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Peleg Wadsworth to Lucia Wadsworth, 3 December 1794
Manuscript letter
Philadelphia 3dDecr.1794
My dear Lucia
I had the pleasure of receiving your agreable Letter of 19th Ulto., the day pre-ceeding Thanksgiving. You say Ma was so en-gaged in the preparation that she had only time to send her Love – that, to be sure, is better than every thing else, & in return you will please to return her mine. I hope however that after Thanksgiving is over she will find time of telling me so herself. I hope you had a good Thanksgv – We have all & always great Cause of Thankfulness - & in this Exercise I think much of our religious Devotions should be imploy’d[sic].
I am pleas’d with your going to school, & think that you do well in attending to Cyphering – Writing, is what a scholar is always in the practice of, & I think that much time spent in the mere writing of Copies, is misspent. A good hand is desirable, but it is not every one that can acquire it. And after acquiring a tole- (p. 2) rable degree of Legibility, (unless it appears that the scholar has a peculiar aptness, & is likely to excell[sic]) time will be much better spent in learning what to write, than how -
As for Instance when we see a fine Letter we admire, not the hand writing, but the substance, the manner of expression & the Grammar & Spelling – These are the principal things to be attended to; the other is a thing of Course & will naturally follow of itself. I do not mean to under-value a good ^hand wrighter, but think ^it of secondary Consequence. So that I hope you & Harry will attend to Arithmetic, Grammar & Composition reading & Speaking, Geography &c without spending any large portion of your time in merely writing of Copies.
I suppose it was old Mr Douglas that is died. I did not expect him to continue long.
The Death of Aunt Withrell was quite unex-pected & must be important to her ^the Family. have you heard any thing of Nancy, lately?
(p. 3) I am much troubled at Grandma ‘low state’ of health, & the more so as I seem to have neg-lected to send her Medicine, as was expected, (it seems) – tho it was not from forgetfulness but misapprehension – I thot that, finally, I had not been charged with it. I have ^this morng been looking over all the papers of the day to find the Advertisement, but do not see it – I had sought it throughout the City yesterday, but in vain – so that I must look back to some old papers & if it is to be had ^in the city will send it on by a Vessel that sails to Boston in a day or two ( [torn page from wax seal] Mr Waits Stove) for I have no expectation that a Bottle could go by the post, with any degree of safety –
Am glad that your Mama’ Muff & Tippet & Trimming is at last arriv’d safe. I shall be happy if it suits – Give my Love to her & assure Her that I love Her & all the rest of my dear Family most affectionately
By the time the Little Boys have learn’d their Dialogue, they shall have something else – in the mean time I expect they (& all the rest of you) are very good – Adieu my Dear Lucia
P Wadsworth
[Dated:] December 3d 1794 / January 3d 1794
[Numbered:] 16.
[Addressed:] Free Wadsworth / Peleg Wadsworth / Portland / Portland / prpost / Maine
My dear Lucia
I had the pleasure of receiving your agreable Letter of 19th Ulto., the day pre-ceeding Thanksgiving. You say Ma was so en-gaged in the preparation that she had only time to send her Love – that, to be sure, is better than every thing else, & in return you will please to return her mine. I hope however that after Thanksgiving is over she will find time of telling me so herself. I hope you had a good Thanksgv – We have all & always great Cause of Thankfulness - & in this Exercise I think much of our religious Devotions should be imploy’d[sic].
I am pleas’d with your going to school, & think that you do well in attending to Cyphering – Writing, is what a scholar is always in the practice of, & I think that much time spent in the mere writing of Copies, is misspent. A good hand is desirable, but it is not every one that can acquire it. And after acquiring a tole- (p. 2) rable degree of Legibility, (unless it appears that the scholar has a peculiar aptness, & is likely to excell[sic]) time will be much better spent in learning what to write, than how -
As for Instance when we see a fine Letter we admire, not the hand writing, but the substance, the manner of expression & the Grammar & Spelling – These are the principal things to be attended to; the other is a thing of Course & will naturally follow of itself. I do not mean to under-value a good ^hand wrighter, but think ^it of secondary Consequence. So that I hope you & Harry will attend to Arithmetic, Grammar & Composition reading & Speaking, Geography &c without spending any large portion of your time in merely writing of Copies.
I suppose it was old Mr Douglas that is died. I did not expect him to continue long.
The Death of Aunt Withrell was quite unex-pected & must be important to her ^the Family. have you heard any thing of Nancy, lately?
(p. 3) I am much troubled at Grandma ‘low state’ of health, & the more so as I seem to have neg-lected to send her Medicine, as was expected, (it seems) – tho it was not from forgetfulness but misapprehension – I thot that, finally, I had not been charged with it. I have ^this morng been looking over all the papers of the day to find the Advertisement, but do not see it – I had sought it throughout the City yesterday, but in vain – so that I must look back to some old papers & if it is to be had ^in the city will send it on by a Vessel that sails to Boston in a day or two ( [torn page from wax seal] Mr Waits Stove) for I have no expectation that a Bottle could go by the post, with any degree of safety –
Am glad that your Mama’ Muff & Tippet & Trimming is at last arriv’d safe. I shall be happy if it suits – Give my Love to her & assure Her that I love Her & all the rest of my dear Family most affectionately
By the time the Little Boys have learn’d their Dialogue, they shall have something else – in the mean time I expect they (& all the rest of you) are very good – Adieu my Dear Lucia
P Wadsworth
[Dated:] December 3d 1794 / January 3d 1794
[Numbered:] 16.
[Addressed:] Free Wadsworth / Peleg Wadsworth / Portland / Portland / prpost / Maine
Archives Number: 1005/4.1.1-03#23
U. S. National Park Service
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Courtesy of National Park Service, Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site (1005/4.1.1-3#23)
Public domain
Peleg Wadsworth Papers (1005/004.001), (LONG-SeriesName)
, Correspondence - Outgoing (1005/004.001.001), (LONG-SubseriesName)
, Letterbook - 1794-1807 (1005/004.001.001-003), (LONG-FileUnitName)
, Correspondence - Outgoing (1005/004.001.001), (LONG-SubseriesName)
, Letterbook - 1794-1807 (1005/004.001.001-003), (LONG-FileUnitName)
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Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Code: LONG
Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Latitude: 42.3769989013672, Longitude: -71.1264038085938
Latitude: 42.3769989013672, Longitude: -71.1264038085938
NPS Museum Catalog Number : LONG 27923
Title: Finding Aid to the Wadsworth-Longfellow Family (1610-1971) Papers, 1610-1971 (bulk dates 1745-1950)
URL: https://www.nps.gov/long/learn/historyculture/archives.htm#WL
URL: https://www.nps.gov/long/learn/historyculture/archives.htm#WL
2021/05/13
12/03/1794
Manuscript letter in the Wadsworth-Longfellow Family Papers, Peleg Wadsworth and Family Papers, Peleg Wadsworth Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing, Letterbook - 1794-1807. (1005/4.1.1-3#23)
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Organization: Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site
Address: 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Email: LONG_archives@nps.gov
Address: 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Email: LONG_archives@nps.gov
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