unguarded temper. He swears freely, boldly. He is a widower, and delights to dwell, in his conversation, upon courtship and success. He had been a man of pleasure, and bore the indelible marks of it on his face to the grave. He was extremely ambitious, and the Rev. Mr. Niles of the second parish in Braintree, who was well acquainted with him, told me he was the most passionate man he ever knew. Not succeeding much at the bar in Boston, he had recourse to religion to assist him; joined the Old South Church, to avail himself of the influence of the sisterhood, and set up for representative for the town of Boston, but failed; and disappointed of his hopes in law and politics, he renounced the city, came up to Quincy, hired a house, turned Churchman, and set himself to intriguing for promotion, both in the military and civil departments. He interceded with the favorites of Governor Shirley, in this place, to procure him the commission of Colonel in the regiment of militia, and an election for representative of the town in the General Court. He promised to build a steeple to their church, at his own expense. "Assiduous importunity was employed with Governor Shirley to procure him the command of the regiment; but this could not be obtained without cashiering the Colonel then in possession, and who had long been in possession of that office and given universal satisfaction in it. "Colonel John Quincy had been in public life from his early youth. He had been near twenty years speaker of the House of Representatives, and many years a member of his Majesty's Council; and was as much esteemed and respected as any man in the province. He was not only an experienced and venerated statesman, but a man of letters, taste, and sense. Shirley was, with great difficulty, prevailed on to perform the operation of dismissing so faithful a servant of the public, and adopting one of so equivocal a character; and he said, some years afterwards, that nothing he had ever done in his administration had given him so much pain, as removing so venerable a magistrate and officer as Colonel Quincy. But the church party had insisted upon it so peremptorily, that he could not avoid it. Probably he dreaded their remonstrances to the Archbishop of Canterbury. "These facts were currently reported and universally believed, and never contradicted. "Gooch was appointed Colonel, and Quincy dismissed. The next thing to be done, was to new-model the subordinate officers in the regiment. Application was made to all the captains, lieutenants, and ensigns, in that part of the regiment which lies within three parishes of the ancient town of Braintree, to see if they would accept commissions under Colonel Gooch, and agree to vote for him as representative for the town. The then present officers were men among the most respectable of the inhabitants, in point of property, understanding, and character. They rejected the proposition with scorn. "My father was among them; he was offered a captain's commission. He spurned the offer with disdain; would serve in the militia under no Colonel but Quincy. Almost, or quite an entire set of new officers were appointed through the whole town. These were of a very different character from those who were dismissed. Men of little property or no property at all; men of frivolous characters in understanding and morals. "It was at this time the corrupt practice of treating, as they called it, at trainings and at elections was introduced, which so long prevailed in the town of Braintree. All this corruption, young as I was, I attributed to the King of Great Britain and his Governor and their bigoted Episcopal party; and, young I was, I was thoroughly disgusted before I was ten years of age. as "Gooch, under the influence of all this machinery, obtained an election as representative; but the next year all the substantial people of the town aroused themselves and turned him out, which so enraged him that he swore he would no longer live in Braintree; renounced the church, refused to build their steeple, built him a house on Milton hill, and there passed the remainder of his days." marriage. Has a violent aversion to long courtship. "He's a fool that spends more than a week," &c., &c. He A malignant wit; a fiery, fierce, outrageous enemy. quarrels with all men. He quarrelled with Colonel Quincy, and intrigued to dispossess him of his regiment, by means of Dr. Miller and Mr. Apthorp. He now quarrels with Colonel Miller and Dr. Miller and Eb. Thayer. He curses all Governors. Pownal was a servant, door-keeper, pimp to Lord Halifax, and he contracted with Lord Halifax to give him fifteen shillings out of every pound of his salary; so that Pownal had twenty-five per cent. commissions, for his agency under Lord Halifax. Thersites in Homer, was "Awed by no shame, by no respect controlled, To lash the great, and monarchs to revile." Thus, we see that Gooches lived as long ago as the siege of Troy. "Spleen to mankind his envious heart possessed, And much he hated all, but most the best. Long had he lived the scorn of every Greek, Vext when he spoke, yet still they heard him speak." His daughters have the same fiery temper, the same witty malice. They have all, to speak decently, very smart tempers, quick, sharp, and keen. An insinuation of Mr. Pownal's giving three fourths of his salary for his commission. This is, "with licentious style, Governors to revile." "Colonel Miller can serve the devil with as much cunning as any man I know of, but for no other purpose is he fit." This is, "In scandal busy, in reproaches bold." "Gardiner has a thin, grasshopper voice, and an affected squeak; a meagre visage, and an awkward, unnatural complaisHe is fribble." ance. Q. Is this a generous practice, to perpetuate the shrugs of wit and the grimaces of affectation? 12. Tuesday. Remonstrated at the Sessions against licensing Lambard; because the selectmen had refused to approbate him; because he never was approbated by the selectmen to keep a tavern in the house he now lives in; because there are already three, and his would make four taverns, besides retailers, within three quarters of a mile; and because he obtained a license from that court at April Sessions by artfully concealing his removal from the place where he formerly kept, and so by an imposition on the court. These reasons prevailed. Major Miller, Colonel Miller, and Ruddock were the only justices on Lambard's side; while I had eight or nine, Wendells, Colonel Phillips, Mr. Dana, Mr. Storer, &c., &c., &c. Mr. Dana inquired, whether those landing places at Braintree and Weymouth, or the road where these four taverns stand was not a great stage for travellers. I answered no, and rightly; for the greatest stage that I knew of from Boston to Plymouth, is in the north precinct of Braintree, where Mr. Bracket, but especially where Mr. Bass now keeps. Where Mr. Bass now keeps there has been a tavern always since my remembrance, and long before. It is exactly ten miles from town, and therefore, a very proper stage for gentlemen who are going from Boston down to Plymouth and to the Cape, and for people who come from the Cape towards this town; and there are very few travellers, either bound to or from Boston but what stop here; but this stage is two or three miles from the place in question. These things I should have said, but they did not then occur. Dana asked next, what number of carters, boatmen, ship-builders, &c., were ever employed at a time at that landing place? I answered, half a dozen carters, perhaps. But my answer should have been this: at some times there are three or four or half a dozen ship carpenters, and it is possible there may have been two or three boats at that wharf at a time, which will require half a dozen boatmen, and there have been perhaps forty carts in a day with stones, and wood, and lumber; but these carts are coming and going all day long, so that it is a rare thing to see half a dozen carts there at a time; in short, there is so much business done there as to render one tavern necessary, but there is not so much business, there is no such concourse of travellers, no such multi tude of busy people at that landing as to need all this cluster of taverns. One tavern and one retailer was thought by the selectmen quite sufficient for that place. They have licensed one of each, and pray that your Honors would recognize no more. 19. Tuesday. I began Pope's Homer, last Saturday night was a week, and last night, which was Monday night, I finished it. Thus I found that in seven days I could have easily read the six volumes, notes, preface, essays that on Homer, and that on Homer's battles, and that on the funeral games of Homer and Virgil, &c. Therefore, I will be bound that in six months I would conquer him in Greek, and make myself able to translate every line in him elegantly. Pratt. "It is a very happy thing to have people superstitious. They should believe exactly as their minister believes; they should have no creeds and confessions; they should not so much as know what they believe. The people ought to be ignorant; and our free schools are the very bane of society; they make the lowest of the people infinitely conceited." These words I heard Pratt utter; they would come naturally enough from the mouth of a tyrant, or of a king or ministry about introducing an arbitrary power, or from the mouth of an ambitious ecclesiastic; but they are base, detestable principles of slavery. He would have ninety-nine hundredths of the world as ignorant as the wild beasts of the forest, and as servile as the slaves in a galley, or as oxen yoked in a team. He, a friend to liberty! He an enemy to slavery! He has the very principles of a Frenchman-worse principles than a Frenchman; for they know their belief and can give reasons for it. Pratt. "It grieves me to see any sect of religion extinguished. I should be very sorry to have the Tract Society dissolved; so I should be sorry to have Condy's Anabaptist Society dissolved. I love to see a variety. A variety of religions has the same beauty in the moral world, that a variety of flowers has in a garden, or a variety of trees in a forest." This fine speech was Pratt's; yet he is sometimes of opinion. that all these sectaries ought to turn Churchmen, and that a uniform establishment ought to take place through the whole nation. I have heard him say that we had better, all of us, come VOL. II. 9 G into the church than pretend to overturn it, &c. Thus it is, that fine speech-makers are sometimes for uniformity, sometimes for variety and toleration. They don't speak for the truth or weight, but for the smartness, novelty and singularity of the speech. However, I heard him make two observations that pleased me much more;one was, that "people in years never suppose that young people have any judgment." Another was, (when a deposition was produced, taken by Parson Wells with a very incorrect caption; a caption without mention of the cause in which it was to be used, or certifying that the adverse party was present or notified,) he observed that "the Parson could not take a caption to save his life; and that he knew too much to learn any thing." October 7. Tuesday. Waited on Mr. Gridley for his opinion of my declaration, Lambard versus Tirrell, and for his advice whether to enter the action or not. He says the declaration is bad, and the writ, if advantage is taken, will abate. For it is a declaration on a parol lease, not on a deed; and, therefore, the lessee's occupancy ought to be set forth very exactly; for it is his occupancy, not any contract, that supports the action.1 9. Thursday. In support of complaint, in case Neal's action is not entered.2 your I do not know, nor is it possible for your Honors to determine, what reason induced the plaintiff to renounce this suit. Whether it was because the estate is insolvent, or because he had no cause of action, or because his action was mislaid, or because his writ was bad-which by the way is very probable, considering who drew it that determined the plaintiff not to enter this action, I cannot say, and Honors cannot determine. It appears to your Honors that the defendant has been vexed and distressed by this summons; that she has been obliged to take a journey to this town and to attend upon this court, when it appears there is nothing for her to answer to ; — all this appears. What motive induced the plaintiff to drop his action, does not appear; and, therefore, we have a right to costs. As things are circumstanced, I will own, that, had this action been commenced by any gentleman at this bar, I would have dispensed with this complaint; but it was drawn by a pettifogging deputy sheriff, against whom I know it is my duty, and I think it is my interest, to 1 Here follows a legal opinion of Mr. Gridley, which is omitted. 2 That is, a sketch of what he intended to say. |