Littlefield's, at Wells, 3 July, 1774.
Mr. Winthrop, Mr. Quincy, and I came this morning from York before
breakfast, fifteen miles, in order to hear my learned friend Hemmenway.
Mr. Quincy brought me a letter from Williams, in which he lets me know
that you and the family were well. This is very refreshing news.
Patten's, at Arundel, 4 July.
We went to meeting at Wells and had the pleasure of hearing my friend
upon "Be not partakers in other men's sins. Keep yourselves pure." Mr.
Hemmenway came and kindly invited us to dine, but we had engaged a
dinner at Littlefield's, so we returned there, dined, and took our
horses to meeting in the afternoon and heard the minister again upon
"Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these
things shall be added unto you." There is a great pleasure in hearing
sermons so serious, so clear, so sensible and instructive as these.[21]
We went to Mr. Hemmenway's, and as it rained a little he put out our
horses, and we took a bed with him, _i. e._ Mr. Winthrop and I.
You know I never get or save anything by cozening or classmating. So I
gave pistareens enough among the children and servants to have paid
twice for my entertainment.
Josiah Quincy, always impetuous and vehement, would not stop, but drove
forward; I suppose, that he might get upon the fishing ground before his
brother Sam and me. I find that the divines and lawyers this way are all
Tories. Brother Hemmenway is as impartial as any I have seen or heard
of. James Sullivan seems half inclined to be a Whig.
Mr. Winthrop has been just making some observations which I think worth
sending to you. Upon reading an observation in the Farmer's fourth
letter,[22] that some of our (the Massachusetts) resolves and
publications had better have been suppressed, Mr. Winthrop said that
many things in our newspapers ought to have been suppressed, for
example, whenever there was the least popular commotion or
_disturbance_, it was instantly put in all the newspapers in this
province. But in all the other provinces they took care to conceal and
suppress every such thing.
Another thing, he says we ought to avoid all paragraphs in our papers
about our own manufactures, especially all vaporing puffing
advertisements about them, because such paragraphs only tend to provoke
the ministers, merchants, and manufacturers in England to confine and
restrain or prohibit our manufactures. But our presses in Boston, Salem,
and Newburyport are under no regulation, nor any judicious, prudent
care. Therefore it seems impracticable to keep out such imprudences. The
printers are hot, indiscreet men, and they are under the influence of
others as hot, rash, and injudicious as themselves, very often.
For my own part, it has long been my resolution to avoid being concerned
in counseling, or aiding, or abetting tumult or disorder; to avoid all
exceptionable scribbling in the newspaper of every kind; to avoid all
passion and personal altercation or reflections. I have found it
difficult to keep these resolutions exactly; all but the last, however,
I have religiously and punctiliously observed these six years.