Diary of John Quincy Adams, volume 1
1780-09-04
This morning got up at about 7 o clock dressed and breakfasted. After breakfast Pappa wrote a line to the rector1 desireing him to let MY brother Charles and I come to his lodgings every wednesday and Saturday.
Reading a volume of the Spectator I found something in it which is worth copying and therefore I will do it.2
There is another which I will take down also.3
Not found.
Here follows a quotation of twelve four-line stanzas of a poem in The Spectator, otherwise unidentified by JQA, beginning “When all thy
Mercies o my God.” No edition of The Spectator exists in
either JA's or JQA's library, though a later citation by
JQA to a piece he copied from it indicates that he was using the less common
nine-volume edition. Notes regarding JQA's copied passages from The Spectator are based on the five-volume Oxford edition of
1965, edited by Donald F. Bond.
The poem, published in The Spectator No. 453, 9 Aug. 1712
(ed. Bond, 4:96–98), contains thirteen
stanzas, the sixth of which was left out by JQA, probably inadvertently, and
the rest were numbered out of order by him in the Diary. Like nearly all of his transcriptions, this one has many discrepancies in
capitalization and punctuation; in other respects it is faithful. There seems to be no
pattern to JQA's choices of poems to copy.
Joseph Addison's “translation” of the Twenty-third Psalm, which appeared in The Spectator No. 441, 26 July 1712 (ed. Bond, 4:51).
1780-09-05
As I have nothing else to write for to day I will translate from the Guide D'Amsterdam something about the Medical Garden.1
This is all which is said in the book of that garden.
This evening Stevens came here and brought me two letters from Paris one from Cockran and the other from Deane2 two of my Schoolmates at Paris.
JQA's marginal note here, “vide Page 11 of this volume of my Journal,” refers to his entry of 25 Aug. (above), where he describes his visit to the Medicinal Garden.
This paragraph is followed by JQA's English translation of Le Guide, ou nouvelle description d'Amsterdam, p. 224–226, though
JQA's description of the Medicinal Garden differs somewhat from the source.
There are mistranslations and omissions, and some paraphrasing and alterations, a number
probably arising from changes in the Garden since the publication of Le Guide in 1772.
Letters not found.
1780-09-06
Half Holiday. At about ten o clock Mr. Le Roi came here and invited us to go and dine with him. We told him we would. At about half after twelve I went to Pappa's lodgings but found he 67was gone out, and then I went to Mr. Le Roi's, he was gone out and got home soon after. We dined at his house. After dinner we went with him to take a long walk out of the city and we drank tea there, after tea we came back again to Mr. Le Roi's where we supp'd. We came back to our School. Mr. Chabanel1 came with us as far as the door and then left us, we found the boys Just going to bed. The rule is to be home the holidays at half after ten. Brother Charles and Myself Study in a little chamber apart because we dont understand the Dutch.
Herman Le Roy's cousin (entry of 11 Sept., below).