John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

18. VI: When I went up to George’s chamber to call him up this Morning, I found he had not passed the Night there. He slept in the chamber below, with Mr Smith, and I did not see him until breakfast time. He read after breakfast— The annual Latin Play was to be performed for the third time, this Evening by the Scholars of Westminster school, and Dr Nicholas had procured three tickets for us. I went into London with Mr Smith and George— I stopped at the corner of Downing Street, went to the foreign Office, and took out Coll: Aspinwall’s Commission, with the Exequatur— Mr Bidwell, the chief Clerk was not there, but there was an under Clerk, who received the fees—£9:19. and delivered to me the papers. I then went to my Office in Charles Street, and sent the Servant Richard, to Mr Louis Casamajor, with the parcel made up by Mrs Adams, for Lady Porter, and a Note to him, requesting him if the packet should be too large, to send it back— At the Office I found Letters from William Parry, Thomas Cook of George town , J. S. Cogdell of South Carolina, and Mr Maury— Parry is a manufacturer of fire-arms or Ordinance, who has been to me several times and who wants to go to America. He is, or fancies himself a great inventor or improver, and has written several volumes about gunnery, and the composition of Gunpowder, which he wishes the American Government to buy— He is moreover like all the other disappointed projectors, who have come to me in this Country a malcontent and a republican. I have been much upon the reserve with them all— This man how ever found out Commodore Barney when he was here, who as he says promised to recommend him to the Government. He now sends me a Letter for the Commodore, with a box containing the four important volumes of manuscript, to be forwarded to him, and by him to the City of Washington— The Letter to me is merely to request me to transmit them, which I some time ago promised Parry that I would.— Mr Cook’s letter, enclosed one for my wife, and one for Mr Murdoch, which I sent him by the two-Penny Post. The purport of them all was to inform us of the Death of our friend and brother in Law, Mr Walter Hellen, of the City of Washington— He had been many years in a very infirm state of health, most of them time confined to his house, and scarcely expected to live from week to week. 362He had successively married Nancy and Adelaide Johnson, the eldest and the youngest sister of my wife; the latter of whom survives him; with one daughter of her own, and three children of the first wife. Mr Cook, the Executor of his will, sends me an Extract from it— His son Johnson, is substituted as the Executor, if Mr Cook should die after he comes of age; and in case of his Death, the trust is to devolve upon me. The widow and Children are left in comfortable circumstances— He died on the 30th. of October, and we had already received information of the Event, by letters from Mrs Smith at New-York to my wife, which were brought by Mr J. A. Smith— Mr Cogdell is one of the persons who wrote to me, expressing the wish to receive the appointment of Secretary of Legation to this Court, and whose Letter, I answered in August last— This Letter is in reply— He professes to be satisfied with what I wrote him on the subject; and informs me of his intention to visit England, the ensuing Spring.— Mr Maury mentions that instead of one hundred destitute Seamen, he shall be able to send home not more than fifty by the vessel mentioned in his last preceding Letter. I had written to enquire of him the cause of the extraordinary numbers of these applications to him for relief— He answers the question, in this Letter, but not entirely to my satisfaction— After perusing these Letters, I left the Office with George to go to N. 68 Lombard Street, to receive of Martin, Stone and Martin, Bankers, payment of the Bill of Exchange drawn by Meyer & Brüxner of St: Petersburg, upon John Mitchell, which was payable this day, and assigned at the Bank of Martin and Co: I had not reached the Corner of Charles Street, when I met Mr Glennie the son, with Mr Karthaus, and turned back with them— I told Mr Karthaus, that I should make the application to this Government, for restitution to the owner of the Baltimore, and her Cargo; but that to have any prospect of success additional evidence of the facts, would be indispensably necessary; most especially of the fact of the capture within the Spanish Jurisdiction— The only evidence of that, included in the papers, was the Captain’s Protest, signed also by the Mate; but that is scarcely ever received as evidence at-all.— It stated that there was a Spanish Pilot on board, at the time of the capture; the testimony of that Pilot, and of his boat’s crew, would be worth more as evidence than a hundred Protests, and if some such testimony should not be produced, the Government here as soon as they received my Note, would refer it to the Captain of the Ship who made the capture, and take his report whatever it might be, as a decisive answer to the complaint. Mr Karthaus, who appeared to have no idea, of any difficulty from the want of Evidence, asked me to let him have the papers for a few days, to ascertain what facts it might be necessary to authenticate by substantial proof, and accordingly took them with him— He and Mr Glennie, took leave, and I made a second attempt to go down into the City— I was again met before we reached the corner of Charles Street by Coll: Aspinwall, who was going to my Office, and with whom I again turned back. I gave him his Commission and the exequatur, and had some conversation with him concerning the destitute Seamen, who are now turned over to him by Mr Beasley— I wished to shew him the Note that I propose to send in answer to that of Lord Castlereagh, and invited him to come with his family and dine with us next Monday. He said he would consult Mrs Aspinwall and send me an Answer— After he went away, I made the third attempt, with George to go down into the City, and this time, we succeeded— It was half past three when we left the City, and precisely five when we returned to it— The distance is about 2 1/2 miles, but the crowds of people thronging the Streets, which were greater than usual made it impossible to walk fast— I received payment of the Bill, and immediately returned, with out having time to stop a moment to purchase a pair of skaits for John as I had promised him— We had taken into town a cold dinner, which we found ready at the Office; we had scarcely dispatched it, when Dr Nicholas called for us. He had appointed half past five O’Clock, and rather preceded his time. I found on the table a Letter from Count Fernan Nuñez, the Spanish Ambassador, which I had not then time to read, and put in my pocket— Dr Nicholas immediately took us to Mr Knox, one of the Masters of the school; whose first salutation upon seeing us was, that we could not all have places— There were only four of us, including the Doctor, and we all had tickets— After some coaxing however, Mr Knox finally consented to take us all in, and when we were introduced, I was a little surprized to find there was nobody there— It was about half an hour before the company began to come, and past seven, when the Play began— The Duke of York was expected, but he went this morning to Brighton. I saw there Count Beroldingen the Minister of Wurtemberg, Count Jenison-Walworth, Secretary of the Bavarian Legation, and Mr Hamilton the Under Secretary of State— The place fitted up for a theatre was the dormitory of the king’s scholars. And the names of great numbers of the former pupils are painted in capitals round the walls. It seems to be intended as a distinction, but is done without taste or order, and in most instances like the Critics in the temple of Fame, the new names are painted over the old ones and efface them— The room was finally crowded with Company. The Play performed was Terence’s Andria— The Prologue was very badly spoken, and was a panegyric upon the Discipline of the British schools; with a dire proportion of abuse upon France and Germany— All which was very highly applauded. The Orator had an impediment in his speech 363and could scarcely articulate. His gesture was as ungracious as his pronunciation, and he made his bows like a Magot de la Chine, all from the Neck. Dr Nicholas told me that by an established Custom the Prologue must always be spoken by the Captain of the School— It was therefore almost always badly spoken; and was never expected to be otherwise. The Speaker of the Prologue had no part in the Play; which was well performed— Not better however than the Adelphi had been at Ealing. The Epilogue was a dialogue between two of the Personages of the Play, in which Davus and Crito, make sport with some of the ridiculous things of the present or recent times— The invisible Lady, the Indian Jugglers swallowing swords, Joanna Southcott the pregnant old woman, and most of all Dr Gall and Spurzheim’s Craniology.— It was not altogether without wit and humour. The Prologue and Epilogue were both spoken twice; a strange practice, for the convenience of the semi-latinists who can understand better with two hearings than with one— He told me that he had attempted when he began exhibiting these Plays to have these head and tail pieces spoken only once; but the repetition was called for by the spectators, and he had been obliged to conform to the Westminster usage— The Dr introduced me to Mr Fletcher of Ealing, who was there, with his Son, the late Captain of Ealing School and principal performer, at the Play there in September last— The exhibition was over about ten O’Clock, and I took Dr Nicholas home to his house— He had gone to town in a Post-Chaise— Richard, my footman, gave me a packet which had been left for me at the Office, since I was there this Evening— We set Mr J. A. Smith down at Charing Cross, and after landing Dr Nicholas at his house, came home, where we arrived before Midnight— George was quite unwell— He had a remnant of his old cough hanging about him; and this day wet his feet through in walking with me to the City— After reaching home I opened the Letter from the Spanish Ambassador, and that given me by Richard as we left Westminster School. Count Fernan Nuñez informs me that he has received orders from his Court to demand restitution of the William and Mary; that he has accordingly addressed a Note to the British Ministry to make the demand, and will communicate to me their answer, when he shall have received it— The other Packet was from a Mr Anthony M’Kenrot, enclosing a Letter addressed “A Son Altesse Impériale, Le Prince Joseph Bonaparte, à New-York, en Amerique,” with a request from M’Kenrot to me, that I would forward it to its destination— This man wrote me once before, an impertinent Letter, and is now under a process of examination for the forgery of Bills of Exchange to a large amount— He says the Austrian Ambassador has forwarded such Letters for him— In our walk into the City his day, I was struck with the Gazlights which are introduced in the Streets, and most of the shops in the neighbourhood of the Mansion House— They are remarkably brilliant, and shed a light almost too dazzling for my eyes— They are also attended with an inconvenience of offensive smell, which I thought perceptible even in the Streets—and they are thought to be unhealthy. For lighting Streets however and open places, it is probable they will supersede the use of Oil— Our Sons John and Charles, this Evening came home from School, for the vacation of the Christmas Holidays— Mrs Adams sent an apology to Mrs Morison for our not attending her Rout this Evening.