Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1858-10-26
UNPUBLISHED LETTER OFF aDsuS

UNPUBLISHED LETTER OF J. ADAMS
The Worcester Transcript has been furnished
with the following copy of letter, written in
1913 by the elder Adams to Thomas Jefferson,
never before published ,
QUIscr, July 12, 1913
Dear Sir II forgot, in NV last 10 remark n
very trihing inaecuraey in yours of June 27th
The letter intercepted in Hitehbourne's trunk
which was reported to glance at Mr. Dickinson
was not IN l716. Ii was in the month of June
l775 Had it been June, l776, the English
would have printed it, The nation had then
too maturely reflected on the necessity Of In
dependence, and was too ripe and too hot for
Proclamation of it. Neither Mr.. Dickenson
nor any OF his Friends would have dared to ex-
press the smallest resentment of it, out of their
own gloomy circles. The Penns the Aliens
the Chews and the Willings, in other words,
the Proprietary gentlemen Of Pennsylvania, /
mean those of them who had not ran auay to
the English, would have been silent. The
Quakers, instead of producing my Letters and
reading them and recording them in their
General Meetings, and holding me up to the
detestation of their whole society as the most
odious OF men, aiming, or at least, having in
contemplation the Possibility of Independence,
In any case whatsoever, would have concealed
and dissimulated their hypocritical can't The
Pembertons, teven Israel) the Drinkers, the
Shoemakers and all the rest, would have been
silent. The Spirit would not have moved one
OF them TO open his lips.
In June, l776, my Friends would not have
put on long faces and lamented nv impru-
dence None of them would have wondered,
as some Of them did, in IT'S, that a man of
Forty Years Of Age, and of considerable Ex-
perience IN business and in life should have
been guilty of such an Indiscretion Others
would not have said " 1t was premature
declaration of Independence, and Jos Reed
soon afterwards private Secretary of General
Washington, and, after that, Governor of PENN
sylvania, would not have said to me, as he did,
Il look upon the Interception and publication
OF that Letter, as an act of the Providence of
TOD TO excite the attention Of the People to
their real Situation and to show them what
they must come to-" a-..r E| =
You say cit has been hoped, I would leave
such explanations as would place everv saddle
on its right Horse, and replace on the shoulders
OF Others, the burthens they shifted on youis.',
, Hoped BY whom They know not what
they hope. have, already, replaced on the
shoulders of" Franklin the burdens he shifted
on mine. Shall replace on the shoulders of
Washington, the burtheDs that bastard Bratt
OF scotch Pedlar, placed on his shoulders and
he shifted on mine. ! : -
How many Gsuntlets am destined to run +?
How many Martyrdoms must 1 suffer?
Be they more or less, have enjoyed happy
l. fe, and would not exchange Life, Character
or Fortune with any one of them.
There are few Men now living. if any, who
know more of me than you do Yet you know
but little Of the Life have led, the hazards
have run, or the light sffiictions for a mo-
mentn L have endured.
L will conclude this grave solemn Letter with
a merry Story; but, as true as it is diverting.
In my Youth | was acquainted with one of
our New England Nobility, Representative,
Counsellor, Colonel, Judge John Chandler, Of
Worcester, OF whom L could tell you twenty
humorous and instructive Anecdotes He had
great Influence in our Legislature. Upon
some occasion, there was a complaint against
him rs Justice of the Peace in the County
of Worcester. He arrived in Boston and the
Counsel sent for him, and interrogated him
and threatened him. When he came down
from the Counsel Chamber, one of his Brother
Representatives asked him what can the
m after be ?' "God damn them" said Chand-
Ter, ''they talk of uncreating their Creator
If you do not understand this and wish an ex-
planation, you shall have it, JOHN ADAMS.
To President JEFFERSON