Abigail Adams to Thomas Boylston Adams, 20 March 1803
Abigail Adams to Thomas Boylston Adams
Quincy March 20th 1803
my dear Thomas
This is the third attempt I have made, to write to You; since my Eyes have been attackd with an inflamation, in both the others I found it too painfull to proceed. they are now upon the recovery; I have been obliged to put under cover the papers promissed; with the mortification of Sending them, unaccompanied with a line, I now forward the remainder, most Sincerely Wishing You Success in your undertaking, tho personally I can render You very little aid; I can stimulate others. Is there not an astonishing Similarity between the Scenes which have so lately been acted in France; and those drawn from the Historians cited?1
The contents of your Letter of Febry
16th have dwelt upon my mind, the more, for not being able
to notice them, and I cannot refrain from chiding You, for suffering so long in
Silence.2 Yet I know your motives were
pure, and the difficulties you had to contend against, such as you conceived would be
augmented by a disclousure; I wish most Sincerely they were all removed, and that your
path was plain enough before you, to walk securely on to the compleation of the object
You have so long had in view. “Precipitation forms no part of Your plan” in that I think
you wise; yet laughing I once heard you say, you would not give a copper to be married
after 30, but I must add, few gentlemen are fit to be married untill that age; nor do I
think a Lady less qualified to make a good wife with the judgement and experience of
even that age. Sure I am too many enter that state prematurely. With experience upon my
side, I say of myself that I did, much too young for the proper fulfillment of Duties
which soon devolved upon me. I say this for your comfort, but all other things being
convenient, I think both you and the Lady quite matured for the Holy State, and Should
most Sincerely rejoice in the fullfillment of your engagement, and I look forward to the
period when you will become an inhabitant of Quincy with pleasure; property sufficient to live upon and manage a Farm is all that is
necessary; Buisness you will attain in your profession by degrees. You know my mind. I
will not urge You beyond your judgment; I enter into your thoughts and your feelings. I
know and approve your motives for remaining Single; the aid I have promised you may be
obtained when ever you chuse to avail yourself of it— Your Father Wishes to get you
here. We are improveing our Town of Quincy by a new Bridge and a Turnpike road:3 let not your Heart be Sad. may your latter
days prove your best days. Nancy is in affliction I know from the loss of a valuable
Brother whose Death I read in a late paper. he died in the East Indias.4 I wanted to write to her to console her, but
thought upon reflection I had better omit it. I presume you will not omit fail rendering solace where it is so justly
due—who from your own account has been to you, what ever a Friend could be in trouble
and in difficulty I love and I esteem her for her prudence, fortitude and discretion— my
Heart Acked, and I shudderd at your recital— I hope such trials are at an End. by the I shall wait patiently for the disclosure of
your view’s.—
I received your Letter and the olio—5 poor Vanderkemp, has a ploding Head, but his writings are not calculated for our Country— You must write him a civil Letter. he is an old firm unshaken Friend of your Fathers—ah how few such do we find in this worldly world! Your Father will write you soon, but he has been much engaged in the translation. Present my compliments [. . . .]6
RC (private owner, 2007). Some loss of text due to a cut manuscript.
1. AA promised on 2 March to send “further extracts” of JA’s translation of Antoine Marie Héron de Villefosse, Essais sur l’histoire de la Révolution française, par une société d’auteurs latins, for which see TBA to AA, 10 March, and note 1, above. Boston newspapers had recently reported rumors that Napoleon was preparing to crown himself emperor and that he would divorce Josephine to be free to remarry in the hopes of producing an heir. There were also reports that he was purging elements of the French Army that did not support him, as rising tensions with Britain and the United States prompted speculation about new conflicts (New-England Palladium, 15, 18 March; Boston Commercial Gazette, 17 March; , p. 321–324).
2. Not found.
3. For the construction of the turnpike from Quincy to Boston and the new bridge over the Neponset River, see JQA to William Smith Shaw, 16 Dec., and note 2, below.
4. Samuel Treat Harrod (b. 1778), the eldest of AHA’s six brothers, died at Calcutta in the service of the East India Company on 21 Oct. 1802. The Boston Columbian Centinel, 9 March 1803, said of Harrod: “As a son and brother, he was respectful and affectionate—as a friend, ingenuous and sincere—as a seamen and officer, experienced and humane” (John Harvey Treat, The Treat Family, Salem, Mass., 1893, p. 270).
5. TBA to AA, 10 March, and note 4, above.
6. The remainder of the letter, comprising as many as six lines of text and AA’s signature, is missing due to a cut manuscript.