Mary Smith Cranch to Abigail Adams, November 24, 1799

November 24 th 1799

My Dear Sister

I receiv’d your kind Letter of the 15 th yesterday & am glad to find you able
to receive so much company tho I fear it will not be advantagous to your
nightly repose

I was in Boston last week & find the appointment
of the Envoys is growing to be a very popular action Some extracts from
Joel Barlows Letters has made the appointment appear an act of wisdom—
these extracts were in John Russels paper close at the heels of those
peices you sent me 1

I have given Mrs Black the list of the Fashions I am
fix’d for the winter & Shall have nothing to do with them

The weather is delightful I want to see your Building
going on People have been ploughing eighteen Days at one of the Islands
without interruption from Bad weather

mr Beal has painted your Floors as you desired &
they look very Well— Mr Porter has kill’d the Hogs 2 of them weigh’d 20
score apeice & the other 15— the
Legs shoulders &C are in our cellar, & shall be attended too

28 th

I have been prevented from finishing this Letter till
this evening you may remember tis our thanksgiving day & had you
been here been highly entertain’d such Prayers & Such a Sermon oh!
what a feast they are; so devoted & So truely evangelical! If I can
prevale I Will send you the Sermon If possible I admire him more than
ever If this People knew how to estmate Such Talents a hundred dollars
Would not part us. next monday we are to have a meeting what will be the
result I cannot conjecture 2 He din’d with mr Black to day & is gone to Hingham this
evening.

Sister Smith & miss Betsy Apthorp din’d with us
to day. Sister was very well & went to meeting with me we cannot get
Mrs Apthorp out yet—but I sent her some dinner. the Turkey was very good
The raisons made a fine Pudding—& the Flour is exellent the Sugar
corrected the acid of the Craneberry & we drank our wine with
thankful hearts & did not forget the channel thro which these
Blessings flow’d

mrs Apthorp behaves very properly, but the Family
always do something different from other Folks When they bury their
Friends— after Mr A was put into his Coffen, the young Folks thought the
Head of it would look better lin’d with white Flannel so the Son &
Daughter went to work with a Hammer & nails one held up his head
& the other tack’d it on Mr A’s wife got her Brush & Paint &
painted the edge Black, then the widow & all the People in the house
were call’d to see what an addition to the beauty of the Coffen it was
had I been present I should have proposed puting a little rouge on his
Face— I am sure it would have look’d as much better as the coffen did
for the Flannel & paint. They were not children of Sorrow. how could
they be, but they Should not have made a Baby house for him 3

I went to see uncle Quincy Twice last week. he is
very well I never saw him look better. I call’d upon Mr Wibird both
times he look’d more like a dirty Beast than any thing else I was
affraid to set by him—

mr Nortons Family & Mr Greenleafs were well
yesterday. I saw mrs Foster last week sh[…] & hers were well Except
herself She had a cold which settled in her Breast but it was better Mr
Smiths Family were well Mrs Smiths children were very well when Mr Smith was at atkinson John
perform’d at the exhibition as well as any one in the Schooll Sister
will not make us a visit this season, but I hope we shall all meet in
the Spring the antisipation of it cheers in your absence / the Heart of
your affectionate Sister

Mary Cranch

I have receiv’d the five dollar Bill inclos’d in your
last Letter

your Friends all send Love 4

I have receive this day a Letter from Mr shaw &
one for Doctor Tufts 5