My eldest boy is this day two years old. Upon every return of these Anniversaries I reflect how much I have to be grateful to God for. May prosperity never have such an effect upon my mind as to render me deserving of the severer lessons of adversity. My confidence never is in any act or merit of my own but in the enduring bounty of a gracious deity.

The day was fine and I went into town. My time of course very much taken up by the accumulated affairs of a week. My Appeal has not been published. The Printer came to a stand upon a passage that need not have puzzled him, so that I had to look over the proof and an opportunity to prefix a short Note explaining the design of my publication. Called at the house and performed several commissions. Called to see Mr. Brooks and T. K. Davis, the latter because he has just recovered from a very bad fall which he had over the stair case of Edmd. Quincy’s house. While at the Office of this person, Mr. Quincy senr. came in and asked us both to be Judges of the dissertations for the Bowdoin prize in the Junior Class at Cambridge. I consented and went off upon other business. Accounts. Mr. B. V. French and Mrs. Proctor consumed the available time at the Office.

Home to dine. Found collected, Mrs. T. B. Adams with her two daughters and L. C. Smith. They dined here as a sort of notice of John’s birthday. I felt as if I could not afford to lose the Afternoon and therefore employed part of it in bringing up the record of this Diary which has again fallen in arrear by this Journey. But evenings are rapidly taking the place of Afternoons and in the evening Mr. Beale and his daughter and Mr. Price Greenleaf dropped in so that we had quite a 227large circle. Conversation principally of our experiences in our Journey. They went early and I continued writing.

Day fine again. I felt the necessity of repeating my visit to town. Office, thence to see Mr. Sharpe who has taken advantage of my delay and absence from town to go to other work. He now promises to finish next week. Thence to see Mrs. Fuller who wants repairs. I promised to have them done provided she would renew the Lease for two years to which she seemed not at all disinclined. Thence to the house to make arrangements for our approaching return. Thus the time to be passed at the Office in transacting business was brief. I went over my Accounts and transferred some stock of the Boylston Market for Mr. Rupp. Then it became time to return home.

The afternoon was devoted to making up the arrears of my Diary which require immediate attention. Perhaps there is nothing which so teaches a lesson upon the effect of procrastination as the neglecting day by day an undertaking like a Diary.

My father appears since his return from his Journey to be suffering from a sore upon his hand which prevents his doing much. My own health never was better. Evening, walked up to Mrs. T. B. Adams’ whither the ladies had gone before. Nobody there but the family and Price Greenleaf. Conversation about our Journey. Walked home with him.

I remained at home this morning for the purpose of bringing up the work that was deficient. Wrote up the arrears of my Journey which I might have made longer had I had more leisure. There is much of reflection which takes place in the mind upon a trip like this which passes away forever if not fixed at the moment. Perhaps it is as well that it should.

Walked down at noon to see my Mother fish at Mr. Greenleaf’s Wharf. The rest of the time divided between a letter to Mr. T. B. Johnson upon his affairs1 and the examination of the MSS of my grandmother. This work goes on with very great slowness and embarrasses me with it’s extent. I find the most astonishing confusion of valuable and worthless papers. Yet I fear to destroy any thing, the property in them not being mine, and my estimate of their value per-228haps not likely to prove the same with that of others. My fear is also great of putting valuable papers out of the way, in attempting to give them a new direction. But I console myself with the idea that if the drudgery must be done, the sooner the better. If longer delayed, the whole might be lost. Afternoon spent in like manner. Evening conversation with the family and Journal.