George Ticknor, Life, letters and journals of George Ticknor
George Hillard, Ed.

To C. S. Daveis, Portland.

Boston, September 19, 1823.

my dear Charles,—. . . . Your very gay and happy letter of the 23d of August came in one morning just as the Chancellor was with me, and we were setting off for Nahant. I had the pleasure, too, that day of taking him to Salem, to Judge Story, and making them acquainted; after which we all came to the new hotel,¹ and with Mr. Otis² had a very merry time indeed.

He is, in his conversation, extremely active, simple, entertaining, and I know not when we have had among us a man so much to my mind in all things. I dined with him five or six times, and he dined with us the last day, and a rare display of fine talk we had at table, between him, Mr. Prescott, Mr. Lowell, and Mr. Webster. . . . Everybody was delighted with him. His whole visit among us was an unbroken triumph, which he enjoyed with the greatest openness. .

I carried him to Quincy to see President Adams and Mr. J. Q. Adams, . . . . and we met them afterwards at table at Mr. Quincy's. Mr. J. Q. Adams made a most extraordinary attack on the character of Chancellor Bacon, saying that his Essays give proof of a greater corruption of heart, of a more total wickedness, than any book he ever saw. Our New York Chancellor expressed the most simple and natural astonishment at this, and we got over the matter the next day, at dinner, by drinking to ‘the Memory of Chancellor Bacon, with all his faults,’ a toast which Mr. Prescott evidently gave with the greatest satisfaction. Mr. Quincy gave a beautiful toast at his own table, which I suspect was not the least pleasant to the Chancellor, among all the delicate and indirect compliments that were offered to him among us, and which was very appropriate at a table where were Mr. J. Q. Adams, Mr. Prescott, etc. It was, ‘Nature, who repeals all political Constitutions by the great Constitution of mind.’ And Webster, on the same occasion, made a pleasant repartee in compliment to Mr. Quincy. Mr. Adams, being called on for a toast, said to Mr. Quincy, ‘I will give you, Sir, the good City of Boston.’ ‘That,’ said Mr. Webster, ‘we gave Mr. Quincy long ago, ourselves, with the greatest pleasure.’³