John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

196 Quincy. Tuesday 15 July 1845— Boston. Quincy

15. IV. Tuesday.

Sun rose 4:36. Set 7.35.

The cool weather of Sunday at this place and at Boston last Sunday was the breath of an eastern breeze, fresh from the Sea, and extended not 40 miles westward. At New-York Albany and Philadelphia, there has been no intermission of the heat, and every where the thermometers are quoted at 100—and some up to 106. The lightening of yesterday struck the easternmost Schools house in this town; but the gust was much heavier at Boston than here; and at Lowell it killed a man, and damaged several houses.— This day the heat was nearly or quite as oppressive as last Saturday.— I went to Boston in the Coach with Mrs Charles and Mary-Louisa— I spent an hour and a quarter in walking to and fro in the burning Street in search of N. 3. Amory Hall, corner of Washington and West Streets where I found at last Mr John C. King the Sculptor, who took a sitting of an hour for my bust. The work of this day—was only the drawing with a pencil upon paper, of the profile of my head as large as life— We agreed upon this day week for the next sitting— He had a small cage with two Scottish linnets in it. He said they had been brought out in one of the Steamers this Spring— They were full of life and Spirits, chirping and pecking at the seeds of the herbs on which they feed, and flying about the cage as if in perfect possession of their freedom— He told me several anecdotes of his taming this kind of birds and keeping them tame without cage for five years of time.— It was past 12. when I reached the office of the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company, where on the 12th. of May 1831. I had deposited 2000 dollars, for my niece Abigail Smith Adams and received a Deed of trust to hold till her decease after which the money was to be received by me— On the 31st. of May of that same year, she was married to John Angier of Medford, and on the 4th of last February she died— The deed with a power to receive the dividends of interest are in the hands of Mr Angier, who received the dividend till 1837. since which no interest has been received— So that on the 1st. of January last the sum due was 2909.36.— The interest ceases after 3 months from the death of the person ensured. Mrs. Ann Adams, mother of Mrs. Angier, herself now slowly dying with a cancer spoke to my Son a few days since about this trust, and believes that the money will be equitably due to her, though I suppose by chancery Law it must be at the disposal of Mr Angier— The trust makes it my duty to act, although having for 14 years had nothing to do with it, the history of it had nearly passed out of my Memory. I took a pencil minute of the facts, dates and sums— I made a purchase of a mustard pot, and called at Dr Frothingham’s to meet the Ladies— Miss Cutts returned from her visit of a week to Miss Mary Crowninshield at Nahant. We were to send for her to the house of Mr B. W Crowninshield—but he was absent; his house was shut up, and Miss Cutts had taken her passage for Quincy in Gillett’s Noon-tide Stage— I found Mary-Louisa at Dr Frothinghams after a few minutes, Fuller with the Coach took us up, and we stop’d at Miss Wainwright a dress makers, took up Mrs Charles and returned in the melting mood to Quincy— Miss Cutts was there before us— My Son had attended the Greek examination at Cambridge and came home about 5 this afternoon— John Quincy has a holiday to-morrow, and brought home a fellow student, Henshaw— I steeped 100 mazzard cherries in a bottle of Jamaica Rum, of which I sent for a Gallon, to complete my experiment— Charles spent the Evening with us.— Prostrate with heat.