William Vernon Jr., also known as William H. Vernon, was the son of a wealthy Newport, R.I., merchant and member of the Continental Navy Board. To gain experience in trade young Vernon had been sent to France under JA's care at the time Adams made his first voyage to Europe in 1778 (JA, Diary and Autobiography , 2:271; 4:9).

John Bondfield, a merchant with the firm Bondfield, Hayward & Co., had been commercial agent for the United States at Bordeaux and other French ports since March 1778 ( Cal. Franklin Papers, A.P.S ., 1:384; JA, Diary and Autobiography , 2:294; 4:35–36, 96–97).

Probably Molière's Amphitryon, but possibly Jean Baptiste Raguenet, Amphitryon, ou les deux arlequins, a musical parody of Molière's play, n.p., 1713; Marc Antoine Legrand, Cartouche, ou les voleurs, Paris, 1721 (Cioranescu, Bibliographic du dix-septième siècle ; Brenner, Bibliographical List ).

Such scenes of “a Grand appearance” may have inspired several sketches of ships and soldiers which appear at the end of this Diary booklet, on the last leaf and on the inside of the back cover. These sketches come after two blank leaves (which follow this last diary entry) that JQA may have intended to fill, but never did, with his descriptions of travel from Bordeaux to Paris during the following week. For details about the sketches, see the Descriptive List of Illustrations, No. 3.