29 October 1843
adams-john10 Neal Millikan Unitarianism Religion
116 Buffalo. Sunday 29. October 1843—

29. VI. Sunday.

Fillmore Millard Love Thomas H Rogers Williams Thompson James Johns Dr William Dobbins D. Hunter John W Tracy Albert H— Hosmer Revd Hawkes Revd And many others

The room in which I slept was so small, so cold and so dark, that they gave me another this morning, very comfortable, the same in which I had slept last July. Immediately after breakfast, Mr Thompson, Dr John’s and Mr Dobbins called on me, and informed me, that they together with Mr Hunter and General Charles M Read, member of Congress elect from the Eri District of Pennsylvania, had been appointed a Committee by the inhabitants of the borough to invite me to visit them on my way to Cincinnati—which invitation I accepted and it was agreed that we should embark at 8. O’Clock to morrow morning in the Steamer Genl. Wayne in which those gentlemen had come down to meet me— Mr Fillmore immediately after came in and invited us to tea at his house this evening, and offered us seats in his pew at the unitarian church which we accepted. The preacher was Mr Hosmer and his text was from Matthew 6.31. “What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? Or, wherewithal shall we be clothed?” He left out the preceding words of the verse [“]Therefore, take no thought saying” so that the Sermon was not directly upon the negative precept, but upon the anxious cravings of mankind for the supply of these wants incident to their physical nature— The discourse was an earnest and affectionate exhortation to the auditory not to indulge this excessing anxiety for the necessaries of life, but to guard against them by industry moderation and frugality and most especially by suppressing their propensities to lavish and extravagant expense, which he denounced as the besetting sin of the age and especially of the place.— An excellent and eminently practical Sermon.— Mr Hosmer gave notice that the anniversary festival of the protestant reformation would be held this evening. I observed that the usage of the worshipers here is to be seated during prayer, and to stand at the singing of the hymns. They use the compilation of the late Dr Greenwood— We dined at the Hotel and by invitation of Mr Rogers attended the evening service of the episcopal church: where a stranger, read prayers for the 20th Sunday after Trinity and Mr Hawkes, the settled minister was the preacher— His text and his sermon have slipped from my memory, which is the fault not of his mediocrity, but of my lethargy. Mr Hawkes is a young man, a brother of the celebrated Dr Hawkes; and married a sister of Mrs Edward Stanly. Returning from church I met in the street my old friend Albert H. Tracy, and was visited at the hotel by Lieutt. Williams the engineer, and others— We attended a tea and evening party at Mr Fillmore’s— Mr Love having insisted that I should first stop in at his house where his eldest daughter sung and played on the Piano the old armed Chair— Conversation with Tracy—

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