 | Letters of Mrs. Adams, |  |
TO MRS. CRANCH.
When I wrote you last, I was just going to set out
on a journey to the West of England. I promised
you to visit Mr. Cranch's friends and relatives.
This we did, as I shall relate to you. We were
absent a month, and made a tour of about six hundred
miles. The first place we made any stay at
was Winchester. There was formerly an Earl of
Winchester, by the name of Saer de Quincy. He
1224, and signed Magna Charta, which I have seen;
the original being now in the British Museum, with
his handwriting to it.
It is said, that, in the year 1321, the title became
extinct through failure of male heirs, but I rather
think through the poverty of some branch, unable
to contend for it. The family originally came from
Normandy, in the time of William the Conqueror.
They bear the same arms with those of our ancestors,
except that ours substituted an animal for the
crest, in lieu of an earl's coronet. I have a perfect
remembrance of a parchment in our grandmother's
possession, which, when quite a child, I used to
amuse myself with. This was a genealogical table,
which gave the descent of the family from the time
of William the Conqueror. This parchment Mr.
Edmund Quincy borrowed, on some occasion, and
I have often heard our grandmother say, with some
anger, that she could never recover it. As the old
gentleman is still living, I wish Mr. Cranch would
question him about it, and know what hands it went
into, and whether there is any probability of its ever
being recovered; and be so good as to ask uncle
Quincy how our grandfather came by it, and from
whence our great-grandfather came, where he first
settled, and take down in writing all you can learn
from him and Mr. Edmund Quincy respecting the
family. You will smile at my zeal, perhaps, on this
occasion; but can it be wondered at that I should
wish to trace an ancestor amongst the signers of
receiving an explanatory charter in the Massachusetts,
stands the name of our venerable grandfather,
accompanied with only one other; this the journals
of the House will show, to his immortal honor. I
do not expect either titles or estate from the recovery
of the genealogical table, were there any probability
of obtaining it. Yet, if I was in possession of it,
money should not purchase it from me.
But to return to Winchester. It is a very ancient
place, and was formerly the residence of the Saxon
and Norman kings. There still remains a very
famous cathedral church, in the true Gothic architecture,
being partly built in the year 1079. I attended
divine service there, but was much more
entertained with the venerable and majestic appearance
of the ancient pile, than with the modern,
flimsy discourse of the preacher. A meaner performance
I do not recollect to have heard; but, in a
church which would hold several thousands, it might
truly be said, two or three were met together, and
those appeared to be the lower order of the people.
From Winchester we proceeded to Southampton,
which is a very pretty seaport town, and much frequented
during the summer months as a bathing-place;
and here, for the first time in my life, I
tried the experiment. It would be delightful in
our warm weather, as well as very salubrious, if
such conveniences were erected in Boston, Braintree,
and Weymouth, which they might be, with little
expense. The places are under cover. You have
an oil-cloth cap, a flannel gown, and socks for
the feet. We tarried only two days at Southampton,
and went ten miles out of our way in order to
visit Weymouth, merely for its name. This, like
my native town, is a hilly country, a small seaport,
with very little business, and wholly supported by
the resort of company during the summer months.
For those persons, who have not country-houses of
their own, resort to the watering-places, as they are
called, during the summer months, it being too vulgar
and unfashionable to remain in London. But
where the object of one is health, that of fifty is
pleasure, however far they fall short of the object.
This whole town is the property of a widow lady.
Houses are built by the tenants, and taken at life-rents,
which, upon the decease of the lessees, revert
back again to the owner of the soil. Thus is the
landed property of this country vested in lordships
and in the hands of the rich altogether. The peasantry
are but slaves to the lord, notwithstanding
the mighty boast they make of liberty. Sixpence
and sevenpence per day is the usual wages given to
laborers, who are to feed themselves out of the pittance.
In travelling through a country, fertile as
the garden of Eden, loaded with a golden harvest,
plenty smiling on every side, one would imagine
that the voice of Poverty was rarely heard, and that
she was seldom seen, but in the abodes of indolence
or vice. But it is far otherwise. The money earned
by the sweat of the brow must go to feed the pampered
miserable, shattered, thatched-roof cottage crumbles
to the dust for want of repair. To hundreds and hundreds
of these abodes have I been a witness in my late
journey. The cheering rays of the sun are totally
excluded, unless they find admittance through the
decayed roof, equally exposed to cold and the inclement
season. A few rags for a bed and a joint-stool
comprise the chief of their furniture, whilst
their own appearance is more wretched than one
can well conceive. During the season of hay and
harvest, men, women, and children are to be seen
laboring in the fields; but, as this is a very small
part of the year, the little they then acquire is soon
expended; and how they keep soul and body together
the remainder of the year is very hard to tell.
It must be owing to this very unequal distribution of
property, that the poor-rate is become such an intolerable
burden. The inhabitants are very thinly
scattered through the country, though large towns
are well peopled. To reside in and near London, and
to judge of the country from what one sees here,
would be forming a very erroneous opinion. How
little cause of complaint have the inhabitants of the
United States, when they compare their situation,
not with despotic monarchies, but with this land of
freedom! The ease with which honest industry
may acquire property in America, the equal distribution
of justice to the poor as well as the rich,
and the personal liberty they enjoy, all, all call upon
them to support their government and laws, to respect
superior blessings, lest Heaven in wrath should send
them a—.
From Weymouth, our next excursion was to Axminster,
the first town in the county of Devonshire.
It is a small place, but has two manufactures of
note; one of carpets, and one of tapes; both of
which we visited. The manufactory of the carpets
is wholly performed by women and children. You
would have been surprised to see in how ordinary a
building this rich manufactory was carried on. A
few glass windows in some of our barns would be
equal to it. They have but two prices for their
carpets woven here; the one is eighteen shillings,
and the other twenty-four, a square yard. They
are woven of any dimensions you please, and without
a seam. The colors are most beautiful, and
the carpets very durable. Here we found Mr. J.
Cranch. He dined with us, and we drank tea with
him. This is a curious genius. He is a middle-sized
man, of a delicate countenance, but quite
awkward in his manners. He seldom looks one in
the face, and seems as if he had been cramped and
cowed in his youth. In company, one is pained for
him; yet he is a man of reading, and an accurate
taste in the fine arts. Poetry, painting, music,
sculpture, architecture, all of them have engaged
his attention. His profession does not seem to be
the object of his affections, and he has given up the
practice, with an intention of pursuing some other
employment. He appears to be a man whose soul
allow. Dejected spirits he is very liable
to. I do not think him a happy man. His sentiments
are by no means narrow or contracted; yet
he is one by himself. He accompanied us in our
journey to Exeter, Plymouth, and Kingsbridge. At
Exeter, we tarried from Saturday till Monday afternoon.
Mr. Bowring came to visit us. You know
him by character. He appears a friendly, honest,
worthy man, active in business, a warm and zealous
friend to America, ready to serve his friends, and
never happier than when they will give him an opportunity
of doing it. His wife and daughter were
on a visit to their friends at Kingsbridge, so that we
did not see them. He requested, however, that we
would drink tea with him after meeting; and, as
our intention was to see Mr. Cranch's brother Andrew,
he engaged to get him to his house. The
old gentleman came with some difficulty, for he is
very lame and infirm. He seemed glad to see us,
and asked many questions respecting his brother
and sister in America. I think he must have had a
paralytic stroke, as his speech is thick. He has not
been able to do any business for a number of years,
and I believe is chiefly supported by his son, who is
in the clothier's business with Mr. Bowring. Mrs.
Cranch, though nearly as old as her husband, is a
little smart, sprightly, active woman, and is wilted
just enough to last to perpetuity. She told me that
her husband took it very hard, that his brother had
not written to him for a long time. I promised her
know he will not let me be surety for him without
fulfilling my engagement. Mr. Cranch's daughter
married Mr. Bowring's brother; they have three
sons. She is a sprightly woman, like her mother.
And Mr. Bowring's daughter married a son of Mr.
Nathaniel Cranch, so that the family is doubly
linked together, and what is more, they all seem
united by the strongest ties of family harmony and
love. From Exeter, we went to Plymouth; there we
tarried several days, and visited the fortifications and
Plymouth dock, and crossed over the water to Mount
Edgcombe, a seat belonging to Lord Edgcombe. The
natural advantages of this place are superior to any
I have before seen, commanding a wide and extensive
view of the ocean, the whole town of Plymouth,
and the adjacent country, with the mountains of
Cornwall. I have not much to say with respect to
the improvements of art. There is a large park,
well stocked with deer, and some shady walks; but
there are no grottos, statuary, sculpture, or temples.
At Plymouth, we were visited by a Mr. and Mrs.
Sawry, with whom we drank tea one afternoon. Mr.
Sawry is well known to many Americans, who were
prisoners in Plymouth jail during the late war. The
money which was raised for their relief passed
through his hands, and he was very kind to them,
assisting many in their escape. From Plymouth,
we made an enterprise one day to Horsham, and, as
we attempted it in a coach and four, we made a
curious piece of work, taking by mistake a wrong
my dear Eliza.
Our next movement was to Kingsbridge; but, before
I relate this, I ought to inform you that we
made a stop at a place called Ivy Bridge, where we
dined; and Mr. Adams accompanied Mr. Cranch to
Brook, about three miles distant, to visit his uncle,
Mr. William Cranch, who has been for several years
quite lost to himself and friends. There is some
little property in the hands of the family, who take
charge of him, sufficient to support a person who
has no more wants than he has. He appeared clean
and comfortable, but took no notice, either of the conversation
or persons. The only thing which in the
least roused him was the mention of his wife. He
appeared to be restless when that subject was touched.
The character of this man, as given by all his
friends and acquaintance, leads one to regret, in a
particular manner, the loss of his intellect. Possessed
of a genius superior to his station, a thirst for knowledge
which his circumstances in life permitted him
not to pursue, most amiable and engaging in his manners,
formed to have adorned a superior rank in life,
fondly attached to an amiable wife, whom he very
soon lost, he fell a sacrifice to a too great sensibility;
unable to support the shock, he grew melancholy,
and was totally lost.
But to return to Kingsbridge, the chief resort of
the Cranch family. We arrived at the inn about six
o'clock on Saturday evening. About eight, we were
saluted with a ringing of bells, a circumstance we
various branches of the Cranch family, both male
and female, amounting to fifteen persons; but, as
they made a strange jumble in my head, I persuaded
my fellow traveller to make me out a genealogical
table, which I send you. Mr. and Mrs. Burnell, and
Mr. and Mrs. Trathan, both offered us beds and accommodations
at their houses; but we were too numerous
to accept their kind invitations, though we
engaged ourselves to dine with Mr. Burnell, and to
drink tea with Mr. Trathan, the next day. Mrs.
Burnell has a strong resemblance to Mrs. Palmer.
She is a genteel woman, and easy and polite. We
dined at a very pretty dinner, and after meeting
drank tea at the other house, Mr. Trathan's. Their
houses are very small, but every thing neat and
comfortable. Mr. Burnell is a shoemaker, worth five
thousand pounds; and Mr. Trathan a grocer, in
good circumstances. The rest of the families joined
us at the two houses. They are all serious, industrious,
good people, amongst whom the greatest family
harmony appears to subsist. The people of this
county appear more like our New England people
than any I have met with in this country before;
but the distinction between tradesmen and gentry, as
they are termed, is widely different from that distinction
in our country. With us, in point of education
and manners, the learned professions, and
many merchants, farmers and tradesmen, are upon
an equality with the gentry of this country. It
would be degrading to compare them with many of
their manners appear to be totally depraved. It is
in the middle ranks of society, that virtue and morality
are yet to be found. Nothing does more injury
to the female character than frequenting public
places; and the rage which prevails now for the watering-places,
and the increased number of them, are
become a national evil, as they promote and encourage
dissipation, mix all characters promiscuously, and
are the resort of the most unprincipled female characters,
who are not ashamed to show their faces
wherever men dare to go. Modesty and diffidence
are called ill-breeding and ignorance of the world;
an impudent stare is substituted in lieu of that modest
deportment, and that retiring grace, which awes
whilst it enchants. I have never seen a female
model here of such unaffected, modest, and sweetly
amiable manners as Mrs. Guild, Mrs. Russell, and
many other American females exhibit.
Having filled eight pages, I think it is near time
to hasten to a close. Cushing and Folger are both
arrived; by each I have received letters from you.
A new sheet of paper must contain a reply to them.
This little space shall assure you of what is not
confined to time or place,—the ardent affection of your sister,
| Letters of Mrs. Adams, | |