Sweet & Wholesome Fare

& particularly mine owne family in his stroke upon my sonne Henry) yet myselfe & the rest of or children & familye are safe & in health, & that he upholds or hearts that we fainte not in all o' troubles, but can yet waite for a good issue. And howsoever our fare be but coarse in respect of what we formerly had, (pease, puddings & fish, being or ordinary diet,) yet he makes it sweet & wholesome to us, that I may truly say I desire no better: Besides in this, that he beginnes wth us thus in affliction, it is the greater argument to us of his love, & of the goodnesse of the worke wch we are about; for Sathan bends his forces against us, & stirres up his instruments to all kinde of mischief, so that I thinke heere are some persons who never shewed so much wickednesse in England as they have donne heer. Therefore be not discouraged (my deare Wife) by anythinge thou shalt heare from hence, for I see no cause to repente of or coming hether, & thou seest (by or experience) that God can bringe safe hether even the tenderest women & the youngest children (as he did many in diverse shippes, though the voyage were more teadious than formerly hath been knowne in this season.) Be sure to be warme clothed, & to have store of fresh provisions, meale, eggs putt up in salt or grounde mault, butter, ote meale, pease, & fruits, & a large stronge chest or 2: well locked, to keepe these provisions in; & be sure they be bestowed in the shippe where they may be readily come by, (wch the' boatswaine will see to & the quarter masters, if they be rewarded beforehande,) but for these thinges my sonne will take care: Be sure to have ready at sea 2 or 3 skilletts of severall syzes, a large fryinge panne, a small stewinge panne, & a case to boyle a pudding in; store of linnen for use at sea, & sacke to bestow among the saylers: some drinkinge vessells, & peuter & other vessells : & for phisick you shall need no other but a pound of Doctor Wright's

Electuariú lenitivu, & his direction to use it, a gallon of scirvy grasse to drinke a little 5 or 6: morninges togither, wth some saltpeter dissolved in it, & a little grated or sliced nutmege.

Thou must be sure to bringe no more companye then so many as shall have full provisiō for a yeare & a halfe, for though the earth heere be very fertile yet there must be tyme & meanes to rayse it; if we have corne enough we may live plentifully. Yet all these are but the meanes wch God hath ordayned to doe us good by: o' eyes must be towards him, who as he can wthhould blessings from the strongest meanes, so he can give sufficient vertue to the weakest. I am so straightened wth much businesse, as can no waye satisfye myselfe in wrightinge to thee. The Lorde will in due tyme lett us see the faces of each other againe to or great comfort: Now the Lord in mercye blesse, guide & supporte thee: I kisse & embrace thee my deare wife. I kisse & blesse you all my deare children, Forth, Mary, Deane, Sam, & the other: the Lorde keepe you all & worke his true feare in yo1 hearts. The blessing of the Lorde be upon all my servants, whom salute from me, Jo: Sanford, Amy &c, Goldstone, Pease, Chote &c.: my good freinds at Castlins & all my good neighbors, good man Cole & his good wife, & all the rest:

Remember to come well furnished wth linnen, woollen, some more beddinge, brasse, peuter, leather bottells, drinkinge hornes &c. : let my sonne provide 12: axes of severall sorts of the Braintree Smithe, or some other prime workman, whatever they coste, & some Augers great & smale, & many other necessaryes wch. I can't now thinke of, as candles, sope, & store of beife suett, &c.: once againe farewell my deare wife.

Thy faithfull husband Charlton in N: England July 23: 1630.

Jo: WINTHROP

Decorum Yields to Necessity

Abigail Adams suffers the indelicacy of sea-sickness

(To Mrs. Cranch)

On board ship Active, Latitude 44, Longitude 34. Tuesday, 6 July, 1784. From the Ocean

[Y DEAR SISTER,

MY

I have been sixteen days at sea, and have not attempted to write a single letter. 'Tis true, I have kept a journal whenever I was able; but that must be close locked

up, unless I was sure to hand it you with safety.

'Tis said of Cato, the Roman Censor, that one of the three things which he regretted during his life, was going once by sea when he might have made his journey by land. I fancy the philosopher was not proof against that most disheartening, dispiriting malady, sea-sickness. Of this I am very sure, that no lady would ever wish a second time to try the sea, were the objects of her pursuit within the reach of a land journey. I have had frequent occasion, since I came on board, to recollect an observation of my best friend's, "that no being in nature was so disagreeable as a lady at sea,” and this recollection has in a great measure reconciled me to the thought of being at sea without him; for one would not wish, my dear sister, to be thought of in that light by those, to whom we would wish to appear in our best array. The decency and decorum of the most delicate female must in some measure yield to the necessities of nature; and, if you have no female capable of rendering you the least assistance, you will feel grateful to any one who will feel for you, and relieve or compassionate your sufferings.

And this was truly the case of your poor sister and all her female companions, when not one of us could make her own bed, put on or take off her shoes, or even lift a finger.

so cold and damp, And the confine

As to our other clothing, we wore the greater part of it until we were able to help ourselves. Added to this misfortune, Briesler, my man-servant, was as bad as any of us. But for Job, I know not what we should have done. Kind, attentive, quick, neat, he was our nurse for two days and nights; and, from handling the sails at the top-gallantmast head, to the more feminine employment of making wine-cordial, he has not his equal on board. In short, he is the favorite of the whole ship. Our sickness continued for ten days, with some intermissions. We crawled upon deck whenever we were able; but it was that we could not remain long upon it. ment of the air below, the constant rolling of the vessel, and the nausea of the ship, which was much too tight, contributed to keep up our disease. The vessel is very deep loaded with oil and potash. The oil leaks, the potash smokes and ferments. All adds to the flavor. When you add to all this the horrid dirtiness of the ship, the slovenliness of the steward, and the unavoidable slopping and spilling occasioned by the tossing of the ship, I am sure you will be thankful that the pen is not in the hand of Swift or Smollet, and still more so that you are far removed from the scene. No sooner was I able to move, than I found it necessary to make a bustle amongst the waiters, and demand a cleaner abode. By this time, Briesler was upon his feet, and, as I found I might reign mistress on board without any offence, I soon exerted my authority with scrapers, mops, brushes, infusions of vinegar, &c., and in a few hours you would have thought yourself in a different ship. Since which, our abode is much more tolerable, and the gentlemen all thank me for my

care.

Our accommodations on board are not what I could wish, or hoped for. We cannot be alone, only when the gentle

An Indelicate Situation

men are thoughtful enough to retire upon deck, which they do for about an hour in the course of the day. Our staterooms are about half as large as cousin Betsey's little chamber, with two cabins in each. Mine had three, but I could not live so. Upon which Mrs. Adams's brother gave up his to Abby, and we are now stowed two and two. This place has a small grated window, which opens into the companion-way, and by this is the only air admitted. The door opens into the cabin, where the gentlemen all sleep, and where we sit, dine, &c. We can only live with our door shut, whilst we dress and undress. Necessity has no law; but what should I have thought on shore, to have laid myself down to sleep in common with half a dozen gentlemen? We have curtains, it is true, and we only in part undress, about as much as the Yankee bundlers; but we have the satisfaction of falling in with a set of well-behaved, decent gentlemen, whose whole deportment is agreeable to the strictest delicacy, both in word and action.

Gouverneur Morris journeys to the "far west," sees Niagara, and prophesies the future of the country (To John Parrish, Jan. 20, 1801)

HERE is a brilliance in our atmosphere you can

TH

have no idea of, except by going to Italy, or else by viewing one of Claude Lorraine's best landscapes, and persuading yourself that the light there exhibited is a just though faint copy of nature. I believe there is much more

water in the St. Lawrence than in the Danube at Vienna. Of the rapids I can say nothing; still less can I pretend to convey to you the sentiment excited by a view of the lake. It is to all purposes of human vision an ocean: the same majestic motion, too, in its billows. Το

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