n directing the
Governor to institute legal proceedings for the purpose of fixing the
boundary unless Rhode Island should agree to proceed by a new
commission. As Rhode Island had remained silent, I directed the
Attorney-General to execute the statute. After some time he informed
me that the preparation of the bill involved a good deal of labor and
that some assistance should be had. He suggested Ellis Ames who had
a reputation as an equity lawyer. Mr. Ames was employed. When the
bill was prepared and submitted to me, I found that a claim was made
to five towns that were originally in the Plymouth Colony, but which
by a decree of the King in Council had been set over to Rhode Island
in 1746. I objected to the presentation of this claim and said that we
should only ask that the true line should be run agreeably to that
decree. Soon after the Revolution the State of Rhode Island ran the
line _ex parte_ and encroached upon the territory of Massachusetts
one-fourth to three-fourths of a mile.

From that time both parties had asserted and exercised jurisdiction
which had resulted in a number of controversies in the local courts.
The Attorney-General lived at New Bedford near the line. The people
were constantly excited, and Mr. Clifford was unwilling to accept my
proposed amendment. After some delay he suggested an interview with
Mr. Choate, who had been counsel for the Town of Fall River in some one
or more of the controversies involving the boundary. I assented to the
suggestion, and an evening was fixed for a call upon Mr. Choate by Mr.
Ames and myself. The evening was a stormy one, but we made our way to
Mr. Choate's house. He was in his library in the second story. It
consisted of two rooms that had been connected by making an arch in the
partition. The shelves were filled, and the floor was covered with
books. Ames said:

"Why, Mr. Choate, what a quantity of books you have!"

"Yes," said Mr. Choate, "I have a good many books, more than I have
paid for, but that is the book-seller's business, not mine."

After some time had been spent in general conversation Ames introduced
the subject for which we had met, and stated the question of the claim
to the five towns, to which Choate said:

"The best way is to go for enough and get what we can."

I made no remark, and the business part of the interview ended. Before
we left Mr. Choate ordered a bottle of wine and made the remark:

"I keep a little wine