Diary of John Quincy Adams, volume 1

22d. Friday. JQA

1782-02-22

22d. Friday. Adams, John Quincy

22d. Friday.

Stay'd at home all day. Begun The 8th. Volume of Hume's history of England. Mr. D. wrote a letter to Holland.1 In the after-108noon he went to Mr. Wolff's. Cloudy in the morning, but clear'd up in the afternoon.

Undoubtedly Dana to JA, 21 Feb., the only letter written to Holland at this time in Dana's letterbooks; the letter was sent by post on 22 Feb. (Adams Papers; MHi:Dana Papers).

23d. Saturday. JQA

1782-02-23

23d. Saturday. Adams, John Quincy

23d. Saturday.

Finished translating the first Oration of Cicero against Catilina, and began the second.1 In the forenoon Mr. D. went out to take a walk. Stay'd at home all day. Cloudy weather.

M/JQA/45, Adams Papers, Microfilms, Reel No. 240. See entry for 30 Jan., note 2 (above).

24th Sunday. JQA

1782-02-24

24th Sunday. Adams, John Quincy

24th Sunday.

Finished the 8th. and last volume of Hume's history of England 327. pages. Mr. D. went to Mr Wolff's in the forenoon, and dined at Mr. Rimberts. Mr. Artaud dined out also. Mr. D. receiv'd a letter from England in the afternoon. Cloudy weather. Stay'd at Home all day.

25th. Monday. JQA

1782-02-25

25th. Monday. Adams, John Quincy

25th. Monday.

Went in the morning to the English Library and took out the three first volumes of Mrs. Macauley's History of England1 begun the first. Went to the Hotel of the French Minister. Went to the shops with Mr. Artaud and Mr. Montréal, and to a booksellers. In the afternoon Mr. Artaud went to the concert. Cloudy weather all day, and it is so warm that it does not freeze at present.

Catharine (Sawbridge) Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James I to that of the Brunswick line, 8 vols., London, 1763–1783. JQA's single note (a copied passage) from Mrs. Macaulay's history is in M/JQA/1 (14/25 Feb. 1782), Adams Papers, Microfilms, Reel No. 199.

26th. Tuesday. JQA

1782-02-26

26th. Tuesday. Adams, John Quincy

26th. Tuesday.

In the forenoon Mr. D. went to take a walk. After dinner I went to a booksellers and bought a Latin and French Dictionary.1 Cloudy weather.

110 109 1.

This is possibly Jean Boudot, Dictionarium Universale Latino-Gallicum, Paris, 1774, or his third edition, Paris, 1775, both of which contain JQA's earliest bookplate, but no date of purchase. During his first month in St. Petersburg, he bought for “8 Rubles 50 Copecks” another volume which includes a Latin-French dictionary, François Antoine Pomay, Le Grand dictionnaire royale en trois langues, savoir, la françoise, la latine et l'allemande, 2 vols., Augsburg, 1767 ( Catalogue of JQA's Books ).