This is our Thanksgiving day. when I look Back upon the year past, I perceive many, very many causes for thanksgiving, both of a publick and Private nature.1 I hope my Heart is not ungratefull, tho sad; it is usually a day of festivity when the social Family circle meet together tho seperated the rest of the year. No Husband dignifies my Board, no Children add gladness to it, no Smiling Grandchildren Eyes to sparkle for the plumb pudding, or feast upon the mincd Pye. Solitary & alone I behold the day after a sleepless night, without a joyous feeling. am I ungratefull? I hope not. Brother Cranchs illness prevented Him and my sister from joining me, & Boylston Adams’s sickness confineing him to his House debared me from inviting your Brother & Family. I had but one resource, & that was to invite mr & mrs Porter to dine with me; and the two Families to 289 unite in the Kitchin with Pheby the only surviving Parent I have, and thus we shared in the [“]Bounties of providence”

I was not well enough to venture to meeting and by that means lost an excellent discourse deliverd by mr Whitman, upon the numerous causes of thankfullness and gratitude which we all have to the Great Giver of every perfect Gift; nor was the late Glorious Victory gained by Admiral Nelson over the French omitted by him, as in its concequences of Great importance in checking the mad arrogance of that devouring Nation.

and here let me congratulate you upon the event, as now made certain. I hope it will prove of Great advantage to us, as well as to all the powers whom France has abused debased and insulted—

I cannot speak of them in the stile of Govr Henry, tho I like his speech, and belive he made it without the aid of Laudanum. the address from thence I like, make a good answer to it—2

I presume you reachd Philadelphia on saturday— I wrote to you twice to N york to the care of Charles & twice I have written to you addrest to Philadelphia I hope you received the Letters—

I am as ever your / truly affectionate

The only Letter I have receved from you since my arrival in this Country is dated the 11 October 1797 nor have I wrote you before waiting the arrangement of my affairs, that the Subject of my Letter might be more pleaseing to us both, this is however not compleated, still I have the pleasure of telling you that I have suceeded in getting my late Partners into an Arbitration & which will be finished before the 1 February, soon after which I hope to have my Property delivered up into my own hands & should the British Goverment 290 restore me that which they have so cruelly detained from me, I will soon get rid of Mr. Delius & every other who has a Just claim on me, and after which, from all that I can as yet see, I shall not be short in value to what I have told you, there will be for my Children,1 I will say nothing more to you at present on my affairs, more than that they are in the hands of Mr. Cranch your Relation who I am shure will be assiduous in Collecting them— Mrs. Johnson has receved from our Dear Child several Letters, from which we are informed that She has been extreamly Ill and unfortunate.2 the Prayers of her Sincerly affectionate Parents are rendered up to Heaven for her Speedy restoration to Health & that you both may be blest to the utmost extent of your wishes; a few Lines from you every now and then will be taken kind, if it only says how your Healths are—

Your informations being diret from the Fountainhead is far superior to any that I can give you, I shall therefore confine myself meerly in telling you that the Seat of Goverment has not progrest as I expected to have found it, what it will do when Congress comes here I cannot say but even then I am not sanguine & as a proof of it I have not made any addition to the property I formerly held in it, tho I could have done it on good terms.

In respect to Family matters, your Dear Mother has long been indisposed & at one time so much so that we were much alarmed but by Letters Mrs. Johnson has Just recieved from her we are much releaved on her account,3 your Father is at Philadelphia & I hear pretty well. my little Woman & all the Girls are pretty well, Tom is better but he mends slowly & it remains very uncertain whether he will ever regain perfect Health again—

May every Blessing attend you & my Dearest Louisa to whom tender the Affectionate Love of her Mother Sisters Brother & Father accept the same yourself from each & believe me truly & sincerely my, / Dear Sir / Your Affectionate