Adams Family Correspondence, volume 14
ry15 1801
I received Your kind and friendly Letter of December 15 and thank You for your sympathetic condolence upon an event severely afflicting to a parent—in this case armed with many a barbed arrow. to infinite Wisdom I bow in humble Submission. may the Chastning hand of providence be duly noticed by me, so that those Children who Survive, may be doubly blessed to their parents1
The year past is a memorable one to me, both upon a private, and public account; tho the Clouds are impenetrable, and the Ways of Providence dark and intricate,2 he who permits not a sparrow to fall, unnoticed, assuredly over rules the more important interests and concerns of kingdoms and nations,
524an increasing infidelity in Religion, an allarming corruption of manners from the highest to the lowest ranks of society, a wrestless spirit of discontent, and turbulence manifested under the mildest Government, in which a people can partake and prosper, an unchecked spirit of calumny, lieing, and Slander; which has Spread through our country, to its infamy and disgrace, bearing down honour virtue and integrity like a besom of destruction—all portend some Mighty Change.4 when irreligion is demoralizing the world Shall the influence of Government unite to place at its head those whose only religion is benevolence? that the Lord Reigneth is consolation to the Christian, but we ought to deprecate his judgments, and implore his mercy—
I Shall endeavour not to remain here longer than this
month. I would advise mr Porter to cut 5 cord of pine wood and get it home.
it may be also necessary to get some more oak wood as we shall want more
than was calculated upon— there is Something due to mr Frothingham, for
mending the wheels of the chariot which will be lost to us unless you can
get the Bill and pay it and forward it before the last of Feb’ry. I also wish you to procure from mr
Frothingham the price paid him for the Coachee which he made for us— he took
in exchange and as part pay a coachee which We had. I think he allowed one
hundred pounds for it. the remaining sum I paid him in Money I have his
account & receits but they are with My papers at home and blended with
other matters of repairs to other carriages. now what I want of mr
Frothingham is a Receit for the carriage, which he may call a duplicate
Receit for the sum which it cost. it is thought best to leave the two
Carriages which have been used in the service of the public to the future
President: and I must therefore have a Receit for to file with other
papers—and this as early as possible5 You will be so kind as to forward
them to mr shaw under cover to the President, as I presume I shall be on my
way home before they will reach me.
Mr smith of Boston procured for us Some fish Tongues porter and pork, which we have received. he has an unsettled account which I endeavourd to have adjusted before I came away but faild in doing. I payd him one hundred dollors which he creditted me for, but I presume there will still be a balance due to him upon the 525 articles since furnished. there were three articles the amount of which I do not know. a cask of sherry wine a Bill paid by him to mr Hall for some hams & Tongues, and a Quintal of fish I one day gave him a Bill of a hundred dollors, requesting him to settle the account & give me a Receit. he creditted me for the Money but the account remains unsetled. I inclose a hundred dollors requesting You to pay him the balance due to him— I wish to come home as clear of the World as possible, and with as few debts indeed I know of but one other, which is something due to dr Phips I believe, which however cannot be much. I will request you to settle that also—
I cannot say that my Health has been so good as it was
the last winter. I have frequent ill turns, and have Several days been
confined. I lose my sleep often, and find my Spirits flag my mind and Heart
have both been severely tried— I desire to learn and practise the lesson of
the apostle, in what ever state I am to be content—6 I often wish myself again at
Quincy: there I hope to arrive in the Month of Feb’ry— With my kind Regards to Mrs Tufts and Family I am dear Sir
Your affectionate / Neice
RC (Adams Papers); endorsed: “Mrs: Adams Jany
15. 1801”; notation: “32.” Dft (Adams Papers).
In his letter of 15 Dec. 1800, Tufts offered
condolences to AA on CA’s death, writing,
“Mrs: Tufts joins me in condoling with
you and the President on this mournful Event, and pray that Heaven may
grant you both, all needed support & Consolation.” Tufts also
reported on fever in Quincy and requested JA’s direction on
property leases (Adams
Papers).
In the Dft, AA also used
the allusion to a sparrow from Matthew, 10:29, but completed this
sentence, “a firm belief that not a sparrow falls to the Ground without
notice; much less can the great events which affect kingdoms and
nations, escape the in which are
involved the happiness or misiry of Millions of Rationel Beings, be
ascribed to Chance.” She then marked for deletion everything from “much
less can the great events” and instead concluded the sentence,
“convinces me also that the greater and more important interest of
kingdoms and nations, are under the dominion of the supreem Ruler.”
Alexander Pope, Essay on
Man, Epistle 1, lines 155–156.
Instead of the preceding sentence, in the Dft AA wrote, “Can we expect one under such circumstances for the better? Will the placeing at the Head of our Nation two Characters known to be Deists, be productive of order Peace and happiness— one I believe in private and Domestic Life a much more moral & pure Character than the other but in Subjects of Goverment neither so correct or judicious or firm as him whose private Character will not bear inspection, and whose abmition is so unbounded as to know no checks from religion or morality—”
JA informed Thomas Jefferson in a 20
Feb. 1801 letter that seven horses and two carriages in his possession
were federal property and would be left at the President’s House (Jefferson, Papers
, 33:23–24).
Philippians, 4:11.