre. In 1787 Dr. Welsh was a physician residing on Sudbury Street in Boston.
In 1799 he was surgeon at Castle Island ; physician at the hospital at Rainsford's
Island for many years ; member of the Boston Board of Health : vice-president
of the Massachusetts Medical Society in 1815 ; a member of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences ; died at Boston February 9, 1831. J. S.
Loring, The Hundred Boston Orators, pp. 154, 155; Wyman, Genealogies of
Charlestown, pp. 571, 1007 ; J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. U. p. 4; etc.
8 Joshua Paine (H. C. 1784), son of Rev. Joshua Paine, of Sturbridge, born
December 5, 1763 ; received the degree of A.M. from Yale in 1787 ; installed over
the church in Charlestown January 10, 1787 ; died February 26, 1788. See Peter
Thacher, Sermon preached at Charlestown, February 29, 1788, on the interment
of Rev. Joshua Paine, Jr. " Mr. Paine was [at Mr. Hilliard's] and appeared
quite happy in his new situation. The people of Charlestown, who never
could be united in their opinions for a minister, are universally very much
attached to him, and his talents and virtues are such as will probably preserve
him that esteem, which he has every where acquired. Mr. H. appears to be
very fond of hira, and proud of him as a brother." J. Q. Adaras, January
15, 1787.
4 Rev. Henry Ware, Vice-President, 1786-1787; President, 1787-1791.
4

26 DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
elected president ; Mr. Harris,^ vice-president ; Abbot,'^ secretary ; and
Phillips,' treasurer. Immediately after this business was finished, we
walk'd in procession to the chapel, preceded by the two orators
{Lowell and Freeman). Freeman ^ gave us an oration containing mis-
1 WiUiam Harris (H. C. 1786), then a student of theology ; later (1802-1816)
rector of St. Mark's in New York and (1811-1829) President of Columbia CoUege.
2 Probably Abiel Abbot (H. C. 1787), born December 14, 1765, at Wilton, N. H. ;
taught at Phillips Andover and at Harvard ; pastor of the church at Coventry,
Conn., 1795-1811 , corapelled to resign for " heresy " ; Principal of Dummer
Academy 1811-1819 ; farmer in Andover ; in 1824 established a school at Chelms
ford ; in 1826 took a farm in Wilton ; 1827 to 1839 pastor at Peterborough, N. H.;
received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Harvard in 1838 ; died in Cam
bridge January 31, 1859, aged ninety-three. Sprague, Annals of the American
Pulpit, vol. viii. pp. 229-241 ; Cleaveland, The First Century of Dummer Acad
emy, p. 42; Abiel Abbot, etc.. Genealogical Register of the Abbot Family
(1847), p. 7.
3 John Phillips (H. C. 1788), a member of the Massachusetts Senate for nearly
twenty years and first Mayor of Boston. See J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. i. pp.
249, 467, 469 ; vol. viii. p. 406.
* April 2, 1787, J. Q. Adams wrote : " Nathaniel Freeman, of Sandwich,
County of Barnstable, was twenty-one the 1st of last month. Few persons are so
liberally gifted by nature as this gentleman — he is of a middle size, but extremely
well proportioned, his countenance is very handsorae and full of dignity. As an ani
mated speaker he shines unrivaled in our class, and for brilliancy of imagination
he is inferior to none of his fellow students. He appears to be well acquainted
with his peculiar excellence, and has therefore chiefly attended to composition;
perhaps he has gone too far in this respect so as to neglect other studies equally
useful. In the languages, in the raatheraatical, and philosophical pursuits, and in
metaphysics, though superior to the generality of tlie students, he is, however,
surpassed by raany individuals. He was formed for an orator, and as such he
will be distinguished whether he plead at the bar or administer at the altar.
With great sensibility he unites great ambition ; but notwithstanding his numer
ous advantages he is as free from vanity as any person of my acquaintance. He
is warm in his friendship, and perhaps rather too keen in his resentments. His
passions are strong, but their violence is counteracted by the generosity of his
heart. He has many imperfections which are the concomitants of huraanity ;
but upon the whole it would be difficult to find at this university a more promis
ing character." The son of General Nathaniel Freeman, M.D., he was born in
Sandwich March 1, 1766 ; studied law ; in 1794 received a unanimous vote, save
one, as Representative to Congress, and served two terms ; died August 22, 1800;
a brigade major for sixteen years of his short life. See Freeman, Hist, of Cape
Cod, vol. i. p. 561; vol. ii. p. 137. The "Mass. Centinel" for July 21, 1787,
gives a highly laudatory account of his oration at the Harvard Commencement.
On May 21 Mr. Adams wrote, " Was employ'd the chief part of the day in
writing my part for Commencement, and have not yet finished it. As I am
conscious of having no talent at rhetorical composition, this allotment has given
me a vast deal of anxiety. As my part is of the same kind with that of Freeman
whose chief talent, among many others, lies in this kind of compositions, I dread
the comparisons which may be made; and although my friendship for him is
such that I shall rejoyce to see him perforra his part with universal approbation
and unbounded applause, yet I cannot help fearing that contrasts may be drawn,
which wiU reflect disgrace upon me." Apparently the fears here expressed were

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 27
cellaneous observations, without any professed subject ; and this like all
his other performances was extremely well written, and equally well de-
hver'd. Lowell ' gave us an encomium upon history, which contained
a number of very good observations, but his delivery was not without a
share of that affectation which, if I may so express myself, is natural to
him. The students attended very generally except those of the Senior
class ; who kept off, from a spirit of envy, all except D.^ We return'd
to the butler's room, and soon after proceeded to Mr. Warland's, where
we had au excellent dinner provided for us. Besides the members of
the present Senior class, there were present Mr. Kendall,' and Mr. B.
Green,* Mr. Ware, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Harris, Packard, Cranch, Free
man, and myself. After passing a couple of hours in friendly mirth and
festivity, at three o'clock we adjourn'd again to Packard's chamber,
where we voted to admit Mr. Bancroft,^ a minister of Worcester ; Mr.
unfounded, as under date of Commencement Day (July 18) he wrote that he " was
complimented and fiattered on every side. One such day every year, would
ruin me." "Harvard College, 1786-1787," in H. Adams, Historical Essays,
p. 99. 1 John Lowell (H. C. 1786), son of Judge John Lowell, became one of the
leaders of the Federalist Party in Massachusetts. He and J. Q. Adams do not
seem to have harmonized when they were both raerabers of the Massachusetts
Senate in 1802 ; John Lowell was then one of the supporters of Timothy Picker
ing; later, a signer ofthe letter of November 26, 1828, demanding of J. Q. Adams
the names of the Federalist leaders charged with wishing a dissolution of the
Union in 1808 ; he also signed the " Appeal to the Citizens of the United States "
of January 28, 1829. J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. i. pp. 252, 259, 468, vol. vi. p. 14 ;
H. Adams, New England Federalism, pp. 45, 91, 185, 410-414; etc.
2 D. did not sustain an enviable reputation in later life. He became a min
ister ; divided the church at Pomfret, Conn., and thereby secured a pastorate
for himself; but became a drunkard and lost it; died 1802. See D. Hunt,
Hist, of Pomfret, Conn., pp. 14, 15.
8 Samuel Kendal (H. C. 1782) was president of the Society, 1781-1783 and
1784-1786. Bom at Sherburne, Mass., July 11, 1753 ; carried to Nova Scotia by
his father; worked on farms till he could purchase the last two years of his
minority ; crossing the Bay of Fundy with a friend in a little boat, he made his
way to Sherburne ; studied under Rev. Elijah Brown ; joined the army when
the war broke out; entered college when twenty-five; supported himself when
there by teaching school at Waltham in the vacation, etc. ; was a pastor at
Weston from November 5, 1783, tUl his death, February 15, 1814. See W. B.
Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit, vol. viii. pp. 176-181.
* Benjamin Green (H. C. 1784), born at Waltham in 1764 ; assistant pastor at
Medway for five years from June 25, 1788 ; at Marblehead ; removed to Maine
in 1798 ; was preceptor at Berwick Academy ; read law ; became a judge, and
was U. S. Marshal for the District of Maine ; died in 1837. See Jameson, Hist.
of Medway, pp. 382, 383. He married a daughter of the Rev. Jonas Clarke, of
Lexington, in whose house John Hancock and Samuel Adams were the night
Paul Revere gave the alarm. Three other daughters married members of the
* B K Society, the Rev. Dr. Ware (1785), Rev. Dr. Fiske (1785), and the Rev. Dr.
Harris (1786).
6 Eev. Aaron Bancroft, D.D. (H. C. 1778), pastor of the Unitarian church in

28 DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Packard'^ of Marlborough ; and Dr. Barker ,° of Hingham, as members
of the Society without the usual forms. On account of the Dudleian
lecture we adjourn'd the meeting till five o'clock, when we again met,
bat there being no further business, the meeting was then dissolved.
The lecture was preach'd by Dr. Howard.' The subject was natural
religion and his text was from \blank']. And we also are his offspring.
The sermon was replete with sound sense and a wholesome doctrine,
as all the sermons that I ever heard from this gentleman have been.
In the evening I called at the President's and at Mr. Wigglesworth's,
and took their letters for Newbury-Port. Lodg'd at college, with
Clarke. Gth. This morning after breakfasting with Mr. Andrews I walk'd
leisurely to Boston. Just before I left Cambridge the parts for exhibi
tion were distributed ; Charles has a dialogue with Emerson.* The
circumstance gave me more pleasure than any allotment that I ever
had myself. As soon as I arrived in Boston, I immediately went to
Court, and found thera engaged upon the trial of one John Shehane for
burglary. The Attorney General ' began, in behalf of the Common
wealth. He examined his witnesses and said but little, observing that
he should wait to see what defence the counsel for the pi'isoner had to
make. Mr. Wetmore ' spoke first for the prisoner ; at the first outset,
Worcester from February, 1786, until his death, August 19, 1839 ; first President
of the American Unitarian Association (1825-18.36).
1 Asa Packard (H. C. 1783), a brother of J. Q. Adams's classmate, Hezekiah
Packard, born in Bridgewater, May, 1758 ; entered the army at sixteen as a
fifer ; wounded at Harlem Heights ; was a pastor at Marlborough from March 23,
1785, to May 12, 1819, with the exception of a few months at the time when the
Unitarian schism occurred ; died at Lancaster, March, 1843. He married Nancy
Quincy. See supra, p. 22; C. Hudson, Hist, of Marlborough, p. 427.
^ Dr. Joshua Barker (H. C. 1772), a physician in Hingham, born March 24, 1753,
at Hingham ; died April 2, 1800. J. Thacher, American Medical Biography,
vol. i. pp. 143, 144.
' Rev. Simeon Howard, D.D. (H. C. 1758), the well-known pastor of the West
Church in Boston, who had recently (1785) received the degree of S.T.D. from
Edinburgh University. The text was Acts xvii. 28. " Doctor Howard then
delivered au excellent sermon [at the installation of Eev. Jonathan Burr at
Sandwich] to the general satisfaction ; full of candor, benevolence, and piety,
with the most liberal sentiments." April 18, 1787, diary of J. Q. Adams.
* Eev. William Emerson (H. C. 1789), only son of Eev. William Emerson, ot
Concord, grandson of Eev. Joseph Emerson, of Maiden ; father of Ealph Waldo
Emerson ; pastor of the First Church in Boston 1799-1811. Later, when a resi
dent of Boston, J. Q. Adams attended this church, and September 13, 1807, his
son Charles Francis Adams was baptized by William Emerson, — receiving his
first name in remembrance of the Charles Adams mentioned in the text, who was
no longer living. See Memoir in 2 Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. i. pp. 254-258.
5 Robert Treat Paine of Boston, prosecutor in the Boston Massacre trial in
1770 ; signer of the Declaration of Independence ; etc.
6 William Wetmore (H. C. 1770), born October 30, 1749, in Middletown, Conn. ;
for many years an attorney at Salera; since 1785 a "Barrister at Law," residing

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 29
he attempted to address the passions of the jury. Mr. Dawes who sat
next to me observ'd that this was a bad omen. The pathetic, he said,
Bhould always be reserved for the latter part of the plea. A man should
gradually grow warm (said he) as he advances in his subject ; like a
wheel which acquires heat by rolling. The evidence which Mr. Wet
more produced was very favorable to the prisoner. If true, it proved
an alibi ; and it proved likewise that Shehane had bought the arti
cles which he was charged with stealing ; but they told so many dif
ferent stories, and the Attorney General produced such evidence that
they were perjured, that I think no stress could be laid upon it. Mr.
Tudor ^ spoke much at length in the afternoon ; and very ably. Mr.
Paine, closed for the Commonwealth, at about seven in the evening.
All the Judges '^ (there were four present) appeared to be of opinion that
the prisoner was guilty. At half past eight, the jury was pack'd, and
the Court adjourn'd for an hour ; but the jury had not then agreed upon
a verdict; upon which the Court adjourn'd till nine o'clock to-morrow
morning. I was so entirely engaged the whole day in hearing this trial,
which was very interesting, that I had no time to go any where else.
Between ten and eleven at night I carried my bundle to Mr. Colman's,'

in 1787 in Boston ; later a Judge in the Court of Common Pleas of Suffolk County
and, after the reorganization of the courts in 1811, ot the middle of the six
circuits into which Massachusetts was divided — including Suffolk, Essex, and
Middlesex counties ; he died Noveraber 19, 1830, in Boston. W. T. Davis, Hist.
of the Judiciary of Mass., pp. 202-204, 220, 295-297, 308 ; Fleet's Alraanack for
1787 gives a list of twenty " Barristers at Law " in Massachusetts, of forty-nine
" Attornies at Law practising at the Supreme Judicial Court," and of fourteen
" Attornies practising at the Comraon Pleas." Both WiUiam Tudor and William
Wetmore belonged to this highest order of "Barristers," the qualiflcations of
which are given by W. T. Davis (pp. 295-297).
1 William Tudor (1750-1819) had studied law under John Adams, and was a
classmate and intimate friend of Theophilus Parsons ; later, in 1802, he was a
coUeague of J. Q. Adams as a Commissioner of Bankruptcy in Massachusetts
and as a State Senator. He was one of the founders of the Massachusetts
Historical Society. See Memoir by his son in 2 Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. viii. pp.
285-325 ; also 1 Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. vi. pp. 149-154 ; see also Johu Adams,
Works, vol. x. p. 432, for a long correspondence from 1816 to 1819 on the history
of the Revolution ; J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. i. pp. 250, 253 ; etc.
2 In 1787 there were five justices on the bench of the Supreme Court of Massa
chusetts : William Cushing, of Scituate ; Nathaniel Peaslee Sargeant, of Haver
hill ; David Sewall, of York ; Increase Sumner, of Roxbury ; and Francis Da na, of
Cambridge ; the latter had not sufficiently recovered from his illness to attend.
Fleet's Almanack for 1787. See Proceedings, xiii. 295, 296 for brief sketches of
the members of the Court.
* A line of stages ran from Casco Bay to Georgia three times a week ; the
stage for the east left " Col. Colraan's adjoining the Mill Bridge," i, e,, the bridge
on Hanover Street over the Mill Creek which has since been filled in. Fleet's
Almanack for 1788, etc. See Winsor, Memorial Hist, of Boston, vol. ii. p. xiii,
for a map.

30 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
from whose house the stage sets off, and I took a bed there, in order
to be ready to go very early in the morning.
7th. At three in the morning I was roused, and got into the carriage
in company with a merchant of Portsmouth, and a sea captain of
Newbury-Port, lately arrived from South Carolina. Nothing very
interesting occurred in the course of our journey. We dined at Ipswich
and reach'd Newbury-Port, between two and three o'clo. the afternoon.
After taking possession of my room at Mrs. Leathers's, I went to Mr. Par
sons's office, where I found Thomson and Townsend.'^ I soon went to
see my friend Little, whom I found at Dr. Swett's.^ I pass'd an hour
there, and then went with Little, and deliver'd the chief of the letters
with which I was charged. Little came home with me to my lodgings,
and pass'd part of the evening with me. As I was up so early in the
morning, and was somewhat fatigued with my journey, I retired early
to bed.
8th. I arose in the morning quite refresh'd, and immediately after
breakfast went and took my station in the office. I began upon the
first volume of Robertson's History of Charles the V.' which Mr. Par
sons recommended as containing an account of the feudal institutions,
from which were derived many of the laws which are now established
in different parts of Europe. I have already read the book ; but
thought it would be best to peruse it again. I was do where this day,
except at the office and my lodgings. Saturday evening : rather tedious.
1 Horatio Townsend (H. C. 1783), born in Medfield March 29, 1763; opened
his law office there ; in 1791 his name appears in the list of attorneys practising
at the Supreme Court of Massachusetts ; in 1799 he was appointed special j ustice
ofthe Court of Common Pleas and soon after clerk of the Courts ; he was removed
by Governor Gerry in 1811 ; was re-appointed the next year, and held the office
till his death, July 10, 1826. His residence was in Dedham. Hurd, Hist, of
Norfolk County, p. 15; Tilden, Hist, of Medfield, p. 498.
2 Dr. John Barnard Swett (H. C. 1771), descended frora one of the original
grantees of Newbury, but boru at Marblehead June 1, 1752, where his father was
a merchant. He was adopted and educated by his great-uncle the Rev. John
Barnard, of Marblehead, for whom he was named and who grieved when he faUed
to become a minister. He studied surgery at Edinburgh for three years under
Dr. William Cullen, living there at the time of Hume and Robertson ; served as
surgeon on an expedition to the Falkland Islands ; visited the hospitals of France
and England; returned to America in 1778; served as a surgeon in the army
under General Sullivan in Rhode Island and in the expedition to the Penobscot,
returning from the latter, after the destruction ot the fleet, on foot to the Kenne
bec; settled in Newbury in 1780. He died in August, 1796, in combating an
epidemic of yellow fever that was terrorizing the town. He was a meraber ot
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences ; Corresponding Secretary ot the
Massachusetts Medical Society ; and took a very active interest in the fraternity
of Freemasons at Newburyport. James Thacher, American Medical Biography,
vol. ii. pp. 106-110 (article signed D. A. T. — is this Dudley Atkins Tyng?).
Moses Little was studying medicine in Dr. Swett's office.
' The first edition was published in 1769.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 31
9th. I did not attend meeting this day, for several reasons. At home
the whole day ; it was extremely long and tedious. I amused myself
with reading in the first volume of Blair's '¦ lectures. I have already
perused the work ; but 1 think it deserves a second reading. Retired
early to bed, merely from ennui.
10th. Attended at the office the whole day. Continued Robertson.
Thomson engaged this morning to take the charge of one of the town
schools,^ for a year. It will interfere very much with his attendance
at the office. His father,' who is very rigid in his religious opinions,
and probably entertains an unfavourable idea of the profession of the
law, is very averse to his son's engaging in it ; and takes every oppor
tunity he can to discourage his son from the study ; and it is supposed
he took this method among others to draw off his attention from this
pursuit. But he will certainly fail in the attempt, and I doubt whether
Thomson will keep the school, more than half the year through. In
the afternoon we walk'd to Mr. Atkins's, and found Mr. John Tracy *
with him; we pass'd part of the evening at Mr. Tracy's house. I
there met with a French gentleman with whom I convers'd about half
an hour. Return'd home between eight and nine in the evening.
llth. Thomson began his attendance upon the school this morning
and attended at the office all the leisure time he had. If he should
1 Lectures on Rhetoric and BeUes Lettres by the Rev. Hugh Blair, D.D.,
pastor of the High Church in Edinburgh and a lecturer at the University. Lon
don, 1783, 2 vols.
- The North School on Bartlett's Lane, now Winter Street. The building is
still standing, having been a dwelling-house since 1826. S. A. Emery, Reminis
cences of a Nonagenarian, p. 220 ; J. J. Currier, " Ould Newbury," p. 613.
* Deacon Thomas Thompson (about forty-five years of age) was a deacon in
the church of the Rev. Sarauel Spring — the Second Congregational or " North "
Church in Newburyport — the one formed in 1769 by the amicable withdrawal
of the more orthodox from the " First Religious Society of Newburyport," on the
installation of the Rev. Thoraas Cary. Sarauel Spring, Discourse delivered
March 13, 1808, iu consequence of the death ot Deacon Thomas Thompson;
The One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the First Religious Society, pp.
28, 29, etc.
* John Tracy (H. C. 1771), in 1787 a man ot thirty-four ; born AprU 19, 1753,
married in 1775; a Justice ot the Peace; an Adjutant-General ofthe militia; a
member of St. John's Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, a vestryman in St.
Paul's (Episcopal) Church for over thirty-five years ; died March 1, 1815. He had
seen a brief service in the army under General Sullivan in Rhode Island, and
like his brother, Nathaniel Tracy, had prospered as a merchant during the early
days ot the war and later lost heavily. Yet he still dwelt on aristocratic High
Street in one of its finest residences, secured to his children by his father.
Judge John Lowell built this house, the duplicate of the " Timothy Dexter
House," which stands beside it. Rev. David Tappan, pastor at West Newbury,
and Dr. J. B. Swett were his classmates; see supra, pp. 12, 30. See Currier,
"Ould Newbury," pp. 548, 577-584. lUustrations of both houses wiU be found
there.

32 DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
make a practice of this it must necessarily be essentially injurious to
his health. I dined this day with Townsend ; pass'd the evening at
home in reading and writing.
12th. Training day for the alarm list. From sixteen to sixty years
the inhabitants of this Commonwealth are subjected to the duties of
militia-men. As a student of Harvard University, I shall be exempted
for three years, for all the sons of Harvard are considered as students
at that seminary untill they commence masters of arts. ''This forenoon
I finish'd the first volume of Robertson's Charles V. and, as I read now
iu connection with my studies, I shall not proceed with the other vol
umes. In the afternoon I took up Vattel's ^ Law of Nature and of
Nations. '
13th. Dined with Dr. Kilham^ at Mr. Carter's. This is a very
friendly, obliging old gentleman, about seventy-three years of age, as I
collected from his conversation. He is very sociable, aud is a great gen
ealogist. He gave me a much more circumstantial account of my an
cestry, for four or five generations back, than I had ever known before ;
and I am told he can give the same kind of information to almost any
body else. He has two sons with him ; both I believe between twenty-
five and thirty years old and one daughter.' One of his daughters was
married in the beginning of the summer, to Mr. W. Smith of Boston ;
and his eldest son proposes to be married in the spring to Miss Eppes
Cutts, who has made her appearance heretofore in this journal. Her
sister. Miss Nancy Cutts, is now upon a visit at Mr. Carter's, and dined
with us. I think she is handsomer, and that her manners are easier
1 Vattel, Le droit des gens, etc. Neufch^tel, 1758.
2 Dr. Daniel Kilham (H. C. 1777), a fellow boarder at Mrs. Leathers's. Bom
at Wenham, he was prepared for college at Dummer Academy, studied medicine
with Dr. Holyoke, of Salem, disliked the work ot his profession, and decided to
be an apothecary at Newburyport. In 1804 he retired in iU health to his farm
in Wenham ; died October 12, 1841, aged eighty-eight ; was never married. He
was one of the founders of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. See
M. O. Allen, Hist, of Wenham, pp. 145-148.
" Mary Carter married Edward Cutts, brother ot Miss Eppes Cutts, April 17,
1796 ; hved in Portsraouth, N. H. ; died in North Hartland, Vt., March 11, 1840,
aged seventy-four. Nathaniel Carter, Jr., married Eliza Eppes Cutts May 1,
1788 ; died in Kennebunk June 10, 1842. His wife was born in Portsmouth, N. H.,
May 5, 1765, and died in Kennebunk June 23, 1857. Anna Holyoke Cutts, boru
in November, 1767; died August 30, 1788. C. H. C. Howard, Genealogy of the
Cutts Family, pp. 42, 43, 79, 80. The younger son of Mr. Carter was probably
Mr. Joshua Carter, a ship-owner in Newburyport, who represented the town in
the Legislature in 1799, and took an active part in the erection of a new meet
ing-house for the First Parish Church in 1800. J. J. Currier, "Ould Newbury,"
pp. 442, 445, 711, 712 ; Hurd, Hist, of Essex County, p. 1741. WiUiam Smith
(H. C. 1775), son of Isaac and Ehzabeth (Storer) Smith, born June 19, 1755, in
Boston; married Hannah Carter; died April 6, 1816; a merchant in Boston,
having, in 1789, a store on State Street and a house on Court Street; a kinsman
of Mrs. Abigail Adams ; a brother of Rev. Isaac Smith (see supra, p. 20).

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 33
than those of her sister. How the comparison might be in mental qual
ifications I am not able to decide. I was alone this afternoon in the
office, as Townsend and Thomson were both goue to see the manoeuvres
of the four companies of militia of the train band, who were this day
forming themselves for soldiers. In the evening I pass'd an hour at Mr.
Tufts's. Mrs. Tufts is very unwell.
14th. The weather for this week past has been from day to day
alternately very warm and very cold. These sudden transitions, which
in this country are very common, are almost too powerful for our con
stitutions : to foreigners they are almost intolerable, and I believe
even the inhabitants, who from their birth have been used to them,
suffer more from them than they are aware. This forenoon I received
a letter from my friend Forbes, enclosing one for Miss Jones, and in
the evening I called and delivered that which was consigned to my care.
Mr. Parsons arrived just before dark from Boston, and was the bearer
of a short letter from Cranch. The Supreme Court have adjourn'd
from Boston till some time in December. Shehane, the fellow whose
trial I attended, was found guilty, and is now under sentence of death.
But all the prisoners who were convicted of treason have received a
full and free pardon. Is it much to the credit of our government that a
man who has stole 30£ worth of plate should die for the offence, while
others commit treason and murder with impunity?^ I pass'd the even
ing and supp'd with Townsend. We amused ourselves by playing
backgammon. At about ten I retired home.
loth. Dined with Townsend and Thomson at Mr. Parsons's. I
finished this day the first volume of Vattel. The first book treats
of the duties of a nation with respect to itself : the second of its obli
gations towards others. His sentiments and principles appear to be
dictated by good sense and real virtue. They appear all to derive from
that law of nature, which every person of common sense and common
honesty must wish to prevail : — Do as you would be done by. Mr.
Parsons endeavoured to persuade Thomson to give up his school ; he
told him it would infallibly either murder his health or his studies ; he
himself had tried it for two years and it had almost ruin'd him. My
tmnks at length arrived from Boston, and I shall at least have more
1 The allusion is to the exercise of general clemency on the part of Governors
Bowdoin and Hancock to those concerned in what is known as Shays's Eebellion.
This uprising had been suppressed during the month of February, 1787. The
trials of those concerned in it took place during the following Marcli, and four
teen were convicted and sentenced to death. Eight were pardoned, and the
remainder reprieved by Governor Bowdoin during his term of office. Governor
Bowdoin was succeeded by Govemor Hancock in May, 1787, and a final pardon
was issued by him on the 12th of September, two days before the date of the
entry in the text, covering the cases of nearly all under sentence. See Barry,
Hist, of Mass., vol. iii. p. 255 ; Fiske, Critical Period, pp. 183, 184 ; Minot, Hist.
ofthe Insurrections in Massachusetts in 1786, pp. 171-188.
6

34 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
convenience than I have as yet had here. Little pass'd the evening
with me at my lodgings ; and his company is always agreeable. I
received a letter from Braintree. The French fleet have received
orders to sail immediately for Brest, and it is added they are enjoined
to avoid all English fleets. It is conjectur'd that the affairs in Holland
are now arrived at a crisis, and it is not improbable that England and
France will support the opposite parties.-^
16 th. I took a walk this morning as far as Dr. Tucker's meeting
house ; ^ but it was to little purpose, unless the exercise of the walk
was sufficiently beneficial to me to compensate my trouble, for Mr.
Kimball happened to preach, and delivered the same sermon which I
heard him read at Haverhill four weeks ago. As I did not incline
to hear the afternoon sermon twice, I attended at Mr. Carey's.' This
gentleman is a good preacher ; but appears extremely indolent. His
manner is also far from being graceful. After meeting I went with
Dr. Kilham to his shop ; and he lent me a number of pieces of good
. music. He has a very pretty taste in this art, though he does not
perform upon any instrument. Just before dark I took a walk with
Townsend, and called in at Mr. Atkins's. He himself was not at home ;
his mother and sister were.^ Mrs. Atkins is a very sensible, agreeable
1 See Lecky, Hist, of England in the Eighteenth Century, vol. v. p. 78. No
vember 10, 1785, a treaty of alliance was formed between France and Holland, as a
result of the enmity which had sprung up between England and Holland during the
American war. The Prince ot Orange, the hereditary Stadtholder, favored Eng
land. Septeraber, 1786, as a result ot difficulties in HoUand, the States deprived
the Prince ot the military authority. In June, 1787, they arrested the Princess of
Orange on the way to the Hague. Her brother, Frederick WiUiam II., king of
Prussia, interfered; and the day after this entry in the diary (September 16)
Utrecht surrendered to the Prussian army without any attempt at defence.
Prussia and England guaranteed the hereditary stadtholderate ; and, for the
moment, English influence became predominant over French influence in the
Netherlands. 2 Dr. Tucker's meeting-house was in Newbury, about a mile trom New
buryport. It was the first church in the town. See J. J. Currier, Hist, of
Newbury, pp. 335-344; Eev. John S. Popkin, Sermons preached May 4 and
September 17, 1808.
s The Eev. Thomas Cary (H. C. 1761), bom in Charlestown in 1745, had been
the pastor ot the first parish in Newburyport for nearly twenty years. This was
the church over which the Rev. John Lowell, ancestor of the Lowell family of
Massachusetts, had been the first pastor and to which, in the present century,
Colonel T. W. Higginson and Rev. R. C. Waterston gave brief periods of service.
On the settlement of Mr. Cary, an Arminian and Calvinist schism took place,
the church losing a third of its members who were Calvinistically inclined.
The legal profession was well represented here — Judge Bradbury, Judge Green
leaf, and Mr. Theophilus Parsons being merabers ot the congregation. See Anni
versary ofthe Meeting House of the First Religious Society in Newburyport,
October 31, 1901 ; Currier, " Ould Newbury," pp. 430-447 ; etc.
* Dudley Atkins (H. C. 1781) changed his name in 1790 to Dudley Atkins
Tyng to inlierit from Sarah Tyng Winslow an estate in Tyngsborough. In 1787

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 35
old lady, whose conversation unites the vivacity of youth with the
sound judgment of experienced age. Her daughter appears to be
about twenty. She may be more, or less, for near that period of life .
the countenance retains nearly the same appearance longer, perhaps,
than at any other age. She has fine eyes, and a very pleasing symmetry
of features ; but not an handsome set of teeth. We past about an hour
there ; Townsend stopp'd at my lodgings, and tarried the remainder of
the evening here. I received a couple of letters from Cambridge ;
one from Packard, and the other from Clarke,^ who is now a Senior.
Retired late.
17th. Three of us in the office were employ'd the whole day in tak
ing copies of the writs which are to be entered at the next Court, which
will sit in this town next week. General Freeman '' pass'd through
town this day, and came to visit Mr. Parsons. In the afternoon I took
a walk with Little. At home all the evening. Weather very cold.
18th. We had some more writing to do this forenoon. Mr. Parsons
went to Exeter, where the Supreme Court for the State of New Hamp
shire are now sitting. At twelve o'clock^ I attended Townsend before
Mr. Justice Tracy. One M'Intier had prosecuted a Sarah Bayley for
defamation in saying that he was a thief. The parties could not agree.
They had not their evidence ready, and the Court was adjourned till
three o'clock. Townsend and I dined with his worship. Mrs. Tracy '
he was twenty-seven years of age and a Justice of the Peace. Descended from
Govemor Dudley, he had been a tutor in the family of Mrs. Selden of Virginia,
and studied law under her brother, Judge Mercer. His father, Dudley Atkins,
represented Newburyport in the Legislature at the time of the Stamp Act, but
was a royalist; his house, it is said, would have been mobbed except for the
presence of raind and tact of his wife, Sarah Kent Atkins. She was left a widow
with six children in 1767, struggled raany years against poverty, lost one son at
sea, and saw two daughters married. Eecently she had purchased a house in
Newburyport, where she lived with a sou and a daughter, Eebecca. She died
October 16, 1810. Eebecca Atkins, born March, 1767, died unmarried, June 23,
1842, lived on High Street, and was known as the " friend of all the young people of
the town." In 1795 D. A. Tyng was appointed by Washington Collector
of the Port of Newburyport, but lost the place under the Jeffersonian regime ; is
best known as reporter of the decisions of the Massachusetts Supreme Court
from 1806 to 1822. See Memoir by his friend John Lowell in 3 Mass. Hist. Coll.,
vol. ii. pp. 280-295 ; F. H. Atkins, Joseph Atkins : The Story of a Family, pp.
57, 87-96 ; S. A. Emery, Eerainiscences of a Nonagenarian, pp. 166-168.
1 Edward Clarke (H. C. 1788) bom September 10, 1770, in Boston; entered
the law office of John Lowell; died July 5, 1791, at Lancaster.
2 General Nathaniel Freeman, ot Sandwich, a well-known Eevolutionary
patriot and versatile man, student ot medicine and of law, distinguished as a
physician, an orator, and a soldier, Brigadier-General of the militia ot Barnstable
County from 1781 to 1793. His son Nathaniel was a classmate of J. Q. Adams.
See snpra, p. 26.
' John Tracy married Margaret Laughton May 2, 1775. She was born May
12, 1755, and died November 9, 1806. Currier, " Ould Newbury," p. 579. See
also p. 581 for the opinion of the Marquis de Chastellux.

36 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
is an agreeable woman, still handsome, but with her share of vanity.
At three o'clock the Court was again opened : the parties had agreed to
compromise the matter, and Bayley is to pay the costs. Neither of
them, I believe, could be easily defamed, but had the case been tried I
suspect the plaintiff would have recovered damages. After this weighty
affair was brought to a conclusion, I took a walk with the Squire and
Townsend about three miles out of town, to one Sohier's, where we eat
a couple of fine muskmelons ; it was dark before we got back to Mr.
Tracy's. We stopp'd there and play'd backgammon about two hours;
after which Townsend and I returned to our homes.
19 th. The equinoctial storm, which has been gathering in the
heavens for a week past, has now appeared with all its violence and
rage. Stedman arrived in town last evening, and has attended in the
office this day. He brought me no letters from Cambridge, but left all
friends well. Vt'^e had a violent debate in the office, between Stedman
and Townsend, upon a point of law. The contest began by a differ
ence of opinion between Townsend and me. Stedman was on my side
of the question, and the dispute soon center'd in them ; books were
produced and authorities brought which both parties declared to be
plump in their favour respectively. Townsend at last finding three
against him, (for Thomson had sided likewise) got out of patience, and
hinted to us that we could not understand the meaning of the terms,
as we had been so short a time in the office ; so we left him to battle
it with Stedman. An appeal was agreed upon to Mr. Parsons. Town-
send, however, after shifting his ground several times at length discov
ered that there was nothing in the case but a misunderstanding ot
words, and appears at present to give up the point. But he is fond
of these debates, and fonder of his own opinion. Thomson did not
appear in the afternoon ; this, however, was quite peaceable. The
weather was such as rendered a fire in the office very comfortable.
I was at home all the evening, reading Rousseau's confessions.-^ This
is the most extraordinary book I ever read in my life.
20th. I expected this morning when I waked up to hear the winds
whistle and the tempests roar ; but all was still and calm ; the storra
was violent but short. We were pretty still this day at tbe office ; but
four at a time is certainly too many. Some one or other of us is talk
ing almost all the time, and consequently reading does not proceed
rapidly. Little came and pass'd half an hour with me in the evening;
but was engaged for the remainder of it. I copied some extracts, aud
wrote a letter.
21st. Quite still in the office this day. I read a good deal. This
afternoon Amory arrived ; and thus we are all five here. I called at
Mr. Carter's and desired him to take charge of a letter to W.
1 First edition, Geneva, 1782.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 37
Cranch. I pass'd an hour or two with Mr. Tufts. A very beautiful
evening. 22d. This forenoon I finish'd Vattel. The third book treats of War,
and the fourth of Peace ; much in the same manner as he treats the
other parts of his subject. " Honesty is the best policy " says nature ;
and so says Vattel. Mr. Parsons returned from Exeter before dinner.
I intended to have gone to Haverhill this afternoon, to spend the Sun
day there ; but the weather was such as threatened a storm, and I
gave up my plan. I went up with Townsend, Stedman, Amory and
Stacey ^ to Sohier's tavern about three miles out of town, where we had
some fine melons. We return'd in the dark. I pass'd the evening, and
supp'd with Townsend.
23d. Attended upon Mr. Carey the whole day. His manner is not
very agreeable ; but his stile is much better than common. Townsend
called here in the evening. Amory set off this morning for Boston.
They say it is impossible for him to stay three days at a time in one
place. He has been absent six or eight months and promised Mr. Par
sons some time ago that he would come, and be very steady all through
the winter. He arrived here on Friday, has not yet been ten njiuutes
together at the office, and now is gone again. He is gone however upon
business, and intends to return to-morrow.
24th. Townsend went to Topsfield to hear a cause tried before a
justice. Stedman has been hunting all over the neighbourhood for his
horse, who disappeared on Saturday. Thomson has a whole week
respite from his school ; but did not come to the office in the afternoon.
I was there alone. Amory return'd from Boston beween four and five,
and at about six set off for Exeter. To-morrow he goes to Portsmouth
and Wednesday morning he intends to be here again. Amidst the noise
of the office, which was greater than usual because this is the last day
before the sitting of the Court of Common Pleas in this town, I made
out however to read about eighty pages of Blackstone's Introduction,
and making a few extracts. I copied others in the evening till quite
late, and at this moment my fingers are so fatigued with writing that
I positively must throw by my pen.
25th. I have given up all pretences to study any more this week.
The Court of Common Pleas sits here ; and I shall attend that. It
was near one o'clock this day before they met, and then they immedi
ately adjourn'd till the afternoon. I was there after dinner. Nothing
was done but calling over the actions. Judge Greenleaf^ gave a very
1 George Stacey (H. C. 1784), born in Ipswich ; studied law; died 1808.
2 Judge Benjarain Greenleaf (H. C. 1751), born in Newburyport March 19,
1732 ; died January 13, 1799. Before and during the Eevolutionary War, a mem
ber of the Executive Council ; now, 1787, Chief Justice of the Court of Common
Pleas for Essex County. He was the father-in-law of Theophilus Parsons. E. V.

38 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
short charge to the grand jury, in which he observed to them that
frequently persons were charged, by malicious eneraies, of crimes
whereof they were entirely innocent ; and he recommended to them to
be upon their guard, so as not to be deceived by false accusations of
that nature. The Court adjourned by five o'clock. I went and took a
walk with Mr. Symmes ^ and Townsend. Symmes was sworn in at
the Court of Common Pleas this time last year; but has not, I believe,
an immediate prospect of makiug his fortune in the profession. I was
with Townsend at his lodgings till between seven and eight o'clock.
Mr. Bradbury ^ this afternoon told me a piece of news which shock'd
me exceedingly, — that S. W. was rusticated; and for a crime which
is the more infamous because it can be attributed neither to youthful
levity nor to the extravagance of ebriety.
26th. Attended Court the whole day. Little was done in the fore
noon except calling over the cases. But in the afternoon, a cause was
tried by jury, between one Smith and James Brown. Smith had
attached certain lands as the estate of Brown's father, to satisfy a debt
due to him : Brown claim'd those lands as his property, and produced
in court two deeds, by which his father had made over the lands to
him. The question to be tried by the jury was, whether those deeds
were valid, or whether they were given merely to evade the payment
of the father's debts, and in order to secure himself a maintenance
during the remainder of his life. Mr. Parsons, for the plaintiff, proved
that for the real estate of the father, whicli at that time was assessed at
£450, James had only allowed him about 230, aud that the chief of this
Smith, Hist, of Newburyport, p. 347 ; J. J. Currier, " Ould Newbury," pp. 332,
455 ; J. E. Greenleaf, Genealogy of the Greenleaf Family, pp. 65, 150, 426-428,
etc.; W. T. Davis, Hist, of the Judiciary of Mass., p. 130.
1 WUliam Symmes (H. C. 1780) had been a law student with Mr. Parsons.
The son ot the Eev. WUliam Symmes, D.D., pastor of the church at North
Andover, he was born May 26, 1760 ; died in Portland January, 1807 ; never
married. On November 15 ot this year (1787) the young lawyer wrote his well-
known letter to Peter Osgood, voicing the opposition to the Federal Constitution,
and yet asking for it a candid consideration. His reasoning against the Constitu
tion secured him au election to the Massachusetts Convention, and he was there
one of the ablest and most interesting opponents of its adoption in its existing
form. After the introduction of amendments subsequently, by Governor Hancock,
Mr. Symmes withdrew his opposition, and, unlike his colleagues, voted for the
Constitution. North Andover did not follow his lead, becarae strongly anti-
federal, and, it is said, made life uncomfortable for him, so that he removed to
Portland as early as 1790. See speeches of January 22 and February 6, 1787, in
Elliot, Debates, vol. ii. pp. 70-75, 172-174 ; Memorial Discourse by the Hon.
Nathan Hazen; Hurd, Hist, of Essex Countj', pp. 1579-1581,1667, 1675-1677;
Abiel Abbot, Hist, of Andover, p. 149 ; J. A. Vinton, Symmes Memorial, pp.
59-61. ^ Probably Theophilus Bradbury, whose son George Bradbury was a student
in Harvard College. S. W. was for sorae years a teacher in Vermont ; died at
the age of seventy-nine iu an insane asylum.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 39
was by paying debts for which he had been previously hound with his
father. Mr. Sullivan,^ for the defendant, endeavoured to show that
such deductions were to be made from this estate as would reduce it to
about 280£, and that some other charges ought to be added to what
James had allowed his father, which would make his contract quite
equitable. The pleadings were very interesting, and it was after seven
in the evening before the case was given to the jury. The Court then
adjourned till the morning, at nine o'clock.
27th. The jury upon the case of Smith and Brown gave their verdict
in favour of the plaintiff, and declared the deeds fraudulent. The next
jnry case which came on was between William Bartlett and Daniel
Dodge, both of this town. Dodge, who is a mason, engaged to build
and plaister a brick house for Bartlett ^ at a certain price, in the year
1 James Sullivan, forty-three years of age, a Barrister at Law resident in
Boston, had resigned a place on the bench of the Supreme Court to practise his
profession, and was already well known as a raember ot the Legislature, of the
Executive Council, and of the Congress of the Confederation. Later he was
Attorney-General (1790-1807) and Governor of Massachusetts (1807-1808). In
1793, when the question ot the neutrality between England and France, the
guarantee of the West India Islands, the reception of Genet, and the revocation
of the exequiatur of Consul Duplaine were being agitated, J. Q. Adams wrote
two series of essays in the Boston " Centinel " under the signatures of Marcellus
and Columbus. James Sullivan, then Attorney- Gen eral, replied in the " Chron
icle " under the signatures of Junius and Americanus. J. Q. Adams retorted
nnder the signature of Barneveldt ; and the highly controversial papers of
Americanus and of Barneveldt often appeared in the same issue. Attorney-
General Sullivan was not offended by this sharp criticism, but, on the contrary,
employed the young and waiting lawyer in several cases. Their support of
Jefferson's embargo poUcy produced political as well as personal friendliness be
tween the two, when J. Q. Adams was a Senator and James Sullivan, Governor
ot Massachusetts ; when Governor SulUvan died, J. Q. Adams was requested by
the family to prepare an obituary notice, which appeared in the " Chronicle " on
the day of the funeral, and has been reprinted by T. C. Amory in his Lite of
James Sullivan, vol. ii. pp. 320-325. See J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. i. pp. 27,
28, 502, 542; T. C. Amory, Life of James Sullivan, vol. i. pp. 288-290; vol. ii.
p. 318. Jaraes Sullivan was the first president of the Massachusetts Historical
Society. See 2 Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. i. pp. 252-254 ; also T. C. Amory, vol. ii.
p. 157. See infra, p. 56.
" WiUiam Bartlett (1748-1841), from a poor boy apprenticed to learn a trade,
was, at forty, one of the wealthiest merchants and ship-owners in Newburyport.
A man of au iron constitution and of a sturdy and unyielding Calvinism, as " a
matter of conscience " strictly deraanding " frora the poor as well as rich, a prompt
compliance with contracts," he was a munificent donor to Andover Theological
Seminary, and was even ready to release freely a promising apprentice like Pat
rick Tracy Jackson that he might better his fortunes by a voyage to India.
E. V. Smith, History of Newburyport, pp. 349-351 ; J. J. Currier, " Ould New
bury," pp. 162, 709-712. Mr. Eben F. Stone, at the Two Hundred and Fiftieth
Anniversary of the Settlement of Newbury (p. 100), noted that Newburyport at
this time possessed two classes of rich men, — Dalton, Hooper, Tracy, Jackson,
John Coffin Jones, men of wealth and of education, living in ease and elegance

40 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. "
1778. In the course of his doing the work the paper currency depre
ciated considerably, and the question now is whether Dodge is to be
held to the original sum, or whether the monies he received at different
times is to be reduced by the scale of depreciation at those times. Par
sons was for the plaintiff, Bradbury ^ for the defendant. Parsons, in the
midst of his plea, broke off and proposed to leave the matter to a refer
ence. The parties agreed ; and the jury, after being employ'd four or
five hours upon this cause, were entitled only to half-fees. However,
they were probably gainers by the circumstance, for the case was so
difficult and intricate that they would have found it very difficult to
agree upon a verdict.
After this was over two negroes and two white men were arraigned
for different thefts. All of them pleaded guilty ; and were sentenced
to whipping, hard labour, &c. At about dusk the Court adjourned to
nine in the morning. I dined at Mr. Tufts's. Thomson, Little, and
Putnam passed the evening with me. Putnam came to apply again
for admission into Mr. Parsons's office. There was a bar meeting
this evening, and the matter was to be laid before them. I saw Mr.
Thaxter after the meeting was over, but he would not tell me what their
determination was.
28th. I learnt this day that the bar determined last evening to abide
by the rule which they had adopted some years ago, which was that
there should not be more than three students in an office at once.
Putnam therefore cannot be received by Mr. Parsons. I understand
he has this day applied to Mr. Bradbury, who will receive him imme
diately. ' Court sat all day, but finally adjourn'd this afternoon, till
next April, when they will sit at Ipswich. There was one trial by
jury this forenoon. It was between Parson Murray,^ of this town, and
on the hiUside ; Bartlett, Brown, Coombs, Marquand, etc., the new rich ot that
day, building their homes within sight of their wharves and storehouses.
1 Theophilus Bradbury (H. C. 1757), Barrister at Law and Justice of the Peace
and the Quorum, resident at Newburyport ; later member of Congress (1795-1797)
and Justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts (1797-1803). Theophilus
Parsons had studied law in his office in Falmouth {i. e. Portland) before it was
burnt by the British ; after that both men returned to Newburyport.
* Eev. John Murray was the pastor of the Presbyterian Church ot Newbury
port, forraed in response to the preaching of George Whitefield. This case in
the law court was an incident in a long struggle of over flfty years. In 1749
Jonathan Parsons, then pastor, complained in a letter to Elisha Williams in Lon
don that for refusing to " pay taxes to ministers on whose ministry they never
attend, they were ' dragged about upon the ground,' ' dressed up in bearskins and
worried,' were thrown upon carts, hauled through streets, and imprisoned with a
— ' Lie there tUl you have paid the utmost farthing.' " By 1764 the question was
settled so far as the inhabitants ot Newburyport were concerned. But non
residents did not have so clear a case. Their rights depended here upon the in
terpretation of the third article of the Declaration of Eights in the Constitution
of 1780, which provided " that the several towns, parishes, precincts, and other

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 41
the inhabitants of Salisbury. One of the people of Salisbury attended
always at Mr. Murray's meeting, but was assessed in his own town :
the question was whether his tax should be paid to Mr. Murray, or
whether it should go to the support of the minister of Salisbury. The
jury brought in a verdict in favour of Mr. Murray. A similar case has
two or three times been determined iu the same manner, I think very
improperly ; and so thinks Mr. Parsons. In the afternoon a man was
convicted of stealing a couple of sheep, for which he was fined thirty
shillings. Parsons said in England he would have been hung ; but I a
little doubt. I dined at Mr. Carter's, Mr. and Mrs. Smith from Boston
were there. Mr. Smith brought me a letter from W. Cranch, which
gives me an account of the rustication of W. The circumstances are
much to his disgrace. I had likewise a letter from my father,^ and
one from my mother, of the 18th & 20th of July. Some letters are
yet remaining. Little was with me about half an hour this evening.
29th. I attended at the office the whole day, and resumed Black
stone, whom for three or four days I had laid aside. I did not, how
ever, read a great deal. In the evening I took something of a long
walk with Townsend; and as I return'd stopp'd to sup upon the birds,
which Amory and Stacey had been hunting for iu the course of the day.
There were three other gentlemen there, Mr. Coffin, Mr. Winslow,
and a Captaia Cochran. We got to singing after supper, and the
bottle went around with an unusual rapidity, untUl a round dozen had
disappeared. I then thought it was high time to retreat, and with
some difficulty slip'd away from those of the company who appeared to
be the most inspired, and took a walk with Townsend; it was after
one in the morning when we got to my lodgings. After setting there
about an hour and smoking a pipe or two, we both went to bed.
30th. Although I had not last night been guilty of an excess so far
as to be intoxicated, yet I had not sufficiently consulted what my feel
ings would be this day to be entirely prudent. I therefore arose this
morning with a very disagreeable head-ache, which continued the whole
bodies politic or religious societies shall at all tiraes have the exclusive right of
electing their public teachers aud contracting with them for their support and
maintenance. And all moneys paid by the subject to the support of public wor
ship, and of the public teachers aforesaid, shall, if he require it, be uniformly
applied to the support of the public teacher or teachers of his own religious sect
or denomination, provided there be any on whose instructions he attends. Other
wise it raay be paid toward the support ot the teacher or teachers of the parish
or precinct in which said moneys are raised." This question arose again in 1796
as to sorae inhabitants of Newbury who attended church in Newburyport,
and it was then settled by a legislative act in their favor. J. J. Currier, " Ould
Newbury," pp. 508-517; History of Newbury, pp. 381-384; H. C. Hovey,
Origin and Annals of the Old South First Presbyterian Church, pp. 32, 33.
1 John Adams was in London as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of
St. James. 6

42 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
day. I could neither attend meeting nor read, nor write ; and pass'd
the day with much tediousness. In the evening, however, I took a walk
with "Townsend ; and, after returning, pass'd an hour at Mr. Tufts's.
Monday, October 1st, 1787.
I have not yet got over the consequences of our frolick on Saturday
evening. Three whole evenings I have by this means entirely lost; for
I cannot yet write with any comfort. How inseparably in all cases of
intemperance is the punishment allied to the fault ! Stedman went
this day for Portsmouth ; will return here to-morrow, and take his final
leave on Wednesday. He is going to open an office at Cambridge,
where I heartily wish him success. In the afternoon I went with
Townsend and Thomson aud Little up to Sohier's, and had the usual
fare. We return'd leisurely in the evening. I was too much fatigued
to write much ; having, withal, a little of the head ache. Putnam
arrived in town this afternoon, and, I suppose, will enter Mr. Brad
bury's office immediately. I shall find, I believe, very much the want
of Mr. Parsons's presence, when he goes off. His attendance upon the
Gen'l Court will engross his time very much. Next week he will go
to Boston, and will be gone, I suppose, nearly two months. There are
a thousand questions which I shall want to propose to him, from time
to time ; but which I shall be reduced to find out by my own industry
and what assistance Townsend and Amory can give me.
2d. I have at length recovered my usual tone, and have been able
this day to attend to business with as much satisfaction as common.
Stedman came back from Portsmouth this afternoon. In the evening
I carried a packet of letters to his lodgings for Cambridge. ' I began to
copy off not a small volume of forms for declarations. This is a piece
of drudgery which certainly does not carry its reward with it. But it
is a necessary piece of work, for which reason I think the sooner it is
finished, the better. I was in hopes before I came here, that I should
have time for reading books of entertainment ; but, after passing eight
hours a day in the office, and spending four more in writing minutes
and forms at home, I am not husband of time sufficient to set any
more apart for any kind of mental application. And indeed if for
three years I can proceed with as much industry as I have done since
I entered the office, the d — 1 will be to pay if I have not some stock of
law. Health is all I shall ask.
3d. Continued in the first volume of Blackstone. In the course of
my reading this day I came across a paragraph which surprized me ;
it was this : — " It is a principle of universal law, that the natural-born
subject of one prince, cannot by any act of his own, no, not by swearing
allegiance to another, put off or discharge his natural allegiance to the
former: for this natural allegiance was intrinsic and primitive, and

DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 43
antecedent to the other, and cannot be devested without the concur
rent act of that prince to whom it was first due." I enquired of Mr.
Parsons his opinion upon the subject. He said that if instead of uni
versal law it was common law, the assertion would be just ; but that,
in his opinion, by the law of nature every man had a right to put off
his natural allegiance, for good cause. And this I think much more
reasonable than to say that a man is obliged to serve and assist his
sovereign, however cruel, tyrannical and unjust he may be. The doc
trine of Blackstone must, I think, imply that of passive obedience;
which is not now to be refuted. It may indeed be said that every
unjust act is a tacit consent to the discharge of the subject's allegiance ;
but this is straining the meaning of words a great length ; and I think
it is much the best to cut the gordian knot, as Mr. Parsons did.^ I
wrote along in the evening till late.
4th. I this day concluded the first volume of my author ; and em
ploy'd all the afternoon in copying from it, under heads. As Parsons
goes to Boston next week, and will stay there so long that I shall prob
ably finish the book I am now reading before he returns, I enquired
of him, what would be best to take up next. He recommended, Sulli
van's lectures,^ then Wright's tenures,' and then Coke-Littleton.* This
evening I was at Mr. Tufts's; present at the marriage of his daughter
Dolly to Mr. Geo. Odiorne of Exeter.^ Mr. Cary perform'd the cere
mony. I staid there to supper, but came away soon after that, as I
spent my time rather tediously. Mercy Brooks ° from Medford was
there : she is one of the very few unmarried women with whom I cau
1 See J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. iv. pp. 146, 147, for an application of this
principle by him, as Secretary of State in President Monroe's Cabinet.
^ Francis S. Sullivan (University of Dublin), Lectures on the Constitution and
Laws of England, etc., London, 1776, 2 vols. — a second edition, revised and en
larged, of a, work published in 1770, and entitled " An Historical Treatise on the
Feudal Law and the Constitution and Laws of England," etc.
^ Sir Martin Wright, Introduction to the Law of Tenures, London, 1730.
* The first edition of Coke's Coraraentaries upon Littleton was published in
1628. Accordingly it had been a legal text-book for one hundred and sixty years
at the tirae of this entry. As the standard eleraentary treatise in the hands of
students of law, the Institutes were not superseded until the publication of
Blackstone's Coraraentaries in 1765-1769.
6 " Dorothy Tufts, eldest daughter of Dr. Samuel Tufts of Newburyport,"
born March 22, 1767 ; married George Odiorne, " engaged in trade " at Exeter,
N. H. ; died September 8, 1793. Later Odiorne removed to Boston, was a
bank president nine years, an alderraan in 1823 and 1824 ; and one of fif
teen to assume responsibility for the erection of Park Street Church ; died iu
Maiden December 1, 1846. J. C. Odiorne, Genealogy of the Odiorne Family,
pp. 74-83. " Mr. Samuel Tufts " was on the Committee of Correspondence and
Safety appointed in 1774. Hurd, Hist, of Essex County, p. 1744.
6 Mercy Brooks, born September 3, 1763 ; married, March 6, 1788, Cotton
Tufts, only son of Dr. Cotton Tufts, of Weymouth. See supra, p. 10, note 1 ;
Usher, Hist, of Medford, pp. 528, 564, 565.

44 DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
he sociable after a short acquaintance: whether it is owing to some
peculiarity of circumstances or of character, I know not; but the fact I
am sure of. . . .
5th. After writing a few lines in my common place book, I took the
second volume of Blackstone, which treats of the rights of things. I
did not read much, and with the extracts which I make I shall not be
able to proceed with very rapid progress. Thomson, notwithstanding
he keeps schools, holds an equal pace with me. However he reads in
the evening, while I am employ'd in copying off the forms. This he
has already done, having been more than four months in the office. I
dined at Mr. Tufts's. The new married pair appeared quite calm and
composed. In the afternoon, before it grew dark, I went down with
Thomson, and found Putnam ; with him we went to Dr. Swett's and
found Little. From thence we retired very abruptly, and went home
with Moses. We spent the evening there and supped, after which we
all returned respectively to our homes. Here I sat a few minutes with
Dr. Kilham, my very worthy fellow boarder, and then retired to my
room, where, what with copying forms, and what with relating the
business of the day, I have almost brought it to one in the morning.
6th. I alter'd my plans of study, and determined to copy forms in
the day time, because I can do it notwithstanding all the noise that may
be going forward in the office, and read at my own lodgings. I extract
a great deal, and am almost tired with it, but Mr. Parsons advises me
by all means not to give it up. In the evening I received a long
letter from my sister,^ and likewise one from W. Cranch.
7th. I attended at Mr. Carey's meeting all day. In the forenoon he
was quite severe upon all persons who either did not attend divine services
so steadily as they might, or who, being at the house of the Lord, do not
behave with proper decorum and respect. No person, said Mr. Carey,
who is going into the presence of an earthly prince, will appear in a
loose, neglected attire, as it would be considered as a mark of con
tempt, and as an insult to the dignity of the sovereign. Hence he
deduced the necessity of a serious, devout, attentive mind, at times
when we go more immediately into the presence of God. His conclu
sion, were it placed as a distinct proposition, no one I presume would
deny ; but his perfectly stale and hackney'd allusion is in my opinion
not only false, but impious. I would ask Mr. Carey, why it is neces
sary to appear with such an accurate precision of dress at the Court of
an earthly prince ? What other cause can be assigned for the impor-
1 Mrs. Abigail Adams Smith, only sister of J. Q. Adams, two years his senior ;
born July 14, 1765; married June 12, 1786, Colonel William Stephens Sraith,
who, a stranger to the family, had been chosen by Congress as Secretary of
Legation wheu John Adams was sent as Minister to England in 1785 ; she died
August 15, 1813. John Adams, Works, vol. iii. p. 398 ; vol. vni. pp. 229, 423; A.
N. Adanis, A Genealogical History of Henry Adams, etc., p. 407.

DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 45
tance of a thing so very indifferent in itself, but the ridiculous vanity
and fantastic foppery of the great? It is impossible to deduce an argu
ment from similarity of effect, unless a like similarity of cause exists,
and in this case the supposition is not to be made. In short, if our
preachers in general would not take so much pains as they do to prove
facts which no man in his senses can deny, they would save themselves
much exertion of thought, without injuring their reputations. In the
evening I went with Dr. Kilham, aud past an hour or two at Mr.
Carter's ; the family are all of them exceedingly agreeable. Miss H.
Emery ¦'^ was there, a young lady with a beautiful countenance, an
elegant person, and (I am told) an amiable mind. What more could
any person wish to find in a female ? a fortune ? — ah ! can a vile
metal drag'd by the hands of slavery from the bowels of the earth
be put in competition with charms like those ? The wretch who could
harbour the idea deserves to be barred forever from the pleasures of
friendship and of love.
8th. Attended at the office, and wrote diligently all day. Cold
weather coming on apace. Thomson and I had some conversation
before we left the office at night. He is in low spirits, and sees gloomy
prospects. I hope he will realize more happy ones, for he is an
amiable, worthy youth, with a clear head and a sound heart. From
the office we went to Putnam's lodgings. There Sam and I play'd
together, he on the violin, I on the flute, for a couple of hours ; after
which we sat with him tUl nine o'clock and then respectively retired. I
sought my bed quite early this evening. I cannot study now much in
my own room for want of a fire.
9th. I received a short letter from W. Cranch. I make a pretty
rapid progress with my book of forms, and, if I am not interrupted, I
hope to finish it by the latter end of next week, which will take one
heavy load from my shoulders. Putnam came to our office this after
noon ; he and Little pass'd the evening with me. I intended to walk
with Little, but found it was raining hard. I proceed very slowly with
Blackstone. 1 Hannah Tracy Emery, descended, it is claimed, from Governor Thomas
Dudley, belonged to the Newbury branch of the Emery faraily; born at
Exeter, N. H., March 7, 1771. Her father, John Eraery, was lost at sea during
this year (1787) ; her grandfather, Noah Emery, for many years clerk of the
House of Assembly and of the court in New Hampshire, died the following Jan
uary (1788). A girl of "sweet sixteen," she was living with her mother in New
buryport. Four years later (November 1, 1791), she married Benjamin Abbot
(H. C. 1788), for fifty years principal of Phillips Exeter Academy. She died
December 6, 1793, leaving one son, John Emery Abbot (born August 6, 1793,
graduated from Bowdoin College in 1810, succeeded Dr. Barnard as pastor ot
the North Church in Salem in 1815, died unmarried, October 7, 1819; a volume
of his sermons has been printed, with a memoir by Dr. Henry Ware, Jr.). Eufus
Emery, Genealogical Records of Descendants of John and Anthony Emery, etc.,
pp. 326, 349, 403 ; Abiel Abbot, etc., Eegister of the Abbot Family, pp. 4, 5.

46 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
10th. A very fine day. Amory and Townsend with a number of
other lads went out of town this afternoon upon a party. But I did not
feel disposed to join them. Thomson spent part of the evening with me.
llth. This afternoon I took a ride with Dr. Kilham, as far as New
town to see Mr. Dalton, but neither he nor his lady were at home.
We rode a mile or two beyond that, and returned just after dark.
That road is very good and the prospects all around are very beautiful ;
but the leaves begin to fall, and the year appears to proceed rapidly on
a decline. Amory was with me part of the evening.
12th. The day pass'd as usual, except that I had some political chat
with Mr. Parsons. He favours very much the Federal Constitution,
which has lately been proposed by the Convention of the States. Nor
do I wonder at all that he should approve of it, as it is calculated to
increase the influence, power and wealth of those who have any already.
If the Constitution be adopted it will be a grand point gained in favour
of the aristocratic party. There are to be no titles of nobility ; but there
will be great distinctions, and those distinctions will soon be hereditary,
and we shall consequently have nobles, but no titles. For my own
part I am willing to take my chance under any government whatever ;
but it is hard to give up a system which I have always been taught to
cherish, and to confess that a free government is inconsistent with human
nature. 13th. Captain Wyer ' was in the office this afternoon, a couple of
hours ; very zealous for the new Constitution. Was desirous of having
a town-meeting to instruct their representatives upon the occasion ;
quite enthusiastic, and so are many other people. This afternoon I
went, and requested the favor of waiting upon Miss Jones to the ball
next Monday ; she will go if her health will permit. Little pass'd the
evening with me. There was a very brilliant northern light.
14th. I wrote two long letters this day. One to J. Forbes, and the
other to W. Cranch. Went with Putnam in the afternoon to Mr.
Tucker's meeting ; and was much pleased with the doctor's preaching.
Putnam spent an hour or two with me after meeting.
15th. Rather dissipated the whole day. Could not study with
proper attention, and indeed gave the matter up in the afternoon. At
about seven o'clock we met at the dancing hall, and from that time
till between three and four in the morning we were continually dancing.
I was unacquainted with almost all the company; but I never saw a
collection of ladies where there was comparatively so much beauty.
Two or three gentlemen got rather over the bay ; but upon the whole
1 Presumably Captain William Wyer, a shipmaster, — one of the six founders
of the Marine Society of Newburyport in 1772 to promote the shipping interests
and to assist needy shipmasters ; died August 14, 1810, aged seventy-flve. Hurd,
Hist, of Essex County, p. 1751; Currier, "Ould Newbury," p. 710.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 47
the proceedings were as regular and agreeable as might be expected.
Little lodg'd with me, and the clock struck four just before we went
to bed.
16th. We rose at about nine o'clock. Dr. Kilham was just going
to take his seat in the stage for Boston. The Dr. represents this
town in the Gen'l Court and goes to Boston now to attend at the ses
sion, which opens to-morrow. I was at the office in the forenoon, but
could not attend much to any study. I took a walk with Townsend.
Return'd again to the office, and, just as I had got ready to sit down to
business, in came W, Cranch and Leonard White from Haverhill, who
insisted upon it that I should go there with them this afternoon ; and
in such a positive manner that I could not deny them. They dined
with me at my lodgings, and, at about four in the afternoon, we all
mounted our horses for Haverhill. The wind was very high, and
scattered the dust so much that the riding was very disagreeable. We
drank tea at Russell's and were almost half an hour crossing the river,
though the wind had considerably abated. At about seven we got to
Mr. Shaw's house. Miss N. Quincy and Miss B. Cranch ' came in
from Mr. Duncan's soon after. Mr. James Duncan ^ invited W. Cranch
and me to dine with him to-morrow. The troop of horse of which he
is 1st lieutenant are to parade in the morning, and he makes an enter
tainment for them. It was past eleven this evening when we retired.
17th. This day a regiment of foot and a troop of about sixty horse
men paraded and were review'd by Gen'l Titcomb.' The weather was
1 Elizabeth Cranch, cousin of J. Q. Adams, daughter of Richard and Mary
(Smith) Cranch, ot Braintree ; baptized November 27, 1763 ; married, February
11, 1789, Rev. Jacob Norton, of Weymouth (see infra, p. 127) ; died January 25,
1811. Nash, Hist. Sketch of Weymouth, p. 171.
^ James Duncan, Jr., brother-in-law of John Thaxter, First Lieutenant of the
Secoud Troop of Horse in Essex County; in business with his father James
Duncan; became one of the leading merchants of HaverhiU. He established a
store, potash-works, and a mill for grinding flaxseed at Lebanon, N. H., and it is
said that in a period of twenty-six months he sent thither by ox teams for the
country trade ninety thousand dollars worth of goods. He died in 1822, when
over sixty years of age ; his wife was Rebecca White. Chase; Hist, ot Haver
hill, pp. 452, 628; Hurd, Hist, of Essex County, pp. xlvi, 2003; Fleet's Alma
nack for 1788.
^ Jonathan Titcomb, Major-General of the militia of Essex County; in 1787
a man ot about sixty ; prominent in town and State during the War of the Revo
lution ; selectman 1773-1775, 1777-1778, 1780, 1786, 1788 ; moderator of town-
meetings 1778, 1779, 1781, 1786, 1787; Representative in the General Court
1778-1783, 1786 ; delegate to the State Constitutional Convention in 1780, and
to the Convention that ratified the Constitution ot the United States; his mUi
tary experience had been gained in the militia and as colonel of a regiment in
tlie brief campaigns of 1777, 1778 under General Sullivan in Rhode Island. Hurd,
Hist, of Essex County, pp. 1739-1741, 1753. In 1789 General Washington
appointed him naval officer of the district of Newburyport ; he died March 10,
1817.

48 DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
rather disagreeable, though not so windy as it was yesterday. One of
the foot companies was drest in the rifle uniform; that of the horse
was red faced with green. The horses in general were good, but the
company has not been formed long, and are not yet perfect in their
exercises. We dined at Mr. Duncan's. I chatted with Mr. Symmes
upon the new Constitution. We did not agree upon the subject. While
we were talking Mr. Bartlett came in, and was beginning to attack
me. I told him I wish'd to change the subject, as I felt utterly unequal
to the task of opposing two persons of whose judgment I had so high
an opinion as Mr. Symmes and Mr. Bartlett. Bartlett laugh'd and said
I was very polite. " Adams," says Symmes, " you shall go home with
me, and take a bed to-night"; — and I found that France is not the
only country where Yorich's secret has its influence.' We walk'd up
the hill where the regiment was parading in the afternoon ; but the
weather was so cold that I return'd back some time before they flnish'd.
The General was drest and mounted rather shabbily : he has never been
employed in military life ; and nobody knows how he came to be a
major-general. Pass'd part of the evening at Mr. White's; found
Mr. Allen '¦' and Mr. Tucker at Mr. Shaw's : they staid till about
nine o'clock, and then return'd to Bradford.
18th. We dined this day at Mr. Bartlett's. Captain Wier was
there and Miss S. M°Kinstry,' who is upon the point of being married
to Major Starke,* and Miss Barrell, a young lady from Boston whose
countenance indicates misfortune. She had a lover, who forsook her
upon discovering that she had not a fortune, as he had expected.
Townsend came into town yesterday with Miss P. Greenleaf, and
return'd this afternoon to Newbury. The young ladies drank tea at
Judge Sargeant's. I spent the evening till between eight and nine
o'clock at Mr. White's. I had in the course of the day, and have had
1 The allusion is to the two chapters in the second volume of Sterne's " Senti
mental Journey," entitled "The Riddle" and "The Riddle ExpUined." "I
stepped hastily after him : it was the very man whose success in asking charity
of the woman before the door of the hotel had so puzzled me, — and I found
at once his secret, or at least the basis of it : — it was flattery."
2 Rev. Jonathan AUen (H. C. 1774), born in Braintree February 16, 1748-9 ;
ordained at Bradford June 5, 1781 ; died March 6, 1827. J. D. Kingsbury, Memo
rial Hist, of Bradford, pp. 106-117.
^ Sarah McKinstry, daughter of Dr. William McKinstry, surgeon-general of
the British hospitals at Boston in 1776, formerly ot Taunton; married Major
Stark in 1787; died September 11, 1839, aged seventy-two.
4 Major Caleb Stark, eldest son of Major-General John Stark, then (1787)
twenty-eight years of age and a merchant in Haverhill. Running away from
home when a lad of flfteen, he joined his father in the army on the eve of the
Battle ot Bunker Hill, and served throughout the War ot Independence. See
C. Stark, Memoir and Official Correspondence of General John Stark, pp. 344-
371; Appleton, Cyclopaedia of American Biography.

DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 49
every day since I came here, a great deal of conversation with Mr.
Shaw concerning S. W., who still persists in declaring himself inno
cent, though every one who is acquainted with the circumstances must
be as fully convinced of his guilt, as if he had seen him do the deed him
self. Mr. Shaw was much afflicted. He had great expectations from
W., who had been his pupil, and whose reputation would in some
measure have reflected honour upon his instructor ; but " how art
thou fallen, Lucifer, son of the morning ! "
19th. W. Cranch and the two young ladies set off this morning for
Boston. The weather is much milder for them than it has been for
several days past. I spent the forenoon with Mr. Thaxter at his
office. He is to be published next Sunday. Dined at Mr. Shaw's.
Just after dinner Mrs. Allen ' came in from Bradford, and inform'd us
of Deacon Smith's death.'' He died on Tuesday morning. The news
came by Dr. Williams, who lodg'd at Bradford last night. Between
three and four I set out to return home, and overtook F. Bradbury '
and Winslow in a chaise going the same way. At about half past five
I got home ; and went and pass'd the evening with Townsend. Amory
is quite unwell ; return'd this day from Portsmouth.
20th. I was more attentive at the office than I expected to be be
tween two follies. I had determined before I went to Haverhill, not
to go so far as Boston till the spring; but I have now altered my
resolutions, and shall go from hence next Monday, for a fortnight.
This is not the way to acquire the science of the law, but dissipation is
so fashionable here that it is necessary to enter into it a little in order
not to appear too singular ; and as Mr. Parsons will probably be absent
for three weeks to come, I know not that I can take a more eligible
time for a vacation.
21st. I attended Mr. Carey in the forenoon, and went with Putnam
to hear Dr. Tucker * in the afternoon. He is a very good preacher,
1 Wife of Eev. Jonathan Allen, of Bradtord.
' Isaac Smith, born in Charlestown July, 1719 ; married Elizabeth Storer
October 9, 1746; a merchant in Boston; died October 16, 1787. He was a
brother of Rev. Wm. Smith, ot Weymouth, an uncle of Mrs. Abigail Adams,
father of Isaac Smith {supra, p, 20) and of William Smith {supra, p. 32, note 3).
2 Francis Bradbury, second son of Hon. Theophilus Bradbury, of Newbury
port ; born 1766 ; died 1837 ; married October 6, 1803, Hannah Jones Spooner,
of Dorchester. W. B. Lapham, Bradbury Meraorial, pp. 89, 118, 119.
* Rev. John Tucker (H. C. 1741), at this time nearly seventy years of age,
had been pastor of the First Parish in Newbury forty-two years. He received
the degree ot S. T. D. from Harvard College a few months before. Born in
Amesbury ; settled at Newbury in November, 1745 ; died March 22, 1792. On his
installation some of the parish, thinking him inclined to Arminianism, withdrew
and formed the First Presbyterian Church in Newburyport. He engaged in many
sharp doctrinal controversies with the neighboring ministers. See Appleton's
American Biography foralist of his sermons in print; J. J. Currier, Hist.of New
bury, pp. 339-344; etc. 7

50 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
but the generality of his hearers look as if they were form'd of the
coarsest clay. A number of female figures in particular seem to charge
nature with having made gross mistakes. I passed the evening till
almost nine o'clock with Putnam. Townsend took me from there and
carried me volens nolens to sup with him. I intended to have written
a great deal this day, but all my schemes vanished with the fleeting
hours, and I must now refer this matter till I return from my intended
journey. 22d. The weather yesterday did not look promising, but is this day
very clear, and for the season uncommonly warm. At about half past
nine I mounted my horse, and Townsend said he would take an airing
and ride a few miles with me. The pleasantness of the weather led him
on till he finally agreed to go as far as Haverhill, intending to return
in the afternoon. We rode part of the way with Sohier, the collegian,
who was on his way to Groton ; and we got to Haverhill just before
twelve o'clock. I found Mr. and Mrs. Shaw had set out this morning
for Hingham. At twelve we went to Mr. Thaxter's lodgings, and
found fifty or sixty people heartily at work, in which we very readily
joined them. At about two, there were eighteen or twenty left who
sat down to a table covered with " big bellied " bottles. For two hours
or more Bacchus and Momus joined hands to increase the festivity of
the company ; but the former of these deities then of a sudden took a
fancy to divert himself, and fell to tripping up their heels. Momus
laugh'd on, and kept singing till he finally grew hoarse and drowsy;
and Morpheus, to close the scene, sprinkled a few poppies over their
heads, and set them to snoring in concert. This is, I believe, the flrst
time that I have dived any depth into the pagan mythology since I
undertook the direction of these very interesting memoirs. I have
always had the precept of Horace in my mind.
Nee Deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus,i
and I trust the gentle reader will not think I have in this instance
violated that rule. But to return to plain insipid narration, by five
o'clock they were all under the table, except those who had been pecu
liarly cautious and two or three stout topers. I had been very mod
erate, yet felt it was necessary to walk and take the air. I rambled
with Leonard White, over the fields, and through the streets till near
seven o'clock. Then went home with him, and, after passing a couple
of hours in chat, retired quite early to bed.
23d. Rose at about eight this morning, and felt no inconveniency
from the scene of yesterday. Townsend, who got so much engaged as
to give up all thoughts of returning last night to Newbury-Port, break
fasted with us this morning; and then mounted his horse. It was a
1 De Arte Poetica, line 191.

DLA.EY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 61
little after nine when I started from the opposite shore of the river,
and it was about twelve wheu I got to the tavern in Wilmington. Mr.
Thaxter, and Miss Duncan, and her brother James, a Mr. Howe, and
two or three other ladies diued at Wilmington. The landlord is
opposed to the proposed Constitution. I stopped about a quarter of
au hour at Medl'ord to see my friend Freeman, and delivered him a
couple of letters. I expected to have seen him at the ordination
to-morrow; but his school retains him at Medford. We got into
Boston just before sunset. We stopp'd an hour there to get dress'd,
and take a dish of coffee. It was quite dark before we got out of
town ; and we arrived at Braintree between eight and nine. We
found that the young ladies and all the company that was disposed to
attend the ordination had gone to Hingham this afternoon. I was
very much fatigued. I once before rode this journey in a day ; (v :
p. 25) aud was still more fatigued ; but that was in the middle of
summer, when the weather was very warm, which made it more
tedious to ride on horseback. Kirkland ^ and my brother Tom were
both here, and could not go on to Hingham for want of horses. It
was almost eleven before we retired.
24th. At about ten this morning I set off for Hingham. Mr.
Thaxter and Miss Duncan went somewhat earlier. I got there between
eleven and twelve, and went imraediately to the meeting house. ^ It
was very much crowded, and I found great difficulty to get in. I
finally obtained however a very good place. They began by singing
a good anthem extremely well. The first prayer was made by Mr.
[^blank^ Mr. Hilliard ' then preach'd a sermon from II. Corinthians,
I. 24: — Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers
of your joy. He delivered his sentiments very freely, though many
of them were in opposition to the prevailing customs. It was the best
sermon I ever heard him preach, and upon this occasion it was natural
that he should exert himself. Mr.* [SZani] gave the charge ; Dr.
1 John Thornton Kirkland, President of Harvard University, 1810-1828 ; then
(1787) a Junior in college. See J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. vii. pp. 134, 135, for
a reference to the sermons preached by Dr. Kirkland at Quincy in memory of
John Adaras (and ot Abigail Adams); see also Araerican Academy Memoirs,
n. s. V. i. (1833), pp. iii-xxxi, for a Discourse in comraemoration ofj. Adams
and T. Jefferson, October 30, 1826.
2 The celebrated " Old Ship " meeting-house was already, in 1788, over a hun
dred years old.
>* Rev. Henry Ware had studied theology under Eev. Timothy Hilliard, of
Cambridge. Sermon printed in pamphlet forra, Salera, 1788 ; Carabridge, 1828.
* The charge was given by the Eev. John Brown, of Cohasset (H. C. 1741),
son of Eev. John Brown, of Haverhill, born March 9, 1723 ; pastor at Cohasset
September 2, 1747, till his death, October 22. 1791. See " A Sermon preached
October 24 1787 at the Ordination of the Eev. Henry Ware ... by Timothy
Hilliard, A.M. . . ." (Salem, 1788), p. 26, for the charge; pp. 27, 28 forthe right
hand of fellowship. Cohasset was the Second Parish in Hingham untU 1770.

62 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Hitchcock ' made the ordaining prayer ; Mr. Shute = gave the right
hand of fellowship, and Mr. Haven ' made the last prayer ; the cere
monies were theu concluded by another authem as well perform'd as
the first. From thence the company retired. I went to pay my
compliments to Mr. Ware, my old chum ;* and to tell him how happy
I am to see him so well settled already. I intended to dine there, but
was called away with Mr. Gannett by Mr. Caleb Thaxter,^ where we
went and dined. There were between thirty and forty persona at table,
but chiefly young gentlemen. After dinner we had two or three songs,
aud then walk'd. We went to Col' Rice's,* where we found a similar
company, smoking and singing. We rambled about till alraost seven
o'clock ; aud I then went to Mrs. Derby's hall, where, it was said,
there was to be a dance. We found here a scene of confusion similar
to that which we had last spring at Sandwich. However, by a manoeuvre
which pack'd off about one half of the company, our numbers were so
much reduced that we were able to maintain a degree of order and
regularity. I was so lucky as to draw Miss S. Smith of Sandwich for
a partner, aud danced with her a great part of the evening. It was
Hist, of Hingham, vol. i. part ii. pp. 39, 40 ; Hurd, Hist, of Norfolk County, p.
233; Jacob Flint, Two Discourses, containing the History of the Church and
Society in Cohasset, delivered December 16, 1821, etc.
1 Eev. Gad Hitchcock (H. C. 1743), pastor of the Second Parish in Pembroke,
now Hanson, 1748-1803. Born February 12, 1718-19, in Springfield ; a chaplain
occasionally during the War of the Revolution ; member of the State Constitu
tional Convention of 1780; incapacitated by paralj'sis July, 1799; died August,
1803 ; he is remembered as a man of jovial disposition, as well as a vigorous
preacher. See his Election Sermon, 1774. See also Sprague, Annals of the
American Pulpit, vol. viii. pp. 29-31.
2 Rev. Daniel Shute (H. C. 1743), pastor of the Second Church in Hingham
1746-1802. Born July 19, 1722, in Maiden; in 1758 chaplain of a regiment for
Canada ; 1780 delegate to the State Constitutional Convention ; 1788 delegate
with General Benjamin Lincoln to the Convention which ratified the Constitution
of the United States ; a colleague settled in 1799 ; died August 30, 1802. See
speech in Convention against requiring a religious test as a qualification for office.
Elliot, Debates, vol. ii. pp. 118, 119 ; Hist, of Hingham, vol i. part n. pp. 27, 41.
' Rev. Jason Haven (H. C. 1754), pastor at Dedham 1756- 1S03. Born March 2,
1732-3 in Framingham ; died May 17, 1803 ; member of State Constitutional Con
vention of 1780; Sprague, Annals of American Pulpit, vol. i. pp. 557-559.
« H. Adams, Historical Essays, p. 86 (" Harvard College, 1786-1787 ").
^ Caleb Thaxter, a bachelor of thirty-six, cousin of J. Q. Adams's tutor and
kinsman, John Thaxter. Born in Hingham April 18, 1751 ; he died November
12, 1828, unmarried. Hist, of Hingham, vol. i. part 1. pp. 269, 270 ; vol. iii. p. 233.
s Colonel Nathan Rice (H. C. 1773), in 1787 about thirty-three years otage,
sonof Rev. Nathan Rice, of Sturbridge; a law student with John Adams ; an aide
to General Lincoln in the War of the Revolution ; engaged in trade 1783-1798;
represented Hingham in the General Court 1801-1805; removed to Burlington,
Vt., in 1811 ; died April, 1834. Hist, of Hingham, vol. iii. p. 129 ; G. Davis, Hist.
Sketch of Sturbridge and Southbridge, pp. 62-64; Works of John Adams, vol ix.
pp. 408, 411.

DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 53
between two and three in the morning before we broke up. I then
went to Col' Thaxter's,' supp'd, and, at about half after three, went to
bed with Charles.
25th, The town is not so much crowded this day, as it was yesterday.
That class of people which is called by some persons the rabble, (by
which word is meant people who have neither a fortune nor an educa
tion at our university, alias a liberal education) went off chiefly last
night ; and there now remains nothing but the genteel company, or other
wise people who have no business to call them from scenes of dissipation.
I walk'd in the morning with Mr. Ware and Col' Rice down to the
landing place, where I found a number of people employ'd in preparing
flsh. There is some little business of this kind done here. After return
ing into town I saunter'd about till dinner time. Foster,^ Learned,'
1 Colonel John Thaxter (H. C. 1741), farmer and colonel of a regiment, town
treasurer for many years ; born in Hingham Noveinber 22, 1721 ; married, Feb
ruary 24, 1743-4, Anna Quincy, daughter of Colonel John Quincy, great-grand
father of J. Q. Adams ; died October 6, 1802. John Thaxter, J. Q. Adams's
tutor, was his son. Hist, ot Hingham, vol. iii. p. 232.
2 " Bossenger Foster of Boston was nineteen the 9"" of last December. Of him I
can say but little ; he is a very good speaker, and has a good natural genius, but
has not been very assiduous in improving the talents entrusted to him by nature.
His conversation and manners are often puerile, and very seldom show him to
great advantage. His chief excellency lies in declaiming an elegant piece of
composition, and in playing on the violin ; in these particulars there is not, per
haps, his superior in College. He is remarked by some, as being of a narrow dis
position; but this stigma is cast by certain characters upon every person who
keeps within the bounds of coramon frugality ; and, if this were Foster's only
fault, I should set him down as an excellent character." J. Q. Adams, March 29,
1787. Bom December 9, 1767; a classmate of J. Q. Adams; entered the law
office of Theophilus Parsons in 1788 ; lived later in Cambridge ; died January 17,
1816, unmarried. His father, Bossenger Foster, moved to Cambridge and lived
iu the " Batchelder house " opposite St. John's Church. Andrew Craigie was his
maternal uncle. See F. C. Pierce, Foster Genealogy (1899), pp. 936, 937.
^ "Ebenezer Learned of Medford, Middlesex Co., will be twenty-five the 30*
of next Oct'^. Without possessing a superior genius, by mere dint of application he
has become a respectable scholar ; his mind is perhaps more attentive to matters
of small moraent than is necessary. He has candour enough to confess himselt
envious, but says he cannot help it. He appears to be sensible that his abilities
are not of the first rate, yet he acknowledges that his soul is tortured with am
bition. I would not give a fig for life, said he, one day to me, it I could but plant
imraortality upon Ebenezer Leamed. There is not at present any prospect that
his name will obtain immortality; but he intends to be a preacher, when he may
comfort hiraself with the idea that his soul must be immortal. He was, as he says
himself, too old when he entered the University. Frora fourteen to eighteen I
should suppose the best age for entering. The studies which are pursued here are
just calculated for the tender minds of youth ; but the degree of liberty that is
enjoy'd renders it dangerous to young persons, before they have acquired a certain
degree of judgment." J. Q. Adams, diary, May 7, 1787. Learned (H. C. 1787),
chose the medical profession ; studied under Dr. Holyoke, of Salem, and settled
in Hopkinton, N. H., about 1790, being the first educated physician in the town.

54 DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
and Vose with his sisters ^ went away before dinner. Dined at Col'
Rice's. The company was not large ; the character that I remarked
the most was a Captain Clap, who is all soldier. He appears to delight
in whatever is military ; Col' Rice's son, a lad of seven years old,
committed some little impropriety ; " you rogue," says Clap, " nothing
but your age can excuse aud protect you." Who but a genuine son of
Mars would have thought of correcting, in that manner, a boy of seven
years? It was proposed that we should have another dance this night,
and Blake and Perkins, a couple of young fellows, both strangers in
town, undertook to be managers. We drank tea, a number of us, at
Mr. Caleb Thaxter's, and, at about seven, went again to Mrs. Derby's
hall, where a partition between two chambers had been taken down,
which made it much more convenient than it was the night before.
There were about thirty gentlemen aud forty ladies ; about twenty
couple could stand up at once, aud the rest amused themselves either
with conversation, or with playing at cards. Between two and three
we broke up, and I retired with our young ladies. We sat about half
an hour at Col'l Thaxter's, and I then went to bed. But a number of
the lads, after conducting their ladies home, retained the music, and
went a serenading all over the towu till day-light.
26th. We went and escorted a number of ladies to the packet;^ and
by eleven o'clock almost all the company was gone, and the town look'd
as solitary as a deserted village. 1 took a walk with Mr. Q. Thaxter '
and Mr. Andrews down to Gen' Lincoln's Mills.* It was half past
twelve before I got back to Mr. Thaxter's. Of all the company that
had been there Charles and I only remained at dinner. At about two
we mounted, and arrived at Mr. Cranch's in Braintree at about half
He was the first President of the Merriraack County Agricultural Society,
founder of the Hopkinton Academy in 1827, Vice-President ot the State Medical
Society, first Delegate of the New Hampshire Medical Society to Dartmouth ;
died October 6, 1831.
^ Soloraon Vose (H. C. 1787), classmate of J. Q. Adams, but not accounted
one of his friends ; son of General Joseph Vose ; born in Milton February 22, 1768 ;
went to Charleston, S. C, as a trader ; studied law uuder Levi Lincoln, senior, at
Worcester; practised law at Northfield, Mass.; was the first postmaster there,
and a Representative to the General Court; removed to Augusta, Me., in 1805;
died of apoplexy in 1809. In 1787 he had five sisters between the ages of
eighteen and twenty-five — all apparently as yet unmarried — Sarah, Margaret,
Dolly and Nancy (twins), and Naomi. Milton Eecords, Births, Marriages, and
Deaths, 1662-1843, pp. 72, etc. ; A. K. Teele, Hist, of MUton, p. 511 ; J. W. North,
Hist, of Augusta, Me., pp. 386, 387, 948.
2 The comraunication between Hingham and Boston was then by water, across
Boston bay.
3 Quincy Thaxter, brother ot John Thaxter (former tutor of J. Q. Adams);
born March 28, 1762 ; married August 27, 1786, Elizabeth Cushing ; died Octo
ber 9, 1837 ; a farmer. Hist, of Hingham, vol. iU. p. 235.
* A flour and grain miU on Weir Eiver, belonging to General Benjamin
Lincoln.

DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 55
after three. The young ladies had got home before dinner, and were
much fatigued. I was not so much so as I expected to be, from keep
ing so constantly on the go since the beginning of the week. In the
beginning of the evening Judge Sargeant came in ; he came from
Taunton where the Supreme Court have been sitting this week, and
completed their business last evening.
27th. Judge Sargeant, went away this forenoon proceeding on his
way to Cambridge. Tom went to Lincoln. In the afternoon, I went
with Charles and Kirkland to see my uncle Quincy.'' Mr. Wibird was
here in the evening.
28th. I attended upon Mr. Wibird in the forenoon ; and pass'd the
afternoon down at my father's Ubrary." W. Cranch came from Boston
last evening, and returned there to-night after meeting. I was very
much eutertained in reading some journals of my father's, from 1769 to
1776.' 29th. At about 10 o'clock Mr. Thaxter came in from Hingham on
his way to Boston. He stay'd but a few minutes, and I set off with him.
We got into town before one. I dined with Miss B. Smith,* who stiU
lives in the house that was her father's. Mrs. Cranch was there, and
went for Braintree soon after dinner. I went and spent the evening
with Dr. Kilham at his lodgings. He has made himself rather unpopu
lar, by opposing the submission of the Federal Constitution to a State
Convention ; and I think he is perfectly right in preferring his inde
pendency to his popularity.
30th. Sauntered about town the chief part of the day. Attended in
the gallery of the House of Representatives, but there was no matter of
any great importance before them. Dined at Deacon Storer's' with
Mr. Thaxter, who is very busy in making preparations for his marriage.
1 Norton Quincy (H. C. 1736), son of Colonel John Quincy ; uncle ot Mrs. Abi
gaU Adams; was in close harmony with John Adams at the outbreak of the
Eevolutionary troubles, presided over the Braintree Stamp Act meeting which
adopted John Adams's resolutions ; served with him as selectman in 1766; headed
the committee of correspondence appointed by the town in 1774, etc. ; died 1801.
He lived on Mount Wollaston. C. F. Adams, Three Episodes of Massachusetts
History, pp. 839, 846, 850, 868.
2 In the house still standing, at Penn's Hill, Quincy.
3 Subsequently published. See Life and Works of John Adams, vol. ii. pp.
216-433. * Elizabeth (Betsey) Smith, daughter of Deacon Isaac Smith, who died Octo
ber 16, 1787 ; born January 30, 1770.
^ Ebenezer Storer, merchant on Sudbury Street; treasurer ot Harvard College
1777-1807 ; for a time a deacon of the Brattle Square Church, and the title
clung to him. Baptized February 1, 1730, he died January 6, 1807, aged
seventy-seven. Apparently he was the uncle of William Smith, who married
Hannah Carter, of Newburyport. Eecords of the Church in Brattle Square
(1902), pp. 39, 117, 152, 279, etc.; Fleet's Ahnanackfor 1787 j Boston Directory
for 1789.

56 DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
I drank tea at Mr. Dawes's, and pass'd the evening at Mr. Foster's
with Dr. Tufts. Lodg'd at Mr. W. Smith's.
31st. Saw Charles in Boston, on his way to Cambridge, as the vaca
tion closes this day. At about noon I set out for Cambridge myself.
The Supreme Court sits there this week. I dined and lodg'd at Judge
Dana's. I attended the Court in the afternoon, but no case came on
of any consequence. Saw Stedman there. He has not yet opened an
office, but proposes to do so very soon. The House of Representatives
this day rejected a report of a Committee for erecting a bridge over
Beverly ferry.^ In the evening I called at Mr. Wigglesworth's and
passed an hour : Peggy is as sociable and agreeable as ever.
Here endeth the second Volume.
1787.
Thursday, November 1st 1787.
I attended in the morning and in the afternoon at the setting of the
Supreme Court. Judge Dana took his seat for the first time since his
illness, from which he has not yet, and I fear never will entirely re
cover. I dined at his house, and pass'd the evening with my old
classmate Sam' Williams.* The cases before the Court were not very
interesting, except one which was so intricate that I could not entirely
comprehend it. Sullivan and Lowell spent their lungs for three or
four hours upon the cause, and it was eight in the evening before it
was given to the jury. Sullivan asserted that in the Courts in this
country it was customary to take parol evidence, in preference to
matter of record. This bare-faced falshood was noticed by all the
Court. Sumner ' shook his head. " You are totally mistaken, Mr.
Sullivan," said Cushing.* " They have done so," said Sullivan.
"Then," said Sewall,^ "1 hope they will never do so again." This is
1 In 1788 the Essex Bridge was built over Beverly ferry, connecting Salem
with Beverly; the first stroke struck May 1; forraally opened for traffic Sep
tember 24. This, with the Charles River and Maiden bridges, was the pride of
Massachusetts ; " for magnitude," the " Centinel " asserted, " not equalled by any
thing of the kind in America." Massachusetts Centinel, September 10 and 24,
1788. 2 Samuel Williams, son of Eev. Samuel Williams, Hollis Professor of Mathe
matics at Harvard 1780-1788; born October 6, 1770; died March 1, 1808.
8 Increase Sumner (H. C. 1767), Justice of the Supreme Court 1782-1797;
Governor of Massachusetts 1797-1799 ; law student under Samuel Adams.
* Williara Cushing, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court ; appointed a Justice
before the War of Independence, succeeding his father and his grandfather ; 1789
resigned to accept appointraent to Supreme Court of the United States. John
Adams was norainated to the position ot Chief Justice, but never qualified. See
letter frora John Adams to William Cushing, June 9, 1776. John Adams,
Works, vol. ix. pp. 390-392 ; J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. vii. p. 136.
6 David Sewall (H. C. 1755), of York, Maine; classmate of John Adams;
Justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts 1777-1789 ; United States Judge

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 57
not an uncommon practice of Sullivan's ; and when the whole Court
are thus loudly against him he does not appear in the least abashed,
but appears to display a countenance which never knew a blush. I
lodg'd at Packard's chamber.
2d. I breakfasted this morning with Stedman. A number of the
lawyers were there ; rather nettled at a bill now before the Senate,
for the better regulating the fees, &c., of attorneys and practitioners.
The Committee by whom it was drawn up and presented, was com
posed of those persons who for these two years past have been the
most violent of the community, in their antipathy to lawyers — blessed
times ! ^ I was so much engag'd this forenoon in other matters that
of the District of Maine 1789-1818. See John Adams, Works, vol. ii. pp. 241-
244, vol. ix. pp. 627-629, vol. x. p. 399; Proceedings Mass. Hist. Soc, vol. i.
pp. 389, 390.
1 This entry has an historical significance. In 1788 the legal calling was, not
without cause', looked upon in Massachusetts with much popular disfavor. The
country was very poor, the people in debt, and the currency disordered. Paper
money was wholly discredited, and there was little silver in circulation. " The
suflTerings of the debtors in Massachusetts, especially in its central and western
counties [were] embittered by the devices of attorneys to increase their own
emoluments, and aggrieved by the barbarous laws of that day which doomed
the debtor, however Innocent, to imprisonment at the caprice of his creditor."
Bancroft, History of the Formation of the Constitution, vol. i. p. 274. See also
paper of John Noble in Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society tor
October, 1902. This condition of affairs had led to the uprising in the autumn
ot 1786. So great was the popular discontent at the time, and so odious had
lawyers become, that at a town meeting held at Braintree, where J. Q. Adams
lived, on the 25th ot September, 1786, its representative to the General Court
was instructed as follows : —
" 6thly. We humbly request that there may be such Laws compUed as may
crush or at least put a proper check or restraint on that order of Gentlemen
denominated Lawyers the completion of whose modern conduct appears to us
to tend rather to the destruction than the preservation of this Coramonwealth."
" 8thly. That Real and Personal Estate be a tender for all debts when call'd
for, provided the Interest be punctuaUy paid."
Some six months later, and under these circumstances, Mr. Adams, then a
member of the Senior class at Harvard, was assigned, as a part at the spring
exhibition, " a conference in English, upon the comparative utility of Law, Physic,
and Divinity." He was to advocate Law ; his classmates Moses Little and
Nathaniel Freeman spoke for Physics and Divinity. The following entries in
Mr. Adams's diary relate to the subject : —
" March 14th. Was employ'd almost aU day in thinking upon the subject of
my conference ; wrote a few lines, with much difficulty. Did not like the sub
ject. Wished the conference to the devil.
" March 15th. All day, engaged again in writing my part ot the conference ;
I do not know that I ever found so much difficulty to write upon any subject.
Little and Freeman are not mnch better pleased. In the night, however, between
twelve and two o'clock, I began to have something like a flow of ideas ; I wrote
more than I had done in two whole days."
The opening paragraph of his conference indicates the causes of his " diffi
culty," and also the popular feeling toward lawyers: —
8

68 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
I could not attend at the Court. I called at Mr. Daua's and at Mr.
Wigglesworth's,'^ and took their letters for Newbury-Port. Dined at
M" Forbes's. Jack,^ and his brother James,' arrived from Boston just
" At a time when the profession of the Law, labours under the heavy weight
of popular indignation ; when it is upbraided as the original cause of all the evils
with wliich the Commonwealth is distressed ; when the legislature have been
publicly exhorted by a popular writer to abolish it entirely, and when the mere
title of lawyer is sufficient to deprive a man ot the public confidence, it should
seem this profession would afford but a poor subject for panegyric : but its real
utility is not to be determined by the short-lived frenzy of an inconsiderate mul
titude, nor by the artful misrepresentations of an insidious writer. With this
consideration I shall rely upon the candor of the audience, without being terrified
by the prevailing prejudice ot the day."
Noveraber 4, 1785, " An act regulating the adraission of attorneys " forbade the
employment of more than two lawyers on either side in any suit. November 15,
1786, an " Act for rendering processes in law less expensive " limited the number
to one on either side "in any cause before the Court of Comraon Pleas."
But the people wished further restrictions, and on Thursday, October 18,
1787, it was ordered in the House of Eepresentatives that "Dr. Holton, Mr.
White & Mr. Dawes, be a coraraittee to revise the laws for rendering processes
in law less expensive and report such alterations as may be necessary to be made
therein." (MS. Journal of the House, p. 155.) And five days later the Senate
took action : " The Hon. Peter Coffin, Esq. bro't down the following order, viz:
In Senate, Oct. 23, 1787, Ordered that Aaron Wood & Benj'n Austin, Junior,
Esq'rs, with such as the Hon. House may join, be a committee to bring in a bUl
for regulating the practice of the law in this Commonwealth & for establishing
fees for attorneys, practitioners & witnesses." The House concurred at once
and appointed Mr. Carnes, Dr. Coney and Mr. Clarke. (House MS. Journal,
p. 173, October 23, 1787.)
On Wednesday, October 31, a bill for this purpose was considered in the
Senate, and the second reading was assigned for Thursday at 10 o'clock, the day
before that on which J. Q. Adams breakfasted with Stedman (MS. Journal of the
Senate, p. 183). There is no record that it came up on the date assigned ; but, on
Tuesday, November 6, it was negatived in the Senate, and notice to that effect
was sent to the House.
In the issue of the " Massachusetts Centinel " for Wednesday, November 21,
1787, a similar action by the House is recorded as follows : —
" Last evening a bill tor regulating the practice of the law, was debated and
flnally rejected in the House ot Representatives — although Mr. Carnes, in a
lengthy speech — Did a tale unfold — (Whose lightest word would harrow up the
soul) of Lawyer's impositions, charges, fees, enough to make the hair to stand on
end, like quills upon the fretful Porcupine."
1 Colonel Edward Wigglesworth, of Newburyport, was a cousin of Professor
Edward Wigglesworth, of Cambridge. They were grandsons ot the author of
" The Day of Doom."
2 John Murray Forbes, classmate of J. Q. Adams. Under date of March 28,
1787, J. Q. Adams wrote : " John Forbes of Cambridge was fifteen the 13th of last
August. He is the youngest person in the class, and his entering the university
at so early a period has been an essential injury to him. By being left so much

' James Grant Forbes, an elder brother of John Murray Forbes ; bom Novem
ber 22, 1769; commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the Forty-Second Infantry,

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 59
before dinner. It was almost five o'clock, when I got on my horse, and
took leave of Forbes and Packard. Just after dusk, I got into Boston.
to his own direction at twelve years of age, he acquired habits of indolence and
idleness which are not easily shaken off. He has an uncommon share of wit and
an extraordinary meraory ; but he has not sufficiently learnt to respect hiraself.
As he has always found his fellow students ready to laugh at his satirical
wit, he has acquired a great degree of impudence, and rather than miss a joke
fills his conversation frequently with the most low lived scurrility. As he seldora
loses much ot his time iu thinking, he is not sensible that the very persons who
applaud his satire despise tho speaker, or that the reason why no notice is taken
of his insults [is] because he is supposed to have no meaning in what he says. His
mind like the sand will receive any impression, and the impression will last about
as long. All these foibles however may be attributed to his youth, and it is to
be hoped a few years ot e.xperience will correct thera ; he is always good-natured,
and has a great deal of sensibility, with an excellent genius which wants nothing
but cultivation to make it flourish among the flrst. I have been intiraate with
him since I entered College and have always endeavoured to retain the sarae
sentiments concerning him, though his friendship for me appears to ebb and flow
as frequently as the tide. If he should throw offi those childish follies which now
disgrace his character, and apply with diligence to study, he would be an honour
to his friends and an ornament to society." Born in St. Augustine, Fla.,
August 13,1771, his father being the rector there; brought by his raother, Dorothy
Murray, of Milton, to Massachusetts in 1773; prepared for college by Dr. Sarauel
Kendal, of Weston; was engaged in the practice of law in Boston, 1794; after
1796 lived mostly abroad. In 1801 appointed consul-general for the north of
Europe, residing at Hamburg and Copenhagen ; November 18, 1819, recom
mended by J. Q. Adams to Monroe as special agent to the governraent of Chili, to
deraand restitution of property taken trora American citizens by Lord Cochrane
within its jurisdiction ; appointed agent tor commerce aud seamen to Buenos
Ayres, or ChiU, as the existing agent, B. Prevost, might choose (instructions
dated July 5, 1820) ; appointed Secretary of Legation at Buenos Ayres in 1823
to Caesar Eodney, Charge d'Affaires, who died June, 1824 ; nominated by J. Q.
Adams, March 5, 1825, Charge d'Affaires at Buenos Ayres ; died at his post
June 14, 1831. A strain of boyishness still lingered, apparently to the end ;
being troubled with gout, he is said to have chosen for his crest " a gouty foot
couchant, crossed by two crutches rarapant," with the motto, " Toujours sout-
fraut, jamais triste." He never married. See J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. iv.
pp. 443, 445 ; vol. v. pp. 129, 157, 168, 164 ; vol. vi. p. 520 ; American State Papers,
Foreign Eelations, vol. iv. pp. 820-826 ; vol. vi. p. 281, etc. ; A. K. Teele, Hist, of
Milton, pp. 567, 568. 
August 1, 1813 ; served under General Jackson ; was at one time commander at
Staten Island. When McGregor was ruling at Amelia Island, Forbes was there,
and was invited to become a member of the sham legislature at Fernandino, but
declined. Later, in April, 1818, he gave J. Q. Adams "many particulars of the
proceedings of the sham patriots under McGregor and Aury, and of the characters
of the men, confirraing everything that has been said of their profiigacy." In 1820
he again gave valuable information as to the pretended port of St. Joseph,
and the case ot the ApoUon. In March, 1821, J. Q. Adams recommended hira to
the President " as Coraraissioner to carry the order trora the King of Spain to
the Governor and Captain-General of Cuba for the delivery ot the Floridas and
ot the archives belonging to thera. The President assented to this appointment.
I sent for Forbes, who came to the office and agreed to go." How wearisome

60 DIAEY Of JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Went to Mr. Dawes's, and found Wm. Cranch with whom I went and
pass'd the evening at Dr. Tufts's lodgings. Lodg'd at Mr. W. Smith's.
3d. Between eight and nine this morning, I cross'd Charlestown and
Maiden bridges. I rode as far as Danvers before I stopp'd. There I
found Mr. W. Parsons' and his wife, Mr. T. Parsons, and Mr. J.
Tracey. They started from thence before me, but I came up with them
again in Ipswich, where we dined at Homan's tavern. Parsons was
quite witty, but strained rather too much for it, as he frequently does.
" John," said he to Tracey, " who made you adjutant general ? " " Mr.
Bowdoin." " Strange ! how the wisest men will err sometimes ! "
This kind of wit may, I think, be compared to a sky rocket, which
spends all its force in hissing, arid then disappoints us with such a
weak explosion that it can scarcely be heard. But wit to be pleasing
must, I think, be unexpected, like the lightening which flashes in our
eyes. From Ipswich I rode in company with them to Newbury, and
at about sunset I return'd my horse to his owner. I met Thompson
in the street, and went with him to Putnam's lodgings. He stay'd only
a few minutes, but I tarried there till almost nine o'clock, when I came
home and retired to bed.
4th. I was so much fatigued in consequence of my yesterday's ride
that I did not attend meeting. I wrote some lines at home, and finished
reading the first volume of Buffon's Theory of the Earth.^ I am exceed-
his mission was may be seen in his despatches. See American State Papers,
Foreign Relations, vol. iv. pp. 741-748 ; Memoirs, vol. iv. pp. 74-76 ; vol. v.
pp. 196, 322, 418, 420, 422 ; A. K. Teele, Hist, ot Milton, p. 567.
^ William Parsons, brother ot Theophilus Parsons, born in Byfield August 6,
1755 ; a sailor and shipmaster for five years ; moved to Boston to engage in
commerce iu 1780, with an office (in 1789) on Parsons's wharf and a, house on
South Street ; " an invalid from childhood," yet outlived all his connection, and
died March, 1837, the " oldest merchant and shipowner in the city." Memoir
of Theophilus Parsons, by his son, Theophilus Parsons, pp. 18, 331, 332 ; A.
Young, Memorial Discourse of March 26, 1837 ; Boston Directory tor 1789.
2 Between 1781 and 1785 there was published at Edinburgh an English trans
lation in nine volumes ot the works of the French scientist, George Louis Leclerc
de Buffon (1707-1788), the precursor ot Cuvier. "The Theory of the Earth"
and " The Natural History of Man " formed parts of this larger work. The origi
nal publication in French was noteworthy for its literary merit. Cuvier, J. Q.
Adams's junior by two years, owed his interest in natural history to Buffon, so
Mrs. R. Lee, the pupil and intimate friend of Cuvier, wrote. As a boy he " was
never without a volume of this author in his pocket, which was read again and
again. . . . The admiration which he telt at this youthful period for his great
predecessor never ceased, and in public as well as private circles, he never failed
to express it. The charms of Buffon's style, a beauty to which M. Cuvier was very
sensible, had always afforded him the highest pleasure, and he felt a sort of grati
tude to hira, not only for the great zeal he had evinced in the cause of natural
history, not only tor the enjoyraent afforded to his youthful leisure, but tor the
many proselytes who had been attracted by the magic of his language." Memoirs
of Baron Cuvier, pp. 11, 12.

DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 61
ingly pleased with the style and manner of this writer. It is concise,
nervous, and elegant. The theory I cannot properly judge of till I get
through the other volume.
5th. I attended at the office. Amory was there ; return'd yester
day from Salem. Townsend went to Boston last week, aud has not
yet return'd. In the afternoon, we attended the funeral of Mrs. Daven
port, a sister of Mr. Parsons; she died of a consumption a few days
since. Little and Thomson pass'd an hour with me in the evening,
after which I went with the latter to Mr. Atkins's. Thomson was much
affected on hearing of the death of one of his school-boys, who died of
the scarlet fever, after a very short illness. I cannot write yet in the
evening, for want of fire.
6th. Mr. Parsons went this morning to Salem, where the Supreme
Court sits this week. I pass'd this evening with Thomson at the office,
and had a great deal of conversation with him upon divers subjects. I
feel my attachment for this young gentleman daily increasing. The
more I become acquainted with him, the more my expectation of enjoy
ing great benefit and satisfaction from an intimacy with him increases.
Indeed I have hitherto had reason to think myself fortunate in my
fellow students, who are all very agreeable, although their dispositions
are essentially different. I pass'd an hour this forenoon very sociably
with Miss Jones.
7th. Quite industrious this day in copying forms. Alone in the
office a great part of the day. Amory, even when he is in town, is
not very attentive at the office. I pass'd the evening with Putnam.
Sth. Finished my book of forms, and wrote an index to them. So
that henceforth, I shall be able to attend more steadily to Blackstone.
Townsend return'd this morning from Boston.
9th. Amory went to Salem this afternoon. They have a ball there
this evening, said to be given to the Court. Amory went to attend it.
I pass'd the evening at Mr. Bradbury's, where we play'd a number of
tunes in concert, besides a cheating game of cards. I got through the
theory of the earth. I am more and more pleased with the author.
One part of his theory is merely hypothetical, and might perhaps be
called extravagant. He supposes the earth and the other planets
were originally a part of the sun, and that they were sever'd from it
by the shock of a comet, yet even in this part his reasoning is very
ingenious ; the other part of his theory is founded upon facts ; he lays
very justly much more stress upon this, and his arguments are very
strong aud convincing. He supposes that the continents and islands
which are now inhabited were covered by the waters of the ocean, and
that they will be so again ; that at some future period the Alps, the
Pyrenees, and the Andees will be at the bottom of the sea, and that
the earth now beneath the Atlantic and Pacific oceans will be the

62 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
abodes of men, adorned with splendid cities, and crowned with vener
able forests. The phenomena from which he deduces his strongest
arguments are the continual motion of the sea from east to west, the
correspondent angles of mountains, the horizontal and parallel position
of the different strata of earth, and the innumerable quantities of sea
shells and other marine productions found in all parts of the earth at
a considerable depth under-ground. If the author is sometimes mis
taken, he is certainly everywhere philosophical.
10th. Attended at the office as usual, and read Blackstone. Passed
the evening with Putnam at his lodgings. Began to read Buffon's
Natural History of Man.
1 1th. Attended meeting, with Townsend, the whole day at Dr. Tuck
er's ; much pleased with this gentleman as a preacher. Little came
home with me. In the evening Williams came in, — from Salem yes
terday. We went with him to Putnam's and finished the evening.
12th. I had some writing which I wished to do this day, and I
therefore did not attend at the office. Williams and Little dined, and
past the afternoon with me. Townsend came in just before dark ; I
went with him and spent an hour or two at Mr. Atkins's. This family
is very agreeable. Mrs. Atkins is a sociable, cheerful, sensible old lady ;
Miss A. is handsome, and a favorite of Townsend's. I went home
with Townsend and supped there. The evening was excessively dark.
13th. Williams set out this morning for Cambridge. I at length
got me some wood, and had a fire in my chamber, which will enable
me henceforth to study more in the evenings. Thompson was with me
an hour or two this night.
14th. I find I am getting fast into the same unmeaning dull same
ness, which has frequently abbreviated the space of a day in these
pages. Study does not consist merely in acquiring the ideas of others,
but it is necessary by reflection to endeavour to form some for our
selves. But I am fearful that I have not yet acquired sufficient knowl
edge to derive much advantage from my own speculations. Ars longa,
vita brevis, is a maxim the truth of which I am experiencing daily
more and more. There is not one art or science in which I have any
degree of proficiency, and I have now undertaken the study of a pro
fession which alone ought to employ all the time I can devote to study
for twenty years to come. My eyes and my health begin to fail, and I
do not feel that ardor for application which I should have to be a
man of science. In short the more I do, the more I fiud to do ; and it
is almost discouraging, to see one's labour increase, as we proceed in it.
15th. Amory and Thompson went upon a dancing party yesterday,
they invited me to join them, but I did not feel disposed. This after
noon I went with Townsend, and attended Mr. Spring's ^ lecture. I was
1 Eev. Samuel Spring (Princeton, 1771), in 1787 a man of about forty, pastor
ofthe North (Congregational) Church ot Newburyport over forty years (1777-

DLA.EY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 63
mnch better pleased than I expected to be with this gentleman's
preaching. His sentiments are extremely contracted and illiberal, and
he maintains them with the zeal and enthusiasm of a bigot, but his
dehvery is very agreeable, and I believe his devotion sincere. Although
I shall never be a convert to his principles, I will not condemn them as
impious and heretical. Little, Putnam, and I spent the evening with
Thomson, at his father's. A letter from W. S. was canvassed ; it was
stiff, inelegant and trivial. I gave this as my opinion, and although
they charged me with being prejudiced against the writer, yet I found
their sentiments on this point agreed perfectly with mine.
16th. I finished the second volume of Blackstone, and began upon
the third, which treats of private wrongs. And this evening I got
through Buffon's Natural History of Man, which is still more enter
taining than The Theory of the Earth.
17th. I set out for Haverhill between three and four this afternoon,
and arrived at Mr. White's a little after five. Leonard was at my lodg
ings last Tuesday, and made me promise I would stay with him the next
time 1 should go to that town. I was inform'd of Mr. Thaxter's mar
riage. Last Tuesday was the day when he departed the life of a bachelor
and was ushered into a new kind of existence. His friends had ex
pected it would not be till next Tuesday, but he fairly gave them the
slip. I went up to Mr. Shaw's this evening, and spent an hour.
Lodg'd at Mr. White's.
18th. In the forenoon I attended at Mr. Smith's meeting: he preaches
without notes, and, like all the preachers who make a practice of this
that I ever heard, often repeats the same sentiments. In the after
noon I went to hear Mr. Shaw. After meeting I went up there, and
pass'd part of the evening. Mr. Redington and Captain Marsh and
Deacon Eames were there.
19th. I lodg'd at Mr. White's again last night; went this morning up
to Mr. Shaw's and past an hour ; aud between ten and eleven set off
for Newbury-Port. Got home at about one. Called at the office ; found
Amory was gone to Salem for a week. Mr. Parsons says, he will spoil
himself in spite of anything that can be done. Townsend dined with me.
We were not much in the office in the afternoon. Little spent the
evening with me. Rather unwell.
1819) ; son of an " opulent farmer " of Northbridge ; studied theology under Drs.
Witherspoon, Hopkins, Bellamy, and West ; served as a chaplain in General
Arnold's disastrous expedition to Canada in 1775; installed at Newburyport, Au
gust, 1777 ; died March, 1819 ; published a Dialogue on Duty and several ser
mons ; was instrumental in founding the American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions, Andover Theological Seminary, and the American Bible So
ciety. Gardiner Spring, more than sixty years pastor ot the Brick Presbyterian
Church in New York City, was his son. Dunning, CongregationaUsts iu Amer
ica, p. 287; Contributions to the Ecclesiastical History of Essex County, pp.
86-92.

64 DIARY OP JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
20th. Proceed slowly in the third volume of Blackstone. As this is
the most important author of all those that will occur, I make large ex
tracts from him, which takes me up so much time that I cannot read above
twenty or thirty pages in a day. Townsend pass'd the evening at my
lodgings, — dull weather. This afternoon there was a town-meeting
for the purpose of choosing members to represent this town in the State
Convention which is to meet in January, and canvass the proposed
Federal Constitution. The persons chosen were Mr. Kiug,' Judge
Greenleaf, Mr. Parsons, and Gen' Titcomb. They are all in favour of
the Constitution, and the town appears to be very unanimous for it.
21st. I this morning requested of Mr. Parsons his opinion, whether
it would be most advantageous for me to pursue the professional study
in those hours when I should not attend at the office ; or whether it
would be best to devote those of my evenings which I shall pass at my
own lodgings, to other purposes, and a diversity of studies. He an
swered by observing that I could not attend to any useful branch of
science in which I should not find my account ; he would rather
advise me to read a number of ethic writers. It was necessary for a
person going into the profession of the law to have principles strongly
established ; otherwise, however amiable aud however honest his
disposition might be, yet the necessity he is under of defending indis
criminately the good and the bad, the right, and the wrong, would
imperceptibly lead him into universal skepticism. He advised also
Quinctilian and the best writers upon Christianity. He himself, he
said, was convinced of the truth of the Christian religion ; he believed
revelation, and it was his reason that had been convinced, for he
entered upon the world rather prejudiced against revelation. It
stormed in the afternoon. I pass'd part of the evening at Mr. Par
sons's, and the remainder with Townsend at his lodgings.
22d. Weather remarkably mild for the season. I have been rather
unwell for a week or ten days back, which prevents me from applying
myself with so much assiduity as I should wish to. I passed this
evening with Thompson and Putnam at Little's. We were very
sociable and cheerful. . . .
23d. The events of the day were quite uninteresting. I had how
ever an opportunity to observe the effects of the passions, how despot
ically they rule ! how they bend and master the greatest and the wisest
geniuses! 'Tis a pity! 'tis great pity! that prudence should desert
people when they have the most need of it. 'Tis pity that such a
mean, little, dirty passion as envy should be the vice of the most capa-
1 Rufus King (H. C. 1777), formerly a law student with Theophilus Parsons ;
entered political life in 1784 as a Representative from Newburyport; had just re
turned from the Constitutional Convention of 1787. For Judge Benjamin Green
leaf and General Titcomb, see supra, pp. 37, 47.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 65
cious souls. Human Nature, how inexplicable art thou ! Oh, may I
learn before I advance upon the political stage (if I ever do) not to put
my trust in thee ! This grave apostrophe, with the lines that precede
it, may be mysterious to you, sir, but if so, remember that it is none of
your business — and so I wish you good night.
24th. I went in the forenoon and exhibited my complaints to Dr.
Swett, but he told me they were not worth speaking of; and so I will
e'en let them take their chance. This afternoon Townsend and I
went down to Mr. Tracey's, upon a disagreeable piece of business, but
which we got through quite comfortably. Ben Hooper called on me
in the evening. I have again begun upon Gibbon's Roman History,
and hope I shall this time go through. I read the first volume last
spring ; but at that time my avocations were so numerous that I could
not proceed in reading the book. I admire the style, and in general
the sentiment, though I think there is sometimes an affectation of wit
in the one, and sometimes a glaring tinsel in the other, which are far
heneath the majestic simplicity of nature.
25th. 1 thought I was too unwell to pass two hours in a cold meeting
house this forenoon, and staid at home. In the afternoon I ventured
out, and went with Townsend to Dr. Tucker's meeting-house ; but find
ing there was no service there, we went to church. Parson Bass ^ is
not much of an orator, and was rather negligent in treating common
place topics in common place language. Drank tea at Mrs. Hooper's,
and pass'd the evening at Mr. J. Tracy's. Capt" Fletcher ^ was there.
Tracy ' was quite warm upon the subject of the late election. He is a
militia officer, and possessed very strongly of the esprit de corps. He
was offended that Gen' Titcomb should come in the last of the four
members for this town ; and, in the course of conversation, went rather
beyond the bounds of prudence.
26th. I took an additional cold yesterday, and am still more unwell
than I have been. I pass'd the evening at my lodgings, reading Gibbon
and translating a piece from the French.
1 Rev. Edward Bass (H. C. 1744), rector of St. Paul's (Episcopal) Church in
Newburyport, 1752-1803 ; bom in Dorchester November 23, 1726 ; one of the
few Episcopal clergymen who remained, and his parishioners with him, during
and after the war, the church and the country attaining independence and self-
support in the same year ; in 1797, when over seventy years of age, choseu
the first bishop of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, holding the two offices of
bishop and rector for six years ; died September 10, 1803. Among his parish
ioners were many college-bred merchants, as Jonathan Jackson, Tristram Dalton,
John Tracy, Stephen Hooper; also Dudley Atkins, etc. D. D. Addison, Life
and Times ot Edward Bass ; J. J. Currier, " Ould Newbury," pp. 403-416.
2 Presumably John Fletcher, sea-captain, Treasurer of the Marine Society of
Newburyport. Fleet's Almanack tor 1787.
' John Tracy was Deputy Adjutant-General of the mUitia of Essex County,
of which Jonathan Titcomb was Major-General. 9

66 DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
27th. Better than I have been for these ten days past ; all the time
again at the offlce or at my own lodgings. It is of great advantage to us
to have Mr. Parsons in the office. He is in himself a law-library, and
a proficient in every useful branch of science ; but his chief excellency
is, that no student can be more fond of proposing questions than he is
of solving them. He is never at a loss, and always gives a full and
ample account, not only of the subject proposed, but of all matters
which have any intimate connection with it. I am persuaded that
the advantage of having such an instructor is very great, and I hope
I shall not misimprove it, as some of his pupils have done. Where
nature is deficient, application must supply her place ; and, if Nature
is liberal, there is so much more reason for turning her partiality ta
advantage. For Nature never lends
The smallest scruple of her excellence.
But like a thrifty goddess she determines
Herself the glory of a creditor,
Both thanks and use.^
28th. . . . Mr. Parsons, after making much difficulty, has finally
consented that we should pass the evenings till eight o'clock at the
office, at Townsend's importunity. It will make at this season a large
addition to the time which we employ in the professional studies,
though I do not know that it will be of any great advantage to me.
29th. Thanksgiving day : between eight and nine o'clock this mom
ing I set out for Haverhill and got to Mr. Shaw's a little before eleven.
I attended meeting. Mr. Shaw preach'd a long sermon and a good
one. Mr. Parker and his wife dined with us. I did not admire them,
the woman particularly: she has a hard masculine countenance, and
black eyes which express as much softness as those of a tyger. But
she is a very good woman ; only has rather too much temper, or as it
is called in New-England too much stuff. I went down to Mr. White's
in the evening, but Leonard was not at home. I was going to Mr.
Duncan's, but met all the younger part of the family in the street. I
found Leonard White at Mr. Shaw's, and Mr. Flint who came this
day from Lincoln.
30th. I passed the forenoon with Leonard, who has been making
two or three unsuccessful attempts to make phosphorus ; his glass vials
melt in the process. Dined at Mr. Duncan's. Mrs. Thaxter has got
two or three wrinkles on her forehead. I went to see the house in
which they are to live — pass'd the afternoon with him. His honey
moon is not yet past. I was at Mr. White's in the evening.
1 Measure for Measure, Act i. Scene 1.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 67
Saturday, December 1st, 1787.
I dined at Mr. White's ; after dinner I went to Mr. Shaw's, stay'd
about an hour, and just before sun-set departed for Newbury-Port.
I got into the town just as the clock struck seven. Pass'd the even
ing with Putnam, and came home at about nine. I found Dr. Kil
ham at home. He return'd from Boston on Thursday ; and although
his conduct during the late session of the General Court, upon the
subject of the proposed continental constitution, has not met with the
approbation of his constituents in general, yet I think he is very much
to be applauded for that independance of spirit which disdains to sacri
fice a sentiment to the breath of popularity.^ But men are too apt
to suspect the motives of those with whom they differ in sentiment,
and although in this country religious bigotry is almost entirely done
away, yet the same principle, in another garb, appears in all our
pohtical manoeuvres.
5th. I pass'd the evening with Little and Townsend at Miss Caz-
neau's. We play'd commerce and whist ; but it was dull work. Miss
Cazneau has nothing in her person to recommend her, but a very good
shape ; her complexion is very dark, and not very clear, — no feature
of her face is peculiarly agreeable and her eyes are rather unfavorable
to her. A capricious, passionate, imprudent character is stamped upon
her behaviour. She displays rather too much levity, and a trifling,
uninteresting vanity is conspicuous. I call it wrainteresting vanity,
because there is a certain kind of vanity that I have observed in some
women which is exceedingly interesting, and which is sometimes pro
ductive of such pleasing manners that I should be at a loss whether
to call it a foible or an accomplishment. Miss Tucker, who likewise
passed the evening there, is fair, rather too large for gentility, with a
countenance which has not sufficient animation or expression to be very
strikingly agreeable. Her manners are pleasing. If I could find fault
with any part of them, it would be with the appearance of an affectation
of softness. This defect is not uncommon ; but however amiable a real
sweetness of disposition may be, this appearance of it in the manners
is not calculated to win my heart. However, if I were to judge of the
tempers of these two ladies from their behaviour this evening, I should
pronounce the latter infinitely the most amiable of the two. I came
home at about nine, in the evening.
6th. Spent the evening with Thompson and Little at Putnam's
lodgings. We conversed upon a diversity of subjects. Law, physic,
history, poetry, religion and politics, by turns, engaged our attention.
1 See " Massachusetts Centinel," October 27, 1787, for a report of Dr. Kil-
ham's speech in the Legislature in opposition to the Federal Constitution.

68 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
These meetings renew the recollection of those happy scenes which
we have all gone through in college ; and in this manner I now pass
some of my most agreeable hours. But after I came home this even
ing, and after reading an hour or two, I felt a depression of spirits
to which I have hitherto been entirely a stranger. I have frequently
felt dull, low spirited, in a manner out of tune ; but the feelings which
I now experienced were different from what I ever knew before, and
such as I hope I shall never again experience : they kept me awake
a great part of the night, and when I finally fell asleep they disturbed
my rest by the most extravagant dreams.
7th. Mr. Parsons has recovered in a great measure from his illness,
so that he was the chief part of this day in the office. I spent the
evening in part with him — play'd back-gammon and draughts. At
the former of these games he beats me; at the latter I beat him. I
should suppose him to be a great proficient at those games which
require refiection and a train of reasoning, which is very much the
case with draughts ; but much of this skill depends entirely upon
practice in which he is deficient. . . .
Sth. . . . Townsend came home and sat an hour with me. We
conversed upon several topics, but chiefly upon ambition, that virtue
or vice, according as it is directed. We did not perfectly agree upon
the subject, though our sentiments were not very different. In the
evening I wrote, and among others brought myself down to the present
hour in this book, which I have not done before for these last two
months. Oth. Attended Dr. Tucker's meeting in the forenoon. He gave us
an excellent sermon upon the story of Haman, from which he drew
a number of very rational reflections upon the evils of pride, haughti
ness and a revengefuU disposition. In the afternoon I went and heard
Mr. Carey. Townsend called upon me in the evening, and I went
with him to Mr. Atkins's, where we stay'd about an hour ; after which
we went to see Thompson, who is quite unwell. We sat half an hour
below with Mr. Thompson. Parson Spring ' was there ; and we con
versed upon the topic which is now prevalent — the Federal Constitu
tion. I came home early and wrote a long letter to W. Cranch.
10th. This forenoon Townsend set off for Boston. Mr. Parsons
intended to have gone likewise, as the Supreme Court sits by adjourn
ment there this week. But he was so much troubled with an ague in his
face and the toothach, that he could not go. I pass'd the evening
with Little at Dr. Swett's. Mrs. Swett ^ is a pretty woman, and agree-
1 See supra, p. 31.
2 Mrs. Charlotte Bourne Swett, daughter of Judge WUliam Bourne, of Marble
head; after Dr. Swett's death married John Taylor Gilman, ot Exeter, Federalist
Governor of New Hampshire 1794-1805, 1813-1816. Thacher, American Medical
Biography, vol. ii. p. 109 ; McCUntock, History of New Hampshire, pp. 446-449.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 69
able ; not endow'd, I believe, with great strength of mind ; not much of
a reasoner, nor much of a patriot, and professes to know nothing of
politics, which she supposes to be entirely out of the sphere of the
female sex. It would perhaps be as well, if all women thought so,
and conducted upon the principle; yet I wish even females to feel
some interest in the welfare of their country. The Dr. is a man of
learning and ingenuity. He went through a course of professional
studies in Scotland, and has travell'd in different parts of Europe ; but
he has a mean idea of human nature, and I should not wonder if all
physicians had ; for they are incessantly conversant with the physical
defects and infirmities of mankind. They see humanity in a state of
humiliation, and it is no wonder if they have no idea of its glory.
llth. Reading Blackstone all day; and I pass'd the evening at the
office till eight ; after which I went and past an hour with Putnam.
F. Bradbury was with him. We had some conversation upon the
stale topic of self love and disinterested benevolence. A subject upon
which I have very frequently conversed with many different persons,
and, notwithstanding every thing that I have heard said upon the
subject, I still retain the opinion which I adopted when I first reasoned
upon it. I will not venture to say there is no such thing as disinter
ested benevolence, but I must say that after searching as deeply as
possible into my own mind, I cannot find a trace of it there. Talk'd
with Dr. Kilham upon the Federal Constitution. The elections which
have hitherto been made in different parts of the State, appear to be
generally favorable to it.
12th. This day I finished reading the fourth and last volume of
Blackstone's Commentaries. This is one of the most important books
in the profession, and 1 have, comparatively speaking, taken more time
in reading it than I probably shall for any other book ; yet I am very
far from being master of it, and I intend before the end of my three
years, if I should live and have my health, to go through this book
once or twice more. I began in the afternoon upon Sullivan's Lectures,
and read a few pages ; but not sufficient to get an idea of the merits of
the book. Thompson has so far recovered, that he was at the office in
the afternoon. I pass'd the evening at my own lodgings, reading and
writing. 13th. The repetition of the same events, from day to day, is the only
variety which can supply materials for this record of my transactions.
Conversations are seldom interesting. New characters seldom arise,
and I am employed more time in thinking what I shall say for one day,
than I am in writing the occurrences of a week. Fertility of imagina
tion might supply the deficiency of materials, but my soil produces no
spontaneous fruits . . .
14th. I was about an hour with Dr. Kilham at his shop immediately

70 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
after dinner ; I took up one of the volumes of Junius's Letters,* and
carried it with me to the office. I' read the whole afternoon, and was
interrupted only by the shadows of the evening. I called upon Little,
and brought him home with me to my lodgiugs. We pass'd a very
sociable evening together. After he was gone, I took up again my vol
ume of Junius, and just before I finished it the midnight clock re
minded me that the hour of retirement was again come round. This
hour and that of rousing from the night's repose are equally disagree
able to me. My mind seems in this respect to partake of the vis iner
tia of matter. I cannot possibly rise early, and I am obliged to run
forward into the night for those moments of contemplation and study
which perhaps would be more advantageously taken before the dawn of
day.^ 15th. A violent north-west wind blew the whole day, but we have
no snow yet. . . . Spent the evening with Putnam, who has lately
taken a great fancy to digging in metaphysical ground, though he is
not perfectly acquainted with the nature of the soil. He has drunk just
enough of the Pierian spring to intoxicate the brain, and not sufficient
to sober him again.
16th. I waited upon Parson Cary this forenoon, in expectation of
much edification ; but he gave us a more indifferent sermon than
usual, which, in addition to the weather's being very cold, prevented
me from going in the afternoon, instead of which I read three or four
of Yorick's sermons.' Townsend, who returned last night from Boston,
was here all day. In the evening I concluded the first volume of Gib
bon's history. The two last chapters which treat of the rise and pro
gress of Christianity are written neither with the indulgence of a
friend, nor even with the candor and ingenuous openness which an
enemy ought ever to show. The sentiment however with which he
concludes the volume is a melancholy truth ; and it is to the immortal
honour of the present age that no new religious sect can gain ground,
because it cannot find a persecutor.
17th. I have continued reading in Sullivan's Lectures. The book is
entertaining, and the author- so far as he goes appears to be master of
his subject. In general he is perspicuous and intelligible, but the
treatise is rather historical than professional : it was a posthumous
1 Written between 1769 and 1772.
^ Later in life, as is well known, J. Q. Adams overcame this disinclination to
early rising, and became at last a victim to it. Deceraber 31, 1828, he wrote :
"My rising hour has varied from quarter-past four to seven — the average being
about five. After making my fire, I have been constantly writing tiU breakfast
time, between nine and ten." Memoirs, vol. viii. p. 88. See also ibid., vol. vii.
pp. 97, 165, 365 ; etc.
8 The Serraons of Mr. Yorick ; or. Sermons by Laurence Sterne. Publication
began in 1760 ; had passed through several editions before 1787.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 71
work, and therefore probably much more imperfect than it would have
been had the author himself given it to the public. The style is rather
harsh and inharmonious, and there are many inaccuracies even of gram
mar, which are probably nothing more than errors of an uncorrected
press. Townsend and I pass'd the evening in the office till about eight,
after which I went in and play'd with Mr. Parsons at back-gammon
about an hour.
18th. Passed the day at the office. Townsend and Thompson were
there in the evening.
The question, what am I to do in this world recurs to me very fre
quently ; and never without causing great anxiety, and a depression of
spirita. My prospects appear darker to me every day, and I am obliged
sometimes to drive the subject from my mind and to assume some more
agreeable train of thought. I do not wish to look into futurity ; and
were the leaves of fate to be opened before me, I should shrink from
the perusal. Fortune, I do not covet. Honours, I begin to think are
not worth seeking, and as for " the bubble reputation," though deck'd
with all the splendors of the rainbow, yet those very splendors are de
ceitful, and it seldom fails to burst from the weight of the drop which
it contains. 19 th. I spent my time this day in the same manner that I did the two
last. I came home to my lodgings at about eight in the evening, and
not being disposed to study felt quite dull. When Dr. Kilham is not
at home, I am entirely without company, for my landlady is in fact a
good woman, but merely a good woman.
20th. The cold weather appears to be setting in seriously ; and in
deed it is high time that it should. It snow'd some part of the day.
Just after dusk, I walk'd with Thompson and Putnam to Little's home
in Newbury, but he was gone to attend the ordination at Byfield.* We
^ The ordination of Eev. Elijah Parish (Dartraouth, 1785), pastor of the church
at Byfield for thirty-eight years ; the strong Federalist whose election sermon of
1810, prepared at the invitation of a Federalist Legislature but delivered to a
"Jacobin" one, was quoted for its bitter, stinging phraseology, by Mathew
Carey in his " OUve Branch " (1814), and by Robert Y. Hayne, of South Carolina,
in the Senate debate with Webster ; instrumental in founding Andover Theologi
cal Seminary and the American Board of Coraraissioners for Foreign Missions ;
born at Lebanon, Conn., in 1762 ; died October 15, 1825 ; a " Hopkinsian," Uke
Dr. Spring, of Newburyport. See J. N. Dummer, Brief History ot Byfield Con
gregational Church ; Appleton, Sprague, ete. See also infra, p. 76. Dr. Tucker's
daughter, in her journal under date of July 7, 1788, shows in another aspect
this inleresting man the " vacancy " of whose countenance J. Q. Adams noted.
Eiding over to Byfield, she came into the midst of a revival ; or, as she worded
it, " Parson Parish, 1 find, is much celebrated as a divine, and has been so suc
cessful as to discompose many of his hearers," adding a distrust of the move
ment with the " great appearance of sanctity and this wild kind of enthusiasm."
Thus the impression made by Dr. Parish during the first months of his ministry
seems to have been characteristic of the man and of his career ; from the begin-

72 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
return'd, and the lads pass'd the evening quite sociably with me till
nine o'clock. Captain Wyer was here in the evening. He was, he says,
an enthusiast for liberty in 1775, but finds it all a farce ; he is now
no less an enthusiast; and he may chance to find his present object,
which is different enough from Liberty, more tragical than merry.* I
finished this day with Sullivan's Lectures; and am not displeased to
have gone through it.
21st. I read through Wright's short treatise upon the feudal
tenures. I found nothing in it but what I had before read upon the
subject in other writers. In the beginning of the next week, I shall
take up Coke upon Littleton, which seems to be the great magazine for
law knowledge, but it is oue of those unlucky folios which appear so
formidable to many students in the profession. I set myself down for
three months at this book.
22d. I pass'd the day as usual at the office ; but there was scarce a
half an hour at a time without some visitor who entered into conver
sation with Mr. Parsons, and prevented us from paying any attention
to our books. This is too frequently the case and much of our time is
lost in that manner. Luckily this was to me a leisure day, and I only
made a few extracts from Blackstone. Little pass'd the evening with
me. Weather quite moderate. 1 should wish, in order to give some
kind of variety to these pages, to bring in the aid of something
more than a mere insipid narrative of my journeys from the ofHce to
my lodgings, and from my lodgings to the office. I have heretofore
made free plunder with the characters of persons with whom I had any
connections, but on many accounts I have found this a dangerous prac
tice ; for as I cannot keep these volumes so secret as I should wish to,
and as the models may by some means get access to the picture, I am
obliged either to forfeit my sincerity, even towards myself, or to run the
risque of making enemies. My disposition has prompted me to prefer
the latter evil and I have sometimes experienced the disadvantages of
committing my real opinions to writing. I have been thinking whether
the method of recording observations, without exemplifying characters,
would not be equally agreeable to me without being dangerous. If my
observations are collected from a concurrence of facts, and if they should
be upon subjects of any consequence, I might in that manner pluck the
ning a vigorous personality, a rugged man, making on Alice Tucker almost as
unfavorable an impression as on J. Q. Adams, yet wielding a great influence over
the people to whom he ministered, and, later, in his denomination and political
party. At a later date (January 4, 1790) Miss Tucker wrote : " Afternoon
Parson Parish call'd and drank tea with us. He is a little, sociable man, and
quite agreeable in conversation." Manuscript journal ot Alice Tucker (1751-
1808), now in the possession of the daughters of Mr. John Tucker Prince.
1 See supra, p. 46,

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 73
rose, without pricking my finger with the thorn. I believe I shall en
deavour, though not immediately, to practise upon thia plan.
23d. I went this forenoon to hear Parson Murray * preach. He expa
tiated somewhat largely upon the seventh commandment. I was not
very much pleased with him, — his voice is clear and strong, and his
delivery agreeable ; but I have heard even extempore speakers preach
more to my satisfaction. His arguments against a crime which must
meet with general abhorrence were not, I think, the most forcible that
might have been brought, and he extended it further than I thought
reasonable. I did not attend meeting in the afternoon. We finally
have got a violent snowstorm, which begun this morning, and has been
acquiring force the whole day.
[On this day Mr. Adams wrote the following letter to his mother : —
" Dear Madam, — ... In the beginning of September I came to
this town, and began the study of law with Mr. Parsons. I could not
possibly have an instructor more agreeable then this gentleman. His
talents are great ; his application has been indefatigable ; and his pro
fessional knowledge is surpassed by no gentleman in the Common
wealth. The study itself is far from being so destitute of entertainment
as I had been led to expect. I have read three or four authors with
pleasure as well as improvement ; and the imaginary terrors of tedious
ness and disgust have disappeared upon the first approach. But in
their stead other fears have arisen which create more anxiety in my
mind, and which will increase rather than subside. The popular odium
which has been excited against the practitioners in this Coramonwealth
prevails to so.great a degree that the most innocent and irreproachable
life cannot guard a lawyer against the hatred of his fellow citizens.
The very despicable writings of Honestus were just calculated to
1 Eev. John Murray, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church ; born May 22,
1742, in Antrim, Ireland ; educated at Edinburgh University ; in May, 1765, a pas
tor at Philadelphia ; in July, 1766, at Boothbaj', Me. ; had a career as an extempore
speaker and evangelist like that of Whitefield ; delegate from the Boothbay region
to the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts iu 1775, and took an active part in
its proceedings ; was so vigorous in behalf of the American cause that the British
Commodore in the Maine waters iu 1779 placed a reward of five hundred guineas
on his head; by a stirring sermon rallied a company of volunteers in Newbury
port ; installed there June 4, 1781 ; died March 13, 1793 ; was esteemed an orator ;
known as "Damnation" Murray to distinguish hira from " Salvation " Murray,
who was then preaching in Massachusetts the faith of the Universalists. Jonathan
Greenleaf and Captain William Coombs were elders in his church ; among the
names of his parishioners are to be found Titcomb, Knight, Tufts, etc. Some of
the neighboring pastors, especially Dr. Spring, did not receive hira into cordial
fellowship. See A. G. Vermilye, Memoir of Eev. John Murray in Maine
Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. vi. pp. 155-170; H. C. Hovey, Origin and Annals of
"The Old South" First Presbyterian Church, pp. 37-42, 88, 199; J. J. Currier,
"Ould Newbury," p. 523; etc. 10

74 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
kindle a flame which will subsist long after they are forgotten. Tha
author after being hoisted by this weak instrument into the Senate
has already return'd to his native insignificancy, and under the new
adopted signature of Candidus defends a good cause without ability
and without success. But the poison has been so extensively com
municated that its infection will not easily be stopped. A thousand
lies in addition to those published in the papers have been spread all
over the country to prejudice the people against the " order," as it has
invidiously been called ; and as a free people will not descend to dis
guise their sentiments, the gentlemen of the profession have been
treated with contemptuous neglect and with insulting abuse. Yet
notwithstanding all this the profession is increasing rapidly in numbers,
and the little business to be done is divided into so many shares that
they are in danger of starving one another. When I consider these
disadvantages, which are in a degree peculiar to the present time, and
those which at all times subsist, when I reflect that with good abilities,
great application and a favourable fortune are requisite to acquire that
eminence in the profession which can ensure a decent subsistence, I con
fess I am sometimes almost discouraged, and ready to wish I had
engaged in some other line of life. But I am determined not to
despond. With industry and frugality, with patience and perseverance
it will be very hard if I cannot go through the world with honour. I
am most resolutely determined not to spend my days in a dull tenor
of insipidity. I never shall be enough of a stoic to raise myself beyond
the reach of Fortune. But I hope I shall have so much resolution as
shall enable me to receive prosperity without growing giddy and ex
travagant, or adversity without falling into despair.
I board at Mrs. Leathers's — a good old woman ; who even an hun
dred years ago would have stood in no danger of being hang'd for
witchcraft. She is however civil and obliging, and, what is very much
in her favour, uncommonly silent — so that if I am deprived of the
charms, I am also free from the impertinence of conversation. There
is one boarder beside myself. A Dr. Kilham (I hope the name will
not scare you), one ofthe representatives from this town, a very worthy
man; and a man of sense and learning. Was it not for him I should be
at my lodgings as solitary as an hermit. There is a very agreeable
society in the town ; though I seldom go into company.
I pass'd two or three days at Haverhill about a month ago, and had
the pleasure of finding Mr. Thaxter. From the severest censurer of
every trifling attentions between lovers, he became as fond a shepherd
as ever was celebrated in the annals of Arcadia. He expects some
peculiar animadversions from you, for his desertion of principles which
he formerly boasted were so deeply rooted in his mind. But it ia the
old story of Benedick. The absurdity is not in abandoning a vain

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 75
ineffectual resolution ; hut it is in pretending to adopt a resolution
which every day may be rendered futile.
I have frequently been prevented from expatiating in my letters
upon political topics, by the sterility of the subject ; uncommon fertility
now produces the same effect. I can only say in general terms that
parties run very high, and that we are most probably at the eve of
a revolution. Whether it will be effected in silence and without a
struggle, or whether it will be carried at the point of the sword is yet a
question. The newspapers will show you how much the public is
engaged in the discussion of the new continental form of government,
which I fear will be adopted. . . .]
24th. Began upon Coke-Littleton, and read about a dozen pages.
Pass'd about an hour in the evening with Mr. Parsons, playing back
gammon. . . .
25th. Christmas day. Parson Bass preached a sermon, but I did not
go to hear him. I dined with Townsend, and pass'd the afternoon
there. At about dusk, I took a long walk with him, and then returned
to my own lodgings. The Dr. this day took a ride out of town. In
the evening I fell to speculating upon political subjects. I regret ex
ceedingly that I have so little time at my own disposal. A thousand
subjects call my attention, and excite my curiosity. Most of them I am
obliged to pass from without noticing them at all ; and the few to which
I can afford any leisure, only lead me to regret that I cannot go deeper.
The tedious study of a profession, which requires indefatigable indus
try and incessant application, is alone sufficient employment. But tha
arts and sciences in general, and in particular the liberal arts, must not
be neglected. I suspect I shaU soon drop this journal.
27th. St. John's Day. An entertainment for the Society of Free-
Masons. In conaequence of Stacey's exertions, we had thia evening a
good dance. There were only thirteen gentlemen and fifteen ladies.
The diversion was general, and the company spirited. Upon such occa
sions there is almost always somebody who makes peculiar amusement
for the rest of the company. A Captain Casey was this evening aa
singular aa any of the gentlemen. As a Mason, he had the generosity
of his heart at dinner rather than the refiections of prudence, and as
this, like moat virtuea, increases by being put in action, he had not laid
any illiberal restraints npon himself in the evening. It increaaed ex
ceedingly hia activity, and after all the company had done dancing he
retained vigour to walk a minuet and to akip in reels. In all thia there
was nothing but was perfectly innocent ; yet ao fond are the sona of
men to remark their respective foibles, that the Captain was not totally
exempted from the smiles of the company. This was the most particu
lar circumstance that took place. In general I was much pleased. It

76 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
was between four and five in the morning before we broke up. Put
nam came and sat an hour with me and Little in garrulous conversa
tion. A little after the clock struck five, Putnam went home ; and I
much fatigued retired to bed.
28th. We rose between ten aud eleven in the forenoon. Little
took a breakfast with me ; after which I went to the office, but felt
entirely incapable of doing anything serious. I pass'd the time there
fore till dinner in idle chat. In the afternoon, I passed an hour with Dr.
Kilham ; and again repaired to the office, with as little success as ever.
In the evening, all the gentlemen who were last night at the dance
were at Putnam's lodgings. We drank and smoked and sang there till
nine o'clock ; but, notwithstanding a forced appearance of hilarity was
kept up, there was in fact no real mirth. All were fatigued by the last
night's siege, and unable to bear another, such as the inexhaustible
spirits of Amory would have relished. At nine therefore we retired,
and not long after I got home, I went to bed.
29 th. Not entirely recovered yet from the fatigue of Thursday night ;
but could in some measure attend to reading. Mr. Parsons's students
all dined with him. Master Moody,* from Byfield, with a son of Dart
mouth by the name of Parish were likewise of the company. Mr.
Parish has to perfection the appearance and manners which have dis
tinguished all the young gentlemen from that seminary with whom I
have had any acquaintance, — the same uncouthness in his appearance,
the same awkwardness in his manners, and, really I am not illiberal if I
add, the same vacancy in his countenance. That a man should not at
the same time make a scholar and a fine gentleman, that the graces
and the muses should refuse to reside in the same mansion, is what
I have never thought strange ; that they seldom unite is at once my
sorrow and my consolation; but the students of Dartmouth, appear
1 Master Samuel Moody (H. C. 1746), the genial and eccentric preceptor of
Dummer Academy. Born April 18, 1726, at York ; a teacher there for sixteen
or seventeen years; first preceptor of Dummer Academy 1762-1790; a bachelor;
died December, 1795, at Exeter, N. H. Held in the highest and raost affectionate
esteem by pupils such as President Willard and Professor Webber of Harvard,
Theophilus Parsons and Eufus King, with a long and honorable record of service
over a flourishing school, his best days were in the past. The son ot " Handker
chief Moody" and grandson of "Faithful Moody," the eccentricities of his
character aud intellect were becoming so pronounced as to impair his usefulness
and compel his resignation. Again Miss Tucker's impression is in accord with
that ot J. Q. Adams, for a year later, December 3, 1788, she calls him the " vocif
erous Master Moody," and speaks of " his high sounding volubility." And on
May 9, 1790, writes : " Master Moody spent the day with us — how he em
barrasses one by his gross extravagant corapliraents — certainly he does not
possess any true politeness, and is a stranger to that delicate sensibility which
is cautious of offending." Manuscript Journal of Alice Tucker. N. Cleaveland,
The First Century of Duramer Academy, pp. xiii-xvii, 19-33. See infra, p. 85.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 77
determined to raise no rivalship between these sets of sisters, and there
fore discard them all. Mr. Moody was extremely full of high flown
compliments ; the grossest, the most fulsome flattery waa incessantly in
bis mouth. Every virtue and every accomplishment he lavished away
upon the company, with so little consideration that he seemed to forget
that modesty was in the list. He went off however very soon after
dinner. By G. Bradbury,* I received a couple of letters from Cam
bridge which gave me no agreeable news. Bradbury was with me in
the evening ; he relieved me in some measure from my feara. The
Colleges, it seems, in the course of the last quarter have been in great
confusion, and the students are much irritated.
30th. Attending meeting the whole day at Mr. Carey's. Dined at
Mr. Hooper's ^ in company with Mr. Symmes, who return'd in the after
noon to Andover. In the evening I walk'd with Dr. Kilham to Mr.
Carter's ; found nobody at home. We then went and pass'd the
evening with Mrs. Emery, The conversation was agreeable, tho' not
extremely interesting.
31st. In the evening I went with Townsend to see Miss Cazneau,
and to fulfill a proraise of playing on the flute for her, which I made
some weeks ago, and renew'd last Thursday. The character of Miss C.
I propose to delineate at a future period, if I should continue to draw
any.' At eight I left her and pass'd the remainder of the evening at
Mrs. Hooper's.
The night which puts a period to the revolving year alwaya presents
to my mind a crowd of the most serious reflections. But none are
more important than those upon the shortness of human life. A
twentieth part of the days of man has nearly elapsed since I began thia
journal ; yet how uninteresting the events ! how much of that period
lost ! how much mis-speut ! but revert the question : how much em
ployed to make me wiser, better and more useful ? Ah ! how shall I
answer ?
1 George Bradbury (H. C. 1789), son of Theophilus Bradbury, bom in Port
land October 10, 1770 ; a lawyer in Portland ; a member of the Massachusetts
Legislature 1802 (from Newburyport), 1806-1810, 1811-1812 (from Portland) ;
a Eepresentative in Congress 1813-1817 ; etc. ; died November 17, 1823. W. B.
Lapham, Bradbury Memorial, pp. 89, 118, 119.
2 See infra, p. 103.
' See supra, p. 67. Febmary 24, 1789, Alice Tucker wrote : " Miss Cazneau
came from town aud took tea with me ; lively conversation ; she is a young
lady of humour, and very volatile " ; and again, Deceraber 9 : " The lively
laughing Miss Cazneau came in the afternoon and took tea with us." It is
evident, frora an entry in this journal of March 24, 1789, that this family had
known days of greater prosperity, but were then reduced " to indigence," Manu
script journal of AUce Tucker.

78 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Tuesday, January 1st, 1788.
Pass'd the day and evening at the office. Read at my own lodgings
till one o'clock in the morning. I feel every day a greater disposition to
drop this nonsense. It takea up a great deal of my time ; and, as it is
incessantly calling upon me, I can never have any respite. In the ex
treme cold of winter I have no convenience for writing, and was it not
for the pleasure of complaining to myself, I believe I should have done
long ago. I often get in arrears, and then I have as much time to rec
ollect the circumstances of one day, as at other times I have to write
for four. These inconveniences however are most prevalent in the
severity of the winter season. As I have got so far through this,
and more particularly as I have now begun the year, I will make
an effort to carry it on for one more revolution of the sun ; and, if I
then feel as averse to writing as at present, I will e'en stop, at leaat
while the events in which I am concern'd are as trivial as they are at
present. One consideration upon this subject, at least, affords me some
satisfaction : it is, that when I look back in these volumes, and peruse
the temporary productions of my pen, I am at least able to say at the
close of the day, that day I did something.
2d. In the beginning of the evening Putnam called at our office,
and invited me to go with him and pass a couple of hours at Mr.
Frazier's ; * after debating with myself some time upon the subject, I
determined finally to go. We found there a number of young gentle
men and ladies. After we had sat a little while the infallible request
to sing made ita appearance. One could not sing, and another could
not sing, and a total incapacity to sing was declared all round the
room. If upon such occasions every one would adhere to his flrst
assertion it would be very agreeable, at least to me ; for in these mixt
companies, when the musical powers are finally exerted, the only rec
ompense for the intolerable tediousness of urging generally is a few
very insipid songs, sung in a very insipid manner. But the misfortune
is that some one always relents, and by singing furnishes the only
materials for a conversation which consists in intreatiea for further
gratifications of the same kind. When we had gone through this
ceremony and had grown weary of it, another equally stupid suc
ceeded. It was playing pawns : a number of pledges were given all
round, and kissing was the only condition upon which they were re-
deem'd Ah! what kissing! 'tis a profanation of one of the most
endearing demonstrations of Love. A kiss unless warm'd by sentiment
1 Presumably Moses Frazier, a member of the Committee of Safety of Sep
tember 23,1774; selectman 1778-1781, 1786, town treasurer 1782; representative
in the Legislature 1777, 1778, 1781. Hurd, Hist, of Essex County, pp. 1738-1740,
1744.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 79
and enlivened by affection may just as well be given to the air as to
the most beautiful or the most accomplished object in the Universe.
After going through this likewise, as if the Pope had done us any injury,
nothing would do but we must break his neck. It is the fate of the
poor representative of St. Peter to be abused at this day. But we
were peculiarly cruel, for we persecuted him without any kind of ad
vantage to ourselves. Thus we pass'd the heavy hours till about ten
o'clock, when we all retired. I did intend to mention the young ladies
that were present and give my sentiments upon their persons and
manners ; but this day has already usurp'd more than its proportion of
the volume, and I will take aome other opportunity for delineating.
For the preaent I will quit the pen.
3d. Pass'd the evening at Little's in Newbury. A Mr. Coffin,* who
graduated two years ago at Harvard, was there. We spent our time in
sociable chat and in singing ; not such unmeaning, insignificant songs
as those with which we killed our time laat evening, but good, jovial,
expreasive songs such as we sang at College, " when mirth and jollity
prevail'd." One evening of this kind gives me more real satisfaction
than fifty pass'd in a company of girls. (I beg their pardon.)
4th. Nothing. It would be a fine theme to expatiate upon. It
has been well expatiated on. When I look around me and see the
vices, the follies, the errors of my fellow creatures, when I look into
myself and enquire into the springs and motives of my actions, when I
look forward and ask what am I to do, what am I to expect, an invol
untary sigh acknowledges that nothing is the only answer. In the
physical world, what are sensual gratifications, what is the earth, and
all it contains, what is life itself ? — nothing. In the moral world,
what ia honour, what is honesty, what ia religion ? — nothing. In the
political world, what is liberty, what is patriotism, what is power and
grandeur? — nothing. The universe is an atom, and ita creator is all
in all. Of him, except that he exists, we know nothing, and conse
quently our knowledge ia nothing. Perhaps the greatest truth of all
is, that for thia half hour I have been doing nothing.
5th. I have this week been reading Cecilia," a novel of some reputa
tion ; it waa written by a lady, and does not exhibit that knowledge of
human nature, which is the greatest excellency, perhaps, of novels.
Some of the characters, however, are well drawn : they are generally
exaggerated, and appear rather too strongly marked for perfect imitations
of nature. The characters of Misa Larolles and of Meadows appear to
* Charles Coffin (H. C. 1785), born in Newbury September 4, 1765; a teacher
and physician in Portsmouth, N. H, and afterwards at Beaufort, S. C. ; died
September, 1820. J. J. Currier, Hist, of Newbury, p. 669.
" Miss Bumey's "Cecilia," in flve volumes, bad then been published six
years. In 1793 she married General D'Arblay.

80 DLA.EY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
me original and true, that of Lady Pemberton is pleasing, but merely an
imitation. The story in general ia well told and the interest is pre
served; but in many places probability is not sufficiently consulted, and
the repetitions of the mistakes at Belfleld's lodgings become tedious
and wearisome ; the catastrophe is not just as I should wish it, yet
perhaps it is more judicious than it would have been to have preserved
her fortune. If the book was made shorter by two volumes, I thiuk it
would be much better than it is ; but even now it is infinitely superior
to the common herd of novels, which are mere nusancea to Literature.
I passed the evening quite in a solitary way at my own lodgings.
The weather has this week been extremely cold.
6th. Heard Mr. Carey preach two sermons this day; but the
weather was very cold. In the afternoon the Parson was extremely
vehement ; in an occasional discourse upon the renewal of the year, he
complained exceedingly that the language of the people was " the time
is not come," and, with all his powers of eloquence and of reasoning, he
exerted to prove that the time is come. He was rather too violent : his
zeal was so animated that he almost had the appearance of being vexed
and chagrined. But he said he was not aiming at popularity.
Passed the evening with Dr. Kilham at Mr. Carter's, where we had a
whole magazine of antiquity. Miss Sally Jenkins was there. I was
pleased with her manners. She is of the middling female size and
has a fine form, the features of her face are regular, and were not the
nose too much inclined to the aquiline, would be very handsome.
Twenty two, I should think her age ; but perhaps she is two or three
years younger. She conversed not much, and indeed in the state of
female education here there are very few young ladies who talk and yet
preserve our admiration. For my own part, the most difficult task that
could be assigned me would be to carry on a conversation with one of
our fine ladies ; the topics upon which they are able to be fluent are
so totally different from any of those with which I have ever been con
versant, that I feel the same embarassment that I should with one
whose language I should be wholly unacquainted with. This is not
meant however to apply to Miss Jenkins, who is, I hope, of a different
cast ; perhaps I shall discover on a better acquaintance attractions in
her besides those of person, and they will appear the more amiable as
they are the more rare.
7th. ... At eight o'clock I left the office, and went to Dr.
Swett's, where I found Little very agreeably situated. He had been
writing part of a letter to Freeman. I join'd with him, and scribbled
about half a page upon the subject of Miss Cazneau. I know not but I
should have done best to adopt the prudent style of panegyric ; but what
is done cannot be helped, and I must run my chance of incurring the
tremendous resentment of an offended female. If she should discover

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 81
what I have written, my only resource would be to flatter her. This I
believe would be an infallible recipe for appeasing her. While I was
sitting with Little, the sexton came in. " You mentioued a matter to
me the other day," said he ; " and I met with one yesterday ; all entire.
Has been there but a few years. The flesh has sunk away not much ;
rather dirty, as the clods fell on him as I was digging ; but it's easy to
wash that away. If you want one now, you may have him early to
morrow morning." Little told him such an one would not answer his
purpose, not being fresh enough. I bless'd myself for not being a
student in physic, and for being exempted from an application to any
art by means against which humanity revolts. How much is an
honest and a humane physician to be respected and esteemed ! no man
certainly can render himself useful to his fellow creatures in a
manner more painful and disgusting to himself, and few men have a
poorer prospect of obtaining the reward of their labouis ; in this
country especially. I sat about an hour with Little, after which I
retired to my own lodgings.
Bth. It snow'd all the forenoon ; but, as the weather kept continually
moderating, in the afternoon it began to rain, and before the weather
cleared up the snow was almost gone. I went with Townsend, and
drank coffee at Mr. Thompson's. His son goes to Boston to-morrow.
I gave him my letter for Cranch. After we went from there, we called
in at Putnam's lodgings, and found Captain Noyes there. Mr. Town-
send soon went away. I sat there till after nine o'clock, and heard
the doleful story of the clock upon Mr. Murray's meeting house,* which
the other night kept striking without ceasing almost the whole night,
and how it is an indisputable omen, foreboding the death of the Parson,
who is very sick. Superstition and bigotry will ever be inseperable
companions, and they are always the tyrants of a mean and contracted
mind. 9 th. This day our State Convention is to meet in Boston for the pur
pose of assenting to and ratifying the Federal Constitution. The mem
bers from this town weut for Boston yesterday, except Mr. Parsons,
who will go to-morrow. The conjectures concerning the issue of their
debates are different, according to the dispositions of the speculators.
Some think there will be a great majority for adopting the Constitu
tion, while others hope the opposite party will greatly preponderate.
In the evening I play'd with Mr. Parsons at back-gammon, and was
beat by him. After leaving the office, I pass'd the remainder of the
evening with Townsend at Mrs. Plooper's.
1 This clock had a hexagonal dial with a single arrow extending across it to
mark the hours — minutes in those slow days not being worth counting. H. C.
Hovey, Origin and Annals of " The Old South," First Presbyterian Church,
pp. 191, 192. 11

82 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
10th, Between eleven and twelve Mr. Parsons went for Boston. . . .
I went this evening to Dr. Swett's with the intention to pass the even
ing there, but neither the Doctor nor his lady were at home. I called
upon Putnam, and would have gone with him to Mr. Bradbury's, but
they were all out. I met Little in the street ; he came home with me,
and sat half an hour. The Convention met at Boston yesterday, about
three hundred raembers present. They chose Mr. Hancock President,
and, as his infirmities are such as will probably prevent him frequently
from attending, Judge Cushing was chosen Vice-President. But they
have not yet proceeded to business of any consequence, nor does it ap
pear which party is most likely to prevail. From which we may per
haps infer that in either case the majority will be small.
12th. Saturday evening I was, as usual, all the evening at my own
lodgings. I spent my time in reading Gibbon's Roman history, second
volume, and now at twelve at night, upon compulsion, I am to say
something for myself. And I know nothing better than to testify that at
Mr. Parsons's office I have lost a great part of this week by conversing
with him and with Townsend. Mr. P. is now gone to Boston, and I
hope to God I shall not go on in this way squandering week after week,
till at the end of three years I shall go out of the office as ignorant as I
entered it. I cannot, must not, be so negligent. All my hopes of going
through the world in any other than the most contemptible manner de
pend upon my own exertions, and if I continue thus trifling away my
time, I shall become an object of charity or at least of pity. God of
Heaven I if those are the only terms upon which life can be granted to
me, oh ! take me from this world before I curse the day of my birth.
Or rather, give me resolution to pursue my duty with diligence and ap
plication, that if my fellow creatures should neglect and despise me, at
least I may be conscious of not deserving their conterapt.
13th. This morning Townsend called on me, and invited me to go
and hear Parson Tucker. We met Little in the street, who turn'd
about, and walk'd that way with us. When we got to the meeting
house we found there was to be no service there in the forenoon, and
as it was then too late to go any where else we turn'd back and went
home. Dined with Dr. Kilham at Dr. Swett's, and Little dined with
us. We spent the afternoon and drank tea there. Mrs. Swett is hand
some, and, like most of our ladies, is perfectly acquainted with the
various forms of propriety in company which have been established
here. She has too much good breeding to know any thing upon specu
lative subjects, and she has a proper aversion to politics. She has, how
ever, I believe, a good understanding, and is inflnitely superior to many
of our female beauties who flutter in all the pride of variegated col
ours. After I return'd home, Thompson called and delivered me a

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 83
letter from W. Cranch. I went with the Dr. to see Mr. Jackson,* but
he was not at home, and we called in at Mrs. Emery's.^ This lady
and her daughter converse more to my satisfaction than the generality
of my female acquaintance. In their company my time passes away
fast ; and I am not often able to say as much.
14th. . . . This evening I went with Townsend in the first place
to Mr. Atkins's ; this too is an house where I always visit with pleas
ure, as I am always sure to meet with good sense and sociability.
From thence we went to Mr. J. Tracey's, where we found three ladies,
all drest in the deepest mourning, and Captn. Farris,' who lately lost his
wife. Mrs. Tracey is much such a lady as Mrs. Swett, though there are
a few distinguishing characteristics. Her husband is a singularity. But
he is a justice of the peace and deputy adjutant general of the militia ;
and with equal importance and dignity he wields the scales of justice
and the sword of Bellona. He frequently tells of his judicial perform
ances, and takes pleasure in boasting that to do his duty he must see
every man in the county once a year. But he is friendly and hos
pitable, and indeed, except when mounted on one of his two hobby
horses, a very good companion.
15th. After passing the day as usual at the office, Townsend came,
spent the evening, and supp'd with me. The weather for these three
or four days past haa been excessive cold ; but has moderated greatly
1 Presumably Jonathan Jackson (H. C. 1761), son ot Edward Jackson, of Bos
ton, and Dorothy Quincy, of Braintree ; born in Boston June, 1743 ; classmate of
Stephen Hooper, Colonel Edward Wigglesworth, Eev. Thomas Cary, of New
buryport, and Professor Sarauel Williams, ot Cambridge ; intimate friend of John
Lowell (H. C. 1760) ; began his business life as a clerk in the office of Captain
Patrick Tracy, of Newburyport ; married, as a second wife, in 1772, Tracy's daugh
ter, Hannah. In 1771 Jackson and Lowell bought land on High Street and
buUt companion houses, — Jackson's being known later as the " Timothy Dexter"
house. Jackson was a member ot the Committee of Safety in 1774 ; a repre
sentative to the Provincial Congress at Watertown ; a delegate to the Continental
Congress 1781, 1782; moved to Boston in May, 1785; marched under General
Lincoln to suppress Shays's Eebellion in 1786 ; soon after that returned to New
buryport ; in 1789 was United States marshal for the district of Massachusetts
and was living in one half of what is now the Public Library Building; removed
to Boston again in 1795 ; was treasurer of Massachusetts five years and of Harvard
CoUege three years; died March 5, 1810. J. J. Currier, "Ould Newbury,"
pp. 564-569, — a portrait of Jackson painted about 1784 is reproduced there.
2 Mrs. Margaret Gookin Emery, daughter ot Eev. Nathaniel Gookin, of North-
wood, N. H., wife of John Emery; born August 11, 1745; died August 12, 1788;
mother of Hannah Emery ; see supra, p. 45.
3 Presumably William Farris, born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1753; came to
America when twelve years of age ; joined the expedition against Quebec ; served
on the sea first as midshipman and later as commander of a privateer; suff'ered
imprisonment several tiraes; became atter the war a merchant in Newbury
port ; was a Eepresentative in the Legislature 1827-1833 ; married Fanny Jen
kins ; died in 1837. E. V. Smith, Hist, of Newburyport, pp. 369, 370 ; Hurd, Hist.
of Essex County, p. 1741.

84 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
this evening. After supper I amused myself an hour or two with
writing ; and I have been reading two or three of Shakespear's his
torical plays. I believe I should improve my reading to greater advan
tage, if I confined myself to one book at a time ; but I never can. If
a book does not interest me exceedingly it is a task to me to go through
it ; and I fear for this reason, I shall never get through Gibbon. In
dolence, indolence, I fear, will be my ruin.
16th. It snow'd all the forenoon; but the weather continued moder
ating, and in the afternoon a steady rain took place of the snow ; and
when I came this evening from the office, the ground was covered all
the way with one continual glare of ice. It was dangerous walking,
and I came as mnch as half the way without lifting my feet. I spent
the evening at home, writing to make good the time which I have
lately lost ; but I accomplished my purpose only in part. > It may be
observed that I say of late little but of what I do in the evening ; and
the reason is, that the only varieties of any kind that take place are in
that part of the day. At about nine in the morning I regularly go to
the office, and when I do not lose my time in chat with Amory or
Townsend, I take up my Lord Coke, and blunder along a few pages
with him. At two I return to dinner ; at three again attend at the office,
and again consult my old author. There I remain till dark, and as Mr.
Parsons for special reasons, to him best known, objects to our having a
fire in the office in the evening while he is absent, as soon as day-light
begins to fail we put up our books, and then employ the remainder of
the day as best suits our convenience and the feelings of the moment.
I go but little into company, and yet I am not industrious. I am recluse,
without being studious; and I find myself equally deprived of the pleas
ures of society, and of the sweet communion with the mighty dead. I
am no stranger to the midnight lamp ; yet I observe not that I make a
rapid progress in any laudable pursuit. I begin seriously to doubt of
the goodness of my understanding, and am not without my fears that
as I increase in years the dulness of my apprehension likewise in
creases. But we are all mortal.
17th. Putnam called at our office this forenoon, and return'd Sulli
van's Lectures, which he borrow'd about a fortnight ago. I pass'd the
evening till nine with Little and Putnam at Thompson's. We con
vers'd upon the subject of originality. Thompson opposed my sentiments
upon that head, though I believe he does not differ very widely from
me. I told him I was fond of novelty in characters, and was even
pleased with excentricity if it was not affected. I cannot bear your
people who have no characters at all. And yet I could name many
young gentlemen, who, being merely blest by nature with a good
memory, and by art with diligence and application, bustle through the
world, and even find people who will call them men of genius. . . .

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 85
18th. This afternoon I wrote a couple of lettera to send by Mr.
Atkins, who goes to Boston to-morrow. One for N. Freeman, and the
other from [for ?] W" Cranch ; and as I could not finish before dark
I ventured to stay in the office till seven o'clock. I then went with
Townsend to Mr. Atkins's, to give him the letters. Miss Dashwood
was there, a young lady from Boston. She speaks thick and quick,
which is at present all I have to say of her, except that by candle-light
she looks handsome. I came home ; and then went with the Doctor to
Mrs. Emery's. There we found Mrs. Jackson and Miss Fletcher.*
Mrs. Jackson looks better than I ever saw her, and was in high spirits.
She talk'd almost all the time, and would have talk'd well, had she not
appeared rather too fond, in repeating some gentleman's speeches, to
render every word, even those which are most superfluous, words which
if used before women, even by a man, at least argue ill-breeding, but
which the lips of every woman ought to be ignorant of pronouncing.
Miss Fletcher sat two hours, and scarcely opened her mouth. The
poor girl is in love, and when her friend is absent she can utter nothing
but sighs. This evening, it is true, she had no chance to speak, but she
was not only silent but absent. She did not appear to enjoy the
conversation, and all Mrs. Jackson's wit could scarcely soften her
features to a smile. After they were gone, we sat there about
half an hour in chat with Miss Emery. She is Thompson's favorite,
and in this as in many other instances he shows the goodness of his
taste. 19th. At home all the evening. Master Moody called to see me;
"Don't you think, said he, that I am very condescending thus to come and
visit you ? " It might be very true, considering the dignity which his years
have given him, but the address was very much that of a schoolmaster,
whose habits of commanding give him a prescriptive title to importance.
He sat with me about an hour, and then departed. I have been more
attentive to studies this week than I was the last. I have made con
siderable progress in my folio, and have got some insight into one or
two particulars which had hitherto been involv'd in intricacy and ob
scurity. I have spent three evenings this week in my own room, and
have in some measure retrieved my particular arrearages. The weather
has been very favorable, so that I have not been forced to drop my pen
from the stiffness of my fingers. The winter is already far advanced,
and is now rapidly passing away. I can afford, if the severity of the
weather should require it, to fall back once or twice more; and the ex
tremity cannot, I think, last so long as to make me lose fhe thread of
my adventures. It seems as if we were fated to have no lasting snow
this winter. It snow'd again all this forenoon ; but so soon as a suf-
1 Lucy Fletcher, probably the daughter of Captaui John Fletcher; married
"her friend," WUliam Amory, August 9, 1789.

86 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
ficient quantity had fallen to make good sleighing, it turn'd to rain,
which, I suppose, will sweep it all away again.
20th. I attended at Parson Carey's meeting. We had two sermons,
in continuation of a subject upon which he preached last Sunday ; the
excellency of Christianity. I pass'd the whole evening in writing very
industriously; not a little to the increase of this volume. It thaw'd
all last night, but not so as to carry off all the snow. The streets were
Uke a river the chief of the day, but at about five the wind got round to
the north-west and blew with some violence. In two hours time the
streets were dry, and the ice strong enough to bear a man. I think
I never saw a more sudden or a greater alteration in the weather.
The wind subsided to a degree before midnight, but left it very cold.
And now I bid adieu to my pen and to my book.
21st. I began upon the third book of the first part of the Institutes,*
and read a few pages as usual. In the evening I again look'd into
Gibbon, and made some progress in his second volume. I have also
been reading for these two or three days past the letters from a Chinese
Philosopher,^ which are a nuraber of essays upon various subjects,
wrought into a kind of a novel. They are entertaining, and exhibit
no bad picture of English manners. The accounts from Boston thia
evening are disagreeable. The opposite partiea in the Convention
grow warm and irritable ; Mr. Dana and Mr. Gerry, it ia said, have
come to an open and public rupture.' Mr. B. Lincoln,* the General's
1 "Institutes of the Lawa of England; or Commentary on Littleton " — i. e.,
Coke npon Littleton.
2 This work by Oliver Goldsmith — " The Citizen of the World ; or Letters
from a Chinese Philosopher residing in London, to his Friends in the East" —
had been published twenty-five years before, in 1762.
^ A letter dated Boston, January 19, 1788, and written by J. Q. Adams's
youngest classmate, John Forbes, a lad of sixteen, gives a rather interesting
if boyish view ot this well-known episode: —
"... The Convention are now sitting in this town. I have attended the
debates till I have becorae quite interested. The weight ot argument offer'd
is so much in favor of the Constitution that I cannot but at present beg to dis
sent with you and term myself a Federalist. I am sorry to inform you that
your opinion is so poorly advocated — there is not a man ot education that dare
speak in opposition to the plan, there are but few on that side, and those few,
fearing conviction, are fortifying their prejudiced minds with adamantine obsti
nacy. The characters that support it are so respectable that shou'd it be re
jected iu this State it will retire without a blush — Dana, King, Gorham, Strong,
Parsons, Cabot, Ames and Sedgwick are characters so pure that nothing but
Gerry's spirit of opposition cou'd soil. The Anti have made every exertion
in their power and have got Gerry as a dictionary to use occasionally. They
remind me of the old proverb — 'give 'em an inch and they'll take an eU.'

« Benjamin Lincoln (H. C. 1777), born in Hingham November 1, 1756; studied
law with Levi Lincoln, of Worcester; an attomey in Boston; died Jannary 18,
1788. Hist, of Hingham, vol. i. part ii. p. 332.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 87
son, and Dr. Adams,* son to the president of the Senate, died last
week. 22d. This afternoon, Leonard White called on me, and sat about
half an hour. He came from Haverhill this morning, and returns to
night. Between four and five I received an invitation from Putnam and
F. Bradbury to join them for a party at sleighing. Though not pecu
liarly desirous to go I did not refuse ; and at about six o'clock we started.
We went to Sawyer's " tavern, about three miles off, and there danced
till between twelve and one. The company was rather curiously sorted,
but the party was agreeable. I danced with the eldest Miss Frazier,
with Miss Fletcher, and with Miss Coats.' Miss Fletcher appears to
be about twenty. She ia not tall, but has what is called a very genteel
shape. Her complexion is fair, and her eye is sometimes animated
with a very pleasing expression ; but unfortunately she is in love, and
unless the object of her affections is present she loses all her spirits,
grows dull and unsociable, and can be pleased with nothing. Thia
evening she was obliged to dispense with his company ; and the usual
effect took place. I endeavour'd as much as possible to bring on a
conversation ; but all to no purpose.
" She sat like Patience on a monument.
Smiling at grief."*
And, as I found she could talk only in monosyllables, I was glad to
change my partner. Miss Coats is not in love, and is quite sociable.
Her manners are not exactly what I should wish for a friend of mine ;
yet she is agreeable. I am not obliged with her both to make and sup
port the conversation ; and moreover, what is very much in her favour.
They obtain'd a vote to question Mr. G. on certain Articles ; from this they wish'd
to give him the priviledges ot a deligate, and allow him to speak to Article
weh motion F. Dana opposed with violence. The issue was interrupted by an
adjournment till Monday next. I am sorry to say that the objections are prin
cipally founded on misconstruction. I embark for Lancaster next Tuesday
morning. Shou'd have gone before had not the debates prevented."
Several of J. Q. Adams's college friends gathered in Boston from the surround
ing towns to attend the debates, and sent him accounts of the proceedings.
1 Dr. Samuel Adams (H. C. 1770), only son of Samuel Adams, born in Boston
October 27, 1751 ; prepared for college at the Latin School ; studied medicine with
Dr. Joseph Warren ; served as a surgeon from Lexington and Bunker Hill to the
end of the war ; an invaUd for many years ; died January 17, 1788. J. Thacher,
American Medical Biography, p. 89.
'^ Sawyer's tavern on the Bradford road, just beyond the Artichoke River, near
Brown's Springs, nearly opposite the house in which President Felton of Harvard
was born, and not far from Tristram Dalton's country estate.
3 Elizabeth Coates, only child of Captain David Coates ; married, November 2,
1791, John Greenleaf, son of Judge Benjamin Greenleaf ; died a year later, aged
twenty-seven. J. E. Greenleaf, Genealogy of the Greenleaf Family.
* Twelfth Night, Act n. Scene 4.

88 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
she is an only daughter and her father has money. We return'd to
town a little after twelve ; but the weather was not very agreeable, as
it snow'd violently. After we had carried home the ladies, Putnam
came to lodge with me. We sat and chatted about an hour, and then
retired to bed.
23d. ... I pass'd the evening at Dr. Swett's. Mrs. and Miss Caz
neau were there. We had some agreeable and entertaining conver
sation, but singing soon carae on to the carpet, and then the usual non-
sence succeeded. I believe I will try one of these days and see if I
cannot stop the career of this same singing, at least for one evening.
I even got quit this time with singing once. In order not to appear
singular, I was in the common way urging Miss Cazneau to sing ; she
told me she would upon condition that I should sing first. I humm'd
over a tune ; but avoided claiming the fulfilment of Miss Cs promise,
and so she would not sing, which happened very much to my satisfac
tion. A short time before nine I left them.
24th. Mr. Atkins returned from Boston, but brought me no letters,
which is somewhat surprizing to me. The quaternity pass'd the even
ing at Putnam's lodgings. Little left us, however, at about eight o'clock.
Townsend came in soon after ; and between nine and ten I walk'd with
him. I' began yesterday upon another attempt to ascend Parnassus ;
and this time I am determined to take it leisurely. I have frequently
made a trial of my strength in this way ; but my patience has always
been overcome after proceeding but little. I have, I suppose, begun an
hundred times to write poetry. I have tried every measure and every
kind of strophe, but of the whole I never finish'd but one of any
length, and that was in fact but the work of a day. It is contained in
a former volume of this Journal.* I fear I shall end this time as I
always do. The Convention are now proceeding in the examination
of the proposed Constitution by sections ; but we cannot yet presume
how the scale will turn.
25th. Leonard White came from Haverhill again yesterday, and
called to see me this morning. He informed me that both my brothers
were at Haverhill. In the evening I went with him to Dr. Swett's, and
pass'd an hour with Little. I communicated to Little my design of
drawing a number of female characters, but I doubt whether it will
ever be anything more than a design.
26th. At home as usual all the evening. Read a little in Gibbon.
Wrote in the same slavish way as I have done now for naore than three
years. But I feel dull and low spirited. I have neither that insati
able ambition, nor that ardor for pursuing the means to gratify it, which
not long ago was an argument which my vanity offered my mind to
prove that, if life should be given me, it would not be to live unknow-
* Printed by H. Adams in Historical Essays, pp. 118-121.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 89
ing and unknown. I feel no extraordinary inclination for study of any
kind. Putnam reads law as fast, or faster than I do ; and, if there is to
be no alteration in the situation of my mind, he will make greater im
provements in his three years than I shall in mine. Before the cold
weather came on, I expected to derive great advantage from the long
winter evenings which were approaching. In my imagination, I had
written volumes and read books without number. Yet so totally dif
ferent has been the event, that I have written scarcely any thing except
what this book contains, and, though I began Gibbon three months
ago, I have not got half through the second volume. In my Lord Coke I
trudge along at the rate of about eighty pages a week, and do not under
stand a quarter part of that. Yet when I call myself to an account
an[d] enquire how I mis-spend my time, I do not find a spirit of dissi
pation in my conduct. I have, I believe, upon an average, spent one
half of my evenings this winter at home ; and, when I do, I almost
always hear the morning clock. I somewhat suspect that irregularity
is one great cause of my poor success, and, as I am peculiarly fond of
trying experiments, I will atterapt soon to be periodical in my visits at
home and abroad. If this will not do, I can only submit to my fate.
27th. Heard Parson Carey, the whole day. In the forenoon he
was intolerably lengthy, as the weather was very cold. I intended to
have visited somewhere this evening, but got engaged in writing to
Packard, which employ'd me till ten o'clock.
28th. Mrs. Hooper's family are in great distress. Ben was brought
home dead last night between twelve and one o'clock, and to make the
misfortune as great as possible there is every reason to suppose that
he was the wilful author of his death. He had been from town more
than a week, and on Saturday night he took a quantity of liquid lauda
num at Robertson's tavern in Salem ; he died in violent convulsions
in the course of the same night. The verdict of the coroner's jury,
it is said, was wilful self murder, but the information is indirect, and
therefore not entirely to be depended upon. To his mother the shock
must be dreadful. Indeed she seems to have been marked out for mis
fortune. Her father was formerly one of the wealthiest merchants in
this town, and her education was suitable to his fortune. She married
a Mr. Hooper, whose circumstances were no less advantageous, and
entered, but little more than twenty years ago, upon the stage of the
world with the most pleasing prospects. But her husband was a man
of pleasure and dissipation, and moreover opposed to the late revolu
tions, wherefore he left the country at the beginning of the late war,
and went to England, where he still remains ; since that time she has
been reduced to the necessity of supporting herself and her three
children by taking boarders. For although several of her husband's
nearest connections are still persons of the greatest affluence that
12

90 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
are in the town, yet she has never received mnch assistance from
them. Donee eris f elix, multos numerabis amicos :
Tempora si fuerint nubila solus eris.
She endeavoured to educate her children as well as possible ; but a
father's care was wanting, and indulgence is the defect even of the most
accomplished women. Ben, for several years, had followed the sea,
and, in the fall, was disappointed of sailing with Callahan for London.
He had been very dissipated and debauched ; he found himself destitute
of employment ; his reputation lost, his means of continuing in the
course of life which he was pursuing gone, and his resolution insuffi
cient to reform his conduct. He determined to put an end to all the
disagreeable feelings of his mind, and to " die in the bed of honour,"
as he expressed it. He was scarce nineteen years old. Such was the
deplorable fate of a youth, whose disposition was such that he would
have injured no one but himself, and who might have been an orna
ment to society had he been educated under the prudent severity of a
judicious father. They intend to bury him to-morrow, but it is doubt
ful whether the unfeeling passions of the multitude will suffer them
to make a public funeral. My brothers Charles and Tom came into
town this forenoon. After dinner, I took a ride in a sleigh up to
Sawyer's, with three of the Bradburys and Charles; drank tea at
Mr. Tufts's. I pass'd the evening and supped at Mr. Jackson's.
Dr. Kilham was there, and as usual conversed upon political sub
jects. Charles spent the evening at Mr. Frazier's, but came and
lodged with me.
29th. It snow'd part of the forenoon ; then turn'd to rain, and, after
making the streets very disagreeable, cleared up in the afternoon. I
dined with my brothers at Mr. Bradbury's. We had some conversation
upon the subject of Ben Hooper's funeral. I could not agree in senti
ment with Mr. Bradbury. I told him that although I abhorr'd the action
itself as much as any one, yet after a man was dead to refuse to attend
his funeral would only be an insult upon the feelings of his frienda,
without being any kind of punishment to him. And indeed I cannot
but think that laws against suicide are impolitic and cruel, for how
can it be expected that human laws, which cannot take hold of the
offender personally, should restrain from the commission of this crime
the man who could disregard the natural and divine laws, which upon
this subject are so deeply imprinted upon the heart ? When we con
sider too how easily such a law may be evaded, how many ways a
man might put a period to his own existence without exposing himself
to the severity of any law that the human fansy could invent, we can
only suppose that these punishments must fall merely upon a thought
less youth, or upon one ignorant of the existence of such regulations.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 91
Mr. Bradbury, however, thinks differently and is perhaps in the right.
I pass'd about an hour in the evening with Putnam ; he then went
with G. Bradbury and my brothers into a company of young ladies ;
and I cross'd the street and sat till nine o'clock with my friend
Thompson. Tom lodg'd with me.
30th. I went up to the office in the morning, and sat a couple of
hours ; but I felt restless and dissipated. I could not study, and
therefore walk'd down in town and saunter'd about. Dined with
G. Bradbury and Charles at Mr. Hooper's. He is very sanguine in
his hopes for the adoption of the Constitution. Pass'd the evening
at 'Mr. Bradbury's. Dr. Smith and all his family were there. We
had some music in the beginning of the evening, and afterwards play'd
a number of very amusing sports, such as start ; what is it like ; cross
questions ; I love my love with an A ; and a number more. My
opinion of such diversions I have already given, when it was confined
to a number of young persous; bnt that the most inexcusable levities
of youth should appear in the garb of old-age is something that calls
for more than disapprobation, nor will a grey hair'd trifler excite our
pity merely, but must raise our indignation and contempt. Mr. Brad
bury,* however, is a very respectable man ; and, as this conduct has
here the sanction of custom, it is not him but the manners of the timea
that I blame.
Slst. The weather somewhat cold. My brothera dined with me,
and between three and four o'clock we all set off for Haverhill. We
got there just after five, a little fatigued. The riding was not bad,
but in some places the cold had not been strong enough to harden
the snow and the road was sloppy.
Friday, February 1, 1788.
Pass'd a great part of the forenoon at Mr. Thaxter's. He is now
quite in the family way ; he dined with us at Mr. Shaw's, as did Leonard
White and  . In the afternoon we rode in a couple of sleighs
about six miles down upon the river, and return'd just after dark.
The party was agreeable ; but  was an object of great pity. He
has ruined his reputation irrevocably ; the fairest life henceforward
could only heal the wound ; but the treacherous fear must forever
proclaim in indelible characters that he once fell. Nor can his dear
est friends help acknowledging to themselves that this is viewing the
1 Mr. TheophUus Bradbury (aee supra, p. 40) was apparently fond ot a social
good time. In 1766, it is said, he and his wife " with several leading citizens of
Falmouth" {i. e., Portland) were indicted for the crime of dancing at a tavern ;
but won the case in the courts on the plea that the room was not a place of pub
lic resort because hired for private purposes, etc. W. B. Lapham, Bradbury
Memorial, p. 89.

92 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. '
prospect in its fairest light. To consider the appearances such as they
must present themselves to the imagination of one disposed to see
objects in their most unfavorable colours, must be shocking to the
feelings of every one who was once his friend. He appears to be in
a perpetual state of humiliation ; he can enter into no satisfaction
express'd by the company iu which he appears ; he can enjoy no
amusement and must feel a conscious inferiority to every one with
whom he associates. Yet if he can be recovered at all it must be by
softening measures. And those persons who wonder why people keep
company with him, and wish rather to insult him in his distress, are
in my opinion to be esteemed but little better than himself. The
disposition in human nature to sink a man that has fallen still lower
than he is would afford one of the richest themes for a misanthropist.
2d. I dined with — — at Mr. Thaxter's. My brothers both dined
at Mr. White's. In the afternoon we rode again in sleighs upon the
river as far as we went yesterday. We had a number of songs, some
what in the collegiate stile ; but, in order to be exemplary, return'd
home quite early in the evening. Sir. Thaxter lives very agreeably,
and has retracted his theory with respect to matrimony ; and indeed,
I believe, our sex are not less prone than the other to profess a sys
tem which in fact we wholly disbelieve. Mrs. Shaw shew me a letter
which she has been writing to  ; and I am in hopes it may have
a good effect upon him. If he has any sensibility, or any principles
remaining he must be affected by it. I had with Mr. Shaw some
conversation upon the subject of the disorders which happened at
College in the course of the last quarter. His fears for my brothers
are greater than mine. I am persuaded that Charles did not deserve
the suspicions which were raised against him ; and I have great hopes
that his future conduct will convince the governors of the University
that he was innocent.
3d. I attended meeting twice this day. Mr. Shaw as usual had
company in the evening. I conversed with Madam. Charles and
Tom went out in the evening.
4th. This morning between seven and eight o'clock my brothers set
out to return to Braintree and from thence to Cambridge, as the vaca
tion closes next Wednesday. In the forenoon I weut down to see
Leonard White, who was not at home. I met him however in the street
with Mr. M'Hard, to whose house we went and sat an hour. I dined
at Mr. Shaw's, and at about four was on my horse. I got home by dark,
though the roads were much worse than when we went to Haverhill.
I found my old lady had some company, but they soon went away. 1
pass'd all the evening at home quite in low spirits, as indeed I have
been for a week or ten days past. Not even dissipation has been able
to support me. My nerves have got into a disagreeable trim, and I

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 93
fear I shall be obliged to pay still less attention to hooks than I have of
late; and, if that be the case, I am sure I must be very ignorant when
I leave the title of a student. It seema very unfortunate that there
should be no medium but that a man must be a fool or an invalid.
5 th. The weather this day has been extreme cold. I have not
experienced the severity of the season so much since the winter I
pass'd in Sweden.* I pass'd the evening with Townsend and Amory
at Dr. Smith's. The old man is very fond of telling long stories, and
indeed it is quite necessary to attend to him. There are, however, two
young ladies in the house, to whom we attend witb much more pleasure.
Miss Smith may be twenty years old ; she is not handsome, but has a
great degree of animation in her eye, and, as the want of it appears
conspicuous in every other feature, the mixture of opposites has a sin
gular effect upon her countenance. Her person is not elegant, nor is her
taste in dress such as suits my mind. She has a satyrical turn, aud is
fond of being esteemed witty. So much, I think, I can judge from the
short acquaintance I have with her ; perhaps at some future period I
may be able to say more. Miss Putnam I will mention the next time
I faU in company with her. We play'd at whist about a couple of
hours ; after which we sung or attempted to sing ; for, of all the
company, Amory was the only one that could sing so as to give any
kind of entertainment.
6th. The weather has moderated very considerably. In the even
ing I walked with Thompson and Putnam to Little's, where we past
the evening till nine o'clock, quite agreeably, without ceremony or
restraint. 7th. This day, at about noon, the news arrived in this town that
the Federal Constitution was yesterday adopted and ratified by a major
ity of nineteen members in our State Convention. In this town the
satisfaction is almost universal ; for my own part, I have not been
pleased with this system, and my acquaintance have long-since branded
me with the name of an antifederalist. But I am now converted,
though not convinced. My feelings upon the occasion have not been
passionate nor violent ; and, as upon the decision of this question I find
myself on the weaker side, I think it my duty to submit without mur
muring against what is not to be helped. In our government, opposi
tion to the acts of a majority of the people is rebellion to all intents
and purposes ; and I should view a man who would now endeavour to
1 On his return from Eussia to HoUand at the close of 1782. Travelling
alone, being then fifteen years of age, he reached Stockholra ou the 23d of
November. There spent five very pleasant weeks, and, on the last day of the
year, set out for Copenhagen ; but it took hira six weeks to get there. It was
the 20th of April before he rejoined his father at the Hague, six months, lacking
ten days, from the date of his leaving St. Petersburg.

94 DIABY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
excite commotions against this plan, as no better than an insurgent
who took arma last winter against the Courts of Justice. This after
noon I went, in company with a number of young ladies and gentlemen
of this town, upon a sleighing party. We rode about eight miles into
Newbury, and by dark return'd to Sawyer's tavern. After drinking tea
we went to dancing, and, excepting supper, continued so till about mid
night. I danced with Miss Goats and Miss Smith, both of whom were
very agreeable partners. At twelve we broke up, and return'd home.
Thompson came and lodg'd with me. Mr. S. Cutler * came and sat
about half an hour with me; he was exceedingly mortified at having
overset his sleigh. Some of the ladies were affronted, and some
affrighted ; so that, in returning, he had somewhat of an uncomfortable
time, sweating between two fires. In the company was an Irish gentle
man hy the name of Hutchinson, a man of genuine wit and humour,
and a person of much reading and information. He has a vessel here
loading, and expects to sail for Ireland in a week or ten days.
Bth. This afternoon the delegates from Newbury and from this
town returned home from Convention. A number of very respectable
citizens, and a number who were not very respectable, went out on
horse-back to meet the members and escort them into town ; as they
came along the bells at the different churches were set to ringing, and
this noisy expression of joy was continued with some intermissions
till eight o'clock in the evening. The mob huzza'd, aud one would have
thought that every man from the adoption of the Constitution had
acquired a sure expectancy of an independent fortune. I pass'd the
evening at home in reading and writing.
9th. Mr. Parsons gave me this morning a packet of letters which
I have been expecting these five weeks. There was, however, but one
short letter from Europe. In the afternoon Amory went for Salem.
I took a ride with Townsend, S. Cutler, J. Greenleaf ,° Prout,' Thomp
son, and three or four ladies in a sleigh. We rode out as far as Mr.
Dalton's farm ; and, after taking something of a circuitous rout, return'd
and took tea at Sawyer's. After passing an hour we all return'd to
1 Samuel Cutler, born in Boston October 5, 1752 ; married, January 8, 1794,
Lydia Prout (born March 8, 1769) ; both were drowned, January 28, 1832, by
the capsizing of the schooner Eob Eoy between Portland and Newburyport ; a
merchant; in later life president of an insurance company; also vestryman and
warden of St. Paul's Church. N. S. Cutler, Cutler Memorial, p. 365.
' Presumably John Greenleaf, son of Judge Benjamin Greenleaf; born July
8, 1760 ; raarried, November 2, 1791, Elizabeth Coates ; resided in Newburyport
and in Topsham, Me.; served in the War of 1812; died about 1830. J. E.
Greenleaf, Genealogy of the Greenleaf Family, pp. 176, 427.
' William Welsted Prout (1761-1809) in 1794 had a store on High Street;
later cashier ofthe Newburyport Bank; married Sally Jenkins; left no children.
His portrait, as a young man, is in the rooms of the Newburyport Historical
Society.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 95
town. I spent the evening at Mrs. Hooper's. It was the first time I
had been there since her misfortune. She bears it well, though fre
quent sighs rise deep from her breast. Mr. L. Jenkins * was there,
a good, honest, simple soul, without the least kind of harm in him.
Miss Lucy Knight was there too. She has a very amiable countenance,
a fine form and a benevolent disposition. Townsend says she has no
sensibility, and I think her countenance wants some of that expression
which communicates the charm of sympathy to our souls. She may
be possessed of many virtues, and if so will attract my esteem and
respect ; but she is incapable of loving, and therefore could never be
an object of love to me. A young fellow by the name of Rogers for
a year and an half paid the closest attention to her ; and when it was
daily expected that they would be published he suddenly left her, and
neglected her entirely. She wrote him a letter containing a dismission,
and appears not to have had a disagreeable sensation upon the subject
ever since. A disposition like this certainly smooths the path of life ;
but at the same time it certainly serves to make it narrow and
contracted. 10th. I went with Townsend in the forenoon to hear Parson Tucker ;
he gave us an excellent discourse upon Ecclesiastes VII. 17. Be not
over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die
before thy time ? Without alluding to the late circumstance of Hooper's
death, it appeared plainly that the sermon was dictated by that occa
sion ; and it was very well adapted. He particularly exhorted his
hearers to avoid scenes of debauchery, of lewdness and intemperance,
and, with his usual liberality and ability, recommended the opposite
virtues. I did not attend meeting in the afternoon ; but wrote a
little and read a great deal, as very frequently happens with me.
Townsend past the evening and supp'd with me. I have done keeping
late hours. I find they are wholly incompatible with my health. I
have of late several times, after setting up at writing till one or two
o'clock in the morning, been utterly incapable of getting any sleep the
whole night. My nerves have got into an unhappy tone, and I am
obliged to desist from continued application. My spirits for some time
have been low, and I have felt an incapacity of enjoyment ; but that is
now wearing off, and I am in hopes that, before long, I shall again be
able to resume at least as much diligence as I have been used to.
llth. We have had this day very little studying in the office. Mr.
Parsons is so fond of telling of all the manoeuvres which they used in
1 Lewis Jenkins married Eebecca Hooper, daughter of Eobert Hooper, of
Marblehead ; a wool-dealer living on State Street ; died 1799. Mrs. Tristram
Dalton was a sister, and Stephen Hooper a brother, of Mrs. Jenkins. S. A. Emery,
Eerainiscences ot a Nonagenarian, p. 236 ; Historical Collections of Essex In
stitute, vol. xxv. p. 4-

96 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. '
and out of Convention, that he has given the same story to every body
that came into the office through the course of the day.* He mentions
with great complaisance the formidable opposition that was made, aa
it naturally enhances the merit of the victory. He speaks with pleasure
of every little trifling intrigue which served to baffle the intentions of
the antifederalists ; though many of them to me exhibit a meanness
which I scarcely should expect a man would boast. Mr. Parsons
makes of the science of politics, the science of little, insignificant
intrigue and chicanery. These principles may possibly meet with suc
cess sometimes ; but it is my opinion that fair, open and candid proceed
ings add an influence as well as a lustre to the most brilliant capacity.
I called just before dark to see Mr. Hutchinson, but he was not at his
lodgings. I then went home, took my flute, and went to see Putnam,
with whom I play'd a number of tunes. Frank Bradbury was there.
Between nine and ten we both came away. I got home with some
difficulty, as the walking in the streets is excessively slippery.
12th. In the beginning of the evening I called upon Mr. Hutchin
son, and look'd over his music. He plays on the flute, and has a good
collection of musical books. I found Townsend and Amory there.
Between seven and eight I went to Mr. Bradbury's, where I found a
number of the young gentlemen and ladies dancing. I took a share
in the diversion, which we continued till midnight, when I return'd home.
I danced with Miss Nancy Jenkins, a very pretty girl, about seventeen,
not entirely free from affectation.
13th. This afternoon I had something of a long conversation upon
the subject of the ball, which is intended to be on Thursday. He had
determined not to go ; but upon consideration of several circumstances
which I mentioned to him, he came to an alteration in his sentiments.
He was something piqued at not having an invitation to join our party
last week ; but when I informed him of the reason for which he was
neglected he was satisfied with its validity. He and Thompson pass'd
the evening with me. Little ought to have been of the party ; but
Miss Cazneau had eugaged him to go with her to Captain Fletcher's.
14th. I attended at the office only in the forenoon; the after part
of the day being employ'd in rigging for the ball. I had sent a billet
to Miss H. Greenleaf requesting the honor of waiting upon her. She
was not engaged and I was taken at my word, which will teach me to
be sincere. It was late before I could get a carriage, and, when I went
for my lady, I found all the rest of the family were gone, which was
against me again. The ball rooms were too small, — not one quarter
of the ladies could dance at a time. I danced enough myself, and
made out to affront three or four ladies ; which is much in my favour.
1 See W. V, Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. iii. pp. 257-262.
2 See infra, p. 98.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 97
Townsend took cold in making the preparations for this ball, and was so
unwell that at about eleven o'clock he went home, and consigned his
lady, Miss L. Knight, to me. She being very agreeable was, upon the
whole, I believe, more the object of my attentions than another lady.
This cannot now be helped, and whatever is, is right. Between three
and four in the morning the remainder of the company retired. Put
nam lodged with me. The party was perfectly agreeable.
15th. We indulged ourselves this morning till almost twelve o'clock
before we rose. I called at the office, and pass'd about half an hour
there. I felt rather dissipated, and somewhat indisposed for study. In
the afternoon, when I called at the office I found Mr. AVendell there,
— a singular eccentric character with whom I was acquainted while I
was in College, and whom I have probably mentioned before now. He
still persists in his singularities, and in walking frora Boston the day
before yesterday froze one of his feet. Townsend is quite unwell ;
has an uncomfortable cough and sore throat. But he went with me
to visit several of the ladies who were of the company last evening.
We first called at Captain Coombs's,* where we only found Miss Nancy
Jenkins. She holds her head too stiff for elegance and has read too
many novels, which render her manners rather fantastical and affected.
We stopped a few moments to see Miss Coats, who was well, and we
then went to Judge Greenleaf's, where we drank tea. Here were
young ladies, I had almost said, innumerable ; a choice of every com-
plection, and probably of every disposition. Among them all Miss
Derby has the most promising appearance; but she in company is
1 Philip Coombs, father of Williara, came to Newbury from the island of
Guernsey, was converted uuder Whitefield, and was one of the founders of the
First Presbyterian Church. He was taken as a prisoner of war to France,
where he died in 1759. William Coombs, mentioned iu the diary as Captain
Coombs, was born in Newburyport in 1736, where he died May 28, 1814. He
was actively engaged in maritime life till he was forty j'ears of age, when he
devoted himself to merchandise. Coombs Wharf is named for him. He owned
numerous vessels. His last voyage was just before the Eevolutionary War, in
order to obtain a supply of arras and ammunition for the impending contest; an
undertaking in which his success exceeded his expectations, and he generously
tumed over to the authorities without compensation the results of his venture.
Captain Coombs was an ardent patriot, and did good service as a member of the
Committees of Safety and Correspondence, which held the power of government
till regular authority was restored. He was a Eepresentative in the Legislature,
President of the Marine Society, President of the Merrimac Bible Society, trustee
of the Dummer Academy, Chairman ot the School Committee, superintendent
of the erection ot the Essex-Merrimac Bridge, and ot the Plum Island Light
house, and Vice-President of the Humane Society, which gave him a gold medal
for saving a lite when be was seventy-six years of age. He was a member of the
First Presbyterian Church, and was noted for his piety, urbanity and generosity.
His funeral sermon, by Eev. Daniel Dana, D.D., was published. Manuscript notea
of Eev. Horace C. Hovey, D.D., pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in New
buryport, Mass. 13

98 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
reserved. The Judge talk'd about religion and politics, and Mrs.
Greenleaf pass'd encomiums upon the British Constitution ; but the
young ladies were all silent.* We took our departure quite early, and
I pass'd the remainder of the evening at Mrs. Hooper's where I found
Miss Knight and Mr. Cutler. Learnt to play quadrille.
16th. "The most violent snow storm that has appeared in the course
of the winter ; it began in the night, and continued all this day. In
the evening it cleared up. Townsend was not out. Amory and I
dined with Mr. Parsons. Captain Hodge ^ likewise was of the com
pany. I wrote a letter in the afternoon, or rather part of a letter, to
W. Cranch. From the office we went and pass'd an hour with Mrs.
Jackson, where we found Mr. Wendell, feasting upon his apples and
nuts. He slept last night in Mr. J. Tracey's green house, which is
entirely unprotected from the inclemency of the season ; and, the better
to enjoy the benefits of the open air, he stripp'd himself entirely naked.
He converses in the same style that he did a year ago ; and appears to
me too consistent for a distracted person, as many suppose him to be.
We spent the remainder of the evening at Dr. Smith's. I made an
apology to Miss Smith for a blunder wbich took place at the ball.
She appeared plainly to be offended, but was satisfied after I had made
my explanation. I know not whether to like or to dislike this girl,
but perhaps time will supply me with the means of information. At
supper Amory was excessively diverted with the appearance of a
Bologna sausage, which the Doctor introduced, and which Mr. Cutler
observed would be ripe in June. After supper I got seated next to
Miss Putnam, and entered into conversation with her. I found her
1 Judge Benjamin Greenleaf married, January 22, 1784, as a second wife, a
widow, Mrs. Derby, who survived liiin many years. The daughters were
Sarah (born June 21, 1763 ; died in old age unmarried), Mary (born November 1,
1765, died unmarried), Hannah (born November 1, 1765; married, September 22,
1807, Eobert Boyd, of Portland, Me.), Jane (born July 23, 1768 ; married AprU
12, 1802, Ralph Cross, of Portland). J. E. Greenleaf, Genealogy ot the Greenleaf
Family, pp. 426-428.
2 Captain Michael Hodge, a sea-captain previous to the War of Independence ;
one of tlie founders of the Marine Society of Newburyport in 1772, its secretary
for twenty-six years and its president for six ; appointed in 1776 naval officer of
Newburyport, and probably held office untU 1789 ; appointed in 1789 surveyor
of the naval district which included Newburyport, Salisbury, Amesbury and
HaverhiU ; held this office until his death, June 24, 1816. A meraber of the
First Parish Church, he read the Declar.ation of Independence from the window
of its meeting-house to the people gathered in Market Square below ; was active
in fortifying the mouth of the Merrimac Eiver, in 1 775 one of six captains of guns
for the protection of the port; 1778 first lieutenant of the Newburyport (inde
pendent) Artillery Company ; on the staff of General Jonathan Glover, of Marble
head, in the expedition to Rhode Island in 1778 ; town clerk 1780-1789 ; selectman
1783-1785 ; died June 24, 1816, aged seventy-three. Hurd, Hist, of Essex County,
pp. 1750-1753; Two Hundred and Fiftieth Celebration of the Town, p. 98.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 99
inclined to flattery, a defect not uncommon among our young ladies ;
and I answered her in her own way, as I always do. When a lady
pays me a compliment I always consider myself indebted to her untill
I return one at least of equal value ; and I am generally so good a
creditor that I pay with large interest. I have even once or twice in
my life so far surpassed a lady in that way as to silence her, and make
her asharaed of attacking me with those weapons ; but I never flatter
a lady that I esteem.
17th. Parson Carey is very sick; and consequently we had no
meeting. So I staid at home ; wrote a long letter to my friend Fiske,*
and a page or two some ways back in this book. In the evening I
went to Mrs. Hooper's to see Townsend, whom I found very hoarse, and
with a bad cough. I pass'd the evening there, as likewise did Mr. S.
Cutler. Within these two yeara Townsend has lost two brothers and a
sister by consumptions, and it is much to be feared that he himself
will be subject to the same misfortune. I am in hopes, however, that
by their fate he will be warn'd to take such care of himself as will
preserve his life and lengthen his days ; for I feel a great degree of
friendship for him.^
18th. After passing the day at the office, I went and pass'd the
1 " Oliver Fiske of Brookfield will be twenty-five the 2d of Septr. next.
Solidity of judgment, independence of spirit, and candour of disposition are the
chief characteristics of this gentleman. As a scholar he stands on the first line
in the class, and his honour is unblemished. His circumstances are not fortunate,
and he has been often absent from College. He was with General Lincoln in
Berkshire the greater part ot the last winter, and wishes to follow a military life
after leaving the University. He would make, I believe, a very good officer, and
whatever his profession may be, he will be certainly an excellent man." J. Q.
Adaras, March 25, 1787. Dr. Oliver Fiske (H. C. 1787), son of Eev. Nathan
Fiske, D.D. (H. C. 1754), pastor of the church in Brookfield (1758-1799) ; bom
September 2, 1762; volunteered tor service iu the war, in 1780, and was stationed
near West Point at the tirae of the treason of Benedict Arnold ; returned to
Brookfield and assisted his father on his farm until 1783 ; at the time of Shays's
Rebellion, active in the Marti-Mercurian Band of University students ; in the
winter vacation of 1786-1787 engaged to teach school at Lincoln, but when the
insurgents interfered with the courts at Worcester hired a substitute and joined
General Lincoln's army; studied medicine under Dr. Atherton, of Lancaster;
began practice at Worcester October, 1790 ; active iu forming the Worcester
Medical Society, and was chosen its secretary. A petition to the Legislature for
incorporation led to a reorganization of the Massachusetts Medical Society and
the creation of district associations ; September 26, 1804, the Worcester District
Society was organized; 1806 Dr. Fiske chosen President; February, 1803,
appointed Special Judge of the Court of Common Pleas ; 1809-1814 member of
the Executive Council ; 1816-1821 Registrar of Deeds ; interested in agriculture,
planting a nursery ot fruit and ornamental trees ; Secretary of the Worcester
Agricultural Society ; 1815 Corresponding Secretary of the Linnsean Society of
New England ; Councillor of the American Antiquarian Society ; died in Boston
January 25, 1837. F. C. Pierce, Fiske and Fisk Family (1896), pp. 372, 373, 495.
2 Townsend died in 1826, aged sixty-three.

100 DIAEY OP JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
evening at Mrs. Hooper's. Townsend's cough hangs upon him, but he
is getting better. We play'd quadrille till supper time. Miss Knight
is still there ; she is very handsome and very amiable, yet not very
interesting. 19th. Called upon Putnam after leaving the office, and passed the
evening at his lodgings. I have a greater regard for this young fellow
than I had when at College. He is friendly and good-natured, and
pursues his studies with diligence and attention. Perhaps indeed that
now the warmth of emulation has subsided, and we can in no instance
be rivals, neither he nor I view each other in the same light that we
did nine months ago.
20th. Mr. Parsons went yesterday to Boston, to attend the Supreme
Judicial Court. This evening I past with Thompson at Mrs. Emery's.
Miss Smith and Miss Putnam were there. We play'd cards about an
hour ; after which Miss Emery play'd us a number of tunes very
agreeably upon the harpsichord. I had another match with Miss
Putnam at complimenting, and succeeded tolerably well.
21st. Mrs. Emery and her daughter were going to Exeter this morn
ing in a single sleigh. Dr. Kilham and I, after greatly debating the
question, had likewise determined to go : so we agreed to divide. The
Doctor went with Mrs. Emery, and I with the young lady. It was
just eleven o'clock when we started ; and the roads were so difficult
that we did not get to Exeter till three, nor the other sleigh till five.
After sitting down my companion I went and dined ; and then immedi
ately proceeded to the meeting-house where the State Convention for
the State of New Hampshire were debating upon the subject of the
Federal Constitution. I found Mr. Pickering,* a member from Ports
mouth, zealously, though I cannot add very forcibly, arguing for the
good cause. Several other members spoke ; but none of them, in my
opinion, much to the purpose. They have gone through the system by
paragraphs ; and are now considering it generally. I found Mr. Shaw,
Mr. Thaxter, aud a number more of our Haverhill friends there, and
pass'd the evening with them at Mr. Peabody's, a friend of the
Doctor's, where we lodg'd ; for there was not a bed to be had at any
of the public houses. We were disappointed of an assembly this even
ing as we expected ; and the debates, I really think, were not worth
the ride in a cold day ; but the satisfaction of riding with an amiable
girl, and the novelty of the town, which I never saw before, will in
some measure compensate for the failure of my expectations.
1 John Pickering (H. C. 1761), born in Newington September 22, 1737 ; studied
theology and law ; Attorney-General of New Hampshire 1786 ; member of the
State Convention 1791-1792 ; repeatedly a member of the Legislature ; Presidentof
the Senate in 1789; 1790 appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New
Hampshire ; later District Judge of the United States ; died AprU, 1805. New
Hampshire Prov. and State Papers, vol. x. p. 30.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 101
22d. I attended to hear the debates in Convention again this fore
noon. Mr. Langdon * began by making a motion that the Convention
should adjourn to some future day, but said he would waive his
motion if any gentleman had further observations to make upon the
system. Mr. Atherton," the leader of the opposition rose, and in a
speech of more than an hour recapitulated every objection that he could
invent against the Constitution. He observed that confederation was
derived from the Latin word foedus ; and that consolidation was a
metaphorical expression borrowed from the operations of chemistry.
These were two of his most ingenious ideas ; and, upon tbe whole, I think,
he may candidly be pronounced a miserable speaker, and a worse
reasoner. A reverend Parson Thirston' spoke as long, and as little to
the purpose, on the other side. He talk'd of France's demanding her
money with the dagger in her hand ; and of Britain's sending 50 sail
of the line and 60,000 men to take New Hampshire; but did not
even attempt to support the plan upon the fair and honourable basis of
rational argumentation. When these two gentlemen had exhausted
the resources of their lungs, the motion for an adjournment was again
brought upon the carpet. This was the offspring of the fears of the
Federal party ; and was faintly opposed by the other faction, who
appeared to be equally fearful of the event, though more confident in
their numbers. The vote for adjournment, however, was carried by a
trifling majority. The time and place at which they should meet
again was a subject of some conversation; but finally the third Wednes
day in June, and Concord were agreed upon. We dined at Mr.
Peabody's. Dr. Kilham was troubled with the impertinence of one
Hopkinson, a distracted fellow, who came and pretended to call him to
an account for coming and intermeddling with concerns in which he was
not interested. A little after three we got into the sleigh, and be-
^ John Langdon (1740-1819), leader of the Federal forces in the Convention ;
one of the most noted men ot New Hampshire, having served as delegate to the
Continental Congress, as Speaker in the House of Eepresentatives of New Hamp
shire, as a Judge, as a meraber of the State Senate, and as "president" of the
State. Later was the first President pro tem. of the United States Senate and
Govemor of New Hampshire. See J. B. Walker, Hist, of the New Hampshire
Convention, pp. 7, 29 ; also letter frora John Langdon to Eufus King, dated
February 23, 1788, in Bancroft, Hist, of the Constitution, vol. u. pp. 461, 462.
Some members, convinced that ratification was wise but unwilling to vote con
trary to their instructions, asked an adjournment.
2 Joshua Atherton (H. C. 1762), born in Harvard, Mass., in 1737; a
lawyer at Amherst in 1772 ; was imprisoned in Amherst jail for favoring the
Loyalists, bnt later regained the confidence ot the community. In 1793 was a
State Senator, and later Attorney-General of New Harapshire ; died AprU 3, 1809.
New Hampshire Prov. and State Papers, vol. x. p. 35.
8 Eev. Benjamin Thurston (H. C. 1774) ; ordained at North Hampton, N. H.,
November 2, 1785 ; dismissed October 27, 1800 ; died 1806, near Ealeigh, N. C.
J. B. Walker, Hist, of the New Hampshire Convention, p. 9.

102 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
tween six and seven cross'd the river from Salisbury. I immediately
went to Thompson's. I found Little there, and Putnam came in soon
after. We pass'd the evening in sociable chat till nine, when I returned
home. 23d. When I went to the office this morning I found young Pick-
man ' of Salem there. I was acquainted with him somewhat in Europe,
and I believe he ia mentioned in the first volume of this repository
(repository !) He has been studying more than two years in Mr.
Pynchon's ^ office, and proposes now to pass five or six months in Mr.
Parsons's. And I shall be very happy in this additional companion, as
Townsend and Amory are both soon to leave the town. I pass'd the
evening at home, and my friend Little spent it with me. Wrote
nothing, though it was very necessary.
24th. Mr. Carey is still very sick, and we had no divine service this
day at his meeting. I again pass'd the whole day at home. I was
tired in the evening and took a walk as far as Deacon Thompson's;
and desired Tom to come and pass an hour with me, which he did. I
called at Putnam's but he was not at home. I wrote diligently in
the course of the day, and acquired some little credit.
25th. Pass'd the evening at Merrill's with Mr. Hutchinson, and
had some very agreeable musical entertainment. Mr. H. is a performer
upon the flute, and has a good collection of books. He has been wait
ing a fortnight or three weeks for favorable winds to sail for Ireland.
Captain Cazneau and Captain Casey were there part of the evening.
26th. This forenoon, while I was at the office, I received a billet
from Mr. Dalton, with an invitation to spend the evening at his house.
Between six and seven I went, aud was introduced into a room full of
ladies, with no other gentleman but the master of the house. The
situation was not perfectly agreeable ; but I was relieved by a proposal
of cards. I sat down to a game of whist with Mrs. Jones, a lady from
Boston, Mrs. Marquand ' and Fanny Jenkins, who soon after resigned
1 Benjamin Pickraan (H. C. 1784), son of Colonel Benjamin Pickman, a suc
cessful merchant ot Salem ; born September 30, 1763, in Salera ; educated at
Dummer Academy under " Master Moody " ; did not practise law, but engaged
in commerce ; was a Eepresentative and a Senator in the Massachusetts Legis
lature ; a member of the Governor's CouncU, 1805; of the Constitutional Con
vention of 1820, and of Congress, 1809-1811 ; an Overseer at Harvard, 1810-
1818, and president of many historical and literary societies iu Salem ; died
August 16, 1843. He raarried, October 20, 1789, Anstiss Derby, daughter of
Elias H. Derby, the most eminent merchant in Salem. Hurd, 248 b.
2 WiUiam Pynchon (H. C. 1743), born in Springfield, Mass., December 12,
1723 ; studied law with Stephen SewaU, of Salera ; died in Salera March 14,
1789. W. T. Davis, Hist, of the Judiciary ot Massachusetts, p. 300.
8 Presuraably the wife of Joseph Marquand, one of the most prominent mer
chants in Newburyport. He fitted out privateers during the war and took several
prizes, with one of them, it is said, the library of the Governor-General of Can-

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 103
her seat to Miss Dalton, emphatically so called even by her parents,
which is rather unusual, but a custom which is claiming introduction.
Major Greenleaf and Mr. Hooper '¦ came in before supper, which was at
about ten o'clock, and which was formal, cerimonious, and consequently
elegant. The company gradually retired after supper, and between
eleven and twelve Mr. Hooper gave me a place in his sleigh and I
came home. The narrative is about as uninteresting as the scene. I
found myself in the midst of a large company of ladies, with none of
whom I had an acquaintance sufficient to warrant an agreeable famil
iarity. I soon got seated at a card table, with ladies whom I did not
sufficiently admire. Mrs. Jones is young, uncommonly handsome ; and,
having received her education in Europe, is the arbiter of taste and
propriety in the complicated science of female fashions. To be insen
sible to all these advantages would have the appearance of stupidity or
of ingratitude ; and Mrs. Jones takes every opportunity to show how
free she is from such vices. Soon after we sat down she complained
that her gloves pinched her arm excessively ; and with some difficulty
pulling one of them off she exhibited an arm, the beautiful contour
and snowy whiteness of which might fire the imagination of a sensual
voluptuary, but which I unfortunately did not think of admiring till it
was too late. On the fore-finger of the hand sparkled a costly dia
mond, which demanded its share of observation ; aud perhaps in the
mind of a polite spectator might revive a question often debated,
upon the mutual pretensions of nature and of art to the superiority
of beauty. Mrs. Marquand equally professes to dictate the laws of
fashion, but could not stand her ground against the irresistible power
of the other lady, who could silence her in a moment by the resources
which she drew from her English education. Miss Jenkins, she ob
served, looked very much like Mrs. Siddons ; and if there is in fact not
the most distant likeness, yet the remark might convince us that Blrs.
Jones had seen that justly celebrated actress. The only particular in
which she varies from the manners of the English ladies is in her
ardent affection for her husband. He left her here yesterday, being
called by his business to Boston, but is expected here again to-morrow.
Yet though this absence is so short, yet she could not hear his name
mentioned without fetching a deep sigh. She anxiously enquired for
an opportunity to send a letter to him; and when somebody impru
dently suggested that perhaps Mr. Jones would not return till Thurs-
ada en route tor England ; lived in a fine house at the head of Marquand's wharf;
collector of the port of Newburyport, 1811-1820; died September 6, 1820, aged
seventy-two. J. J. Currier, " Ould Newbury," pp. 162, 608, 710; Hurd, Hist, of
Essex County, pp. 1748, 1750; S. A. Emery, Reminiscences, etc., pp. 232, 234.
1 Stephen Hooper (H. C. 1761), brother ot Mrs. Dalton ; son of Eobert Hooper, a,
wealthy raerchant of Marblehead, born July 14, 1741 ; died .January, 1802, in New
bury. He was elected as a Federalist to the Massachusetts Senate iu 1815 and 1816.

104 DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
day, she held her handkerchief to her eyes to conceal the involuntary
tear which was undoubtedly excited by the distressing idea. A
number of other circumstances, similar to those related, concurred to
form the opinion which I entertain of Mrs. Jones's character, and these
anecdotes may exhibit it perhaps better than the most laboured descrip
tion that I could write. This lady has taken so much of my time and
of my volume that I must really wait for other opportunities to speak
of the other ladies, who were Judge Greenleaf's daughters, Miss Prince
aud Miss Derby, Mrs. Coffin, and Miss S. Jenkins, besides Mr.
Dalton's own daughters,* who tell up well.
27th. Mr. Hutchinson sailed yesterday for Ireland. The weather
for several days past has been quite moderate ; but this afternoon blew
up very cold again. I pass'd the evening with Townsend and Pickman
at Dr. Sawyer's.^ Play'd quadrill with Mrs. Sawyer and Mrs. Hay.
The family is very agreeable.
28th. The severity of the weather has been increasing, and is this
night but little inferior to the greatest extremities of the winter. Our
social club met this evening at Little's. The walk was rather long and
bleak ; but our enjoyment was sufficient to compensate for that. Not
withstanding Mrs. Jones's opinion, I confess I do not dislike clubs.
I think they may be sociable and friendly without being slavish.
29th. A number of us spent the evening at Dr. Swett's. I play'd
on the flute an hour or so. I have heretofore mentioned Mrs. Swett.
The Doctor perhaps may corae under the denomination of a reformed
rake. In his youth he was wild, but he has become quite a useful
man. Such instances are rare !
Saturday, March 1st, 1788.
The weather is very severe. The month comes in like a lion, and
according to the farmer's proverb it must go out like a lamb. I passed
my evening in contemplation aud in writing at home, and have very
little to say for this day.
1 Euth Hooper Dalton, born May 17, 1767, married, July 21, 1789, Louis
Deblois ; Mary, born March 4, 1771, married Leonard White, of Haverhill, August
21, 1794; Sarah, born February 19, 1775, died unmarried in Washington, D. C. ;
Catherine, born April 13, 1777, died in Alexandria, Va., unmarried. G. T. Little,
The Descendants of George Little, p. 26.
2 Dr. Micajah Sawyer (H. C. 1756), son of a physician in Newbury, brother-
in-law of Rev. Ezra Weld, of Braintree ; born July, 1737 ; married Sibyl, daugh
ter of Daniel Farnham, the Loyalist ; meraber of the Coraraittee of Safety ap
pointed in 1774; treasurer of Dumraer Acaderay 1784-1809; raeraber of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Massachusetts Medical
Society ; died September 29, 1815. Mrs. Sawyer died July 8, 1842, aged ninety-
five. Thacher, American Medical Biography, vol. ii. pp. 72-74; Appleton,
Some Descendants ot William Sawyer.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 105
2d. We had no meeting at Parson Carey's. I was employ'd in
writing all the forenoon ; but after dinner went to hear Mr. Spring.
The speculative sentiments of this gentleman upon religion are not
such as I should admire. They may, I think, safely be called illiberal ;
though I am sensible such charges are not in general very liberal.
He has adopted all the fancies of the Hopkintonian * sect, as they are
called. These people, while they profess to found their system entirely
upon disinterested benevolence, by what appears to me a strange incon
sistency suppose that it may be agreeable to the general plan of the
supreme being to condemn to eternal torments all the human race,
except such as have experienced the effect of saving grace. The point
upon which Mr. Spring continually harps is, that holiness consists in a
total exemption from all selfish ideas, and that all sin originates in
selfishness. I suppose he has not preach'd a sermon these ten years
without introducing these favorite sentiments. His repetitions are so
frequent that they become very tiresome to one whom they cannot
convince. But his delivery is very agreeable ; there is an earnestness
and a solemnity in his raanner which I wish I could find in preachers
whose doctrines are more conformable to my ideas of truth.
3d. The weather continues extreme cold. The river is fast as low
as this town, and many persons have this day cross'd it upon the ice.
Townsend set out to go with me this evening to Mrs. Emery's ; but
would not go in wheu he found there was company there. It was
Judge Greenleaf's family. We play'd at cards and back-gammon as
usual ; and between ten and eleven I came home. Miss Prince is not
handsome, but sociable. She is generally called sensible and very agree
able ; but I have imbibed an unaccountable prejudice unfavourable to
her from the appearance of her person and manners. Perhaps I
ought not to commit such a weakness to writing; but indeed it is a
weakness from which, I believe, very few persons can boast of being
free. Miss Derby is handsome, but her beauty is stern and forbidding.
She is reserved and unsociable ; her manners are not wholly exempt
from the appearance of pride. But the effects of this passion, and of
modest diffidence, so different from it, are similar in appearance, and
when the causes of conduct may be various the most favourable con
struction is always the best. The Miss Greenleafs —
4th. Doctor Kilham ^ went to Boston this day to attend the General
1 This is an obvious slip of the pen for " Hopkinsian," the name given to the
foUowers of Dr. Samuel Hopkins, pastor at Newport, E. I. (1770-1803).
2 Dr. Kilham failed of re-election ; the following year, 1789, an unsuccessful
moveraent was again raade in his favor. Its first stages are described in a letter
dated February 28, 1789, frora James Bridge, then a law student with Theophilus
Parsons, to J. Q. Adams, who was recuperating his health at Quincy. " The
attention ot the wise heads begins to be turned pretty strongly towards the
approaching elections. The Hancockoniana are bestirring themselves to get
14

106 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Court. His opposition to the Federal Constitution has made him so
unpopular in this town that I do not expect he will be chosen as Repre
sentative at the next election ; and he may, I think, with this session
take his leave of the legislative body for the present. I pass'd the
evening with Townsend and Thompson at Mrs. Atkins's. The Justice
was not at home. Between seven and eight o'clock, we were alarm'd
by the cry of fire ; but it was extinguished before we got to the house.
While the Doctor is absent, I shall read more than I can when he is
here. The intervals between the hours which I pass at the office I
usually spend in conversation with him ; when he is gone I devote
them to reading. I have taken up the second volume of Gibbon,
which I have for a long time laid aside ; and I am determined to try
again to get through this book. I have possessed it several years, and
have been all the time just about to read it ; but it has been like the
hinge of Tristram Shandy's door — never done, because it could be
done at any time.
5 th. I pass'd the evening with Thompson and Putnam at Mr. Brad
bury's. Frank came from Boston this morning, and bro't an account
of the interment of his Honor Thomas Cushing, Esqr., who died last
week. He has heen lieutenant governor of this Commonwealth ever
since the establishment of the Constitution ; and it is probable there
will be a vast deal of electioneering intrigue for the diverse candidates
for the place. The paper also contains an extract from the conclud
ing letter of the third volume in defence of the American Constitu
tions, which speaks very favourably of the system proposed by the
Federal Convention.* I did not expect it, and am glad to find I waa
mistaken, since it appears probable the plan will be adopted. We play'd
cards an hour or two and then amused ourselves with music. There
their idol continued in the chair and Mr. S. Adams into Gen. Lincoln's office.
They intend also to change their present representation intirely. Instead of
Master Parsons, Coombs and Marsh, your friend Doc. Kilham and Capt. Fletcher
are held up for election. Mr. Jackson, if he is not chosen a senator, is to be
made the third. This inteligence is trumpeted forth in the streets and market
places by Stickney, Sweeny the barber, and Billings Putnam. The opposite
party are lying upon their oars, in expectation of our master's return. Doc.
Kilham's political resurrection might have furnished you with an entertaining
subject of speculation. He was first seen riding out with Marquand, next he
rode out with a large party of us to Major Coffin's of New-town; soon after some
of our respectable folks were seen to pull off their hats to him as he pass'd the
insurance office. Col. Wigglesworth and sorae others got hira to their houses
next, and now 'twould be difficult to catch him at home. He wants no further
assistance, but to he puffed in the Essex Journal which you will be seasonably
here to execute, it so inclined." In 1802 President Jefferson appointed him
a Commissioner of Bankruptcy in Massachusetts ; in 1806, 1807, 1810 and 1811
he served on the Governor's Council, and in 1814 waa a member of the State
Senate. See supra, pp. 32, 67.
1 John Adams, Works, vol. vi. pp. 219, 220.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 107
were several young ladies present. Miss Harriet's * companions ; a sett
that are almost always together, and who have at least more personal
beauty than any equal number of other unmarried ladies in this town.
Miss Wigglesworth '^ is about seventeen. Her stature is rather diminu
tive ; but smallness is said to be one of the essential requisites of pretti-
ness. Her features are regular and her shape admirably proportioned.
Her disposition is said to be amiable ; but she talks very little. The
greatest defect which I have observed in her is a frequent smile,
which is certainly either unmeaning or insulting. The only method I
can pursue when I catch her eye is to smile too ; and by this means
put her out of countenance. Thus much for the present. I will take
some other opportunity to mention the other stars that form thia
constellation. 6th. We met in the evening at Putnam's chamber. I did not pass
my time so agreeably as I usually do these evenings. Townsend and
Amory were there, and, instead of devoting our hours to free and unre
strained conversation, we lost them in playing on the violin and flute.
Between nine and ten we retired.
7th. The weather begins to abate of its severity ; yet people cross'd
the river on the ice all this day. Townsend and Pickman this after
noon went to Salem. I was at home all the evening, and Thompson
spent part of it with me. He intends to quit his school in three or
four weeks ; and I hope I shall then enjoy raore of his company.
8th. I this day got through my folio of Lord Coke, which has
been hanging heavy upon me these ten weeks. It contains a vast deal
of law learning, but heaped up in such an incoherent mass that I
have derived very little benefit from it, — indeed I think it a very im
proper book to put into the hands of a student just entering upon the
acquisition of the profession. I am persuaded I might have spent the
time which has been employ'd in reading this book to much better
advantage, and that a twelvemonth hence I could have read it in less
time aud with more profit. But if this be the case how much more
laborious must the study have been when this was the only elementary
book of the profession. The addition of Wood's Institutes, and more
especially of Blackstone's Commentaries, has been an inestimable ad
vantage to the late students in the profession. In the afternoon I
read a few pages in Blackstone,' and the contrast was like descending
1 Harriet Bradbury, daughter of Theophilus Bradbury ; bom in 1773 ; married
Thomas W. Hooper (H. C. 1789), son of Stephen Hooper. W. B. Lapham,
Bradbury Memorial, p. 89.
^ Presumably Sarah, daughter of Colonel Edward Wigglesworth, born De
cember 18, 1770; raarried Francis Michael Bequet, September 18, 1793. Colonel
Wigglesworth (H. C. 1761) served as a colonel in the Continental army from
1776 to 1779, and was then a merchant at Newburyport.
' The recognition of Blackstone's merit was immediate and decisive. Coke-

108 DLAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
from a rugged, dangerous and almost inaccessible mountain into a
beautiful plain, where the unbounded prospect on every side presents
the appearance of fertility. I read with more advantage than usual,
as I was wholly alone in the office all day. I spent the evening in my
own room uninterrupted by auy intrusion. I proceed in the second
volume of Gibbon, about fifty pages a day.
9 th. Parson Carey got out to meeting this forenoon ; but he was
still so weak that the effort was too great. He was scarcely able to get
through the morning exercises ; and in the afternoon the church was
again destitute. I went to hear Parson Spring rattle away upon disin
terested benevolence, apd pass'd the evening at home.
10th. Pass'd the evening and supped with Thompson at Dr.
Sawyer's. Mr. Russell was there ; he came from Portsmouth thia
morning and returns to Boston with Mra. Hay, to-morrow. We play'd
quadrill. Mr. Farnham* took an hand, and is skilled in all the
trifling conversation of a card-table. Every one, it is said, possesses his
peculiar excellence. Mr. Farnham's talent lies in the science of polite
ness. He understands to perfection all the nice and subtle distinctions
between confidence and assurance, between ease of behaviour and famil
iarity, between elegance and foppery, &c., a science in which I am very
ignorant, as in all others.
llth. Townsend and Pickman returned this afternoon from Salem.
Townsend has been ou to Boston and to Medfield ; he brought me two
or three letters. I passed the evening with Thompson at Captain
Coombs'a. Mr. Cutler came in soon after us. There are several
young ladies there. The Miss Coombs's are neither of them hand
some, and I have not sufficient acquaintance with them to form an ac
curate opinion. Fanny Jenkins is perhaps twenty one. A countenance
more amiable than beautiful is her greatest personal ornament ; she ia
not tall enough to have an elegant form, but when she smiles such a
lovely disposition beams in her eyes that no one could wish her more
handsome. She talks much and tolerably well, but when a young lady
[hjas so excellent a temper,
" Let her speak and whatever she say,
Methinks I should love her the more."
Her sister Nancy is about seventeen. She is tall and beautiful in
countenance andin the form of a person, not less sociable but less sensible
Littleton, first published in 1628, did not reach the thirteenth edition until 1788.
Blackstone in 1787, eighteen years atter the publication of the last volume, bad
already passed through ten editions.
1 Probably William Farnham, a brother-in-law of Dr. Sawyer. Alice Tucker
wrote under date of Sunday, August 23, 1789, "After meeting Mr. Farnham
drank tea with us — a gentleman with manners as soft as sUk." Manuscript
joumal.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 109
than Fanny. She has read too many novels; her expressions are
romantic, and her ideas are far otherwise. Her disposition is, I believe,
good; and a few years may cool her down to an agreeable sensible
girl : now, it may suffice to say, she is young. But, after all, the best
object of description is Mr. Cutler. He is somewhat singular, but it re
quires a much longer acquaintance to form a just opinion of the char
acter of a man than of a woman : the distinguishing traits are deeper
and much more numerous, for which reason and some others, I will
defer speaking of Mr. Cutler to some future opportunity.
12th. I dined with Townsend at Mrs. Hooper's. Amory went to
Portsmouth on Monday, with several of his friends They return'd
this day to dinner at Davenport's. We called to see them, and sat
with them drinking and singing till five o'clock, when the[y] went for
Ipswich. I pass'd the evening with Pickman, at Doctor Smith's.
Townsend went there with us, but found himself so unwell that he went
home very early. His cough has return'd, with several disagreeable
symptoms. I fear exceedingly that he is not long for this world. We
play'd whist an hour or two at Dr. Smith's, and between ten and
eleven retired.
13th. Thompson, Pickman and Little pass'd the eve at my lodgings.
Townsend was so unwell that he could not come, and Putnam went
home some days since, and has not yet return'd. The office for a week
past has been tolerably clear, and I have made considerable progress
in Blackstone.
14th. Mr. Parsons return'd this afternoon from Boston, where the
Supreme Judicial Court and the General Assembly are now sitting. I
called with Pickman to see Townsend, who is now confined to the
house, and pass'd an hour or two with him. And for this day I have
nothing more to say.
15th. I called this evening at Putnam's lodgings, and pass'd an hour
or two with him. He went home last Sunday intending to be absent
about a week ; but he return'd yesterday without compleating his visit.
I told him some time ago, that I expected he would not be absent long
from this town with any satisfaction to himself. He says he is happy
as the day is long. He admires Newbury-Port exceedingly, and never
enjoy'd himself more than he has for the six months past. He aaya
he is not in love, and that is not the least reason from which I con
clude that he is. A young lady similar in her manners, and perhapa
in her disposition to him, has engaged his affections ; and the schemes
which he forms to be in company with her, and the manifest fondness
which appears when he is with her, more than outweigh his declara
tions ; which, in cases less justifiable than the present, are not always
consistent with truth.
16th. In the forenoon I attended at Mr. Carey's meeting Tbe man

110 DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
that appeared in the pulpit I concluded very soon was a son of Dart
mouth. All was common-place ; his ideas were trifling, his language was
inelegant, and his manner was an unsuccessful attempt to the fiorid.
He apostrophised Innocence, and said she was charming. In short he
appeared to me to have all the defects, without one of the excellencies
of a youthful, irregular imagination. After meeting was over I heard
his name was Oliver,' and that he is settled at Beverley. I had quite
enough of him in hearing him once, and therefore in the afternoon I
went to hear Mr. Spring, who entertained me much better, though I
am not a great admirer of his doctrine.
17th. Mr. Parsons held a Court this forenoon at ten; and at the
same hour I attended at Mr. Atkins's, with several actions brought
before him. Mr. Parsons in the afternoon went from home to return
to Boston. I pass'd the evening at Mrs. Hooper's ; play'd quadrill aa
usual. 18th. I am sinking again into the same insipidity which I have so
often lamented. The circumstances which daily occur are now more
than ever alike, for I not only spend the whole day in the same occupa
tion at the office ; but as Townsend is unwell and confined to his lodg
ings I pass alraost all my evenings with him. We have no news stir
ring of any kind, and as Dr. Kilham said to me a short time before he
went to Boston, " I am tired to death of seeing one day only the dull
duplicate of another."
19th. The weather was dull, gloomy, and part of the day rainy.
Amory invited me to dine with him and Stacey and Azor Orne at
Davenport's, but I did not feel inclined that way. I call'd at Mrs.
Hooper's in the evening, and spent a couple of hours with Townsend.
The lads who dined at Davenport's warm'd themselves so well with
Madeira, that at about seven o'clock this evening, they all set out upon
an expedition to Cape-Ann to attend a ball there this night. Twenty
seven miles in such weather and such roads after seven o'clock at night,
to attend a ball would look extravagant in a common person ; but it
is quite characteristic of Amory.
20th. Thursday. We met this evening at Thompson's. Pickman
came, but rather late in the evening. Young Sawyer ^ was there like
wise. He spends the present quarter at home by order of the college
government. I have not a very high opinion of his abilities ; still
less of his improvements, and least of all of his moral character. One
thing, however, may be said in his favour, — he is handsome in his per-
1 Daniel Oliver (Dartmouth 1785), born in Boston April 4, 1753; pastor at
Beverly 1787-1797 ; missionary in Eoxbury and Boston ; died September 14,
1840, at Eoxbury. General Catalogue of Dartraouth College.
'i William Sawyer (H. C. 1788), son ot Dr. Micajah Sawyer; born February 1,
1771; a physician; died in Boston, AprU 18, 1859.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. Ill
son. His father is a very respectable, worthy man, and the family to
which he belongs is very agreeable.
[N. B. This opinion of Sawyer did him great injustice. April, 1790.]
21st. I can read tolerably well when I am alone in the office, and
make as much progress in one day as I can sometimes in a week when
all the other gentlemen are here. I have read through the first vol
ume and made some progress iu the second of Blackstone. And I
read it, I think, with more advantage than I did the first time ; but my
progress is slow, too slow.
22d. Amory and Stacey return'd from their expedition. They got
to Cape-Ann at about twelve on Wednesday night, and were about two
hours at the ball. On Thursday they proceeded to Marblehead, aud
attended at the assembly which was held there. Last night they
patrol'd the streets of Salem, serenading the houses, and came home
this afternoon compleately fatigued. Mr. Parsons arrived in town too
this morning from Boston, and held a Court for taking cognizance of
Mr. Atkins's actions. Pickman pass'd the evening with us at Mrs.
Hooper's. Mr. Cutler was likewise there.
23d. Putnam had agreed to go with me, and hear Parson Tucker
preach this forenoon ; but some circumstance prevented him ; so I went
alone. The Dr. gave us a very good sermon upon the education of
children. I went home with Mr. Tracey to dinner, and Pickman soon
came in. We dined and pass'd the afternoon with Mr. Tracey.*
1 Nathaniel Tracy (H. C. 1769), classmate of TheophUus Parsons and of
James Winthrop, the librarian at Harvard ; thirty-six years of age ; educated at
Harvard and at Yale ; son of Patrick Tracy, who presented him on his raarriage in
1775 to the beauty, Mary Lee, of Marblehead, with the flnest house in Newbury
port, the brick building on State Street now occupied by the Public Library.
In August, 1775, he sent out the first privateer from Newburyport ; 1775-1783
he sent to sea, as principal owner, twenty-four cruisers manned by 2,800 men that
captured 120 sail and with them 2,225 prisoners of war ; during the same period
he sent, as principal owner, 110 merchant vessels, all but thirteen of which
were lost or captured before the end of the war ; during the early years of the
Eevolution he prospered greatly, — had fine horses and the richest of household
appointments; kept a pleasure barge on Kimball's Pond for fishing-parties;
"owned an adrairable farra in Newbury, where he could breakfast; Ten-Hill
farm at Medford, where he could dine ; and his Vassall House at Carabridge,
Washington's Quarters, where he raight pass the night." Thomas Jefferson visited
him and sailed with him on his ship " Ceres " to England in 1784. In 1786 he
found himself hopelessly bankrupt, and retired to the stone mansion (already a
century old) of the Spencer-Pierce farm on the Merrimac Eiver in Newbury.
Here he died September 20, 1796 (Mary Tracy seUing the farm for $12,800). See
J. J. Currier, " Ould Newbury," pp. 25-41, 551-560, with a portrait of Nathaniel
Tracy and views of the farm-house. See also an article by Colonel Samuel Swett
(son of Dr. John Barnard Swett) in the " Newburyport Herald," November 23, 1865
(Boston Public Library, No. *4454.56), and an article by Mrs. Harriet Prescott
Spofibrd in " Harper's Magazine " for July, 1875. The figures as to his mercantUe
and warlike ventures during the war are taken from an ex parte statement, — a

112 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
This gentleman waa in the course of the war peculiarly fortunate
and accumulated an immense fortune ; but he has since been equally
unluckily and is now very much reduced. The generosity of his heart
ia equal to any estate whatever ; and although he has not been so
prudent as might be wish'd, yet every one who is acquainted with him
must lament his misfortunes, and heartily wish he may retrieve his
affairs. We rode into town in the beginning of the evening as the
weather was rainy. We stop'd at Mrs. Hooper's. We found Miss
Cazneau there ; and Thompson and Putnam came in soon after. The
evening was dull. Miss Cazneau would sing ; and murdered two or
three songs. A specimen of Townsend's wit set us to laughing.
Mr. Parsons set out this morning to go to Boston, but the weather
being disagreeable he return'd home after proceeding three or four
miles. . . .
24th. I attended at Mr. Atkins's Court ; and appeared to the ac
tions. Mr. Marquand, who had been summoned there, appeared and
somewhat diverted us by his impetuosity. I met young Thomas in
the street, who gave me some information from Cambridge. This
being the last day of service, we have been uncommonly busy in
the office in copying the writs and making out records according to the
Justice's act, which is useless and even troublesome on every account.
I this day finished reading Gibbon's History, which I have had a
long time without perusing. It has given me much information upon
a part of history with which I was but little acquainted. The style upon
the whole, I think, is elegant, but his manifest partiality against the
Christian religion is equally injurious to his character as a philosopher
and as an historian. He affects to despise those men who from a zeal
ous attachment to their religion have adopted the effusions of enthusi
asm as readily as the pure and indisputable relations of history ; while
he is himself guilty of the other extreme, which in my mind is much less
petition to Congress. See E. V. Smith, Hist, of Newburyport, p. 107. Alice
Tucker wrote, October 20, 1789: "Just at dusk, I took a walk to Mr. Nat.
Tracy's. This antique building is situated in the very bosom of retirement,
and is surrounded by well cultivated fields and gardens. You have in view a
thick wood, and a pretty water prospect completes the landscape. I found Mrs.
Tracy, dress'd genteelly, sitting at her tea table with her children about her. She
is a very handsome accoraplished woraan, and knows very well how to keep up
her dignity." A little over a year later she described another visit : "As soon
as we got to their yard a neat looking maid came out to open the gate tor us,
and conducted us into the house and into the dining chamber, which is spacious
and has a genteel and an airy appearance considering its antiquity. Mrs. Tracy
received with that politeness which is so natural to a well bred woman. Our re
past was slender ; two cups of tea, and one small piece of biscuit. After tea the
children came from the nursery, [torn] and with them an illegitimate orphan call'd
Lucy [illegible']. . . . How fortunate are such children when they meet with
relations or friends that are disposed to give them suitable educations." Manu
script journal of Alice Tucker, December 13, 1790.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 113
excusable. Knox,* however, is, I believe, too severe when he saya that
this writer by a meretricious and affected stile far beneath the native dig
nity and simplicity of the ancients has caught the transient applause of
the public, — and indeed the occasion upon which he passes this judgment
renders the censure very reprehensible. The reflection upon Julian's
leaving Paris ^ was to me one of the most ingenious passages in the
book; and Knox, by setting himself up as the champion of English
prejudices, cannot be quoted by a neutral person as an authority of
great weight.
25th. Copies of all the actions which are to be entered at the next'
Court of Common Pleas were this day sent to Salem to be filed in
the clerk's office, seven days before the sitting of the court, as the law
directs. And as we have now got through the hurry of business, we
J- Vicessimus Knox, master for thirty-three years of a school at Tunbridge,
England. The passage referred to reads as follows : " A writer of history, who,
by an affected and meretricious style, unlike the manliness of the classical model,
has caught the transient applause of fashion, and who seems to be ambitious of
acquiring distinction by recommending infidelity and libertinism on peinciple,
speaks, consistently with himself, thus highly of Fkbnch manners ; those effem
inate manners which, in the honest warmth of an Englishman, I have been led,
in this section, and on all occasions to reprobate : . . . I cannot think it consist
ent with a good citizen and a lover of one's country to admire and extol the mar
tial spirit of that nation, which has so often been most hostile to all we hold dear,
and behaved with such perfidy as would stigmatize au individual in private Ufe
with perpetual disgrace.
" As a superintendent of education, I think myself bound thus publicly to dis
approve, on every proper occasion, all works which tend to insinuate corrupt aud
infidel principles into the bosoms of ingenuous youth. All raay err frora passion,
and be pardoned ; but to defend and even recommend, moral corruption on prin
ciple, is a kind of wickedness which even candour must condemn as diabolical."
Liberal Education : or a Practical Treatise on the Methods of acquiring Useful
and Polite Learning, 10th edit. 1789, vol. ii. pp. 307-309. "It was a mean
subterfuge to make history the oblique channel of theological infidelity. An
ingenuous young man takes up the book, from the laudable motive of improving
his raind with historical knowledge. But, as he reads, he finds himself corrupted,
and is cheated into irreligion and libertinism." V. linox, Essays Moral and Lit
erary, 1793, vol. i. p. 110.
The popular prejudice was so strong that the Presideut of Harvard College
deemed it wise to announce publicly in the " Columbian Centinel," November 16,
1791, that " Gibbon's History was never thought of " for the Harvard curricu
lum, that Millot's Elements were preferred; — the latter a history in five vol
umes aggregating some two thousand pages, translated from the French of the
Abbe Millot and written under an order of the Duke of Parma. October 26,
1786, J. Q. Adams wrote : "' I employ most of my time at present in reading the
Abbe MiUot's Elements of History. They are well written but very concise. He
is quite philosophical : in some passages perhaps too much so. At least he calls
in question many historical facts without sufficient reason, I think. His reflec
tions, which seem to form the greatest part of the work, are tor the most part
just, and display rauch huraanity, which is an essential requisite in an historian."
^ Gibbon, Decline and Fall, chapter xxii.
15

114 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
have this day been very idle. Mr. Parsons has been talking all day
with some one or other who came to the office. Much of our time is
lost in this manner ; and if we complain we are told we must learn to
read without suffering ourselves to be interrupted by any noise what
ever — a direction with which, I believe, I shall never be able to com
ply. And it would be much more agreeable to me, if he would
receive his company in the other room, and spare us the trouble of
an apprenticeship to an art which we cannot acquire.
26th. I took a long walk this afternoon with Putnam, and as we
came back we stop'd at Mrs. Hooper's. Townsend is still there, the
weather being so unsettled that he has not ventured to go much from
the house yet. He must, however, go in a few days so [to] Ipswich
as he is to be sworn in at that Court. We play'd quadrill. Miss
Knight and Miss Phillips were there ; with the latter of these ladies
I have never hitherto had any acquaintance. I went a mile with her,
after ten, to wait on her home, and on the way met Master Thompson,
but as I returned I could not overtake him.
27th. I went with Pickman, Amory, Stacey, and Putnam to Salis
bury, to see a vessel launch'd. She stuck as she went off. We dined
there, but the party was very far from being agreeable. A. Orne is an
habitual debauchee who at the age of five or six and twenty has brought
upon himself the infirmities of old age. He is one of those human
beings whom to see is to despise. The description in the choice of
Hercules beautifully expresses the character. At about five in the after
noon, I return'd with Pickman and Putnam to Newbury-Port, and
from thence walk'd up to Little's, where we found Thompson and Saw
yer. We pass'd the evening agreeably ; and much more to our satisfac
tion than we could have done with those other lads whom we left at
Salisbury. Vast happiness enjoy the gay Allies I
A Youth of FolUes ; an old age of Cares :
Young, yet enervate ; old yet never wise ;
Vice wastes their vigour, and their Mind impairs.
28th. The weather was pleasant. Townsend rode this day. I
pass'd the evening with him, and found Miss Knight at Mrs. Hooper's.
After having dismiss'd two or three inconstant suitors, she is now
address'd by a Mr. Gregory from Boston, to whom she will probably
soon be united. With all the charms of beauty richly fraught,
Lucinda's form my fond attention caught.
A faultless person and a lovely mind,
I found with wonder, were in her combin'd
Deficient only in a single part,
She wanted nothing but a feeling heart.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 115
Calm and unruflled as a Summer Sea,
From Passions' gales Lucinda's breast is free,
A faithless lover she may well defy
RecaU her heart nor breathe a single sigh
And should a second prove inconstant too
She •changes on till she can find one true.i
Such a character may be esteemed ; it may likewise be beloved, for she
has had more than one lover ; but their unsteadiness may possibly derive
some excuse from this very disposition of hers ; for my own part, I
never could conceive such sentiments with respect to her as would
enable me to be inconstant.
29th. I received two or three letters for Little, and after finishing
the day at the office, I went and delivered them. He went with me
and pass'd the evening with Townsend. Mr. Morland came in to wait
on Miss Knight home ; but she preferr'd staying a day or two longer
where she was. Mr. Cutler was an hour or two with us. Sometime
after ten, I came home.
30th. Parson Toppan of Newtown preach'd at our meeting this
day. I attended all day and was very much pleased with his ingenuity.
He is quite orthodox enough, although he has contended with Mr. Spring
upon some very knotty points. His delivery is not graceful, nor even
agreeable ; but the sound sense and ingenuity which appear in his ser
mons more than compensate for defects which are so common. I
have read through Knox's treatise npon Education,^ and in general am
much pleased with it. If his censures of the present times did not
some times border upon ill-nature, and if he had not profess'd to main
tain the advantages of prejudice and partiality, I should place much
greater confidence in his opinion ; but his complaints in many cases are
but too just and too applicable to the manners of this country.
31st. Mr. Parsons held a Justice's Court for the trial of a trifling
action of trover and conversion, — the dispute was about 600 feet of
pine boards. The witnesses on both sides were examined, and, after a
trial of two hours, Mr. Parsons advised them to settle the matter between
themselves without any judgment, which they accordingly did. The
weather for a day or two past has been very mild and pleasant ; verify
ing the vulgar saying, mentioned at the beginning of the month. I walk'd
with Putnam this afternoon, and pass'd the evening with Townsend.
Tuesday, April 1st, 1788.
The Court sits this day at Ipswich. Mr. Parsons went in the after
noon. I dined with him. Pickman gone to Salem, so that for two or
1 "The Vision," in " Poems of Eeligion and Society," by J. Q. Adams (1850),
p. 111. 2 Vicessimus Knox (1752-1821), Liberal Education, or a Practical Treatise
on the Methods ot acquiring Useful and Polite Learning. London, 1781.

116 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
three days I have been wholly alone at the office. Putnam took a
long walk with me ; he has been amusing himself with Stacey this day
by the prescriptive privilege of deceiving. The manner was imprudent
and the thing itself beneath his years ; but there is a pleasure in play
ing the fool at times ; and perhaps these are peculiarly excusable. As
we returned from our walk, I stop'd in at Mrs. Hooper's to pass the
last evening with Townsend. Parson Bass was there, but soon went
off. Amory took his usual rout"; a Mr. Gartz, who belongs to Balti
more, Mr. Cutler and Thompson were with us all the evening ; and we
left them a little after ten.
2d. This day Townsend and Amory finally left us and were to be
sworn into the Court of Common Pleas at Ipswich. They entered the
office both nearly at the same time, and have both continued here more
than three years. Their characters and dispositions are essentially dif
ferent. With Townsend I have been very intimate ever since I came to
this town, but my acquaintance with Amory has only been such as neces
sarily followed from being so frequently with him. Townsend is in
his twenty fifth year. His genius is very good, and somewhat eccentric.
While at College, and for some time after, he laboured under great dis
advantages from his narrow circumstances ; but for three or four years
past he has been well supported by a wealthy uncle who has no chil
dren, and who will probably leave him something. Since he came here
his studies have repeatedly been interrupted ; and he has been obliged to
attend for months together upon his brother, who died last summer in
a consumption. The time which he could spend here was generally
well employ'd. His disposition was easy and contented ; rather apt to
contract prejudices either favourable or unfavorable to persons from their
first appearance ; his friendships very strong, and his aversions rather
severe. He was attached to his opinions, and would defend them with
warmth ; so that many of his acquaintance think him obstinate. But
he has frequently said, and, I believe, justly, that obstinacy consists in
persevering in an opinion without being willing to defend it when
attacked, not in being unwilling to give it up without sufficient grounds
to conclude it erroneous ; and if his definition be true I do not think
he can properly [be] called obstinate. Upon general subjects his
sentiments coincided very well with mine ; but we differed very fre
quently in descending to particulars. Generosity, humanity and be
nevolence are the ornaments of his heart, and in short from his whole
character I have such an attachment for him, that I shall regret much
his leaving this town. My anxiety for his health increases this regret ;
his disorder is alarming, and by so much the more as it has been pecu
liarly fatal to his family. Amory I will mention to-morrow. I took a
walk with Putnam this afternoon, and as we returned Putnam urged
me to go in to Dr. Smith's, to which I finally agreed. Putnam pass'd

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 117
a number of high encomiums upon Miss Smith; but as soon as we
went into the house I found Miss Bradbury there ; which explained
Putnam's eagerness. I sat and conversed till about nine o'clock, and
then came off, leaving my companion with his Dulcinea there.
3d. Thompson went yesterday morning to Ipswich, and returned
last evening. I dined with him to day. Frank Bradbury and Putnam
were likewise there. Amory and Townsend were sworn into Court
yesterday in the afternoon, and immediately went on to Salem. Amory,
whom I promised to mention this day, is about twenty three. At a very
early period of life he was engaged in scenes of intemperance and de
bauchery, and contracted a fondness for them which he has not yet
conquered. His imagination is lively and his apprehension uncommonly
quick ; but a great degree of volatility and unsteadiness render all hia
reforming resolutions abortive. With any particular object before him
he is indefatigably active and industrious ; but when it is on[c]e accom
plished he too often relapses into dissipation and inattention. Of almost
three years and a half which have past since he entered Mr. Parsons's
office, he has not, I suppose, spent two in this town, and of that time
perhaps he has not employ'd one half in the office. Yet such are his
natural advantages for improvement that, in the short time which he
has devoted to study, he has acquired almost as much knowledge of
the Law as a common person would, who should have been attentive
through the whole period. Notwithstanding his habits of intemperance
he has formed a tender connection with a young lady in this town,
who is undoubtedly firmly persuaded that he will marry her. It will
certainly be a great misfortune to her, should she be disappointed ; for
after so long, and so great an intimacy, with a young fellow whose
principles and practice are so repugnant to the general ideas of mo
rality and religion, it must be supposed that any other young gentleman
would be somewhat punctilious before he would venture to pay his
addresses to her. Unfortunately the same causes which are prejudicial
to her reputation will tend to render him faithless and inconstant. All
that can be hoped is (and it is devoutly to be wished) that his native
good sense and strength of mind will rise superior to all his youthful
follies, and that of all the heterogeneous qualities which compose his
character, the good only will remain. His manners and address are
remarkably agreeable and insinuating, and he possess[es] candour to
applaud in others even those virtues of which he is most destitute. In
short we may fairly say that, without an essential alteration in his
course of life, he will ever be a worthless character ; but that, with
such alterations aa time and experience may very well produce, he may
become one of the beat and most useful men in the Commonwealth.*
1 William Amory, born in Boston ; a graduate of Harvard (1784) ; died in
1792, aged twenty-seven. He married the young lady referred to in the text.

118 DLARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Dr. Kilham returned this afternoon from Boston, and Mr. Parsons
from Ipswich. I took a long walk after dinner with Putnam, F. Brad
bury, and Thompson, and we passed the evening at Putnam's lodgings.
4th. The weather has been rather disagreeable this day. In the
evening I went with Thompson and Putnam to Mr. Bradbury's, where
we found a large company. Mr. W. Parsons and his wife, Mr.
Sigourney and his enamorata, and an innumerable quantity of Miss
Greenleafs. We pass'd the evening as usual, singing, playing cards,
&c. Mr. Sigourney has a very good voice, and entertained the company
much more than such exercises generally do. We retired between ten
and eleven o'clock.
Sth. Rain'd again a great part of the day. Putnam pass'd the even
ing at my lodgings. We conversed upon a variety of subjects. I am
more pleased with him than I was while we were classmates. He is
not exempt from that puerility which I mentioned as constituting his
character ; and I have sometimes seen him exert a degree of little cun
ning to obtain an end in trifles where it was totally unnecessary even to
serve his own purpose. But he is good-natured and friendly ; willing
and ready to oblige; easy and contented; enjoying the present and
looking forward to futurity without sufficient anxiety to embitter his
happiness. I often envy him his feelings. For " who by taking
thought can add one cubit to his stature?" The prospects of life
which are before me are by far the most frequent employment of my
thoughts ; and according to the different temperature of my spirits, I
am sometimes elated with hope, sometimes contented with indifference,
but often tormented with fears, and depressed by the most discouraging
appearances. Such reflections serve only to deprive me of my present
enjoyments ; after all, the events which time is to produce must take
their course and " sufficient surely to the day is the evil thereof."
6th. A Parson Allen preach'd this day for Mr. Carey. I went to
hear him in the forenoon. His sermon was sensible, but his delivery
was quite disagreeable. His manner of speaking was so singular that
several times it was with difficulty I restrained myself from laughing. I
did not feel a great inclination to hear him again, and I therefore went
in the afternoon and heard Mr. Murray. He is an orator ; but if he
did not betray such a consciousness of his own powers, while in the
pulpit, he would be much more pleasing to me. There is no situation,
perhaps, in which that consummate art of concealing art is more requi
site than in the desk. Art is undoubtedly necessary in speaking to
command the attention of an audience ; but if that art is apparent the
solemnity of the occasion greatly tends to increase the disgust which I
always conceive against affectation. For when a preacher appears so
and had two daughters. He had already been admitted to practise before the
Supreme Court of Massachusetts.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 119
wholly occupied with the admiration of his own rhetorical talents, it
seems he can have but little concern for the important subject of which
his eloquence is only the instrument, aud which ought to be the chief,
I had almost said the only, object of his thoughts.
7th. I went with Thompson to Mr. Atkins's, to answer to an action
which we had brought before him this day. The first Monday in
April, being the day appointed by the Constitution for the choice of
Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Senators, the town meeting here
began at ten in the morning, aud the poll was closed at four in the
afternoon. Mr. Hancock and General Lincoln had a great majority
in this town, as well as in Newbury, and a Federal list of Senators ;
for Fed and anti are the only distinctions at this day. Mr. S. Adaras
had a number of votes for Lieutt. Governor, but, for what reason I
cannot tell, all the influence was against him. The revolution that
has taken place in sentiments within one twelve month past must be
astonishing to a person unacquainted with the weaknesses, the follies,
and the vices of human nature. The very men who at the last election
declared that the Commonwealth would be ruined if Mr. Hancock was
chosen have now done every thing to get him in. And the other side
are equally capricious.* We have not yet got sufficiently settled to
1 A letter written by J. Q. Adams to his father, and dated Braintree, June 30,
1787, describes the conditions attending the elections of the preceding year. It
reads as follows : —
"... Mr. Hancock was again elected governour this year, and out of 18,000
votes he had more than 13,000. This plainly shows that the people in general are
displeased with some part of Mr. Bowdoin's conduct: but it is the caprice of an
ungrateful populace, for which it must ever be irapossible to account. Mr. Han
cock is very much involved in debt, if common report be true ; it is even confi
dently asserted that his present estate would not by any means do justice to his
creditors. It is therefore concluded that he would favour tender acts, paper
currencies and all those measures, which would give the sanction of the law to
private fraud and villainy : it was supposed that a Senate and an House of Eepre
sentatives would be chosen, perfectly willing to abolish all contracts public and
private, ready in short to redress the people's grievances, that is, to gratify their
passions and justify their crimes. But these fears were not entirely well grounded ;
there are indeed several Senators and many Eepresentatives, who would stick at
nothing, A Willard, a Drury, a Whitney, and many others, who have openly
espoused the cause of treason and rebellion, are now among the legislators of the
country ; intestinam aliquara quotidie pemiciera reipublicae molientes. There is
however in both branches of the legislature a majority of well raeaning raen,
who will support the dignity of the government, and who will not prostitute the
honour of their country. A motion was made a tew days since, that a comraittee
should be appointed to examine the merits ot a paper currency, and to report upon
the expediency of an emission at present, but there was a majority of more than
50, even against the committing of it. It has been resolved that the Court should
move out ot the town of Boston, and the committee have finally recoraraended
Concord as the most proper place to which it may be reraoved. The people in
the country are very earnest in this point; and as usual without knowing why.
The salaries of aU civil officers, which are uow too small, will infallibly be reduced

120 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
have stated parties ; but we shall soon, I have no doubt, obtain the
blessing. I pass'd an hour or two this evening with Thompson at Mrs.
Emery's, and he spent half an hour with me, till nine o'clock.
8th. Pickman returned last evening from Salem. The votes in
that town, and in several others from which accounts have been re
ceived, are equally favorable or more so than they were in this town
to Mr. Hancock and General Lincoln. I called and passed an hour or
two at Mrs. Hooper's in the evening. Miss Cazneau was there. Came
home early in the evening.
Belinda next advanc'd with rapid stride
A compound strange of Vanity and Pride
Around her face no wanton Cupids play,
Her tawny skin, defies the God of Day.
Loud was her laugh, undaunted was her look.
And folly seem'd to dictate what she spoke.
In vain the Poet's and musician's art
Combine to move the Passions of the heart,
Belinda's voice like grating hinges groans.
And in harsh thunder roars a lover's moans.*
9th. Dined with Pickman and Thompson at Mr Parsons's upon
salmon, which begin now to be caught in the river. We did not do
much business in the afternoon. I called upon Putnam, after taking a
walk with Thompson, but Putnam was engaged for the evening, so
that I soon came home to my lodgings.
still lower. Mr. Hancock, who has a peculiar talent of pleasing the multitude, has
corapounded the matter by offering to make a present to the public of 300£, but I
consider this as a pernicious precedent; a palliative worse than it would have
been, had the legislature curtailed the salary. For if one man gives up 300£, an
other, fishing equally for popularity, may give more, and the chair of government
may flnally be offered to the lowest bidder. It is impossible for a free nation to
subsist without parties, and unfortunately our parties are not yet form'd. The
democratical branch of our government is at present quite unrival'd ; and we se
verely feel the want of sufficient strength in the other branches. The Senate in
deed has several times within these eighteen months saved the coramonwealth
from complete anarchy, and perhaps from destruction ; but its hands are tied ;
and the people are too generally disposed to abolish the Senate as an useless
body. I have indeed great hopes that the Defence of the Constitutions wUl pro
duce an alteration in their sentiments ; it will certainly have great weight. One
printer in Boston is employ'd in printing a new edition of this book, and another
is retailing it twice a week in a newspaper ; so that I hope it will be sufficiently
spread throughout the Commonwealth. As to the monarchical power, it appears
to be entirely out of the question, and unless by a revolution it be established
upon the ruin of the two others, it will never possess influence sufficient to hold
the balance between them."
The reference in the closing lines of the above letter is to John Adams's De
fence of the American Constitutions, London, 3 vols. 1787, 1788. See Life and
Works of John Adams, vols, iv.-vi.
1 " The Vision," a poem by J. Q. Adams in " Poems of Religion and Society "
(1850), p. 111.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 121
10th. From the divers interruptions which we met with in the
course of the day, we did but little at the office. We met this evening
at Pickman's chamber. He has joined us, and is regularly with us.
Stacey likewise pass'd the evening with us, and Mr. W. Farnham. I
agreed to go with Pickman to Haverhill to-morrow. From thence I
intend in the beginning of the next week to proceed to Cambridge,
attend at the exhibition there ; and then go to Braintree and spend a
few days. And I shall probably meet my brothers there. I have
sometimes intended to wait for my father's arrival before I should go
that way ; but it is almost six months since I saw my friends in Cam
bridge, Braintree, &c., which makes me somewhat impatient ; and, if I
wait for my father, I know not whether I shall go in one month or two.
As I have been so little absent through the winter, I may venture now
to indulge myself for a fortnight.
llth. I set out with Pickman this morning at about nine o'clock.
The weather was clear though rather windy ; before twelve we arrived
at Haverhill. I went immediately to Mr. Shaw's, and Pickm:in went
to the tavern to meet a carriage which he expected from Salem ; but
very unfortunately he found the carriage had past through the town,
not more than a quarter of an hour before he got there. Such dis
appointments are peculiarly teazing to lovers, and are felt perhaps
more keenly than greater misfortunes.* After dinner 1 went down to
Mr. White's, and was sorry to fiud that Leonard was gone to Ham-
stead with his mother. I call'd likewise at Mr. Thaxter's, but he was
not at home. I sat half an hour vvith Mrs. Thaxter, who has met with
a misfortune and been very unwell for some time past. I thence
went up to Judge Sargeant's to pay a visit there; and I found Mr.
Thaxter with him. I returned soon and drank tea at Mr. Thaxter's ;
and soon after went back to Mr Shaw's.
12th. In the forenoon I went down and spent a couple of hours
with Mr Thaxter ; the rest of the day I employ'd in reading upon
several subjects. I took up Hudibras in the afternoon, and diverted
myself with it for an hour or two.
13th. Attended meeting all day. Dined at Mr. Thaxter's with Mr.
J. Duncan. And in the afternoon after service, we took a long walk.
When we return'd to Mr. Thaxter's we found Mr. Bartlett and his wife
and Leonard White there. Mr. Parsons came in soon after. He is
going to attend the Supreme Court who will sit this week at Concord.
The conversation soon turned upon political subjects ; I knew we should
have over again what I have heard twenty times ; and therefore I took
a walk with Leonard White ; and went home between nine and ten in
the evening.
J A year and a half later Pickman married Anstiss Derby, daughter of EUas
E. Derby, the most eminent merchant in Salem.
16

122 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
14th. I met with several impediments in the morning so that it was
eleven o'clock before I cross'd the river. The weather was very good,
but growing cloudy. I got to Doctor Kitteridge's * house at Andover,
before one. I stop'd to see my classmate W. Abbot,^ and dined there.
Bowman and Wyeth ^ were likewise there. I would say something of
Mrs. Kitteridge, but it would be now a very improper time to give an
account of such impressions. I left the house before three; and soon
after it began to rain, and continued without intermission untill I arrived
at Cambridge; I got there at about six. I rode eight or ten miles
with an Almsbury man who is going to Concord Court upon business.
Mr. Parsons is engaged in his cause, and the man had a deal to say
about lawyers. I found my brothers at our old chamber ; and after
sitting with them half an hour went over, and pass'd the remainder of
the evening with Packard. I found Cushman at his chamber, and we
spent the eve very sociably. Clarke had been riding in the rain, as well
as myself, the greatest part of the day. He came from Harvard, where
he went to accompany Grosvenor, who went home very sick a few days
ago. Cushman ^ is apprehensive that he will not be able to obtain his
1 Dr. Thomas Kittredge, about forty years of age, served as surgeon of the
First Massachusetts Eegiment in the Eevolutionary War; elected this year (1788)
with William Symraes (see supra, p. 38) to the Massachusetts Convention ; voted
against the ratification ofthe Constitution of the United States; 1802-1809, 1811,
1815, 1817, represented Andover in the Legislature ; 1810-1811 on the Governor's
Council ; died 1818. His new mansion, built in 1784, was the finest in North An
dover; StiU standing (1880). S. L. BaUey, Hist. Sketches of Andover, pp. 157-
159. Abbot, a classmate of J. Q. Adams, was a student in his office.
2 " William Lovejoy Abbot was twenty-one January 18th. He belongs to An
dover, and is the head of our class. He purposes studying Physic. A very steady
sober lad, he appears fond of being thought a dry humourous fellow, and has ac
quired a great command of his countenance. His wit would not please in the
mouth of any other person ; but his manner ot producing it seldom fails of raising
the laugh. He is a very good speaker, especially such pieces as conceal the
features of mirth under the mask of gravity." J. Q. Adams, diary, August 25,
1786. Born in Andover, January 18, 1765; died April, 1798; a physician in
Haverhill. » Nathaniel Bowman (H. C. 1786) and Tapley Wyeth (H. C. 1786) were later
physici.ans — the one at Gorham, Me.; the other at Sherburne, Mass.
* "Joshua Cushman of Bridgwater will be twenty-three the llth of next
month. Poverty appears to be his greatest enemy ; she opposes his progress, and
he has a very great struggle with her to go through College. For genius he is
neither at the Zenith nor at the Nadir ; but soraewhere about half way between.
For improvements, he has made as many perhaps as his circumstances would
allow bim. In coraposition, an admiration of beautiful periods and elegant ex
pression have taken from the natural taste for that simplicity in which alone true
beauty and elegance consist. His conversation soraetiraes degenerates into bom
bast; to express that he wants a glass of water he will say, that within the con
cave excavation of his body, there are certain cylindric tubes which require to be
replenished from the limpid fountain or the meandering rivulet. In the public
exercices of composition, his greatest fault is prolixity. He will write two sheets

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 123
degree before next Commencement. He tells me he has not yet
preached, as had been reported. Child,* Kellogg '¦' and Mead ' are, he
says, the only classmates of ours who have yet appeared in the pulpit.
15th. The weather was quite disagreeable for exhibition ; in conse
quence of which there was but little company. Phillips began the
performances with a Latin Oration. His subject was General Washing
ton ; a subject which must be inexhaustible or it would long since have
been exhausted. He spoke well. Treadwell and Gardner next came
upon the stage, in a forensic disputation. Their question was something
like this, — Whether mankind have any natural right to authority over
one another. They quibbled about words aud said on neither side
much to the purpose. Treadwell, however, did better than I expected
of him. In the syllogistic dispute Cutts * was respondent, Blake 2 and
of paper full for a forensic, while scarcely any other of the class will scarcely flll
half one. He is however esteemed by the class in general as an amiable char
acter, it not as an uncommon genius." J. Q. Adams, March 23, 1787. Cushman
settled in Winslow, Me.; was a Eepresentative and Senator in the Massachusetts
Legislature, 1809-1811; a, meraber of Congress, 1819-1825; died in Augusta,
January, 1834.
1 Apparently Child decided that preaching was not his vocation, and becarae a
physician and apothecary in northern New York. J. Q. Adams wrote of him,
March 17, 1787: "As a scholar he is not remarkable; and although he has en
deavoured more than once to display his genius by declaiming his own composition,
yet the most common opinion is, that he has not succeeded. Divinity will be his
profession, and he has already acquired a ministerial cant, which is such au
essential quality to a preacher."
2 Samuel KeUogg, pastor at Hebron, Conn., 1788-1793 ; died at East Hartford
in 1826. ' " Samuel Mead, ot Harvard, Worcester Co., wUl be twenty-five the 30th of
this month. His oratorical and scholastic talents are not remarkable on either
side ; he has a command ot his countenance, which gives him a great advantage
iu declaiming humorous pieces. He is an exceedingly kind neighbour, and I
have lived in the charaber adjoining his, upon very friendly terms, this year ;
but his politeness, I tear, goes too far, for it appears to me, he is always of the
same opinion with his company however opposite that may be at different times.
He has even been accused of hypocrisy; this charge however, I hope, is entirely
without foundation, and I have no reason to doubt of his honour or ot his sin
cerity. The greatest detect which I have observed in him, has been a jealousy
and suspicion ot what others have said of him. This circurastance has set hira
at variance with several of his classmates ; and has probably been the cause of
those reports which have been spread, injurious to his honour." J. Q. Adams,
diary. May 18, 1787. Born May .30, 1762, at Harvard ; pastor at Alstead, N. H.,
January 15, 1791, to April 28, 1797 ; resigned because of a change in his theologi
cal beliefs to the Unitarian faith ; raarried Esther Sartwell Crafts, a well-to-do
widow ; died in Walpole, N. H., March, 1832. G. Aldrich, Walpole as it was and
as it is, pp. 327, 328.
« Charles Cutts (H, C. 1789), Secretary of the Senate of the United States
during the administration of President Monroe. Born January 31, 1769 ; studied
law with Judge Pickering; Speaker of the lower house ofthe New Hampshire
Legislature in 1804 ; U. S. Senator 1810-1813 ; Secretary of the Senate 1814-
1825; died January 25, 1846, in Fairfax County, Va.

124 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Wigglesworth opponents. I have forgotten the question upon which
tliey exerciced their ingenuity. Bradbury and Hooper personated Plato
and Diogenes, in a dialogue upon the conduct of courtiers : the only
fault that could be found was that Hooper's delicacy of person and neat
ness of dress contrasted rather too much with our ideas of Diogenes, and
indeed with what he said in that character. Paine and Shaw spoke
a Greek dialogue in which I did not feel myself greatly interested ; and
Abbot* closed with an English Oration upon the slave-trade. The
composition was very good, and it was well spoken, though the natural
disadvantage of a weak voice injured the effect of his delivery. I do
not recollect having heard any performances upon this subject at
College, and it will afford a fruitful source for declamation. The
Governor then arose and made a speech addressed to the students, in
which he congratulated them upon their proficiency, and exhorted them
to go on in the ways of well-doing. The music which succeeded was
but indifferent. They had no violin ; and Fay, their best performer,
was unwell, and did not attend. After the exhibition was over I went
down to Judge Dana's, and dined in company with a number of ladies.
Stedman and Harris, the butler, dined there too. There was a Miss
Patten from Rhode Island. Almy Ellery is fond of her, and I will
trust to her judgment ; but was it not for that I should not be much pre
possessed in the lady's favour. She is very tall, very young, and very
diffident. Miss Badger I have seen before ; but there are three or
four Miss Clarkes, ^ of whom I have heard much said, and whom I this
day saw for the first time. They are all agreeable ; and none of them
handsome : Patty is the most comely, me judice. After dinner I called
at Dr. Wigglesworth's, but the young ladies were gone over to the
College, to drink tea. We went to Phillips's chamber. It was full of
company. Between seven and eight we went to Brown's rooms, and
danced till between twelve and one. I was completely fatigued, and
glad that the company then dispersed. I pass'd the evening very agree
ably ; and, after breaking up, went with my classmate Foster, and
lodg'd at my brother's chamber ; where by priority of possession I still
claim a right.
16th. Breakfasted at Judge Dana's. Doctor Waterhouse' came in
1 Benjamin Abbot (H. C. 1788), son of Captain John Abbot ; born September
17, 1762, in Andover; raarried, in 1791, Hannah Tracy Eraery, ot Newburyport
(see supra, p. 45) ; was principal of PhiUips Exeter Academy for fifty years ;
died 1849. Abiel Abbot, Eegister of the Abbot Family, pp. 4, 5.
^ Daughters ot the Eev. Jonas Clarke, of Lexington ; see supra, p. 27, note 4.
" Patty " married Eev. William Harris, afterward President of Columbia CoUege.
Hudson, Hist, of Lexington, Gen. Eegister, pp. 43-45.
* Benjamin Waterhouse (M.D. Leyden, 1780), a lifelong friend of John Adams
and his son, Hersey Professor ot the Theory and Practice of Medicine at Harvard
(1783-1812). See letter of John Adams to Dr. Waterhouse dated April 24,

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 125
and entertained us for some time with his quaint wit. I paid several
visits in the course of the forenoon ; pass'd a couple of hours very agree
ably with Miss Wigglesworth and Miss Jones — the latter of these two
ladies, in former times, was not with me upon so good terms as at
present. I thought her capricious and ill-natured ; but of late she has
been much better. I once wrote a double acrostic for her, neither part
of which was true. As I did not insert them at the time I will
now introduce one of them; for the contrast is false and unjust. I went
to see Mr. Smith, the Librarian, and also to Mr. Gannett's,* where Miss
Lucy Cranch ^ has been these two months past. The young lovers went
home this forenoon with the Miss Clarkes ; and Mr. Andrews did not
get back till we had nearly dined. Immediately after dinner I mounted
my horse ; and got to Mr. Cranch's, between six and seven. My aunt,
I found, was gone to Cambridge for Lucy, and expects to return with
her to-morrow. I found my friends well except W. Cranch, who has
been very unwell, but is recovering. . . .
17th. Fast day. In the forenoon I remained at home, and spent my
time in writing and reading. In the afternoon I heard Parson Wibird.
Mrs. Cranch and Miss Lucy came home this evening ; a person from
Boston brought us some letters * which came from Europe. Callahan
1785, recommending " your old acquaintance [at Leyden] John Quincy Adams "
to his " attention and favor " ou entering Harvard. John Adams, Works, vol. ix.
pp. 530, 531, vol. iii. p. 269 ; J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, vol. vii. pp. 14, 15, 230 ; vol.
viii. p. 546 ; vol. ix. p. 4 ; also letter trom Dr. Waterhouse to J. Q. Adams in Proo.
Mass. Hist. Soc, 2d series, vol. xv. pp. 460-462.
1 Caleb Gannett (H. C. 1763), steward of the coUege 1779-1818; born in Bridge-
water ; pastor in Nova Scotia 1768-1771 ; identified with Harvard from 1773 till
his death as tutor, fellow, or steward ; one of the projectors of the American
Acaderay of Arts and Sciences ; a member of the Massachusetts Historical
Society. See 2 Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. viu. pp. 277-285.
2 Lucy Cranch, cousin of J. Q. Adaras, daugliter of Eichard Cranch ; born
September 16, 1767 ; married, April 4, 1795, John Greenleaf, a blind musician,
son of WUliam Greenleaf, of Boston ; resided in Quincy ; died February 18, 1846.
J. E. Greenleaf, Genealogy of the Greenleaf Family, p. 217.
2 Among them was the following characteristic letter from his father : —
GrEOSTBNOE Squaee, Jan. 23, 1788,
Mt deak John, — I am much pleased with your oration and much obliged to
you for it. It seeras to me, making allowance for a father's partiality, to be full
of manly sense and spirit. By the sentiments and principles in that oration,
I hope you will live and die, and if you do I dont care a farthing how many are
preferred to you, for style, elegance and mellifluence.
To Vattel and Burlaraaqui, whom you say you have read, you must add
Grotius and Puffendorf and Heineccius, and besides this you should have some
volume of Ethicks constantly on your table. Morals, my boy. Morals should
be, as they are eternal in their nature, the everlasting object of your pursuit.
Socrates and Plato, Cicero and Seneca, Butler and Hutchinson, as well as the
Prophets, Evangelists and Apostles, should be your continual teachers.
But let me advise you in another art, I mean oratory, not to content yourself

126 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
was to sail about the first of this month, which will probably be ex
tended to the fifteenth. By this time, I suppose, my friends will be
at sea.
18th. A cold north-east storm confined us to the house all day.
I read a few pages in one of Gilbert's treatises, and wrote a little like
wise. The time however was spent without much improvement.
Doctor Tufts was over here yesterday, and this day he was attending
upon Miss Quincy, who has been very ill in consequence of making
a mistake in taking medicine, by swallowing salt petre instead of salts.
19 th. The weather has been rather better this day than it was yes
terday. I went with both my brothers on a shooting party, an amuse
ment which I follow nowhere except at Braintree, though there could
not perhaps be a more miserable place for sport. Dined with W.
Cranch and my brothers at Dr. Tufts's in Weymouth ; and saw Mrs.
Tufts * for the first time since her marriage. Last fall she was at New
bury-Port, when Mr. Odiorne was married ; and at that time had no
thoughts, or at least no expectation, of changing her situation soon.
But Mr. Tufts, who had always been remarkably backward in affairs
of this nature, was equally expeditious when he was once engaged.
He could not even wait till he had got an house ready ; but mar
ried imraediately and lives for the present with his father. We re
turn'd, so as to get home just before dark.
20th. I pass'd the forenoon at home in writing. In the afternoon,
I attended meeting and heard Mr. Wibird. After meeting, I went
down to view the house,^ which they are repairing for my father.
with Blair and Sherridan, but to read Cicero and Quintilian, — and to read them
with a dictionary, grammar and pen and ink, for Juvenal is very right
Studium sine Calarao Somnium.
Preserve your Latin and Greek like the apple of your eye.
When you attend the Superior Court, carry always your pen and ink and
paper and take notes of every dictum, every point aud every authority. But
reraeraber to show the same respect to the Judges and lawyers who are estab
lished in practice before you, as you resolved to show the President, tutors pro
fessors, and masters and batchelors at Colledge.
Mr Parsons, your master, is a great lawyer and should be your oracle.
But you have now an intercourse with his clients, whom it is your duty to
treat with kindness, modesty and civility, and to whose rights and interests you
ought to have an inviolable attachment. Mr. Parsons's honour, reputation and
interest should be as dear to you as your own.
I hope to see you in May, — Meantime I am with the tenderest affection your
Father. John Adams.
1 See supra, p. 43, note 6.
'^ " This was the house ot Leonard Vassall, a West India planter, which, after
the Eevolution, had been sequestrated as Tory property. It was built in 1731,
and Mr. Adams bought it in 1785. The VassaUs were genteel people, and rigid
Episcopalians. . . . The house In Quincy was used as a sumraer resort, and still
contains one roora [the parlor] paneled from floor to ceiling in solid St. Domingo
mahogany. Originally a small dwelling, it has been added to." Here John Adams

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 127
I was not perfectly pleased with it ; but it now appears in a very
unfavourable light. They are obliged to make the most necessary re
pairs very hastily, expecting my father in a few weeks. I am in hopes
that after my parents return, this place will be more lively and agree
able to me than it is at present. I think I shall never make it the
standing- place of my residence ; * but I shall wish to pass much of my
time here, and hope the change may be for the better.
21st. We were again confined all day to the house by the bad
ness of the weather. Mr. Cranch, however, went to Boston. I flnd,
as I always have found, great inconviences in writing here, and in
deed there are. no small inconviences in thinking. I wrote, however,
a little, and read a few pages in Gilbert's treatise of Evidence,^ it being
a law book. W. Cranch is reading Bacon,' but makes no great prog
ress in it at Braintree. It is a book which many instructors recom
mend to be read through in course; but Mr. Parsons says it is calculated
only to make matter of fact lawyers; men, who, without knowing the
true principles upon which the science is grounded, or the reasoning by
which it is supported, will be confined in their knowledge to ita lex
scripta est, and will be incapable of applying the principles to new cases,
or to circumstances different from such as have already taken place.
22d. I took a ride in the forenoon with W. Cranch. Mr. Cranch
came home from Boston, and brought young Waters with him. Mr.
Weld, with his wife and her sister, pass'd the afternoon here ; and when
I return'd from my father's library, where 1 went to take a list of his
law-books, I found Mr. Norton * here. He has some thoughts of going
to Menotomy to-morrow, to Mr. Fiske's ^ ordination ; and made this
and his wife spent their latter days and " celebrated their golden wedding,
and here too, marvelous to relate, was celebrated tlie golden wedding of their
son John Quincy Adams, and that of their grandson, Charles Francis Adams."
D. M. Wilson, " Where Araerican Independence Began," pp. 98, 99. This book
contains several views of the house and raany portraits. Tlie house is still in the
possession of the Adams family, and is now (1902) occupied as a summer resi
dence by Mr. Brooks Adams. See also Three Episodes of Massachusetts His
tory, vol. ii. p. 681.
1 It resulted otherwise. See Memoirs of J. Q. Adams, vol vii. pp. 130, 150.
^ Treatise on Evidence, by Sir Geoffrey Gilbert, chief Baron of the Exchequer,
had been published a quarter of a century; first edition 1761.
3 The Elements of the Coraraon Law, by Sir Francis Bacon, was first pub
lished in 1630, and had been in use as a text-book for one hundred and fifty
years. * Eev. Jacob Norton (H. C. 1786), born in Abington February 12, 1764; son
of Samuel and grandson of Captain John Norton ; ordained at Weymouth
October 10, 1787 ; married Elizabeth Cranch February 11, 1789; pastor at Wey
mouth 1787-1824; died at Billerica January 17, 1858; "a tall, erect, spare man
of dignified appearance." Nash, Sketch of Weymouth, pp. 170, 171.
s Eev. Thaddeus Fiske (H. C. 1785), born in Weston June 22, 1762 ; pastor
at Menotomy (now ArUngton) 1788-1828 ; married June 17, 1789, Lucy, daughter
of Eev. Jonas Clarke, of Lexington ; died in Charlestown November 14, 1855.
Cutter, Hist, ot ArUngton, pp. 240-242.

128 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
a stage on his way. He is paying his addresses to Miss Betsey Cranch,
and will, I suppose, marry her, unless some particular accident should
intervene. He was ordained last fall at Weymouth, in the parish where
my grandfather Smith was settled ; and he is said to be a young man
of good sense and a good disposition.
23d. The weather was so disagreeable that Mr. Norton gave up the
thoughts of going to Menotomy, and return'd to Weymouth. It has
been very dull a great part of this month. March was much more
agreeable. ]\Iy brothers, however, went over to Milton in the afternoon.
I intended when I came here to have returned yesterday to Cambridge ;
but I have deferr'd it, and shall probably still defer it till Friday. On
Saturday, I must certainly get home to Newbury-Port; where by my
diligence I must repair the loss of time which I have sustained in this
town. 24th. Charles went to Boston this morning, and brought me back
some letters from Europe. I went in the forenoon with Miss Betsey
Cranch down to Mrs. Quincy's, where she intends to spend a few days ;
but I did not see either of the ladies there. Miss Quincy has in some
measure recovered from the illness occasioned by a mistake in taking a
medicine. I spent my time this day, as I have every day since I came
here, somewhat miscellaneously.
25th. I left Braintree between nine and ten, and stopp'd about half
an hour at Genl. Warren's. He was gone to Plymouth, but Mrs. War
ren was at home. The Genl's political character has undergone of late
a great alteration. Among all those who were formerly his friends
he is extremely unpopular ; while the insurgent and antifederal party
(for it is but one) consider him in a manner as their head, and have
given him at this election many votes for lieutenant governor. Mrs.
Warren complained that he had been abused shamefully, and very un
deservedly ; but she thought me too federal to talk freely with me.
I called for a few minutes at George's office, which he has lately
opened. I got to Cambridge a little before one, and called at the
butler's room, where I found Mr. Ware aud Packard. Dined at Judge
Dana's. Miss Jones was there, and agreeable as usual. In the after
noon I went to Dr. Williams's. Sam has been gone about two montha
to sea. Jenny is still losing her beauty and will soon have none to lose.
I was at Abbot's chamber an hour or two, and return'd to Mr.
Dana's with Packard to tea. Stedman and Harris, and my very good
friend and classmate, 0. Fiske, pass'd the evening there ; and it was
uncommonly sociable. I had promised Pickman to meet him this
day in Salera, but was prevented by the weather, as it rain'd all the
afternoon. I forgot to mention that my classmate Harris * dined with
1 A lifelong friend ot J. Q. Adams ; pastor ot the First Unitarian Church,
Dorchester, Mass., for nearly half a century. J. Q. Adams wrote of him April 9,

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 129
us at Judge Dana's. He came a day or two ago from Worcester, where
he is now keeping school. It was feared that he was in a decline, but
I think he looks better than he did when we left College.
26th. Between five and six this morning, I left the Judge's house
with Mr. Andrews, who is going to preach at Newbury-Port. We
stopp'd at the Colleges, to take their letters, but they had not risen.
The clock struck six as we went out of the College yard. We break
fasted at Newell's tavern,* and got into Salem at about ten o'clock. I
paid a visit to Mr. Eead ; he is going to be married, and to a young
lady with a large fortune, which is rather surprizing. I met Pick-
man in the street, and weut home with him. After sitting a few min
utes we walk'd about the town ; I went to see Miss Hazen, who
appears just as she did two years ago. Dined with Pickman, and at
about two o'clock Andrews called me, to proceed. The weather was
so windy, and the surf so great that we had some little difficulty in
getting over Beverley ferry.^ We arrived in Newbury-Port at about
seven. I went aud pass'd a couple of hours with Putnam. I then
came home, and soon retired, as I was exceedingly fatigued and felt
very stiff.
27th. I attended meeting all day, and heard Mr. Andrews. He
1787: "Thaddeus Mason Harris of Maiden, Middlesex, will be nineteen the
7th of next July. As a scholar he is respectable, and his natural abilities
are far from contemptible ; he has a taste for poetry and painting which wants
cultivation, and a benevolent heart which wants judgment to direct it. He has
a great share of sensibility, which has led him into an excessive fondness for
pathetic composition ; so that all his exercises appear to be atterapts to rouse
the passions, though frequently the subject itself will not adrait of passion.
His speaking is injured by the same fault ; tor in endeavouring to call up the
affections of his hearers, he runs into a canting manner, which disgusts instead
of pleasing. This failing is however amiable, because it proceeds from the
warmth of his heart. His disposition I beUeve to be very good, and if the
picture is a little shaded by vanity, a foible so universal ought to meet always
with our indulgence. His constitution is feeble, and his circumstances are
penurious, but his spirit is independent, and his mind is cheerful." October 3,
1789, Samuel Putnam wrote from Newburyport to J. Q. Adams in Braintree :
" Our friend and classmate Harris preach't here the Sunday after Andrews's
return. He was very ingenious, but his voice was very low. His manner is
solemn. On the whole he has improved surprisingly. He went to our club and
appeared at least to be as happy as any of us."
1 Newell's inn, the most ancient tavern in Lynn and one of the most cele
brated in the country. Situated at the midway point on the road trom Boston to
Salem, in a picturesque spot above the Saugus Eiver within sight of the sea, kept
by a long succession of hospitable landlords, it had been the favorite resting-
place of travellers to the eastward trom Boston for over a century, and continued
so untu the new turnpike from Salem to Boston was opened iu 1803, and di
verted travel frora the old road. Frora Governors Bradstreet and Endicott to
Presidents Washington and Adams, it counted among its guests most of the
prominent men of the time.
2 Five months later they could have crossed on the Essex Bridge.
17

130 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
speaks very well, and his composition was, I believe, generally pleasing.
I sometimes think that he mistakes his genius, and imagines that his
fancy is lively and his first thoughts the best ; while in truth his con
ception is naturally slow, and he ought to study greatly his writings.
He was this day very brilliant in his expressions and flowery in his
periods, but his thoughts were rather too much in the common run, and
this fault I have frequently observed in his pieces. In the beginning
of the evening, I called at Mr. Tufts's, to give him a watch which I
brought for him. I spent the remainder of the evening, and supp'd at
Deacon Thompson's. Walk'd with Mr. Andrews up to Mrs. Farnham's,
where he lodges ; he proposes to return to-morrow to Cambridge.
28th. Dull weather. Wind north-east. It began to rain a little
after noon, and continued all the rest of the day. I pass'd the evening
at Dr. Swett's. We play'd whist, and I was somewhat unfortunate.
Little came home and lodg'd with me ; the weather being so bad that
he could not conveniently go to Newbury.
29th. The weather this day was tolerable. I went in the evening
with Thompson to Captain Coombs's, where we found the young
ladies. Polly Coombs is very sick ; they fear in a consumption.
Nancy Jenkins too has been unwell, and still looks thin. Mr. Farnham
and J. Greenleaf were there ; and Mr. Cutler. We had singing as usual.
30th. Very agreeable weather. After we had done at the office, I
took a long walk with Thompson. We then went to Mrs. Emery's,
where we found Miss Eoberts. We there pass'd a couple of hours,
and from thence went to Mr. Frazier's. We found ourselves in the
midst of a large company of young folks. All the College lads, and
all the young misses of that sett. We past about an hour with them,
and then without much reluctance left them.
Thursday, May 1st, 1788.
Pickman returned this afternoon from Salem. The Club were in
the evening at my room. Young Fowle,* Thompson's poetical class
mate, spent the evening with us. Pickman went off quite early. He
attended a ball in Salem last evening, and what with the fatigue of
dancing, and that of riding this day, he was tired out.
2d. After passing the day at the office, I stroll'd with Pickman as
far as Sawyer's tavern, where we stopp'd and took a dish of tea. When
we set out fo return there was a little sprinkling of rain, which we
thought was not sufficient to stay our progress ; but it kept continually
increasing till it became quite a smart rain, and by that time we were so
much soak'd that we concluded the sooner we should get home would
1 Eobert Fowle (H. C. 1786), born in Newburyport August 31, 1766; ordained
to the priesthood of the Episcopal church at Portsmouth, N. H., in 1791 ; minister
at Holderness, N, H. ; died there October, 1847.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 131
be the better. As soon as I got home I was obliged to change from
head to foot. Pickman said it was one of the agreeable rubs of life.
3d. I this day got through the 4th volume of Blackstone's Com
mentaries a second time, and I imagine I have derived no less benefit
from a second perusal than I did from the first. I have been longer
about it than I wish'd ; but the interruption of an whole fortnight by
a journey prolonged the time which I took for reading this book,
greatly. In the evening I took a long walk with Pickman and
Thompson, and as we were returning, we met Mr. Andrews, who was
coming from Cambridge. Nothing new. Dull weather.
4th. I heard Mr. Andrews preach ; his sermons were both very
short, but better, I think, than those he delivered last Sunday. His text
was " If they believe not Moses and the prophets, neither would they
be persuaded though one rose from the dead." Pickman observed tbat
there was a sermon of Archbishop Tillotson,* from the same text,
and the similarity is such as proves that Mr. Andrews had read it,
though not so great as to charge him with plagiarism. However, the
people in this town are so bigotted that a man of Mr. Andrews's
liberal religious sentiments will not be half so popular a preacher as
one who would rant and rave and talk nonsense for an hour together
in his sermon. I wrote a long letter to my brother Tom, which I
gave to Mr. Andrews, with whora I pass'd the evening at Mr. Brad
bury's. Dr. Sawyer and Mr. Farnham were likewise there. Parson
Carey is still very unwell, insomuch that there are but little hopes of
his ever recovering so as to attend constantly to the duties of his pro
fession. Mr. Andrews is engaged to supply our pulpit three Sundays
more. After which he is under other engagements till Commencement.
Sth. I began this morning at the office upon Foster's Crown Law,^
a book admirably written, I am told, and notwithstanding the barren
ness of the subject as entertaining as it is instructive. I pass'd an
hour in the beginning of the evening at Mrs. Hooper's and then went
with Thompson to Mr. S. Hooper's. Miss Eoberts was there ; I think
I have already mentioned this lady : she is uncommonly sensible, and
if she has not the advantages of youth and beauty, neither is she
chargeable with its thoughtlessness and nonsence. Mr. Hooper, as
usual, talk'd rather more of himself than of any body or any thing
else; but was very complaisant.
6th. In the beginning of the evening, I took a walk with Pick-
man, up to Mrs. Atkins's. We found only the old lady at home ; and
1 Sermon preached by Archbishop TUlotson at Whitehall, 1678. Sermons
on several Subjects and Occasions by the most Eeverend Dr. John TUlotson,
Late .\rchblshop ot Canterbury (London, 1748), vol. vii. p. 332.
2 Discourses upon a Few Branches ot the Crown Law by Sir Michael Foster
had been in use by law students for twenty-six years, having been first published
in 1762 as a part of a larger work.

132 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
she was so unwell that we supposed company would not be very
agreeable to her, and soon came away. We met Thompson just as we
were coming out, he turn'd about, and came back with us. I have little
to say. That part of my time which is best improved is productive of
nothing which may properly be recorded here; and as these volumes,
or the greater part of their contents, are only an account of the occur
rences of my idle hours, they must be proportionably trifling and insig
nificant. While I was in College these books were useful, as they
contained copies of all my compositions, which I wished to preserve ;
but since I graduated, I have scarcely composed any thing, and indeed I
have been much too negligent in that respect; but with so many other
objects to engross my attention and employ my time, I have perhaps
some excuse.
7th. The weather was very fine ; I took a long walk in the even
ing with Thompson and Putnam. Thompson left us, and went to see
Parson Spring. Putnam came home, and past the remainder of the
evening with me. I have used myself for several days past to rise
very early, and should wish to do so through the summer ; but my
propensity to sleep is so great that it is almost always impossible for
me to awake so soon as I wish.
8th. The town met this afternoon to make choice of representa
tives for the ensuing year. Jona. Greenleaf, Esqr,* Theop. Parsons,
Esqr., Captn. W. Coombs and Mr. Jonan. Marsh ^ were the persons
elected. We met in the evening at Putnam's lodgings. Stacey
desired to join the Club, and was accordingly received. Little did
not come, and, as we began to be impatient, we sent over to Dr. Swett's
for him, but they sent us word that he was gone to be inoculated for
the small pox. This disorder was introduced by a mistake of Dr.
Smith, in consequence of which a number of persons have been in
oculated, and removed to the pest house. Little went without leave
or licence, and is liable to prosecution for so doing ; but in his cir
cumstances, I think, he was very excusable in running the risk.
9th. Violent north-east storm, all day. We all dined with Mr.
Parsons. Thompson pass'd the evening with me. This storm gives
1 Jonathan Greenleaf, born July, 1723, in Newbury, began life a poor boy as
an apprentice to a ship-builder; married at twenty-one Mary Presbury, the
daughter ot his employer ; carried on the business in person tor over twenty
years; then entered pubhc life and held office almost constantly from 1768 to
1792, representing the town in the Legislature before, during, and after the War
of the Eevolution; was a member of tlie "Essex Junto," and known as "old
silver tongue" from his skill in persuading political opponents; was an elder in
tlie Presbyterian church ; died May 24, 1807. See histories of Newburyport ; also
J. E. Greenleaf, Genealogy of the Greenleaf Family, pp. 12, 17, 132, 133, 177,
405, 408.
2 Jonathan Marsh, a member ot the first Committee of Safety ot the town,
represented it in the Legislature 1788-1791, 1799-1805 ; died March 7, 1825.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 133
me some anxiety, as possibly Callahan may be now upon the coast.
I would hope however for the best.
10th. The storm continued all this day, and rather with increas
ing violence. Thompson and I again dined with Mr. Parsons. I
passed the evening with Putnam, at his lodgings. I this day got
through Foster, and have been more pleased than with any professional
book I have hitherto read ; not even Blackstone excepted. The sub
ject indeed being the Pleas of the Crown is not so immediately con
nected with a young lawyer's practice as many other books ; but as
Foster always ascends to first principles, his reasoning may by anal
ogy apply to very different branches. The style is nervous and ele
gant, suitable to the dignity of the author ; and the " pride of virtue,"
as he himself expresses it, shines forth in every page of the perfor
mance. What increases greatly the pleasure with which tbis book
is read, is that the writer appears not only a learned and judicious
lawyer but an excellent man. The encomiums which he justly bestows
upon Sir Thos. Abney are said to be applicable in a still more eminent
manner to bimself. And after all, the virtues of the heart have a
greater claim even to our veneration and esteem than all the splendid
appendages of genius. The compliment which Thompson pays to Pope,
For though not sweeter his own Homer sings,
Tet in his life the more endearing song,*
is more to his honour than the most laboured panegyric that ever
was composed, of his talents. I have undertaken to read Hume's
History of England ^ again. It is almost seven years since I read it,
and the connexion of important events in that kingdom has almost
been obliterated from my memory.
llth. I attended meetiug to hear Parson Barnard' of Salem. He
gave us two very excellent sermons ; and his prayers were admirable,
which is something very uncommon. I am told indeed that he regu
larly composes this part of the service, as well as his sermons ; an
example worthy of imitation. His address for Mr. Carey was tender
and affectionate, and the manner in which he spoke it was truly affect
ing. Thompson and Putnam pass'd the evening with me.
1 Thomson, Seasons : Winter.
2 Hume's History was written between the years 1752 and 1761 : the first vol
ume, covering the reigns of Jaraes I. and Charles I., was published in 1754 ; the
last two (Julius Caesar to Henry VII.) in 1761.
8 Eev. Thoraas Barnard (H. C. 1766), pastor of the North Church in Salem
1773-1814; was descended frora a rainisterial family — his brother, father, grand
father, and grea^grandfather being all rainisters in Massachusetts. He was
born in Newbury, and his sister was the wife of the Eev. John Tucker, D.D., of
the First Parish Church of that town. See Eev. John Prince, "Sermon preached
... on the Death of . . . Eev. Thomas Barnard," 1814.

134 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
12th. I have been quite unwell these two or three days past; a
disorder recurs with which I have been troubled in the spring, the two
years back ; and it is more inconvenient this time than it ever has
been before. At Mr. Parsons's recommendation, I have this day
taken up Hawkins's Pleas of the Crown.* I thhik I should not now
have selected tbis book, had it been left at my option. This branch of
the law will be of no service to me within these seven years, and
there are many subjects which will be more immediately necessary.
The theories relating to civil actions will surely be sufficient to employ
all my time for the remainder of my three years, and I shall certainly
have enough leisure time afterwards to acquire a competent knowledge
of the criminal law, before I get to the Supreme Court, if I ever do.
However, Mr. Parsons must know better than I what is to be done
in this case ; and I therefore cheerfully submit . to his directions. I
took a loug, solitary walk this evening, and then came home and
amused myself for a half an hour with my flute.
13th. I took a walk with Pickraan up to Sawyer's tavern, and
drank tea there. The evenings are now so short that it was nine
o'clock before we got back. Our future prospects in life were the
subject of our conversation. The appearance before him is very fair,
— his father is a man of large fortune, which although divided among
several children gives each of them a sum sufficient for starting for
ward. He will now in a few months be ready to enter upon the pro
fession ; he is paying his addresses to a young lady whose fortune will
probably be amply sufficient ; and from appearances I should judge he
will be married ere long. Yet eveu he is anxious for his future wel
fare, and how much greater reason have I to look forward with ter
ror. I have two long years yet before me, which must be wholly
employ'd in study, to qualify myself for any thing. I have no fortune
to expect from any part, and the profession is so much crowded that I
have no prospect of supporting myself by it for several years after I
begin. These are great causes of discouragement ; but my only hope
and comfort is that diligence, industry, and health may overcome
them all.
14th. I walk'd with Thompson up to Mrs. Atkins's. The old lady is
gone to Boston to spend a fortnight. Mr. and Mrs. Searle ^ were there ;
and Mr. Atkins came home soon after. Atkins is a man of abilities,
1 The Pleas of the Crown by William Hawkins had been in use for over seventy
years; 1st edit. 1716.
2 Mrs. Searle (Mary Eussell Atkins) was Mrs. Atkins's eldest daughter; born
1753; married, 1779, George Searle, a merchant in Newburyport; died 1836 in
Boston. Mrs. Atkins was probably visiting Mrs. Samuel Eliot, her daughter.
Catherine Atkins, born 1758, raarried. May 14, 1786, Sarauel Eliot, a merchant in
Boston, grandfather of President Eliot ot Harvard University. F. H. Atkins,
Joseph Atkins, The Story of a Family, pp. 72, 73, 77-80.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 135
hut of strong passions ; and, as he was cramped in his youth by his penu
rious circumstances, his disposition was soured aud he is now excessively
irritable, and his natural frankness has degenerated to the unfeeling
bluntness of a cynic. He has now the expectancy of a considerable
fortune, at the decease of an aged relation j and it is to be hoped that
when that circumstance takes place, it may soften his temper and recon
cile him more to his fellow mortals. I still continue quite unwell ; it
has had one good effect at least, that of making me rise early for
several days past.
15th. Club met this evening at Pickman's — • all there but Little, who
is going through the small pox. Mr. Farnham was there; the even
ing was agreeable. Pickman left us at half after eight, to call on a
lady who came this afternoon from Salem. After nine we took a
walk of a mile or two before we retired ; just as I got home I met
a number of people who had just come from the town-house, where, it
seems, they were entertained with a concert this evening.
16th. Took a walk after leaving the office, with Thompson and
Putnam. We were for calling in at Mr. Frazier's, to see the young
girls, but upon the presumption they were not there I would not stop ;
accordingly we proceeded. Thompson left us. Putnam was very impa
tient, but just as we had turn'd the corner into High Street, both Miss
Fraziers, and Putnam's own Harriet appeared. He was as happy as
present enjoyment can render any one. We walk'd with the girls, and
after conducting them home took our leave. Putnam afterwards
called to see me. He had no idea of meeting the girls, nor did he
even suspect that Harriet could be with them. The most exception
able part of this young fellow's character is a spirit of deception, a
disposition to be cunning, even in the most trifling occurrences of life,
in which a complicated policy would require an appearance of the
greatest candour and frankness. He is deeply smitten with his Harriet ;
every look, and every action afford demonstration strong of this. Tet
he pretends to deny it. He is sure to meet her every evening ; and
yet he boldly declares that it never happens but by accident. Upon
this subject, it is true, his friends have no right to catechise him ; but
he himself leads the way by making declarations which any person of
common sense, and any ways conversant with him, must know to be
totally repugnant with the truth. We laugh at him for this conduct,
but he does not appear sensible how much it lessens our esteem for
him. And he still attempts to carry on a deception, which we have
told him was long since detected.
17th. Dined at Judge Greenleaf's, with Pickman and Thompson.
Two Miss Daltons were there, and Miss Deblois, a young lady whose
brother is paying his addresses to the eldest Miss Dalton. Miss Deblois
has been much celebrated as a beauty ; and she may still be called very

136 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
handsome, though she be as much as twenty-seven. She is sociable
and agreeable, though she is hot yet wholly destitute of that kind
of vanity which is so naturally the companion of beauty. She puckers
her mouth a little, and contracts her eye-lids a little, to look very pretty ;
and is not wholly unsuccessful. The Miss Daltons, as usual, talk'd
more about themselves and the family than any thing else. The
eldest is said to be blest with a very amiable disposition, and as for
Polly, Miss Deblois said she made her laugh yesterday beyond meas
ure, and it is well she has the talent of exciting laughter in others ; for
unless her countenance very much belies her she is seldom guilty of
such a trick herself. Judge Greenleafs daughters are always so much
addicted to silence that, although I have been in company with them a
number of times, I know not what opinion to form of them. In the
afternoon, I took a long walk with Thompson and Putnam. The
weather was very dull and disagreeable. Thompson stopp'd at Mrs.
Atkins's. I pass'd the evening with Putnam, at his lodgings.
18th. Mr. McKeen ^ of Beverley preached at Mr. Carey's this day.
I attended to hear him. His discourses were, though sensible, calcu
lated to please the generality of the audience ; I did not like them so
well as those of Mr. Barnard the last Sunday. After meeting, Pick-
man called upon me, and I went up with him to see Mr. Jackson,
where we drank tea and pass'd the evening. Mr. McKeen and Mr.
Farnham were tliere, but went away soon after tea. Miss Wendell
was likewise with Mrs. Jackson. She is not handsome, but is said to
be very amiable. A little after nine I came away ; Pickman still
remaining there.
19 th. Began upon the second book of Hawkins. The first treats of
all offences against the public; and this of the punishments to which
they are liable. '^I walk'd with Thompson in the evening ; we called
at Mrs. Hooper's, and pass'd an hour there, after which we went to
Mr. Carter's. Miss Polly goes to Boston to-morrow.
20th. Mr. Parsons had the frame of his house raised, and was
consequently very busy. Walk'd with Pickman. We met Thompson,
and all went to see Mr. N. Carter, who was lately married. His wife
is not quite so stiff in her manners as she used to be, a year and an
half ago ; but she has already adopted other airs, and appears no less
affected than formerly. De gustibus non est disputandum ; There 's no
disputing about the choice of a wife. Nancy Cutts, Mrs. Carter's sister,
1 Eev. Joseph McKeen (Dartraouth, 1774), bom in Londonderry, N. H.,
October 15, 1757 ; a teacher in Londonderry ; a soldier under General Sullivan ;
1785-1802 pastor of the cliurch in Beverly which the Eev. Joseph Willard left
in 1781 to become President of Harvard University ; first President of Bowdoin
CoUege, 1802-1807 ; died at Brunswick, Me., July 15, 1807. Dartmouth College
General Catalogue; Hurd, Hist, of Essex County, p. 707; Appleton, Cyclopaedia
of American Biography.

DLA.EY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 137
appears much more agreeable ; and upon the whole I think her the
handsomest of the two. However, Mrs. Carter was abundantly com
plaisant, and we pass'd the evening tolerably.
21st. I walk'd with Pickman in the evening to Sawyer's, where we
drank tea, and made it almost ten o'clock before we got home. I then
went up with my fiute to Stacey's lodgings, our general head quarters.
About a quarter before twelve, Stacey, Thompson, Putnam, with a
couple of young lads by the name of Greenough, and myself sallied forth
upon a scheme of serenading. We paraded round the town till almost
four in the morning. The weather, which was not very agreeable when
we first set out, was growing worse continually. At length it began
to rain smartly, upon which we all separated, and respectively retired.
22d. I was up before eight, and had not slept well even the short
time I was in bed. I felt stiff and unfit for almost everything. I read
but little at the office, and omitted one thing which for three weeks
past has claimed my attention very constantly. The Club were at my
lodgings this evening. Stacey however went away somewhat early, to
meet some of his friends from Andover ; and we were all too much
fatigued by the last night's jaunt to be very sociable or gay. At nine
we separated as usual.
23d. Continual north east winds have prevailed for a week past.
This evening I past with Thompson at Captain Coombs's. We found
Mr. Porter and Mr. Kellogg, two young parsons there.* The evening
was tolerable, and something more. Fanny Jenkins was as easy, as
good natured, as talkative as usual. Jenny Coombs^ is sensible and
clever. Her sister Polly, it is feared, is in a consumption — a dis
order by which Captain Coombs has already lost two of his children.
Poor, miserable beings we are ! dependant for our happiness, not only
1 Perhaps Ambrose Porter (Dartmouth, 1784), who entered the ministry, and
died at Landaff, N. H., November 1, 1832 ; and Elijah Kellogg (Dartmouth, 1785),
studied for the rainistry under Eev. John Murray, ot Newburyport (pastor of
Captain Coombs) ; pastor of a church in Portland, Me., in 1788; died March 9,
1842. See W. Willis, Hist, of Portland, pp. 647-648, 659-661.
" Jane Coombs, second child of William and Mary Coombs; born in New
buryport, Mass., January 22, 1764 ; married Ebenezer Greenleaf in Deceraber,
1796 ; united in 1799 with the First Presbyterian Church of Newburyport, of
which Dr. Daniel Dana was pastor; extreraely active in religious work, and is
said to have brought one hundred converts into the church. For thirty years
she was personally active in mission-work, and took the main responsibility of
providing missionary laborers and funds for the Isles ot Shoals, then a com
munity ot some six hundred fishermen. Mrs. Greenleaf took great interest in
foreign missions and in the cause of temperance. Her correspondence with
philanthropists and clergymen was extensive. Her husband died in 1834, aged
seventy years. She herself lived to be more than eighty-seven years of age.
She left two children to survive her departure, one ot whora was the Eev.
William Coombs Greenleaf, of Springfield, IU. Her daughter pubUshed her
memoirs. Manuscript notes of Eev. Horace C. Hovey, D.D., of Newburyport.
18

138 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
upon our own conduct, but equally upon the caprices of fortune and
the casual occurrences of a day. What must be the feelings of a
parent, who, after rearing a numerous family of promising children,
just as they are entering upon the stage of life, and when he begins
to reap the rewards for his pains in educating them by being witness to
their usefulness in the world, when he fondly hopes to leave them in
the enjoyment of prosperous circumstances, to see them drooping and
dying under the operation of a long, lingering disease, in which the
terrors of death are increased by its slow and gradual approaches.
Yet, this is the situation of many parents. And if the causes of misery
are thus distributed, as well to the virtuous and the good as to the
abandoned and unprincipled, what is the lot we have to expect in the
world? I look forward with terror; and by so much the more, as
the total exemption from any great evils hitherto leads me to fear that
the greatest are laid up iu store for me.
24th. Pickman went to Salem this morning. In the evening I
took a long walk with Thompson, down towards Newbury Bridge,* in
hopes of meeting Mr. Andrews ; we were, however, unsuccessful. When
we returned, I stop'd and past an hour with Putnam. He told me
they had received a letter at Mr. Bradbury's from Andrews, informing
them that his health would necessarily prevent him from coming to
morrow, but that he will send somebody, if he can, to supply his place.
25th. Mr. Webber preach'd here for Mr. Andrews ; and I was much
pleased with his discourses. They were quite argumentative ; and his
manner of reasoning was such as shewed him to be an acute metaphy
sician. He has always had a peculiar attachment to mathematical
studies, and has acquired great knowledge in that branch of science,
which has at the same time habituated him to a degree of precision in
his reasoning which few people possess. After meeting this afternoon
Putnam called at my room, and urged me to go to Mr. Spring's, where,
it seems, they were not contented with two services, but were going
upon a third. Putuam went, I believe, rather from the motive of see
ing certain young ladies there than from an excess of piety. But as
I wished to write a letter to W. Cranch, and as Mr. Parsons will go
for Boston early to-morrow morning, I declined going with Putnam.
After writing my letter I went and took a long walk quite alone, the
weather being very fine, and as I return'd I stopp'd an hour at Mrs.
Hooper's. Thorapson came in soon after me. We walk'd again, and
as we were passing before Mr. Frazier's door, the young ladies were
standing there. We stopp'd and went in. Mr. and Mrs. Frazier re-
1 Newbury or Parker Eiver Bridge, with its nine piers and eight wooden
arches, dating from 1758 though rebuilt in 1784, was four miles from Newbury
port on the road to Boston. " Ould Newbury," pp. 530-539. No bridge had as
yet been built across the Merrimac.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 139
turn'd home a few minutes after, with Miss Phillips of Boston, a lady
whom I saw at Hingham last fall, who has play'd the coquette, for
eight or ten years past, with a number of gentlemen, but who has now
a prospect of being married shortly. We soon came away ; Thompson
pass'd an hour at my lodgings.
26th. In the afternoon, I took a walk with Thompson to see Little.
He has the small pox full upon him at this time. We returned, and I
pass'd the evening at Mrs. Emery's. Judge Greenleaf's daughters
and Miss Smith and Miss Wendell were there. The evening was not
agreeable ; there was too much ceremony and too httle sociability. We
conducted the ladies home, and retired.
27th. Mr. Jackson sent one of his sons to inform me that he heard
last evening, at Beverly, that Callahan had arrived in Boston. The
report I find is all over the town ; aud I have received the congratu
lations of almost all my acquaintance here. This evening, by means
of an accident which was contrived in the morning, a number of gentle
men and ladies happened to meet at Mr. Brown's house, where we
danced till about twelve o'clock. The weather was rather too warm ;
otherwise the party was agreeable. We often changed partners.
And, as there were several more ladies than gentlemen, one or two
of the young misses thought they were not sufficiently noticed, and so
much mistook the intrinsic value and importance of their resentment
as to display it in a manner which raised an involuntary smile, — in
voluntary, I say, because no one surely could willingly smile at the
resentment of a lady. I escorted Miss Newell home ; and then retired
likewise myself.
28th. Election Day. And there is not a poor devil who has lost
his election in the Commonwealth that feels half so much vexed and
disappointed as I do. After enjoying the satisfaction of supposing my
friends all arrived safe, I find this day that the report was without any
foundation ; that Callahan has not arrived, and has not even been
spoken with, as has been said. I walk'd in the evening with Stacey,
and called afterwards for half an hour at Mrs. Hooper's.
29th. Club at Thompson's this evening. Putnam inform'd us, he
must leave us at a quarter before nine. 1 told him he must make no
appointments for Thursday evenings. It was no appointment, he said ;
but he was under an indispensible obligation to write a letter this
evening: accordingly he left us. At nine we likewise came away. I
took a walk with Stacey in High Street, with the expectation of meet
ing Putnam ; nor were we disappointed. He was walking home with
the young ladies that he is generally most attentive to. After we
had ascertained the matter sufficiently, we continued a walk, and I came
home at about ten. I found a bundle for me which Mr. Carter brought
from Boston, but there was no letter with it.

140 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
30th. I called this morning at Mr. Bradbury's office, and affronted
Putnam by rallying him upon his deception last night. In the after
noon I walked with Thompson ; we overtook Mr. J. Tracy and his
lady, and accompanied them. As we were passing by Mrs. Atkins's,
she arrived with her son from Boston. We stopp'd there a few
minutes. Genl. Lincoln is Lieutt. Governor, &c. We spent the re
mainder of the evening at Mr. Carter's with the old gentleman, as
none of the young folks were at home.
Slst. Finished this forenoon with Hawkins. Dined at Mr. N.
Carter's. As did Mr. Farnham and Thompson ; called at the office in
the afternoon, but did nothing. Walk'd with Thompson. Weut in
to Mrs. Hooper's, and drank tea there. Miss Eraery was with her.
I soon came out and left Thompson there. I took a solitary walk of
two or three miles into Newbury ; was surprised by the rain, and quite
sprinkled before I got home. We have had a great deal of rain this
season, but very Uttle warm weather. Fruits rather backward.
Sunday, June 1st, 1788.
Mr. Allen preached for us this day, and I attended to hear him ; his
sermons are judicious and sensible, but his manner of delivering them is
very disagreeable. In the evening I took a long walk with Doctor
Kilham, and pass'd the remainder of it at home.
2d. Pickraan returned this day from Salem, where he has been for
ten days past. I began to read Wood's Institutes ; ' a book written
upon a similar plan to that of Blackstone, but much inferior in the
execution. I took a long walk this evening alone, musing and con
templating upon a subject which at this time engrosses all my attention.
3d. I walk'd with Thompson a mile or two in Newbury, the pros
pects on that road are delightful, and I am more pleased with that
walk than with any other near this town. We went to Judge Green
leaf's. Mrs. Hodge and Mrs., Parsons were there ; we past the evening
as usual at that house, the Judge was very sensible and sociable ;
Mrs. Greenleaf was very agreeable, and all the daughters sat like just so
many young misses whose mamma had told them that little girls must
be seen and not heard. The Judge to strangers appears to be quite a soft
and complacent man ; but his family regulations are rather despotic ; this
circumstance takes off much of the pleasure of visiting there, which
would otherwise be great ; for his conversation and that of his lady are
quite entertaining. She asked me if I had not been greatly disap
pointed last week ; I told her I had, and that it had been a subject of
much vexation to me. The Judge said it was well, he always wished
* The Institutes ofthe Laws ot England, by Thomas Wood, had been in use
for nearly seventy years ; lst edition, 1720.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 141
that his young friends might meet with disappointments and misfor
tunes, and the greater the better, if they were not such as to debilitate
the mind ; it was best to be enured to misfortunes in early life ; sooner
or later they would come ; and it was much best to be prepared for
them by experience. Thompson came home, and supp'd with me.
4th. Walk'd iuto Newbury iu the evening with Thompson, and we
returned through Jopp6,* by a different route from that which I usually
come. We past an hour at Mrs. Emery's. Her daughter is very
amiable, though not handsome. She entertained us some time by play
ing upon the harpsichord. Mr. J. Greenleaf was there ; it is reported
that he is paying his addresses there. The dispositions of the persons
are not sufficiently congenial to render either of them happy, and I
should therefore wish that this report, like most others of the same
nature, may prove an idle surmise without any foundation. . . .
6th. ... In the evening I was walking with Thompson; as we
were passing before Mr. J. Tracy's, he invited us in. We pass'd the
eveniug there : it was club night, and there were eight or ten such
smoakers that we were almost suffocated. The evening, however, was
agreeable; and after supper I completed my walk before I returned
home. 7th. Mr. Parsons came home from Boston this evening, where he
has been attending at the General Court ; but he brought no news for
me. I went with Pickman up to Sawyer's tavern, and drank tea there.
This walk is very agreeable aud employs the evening well.
Sth. Mr. Webster ^ from Salisbury preached for us this day ; a vener
able old gentleman who has been subject to many misfortunes, and
whose countenance is expressive of the sensibility which has so often
been wounded. I took a long walk in the evening with Stacey ; a
young fellow who has been very imprudent, but whose disposition is, I
believe, very good.
9th. Mr. Parsons had so much information to give every one who
came into the office this day that we could not attend much to the
regular course of our reading. I took a long, lonely walk in the
evening, as I often do at present, and I find the practice advantageous
both to my health and spirits.
10th. Stroll'd a mile or two with Pickman ; he has the appearance
of a true and faithful lover, and acknowledges that he takes but very
little satisfaction in this town. He proposes spending but a few weeks
1 The present-day "Joppa," then, as now, a fishing hamlet on the river-bank
below Newburyport. " Ould Newbury," pp. 218, 219.
2 Eev. Samuel Webster (H. C. 1787), born at Bradford in August, 1718;
pastor of the West Parish in Salisbury for nearly fifty-five years (1741-1796) ;
died July 18, 1790; had suffered much from the loss of many children. See
Funeral Sermon by the Eev. Thomas Cary.

142 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
more here, and then to open an office in Salem. As I came home I
stopp'd and past an hour at Mrs. Hooper's.
llth. I walk'd this evening with Stacey. The weather was very
beautiful, and we proposed to form a party for a serenade, as soon as
may be convenient.
12th. Townsend arrived in town this forenoon. I called at Mrs.
Hooper's to see him immediately after dinner ; he looks better than he
was when he left this town, but his situation still appears to me to be
critical. Club met at Pickman's. Putnam appeared rather sober.
Townsend was obliged to retire just before sunset. Farnham too was
uot in the highest spirits, for Mr. Prout marries Miss S. Jenkins this
evening. At nine we separated, and at ten met again at my room. We
sallied out at about eleven, and serenaded the ladies in town till
between three and four in the morning.
13th. Townsend and one or two more of my friends dined with me
this day. He went in the afternoon to see Mrs. Emery, and found there
a Miss Taylor who came there last evening from Boston ; she was
going to Exeter, and as Townsend was going to take a ride, he pro
posed to go in company with her as far as the ferry. This Miss Taylor
is handsome and remarkably sociable ; and although she has been in a
declining state of health for more than a year past, and came very
lately from Halifax to Boston merely to recruit her strength, yet by
some unaccountable deception she looks in the finest bloom of health.
\ It seems indeed to be an uncommon felicity attending many young
; ladies at this day, that they can enjoy all the benefits of ill health
, without being much afflicted with its cruel pains. We accompanied the
lady to Amesbury ; aud after seeing her into the boat took our leave.
Eeturning home, we stopp'd and drank tea with Mrs. Atkins. Mrs.
Bass and Mr. Atkins had just arrived from Dunstable. I pass'd the
evening with Townsend at Mrs. Hooper's ; but came home quite early,
as I was somewhat fatigued by the last night's expedition.
14th. Finished reading in Wood's Institutes ; a book which has been
rendered almost useless by the publication of Blackstone's Commen
taries. Dined with Mr. Parsons, took a long walk in the afternoon,
and pass'd the evening with Townsend at Mrs. Hooper's. Pickman
went to Salem this morning.
15th. Mr. Allen preach'd, and as usual delivered a good serraon in a
very bad manner. After meeting, I went up to Mr. J. Tracy's. I
found Townsend there, and rode a few miles with him. We return'd
and drank tea at Mrs. Atkins's. Townsend's health not permitting
him to be out after sunset, we came home early, and I was with him
all the evening.
16th. Townsend intended to have set away this morning, to go to
Medfield ; but the weather was so chilly aud disagreeable that he

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 143
thought it would be best to wait another day. Thompson and I dined
and pass'd a great part of the day with him. I was again disappointed
upon the arrival of the stage, as I have been so often heretofore, by
hearing no news from Boston. I began upon Bacon's Pleas and Plead
ings ; a subject which demands great attention.
17th. Townsend left town this morning, but as the wind soon got
easterly, I imagine he did not go far. Mr. Parsons went over to
Ipswich, where the Supreme Court are this week in session. In the
beginning of the evening the weather cleared up, and I took a long,
solitary walk. I had turn'd round, and was coming home when I
heard a horse coming upon full galop, and somebody called me by
name. I stopped and found it was Stacey, who congratulated me upon
my father's arrival. He came from Ipswich on purpose to give me the
inforraation. Just as I had pass'd by Mr. Tracy's, one of his servants
gave me a letter, with a request that I would go down to his house.
I went accordingly, and found Mr. Hichborn there ; the letter was
from Mr. Thaxter, aud contained the same joyful tidings that Stacey
had brought me. It seems Judge Sullivan left Boston this day at
about twelve o'clock; and when he came away Callahan was coming
up the harbour ; after passing an hour at Mr. Tracy's I came home
with a light heart, but not wholly without fears that this information,
like that of a similar nature which has been given me three or four
times within a month past, should be founded upon a mistake of one
vessel for another.
18th. I went to the office in the forenoon, but found myself incapaci
tated to do any thing, and therefore lost the morning in conversation.
Just before two I weut with trembling hope to the post office ; and as
I went into the door my heart almost failed me, but I was soon made
happy by a letter from my brother Tom, which confirms the arrival of
my parents. In the afternoon, I did nothing more than prepare to go
to Boston in the stage to-morrow morning. I called in the evening at
Sirs. Hooper's and at Mr. Carter's, to take their commands.
19th. The stage was full from Portsmouth, and consequently I could
not obtain a seat. I could not think of waiting till Saturday with a
chance of being again disappointed, so I sent forward my little trunk
by the stage, and engaged a horse ; at about ten in the forenoon I left
town and arrived at Ipswich just before noon. The Supreme Court
are sitting there, and I went to the Court house, where I saw a number
of my friends ; among others my classmate Kendall,* who is going to the
1 " Ephraim KendaU ot Ipswich, Essex Co., was twenty the 28th of last Novr.
There is soraething peculiar in this character. He is said to be one of the hardest
students and oue of the poorest scholars in the class. His natural abilities are
BO sraall that they can scarcely be improved even by cultivation. He appears to
be totaUy destitute of Uterary judgment at least ; for I have heard him declaim a

144 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Ohio in a short time. I found likewise at Ipswich a number of the
young ladies from Newbury-Port, who to be sure were gallanted by
their fathers. It was near four o'clock when I left Ipswich ; and Pick-
man at the same time returned to Salem. It was so late when we got
there that I could not thiuk of reaching Boston this night, and I there
fore accepted of Pickman's invitation to lodge in town. He went with
me to Mr. Derby's ; * but the young ladies were not at home, so that I
had not the pleasure of being introduced to his Dulcinea. Learned,
who is upon the study of physic in this town, pass'd the eveniug
with us.
20th. I was up early in the morning, and mounted my horse at
about seven. It was ten when I got into Boston. I went to Mr.
Smith's, and found my father was gone to Braintree, but my mamma
was at the Governor's. I immediately went there and enjoy'd all the
' satisfaction that can arise from the meeting so near and dear a friend
after a long absence.* We dined at Deacon Storer's. Old Mrs. Edwards
was there (Vol. 2. p. 27)^ and Dr. Waterhouse, &c. Between five and
piece in very plain English, which I was convinced he did not understand. At
recitations he was never distinguished for taking the meaning of an author, and
in short all his public exercises have been inferior to the commou run. Yet he is
possess'd of extrerae sensibility, and his temper is very irascible. His person is
handsome, but there is an unmeaning stare in his eye, which is too expressive of
the vacancy in his mind. It would require a very metaphysical genius to prove
this to be a good or a bad character ; but it is not certainly one which any per
son would wish to possess." Manuscript diary ot J. Q. Ad-aras, May 3, 1787.
Ephraim Kendall, according to J. L. Siiiley's manuscript memorandum, was born
in Ipswich November 28, 1765; died there August 15, 1846.
1 Elias H. Derby, one of the richest merchants in Salem, a pioneer in the
establishment of the East India trade (see supra, p. 102).
2 With the exception of one brief period of a little over three months, August
2 to November 13, 1779, — during which, at Braintree and in Boston, he was
engrossed with the work ot the Convention of that year, and his draft of the Con
stitution of Massachusetts, — John Adams had at this time been ten years absent
from home. First sailing from Boston bay February 13, 1778, he got back
there June 17, 1788. Mrs. Adams had joined him in London in July, 1784.
In May, 1785, J. Q. Adams had left his family at Auteuil, France, returning to
America. Their present separation had, therefore, been a little over three years.
The impression made on John Adams by the changes which bad taken place
in Massachusetts during this long absence is interesting; and, in view of the
recent unrest and uprisings, hardly what would have been expected. He wrote :
" The increase of population is wonderful. The plenty of provisions ot all kinds
amazing, and cheap in proportion to their abundance and the scarcity ot money,
which is certainly very great. The agriculture, fisheries, manufactures and com
merce of the country are very well, much better than I expected to find thera.
I cannot say so much of our politics. ... I regret the loss of the book-shops,
and the society of the few men of letters that I knew in London; in all other
respects I am much better accommodated here." To Thomas Brand-HoUis,
December 3, 1788. Works, vol. ix. pp. 557, 558.
^ J. Q. Adams flrst met Mrs. Edwards at Mrs. Quincy's in Braintree. He then

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 145
six we sat out for Braintree. As I was already somewhat fatigued, my
cousin Cranch gave me up his seat in the chaise with my mamma,
and took my horse. At about eight we got to Mr. Cranch's, and there
my satisfaction and pleasures were again renew'd at finding my father
in good health, and here I must stop for the present.
21st. The weather was very warm. I went down to my uncle
Quincy's,* and from thence on the shore. One lighter arrived in the
afternoon with part of the goods and furniture, and the other is ex
pected to-morrow.
22d. Parson Wibird preached in his usual dull, inanimated strain,
of late indeed he has lost, it is said, his only claim to merit by declining
wholly to change with the neighbouring ministers. After meeting this
evening, I went with W. Cranch down to Mrs. Quincy's and drank
tea. Mrs. Quincy of Boston was there, and very agreeable." I had
never been in company with her before.
23d. A second lighter came up this day with things from the ship.
We were very busy in unpacking during the whole day. A bed was
set up in the house, in which I lodg'd, but we have done sufficient to
make a great deal of work before we get at rights ; there is yet a great
deal to be done to the house. When I came frora Newbury-Port, I
intended to have studied as much here as I should have done there,
but I begin to suspect that I shall find it utterly impossible. At least,
I have given up all thoughts of doing any thing in that way for the
present. 24th. This day we got so far in order as to make a home of the
house. I dined at my uncle Cranch's. The remainder of the packages
are expected to-morrow, but those that are already here are not all
unpack'd. Much damage was done on the voyage.
25th. This afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Shaw came in from Haverhill ;
they found us still in great disorder. We began this day to unpack the
books ; ' though we have at present no room to stow them in properly.
They were moist and somewhat mouldy, but not injured at all.
26th. We all dined at Mr. Cranch's. Charles came from Cam
bridge to spend a day or two with us. I continued this whole day
quite industriously to unpack and place the books, yet did not get half
spoke of her as " an antiquated coquet," adding that " it her face did not give
the lye to her behaviour I should suppose her now to be seventeen rather than
seventy." * Norton Quincy. The house at Mount Wollaston, built by Colonel John
Quincy, from which J. Q. Adams had embarked for Europe with his father,
February 13, 1778.
2 Mrs. Josiah Quincy, Jr., daughter of WiUiam PhiUips. See Quincy's
Josiah Quincy, pp. 20-23, 35, 36.
2 The collection subsequently given by John Adams to the town of Quincy,
in connection with the Adams Academy. Now (1902) in the Boston Public
Library building. 19

146 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
through with the business. There are a great many books which I
wish very much to peruse ; but I have not the time at present, and
must certainly for some years he separated from them.
27th. The day was spent like the preceding ones. There was some
company here in the afternoon. I give as much of the little leisure
time I have as I can conveniently to some lectures upon History and
general Policy, a new publication of Dr. Priestley, whose literary powers
may be truly called athletic. There are several other late perform
ances which I am desirous of reading, but more particularly Mr. Gib
bon's continuation of his History of the Decline and Fall of the Eoman
Empire, which is not, however, yet completed.*
28th. Mrs. Welch and Betsey Smith came from Boston this morn
ing; we all went to Weymouth and dined at Doctor Tufts's. In
the afternoon I went over to Mr. Norton's house," where in my in
fancy I bave spent many days which I scarcely remember even as a
distant dream ; but before this day I had not been in the house these
nine years. As I returned from Weymouth I was overtaken by the
rain, and stop'd at Mr. Cranch's; but it did not abate, and I went
home in the midst of it.
29 th. I attended at meeting and heard Mr. Wibird. The weather
was rather dull and somewhat sultry. I am still undetermined whether
to return this week to Newbury-Port, or wait till after Commencement.
I believe, however, I shall determine upon the latter.
30tli. Mr. and Mrs. Shaw return'd to Haverhill this morning ; and
this day I finished unpacking the books, which, however, must continue
for some time in great disorder. Tuesday, July 1st, 1788.
It was nine o'clock before I could get away from Braintree this
morning, and I arrived at the Colleges just before the exhibition began.
A Latin Oration was spoken by Kirkland, and was very well. The
Forensic between Palmer ' and Waterman was tolerable, but I forget the
subject. The English Dialogue between Thacher and Gray was well
spoken, but rather stiff. The Greek Dialogue between the youngest
Sullivan and my brother Tom was quite short, and not the worse for
that. The English Oration was by Blake ; the subject agriculture.
1 The three final volumes of the "Decline and Fall " were published on Gibbon's
fifty-first birthday, April 27, 1788.
^ The parsonage at Weymouth, formerly the home of his grandfather, Eev.
WiUiam Smith, stood imraediately below the present East Weymouth station of
the Old Colony division of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford EaUroad.
^ Stephen Palraer (H. C. 1789), son of Eev. Joseph Palraer, ot Norton, Mass.;
born October 3, 1766; pastor at Needham, 1792-1821; member of the Massa
chusetts Historical Society. See Proceedings, vol. i. pp. 343-345. Waterman
died in 1843 in an almshouse. See S. Willard, Memories, vol. i. pp. 274, 275.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 147
It was in my opinion very flimsy and superficial ; but as we came Cut
I heard a young fellow, who had something of the appearance of a
would-be fop, exclaim " upon my soul Blake has given us one of the
genteelest Orations I ever heard." In former days, gentility with
respect to composition consisted in bad spelling and bad grammar;
under which sense the description would not be wholly unjust. But
what the expression means at this day I know not ; and therefore its
singularity was what I chiefly remarked. I was agreeably surprised
to meet my friend Thompson here ; but saw him only for a few min
utes. I went down and dined at Judge Dana's. Mr. Ben. Ellery * was
there, — -an uncle to Mrs. Dana, a rich old gentleman and somewhat
singular in his character. In the afternoon I called at Mr. Wiggles
worth's, and past an hour agreeably with them. I went to Mr.
Gannett's ; and at about seven in the evening called at the President's.
He was not at home, and as I knew not what to do with myself for the
remainder of the evening I thought I might as well go home. I imme
diately went to Bradish's," mounted my horse, and, after nine, arrived
safe in Braintree, somewhat fatigued with my day's work, but well
satisfied with my jaunt.
2d. The weather was extremely warm. I amused myself part of
the day in reading, and part iu shooting. The cherry trees, which
are quite full at present, are so inviting to the birds that there is very
good sport with little trouble.
3d. Between nine and ten I went with my father from Braintree ; '
we got into Cambridge at about twelve. After stopping a few minutes
at College, we first went down and called upon Judge Trowbridge.'
He is very old, and although active for his years, yet the depradations
of time are conspicuous upou him. We dined at Mr. Dana's. Mr.
and Mrs. Channing from Ehode Island were there ; they are agreeable.*
In the afternoon we first called at the President's, and drank tea there ;
from thence we went to Mr. Gerry's * and past the evening. We
1 Benjamin Ellery, brother of WiUiam Ellery, the signer of the Declaration of
Independence. He married the widow of Colonel John Vassall, of Cambridge.
2 Bradish's was the tavern of Ebenezer Bradish, also known as tlie Blue An
chor Tavern, on the westerly side of Brighton, now Boylston, Street.
' Judge Edmund Trowbridge (H. C. 1728), a loyalist, born in Newton in 1709 ;
Attorney-General of the Province in 1749 ; member of the Council 1764 and
1765 ; appointed Associate Justice ot the Superior Court in 1767 ; resigned in
1775 ; died in Cambridge April 2, 1793. He lived on Mount Auburn Street,
and was an uncle of Francis Dana, to whom he lett raost ot his property. W. T.
Davis, Hist, of the Judiciary ot Massachusetts, p. 97.
* Mr. and Mrs. William Channing, parents of WiUiara Ellery Channing.
Mrs. Channing was Lucy Ellery, a, daughter of Williara Ellery, signer of the
Declaration of Independence, and sister of Mrs. Francis Dana.
5 Elbridge Gerry lived in what was afterwards James Eussell LoweU's house,
"Elmwood."

148 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
found Mrs. Warren there, and were in the midst of antifederal ism, but
quite in good humour. My father had promised to take a lodging at
Judge Dana's; but at Mr. Gerry's invitation I past the night at his
house. 4th. We left Cambridge by nine o'clock, and got into Boston in the
midst of the bustle. We went immediately to Brackett's tavern ; *
after dressing I walk'd out, and met with a number of my very good
friends. At about eleven we went to the old South meeting house,
and heard Mr. Otis ^ deliver an Oration, the composition and the de
livery were much superior even to my expectations, which were some
what sanguine. It was greatly superior, in my opinion, to that which
he delivered when he took his second degree ; the ouly public perform
ance that I had heard before from him. I saw my good friend Bridge *
1 Brackett's tavern (Cromwell's Head) was on the northern side of School
Street, not far from the corner of what is now Washington Street. See Drake's
Old Landmarks of Boston, pp. 61, 62.
2 Harrison Gray Otis (H. C. 1783) delivered the annual oration at the request
of the town authorities.
8 " James Bridge of Pownalborough in the Province ot Maine was twentj'-one
the 23d of last September. As a scholar and as a gentleraan, he is inferior to no
one in the class, and with no one have I contracted since I entered the university,
so great a degree of intiraacy. His natural abilities are very good and they have
been greatly iraproved by study. His passions are strong, but in general he keeps
them well under comraand. His genius is metaphysical, rather than rhetorical ;
in reasoning with him we are rather convinced by the torce of his argument,
than seduced by the briUiancy of his imagination. He is possessed ot rauch
benevolence, and ambition occupies a large share of his mind ; he does not en
deavour to conceal this, but freely owns his expectations ; which are so sanguine
that 1 soraewhat fear he will not entirely realize them all. His advantages, how
ever, will be peculiar, and it is, I think, very probable that he will one day be
eminent in the political line. Law will be his study ; and 1 have long hoped
that we should be together iu one office, but many difficulties attend the scheme,
and I fear much that it will not take place. My friendship for this gentleman
and three or four more of my classmates saddens very much the anticipation of
coraraenceraent, when we raust part, perhaps forever." J. Q. Adams, manuscript
diary, March 2, 1787. Six months before, on September 23, 1786, he wrote :
" Pass'd the evening at Bridge's charaber. We had considerable conversation, as
we frequently have, concerning our future prospects. He is arabltious, and in
tends to engage in politics. He expects raore happiness frora it than he will ever
realize, I believe ; but he is form'd for a political life, aud it is probabl[e wiU] show
to advantage in that line."
Bridge was one of J. Q. Adaihs's favorite classmates, and the following ex
tracts from the raanuscript diary for October 4 to 6, 1786, give a pleasing and
typical view of their daily intercourse. " We had this morning a forensic given
out, to be read next week on the question whether the diversities in national
characters arise chiefly from physical causes. I am to support the affirmative,
and think upon the whole it is the best side of the question. ... I made tea for
the club. Bridge had a small dispute with me upon the nature of physical
causes. He thought the effects produced by sensual appetites could not be
attributed to physical causes. I was of opinion that they must be. We appealed

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 149
for a few minutes only ; he told me he expected to be at Newbury-
Port in about three weeks from this. I likewise met with Townsend
to Mr. BuiT, and his sentiments confirm'd mine. ... I have had several times
little contests with Bridge upon the subject of our forensic. He is to support
the negative side of the question, and will write very ingeniously. He is the
only person in the class who is fond of discussing questions of this kind in con
versation. We frequently dispute, and it always increases ray acquaintance with
the subject. The objections he raises are commonly weighty, and they lead me
to look further than I should otherwise do into the point in debate, and our
difference of opinion is attended with no had effects, as aU acrimony and ill
humour is excluded from our conversations."
On his return from college to his home in Pownalborough, Me., he at once
plunged into politics. " Will you laugh," he wrote, May 4, 1788, " if I tell you I
rode sixty miles (the bad roads made it a hundred) to Influence our late election
in favour of Federalists in this county 1 Will you laugh if 1 tell you I made my
father qualify me to vote for Gov., Lt. Gov., & Senator, that I attended our town
meeting in Pownalborough, that I voted myself and solicited the votes of others,
that I publicly harangued the audience, &c. This was not the halt ot my zeal."
At the same time he was studying law under the following conditions, out
lined in a letter dated Pownalboro', September 28, 1787 : " I ara nominally studying
law with Mr. Gardiner, really with myself. Soon after I had got home 1 made
liim a visit, and laid open my plan to him, viz., of putting myself under his direc
tion, and of studying at home (we live two miles apart) he approved it, gave me
the first vol. of Blackstones Commentaries to read, and said he would act the
part of a friend and neighbour towards me. This is the chief that has passed
between us on the subject ot Law. I purchased a set ot Blackstone soon after
and now dont even use his books. About once a fortnight I spend an afternoon
in the famUy, in the common mode of chit-chat, cards, baok-gamraon, &c. This
is the only kind of instruction I am here acquainted with."
Even in 1787 this forra of preparation for the legal profession did not secure
satisfactory results, and the following autumn Bridge came to Newburyport as a
law student of Theophilus Parsons and roommate of J. Q. Adams. He began
professional life at Augusta, Me., assuming the practice of General Williara Lith-
gow, who then retired. He became agent and attorney for the proprietors of the
Kennebec purchase, having a lucrative collecting business. He did not become
distinguished in politics. He was a representative from his town to the Legis
lature in 1799, on the Governor's Council in 1818, a member of the Constitutional
Convention of 1819, and a commissioner under the Act of Separation of 1820.
Owing to Ul health, he retired trora the bar in 1812, leaving court business to his
junior partner. For twenty years frora 1814, he was president of the Augusta
Bank; he died in lei34. J. Q. Adams's regard tor this early friend is shown by
an entry in the diary of March 3, 1828, in a discussion with Clay as to the
appointment of agents to defend the northeastern boundary of the United States
before the arbitrators appointed under the treaty with England. "1 told Mr.
Clay, that since I had last seen him, a person whom I believed to he the very
best man in the State for the office had been recoraraended to me by Lieutenant-
Governor Winthrop, of Massachusetts, and by the late Senator, Sir. James
Lloyd, and, through them, by Mr. Eeuel Williaras [partner of James Bridge] of
Maine. I meant James Bridge, of Augusta, one of my oldest and, in early life,
most intimate friends. I had indeed alraost lost sight of him for near forty
years, but know that by his talents, his information, and the course of his life he
must be peculiarly fitted for this particular service ; and it he would accept the
place, there was not an individual in the State in whose able and faithful per-

150 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
as I was going out of the church ; and we went together to the Old
Brick, to hear General Hull's * Oration to the Cincinnati. It appeared
to me rather indifferent ; and the effect upon me was the greater from
the involuntary comparison with that which I had just heard. How
ever, I found afterwards there were many persons who thought, or
pretended to think, this Oration better, both in matter and manner, than
the other, and they have certainly a right to enjoy their opinions. I
dined at Deacon Storer's, Parson Wibird was there and some other
company. In the afternoon I walk'd up on the common to see the mili
tary parade, which was not however so spirited as at the last anni
versary ; but, in the middle of the afternoon, the news arrived that
Virginia had acceded to the Federal Constitution, and immediately the
bells were set to ringing aud the guns to firing again, without any
mercy, and contiuued all the remainder of the afternoon. In the even
ing a number -of young fellows paraded round the streets, with candles
lighted in their hands and a drum before them, not much to their own
credit or to the honour of the day ; but they did no damage. I spent
part of the evening with several of my classmates ; but not finding
Bridge, I returned early, and took my lodging at Brackett's.
5th. We called this morning at Dr. Welch's, and at Mr. Guild's ;
but left town at about ten o'clock. It was almost one when we got to
Braintree. I amused myself as I could in the afternoon. Mrs. War
ren, with her son Harry stop'd here this night on their way to Ply
mouth, to which place General Warren has removed back, after liviug
about eight years at Milton. He was formerly a very popular man, but
of late years he has thought himself neglected by the people. His
mind has been soured, and he became discontented and querulous. He
has been charged with using his influence in favour of tender acts and
paper money ; and it has even been very confidently asserted that he
secretly favoured the insurrections and rebellion of the winter before
last. Whether his conduct has been misrepresented or not, is a point
that must for the present remain undetermined. But he has certainly
given some reason for suspicion by his imprudence ; and when in a
tirne of rebellion a man openly censures the conduct in general, and
almost every individual act, of an administration, an impartial public
will always judge that such a man cannot be greatly opposed to a
party who are attacking the same measures. Mrs. Warren, however,
positively declared there was no truth in those allegations, and was very
formance of its duties I should place more implicit confidence." The reasons
wliy the nomination was not made are given in the Memoirs, vol. vii. pp. 460,
483, 504, 529. See J. W. North, Hist, of Augusta, pp. 507-510, with portrait ; also
Maine Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. vi.
1 General William Hull (Yale College, 1772) had an honorable record in the
War of the Eevolution and in Shays's Eebellion ; but is chiefly remembered for
the unfortunate surrender of Detroit in 1812.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 161
confident that they were nothing more than the suggestions of the Gen
eral's enemies, whose malignity was unaccountable, but whose utmost
spite and envy could not disturb his happiness.
For all the distant din this world can keep
Rolls o'er his grotto and but soothes his sleep.
6th. The weather was rather disagreeable in the morning, and Mrs.
Warren was disposed to stay and pass the Sunday with us, but her son
was so anxious to get home that she finally deterrained to go ; and
they went away at about nine. I attended at meeting, and heard Par
son Wibird dose over a couple of sermons. There is none of my time
that I regret more than that I spend in hearing him. Were it not for
the propriety of attending public worship abstracted from all consider
ations of improvement or entertainment, I should seldom enter within
the walls of that house while he continues to slumber there.
7th. W. Cranch went to Boston this morning; and I suppose I
shall have but very little of his company for the future, as he is to be
fixed henceforth for some time to his office. I amused myself, as I
have done for several days past, in diverse manners. In the eveniu"'
my two brothers arrived from Cambridge, having obtained leave to be
absent till Friday, when the scholars will all be dismiss'd.
Sth. I past the greater part of the day in gunning with my brothers.
The weather was, as it has been for several days past, extremely warm,
and the fruits of the earth at present greatly require heat.
9th. Doctor Leonard came here in the morning. This gentleman
came as a passenger with Callahan. He underwent a violent prosecu
tion, two or three years ago, in England for endeavouring to come to
America with some models of manufacturing machines ; but, after being
two years in prison, he was released and immediately resumed his
original intentions, but he is now come over without his models ; and
he rather purposes at present to practice in his original profession as a
physician and surgeon. I bath'd in the sea this afternoon ; the first
time I have done so this summer ; indeed it is rather troublesome here,
on account of insects which are almost innumerable.
10th. George Warren came over from Milton this forenoon, and paid
us a visit. He opened an office in Milton last winter, and has done as
much business as a lawyer generally does for the first six months after
he begins ; but the prospects are far from beiug encouraging. When I
am in spirits this circumstance strikes me only as an incentive to more
strenuous exertions ; and at such times I feel such a resolution to over
come difficulties, that I seem already in a fair way of acquiring repu
tation and property. My father says that when he was a student, he
heard an old lawyer tell the present Judge Sewall, who was then a
student likewise, " that he never knew a lawyer that studied who did

152 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
not grow rich." The observation made an impression, and his own
experience has confirmed it.
llth. This day completes my twenty-first year. It emancipates me
from the yoke of paternal authority, which I never felt, and places me
upon my own feet, which have not strength enough to support me. I con
tinue therefore still in a state of dependence. One third of the period
of my professional studies has also now elapsed ; aud two years more
will settle me, should life and health continue, in a situation where
all my expectations are to center. I feel sometimes a strong desire
to know what my circumstances will be in seven years from this ; but,
I must acknowledge, I believe my happiness would rather be injured
than improved by the information.*
12th. In the diverse amusements of reading, of shooting birds, and
playing upon our flutes, we past the present day. The weather is, and
has for a fortnight past been, such that fatiguing occupations cannot be
attended to. I read very little, and that of a light kind which does
not greatly engage the mind ; and as for writing, I have so much aban
doned it that I have not written three pages since I left Newbury-Port.
My brothers are much in the same way.
13th. Weather still extremely warm. I heard Parson Wibird. Mr.
Q. Thaxter was at meeting in the forenoon, and went and dined with
us. In the afternoon Madam went down to my uncle Quincy's, and I
drank tea with my brothers at my uncle Adams's. And we bath'd at
the creek ^ in the evening.
14th. Ben Beale ' came from Taunton this morning ; he did not stop,
1 On the date named, July 11, 1795, .1. Q. Adaras was at the Hague, represent
ing the United States as Eesident MIrtister. The entry in his diary for that day
is but three lines in length, and mentions merely certain calls made by him and
the progrararae of a play in the evening which he pronounced, as a perforraance,
" very indifferent."
^ Subsequently named Black's Creek, and still so called. Originally Quincy's
Creek. 8 "Benjamin Beale was eighteen the Gth of June last. His father was from
Braintree, but he was born at Liverpool in England; he entered the class just
before they commenced Sophimores. His disposition is amiable, and he is a good
scholar; but the government ot the university have so repeatedly taken notice
of him at exhibitions, that it has given offence to many of the young gentlemen
in the class, and they affect to despise his abUities, and to deny his scholarship.
His talents have perhaps been rather overrated by tbe government, but I fear
tliey are still more underrated in the class ; and he is not the only person whose
popularity with his fellow students has been greatly diminished by the favours of
the governraent. Notwithstanding all the reports circulated by malice and envy,
I believe him very deserving; he displays no vanity, either of his person, which
is elegant, or ot his genius, which has been flattered by distinction, and this, I
think, is a sure mark ot good sense. Commerce will probably be his profession ;
and from his general character, I think he has a good prospect of success. May
he obtain it ! " Diary, February 28, 1787. Beale died in Paris, France, in 1826.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 153
but promised to come and see us ere long. When I came in from
shooting, which still continues to be my sport and my occupation, I
found a Parson West * here, an old gentleman, who was three years in
college with my father, and at that tirae very intimate with him. He
is very sociable and very sensible. He spent the day here, and passes
the night likewise. He keeps late hours and entertained me with con
versation upon language till between twelve and one o'clock. Doctor
Leonard left us this morning, after having past almost a week with us ;
he appears to be a very clever, well disposed man, but possessing no
great learning, nor even much information.
15th. Mr. West went away this morning. My father and my
brother Charles went to Boston, whence they will proceed to-morrow
to Cambridge. Beale came here this forenoon, and took a dinner with
us. He is studying law with Mr. Barnes at Taunton, but spends
much of his time at home. Mr. Wibird pass'd the afternoon and even
ing here. Dr. Tufts called here on his way to Boston, and my brother
Tom went to Cambridge this afternoon ; for my own part I preferred
waiting till to-morrow morning. And I have finally determined to
return here after Commencement, at least for a day or two.
16th. Commencement day, I mounted my horse somewhat early,
and arrived at Cambridge by nine o'clock. The first salutation I re
ceived as I was going into the College yard was, " Eepent, for the-
kingdom of Heaven is at hand." It was a crazy man ; but without
any great share of enthusiasm, for that sentence was the only thing
he said, and he repeated it every two or three minutes during the
whole forenoon ; and I could not help reflecting with pleasure upon
the happy liberality of sentiment, which prevails so much that a man
of this kind, so far from attracting the notice of the executive power,
could not even draw a crowd around him. I saw my classmates in
abundance ; there were more than thirty of us here. At about eleven
we went to the meeting house ; and I got a seat in the foremost gallery,
next to Townsend. The procession soon came on, and the President
after making a prayer, and informing the audience it was the desire of the
overseers and corporation that there might be no " clapping applause,"
called for the Salutatory Oration, which was spoken by Phillips, and
1 Eev. Samuel West (H. C. 1754), bom in Barnstable in 1730 ; pastor at Dart
mouth (later New Bedford) 1760-1803; lived with his son at Tiverton tiU his
death, September 24, 1807 ; a member of the Academy of Science of Boston and
of Philadelphia ; was called by the Eev. Dr. Lowell, of Boston, " one of the giants
of his tirae." An ardent patriot during the Eevolution, visiting the camp to en
courage the soldiers, he was a member of the Massachusetts Convention of 1788 ;
and, as a classmate and friend of Governor Hancock, was chosen to visit him and
persuade him to leave his sick-room and offer his famous araendraents in the
Convention. W. J. Potter, The First Congregational Society in New Bedford,
Mass., pp. 33-50; Memories of S. Willard, vol. i. pp. 212-214.
20

154 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
was pretty well delivered. An English poem, on the prospects of
America, by Dodge, was not without its merit, but would uot bear
comparison with that spoken last Commencement by Harris. The
order in which the other performances came on was as follows :
A forensic disputation upon this question, — Whether the balance
would be in favour of our existence were there no state but the pres
ent? By Sanders * and Tappan.
A Greek conference upon the evil effects of avarice and of prodi
gality upon society. By Gardner and Jackson.
A forensic disputation. Whether a republic is more secure of the
continuance of its liberties, when the officers in the higher branches of
government are elected for several years than when they are annually
elected ? By Gordon and Lincoln.
An English conference, — Whether a large emigration from Europe
into the IJnited States of America would upon the whole be for the
real advantage of the States. By Adams 2d and Cabot.
An English Oration. By Abbot.
The syllogistics were omitted, and these performances were finished
by two o'clock. I went and dined at Judge Dana's, and at about four
returned to the meeting house. An English' Oration was delivered
by Mr. Ware upon the effects of religion upon civil government and
society. It was an excellent oration, and, notwithstanding the Presi
dent's caution in the morning, there was something like a clap, which
proceeded chiefly, I imagine, from the students that were present. Tho
President with his peculiar elegance of expression said, " I am sorry
that the desires of the Corporation and Overseers should be infringed
upon," and proceeded to give the degrees. There was a new cere
mony, of giving a degree of bachelor in physic ; two young fellows by
the name of Hall and Fleet ^ received these diplomas, and even the
President in giving them seemed to have the awkwardness of novelty
about him. A valedictory Oration was spoken by Mr. AUyne,^ and
the President made a concluding prayer, which concluded the public
ceremonies of the day. I forgot to observe that, after the forenoon
1 Daniel Clarke Sanders was President ofthe University of Vermont 1800-1814 ;
pastor at Medfield, Mass., 1815-1829.
2 Neither of these first medical graduates from Harvard seems to have attained
a position of distinction in the profession. John Fleet (H. C. 1785), belonging
to the family of Fleet's Almanack and the Mother Goose Melodies, was a physi
cian in Boston ; died January 4, 1813. George Holmes Hall (H. C. 1781), born
January 8, 1763, in Medford, was physician, apothecary and store-keeper in
Brattleboro', Vt. ; died there April 14, 1807. Vermont Hist. Gazetteer, vol. v.
p. 61.
3 Eev. John Allyn (H. C. 1785), born at Barnstable March 21, 1767; ordained
at Duxbury December 3, 1788; a colleague settled June 7, 1826; died July 19,
1833; a member of tbe Massachusetts Historical Society. 3 Mass. Hist. Coll.,
vol. V. pp. 245-252; Justin Winsor, Hist, of Duxbury, pp. 88, 207-209.

DIARY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 155
performances were finished, the Governor * got up, addressed the Presi
dent, who was likewise standing, by the title of " reverend and learned
Sir," and made a long speech in which he blest his stars for being
born in a land of Liberty and Science, &c. Some people thought his
performance was equal to any in the course of the day ; but opinions
on that subject were divided It was prepared before hand, though it
bore ample testimony of the genius and learning which the young
gentlemen had display'd.
" Wherein all prophets far out went he,
Though former days produced a plenty,
For any man, with half an eye,
What stands before him can espy.
But optics sharp it needs, I ween.
To see what is not to be seen." ^
To return. After we came out of the meeting house I stroll'd about
for some time, greeting one friend and another as I met them. I went
with Forbes and Little, and drank tea at Dr. Wigglesworth's. I re
turned to College, and spent the evening in diverse places. I finally
found young Phillips, and took a supper with him at his chamber,
where I found also a number of his classmates. I retired at about
eleven o'clock, having enjoy'd the day very highly ; but my spirits
had been so much raised that I could get but little sleep.
17th. The young gentlemen who graduated yesterday were
Benjamin Abbot Charles Jackson
Solomon Adams Abner Lincoln
Thomas Adams Henry Phelps
Thomas Bancroft John Phillips
Oliver Barron James Prescott
Stephen Baxter Daniel Clarke Sanders
Joseph Brigham William Sawyer
Joseph Cabot Amos Tappan
George Caryl John Dexter Treadwell
Edward Clarke Charles Turner
Oliver Dodge Nathan Underwood
James Gardner Samuel West
Adam Gordon Eobert Wier.
William Hill
1 The class of 1787 had petitioned the corporation for a private Commence
ment, but their request was refused on the ground that it might serve as a pre
cedent, and remove a stimulus to study. " Another reason, which Mr. Willard
said, had weight, although the gentlemen did not choose to avow it publicly, was
their fear of offending the future Governor by depriving hira of that opportunity
to show himself in splendor and magnificence." Manuscript diary, AprU 11,
1787. See Josiah Quincy, Hist, of Harvard University, vol. ii. pp. 182-207, for the
very strained relations between Governor Hancock and the University.
2 John Trumbull, McFingal, Canto i. lines 63-67.

156 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
Jacob Kimbal's name is inserted in the Theses and Catalogue, but he
could not obtain his degree, beiug unable to pay his bills.
This morning BIr. Andrews called me at College before six o'clock,
and we soon departed together towards Braintree, where we arrived at
about nine. Mr. Andrews breakfasted with us, and then proceeded to
Hingham. My spirits were so much exalted yesterday that a contrary
effect seems this day to take place ; the bow string by being too much
distended cannot regain its usual position without an intermediate re
laxation. The weather was sultry, and I felt much fatigued.
18th. Upon the warmest day we have had this summer I was
obliged to go to Boston, upon a hard trotting horse with the sun
blazing in mj' face all the way. I do not know that I ever suffered
more from the heat. And when I got into Boston I was obliged to
bustle about almost all the day. I had to call three times at Mr.
Green's store before I could get the payment for a bill of exchange;
which, I think, is a very irregular manner for a merchant to transact
business. I got the money, however, in the afternoon. I diued at Mr.
Dawes's, he was not at home himself; but Mrs. Dawes is a charming
woman. She is handsome, but there is an amiable sweetness iu her
countenance and manners far more pleasing than the most perfect
beauty could be without it. W. Cranch accompanied me in all my
excursions. AVe went together on the top of Beacon hill, and greatly
enjoyed the fine prospect and the refreshing breeze. At about seven
o'clock the wind got round, and it grew quite cool. I mounted, and
rode about a quarter of an hour in the rain, after which I had a toler
able ride, and got home by nine o'clock. I had taken some letters
from the post-office, which were from my sister at New York.
19th. I was considerably fatigued by my jaunt of yesterday, but
made out, however, to read soraething in the course of the d.iy ; aud in
the slow progress which I have made since I came to Braintree I have
at length go.t through the volume of Dr. Priestley upon History and
Geueral Policy, which I take to be an excellent work. I shall take as
early an opportunity as possible to peruse it again.
20th. I tarried at home this forenoon, in order to write a letter to
my sister. In the afternoon I attended at meeting. Went up to Mr.
Cranch's after meeting, and pass'd an hour there. I took my leave of
them, and went home to prepare for returning to Newbury-Port. I
know not that I ever left Braintree with so much regret. I have past
my time most agreeably here these flve weeks, and have had almost all
my nearest connexions and dearest friends about me ; but otherwise,
alraost all the time has been lost to me, and I must return to those
pursuits which are to be the support of my future life. In the winter
I hope to spend some weeks here, and then I shall endeavour to join
the utile dulci.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 157
21st. This morning I left Braintree in company with my brother
Tom, who was going to Haverhill ; and in order to have company, so
great a part of the way, I determined to go there with him. We stopp'd
a short time at Cambridge, and I weut to Dr. Hand's to take a letter
from Miss Newhall, as I had promised her at Commencement. She
was gone out, but had left the letter. We dined in Wilmington, and
got to Haverhill between seven and eight o'clock. In Woburn, we
saw young Bartlett, who had thoughts some time since of opening an
office in Braintree, but got discouraged there and finally determined
upon Woburn, where, from the appearance of the place, I should doubt
somewhat of his succeeding very much ; but in the present state of the
profession, there can be but little choice of place for a young mau.
22d. I went to see Leonard White this forenoon. His father has
been unwell for some days past. His complaints are of a lethargic
nature, and his habit is such that such disorders must probably prove
in the end fatal to him. He now sleeps as much as half his time,
and is consequently half dead. I went to see Mrs. Bartlett, and saw
Mr. S. Blodget there ; his brother Caleb, and young Mr. Breck I met
with yesterday on the road from Boston, at the tavern, and they came
forward before us. I pass'd the afternoon at Mr. Thaxter's, and the
evening at Mr. Shaw's.
23d. I had alraost promised Mr. Thaxter to wait till the afternoon ;
but as there was an appearance of a probability that the weather would
be disagreeable, I thought it would be safest to come home before din
ner. My brother Tom rode with me about four miles to the ferry.
I got to my lodgings between twelve and one. I called at Dr. Kilham's
shop, and there received an invitation from Mr. Marquand to dine
with him. There was some company there; but persons with whom I
had no acquaintance. I called at the office in the afternoon, and re
turned to Mr. Marquand's to tea. In the evening, I went and deliv
ered to Miss Coats the letter which Miss Newhall left for her, and
came home quite early.
24th. I returned, and once more took my seat in the office, but
did little this forenoon. Thompson was unwell, and did • not attend.
I went with Putnam to club at Little's ; there were only three of us,
Thompson being indisposed, and Stacey out of town. I was this day
inform'd that Pickman has lain aside all thoughts of practising law,
and has already opened a store in Boston. The determination was
rather sudden ; for it is hut a fortnight since he was sworn into Court
at Salem, where he then intended to open an office immediately. But
he never was fond of the profession, and while he was studying with
us I suspected that he would never do much business as a lawyer.
25th. Mr. Andrews came to town last night, and called to see us
at the office this forenoon. They have engaged him to preach here at

158 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Mr. Carey's for six Sundays, and will probably employ him longer
still. I returned this day to Bacon's Pleas and Pleadings, which I
left when I went to Braintree, but could not proceed with great advan
tage, as I left my extract book in a small trunk which was to come
this day in the stage, but has somehow failed. I shall make some
alterations for the future in my plan of study. I shall not confine
myself so closely and exclusively to the law ; but shall devote some
part of the day to studies of a lighter and more entertaining
kind. 26th. I went to pay a visit to Mrs. Hooper, but disappointed her
by having no news from her son Jo, who is now with Mr. Townsend.
Took a long walk quite alone. We have a new boarder at my lodg
ings ; a Mr. Eomaiu, a Frenchman, who came a few days after I went
from here last. I have not seen him yet, as he went on a fishing party
the day that I came home, and is not yet returned.
27th. Mr. Andrews preached for us this day, and was somewhat
longer than usual, to the great satisfaction of some people who cannot
easily be contented. Mr. Spring and Mr. Murray both had a third meet
ing in the evening ; it was occasional at Mr. Murray's, but Mr. Spring
is determined henceforth to make a practice of giving a lecture on
Sundays, besides one in the evening on Thursdays. As Mr. Carey's
parish may now be considered as vacant, an opportunity presents to
attract some of those who belong there. The spiritual welfare of the
individuals may charitably be supposed the only motive which Mr.
Spring will acknowledge, eveu to himself, but says the Duke de la
Eochefoucault, (who was as fully convinced of the depravity of the
human heart as -Mr. Spring, and who was much better acquainted with
it), " L'esprit est toujours la dupe du coeur," — the head is ever the
dupe of the heart. And, when the passions assume the form of princi
ple, the disguise will be discovered by every body else sooner than by
the man who is directed by them. Mr. Spring's interest will be pro
moted should he make converts, for his parish is small and poor ; his
vanity will he flattered, by bringing people over to his opinion ; and
when in addition to this, his imagination fondly persuades him that
his cause is likewise the cause of God, it is not to be wondered that
he can reconcile himself to contradictions, and that his practice is
openly at variance with his theory, which condemns the use of means
for bringing sinners to repentance.
28th. I flnished reading Bacon's Pleas and Pleading ; but the sub
ject is so knotty that I must at some future period read this over once
or twice more. I began a third time upon Blackstone, a book which
a lawyer cannot possibly read too much. In the evening, I walk'd
into Newbury with Stacey. I have been engaged for some days upon
a matter which takes all my leisure time : it is in writing a piece for

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 159
the Sth of September. The Society at Cambridge * have ordered me
to speak on that day ; and I shall obey, if I can possibly attend.
29 th. After spending the day as usual, I walk'd with Stacey and
Putnam. After going some way into Newbury we return'd and walk'd
npon a sort of a terrass in High Street. We there saw a number of
young ladies who seemed to expect to be accosted ; and some of whom
finally sat down on the grass, perhaps to see if that would not call
our attention to them ; but we were really inexorable, notwithstanding
Miss Bradbury was there. Indeed it has been observed that Putnam
has of late wholly altered his conduct towards her ; and there have
been many speculations concerning the cause or the causes of this
difference. Some of these young ladies were so much piqued at our
apparent neglect of them that they revenged themselves with proper
spirit by laughing loud at us as we past by them ; and what pun
ishment could possibly be more severe than the ridicule of a young
lady? 30th. This afternoon Mr. Cutler called at our office, and per
suaded me to ride with him up to Mr. Brown's farm, where we found
a number of young ladies. The afternoon was tolerably insipid ; we
drank tea there, and afterwards escorted the ladies. I rode with Miss
Jones, and left her at Captain Fletcher's. I afterwards returned
there, but she was already gone. There was a very brilliant northern
light in the evening. Mr. Cutler is one of the most complaisant per
sons with whom I am acquainted. The ladies employ him upon almost
every occasion, and yet behave to him in such a manner as does not
express a sense of obligations received. They even slight and disre
gard him for performing those services by which he renders himself
useful to them. There are problems in the female character which
are not easily solved.
Slst. I amuse myself in reading Junius's letters, which, though
the factious productions of a partizan, contain many excellent observa
tions upon men and manners. We met this evening at Putnam's.
Thompson left us to go to lecture !
Friday, August 1st, 1788.
The day was spent in the usual uninteresting manner. Indeed it
may be generally observed that the more advantageously the day is
employed for myself, the less I have to say at the close of it. I
walk'd in the evening with Stacey, till after nine o'clock.
2d. Mr. Farnham proposed to me this morning to join a party
which was formed to go in the afternoon to the grove ; a romantic
spot where the young people are fond of visiting. I declined, how-
1 The Phi Beta Kappa Society.

160 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
ever, and they finally gave up the scheme, as they were informed the
proprietor of the land had some objections. I have heen this week
tolerably industrious.
3d. I heard Mr. Andrews preach. About as long as he was last
Sunday. I think he is gaining ground in the parish, and am in
hopes that he may be finally settled without much opposition ; which
would greatly disappoint some flaming zealots, who, like all zealots,
justify unworthy means by the sanctity of the end. I walk'd in the
beginning of the evening with Stacey, and afterwards called at Mrs.
Hooper's. Betsey gratified her temper by the most unlimited severity
upon a number of young ladies who usually associate together. There
appears by her conversation to be some peculiar enmity against them.
Her mother always reproves her, and always follows her example.
There appears a singular pleasure in observing the trifling and sUly
conduct of that circle ; and thus, throughout society, the follies of one
always contribute to the gratification of many others.
4th. Blackstone still furnishes me with employment for my fore
noon hours ; and I this day took up the fourth volume of Hume's
History, which I was reading when I last went from here. This
author's manifest partiality in favour of the Stuarts, his unceasing
labours to palliate their faults, and his blindness to their crimes, must
be overlook'd or forgiven in favor of the great entertainment which he
affords. I pass'd the evening with Thompson, at Mr. Carter's. The
conversation was not uncommonly interesting, though the old gentle
man is always agreeable to me. Betsey Smith of Boston was there,
and has been with them for several weeks.
Sth. This forenoon a Doctor Young came to our office, for a writ
against a number of insurgents. It seems he was a volunteer in the
service of government, the winter before last, and, being upon a party
against several of them, received a ball in his knee, which has made
him a cripple for life. He brought an action against them some time
since at Worcester. But his jury were one half of them insurgents,
who were for giving him no damages, and the other half thought he
should have a thousand or fifteen hundred pounds. They could not
agree, upon which he discontinued his action, and is now determined
to bring one forward in this county, where he hopes to find a more
impartial jury. The cause will, I doubt not, be very interesting, and
Mr. Parsons will exert himself. I walk'd in the evening with Stacey.
Gth. Putnam went last week to Danvers, and return'd this forenoon.
He brought me a letter which came from Townsend enclosing one
for Mrs. Hooper. Amory it seems has suddenly determined to open
an office in Salem, and has already put his determination into execu
tion. He had concluded to take a trip, either to Georgia or Carolina ;
hut upon being informed that Pickman had altered his scheme, he

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 161
thought it would be best to try his fortune first in this part of the
country. I went in the evening with Thompson up to Mrs. Atkins's.
I told them that Townsend was coming here next week. Becca said
she hoped he would make himself welcome by bringing Jo Hooper with
him. It was conjectured while Townsend lived in this town that he
had a partiality for this lady. He frequented the house very much ;
and there appears now a coolness in them bordering upon the resent
ment of disappointment. Mrs. Atkins s.aid that a man must generally
be a good judge of his own compositions, and ask'd me if I was of that
opinion. I was not, and endeavoured to avoid answering directly ; but
she would not suffer it ; and I was finally obliged to agree to the truth
of her observation ; protestando to myself that it was only from com
plaisance to a lady that I agreed, which will always excuse a little
self-denying, as Hudibras calls it.
7th. Thompson did not attend this day at the office. Phillips
called to see us this afternoon. He has been to Portsmouth, and is
now upon his return to Boston. He expects to read law in Mr.
Dawes's office. I walk'd into Newbury this evening with Stacey.
The evenings grow long to my great regret. At present I can employ
the evening from dusk till nine o'clock in walking ; and as I am not
over fond of visiting, this is the most agreeable, as well as to me the
most useful, method of spending my time. I am not upon familiar
terms in one house in town ; and upon the cold formality of cere
mony, with which all my visits must be accompanied, I confess I wish
not to be extensively acquainted.
Sth. We met this evening at my lodgings, as we have changed the
evening in order to accommodate Thompson, who wishes to attend Mr.
Spring's lectures. This young fellow, who is possessed of most violent
passions, which he with great difficulty can command, and of unbounded
ambition, which he conceals perhaps even to himself, has been seduced
into that bigoted, illiberal system of religion which, by professing vainly
to follow purely the dictates of the Bible, in reality contradicts the
whole doctrine of the New Testament, and destroys all the boundaries
between good and evil, between right and wrong. But, like all the fol
lowers of that sect, his practice is at open variance with his theory.
When I observe into what inconsistent absurdities those persons run
who make speculative, metaphysical religion a matter of importance,
I am fully determined never to puzzle myself in the mazes of religious
discussion, to content myself with practising the dictates of God and
reason so far as I can judge for myself, and resign myself into the
arms of a Being whose tender mercies are over all his works.
9th. Thompson went to see Miss Eoberts at Newtown. I cannot
read with so much satisfaction for some days past, as I usually do, as
my eyes are very troublesome. Walk'd in the evening, but quite alone. <
21

162 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
I finished a day or two since my performance for the Sth of next
month, and am now very closely engaged in a matter which has been
accumulatiug upon me these two months.
10th. Mr. Kimball supplied the place of Mr. Andrews this day.
I observed none of Capt" (Doombs's family were at meeting, and heard
in the afternoon that his daughter Polly had left this world, and I
trust for a better, this morning, after an illness of four or five months.
In the afternoon I went to Mr. Spring's meeting, and heard a Mr.
Story preach there, hammering away in the true stile upon predestina
tion and free-will. None but an atheist, he said, could doubt of the
former ; and no man that had common sense of the latter. He en
deavoured to soften his system as much as possible ; hoping thereby,
I suppose, that he might be employ'd in the other parish. I walk'd
with Stacey and Eomain, in the evening. We met Amory, who was
returning from Cape Ann, with Miss Fletcher. After he had carried
her home, he went at about nine in the evening with Stacey to Ipswich.
llth. Thompson watch'd last evening; in consequence of which
he felt not much disposed to study closely this day, and was but little
at the office. Walk'd in the eveuing with Putnam.
12th. I called in the afternoon, for about half an hour, at the office.
Attended Miss Coombs's funeral. It was very long. I walk'd with
Putnam. As we were returning we accosted Miss Jones and Miss
Fletcher, and waited on them home. After which we went to see
Townsend, who came in town this forenoon ; we past an hour or two
there, and afterwards walk'd till between nine and ten. Townsend's
cough still hangs upon him; and, although he fancies himself essen
tially better, his situation appears to me more dangerous than it did
four months ago. His spirits however are as brisk and lively as they
ever were ; and he talks as much as ever, which I believe is rather
injurious to him. My time flies from me with the rapidity of a whirl
wind, every hour is precious, and every moment unemployed becomes
a subject of regret. This afternoon has been lost to me, unless the
view of the object before me be turned to some profit ; though even
that, by showing more forcibly the brevity and uncertainty of life,
should rather condemn me for neglecting to improve every minute
to the best purposes.
13th. Mrs. Emery, who has been very ill these four or five weeks,
died last night, leaving to the wide world two orphan children,* who
three years ago had the fairest prospects of sharing a fortune of ten
1 Hannah Tracy Emery {supra, p. 45) and Eobert Emery. He entered Har
vard College, but loss ot property compeUed him to leave ; went to sea ; was a
ship-master at twenty ; lived in Newburyport, Salem and Boston ; died August 1,
1841. Eufus Emery, Genealogical Eecords of Descendants of John and Anthony
Emery, p. 406.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 163
thousand pounds sterling ; but who, in consequence of Mr. Tracy's
misfortunes, are now almost destitute of support. I walk'd in the
evening with Stacey and Little. Stacey left us. We met Putnam
walking with some young ladies. I joined them, and pass'd the
remainder of the evening at Mr. Frazier's. These young Misses have
assumed an importance rather above their years, and to the trifling
conduct and conversation of childhood unite the punctilious formality
of riper years. I receive not much satisfaction in their company, and
as they are handsome I had rather look at them for five minutes than
be with them five hours. Putnam is not so difficult to please ; he can
conform to their manners, and enter into all their debates. He is con
sequently a favourite.
14th. This was a day of humiliation and prayer at Mr. Carey's,
on account of his sickness, and to implore the assistance of Providence
in choosing a colleague to supply his place. Mr. Webster of Salisbury
preached in the forenoon, and performed very well. But Dr. Tucker
in the afternoon was very interesting and pathetic, in showing how
good and pleasant a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
I attended Mrs. Emery's funeral. Mr. Andrews made the prayer,
and performed even better than was expected. I passed part of the
evening with Townsend ; called at Mr. Tufts's to see Mrs. Shaw, but
she was gone out. Mr. Shaw called to see me in the morning. They
came in town last night.
15th. I called in at Mr. Tufts's to see Mrs. Shaw this morning. I
found old Mr. Carter there. Geneological as usual. I dined at his
house, with my friends from Haverhill. He asked me to return to tea ;
I excused myself. He said that tippling business would be going on,
every afternoon at six o'clock ; if I would call there I should be wel
come. I returned to the office, but felt so much dissipated that I could
not attend with much application. We met this evening at Stacey's
lodgings. Townsend went away just before sunset. Lincoln^ a class
mate of Thompson's, pass'd the evening with us. Though a young
preacher, he is not so rigid in his principles as many others are. In
the close of the evening we took a walk.
16th. Dined with Townsend, in company with Mr. Andrews and
Thompson. After dinner we took a ride ; went down to Mr. N.
Tracy's, but he was not at home. On the road we met the Governor,
who was coming into town. We went to Mrs. Atkins's. She was in
fine spirits and consequently very good company. We were, however,
obliged to come away early, as the weather was rather disagreeable.
I spent the evening at Mr. Hooper's. Mr. Cutler was there. We
stroll'd about, an hour or more, after we came away. The week has
* Eev. Henry Lincoln (H. C. 1786), bom November 8, 1765, in Hingham ; pastor
at Falmouth ; died May 28, 1857, in Nantucket. Hist, of Hingham, vol. u. p. 467.

164 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
disappeared in a very singular manner, some thing or other has taken
me from my studies every day ; and at the close of the week I regret
the time lost without being able to repair it. This is not the first
time that I have experienced this effect since I came into this town,
and I greatly fear it will not be the last.
17th. Mr. Andrews preach'd for us ; this forenoon he was lengthy
in his prayer upon the late misfortunes in the several families. In his
sermon he likewise touched upon the subject, in recommending to us
so to number our days that we might apply our hearts unto wisdom.
I past the evening with Townsend. There fell a considerable quantity
of rain in the course of the last night and of this day. And it will be
very useful, as the fruits of the ground were languishing for want of
moisture. 18th. This morning I perceived a deal of stirring in the streets,
and was finally informed that the Governor was reviewing the troops
of this town ; after which a number of officers and other gentlemen
escorted his excellency to Haverhill, where he intends to dine, and
then, I suppose, he means to show himself somewhere else. I passed
the day at the office, and the evening at home in writing. I in
tended to have taken my usual exercise ; but upon leaving the office
I found it was raining, and it continued all the evening. I amused
myself tolerably well at home. I have indeed had for some time past
almost as much business to do at my lodgings as at the office ; but I
hope to be gradually relieved.
19th. Several of the gentlemen who accompanied the Governor
yesterday to Haverhill went on to Salem with him, and did not return
till this evening. I was with Townsend.
20th. I was walking with Putnam in one of the streets in town
this evening, when we heard a strange noise in a house, and a number
of people standing round it. We went up to the window and heard
a man exhorting, as they call it, that is calling upon God in every tone
of voice, and repeating a number of texts of scripture incoherently
huddled together so as to make an unintelligible jumble of nonsense,
which they think is a proper method of seeking the Lord. —
21st. Upon Stacey's invitation I went with him and Putnam, and
two young lads by the name of Greenough, to Mr. Greenleafs, where
we had something like a concert of music. The house was soon filled
with people; it seemed as if there was nobody -within five miles that
had ever heard the sound of a violin before. Some of the young
ladies thought it would be pretty to join with their voices in the
music ; and the concert thenceforth became both vocal and instrumen
tal. I was fatigued by ten o'clock and could blow no more ; and find
ing that Stacey and Putnam had got so much engaged with a lovely
songstress, (or one that might be lovely) as shew no prospect of

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 165
an intention to quit, I came off, and left them at about eleven
o'clock. 22d. We assembled this evening at Thompson's. Mr. Greenleaf
called in and past an hour with us. He was apprehensive that we were
disgusted with the crowd last evening ; but we undeceived him. He
talk'd about the war ; for he was an officer in our army.
" And little of this great world can he speak
More than pertains to feats of broils and battle." i
Putnam has not yet got over his trick of leaving us to join the young
ladies ; but this evening he acknowledged he was going to Mr.
Frazier's. We likewise walk'd in the evening, and stroll'd about till
ten o'clock.
23d. Dined at Thompson's, with Mr. Andrews and Townsend. In
the afternoon I took a ride vrith Little to Haverhill. I endeavoured to
persuade him to go with me the week after next to Cambridge ; but
my labour was in vain. We had a very smart thunder shower while
we were on the road, but it was very soon over.
Here this journal very abruptly breaks off. I had long doubted
whether the utility attending the method which I have pursued were
adequate to the time I have devoted to it. But an indisposition which
for two months has prevented me from writing, has finally turned the
wavering scale. I will not however immediately drop all memorials
of my transactions ; but the remainder of this volume will probably
contain a space of time as long as that recorded already in more than
two vols, and an half.
Wednesday, September 3d. I went over the river with Stacey and
Eomain upon a shooting party. We had tolerable success. It was
very windy ; and with a heavy boat and only one oar we had some
difficulty to get across the river. Bridge arrived this day in town. I
proposed to him to go with me to-morrow ; and he has partly promised
to accept my proposal. I this evening informed Mrs. Leathers of my
intention to change my lodgings.
Thursday, September 4th. Left Newbury-Port this morning with
Bridge. We dined at Putnam's in Danvers, very indifferent enter
tainment. After mistaking our road and going to Winisimet ferry,
we finally got to Cambridge a little before nine o'clock. Lodg'd at
Bradish's. Friday, September Sth. The assembly at the anniversary of # B K
was more numerous than I have known it. There were near forty
members present, among whom were two from Dartmouth College.
Lincoln, who was to have been one of the speakers, obtained leave to
be excused on account of Ul health. The Governor, happening to he
1 Othello, Act i. Scene 3.

166 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
here with the admiral, and some other officers of the French squadron,
now in Boston harbour, honoured us with his presence, as did all the
college officers. I spoke the oration which is hereto annexed, after
which we retired to the butler's chamber : the French Consul,* who
had likewise attended, came there to compliment me, &c. After
doing what business was necessary, we all went down to Warland's
and dined together ¦ and the festive board crowned the enjoyments of
friendship. We separated early in the afternoon, and I went and paid a visit at
Dr. Waterhouse's, and at Mr. Williams's. I went to Boston, where
Bridge left me ; and I took up my brother Tom. We met my class
mate Tom Chandler,^ who just came from Halifax. We got to Braintree
between seven and eight o'clock, where I found Mr. Parsons, who
pass'd the evening with us, but lodg'd at Mr. Woodward's.
Sunday, September 7th, 1788. The Marquis de Sainneville, com
mander of the French Squadron now in the harbour, and the Chevalier
Maccarty de Martegues, captain of the Achill e, dined here to-day.
Several other officers were detained by the badness of the weather.
Wednesday, September 10th. The Governor, with the captains of
the French vessells, the French Consul and some other gentlemen, dined
with us.
Friday, September 12th. I left Braintree to return to Newbury-
Port. Found Bridge in Boston. Dined at Mr. Smith's. We left
Boston at about five o'clock, and rode ten mUes to Newhall's tavern,
where we lodge.
Saturday, September 12th. Breakfasted in Salem ; saw Amory
1 Le Sieur de L'Etombe was consul for Massachusetts in 1788. July 13, 1798,
his exequatur, as Consul General resident in Philadelphia, was revoked by Presi
dent Adams for infringements ofthe neutrality of the United States. See John
Adams, Works, vol. viii. p. 615; vol. ix. pp. 6, 14, 170; Wells, Life and Public
Services of Sarauel Adams, vol. iii. p. 141.
2 " Thomas Chandler ot Worcester was nineteen the llth of last January. His
father was formerly one of the most opulent individuals in N. England ; but in
consequence of his siding with the British in the late war, a large part of it was
confiscated ; he had fifteen or sixteen children, so that Tom has not the prospect
ot a very great estate. His disposition is good ; he is extremely irascible, but
He carries anger, as the flint bears fire ;
a trifle will throw him oflf his guard, but a moment's recollection, reforms him.
In the space of five minutes I have seen him calm, raging, violent and repenting;
excepting at such tiraes his temper is easy and contented ; his happiness, however,
proceeds chiefiy trom want of thought and reflection. In short, he appears to be
influenced so entirely by his passions that I should think him rather an instru
ment of action than a moral agent." Manuscript diary of J. Q. Adams, March
14, 1787. Cliandler was a "merchant" in Worcester, and died there in May,
1804. W. Lincoln, Hist, of Worcester (1862), p. 225.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 167
and Learned. Dined at Ipswich. We got to Newbury-Port at about
five. We lodge this night at Mrs. Hooper's.
Sunday, September 13th. I did not sleep a wink the whole night. !
My nerves are in a very disagreeable state of irritation. I attended
meeting all day at Dr. Tucker's, with Bridge. I called in the eveninf
at Mr. N. Carter's and at Mr. Tufts's, to deliver letters. At Mr.
Tufts's I saw Mr. Shaw, who I find preached for Mr. Andrews this
day. I retired early, and went to bed, but could get no sleep. After
laymg about three hours, I got up and went over to Dr. Swett, and
requested him to supply me with an opiate, which he did ; it gradually
composed my nerves, and gave me a few hours of sleep.
Saturday, September 20th. I have had three or four sleepless nights i
this week, and for the little rest I have enjoyed I have been indebted
to soporific draughts. I dined this day with Mr. Parsons, with Bridge
and with Foster,* who took his station in the office on Thursday. This
afternoon I mounted a horse and went to Haverhill, where I am deter
mined to spend a few days, and see if I cannot recruit my health. I
found H. Lincoln here.
Wednesday, September 24th. Lincoln went yesterday for Hing
ham ; I went with Mr. and Mrs. Shaw to Andover. There was a
large company at Mr. Symmes's ; ^ and after dinner we had a lecture,
the sermon was intolerably long. Singing remarkably good. We
got back to Haverhill just after sunset. My brother Charles with
Daniel Eussell arrived here this evening. Charles obtained leave to
come and see me. Mr. Thaxter and his lady pass'd part of the even
ing here.
Saturday, September 27th. Another tedious, sleepless night. \
Charles and Eussell returned to Cambridge. I dined at Mr. White's,
and in the afternoon got a little sleep which greatly refreshed my
drooping spirits. Mr. French was here in the evening.
Tuesday, September 30th. The weather was not very favourable ;
but, as the Court of Common Pleas was to sit this week in Newbury-
Port, I concluded to return there. When I got home I found Bridge
unwell. Nothing done at Court but preparatory business this day. I
retired early to bed.
Wednesday, October 1st, 1788. " O gentle sleep.
Nature's soft Nurse, how have I frighted thee
That thou no more wilt weigh mine eye lids down
And steep my senses in forgetfulness." *
* Bossenger Foster, classmate ot J. Q. Adaras ; see supra, p. 53.
2 Eev. William Symmes, D.D. (H. C. 1750), pastor at North Andover, 1758-
1807. Hurd, Hist, of Essex County, pp. 1666, 1667. See supra, p. 38.
^ II. Henry IV., Act iii. Scene 1.

168 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
In the present situation of my health I cannot possibly attend at all
to study, and this circumstance with some others has determined me to
spend some weeks, perhaps some months, at Braintree. I spoke for a
place in the stage which goes to Boston to-morrow. No business of
consequence done at Court this day. Pass'd part of the eveniug at
Mr. Jackson's.
Thursday, October 2d. I took my seat in the stage, in company with
a lady who came from Portsmouth, and Mr. Vaughan, the brother of
the gentlemen with whom I was acquainted in London.* It was seven
in the evening before we got to Boston. I went to Mr. Smith's ; we
pass'd part of the evening, and lodged at Dr. Welch's. Lodg'd at
Mr. Smith's.
Friday, October 3d. W. Cranch came into Boston with my father,
who, coming upon business which will detain him in town this night,
gave me an opportunity to get to Braintree. I came home in company
with my cousin.
Tuesday, October 7th. Mr. Murray,^ the preacher who came from
England with my father, came this day to pay him a visit, with Ms
lady whom he has lately married. He appears to be a man of an
easy temper and an ingenious mind, though not highly improved by
learning. His wife is agreeable ; though she appears a little tinctured
with what the French call le precieux.
Tuesday, October 14th. My occupations have been very regular,
and similar for a week past. Last Thursday night I again experienced
a total want of sleep. By the help, however, of medecine and of con
stant exercice I think I am in a way to recover.
[This portion of the diary here ends abruptly. The last three words
of it began a sentence never completed, — " This evening my — ."
The next page is blank. The three closing entries, those of October
Sd, 7th, and 14th, were made at Braintree. Mr. Adams remained there
from October 3d to December 8th, riding, tramping the fields and
marshes gun in hand, and reading Gibbon's " Decline and Fall," the
"Institutes of Justinian," and Foster's "Crown Law." He continued
to suffer from insomnia, and the consequent depression of spirits found
no alleviation from attendance on church services conducted by Parson
Wibird, who, he emphatically declared, " has no feeling." From the
ministrations of the Eev. Oliver Everett, of Dorchester, father of
^ In October, 1783, J. Q. Adams visited London with his father; and, in tbe
following summer, when his mother and sister crossed the Atlantic to join John
Adams, recently appointed Minister to France, he spent a month in London
awaiting their arrival. Letters of Mrs. Adams, (1848) pp. 173, 185, 186; J.
Adams, Works, vol. iii. pp. 385-387.
2 Doubtless Eev. John Murray, the Universalist preacher ; pastor at Glouces
ter, Mass. See Appleton, Cyclopsedia of Araerican Biography; Babson, Hist.
ot Gloucester, pp. 429^39.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 169
Edward Everett, who occasionally exchanged pulpits with Mr. Wibird,
he derived more satisfaction. In November John Adams and his wife
left Braintree to go to New York, temporarily the seat of the new
Federal Government, in which Mr. Adaras had been chosen to the
office of Vice-President. On the 8th of December J. Q. Adaras re
turned to Newburyport, resuming his studies in the office of Mr.
Parsons. His diary was now reduced to daily memoranda of a single
liue each, and so continued until the following September (1789). The
winter of 1788-1789 was passed partly at Newburyport and partly at
Braintree, reading, riding, skating, and "hunting for partridges and
quails," with occasional social entertainments. Among the law books
now read, he noted Barrington's " Observations on the Statutes " and
Buller's "Nisi Prius." He became also intimate with the family of
Mr. Moses Frazier, of Newburyport, one of whose daughters, Mary,
especially attracted him. Eumors of a marriage engagement were in
circulation ; and, years afterwards, there appeared in a Newburyport
paper a highly colored account of the incident, in which Mr. Adams,
then ex-President and a man of seventy, was made to declare " that in
all which constitutes genuine beauty, loveliness, personal accomplish
ments, intellectual endowments and perfect purity of life and heart.
Miss Mary Frazier excelled " anything he had ever known of " the most
attractive and recognized beautiful among the female sex in Europe
and America." And he declared that he "loved her then," and loved
" her memory " still.* The writer of this over-colored and extremely
apocryphal narrative then went on to add that J. Q. Adams acknowl
edged to him an engagement with Miss Frazier, but on the understand
ing " that should either see cause to change their mind they were left
free to do so. The direct cause of the breaking off of the engagement
[was] because of the very proper interference and advice of Miss
Frazier's family and friends. They charged that Mr. Adams was quite
young [twenty-two], without a profession, and with no very good pros
pects as to the future," etc. And, Mr. Adams is alleged to have
added, " In this advice they were about right, for I then certainly had
no very flattering prospects, near or remote." The writer then asserted
that the tradition in Newburyport was that Miss Frazier remained
unmarried until after the news reached her of the marriage of Mr.
Adams, in London, in 1797, seven years later. Concerning this epi
sode, Mr. Adams at the time wrote to his mother : " But upon one
subject, on which from a passage in your letter I am led to suppose you
aro under some apprehensions ou my account, I think I can safely assure
you they may be quieted. You may rest assured, my dear Madam, that
I am as resolutely determined never to connect a woman to desperate
1 EecoUections of Newburyport by Jaraes Morss, "Newburyport Herald,''
June 30, 1864. 22

170 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
fortunes, as I am never to be indebted to a woman for wealth. The
same spirit, I presurae, will operate equally to prevent either of these
cases, and you shall never be requested for your consent to a connec
tion of mine, until I am able to support that connection with honor and
independence." On the 9th of August, 1789, his friend and fellow
studeut, William Amory, was married to Lucy Fletcher. Meanwhile
his own health seems to have been in great degree restored, for he
notes numerous meetings of the "club" in which he participated,
sociable evenings, " noisy walks " and serenades " till three in the
morning." One day they indulge in "an after dinner dance, company
small but agreeable " ; and, the next, he sees " the ladies' scheme for
a sail fall through." Altogether, the student life at Newburyport
seems not to have been devoid of attractions. Finally, after one
of many evenings passed at Mr, Frazier's, the more detailed diary
reopens.] Newbury-Port, Sunday, September 6th, 1789.
Twelve months have nearly elapsed since I discontinued this journal
altogether. Several months of ill health detained me at Braintree, and
wholly disqualified me for the use of the pen ; after attending the
session of the Supreme Judicial Court at Boston in February, I
return'd to this town on the 26th day of March, since which my
health has been gradually restored, and is now almost as good as it
was previous to my sickness. The events which have occurred since
1 have omitted to record them have not been sufficiently interesting to
induce me to regret the loss ; but as those which are now immediately
before me may be more important, I shall, for a few weeks at least,
resume the practice, which sickness at first, and indolence afterwards,
led me to disuse.
7th. I have for several months past intended to pay a visit to my
friends at New York ; and several circumstances concur to render this
period the most eligible for that purpose. I left Newbury-Port this
morning in company with Mr. Atkins, Parson Andrews, and Tom
Hooper who are going to Cambridge to attend the anniversary of the
4> B K which was deferr'd from the Sth inst' till to-morrow. My
intention was to have gone from Boston in the stage, which is to pro
ceed on Wednesday for New York ; but on my arrival in town I found
the places were all taken up. I then concluded the most expeditious
method would be to go from hence to Providence by land, and there
take a passage for New York in one of the packets. I found the stage
to Providence will go to-morrow morning at four o'clock. Being desti
tute of cash, I obtained of my friend J. Phillips the loan of a sum suffi
cient for my journey, for which I drew an order upon Dr. Tufts. I
pass'd the evening very agreeably with W. Cranch at Mr. Dawes's,

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 171
and between eleven and twelve came to Hatch's tavern, from whence
the stage takes its departure.*
8th. It was six this morning before the stage started. I had two
companions ; one a Mr. Wright from North Carolina ; the other a
young man from Connecticut by the name of Lanman.^ We were
tolerably sociable. Lanman sung a number of songs of his own accord,
aud sung very well. But, upon being requested by Mr. Wright to
continue, he altogether denied that he could sing at all. We break
fasted at Dedham, dined at Attleborough, and arrived at Providence at
about six in the evening. We stopped at Daggett's tavern. I walk'd
round the town in the evening with Landman. He is young and
communicative. 9th. I walked out with Lanman this morning, and went to the
College, which consists only of one building,' nearly as long as two of
the halls at Cambridge. This being a time of vacation the tutors were
absent from the College, so that we had not an opportunity of seeing
the hbrary ; which, however, is very small. The chambers are not, I
think, so well arranged, they are certainly not so decent, as those at
Cambridge. Mr. John Brown's house * is likewise a very conspicuous
building. We only saw the outside of it, which is the most magnificent
and elegant private mansion that I have ever seen on this continent.
The Baptist church ^ in this town is said to be the handsomest house of
public worship in America, and there are a large number of very good
private houses. The streets appear to be busy, and every thing exhibits
evidence that this is a flourishing and thriving town. But the people
appear much aggrieved by the proceedings of their government,^ who
1 Israel Hatch then kept tbe White Horse Tavern, Newbury Street, as a part
of Washington Street was called. It stood a short distance south of the present
Adams House. See Drake's Old Landmarks of Boston, pp. 392, 393.
2 Perhaps James Lanman (Yale College, 1788), of Norwich, Conn., then
(1789) twenty years old. He held afterwards numerous iraportant oflSces ; was
United States Senator 1819-1825 ; a supporter of Crawford for the Presidency ;
a Judge in the Superior Court ot Connecticut 1826-1829; raayor of Norwich
1831-1834 ; died August 7, 1841. Lanraan, Biographical Annals ; J. Q. Adams,
Memoirs, etc.
3 " University Hall " at Brown ; then under the presidency of James
Manning. * The proprietor was a prominent and patriotic merchant, who planned and
promoted the attack on the British ship " Gaspee " in 1772.
The house passed by inheritance to the Herrisoffs, and then was purchased
by Mrs. Elizabeth GamraeU. It was lately acquired by Mr. Marsden J. Perry,
and is being amply renovated, but the original style is carefully preserved.
6 A fine church, built in 1775, from the designs of James Gibbs, an English
architect, who worked in the style ot Wren. The University holds its exercises
for Commencement there.
' There was much dispute concerning the adoption of the Constitution of the
United States. In the preceding year there had been party rancor and some
violence. See Arnold, History of Ehode Island, vol. ii. pp. 541, 547.

172 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
for several years past have given the sanction of law to every species
of iniquity. Their Supreme Judicial Court are now in session at
Providence. I went into Court twice this forenoon ; they were doing
nothing, and the appearance of the Judges was a perfect burlesque
upon justice. At about twelve o'clock we went on board the packet
Leopard, having for fellow travellers, besides the two gentlemen with
whom I came from Boston, a Mr. Goldthwait, a merchant of Newport,
whom I formerly saw at the Hague, and a number of women who
appear habituated to move in humble stations of life. There was a man
with them, who entertained us very highly with singing. He had an
inexhaustible fund of songs ; but, in the whole collection, there was not
one that I ever heard sung before ; nor one that was tolerably good.
Vulgarity and nonsense were completely united in every one of them.
The distance between Providence and Newport is about thirty miles.
The usual passage is from five to six hours, but we sailed in a calm,
and, after being carried down by the tide and the trifling breezes which
arose about half the way, we were obliged to come to anchor in order
to avoid drifting backward by means of the tide, which had turned
against us. We continued at anchor from seven in the evening to one
in the morning ; and then again took advantage of the tide, and of a
small favourable breeze which came up. The cabin was small ; the
accommodations not sufficient for the number of passengers ; and the
beds very indifferent. From a mixture therefore of choice and neces
sity, I walk'd on deck a great part of the night, and had not slept an
hour, when, at six in the morning, we arrived at Newport.
10th. We put up at Townsend's tavern, being near the wharf from
whence the New York packets sail. I engaged my passage on board
the Rambler packet, Captain Peterson, who intends to saU to-morrow.
I paid a visit to Mr. W. Ellery,^ but Almy was not at home. I endeav
oured to sleep, but found it impossible. Lanman had letters for
Mr. Marchant's family; ^ and, soon after dinner called at Townsend's
with young Marchant, who gave me an invitation to drink tea with
him, and I accordingly went. There was some company. Mr. Mar-
chant himself is gone upon a deputation to New York. His lady was
very civU. His two daughters perform very well upon the spiunet,
and accompany their performance with very good singing. I spent
1 WUliam Ellery, father of Mrs. Francis Dana of Cambridge, a signer of the
Declaration of Independence and one of the most influential raembers of the
Congress of the Confederation. Almy Ellery, his daughter, married Hon. Williara
Stedman ; see supra, p. 14. G. C. Channing, Early EecoUections of Newport, E. I.,
pp. 207-216 ; W. E. Staples, Ehode Island in the Continental Congress, etc.
2 Presumably Henry Marchant, a delegate from Newport to the Congress of
the Confederation ; very active in securing the adoption of the Constitution of
the United States ; appointed by President Washington District Judge. W. E.
Staples, Ehode Island in the Continental Congress, etc.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 173
the afternoon and evening very agreeably, but retired early, being
much fatigued after a sleepless night and an active day.
llth. The wind is pleased to postpone our departure at least for
one day more. Landman sailed at noon in a small boat for New-Lon
don, but returned before night ; not being able to proceed further than
a point about fifteen miles from this. A packet arrived from New York
this day after a passage of twenty-four hours. I was standing upon the
wharf when she arrived, and was surprised to see W. Amory * step
from her. He only stopped to dine, and intends going on as expedi
tiously as he can to Boston. I took the opportunity to write a letter
to Bridge. I pass'd the afternoon at Mr. Marchant's, where I saw a
daughter of President Stiles, a lady of great vivacity, entertaining
conversation, and agreeable manners, but no beauty. Mr. Goldthwait
called upon us, and invited us to take tea with him ; he has two daugh
ters, who have no particular attractions of that kind which inspires
admiration at first sight. We likewise found there a Mr. Meyer, whom
I once saw in Boston about six weeks ago. He is a Philadelphian,
but is settled in the commercial line at Cape FrauQois. There is a
softness in his character, which proceeds perhaps from an affectation of
great sensibility. He is apparently very fond of poetry, and is well
acquainted with the Enghsh poets. His quotations from Milton,
1 The foUowing is from the diary of J. Q. Adams kept while representing the
United States at the Hague between 1794 and 1797. The W. Amory of 1795
cannot be identified positively with the bearer of the same name of six years
previous : —
July 14, 1795. "... In the afternoon W. Amory caUed on me ; said he was a
prisoner of war to the French army, and was desirous if possible to be liberated ;
that he had been sick in the hospital near Eotterdara, these ten raonths, and
being now upon the recovery, and having an opportunity to go horae, he was
very anxious to obtain a discharge. I wrote immediately to the Eepresentative
Eichard a card, requesting to know when I could speak with hira this day.
Towards evening his Secretary Brule called and told me that Eichard would be
at home the remainder of the day, and would see me at the hour raost con
venient to myself. 1 went immediately afterwards, and stated to the Eepresent
ative the circumstances of Amory's story as he had told them to me, told him
that I knew him personally to be an American, and was much acquainted with
his family, which is highly respectable. He said that the discharge should be
granted withont the least difficulty, that it would be given with much pleasure
as a compliance with the request of the minister from a friend and ally of
France, aud it I would send the person to him in the morning with a Une men
tioning his name, and that be is the person concerning whom I had now spoken,
he would immediately give the order necessary for his discharge.
" 15. Amory called here again early this moming ; I gave him the letter for
the Eepresentative Eichard, and about an hour afterwards he returned, with an
order from him for the discharge with permission to return to America. I then
observed to Amory, that it was I supposed raeant simply as authorizing him to
go home, and it was perhaps expected that he should not go to England. He
said he certainly should not, and his only wish was to return to his own country."

174 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
Shakespeare and Shenstone are perhaps too frequent ; and he intro
duced them in a company where no person, except Lanman and my
self, appeared to have any taste for this kind of literature. His own
knowledge of the belles lettres does not appear to extend beyond the
English language.
12th. We are still detained by a contrary wind, in a state of expec
tation and suspense. I went again to Mr. Ellery's, but was again
unfortunate, as neither his son nor daughter was at home. I pass'd
the afternoon and part of the evening with Lanman, at Mr. Marchant's.
A little circumstance took place which gave great offense to Lanman.
He was indeed in a greater passion than I should have thought
necessary. 13th. The winds are still unfavourable; and I have passed another
dull, tedious day here. In the hopes that by some alteration in the
course of the day we should be enabled to sail, I did not attend pub
lic worship, but remained at my lodgings, and having found a volume
of Shakespeare I amused myself as well as I could with it. I took
tea at Mr. Goldthwait's, where I again found Mr. Meyer. I went with
him to hear a number of young ladies sing. We there saw Miss
Ellery, much celebrated for beauty ; but I have seen much handsomer
women. Landman went this morning from hence to Norwich on
horseback. 1 4th. After a detention of four days the winds at length have be
come favourable ; and at about seven o'clock this morning we sailed
from the wharf. The city of Newport appears to advantage from this
river ; but in itself it exhibits a melancholy picture of declining com
merce and population. Previous to the late war it contained about
10,000 inhabitants ; they are now reduced to 7,000. Its former pros
perity was chiefly owing to its extensive employment in the African
slave trade, of which some remnants still continue to support it. The
town is large, but many of the houses, and the most elegant of them, are
altogether out of repair, and for want of painting make a dismal appear
ance ; the streets are dull, and the wharves appear more frequented
by idlers than by men of business. We had fine weather, but little
wind ; and it was one o'clock afternoon before we reached Point Judith,
distant about thirty miles from Newport. The wind freshened, how
ever, in the afternoon, and at midnight, when I retired to bed, we had
proceeded more than half the way on our passage. My fellow passen
gers are Mrs. Wilkins and Miss Winslow, two daughters of Parson
Winslow,* who formerly lived at Braintree. Doctor Oliphant, an old
1 Eev. Edward Winslow (H. C. 1741), rector ot Christ Church in Braintree
1764-1777 ; corapelled to leave the town because he continued to pray for the
king according to the promise in his ordination oath ; died in New York in 1780,
and is buried beneath the altar in St. George's Chapel. C. F. Adams, Three
Episodes of Massachusetts History, pp. 631-633, 852-854.

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 175
gentleman who lives at Newport. He has been married, and had two
children since he was seventy years old. Mr. Flagg, a gentleman of
fortune from South Carolina ; he has with him the most elegant phae
ton I ever saw. Mr. Wright, with whom I came frora Boston to New
port, and whom I have already mentioned. Mr. Stewart, originally
from Maryland, but now an attorney at Hallifax. Captain Dunbar,
an half-pay British officer, also an American by birth, now residing at
Quebec. Mr. Curre,^ from Pennsylvania, but a British officer during
the war, and now an attorney in the province of New Brunswick.
Mr. Crook, a young gentleman who practices law at Newport, and
Doctor Berry (I believe it is) a German, who is now settled at New
York. Our packet seems to have two commanders, Captain Peterson
and Captain Shaw, they alternately take the lead, and in concert direct
the vessel.
15th. Our wind forsook us at about one o'clock this morning, and
this day has been extremely tedious. There was so little wind all day
that we scarcely got forward thirty miles from the time we lost our
wind till six this evening, when it again breez'd up ; and before ten
o'clock it blew so violently, and we were in a spot where the sound
was so narrow, that we were obliged to come to anchor in the first
harbour we could reach. It was very dark ; the clouds looked black
and squally. We had just done supper, when the German Doctor
came down into the cabin very much terrified, and, without any dis
cretion, talk'd in such a manner as was most likely to alarm the ladies.
Curre immediately called for more brandy, and concluded that the best
way to show his own courage was to be extremely profane. He rallied
the poor Doctor unmercifully, and mixed with his sarcasms a shocking
degree of impiety, which he hinted to us was to give courage to the
ladies ; at the same time he continued adding to the stock of his arti
ficial bravery until he could no longer maintain the balance of his feet,
nor the free use of his tongue. After exhausting all his sacrilegious
wit, merely out of tenderness for the ladies, he finally staggered off
to bed.
16th. The wind was high all night, but at dawn of day we got
again under way. As the morning advanced the wind abated, and we
moderately sailed on till we pass'd the rocks at Hell-Gate, just at nine
o'clock. The tide had just turned in our favour, so that we lost noth
ino- by anchoring last night, for no vessel pretends to pass this danger
ous place against the tide nor in the night. As we came through just
at high tide we saw nothing peculiar, except an irregularity in the
running of the water ; but at low tide, we were informed there are
1 Eoss Curry, a lieutenant in the Pennsylvania Loyalists, and adjutant of the
corps ; received half-pay after the war, and lived and died m New Brunswick.
Sabine, American LoyaUsts, vol. i. p. 358,

176 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
several eddies and whirlpools which have a formidable appearance.
There have been many instances of vessels overset at this, .place, and
others of their being whirl'd round by the violence of the eddy. The
name itself of the place is sufficiently indicative of the dangers which
sailors have apprehended from it. From this place to the city of New
York, the distance is about eight miles ; on one side of the river there
are a number of islands pleasantly situated, and on the other a num
ber of beautiful country seats, which have a charming prospect upon
the river, and afford one no less agreeable to the traveller upon it.
I landed at about ten o'clock, and immediately walked out to my
father's house ; * with some difficulty I found it, and feeling very much
fatigued, having slept but very little since I left Newport, I went to
bed. I could not however get any sleep. The President and his
family dined here; but I felt quite unfit for company, and therefore
dined alone. Col' Smith and my brother went to the play ; I retired
very early to bed.
17th. A Captain McPherson, of Philadelphia, breakfasted here this
morning. A man of good natural parts ; but at present a little dis
ordered in the intellect. He is now employed in publishing his Ufe
and works, and the first volume is soon to appear ; he had with him
this morning one of the first proof sheets, which he shew us. He there
professes to be an unlettered philosopher and acknowledges that al-
1 The house in question was on Eichmond Hill, so called, lying between
Greenwich Village and the city, being about a mile and a halt from Trinity
Church and the government buildings on Wall Street. The Houston Street
station of the Ninth Avenue Elevated Eailway now stands within tour blocks of
its site. It was built about 1770 by Abraham Mortier, paymaster-general of
the royal army, and later was occupied by Aaron Burr at the time ot his duel
with Hamilton. Letters of Mrs. Abigail Adaras, (1848) pp. 343, 344; Memorial
History ot New York, vol. ii. p. 464, vol. iii. p. 58; T. E. V. Smith, New York
City in 1789.
Mrs. John Adams gives the following description of Richmond HiU in a letter
to her sister, Mrs. Shaw, dated September 27, 1789 : —
" The house in which we reside is situated upon a hill, the avenue to which is
interspersed with forest trees, nnder which a shrubbery rather too luxuriant and
wild has taken shelter, owing to its having been deprived by death, sorae years
since, of its original proprietor who kept it in perfect order. In front ot the
house, the noble Hudson rolls his majestic waves, bearing upou his bosom innu
merable small vessels, which are constantly forwarding the rich products ot the
neighbouring soil to the busy hand ot a more extensive commerce. Beyond the
Hudson rises to our view the fertile country of the Jerseys, covered with a golden
harvest, and pouring forth plenty like the cornucopias of Ceres. On the right
hand, an extensive plain presents us with a view of fields covered with ver
dure and pastures full of cattle. On the lett, the city opens upon us, intercepted
only by clumps ot trees and sorae rising ground, which serves to heighten the
beauty of the scene by appearing to conceal a part. In the back ground, is a
large flower-garden, enclosed with a hedge and some very handsome trees. On
one side ot it, a grove of pines and oaks fit for contemplation."

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 177
though he has written upon every science excepting Law, yet he was
never regularly taught any one. He seems indeed to be ignorant of
all the rules which have been form'd for the improvement of the
sciences ; among his productions are four plays, which he highly
values. 'One of them, entitled The artful mother ganders, or the real
humours of a rookery, he describes as the deepest tragedy that ever
was written. He is indeed in his own opinion an universal genius,
and has made many improvements and discoveries in diverse arts and
sciences. I attended this morning in the gallery of the House of
Eepresentatives, to hear the debates. They were upon the judiciary
bill. Mr. Gerry, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Burke, Mr. Stone, Mr. Lee,
Mr. Maddison and Mr. Benson all took a part in this debate. But I
confess I did not perceive any extraordinary powers of oratory dis
played by any of these gentlemen. The subject had been already so
much discussed that little could be said of further importance. The
eloquence had all been exhausted, but the spirit of contention still
remained. 18th. I attended again this day in the galleries of the House. The
principal debate was upon the salaries of the Judges. The subject was
not very interesting ; but, like almost every other subject, exhibited
the difficulty of adjusting the opposing sentiments which direct the
conduct of men living in different climates and used to very different
modes of living. Mr. Dohhyn, an Irish gentleman who arrived in
the last English packet, dined with us this day. In consequence of
unmerited misfortunes he was obliged to sell a patrimonial estate
which had been six hundred years in the family ; and he determined
to bring the remainder, amounting to about £6000 sterling, and settle
in some part of America. Mr. T. Morris, a son of the Senator from
Pennsylvania,* likewise dined with us ; he is studying law in this city.
Mr. Adams remained in New York throughout the month of
September, attending the sessions of Congress and the recep
tions of the President and going to the theatre. On the Sth
of October he started for Boston, leaving New York for New
port at 5 p. M. He reached Newport the next day, the 6th, at
three o'clock in the afternoon. It took him the whole of the
next day to go from there to Providence. Thence he took
the stage to Boston, arriving at dusk on the evening of the
8th. He then returned to Newburyport. The following let
ter to his mother was written two months later; it appears
1 The celebrated Eobert Morris, known as "the Financier of the Eevolu
tion." His son Thomas, here mentioned, was subsequently a meraber ot the
New York bar, and at one time United States Marshal for the southern district
of the State of New York. 23

178 DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
to have been the first communication from him after he left
New York : — Newburt-Poet, December 5th, 1789.
. . . Two and twenty hours after I left you at Eichmond-Hill, I
landed at Newport, and the Thursday following arrived in Boston. I
pass'd two or three days at Braintree ; quite sick of what I then thought
only a severe cold. I have since been induced to suppose it was the in
fluenza. This disorder has since then been almost universal in this
State; and I have been upbraided for singularity in enjoying good
health while all the world were more or less diseased. It has not
however been fatal in any instance that has come to my knowledge in
this neighbourhood. When I say I have enjoyed good health, it must
be understood, as they say, with a grain of salt. The ancient quarrel
between the powers of drowsiness and me has threatened to break out
again; and a few nervous twitches have hinted to me the propriety of
suffering no intermission in the article of exercise. I have scarcely
been out of Newbury-Port since my return from New-York; but I
intend next week to spend a day or two at Haverhill.
I was not one of the choir who welcomed the President to New
England's shore, upon his arrival here by land. I was, however, in
the procession, which was formed here to receive him, in humble
imitation of the capital. And, when he left us, I was one of the
respectable citizens (as our newspapers term them) who escorted him
on horseback to the lines of New-Hampshire.
You, my dear madam, have abundant reason to know that your eldest
son is not by any means destitute of that bubbling passion called
Vanity ; and therefore you will excuse him, and allow a little parental
indulgence, when he informs you of the petty honours which accrued
to him in consequence of this same visit of the President; and you
will make all the necessary allowances if he states facts, which are
really true, in such a manner as shall exhibit him in the most advan
tageous light — and thus I begin.
I had the honour of paying my respects to the President upon his
arrival in this town, and he did me the honour to recollect that he had
seen me a short time before at New York. I had the honour of spend
ing part of the evening in his presence at Mr. Jackson's. I had the
honour of breakfasting in the same room with him the next morning
at Mr. Dalton's. I had the honour of writing the billet which the
major general of the county sent him to inform him of the military
arrangements he had made for his reception. And I had the honour
of draughting an address which, with many alterations and additions
(commonly called amendments), was presented to him by the town of
Newbury-Port. So you see
" I bear my blushing honours thick upon me.''

DIAEY OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 179
But as half the truth is oftentimes a great falsehood I am con
strained to account for these distinctions in a manner which I must
honestly confess defalcates considerably from the quantum of my
importance. To the peculiar civility of Mr. Jackson and Mr. Dalton,
I am indebted for having been thus admitted into the company of the
President. One of the major general's aid de camps is my fellow stu
deut; he was then much hurried with other business relating to the
same occasion, and, at his request, I wrote the billet. Mr. Parsons
was chosen by the town to draught the address; and his indolence
was accomodated in shifting a part of the burthen upon his clerk, so
that all my dignities have not been sufficient to elevate me above the
insignificant station of a school-boy ; in which character I still remain,
your dutiful son.* But to turn from trifling to a subject to me very
serious, I must observe that my own reflections upon the subject of the
place of my future residence are daily becoming more and more per
plexing. You well know the objections which I have against Braintree,
and I may safely appeal to your judgment for their validity. My
father's determined predilection is the only circumstance that could
give that place any claim to fixing me, under the present relative
situation of my cousin Cranch and me. Boston is strongly recom
mended to me by several of my friends, whose opinions in favour
of the capital are much more favourable than my own. Greater
necessary expence, more necessary dissipation, and a more numerous
competition for the favours of employment, are not circumstances
calculated to decide my preference. This town, while inhabited by the
two most eminent barristers in the county and an attorney, who though
young is much respected, does not offer me a prospect in any manner
alluring; though I sh[ould] here enjoy the advantage of being more
extensively known than in any [other town] of the Commonwealth.
However, I will postpone the full discussion of [this subject] till the
appointment of our two Judges shall take place; after which I shall
state my case fully to my father, and found my determination upon
his final opinion. . . . Your affectionate Sou, J. Q. Adams.
1 It is worthy of note that the part ot TheophUus Parsons in the preparation
and presentation of this address has been, in the course of tirae, entirely lost sight
ot, and the histories of Newburyport attribute it without reservation to J. Q.
Adams. See Currier, " Ould Newbury," p. 556 ; E. V. Smith, Hist, of Newbury
port, pp. 133, 324, 325; Joshua Coffin, Hist, of Newbury, p. 264.

INDEX.

INDEX.

A.
Abbot, Rev, Abiel, elected secretary of
* B K, 26 ; note concerning, 26, 45.
Abbot, Benjamin, note on, 45; college
oration of, on slave-trade, 124; note
on, 124 ; orator at Harvard Cora
mencement, 1788, 154; in list of
graduates, 155.
Abbot, John, chosen tutor at Harvard
College, 19; biographical note con
cerning, 19.
Abbot, Capt, John, note on, 124.
Abbot, Rev, John Emery, allusion to, 45.
Abbot, William Lovejoy, of Andover,
diarist visits, 122; diarist's charac
terization, in note on, 122
Abney, Sir Thomas, aUusion to, 133.
Achllle, French vessel of war, in Bos
ton harbor, 166.
Adams, Mrs. Abigail, allusion to, 10,
20, 22, 32; Dr. Kirkland preaches
memorial serraon for, 51 ; letter from
diarist to, 73, 74, 75; arrival of, at
home atter long absence in Europe,
144; allusion of diarist to, as
"Madam," 152; describes her home
at Eichmond HiU, 176; letter of
J. Q. Adams to, 178, 179.
Adams, Brooks, allusion to, 127.
Adams, Charles, accompanies his father
and brother, John Quincy, to Europe,
7 ; biographical note concerning, 11 ;
part of, at Commencement, 28 ; note
concerning, 28 ; diarist lodges with, at
Hingham, 53; allusion to, 54, 56;
visits Newburyport, 90, 91, 92; re
turns to Braintree and Cambridge,
92; aUusion to, 128, 145; arrives at
Braintree trom Carabridge, 151 ;
visits hia brother at Newburyport,
167.

Adaras, Charles Francis (Sr.), allusion
to, 28.
Adaras, Henry, reference to Historical
Essays ot, 8, 14, 19, 52, 88.
Adams, John, diary of, alludes to his
son, 6 ; goes to Europe with his son,
6 ; returns, 7 ; goes again to Europe,
with two sons, 7 ; represents United
States near Court at St. James, 9 ; re
turns to America, 9 ; becomes Vice-
President, 9 ; diarist alludes to, 41 ;
note on, 41 ; Dr. Kirkland preaches
memorial sermon for, 51; his "De
fence of the Araerican Constitu
tions," allusion to, 120; letter from,
to son, John Quincy, 125; arrives
home, after residence near Court at
St. James, 143; extract from letter
of, giving his irapressions on return
ing horae, after a long absence in
Europe, 144; at his home at Brain
tree, 145 ; arrival of goods of, 146 ;
books of, note on, 145 ; visits Cam
bridge, 147 ; attends Coraraenceraent
at Cambridge, 153; elected Vice-
President ot the United States, and
removes to New York, the temporary
seat of government, 169; house of,
iu New York, note, 176; entertains
President Washington and family at
dinner, 176.
Adams, John Quincy, once member of
First Congregational Society, New
buryport, 5 ; extracts from diary ot,
read at anniversary of First Congre
gational Church, Newburyport, 5;
student iu office ot Theophilus Par
sons, 5 ; calls his diary " Ephemeris,"
5; decline ot health of, 6; suffers
from insomnia, 6; accompanies his
father to Europe, 6 ; attends school
near Paris, 6 ; becomes proficient in

184

INDEX.

French, 6 ; returns home on frigate
" Sensible," 6 ; La Luzerne and Mar
bois his companions, 6 ; teaches Mar
bois English, 6; commended by Mar
bois, 7 ; reaches America, 7 ; and
Braintree, 7 ; again embarks for
Europe with his father, 7; goes to
France by way of Spain, 7 ; remains
six years in Europe, 7 ; meets Frank
lin and Jefferson, 7 ; admiration of,
for latter, 7 ; a student at University
of Leyden, 7; later memories of, 7;
at Harvard University, 7 ; graduates,
8 ; sets out by stage-coach for New
buryport, 29, 30; arrives at destina
tion, 30; enters office of Theophilus
Parsons as student of law, 30; begins
study of law, 30; reads Eobertson,
31, 32; and Vattel, 32; is exempt
from military duty, 32 ; comments on
capital punishment for theft and
treason, 33; comments on leniency
shown participants in Shays's Eebel
lion, 33 ; passes a convivial evening,
to his regret later, 41 ; industry of,
as a student, 42 ; as a musician, 45 ;
attends a ball, 46 ; sets out on horse
back for Boston, 50 ; lodges by the
way at Haverhill, 50 ; reaches Boston
and proceeds to Braintree, 51 ; goes
to Hingham to attend an ordination,
51 ; makes satirical distinction be
tween " rabble " and " genteel com
pany," 53 ; leaves Hingham for Brain
tree and goes thence to Boston, 54,
55 ; attends court in Cambridge and
comments thereon, 56, 67 ; Indulges in
pessimistic reflections, 62; observes
the effects of the passions and opera
tions ot human nature and gravely
comments thereon, 64, 65; suffers
extraordinary attack ot low spirits,
68; comment of, on early rising, 70;
regards his prospects as doubtful, 71 ;
reflects upon the danger in making
his journal of too personal a nature
since he cannot be fully assured that
it will be kept secret, 72; letter of,
to his mother, 73, 74, 75 ; expresses
disapproval of proposed Federal Con
stitution, 75 ; refiections of, on close
ot the year, 77 ; contemplates discon
tinuing his journal, 78 ; attended an
evening party, with " kissing plays,"

which he characterizes contempt
uously, 78; again indulges in pessi
mism, 79; his opinion of profession
ot medicine, 81 ; chides himself tor
lack of dUigence in study, 82; again
accuses himself of indolence, 84;
goes on a sleighing party, 87 ; dislike
of, for poetry, 88; again reproaches
hiraself for slow progress in studies,
88, 89 ; again complains of low spirits,
92 ; comments upon action ot Massa
chusetts State Convention in ratify
ing Federal Constitution, 93; not
wholly pleased therewith, 93; com
plains of insomnia, 95; criticises Mr.
Parsons's idea of politics, 96; plays
upon the flute, 96 ; attends ball with
Hannah Greenleaf, 96; amusing com
ment upon same, 96, 97; attends ses
sions of New Hampshire Federal Con
stitutional Convention at Exeter, and
comments thereon, 100, 101 ; liis con
temptuous opinion of Dartmouth
College and the men of, 76, 77, 110;
criticises Gibbon, and Gibbon's critic,
Knox, 113; goes to Salisbury to see
a launching, 114; letter from, to his
father, discussing Massachusetts elec
tion, 119; plans a journey to Cam
bridge and Braintree, 121 ; sets out
upon same, 122 ; reaches Cambridge,
122; attends exercises at Harvard,
and indulges in social pleasures, 124;
goes to Braintree, 125 ; letter from
father to, 125; leaves Braintree for
Carabridge, 128; from thence to New
buryport, 129 ; records his anxiety
concerning his future prospects, 134 ;
reflections of, upon the death ot the
young, 138 ; is informed of his father's
arrival home, after residence near
Court at St. James, 143 ; sets out for
Boston and Braintree, 143; greets
his raother on her return, at Boston,
144; meets his father at Braintree,
145; assists iu unpacking and ar
ranging books and furniture, 145,
146; leaves Braintree for Cambridge,
to attend exercises, 146 ; returns to
Braintree, 150 ; reaches age of twenty-
one, 152 ; reflections concerning that
event, 152; attends Commencement
at Harvard, 163 ; returns to Braintree,
thence to Newburyport, to resume

INDEX.

185

his law studies, 156 ; invited to speak
before the * B K, 159; addresses
$ B K, 165 ; is compUraented by the
French consul, 166 ; visits Braintree,
166 ; returns to his studies at New
buryport, 166 ; troubled with insora-
nia, 167 ; obliged to relinquish study
and returns to Braintree, 168 ; lite at
Braintree, 168, 169 ; returns to New
buryport, and resuraes studies, 169 ;
becomes intimate in family of Moses
Frazier, 169; rumors of marriage en
gagement with Mary Frazier, 169;
quotation of alleged laudatory re
marks concerning same, 169; inti
macy broken off, 169 ; writes to his
mother concerning, 169, 170 ; health
of, restored, 170; participates in
social aflfairs, 170; sets out on a
journey to New York, by way of
Providence, 170; reaches Provi
dence, 171 ; visits Brown University,
171 ; describes and comments upon
city, 171 ; takes packet for Newport,
172 ; reaches Newport after long
delay, 172; takes passage for New
York by packet, 172; detained at
Newport by contrary winds, 172,
173, 174; sets sail for New York,
174 ; voyage, 174, 175 ; arrival of, at
New York, 176; visits his father,
then Vice-President of the United
States, 176; attends sessions of Con
gress, 176, 177 ; returns to Boston,
177; and Newburyport, 177; letter
ot, to his mother, 178, 179 ; aids in
receiving President Washington on
his visit to New England, 178, 179.
Adaras, Rev. Phineas, diarist alludes
to, 13; biographical uote concerning,
13.
Adams, Samuel, allusion to, 17, 27, 87 ;
candidate for Ueutenan^governor,
119.
Adams, Dr. Samuel (Jr.), death of, re
corded, 86, 87 ; note on, 87.
Adams, Solomon, conference by, at
Harvard Commencement, 154; in
Ust of graduates, 1788, 155.
Adams, Susanna Boylston, grand
mother of diarist, 23; note concem
ing, 23.
Adams, Thomas Boylston, biograph
ical note concerning, 11 ; allusion to,

24, 55; visits Newburyport, 90, 91,
92; returns to Braintree and Cam
bridge, 92 ; allusion to, 131, 143 ;
Greek dialogue of, at Harvard ex
hibition, 146; arrives at Braintree
from Cambridge, 151; in list of
graduates, 1788, 155; leaves Brain
tree for Haverhill, in company with
diarist, 156, 157 ; allusion to, 166.
AUen, Rev. Jonathan, allusion to, 48;
note on, 48 ; wife of, 49 ; note on, 49 ;
preaches at Newburyport, 118, 140.
Allyn, Rev. John, orator at Harvard
Coraraenceraent, 1788, 154 ; note on,
154.
Ames, Fisher, member Federal Consti
tutional Convention, allusion to, 86.
Amory, William, fellow student of law
with diarist, 36, 37, 41, 42, 46, 61, 62,
63, 76, 84, 85, 93, 94, 96, 98, 102, 107,
109, 110, 111, 114, 116; admitted to
practice, 117; extended character
ization ot, 117; note on, 117; to
open an office in Salem, 160; aUu
sion to, 162, 166 ; marriage of, to
Lucy Fletcher, 170; diarist meets
him in Newport, 173.
Andover Theological Seminary, allu
sion to, 39.
Andover, town of, allusion to, 77.
Andrews, Rev. John, formerly pastor of
First Congregational Church, New
buryport, 6; breakfasts with dia
rist, 10 ; note concerning, 10 ; allusion
to marriage of, 15 ; diarist breakfasts
with, 20 ; returns from Hingham, 20 ;
aUusion to, 21, 24, 27, 28, 54, 129 ;
diarist criticises serraon of, 130 ;
allusion to, 131, 138, 156, 157, 158,
160, 161, 163, 164, 165, 167, 170.
Antifederalist, diarist is so called by
his acquaintance, 93.
Applause, at Harvard Commencement,
1788, checked by President WUlard,
154.
Ashes, pot and pearl, manufacture ot,
16.
Atherton, Dr. Israel, of Lancaster,
allusion to, 99.
Atherton, Joshua, opposes Federal
Constitution in New Hampshire Con
vention, 101 ; note on, 101.
Atkins, Dudley (Sr.), note concerning,
35.

186

INDEX.

Atkins, Dudley (Jr.), diarist visits, 31,
34 ; biographical note on, 34, 35 ;
assumes the name of Tyng, 34;
allusion to, 61, 62, 65, 68, 85, 88, 106,
110, 111, 112, 134; characterized,
134, 135 ; allusion to, 170.
Atkins, Eebecca, note on, 35 ; allusion
to, 62, 161.
Atkins, Sarah Kent, 35; allusion to,
131, 134, 136, 140, 142, 161.
Auteuil, Adams returns home from,
7, 144.

B.

Bacon's "Pleas and Pleadings," dia
rist begins perusal of, 143, 158.
Bacon's (Sir Francis) "The Elements
ot Common Law," 127.
Badger, Miss, allusion to, 124.
Bancroft, Rev. Aaron, adraitted a.
member of * B K, 27; note con
cerning, 27, 28.
Bancroft, Thomas, graduate of Har
vard College, 1788, 155.
Baptist Church (First), at Providence,
171; note on, 171.
Barker, Dr. Joshua, elected a member
ot $ B K, 28 ; note concerning, 28.
Barnard, Rev, Thomas, allusion to, and
note on, 133 ; allusion to, 136.
Barrell, Miss, diarist meets at Haver
hill, 48.
Barrington's "Observations on the
Statutes," diarist reads, 169.
Barron, Oliver, graduate of Harvard
College, class ot 1788, 155.
Bartlett, Bailey, allusion to, 11, 17 ;
biographical note concerning, 17.
Bartlett, William, plaintiff iu an inter
esting case, 39, 40 ; note on, 39, 40 ;
allusion to, 48.
Bartlett, Mrs,, diarist visits, 157.
Bass, Rev, Edward, diarist hears ser
raon trora, 65; and comments thereon,
65; note on, 65; Christmas sermon
of, 75; allusion to, 116.
Bass, Mrs,, allusion to, 142.
Bastille, allusion to storming of, 9.
Baxter, Stephen, graduate of Harvard
CoUege, 1788, 155.
Bayley, Sarah, prosecuted by Mcln-
tier for slander, 35; diarist's com
ment on, 36.

"Blackstone's Commentaries,'' diarist
begins perusal of, 37 ; allusion to, 42 ;
diarist controverts author's idea of
right of expatriation, 42 ; aUusion
to, 44, 45, 61, 62, 63, 64; diarist
completes reading of, 69 ; allusion
to, 72, 107 ; note on, 107 ; aUusion
to. 111, 131, 133, 140, 160.
Blair's "Lectures on Ehetoric and
Belles Lettres," diarist reads, 31;
note conceming, 31.
Blake, George, disputant at Harvard,
123 ; has English oration at Harvard
exhibition, 146 ; comment thereon,
147.
Blake,  , manages a dance at Hing-
hara, 54.
Blodget, Caleb, allusion to, 157.
Blodget, S., allusion to, 157.
Beacon HiU, diarist climbs to top of,
156.
Beale, Benjamin, allusion to, and note
on, 152.
Beale, Capt., diarist alludes to, 22.
Beane, Rev. Samuel C, pastor of First
Congregational Church, Newbury
port, 5.
Bellamy, Rev. Joseph, allusion to, 63.
Benson, Egbert, Representative in Con
gress, allusion to, 177.
Bequet, Francis Michael, note on, 107.
Berry, Dr,, fellow-passenger with diarist
on voyage to New York, 175.
Beverly ferry, bill for bridge over, re
jected, 56; diarist crosses, 129.
Bologna sausage, witticism concerning,
98.
" Boston," frigate, John Adams and his
son saU for Europe in, 6.
Boston, town of, allusion to, 9; diarist
visits court at, 28, 55, 56.
Bourne, Judge William, allusion to, 68.
Bowdoin College, allusion to, 20.
Bowdoin, Gov. James, leniency of,
toward participators in Shays's Ee
bellion, 33.
Bowman, Nathaniel, allusion to, 122;
note on, 122.
Boyd, Eobert, allusion to, 98.
Brackett's Tavern, in Boston, 148, 150.
Bradbury, Francis, allusion to, 49;
note on, 49; allusion to, 69, 87.
Bradbury, Frank, allusion to, 106, 117,
118.

INDEX.

187

Bradbury, George, allusion to, 38 ; allu
sion to, and note on, 77 ; aUusion to,
90, 91, 124.
Bradbury, Harriet, aUusion to, and note
on, 107, 117.
Bradbury, Judge Theophilus, allusion
to, 34, 38, 40 ; note on, 38, 40 ; aUu
sion to, 42, 61, 77, 82, 91; note on,
91 ; diarist passes evening at house
of, 96, 106, 118, 131, 138, 140.
Bradford, town of, allusion to, 48.
Bradish's Tavern, at Carabridge, allu
sion to, 147 ; diarist stops at, 165.
Braintree, town of, the Adamses re
turn to, 7 ; aUusion to, 9, 21, 23, 34 ;
diarist reaches, 51 ; allusion to, 55,
121, 128 ; diarist meets his father at,
on latter's return from Europe, 145 ;
diarist visits, 166.
Breck, Mr., allusion to, 157.
Brest, French fleet sails for, 34.
Bridge, James, classmate of diarist, 15 ;
note concerning, 15 ; allusion to, 105 ;
diarist meets, at Cambridge, 148;
characterization of, and extended
note on, 148, 149, 150; visits New
buryport, 165; allusion to, 166, 167,
173.
Bridgewater, town of, allusion to, 20.
Brigham, Joseph, graduate of Harvard
College, 1788, 155.
Brookfield, town of, allusion to, 99.
Brooks, Mercy, diarist meets and com
ments upon, 43, 44 ; note on, 43.
Brown, Rev. Elijah, allusion to, 27.
Brown, John, mansion of, at Provi
dence, 171; note on, 171.
Brown, Rev. John, gives charge at or
dination of Eev. Henry Ware, 51;
note on, 51.
Brown, Mr., of Newburyport, allusion
to, 139, 159.
Brown,  , diarist dances at rooms of,
124.
Brown University, diarist visits and
describes, 171.
Buffon's "Natural History of Man,"
diarist reads, 62; and comments
upon, 63.
Buffon's " Theory of the Earth," diarist
reads, 60 ; and comments upon, 61 ;
note on, 60 ; diarist comments further
upon, 61, 62.
Buller's Nisi Prius, diarist reads, 169.

Burke, Edanus, Representative in Con
gress, allusion to, 177.
Burney's (Fanny) " Cecilia," diarist
reads and comments thereon, 79, 80 ;
note on, 79.
Burr, Rev. Jonathan, resigns tutorship
at Cambridge, 19 ; biographical note
concerning, 19; Rev. Simeon Howard
preaches at installation of, 28.
Byfield, Rev. Elijah Parish ordained
at, 71.

Cabot, George, member of Federal
Constitutional Convention, allusion
to, 86.
Cabot, Joseph, conference by, at Har
vard Coraraenceraent, 1788, 154; in
Ust of graduates, 1788, 155.
Callahan, Capt. John (master of vessel
which brought John Adams on his
return home from St. James), allu
sion to, 125, 126, 132 ; rumor of his
arrival at Boston, 139 ; arrival of, at
Boston (bringing John Adams), 143 ;
allusion to, 151.
Cambridge, town of, diarist visits, 18,
19, 28 ; receives letters from, 35 ; at
tends court in, 56 ; allusion to, 121 ;
diarist attends Commencement in,
154, 155; diarist visits for purpose
of addressing * B K, 165, 166.
Cape Ann, a ball at, 110, 111.
Cape Franfois, allusion to, 173.
Carter, Hannah, of Newburyport, allu
sion to, 55.
Carter, Joshua, note concerning, 32.
Carter, Mary, biographical notice of,
32; allusion to, 136.
Carter, Nathaniel, ot Newburyport,
diarist visits, 32 ; aUusion to, 36, 41,
42, 77, 80, 136, 139, 140, 143, 160, 163,
167.
Carter, Mrs. Nathaniel, allusion to, 136,
137.
Carter, Nathaniel, Jr., aUusion to, 82,
136.
Cary, Rev, Thomas, minister at New
buryport, 34 ; biographical note on,
34, 37; diarist criticises sermon of,
44, 45 ; allusion to, 49, 68, 70 ; diarist
criticises sermon ot, 70 ; allusion to,
77, 83, 86; illness ot, 99, 102, 105;

188

INDEX.

recovers from iUness, 108; allusion
to, 118, 131, 133, 136, 157, 163.
Caryl, George, graduate ot Harvard
College, 1788, 155.
Casey, Capt., at St. John's Day social
observance, 75 ; allusion to, 102.
Catherine II., allusion to, 8.
Cazneau, Capt., allusion to, 102.
Cazneau, Miss, diarist passes evening
at home of, 67; and characterizes,
67; visits, 77; discusses, 80; meets,
88; aUusion to, 96, 112, 120; satirical
lines on, frora diarist's poem, " The
Vision," 120.
Cazneau, Mrs., allusion to, 88.
" Cecilia," Fanny Burney's, diarist
reads, and comments on, 79, 80 ;
note on, 79.
Chandler, Thomas, diarist meets, and
note on, 166.
Channing, Mr. and Mrs. WUUam, of
Ehode Island, at Carabridge, 147.
Channing, Rev. Williara Ellery, D.D.,
aUusion to, note, 147.
Charlestown bridge, allusion to, 60.
Chastellux, Marquis de, allusion to,
35.
Chelmsford, town of, allusion to, 20.
Child, Caleb, college classmate of
diarist, 123.
"Chinese Philosopher, Letters ot a,"
diarist reads, 86.
Cincinnati, order of. Gen. WUliam Hull
speaks before, iu Old Brick Church,
150.
Clap, Capt,, allusion to, 54; remark of,
54.
Clarke, Edward, college friend of dia
rist, allusion to, 20, 35 ; note on, 85 ;
allusion to, 122 ; graduate of Harvard
College, class of 1788, 155.
Clarke, Rev. Jonas, allusion to, 27;
daughter ot, marries Benjamin
Green, 27, 28; daughters of, 124;
note on latter, 124, 125.
Clay, Henry, allusion to, note, 149.
Clock, on Mr. Murray's meeting-house,
queer antic of, 81.
Coates, Capt. David, allusion to, 87.
Coates, Elizabeth, diarist dances with,
87 ; and characterizes, 87, 88 ; dia
rist dances with, 94; allusion to, 97,
157.
Cochran, Capt, aUusion to, 41.

Coffin, Charles, allusion to, 41 ; allusion
to and note on, 79.
Coffin, Mrs. Charles, allusion to, 104.
" Coke on Littleton," diarist plans to
take up, 43 ; note on, 43 ; allusion
to, 72 ; diarist begins perusal of, 74 ;
continues reading, 84, 86, 89, 107;
diarist criticises as not suitable as a
text-book for young students of the
law, 107, 108.
Colman, Col. Daniel, diarist lodges in
house of, 29.
Commencement at Harvard College,
John Adams and diarist attend, 153;
list of graduates at, class of 1788, 155.
Concord, N. H., town of. Federal Con
stitutional Convention adjourns from
Exeter to, 101.
Congregational Church, First, of New
buryport, 5 ; observes its 175th an
niversary, 5; John Quincy Adams
once a meraber of, 5 ; alluded to, 8.
Constitution, British, allusion to, 98.
Constitution, Federal, convention to
frame, 9 ; Symmes opposes, 38 ;
North Andover's opposition to, 38 ;
Parsons favors, 46 ; diarist inclined
to oppose. 46; Captain Wyer zeal
ous for, 46 ; diarist discusses with
Symraes, 48, 55 ; Newburyport elects
delegates to State convention to dis
cuss, 64 ; Dr. Kilham opposes, 67 ;
allusion to, 69 ; diarist expresses dis
approval of, in letter to his mother,
75 ; Massachusetts State Convention
meets to discuss, 81, 82; news of
ratification of, by Massachusetts
Convention, reaches Newburyport,
93; diarist comments thereon, 93;
Newburyport celebrates ratification
of, 94 : convention to discuss, meets
at Exeter, N. H., 100 ; John Adams
favors, 106 ; news that Virginia has
ratified, reaches Boston, 150.
Convention, Massachusetts State, to
discuss proposed Federal Constitu
tion, Newburyport elects delegates
to, 64; meets in Boston, 82; John
Hancock chosen president of, 82;
some proceedings of, 86, 88 ; ratifies
constitution, 93 ; diarist comments
thereon, 93; Newburyport delegates
to, welcomed home with acclaim, 94 ;
Theophilus Parsons relates incidents

INDEX.

189

of, 95, 96 ; New Hampshire State,
meets at Exeter, 100 ; diarist attends
same, 100; and comments thereon,
100 ; adjourns to meet at Concord,
101.
Coombs, Jane, aUusion to, and note on,
137.
Coombs, Philip, note on, 97.
Coombs, Polly, allusion to, 130, 137 ;
death of, 162.
Coombs, Capt. William, allusion to, 73,
97 ; note on, 97 ; allusion to, 108,
130; elected representative in the
General Court, 132 ; allusion to, 137 ;
death ot daughter of, 162.
Coombs Wharf, 97.
Court of Common Pleas, sits at New
buryport, 37.
Cranch, Elizabeth (Betsey), diarist
meets at Haverhill, 47 ; note on, 47 ;
allusion to, 128.
Cranch, Lucy, visits at Cambridge,
125 ; note on, 125.
Cranch, Eichard, allusion to, 10 ; note
concerning, 11 ; aUusion to, 54, 125,
127, 145, 146, 156.
Cranch, Mrs. Eichard, allusion to, 21,
22; note concerning, 22 ; allusion to,
23, 55, 124.
Cranch, William, biographical note
concerning, 21 ; diarist's characteriza
tion of, 21 ; diarist alludes to, 23, 25,
27, 33, 36, 37, 41, 44, 45, 46, 47, 49, 55,
60, 81, 83, 85, 98, 125, 127, 138, 145,
151, 156, 168, 170.
Cromwell's Head (Brackett's Tavern),
in Boston, 148.
Crook, Mr., fellow passenger with dia
rist on voyage to New York, 175.
Cross, Ealph, allusion to, 98. \
" Crown Law, Discourses upon a few
Branches of the," Sir Michael Fos
ter's, diarist reads, 131 ; note on, 131,
132 ; diarist criticises, 133 ; continues
reading, 168.
'• Crown, Pleas of the," WUliam Haw
kins's, diarist takes up, 134 ; note on,
134; continues reading, 136; com
pletes reading, 140.
Cullen, Dr. WiUiam, John B. Swett
studies surgery with, 30; surgeon to
Falkland Islands, 30; surgeon in
Araerican army of Eevolution, 30.
Curry, Eoss, feUow passenger with

diarist on voyage to New York, 175 ;
note on, 175.
Cushing, Thomas, death of, noted, 106.
Cushing, William, justice of Supreme
Court of Massachusetts, 29 ; allusion
to, and note on, 56.
Cushman, Joshua, diarist visits, at
Cambridge, 122 , note on, 122.
Cutter, Samuel, overturns sleigh on
sleighing party, 94 ; note on, 94 ; al
lusion to, 98, 99 ; characterization of,
109; allusion to. 111, 115, 116, 130,
159, 163.
Cutts, Anna Holyoke, note concerning,
32.
Cutts, Charles, disputant at Harvard,
123 ; note on, 123.
Cutts, Edward, marries Mary Carter,
32.
Cutts, Eliza Eppes, diarist alludes to,
32; note concerning, 32.
Cutts, Nancy, diarist contrasts with
her sister Eliza Eppes, 32 ; allusion
to, 136, 137.

D.

Dalton, Catherine, note on, 104; allu
sion to, 135, 136.
Dalton, Mary, note on, 104; allusion
to, 135, 136.
Dalton, Euth Hooper, allusion to, 103 ;
note on, 104 ; allusion to, 135, 136.
Dalton, Sarah, note ou, 104; aUusion
to, 135, 136.
Dalton, Tristram, diarist alludes to, 12 ;
biographical note concerning, 12, 16 ;
aUusion to, 39, 46, 65, 94; invites
diarist to an " evening," 102.
Dalton, Mrs. Tristram, allusion to, 95.
Dana, Rev. Daniel, aUusion to, 97 ; note
on, 137.
Dana, Francis, succeeded as chief jus
tice by Theophilus Parsons, 5 ; allu
sion to, 10 ; note concerning, 10 ; dia
rist lodges at house of, 56; opens
court at Cambridge, 56 ; rupture ot,
with Elbridge Gerry in Federal Con
stitutional Convention, 86 ; diarist
dines with, 124, 128, 147, 148, 154. -
Dana, Mrs. Francis, allusion to, note,
147.
Dana, Francis (Jr.), aUusion to, 24.

190

INDEX.

Danvers, town of, allusion to, 60, 160,
165.
Dartmouth College, diarist's rasping
characterization of students at, 76,
77 ; diarist again records his con
tempt for, 110 ; represented at meet
ing of $ B K at Cambridge, 165.
Dashwood, Miss, diarist meets, and
characterizes, 85.
Davenport, Mrs., sister of T. Parsons,
death of, 61.
Davenport's Tavern, allusion to, 109,
110.
Dawes, Thomas, allusion to, 21 ; bio
graphical note concerning, 21 ; allu
sion to, 25; spectator at Shehane
trial, 29; his comment on, 29; allu
sion to, 56, 60 ; diarist dines at house
of, 156 ; allusion to, 161, 170.
Dawes, Mrs., characterized, 156.
Deblois, Louis, marries Euth Hooper
Dalton, 104.
Deblois, Miss, allusion to, and comment
on, 135, 136.
Dedham, town of, allusion to, 52.
"Defense of the American Constitu
tions," by John Adams, aUusion to,
120.
Derby, Anstiss, allusion to, and char
acterization of, 97, 98; allusion to,
104; characterization ot, 105; mar
ries Benjamin Pickman, Jr., 121 ;
note on, 121.
Derby, Elias H., note on, 121 ; aUusion
to, and note on, 144.
Derby, Mrs., hall of, at Hinghara, 52,
54.
Derby, Mrs., second wife of Judge Ben
jamin Greenleaf, note, 98.
Diary, of J. Q. Adams, extracts from,
read at Anniversary at Newburyport,
5 ; entitled " Ephemeris," by its au
thor, 5 ; character of, 5 ; first and
last entries in, 6; not used in "Me
moirs," by C. F. Adams, 6; its ma
turity of tone, 6 ; gives glimpses of
social life in Massachusetts seaport
town, 6 ; communicated to Massachu
setts Historical Society, 8; events
conteraporary with period covered
by, 9 ; opens, 10.
"Discourses upon a Few Branches of
the Crown Law," Sir Michael Fos
ter's, diarist reads, 131 ; note on, 131,

132 ; diarist criticises, 133 ; continues
reading, 168.
Discussion, diarist and his fellow stu
dents engage in a, 36.
Dobbyn, Mr., allusion to, 177.
Doddridge, Philip, works ot, studied at
Harvard, 20, 21 ; note concerning,
20, 21.
Dodge, Daniel, suit of, with WiUiam
Bartlett, 39, 40.
Dodge, Mr., of Haverhill, allusion to,
17.
Dodge, Oliver, class of 1788, Harvard,
poem by, at Commencement, 154 ; in
Ust of graduates, 1788, 155.
Drearas, comment on, 23.
Dudleian lecture, delivered by Eev.
Simeon Howard, 28.
Dudley, Gov. Thomas, allusion to, 35.
Duramer Academy, allusion to, 14;
Isaac Smith preceptor at, 20 ; Sam
uel Moody preceptor at, 76 ; allusion
to, 104.
Dunbar, Capt., fellow traveller with
diarist on voyage to New York, 175.
Duncan, Elizabeth, marries John Thax
ter, 17 ; allusion to, 51, 66.
Duncan, Jaraes, allusion to, 17, 51.
Duncan, James (Jr.), invites diarist to
dine, 47 ; note on, 47 ; allusion to,
48, 66, 121.
Dunstable, town of, 142.

E.

Eames, Deacon, allusion to, 63.
Eaton, Peter, classmate of diarist, 13;
biographical note concerning, 13, 16.
Edwards, Mrs., allusion to, and note
on, 144, 145.
"Elements of Common Law, The," Sir
Francis Bacon's, 127.
Ellerj', Almy, daughter of William,
allusion to, 124, 172.
Ellery, Benjarain, allusion to, and note
on, 147.
Ellery, Lucy, allusion to, note, 147, 174.
Ellery, Williara, allusion to, note, 147 ;
diarist visits, at Newport, 172 ; allu
sion to, 174.
Eraerson, Rev. Joseph, allusion to, 28.
Eraerson, Ealph Waldo, allusion to, 28.
Emerson, Rev. William, part of, at Com-

INDEX.

191

mencement, 28; biographical note
concerning, 28.
Emery, Hannah Tracy, diarist meets
and comraents conceming, 45 ; bio
graphical note on, 45 ; diarist visits,
77, 83, 85, 100 ; diarist drives to Exe
ter with, 100 ; note on, 124 ; aUusion
to, 140 ; note on, 162.
Emery, John, aUusion to, 45.
Emery, Mrs. Margaret Gookin, allusion
to, and note on, 83 ; allusion to, 85,
100,105, 120, 130, 139, 141, 142 ; death
of, 162; uote on, 162; funeral of, 163.
Emery, Noah, allusion to, 45.
Emery, Eobert, note on, 162.
Emery, Rufus, allusion to, 45.
England, treaty of, with Holland, note
on, 34.
"Ephemeris," title given to Adams's
diary, 5.
"Essex Junto," Jonathan Greenleaf a
member ot, 132.
Everett, Edward, allusion to, 169.
Everett, Rev. Oliver, allusion to, 168.
Exeter, N. H,, town of, allusion to, 37 ;
diarist attends Federal Constitu
tional Convention at, 100.
Expatriation, right of, diarist quotes
from Blackstone concerning, and dis
cusses, 42, 43.

P.
Farnham, Daniel, allusion to, 104, 130.
Famhara, Sibyl, allusion to, 104.
Farnham, William, allusion to, and
note on, 108; diarist characterizes,
108; aUusion to, 120, 130, 131, 135,
136, 140, 142, 159.
Farris, Capt. Williara, allusion to, and
note on, 83.
Fay, Mr., musician at Cambridge, 124.
Fiske, Rev. Nathan, allusion to, 99.
Fiske, Oliver, allusion to, and note
on, 99.
Fiske, Rev. Thaddeus, allusion to, 27 ;
allusion to, and note on, 127.
Flagg, Mr., fellow-passenger with diarist
on voyage to New York, 175.
Fleet, John, of first graduates in medi
cine at Harvard College, 1788, 154.
Fletcher, John, allusion to, 65; note
on, 65 ; allusion to, 85, 96, 159.

Fletcher, Lucy, allusion to, and note on,
85 ; diarist dances with, 87 ; and
characterizes, 87 ; allusion to, 162 ;
marries William Amory, 170.
Flint, Mr., of Lincoln, allusion to, 66.
Forbes, James Grant, allusion to, and
note on, 58, 59, 60.
Forbes, John Murray, diarist alludes to,
10 ; note concerning, 10 ; allusion
to, 23 ; writes to Miss Jones, 33 ;
allusion to, 46, 58 ; extended note on,
58, 59 ; diarist's characterization of,
59; letter from, concerning Federal
Constitutional Convention in Massa
chusetts, 86 ; diarist meets, at Cam
bridge, 155.
Foster, Bossenger, allusion to, 23, 25,
50.
Foster, Bossenger (Jr.), allusion to,
53; note on, 53; diarist's character
ization of, 53 ; allusion to, 124, 167.
Foster's (Sir Michael) "Discourses
upon a Few Branches of the Crown
Law," diarist reads, 131 ; note on,
131 ; allusion to, 133 ; diarist criti
cises, 133 ; continues reading, 168.
Fowle, Eobert, classraate of Thomas
W. Thompson, allusion to, 130;
note on, 130.
Franklin, Benjamin, J. Q. Adams
makes acquaintance of, 7.
Frazier, Mary, diarist dances with, 87 ;
said to have become enamoured of,
169 ; rumor of marriage engagement
with, 169.
Frazier, Moses, allusion to, and note
on, 78, 90 ; aUusion to, 130, 135, 138,
163, 165 ; diarist becomes intimate m
family of, 169.
Frazier, the Misses, allusion to, 135;
comment upon, 163.
Freeman, Nathaniel, diarist visits, 19-
orator before * B K, 26, 27 ; extended
note concerning, 26 ; allusion to, 27,
51, 80, 85.
Freeraan, Gen. Nathaniel, visits New
buryport, 35; note on, 35.
Free Masons, Society of, observe St.
John's Day, 75.
French Consul, at meeting of $ B K,
at Cambridge, 166 ; compliments dia
rist, the orator of the day, 166 ; dines
with John Adams, 166.
French, Mr,, allusion to, 167.

192

INDEX.

French fieet, sails tor Brest, 34.
French officers, visit Harvard College,
21 ; met by diarist while gunning,
23 ; visit Harvard, 24 ; at raeeting of
# B K, at Cambridge, 166.
French squadron iu Boston Harbor,
166.

G.
Game laws, coraraent upon, 23.
Gannett, Caleb, allusion to, 52; diarist
visits, and note on, 125 ; allusion to,
147.
Gardner, Jaraes, college friend of dia
rist, 123; Greek conference by, at
Harvard Commenceraent, 1788, 154;
in list of graduates, 155.
Gardiner, John, allusion to, 25; note
concerning, 25.
Gartz, Mr,, of Baltimore, aUusion to,
116.
George III., allusion to, 8.
Gerry, Elbridge, opposes adoption of
Federal Constitution, 86 ; rupture ot,
with Dana, 86 ; John Adams visits,
147, 148 ; in National House of Eep
resentatives, 177.
Gibbon's " Decline and Fall of the Eo
man Empire," diarist begins perusal
ot, 65 ; and comments upon, 65 ; allu
sion to, 6 ; diarist criticises, 70 ; con
tinues reading, 82, 84, 86, 88, 89, 106,
107 ; diarist completes perusal of,
112; and comments thereon, 112;
alludes to new volumes of, and note
on, 146; continues reading, 168.
Gilbert's (Sir Geoffrey) "Treatise on
Evidence," diarist reads, 127; note
on, 127.
Gilman, John Taylor, allusion to, 68.
Goldsmith's (Oliver) "The Citizen of
the World ; or. Letters of a Chinese
Philosopher," diarist reads, 86.
Goldthwait, Mr., fellow traveller with
diarist between Providence and New
port, 172; diarist visits at Newport,
173, 174.
Gookin, Rev. Nathaniel, allusion to,
83.
Gordon, Adara, disputant at Harvard
Coramencement, 1788, 154; in list of
graduates, 155.

Gorham, Nathaniel, member of Federal
Constitutional Convention, allusion
to, 86.
Gray,  , disputant at Harvard Ex
hibition, 146.
Green, Benjamin, allusion to, 27 ; bio
graphical note concerning, 27.
Greenleaf, Judge Benjamin, allusion to,
34, 37 ; note on, 37 ; elected delegate
to Massachusetts Constitutional Con
vention, 64 ; allusion to, 94, 97 ; note
on, 98; allusion to, 105; daughters
of, 118; dines with, 135; daughters
of, 139 ; allusion to, 140 ; discourse
of, upon Disappointment, 140; musi
cal party at house of, 164 ; allusion
to, 165.
Greenleaf, Mrs. Benjamin, allusion to,
98.
Greenleaf, Ebenezer, note, 137.
Greenleaf, Hannah, diarist attends ball
in company with, 96 ; allusion to, 98,
104, 136.
Greenleaf, Jane, allusion to, 98, 104.
Greenleaf, John, allusion to, and note
on, 94, 103; note on, 125; allusion
to, 130, 141.
Greenleaf, Jonathan, allusion to, 73 ; is
elected representative to the General
Court, 132 ; note on, 132.
Greenleaf, Mary, allusion to, 98, 104,
136.
Greenleaf, Miss P., allusion to, 48.
Greenleaf, Sarah, allusion to, 98, 104,
136.
Greenleaf, WUliam, note on, 125.
Greenleaf, Rev. William Coombs, note,
137.
Greenough, Mr., joins a serenading
party, 137; aUusion to, 164.
Gregory, Mr., of Boston, suitor of Lucy
Knight, 114.
Grosvenor,  , college friend of dia
rist, 122.
Groton, Mass., town of, allusion to, 50.
GuUd, Mr., allusion to, 150.

H.
Halifax, allusion to, 166.
Hall, George Holmes, of first gradu
ates in medicine at Harvard College,
1788, 154.

INDEX.

193

Hancock, John, governor of Massa
chusetts, 9; allusion to, 27 ; leniency
of, toward participants in Shays's
Eebellion, 33; candidate for re-elec
tion, 119, 120 ; at Exhibition at Har
vard College, 124; address of, at
Harvard Commencement, 1788, 155;
visits Newburyport, 163; reviews
troops and proceeds to Haverhill,
164; at raeeting of * B K, 165, 166;
dines with John Adaras at Braintree
in corapany with officers of French
squadron, 166.
Harris, Thaddeus Mason, allusion to,
and note on, 128, 129, 154.
Harris, Rev. Williara, allusion to, 24 ;
elected vice-president of 'I' B K, 26 ;
note concerning, 126; allusion to,
27.
Harris,  , butler at Harvard CoUege,
124.
Harvard CoUege, J. Q. Adams a stu
dent at, 7; regard ot latter for, 7;
Adams graduates at, 7 ; Commence
ment at 1788, John Adams attends,
with his son, 153; Commencement
exercises at 1788, 154; first gradu
ates of, in medicine, 154; list of
graduates of, class of 1788, 155 ; peti
tion tor private Commencement at,
by class ot 1787, note, 155.
Hastings, Warren, allusion to, 9.
Hatch's Tavern, Boston, 171 ; note on,
171.
Haven, Rev, Jason, at ordination of
Eev. Henry Ware, 52 ; note on, 52.
Haverhill, town of, diarist alludes to,
11; diarist visits, 11-18; alluded to,
34 ; diarist visits, 47 ; allusion to, 48;
diarist visits, 63; Thanksgiving Day
at, 66; aUusion to, 87, 88, 91, 121;
Gov. Hancock visits, 164.
Hay, Mrs,, allusion to, 104, 108.
Hawkins's (William), "Pleas of the
Crown," diarist takes up, 134; note
on, 134; continues reading, 136;
completes reading, 140.
Hazen, Miss, ot Salem, diarist alludes
to, 12, 129.
Hell-Gate, diarist passes en route to
New York, 175.
Hichborn, Mr,, aUusion to, 143.
Higginson, Col. T. W., allusion to,
34.

HIU, WUliam, graduate of Harvard
College, 1788, 155.
Hilliard, Rev. Tiraothy, diarist alludes
to, 23 ; biographical note concerning,
23 ; preaches at ordination ot Henry
Ware, 51 ; note on, 51.
Hinghara, town of. Rev. Henry Ware
pastoral, 19; allusion to, 20 ; diarist
visits, 51; Mr. Ware ordained and
settled at, 51 ; aUusion to, 52, 139.
Hitchcock, Rev. Gad, at ordination of
Henry Ware, 52 ; note on, 52.
Hodge, Michael, allusion to, and note
on, 98.
Hodge, Mrs., allusion to, 140.
Holland, crisis of afiairs in, 34 ; treaty
of, with England, note on, 34.
Holyoke, Dr. Edward A., of Salem,
allusion to, 53.
Homan's Tavern, at Ipswich, diarist
dines at, 60.
Hooper, Benjamin, diarist aUudes to,
65 ; suicide of, 89, 90.
Hooper, Elizabeth (Betsey), aUusion
to, 160.
Hooper, Joseph, allusion to, 158, 161.
Hooper, Mrs., diarist visits, 65, 77, 81 ;
distressed at suicide of her son, 80,
90; circumstances of, 90; diarist
visits, 95, 98, 99, 100, 109, 110, 111,
112, 114, 116, 120, 131, 136, 138, 139,
140, 142, 143, 158, 160, 167.
Hooper, Rebecca, allusion to, 95.
Hooper, Eobert, allusion to, 95, 103.
Hooper, Stephen, allusion to, 39, 83,
91, 95, 103; note on, 103; aUusion
to, 107, 131, 163.
Hooper, Thomas W., note on, 107;
allusion to, 124, 170.
Hopkins, Dr. Samuel, allusion to, 63,
105.
" Hopkinsian sect," allusion to, 105.
Hopkinson, " a distracted feUow," Dr.
Kilham annoyed by, at Exeter, N. H.,
101.
Hopkinton, N, H,, town of, 53.
Horace, diarist quotes frora De Arte
Poetica ot, 50.
House of Eepresentatives (National),
diarist visits, 177.
Hovey, Rev. Horace C, allusion to,
97; note, 137.
Howard, Rev, Simeon, delivers Dud
leian lecture, 28 ; note concerning, 28.

13

194

INDEX.

Howe, Mr., allusion to, 51.
" Hudibras," Butler's, diarist reads,
121 ; allusion to, 161.
Hull, Gen. William, speaks before the
Cincinnati, in the Old Brick Church,
150 ; note on, 150.
Hume's " History of England," diarist
reads, 133, 160.
Hurd, D., note concerning, 27.
Hurricane, violent, visits central New
England towns, 16.
Hutchinson, Mr., from Ireland, allusion
to, 94, 96, 102 ; sails tor Ireland, 104.

Infants, diarist's opinion of, 18.
Insomnia, diarist is troubled with, 167,
168.
"Institutes of Justinian," diarist reads,
168.
" Institutes of the Laws of England,"
Thomas Wood's, allusion to, 140.
Ipswich, town of, diarist dines at, en
route to Newburyport, 30 ; allusion to,
40 ; diarist passes through, 60 ; allu
sion to, 109, 114, 115, 117, 118, 143 ;
diarist passes through, on journey
to Boston to meet his father, 143,
144 ; aUusion to, 162, 167.
J.
Jackson, Charles, Greek conference by,
at Harvard Commencement, 1788,
154 ; in list of graduates; 155.
Jackson, Edward, allusion to, 83.
Jackson, Representative James, allusion
to, 177.
Jackson, Jonathan, allusion to, 65, 83,
90, 136, 139, 168 ; note on, 83.
Jackson, Mrs. Jonathan, diarist visits,
and characterizes, 85, 98.
Jackson, Patrick Tracy, allusion to, 39.
James, Eleazar, allusion to, and note
on, 20.
Jefferson, Thomas, J. Q. Adams makes
acquaintance of, 7 ; latter's admira
tion for, 7 ; " Notes " of, upon Vir
ginia, allusion to, 23 ; note concerning,
23 ; visit of, to Nathaniel Tracy, 111.
Jenkins, Fanny, allusion to, 102 ; char
acterization of, 108 ; allusion to, 137.

Jenkins, Lewis, allusion to, and note
on, 95.
Jenkins, Nancy, diarist dances with,
96 ; and characterizes, 96 ; allusion
to, 97 ; characterization of, 108, 109 ;
allusion to, 130.
Jenkins, Sally, diarist meets socially,
and characterizes, 80; allusion to,
94, 104 ; marries W. W. Prout, 142.
Jennison, Timothy Lindall, allusion to,
and note on, 20.
Jones, John Coffin, allusion to, 39.
Jones, Miss, diarist visits, 15, 16 ; re
ceives letter from Forbes, 33 ; diarist
offers services to, as escort to a ball,
46 ; visits, 61 ; allusion to, 125, 159,
162.
Jones, Mr., of Boston, allusion to, 103.
Jones, Mrs., of Boston, diarist meets,
102 ; and characterizes, 103.
Joppe, fishing hamlet near Newbury
port, 141 ; note on, 141.
" Junius's Letters," diarist peruses, 70,
159.
" Justinian, Institutes of," diarist reads,
168. K.
Kellogg, Rev. Elijah, aUusion to, and
note on, 137.
Kellogg, Sarauel, college friend ot dia
rist, allusion to, and note on, 123.
Kendall, Ephraim, allusion to, and note
on, 143.
Kendall, Samuel, aUusion to, 27 ; note
concerning, 27.
Kent, Abigail, marries Thomas Welsh,
25.
Kilham, Dr. Daniel, of Newburyport,
diarist dines with, 32 ; biographical
notice of, 32; loans music to diarist,
34 ; allusion to, 44, 45, 46, 47, 55, 67 ;
opposes Federal Constitution, 67 and
note ; allusion to, 69, 71, 74, 76, 77,
80, 82, 90; drives to Exeter, 100;
allusion to, 101 ; opposed to Federal
Constitution, 105, 106 ; note on, 105 ;
aUusion to, 110, 118, 140, 157.
Kimball, Jacob, unable to obtain his
degree at Harvard College, 1788, 156.
Kiraball, Rev. True, preaches at Haver
hill, 17; biographical note concern
ing, 17 ; diarist's criticism of, 17 ;

INDEX.

195

preaches at Newburyport, 34 ; diarist
hears an old sermon by, 34, 161.
King, Eufus, allusion to, as student
with Theophilus Parsons, 14 ; elected
delegate to Mass. Federal Constitu
tional Convention, 64 ; note on, 64 ;
allusion to, 76, 86.
Kirkland, Rev. John Thornton, D.D.,
diarist meets at Braintree, 51 ; bio
graphical note on, 51 ; pronounces
Latin oration at Harvard, 146.
Kissing, diarist's sentiments concern
ing, 78, 79.
Kittredge, Dr. Thomas, of Andover,
diarist visits, 122 ; note on, 122.
Kittredge, Mrs. Dr., allusion to, 122.
Knight, Lucy, allusion to, 95; diarist
characterizes, 95; allusion to, 97, 98,
100, 114 ; diarist criticises, 115.
Knox, Vicessimus, reference to, and
note on his criticism of Gibbon's
" Decline and Fall of the Eoman
Empire," 113; the "Liberal Educa
tion" of, 115.

La Luzerne, Chevalier de, comes to
Uniled States in company with the
Adamses, 6.
Langdon, John, a delegate to New
Hampshire Federal Convention, 101 ;
note on, 101.
Lanman, James, fellow traveller with
diarist to Providence, 171; note on,
171 ; allusion to, 172, 173, 174.
Laughton, Margaret, marries John
Tracy, 35 ; note on, 35.
Lawyers, pubUe antipathy to, 57 ; ex
tended note on, 57, 58 ; diarist writes
his mother concerning, 7.3.
Learned, Ebenezer, aUusion to, 53 ;
note on, 53; diarist's charaoteriza-
rion of, 53 ; allusion to, 144, 167.
Leathers, Mrs,, of Newburyport, 16 ;
diarist takes rooms with, 30, 32 ;
allusion to, and characterization of,
74; diarist leaves lodgings of, 165.
Lee, Henry, Representative in Congress,
allusion to, 177.
Lee, Mary, marries Nathaniel Tracy,
note on. 111.
Lee, Mr,, diarist aUudes to, 18.
Leonard, Dr,, passenger with John

Adams from Europe, 151 ; visits
latter at Braintree, 151 ; imprisoned
in England for planning to ship
machinery to America, 151 ; visits at
Braintree, 151, 152.
"Leopard," Providence and Newport
packet, 172.
L'Etombe, Le Sieur de, French con
sul, present at * B K meeting at
Cambridge, 166; compliments diar
ist, the orator, 166 ; note on, 166.
" Letters of a Chinese Philosopher," by
Goldsmith, diarist reads, 86.
Leyden, University of, J. Q. Adams a
student at, 7 ; latter's regard for, 7.
"Liberal Education," of Vicessimus
Knox, diarist reads and comraents
thereon, 115.
Lincoln, Abner, college classmate of
diarist, 20 ; allusion to, 24 ; biograph
ical note concerning, 24 ; disputant
at Harvard Coraraenceraent, 1788,
154 ; in list of graduates, 1788, 155.
Lincoln, Gen. Benjarain, allusion to,
24, 52 ; mill of, at Hingham, 54 ;
allusion to, 83 ; candidate for lieu
tenant-governor, 119, 120; elected
lieutenant-governor, 140.
Lincoln, Benjamin (Jr.), death of, re
corded, 86 ; note on, 86.
Lincoln, Rev. Henry, allusion, comment
and note on, 103 ; allusion to, 167.
Lincoln, town of, allusion to, 65, 66.
Lithgow, Gen. William, allusion to,
note, 149.
Little, George, descendants of, note on,
104.
Little, George T., allusion to, 15.
Little, Moses, classmate of diarist, 15 ;
biographical note on, 15 ; diarist's
characterization of, 15; pathetic epi
taph of, 15 ; allusion to, 30, 34, 35,
36, 40, 41, 42, 44, 46, 47, 61, 62, 63,
67, 71, 72, 76, 79, 80; is offered
" subject " by sexton, 81 ; allusion
to, 82, 84, 88, 93, 96, 102, 109, 114,
115, 130 ; is inoculated for smallpox,
132 ; allusion to, 135, 155, 157, 163.
Little, Eichard, allusion to, 15.
Lloyd, Jaraes, allusion to, note, 149.
Louis XVI., aUusion to, 7.
Lowell, John, orator before * B K, 26,
27; diarist characterizes same, 27;
note concerning, 27

196

INDEX.

Lowell, Judge John, aUusion to, 27 ;
builder of mansion at Newburyport,
81 ; allusion to, 34, 83.
Lowell, Rev. John, pastor at Newbury
port, 34. M.
Madison, James, Representative in Con
gress, allusion to, 177.
Maiden bridge, aUusion to, 60.
Marblehead, town of, allusion to, 27,
111.
Marbois, M., comes to the United
States in corapany with the Adamses,
6 ; pleased with young J. Q. Adams,
6; the latter teaches him English, 6;
lauds the young man's attainments,
7 ; anecdote of, 6, 7.
Marchant, Henry, diarist visits at New
port, and note on, 172, 173, 174.
Marine Society of Newburyport, Capt.
Hodge a founder of, 98.
Marquand, Joseph, allusion to, 112.
Marquand, Mrs, Joseph, allusion to,
102 ; note on, 102 ; aUusion to, 103,
157.
Marsh, Capt., allusion to, 63.
Marsh, Jonathan, elected representa
tive in the General Court, 132 ; note
on 132.
Martegues, CAeuaZi'er Maccarty de, dines
with John Adaras at Braintree, 166.
Massachusetts Historical Society, diary
of J. Q. Adams comraunicated to, 8;
reproduces diary in Proceedings, 8;
James Winthrop one of the founders
of, 19.
Mathematics at Harvard, comment
concerning, 21.
McHard, Mr., allusion to, 92.
Mclntier,  , prosecutes case for
slander, 35.
McKeen, Rev. Joseph, preaches at New
buryport 136 ; note on, 136.
McKinstry, Sarah, diarist meets, 48
note on, 48.
McKinstry, Dr, William, allusion to, 48,
McPherson, Capt., of Philadelphia, 176
Mead, Samuel, college friend of diarist,
allusion to and characterization of,
in note on, 123.
Medford, town of, diarist alludes to
11, 44, 51, 53.

Medway, town of, allusion to, 27.
Menotomy, parish of, allusion to, 127.
Mercer, Judge James, allusion to, 35.
MerrUl, Mr., of Newburyport, allusion
to, 102.
Meyer, Mr., diarist meets at Newport,
173, 174.
Milton, John, the poet, allusion to, 173.
Milton, town of, aUusion to, 128, 150,
151.
Moody, Samuel, allusion to, and note
on, 76; pays visit to diarist, 85.
Morland, Mr., allusion to, 115.
Morris, Robert, allusion to, note, 177.
Morris, Thoraas, dines with John
Adams, 177.
Murray, Rev. John, pastor at Newbury
port, 40; interesting suit of, against
inhabitants of Salisbury, 40, 41 ; note
concerning same, 40, 41 ; diarist crit
icises sermon of, 73; note on, 73;
queer antic of clock on meeting
house of, 81 ; allusion to, 118 ; char
acterization of, 118; allusion to,
note, 137, 158.
Murray, Rev. John (of Gloucester),
allusion to, 168.
Mystic, town of, diarist passes through,
19. N.
Napoleon Bonaparte, allusion to, 9.
Newbury Bridge, allusion to, and note
on, 138.
Newburyport, First Congregational
Church of, observes its 175th anni
versary, 5; its conditition in the
eighteenth century, 7; people ot, 7;
allusion to, 24, 25, 28 ; diarist enters
law office in, 30; citizens of, cele
brate ratification of Federal Constitu
tion, 94 ; Gov. Hancock visits, 163,
and reviews troops at, 164; diarist
returns to, 167.
Newell, Miss, allusion to, 139.
Newell's [Newhall's] 'Tavern, Lynn,
diarist breakfasts at, 129.
Newhall, Miss, allusion to, 157.
Newhall's Tavern, see Newell's Tavern.
New London, Conn., town of, 173.
Newport, R. I., diarist visits en route to
New York, 172 ; describes and com
ments on, 174.

INDEX.

197

New York, temporary seat of United
States government, John Adams re
moves to, 169; diarist makes journey
to, and visits at, 170-178 ; harbor of,
and approach to, described, 176 ; dia
rist arrives at, 176.
Nisi Prius, Buller's, diarist reads, 169.
North American Eeview, extracts from
J. Q. Adams's diary published in, 8.
North Andover, town of, opposes adop
tion of Federal Constitution, 38.
North School, Newburyport, note con
cerning, 31.
Norton, Rev, Jacob, marries Elizabeth
Cranch, note, 47 ; allusion to, and
note on, 127; diarist characterizes,
128 ; aUusion to, 128.
Norton, house of Mr., former horae of
diarist's grandfather at Weymouth,
diarist visits 146.
Noyes, Capt., aUusion to, 81.

O.

"Observations on the Statutes," Bar
rington's, diarist reads, 169.
Odiorne, George, is married to Dorothy
Tufts, 43 ; note on, 43 ; allusion to,
126.
"Old Brick" Church, Gen. Williara
Hull speaks in, before the Cincinnati,
150.
Old South Meeting House, Harrison
Gray Otis speaks in, 148.
Oliphant, Dr., fellow passenger with
diarist on voyage to New York, 174,
175.
Oliver, Rev. Daniel, preaches at New
buryport, 110; diarist not pleased
with, 110 ; note on, 110.
Ome, Azor, allusion to, 110.
Osgood, Peter, allusion to, 38.
Otis, Harrison Gray, allusion to, 25 ;
speaks in Old South Meeting House,
148.
Otis, James, allusion to, 25.
Otis, Samuel Allyne, allusion to, 25.

Packard, Rev. Asa, marries Mrs. Ann
Quincy, 22; note concerning, 22;

elected a member ot * B K, 27, 28 ;
biographical note concerning, 28.
Packard, Hezekiah, diarist alludes to,
20 ; biographical uote concerning, 20 ;
aUusion to, 22, 23, 25, 27, 28, 35, 56,
122, 128.
Packet, between Boston and Hingham,
54; between Providence and New
port (Leopard), 172; between New
port and New York (Rambler), 172.
Paine, Joshua, biographical note con
cerning, 25.
Paine, Eobert, takes part in a Greek
dialogue at Cambridge, 124.
Paine, Eobert Treat, attorney-general
of Massachusetts, 28 ; prosecutor in
Shehane trial, 28; note concerning,
28.
Palmer, Rev. Joseph, aUusion to, note,
146.
Palmer, Stephen, part of, at Harvard
Exhibition, and note on, 146.
Parish, Rev. Elijah, ordination ot, at
Byfield, allusion to, and note on, 71 ;
as student at Dartmouth College,
characterization of, 76.
Parker, Mr., dines with diarist at Ha
verhill on Thanksgiving Day, 66 ;
diarist comments on wife of, 66.
Parker Eiver (Newbury Bridge), allu
sion to, and note on, 138.
Parsons, Theophilus, J. Q. Adams a,
student in office of, 5 ; succeeds Fran
cis Dana as Chief Justice of Supreme
Court, 5 ; note concerning, 10 ; diarist
alludes to, 14 ; biographical note con
cerning, 14; diarist enters offlce of,
30 ; arrives from Boston, 33 ; allusion
to, 34, 35, 37, 38. 41, 42, 46, 49, 60, 01,
63; elected delegate to Massachu
setts Federal Convention, 64; diarist
lauds, 66 ; diarist plays draughts
with, 68, 71; aUusion to, 72, 73, 81,
82, 94, 95, 96, 98, 100, 102, 105, 106,
110, 111, 112, 114, 115, 118, 120, 122,
127; elected representative to the
General Court, 132; allusion to, 133,
134, 138, 141, 149, 160, 166, 167, 169.
Parsons, Mrs. Theophilus, allusion to,
140.
Parsons, William, allusion to, and
note on, 60 ; attempt at wit, ot, 60 ;
diarist characterizes, 60 ; allusion to,
118.

198

INDEX.

Patten, Miss, ot Ehode Island, allusion
to, 124.
Peabody, Mr., ot Exeter, N. H., diarist
lodges at house ot, 100; and diues,
101.
Perkins,  , manages a dance at
Hingham, 54.
Peterson, Capt., of packet " Eambler,''
172, 175.
Phelps, Henry, graduate of Harvard
College, 1788, 155.
Phi Beta Kappa Society, meeting of, 24,
25, 26; elects officers, 26; allusion to
members of, 27 ; Bancroft, Packard,
and Barker, elected merabers of, 28 ;
invites diarist to speak before it,
159; diarist delivers oration before,
165; allusion to meeting of, 1789,
170.
Phillips, John, college friend of diarist,
20; elected treasurer of *BK, 20;
note concerning, 26; allusion to,
123, 124; pronounces salutatory ora
tion at Commenceraent, 1788, 153 ;
in Ust of graduates, 1788, 155; allu
sion to, 161, 170.
PhiUips, Miss, allusion to, 114, 139.
Pickering, John, argues for ratification
of Federal Constitution, 100 ; diarist
comments thereon, 100 ; note on,
100.
Pickering, Timothy, William Stedman
lodges with, 14.
Pickraan, Benjamin (Sr.), allusion to,
102.
Pickraan, Benjamin (Jr.), becoraes fel
low-student with diarist at office of
Theophilus Parsons, 102 ; note on,
102 ; aUusion to, 104, 107, 108, 109,
110, 111, 114, 115, 120, 121, 129, 130,
131, 1.34, 135, 136, 137, 138, 140, 141,
142, 144, 157, 160.
Pitt, Williara, allusion to, 9.
" Pleas and Pleadings," Bacon's, dia
rist begins perusal of, 143, 158.
" Pleas ot the Crown," William Haw
kins's, diarist takes up, 134 ; note on,
134; continues reading, 136; com
pletes reading, 140.
Plyraouth, town of, allusion to, 128,
150.
Poetry, diarist's dislike tor, 88.
Point Judith, diarist passes on voyage
to New York, 174.

Popkin, Rev. John S., allusion to, 34.
Porter, Rev. Huntington, allusion to,
and note on, 137.
Porter, Mr., allusion to, 18 ; note con
ceming, 18 ; infant child of, annoys
diarist, 18.
Portsmouth, N. H., town of, allusion
to, 30, 37, 42, 161.
Pownalborough, Me., town of, allusion
to, 148, 149.
Presbury, Mary, wife ot Jonathan
Greenleaf, note, 132.
Prescott, James, graduate of Harvard
College, 1788, 155.
Priestley, Dr. Joseph, diarist reads
work by, 146, 156.
Prince, Miss, allusion to, 104; charac
terization of, 105.
Prout, Lydia, note on, 94.
Prout, William Welsted, allusion to,
and note on, 94 ; marries Sally Jen
kins, 142.
Providence, R. I., diarist visits, on jour
ney to New York, 170, 171 ; descrip
tion of, 171, 172 ; Supreme Court in
session at, 172.
Putnam, Samuel, student with The
ophilus Parsons, 15; biographical
note concerning, 15 ; aUusion to, 40,
42, 44, 45, 46, 50, 60, 61, 62, 63, 67,
69, 70, 71, 76, 81, 82, 84, 87, 88, 89,
91, 93, 96, 97, 100, 102, 106, 107, 109 ;
described as in love, 109; aUusion
to. 111, 112, 114, 116, 118; diarist
characterizes, 118; allusion to, 120,
129, 132, 133, 135, 136, 137, 139, 140,
157, 159, 160, 162, 163, 164, 165.
Putnam, Miss, aUusion to, 93 ; diarist
meets, and characterizes, 98, 99;
aUusion to, 100.

Q.

Quinctilian, Mr. Parsons advises diarist
to read, 64.
Quincy, town of, allusion to, 9.
Quincy, Mrs. Ann, allusion to, 22;
biographical note concerning, 22 ;
diarist visits, 128, 145.
Quincy, Anna, marries John Thaxter,
53.
Quincy, Dorothy, allusion to, 83.
Quincy, Edmund, allusion to, 22.

INDEX.

199

Quincy, Col. John, aUusion to, 17, 53,
55, 145.
Quincy, Mrs. Josiah (Jr.), aUusion to,
145.
Quincy, Lucy, allusion to, 10.
Quincy, Nancy, allusion to, 22 ; note
on, 22 ; diarist meets at Haverhill,
47 ; allusion to, as having been ill,
128.
Quincy, Norton, " My Uncle Quincy,"
diarist visits, 55; note on, 55; allu
sion to, and note on, 145 ; Mrs. Abi
gail Adams visits, 152.
K.
" Eambler," packet, between Newport
and New York, diarist takes passage
on, 172.
Eand, Dr., of Cambridge, allusion to,
157.
Eead, Mr., ot Salem, diarist visits, 129.
Eead, Nathan, resigns tutorship at
Cambridge, 19 ; biographical note
concerning, 19.
Eedlngton, Mr., allusion to, 63.
Eeligion, diarist's comment on, 161.
Eice, Col. Nathan (Jr.), gives dinner
party at Hingham, 52 ; note on, 52 ;
allusion to, 53, 54.
Eice, Rev. Nathan (Sr.), allusion to, 52,
Eichmond HiU, residence of Vice-Presi
dent John Adams, in New York, 176.
Eoberts, Miss, allusion to, 130, 161.
Eobertson's "Charles V.," diarist
reads, 30 ; comments upon, 30 ; note
conceming, 30, 32.
Eochetoucauld, Dux de la, quotation
from, 158.
Eomain, M., feUow lodger with diarist
at Mrs. Leathers's, Newburyport,
158; allusion to, 162, 165.
Eousseau's " Confessions," diarist
reads, 35; his comment on, 36.
Eussell,  , of Haverhill, diarist
visits, 47.
Eussell, Daniel, aUusion to, 108, 167.
S.
Sainneville, Marquis de, dines with
John Adams at Braintree, 166.
St. John's Day, observance of, 75.

Salem, town of, allusion to, 61, 62, 111,
115, 129, 166.
Salisbury, town of, allusion to, 102, 114.
Sanders, Daniel Clarke, disputant at
Harvard Commenceraent, 1788, 154 ;
note on, 154 ; in list of graduates, 155.
Sandwich, town of, allusion to, 52.
Sargeant, Judge Nathaniel Peaslee,
diarist pays a visit to, 13 ; bio
graphical note concerning, 13 ; diarist
dines with, 18, 29 ; allusion to, 48, 55,
121.
Sawyer, Dr. Micajah, diarist visits, 104 ;
note on, 104 ; allusion to, 108, 110.
Sawyer, Mrs. Micajah, allusion to, and
note on, 104.
Sawyer, Williara, allusion to, and note
on, 110; characterization of. 110;
allusion to, 114, 131; graduate of
Harvard, class of 1788, 155.
Sawyer, William (the first of that
name), descendants of, note on, 104.
Sawyer's Tavern, see Sohier's Tavern.
Searle, George, allusion to, note, 134.
Searle, Mrs. George, allusion to, 134.
" Seasons," Thorason's, quotation from,
133.
Sedgwick, Theodore, member of Fed
eral Constitutional Convention, allu
sion to, 86.
Selden, Mrs,, of Virginia, allusion to,
35.
"Sensible," French frigate, conveys
John Adams and his son to Amer
ica, 6; Johu Adams returns to Eu
rope on, 7.
" Sentimental Journey," Sterne's, allu
sion to, 48.
Sewall, David, Judge ot Supreme Court
of Massachusetts, 29 ; allusion to, and
note on, 56 ; allusion to, 151.
Sewall, Stephen, allusion to, 102.
Shakespeare, "Measure for Measure,"
quotation from, 66 ; diarist reads
historical play of, 84 ; " Twelfth
Night," quotation trom, 87 ;
"Othello," quotation frora, 165;
" II Henry IV.," quotation from,
167; aUusion to, 174.
Shaw, Capt., of packet " Eambler," 175.
Shaw, Rev. John, biographical note
concerning, 11; aUusion to, 16, 18;
diarist visits at Haverliill, 47 ; allu
sion to, 48, 49, 50, 63 ; Thanksgivmg

200

INDEX.

Day sermon of, 66 ; allusion to, 67,
91, 100, 121, 145, 146, 157, 163, 167.
Shaw, Mrs., allusion to, 92, 145, 146,
163.
Shaw, Josiah C, takes part in a Greek
dialogue at Cambridge, 124.
Shays's Eebellion, allusion to, 9, 14;
diarist comraents on leniency shown
to participators in, 33; aUusion to,
83.
Sheep-stealing, penalty for, 41.
Shehane, John, on trial tor burglary at
Boston, 28 ; diarist listens to trial,
and comraents thereon, 28, 29; con
victed and sentenced to death, 33 ;
diarist coraraents on sentence, 33 ;
diarist comments on leniency shown
to participators in Shays's Rebellion,
33.
Shenstone, William, allusion to, 174.
Shute, Rev. Daniel, at ordination of
Henry Ware, 52; note on, 52.
Siddons, Mrs. Sarah, allusion to, 103.
Sigourney, Mr., allusion to, 118.
Slave-trade.Benjamin Abbot speaks col
lege oration on, 124 ; produces com
mercial prosperity of Newport (E. I.,)
174.
Sleighing party, diarist goes on, 87.
Small-pox, breaks out in Newburyport,
132.
Smith, Dr. (of Newburyport), allusion
to, 91, 93, 98, 109, 116.
Smith, Miss, allusion to, 93, 94 ; diarist
"makes up" a misunderstanding
with, 98; allusion to, 100, 116, 139.
Smith, Mrs. Abigail Adams, diarist al
ludes to, 44 ; note on, 44.
Smith, C. C, editor of Massachusetts
Historical Society, 8 ; Adams's diary
placed in hands of, 8 ; reproduces
diary in Proceedings of Society, 8.
Smith, Miss Elizabeth, daughter of
Deacon Isaac, diarist visits in Bos
ton, 55 ; note on, 55 ; allusion to, as
"Betsey," 146, 160.
Smith,lfrs.ElizabethQ.,aUusionto, 10.
Smith, Rev. Hezekiah, diarist alludes
to, 17, 18 ; biographical note concern
ing, 18 ; allusion to, 63.
Sraith, Deacon Isaac, Jillusion to, 25;
note concerning, 25; note concern
ing, 32; death of, 49; note concern
ing, 49.

Smith, Rev, Isaac, elected librarian of
Harvard College, 20; biographical
note concerning, 20; diarist visits,
125.
Smith, ilfi'ss S., of Sandwich, partner
of diarist at a dance at Hingham, 52.
Smith V, Brown, case of, 38 ; diarist lis
tens to, and comments on, 33.
Smith, WiUiam, allusion to, 32; note
on, 32 ; allusion to, 55 ; diarist
lodges with, 56 ; allusion to, 166, 168.
Sohier (Sawyer), William, 50.
Sohier's (Sawyer's) Tavern, New
buryport, diarist visits with friends,
36, 37, 42 ; joins sleighing party to,
87 ; diarist visits with brother Charles
and others, 90; sleighing party to,
94 ; diarist visits, 130, 134, 136, 141.
Southbridge, town of, allusion to, 52.
Sprague's, W. B., "Annals of American
Pulpit," quoted, 13.
Spring, Rev. Gardiner, allusion to, 63.
Spring, Rev. Samuel, pastor of North
Church, Newburyport, 31 ; diarist
attends lecture by, 62 ; note on, 62,
63; diarist criticises and character
izes, 63 ; allusion to, 68, 105, 108, UO,
115, 132, 139, 158, 161.
Stacey, George, allusion to, 37; note
on, 37; allusion to, 41, UO, 111, 114,
116, 121, 132, 137, 139, 142, 143, 157,
158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164.
Stage lines, note concerning, 29.
Stark, Maj. Caleb, about to marry Miss
McKinstry, 48 ; note on, 48.
Stark, Maj.-Gen. John, allusion to, 48.
Stedman, William, diarist alludes to,
14; biographical note concerning,
14 ; allusion to, 15, 24, 36, 37, 42, 56,
57, 124, 128; marries Almy Ellery,
note, 172.
Stewart, 3fr., fellow passenger with
diarist on voyage to Newport, 175.
Stiles, Ezra, President of Yale College,
diarist meets daughter of, at New
port, 173
Stone, Michael, Representative in Con
gress, allusion to, 177.
Storer, Deacon Ebenezer, diarist dines
with, 55; note on, 55; diarist dines
with, 144, 150.
Story, Rev. Mr., preaches at Newbury
port, 162.
Street, Miss, diarist alludes to, 22.

INDEX.

201

Strong, Caleb, member of Federal Con
stitutional Convention, allusion to, 86.
Sturbridge, town of, allusion to, 25, 52.
Suicide, of Ben. Hooper, 89, 90; diarist
descants upon subject of, 90.
Sullivan, Francis S., Lectures of, dia
rist takes up, 43; note on, 43 ; allusion
to, and criticism of, 70, 71; diarist
completes reading of, 72.
Sullivan, Gov. James, counsel in case
Smith V. Brown, 39 ; note on, 39 ;
counsel in case at Cambridge, 56 ;
anecdote ot, 56 ; diarist characterizes,
56 ; allusion to, 143.
Sullivan, Gen. John, allusion to, 30.
Sullivan, John, Greek dialogue of, with
Thomas B. Adams, at Harvard Ex
hibition, 146.
Suraner, Increase, judge ot the Su
prerae Court of Massachusetts, 29
allusion to, and note on, 66.
Sweden, diarist recalls his visit to, 93
note on, 93.
Swett, Dr. John B., allusion to, 13
Moses Little, student in office of, 15
allusion to, 30; biographical notice
of, 30 ; as classraate of Tracy, 31
aUusion to, 44; diarist advises with,
65 ; allusion to, 68, 80, 82, 88, 104,
130, 107.
Swett, Mrs. Dr., characterized by dia
rist, 68, 69 ; note on, 68 ; diarist com
ments on, 82 ; allusion to, 104.
Symmes, Rev. William, allusion to,
biographical note on, 38; opposes
Federal Constitution, 38, 48 ; allusion
to, 77 ; allusion to, and note on, 167.

Tappan, Amos, disputant at Harvard
Commencement, 1788, 154; in list of
graduates, 1788, 155.
Tappan, Rev. David, preaches at
Newburyport, 12; diarist's charac
terization of, 13; biographical note
concerning, 12, 13 ; pastor at West
Newbury, 31 ; classmate ot John
Tracy, 31; preaches at Newbury
port, 115.
Taunton, town of, aUusion to, 55, 152.
Taylor, Miss, of Boston, visits at New
buryport, 142.

Thacher,  , disputant at Harvard
Exhibition, 146.
Thanksgiving Day, diarist observes,
66.
Thaxter, Caleb, of Hingham, diarist
dines with, at Hingham, 52 ; note on,
52 ; diarist sups with, 54 ; diarist
rides to Boston in company with, 55.
Thaxter, John (Sr.), of Hingham, dia
rist visits, 53; note on, 53.
Thaxter, John (Jr.), of Haverhill, allu
sion to, 13, 16, 17 ; biographical note
concerning, 17 ; allusion to, 49 ; con
vivial scene at house of, 50 ; allusion
to, 51 ; is married, 63 ; allusion to,
74, 91, 92, 100, 121, 143, 157, 167.
Thaxter, Mrs. John, of Haverhill, allu
sion to, 06, 121.
Thaxter, Quincy, allusion to, and note
on, 54 ; allusion to, 152.
Thompson, Thomas, allusion to, 14;
opposes his son's desire to read law,
31 ; diarist comments thereon, 31 ;
aUusion to, 130.
Thompson, Thomas W., diarist alludes
to, 14 ; biographical note concerning,
14, 15 ; fellow student with diarist at
Newburyport, 30; engages in teach
ing school, 31 ; father opposes his
intent to read law, 31 ; diarist com
ments thereon, 31 ; aUusion to, 33,
40, 42, 44, 45, 46, 60, 62, 63, 67, 71, 81,
84, 93, 94, 96, 100, 102, 106, 108, 109,
no, 112, 114, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120,
130, 131, 132, 133, 135, 136, 137, 138,
139, 140, 141, 157, 159, 160, 161, 162,
165.
Thorason's " Seasons," quotation frora,
133.
Thurston, Rev. Benjamin, member of
New Hampshire Federal Constitu
tional Convention, 101 ; diarist criti
cises speech of, 101 ; note on, 101.
Tillotson, John, Archbishop, allusion to
sermon by, and note on, 131.
"Timothy Dexter House," allusion to,
83.
Titcomb, Gen. Jonathan, reviews troops,
47, 48 ; note on, 47 ; elected delegate
to Mass. Federal Constitutional Con
vention, 64.
" Tom Jones," Fielding's, diarist's criti
cism of, 16.
Topsfleld, town of, allusion to, 37.

202

INDEX.

Townsend, Horatio, fellow student with
diarist at Newburyport, 30; bio
graphical note concerning, 30; dia
rist dines with, 32 ; allusion to, 33 ;
diarist walks with, 34; allusion to,
35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50 ;
diarist characterizes, 61 ; allusion to,
62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 71, 75, 77, 81,
82, 84, 85, 88, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99,
100, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109,
no, 114, 115; adraitted to practice,
116; diarist characterizes, 116; allu
sion to, 142, 143, 149, 158, 160, 161,
162, 163, 164.
Townsend's Tavern, Newport, diarist
stops at, 172.
Tracy, Hannah, allusion to, 83.
Tracy, John, of Newburyport, diarist
visits, 31; biographical note on, 31;
diarist dines witb, 35 ; note on, 35 ;
allusion to, 36, 60, 65, 83, 98, 141, 142,
143, 163.
Tracy, Mrs. John, diarist's coraraent
on, 35, 36.
Tracy, Nathaniel, brother of John, allu
sion to, 31, 39, 65, 111 ; note on, Ul;
comment on, 112 ; allusion to, 163.
Tracy, Capt. Patrick, allusion to, 83,
Ul.
Training Day, diarist comments on, 32.
Treadwell, John Dexter, college friend
of diarist, 123 ; graduate of Harvard
College, 1788, 155.
" Treatise on Evidence," Sir Geoffrey
Gilbert, diarist reads, 127.
" Tristram Shandy," allusion to, 106.
Trowbridge, Judge Edmund, allusion
to, and note on, 147.
Tucker, Miss Alice, guest with diarist
at Miss Cazneau's, 67 ; diarist char
acterizes, 67 ; allusion to, 71 ; note
of, on Eev. Elijah Parish, 71 ; char
acterization by, of Samuel Moody, 76 ;
characterization by, ot lUiss Cazneau,
77 ; characterization by, ot William
Farnham, 108 ; characterization by,
of Nathaniel Tracy, 112.
Tucker, Rev. Dr. John, meeting-house
of, 34 ; note on, 34 ; allusion to, 46, 48,
49 ; note on, 49 ; diarist criticises con
gregation of, 50 ; allusion to, 62, 65 ;
sermon of, commented upon, 68 ;
aUusion to, 82 ; sermon of, commented
upon, 95; allusion to, Ul, 163, 167.

Tudor, William, counsel in Shehane
trial, 29 ; biographical note concern
ing, 29.
Tufts, Dr. Cotton, aUusion to, 10 ; note
concerning, 10; allusion to, 21, 22,
23, 56, 60, 146, 170.
Tufts, Cotton (Jr.), marries Dorothy
Brooks, 43 ; note on, 43.
Tufts, Dorothy, diarist present at mar
riage of, to George Odiorne, 43;
note on, 43.
Tufts, Samuel, allusion to, 15, 16, 33,
37, 40, 42; diarist present at marriage
of daughter of, 43 ; note on, 43 ;
allusion to, 44, 90 ; diarist dines with,
126 ; calls upon, 130 ; allusion to,
163, 167.
Tufts, Dr. Simon, widow of, alluded
to, 19.
Turner, Charles, graduate of Harvard
College, 1788, 155.
Tyng, Dudley Atkins assumes name of,
34 ; appointed Collector of Port of
Newburyport, 35.
Tyngsborough, town of, allusion to, 34.

U.

Underwood, Nathan, graduate of Har
vard CoUege, 1788, 155.

Vassall, Col. John, allusion to, note, 147.
Vassall, Leonard, dwelling of, prepared
for occupancy of John Adams on his
return trom the American mission at
St. James, 126, 127 ; note on, 126, 127.
Vattel's "Law ot Nature and of
Nations," diarist peruses, 32 ; his
comment thereon, 33, 37.
Vaughan, Mr., allusion to, 168.
Virginia, ratifies the Federal Constitu
tion, 160.
" Vision, The,'' poem by diarist, quota
tion from, 114, 115, 120.
Vose sisters, Sarah, Margaret, Dolly,
Nancy, Naomi, note on, 54.
Vose, Solomon, allusion to, aud note
ou, 54.

INDEX.

203

W.
Waltham, town of, allusion to, 27.
Ware, Rev. Henry, chosen tutor at
Harvard CoUege, 19 ; declines, and
accepts call as pastor at Hingham, 19 ;
biographical note concerning, 19;
elected president of * B K, 25, 26 ;
aUusion to, 27 ; ordained and settled
at Hingham, 51, 52, 53 ; allusion to,
128 ; orator at Harvard Commence
ment, 1788, 154.
Warland's, of Cambridge, aUusion to,
27, 166.
Warren, George, visits diarist, 151.
Warren, Harry, allusion to, 150.
Warren, Gen. James, of Braintree, aUu
sion to, 128 ; criticism ot, 150.
Warren, Mrs. Gen., ot Braintree, allu
sion to, 128, 148, 150, 151.
Warren, Dr. ( Gen.) Joseph, Samuel
Adams, Jr., studies medicine with,
87.
Warren, Joseph (Jr.), son of Gen.
Joseph Warren, allusion to, 22;
note concerning, 22.
Washington, George, allusion to, 9, 47 ;
John PhiUips has college oration
on, 123; dines with Vice-President
Adams, 176; visits New England,
178, 179.
Waterhouse, Benjamin, diarist meets,
at Carabridge, 124, 125; note on,
124, 125 ; allusion to, 144, 166.
Waterman, Foster, disputant at Har
vard Exhibition, 1788, 146.
Waters, Mr., visitor at Eichard
Cranch's, 127.
Waterston, Rev. E. C, allusion to, 34.
Watts, Miss J. C, editorial work of, on
Adaras's diary, 7.
Weather, New England, diarist com
ments upon, 33.
Webber, Samuel, note conceming, 19 ;
aUusion to, 76, 138.
Webster, Daniel, correspondence of,
referred to, 10.
Webster, Rev. Samuel, preaches at
Newburyport, 141 ; note on, 141, 163.
Weir Eiver, Gen. Lincoln's mill on, 54.
Welch, Franeis, biographical note con
cerning, 11 ; allusion to, 150, 168.
Welch, Mrs., allusion to, 146.
Weld, Rev. Ezra, diarist aUudes to, 22 ;

biographical note concerning, 22 ;
allusion to, 104, 127.
Welsh, Dr. Thomas, aUusion to, 25;
note concerning, 25.
Wendell, Mr., diarist meeta and char
acterizes, 97 ; eccentric acts of, 98.
WendeU, Miss, allusion to, 136, 139.
Wenham, town of, alluded to, 16.
West, Rev. Dr. Stephen, allusion to, 63.
West, Rev. Samuel, classmate of John
Adams, visits latter, 153; note on,
153.
West, Samuel, graduate of Harvard
College, 1788, 155.
West Church, Boston, Rev. Simeon
Howard pastor at, 28.
Wetmore, William, counsel in Shehane
trial, 28; biographical note concem
ing, 28, 29.
Weymouth, town ot, diarist visits, 21 ;
aUusion to, 128, 146.
Whipping, punishment tor crirae, 40.
White, John, diarist dines with, 12 ;
biographical note concerning, 12;
diarist visits, 63, 66, 92, 121, 167.
White, Leonard, biographical note con
cerning, 12; diarist visits, 16, 18;
aUusion to, 47, 48, 50, 63, 66, 87, 88,
91, 92; marries Mary Dalton, 104;
aUusion to, 121, 157.
Wibird, Reo. Anthony, diarist alludes
to, 22; biographical note concerning,
22 ; diarist visits, 55 ; listens to sermon
by, 125, 126, 145, 146, 150; diarist
criticises, 151 ; listens to, 152, 168.
Wier, Eobert, graduate of Harvard
CoUege, 1788, 155.
Wigglesworth, Dr. Edward, diarist al
ludes to, 15; biographical note con
cerning, 15; allusion to, 24, 28, 56,
83; uote on, 107 ; allusion to, 124, 155.
Wigglesworth, Margaret (Peggy), allu
sion to, 15, 16, 56, 125.
Wigglesworth, Sarah, allusion to, and
note on, 107.
Wilkins, Mrs., fellow passenger with
diarist on voyage to New York, 175.
Willard, Joseph, President of Harvard
College, note concerning, 10; diarist's
criticism of, 10, 24 ; allusion to, 28, 76 ;
presides at Coraraenceraent of 1788,
153; checks applause at Commence
ment exercises, 154 ; confers degrees,
154.

204

INDEX.

WUlard, Sophia, allusion to, 24; note
concerning, 24.
Williams, Dr., allusion to, 49.
Williaras, Eeuel, allusion to, note, 149 ;
allusion to, 166.
Williams, Rev. Samuel (Sr.), note on,
56 ; allusion to, 128.
Williaras, Samuel (Jr.), classmate of
diarist, aUusion to, 56; note on, 56;
allusion to, 62, 83, 128.
Willis, Capt. Benjamin, diarist alludes
to, 18 ; biographical note concerning,
18.
Wilmington, town of, diarist aUudes to,
11 ; visits, 18 ; dines at, 51 ; diarist
passes through, 157.
Winnisimet ferry, allusion to, 165.
Winslow, Rev. Edward, note, Vii;
daughters of, are fellow passengers
with diarist on voyage to New York,
174.
Winslow, Mr., of Newburyport, allu
sion to, 41, 49.
Winthrop, Hon. James, resigns as
librarian at Harvard, 19; biograph
ical note concerning, 19 ; one of the
founders ot the Massachusetts His
torical Society, 19 ; aUusion to, 24,
Ul.
Winthrop, Thomas L., Lieut.-Gov.,
aUusion to, note, 149.

Wit, diarist discusses, 60.
Witherspoon, Rev. Dr. John, allusion
to, 33.
Woburn, town of, diarist passes
through, 157.
Wood's "Institutes of the Laws of
England," reference to, 107; diarist
reads, 140; note on, 140.
Woodward, Mr., of Braintree, aUusion
to, 166.
Wright, Mr., travelling companion of
diarist on journey to Providence, 171,
and to New York, 175.
Wright, >Str Martin, " Law ot Tenures"
of, diarist reads, 43 ; note on, 43 ;
diarist completes reading of, 72.
Wyer, Capt. WiUiam, of Newburyport,
zealous for adoption of Federal Con
stitution, 46; note on, 46; allusion
to, 72.
Wyeth, Tapley, aUusion to, and note
on, 122.

" Yorick's Secret," allusion to, 48.
Yorick's Sermons, allusion to, and note
on, 70.
Young, Dr. David, seeks to prosecute
participants in Shays's Rebellion,
for personal injuries, 160.

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