Diary of John Quincy Adams, volume 1
1781-06-25
This morning I went to Mr. Crajenschot's to get the 20th No. of the Politique Hollandois which comes out every week, there is
something in the last No. worth coppying which I shall do at the end of this day's journal.
Din'd at home, after dinner went to see Mr. Bordly and afterwards to Madam Chabanel's. Got
home at about half past nine o'clock.
From the Politique Hollandois Chapter 5th.1
On the following two pages in the Diary, JQA has translated into English the
first half of a portion of an article in the 25 June issue of Le
politique hollandais, 1:315. The passage, which is continued in the following day's entry, relates an imaginary dream
in which a Dutch courier is sent to St. Petersburg to exchange diplomatic assurances for
armed ships of war (under the Russian Declaration of Armed Neutrality of 1780) and
concludes with what the Russians supposedly gave in return. As a whole, the article argues
for all-out war by the Dutch against the English, since Russia's friendship with England
makes the league of armed neutrality futile.