Letter to Eunice Todd Crafts, January 1, 1819
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I tender you my sincere thanks, my dear friend, for your kind letter to me, and
which has given me real pleasure, a pleasure not the less hightoned by coming
unexpectedly. I hear but seldom from Craftsbury, and excepting a letter from Mr
Young dated the 18th of December, written on business respecting the [port road], in which is a note at the bottom
where he says, 'he has that day seen you, and that you and Mary are
well', I have heard nothing from home since you wrote being the 4th of
Dec. It is true I have had a letter from Samuel dated the 9th which gave me no
information from home later than yours -- I have written every week, part of the
time to you, and part to Samuel, and shall continue to do so while I tarry here. You
charge me in your letter to give you a journal of passing my time here - I will do
it cheerfully and truly, and so few the incidents, and the same so uniform, that a
history of the employment of one day, is with very small variations, the history of
every day - After this preface I will begin in the morning - I arrive about sunrise,
look over the business assigned for the day and at nine o'clock we breakfast; after
that we attend on the committees, or go to the public offices to get the several
claims allowed, which [ ] sent to us in great
numbers - and then meet in the hall of representatives, where we attend until three
or four o'clock, then go to our quarters and dine after which if the streets are
dry, we sometimes walk half a mile and back - at 7 we have tea or coffee, and the
rest of the evening we devote to writing letters, reading the
public documents, and newspa-
pers, and about ten go to bed - This
is the journal of one day, and a repetition of it makes the journal of a week, or
month etc. It is true that our employment vary a little to day - Congress adjourned
yesterday not to meet again until next - an account of the
death of the Mr Mumford, a representative from North Carolina who died yesterday and
whose funeral we have attended this [ ] - and
for whom Congress will wear mourning for one month - Mr Mumford was born at New
London in , and emigrated to N. Carolina, when young
- and was related to the family of Mumfords with whom you were formerly acquainted -
There has been no performances at the theatre this winter, so that the only places
of resort for the is at the Presidents about
once a fortnight, at [ ], and the British
[an] French ministers, about as
often; these [ ] begin at 8 in the evening and
last until about ten - and the whole process, as I am
informed, (for I have never attended one), consists in makings [ ] and showing themselves, and if you please, taking a piece
of cake and a glap of punch or wine. Some of the members attend the [ ], but I believe no one from Vermont - I have in
general enjoyed a tolerable state of health - I expect you have some pretty cold
weather in Vermont - it has been cold here; for about a fortnight the ground has
been covered with snow and the river frozen about six inches, and for several days
the sleighs have run briskly - to day it is thawing and the roads very muddy -
S.C.C. to E.C.
? 1.
1819
Give my sincere love to Mary - and accept the assurance of my sincere love and affection to yourself.Samuel