Diary of Charles Francis Adams, volume 2

Monday. 15th.

Wednesday. 17th.

Tuesday. 16th. CFA

1829-06-16

Tuesday. 16th. CFA
Tuesday. 16th.

Morning fine. I arose early and enjoyed the pleasure of the air, in going to take a bath on the Charles river. This early rising in summer is pleasant but it requires an effort to become sensible of it. 390I returned to breakfast feeling fresh and cool. At the Office, attended Court and heard the commencement of an argument in the case of the heirs of Hubbard against Mr. Brooks. This case involves a very large amount and charges fraudulent concealments on the part of Mr. Brooks which I regretted exceedingly being present to hear. The nature of the case was entirely unexpected to me and I repented being present as my feelings could not bear it. I shall not go again even if the eloquence was ever so tempting. The case strikes me as a very hard and a very unjust suit to obtain money of a rich man upon an obsolete claim.1 In the afternoon, I amused myself with reading Scott’s Lives of Smollet and Cumberland. They are light, airy and superficial like every thing else of his. My father is now in New York. Evening, a walk. A most magnificent night and the panorama of the Common singularly striking.

Poor George has been buried at East Chester with all possible marks of respect.2 I feel now more disposed to look with melancholy upon his fate. Although I cannot come to the conclusion that he would have lived to give us much gratification, yet the peculiarities of his character, the pleasant kindness of his nature, and the light yet ornamental cultivation of his mind have often afforded me moments of great pleasure. He might have been a distinguished man had God granted him firmness of character. He was a lively and pleasant companion, and a kind heart.

1.

The case was that of Henry Farnam, administrator for the estate of Tuthill Hubbart, v. Peter C. Brooks (9 Pickering 212). Hubbart and P. C. Brooks were partners in insurance underwriting from 1794 to 1803. When Hubbart died in 1808, Brooks made a settlement with his heirs. Now, after many years, the administrators of the Hubbart estate claimed that the settlement had been fraudulent and brought suit to recover from one to two hundred thousand dollars from Brooks. On 29 March 1830 the court held that Brooks’ original settlement should not be set aside but confirmed, allowing the Hubbart heirs, however, to recover about four thousand dollars due to them because of a mistake in the accounts. See JQA, Diary, 26 June 1829.

2.

JQA, on his way from Washington to Quincy, arrived in New York at the time GWA’s body was found. He attended a funeral service for his son at East Chester and then arranged for George’s body to be sent to Quincy in the late autumn. See Bemis, JQA , 2:182–183.