51From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 9 August 1806 (Adams Papers)
I left Cambridge yesterday, after having finished my weekly performance, to come here and meet my wife whom I expect hourly here—I received this morning letters from her, dated one at Philadelphia 30. July—and one at New-York 3. August—She was with my Sister, who was well and in good Spirits—She intended to stay over Commencement which was last Wednesday, and then come on as soon as possible—I...
52From 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...
53From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 17 July 1815 (Adams Papers)
Your kind Letters of 20 May and 4 June have been received together with others to my wife and the children which they have answered and will answer for themselves. Hitherto since our arrival in London, I have been obliged to rely upon their punctuality in answering your Letters, as an apology for the temporary deficiency of mine. Besides the multitude of trifling but indispensable avocations...
54From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 19 November 1813 (Adams Papers)
If my last Letter should reach you before this, my ever dear and affectionate mother, you will see by the Postscript, that before it was dispatched we had been informed through an indirect channel of the decease of my beloved Sister—This event, so distressing in itself, but for which your kind letters of 2 and 14 July, had in some measure prepared my Mind, has excited a new and additional...
55From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 12 January 1811 (Adams Papers)
The year eighteen hundred and ten according to Russian reckoning still exists—But as its last hours are upon the wing; and as the New-Year has already made the progress of almost half a month with you, I can no longer delay the opportunity of wishing you, and my dear father, and my George and John, and all the family around you, not the compliments of the Season, but a truly joyful year to be...
56From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 21 September 1812 (Adams Papers)
During the last two years, the unwelcome task has too often been allotted to you, to communicate to my dear wife and me tidings of affliction by the death and sorrows of those whom we loved—The turn has now come to me to ask your sympathy for our own peculiar distress—We have lost our dear and only daughter...as lovely and promising a child, as ever was taken from the hopes of the fondest...
57From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 14 March 1806 (Adams Papers)
It is so long since I have had one hour of leisure that I could appropriate to correspondence with my friends at Quincy and Boston, that I am fearful you will impute to some other cause the length of the interval between my letters—My health however has been gradually improving ever since I left you, and on the whole has been better through the Winter, than for two years before.—A variety of...
58From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 8 February 1816 (Adams Papers)
The receipt of your favour of 2. December was acknowledged in my last, dated the 9th. of January—Three days afterwards, I received your Letter of 9. and 18. November which had been brought by Mr Tarbel—But it was forwarded, I believe from Manchester, Mr and Mrs Tarbel not having yet arrived in London. We have received no Letters of a later date from Quincy. Our Sons, after a Vacation of seven...
59From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 19 November 1816 (Adams Papers)
Last week I sent you with a Letter from my wife the Newspaper containing the Account of the Lord Mayor’s day feast at Guildhall, where you will find again some mention made of the American Minister—The singularity of the feast did not however consist in his being there; but in the Circumstance that no other Minister, either home-bred or foreign was present; and in the phenomenon still more...
60From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 2 May 1811 (Adams Papers)
The religious ceremony of which in my last Letter I gave you an account, began at Midnight and terminated between three and four in the morning.—It was accompanied by a Salute of 21. Guns fired from the Fortress, two or three times, at particular stages of the performance—This was conformable to the customary practice; which always ushers in Easter day at St: Petersburg with an expence of...