Diary of John Quincy Adams, volume 1
1785-01-21
Paris. Dined at Mr. Jeffersons. Captn. Paul Jones1 told us the Marquis de la Fayette was arrived.2
Vrais Principes de la Langue Française, Synonimes François de M:
l'Abbe Girard.
3
Abdir, a new piece was announced for to day at the French
Théatre, but is put off to next Wednesday.4 Mr.
Blanchard cross'd from Dover to Calais in an air balloon, the 7th of the month, accompanied
by Dr. Jefferies.5 They were obliged to throw
over their cloathes to lighten their balloon. Mr. Blanchard met with a very flattering
reception at Calais, and at Paris. He and his companion, have been applauded at the
Théatres. The king has given him twelve thousand livres, and a pension of 1200
Jones was in Paris as congressional agent to recover prize money due officers and men of
three ships. Shortly after his arrival in Dec. 1783, Franklin augmented Jones' authority to
include the prize money due to any American ship formerly under his command. Jones'
negotiations with the French minister of Marine concluded in Oct. 1784, but payment was
long delayed (Samuel Eliot Morison, John Paul Jones: A Sailor's
Biography, Boston, 1959, p. 336–341).
Lafayette was returning from a short, sentimental, and successful tour of the United
States begun the previous August (Gottschalk,
Lafayette
, 4:83–138).
Gabriel Girard, Synonymes françois . . . nouvelle édition . . .
augmentée . . . de notes, par M. Beauzée, 2 vols., Paris, 1769, and his Les vrais principes de la langue françoise, 2 217vols., Paris, 1747. These are both in
JA's library at MB. A copy of
Synonymes françois, Amsterdam, 1766, with JQA's
bookplate is at MQA; there are also three
copies of Les vrais principes, two in JA's
library, and another at MQA, but none bears
JQA's bookplate.
Abdir, Paris, 1785, by Edme Louis Billardon de Sauvigny, was
first produced the following Wednesday, 26 Jan., then reduced to three acts on 31 Jan., when JQA saw and described
it (Brenner, Bibliographical List
; Journal de Paris, 26
Jan.).
Nouv. biog. générale
; Mary Beth Norton, “America's First
Aeronaut: Dr. John Jeffries,” History Today, 18:722–729 [Oct.
1968]; AA to Mary Smith Cranch, 25–27
Feb. 1787, MWA).
1785-01-25
Mr. Jefferson, and Mr. Short.1 The Marquis de la Fayette is not arrived. Mrs. Barclay.
Procs.
, 102:596–612 [Dec. 1958]).
1785-01-26
Mr. A: Paris. A Gentleman brought a Letter from Mr. Jay, which came by the Marquis de la Fayette:1 who will arrive this evening at Versailles.
John Jay to JA, 13 Dec. 1784 (Adams Papers).
1785-01-27
Company to dine Mr. d'Asp,1 and another Swedish gentleman. Mr. Setaro a Portuguese gentleman in the Evening. Mr. Williams2 spent the evening with us. Coll. Humphreys presented to Mr. A: a copy of his Poem address'd to the Armies of the United States.3 It appears very well written. The versification is in general noble, and easy. It is a recapitulation of some of the principal events that happened during the course of the late Revolution, and contains predictions concerning the future grandeur of the United States. May they be verified!4
Svenskt Biografiskt
Lexikon;
entry for 18 April,
below).
DAB
).
“A Poem, Addressed to the Armies of the United States of America,” New Haven, 1780, repr.
Paris and London, 1785 218(Dexter, Yale Graduates
, 3:417–418).
JA's presentation copy, presumably of the Paris edition (see AA2, Jour. and
Corr.
, 1:45), has not been found.
A red exclamation mark here was probably added after 1 Feb., when JQA began to record dates in red ink.