Adams Papers

Sunday July the 8th 1781.

Sunday July the 8th 1781.

This morning Mr. Dana and Mr. Deneufville1

1The day’s entry breaks at this point because the succeeding MS leaf containing p. 113–114 of the Diary volume is missing. This and similar losses of leaves from the same volume containing p. 127–128 and 149–156, affecting entries for 11, 12 July, and 27 July–17 Aug., were noted in the MS by Worthington C. Ford in April 1911. Dana’s Journal, which covers the entire journey to St. Petersburg, helps to fill in the gap for this day’s activities. Dana and JQA did not continue on their trip, though young Adams may have accompanied Dana when he briefly visited the nearby Moravian settlement of Zeyst. Otherwise, both remained in Utrecht until the following day, so that they could purchase a coach for the trip to Russia in order to “avoid the trouble and delay of changing carraiges as well as horses, as in the manner of the Posts in Germany” (Dana, Journal).

The entry in its present state concludes with a passage from the Geographical Grammar description begins William Guthrie, A New Geographical, Historical, and Commercial Grammar; And Present State of the Several Kingdoms of the World..., London, 1779. description ends (p. 406–407), which probably began at the point where JQA had left off copying the day before. However, as the MS remains there is a hiatus.

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