r Nicholas read the Church
Service for Whitsunday, including the Creed of St:
Athanasius— Mr Millman preached from 1.
Corinthians XII—10.11. “To another divers kinds of tongues; to another
the interpretations of tongues. But all these worketh that one and the
self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” I know
not whether it be his fault or mine, but I can never give attention to
Mr Millman’s Sermons— They are at once
flashy and flat. I can hardly sit and hear them— Notice was given again
that he had applied to be ordained as a Priest by the Bishop of Oxford on Trinity Sunday;
that is next Sunday. There was also notice that to-morrow and the next
day were to be kept as Holidays, and there would be religious service at
the Church.— Mr
Bourke the Danish Minister and his Lady came out and paid us a morning visit— Three of
the Schoolmates of our Sons, Chichester and two Drury’s
came and dined with them. I dined with Lord
Holland, at Holland House, his Country Seat. It is about
midway between the Brentford and Acton roads, and the entrance gate is
at the side of the Kensington Turnpike— A very large Brick House, built
in the Gothic Style, and four or five hundred years old. The library is
in a central Hall which extends through the whole breadth of the house
nearly two hundred feet long, but not more than thirty wide. The company
were, Count and
Countess Lieven, with whom there came a young English
Lady—Count
Beroldingen the Minister from the king of Wurtemberg—the
Earl and Countess
of Jersey, the Earl of
March, eldest Son of the Duke of Richmond, Lord and Lady
Granville, Sir James
M’Intosh, and some other Gentlemen—eighteen sat down to
table— The dinner was elegant; the wines choice; the dessert excellent,
and might have seemed to me better; but that Madame Bourke an
accomplished epicure had forewarned me that Lord Holland had the best
Confectioner in London. The tone of Society was easy and agreeable—
Lady Holland, was perfectly
well bred; and by several unaffected marks of maternal attachment to her
Son, Henry, a boy about twelve years
of age who was present, bespoke a favourable opinion of her domestic
character.— Lord Holland introduced the Earl of Jersey to me, at his
request.— I sat between Count Lieven and Sir James M’Intosh at dinner,
and had much Conversation with the latter, I had much also with Lord
Holland after dinner, and was pleased with every part of the
Conversation except my own— I offended Count and Countess Lieven, by
bluntly saying, that I had never known such a thing as hot weather in
Russia— I said two or three silly things to Sir James M’Intosh, and was
altogether stiff and dull, beyond my usual measure— I asked Sir James
M’Intosh if he was engaged upon a History of England— He told me he
was—from the Revolution of 1688. He asked me, if I thought Dr
Franklin had been sincere in the professions which he made
here that he lamented the Revolution which was to separate the Colonies
from Great Britain. which he said he did, the day before he last left
London; even to tears— I told him I did not believe Dr Franklin wished for the Revolution— Nor
Washington— He asked me
if any of the leading men had— I said, perhaps my father—Samuel
Adams—and James Otis.—
He asked me if we had any popular writers in America— I said none— Any
good History of the Revolution? I mentioned Gordon, Ramsey, and Marshall’s life of Washington. He said he had met in
India, several masters of American Merchant Vessels; particularly from
Salem; and found from them that America had two strong characters of
English descent. A multitude of Newspapers and Stage Coaches— He also
told me that he had last year introduced Walter Scott to Mr Clay—the first of his
admirers that he had ever seen from Kentucky. He spoke of Scott’s three
Novels, as admirable delineations of Scottish Manners and of characters—
The construction of the Stories, to which I objected, he said was good
for nothing— I thought there was in the last of the three no new picture
of manners peculiarly Scottish. That is nothing which had not already
been painted in Waverly and Guy Mannering. He mentioned the Antiquary
himself.— I said the character was well drawn; but I did not perceive it
to be peculiarly National. He said there was its pedantry; altogether
Scotch— He was himself a Scotchman, and he understood that whatever
contest there might be about other qualities, the palm of Pedantry was
universally awarded to his Country. I observed, that there must be
something very powerful in the principle of legitimacy, which made the
Scotch nobility and gentry now proud of their rebellions in favour of
the Stuart’s, and instanced the late addresses to Louis 18 in presenting him the Gaelic
Ossian, and to the Prince Regent,
also in Gaelic.— He said there was a sort of concession—“even in their
errors”— I told him that I had great
admiration for the principle of legitimacy, but I hoped he would give it
the finishing stroke in his History— It was to me, like Octavius to Cicero—ornandus and tollendus— He said
he should certainly not think it laudandus— It was merely the fashion of
the day— Hume himself, in speaking
of this principle 3said it was admirable; inferior
only to the more exalted principle of the rights of the People. Hoadley was made a Bishop in the
reign of George the second; and
Horsley, who somewhere
called Hoadley the Republican Bishop, was made a Bishop in the reign of
George the third—the first for
preaching against the principle of legitimacy, and the second for
preaching in favour of them— My conversation after dinner with Lord
Holland, turned much on a comparison between the political Institutions
of this Country, and of the United States. He enquired about our forms
of Representation, of which I gave him an account; and told him that the
result of them was that the very great proportion of our public men were
lawyers— He said it was precisely the same here— The theory of their
Representation in the House of Commons was bad, but perhaps no theory
could produce a more perfect practical Representation of all Classes and
interests of the community— Even the close boroughs, often served to
bring in able and useful men, who by a more correct theory would find
themselves excluded— Men of property could always make their way into
Parliament by their wealth—men of family; such a man as the Earl of
March, might go into the house of Commons for a few years in youth; to
get experience of public business, and employ time to useful purpose;
and there was no man of real talents who in one way or another could
fail of obtaining sooner or later, admission into Parliament— But a
great proportion of the House of Commons were lawyers; and most of the
business of the house was done by them— In the house of Lords, all that
was of any use was done by Lawyers. The great practical use of the House
of Lords, was to be a check upon mischief that might be done by the
Commons— Many Bill pass through that house, without sufficient
Consideration— The Chancellor is
under a sort of personal responsibility to examine, and stop them— His
character depends upon it— He is at the head of the Nobility of the
Country, and all that fudge; and his
Consideration depends upon his keeping this vigilant eye over the
proceedings of the Commons— All the ordinary business of the house
therefore rest upon a lawyer— Lord Holland observed that from what he
had heard, the most defective part of our Institutions in America was
the judiciary; which I admitted— Count and Countess Lieven went away
immediately after dinner. The Countess had an Evening party at her own
house, to which we were invited— Mrs Adams was to come
with the Carriage for me, about eleven, and I had specially directed the
servants to send me in word when the Carriage came— But this was
neglected, until I had stood waiting until past Midnight. There still
remained there The Earl and Countess of Jersey, Lord and Lady Granville,
and Sir James Macintosh, who sat round the fire in the Library
conversing upon the Methodists, Foster’s Essays, the Church, the
Athanasian Creed, and other miscellaneous subjects— Sir James Macintosh
and Lady Granville had been this morning to Church, where Sir James said
they had heard a mild and moderate Sermon; . . . But, said I by way of
atonement for his moderation he gave you the Athanasian Creed. . . Sir
James said yes—to be sure— . . . they had that.— Lord Holland said there
were many Church Clergymen, who at their peril took it upon them to omit it omit reading it; and that the
Duke of Grafton always got
up and went out of Church, when it was begun to be read— Lady Jersey
said she wished she could go to a Methodist chapel, without being
known.— About half past twelve a Servant came, and told me that my
Carriage was at the door; and on going down I found Mrs Adams had been waiting there ever since
eleven— I had been all the same time waiting for the Carriage, and had
thoughtlessly neglected to enquire of the Servants if it had come— It
was too late to go to Countess Lieven’s, and we returned home; which we
reached soon after one in the Morning.
John Quincy Adams Digital Diary
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