Morning cloudy but afterwards exceedingly warm. The morning was passed in investigations for the benefit of my subject. The quantity of matter it leads me to read and look over would seem to be somewhat of a discouragement. But I hope it will have a tendency to fix in my mind the whole of a very important period when a contest was going on having a very great influence upon subsequent events.

At ten I went into Boston in the Carriage with my Mother and Wife. We stopped at Mrs. Frothingham’s, and from thence I went with the former to the Gallery of the Athenaeum, where after some time the latter joined us. I afterwards went to the Office where my time 315was taken up by a visit from Mr. T. Davis which I was obliged to cut short much sooner than I wished. Returned directly and we started from the Athenaeum to Quincy. A hot ride.

I spent the afternoon in reading Vaughan without however making a great deal of progress. Warm evening.

Cool in the morning but it became an exceedingly warm day. I remained at home, and on the whole applied myself pretty faithfully to reading Vaughan’s book, the first perusal of which I finished, also reading Hume’s Account of the Reign of James I.1 It certainly is pretty remarkable how he has varied from the truth in most important particulars. The influence of almost all of the English Historians has been thrown into the scale of high monarchy and the effect has certainly been considerable. But as it is the tendency of all misrepresentations to re-act when they are exposed, the final result may possibly be a tendency to the opposite popular extreme. From the aspect of affairs as they lately appear in England, there seems some ground to expect this pretty soon. The moderate popular party has been defeated. There seems only to be wanting a man of great character to hasten things to a crisis, involving the fate of King, Lords and Bishops. Evening, I drove my Wife out in my Gig. Mr. Beale afterwards spent an hour with us at home. It was so exceedingly warm I retired early.

Fine day but quite warm. I was occupied at home in beginning a draught of something upon Mr. Vaughan’s book, and in reading further Hume and Brodie1 in comparison. Perhaps this will only be another attempt added to a considerable list of things of that kind. But nil desperandum. It is better to give occupation to the mind and exercise to the pen.

I attended divine service all day and heard Mr. Kimball preach. He was formerly teacher of a school in Hingham which my brothers attended but has since moved elsewhere.2 His morning discourse was upon the character of Martha in the Scriptures as understood from the correction applied to her by the Saviour—her over attention to the 316things of this world. The subject was odd enough, but the Sermon was what struck me as very commonplace. That in the afternoon was better so far as the nature of the subject and the manner of treating it. It was upon mental independence. Yet on the whole I could not help reflecting how low the standard of teaching must have been in this Country twenty years ago. I do not know how far it is better even now. But I hope something has been gained.

Evening. Took a ride alone to Mount Wollaston, returning not till after sunset.