Diary of Charles Francis Adams, volume 5
1833-11-06
Pleasant morning. My father came in to town this morning preparatory to his going away. As Mr. Everett wished to see him I invited him 208to dine with him, and after a battle with Judge Hall who had accidentally caught him up in the Street, I secured my point. The remainder of my morning was passed at the office.
My father came in and we had much miscellaneous Conversation—Principally political—At times touching upon Lincoln’s letter,1 at times upon the elections now pending, and afterwards upon affairs of money. I was thus disabled from doing any thing and shall be obliged to give up writing my No. 5 upon Proscription. I do not know that this will be any great loss.
My dinner was a tolerably pleasant one, but Alex. H. Everett seemed to be awkward and not able to reconcile himself to his situation. He has been trimming, and is ashamed of it.2 Judge Hall came in afterwards, and in the evening Degrand. They none of them seem able to foresee the event of the election but as I think incline to the belief that Davis will be elected. It may be so, but the dullness of my optics is such that I am unable to discover the place to show it. Should this happen, however, it will make some difference in the general course of events. My father retired early in order to be ready for the morning’s departure.
CFA took the occasion to urge upon JQA the omission of parts of his letter to Gov. Lincoln, which he “readily promised to do.” JQA packed the letter in his trunk to take with him to Washington for revision (JQA, Diary, 6 Nov.).
“Alexander H. Everett ... assured me that he did not write the part of the National Republican Convention Committee’s Address which concerned me. He said it was very much debated and he disapproved it. But he thought it would bear a different construction from that which I applied to it. There has been a great struggle to strike off Everett from the
1833-11-07
My father left us this morning at 1/2 past 6 o’clock. I regret his going although in the present disturbed condition of our political affairs in this State, it cannot be disagreeable to him to be out of the State.1
209I went to the Office and read some of Milton. He is coarse but nervous. His style is not genuine English, because he had written in Latin and this is a translation. Notwithstanding all of this, he can furnish us very clever hints.
Took a walk. Afternoon and evening, engaged in a review of my Article upon Hutchinson asked for by Mr. Everett again yesterday. I wrote over two pages and revised all but the close. I think I could do better if I were to write anew. But the labour is too much for these times. Who thinks of doing so much as I commonly do in this way? I read a little of the Fair Maid of Perth, but my Wife was fatigued from the child’s restless nights.
The Columbian Centinel (7 Nov., p. 2, col. 2) reported JQA’s departure on the eve of the election as indication of his awareness that “he has not the slightest prospect of being elected Governor.” By the 9th it reported further that his departure was said to reflect his “despairing of success” and, on the authority of an “intimate” friend, that JQA did not wish to be elected Governor (p. 2, col. 2). A broadside issued by partisans of JQA in answer to the deductions unfavorable to his candidacy drawn from JQA’s departure is reproduced in the present volume; see also p. xiv–xv, above.