 | Letters of Mrs. Adams, |  |
TO MRS. SMITH.
I suppose you wish to hear from me and from your
little boy. He is very well, and very amusing, as
usual; talks of William, and of the other papa; is
as fond as ever of the "fosses," and has a great addition
to his amusement and pleasures from a flock
of sheep, which are daily pastured by a shepherd and
his dog upon the lawn in front of our house. Bush
Hill, as it is called, though by the way there remains
neither bush nor shrub upon it, and very few
trees, except the pine grove behind it,—yet Bush
Hill is a very beautiful place. But the grand and
sublime I left at Richmond Hill. The cultivation in
sight and prospect are superior, but the Schuylkill is
no more like the Hudson, than I to Hercules. The
house is better finished within; but, when you come
to compare the conveniences for store-room, kitchen,
closets, &c., there is nothing like it in the whole
house. As chance governs many actions of my
life, when we arrived in the city, we proceeded to
the house. By accident, the vessel, with our furniture,
had arrived the day before, and Briesler was
taking in the first load into a house all green-painted,
the workmen there with their brushes in hand.
This was a cold comfort in a house, where I suppose
a back kitchen; but, as I expected many things of
this kind, I was not disappointed nor discomfited.
As no wood nor fodder had been provided beforehand,
we could only turn about, and go to the City
Tavern for the night.
The next morning was pleasant, and I ventured
to come up and take possession; but what confusion!
Boxes, barrels, chairs, tables, trunks, &c.;
every thing to be arranged, and few hands to accomplish
it, for Briesler was obliged to be at the vessel.
The first object was to get fires; the next to get up
beds; but the cold, damp rooms, the new paint,
&c., proved almost too much for me. On Friday
we arrived here, and late on Saturday evening we
got our furniture in. On Sunday, Thomas was laid
up with the rheumatism; on Monday, I was obliged
to give Louisa an emetic; on Tuesday, Mrs. Briesler
was taken with her old pain in her stomach;
and, to complete the whole, on Thursday, Polly was
seized with a violent pleuritic fever. She has been
twice bled, a blister upon her side, and has not been
out of bed since, only as she is taken up to have her
bed made. And every day, the stormy ones excepted,
from eleven until three, the house is filled
with ladies and gentlemen. As all this is no more
nor worse than I expected, I bear it without repining,
and feel thankful that I have weathered it out without
a relapse, though some days I have not been able to
sit up.
Mrs. Bingham has been twice to see me. I think
seen many very fine women since I have been here.
Our Nancy Hamilton is the same unaffected, affable
girl we formerly knew her. She made many kind inquiries
after you; so did Mrs. Bingham. I have not
yet begun to return visits, as the ladies expect to find
me at home, and I have not been in a state of health
to do it; nor am yet in a very eligible state to receive
their visits. I, however, endeavoured to have one
room decent to receive them, which, with my own
chamber, is as much as I can boast of, at present,
being in tolerable order. The difficulty of getting
workmen, Mr. Hamilton pleads as an excuse for the
house not being ready. Mrs. Lear was in to see me
yesterday, and assures me that I am much better off
than Mrs. Washington will be when she arrives, for
that their house is not likely to be completed this
year. And, when all is done, it will not be Broadway.
If New York wanted any revenge for the
removal, the citizens might be glutted if they would
come here, where every article has become almost
double in price, and where it is not possible for
Congress, and the appendages, to be half as well accommodated
for a long time. One would suppose
that the people thought Mexico was before them, and
that Congress were the possessors.
I wrote you thus far on Sunday last. Polly is on
the recovery, but your brother Thomas is very ill,
how he formerly had it. It. seems as if sickness
followed me wherever I go. The President got
to town on Saturday; I have not yet seen him or
Mrs. Washington. We have had two severe storms;
the last was snow. Poor Mrs. Knox is in great
tribulation about her furniture. The vessel sailed the
day before the first storm, and had not been heard of
on Friday last. I had a great misfortune happen to
my best trunk of clothes. The vessel sprung a leak,
and my trunk got wet a foot high, by which means I
have several gowns spoiled; and the one you worked
is the most damaged, and a black satin;—the blessed
effects of tumbling about the world. Adieu. Write
me soon. Love to all.
| Letters of Mrs. Adams, | |