Your letter of the 21st arrived from Quincy this Morning and I can only assure you in answer that your Mother is much better and that Charles is very well. you may therefore spare yourself any farther anxiety and hope to meet us soon in perfect health I merely write a few lines to satisfy your doubts concerning them and to express my regret at your cause not having come on when you expected...
I write you my dear Madam, to announce our safe arrival at Cronstad, after a most tedious, and dangerous passage, of eleven weeks; during which I suffer’d considerably, both fear and sickness, which continued throughout the voyage. my health is however good at present, and we propose to go on to Petersberg tomorow— I entreat you my dear Madam, to remember me most affectionately, to all our...
At length my dear Madam we have arrived in this splendid City and find ourselves plunged into the midst of difficulties, and expences from which nothing but a return to our own Country can extricate us, unless the American Government will double the present appointments, which I am almost certain will never take place— Mr Adams has not yet been presented owing to the indisposition of the...
An occasion now offering to write you I sieze it with the utmost pleasure to inform you of our health which has hitherto withstood the severe shocks of a Russian Winter—I wish I could inform you of our comfortable establishment but I much fear that is fa r ther of than ever and we must submit to all the disagreeables of a Russian Hotel which are indescribable you can form no idea of the morals...
The River being open at length, and the Vessels preparing for their departure, I sieze the earliest opportunity of writing, to assure you that the family are generally well, and that we have all excepting Mr Gray, suffer’d very little considering the length and severity of this tedious Winter.— I wish my dear Madam I could write any thing that would amuse you, but our lives are so uniformly...
Your very kind and welcome letter arrived yesterday and completely reanimated my frame which was almost congeal’d by the intense cold of these frozen regions it is now June and only the day before yesterday we had a Snow storm I verily believe my dear Mother had not the electric shock which the very unexpected good news your ever watchful kindness sent me us to cheer our painful exile from...
Having already written to Mrs Adams, by this conveyance, my dear Madam, I cannot think of losing, so favorable an opportunity, of repeating my thanks for your kind care of l my beloved Children; of whose happiness and welfare, I have a full conviction while under your protection—Never untill now , did I so sensibly feel the loss, of the little property I was once taught to expect, I might then...
We have this morning recieved your kind letter my dear Mother and I hasten to write you a few lines by a Vessel which I understand will sail immediately Mr. Adams is very well but so much engaged it will not be in his power to write by this opportunity having only notice of it late last night Mr Harrod is not yet arrived but is hourly expected—I shall be extremely happy to see him and shew...
As another opportunity offers my dear Mother which I am told is a very safe one I cannot refrain from writing a few lines to assure you of the health of the family in general and to entreat you will write by every opportunity. we have only heard three times from you since we left you and you who have been placed in the same situation know how much frequent intelligence of your health and would...
Your letter of the 24th of march, my dear Madam, is but just arrived, and although it was so long before it reached us, it afforded us the satisfaction of hearing from yourself, that my dear Boys were well at that period.—We have not yet heard any thing of Mr Harrod, I fear he has stopped at some other port in the Baltic, and that we shall not see him at Petersburg this Season—I feel much...
I recieved your very kind letter my dear Aunt a few days since and hasten to answer it although without hopes of its my letter’s arriving at its destinatio n owing to the Danes who capture every American Vessel either passing the Sound or the Belts I have written by every opportunity but we have heard of the captur e of almost every vessel which contain’d our letters it is shocking to think of...
12From Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams to John Adams, 12 October 1810 (Adams Papers)
I recieved your letter my dear Child only a few days since and am charmed to find that George and you are such good boys I am sure you are much obliged to Cousin Abby for your letters. and I you will soon learn to write them yourself I hope as they will afford me double pleasure George is now near ten years old and is I am sure too much of a man to play truant any more and I am sure you never...
In the utmost haste my dear Mother I write you a few lines merely to assure you of the health of the family many thanks for your very kind letter of the 15 of May which however would have made us all very unhappy had it not fortunately been preceded by one of the 12 of July brought by Mr Jones who likewise assured us you were recovered many many years are yet I hope in store for you and I...
St Petersburg Octbr. 23d We are now my dear Mother enjoying the delights of a violent Snow storm and I presume this will be the last opportunity of writing by Vessels sailing from hence to America our intercourse for some months will I fear be much interrupted I hope however you will write by opportunities to Hamburg or England as often as possible— Winter has returned and with it all the...
Having an opportunity to write you by Mr Lewis of Philadelphia who leaves this place for England early tomorrow morning I hasten to inform you of the general health of the family which although not perfect is as good as we can rationally expect Winter comes on us in so harsh a form that we anticipate an unusual degree of severity in its course this morning the River and Canals were hard frozen...
After so long a silence my dear mother I scarcely know how to address you without troubling you with complaints of your not writing. since July I have not received a line from you our solicitude and anxiety to hear from you adds terribly to the tediousness of our banishment and render my residence here almost insupportable— It is here confidently reported that Mr Adams is shortly to be removed...
With a mind sorely depressed by the late afflicting intelligence from America and the many additional circumstances which are hourly occurring to encrease the difficulties of my present situation and I feel almost incapacitated from writing even a few lines to thank you & my dear Sister Adams for the very tender and affectionate manner in which you broke to us the melancholy Tidings of our...
I cannot refuse myself the pleasure of answering, your very beautiful, and affectionate letter, of the 24 Feby, although I am at this moment, labouring under one of my severe sick headache’s, which afflict me so unceasingly, in my hair is already perfectly blanched. it is a bad apology for my silence but since I have nursed my little daughter I have suffer’d more than usual and have been...
I write you my dear George, with a hope that this letter will not reach you. however as we have reports here of an Embargo, being to take place in America, early in the Season, I will not omit the opportunity which now offers, of assuring you of my tenderest affection, & solicitude, for your present and future welfare. Your Father, and myself, were very anxious to have both you, and your...
Your kind letter my dear Mother as well as that of my kind Sister call for an answer and although the effort is almost too much for me I will endeavor to controul the pangs of my bursting heart and entreat you to compassionate and not condemn a grief which is beyond my reason to subdue had you witnessed the horrid circumstances of my Angels death you would pity and forgive me my heart is...
The arrival of Mr Bayard, & Galatin, my dear Madam, has made so little alteration in our situation, that I have little or nothing to write you, but complaints, of the prospect I have of a much lengthen’d stay in this Country: and the additional grief of losing the society of my Sister, which was almost the only thing left me to render life supportable. Mr A is even more buried in study than...
22From Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 1814 (Adams Papers)
To offer you anything like consolation for your irreparable loss my dear Mother is I feel utterly impossible and Heaven alone can pour balm into the wound which in its wise decrees it has ordained. Too recently have I suffer’d the same dreadful stroke not to feel how every fibre of your heart must have been rent by this great great affliction if the tenderest sympathy could in the smallest...
You will no doubt be much surprized at hearing from me, so soon after your departure; but a delemma has already occurred, and I write to know your intentions, respecting the letters that may arrive here. I supposed you had left your directions with Mr Smith, but he informs me that you only mentioned the public Papers, and intimated that you would speak to me about the private letters. I...
24From Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams to John Quincy Adams, 8 May 1814 (Adams Papers)
Yesterday evening I received a few lines from you dated from Heglecht. I am extremely happy the accident was so trifling, and hope your Servant was successful in his search— I wrote you the day after you left us, but I fear you will not receive my letter at Reval. Since your departure there has arrived a large number of dispatches among which was one brought by Mr Lewis’s brother who came in...
Your kind letter arrived just in time to cheer us. Charles and I were both quite sick, but are now thank God much better, though Dr. Galloway has order’d me to keep him at home for some days, the weather being uncommonly cold, and the Bridge not likely to be put up for some days. We have nothing new. there is some talk of the Emperor’s return, some say immediately, others not untill August....
We had concluded from appearances here that you would be detained some days at Revel, but I did not imagine that your stay would have been so much prolong’d. I last night had the pleasure of recieving your number 3, and at the same time the mortification of discovering that number 2 was missing this of course causes me some uneasiness as I believe few of your correspondents would be willing to...
Owing to the unfortunate detention of your last letter (that is to say No 2) I lost the opportunity of writing to you at Revel and I fear you charged me with at least unkindness. the letter which I wrote you two days after your departures appears to have been mislaid as you have made no mention of it and I addressed the others to Gottenburg and Stockolm where I hope you will find at least one...
As the tops of the Houses here are cover’d with Snow and the winds continue to be contrary I venture to write you a few lines, my best friend, in answer 2 No 4, which I recieved this morning. the extreme irregularity of the Posts, has prevented my addressing my letters to Reval, and I have already forwarded three or four to Stockolm, and Gottenburg, which you will find on your arrival.—I am...
Having recieved no letter from you since No: 4 my best friend, I flatter myself you left Reval soon after writing it and that you are at this time at Gottenburg almost every one to whom I have spoken about the detention of your letters assure me that they are read at the Post Office, and that this is the real cause of their delay. you appear to have had some suspicion of this yourself, from...
Not having heard from you by the last Mail on which I calculated we are all very much disappointed at it and very impatient to hear of your safe arrival at Stockolm— I am in the midst of confusion on account of Chareles who is order’d out immediately by Dr. Galloway and to be put on a milk and Vegetable Diet I fear this will displease you on account of the expense but as the Dr. thought it...