Abigail Adams to Thomas Boylston Adams, 22 March 1801
Abigail Adams to Thomas Boylston Adams
Quincy monday morg 22 March 1801
my dear Thomas
I have not written you a line since my return to Quincy. I have found full employ to get my House in order, and my Family arranged, against your Fathers return; which Was on Wednesday last; we have all once more assembled at the old Habitation in Safety; Without any accident, except to myself. I unfortunatly, got my foot in a hole in one of the carriages as I was getting out; and fell through, by which misfortune one of my Legs was terribly bruized; and I renderd incapable of walking. Some straw was laid over the bottom of the carriage, so that the hole was hiden; and I broke through, Wounding me sadly; it was the day before I reachd home, so that I have been enabled to Nurse, and take care of it: it was a fortunate circumstance that I did not break my Leg, and came off, With only bruizing me to pumice
I am now in 12 days able to Walk about without much inconvenience. I paid the money you sent by me to dr Tufts, and inclose his receit.1 as the Equinox is now past, and a terrible one it has been; raining and blewing, for ten days, So that I have seen but one sun shine day, since my return to Quincy, now 12 day’s— I would have You get Fowler to send the carriage on board the first good vessel bound to Boston. I must request your care also to take a Bill of lading and agree for the freight, any expence attending, you shall be paid, upon notice—2
as to news—We have not any. all seem to be lulld to quiet rest, by the song of the Syren— B Russel puffing up the Composition as a model of correct writing and eloquence I however conceive it to have, more of duplicity than sincerity Since I read a coppy of a Letter, which W shaw is possessd of, I believe the writer to have given countanance to the most unfounded assertions respecting his Predecessor. if he believed what he wrote; it is but one proof, amongst many others, that he knew not the Character, he thus abused, and that his knowledge of Men, is Superficial as I believe his administration Will show—3
Your Father was as much moved as I was respecting the franking; the Jacobins overshot their mark by publishing the nature of the Bill; the Same Error was committed respecting Gen’ll Washington. mr otis coppied the resolution as it stood, but did not attend to its
being afterwards alterd. When your Father saw the comment in the paper: he told mr secretary otis, that he would never sign the Bill. this led to an examination, and to an alteration.4 the thing was not designd—so that my Family Children may in the course of a Year, be benifited by means of their Fathers having been President of the United States to the Prodigious sum, and amount of Ten or twelve dollars—!!!— tell it not in Gath—whilst they have been the loosers, I doubt not of thousands5
give us, my dear Thomas the pleasure of hearing from you often as you can. Striped of all of you, and william must soon leave us; I know not how your Father or I shall feel; We will go to Farming and Gardning
What a Jewel of a Letter has your Brother written to your father. how accurately, yet how candidly has he judged of Men and measures? What comforting argument does he use to reconcile us to the ingratitude of the world—6
God preserve his Life and health and continue him a blessing to his Family and an honour to his Country; which however is unworthy of him—
my dear Thomas adieu— I must go below and make my pudding—
most affectionatly / your Mother
A A
RC (Adams Papers); endorsed: “Mrs: A Adams— / 22d: March 1801 / 30th: Recd: / Do: Ansd:.”
1. Enclosure not found.
2. AA was confused as to the name of the Philadelphia coachmaker. At her request TBA had arranged for the purchase of a carriage from coachmaker Robert Fielding (vol. 14:506, 507, 508, 514). For the shipment of the carriage, see TBA to AA, 26 April, and note 1, and 2 May, both below.
3. The Boston Columbian Centinel, 14 March, printed Thomas Jefferson’s 4 March inaugural address. A second printing appeared on 18 March with a headnote stating that owing to popular demand the speech was being reprinted “intire and correct,” an allusion to an omitted portion in the previous issue rather than to the quality of the composition. The copy of a Jefferson letter that William Smith Shaw shared with AA has not been identified, although Jefferson criticized JA, his administration, or Federalists in several letters in February and March (, 33:16, 20–21, 37–38, 66–67, 149–150).
4. On 18 Feb. the House of Representatives sent to the Senate a bill “extending the privilege of franking to John Adams.” The next day, apparently as a result of JA’s conversation with Senate secretary Samuel Allyne Otis Sr., the Senate amended the bill to restrict it to incoming mail, and on 25 Feb. JA signed the amended bill into law. AA accurately described the press coverage of the debates. The Washington, D.C., National Intelligencer, 18 Feb., reported that Congress was considering a bill “declaring all letters received by or written to John Adams free of postage”; then on 20 Feb. the newspaper clarified that the bill “only applies to letters received by Mr. Adams, and not those written by him.” George Washington was initially subject to the same limitation. On 3 March 1797 Congress waived fees on mail sent to him, but on 2 March 1799 it extended the waiver to cover mail that he sent to others. JA received a similar dispensation on 30 April 1810 when Congress extended his franking privileges to include outgoing mail (vol. 14:521; , 6th Cong., 2d sess., p. 804, 807, 823; , 6th Cong., 2d sess., p. 128; , 1:512, 738; 2:102, 599–600).
5. 2 Samuel, 1:20.
6. AA was referring to JQA’s letter to JA of 25 Nov. 1800, for which see vol. 14:445–454. For AA’s use of extracts of the letter in an unpublished essay, see Abigail Adams’ Essay on American Politics, [post 18 March 1801], above.