John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

25. VII— Attended Church with George— Prayers for the eleventh Sunday after Trinity were read by Mr Milman; and a Charity Sermon was preached, for the benefit of the Boys Charity School, by the Rev. William Harness, M.A. of Christ’s College, Cambridge. His text was Luke XVIII.16. “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not.” Mr Harness is a young man; nearly of the age of Milman, but I prefer much both his composition and delivery to Milman’s. His 63Sermon was adapted well to the occasion, and soberly and forcibly written— They boys were catechised by Mr Milman; and after Church there was a collection for them. Returning home from Church, I stopped and paid a visit to my neighbour, General Dumouriez. I found he was not going to the dinner this day at the French Ambassador’s. Dumouriez has lost all hopes of being recalled to France under the present order of things, and is not so much in the secret of affairs as he was last year. I asked him if it was true, as the Newspapers had announced, that a person had been arrested in Paris for corresponding with him— He said it was— A General Morgan, who had been one of his Aide de Camp’s. The Letters had been so far from containing any thing exceptionable that he had shewn them when he received them to the Duke de la Châtre, then French Ambassador here. But Monsieur Cazes the Minister of Police had taken it into his head that he, Dumouriez, with his 78 years upon his head, was the chief of a party, in favour of the Duke of Orleans— And although Morgan’s Letters were sent through the British Minister Stuart, and enclosed to Mr Vansittart the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Monsieur Cazes had broken them open, and sent Morgan to prison— But that is not surprizing when it is considered that there are now fifty-eight thousand state prisoners in France. He, Dumouriez immediately applied to Vansittart, that Stuart might be instructed to remonstrate against this procedure; but it was without effect; and Morgan was not released until the Duke de la Chatre went home, when he made such a noise about it that they let the man go— But Monsieur Cazes had also broken open Letters, addressed to Mr Hamilton, the Under Secretary of State, and found treason lurking in one of them, because the writer stated that he had paid for something, eighteen shillings— I asked Dumouriez, what had been the object of the Duke of Wellington’s late visit in England. He did not know. He had not seen the Duke, though he had called at his house for that purpose— Perhaps it was on account of his health, as he went for some time to Cheltenham— Sir Robert Wilson, and Mr Bruce, since their return from France have been to visit Dumouriez, who has a much higher opinion of Bruce than of his associate. He thinks that Bruce will shortly be brought into Parliament, and will make a figure there— After I returned home we had a visit to take leave, from Baron Jacobi-Klöst the late Prussian Minister— He informed us that Mr Greuhm, was going with him; and that he had presented Mr Jouffroy here as the Prussian Chargé d’Affaires. Baron Jacobi is far advanced in years and intends now to retire from public life altogether— I went into London and dined at the Marquis d’Osmond the French Ambassador’s— It was St: Louis’s day, and a great Diplomatic dinner. But as “Full Dress,” had not been marked upon the invitation Cards, as is usual on such occasions, and as was done upon the Count de la Chatre’s Cards on the same occasion last year, I went in frock undress, but found all the rest of the Company in full dress; excepting the Marquis de Grimaldi, the Sardinian chargé d’Affaires, who had made the same mistake, and two French Bishops, who could not appear in their full dress conveniently. The Company consisted of the Cabinet Ministers, the Earls of Liverpool and Bathurst, and Mr Canning the new President of the Board of Controul; most of the foreign Ambassadors and Ministers; the two French Bishops above-mentioned, and a number of French Officers, with the Consul Seguier. One of the Officers, next to whom I was seated at table, told me that he had married a Sister of de Cabre’s, and spoke in handsome terms of the Duke de Vicence. Mr Canning came late, after the company had sat down to Table— He made acquaintance with me, by asking me to help him to a dish that was before me, and to take a glass of wine with him— After dinner, at his request the Earl of Liverpool formally introduced him to me. This Gentleman, whose celebrity is great, and whose talents are perhaps greater than those of any other member of the Cabinet, has been invariably noted for the bitterness of his inveteracy against the United States, and I suppose considers it as a rule of personal courtesy to make up by an excess of civility, for the rancour which he has so constantly manifested against us. Mr Russell, more than once mentioned to me that such had been his conduct towards him— He and Lord Liverpool both talked about the great and rapid increase of the population of the United States— They enquired when the next Presidential election would take place, and who would probably be elected— I told them Mr Monroe. Lord Liverpool said he had heard, Mr Monroe’s election might be opposed on account of his being a Virginian— I said that had been made a ground of objection to him, but would not avail.— I asked Mr Pfeffel, and the Chevalier de Freire, to come and dine with us next Friday. Freire promised to come. Pfeffel had a previous engagement. The weather was so cold that there was a fire in the drawing Room; so there was yesterday at Mr Perry’s. The Ambassador’s Lady, Madame d’Osmond was much out of humour, at being obliged to live at this Season of the year in Town. Their daughter Madame de Boignes is a handsome and agreeable woman. They all speak English well— They lived many years in this Country as Emigrants. 64I left the Ambassador’s about ten O’Clock, and was at home before twelve. Ellen Nicholas came this day to spend some days with Mrs Adams— I received yesterday a Letter dated Cotton House, near Cleadle, Staffordshire, from G. H. Errington, an Englishman, with whom and his wife, we were much acquainted at Berlin and Dresden, but of or from whom we had heard nothing for more than fifteen years— The Letter had been left at the Office by a Mr Corbaux.