Title: From John Quincy Adams to Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, 11 June 1814
From: Adams, John Quincy
To: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson

N. 10.
My Dear Wife.
Gothenburg 11. June 1814.

My last Letter accounted regularly for my progress from Stockholm, only as far as Oerebro, where I arrived, at 11. O’Clock on Friday Evening 3. June. My Servant according to my directions had waited for me there—I immediately made up his ticket or Marche-route for the next day; allowing for the Stages, at the same rate of time that I had untill then found necessary. I dispatched him immediately after my own arrival, and stopp’d at Oerebro myself, untill five, on Saturday Morning. I then proceeded, and drove the first four Stages, in precisely the time I had allowed for them—At the first I found a want of punctuality at the Post-house—The horses were not there at the time for which they had been ordered, and I was obliged to wait for them half an hour—But the Village Church Clock was in league with the Peasants who furnished the Horses, and struck six, when they arrived, although it was really a full half hour later—For this there was no remedy; I had my waiting for my pains; but when afterwards I fell again in arrears myself, as you will shortly hear, I found the Clocks, the Peasants and the Postmasters, as prepared to outstrip by half an hour the real pace of Time, as they were to clip his wings, and stay his steps, to the standard of their own neglect when they had fallen behind him—I soon found out the principle of this system of tactics, and had occasion to remark the address of the Peasants in evading the parts of the Royal Ordinances, in favour of the traveller, as well as their eagerness and stubborness in availing themselves to the last Schilling of the other Parts of the same Ordinances, the object of which is to favour them—The Ordinances require them to have their horses ready at the times indicated in the fore-runners ticket; and to wait the arrival of the traveller four hours—For the first hour of waiting they are allowed nothing; but for the three succeeding hours, the travellers if retarded, must pay for the waiting-money, or detention, at the rate of so much by the hour for each horse, and the three hours, give them a claim to double the whole fare of the Stage, and sometimes more—They reduce the hour which they are required to wait, to nothing, either by being half an hour behind the real Time themselves, or, when they wait for the Traveller, half an hour before it—Of both which I had examples on this second day of my Journey from Stockholm—At the fourth Stage from Oerebro, named Bodarne, the road which untill then had been fine, became indifferent, and the Country which had been level became mountainous—They gave me at the Post-house, of four horses, one that was lame, and one broken-winded—After proceeding about half a Swedish Mile I found it impossible to get along with them, and was obliged to send back for two more; which caused a detention of two hours—A second Stage further, the same thing happened again—Even with the six horses, I was double the time in getting through, that I had allowed; and thus, it was 7 O’Clock on Sunday Morning, when I reached the Post-House, where I should have arrived at 11. on Saturday Night.
I had still about 14 Swedish Miles or 140 Versts before me to Gothenburg; it was morning, and my Servant who had waited for me at the appointed place, had not the advance of a Night before me, to order the horses. It was obviously impossible for me to reach my destination that Evening—If I travelled the whole Night again, I could not reach Gothenburg, before 9 or 10 O’Clock on Monday Morning—If I stopp’d that Night to repose, it would be 3 or 4 in the afternoon on Monday, before I should come to my Journey’s end—I had travelled two whole Nights out of three, and had stopp’d only six hours of the third. My Driver was so completely worn down with fatigue, that he was continually dropping asleep upon his Seat. On consulting my Post-Book I found that by allowing myself the whole day of Monday, and adding on two Swedish Miles to the distance, I could attain the double object of resting that Night, and of visiting the celebrated Canal and Water–falls of Trolhätta, which are among the greatest Curiosities of Sweden, and even of the North of Europe—I immediately changed my list of Stages, and reached Trolhätta, where there is a very good inn, about 10. O’Clock on Sunday Evening.
From five to nine, on Monday Morning, I was viewing the Falls and the Canal, with its eight Locks, all cut and blown out of the solid Rock. The former, I recognized immediately as a very antient acquaintance: for in January 1783 I had travelled from Gothenburg to Trolhätta, merely for the purpose of seeing them—There are several Falls, the highest of which is 66 feet perpendicular—The Canal is about two English Miles long, 22 feet wide and 8 feet deep—The eight locks from a descent of 150 feet; there were several Vessels passing through them, and I saw the whole process of their descent—All this was entirely new to me; the work having been commenced since my former visit, and completed in the year 1800—There is a Man whose occupation is to shew all the remarkable objects of the place to strangers—I found him already engaged by a party of Gentlemen and Ladies from Gothenburg; and we all went round in Company, together—This exhibitor keeps a Book, like those which you remember we used to find at similar places in Silesia, and I was gratified to find a large proportion of the names inscribed in it were of Americans—An Englishman of the Smelfungus family, had already made the remark, though not precisely with the same temper—His record in the Book was a dismal complaint against the Inn, the Landlord, the Cicerone himself the owner of the Book, the bad fare, the bugs, fleas, Americans, and other like annoyances, which had made him as he stated, pay dearly for the pleasure of seeing the rival Wonders of nature and Art which the place displayed.
During the remainder of the day, I came from Trolhätta, the distance of which from this City, is eight Swedish Miles, and I arrived here between 10 and 11. in the Evening; having been one day longer upon the Journey, than I had calculated, previous to my departure from Stockholm—I had the advantage of fine Weather, and the Roads in general are good—But the Dormeuse is not the Carriage for a Mountainous Country, and it was so unusual a Spectacle on this road, that it assembled a crowd of gazers, at almost every Stage, where I stopp’d.
You have now a faithful, and may you not find it a tedious Chronicle of my journeyings, both by Land and Sea, since I left you—I found here at Gothenburg a large number of our Countrymen, and some of them have been so sociable, that my time for writing has been shortened more than is exactly convenient.—There are several Vessels ready to sail for the United States; but the British Admiral has declared a Blockade of the whole Coast, without excepting the Ports of the Eastern States as they did last year.
Mr Russell arrived here from Stockholm last Evening, and our intention is to embark in the John Adams, with the first fair wind—We shall land, perhaps at the Texel; or at any other place on the Coast of Holland or of Flanders within a reasonable distance of our new destination.—Address your letters, untill you hear from me again, as I have already requested, under cover to Messrs: W. & J. Willink Amsterdam.—They will forward them to me, wherever I may be.
The Post, last Evening brought me your Letter of 27. May which I have numbered 7. because I infer, from one passage in it, that between that of 19. May, the last that I had previously received, and this one, there is yet an outstanding Letter, which you sent to Reval, but which did not arrive there, untill after I sailed for Stockholm—I hope I shall still receive it somewhere, and at some time; for you know not what a Treasure every one of your Letters is to me—Charles too is a very valuable correspondent, and I shall be punctual in answering his Letters.
Mr Hall and Mr Strong tell me that I have grown fat since they saw me at St: Petersburg—The change of air and Scenery has certainly been of service to my health. As to my Spirits, they are well enough  this removal to Ghent frets upon them, perhaps more than it ought—But I am resolved to keep my dolefuls, as much as possible to myself.—I shall write you again, before I sail—I will thank you to send the two enclosed Letters, with my Compliments to the Pere General des Jesuites.—I write also by this Post to Messrs: Raimbert. / Ever affectionately your’s A.
2. O’Clock P. M.
We are to go on board the ship this Evening. If we sail to-morrow Morning I hope my next will be from Amsterdam—If Smith has not embarked, he had better not come here—The Swedish Vessels will now take no American Passenger—Dear Charles, I have not now one moment to answer your Letter—But it shall not be forgotten.


Title: From Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody to Abigail Smith Adams, 11 June 1814
From: Peabody, Elizabeth Smith Shaw
To: Adams, Abigail Smith

Atkinson June 11th 1814

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 propriety, & merit, that upon close observation in a variety of trying & different scenes, where filial, & social duties were called into view, that she never saw in her either too Little, or too much—but, a correctness of habit, & manners as indicated a magnitude of Soul, swayed by higher motives than the applause of her fellow-mortals—And though you may feel the loss of her pleasant, & grateful attentions; yet you cannot hessitate joyfully to bestow this Jewel of incalculable Worth, & place it under the care, & protection of a man of merit, & of her choice—
If you have made proper Inspection, & are satisfied as to The Character of the Gentleman, of what benefit can delay be—as Uncle Selby says—“away with whims, & formalities, & set an early Day,” & let the fond mothers wishes be gratified, by, letting her Son, present her with a most amiable Daughter—who I think will “study household good”—& (by a thousand tender assiduities), “make Man’s home, his cheif Delight”—Enquire at the Damsels mouth;— If she smiles consent, you surely will let her go, & will not forbear accompaning her with your fervent blessing—It will be one anxiety less, One weighty Care, lightened from the pillow of your declining years—though it may be at an earlier period than you prefered—
I too, my Sister, could wish to have the priviledge which our Father so highly enjoyed, & have my young Nieces, with their destined Partners visit me before they are established in a family & at a distance, where it is probable I shall never see them more.—But whether I have that pleasure or not, I proffer my fullest Blessing, & best wishes, which are all included in saying, may she be as lovely & discreet as her Mother,—& as her Grandmother shone in a large, & extended orbit, distinguished in every domestic, relative, & social Virtue—
I hope my Cousin Susan’s Muse, will so warm & inspire her fancy, as that she will write an Epithalamium upon this interresting, & agreeable occasion,—& send to her Aunt Peabody—
June 13th.
I intended this Letter should have been conveyed by last Saturday’s mail—Had not the company of Mrs Gray, & her two Daughters prevented my finishing it. I should presented you with small dish of Politicks, cooked perhaps, more to my own Taste than yours—You know I am not very critical or exact, therefore can swallow any thing that will fatten the Body, that is not poison, or ruinous to the Constitution; Or, I can fast, or submit to as strict a regimen, if necessity demands, or the exigences of my State requires, as any monastick, or Patriot whatever—But I cannot bear to have bitter Draughts filtred by a wild imagination, imposed upon me by an unskillful hand, who has evidently departed from the practice of his wife Predecessors, & addapted a System, which irratates the Nerves, weakens the Sinews, gnaws the vitals, & drains the best Blood, ‘till the whole fabrick totters to its Base—
Mrs Gray, informed me that last thursday was the Day appointed for the celebration of Mr Pitmans, & our dear Cousin Hannah Smith’s nuptials—I hope neither of the parties rued—will have occasion to like the poor forlorn, solitary Irish man, or will have occasion to—
Mr Peabody, & my Daughter join in wishing, to have their kind regards accepted by you, & your dear family—I hope before this your Son, upon whom the yoke of Sickness is heavily laid, has fully recovered—I am grieved that he, & the family have so often been thus afflicted—
May you all be happy, is the wish of / thy affectionate Sister

Elizabeth Peabody—


Title: From Abigail Smith Adams to John Quincy Adams, 12 June 1814
From: Adams, Abigail Smith
To: Adams, John Quincy

my dear son
Quincy June 12th 1814

By mr william Appleton going to England in a Russian Ship I embrace the opportunity of writing to you, and of acknowledging the receipt of your Letters No 52 october 25 of Novbr 19th No 53. and of Febry 1st No 56—for all of which you have my thanks—your Father has also received your Letters of Sepbr 3d No 26. of october 15 No 27 Novbr 13 No 28. which I hope he will acknowledge by this opportunity. he is not however So particular in this respect as perhaps he ought to be
The tender sympathy you express for my affliction and in which you so feelingly participate, Sooths an anguish which recollection always recalls to my Bosom, and which time cannot extinguish—
Dear Caroline has been to me in the place of her I mourn—with to all the steadiness of maturer years, She has the pleasant vivacity of youth, a native good understanding, cultivated and improved by reading, a delicacy and sweetness of manners, “than Beauty demur” actractive graces which win the Heart, a silent attention, which presents your wants before words can manifest them—a Heart stored with every virtue—Such is my caroline. but  universally beloved—and beloved by one, who is now here upon a visit, belonging to N York, a Solid Sensible young Gentleman, an only Child, whose mother is a widow a Lady of 50 years, ten years of which She has been a widow, fondly attached to this her only son and by name de wint. She was a native of St Eustasia, and is reputed a very charming woman—this Son was at colledge with John Smith and an intimate Friend of his, and Said to possess an handsome property; every inquiry respecting his Character has been Satisfactory to us and to her Father, he resides upon an Estate belonging to the Family at Fishkiln with his Mother—and upon his next visit which will be in Sepbr, he expects to take from me my dear Caroline my own feelings  reluct at parting with her, but her prospect is I think Eligible—and it will be more satisfactory to me to have her thus setled in Life, than unprotected—
The Col is reelected to congress. I expect him daily to pass the summer with us—a great change has been silently wrought in the State of New York, the a large majority of the members of congress soon opposed to the war, and to the Administration. now a larger Majority are Elected who are in favour of preventing it with vigor & of Supporting the Administration—it is Said that the people were allarmed at the rebelious Spirit of Massachusetts who now in their Legislative capacity, to the great merit to themselves and their adherents, that they did not commit any overt act. the Govr. in his Speech and the House and Senate in their Implie are equally bitter unjust and reproachfull towards the president and Administration equally the willing dupes, and Servile flatterers of their Enemies—I am mortified, I am greived—I am Shocked at the conduct of this once honorable and patrioctic State, and I turn with disgust from them—
The late asstonishing events which have Succeed each other with an unpareled rapidity in the downfall of Bonaparty, and the restoration of the Bourbons to the Throne of France, is wonderous in our Eyes—and can be asscribed only to that Being who can create, and can destroy, who maketh his ministers a flameing fire, as second causes to execute his will. what the Bearings will be upon us in concequence of these events, conjectures are lost, would to Heaven that our National trangressions might no call down upon us the chastning rod of almighty retribution, that when our Abrahams Supplicate the Almighty, to spare us, we may be found to have more Righteous than fifty, altho we may Join with the psalmist, keep Lord for the Godly Man faileth ceaseth, and the faithfull fail from among the Children of men, of our Chief justice Parsons  death your former Preceptor. I have already written you the account. His Successor was judge Sewal, who has only precided about Six Months, attending the court upon the Eastern Circuit. he died Suddenly, the news of which event reachd us yesterday. Judge Pain is also gone—he lived to 85 and was gatherd full of years to the great congregation—mr otis too, died at washington just after the rising of Congress: I have before written you this;
Your Brother has been very Sick again. for these three weeks past, he has been totally helpless with an inflamitory Rheumatism which in turn Seiz’d upon every Limb; the inflamation  is Subsiding but he is much reduced. poor Man he has an uncommon Share of Sickness. he cannot yet walk a Step or Stand upon his feet. Man is born to trouble as the Sparks flie upwards, but with the Psalmist let us Say, it is good for us that we have been afflictd
The Shafts of disease Shoot across our path in Such a variety of courses, that the atmosphere of humane Life is darkned by their Number, and the escape of an individual becomes almost miraculous
The Sound of the Allarn Bell has just assailed my Ears. Barges from the British Ships landed yesterday at Cohasset, burnt Several coasting vessels and terrified the inhabitants—the militia from the several Towns have been calld together, and fearing further Mischief they have calld upon those of this Town—who immediatly after Service at the ringing of the Bell assembled and marchd without distinction of party. I have been almost tempted to wish that Boston might feel the fraternal —the grasp would make them one and indivisable


Title: From John Adams to John Quincy Adams, 12 June 1814
From: Adams, John
To: Adams, John Quincy

My ever dear Son
Quincy June 12th: 1814

I have received your number 27. 15 October, 13.
The large quarto Pamphlet entitled “Principes de Chronologie pour les temps anterieurs aux Olympiades,” by Count John Potocki I never received. It has miscarried. That the Count may have seen me, in London in France or Holland, is not improbable.
I also have “plunged into the abyss of Antiquity” and have been “hunting for the books of the wars of the Lord, and of Enoch the seventh from Adam.” But you will forever lament “want of books and languages.” Newton, Usher, Marsham I suspect will give you little satisfaction. Priestly when dying left two treatises, one upon the Hindoos, and one a comparison between the ancient philosophers, and the Christians. A Mr English here published a pamphlet to prove that Jesus was not the Messiah. Mr Cary the Colleague of Freeman has answered him. Neither of these is a Potocki.
English is the first native American, who has openly attacked Revelation. It is not thought prudent to enter into serious controversy with him.
Our Whitney, says that it has been proved the Gospels, and Epistles were written before the destruction of Jerusalem. When the Apocalypse was written he did not say. And I presume he would not assent, that the gospel of Saint John, was written before the destruction of the temple.
Priestly has written a curious book on the corruption of Christianity. But I believe the Acta Sanctorum in 40, 50 or 60, volumes in Folio written by the Bollandists, is necessary to shew in detail, the corruptions of Christianity.
Oh! my Son you know not the grief that your long absence, of almost 5 years, has given me. But as such has been the order of providence, I submit, thankfully submit, believing, that this arrangement has been made, by wisdom and benevolence, superior to mine & all others.
The day after tomorrow, Illuminations, Bonfires and rejoicing’s, are to celebrate the restoration of the Bourbons. Do you remember the time, when oxen, or at least an Ox, was roasted in celebration of the downfall of monarchy in Europe.
I am so well pleased with the restoration of the Bourbons, that if I was only twenty years younger I would solicit the Office of Ambassador to Louis 18th. to congratulate him and make one bow more to a fellow creature to whom I have made a hundred bows some 30 years ago. But alass! I should be thrown overboard before I could have reached one third of the passage to Europe.
There is but one event, for which I am very solicitious, on my own account; and that is your return, with your family in safety to your native soil. In this I fear I am more selfish than parental. For you will return to Jealousy, Envy and malice. I can no more; my heart is too full; my love to all
John Adams


Title: From Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams to John Quincy Adams, 13 June 1814
From: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson
To: Adams, John Quincy

St Petersburg June 13th. 1814

How shall I express my thanks my best beloved friend for you very kind attention. No 8 was put into my hand on my arrival in Town where I went to carry Charles to School he wrote you a long letter yesterday which I shall enclose in this and was very desirous of completing it without mistakes but it was more than he could perform and he was considerably mortified at not having accomplished the promised which it contained it is to be hoped he will avoid his Mothers example who never yet wrote a letter without them in her life.
In my answer to your last I mentioned to you how much I was pleased at your change of destination to you who are acquainted with the inhabitants and have long been used to the manners of the People it must be much more agreeable than Gottenburg which every body agrees is a detestable place I do not regret the change in least unless it should prolong your absence in that case I should indeed be tempted to complain of it most bitterly—
The Gallant Colonel must by this time be well acquainted with the road to Gottenburg I presume he has got over all the disagreeables which weighed so heavily on him at St Petersburg. The Gentlemen have taken so much the lead in all this business there is little left for you but to wonder and admire I feel a little anxious to know how the rival candidates for the Presidency will feel towards each other there is some danger I think that such great interests will Clash.
Your plan of travelling appears to me to be a good one Sir James Riddle strongly recommended it at Mrs Bailey’s I have seen this Lady only once since your departure—
I recieved a letter for you yesterday which came at the same time with Cards of Congé from Count and Countess de Bruges imagining it was a letter from him offering to take letters for you I broke the Seal and read a few lines in which I discover’d that it was a letter from a gentleman who did not wish to trust it by the common conveyance of the Post I immediately it resealed without examining its contents and shall forward it to you by the first favorable opportunity—
Do tell me has the C. P. abdicated or not we are here made to believe it is so in favour of the Young Prince Count Gotterps Son there is no news at all excepting that the Hague is the place fixed on for your negociations this if true will afford you pleasure as I know you prefer that to any other part of Holland.
What can have become of Harris he has made himself some bitter enemies here and the unfortunate circumstance of Brown’s death has open’d the Mouths of every body against him. She is left with 7 Children and Pregnant totally unprovided for
I shall risk this letter to Gottenburg under cover to Mr Hall and request  that he may sent it to Holland should you have already left it—
Mr and Mrs Smith are excessively anxious to hear something from you decisive from Gottenburg we do not expect to hear from you untill next week. they are much disappointed at the prospect of not meeting you again before their final departure for America and I am not too happy in the anticipation of the total solitude in which I shall be left at all events you are perfectly assured of the sincere affection of Charles and

L C A.


Title: From Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams to John Quincy Adams, 24 June 1814
From: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson
To: Adams, John Quincy

My best friend
St Petersburg June 24th. 1814

Without knowing where to address you I cannot refrain from writing to you to inform you of our health, and our great anxiety to hear from you two posts having arrived without bringing us a line. I was uneasy at first lest you should have been prevented from writing by indisposition, or accident on the road, but on reflection your silence may have been caused by finding a number of letters at Gottenburg, which may have required your attention, and forced you to omit one Post, contrary to the intention expressed in your last.
I learn from letters to Mr Lewis that the place of your destination is changed again and that you are now to go to Ghent in Flanders I do not think these changes wear a friendly aspect and I much fear from what I can gather that the mission will be dragged on for some Months without producing any thing decisive letters have arrived in town which state that all external communication and civility has ceased between the Gentlemen and that it is a public open breach I hope not most sincerely as it is evident that our Country is desirous for Peace and I much fear such a circumstance would prove a handle to prevent it.
The Winter is at length gone by and we have very hot Summer weather you cannot concieve what advantage Charles has already derived from the air and excise he looks another thing and grows I think faster than ever with his health his spirits encrease and he becomes more difficult to manage but he is a very good Child—
I have had a great deal of trouble since you left me and am forced to change the Man I took into my service he is honest I believe but so crazy in consequence of the delightful habit so fashionable in that Class that he keeps the House in a state of perpetual confusion Grabit has recommended me one that he has known five and twenty years I have been obliged to do many things which I fear will make you very angry but you must be indulgent and pardon what you cannot approve—
Should you really go to Ghent I shall commission you to purchase me some Lace as it is a very cheap article in that part of the Country and I believe table Linnen is to be had there at small expence and of the best kind.—
The Grand Duke has returned and we have had illuminations of three nights for that and the Peace the Emperor is in England Mr Harris has written that he waits in England to see his Imperial Majesty immediately after which he shall sail for Petersburg Mr Meyers is commissioned to take a handsome house in a fashionable part of the town to be ready when he arrives You it is publickly said are to remove to England and he takes your place—Mr Strongotehikoff informs me that he finds he has made a very disadvantageous bargain with his House and seems desirous of making a new Contract should you come back Wood is at 15 R the Sagene and every thing in proportion.
You know me too well my beloved friend to believe it affectation when I assert that I shall not feel perfectly easy untill I hear from I will not venture a wish to see you as this would be a fault which you could never forgive your very affectionate Wife

L C A.


Title: From Grand Master of Ceremonies of the Russian Court to Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, 24 June 1814
From: Grand Master of Ceremonies of the Russian Court
To: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson

Mercredi le 24. Juin 1814.

Le Grand Maître des Cérémonies a l’honneur d’informer Madame Adams qu’Elle est invitée à se rendre, Jeudi prochain 25. de ce mois, au Château Impérial de Pavlovsky, où Elle sera admise à diner chez Sa Majesté l’Impératrice. Il y aura ensuite spectacle et souper.
En arrivant à Pavolovsky Madame Adams voudra bien descendre à la maison dite de Moukhanoff, où elle trouvera des appartemens préparés pour la recevoir, et se rendre, en habit rond à queue, au Château à 3. heures après midi.
Le Grand Maître des Cérémonies saisit avec empressement cette occasion pour présenter à Madam Adams l’expression de sa considération très distinguée.


Title: From John Quincy Adams to Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, 24 June 1814
From: Adams, John Quincy
To: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson

N. 12.
My dearest Friend.
Ghent 24 June 1814.

At length I may indulge the hope of having reached the remotest bound of the distance which separates me from you, and that when I move again, it will be to return to you. Mr Russell left his Son at Amsterdam having placed him at a School where Mr Bourne had his two sons. Being thus left alone, he took a seat with me, in the Dormeuse. We left Amsterdam at 6 in the Morning, the day before Yesterday, and at 3 Yesterday afternoon reached Antwerp. We had then not much more than 30 English Miles to this place, and could easily have arrived here last Evening; but the river was to be crossed at Antwerp—The tide was low, and the wind adverse—So that we were obliged to wait there untill 11 this Morning—From that time untill half past four this afternoon we were riding over one of the most fertile Countries and one of the finest Roads in the World—Here we alighted at the Hotel des Pays-Bas; and I devote the remainder of the day to you.
We are the first upon the ground. Mr Clay arrived at Amsterdam the Evening before we left it—But as I happened to be at the Theatre; as he lodged at a different house from that where we were, and as we departed so early the next Morning, I did not see him—His intention was to quit Amsterdam this day, and we expect him here the day after to morrow.—Coll: Milligan was here the day before Yesterday, and engaged lodgings for Mr Bayard, at the house where I now write, and the first question the Landlady asked us when we entered the house was whether we were Mr Bayard—I suppose therefore that he will be here this Night, or to-morrow—
The Coll: after taking the lodgings for his friend and patron went off upon a tour to Lille from which he has not yet returned—Mr: Gallatin was still in London last Friday, and had not fixed upon the day of his departure: but he must before this have heard of our arrival at Amsterdam; and from London, he may with ease come here in three days.—Of the English Commissioners we have neither sign nor symptom—We only hear that they intend to move much at their leisure; and to wait to be informed that we are all here, before they budge from home.
Saturday Morning 25 June.
You are sufficiently acquainted with my disposition to know that it was some, and not inconsiderable gratification to my feelings, to find myself the first here—It was unavoidable that some of us should wait a few days for the others; and I am very sure there was not one member of the Commission so anxious to avoid waiting, as I was to avoid being waited for—Even my detention at Reval, so mortifying and vexatious to myself has not for one hour delayed the movements of my Colleagues, nor retarded the time of our meeting at this place—One consequence it has however had which I still deeply regret. I have told you heretofore that Coll: Milligan was sent by Mr Bayard as a special Messenger to Gothenburg, to propose the alteration of the place, and that Messrs Clay and Russell consented to it upon Condition that the proposition should come in form from the English side—It was accordingly so made, and accepted and I found myself destined to Ghent instead of Gothenburg, without having had any voice in the question—Had I not been so unfortunately detained at Reval, I should have been at Gothenburg, when Coll: Milligan arrived there upon his Embassy; and in that case none of us would ever have come to Ghent—For myself at least I can answer—I never would have consented to come here—If a Majority of my Colleagues had concluded upon the measure, I would have returned immediately to St: Petersburg, and left them to conclude the Peace as they saw fit—At this hour I should have been with you—If in consequence of my adhesion to Gothenburg, the conclusion had been to meet there, I have no doubt that at this Moment, the whole business would have been finished—We could have been all assembled before the first of this Month, and what we have to do could not have taken three weeks of time—I should now have been on my way to join you—I still believe, as I wrote you from Stockholm that we shall not all be here sooner than the middle of July—The change of place has thus wasted nearly two Months, of June, and in my full conviction, to no useful purpose whatever—We shall finish the business as we should have done at Gothenburg, but two Months later, and at no small waste of public money as well as of Time.
My aversion to this new arrangement arises however from considerations solely and exclusively of the public interest—For myself, I must acknowledge that my second Voyage and Journey has been far more agreeable than the first—It was in the first place more expeditious. I received the notification to come here, within thirty miles of Stockholm, and that day three weeks I was on the spot—I had been nearly six weeks in going from St: Petersburg there; certainly not half the distance—It was also in all its Circumstances more pleasant.—The Voyage from Gothenburg to the Texel was like a party of Pleasure—A large, comfortable and fast sailing Ship—Excellent fare, and agreeable company—From the Texel to this place the Roads are all good, and the Country at this Season is one continual Garden. We have all the time been approaching to the Summer, while the Summer has been approaching us.—The Weather has been, exactly such as a traveller could wish for—Not so cold as to be uncomfortable, nor so warm as to be oppressive, to the horses or to ourselves—I have revisited a Country, endeared to me by many pleasing recollections of all the early stages of my life—Of infancy, youth, and manhood—I found it in all its charms, precisely the same that I had first seen it; precisely the same that I had last left it—Sweden since I saw it before has changed; greatly changed; and by no means for the better—It was then though a poor, apparently a happy Country—It is now, a picture of misery—But if there is any thing upon Earth that presents an image of permanency, it is the face of Holland—The only change that I could perceive in it, is an improvement—The Cities, and the Country around them, have I think an appearance rather more animated and flourishing than I ever witnessed heretofore—Their connection with France has infused into them a small portion of the french activity and vivacity—In this Country the change has been much greater—Antwerp when I first saw it, was a desolation—A mournfull Monument of Opulence in the last stage of decay—It is now again what it had once been a beautiful and prospering City—But an English Garrison, in possession of the place, and English Commissaries daily expected to carry away in triumph one third of the formidable fleet floating on the River and to demolish all the ships on the Stocks, the precious hopes of futurity, present a fearful foreboding of what Antwerp will soon be again—The fate of Belgium is yet undecided—Austria, Prussia, Holland, France and England, all covet its possession, and the Prospect now is that the gold of England will turn the scales—The Netherlands will be a British Province—
I say no more—For I know not whether even this will not stop my Letter on the road and prevent its ever coming to your hands. The British Government has substantially brought us upon British ground, without our being aware of it.—N’importe—Let them read if they will—Here in this City, there is not as yet an English Garrison; but Prussians—And during the interregnum, Travellers pass with more facility and less molestation than they would under any regular & legitimate Government. Perhaps Letters may be equally licenced—if not, I trust they will let this pass; and whether with the whole, or only half a seal is of not much consequence to your ever affectionate friend

A.


Title: From John Quincy Adams to Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, 28 June 1814
From: Adams, John Quincy
To: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson

N. 13.
My dear Wife.
Ghent 28 June 1814

Imagine how agreeably we have been disappointed! We had expected to find this City, though large and pleasant, some what too remote from the current of political affairs, and rather dull for young men so full of life and Spirits, and so eager for amusements as we are—Point du tout—The very morning after we arrived here, the Place d’Armes in front of my Chamber-windows, was swarming with troops, and the Garrison of six or seven thousand men, was under arms the whole day, in expectation of their Majesties the Emperor Alexander, and the King of Prussia.—On walking out, I saw a Placard, posted on the Walls, with the Programme in eight Articles, prescribed by the Mayor of the City, the Comte de Lens, a Count of the Holy Roman Empire, and approved by the Intendant of the Department, and regulating the manner in which their Majesties, and their illustrious Suite, are to be received—1. The Bells, and the Carillon, are to ring at intervals the whole day—2. The Mayor and other constituted authorities are to go out and meet the two Sovereigns, and the Mayor is to Harrangue them. 3. They are to go in procession through certain streets and Squares to the Hotel of the Intendant, unless they should order otherwise 4. The Streets through which they pass are to be strewed with flowers and foliage. 5. A General Illumination of the City in the Evening.—Their Majesties however have not yet arrived—But the troops have been every day under arms, and the whole City on tip-toe night and day, untill the moment when I am writing.—The present expectation is that only the Emperor will pass here—The king of Prussia lands at Calais and goes through France—The Emperor disembarks (the rumour is that he has already disembarked) at Ostend, and goes through this City, on his way to Antwerp.—There is also to be a Ball, on the occasion of his passing, but it is much doubted whether it will be honoured with his Majesty’s presence; as according to his Itinerary, which is already here, he proposes to go from Ostend to Antwerp in one day; and of course to pass through Ghent without stopping.—This Circumstance is of a nature “pour tempérer notre joye,” for I am afraid it will deprive me of the opportunity of presenting my respects to his Majesty in person. At all Events the City will be in a state of permanent agitation untill he shall have passed, and we shall have no occasion to complain of dulness.
Mr Bayard arrived here last Evening—from Paris—Bruxelles, and last from Antwerp—He had been preceded the day before by Coll: Milligan, returned from his tour in company with Mr Thorndike to Lille—Mr Shaler and Mr Ecky were here when we arrived, but did not find us out untill two days later—We expect Mr Clay this Evening, and Mr Gallatin by the last of the Month—We hear that he remained in England longer than he had intended, in order to be presented to the Emperor—I think it probable Mr Harris will come with him—If all the Americans who have flattered us with hopes of seeing them here should really come, we shall make a little City of ourselves. On the other hand Mr Hughes the Secretary of the Legation, who ought to have been the first here, thinks Paris so much more agreeable, that we are given to understand, that like the British Commissioners, he waits for an official Communications from us, that all the Commissioners are at the appointed place.
When I told you in my last Letter that I had found nothing changed in Holland, I had forgotten the visit which I made at Amsterdam, to the venerable old Stad-house, which has been metamorphosed first into a Royal and now into a Sovereign Princely Palace—I took no pleasure in the transformation, and wished they would turn it back again into a Stad-house—The upper floor has become a formal Gallery of Pictures, and has a number of excellent Paintings of the Dutch School—Some of the best are large Historical Pieces which belonged to the City of Amsterdam, and have always been there—The Royal Apartments are on the lower floor, furnished with elegance, but with not much splendour—They are now appropriated to the use of the Sovereign Prince and his family when at Amsterdam—Their Residence for the present however is at the Hague, and will doubtless continue there. The traces of the Napoleon family have been removed, as fully as the convenience of the moment would admit— There was a large full length Portrait of the Emperor, in one of the Rooms: the place where it stood is yet marked out by the different colour og the damask wainscoting which was covered by its frame, and thus protected from fading—There is one of the fashionable Time-pieces, with a bronze figure of him standing by its side—But as his name was not under it, and it could be recognized only by the Resemblance, it was a good economical principle not to lose a handsome piece of furniture for a trifle; and the spectator is not bound to know that the figure is the image of Bonaparte.—A square of window-glass, within the Walls of the Palace still bears the inscription written with a Diamond, “Vive Louis-Napoleon Roi de Hollande”—But to remove it would cost a new square of glass, and why should that expence be incurred? It is the happiness of that Country, and has saved them perhaps from many a Calamity, that all their political enthusiasm, during the convulsions from which Europe is emerging, have been invariably kept subordinate to the steady maxims and national Spirit of good Husbandry—I have heard them talk like their neighbours of Liberty, of Equality, of Fraternity, and of Independence—I have seen them change the Orange for the three coloured Cockade, and the three-coloured again for the Orange—They have had since my remembrance a Stadtholder and States-General, a National Convention, a Grand Pensionary, a king of the Napoleon Manufacture; have been travestied into a Province of France, and have lastly got a Sovereign-Prince—All these changes have been effected successively, without bloodshed—without internal convulsion, without Violence—They have stretched and have shrunk like the piece of India-rubber that you use in drawing; but throughout all their changes, the sober, cautious, thrifty character of the Nation has invariably maintained its ascendancy, and of all Europe they are unquestionably the People who have suffered the least, from the Hurricane of its late Revolutions—The Willow has weathered by bending to every Gale as it shifted, the Storm which has prostrated the sturdiest Oaks dont la tête aux Cieux-etoient prochaine
Et dont les pieds touchoient à l’Empire des Morts.
The Evening before we left Amsterdam, I went to the French Theatre—In the interval between the Plays, the Orchestra struck up a Dutch Air—There was a Gentleman sitting by me, whose eyes brightened at the sound, and he told me that it was a National Air—Some few persons clapped their hands, but he observed that the first enthusiasm was somewhat cooled down—Immediately afterwards they played “God Save the King”—There was no clapping of hands—I turned to my friend, and asked him, if that too was a National Air?—He hung his head and said No!
Wednesday 29. June.
Mr Clay arrived last Evening between 11. and 12. O’Clock—I was in bed, and heard his voice; but have not yet seen him—Mr Bayard is in good health and good humour, whatever the English Newspapers may have said to the contrary.—The troops are again under arms before my chamber-windows, and there appears to be a more than ordinary bustle among them; so that I suppose the Emperor is coming.—Last Evening they had it that he was sick at Dover, which I hope is not true. They say that all the Prussian Officers who are returning from England say they like Paris much better than London—They think nothing so triste as John Bulls gaiety, and nothing so tiresome as his festivity. Old Marshall Blucher however and the Hetman Platoff, are in the highest favour with John, and trip it, on the light fantastic toe, at the Balls, as nimbly as the Lady Mayoress.
Love to Charles; and believe me ever affectionately your’s
A,
Wednesday Evening—The Emperor passed through, without stopping, about Noon; he goes to Night to Antwerp.


Title: From John Quincy Adams to Abigail Smith Adams, 30 June 1814
From: Adams, John Quincy
To: Adams, Abigail Smith

Ghent 30. June 1814.

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 once after sailing compelled to return, and finally with much difficulty made our way between the Masses of ice, which extended across the gulph—I landed at Stockholm the 25th: of May. I found Mr Russell there—Mr Clay was at Gothenburg—Messrs: Bayard and Gallatin at London—The British Government had manifested a desire to transfer the place of the Negotation, from Gothenburg somewhere nearer to themselves—Mr Bayard, and Mr Gallatin concurred in this wish, and had sent a messenger to Gothenburg to consult the other American Commissioners concerning it—Mr Clay and Mr Russell had consented to the removal, upon condition that the proposal should come from the other side—On my arrival at Stockholm the answer from England was expected—On the road from that City to Gothenburg, I met a Messenger from Mr Clay, to Mr Russell (whom I had left at Stockholm) and me, with the despatches from Mr Bayard and Mr Gallatin—On the formal proposition made by Lord Bathurst, they had agreed to substitute this City, instead of Gothenburg for the seat of the Conferences—Mr Clay had determined to come hither by land; but the John Adams was at Gothenburg ready to take Mr Russell and me to any Port in the neighbourhood of this place, if we should choose to come by Water—I arrived at Gothenburg the 6th: of this Month—Mr Russell reached there four days later, and on the 11th: we embarked on board the John Adams, for the Texel—We had a passage of six days; landed at the Helder; and came by Land through Amsterdam, the Hague and Antwerp to this City, where we arrived on the 24th: instt.—Three days after us arrived Mr Bayard, and the succeeding day Mr Clay—We are still expecting Mr Gallatin.
The British Commissioners are Admiral Lord Gambier, Mr Adam and Mr Gouldsbourn—We expect them too in the course of a few days, and shall then be ready to enter on the serious business of our Mission.
I have now to acknowledge the receipt of your favours of 22. October 16. Jany: 5. and 27. Feby: and 8 and 16. March—The first appears by an endorsement to have been forwarded from London, by Mr Apthorp—It arrived at St: Petersburg the day after my departure, and was sent back to me to Stockholm, where I received it—The others had been brought by Mr Russell and Mr Wyer to Gothenburg, and I received them with a multitude of other Letters and Dispatches, on the Road between Stockholm and that City.
In the last Letter which I had the pleasure of writing you from St: Petersburg, I explained to you the Circumstances, which prevented your receiving several of my Letters written last Summer, and forwarded at the same time with others which were more fortunate in reaching their destination—As you are the most punctual and most frequent of all my American Correspondents, I have had an additional motive for punctuality in return—The number of this Letter passes that of the Months since I left you, and for the last four years I have never suffered any one Month to elapse without writing to you. I have double reason to be mortified at the chapter of Accidents, which has made the very precautions that I took to ensure the safe conveyance of my Letters, operate to delay the receipt of those addressed to you—The opportunities for transmitting them have during the last year been fewer and more precarious than they had ever been before. When I left St: Petersburg the intercourse of that place by the Mails, even with England had been more than three Months interrupted—Since the new Blockade of the American Coast, few neutral Vessels can be expected to reach our Ports—Those which sail from Sweden afford no means of conveying Letters, the Captains almost universally refusing to take them. But be assured, my Dear and venerated Mother, that so long as my hand can hold a pen, not a Month shall go by without my writing you at least once, and that I will avail myself of every opportunity to forward my Letters that I can discover.
Several of your Letters to me have been equally unfortunate in the transmission, as mine from N 44 to 48 to you. Between 14 July and 22 October, all your Letters are missing—That in particular to which in later Letters you refer, containing the account of the last illness of my ever dear and lamented Sister—I see you in every subsequent Letter involuntarily recurring to the severe trial to which it pleased Providence to bring you in that event—I know too well what it is—Two Years have nearly gone by since my only daughter was taken from me and to this hour I cannot meet in the Street an infant of her age, in its Mother’s arms, but it cuts me to the heart—If such are my feelings for a child, cut off before the day-star of intelligence could have arisen to announce the dawn of Reason in her Soul; what must be those of a mother, for one in whom the Mind was at its highest Noon; clear as the day, and unsullied as the light of Heaven?
On the subject of my business here, I must be silent; though not for want of enough to say. It is of a Nature at some no very remote time to be public; and I have thought it necessary to  interdict myself the pleasure of disclosing prematurely to any of my private Correspondents, even those the dearest to me, any thing relating to it which may not be equally known to all the world—To you, the privation will be no denial but here we have listeners and lookers-on, in abundance—Never in my life did I find myself surrounded by so much curiosity.
The Affairs of Europe have undergone great changes, and to people addicted to wonder, very astonishing ones since I wrote you last—To me they have not been astonishing at all; and as it is an easy thing to say this after the Event, I refer you not only to my Letters during the last two years, but to certain lines from Virgil’s Georgius, of which you will find a paraphrase in the review of Ames—I very well know however, how little pretensions I have to prophetic foresight, and how often the Events of the World have given the lie to my anticipations. It is my own fault if my “blindness to the future,” has not taught me a useful lesson of humility.
The last Letter that I have from my dear wife is of 27. May.—She and Charles, and Mr Smith and family were then all well.—She had no idea when I left her, of my coming farther than Gothenburg. It takes three Weeks for a Letter to come from St. Petersburg here; but I hope to hear very soon from her again. The Emperor Alexander passed through this City, yesterday on his return from England; but as he went through without stopping I had not the opportunity of being presented to him—He is the Titus of the Age—The Delight of human-kind.
I am, Dearest Mother, ever dutifully and affectionately your’s
A.


Title: From John Quincy Adams to Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, 2 July 1814
From: Adams, John Quincy
To: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson

N. 14
My dearest friend.
Ghent 2. July 1814.

I persist in writing to you by every Post, because I flatter myself that it will give you pleasure to hear from me as often as possible—I continue to write you long Letters, because one of the greatest enjoyments I have is that of writing to you, and because I trust that whatever they might be to any one else, I trust they will not be dull to you. In this respect, I judge of your feelings by my own—I cannot be deprived a whole week of a Letter from you, without beginning to feel uneasy—Yet I have now been three full weeks under that privation—Your’s of 27. May. which I received at Gothenburg is the last that has yet come to hand—I am now counting the hours, untill I receive the next.—It is this day one Month since I wrote you from Stockholm, and requested you, as soon as you should hear of the change of our destination, to send your Letters for me, under cover to Messrs: W. and J. Willink at Amsterdam—I hope you received that Letter of mine by the 15th: of June, and in that case, it cannot be many days more before I shall have your answer to it. I now forward my Letters to you, directly by the Post, which goes through Brussels, Wesel and Berlin—But you may continue to address yours for me, under cover to the Willink’s at Amsterdam—For it is doubtful whether I shall remain here long enough to receive directly your answer even to this; and if I should be upon my return, Messrs: Willink’s will know where to address the Letters for me, which they may receive—I hope our Letters will not continue to be so long detained on the Road, as the first were, on both sides—I have always used the wafer which they you recommend, but the strongest seal upon which I rely as the Passport for mine, is their insignificancy. There is no better passport through this World, either for Letters, or their Writers.
I told you in my last Letter that the Emperor Alexander had passed through this City; stopping only to breakfast and change horses—I was therefore disappointed in the wish of being presented to him; but I saw him as he passed on horseback through the Streets.—He was distinguished there only by the extraordinary simplicity of his attire—a plain green Uniform, without any Decoration; and his Suite was so small that of the vast crowds of People assembled to see him there was not one person in a hundred who knew which of the horsemen that went by was the Emperor—I recognized him only by my knowledge of his Countenance, and by his salutations to the Populace in return for their shouts of Vive Alexandre—These were faint, and by few Voices, as he passed along, because there were so few of the People that knew him; but he stopped on one of the Squares of the City, while one of the Prussian Regiments drawn up there passed in review before him; and then the acclamations were universal.—Here, as every where else his affability and condescension were the theme of general admiration—A French Regiment from the Garrison of Hamburg, which happened to be here on their return to France, also passed in Review before them, and he conversed some time with their General, Marmont.—It rained the greatest part of the day, and there was a steady shower during the whole time that he was passing through the City—Notwithstanding which, to gratify the wishes of the People to see him he entered the City in an open Caleche, and after entering, passed through it on horseback—The Emperor Alexander may now be truly called the darling of the human race—Concerning him, and him alone, I have heard but one Voice since I left his Capital; not only in his own dominions; not only here, and in Holland; but even in Sweden; where it was least to be expected that a Russian Sovereign should be a favourite—In France perhaps his popularity is at the highest—Even those who at heart do not thank him for the present he has made them cannot deny his moderation—his humanity—his Magnanimity—Of all the Allies he was the one who had been the most wantonly and cruelly outraged—Of all the Allies he was the only one who took no dishonourable revenge—who advanced no extravagant pretensions—
It is well understood that he alone protected Paris, and all France, from the rapacity of those who had marched with Napoleon, and shared the plunder of Moscow.—He has redeemed his pledge to the World—He has shewn himself as great by his forbearance and Modesty in prosperity as by his firmness in the hour of his own trial.—But the Ethiopians have not changed their hue, nor the Leopards their Spots. They are already wrangling about the Spoils; and we hear People talking as familiarly about the Guerre de Partage, as if it was already commenced.
On the Evening after the Emperor went through here the City was illuminated—There was a Ball at the Hotel de Ville, to which by the politeness of the Comte de Lens, the Mayor, we were invited. Mr Bayard, Mr Clay and myself, with Mr Shaler and Coll: Milligan attended it, and for about two hours had the opportunity of contemplating and admiring the assembled beauty and elegance of Ghent.—The married men among us thought there was less of those attractive qualities than we should have found at an equally numerous assemblage in our own Country—The Coll: had made a fair Acquaintance, and his Gallantry as usual was conspicuous. I have not heard his opinion of the female delicacy and feminine softness of Flanders.
We are still waiting for Mr Gallatin, who left London, the same day that Mr Russell and I left Amsterdam—But instead of coming to Ghent, he went to Paris, where he arrived last Monday. His intention was to stay there untill this day, and we have hopes of seeing him here next Monday—Mr Hughes also, our Secretary continues at Paris, and wishes to stay there long enough to be satisfied with one visit—We have here Captain Angus and Mr Connell, Mr Ecky and Mr Thorndike—Mr Kirwan has been here, but went yesterday to embark at Ostend for England; and thence for America in a Cartel about to sail.—It appears probable that the exchange of Prisoners will be renewed—A General Exchange has already taken place in America—All the Prisoners have been sent back on both sides, and we are to account for the balance, which is against us—The forty-six Officers who were retained as hostages, are excepted, but the British Government have not brought to trial those that were sent to England—On the contrary they have been placed upon the footing of other Prisoners of War.
There are Accounts from America by the way of England, with Boston dates to 22 May—Sir James Yeo had taken the fort, and burnt the Village of Oswego, in the State of New-York—The American New Sloop of War Frolic had been taken by the British Frigate Orpheus—The American New Sloop of War Peacock had taken His Britannic Majesty’s Sloop of War Epervier and carried her into Savannah. The Creek Indians had been totally defeated by General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, and had sued for Peace—They had lost 1200 Men in the Action—General Hull had been acquitted of Treason; but convicted of Cowardice and all the other charges against him—Sentenced to be shot, but recommended to Mercy, on Account of his age, and revolutionary services. The President confirmed the Sentence of the Court-Martial, and complied with their Recommendation—Hull was pardoned and cashiered.—Sir George Prevost had proposed an Armistice, and was answered it would be accepted on Condition that it should be by Sea as well as by Land—He assured replied that he had no powers to stipulate for the Sea; but referred to Admiral Cochran—The Admiral had appeared off Charleston, and excited great alarm.
My Mother in a Letter to me of 27. Feby: says “My Physician Dr: Holbrook advises me to write to you to procure some of the genuine Riga Balsam, Sovereign in Rheumatic complaints with which I am sorely affected. it comes in small bottles—half a dozen of them would be a grateful present to your Mother.”
Do, my dearest friend enquire of Dr: Galloway about this Riga Balsam; and if such a thing is to be ha get half a dozen bottles, and send them by water to Amsterdam, or to Mr Beasley at London to be forwarded by the first opportunity addressed to my father, at Quincy.
Dont forget my Love to Charles—and believe me ever faithfully yours
A.


Title: From Abigail Smith Adams to Sarah Smith Adams, 3 July 1814
From: Adams, Abigail Smith
To: Adams, Sarah Smith

My dear Daughter
Quincy july 3d 1814.

It is more than a Month, Since a half finishd Letter has lain by, designd for you, and now it is like an old Almanac out of date, and lost its original value. I Shall therefore commit it to the flames, and begin a new Score. but Susan keeps you so constantly informd of all the events and transactions which transpire, and that in her own sprightly way, that She leaves me nothing to amuse you with and I must own a truth; that my inclination for writing declines, and that which was, once a pleasure; becomes a burden. altho I have had a very interesting Subject upon my heart, and mind for several months I was not at Liberty to communicate it, untill you had first learnt it from your Mother. you must know, that I allude to the connection formed, between my dear Caroline and  Mr de Wint, who were this day published. The thought that She is so soon to be Seperated from me, and the distance, weigh heavy upon my Spirits—for She has been to me as a daughter, so dutifull and respectfull in her Manners, so tender and affectionate, so unoffending and accommodating in her temper, so all that I could wish, that the Seperation will indeed loosen one of the Strongest chords which bind me, to Earth, and deprive me of one of my sweetest enjoyments. but I would not, sacrifice the prospect She has; of being happily Setled in Life, with a Gentleman who appears, worthy of her, of no selfish or personal motives. She has not taken a Step, through the whole affair without the consent, and approbation, of her Friend’s and as She has thus prudently, and cautiously proceeded, I think it will be a union founded upon rational principles, with as fair a prospect of future happiness, as this varying and changeable world affords.
I wish my other Grandaughters may conduct with as much circumpsection—the anxiety I exprest to you upon a former occasion, has subsided. reflection I hope has given place to discretion, and the example before her, had its influence—I have not  known her in better health and Spirits than at present. I must always give her credit, for the harmony and Friendship in which she has lived with Caroline, without, Envy, and without Jealousy, always joining in the praises bestowed—
I do not know whether Susan has mentiond in her Letters the Sickness of her Grandfather—I have had great anxiety for three weeks past upon his account. he was seizd with a most voilent cold attended with a fever, which deprived him of appetite and Strength: he could neither read or write, or Sit up half the day and we had Such cold east winds, and foggy weather, that there was no prospect of getting rid of it. he has Struggled through it, and is now I hope upon the recovery—tho, much broken down—his constitution seems failing—and reminding us, that we must both put off this tabernacle of flesh, and go the way, whence we Shall not return, untill the Heavens be no more.
we both have one ardent wish remaining that we may live to see the return of our Son, and Family. our last Letters were in Feb’ry before the arrival of mr Strong who carried out new commissions to treat at Gottenburgh—
I have a Letter from mrs Adams, dated in Sepbr., about the Time the Neptune was to have saild, in which she expresses great anxiety for her Sister, about embarking at that Season of the year, in circumstances which would render her voyage hazardous that being the case, it has removed from my mind, former dissagreable impressions with respect to them. The Neptune did not sail—she was soon after frozen up. Since that Time I have not heard a word from them nor can I learn, that any Letter has been received from them by any of their Friends—
I am very glad your Brother went first to the valley, which was always my advice. I think he owed that attention to his Family, and to his Constituents, who I am rejoiced to find have reelected him. I know him to be a Rational Man, not blinded by party Spirit, but a true American, who fought and bled for its independence, and who would not now, surrender it to any power—
we expect to See him, in all this Month Quincy does not present us with any Novel Scenes. Susan has told of mr Beal and miss Lords Marriage I dare say, and of Hannah Smiths.
I am conscious I owe more than a Letter to my dear Abby, who I rejoice to learn is so well pleased with her new Situation—when I feel more at my ease, I will write to her.
Remember me to your Sister, / and believe me ever your affectionate / Mother

Abigail AdamsLouisa desires me to be rememberd to you and Abbe—


Title: From John Quincy Adams to Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, 5 July 1814
From: Adams, John Quincy
To: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson

N. 15.
My dearest friend.
Ghent 5. July 1814

The last remnants of the Prussian troops, quitted this City last Sunday Morning—If their presence added to the liveliness of the place, their departure has added much more to the contentment of its Inhabitants—They were visitors more dear than welcome—Their absence is the most agreable Company, to the People of Ghent—It is said however that they are very soon to be succeeded by a Corps, either of English or of Hanoverians.—The Department will gain nothing by the exchange.
In the leisure hours with which I am still favoured at this place, I have been re-perusing a part of the multitude of letters which poured upon me at Stockholm, at my Midnight interview with Mr: Connell at Gran, and at Gothenburg—Among them, were six from my Mother, three from my Father, three from my brother—Two from our Son George; and one from John—I should have sent them all to you, had a safe opportunity presented itself of transmitting them—But the Letters addressed to yourself, and which I did transmit, will I presume have repeated to you all the interesting intelligence contained in the others—Particularly as from the hand-writing of the Superscriptions I judged there were Letters from both the children to yourself. I observe with great pleasure, that George’s hand is very much improved—and although I am sorry to hear that he has an aversion to writing, his Letters, manifestly indicate a mind unfolding its powers, and advancing rapidly to maturity—John’s Letter to me is in five Lines; but is quite well written for his age, and in a hand that promises to be very good hereafter.
My Mother says in a Letter of 5. Feby. “Few Boys at 14 or 15 are larger than George, at 12 and a half—John begins to grow fast, his preceptor says he is a good Latin Scholar—His mind is not so stored with English Literature as George’s was at his Age—George wants a method in his reading to render it as useful to him as it might be; but now like the Bee, he flies from sweet to sweet, always however collecting some honey which he brings home to his Hive—He delights his Grandfather when he is at home by his readiness to find whatever Book he wants in his Library, and he will sit down like an old Man to hold a conversation upon Books for an hour together. He improves in his hand-writing but in this Branch of his Education he has been so deficient that he has had an aversion to letter-writing, and consequently makes no figure in it—I have conversed with him upon the Subject and he informs me that Saturday afternoon is in future to be appropriated to composition.”
My dear Mother mentions our Children in all her Letters—In that of 16. March she says they are Well—The last of George’s two Letters is dated 8. March. My Father and Mother were both severely ill during great part of the Winter—both with Lung-fevers—My brother’s wife and children and Suzan were all sick of the same complaint, in December and January; but by the latest Letters they were all recovered.—From a passage in one of my Mother’s Letters, it appears that Caroline Smith has a prospect of marriage, at New-York, but she does not say to whom—The Coll: spent the Autumn, untill the meeting of Congress at Quincy—I have read one of his Speeches in Congress, upon the army Bill, and although I wished he had been on the other side of the Question, I found it impossible de garder mon serieux in reading it—There was an intimacy of knowledge of the Subject, upon which he spoke, and a penetration into practical details, which I believe very few of our military men, or of our Legislators can boast of; and in some of his personal animadversions, there was a keeness of sarcasm, expressed in a playfulness of manner, altogether original and characteristic—If he makes many such Speeches he will soon have his full share of influence in the house—But I would to God, and infinitely more for the sake of the Country than of him, that instead of being in the House, he were upon the field.
My father mentions the Death of their neighbour, Mrs: Beale; and the appointment of Mr Otis as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State, instead of Judge Parsons—Our friend Everett’s younger Brother, who was in College when we sailed from America is now a Preacher, and succeeds Mr Buckminster, at the Brattle-Street Church—He is said to have talents promising to be not inferior to those of his Predecessor—I have a friendly and even affectionate Letter from his Brother; though rather of an old date—25 June 1813—He is commencing a political Career, which I have sanguine hopes will be honourable to himself and useful to his Country. He requests particularly to be recalled to your remembrance, and offers his congratulations to Mr and Mrs: Smith—His friend Charles, too, he says he would not willingly have to forget him.
I wrote you on the 8th: of June from Gothenburg, advising Mr Smith, if upon your receipt of that Letter, he had not already taken his passage for that Port, and could get one to Amsterdam to take the latter by preference—As I have Reason to hope you may have received that letter by the 25th. of June, I am not without expectations, that they may yet reach Amsterdam in time to go by the John Adams—She is now lying at the Texel, and I suppose will be dispatched for New-York, about the first of August—We have written to England to obtain a Cartel for her to return to the United States; but she will not be sent untill the British Commissioners shall have arrived and we can inform the Government of our first Communications with them. We are still waiting for them, as well as for Mr Gallatin and Mr Hughes.
The Neptune as soon as the ice permitted her to depart from Gothenburg, went to Harwick where she has been untill last week—She has now come over to Antwerp—She will be sent home some time after the John Adams, and very possibly may take one or more of the Commissioners.—If Mr Smith, and his family should arrive at Amsterdam too late for the John Adams, they will in all probability be in time for the Neptune, and can travel with great ease, and at no great expence from the Texel to Antwerp by Land.
Mr Connell went off on Saturday last for Paris—Yesterday arrived here two American Gentlemen from Amsterdam—Mr Alfred Pierpont Edwards, a Son of the District Judge of Connecticut, and a Mr Howland of New-York—Mr Joseph Austen of Boston was here before—So you see, we dwell in the presence of all our brethren.
I mentioned in a Letter to you from Gothenburg, Mr Edward Wyer who was going as Consul to Riga, and whom I suppose you will see at St: Petersburg. He brought me five or six Letters of Recommendations from some of my most esteemed Friends, and was very assiduous in his attentions to me—But I have since learnt Circumstances relating to him not much to his credit, and if he goes to St: Petersburg I would recommend it to you to be upon the reserve with him, in conversation upon American Politics.
You remember that Dr: Beresford lent me Jortin’s Remarks on Ecclesiastical History—Three Volumes—to be return to him at Gothenburg—I unfortunately forgot to leave them there—Write me, if you know whether he has come on, as he intended, and whether I shall send his books there or to England. My abode at Gothenburg was so short that I had not time to render him any service there, as he requested, and as I very sincerely wished.—
Always affectionately your’s—not forgetting Charles.
A.


Title: From Elizabeth Smith Shaw Peabody to Abigail Smith Adams, 5 July 1814
From: Peabody, Elizabeth Smith Shaw
To: Adams, Abigail Smith

My Dear Sister,
July 5th. 1814

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 young Neighbour, Mr George Beal, too, has taken a Rebecca to comfort him after his Mother’s Death, & into her Tent, I suppose—Well—every one, must have their day—& what an alwise Providence is pleased to allot—I love to comfort myself with thinking “all is for the best”—It certainly is so if we improve them aright—
It is an Eventful Period—& what will be the termination the Lord omnipotent only knows—Have you lately heard from your Son, in Russia?—
The damp weather has not been favourable to my health, I find my lungs very tender, & I am feeble—Mr Peabody is better than I expected last winter he would ever be—but he has arrived to that period when a Grasshopper is a burden—He finds his Spirits depressed—& everything lies with additional weight—His Son, & Daughter Webster have been here for a fortnight—She knew his Situation, but not where he obtained temporary relief—But appeared much gratified At finding it came in the channel it did—She said her mind was in some measure comforted—which was an ease to me—but she could not say one word to her father—She is a very affectionate Daughter—We join in presenting respects & love
E P—


Title: From Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams to John Quincy Adams, 6 July 1814
From: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson
To: Adams, John Quincy

My best Friend
St Petersburg July 6th 1814

I much fear you will accuse me of negligence in having omitted writing to you by the two last Posts you must make some allowances for the retirement in which I live and my being at the best a very poor Scribe to account for the great difficulty I find in spinning out a letter even to you and I am sure I can with much more reason boast of, “bestowing all my tediousness upon you.”
I have been reading The Lay of the Scotch Fiddle a poem in imitation of Scott said to be written by Mr Paulding of New York it is a burlesque upon the Lay of the last Minstrel and extremely severe upon the English Admirals. The Poetry is beautiful and I think in many parts equal if not superior to Scotts it is almost a pity that he had not chosen a subject of  more worthy of his talents for alas! whatever we may say of the English we have given them too much opportunity to retaliate and much more deservedly than we can possibly sieze against them.
Friday 8th July 1814
Just as I had begun writing I was interrupted by the Courrier of the Grand Maitre des Cerémonie with an invitation to Pavlowski to Dinner, Spectacle, et Soupé, and I was forced to leave off writing very abruptly as it was four oclock and I was to set of out yesterday morning at nine having a Dress to prepare and many arrangements to make with some extraordinary exertions I was enabled to go at the appointed time and arrived there at half past two oclock just in time to make my Toilette The Duke and Dutchess de Sera Capriola and their Daughter Lord Walpole Count Maistre and Mr Bardaxi with myself went from the house appointed for our reception accompanied by Mr Narishkin the grand Masitre to the Palace at three oclock were we met a numerous circle waiting the arrival of the Empress who shortly after appear’d Her Majesty was as usual extremely gracious more particularly so to the Corps Diplomatic whom I never treated with so much distinction since I have been in Russia after dinner we were permitted to retire for about a quarter of an hour I paid a visit to Countess Sievers, and left the Dutchess to return home I had not time to rest myself before we were obliged to return to the Palace we joined the Empress in the Garden and walked with her to the Theatre were we were seated in the front row close to the Empress and Grand Dutchess the Piece performed was Les Deux Journés in Russian. the Music is very pretty, and was well sung, I had already seen it in french, and German, therefore was well acquainted with the story from the Theatre we rode through the grounds to the Pavillion in which we all assembled, at a Supper sans cérémonie, to which the Empress invited us in the most affable manner. Her Majesty appeared to take delight in the amusement of her guests, and I think I never saw more dignity, affability, and condescention, than she displayed throughout the day, in doing the honours of her house; and I dont think I ever felt more satisfied, or more perfectly at my ease, my terrors at the idea of going alone to Court were great, but the polite attention I recieved from all the members of the Corps Diplomatic, gave me a degree of fortitude and I hope I got through without disgracing you. on the whole I never was at a more charming party in my life. Mr &. Mrs Smith talk of Sailing on Tuesday on board a Ship bound to Holland. this and the great fatigue of yesterday, must plead my excuse for the shortness of my letter—
Charles comes home tomorrow for a vacation of three weeks he is much improved in his health and grows rappidly. God Bless you write me soon and love your ever affectionate
L. C. A.


Title: To John Adams from John Quincy Adams, 7 July 1814
From: Adams, John Quincy
To: Adams, John

My Dear Sir.
Ghent 7 July 1814.

The last Letter that I had the pleasure of writing to you, was dated 8. May, at Reval—since which this day completes two Months. During the interval, if the idea in your favour of 28 November, that a wandering life is not compatible with human Nature, be correct, (I ought to ask your indulgence for questioning the correctness of any opinion that you express) I have been most unnaturally occupied; for I have accomplished two Voyages by Sea, and two Journies by Land—Have crossed the Gulph of Finland and Baltic from Reval to Stockholm, and the North Sea from Gothenburg to the Texel—Have traversed the kingdom of Sweden, and the Sovereign Princedom of the Netherlands; and here I am in the City of Charles the 5th. waiting with my four Colleagues, untill it shall please the Mistress of the World, as she now fancies herself to send her Deputies, for the purpose as she imagines of receiving our submission.
Submission however, thus much I can assure you, is neither our temper, nor that of our Masters—The only question that can possibly arise among us, is how far we can abandon the claim which we have upon our adversary for concession upon her part—And with this Disposition on both sides at the very opening of Conferences, I am well assured the work to which we have been called, that of conciliating British and American Pretensions, will be found more unnatural, than your and my wandering life—The Blessing upon the Peace Makers, with which at the close of your earthly Career, you will have the Consolation of carrying with you to a better World, is I much fear, a happiness not reserved for your Son—When you receive this it is highly probable the result of this second pacific experiment will be known, nor have I one particle of the remotest probability for expecting that it will be more successful than the former.
As I had at Reval neither the use of a copying-Press, nor the assistance of a Secretary, I had no other copy of my Letter to you than a short-hand one which I myself made in my private Letter Book—I took it with me as far as Gothenburg, and there left it to be carried, by a Swedish Vessel bound to Boston. Just before she sailed the information of Admiral Cochran’s new Blockade was received; notwithstanding which she proceeded on her Voyage—I requested that my Letters might not be suffered to be taken, and was promised they should not be; but the chance that they will ever reach America is a very slender one, and I now mention this Letter, and one to my Mother forwarded by the same occasion, to show my continued anxiety to write by every possible opportunity.
I crossed the Gulph of Finland in the Ulysses, and the North Sea in the John Adams. There was to my mind what the French call a Rapprochement, in these two names, upon which I took a pleasure in reflecting.—The life of the Ithacan  Hero, you remember, was as incompatible with human Nature, in the Article of wanderings as your’s had mine have been—He was undoubtedly the ablest negotiator of antiquity, and I had ample reason for wishing myself possessed of a portion of his address, though I could never bring myself to desire any part of his duplicity.
I promised you that I would answer your questions of my opinions with regard to the Bible, and of my acquaintance with it—I have not studied the Canon of the Old Testament, because to my deep and constant regret I do not understand the languages in which it was written—I have never learnt either the Hebrew, or Chaldaic Characters, and therefore never could read a line of the Old Testament, in the Original—I have only read it in the Modern English French and German Translations for I have hitherto not even had the opportunity of going through either the Greek Septuagint or the Latin Vulgate, as I hope at some future day to do—of the translations which I have read, that in German, made by Luther, is incomparably the Best—The French one, originally made by Calvin, and revised by the Pastors of the Church at Geneva, is upon the whole not quite equal to the common English Bible published with the Dedication to James the 1st.—But in all there are a multitude of errors; and they are all so far from giving me satisfaction, that I shall never forgive myself, for neglecting to learn the Hebrew, when the opportunity for learning it was in my own hands. It is with regard to the Bible more than any thing else in the World, that I wish I had inflexibly adhered to your Principle, of seeking the fountains—I am not altogether ignorant, but am far from being properly acquainted with the History of the Bible, or its Evidence; and with regard to its Authority my Mind rests upon two Pillars—the prejudice of my Education; and my own judgment, upon its internal Evidence—You Sir, and my ever dear and honoured Mother, took care to give me a pious education; and although at the same time you sent me upon the theatre of an infidel World, at an age perhaps the most accessible to impressions of infidelity, I never found any thing there, that could serve me as a substitute for the duties or the pleasures, the Morals or the Hopes which I derive from my Religion—I have seen nothing in the glories of this World, nothing in the pride of human learning which should make me ashamed of the Cross of Christ—My Judgment therefore has confirmed the Prejudice of my Education—My idea of Inspiration, as applied to the Scriptures is neither very clear nor very definite—That in the composition of parts of the Sacred Books, the Writers were actuated by a preternatural interposition of the divine power, I believe, because it is expressly declared by the Writers themselves, and because I cannot disbelieve it without rejecting the whole Bible as an imposture.—But whether Homer and Virgil were not favoured with the same sort of Inspiration I cannot pronounce—John  Milton, undoubtedly believed himself to be inspired—He too often recurs to his Heavenly Muse, his Urania; to her who “dictated to him slumbering”—who “nightly brought his verses to his ear”—and he expressly invokes her as the same
who from the secret top
Of Oreb or of Sinai, did inspire
That shepherd, who first taught the chosen seed
In the beginning, how the heavens and earth
Rose out of Chaos.
I am not one who will deny the claim of John Milton, or that of Homer and Virgil to Inspiration. But if their claims are good, those of the Apocalypse and of Solomon’s Song, are unquestionable—The whole mass of pastoral Poetry antient and modern has to my taste, nothing equal to the beauty of description, and tenderness of Sentiment in Solomon’s Song—I point you specially to Chapter 2. V. 9 to 15. and I ask you to find me in the Amatory Poems of Greece, Rome, and modern Europe combined, its parallel.—As to the inspiration or infallibility of St. Jude’s Epistle, I am certainly not competent to decide against it, for I have not examined the Evidence it its favour; and I cannot say that I perceive in it much internal Evidence, in support of its pretensions—But I suppose I may leave it as I find it—I am not called to be its judge.
I have to acknowledge the receipt of your favours of 17. and 18 January, and of 8. March—I shall take an early opportunity to answer them as well as I am able—This Letter will probably go by the John Adams.—I expect to return before the Winter to St. Petersburg, but untill we see the British Commissioners, cannot foresee how soon—In every Region or Clime, I am equally your’s
A.


Title: From John Quincy Adams to Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, 8 July 1814
From: Adams, John Quincy
To: Adams, Louisa Catherine Johnson

N. 16.
My Dearest Friend
Ghent 8. July 1814.

Your favours of 3 and 7 June, which I number 8 and 9. have been transmitted to me from Gothenburg, by Mr Hall—They were received there on the 17th: and 20th: of June, in 14 days from their respective dates, and were handed to me here, both together on the 6th: instt—The last had been a Month on the way, which is not much longer than they will be in coming, under cover to the Willink’s at Amsterdam—As I wish to shorten the communication between us as much as possible, I propose to you on receiving this to address your next directly to me, à Gand-en Flandre. But you must have the Postage paid, I think as far as Memel.—And à Propos of Postage—I must trouble you to keep a separate Account of all the Postage you pay during my absence.
Hitherto, nothwithstanding the delays which appear to have obstructed our first Letters on both sides, our Correspondence has been as regularly transmitted as we could have expected—Excepting the Letter for me which you enclosed to Mr Rodde at Reval, I have received all yours, untill that of 7 June—You had then received all mine untill and including my Journal over the Gulph of Finland, and my arrival at Stockholm—The rest I hope will have followed in due Season—I am most anxious for those I have sent directly from this place; of which the present is the fifth—For the Post goes from hence, every Evening; and there must be some place on the road, where the Letters are forwarded only twice a week; and they cannot inform me here where that is; or what the two Post-days there, are—My Letters may therefore be detained two, or even three days for the Post-day before they can be forwarded; but I hope they will not be liable to any other accident—
I am much obliged to the Countess for her obliging sympathy with our anticipated misfortunes. I would in return condole with her, upon the troubles in Spain; the re-establishment of the Inquisition, and the downfall of the glorious Constitution of which I presume she was as great an admirer as the Chevalier Bardaxi—The Constitution I know was his darling, and it was not a week before I left St: Petersburg, when he was prophecying to me how Spain was going to astonish the world by the Wisdom and liberality of her Institutions.—The first touch of the Talisman of Ferdinand was to restore the Inquisition—The Constitution was dissolved before he reached Madrid—and if Spain is to astonish the World, it will not be by the wisdom or liberality of her Institutions.—The Countess’s information that there would certainly be no Peace came from a Quarter, which on that subject might be trusted—That there is not in his Masters the most distant idea or intention of Peace, I have too many proofs decisive in my own judgment to leave a doubt remaining—Some of the strongest may be known to you when you receive this Letter.—You know what my expectations have constantly been—Let us be prepared for what is to come.
As your removal into the Country was considered by Dr: Galloway as absolutely necessary for Charles, and as it will also be useful to your health and comfort I cannot scruple or disapprove the expence, which it will occasion—You have not mentioned where your Country Residence is; nor what the expence of it will probably amount to; nor do I understand very well how the Country can be absolutely necessary to Charles, and he at the same time be at Mr Fishwick’s School—But in this as in every other domestic arrangement I trust entirely to your discretion; well convinced that you will incur no unnecessary expence, and that you will constantly remember that every extraordinary expence now indulged, is taken from the future means of subsistence and Education of your Children—
For the most rigorous economy we have now greater Reason than ever; for I am given to understand that the American Government besides taking back one half of the allowance which had been made me, for the Extraordinary Mission of last Year, intend to allow me nothing for the present Mission to Gothenburg and Ghent. You very well know, that I much more cheerfully deny to myself personally, an expence of necessity, than one of comfort or even of pleasure to my wife and children. I restrict myself here to the most indispensible expences; and yet if I should return to you the day six Months from that when I left you, my travelling and other unavoidable disbursements will have at least absorbed my whole Salary of those six Months—This Resolution of the Government to allow me Nothing, for the present Mission is so extraordinary that I could not have believed it; but for the most decisive evidence—The Declaration of the Secretary of State himself.
When I name the 28th: of October, as the supposed day of my return to St: Petersburg, I place it at a period much more remote than my present expectations will warrant—The whole American Mission Extraordinary is now here—Mr Gallatin and his Son, arrived here on Wednesday the 6th: and Mr Hughes and Mr Dallas on Thursday the 7th: instt: Mr Gallatin before he left London, wrote to Lord Castlereagh, stating that the American Ministers would probably all be here by the 23d: of June, and enquiring when they might expect the British Commissioners—His Lordship did not answer this Note, but the Under Secretary of State, Mr Hamilton, informed Mr Irving, that they would leave London, on or about the first of July. Mr Irving acted as the Agent for American Prisoners of War, in the absence of Mr Beasley, who was gone to Bordeaux, to be married. We may now expect hourly therefore our Adversaries, and in the temper which they will bring with them, I see no reason for believing that my residence here will need to be protracted beyond a fortnight after their arrival. In that case I may leave this City by the first week in August, and may hope to be with you by the 15th: of September—I allow six Weeks for the Voyage or journey; for if I go so early in the Season, and can procure a passage from Ostend, Antwerp, Rotterdam or Amsterdam to Cronstadt, by Water. I shall prefer going that way to a Journey by Land.
Should I go so soon, I shall not have Time to receive your answer to this Letter; but I shall leave directions here to have any Letters which may arrive after my departure transmitted to me—You may say to Mr Strugoffshikoff that I have every reason for expecting to keep the house another year—But do not positively engage it untill you hear from me again—If however you prefer taking another House, and can find one equally good for the same Rent, I wish you to gratify your own choice—To pay a higher Rent, (including the Fire-wood) I cannot under our present Circumstances, engage.
I am quite concerned for the loss of Mr Brown, whose Lady I thought a very fine woman, and whose Children were such promising boys. How his connections with our Consul stood, I never precisely understood; nor do I think they had been carried into effect to such an extent that Mr Brown could have any reason to complain—Mr Harris I suppose is by this time nearly arrived at St: Petersburg—At all Events he will be there before you receive this Letter. I shall write to him by this or the next Post—He appears by a Letter I have received from him deeply to lament that the negotiation was not at London—Can you imagine why?
When the British Commissioners arrive, it is probable my Letters to you will be not quite so frequent and not quite so long—With the length, I believe you will very readily dispense, and I hope at least once a week to have it in my power to assure you of my own health and of my unalterable affection—My course of life here differs not much from what it was at St: Petersburg. I rise between 5 and 6 in the Morning, and retire to bed between 9 and 10 at Night—But I dine at one, and usually at the Table d’Hôte—We are all at one Hotel, and although we talk of taking a large House, I think we shall finish by staying where we are untill the denouement.—Mr Connell had arrived at Paris before, Mr: Hughes and Mr Dallas came from it.—Mr: Gallatin brought me the enclosed Letter for you from my Mother, which I took the Liberty to open; and found above a year old.
Love to Charles—Ever faithfully your’s
A.