151From Richard Rush to Abigail Smith Adams, 16 December 1814 (Adams Papers)
If I have detained the enclosed letter longer than was proper, I beg it may be ascribed, not to any insensibility to the favor done me in being allowed its perusal, but to a desire to turn it to the uses that it appeared to me to deserve. After showing it to the President, I took the liberty of reading parts of it to two of the members of his cabinet, that sentiments so important, coming from...
152From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 23 November 1814 (Adams Papers)
In my Letter of 22. of last Month, I mentioned to you my disappointment at having received no Letters from Quincy or from Boston, by the Dutch vessel, which sailed on the first of September, and arrived at the Texel—I had been equally disappointed a short time before, by the arrival of Mr Boyd from Washington, having left that City the 12th: of August, and bringing no Letters from you—He gave...
153From Richard Rush to Abigail Smith Adams, 13 November 1814 (Adams Papers)
R. Rush has the honor to present his most respectful compliments to Mrs Adams, and to thank her for the favor she was pleased to grant him of reading the enclosed letter from Mr J. Q. Adams, as well as for the kind postscript which conveyed the permission. To himself and Mrs Rush it has afforded equal pleasure, and such as the productions of Mr A’s pen, on whatever subjects, never fail to...
To see Abby Adams’ marriage announced in the public Paper, was at this time, to us a very unexpected Event, as I never heard the least intimation of such an establishment when at Quincy—We were weary of conjectures , till I received your kind letter of last Friday.—But concluded such an early, & sudden marriage must be from a well grounded assurance of the Gentlemans being possessed of a large...
155From William Stephens Smith to Abigail Smith Adams, 7 November 1814 (Adams Papers)
On Saturday the 5th. I received your Letter of the 28th. ulto: the introduction you have given to the Revd. Edward Everet, when presented will be received to the full extent of his most sanguine expectations, I love the introduction of Worthy Characters from those I love and esteem— That the communications from our dear Caroline to you are satisfactory, is highly gratifying to me, and that we...
156From Henry Warren to Abigail Smith Adams, 4 November 1814 (Adams Papers)
Your letter of 22d Ulto: so marked with sensibility—so tender in expression, towards the offspring of the lovely friend, whose loss you so deeply deplore, excites the deep & ardent gratitude of myself—my brother & my wife.—the late call she had opportunity to make was delightfully satisfactory to her feelings & be will reiterated by me the first moment that can present itself.— Your assurances...
157From James Warren, Jr. to Abigail Smith Adams, 28 October 1814 (Adams Papers)
To the very much beloved friend of my much beloved mother—of that lamented & departed friend, I must express my acknowledgements of the reception of Mrs Adams’s letter of the 22d.—Long, very long, have I enjoyed the sympathies and regards of my beloved mother & her excellent friend—at all times and in all circumstances, have I heard them express’d, nor at any moment of her blessed life, were...
158From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 25 October 1814 (Adams Papers)
This is the day of jubile! the fiftieth year since your marriage is completed! By the blessing of Heaven, my dear father can look back to all the succession of years since that time, with the conscious recollection that it was a happy day—The same pleasing remembrance I flatter myself is yours; and may that gracious being who has hitherto conducted you together through all the vicissitudes of...
159From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 22 October 1814 (Adams Papers)
A dutch Vessel, called the Prince of Orange, which had taken out to America the Minister, Mr. Changuion, arrived on the first of this month at the Texel, from Boston, after a passage of thirty days. She brought Boston newspapers to the first of September, but very few private letters, and to my great disappointment, none for me—Mr Boyd had arrived here, a day or two sooner, with dispatches...
160From Henry Warren to Abigail Smith Adams, 19 October 1814 (Adams Papers)
The friendships of early youth never cease but with the dying breath.—“Tell my Dear Mrs: Adams to write me or see me very soon, else we only meet in Heaven”—was one of the last expressions of your departed friend & my ever to be respected mother.—Her constant, ardent, almost sisterly affection imposes it on me as an earliest duty to inform you that death has made another inroad on your...
161From William Stephens Smith to Abigail Smith Adams, 14 October 1814 (Adams Papers)
I have your letter of the 1st. inst. and yesterday visited Mr. Hellen & his family, they are all well and received no injury from the late invasion, they all however retired into the Country for a few day’s under great terror, the enemy however did not approach their house nearer than the Palace, distant about one mile—I enclose the report of the naval Committee expressive of the gallant...
As this is probably the last opportunity I shall have to write you I sieze it with avidity, and hope notwithstanding the failure of our negociations, that some favorable circumstance may occur, which will render the communication more frequent, and more safe. Our prospects are dreadful, and I see no end to our banishment, unless some miracle should release us from our present difficulties. I...
Your very interesting Letter of last week in which you mention the departure of your dear Caroline, with so much affectionate regret, is a pleasing evidence of her intrinsick worth.—I hope she has comfortably reached her Home, & is seated by her worthy Partner in their own Mansion, kindly welcomed to the arms of a fond Mother, where she may safely repose without fear of molestation, or dread...
164From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 10 September 1814 (Adams Papers)
When I wrote you my last Letter, a press copy of which, is enclosed, I had little or no expectation that I should at this day still be here. The John Adams sailed from the Texel, with Mr Dallas on board, the 28th: of August, and has, I hope, by this time half-performed her passage—It is one of those singular incidents, which occur occasionally in real life, and which would be thought too...
I am sorry you did not find time to write me a line—reports are so various, & calamitous that it keeps me in constant agitation of mind—I am distressed for my country, & for my dear Boston friends, who I hear are moving as fast as they can find an asylum—I wanted, & intended to have written to my dear Son, & Mrs Foster, but I have been obliged this week to go to N ewbury, & have been to...
166From Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody to Abigail Smith Adams, 29 August 1814 (Adams Papers)
I feel very grateful to my dear Sister, that though surrounded by agreeable, & dear Friends, she did not forget an absent Sister ; but could kindly retire a few moments to enquire after her health, & the welfare of her family, & acquaint her with the state of her own, in which she knew an affectionate relative must ever feel interested— The enfeebling disorder I mentioned to my Sister, left me...
167From Elizabeth De Windt to Abigail Smith Adams, 27 August 1814 (Adams Papers)
Nothing could compensate so much for the disapointment of my Son’s not bringing your Caroline with him as the flattering letter he brought me from you, I Cannot describe my feelings when reading it, your Sentiments of him coincided So much with mine, that I could not help exclaiming he is all that this good & venerable lady thinks of him, to hear him praised for qualities that grace human...
168From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 18 August 1814 (Adams Papers)
The John Adams is to sail from the Texel on the 25th: of this Month, and Mr Dallas, who is to be the bearer of our Dispatches to the Government is to leave this City on the 21st. I employ the last moments that will be left me previous to his departure, to perform they duty of writing to you, and of acknowledging the receipt of your favour of 1. May. It came by the return of the French ship...
169From Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody to Abigail Smith Adams, July 1814 (Adams Papers)
I was very much gratified to find that it was not the Presidents, your own, or your family’s Sickness which prevented your writing, & that the delay was owing only to much company, & that in the Circle was your excellent worthy Friend Mrs Cushing—I know both the President, & my Sister highly enjoy her society, & rank her among the faithful of the Earth, for she is one with whom you can realize...
170From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 28 July 1814 (Adams Papers)
I had the good fortune of sending a single letter from this place to England, in time to go by the Saratoga, a Cartel which sailed about the middle of this Month for New–York, and that letter was my last go to you. I hope it will reach you safely for it is the only opportunity by which I can expect that you will have heard from me, almost since the beginning of this Year—For the letters which...
171From François Adriaan Van der Kemp to John Adams, 13 July 1814 (Adams Papers)
How was I delighted in Seing your handwriting on the Addres—I could not guess—it was a Letter—I did not expect one—although I was confident, that, if the State of your health had been worse, Cornelia Amelia would have deemed it her duty to Send me a line—You can guess—how I was delighted—when opening it—I Saw it was a Letter from my revered frend—I glanced over it, without looking at the...
172From François Adriaan Van der Kemp to Abigail Smith Adams, 12 July 1814 (Adams Papers)
This morning I received the letter, with which you was pleased to honour me the 28th of June. your medical advice, how Salutarÿ in its effect, Should, I believe, not have prompted me to answer it So Soon, had you not destroy’d its beneficial influence—by rousing all mÿ fears for the live of a man, whom you know, I love and revere. By recollecting, it appears to me, that I am unjust towards...
173From Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 10 July 1814 (Adams Papers)
As Mr & Mrs Smith are about leaving this Country I cannot suffer them to depart without a few lines although my Spirits are not in a state to render a letter from me very agreeable Mr Adams as you probably know has left me in Petersburg and it is very uncertain when we shall meet again; did I not fear to indulge my feelings I could make bitter complaints of the cruel separations I am obliged...
174From Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody to Abigail Smith Adams, 5 July 1814 (Adams Papers)
Yesterday as soon as the mail arrived I sent to the Office full of expectation of receiving a Letter from my dear Sister—Are you all so absorbed in matrimonial affairs, as that none of your family can find leisure to give me the least intelligence how you progress, & how you all do?—Our amicable Cousin Hannah, has had the indisoluable knot completed at last, I see by the news paper—& your...
175From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 30 June 1814 (Adams Papers)
My last Letter to you was written at Reval, and dated the 12th: of May—It was forwarded from Gothenburg by a Swedish Vessel, bound to Boston; but since Admiral Cochrane’s Blockade, it is more doubtful than ever whether it will come to your hands.—I was detained ten days after it was written, in that City and its harbour, by head winds, and by the ice floating in the gulph of Finland—We were...
176From Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody to Abigail Smith Adams, 11 June 1814 (Adams Papers)
With pleasure I congratulate My Dear Brothers & Sister, upon the agreeable prospect they have of seeing an amiable & beloved Grand-duaghter, eligibly settled in a worthy family, & with a Partner who I hope will have sagacity & goodness sufficent to duly estimate her real Excellence. It was said of Miss Caroline, by a Lady, who I presume you will allow to have some skill in determining female...
177From Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody to Abigail Smith Adams, 13 May 1814 (Adams Papers)
I have often felt thankful that we cannot trace our Geneology to the family of Kill-Joys , but are closely allied to those, who considered every dispensation as the allotment of an alwise Parent, who has permit ted us in this Vale of Tears, to gather every comfort, every incidental circumstance, which may grow into a Blessing, & gratefully enjoy the present moment— While I regret Mr T. Adams’,...
178From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 12 May 1814 (Adams Papers)
I left St: Petersburg on the 28th. of last Month, as in the Letter of which I now enclose a press-Copy, I mentioned to you was my intention, and I arrived here on the morning of the first of May.—The ice had not then broken up in this harbour, and no vessel has yet ventured to sail from it—I have engaged a passage for Stockholm in one of the first which will depart, and I am now flattered with...
179From Mercy Otis Warren to Abigail Smith Adams, 11 May 1814 (Adams Papers)
Yes, my dear Friend—I am indeed the only one of my Father’s house who yet stands in this fading, precarious portion of existence.—Little did I think my excellent brother would be called before me, but the thread of my life has been drawn out until I stand a wonder unto all around me.—I hope it is to add another note of gratitude to that unbounded sum which is due to my Creator and Preserver.—...
180From Hannah Phillips Cushing to Abigail Smith Adams, 5 May 1814 (Adams Papers)
It is so long a time my beloved Friend since I have had the satisfaction of hearing from you, that I am induced notwithstanding the weakne ss of my eyes to write a few lines to ask after your welfare, with other Friends at Quincy & to offer my thanks for an affectionate letter written in a sick chamber, where I regreted much it was not in my power to have been with you. I took some cold on...