John Quincy Adams, now President of the United States. For many years he practised law in Leominster, but never arose to a degree of eminence in his profession which many of his cotemporaries have enjoyed; yet his reputation, as an upright attorney, was proverbial. He was a classical scholar, and a tolerable linguist; but his eccentricities form the most memorable items. He lived and died a bachelor; kept house twenty years, and in the whole time never was known to eat from an earthen plate, in his own house; his table was constantly furnished with wooden trenchers. Disgusting as it may appear, he has been known to cook a cat, owls, hawks, and various reptiles, and to invite visitants to partake of his rare dish. He was the father of a young lady whom he educated with paternal fondness, yet he would never allow her to call him father; it must on all occasions be "Mr. Johnson." Not having married to meet his views, she was partially discarded; but her death, soon after, appeared to affect him, although he resolutely declared that he had not the smallest anxiety for her, after she had disobeyed his injunctions in matrimony. Johnson had many original notions, peculiar to himself; in spelling his own name he never inserted an h, but wrote simply in this manner, Jonson;-because the h was an unnecessary letter, while his brothers and family connections used it. Several times in life he attempted to domesticate frogs, toads and serpents, and succeeded so wonderfully, as to have them, in a field, come at his call. A cat was his constant office companion, which was named after some statesman, for whom he had a peculiar regard; one cat succeeded another, and generally bore the name of its predecessor.

For a repartee, he had few equals; as a specimen of his talents, this circumstance, which is said to have taken place at a boarding house in Worcester, is recorded.

A young mellow-headed lawyer sitting in company with Johnson, who was surrounded with counsellors, thinking to put him to a blush, asked him if he had ever eaten a dish of stewed pollywogs, having been informed that he had a relish for disgusting rarities? Johnson answered in the negative, and said he did not think they would injure him, however, if he should; but observed to his interrogator, that it would be a ruinous meal for him. "Why?" said the lawyer," because" answered Johnson, "it is a well known fact that pollywogs will kill goslings." Johnson was fond of good -living and the society of literary persons; he was remarkably polite, and among ladies, pleasing and agreeable in conversation

Above all, it is to be regretted that he lived, and died as he lived, a professed atheist; he welcomed death as an unaccountable something that would annihilate his soul forever. At one time in life; he was worth a good interest; but at the close of it, his propensity to gaming and other concomitant habits, stripped him of his possessions in a few years. He died of debility, on Sunday, August 13; 1820, in his sixty third year, a pensioner of the United States.

HISTORICAL.

: Boston News Letter...

REVOLUTIONARY PAPERS.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE ARMY,.

ON THE DEPRECIATION OF THE CURRENCY.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 235.

THE two Committees were now at liberty to pursue the business of the settlement, and to state the particular charges against each officer and soldier.

The first article which presented itself to view, as matter of charge, was the amount, in real value, of the continental pay, which the army had received; but as previous to the settling the monthly rate of depreciation, the committee from the line had given in an account of the time when the several payments were made by the Paymaster General, they supposed the only just method to find this amount, would be to value the several sums received by the rate of depreciation at the time of payment, as before given in, all which added together would give the final amount. But here some doubts seemed, for the first time, to arise in the minds of the committee of Court, whether the state were obliged to make good the depreciation, any further than at the time, when the continental pay became due, at the close of each month; they therefore referred the matter to council, without any further debate, upon which a committee of council was appointed, and the parties notified to attend them accordingly: here it was urged on the part of the court that the delay of payments was not chargeable to the State, nor was it included in the resolve of the 6th of February, and therefore if the army had sustained any loss by that delay, they must look to Congress for redress; on the part of the committee from the line, it was alledged that Congress had recommended it to the several States in a resolve, passed in August, to make good the losses their respective quotas of the army had sustained by the depreciation of the currency, and as the State had determined

to take into consideration all advances made the army over and above the original establishment, and had wrote to Congress for an account of all supplies which they had furnished; therefore, the settlement would not be placed on an equal footing, nor would the wages of the establishment of Congress be made good, unless every disadvantage was likewise taken into consideration, which the army had sustained in consequence of the depreciation: the two committees then withdrew, and the committee of council reported as follows, viz.

The committee to whom was referred the representation of the committee of the general assembly, for settling with the army, baving attended that service, heard the committee and the officers of the army, upon the subject matter thereof, and report as their opinion, that the advice of council be to the Court's committee, appointed as aforesaid, that they do not take into consideration any damage arising to the troops of this State, serving in the continental army, on account of any delay that has arisen respecting their monthly pay. WALTER SPOONER, Per order.

In Council, Jan. 22, 1780.

Read and unanimously accepted.

JOHN AVERY, D. Secretary.

A true copy, Attest. The committee from the line being informed that the council had determined so very differently from what they expected, and being persuaded that if the settlement was carried through, agreeable to the above report, and the resolve of Court passed the 6th January, the army would by no means receive so great a balance as was conceived to be their just due, they therefore wrote the following letter to the committee of Court ;

BOSTON, JANUARY 29, 1780. GENTLEMEN-It is a matter of very great anxiety to us, that any obstacles should arise in the course of our business with you, which may have the least tendency to impede the progress of the present settlement, especially as the interest of the public so much depends on its being brought to a speedy conclusion; yet as we apprehend it to be your determination, in consequence of a late direction of council, to value the pay which the army has received from the continent by the rate of depreciation, settled for those months in which the service was performed, and not at the time, when the general payments were made, which we cannot think founded in justice; And this, gentlemen, being a matter which very materially affects the army, we would beg leave to observe, that it is the gen

eral sense of the army, as well as our own particular opinion, that this State in a resolve of the General Court, has promised to make good to them "the wages of the establishment of Congress, whereon they engaged," or in other words to indemnify this State's quota, for every loss they have sustained in their wages, by means of the depreciation of the continental currency; and unless they are valued by the rate of depreciation, at the time when the general payments were actually made, it is evident their wages will not be made good, and consequently the resolve not complied with; and as this claim was early stated by us, even a considerable time before the monthly rate of depreciation was settled, and as the justice of it both before and since has been fully conceded to on your part; we cannot then see with what propriety it is now rejected, except the General Court has, unknown to us, passed a new resolve, and that it is their final determination to make good our pay only in part. If this be the case, gentlemen, we would wish to be informed of it, as it will place the matter in a point of view, upon which we are not authorised to act, our business being to negotiate a settlement for the whole balance due, on account of the failure of the currency, which we conceive to be fully promised us in the resolve of February last; if we are not to proceed upon this footing, we hope to be enabled as soon as possible to give our constituents the necessary information, that they may no longer labor under the mistake of having their pay made good, by this State, when no such thing is intended.

obedient and

very humble servants.

BENJAMIN HEYWOOD,

Committee.

Two days after the foregoing letters were sent, the committee from the line received a letter from the committee of Court, inclosing a letter from them to the Council, and an order of Council in consequence of that letter.

圃

Letter from the Committee of Court.

BOSTON, JANUARY 31, 1780.

GENTLEMEN-The letter received from you on Saturday last we

have laid before the Hon. Council of this State; we herewith inclose you a copy of our letter to them, requesting their consideration and advice thereon, also a copy of the order of Council on the same, which we think will be sufficient to convince you that it is

not in the power of the committee, to make any consideration in the settlement with the army, for the delay of their monthly pay. We are, Gentlemen, your

Most Humble Servants.

SAMUEL AUSTIN, Per order.

To the Committee from the Army.

Order of the Council.

Council Chamber, Boston 29th, Jan. 1780.

Ordered that the committee appointed to settle with the army be and hereby are informed, that their letter and the letter to them, from the committee from the army, have been considered by this Board, and as the same letters relate only to the question, we have already with mature deliberation advised you upon, can only add, that should the Gentlemen on the part of the army, cause a delay of settlement upon the generous plan laid by the General Assembly, they alone must hazard the consequences, and the world will judge of the rectitude of the General Assembly of the State of Massachusetts Bay, in their endeavor to do justice, to their quota of the Continental army.

A true copy, Attest,

JOHN AVERY, D. Secretary.

Letter from the Court's Committee to council, which should have been inserted previous to the above order which was in consequence of the foregoing letters.

To the Honorable Council.

GENTLEMEN-The enclosed letter we have this day received from the Committee of the army, expressing their dissatisfaction with the Resolution of the Honorable Board, not allowing the delay of their monthly pay to be taken into consideration, by the Court's Committee in settling with the army; we therefore beg leave to lay the same before the Honorable Board, for their consideration and further advice.

BOSTON, 26th JAN. 1780.

SAMUEL AUSTIN, Per order.

Letter from the Committee of the Line to the Court's Committee in consequence of the foregoing letters and order of Council. BOSTON, 3d FEB. 1780.

GENTLEMEN-We have received your Letter of the 31st January, inclosing your Letter to the Honorable Council together with their advice respecting our claim of considering the pay which the army have received, as valuable according to the rate of depreciation, at the time when the general payments were made.