Diary of John Quincy Adams, volume 1
1781-06-12
This morning after breakfast I went to Mr. Sigourny's to see about some quill's. He gave me a paper of the place where he buys his; after that I went and bought some. I din'd at home, Mr. Dennie, Mr. Donalson, and Mr. Sigourny and Mr. Du Barry din'd with us; Mr. Dennie, Mr. Donalson and Mr. Du Barry have just arriv'd here from the West India's; after dinner I went to see Mr. Greves and Mr. Brailsford, but they were not at home. I went to the first bible to see Mr. Bordly; I stay'd with him sometime and then came home.
From Guthrie's Grammar. NETHERLANDS. Chap 4th §:I.1
Here follows, on four pages of the Diary, the first three “sections,” as JQA
describes them, of the account of the United Provinces of the Netherlands by William Guthrie, Geographical
Grammar
, p. 399–400, at which point are described 78the physical “extent, situation and boundaries,” as well as the
“air, seasons, soil, and face of the country.” JQA collectively designated
material copied from Guthrie as “Chapter 4,” assigning “section” numbers roughly matching
Guthrie's topical subheadings, which are unnumbered in the source. JQA
acquired a copy of the 1779 edition sometime in 1781 (
Catalogue of JQA's
Books
).