Heavy rain this morning so that I made up my mind very quietly to remaining at home. Read German, Muller, History of the Appenzel War which is interesting. But I find my progress exceedingly slow. The great difficulty in German is from the great number of compound 329words which are not to be found in Dictionaries and yet which represent shades of ideas different from any simple words. Read Hume, Dialogues upon Natural Religion. Tried to begin an Essay upon the character and influence of Mr. Jefferson but only succeeded in laying out what might be considered as the rough ground. Read some of Mr. Jay’s book.

Afternoon Cowper’s Correspondence. This opens to me a new view of character. It seems his morbid sensitiveness took the direction of religion. He believed himself everlastingly damned. The Deity appeared to him only as an avenger. At times this state of mind merged into insanity but it rarely rose into a better condition. Shocking enough—Yet with all this his letters and Poems show a sort of humour which betokens a mind at peace with itself and others. Flowers covering a precipice.

Rode to town, accompanied by Mr. Brooks. Found myself in pretty active request, first by the necessity of attending to my purchase of wine, then to go to the Athenaeum, then to call upon Mrs. Frothingham and then Office where I had Mrs. Relief Harris in quest of information about her claim for pension arrears.1 Then an applicant for the office below and thus my morning passed. Out of town. Afternoon, reading Cowper which book I finished not I hope without having made some reflections of a profitable nature to myself. Poets seem to have some tendency to madness. Inspiration among savage nations is our madness. The Intellects brighten when reason fails. I accompanied Mr. Brooks to make some town visits. Mrs. Hall’s, Mrs. Gray’s and Mr. Stetson’s the Clergyman of the Parish. We rode home.

Very heavy rain again today. I did not stir out of the House. Read Muller and almost finished the lively Account of the Appenzel Insurrection. Then Hume whose Dialogues I finished. He was a Deist admiring to1 exercise his capacity upon intricate subjects and scarcely possessing the foundation necessary to fix his judgment to sound con-330clusions. Wrote and copied a letter to my father and read a little of Jay. So much for the morning.

In the Afternoon, I read Walpole’s Letters which are all of them amusing enough. He had the art of writing nothings admirably well. His life was the life of a humanist. His feelings do not appear to have been so strong as his expressions and His heart amazingly selfish. Ovid, Elegies. That upon the death of Tibullus is very pretty. Evening continued Walpole.