Diary of Charles Francis Adams, volume 8
1838-08-31
Morning clear and cold. Town accompanied by Miss Julia DeWint. Afternoon taken up with company. Evening at the Mansion. Not a profitable day.
My business in town was principally of the smaller sort. Commissions and Agency duties. But I called to see Mr. Brooks and there met Dr. Frothingham with whom I had a pleasant talk. He informed me of a fact which more pleased than grieved me. He had proposed me at the annual meeting of the ΦΒΚ yesterday without success. This had vexed him and my friend T. K. Davis much, but I felt fully the causes which operated to my exclusion and which have always and will ever do so, and hence was neither surprised nor hurt at the result, whilst I was highly gratified as well by the opinion as by the zeal of my friends.1 For the object itself I cannot say I feel in any degree anxious. The lesson is a good one to humble my arrogance as it respects ene-102 image mies open or secret, and to stimulate me in deserving the estimation unduly put upon me by my friends.
Home. Mr. Lunt dined with me very pleasantly, and we had a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Angier afterwards by which much of the Afternoon was taken up. So that instead of reading I consumed what was left in a ramble to the quarries in the pasture and then round to measure the ground I am tempted to inclose in front of my house. Evening passed as usual.
Conversation upon Coins in connection with the very unexpected recovery of a set of ancient ones in silver purchased long since by my father and missing until now.2 They make a very valuable acquisition to my collection. I looked over many of them and only doubted their genuineness because some are so rare. There can be no doubt however of the greater part of them.
In 1840, when CFA was again proposed for membership, he was elected (CFA, Diary, 29 Aug. 1840). Although JQA was in Cambridge in 1838 for the ΦBK ceremonies, his journal contains no indication that he attended the meeting of the chapter at which membership was considered.
On the earlier disappearance of that part of JQA’s collection consisting of ancient coins, see vol. 6:279–280. The present entry renders the note there incorrect. JQA’s account adds no details: “Found and gave to Charles my old Roman coins” (Diary, 31 Aug., Adams Papers).