21Abigail Adams to John Thaxter, 26 August 1778 (Adams Papers)
Your favour of the 5th instant is just come to hand. I should like very well to see the Speach you mention and the reply, but would not desire it till you have full Licence to communicate it.—I wish I could give you such intelligence from Rhode Island as I hoped to, but not withstanding we have men of Sence and Letters, many of them there, we do not get Authentick intelligence. Tis a week...
22Abigail Adams to John Thaxter, 2 September 1778 (Adams Papers)
I was much surprized to Night upon receiving a Letter from you, in which you say you have not heard from Home since june; I have wrote many Letters to you since that time and have sent 4 or 5 from your Friends all under cover to Mr. L ovel l to you. What can have become of them I know not, unless some of them being directed to York Town travelled that way and have been lost. Do not think...
23John Thaxter to Abigail Adams, 2 September 1778 (Adams Papers)
Your much esteemed favors of 23d. July and 19th. Augst. came to hand on Monday. Your Letters and the inclosed ones were very acceptable; as they contained agreeable Information. The Letter of June from you and also those from home of the same month mentioned that our Parents were under the operation of a disease, which has swept away it s thousands. Tho’ Art has check’d its malignity, yet...
24John Thaxter to Abigail Adams, 11 September 1778 (Adams Papers)
Your favor of the 26th. Augst. I was honored with last Monday. Just after I had wrote my last to you we had an account here of the action at Rhode Island. I am very happy in its being successful in so great a degree; but will be honest enough to declare that my most pleasing expectations are disappointed. There seemed to be a Certainty almost of a total reduction of the Enemy at that post....
25John Thaxter to Abigail Adams, 15 September 1778 (Adams Papers)
Since the date of that letter mentioning my not having recieved any intelligence from home for more then two months, I have had the honor of four or five letters from you and two or three from home. Your favor of the 2d. inst. came to hand yesterday. My situation is such at present, that it will by no means answer for me to reside here. Boarding, at almost the cheapest rate, is 16 dollars per...
26Abigail Adams to John Thaxter, 29 September 1778 (Adams Papers)
I know not but you are upon your return home. If you be a pleasent journey to you but you will not I fear find us a bit better people than you left us. We are more extravagant, selfish, oppressive than we were last year, and then you well know we were bad enough. What can be done with this light commodity which makes such strange work amongst us. It cost me as much to live one month as it used...
27John Thaxter to Abigail Adams, 15 December 1779 (Adams Papers)
The Reason of our being in Spain, you will, perhaps, be no stranger to, when this reaches You. I am not sorry We arrived at Ferrol, as a prosecution of our Voyage might have been attended with hazard. A leaky Ship in a Storm or violent Gale, is not a Situation for very comfortable Sensations. We had Leaks, Storms and Winds in the passage. The former were more formidable than the latter, and...
28John Thaxter to Abigail Adams, 16 December 1779 (Adams Papers)
This Afternoon I visited one of the Churches in this place; and casting my Eyes into one Corner of it I spy’d one of the Monks of the Franciscan Order, laid out in a Case, with his Robes on, his Head reclined upon a Pillar, his Hands and Fingers embracing each other, and between his Thumbs a Cross. Around the Corpse was eight Candles, four of their largest Sort and four of the common. There...
29John Thaxter to Abigail Adams, 18 January 1780 (Adams Papers)
After twenty odd days spent in climbing Mountains, sinking into Valleys, tumbling over Rocks, pocking thro’ Mud and Mire, creeping along Plains, oversetting of Carriages &c., to the End of the Chapter of Evils, We arrived at this place. In addition to the above Combination of Evils, We had smoaky, scolding, dirty Inns to put up at. Cleanliness is a moral Virtue undoubtedly , but very little...
30John Thaxter to Abigail Adams, 16 February 1780 (Adams Papers)
On the ninth of this Month We all happily arrived here, and with Hearts replete with Gratitude. Our Journey was long, cold, tedious and painful to an extream degree. After being fortunately delivered from a crazy and leaky Ship, We had conjectured our future Enterprises would be less irksome. Our Consolation and Triumph upon the Occasion terminated almost as soon as they existed. We had hardly...