Boston October 14th. 1758 Dear William,

I have been sadly disappointed in not seeing you for Sev'ral Courts, we had a tollerable session at Worcester where yr. good Company was much wanted, but it seems you have intirely forsaken the Associations of the Righteous, not to say the Wise & the learned. However Sr. the Want of yr. good company, great as it was, did not so much grieve me, as the hearing that the Occasion of yr. frequent Absentings from these wholesome Dutys was the want of health & spirits enough to carry you through them. There is such a Mediocrity as most profitably frees us from the "Madness of Superfluous Health" on the one hand & a dissipation of Strength on the other, I think I have in some degree experienced all three of them, in the first State we are perfectly frantic; heedless of every danger we are the most liable to them, & unmindfull of the tender scenes of life we taste none of its Sweets, till by degrees the taught Strung Nerve relaxes & we insensibly fall into the Contemplation of those things that are most Sutable to our Cases. This last is at present my Condition, & perhaps you may think it to be the occasion of this Epistle, be that as it will, I assure you I have never heard of yr. indisposition with such reall Sympathy as I have done for two Months past, the latter part of Summer I fell into a great relaxation, occasioned by a Vicidity of blood, this put me upon farinacious food. I've devoured a Continent of Potatoes, & Turnep Yards without Number; Swallowed Mercury enough to make a New Planet & gluttoniz'd as much Alloes as would imbitter the Gulph Stream; as for cold Water Sr., the prime diluter! You Never saw Lake George nor the Euxine Sea & so I can't tell you. In the Midst of my troubles114I threatned hard to come and see you (& a threatining you would have thought it if I had Come) however in Mercy I spared you; Lye one thing to comfort me I don't fail in Essentials, I eat drink & laugh & as to every thing but business as much spirits as ever but there I fail, the Enemy has seized my Capitol, & laid my Brains (those prime Ministers of State) not under Tribute but into fetters. I have therefore great thoughts of trying on Matrimony this Winter, being as to every thing that relates to that in tollerable Order, for I've heard it hinted, that there is not so much as Common Sence wanted there; & I think all business should be done when it will least interefere with any other. But then again I consider that matrimony being really a high Seasoned flesh Diet, is utterly inconsistent with An Abstemious Regimen, & fatal to a Scorbutic habit, & having a direct tendency to retard the operations of the mind & obliterate the last glimmerings of Reason, so without farther Consultation I dismiss it. In Order Sr. to make a thorough effort to shake off my disorder, I had determind to go to Halifax as soon as October Court was finished, but unluckiily they have adjourned it to the latter End of this Month which will bring on the Season too late for pleasure or profit, so I am ousted of that project; & have but one more, which I propose to you, inviting you as a Partner in the advantages of it, & that is to quit these frozen inhospitable Climes, resigning our property in them to souls of equall grossness & ferocity, while we betake our refined Systems to the Milder skys of Somer's Isles1 & breathe a temperament so favourable to Animal Nature. Here we may lay the foundation of the Barklayan Scheme,2 & dedicate to Reason that blessed clime which at present is but a prostitute to Vice; or at least we shall recommend our Own Conduct by following Nature where she most invites & exemplify to mankind how her bountys are to be used. When the Spring returns, & bestows its influencences on these Northern Regions, wee'll then return to our Appointed Stations the wiser & the better in health for our Emigration; with fresh recruited Spirits, & renewed Vigour we'll Stand up boldly for Truth, & by a More regular life for the future avoid the occasion of a second Visit. What is this State of Life? 'Tis like the duty of a Centinal Who during his Watch Must be Alert and 3 but there are hours of relaxation when he is allowed to take 4 to Recruit exhausting Nature & prepare for ensuing dutys. If so then, let us not dragg heavily this load of life, but while Nature calls, hearken to her kind Invitations; & indulge her in those refreshments which May render her the better servant for the future—So Jack, Pegasus grows frisky.

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I hope this long lump will divert you, & if you have Any improvements to offer for the good of the Valetudinarian Scheme, let's hear them. Put on resulution my freind, & tho our grand Enemy Matrimony assaults you even at the very doors, yet Suffer her to hold no parly with you. Mean while present my Respects to yr. parents, my Compliments to yr. Sisters & all except the Marriage Making Couple, as for them I know not what is proper to send unless, my Admiration.

Adieu, may the blessings of good Company, good humour, good blood, good Luck & good Sence (if they are not inconsistent) attend you, but if ever you feell Stupid, Clodpoll'd, inattentive, Confus'd, & forgettfull, think off, & learn to pity yr. Most hearty wellwisher hbl. Servt.,

RTPAINE

P:S Convey the enclos'd.

RC (Cushing Family Papers, 1650–1840, MHS); addressed: "To William Cushing at Scituate."

1.

Former name for the Bermuda Islands.

2.

Rev. George Berkeley (1685–1753) had attempted to establish a college in Bermuda in the 1720s (DNB).

3.

Several words missing in text.

4.

Word missing in text.