At length the scene of my collegiate life is closed, and about a fortnight ago I made a public exit from the university: by the public papers you will have some account of the performances of the day. In one of them (the centinel) you will see it very positively asserted that Freeman, who spoke the other oration is my indisputable superior in style, elegance and oratory. in another paper that account is said to be ridiculously partial;1 those of the audience, who were friendly to Freeman, perhaps all thought like the writer in the 139centinel: my friends who were present, perhaps thought me worthy of the preference; but an observer perfectly impartial, might not be willing to give an opinion on the subject, but might say, like Sir Roger de Coverley that “much might be said on both sides.”2 The critic in the centinel, you will easily perceive is not entirely guided by the hand of candor; especially when speaking of me: he mentions my being the son of an Ambassador, & the favorite of the officers of college, as if those circumstances were any thing to the purpose at that time. You perhaps may think it much to my honor that I should be so much in favor with the College government; but it was in fact the most invidious circumstance that could have been mentioned: but the compliment or the accusation, whatever it be, is not true: I have it is true been distinguished twice by allotments for Exhibitions, and by that of an Oration at Commencement. but Freeman perform'd at the same exhibitions, and had likewise an Oration at Commencement. these are the only marks I ever had of their favor. In all other respects they have always treated me, as they do every student who behaves with propriety towards them; I have often laugh'd at the awful superiority, which most of them assume when in company with a student: and at other times I have expressed my opinion freely upon certain transactions, in which they were not wholly justifiable; and further, that opinion has been reported to them: so that abstracted from the characters of preceptor and student I know I am far from being the favorite of some of those officers.— I have a warm and sincere friendship for Freeman; his natural abilities are very good and his disposition is amiable. his oratorical talents are great; and I should never wish to be considered as his rival or competitor: if however we must be view'd in that light, I have not the most distant pretensions to superiority, nor am I conscious of a decided inferiority. our manner both of writing and speaking is very different, and— but I have already said too much on this subject, and hope you will forgive these effusions of vanity, and attribute them to the desire of convincing you that I have not entirely neglected to improve those advantages, which, by the kindness of my parents I have enjoy'd.

I consider as one of the most fortunate circumstances of my life, that I came from Europe, as I did. it has been of great and real service to me in many particulars. It has reduced my opinion of myself and of my future prospects to a nearer level with truth: so that making allowances for the general exaggerations of youth, I do not overrate myself more than people in general are apt to do. it has enabled 140me to form an intimate friendship, with a number of worthy characters of the same standing in life, with myself: and it has been the means of turning my attention to several important branches of study, which otherwise I must have neglected.— There are at the university two private Societies form'd upon a similar plan to that which you mention in one of your late letters. of these Societies, friendship is the soul, and literary improvement the object; and consequently neither of them is numerous. I was received as a member of both these Societies, very soon after my admission at the university; and I am certain that the institutions, are of great service to those who belong to them.3 In short I am now so firmly persuaded of the superior advantages of a public education, that I only regret I did not enter the University a year and an half sooner than I did.

And now having closed with the University, you will naturally Enquire, what I am at present about;?— I have engaged to study with Mr Parsons at Newbury-port, and expect to fix myself down there in five or six weeks from this. I should wish to get upon the business sooner, but Doctor Tufts advises me, to ride about, and remain idle, for a month or two, in order to recover and establish firmly my health, which has suffered by my living so much retired, during the last eighteen months.

And now, my dear Madam, after having talked so long entirely about myself, I will acknowledge the receipt of several letters from you. I have received both sets of Blair's lectures, and according to your desire shall present one of them to my cousin. the vessel by which the first set was sent was driven from the coast in a storm, and was sometime, in one of the West India islands: so that I received it but a short time before the other set came—4 I read with pleasure the pamphlets which came by Callahan, with your letter of May 6th: the name of the author of one of them is kept secret, but from the peculiarity of the stile, I strongly suspect they are both the productions of the same pen. Affairs seem to assume quite an extraordinary appearance in France. And I see by the papers that the Marquis de la Fayette, has got his finger in the pye; (to use a vulgar expression.)5 it was well for de Vergennes that he died as he did; though probably had he lived, he would have prevented any assembly, which might take his conduct into consideration. The marquis appears to me, to be venturing “like little wanton boys who swim on bladders,” and I shall be surprized, if he does not in the end, find himself “far beyond his depth.”6 It is dangerous to tread upon a 141snake, and if the marquis is influenced merely by disinterested patriotism, that circumstance, in a court, will only be the means of making his enemies the more numerous.

I wrote to my dear father about 3 weeks since; and will write soon to my Sister.7 in the mean time, will you please to present to her my congratulations upon her new character, and tell her I hope she will fulfill the duties of it as well as she has those of all the characters in which he has appeared before. I would complain of her if I dared: I would remind her that seven months have elapsed since I received one line from her;8 but as I fear she might in some measure retort the charge, I will e'en be silent and wait with patience.

But my paper stops me, and I can only add, that I am, your dutiful and / affectionate Son.

I wrote you a few hasty lines, from Boston the Monday before Commencement, inclosing two news-papers which Mr Jinks was to carry,1 I went to Cambridge that afternoon: I heard in the evening that Calahan had arrived. I never hear of a ships arrival from London, but what I feel a mixture of pain with the pleasure, 'till we have got the Letters— I always tremble when they are opened. I 142never felt the sensation stronger than at that time, I had so many things to make me happy, that I trembled least I should hear something that would make me otherwise, the last we had heard from you was, that you was unwell.

Cousin Charles went to Boston Tuesday Morning. I watched his face when he returned before he was half over the Common. it wore the same pleasing smile it ever does. I never felt happier than when he gave me a letter from his Mama—2

I hope your health is perfectly restored, before this. your anxiety for Mrs Smith was too powerful for your Nerves, and made you worse. we all rejoice with you, that she is so well over her illness—and that you have so fine a grandson.

You will have so many accounts of Commencement that I shall have little left to say—but what others have said before me. it was impossible to have a finer day. it was so cold in the morning that the Men on the common were glad to clap there hands against their sides to warm them. the meeting House was not crowded so much as usial, it is said the assembly was the most respectable, that has been known for many years, every thing that belonged to our part went on with great regularity. we had a large company to dine yet we have had much more hurry with a small party. every thing was done at home, that could be— Tables and benches were made here, that there was nothing to be done at Cambridge but set the Tables which was done on Tuesday— what we had and all those matters Mama will inform you—

I went to meeting all day. I think that the performances in general were better than ever I knew them—

Your Son gained deservedly great applause—he spoke with great fire and energy, with a spirit that did honour to the Son of a Patriot and Statesman, had his Father heard him he would have felt young again.

Tho' Mr J.Q.A. resembles you more than either of your Children, yet I never saw the likeness so stricking as when he pronounced his oration. it was your mouth that smiled when he addressed the Ladies. it was your eyes that glistened when he bad his Classmates adieu—

My Brother spoke better than I expected—as he is not naturally fluent. you will know the subject of his dissertation by the Newspapers,—they say too, that it should be remembered as an excuse for his encomiums, of the Defence of the American Constitutions that the Auther of that was his Uncle—

No person presumes to say that Mr Freeman who also spoke an English Oration had an equal. perhaps it was because I felt more interested, and partial, that though Mr Freemans voice was more musical, and his action might, be more gracefull, yet his Oration did not give me so much pleasure, as Mr J.Q—A's—

Billy Smith is quite settled down in the family way Mrs Smith cannot boast of beauty— she has those more valuable qualifications of the heart which will be more lasting, and which enables her to make her husband happy and give pleasure to her friends—

They live in Mr Gores House, which makes it very agreable to both families especially to Betsey Smith, who is now quite alone3 she is a fine Girl, and behaves with as much steadiness as possible she pays the greatest attention to her Father, and conforms in every thing to his wishes the family goes on with the same pleasing regularity it used to. Uncle has not recovered his spirits since my Aunts death. he is himself very unwell. he has a bad Leg—from scraping a peice of the skin off—

You my dear Aunt are so continually loading me with favours, that I fear it will never be in my power to return them half. the will shall not be wanting— the Chints I think extremly beautiful, the Sandals are much too large. if the ribband had not come from England, and the dispotic title of fashion—anexed to it, I should think it was very ugly, one would think we had been rumageing the trunks of Mr Wibirds Grand-mother, we had thoughts of making him a present of it to tye up his gown—

can you believe it Madam that this same good Gentleman, did not go to Commencement. you will not easily guess the reason, the very important reason—his Chaise was broke and he did not like to wear boots in warm weather:

You have given us hopes my dear Madam that you will return next Spring, do not disappoint us. your return will add happiness to many, many hearts, among which will be hers who is with every sentiments of respect and / esteem, your obliged and grateful / Neice.