Diary of John Quincy Adams, volume 1
This evening at about 11.o'clock we arrived at Stockholm. We found all the taverns in the town shut up, and could not get one opened.
| List of the roads from Åbo to Stockholm. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| From Åbo to | Swed: miles | ||
| Nussis Nummis | 2. | ||
| Tursanparo | 1. | ||
| Laertes | 1 | 1/2 | |
| Botila | 1 | 1/4 | |
| Helsings | 1 | 3/4. | |
| à Varsala (par eau) by water | 2. | ||
| Bränden. |
2 | 1/4 | |
| 160 | |||
| Kumlinge do. | 2 | 1/2 | |
| Wargata. do. | 3 | 1/4. | |
| Skarpans. do. | 3. | ||
| Haral |
1 | 1/2 | |
| a river | |||
| Enkarby |
1 | 1/4 | |
| Trebenby | 1 | 1/4. | |
| Marby. . (by water) | 1/8. | ||
| Eskerö | 7/8. | ||
| Grisselham |
7. | ||
| a river | |||
| Taefta (land) |
3/4. | ||
| Stubby | 1 | 1/2 | |
| Swanberg |
1 | 1/2 | |
| Kragstad | 1 | 1/4. | |
| Rylanda | 1. | ||
| Hall | 1 | 1/4. | |
| Östby | 1. | ||
| Enstad | 2. | ||
| Stockholm | 2. | ||
| Swedish Miles | 44. | 6/8 | |
Better than one half of the way you are obliged to go by water. And what is worse a traveller is very often obliged to stop at one or another of the passages, especially, at that from Eckerö to Grisselham for whenever the wind is contrary, or if there is no wind at all, you will find no boats, because the mariners will not risk to go over. This is only at the great passage,1 for a calm weather is the best for the small ones because there are a great number of rocks on all sides, at the small passages, and the best way is to row. For the same reason, when the wind is strong, you can't pass the small passages. But at this season of the year it is impossible to row over the passage of the Ålandshaff in a day; and it is dangerous to arrive in the night. When we arrived at Eckerö we found there the post from Åbo, that had stay'd there for want of wind a whole week, and we were very lucky not to stay more than one night. Upon the whole all the passages are very disagreable especially at this season of the year, when the weather is commonly bad. There is another road which some travellers take in winter, which they call here, making the northern tour; but this is never done unless it is impossible to go 161the other way; because it makes a difference of noless than 240. Swedish miles which makes about 1700. English.
That is, from Eckerö to Grisselhamn, across the Ålands Haf, or Ålands Sea, the body of water which separates the Åland Islands archipelago and the Swedish mainland, at the entrance of the Gulf of Bothnia.
After having passed the whole night in the street, at last, we found a publick house at the Swedish arms, said to be the best in the city; but if it is the best is not good for much. This forenoon Mr. Brandenburg came here and gave me a letter from Mr. D.1 After dinner we went into a bookseller's shop to buy some books. We found there a gentleman whose name is Watström; he is director of the mines.2 As soon as he found we were strangers without knowing us, he offered to show us every thing that is to be seen in town; and could not have been more polite if we had been strongly recommended to him: indeed I have found from our first entrance into Sweden; that strangers are treated with a great deal of Politeness and civility all over the country.3
Probably Dana to JQA, 21 Oct. (Adams Papers), in which Dana gave JQA directions for the delivery of letters to JA, who would probably be in Paris when JQA reached The Hague, and instructions to have the ciphers intended for America thrown overboard in case of capture.
Observations on the Slave Trade, and a Description of Some Part of the Coast of Guinea . . ., as well as subsequent works of a similar nature. Later, while minister resident to the Netherlands, JQA renewed his friendship with Wadström by correspondence (Helen Maria Williams, “Memoirs of the Life of Charles Berns [Bernard] Wadström,” The Annual Register . . . For the Year 1799, new edn., London, 1813, p. 326–330; Wadström to JQA, 5 Dec. 1795, and JQA to Wadström, 5 July 1797, LbC, Adams Papers).
JQA spent the next five weeks (24 Nov.–31 Dec. 1782) in Stockholm, but little is known about his activities there. His seventh Diary, which was written on the blank pages in a Swedish almanac, contains numerous markings by the names of various Swedish officials, presumably those he met while staying in Stockholm. In addition, JQA makes mention, in the few extant letters he wrote during his stay in the country, of Swedish merchants he met in Stockholm, as well as other towns and villages, who were interested in beginning trade with the United States (JQA to JA, 1 Feb. 1783, Adams Papers; JQA to AA, 23 July 1783,
Writings
, 1:8).