I attended at the Office. Amory was there. Return'd yesterday from Salem. Townsend went to Boston last week, and has not yet return'd. In the afternoon, we attended the funeral of Mrs. Dav-315enport a sister of Mr. Parsons. She died of a consumption a few days since. Little, and Thomson pass'd an hour with me in the evening, after which, I went with the latter to Mr. Atkins's. Thomson was much affected, on hearing of the death of one of his school-boys; who died of the Scarlet fever, after a very short illness.

I cannot write yet in the evening, for want of fire.

Mr. Parsons went this morning to Salem, where the supreme Court sits this week. I pass'd this evening with Thomson at the office and had a great deal of Conversation with him upon diverse subjects: I feel my attachment for this young gentleman daily increasing: the more I become acquainted with him, the more my expectation of enjoying great benefit, and satisfaction from an intimacy with him increases. Indeed I have hitherto had reason, to think myself fortunate, in my fellow students, who are all very agreeable although, their dispositions are essentially different.

I pass'd an hour this forenoon very sociably with Miss Jones.

Quite industrious this day in copying forms. Alone in the office a great part of the day. Amory, even when he is in town, is not very attentive at the office. I pass'd the evening with Putnam.

Finished my book of forms, and wrote an index to them. So that henceforth, I shall be able to attend more steadily to Blackstone. Townsend return'd this morning from Boston.

Amory went to Salem this afternoon. They have a ball there this evening, said to be given to the Court. Amory went to attend it. I pass'd the evening at Mr. Bradbury's, where we play'd a number of tunes in concert, besides a cheating game of cards. I got through the theory of the earth. I am more and more pleased with the author. One part of his theory is merely hypothetical, 316and might perhaps be called extravagant. He supposes the earth, and the other planets were originally a part of the Sun, and that they were sever'd from it by the shock of a comett. Yet even in this part his reasoning is very ingenious; the other part of his theory is founded upon facts; he lays very justly much more stress upon this, and his arguments are very strong and convincing. He supposes that the continents and islands which are now inhabited, were covered by the waters of the ocean, and that they will be so again: that at some future period the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Andes, will be at the bottom of the sea, and that the earth now beneath the atlantic, and pacific oceans, will be the abodes of men, adorned, with splendid cities, and crowned with venerable forests. The phenomena, from which he deduces his strongest, arguments are the continual motion of the Sea from east to west, the correspondent angles of mountains, the horizontal, and parallel position of the different strata of earth, and the innumerable quantities of sea shells and other marine productions, found in all parts of the earth, at a considerable depth under-ground....1 If the author is some times mistaken, he is certainly every where philosophical.