- French Benjamin V.
- Dyer Ezra.
Clear morning— I endeavoured without success to get a glimpse at the
rising dog star; but the belt of Orion, brilliant when I rose had faded
out of sight before Sirius had reached the horizon— I walked over the
hills and saw the rising Sun from the Southeast corner of my Son’s house— Then came home and
finished my Letter to my Constituents— And Alas! this was all the
business of the day— It vanished like so many others, I know not how—
Mr
French of Braintree came as he said on business—which was
to say that he, and some others owned some Acres of Salt-marsh adjoining
mine at the Mount Wollaston farm— That my tenant Alpheus Spear, frequently did them
damage, by turning his Cattle out on my land where they trespassed upon
theirs— They had agreed therefore to make a fence, and he proposed that
we should meet on the spot to ascertain the divisions, which I agreed to
do next Friday afternoon at 4. O’Clock— Mr
French spoke also upon the late Session of Congress, Slavery, Abolition
and Texas, upon all which topics I thought him rather cooled down since
last Summer— Mr
Dyer was here this afternoon— I had received this morning
an answer from the Commissioner of
Pensions, with the printed Regulations of the Secretary of War, for the execution of
the act of 7. July 1838. containing the form of Declaration which
Mrs
Lydia widow of Philip
Thayer must now make to obtain her Pension— Mr Dyer said she had already done this— Her
Declaration was taken by Sherman
Leland—the judge of probate for the County of Norfolk, who
was out here and offered to take it and transmit the papers to the
commissioner of Pensions— Mr Dyer therefore
requested me to return to him the papers which he had left with me, and
I did— I received from Mr Gales at Washington two
printed sheets of my pamphlet Speech, which I revised, and despatched by
the days mail back again— This afternoon I took the manuscript of my
Letter to my Constituents to the Office of the Quincy Patriot, but
Green was gone to Boston—
Returning home I stop’d for about an hour, and marked the spot behind
the North-east corner Pillar of his Portico, whence the rise and the
setting of the Sun, may both be seen— Charles and his wife were part of the Evening
with us— He had been to Boston, but returned to dine at home— It was his
daughter Louisa Catherine’s Birth
day. Seven years old.— She and her brothers John Quincy and Charles
Francis dined with us— The youngest, named Henry Brooks, born the 16th. of last February has a wet nurse named
Maria